BMA Magazine 457 - 11 February 2015

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ideas. To apply go to agac.com. au. Applications close Monday March 16.

VINTAGE FAIR: BECAUSE CLOTHES OLDER THaN YOU ARE COOLER

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 Marley Film Editor Melissa Wellham NEXT ISSUE 458 OUT Feb 25 EDITORIAL DEADLINE Feb 18 ADVERTISING DEADLINE Feb 19 Published by Radar Media Pty Ltd ABN 76 097 301 730 BMA Magazine is independently owned and published.

Opinions expressed in BMA Magazine are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

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In our recent Still Alice comp, we asked you to explain what you say to your boss when you’re more “tired and emotional” than say, genuinely ill. BMA readers are generously donating their stories to save you from making the same mistake. (Names removed to protect the guilty): “In a previous workplace (years ago), our office went for dinner at an Asian restaurant in Canberra and a couple of my colleagues decided to go for drinks afterwards.

The next morning one of our colleagues (who’d gone for drinks after) didn’t turn up. He had apparently been struck down with gastro from the large amounts of ‘chilli’ he’d consumed at dinner. Likely story, however he stuck with it like Meryl Streep.”

“My worst excuse for a sickie has to be food-poisoning.

Not a bad excuse in itself but when I was asked hungover what I thought it might have been – I said with a lack of quick-thinking – a baked potato.

Needless to say I didn’t fool anyone and the following day got made much fun of when I

“I rang in and said I had sunstroke! I really didn’t think that one through though as I hadn’t been out in the sun at all and only realised afterwards so had to take an extra day off in the hope there’d be some sunshine and I could at least look a bit tanned! It didn’t work so on the third day I went in as pale as usual. The boss said nothing though :-)”

THE COLOR PURPLE (AND ORANGE AND RED AND BLUE AND GREEN..)

The hugely popular Swisse Color Run is back for another year of technicolor pavementpounding. Kicking off in Sydney last weekend with a hefty 15,000 in attendence it is now Canberra’s turn to show our true - ahem - colours. It’s a 5km circuit, family friendly, welcoming people of all age, creed or - ahem - colour (OK, I’ll stop now). The Swisse Color Run will touch down in Canberra on Sunday February 22. Tix range from $52.50 (kids over five) to $65 (adult). Kids under five are free. So whether you’re an elite athlete or up for a laugh, for more info and tix head to thecolorrun.com.au .

DO WHAT YOU WANNA DO BE WHAT YOU WANNA BE – YEAH Sick of wearing that lanyard around your neck like the ball and chain that it is? Want to sate your creative urges?

Wanna be near the BMA offices so you can help me laugh at Allan ‘Bossman’ Sko in stereo? Have I got good news for you. Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres (AGAC) have opened four part-time positions to launch their 2015 programs. They’re looking for an Events Coordinator, Marketing Coordinator, a Creative Producer in music and performing arts and a Creative Producer for books, writing and

Facepainitng fail

I liked leadership spills before they were cool # 4 5 7 F e b 1 1

As organiser Margaret Airlie says; “Over the last year or so a group of local vintage and collectible dealers decided we needed a better outlet for presenting our diverse range of products than was currently available. Most of our group are recycling items ranging from 1880s through to 1980s and the rest are producing beautiful hand made items items that complement vintage and modern clothing and will become the vintage of tomorrow. As well as a full range of mens and womens clothing, we are selling fantastic fantasy & formal hats, jewellery, artworks, silverware, ceramics, glassware, small furniture and household items. Apart from ensuring lots of items are saved from landfill due to our efforts, I also contribute a percentage of my sales and money raised from raffles and food sales to the Lupus Foundation as unlike cancers etc. Lupus is an illness that gets little financial assistance from governments or fundraising, even although millions of people around the world suffer debilitating and life threatening illness from the autoimmune disease.” Visit the market on Friday February 27, 6–9pm and Saturday February 28, 9 –3pm at Griffith Hall, Stuart St, Griffith. Free entry.

WINNERS CORNER OR HOW NOT TO CHUCK A SICKIE

was interrogated as to how Mrs Potato Head was feeling and what did I think was the fatal topping!”

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FROM THE BOSSMAN If you’ve ever popped into a Grill’d burger restaurant - as I am wont to do more times than I care to mention - you’ll know that with every purchase comes a bottle cap to place in one of three buckets, with each bucket representing a different charity or worthy organisation. The cause with the most caps at the end of the month gets $300 with the other two getting $100 a piece. It’s a neat touch. A bit of feel-good promo for the restaurant and a lick of cash to a worthwhile cause.

It’s what this system tells us about ourselves that’s interesting.

For as in Animal Farm where we learn All Animals Are Created Equal (But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others) so too do we learn that Some Causes Are More Worthy Than Others.

We all have bills to pay and epic lives to lead and that doesn’t come cheap, leaving only a pittance left to give to charity. As such we tend to rank the order of importance a cause has, and no clearer can this be seen than at the Grill’d charity bucket showdown.

Much like running the gauntlet of the Canberra Centre - where any combination of Oxfam, Amnesty, Feed The Children, Save The Whales, Homeless Joe, Feed The Whales, Whale The Children will be vying for both attention and cash - Joe Q. Public is faced with an overwhelming choice of where to put their charity dollar.

When it comes to the Grill’d buckets, I feel sorry whenever there’s a sporting organisation in the running for a cool three hunge. I feel sorry for them because they haven’t got a fart’s chance in a hurricane when put up against virtually anything else.

Now don’t get me wrong, ye of sweaty disposition. Of course you deserve to take your ne’er-say-die, Mighty-Ducks-channelling cash-strapped sports team on an Australian tour to help put Canberra on the map. You’ve trained hard for years to make it happen and all you need is a bit of extra dough from a meatslapping outlet to cover travel and accommodation expenses.

But if it’s a choice between you and a foundation supporting people born without a head, you know where the bottle cap is going to drop. “Well, I DO like sports,” someone will say, as they hover their cap over the buckets. “But sports players DO generally tend to have heads, so I’ll give my support to Get A Head Org instead.”

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.]

I can’t understand why you would want to watch the entire concert through the tiny screen of your mobile phone. And I really can’t understand why you would want to make me share the experience with you. But seemingly you do. And seemingly you don’t care what a fucking nuisance you are to everyone behind you. You wave your camera phone around, oblivious to the obvious truth that you are not the only person at the concert, and seemingly oblivious to the concept that people go to concerts to enjoy a live performance of a band which they love. And what are you going to do with your third-rate footage? Post it on your page perhaps?

No one will watch it. No one will need to.

Like you, they are living in the digital age.The band has someone filming with real equipment, and the sound engineer is streaming the audio straight from the deck. Sure. There have been many bootlegs made of performances which would have otherwise been lost to the world. But they were made in 1978. With an eight track.Each to their own. But keep it to yourselfYou destroyed my experience. You pissed me off.

As an interesting social experiment, when queuing I like to pass the time by studying how long it takes people to make a decision (like I say, I’m there often). When someone proverbially Oooo’s and Ahhhh’s for a good number of seconds you know it’s three evenly matched causes. But often someone will take a cursory glance and immediately place their cap into an already overflowing bucket. You know that’s the Organisation To Support People Who Flung Themselves Into The Path of an Oncoming Vehicle To Save a Cute Child Carrying A Basket of Kittens bucket.

Because SOMEWHERE in our brain we rank a cause. We might not want to, but we do. Preserving a rare Amazonian butterfly?

That’s a pretty good cause. That’s about a 57 out of 100. What’s that you say? The other bucket is to help support Gorgeous Babies With Lupus? OK, that’s dropped to 3 out of 100. Screw you, butterflies, I have some babies to help!

The only solution is to give away all your money so that the only charity case you would then need to worry about is yourself.

Anyway, I’m off to save a child. And by that, of course, I mean I’m off for a burger.

ALLAN SKO - allan@bmamag.com

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WHO: THE APRIL MAZE WHAT: ALBUM LAUNCH WHEN: WED FEB 11 WHERE: SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Back to launch an electrifying tour in the wake of their upcoming album, duo Todd Mayhew and Sivan Agam are gearing up for a thrilling gig at Smiths Alternative.The pair who leapt into the spotlight after garnering over 70, 000 plays in one week after releasing their first album Two on Spotify are celebrating the release of their new album, Sleeping Storm. Expect to swoon when you hear their haunting harmonies and delectable vintage sound – and let’s not forget that wonderful cello/vocal hybrid that the pair have perfected. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets can be found at trybooking for $12/$15/$20.

WHO: CANBERRA MULTICULTURAL FRINGE WHAT: LIVE MUSIC WHEN: FRI–SUN FEB 13–15 WHERE: OUTSIDE THE PHOENIX

Want to see all your favourite live bands in one place? Canberra Multicultural Fringe has hitched it’s festival tent outside The Phoenix, playing host to more bands and live acts than you can believe over one massive weekend. Bands, comedians, dancers and slam poets will be running the show, including The Fuelers, No Hausfrau, Pocket Fox, Project Beats, No Lights! No Lycra!, Salsabor Dance Company and more. Put on your dancing shoes and get ready for some of the best live entertainment you’ve ever seen. Best part? It’s totally free.

Fri Feb 13: 5pm–12am. Sat Feb 14: 9am–12am. Sun Feb 15: 9am–7pm.

WHO: CLOWNS WHAT: ALBUM LAUNCH WHEN: THU FEB 26 WHERE: TRANSIT BAR

Melbourne punk rockers Clowns are back with a fast and furious new LP, due out on Friday February 20. After a successful debut album (2013’s I’m Not Right) and touring with some of the biggest names in Australian punk, including Frenzal Rhomb, Hard Ons and loads more, what better way to celebrate their success than a nationwide tour.

With fellow punk rockers and US guests, American Sharks, the band sets off on a thrilling, eardrum bursting tour, which, lucky for us, will be coming through Canberra. Kicks off at 8pm. Tix $13 at clowns. bigcartel or $15 at the door.

WHO: REGROWTH WHAT: FESTIVAL WHEN: FRI–MON FEB–MAR 27–2 WHERE: BERLANG FOREST, MAJORS CREEK

The exciting and inspired Regrowth festival is hitting Berlang Forest once again with an awesome four day festival of art, music, education and ecological restoration. After successfully planting over 60, 000 native trees throughout their past festivals as part of the revegetation project, the Regrowth is back and encouraging you to do your part for the environment with good tunes, creative juices and a whole lot of fun. Early bird tickets are on sale now for $190 at re-gen.org.au/tickets, or you can pick your tickets up on the way in for $250.

WHO: THE NECKS WHAT: JAZZ GROOVES WHEN: SAT FEB 28 WHERE: THE STREET THEATRE

With a complex, melodic, unique sound, it’s no wonder The Necks have gained an international cult following over their 28 years together. Returning to The Street Theatre as part of their 2015 national tour, The Necks bring thrilling jazz-like improvisations, fantastical grooves and drifting melodies to draw the audience in like never before. So if you’re a fan of intrinsic, unpredictable jazz music, get ready to put on your Sunday best and prepare yourself for a night of jazzy fun. The music begins at 8pm. Tickets $35 and are available from thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

WHO: CONCERT BY THE WATER WHAT: OUTDOOR GIG WHEN: SAT FEB 28 WHERE: LAKESIDE AMPHITHEATRE, NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA

Surround yourself with friends, family, picnic blankets and food and let Katie Noonan serenade all of you with her award-winning music and absolutely incredible voice. With support from Uncle Jed and his soulful, haunting music and the beautiful lakeside as a glistening backdrop, what more could you possibly want in an evening? Prepare yourself for an awesome and extraordinary night of music at the beautiful Lakeside Amphitheatre – it will undoubtedly be a night you won’t forget anytime soon. Tickets are $45 for adults or $35 concession at ticketek. Doors open at 6pm; show begins at 7pm.

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justin hook SOUNDGARDEN is one of the most extraordinary and unusual bands to emerge from the Pacific Northwest in the late 20th Century. Although they became synonymous with the scene that also spawned Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Mudhoney – yes, grunge – they never quite fit the mold. Their alt-rock pedigree was impeccable – signed to Sub Pop the year after it started, they also made an album for Texan icons SST and were unafraid to play like an arena rock band. They even broke up like a classic rock band in 1997, riven by musical and artistic differences. Sonically, while their cohorts associated lo-fi with authenticity, Soundgarden took a skewered approach.

Vocalist Chris Cornell wailed and flailed like a bare-chested ‘70s arena frontman. A pummeling rhythm section centered around one of the best drummers in modern rock, Matt Cameron, along with the wildly innovative and supple bassist Ben Shepherd set the standard for lurching rhythms. Over it all, winding in and out of the dense walls of noise was Kim Thayil, a guitarist predisposed to defy convention. Even their big hits – and 1994’s Superunknown was a massive hit selling just shy of ten million copies – thumbed their nose at the expected, as Thayil explains. “Look at ‘Outshined’ [from the band’s 1991 breakthrough Badmotorfinger] – it was a hit for us on MTV but the music was in some odd time signature that I can’t even remember. Then there’s ‘Spoonman’ – I think that was in 7/4. That’s not at all common. Most radio hits are in 4/4.”

not recognise what the guitar is doing; there are all these different elements,” says Thayil. “Outside of Soundgarden, I like to take these elements and go in different directions, like towards Sun O))) or Oren Ambarchi.” “We play for each other first,” Thayil says.

“We try to interest each other and if we do that then we hope to find some like-minded people.” For many years the band members weren’t exactly like minded. Cornell fronted Audioslave, released some stylistically diverse solo albums; Cameron joined Pearl Jam and co-fronted the brilliant but little-known Wellwater Conspiracy; Shepherd fronted the even littler-known but just as fantastic Hater (along with Cameron for a while) and Thayil recorded with Sun O))) and Ascend. In 2010, they played some shows together.

That soon became a tour, then another, then a live album, then festivals, then a studio album in 2012, King Animal. That album sounded exactly like you’d expect Soundgarden to sound 20 years after Superunknown – similar, but different.

“It seemed like a step forward,” says Thyail. “We weren’t capitulating to our back catalogue or revisiting old success or material. We were certainly moving forward. ‘A Thousand Days Before’ has a lot of elements that weren’t nearly as present as in most other of our songs, like the rhythmic samples in the bass line. We’d never done that before. Doing something new has impacted our song writing and we’re proud of that. It sounds like us.”

Doing something new has impacted our song writing and we’re proud of that. It sounds like us

You’d not be alone in failing to identify time signatures but chances are you’d recognised something a little different about a song that was written in nonstandard timing. It’s something that Soundgarden have done since the very beginning. “Feedback, noise, drone and harmonics have always been a standard of my guitar playing as long as I have been in Soundgarden and everyone tends to write to those elements, especially myself and Chris,” says Thayil.” That’s what we have always done and we still utilise it.”

