Reading/Leeds Festival add The Living End and Temper Trap

The Reading/Leeds Festival organisers have announced even more acts to join the already impressive bill.

The Festival Republic Stage will host some of the best new bands in Britain and the world. It has been known that some of the biggest acts of today played on this stage when they were only emerging acts.

This year Marmaduke Duke, The Blackout & La Roux will be headlining the Festival Republic Stage over the three day festival. Others that will appear over the three days include some of Music Universe's hot tips for best breakthrough band of 2009 such as Amazing Baby, Hockey, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Temper Trap, as well as one of our favourite acts from 2008 - Lightspeed Champion.

Complete list of additions: A Day To Remember, A Place To Bury Strangers, Amazing Baby, Atreyu, Baddies, Bear Hands, Bring Me The Horizon, The Big Pink, Black Lips, The Blackout, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bring Me The Horizon, Broken Records, The Chapman Family, Detroit Social Club, Fight Like Apes, Go Audio, Golden Silvers, Grammatics, Hockey, The Hot Rats, Jack's Mannequin, The Joy Formidable, La Roux, Lightspeed Champion, Magistrates, Marina And The Diamonds, Marmaduke Duke, Middle Class Rut, Pulled Apart By Horses, The Rumble Strips, Single File, Skint And Demoralised, The Soft Pack, Soulsavers, Sweethead, The Temper Trap, Titus Andronicus, White Denim.

Also just announced, additions to the Main Stage include Mariachi El Bronx, The View and The Living End. Great to see The Living End finally getting the credit they deserve from the UK. Both The Living End and Temper Trap were recently announced to perform at Glastonbury Festival too.

All these ridic new additions will be joining Radiohead, Kings of Leon, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend, Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, The Prodigy, Eagles of Death Metal, Jamie T, The Gossip, Friendly Fires, Florence and The Machine, Glasvegas, Patrick Wolf, Passion Pit and a thousand more over the Bank weekend in late August.

http://www.readingfestival.com/

REVIEW: Groovin In The Moo Festival (Bendigo, May 16th)

Jeez Groovin In The Moo Bendigo was one hell of a party. We didn't get there till just before 4ish (due to a certain football game featuring Liz Hurley), but as soon as we arrived we could already feel the party in the air.

First up for us was Okkervil River. Some of us had been waiting to see this band play for a long time now and we weren't dissapointed. Playing songs from all their albums, including the latest one 'The Stand Ins', Okkervil knew how to get the crowd going. Okkervil gave a fond farewell to the Bendigo crowd ending with the song 'Unless if Kicks' to make us salivating for more.

After Okkervil and a couple more drinks we headed to the tent for De La friggin Soul. One word comes to mind when we think back to their set - ridiculous. Non stop jumping and arm waving. Non stop shouting and singing. Non stop smiling and joy De La Soul are the masters. If you haven't seen them yet, put simply. you're an idiot. De La were definitely the best performing artist of the festival and you can ask every single person in that jam packed tent and we're sure they'd agree. Playing hit after hit and ending with 'Ring, Ring, Ring' . Without a doubt we at Music Universe won't ever forget when De La Soul got the whole crowd singing back to them 'Hey how ya doing, sorry i cant get through, why dont you leave your name and your number, and I'LL GET BACK TO YOU!"

After De La we needed a little break from the mosh and watched Architecture in Helsinki, Ratatat and The Grates from a distance. Architecture are always fun. The Grates leading lady Patience Hodgson was frenetic on stage pumping the crowd up with every song. As for Ratatat, we didn't hear much from where we were, but we could see the crowd in the tent and boy were they dancing. Next up for us in the moshpit was The Hilltop Hoods. The Hills have a new album about to be released 'State of The Art' and played a couple of newies off the album which weren't that bad, but obviously the crowd were only there to hear their big ones. Some of us at Music Universe had seen them a few times before and felt this wasn't their best set, but the Bendigoens still enjoyed it.

