BMA Magazine 464 - 27 May 2015

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CTC OPEN DAY

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STORM LARGE

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MUSIC INDUSTRY PUNS AHEAD

Something, something Eurovision. # 4 6 4 M a y 2 7 Fax: (02) 6257 4361 Mail: PO Box 713 Civic Square, ACT 2608 Publisher Scott Layne Allan Sko General Manager Allan Sko T: (02) 6257 4360 E: advertising@bmamag.com

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

Does a career in music or media get you amped? Whether you’re looking for an up-the-front role as a music performer or a behind-the-scenes role in media production, digital media, sound production, or management in the music industry, CIT can help you develop your skills for a career that hits all the right notes. Their graduates consistently win jobs on or before graduating because the practical skills and knowledge they bring to the workplace are highly valued by employers.

During your study at CIT you will have access to industry standard cameras and audio recording equipment, computer labs featuring the latest multimedia, audio and video software. Their music students get real-life experience at CIT’s very own Music Industry Centre, with plenty of events, gigs and commercial opportunities to show off your musical prowess. You will also be working with teachers who are tuned into major trends, current software and are

industry leaders. These courses give you the opportunity to gain real world experience through workplace-based training.

Apply now to study in semester 2 by visiting cit.edu.au/music or call CIT Infoline on (02) 6207 3188.

IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ESKIMO JOE CITSA, UC Life! and The ANU Union invites currently enrolled CIT, UC and ANU students* to enter the 2015 National Campus Band Comp. Registration closes on Friday July 17. All competing bands will first perform in one of the following heats held at the Canberra Institute of Technology MIC (Music Industry Centre) @CIT Woden: Heat 1 – Thursday August 13, Heat 2 – Thursday August 20.

The top bands from each heat will then compete in the ACT Final at ANU Bar on Friday 28 August. The ACT Final prize is: $500 prize money, A full day of studio time at Studio SixtyEight, A chance to compete in the 2015 AACA NCBC National Final Wednesday 23 September at Manning Bar in Sydney ($5000 1st prize!) plus travel/ accommodation subsidy for the National Final. Past winners of the competition include Eskimo Joe (8 times ARIA Music Award

winners), Jebediah (4 ARIA Top ten albums), The Vasco Era + many more. *To compete, one band member must be currently enrolled at CIT, UC or ANU. Please make sure you read terms and conditions. All competing bands need to pay $25 per band. All info at aaca. net.au.

SHREDDING AND STUFF Back Bone BMX are holding the biggest BMX event in Australia over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, right here in Canberra. The ACT Jam is literally the best of the best riders – local shredders mixing it with top competition-type riders & underground legends, from all over Australia & the world, converging on the capital to try & take the title of ‘King of the ACT’ for 2015 – the best overall rider from the four parks ridden, as voted by their fellow riders, as well as a best trick & best rider awarded at each park. There will also be an amazing afterparty featuring the premiere of the Back Bone BMX video that has been three years in the making. Filmed in Canberra & around the world, it will be premiered on the Sunday night at Westside Acton Park.

For all the times, locations and info head to backbonebmx. com.au

Accounts Manager Julie Ruttle T: (02) 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com

Sub-Editor & Social Media Manager Chiara Grassia Graphic Design Marley Film Editor Emma Robinson

They don’t check your search history right?

NEXT ISSUE465 OUT June 17 EDITORIAL DEADLINE June 10 ADVERTISING DEADLINE June 11 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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FROM THE BOSSMAN Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Hello, you gorgeous things, and welcome to the autumn-intowinter transitional three-week bumper edition of this, your BMA Magazine. And Transition, my scrumptious friends, is very much the theme of this month. This column also finds me a jealous yet happy man. Permit me to explain via the medium of art.

A dear friend - for the sake of privacy, let’s call him “Jatthew Mones” - recently lent me Neil Gaiman’s rightfully revered Sandman comic series. In the intro to Sandman IX: The Kindly Ones, author Frank McConnell wrote something that stuck with me. And I present it to you now: “Amiri Baraka, back when he was Leroi Jones, wrote that ‘art is whatever makes you proud to be human.’ That is one hell of a good definition for art… The desire to say or see something that convinces us we matter, that our messy, brief lives have a sense, a direction, a clear vector, despite their messiness and brevity.”

I find this a beautifully succinct thought. I also find it timely.

Because there have been many examples of change this week for me, and many examples from people that make me proud to be human.

Life can have a funny way of throwing up themes, and this May has been all about changes. We’ve had a change of weather.

A change of Eurovision champ. A change of sentiment for gay marriage in Ireland (and by the way, if you’re against gay marriage, you’re against love. Get over yourself, and share in people’s happiness already).

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’m really into learning new things about the world. And I’ve discovered a bountiful font of information residing within those “47 things you didn’t know about some random topic” memes, (each with their deceivingly enticing image). From body building to celebrity stalking, there would seem to be a list for every interest, each one more provocative then the next. And I need to click on them all.

However I feel I may have reached my limit. Not the limit of my insatiable desire to fill my days absorbing useless information, but the limit of ability to locate the ‘tricky click’ – for as you are no doubt aware (don’t even pretend), these memes show only one “fact” per screen, encouraging you to then locate the true “next” button, which is hidden within a dastardly puzzle which would challenge the sharpest Where’s Wally player. Click on the wrong button and receive an ad for free piece of software which kills your phone. Or for a once in a lifetime investment seminar.

Or for porn. And while I know that advertising pays for the articles, it certainly doesn’t pay for my therapy.

Tricky clicks on time wasting memes – you pissed me off.

There has been a lot of positive change. Proud Queanbeyan Omar Musa - son to City News Arts Correspondent Helen Musa - was named Sydney Morning Herald Young Novelist of the Year this week. If you haven’t read his poetry collection Parang or the white hot Here Come The Dogs do yourself a favour and remedy that immediately.

Former BMA ad man and photographer Cole Bennetts has been putting together the best photo work of his career; if you haven’t seen his shots of Thundamentals and Hermitude, you should.

And BMA’s first ever film editor Mark Russell has this week been shortlisted for The Text Prize where, and I quote, “four outstanding manuscripts have been selected from 268 entries to make up the shortlist for the $10,000 Prize.” It’s nice when good things happen to good people Speaking of which… The big change happening for BMA is that we are losing our dear Editor Tatjana Clancy in a few weeks’ time.

She has been plucked to fill the highly prestigious role of Myf Warhurst’s producer for Double J. It’s a role she was born for, and while I and BMA will deeply miss the energy and happiness she brought with her every day, the walls will echo with her laughter for years to come.

This column is by ways of a confession. I am jealous of these people. They are achieving things I wish for myself. But it’s a good jealously, and there is such a thing. These people make me proud to be human.

And this is my lesson to you, my friends. To those who feel they can’t support gay marriage. To those who can’t be happy for someone else’s success. To those for some other, third thing.

Share in people’s happiness. And you’ll be happier for it.

ALLAN SKO - allan@bmamag.com

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WHO: IN2DEEP WHAT: ALBUM LAUNCH WHEN: FRI MAY 29 WHERE: DICKSON TRADIES CLUB

WHO: INTO THE CRYPT WHAT: METAL WHEN: SAT MAY 30 WHERE: MAGPIES CITY CLUB

WHO: FRENZAL RHOMB WHAT: PUNK WHEN: THU JUN 4 WHERE: THE BASEMENT

This coming weekend The Magpies City club will be hosting two nights of shows covering the whole metal spectrum. With Into The Crypt, as well as Hellbringer, Witchskull, Boonhorse and Urge to Kill, all these bands bringing something different to the Canberra music scene, to delight those with darker tastes. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness these talented bands give their all with their electrifying performances. Tickets are $10. Doors open at 7pm.

Australian punk rock legends Frenzal Rhomb are coming to Canberra to bring us their electrifying and rousing performances.

The extremely talented and worldly band has performed all over the world as well as supporting Australian tours by the Offspring, Bad Religion and Blink 182. With two of their albums entering the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart A Man’s Not a Camel and Smoko At the Pet Food Factory. With Jason Whalley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar and Lindsay McDougall shredding on lead guitar and backing vocals, do not miss the chance to witness their flair and profanity. Tix $31.20 from moshtix.

WHO: ART OF SLEEPING WHAT: SINGLE LAUNCH WHEN: FRI JUN 5 WHERE: TRANSIT BAR

The incredibly talented Aussie group Art of Sleeping are on tour after their triumphant sold out Crazy tour in January left audiences stunned and wanting more. Their latest single ‘Voodoo’ captures the bands extensive arrangements and intoxicating lyrics which deals with the theme of heartbreak as a wild love affair ends. Known for their immersive and passionate performances as well as their seductive sounds, this band will be embarking on their biggest national tour to date to bring to us their eagerly awaited debut album. The show begins at 8pm, tickets $20.40 from moshtix.

WHO: WE ALL WANT TO WHAT: ALBUM LAUNCH WHEN: SAT JUN 6 WHERE: THE PHOENIX

We All Want To is celebrating their album’s release The Haze, which has already reaped praise from critics around Australia. Featuring Screamfeeder’s Tim Steward along with Dan McNaulty and Skye Staniford, the Brisbane based indie-rock band will be coming to Canberra to bring an exhilarating performance with their songs of teenage days. “It’s escapism, built around a rose-coloured glasses version of a past that may not even have happened,” says Steward.

Catch them at the Phoenix on Saturday June 6 for just a measly $5.

WHO: MY FRIEND THE CHOCOLATE CAKE WHAT: FOLK WHEN: FRI JUN 12 WHERE: STREET THEATRE

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Unique and sophisticated, In2DEEP’s debut album Just for the Heaven of It in a culmination of years of hard work and dedication. The duo combines the alleviating vocal talents of Rachel Throne and pianist Mike Dooley’s astonishing compositional ability, who together create soothing, soulful and sometimes even swinging jazz originals. The debut album contains 12 original jazz songs with a little Latin jazz and eclectic influences thrown into the mix. From lyrical ballads to tongue and cheek duets with quirky lyrics this album will surely take you through a delightful journey to distant shores. The show begins at 7pm and entry is free.

My friend the Chocolate Cake is a suburban folk rock group which combines the talent of singer/songwriter and pianist David Bridie with the dexterous strings of Helen Mountfort’s cello and Hope Csutoros’ beautiful violin. MFTCC are hitting the road for their Back to Back to Track national tour, performing their first two albums back to back, including debut album My Friends the Chocolate Cake (1991) and Brood (1994). Triple ARIA winners and with decades of experience, MFTCC are bringing their beautiful and creative sound to Australian audience. Tix $39 from thestreet.org.au.

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INDIGO TRAIL If there’s one thing we’ve known for hundreds and hundreds of years, its that the performing arts are absolutely and totally magnetic. They whirl us through countless times, places and stories, and are hubs of culture, entertainment and thought.

For Canberra, the home of all this is the CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary next month. I chatted to the CTC’s Programming Manager Gill Hugonnet about remembering the past half-century, celebrating the present and preparing for the future of the National Capital’s performing arts heart.

For a venue that is only 50 years old, the Canberra Theatre has an almost overwhelmingly varied history. Every year a parade of a huge range decorates their stages. “We’re very proud of our relationships with Sydney Dance Company, Bangarra Dance Company and Sydney Theatre Company, to name a few,” says Hugonnet, and that is as it should be. The contributions of those companies are consistent highlights in the Canberra Theatre’s programmes, and have been for many years.

Those steady relationships aside, there’s an enormous tapestry of rich, standalone shows that have helped in the creation of such a dynamic past. “You know, we’ve had Barry Humphries as Dame Edna a few times, that’s a real highlight,” Hugonnet says. “The Beach Boys have been here, Lou Reed, Spike Milligan, Billy Joel, the list goes on. It’s quite amazing, actually.”

imagination and innovation. These creative things lead to creative human beings. I really think expressions of creativity help us progress to being better.”

As Hugonnet speaks, the palpable sense of thrilled excitement that’s infused the conversation so far segues into ambitions for the Theatre. “Right now, the Canberra Theatre is a bit of a beacon, but we want to further encourage the distinction of it.” Hugonnet freely admits that there is of course a great deal of happiness and pride surrounding the 50th Anniversary of the CTC, but – as is apt for a house of performing art – there is a perpetual desire to advance, adjust and improve it. Her next statement contains a frankness that speaks of an issue long-discussed but yet to be recognised. “What Canberra needs is to move to the next step. We need to build a 2500 seat theatre,” she says. “I mean, we certainly have venues of that capacity already, but we need a fully-functioning, beautiful, big theatre if we want to make sure we’re on the circuit for more ballets, commercial musicals and operas. We want to be part of those seasons, but we can’t with the current limitations of the building.”

The Beach Boys have been here, Lou Reed, Spike Milligan, Billy Joel, the list goes on. It’s quite amazing, actually

What exactly is the appeal of this glorious troupe of shows? “The beauty of theatre is that it’s so different from anything else,” Hugonnet says contemplatively. “Its uniqueness has led to its longevity. I’ve seen a lot of performances in my life, but I still get chills just watching people give everything they’ve got to the audience. It’s a remarkable gift. I never grow tired of it.”

Hugonnet’s personal favourite productions the CTC has put on are indicative of another extremely important aspect of our theatre: its ability to tell quintessentially Australian stories. “The Sydney Theatre Company’s performance of The Secret River in 2013 was truly awesome to have here. It was a work of such beauty and importance. And I absolutely adored Bangarra’s work Patyegarang last year. I thought it was such an amazing piece. That really was a production that could’ve been seen by audiences all over the world,” she muses reflectively. “I find it very, very stirring to watch Australian-specific stories. They’re very important.”

One hope for the future is that more of these home-grown stories will get to be told. As our conversation continues, Hugonnet and I begin to discuss the vital importance of feeding and nurturing the performing arts in Australia and Canberra in particular. “So many reports demonstrate the power of the performing arts,” Hugonnet asserts with a sort of electric determination. “It creates social cohesion, it creates culture, it makes a city more interesting and liveable, it’s thought-provoking, it’s great for developing

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Despite this, one company they have managed to negotiate with is the Australian Ballet, which frequently bypasses Canberra simply due to the size constraints of the stage. This month, however, they are returning for the first time in years with a full-scale production of Giselle. “That’s deliberate, and negotiations have been a long time coming for this year specifically. You see, the Canberra Theatre was officially opened by a performance of the Australian Ballet in 1965. We’re very lucky that this year they’re returning – it’s signifying a wonderful 50 year connection.”

Seriousness aside though, what I really want to know is whether there are ever any moments that skate close to chaotic catastrophe. Where are these broken legs we so often hear about?

