BMA Magazine #532 - Apr/May 2023

SEATTLE GRUNGE LEGENDS MUDHONEY

THE NECKS

SUMMON A CEREBRAL SOUNDSCAPE

MIRTH MERCHANT DYLAN MORAN

POLISH PIANO PRODIGY

HANIA RANI

LIOR & DOMINI WHEN TWO BECOME ONE

PLAYS GROOVIN THE MOO PLAYS GROOVIN THE MOO

Portrait23 - Identity at National Portrait Gallery New Mill Theatre production - Reasons To Be Pretty

A Good Time personified with Briefs - Dirty Laundry Plus columns, reviews galore, and plenty more!

[Canberra’s Entertainment Guide]

#532 APR/MAY 2023

I thought of a Great Band Name...

...That’s it. “Great Band Name”

Mail: 36/97 Eastern Valley Way

Belconnen, ACT 2617

Publisher

ABN 76 097 301 730 Pty Ltd

General Manager

Allan Sko

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Editor Allan Sko

E: allan@bmamag.com

Accounts Manager

Ashish Doshi

E: accounts@bmamag.com

Cover Design

Marty Baker

Article Design

Marty Baker & Allan Sko

Entertainment Guide Editor

Allan Sko

Social Media Manager

Angel Nash

Columnists

Ruth O’Brien, Josh Nixon, Chris Marlton, Allan Sko

Contributors

Tamsin Kemp, Sammy Moynihan, Ley Shoemark, Karena Blake, Anthony Plevey, Chris Marlton, Jen Seyderhelm, Ruth O’Brien, Allan Sko, and Vince Leigh

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Thursday, 11 May

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BMA Magazine is independently owned and published. Opinions expressed in BMA Magazine are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

FROM THE BOSSMAN

BY ALLAN SKO [ALLAN@BMAMAG.COM]

Hello group, my name is Allan [Group: ‘Hello Allan’]. I’m here today because I have an emailing problem [Group: Pattered applause]. Here is my story...

People like cumulative stats. They can dazzle us, entertain us or, more often than not, make us feel bad about something.

The ‘amount of time we spend in queues in a lifetime’ is often wheeled out: “Did you know,” a voice sounding oddly like Stephen Fry will echo in your head, “that if you live to be 80 years old, then you would have spent at least 74 of those years waiting in a queue? Isn’t that amazing?”

In this regard, I shudder to recall how many years of my life have been flitted away on typing out the same lines via email. ‘Thanks for your efforts’, ‘Kind regards’, ‘I hope this finds you well’...

Out grind the same greetings and platitudes email after email, week after week, to the point that your fingers curl like RSI question marks so that when you look at your gnarled hands, they seem to plead back to you, ‘Why?’

Despite taking up 52% of our waking lives, these tedious yet crucial platitudes form the cornerstone of communication etiquette. As they should; after all, that’s what separates us from the animals. You don’t see an ape hurling its own faeces at a fellow primate and saying ‘Kind regards’ afterwards.

So what’s the solution? We seem somewhat trapped. If we do away with these tedious yet highly necessary forms of social lubrication, before you know it we’ll descend to a spirited game of poo chucking.

A gentle greeting and salutation keeps the trembling fabric of civilisation intact. No matter how mechanical, it demonstrates a desire—nay, a need—to spend the few precious seconds to construct such a genial salutation. Otherwise, it looks like this:

‘Allan, Do that thing. Now. Clive’

And here’s the problem. I simply can’t do that. Even with someone I’m very familiar with. Hell, especially someone I’m very familiar with.

After years of fruity missives, I become panicked that such a concise communique will appear abrupt. A sudden, ‘Yes, that’s fine’ could derail a friendship. ‘That’s very unlike Allan,’ they would ponder. ‘I wonder what’s the matter? Must be troubles in the bedroom.’

Locked into this eternal and infernal polite-off, I am faced with no other choice than to entertain myself as much as the recipient. Before I know it, I’ve locked myself into a nightmarish miasma of saucy adverbs and tosspot gaiety that lengthens along with the day. In the morning, I’ll warm up with a rudimentary, ‘Hello, and how are you today?’. By lunchtime it’s hit the slightly loose, ‘Hullo old bean, I hope the sun is shining gayly on your working week’; by the afternoon it’s transformed into, ‘A merry tra-la-la to you, you jackalent knave, I trust this missive finds you fleet of foot and wide of pupil’.

And by day’s end it’s descended into the positively brazen, ‘Well a hey nonny-nonny and a jolly fat blast of a hello raspberry right into your hardworking gills, you finger-snapping pimp-daddy jazz cat you, I do hope the sun’s celestial arc has beamed a frisson of delight onto your knitted working brow.’

Ridiculous.

So with your help, group, I’m hoping to break this communication nightmare, you magnificent bastions of shimmering... Ok, I know, I know. One step at a time...

ALLAN ‘KIND REGARDS’ SKO

Multi-award winning artist and pioneer Urthboy has released his 7th studio album, Savour. Having earned a reputation for storytelling and social commentary, Urthboy has always sat in the engine room of local hip hop culture, though is more commonly compared to Paul Kelly than Hilltop Hoods. To celebrate his three-part project, Urthboy’s Savour Every Moment Tour will be his last as headliner. Joined by Noongar wordsmith, Dallas Woods, and the 2023 winner of the Toyota Starmaker Award at Tamworth Music Festival, Gamilaraay artist Loren Ryan. From 6pm, $39.76 via Moshtix

Back once again! The 2023 Canberra Beatdown is bringing the best local and interstate beatmakers battling it out head to head for the title of Canberra Beatdown Champion. Joining them on the night will be live beat sets from interstate acts Threatnique (Syd) and Supaadry (Syd). Also cutting it up on the decks is Canberra DMC Champion Chemi-cal, with a special guest host to be announced. Being Cannberra’s second ever beat battle event this is definitely not a night to miss out on. From 8pm, $28.30 via Oztix

