When the Coalition finally got booted out of Parliament House last October, a cry of joy went out across the land from all those who had suffered their antics for so long. And not only were the reigns of power being handed over to a new crew who promised a much more humane approach, but the Prime Minister John Howard even lost his own seat – a reason to celebrate, if ever there was one. And one of those groups of people whooping it up were Sydney’s The Herd.
The collective behind the independent Elefant Traks record label, The Herd were responsible for political anthems like 77% that railed against the tyranny of the Howard regime, throwing down classic lines like, “Wake up, this country needs a fucking shake up.” So it wasn’t surprising they were overjoyed when the Howard government was finally given the arse, and they captured the exhilaration of the moment with their single The King Is Dead. But with Kevin Rudd now running the show, the questions begs: will The Herd still have anything to rail against?
We have the answer, as the eight-piece return to the spotlight to push their ambitious sound even further with the new album Summerland. And the time is right for The Herd to step things up a notch: since the release of their acclaimed The Sun Never Sets album in 2004, The Herd have developed into somewhat of an Aussie hip hop supergroup with several of its members going on to front successful side projects, with Unkle Ho and Urthboy both putting out solo releases and Ozi Batla forming the Astronomy Class crew. Is it time for the Elefant Traks crew to finally trample all over commercial radio? ITM’s Angus Paterson takes a look.
The Herd’s Summerland is out now through Elefant Traks/Inertia and they’re playing two sold out ‘showcase’ gigs this weekend in Sydney and Melbourne. But they’ll be back for a national tour in July and August…
Thurs 17th July PRINCE OF WALES Bunbury
Fri 18th July SETTLERS TAVERN Margaret River
Sat 19th July CAPITOL Perth
Sun 20th July FLY BY NIGHT Fremantle
Thur 7th August UNI BAR Wollongong
Fri 8th August ANU BAR Canberra
Sat 9th August STATION RESORT Jindabyne
Fri 15th August METRO THEATRE Sydney
Sat 16th August MANLY FISHOS Manly
Thur 21st August BAROQUE Katoomba
Fri 22nd August PANTHERS Newcastle
Sat 23rd August WOODPORT INN Erina
Thur 28th August GREAT NORTHERN Byron Bay
Fri 29th August THE ARENA Brisbane
Sat 30th August COOLANGATTA HOTEL Gold Coast
Sun 31st August SANDS TAVERN Maroochydore
Thurs 4th Sept HOBART UNI BAR Hobart
Fri 5th Sept BILLBOARD Melbourne
Sat 6th Sept FOWLERS LIVE Adelaide
