"Freedom is everybody's job." Brian Jackson (left) & Yasiin Bey (right). Photos by Ravyna Jassani THE MUSIC OF GIL SCOTT-HERON Presented by Brian Jackson and Yasiin Bey Vivid Live. Sydney Opera House, May 27 YOU CAN SEE the bones – actually, to be fair, a good bit of the flesh too – of a special show in this tribute to the work of poet/proto-rapper/singer/activist Gil Scott-Heron. The flaws obvious here, in particular an awful sound mix, are not insurmountable, and the potent

KYLIE M GOT ME THINKING at the weekend. Everyone well understands that the creation stories of artists – the troubled childhood or the idyllic one; the thousands of hours of practice and slogging or the 10 minutes it took to write the hit; the miracle of discovery or the whatever it takes doggedness that overcomes indifference; the troubled genius or the humble genius; or, that favourite of TV talent shows, the ugly duckling who blossoms before our eyes as beneficent judges s

As we are being treated to one of those enjoyable but carefully cultivated/controlled biographical series right now from Netflix on Ms Kylie Minogue, Wind Back Wednesday pulls into the station with one prepared earlier. This carefully cultivated (I was there on the promoter’s coin after all) but not wholly controlled moment with Australia’s biggest, longest-lasting and least disliked pop star happened in the far far north – yes, further north than Cape York – in the year of O

Which way to heaven Russell? Photo by Nina McMillin SPARKS Sydney Opera House, May 25 Vivid Live ARTIFICE AND SHOWINESS are not just perfectly fine but loads of fun, as more than 50 years of Sparks can attest. And I don’t just mean Ron Mael, dressed in voluminous Japanese robe-like suit, sat impossibly stony-faced at his keyboard and little brother Russell – who has a similar policy on hair colouring to Nick Cave – bouncing around in a polka dot suit over a skivvy that matc

Poised for revelation, braced for impact, ready to fly. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN You'll find a musical parapluie - everything's covered! - in these playlists. Find more like this at Spotify by looking for my name.

I see colours, true. Tim Finn of Split Enz, by Tom Grut. SPLIT ENZ ICC Theatre, Sydney, May 18 IT HELPS, OF COURSE, but ye olde bands don’t really need to have many, or indeed any, great songs or be particularly proficient anymore to succeed on the nostalgia circuit. While they’re the excuse for us gathering, the exercise is at least as much about what we were doing and who we were when those songs were first heard, so their first order of business is making us feel younger,

Catwalk ready, David McComb. Photo by Stuart Spence. Here we have the next instalment in What Comes To Mind, an alternative series in the Wind Back Wednesday space, based on the work of the brilliant photographer Stuart Spence. Each time, he will dig out a photo from his archives going back almost 50 years and challenge me to respond with what comes to mind when I look at that image. It might be serious or ridiculous, personal or historical but it will be inspired by a photo

Dapper in every deli. Photo by Chantal Anderson. CURRENTLY A RESIDENT a resident of Connecticut, formerly of Brooklyn and Los Angeles, originally of Cincinnati, Matt Berninger is a dapper chap, a fellow of some style, often in suits, portrayed on the cover of his first solo album, Serpentine Prison, dressed like an American man of letters sojourning in Biarritz in the mid ‘50s. The kind of man of who actually was a successful graphic designer and art director in Madison Avenu

Get 'em young, get 'em hooked, get 'em for life. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN Ride in for more playlists like this - hundreds of 'em! - at Spotify, under my name.