Maverick song man Neil Murray was a founding member of the pioneering Warumpi Band that, in the 1980s, penetrated mainstream Australia with the iconic anthems My Island Home and Blackfella Whitefella. Neil Murray is now a respected singer/songwriter, with Good Light in Broome, Whispering Casuarina, and Lights Of Hay comprising just some of his well-loved songs. He has a string of remarkable albums, the most recent being Blood & Longing and Tjungu (all in one, joined together) with Sammy Butcher. Supported by the fantastic Melanie Horsnell. 7pm - 9pm, $45 via venue

Further exploring the sound of their combined influences, Sir Archer’s first single for 2023, Getaway, sees the band embrace their “yacht rock” roots. They’re keeping it smooth through the tasteful use of beautifully seasoned tones and cool grooves, combined with quintessential lyrical concepts, such as the exhilaration to escape. Pure yacht rock, baby. Three years on since their first release, When I Was Younger in 2020, Sir Archer are really finding their feet, with a growing reputation as great songwriters with strong musicianship and a sharable live show. Doors 7pm, $23.44 via Oztix

Fresh from a festival-filled summer including Spilt Milk, Lost Paradise, and Falls, Telenova release euphoric new single Lost In The Rush and announce a 15-date Australian Regional Tour. 2022 was a milestone year for Telenova, winning Breakthrough Independent Artist of the Year at the AIR Awards and performing at the APRA Awards, before releasing their second EP Stained Glass Love which garnered major support from triple j, The Guardian, BBC Radio 6, NME, and more. From 8pm, $30 via Oztix

Spectrum Big Band has been at the forefront of the jazz scene in Canberra since 1998, where it began as the Canberra City Show Band, part of Canberra City Band Inc. A 20-piece, Spectrum perform and promote jazz, swing, and funk, to audiences around the Canberra region. Led by Musical Director Andrew Kimber, Spectrum will explore the history of Big Band’s repertoire from the great composers through to modern hits, exploring their influence on hip hop and jazz. From 2pm, $20 - $30 + bf via Stagecenta

Neil Murray / The Telling album launch / Sun, 16 Apr / Smith’s Alternative

Urthboy + Dallas Woods + Loren Ryan / Urhtboy’s final headline tour / Fri, 14 Apr / Kambri @ ANU

Canberra Beatdown Battle / Beat-y sets, battles, and champions / Sat, 15 Apr / Transit Bar

Sir Archer / 7-piece yacht group’s Getaway single launch / Fri, 21 Apr / The Basement

Telenova / Melb cinematic pop trio / Thu, 27 Mar / Transit Bar

Spectrum Big Band - UNESCO Int. Jazz Day / Sun, 30 Apr / Murranji Theatre in Hawker College

LOCALITY

[THE LATEST ON LOCAL MUSIC] WITH ALLAN SKO. SEND GIGS AND INFO TO: [RUTH@BMAMAG.COM]

Greetings, dear lovers of all things Canberra. It is I, your Bossman Allan Sko, taking over this month’s Locality duties from the radiant Ruth O’Brien as she focuses on both her supporting performance with Katie Noonan, and her very own EP launch!

And—if one may be permitted a moment of personal joy and pride—what better place to start.

Bek Jensen brings a blend of classic soul and contemporary blues to the stage. Her sound is likened to Janelle Monae, The Blues Brothers, Prince, and the deep soul music that she was raised on. Her Magic & Art is for the magician and artist in everyone!

As for The SunBears themselves, our Vince Leigh put it best when reviewing their wares: “What’s most arresting here is the marriage of this galloping, rolling rhythm with CC Hall’s Hendrix-like wailings and drummer Dylan Harding and bass player Craig Marshalsey’s hurtling yet tightly coiled alliance, giving a sense of threatening, streamlined energy.”

Catch all three blistering acts at Live at the Polo on Friday, 14 April. Tix are $28.30 via Oztix.

Yes, YOUR Ruth O’Brien is releasing her long-awaited second EP, Songs For Abby; a stirring collection of songs about the love-hate-love relationship us humans have with our cats. Having been there from the start, it’s equal parts beguiling and hilarious, and sounds magnificent.

What’s more, she has assembled a dream team of Canberra’s brightest musical stars to bring her songs to life, both on the recording, and the live show!

Saturday, 13 May is the date to circle; The Street Theatre is the place to be. Ruth will be joined on-stage by Viktor Rufus on guitar, Tabitha Hart on cello, and Matt Nightingale on double-bass. Get yer tickets now via the venue!

For something completely different, and also showing off the shining lights of Canberra’s music talent (yes, it the same intro), NORA are releasing their new single Pretend (featuring the connective tissue of this column that is Viktor Rufus) and have a live show to celebrate it.

Known for their energetic performance, NORA draws influence from alt rock and midwest emo to deliver a refreshing sound. As BMA’s own Vince Leigh said of their Black Wattle EP: “Black Wattle is a uniformly powerful musical statement, with a compelling mix of emo rock thrills combined with absorbing, electrifying nuance.”

NORA’s newie, Pretend, is a tongue-in-cheek take on the common experience of dissociating on the couch at a party, and perhaps not quite hearing what the person next to you is saying. And you can hear it showcased in all its live glory at Live at the Polo on Saturday, 29 April, with able support by Box Dye, 31st Avenue, and Lamphead. Tix are a mere $18.40 via Oztix.

For something completely different, and also showing off the shining lights of Canberra’s music talent, The SunBears, with Chloe Kay and the Crusade and special guest Bek Jensen, will be at Live at the Polo on Friday, 14 April Chloe Kay and The Crusade are the newest blues rock band taking Australia by storm, described as, “fierce, feelsy, and female fronted!”

You Are Here’s whole Cahoots Lab program is worth a darn good look (see this issue’s centre pages for all there is). A particular highlight is Sia Ahmad’s depth disintegration An APRA award-winning composition, depth disintegration was originally performed at Homophonic in 2021, and is now coming to Canberra for the first time.

