BMA Magazine #512 - Jan/Feb 2020

BANDS / MUSIC / ARTS

I SSUE #512

BMAMAG.COM

FRE E

JAN/FEB

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LOOKING BACK: The Best Metal, Dance, Australian, Canberra Music of 2019 The Best Films of 2019 Questioning & Metalise Review the Decade LOOKING FORWARD: The Presets @ Castaway Festival Gareth Reynolds Game Masters Events DJ Gosper RECRUITMENT HIVE TECH SPECIALISTS

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[CONTENTS]

[Canberra’s

Guide]

Entertainment

#512

Jan/Feb

PM admits policy of fighting fire with fire “unhelpful”

Mail: 36/97 Eastern Valley Way Belconnen, ACT 2617

THE PRESETS @ CASTAWAY FESTIVAL

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Publisher Radar Media Pty Ltd General Manager Allan Sko T: (02) 6257 4360 E: advertising@bmamag.com Editor Allan Sko E: editorial@bmamag.com Accounts Manager Ashish Doshi T: (02) 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com Graphic Designer/Cover Design Tracy Ng Film Columnist Cam Williams

THE BEST DANCE/EDM OF 2019

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THE BEST METAL OF THE DECADE

GARETH REYNOLDS

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THE BEST MUSIC OF 2019

p. 24

Entertainment Guide Editor John Harvey Social Media Manager Allan Sko Columnists Ruth O’Brien, Josh Nixon, Niamh McCool, Allan Sko Contributors Peter O’Rourke, Josh Nixon, Kashmira Mohamed Zagor, Vince Leigh, Cara Lennon, Jess Conway, Andrew Myers, Rory McCartney, Allan Sko NEXT ISSUE #513 OUT Thursday, 6 February EDITORIAL DEADLINE Friday, 24 January

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ADVERTISING DEADLINE Wednesday, 29 January 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.

CHRIS RYAN

ES 199 T 2 PAGE 10

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LITERATURE IN REVIEW MUSIC REVIEWS FILM REVIEWS GIG REVIEWS PRINT POLL POSTER BOARD

ED ORMAN

p. 30

QUESTIONING THE DECADE p. 21

p. 32 p. 34 p. 40 p. 42 p. 44

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FROM THE BOSSMAN

BY ALLAN SKO [ALLAN@BMAMAG.COM]

As one decade melts into the next - putting aside whether we’ve actually entered a new decade blah-blah-blah it’s actually next year etc etc - this seems as good a time as any to lovingly gather together all the wisdom I have - accumulated from various trips to therapy and rehab - and impart it unto you, the innocent doe-eyed knowledge sponge of a reader.

So without further ado, let’s dive straight on in, shall we? This decade ain’t gettin’ any fresher: - If you have one foot in the past, and one foot in the future, then you’re pissing all over the present.

- Denial. If you speak its name, it disappears.

- Comparison is the Thief of Joy. - Pain is the touchstone of spiritual growth.

- When life gives you melons, you might be dyslexic.

- Happiness is appreciating what you have, not getting what you want.

- Serenity is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it.

- Minds are like parachutes; they function when they are open.

- If you’re rushing through an airport turnstyle, you are going to Bangkok.

- Expectations are resentments waiting to happen.

- Resentments are like haemorrhoids; they only affect the asshole who has them.

- To strive for perfection is to fail.

- The opposite of Isolation is Connection.

- Health is not only to be well, but to use well every power that we have.

- Two in the pink, and one in the stink.

- Whether you say, “You can do it” or whether you say, “You can’t do it”... You’re right.

- Anger is emotional drunkenness.

- I have no power over the sun, but I can put on sunscreen.

- Fat-bottomed girls make the rockin’ world go round.

- Our so-called enemies are our greatest teachers.

- The only real security in life lies in relishing life’s insecurity.

- Honesty is the best policy, but it’s important to remember that, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.

Go forth into 2020, my friends, imbued with this wisdom, and live your best life.

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[HOT TIX]

Sam Fletcher’s Traveling All This Time Tour w/ Signs & Symbols, Muddy Wolfe, The Differs / 12 Jan / Transit Sam Fletcher’s Traveling All This Time tour comes to town, and promises to deliver not just Sam Fletcher and his indie folk and classic/alternative rock performed with a laid-back thoughtful air, but a belting menagerie of some of Canberra’s finest acts. Proudly presented by J&S Management, this show will be headlined by Signs & Symbols, joined by Muddy Wolfe, and The Differs. Pop along to support your fave, or witness a showcase of ACT music and emerge all the wiser, and all the happier. From 4:30pm, tix $10 on the door.

Royale With Cheese / Playing your fave ‘90s covers/ Fri & Sat, 17 & 18 Jan / The Basement The ‘Cheese return with two entirely different shows! Come see ONE BAND smash out belters from your fave ‘90s artists from Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden to Oasis, Blur, Fatboy Slim, Prodigy and Radiohead to Silverchair, Spiderbait, You Am I, and The Screaming Jets to Green Day, Tool, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica, RATM...and maybe even some Spice Girls!

Come to one, come to both, come as you are to smash pumpkins and rage against the ‘90s! $30 + bf/$40 door each night or get a No Repeat Weekend pass $50 presale only - oztix.com.au/

SoundOut Festival/ Impro/Jazz/Experimental sounds Sat & Sun, 1 & 2 Feb / ANU Drill Hall Gallery SoundOut - 18 hours of music across 22 sets. The annual international festival of free improvisation, free jazz, and experimental music returns for its 11th year, once again providing a gateway to exploratory music-art events via a much-needed avenue for brilliant musical endeavors from across Australia, and around the world. In 2020 there’s 23 artists from Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, and the UK that will combine, crossfertilize, and move sound mountains to uplift the ear and replenish the mind during the two-day event. Support the fest - https:// www.gofundme.com/f/soundout-festival-2020 PAGE 12

UPCOMING EVENTS

Summer Sounds 2020 / Three themed weekends / From 19 Jan / Australian National Botanic Gardens Kicking off an epic event program to celebrate the Australian National Botanic Gardens’ 50th Anniversary, Summer Sounds 2020 is set to entertain the whole family this summer. There’s a great line-up of local musicians and dance talent spread across three weekends in Jan/Feb to get you moving ‘n’ grooving to your fave top 40 hits or to the smooth sounds of jazz. There’ll be heaps to entertain the kids too with the Gumnut Hut that houses facepainting, storytelling, and craft activities. https://parksaustralia. gov.au/botanic-gardens/do/whats-on/summer-sounds/

The Neptune Power Federation / Majestic metal Sat, 25 Jan / The Basement As Metallise columnist said of TNPF and new album Memoirs Of a Rat Queen: “If you haven’t seen the band live, you’ll not appreciate how just nuts balls amazing they’ve become. The key to this is not in the blokes, who are awesome and on fire, but the world class talent of vocalist The Imperial Princess, Screaming Loz Such.

TIPSLS has the best stage wear of pretty much any performer ever, such that should TIPSLS choose to perform in a box in the dark on the side of stage, her vocals would still command fealty from all in her imperial presence.” 8:30pm, $15 on the door.

Bootleg Rascal / Booty Camp tour Sat, 8 Feb / Transit Bar Following their sold-out Yin & Yang Australian and NZ tour, Sydney-based party starters Bootleg Rascal announce a 15date Booty Camp tour, featuring the country’s most exciting emerging artists. “Jim and myself spent a lot of time on the acts,” says frontman Carlos Lara. “We’re confident our fans will enjoy what they have to bring to the shows”. There’s also special entertainment in between sets. Titled Bobby Dazzler’s Sideshow Alley, it features a slew of “totally cooked” crowd games, including Pinger Piñata, Wheel of Misfortune, Pin the Toupee on Trump, and Nah Yeah or Yeah Nah. 8pm, tickets are $22.50 from Moshtix. @bmamag

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LOCALITY

[THE WORD ON LOCAL MUSIC] WITH RUTH O’BRIEN. SEND YOUR GIGS AND INFO TO: [RUTHMVOBRIEN@GMAIL.COM]

Hello and... Happy New Year?

It feels strange saying that when our beautiful city has been shrouded in smoke and soot for the last month while our neighbour’s lives burn.

Being rated #1 city on the Air Quality Index is not exactly the list you want your hometown to top twice within the first week of 2020. When our neighbours on the south-east coast have suffered enormously in recent times, with homes lost and businesses destroyed, and the millions of animals who have perished as a result of the fires, and the extreme lack of leadership shown by our government (one arsehole in particular) it can be hard to feel hopeful and positive about this country’s future.

However, something we, as Australians, can be proud of is the amazing camaraderie shown all over the ACT, NSW, and VIC. Many of our talented and kind musicians and artists have literally banded together to put on fundraiser shows for the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS).

On Friday, January 10, Homegrown Sounds are putting on a fundraiser show at The Polo called Fire Fight featuring Moaning Lisa, Citizen Kay, Archie, and Sesame Girl.

Pleasingly, this event sold out quickly. As a result, Homegrown have decided to put on another event featuring the works of over 30 local visual artists and creatives.

And then, on Friday, January 10, sideway are hosting Bushfire Relief Raiser. Sets include music from Canberra House Social, Vessel, Sol.Sonik, Dazed, Pickle, Headz Are Rolling, Liquid Sunshine, Superbreak, Rafa Chango and more. Entry is $10 + donations, with money raised from this event going directly to the Fire Relief Fund for First Nations Communities and The Red Cross. Doors open at 5pm.

Plenty of options there to gesticulate and donate.

Onto other events now, and the wonderfully talented and critically-acclaimed burlesque artist, Jazida (aka Rachel Reid), is premiering her latest show - Catch Jazida - at the Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre.

From January 15-18, Catch Jazida will be a multi-sensory experience and a truly enjoyable, engaging, and entertaining show.

An accessible version of the show will be happening on Thursday the 16th, with Auslan and live-captioning. Tickets are available from the Canberra Theatre Centre website and more information about the show can be found at catchjazida.com.

If you’re looking for things the are more, well... child-appropriate, you’ll be pleased to know that the Our Bush Capital Children’s Book is available this month!

Written by local author, Samantha Tidy, and illustrated beautifully by my dear talented friend (and former BMA Graphic Designer), Juliette Dudley, the pair have collaborated to bring to life the story of a young girl exploring the beauty and sights of Canberra.

Story-reading will be happening all over town throughout the next few months, with the first kicking off on Tuesday, 14 January, at The Markets Wanniassa. Most of these story readings are free but be sure to check out Samantha’s website for more info: www. samanthatidy.com/events.

This event, Fire Fight Exhibition - A NSW RFS Fundraiser, is happening on Friday, January 24 at a secret location from 6pm9pm. Tickets are available via humanitix.com and cost $5-$15.

There will be a silent auction, DJs, and drinks.

Vertex Studios over at Hume will be hosting Rock for Fire Relief on Saturday, 11 January from 4:30pm. The band line-up includes Swift Peaks, The Pretty Bones, Wesley Crushers, OSHIE, Black Mountain, Hence the Testbed and Reign Of Terror. Entry is a monetary donation, and all funds raised go to the NSW RFS. Another fundraiser will be happening on Thursday, 9 January, at the Queanbeyan Hive from 6pm-9pm. Riverside Rhythms - A Musical QBN Fundraiser, will feature local artists Cathy Diver, Endrey, Lucy Sugerman, Eden Plenty, Omar Musa, and CJ Bowerbird. Entry is $10 at the door or $12 online via Eventbrite.

Under 12s are free. This time, money raised goes to WIRES (the Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation), to help our beautiful animals affected by the fires.

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Last but by no means least, Hellosquare will be hosting Slow Day Out at the UC Hub on Saturday, 1 February from 2pm-7pm. The line-up includes Canberra bands Sports Bra, Majestic Horses, Slagatha Christie, Agency, Pheno, and Charlottes & The Harlots.

Tickets are $10 or $5 for under 18s and concessions. Under 12s are free. All proceeds from this event go to Girls Rock! Canberra.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s going on around town over the next few weeks, so make sure to get out to a gig or two, support local artists, and help raise some money for all the causes mentioned above. @bmamag

BMA ARTIST PROFILE

“…like a full-bodied red wine, they’re a little husky, deep, and powerful. They tell a story.” - Regi Su of Get Shot Magazine describing Dorothy-Jane’s vocals.

Falling helplessly and hopelessly in love with the humble blues-harp over 20 years ago was the impetus for her to begin performing in public. She is influenced by Australian harmonica legend Jim Conway, and US “white bluesman” Charlie Musselwhite, among others. Dorothy-Jane has developed her own distinctive style.

Indeed, BMA’s own Rory McCartney said of her performance: “She makes her harmonica strut like an alley cat!”

Dorothy-Jane (DJ) Gosper is an Australian singer, songwriter, and blues-harp player. Since 1995 she has performed in, and fronted, numerous Blues, Jazz and Roots acts, released eight albums, and two EPs. Her lyrics, performance, and presence leave no doubt that she is also a survivor, willing and able to bare her soul through her music. Dorothy-Jane is driven to use her music as a platform to shed light on dark topics.

She has a solid fan-base who appreciate that her songs draw on her lived experiences – cancer, addictions, mental health problems, relationships, and sexual abuse to name a few. Her lyrics are brave and unpretentious.

“Raw emotion, poetry, and humour depict her fighting spirit and determination to get on with life through adversity.” - Phil Birch-Marston, Artsound FM.

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Currently living with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer has slowed Dorothy-Jane down a bit, but hasn’t stopped her recording a 13-track concept album, The Witness, out soon.

Producer David Pendragon says of The Witness: “This album has been over two years in the making and is one of the most powerful, thought provoking, and challenging musical works I have ever been involved with.“ Dorothy-Jane has played countless gigs in Australasia performing Blues-Jazz-Folk clubs, house concerts, country halls, fundraisers for breast cancer support, corporate events, and private parties.

With over 20 years in the business, Dorothy-Jane has a large body of previous recordings available under pseudonyms KarismaKatz, DJ Gosper, DeeJay Gosper, Hot Flush Blues Band, and Dorothy-Jane with Richard Steele, Jeff & Deej. You can find these on your favourite streaming platforms.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH JULIAN HAMILTON: ON CHANGES, CHALLENGES, AND COLLABORATION

BY KASHMIRA MOHAMED ZAGOR Relationships can be forged through music in ways which take us by surprise. The genesis of electronic duo The Presets’ (Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes) relationship with Tom Stell (Golden Features) is no exception.

Julian Hamilton explains how Stell instigated a connection between them through music long before they officially collaborated on their most recent EP, RAKA. “He [Stell] mixed a Presets song, like, a decade ago, or almost a decade ago,” says Hamilton. “And we realised this remix was the first bit of released music that he ever did. We really loved the mix, and we’ve really loved his music ever since.”