Last but not least was a choice between Muscles or The Living End. We chose The Living End so we could end on a bit of rocking and rolling and more importantly, a bit of moshing. Like De La Soul are one of the masters of Hip Hop, The Living End are one of the masters of true Aussie rock n roll. We've seen them about 25 gazillion times but they never get dull or boring. Playing a number of sorta still newish songs and a number of classics, The Living End know how to work a crowd. Ending with a rockabilly medley jam, with Chris playing his guitar with a VB can, fans left The Living End with dripping wet tshirts.

So, we grooved, we mooved and we enjoyed Groovin In The Moo Bendigo. We look forward to next year. Oh yeah, and for those who wanted to see what De La Soul's set was like live.....well here's a little clip we've got for ya. Enjoy!

BASSINTHEGRASS 2009

BASSINTHEGRASS turns seven this year, and for the 7,000 music lovers who will be there, they are going to be in for a real treat.

The likes of The Living End, The Cat Empire, Sneaky Sound System, Gabriella Cilmi, Augie March, Bliss n Eso, Seany B/Matt Roberts will all be appearing plus many more yet to be announced Territory acts.

BASSINTHEGRASS is recognised by national acts as the Territory’s - and northern Australia’s - greatest music festival. In the past, the festival has been able to enjoy the country’s top acts such as Powderfinger, Wolfmother, Hilltop Hoods, Jet, You Am I, Dallas Crane, Grinspoon, as well as some of the Territory’s finest bands.

The 7th BASSINTHEGRASS will be held on Saturday 23 May at the Amphitheatre for 12 hours of the hottest music the Top End can give us!

Tickets on sale April 8th and are only $50!

May 23rd
Darwin Amphitheatre
Darwin, NT

www.bassinthegrass.com.au

The Living End tour with Tame Impala

Jeeeezzussss.

The Living End cemented their status as one Australia’s most successful bands following the release of their fifth studio album 'White Noise' last year. The Living End have just annnounced a short, yet huge 'Raise The Alarm' tour with supports from Gyroscope and Tame Impala, whom have both had very successful 2008's too.

The last time The Living End went on tour (besides the Big Day Out festivals), they were playing at venues with capacity crowds of 1500. On this tour, they are playing at venues such as Hisense Arena, which is huge for The Living End. Wow.

Seriously, get your tickets soon because these shows are set to be one hell of a party come May.

Brisbane – Friday May 1st, Under The Big Top @ Musgrave Park ( ALL AGES)
Sydney – Friday May 8th, Sydney Entertainment Centre (ALL AGES)
Melbourne – Friday May 15th, Hisense Arena ( ALL AGES)
Perth – Friday May 22nd, Challenge Stadium (ALL AGES)

www.thelivingend.com.au

The Living End release rarities/demos album

The Living End will re-release `White Noise` in March with a bonus disc of rarities and demos.

The new edition of White Noise will feature on the bonus disc:

1. White Noise (acoustic)
2. Moment in the Sun (acoustic)
3. Tragedy (demo)
4. Ship is Sinking (demo)
5. Down to the Wire (demo)
6. Live to Love (demo)
7. Faith (demo)
8. New Trend (demo)
9. I Don’t Wanna Wait (demo)
10. Enemy of Time (demo)
11. Who’s On Your Side (demo)

After Big Day Out, the band will be preparing for a European tour kicking off in Belgium in April.

THE LIVING END DATES:
Sun Jan 18 - Big Day Out, Gold Coast QLD (SOLD OUT)
Fri Jan 23 - Big Day Out, Sydney NSW (SOLD OUT)
Mon Jan 26 - Big Day Out, Melbourne VIC
Fri Jan 30 - Big Day Out, Adelaide SA
Sun Feb 01 - Big Day Out, Perth WA
Sat Feb 07 - MS Fest, Launceston TAS
Thu Mar 19 - Clipsal 500, Adelaide SA
Sun Apr 12 - Coconet Classic, Gladstone QLD
Sat Apr 18 - Groezrock, Meerhout Belgium
Sun Apr 19 - Waterfront, Norwich England
Tue Apr 21 - Club Academy, Manchester England
Wed Apr 22 - Koko, London England
Thu Apr 23 - Nouveau Casino, France
Fri Apr 24 - Melkweg, Amsterdam Netherlands
Sat Apr 25 - Luxor, Cologne Germany
Sun Apr 26 - Postbahnhof, Berlin Germany

www.thelivingend.com

Chris Cheney talks 'Garage Rock'