“Oh, they’re everywhere,” laughs Hugonnet. “I’m not going to point the finger at anyone though. However…We did have a disaster fairly recently. Four o’clock the afternoon of an opening night performance, a massive leak occurred in a section of the building.

One of us walked past an area in the auditorium and it was like ‘oh my God.’ Everybody just banded together – there were mops and driers everywhere, all this frantic activity. But we saved it. The show went up slightly late and there was a bit of manipulation of the audience to go certain routes without noticing,” she chuckles, “but we did it. It was pretty close, but that’s the reality. At any moment there can be a disaster that means the clock is ticking.

But you never cancel a show.”

There it is, that famous idiom: the show must go on. Luckily for Canberra, all the world’s on our stage.

To check out all the great upcoming events at the Canberra Theatre head to canberratheatrecentre.com.au

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LOCALITY

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to get creative with your outfit at a local gig, Positive Feedback Loop are launching their debut EP, Beautiful Things at the Polish Club on Friday May 29 from 8pm and there’s a pretty specific dress code. There’ll be prizes the best dressed as one of the following: zombie, crystal, banana cake, Higgs Boson particle or someone from the 1960’s. Not only will you spending your evening amongst some of Canberra’s most eclectic fashionistas, you’ll be treated to support sets from The Loopers, Marianne Scholem and The Gaps. Tickets are $15 through Trybooking, or at the door.

Also releasing an EP is Brother Be, who will be launching Gone and Gone on Saturday May 30 at Transit Bar from 8pm. Entry is $10 on the door and with support from Novia Scotia and The New Gods of Thunder, it will be a magnificent treat for anyone who loves to get a bit of folk rock in their musical diet. Take a little wander off the beaten track into the world of Bang! Bang! Bang! on Thursday May 28 from 7pm. For $5, you’ll be treated to sets from a range of new and established acts either starting out on their journey or trying out new tunes for the first time. You’ll hear Blue Angel & Dr Wiedemann, Sally Chicane, MC Krewd, the Canberra Kiwi Connection, Blackdog Walking and Ira Lawrence, as well as a feature set from sultry songstress Alice Cottee. The venue location is one of Canberra’s worst kept secrets – you can find the address at canberramusiciansclub.org.au.

When your life needs a little mysticism and wonder with just a dash of wackiness, you can’t go past an evening with The Magic Rob Universe and NOZL. Luckily for you, they’re playing the Polish Club on Friday June 5 from 8pm. Ticket prices are currently unannounced, but if you’re a fan of peace, love and incredible capes, you’ll find it particularly good value.

And now for something a little bit different, namely a scout-themed poetry slam. The Canberra Slambouree’s May edition is on Friday May 29 from 7.30pm at The Front Gallery and promises not only an array of local poetry (now with added props, music and other usually taboo elements), a performance marrying the joys of Andrew Galan’s poetry skills with the airy, ethereal sounds provided by Reuben Ingall, there will also be collectable badges! Head along and be prepared for an evening of folks pretending to know stuff about camping while doing wonderful clever things for your eyes and ears.

Finally, the Phoenix has a few locals taking to their stage this fortnight, with Duck Duck Ghost bringing their indie pop tunes on Thursday May 28 from 9pm. Entry is $5, but if you’re too tight to pay that, you can head along on Monday June 1 from 8pm when Canberra Musicians Club presents the Bootleg Sessions. You’ll be able to catch The Burley Griffin, Alice Cottee, Northumberland without paying a dime at the door, although if you don’t chuck some dosh into the donation receptacle as it comes around, you’ll probably end up looking like a bit of a dick.

NONI DOLL NONIJDOLL@GMAIL.COM/ @NONIJDOLL

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AGAINST THE TIDE

Ben Russell

As long as you kick ass on stage and put on a good show no one cares about anything else

PETE HUET The last time Floridian punks AGAINST ME! played in Canberra, singer/guitarist Laura Jane Grace was known as Tom Gabel. Ahead of the band’s latest Australian tour, Grace answers BMA’s questions about life as a transwoman and as one of punk rock’s stayers.

You’ve toured Australia once since beginning your transition (although not to Canberra). Was there a noticeable difference between how you were received as a transwoman in Australia to elsewhere? I’m grateful that everywhere I’ve been I’ve gotten a lot of support and been met with open minds. I think it reinforces the fact that music unites people. As long as you kick ass on stage and put on a good show no one cares about anything else.

Your True Trans documentary series gives a viewer new to the issues the impression that the current civil rights and social situation of transgender people is comparable to that of gays and lesbians in the ‘70s. Is that accurate or are things further down the line? Transgender people are extremely marginalised and usually have no legal rights protecting them when it comes to things like

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employment, housing, and healthcare. The transgender rights movement in the states has definitely become more visible in the past couple years but there’s so much work that needs to be done in raising awareness and tolerance.

Your career has seen you go from a young idealist to growing tired of the mental ghettoes (as Jesse Michaels puts it) of the punk scene to finding your authentic self. That is the experience of many young punks but is something you’ve done very publicly.

Have you found that fans who drifted away from the band are coming back – seeing their experience reflected in yours?

I’ve never taken a poll. I think it’s natural though for music fans to attach to a band and then get turned onto other things and then maybe rediscover that band. I do that all the time. Really it just means we’ve been a band for a while. A lot of people have grown with us and been there every step of the way. That always makes me happy when someone tells me that. It makes me feel like I’m maturing mentally at the normal rate as the band lifestyle can often feel like a suspended state of adolescence.

Has the way you’ve felt about the messages of your songs changed over time? It hasn’t really changed for the songs with overtly direct messages. Maybe my understanding of those politics has changed, it’s become more full. I can see things through a wider scope of experiences. It makes me happy that those politics still hold up when I look at those experiences. Some songs have revealed further meaning to me though. I’ve written songs that I didn’t understand what I was talking about at the time, why I felt the way I did and now I do.

Against Me! head down to The Basement with Joyce Manor and Canberra’s Hoodlum Shouts on Wednesday June 3 at 8pm. $52.05 from Oztix.

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THE REALNESS Most people that know me know that I am a massive streaming fan. I’ve even used Tidal a couple of times. This week though rap fans may have got some bad news from Soundcloud as Sony began pulling music from the platform due to a lack of monetisation opportunities. Despite paying out over one million to labels and artists since August 2014 and reaching a deal with Warner, it would seem the final vote regarding the site’s viability as a relatively freefor-user alternative to Spotify may end up with Universal Music.

While this is an issue which, at face value, affects all genres, recent reports have placed hip hop as the consistently most-streamed musical genre. This is most likely a reflection of the free mixtape culture of hip hop, the genre’s popularity with millennials and hip hop’s artistic influence in American and world musical culture. In any case, a blow to the operation of Soundcloud has the potential to affect the way listeners interact with both mixtapes and hip hop overall.

Even without the backing of major labels, it is possible that Soundcloud could continue to be viable by maintaining its base of underground and unsigned artists. Despite this, the combination of major label artists and independent acts has always been what has made Soundcloud special. Any changes to this structure may mean that the end of Soundcloud as a go-to destination for releases from both signed and unsigned hip hop artists could be nigh.

In terms of releases, the start of May has been relatively slow in comparison to rush of huge albums in March and April. That being said, there have still been a heap worth sinking your teeth into. From the underground we got new releases from both Oddisee with The Good Fight and Bishop Nehru who followed up last year’s MF Doom collaboration with Nehruvia: The Nehruvian EP. The EP marks a collection of songs which were deemed to have been unsuitable for his debut LP due out later in the year. Judging by the strength of this collection, the album looks to be one to watch out for.

From more established names we got new releases from both Snoop Dogg with Bush, Tech N9ne with Special Effects and Raekwon with Fly Illustrious Luxurious Art. While Snoop seems more content with Top 40 features these days, Bush demonstrates the fact that he’s still got what it takes to compete at the top in his own right.

Locally, Tokimonsta will be returning to Canberra fresh from a stint with the Red Bull Music Academy. The female member of Flying Lotus’ Brianfeeder label will be bringing her jazz-laden beats all the way from LA to La De Da on Wednesday June 3. With presale almost sold out, Belco will be turning up for this.

Known for his intensely lyrical rapping, R.A. the Rugged Man will also be kicking off his latest Aussie tour at Transit on Wednesday June 3 It looks like hip hop fans in Canberra will have some serious decisions to make this week, though with a CV boasting collaborations with artists like Talib Kweli, Masta Ace, Tech N9ne, Mobb Deep, Biggie, Kool G Rap and Wu-Tang, I know where I will be!

BRADY MCMULLEN realness.bma@gmail.com

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MOJO RISING GUS MCCUBBING MOJO JUJU’S second album, Seeing Red/Feeling Blue, marks a significant change of pace from her self-titled debut released in 2012.

The Melbourne-based artist says she specifically sort out hip-hop producer Ptero Stylus (Diafrix) to help out with the album as she wanted to take her latest batch of songs to a different place.

“With the first album I never really set out to make a blues record, but I think that’s what a lot of people perceived what I did,” says Juju.

“For me it was more like this cinematic storytelling—it was a very lyrical album. I guess I was kinda looking at very swampy sounds and I wanted this whole Jim Jarmursch/David Lynch thing going on the last record. It was very raw—a live band in a room playing music.” But after starting to write the songs for Seeing Red/Feeling Blue, Juju realised she was creating something very different—a blend of soul, R’n’B and pop. “So I went to Stylus…and I just wanted him to bring an electronic element and a real pop sensibility to what I was trying to do.”

Fuck what if everyone hates it?

Following through with this complete change of sound turned out to be equal parts terrifying and totally exciting. “There was something so refreshing—for me creatively it was so the right place and right time for where I needed to be and the right music I needed to be making,” Juju says. “But then also that logical part, the outside self was going, ‘Fuck what if everyone hates it?’ But you gotta just let that go, and maybe it was the danger of not knowing whether people were going to like it that made it exciting to do.”

The songs on Seeing Red/Feeling Blue ended up being arranged— both lyrically and melodically—in two halves. “It kind of feels like half of it is a live album and half of it is a studio album with more electronic elements in it,” says Juju. “Stylus said to me ‘half these songs are really heartbroken and introspective and then the other half are really ‘kinda of aggressive and angry and outwardly projecting…’ And so that’s where the title of album ended up coming from.” In terms of recent musical influence, Juju’s immersion in Melbourne’s strong soul scene played a major part in the album, with local acts The Cactus Channel and The Bangin’ Rackettes contributing to the album among several others. “We started working on this record at Hope St Studios, which is in the same building as Hope St Recordings, a record label that is home to some of the best soul/funk players in the country right now.”

“I was very lucky to be in the proximity of these really amazing musicians, who ended up playing a lot on the record. They really brought that flavour to all the songs, which is great, because it’s exactly what I’d hoped for!”.

Moju Juju will be playing Transit Bar Saturday June 13. Doors open 8pm, tickets are $20.

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DANCE THE DROP

Hakkasan, Las Vegas is as American as tow bar testicles. The back half of the club is pock marked with sunken VIP booths flanked by plastic failed models in tight shiny dresses – they are like little mannequin’s gift wrapped for the bucks party with the fattest roll of bank notes. The dancefloor seems like a second thought, squished in front of the decks and cordoned off to provide room for even more VIP tables full of whooping horny bankers. The first thing that hit me when I walked in is that you can smoke absolutely anywhere, people are lighting up mere metres away from teams of big burly security guards and they aren’t batting an eyelid. Is this for real? I’m half expecting someone to pull out a water pipe and offer a bong hit to the FBI agent-looking monsters guarding the entrance. This is Freedom – maybe the third amendment mentions something about the right to bear fumes. The sound system is amazing, but it’s not so loud that it completely drowns out the distinct sound of ‘poppin bottles’ and spring breakers acting out their favourite Pitbull film clip. Hakkasan is so cheesy that it reaches that critical tipping point of kitschness where it transforms it into something mesmerising and strangely adorable.

I feel as though I am on the movie set for a movie about a documentary about EDM. After a trip to the lavish bathroom where I was fussed over by not one but three different attendants (the hand soap guy, the fragrance guy and Mr Towel), I waltzed down to the roped off dancefloor and made my way into the middle.

Imagine a mosh pit at a fashion show, well dressed people mashing their expensive fabric together in time to music, this was my life for the next few hours. Then it happened. Somewhere in between the fiftieth stomach turning bass drop and the tonne of ticker tape raining from the ceiling like pieces of the Hindenburg it all made sense. I get it now. This is why people love EDM so much, it’s not the music (which, let’s face it all sounds the same) it’s the experience.

It’s a real life human circus and I’m its latest willing victim. God bless America.

DJ Jesabel headlines the Inthemix Awards Club Tour at Academy on Friday June 19. Whether you’re planning on a girls night or are a bunch of big sweaty blokes, these nights are always a lot of fun.

True Vibes, Thank You Ma’am and the Burner Collective have teamed up to bring Tokimonsta (USA) to La De Da on Wednesday June 3. Remember that weird dream you had where you rode the legless unicorn into a melting moon made of paper mache hearts?

This will be exactly like that.

If you are sick to death of the concrete jungle, wearing shoes and generally being forced to do anything apart from blasting good energy all over fellow humans, then you’ve probably already heard of Psyland. The venerable Off Tap Productions are back with another instalment of their prized bush party beginning on Friday June 5.

Tickets are selling faster than gluten free muffins at a Braddon café but you can still head on over to their Facebook page to try your luck. May the doof be with you.

TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

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METALISE A flurry of brutal announcements in the last couple of weeks has the 2015 metal calendar looking both full and superb. For the blacker tastes, the triple header of Behemoth, Watain and Bolzer in October will be welcome news with a show in Sydney at the Metro Theatre Saturday October 3 being the closest one for us.

Over 20 years since they last played in Australia, the exceptionally mighty Bolt Thrower have announced a run of shows in September.

The Factory Theatre in Sydney on Saturday 26 is your opportunity to relish in their tales of war that they’ve been slinging for almost 30 years now. While the Sydney show is the closest, consider a trip to Adelaide to see them as a part of the Black Conjuration festival on the Friday –Saturday September 25 –26.

The two day festival features a tonne of Australia’s best heavy bands; Portal, Nocturnal Graves, Cauldron Black ram, Abominator, Tzun tzu, Nocturnes Mist, Tombsealer, King Fate, Dracula, Teuton, Hellbringer, Anatomy, Inverloch, Shadow Realm, Stargazer and Tyrannic.

