BMA Magazine 440 - 7 May 2014 by BMA Magazine

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Inside:

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dickson tradies

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ANU

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The Green shed

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boy and bear

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vivid live

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king o malleys

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IT’S A DOLE LIFE

National holidays don’t dictate my heater operation. #BadAss # 4 4 0 M A Y 7 Fax: (02) 6257 4361 Mail: PO Box 713 Civic Square, ACT 2608 Publisher Scott Layne Allan Sko General Manager Allan Sko T: (02) 6257 4360 E: advertising@bmamag.com

Editor Tatjana Clancy T: (02) 6257 4456 E: editorial@bmamag.com

Accounts Manager Fahim Shahnoor T: (02) 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com

Sub-Editor & Social Media Manager Chiara Grassia Graphic Design Chris Halloran

Never mind your dolewave music genre; something turned up in my inbox dedicated to changing this country’s longstanding stereotypical dole bludger – one stilknox hit at a time. Perhaps the dole queue was too long for the industrious Canberrans that have made the webseries ‘It’s a Dole Life’. UC graduates Sean Flynn and Gerard Dewhurst not only formed their own production company, Knife and Fork Productions, with Producer Angela Crilley and wrote the series in early 2013, but wanted to prove to themselves they could independently launch it without financial backing. The result is a very funny series that follows seven out of work Aussies brought together by the tedium of weekly Job Quest meetings. You can watch the whole thing (and feel better about your own pampered life as a result) by going to itsadolelife.com.

SILENT AUCTION An exhibition and silent auction ballot of multimedia artworks is currently running at the Belconnen community service art gallery until Thursday May 15. Artworks are donated by local and interstate artists to raise funds for the centre’s Community Arts Support Program (CASP). I am always tempted to scream loudly just to see what would happen at a ‘silent’ auction – you might just want to go along and support a very worthy cause. The

CASP supports artists from disadvantaged backgrounds develop and exhibit their work, offers mentorship for graduates, provides an art as therapy program for people with disabilities and promotes Indigenous works via Naidoc and Reconciliation week collaborations. The silent auction opening gala will be held on Thursdsay May 15 between 6-8pm. More info at bcsact. com.au.

THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST New 666 ABC Canberra Breakfast Presenter Philip Clarke has proven his radio chops by winning the number one slot in the first GFK Radio ratings survey. The real test of his radio prowess for us comes down to his music choices; so here is his response in our ongoing ‘Show us Your Hits’ campaign. Phil’s three ‘go to’ records are Blood on the Tracks – Bob Dylan, Revolver – The Beatles, Jussie Bjorling – self titled. His Guilty Pleasure is country and western, a very broad genre to diss so I won’t attempt it here. Phil has also carried on former host Ross Solly’s tradition of hosting the satirical singalong on Fridays. If you’re a local band who would like to be part of that or 666 Drive’s Happy Hour go to abc. net.au/canberra/contact

WINNERS CORNER You already know that BMA run ace giveaways with questions that demand your creative and comic genius. Some of the answers are just too great to keep to ourselves. One entry into our recent Spanish Film Festival comp answered

our ‘best road trip anecdote’ question with one of those stories you know you shouldn’t laugh at, but inevitably do: “Once, in a clutching-at-straws attempt to make conversation during a road trip from Canberra to Melbourne, I spied some hay bales in a field and said: ‘I wonder if hay bales are heavy.’ One of my fellow road-trippers, a glum woman I’d never met before responded by saying very seriously: ‘Yes actually they are; one killed my Grandfather.’” What are the odds? We are still laughing. In a respectful manner of course.

BLOKES CAN TALK It’s a shitty statistic in our country that everyday, five men will take their own lives. Vince Melton worked as a barman in a small country town and was privy to many stories told to him by guys in the community who may not ordinarily open up. This inspired him to create a work called ‘Blokes Can Talk’; a series of monologues based on the lives of six men, with each tale providing insight into what blokes want to talk about but so often don’t, often with tragic consequences. It runs over two weekends, and a portion of the proceeds from the performances will go to Menslink; who do a great job supporting young Canberra men. Catch the shows at Smith’s Alternative Bookshop on Friday 16th and Saturday the 17th of May & Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th at 7pm. Tickets via : trybookings. com/83195

What if I laughet at the hay bale story during the ‘silent’ auction?

Film Editor Melissa Wellham NEXT ISSUE 441 OUT May 21 EDITORIAL DEADLINE May 12 ADVERTISING DEADLINE May 15 Published by Radar Media Pty Ltd ABN 76 097 301 730 BMA Magazine is independently owned and published. Opinions expressed in BMA Magazine are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

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YOU PISSED ME OFF!

FROM THE BOSSMAN We all remember our first. Mine was a sleek, elegant creature. Alpine White she was. Born in 1972. Oh yes… The Renault 12 was a mighty fine beast indeed.

Care to immortalise your hatred in print? Send an email to editorial@bmamag.com and see your malicious bile circulated to thousands. [All entries contain original spellings.]

(With that gag done I shall forthwith refer to the car as an ‘it’ rather than a ‘she’ because people who refer to cars as women are big weirdys).

Fuck every band that has taken photos up at Mt Stromlo..

The Renault’s European origin meant everything was on the opposite side to where you had just been taught over a terrorfilled few months. Often was the time you found yourself frantically cleaning the windows when you wanted to turn left or pointlessly indicating during a violent storm. In the cold months, the heater had the intensity of an old man blowing air through a straw. One would clamber into the car after a late night lecture at University of Canberra and desperately try to switch on the heater with hands so numb they could barely clasp the steering wheel. It took 15 minutes to kick in, meaning the first semblance of warmth finally sputtered through the vent just as you turned the car off at your destination. You didn’t need a stereo when your chattering teeth provided a fitting soundtrack (which was lucky, as there wasn’t one anyway).

YOU PISSED ME OFF!!

Unimaginative wankers..

Hi headline act lured to our country by mega bucks and exclusivitydeals. I don’t wish to see you at a grotty festival where everyone thinks they are at Coachella and no one knows who you are. Is it too much to ask that my long standing loyalty to your band is rewarded by you playing a sideshow at a decent venue within even a few hundred k’s of my house.? Apparently it is. ‘Turn on thebright lights’ of sellout’ status. You sellouts. I’m too classy to say who I’m referring to. It’s Interpol.

In summer, a Swedish sauna couldn’t touch the Renault 12 for its unmatched steam and condensation generation. Many a time before I could start a journey I had to shoo an overweight Scandinavian man dressed in nothing but a towel from the passenger seat, such was the allure of my tiny metal sweatbox. The car was also an excellent way of socialising. It predated, quite significantly, handy little modern features we now take for granted like a noise to make you aware that your headlights were still on, and you were about to leave the car like a big feckin’ eegit. This allowed my forgetful self to meet many of Canberra’s finer citizens as they kindly offered me a jumpstart throughout the years. Yes, everyone remembers fanging around in their first bomb, that spluttery old banger that barely scraped you from A to B and broke down enough times to ensure your mechanic’s early retirement. It was a ticket to freedom; with a license and your own car you could go anywhere, anytime (petrol money permitting, of course, and it was often not permitting). It was also a rites of passage. Sure, you suffered - either through sweating, freezing or occasional electrocution - but it was all about doing your time before finally getting a real job and affording a proper car. But things are changing. With the advance of technology and the vagaries of the industry, good cars are getting cheaper and the number of bombs on the road are getting fewer. An epiphany struck me when being driven along in my faher-in-law’s souped up new vehicle… By the time my daughters are at car-getting age, this is ‘the bomb’ they would likely buy. In-built GPS and sandwich press will be standard, and self-driving cars with in-built coffee machine and glovebox hot breakfast option will be the new thing. And this is all a good thing of course; we want to be safer on the roads after all. But there’s something lingeringly melancholic about it too. My daughters won’t have to suffer characterbuilding occasions like enjoying a dead battery or engaging wipers to turn right, and there’s something not quite right about that. The end of an era is always hard. Ahhhhh, Renault 12. You were a shitty, shitty car but I loved you, and the memories fondly linger. ALLAN SKO - allan@bmamag.com

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WHO: CLAUDE HAY WHAT: SINGLE LAUNCH WHEN: FRI MAY 6 WHERE: O’NEILL’S PUB, DICKSON

Hailing from Katoomba, NSW blues/roots musician Claude Hay has nabbed himself a band - Claude Hay and The Gentle Enemies, who have just released their first single, the double A-side ‘Borracho/Run’. It’s already got the special treatment, with a slick film clip animated by Mike Foxall (artist behind Frenzal Rhomb and Nancy Vandal) with a gritty storyline to match the chunky riffs. While Hay will be sans Gentle Enemies when he rolls through town Friday May 6, expect the same pulls-no-punches rock sounds akin to Queens of The Stone Age and Jack White. Best bit? Free entry. 9pm.

WHO: DALLAS FRASCA WHAT:SINGLE LAUNCH WHEN: SAT MAY 7 WHERE: TRANSIT BAR

Melbourne trio Dallas Frasa are back with new single ‘Lizard Boy’, a sharp stab at the current tense political climate. “This song is a voice for the people – I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like we are being misrepresented with many of the present issues we are facing in this country,” says front woman Dallas. The music packs a punch too – all chunky riffs and pack-a-day vocals. The single is the first taste from upcoming third album, Love Army, to be released later this year. They’re playing at Transit Bar – tickets 15+bf from moshtix or $20 at the door.

WHO: KING OF THE NORTH WHAT: ALBUM LAUNCH WHEN: THU MAY 8 WHERE: TRANSIT BAR

Touted as a new force in guitar/drum pairings, Melbourne duo King Of The North have been lapping up serious praise from critics and punters alike. With solid debut album Sound Underground under their belt and a reputation for jaw-dropping live shows, the pair are embarking on a nationwide tour. They’ve also just released a shiny new video clip for their single, ‘Wanted’, shot in a secret location in the Australia desert. They’re all set to tear it up at Transit Bar, Thursday May 8, with support from Tonk and Hence the Testbed. $10 +bf from moshtix. 8pm.

WHO: LA BASTARD WHAT: SINGLE LAUNCH WHEN: SAT MAY 10 WHERE: TURNER BOWLS CLUB

Canberra Musician’s Club have coaxed Melbourne party-starters La Bastard to town to launch their new 7” single, ‘Promise Me/In Deep’. Drawing influence from Nancy Sinatra to the warped country of The Gun Club, La Bastard play surf rock with rockabilly flair and fierce vocals. A total corker, the 7” was recorded late last year at Coloursound Studios (The Dandy Warhols) and swiftly takes La Bastard’s sound up a notch with more of a 60s garage rock direction. For support, they’ve roped in the perfectly match local favourites rockabilly gang Little Mac and the Monster Men and oneman band Bacon Cakes.

WHO: NAUGHTY RHYTHMS, LOS CHAVOS WHAT: SKA WHEN: SAT MAY 17 WHERE: TURNER BOWLS CLUB

Local ska lads Naughty Rhythms are throwing a high energy dance party at Turner Bowls Club and you’re all invited. Having clocked over thirty years together, Naughty Rhythms are still at the forefront of local ska, providing a soundtrack for your skanking. Along for the ride are locals Los Chavos, who blend reggae, Latin rock, ska and samba together with relentless energy. With punchy horns and racy rhythms, the eight piece are bound to get bodies moving and hips swinging. Rounding out the line-up are hip-hop DJ’s Rubz and De Cruz. Tickets $15–$20, 7.30pm.

WHO: THE GAPS WHAT: EP LAUNCH WHEN: FRI MAY 23 WHERE: TRANSIT BAR

The Gaps – that’s a sly nod to the generational gap within the band, are launching their new EP at the final heat of Transit’s Battle Of The Bands showdown on Friday May 23. The local trio play blistering rock with a neat shot of blues and have scored slots on last year’s Canberra 100 Year Celebration bill as well as the Australian Music Festival and The Basement’s The Re-Birth of Rock and Blues. Their self-tilted six track EP is a collection of characterdriven narratives and will be released at the show. They’ll be playing alongside Elision, Myriad Ways and Tundrel. Free entry.

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Started by a statistician who seemingly understands the all important portaloo/punter ratio, Steve Halpin, Groovin’ the Moo enjoyed another top day this year at The Meadows, UC. With a diverse line-up that included Architecture in Helsinki, The Naked and Famous, Dizzee Rascal, The Jezabels, Illy, Violent Soho and Disclosure, with local bands Drawing North, Sweet Shoppe and The Steptones also enjoying some festival slot love. Just as diverse as that list were the opinions of the crowd. They did, however, all get the festival memo that asked for a mass display of animal onesies, facepaint and floral headpieces - TATJANA CLANCY “I just want to say, fuck Tony Abbott” – Luke Boerdam, lead singer for Violent Soho “This set is unreal (as the first strains of ‘Covered in Chrome’ start) I play this on the guitar – it’s awesome!” – Smith, 19 “Those girls are going to be pretty cold later “– 30-something gentleman (and possible dad)

“Having been a veteran of music festivals going back to events at the Canberra Showground in the early 70’s through to numerous festivals throughout America, Europe, the UK and Australia, I have to say Groove in the moo was definitely on a par. Great access to all areas, professionally run, helpful, friendly organisers and a brilliant and diverse group of musical acts – well done! Canberra was a blast” –Marcus

You might have to get out of my way while I mosh to this song

“I am concerned that if you are a person with a disability who needs a companion in order to attend you have to effectively pay double. You have to buy two tickets. This would preclude many youth with disabilities who require assistance from going,as they are more commonly on very low incomes. Events like the National Folk Festival recognise Carer and Companion Cards. I went and had a great, if cold, time. Water was $4 a bottle and my sense of direction is challenged, but I couldn’t find refill stations around the venue and the bar was a (welcome) security checkpoint, not to mention a fair hike away. Though not my situation, I was thinking anyone with epilepsy should avoid the impressive, but intense, flashing lighting effects” - Bernadette

“I just don’t know how that song made number one (Vance Joy’s ‘Riptide’)” “Steady on, everyone loves it and you knew all the words…” “Yeah righto, is that the Master’s Apprentice riff?”

“What would I say? It’s too fucking cold here, every year” – Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall “Everyone seems to just passively consume this music, unlike the folk festival that promotes a sense of community” – Rob, 54

“You might have to get out of my way while I mosh to this song, I apologise in advance” – Violent Soho fan “High impact and full of energy, Karnivool captured the crowd from the start of the first song. The adrenaline-fuelling guitar riffs and powerful vocals of Ian Kenny are in a world of their own” – Dale

“Festivals have a particular smell (a mixture of smoke, dance sweat and booze), that I swear remains in one’s hair for the next two weeks. Coincidentally, the remaining smell seems to last for as long as the post-festival depression. The lights flashed and the beats bounced. People danced/moshed/head bobbed and there was even a ‘fuck Tony Abbott’ thrown about. Overall GTM this year was well worth the inevitable hearing loss” – Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall

“No one here is gonna know that song!”

“Peking Duck played a really good set, got the crowd really involved in it” – Ben “Yeah I love BMA, my favourite column is ‘You pissed off the Bossman’” – Jason, avid reader “‘Effin amazing man – (unintelligible platitudes for music festivals and beers and his own band) – Josh, 25 “The Jezabels are who I came to see – they are unreal” – Rachel, 23

“Robert Delong’s songs are surprisingly sad, Karnivool killed it, Architecture bring the party and Dizzee Rascal works the crowd like no one else” – Jeremy “Watching it in the media tent is like being at a five star yurt at Glastonbury” – Ed “Cashing in your beer cans and the chips were my highlight” – Dave “I can hear it all the way in Hawker, I thought the neighbours were having a party” – Kristen Photos by Dale Wowk / dalewowkphotography.com (clockwise Kingswood, Karnivool, Dizzee Rascal, Violent Soho).

