ESTHER HANNAFORD - TAPESTRY

Esther Hannaford’s celebration concert of Carole King’s Tapestry album not So Far Away By Ruth O’Brien

Esther Hannaford is one of Australia’s leading musical theatre performers. The winner of two Helpmann Awards - one for her performance in Hairspray (2011) and most recently for Best Female Actor in Beautiful (2018) - is coming to Canberra to perform the songs of Carole King’s best-selling album, Tapestry. Released in 1971, this four-time Grammy Award-winning album placed #25 in Rolling Stones 500 greatest albums of all time. Now, if you’re thinking, “who’s Carole King?” or “I don’t know any Carole King songs”, chances are you know more than you realise. In fact, on Tapestry alone, there are many recognisable songs including You’ve Got A Friend, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and I Feel The Earth Move. And the brilliance of these songs is that even if you haven’t heard them before, they’re so catchy and familiar that you’ll likely enjoy them just as much as veteran Carole King fans. Hannaford knows all of these songs particularly well after playing the woman herself in the Australian tour of the aforementioned musical, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical, in 2017-2018. For Hannaford, it’ll be a new experience singing the songs as she’ll be singing them as Esther, not Carole. “It’s going to be good because I’ll be in the same position as the audience, admiring these songs,” she says. Hannaford has a few favourites from the Tapestry collection. The first is It’s Too Late and So Far Away. Another one, that wasn’t featured in the Carole King musical, is Way Over Yonder. “I find it quite challenging to sing, it’s a new one [for me].” Hannaford talks about “getting vocally fit” for these performances as, like for many people in the performing arts, there’s not been a great deal of work these last 12 months. “It’ll probably be quite emotional… This will be the first performance with a live audience [since the pandemic hit].” And for audience members, this may well be the first live show attended in 12-months also. Mix all that with the beautifully nostalgic musical masterpiece that is Tapestry and there’s likely not a dry eye to be had along this tour around the country throughout April-May. From the year that we’ve all had, if you wanna come and feel some emotion, this is the show for just that. “We’re going to play Tapestry from beginning to end, to honour what it is. And then we’ll do some of the other classics that people might wanna hear and we’ll do them in a fun way.” Regardless of whether you’re a die-hard King worshipper or merely a curious subject, this show is shaping up to be a beautiful and wholesome experience and not-to-be-missed. Tickets for this 50th Anniversary Concert of Carole King’s Tapestry, performed by Esther Hannaford, are on sale from The Canberra Theatre website - canberratheatrecentre.com.au . Dates are Saturday 8 May, 7:30pm and Sunday 9 May, 7pm (new show). For more info, visit the Canberra Theatre website or call 6275 2700

Musician Jess Green and Skywhale(s) creator Patricia Piccinini combine to breathe further air into Canberra’s iconic airborne associates

By Ruth O’Brien

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a bloody Skywhale! Never in my wildest did I think the word “Skywhale” would come out of my mouth, nor could I forsee scribing this fantastical name even once, let alone as many times as I now have. But how incredibly glad I am, not only write and talk about the Skywhale and now, Skywhalepapa, but also have the opportunity to sit down and chat with the artist, Patricia Piccinini, and Canberra musician, Jess Green (aka PhEnO), about their collaboration on the song We Are The Skywhales. Now, if you’ve not yet listened to the song, stop, head to your fave digital streaming service and give it a spin. Isn’t it divine? Quite frankly, how could it not be, having been written by Green, one of Canberra’s most prolific and successful musicians. Green has enjoyed an amazing music career since graduating with First Class Honours from the ANU School of Music in 2001. She’s been a session guitarist for some of the country’s biggest musicians, sharing stages with the likes of Clare Bowditch, Deborah Conway, Katie Noonan, Tim Rogers, and Urthboy. I met up with these two beautiful, creative women at The Street Theatre (where PhEnO happens to be playing a show on 10 April, but more on that in a bit). Piccinini recalls how the two met and started working together. “We have a friend in common called Nell. She recommended I check out Jess’ work. I really connected with it. I loved the ideas in it, loved the music quality, and I really loved her voice. And I said to Nell, ‘do you reckon I can contact her?’ And she said, ‘of course you can!’” Nell, also an artist, who has recently been part of the Know My Name initiative at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), had previously worked with Green and seemed to know that she and Piccinini might be a good fit. A few emails later, the ball was rolling. “I remember the moment we first talked really clearly,” Green recalls. I was at the Boundless Playground with my kids… and I sat in the carpark [on my phone] looking at the sky and remember seeing clouds right next to the Carillon. It was a visceral moment, talking about the ideas and looking at the sky and this other Canberra icon”, laughs Green. When you listen to the lyrics of the song, you can almost envisage part of what Green might have seen in these first moments. and as we soar among the clouds we see ourselves in the shadows below and all the other creatures free living together in a delicate flow Green talks more about her creative process in composing the fun, whimsical, and catchy tune. “I felt the responsibility of talking to Patricia’s ideas. So I took that very seriously. But I also felt super free and joyous because I was allowed to just make my work.” Green says the project gave her a huge amount of freedom to move forward. In other songwriting projects, where she has been restricted by certain parameters, this collaboration was unique in that she was allowed to just make art the way she does it. “That’s why it worked out so well, because it is your best work”, Piccinini says to Green. “You’re not emulating anyone else, you’re doing you, and you’re the best at it”. “I’m the best at me!” laughs Green.

I could tell by the way that Piccinini and Green interact that the two have great respect and admiration for one another and their work. Piccinini says that she knew Green was the right person to work with because their “interests and values overlap enormously”. Both women, who have spent a large part of their lives based in Canberra at various points, find a lot of meaning and symbolism in what Skywhalepapa (complete with skywhale babies riding on Papa’s back) represents about masculinity, particularly about the nurture and caring of small children. Both artists are mothers and both identify with their husbands being the “Skywhalepapas” in their lives. “In my partnership, we’ve taken turns with who stays home and who goes to work, because we’re both creatives. But, in general, in Western society, in some industries, that’s resisted,” says Green. Piccinini adds that Skywhalepapa is an important mirror to hold up to Western society about the positive changes around masculinity, and also show men that care and nurture are an important, if not vital, part of masculinity. “In the ‘60s and ‘70s you were ‘letting down the side’ if you, as a man, walked down the street holding your child’s hand, because that’s not what masculinity looked like. “Now, you go to the Balloon Spectacular and you see lots of men holding their kids, and that’s a really fantastic thing that’s happened. So let’s celebrate it; let’s mirror it back.” We Are The Skywhales wasn’t originally part of the Skywhalepapa commission, the project initially just being about the balloon. But, as time went on, Piccinini felt that her newest majestic creature needed a soundtrack to accompany his official launch into the world. Together, Skywhale and Skywhalepapa now form a family of beautiful, yet unusual creatures of flight. If you want to hear this amazing song live, there are a few upcoming opportunities where you can do just that. The final Skywhale Family Flight, run as part of the NGA’s Know My Name, will be happening on Friday, 3 April at 5:30am. Green and her band draw you in with a beautiful soundscape as the balloons inflate, and I hear it’s all kinds of incredible. Piccinini herself describes this experience as “alluring, atmospheric, and welcoming”. Tickets are free with booking and can be made through the event specific website - knowmyname.nga.gov.au And finally, as mentioned earlier, Jess Green (aka PhEnO) has a show at The Street Theatre on Saturday, 10 April. She’ll be joined onstage by some seriously incredible musos, including Alyx Dennison on synths, James Hauptmann on drums, and Lachlan Coventry on bass. Along with We Are The Skywhales, PhEnO will perform some new and never-before-played music. Having opened for Joan As Policewoman and The New Pornographers, as well as Odette and Moaning Lisa, you can rest assured that the quality of the music you will hear at this show will be more than deserving of your time, money, and attention. And if you’re only new to the Canberra Skywhale phenomenon and want in on the beautiful community it’s creating, the lyrics of the chorus to We Are The Skywhales is as good a place as any to start: Fire down in our bellies Catching the wind in our tails We sail up and up above you We are the Skywhales! PhEnO (+ Band) will be performing at The Street Theatre on Saturday,33 10 April at 8pm. Tickets are $32 full/$29 concession and can be purchased from thestreet.org.au