This weekend on Saturday May 30, the Magpies City club hosts two big nights of shows covering the whole metal spectrum. Well not the whole lot but a fair bloody whack of it. I Exist headline Into The Crypt with the sacrilegious Hellbringer,spooky Witchskull, superb Boonhorse back from the dead for the first time in years and raising the supine dead to their feet, Urge to Kill will rip faces off early.

I got to see Hellbringer in the middle of nowhere a couple of weeks ago on a property about 20 K’s north of Nelligen on the shores of the Clyde river and I am looking forward to their screams, from the catacombs, at this show for an old school price of just ten bucks.

The next night Byron Bay metalcore folk In Hearts Wake headline a great bill featuring three other great Aussie bands We Came As Romans, Beartooth and Storm The Sky. Magpies packing on the good shows to warm your Autumn chilled ears. In Hearts Wake, which I’m sure is no news to most of you, are enjoying considerable success on their new record Skydancer which charted as high as #2 on the ARIA charts and this is Canberra’s chance to join in the celebration of the new album and it’s impressive success to date.

Don’t forget Weekend Nachos from the USA are only a couple of weeks away now for their show at the Basement on Tuesday June 9 with Wretch and Cursed Earth. On top of catching the Nachos, I’m really looking forward to the new Wretch album the boys recorded earlier this year.

JOSH NIXON doomtildeath@hotmail.com

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a lot of the time and my opinion might not be welcome anymore despite my success in a seminal punk band.” I nodded. He continued, “But I just wanted to tell you that you’re doing a marvellous job with your small local punk column and I read it every fortnight.” True story. Here we go.

Mum always told me there’s no such thing as ghosts but I never believed her and I was right. Last night I was visited by the ghost of Johnny Rotten. I know he’s not actually dead but he might as well be at this point, right? Anyway, I was asleep when he drifted into my room, so to wake me up he threw a glass bottle across my forehead. It didn’t cause any physical damage because it was just a ghost bottle, but it was still enough to wake me up. So I bolted upright and I was like, “Dude, what the fuck are you doing?” and he was like “Shut your bullocks mouth you stupid bullock, I’ve got some bullocks to talk.” And I was like “Okay.” And then he said “Look mate, I know I come across as a misogynist shit-talker

Melbourne thrash group King Parrot are headed to Canberra on Thursday May 21. They’ll beat the Magpies City Club joined by hometown mates High Tension and Collosvs. You can grab tickets through Oztix for $23.50.

If you’re looking for something on the noisier, heavier side you can catch Melbourne’s Encircling Sea at the Magpies City Club on Thursday May 28. They’ll be joined by Adelaide’s Funeral Moon and locals Autonomous Drones.

On Saturday May 30, Melbourne’s Clowns will be stopping in Canberra as part of their ‘Running Through These Veins Tour’. They’ll be at The Phoenix with support from Melbourne’s Summer Blood, Sydney’s Tanned Christ and locals Office Jerk and Hygeine. Tickets for this one will be $5 on the door.

The pretty much legendary Frenzal Rhomb are headed to Canberra on their ‘The Final C*ntdown Tour’ and if this news doesn’t excite you immensely then you should take a second to look back at your teenage years because there’s a decent chance they sucked.

Anyway, they’ll be at The Basement on Thursday June 4 and you can secure tickets for $27.50+bf through Moshtix.

Also on Thursday June 4 you can catch Melbourne’s The Newsletters at The Phoenix as they launch their new single ‘Lucky Country.’ They’ll be joined by fellow Melbournian Matthew Dreams and locals Mind Blanks and Passive Smoke for just $5 on the door.

On Thursday June 11 you can catch Melbourne rock veterans Blueline Medic at The Phoenix. They’ll be joined by Newcastle/ Melbourne act Fear Like Us and locals Agency and Capes. Entry here will be just a slick $5 on the door.

That’s all for now. Here’s to you Rotten, ya ghosty fuck-knuckle.

IAN McCARTHY

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CODY ATKINSON Money. Moolah. Dollar Dollar Bills. You have cash and bands want it. All of the cash that you can afford to hand over. Sure, you could buy albums, but where’s the fun in that? Merch is where it’s really at. But what’s the point to band merchandise? Is there a point to it? Or even life itself? Cody Atkinson answers some of these questions.

Why do bands even sell merch? To make money. As Melbourne band The Stiffys once put it when describing their choice of sailor hats as merchandise: “You buy the hats then you sell the hats to make the money. You use that money to buy more hats to sell more hats to make more money. Money. Buy hats. Sell hats. Money. It’s just the music business.”

Indeed, the “music business”. But what do t-shirts and hats and g-strings really have to do with music? On paper, nothing.

T-shirts have fuck all to do with music.

By that I mean that nothing about the listening experience is altered or changed by the various items associated with it.

The CD will sound the same regardless of whether you bought the Drive By Truckers hat.

And the most likely? The Wavves weed grinder. It just makes so much sense. It finishes slightly ahead of the Wavves rolling papers, but only just. I guess it’s kinda of a package deal.

The scariest? The Iceage knife was pretty fucking out there, even for Iceage. I mean a handcrafted band knife is probably the least “shareable” piece of merch ever, well at least without people being arrested.

Wait, a knife? A real fucking knife, with the band’s logo hand carved in the handle. They were selling knives at their shows.

they do it purely for the rebellious identification, without any of the musical legacy

However, if you buy merchandise from the band it gives them cash, which helps them to do actual music related things, like paying for rehearsal spaces or studio time or tours.

Why do fans buy band merch? The reasons are twofold. Merch lets fans of a band visually identify as fans of that band, in a way that listening to an album can never do. You can say you’ve listened to Sonic Youth’s Goo until people stop paying attention, but wearing the Goo t-shirt shows people that you care so much about it. It’s a visible representation of personality that usually takes minutes to get across in conversation. And you know what? …What? It doesn’t even matter if you like the band or their music.

Think about every other person wearing a Ramones or Sex Pistols shirt – they do it purely for the rebellious identification, without any of the musical legacy.

That’s a depressing thought. The other reason? The aforementioned support of bands. Once you’ve bought all of a given bands back catalogue and been to as many live shows as possible, you start to run out of ways to give artists money without seemingly like a stalker. For the super-duper fans, merch keeps the relationship up, if not a one-way one.

What’s the least likely item that you’ve come across? Probably that Pixies have a cycling guernsey. Also, The Fall have a cycling guernsey. Both of these things seem to make no sense at all even in the slightest. Kraftwerk should be the ones with cycling merch if anyone has to have it, which they don’t. Obviously this means we

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need to see a cycle-off between Black Francis and Mark E Smith, with the winner ceremonially getting to burn the guernsey of the other rider on stage at a show of their choice in the future.

The stupidest? Other than the knife? You know those blankets with arms that were called snuggies? Well, Weezer had their own brand of snuggie that shipped with their album Ratitude. Why a snuggie? I have no idea.

I’m guessing Weezer has no idea why they picked a snuggie, but I guess we are here now.

Living in a world with Weezer snuggies and now columns talking about Weezer snuggies.

The most contradictory? AC/DC wine always felt a little bit off, as they never seemed like they were heavy wine drinkers. The smart money there was a VB co-promotion with Boonie-esq figurines who would spout AC/DC lyrics during the news or somesuch, but it never happened. Instead, we were given a range of average to good wines.

But some bands have done booze really well, yeah? Certainly.

Brew Am I, the beer named for You Am I and brewed by Young Henry’s in Sydney was a top drop worthy of the band’s 20th anniversary tour.

Wait, didn’t KISS do a beer? KISS have done two beers, if you can believe. The one I’ve had wasn’t good. DRINK RESPONSIBLY. KISS have done pretty much everything, from perfume to checkers sets to kid’s onesies to ice creams to bike shorts to even coffins. Like the ones people get buried in. Let me pause for a second so that sinks in...

YOU CAN GET BURIED IN A KISS COFFIN?!?!?!? KISS seem to be the real life Krusty The Clowns of the merchandise game, down to the fact that they even had their own cereal.

And the over the top face make-up… Which they also sell, as well as masks. Because of course. In the merchandise game, the only thing that matter is that KISS apparently will always win.

Tweet your favourite item of band merch to @bmamag for your opportunity to win whatever great/terrible band merch we can find around the office. Get digging!

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E X H I B I T I O N I S T

Narelle Wilson

ARTS | ACT

ALL THAT JAZZ DAN BIGNA It is generally accepted the jazz tradition is about solo and collective improvisation on acoustic instruments, but when the 1970s hit, top shelf artists like Miles Davis began introducing elements of rock music ‘electricity’ into jazz improvisation which broadened the range of potential influences and methods. This change provoked discussion about what the term ‘jazz’ actually signified when crosscultural factors came into play. All this became particularly interesting when considering the work of New York poly-math John Zorn who has incorporated into his music such disparate forms as grindcore, Ennio Morricone soundtracks, Jewish musical themes in the Masada group and William Burroughs like chance strategies.

Moving on from Zorn, this year’s CAPITAL JAZZ PROJECT to be held at the Street Theatre will feature a varied lineup (maybe no grindcore) including Italian-Brazilian piano-bandolim (a Brazilian mandolin) duo Stefano & Hamilton, US Grammy-award winning saxophonist Joe Lovano, locals Reuben Lewis and Nicholas Combe collaborating with what is described as experimental jazz and progressive Indonesian music quartet I Know You Well Miss Clara, and Melbourne sextet DAUGHTER’S FEVER intriguingly described as creating music that exists in the meeting point between haunted pop, improvised folk, and improv/sound art. There is a lot on offer here which Street Theatre Director Caroline Stacey enthuses about when I ask how Capital Jazz Project promotes artistic diversity. “Capital Jazz Project has always had a strong line running through intercultural and trans-idiomatic work,” she says. “You’ll see this in work of virtuosic duo Hamilton de Holanda and Stefano Bollani. Signed to the prestigious European label ECM these gifted artists transcend any sort of reductive label. Other examples include the Ospina Brothers Trio with their Colombian/Argentinian mix informed by long sojourns in New York.

These are serious jazz musicians moving across a whole range of cultural idioms.”

Female performers also feature prominently in this year’s lineup.

“We’ve had a strong commitment to women in jazz,” Stacey confirms.

“Particularly those who are driving projects and composing. You’ll see this in the ever inventive and courageous work of Gian Slater.

A newly commissioned vocal work also featuring the fabulous Andrea Keller defies form yet again. Also in the mix is ACT next generation composer/band leader Jenna Cave with her big band outfit Divergence Jazz Orchestra, a hugely ambitious undertaking but one that is deservedly garnering outstanding critical feedback.

Kristin Berardi and Katie Noonan also carry the flame.” It would seem then we are talking about a celebration of wide-ranging cultural expression that transcends archaic perceptions of jazz as a selfcontained musical form; a term in any case which most improvising musicians over the years have found limited or outright rejected as it sets boundaries on what is supposed to be an artistic immersion in

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expressive freedom. This creative momentum gives CJP audiences the opportunity to explore unfamiliar sounds in the Street Theatre’s familiar space. “One of the best things about festival experiences is when you hear something new,” Stacey says. “You come in curious and leave bursting for more. The potential of a festival network is to offer multiple performances and artistic exchange opportunities to seriously champion a space where much of what is interesting and innovative in Australian music is happening.”

Some of that interesting and innovative Australian music is performed by multi-instrumental group Daughter’s Fever which is soon to release a self titled album on Canberra’s progressive hellosQuare label. The parts I have listened to remind me of John Zorn’s crime noir scores which evoke unsettling atmospheres with sonic cut-ups in a fully imagined space. I ask vocalist/guitarist Paddy Mann if he consciously sets out to provide points of intersection between structure and improvisation in the group’s music. “The songs and ideas I bought to this album were all either half formed ideas or just little seeds of an idea that I thought could grow from being worked and manipulated, or would just be a good bed for improvisation,” he says. “The one song that was pre-formed by my own improvisation during recording was ‘The Secret Room’ which I approached by repeating each line of the song over and over again in slightly different way until I’d found the right phrasing, tune and guitar line, and then just slicing out the versions I didn’t want. The unedited song was 45 minutes long.” This sounds a bit like what improvising three piece The Necks get up to in the studio where post-production becomes an important tool for shaping open-ended compositions.

In live performance Daughter’s Fever enter into improvised segments where each group member is attuned to whatever unexpected direction a piece may take. “I have a great respect for improvisers, particularly Eric [Griswold-prepared and toy piano] and Vanessa [Tomlinson-tuned and junk percussion] who seem to not only be able to veer off into unexpected and impossible directions, but somehow do it in unison if they feel like it,” Mann says. “They are an amazing musical partnership. It’s something I’ve never been able to do, so it bewitches me completely. The same goes for all the group members.”

So, what we find here are concerted efforts to explore ongoing and rewarding cultural transformation through good quality art. This was inbuilt in jazz music at its origin and I ask Stacey for her view on what events like the CJP tell us about jazz music in the early 21st century?

“A state of mind, a process, an approach to music making,” she says.

“Taking different elements, mixing them up, re-examining the old, and creating the new. Showing us how we can live together and be with one another in the moment.”

Capital Jazz Project is on at The Street Theatre Sat–Mon May– June 30–8. Tickets start at $20. Info and tix at thestreet.org.au

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BAZ RUDDICK Colin Thiele’s 1945 book and subsequent 1976 film STORM BOY has been transformed for the stage by Tom Holloway. Telling the story of a reclusive young boy and the friendships he develops over one summer, Storm Boy is about growing up outside the norm. I spoke to actor Jimi Bani [Redfern Now, Mabo, The Straits] about his role of Fingerbone Bill, transforming the stage into the Coorong Coast and acting alongside puppet pelicans. An accomplished actor, Jimi Bani sought to find common ground with the character of Fingerbone Bill in order to embody him and present him on stage. “I try and relate to himself with my own life experience. Especially with myself being a father,” says Bani. “Like trying to tell all the dad jokes. That is the sort of connection I have with Fingerbone bill. He is a loner and he connects with the land and nature.”

In portraying an Aboriginal from the Coorong and with several cultural elements in the show, it was important for Bani, originally from the Torres Strait, to exercise cultural sensitivity. “There is a

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dance in there that Fingerbone teaches Storm Boy, which I really wanted to make sure all the cultural protocol was okay,” said Bani.