The Living End recently won an ARIA award for 'Best Rock Album' and didn't they deserve it. 'White Noise' is TLE's 5th studio album and most consider their hardest, loudest and rockiest album so far. It kinda makes sense considering it was Brendan O'Brien who mixed and mastered the album. O'Brien had begun working with The Living End literally a day after completing AC/DC's 'Black Ice' album. 'White Noise' has already gone gold as well.

Photos of Chris's garage


Anyway, Chis Cheney, frontman of The Living End, was briefly interviewed by men's magazine FHM recently. Of course it had nothing to do with the new album, they actually just talked about his new garage. Cheney goes on to talk about getting messy on cognac with Kram (from Spiderbait), making Frangelico his new summer love, sharing a photo with the Rolling Stones and kicking Phil Jamieson (from Grinspoon) out after a heavy night. Seems like Chris is quite relaxed with everything at the moment and so he should be!!!

If you haven't got you hands on a copy of 'White Noise' - do yourselves a favour and buy it from a store or steal it from a mate or pay a couple of dollars to download it. Your life will be happier.

Chrish Cheney Interview with FHM


www.thelivingend.com

The Presets own the ARIA Awards 2008

Last night, the 2008 ARIA Awards were dominated by the ever so wonderful Presets and Gabriella Cilmi. Now, because we only talk about good music at Music Universe, we will not be mentioning Mz 17 year old Gabriella Cilmi won 6 awards and is from Dandenong, Victoria. Let's talk about The Presets. The Sydney duo took home several of the evening’s most prestigious awards, including ‘Best Group’, ‘Best Dance Release’ and ‘Album of the Year’. The Presets didn't have a perfect night, they did miss out on 'Single of the Year'.

In terms of live performances, The Living End kicked things off with 'White Noise' and white confetti, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes (The Presets) were also responsible for the ceremony’s most electric performance with a typically high-energy rendition of their anthem 'My People', complete with over-the-top theatrics, a handful of mysterious Zebra dancers and a whole lotta lasers.

Elsewhere, The Living End scored the 'Best Rock Album' honours with their latest 'White Noise', while the formidable Nick Cave was named 'Best Male Artist' for the second time. The Panics picked up 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' for 'Cruel Guards', an album we’re not convinced the band would classify Adult Contemporary. Whilst last year's stars Powderfinger and Silverchair jointly claimed 'Best Music DVD' with their concert film 'Across the Great Divide'.

The staff at Music Universe are happy that Sam Sparro won nothing despite his 5 nominations, but are sad that cute brother sister duo Angus and Julia Stone weren't recognised for their outstanding sounds.

www.thepresets.com

The Living End almost quit

The Living End have released their fifth long player 'White Noise'.

And singer Chris Cheney confirmed to Zan that the album nearly didn't happen.

There were a few months following their last big national tour for 'State Of Emergency' where they weren't sure whether the band would continue.

"I was at first thinking that I wasn't really interested in making another record until there was a real want to do it. And so we took six months off or something and didn't do much. I think the other guys were told not to call me. I was really fairly burnt out by the whole thing."

The Living End kick off their 'White Noise' national tour mid-September.

www.thelivingend.com

The Living End announce Australian tour

The Living End’s amazing live shows have long been a staple in every music fan’s calendar with a fierce reputation for putting on gigs of the highest standard. The band are now armed with an arsenal of new tracks from their forthcoming album ‘White Noise’ due out on July 19th. They will be embarking on a national tour throughout September and October taking in regional and capital cities across Australia.

All that you’ve been hearing on the radio lately is ‘White Noise’! That’s because The Living End’s new single has been all over the airwaves as the No. 1 Most Added Track at Radio. The Living End have already given a few lucky fans a taste of what’s to come with regional shows in Victoria earlier in the year under the moniker of The Longnecks.