RAKA is a pulsing four-track electro-pop journey. It is also evidence of the mutual appreciation these musicians have for one another’s talents.

“About a year ago, Kim reached out to him [Stell] and had a couple of jams; just those two guys. I really loved what they were doing so I joined in and we made it a bit more official.”

RAKA came together in unusually quick fashion – within twoand-a-half months they had recorded the EP. “It was really fast, especially for Kim and I, who are used to spending years making music, doing some 50 versions of one song,” says Hamilton. “It was really refreshing to work with a younger guy who can smash things out in one afternoon and make them sound really good,” he says, laughing.

The whole process of creating the EP was very natural, without much force needed to get it moving in the right direction.

“It did come together very organically and easily,” Hamilton recalls. “Usually when you’re making music there are hard parts and hurdles and there’s moments where you’re banging your head against a brick wall thinking, ‘how can we solve this part’ or, ‘what’s wrong with this song, I don’t have the answer’.

There’s a lot of problem solving. And there weren’t too many problems to be solved on this EP. It was pretty smooth sailing.”

This organic process was bolstered by the inclusion of natural sounds which are interwoven throughout the EP. “Tom had a bunch of these great sounds that he’d recorded; field recordings, like natural sounds of a campfire crackle and trains speeding up and slowing down,” Hamilton says.

“Having those sounds in the background add another dimension. When you listen to dance music, there’s always the bit that goes *he makes the build-up to the drop noise* and there’s just these sound packs you buy that all the EDM (electronic dance music) guys use.

“These all sound the same – sirens and things – and come across as really plastic, really boring. When that sound is actually a train speeding up, or a train slowing down, it gives it a nice layer; there’s another colour underneath it. It’s like a different type of paint.”

Although each musician had their own intentions and desires for what they hoped the EP would be, Hamilton believes the listener’s relationship to the music matters most.

“It’s funny, because people perceive different things in different songs and that’s something we’ve learnt over the years. In a way it doesn’t matter so much – I can have my own intentions for the song and my own hopes for what it’s going to be, but really the more important relationship is the listener, and their relationship with the song.”

Whilst the listener’s experience is paramount, Hamilton also acknowledges that the music industry has changed over the years in ways which force musicians to consider other factors.

“I hate to say it but, these days, bands really have to think of other, extra musical concerns like Spotify playlists, Apple playlists, that kind of thing – such as what song you lead with,” he says. “You don’t want the kids switching to a different track ten seconds in… you don’t want to put the weird experimental one first. Unfortunately there’s a lot of other considerations now in the new streaming era.”

Streaming services have both transformed the way we access music and changed the approach Hamilton takes to the construction of albums and EPs. “For a band like us who kind of grew up making albums, where people would buy the album and then have it in their car for a couple of weeks and they’d listen to it over and over… you didn’t have to put the single first, you could hide the single up at track 7, or wherever. Those days are kind of over, unfortunately. But that’s alright; times change.”

Still, when working on RAKA, at the heart of their endeavour remained a desire to make the music flow cohesively.

“We’ll make a bunch of songs and when we’re near deciding which ones we’re going to focus on and which ones we’re going to include on the album – or the EP in this case – you just kind of run them in an order which feels the most balanced, or simply sounds like a good listen.”

The Presets have been creating innovative and intricate electronic music for over 15 years. In this time, they have witnessed many changes to the industry, but Hamilton feels that their creative integrity remains intact.

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“Certainly the way we promote - the way we market the music - has changed a lot over the years.

“But in terms of the actual creation, I think we’re still just the same guys making the same music in the same way that we always have – with all the joy and the ease and the success when we make songs, and then the neurosis and the worry and the anxiety and the questions when you’re making new music; we still enjoy and suffer all that stuff the same way we always have.”

Soon the band will be back on tour, heading to Canberra and Coffs Harbour for Castaway Music Festival. The power and significance of live performances cannot be underestimated in Hamilton’s eyes.

“It’s important for people like us because when we were young, we would go to festivals, see bands and get inspired, learn about things and see how other people do it,” he says.

“And then we would go and do the same thing, and younger bands would see us play and they’d get inspired to do it.”

The musician has been very vocal about the social and cultural importance of live music, particularly in response to the NSW Government’s regulations and restrictions.

“Everyone knows about the lock-out laws and the effect that’s had on the live music scene and the nightlife,” says Hamilton.

“Then the state government decided to come down really heavy on music festivals too, which didn’t really affect the big major music festivals too much, but it did start to affect some of the smaller players.

“It’s distressing to see a government so willingly take measures which end up destroying part of the culture of the state. Music festivals are so important, live music is so important.”

The Presets will hit Stage 88 in Canberra on Saturday, 1 February. Playing alongside What So Not, Slumberjack, Motez, Touch Sensitive & Banoffee. 18+. General Admission and VIP tickets available. Tickets through www. castawayfestival.com or Ticketmaster.

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So... What do ‘safe space policies’ actually do? Well, an effective policy should: Make clear what type of behaviour is not acceptable Outline the consequences of unacceptable behaviour (typically being booted out) and,

DANCE - THE DROP [THE WORD ON DANCE MUSIC] WITH NIAMH “IL VAMPIRO” [NIAMH.DOLFI.MCCOOL@GMAIL.COM]

This issue, we have a brief look into the shift towards harm reduction and safety in the dance music community, focusing on the emergence of ‘safe space policies’.

Most important of all, detail who to talk to should you run into any trouble This is where posting a ‘safety number’ – a mobile number of a (preferably sober) event organiser – can be useful. And if you are running a renegade/doof, wearing a fluro-tradie vest can do wonders for letting people know who to go to.

When I was younger, the thought of going to the organiser of an event with an issue was pretty unlikely. There was a power imbalance and a lack of information which I can now see slowly shifting. There appears to be more of a dialogue between organisers and punters now.

I’m not the only one that holds a similar opinion. Le Doof organiser Clem eloquently states that the most important thing for running an event is, “Communicating expectations ahead of the event: repeatedly, clearly, respectfully“.

I can personally vouch that the most recent Le Doof was the most comfortable I’ve been on a dancefloor in Canberra.

There’s more compassion on the dancefloor; punters and organisers are listening to each other and that’s changing how we go about creating and attending events.

Headlining harm reduction are the crop-up of groups that are making waves in the event organising and promotion space.

Groups such as Cool Room – a Melbourne-based collective and event series focused on representation and safety through parties, panels, and showcases.

It’s a mild summer night, the stars are bright, the faces familiar and smiling. Free from thoughts and worries of how I may be perceived. A warm sense of togetherness and peace, feels like cotton out of the dryer. This is my personal feeling of ‘dancefloor comfort’.

Then there’s Nectar (Syd), who have run an Ear Health Workshop and a Safe Spaces Panel with Sniff Off. Run by the Greens, Sniff Off is doing big things for harm reduction.

A couple of years ago, when I first started frequenting clubs, becoming immersed in dance music, this feeling of ‘dancefloor comfort’ was pretty foreign to me. The vibe was very much ‘look out for yourself’. And while personal responsibility is a huge part of harm reduction (AKA don’t do anything incredibly stupid) the attitude on dancefloors has definitely changed.

There is a move for promoters and event organisers to provide appropriate measures to make their events safer.

This cultural shift is likely due to a greater awareness of issues such as discrimination and harassment, as well as the teaching of harm reduction in and out of the dance music community.

You can see this change in a more concrete way with the emergence of ‘safe space policies’.

A ‘safe policy’ is a kind of code of conduct that punters must adhere to; no discrimination or harassment, no predatory or coercive behaviour, no anti-social or dangerous behaviour, etc. Typically, promoters will post their ‘safe space policies’ on event descriptions. Venues like sideway have a clear and accessible ‘safe space policy’ physically displayed inside the venue. Before even opening, sideway made clear what their expectations for behaviour were, setting the bar [pun intended? - BOSSMAN SKO] for future and current venues.

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And finally, Canberra’s very own home grown group, and personal project and passion, Vessel. Vessel is a DJ Collective, founded by Johanne (aka Blanket), Dot (aka Justharry) and myself (aka il Vampiro), that runs events, workshops, and recently a panel discussion on running Safer Events. You can expect a Safer Space Zine from us very soon, jam packed with helpful hints, tips, and guides.

@bmamag

Being aware and listening to people, especially to marginalised voices, is really important.

As a community we still have a long way to go. There is a lot of potential for creative and inventive ways to make events safer and more comfortable.

Escape Ferocity’s ‘chill out zone’ had furry walls, making the space an engaging tactile experience, and Terminal 2 provided bean bags to melt into and water light features to watch and get lost in.

In the future, I hope and expect to see a lot more of this creative use of space.

And finally, before we part, let me introduce this issue’s Artist Of The Month: This is where I shout out an artist that I’ve seen doing some really great work around CBR and I think deserve a wee bit of recognition.

This month: Genie! (pictured left) Genie has been devoted to the Canberra music community for some time now.

Recently she DJed at Luen’s Canberra and Sydney EP launch, mixed on Skylab, mentored at Vessel DJing Workshops, and further to this runs Dazed, Orbit, and n10. as a Montreal-based radio station that has set up shop in CBR. And she is also a producer.

The more conversations we have, the more we grow. There are many things to consider, and safety and comfort are multifacetted, multi-layered, and different for everyone.

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Genie is truly helping the Canberra music scene grow!

That’s all for this month. Party hard; party safe.

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THE DROPPY AWARDS

[THE BEST OF 2019 IN THE WORLD OF DANCE/EDM] WITH PETER O’ROURKE Climate apocalypse and rising fascism aside, 2019 has been a fantastic year for electronic dance music. Yes, I know – but there is something incredibly strange about the simple, hedonistic pursuit of cutting shapes in a dark room with a loud sound system with your mates while the world burns down.

However, if the conversations I’ve had with various people in the clubbing community are anything to go by, coming together and celebrating what we do have is a much needed respite from the grim realities of our modern world.

Community has always been at the centre of the best parties, and that is just as true in 2019 as it was in the early days of techno 30 years ago.

There has been some incredible gigs in our fine city with the various crews really stepping up their game in the last year.

Some stands-outs for me include many of the Canberra House Social parties – just the other week at sideway with Leon Vynehall was a cracker of a night - while their open air parties at Old Canberra Inn have been heaps of fun as well.

Swell your chest with pride, Canberra – our own Doppel has smacked it out of the park this year, complete with Best Local Artist for The Styx Music-wise, there’s so many good tunes being made, including from our own neck of the woods. For production, I reckon Doppel has been hitting all the right notes and moving from strength to strength with a really strong catalogue of releases in 2019.

My favourite was probably The Styx which came out on Bassic Records – such incredible sound design on this!

Also doing great things in production out of our city would be Nuronix – his track Our Purpose out on Up Records is all kinds of good.

The Headz are Rolling crew had a pretty solid year flying the drum ‘n’ bass/breaks flag, while Equinox at Mr Wolf has kept the psytrance and glitch vibe alive.

My own crew, Department of Late Nights/Late Night Music, had our east coast record label tour at the start of the year, and our hometown gig at Mr Wolf was definitely a stand-out – lovely to see plenty of familiar faces come out for it!

All around the city there have been some cool, sneaky pop-up raves from a variety of new promoters, and of course outdoor doofs in the forests. I reckon Canberra is at the healthiest we’ve been in years for local, smaller parties.

Congratulations to Kohra for landing The Drop’s Track of the Year with Acid Kidz From my side of the decks, I’ve found some real gems this year that have been doing wonders on the dancefloor. Track of the year goes to Kohra’s Acid Kidz – a progressive breaks number just dripping with nervous tension and anticipation, it’s both deep and heavy at the same time. I absolutely love it.

Congratulations to Escape Ferocity for taking out The Drop’s Party of the Year with their extra special Extrawelt warehouse gig However, the highlight for me was Escape Ferocity‘s warehouse party with German Techno royalty Extrawelt.

Escape Ferocity have a reputation for creating some amazing events, with carefully thought out programming of music, minimal but hard hitting production, and just the huge scale of the cavernous techno mecca they build in unassuming industrial locations. September’s event lived up to the best of their shows, with a sweatbox of a space, crammed with an up-for-it crowd who locked in for a solid techno-work-out until dawn. I suppose this one was extra special for me as I was asked to play the warm-up set just before the headliners PAGE 20 themselves – that was definitely a treat for me!

Other picks include Hell’s Club by DJ Mau Mau – a lockedgroove acid house stomper; the Rick Pier O’Neil RPO remix of Muhammed Felfel‘s Eye of Truth has a really powerful build-up; while DJ Balduin’s Lost Cat and An Untied Shoe is all kinds of weird, adding a really strange vibe to the dancefloor.

As I’ve said in previous columns, what has been cool is that DJs aren’t afraid to mix up the sounds and genres in their sets. This has not only been great as a punter, but also as a selecta myself, with audiences more receptive than ever for the mixed bag of sounds I love.

2020 is set to be pretty special. Hopefully the power of retro will see new millennium nostalgia kick into high-gear – you can already sense it in the rave fashion (neon orange tinted visors and phat pants anyone?) and the fast approaching resurgence of breakbeat. And of course classic trance, which has a new generation of young clubbers mad for it at the moment.

Look after yourselves and your mates, and I’ll see you on the dancefloor before too long! @bmamag

?

Questioning

Decades are damn long periods of time. There’s 120 months there – that’s a lot of months according to experts. Most of that time slips by like sand through the hourglass, but some stuff sticks out.

Cody Atkinson tries to remember as much of the last ten years as he can.

Another decade done then?

Yep, that’s another ten years in the books.

So what happened, in a paragraph or less?

In a paragraph or less? What happened, in the entire world, in the last decade? I don’t think you have enough space mate.

OK then… specifically what happened in the Canberra music scene?

That’s better. On a national level, the Canberra music scene was at one of its high points historically from a popular and critical perspective. Peking Duk, The Aston Shuffle, and SAFIA have all broken through to that next level commercially, with big national and international tours under their belts. Getting big from Canberra is now eminently possible, even if you may have to eventually leave to capitalise on the fame.

A couple of slightly lower profile acts – TV Colours and California Girls – released albums through the decade that got nominated for Album of the Year status nationwide and got critical notice abroad.

On the hip hop front, Genesis Owusu is the real deal, and the next big thing (if he isn’t already there with showcase spots at Meredith and Spilt Milk) with his brother Citizen Kay also tearing things up. I’d also be remiss not to mention Coda Conduct, who now have possibly the most influential slot in Australian radio in the facebook.com/bmamagazine triple J Breakfast shift.