Sia is a long-time YAH affiliate, a Cahoots alumni, and one of Canberra’s greatest artistic assets.

The work continues to extend Sia’s very personal canon of exploring being/identity. Working closely with fellow queer musician Benjamin Anderson during the conception of this piece, she found a new comrade in the midst of discussing the real story of public perception.

depth disintegration represents one-half of human nature, an experience of strength at its most fraught. Years of building facades and public impressions crumbling at the pressure of truths and realities. It is a visceral work that allows space for vulnerability as it does a kick in the guts.

This work, for a single bass instrument, explores human flaws within real-time chance performance against a precise arrangement of electronic loops, some in a high register but mainly an exploration of dense bass frequencies that uses the acoustic bass presence to buffer and cut through the slow sub-bass tones and pulses.

The work is performed live by Benjamin Anderson on a double-belled bass trombone with electronic playback. He will perform the work in the round and in near darkness, with the audience surrounding him at ground level.

Unlike many other works in Cahoots Lab, depth disintegration is a finished artwork, not a work-in-progress showing.

It all happens on Friday, 28 April at the Belconnen Arts Centre. Tickets range from $15 - $45 via the venue.

And finally, in celebration of Australian Dance Week, Canberra Theatre Centre is proud to present BATCHELOR + LEA: a dance week double bill, where two acclaimed

artists originating from Canberra showcase their works on International Dance Day

James Batchelor’s Shortcuts to Familiar Places (3pm) is a personal exploration of memory and history inscribed on the body. This extraordinary and contemplative work premiered in Berlin and posits Batchelor’s body as a map that is constantly being deconstructed, redrawn, and rewritten.

Liz Lea’s RED (5pm) is a one woman show full of film and fabulousness. A poignant, riotous, and ultimately triumphant exploration of one woman’s story – an exquisite exploration of female endurance. Described as unforgettable, shattering, and hilarious, RED is a soul baring retelling of one woman’s journey through illness and recovery with an eye to the future.

This delectable dance double-bill takes place at Canberra Theatre on Saturday, 29 April from 3pm. Tickets are $49$59 + bf via the venue.

And that’s yer lot for this month. Be well, and see you next!

Ruth O’Brien

Canberra singer-songwriter, and BMA Local columnist, Ruth O’Brien, lovingly invites you to the long-awaited launch of her second EP, Songs for Abby, at The Street Theatre on 13 May.

Funded by the artsACT Homefront Grants in 2020, Ruth wrote and recorded these four acoustic love songs with an superstar assembly of Canberra’s top musical talent.

After the bleak years of the pandemic, Ruth wanted to create a work that was relatable and light-hearted. And so, a series of odes to the love-hate-love relationship with her cats came to be.

The recording of the EP has been a labour of love for Ruth and her Canberra-based team comprising David Pendragon (sound engineer and producer), Jack Buchanan (sound engineer), Viktor Rufus (guitarist and arranger), Julia Howarth (cellist) and Matt Nightingale (double bassist).

Viktor and Matt will join Ruth on the 13 May launch to bring her songs to life, as will Tabitha Hart of Mirror Mirror on cello/vocals.

You know her as your Locality columnist. Now get to know her as the brilliant singer-songwriter she is...

How did you start on this magic musical journey?

I always felt good when I sang. My Mum used to take me to church sometimes when I was little. I remember her once telling me I had a nice voice when we were singing. That’s probably my earliest memory of loving music.

When I was in Year 5, I used to busk at Erindale with my little harmonica and play Christmas carols. That was my first insight into getting paid to entertain. I really loved it.

In highschool, I did voice lessons with a range of teachers (good and terrible) and was always looking to get better, and to know more about the voice. After I left school, I started singing at local events and, when I was 23, went to study music at CIT for a couple of years.

Describe your sound:

My sound is constantly morphing. Currently, it’s very minimalist, and I want to continue to improve and hone my songwriting skills.

The EP that I’m about to put out, Songs for Abby, is acoustic, and all about the songs, which are love songs. They tell little stories through a mix of folk, jazz, pop, and acoustic-sounds.

What key tracks should people immediately check out?

My new EP will be out on 13 May on all streaming platforms. I released my first EP in 2018, called Invaluable, which is also available on all streaming platforms.

I like each and every track on the EP for different reasons. The title track is probably my favourite to sing, though. It means the most to me personally.

Who/What are your influences?

Aussie singer/songwriters, particularly women, have inspired me the most.

These include Kate Miller-Heidke, Clare Bowditch, Katie Noonan, Jen Cloher, and Lior.

I also love, and have been inspired along the way by, Billie Eilish, Gang of Youths, Eva Cassidy, Elbow, and local artists like the lovely Kim Yang (who’s currently living overseas).

I’m always drawn to the singer first and the music second. What are some of the most memorable experiences you’ve had as an artist?

I’ve been lucky to have had several amazing experiences on my musical journey. Depends what you mean by memorable!

At one gig, I had these homemade percussion-type instruments for the audience to join in. One of the things I brought along was a jar with plastic beads in it.

After the gig, I was told that they had been eaten!

That was super weird and clearly very memorable.

What is it that you love about the scene?

The Canberra music scene is full of really wonderful people. A lot of artists here want to see each other do well, and that genuine encouragement is really wholesome and lovely.

My favourite gigs to watch are jazz bands doing awesome improv, singer/songwriters, and looping artists.

I love the creativity in songwriting and making different sounds in different ways.

Tell us about one of your proudest moments?

My last EP launch. The room was full of people I love and who have supported me on my journey, personally and professionally. It was the end of an extremely difficult period in my life and I honestly felt like I’d achieved my own version of climbing Everest.

Still so proud of Invaluable, and thankful to everyone who was a part of it.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m hoping to release music more regularly and keep working with new producers to explore different sounds and continue developing my artistry.

What makes you laugh?

Allan Sko. And my kitty cats.

Also, everything really. I’m quite a giggly person when I’m in a good mood.

What pisses you off?