DMC Searching is the third release

SEARCHING for Canberra-based music artist [ ] DMC. The new track is a genredefying song that harnesses robust melodic components, a semi-melancholic flavoured vocal performance, and marries them to a clean, contemporary and streamlined production. Searching is a curious track as it very effectively blends many disparate styles, such as pop, hip hop, and light rock to arrive at a very pleasing result. Anchored to a full and potent chorus, with its seductive repetitions and soulful sombre-toned note choices, DMC’s performance fits the sonic landscape here, and although it has quite obviously been through a technological transformation, a sense of his emotional power nonetheless is evident. The aforementioned stylistic traits make themselves known with subtle flair and are used quite sparingly, such as the hip hop influence in the drum groove, or perhaps a little more plainly, the pop element in the crafting of the chorus melody lines. A ‘rock’ tinge is noticeable via the energy of the track, with its souped-up pace, and more obviously via the dreamy, imploring guitar lines scattered throughout. The song also benefits from the spaces segmenting the parts, the drops and shifts in focus, providing a surprising and relieving dynamism that echoes the conceit of the lyric. There is a sense of yearning that elevates this track, a resonance that seems to aptly posit the artist’s desirous ambitions at just the right pitch. This yearning is no doubt linked to the connotations of the word ‘searching’ but it is also revealed by the open nature of the production. With its patchwork design, its palpitating insistence, its thrumming allusion to a vaporous woe and, of course, easily digestible melodic motifs, the song covers a lot of ground, resulting in a most admirable record and a highly satisfying helping of contemporary pop panache. And no doubt, DMC will be suitably rewarded for name-checking his home town. VINCE LEIGH

MOOD. Canberra-based music artist GOGO Mood. released GOGO in 2020, [ ] a curious blend of R&B infused pop and soulful electronica. Blurring genres is a commendable aim, and Mood. seems to have this fine art down. I suspect Mood.’s other aims include signposting that magical era for synth sovereignty, the 1980s, with lines such as ‘Hit the floor like the ‘80s’. Utilising a flotilla of contemporary sonic fire, including vocal manipulation, ethereally enhanced voice effects and efficient machine drums, GOGO harnesses a series of subtle melodic pathways that – rather than reach a kind of dramatic peak – build a persuasive layer of enticing aural sweet and light to reinforce the lyric’s logic: seduction. Steady and streamlined, and tinctured with a very fine coat of eloquence, GOGO oozes effortlessly through several states of attempted emotional manipulation, and for the most part, it succeeds. It is mostly eloquent anyway, and with one line alluding to a sense of self-awareness, this can only be congratulated: ‘On my mind so catchy / hottie and a savage’. Hottie and a savage; sounds like the title of an escapist film for adulterated teens.

Containing a few surprises, the arrangement feels quite mercurial, with its recurring synth swells delineating two strong melodic sections that, when following on from each other, seem to act as a twin-pronged chorus. These are the parts that are drenched in pop goodness, reaching pleasing climatic lines while offering a dynamic counterpoint to the less focused sections. Mood.’s multi-faceted skills certainly get a work out on this record, and perhaps most effectively concerning the vocal parts, which are astutely placed, creating an enticing surface of human cadences that provide a rich and firm scaffold upon which the more scheming music motifs are laid out. This is late-night escapism, a seduction technique that blends a myriad of converging musical elixirs and creates a smooth and sophisticated distillation that satisfies on many levels. VINCE LEIGH

LUCY SUGERMAN After the release of i wanna The track is aided by an astute production job that elevates without COLOUR BLIND kiss boys cos i’m bored, Lucy squandering any morsel of euphonious muscle, suffusing the requisite [ ] Sugerman sold out a hometown dynamics with a tasteful array of subtle quirk and compatible sound single release gig at The Abbey choices. One gets in Canberra in November, showcasing her brand new four-piece to the chorus and band and previewing upcoming material. assumes Lucy has Her latest single, colour blind, is a taster of that material. a bit of a hit on her hands; it glistens Lucy has also been invited to participate in the 2021 Melbourne without being too Songhubs earlier this year, curated by Gretta Ray. This transparent and year’s Songhubs songwriting camp curation brings together lobs it out of the selected women-identifying or non-binary intensive APRA ballpark without AMCOS members and renowned international songwriters and the listener having producers to create new hits. any say in it. Along with Gretta and Lucy, other participants include producer colour blind Anna Laverty and artists G Flip, KLP, Lisa Mitchell, Montaigne, contains an Kat Edwards, Ninajirachi, Odette, Alex Lahey, Eilish Gilligan, admirable Tulliah, Woodes, and more. undercurrent of pop sophistication And judging by this new track, it’s no wonder Lucy has been below the effortless invited to join such an esteemed line-up. colour blind retains seeming veneer, the lo-fi flair and effervescence of i wanna kiss boys cos i’m and coupled with bored yet turns it up a notch or two in the melodic punch Lucy’s persuasive department. vocal execution, it Designating a rolling verse style followed by a semi- will undoubtedly anticipatory pre-chorus makes for a perfect counterweight to a invoke a torrent of zippy, high octane pop chorus, which lodges in your head before effusive responses. you have time to catch your next breath. VINCE LEIGH

SLOW DIAL YOU DON’T TALK The third single in for Canberra’s Slow Dial sees the band fulfilling

MUCH the promise of its previous work: [ ] singles Standing There (2019) and Koszi (2019). Over two years, the band has not only attracted a decent fan base, landing them sold-out shows with fellow Canberra talent Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers and Sputnik Sweetheart and the likes of Kingswood, but it’s also allowed for a productive fermentation of their style, sound, and songwriting. You Don’t Talk Much was conceived during the lockdown, the band stowed away in the Blue Mountains no less. The idyllic workshop seems to have paid off: the new single contains enough verifiable, visceral fire to fortify their live reputation while sustaining a confident leap straight up to the next level. Replete with drumstick count introduction, You Don’t Talk Much preserves the raw muscular sensibilities of the band’s early work while harnessing a newfound, refined musical aesthetic. Kicking off with an accented, boots and all-bass-heavy rock riff that cleverly maintains a kinetic indie parlance, the track swiftly ascends—partially by way of a dreamily assertive vocal from Damon Mudge—to satisfying melodic, galvanising heights. As the band says of the new track: “With this song we wanted to capture the energy of that chaotic part of a night out when everything is in full swing.” Yes, well, there’s certainly a frenzied kind of application of the band’s match fit wares here, the comforting sense that this feels like a legitimate presentation of a four-way creative collaboration. There is also an all-over melancholic swagger explicitly emanating from the supplicatory tone of the melodic choices. One can easily imagine oneself standing amid a crowd of eager-to-be-pleased gig attendees, thoroughly blitzed and blasted, not necessarily from any of the usual, nameless life-numbing constituents but from the more heartening, life-reaffirming elements that rise to the surface on You Don’t Talk Much, the power rock sizzle that is Slow Dial’s latest VINCE LEIGH

THE WORD ON FILMS

with Cameron Williams

ZACK SYNDER’S THE NEVERENDING STORY

Steppenwolf’s look has been steppin’ up

Zack Snyder’s Justice League clocks in at a whopping 4 hours and it’s not a good sign when the film’s villains are impatient. I check the time: 2 hours and 10 minutes; the titular Justice League haven’t even met yet. But how did we get here? That’s a long road, too. In 2017, director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) stepped away from Justice League after a family tragedy. Warner Brothers hired Joss Whedon (Avengers) to finish the film, but it triggered a complete overhaul and production woes; actors who worked with Whedon filed formal complaints with Warner Brothers that lead to an internal investigation about the working conditions. The dramas continued when Henry Cavill, who plays Superman, returned for re-shoots with a moustache he’d grown for Mission: Impossible – Fallout and a contractual obligation to keep the ‘stache – best legal clause ever. In a pickle, Warner Brothers digitally removed the moustache and created the most cursed top lip in cinema history; the story warrants its own behind-the-scenes soap opera. So, Justice League releases and it underperforms at the box office and tanks with critics.

Soon, fans begin to speculate online that Snyder’s cut of the film exists and start a campaign using hashtags and making signs at pop culture conventions. At first the fans were derided, but it turns out their hunch was correct because Snyder held on to an unfinished edit of the film.