The Decade

with Cody Atkinson

Even more recently, acts like Moaning Lisa, Glitoris, and Teen Jesus and The Jean Teasers are knocking on the door of something bigger, amongst a whole host of others.

Personally, there’s a bunch of stuff that’s slipping through the cracks of this list that I really like (Earache, New Age Group, Dog Name, Agency, Wives, Reuben Ingall, Alien Abduction Fantasy, Endrey, Kilroy, Slow Turismo, Cathy Diver, Dickie Birds *takes breath* But there are only so many column inches.

the fortunes of the printed word has seen street press across almost all of Australia decimated, with what is left largely existing in a significantly reduced form. Many smaller cities, a similar size to or smaller than Canberra, are now devoid of any physical place to read about things that are happening, will happen, or has happened before. It’s the reduction of artistic culture and discussion in a tangible space, pushing good scenes further to the margin.

That’s pretty solid.

That fucken sucks!

But on the downside, gentrification and noise complaints still continue to raise their head over the noise.

There’s hope on the horizon, with the ACT Legislative Assembly passing a motion from Mark Parton calling on the Government to produce an action plan by November 2019 (which they have done), and implement the first stage by July 2020.

It absolutely blows!

So what was the action plan like?

Not too bad. The most concrete proposal was to establish a trial special entertainment area in Civic with new noise requirements, as the rest of the system is further investigated.

A lot of the plan contains areas for exploration rather than solutions, so it’s hard to tell whether it will amount to substantial change or just lead to more venues facing noise related restrictions.

As always, time will tell?

Which is why we are at the end of another decade.

And I’ll probably read about it here.

On that note, the last decade was a tough time to be a fan of the music press, both here and abroad. The decline in

Ugh. Perhaps the foremost place for music criticism in Australia, Mess+Noise, was effectively shuttered by Junkee earlier this decade, with its void only partially filled by other sources.

SponCon, paid content, contra, and paid reviews have flooded the gap, with actual analysis replaced by slightly reworked press releases about tourers and endless positive reviews.

The good criticism often exists in places walled off by fees (Swampland, The Big Issue, etc) making easy access to quality Australian music criticism hard or impossible.

Jeez. So what is replacing good, quality writing?

Maybe just listening to stuff.

At the same time, the lowering entry price to the consumption of music (think Spotify Free v $25 for a random CD) meant that listeners could spend nothing but time to check out how good an album is online without having to fork out to hear something in full. Perhaps in the new world of music consumption, criticism is being largely relegated to a relic of the past.

Damn.

While it’s great to sometimes listen to tunes and enjoy them without thinking too much about it, sometimes it’s handy to know what is going on and what is good beforehand.

There were approximately 1471247916294 albums released last week; not all of them are good. Which would be a shame, but sometimes that’s the way progress goes.

But all that new music is a good thing, yeah?

It’s great, and there’s more good music released in the world now than ever before – and it’s never been so accessible.

Same with movies, same with TV, same with lit. The barriers to the creation of, and access to, top quality creative works (and the enjoyable trash) have never been lower. We are living in the golden generation of content, a rabbit hole of creativity at every turn.

So the highlights of the last decade?

Skywhale. Probably Skywhale.

Non-Skywhale category?

The continued growth of Canberra, even at the price of gentrification, has been great to see, as has things like You Are Here, Girls Rock!, Art Not Apart, and the DIY scene growing over time. The way the community bonded around the Phoenix post-fire, despite the end result, was a great sign for Canberra. The highlights are far too vast to mention, especially in a column like this. There has been a lot of good shit.

And what’s to come in the next decade?

I don’t know. I’m not Nostrodamus. Have some damn patience.

Jeez, just asking questions.

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METALISE

[THE WORD ON METAL] WITH JOSH NIXON The festivus period has been and gone and apart from giving me headaches in looking and contemplating Top 5s and stuff, there was the capital expense of gift giving to consider. Luckily there are a bunch of shows coming up on the front-9 next year that would make a very merry post Riffmas pressie for a budding headbanger.

Punknats 4 starts at The Old Canberra Inn on the Thursday, 4 January and features a full day of rollicking riffs from Lucifungus, Crapulus Gee Gaw, Slosh Pit, The Cha Cha Chas, Tweekrz, DushkAnu, White Knuckle Fever, Oaf, Unbound, Dirty Sluts, Rooted, and Grim.

Truckfighters bring the big muff fuzz to The Basement on the Thursday, 9 January, celebrating 15 years of their debut record Gravity X. The Neptune Power Federation produced one of the albums of 2019 with Memoirs of a Rat Queen and they bring it to the Transit Bar live on Saturday, 25 January with Pilots of Baalbek and other special guests!

Yawning Man are doing a big Aussie visit and come to the Transit Bar on Wednesday, 22 January with Numidia. These guys are a group I never thought I’d get the opportunity to see live, such is their unique approach and soundscapes. They’re not like any other band, and are well worth a suss.

Cattle Decapitation have not missed a Canberra visit and their Aussie tour is not going to be any different with a Sunday, 16 February date with Revocation to boot.

You could bundle a Disney+ subscription with a ticket to study up on The Simpsons and go see Okilly Dokilly at The Basement on Saturday, 22 February for all the Ned Flanders-themed breakdowns you can muster.

will certainly turn any damaged joints to chalk if DRI’s last trip to Canberra at Transit Bar is anything to go by. The ambulance will need to be called for The Basement this time, which is pleasingly closer to Calvary for the surgery.

Wednesday, 25 March sees The Exploited drop by The Basement if the thrash is too much for you to handle and you need some more traditional Oi! Punk.

Of course, the juggernaut that is Download is on sale for the Sydney and Melbourne legs in March (the 21st in Sydney) and the list there will only grow as the date gets closer. You already get My Chemical Romance (blergh) headlining the likes of Deftones (meh more than blergh), Clutch (much less blergh and meh), Testament (now we’re talking) and Carcass (all fucking right).

The side shows have begun to slink out into circulation with Carcass announcing four in Tasmania, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, if you wanted to bundle a holiday away over the last week in March.

When Fu Manchu split in half in the mid ’90s we actually got two great bands out of the deal, one obviously being Fu Manchu, the other being the also stunning Nebula. The band come to Australia in March for a run with Sydney band Arrowhead and they are also vying for a place in your calendar. Chuck on their album from June, Holy Shit. It’s a banger.

German fuzz rockers, and I’m not talking about the fuzz peeking out from their shorts, Kadavar are back for a second visit to town on Wednesday, 1 April at The Basement. They really haven’t stopped touring since they last came to the ANU Bar with Looking Glass and no doubt their beards are even more impressive this time around.

The Iron Maidens; not to be confused with Me-Gal-Lica

Okilly Dokilly say ‘hi-diddly-eye!’ to all you punterinos this February Sacred Reich and Vio-lence will bring a late ’80s thrash attack to The Basement on Wednesday, 26 February and if you get someone of my vintage a ticket to that one, perhaps prepare some medical insurance in case a hip replacement is required post a good ol’ Surf Nicaragua mosh.

If you miss out on a ticket to see the actual band Iron Maiden on their Australian tour in May, worry not, for The Iron Maidens will be rocking The Basement on Wednesday, 8 April. The ladies have taken the Maiden classics around the globe for a number of years now and will surely deliver once again.

Hope you had a great festivus everyone and strap in for 2020!

If that show doesn’t call for medical attention in that vintage of punter, the DRI and Hirax double header on Thursday, 9 April

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PAGE 23

Metalise - Josh Nixon’s Top Albums of the 2010s Part of being a columnist at BMA for, I think, 22 or 23 years now is that I can go back through old issues and have a look at a wrap-up not only the year that was but, now being 2020, the decade that was.

I started 2010 with one child and living in Ngunnawal. Now the decade closes out with three kids and I’ve just spent the last two weeks moving into the 3rd house for the decade and, hopefully, the last god damn move ever.

Thanks to Issuu.com I was able to go back and review my favourite album of each year of the 2010s for fun.

2010 - High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine 2010 kicked off with High On Fire’s Snakes For The Divine. I actually got to hear this earlier than its release thanks to a crazy turn of fate when a friend of mine was dating Kerry King of Slayer’s guitar tech, Armand. Armand lent a bunch of Slayer’s classic ’80s era amps to Matt Pike for that album, and Armand had it on an iPod Classic.

I went to Slayer and Megadeth’s show at the Hordern in Sydney and, instead of actually watching Megadeth, I put big headphones on and listened to that. Armand has since passed away. RIP buddy. And so has Slayer now. RIP again.

2011 - Looking Glass - III At the end of 2011, I selected Looking Glass album III and started a run of Marcus De Pasquale albums in 2010s that made the top of my lists. I have listened to these records as I moved house to have a contemporary think about them. It has a bass heavy mix, but not in a boomy way; it’s just the mix favours the bass. I think it has the best guitar solo of the 2010s on the song Electric Mistress. Shores of Carcosa also features a melody that haunts me. In a good way.

2012 - The Kill - Make Them Suffer For 2012, I went for some particularly nasty Aussie grindcore. The Kill’s Make Them Suffer was their first album with Super Happy Fun Slide vocalist Nick, and the guitar-drums-vocal stripped back line-up was utterly ferocious. Jay is still the best single-kick grind drummer in the business, and Robbie is one of grindcore’s absolute maestros and a killer, killer player to boot. The band is still active, and Jay recently started a bit of a grind supergroup with Tony Forde (Blood Duster), Dave Hill (Fuck I’m Dead) and Rohan (Captain Cleanoff) called Remains.

2013 - Portal - Vexovoid 2013 arrived, and I chose Queensland extremists Portal and their album Vexovoid, which stays with me to this day. I thought Morbid Angel and Altars of Madness was as extreme and as Lovecraftian as music could get 24 years prior to this. I was wrong. Atmosphere; an almost complete suffocating lack of accessibility; a deep artistic vision; stage attire that included wearing clocks on the singers’ head yet still coming across with nothing but dread. A landmark band and their best for the decade too.

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2014 - Pallbearer - Foundation of Burden In 2014, I went with Pallbearer’s Foundation of Burden. The other big metal media have almost all chosen their first album, Sorrow & Extinction, and placed it high on their endof-decade lists. For me, though, this one is Billy Anderson’s best production of the last 20 years. The fact that I listened to it for my review driving down the Clyde in thick night time fog helped, and its sheer songwriting prowess is the king. A spine tingler in spots still.

2015 - Witchskull - Vast Electric Dark 2015 was my second Marcus De Pasquale album of the 10s and his first with then new band Witchskull. I spoke to them about an upcoming demo and they were going to Sydney. I urged them to consider Jason Fuller at Goatsound in Melbourne. They listened, and recorded something that had magic in it. Vast Electric Dark got them on a great road and one we will go down again later in the list.

2016 - Looking Glass - Volume 4 2016 marked two years in a row of Marcus De Pasquale fandom and the second Looking Glass record of the decade with Volume 4.

Recorded at Infidel Studios locally, having another listen to this, I was awed at the songcraft, the scope, and the talent of the individuals making up a record that is just top to bottom a masterpiece. It’s criminal this band is not more widely revered.

2017 - Elder - Reflections of a Floating World For 2017, I selected Elder and their Reflections of a Floating World. The easiest way for me to summate this album is that three years later, every time the riff that kicks off after the ambient intro on track 2, The Falling Veil, I get a full goosebumps-on-the-arm moment. Then I get another one with the riff on the first chorus.

Then I get jealous because it hurts my brain how these guys seem to have a classical musician type ability to write really long dynamic pieces of music with so much content and very little repetition.

2018 - Witchskull - Coven’s Will In 2018, I went back to the Marcus and Witchskull fan town, but I think this one made a lot of other lists – Coven’s Will, made in Brooklyn’s Studio G with Billy Anderson. This is a great story of Canberra musicians taking on the world, recording an album with no label but with the self belief in the material and the balls to invest in themselves, in the process making an album that became only the second Australian band to be signed to Rise Above Records.

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Metalise - Josh Nixon’s Top Albums of 2019 So here we are in 2019 and the decade is done. So what do we have on my year list to add to these killer albums?

I’ve never been a Slipknot fan. They had a big year. Nor Tool. They came back after 13 years. Drone isn’t particularly my favourite flavour of doom, but I did actually enjoy Sunn album Life Metal this year.

Brutal wise, Pissgrave – Posthumous Humiliation, Gatecreeper – Deserted, and the sloppy delights of Cerebral Rot album Odious Descent into Decay were all fun. Witch Vomit – Buried Deep in a Bottomless Grave was killer, and locals Mental Cavity brought the year home in style with Neuro Siege.

Australia had an outstanding year with Dispossessed – Warpath Never Ended with the riff from Bloodied Inflorescence haunting me for months after seeing them play in February. Hard-Ons – So I Could Have Them Destroyed, The Neptune Power Federation – Memoirs of a Rat Queen, Witchcliff – Rust, Ploughshare – Tellurian Insurgency, Lucifungus – Akuma Kin, Dickie Birds - S/T, King – Coldest of the Cold and Holy Serpent – Endless topped my Aussie releases for the year.

My top 5 for 2019, though, simply came down to listens. This is what I had album wise. Have a killer 2020, hope to see you for another wrap-up in 2029.

5. Saint Vitus – 12 Years In The Tomb Scott Reagers returns after Wino was sent home from the Saint Vitus European tour on drugs charges.

Reagers is arguably the voice of the band, as heard in his return in the mid ’90s on Die Healing. A triumph.

4. Thelma & The Sleaze – Fuck. Marry. Kill.

I found Lauren “LG” on Instagram a couple of years back. Ferociously independent southern garage rock is about as far from brutal as it gets. This album appeals to my DIY sensibilities and while the production is not shiny and glossy, the songcraft and earnest honesty comes through in spades. I’ve harassed her to come and play in Australia but she hates flying so it will likely never happen.

But if a band EARNED respect in 2019, it’s this one.

3. Orodruin – Ruins Of Eternity I reviewed this last issue. For a full rundown – Little Lord Fauntleroy vocals; not a brutal guitar tone; 16 years since the first album.

There’s no reason I should have played this back-to-back since I got it. But I did. I t’s incredible COTD-stamped song writing, melody, and guitar harmonies with just the right amount of Sabbath worship. I loved this album and, had it come out a month earlier, it would likely have been number 1.

2. Henry Fiats Open Sore – Fiat Currency Also not brutal. A punk record from Norway. It has the best three songs in a row on an album in 2019 with The Monotone Pt 2, Have Love Will Ferrell, Don Wanna Meets The FBI and I gave it a bloody flogging.

It’s a rollicking listen for fans of Turbonegro and good punk rock in general with some great guitar playing.