Former Fingerbone Bill Trevor Jamieson and puppeteer Shaka Cook both sat down with the Coorong elders and got the ‘blessing of the mob’. “They did it very thoughtfully. The painting wasn’t based on any specific heritage, but it has a big representation of the land. Same with the dance too. They choreographed it themselves. Basically the whole show got the blessing of the mob from the Coorong.” With one of the four main characters in Storm Boy being the pelican, Mr Percival, puppets similar in style to that of the stage production of war horse were employed. “It is very interesting for myself working with puppets,” says Bani. “And the puppeteers are doing a really great job. The way they can put life into them it actually works really well. For myself you have to not know they [the puppeteers] are there… Because the puppets work really well when you feel like you are up there with actual pelicans.”

Transforming a set stage into a dynamic piece of coastline on the fringes the southern ocean, requires skill and thoughtfulness. “We have this big wave that we can travel over that can actually look like a sand dune as well. And a door underneath that you can come in and out of that represents the hut but you can separate all these spots,” Bani says. ”It sort of sets this place that is in the middle of nowhere.

It feels isolated and that is the feeling they wanted working with the lighting and sound designer to really isolate this place.” In addition to the stage design, sound further adds to the isolating effect with ‘soundie’, Kinglsey Reeve camping out in the Coorong for ten nights to record the sound of the area. “The thunder and the waves and the wind. All the sound that is int he production is actually real,” says Bani. A joint production by Sydney Theatre Company and Perths Barking Geckon Theatre Company, the production is directed by John Sheedy.

Storm Boy will be playing at the Canberra Theatre Wed–Sat Jun 3–6. Tickets $35 onwards from canberratheatrecentre.com.au

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JUST SUPER PETER O’ROURKE SUPERWOG, a character-driven skit comedy is about to hit the road on its first regional tour. Created by Sydney brothers Theo and Nathan Saidden, the show has more than 430,000 subscribers on YouTube with 70 million views of their videos, showing the funny side of Aussie and ‘Wog’ culture. The ‘Talk Shit Get Hit’ tour will make its way to Canberra in June.

“It’s primarily a skit show,” says Theo, full of enthusiasm about the performance. “It goes for an hour and features all the characters that the fans know and love. It’s still just the two of us, but also with a hidden surprise guest, who will be revealed at the show.” Theo explains that the brothers will move between characters with plenty of costume changes, taking place over seven to eight skits. It was back in 2013 that the brothers first learnt how to adapt the show from an online video to a fully-fledged live stage show. “We’ve done the hard work, we’ve mastered it now,” he says “Now we can focus on developing different skits and tightening the performance.

“One of the main differences between working on a video and transitioning it to a live show is the editing. In a video, you film it once and then edit it for timing. In a live show, the editing is in the script – we ask how can we make this tighter, or can we make this line funnier? It’s always evolving and never ending.”

Theo says he welcomes being able to spend a longer time with each character, and develop them a little further. “No one has been offended yet,” says Theo. “But no one is protected. If you a make a good joke and can show the funny side of something like making fun of stereotypes, audiences usually get that.” In his professional life Theo works in the law field, while his brother has an online furniture store. “All that other stuff is on hold at the moment – comedy is the main goal,” says Theo.

Theo says they don’t have any expectations for the rural tour, and will take each show as it comes. But what about making some videos while on tour or incorporating their experiences on the road?

“That would be amazing!” he says. “Whether we have enough time is another matter though, as we won’t stay in one place very much, but we’ll see what we can do.”

And what about the future – is there talk of a Superwog TV show?

“We would love to do TV,” Theo says, excitedly. “We don’t want to be too ambitious though. There’s a lot of work and a lot to think about in a full TV show - want to do it right.” Theo says he and his brother can’t wait for the tour. “We had such an amazing time with our recent shows. It’s such a good feeling, getting a lot of laughs and having people come up to you afterwards. You can’t get that instantaneous feedback through YouTube comments, it’s just the best feeling.”

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Superwog arrives at the Canberra Theatre, Friday June 19. Tickets from $39.90 +bf from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

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IN REVIEW

Frame of Mind Canberra Theatre Thursday–Saturday April 30 to May 2 Sydney Dance Company’s production Frame of Mind contains two works: Quintett, choreographed by William Forsythe; and Frame of Mind, choreographed by Rafael Bonachela. Quintett is somewhat unfathomable: a sometimes odd marriage of graceful, beautifully coordinated steps, lifts, rolls, and leaps to entirely different sudden, almost convulsive movements. Even the latter had their grace, though: no mere shaking and shuddering, these jerky motions were utterly controlled, and careful watching yielded the observation that their wave motion began somewhere and ended somewhere else; that they went somewhere.

Essentially mysterious, the work’s long, beautiful sequence took its audience on a journey of emotional exploration. The work’s unfathomability, with its omission of an obvious narrative movement, was reflected in the soundtrack to which it was set. The music to which the dance was set had essentially no beginning and no end; merely a timeless middle. Based on twelve bars of a hymn sung well by an elderly man, its only narrative or emotional evolution lay in its progressive layering of instrumentation. The more than 60 repetitions of these twelve bars through the piece certainly caused audience discussion in the intermission. Its very persistence tended to become a major distraction from the dance itself, which needed and deserved close attention; but the raw emotionality of the singing was effective. The instrumental accompaniment set to the singing added to that emotionality, developing depth and complexity as the work progressed; the sung refrain merely tended,

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after a few repetitions, to pale against the effect of the composer’s insistence that we listen to it again.

Despite this potential for distraction, the unpredictable interactions between the dancers, in concert with subtly coordinated costuming and lighting to highlight its colours, lent the work grace and intrigue.

Peter Grieg

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Bonachela’s Frame of Mind comprised a series of overlapping scenes expressed in dance, each scene representing a candid snapshot of a relationship. Tender, cold, hot, anguished, passionate, or despairing, each snapshot not only was emotionally unique but also led us through a short tale of experience of the various highs and lows that colour our emotional lives. The work was framed by convincing walls, perhaps inside a grand old European building, and lit accordingly, and featured a huge window through which dusk and the direct light of dawn appeared to penetrate. This work too had its share of abstract movement and suddenness, with a discernible connection of these steps with the remainder. The balletic grace in every movement lay exposed for all — even those completely unfamiliar with the language of modern dance — to appreciate who have hearts with which to feel. Less athletics or circus than high artistry, Frame of Mind communicates what I may say is an educational range of emotive viewpoints on the perils and promises in being human and in admitting others into our inner lives.

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:

Austography Film Image Inc. What do you do? Austography is one of Canberra’s alternative film and photography production houses. We create film and commercial work that always has a story at heart, while inspiring photography that is fun, stunning and always has Canberra as its backdrop. We have occasionally undertaken the odd wedding, but prefer to stick with telling stories through the lens that we have created with a talented and eager crew.

When, how and why did you get into it? The company was formed in January of 2012. At once operating independent of each other’s portfolios, family members Justin and Kirilly Bush combined to form Austography following frequent collaborations throughout their respective careers. Working together enabled the pair to learn and grow from each other’s strengths, as well as branch out and invite new crew members to help realise their projects and ideas within the Canberra creative scene. The pair has pursued a creative angle in life following former family member’s pursuits within the background landscape of the territory’s public service mecha, which served as a launch platform to create a creative legacy and something new. Another reason for the move was to break away from the big projects underway on the film scene and get back to basics with storytelling and unique personalities.

Who or what influences you as an artist? Telling stories from the heart is one of our key factors in the projects we choose to undertake. Just surrounding ourselves with fellow artists, be it musical, film, writers or photography, has been a massive influence on our direction and skill set, allowing us to count on some truly incredible people. It would be amiss to say well known figures like Director Steven Spielberg and Photographer Annie Leibovitz have not inspired our dreams and work.

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Of what are you proudest so far? We’re proud of what we have achieved; it has been beyond what we thought we could, from showcasing our work on ABC Television and Channel 9, to the RAW Exhibition, magazines and in The Canberra Times. Giving our Mum the chance to say her ‘kids’ made this and that and soon to pass that on to her grand children, we’re just thrilled to impress her and let her feel a bit special about pursuing something different.

What are your plans for the future? To keep going, to keep telling our stories but in a grander and larger way. There is so much of Canberra yet to show, but it’s the way you will be seeing it that will make you come back and take a second inspection. That’s all we can say about that for now!

What makes you laugh? Fail videos, Shaun Micallef and The Simpsons. Could there be a better trifecta?

What pisses you off? When fellow artists take it upon themselves to impart advice that we ourselves would never replicate in our own dealings, be it criticism of others abilities on social media or creating something just for a dollar value. Everybody has a responsibility to play fair and equal, but it appears some just lack these values.

What about the local scene would you change? The local scene is possibly enjoying the best run it has had in recent years, due to improved services and guidance from ScreenACT and the ACT Government. If there is one thing we could change, it would be to see more creative projects come to Canberra to make use of its one of a kind landscape, environment and artists.

Upcoming exhibitions? We are currently enjoying a small amount of creative expression, with a commercial contract for The Canberra Railway Museum’s 2016 advertisement campaign, which will telecast on the Nine Network and their website respectively in that year. Our first studio is also underway, which will build on our outdoor based photo shoots toward the end of 2015 Contact Info: facebook.com/AustographyFilmImage, austography@gmail.com

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LITERATURE IN REVIEW The Girl on the Train Paula Hawkins [Doubleday; 2015

The Girl on the Train is London based Paula Hawkins’ first attempt at a thriller. In this follow up to Gone Girl, the lives of three women tragically intersect.

Rachel is a divorced alcoholic who has been fired from her public relations job. She has a lot of difficulty letting go of her husband Tom. Tom is remarried to Anna, who he was having an affair with while he was married to Rachel. To make matters worse, Anna, fell pregnant very quickly, which was something Rachel could not do. Her evident stalking of Tom and Anna and her drinking have her hitting new lows following the events of a particular Saturday evening.

Rachel catches the train to and from London every day. She passes along the back of the street she lived in with Tom and watches with interest the goings on at Number 23 which happens to be few houses down from her former home at Number 15.

One particular day from the train Rachel sees ‘Jess’ the woman who now lives at Number 23, kissing a man who is clearly not ‘Jason’, her husband in the perfect fantasy world Rachel has created for her.

Rachel wakes one Sunday morning in a rough state with an injury to her head and evidence she was particularly drunk the night before.

She can’t work out whether she has been assaulted or if she has had a fall. She doesn’t know how she got home and there are screaming messages from her ex-husband on her phone.

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Several days later, she hears news reports that a woman has gone missing and she realises that the missing woman is ‘Jess, only her real name is Megan and ‘Jason’ is actually her distraught husband Scott. Rachel decides that Scott needs to know about what she saw from the train.

For the better part of the story, Rachel is in full alcoholic flight as she intrudes and bumbles through people’s lives in a vain attempt to help. Most shocking of all for her and Anna is that Tom is not who he appears to be.

Like most people with paid work or families, I squeeze reading in and around my life. The only reason I put this book down after I started reading it was because I had an early start the next day. It felt like a guilty pleasure picking it up again and I wasn’t disappointed.

This book might make you squirm a bit. Not because it’s particularly gory, but because Hawkins has a deft way of capturing the way our tragic little minds work at the best of times and especially when we are hopelessly hungover and feeling rather sheepish or ashamed of our actions.

Write more thrillers, Paula Hawkins!

ALSEY ANN CONDIE

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bit PARTS CAPO EMERGING ARTISTS PRIZE WHAT: Art Exhibition WHEN: Thu–Sun May–Jun 28–14 WHERE: M16 Artspace After producing already outstanding work in the art world, eleven new young artists will be featuring in the Emerging Artists Prize this year and will display their work for all of Canberra to see. Competing against one another for a cash prize, their work will be judged by Megan Jackson and Mark Bayly, who will announce the winner at the gala opening. Competition aside, the pieces featured in this exhibition are certainly something to see and not to be missed by art lovers. The gala opening is on Thursday May 28, 6pm.

THE GRIFFYN ENSEMBLE: NORTHERN LIGHTS WHAT: Light Show WHEN: Sat–Sun May 30–31 WHERE: National Gallery of Australia

Michael Sollis

Ever wanted to see the Aurora Borealis up close and personal? Well, now’s your chance as The Griffyn Ensemble bring the fabulous Northern Lights to Canberra! After Griffyn Ensemble composer and director, Michael Sollis, travelled through the Artic regions of Norway and Sweden to see the stunning phenomenon with his own eyes, he teamed up with a talented group of artists to write a magical tale of the Aurora Borealis. So for all the adventurers out there, this is not one to miss.

The event takes place at 6pm Sat and 2pm Sun. Tickets $45 from nga. gov.au.

FAULT LINES WHAT: Dance WHEN: Mon–Tue Jun 15–16 WHERE: The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre

Wang Jing

Depicting the human response to the devastating earthquakes in Christchurch and China, Fault Lines is an intimate, personal piece choreographed jointly by New Zealander Sara Brodie and China’s Sichuan province-based Leshan Song & Dance Troupe. The critically claimed and emotionally moving production will be touring Sydney and Canberra and provides a stunning combination of song and dance to evoke a poignant response in dance lovers and first time viewers alike.

7.30pm. Tickets $39–$69 available from canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

KELLY WHAT: Theatre WHEN: Wed–Sat Jun 24–27 WHERE: Canberra Theatre Centre

Rob Maccoll

The story of Australia’s most infamous Bush Ranger, Ned Kelly, is hitting stages across the country on a massive 39-venue tour. Heading to Canberra for a four day run, this not to miss production written

by Queensland playwright, Matthew Ryan, boasts an exciting piece that will blow Australian history lovers and theatre lovers away. This production promises a fresh outlook on Ned Kelly and the infamous life he led before his last stand. Tickets begin at $35 and are available at canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

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43

the word

on albums

contemporaries like Pale Saints and Chapterhouse. Raise set the bar pretty high that subsequent albums never quite matched. But after an 18 year gap, Swervedriver has returned with its finest offering since that fantastic debut album all those years ago. I Wasn’t Born to Lose You gets things going with melody saturated rocker ‘Autodidact’ which features some distinctive shoegazer traits, notably an expansive wash of sound blending with an alluring tune. This is further embellished by short bursts of droning guitar to entice listeners away from easily marketable comfort zones.

album of the issue SWERVEDRIVER I WASN’T BORN TO LOSE YOU [POISON CITY RECORDS] It would seem that British psychedelic music of the early 1990s – labelled ‘shoegazer’ for easy reference – is once again garnering attention for all the right reasons, as what generally passes for ‘indie’ music these days can be a tad run of the mill, which is fine if that happens to be your thing. Intensely distorted guitars combined with deep sense-stimulation were the order of the day for shoegazer fans who felt that the grunge trip was a little too gritty and not quite fertile ground for consciousness expansion to set in.