I do love the cats but FUCK! Sometimes they’re so demanding and selfish. My new EP is all about the love/hate relationship I have with the cats. Any cat-owner knows what I’m talking about. Anything else you’d like to add?

I’m launching Songs For Abby on Saturday, 13 May at The Street Theatre. I’m calling cat-lovers far and wide to come and be a part of this love-filled evening to launch my newest tunes into the world.

Expect lots of laughs, relatable stories, adorable pictures and, of course, good music!

Where can people check you out?

Check out all the things I’m doing below! And listen to my music on Spotify and Apple Music under my name, Ruth O’Brien.

- thestreet.org.au/whats-on/upcoming

- linktr.ee/ruthmvobrien

- ruthmvobrien.com

What We Doin’ When A Fatboy Slippin’

By Allan Sko

Putting together a magazine is a hard graft at the best of times; more so in the Year Of Our Lord, 2023. But there are days that send a giddy thrill to the very core of your soul.

One such day involved the revelation that Fatboy Slim—pride of Brighton, international DJ, prolific EDM creator, and Midas-remixer himself—was adorning the Groovin The Moo line-up. Another such day occurred when I learned he was up for a chat.

Norman “Fatboy” Cook is one of my music heroes. Along with The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy, Cook thrust me into the exciting world of electronic music when I was rocking both short pants and shit haircut in late ‘90s England. His The Rockafella Skank thawed my ears, and opened my heart. Everything that followed sealed the deal.

His string of hits (‘Skank, Gangsta Trippin’, Praise You, Weapon Of Choice, Yo Mama) was unstoppable. His Spike Jonze-directed music videos remain timeless. And his DJing? Oh BOY, his DJing…

Having largely moved away from producing his own music, Cook is aaaaaaall about the DJing these days.

“I kinda hung up being an artist/producer/remixer about ten years ago,” the affable Cook says. “I lost my passion for doing it. I did a lot over the previous 30 years; maybe I just ran out of stuff.

“To make a good record, you have to just live, breathe, and believe in nothing else while you’re doing it,” Cook continues. “And I lost that passion. So I don’t think there’s any point in making records unless you’re absolutely passionate about it.”

Our loss of new Fatboy output is very much DJ audiences’ gain.

“But where I lost my passion for doing that, I retained my passion for DJing,” Cook enthuses. “I’ve concentrated more on that. There “isn’t a lot of time left in the year” if I did want to make some records,” he laughs. “But I’m still absolutely passionate about DJing. And I think that shows.

“I do odd things,” Cook reflects. “I did a tune with Carl Cox last year [Speed Trials On Acid]. I’ve just done a tune with Rita Ora [a reworking of Praise You], which has been fun.

“But on my passport it now says DJ.”

So no longer a slashy (DJ/producer/remixer) anymore, but a purist.

“No, I’ve never been a purist about anything!” Cook exclaims gleefully. “No, I’m the opposite; anything goes.

“What I genuinely love, and this comes back to our subject here, is the fact that when I’m DJing around the world, I’ve got no agenda. I’m not trying to sell anyone my new album. People just want to hear their favourite records, or new records they haven’t heard. They don’t want to be bothered by your new album.

“Right now, I’m DJing in the purest form; I’m just trying to entertain people. And I think that’s why I love it so much. There is no other agenda other than: let’s see how much fun we can have together.”

So despite none of us getting any younger, this whole DJing lark keeps you youthful?

“Yeah, I think it definitely does,” he states. “I mean, part of it is the smoke and mirrors of being a DJ. The spotlight’s not totally on you, so you can age quietly and gracefully. No one really notices.

“But also, being a DJ is fairly ageless. And most of the people in the crowd are kind of young; and that keeps me young.”

There is little doubt that Groovin The Moo—and its Canberra iteration—will deliver to Cook another ravenous crowd. The meeting in the Nation’s Capital will be a first for all parties involved.

“I do come to Australia with alarming regularity,” he says. “And there’s the fear of repeating yourself. So it’s nice to go to places that I haven’t been to before. That’s what really sold me on Groovin The Moo; I hadn’t heard of many of the towns that the festival was in.

“I was romantically thinking they would be in The Outback,” he adds. Given Cook’s admirably lengthy, and incredibly packed, career it must be increasingly difficult to do something different. Cook has ticked the mighty Movement Festival off his bucket list. He’s headlined the iconic Glastonbury fest multiple times. And he’s even performed atop The Great Wall of China.

“There’s still a whole world of crazy shit that I haven’t done yet, though,” Cook admits. “I’ve somewhat run out of the bucket list, but there’s all this other stuff that you didn’t know existed.

“I mean, today I just booked a gig up a treehouse. I’m doing it purely for the reason that when I die, at least I can say I played up a tree.” Cook’s clearly not one for resting on his super comfortable laurels. “No, no, no,” he hastily agrees. “I’m not a big fan of resting on laurels. But also, there’s no grand ambition; I don’t want things to be bigger. I prefer to go sideways than up… and try interesting things.”

This is understandable thinking. After all, as the tenuously-named Big Beat genre exploded in late ‘90s—with The Prodigy, The Chemical

Photo Credit: Jill Furmanovsky

This is understandable thinking. After all, as the tenuously-named Big Beat genre exploded in late ‘90s—with The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, and ol’ Fatboy Slim himself as the leading exponents—Cook was relentlessly hounded by the frothing British press. It got to the point that boats were being hired to allow photographers to snap inside the man’s Brighton beachfront.

“I mean, it’s not what I signed up for,” Cook responds to my questionable trip down memory lane. “But, in a way, it IS what I signed up for because you know; you live by the sword, you die by the sword. If you sign up for this crazy world of showbiz, you have to take the crunchy with the smooth, you know?

“So I’m not moaning about it, but it wasn’t my favourite thing.

“And a lot of that has to do with my choice of wife,” he quickly adds, referring to Radio 1 presenter and all-round media personality Zoe Ball. “We became the tabloid darlings. So that’s why the marriage had to end; I just didn’t want the baggage that came with going out with her,” he adds, with a knowing smile.