Back in the 90s, when plaid ruled the airwaves and mopey second tier knock-off bands thought all you had to do was detune your guitar to be grunge, Soundgarden were throwing in some very unusual sonic colours. There are not many multiplatinum 90s rock albums with songs like ‘Head Down’ or ‘Fresh Tendrils’ in amongst slow burning psych-pop Trojan Horses like ‘Black Hole Sun’. And as Thayil explains, that was all part of the plan. “We experiment within the context of three to four minute songs. We aren’t doing art or experimental music. Featuring harmonics as part of a riff is something we did on our earliest recordings, like ‘Heretic’. They weren’t incidental or a consequence of the recording process – we actually made it part of the riff or the song.

“But if you focus on the framework or the surface you’re not going to hear it. If you focus on the hits, ‘Black Hole Sun’ or ‘Superunknown’ you might only hear what the vocals are doing and you’ll hear a commercially recognisable pop melody. But you might

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Thyail is even happier with the new box set, Echo of Miles: Scattered Tracks Across the Path, which collects assorted non-album tracks over three decades. “Echo is the thing I am most proud of after King Animal. We got 50 songs, 45 of which were never included on any Soundgarden album. We’ve also taken care of some outstanding issues regarding merchandise, management some financial and legal issues and have done quite a bit of touring. I have been remixing and remastering Ultramega OK (their 1988 debut album) with Jack Endino.”

Thayil has also spent plenty of time remastering early releases like Screaming Life and Fopp. Like many records of that era they existed only in rare early prints or less than ideal ‘90s era represses. The digital era sits well with Thayil, “So many things have changed; the market has changed. We can make more things available through social media. This was only on the horizon when we broke up in 1997.”

These sorts of retrospective projects and legacy residues are usually reserved for bands winding down, looking forward to retirement and royalty checks. Not so the reinvigorated Soundgarden. “I maintain a strong sentiment and nostalgia for the work we have done over the years,” says Thyail. “I’m also very hopeful for the amount of material we can generate. We keep rolling.”

Catch Soundgarden at Soundwave on Sat Feb 28 at Sydney’s Olympic Park. $188 +bf for weekend pass or $132 +bf for a day pass via soundwavefestival.com/tickets.

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LOCALITY

I love this time of year, partly because I pull out my best Valentine’s Day lines, but there’s simply not enough room this time. Bugger.

First up, there’s really one major event that can’t be ignored this fortnight: the National Multicultural Festival and its little sister, the Canberra Multicultural Fringe, running Fri–Sat Feb 13–15, with plenty of local artists taking to stages across both festivals. The Multicultural Festival will include Kristabelle & The Southern Jubilee Ringers, Ivory Lights and The Old 45s while the local lineup for Fringe Central, located out the front of The Phoenix, includes The Fuelers, The Crossbones, Raio de Sol Samba, NOZL, Liam McKahey and The Bodies, Ruth O’Brien, Sanji De Silva Band, No Hausfrau, Matt Dent, Konrad Lenz, Bo Loserr, Moochers Inc, The Blade Winner and Pocket Fox, as well as a few notable interlopers from out of town. And the best bit? With the exception of a few extra-special events, it’s all free! So grab yourself a round-theworld feast on a stick/paper plate and a beer/other multicultural beverage and head along at some point. For a full list of times and locations, visit multiculturalfestival.com.au or visit facebook.com/ CanberraMulticulturalFringe for updates.

If you get through the most worldly time of the year and find yourself still craving some Latin vibes, Los Chavos will be hitting The Phoenix’s stage on Saturday February 21, with supports starting at 9:30pm. Dancing shoes are essential, as well as the $5 you’ll need for entry and a whole lot of fun.

The Transit Bar Battle of the Bands is back for 2015, with the heats happening every Friday from Friday February 13. The tunes kick off at 8pm and entry is totally free. Head along and catch some of Canberra’s up and coming musicians compete for the chance to take home the $1000 grand prize! Groovin The ANU will return to ANU Bar on Friday February 20 from 8pm, promising sets from The Feldons, Loud So Clear, Kitten Hurricane and Capes, with entry costing absolutely nothing. They’re also looking for artists to join the line-ups for the upcoming months. You’ll need to be over 18 and keen to put on a free show for up to 200 punters. If this sounds like a bit of good fun and the chance to get a little exposure that you’ve been waiting for, drop Gaz a line at info@greenroomcanberra.com.

When Seth Sentry wrote ‘The Waitress Song’, it’s unlikely he was thinking about what was going through said waitress’ head. Luckily for him, Coda Conduct have released a response to the tune, with a video for their own ‘Waitress Song’ going online. You can find it on YouTube, or head to Sentry’s Facebook page, where it’s already been posted a bunch of times. On top of that, these lovely ladies of hip hop have also have a Pozible campaign running until Monday February 23, raising funds for the release of their debut EP, Butter Side Up. Throw them some moolah and get yourself a rad reward or two, like t-shirts, stickers, tickets to their album launch tour, haikus or a birthday rap. Find it all at pozible.com/project/190655.

Until next time, give your Valentine a kiss from me. X NONI DOLL nonijdoll@gmail.com /@nonijdoll

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OH WHAT A KNIGHT

RORY MCCARTNEY

Long before Braddon became a hipster paradise/gourmet heaven, the only venue offering a bit of sophistication beyond what the Civic Pub could provide was KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE. Fight your way past the car yards and workshops of ye olde Braddon and there it was, a small cozy venue in Mort Street, located at street level despite its lofty name, which had been around since 2004. The bar has recently come under the new ownership of Troy and Alayna, who are keen to broadcast that the iconic venue’s motto of ‘Good Times Guaranteed’ still stands. BMA spoke to marketing manager and house DJ Michael Liu about the bar’s attractions which drew its new owners. “Anyone who comes to Knighty falls in love with it and its enduring character and life force,” says Liu. “It’s so fun.”

Anyone who comes to Knighty falls in love with it and its enduring character and life force.

Like the surrounding area, the Knighty has adapted to what the punters have wanted, going from a serious cocktail bar, to a nightclub, to a place where you can dance to esoteric seven inch records. “In its current phase it’s the bartenders’ bar, a place that’s open late where everyone loves having a drink with us, while being fun, young and vibrant,” Liu says. “It’s the only place where you can order five espresso martinis at 4am and be assured they’ll all taste great.” The Knighty has an emphasis on soft beats and cocktails with an ambience suitable for good fellowship in a slightly hip atmosphere. “It toes the line very well between being a lot of fun and daggy, but at the same time being very hip in décor and music,” says Liu. In house DJs include Jemist, Zac Norman and Liu himself, always aiming for something funky and toe tapping, which is enduring rather than ephemeral, without being captured by particular genres. “We seek music that speaks to many generations, to cater for the broad age range of the punters.”

Always up with trends, the bar abandoned a printed drinks menu in favour of chalkboards, to allow daily updates according to how the bartenders felt. It’s also known to use local artists to decorate its interior and reuse discarded items to keep it fresh. “We like to keep it updated and our resident handyman come bartender, Tom, is out at the Green Shed collecting vintage gear, such as old deck chairs,” says Liu. “Plus we have great local art around our walls.”

The venue is well known for its party nights, particularly the annual venue birthday bash. Themes vary from Halloween to going on safari.

“It’s the sort of place where people take dressing up very seriously.

They get very excited about a fancy dress party, as adults.” The ongoing redevelopment of Braddon has not threatened the Knighty.

“We have a strong foothold,” says Liu. “If anything, it has exposed us to more people.” Knightsbridge Penthouse intends to provide an oasis for night owls for a long time to come.

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Knightsbridge Penthouse at 1/34Mort Street Braddon is open from 5pm to late, Tuesday to Saturday.

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ian mccarthy Ahh, O-Week – a tradition as old as university itself (probably).

Young adults/old adolescents familiarizse themselves with a new campus, make new friends, prepare for their classes and most importantly get trashed and party. O-Week is prime time for the making of fond but hazy memories – the word “hazy” being a key segue-way as this year the ANU will be continuing its tradition of throwing kickass O-Week concerts with the even bigger and better PURPLE HAZE PARTY. I got the opportunity to speak with event organizer Michael Liu along with Ben Woolner of SAFIA about the exciting event.

Although the ANU has been running similar O-Week concerts for years, this year’s lineup is the largest to date by a significant margin. “I guess we’ve had like either one or two really big headliners in the past,” says Liu. “I guess I wanted more headliners and to spread it out and to just have a really solid base of great Aussie artists.”

Liu seems to have achieved this goal, which became obvious as he unleashed a list of four of the biggest Australian acts. “All the [artists] are of course stonewalls in the Australian music industry,” he says. “British India, Allday and SAFIA, all in the Hottest 100 and then you’ve got Art vs.

Science which is just, you know, a party favourite.”

was still a really good gig, it sold out, but coming back again there were so many more people and the reception was amazing so it should be good.” While excited to see some friendly faces at home, Woolner also seemed keen to meet up with some Aussie music mates, both old and new. “We’ve played with Art vs. Science and Allday heaps and heaps of times so they’re always fun to catch up with… I haven’t actually played with British India or seen their live stuff before but I’ve been a fan of their stuff since a long time back so it’s gonna be cool to see their songs live finally.”

Woolner’s love for both his home crowd and fellow performers seems fitting considering the concert’s theme, which Liu spoke of with much enthusiasm. “Summer Of Love,” he exclaims. “That’s the theme for ANU’s O-Week this year and that really sort of sums of the vibe we’re going for. Something super happy, cheesy it may be, but sort of a throwback to that flower power type of feeling. Particularly that sort of sits very well with ANU because, you know, I’m sure back in the 60s people were sitting in their flares out on the grass, talking about Marxism and all that sort of stuff and we want to sort of bring it back to that.”

I wanted more headliners and to spread it out and to just have a really solid base of great Aussie artists

While clearly proud of the lineup as a whole, Liu seems particularly happy with the booking of SAFIA, a homegrown Canberra band who through the past couple of years have found themselves edging ever-closer to the heights of Australian music. As Liu puts it, “There’s something really nice about the fact that [SAFIA] had opened two or three years ago and now they’re one of the headliners… I worked with SAFIAtwo years ago and just to see their meteoric rise is crazy… I’m pretty damn excited because they’ve just come off the back of like a huge festival run.”

Ben Woolner himself was also quick to recognize that SAFIA are no strangers to the ANU O-Week experience. “The ANU festivals are always a lot of fun,” he says. “We did it two years ago kind of as a local band when The Presets played and that was an awesome night. And we went last year ‘cause our friends were playing, Bluejuice and Rufus – we just sort of partied with those guys and it was a great year again.”

Woolner also seemed excited at the prospect of playing a show in SAFIA’s hometown in between long periods of time on the road.

“It’s always a really good reception [in Canberra],” he says. “Our own show at Academy at the end of last year was amazing. Especially because the one before that was like early May at Transit Bar. It

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The best news however, is that even though the event is targeted around ANU’s O-Week, you don’t need to be a student to attend, with general admission tickets also being sold to the general public. “ANU students have access to discounted tickets, but we’re certainly not gonna restrict this to students only,” says Liu. “It’s such an incredible opportunity for Canberrans to get amongst a really great concert and for forty bucks for a general release ticket, it’s pretty damn cheap.”

One of the most impressive features of the event though, is that despite the impressive lineup and management which might suggest the organisation of a seasoned professional, Liu was quick to admit to this being his first time organizing a large scale event. “I’ve been a muso around town for a long while… playing violin is where it’s all come from, playing violin with DJ’s and electronic music…” says Liu. “It’s all really sort of stemmed from that and then from there I started doing a bit of events management for myself and it’s just grown and grown. I’ve sort of been at ANU for a while now and been pretty involved with the music society on campus.” Obviously excited by the opportunity he’s been given, Liu remained humble about how he acquired the job, saying “…I dunno, I guess the uni just felt that I was a good fit and I’m just really lucky to be able to put on a sick party for the kids.”

ANUSA’s ‘Purple Haze Party’ will kick off at the ANU’s Fellows Oval at 5pm on Friday February 13. $30 for ANU Students and $40 for general admission and are available at purplehaze.getqpay.com.

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DANCE THE DROP

As the seconds tick by on my death clock, I trade tiny crow’s feet and an unhappy liver for insight and wisdom. To the untrained wrinkle free eye, this may seem like an unbalanced trade agreement but it does come with a couple of worthwhile bonuses. My relationship with dance music, my biggest passion, has changed for the better.

It is no longer driven by the need to shed the weekday worries like a superfluous snakeskin and dive headfirst into the smoke and laser beams, jug in hand.

When we were first introduced, dance music and I had a simple but ultimately effective relationship. On one side, it existed as little

more than the repetitive self-medicated tonic that anesthetised the sombre feeling one gets while stuck on the nine to five treadmill and I was a sweaty and eager upstart with happy feet and a penchant for silliness. On this basis, it worked. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that our relationship has matured since then, I still laugh at farty synthesiser noises, dance around like a robot and turn the volume knob up way too loud – rather, our relationship has evolved. Dance music has become an inspiring and fulfilling part of my marrow – it’s like we don’t fuck anymore, we make love.

So where is the electronic locomotive headed in 2015? The general tastemaker for the Australian scene has always been the UK, so we can expect lots of wicked drum and bass acts like Sigma to break through into the Aussie mainstream over the next six months. These lads are absolutely destroying the charts in England at present so expect to hear them in your eardrums very soon. Bass DJs are eclipsing their EDM rivals at a frightening pace, led by stalwarts Diplo and Dillon Francis. With these captains at the helm, I predict that the current trap movement will be replaced by a resurgence of Moombahton, which is a cool hybrid of house, reggae and electro.

On a personal note, I’m happy that the general public are warming to ‘deep house’ (which is basically just house music) because it’s steering people away from maximal music like EDM, which is becoming a farcical competition between US based millionaires to see who can make the loudest piece of shit record in the world. It’s going to be a pivotal year, so don’t forget to take your vitamins.

Canadian game changer Tiga is killing it at the moment with his latest single ‘Bugatti’. His record label Turbo Recordings is also experiencing resurgence thanks to the brilliant work of label boss Thomas Von Party who is appearing at La De Da on Friday February 20.

If you like your music violently sexy and subtly ground-breaking, don’t miss this event!

Speaking of ‘Bugatti’, Boys Noize and Tommy Trash have just released absolutely ridiculous remixes of the track so check them out if you love acid and bangers. Wobbly house newcomer Preditah is set to release one of my favourite tracks of 2015, ‘Selecta’, keep your ears peeled for that one. The Prodigy are back with a new single called ‘Nasty’ – check the Spor remix for proper old school Prodigy flavour. Finally, true house lovers should jump all over the Todd Edwards remix of Étienne de Crécy’s ‘You’ – proper quality right there.

TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

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CODY ATKINSON Leaking albums: it’s a thing. In our 21st Century age we lead a 21st Century lifestyle and that lifestyle leaves no room for waiting for things. Waiting is soooooo last century, mahn. Cody Atkinson gets jiggy wit’ it.

Why are you writing about a green vegetable that’s kinda just a weak version of an onion, especially when cooked? That’s leeks.

