BMA Magazine 453 - 19 November 2014 by BMA Magazine

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SHAKE IT OFF: NOT THE TAYLOR SWIFT BANGER

‘I want to know what love is, I want you to show me...’ # 4 5 3 N o v 1 9 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 Julie Ruttle T: (02) 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com

Sub-Editor & Social Media Manager Chiara Grassia Graphic Design Chris Halloran Film Editor Melissa Wellham NEXT ISSUE 454 OUT Dec 3 EDITORIAL DEADLINE Nov 24 ADVERTISING DEADLINE Nov 26 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.

What a fun time of year. Endless social commitments and more obligation to buy cheap crap than ever. What if you could channel your love of drinking, dancing and spending money into attending an event that raised money for a worthy cause AND had a little more street cred than paper hats and dull secret santa gifts around the water cooler? Look no further than ‘Thanks for having me Mum: Grab life with both hands’, an event being held at The Chop Shop next month in aide of Shake It Up Australia. They’re a not-for-profit group dedicated to funding research into Parkinsons’ and committed to finding a cure. A bunch of people are contributing to the event and barely covering their costs, the least you can do is go and have a great time. Space Party, The King Hits, Crossbones and Supergroup are performing, graffiti artist Byrd will be producing live work; there will be dancing girls between sets and a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses. The event kicks off at 7pm on Saturday December 6. 100% of the cover charge is going to the Shake it Up Australia Foundation shakeitup.org.au/

and there’s free camping available on site. More than 50 performers from around the country will strut their stuff over the weekend including Owen Campbell, Heath Cullen and US blues diva Kristina Olsen and the new committee expects record crowds as this friendly little festival returns after a three-year break. There will be something for everyone, as usual: superb music, dance, poetry and a kids’ festival. Emerging young musicians will share the stage with some of the best in folk, bluegrass, blues, roots and world music. The Festival opens at 5pm Friday 21 November and runs until late afternoon Sunday 23 November. Tickets are on sale from the festival website now. majorscreekfestival.org

HEAVEN’S IN THE BACKSEAT OF MY CADILLAC That’s just one of the awesome 7 inch vinyl singles I picked up at a second hand market once. That ten dollars I handed to the slightly sad stallholder for a large box of vinyl treasure has paid for itself again and again; my neighbours may disagree at 3am. If you too wish to impress your friends with dirty Hot Chocolate singles, then head to the Harmonie German Club at 49 Jerrabomberra Avenue Narrabundah on Sunday November 30 between 12-4pm for Record Fair with 100s of wax beauties from the ‘20s to the ‘80s in blues, soul, R&B, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll and everything in between. Free entry. Fun fact: If you try and compete with me for obscure New Wave releases you will lose.

MAJORLY COOL ON ACCOUNT OF THE SHORT DRIVE Once upon a time, music festivals were a rare event that almost always involved travelling to Sydney, staying with annoying relatives and being squashed on the train with thousands of revellers who had the end-of-day stink at 11am. These days you can afford to be a little more choosy with your personal space (although perhaps you actually want to sit on the lap of that guy wearing the sombrero and drinking goon in the morning, in which case good luck to you). The Majors Creek Festival ticks many boxes - it’s nice and close, being just 10 minutes from Braidwood and a little over an hour from Canberra and Batemans Bay,

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FROM THE BOSSMAN As we peek through our fingers to check the calendar and discover, to our horror, that we are knee-deep in November shuddering at the thought of the seemingly insurmountable stack of work to be done before year’s end - we can at least take solace that a break in the form of Christmas is around the corner and that we Australians are finally celebrating it correctly. Because there was a time when we didn’t. Despite a twang in my accent that suggests I am a cheeky cockney street urchin, I am in fact a proud second generation Canberran. I spent eight years in England between 1992 and 2000 (from age ten to 18) and as such I have experienced both English and Australian Christmases. An English Christmas is something quite special. Sure, the weather is cold enough to ensure that you could safely wave down a plane using your nipples, whilst fingers and limbs became so permanently frozen that you wouldn’t look out of place on the set of Thunderbirds, but in many ways that was the point. The weather is so utterly ghastly that Christmas serves as a collective distraction from the elements. Christmas lights look particularly dazzling in the crisp, cold darkness of 4pm (when the sun goes down). The double issue copy of the Radio Times (which is, somewhat confusingly, a comprehensive TV Guide) was like a Bible for the altar that was English Christmas Television where you would worship your favourite shows and their cheery festive specials. Yearly treats like eggnog and brandy butter on pudding would taste particularly warming as the sleet and snow whipped and blustered outside. A roaring pub fireplace was like a hug from the world. And, most pointedly to this column, those bloody Christmas carols actually made sense. Let It Snow. Winter Wonderland. I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas. On it goes.

YOU PISSED ME OFF! 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.] Dear Sydney, every time I visit you I’m reminded of just how much you and your people piss me off. I dodged all the takeaways on my way up for a house party in favour of what lovely, healthy home-cooked spread might await me, only to be greeted by a vegan-friendly, nut-free, gluten-free array of blandness. Shouldn’t these people be in quarantine? How do you survive eating pure wank? Get an immune system. Yes, I do like Canberra, thanks for asking that as your first question when you finally get over yourself enough to talk to a new person, and yes, I am a public servant and will choose to politely ignore that sour face you’re pulling right now. How much money do you make as a post-grad student doing an internship at an art gallery while having to work three other part-time jobs in hospitality? That life must be treating you well. I do not care about the social damage of labelling groups by the way they dress, you boring hipster, and I don’t give a shit about what percentage of soy beans are genetically produced. Your ability to pull fun facts about obscure artists out of your arse is inspiring me to fall asleep and I’m running out of questions to ask you but am well aware that if I stop encouraging you to talk about yourself you’ll stand there in awkward silence… When do we get to play Kings?

As Australians we’ve been conditioned - thanks largely to a litany of American and English films and TV series - to accept that Christmas is cold, it often snows and we’re a bit weird for being in the southern hemisphere where it’s hot. When I first returned to Canberra after my long absence - feeling discombobulated and more than a tad listless - during a typically hot Aussie December I wandered lonely as a cloud into the Tuggeranong Hyperdome circa 2000 and the scene nearly blew my tiny mind. Winter Wonderland was echoing eerily from the speakers and a grotesque wintry visage was laid out complete with a cavalcade of cotton to represent snow. I was so happy to be back in Australia, in Canberra my ancestral home, but as beads of sweat formed on my pinkened forehead this strange scene had me desperately longing for Christmas back in England. It was like this for some years - every year the site of fake snow and frostbitten carols jabbing at my confused soul - until, finally, we seemed to wisen up. A penny dropped and suddenly, one glorious year, we didn’t need to try and have a northern hemisphere Christmas. A beach Christmas was a good thing to do. Seafood began to be marketed as an alternative to roasts. In short, we emerged from the shadow of the British Empire and could celebrate Christmas on our own terms. Because although there’s a certain Dickensian charm to a cold Christmas, and as much as it sucks in Australia having three months of drab in the middle of the year with nothing to distract us, it’s undeniably awesome having summer AND Christmas at the same time. Rocking shorts and thongs while tucking into a roast and seafood with family? Cracking a cold beer on Boxing Day and passing out while watching the cricket? Yes please. You could say we have all our Christmases at once. ALLAN SKO - allan@bmamag.com

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WHO: HEATH CULLEN WHAT:SINGER-SONGWRITER WHEN: FRI–SUN NOV 21–23 WHERE: MAJOR CREEKS FESTIVAL

With a knack for writing poetic tunes, singer-songwriter Heath Cullen has been compared to musical greats like Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. In 2012, his love of the music of the 50s and 60s sent him off on a pilgrimage across the seas to America, where he befriended musicians Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Bob Dylan) and Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant & Alison Krause). He rounded up his new friends and settled down in a recording studio in LA and churned out his second album, 2013’s The Still and the Steep. Catch him at Majors Creek Festival – tix from majorscreekfestival.org.

WHO: THE FELDONS WHAT: ALBUM LAUNCH WHEN: SAT NOV 22 WHERE: SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Renowned for fusing together the classic 60s pop sound with hooky guitars and a sharp beat, Canberra staples The Feldon’s are back with album number three, Human Graffiti. A follow up to 2012’s Goody Hallett and Other Stories, their latest album boasts thirteen tracks of mod and powerpop balanced out with a touch of blues. Lace up your brogues and get on down to Smith’s Alternative for a bogey and a good cause - a percentage of the ticket sales will be donated to Movember. Support from locals Raucus Fracas. Fun kicks off at 8pm. $10 at the door.

WHO: LITTLE MAY WHAT: EP LAUNCH WHEN: SAT NOV 22 WHERE: FRONT GALLERY

Big things are happening for Sydney-based indie folk outfit Little May. Having cut their teeth playing festivals like Splendour in The Grass and Laneway, the trio recently gained a lot of buzz from their stint at CMJ in New York, being selected as a band to watch out for. They’ just released their self-titled debut EP last month, the band will be bringing their country twang and beautiful harmonies nationwide as they embark on a headline tour. They’ll be playing The Front on Saturday November 22, with support from Central Coast duo Winterbourne. Tickets $12 +bf from oztix or $15 at the door.

WHO: IN HEARTS WAKE WHAT: HARDCORE WHEN: SUN NOV 29 WHERE: YASS MEMORIAL HALL, YASS

WHO: MARK LUCAS & THE DEAD SETTERS WHAT: EP LAUNCH WHEN: SUN NOV 30 WHERE: SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

WHO: THE CACTUS CHANNEL WHAT: SOUL WHEN: THU DEC 4 WHERE: PHOENIX BAR

Since forming in Byron Bay in 2006, five piece hardcore/metal band In Hearts Wake have gone from strength to strength. Their latest ARIA-charting album, Earthwalker fuses together their hardcore roots with soaring melodies and an environmental consciousness. To celebrate their new album, they’ll be hitting the road with the Indent team, who organise all ages regional tours. A community focused, drug and alcohol-free event run by local youth, the gig will feature local Yass bands as support. Make the trip up to Yass and catch ‘em at Yass Memorial Hall. 6pm. Tickets a mere $13.30 from indent.oztix.com.au. Long serving Sydney alt country/roots wranglers Mark Lucas & the Dead Setters pack up the dog and pony show and head on down to Smith’s Alternative for an afternoon of bookish musical hi-jinks. They’ll be raiding through their back catalogue plus playing songs from their latest EP, Sin City Blues. Joining them will be The Gilded Palace of Sin (featuring members of ‘90s Sydney alt country/honky tonk outfit The Parwills). Settle in for an afternoon of sweet tangy tunes from 3–5pm. A measly $10 at the door. Sick of waiting for summer to actually start in their stomping grounds of Melbourne, ten piece instrumental soul band The Cactus Channel are taking action and playing a few shows up the east coast, reuniting with some of their sunburnt friends along the way. With a swag of new tunes to show off, the band are ready to get toes tapping and hips shaking. Head along to the Phoenix on Thursday December 4 to catch The Cactus Channel, along with Karate Boogaloo and Brass Knuckle Brass Band. Kicks off at 8.30pm. Just $5.

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ian mccarthy A few interesting facts about VIOLENT SOHO: they recorded their first major release on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace label which they later left, preferring the comforts of their homes in Brisbane. Their second major release Hungry Ghost was then recorded in a home studio while everyone involved, including the producer, held down day jobs. Since its release over a year ago, Hungry Ghost has been certified Gold in Australia, seen the band to four AIR nominations and recently been released in the US via SideOneDummy Records. And they all still work their day jobs. If nothing else, these facts clearly illustrate the story of a band with a vision and a devoted passion to their music. Violent Soho are a band who thirst for success, but only on their own terms. Frontman Luke Boerdam recently spoke to BMA about the success of Hungry Ghost, the fiscal struggles of making music and their No Sleep ‘Til Mansfield Tour, which is making an impressive 23 stops all around Australia.

Violent Soho seem largely supportive of Australian music and through their relationships with their label I Oh You and their relationships with other bands, they seem to be helping to revive a more supportive community-based ethos. As Boerdam puts it, “I think there’s a sense of group ownership that comes from just respecting each other for music… It’s a nice natural progression of like-minded musicians, I reckon. And naturally if you’re gonna put a gig on, you’re gonna pick other bands that you want to play with to come watch and have beers with.” Their supportive, hard-working attitude also seems to transcend into the band’s most recent tour schedule. The No Sleep ‘Til Mansfield tour is comprised of 23 dates, including stops in every state and territory - an effort which seems determined to leave no Violent Soho fan behind. Explaining the reasons for such an extensive tour Boerdam says, “Coming up we got to support bands who did big tours, regional tours, who did pub circuits, they did fucking a lot of hard work… So, through all the tours we did for Hungry Ghost we never got to do that proper regional tour and you know, we get hit up on Facebook all the time like ‘come to Canberra, come to here’ so we just wanted to fill what we thought was an obligation, like of course you go play there… It didn’t feel right having a record do as well as it has and not do a regional tour. It felt lazy.”

It didn’t need to sell thousands of copies for us to be happy

As mentioned, Violent Soho’s latest album Hungry Ghost has been hugely successful, maintaining a spot in the ARIA’s Top 50 Albums chart for over a year and securing the band a reasonably large platform in Australia. Although, according to Boerdam, the commercial success is just icing on the cake for the band. “I think it’s just gone way beyond our expectations of what we wanted from the record, because our expectations were quite low in the first place,” he says. “We recorded that record for ourselves… We went to The Shed and we recorded an album our way, that we wanted to make because yeah, we just wanted to keep our band going… That was our aesthetic and that’s what we wanted to accomplish and once that record was made, personally it ticked all the boxes so that on the day it came out, it didn’t need to sell thousands of copies for us to be happy.” Fortunately, the album did sell thousands of copies. Over 35,000 copies to be exact. Not only has it succeeded in terms of personal satisfaction and sales, but it also seems to be casting a wider influence over Australian music. Just a couple of months ago, emerging electronic outfit Northeast Party House grabbed attention when they completely re-imagined album single ‘Covered in Chrome’ for Triple J’s Like A Version. Although hesitant to articulate a direct opinion on the cover, Boerdam seemed to at least show appreciation for such flattery. In his words, “It’s kind of hard to be the judge because I’m just not into electronic music… It’s interesting to hear it done differently. I’m a fan of when people use their brains and have some guts and do a cover of a song from a completely different genre of music and I thought it was really cool that they decided to take it up and go for it.”

Violent Soho’s music seems very much to be a labour of love as the band makes it pretty openly clear that there’s not a lot of money in what they do anymore. As part of a documentary in 2013, guitarist James Tidswell commented on the irony of receiving congratulations for the band’s ARIA award nomination in 2012 while on his way to apply for a job at a McDonald’s. On the subject of making money in music, Boerdam shares a similar sentiment. “You don’t get by in the music industry. What you do is you work in another industry so that you can play in the music industry… A long time ago we gave up on this premise of making this wonderful paid career from music.” Though it sounds a bit bitter, he at least seems to have found a silver lining. “The reason we like it like that is because we want to control everything. If you get into the trap of actually being a full highly paid musician, there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that… and it’s horrible. I couldn’t think of anything worse because then money is getting in the way of the music you want to make.” Violent Soho will be playing in Canberra at ANU Bar on Wednesday December 3. Tickets are available through Moshtix for $25 +bf.