Yada-yada-yada, Warner Brothers does a deal with Snyder to finish the film so they can release it on their new streaming service in America, HBO Max (how convenient). Zack Snyder’s Justice League does its job to make the 2017 version redundant, but bigger is not better when it comes to the maudlin alien invasion plot that leads to lifeless digital smackdowns and slow-motion sequences set to goofy needle drops. One battle sequence set in the ‘age of heroes’ that features Greek gods, Amazons and Atlanteans, has a similar feel to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. But the Justice League in full flight can never conjure the same epic feel. There’s a jarring sense of déjà vu throughout, though it’s a more cohesive film with lots of breathing room to develop each character and their pesky real-world problems and Dad issues; especially the additional scenes with Aquaman (Jason Momoa), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and Flash (Ezra Miller). Even Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) have a greater sense of regret and purpose this time around.

The time investment in each character is where Snyder makes the biggest gains to help understand what each character must overcome to join a superhero team. However, the world-ending threat is not a worthy contrast. The mulligan on Justice League is exhausting, but it’s an improvement. SIX MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT [ ] With diplomatic tensions at breaking point following Hitler’s invasion of Poland, a girls’ finishing school managed by a starry-eyed Miss Rocholl (Dame Judi Dench) and taught by an ex-pupil, Ilse (Carla Juri) has attracted the interest of British Intelligence. The school’s pupils are the daughters of highranking German Nazi officials, and the Brits expect the Nazis to smuggle the girls to Germany immediately before triggering war with Britain.

When an intelligence agent posing as a teacher at the school is murdered, another agent, Captain Thomas Miller (Eddie Izzard), having applied for and obtained the teaching post, uncovers vital intelligence that puts his own life in danger. Despite strong leads by Judi Dench and Eddie Izzard (who co-wrote it with director Andy Goddard and Celyn Jones, who plays a police corporal) and an appealing character in Charlie the bus driver (Jim Broadbent), the film offers little insight into any character’s personal motivations, and it contains the odd distracting irrelevancy and minor plot hole (picking up the murder weapon surely isn’t the kind of mistake an experienced operative would make, even in 1939). Despite such faults, Six Minutes To Midnight generally holds together as an entertaining thriller; its camerawork employs angles and perspectives that serve to heighten tension; and its resolution, fittingly not tying up every loose end, satisfies the promises it makes the viewer at the outset.

As a thriller that examines the position of children as pawns of empire, it’s certainly worth a look.

SKINNY WOLF FEVER

Canberra based duo Skinny Wolf released their debut track Fever last year. Ash Buckley and Josh Veneris have come up with a sound that’s an intriguing blend of folk-blues roots and indie dream pop, featuring a laid back lo-fi groove and a mesmeric wistful air. The choice of instrumentation here – guitars, electric and acoustic, other assorted key textures – help keep the record in the realm of the familiar, though the arrangement and the unassuming melodic structures steer it in all sorts of different directions.

If a track can be both quiet and bewitching, this is it. Utilising an assortment of hushed vocal inflexions and the more full-bodied sort, Ash and Josh’s performances create a disquieting sense of intimacy, utilising dynamics to achieve not only an evolved sentiment but an irrevocably soothing mood. It is the sound of the noonday sky, lulling us with its cajoling spirit. Although no particular part seizes you by the throat, this, I would imagine, is not what is intended anyway. Fever is an apt title, the track shimmers with a vague sense of delirium whose origins lie most noticeably in Ash’s tender disclosures. When Josh’s vocal appears it merely reinforces this sense, creating a seductive counterpoint. The melodic tendencies of the guitar add another voice to the two, embellishing the track with a subtle layer that seems to lend a thoroughly candid tone to the proceedings. Fever is a bittersweet evocation, effortlessly arrived at and natural sounding, the lyric seemingly spontaneously delivered, as though the two were indeed trekking under a blazing sun and their communication has echoed around those parched valleys and simmers in the atmosphere as they move through its heated landscape. Fever is an intangible entity, an aural slice of raw and uninhibited folk allurement, and worth a good listen. VINCE LEIGH

WALLACE MAIR THIS IS PARADISE

Wallace Mair grew up on the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland and has been performing since he was fourteen. He moved to Canberra five years ago and last year released a new track This Is Paradise, taken from his 2019 album What’s in a Name. Wallace has had some chart success with another track reaching no 5 in the UK and Irish country charts, so it’s no surprise that what we get with This is Paradise is an accessible country-tinged pop ballad whose potency relies on a directness, an endearing intimacy that lays bare the constituent factors of dedication and devotion. The flag waving line here is, ‘I know I love you that’s for sure.’ That end qualifier is imbued with a casual assuredness that sounds fittingly close to absolute. There is nothing like certitude when declaring such emotionally unreliable, high-risk statements. This has the beneficial aspect of helping, perhaps to remove any doubt the intended recipient of such statements might have. As well as the barebones nature of this affirmation, Wallace Mair utilises the unassuming demureness of his voice to disarm and charm and, for the most part, his efforts are unassailable. The instrumentation reenforces Wallace’s intentions, with a lone acoustic guitar gradually acquiring apt accompaniment along the way, including a light application of strings and charm-heightening background vocals, all contributing to a gentle amplification of intent, establishing the universal through the intimate. After all, as singular as Wallace’s tempered outpouring is, its very sense of uninhibited naturalness shines straight through, proving the dual effect of his pointed admission; it appeals to the direct target with as much vitality as it does to a more broader and unsuspecting audience. Although we are routinely exposed to the strains and resonances of any number of brooding heart-on-everypart-of-their-sleeve balladeers, Wallace Mair seems to have found a place in this coterie as a result of his adept song writing and his concordant voice and, of course, the pleasing, effortless way in which that is used. VINCE LEIGH

THE TIPSY SCHOLARS AFTERSESH

Australian indie folk-rock band The Tipsy Scholars formed in 2014 and have since established a reputation for their live shows, most particularly in their twin hometowns of Sydney and Canberra. The band has performed at some of Australia’s biggest festivals including Lost Paradise and Inland Sea of Sound and have shared the stage with several high-profile acts including Thirsty Merc, Polish Club, Alice Ivy, and Andrew Farris. Since releasing their debut EP Nowhere to Be in 2018, the band has gone on to tour up and the down the east coast of Australia as well as internationally with stints in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Now, with their EP garnering over 100,000 streams and the release of their track Aftersesh, the band has just entered the next phase of their career.

Utilising a laid-back feel replete with restrained guitars and drum brushwork, The Tipsy Scholars have persuasively conjured a sparse, temperate atmosphere that reflects a denouement, with the melodic passages only adding to this sense of observed release. Yes, this feels like the end of something, though the repeated line of, ‘I feel alive’ offers considerably more than just the debris of time but a marshalling of the components of revelation. The track has a lulling, soothing quality, and once again, this is another pleasing sonic recapitulation of the subject of the song, and never wavers from this except when the chorus appears, which is replete with a suitably more excited dynamic from the vocal, and a recalibrated spark from the instrumentation. Aftersesh certainly has all the decompression and dilettante nuances of a post-event landscape, and curiously this is not quite maudlin but rather obliquely optimistic; oblique, perhaps, but optimistic nonetheless. One can imagine this track being boom boxed at five in the morning, echoing through the shellshocked room with the strains of ‘I feel alive’ reaffirming the hammerings of the ensuing hangovers. VINCE LEIGH

NORTHBOURNE FLATS FT. RUBY DELGADO PARALYSED

Northbourne Flats last single contemporary and quite Kindred Spirit was a relatable compelling. musical meditation, an impressive coalescence of personal reflection and self-discovery recorded in [ ] the wake of the 2020 Australian bushfires and the COVID lockdown. Eschewing obvious melodic lines, and choosing to counter this with more discernible and restrained note and chord Despite not being able to perform shows, the band has satisfied choices, Northbourne has their many followers by continuing to evolve and release effective nonetheless attempted tracks. Their latest, Paralysed featuring vocalist Ruby Delgado, to go for the jugular; is no exception. From the brooding, wistful opening to the many but ever so finely, ever exhilarating and intense peaks in this mini masterful slice of what I so slickly, subliminally can only term power folk, Northbourne Flats have quite significantly almost. One is carried exceeded the expectations of their last release. along here on a brief Paralysed is a rolling, often thundering series of musical motifs whose surging layers of vocal, guitars and sheer aural raw veracity whirlwind that makes concise use of adept performances and sharply-focused band vocal interplay. creates an otherworldly expanse that is part traditional part And Ruby Delgado’s vocal additions are not merely textural but assist in the hypnotic reach, providing clear fragments that contribute efficaciously to the whole. ‘I am living in a fairytale’, the opening line decrees, and that not-so oblique confession’s metaphorical influence seems to linger throughout the song, offering the listener a transformative time-ride through a remote yet accessible hinterland; this is the place where stark emotions have been foraged, revealed, then probed under even starker light and recast into inviolate language. And as far as music goes, that’s a quite a state: persuasive and endearing. Paralysed is aural documentation of this and more. It is quite a bit more, and with this latest Northbourne Flats has raised the stakes. VINCE LEIGH

