GIG PICK: Homebake Incentive Round Final

If you live in Sydney and like hearing great music from emerging local talent, be sure to make your way to The Hopetoun Hotel this Monday, June 16th. For only $6, you'll be treated to sets from Bird Automatic, Papa vs Pretty, Hypertonic and Seekae. Monday is never an ideal night to be going out, but in this case, an exception should certainly be made.

The Homebake Incentive program is more or less a band comp, with a new selection of up and coming bands hitting the stage every Monday night. Some are great, some are woeful. There is, of course, plenty of incentive, with the winning band getting a spot at Homebake and an EP recorded with EMI. This Monday is the 'round final', which features the best four bands from the past three months, competing for a spot in the grand final.

I couldn't really find any mp3's that did these bands justice, but there's plenty of listening material on their respective myspace pages. Even if none of their recorded material grabs you, I'd still recommend coming along. I've seen three of these bands and each has a very strong live show.


Bird Automatic would have to be one of Sydney's most under-appreciated bands. They've got great music and style to match, but just can't seem to break through. The last two times I saw them, they were incredible. They just need to translate this into some radio love.








Despite playing together for close to two years, these guys still aren't 18. They've been relatively low key up until now, but it looks like their fortunes are changing. They played with Malcolm Middleton, are scheduled to support Dappled and reportedly, Richard Kingsmill is coming to watch them at this very show. Explosion is imminent.



Hypertonic are another young band who don't seem to be reaching their potential. Their Sonic Youth inspired rock is great to watch live, but no one seems to know about them! However, all is not lost. They've finally updated their myspace with some new material, so hopefully they're due for a revival.



This band was formerly known as Commander Keen. I'm not sure if I've seen them or not, but either way, I know little about them. Their sound on myspace has a distinct electronic influence and I'm interested to see how it translates live.





Doors open at 8. Details on The Hopetoun Hotel can be found here.

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