“I’m never going to grumble because I’ve had a very charmed and lucky life. During lockdown, I realised how much I missed doing this. And I made a pact to whoever is in charge of things: if you give me this back, I promise I’ll never moan about an airport layover ever again.”

Ahhhh yes. Lockdown. It seems inevitable that every chat with a creative type in 2023 will turn to the topic eventually. Whilst devastating for many, for others, like Cook, it allowed a rare time for reflection.

“There’s a possibility that I might have taken it for granted,” Cook says. “When it’s taken away from you, you appreciate and cherish it more.

“Also, you realise the worth of it. We like to get together and commune over music or sport; we crave that coming together. It’s an important part of how we work as human beings.

“It made me realise that what I do is part of the fabric of society. It’s not just frivolous; it’s a basic human need.

One Nation Under a Groove exists for a reason, I proffer.

“Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah.”

And Grooves-with-a-capital-G are where Cook has his PhD, with a masterful command of lifting a key sample from music’s broad history and alchemically transforming it into a certified banger. The opportunity couldn’t be passed up to ask the Groovemesiter General how he applies this wizardry. Does something like Sliced Tomatoes’ Just Brothers (forming the backbone of breakout hit The Rockafella Skank) or David Dundas’ classic Jeans On (the driving groove underpinning the magnificent B-side Sho Nuff) nonchalantly float over the airwaves one fateful day, instantly sparking a cartoonish lightbulb of inspiration atop his head?

Or does Cook don the proverbial Safari helmet and go samplesearching like some EDM Magellan?

“Mainly, the sample comes first,” Cook reveals. “Some of it… I’ll be collecting a load of samples, thinking ‘one day that’d be useful’; I’ve got that drum loop from that, and that riff…’ It’s like collecting the ingredients for a collage.

“But things like David Dundas; that was a tune from my youth. I heard it on the radio one day and was like, ‘Oh, I’d love to hear that riff again in a different environment’.

“But mostly, it is literally trawling through what used to be thrift stores. Whenever I was on tour, I’d go through thrift stores and buy interesting looking records. They weren’t hits, or anything. They’re just cheap. And then I’d find little snippets.

“But at the same time, sometimes you hear something on the radio and you think, ‘that should be reused’.”

So Cook is the Quentin Tarantino of the music world; plucking something John Travolta-like from relative obscurity and giving it a stage for greatness once more.

“There’s a bit of that,” Cook says. “I try not to sample recognisable things. It’s easy to sample something that you know is a hit. Obviously, Jeans On was a hit when I was a kid in England. I don’t know if it made it to Australia. But I like finding records that weren’t big in the first place, taking one element, and making something out of nothing in a way.”

Unbeknownst to little ‘90s Allan at the time, it was this innate ability to lift-andlayer samples to create something new and exciting that so ensnared me. What secured my fandom was Cook’s effort given to the lost art of the CD Single. While some artists will give you three or four differentlength versions of the same track, Cook would always gift you a remix or two, and a precious, nourishing B-side.

“I grew up in the days of vinyl, and the B-side was always a very important things in terms of people’s creativity,” Cook recalls. “You’ve got this record that you think is a hit, and then you go in and you record it. Then someone says, ‘Oh, what about the B-side?’.

“And there’s no pressure because, as you think, you’ve already recorded the hit. So you go into the studio with the aim to make something fun, or to do some silly little idea that was never quite finished. And sometimes really good things happen.

“It’s interesting trying to explain to my kids the concept of a B-side; this throwaway tune that didn’t really have to go anywhere.

“I mean, some of them are absolutely twaddle,” Cook admits. “But sometimes they’re gems that come because you already recorded the one that’s going to go on the radio.

“I used to have a lot of fun doing the B-sides. I would just record something really stupid that I wanted to play in my DJ sets.”

This rings so true. Listening to Sho Nuff, or the gloriously preposterous Don’t Forget Your Teeth, you can see the smile on Cook’s face as he’s writing it, as another fun component clicks cleanly into place.

“I’m heartened that you picked up on that,” Cook says. “The fact is, you’re bang on the money there.”

From boundary-less abandonment to high stakes, talk turns to remixes. Particularly in the late 90s/early 2000s, Cook has the Midas touch when it came to reimagining well known tunes. Be it his blistering up-tempo remix of Cornershop’s meditative Brimful of Asha, or infusing Groove Armada’s minimalist I See You Baby with unbridled funk and demanding drums, his remixes—and I say this with all due respect to the artists—would often eclipse the original.

In fact, a search for the aforementioned two original tracks will immediately escort you to Cook’s reworkings.

Was there a sense of pressure for remixes? Wanting to do right by the original artist and their material?

“No!’ Cook enthuses. “I think the reason I did a lot of them was because I wasn’t feeling any pressure. It wasn’t my record. It doesn’t matter if the record flops; your life doesn’t depend on it.”

Do not, dear reader, mistake this for meaning Cook didn’t care.

“Again, I would genuinely be trying to make a version that I would play as a DJ,” he explains. “So you could probably hear my smile coming through quite a lot in things like Brimful of Asha because it was just off the cuff.

“In a way, it’s like a B-side. They’ve made the original one—they’ve come up with the difficult bit, which is the hook—and now you can have fun with it, without the pressure of making a hit. I’ve never felt any pressure with remixes. They were always quite a joy. That’s why I did so many. You can just rattle them off in a couple of days. And if they were no good, it (laughs) didn’t matter hugely!”

At this point, Cook hastily adds:

“But I wouldn’t have put them out if I thought they were no good!”

With this covered, all that remains for this now-shaggy haired 40-something to relive his youth, Fatboy style. It’s a prospect Cook is looking forward to as well.

“Groovin The Moo sounds like a cool little festival. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Canberra has to offer, and I intend to repay the energy in kind!”