Swervedriver landed in 1991 with milestone debut album Raise which offered something similar to those other cool UK guitar bands like My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive when it came to repeatedly hitting the pleasure spots. A winning track like ‘Rave Down,’ with its elastic rhythm and melodic drawl, peaked when the guitars crashed together in a thrilling sonic swirl. This cacophony was as much indebted to the post-punk slacker vibe of dirty noise fiends like Dinosaur Jr as to the tightened melodic distortion on those early Jesus and Mary Chain records.

Vocalist/guitarist Adam Franklin is also a fan of wide open, sun bleached Americana reflected in expansive time and space distortions that at times enhanced a somewhat grainier edge not found in the music of UK

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Franklin has retained a laidback Gen X feel in his voice which comes on with the right amount of attitude so that the almost-chorus of second track ‘Last Rites’ hits the pleasure-punk zone with added sweetener, as does the languid flow of ‘Setting Sun’ with such mood enhancing lyrics as “you’re a setting sun/casting dark on everyone/ but you’ve a heart of gold/and I’m a castaway soul/and we’re sailing home.”

These words work for me as do the final two tracks on the album which are awash in sublime melodies but with a toughened guitar squall combined with the tunefulness to keep your average Sonic Youth fan along for the ride. Its these added extras that distinguish this band from their peers. ‘Shoegazer’ – which some considered a negative term because it suggested solipsistic navel gazing at the expense of audience interaction – could at times be an enclosed world where all that really mattered was the pretty colours, but Swervedriver always kept its options open so that good sounding tunes could travel down diverse psychedelic paths.

Forward movement in some cool looking car has always been a big thing with Franklin – why else call an early song ‘Son of Mustang Ford’ – but an ongoing desire to ensure that melody, noise and attentive production blend together to get the juices flowing with minimal compromise is what makes this latest Swervedriver album a winning proposition.

DAN BIGNA

THE VERY BEST MAKES A KING [MOSHI MOSHI] London-based electronic producer Johan Hugo (formerly half of Radioclit) and Malawian vocalist Esau Mwamwaya first met when the latter sold a bicycle to the former, an introduction that lead to their ensuing musical partnership as The Very Best. In the ensuing time they’ve been prolific, maintaining an impressive release rate, whilst also enjoying more recent profile-raising collaborations with the likes of M.I.A and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig.

Indeed, this latest collection Makes A King offers up the duo’s fourth album in as many years. For this latest record the duo decided to write and record in a small Malawian village called M’Dala Chikowa, their musical sessions often being interrupted and joined by visiting local musicians and vocalists.

It’s for perhaps this reason that the 13 tracks collected here see The Very Best offering up their most diverse and ambitious set to date. While it’s hard to fault the duo’s exploratory nature, the end result is an album that often tries to cover too many bases and please everyone at the same time.

After ‘Nkondo’s ambient opening introduces Mwamwaya’s soaring vocals delivered in Chichewa, Malawi’s national language, ‘Hear Me’ offers a side-step into blunted hip hop beats and moody piano keys that calls to mind the likes of Massive Attack more than anything else. ‘Let Go’ fuses jangling indierock guitars and shimmering high-life vocals to create an anthemic slice of arena-friendly pop that carries more than a hint of Oasis in its baggy shuffle, before ‘Sweka’ takes things off on a rattling disco-house wander that highlights Hugo’s club DJ heritage.

Sadly it’s the overall lack of focus that lets this otherwise strong album down.

CHRIS DOWNTON

@bmamag

RED JEZEBEL COUP DE GRÂCE [WALKING HORSE MUSIC]

EAVES WHAT GREEN FEELS LIKE [HEAVENLY]

KARL S. WILLIAMS HEARTWOOD [FOOTSTOMP]

After issuing a quick burst of EPs after its 1997 formation, it took Red Jezebel until 2007 to release a debut LP, with only two others let slip since then. Listening to the tracks on Coup De Grâce, you may have déjà vu flashes of vocal or musical similarities to other pop bands. Yet Red Jezebel has stayed true to the indie cause. While mainstream pop sounds tend to be as predictable as a perfect circle, the band from Perth likes to keep it elliptical, with a burst of distortion or an idiosyncratic sound shift, mid-track, that keeps them on the alternative path.

Under his Eaves alias Leeds-based singer/ songwriter Joseph Lyons has managed to attract a substantial buzz around him in the UK simply through word of mouth and live shows, with last year’s impressive debut EP As Old As The Grave earning him comparisons to the likes of British folk legend Nick Drake. Six months on, this debut album What Green Feels Like arrives in the wake of touring alongside Phil Selway and Boy & Bear and compared to its predecessor it’s a much bigger sounding proposition. There’s certainly a greater sense of scope and depth to the nine tracks collected here lent by the gorgeous mix and production and while Lyons’ folk base remains firmly in evidence, the addition of a bassist and drummer contributes a louder sound that pushes a fair chunk of this album closer to indie rock territory.

A man from northern NSW, roots artist Karl S. Williams has launched his debut collection of songs, whose Genesis lies partly in the spirit of southern USA and largely in hard roads travelled in his own life, in the LP Heartwood. His Facebook page carries the caption ‘Musical Fool’, but this man is anything but that.

There’s a subdued energy in the soft electronic bounce of ‘Your Days Are Numbered’, before the song changes gear to a firmer, flatter beat. With a strong R.E.M. tone to its vocals, the catchy melody is diced, sliced and chopped up, closing in R2D2 beeps. Spiked with some fuzzy guitar, ‘Bodyline’ projects hip swinging, hand clapping rhythms, while the beat of The Cure’s ‘Close to Me’ melds with Dappled Cities style vocals in ‘Outer Dodge’. That fluffy stuff is left behind in the dust, as the psycho-folk of ‘Be Here Tonight’ gives way to the shoegaze joy of ‘Ice Breaker’, its rapid drumbeat and shadowy vocal creating scenes glimpsed through a small aperture at a fast shutter speed. Creepy stalker anthem ‘Close to You’ is an album highlight.

A track that lures before striking, the funky syncopated rhythm gets stomped on ruthlessly, with guest vocalist Emily Barker playing the diva singing “Sink your teeth into my neck”. Red Jezebel has done amazing things in its third LP, presenting alluring melodies in unconventionally arrayed songs which change, mirage like, as you listen.

RORY MCCARTNEY

For the most part, it’s Lyons’ own soaring yet gorgeously weathered vocals and haunting, often melancholic lyrics that provide the centrepiece of these tracks.

First single ‘Pylons’ opens things in folky territory, with delicately layered acoustic guitars and shades of strings providing a sparse backdrop for Lyons’ yearning vocal. It isn’t long before crashing rock drums and bass slot in, taking the entire track off into soaring, intricately arranged territory more reminiscent of Radiohead than anything else. ‘Hom-A-Gum’ meanwhile gets cinematic and spectral as rich piano melodies slide against Lyon’s multi-tracked harmonies and tribal drum rhythms in what’s easily one of the more psychedelic moments here, before ‘Purge’ slides out into deep prog-rock laced introspection. An impressive and ambitious debut album from Eaves that unfortunately just falls slightly short of being truly awesome.

CHRIS DOWNTON

There’s’ a deep romanticism and honest emotion in this material, with delivery styles which leap between genres. Opener ‘Time Bomb’ is blues infused indie-rock. Keyboard driven, guitar boosted, it’s covered in a saxophone sweat. Hard edged vocals masks a barely suppressed rage. However, the amp boosted electrics only appear strongly here and in the blues-rock grunt and blunt fisted drumming of ‘Be’elzebub’. Album highlights as those sluggers are, there’s a whole other world to explore here.

Stepping stone piano launches ‘Is This Love’, in which keys and strings circle each other like twin moons. Williams shows the lighter side of his vocal range in this high and floating song. A clarion banjo leads the dance in folk song ‘White Hotel’, with Williams drawing out long notes, accented with a hillbilly drawl. The fancy picking pattern and harsh clapped percussion project images of wilderness, cut by isolated cabins and unsealed roads.

There’s a Jed Rowe Band cachet to the music, with banjo and guitar in lockstep.

Ever the chameleon minstrel, Williams shifts to a strolling piano ballad in ‘Golden Tears’, crooning in the Billy Field manner.

Elsewhere, there’s a pedal steel with a thousand yard stare and a can kicking harmonica strut.There’s real fire in the lyrics and certain poetry too. Closer ‘Your Final Bed’ ends the album gently and beautifully with “My mind is old and my body is tired, but my soul is still brand new”.

RORY MCCARTNEY

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VARIOUS ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER TIME: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS [NONESUCH RECORDS] This two disc set grew out of a publicity idea for the Cohen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis, about a struggling singer in New York circa 1961. Drawing partly on songs from the picture soundtrack, the concert scope enlarged to become a celebration of folk and Americana, roping in both folk legends and newcomers to the genre.

The release brings together a mixture of century old classics like ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’, beautifully delivered by Gillian Welch and contemporary material including Jack White’s ‘We’re Going to Be Friends’.

White shows that his voice is just as suited to Americana as it is to rock. Among the icons, it’s great to hear the wood grained vocals of Joan Baez combining with Elvis Costello in ‘Which Side Are You On’.

The tightly executed recording makes it sound like you are right there in Town Hall, complete with crowd yells and applause aplenty. There’s purity in the unadulterated tones of the stringed instruments. While this LP is not the greatest advert for folk, weighed down as it is by an overly oppressive mood, its real value lies in the exposure it gives to newcomers. Of the newbies, Rhiannon Giddens sounds amazing, both in ‘Waterboy’ where her chasm deep tones are accompanied by razor like guitar slashes and in her fiery rendition of a song in Gaelic. The Punch Brothers make the fiddle strings burn in ‘Rye Whiskey’ and the tricky plucking and flashy vocal arrangements of The Milk Carton Kids in ‘New York’ make that song a disk highlight. Lastly, Lake Street Dive, who visited Canberra during Enlighten, wow with their soulful, swooping vocals and sheer vim in ‘You Go Down Smooth’.

RORY MCCARTNEY

THE HEARTACHE STATE THE HEARTACHE STATE [PLUS ONE RECORDS]

PALMA VIOLETS DANGER IN THE CLUB [ROUGH TRADE]

Indie rockers The Heartache State, comprising Nick Barker (whose history with a bunch of Melbourne bands stretches back to the ‘80s) Justin Garner (Southpaw), Michael Hubbard (Eagle and the Worm) and percussionist ‘Venom’ (no idea where he’s from), have delivered an eponymously named debut LP.

Danger in the Club is the anticipated sophomore album from Palma Violets.

Musically, the album borrows from garage and classic punk, with touches of surf and even country and a distinctive twist of laddish pub-rock. Their lyrical social commentary covers issues on the darker side of party culture, including boozing, beatings, lust and love (and always the English weather). The band’s instrumentation makes use of almost everything but the kitchen sink, such as keyboard breakdowns and harmonica solos, which makes it verge on organised chaos at times.

The style is straight guitar band rock, with some country road dust on the wheel arches of this urban sedan. Barker is the uncomplicated herald of the common man. Just like the band’s name, he’s singing about love, or the lack of it. There’s no showboating riffage, just the licks coming in song bridges to provide a burst of energy for the run to the finish. ‘Back in the Game’ opens with fuzzy guitars, a vaguely rural feel and a You Am I stance to the delivery.

The story about fighting for love, with a lot of hope for success, reappears later in the album. That country vibe cements itself in ‘No Good Alone’ with its high, whining notes.

The band rocks out to the strutting ‘Bones of My Heart’, balanced by the easy acoustic dancin’ and romancin’ ballad ‘April 30’ and the closer ‘Hipster Kryptonite’, a bluesy number disguised as an acoustic strummer wearing electric shadows. ‘SSRI Arms’ charms, its slow notes creating shapes in origami folds, but the collection highlights arrive mid disk. ‘Minimum Wage’ brings a slow paced, ‘come hither’ intro, backed up by a solid bass/drum combo, while ‘The Broken H’ proves that a solid chugging rhythm will always win through. Start to finish, The Heartache State features quality toe tappers which deliver a steady diet of swinging rhythms and demonstrate that music does not have to be fancy to be good.

RORY MCCARTNEY

On first listen Danger in the Club really grabbed me as an exciting portrayal of garage presented with enough grit and British melancholy to tie it all together.

However, something changed after that first listen… What first sounded interesting and new seems a bit derivative, as if they are trying to recreate a spontaneous sound.

The band utilise style or tempo changes often, even within the same song, which works on occasion but sometimes falls flat of creating that surprise element they are after.

The musical rollercoaster is in full force on ‘Peter and the Gun’, which epically swaggers along, speeding up and down, all building to a rollicking shout-along. In contrast, the band might be at their most enjoyable when they take a less serious and looser approach, as heard on ‘Gout! Gang! Go!, which is literally as fun as its title would suggest.

This is probably an album which is best enjoyed when taken at face value. It is broad enough to appeal to a wide audience and is damn catchy, which is surely enough for many listeners.

MEGAN LEAHY

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v

singles in focus

BY CODY ATKINSON TEASER PONY ‘CHAMPION FULLBACK’

WARHORSE AS HEAVEN TURNS TO ASH [SOUTHERN LORD] Once again, the usually reliable Southern Lord label has rescued a classic from the dustbin of history so that music fans can once again turn their attention to the good things in life. As Heaven Turns to Ash was the sole full length album Warhorse released in its short lifetime and if you ever need to spin a prime example of doom metal at its most astoundingly heavy, this is it. The churning, coal black riff that invokes a lurching, bowel quaking motion on ‘Every Flower Dies No Matter the Thorns’ represents some kind of evil crossroad where Black Sabbath and the Butthole Surfers met to compete for the privilege of placing a darkened lysergic stain on the soul.

This stuff had an unholy influence on the likes of Electric Wizard, another wonderful band of the night which has lately been rattling my bedroom window more than should be considered healthy. The guttural down-tuned riff Warhorse conjures on ‘Lysergic Communion’ also raises the thought that the most potent psychedelic music has always had more going for it than ethereal cosmic dance. Warhorse formed in Massachusetts in 1996, released this killer album in 2001 and then disappeared from view. Well overdue for a resurrection, I plan to play this riff-heavy noise fest with brief moments of reprieve, such as the lighter psychedelic touch on instrumental track ‘Dawn,’ alongside Electric Wizard’s superb recent album Time to Die and Sabbath’s 1971 classic Master of Reality to ensure enlightenment is near at hand.

