FROM THE BOSSMAN

BY ALLAN SKO [ALLAN@BMAMAG.COM]

And The Secret Ingredient Is... LOVE!?!

There has been a growing trend I’ve noticed upon feverishly scrutinising a product’s ingredients of a busy farmer’s market or boutique bakery; gleefully oblivious to the increasingly long queue of frustrated people forming behind me. It’s a trend that makes me arch an eyebrow of curiosity as the growing rabble audibly gnash their teeth.

And it is this: Including ‘Love’ as an actual, real ingredient.

I have noticed this inclusion on five separate occasions. Next to the salt, the sugar, the perrioroxide emulsifiers and various other chemical numbers and letters, will be listed the substance Love. Or, for extra twee points, a little heart emoji. What I want to know is... Have people thought this through?

Now, I understand that we say things are ‘made with love’ and that boutique stores in particular will want to express, to their hipster clientele, that they’re not about watered down mass production, maaaan. They go the extra mile, providing the equivalent of an easter egg that they know you — the discerning possibly-bearded possibly-head-scarf-wearing ingredients-scrutinising buyer— will read.

And it may induce a little knowing smile; the sound of “Nawww!” wafting out of the amygdala.

But maybe there’s more to this.

Have the FDA* had a review and determined ‘Love’ is now a tangible and measurable ingredient that can legally be included in food and drink products? What constitutes a safe level of Love? If the Love has been picked, then frozen, only to be warmed up later off-season and reconstituted, do the product makers have to declare this? Where exactly is this Love being grown and produced?

The stupid questions are endless.

Possibly the worst thing about this whole Love-is-now-aningredient thing is that it is often listed as the last ingredient. As we all know, said list runs from highest quantity at the start to lowest quantity at the end.

So these producers are flagrantly admitting to us that they’re making it with the bare minimum of love, effectively halfarsing the care component.

This is surely as bad as offering a waiter a 5c tip over none at all. If you can’t be bothered to ladle in a decent dollop of Love, then don’t bother at all. The fast food industry has made billions off that just notion.

And let’s face it, the idea of a “little bit of love added to every product” just sounds a bit… well… Unsavoury

Anyway, I’m off to buy a pumpernickel & ultra-chai superfruit loaf and take 15 minutes asking where the Love is sourced. *that is, of course, the Food and Drug Administration. Not to be confused with the Fraud and Death Administration

Fours bands across three states/territories converge to observe and celebrate International Wom*n’s Day. QLD’s alt-indie four-piece VOIID give a voice to the voiceless; fresh from Bundjalung Country, NSW comes the socially conscious hardcore punk of Masochist; plus two homegrown heroes in the form of incinerating alt-punk trio (and BMA faves) Box Dye, as well as the fresh-faced Pretty in Punk. Plus art stalls, local band merch stands, education stations, and vendors galore. Canberra + Women = Awesome. 7pm, $10.20 conc/$15; $5 from every ticket sold goes to Girls Rock Canberra

Wait... Is that Lindy Morrison? The Lindy Morrison, drummer with legendary Brisbane seminal post-punk-pop band The Go-Betweens?

The other half of a great female friendship recently written about in the beautiful memoir My Rock n Roll Friend by Everything But The Girls’ Tracey Thorn? Oh yes. And here comes The Blackeyed Susans’ Rob Snarski! After a gig or two together, disagreements, chess, and the odd arm wrestle, they’re back. Not for the faint hearted, but for the romantic, the readers, the writers, the displaced, the misfits, the fanatical, the lovers, and the lost. 9pm, $35/$40 via venue

Outlaw blues and soul for outlaw hearts. Canberra based Wease Wade and CC Hall have come together with a deep and delicious desire to create heartfelt sounds and soulful moods. Their debut single Lovin’ Arms ticks all those boxes, and more. They surrounded themselves with the cream of local musicians and engineers, then finished things off with mixing engineer, Anton Hagop, who was inspirational on Silverchair’s Diorama album. Outlaw blues and soul for outlaw hearts… welcome to The Wildfires! With special guests Moondog, and Big Mama and The Hanged Men. 7:30pm, $25 via Trybooking

Alive in the Park 2023 is back! With a backdrop of sweet summer air and towering trees framing the Yass River, what more could you ask for? Joining ten hours of incredible live music will be a variety of food trucks, craft beer and drinks by Kombi Keg, market stalls, and atmosphere. During the day is the time to get groovy to Will Kepa, The Burley Griffin, and Hope Wilkins, before the music ramps up in the afternoon with smartcasual, Muesli, and Jack Biilmann and the Black Tide. Then get your rock on, framed by the sunset, with Citizen Kay, and Redhook. Noon - 10pm, free event!