GIG REVIEW - Underground Roots & Reggae ft Los Chavos, The Decideds, Kopasetic, Shadow Ministers @ The Basement, Friday, 5 Feb

Review by David Caffery/ Pics by David Caffery & Rafa

Instinctual excitement filled our ride to The Basement. It was like the Golden Years again, edging to be immersed by great music and elated souls. Like before ‘social’ was infected by ‘distance’. I just hoped it wasn’t a seated gig – surely Canberra’s beyond that? We skipped down the stairs into a sold-out roots and reggae concert. Seats. Everyone seated, groups distanced, and the eight-piece Shadow Ministers pumping sweet dub grooves from a nicely lit stage. Weird. Where’s the front row bending at the hips, getting down after 11 months of pixilated concerts? Nonetheless, everyone was stoked to be there. Rafa (Rafael Florez) always puts on loving and uplifting shows, and this was a standout by adding guest musos to each band.

Shadow Ministers played with a captivating energy. Gun members of Agency Dub Collective, Dub Dub Goose and Los Chavos worked with guest vocalists MC Tomasky and Kyra Lloyd for a cracking opening to the night. Special shout out to Joel for rocking a keytar. Between acts the bar manager performed his wry Covid comedy. The health office should be proud. Like an air host for a rock venue, he patiently explained the shit reality of current requirements: don’t stand and drink, but drink so the venue survives.

Permit me in this review, if I may, a brief moment for a pertinent rant. I’ve always lamented the financial link of music to booze, but people hardly buy albums, and Spotify pays about 0.003 cents per stream (Apple music is about double, but double of nothing is useless). So the venue and bands must rely on tickets and drink sales, but the 800 capacity venue was Covid-full with 150 people. The viability is precarious with Jobkeeper, and if that finishes next month without capacity changes, the music industry is fucked. Did you notice that the Australian aviation sector was given over a billion dollars in the lockdowns but music, also operating below 5% of pre-Covid levels, got an old AusCo fund with a new name? MusicACT, APRA and others are desperately trying to find a solution. Alas… But back to the awesome gig. Mr Bar Manager announced the game-changing news: THERE IS A DANCE FLOOR! No longer at the front of the stage, the venue assigned a boogie area near the bar so we didn’t forget to drink with a few conditions. The cool bass and deft guitaring of Kopasetic ignited the dance floor. They have a beautiful diversity of roots moods and their new song, Petrified, is a stunner. Dancers were doing the covid do-si-do: following the rock host’s interpretation of the health rules, people were gliding from the d-floor to a stool to sip a drink and jump back up to dance again. No-one was sure what it achieved, but the host was happy and so were we. The Decideds, a new rootsy-dubby-funky-jazzy-gypsy eight-piece fronted by the wonderful and hilarious Rafe Morris, thickened the dance floor and swayed those in their seats. The bright happiness of each band member streamed through their music, enlivened by Kyra Lloyd’s outstanding vocals. Then we were ready for the pièce de resistance, Canberra’s musical red cordial spiked with tequila: Los Chavos! Their intoxicating urban Latin reggae was strengthened with cameos by Rafe and Canberra’s musical godfather, Simon Milman. Horns, hands, and smiles were raised to the very last beat. The Basement is a stellar venue, well set up with a priceless rock vibe, though the audio engineering didn’t always do justice to the night’s large bands. Another issue was that the line-up was nearly all male. Each muso deserved the gig, but so do more females. The golden years are behind us for now. But gigs like this keep Canberra soulful, connected and alive.

MECHANISM OF ACTION ALRIGHT Canberra-based electronic group Mechanism Of Action has released their second single [ ] for the year, Alright. The new track follows a series of singles released through NYC-based label Bentley Records, as well as independently. The group—comprising Maestro D (Denis), CL (Craig), and Alicia—formed in 2018, hoping to initialise a fresh approach to the local electronic music scene. As Denis says about the group’s objectives: “We’d really like to put Canberra on the map in terms of electronica. Canberra has had some successful acts of late, and we’d like to do our bit.” And if Alright is anything to go by, Mechanism Of Action is sure to leave a decent footprint on that map. Drawing from a deceptively expansive inventory of musical strains, Alright manages to form a cohesive whole utilising a couple of dominating styles—trap and indie R&B—while subverting the more obvious characteristics of others, such as hip hop and dance. Despite its reliance on technological wizardry, the latest track reveals a convincing, robust melodic core. There is a dream-fused song beneath the surface sheen, variegated and possessing all the requisite satisfying qualities. The track is bifurcated, with the verse and the pre-chorus parts utilising downtempo traits, ones that verge on trip-hop, while the chorus aims for the full trap electronica treatment with a few healthy sprinkles of pop. Amid the converging alliances of strangeness and tonal surprise in the chorus, there is the entreating vocal from Alicia, gingerly providing an unassuming yet striking counterpoint. With this in mind, the track nonetheless adheres to some of the tropes of this hybridised genre. The post second chorus breakdown allows for a noticeable but unobtrusive gear change, the vocals letting the synths and keys take over the melodic load, as well as providing a welcome variance in atmosphere. Cleverly allotted space follows, with the re-introduction of the anticipated chorus closing the track. Alright will certainly convince Canberra listeners that Mechanism Of Action is doing their bit for local electronica, and undoubtedly unveil the group’s charms to a global audience. VINCE LEIGH

JACK BIILMANN FULL CIRCLE Two previous albums have paved the way for Jack Biilmann’s Full Circle. The album delivers what its aural landscape promises without acceding to predictability, presenting several strong hooks— [ ] With an average of two hundred shows a year, Jack Biilmann has shared the stage with some of the country’s biggest artists, including SOS, Mirror—nestled within the vigorous and rough-hewn soundscape. And like all enduring records, this marriage can distinguish the paradigmatic from the fleeting. Tash Sultana, Ian Moss, Sarah McLeod (The Superjesus), Mat McHugh There is a sense that Full Circle will ultimately be viewed (The Beautiful Girls), Jay Whalley (Frenzal Rhomb), Bootleg Rascal, through the lens of the former denomination. VINCE LEIGH and Kim Churchill, as well as performing as part of the ACT’s showcase at BIGSOUND, Australia’s national music industry conference. This gig tally is reflected in the robust and assured performances on the new album. Aside from the seasoned playing and authoritative vocal performance, this collection simmers with a combination of raw emotional energy and swirling dark hues. However, there are a few more relatively wistful moments, such as in Grandfather’s Hands (Don’t Wash Away) and Sunday Morning. The tracks form a cohesive whole due to Biillmann’s persuasive and pliant vocals, as they dip from muscular roars, heard in the opener Mirror, to the imperfect vulnerability revealed in Plastic Roses. Amid the narratives that reach for the personal and a wider circumference, as in Society, there is a liberality of styles, absorbing blues-based nuances, folk-aligned aesthetics with a guitar-driven rock core, all resonating with considerable ease and confidence, not to mention power and control. There are tides of swampy country doused moods, presenting a distinctive amalgamation when juxtaposed with the styles mentioned above. Full Circle is a testament to Biillmann’s twin-engine prowess with the added inducement of some refined, adept songwriting.