DAN BIGNA

SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS “X” CHRONICLE OF SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS [RUBBER RECORDS] Tokyo alt-jazz outfit, Soil & “Pimp” Sessions has become the darling of the Australian international music festival scene. Not usually keen on jazz? Join the club (there’s a waiting list)! However, this six-piece makes music that’s more like a riot. “X” Chronicle captures some of the band’s highlights over a career spanning a decade and seven LPs. Opener ‘First Lady’ draws an accurate cartoon of the band’s musical mission, as a strangled sax gives way to a soulful groove.

The trumpet cries over a rumbling bass line, while a Japanese narration adds an exotic touch. The piano tiptoes along a narrow ledge in ‘Suffocation’, before careering down a steep slope. ‘No Taboo’ comes across as a musical fist fight, or race around an obstacle course, while the piano notes fly at blistering speed. Instruments are brutally tortured in ‘A.I.E’, while tribal percussion and a Middle Eastern spice to the horns flavour ‘Sexual Hungry’. Elsewhere, the melody zigzags, runs up and down stairs, or lets a little Latin influence in for a quick peek.

Apart from aggressive yells and shrieks, vocals play little part in this material.

However, the collection includes two more conventional pieces with female vocalists, including “Movin’” whose sometimes jagged outlines benefit from the soulful voice of Maia Hirasawa. While the band coined the phrase ‘Death Jazz’ to describe their style, that’s really just PR hype as this stuff is overflowing with life. Be warned though, while individual numbers are full of stark changes in tempo, rhythm and melody, 18 tracks of jazz anarchy can be overpowering, if listened to in a slab.

RORY MCCARTNEY

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Allusions to suburban footy play predominately on ‘Champion Fullback’, the new release from local label Cinnamon Records. Breezy guitar pop is the sound, but lyrical emotional loss somehow rears it’s head out of nowhere and the next thing you know its all over. Brief but worthwhile.

BLANCK MASS ‘DEAD FORMAT’ ‘Dead Format’, the lead single for the second Blanck Mass album, sees a shift towards the work of the towering walls of noise of the interrelated Fuck Buttons.

Jarring vocal samples cut and slide through the intricate yet quite heavy rhythms, with a beautiful melody or two making its way into the foreground every now and again.

GONE SWIMMING ‘YOUR SISTER’ Energetic retrotinged surf punk is the flavour of the day on ‘Your Sister’, which isn’t a surprise given the name of the band. Tidal waves of guitar take this number right out past the deep end and a driving bassline tries to take it back to shore.

GRACE FEAT. G-EASY ‘YOU DON’T OWN ME’ I guess the thing these days is to take a decades old song, “revamp” it, package it up and send it out. The source material is not too bad here, but no-one was crying out for a couple of bursts of rapped bars. They’ve somehow subverted the sinister connotations of the original and cleaned it up which defeats the point.

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the word

on films

WITH MELISSA WELLHAM

When Men’s Rights Activists (MRAs) got their balls in a twist about the latest installment in the Mad Max franchise being a feminist Trojan horse, I think director George Miller would have thought ‘thank you for the free publicity and drawing in the lady audience.’ Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron star in Mad Max: Fury Road, an action film that could also be a prelude to a high-octane computer game – I could see my fellow moviegoer’s finger itching for a controller. Full throttle, not brain dead fun for all movie-goers!

quote of the issue “Oh what a day, what a lovely day.” Nicholas Hoult (Nux), Mad Max: Fury Road.

INFINI

PITCH PERFECT 2

A ROYAL NIGHT OUT

Within 30 minutes of Infini, a list of cinematic sci-fi foundations are clear. Writer/director Shane Abbess incorporates shades of Event Horizon, Aliens, The Thing and The Abyss, all excellent wells to creatively draw from.

Fortunately Abbess is clever to not rest on these influences.

Infini gains its independence as a tense and provocative mystery. In the future, a rescue team is sent to a mining colony on the edge of the galaxy to rescue Whit Carmichael (Daniel MacPherson), the lone survivor of a biological outbreak.

The Pitches are back baby and it’s aca-awesome. Three years after the conclusion of Pitch Perfect The Barden Bellas sashay on stage in the opening scene of Pitch Perfect 2 on fabulous form. Unfortunately, an incident involving an exposed vagina causes the Bellas to be suspended from a capella performing. The Bellas’ mission, which they choose to accept with great zest and vigour, is to enter an international a cappella competition – even though no American team has ever won – to regain their glory.

A Royal Night Out is a liberal reimagining of what might have happened on V.E. day in 1945 when Princesses Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) and Margaret (Bel Powley) are grudgingly allowed out to party with the commoners. This film is is very silly but not a bad way to pass a couple of hours.

Infini opens with a red flag trope. Carmichael is introduced nervously preparing for his first day working a dangerous job while his pregnant wife begs him to return safely; we know terrible things follow these conversations.

Luckily, Carmichael’s rookie status equips him well for the chaos he’s about to endure.

MacPherson’s performance shows Carmichael’s vulnerability and drive to survive rather than fight back.

Instead of following the same formula as the first film, the creators of Pitch Perfect 2 sat down and thought ‘what would our characters be doing three years from now?’ Thus a plot was formed that made sense: the Bellas were nervously contemplating life after university and demonstrating this fear in different ways – like sneaking off to secret internships or throwing themselves full throttle into the Barden Bellas.

The dialogue is an endurance test of lifeless expository but Abbess has a decent handle on how tension and mystery serve the plot. The production design on the derelict mining colony is superb and the steady reveal of the cause of the outbreak is handled deftly before Abbess delivers a few final twists to make Infini leave an impression despite its scrappy edges.

The film certainly doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to making fun of misogyny. My favourite quote would have to be from John, the exasperating commentator. After forbidding the Bellas from recruiting new members following the exposed-vagina fiasco, he clumsily attempts to comfort them by saying ‘Don’t worry, you’re girls. Soon you’ll all be pregnant.’ This quote perfectly illustrates how idiotic sexism is, something the Pitch Perfect franchise does again and again. Lots of sequels tend to disappoint but not this one!

Infini is available to rent or purchase on iTunes and other digital platforms only in Australia, a release strategy adopted due to film piracy.

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CAMERON WILLIAMS

Whilst frolicking in London the princesses find themselves in the company of prostitutes and spivs while gleefully seeking out seedy dives in SoHo. It’s exactly what any young woman would want to do in their place thus invoking the trope ‘princesses are just like ordinary people’. Fortunately this film demonstrated this without making me want to punch the screen (it must be so hard having all your earthly needs and desires catered for without lifting a finger. Life’s so hard).

A foreign concept for me as an Australian was the fervent love most people in England had (and still have) for their monarchs as displayed in this film. Whilst Elizabeth sat in a pub and listened to her father address the nation the crowd fell into reverent silence. When one young man muttered ‘wanker’ under his breath he was forcefully ejected from the pub by several enraged people. Most Australians don’t really register the royal family (Aren’t they that family oceans away that don’t really do much for us?)

See this film for Princess Margaret wandering unaware into a brothel. Inoffensive fun.

EMMA ROBINSON

EMMA ROBINSON

@bmamag

MAD MAX – FURY ROAD

EX MACHINA

The high-octane Australian classic gets a new lease on life with this long-delayed sequel from director George Miller.

This film lacks in plot and character development, aside from the irrepressible War Boy, Nux (Nicholas Hoult) and what little dialogue can be heard above the roar of guns and engines doesn’t much sense.

Ultimately, this doesn’t matter a jot. The nightmarish landscapes mirror the insanity of its denizens, complimented by bloody and entertaining action and chase scenes. The vehicles involved are characters unto their own, from Max’s faithful Interceptor and Furiosa’s War Rig to Joe’s inspirational Doof Wagon. But ultimately it is the unexpected portrayal of competent and capable female characters which truly makes this film stand out. Furiosa is easily Max’s equal when it comes to driving and fighting, with no tacked on romantic subplot to spoil the action. The Five Wives are not passive victims but active participants in their own escape. A brilliant return to a brutal world.

Conquering the moral and technological complexities associated with creating intelligent life will always be an ambitious and inherently dangerous pursuit.Tech company employee Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) wins a highly sought-after internship with enigmatic, Victor Frankenstein-esque CEO, Nathan (Oscar Isaac) and is transported to Nathan’s high-tech, top-secret abode/ research facility (the likes of which would leave even Kevin McCloud gob-smacked). Under close surveillance, Caleb must interact with the beautiful Ava (Alicia Vikander), Nathan’s groundbreaking experiment in Artificial Intelligence, to determine whether she passes the “turing test”. The forced union of the natural and the artificial within the film’s production design immediately creates a sense of simmering instability. The film oscillates between misogynist fantasy and feminist allegory, which is also reflected in Ava’s hybrid design. Ava’s ability to convey emotion, mirror behaviour, manipulate and question her creator makes her so much more than a glorified sex-doll: she is a force to be reckoned with. For all the ‘watching’ (the surveillance, the glass, the male gaze and the creepy voyeurism), it seems the male characters’ desire for power or sexual control leaves them blind to the consequences of their actions. While the film’s final act will inevitably leave some frustrated, this directorial debut from Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) is deeply unsettling, challenging viewing.

PATRICK BELL

MAJELLA CARMODY

‘Mad’ Max Rockatansky (now played, with no due respect to Mel Gibson, by Tom Hardy), crosses paths with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who is on a mission to liberate the Five Wives of the tyrannical Immortan Joe (played by original Mad max villain Hugh Keays-Byrne) and his fanatical chrome-fuelled army the War Boys. What follows is a chase across the post-apocalyptic desert (filmed in Namibia after the Australian outback proved to have too much greenery).

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the word on dvds

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DINOSAUR 13 [MADMAN] The soon-to-be rebooted Jurassic Park franchise proves a number of things. Mainly it shows us that Chris Pratt is a bone fide superstar, which is crazy and great. It also tells us that people really love dinosaurs. The original trilogy has grossed over $2 billion and I’m pretty sure those billions weren’t because audiences wanted to see human character development. Dinosaurs. People just wanted to see the shit out of dinosaurs, and the one they wanted to see most was the T-rex. The tyrannosaurus occupies a special place in our imaginations. It is the fearsome, freak-armed representation of primal admiration of the species. In 1980 a group of palaeontologists were about to leave a site in South Dakota.

A flat tire slowed their exit and allowed one of the party, Sue Hendrickson, time to wander around to look for bones whilst she waited. She saw some fragments, then more definition. Then a shape became obvious. Sue had just stumbled upon the largest, most complete T-rex skeleton in history; appropriately enough it was called Sue. So that’s the good part. Ownership of the bones soon became disputed.

What happens next is nothing short of an astonishing act of overreach by the authorities at the behest of a landowner, whose land Sue/Dinosaur 13 was found on. The chain of events then became more complicated when it was determined the land wasn’t privately held at all, but was government land.

It all got terribly ugly and Sue ended up in storage whilst the parties fought on the airwaves and in court. Dinosaur 13 is a heartbreaking story where the small guys – the people who made the discovery – never stood a chance. It poses questions about how has the best interest of these historic fossils at heart – the scientists or the museum patrons? Is Sue commerce or science?

The answers prove to be very uncomfortable JUSTIN HOOK

THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA [MADMAN] In the rush to praise Studio Ghibli – the legendary Japanese animation studio – there is a tendency to focus on its nominal figurehead, Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki is the serene, silver-haired genius responsible for most of Ghibli’s output, meaning he has created some of her greatest films of the last 30 years. But a few steps to the side of Miyazaki is Ghibli’s less prolific cofounder Isao Takahata. Though responsible for one of the most challenging films in the studio’s archives – Grave of the Fireflies – Takahata takes a back seat to his more famous partner. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is Takahata’s first film in 14 years and even that proved challenging.

Needless to say it was worth the wait. It is a towering achievement in storytelling and animation that veers away from the colourful, defined style of most other Ghibli films. It is light, textural, fluid – revelling and celebrating in the sheer manual labour of its creation.

Scratchy pencil marks capture a running Princess Kaguya. A baby rolling over itself looks like a life drawing in constant motion and the playfulness of a kitten and a young girl are pieces of pure visual genius. The entire film is brimming with this sort of attention to detail and power over the form. Not only does it look astounding, but the story is near untouchable in the animated genre.

Based on the millennia-old Japanese folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, it tells tells the story of an old man who discovers a little girl in a bamboo shoot. The girl then transforms into a baby and quickly develops into a young woman, Princess Kaguya. The princess rebels and eventually has to make a decision about her own fate. This film has an enormous heart, pushing emotions to the deep recesses. It is a heartbreaking masterpiece.

JUSTIN HOOK

THE GAMBLER [PARAMOUNT] Mark Wahlberg has had one of the craziest careers in Hollywood. Starting off as a rapper/musician – and a bad one at that – he made beefcake palatable with a set of underwear adverts for Calvin Klein. Next came acting which produced quickly resulted in dross (Fear, The Big Hit) and indie-cred success (Boogie Nights). Soon enough he was helming blockbusters – The Perfect Storm, Planet of the Apes. Leveraging his on-screen success he then became a producer with an even better hit ratio – Entourage, Boardwalk Empire. In this capacity Wahlberg has only once acted in a film he produced (The Fighter) and the results were positive.

Hoping naturally for a repeat, he has done the same again with The Gambler – another gritty, hard edged character study. But the results on this one aren’t so good. Playing fatalistic English lit college professor/gambling addict Jim Bennett, Wahlberg is a gaping empty presence in B-grade crime and retribution flick. Bennett is deep in over his head. He owes money to multiple bookies and any good will and cash extended to him by his long suffering mother (Jessica Lange) is promptly squandered. The reality is his life is spiralling out of control, but his indifference to the situation suggests everything will be fine. It’s a meaty character with conflicting agendas and confused motives, but Wahlberg never really captures any of it. His college professor antics are simply unbelievable; any teacher so vocally pissing on his own talent and his subjects would be out the door in a flash. The deeper his debtor arrangements get the more tense its supposed to get. But it doesn’t happen it merely trundles along to a damp squib of a resolution.

Rupert Wyatt’s (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) direction is workmanlike which is a fair representation of the entire film, top to bottom.

JUSTIN HOOK

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Fuckface Unstoppable ANU Bar Wednesday May 6 Best known for tormenting his parents, hanging out with rock stars, performing ballsy stunts and hardcore skateboarding, Bam Margera was the idol of pretty much every teenager in the early 2000s. These days, after a bit of a hiatus, Margera fronts a band that seems to be a combination of metal, hip hop and even a little dubstep. As confusing as the genre is, the guys in Fuckface Unstoppable don’t take it too seriously and if there’s one thing that Margera and his buddies know how to do, it’s entertain the masses.