And shut up. Leeks are totally underrated. Braise them in some wine and stock, or hit them with some high heat and a little olive oil, or even throw them in a potato dauphinoise to round it out a bit. Hell, the best thing to come out of Scotland is Buttered Leeks, which is exactly as good as it sounds. So ease up, leeks are pretty damn good.

Ah, so what is this column about? Leaks. Specifically leaks of albums. Musical albums. I am reliably informed that this is a music column, so that’s where we’re going with this. Progress.

What even is an album leak? It’s where an album is leaked before it’s official release, either via subterfuge or by the design of the artist.

So that actually happens? Yep. All the time.

OK, anger is fine, how about apathy? Apathy to an album’s leak usually comes as the second step to the standard process of grieving about a leak. The logic goes that if nothing can be done, why worry about it? This doesn’t mean that the anger doesn’t happen first, it just doesn’t happen publicly.

Take the leak of Grizzly Bear’s 2009 effort Veckatimest, which was both predicted by the band and more or less shaken off without much anger. As long as the album was released properly and people gave them money for it eventually, the leak really wasn’t much of a concern to them.

because they are underpaid for the amount of effort they put into their jobs.

Like? Well, for example, Bjork’s new album Vulnicura. It leaked on the January 18 this year, mere days after the announcement of its existence. Somehow, someway, someone got their hands on a copy of the album and released it into the ether (also known as the internet).

Ugh, who would even do that? I know, right?

But really, who would? People who think they are acting for the greater good? People who want the credit for getting this soon-too-be loved work into the public domain? People who can’t bare the the thought of waiting one more minute, or anyone else waiting a second longer than they have to, for the album they’ve been waiting their lives for?

But really? Nah, it’s probably someone who works as a producer at a radio station or in A&R who quite clearly could give zero fucks anymore, because they are underpaid for the amount of effort they put into their jobs.

So it the fault of the basic tenets of capitalism? More or less. So it goes.

So how do artists usually react to unauthorised leaks? Generally, artists have been shown to act in three different ways to leaks: with anger, apathy or action.

Let’s go through them one by one. How does the anger thing usually go? Something like: album leaks on line, artist/band loses their shit, threatens to never release music again/sue those responsible/both. This is absolutely how I would react to having

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one of the critical elements of something I’d work for years on taken away from me. I’d freak the fuck out. An example of this reaction was Bradford Cox, whose album Logos under the name Atlas Sound was leaked by fans. He got angry, threatened to not finish the album and just do another one instead and in the end just got on with business. This is generally how people react to things being stolen from them.

And action? Action is the most intriguing path for bands and artists to take post-leak.

It usually takes the form of re-recording the album, or moving the release date forward, or changing the track listing. Basically, to do anything but to make the leak of the album the definitive statement about the album. Kanye completely re-jigged his debut (The College Dropout), Fiona Apple re-worked Extraordinary Machine within an inch of its life and even the aforementioned Bradford Cox ended up changing Logos pretty extensively. On the other side of the coin you have someone like Bjork, who simply told her label to move the release date of her album up two months to counter some of the major effects of a leak.

Seems fair. So why would an artist deliberately leak their own work? There are several reasons why artists leak their own work, rather than straight up releasing it. Some artists use the early leak, either in part or full, to build press around the album, some use it to anonymously seek feedback on the progress so far and some even use it to get back at their label, often as a part of a contract dispute. Some just do it for the hell of it. Right now someone who may or may not be Aphex Twin has been uploading a decade’s worth of unreleased material to a near-anonymous Soundcloud account, for no discernible reason.

So leaks, are they good or bad? Well, if you’re trusted with something and trusted to keep it secret, you probably shouldn’t upload it to the deep web. CONTROVERSIAL. I’m not here to lecture anyone about ethics. Everyone reading this column should be able to make their own minds up about whether downloading music less than legally is fair or not. Maybe we should all be a bit more patient in waiting for things and learn to let the anticipation build.

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Anyway, if you’ve picked this issue up in time, you can make it to a show which Jye is most excited to attend. On Wednesday February 11, punk legend CJ Ramone will be stopping by Transit Bar as part of his Australian tour, playing some compulsory Ramones hits along with work from his own new album Last Chance to Dance. He’ll be supported by Hard-Ons and locals No Assumption. Tickets for this one are set at $34.70 through Oztix.

Hello friends. I’m going to start this issue’s column by telling you all about my friend Jye. I’ve had numerous requests to slip Jye’s name into my column as often as possible, which seems a reasonable request as Jye is easily the punkest person in Canberra. Jye has a big red Mohawk and is always moshing. He moshes at gigs of course but he also moshes on buses, at work and even in his own home kitchen.

I’ve never known Jye not to mosh. Here’s to you Jye. Jye Jye Jye Jye Jye.

Canada’s SLATES will be stopping by Smith’s Alternative on Friday February 13. With support from Melbourne’s Kissing Booth and locals Casters the show will cost you $10 on the door.

You can head down to The Basement on Saturday February 14 to catch a good selection of punk bands including Wollongong’s Topnovil, Sydney’s Rust and locals Rather Be Dead, Cockbelch and Casters.

If you missed Melbourne’s The Smith Street Band last November, you can catch up on Sunday February 15 when they stop by the Magpies City Club as part of their ‘Get High, See Everyone Tour.’

They’ll be joined by Canada’s PUP, The UK’s Great Cynics and Melbourne pals Apart From This.

This will be The Smith Street Band’s first ever all ages show in Canberra and you can grab tickets for $34.70 through Oztix. Jye’s keen for this one too.

If you’re not folk-punked out by the Smith Street Band, then you can catch Melbourne’s Maricopa Wells along with Lucy Wilson & The Sugarcanes at The Phoenix on Thursday February 19.

They’ll be supported by Swoon Queen and Bo Loserr. The show will cost you just $5 on the door.

Melbourne’s Clowns are headed to Transit Bar on Monday February 26 as part of their ‘Bad Blood Tour.’ They’ll be supported by the USA’s American Sharks and a local act TBA. On Monday February 26 you can also catch Sydney’s Zeahorse at The Phoenix along with locals Primary Colours and Sydney’s Agency.

If you’re into acoustic folk-punk (who isn’t?) then you should be heading down to the Magpies City Club on Sunday March 5 to catch Adelaide’s Heath Anthony and Ry Kemp with local support from Shelby Clements and Jack Livingston. That is all for this issue. Thank you and goodJye IAN McCARTHY PUNK.BMA@GMAIL.COM

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METALISE Ah the joys of a two week deadline. Of course I never meet that deadline. But sometimes last minute changes to tours leave me hanging and in this case, literally three plane tickets to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with no shows to play. Strangely though, sometimes an event like this gives me a great opportunity to check out Australian music AND feed into what I’m on about here – the cancellation of the Eyehategod tour one week out from hitting our shores due to vocalist Mike Williams ill health.

With some scrambling I got to play three shows with some amazing Australian bands, get some inside knowledge on the cancellation and some upcoming gems. So let me pull this together in a way that is relevant to you, dear Canberra metal fan.

Friday we hung out with King Parrot bassist Slatz and guitarist Ari and heard all about their just finished album they had recorded in New Orleans at the studio of one Philip H Anselmo. The studio above is a loft in which Mike Williams resides, whom in the six weeks they were there recording just prior to Christmas, they saw once, as such was his poorly condition. This put pay to some of the rumours that the reason the band weren’t touring was due to Visa issues as was claimed in some rather hysterical social media posts.

The album experience was all in all a satisfying and gratifying experience according to the guys and the mixing is well underway

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with their aim to have it out around May. Their artwork is done, they’re touring Europe with Weedeater as soon as Soundwave wraps up and then it’s back to the States for them for another run of shows. No rest for the bonox massive.

Also discussed in Melbourne was the welcome return of Extortion whom have lain dormant for some 18 months and who have placed upon themselves and even more aggressive schedule of activity on the back of the welcome announcement of a tour from extreme music pioneers and utterly contemporary legends Napalm Death and Carcass. Rumour is that Extortion are intending on jamming, writing and recording a new album ahead of the four date tour in mid-April. Sydney’s Factory Theatre is the venue for this absolute dream package of a show. Do not miss out and thanks Soundworks for putting that on.

In Sydney we played with a band I think many Metallise readers would do well to check out and that is Sumeru. They have a full length out on Arrest Records entitled Holy Lands which is awesome, but their live show has really evolved in the last 12 months to truly frightening levels of awesomeness. Check their bandcamp out, but if they visit, don’t miss it.

In Brisbane we got to play with a great grind band called Coffin Birth who are doing some recording soon and if you’re a grind band looking to hook up a show in Queensland, those guys are old school fun, catchy riffs and have a sense of humour on top of being a great band. Also, you gotta play at Crowbar, best venue p4p in the land.

Don’t forget to pop the Wednesday March 25 in your calendar for a visit to the Basement in Belconnen to see the Psycroptic and Goatwhore tour with Ourobouros and Disentomb.

JOSH NIXON doomtildeath@hotmail.com

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

BEYOND THE PALE ZOE PLEASANTS The best thing for Billie Wilson-Coffey about performing in Circa’s show BEYOND is that she gets to unleash her inner animal. Circa is the Brisbane based, internationally acclaimed circus company that blends contemporary dance, traditional circus acts and physical theatre to create visceral, mesmerising and highly entertaining shows. Upon bringing its show Beyond to Canberra in February, I spoke with Wilson-Coffey, an aerial acrobat, about the show and life in the circus.

Wilson-Coffey’s inner animal doesn’t take a specific form – it is more of an animal energy that tightens and tightens inside her until she can’t hold onto it anymore. Beyond explores this experience, “how much we hold our inner animal in and when it is okay for us to let ourselves embrace it,” says Wilson-Coffey. “[As circus performers] we’re doing aerobatics and we’re climbing over one another and, you know, climbing up things, down things, we’re throwing ourselves around. That’s not normal human behaviour so there must be something within us that propels us!” It is this something that inspired the show’s director, Yaron Lifschitz, to explore each performer’s inner animal.

Wilson-Coffey grew up in Northern NSW and she started her circus life attending an after-school program at a local youth circus. She discovered she loved it and when she finished school, she left home to join the circus. “It definitely started as something fun to do and then I realised ‘oh wow the family vibe and community that surrounds circus

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is really quite beautiful’ and it nurtured me,” she says. “When I turned 18 … I knew that it was what I wanted to do, so I went to the National Institute of Circus Art … and then continued creating and performing from there.”

Wilson-Coffey joined Circa in 2011 as a guest artist and then full-time in 2014. During that time she has toured with shows in South Korea, the UK and Europe and was part of the ensemble that performed Beyond for eight months at The Chameleon Theatre in Berlin. She found this experience both exhausting and inspiring. “It was an incredible way to begin a show… [The show] was forever evolving, we were growing as performers and growing our ensemble repertoire and the bodies we were working with, what we could do, how we could push that a little bit further or make it a little bit better.”

After this Australian tour, Wilson-Coffey will be heading off overseas again, where there is a bigger appetite for this kind of performance, to continue touring Beyond. “[Overseas audiences] are very used variety theatre and sit-down dinner performances and their arts festivals have been around for a longer time and are more established,” she said. But Australian audiences are growing and Circa, as always, is excited to be touring this show around Australia and performing in front of a home crowd.

Circa will perform Beyond at The Canberra Theatre from Wed–Sat Feb 25–28. $40/$35 onwards via canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

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IT TAKES A VILLAGE SAMUEL TOWNSEND What do handcuffs, feathers, leatherwear and tool belts all have in common? If you guessed that they were all items found in the props department during filming for Fifty Shades of Grey, you’d be correct.

But more importantly, they are what make up the iconic costumes worn by the kings of disco, THE VILLAGE PEOPLE. This March the six-piece band is going west to bring their camp stage show Down Under, treating loyal fans and new recruits to a nostalgic trip down disco memory lane. The macho men from New York guarantee that their live show will have punters up in their seats, with arms flailing in time to their party anthems.

The group, who formed in the 1970s, have forever been defined by their characters, which have sometimes been described as ‘fantasy jobs’, but are actually just archetypes for gay pinup culture associated with the decade in question. Alexander Briley, aka the Solider, reflects on the groups’ current pop-culture position, remarking, “It’s fabulous! We’re not only gay icons, we’re icons for

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a decade... The only difference is that children of the fans from the seventies are coming to see us now!” It’s far too easy to dismiss their string of hit singles (including ‘Go West’, ‘In The Navy’ and of course, ‘YMCA’), which are now synonymous with alphabet choreography and handlebar moustaches, as ‘daggy’ or ‘dated’. The Village People were in fact a powerful and positive voice during a time in our history where the cultural climate was shifting rapidly.

They helped navigate a path for young gay men and women and they provided a thumping soundtrack whilst doing it. The often-simplistic lyrical content made for perfect dance floor anthems and many of them (with the right remix treatment) have stood the test of time.

The roaring chorus of loud and proud men heard on the title track of their debut LP is testament to their disco formula – “Your fight is mine… Let`s fight for the right… Your freedom`s in sight… Village People… We can’t be denied.”

The Village People haven’t been to Australia since their one-off exclusive show at the Enmore Theatre back in 2013, which also featured former members of The Supremes and Glenn Leonard’s Temptations. This years solo tour of their Greatest Hits, will see them visiting all major cities as well as being featured in the line up for Golden Plains in Victoria, alongside Neneh Cherry and Something for Kate. Coincidently, the boys from Greenwich Village will also be in Oz during the 2015 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Don’t be surprised if they smoke bomb their way out of the Wrest Point Entertainment Centre in Hobart (Saturday March 7) and make it back to Sydney in time to be the surprise act at the official Mardi Gras Party, held at the Hordern Pavilion. You heard it here first!

The Village People will be playing at the Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, on Thursday March 12. For tickets and information visit canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

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IN REVIEW

Mother & Son Canberra Theatre Wednesday–Saturday February 4–7 For those who don’t know the setup from the hit TV series, Maggie Beare is a an older lady whose son Arthur lives with her and looks after her as best he can. Independent of spirit, Maggies readily overlooks both Arthur’s generosity and others’ cupidity. Maggie’s other son, Robert, always quick to point the finger at Arthur for inadequacy of her care and at best slow to help out in any way, attempts to take advantage. In the play, even Robert’s young son asks her for the gift of an enormous sum — in response to which Maggie recognises the son’s resemblance to his father. At the play’s heart are the interactions between Maggie and Arthur, with Arthur’s almost limitless forbearance repeatedly tested by his mother’s easily roused prejudice against him, her utter self-centredness, and her obliviousness in general. It only adds insult to injury that his utterly selfish older brother Robert is his mother’s uncontested favourite. Maggie evidently is in the early stages of dementia. It being in the nature of many of the dementias that (particularly in the early stages) their effects come and go, she appears in the television series to use her diagnosis manipulatively.