Fatboy Slim is part of the Groovin The Moo festival, which touches down in Canberra at Exhibition Park, on Sunday, 23 April. It happens 11am til late(ish); fourth and final release tickets are $176 via Moshtix.

METALISE

The summer we barely knew has been and gone. It’s onto Autumn, with its annual vagaries of guessing: What will Dark Mofo do this year? I had a catch up with the Dark Mofo heavy music curators to see how Into the Fall fest went. I can tell you that, between the festival and the two side shows, enough momentum was made to ensure that there will indeed be an Into the Fall 2024.

Fear Love Of The Dark

That was about as candid as they got after I bought up the Tasmanian uber fest and it’s famously under wraps cryptic approach. What they did tell me is this: this year’s lineup announcement won’t be the drip feed of previous years. The full program will be/has been announced to subscribers on Friday, 31 March.

If you are keen to get down there, and I recommend it to anyone that hasn’t been regardless of the program, the heavy proponents of this year’s festival are on between the 14th (date for the Hymns of the Dead show) and the 19th of June. Winter Feast, Salamanca Bay, the MONA museum, and all the subsidiary events make it the best fest in the land. Get on it.

Metalise Canberra Focus

Locally, the artistic flair kicks off on Friday, 14 April at The Basement with Basil’s Kite, Freezer, HYMMNN, and Frames Basil’s Kite are an Australian microtonal mathcore outfit with members spanning from Katoomba to Wollongong. Formed in 2011, they are best known for their left of field approach to heavy music, harmonically punctuated by custom made microtonal guitars. Get your tickets from Oztix ASAP.

Metal Down Under, Saturday, 22 April at The Basement, is part of a series of gigs across the country.

Now in its ninth year, Michael Leuders founded the event to bring the Australian metal community together. Now on the cusp of a decade, you can say he’s doing a bloody good job.

The Canberra leg serves as the album launch of Baso regulars Temtris, celebrating their seventh full-length album Khaos Divide. Carbon Black, Snakewitch, and Taliesin are also on board. So grab a ticket from Oztix while you still can.

The following evening at The Basement, Sunday, 23 April, sees Japan gore-grind legends Butcher ABC make their first Australian visit. The full line-up is a treat! 100 Years War, Darkhorse, and Wretch will tenderise you ahead of the main eviscerating event. Tickets are available via Oztix right now.

Feel The Burn

Sun Burn IV will blaze Belconnen into a riff hypnosis on both 28 & 29 April at The Basement. Earlybird single night tickets evaporated quickly, but a few two-night passes remain at Oztix. But why the bloody hell would you only go to one night? Both are stacked to the brim with the very best in Oz stoner, doom, stoner doom, doomster, and other doom-y variations.

The Friday night form guide sees your man at the BMA tote tipping monster sets from Bong Coffin, Lucifungus, Droid, Master Leonard, Goat Shaman, MWDC, Golem, Pitonfist, Robot God, Holy Serpent, and Yanomamo. That bill alone is insane quality (despite Hekate being a late scratching; more on them later).

Saturday is heavier than carrying in every bag of groceries from the weekly shop. Let me tell you; this is some hefty shit. Flick your eyes to the Sun Burn IV poster across the page and you’ll see what I mean. It’s an order of magnitude that gives me a sore head just contemplating it.

There’s lot of old mates playing. I am really keen to see ’70s psyche groove masters Emu (QLD) and Melbourne’s heaviest, newish band Kvll hit Canberra for what I believe will be their first visits.

A Traitor You Can Trust

If the building is still standing after all that, I will risk carrying a much lighter load into the house in my new bachelor pad.

[THE WORD ON METAL]

WITH JOSH NIXON [DOOMTILDEATH@HOTMAIL.COM]

KVLL

But I’ll be looking to head to The Basement early arvo on Sunday, 30 April for the album launch of the insanely intense Melbourne band Class Traitor. These guys played a jaw dropping show with Religious Observance last year, and the prospect of a full-length is almost as intimidating as it is tantalising.

And they’re bringing an awesome Melbourne sludge band called Creep Diets featuring members of Religious Observance and Carcinoid to add to the salivation. Joined by Blight Worms and Facecutter, it’s going to be a ripper show. Grab a ticket from Oztix.

Transit Bar: A new home for metal

So our 50% own Hekate have been announced as the major support for killer Melbourne blues rock legends Child at the Transit Bar on Friday, 5 May. Hekate have a new album in the can that I am super keen to see hit the streets ASAP. The previews I’ve heard have been unreal!

Unexpected guests are an Australian core value. So news that Despise You, all the way from the USA, are dropping down to the Transit Bar on Thursday, 25 May is a real treat!

Melbourne maniacs CHOOF, and local action from Blight Worms and Bloodmouth, will help the transition into the winter. Tickets via Oztix are a must.

In Memorium

We finish off this month with a couple more bits of sad news, with the untimely passings of Belco legend Simon Treadwell (Xipe Totec) and Dean Egert (The Day Everything Became Nothing) at just 49 and 43 years-old respectively.

Tready was a great guitarist and chef, a handy writer, and a natural on a skateboard. His classic

“TREADY RIPS FRONTSIDE” was tagged up on the OG Belco skate park for years.

Dean played a tonne of memorable shows up here in Canberra as part of Metal for the Brain,

and plenty of other visits over the years besides. He leaves three young girls behind.

Gonna miss both of them, and acknowledge their passings here for their contributions to Australian metal.

I, and BMA, pass on respects and sympathies to their families and friends left behind.

Cherish each day folks. RIP Tread and Dean.

HEKATE’s Marcus De Pasquale and Ashley Byron shred it up at Sun Burn Lite. Pic by Christian J Perry

MAKE THE MOVE UNDER WITH THE PLASTIC ETERNITY

Ley Shoemark chats with a magnificently modest Mudhoney about their new album, touring Australia, celebrating an anniversary, past shows, the origin of grunge, and everything in between.