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LOCALITY

There’s plenty of events happening right now as part of 2XX’s Radiothon, with the little community station that could aiming to raise $15,000 to keep fantastic programs like Local n Live up and running. To help them raise the funds, they’re putting on a ton of awesome events, including Turn Up the Frequency at The Chop Shop on Friday November 21 from 8pm. Entry is $10 at the door, with all funds raised going directly to the station. Not only will you be supporting an important piece in the puzzle of our Canberran media landscape, you’ll also be treated to some incredibly rad sets from DJ Dead Joke, neonbombs and more! For more information on the gig, or for details on how you can put your money where your ears are as part of 2XX’s Radiothon, head to 2xxfm.org.au/Radiothon.

Domestic violence is a huge issue right across Australia, which is why a bunch of fantastic local musicians are coming together for Strumming White Ribbons at Smith’s Alternative on Friday November 21 from 8pm. Some of the folks making an appearance include Endrey, Hayley Shone, Evan Buckley, Swoon Queen and Sparkles, with a silent auction running alongside for artworks from local tattoo artists Nick Koster and Ross Jenkinson. All funds raised will go to the White Ribbon Foundation, a not-for-profit with the aim of getting blokes to stand up and help prevent violence against women. Entry is $10 at the door. With a new year looming, the migration of some of our favourite local musicians is inevitable. One fellow who is shifting to Old Melbourne Town is Nicholas Combe and to mark his departure, he will take to the stage at The Street with the Nicholas Combe Nonet on Sunday November 23. Kicking off at 4pm and setting you back a measly $10, this is a great chance to be a part of a live recording of a mixture of new and older jazz tunes from this rad dude before he disappears down the Hume Highway. You can find more info at thestreet.org.au. If you’re looking for a giant celebration of local music to end your working week, you’ll definitely want to head along to Magpies in the City for Super Best Fest, a six hour marathon of awesome Canberran tunes on Friday November 28. Curated and starring the very loud and very charming Super Best Friends, there will also be sets from a huge range of guests: Adventure Sunday, Duck Duck Ghost, Fricker, Hannah Blackburn, Jack Livingston, Maggie Jeffs, Obey the Lifeless and Rather Be Dead. It’s all ages, starts at 5:30pm and will only cost you $10, which makes it easily the Super Best Deal ever. Continuing the theme of massive line-ups, CMC’s regular Wednesday nights at Smith’s bill for Wednesday December 3 is quite the roll call, with $10 getting you a series of short sets from local singer-songwriters like Rafe Morris, Nigel McRae, Ben Drysdale, Emma Dryden, Liam McKahey, Dave Grey, Sally Greenaway and Hayley Shone, all accompanied by Cameron Smith, with Moochers Inc finishing off the evening. Get there about 7:30pm and you should catch the lot. NONI DOLL NONIJDOLL@GMAIL.COM/@NONIJDOLL

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MAN’S BEST FRIEND justin hook Behind all the quirky song titles, hammy stage antics, fake names and mugging for the camera, Mental as Anything were a top shelf pop band. They sailed through the daggy ‘80s unscathed, on a string of songs that refuse to show their age. Right in the middle of all the chaos that was the Mentals were the O’Doherty brothers, Chris and Pete. The former, also known as Reg Mombasa, gave the world Mambo. The latter gave us Berserk Warriors. On that alone both should be expecting Sainthood anytime soon. But after a couple of decades in the Mentals, the pair needed an outlet where their imagination could run wilder. They found it in DOG TRUMPET, a side project that is now their main band. Their most recent album, Medicated Spirits, was one of the best of 2013.

You never stop having the challenge of trying to write a good song

The album, a double, is unanchored by any specific genre but instead of being chaotic it sounds like a couple of veteran songwriters writing to their strengths. Which just happens to be reality, as Pete explains. “I really wanted to make a solid double album in the vein of Exile On Main Street or Sticky Fingers where every song is a real corker. Well, it’s our attempt anyway.” As always, there’s a sense of effortlessness. The O’Doherty brothers have an uncanny knack for making hook-laden songs sound easy, but the reality is – it’s not. “We work pretty hard at it,” says Pete. “You never stop having the challenge of trying to write a good song. If it was as easy as it seems, you’d pump them out one after another. They come in bursts. You just got keep at it.” And like most musician brothers, there’s an unspoken rapport between them, something that is strengthened by Dog Trumpet being pretty much a project run out of Pete’s front room. “We record it all it home so it’s more tightly controlled with the two of us,” Pete says. “My brother is totally untechnical and doesn’t have a clue what’s going on so I can pull the wool over his eyes. You know, push him around a bit and record how I want it.” For all the fun he had with the Mentals (“It was a great amazing time but it spins along quite quickly and you don’t realise what’s happening when you’re in it”) Pete is far more relaxed with the new set up that allows them to take their time. “We have total freedom to make it exactly the music we want to make,” he says. “We don’t need to ask permission form anyone so there’s no comprise.” “You’re doing for exactly the same reason as you do it when you’re 15 years old, for the sheer joy of it and because you want to do it,” says Pete. “Not because of any kind of industry or market force or any of that bullshit.” The results speak for themselves.

Catch Dog Trumpet with special guest Bernie Hayes at the RUC Turner (Turner Bowls Club) on November 21. Tickets $15-$25 via trybooking.com/ FKOD

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are overtaking my time to commit to this great column. If you think you have what it takes to keep The Realness going, please email editorial@bmamag.com.

THE REALNESS I’ve always been a fan of the hip hop columns in the various street press magazines around the country. Whenever I travelled anywhere I would always pick up the local street press to see if the hip hop columnist was on point with their recommendations. I love music, but am musically challenged however have a knack for writing. I’d tried for years to cement a spot as a street press columnist, until one day I caught a break with BMA Mag, after Roshambo handed over the reins of The Realness column. For 2 years I’ve occupied this seat, however now it’s time to pass on the baton to a new writer. Unfortunately other commitments such as a young family

The dope international events keep on rolling into town, this time Queens MC Pharoahe Monch returning to the Transit Bar stage on Friday December 19. Supported by a full roster of awesome Canberra talent, including D’Opus & Roshambo, FlawlezZ, Jimmy Pike, Coda Conduct and Lash. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness one of the best MC’s in the game destroy the mic live on stage. Following the launch of what most critics are calling one of the best hip hop records of the year, producer Madlib and rapper Freddie Gibbs reunite for a final EP, Knicks Remix. This EP contains exclusive tracks not available on the pair’s Piñata album. Knicks, in remixed form, now features a new verse by Gibbs alongside Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$ and Ransom. The b-side, ‘Home’, features BJ The Chicago Kid, the velvet voiced vocalist from the duo’s earlier ‘Shame’ and Madlib’s two-part soul-flip carries Gibb’s narrative about a travelling man’s disregard for his woman at home. Both sides are completed by previously unheard Madlib instrumentals. Legendary Brownsville duo M.O.P. released their first album To The Death back in 1994 and have spent the past 20 years building a reputation as one of the most important groups in hip hop history. They’ve been signed to iconic labels like Roc-A-Fella and G-Unit, released one of the biggest rap singles ever in ‘Ante Up’, crafted classic songs with DJ Premier and did it all without compromising their sound or integrity. Now, to celebrate two decades in the game, M.O.P. is proud to present 20 Years And Gunnin: The Ammo Box. The set will be well received by the collectors out there. With his Southern drawl and soulful production, Mississippi rapper/ producer Big K.R.I.T. has been called the natural successor to Southern hip-hop legends like Outkast, UGK and Scarface. Only four years removed from his breakthrough mixtape K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, K.R.I.T. has already been named a XXL Freshman, appeared in a BET Cypher, released a critically acclaimed album on Def Jam and garnered a worldwide fanbase. Now, he’s releasing The Underground Edition, a limited-edition set highlighting all four of his acclaimed mixtapes: K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, Return Of 4eva, 4eva N A Day and King Remembered In Time. Beat tape fans won’t be disappointed checking out the latest offering from the US Natives label entitled The Great Conjecture. The album features beats from the likes of Ill Clinton, Howie Wonder, LoFidel and Dr Dundiff to name a few. BERT POLE bertpole@hotmail.com

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DANCE THE DROP

I remember my first Doof. It was held in an abandoned multi-story building that would not have been out of place on the Gaza Strip. The lifeless oblong structure jutted out of the dirt like a discarded cinder block, but that night it was lit up like a dazzling dirty rainbow. The glass and doors had been removed or stolen long ago. Some of the walls were missing too and in their place lay huge sheets of plastic that at one time or another were probably as translucent as big bay windows, offering a stellar view of Sydney Harbour off in the distance, but that night the lights of buildings and boats were blurred and twisted by the accumulation of filth that comes from many months of neglect. I assumed there was some kind of fantasy horror theme that night – fairy lights illuminated human sized fairies, vampires slurped red liquid from plastic cups, werewolves huddled around burning barrels and mummy’s slowly unravelled to pumping psytrance. It’s the small peculiarities that set Doof’s apart from your average clubbing experience - seeing a man dressed as a demon urinating into a fire extinguisher will stay with you for years.

Doof’s are unlike anything else on the planet. They immerse you in another dimension, a kooky world of electric eccentricity that makes you realise how exclusive and banal cookie cutter clubbing has become. Guys don’t shred for a doof, girls don’t wear expensive shoes, people aren’t turned away because they are wearing a potato sack, it’s an inclusive community of music lovers and that’s all. No one is there to be seen, they are there to escape from the scene. Attending an alternative party is a must for any clubbers bucket list. Canberrans are being given the chance to tumble down the rabbit hole on Saturday November 22 at Agartha Awakens, a full on bush doof held on the outskirts of Canberra. The 24-hour party features some of the best local and interstate DJs across a variety of genres including house, breaks, trance and psytrance. Check out the Facebook event for more details. See you all in the naked firetwirling tent! Oliver Heldens and Jack Beats are coming to Academy! When I heard this news I almost fell off my spongy exercise ball. Academy Club and Thank You Ma’am have joined forces to put together this atomic event on Friday December 5. If you miss this, well nothing will happen to you physically but emotionally you will be left wanting. With Santa’s jolly home invasions just around the corner, it’s fitting that we begin some form of a yearly retrospective on 2014’s most essential club tunes. Just because I like you, I’m going to hit up some of the industry’s most well respected artists to give you their top five records of the year. I know how much you love bowel rattling bottom end so let’s kick things off with some Drum N Bass courtesy of Sydney’s most itchy scratchmeister, A-Tonez. A-Tonez Top Five Drum N Bass Tunes of the Year Fred V & Grafix – ‘Here With You’ Sigma – ‘Nobody To Love ‘ Gorgon City – ‘Here For You’ (Roni Size Remix) Sub Focus – ‘Turn Back Time’ (Metrik Remix) Miracle – ‘Never Gets Old’ (A-Tonez Remix) TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

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NEW BEGINNINGS PETER O’ROURKE It may be a cliché to say a musician defies easy categorisation, but electronic producer Antoine Rosselli Del Turco or RIBONGIA, is just that – and he agrees. “That’s a tough one!” he says when asked to explain his own sound. “There’s a number of things I like – all kinds of different sounds and genres –and I massage them until they become something else.” Bringing in elements of cut-up beats, tropical trap (yeah, look that one up), dub production, extensive sampling and lush tribal rhythms, the Sydney producer creates a sound that is melodic, intricate and while odd, definitely danceable. “There are so many dimensions to draw influence from,” he says. “Style is more important than artists to me – for instance I really like the duke and footwork stuff, I find it exciting. I have a love/hate relationship with trap – it can definitely be overdone. But the chilled Australian sound is really good, it’s really nice… Not so much nice, but positive with melodic, almost sweet sounds.”

The chilled Australian sound is really good, really nice

“There are certain types of tempos and grooves that really excite me and I’ll work in that kind of framework and play around with it,” says Ribongia. “What those frameworks are keep changing though. I used to work a lot in 150 bpm but then realised that I was kind of limiting myself. Same frame of mind, equals the same shit.” In a couple of weeks Trinity Bar will host the beat-maker who is touring his new EP It Began, a stomper of tribal African inspired samples and trap-esque rhythms. “I tried to approach the tribal thing a little differently, after all tech-house has been doing the tribal things for years,” Ribongia says. He’ll be joined by a seriously huge line-up of local support artists for what promises to be a very fun gig. Promoter and DJ Jay Dred says that while it’s a packed line-up, it will be a great showcase of talent. “We are aiming to have everyone play thirty minutes of the best stuff they’ve got,” he says. “There are a few supports to definitively watch out for such as Pr!ntz, Creamed Crops and also Turtlush - a young guy coming though who makes wicked hip-hop beats.” Ribongia says he’s looking forward to coming back to the ACT. “The Canberra crowd is always really supportive and there’s a core group who was really engaged right from the start, so coming back with a headline show is actually pretty special.” One element Canberra audiences can look forward to is a MIDI controlled marímbula, which Antoine says adds “something visually interesting” to a live performance, which can control a range of sounds from melodies to percussion. “I’m just enjoying that you can try different things with crowds and mix up the sound or the tempo without losing them,” he says. “They almost expect it now!” Ribongia performs live along with a monster line up of local artists at Trinity Bar on the Friday November 28.

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It’s been a good week for Canberra punk with former Triple J Hack reporter and beloved Super Best Friends frontman Johnny Barrington publishing a huge piece praising the local scene on FasterLouder.com. It’s definitely worth a read (after you’re finished with our lovely publication, of course) as Barrington reflects on past highlights of Canberra punk as well as giving a nod to emerging talent like Revellers, No Assumption and Home Brew Records. Speaking of Super Best Friends, if you missed them at The Phoenix last week, don’t stress. The endearingly nicknamed ‘Bestie Boys’ will be back in Canberra headlining the aptly named Super Best Fest on Friday November 28 at the Magpies City Club. This show will be an all ages extravaganza, as it hosts a mixed bag of some of Canberra’s best young acts including Fricker, Duck Duck Ghost, Rather Be Dead, Obey the Lifeless, Adventure Sunday, Jack Livingston, Hannah Blackburn and Maggie Jeffs all for just $10. Australia’s favourite folk-punk outfit The Smith Street Band will be coming through the capital as part of their Throw Me in The River Tour on Sunday November 23. They’ll be at Zierholz @ UC with support from New Jersey’s The Front Bottoms and the UK’s Apologies, I Have None with tickets set at $34.70 and available through Oztix.

What’s sure to be the proudest moment in Canberra and Australian punk this year, the first annual Gingerfest, is coming up in loving memory of the Ginger Ninja. The festival will take place at The Factory Theatre in Sydney on Saturday December 6 and will see sets from 28 Days, Bagster, Totally Unicorn, Born Lion, Clowns, Super Best Friends, Hightime, The Punk Rock Hillbilly, Revellers, Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougal and Lincoln Le Ferve and more. Tickets are on sale now for just $27.50 +bf through factorytheatre. com.au, with all proceeds going toward Vision Australia. On Friday November 21 Sydney’s Corpus will be stopping by the Magpies City Club launching their new record The Sliding Side of Morality. They’ll be joined by fellow Sydneysiders Fait Accompli and Propeller along with Canberra’s very own Lost Coast. This show will be all ages and will cost you a mere $10 at the door. If you’re a Frenzal Rhomb fan you can head to The Basement on Saturday December 13 to catch frontman Jay Whalley who according to Facebook “has rejected all good advice and is playing a bunch of shows by himself.” Whalley will be supported by local acoustic favourites Dylan Hekimian and Jack Billman for just $15.30 through Moshtix. Also, remember to tune into the best show for local and international punk and hardcore, Haircuts and T-shirts on Tuesdays from 10.30pm at their new home on PunkRockRadio. Due to popular demand Taz and Jed, the brilliant minds behind Haircuts & T-shirts, will also be hosting a series of ‘Girls Like Us’ specials starting in December. The last special will also be played multiple times over the next couple of weeks. You can find more info on PunkRockRadio. net or the Stand Your Grounds Facebook Page. IAN McCARTHY/ PUNK.BMA@GMAIL.COM

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ALISHA EVANS Most three-year-olds are only just forming coherent sentences but LA DE DA is well versed and has found her feet on the shore of Lake Ginniderra. The upstairs bar in Emu Bank is a hub for Canberra culture from burgeoning acts to the well-established. Co-owner Aaron Ridley says the goal of La De Da is to support the Canberra arts and music scene. “La De Da is all about local creative content, recognising cultural events and pioneering new acts,” he explains. La De Da was a natural progression from Ha Ha, the bar’s older sister, because Ha Ha had outgrown its digs. “Once the office space above Ha Ha became available it seemed like the only thing to do was make a cocktail bar because it had such great views and a lot of potential,” says Ridley. They wanted to make Ha Ha more of a dinning destination and have the drinkers upstairs, giving people the best of both worlds.