This isn’t evident in the play; but Maggie still manipulates Arthur quite nicely — frustrating, misinterpreting, and misrepresenting him to delightful effect — in maintaining exactly the life she is used to. Dementia is a fraught subject, and mockery of those suffering it may be an abuse too many. My companion on the evening of the performance felt the sadness inherent in the setup, but partly this was due to the way in which the TV scripts have a gentle laugh

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at Maggie’s genuine confusions. For me, the play’s comedy was entirely benign, chiefly the easy manipulation of Arthur due to his sensibilities and to his brother’s readiness to play on them.

Despite my sympathies for Arthur, I found constant entertainment in the ways in which life stymied him. Casting was superb. Noeline Brown became the quietly indomitable Maggie Beare even in her voice mannerisms; long-suffering Arthur’s generous, concerned nature and his brother Robert’s self-absorption became constant comic fodder in the hands of Darren Gilshenan and Rob Carlton respectively. Rachael Beck was Anita, the new love in Arthur’s life — a love that threatens to upset Maggie and Robert. The nervous chemistry between them made Anita’s feelings for Arthur surprisingly convincing. But, being an entire story rather than one in a series, the play could afford a satisfying resolution, and it delivered one. With its consistently convincing acting, everybody playing his or her part to perfection, the play hardly needed a set. But the set was delightfully designed, cleverly versatile, and brilliantly lit. This is a play that keeps you chuckling through sympathy rather than through unkindness. I can’t recommend it too highly. john p. harvey

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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: Chris Carmody

What are your plans for the future? Hands on work in the Arts Industry, Residencies, Post-Graduate Study.

What makes you laugh? Incongruity.

What do you do? Drawing, Painting, Collage, Photos, Installation.

What pisses you off? Annoying? Trying to explain a funny meme to someone who hasn’t seen it.

When, how and why did you get into it? In a time capsule from year 5 at primary school I said I wanted to be an artist. I’ve had several really great teachers and mentors since that time who have encouraged and inspired me.

What about the local scene would you change? History’s pulling faces, from behind pontificators, guessing the laughter’s likes of gathering spectators.

Who or what influences you as an artist? Limitations, the working processes and ideas of other Artists, my work place environment, the opinions of people close to me, the social expectations and mores of our times, this great thing that happened in the studio, a moment of heightened consciousness, the things I find I keep finding around the place. What Simon-Says.

Upcoming exhibitions? VERBATIM is currently showing at ANCA Gallery, 1 Rosevear St Dickson until 22 February. My work will be included in Going Steady - a survey of local early career painters at ANCA in March, and I will be participating in the You Are Here festival.

Contact Info: chriscarmody.com / office@anca.net.au

Of what are you proudest so far? The Community Projects I have undertaken with Hands On Studio and the L’Arche Community for people with and without disability.

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LITERATURE IN REVIEW Wife on the Run Fiona Higgins [Allen and Unwin; 2014]

When your life starts to unravel in the space of a couple of days it is tempting to run – and run away is exactly what Paula McInnes did in Fiona Higgins latest novel, Wife on the Run. Paula is horrified when her fourteen year old daughter, Caitlin, is implicated in a tasteless Facebook prank. Her husband, Hamish, is injured while chasing his fleeing daughter and while he is in the hospital Paula is devastated to discover he has been having a mutually satisfying online “liaison” with a seventeen year old girl on the other side of the country.

Paula responds by packing up her two teenagers and her elderly father into her husband’s four wheel drive and, with an old caravan from the back yard in tow, sets off on the trip that, until now, hasn’t made it past the planning stage. The trip doesn’t get off to a great start when she jack knifes the caravan at the bottom of the drive, but after a short delay they head west from Melbourne toward the Great Ocean Road and beyond.

The story follows a familiar lament of couples married for a long time that their relationships, and their partners, have changed over time. Paula and Hamish have fallen into traditional roles of mostly stay-at-home mum and ambitious dad and with the passage of time and the demands of children they have become out of synch with each other. Add to the mix the impact of social media on individuals in the family and the tricky dimension it has added to their lives.

From the beginning of the trip, Paula tries to enforce an electronic communications blackout on the trip but it is quickly evident that this is easier said than done.

While the presence of the internet and social media are blamed as the catalyst for the crisis in her marriage, the disasters are not what I would call disasters. Others may disagree. The opposing views of Paula and Hamish of what is or isn’t acceptable or a disastrous occurrence generates interesting internal dialogue for those characters. There is a not too subtle commentary on the society we live in woven into their observations and conversations.

After a passionate tryst with Marcelo (who Paula was a thought was a Brazilian tourist) and rejecting Hamish’s attempts to set things right following his own eventful pursuit of his family across the country, there is at least resolution for all concerned. The twist at the end is a stretch but not beyond the realm of possibility.

It is a fairly light read if you want it to be. There is though plenty to dwell on more deeply, if you wish, in the plot and the underlying social commentary.

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

It is a sad reality that those whose minds are closed are invariably those whose mouths are open; that those of us blessed with towering intellect can often be wracked with doubt, whereas those who struggle with the most basic concepts are brim full of selfassurance.

These are the nefarious circumstances which have given rise to the assured moron, the unquestionable fool, dripping with flagrant idiocy while simultaneously bathed in righteous conviction. I am yet to encounter a more dangerous entity.

These are dark times indeed. All the more so for the distraction of the lowest grade entertainment which dominates the mainstream, diverting the fool from an urgent need for betterment while emboldening his sense of reason and entitlement. The paradoxically scripted ‘reality’ TV shows have altered our own reality for the worse, distracting and duplicating the moron so that they range free among us.

These troglodytes can unfortunately be found on all sides of both the political spectrum and the planet (which many of them still believe to be flat), invariably in positions of popularity-sanctioned power. They reject empirical evidence in favour of prejudice, confuse volume with authority and equate re-evaluation with weakness.

They are the morons and they walk among us, worryingly clothed in influence.

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Diversity of opinion is of course central to any well-functioning democracy or burgeoning civilisation, giving rise as it does to debate, consensus and progress. Sometimes war, but often progress. But it is the sign of a well-rounded individual that he is able to adopt the position of his agitator and endeavour to see the world through their eyes, in order to both probe the foundations of his own position and to consider the world view of his opponent.

The fool adopts an alternate modus operandi, largely constituted of blithe indifference, rising anger and a foundation argument built upon intolerance and buttressed with papier-mâché.

The final triumph of the reasoned man is that he is able to accept the difference in his combatant, upholding the virtue that everyman is entitled to his own opinion as well as that of his wife. It is this acceptance which truly sets him apart from the blinkered fool, who is only too happy to thrash around in the dark at the ghouls apparently conjured from the politically motivated bias of demonstrable evidence.

The final failing of the fool is impatience, his rush to judgement, his unwillingness to consider even his own opinion in any real depth, let alone those of others. By contrast, the considered man is exactly that – only too happy to bide his time before sanctioning the alleyway beating of his antagonist, leaving sufficient time to dilute any suspicion of his involvement.

The righteous fool, you see, must be confronted so that there may be some resistance to his ill informed ego and some hope for the rest of us. This confrontation will preferably utilise unimpeachable reason, but failing that, a hefty club. gideon foxington-smythe

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bit PARTS POST PHASE: THE SUMMIT IS BLUE WHAT: Dance WHEN: Thu–Sun Feb 12–15 WHERE: Courtyard Studio Canberran Chloe Chignell returns for the first time since 2011 in collaboration with Timothy Walsh for a spectacular presentation of dance. The pair presents a limitless array of complicated dance routines, using metaphors of scaling ice-capped mountains melting, changing state and reflecting the light. This artistic visual piece is not to be missed by dance lovers and is bound to provide an interesting night of entertainment for all. The show starts at 8.30pm on Thu–Sat Feb 12–14, with a matinee session at 3.30pm on Sat Feb 14 and an earlier session at 7.30pm on Sun Feb 15. Tickets at canberratheatrecentre.

CRAFT ACT WHAT: Art exhibitions WHEN: Thu–Sat Feb–Mar 12–28 WHERE: Craft & Design Centre Art fans from all around Canberra will be flocking to the official opening of three different, yet equally exciting exhibitions that showcasing the next generation in contemporary Australian craft and design. Emerging Contemporaries is a delightful exhibition that showcases the work of 2014’s talented and outstanding graduate students and selected craft practitioners and design makers. The charming Portraits of a Tea Cosy is a traveling exhibition that brings together history, craft, photography and sculpture and Crucible Showcase shows off the inspiring traditional Korean craft techniques using paper. The event opens at 6pm on Thu Feb 12 and the exhibitions run until Sat Mar 28.

AS IT GOES WHAT: Art exhibition WHEN: Fri–Sun Feb–Mar 20–8 WHERE: Nishi Gallery Artist Luke Chiswell brings to the art world an intriguing exhibition through the lens of his greatest passion – skateboarding. Using metaphors, the exhibition explores the compromises we make to the tyranny of time in spite of things we love – for Chiswell, this represents the improbability of turning skateboarding into a viable career. This thoughtful collection of works will challenge art fans and critics to think about the lifetime compromises they have had to make in a new light. The exhibition opens on Fri Feb 20 at 6pm and runs until Sun Mar 8; from 11am-3pm Mon-Fri and 11am-4pm on weekends.

ENLIGHTEN WHAT: Festival WHEN: Fri–Sat Feb 27–28, Fri–Sat Mar 6–7 WHERE: Canberra City/Parliamentary Triangle With an exciting variety of different events, this year’s Enlighten will be better than it ever has been before. This year offers a Physics of Beer workshop at Questacon, the stunning sounds of the band Alpine, an incredible aerial performance Elements and plenty of other fantastic reasons to head out into the city after dark. So if you’re up for seeing some world-class lighting, awesome tunes and experiencing crazy amounts of entertainment, this is most definitely for you. Enlighten runs over four nights. Ticketed events via ticketek.com.au or call 132 849.

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the word

on albums

album of the issue The Pixies Doolittle 25 [4AD] The first time I heard the Pixies was late at night in a deserted car park surrounding Woden Plaza, with the volume cranked on the flash stereo of my friend’s customised Ford Escort. The album was the 1990 bizarro indie-rock classic Bossanova and vocalist Black Francis repeatedly screaming the surreal lyric “your mouth, away” while highpitched guitars squealed behind him was just the thing for a quiet Sunday evening in a tar and concrete wasteland.

It made so much sense that Bossanova was pretty much all I listened to for months. The inevitable next step was Doolittle released the previous year and a chart hit in the UK. It’s kinda funny to think about it now, what with the band consistently selling out tours in recent years, but first time around the Pixies were firmly planted in the music underground (apart from the UK which has always been a tad progressive about these things) and what it took was Kurt Cobain mentioning something about ripping off the Pixies on that worldwide hit ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ to bring about more exposure. You might also hear about how influential the Pixies have been on a generation of young indie bands, but the nature of that influence is somewhat hard to define. The Pixies certainly railed against convention as

they reinvented punk rock in their own weird image which points the way forward for any fledging band. But sound wise The Pixies are too much in a class of their own. No one has or will ever sound anything quite like them as they were simply too singular and strange to be able to emulate with any credibility. And the first lyric that pop up on Doolittle’s opening track ‘Debaser’ suggests a distinct sensibility: ‘Got me a movie/ slicing up eyeballs…’ The band had already turned indie music on its head with the mini album Come on Pilgrim (1987) and debut album proper Surfer Rosa (1988) that had been produced

by Steve Albini who was known for his ability to angry up the sound of any group with the bare minimum of production values, making for volatile sound mixes with the density of plutonium. But the Pixies had already made unpredictable and explosive music without the need for much outside intervention and the dynamic brilliance of Doolittle is due in part to producer Gil Norton who accentuated the soft/loud dynamic the band used to good effect on intense nuggets like ‘Tame’ by opening up the spaces between voice and the instruments.

This approach also accentuates the sheer strangeness of a song like ‘Silver’ which isn’t really a song at all, more an off kilter chant sung by bassist Kim Deal which is swiftly followed by fierce rocker ‘Gouge Away’ that has a bass throbbing away through the verse but hot-headed guitars and Black Francis sounding like Hank Williams on acid in the chorus. Most of the songs come and go so quickly that first time around it all rushes by in a blur of screaming and noise but this record deserves many, many listens because more of the magic is revealed each time. The remastering on this excellent reissue to mark 25 years since the original release fleshes out the sound in a satisfying audio enhancement way without losing any of the essential grit, and the many bonus tracks including live and demo recordings provide more of the story. But the original album is such a magnificently complete collection of songs that the rest is simply an extra serve of gravy. dan bigna

Shameem The Second City [Independent Release] Made with crowd funding and WA Government support, singer songwriter Shameem Tahiri-Lee has released her second album. Her website likes to compare Shameem to US warbler Alicia Keys and the West Australian does have both a voice with similar qualities and a fondness for the metronomic beat Keys favours in some of her songs (such as ‘Un-Thinkable’).

Shameem is a classy crooner, effortlessly laying down smooth as silk soul and RnB tracks, while exhibiting an impressive vocal range and tonal flexibility. Or, expressed less technically, she sings like a funky angel.

Electronic vocal manipulation is used sparingly and while she engages is some vocal gymnastics, just because she can, any urge to overdo this has been thankfully resisted. The Second City breaks new ground for Shameemwith a more polished production and cohesive approach to the album, with the inclusion of several brief interludes in which the singer expresses her appreciation for life and those she loves.

However, this gives the album an overly sweet, syrupy vibe. The extra spit and polish has resulted in more complex songs and a sound closer to mainstream pop. Notable tracks include the jazzy ‘Hole in My Heart’, with its mix of smooth and broken vocal delivery and ‘Chill in the Fire’ with the exotic allure of some Persian lyrics from Shidan Toloui-Wallace. However, the highlights are those in which Shameem casts off the cabaret/lounge tone and dips her foot into other genres, such as the rock edge to ‘Expectation’ and the brief sortie into electro-pop in ‘I Give Thanks’. Shameem is at her most engaging when expressing angst, putting some torque into her voice in ‘Give Me a Reason’ or displaying anger in ‘Imposter’.

RORY McCARTNEY

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Mark Lanegan Band Phantom Radio [Heavenly Recordings]

Kuko de Kobra A Girl and her Giraffe [Target Music]

The Two Bears The Night is Young [Southern Fried Records]

Grunge legend Mark Lanegan’s 30 year sojourn through rock has included solo efforts, time with Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age, plus numerous contributions to other bands. A wiki list of his collaborations reads like a who’s who of rock. Not known for cheery songs, Lanegan’s contribution for the festive season was entitled ‘Dark Mark Does Christmas 2012’.

Danes Kuko de Kobra have come up with something of an understated gem with A Girl And Her Giraffe, their second album.

It’s a varied offering, though the general theatre of operations here is a sort of classic rock-tinged power pop that won’t fail to delight anyone with an ear for melody and a stomach for occasionally overdriven guitars. ‘Ocean Wide’ makes for a grungy opening to proceedings, while second track ‘Fitzroy Road (Head in the Oven)’ is an utter joy, melding the paisley underground of the mid-eighties to a melancholic chorus heavily redolent of new miserable experientialists the Gin Blossoms. It’s a nigh-on perfect mix of influences, but the sum of the parts is so, so much more – an early contender for song of the year, anyone?