1. Torche – Admission This surprised me.

I didn’t think this was the heaviest record I listened to this year. But I listened to it the most.

The reason was the spoiler track. Now the title track is a corker, and the whole album is really really fucking good. But it was about Slide; the spoiler track. It’s a Melvins-ish broken riff with an infectious melody and a super-super smart song structure that bookends the whole thing.

It appears I listened to it more than anything, or any other song, this year. So Torche wins 2019. Good on ’em. facebook.com/bmamagazine

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Gareth Reynolds -

Who has a full idea of what the topic is going to be about

The Dollop funnyman is heading to Canberra with a new standup show, and album to boot. BMA Bossman ALLAN SKO had a chinwag with the chap Gareth Reynolds – master of impressions, icon of improvisation, Arrested Development writer, and one half of super-popular The Dollop podcast/live show alongside Dave Anthony – is heading our way for a very special standup show to support his first ever comedy release, Riddled With Disease.

Indeed, as the article subtitle apes, Gareth is the man on The Dollop, “who has no idea what the topic is going to be about,” a phrase as iconic as it is grammatically awkward. As with most things, there’s a story behind it.

“There’s this guy called Steve who works at iTunes who’s been very great to us; he was the one who suggested we should do a quick intro,” Gareth reveals. “So right before the show one day, we’re like, ‘Oh right, we should really do one of those now.

What should we say?’ And literally we said it real quick and just locked it in. And Dave refuses to change it. Although I think one time I did it different and Dave said, ‘No-nono. Don’t change it. Fuck those people.’”

As a big fan of both The Dollop and Gareth, and having enjoyed a lively interview with Dave Anthony some years ago, I was keen for an in-depth chat. The man is every bit as lovely as you’d hope.

It seems Gareth has ended his decade with a spot of self-improvement. Last time I had the pleasure of a brief face-to-face with the man was following a previous Canberra Dollop show where he was vaping like a champion.

PAGE 26

“I’ve since quit that,” he says, in that o-so familiar voice of his. “I don’t think anyone knows what it is. I also couldn’t do too much standup with that; it was to hard on the crowd. I couldn’t use my voice in the same way I wanted to.”

And you certainly wouldn’t want to go messing with that voice; an instrument that houses the lives of untold numbers of fully-formed characters and scenarios, as Gareth proves week-in, week-out on The Dollop as Dave Anthony reads a (crazy) story from American history, and Gareth brings it to life.

It’s a wonderful attribute, so I wondered if there was a time early in Gareth’s life when he realised this ability.

“That’s a good question,” Gareth ponders.

“As a kid being around different accents, I just gravitated toward being able to do that. Just kind of mimic people. And I guess when I started doing improv, it’s such an easy way to create weird characters, or be set up as someone who’s really weird, or different, or whatever, y’know? So your mind goes toward character stuff.

“But the only time I’ve been reflective on it is when I’ve done podcasts. With standup you tend to be you, but with the podcast there’s such a rich ground for making up what people sounded like. It’s just a perfect place to create that. When you think of actual improv, in theatres and such, that is really the only place you can do that. So the podcast has that improv element, which is my background.”

The Dollop has greatly elevated Gareth’s renown, and it seems good fortune can be thanked for it. Dave’s original concept for The Dollop was for a rotating cast of guest comedians to take up the role Gareth is now cemented in. But they clicked so well straightaway that thoughts of using anyone but Gareth were preposterous.

“Yeah, to think about the luck of that,” Gareth regales. “The timing was just so random and I think we both appreciate it. Dave has been a guy that not only has given me a great platform but in many ways is just a really good friend. Just a great dude.”

Gareth lets out a small self-knowing chuckle before he continues.

“But I think people see him on Twitter and think, ‘Is this guy out of his mind?’

He isn’t. He’s – what I think a lot of people are now – pissed off at the way things are. But in person, Dave is a really sweet dude.”

When speaking to Dave, he revealed one of his favourite moments on The Dollop to be when Gareth is clueless about something major, such as the realisation that the insane Kellogg – looking to create a particular diet to curb masturbation – was in fact THE Kellogg of cereal fame.

“Again, the randomness about the lack of knowledge I have about history; it’s very lucky!” he laughs. “All those times

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those teachers were telling me to study, knuckle down, and get my shit together, I would have been fucking myself.”

A revelation that arises upon talking about characters and accents that Gareth creates is his complete lack of memory about them. I mention one of my favourite episodes, The New Jersey Shark Attacks with My Favourite Murder’s Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff joining in, where Gareth creates an amazingly entertaining hotel manager character in extreme denial against the chaos erupting around him.

“I can’t even remember what you’re talking about,” Gareth flatly states. “That’s the beauty of it. It’s like improv, too. You do it, then forget about it. Someone said at a show the other night, ‘I love your impression of the womb…’ And I’m like, ‘The womb?

I have an impression of the womb?!?’ She’s like yeah, you did the womb when we were doing an episode, probably about repression of women. So she did the impression, and I’m like, ‘OK; I think I know how I would have done it.’ So I do it, and she goes, ‘THAT’S THE WOMB!’” Despite this lack of recollection, I ask Gareth if there are particular characters over the huge 411 episodes that he loves.

“Ones that jump out to me immediately are ones like Jocko from The Boston Marathon. When Dave was giving me the details of this guy I was like, well how am I not going to go apeshit? I love doing a Scottish accent, and he was just a lunatic! [Unlike other irredeemable characters on the show] he had a consciousness breakthrough. People in the middle need to see what’s wrong about the wrong side and be shocked out of it.

“We recorded that episode at my house; just two dudes. And at the end Dave is like, ‘Aaaaaaright buddy; I’m going to get going’.

But in your head you’re thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure that was fucking hilarious’. But you never know what’s going to happen, and that’s the beauty.

“And when we did Ross Perot. I knew Ross Perot, when he was a kid, so I knew what he sounded like, and the character was so clearly in my head. And the truth is the impression probably wasn’t nearly what he sounds like, but it is just fun, y’know?”

“I’m very comfortable being a lunatic!”

“I’ve worked on it for awhile, so there’s no theme; it’s not a oneman show or anything that like. It’s putting together chunks of material from over the years, and recent stuff too; a lot of it is very new. But just working on getting those chunks together.

“I think, going forward, my mind gravitates more toward what you’re talking about?” Gareth muses. “But even then, when I look at the stuff I have in my notes that I want to work on, there are some that I’m like, ‘That’s a really good point’. But there are others where I just want to do really good jokes.”

I speak of the joy of discovering material written long ago and being pleased and surprised by it.

“One of the things about going on the road and hammering the same hour is that you don’t try anything new,” Gareth says. “And then you record it all and suddenly everything is new! Because you’ve had some time to work on new stuff; there’s stuff you think is great, and an audience confirms that, and others that you think, ‘Why is this not working?’ So I’m definitely right back in the thick of the process.

“I feel invigorated by doing that, which is why I’m really excited about coming to Australia.”

And we’re excited to have him! Thanks to Comedy ACT, Gareth Reynolds will appear at the Big Band Room at the ANU School of Music on Wednesday, 29 January @ 7:30pm – 9:30pm. Tickets are $40 and are available from https://www.trybooking.com/book/ event?eid=571725& Gareth’s debut comedy album Riddled With Disease is available from Amazon, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and iTunes. For more, visit his website http://www.garethreynolds.com/album

Gareth’s love of particular accents is clear; the aforementioned Scottish, and also Irish he seems to revel in. But how exactly does one go about creating an impression/accent?

“I mean yeah, it’s a hard thing to quantify,” Gareth says. “The way my mind comedically works, it’s a combination of it being fun to do and… I dunno. Sometimes you hear details about someone, and you picture them, and so I picture their voice too.

And I’m very comfortable being a lunatic! Being laughed at on the show is maybe the wrong move comedically, but whatever.”

Talk turns from The Dollop to Gareth’s solo standup endeavour, and his debut comedy album.

“Yeah. I’m very excited,” he says. “The truth is, tickets sales have been really good. We were seeing how it would shape up and go from there. But it’s gone well! So I’m very excited, and very happy.

“The album is called Riddled With Disease which is a reference to wildlife. I’ve been doing standup for AGES but this is my first album. I’d been a feature [opener] for friends of mine on the road for awhile; a lot of standup is earning your way up.

So, through this and doing The Dollop, I was able to get more headlining gigs. Once I had that opportunity, I realised I could really refine it and put it all together.

“I spent about five months really intensely going on the road and working on it, then culminating and recording it. And it is strange, because you’re never really done with a joke; you can always find something else with it. But I got to a point where I was really happy, and let it rip.”

How does one go about distilling a lifetime of standup into a one-hour album? Is there an argument or a theme to explore? facebook.com/bmamagazine

PAGE 27

Exhibitionist | Arts in the ACT

got to read more, sleep more – sleep less, no, sleep better! – reduce your carbon footprint, count your steps, and check your privilege.

And at the end of all of that, you’ve got to be grateful.

Honestly, no wonder almost half of us will experience a mental illness in our lifetime.

How could we not?

My whole life is a thin veneer of respectability hiding the anarchy below. I don’t necessarily need to BE successful or a good person, I just want to appear to be with as little effort as possible.

But they keep raising the bar about what you have to look like you’re achieving. We’re rated on more things now. It used to be good enough to just have a job. Now, if you say you’ve got a job someone’s going to ask: “Are you passionate about it? Does it fill your cup?

Does it speak to you on a ….spiritual level?”

STINKING UP THE YEAR OF THE PIG

By Chris Ryan For me, 2019 is the year I tried to switch to organic deodorant.

I have stunk and sweated my way through this year, searching for a hippy alternative to the perfectly functional deodorant I had been using for years. All because I saw a headline that said aluminium gives you Alzheimer’s… or something.

I don’t know how or why or even if that’s true; I don’t read past headlines anymore, I just instantly believe bad news. You can only sell me something by telling me what I have been doing is wrong, because that would be right. Of course I picked the Alzheimer’s deodorant. I’m an idiot! My worldview is that if everything seems OK, we’re probably just not in possession of all the facts.

Plus, there is so much wrong with the world that I can’t fix, I feel like deodorant is a step I can take for PAGE 28

humanity, you know? I don’t even know if my grandparents had deodorant; it certainly wasn’t something that kept them awake at night. Vanity and consumption – ethical or not – were not really on their agenda.

My grandparents just had to work or look after kids and the whole time, they could drink, smoke, and gamble.

But these days, you’ve got to work, look after kids, go to the gym, don’t drink, don’t smoke, drink heaps of water, don’t overeat – starve a bit, but not too much – do yoga, drink more water, pay the mortgage, buy an investment property, contribute to super but never retire.

You’ve got to take flashy holidays, cook like a chef, give to charity, be a good neighbour, be a good listener, be a people person, be a lifelong learner, be spiritual, set an example, leave a legacy. You’ve

I don’t want to be a superhero. I just thought I’d start using a healthier deodorant. I’ve probably spent about $200 and gone through four different types so far. One woman at the markets sold me a roll-on that’s grey and stains white shirts. When she sold it to me, she warned me about that and said: “Also, if it tingles when you put it on, that means you’re lacking magnesium.”

“Can’t you just make it, I don’t know, better?” I wanted to ask.

Why does the doing-the-right-thing thing have so many drawbacks? It’s like they just fill a tube with salad dressing and dreams and sell it for $50 to people who are terrified of climate change and death.

I am about to go back to the old deodorant, because I don’t even want to remember how much I stank in the Year of the Pig. Chris Ryan’s solo show I Thought It Would Be Nice will run at the Courtyard Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre at 7pm on Friday 20 & Saturday 21 March as part of the Canberra Comedy Festival.

Links to that and other gigs that Chris runs are on www.chrisyancomedy.com

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Who/What influences you as a developer?

I’m always playing the newest games, as well as trawling back through games’ history to try ones I may have missed. It’s best to have as diverse a set of influences as possible. The person who shaped my game design sensibilities the most would be Jon Chey (co-founder of Irrational Games) – he was always great at cutting through chaff and expressing a design idea as simply and clearly as possible.

Of what are you proudest so far?

Definitely Submerged. As a zen-like game with no failure and a focus on exploration, it has resonated with players more than we ever thought it would.

What are your plans for the future?

We plan to continue growing slowly and carefully so that we can take on bigger and better projects.

What about the local scene would you change?

Ed Orman Co-Founder/Director of Uppercut Games Ed started making games in 1997 with Canberra company Micro Forte, rapidly moving into a senior management role as Lead Designer and Associate Producer. In 2001 he joined Irrational Games/2K Australia, continuing his work as a Lead Designer on several award-winning games. In early 2011, Ed left 2K to co-found Uppercut Games.

Ahead of his appearance at Local Heroes of Gaming as part of the Game Masters exhibition at the NFSA, we caught up with Ed to learn about the industry, and what makes him tick.

Describe your current job in video games?

I am a Co-Founder and Director at Uppercut Games. Day-today, I focus on game design, with a healthy dose of production and business development mixed in.

When, how, and why did you get into it?

I lucked into a job in games in 1997, starting as an illustrator for a company called Micro Forte before quickly moving into production and game design. I then worked at Irrational Games on Tribes: Vengeance and BioShock, before I started Uppercut Games with Andrew James and Ryan Lancaster in 2011.

I’d love to see more government support for the video game industry in Australia. Uppercut was one of the recipients of the now-cancelled Screen Australia Games Enterprise Fund, which helped us out immensely. I wish it was still around so other developers could get the same leg-up that we did.

Local Heroes of Gaming happens on Friday, 17 January at 6.30pm in Arc Cinema. Hear from Canberra gaming legends in a series of lightninground talks featuring Uppercut Games, Mark Schramm (Superhot VR), and more to be announced.

Then you can watch the Sundance Film Festival winner Indie Game: The Movie (2012), the first feature documentary about making video games, 7.30pm in Arc Cinema. Presented in association with the Academy of Interactive Entertainment and Game Plus. Tickets: $25/$20, available from https:// www.nfsa.gov.au/events/friday-lates-local-heroesgaming-0

What ideas do you like to explore through your games?

I’m definitely a fan of destruction and isolation as a theme – most of the games I’ve created are set in a post-apocalyptic setting of some kind. I like exploring the different ways civilisation could put itself back together, and what values people would bring with them when rebuilding.

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The Uppercut Games team. From left to right: Ben Driehuis, Ryan Lancaster, Ed Orman, Evan Zachariadis, John Travers, Andrew James.