It’s the feeling that we’re building a culture and promoting events that keeps me passionate

Before Ha Ha and La De Da were born, Belconnen had a lack of places to go for decent food and coffee so Ridley and his brother decided to take a chance seven years ago and open Ha Ha. “At the time I was looking at moving to Melbourne but I decided to stay and be a part of the change,” says Ridley. Thank goodness he did because the gamble has paid off with La De Da and Ha Ha becoming the places to be in North Canberra. Ridley attributes this success to there being a lot of like-minded people in Belconnen who were sick of travelling to the city for a decent coffee and meal. There was also nowhere on the water at the time so the venue found a niche in the market. “We’re getting a lot people coming to us from the inner north and all over because we’ve built up trust and because of the cultural events we do,” he says. To celebrate this success La De Da is throwing a birthday bash, Scrambled, on Friday December 5, which will feature all the acts who have played or exhibited at the venue over the past year. La De Da is taking over Ha Ha and its frontage with a beer garden – the three stages will feature local acts. Acts include by Deiblu, Alex and Joel, Magnifik, Yum Yum, Suavess, Genesis Owusu, Mondecreen, Architect DJs, Jemist, V U D U K H I L D, Bottle Brush, Zander Gecko, 30/70, Spirals, Gunwaif, Hayds - Smithgrind Entertainment, Jimmy Pike, Lash, Nix, Scarecrow, Jedbrii, KeegZ, PRNTZ, Clamore, Deafcat and Mattrix.

On the night there will also be an art battle featuring Voir, MR MANOK, Just Misha, Walrus, JRB, Goodie, Juliette Dudley, Miriam Slater, Kristina Neumann, Riley Beaumont, Houl and Roskoe. The art will be painted on egg shapes and once completed these will be used as tables at Ha Ha. All the furniture for the beer garden is being designed by Josh Sellick and visual projections will be put together by Josh Owen. Ha Ha is closing its kitchen with street stalls of food to be set up instead so you won’t go hungry. With such a huge line up you are guaranteed an awesome night; it’s the third birthday party everyone dreams of. Well everyone old enough to know what a birthday party is. Okay, maybe it’s the birthday party I dream of having but I’ll just have to live vicariously through La De Da.

La De Da doesn’t keep her celebrations to just one night a year. They are constantly hosting gigs, having art battles and they also do a weekly wings night, where you get 1kg of wings and a jug of beer for $25.Her cocktail du jour is a libation called Smoking Indo which is a mix of watermelon juice and gin. It’s named after a lyric from Snoop Dogg’s classic single ‘Gin and Juice’. Ridley says the only way to stay afloat is to remain current and keep changing with the times. “The thing with hospitality is if you stop moving you’ll sink,” he says. “You have to constantly be thinking about what you’re doing and stay passionate.” He says another issue for artists in Canberra is it can become a glass ceiling and they have to move elsewhere in order to get ahead or be taken seriously and his venture is trying to change this. “It’s the feeling that we’re building a culture and promoting events that keeps me passionate,” says Ridley. “It’s crazy there is the school of arts and the school of music in Canberra yet some people find it hard to get gigs. There is more Canberra pride growing and the arts scene is building, it’s being helped by places like Transit and Phoenix as well as us,” Ridley says. “We have the best view in Canberra but more important than that is the connections we’ve made and that we’re trying to build a cultural foundation in different areas of the arts,” says Ridley. “People might meet through La De Da or Ha Ha then go off and collaborate together.” If you’re up for an awesome night on Friday December 5, head to La De Da and check out Scrambled. For more info head to facebook. com/pages/La-De-Da/

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cody atkinson OK guys and girls, we’ve finished the internet. Shut it down. We’re done. Run The Jewels have announced they are doing a cat version of their album Run The Jewels 2 called Meow The Jewels. ARE YOU HAPPY INTERNET? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? CAT FUCKING HIP HOP. IS THAT NOT WHAT YOU’VE BEEN CRYING OUT FOR? IS THAT NOT WHY WE TOIL, DAY IN, DAY OUT? Cody Atkinson looks at all things cat hip hop. Man, that feels disgusting to write. OK, who the hell are Run The Jewels? Run The Jewels are a collaboration between NYC hip hop veterans Killer Mike and El-P. Both have relatively storied, if not underground, careers until this point but their collaboration has seen them grab some of the zeitgeist. They released their first (self-titled) album in 2013 which was considered one of the finest hip hop albums of the year, mixing gritty lyrical realism with tight production.

York, with his work as the de-facto in-house producer for Def Jux being stellar (such as the ice cold production on Cannibal Ox’s landmark album The Cold Vein). The intertwining flow of Killer Mike and El-P adds to the depth of their vivid and visceral lyrics throughout, spouting voices of descent and messages of fury. It might not be where most of hip hop is in 2014, but it’s probably where it should be. So it’s worthy of being remixed with cat sounds? I...ugh...I...have no answer to that. Is anything worthy of being remixed with cat sounds? How do you work out what’s worthy of the cat treatment? Wait, how does the cat noises thing even work? El-P has said he will sample different cats in order to make up the beat for each track. It has been explicitly stated that the cats will do no rapping.

Is anything worthy of being remixed with cat sounds?

What the hell is Meow the Jewels then? As part of the release of their second album, Run the Jewels 2, Run The Jewels put up an option of ordering a version of the album that promised: “Run The Jewels will re-record RTJ2 using nothing but cat sounds for music. You are free to profit from this album in any way you see fit up to 100k in net global profit or three years (whichever comes first).” An enterprising fan saw this and nearly immediately started up a “Meow The Jewels” Kickstarter, requesting $40,000 to make it happen. And? Well, because it’s the internet and the word “cats” was involved, people had no problem with stumping up the $40k required and a fair bit more on top. At the end of the two month fundraising period, cat-loving hip hop fans had thrown over $65,000 in the pot to hear a remix of an album that was released for free online. People are paying real money for a cat-heavy version of an album that was released for free online? Yeah. People are paying cash money for a cat-remix album. And yes, RTJ2 was released for free online, along with the traditional CD and vinyl options. Is Run The Jewels 2 any good? It is very good. It may even be the best hip hop album of 2014. It’s a step up, both lyrically and in its production. El-P has long been one of the best producers in New

REPEAT: THE CATS WILL DO NO RAPPING. But do we need an album with people rapping over cats? No. I mean I don’t want to speak for the rest of society here, but this is not a thing that is high on the priority list for the world right now.

Will it be any good? Who knows. This thing is not something I had considered before this year. Maybe I’ve been short sighted all these years, refusing to consider the potential existence of a catanchored hip hop album. I will happily admit my failings. But there does appear to be a good cast of guest producers. Like? Geoff Barrow from Portishead for one. And Dan the Automator. Prince Paul. And a bunch of guys who have had a bunch of commercial success, like that Harlem Shake dude (Baauer) and Just Blaze. If you are assembling a group of people to put together a project like this, I guess this group is as good as any you could think of. So how’s the music press handling this? A fair assessment of the media’s reaction would be “losing their shit”. Slate actually wrote a real life article in real life that looked at what other classic hip hop albums should get all-cat remixes. It was called ‘What Other Classic Hip-Hop Albums Should Get All-Cat Remixes? Our Purrposals’. So yeah, let’s say that they are a bit too excited over it. So I should buy a copy? As much as I like Run The Jewels 2 and love the fact that they are donating some of the money to charity, I can’t write the words, “Buy the cat hip hop album. Don’t walk, run.” Fuck it, do it everyone. Buy the cat hip hop. Embrace life. Carpe diem.

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METALISE Can someone tell me where the year went? Damn… Anyways, this weekend’s album launch for Victorian post-metal and psychedelic blues based rock act Dead suffered a blow to the bill in that super busy support act Looking Glass are out due to drummer Clint breaking his wrist. I’m not sure who is stepping into the breach for the show, but it’ll still be worth it as the Dead guys have been very busy this year and will be in form for their launch at the Basement on Friday November 21.

Of course this weekend coming on Saturday night November 22 at the Basement is a real structural integrity test for the renovations Metal Fiesta 6 with a storied international headliner in the form of the United States’ Prong. Prong formed around singer guitarist Tommy Victor in 1986 putting out five killer and highly influential full lengths before disbanding in 1996 following being dropped from their then label Epic. But as with all things, art is subjective and the bands influence and revered status in the metal scene saw them reunite in 2007. Since then the band have put out three full lengths and a live album, including this year’s excellent Ruining Lives LP. The rest of the great bill features Sydney bands Our Last Enemy and Rise of Avernus, Melbourne’s Motherslug and locals Inhuman Remnants, Na Maza, Imperilment and Reign of Terror and will play out over the two stages that are loaded with great sounding new PA’s. A mere $57 bucks will see you in the door for this special event. The new PA sure got a workout at the Whitehorse and MethDrinker show last week, abled and abetted by Hygiene and Blightworms. Holy crap was that a heavy evening. Hygiene have been busy of late and got rid of a fair few copies of their deliciously disgusting 7” at that show. If you would like to grab one, you can see them supporting the USA’s Full of Hell along with Idylls, Machina Genova and Harrow at a new venue out near the airport called Crossroads. I don’t think there’s any danger of noise complaints with those neighbours. That show is on the Thursday December 4. Ne Obliviscaris set all sorts of records for crowd sourcing their new album this year and going by the reviews of their labour, their Citadel album has justified the investment and subsequent spot touring the full suite of Soundwave 2015 shows in summer. If you would like to experience the extreme prog stylings first hand, the guys are bringing their album launch tour to the Basement on Wednesday November 26 with Canada’s Beyond Creation and brutal brutal locals Inhuman Remnants. Metal Down Under is the last show to highlight this fortnight, also happening at the Basement. Saturday November 29 sees Cockbelch, Drillsaw, Beast Impalor, CHUD and Bricks from Victoria cause the involuntary throwing of horns and plucking of invisible sky hanging grapefruits for a very reasonable $15 bucks.Next issue is time to dust of the top things of 2014 list. In terms of repeat listens I’ve had a particularly doom laden year this year, with Autopsy, Iron Reagan and Super Happy Fun Slide being notable exceptions in terms of fast more aggressive records playlist. I’m gonna have to lock myself down and have a reflection on the year that almost was . JOSH NIXON doomtildeath@hotmail.com

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CARRIE GIBSON Australian fans are frothing at the mouth for Prong’s first Australian tour, lead by none other than Tommy Victor, the face of the band since its inception in 1989. Prong is considered a pioneer of the urban metal scene and sustained mainstream success through the raw wave of the ‘90s. They are joined by Rise of Avernus, Mother Slug, Our Last Enemy, Inhuman Remnants and a fuck tonne more at the annual Canberra METAL FIESTA 6 on Saturday November 22 at The Basement. BMA caught up with the showcase’s favourites. The release of Power of the Damager in 2007 began a new era for Prong. Coupled with Carved into Stone (2012) and their latest, Ruining Lives, the album gave the group a renewed feeling about the whole project and captured such a successful response from fans that the fear of another hiatus from is illogical. Prong have had varying levels of success during its career, yet the band’s decision to go on hiatus in 1996 left a big fat hole, the initial reasoning behind this is now clarified. “It had a lot to do with me and the fact that we got dumped by our label. I didn’t know if I wanted to continue doing Prong and then I was offered another gig with Danzig,” says Victor. “I was like ‘great I’ll be a side guy and just get paid to play guitar’, but ultimately that wasn’t enough for me. Prong was the thing I was supposed to be doing all along”.

recording these gems. “We booked studio time back at Beveridge Road to capture a similar vibe to our 2012 EP,” says Crichton. “We also brought in Michael Voltera to do some additional mixing.” With the material receiving fairly favourable reviews, anticipation from the EP has urged the immediacy for a debut album. “I feel that an album is the next logical step for Mother Slug,” Crichton acknowledges. “After Metal Fiesta we will be taking time off to solidify our new material and plan to be back in the studio by February next year.” When it comes to the Metal Fiesta, Crichton announces the potential deeds. “There may be activities that possibly involve head banging and drinking beer.” Rise of Avernus have recently welcomed their new keyboardist Mares Rafalaeda, who has brought with her a certain aspect the band feels has been missing. Drummer Andrew Craig goes into detail. “Mares brings a positive energy to RoA, an energy we feel was missing. We are all on the same level and to have someone on that same level makes working together far more enjoyable,” he says. “Her vocal style and piano style are something that really suits our new material.”

There may be activities that possibly involve head banging and drinking beer

With the change in line-up over the years, how frustrating was this for Victor considering he was once quoted as saying, “I’m willing to eat Raman Noodles my whole life and stick it out”? “Oh, it’s frustrating,” Victor spits out. “A lot of the people I did want to continue playing with decided to do other things – you feel like something is going well then they choose otherwise.” Victor states he is used to these sorts of situations and finds himself somewhat callous about them. “The fortunate thing about Prong is that as long as I am around it can be,” he says. “In some projects members are replaceable, but I really cannot be replaced in Prong”. Being in Prong has given Victor the opportunity to work with some amazing musicians. “Yeah of course,” he says. “The more I look back and the more I keep doing this, the more appreciation I have for all these opportunities. Some people don’t get that, some get bitter along the way. “I am fortunate that I started out bitter,” he laughs. Since the release of Three Kings of Darkness EP, Melbourne’s Mother Slug (also on the Metal Fiesta 6 bill) have been relentlessly shredding around the country, including a key slot at Melbourne’s annual Brewtality gig alongside Psycroptic and Frankenbok. The material that ultimately made the cut for the EP has in fact been included in the band’s set list since its inception. Mother Slug’s vocalist Cam Crichton explains what went into

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Touring Australia wide with their debut album L’Appel Du Vide, Craig explains the contributions to its success. “I would say it’s down to the diversity of sounds and styles from song to song. I feel having Ryan Huthnance [The Seer] and Jens Bogren [sound Engineer for Opeth] working on production definitely brought the ideas to the canvas in a unique way.” The next release for Rise of Avernus will focus more on the darker aspects of L’Appel Du Vide as well as encompassing fresh ideas. “A new life-force has breathed into RoA aesthetically and sonically. We look forward to sharing it with you all,” proclaims Craig. The Metal Fiesta also makes it a point each year to serve up only Canberra’s optimum for the show and this year is no exception – Inhuman Remnants, Na Maza, Reign of Terror and Imperilment will all grace the stage this week. JDK of Inhuman Remnants speaks favourably of the annual night, stating, “Metal Fiesta has been a long running Canberra showcase – we are always stoked to be included.” It’s not just the bands that make this night a success, it’s the venue. The Basement has been the home stage for Inhuman Remnants who appreciate all it has done over the years. “It’s a great venue and the staff are very accommodating,” quips JDK. Inhuman Remnants will soon be sharing their home stage with the likes of Molotov Solution, Ne Obliviscaris and Aversion Crown. “Inhuman Remnants are keen as fuck to party on with Prong at the Metal Fiesta,” says JDK. Metal Fiesta 6 is going down on Saturday November 22 at The Basement, 8pm onwards. Lineup boasts Prong, Our Last Enemy, Mother Slug, Rise of Avernus, Inhuman Remnants and more. Tickets $56.10 from oztix

RAW POWER JUSTIN HOOK The Stooges are one of the most influential bands in history. Over three albums (The Stooges, Fun House, Raw Power) they created the template for the modern rock band. Musicians spend years trying to nail The Stooges sound – overdriven, incendiary, aggressive, serpentine, propulsive. Very few succeed. By 1972 the band was struggling with addiction and zero public interest in their music. Enter David Bowie who flew Iggy Pop and new guitarist JAMES WILLIAMSON (existing guitarist Ron Asheton moved to bass) and convinced them there was still life in The Stooges. The result was Raw Power. Raw Power launched with the fuzzy and antagonistic ‘Search and Destroy’ and never let up. It was the sound of the world collapsing. Williamson was the man responsible for that sound. After The Stooges inevitably imploded he spent 30 years at Sony developing technical standards like the ones that led to Blu-ray. Then he got a call from Iggy Pop. “It was completely unexpected and the furthest thing from my mind. Iggy called me when Ronnie [Asheton] died,” says Williamson. “Then things happened in rapid succession; I played the biggest gig of my life for the first gig in Brazil, got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame then toured steadily for four years.”

