The gigs you shouldn’t miss in Sydney in November

The party season is drawing closer and the local music scene is hotting up.

Here are our must-see gigs for November.

The Black Crowes

November 13-14,Enmore Theatre

It was an Otis Redding tune that introduced me and countless others to Atlanta’s Robinson brothers – charismatic singer Chris and guitarist Rich – and their band,the Black Crowes,way back in 1990. Their exhilarating take on the soul titan’sHard to Handle led us to an album,Shake Your Money Maker,packed with southern-fried blues-rock originals that held their own next to it. Then there was the terrific 1992 follow-upThe Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.

On this COVID-delayed tour they’re belatedly celebratingShake Your Money Maker,playing the album in its entirety before getting into afew other favourites. Everything is in place for this to be the perfect Black Crowes show.

Flume

November 18,Sydney Showground

Probably no one was more surprised than Harley Streten himself when he dominated the 2013 ARIAs with hisself-titled debut album as Flume (which won four awards),let alone when he bettered the feat with the follow-upSkin a few years later (which won eight,this time including album of the year,and later a Grammy).

With current third albumPalaces,he’s still simultaneously pushing the boundaries of modern electronic music and making hordes of revellers dance their behinds off,especially when he heads out on the road.

He’s not the only one doing all that,either – Fisher (of dance floor bangerLosing It fame) is hosting an all-dayer in the Domain on November 12 alongside their fellow Aussies Booka Shade (playing live) and the aforementioned Pnau (playing a DJ set).

Hot Dub Time Machine

November 18,Sydney Harbour

The bold,pithy statement “Best. Party. Ever.” greets you at theHot Dub Time Machine website,and it might just be true. Not since the peak ofSoulwax/ 2manydjs has a DJ put together such a relentlessly entertaining audiovisual spectacular of a gig (that’s also educational as a fortuitous by-product).

Here,Sydney DJ Tom Lowndes takes punters on an extraordinary history lesson,starting with the rock’n’roll of the ’50s and travelling chronologically through the decades to pretty much the present day (hence Time Machine). With nearly 70 years of genre-straddling popular music to cover,just about every song is a classic,and the few tunes you don’t know,old and/or new,provide those educational surprises. It’s genuinely irresistible fun foreveryone.

Guns N’ Roses

November 27,Accor Stadium

It’s handy timing for a Guns N’ Roses stadium tour,what with some of their finest tunes propping up Taika Waititi’s filmThor:Love and Thunder earlier in the year … but then,those songs have never gone out of fashion.Sweet Child O’ Mine,with its instant-classic riff. The furious energy ofWelcome to the Jungle. An anthem as mighty asParadise City. The guitar solo to end all guitar solos inNovember Rain.

And that’s before we get to their more memorable covers (Live and Let Die,Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door) and unlikely sensitive moments such asPatience.

It remains to be seen how Axl Rose manages the high notes (and punctuality) but the fact he’ll even be here to sing these songs,alongside the original guitar hero,Slash,and classic-line-up bassist Duff McKagan,means everything.

What gigs are you looking forward to this month? Tell us about them in the comments.

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