Seattle grunge heavies Mudhoney have a busy year ahead with a lot to celebrate in that time. The good news is we can join in such festivities, with the group hitting Australia this April for a sizable 14-date tour, including Canberra.

“Every year is huge for Mudhoney,” says singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm. That said, this is a significant anniversary year. Mudhoney turns 35, and to mark the occasion, they have a new album, Plastic Eternity, out on 7 April.

Despite the unenviable plane trip, Mudhoney always froths at the prospect of touring Oz.

“We really love hitting some of the smaller venues in between major cities,” Mark explains. “We look forward to the diversity in our crowds filled with new and long-time fans. We encourage the younger ones to drag their parents along to rock out, and vice versa.”

And they’ll have plenty of exciting new tracks to entertain all ages. The first song released from Plastic Eternity, titled Almost Everything, is a proper psychedelic trip led by some insane work on the bongos. Their latest release, Move Under, has lashing guitar riffs for a sense of that classic Mudhoney vibe with a fresh burst of modern sound.

The boys had around 20 tracks to choose from after recording, allowing them to put together a rather extraordinary album that is much “like a Mudhoney mixtape,” Mark says.

Photo: Emily Rieman

Although there was no solid theme to the album entering the studio, the Plastic Eternity title is a reference to the “non-biodegradable material produced in modern society”. The new album track to be released, Cascades of Crap, asked the question: do we continually need to be producing items that will soon be disregarded?

Mudhoney’s 35 years of touring and making records is matched by the 35 years of Sub Pop Records, the independent label that launched Mudhoney and their first three studio albums. The band has recently re-signed with Sub Pop, reuniting a partnership that first ended back in 1992.

So, 30 years on, what’s changed?

“Sub Pop is a much different company than it used to be,” Mark says. “When we first started, there were no contracts, there was no accounting. Everything was taken on faith.”

When asked what their long-time signing with Reprise Records was like, Mark commented:

”Our experience with Reprise was good until the end,” he says. “Warner Bros was always known as the artist friendly label. They had great bands other than just hit makers: Devo, Talking Heads, and the Ramones. They put out Black Sabbath in 1969; who would of thought of that as commercial? Like, it’s a fucking weird record.”

“Also stuff like Captain Beefheart, and Neil Young. A lot of the music we loved luckily came out under the Warner Bros label.”

It’s a happy fit for both parties. As well as Mudhoney, Sub Pop gave a platform for many other alternative bands in the late ‘80s such as Soundgarden and Nirvana, unleashing the Seattle sound that would go on to define the ‘90s.

BMA dared to ask the question: did grunge start with Mudhoney being signed to Sub Pop? After all, it was Mark Arm who first described his music as “grunge” during an interview, with the media then taking the term and running with it.

However, Mudhoney’s take on the events are quite different than expected, putting the whole chain of events into perspective.

“Yes, it was a revolution as far as pop music or popular rock music was concerned,” Mark recalls. “But it doesn’t matter who started it. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Even bands you don’t like may inspire

“And, you know, you play together, you pick up on things. They were a huge influence. But so were a lot of other bands, and before us there was a post hippie theatrical glam troop made up of crossdressing bearded men, and some women called Ze Whiz Kidz, who inspired many such as The Screamers, a legendary punk band out of LA.

“And then there was Lude. Their music led to Church Metal through one degree of separation.”

Indeed, the Seattle scene was an unstoppable musical movement inspired by a city’s long-time love for music and the arts.

While all this time has passed, a happy fact to ponder is that Mudhoney is still made up of mostly original band members. Comprising Mark Arm, Steve Turner, and Dan Peters, bass player Matt Lukin departed the band in 2001. Mudhoney was then joined by Perth born Guy Maddison, who has been with them since.

Maddison relocated to Seattle to join Sydney band Bloodloss, which Mark Arm later joined on guitar and vocals. Mark fondly reflects:

“I ended up in a band with three left handed Australian musicians. It must be due to the Coriolis effect,” he chuckled.

In his spare time, Maddison works at the Seattle Major Trauma Hospital where, after years of service, he was appointed the Covid Co-ordinator during the pandemic. A weighty and terrifying scenario if there ever was one.

“This did stunt the progress of the new album and create a slight delay in the recording process,” Mark says. “But the band proceeded when they felt it was safe to do so. We were relieved that after Maddison’s pending duties, he himself did not contract COVID.”

From the past to the present, Mudhoney are now gearing up for another jaunt down under.

something you do like. There was certainly a scene in Seattle before we were involved, before we were old enough to get into the scene.”

So finally, us ‘90s teenagers and grunge enthusiasts can stop trying to figure out its origins. “It simply does not matter,” Mark affirms. “There were a bunch of local bands that were inspirational, and you hang out with your friends and pick up on what they are doing.

“There was always cool shit happening; it just wasn’t as known,” Mark continues. “Melvins, when I first saw them, were certainly one of the fastest bands; and then they got a new drummer and were playing these molten riffs and we were like fuuuck, that’s cool.

Mudhoney have a solid history when it comes to touring Australia and have played countless shows since 1990 when they toured in February/March and then returned in December for Livid Festival in Brisbane. They also played our beloved Big Day Out festival in 1992 alongside one of their heroes Iggy Pop, and again for our last Big Day Out in 2014, joining their good mates Pearl Jam for the last hurrah.

“The only bad thing about touring Australia,” Mark reflects in parting, “is not always having time to check it all out.”

Mudhoney are heading to Kambri at ANU on Sunday, 23 April, and will be joined by special guests Chimers. Tickets are $55.05 via Moshtix.