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Groovin’ The Moo UC Parklands Sunday 27 April It seems to be an annual Canberra tradition for winter to hit on the weekend that the Groovin’ the Moo carnival comes to town. Unfortunately 2014 was no exception to this trend, with cold winds howling across the campus of the University of Canberra and the huddled masses flowing through it. However when the sun broke through the clouds it felt like life was suddenly infused into the festival. Bros were no longer shivering, girls were no longer shaking. People started smiling. Having Cults and Violent Soho knock the musical level up a notch also seemed to help. Violent Soho put on a set that displayed their better qualities, of a proto-grunge rock band that were willing and able to shred frequently. As it was put to me straight after their set, they are just an honest fucking rock band; no more, no less. Cults showed some force, but tended to win over with more delicate emotions instead. Both didn’t bother to overcomplicate things; they just played good music well. Earlier in the day, Robert DeLong surprised with the sheer inventiveness of his approach to making music, and the integrated audio-visual experience that goes along with live performance. Just one man and an array of electronics, DeLong entrances with his total control over his environment. On the sister stage, Kingswood reminded of an evolutionary Wolfmother, with a bit of the earlier, grittier Kings of Leon thrown in for good measure. Architecture in Helsinki have come a long way in 15 years – from twee pop extraordinaires to 80s dance-pop revivalists. If you have to say one thing about AIH, it is that they commit to whatever they are doing, and the direction in which they are going. As day turned into night, bands seemed to finish as quickly as they started. The Naked and Famous were a bit of a surprise packet, playing tight dance pop to an engaged audience. They were polished in all the right places, and let their minimal melodies shine through. Karnivool also put on a well polished show, but approximately 100 times heavier in nature. Beautiful chaos. Forty minutes of sheer and utter aural domination can be distilled down to those two words. Holy Fuck started to a swarm of dancing bodies, mouthing along to Kanye, Beyonce and Nelly. They finished to a huddled mass, a little unsure of what they had seen. Strike that, very unsure. The cognitive dissonance between what had come before and what followed made the performance even more rewarding. Those who stuck around saw one of the finest live performances of the year, a clusterfuck of noise and emotion, of brutality and fragility. Although he may not have had the closing spot, there was little doubt that Dizzee Rascal was the headliner by the time night struck. From grime prodigy to present-day anthemic hip hop hero, Mr Mills displayed why he has gained a reputation as a solid live performer. His Boy In Da Corner days might be over, but he can still break out at full pace when he wants to, and did so often over his supersized set. ‘Bonkers’ got undoubtedly the best crowd reaction of the festival, turning the crowd, well...that one’s too easy.

PHOTOS BY MEGAN LEAHY

The Presets closed the night on the main stage, but something seemed slightly off with the doyens of pub-electro. At their best, The Presets traded heavily on a reckless sense of energy and excitement, and showed their sheer joy just to be playing music. Their performance, whilst still technically proficient, seemed to lack that extra dimension, that extra excitement. Cody Atkinson

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PHOTO BY JOHN HARVEY

National Folk Festival (by day) Exhibition Park In Canberra Sunday April 20 I now freely admit that I’m an idiot for not attending the NFF before and for only nominating this review to cover the daylight hours of Easter Sunday. Lesson learned. There’s a sweeping positivity when you cross the threshold. Face-painted-kids dance wildly, everyone’s smiling and a blue sky day creates a beautiful mood. When I finally pealed myself away from the overabundance of vintage/handcraft markets my day really kicked with a hunk-a hunk-a burnin’ love. No, the free spirit didn’t wildly possess me; I grabbed a hot spud and sat amongst a packed tent of fellow Elvis fans, singing unashamedly with festival performers covering The King. At the Majestic stage, one-extremelygoodlooking-man-band Richard Preso sat behind three didges and a mic projecting his rusty voice through the exceptional sound system. And those two angels called The Little Stevies. What a magnificent pair of tiny people who sound infinitely better on stage than through the polished radio waves. PS. props to the NFF for its strong rep of amazing female artists. The most surprisingly lovely discovery came at the PsyBusSpace lounge. It drew me in with its promise of cheap lentil soup and kept me there with Tessa Devine; a small dread-locked lady with a big voice, looping her own harmonies and creating an entire band of sound from her little corner of the café. I’m sad when I realise that people only ever see talent like Preso and Devine when they pop into a random regional centre that they‘re visiting for a wedding one day. So I have some advice for you…Cough up the entry fee next year. You’ll have the time of your life with cheap drinks, great food and unbelievable undiscovered entertainment. Danika Nayna

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National Folk Festival (by night) Exhibition Park In Canberra Sunday April 20 The Folkie is always familiar. Even compacted, the old tents, the mulled wine and kranskies, the stalls selling handmade ornaments, fishermen’s pants and alpaca wool beanies, the street circus performers hocking the same wares with the same patter, the child buskers – what makes the Folkie the Folkie is the same this year as it was a decade ago. Content to be led around, I was ushered before a medley of popular choices. The line of middle-aged women queuing to buy Hawaiian guitar virtuoso Riley Lee’s album probably says as much about his head of hair and come hither banter as his music, but this reaction was balanced by the observation of a six-year-old girl behind me: ‘Why are we listening to this? Are we going to sleep? Because this is boring.’ I found myself somewhere in the middle of the two. The Le Blanc Bros Cajun Band turned out to sound more or less like dull country music. Rory McLeod’s lyricism, whilst occasionally charming, bore the brunt of a childish insipidness. The three Doctors Stovepipe were, as per usual, engaging and clever, and sadly The Bally proved too full to catch No Hausfrau. Jordie Lane, one of the Folkie’s new pseudo-headliner bookings, was the highlight. The gravity of his lyrics and voice are not done justice on his studio recordings. Joined on occasion by (a very underused) Heath Cullen, Lane’s skill as a songwriter and lyricist shone through.

PHOTO BY JOHN HARVEY

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At least until we bought baked potatoes. AShley thomson

cody atkinson Did you know that every three minutes a music festival somewhere in the world goes broke? OK, maybe not, but music festivals are certainly the new non-music festival. Think of them of like a normal gig, only crunchy. Cody Atkinson looks at the scourge on our streets. Name? Music Festivals.

What are they to you, Mr “Answers The Questions”? For my money, it can be broken down to three things: price, accessibility and variety. With most festivals you can see a wide range of bands for a relatively low price that you would ordinarily be able to see. Some of the best sets I’ve ever seen have been at festivals, and there is no way that I would have seen them otherwise. There must be some bad things? There are so, so many bad things that can and do happen at festivals... Long list time:

Age? Since 582 BC, with the Pythian Games. Location? Pubs and paddocks worldwide. So, what is a music festival? Seemingly a collection of 5 or more bands over a period of time longer than 4 hours. But what is really a music festival? It’s about the hopes and dreams of youth, and their restless pursuit of enlightenment through the consumption of both music and copious amounts of substances, both legal and otherwise. It is an experience that seemingly bends time to absorb the sheer brilliance of the unrepeatable nature and majesty of “the festival experience”.

douchebags who blow cigarette smoke right into your face in the moshpit; the girl who passes out on you, and her friends that assure you that she’s “fine”;

You’d take some vomit to the shoe just to see some music?

Really? No, it’s a bunch of bands playing music in front of punters, usually in a slightly different locale to which they normally do so. There can be amusement rides, food stalls, shitty market stalls selling rip off Bob Marley and Che Guevara t-shirts and those terrible fake dreadlock hats, or not. The music is the one non-negotiable.

anyone over the age of four who wears a onesie; people who take between 8-10,000 selfies instead of watching the music; the one guy who thinks its a great idea to do a reverse kanga in a portaloo; anyone who gets on a friend’s shoulders for more than one song without realising it fucks up the view of everyone behind them;

anyone with their shirts off in the middle of winter; drinks being overpriced; food being way overpriced and generally terrible;

So what type of music festivals are there? Every type. Literally every type of music has an associated festival.

merch being WAY overpriced;

Every type? Yeah. Metal has Soundwave, punk has Warped, blues has Byron Blues and Roots, folk has the National Folk Festival. There are mainstream festivals, there are underground festivals, there are even religious music festivals.

anyone who yells incessantly for a band’s only hit song (YES THEY WILL PLAY IT SHUT UP);

Haven’t a bunch of them been cancelled, shut down or gone broke recently? Other than Harvest, Heatwave, Homebake, Blueprint, Pyramid Rock, BAM!, Lost Weekend, Playground Weekender, Great Escape? Yeah? Not really, no. What’s the appeal of festivals? It can’t be broken down to just one thing, but there are a handful of different appeals. For many, going to your first festival is a coming of age experience, a sure sign of growing up. For others, it’s a day, weekend or more of rebellion and release, to act completely differently to how they normally act. For most, festivals are the Whitman’s Sampler of live music consumption; you can catch a little bit of everything on the day if you really want without overdoing it if you don’t want to.

the person who vomits on your shoe;

too many people showing up; not enough people showing up; not enough good bands on the bill; too many clashes between the good bands... And? Most importantly, people who constantly bitch and moan about how bad festivals are yet still keep going to them. Like you? Well, yeah, like me. But I still like festivals, despite their flaws. They’re not all the same, and they’re not all bad. A good festival can be quite special, much more so than a bad festival can be disastrous. You’d take some vomit to the shoe just to see some music? Yeah, what’s wrong with that? Nothing.

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LOCALITY

While there’s been plenty of recording news over the past few weeks, in this edition it’s all about the gigs. With so many local musos heading out into the cold to entertain you, it’s time to rug up and get along to support them, because if they can do it, you can too. Plus you’ll get to hear some pretty sweet tunes and that’s reason enough really. If you’re looking to find the next big thing on the local scene, Transit Bar is the place you should be spending your time over the next few weeks, with the Transit Bar Battle of the Bands already in full swing. The first heat has already been and gone, but there’s another heat every Friday night in May from 8pm, with the grand final on Friday June 13. It’s sure to be a mixed bag of bands and genres, so be ready to be surprised. You may even find your new favourite Canberran artist. Entry is free, so you really have no excuse to take a squiz at what’s on offer. On Wednesday May 21, Smith’s Alternative will come alive with a whole range of folksy sounds, care of Pocket Fox, Dylan Hekemian and Cherie Kotek, with the first two of the three being fresh from the National Folk Festival. This will be a delightful way to spend your hump-day, especially if topped off with a warming chamomile tea. Entry is $10, with the first set kicking off around 7:30pm.

The Steptones have managed to squeeze a lot into the last 12 months, having earned their place as Smells Like Centenary Spirit: PLAYitLOUD Band Competition winners, swiftly followed by Best ACT Live Youth Band MAMA and playing an early spot at Groovin The Moo. With all that in mind, you should definitely be considering catching them when they launch Someday Soon, their debut EP, at The RUC on Friday May 9. Not only will you get to feast your eyes and ears on the incredibly dashing headliners, the night also promises sets from Slow Turismo and ERAH. Entry is $25 at the door, with special online pre-booking rates and CD bundles available. Look them up on Facebook for all the details on which package best suits your needs and to RSVP to the event like the good little social media user you are. If socialism in Civic is more your style, you’re going to hate this next paragraph because I’ve based it on an incredibly questionable bit of word play: Lenin’s Love Child will be taking over Magpies City Club on Saturday May 10. If you’re looking for a gig full of tunes that are certainly nothing like the usual fare, you’re sure to find it here. Heck, you might even learn something. Entry price is TBA, so just think of it as a surprise. If you haven’t got the message from all the opportunities I’ve listed above, let me spell it out for you: don’t be a pansy. Get out your biggest coat, wriggle your way into your favourite venue and share your body heat with some strangers, all in the name of local music. I promise it will be totally worth it. NONI DOLL nonidjdoll@gmail.com @nonidoll

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THE REALNESS A few columns ago (Tuesday, 11 March 2014 to be exact!) there was mention of the forthcoming Yasiin Gaye project courtesy of the Gummy Soul Records crew. At that particular point in time the premier track for the project had been removed from the internet due to legal red tape, likely never to see light again. Luckily, someone with some common sense (I know, a rarity these days!) has resuscitated this project from the pearly gates. Amerigo Gazaway has been responsible for some of the best conceptual mixtapes in the past few years. His name is behind the Fela Soul and Bizarre Tribe projects from a couple of years ago. This time he has brilliant blended the best of Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def with the works of the legendary Marvin Gaye. The Departure (Side One) has still been shelved, but they have managed to release a few tracks from the project including B Stands for Beef, and Anna’s Love Song, a tribute to Marvin’s wife Anna Gordy Gaye. The highlight of the surfaced tracks though has to be Ms Fat Booty, complete with a beautiful blended video which perfectly complements the track. Canberra MC Nix has dropped his latest video Stand via youtube, featuring cuts by DJ Krumb. Nix gets on his lyrically shit doing justice to the Phonte The Good Fight instrumental produced by 9th Wonder. Nix is part of the Canberra based Caps Lock Collective crew, which is made up of members Coda Conduct, Context, Semantix, Stateovmind and Toddla.

Check out the Caps Lock Collective webpage for more tracks from Nix and the rest of the crew. Every now and then you discover something new and refreshing that totally blows you away. UK based Jazz Spastiks have provided that welcomed breath of fresh air with their latest release The Product. The collective of DJ’s / beat makers / producers have crafted one of the purest hip hop albums heard in a while. Beautifully balanced between guest features, which include Sash, Yesh, Apani B Fly, Count Bass D, Moka Only and, Ladybug Mecca, with instrumental tracks. A must listen for lovers of jazzy influenced beats which are heavy on the cuts and vocal samples, head nodding music at its finest.Blitz the Ambassador returns with his third studio album Afropolitan Dreams. Born and raised in Ghana, Blitz moved to the US to study at university and further hone his skills on the mic. Never neglecting his birthplace roots, Afropolitan Dreams is steep in tributes and homage to his native Ghana and Africa in general. Africa is the Future is the best testament to that, which features Blitz dropping his verse in English, while then featuring 3 guest artists who drop a verse each in French, Arabic and a Ghanaian dialect. There have been some impressive beat tape releases recently. Initially only available on cassette, Ras G has compiled is Raw Beats Vol1 and Vol2 tapes onto a double LP release. With Vol1 already sold out and limited stock of Vol2 remaining, don’t miss this opportunity to add this LP to your collection. San Francisco based Goldie Records have released their second project from beat maker Blap Deli. High Pathetic Notes on Sound Vol.4 is Blap Deli’s debut release and is a wonderful journey through loops, chops and samples. BERT POLE - bertpole@hotmail.com

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Nilsson’s life story was a roller coaster and he had a lot of fun going down the mountain

SOMEONE ELSE’S SONG rorymCcartney One of Australia’s top singer-songwriters Tim Freedman, frontman for The Whitlams and with a notable solo career, has been inspired to interpret the songs of the great singer-songwriter of the 60s and 70s, Harry Nilsson. Nilsson’s career was unusual because, due to extreme stage fright, he almost never performed live. Although he did play at the BBC, it wasn’t in front of a live audience. Nilsson honoured the career of Randy Newman when he recorded ‘Nilsson Sings Newman’. Now Freedman is paying Nilsson the same respect. A combination of factors inspired Freedman to do the show, including Nilsson’s songs, life story and because he is not very well known today. “I want people to trust me that they will hear some great songs that they have never heard before,” he says. Nilsson’s life story was a real roller coaster and he had a lot of fun going down the mountain.” Nilsson had major hits with ‘Without You’ and ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ – while these were covers, Nilsson was a prolific songwriter and penned key songs for other artists. His work had a quality that impressed Freedman. “The songs had very sweet melodies and were also quite intricate, with a lot of wordplay and

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inner rhymes. While he had a lot of trouble in his private life, he had the voice of an angel.” Freedman’s favourite Nilsson work is ‘Mr. Richland’s Favorite Song’, about a musician who plays a lot of concerts, a curious opposite to Nilsson’s own aversion to live performances. Other Nilsson’s songs were prophetic. “There were songs predicting what he would do in his own life, including leaving his first wife, like his own father left him,” explains Freedman. “He had an uncanny knack for predicting his own concerns and future.”