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Uppercut Games catalogue. From top left-to-right: Submerged x 2, City of Brass x 2, Epoch 1, Epoch 2

Exhibitionist | Arts in the ACT

LITERATURE IN REVIEW

LITERATURE IN REVIEW

WITH JESSICA CONWAY

WITH CARA LENNON

Taken In

by S G Bryant [Self Published]

Your Own Kind of Girl

by Clare Bowditch [Allen & Unwin; 2019]

If you’re looking for a ripping read this summer, Taken In by local author S G Bryant is one to watch for.

Your Own Kind of Girl is the book Clare Bowditch promised herself at 21 she’d write later. When she was really old. Like 40.

Based in the 1800s, the tale follows a young suffragette, Effie Davis, as she fights for women’s rights and becomes entangled in a sinister network of baby farming.

Now 44, the singersongwriter’s literary debut is a pre-fame memoir. Powerful but plainly written, Your Own Kind of Girl recounts Bowditch’s childhood; how loss and guilt affected her as a teen and young adult.

The story is set in Melbourne, during a time that saw many struggling to make ends meet with the economy in the grip of an economic depression. In the midst of a city divided between the haves and the have-nots, a disturbing chain of events unfol; one that exposes the seedy side of colonial Melbourne.

It starts with a chance meeting with a newborn boy in Effie’s St Kilda boarding house; a child said to be abandoned by his unmarried mother and awaiting adoption.

Yet the mother returns, distraught at her baby being taken from her – and where he has gone becomes a story slipperier than the proverbial eel.

What follows details the fight so many ‘unfit mothers’ were thrust into – forcibly separated from their babies through economic hardship and an uncaring State.

The grim realities of years gone by is interwoven with thrilling fiction to fully imagine the life, times, and societal norms of a desperate and divided Melbourne.

The work is strongly grounded in reality, with many real-life characters deftly woven into the narrative.

Among them, the notorious Frances Knorr – a British migrant who found herself in financial strife after her husband was jailed. Now pregnant and penniless, Frances began her shortlived career of baby farming – accepting usually illegitimate infants from their single mothers for a fee, with the understanding they’d be cared for or adopted out.

For reasons we’ll never truly know, Knoor took to murdering the babies she was entrusted with. She was eventually publicly hung after the bodies of three infants were found buried in her backyard.

This event sets the tone for Taken In, a gripping novel that brings to life the then systemic injustice for single and unmarried mothers.

Highly recommended reading!

It’s a vulnerable piece of writing. Bowditch takes us through grief, how it played out in an eating disorder, and her early toxic relationships. She also introduces us to her inner critic and what it was telling her as she cycled through fad diets and breakups with her on-off boyfriend.

There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles here, but they aren’t needed. Bowditch writes with a clear, strong voice. Her anger at realising the world treats her differently when she’s thin is palpable. Her panic when her life starts to fall apart for no identifiable reason leaps off the page, as does her healing bond with music.

If it’s a story about struggle it’s also a story about recovery, family, and love.

Your Own Kind of Girl is an example of a memoir’s power to breathe new life into wrung-out subjects. What’s trite in fiction often retains its impact in autobiographical writing because the author is telling us something true.

There’s a lot more to the Bowditch story than is in Your Own Kind of Girl. Her career took off in 2005 with her second album What Was Left and, she ticks the ‘Aussie Kid Makes Good’ box with albums, awards, a Woman of the Year from Rolling Stone, not to mention Big Hearted Business. Bowditch’s website and self-described micro-movement is out to redefine what is to be creative, ethical, and in business for yourself.

Material enough for a second memoir (fingers crossed), but Bowditch’s decision to focus on her early life for Your Own Kind of Girl was a considered one, with a very specific goal in mind.

“I wrote this book to change someone’s life for the better, and that’s the hope that kept me writing. I want them to know that you can have a rough start in life, and then a rough early adulthood, and still live a life of your big fat dreams and feel lots of love and belonging and adventure in between.”

There’s never a wrong time to look to the people around us for examples of resilience, or real demonstrations of where you can get by striving, even when it’s hard to know what for.

But if you’ve ever struggled, be prepared for Your Own Kind of Girl to find a home close to your heart.

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[ SINGLES, AND LOVIN’ IT - SINGLE REVIEWS] MUDDY WOLFE WILLIE ALLEN [

]

It has been a big year for Canberra indie blues rockers Muddy Wolfe.

The scene is set by an evocative didgeridoo, before acoustic and electric guitars burst through.

Formed in 2017, they released a debut EP Volume I earlier this year, with a second EP issue planned soon.

The sound is swelled by keyboard highlights and the didgeridoo, that continues to burble away in an accusing undercurrent.

Perhaps giving an early taste of the next EP, the five-piece outfit has released the single Willie Allen.

man’s murder by white settlers.

Written by band leader Steve Smith, it relates to his indigenous ancestor, whose relationship with a white woman resulted in the

Song themes include being dispossessed of ‘country’ (through being moved across the nation to work settlers’ land), the decimation of the indigenous population through disease, and prejudices against inter-racial marriage.

SAMSKARA RADIO I CAN'T WAIT (AUSTIN LEEDS REMIX FT. MC MOOKS [

]

Samskara Radio is the music project of Melbourne-based yoga teacher/musician Simon Marrocco. In its rawest form, Samskara Radio is a synth-wave pop alt-rock hybrid with ’80s leanings and a bandlike sound.

This version of their track I Can’t Wait is a remix which takes it into deep house territory with a rap

by Gold Coast artist MC Mooks added for good measure.

And good measure it is. The track is divided into two by MC Mooks’ feisty performance, which not only provides a welcome drop in the proceedings, relieving the rhythmic bottom end of its core duties, but allows the two dance-orientated sections that bookend it to be more effective.

From the get-go the mood is subdued, as deep house tends to be; a modest kind of transposition of traditional house-style music,

TJ PATRICK BLUEBIRD [

]

Melbourne-based singersongwriter TJ Patrick contributed his blues guitar sound to albums by such hip-hop luminaries as Urthboy, Drapht, and Hilltop Hoods.

However, he found that urban music was not his true destiny.

Spurred on by a tour of the US, his attention turned to folk, with the artist releasing three singles in the past year.

Follow-up single Bluebird retains the country vibe of his love song Adelina (released mid-year), but is a much more upbeat, optimistic tale.

Whereas the previous single was about love on the rocks, with Patrick mournfully wondering if the effort of continuing to pursue his love was worth the trouble and pain, now the love is so good that nothing else matters.

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The forceful music shows more of a rock influence than Muddy Wolfe’s other material.

However, catching a live performance by a line-up reduced to a trio demonstrated that the message is at least as poignant when the emphasis passes from the guitars to the vocals.

The tragedy of the planned murder is expressed through the wailing guitar and an interlude in the song where the didgeridoo is joined by a ghostly keening from vocalist and guitarist Kim Yang. The drama of the attack flows through some great guitar licks mid song.

A strong statement about past injustices, in a haunting, yet catchy, song from an up-and-coming local band.

RORY McCARTNEY

one that, like this remix, incorporates all the usual aural flourishes, the swishes and chilled pads, but manages to maintain a refrained disposition.

I Can’t Wait has this measured quality about it, yet also allows a few surprise elements into the colour scheme.

Once the mood and rhythmic frameworks are established, another texture appears, pushing the track along a slightly different path. The use of a vocoder breathes some vitality into the track, and used as it is—to highlight a slightly buried but needed melodic hook—it provides a dose of pop sensibility that works as a perfect contrasting feature to the purely musical parts.

When repeated, in the second half of the remix, it stands out as a line that perhaps should have been used more often.

Despite this, the production is efficacious, as one would expect from a producer of Austin Leeds’ standing (he’s worked with Avicii and Paul van Dyk) and he has done an excellent job of transcending the song’s original form and creating another, wonderfully enticing one.

VINCE LEIGH

It is a love song where the unbridled happiness of the relationship eclipses everything, even the joys of nature. It does not matter if the sun stops shining, or the bluebird stops singing, or even if the stars blink out.

Bluebird is a more varied and adventurous package than Adelina too.

The song kicks-off a cappella, with cheerful vocals accompanied only by handclaps. The snappy hand percussion runs right through the track, maintaining its sunny hue.

The relentlessly happy vibe is highlighted by Patrick’s bright acoustic guitar, and the injection of clever little vocal hooks adds real appeal.

Later, warm harmonica and subtle banjo promote the feeling, while sparsely applied keys and some diva-style backing vocals enriches the sound.

The track wraps up with a playful instrumental outro, with chugging harmonica.

Patrick has lifted his game with this joyful, catchy single.

RORY McCARTNEY

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Vince Leigh's Top Poptacular Tracks of 2019 Vince Leigh has been a blessing for BMA since he joined about a year ago.

His wisdom and musical erudition is matched only by his eloquent, succinct, and lively wordage. So I reached out to ole Vincey to bless us great unwashed with a slice of his favourite songs of 2019 which, as below will attest, he obligingly provided.

Take it away, Vince… – BOSSMAN SKO 10. Bruce Springsteen – There Goes My Miracle Springsteen conjures the ghosts of rock past with this grief-stricken ode to love and time, sounding like a resurrected Roy Orbison ambling towards an inescapable twilight. The sound soars and ascends, hefty and as elaborate as some kind of musical hagiography; its writer stately and gallant but surrendering to the tempest.

9. Lizzo – Truth Hurts A rap pop hybrid that takes hold of a nursery rhyme spirit to create an infectious and irresistible spark. Yet another track that pits familiarity with the idiosyncratic to create a prototypal gem.

8. Mannequin Pussy – Drunk II Blistering punk power pop of the highest order, delivered with sweetness and a pulverising emotional intensity that never lets up.

7. Purple Mountains – All My Happiness Is Gone Harnessing the lo-fi and the low octave to create whimsical drama that relies on restraint to reveal the potent emotional poetics of sadness, this track is not just a maudlin rock lullaby. What coats its pallid depths is the glimmering gilt of hope through the unburdened self, and a sense of liberating relief.

6. The Japanese House – Saw You In A Dream This is a mesmerizing marriage of the mournful with the contemplative utilizing a dreamscape of evocative instrumentation and effervescent hooks that never lose their sweet edges.

5. Jonas Brothers – Sucker Combining the contemporary with allusions to the white soul antecedents of yesteryear, this track sneakily creates a pastiche of subdued hooks that become incendiary, freewheeling grooves that tumble in and out of an intimated one, with a lyric that intones swagger while it wallows in attachment.

4. Freya Ridings – Castles This doesn’t have any of the gothic mysticism of Florence Welch’s oeuvre.

But it comes pretty close, sounding more like a convincing approximation than an outright facsimile, and one whose focus is a deceptively articulate arrangement of pleasurable melodic parts.

3. Selena Gomez – Lose You To Love Me A track that is replete with melodic lines you think you’ve heard previously, yet you haven’t, it alludes to these semblances before departing from them to create a new arrangement that is theatrical and arresting, and serving the post-break-up lyric in such a conclusive manner it’s difficult to separate the artist from their subject matter.

2. Post Malone – Circles All pop, no rap here; a persuasive blend of melancholic melodic choices with a laid bare lyric reinforced by a shimmering, stark, yet light-filled production.

1. Katy Perry – Never Really Over This is contemporary pop at its finest, utilising Perry’s powerhouse bluster to great effect. A track that seems to have a never-ending series of peaks, with the synth-driven descending melodic marvel of the post-chorus (or chorus, depending on your terminology), a luscious blend of binding hooks, rhythmic ingenuity, and emotional finesse. This has certifiable instant classic embedded into its end-of-the-decade groove.

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[ SINGLES, AND LOVIN’ IT - SINGLE REVIEWS] THE GADFLYS DEBORAH [

]

The legendary Moriarty brothers are back.

in the myriad ways a tune can be pleasing and satisfying while retaining a sense of inscrutable charm.

The Gadflys have just released Deborah, the first single from their forthcoming album Love & Despair. After years of touring, album releases, and intermittent personnel changes, the band has reemerged, with its punk ethos intact, writing an enchanting paean to rock icon Deborah Harry.

Moriarty’s performance is key here, of course; issuing restrained cadences for the most part yet letting an unfiltered intensity take hold only when these surges comply with a natural dynamic, such as when the pivotal lyric, ‘Standing before me as though I was blind,’ is reiterated.

It is a graceful ode yet one replete with a vitality that underscores the sentiment of the lyric. The rock ‘n’ roll is still there, the traces of folk and country are still there, and a hint of pop is also present.

But it has been interfused to create a unique collage, one whose tethering strand is Michael Moriarty’s voice. Utilizing melodies that are neither predictable nor obvious, Deborah’s strengths lie

IZELLAH GLOW [

]

This singer-songwriter from Queensland began her career in musical theatre, and her last release, Treat You, was a ballad that could have slotted right into that genre; it was a record with very little scaffolding but one that didn’t necessarily need any. It was melodically quite strong and Izellah’s performance effective and controlled.

With this new release, Izellah has returned to pop land with a bright yet rhythmically subdued track, containing within its glittery sonic walls a song that, while not as finely articulated as Treat You, maintains a decent enough semblance of melodic verve and style.

It is perhaps the era where it is permissible for a chorus not to be beleaguered by being labelled a chorus and thus a song proceeds as if a chorus can mean all manner of things —and of course, they

VIOLETA BOZANIC DANCE WITH YOU [

]

Violeta Bozanic has only just begun her trek to pop stardom, but if this new tune is anything to go by she is advancing towards her target at a very healthy pace.

Dance With You is the young Sydney-based singersongwriter’s third single for the year, a contemporary dance-pop track that borrows from the heavily-mined tropical house style of recent times yet contains within its sonic wrapping enough variances in texture and, of course, voice to set it apart.

Violeta’s previous releases explored issues of selfempowerment and self-control and Dance With You is no different despite its title. What Violeta is saying here is that she doesn’t want to dance with you; she wants to dance alone, to the Jackson 5 no less.

Dark pop is the flavour of the month, though considering the PAGE 36

And it is a kind of blindness that is at work here, and one that mesmerizes; a well-considered response to a siren-like calling. Despite its rumbling pulse and jangly panorama of supporting tones and textures, Deborah has the feel of a promise that might yet be fulfilled, the merging of time perspectives giving us a picture of venerable lamentation as well inextinguishable desire, the narrator ever-willing, the subject everpresent – ‘I’ll sail my boat round your island to the Lower East Side’.

The song is quite affecting, managing to combine a sense of melancholic contemplation with a reverence that never compromises the fine layers of electricity flashing through the performance—it’s a joyous kind of yearning on display here, one that alternately shimmers and glimmers as it glides. Just like a memory. VINCE LEIGH

can and do—and likewise on Glow, the chorus high appears as a sort of afterthought, or as what is generally termed, a tag.