Joe Goddard (of Hot Chip) and Raf Rundell intended to be in a trio named The Three Bears. When that idea fell over, they ended-up with just the pair of them, hence the name. Since their 2009 formation, the duo has released a spray and EPs and two LPs. Being a tad older than your average producers/electro artists, their song themes have been known to focus on the pragmatic concerns of older punters, rather than the noise and fury of youth. The latest LP is no exception, including lyrics about creating a better home for children and singing them to sleep.

During his solo career, Lanegan has moved from acoustic to electric to electronic, with his latest LP being heavenly synth powered.

Despite the electronics, Phantom Radio lacks the melodic energy which featured strongly in his earlier work, largely due to the unrelentingly dark themes and grave tones of the latest album. While the stories are consistently forbidding, they flow in a variety of styles. ‘I Am the Wolf’ burns like a brooding gunfight ballad, its story hanging in still air like a noose. Contrast this with the perky, funky ‘Seventh Day’, with its bubbling keys. ‘The Killing Season’ brings trip hop elements and the best keys in the album, with very smooth synths and sweeping string effects. Opener ‘Harvest Home’ is a highlight, its guitar plucks carrying an extra twang, boosted by held organ chords in support of Lanegan’s gravelly tones.

It brings punchy drumming and the best synth/guitar combo. Most of the best material comes in the first half of the album, with the trailing songs being a bit ordinary, reaching their lowest point in the repetitive, self-pitying dirge ‘Torn Red Heart’. However, there’s enough solid material to make it a worthy listen, so long as you can remain unaffected by lyrics which might have bled from the pen of Edgar Allen Poe. RORY McCARTNEY

Elsewhere ‘Be, Leaf ‘ is an impressive piece of epically-constructed classic rock, right down to the gritty vocals and fantastic guitars that duel their way to the end of the song in best seventies style. Quasi-title track ‘A Beautiful Girl and her Giraffe’ is a pulchritudinous piece of acoustic whimsy, given a whiff of Americana with some nicely placed instrumentation, I was attracted to this release by a press release that promised an album ‘somewhere between Motley Crue and Husker Du’ and while that’s as far wide of the mark as it’s possible to get in seven words, it does hint at the breadth of influence and ambition at work here. Always interesting, never less than captivating, Kuko de Kobra have simply come up with a boundary-transcendent album that will delight wherever it’s heard.

Highly recommended. scott adams

This pop-house material is fun and bright, possessing a spring-loaded fluidity that comes together in a jigsaw of pixelated sounds. The music rattles like skeleton bones, clatters like pots n’ pans and trickles like streams. The vocal treatment is as varied, imaginative and surprising as the music, with a healthy use of vocal samples.

Opener and album highlight ‘Get Out’ shifts form as it proceeds, in a cascade of varied melodies and rhythms. It changes radically in personality from smooth and soulful to clubland. In ‘Money Man’, a reggae beat shakes hands with keys which pop like champagne bubbles. ‘Unbuild It’ bursts into bloom in a duel between spikey and chubby keys. The multilingual ‘Son of the Sun’ includes the singing of South African artist Sbusiso in a language that is a form of music in its own right. ‘Mary Mary’ is less appealing, unless you are prepared to concentrate on the rambling narrative which hides in a thicket of sounds. However, this is an exception as this album cradles a flickering dance which intertwines the rhythms of life with the buzz of technology.

RORY McCARTNEY

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John Smith Great Lakes [Absolute/Universal]

The Gin Club Southern Lights [Plus One Records]

Fugazi First Demo [Dischord]

If anyone had a good excuse for choosing a stage name, to help him stand out from the crowd, then it would be folk artist John Smith. However, Smith is happy to go by his humble moniker. The Englishman launched his career with the 2006 LP The Fox and the Monk, singing in a slow, contemplative style with a high and wispy tone and Great Lakes is his fourth album.

The Gin Club demonstrate on Southern Lights how a decade together as a band can create a tighter, cleaner and more consistent sound. Songwriting duties are now more cooperative across the band, but the signature sound of key members still shines through on different tracks. While never straying far from their alt-country roots, the album touches on a diverse range of styles from rollicking alternative rock to gentle folk.

Minor Threat took the hard and fast aesthetic of hardcore punk to its logical extreme but Fugazi was by no means a natural successor. Both bands shared livewire guitarist/vocalist Ian Mackaye as well as powerful themes like selfempowerment and the soul destroying aspects of consumerism, but musically Fugazi turned into something else. On later albums like End Hits the band had worked out how to bring experimental nuances like unexpected time signatures, melodic deconstruction and a dub like approach to space and time into an angry punk rock template. These moves bore a closer resemblance to Sonic Youth than the Circle Jerks making Fugazi a winner in the wonderful world of post-punk.

Smith self-produced the LP and played most of the instruments himself, relying on friends for support from double bass, strings, percussion and backing vocals.

His gentle delivery and vocal tones give his music a sleepy feel, as exhibited in the slow ticking beat of ‘Town to Town’. Yet the eloquence of the songwriting is such that it brings out the emotion in the songs without the singer ever having to raise his voice in passion. Elegant melodies appear simple on the surface, due to Smith’s expertise as a guitarist, in their four of five chord construction. There’s a tricky mix of plucked and strummed guitar introducing Smith’s signature vocal tones in opener ‘There is a Stone’, with the tiniest glimpse of a banjo in the mix. The title track, a tale of hopeless love, is a highlight, swept up with graceful strings. A sweet melody and caressing female backing vocals frame the tragic tale of ‘Salty and Sweet’, with a mystery behind the identity of the creature which leads a young woman to end her life in the sea. It’s the quality of his storytelling which really sets Smith apart, as exemplified in ‘Forever to the End’, a simple statement of how humanity is united in its mortality and who (not what) we should cherish.

RORY McCARTNEY

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The album opens gently with ‘Dancing with the Ghost’, a soft-rock-country-ballad of sorts, which builds gradually to an epic finish. ‘Everything About You’ arrives with a punch that highlights the brilliant song writing of Ben Salter and it’s hard not to engage with Salter’s emotionally powerful delivery. Lyrically, Southern Lights weaves between metaphors that give the album a poetic lilt, as they explore the emotions and complexities of relationships, lost loves and dealing with one’s vices.

The Gin Club seem to perform their best when they are utilising their full arsenal of talent and instrumentation from the nine members. The surprisingly beautiful violin (or in this case should I say ‘fiddle’?) solo during the title track showcases this, displaying the collective at possibly their best.

The band has been dormant for too long so the release of these early demos recorded in the late 1980s is a welcome surprise.

They reveal that the band didn’t necessarily arrive fully formed but came pretty close.

The sound is surprisingly crisp and clear for a demo recording with the vocals high in the mix and the instruments suitably hardhitting. “We owe you nothing/so there is no control” is the mantra on the appropriately titled ‘Merchandise’ with raging guitars locking with the lyrics for maximum impact.

Elsewhere staccato words and rhythm are the driving forces on ‘Turn off your guns’ and the rubbery bass on opener ‘Waiting Room’ points towards a dub aesthetic that is accentuated by a flubbed vocal snippet with echo at the start. It is unfortunate the band has not released any new music for some time but this first rate recording from the archives speaks volumes about a commitment to the cause from day one.

megan leahy

dan bigna

Country-tinged guitar riffs drive ‘Alcatraz’ towards a soaring chorus, culminating in a spectacular organ solo (yes, you read right, organ solo). The final four tracks appear to be competing for album closer, each a folk-country style ballad – I must admit that I could have done with more variety to keep up the previously built momentum.

@bmamag

v

singles in focus by cody atkinson Courtney Barnett ‘Pedestrian At Best’

23 Acez Redemption Waves [Mighty Music]

Brave Brave [Falcona/MGM]

Belgian hard rock veterans 23 Acez have come up with something of a minor classic with their second album, Redemption Waves.

Combining elements of classic eighties AOR a la .38 Special (the album’s standout track, ‘The Bigger Picture’, could easily have found it’s way onto a Ferris Bueller-style romp back in the day) with heavier, riff-orientated material that wouldn’t go amiss on a classic Skid Row album, the band would appear to have all the hard rock bases covered with this release.

Brave comprises bandmates Maia Witika, Brendan Picchio (ex-Howling Bells) and Shane Benson, with Witika being the frontman with the super smooth voice. Their debut self-titled EP ladles up a syrupy dose of indie pop with strong soul influences.

Indeed, if the album has a weak point it’s that the band seems to be trying to cover a little too much ground here; It’s unlikely people responding positively to ‘The Bigger Picture’ will have quite so much fun listening to some of the darker, grungier material on offer, but that may just be my personal preferences colouring my judgement. And it has to be said that the darker, grungier material is right out of the top drawer too.

Star of the show in a strong all-round team performance is vocalist/guitarist ‘Zors’ Willaert, whose pleasingly gritty yet melodically powerful voice adds colour and texture even in the odd moments when the music becomes a little prosaic, whilst the excellent riffage of Willaerts and six-string compadre Tom Tas bring high levels of air guitar worthiness to much of what’s on offer here.

It’s hard to see Redemption Waves appealing to younger fans of the harder end of the rock spectrum, mired as it is in the music of years gone by. However if quality heavy rock with a classic feel is where your musical heart lies, you’ll enjoy every minute of this album. scott adams _

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You may have heard lead track ‘What About Me’ on the airwaves (not to be confused with the song by Moving Pictures). A standout song on the disk, it carries the most attitude and a punching beat over rumbling keys. Witika puts angles into otherwise straight lyrics, using inflections in the vocal delivery. His singing dominates the verses of ‘Girl in a Black Dress’, with keys used sparsely for effect and with the beats saved for the choruses. A similar approach was used for ‘Real Love’. Bookended at the beginning and end by bright, raindrop keys, Witika croons through the verses, accompanied only by widely spaced, but heavy-impact, chords on the keyboard. Then the tempo flicks up into dance mode in the choruses. The track with the coolest singing, ‘Every Time it Rains’ is a snowball of a song, gathering mass as it rolls along. From an a capella kick off, Witika croons to the sound of clicking fingers, before weaving in trickling piano notes which rise in intensity with the injection of percussion.

The five track release was put together at home, but you would never guess it from the polished results. There’s lots of shine, but the material could do with some more texture in places. ‘Black Dress’ is strictly mainstream pop bland in its repetitive words. However, there’s more meat and real passion, in the theme of EP highlight ‘The Day You Died’, where Witika speaks of his grandfather.

RORY McCARTNEY

There’s real guts to this, a real punch that hits much harder than her earlier stuff.

‘Pedestrian At Best’ mixes Barnett’s atypical knack for surreal lyricism and deadpan delivery with soaring guitars and washy cymbals, a mix that really, for want of a better term, works.

Dick Diver ‘Tearing The Posters Down’ Dick Diver are back with ‘Tearing The Posters Down’, a cut dominated by bright guitars. At their best, Dick Diver do “catchy” better than nearly all, and we see a glimmer of that towards the end, but “Tearing The Posters Down” does take a while to get going.

Aphex Twin ‘Diskhat All Prepared1mixed [snr2mix]’ Suddenly Aphex Twin is prolific again. Notice the lack of people complaining about this development. ‘Diskhat’ is a bit sludgier and dustier than most of Syro, with a constant snare shuffle stuttering in background, and largely piano (I think?) driven melodically.

Rihanna, Paul McCartney & Kanye West ‘fourfiveseconds’ Hands up if you thought a soulless ballad would the product of the collaboration of the aforementioned artists. The credits say that nine people co-wrote this song, which astounds me because it sounds like something a drunk guy wrote around a campfire at 3am. I feel that all three artists could have produced better stuff on their own.

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the word

on films

WITH MELISSA WELLHAM

It’s the season for biopics and loosely-based-on-real-peopleand-events-pics, people. Were obviously all still hanging for Selma, but there has been an impressive array of films otherwise – and they are also impressively diverse in their faithfulness to source material and history. Wild and The Theory of Everything are both apparently fairly accurate, whereas films like Foxcatcher and even American Sniper are making people mad.

Then there’s Kingsman, which is definitely not based on a true story.

quote of the issue “There should be no boundaries to human endeavour.” – Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), The Theory of Everything

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The Theory of Everything The Theory of Everything follows renowned physicist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and his partner Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones) from his days as an eager graduate about to commence his PhD and his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease, through to the publication of his hugely influential book, A Brief History of Time. As arguably the most well-known and, given his condition, physically distinctive scientist on the planet, a portrayal of Hawking was always going to stretch to breaking point the ability of any actor. Not only does Redmayne deliver a wrenchingly convincing performance, emoting for much of the film without either his voice and only the barest movements and facial expressions, but he also perfectly captures the resilience, humour and humanity of a man whom history will undoubtedly place alongside the likes of Einstein and Newton.

Although the horror of his diagnosis and physical decline is ameliorated somewhat by the knowledge that Hawking is still, against all medical odds, alive and active into his 70s, this does nothing to detract from Redmayne’s – and for that matter Jones’ – stunning performances.Cinemagoers looking for hard physics (I know you’re out there…) will be sorely disappointed by this characterdriver drama. Given that Hawking made his popular name as a science communicator by bringing baffling cosmological concepts to the wider public, it is disappointing that so little time is devoted to his discoveries.

PATRICK BELL

Wild Due to the similarities in title and general theme of ‘trekking to discover oneself’, Wild has drawn a number of comparison’s to Sean Penn’s 2007 directorial effort Into The Wild – but Wild is its own unique story, with a director and star working together to create a tender, resonant film.

Based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed, with a screenplay by Nick Hornby and directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club), Wild follows Strayed (played by Reese Witherspoon) as she decides to trek over 1000 miles through Pacific Crest Trail. Alone. With absolutely no trekking experience. But the physical walk isn’t the journey this film concentrates on – instead it’s the emotional one. After the death of her mother, the breakdown of her marriage and her increasingly destructive drug abuse, Strayed is searching for something.

Something to break her and then rebuild her again.

Wild is being hailed as Reese Witherspoon’s return to form and she carries the film. There are a lot of inner monologues and close-ups of her face but she still makes it work.

Witherspoon’s Strayed is vulnerable and strong and you believe she’s capable of both the good and the bad in the story. She is human.

While the final scenes in Wild feel somewhat abrupt, Vallee does a beautiful job of capturing the spectacular scenery throughout the trail. It’s not the most powerful film of the awards season – but it’s one of the most personal and relatable.

MELISSA WELLHAM

Kingsman: The Secret Service Manners maketh man, but fun maketh an enjoyable film.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is gloriously, unashamedly, flagrantly fun. Director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class and Days of Future Past) has made an occasionally subversive film that sends up the gentleman spy genre – but mostly just goes gangbusters enjoying the tropes of the type. There are secret doors, mysterious organisations and there are some really, well, kick-ass action sequences. ‘Eggsy’ (Taron Egerton) is a promising street kid, who gets recruited by a super secret spy organisation into their competitive training program. The always-dapper Colin Firth plays his gunwielding, roundhouse-kicking, bespectacled mentor, who goes by the code name Galahad. And if that wasn’t story enough, a global threat emerges in the form of Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson) a twisted tech genius.

