Who was the band, artist or DJ who scorched your synapses and electrified your soul to the point you staggered into the Sydney streets muttering: “Best Live Act of the year!”
Love is Gone, Jack Ladder’s second album, saw his songwriting mature and his sound evolve into a blues-infused swagger-soul rock melange. This metamorphosis was mirrored on stage as Ladder’s live show fleshed out to include a band comprising members of Pivot, Mercy Arms and Triosk. But the eye of this sonic storm was Ladder himself, a frontman it’s increasingly impossible to look away from, with a vicious foot tap you can’t help but mimic.
Self-described as “ghetto ambient,” Seekae present the new wave of interesting, exciting electronic music. With a live set-up that employs drum machines, samplers, synths, melodica, guitars, spoons (!) and more, Seekae breathe an energy and innovation into their live performance that renders it awesome and unmissable.
We’ve too often hurt our calves dancing to Spiradon 'Mr Invisible' Savvas and Arthur 'Venom' Penington aka bluejuice to ignore them for SMACs 2009. Mind you, it’s tough to complain of shin splints considering bluejuice frontman, Jake, broke his hand and leg on stage this year. Not that it hindered “Australia’s pre-eminent skip-ropers” much. Jake and his better half, Stav, still have the most energy of any humans in this city. It’s infectious. Don’t trust us? Speak to our calves.
This is the second time these ladies have been nominated for SMAC ‘Best Live Act’, and with good reason – they’re making good on fulfilling the huge promise we saw in 2008. The release of Sistarhood, their debut full lengther, saw them grace stages across Sydney with amped confidence, more songs, and an energy we thought impossible.