It’s often simple, underscored by a general summing up of the kernel of the entire song, and in this case, the line ‘I hope you know’, is reiterated to provide a key motif as well as a bite-sized, bubbly hook.

And these hooks appear throughout the song.

My point being, they are not merely confined to the chorus. As usual, Izellah does a fine job of communicating these hooks and lines to her peers and with this track, there might even be the opportunity to widen that demographic (certainly if one were the kind of music lover whose tastes ignored contemporary pop trends in light of unifying and aspirational lyrics).

But yes, I understand that this might be a stretch. Izellah’s previous release may have limited the opportunities for commercial viability across some networks, but Glow is aimed directly at such entities and I hear no reason why that shouldn’t be the case: it’s good clean pop performed with stridently optimistic panache.

VINCE LEIGH

state of the world, this period has been duly extended. Remember Aristotle’s dictum: ‘The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance’. What’s underneath is what matters.

Sure, there is the gloss and glimmer of a state-of-the-art music production, the clean-as-a-bone synth oscillations and percussive smacks and zaps, but the message is quite clear here: No. No, Violeta is not going to acquiesce to some clownish, crass adolescent’s pestering. And no, she doesn’t want to go to that party. A teen who doesn’t want to attend a party!

True rebellion here folks, and I say that without a tongue anywhere near my cheek. It’s an ‘up yours’ song, to put my interpretation of it, mildly. Under the guise of a shiny global pop soundscape, the artist is expressing a personally significant stance. Yes, the track has all the requirements of a bonafide pop hit: the melodies are in keeping with the current crop of melodic inclinations, the production is on point, and Violeta’s performance is competently evocative, straining here and there with a delightfully fractious attitude.

But it all seems to work, and work on more than just one level, however transitory that level might be. VINCE LEIGH @bmamag

Rory McCartney's Top 10 Albums of 2019 Rory McCartney is one of BMA’s hardest working reviewers – and a bloody nice chap to boot, I’m happy to report – so it was only right and natural that we asked him to bestow unto us his favourite albums of 2019. Fortunately, he was good enough to do so. Enjoy. - BOSSMAN 10. Press Club – Wasted Energy [Hassle Records] The second LP from Melbourne punk outfit Press Club contains themes of breaking free, finding yourself, and society’s need to change. Songs are obviously arranged with live shows - which the band regards as its raison d'etre - in mind. Plus, the album was recorded live-to-tape to capture that authentic gig vibe. There is a real garage feel to Separate Houses as guitars create a fuzzy cloud around the strident voice of Natalie Foster. There is a furious energy here, propelled by a vibe of anger and frustration, that is expressed through relentless music and frantic vocals. Delightfully unpolished, Press Club’s sophomore effort carries heaps of grunt.

9. Gyroscope - 4YRLV [Skullery Records] It has been nine long years since Perth band Gyroscope’s last album Cohesion. Now they are back with the new EP 4YRLV. Reversing the normal trend for bands to slip into a softer style, Gyroscope have devolved, sliding down the rock pile to a more basic style of grunge, trading clever melodies for a simple ferocity. Title track 4YRLV cuts no corners in delivering blistering music and vocal desperation. There is no sign of the band’s carefully crafted melodies and arrangements that featured in earlier releases; it is just shear anguish and brutality. 4YRLV is no Breed Obsession, but it is chock-full of energy and raw thrills.

8. The Maes - The Maes [Independent Release] And then there were two! The Mae Trio is now The Maes, comprising sisters Maggie and Elsie Rigby. Fans of the folk trio will be happy to find that the essential sound of that band has been retained. Album highlight Treat You Better beguiles with pure, trickling banjo, and softly resonating vocals as intertwined voices weave sweet patterns in the air. The Maes is generally a slow-paced release, with a wistful vibe. Instrumentation is kept to a minimum, allowing the beauty of the voices to cut through, and the record ends as it began, with simple, pure acoustic music and sparkling vocals in Stay Home.

7. Pat Tierney – Red Moon [Independent] Roots performer Pat Tierney is a man with a delicate touch in both his rich vocals and fine musicianship. He returned with his sophomore LP Red Moon with wistful songs expressing a blend of sorrow and happiness. Notes from his Weissenborn lap steel guitar curl away, sparkling and fading as they rise softly into the air. Highlights include The Midnight Bloom, the haunting track Angels, and the instrumental The Light of Day which brings one of the best melodies on the record. Red Moon impresses with the pulling power of simple yet entrancing lyrics, and the captivating voice in perfect balance with the superb instrumentation.

6. Fenn Wilson – Ghost Heroin [Independent] Melbourne-based folk singer Fenn Wilson launched his EP Tales of the Black Dog in 2015, and has followed up with his debut long player Ghost Heroin, full of brooding songs of fraught love and of the shadows which life has cast upon him. The most striking feature of this impressive first album is the incredible depth and tone of Wilson’s voice. This vocal quality, combined with his style of dropping words slowly, with great deliberation, and his crafting of finessed, haunting music, enables him to facebook.com/bmamagazine deliver powerful, atmospheric songs.

5. Lloyd Spiegel – Cut and Run [Only Blues Music] Cut and Run represents the end of a trilogy of records from Spiegel, with each one written during the touring of its predecessor. The wailing, groaning guitars of Any Second Now make a powerful opening statement, that the man is here to rock. Rattle Your Cage struts along with some down and dirty guitar. The beckoning undertow of Tokyo Blues cannot be resisted, while Let Your Love Down is a slow mover, with wistful twanging guitars and a sultry mood. Lyrics are often directed inwardly, as Spiegel self-analyses about love, his career, and life on the road. Everywhere you look, the finger work is incredible and the musicality awesome.

4. Joan As Police Woman - Joanthology [Play It Again Sam] Joan Wasser AKA Joan as Police Woman has gifted her followers with the essence of her art in the three-disk, 43-track release Joanthology. Not one to restrict her musical direction, Wasser’s style ranges widely from jazz, to rock, to pop, funk and soul, and she can shift from mainstream to unconventional. Wasser’s lyrics are so potent with emotion, so original in their expression. There is often an ethereal quality to her tone, yet she always maintains such presence in her songs. Whatever you listen to, a deep impression of her enormous talent as both a songwriter and a vocalist is bound to result.

3. The Lachy Doley Group – Make or Break [Independent Release] Full-throated blues with a difference, this gnarly riffage comes from a Hohner D6 Whammy clavinet, not a guitar. Replicating a well-wielded axe, Doley’s manipulation of the huge whammy bar morphs the tone of the keys.

The vibe of opener A Woman is pure psychedelic ‘70s. A Hammond organ launches the song, then Doley’s fingers slide around the clavinet keys, before slamming into a stunning power chord. The title track employs keyboard wizardry that takes no prisoners, while The Killer menaces with its lurid lyrics, menacing riffage, and licks that scream skywards. The combination of organ, clavinet, and Doley’s huge vocal projection is extraordinary.

2. Little Wise – Want It All [Independent] Sophie Klein, AKA Little Wise, has a personal aim of ‘Moving hearts with words and music’.

Opening track Devil Off My Back melds soft folk sensibilities with a bit of power pop, as she sings of the battle against the internal demons which challenge her self-confidence as an artist. The bright and catchy It Doesn’t Work Like That has the immediate appeal common to much of the songwriter’s material.

Restless illustrates her gift for expressing emotion through the gentle beauty of music and lyrics. Want it All is filled with beguiling vocal tones and varied, sparkling musicality. It has many moods, all of them carrying a special charm.

1. Bec Sandridge – Try + Save Me [Independent] 2019 was definitely a year where women made their mark with new releases. Albums sampled, but not reviewed, included impressive records

by G Flip and Thelma Plum. Out in front, Wollongong’s Bec Sandridge launched a very personally focused debut album which tackles such deep issues as her early upbringing, identity, and coming out. The bolder employment of synths and application of more extensive electro effects makes her earlier EP look positively conventional by comparison. Sandridge has shown real inventiveness in her first album of catchy, danceable tracks PAGE 37 with plenty of character to make it stand out in the crowd.

[ALBUM REVIEWS] LA REINA RAINING IN MY HEART [

]

Australian singersongwriter, and children’s literacy advocate, La Reina is donating all profits from this covers album, Raining In My Heart, to ARDOCH, which is associated with the Children’s Literacy Gift.

A not-for-profit organisation, Children’s Literacy Gift has selected ARDOCH’s Early Language and Literacy Program as the beneficiary.

And that’s enough of a reason to purchase this new record. But there are plenty more.

Raining In My Heart is an album of Buddy Holly songs re-imagined, pared back to reveal not only how well the tunes stand the test of time, but how poignant the transposed versions become with the controlled nuances of Reina’s elegant voice at the helm.

The stripped-back treatment can not only be a test of song quality but of a musician’s ability to adequately convey the essence of that song, utilising whatever means they have at their disposal; life experience, a kinship with the song, a need to express the inexpressible, whatever that may be.

Here, La Reina has drawn upon a variety of subtle powers to transpose these songs, which include a focus on delivering an almost childlike wonder via a gentle, considered approach, such as the kind heard on Raining In My Heart, the single off the album, or the more freewheeling flourishes heard on Lonesome Tears.

It is these well-considered calibrations which help create a unified whole for the album, which might otherwise seem onedimensional, especially when La Reina’s only accompaniment is an acoustic guitar.

But that’s certainly not the case here.

These translations are a good way to appreciate the songs, whether they are new to you or not, and not only are you being introduced to another fine Australian musical artist while getting a musical history lesson, you’re contributing to an important charity along the way.

VINCE LEIGH

Buddy Holly was an interesting musical pioneer, a ’50s rock icon who first rocketed to fame with a style informed by gospel, rhythm and blues, and country music, and whose late-career releases were symphonic pop masterpieces, a few of which are reinterpreted on La Reina’s new album.

FENN WILSON GHOST HEROIN [

]

Melbourne-based folk singer Fenn Wilson launched his EP Tales of the Black Dog in 2015, and has followed up with his debut long player Ghost Heroin, full of brooding songs of fraught love and of the shadows which life has cast upon him.

surrendered secret fall from a height before being swallowed up by a stormy sea of guitar and cello.

The close embrace of Sway creates the perfect ambiance for a slow dance, while Wilson conjures a spooky atmosphere in the powerful title track, singing, ‘What’s left of you continues to haunt me, baby your ghost is heroin’.

The most striking feature of this impressive first album is the incredible depth and tone of Wilson’s voice. This vocal quality, combined with his style of dropping words slowly, with great deliberation, and his crafting of finessed, haunting music, enables him to deliver powerful, atmospheric songs.

RORY McCARTNEY

Lost My Way starts with exploding bubbles of sound. The slow strums which follow are then eclipsed by Wilson’s deep, deep vocals. There is a real weight and momentum to the song, portrayed in the lyrics and emphasised by the serious tone to the hand-crafted music.

New Home carries the brightest tune of the LP, with a cheerful, complex mix of intersecting guitars.

The beauty of Bandana, an album highlight, edges slowly into view, with spaced notes swept up by brooding cello and phantom-like female harmonies in a song of love and loss.

Beginning with a long instrumental lead in, Wilson weaves a very moody, atmospheric vibe in All That You Are, followed by River with its mystical aura created by its chant-like start and ending. Words of a reluctantly

PAGE 38

@bmamag

Cody Atkinson's Top 10 Albums of 2019 Questioning columnist and music reviewer Cody Atkinson knows his way around an album, and can share a considered and thoughtful opinion to boot. So I reached out to the man to ask him what long-players have been occupying his headspace for the past year, if only for my benefit.

But feel free to have a read yourselves, of course – [BOSSMAN SKO] 10. Pinch Points – Moving Parts [Roolette] On album closer and standout Ouch!! (the second song called Ouch on the album), Pinch Points centre the song on a previous positive review of their debut EP by bandcamp writer J. Edward Keyes. The meta-analysis of the review, and the band, provides a concise summary of the group – a million guitar lines, punchy throw-away lines, breakneck speed, and group vocals. Pinch Points are rapidly becoming ones to watch.

9. Angel Olsen – All Mirrors [Jagjaguwar] The best way to describe All Mirrors is that it is a ‘big’ record. It’s hard to make a small sound with an orchestra backing you, in any case. Angel Olsen has grown and grown with every record, and All Mirrors sees her at the peak of her powers, channelling influences old and new in her own voice.

8. Laurence Pike – Holy Spring [The Leaf Label] An instrumental album by a drummer may be a hard sell on the surface, but Holy Spring is far more than an exercise in percussive techniques.

The PVT stickman (amongst others) unveils a woozy, dreamlike atmosphere throughout, not worlds away from Boards of Canada or his main gig, but sparser than both.

7. Purple Mountains – Purple Mountains [Drag City] Like David Bowie’s Blackstar, sometimes when an artist passes away just after the release of a record it alters the way that it is absorbed by a listener. This is certainly the case with David Berman’s only release under the name Purple Mountains (after six records with Silver Jews). Berman’s poeticism runs to the fore, and is endearingly bleak – if that’s a thing. Backed by NYC band Woods, Berman has put together one of the most complete albums of his career that reveals layer after layer on each listen.

6. Earache – Last [Lacklustre Records] Occasionally you hear a record in passing and it just stops you in your tracks. The eponymous album by Canberra/Melbourne duo Earache is a perfect haze to get lost in; a record to lose yourself inside of. On the dreamy side of shoegaze, or the gazey side of dream pop, the interplay between Nourse and Fenderson lulls you into a slightly more blissful place. One of the finer local albums in recent years.

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5. Teeth of the Sea – Wraith [Rocket Recordings] Good music, the real stuff, sparks you into some kind of action. There’s music to dance to, music to drive to, music to clean to – everything. Wraith, the fifth album from Teeth of the Sea, is music to create chaos to, or at least contemplate it while listening. There’s a lot of big sounds here – horns, drum machines, large synths – and a lot of space behind which it operates. Listen at night, with headphones on.

4. Gonzo – Do It Again Better [Anti FADE Recods] Geelong, and Anti FADE records, had quite a year. Hierophants, Ausmuteants, Parsnip, and a whole lot more put out great albums, but the second one from Gonzo is probably the pick of the bunch. Do It Again Better has about all you’d want from a rock album in 2019 – enough grit to get the blood racing, enough variety to keep it interesting. It makes you think about Geelong as a tourist destination, as long as they keep belting this out.

This doesn’t slap; it destroys.

3. Sebadoh – Act Surprised [Dangerbird Records] It’s 2019. Bakesale was released a quarter of a century ago. Sebadoh has no right releasing an album this damn catchy and vital this far down the track, when most bands are firmly in the “classic album cash-in” phase of their careers.