The music itself was pretty awesome, due to the talented crew of musicians collected by Margera, but his vocals, while better than expected, were nothing to write home about. However, the onstage personae of Margera and his crew were as entertaining as ever with brother Jess on drums, Andy McCoy from Hanoi Rocks and Iggy Pop & the Stooges thrashing impressively as ever on guitar.

Backup vocalist/drummer Alex Flamsteed’s antics did put a damper on things briefly, as he continually tried to forcefully kiss and grab audience members despite their protests.The rest of the band were absolutely fantastic and managed to keep the good times rolling, with Andy McCoy briefly taking over from Margera and performing an awesome cover of Wild Horses and the band singing a ballad that Margera dedicated to late friend and Jackass co-star, Ryan Dunn.

All in all, the gig was pretty awesome and definitely entertaining, though if we’re being honest, Margera’s specialty lies within stunts, skateboarding and reality television, not music.

NICOLA SHEVILLE

the word

on gigs

Sleep Makes Waves, Glass Ocean, Mowgli ANU Bar Saturday May 9 Mowgli from Sydney and the south coast were so happy to be in town and appreciated the early punters being there to see them. The vocals may have verged on hardcore, but the music was anything but that. With many style changes, the band would suddenly drop from anarchic to a mere whisper, or go from flat out to end the song with a sudden dead stop. At times Mowgli sounded like the dreamy material of Sleep Parade, until they burst into a sudden fury again.

They closed with some fine guitar passages in ‘Slow Burner’.

A sample served as the launch pad for Glass Ocean. Dynamic performers, they spun dipped and weaved with their guitars.

Frontman Tobias Atkins had a gorgeous timbre to his deep vocals and could throw some vibrato in there too. There was a complex interlacing of complementary guitar notes. That is until the band was surprised to find themselves one guitarist short. (He‘d ducked off stage for a quick string repair.) Laying his guitar aside, Atkins became a different performer, dancing on the spot while Glass Ocean delivered ‘Ghost’.

Sleep Makes Waves, back in country before starting a huge overseas tour, used a sample for an intro too, before a concussive start to their set. The band swung their instruments like swords, the bassist letting go of, then catching his axe. They really got into it, urging each other on with yells and building exciting crescendos.

While there was an emphasis on heavy rock, a fine balance between the delicate and the brutal was also on display. Sometimes vicious in intensity, occasionally just trickling down, the music was always incredibly rhythmic. The sound in ‘Perfect Detonator’ was interstellar.

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RORY MCCARTNEY

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Hard Ons, Super Best Friends Transit Bar Thursday May 14 I hadn’t seen Super Best Friends in a year or so and I was surprised to find that a lot had changed. After a long string of EPs they’d finally released their first album and they had undergone a pretty major lineup change. Frontman John Barrington was the link between the old line up and the new, with an entirely new rhythm section on board. The Super Best Friends I saw on the night was streamlined and far more sure of what they wanted to be. Gone were the flirtations with synths and dancier tenancies. In their place were fuzzed out basslines and tight drumming, with Barrington’s shouted punk proclamations taking centre stage. The material from the new album seemed to work really well live, but it was “viral” favourite ‘Round And Round’ that really got the local crowd going.

The Hard Ons seem to have found the magic elixir – an ability to sound like they always had. Sure, some grey hairs are showing, but their music is as vital now as it was whenever you first heard it. On stage, few bands work as visibly hard as they do, sweat and hair flying about, moisture filling the air. Blackie still slashes away at his guitar, slung low, with Ray Ahn swinging his bass around like a cat in an enclosed space, chugging out the riffs one after the other with metronomic certainty. Starting with their poppier stuff and getting more and more abrasive as the night progressed, the Hard Ons cut through like few other bands can. Closing with early classic ‘Suck N Swallow’, the boys from Punchbowl left the crowd smiling and a little stunned.

PHOTO BY MEGAN LEAHY

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CODY ATKINSON

Thundamentals, Hau, Omar Musa, Coda Conduct UC Refectory Friday May 15 The crisp Autumn weather didn’t stop the UC Refectory from being surprisingly full as Coda Conduct begun the night’s proceedings as opening act on the Canberra leg of the Thundamentals’ Elephant in the Room tour. With a natural stage presence, the Canberran duo’s confidence when engaging the crowd betrayed little of the difficulty of performing first in such an impressive line-up and more than justified the size of the opening act crowd. The recent triple j Unearthed Feature Artists utilised a memorable Round the Twist sample to popular effect and performed with a professionalism beyond their years. Next up was Omar Musa, who brought with him his characteristically politically charged, yet ultimately relatable, raps. Musa’s perfectly timed delivery and deliberate and engaging stage presence pointed to his background and skills as a spoken word poet and this experience shone throughout his set. As the crowd responded enthusiastically to his demands to get moving, the Queanbeyan local delivered tracks from his upcoming, Joelistics produced album, such as the well-received ‘Struggletown Crier’.

Dimmed lights, brown-note bass and a wailing live trumpet heralded the arrival of the Thundamentals and signalled an immediate return to the energy which had been building earlier. Moving through a selection of tracks from albums old and new including ‘Paint the Town Red’, ‘My Favourite Things’, ‘Got Love’, ‘Quit your Job’ and ‘Noodle Soup’, the crowd responded enthusiastically. Seeing punters sing along with gusto to obvious crowd pleasers and Hottest 100 inclusions including the Thundacat’s Like a Version cover of Matt Corby’s ‘Brother’ and the popular ‘Smiles Don’t Lie’, it was hard not to feel that Aussie hip hop may finally be escaping the shackles of its mainstream perception as a cringe-worthy local version of its American older sibling, which can only be a good thing.

BRADY MCMULLEN

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PHOTO BY JEM NATIVIDAD

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Adalita, Suzie Higgie, Alice Cottee Transit Bar Sunday May 17 Transit celebrated the close of its week long ninth birthday celebrations with three ladies of song. Being Sunday, events kicked off early and you had to be quick to even grab the close of local singer Alice Cottee’s set. Singing high and clear, she can do a mean cover of a PJ Harvey original. Suzie Higgie (ex-The Falling Joys) had a beautiful, strong vocal tone, mixing it up with songs from the band and her solo repertoire. Picked up in her days living in France, there was a cover of Françoise Hardy‘s ‘Only You Can Do It’, with the rhythm provided by an ancient Casio keyboard which had seen much service when composing songs in TFJ days.

Despite having no backing and with a head cold (box of tissues at the ready), Adalita gave a thrilling performance of songs from her solo albums, plus some new material. She was totally immersed in the music, showing subtle emotion with a flick of the eyes, a half smile, or a slight swing of the hips. Adalita gave a glimpse of her next LP with ‘Dazzling’, the very catchy ‘Guilt Free’ and ‘Equations’ with its complex arrangement. If All Day Venus was about a wild freedom, its follow-up is likely to be about deep infatuation. There was some surprise backing from the impromptu Transit Bar dancers – two ladies invited up to perform their coordinated moves on either side of Adalita. Also invited up, Mario demonstrated a total absence of rhythm and had to pass tambourine duties to a mate, leaving him free to do some interpretive dancing. Never one to just play it straight, Adalita embellished her closing songs with plenty of knob twiddling specials and guitar strings sliding down the amp.

RORY MCCARTNEY

@bmamag

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Wed May 27- Sat May 30 Listings are a free community service. Email editorial@bmamag.com to have your events appear each issue.

WEDNESDAY MAY 27 ART EXHIBITIONS Echoes In Time 16 May - 7 June.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015 10am-5pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Damn

Duck Duck Ghost 9pm. $5.

THE PHOENIX BAR

Charles & Dave 9pm Free.

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

ON THE TOWN Playtime

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

TREEHOUSE BAR

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

4some Thursdays

Identities

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Casters

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

2pm. 9-30 May.

All That Fall

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War. 10am-5pm. Free.

Free entry.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

8pm, free entry TRANSIT BAR

FRIDAY MAY 29

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Simple Moments, Great People

May 26-Jun 8. 7am-7pm.

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

X-Rated

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

ART EXHIBITIONS A Fabled Gesture

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Wed, Thur 11-5. Fri 11-7. Sat 11-4

LIVE MUSIC

From Far and Beyond

Absolution

Painting In Stone BILK GALLERY

2pm. 9-30 May.

With guests.

Sea Stories + Second Nature

The Gypsy Scholars

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

14 May - 7 June 2015. Opening 11:30am 16 May.

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

8pm, free entry TRANSIT BAR

Just For The Heaven Of It

STRATHNAIRN HOMESTEAD GALLERY

Album Launch. 7pm. Free.

LIVE MUSIC

5pm afternoon session/10pm Band. Free.

Paraguayan Harp & Piano Free.

THE TRADIES (DICKSON)

Mitch Canas/Oscar

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

SONGZ & Dimple

DRILL HALL GALLERY

TREEHOUSE BAR

9.30pm. $5.

$20. Moshtix.

Arrester

THE PHOENIX BAR

Uberjak'd & Friends ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

TALKS

ON THE TOWN

Arts for OUR Communities

Flava R&B

Public forum on community arts.

4pm.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

THEATRE

9pm. Free.

TREEHOUSE BAR

Nicky Night Time $10 before 12am.

MR WOLF

Kelly

THEATRE

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roads

24-27 Jun.

THURSDAY MAY 28

$46.90. 7.30pm.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

ART EXHIBITIONS Exhibition Openings + Talk

A Time & Place. A Portrait of My Father as A Young Man. Talk at 2pm June 28.

PHOTOACCESS MANUKA

LIVE MUSIC Encircling Sea

Funeral Moon & Autonomous Drones.

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

SATURDAY MAY 30 ART EXHIBITIONS Under Construction 28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

Orbit

Opens 6pm May 20 until Jun 7.

11am-5pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Sat May 30 - Wed Jun 3 Echoes In Time 16 May - 7 June.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015 10am-5pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Damn

The Screen Set

ART EXHIBITIONS

FILM

Puppetry lessons for children. $150 per term or $20 per class.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

Scarlet Road

Roots and Wings

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

Identities

2pm. 9-30 May.

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Room

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Simple Moments, Great People

May 26-Jun 8. 7am-7pm.

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

LIVE MUSIC

With We Came As Romans, Beartooth & More.

Brother Be

The Bad Plus

8pm. $10.

TRANSIT BAR

Livewire presents Into The Crypt

With I Exist, Hellbringer, Witchskull, Boonhorse & Urge to Kill. $10 entry. Doors at 7.

Painting In Stone

Wed, Thur 11-5. Fri 11-7. Sat 11-4 BILK GALLERY

Student/Teacher Exhibition

8pm,$10

Andrew Farrel, The Wizard Wizard on a keyboard.

CANBERRA HOUSE

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

ON THE TOWN

9pm. Free.

DRILL HALL GALLERY

Northern Lights

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Sea Stories + Second Nature

14 May - 7 June 2015. Opening 11:30am 16 May. STRATHNAIRN HOMESTEAD GALLERY

16 May - 7 June.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015 10am-5pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

7.30pm.

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

THE STREET THEATRE

Irish Jam Session

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

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

2pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Northern Lights

6pm Sat. 2pm Sun. Bookings at online.nga.gov.au/eventbookings.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

MONDAY JUNE 1

DJ's.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Exhibition of upcoming artists.

Echoes In Time

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

Love Saturdays

Australian Paintings CAPO Emerging Artists Prize

BEAVER GALLERIES

Damn

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Roots and Wings

28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

THE PHOENIX BAR

TREEHOUSE BAR

22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

In The Trenches Out of Memory

2pm. 9-30 May.

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Under Construction

9.30pm. $10.

Sneaky: Surgin aka Steve Lising

From Far and Beyond

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

All That Fall

Clowns

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Future stars of ceramics.

Opens 6pm May 20 until Jun 7.

11am-5pm.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

TRANSIT BAR

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

In Hearts Wake

Orbit

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

LIVE MUSIC

Student Teacher Show X-Rated

Puppetry Program

Film screening. 2.30pm. Free.

RSVP by Thu 28 May.

Brother Be Launch their new EP ‘Gone and Gone

May 28-Jun 14.

SUNDAY MAY 31

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

6pm Sat. 2pm Sun. Bookings at online.nga.gov.au/eventbookings.

LIVE MUSIC Canberra Musician’s Club presents

The Bootleg Sessions. 8pm. Free entry.

THE PHOENIX BAR

TUESDAY JUNE 2 KARAOKE

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War. 10am-5pm. Free.

Room

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Simple Moments, Great People

May 26-Jun 8. 7am-7pm.

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

A Fabled Gesture

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Student Teacher Show May 28-Jun 14.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

X-Rated

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Karaoke Love

Painting In Stone

THEATRE

TRANSIT BAR

BILK GALLERY

Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roads

Love 9pm, free entry

NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA

$46.90. 7.30pm.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Karaoke. 9pm. Free entry.

Wed, Thur 11-5. Fri 11-7. Sat 11-4

Every Tuesday Karaoke

Student/Teacher Exhibition

TRANSIT BAR

Future stars of ceramics.

LIVE MUSIC

CAPO Emerging Artists Prize

Eric Harland Band

Tue 7.30pm. Fri 8pm.

THE STREET THEATRE

Michelle Nicolle 6pm. $22.

THE GODS CAFE

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Exhibition of upcoming artists.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Sea Stories + Second Nature

14 May - 7 June 2015. Opening 11:30am 16 May.

TRIVIA

STRATHNAIRN HOMESTEAD GALLERY

The Phoenix Trivia Night

LIVE MUSIC

THE PHOENIX BAR

RA The Rugged Man

7.30pm.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 3 ART EXHIBITIONS The Screen Set

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

Live music

TRANSIT BAR

THEATRE Storm Boy $35.

THE PLAYHOUSE

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Thur Jun 4- Sun Jun 7 THURSDAY JUNE 4 LIVE MUSIC

THEATRE Storm Boy $35.

THE PLAYHOUSE

The Newsletters

SATURDAY JUNE 6

9pm. $5.

THE PHOENIX BAR

Jacqueline & Michael

ART EXHIBITIONS

TRANSIT BAR

Under Construction

8pm, free entry

Frenzal Rhomb

28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

THE BASEMENT

The Screen Set

Tickets at moshtix.

BEAVER GALLERIES

Special K

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

9pm.

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

ON THE TOWN 4some Thursdays Free entry.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Playtime

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

TREEHOUSE BAR

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Orbit

Opens 6pm May 20 until Jun 7.

11am-5pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

LIVE MUSIC

THE PLAYHOUSE

7.30pm.