Gia Ransome is a Canberra singer/songwriter who, with her band, will make you feel like you’re living a great romance in an old-school dive bar. Described as a marriage between Nick Cave and Lana Del Rey, you can expect an experience of suave, bluesy rock. Her debut single Boots will be released on 17 March (review next issue) and brings with it riffs and grit inspired by her time living in London. Even better, she is joined on the night by ARCHIE and Nina Leo! 8pm, $18.40 via Moshtix

Wine Machine is a full-bodied day of wine, food, and live music, showcasing both the splendour of our nation’s most picturesque regions, and the spectacular musical accompaniments borne from Australian soil. And they’re packing a mean line-up to boot! To whit: Bliss & Eso, Lime Cordiale, Grentperez, KLP, Vera Blue, Northeast Party House, Jimi Kween, the wonderfully named The Poof Doof Drag Jamboree and, of course, Hot Dub Time Machine. 3pm - 11pm, tickets $97.13 - $148.26 wine-machine.com/wine-machine-canberra/

Locality

[THE LATEST ON LOCAL MUSIC] WITH RUTH O’BRIEN. SEND GIGS AND INFO TO: [RUTH@BMAMAG.COM] and fronted by four amazing forces of nature in Kevin 007, Malcom, Mickey and Andrew, then ya best get ya ass along.

Oh haiiii, it’s me again, back with some juicy details about some of Canberra’s most delicious upcoming gigs and events.

BTW, have I mentioned before how much I love this city? I was born and raised in Canberra, have actually never lived outside this place for more than a month. I have travelled a little bit, though, and despite it’s harsh winters and sometimes ridiculous drivers (so spoilt here with our roads!), compared to many places it’s a pretty stunning and cushy place to live.

Not to mention the arts and music culture!

As a teenager, some of my friends used to complain that there was nothing to do here. If I’m honest, living in Tuggeranong without a licence can leave you feeling up isolation creek without a paddle.

But, on the whole, there’s actually a shiteload happening. Like, all the the time. Here are a few examples of such things!

Fresh Out runs from 11am-5pm and is the biggest LGBTQIA+ event on the Canberra calendar. All are welcome, and you can head to freshout.au for all the pertinent details!

If you’re keen on getting to know Canberra from a slightly different perspective, you should probably know about, and subsequently go to, Australian Dance Party’s Culture Cruise. This is an experience you will need to set aside a good part of the day for (as it goes for four hours) but it is a fantastic combination of art/performance meets city tour.

I Have No Enemies is “an original post-dramatic play about surveillance, data collection, and how we make sense of our place in the digital world”. It’s a production of Carroll’s theatre company Bare Witness, based at Belco Arts. If you’d like to bare witness (arf-arf) to this undoubtedly expressive and topical piece, head to ainslieandgorman.com.au

On Saturday, 11 March at 4:30pm, Glitoris are playing at Glebe Park as part of the Fresh Out Fair Day! The band have just finished recording their sophomore album and will be playing some new tunes from said record. If you like your music punk rock, part political, and part tongue-in-cheek,

Starting at the National Museum of Australia, participants will be taken across the lake by boat to then tour some of Canberra’s most beloved and iconic institutions. There’ll be food and refreshments throughout, and I have no doubt you’ll leave the cruise a more enriched person.

Happening every Saturday throughout March, the Culture Cruise is a fantastic way to get to know the rich tapestry of art, buildings, history, and people that make Canberra/Ngunnawal Country what it is. For all the info go to australiandance. party/culturecruise

Of course, Enlighten is happening very soon, too. From 3-13 March, many of our contemporary music favourites will be gracing the Enlighten program with their sweet tunes. Acts include nonbinarycode, Muesli, Lucy Sugerman, ARCHIE, smartcasual, Eden Plenty, The Devine Devilled, Lucy Ridge & The Derby Widows + many more!

For information about the specifics of each of these acts, head to enlightencanberra.com. Enlighten really is an event that every age group can get involved with, and it’s always a favourite on the Canberra calendar.

Lastly but not leastly, there’s always a vast lineup of things happening at Smith’s Alternative

One in particular I’d like to draw your attention to is the Smith’s Varietal #192! That’s right, there’s been 191 of these variety shows on the wonderful Smith’s stage, and acts of all, well, varieties, have taken part.

The one-hundred-and-ninety-second instalment is on Wednesday, 22 March and will be hosted by Mel Kordek Performing in the show will be Lumi Ricardi - poetry, Jacinta and Marlene - storytelling, Adam Fenech - flute, Anthony Irving - piano, Alaric - song, The Vest Brothers - songs, Evan Buckley - songs, and Mossgirl - songs.

Starts at 9:30pm and should wrap up about 11:30pm. Get along and get your variation on!

That’s it from me! Oh, if you wanna come say hi and meet face-to-face, I’ll be at The Basement from 7pm on Saturday, 4 March for Burntout Bookings’ Grrls To The Front gig! My new business, Upbeat CBR will have a stall there for this International Wom*n’s Day event and I’ll be available to chat about all things BMA and Upbeat!

If you’d like to know more about Upbeat CBR go to upbeatcbr. com. And to find out more about the Grrls To The Front event, head to thebasementcanberra.oztix.com.au

Otherwise, see you in a month from now!