SW Band Night Present: Evan Buckley, Bobby James and Georgia Bennett The weekly local free band night SIDEWAY Easter Thursday Rave The biggest night of the year, featuring Brittany De Marco, Haylee Karmer, Vivace, Take-Tu, with Toucan and Edstar in the Fact Bar. Tix from fctn.intix.com FICTION CLUB

FRIDAY 2 APRIL

Katrina Maree – Debut EP Release Party With supports Ambient Book Club, Pure Hazel, and Transista Groove. Raising money for BERYL WOMEN INC, Canberras’ longest standing refuge for women and children escaping domestic violence. $20 + bf from oztix.com.au POLISH WHITE EAGLE CLUB

Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds The alt folk-pop project of Canberra multi-instrumentalist Bec Taylor. Supported by Lucy Ridge and the Derby Widows. $15-$20 from events.humanitix.com THE QUEANBEYAN HIVE Van Halen Tribute Show Shananigans Entertainment is proud to present Poundcake: The best of Van Halen show. Supported by Silentia, performing a full set of acoustic rock covers to kick off. Doors 6:30pm, tix $25+bf via oztix. com.au THE BASEMENT Vinyl DJs From 8pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN JEP Trio GANG GANG CAFE Karaoke @ The Boardwalk Bar THE BOARDWALK BAR & NIGHTCLUB

SATURDAY 3 APRIL

LaHi (and the diks) National EP Release Tour w/ Ambient Book Club, CHINS, Monkey Knife Fight The first forty groups through the door will score an Easter Show Bag filled with Merch, and a pro photographer will be on-hand to take photos of you and your group, as well as the VIP photos of you with the band of your choice! Doors 7pm, tix $29.35 from oztix.com.au THE BASEMENT Live Acoustic Sets From 2pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN Good Folk: Kristabelle & The Southern Jubilee Ringers + Den Hanrahan & The Rum Runners Good Folk is the scaled down Folk Festival event featuring 22 concerts over two jam-packed days in classic Queanbeyan venues. $30 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 10:30am BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk - Chloe & Jason Roweth - Songs And Poems of Henry Lawson “Jason and Chloe Roweth are without question two of our finest interpreters of Australian traditional folk music.” – Ruth Hazleton. $15 from venue; 10:45am ROYAL HOTEL QBN Good Folk: Alex & Annette Hood ‘A Tribute’ supported by Paverty Bush Band $20 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 1:30pm BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk: Omar Musa with Guyy and the Fox Queanbeyan’s very own esteemed author, poet and rapper returns to the ol’ stomping ground. $35 from venue; 2:30pm THE Q – QUEANBEYAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE Good Folk: Stiff Gins with Kim Yang The exquisite voice of Kim Yang combined with the hearty Stiff Gins. $40 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 5:30pm BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk: Little Quirks Good vibes from the Central Coast trio. $30 from venue; 6:30pm THE Q – QUEANBEYAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE A Taste of Ireland – The Irish Music & Dance Sensation Experience one of the most prominent Irish Dance shows in the world today, with all new sets, costumes, tunes and effects. $74.90 – $109.90 + bf from venue; 7:30pm CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE Good Folk: Fanny Lumsden with Montgomery Church 2021 Golden Guitar Awards “Female Artist of the Year” Fanny Lumsden is joined by the majestic Montgomery Church. $45 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 8:30pm BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk: 19 - Twenty $30 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 9:15pm THE Q – QUEANBEYAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

SUNDAY 4 APRIL

Easter Sunday Session feat. Sesame Girl The Canberra dream pop four-piece Sesame Girl headline this special Easter Sunday session. Hop down to the Horse for live jammin’, bands, DJs, curries, craft beer, cocktails and good times! SMOKEY HORSE , BRAIDWOOD Live Acoustic Sets From 4pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN Back Bone BMX “ACT Jam” street party + Lucifungus Record Launch - All Ages Blocking off the road out the front of Bentspoke Braddon. All day event with ramps set up on the street; bands from 8pm BENTSPOKE BREWING CO Sunday Sessions with Harvey Sutherland (DJ) Musician, producer, DJ and all round magician Harvey Sutherland brings an exclusive DJ set. Blending a broad array of genres from disco, funk, electronic, and house. With supports SONDRIO, Amando, Izaak Bink & Mia Sorlie, and Wally. 8pm - 5am, tix on door only ONE22 MaRLo The return of Australia’s leading Trance artist. With supports: Peekz, Daron K, Vivace, Biscuit Bytes. 9pm - 5am, tix $32.23 from fctn. intix.com FICTION CLUB Good Folk - Chloe & Jason Roweth - Songs And Poems of Henry Lawson Drawing their inspiration from the warmth of old-style bush entertainment and folklore, the Roweths work with vibrant arrangements of new and old traditional Australian songs, poetry, yarns, and dance tunes. $15 from venue; 10:45am ROYAL HOTEL QBN Good Folk: Mikelangelo & The Black Sea Gentlemen The long-awaited return of one of Australia’s most enduring musical ensembles. $40 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 11am BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk: Timothy James Bowen National Folk Festival partners with Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council to deliver this COVID-safe, inclusive and innovative festival alternative for 2021. $30 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 2pm BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk - Kay Proudlove Emotional and witty, Kay is a Wollongong raised indie-folk singer-songwriter with a remarkably agile, engaging, honest, soul-bearing voice and a wry, dry-ice sense of humour. $10 from venue; 2:30pm ROYAL HOTEL QBN Good Folk: Little Quirks Good vibes from the Central Coast trio. $30 from venue; 2:30pm THE Q – QUEANBEYAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE Good Folk: FourPlay String Quartet This Easter weekend, Queanbeyan will come alive with a vibrant program of indoor concerts and outdoor entertainment as part of Good Folk – a folk experience in Queanbeyan. $40 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 5:30pm BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk: The New Graces With Montgomery Church $30 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 6:30pm THE Q – QUEANBEYAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE Good Folk - Kim Yang Trio Inspired by Joni Mitchell and Bon Iver, Canberra’s indie-folk singersongwriter Kim Yang writes songs that speak from her experiences as a partner, a woman, a traveller, and an insecure soul. Her ethereal sound balances delicately between vulnerability and power. $10 from venue; 7pm ROYAL HOTEL QBN Good Folk: Kristabelle & The Southern Jubilee Ringers + Den Hanrahan & The Rum Runners Rounding out the Good Folk mini-fest in jaunty style. $30 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 8:30pm BICENTENNIAL HALL Good Folk: 19 - Twenty $30 from Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre; 9:15pm THE Q – QUEANBEYAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

IQ Trivia Arrive 6pm for 6:30pm start THE OLD CANBERRA INN

WEDNESDAY 7 APRIL

Live Jazz From 6:30pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

THURSDAY 8 APRIL

Highland Light - Absolute Release Party With supports Box Dye, Parrots With Piercings, and THYME. From 7pm, $10 THE BASEMENT You’re Safe Til 2024 - A six-year project about planetary transformation Playwright David Finnigan and musician Reuben Ingall are creating six new shows, one each year, from 2019 to 2024, each looking at a different aspect of the massive changes taking place on our planet. From 8 - 10 April, $35 + bf from Canberra Theatre THE COURTYARD STUDIO Louis Nowra’s Così Set in a Melbourne mental hospital in 1971 the semiautobiographical Così is the sequel to Nowra’s previous play, Summer of the Aliens. From 8-24 April, $45 - $35 from venue CANBERRA REPERTORY SW Band Night Present: Kirklandd, Archie and Zuko Another CBR power trio of acts for the weekly free band night SIDEWAY

FRIDAY 9 APRIL

Royale With Cheese: ‘90s Unplugged Australia’s premier ‘90s rock show, playing all rock and pop covers – from Seattle-sound to Grunge to Britpop and all the best Oz Rock from the ‘90s. From 8pm, $45.15 from oztix.com.au THE BASEMENT Brendan Clarke Trio From 6pm GANG GANG CAFE FEEL ft Choomba With supports Parisi, Reubok, Rex Da Ruler, Juicee, Divito, and Edstar. 9pm - 5am, tix from fctn.intix.com/ FICTION CLUB Sustainable Stand-Up Comedy that’s not only funny, but positive, delightful and makes the world a better place. 8pm, $20 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Andrew Farriss (INXS) Performing two shows at 5:30pm & 8:30pm. Dinner & show $91.80, tix from venue ROYAL HOTEL QBN Karaoke @ The Boardwalk Bar From 8pm THE BOARDWALK BAR & NIGHTCLUB Vinyl DJs From 8pm Spinning a variety of retro, jazz, funk, and more THE OLD CANBERRA INN