Based on his research, Freedman has been imagining how Nilsson would have appeared live and is looking forward to taking on his character. “I will use the arrangements I imagine Nilsson would have used. There is a BBC concert in which Nilsson plays solo piano and I’ve taken on that style and applied it to his songs.” The show will include monologues with Freedman talking about both the poignant and more humorous sides of Nilsson’s life. “Nilsson was always the last one standing at every party and these might last two or three days. So his friends would get worried when Harry knocked on their window,” he says. “The most poignant part is that he wrecked his voice. It’s sad when someone falls prey to their demons and loses what makes them special.” The show will include songs Nilsson wrote for others, such as the Monkees’ ‘Cuddly Toy’ and Freedman will present a Randy Newman tune or two in memory of the LP ‘Nilsson Sings Newman’. Freedman is working on his falsetto to enable him to reach the notes that so easily came within Nilsson’s reach. Tim Freedman appears solo at The Street Theatre on Saturday 31 May. Tickets $45 + bf presale from thestreet.org.au.

DANCE THE DROP

Remember when you had to get up at 5am, trudge down to the barn and hand squeeze milk from the dangly breasts of a cow just to avoid having black coffee with your breakfast? Me either, but in the past that was the social norm. Now we live in a world where your milk is sucked, packed and trucked to your nearest grocer. There is no need to plant your face in between the legs of a smelly bovine before sunrise any more; the world has evolved so that most of the legwork is being done for you. The same can be said about DJing.

Let’s look at the world of an old school beginner. They own two technics turntables and a two-channel mixer. There are no BPM counters, effects knobs or fancy LED screens. Their mixing is done by ear. This requires an in depth knowledge of each individual record they own, including how long it is, when vocals and breakdowns happen and the speed. They walk to the record store and rifle through crates of new releases to find hot new tunes and when a pile is dropped on the counter they cost up to $20 for each single release. They lug multiple heavy record bags to the club and spend what little time they have between cueing and mixing franticly flipping through their stash to find the right record to keep the dance floor pumping. In the old world, you could not become a DJ just because you wanted to, it required a huge commitment; saving to buy the equipment, time perfecting your skills and the constant cash flow to build up a decent collection of records. Let’s compare this to today. The average beginner learns on his friend’s equipment, so no initial outlay is needed there. Current Gen CD turntables do all the track analysis and beat matching work for you, so it only takes a few days to learn the basic buttons to push. Music is so readily available online that you can download thousands of songs in a couple of weeks, for free. A whole night of music can be safely stored on a 5cm long USB drive that fits in your pocket. The moral of the story is, it takes only basic skills to learn to DJ. It takes time and commitment to become a DJ. You can catch some of the Nu-breed at the PANG! DJ Competition. The first round of judging is being held on Saturday May 24 at Trinity Bar featuring Ness, Jake Irwin, Loudrest, Olle Poland, Neil, Toddelz and Lumic. These events provide you with a great opportunity to befriend local disc jockeys before they become insufferable prima donnas and stop returning your 3am drunk calls. Do you wear way too many fluoro bracelets? Then you have probably already heard about the next installment of Hard NV. This mega event features hardstyle shufflers Toneshifters and SDEE. Saturday May 24 is the date to put in your calendar – mainly because you will probably need to take the Monday off work. Canberra’s most polite club night Thank You Ma’am welcomes visual trickster Sampology to Meche on Saturday May 16. A long list of supports will also be on show including Amadeus vs Mr Susan, Orlando Wolf, Architect DJ’s, Alphabeck, Matt Young, Jared Kong, Hamish Lardi and Claymore. TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

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CAPITAL DOES DUB jade fosberry Canberra is constantly surprising us all with the caliber of artists it attracts, the quality of events on offer every week and the left-of centre music that Canberrans are eager to see. All three of these things are evident in the next CAPITAL DUB STYLE night, happening here in May. Capital Dub Style is a string of events brought about by music lover and event organizer Raf Florez. The events are a bass heavy mix of hip-hop, dub, reggae and dnb. The next installment is planned for May and features duo Sherlok and DJ Rubz.

It’s going to be very different to anything else that’s happened there in a while

We’re generally quite quick to jump on bandwagons and listen to what the radio tells us to and as much as fresh, young talent is great, the older, more experienced musicians are often left under the radar. An example of this is Sherlok and Rubz – veterans in the hip hop scene. They’ve been making music since the 90s and have supported some massive names including D12, Bone Thugz n Harmony, Naughty By Nature and Snoop Dogg, just to name a few. As you can tell by the nature of the acts they’ve supported, the boys are hip-hop heads, but with a twist. Their music is also heavily influenced by reggae and dancehall; a sound pretty big in their hometown of Melbourne, but unfortunately not as prominent in the capital. I had a chat to Suchen De Cruze, the man who manages Sherlok and Rubz. He was able to give me a bit of background on the duo, their music and what we can expect from the night. De Cruze was here last year for another Capital Dub event and is confident this one will be as good, if not better than the last. “That gig was a hit,” he says. “We played some roots reggae and it just worked. But I think this time, with the lineup in place and the formula of music that were going to deliver, it’ll be an amazing event.” De Cruze is clearly confident about the night and cites the entire group’s love of music as the reason it’s going to work. “It’s about the love for music, being honest and humble and delivering something to the audience cause we love to do it,” he says. “The reason I’m so confident about this event and the lineup is because we all share the same passion for it. You can see it through what they’re doing. I just hope that there will be people there to witness what we have to offer.” So what can we expect from the night? “Just to be shaken up in Canberra a little. There’ll be lots of interesting sounds; I don’t want to say too much but it’s going to be very different to anything else that’s happened there in a while, from a music and performance perspective.” You can catch Sherlok and DJ Rubz, supported by DJs Jayo and De Cruze on Friday May 16 at Clubhouse.

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Looks like it’s time for another instalment of Punk and Disorderly. You might be happy to know that I was much more on deadline this week. You probably aren’t though. You’re probably just indifferent. You probably have better things to worry about, like how to cover up for the colder weather while still maintaining your tough punk persona. I can’t really help there because I’ve been opting for the grandpa-sweater approach. I’m a poser. Anyway, onto more important things. I would like to start by giving a big congratulations to all of the organisers, promoters and attendees of Dansonfest which took place last Saturday. For those who may not know, Dansonfest was a massive show with an amazing line-up of bands pulling together to raise funds for an annual music festival in memory of Nick ‘The Ginger Ninja’ Schrieber, who was a massive supporter of the local punk scene and the unfortunate victim of a homicide back in January. Everyone involved in the show deserves a huge pat on the back for packing out The Basement and putting on an amazing show that would have made Nick proud. I would also like to give a quick shout-out to Sweet Shoppe who opened Canberra’s Groovin’ The Moo last Sunday. They played a solid set and I sincerely hope that they were able to fulfil their dreams of chilling with Dizzee Rascal. Now, onto the gigs, which are admittedly a bit scarce in the coming weeks. Maybe just take it as an opportunity to come down from some of the amazing shows that have been taking place in the past couple months and still check these out. On Thursday May 15, you can catch New Zealand band Salad Bowl who will be in Australia for the first time ever on their ‘Daytime Television’ tour. They will be playing, fingers crossed, at a re-opened Phoenix (which I may have over-eagerly predicted the re-opening of last issue. Sorry) with support from Sydney’s Yard Duty and the aforementioned GTM royalty, Sweet Shoppe. Melbourne’s Max Goes To Hollywood are getting ready to tour in promotion of their upcoming EP Real Talk. As part of the tour they will be stopping at the Magpies City Club on Friday May 30. They will be joined by fellow Melbournians Foley, along with local support from an acoustic Revellers and the ever-angsty Jack Livingston. I’ve said it a bunch of times before and I will say it again: keep tuning into Haircuts & T-shirts on 2XX FM every Monday night from 9:30 for a weekly update on all things punk and hardcore, along with consistently solid playlists of the best emerging and established punk and hardcore acts from Canberra, Australia and the world. I wouldn’t keep making you listen if it wasn’t fucking good. And so we’ve reached the end of another column. No joke for you this time because it’s late and I can’t be arsed Googling ‘cheesy punk jokes.’ It’s not plagiarism if it’s funny. IAN McCARTHY

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METALISE Big sludgy good news for the national capital came courtesy of the fine folks at Redline touring. The USA’s Corrosion of Conformity are bringing out fellow US sludge lords Weedeater for a comprehensive national tour with Sydney band Lo!. CoC have a well worn and illustrious history going back to their humble beginnings in the early 80’s and their role in fusing punk and metal on their seminal album Animosity. They have a much more recent release in the form of their new record IX which is due out a few weeks before their visit. The gig is set for the ANU Bar on July 19th and tickets are $60 bucks pre-sale or $70 bucks on the door on the night. For even older fans of the metal, how about a “balls to the wall” tour from Accept grab you? For the first time ever and after 14 albums and almost 40 years together, the Teutonic warriors have announced three shows in Australia for November with the nearest for us being the 14th at the Factory Theatre.Big ‘core tour is just around the corner at Zeirholz UC on the 25th of May with ARIA award winning Northlane heading a massive bill including ARIA nominated Thy Art is Murder who are both fresh from all conquering tours of Europe and the USA. The national supports include Veil of Maya, Volumes, Make Them Suffer and local representation comes from Reigner. That is a big slab for those who like a breakdown.

return of Wollongong power metal champions Lord with Johnny Roadkill, Knights of the Spatchcock and Finding Eve for a mere 15 skins. Art As Catharsis have been an interesting entity in the Sydney music scene for some time and they’re chucking on a festival on the 30th of August with the distinctly un-brutal moniker Nicefest. Featuring Serious Beak, Brian Campeau, Squat Club, We Lost The Sea, Fat Guys Wears Mystic Wolf Shirt, Captain Kickarse and the Awesomes, Jxckxlz, Gvrlls, HANNAHBAND and The CheggyDawe Experience. There will be something for any and everyone and the bill will grow leading up to the even at Hermanns Bar.Intrigued after seeing the full page ad for the September show featuring The Levitation Hex last issue, I got to check out a demo track of local band Witchskull this fortnight featuring members of Armoured Angel and Looking Glass. Suffice to say I am hankering to hear the rest of the 9 song demo and will be at the show with bells on when they play their first show. Keep an eye out for it and make sure you keep checking these pages for when they put the demo up online. JOSH NIXON doomtildeath@hotmail.com

Why not have a bit of a scull of one of Zeriholz’s delicious house brewed beers every time you hear a breakdown on the night and see if you can remember Northlane’s performance the next day? Psycroptic and Aborted’s national tour dance partner will be Queensland technical death fiends The Schoenberg Automaton at their June 16th engagement at the Basement in Belconnen. While on the Basement, This Friday the 9th sees Midnight Alibi, Mind The Gap and Chasing Tatum from 8pm at $10 a head. Sazturday is a great night for an even greater cause with Heavy Engagement – Australian cancer research foundation fund raiser with Imperilment, Tensions Arise, Clinical Fist, Black Mountain and Exist Within at $15 per punter. Monday the 13th Gideon from the USA drop in with Vices and Perspectives. On Wednesday the 15th Sydonia, Red Bee, Helm and Renegade Peacock are on the menu and then on the 17th is the welcome

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E X H I B I T I O N I S T ARTS | ACT

ARTISTPROFILE: Ben Henderson

What do you do? I am a full time professional artist working in acrylic surreal landscapes and sculptures. When, how and why did you get into it? I was brought up in an artistic family so have always been surrounded by the arts. I studied in art and theatre set design and found a passion developing at an early age for expression through the arts. Who or what influences you as an artist? Although having a wide interest in other artists my main influences remain in the organic, natural landscape and the symbiotic connection with the female form. Of what are you proudest so far? My proudest creation would be my two sons and designing and constructing a multi award winning secret garden for them.

What are your plans for the future? To continue to explore and express myself through the arts as a receptor to the hidden worlds and translator to the masses. No seriously, I just want to open and run a café gallery. What makes you laugh? The absurd. What pisses you off? Shallow dwellers. What about the local scene would you change? More accessibility for artists to be able to exhibit their work in public spaces Upcoming exhibitions? Currently have works showing at Scope Mount Stromlo until the end of May and plans are in the works for a major exhibition entitled “Hometown Lostboy” for November and December 2014. A locally themed exhibition of recent paintings and sculptures completed since my relocation back to Canberra. Contact Info: ben.henderson1969@gmail.com/facebook.com/ben. henderson69

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The street theatre

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IN REVIEW

This is a film that throws into sharp relief the status of ‘illegal aliens’ in America, and what they risk – deportation, death, and arrest – to make a new life. The Golden Cage has won awards worldwide, and is debut from director Diego Quemada-Diez. The film follows Guatemalan teenagers Juan, Sara and Samuel as they make the decision to cross into ‘The Golden Cage’; that is, the USA. It’s a 1200 mile-long border crossing – and they attempt the dangerous journey only to escape from the squalid barrio they live in, in their search for a better life. While on the road, the teens meet Chauk – a Tzotzil Indian who barely speaks Spanish – who joins their dysfunctional crew.

Witching and Bitching is something of a supernatural war of the sexes – and if that sounds weird, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Director Alex de la Iglesia’s film is scheduled for the closing night of the Spanish Film Festival. Jose (Hugo Silva) is a charismatic deadbeat dad, who has lost custody of his eight-year-old son to his ex-wife. He orchestrates a plan to escape with his boy – he just needs to rob a bank first. But when things go horribly wrong, Jose and his son – along with sidekick Tony (Mario Casas) and a reluctant hijacked taxi driver – find themselves on the run… And soon they run right into witch country. From there, things go from bad to bizarre.

The humanity of the characters in emphasised through the almostdocumentary style of the film, but the structure isn’t perfect. The pacing plateaus quickly in the first half of the film – and doesn’t pick up again until much later.

Witching and Bitching is one-third heist movie, one-third supernatural horror, and one-third relationship discussion – with a hefty dose of dark comedy for good measure. The film is decidedly oddball and off-the-wall, and you will be laughing from the first scene which sees a man in a Spongebob Squarepants costume machine-gunned down in the street. (Er, it’s more humorous than it sounds.)

The Golden Cage Spanish Film Festival Palace Electric Cinema

The Golden Cage is nothing unexpected, and from the first frame you are made aware of the kind of hopelessness that will pervade the teenagers’ journey. The film is one treacherous episode after another, as the teens try to avoid gun-toting gangs and other setbacks – but in some ways the repetitiveness and sense of inevitability adds to message of the film. The message being: have some compassion for “undocumented” migrants. The Golden Cage will screen at Palace Electric on Sunday May 11 at 6.45pm.