As with all of Vaughn’s films, Kingsman has been accused of glorifying violence. Yes, the action sequences are ultra-violent, but they are also too removed from reality to condone any real violence.

They are more like musical dance interludes; something you might see in Singing In The Rain (Clockwork Orange ultraviolence reference definitely intended). And the realer forms of violence in the film – domestic violence, for example – are roundly criticised. Some scenes may fall flat – but the movie moves swiftly and something great soon follows.

MELISSA WELLHAM

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Still Alice

Foxcatcher

Dr Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) is a renowned lecturer in Linguistics entering her fifties with same voracious drive and gusto she had in her twenties.

Then the unthinkable happens, she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease – and her husband (Alec Baldwin) and three children (Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parish) must watch Alice’s mind starts to slowly crumble. This kind of story is tricky to tell without overly catastrophizing or glorifying this kind of illness.

Still Alice doesn’t have any eye-roll-worthy scenes of an incredible woman struggling to triumph over a faceless foe, nor does it paint a picture is insurmountable despair and nothing else. Instead, it is a film with sparing emotional drama that packs a punch (expect to cry in this one).

Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) has hit hard times. Mark’s brother and fellow gold medallist, Dave (Mark Ruffalo), has leveraged his win into a coaching career.

When Mark is invited by the wealthy John du Pont (Steve Carell) to move to the du Pont estate and help form Team Foxcatcher to train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Mark jumps at the opportunity.

What was particularly impressive about this film was that even though the story was told almost entirely from Alice’s point of view the audience could acutely feel the despair and anxiety of the family members. A tense scene at the family dinner table involving the two daughters tersely sparring on how best to care for their mother acutely portrayed how much this kind of illness affects all involved. The best of intentions can lead to bickering and erupt into fights in an instant.

Julianne Moore has been turning in exceptional performances for years. I have all appendages crossed that she finally gets an Oscar for this performance.

Director Bennet Miller starts Foxcatcher where most sporting movies end. Instead of seeing Mark win the gold medal, we see him months after, being paid $20 to talk to a half-empty hall of school students. The tone for the story is set and it’s bleak. The pathway to tragedy is laid meticulously by Miller and screenwriters E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman (working from Mark Schultz’s autobiography) through Mark’s immersion in du Pont’s world and the mindgames between du Pont, Mark and Dave, enhanced by three incredible performances from Carell, Tatum and Ruffalo. Also, look out for Vanessa Redgrave as du Pont’s steely mother.

Getting to the end of this review and I haven’t once mentioned the actual wrestling.

Foxcatcher isn’t about the wrestling, a line you’re sure to hear a lot and it’s true. Miller has used the story as a conduit to examine the hubris of America and the fallout of never living up to the potential of a greatness that may have never existed.

CAMERON WILLIAMS

EMMA ROBINSON

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43

the word on dvds

Boardwalk Empire – The Complete Fifth Season [Warner Home Video] In the opening credits for the five seasons of this immaculate early 1900’s period drama Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Steve Buscemi) has stood with his feet in the Atlantic Ocean, waves crashing over his dapper two-tones with an enigmatic look of despair, loss, mild anger and emptiness. With his back to the shore he seemed to be looking for something else, somewhere else. Wishing that all the troubles he bought upon himself would just disappear, so that maybe he could disappear. That particular stretch of troublesome ocean made his career and carved his life – and in this fifth and final season we see just how much it impacts upon him.This final run of episodes opens with a young Enoch diving for coins off a pier on the Atlantic shore, thrown by the Commodore/ Louie Kaetsner. Flashbacks over multiple timelines are employed heavily this season.

It jars even though offering greater narrative depth, but it has definitely been used to tie up many threads in as short a time as possible; this season is the shortest at eight episodes.

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Nucky spends most this season testing the limits of his business arrangements, including that of his wife Margaret (Kelly McDonald).

He starts it in Cuba trying to sew up the rum supply (lush as always, these scenes look dazzling) all to no avail. Nucky always revealed in being one step ahead of his rivals but his eventual comeuppance comes not from the mobsters he dealt with, but an entirely more personal foe from his past. In this fal season everyone gets their comeuppance. Maybe that’s what Boardwalk Empire is about – we all get our own and until then we are just treading water. Not a unique message but in time, this show will stand heads above its contemporaries because it dared to take its time and not demand our attention. The definition of confident television. justin hook

Thai Street Food with David Thompson [roadshow] Most people – especially the young ones – go to Thailand to party. It may be the first leg of a year away or the magnet for full moon parties or Phuket sleazathons. As these oiks trample over thousands of years of culture and the respect of the local population, invariably with their shirts off, they also miss one of the greatest cuisines the world has ever tasted. Thai food is an enigma. As David Thompson notes in this extensive 13 part series, it has poise and breadth. What we see and eat in local Thai restaurants is by necessity dumbed down and evened out for less stringent palates. That’s no criticism, it’s a commercial reality. And in many Thai restaurants in the Kingdom itself, you’ll taste dishes very similar to our suburbs. But Thai street food is another matter altogether.

Thai street food is the chaotic, messy, pungent, fast moving reflection of Thailand but particularly Bangkok.

Thompson, a Australian with an encyclopaedic understanding of Thai cuisine, comes very close to capturing the erratic energy of the country and the food not by zany edits and whiz bangery but by simply explaining things. By providing context and speaking to locals in their dialect, a must for any real travel/food doco.

Thompson has an uneasy on screen presence – he is nowhere near as slick as Luke or Kylie, but that’s the unique charm of this series. He makes it more believable and seems to have a greater respect and deeper understanding of his subject. That’s possibly because as an outsider Thompson has had to work twice as hard knowing there will be some aspects he never quite gets.

Still, as he points out, his palate and stomach are Thai. For those aforementioned tourists and anyone considering a trip, Thai Street Food is the perfect primer. It’ll send you to where you need to be – the streets. justin hook

The Wind Rises [Madman] To say there was a lot riding on this film is an understatement.

As Hayao Miyazaki’s final film for the animation company he helped create (Studio Ghibli), it was perceived as his personal farewell to the industry, rather than just another film. It also created a minor firestorm upon release when Miyazaki’s deliberate ambiguity – a hallmark of his entire career – was held by some to be silent support for Japan’s wartime activities. Anyone lucky enough to have seen the doco about Ghibli (The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness reviewed in these pages last month) will have seen snippets of the creative process behind the film. Let that be your guide.

Jiro Horikoshi (Hideaki Anno/ Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was an aeronautical engineer who laboured and obsessed over planes. He loved them. He dreamt about meeting Giovanni Caproni, a legendary Italian airplane designer. Horikoshi is a quiet mannered engineer at Mitsubishi in the 1920s when his diligence and technical expertise are recognised and within he decade he is promoted to chief designer.

Under Hirokoshi, the Mitsubishi A5M and A6M (the infamous Zero) are created. Both are synonymous, especially the latter, with Imperial Japanese air strength. Obviously Horikoshi’s life is not the sort of thing that sits easily alongside an underwater bubble girl (Ponyo). Even Miyazaki’s more strident films like the eco-warrior fable Princess Mononoke didn’t fete controversy so obviously.

Horikoshi is presented as a man only interested in pure beauty and technical perfection.

That the vehicle giving these personal visions life was a war machine is beside the point. It’s not necessarily that simplistic but it leaves questions moral complexity in the eye of the viewer. This awkward positioning should surprise no one familiar with Miyazaki. justin hook

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45

the word

on gigs

Super Raelene Brothers, Non-Profit Smith’s Alternative Sunday February 1 Trio Non-Profit acknowledged the traditional owners of the land and opened with ‘Carnival of Hope’. Its sideshow rhythms pulsated in a 1-2-3 1-2-3 waltz time, accompanied by cabaret style vocals. The set featured keyboard led instrumentals, with vocals used sparingly, suitable for reflecting on a balmy Sunday afternoon. Rhythms swapped from a jazzy groove to dreamy vibes, which suddenly picked up momentum as they progressed. There was a mischievous air to some tunes – foot tappers with a wry grin to them. A band with a social conscience, they closed with ‘Dark Sister’, about the plight of refugees.Alice Springs duo Super Raelene Brothers brought the stage to life with fiddle, guitar (with an unusual plectrum shaped sound hole) and a kick drum full of soft toy mascots. There was early crowd engagement, as the band passed out tambourines for the punters to beat time with. Super Raelene Brothers are a band with a catalogue that features red dust folk songs about social justice, such as their opening anti uranium tune ‘Nuclear Kop’, with occasional injections of the fun and flippant, such as ‘Cuba’. They come across like a less serious Redgum, with a cheeky humour and foot stomping beats. There were frequent re-tuning interludes, with the band commenting “even Paul Kelly has to do this, I’ve seen him.”

In a new trick, the fiddle had a guitar strap attached so it could be played like an axe during ‘Kuranda’. The chorus from ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’, played as a lullaby, comes across much better live than on the CD. True to their rowdy nature, the band took the stately Gospel classic ‘Down in the River’ and punched it out at foot to the floor barn dance pace.

RORY McCARTNEY

the word

on gigs

Australia Celebrates Live Parliament House Lawns Sunday January 25 Riding over the lake and through the Parliamentary Triangle, time was suddenly of the essence. Paul Kelly was about to kick off and time wasn’t stretching out nearly enough. We’d already missed Sheppard and Jessica Mauboy, whom a friend reliably described as “not nearly as bad as I expected.”

Kelly was in full band mode on the night and he seemed determined to utilise every weapon in his arsenal. He’d cede signing duties on one track to Vika and Linda Bull, or the heavy lifting on guitar on another. It’s a sign of a performer so comfortable in his skin that he doesn’t give a fuck whether he gets the credit or not anymore.

That doesn’t mean a thing if the music and the songs aren’t there to back it up. Kelly’s indelible fingerprints are all over popular culture in Australia over the last three or so decades and his music has come to partially represent what “Australia” sounds like. Kelly writes songs about all of Australia, including the neglected and marginalised parts. From the emotional rawness of ‘How To Make Gravy’, to the suburban love of ‘To Her Door’, Kelly’s music tries to tell stories that go beyond class and creed. And that’s before we get to his masterpiece (as co-written with Kev Carmody), the story of Vincent Lingiari, so close to the Tent Embassy and the halls of the place that both oppressed him and give him hope. Hearing ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ on the lawns of Parliament House is an all-too-rare symbol of progress in Australia.

CODY ATKINSON

46

@bmamag

the word

on gigs

Ocean Party, Totally Mild, Black Springs, Eadie and the Doodles The Phoenix Thursday January 29 Whenever you see a new band, one billed as their first public show, a certain apprehension hits. Will they be any good or am I just wasting my time? Eadie and the Doodles quickly allayed any concerns with their set of rough and ready garage rock. Sure, they’re a little raw, but also a little catchy. If they can tone down some of the former and focus on some of the latter, they are definitely onto something.

Black Springs, by contrast, are a little more accomplished. Hailing from Sydney, they launched into a set of hazy indie psych rock, with a bit of oomph behind it. Black Spings sounded together, like a band that have gotten comfortable with each other. They were a little reminiscent of a countrified version of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, which was interesting enough by itself. They’re a guitar band first and foremost, but sometimes that’s not a bad thing. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of Black Springs before they hopped on stage, but their set made me check out their stuff after.

Totally Mild had the look and sound of a band who really know what they want to be right now. Immediately they captured the attention of the packed pub with their brand of shiny, yet slightly wonky, indie pop. Frontwoman Elizabeth Mitchell provided the clear focal point, with her languid vocals driving the action. More than anything, Totally Mild lived and died on delicate melodies, intricate little things that stick in your head and won’t get out until the next one replaces it. For a band who is on the cusp of releasing their first album, they seem ready to (CLICHE ALERT ACTIVATED) break out this year.

The Ocean Party are quite regular visitors to the Capital and it’s a pretty good thing. Four albums into their relatively short careers, their ascension to a prominent spot on the local scene has been not only swift, but well deserved. The Ocean Party write Good Songs (TM), songs that recall Classic Australian Bands, like The GoBetweens and The Triffids.

Starting on Split, The Ocean Party decided to share the load a little more and be more than just another band driven by the creative vision of one person. Everyone seems to get a go and while this probably shouldn’t work, it absolutely does. Five singers take control of the mic on the night and while they don’t sound exactly like each other, they do compliment each other heavily. Part of that is their lyricism and their poetic mannerisms. Each song comes off like a statement of something worthwhile, even when the subject matter suggests otherwise. Take ‘Quarter Life Crisis’ for example, a song ostensibly about getting fucked up too much, which in their hands turns into a semi-existential statement on growing up slowly.

Most importantly, they have gotten tighter and tighter as a band each time they’ve been to town. They show on the night that are an extremely good live band, with everyone playing their part. They skirted the line between restrained and grandiose, occasionally slipping to the latter. Having three guitars firing helps this tendency, giving a little more room to move melodically.

CODY ATKINSON

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the word

on gigs

Laneway Sydney College of the Arts Sunday February 1 “I’m not a hipster,” says someone behind us, “I’m too glamorous to be one.”

“Yeah,” says their friend, “Hipsters don’t wear Cartier.”

If music festivals are where folk go to find their tribe, I certainly wasn’t among my people at Laneway. Was it the hefty ticket price keeping rabid fans away or simply the fact that they weren’t as vocal as the dudes bragging about not knowing who was on the bill but just there for “the pingers, mate”? Probably a bit of both.

The lineup served as a good catch up of breakthrough acts of 2014.

I skipped hardcore band Perfect Pussy (“is that what you’re eating for lunch? Hurh-hurh”) for blues shredder Benjamin Booker. With his gravelly vocals and lethargic swagger, Booker ripped through a tight set, pausing halfway to smoke a cigarette and sing while his bandmates swapped bass for fiddle and drums for electric mandolin. People started to wander, but the opening riff of ‘Violent Shiver’ instantly pulled them back in.

Angel Olsen’s Burn Your Fire for No Witness was a clear musical highlight of 2014 – all smoky voice, fuzzy guitar and heartache. Live, she was relaxed with a sharp sense of humour, making the growing crowd feel more intimate than it was. The front row sang ‘Hi-Five’ and ‘White Fire’.

A gasp rippled through the crowd as FKA Twigs stepped on stage.

Defiant in black underwear, studded belts and sheer tulle she held the stunned audience for her entire set. Less delicate than the recorded version, ‘Two Weeks’ crackled with a sense of urgency – every ‘fuck’ was crystal clear. Her voice, airy and high-pitched, rose above the industrial beats (played live by her band) while she danced, every movement calculated.