SATURDAY 10 APRIL

PhEnO (+ Band) Fresh from the triumphant success of releasing and performing We Are The Skywhales with Patricia Piccinini, at the launch of “Skywhalepapa”, PhEnO and her band bring you a dynamic live show, including brand new music. 8pm, $32/$29 from venue THE STREET THEATRE Black Mountain String Band GANG GANG CAFE Il Bruto Seasoned players Il Bruto will be takin’ care of business with a Satdee arvo of garage, blues, punk and rock ‘n’ roll. 3pm, $20 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Peter Combe - Greatest Hits A concert for kids, parents who used to be kids, and grandparents who originally bought the albums for the parents who used to be kids! 2pm, $35 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE Live Acoustic Sets From 2pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

SUNDAY 11 APRIL

Charm of Finches Known for their stunning sibling harmonies and transporting melodies. 7pm, $25/$20 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Live Acoustic Sets From 4pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN Canberra Shanty Club Canberra Shanty Club is a community singing group that sings sea shanties, working songs and all manner of folk chorus tunes. All singing levels are welcome. From 7pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

TUESDAY 13 APRIL

IQ Trivia Arrive 6pm for 6:30pm start THE OLD CANBERRA INN

WEDNESDAY 14 APRIL

Live Jazz From 6:30pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN Thornhill Aus Tour 7pm, tix sold out at time of print; double check with venue THE BASEMENT The Leonie Cohen Trio Geoff Page presents his monthly series of jazz concerts at Smith’s, second Wednesday of each month. Leonie Cohen piano, Hugh Fraser bass and Nic Cecire drums unfold a mix of moving interpretations of standards and a beautiful array of original compositions. Two shows, 7pm and 8.45pm, $25/20 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

THURSDAY 15 APRIL

Metal from the Grave Tour For the first time in his 33 years of blasting – the indomitable “Skitz” will step up with a hand-picked crew of players and perform music originally recorded by a selection of peer-influencing bands in Australia’s metal scene – including Damaged, Manticore, Misery, Terrorust, and Hobbs Angel of Death. 7pm, $40.05 from oztix.com.au THE BASEMENT Jon Stevens | The Noiseworks & INXS Collection Tour After a sell-out tour in 2019 Jon is back tributing the legendary bands that catapulted him into Aussie Rock Royalty. 7:30pm, $49.00 – $65.00 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE Fundamentals With one of Sydney’s finest, Julia Wilson. Supports include Wagga funnyman Michael Vincent, local rising star Jacqui Richards and your favourite loveable mess of an MC, Jeffrey Charles. Two shows, 7pm ($25) and 9pm ($20), tix from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE One Man In His Time: John Bell and Shakespeare Spend an evening with John Bell, a man who believed that Australians could see themselves reflected in the works of Shakespeare, and founded a company based on his belief. 7pm, $53.50-$78.50 + bf from Canberra Theatre THE PLAYHOUSE

FRIDAY 16 APRIL

Red Light Confidential Red Light Confidential is a safe space for artists and audiences alike where newbies rub shoulders with seasoned pros, and audiences feel like they’re a part of something special. With talent from Burlesque, Comedy, Cabaret and Live music locally and beyond. Doors 7:30pm, donation entry ($20 recommended) from eventbrite.com.au FLAZÉDA HUB Viktor Rufus In the words of Viktor himself: “Gang Gang’s intimate setting allows us to explore our creative vulnerabilities. Join us for a night of musical expression coupled with a tasty brew, vino or vegan tiramisu.” From 6pm GANG GANG CAFE FEEL ft Sippy & Blackjack Big Bass abound when Sippy returns along side the head of BASSIC @ Chinese Laundry, all round DJ & producer Blackjack. With supports Reubok, Kaliopi, Rex Da Ruler, Divito, and Edstar. $21.79 from fctn.intix.com/ FICTION CLUB Fangz - Self Medicate Tour With fellow Sydneysiders Down For Tomorrow. 7pm, $29.35 from Oztix THE BASEMENT Goolabri’s Monthly Public Bar Night - Autumn Rhythm Live music by The Decideds (8 piece band) and Black Cypress (regular favourites). From 6pm THE WEDGETAIL PAVILION Vinyl DJs From 8pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

Drive Safe There’s Nowhere Else to Go EP Launch Playing the first (possibly only) Drive Safe full band extravanganza. With Lady Denman and Slagatha Christie. 7pm, $17.35 from oztix.com.au GANG GANG CAFE The Chats – AC/DC CD Tour w/ Special Guests Formed in their mate’s bong shed in Coolum, Queensland 2016 when all three members were 17, The Chats represent everything that’s good about Australia and nothing that’s bad: a rebel spirit, gallows humour and the endless hedonistic pursuit of A Bloody Good Time. 6:30pm, $45.10 from moshtix. com.au KAMBRI PRECINCT Silverback Touring Presents The Iron Maidens The world’s best, and only, female tribute to the mighty Maiden. 7pm THE BASEMENT The Biggest Little Show In Town - Riley Catherall (w/ band) + Gretta Ziller Melbourne alt-country singersongwriters, Gretta Ziller and Riley Catherall, are joining forces this autumn to celebrate their new single releases. 7pm, $20 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Genesis Owusu - Smiling With No Teeth Album Tour [SOLD OUT] THE UC HUB Matt Keegan: Vienna Dreaming Leading saxophonist Matt Keegan delves into his family’s history to create a new musical story against the old tale of migration and cultural fusion. 8pm, $40 – $35 ($25 student) from venue THE STREET THEATRE Mirusia Known to millions around the world as the “Angel of Australia” – the name given to her by the famous Dutch violinist, André Rieu. 8pm, $53.80 from premier. ticketek.com.au CANBERRA SOUTHERN CROSS CLUB (WODEN) It’s A London Thing 6.0 - Killjoy (UK) & Mincy (Syd) A gig of grime & garage, with supports Juzlo, DJHRH feat. JLP & Macca, and DJ Mixer. 9pm - 5am, $15 - $20 + bf from humanitix SIDEWAY Live Acoustic Sets From 2pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

SUNDAY 18 APRIL

High Society - Live Hip Hop Night Free afternoon show, with CBR’s finest acts including MN Cappo, ILL GATO, Chemi-Cal + many more, plus inteestaters Skells, Keggles & Master Marx from the Blue Mountains/Sydney for that boom bap goodness, with Context on hosting duties (now back in CBR from Melbourne). From 2pm SIDEWAY Sally Chicane - “By the way, which one is Sally?” EP Launch Special Sunday afternoon show with guests NTT and Tennessine. 4pm THE BASEMENT The Faumuis Kashia, Salale and Koebi Faumui are a vocal group who’ve been singing and performing together for over nine years. 6pm GANG GANG CAFE Live Acoustic Sets From 4pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

MONDAY 19 APRIL

Recent Work Readings: Rico Craig and Jerzy Beaumont (with Open Mic) Open Mic limited to 10 poets reading for 3 mins each. Spaces can be reserved on the night, or pre-book by emailing contact@ recentworkpress.com. 7pm SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

TUESDAY 20 APRIL

Open Mic Comedy Limited spots available, email: markyworthingtoncomedy@ gmail.com for a spot. When it comes to bookings the “First In Best Dressed” rule applies. 7pm, free entry THE BASEMENT Ben Elton – Live 2021 Ben Elton exploded onto the comedy scene more than 30 years ago, hosting Channel 4’s groundbreaking Saturday Live. Since then Elton has achieved huge success as a stand-up comic, author, playwright, actor and director. 7:30pm, $71.65 – $183.65 + bf from venue THE PLAYHOUSE IQ Trivia Arrive 6pm for 6:30pm start THE OLD CANBERRA INN

WEDNESDAY 21 APRIL

CIMF - Josh Cohen: Radiohead For Solo Piano Radiohead fiercely protects its reputation and catalogue, but Josh Cohen got the thumbs up to perform his Radiohead songbook around the world. $30. Students (under-25) $15 available the day prior from cimf.org.au VERITY LANE MARKET Live Jazz From 6:30pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