Melissa wellham

Witching and Bitching Spanish Film Festival Palace Electric Cinema

The battle of the sexes played out between the hapless thieves and the hair-raising witches adds another layer, and gives some depth (only a little) to the haunted house hijinks that ensue. This is a ridiculous film, make no mistake. But it’s an absolute pleasure to watch. Witching and Bitching will screen at Palace Electric on Wednesday May 14 at 7.00pm.

melissa wellham

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A R T | C O M E DY | D A N C E | L I T E R AT U R E | T H E AT R E

IN REVIEW

Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 Years of the Dobell Prize Drill Hall Gallery Friday April 11- Sunday May 18 Drawing is a fugitive kind of medium. One of the foundations of art practice, drawing is also sometimes seen as preparatory, transitory and ephemeral. Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 Years of the Dobell Prize for Drawing does what it says on the tin. The exhibition, currently on show at the Drill Hall Gallery showcases 44 works featured in the Dobell Prize throughout its 20-year history. Once Australia’s largest prize for drawing, the Dobell was an annual fixture at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until last year, when its organisers decided to make the shift to a curated biennale-style format in order to tackle current trends and innovations. It will be called the Dobell Australian Drawing Biennale. Famously, the Dobell Prize has never sought to stipulate what constitutes drawing, but to allow artists to define it through their work. Works do not have to adhere to traditional drawing materials and the focus has been more on the evolving process and practice of drawing rather than its limits. As a result, this exhibition of drawings suggests some of the questions and problems brought about by this medium which is inherently about probing and questioning. Surveying the (mostly large) drawings, I was struck first by the blackness of charcoal and the sleek grey burnished graphite burring against paper. There’s something about the contrast of black and white that seems to address the existential and essential. Judy Cassab’s Transparent Landscape, Rainbow Valley suggests the conflict between the seen and experienced, the landscape drawn in spidery charcoal marks, like gossamer threads. Ginny Grayson’s No conclusions drawn – selfportrait asserts the importance of process in the act of seeing and understanding, showing the portrait as it is built up in stages through a series of photographs. It’s not all black-and-white, however and Colin Lanceley’s gorgeous, candy-coloured collage landscape Garden between the mountains and the sea is a particular highlight. Although in a show full of winners it’s hard to pick a winner (this isn’t Masterchef Allstars, after all), the stand-out for me is a triptych by Aida Tomescu from 2003. Her works Negru I, II and V are scratched drawings, in which white streaks like graffiti cling to a velvety black background, the depth of which becomes apparent the longer you look. Tomescu’s works are based on a painting by the New Zealand painter Colin McCahon, titled A Candle Burning in a Dark Room. Like McCahon’s painting, Tomescu’s drawings reduce narrative to a single, symbolic moment, crystallised and halted in the form of one single candle and its iteration in language. All three drawings pull and tear at this single image, plumbing its depths and unravelling them in stark black and white on paper, ultimately relinquishing narrative altogether. Tomescu’s work shows the potential of drawing to explore and traverse narrative and symbol, taking apart and wresting meaning through doing. Contemporary Australian Drawing: 20 Years of the Dobell Prize is a rare treat. As well as compiling a hit list of Australian drawing, it gives an insight into the possibilities of the medium. If you like drawing, you’ll like it even more after seeing this exhibition and if you don’t, well, what’s wrong with you, anyway? Claire Capel-Stanley

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UNINHIBITED Here’s a key question of modern independent music making: if a songs falls in the internet and no-one blogs about it, does it matter? With the business model of selling records via large labels long dead and the means of production long democratised, there is so much music being made and so little being heard. Getting a read on what is worth your time is tough. The role of critic is still key, but the business model of arts media (and newspapers generally) has also crumbled. It’s tough for artists and tough for the audience. Does the cream always rise? I’m not sure. Of all the accolades showered upon the magnificent TV Colours last year, one the most noteworthy was Pitchfork’s review of the single ‘Beverly’. To be reviewed, to be chosen by the godheads atop Pitchfork mountain was itself news. The site wields way too much power, more so than equivalent magazines in the grand old days of publishing purely because it has no real at-scale competitors. A few years ago the singer and writer Willy Vautin, leader of the country rock act Richmond Fontaine, told his Pitchfork story. Fontaine’s third record received a favourable rating and this was enough to completely upend his life. Before then he’d never owned a passport. After that review he’s receiving gig offers from overseas. His band is a success, after one good (not great) review on a website.

There’s a Faustian element to this modern success. The amount of material available and the churn by which it is discussed and disseminated means that an artist who does break through and capture the imagination is doing so for a shorter amount of timehence the likelihood to favour material that seems very much of the moment (or of the next moment). And so, your big internet break? It’s probably fleeting. What does this all mean for people who make things? The always excellent writer Ian Rogers says that we should think of ourselves a national of musical hobbyists. We don’t have the population or the spread of tourable areas for musicians to make a living playing shows and the model of selling objects is well and truly broken. I think we can extend this to the arts more generally. Chasing internet PR in an environment where no one is getting paid and everyone’s a hobbyist is thanklessness indeed. Unless the motivation to create outweighs that of being heard. What might be a wiser path is that of most resistance – the long haul. There’s a band I saw recently called The Zebras who formed in 2001, got nice reviews for their debut in 2006 and are planning to release another LP this year. They’re amazing. Properly brilliant pop tunes, great vibe. And not at all famous. Or buzzy. They’re one of a 1,000 bands, maybe, who toil in the shadows. Their moment in the sun might never come. But they’ve made great records and play amazing shows. That’s enough, right? Right? GLEN MARTIN glenpetermartin@gmail.com

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A R T | C O M E DY | D A N C E | L I T E R AT U R E | T H E AT R E

Recently, somehow I ended up the ground announcer for the first game of the CBR Brave Ice Hockey. I like sports and know a bit about all of them, except Ice Hockey. All I knew was what I had seen in the 1980’s movie Youngblood. It’s the story of an awesome Ice Hockey player who is good looking but can’t fight and his teammates shave his nuts. He then shags the coach’s daughter, learns to fight and beats up the bully and wins the penalty shoot-out. He then shags the coach’s daughter some more. I thought, well maybe some of this is applicable as I had my nuts shaved before an operation (a story for another time). I was ready to share stories of itchiness that can’t be quelled. I did ten minutes of research; the CBR Brave Goalie was a guy from Finland named Petri Pitkänen. I planned to start a chant “Petri Pitkänen picked a puckload of pickled pucks.” My job was to announce during the game, penalties, scores, firing up the crowd and “being funny”. They told me that someone would feed me the info on what the hell is happening. I wrote some pithy funny facts that I would drop into quiet bits: Ice Rinks were invented by Canadians looking to go inside and get warm, but not too warm. The word ‘puck’ is derived from the sound a person makes the first time they get hit by a puck. The players fire up for the faceoff by imagining they are fighting over the last Tim-Tam with a single chop stick.

ccas

Along with the sponsors of the Hockey tonight, the Canberra Dentists Association would like to express their gratitude that Ice Hockey in Canberra is alive. They have kids to send to private schools. I renamed the penalty box the “Refrigerated Periodic Detention Centre”. I took my seat with the officials and tried my facts on the official dude who would feed me info. He said they were funny but don’t say them out loud. Stick to details, his details. He had not got the memo that I was funny and was told to be funny. The festivities started and they had the National Anthem – strangely they played the Australian one. It seemed to me that the majority of both teams were from Canada or near where Santa Claus is from. The game started, I waited for the first big pause. I asked the music chick to mute the loud unnecessary music that you hear at sporting events and tried my first pithy fact. “Ice Rinks were invented….” Silence…. Then a heckler in the corner yelled, “PUT THE SHIT MUSIC BACK ON.” The official dude had a shit-eating I-told-you-so grin. I decided to make the rest of the game an exercise of survival in not offending the toothless (I have no evidence of this) hecklers and therefore getting out alive, or at least with my balls. david graham - David Graham is a local Comedian who appears regularly at Comedy ACT nights at the Civic Pub, The Front and Smiths Alternative. comedyact.com.au. Twitter @ DavidGraham73/ cbrbrave.com.au

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it is understandably scarce. The truth is that it is not time that is scarce, it is intellect. So rare is the proper application of the mother tongue, I have sent forth unicorns in its pursuit.

During my limited and narratively-suspect time in your city, I have heard Canberra described by various people in various ways: ‘the bush capital’, ‘heart of the nation’, ‘unnecessary’. Some of these descriptions I subscribe to, others I do not. However, a more recent addition I simply cannot get on-board with is ‘CBR’. The prevalence of acronyms in your society is a phenomenon as welcome as a Frenchman in anywhere other than France. They abound, particularly in a city where your Federal Government chiefly plies its nefarious trade. That you should find yourselves denied the time to fully apply the English language in all its unnecessarily verbose glory may give the impression that your productivity is sky high, that there is such a prevalence of noteworthy achievement, the time to communicate

This new phenomenon, as with so many others, appears a particular affliction of the young. They are too busy ‘LOL’ to consult a dictionary, too busy clamouring ‘OMG’ to plead the Lord’s forgiveness for squandering his compassionate gifts, so busy projecting ‘IMHO’ to their ‘BFF’ that they fail to realise they lack the most basic level of education required to acquire either opinions or friends. Foolishly, my first encounter with these indolent expressions initially gave rise to genuine intrigue. Were they a heightened form of interaction? The near instantaneous transfer of complex and enlightened theorems in one clean communiqué? No. Depressingly, this proliferation of contemptible acronyms could be traced to the precise location where the promise of a better future goes to die. They were a refuge of lethargic idiots. A sanctuary for morons to unnecessarily expound insignificant, often fictitious emotions about which no-one cares. Were you really ‘rolling on the floor laughing’? Were you? Or did you just chuckle? You arse. Having been initially attracted, I was now dismayed. The usual tonics of massive barbiturate intake and whatever it is that follows proved not so much as vaguely attractive. I was alone among the bustling throngs of the Belconnen shopping precinct. My faith in youth was temporarily restored as a sensitive young man enquired as to my mental state, attuned as he was to my obvious distress. I relayed my misgivings and the psychological tempest they had stirred. He appeared a considered sort, not one to rush to judgement or spout forth some trite platitude – attributes I deduced from his silent contemplation of my predicament and the slight furrow of concern upon his brow. Had I found a beacon of youthful inspiration? Would his charmed words sustain me in darker times ahead? No. Having waited in anticipation, I was met with the absurd and not even applicable ‘YOLO’ – a ridiculous sentiment whose literal implication I brought home to its champion with furious realism, now lying as he does in a shallow grave just off Ginninderra Drive. gideon foxington-smythe

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A R T | C O M E DY | D A N C E | L I T E R AT U R E | T H E AT R E

ALL THE DUMB THINGS ian mccarthy The youth of Australia might know him better as the ‘Loosest Aussie Bloke’ or ‘Bogan Shakespeare.’ Whatever label you hold to him, Alex “Shooter” Williamson is arguably Australia’s most recognisable YouTube comedian. Aside from his internet endeavours, Williamson is also a musician, actor and stand-up comedian which, in my mind, officially makes him Australia’s white, bogan Donald Glover. Williamson took some time out of his productive and presumably pinga-filled life to talk about his beginnings in comedy, his experience starring in a Canberra-based zombie flick and his national tour, which will soon be hitting the capital. Williamson’s comedy career began the same as countless other successful Aussies; he was a contestant in the 2007 RAW Comedy Competition. Speaking of the experience, Williamson says, “That was a really comfortable sort of training ground…they advertised it as a welcoming space where people could just begin to try it out. I was pretty rough back then as well…” Since those early days, Williamson has clearly come a long way, now with millions

of YouTube views and countless shows around the country under his belt. “I suppose it’s just learning the craft, you know,” he says of his transition into a comedy career. “Cutting your teeth and doing a lot of touring...Once I got rolling, I was doing it every night for a long time and I really got to sharpen it.” Williamson also likes to keep himself busy. Besides working on his stand-up, he has cast his hand in countless other creative projects, including scoring a starring role in upcoming Canberra-based zombie film, Me and My Mates Vs. the Zombie Apocalypse. “Yeah, that was fun,” says Williamson. “That was a month of shooting…with Greg Fleet and Jim Jefferies, both very funny men.” Explaining the unique plot of the film itself, Willaimson says, “It’s an interesting look at [zombies]. It’s Aussie tradies stuck in a telecommunications building trying to fight off zombies with various bludgeoning weapons.” Turning his focus back to his stand-up, Williamson is keen to test his success through international travel. “I’m going to Edinburgh, New Zealand…and London,” he confirms, also speaking of a slightly more obscure travel ambition. “I’d like to see Antarctica. I don’t know how many tickets I could sell there, but that would just be fascinating…I might just go live in a cave for a year.” For those who are only familiar with Williamson’s YouTube comedy, he is confident that his stand-up will offer something different. “It’s very honest. I’m an honest person and I pride myself on that.” This is in contrast to his videos where he says, “You don’t really get a glimpse of who I am…It’s all just made up bullshit.” No matter the location or medium, one thing is for sure, Williamson’s comedy is not for the easily offended. “It’s quite crude,” he admits. “I’ve made the word ‘c*nt’ just like the word ‘the’ in my stand-up but I’ve still got some pretty profound things to say…” Alex Williamson brings his stand-up show Dumb Things I’ve Done to Zierholz @ UC, Saturday May 10. Tickets $34.70 available from uclive.oztix.com.au. 8.30pm start, 18+.

cada

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bit PARTS RINSE AND REPEAT WHAT: Exhibition WHEN: Thu–Sun May 1–11 WHERE: Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Manuka In new exhibition Rinse and Repeat, sculpture artists Dierdre Pearce and Isobel Rayson have joined forces to create a visual timeline of their art practices. The exhibition aims to explore mark marking as a means to record their presence in the world. This is highlighted by the series of tool on display alongside corresponding photographs and drawings. The inclusion of the tools, rather than just the finished project, documents the relationship between the makers, tools and surfaces, tapping into ideas of physical presence, ownership and influence. The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, from 11am to 5pm. Free admission. CREATIVE CULTURES ART TASTER WORKSHOPS WHAT: Art workshops WHEN: Wed May 7, Wed Jun 4, Wed Jul 8 WHERE: Belconnen Community Centre If you’re artistically curious and up for dabbling in new mediums, Belconnen Community Centre’s Art Taster workshop series may just be the ticket. Each workshop runs on a Wednesday evening from 6.30 – 8.30pm and focuses on a different art form – no previous experience required. Learn intricate Henna drawing on May 7 or Mandala Creation – which incoprates meditation with drawing and watercolour on June 4. The final workshop, the Italian art of highly textual Impasto Painting, will be held on July 8. $55 per session, with early bird discounts available. For more information, give Katie a bell on (02) 6264 0232 or email bcc@bcsact.com.au. LAWNSCAPES – PORTRAITS OF CANBERRAN HOUSES WHAT: Art exhibition WHEN: Thu–Mon May 8–26 WHERE: The Front Gallery & Café After a 16 year hiatus, local artist Thea Katauskas is back with a new exhibition, Lawnscapes – Portraits of Canberran Houses. The exhibition features a collection of 30 oil paintings that capture the architecture, history and charm of the suburbs in the inner-North and tap into nostalgia for unfenced yards and non-manicured lawns. “By drawing attention to what are familiar and perhaps taken-for-granted structures in this fast-changing city, I’m trying to get at something that gives so many locals their sense of belonging,” says Katauskas. Exhibition runs until Monday May 26 at The Front Gallery & Café. STRAIGHT FACE WHAT: Exhibition WHEN: Fri–Thu May 9–15 WHERE: Nishi Gallery, New Acton You’ve probably seen Canberra artist Luke Chiswell’s line-drawn, beardy faces plastered around walls around town – now’s your chance to view his work in the stylish confines of the Nishi Gallery. “Straight Face is an endeavour against time, an effort to transcend the uncertainty that comes with it,” says Chiswell. His first exhibition of the year, Straight Face is caught between the moment of longing for the future and dreaming of the past, treading between childhood and adulthood. This is captured in the juxtaposition of controlled lines with crude, handmade frames. Opening night Friday May 9, 6pm to 9pm.

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baz ruddick Success was swift for DZ Deathrays. Within a year of releasing their first album the boys were receiving ARIAs, getting accolades from international music giants NME and Pitchfork and being asked to turn it down at SXSW. Overnight the band became the band you were meant to like and I was sceptical, as your typical anti-conformist (yet paradoxically conformist) asshole normally is when everyone else likes something. But one play of their debut album quashed those feelings. DZ Deathrays aren’t a band you listen to they are a band you plug into. You feel them through your body and you ride the peaks and the troughs of their hooken driven songs, precision percussion and screaming vocals like you would ride an amphetamine jacked-up circus mule. A self-proclaimed ‘house party band’, the boys have taken their aggressive desire to tear shit up around the neighbourhood and buzzed a bowel-shaking shit storm the world over. With the release of their sophomore album Black Rat, DZ Deathrays have taken their gritty fuzz laden sound and refined it, reworking it into a polished turd of a master piece. I spoke to one half of DZ Deathrays, drummer Simon Ridley, about recording Black Rat, pre-production with Burke Reid, the suckiness of backing tracks suck and their humble beginnings.

“We had never done pre-production before and going back and listening to the songs how they were before is crazy,” says Ridley. “They sound terrible! They were completely transformed over that period and it turned them from being ordinary songs into being hookier and better thought out.” However, creating a larger sound adds another level of pressure to a two piece outfit. “On the last album we kind of concentrated on keeping it so Shane [Parsons] and I could do it all live, but on this one we just thought, well, we have extra guitar lines loop to them over the top. We layered lots of guitar lines and we recorded all the drums separately to the cymbals and switched between drum tracks too. So now we are sort of in the works of getting someone in to come and play those guitar lines for us live. We thought about backing tracks but it sucks man! It turns you into a karaoke band. You kind of expect backing tracks from electronic bands but I think bands like us backing tracks are a bit of a joke. ”

We thought about backing tracks but it sucks man!