The Living End also blew away the crowd at the recent Triple J ACDC Lane event in Melbourne. Despite a fire in ACDC Lane adjacent businesses almost aborting the entire gig, the show went on, moving 50m to Duckboard Place just hours before the scheduled event. Filmed by triple j tv, the massive event will become the basis of a limited edition bonus DVD exclusively available with the first copies of the album. The new single ‘White Noise’ is released on July 5th. The new album ‘White Noise’ will be out on July 19th with a limited edition bonus DVD of the ACDC Lane event.

Video Hits, Nova, Channel [V], Max, New World Artists and Crucial Music present
THE LIVING END – White Noise Tour
All shows with Children Collide and The Silents (except *)
Tickets for all shows $39+b/f
On sale Thursday July 10

Fri Sep 12 – Metro City, Perth, WA
Sun Sep 14 – Discovery Nightclub, Darwin, NT *With Children Collide and The Moving
Tue Sep 16 – Southport RSL, Gold Coast, QLD
Wed Sep 17 – Power House, Toowoomba, QLD
Thu Sep 18 – Caloundra RSL, Sunshine Coast, QLD
Fri Sep 19 – The Arena, Brisbane, QLD
Tue Sep 23 – Campbelltown: The Cube, Campbelltown, NSW
Wed Sep 24 – Newcastle Panthers, Newcastle, NSW\
Fri Sep 26 – Waves, Wollongong, NSW
Sat Sep 27 – The Enmore Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Tue Sep 30 – HQ, Adelaide, SA
Thu Oct 02 – Queensbridge, Melbourne, VIC
Sat Sep 20 – Coaster, Gosford Showgrounds NSW Festival

www.thelivingend.com

Cherry Bar, AC/DC lane is damaged in fire

If you’ve been lucky enough to get your hands on tickets for the Living End gig in AC/DC Lane you’ve probably been worrying about where the gig would be, after a fire torched several buildings in the area and damaged Cherry Bar on Thursday night.

Thankfully, the organisers have solved the crisis and the show will go on just up the street in Duckboard Place. The all ages gig will be filmed by triple j tv and recorded for Live At The Wireless.

AC/DC lane, including the space where the gig was going to be held, has been closed off pending police investigation. But Cherry Bar owner James Young is optimistic that the much loved Melbourne rock venue will be open for business by next weekend.

The Living End are performing a one-off gig leading into their much anticipated release of their 5th album, 'White Noise'. Due out in mid-July, 'White Noise' appears to have a heavier theme to former albums. The staff at Music Universe are on edge waiting for the album to land in their laps.


www.thelivingend.com

The Living End set to release 'White Noise'

The Living End are set to release their fifth studio album 'White Noise' on July 5th across Australia.

According to frontman Chris Cheney, "A lot of the songs have a depth and weight to them that people havent neccesarily heard from us before. The songs sound really huge. I wouldn't say heavy metal as such, although there are definatly a bunch of metal licks and influences in there. There's more of a hard rock element, but I think you really need to hear it to understand it properly."

It will be their first album for their new record label Dew Process. The album is being mixed by music industry veteran Brendan O'Brien (AC/DC).

There's a free download of the song 'How Do We Know', which is not the single from the album, but it definitely states the direction of the album.

http://www.thelivingend.com/
http://www.savefile.com/files/1579087

The Living End to record new album in US

One of Music Universe's favourite local bands, The Living End, are about to head into a New Jersey studio to record their new album with John Agnello (SOnic Youth, Dinosaur Jr. and The Hold Steady).

After trialling some new songs on their 'Longnecks' tour, they are itching to record them. Frontman Chris Cheney says he is excited by the new depth and heaviness to their songs.

Agnello agrees by saying that "from the moment I heard demos of the new songs, I knew this would be a speical record. Chris' vocals really blew me away and the lyrics are great". He added that songs like 'Kid' and 'Waiting for the Silence' were already his stand-outs.