THURSDAY 22 APRIL

CHINS BMA Band Profile darlings will be strutting their stuff on stage. Turn to page 16 to read up, then turn up to Sideway to rock out SIDEWAY Coolio Desgracias and Housemouse - Keepin It Small Album Launch This duo has been making bangers and rockin shows together since 2012. Coolio’s lugubrious baritone and Housemouse’s high-pitched flow are a perfect fit. 7pm, $20 (includes pre release) from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

FRIDAY 23 APRIL

Karaoke @ The Boardwalk Bar THE BOARDWALK BAR & NIGHTCLUB CIMF - Andrew Blanch and Ariel Nurhadi, guitar duo: ALCHEMY Hear these “two stunning young guitarists” (Sydney Arts Guide) in beloved works by Debussy, Rameau, Piazzolla, Albéniz, de Falla and Granados. 8pm, $30 (students under-25 $15 available the day prior) from cimf.org.au VERITY LANE MARKET Cuddlefish and Friends An informal evening of songs, stories, tentacle lovin’ and the ‘light show’. With The Cashews, Nicegood Things and The Standard Deviants. 8pm, $20/$15 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Melinda Schneider: A Farewell To Doris Following the recent passing of the legendary Doris Day, acclaimed Australian singer Melinda Schneider pays tribute to her childhood idol. 8pm, $69.90- $120 + bf from venue THE PLAYHOUSE Neil Murray: Keep Rolling On The maverick song man was a founding member of the pioneering Warumpi Band, which in the ‘80s penetrated mainstream Australia with the iconic anthems My Island Home and Blackfella Whitefella. 8pm, $32/$29 from venue THE STREET THEATRE DJ Disco Frenzy From early evening til late GANG GANG CAFE Titty Titty Bang Bang presents: Explicit Content Explicit Content explodes on to the stage not once but twice with burlesque and featured performers including comedians, dancers and artists. There will definitely be something for everyone in this thrilling show. 6:30pm and 9:30pm, $25 from eventbrite.com.au FLAZÉDA HUB Vinyl DJs From 8pm Spinning a variety of retro, jazz, funk, and more THE OLD CANBERRA INN

SATURDAY 24 APRIL

Beugs Brothers (Adam Koots & Tenth Dan), Joe Snow, Must Volkoff Pang Productions are a Melbourne based hip hop collective with a cult-like following. They have stapled themselves in the lug holes of thousands across Australia and beyond and are now coming to play their first show here since the Covids. From 5pm til late, tix from eventbrite.com.au SMOKEY HORSE, BRAIDWOOD TOOL - Tribute Show After nearly a 3 year break, The Jerk Offs will be returning to perform an epic 2 hour set of all your favourite TOOL songs! 6:30pm, $30 + bf via oztix.com.au THE BASEMENT

Jeff Lang: Some Memories Never Die Jeff Lang has built a reputation for making startling and influential music that is accomplished, intricate, gutsy, melodic and loaded with soul. 7:30pm, $39/$35 from the venue THE STREET THEATRE Yasmine Hosseini Indie rock music from Perth, WA. Doors 6pm GANG GANG CAFE We Can Be Heroes - An Orchestral Tribute to David Bowie Conducted by George Ellis the 24-piece Symphony Orchestra will perform the Best of Bowie featuring songs from his entire songbook. 7:30pm, $99.90 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE Live Acoustic Sets From 2pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

SUNDAY 25 APRIL

Homegrown Sounds Presents: Sounds From The Suburbs From 6:30pm GANG GANG CAFE Jeff Martin - Set in Stone Tour Promising to be a whole new live experience, the tour will feature songs from Jeff’s upcoming solo release, including single Set in Stone, as well as crowd favourites for good measure. 8pm THE BASEMENT Live Acoustic Sets From 4pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

TUESDAY 27 APRIL

Daniel Sloss – HUBRIS Daniel Sloss: HUBRIS is the all-new, 11th solo show by Scotland’s i nternational comedy superstar, hot on the heels of his ground-breaking, global smash-hit Daniel Sloss: X. 7:15pm, $49.90 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE CIMF - Ronan Apcar, piano: Third Stream One of the youngest artists at this year’s festival, Ronan presents an off-beat piano evening that crosses the boundaries of jazz and classical. With pieces by Kapustin, Prokofiev, Gershwin, Ginastera and more, Ronan adds a light Armenian twist and a distinctly personal touch. 8pm, $30 from cimf.org.au AINSLIE ARTS CENTRE IQ Trivia Arrive 6pm for 6:30pm start THE OLD CANBERRA INN

WEDNESDAY 28 APRIL

CIMF - Localjinni’s - AlleyHART video walk The 8pm Crumb’s Lyre performance will be preceded by Localjinni AlleyHART video walk from 6:307:30pm. Embark on a circular saunter around the city centre streets and snikelways. 6:30pm, $20 from cimf.org.au VERITY LANE MARKET And Beyond The Violence A Phantom Gravity international play reading from Shadow House PITS. 7pm, $20 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE CIMF - Christine Johnston & Sonya Lifschitz: Cumb’s Lyre Christine Johnston as Madame Lark joins macrocosmic piano siren Sonya Lifschitz as they unleash their duelling scores on the eve of the festival. 8pm, $30 from cimf.org.au VERITY LANE MARKET

THURSDAY 29 APRIL

CIMF - Hanging Gardens An early masterpiece of Viennese expressionism: Schoenberg’s seminal song cycle about love set in the imagined world of Babylon. Anna Fraser, Soprano and Roland Peelman, Piano. 12:30pm, free entry VERITY LANE MARKET Liz Lea Dance Company and Belco Arts present: The Point A new full length dance work created and performed by a multinational company of dancers from across Australia and India, exploring and celebrating the interconnections in design, movement and music. From 29 Apr - 1 May 7:30pm (Sat matinee), $45/$35 from venue BELCONNEN ARTS CENTRE

FRIDAY 30 APRIL

CIMF - Magic Garden Enjoy the marvels of the Australian National Botanic Gardens with a musical discovery walk leading you through the gardens’ rain forest gully, rock garden, and into the new Banksia Garden with Festival musicians at every corner. 11:30am AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS CIMF - Masterclass: Andrea Keller Andrea Keller writes music for our times. Three ARIA Awards, seven Australian Jazz ‘Bell’ Awards, two Art Music Awards, and many more plaudits later Keller continues to invent and re-invent herself at the piano. 4:30pm BIG BAND ROOM @ ANU SCHOOL OF MUSIC Gypsy Jazz From 6:30pm GANG GANG CAFE CIMF - Opening Gala - The Elements From the heart of Vienna to the core of Canberra’s music festival: a celebration of elements that connect us to the people of the world and to the elders in our midst. Brenda Gifford’s long awaited new work is revealed in the hands of the Australian Art Orchestra alongside Mozart’s Turkish credentials and the annual Beaver Blaze. 6:30pm and 8:30pm, $80/$70 from cimf.org.au FITTERS WORKSHOP Bangarang (formerly Mondayitis) The variety night returns with a mixed bag of local talent. 7pm FLAZÉDA HUB Flaming Wrekage - Cathedral Of Bones Album Launch w/ Clarity of Chaos, Diskust, Arkanae Flaming Wrekage take to the stage to deliver their most crushing live show to date. 7pm, tix from oztix.com.au THE BASEMENT Ben Lee: OMG I’m Playing Gigs Again! Tour 2021 2021 is shaping up to be another wild ride as Ben preps for the release of his forthcoming album featuring collaborations with Shamir, ChrisAan Lee Hudson, Money Mark, Sadie Dupuis and Zooey Deschanel. 7:30pm, $43 from venue THE STREET THEATRE Urzila Carlson - Token African The award-winning South AfricanNew Zealander comedian returns with her new show. 7:30pm, $61.40 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE Karaoke @ The Boardwalk Bar THE BOARDWALK BAR & NIGHTCLUB Cabaret Voltaire An evening of avante-garde art and performance, inspired by the fashion industry / Aestheticism and the essence of ‘l’art pour l’art’ (art for art’s sake). 8pm, $25 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Vinyl DJs From 8pm Spinning retro, jazz, funk and more THE OLD CANBERRA INN

