Dave, Dylan, Tara and Aidan's Review Page

The latest on film, CDs, DVDs and gigs.

The Berg family review the latest in entertainment. If you don't agree with our comments, tough.

Brokeback Mountain

Wow a gay movie without any mention of Barbara Streisand. Seriously though, very sad and powerful drama, and great performances by Jake Gyllenhall and the horses.

Big Day Out 2006 Australia Day

Dave: My first Big Day out since the tragic BDO of 1996. I'm not going to mention the idiotic, embarrassing nationalism that was rampant on the day, nor the general stupidity of people in the moshpit, I'll just focus on who we saw.

Wolf and cub: nice music in search of decent lyrics and melody. Overrated. Airbourne put on an  energetic performance but what's the point of just imitating AC/DC? The Greenhornes were amusing, psychedelic and one of the big surprises of the day. Youth Group showed you can deep and melancholy but still put on a great entertaining show. The Subways were bloody good and woke me up a bit, especially their female bass player. Mudvayne were just crap. Tuneless and soulless exploitation of youth. Wolfmother were just cosmic and put on a great show, even in a big arena. Peabody were awesome and why they aren't huge I'll never know. The Tourettes were warped and the woman singer scared me. She also had the quote of the day, saying "I'm not Lesbian, i just have Mars Volta under my arms." Kings of Leon did a nice set, but an hour is more than enough. Its no point commenting on The Living End because they are always brilliant. Franz Ferdinand surprised with a great show in front of an increasingly idiotic crowd. Iggy Pop then showed that the oldest person there can still show the bands of today what being alternative is all about with one of the best sets seen in Australia by anyone. At this stage I made the mistake of staying for The White Stripes instead of going to see Mars Volta. The White Stripes followed Iggy by doing one of the worst, most cynical, indifferent crap performances I've ever seen. Extremely disappointing. And that was it, overall not the greatest festival ever, and probably my last BDO unless someone bloody good comes out.

Homebake Domain 3rd December 2005

Tara: This was my first Homebake, and I enjoyed it immensely. Excellent performance from all the bands (that I saw), and at night, the lighting was very interesting. Something annoying, though, was the crappy dance music blasting out of the Big Top in between bands, luckily you could only hear that from certain spots. I think that The Living End would take my band of the night award, though. Truly wonderful performance. Wolfmother were very good, and the lead singer's hair looks like one of my brothers' hair. I think that's the reason why Aidan likes Wolfmother, because he likes having the same hair as someone from such a good band. Ben Lee was nice and relaxing, and the flowers on the microphones were quite amusing. The Go Betweens have still got it, after all these years. Great show. I really liked End of Fashion, but I didn't know they were so big! Kisschasy were fantastic, giving a great start to that day. Later, The Cat Empire gave a great end to the night. I loved my first Homebake!    

Kaiser Chiefs Metro 29th November 2005

Dave: A terrific concert, the only problem being it was too short. Their singer is very entertaining and the guitarist was excellent, in fact they had a much heavier sound than on their record. At times it was like a flashback to the Blur concert at the same venue a few years back. Best songs were Oh My God, Na Na Na Na Na and of course I Predict a Riot, though some of their soaring ballads were nice. Great light show too. Will be even better with a few more albums up their sleeve, though the new tracks were great. Supports were Red Riders, who have a lot of potential, but a boring name, and were at times very impressive and original and Bit By Bats, who sounded a bit like the Cure but have to stop the singer fiddling with his guitar between songs, or at least say something funny while he does.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Very amusing, witty film noir satire. Funny script, silly plot and with lots of twists and odd characters. Robert Downey Jr is great!

Taste of Chaos, Superdome 29th October 2005

Dave: Although this was a taste of chaos, all the bands ran on time. How interesting but well organized, which is unusual for visiting bands. Irrelevant were on first and we only saw 2 songs but they were bloody good. Funeral for a Friend were like a heavied up Coldplay or Keane. A bit disappointing, but still very listenable. Rise Against were very good, probably the best of the night and stood out for their individuality. Story of the Year were a bit more pop, but put on a good display of acrobatics and guitar  juggling. Killswitch Engage made me want to kill the switch rather than engage. They were alright as long as the singer kept his mouth shut. Disjointed, annoying songs. The Used were very entertaining but the singer is a dickhead and should just shut up between songs. You can only put your hands in the air so many times. All bands failed the David Berg Give us A Cheer test. This test means that any band that has to always tell the crowd to cheer louder, put hands in the air or ask are you having a good time is essential crap. Real bands don't need to say that, people will do it spontaneously.

Aidan: Great gig. Irrelevant were awesome, although I only heard 2 songs. Funeral for a Friend were good. I liked the funeral music at the start. Rise Against were great. Probably the best band there. Shame they only played for half an hour. Story of the Year were pretty good. I like the Used but the Singer( Bert McCracken) was up himself. He needs to learn to SHUT UP.       

Maximo Park Metro 2nd October 2005

Dave: All the bands above could learn a lot from Maximo Park. Songwriting, musicianship, humility, performance and just getting on with a bloody good show. All their songs are superb but the highlights were the Coast is Always Changing, Limassol, the new one from the WarChild CD and Apply Some Pressure. Great audience too, I was surprised the following they had here. Wish it was longer, or actually that it never ended. Hope they come back.

Coke live and local, Entertainment Centre 1st October 2005

Aidan: This is the second best gig I've ever been to (actually it's only the second gig I've been to). The problem was that Weapon X and Ken Hell were the mc's. Spazzys were ok but they don't have many songs. Dallas Crane were great but I was getting squashed in the mosh pit so I didn't get to listen that much. Next was P-money and he was crap. What was a rapper doing at a rock show??? After him was Spiderbait. They are f**king crap. The drummer is a wanka who thinks he great.  But the Living End were great as always. I've never met any one who doesn't like them.