Maybe it’s because they never ascended into the stratosphere that they were able to keep their edge, or their shared output kept pushing each member to only put up their best tunes. Regardless, Act Surprised is a super repeatable listen.

2. Skydeck – Eureka Moment [Dinosaur City Records] Like the Geelong scene, the sort of Hotel Motel/Osbourne Again-ish scene and affiliates had another stellar year (Lachlan Denton’s A Brother deserves a listen immediately).

Skydeck’s Eureka Moment isn’t on either label (instead Sydney’s Dinosaur City), but it shares the same lyrical strengths from those scenes. But, classifying it as a pop or a guitar record would sell it short – it sort of fits on its own.

1. Kim Gordon – No Home Record [Matador Records] Every review of No Home Record inevitably starts with the reviewer mentioning Kim Gordon’s age, or the fact that she has been making music for 38 years. Maybe with the fact that it is her first solo record. That wouldn’t matter if it wasn’t so good, and didn’t fit so well now. No Home Record is part noise rock and part dance, seemingly built with sound and textures collected across the decades. Gordon has been able to craft something that clearly articulates both the fresh start that she has made and the current time, plus made it damn enjoyable to boot.

PAGE 39

Over the past year at the movies it got personal.

THE BEST

FILMS 2019 with Cameron Williams

Major film studios have merged, cinematic universes have formed, and blockbusters are now too big to fail. But somehow, the films that stood out in 2019 were the ones that cut deep.

Honourable mentions: Destroyer, Beyonce: Homecoming, In Fabric, Beach Bum, Booksmart, Dolemite is my Name and Doctor Sleep.

10. If Beale Street Could Talk Nobody shoots close-ups like Barry Jenkins (Moonlight). Prepare to swoon, and then cry. A lot. Romance sits beside tragedy in the adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel.

9. Knives Out A whodunnit that understands the deadliest weapon of all is American privilege. Let’s hope there are at least eight more of these Detective Benoit Blanc mysteries (Daniel Craig may have found a life after 007).

8. The Irishman A late-career master work from Martin Scorsese that examines the value of a life through the filter of a crime saga.

7. Pain and Glory Pedro Almodóvar gets autobiographical and delivers a stunner. A beautiful film that explores how we use storytelling to reflect and process. Antonio Banderas is Almodóvar’s avatar and it’s an unforgettable performance.

6. Midsommar Sometimes it takes a village to end a relationship. Ari Aster made us not want to sleep thanks to Hereditary and his follow-up film makes you not want to sleep with anyone. A horror film about what happens when you take away the systems, enabling men to be cowards.

5. Marriage Story “A divorce is a death without a body.” An honest and deeply personal reflection of the toll of divorce and finding a way to fit into the new lives of ex-partners. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver give career-best performances.

4. Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood Quentin Tarantino’s heartfelt throwback to old Hollywood doubled as a resignation letter. A melancholic film about the inevitability of change and the certainty that all good things will come to an end.

3. Us Jordan Peele’s sophomore film shows how American society justifies and compartmentalises the horrors of its foundations. Lupita Nyong’o gives a hell of a two-for-the-price-of-one performance.

2. High Life The best science-fiction film of the year shot Robert Pattinson into space for a paternity odyssey across the cosmos. Claire Denis gets existential on the edge of the galaxy.

1. Parasite No film summed up life in 2019 like Bong Joon-ho’s ingenious tale of intertwined families in South Korea, separated by class. A blistering takedown of life under capitalism, with so many wild twists.

PAGE 40

@bmamag

SORRY WE MISSED YOU

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

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[

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A Ken Loach film opening on Boxing Day. What are distributors and cinemas playing at here? Are they maybe cashing in on the despondency of the post-Christmas blues, trying to make you feel better by depicting families and situations that have it much worse than you? Or maybe it is just clever counterprogramming to cater for those not interested in Star Wars, Jumanji, or creepy-looking singing cats.

Whichever the case, Sorry We Missed You (not to be confused with the dark comedy Sorry To Bother You from last year) is a cinematic gem.

Set in Newcastle, England, it tells the story of the Turner family and their struggles to stay afloat in the current economy.

Father Ricky (Kris Hitchen) decides to take a job as a delivery driver (with a boss that is scary-dreadful from his very first scene), whilst his partner Abbie (Debbie Honeywood) is a home-visit carer for elderly and disabled clients.

But the reality of their professional lives eventually hits a vast sequence of hurdles – Ricky is supposed to purchase his own van as a franchisee rather than an employee, even though his hours and conditions are decided for him. Consequently, they sell the family car, which means Abbie has to catch the bus to her clients. They also both end up working long hours, which places pressure on their children as well.

Ken Loach films are not popcorn entertainment, but a reality check on society designed to perhaps wake us from our complacency. Or they may be too real for many cinema-goers, who would understandably veer away from this type of art and toward more escapist fare.

The key to the success of Loach’s cinema is down to the powerful screenwriting of Paul Laverty, Loach’s partner-infilm since the mid-'90s. Laverty manages to distil the stories of the economic victims, from policies like Brexit and the gig economy, so as not to come across as preachy, but instead draw you in to the realities of his characters’ futile situations.

It’s a powerful technique, and you often find yourself gripped by the storytelling whilst also recognising that not much is actually happening apart from regular routines. And then, when certain turning points occur, including the ending, you realise that Laverty has managed to connect you emotionally to his characters, and you start weeping, raging, or descending into numb shock at the situations portrayed.

So, yes, this isn’t your Boxing Day feelgood film, but damn, is it a fine piece of art that deserves your attention.

If you can bear it.

TRAVIS CRAGG

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]

Writer-director Céline Sciamma is not a name that many people have heard of, and unless you’ve been a regular at the French Film Festival, or binge the World Movies channel, you may not be familiar with her work (which includes Tomboy, Girlhood, and writing My Life as A Courgette/Zucchini).

Hopefully that public level of awareness changes with Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is summoned to the coastal dwelling in Brittany of La Comtesse (Valeria Golina), who has commissioned her to do the wedding portrait of Eloise (Adèle Haenel). Trouble is, Eloise is not all that enthusiastic about her upcoming nuptials, and is therefore reluctant to participate in the preparations. Marianne is therefore presented to Eloise as a companion, and instructed to try and create the artwork through careful and unobtrusive observations. The two women develop a bond that grows stronger as they start to trust each other.

Not wanting to sound exaggerated or effusive, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire is my absolute favourite movie of 2019. It destroyed me emotionally, but in a good way; the kind of way where you feel absolutely drained as the credits roll but so appreciative that you experienced it.

The movie is just beautiful in every sense. The script is the main jewel, and it is easy to see why it won Best Screenplay (as well as the Queer Palm) at this year’s Cannes Festival.

Anyone who has experienced the thrills and heartache of a first intense love will be thrown back in time emotionally whilst watching this.

And then Sciamma builds on the script she has created with stunning cinematography, exquisite costumes, and set design. Not to mention a pair of actresses who suck you deep into this world of obsession, beauty, flirtatiousness and pain without you even knowing it until towards the end, (when you find yourself crying, stunned, overwhelmed, or quite possibly all three).

I’ve personally been a fan of Haenel for a few years now, through various French films where she has managed to captivate me through a diversity of different characters (headstrong and closed in Les Combattants; impulsive and careless in In The Name Of My Daughter; strident and committed in BPM – all films you should track down), and she has never been better than she is here. I felt myself falling in love with her just as much as Marianne was.

As a cinematic exploration of desire, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is an exquisite masterpiece.

TRAVIS CRAGG PAGE 41

[GIG REVIEWS] Beginning with a cover of John Denver’s Some Days Are Diamonds, he delivered a mellow mix of songs he had penned, hits from his days with The Seekers, and covers from artists such as Neil Diamond. His skill with instruments extended from the humble ukulele, to being a master of the 12-string guitar.

Potger charmed the punters with stories of his days with The Seekers, talking of their relationship with songwriter Tom Springfield (brother of Dusty Springfield) who penned such Seekers charttoppers as I’ll Never Find Another You. He also rattled off a well-rehearsed patter of often corny jokes, which nevertheless went down well with the audience. It seems that kids these days associate Morningtown Ride more with The Wiggles than The Seekers.

Keith Potger @ Beyond Q - Saturday, November 21 Live music venues are a bit thin south of the lake, especially anywhere outside the Woden area. It is a very long time since big name acts such as Divinyls appeared at venues like the old Royals Rugby Club.

Now, after a long drought, Weston Creek is starting to see some bigname talent. Beyond Q Café and Bookshop brings the ambience of what Smith’s Alternative Bookshop used to be, before all the books disappeared. While it has hosted live music for years, including at its old Curtin premises, Beyond Q recently raised the bar, hosting a solo show by Keith Potger, ex The Seekers.

For one song, Potger donned a blue cowboy hat, of a shade that would have suited Bob Katter if he had ever wanted to take part in a Mardi Gras parade.

Potger’s showmanship and vocal quality, and a great set list, guaranteed a good night for all.

RORY McCARTNEY

The party vibe was established early, but this was much more than a party band rolling out covers.

Grace & Hugh have created some magic songs together, and their original material was the highlight of the evening.

Somethin’ About a Man (which was co-written with Bones Hillman of Midnight Oil) was a set highlight, with its sultry, dirty blues sound. It let Grace show the capability of her voice with some stormy, drawn-out notes.

Every Night stood out with its ukulele cheer and high, sweet singing, while Stereo Heart carried an aura of beauty and emotion.

Grace & Hugh @ Beyond Q - Sunday, 29 November Have piano will travel!

While it is only a small outfit, the sound-check for Grace & Hugh took longer than usual as they had to unload an upright piano (a Gumtree special) from the trailer, and wheel it into the venue.

The gig was a real family affair, with Hugh Murray (piano and vocals) coming together with Grace Hickey (vocals), her brother Declan (acoustic guitar) and father Tony (roadie and electric guitar).

Hugh’s deep, gravelly tones and Grace’s incredibly powerful voice, with a versatility that sees her equally gifted in both the high and low registers, are a great combination.

The duo closed this wonderful night with an AC/ DC/Rolling Stones’ mash-up, followed by a honkytonk encore that saw local recruit Alex Chapman stalking through the audience rows with his saxophone. Terrific.

RORY McCARTNEY

The show began with some rousing New Orleans tunes before generating audience participation with Iko Iko that morphed into The Saints Go Marching In, with Hugh doing his trombone, scatting mime.

A cover of the moody Ray Charles song You Don’t Know Me saw Hugh trickling out piano notes, while Grace dropped handfuls of lyrics into the rippling pool created by the music.

PAGE 42

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GIG REVIEW - America, Mitch King Tue, 3 December - Canberra Theatre Centre Review by Andrew Myers Prolific 1970s soft rock band America has survived longer than most of their previous peer that have sadly fallen by the way side either because of natural causes, age, or miscellaneous rock ‘n’ roll lifestyles.

But here the duo stand, celebrating their 50th anniversary as a well celebrated band.

Opening act Mitch King weaved a southernly spell on the crowd.

The young guitarist has a soulful voice, embodying Aussie artists like Pete Murray and Russell Morris. King made light work of his 12-string guitar during his hit song Coming Back that has both a rumbling stream train beat and the licks to make the likes of even Angus Young blush.

The performers took a moment as co-lead singer Gerry spoke about their time working with the acclaimed George Martin who produced three of America’s singles through the mid-1970’s. This was the perfect segue into The Beatles’ number Eleanor Rigby – which Martin was famous for producing. Ask the modern music history buff and they would tell you that Martin was known for working alongside Gerry & The Pacemakers, Little River Band, Kenny Rogers, Michael Jackson, and Kate Bush just to name a few.

The punchy hit The Border garnered a small dance floor as revellers stood up in the seats – regardless of who was sitting behind them. That is the true power of good music: dancing like no one is watching.

The ballad from 1975, Daisy Jane, made every patron attending melt into their seats as the euphoric piano twinkled along with the guitars being strummed. A true soft rock lullaby.

The Reggae-tinged Woman Tonight still grooved hard after all these decades. America spoke about their history, how far they have come, from the days of opening for acts like Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd, and The Who. To commemorate all the bands and acts the duo had played with over their career, America played The Mamas and the Papas’ hit California Dreaming; the backdrop shimmered with autumn leaves and shades of ochre. It was apparent that age would not slow down the core duo – “If you guys keep comin’ along, we will keep playing”, said Gerry, brandishing his Taylor guitar proudly.

The crowd bellowed and cheered as the signature guitar riff to Ventura Highway rang out. I am certain, if the show was an outdoor event, lighters would have been thrust into the air and swayed accordingly.

The projector illustrated the powerful song Sandman with images of Woodstock, Easy Rider, the Vietnam War, and Martin Luther King with the crescendo of galloping guitars ending in a momentous blast.

The stage fell black as the backdrop became littered with archival footage and images of America’s grandiose musical history of the past half decade. A number of darkened bodies stepped out to their respective places, and soon jumped into a quickfire succession of snappy hits: Tin Man, You Can Do Magic, and Don’t Cross the River.

The mega-hit Sister Golden Hair stirred the crowd into another seating arrangement dance floor.

As an encore, the band broke into the signature anthem – Horse with No Name.

The vast majority of the crowd arose to join in unison as the chorus came in.

Photo by Eric Halvorsen

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“See you next time”, farewelled co-lead singer Dewey as he thrusted a gleeful wave into the air, ending a triumphant celebration of a 50-year career (and counting).

PAGE 43

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE]] ENTERTAINMENT [POLL POSTERGUIDE PRINT PAGE] LIVE MUSIC National Capital Allstars With Michael “Mikelangelo” Simic, Konrad Lenz, Netty Salazar, Beth Monzo, Bec Taylor, Chris Endrey & Broods. 8pm POLISH WHITE EAGLE CLUB Melting Pot Original and improvised funk, soul, jazz, and blues. Doors 8pm, start 8:30pm. Tix $18 conc/GA $20/$25 on thge door. newacton.com/ events to book MAKESHIFT, NEW ACTON, NISHI 3 BroKen Strings’s first headliner 3 BroKen Strings comes to Canberra for its first headlining show, with guests Hence the Testbed, Biilmann, Clarity of Chaos, Innaxis, and Axiomatic Theory. Tix from Oztix THE BASEMENT Precipice #24 Every year a diverse range of improvisers from around Australia gather to collaborate in Canberra. Four opportunities to see extraordinary improvisation artists live. Tickets at the door (no late entrances). $15/$10 per show, or $20/$15 for the two Saturday shows. 7pm & 9pm QL2 DANCE THEATRE The Great Wizard’s Ball A place for Potterheads to prance.