There are so many myths about the past that I like to fill people in

It’s been a great ride and very gratifying at this point in the game to get recognition. Because we had no success at all, the industry ignored us. Call it karmic correction.” This 2000’s version of The Stooges then released two albums of new material – The Weirdness and Ready to Die. It was during the preparation for the latter that Williamson began mulling the idea of re-recording some old bootlegs. The result is Re-Licked. “Iggy and I discussed doing it before Ready to Die,” says Williamson. “We both thought it would be a good idea because the bootlegs don’t serve the music well. We were also aware that any album we bought out under The Stooges would be compared with to Raw Power, especially if I am on it.” Instead, The Stooges went with a new set of songs, leaving the lost album project with Williamson, who called in help from Jello Biafra, Mark Lanegan and Ariel Pink. “The people I selected all were fans. They grew up listening to The Stooges and to the bootlegs, so they knew the songs. Each one bought their own style and you really notice the fun they were having.” Even though Iggy didn’t appear on the album (“There was no way I was going to drag him back into the studio after Ready to Die”) Williamson is at ease with his role in The Stooges and place in rock history, “It’s been a good ride and I enjoy it when people ask me about stuff from the past. There are so many myths about the past that I like to fill people in,” he says. “And besides, it’s always a good thing when anybody cares, right?”

Re-Licked, a collection of revisited Stooges bootlegs covered by various artists, is out now.

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

UNINHIBITED [BODY]

Image credit Alexander Boynes

GLEN MARTIN/Pete Huet glenpetermartin@gmail.com/petehuet@yahoo.com

FINGER ON THE PULSE SAMUEL TOWNSEND Popular culture, in the Western World, has always been majorly preoccupied with the body, perhaps to the detriment of society at large; our unhealthy appetite perpetually fed by television and tabloid trauma-porn. The elusive saturation point haunts us, mirage-like, as we feast on embarrassing bodies, strange addictions, fat camps and the hope of transformation; duckling to swan. The body, in all its guises, is ever present in our world and for artists, the body has always been worthy of consideration; an area of further investigation. The 27 artists who feature in PULSE: RELFECTIONS ON THE BODY, each approach the corporeal subject (or object) with their distinctive perspectives and creative concerns. Concepts unfold and intermingle across the 40 plus works (that include sculpture, photo and printmedia, painting, performance and moving image, as well as words by writer Sarah Rice) within the exhibition. Explorations of form and function, instability, strength and transcendence all play out in expressive and baiting visual formations. The myriad modes and methods employed to ponder this far-reaching concept remind the audience of the awe inspiring vessels each of us occupy. “Notice how your shadow runs before you – it leads the way into the dark – where the body is altogether too much itself,” writes Sarah Rice. Patricia Piccinini’s 2D works, Travels Near The Skin and To Fall Under Gravity, depict fleshy coagulated blobs caught on the surface of their linen canvases, paused in motion. The lasting impression is inviting and altogether unnerving in its familiarity, typical of Piccinini’s ‘fecund’ aesthetic. In Patsy Payne’s Shadow 3, 4 and 5, the audience is invited to gaze up and ruminate on three ethereal figures, each suspended and stoic in a cyanotypic veil, an organic maze sprawling across a textural landscape. Payne’s imagery is achingly beautiful in its simplicity, while the complex and detailed execution illustrates her masterly application in the chosen medium.

The marriage of young and well-established artists was a conscious manoeuvre effected by exhibition curator, Mark Bayly. The discourse between distinguished figures, such as Marie Haggerty, Gary Lee and Christian Thompson and emerging or early career artists like James Batchelor, Alexander Boynes and Charles White provide a measured dynamism to the collection. The painterly works of Sidney Nolan and Richard Larter, arguably the most recognisable names within the show, sit comfortably amongst the more contemporary inclusions, nudging the audience to ponder the relationship that indeed exists amongst the artworks. Performance features significantly in the selected pieces, successfully rendered in moving image by Boynes, Batchelor and The Kingpins. Techno kineticism, the celebrated form in motion and kitsch-orchestrated choreography are material for meditation, respectively, in these moving images. Another noteworthy element to this celebration of contemporary art practice is the geographic connectedness that many of the artists share with Canberra, as more than half of the exhibited artists have forged meaningful relationships with the School of Art, ANU, either as student, artist in residence, lecturer or fellow. The amalgamation of respected and recognisable artists from Canberra, alongside their interstate counterparts, draws welcome attention to the strength and evolution of contemporary practise happening in The Capital. It’s a worthy reminder that artists in Canberra continue to contribute to the great creative dialogue happening here, throughout Australia, beyond. Art works featured in PULSE will occupy gallery walls and floor, extending also into a weighty program of performance featuring Little Dove Theatre Art and Ersatz, writing workshops with Sarah St Vincent, with floor talks and seminars with Julie Brooke, Nell, Sarah Rice and Patsy Payne. These will unfold over the duration of the show, at Canberra Museum and Gallery, between Sat– Oct– Feb 18–22. Check website for more details museumsandgalleries. act.gov.au/cmag

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LITERATURE IN REVIEW The Children Act Ian McEwan [Jonathon Cape; 2014]

In The Children Act, Ian McEwan introduces Fiona May, a High Court judge in London who presides over cases in the family court. The types of cases she deals with are not ordinary family law cases and she has the power to change the course of the fragile lives around which the complex cases revolve. Her husband Jack, a professor in ancient history, has announced that, at fifty nine, he needs to have “one big passionate affair” before he drops dead. He already has a possible affair lined up with a 28 year old statistician and he just wants Fiona’s blessing to pursue it. Fiona is, understandably, not amenable. This is happening as she is finalising judgement on one case and about to commence another of extreme urgency relating to a hospital petition for an order to transfuse seventeen years and nine month old Adam, a Jehovah Witness. He and his parents are refusing, on the grounds of their religion, to accept the blood transfusion he urgently needs to treat the leukaemia that will surely kill him in the coming days. Fiona makes the decision to visit Adam in the hospital so he can meet the person that will make a decision in his best interests and for her to judge for herself if he understands the situation he is in, irrespective of the decision she makes. She finds Adam an intelligent and articulate young man and makes such an impression on him that despite her finding in favour of the hospital, he later writes her grateful letters to tell her that now he is well, he understands the magnitude of the decision she made and the positive impact it has had on his life. Fiona does not respond to his letters but things take an unexpected turn when Adam tracks her down on her country court rounds. He declares he wants to live with her and Jack which is of course, not possible. After she refuses and is ushering him to the door a kind gesture from her is unexpectedly turned to a kiss. She is afraid her professional life is in jeopardy as a consequence of this lapse of judgement for the rest of the book. I admire any writer that takes on conveying complex legal dilemmas that require expert consideration and judgement but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. As much as it added to the climax, I found the twist of the kiss between Fiona and Adam distasteful. The author had me hoping for more for Fiona than to suffer at the hands of the ailing man/child whose ultimate death she feels she had a hand in. I also really loathed her husband but suspect I was meant too. ALSEY ANN CONDIE

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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

ARTISTPROFILE: Cohen Gum

What are your plans for the future? I have a lot of interesting projects lined up after the exhibition so I can’t wait to sink my teeth into those. Plenty of illustration work, which is exactly what I hoped would come out of this exhibition

What do you do? I’m a designer, illustrator and artist. I create everything using vectors, which for the layman is a graphic you can resize as you please without losing any image quality.

What makes you laugh? Horrible/inappropriate things generally make me laugh. I feel like I’ve been desensitised to most things so it takes a bit to make me properly laugh. Comedians like Louis CK, Bill Burr, Ricky Gervais, Dave Chappelle.

When, how and why did you get into it? For the last 8 years I’ve been a digital designer for various companies creating websites, but always in the background, whenever I had a chance I would have my head in Illustrator. It was fairly organic switch really, the illustration work started coming in, and ever so slowly it started to become my main source of work. I thought screw it, i’ll do this now, it’s way more fun! Who or what influences you as an artist? There are hundreds of artists I really like, which is also a problem for me, i spend way to much time scrolling through Behance. I also love crazy detailed illustrations, or when the composition is so complex you just want to give up and die. Of what are you proudest so far? Definitely my first solo exhibition ‘Poke Something That Bites’. I’ve always wanted to do a big show about something that means a lot to me (anxiety). I was also at that point in my career where I needed a challenge, I was starting to decay. Filling the entire Nishi Gallery certainly gave me that.

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What pisses you off? Pretentiousness. Big egos. People that let a bit of responsibility go to their heads. Ignorance. Self-indulgent people with little or no emotional intelligence/empathy. Intolerance. Backhanded compliments What about the local scene would you change? Nothing really, maybe just more of it. Canberra seems to be doing a lot of things right at the moment. I really love seeing the continual effort put in by Sancho from Sancho’s Dirty Laundry, creating events and promoting local artists. Upcoming exhibitions? I’m hoping once this is all finished I can get involved in a few local art shows and group exhibitions. I’m pretty keen to network now that my name is out there a bit more. Contact Info: facebook.com/cohengum/ hello@cohengum.com

UNINHIBITED His head exploded. Not literally, although it would have been quite something if it had, considering we were in a Braddon café surrounded by young men with bushranger beards and young women with film stars for eyes. No, my lunch companion’s head didn’t explode; his temper just flared. He wasn’t angry at me exactly, but at something I’d said. It was awkward to say the least because we’d only recently met, and though I won’t reveal his identity he is someone I greatly admire: he’s one of the most significant writers this region – perhaps even this nation – has produced. In the circles I move in, this man is always spoken about with extraordinary respect. But I’d angered him. “It’s just BULLSHIT,” he said, almost shouting, his face going red. Thankfully what happened next wasn’t an argument, because we actually agreed with each other; it was at this point that we found that we had something in common. I said, “It just annoys me that Australian artists feel the need to prove how down-to-earth they are by publicly declaring their favourite football team.” “It’s so true,” said my much-revered new friend. “It’s as though they are saying ‘I’m a successful musician but don’t worry, I’m just as normal as anyone else because I follow Essendon.’ It’s such a betrayal.” And with that there was a lengthy shaking of the head. “Australians are the worst at it,” he added. “This constant apologising for being creative beings. It INFURIATES me.” Ever since this episode I’ve been thinking about the whole issue of Australian artists feeling the need to apologise. Is it a generational thing? I can’t imagine Barry Humphries having a favourite footy team. But then again he might. He also ditched Australia altogether, so there’s that. Was Margaret Olley a closet (or not so closet) Swans fan? I can’t imagine that either. However, something seems to have happened to younger artists. It’s as though they’re more than happy to call themselves ‘Australian creatives’, but there’s always a caveat: ‘Don’t worry, I’m not an arts wanker, because I’m a massive fan of the Raiders. I never miss a game. I even have a Raiders beanie and scarf and everything.’ At this point I should disclose a few details about myself. I grew up playing rugby union so I have a cursory understanding of the ways of football, no matter the code. I’ve been known to sit in a pub and find myself engaging with whatever game is on the TV. Some years ago a mate tried converting me to the Brumbies and it wasn’t long before I was shouting abuse at the referee along with everyone else. (Thankfully my friend left Canberra otherwise this column might have had a very different take on the subject.) But that’s the extent of sport for me. So, I’m just going to come out and say it: My name is Nigel Featherstone, I’m a writer, and I don’t have a favourite footy team. If that makes me an arts wanker, so be it. And if that makes your head explode, I’m not sorry in the slightest. nigel featherstone

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IN REVIEW

Russian Resurrection Film Festival Manuka Greater Union cinemas Tuesday 28 October – Wednesday 5 November The most antiquated of this year’s Russian Resurrection film offerings, Carnival Night (1956), shows a lighter side to the Russian psyche than even the country’s weather would suggest. Timelessly satirising (and overcoming) the political correctness that once influenced the smallest details even of a large government office’s New Year’s Eve party could be done far more safely today. Nearly 60 years after its birth, Carnival Night remains surprisingly relevant to political pomposity and effective in disarming it. The halting ascent of democratic values in the Russian Federation in recent decades, with its nod to liberty and laughter, has kindled the creative spirit, and the Russian film industry has established a strong place on the world screen. Clearly the industry is in the hands of people who care for it with passion, creativity, and vision.