Ridley sounds like a normal guy on the phone. He doesn’t have the pretence of a rock star and I doubt he has the ego. His modesty holds him back from elaborating too much on their recent success as a band. I get a simple obligatory, “We never anticipated anything close to this” but that’s about it. He genuinely wants to talk music and so do I. Starting life as a house party band, DZ Deathrays first album was road tested before it was recorded. “With Bloodstream we had years and all the songs were pretty much road tested and ready to go on the record,” says Ridley. “But with this one we kind of wrote it in like three or four sessions in three months.” Writing and recording in such a short period of time forced the boys into workaholic mode – working eight hours a day over a short time with regimented studio hours. “When we went into the studio we only had ten days of pre-production with Burke [Reid]. We left most of the songs 80% finished to give Burke something to play with,” Ridley says. “That was fine because we hadn’t really played many of them live so were pretty well completely open to suggestion.” This process of pre-production shifted the boy’s focus to layering, creating a bigger sound. “We focused on adding parts wherever we could, really. Adding parts to make it sound bigger than two people and bring out that dynamic that you get in a three or four piece band.”

The writing and recording process took the boys from the desolate wastelands of Yass, to the dingey interiors of a nightclub to the suburban fringe studio outside Brisbane. “We had heard of this house out in Yass where people like Gareth Liddiard from The Drones and a lot of bands had recorded or retreated. We wanted a place we had never been before that was pretty much isolated with nothing to do so we could board ourselves up. In two weeks we pretty much got half the album written out there.” From there, the boys occupied a nightclub during the day in Brisbane. “You would go there at like ten and eleven in the morning and it was all sunny and beautiful outside. Then you would go inside there and it was gloomy and dark and you wouldn’t know what time it was. It was like being in a casino and it smelt like red bull hangovers!” Taking the creative process behind Black Rat from place to place helped the boys shift headspace and create an album that flows from start to finish – an album that is in a way representative of an entire night. “We kind of wanted the album to be something you could put on at a house party. So it would be like fast thrasher stuff for people at the start of the night when everyone is energetic and getting pumped up,” explains Ridley. “And then flows on to some dancier stuff for like midnight when it’s all in full swing and then shifts into some slow burners for the three or four a.m hazy drunken twilight. So I think recording it in that nightclub really helped for that vibe! The attitude of the songs was a big part in how we recorded them.” Dz Deathrays are going to fry your ears at Transit Bar on Thursday May 29. Tickets $16+ bf; album and ticket bundles available from $34.50 +bf from moshtix.com.au. 8pm, 18+.

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the word

‘

on albums

If there are any criticisms to be levelled - and after all, it’s my job - the beginning of the second half of the album wanders into the wilderness a tad. Whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with tracks seven and eight - ‘Robes’ and ‘UVB-76’ respectively - they lack the punch or hooks of what comes before and after (but to be fair ‘UVB-76’ is a mere half minute segue).

album of the issue RAT & CO BINARY [INDEPENDENT] Whereas Rat & Co’s excellent debut album One Uno Ein had shades of their self-professed main influence Boards of Canada (most notably in closer Dark Jam), this sophomore long-player is positively slathered in BoC, from the elongated guitar notes in opener Samurai to the shuffling breaks of cinematic closer Fault. And this, my fellow lovers of quality downtempo electronica, is a very, very good thing indeed. Whilst the Boards of Canada sound permeates the whole album, it shines in particular areas. Track three ‘Studio Jam’ is the first instance, with a lonely wandering synth line joined by a vintage BoC beat and an Educational-Board-style vocal sample. The breaks on the celestial ‘The Farm ‘and the imposing THX - two of the album’s stronger tracks among a sea of pearlers - sound as if the fourpiece have broken into Boards HQ and syphoned straight from their synth and sample collection. While there are moments of slowbuilding patience - ‘Free Town’ adds gentle layer after layer atop a hypnotic shuffling beat until an urgent wall of sound emerges - at just shy of 39 minutes none of the 12 tracks outstay their welcome. In fact, most are so neatly composed you’ll find yourself reaching for the replay button as soon as the final note rings out.

But this is quibbling for quibbling’s sake, and to constantly compare Rat & Co to BoC is to do them a disservice. They are their own entity. The four-piece nature means live guitars, bass and drums flesh out the album’s electronic sample-laden sound and add a warmth and depth to what can otherwise be a robotic aesthetic. And whereas BoC’s recent ‘Tomorrow’s Harvest’ was a largely cold and often eerie affair, Binary is awash with head-nodding grooves and bright guitar lines for an eminently more uplifting experience. An excellent example of this is ‘THX’. The track takes its moniker from the audio/visual company of the same name, riding its signature imposing sample to begin with before eventually adding live guitar to round out the track. It’s exciting, mesmeric stuff. So too with ‘Calculated Movements II’, with the live bass lending a pleasing funk. And so it is throughout Binary, finishing with the perfect final track. Whereas the first album’s closer ‘Dark Jam’ perhaps signalled the second album’s intentions of wearing BoC on its sleeve, Binary’s beautiful final track’Fault’ could signal the beginning of the band breaking out. The track is strangely melancholic and uplifting in equal measure making for an introspective piece that is Rat & Co at their finest. Here, as in the rest of Binary, they intricately meld the hypnotic sonics of good downtempo electronica with the energy and intensity of live instrumentation and voice. It is a deft trick to pull off. Rat & Co have created mind music; an album to put on and let the thoughts and feelings flow. I’ve already heard this album a hundred times and by the time the month is out I’ll likely have heard it a hundred more. At time of writing it is May and so far Binary is a clear favourite for my album of the year. The remaining months will have to work pretty gosh darn hard to top it.

various Punk 45: Vol 2 Underground Punk and Post-Punk in the UK 1977-81 [soul jazz] The subtitle says it all: ‘Get a job, get a car, get a bed, get drunk’. These are hallmarks of a consumer culture punk rockers sought to blow apart in the late 1970s. The words comprise a lyric fragment from The Mekons’ 1978 debut single ‘32 weeks’, with a one minute 38 second running time. Over a frantic beat, a succinctly described reliance on habit and routine is laid out, somewhat necessary to this superb collection of raw punk singles and multihued post-punk recorded in the years before foppish synth-pop took over. Goes to show The Sex Pistols did a lot more than swear on TV and sign expensive record deals. They paved the way for bands to take matters in their own hands by recording and releasing music uncompromised by mainstream put-ons. This collection features 24 such bands and focuses on the UK scene as a defining moment in popular culture. True to form, Soul Jazz has put together an enticing package with detailed liner notes, cover art and red hot music that brings a sweaty mosh and sonic mayhem into your living room. Post punk stirrings of the grey, angular kind can be found on Josef K’s 1980 single ‘Radio Drill Time’. Aside from some weird electro excursions, tightly wound three chord happiness rules supreme with the fakes and poseurs given the boot by the Television Personalities on ‘Part-Time Punks’. DAN BIGNA

ALLAN SKO

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Hurray for the Riff Raff Small Time Heroes [pias]

Teeth & Tongue Grids [Dot Dash / Remote Control]

My Sad Captains Best of Times [Bella Union]

Small Town Heroes wastes no time in establishing what the album is all about with the banjos, claps and plucks of strident opening track, ‘Blue Ridge Mountain’. I felt like an unlikely candidate to review Hurray For The Riff Raff’s latest LP, considering my extensive knowledge of the banjo comes from my year nine overdose of Mumford & Sons. I was momentarily thrown out of my depth but with its welcoming vibes, but STH soon felt warmly familiar.

New Zealand born and now Melbournebased musician Jess Cornelius describes Teeth & Tongue as her ‘not quite solo project’. While she remains the driving force in the studio, live shows see her enlisting Marc Mckelvic and Damien Sullivan to form a surprisingly powerful three piece. Three years on from 2011’s critically acclaimed Tambourine, third album Grids takes its title from the working method employed by Cornelius, in this case basing each track around the rigid rhythmic grid of a drum machine. The above factor certainly lends a stark and synthetic undercurrent to a fair chunk of the twelve tracks collected here.

While it started out as his solo project, vocalist Ed Wallis realised that his music would sound a lot better with some oomph behind him, so he formed a band. Best of Times is the UK group’s third album. The boys must have cracked a sad since the release of earlier material such as ‘Great Expectations’ and Fight Less, Win More, as that perky sound has been abandoned, to be swamped by a tide of sombre, downbeat music.

The dense start to the album comes across as sluggish. By playing with dynamics, the energy blossoms as it shifts further in; the honky tonk shivers and strutting bass on ‘No One Else’ hold a delicious groove. The softer moments on the album are the strongest and most captivating, delivered with tranquil honesty from lead singer, Alynda Lee Segarra. Such quieter moments are the delicate simplicity of ‘Small Town Heroes’ and the devastatingly overt heartbreak on ‘Levon’s Dream’. With tales of following muddy rivers, chasing dreams on the road and murder ballads, STH unashamedly harks back to bygone eras. There is a reinvention of the traveler’s tale by focusing on tour vans instead of freight trains, such as in ‘Crash On The Highway’. Along with the key blues and folk influences – rolling through with harmonica, Segarra’s husky accents and the twanging guitar melodies – this forms a hearty Americana soul for Small Town Heroes. This could quite easily be its downfall, but obvious experience – it is their sixth album – and an ethos that feels genuine works it to their benefit. Hurray For The Riff Raff are not paying homage to this era; they are reliving it for themselves and the listener. ANGELA CHRISTIAN-WILKES

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Opening track ‘Good Man’ sees harsh punching snares and cold synth swirls providing an icy and spacious counterbalance to Cornelius’ playfully sing-song chorus harmonies that also injects a slightly bitter undertone. ‘More Than This’ kicks the pace up a few notches with an insistently jangling guitar riff and motorik rock drums. While it’s easily one of the most catchy pop offerings here, there’s a sense of angsty tension packed into the wiry minor-key guitars and Cornelius’ wistful sounding vocals. Elsewhere, ‘I Feel Good’ strips the obvious electronics back in favour of rolling elegant pianos and Cornelius’ powerful multi-tracked vocals as an operatic crescendo sees her acrobatic tones ascending to near Zola Jesus levels at points. ‘Easy Living ‘offers up a propulsive slice of post-punk tinged indie pop that’s smeared with more than a hint of New Order as fluid; high-tuned bass runs echo against lean tribal drumming, jagged guitar strokes and Cornelius’ slightly phased chorus hooks. A fairly triumphant third act from Teeth & Tongue. CHRIS DOWNTON

The emphasis here is more on finessing ambient effects than creating bouncy melodies. In the elegant ‘Goodbye’, layered synths form a platform, pierced at intervals by lazy guitar notes. Wallis sings in hushed tones, like he’s imparting national secrets. ‘Wide Open’ matches trickling keys with shy guitars, in a contemplative song about why we don’t really need to talk all the time, as our existence does not depend upon it. The LP’s appeal drops off sharply after this opening pair. There’s an overly long lead into ‘All Times Into One’, with the vocals starting at a time when most regular songs are winding up. The long and tedious ‘In Time’ draws out the key sounds like pulling finger nails. ‘Extra Curricular’ makes a radical break from the dominance of keys, with the sudden appearance of some horns; surprising but not exciting. In ‘Familiar Ghosts’ Wallis’ mumbled lyrics are overshadowed by the drumming. There’s a late break of sunshine in the lively percussion and spaced out sounds of ‘Hardly There’ and the galaxy swallowing atmospherics of the playful instrumental ‘Keeping On, Keeping On’. However, it’s much too late to prevent the overall impression that you will struggle to keep awake the whole album through. RORY McCARTNEY

Lune Music & Sports [Refune]

hello satellites 84000 [Two Bright Lakes]

Courtney Barnett A Sea of Split Peas [Milk! Records]

Lune is the musical alias of Swedish singer/ songwriter Linnea Martinsson, an artist with a background in performance and dance who’s also previously guested on tracks by Alexis Weak and Swedish House Mafia. So it’s no real surprise that her debut album Music & Sports arrives on ex-SHM member Sebastian Ingrosso’s Refune label. Rather than offering up slabs of main room house though, the twelve tracks here see Lune joining forces with producers Adrian Lux and Carl-Michael Herlofsson to craft a collection that’s geared towards sweeping yet stark downbeat synth-pop. With an emphasis upon contrasting Lune’s angelic Euro-accented vocals with glittering layers of towering synths and stripped back, harsh electronic percussion, tracks like the playful ‘Tonight’ and the androgynous vocal manipulation of ‘That Day’ call to mind the likes of The Knife more than anything else. Unfortunately, there’s none of the aforementioned duo’s edginess here; while the otherwise epic ‘Boys n’ Roses’ sees majestic cinematic orchestration colliding with Lune’s soaring vocals and a pneumatic undercarriage of midtempo techno rhythms, there’s a curious sense of emptiness lurking beneath all the production grandeur. While there’s a slight indie-rock undercurrent to tracks like ‘Call Me A Taxi’ with the injection of guitar elements, overall the emphasis here is upon sheeny post-club pop that often feels curiously bloodless. Perhaps it’s the occasionally Eurovision-esque lost in translation awkwardness of some of Lune’s lyrics, or her self-consciously cutesy persona, but beneath the gloss there’s little here in the way of memorable moments that really stand out. All up, Music & Sports offers an impressively constructed collection of synth-pop that suffers from a lack of edge.

Before I had the opportunity to review Hello Satellites’ new album, it was captured by my father who then listened to it approximately six times. His opinion on 84,000? “I like it.” He’s never one to waste words. So, this is where I come in to explain as to why it is worth liking.

Want to release an LP but find that you are a few tracks short? No problem, just jam two EPs together and add Araldite. Courtney Barnett did just this, turning her I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris and How to Carve a Carrot Into a Rose EPs into the album length release A Sea of Split Peas. This record is a tale of two voices, as Barnett switches between her storytelling monotone, unmelodious but entertaining and a softer, more conventional tone.

CHRIS DOWNTON

84,000 is the second album released by folksters Hello Satellites’, with core member Eva Popov joined by Peter Emptage, Cathryn Kohn, Georgia Harvey, Amy Tankard and George Weis. With it, they have woven a tapestry of intertwining melodies and elevating harmonies, resulting in a captivating collection of songs. Throughout 84000 intelligent instrumentation has been layered with creativity and complexity, making every moment feel deliberate. Vocal harmonies join forces with production to form a new instrumental effect. The poppy cascades on uplifting ‘Hollering Saints’ and the angelic strokes of ‘Hum In My Veins’ are examples of this, a contrasting use of noise for appealing depth. All of this is bound together by Popov’s crystal overarching vocals, her lyrics a mix of narration and emotion. This emotion – often joyful, sometimes breathless, always raw – forms a core magnetism for 84000. The shimmering ‘Joy Inside Our Skin’ is reliant on sentimentality but is executed with a delicacy that veers it away from any sign of cliché, whilst the dark minimalism of ‘In Love’ is haunting. The album closes with the heart-breaking honesty of ‘All Fiction’, piano undertones treading softly as vocals linger in the singular. 84000 is full of life and glorious intricacies, never outstaying its welcome but leaving lasting effect. ANGELA CHRISTIAN-WILKES

There’s a backyard vibe to both the lyrics and the recording (half of which was achieved in ‘Furthy’s lounge room’). ‘Out of the Woodwork’ sets the format with its rambling, conversational style. Bartnett employs a simple but engaging rhythm to put her story across. Lyrics are uncomplicated yet riveting, due to her homespun approach which weaves a credibility of its own. CD highlights include ‘Avant Gardener’, drawn from a true life experience of an anxiety attack in a garden. The drama unfolds, expressed in Barnett’s flat, downbeat style. Like its title, the lyrics carry their own brand of dry humour, not all of which translates easily to those overseas. Barnett explained, at a recent Canberra gig, that all foreign journalists want to know what Weetbix is. The song is followed by another standout, ‘History Eraser’. Taking a more upbeat approach, it throws up scattered images, like momentary flashes on a projectionist’s screen. Barnett’s voice changes from flat to conventional, in a song with a country kick in the guitar. Her liking for long guitar passages, most prominent in ‘Canned Tomatoes (Whole)’, is sprinkled through the track list. It’s a refreshing, funny departure from the more common songstress formats of either sweet folk or glossy pop. RORY McCARTNEY

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singles in focus by cody atkinson Jason Derulo ‘Wiggle’ Actual lyrics:

Jimi Goodwin Odludek [Heavenly / PIAS]

Afghan Whigs Do to the Beast [Sub Pop]

While his main band Doves have been on hiatus since the release of their Kingdom Of Rust album, as this solo debut Odludek (Polish for loner or pilgrim) shows, Jimi Goodwin’s hardly been sitting idle for the last four years. From the outset, it’s also obvious that the ten tracks here highlight completely different parts of his personality compared to his role as Doves frontman. There’s a sense of him finally getting a chance to indulge some of the experiments that wouldn’t have worked within the confines of that band.