ART EXHIBITIONS

9.30pm. $5.

Puppetry Program

Slow Turismo with guests Nova & The Machine.

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

We All Want To

THE PHOENIX BAR

LIVE MUSIC

4th Degree

Deeznuts

TRANSIT BAR

10.30pm. Free.

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

With Antagonist AD, Relentless & Earth Caller.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Irish Jam Session

11am. Free.

The Great Gatsby Party

Because everyone loves a 1920s theme party old sport!

Damn

ACT Jam 2015: Woden

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Puppetry lessons for children. $150 per term or $20 per class.

8pm, tickets on the door

10am-5pm. Free.

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

SUNDAY JUNE 7

THE STREET THEATRE

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

$35.

Lovano/Grabowsky/ Rex/Beck

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

16 May - 7 June.

Storm Boy

FRIDAY JUNE 5

Storm Boy

Echoes In Time

THEATRE

THE PLAYHOUSE

THEATRE

DRILL HALL GALLERY

22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

Family Fun Open Day

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015

$35.

Australian Paintings

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

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

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

The Jump Club presents DJ AK $10

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

TREEHOUSE BAR

ON THE TOWN

Rider Run event. 12pm.

Linda Marigliano

ACT Jam 2015: Weston

MR WOLF

WODEN SKATE PARK

Rider Run event. 6pm.

$10 before 12am.

LIVE MUSIC

Roots and Wings

Eric Harland Band

BEAVER GALLERIES

ACT Jam 2015: Belconnen

THE STREET THEATRE

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War. 10am-5pm. Free.

BELCONNEN SKATE PARK

28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

Tue 7.30pm. Fri 8pm.

All That Fall

Vendetta

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

9pm. Free.

CHISHOLM TAVERN

The Art of Sleeping Live

TRANSIT BAR

80's Tribute Night #2 7pm. $20.

THE BASEMENT

80's Music Festival

Bands perform covers of classic 80's rock. 7pm. $20 at oztix.com. au or $25 at door.

THE BASEMENT

Girls Night Out ft. Havana Brown $15.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Chicago Charles/ Itchy Triggers

5pm afternoon session/10pm Band. Free.

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

S.A.M

9pm. Free

TREEHOUSE BAR

ON THE TOWN I Oh You DJs

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Simple Moments, Great People

May 26-Jun 8. 7am-7pm.

THE FRONT GALLERY AND CAFÉ

A Fabled Gesture

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Student Teacher Show May 28-Jun 14.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

X-Rated

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Painting In Stone

Wed, Thur 11-5. Fri 11-7. Sat 11-4 BILK GALLERY

Student/Teacher Exhibition

Future stars of ceramics.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Exhibition of upcoming artists.

8pm, presales via Moshtix TRANSIT BAR

Rider Run event. 10.30am.

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Art of Sleeping On their Voodoo National Tour

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Room

$5 before 12am.

MR WOLF

WESTON SKATE PARK

CAPO Emerging Artists Prize

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Sea Stories + Second Nature

14 May - 7 June 2015. Opening 11:30am 16 May. STRATHNAIRN HOMESTEAD GALLERY

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Tues Jun 9 - Wed Jun 17 TUESDAY JUNE 9 KARAOKE Every Tuesday Karaoke

Love 9pm, free entry TRANSIT BAR

LIVE MUSIC Weekend Nachos With guests.

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

WEDNESDAY JUNE 10 ART EXHIBITIONS

Student/Teacher Exhibition

ON THE TOWN

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

$10.

Future stars of ceramics.

Redial

Australian Paintings

MR WOLF

22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

DRILL HALL GALLERY

CAPO Emerging Artists Prize

Exhibition of upcoming artists.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

LIVE MUSIC Songs in the key of Motown

Tickets at canberratheatrecentre. com.au or at 6275 2700.

THE PLAYHOUSE

THURSDAY JUNE 11

The Screen Set

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Under Construction 28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

BEAVER GALLERIES

Damn

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

Charles & Dave

9pm.

KING O'MALLEY'S IRISH PUB

ON THE TOWN 4some Thursdays Free entry.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Playtime

SATURDAY JUNE 13 ART EXHIBITIONS New Works

by Andrea Mullins

Opens 6pm 11 Jun until Jun 21.

11am-5pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

The Screen Set

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Under Construction 28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Roots and Wings

TREEHOUSE BAR

BEAVER GALLERIES

28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

All That Fall

Signs & Symbols and guests

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War. 10am-5pm. Free.

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War. 10am-5pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Room

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

8pm, free entry TRANSIT BAR

FRIDAY JUNE 12

28 May- 16 Jun. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Room

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

A Fabled Gesture

LIVE MUSIC

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

From 9pm. Free

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

My Friend The Chocolate Cake

May 28-Jun 14.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Student Teacher Show May 28-Jun 14.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

X-Rated

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Tom Hathaway

TREEHOUSE BAR

National Tour.

THE STREET THEATRE

Alive Fridays presents SCNDL $15 before 11pm.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Sneaky: Surgin aka Steve Lising From 9PM Free

TREEHOUSE BAR

SOMETHING DIFFERENT Fash N' Treasure

10am - 3pm. 7 Feb, 21 Mar, 11 Apr, 9 May, 13 June, 15 Aug, 19 Sep & 7 Nov. Entry $3.

EXHIBITION PARK IN CANBERRA (EPIC)

SUNDAY JUNE 14 Of Bees, Birds and ‘Bots 2pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

MONDAY JUNE 15 DANCE Fault Lines

$69. 7:30pm.

THE PLAYHOUSE

TUESDAY JUNE 16

All That Fall

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

A Fabled Gesture

DIGRESS COCKTAIL BAR

Damn

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE) BEAVER GALLERIES

Resident DJs playing industrial, EBM, alternative, dark electronic. $10/$5.

BEAVER GALLERIES

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

Roots and Wings

Chrome

KARAOKE Every Tuesday Karaoke

Love 9pm, free entry TRANSIT BAR

WEDNESDAY JUNE 17

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

ART EXHIBITIONS

Student Teacher Show

Opens 6pm 11 Jun until Jun 21.

11am-5pm.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

X-Rated

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Student/Teacher Exhibition

Future stars of ceramics.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Australian Paintings 22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

DRILL HALL GALLERY

CAPO Emerging Artists Prize

Exhibition of upcoming artists.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

LIVE MUSIC Vendetta

9pm. Free.

O'NEILL'S IRISH PUB

Mojo Juju

New Works by Andrea Mullins

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

The Screen Set

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Damn

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

All That Fall

Sacrifice, life and loss in the First World War. 10am-5pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Room

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Live

A Fabled Gesture

ON THE TOWN

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

TRANSIT BAR

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

Mojo Juju Seeing Red / Feeling Blue

X-Rated

TRANSIT BAR

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

8pm, presales via Moshtix

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

Australian Paintings 22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

DRILL HALL GALLERY

60

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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Thur Jun 18 -Sat Jun 27 THEATRE Storm Large 8pm. $55.

THE PLAYHOUSE

THURSDAY JUNE 18 LIVE MUSIC Steven Isserlis

With Connie Shih. 7pm.

LLEWELLYN HALL

The Maze. Freshly brewed Sydney indie rock

The Screen Set

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

Damn

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

ON THE TOWN

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

A Fabled Gesture

Playtime

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

TREEHOUSE BAR

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

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

FRIDAY JUNE 19 COMEDY Superwog

7.30pm. Tickets at canberratheatrecentre.com.au.

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

ON THE TOWN Sneaky: Lucrative

Australian Paintings

DRILL HALL GALLERY

Life and time: Portraits

by Rod McNicol 10am-5pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

New Works by Andrea Mullins

Opens 6pm 11 Jun until Jun 21.

11am-5pm.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Title Fight

All ages. Tickets from oztix.com. au.

KARAOKE

MAGPIES CITY CLUB

Every Tuesday Karaoke Love 9pm, free entry

ON THE TOWN

TRANSIT BAR

Playtime

WEDNESDAY JUNE 24

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

TREEHOUSE BAR

Australian Paintings

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

DRILL HALL GALLERY

Gypsies & Gentlemen 8pm, free entry TRANSIT BAR

10am-5pm. Free.

FRIDAY JUNE 26

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

The Screen Set

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm.

ON THE TOWN The Next Movement

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

8pm, $10 on the door

8pm, presales via Moshtix

Opens 6pm May 20-June 27. Mon Fri 9am - 5:30pm Sat 9am - 1pm.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Room

9PM . Free entry

TRANSIT BAR

22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

LIVE MUSIC

TUESDAY JUNE 23

Life and time: Portraits by Rod McNicol

TREEHOUSE BAR

ART EXHIBITIONS

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

LIVE MUSIC

TRANSIT BAR

THURSDAY JUNE 25

Backbeat Drivers. 2pm. $3/$5.

22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

Live

THEATRE 3

Canberra Blues Society Monthy Jams

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

Gold Fields & KLP

18 Jun-4 Jul. Bookings at 6257 1950.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

ART EXHIBITIONS

TREEHOUSE BAR

SATURDAY JUNE 20

Casanova

2pm. Free.

X-Rated

Surgin aka Steve Lising

House DJ. From 9pm. Free Entry

THEATRE

The Radical Listener

Room

8pm, free entry TRANSIT BAR

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Gold Fields & KLP

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

View and purchase art.

29th May continues until July 4.

Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm, Sat 10am - 4pm

THEATRE

A Fabled Gesture

Winter Ceramic Fair WATSON ARTS CENTRE

Casanova

18 Jun-4 Jul. Bookings at 6257 1950.

THEATRE 3

SUNDAY JUNE 21

TREEHOUSE BAR

SATURDAY JUNE 27 ART EXHIBITIONS Australian Paintings

29th May-July 4. Tues - Fri 11am 5pm. Sat 10am - 4pm.

22 May - 28 Jun. Free.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

DRILL HALL GALLERY

The Sex Industry in the Act. Until Sept 20.

Opens 6pm 25 Jun - Jul 5. 11am5pm.

New Works By Nigel Dobson

X-Rated

CANBERRA MUSEUM AND GALLERY

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Puppetry Program

Winter Ceramic Fair

BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

S.A.M. FLAVA R&B 9pm. Free

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE (GORMAN HOUSE)

ART EXHIBITIONS Puppetry lessons for children. $150 per term or $20 per class.

TRANSIT BAR

Damn

View and purchase art.

WATSON ARTS CENTRE

OUT

JUN 17

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE (MANUKA)

Life and time: Portraits

by Rod McNicol 10am-5pm. Free.

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

TITLE FIGHT BLACK DAHLIA MURDER ...AND MORE!

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FIRST CONTACT SIDE A: BMA BAND PROFILE

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

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

Signs & Symbols Where did your band name come from? We picked up a hitchhiker once and those were the only words he was able to say.

Group members? Brent Brosnan (guitar, vocals, sometimes drums), Callum McDonald (drums, vocals, sometimes guitar), Matt Madsen (guitar, good vibes) and Brodie Heidtmann (bass, vocals, sadness).

Australian Songwriters Association Keiran (02) 62310433 Back to the Eighties Ty Emerson 0418 544 014 Backbeat Drivers Steve 0422733974 backbeatdrivers.com Birds Love Fighting Gangbusters/DIY shows-bookings@ birdslovefighting.com

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 Morning After, The Covers band Anthony 0402500843 Mornings Jordan 0439907853 Obsessions 0450 960 750 obsessions@grapevine.com.au Painted Hearts, The Peter (02) 62486027

Describe your sound: It can be both intense and gentle, like a punch in the face from someone with soft knuckles.

Black Label Photography Kingsley 0438351007 blacklabelphotography.net

Who are your influences, musical or otherwise? Foo Fighters, Biffy Clyro, Manchester Orchestra, Powderfinger.

Bridge Between, The Cam 0431550005

Rafe Morris 0416322763

What’s the most memorable experience you’ve had whilst performing? When we were 17 we released a demo at the Belconnen Arts Centre, which was one of our first live shows.

During the show Matt’s nose started bleeding and would not stop so he ended up finishing the set with a mess of tissues stuffed up and dripping from his nostrils. Near the end of our set Brent pocket dialled the police and the call came through the pick-ups on his guitar. But we loved every minute of it.

Chris Harland Blues Band, The Chris 0418 490 649 chrisharlandbluesband @gmail.com

Redletter Ben 0421414472

Of what are you proudest so far? That we have remained as close as we are and are still passionate about creating music together.

What are your plans for the future? Release our upcoming album and play as many gigs as possible.

Cole Bennetts Photography 0415982662 Danny V Danny 0413502428 Dawn Theory Nathan 0402845132 Danny 0413502428

Sorgonian Twins, The Mark 0428650549

Fire on the Hill Aaron 0410381306 Lachlan 0400038388

Soundcity Rehearsal Studio Andrew 0401588884

Fourth Degree Vic 0408477020

STonKA Jamie 0422764482 stonka2615@gmail.com

Gareth Dailey DJ/Electronica Gareth 0414215885

Strange Hour Events Dan 0411112075

Groovalicious Corporate/ weddings/private functions 0448995158 Guy The Sound Guy Live & Studio Sound Engineer 0400585369 guy@guythesoundguy.com Haunted Attics band@hauntedatticsmusic.com

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Sewer Sideshow Huck 0419630721

Drumassault Dan 0406 375 997

What pisses you off? Ignorance, buzzkills and the phrase “Turn it down”.

Contact info: facebook.com/signsandsymbolsband, signsandsymbols.band@gmail.com, triplejunearthed.com/ artist/signs-symbols

Rug, The Jol 0417273041

Simone & The Soothsayers Singing teacher Simone 62304828

Feldons, The 0407 213 701

What are your upcoming gigs? Thu Jun 11 @ Transit Bar and Sat Jun 20 @ Katoomba Winter Music Festival

Redsun Rehearsal Studio Ralph 0404178996/ (02) 61621527

Dorothy Jane Band, The Dorothy Jane 0411065189 dorothy-jane@dorothyjane.com

What makes you laugh? Things that probably shouldn’t

What about the local scene would you change? The local scene is great, we just want more support for gigs, bands and venues.

Polka Pigs Ian (02) 62315974

Super Best Friends Greg greg@gunfever.com.au System Addict Jamie 0418398556 Tegan Northwood (Singing Teacher) 0410 769 144

In The Flesh Scott 0410475703

Top Shelf Colin 0408631514

Itchy Triggers Alex 0414838480

Undersided, The Baz 0408468041

Jenn Pacor Singer-songwriter avail. for originals/covers 0405618630

Zoopagoo zoopagoo@gmail.com

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