CHIARA GRASSIA Not since the ATP festival at Cockatoo Island in 2009 had I felt the beauty that is a festival large enough to feel like it was worth being hungover on a Monday, but small enough for a shortish beer line to purchase said hangover. Intelligent entry and exit points, diverse food, well run public transport, water stations (imagine!), well placed screens and killer sound. Mac De Marco belied his unassuming introspection on his recent album Salad Days with a hedonistic Machine Gun Fellatio-style stage show featuring Angel Olsen at a last supper type table, tandem keyboard duties and a rousing two-step with his Mum. Little Dragon’s set was well-timed; they made that odd festival transition point into the early evening joyful, wiping away the afternoon lag with shiny electronic pop too fun to stand still to.

Later, a desire to be at the front for St Vincent resulted in my having to watch FKA Twigs on screen. I thought I was hallucinating the chanteuse dressed in Cher’s ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ outfit, whipping long braids in a Kate Bush inspired trip hop frenzy – but everyone else has since backed this up.

St Vincent’s Annie Clarke was the gamine, otherworldly rockstar I had imagined. Someone needs to fashion her with a pulley system and conveyer belt as this is the effect she tried to convey throughout her electrifying set. Virtually every movement was choreographed (even the drummer played along) as she ripped her way through most of last year’s self-titled release.

PHOTOS BY DAN ANDREWS

48

Yeah, it’s counter-productive to make a point of how many killer females were represented at Laneway but yeah, it’s still necessary as I had never been treated to a lineup like it. See you next year Cartier hipsters.

TATJANA CLANCY

@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Wed Feb 11 - Thur Feb 12

Listings are a free community service. Email editorial@bmamag.com to have your events appear each issue. wednesday february 11

Art Exhibitions Imaginarium

Art exhibition. 23 Jan - 15 Feb. Meet the artists 24 Jan. 2pm.

BELCONNEN 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

Judith White: Transit

Paintings & works on paper. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

The Bald Archie Prize 2015

Art competition. 6th Feb - 9th March.

10am-4pm. Entry $5.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Light Years Exhibition

Theatre Mother & Son

From the hit TV Series, brand new stage comedy. $75.90/$99.90. 4-11 Feb. CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Sweet Charity

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

thursday february 12 Art Exhibitions Finding Ghosts

By Tracey Benson. Until 14th Feb. WedFri 11am-5pm. Sat 10am-4pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Contemporary Visions of Aboriginal Art

Photographs from the PhotoAccess Lin Richardson archive. 29 Jan-22 Feb.

Warlpiri Artists curated by Catherine Jaktman. 12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm. Opening 12 Feb at

Tom Rowney: Studio Glass

The Other Side: Her Riot

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Glass work. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. BEAVER GALLERIES

Rock Roll Repeat

by Chris Sutevski. Until 15th Feb. WedSun 11am-5pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Video:Music

By Timothy D. Until 14th Feb. Wed-Fri 11am-5pm. Sat 10am-4pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

On film: PhotoAccess members’ exhibition Variety of artwork. 29 Jan- 22 Feb. Opening Thursday 29th Jan at 6pm.

Free.

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

One Hung Bitch Vol. II

By Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran. Until 14th Feb. Wed-Fri 11am-5pm. Sat 10am-4pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Live Music Acoustic Soup

Line up TBC. $10.

ANU FOOD CO-OP

Joel Havea

Live music. $5.

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

The April Maze

M16 ARTSPACE

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

M16 ARTSPACE

Craft ACT Exhibition Openings

3 Art Exhibitions grand openings. Feb 12. 6pm. Exhibitions run from Feb 13 – 28 Mar. CRAFT ACT CRAFT & DESIGN CENTRE

Alchemists’ Paradise: Tommy Balogh

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun, 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

M16 ARTSPACE

Dance MetaSystems

Contemporary dance performance. Feb 12-15. $20.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Post Phase: The Summit Is Blue

Dance performance. 12-15 Feb. 8.30pm/3.30pm/7.30pm. See canberratheatrecentre.com.au for tickets and THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Live Music Thursday Jazz

With Brendan Clarke, Andrew Dickeson & Wayne G Kelly Trio. $15/$10.

With Scott Cook. 7pm. Tickets $12/$15/$20 at trybooking.com.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

CJ Ramone

THE PHOENIX BAR

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Album launch. Supported by Hard Ons & No Assumption. 8pm. Tickets $34.70 from oztix.

TRANSIT BAR

On The Town Hump Day

Mondecreen

With Fricker. 9pm. $5.

Suzi Quatro

Suzie Quatro final Australian Tour.

Tickets $109.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Chicago Charles & Dave Live music. 9pm. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Get over the hump with drink specials after 5pm.

On The Town

Foam Party

Free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

Free Entry wearing a Toga/$5 with student ID. ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

4some Thursdays ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Playtime

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

TREEHOUSE BAR

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Thurs Feb 12- Sun Feb 15 Theatre

Kingdoms

Sweet Charity

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

friday february 13 Art Exhibitions Unfold and Construct

New works by Phoebe Porter. 13 Feb 14 March. Opening 13 Feburary 6pm.

With Empty Suitcase. $5.

On The Town Timmy Trumpet $15 before 11pm.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

100 Seats Nights to Remember: Fred Smith Only 100 seats available. 6.30pm.

Bookings $35 at 6248 2000.

NATIONAL FILM AND SOUND ARCHIVES

Pulse: Reflections on the Body

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

Canberra Multicultural Fringe

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

At Fringe Central Tent outside the front of the pub. Mojo Juju, L Fresh The Lion, Thelma Plum, Omar

Judith White: Transit

THE PHOENIX BAR

Topnovil

BEAVER GALLERIES

THE BASEMENT

Paintings & works on paper. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. Free.

The Other Side: Her Riot

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

BILK GALLERY

Theatre

Dance

Sweet Charity

The Bald Archie Prize 2015

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

MetaSystems

Contemporary dance performance. Feb 12-15. $20.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Post Phase: The Summit Is Blue

Dance performance. 12-15 Feb. 8.30pm/3.30pm/7.30pm. See canberratheatrecentre.com.au for tickets and THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Live Music Canberra Multicultural Fringe

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

saturday february 14 film Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas

With live music every Saturday and Sunday. 18th Jan - 22nd Feb. Tickets at openaircinemas.com.au.

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

M16 ARTSPACE

Art competition. 6th Feb - 9th March.

10am-4pm. Entry $5.

Light Years Exhibition

Photographs from the PhotoAccess Lin Richardson archive. 29 Jan-22 Feb. PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Tom Rowney: Studio Glass

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun, 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

One Hung Bitch Vol. II

by Chris Sutevski. Until 15th Feb. WedSun 11am-5pm. Free.

THE BASEMENT

Battle of the Bands Heat #1

The first heat of Transit Bar’s latest band comp. 8pm. Free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

By Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran. Until 14th Feb. Wed-Fri 11am-5pm. Sat 10am-4pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

M16 ARTSPACE

Rock Roll Repeat

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Video:Music

Break Even

Dance

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

Contemporary Visions of Aboriginal Art

Post Phase: The Summit Is Blue

Variety of music genres. 9pm. Free Entry.

Warlpiri Artists curated by Catherine Jaktman. 12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm. Opening 12 Feb at

Henry/Itchy Triggers

Imaginarium

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

S.A.M.

TREEHOUSE BAR

5pm afternoon session. 10pm band.

Free.

M16 ARTSPACE

Art exhibition. 23 Jan - 15 Feb. Meet the artists 24 Jan. 2pm.

Thank You MA’AM

Presents Dom Dolla. 9pm. $10 before 11pm.

TREEHOUSE BAR

Special K

Live music. 10.30pm. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

With Harms Way, Legions, Hygiene & Urge to Kill. 8pm. $20

On The Town

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Endless Heights, Post Blue, Hopeless & more.

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

Fringelicious Burlesque

Finding Ghosts

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Legions, Forever Haggard, Higiene & Urge to Kill.

Alchemists’ Paradise: Tommy Balogh

With Kissing Booth & Casters. 8pm. $15.

By Tracey Benson. Until 14th Feb. WedFri 11am-5pm. Sat 10am-4pm. Free.

Harms Way

CRAFT ACT CRAFT & DESIGN CENTRE

By Timothy D. Until 14th Feb. Wed-Fri 11am-5pm. Sat 10am-4pm. Free.

Slates

TRANSIT BAR

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

3 Art Exhibitions grand openings. Feb 12. 6pm. Exhibitions run from Feb 13 – 28 Mar.

Variety of artwork. 29 Jan- 22 Feb. Opening Thursday 29th Jan at 6pm.

Free.

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

With Mondecreen, Bruges, and more.

8pm. Free.

Craft ACT Exhibition Openings

Shananigans 8

13 acts including. King Of The North, Red Bee, Troldhaugen and Burlesque by The Velvet Vixens. 7pm.

Love Live Music

I Exist

BEAVER GALLERIES

Art Exhibitions On film: PhotoAccess members’ exhibition

With Rust, Rather Be Dead & Cockbelch. Doors 8pm.

Glass work. 5 Feb – 3 Mar.

At Fringe Central Tent outside the front of the pub. The Fuelers, Little Dove Theatre, Crossbones & THE PHOENIX BAR

Live Music

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Dance performance. 12-15 Feb. 8.30pm/3.30pm/7.30pm. See canberratheatrecentre.com.au for tickets and THE COURTYARD STUDIO

MetaSystems

8pm. $15. Tickets at smithsalternative. com.

Love Saturdays

With Project M. $10 before 12am.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

$10 Express Lunch

Pizza & soft drink $10. 12pm-2pm.

Mon-Sat. TRANSIT BAR

Theatre Sweet Charity

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

sunday february 15 Dance Dance Audition: Quantum Leap

Ages 14-26. Register at ql2.org.au.

GORMAN HOUSE ARTS CENTRE

Contemporary dance performance. Feb 12-15. $20.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

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@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Sun Feb 15 - Sat Feb 21 Post Phase: The Summit Is Blue

Theatre

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!

Dance performance. 12-15 Feb. 8.30pm/3.30pm/7.30pm. See canberratheatrecentre.com.au for tickets and

Sweet Charity

THE PHOENIX BAR

With The Feldons, Loud So Clear, Kitten Hurricane & Capes. 8pm. Free.

Something Different

Shameem

MetaSystems

Trivia

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Contemporary dance performance. Feb 12-15. $20.

THE COURTYARD STUDIO

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Twotonmurphy.com Presents

Christo and Raph’s Lonely Hearts Club Trivia. 7.30pm.

Live Music

THE PHOENIX BAR

Sunday Sangria & Sound

Win cash prizes & bar tabs. 8pm.

The Somdays. 3pm-5pm. $10.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

The Smith Street Band

All Ages. With Pup, Great Cynics & Apart From This.

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

Irish Jam Session

Traditional Irish musicians in the pub from late afternoon. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Adam Cohen

We Go Home Tour. $44. 6.30pm.

THE ABBEY

On The Town Canberra Multicultural Fringe

Knightsbridge Trivia

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

wednesday february 18 Art Exhibitions On film: PhotoAccess members’ exhibition

Variety of artwork. 29 Jan- 22 Feb. Opening Thursday 29th Jan at 6pm.

Free.

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Unfold and Construct

New works by Phoebe Porter. 13 Feb 14 March. Opening 13 Feburary 6pm.

BILK GALLERY

At Fringe Central Tent outside the front of the pub. BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!, Bo Loserr, Konrad Lenz &

Contemporary Visions of Aboriginal Art

Something Different

M16 ARTSPACE

THE PHOENIX BAR

Canberra Blues Society Jam

Hosted by The PJ O’Brien Band. 2pm. $3/$5.

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Theatre ‘Love’

Series of short plays. 7pm. $10.

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Workshops Jam It

Jam with young musicians and professional musicians. Tues-Fri. 9am4pm. Multicultural festival gig 1 AINSLIE ARTS CENTRE

monday feburary 16

Warlpiri Artists curated by Catherine Jaktman. 12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm. Opening 12 Feb at

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

Judith White: Transit

Paintings & works on paper. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

The Other Side: Her Riot

Art competition. 6th Feb - 9th March.

10am-4pm. Entry $5.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Light Years Exhibition PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Glass work. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. BEAVER GALLERIES

Craft ACT Exhibition Openings

3 Art Exhibitions grand openings. Feb 12. 6pm. Exhibitions run from Feb 13 – 28 Mar. CRAFT ACT CRAFT & DESIGN CENTRE

Karaoke. 9pm. Free entry.

Alchemists’ Paradise: Tommy Balogh

Something Different

M16 ARTSPACE

Karaoke Love TRANSIT BAR

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun, 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

Schnitz & Giggles

On The Town

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Hump Day

7pm. $10.

Shen Yun

Shen Yun Performing Arts unveils an entirely new program. $60-$150.

Theatre

Get over the hump with drink specials after 5pm.

TRANSIT BAR

Groovin The ANU

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

Album launch. 9pm. $12/$15. Tickets at trybooking.com/GLNV. THE BASEMENT

Hand of Mercy

When Giants Sleep, Elegist, Failure, Traces & Honest Crooks.

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

Sweet Charity

Henry/The Surrogates

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

thursday february 19 Art Exhibitions New Work

By Aaron Garlick. Opens 6pm 19th Feb. Continues until 28 Feb. Wed-Sun 11am-5pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Live Music Maricopa Wells

With The Sugarcanes, Swoon Queen & Bo Loserr. 9pm. $5.

THE PHOENIX BAR

Barefoot Alley & Bonez

With Barren Spinsters. 8pm. Free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

Chad Croker Duo

Live music. 9pm. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

On The Town

5pm afternoon session/10pm Band.

Free.

On The Town Lucrative

DJ music. 9pm. Free Entry TREEHOUSE BAR

Alive Fridays

Presents Slice N Dice. $10 before 11pm.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Theatre Sweet Charity

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

saturday february 21 film Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas

With live music every Saturday and Sunday. 18th Jan - 22nd Feb. Tickets at openaircinemas.com.au.

4some Thursdays

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF AUSTRALIA

Free entry.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Art Exhibitions

Playtime

On film: PhotoAccess members’ exhibition

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

TREEHOUSE BAR

The Bald Archie Prize 2015

Tom Rowney: Studio Glass

Karaoke

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

M16 ARTSPACE

2XX LocalnLive Presents The Bootleg Sessions

tuesday february 17

Shen Yun Performing Arts unveils an entirely new program. $60-$150.

Theatre

Live Music

THE PHOENIX BAR

Shen Yun

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

Photographs from the PhotoAccess Lin Richardson archive. 29 Jan-22 Feb.

With Babyfreeze, Fuzzsucker, Creeks & DJ Psycho. 8pm. Free.

8pm.

Sweet Charity

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

friday february 20 Art Exhibitions As It Goes

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb at 6pm to 8 Mar. 11am-3pm Mon-Fri, and 11am-4pm on weekends.