Afghan Whigs founder Greg Dulli is not the type to pull punches. On the band’s definitive album Gentlemen from 1993 he paints a harrowing picture of relationships gone wrong and unsettles listeners with painfully intimate depictions of lust, emotional breakdown, sadomasochism and other unpleasantness. This album brought innermost feelings to the light with the expectation that both the listener and Dulli might feel purged after the album stopped spinning.

While downbeat and introspective in parts, it’s also a considerably more abrasive listen than you’d expect, with crashing live drum breaks making an appearance on a fair chunk of the tracklisting. ‘Terracotta Warrior’ opens proceedings with a blare of distorted synth horns, before locking into a krautrock-indebted groove that sees flamboyant horn swells and Goodwin’s delay-drenched vocals echoing out against a backbone of mechanistically precise drums and wandering funk-tinged bass runs. Meanwhile ‘Live Like A River’ sees Goodwin flashing back to his club days in Sub Sub as a stabbed out hi-NRG synth riff provides propulsive undercarriage to howling garagerock guitars and an almost big-beat drum groove, in an incongruous coupling that actually works out rather well. It’s also good to see the much talked about collaboration with Elbow’s Guy Garvey finally bear fruit on three tracks here. ‘Man Vs Dingo’ offers up a trip to hell’s jazz cabaret via Wigan Casino that sees the two vocalists getting a chance to indulge their more eccentric tendencies, in what’s easily the funniest moment here. Despite the odd dud moment, Odludek is a strong solo debut. CHRIS DOWNTON

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Given that sensitive singer-songwriters exorcising their pain were all the rage in the early 1990s, The Afghan Whigs fit right in and released a number of early albums on indie label Sub Pop but the musical influences extended well beyond the usual suspects. Dulli is a fan of soul and R&B and he sometimes breaks out into an enticing croon albeit with a hint of menace. This is what we find on the Whigs’ return to Sub Pop for their first album in 16 years. The listener is taken back to earlier times on opening track ‘Parked Outside’ with the guitars cranked and the vocals as edgy as ever. But for the most part the Whigs continue to weave in R&B with smatterings of funk as on ‘Matamoros’. Emotions are still raw and Dulli often sounds like he might explode at any moment, but the music is richly produced and when the vocals hit the upper registers, kinda like Prince, this is something like the eye of the storm. dan bigna

“Hot damn it/Your booty like two planets/Go ‘head and go ham sandwich/Whoa/I can’t stand it/Cause you know what to do with that big fat butt Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.” LOLWUT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Lowtide ‘Blue Movie’ The reverb is laid on real thick here, with guitars shimmering some point in the distance. Yes, this is shoegaze but don’t judge it just on that. Judge the nice guitar licks, the way the vocals fight their way back from the sonic abyss, the languid pace.

Baths ‘Ocean Death’ A glitchy heartbeat, deep bass and disembodied howl dominate the first half of ‘Ocean Death’. Then the ocean hits and in its wake an offbeat dance song emerges. The song says what it does on the packet – it sounds like ocean death.

Bad//Dreems ‘Dumb Idea’ This is where pub rock is in 2014. That’s not a positive or a negative statement. Simple riff, but it works. Simple bassline, but it works even more. There’s not a lots of new ideas here, but sometimes working on the simple old ones brings more joy and makes for better music.

the word

on films

WITH MELISSA WELLHAM

Watching Transcendence this week, I was made to think again about how truly exceptional Spike Jonze’s Her was for a film about artificial intelligence. It can be a hard subject matter to humanise (pardon the pun). Where Transcendence tries to deal with a million and one questions that surround the rapid development of technology (and failed to answer any), Her concentrated on one very human story (and didn’t even need to provide an answer). Often in sci-fi, simpler, smaller films work better.

quote of the issue “Once online, a sentient machine’s analytic power will become greater than the collective intelligence of every person born in the history of the world.” Dr Will Caster (Johnny Depp), Transcendence

The Other Woman

Only Lovers Left Alive

Eugh. Euuggggh. Euuuggggghhhh. A film clearly hoping to capitalise on the success of all-female not-strictly-rom-coms like Bridesmaids, The Other Woman is so far from that female-friendly spirit (and general quality), as to be almost offensive. When Carly (Cameron Diaz) discovers her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, a.k.a Incest Knight on Game of Thrones) is married, she doesn’t want to spend too much time thinking about it. But when his wife Kate (Leslie Mann) and his other secret girlfriend Amber (Kate Upton) decide they want to befriend her – and also get revenge on Mark – moving on becomes a lot more difficult.

Somehow, we broke vampires in cinema. Twilight has a lot to answer for, but I’m not here to point fingers. I’m here to report that writer/director Jim Jarmusch has returned bloodsuckers to their former glory. Adam (Tom Hiddleston) has lived for centuries but is suffering depression because he can’t tolerate what humans have done to the planet. Adam reunites with his lover Eve (Tilda Swinton) to recapture the zest for life, but their plans are disrupted by Eve’s unruly sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska).

An idea like this has a lot of potential, which unfortunately The Other Woman squanders. The female characters are disappointingly one-note, the script overly reliant on slapstick and fart humour and it contradicts its own supposed themes of female empowerment more than once. The depiction of the back bone of the film – the female friendship – is unbearably unrealistic. Friendships are formed, predictably, during a montage where the audience doesn’t get to hear the women having a conversation, while they play dress-ups. All three female leads – even Kate Upton, who almost makes fun of herself within the film for being nothing more than ‘a body’ – deserve better. It was entertaining enough for me to not walk out of the cinema – and that’s the best I’ll say. MELISSA WELLHAM

Only Lovers Left Alive is a gothic ode to decaying culture and the joy of being alive from the perspective of the living dead. What do vampires live for? Jarmusch presents music, literature, science and engineering as the creations that inspire Adam and Eve. The dialogue is thick with disdain for the moronic side of human nature that has destroyed, ignored or condemned the great thinkers. The classic vampire staples are present (you know the drill: no sun, drink blood, never age) but it doesn’t define the characters and it’s presented in a way that’s so damn cool. Hiddleston oozes melancholy, Swinton is excellent as the adoring optimist and Wasikowska is devilish as a reckless young vampire. Also, look out for a fanged John Hurt in superb form. Only Lovers Left Alive easily shoots to the top of the list of great vampire movies with a wooden bullet. A definitive entry in the genre. cameron williams

the amazing spiderman 2 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a mess. It’s too long – full of muddled plotlines, half-assed characters and haphazard action and too many shots of Spider-Man’s butt. The now graduated Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) has a lot going on – working through relationship woes with Gwen (Emma Stone), navigating the reappearance of old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), dealing with NYC’s always changing opinions of Spidey and battling a new foe, Electro (Jamie Foxx). This film is a thorough waste of all these actors, plus more (Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Felicity Jones). DeHaan is particularly disappointing as Harry. There is no complexity to Peter and Harry’s relationship at all (one montage of them skimming stones is meant to convince us they like each other) and Harry himself is just a shit. There are some good action sequences to be sure, but plenty of bad ones too. One of the main problems with Spider-Man 2 is the “villains” – there is no real opposition or reason to root for anyone. In a better film that would bring up moral dilemmas and signal a clever, nuanced screenplay – but here I just wanted to cheer on Electro because I knew I wasn’t supposed to (light ‘em up, buddy!).As far as this reboot goes, it seems The Amazing Spider-Man franchise lost something between incarnation one and two. There’s plenty of electricity here, but very little spark. MEGAN McKEOUGH

@bmamag

Transcendence

bad neighbours

Transcendence is an ideasheavy sci-fi flick, which would usually be cause for a round of applause. But in this case, the interesting premise and talented cast are wasted on an overlong story riddled with plot holes and logic gaps.

A mainstream American comedy that’s actually funny. Yep, believe it, there’s not an Adam Sandler style shot to the groin in sight. Comedy directing whiz, Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek) crafts mirth from an ensemble of superb comedic talent. Kelly (Rose Byrne), Mac (Seth Rogen) and their newborn are settling down in a quiet neighbourhood when a college fraternity (led by Zack Efron and Dave Franco) move in next door. After a brief period of friendship, a feud develops when Mac calls the cops during a wild party.

Dr Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is a researcher in the field of artificial intelligence, working to create a sentient machine. Although he’s no evil genius and has no plans for world domination, his research makes him the target of an anti-technology terrorist group. But when these extremists almost kill him, they provide the catalyst for Will’s wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and friend Max (Paul Bettany) to try and create artificial intelligence using Will’s actual intelligence – he becomes AI. That’s not a spoiler, because the real plot is what happens once Will transcends humanity. Depp will clearly be a drawcard here for many people, but his usual charm and on-screen presence is gone – and not just because he becomes a disembodied voice and pixilated head half an hour into the film. The other members of the cast try their best (and there’s a short role for Morgan Freeman), but they can’t make this film coherent. It’s not terrible, but it tries to answer too many philosophical questions about technology – without having enough real substance for a discussion like that. Transcendence is an alarmist, unentertaining version of Spike Jonze’s Oscar-nominated Her. melissa wellham

Screenwriters Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien manage to perfectly align a frat house comedy with the misadventures of being a new parent. Bad Neighbours cleverly subverts the ‘bro-ness’ associated with college movies. Efron and Franco are sensitive guys who relish in the opportunity to lampoon the archetypes of their characters – the allAmerican preppy party animal – and the college kids become surprisingly sympathetic. Rogen pulls off his usual ‘everyday goofball’ shtick and it’s clear that Stoller let the camera roll for the sake of improvisation with a plethora of great one-liners. Byrne is the standout playing a sleepdeprived stay-at-home mum who is brutally honest in the face of rowdy students. The film starts to chase its own tail toward the end but the laughs are big and frequent enough to earn a very big grin. CAMERON WILLIAMS

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the word

on gigs

Holidays on Ice, Reuben Ingall Smith’s Alternative Friday April 18 A pink Hello Kitty guitar greeted punters waltzing into Smiths on a fine but cool April evening. It turns out to be the weapon of choice of Reuben Ingall, man in bands around town and the support on the night. Running the aforementioned guitar through a home-made digital patch and his laptop, Ingall filled the room with glitchy pop, squelchy melodies wrapping around his, at times, fragile voice. As good sets want to do, the set got better as it went, climaxing at the end instead of a couple of songs in, which sounds like a minor comment but in reality makes a huge difference. Holidays on Ice appear on their surface to be the antithesis of retro revivalism. It is two older stagers unafraid to try something different to their respective wheelhouses. Primarily the product of Angie Hart (Frente!) and Dean Manning (Leonardo’s Bride), Holidays on Ice are not just a reheated version of successes past. Indeed, Holidays on Ice are three albums deep now and still appear to be going strong. On this night in the middle of Canberra, downtempo seemed to be the operative word, with Hart’s vocals floating over a lush yet simple bed of electronic drums, strings, intermittent guitar and piano. It was grown up music for grown-ups; measured, balanced and considered. While there was nothing ground breaking about the show, it was pleasant in the nicest way possible. CODY ATKINSON

PHOTO BY MEGAN LEAHY

@bmamag

the word

on gigs

Archie Roach Budawang, National Folk Festival Friday April 18 When the announcement of the line-up for the 2014 National Folk Festival was announced, one name stood out from the rest. Arguably one of Australian music’s greatest underdog stories, Archie Roach has crafted a career based on elegant storytelling that doesn’t shy away from the demons that haunt his own past and the history of our nation as a whole. He holds a reputation as an incredibly honest performer, perfectly demonstrated during his spot at the festival. His Creation set focused on his first three solo albums, Charcoal Lane, Jamu Dreaming and Looking for Butterboy. Flitting between tales of his early life living outside of town in a camp by the river before taken and becoming part of the Stolen Generation, his time spent living on the street through to reminiscences about the early days of his recording career, including anecdotes about Paul Kelly, Steven Connolly and his first gig at the Annandale Hotel. His rendition of ‘Took The Children Away’ seemed to be as much a salve for his soul as it was an experience for his audience, with Roach even remarking that he feels a kind of personal healing every time he plays it. His presence was raw and sincere, with the nearly full house almost eerily quiet between songs, demonstrating a huge amount of respect for the man on stage.

PHOTO BY MARK TURNER

With a talented band as support, including a pair of incredible backing vocalists, Roach’s songs opened up to reveal the soul of a man who has lived a rough life, but somehow managed to polish it into one of the most touching live experiences in Australian music. NONI DOLL

uc live

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the word on dvds

nashville season 1 [Roadshow] It’s all too easy to be dismissive about something that looks like one thing but turns out to be another. And that’s Nashville. It might look like a family drama set in boot-scooting, SUV-mom territory but it’s pretty much exactly the opposite. At its core, Nashville is a pretty savage take down of the contemporary pop-country music scene, a thinly veiled series-long swipe at Taylor Swift and an allegory for the music business in general. So you should be very interested in this show. Rayner Jaymes (Connie Britton/Mrs Coach) is a middle-aged country music star in the slow period of her career. Where once she was a genuine alt-country-esque stadium filler now she’s close to being dropped by the label her success created. Britton says her character is partially based on Faith Hill and Bonnie Raitt and she certainly looks like the latter. Her label lays an ultimatum – either share the stage with massively popular young starlet Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) or leave. There’s nothing alt about Barnes. The conflict between age and youth makes for good soap drama – of which there is plenty – but it cloaks a decent running commentary on the music business in general. That Barnes is Taylor Swift with a touch of Britney Spears thrown in is obvious, so the barbs aimed at a fictional character are actually quite real and very sharp. Other plot devices like young bands trying to break through, sober country stars and selling your soul to get a record deal are familiar but well scripted. Then there’s the music. The entire show hangs on the quality of the original songs littered throughout each episode; they give it gravitas and believability. Elvis Costello, Chris DeStefano, Natalie Hemby and host of other country writers provide a soundtrack that is true to the genre but never schmaltzy. This alone makes Nashville a rare gem. justin hook

the hobbit- the Desolation of smaug [Warner Home Video] So much poor press hung to the first instalment, it seemed sensible to let it slide by. So when The Desolation of Smaug turned out to be a relatively fast-paced, fun romp in a world that would be familiar to anyone who has seen any of the Lord of the Rings trilogy it was a pleasant surprise. Quite whether the second part of a J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation should be a pleasant romp rather than a dense thrillingly immersive jaw-dropping experience is another matter entirely. But Peter Jackson has already tested the patience of audiences by dragging the film out to three excessively long expeditions after initially claiming it was going to be a single stand-alone feature, so who cares. The real test is whether this film works by itself and as a bridge. The answer is a cautious yes. A band of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) seek to reclaim their lost kingdom. The odds are stacked against them - they’re small people in a world inhabited by shape-shifting creatures, giant spiders, angry elves and Orcs. Orcs really hate them. To reclaim the kingdom a jewel has to be stolen from beneath the belly of a dragon, that’s Bilbo Baggins’ job. In case it isn’t blindingly obvious, I’ve never read a page of Tolkien in my life. There are plenty of well-choreographed set pieces – a treacherous forest, an epic barrel roll down a river and an amusing game of cat-and-mouse between Baggins (Martin Freeman) and Smaug the Dragon (Benedict Cumberbatch). If for nothing else it’s great to see the guys from Sherlock bumping heads again. The finale assuredly completes one part of the story but still feels truncated enough to hint at future resolution. Maybe the best way to approach the Hobbit trilogy is to start in the middle.