Canberra hosted this year’s festival’s first Australian opening, on the 28th, with Vasilisa (to be released in December). Vasilisa develops by stages from a small-town love story into a tale of guerrilla warfare upon Napoleon’s invading army by a forest-dwelling band of villagers. In my book, Vasilisa joins festival offerings Kitchen in Paris (2014); Ivan, Son of Amir (2013); Chagall Malevich (2014); and Yolki 3 (2013) in embodying tight scripting, wonderful acting, and impeccable filming and postproduction. Even the subtitling of each was very good. Kitchen in Paris, a romantic comedy with some culinary flair, brings likeable characters together to save their restaurant by going into exile in Paris. It hits all the right notes. Ivan, Son of Amir uses the circumstances of a recent war widow to paint universal themes of new love, jealousy, and acceptance; and does so with real feeling. Chagall Malevich dips into the violence of the Russian Revolution, showing how even artistic dogmas can derail people’s judgement. My pick of the festival, Yolki 3, is at heart a love story between two most loveable characters. Set chiefly in Moscow and London, it will leave you with a warm glow. Two other festival films well worth considering are Test and Stalingrad 3D. Test, which contains no dialogue (but is not silent), is a beautifully shot story of the aftermath of Russia’s first nuclear test in the lives of several people living on the steppes. Stalingrad’s 3D effects bring its fantastic cinematography right at you, but it is at heart a story of human connections and sacrifice. The only festival films I attended that disappointed at all were Oblomov (because the setup that should have taken five minutes took nearly forever) and Space Dogs 2 (evidently for children needing constant excitement rather than variation in emotional intensity; and, except occasionally, its makers under-utilised its 3D technology). Technically, narratively, and emotionally, the festival’s offerings are of a very high standard indeed, justifying confidence in the success of the Russian film industry’s resurrection.

john p. harvey

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bit PARTS

ANTHOLOGY WHAT: Installation performance WHEN: Wed-Thu-Nov-Dec 26-4 WHERE: Corner of Empire Circuit and Forster Circuit, Yarralumla

Image courtesy of Ann Gugler

The brainchild of Philippa Buining and Louise Morris, ANTHOLOGY is a site specific journey installation exploring the lost Canberra suburb of Westlake, now known as Stirling Park. Westlake plays an important part in Canberra’s foundations - in the 1920s it housed the tradesmen and their families, who were building the city. The audience will be guided through Westlake hearing forgotten stories, helped by a dynamic casts of artists providing performances, video installations and music. Anthology delves into our unspoken past and remembered present to reveal rich potential in our imagined future. 6pm. Limited tickets, bookings encouraged - $30 adults, $25 concession from anthology.net.au. ANCIENT MEXICAN CODEX WHAT: Art exhibition WHEN: Thu-Sun Nov-Dec 27-14 WHERE: PhotoAccess PhotoAccess gallery has three solo exhibitions opening on Thursday November 27 and running until mid-December. All three exhibitions beautifully explore notions of language, vision and obscurity. One of these exhibits is Ancient Mexican Codex, by ANU Graduate EASS artists-in-resident Octavio Garcia Alvarado. Alvardo’s work draws on his own personal history to re-imagine the ancient image traditions of Mesoamerican culture. Catch his chemigram darkroom demonstration at 3pm on Saturday November 6. While you’re there, check out the other noteworthy exhibitions, Madeline Bishop’s 80 Denier and Ngaio Fitzpatrick’s video installation Oblivion. Official open night is Thursday November 27 at 6pm. LOCKS OF LOVE WHAT: Film WHEN: Sat Nov 29 WHERE: NFSA and Palace Cinemas Canberra-made anthology feature film Locks Of Love finally gets it’s big red carpet premier. “We were looking for a vehicle that would showcase our lovely city and our many talented local filmmakers. We also wanted to expose them to what making a feature film is really about,” says Monica Penders, Director of ScreenACT. Locks of Love definitely lives up to the challenge, with nearly 300 local filmmakers getting involved to create eleven short films that all explore the theme of love, all linked by the image of padlocks on a gate. Tickets can be purchased at locksoflove-film.com. A CSO CONCERT WHAT: Christmas concert WHEN: Sat Dec 6 WHERE: Llewellyn Hall, ANU

The Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is gearing up for their inaugural Christmas concert, boasting a mix of traditional and modern Xmas tunes. Joining Rachael Beck and Timothy Sexton on stage will be the Woden Valley Youth Choir and eighteen year old local Cara Bessey, who was hand- picked to sing alongside Beck. “Normally making noise during a concert is taboo, but at A CSO Christmas it will be encouraged, so this will be a great concert for Canberra’s families to attend,” says Sexton. Matinee at 2pm, evening performance at 7.30pm, at Llewellyn Hall, ANU. Tickets from $50.98 +bf onwards from cso.org.au or ticketek.

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the word

on albums

album of the issue Ne Obliviscaris Citadel [Season of Mist] Australian progressive extremists Ne Obliviscaris haven’t had the easiest path to recognition. Hamstrung by this country’s at times senseless immigration regulations (something I know all too much about), the band sat motionless for some while (five years, more or less, actually) waiting for clearance for their French guitarist Benjamin Baret to join them in this Great Southern Land. Luckily they didn’t spend that time eating four and twenty pies and watching reruns of ‘classic’ episodes of Mother and Son. As Citadel bears out, Ne Obliviscaris is a band now reaping the fruits of all the hardship and revelling more than most in the sheer bloodyminded guts and determination it takes to put out a world class release. You read that right – Citadel is pure class from start to finish, a lesson in extreme metal in six parts that completely raises the bar for bands putting this kinda stuff out in the future. As much indebted to the pomp rock of legendary seventies US outfit Kansas (vocalist Tim Charles’ sublime violin playing is the icing on this record’s cake, evoking the legendary Robbie Steinhardt at every turn) and Rush as to death metal’s heroes of later vintage, this album hits the bullseye in a fashion that would have had Jim Bowen weeping tears of joy. (Averse as I am to explaining my puns, I’d probably suggest you look the man

up on YouTube – everything will then make sense). The key here is the musicianship. Sure, we’ve come to expect top-notch chops from every Tom, Dick and Portnoy passing themselves off as ‘progressive’ in 2014, but most of these fast-fingered fools wouldn’t know a melody, much less a tune if it leapt out of the speakers and savaged their bedroom-coddled knackers. Ne Obliviscaris, on the other hand, whilst able effortlessly to mix it with the heaviest kids on the prog block (just listen to the wounded bull roars of ‘harsh’ vocalist Xenoyr for further proof) are so extravagantly skilled that they are able to turn into the heaviest metal into the most shimmering, gossamer prog in the blink of an eye. The sixteen minute long ‘Triptych Lux’ being a gorgeous case in point, as the track writhes it’s serpentine way through every conceivable mood and notion before drifting in reverie to its subdued conclusion. This is frighteningly good stuff. Guitarists Baret and Matt Klavins deserve mention too, as an explosive duo whose ability to mesh with one another in a series of set piece barrages intermingled with fluid soloing is truly a joy to behold, but time and again the ear is snagged by the delicious playing of violinist Charles. It is he who weaves a Spanish gypsy fantasia in the middle of this otherwise almost unrelentingly devastating album – the track ‘Reveries’ - that is easily the most arresting thing I’ve heard on a heavy metal album all year. The forty eight minutes that comprise Citadel are easily some of the most spectacular committed to wax this year by any band in the extreme metal sphere. While the juxtaposition of light and shade as demonstrated here is certainly nothing new – and no new ground is really being broken by Ne Obliviscaris – you’ll be left in a state of constant amazement as the band weave their way around the six tracks on offer. The album’s three mainstay tracks – ‘Triptych Lux’, ‘Pyrrhic’ and ‘Blackholes’ – are easily the equal of anything released elsewhere this year by the big prog and extreme metal names. On the basis of these three tracks alone, I’d say we might well be looking at Australia’s next major metal export. scott adams

magic hands Let Me Hold Your Hands While You Fail [Fingerwave Records] Magic Hands, made up of Alex Badham and Lucy Roleff, slot sweetly into the recent surge of electro two pieces, which isn’t altogether a bad thing. Their debut record, Let Me Hold Your Hands While You Fail treks off into sparse psychedelia on a quest to entrance its listeners. Magic Hands do not seem intent on producing sharp pop songs, but slow moving landscapes that travel leisurely around atypical structures. There are many moments where the gentle movement of the sound, pulled by a nostalgic 80’s lick with Roleff’s silken vocals floating on the surface, rings of New York group Chairlift. Magic Hands keep things sparse yet encompassing, with soft intricacies woven throughout. Examples include the electronic intro of ‘Pines’ slipping around a simple bass-line, the touches of a timpani drum flecked throughout ‘Holy Times’ and the gurgle of water proceeding the almost sci-fi ‘Tone’. The hip hop shudders of ‘Limousine’ are lined out with the dancing whorls, descending into synchronised push and pull surges of vocals and synths. It is a favourite for me, highlighting their aptitude with the delicate genre of glitch. Let Me Hold Your Hands While You Fail is a beautifully relaxing listen. Unfortunately, like so many albums that are set on producing dreamscapes, it becomes very easy to either lose track of place within the album or coast around. Perhaps this is due to the silky consistency of Roleff’s voice or the overuse of similar synth sounds. However, if you’re motivated enough to listen carefully and be patient, Let Me Hold Your Hands While You Fail will unfold before your ears with its luxurious entrapments. ANGELA CHRISTIAN-WILKES

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Rachel Collis Nightlight [Independent Release]

Aeriae Victris [Clan Analogue]

Shellac Dude Incredible [Touch and Go]

After creating her debut LP while completing studies towards a Masters of Music, classically trained Rachel Collis teamed up with ex-Thirsty Merc guitarist Sean Carey to co-produce her sophomore release Nightlight. Bringing him onboard helped Collis to loosen the reins on her natural tendency to order everything down to the last note, and their collaboration on the new album included jamming out song options.

Sydney-based electronic composer / producer Wade Clarke first emerged under his Aeriae alias back in 2007 with his impressive independently released debut album Hold R1, and seven years on (after the tease that was last year’s Nurse 2 Alyssa Type EP), Victris finally offers up his long awaited second album on Clan Analogue. As with preceding Aeriae outings the predominant influences here continue to be chiptunes and the sorts of cold electronic scores favoured by the likes of John Carpenter and Wendy Carlos, filtered through the complex time signatures and glacial melodic arrangements of post-IDM electronics. On the ten tracks collected here though Clarke has certainly taken the detail and scope of his productions to a new level, with the increasing complexity of his arrangements revealing his background in classical piano far more than his previous work.

Stark, angular and hard-boiled are words you would expect to associate with the music of Shellac and fifth album Dude Incredible is no exception.The key to success comes from bass, guitar, drums and voice working together as a tight interconnected unit in which no one instrument takes precedence over the other. This approach is a post-hardcore principle of democracy in action and generally works well.Shellac are not the most prolific of bands only releasing five albums in their 20 year existence but each one cuts through thickets of manufactured crap with a well-honed precision, thereby paving the way for likeminded travellers to do the same. Vocalist/guitarist Steve Albini has spent a long time as an annoying thorn in the side of the commercial hit machine and consistently takes a hard line when it comes to the creative act, having dryly described Seattle grunge as ‘functional musicianship’ to give one example.

Collis has a voice that a contestant from ‘The X Factor’ would trade a kidney for (or at least a sibling’s kidney). In ‘Tomorrow’, her impressive range and beautiful tone bring to mind the vocals of Angela Little (in her ‘Ophelia of the Spirits’ record), while there’s a touch of Tina Arena in Collis’ ability to leap up in pitch in ‘If I Could’. She sounds great, whether trailing long, high notes or putting some vibrato into a song. Her songwriting, deeply personal in places, also reveals a carefree side and a lust for living every moment. Some of the CD’s most appealing lyrics refer to hot chocolate, wishing for a dedicated Dr Who channel or for the ability to ‘drive in any lane you choose’. Collis’ piano playing reveals a delicate touch, with some of the best passages being the most gentle, the notes coming slowly, in little bursts, with light between notes. While the strengths of ‘Nightlife’ lie primarily in piano ballads such as ‘Winter in Munich’, there are songs where the keys take a back seat. There’s the quirky, ukulele driven ‘A Duck Named Sybil’ with its jazzy clarinet piece, and the upbeat ‘Yurora’, with its rhythmic guitar and dominant percussion. With masterful singing and musicianship, this will appeal greatly to those who appreciate finely crafted, chillout folk-pop, but less to those who seek material to raise their pulse. rory mccartney

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Perhaps more than anything else, it’s the similarly ambitious and intricate likes of Autechre and Clark that immediately rear up as obvious comparison points here. ‘Revered Daughter’ kicks proceedings off with one of this album’s most dizzyingly intricate moments as chattering broken rhythms lock into place against spiralling synth arpeggios that add a vaguely neoclassical feel to the moody ambient pads and bass murmurs that roll beneath. Elsewhere, ‘Heiress’ sees things veering out into treacherous downbeat electro as vaguely soul / funk infused synths drift against a swaggering backdrop of MPC kicks and elastic bass bends, before ‘Kathle’en’ offers a nightmarish wander through dark carnival organ keys and harsh snapping beats that calls to mind Severed Heads with its playfully twisted darkwave aesthetic. An excellent second album from a local producer who deserves to be better known chris downton

The music on Dude Incredible is functional in the sense that colourful embellishments are kept at bay, so what shines through are waves of tension and release that make for a heated dynamic. The opening title track sets the scene with serpentine guitar lines coiling around piercing rhythms which lurch, swing and cajole in equal measures.This song is divided into distinct movements separated by changes in pace and density but a restless propulsion remains a constant.The album seems loosely themed around the necessary illusion of power structures, but Albini’s voice as a deadpan sonic element is what interests me.This is an exercise in focused concision and even the longer tracks do what they are supposed to on a Shellac album which is to deliver a sharp shock. DAN BIGNA

Tre Mission Stigmata [Big Dada]

The Church Further/Deeper [MGM/Unorthodox]

Interpol El Pintor [Soft Limit]

By all rights MC / producer Tre Mission should be considered an outsider to the grime scene, given that his homebase of Toronto lies half a world away from the UK urban environments that spawned that genre, and its close cousin garage. In many senses though it’s this outsider perspective that makes this debut album Stigmata feel so fresh, with the thirteen tracks collected here seeing him being less beholden to grime’s established principles, and freely interfering with the program wherever he sees fit. While as a vocalist Tre is a distinctive and capable MC on his own, this album sees him enlisting an impressive range of guests, a testament to the influence last year’s debut Malmalson mixtape had amongst the UK scene.

The highly acclaimed Untitled #23 was a hard act to follow, but The Church have again produced something special in their 25th LP. This beast is very different from their last album which, with tracks like ‘On Angel Street’ and ‘Cobalt Blue’, had a more moody, subdued feel. There are many hues in this new record, but they are predominantly bright, thanks to a line-up change which saw guitarist Marty Wilson-Piper replaced by ex-Powderfinger member Ian Haug. Haug’s upbeat guitar influence is evident in the lustre which pervades the album.

When Interpol went on extended hiatus at the end of their 2011 tour, by the band’s own admission they were rapidly approaching fracturing point. They’d lost longtime bassist and songwriting foil Carlos Dengler following the recording of their self-titled fourth album, borne the strain of a couple of years on the road opening for the likes of U2, and seen band members increasingly occupied with side projects. In many senses then it’s almost a minor miracle that they’ve reformed three years later to record this fifth album El Pintor (Spanish for ‘the painter’ and an anagram of the band’s name) at all. It also marks the first album recorded by the band without Dengler, with the bass duties now being taken on by frontman Paul Banks, reducing the band down to a trio.

After a suitably moody intro section that sees rattling broken garage rhythms giving way to an almost Tangerine Dream-esque wash of synths and Tre’s auto-tuned RNB vocal hooks, ‘Real Grind’ sees Wiley’s guest vocals trading places with Tre’s over a backdrop of loose, airy beats and blocky gamecore bass synths, the sudden interjection of Adreena’s chorus harmonies smoothing off the jagged junglist snare rolls and surging sub-bass. Elsewhere, ‘Jessica’ sees fellow Canadian MC K-Os joining forces with Tre for a melancholic reflection on past girlfriends ensnared in drugs and pimping (a recurrent theme here) that sees skeletal hip hop beats fluttering against a woozy backdrop of pitched down instrumental samples and timestretched snares, before ‘Boy In The Corner’ offers up a heartfelt tribute to Dizzee Rascal’s influence upon the grime scene that offers up one of the biggest highlights here. An excellent debut album that’s well worth seeking out. Chris Downton

If some bands produce albums like chicken nuggets, then The Church serves up degustation menus. Further/Deeper is akin to fine dining, where each course brings its own special flavours to savor. Opener ‘Vanishing Man’ is a multi-layered dish, a complex creation with flashes of guitars and keys which appear and disappear like strobe lights. Chiming guitars rule in ‘Delirious’, while ‘Pride Before a Fall’ creeps up slowly with the tentative words “On tippy toe…” before spacing out with cavernous echoes. In keeping with true menu order, the sweetest course is left to last, in the vibrant rhythms of ‘Miami’, which recall their classic ‘Unguarded Moment’. Steve Kilbey sings thorough a veil, keeping up the mystique. Consistent with the band’s intent to stay surreal and undefined, there are no lyrics on the liner notes. It does not pay to try to work out song themes, but it’s nonetheless easy to revel in Kilbey’s word art. As guitarist Peter Koppes has fondly stated, this album has more swing than the band’s usual material. You can choose to either drift away in its lush, atmospherics, or move to either the deep undertow rhythm of ‘Lightning White’ or the fast gothic Eurodisco of ‘Globe Spinning’.