NISHI GALLERY

Blaze Nine

Showcase of emerging Canberra Artists. Opening 6pm 20th Feb. Continues until March 28. Wed-Fri 11am-

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Spaces and Beyond

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb, 5.30pm. Runs until 15 Mar. BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Variety of artwork. 29 Jan- 22 Feb. Opening Thursday 29th Jan at 6pm.

Free.

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Unfold and Construct

New works by Phoebe Porter. 13 Feb 14 March. Opening 13 Feburary 6pm.

BILK GALLERY

Contemporary Visions of Aboriginal Art

Warlpiri Artists curated by Catherine Jaktman. 12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm. Opening 12 Feb at M16 ARTSPACE

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

Judith White: Transit

Paintings & works on paper. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

The Other Side: Her Riot

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

Live Music

M16 ARTSPACE

Battle of the Bands Heat #2

Art competition. 6th Feb - 9th March.

10am-4pm. Entry $5.

8pm. Free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

The Bald Archie Prize 2015 WATSON ARTS CENTRE

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Sat Feb 21 - Sat Feb 28 Light Years Exhibition

Photographs from the PhotoAccess Lin Richardson archive. 29 Jan-22 Feb. PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Tom Rowney: Studio Glass

Glass work. 5 Feb – 3 Mar.

Live Music Irish Jam Session

Art competition. 6th Feb - 9th March.

10am-4pm. Entry $5.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

Tom Rowney: Studio Glass

Traditional Irish musicians in the pub from late afternoon. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

Something Different

Craft ACT Exhibition Openings

Light Years

3 Art Exhibitions grand openings. Feb 12. 6pm. Exhibitions run from Feb 13 – 28 Mar. CRAFT ACT CRAFT & DESIGN CENTRE

Alchemists’ Paradise: Tommy Balogh

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun, 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

M16 ARTSPACE

New Work

By Aaron Garlick. Opens 6pm 19th Feb. Continues until 28 Feb. Wed-Sun 11am-5pm. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Dance Classical Indian Dance

21 Feb, 7pm Performance. 22 Feb Workshop, 10.30-12. Performance cost $25/$15. Workshop $20/$10.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Live Music Vendetta

The Bald Archie Prize 2015

Story share with Rip Publishing. 2pm.

Free.

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

The Color Run

Back in Canberra. 22 Feb. Tickets at thecolorrun.com.au.

STAGE 88

monday february 23 Live Music CIT Presents The Bootleg Sessions

With Casters, Ivory Lights, Capes & Patrick McKinney. 8pm. Free.

THE PHOENIX BAR

tuesday february 24 Karaoke Karaoke Love

Karaoke. 9pm. Free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Glass work. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. BEAVER GALLERIES

Spaces and Beyond

8pm. Free entry.

3 Art Exhibitions grand openings. Feb 12. 6pm. Exhibitions run from Feb 13 – 28 Mar. CRAFT ACT CRAFT & DESIGN CENTRE

Alchemists’ Paradise: Tommy Balogh

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun, 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

M16 ARTSPACE

New Work

By Aaron Garlick. Opens 6pm 19th Feb. Continues until 28 Feb. Wed-Sun 11am-5pm. Free.

Hump Day

Get over the hump with drink specials after 5pm.

TRANSIT BAR

Los Chavos

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

With Midnight Cinderella and The Huskeys. 8pm. Free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

Burrows/The Burley Griffen Live music. $15.

THE ABBEY

Heuristic

10.30pm. Free.

KING O’MALLEY’S IRISH PUB

On The Town Sneaky: Surgin aka Steve Lising

Sneaky Saturdays. Sneaking in the city’s finest DJs. $10 Cocktails before Midnight. 9pm. Free Entry.

TREEHOUSE BAR

Love Saturdays

With Runamark. $10 before 12am.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Theatre Sweet Charity

Award winning musical. Info & tickets: canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

sunday february 22 Dance Classical Indian Dance

21 Feb, 7pm Performance. 22 Feb Workshop, 10.30-12. Performance cost $25/$15. Workshop $20/$10.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

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wednesday february 25

Flava R’nB

DJ Daz, Songz & Trigga. Free.

TREEHOUSE BAR

Locals Do It Better $5 before 11pm.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Something Different

PARLIAMENTARY TRIANGLE

THE PHOENIX BAR

The Gaps

On The Town

On The Town

Cockbelch & more. 8pm. $10.

Win cash prizes & bar tabs. 8pm.

TRANSIT BAR

Enlighten 2015

Circa Beyond

Knightsbridge Trivia

Battle of the Bands Heat #3

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Impact Comics Present Nerd Trivia

THE PHOENIX BAR

friday february 27

Craft ACT Exhibition Openings

Taliesin

With Raio de Sol Samba. 9.30pm. $5.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Live Music

Something Different

With Joel and Ali. 7.30pm.

Dazzling acrobatics, a surreal atmosphere and a pinch of cheeky animal fun. Tickets $40-$55.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Trivia

THE BASEMENT

Circa Beyond

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb, 5.30pm.

Runs until 15 Mar.

Live music.

DURHAM CASTLE ARMS

Something Different

Dazzling acrobatics, a surreal atmosphere and a pinch of cheeky animal fun. Tickets $40-$55.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Feb 27-Mar 8. Tickets at ticketek. com.au.

Circa Beyond

Dazzling acrobatics, a surreal atmosphere and a pinch of cheeky animal fun. Tickets $40-$55.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Regrowth Festival

4 day festival of art, music, and ecological restoration. 27 Feb - 2 March. Tickets $190/$250 at reBERLANG FOREST

saturday february 28

Art Exhibitions

Art Exhibitions

Out West

New Work

Art Exhibitions

By Stephen Best. 10am-4pm Tues-Fri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar.

As It Goes

Taking Liberties

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb at 6pm to 8 Mar. 11am-3pm Mon-Fri, and 11am-4pm on weekends.

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb at 6pm to 8 Mar. 11am-3pm Mon-Fri, and 11am-4pm on weekends.

NISHI GALLERY

Blaze Nine

Showcase of emerging Canberra Artists.

Opening 6pm 20th Feb. Continues until March 28. Wed-Fri 11amCANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Unfold and Construct

New works by Phoebe Porter. 13 Feb 14 March. Opening 13 Feburary 6pm.

BILK GALLERY

Contemporary Visions of Aboriginal Art

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

By Kai Wasikowska. 10am-4pm TuesFri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar.

China: Eighteen Days 1978

By Bill Lucas. 10am-4pm Tues-Fri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar. PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Live Music Zeahorse

With Primary Colours & Agency. 9pm. $5.

Judith White: Transit

With American Sharks (US) & Yoko Oh No. 8pm.

THE PHOENIX BAR

Clowns

Paintings & works on paper. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. Free.

TRANSIT BAR

BEAVER GALLERIES

On The Town

The Other Side: Her Riot

4some Thursdays

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

M16 ARTSPACE

As It Goes

NISHI GALLERY

Out West

By Stephen Best. 10am-4pm Tues-Fri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar. PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

thursday february 26

Warlpiri Artists curated by Catherine Jaktman. 12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm. Opening 12 Feb at M16 ARTSPACE

By Aaron Garlick. Opens 6pm 19th Feb. Continues until 28 Feb. Wed-Sun 11am-5pm. Free.

Free entry.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Playtime

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

TREEHOUSE BAR

Blaze Nine

Showcase of emerging Canberra Artists.

Opening 6pm 20th Feb. Continues until March 28. Wed-Fri 11amCANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Unfold and Construct

New works by Phoebe Porter. 13 Feb 14 March. Opening 13 Feburary 6pm.

BILK GALLERY

Contemporary Visions of Aboriginal Art

Warlpiri Artists curated by Catherine Jaktman. 12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm. Opening 12 Feb at M16 ARTSPACE

Judith White: Transit

Paintings & works on paper. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Sat Feb 28 - Thurs Mar 5 Taking Liberties

By Kai Wasikowska. 10am-4pm TuesFri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar. PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

On The Town Ventures

Thank You MA’AM club night. $10.

TREEHOUSE BAR

Regrowth Festival

Love Saturdays

M16 ARTSPACE

Something Different

Art Exhibitions

Art competition. 6th Feb - 9th March.

10am-4pm. Entry $5.

Enlighten 2015

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Feb 27-Mar 8. Tickets at ticketek. com.au.

Judith White: Transit

China: Eighteen Days 1978

PARLIAMENTARY TRIANGLE

Circa Beyond

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun. 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

The Bald Archie Prize 2015

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

By Bill Lucas. 10am-4pm Tues-Fri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar.

Dazzling acrobatics, a surreal atmosphere and a pinch of cheeky animal fun. Tickets $40-$55.

Tom Rowney: Studio Glass

Regrowth Festival

Glass work. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. BEAVER GALLERIES

Spaces and Beyond

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb, 5.30pm.

Runs until 15 Mar.

4 day festival of art, music, and ecological restoration. 27 Feb - 2 March. Tickets $190/$250 at reBERLANG FOREST

sunday march 1

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

Craft ACT Exhibition Openings

Live Music

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Tom Rowney: Studio Glass

CRAFT ACT CRAFT & DESIGN CENTRE

Live Music

BEAVER GALLERIES

Sharon Shannon

Glass work. 5 Feb – 3 Mar.

Feb 27-Mar 8. Tickets at ticketek. com.au.

Bubble ’n’ Squeak

By Michele England, Dash Kossmann & Fran Meatheringham. 22 Jan - 8 Feb. Wed-Sun, 12-5pm. Opening 22 M16 ARTSPACE

Live Music Katie Noonan: Concert By The Water

With Katie Noonan & Uncle Jed. Doors at 6pm, music at 7pm. Tickets $45/$35 at ticketek.com.au.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA

The Fuelers 9.30pm. $5.

THE PHOENIX BAR

The Vanns

EP release. 8pm. Free.

TRANSIT BAR

The Necks

Jazz music. 8pm. Tickets $35 from thestreet.org.au.

Regrowth Festival

On The Town

PARLIAMENTARY TRIANGLE

Renegades of Rhythm

DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist. 7pm.

wednesday march 4

Alchemists’ Paradise: Tommy Balogh

PARLIAMENTARY TRIANGLE

THE ABBEY

Enlighten 2015

Something Different

M16 ARTSPACE

TRANSIT BAR

Something Different Perception Deception Exhibition

Enlighten 2015

Out West

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

THE PHOENIX BAR

monday march 2 Something Different

PARLIAMENTARY TRIANGLE

thursday march 5

Blaze Nine

Showcase of emerging Canberra Artists.

Opening 6pm 20th Feb. Continues until March 28. Wed-Fri 11am-

Unfold and Construct

New works by Phoebe Porter. 13 Feb 14 March. Opening 13 Feburary 6pm.

BILK GALLERY

On The Town Playtime

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

TREEHOUSE BAR

Something Different Enlighten 2015

Taking Liberties

By Kai Wasikowska. 10am-4pm TuesFri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar.

Feb 27-Mar 8. Tickets at ticketek. com.au.

PARLIAMENTARY TRIANGLE

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

Enlighten 2015

The Bald Archie Prize 2015

PARLIAMENTARY TRIANGLE

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Feb 27-Mar 8. Tickets at ticketek. com.au.

Feb 27-Mar 8. Tickets at ticketek. com.au.

By Stephen Best. 10am-4pm Tues-Fri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar.

Live Music

8pm. Free entry.

QUESTACON

NISHI GALLERY

4 day festival of art, music, and ecological restoration. 27 Feb - 2 March. Tickets $190/$250 at re-

CMC Presents The Bootleg Sessions

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

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb at 6pm to 8 Mar. 11am-3pm Mon-Fri, and 11am-4pm on weekends.

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

BERLANG FOREST

$50 for show. $98 for dinner & show.

6.30pm.

Something Different

As It Goes

Feb 27-Mar 8. Tickets at ticketek. com.au.

Craft ACT Exhibition Openings

BEAVER GALLERIES

TRANSIT BAR

Enlighten 2015

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

3 Art Exhibitions grand openings. Feb 12. 6pm. Exhibitions run from Feb 13 – 28 Mar.

Art Exhibitions

12 Feb - 1 March. Wed-Sun, 12-5pm.

Opening 12 Feb at 6pm. Free.

Art exhibition. Opening 20 Feb, 5.30pm.

Runs until 15 Mar.

Paintings & works on paper. 5 Feb – 3 Mar. Free.

Rodney P

CRAFT ACT CRAFT & DESIGN CENTRE

Spaces and Beyond

tuesday march 3

3 Art Exhibitions grand openings. Feb 12. 6pm. Exhibitions run from Feb 13 – 28 Mar.

8pm. Presale via Moshtix.

By Bill Lucas. 10am-4pm Tues-Fri. 12pm-4pm weekends. Free. 26 Feb-22 Mar.

BERLANG FOREST

The Other Side: Her Riot

With Exposure. $10 before 12am.

China: Eighteen Days 1978

4 day festival of art, music, and ecological restoration. 27 Feb - 2 March. Tickets $190/$250 at re-

Art competition. 6th Feb - 9th March.

10am-4pm. Entry $5.

THE STREET THEATRE

OUT

feb 25

canberra comedy festival noted festival cracked actor you are here program ...and more!

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FIRST CONTACT

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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

PJ Michael Where did your band name come from? Paul James Michael, in short.

(vocals) and Aino Suomi (violin).

Group members? PJ Michael (guitar and vocals), Liz Boylan

Describe your sound: A little twangy, a little folky, but mostly country blues.

Who are your influences, musical or otherwise? My brother got me onto The Black Keys way back when and I still love what they do. From The Black Keys, I worked backwards to Junior Kimbrough, Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson. I guess a lot of my guitar work comes from listening to them. I stumbled across Justin Townes Earle a few years ago – there was something about the simplicity of his story telling that resonated with me. From there I worked back to Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt. My lyrical styling probably comes from those guys.

What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had whilst performing? Liz and Aino joined me live for the first time just before Christmas last year. That was a pretty special way to finish off last year.

Of what are you proudest so far? Taking out the Studio 68 Sound Search Competition, which resulted in recording and releasing ‘River’ with Matt Barnes in his studio. I’m super proud of the end result. You can get it for free on my pages.

What are your plans for the future? Just keep on playing and try to write some new songs. I would love to record again, release it and maybe hit the road.

What makes you laugh? A lot of things make me laugh. I’m easily entertained.

What pisses you off? Bad coffee. But I’ll probably still drink it.

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

What about the local scene would you change? Not a lot.

It’s a good little scene. A supportive bunch and a good place for someone like me to start.

Fourth Degree Vic 0408477020

What are your upcoming gigs? Helping out local rum’un Jack Biilmann with his album launch on Saturday February 28 at the George Harcourt. Should be a real hoot.

Groovalicious Corporate/ weddings/private functions 0448995158

Contact info: facebook.com/pjmichaelmusic, soundcloud. com/pj-michael, triplejunearthed.com/artist/pj-michael

54

Australian Songwriters Association Keiran (02) 62310433

Gareth Dailey DJ/Electronica Gareth 0414215885

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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