Da Vinci’s Demons [Roadshow] If ever there were an historical character ripe for the picking, it would be Leonardo da Vinci. The man, for whom the term polymath was surely created, was unstoppable and it’s frankly impossible to imagine a world without his influence. Without Da Vinci, the Renaissance and all that followed would have been left with a massive void. Can you imagine the Louvre without the enigmatic Mona Lisa? And how on earth would the tee shirt industry ever have prospered without Vitruvian Man? And no Dan Brown prose? It’s an alternate reality I refuse to consider. But episodic drama focusing on a middle aged man wrestling with ideas, pens and brushes in isolation is a hard sell, so Da Vinci’s Demons instead focuses on his early life before he was the toast of Italian society. The story begins as Da Vinci is gamely attempting to win favour and funding with his wickedly extravagant and futuristic ideas. With half millennia hindsight, his genus is obvious but to his peers and society of the day he initially came across as a kook. A devilishly handsome kook with the flair for snake oil salesmanship, according to Tom Riley’s performance which draws heavily on the term dramatisation. And so there’s plenty of sex, swearing, Papal intrigue, smouldering glances across the chapel and raised voices which presents a flashy version of the Renaissance that undoubtedly is total fabrication. At times you do wish Da Vinci’s Demons would settle into a better rhythm and ease up on the hints of mysticism and esotericism – Da Vinci was a strict logician after all. Real life is often more fascinating than fantasy, but then again at one point Da Vinci meets Dracula so bugger it – who cares about factual consistency when it’s this stupidly fun. justin hook

justin hook

@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Wed May 7 - Sat May 10

Listings are a free community service. Email editorial@bmamag.com to have your events appear each issue. wednesday may 7

Art Exhibitions Luminous World

Contemporary work by Australian and New Zealand artists, including Indigenous art. Until June 29. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Elioth Gruner: The Texture of Light

Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat and Sun 12-5pm. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Glass Miniatures 2014

On The Town Hump Day Wednesdays

Kick back mid-week with drink specials. 5pm. TRANSIT BAR

Art Exhibitions Straight Face

Something Different

150 works by Luke Chiswell. 10am2pm. May 9-18. Free.

Trinity Bar DJ Workshop

Comedy

Every Wednesday 6.30pm-8pm, Every Saturday 5.30pm-7pm. $15 per lesson or $100 for 10. Email trinityb TRINITY BAR

Curated by Lisa Cahill. Tues-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Until May 31. Free.

Martini Masterclass

Hamilton Darroch: Sun Trap

POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

BILK GALLERY

friday may 9

Join Matthew Cossey for hands-on liquid learning & laughs. 6pm -7pm. $40. Book online - www.politbar

NISHI GALLERY

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board 7.30pm. $25.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Live Music Third Party

Sculptures using objects exposed to the Australian landscape. 10am-5pm ,12-5pm weekends.

Trivia

Live music. 5pm afternoon session/10pm band. Free.

IQ Trivia Fun

Capes Band

The Dobell Drawing Prize

POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Fun, laughs & prizes! 7.30pm. Free.

20 Years of Australian Drawing. Wednesday-Sunday. 12-5pm. Free.

thursday may 8

DRILL HALL GALLERY

Snappy Seniors

Art Exhibitions

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

An exhibition by members of Access 1 exploring the wonder of the face. Thu May 8 - Sun May 25. Free.

An exhibition by participants in the Snappy Seniors, digital camera skills program with Sean Davey.

Three Exhibitions

Women exploring politics, space, place and identity. Tue-Fri 11-5pm. Sat 104pm. Free. CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Lawnscapes

Portraits of Canberran Houses by Thea Katauskas. May 6-26. Price TBA. THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Rinse and Repeat

Sculptors Isobel Rayson and Dierdre Pearce investigate tools and mark making. Wed-Sun until May 11.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Synaesthesia

Exhibition about synaesthesia, a neurological condition causing the senses to intertwine. Apr 26-May

One Great Face

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Spanish Film Festival 2014

Runs until May 14. More details at spanishfilmfestival.com PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMA

Karaoke Curry-Oke Wednesdays

Hosted by Jonathan Davis. 8pm. Free Entry.

TRANSIT BAR

A. Baker Fridays

Peter.A with Julian Fung on sax. 5-8pm. Free. A. BAKER

Sparrow-folk

On The Town

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Hot Dub Time Machine

Live Music

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Chicago Charles & Dave 9.15pm-12.15am. Free.

DJ Sass & DJ Tasha. 80’s/90’s party classics. 9pm. Free.

Finn

Alive Fridays

7.30pm. $25.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

6:30–9:30pm. Free entry. NATIONAL PRESS CLUB

Bec Taylor

Thursday Jazz

Film

Featuring Ivory Light + Marianne Scholem + Kid You Not + Mondescreen. 8pm. Free.

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

Comedy

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Band Comp Heat 2

Presenting “Just Hatched”. 7.30pm. $20. Must book at politbar.co

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

7.30pm. $25.

8.30pm. $5.

Comedy

Piano for Lunch Thursdays. 12.30pm – 1.30pm. Free.

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Featuring Alex Raupach Quartet. 7.30pm. $10.

POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

$10 Entry All Night.

Retro Weekends

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Hot Dub Time Machine. $10 before midnight. ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Something Different Tarot Reading - with Marisol

Private Tarot Readings. 6-8pm. 10 spots. Book Marisol 0404 364 820.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

King of the North

Trivia

With Tonk & Hence the Test Bed. 8pm. $10 TRANSIT BAR

Thursday Long Play Kaleid. 5-7.30pm. Free. HOTEL HOTEL

Late Night Jam

Jazz with Mark Levers Trio. 9pm-12am. Free.

Make A Wish Fundraiser

Trivia Night. 7pm. $20 pp. Contact Anna Mongan 0420 979 174. CANBERRA LABOR CLUB (BELCONNEN)

saturday may 10

PARLOUR WINE ROOM

Art Exhibitions

On The Town

Straight Face

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

4Some Thursdays

150 works by Luke Chiswell. 10am2pm. May 9-18. Free.

Live Music

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Luminous World

Free. Discount Drinks. 10pm-12am.

Jamie Hutchings: Infinity Broke

Supported by Vendulka. 8pm. $10

NISHI GALLERY

Contemporary work by Australian and New Zealand artists, including Indigenous art. Until June 29. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Rohan

Blues rock. 7.30pm. Price TBA. THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Sat May 10 - Tues May 13 Hamilton Darroch: Sun Trap

Dance

Art Exhibitions

Sculptures using objects exposed to the Australian landscape. 10am-5pm ,12-5pm weekends.

Dance on the Edge 2014

Synaesthesia

Glass Miniatures 2014

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Classical Ballet, Hilal, Contemporary and Breakdance. Sat May 10, 8pm & Sun May 11, 2pm. $15/$20 + b

Curated by Lisa Cahill. Tues-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Until May 31. Free.

Film

The Dobell Drawing Prize

Runs until May 14. More details at spanishfilmfestival.com

BILK GALLERY

20 Years of Australian Drawing. Wednesday-Sunday. 12-5pm. Free. DRILL HALL GALLERY

Elioth Gruner: The Texture of Light

Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat and Sun 12-5pm. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

One Great Face

An exhibition by members of Access 1 exploring the wonder of the face. Thu May 8 - Sun May 25. Free.

Spanish Film Festival 2014 PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMA

Live Music Special K

10.30pm. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Finn

Roots/blues. 9pm-12am. Free. OLD CANBERRA INN

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

The Feldons

Three Exhibitions

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Women exploring politics, space, place and identity. Tue-Fri 11-5pm. Sat 104pm. Free. CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Snappy Seniors

With Raucus Fracas 7.30pm. $5.

Dallas Frasca: ‘Rock F#@king Roll’ With The Battle Axe Howlers. 8pm. $15+bf.

Portraits of Canberran Houses by Thea Katauskas. May 6-26. Price TBA. THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Synaesthesia

Exhibition about synaesthesia, a neurological condition causing the senses to intertwine. Apr 26-May BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Comedy Alex Williamson

‘Dumb things I’ve Done’ 8pm. $37.40. ZIERHOLZ @ UC

The Return of the Grumpy Old Women

Fifty Shades of Beige 7.30pm. $62.50. THE PLAYHOUSE

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board 7.30pm. $25.

Rinse and Repeat

Sculptors Isobel Rayson and Dierdre Pearce investigate tools and mark making. Wed-Sun until May 11.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

sunday may 11 Comedy Kitty Flanagan and the White Board 7.30pm. $25.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

LOL Pol Standup Comedy Open Mic

BOOTLEGS for the Phoenix Pub

The Naddika + Ivory Lights + Reuben Ingall + Eliza Benson. 8.30pm. $5. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Trivia Rainman’s Trivial Excuse

Transit trivia returns with your host Rainman. Book now on (02) 6162 0899. 7pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

Workshops Street Chops

Motorbike building and restoring course for people aged 15-24. P/T 8 week course starts May 12. Call 61232413 CIT WODEN

tuesday may13 Comedy

Beth Monzo

Dance

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

MOCAN & GREEN GROUT

Dance on the Edge 2014

Music and lunch. 12-2pm. Free.

Lawnscapes

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Live Music

POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

Rinse and Repeat

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

An exhibition by participants in the Snappy Seniors, digital camera skills program with Sean Davey.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Lenin’s Lovechild. Price TBA.

Lenin’s Lovechild

Sculptors Isobel Rayson and Dierdre Pearce investigate tools and mark making. Wed-Sun until May 11.

Snappy Seniors

Improvised Comedy. 6.30pm – 8pm. $5.

Share giggles with us over happy hour. 5pm. Free.

TRANSIT BAR

An exhibition by participants in the Snappy Seniors, digital camera skills program with Sean Davey. BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Exhibition about synaesthesia, a neurological condition causing the senses to intertwine. Apr 26-May

Schnitz & Giggles

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

On The Town Love Saturdays

With Jono Fernandez. $10. Discount Drinks. 9pm-11pm. ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Retro Weekends

DJ Sass & DJ Tasha. 80’s/90’s party classics. 9pm. Free. DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Something Different Trinity Bar DJ Workshop

Every Wednesday 6.30pm-8pm, Every Saturday 5.30pm-7pm. $15 per lesson or $100 for 10. Email trinityb TRINITY BAR

Classical Ballet, Hilal, Contemporary and Breakdance. Sat May 10, 8pm & Sun May 11, 2pm. $15/$20 + b

7.30pm. $25.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Irresponsible Comedy 7.30pm. $10.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Live Music

Karaoke

BandJava

Karaoke Love

Blues and Roots. 5-7pm. Free. A BITE TO EAT CAFE

Irish Jam Session

Croon and wail your heart out on the Transit stage. 9pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

Traditional Irish musicians. From late afternoon. Free.

Trivia

Sunday Sounds and Sangria

Henry Ladd’s Game of Knowledge

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Xavier Dunn. 3pm – 5pm. $5 SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

monday may 12 Comedy

8-10pm. Free.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Trivial Tuesdays

Hosted By IQ Trivia. 1st Prize $75. 7pm. Free Entry DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

7.30pm. $25.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Wed May 14 - Sat May 16 wednesday may 14 Art Exhibitions Straight Face

150 works by Luke Chiswell. 10am2pm. May 9-18. Free. NISHI GALLERY

Hamilton Darroch: Sun Trap

Sculptures using objects exposed to the Australian landscape. 10am-5pm ,12-5pm weekends. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Luminous World

Live Music

CMC Presents Alex Gilbert

Beth’n’Ben + Alex Richens and Joel Davy. 7.30pm. $10/$7.

4Some Thursdays

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

On The Town

Something Different

Hump Day Wednesdays

Naked Girls Reading

Kick back mid-week with drink specials. 5pm.

Glass Miniatures 2014

The Dobell Drawing Prize

20 Years of Australian Drawing. Wednesday-Sunday. 12-5pm. Free. DRILL HALL GALLERY

One Great Face

An exhibition by members of Access 1 exploring the wonder of the face. Thu May 8 - Sun May 25. Free. HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Every Wednesday 6.30pm-8pm, Every Saturday 5.30pm-7pm. $15 per lesson or $100 for 10. Email trinityb TRINITY BAR

Trivia IQ Trivia Fun

Fun, laughs & prizes! 7.30pm. Free. POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

thursday may 15 Art Exhibitions

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

New works by Megan Jackson

Lawnscapes

Portraits of Canberran Houses by Thea Katauskas. May 6-26. Price TBA. THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Comedy Kitty Flanagan and the White Board 7.30pm. $25.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Film Spanish Film Festival 2014

Runs until May 14. More details at spanishfilmfestival.com PALACE ELECTRIC CINEMA

Karaoke Curry-Oke Wednesdays

Hosted by Jonathan Davis. 8pm. Free Entry. DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Free. Discount Drinks 10pm-12am.

Burlesque & cabaret. 7.30pm 9.30pm. $15. Book online - www. politbar.co POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

Something Different

Elioth Gruner: The Texture of Light

Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat and Sun 12-5pm.

Ministry Of Sound Bounce Sessions

On The Town

Trinity Bar DJ Workshop

BILK GALLERY

HOTEL HOTEL

ANU FOOD CO-OP

Organic food and local music. 7pm10.30pm. $8/$10.

TRANSIT BAR

Curated by Lisa Cahill. Tues-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Until May 31. Free.

On The Town

Bella Groove quartet led by Elise Walsh. 5-7.30pm. Free.

Contemporary work by Australian and New Zealand artists, including Indigenous art. Until June 29. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Thursday Long Play

Acoustic Soup

Open May 15-25, Wed-Sun 11-5pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Comedy Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

friday may 16

Featuring SCNDL. $15 Before Midnight. ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Retro Weekends

DJ Sass & DJ Tasha. 80’s/90’s party classics. 9pm. Free. DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

One Night In Brazil

Live performances from Glamourosas and Subsdance. Limited capacity event. MONKEYBAR

Something Different Tarot Reading - with Marisol

Private Tarot Readings. 6-8pm. 10 spots. Book Marisol 0404 364 820. POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

Art Exhibitions

Blokes Don’t Talk

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting,

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Three contemporary artists.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Play: raising money for Menslink. 7pm – 8pm. $10.

saturday may 16

Comedy

Art Exhibitions

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

Straight Face

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

NISHI GALLERY

7.30pm. $25.

150 works by Luke Chiswell. 10am2pm. May 9-18. Free.

Live Music

Hamilton Darroch: Sun Trap

Oscar

5pm afternoon session/10pm Band. Free. KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Band Comp Heat 3

Featuring Casters + Paryce + Positive Feedback Loop + Two Lead Fish. 8pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

Home Burial

Sculptures using objects exposed to the Australian landscape. 10am-5pm ,12-5pm weekends. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting Three contemporary artists.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Luminous World

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Home Burial, Tired Minds, Breakout, Lost Coast. Price TBA.

Contemporary work by Australian and New Zealand artists, including a Indigenous art. Until June 29.

Live Music

A. Baker Fridays

Glass Miniatures 2014

7.30pm. $25.

Isaac de Heer

Folk singer/songwriter. 7.30pm. Price TBA. THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Dos Locos

9.15pm-12.15am. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

No Hausfrau

With Special Guests. $10. TRANSIT BAR

Thursday Jazz

Featuring Bae Grimes 5tet. 7.30pm. $10.

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

Low frequency beats by Faux Real. 5-8pm. Free. A. BAKER

Late Night Jam

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Curated by Lisa Cahill. Tues-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Until May 31. Free. BILK GALLERY

Jazz with Mark Levers Trio. 9pm-12am. Free.