What’s immediately noticeable upon listening to this album is just how little an effect this has had upon the band’s sound, with the ten tracks here pretty taking straight up from where they last left off. Indeed, highly-textured and hook-laden moments such as first single ‘All The Rage Back Home’ and ‘Everything Is Wrong’ see the band bringing all of their trademark shimmering guitar pyrokinetics and propulsive post-punk grooves to bear. While there are few surprises here, on the whole El Pintor is certainly a stronger proposition than its somewhat lukewarm predecessor. Beneath all of the sonic opulence though (enhanced thanks to a characteristically impressive mixing job from Alan Moulder) there’s often the sense that Interpol are paying homage to their strongest moments rather than really transcending them, and there’s nothing here that really approaches the heights of their first three albums chris downton

RORY McCARTNEY

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singles in focus by cody atkinson Play-N-Skillz feat. Redfoo, Lil Jon and Enertia McFly ‘Literally I Can’t’

Jane Tyrrell Echoes in the Aviary [elefant TRAKS]

Perfume Genius Too Bright [Matador]

Jane Tyrrell is well known for adding a smooth female touch to such songs as ‘2020’ as a member of renown outfit The Herd, and for her collaborative efforts with Urthboy. She has taken a break from that male dominated realm of mics and turntables to stitch her own name in lights, launching her debut LP. In doing so, Tyrrell has transitioned from hip hop chanteuse to indie-pop diva.

Based in Seattle, Washington, Mike Hadreas has released a third LP under the moniker Perfume Genius. Deeply personal, his indiepop albums have expressed a lot of private hurt, a troubled self-esteem and insecurity associated with his sexuality. One of his videos was seen as unsuitable for US TV, not because it was racier than the videos for your average pop diva, but because of its homosexual overtones.

Tyrrell and others co-wrote the material in a team effort, with the exception of ‘Stolen Apples’ which fell from the pen of Paul Kelly. Don’t be expecting anything remotely like the sound of The Herd. Echoes in the Aviary is a sonic journey through a forest of electronica and tricky percussion. ‘Wild Waters’ opens with hesitant piano, the soft, mist like singing contrasting sharply with an abrasive background soundscape. Songs such as the title track have a real Bertie Blackman ring to them. Clever layers, syncopated percussion, electro beats and overdubs feature prominently. ‘The Rush’ pits compartmented drumming against a deep, moaning synth. The hip swinging beat of ‘Raven’, with its tap-swivel-tap rhythm, accompanies dreamy vocals which rise and fall like a choppy sea. Electro squeaks and squawks abound, in songs such as ‘Ships’, which stands out with its attention grabbing plucked guitar pattern. Tyrrell changes her delivery to a seductive crooning in ‘Among the Bells’. Beginning with the tinkling sound of a music box, it’s easy to picture this sultry, siren call as the opening song of a ‘007’ movie. Tyrrell’s debut is an entrancing world in which her deep, evocative vocals advance slowly, but relentlessly on an electronic tide. rory mccartney

With Too Bright Hadreas enters new territory, experimenting with harsher sounds as a means of expressing emotion in a more complete way. Similar to past material ‘I Decline’ starts slowly, with hesitant piano and train whistle synth. However, this record brings a more sophisticated, electro approach compared to past albums, coupled with more vibrancy and daring. The previously crisp lyrical delivery takes on a more shadowed perimeter. ‘Queen’ is an album highlight, its icicle bright keys waved over a low, thrumming rhythm and complex vocal layers. Hadreas taunts his listener, throwing their fears back in their faces with the sarcastic ‘No family is safe when I sashay’. The multi-faceted ‘Fool’ brings finger snaps and changeable rhythms, transitioning to floating vocals which startle with a sudden shift to an ear-piercing pitch. ‘My Body’ is another star, with a crazy mix of textures in a constantly shifting audio space, interspersed with a scream and bursts of fuzzy booming. ‘Grid’ shines out with its ‘woka woka’ helicopter blade sound, face slap percussion and screamed chant, before a pulsing disco beat barges in. ‘Longpig’ completes the list of best tracks, with its hypnotic key patterns. Full of surprises, the dramatically varied delivery at times features shrieking spikes of anger, while dropping to an almost subterranean level in other songs such as ‘I’m a Mother’ rory mccartney

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Let’s cut to the chase: this song is terrible, both musically and ethically. Redfoo’s sprechgesang verse has little to no flow, and has the bonus of being incredibly sexist. Someone Else’s verse states that he “don’t wanna hear no”, which...yeah. And Lil Jon pops up to periodically abusively yell “SHUT THE FUCK UP”. Listen to The Stiffys cover of this song.

Love of Diagrams ‘Double Negative’ Love of Diagrams always specialised in cutting guitar licks, and that shines to the fore on ‘Double Negative’. The thrash and thrust of the guitar, bass and drums create a cacophony of fury on this track, one that’s blunted by Antonia Sellbach’s understated vocals.

Weak Boys ‘Hangovers’ ‘Hangovers’ is about the ultimate pains of excess, namely that of drinking too much and the morning after. It’s both observational and aspirational, guitar pop for the slowly aging. It’s also damn catchy, which is the most important thing here.

Mourn ‘Silver Gold’ ‘Silver Gold’ is a nice chunk of slowly esclating post-punk, gaining in intensity and aggression as it progresses. Mourn sound raw on record (or computer), but that works in their favour here,with crashes and flurries everywhere. Easily the best Spanish rock song of the week.

the word

on films

WITH MELISSA WELLHAM

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Christopher Nolan has released another film. Everybody stop what you’re doing and head to the cinema immediately, unless you want it to be like that time you didn’t see The Dark Knight Rises for two weeks – and by the time you finally watched it, you had heard so many mediocre impressions of Bane’s voice that the real thing just sounded like another parody. But yeah, Interstellar is out. Does it live up to the hype? Read on…

quote of the issue “We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars, now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt.” Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), Interstellar

The Best Of Me

Kill The Messenger

Interstellar

If you’ve recently seen the trailer for The Best of Me and had an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, don’t worry – it’s not you. It’s the movie. This is the ninth feature film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, so you already know what’s going to happen: downtown boy falls for uptown girl. At some point the father of the uptown girl tries to bribe/ threaten the downtown boy to stay away from his daughter. Etc etc etc.

Based on true events, this film tells the story of ill-fated Pulitzer Prize winner journalist Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) and how he exposed the shady origins of crack cocaine on the streets of the United States in the 1990s. When Webb exposes the involvement of the US government, the CIA and drug kingpins of Nicaragua his life is placed under a glaring an unforgiving spotlight that threatens his career and eventually his family.

Space in your face. Beautiful, beautiful space. Interstellar is an awe-inspiring journey across the cosmos that travels to the heart of humanity. Hopelessly optimistic, co-writer and director Christopher Nolan has delivered a heartfelt science fiction tale. In the future, Earth is suffering from climate change and humans are facing extinction via starvation. A former pilot turned farmer, Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), is recruited to fly through a wormhole in space and establish a new colony for life in a distant galaxy.

The Best of Me tells the story of Dawson (James Marsden) and Amanda (Michelle Monaghan), two former high school sweethearts who are reunited after 20 years apart. And then… Oh, you know, the usual. If Nicholas Sparks movie adaptations were placed on a scale, with the best being The Notebook and the worst being The Last Song starring Miley Cyrus or The Lucky One starring Zac Efron – then The Best of Me would sit very comfortably beneath both those formertween star vehicles. The plot is quite messy considering the lack of things actually happening – the love story is half-hearted and halfbaked; and the moral lessons are heavy-handed. The younger versions of Dawson and Amanda (Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato) are actually perfect casting, but their on-screen chemistry doesn’t change the fact that you still don’t believe their older selves love each other 20 years later. The Best of Me is the worst Nicholas Sparks movie yet. And that’s saying something. MELISSA WELLHAM

This movie drives home the point that even the most squeaky clean of citizens can be depicted as lecherous and amoral given the right spin (a lesson that is all the more important to learn today with the advent of social media and tele-communications). Gary Webb’s path from point A to point B was not exactly straight however he did not deserve the beating he received from the media. The telling of this story also emphasizes the way in which perception of character is inextricably linked with how a person’s actions will be judged. Expose a few tawdry secrets and suddenly the previously virtuous acts of a man committed to reporting the truth are transformed into attention grabbing, self-serving headlines with little basis in reality.

The earthbound opening, set mostly on Cooper’s farm, acts like a eulogy for the pioneering spirit of the human race. Nolan’s optimism is blinding in the face of the insurmountable odds stacked against his characters and there’s a refreshing warmth to the film that a bright spot on Nolan’s resume of stern thrillers and puzzlers.

One might think given the current climate of Julian Assange internet style whistle blowing this film would seem dated. It doesn’t – very few things have changed, mostly to do with the internet and telecommunications. Frightening and tragic

McConaughey’s performance has the stoic quality of a Mercury 7 era astronaut (All The Right Stuff) but the actor’s trademark drawl and tics are pushed to self-parody levels without the self-awareness. The underlying forces of time and space are tested by Nolan and co-writer Jonathan Nolan who throw around science jargon and theories to drive the narrative. The logic police are sure to pick apart every inconsistency and it’s sad the wonder of Interstellar will be lost on the nit-pickers – because Nolan’s visuals are a reminder of how the power of cinema can heal the little bruises.

emma robinson

CAMERON WILLIAMS

@bmamag

Love, Rosie

Stretch

Love, Rosie is a sweet, slightly funny teen rom-com that investigates the ol’ will-theywon’t-they dilemma of young love.

The behind-the-scenes woes of Stretch, the new film from filmmaker Joe Carnahan (The Grey, The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces and Narc), is how the film will be remembered – but the final product is far more memorable.

Rosie (Lily Collins) and Alex (Sam Clafin) have been best friends since they were five-years-old. Of course, this means that once we meet the characters – as they are heading off to college – they are convinced they could never possibly be a couple, even though the audience knows they will be in about two hours time. But what’s two hours for the audience is 12 years for our young lovers – and Love, Rosie throws every painful setback, awkward encounter and hilarious rejection in the book at Rosie and Alex. Love, Rosie has an occasionally jarring script as it tries to tackle more serious themes and many a predictable plot twist – but Lily Collins and Sam Clafin are just so damn adorable that you can forgive it. Even better, this is a rom-com that doesn’t rely on the ‘uptight power woman is broken in by a misogynistic and/ or useless womaniser’, so you hate yourself a little less while watching it. At its best, Love, Rosie is charming, sweet and a helluva lot more likeable than most rom-coms on the market. At its worst, it’s predictable and all sugar, no substance. It’s empty calories. But as long as that’s what you’re expecting, there’s some quite satisfying about bypassing a wholemeal muffin and enjoying a guilty-pleasure like a doughnut.

The story goes that Universal Pictures was set to release Carnahan’s film theatrically earlier in 2014 but it was scrapped and so Stretch was shopped around to other studios. Nobody was buying and the film reverted back to Universal who decided to release it via video on demand (VOD) platforms only (iTunes, Amazon and Netflix) and the rage of Carnahan was released on social media. So why did Universal get cold feet? Stretch is a bonkers tale of a failed actor (Patrick Wilson) turned limo driver who has 24 hours to pay a gambling debt and goes on a series of misadventures around Los Angeles. It’s trashy, acidic and crude but oddly entertaining – the kind of movie that freaked out a bunch of studio executives, which is the prime reason to see it. Stretch is like a live action version of the videogame Grand Theft Auto with elements of Jason Statham’s Crank mixed in to enhance the crazy. Wilson is excellent as the strung out driver navigating the ludicrous LA nightlife and the actor has the intensity of 1980s Michael Keaton. If you have the means, add Stretch to your playlist. CAMERON WILLIAMS

MELISSA WELLHAM

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the word on dvds

The Kill Team [Madman] In 2010, while serving in Afghanistan, a number of U.S. soldiers were caught engaging in premeditated murder. Under the leadership of Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs – later found with finger bones, leg bones and teeth from his human kills – the group of young servicemen set up fake circumstances under which they could hunt and kill local Afghanis to relive their boredom/bloodlust. With impunity or so they thought. Word eventually leaked when an unrelated incident was reported and the trail started leading back to rumours of an out of control kill team in the Maywand District. The military brass started rounding up suspects and piecing together the repulsive truth. The Kill Team is the story of the main perpetrators of the incident (except for Gibbs – who is currently serving life) told through the eyes of Adam Winfield – unwilling participant in the murders, according to Winfield. The doco focuses on Winfield and his family as he approaches his trial in military court. Winfield’s story is that he was bullied by the unit, especially Gibbs and forced to carry through on some truly gruesome acts. Otherwise he’d become a live target himself. He is a whistle-blower in this narrative. Clearly his parents are sympathetic characters but their son was involved in a war crime and the whole thing hinges on how far Winfield went to stop any of the murders from happening. Plaintive images of Winfield in chains do nothing to contemporise the images of a 15-year-old Afghan child dead in the streets next to a beaming U.S. Solider, ecstatic with the whole gruesome panorama. Are we meant to feel sorry for Winfield’s potential loss of freedom against the brutal loss of innocent life? It seems The Kill Team was unable to grapple the complexity and sheer ugliness, of reality where even ‘good kids’ do appalling stuff. justin hook

Wentworth – The Complete Season 2 [Roadshow] Wentworth finished its wellreceived first season in a flurry of activity. After fighting her way to the top of the heap, Bea (Danielle Cormack) found herself a broken woman. Her daughter was dead, OD’ing at the hands of Bayden Holt, a retaliatory move organised by his mother on the inside, Jacs (Kris McQuade). Bea understandably lost her shit and deposited a pen in Jacs’ neck. Now, instead of being in prison on charges stemming from being the victim of sustained domestic violence, Bea was a bone fide murderer staring down the barrel of 12 long. Bea’s journey from blood soaked innocence at the end of the first episode to blood soaked guilt at the end of the final episode was complete. An innocent woman had been betrayed by society and broken by system. Well, not so fast. The return season of this women’s prison drama – a reimagining of bona fide cult classic Prisoner – sees the introduction of one of the most iconic characters in Australian TV, the sadistic Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson (Pamela Rabe). Ferguson inherits a prison ripe for her peculiar brand of human resource management. She will stamp out drugs, pit prisoner against prisoner for her own aims and destroy anyone who gets in her way. As the promos imply, the freak is unleashed. Wentworth is wildly addictive television. It’s nowhere near as hammy as its predecessor but by the same token it’s not above moments of crazy lesbian inmate theatrics – you have to honour your source material after all. It would fall flat on its face if the performances were too knowing or undercooked but luckily, everyone hits the right pitch for the most part. This is especially important given the show focuses more on characters than broader social or structural themes. Bypass Foxtel all you want, but don’t overlook this gem of a show. justin hook

The Sixties [Roadshow] I doubt there has been a decade so deified and denounced as the ‘60s. It stands out in the 20th century like a sore thumb or massive middle finger. The civil rights movement, landing the moon landing, Vietnam, hippies, the counterculture, the sexual revolution, JFK, MLK, Woodstock, Cuban Missile Crisis, The Beatles – but enough about Forrest Gump. Trying to capture the ‘decade that changed the world’ TM in ten episodes is a fool’s errand and no bigger than Forrest Gump attempted it. The Tom Hanksproduced The Sixties is quite a trip, although its narrative device sometimes strains. Each episode is structured thematically (Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll; The War in Vietnam; TV Comes of Age) and does its best to demarcate events into its own silo. Buts it’s impossible. The counterculture is intrinsically linked to the war and music defined both those topics. Nevertheless, this is TV and time isn’t limitless so you do the best you can. And in reality this long form doco is probably the single best go-to point for the inquisitive. Technically, it’s well produced and tightly edited. Archival film dominates as you’d expect. But it doesn’t squib on the obvious, overseen footage. For every scene showing Hendrix burn his guitar at Monterey Pop there are shots of Janis Joplin tearing it up and cops hanging out amiably with festival goers. The problem with this sort of doco is overfamiliarity with content and images but The Sixties mixes it up wherever it can. And clocking in at over ten hours, it has to. The vox pops are quality if not dazzling. Robert Caro, Barney Frank, that guy from the Monkees, Gloria Steinman, Graham Nash. Not exactly Dylan or Jagger, but good enough. The ‘60s truly was a decade of upheaval and revolution, however mild. And this UScentric perspective is as good as anything out there. justin hook

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the word

Cool Party – Assassins 88, Bobby Kill, New Age Group, Mikey Shanahan Secret House Secret Time

on gigs

Walking through the streets of the Inner North, we try to follow the sound of guitars and drumbeats. The word about Cool Party appeared on the grapevine, albeit the digital one. This was DIY – no bullshit.Mikey Shanahan might be the most “Canberra” artist kicking around right now, with his blend of ACT folk-punk. Accompanying Shanahan on stage was highlights of the Raiders win in the 1994 Grand Final, playing on loop. Shanahan’s strength is his voice, reverberating around the small living room and enveloping the audience. New Age Group hit the stage next, a relatively new band that has old Fighting League frontman Dom Death at the helm.