SATURDAY 1 MAY

CIMF - Schubert Sublime I Schubert’s String Quintet has been described as ‘terrifyingly beautiful’ or ‘transcendent’. Two shows at 11am and 1pm. $75/ $65 from cimf.org.au THE FITTERS WORKSHOP CIMF - ḥarīm Traditional Sufi music. Two shows at 2pm and 4pm. $65/$60 from cimf.org.au AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE Floor Element 2021 A combined amateur and professional floorwork competition with local dancers coming together to show off their talents and compete for the winning place! From 6pm THE BASEMENT Capital Punishment - Monsters Think you’re punny, do you? Canberra’s competitive pun slam challenges you to strut your stuff against Australia’s pun champions. 7pm, $15 from venue SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE Urzila Carlson - Token African The award-winning South AfricanNew Zealander comedian returns for night two of her new show. 7:30pm, $61.40 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE Dub Dub Goose + Nyash! Two mighty bands on one glorious night of dub, ska, roots, jazz goodness! Dub Dub Goose make a rare live appearance on this double bill with local hero’s Nyash! Afrobeat Collective. 8:30pm, $25 from trybooking.com POLISH WHITE EAGLE CLUB Live Acoustic Sets From 2pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

CIMF - Do I Matter? A number of years in the making, the work is distilled from the answers of over two hundred women to a confidential survey about their private thoughts. Compiled by Abbott with writer and cartoonist Kaz Cooke, Do I Matter? also incorporates the audience’s private thoughts – in real time… Shows are 6:30pm and 8:30pm, $75/$65 from cimf. org.au THE FITTERS WORKSHOP

CIMF - Hand to Earth A celebration of First Nations artists: women’s culture from Lightning Ridge followed by Yolgnu Songmen from Arnhem Land. Shows at 1:30pm and 3:30pm, $65/$60 from cimf/org.au NATIONAL GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA Julia Morris – I’m Not Even Joking Tour In her 30th year of stand up comedy, there is no doubting our beloved Lady Julia Morris is the Doyenne in the art of pulling one’s leg. 7:30pm, $59.90 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE Liam Wright - Time Will Tell EP Launch Liam’s soulful tone and folk rock influence has helped create his sound drawing inspiration from greats such as Neil Young, Bob Dylan and The War on Drugs. With Evan M. Buckley and Jack Bird. 7:30pm, $10.76 from eventbrite. com.au SIDEWAY Live Acoustic Sets From 4pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

MONDAY 3 MAY

CIMF - Great Hall Rising This event touches upon some of the landmarks of Australian history with music that takes us into the heart of Australia’s democracy and into the soul of our nation. Shows at 11am and 1pm, $55/$50 from cimf.org.au THE FITTERS WORKSHOP CIMF - Greatest Mozart II The musicians of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra conclude their CIMF residence with two of Mozart’s greatest chamber works on period instruments. Shows are 6:30pm and 8:30pm, $80/$70 from cimf.org.au THE FITTERS WORKSHOP Greg Fleet & Ian Darling - The Twins A heart-breaking and hilarious new play about trust, remembering and forgetting to remember, loss, regret, love, pain, and glory. From 3–6 May, $31 + bf from venue THE COURTYARD STUDIO UB40 - 40th Anniversary For The Many Tour Offering audiences a taste of classic hits like as well as tracks from the latest release For The Many. 7:30pm, $97.50 – $119.00 + bf from venue CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

TUESDAY 4 MAY

CIMF - Beethoven for Breakfast Partridge String Quartet perform Beethoven’s String Quartet followed by a conversation with artists hosted by Genevieve Jacobs. Plus breakfast! 8:30am, $52/$48 from cimf.org.au ALBERT HALL CIMF - All of them, and one of us Three musicians pay tribute in a quiet act of musical reconciliation, followed by a guided tour through the venue. Shows at 11am and 12:30pm, $55/$50 from cimf.org.au AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CHRISTIANITY AND CULTURE CIMF - Schubert Sublime II Over the course of four extensive movements, Schubert’s Trio in Bb scales the heights and depths of human aspiration. Two shows at 6:30pm and 8:30pm, $75/$65 from cimf.org.au THE FITTERS WORKSHOP IQ Trivia Arrive 6pm for 6:30pm start THE OLD CANBERRA INN

WEDNESDAY 5 MAY

CIMF - Up Close at Gorman The Festival’s most intimate experience takes place in one of Canberra’s retro jewels, Gorman House. Its courtyards and lovingly restored galleries and theatres host seven brief and contrasting performances, starting at 11am and repeated at 20-minute intervals. $55/$50 from cimf.org.au GORMAN ARTS CENTRE CIMF - Night and Dreams Gruber’s pandemonic piece for chansonnier and ensemble is equally probing of the unconscious mind, with Christine Johnston as the first female performer to tackle this Viennese musical circus. Two shows at 6:30pm and 8:30pm, $80/$70 from cimf.org.au FITTERS WORKSHOP Live Jazz From 6:30pm THE OLD CANBERRA INN

IGNITE Gallery pres. Journeys by John Brookes / 14 Mar - 15 Sep / 23 Brindella Circuit, within Canberra Airport

Part of the IGNITE: Gallery initiative, Journeys explores the notion of journeys and travel, both literal, and as a metaphor for our internal growth and personal change both positive and negative; a relevant topic in Covid times where physical travel and social interaction was limited, calling upon mental reserves to revise goals and priorities. These stunning photos use minimum editing in achieving the defamiliarised look and feel of the subjects, favouring camera settings at point of shot. The images form part of a wider project that continues the artist’s own personal journey

Flickerfest / World-renowned short film fest / 16 Apr / Palace Electric Cinemas

Celebrating its 30th year, Flickerfest remains Australia’s leading Academy® Qualifying and BAFTA Recognised short film festival, presenting A-list selections from a record 2,700 entries! Entertaining, inspiring and award-winning films from globally respected competitions abound, including Canberra talents Stephanie Jane Day, Alex Wu, Lillian Paterson, Benjamin Balte, Jaslyn Mairs, Johnny Milners, plus fun and timely The End The Beginning shot around Canberra, awarded 2021 Best Original Music score. $25/$22 from flickerfest.com.au/tour/canberra/

The Point/ New full-length dance work / 29 Apr - 1 May / Belconnen Arts Centre

The wonderful Liz Lea Dance Company and Belco Arts present The Point, a new full length dance work created and performed by a multi-national company of dancers from across Australia and India, exploring and celebrating the interconnections in design, movement and music. Taking inspiration from the designs of Walter and Marion Griffin and the notion of ‘Bindu’ – the point of creation in Hindu mythology – The Point explores connections between place and people through the prism of light. $45/$35 from belcoarts.com.au/point/

Così / Play by Louis Nowra / 8 - 24 Apr / Canberra Repertory

Set in a Melbourne mental hospital in 1971 the semiautobiographical, poignant comedy Così is the sequel to Nowra’s previous play, Summer of the Aliens. Nowra adroitly demonstrates that reality is unique for each person, and often people may slip into illusions in order to avoid the truth. It is suggested that although they may not have been completely ‘normal’, those considered to be ‘insane’ still possess a great insight that ‘normal’ people may overlook. Tix $45 - $35 from venue

Daniel Sloss / New show HUBRIS / 27 & 28 Apr / Canberra Theatre

At only 30-years-old, but performing since he was 16, Sloss has firmly established himself as one of the world’s most significant and successful touring stand-ups of his generation. His critically acclaimed 2018-2019 smash hit, Daniel Sloss: X, delved into the controversial subject of toxic masculinity and received acclaim for its deeply funny and incredibly moving observations about gender and sexuality. Daniel’s new show HUBRIS is even more relevant after the unprecedented global events of 2020. 7pm/7:15pm, $49.90 + bf from canberratheatrecentre.com.au

CIMF@Belco Arts / Full free day of every music type Sat, 8 May / Belconnen Arts Centre

A day of unbridled music making in Belco Arts crowns this year’s Canberra International Music Festival. And it’s free! From hiphop grooves to Hindustani vibes, from the chilled guitar riffs of Jess Green to the super hot frenzy of Super Rats, plus a special appearance of the Tiwi Strong Women (pictured), and you get an idea. Throw in the Golden Gate Brass Quintet, a young piano quartet, DJ Diola, Samarai Cunio + Heather Lee + Kim Cunio, and Canberra’s longest running youth choir and you’re getting the full measure. From 10am all the way to 4pm. Once again, this event is FREE and not ticketed. Open to all, subject to Covid capacity