The album will be mixed by producer Brendan O'Brien, who will work on it in between his commitments recording new AC/DC and Pearl Jam albums.

www.thelivingend.com

SPOTLIGHT: The Living End

Ten and a bit years later, The Living End have racked up a quintuple-platinum album, two platinum and five gold records, won three ARIA awards, countless other accolades and gathered fans all over the world. What’s more important, while some bands seem old and outdated only two or three years after they start, guitarist Chris Cheney, bass player Scott Owen and “new” drummer Andy Strachan are every bit as exciting a prospect as they were way back when – if you need any convincing, just check out a show the next time they come your way.

But, as mentioned earlier, it was more than a decade ago that a Melbourne rockabilly covers outfit called the Runaway Boys wrote a bunch of original tunes and changed their name to The Living End. Early releases such as the 'Hellbound', It's For Your Own Good' and the ever impressive 'Prisoner of Society/Second Solution' EPs began a mini-cult following. It quickly became a national hit, the double A-side becoming the highest selling Australian single of the 1990s, peaking for several weeks at No.4 and receiving the 1998 ARIA Award for Highest Selling Single. It lasted a record-breaking 47 weeks on the ARIA Top 50 singles charts. Coupled with their unbelievably frenzied and energetic live performances, The Living End were clearly making a name for themselves.

The release of their self-titled debut in 1999 was considered one of the best Australian debut releases of all time. Hits to come off that album included 'Prisoner of Society' and 'Second Solution', both of which sold thousands of copies. An exhaustive tour followed and by the start of the new century, the whole nation were screaming for The Living End. The Living End were awarded two more ARIA awards in 1999 for Best Group, and Best New Artist.

They responded with a debut follow-up, 'Roll On'. This sophmore effort was unfortunately not as successful as their debut. Again, it had some solid singles such as 'Roll On' and 'Pictures In The Mirror', however, it was always going to be compared to 'The Living End' LP and it never lived up to the hype. To this day, it would have to be considered The Living End's least impressive album. Being such a fan killed me to say that last line.

In 2001, the band hit a quiet period due to Chris Cheney's near-fatal car accident on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, rendering him unable to play for a significant period of time.

In 2003, The Living End released their third album 'Modern ARTillery' and was marked as a 'change in direction'. Drummer Trav Dempsey had left the band and new boy, Andy Strachan, was the man in charge at the back. The Modern ARTillery album was a return to musical simplicity in most tracks (the rock anthem "The Room" being an exception), yet contained a number of different styles throughout the album. Due to the quiet period, their return was initially received with much hype and to their fans delight, The Living End went back on tour again.

In 2006, the boys turned to an old cohort to help them in a new direction for album number four, State of Emergency. Deciding it really is better the devil you know, the band once again enlisted the talents of legendary producer Nick Launay, who worked on their platinum selling second album Roll On (not to mention a whole host of other influential titles, including some of the finest records of the last couple of decades).

Coming off the back a very successful 2004 (including huge tours of the US, first with Jet and the Vines and later with Blink 182 and No Doubt) the lads were in high spirits. Andy was well and truly settled in the role he had inherited from former drummer Travis Dempsy just prior to the making of the band’s last record, Modern Artillery, and Chris had, thankfully, avoided any near death experiences.

The record highlights something that crowds the world over already know – The Living End play hard, fast rock & roll. So while 'State of Emergency' dishes out some of the best punk rock energy of The Living End’s career – tracks like first single “What’s On Your Radio” – it also gives fans a better look at that other side they have always known is there. Songs like the Midnight Oil flavoured anthem “Wake Up”, the shimmering Phil Spector-like psychedelia of “Order Of The Day” or the jazzy edge of “Nowhere Town” all show The Living End flexing their musical muscles and minds. This album was quite successful and continued to prove that The Living End are one of the best aussie rock bands of all time.

The Living End are currently touring as 'The Longnecks'. These shows allow them to showcase new material, which hopefully some will show up on their up-n-coming 5th studio album sometime in the middle of 2008.

The Living End are without a doubt one of the best live acts to see. Get their back catalogue, buy a ticket to their gig and fall in love with Melbourne's own rocking band, The Living End.

www.thelivingend.com.au

The following video is Prisoner of Society (live)