PHOTO BY MEGAN LEAHY

the word

A bit more structured and less flamboyant, than The Fighting League, New Age Group played a solid set of pretty straight up punk. Assassins 88 hit the stage next for their first Canberra gig for a few years. The room was stuffed like a sardine tin, with people climbing the furniture and some shedding their clothes. Sweat seeped from the walls and the clothing of strangers and bodies flew around the room. Assassins 88 were fantastic, a pummelling machine of bass and drums, both melodic and chaotic at the same time. This was the Canberra music scene at its finest.Bobby Kill (from TV Colours) hit the “stage” next, with just a pedal for company. With the ACT flag tied around his shoulders like a cape, Kill launched into some new material and got heads in the room moving. The lights flicked for a second as he went off stage and then someone yelled from a back room that a fuse had blown and the gig was over. Just like that. cody atkinson

The Ocean Party, Emma Russack, Wives, Cool Sounds The Front Friday November 7

on gigs

Hailing from Box Hill, Cool Sounds played as the name suggested. After a few early set technical issues, Cool Sounds set into a set of smooth sounding soft rock. Sax featured early and often in the set, but Cool Sounds settled into a groove towards the back end of their set. Canberra’s Wives have had a big year so far and it shows most in their live show. Wives are genuinely tight and have an unbridled energy. Put simply, Wives belt it out when on stage and it’s hard to look away when they hit full flight. Each time Wives play, they seemingly get better. Emma Russack managed a tough balance on the night; alternating between powerful and delicate delivery seemingly at will. But it wasn’t just musical range on show, but also emotional. Russack and her band just got back from a US tour and it showed, in sync and on point throughout. The set was well constructed throughout, but ‘You Shouldn’t’ stood-out on the night.

PHOTO BY MEGAN LEAHY

Boiled down to its core, The Ocean Party played pop, pure and simple and they did it well. The jangly guitars carried catchy hook after catchy hook and everything else fell in beneath it. Right from set opener ‘Every Decision’, The Ocean Party displayed their brand of poetic social realism, which juxtaposed with the largely bright melodies on offer. On stage, The Ocean Party are like a five headed hydra, voices blending into one, songs flowing seemingly without effort. I could point to ‘Split’ or ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ or even ‘Every Decisions’ as highlights, but that would be selling the rest of it short. cody atkinson

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the word

on gigs

Tkay Maidza, Coda Conduct The Chop Shop Friday November 7 I will admit, I was a tad worried when I arrived at The Chop Shop. The dance area of the venue was looking quite bare, probably because I turned up unbelievably early. A large part of me (all of me) wanted Tkay Maidza’s first stop on her tour and her first headline show ever to be impressive and it was looking like Canberra wasn’t going to bring it. Support duo, Coda Conduct made a bold impression minutes into their set with planned choreography and chunky beats. The crowd was sparse, but they didn’t let this dampen their approach. Though often sloppy, their complete lack of selfawareness earned them points for enthusiasm. My previous worries were banished quickly with a solid turn out once Maidza hit the stage. Her presence is certainly riveting, but unlike some rappers on the scene *the shade has been thrown*, her live performance doesn’t just centralise on a high level of engagement. Her slick deliverance of quick rhymes was unending, whilst during the glitchy, colourful breaks her small figure would bop around to match the crowd’s dynamism. The quality of her set, predominantly showcasing a selection of high energy tracks from her new Switch Tape, was equally important as to throwing out lolly snakes and inviting the crowd to join her onstage. Songs like ‘MOB’ and the recently dropped single ‘Switch Lanes’ had hooks easy enough for us mere mortals to sing along to whilst Maidza’s rapid verses were immaculate enough to captivate. Wrapping up with ‘U-Huh’ – featuring a dodgy mic disconnection – it was clear both the punters and performers were appreciative of the night’s outcome: a damn good time. ANGELA CHRISTIAN-WILKES

the word

on gigs

The Preatures, Tambourine Girls, Hot Spoke ANU Bar Thursday November 13 Hot Spoke opened with their country-tinted indie-pop that was very easy on the ear. Their quiet, bordering on shy, stage presence and mixed acoustic/electric format was only breached by a couple of enthusiastic solos from the lead guitarist. Vanessa Muir had a great vocal tone, which took on another dimension during a couple of soft, whispered passages. The Tambourine Girls (with not a woman in sight) burned a lot brighter, with their garage flavoured melodic rock, spiced with some guitar work with the strength and texture of barbed wire. They are a band to watch if you appreciate some great guitar interplay and frontman Simon Relf showed he’s no slouch on a 12 string either. There was an obvious degree of separation between the boys of The Preatures taking the stage and vocalist Isabella Manfredi making an appearance, to appreciative shouts from the floor. However, this was not unwarranted given the pizzazz her input delivers to the band. Kicking off with the title track, The Preatures took us on a tour of their debut album. After the subdued ‘Planet Blue Eyes’ the band really arced up with ‘Somebody’s Talking’. Manfredi becomes another person when she escapes from the keyboard – jogging, spinning, even throwing a quick cartwheel. She played the crowd, eyeball to eyeball at times and the punters loved it. Losing herself in the pulsating beats, she crouched on the floor for a long interval, facing the drummer. Gideon Bensen balanced Manfredi’s vocals with his rougher tones, taking the lead in ‘Take a Card’. The danceable rhythms and catchy hooks kept the crowd in motion all night. There is a heap of potential in this band, recognised by their being picked as a support for The Stones.

rory mccartney

@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Wed Nov 19 - Sat Nov 22 Listings are a free community service. Email editorial@bmamag.com to have your events appear each issue. wednesday november 19 Art Exhibitions Little Things

Juliette Dudley explores her fascination of cute things. Nov 6-29. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

Live Music

Something Different

CMC Presents – David Christopher

Beaujolais Nouveau Party

2XX Turn Up The Frequency

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

With Jenny Spear + Sam Jefferess. 7.30pm. $10-$5.

Something Different

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

Christmas Gift Fair

Catch A Moment

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau with jazz, food, + a raffle with prizes. 8.15pm. $30.

Handcrafted and unique ceramic works that are perfect for Christmas giving. 11-23 Dec. Thurs-Sun+Mon

friday november 21 Live Music Spartak

8pm. Free.

with members of Cracked Actor + p a r k s and Paul Heslin. 21st November, 8pm. $5

THE PHOENIX BAR

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Opulent fashion photography by Lori Cicchini. Opening 6pm Nov 6. Until Nov 23. Free.

Trivia

Majors Creek Festival

Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award

POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

Sculptures about everyday moments. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

Ghost Stories

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Screen based portraiture finalists. 10am-5pm daily. Free. NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Life Cycle

Works by Lake Tuggeranong College art teachers. Nov 6-29. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Kaleidoscope

See the world of Hands on Studio. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

Travel Diaries

Photos of the USA & Canada by Andrea Pitsilos. Opening 6pm Nov 6. Until Nov 23. Free. HUW DAVIES GALLERY

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!

Tranny Trivia

Questions with Glamour. 8pm. Free.

thursday november 20 Comedy LOL Pol

Standup comedy. 8pm. $5. POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

Live Music Thursday Jazz

With Jim Denley & Splitrec. 8pm. $15/$10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Chad Croker Duo

Live music. 9pm. Free.

Live music festival. 21-23 Nov. Tickets at majorscreekfestival.org. MAJORS CREEK RECREATION GROUND (NSW)

White Ribbon Fundraiser

An evening of music and performances. 8pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Dog Trumpet

With Bernie Hayes. 8pm. $20/$25 via trybooking.com. THE RUC (TURNER)

Dead

With Blight Worms, DEAD (Vic), BRUCE!, Peter Black solo, Marcus De Pasquale solo (Looking Glass). 8p THE BASEMENT

Chicago Charles/Special K Live music. 5pm afternoon session/10pm band. Free entry. KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Matt Dent

Liam James searches for an alternative Aussie identity. Opening 6pm Nov 6. Until Nov 23. Free.

Liam McKahey & The Bodies

6pm. $TBA. SIREN BAR

THE PHOENIX BAR

Michael John Horneman

Escape Artist

Josh Veneris

Bringing his sweet styles to you. 6.30pm. Free.

VALLEY TAVERN WANNIASSA

Dole/Dolour

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

By Jo Walters. Nov 13-23. Wed-Sun 11am-5pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

7 Stories

Everyday experiences & imagined realities by artists from Kiev. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

9pm. $5.

4some Thursdays

THE LOFT AT DUXTON

TREEHOUSE BAR

7 Stories

Everyday experiences & imagined realities by artists from Kiev. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

Little Things

Juliette Dudley explores her fascination of cute things. Nov 6-29. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Pulse: Reflections on the Body 27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Catch A Moment

Sculptures about everyday moments. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

Ghost Stories

Opulent fashion photography by Lori Cicchini. Opening 6pm Nov 6. Until Nov 23. Free. HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Life Cycle

Works by Lake Tuggeranong College art teachers. Nov 6-29. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Kaleidoscope

See the world of Hands on Studio. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

Travel Diaries

Shapes in Space

DJ Speakerlove

Top 40, Dance, RnB. 10pm. Free entry.

Art Exhibitions

Remixed Top40 Countdown

On The Town

Playtime

saturday november 22

Live music. 7pm-Late. Free Entry. With live DJ’s. Free entry.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

THE CHOP SHOP

Photos of the USA & Canada by Andrea Pitsilos. Opening 6pm Nov 6. Until Nov 23. Free.

THE LOFT AT DUXTON

Free entry.

For Radiothon. 21st Nov.

HELLENIC CLUB (CIVIC)

Jazz, funk and soul. 8pm. Free.

Illworth’s

With Bahlu, Jedbrii, Coda Conduct and Lash. 8pm, $10. TRANSIT BAR

On The Town Thank You Ma’am - Feels.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Art exhibition. 21st Nov-7th Dec. Special opening 30th Nov. 2pm. BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Steampunk

An artistic exploration of Steampunk. 20th-30th November. 10am-4pm. Free. WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Dole/Dolour

Liam James searches for an alternative Aussie identity. Opening 6pm Nov 6. Until Nov 23. Free. HUW DAVIES GALLERY

House music. 9pm. $10 entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Sat Nov 22 - Wed Nov 26 Escape Artist

Feeling Lucky

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

THE CHOP SHOP

By Jo Walters. Nov 13-23. Wed-Sun 11am-5pm.

Dance Hot to Trot

Passionate contemporary dance by young choreographers. Tix: QL2.org.au. QL2 THEATRE

Live Music BMA Hip Hop Night

Hip Hop. 6pm. Tickets TBA. THE CHOP SHOP

Majors Creek Festival

Live music festival. 21-23 Nov. Tickets at majorscreekfestival.org. MAJORS CREEK RECREATION GROUND (NSW)

The Feldons

Album launch. 7.30pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Singed+ Subsequence Fundraiser

A Canberra Skateboard Film presented by Matt Hauzer. 6pm.

Something Different Christmas Gift Fair

Handcrafted and unique ceramic works that are perfect for Christmas giving. 11-23 Dec. Thurs-Sun+Mon WATSON ARTS CENTRE

2XX Radiothon Event 3pm-5pm. $10.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Gorman House Markets

With live music from Carlos Perez. 10am-4pm. GORMAN HOUSE ARTS CENTRE

Inside Out: An Experts Guide to Mental Health A digital book with insights into mental health issues. Special opening 30th Nov. 21st Nov - 8th Dec BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

sunday november 23

With Stenxh, Paul Heslin, Marc Robertson + Psithurism Trio. 3pm. $10 with free CD.

Dance

New Navy

Passionate contemporary dance by young choreographers. Tix: QL2.org.au.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Heaven Tour. 8pm. $15 via Moshtix. TRANSIT BAR

The Mighty Yak

Live music. 10.30pm. Free entry. KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Metal Fiesta 6

Prong, Our Last Enemy, Motherslug, Wretch, Inhuman Remnants, Na Maza & more. Tickets from Oztix. THE BASEMENT

Beth n Ben

With New Gods Of Thunder. 9.30pm. $5. THE PHOENIX BAR

Matt Dent

7.30pm. $TBA. TOURIST HOTEL

DJ Esscue

Mixing the new and unforgettable. 8pm. Free. THE LOFT AT DUXTON

Hot to Trot QL2 THEATRE

Live Music Majors Creek Festival

Live music festival. 21-23 Nov. Tickets at majorscreekfestival.org. MAJORS CREEK RECREATION GROUND (NSW)

Josh Veneris

Bringing his sweet styles to you. 3-6pm. Free.

THE PHOENIX BAR

monday november 24 Workshops French Classes

Conversation, pronunciation, grammar or travel workshops for all ages. Info + bookings: afcanberra.c ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

tuesday november 25 Karaoke Karaoke Love

Whiskey and Blues Tues

With The Guitar Cases, more acts TBC. 8pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Trivia 21 Years Of Phoenix Trivia

With Paddy and Pints. 7.30pm. Free. THE PHOENIX BAR

wednesday november 26 Art Exhibitions 7 Stories

Little Things

The Acoustic Sessions With Rumshack. 2pm. Free.

Juliette Dudley explores her fascination of cute things. Nov 6-29.

The Smith Street Band

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

Traditional Irish music. From late afternoon. Free.

Irish Jam Session

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Irish Jam Session

Traditional Irish music. From late afternoon. Free.