The ball is your chance to break out your most extravagant wizarding finery and dance the night away. From 7pm, tix from quizzicalley.com/greatwizardsball THE ABBEY FUNCTION CENTRE Tex Perkins and The Tennesse Four: The Man in Black The 10th anniversary of the Johnny Cash tribute tour. 8pm.

Tickets are $89.90-99.90 through the Canberra Theatre Centre website CANBERRA THEATRE Sugar3 ‘Party Crier’ single launch Indie-pop-rock Canberra fourpiece Sugar3 are launching their latest single Party Crier with 2410 Records stablemates Powder Blue and a solo set by Jaclyn from The Differs THE FRONT

PAGE 44

MAY 27 – JUNE 2 MAY 18 – MAY 22

DANCE Le Doof with Steeplejack boss Harold Taking you through some weird electronica and techno ’s apocalyptic sound. With resident Big Data (formerly Bàobīng) SIDEWAY BAR

Bass heavy house and EDM FICTION CLUB

DANCE Cube Nightclub 14th birthday Feat. burlesque show, pole dancing performances, DJ Rawson on the decks, and debuchary aplenty CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Sunday 1 Sep

THEATRE

LIVE MUSIC

The Woman in the Window In Stalin’s Russia, the great poet Anna Ahkmatova is forbidden to write. In a future, denatured world, a young woman, Rachel, searches for what is missing in her life. .Fri Sep 6 – Sat Sep 21. Tix from venue website THEATRE 3, CANBERRA REP

Precipice #24 Every year a diverse range of improvisers from around Australia gather to collaborate in Canberra. Four opportunities to see extraordinary improvisation artists live. Tickets at the door (no late entrances). $15/$10 per show, or $20/$15 for the two Saturday shows. 7pm QL2 DANCE THEATRE Monday 2 Sep Tuesday 3 Sep LIVE MUSIC Jazz at The Lab - Miroslav Bukovsky/John Mackey Quintet: Miro’s Greatest Hits Music starts at 7.30 pm. Please book early at gpage40@bigpond. net.au. Seating limited to 80 THE LAB @ ANU, ACTON

TALKS Jacinta Price - Mind The Gap Info and bookinging from truearrowevents.com.au or the venue THE STREET THEATRE Wednesday 4 Sep Thursday 5 Sep Friday 6 Sep

LIVE MUSIC Seeker Lover Keeper Bring their ‘Wild Seeds’ album to the on Friday, 6 September. Tix are $65 + bf from the venue CANBERRA THEATRE

Saturday 7 Sep

LIVE MUSIC Jazz Haus Vocalist Kristin Berardi/Bassist Sam Anning CD Launch AUSTRIAN CLUB ’70s Tribute Night Including tributes to Led Zepplin, Queen, Kiss, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and more.

From 7pm THE BASEMENT

TALKS A Rational Fear Featuring Dan Ilic, Hobba, Mark Humphries, triple j Hack’s Shalailah Medhora, and Mike Bowers from The Guardian. Jokes about sad things, bad things and all things political from 7pm.

Tickets are $35 and can be found at http://www.thestreet.org.au.

THE STREET THEATRE

ARTS Handmade Markets Featuring many local artists, designers and makers across the board.

EXHIBITION PARK

Handmade Markets Featuring many local artists, designers and makers across the board.

EXHIBITION PARK Monday 9 Sep Tuesday 10 Sep Cradle of Filth On a special tour showcasing their 2nd full-length, 1998’s Cruelty & The Beast in full THE BASEMENT

ARTS Spinifex Gum THE PLAYHOUSE Wednesday 11 Sep Thursday 12 Sep

LIVE MUSIC AM Reruns — Self-titled album tour Melbourne modernist trio AM Reruns announces its debut selftitled LP. 8pm, tix on the door SIDEWAY BAR Friday 13 Sep

COMEDY Club Sandwich Comedy - Sarah Gaul and Jacinta Gregory Hosted by Chris Ryan and featuring RAW Comedy national finalists Tim Noon, EdwinTetlow and young musical comedian Ashy Kinsella. Tickets $10 students (must bring ID to door) and $15 adults, or $20 at the door TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

DANCE 5 Years of Bassic tour Plenty of bush techno styles with Kase Kochen, ZigMon,

Sunday 8 Sep

DANCE

ARTS

LO’99 @bmamag

[ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE] [ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE]

LIVE MUSIC National Capital Allstars With Michael “Mikelangelo” Simic, Konrad Lenz, Netty Salazar, Beth Monzo, Bec Taylor, Chris Endrey & Broods. 8pm POLISH WHITE EAGLE CLUB Melting Pot Original and improvised funk, soul, jazz, and blues. Doors 8pm, start 8:30pm. Tix $18 conc/GA $20/$25 on thge door. newacton.com/events to book MAKESHIFT, NEW ACTON, NISHI 3 BroKen Strings’s first headliner 3 BroKen Strings comes to Canberra for its first headlining show, with guests Hence the Testbed, Biilmann, Clarity of Chaos, Innaxis, and Axiomatic Theory. Tix from Oztix THE BASEMENT Precipice #24 Every year a diverse range of improvisers from around Australia gather to collaborate in Canberra. Four opportunities to see extraordinary improvisation artists live.

Tickets at the door (no late entrances). $15/$10 per show, or $20/$15 for the two Saturday shows. 7pm & 9pm QL2 DANCE THEATRE The Great Wizard’s Ball A place for Potterheads to prance. The ball is your chance to break out your most extravagant wizarding finery and dance the night away. From 7pm, tix from quizzicalley.com/ greatwizardsball THE ABBEY FUNCTION CENTRE Tex Perkins and The Tennesse Four: The Man in Black The 10th anniversary of the Johnny Cash tribute tour. 8pm.

Tickets are $89.90-99.90 through the Canberra Theatre Centre website CANBERRA THEATRE

MAY 27 – JUNE 2 MAY 18 – MAY 22 MORE EVENTS @ bmamag.com/entertainment-guide

stablemates Powder Blue and a solo set by Jaclyn from The Differs THE FRONT

DANCE Le Doof with Steeplejack boss Harold Taking you through some weird electronica and techno ’s apocalyptic sound. With resident Big Data (formerly Bàobīng) SIDEWAY BAR

Sunday 1 Sep

LIVE MUSIC

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Featuring many local artists, designers and makers across the board.

EXHIBITION PARK

DANCE

Sunday 8 Sep

LO’99 Bass heavy house and EDM FICTION CLUB

ARTS

DANCE Cube Nightclub 14th birthday Feat. burlesque show, pole dancing performances, DJ Rawson on the decks, and debuchary aplenty CUBE NIGHTCLUB

THEATRE Precipice #24 Every year a diverse range of improvisers from around Australia gather to collaborate in Canberra. Four opportunities to see extraordinary improvisation artists live.

Tickets at the door (no late entrances). $15/$10 per show, or $20/$15 for the two Saturday shows. 7pm QL2 DANCE THEATRE

The Woman in the Window In Stalin’s Russia, the great poet Anna Ahkmatova is forbidden to write. In a future, denatured world, a young woman, Rachel, searches for what is missing in her life. .Fri Sep 6 – Sat Sep 21.

Tix from venue website THEATRE 3, CANBERRA REP

Handmade Markets Featuring many local artists, designers and makers across the board.

EXHIBITION PARK Monday 9 Sep Tuesday 10 Sep Cradle of Filth On a special tour showcasing their 2nd full-length, 1998’s Cruelty & The Beast in full THE BASEMENT

ARTS Spinifex Gum THE PLAYHOUSE Wednesday 11 Sep

Saturday 7 Sep

Thursday 12 Sep

Monday 2 Sep

LIVE MUSIC

LIVE MUSIC

Tuesday 3 Sep

Jazz Haus Vocalist Kristin Berardi/Bassist Sam Anning CD Launch AUSTRIAN CLUB

AM Reruns — Self-titled album tour Melbourne modernist trio AM Reruns announces its debut self-titled LP. 8pm, tix on the door SIDEWAY BAR

LIVE MUSIC Jazz at The Lab - Miroslav Bukovsky/John Mackey Quintet: Miro’s Greatest Hits Music starts at 7.30 pm. Please book early at gpage40@ bigpond.net.au. Seating limited to 80 THE LAB @ ANU, ACTON

TALKS Jacinta Price - Mind The Gap Info and bookinging from truearrowevents.com.au or the venue THE STREET THEATRE Wednesday 4 Sep Thursday 5 Sep

Sugar3 ‘Party Crier’ single launch Indie-pop-rock Canberra four-piece Sugar3 are launching their latest single Party Crier with 2410 Records

Bring their ‘Wild Seeds’ album to the on Friday, 6 September.

Tix are $65 + bf from the venue CANBERRA THEATRE

Friday 6 Sep

LIVE MUSIC Seeker Lover Keeper

’70s Tribute Night Including tributes to Led Zepplin, Queen, Kiss, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath and more. From 7pm THE BASEMENT

TALKS

Friday 13 Sep

COMEDY

A Rational Fear Featuring Dan Ilic, Hobba, Mark Humphries, triple j Hack’s Shalailah Medhora, and Mike Bowers from The Guardian.

Jokes about sad things, bad things and all things political from 7pm. Tickets are $35 and can be found at http://www. thestreet.org.au.

THE STREET THEATRE

Club Sandwich Comedy - Sarah Gaul and Jacinta Gregory Hosted by Chris Ryan and featuring RAW Comedy national finalists Tim Noon, EdwinTetlow and young musical comedian Ashy Kinsella. Tickets $10 students (must bring ID to door) and $15 adults, or $20 at the door TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

ARTS

DANCE

Handmade Markets

5 Years of Bassic tour PAGE 45

[POLL GUIDE [ENTERTAINMENT ] ]] ] GUIDE POSTER PRINT PAGE [ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE [POLL POSTER PRINT PAGE]

Thu 22 Aug

ARTS Metamorphosis Adapted by Steven Berkoff Featuring an all Canberra cast including Christopher Samuel Carroll, Ruth Pierloor, Dylan Van Den Berg, and Stefanie Lekkas. Shows until 31 Aug. Tix from venue website THE STREET THEATRE

The Missing Lincolns Lost Album launch From 7pm. $10 on the door SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Girls Rock! Canberra fundraiser Featuring The Buoys, Cry Club, Lady Denman, Lucy Sugerman and Peach Lane. From 6pm UC HUB

MAY 27 – JUNE 2 MAY MORE EVENTS @ bmamag.com/entertainment-guide MAY1818– –MAY MAY2222 FOR MORE EVENTS HEAD TO bmamag.com/guide

Oztix THE BASEMENT Signs & Symbols Counting in Colours album launch 8pm - Tix at the door The Polo

DANCE

troupe plays out the stories as each scene is introduced. Runs until Sat 31 Aug. 7:30pm. Tix from stagecenta.com PERFORM AUSTRALIA STUDIOS

LIVE MUSIC

It’s a London Thing UK grime/garage/2-step covered with Big Ting Recordings (SYD) & MCs Dtech & Tukka D SIDEWAY BAR

Canberra DIG hosts Crop Up Sessions.

For your mid-week dose of music head over to have a listen to Eloria, Neko Pink, LIV LI and Pheno from 8pm. Tix available at the door for $10/$5.

SIDEWAY BAR

TALKS

Thursday August 29

Blanke Bass heavy house and EDM FICTION CLUB

Isaac Butterfield Why So Serious?

Explores our changing world.

With a fast-growing audience, Isaac’s commentary videos have had more than 60 million views.

7:30pm, tix from Moshtix KAMBRI PRECINCT

Saturday August 24

Wed Aug 28

DANCE

ARTS

AUTHOR TALK

Techno Thursdays Techno techno techno techno!

FICTION CLUB

Blood on the Dance Floor by Jacob Boehme Through a powerful blend of theatre, image, text and choreography, Boehme pays homage to their ceremonies whilst dissecting the politics of gay, Blak and poz identities (recommended for age 15+).

5pm & 8pm. Check the website to book TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

SoundOut Series #3 Featuring Mahagonny “Qrt” (revealing sonic places), Lena Czerniawksa (drawing; Poland) Emilio Gordoa (vibraphone; Mexico/Germany), Josten Myburgh (electronics; Perth) Laura Altman (clarinet; Sydney) TRIO Alexander Hunter (viola de gamba; Canberra), Tony Osborne (vocal/electronics; Sydney), and Richard Johnson (wind instruments; Canberra).

7:30pm, $10/$20, at the door DRILL HALL GALLERY

Annika Romeyn exhibition - Endurance Inspired by the personally significant site of Guerilla Bay, Yuin Country. Runs until 20 Sep MEGALO PRINT STUDIO & GALLERY Shakespeare in Love Comedic theatrical tell of the Oscar winning film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes. Running until 31 Aug with Saturday matinees. Tix from Canberra Theatre CANBERRA THEATRE

Section Seven: Martial Order SIDEWAY BAR FRIDAY AUGUST 23

COMEDY Tommy Little Self-Diagnosed Genius After completing the world’s most gruelling marathon in Antarctica (with no previous experience), Tommy’s got a cracking story to share. Two shows at 6:45pm, and another at 8:30pm THE PLAYHOUSE The Song Company Mind Over Matter A zany and toonful chamber opera about two lifts and a computer virus in a bed of 1980s pop gold served up by five singers, two speakers, and PAGE 46 four hands at one piano. 7:30pm.

Tix from venue

DANCE Rising Stars New up-and-coming DJs hit the decks, featuring the might of Woody, Theo, Alex Allen, Vivace, Haylee Karmer, Nue Dae, Bouncii, and Take-Tu MR WOLF

LIVE MUSIC Powder Blue - Flower Town single launch With supports The Narcissists, The Dirty Sunflowers, and Hedy Blaazer. 7:30pm – 11:30pm, $10, at the door THE FRONT Smoke Stack Rhino Doom Boogie single tour Support by Muddy Wolfe and Local Horror. 8pm TRANSIT BAR Red Hot Chili Peppers Tribute Show Performed by Chilly Willy, with

Evie Farrell, author of Backyard to Backpack: A Solo Mum, a Six Year Old and a Lifechanging Adventure In conversation with Evie will be Amanda Whitley, of HerCanberra. 6pm. RSVP: books@ paperchainbookstore.com.au or (02) 6295 6723 PAPERCHAIN BOOKSTORE

THEATRE

Friday 30 Aug

LIVE MUSIC Precipice #24 Every year a diverse range of improvisers from around Australia gather to collaborate in

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NEXT ISSUE: #494

OUT JUNE 7 The Good Doctor An adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s short stories for the stage,

Canberra. Four opportunities to @bmamag see extraordinary improvisation artists live. Tickets at the door

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