The Dobell Drawing Prize

Claude Hay

DRILL HALL GALLERY

PARLOUR WINE ROOM

Blues/roots. Single launch. Free. O’NEILL’S IRISH PUB

20 Years of Australian Drawing. Wednesday-Sunday. 12-5pm. Free.

One Great Face

An exhibition by members of Access 1 exploring the wonder of the face. Thu May 8 - Sun May 25. Free. HUW DAVIES GALLERY

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

facebook.com/bmamagazine

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Sat May 17 - Fri May 23 Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting,

The Dobell Drawing Prize

Trivia

Something Different

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

DRILL HALL GALLERY

Henry Ladd’s Game of Knowledge

Trinity Bar DJ Workshop

Three contemporary artists.

Elioth Gruner: The Texture of Light

20 Years of Australian Drawing. Wednesday-Sunday. 12-5pm. Free.

Comedy

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

Lawnscapes

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat and Sun 12-5pm. Portraits of Canberran Houses by Thea Katauskas. May 6-26. Price TBA. THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

New works by Megan Jackson

Open May 15-25, Wed-Sun 11-5pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Comedy

7.30pm. $25.

Live Music

Trivial Tuesdays

Every Wednesday 6.30pm-8pm, Every Saturday 5.30pm-7pm. $15 per lesson or $100 for 10. Email trinityb

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Theatre

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Hosted By IQ Trivia. 1st Prize $75. 7pm. Free Entry

wednesday may 21

Trinity House Mafia

Art Exhibitions

TRINITY BAR

Elioth Gruner: The Texture of Light

Doors 8pm Free Entry.

Canberra Blues Society Jam

With Queen Juanita and Zydeco Cowboys. 2–5:30pm. $3 members/$5 non-members. HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Kitty Flanagan and the White Board

BandJava

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Irish Jam Session

7.30pm. $25.

8-10pm. Free.

Blues and Roots. 4-7pm. Free. OLD CANBERRA INN

Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat and Sun 12-5pm. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Hamilton Darroch: Sun Trap

Sculptures using objects exposed to the Australian landscape. 10am-5pm ,12-5pm weekends. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Live Music

Traditional Irish musicians. From late afternoon. Free.

BandJava

Sunday Sounds and Sangria

Contemporary work by Australian and New Zealand artists, including Indigenous art. Until June 29.

THE TRADIES (DICKSON)

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Glass Miniatures 2014

Blues and Roots. 9-11pm. Free.

8 Bit Love

With The Royal Chant + The Bruges. 8pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

Dylan Hekimian

Guitar guru. 12-2pm. Free. MOCAN & GREEN GROUT

Dance Party

Naughty Rhythms, Los Chavos, DJ’s Rubz and De Cruz. $15/$18/$20. THE RUC (TURNER)

On The Town Love Saturdays

With The Projektz. $10 Entry. Discount Drinks 9pm-11pm. ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Retro Weekends

DJ Sass & DJ Tasha. 80’s/90’s party classics. 9pm. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

3pm – 5pm. $5.

Davesway

Acoustic sounds. 5-7pm. Free. A BITE TO EAT CAFE

monday may 19 Art Exhibitions Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting,

Three contemporary artists.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Comedy Schnitz & Giggles

Improvised Comedy. 6.30pm – 8pm. $5. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Trivia

Something Different

Rainman’s Trivial Excuse

Trinity Bar DJ Workshop

Every Wednesday 6.30pm-8pm, Every Saturday 5.30pm-7pm. $15 per lesson or $100 for 10. Email trinityb TRINITY BAR

Blokes Don’t Talk

Play: raising money for Menslink. 7pm – 8pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Theatre The 13-Storey Treehouse

Andy Griffiths & Terry Denton’s book adaptation. 10am, 12pm, 2pm. $24.90 or $80 family rate (2 adult CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

sunday may 18

Transit trivia returns with your host Rainman. Book now on (02) 6162 0899. 7pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

tuesday may 20

BILK GALLERY

One Great Face

An exhibition by members of Access 1 exploring the wonder of the face. Thu May 8 - Sun May 25. Free. HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Lawnscapes

Portraits of Canberran Houses by Thea Katauskas. May 6-26. Price TBA.

THE PLAYHOUSE

Trivia IQ Trivia Fun

Fun, laughs & prizes! 7.30pm. Free. POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

thursday may 22 Art Exhibitions Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting

Three contemporary artists.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Live Music Apollo Brown

Hip Hop Producer with Special Guests. 8pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

Thursday Jazz

Featuring Victor Rufus Band. 7.30pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting

friday may 23

Three contemporary artists.

Art Exhibitions

New works by Megan Jackson

Three contemporary artists.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Comedy

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Open May 15-25, Wed-Sun 11-5pm. Free.

Karaoke Curry-Oke Wednesdays

Hosted by Jonathan Davis. 8pm. Free Entry. DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Gift of the Gab

Christian Comedian Hannah Boland. 8pm. $30-$35 THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow

2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. Fri-Sat May 23-24. 7.30pm. comedyfestival.com

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting,

Daniel Champagne

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Live Music

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

CMC Presents local and touring bands

The Gaps

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

TRANSIT BAR

Three contemporary artists.

Karaoke Karaoke Love

Croon and wail your heart out on the Transit stage. 9pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

Straight Face

Admission: One Shilling

Curated by Lisa Cahill. Tues-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Until May 31. Free.

Patricia Routledge & Piers Lane star in the story of Dame Myra Hess. Tues 8pm. Wed 1/8pm.$59-$89

Live Music

Theatre

NISHI GALLERY

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Admission: One Shilling

Art Exhibitions

Art Exhibitions 150 works by Luke Chiswell. 10am2pm. May 9-18. Free.

Luminous World

TRINITY BAR

Patricia Routledge & Piers Lane star in the story of Dame Myra Hess. Tues 8pm. Wed 1/8pm.$59-$89 THE PLAYHOUSE

Jazzy guitar. 7.30pm. Price TBA.

7.30pm. $5.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

EP launch during the final heat of Battle of The Bands. 8pm, free entry.

On The Town

Bad!Slam!No!Biscuit!

Hump Day Wednesdays

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

TRANSIT BAR

Doors 6:30pm. Tickets $40/$85 dinner and show + bf thru theabbey.com.au.

Kick back mid-week with drink specials. 5pm.

9pm, $5

Dragon

THE ABBEY

The World Comes to Canberra

Songs from early 20th century Europe and more. 3pm. $25–35. WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Fri May 23 - Wed May 28 New works by Megan Jackson

One Great Face

On The Town

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Retro Weekends

Comedy

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow

Band Comp Heat 4

Featuring Elison + Myriad Ways + The Gap + Tundrel. 8pm. Free. TRANSIT BAR

DJ Sass & DJ Tasha. 80’s/90’s party classics. 9pm. Free.

Something Different Tarot Reading - with Marisol

Private Tarot Readings. 6-8pm. 10 spots. Book Marisol 0404 364 820. POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

Open May 15-25, Wed-Sun 11-5pm. Free.

2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. Fri-Sat May 23-24. 7.30pm. comedyfestival.com CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Live Music

Blokes Don’t Talk

Safia

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

TRANSIT BAR

Play: raising money for Menslink. 7pm – 8pm. $10.

saturday may 24 Art Exhibitions Hamilton Darroch: Sun Trap

Sculptures using objects exposed to the Australian landscape. 10am-5pm ,12-5pm weekends.

Paranoia Ghosts and Other Sounds Tour. 8pm. $10 + bf.

Beatle Magic

Beatles tribute act. $45. Bookings: (02) 6285 1995. 7.30pm for an 8pm start.

Art Exhibitions

Live Music

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

With Thy Art Is Murder, Veil Of Meya, Volumes, Make Them Suffer + Reigner. 5.15pm. $39.90 ZIERHOLZ @ UC

Something Different

Apia Good Times Tour

Storytime with Jay Sullivan

A BITE TO EAT CAFE

Joe Camilleri, Richard Clapton, Russell Morris and Leo Sayer in concert. 7.30pm. $76.75. CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Northlane with Make Them Suffer, Volumes and guests. 530pm. $39.90

Art Exhibitions

Something Different

Lawnscapes

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Play: raising money for Menslink. 7pm – 8pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Three contemporary artists.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Luminous World

Contemporary work by Australian and New Zealand artists, including Indigenous art. Until June 29. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Glass Miniatures 2014

Trinity Bar DJ Workshop

Every Wednesday 6.30pm-8pm, Every Saturday 5.30pm-7pm. $15 per lesson or $100 for 10. Email trinityb TRINITY BAR

sunday may 25

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

8.30pm. $5.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Curated by Lisa Cahill. Tues-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Until May 31. Free.

Art Exhibitions

Trivia Rainman’s Trivial Excuse

One Great Face

New works by Megan Jackson

Open May 15-25, Wed-Sun 11-5pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

TRANSIT BAR

BILK GALLERY

An exhibition by members of Access 1 exploring the wonder of the face. Thu May 8 - Sun May 25. Free. HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Lawnscapes

Portraits of Canberran Houses by Thea Katauskas. May 6-26. Price TBA. THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Transit trivia returns with your host Rainman. Book now on (02) 6162 0899. 7pm. Free.

Elioth Gruner: The Texture of Light

Henry Ladd’s Game of Knowledge 8-10pm. Free.

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting

Bootlegs for Phoenix Pub

Trivia

Hosted By IQ Trivia. 1st Prize $75. 7pm. Free Entry

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Live Music

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Trivial Tuesdays

Portraits of Canberran Houses by Thea Katauskas. May 6-26. Price TBA.

Three contemporary artists.

8pm. $18.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

monday may 26

Elioth Gruner: The Texture of Light

Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting

Croon and wail your heart out on the Transit stage. 9pm. Free.

5-7pm. Free.

ZIERHOLZ @ UC

Blokes Don’t Talk

Karaoke Love TRANSIT BAR

Freyjas-rain

On The Town

Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat and Sun 12-5pm.

Karaoke

Northlane

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

3pm – 5pm. $5.

Free Your Mind 2014

DJ Sass & DJ Tasha. 80’s/90’s party classics. 9pm. Free.

Three contemporary artists.

Sunday Sounds and Sangria

THE TRADIES (WODEN)

Retro Weekends

tuesday may 27

An exhibition by members of Access 1 exploring the wonder of the face. Thu May 8 - Sun May 25. Free.

wednesday may 28 Art Exhibitions Aldo Iacobelli - In The Shadow Of Forgetting Three contemporary artists.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Luminous World

Contemporary work by Australian and New Zealand artists, including a Indigenous art. Until June 29. NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Glass Miniatures 2014

Curated by Lisa Cahill. Tues-Fri 11am5pm, Sat 11am-4pm. Until May 31. Free. BILK GALLERY

Hamilton Darroch: Sun Trap

Sculptures using objects exposed to the Australian landscape. 10am-5pm ,12-5pm weekends. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Mon-Fri 10-5pm, Sat and Sun 12-5pm. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

OUT

May 21

Safia Boy and Bear paperkites white rabbit/red rabbit ...and more!

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FIRST CONTACT SIDE A: BMA band profile

Aaron Peacey 0410381306 band.afternoon.shift@ gmail.com.au Adam Hole 0421023226

Afternoon Shift 0402055314 Amphibian Sound PA Clare 0410308288 Annie & The Armadillos Annie (02) 61611078/ 0422076313 Aria Stone sax/flute/lute/ harmonica, singer-songwriter Aria 0411803343

Naughty Rhythms Where did your band name come from? Like most of our good ideas, we stole it. A bunch of bands were touring together under the banner of ‘The Naughty Rhythms Tour of Europe’. Group members? A few came and went, but the main members are Clifty (bass vox songs) Senor Hondo (sax vox) Crash Maracca (Drums) Ange (guitar). Describe your sound: We’re a ska band, but not in the relentless backbeat mould. We have a very rhythmic and powerful rhythm section, a lot of catchy tunes … and then there’s Hondo’s sax solos. Who are your influences, musical or otherwise? There are too many. Old school -The Specials, Hunters and Collectors, Talking Heads. I like Fat Freddy’s Drop and I’m going to see Rufus soon. And Abba were good. What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had whilst performing? Playing with INXS and Midnight Oil at Bruce Stadium to thousands of local punters. Richard Clapton was on before us and the crowd started chanting “Naughties, naughties ...”in the middle of his set. Gold! Of what are you proudest so far? My kids - but you mean music don’t you? Probably the Naughty Rhythms reputation as being one of Canberra’s best bands. And I made a kids music DVD that really nailed the brief. What are your plans for the future? An early retirement then live for another 60 years. Good plan eh? I’d love the Naughties to play some festivals. What makes you laugh? People. Kelly on MKR was a hoot. Does she know she does that thing with her mouth? What pisses you off? People. Too many examples, but I hate the zombies who drive slowly in the right lane on a highway. What about the local scene would you change? Clean the men’s toilets more thoroughly. And get the 2xx ‘local n live’ as a segment on FBI in Sydney What are your upcoming gigs? May 17 Turner Bowling Club. It’s a ska, reggae, hip-hop dance fest. Get there. Contact info: greg@wizzmedia.com.au/facebook.com/ naughty-rhythms

Australian Songwriters Association Keiran (02) 62310433 Back to the Eighties Ty Emerson 0418 544 014 Backbeat Drivers Steve 0422733974 backbeatdrivers.com Bat Country Communion, The Mel 0400405537 Birds Love Fighting Gangbusters/DIY shows-bookings@ birdslovefighting.com Black Label Photography Kingsley 0438351007 blacklabelphotography.net Bridge Between, The Cam 0431550005 Capital Dub Style Reggae/dub events Rafa 0406647296 Chris Harland Blues Band, The Chris 0418 490 649 chrisharlandbluesband @gmail.com Cole Bennetts Photography 0415982662 Danny V Danny 0413502428 Dawn Theory Nathan 0402845132 Danny 0413502428 Dorothy Jane Band, The Dorothy Jane 0411065189 dorothy-jane@dorothyjane.com Drumassault Dan 0406 375 997 Feldons, The 0407 213 701 FeralBlu Danny 0413502428 Fire on the Hill Aaron 0410381306 Lachlan 0400038388 Fourth Degree Vic 0408477020 Gareth Dailey DJ/Electronica Gareth 0414215885 Groovalicious Corporate/ weddings/private functions 0448995158

In The Flesh Scott 0410475703 Itchy Triggers Alex 0414838480 Jenn Pacor Singer-songwriter avail. for originals/covers 0405618630 Johnny Roadkill Paulie 0408287672 paulie_mcmillan@live.com.au Kayo Marbilus facebook.com/kayomarbilus1 Kurt’s Metalworx (PA) 0417025792 Los Chavos Latin/ska/reggae Rafa 0406647296 Andy 0401572150 Missing Zero Hadrian 0424721907 hadrian.brand@live.com.au Moots Huck 0419630721 Morning After, The Covers band Anthony 0402500843 Mornings Jordan 0439907853 MuShu Jack 0414292567 mushu_band@hotmail.com Obsessions 0450 960 750 obsessions@grapevine.com.au Painted Hearts, The Peter (02) 62486027 Polka Pigs Ian (02) 62315974 Rafe Morris 0416322763 Redletter Ben 0421414472 Redsun Rehearsal Studio Ralph 0404178996/ (02) 61621527 Rug, The Jol 0417273041 Sewer Sideshow Huck 0419630721 Simone & The Soothsayers Singing teacher Simone 62304828 Sorgonian Twins, The Mark 0428650549 Soundcity Rehearsal Studio Andrew 0401588884 STonKA Jamie 0422764482 stonka2615@gmail.com Strange Hour Events Dan 0411112075 Super Best Friends Sam White sam@imcmusic.net System Addict Jamie 0418398556 Tegan Northwood (Singing Teacher) 0410 769 144

Guy The Sound Guy Live & Studio Sound Engineer 0400585369 guy@guythesoundguy.com

Top Shelf Colin 0408631514

Haunted Attics band@hauntedatticsmusic.com

Zoopagoo zoopagoo@gmail.com

Undersided, The Baz 0408468041

@bmamag

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