Kaleidoscope

See the world of Hands on Studio. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

Shapes in Space

Art exhibition. 21st Nov-7th Dec. Special opening 30th Nov. 2pm. BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Steampunk

An artistic exploration of Steampunk. 20th-30th November. 10am-4pm. Free. WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Live Music Acoustic Soup

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

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

M16 ARTSPACE

Sneaky Saturday

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Live Music

TRANSIT BAR

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

7pm. $35 through Oztix.

Works by Lake Tuggeranong College art teachers. Nov 6-29.

ANU FOOD CO-OP

With Bellagroove. 3pm-5pm. $10.

IRON BAR

Life Cycle

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

Sunday Sangria and Sound

THE DUXTON

On The Town

TREEHOUSE BAR

With Los Chavos, Brass Knuckle Brass Band, Dr. Stovepipe + Tom Woodward. 8pm. Free.

Everyday experiences & imagined realities by artists from Kiev. Nov 14-30.

ZIERHOLZ @ UC

With different acts each week. 9pm. Free entry.

The 21st Birthday Bootlegs

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

CMC Presents

Burrows, Maybe Harry & Benjamin James Caldwell. 7.30pm. $10/$7/$5.

The Pharcyde

Left-field US hip-hop. 8pm. $40 via Moshtix. TRANSIT BAR

21st Birthday Part III

With Wallflower, Slow Turismo + Mondecreen. 9pm. $5. THE PHOENIX BAR

Something Different Inside Out: An Experts Guide to Mental Health A digital book with insights into mental health issues. Special opening 30th Nov. 21st Nov - 8th Dec BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Trivia Canberra’s Ultimate Sports Trivia Night

Sports trivia. 6.30pm. For tickets call 02 6285 1995. THE TRADIES (WODEN)

Tranny Trivia

Questions with Glamour. 8pm. Free. POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Catch A Moment

Sculptures about everyday moments. Nov 14-30. M16 ARTSPACE

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Thurs Nov 27 - Thurs Dec 4 thursday november 27

saturday november 29

Art Exhibitions

None

Cleft

Special K

By Tara Bromham and Louise Upshall. 6pm Thursday 27th November. Continues until 7th December. Wed-Su

Live music. 10.30pm. Free. KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Art Exhibitions

Live Music

Everyday experiences & imagined realities by artists from Kiev. Nov 14-30.

Millions

Pleasure for Your Leisure Tour. 8pm, presale via Moshtix. TRANSIT BAR

Thursday Jazz

With Simon Milman Quintet. 8pm. $15/$10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

7 Stories

M16 ARTSPACE

Little Things

Juliette Dudley explores her fascination of cute things. Nov 6-29. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

Live music. 9pm-12pm. Free.

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

Matt Dent

Catch A Moment

Chicago Charles & Dave KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

8.15pm. $TBA.

WALSH’S HOTEL

Nick Rigby

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Sculptures about everyday moments. Nov 14-30.

Steampunk

TREEHOUSE BAR

friday november 28 Live Music Vendetta

8.30pm. $TBA.

CALWELL BAR N BISTRO

DJ Norm

M16 ARTSPACE

An artistic exploration of Steampunk. 20th-30th November. 10am-4pm. Free. WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Cleft

By Tara Bromham and Louise Upshall. 6pm Thursday 27th November. Continues until 7th December. Wed-Su

An evening with local comics. 8pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

21st Birthday Part VI

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

DJ Norm

THE LOFT AT DUXTON

With The Crooked Fiddle Band. 9:30pm, $5. THE PHOENIX BAR

hellosQuare Music Night

sunday november 30

Art exhibition. 21st Nov-7th Dec. Special opening 30th Nov. 2pm.

wednesday december 3 Art Exhibitions Pulse: Reflections on the Body

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Shapes in Space

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

By Tara Bromham and Louise Upshall. 6pm Thursday 27th November. Continues until 7th December. Wed-Su

Live Music

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Vendetta

Live Music

ROSE COTTAGE

CMC Presents

2pm-5pm. $TBA.

Minh Ha

From harmonica to guitar to didgeridoo! 3-6pm. Free. THE DUXTON

Sunday Sangria and Sound SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Traditional Irish music. From late afternoon. Free. KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Irish Jam Session

Traditional Irish music. From late afternoon. Free. KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Something Different Record Fair

Records for sale. 12pm-4pm. Free entry. HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

monday december 1

Watch This Space

Pocketfox

hellosQuare presents Summer Haze

HELLENIC CLUB (CIVIC)

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Live Music

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

With live DJ’s. Free entry.

A digital book with insights into mental health issues. Special opening 30th Nov. 21st Nov - 8th Dec

THE CHOP SHOP

Nik Rigby/Special K

Remixed Top40 Countdown

Inside Out: An Experts Guide to Mental Health

Live music. Time TBA. Tickets TBA. Local indie music/art festival. 2-11.30pm. More info on Facebook.

5pm afternoon session/10pm Band. Free.

GORMAN HOUSE ARTS CENTRE

Live music. 7.30pm. $10.

Strumpet & Moochers INC. 7.30pm. $10/$7/$5. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Violent Soho

8pm. $30 via Ticketek.

Inside Out: An Experts Guide to Mental Health

Satyros Comedy Night

Jericco

Encore Show. 8pm. $30. Tickets at trybooking.com

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

With live music from The Guitar Cases. 10am-4pm.

30/70

Irish Jam Session

Freshest mixes of the 21st century. 8pm. Free.

Ross Ryan Tour

Gorman House Markets

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Comedy

9pm. $TBA.

TRANSIT BAR

Live Music

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

DJ Bo Loserr & The Hobby Decs

Colour Outside The Lines tour. With Circles + Guards of May. 8pm. $13/$20 via Oztix.

Art seminar and floor talk inspired by the exhibition. Free. RSVP by 27th Nov. 29th Nov 2pm-4.30pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Live Music

THE PHOENIX BAR

TRANSIT BAR

With Mark Lucas & The Dead Setters. 3pm-5pm. $15/$10.

Freshest mixes of the 21st century. 8pm. Free. THE LOFT AT DUXTON

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

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

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

On The Town

Top 40, Dance, RnB. 10pm. Free entry.

THE CHOP SHOP

Karaoke Love

Kaleidoscope

THE PHOENIX BAR

Playtime

T-shirt market stall. 6pm.

Cleft

See the world of Hands on Studio. Nov 14-30.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Nature Park

Karaoke

Works by Lake Tuggeranong College art teachers. Nov 6-29. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Free entry.

Something Different

Shapes in Space

21st Birthday Part IV

4some Thursdays

THE CHOP SHOP

Art exhibition. 21st Nov-7th Dec. Special opening 30th Nov. 2pm.

Life Cycle

With Primary Colours, Mind Blanks, Magick + P A R K S. 9pm. $5.

tuesday december 2

Screening. Time TBA. Tickets TBA.

Art Exhibitions

M16 ARTSPACE

A guitar and vocals powerhouse. 6.309.30pm. Free. THE LOFT AT DUXTON

Dad Cam 3

AUSTRALIAN CROATIAN CLUB

With Cracked Actor, Ollie Bown/Steffan Ianigro & Melt. 5pm-8pm. $5 entry. THE CHOP SHOP

Details TBC. 7.30pm. $10. SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Something Different

A digital book with insights into mental health issues. Special opening 30th Nov. 21st Nov - 8th Dec BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

Art seminar and floor talk inspired by the exhibition. Free. RSVP by 27th Nov. 29th Nov 2pm-4.30pm. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Perception Deception Exhibition Hands-on exhibits to surprise your senses and challenge your mind. 9am5pm. Until May 2015. Admissio QUESTACON

Trivia Tranny Trivia

Questions with Glamour. 8pm. Free. POLIT BAR & LOUNGE

thursday december 4

Schnitz & Giggles

Live Music

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

EMA Charity Gig

7pm. $10.

On The Town

Workshops

Charity gig. Live music. Time TBA. Tickets TBA.

S.A.M

Sneaky Saturday

French Classes

The Waifs

House music. 9pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

Offtap Trance Night

With different acts each week. 9pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

Trance. Time TBA. Tickets TBA.

Conversation, pronunciation, grammar or travel workshops for all ages. Info + bookings: afcanberra.c

THE CHOP SHOP

With Liz Stringer. Tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au. CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

THE CHOP SHOP

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Thurs Dec 4 - Mon Dec 15 Kasey Chambers

Bittersweet Tour. With Kim Churchill. 8pm. $34-$51 through Ticketek.

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

tuesday december 9

VIKINGS CLUB (ERINDALE)

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

Karaoke

On The Town

Shapes in Space

Karaoke Love

Playtime

Top 40, Dance, RnB. 10pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

friday december 5 Art Exhibitions George Rose Exhibition 6pm. Entry TBA. THE CHOP SHOP

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Art exhibition. 21st Nov-7th Dec. Special opening 30th Nov. 2pm.

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

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

TRANSIT BAR

Live Music

Vendetta

Joan Armatrading

8pm. $TBA.

EAGLE HAWK HOTEL

Timothy D

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

Live Music

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Timothy D

A CSO Christmas

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

A concert of Christmas favourites. 2pm & 7.30pm. Tickets at ticketek.com.au or 1300 795 012.

Segression

On The Town

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

With Red Bee, Carbon Black, Noveaux + Jonny Roadkill. 8pm. $TBA.

LLEWELLYN HALL

Sneaky Saturday

Bluesfest solo event. Tickets at canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700. CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

wednesday december 10

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Live Music

On The Town

Inside Out: An Experts Guide to Mental Health

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Tom Hathaway

House, Electro, Indie/Nu Disco, Chillout and Funk. 9pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

A digital book with insights into mental health issues. Special opening 30th Nov. 21st Nov - 8th Dec BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Something Different

Live Music

The Vinyl Lounge

Finn

BYO vinyl. 5.30-6.30pm. Free.

NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVES

saturday december 6

Blues/roots. 2-5pm. Free. ROSE COTTAGE

monday december 8

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

On The Town Playtime

Top 40, Dance, RnB. 10pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

friday december 12 Art Exhibitions Rush Photography Exhibition. 6pm. THE CHOP SHOP

Art Exhibitions

Workshops

Live Music

Cleft

French Classes

Buddha Nights

By Tara Bromham and Louise Upshall. 6pm Thursday 27th November. Continues until 7th December. Wed-Su

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Conversation, pronunciation, grammar or travel workshops for all ages. Info + bookings: afcanberra.c ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

Patty Mills Documentary Trailer Documentary trailer screening. Time TBA. Tickets TBA. THE CHOP SHOP

saturday december 13 Art Exhibitions Pulse: Reflections on the Body

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Timothy D

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

Something Different

TREEHOUSE BAR

Live Music

HELLENIC CLUB (CIVIC)

With live DJ’s. Free entry.

House music. 9pm. Free entry.

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

Timothy D

Remixed Top40 Countdown

S.A.M

Art Exhibitions

With different acts each week. 9pm. Free entry.

THE BASEMENT

On The Town

With Robosonic, Spike & Lima, B-tham, Fourthstate + more. $25. TRINITY BAR

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

On The Town Sneaky Saturday

With different acts each week. 9pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

Coy Party

Warehouse Edition. 6pm. Price TBA. THE CHOP SHOP

sunday december 14 Something Different Canberra Christmas Markets

A Christmas themed market with gifts and food. 14th-15th Dec. 9am-3pm. $3 Entry. EXHIBITION PARK IN CANBERRA (EPIC)

monday december 15 Canberra Christmas Markets

A Christmas themed market with gifts and food. 14th-15th Dec. 9am-3pm. $3 Entry. EXHIBITION PARK IN CANBERRA (EPIC)

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Mon Dec 15- Sat Jan 17 Workshops French Classes

Conversation, pronunciation, grammar or travel workshops for all ages. Info + bookings: afcanberra.c ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

wednesday december 17 Art Exhibitions Pulse: Reflections on the Body

The Jungle Souljahs

DJ SS & Grooverider. 10th Birthday. Live music. Tickets $22 at theticketfairy.com. THE CHOP SHOP

On The Town Sneaky Saturday

With different acts each week. 9pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

sunday december 21

Live Music

Art Exhibitions

Timothy D

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

tuesday january 13

On The Town

Live Music

Sneaky Saturday

With different acts each week. 9pm. Free entry.

Timothy D

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

None

Art Exhibitions

Live Music

Canberra Blues Society’s Christmas Jam

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

The Weight Downunder tour. With In Hearts Wake, Confession + Antagonist AD. 7.30pm. $53 via Ticketek

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Timothy D

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

With Bailey Judd and Room 15. Bring money/donations for Marymead. 2pm. $5. HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

monday december 22

Something Different

Workshops

Christmas Gift Fair

French Classes

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

Handcrafted and unique ceramic works that are perfect for Christmas giving. 11-23 Dec. Thurs-Sun+Mon

friday december 19 On The Town Warrior Screening

Debut screening of Simone Thompson’s film ‘Warrior’ Music by Wallflower, Hill People, Bec Sandridge THE CHOP SHOP

saturday december 20

Conversation, pronunciation, grammar or travel workshops for all ages. Info + bookings: afcanberra.c

wednesday december 24 Art Exhibitions Pulse: Reflections on the Body

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

friday december 26

Art Exhibitions

On The Town

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

Playtime

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Live Music Timothy D

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Top 40, Dance, RnB. 10pm. Free entry. TREEHOUSE BAR

saturday december 27 Art Exhibitions Pulse: Reflections on the Body

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

TREEHOUSE BAR

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22.

The Amity Affliction

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

saturday january 3

wednesday january 14

Live Music

Art Exhibitions

Timothy D

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Live Music

wednesday january 7

Timothy D

Art Exhibitions Pulse: Reflections on the Body

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

saturday january 17

Live Music

Art Exhibitions

Timothy D

With Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and Tracey Benson. 6pm 5th December, continues until February. Tues-F

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

27 Aussie artists exploring shifts in understanding of what it is to be human. Until Feb 22. CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Something Different Perception Deception Exhibition Hands-on exhibits to surprise your senses and challenge your mind. 9am5pm. Until May 2015. Admissio QUESTACON

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

OUT

DEc 3

best of 2014 edition which means you get a mega issue to read and we get a holiday... so best mag ever!!! ..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

The Feldons Where did your band name come from? Get Smart agent 99 was played by Barbara Feldon. Group members? Mark Hunstone (guitar/ vox), Adam Bowler (drums) James Montgomery (bass/ vox). Describe your sound: A meld of British mod and blues bands of the 60’s and 70’s. Who are your influences, musical or otherwise? Tom Waits, Lord Buckley and National Geographic, the Beatles, the Small Faces, the Libertines and King Crimson. What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had whilst performing? I’m afraid we can barely remember last week’s gig… Of what are you proudest so far? We’re proud of the sheer quantity of creative output we have generated over the years…some of it quite good! What are your plans for the future? To further add to the creative output, write and record more songs, and to work on delivering it in an engaging way. What makes you laugh? Band mates make us laugh regularly. Also ducks, but not ducks that are in a band, just regular ducks. What pisses you off? Indifference and ignorance and beer bottles with non-twist tops. What about the local scene would you change? The Restraint of Audience at a Gig Act 2014. If we could put this in place a law it would help live venues and allow bands to build a greater following. Seriously though, stop local planning regulations (noise) killing live venues. What are your upcoming gigs? CD launch at Smiths Alternative on 22 November with Raucous Fracas. Third full album by the way, just sayin’. Contact info: thefeldons.com and facebook.

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 Greg greg@gunfever.com.au 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

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