Scotland’s comedy superstar is bringing his eagerly anticipated 12th solo show, Can’t, across Australia. The new show follows on from his previous ground-breaking smash hits including HUBRiS (the biggest solo comedy tour for most of 2021, as reported in Pollstar), and X, his acclaimed tour de force about sexual assault. Sloss is renowned for tackling diverse and sometimes uncomfortable material captured from his own experiences, including battling with his own masculinity, relationship breakdowns, and death. But mostly he writes cracking jokes and tells hilarious stories. 8pm, $59.90–$79.90+ bf via venue

The Canberra Circus Festival brings an incredible line-up of Australian and international circus to the ACT for a jam-packed season of laughs, gasps, and excitement. There are full-length circus shows in the May Wirth Big Top, outdoor performances, street artists, roving performers, workshops, food, markets, unusual attractions, community stalls, and more in this all-ages, fun-for-the-wholefamily event. Buy a ticket to an amazing show, or come to the market with a picnic blanket and take in the whole day. Head to canberracircusfestival.com.au for all events & tix

The Jazida Productions Pop-Up Parties will be a recurring event every three weeks on Fridays between 12 April and 14 July running from 5pm – 8:30pm offering live performances from award winning artists. There will be interactive arts and crafts, play with flow and circus props, fire eating, fire dancing, sideshow performances, circus, drag, cabaret, and fan dancing. Each Pop-Up Party includes a 1.5 hour cabaret show, with a rotating cast of performers for each area. There will also be a DJ Dance Party one hour before and after each show!

“Well, last year seemed to go quite nicely. How about a return in a big room of that nice little award-winning stand up comedy show, yeah? That sounds nice doesn’t it? Yeah. A nice little comedy show with your ol’ pal Rhys. Let’s squeeze as much cash out of this cow as possible. Lovely.” The winner of the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award for Most Outstanding Show, Rhys Nicholson returns for a very special one-off performance of their critically acclaimed show Rhys! Rhys! Rhys! 8pm, $39.90 + bf via venue

Crimes Of The Heart / Award-winning black

play / 28 April – 13 May / Canberra Rep

Even crimes of the heart have consequences. In this award-winning black comedy, the three Magrath sisters are together in their hometown of Hazelhurst, Mississippi, for the first time in a decade. Lenny, the eldest, never left. Meg pursued the spotlight, but found spirits. And Babe, the youngest, has just been arrested for the murder of her abusive husband. Under the heat of the Mississippi sun, past resentments bubble as the sisters reckon with their actions. Evenings 7:30pm: Wed – Sat, Matinees 2pm: 6, 7 & 13 May, $38 - $50 via venue

One of the most revered comedians in the UK, and a pleasingly perpetual feature on TV, multi award-winning comedian Sara Pascoe returns to Australia with her brand-new live tour, Success Story Sara decided she wanted to be a star at 14 years-old. Since then, she has sung for a Spice Girl, been papped as a Pokemon, and ruined Hugh Grant’s birthday. Come join her for celebrity gossip, hilarious oversharing, and an examination of why anyone would want to be famous. 8pm, $69.90 + bf via venue

Jazida Productions: Pop-Up Party! / Cabaret, dancing, circus / 21 April / City Walk

CBR Circus Festival / Acrobatics, comedy, family fun / 18 - 23 Apr / May Wirth Big Top, Chifley Oval

Rhys Nicholson / New stand-up Rhys! Rhys! Rhys! Wed, 26 Apr / The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre

comedy

Sara Pascoe / New stand-up show Success Story Tue, 2 May / The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre

Daniel Sloss / 12th solo stand-up show Can’t / Thu, 13 Apr / Canberra Theatre

Canberra Gardening Guide: April’s Apricots

Never one to shy away from some good old Autumnal potting, Chris Marlton is here to let you know what to pot and what to not for the month of April.

Greenfingers and Thumbs

There seems to be a misconception that the ability to garden, and to facilitate food, is a genetic trait. We’ve been convinced that you either have greenfingers or you don’t.

My father, for example, thought he had a green thumb. The later diagnosis of Gangrene came as a shock to us all.

The truth is that anyone can garden; you simply need to learn what to grow, and when. The importance of ‘soil composition’ and ‘sunlight’ are greatly exaggerated.

The truth is a little more shocking, and a lot more achievable. So what should you plant this April? Hold on tight, lean a little closer... we’ve got a lot to talk about.

The Truth Dirts

Nitrogen levels, soil acidity, worms… all nonsense.

The greatest factor in soil’s ability to foster plant-life—be it flowers, vegetables, or North American redwoods—is honesty.

After all, there’s a good reason farmers refer to their labour as “an honest day’s work.”

The soil we stand above is directly influenced by the number of lies we tell. Too many lies in a single place, and the soil loses faith. Your crops will become bitter and resentful.

Just remember: “Honest above ground, crops abound.”

This is why so many farmers begin their working day with poetry readings. The emotional honesty in a four stanza poem can uplift even the densest of clays.

The best way to prepare your garden bed ready for sowing new seeds is to lay on the ground each morning and tell the soil a secret.

I recommend two weeks of Honest Ground Confession (HGC) before you even start sowing.

Earning the soil’s trust is essential.

What to Plant?

It’s April, and there are certain plants that will thrive, depending on where you are located and how honest you’ve been with your dirt. I will assume you have followed the two weeks of HGC prior to planting any of the following:

• Glycine Argyria: this absolutely stunning wild soy bean is perfect for Tuggeranong and Woden backyards. It won’t grow in Belconnen due to the higher altitude, but the southern territory valleylands are ideal for this dual flowering gem.

Often referred to as “the early 2000s internet cookie of the plant world,” the Glycine (or Gliquey to her friends) is a huge fan of Cat Stevens and Björk.

Playing both Teaser and the Fire Cat and Homogenic at low volume between the hours of 8pm and midnight will give the best results.

• Grey Myrtle: Grey in name only, this white-flowered little rainforestoriginated treeble has the qualities of cinnamon-scented leaves and an attitude to match.

Try and sow your Myrtle seeds between the hours of 6am and 8am on a Tuesday. Or a Sunday.

If possible, burying a copy of the King James Bible 42 inches below the surface of the garden bed will give best results.

The Grey Myrtle is not the most religious April plant, but it is the most religious of the ones I will be recommending in this article. Try to water using Holy Water only. If not available, cans of Blue-V-Drink will work as a stop-gap.

But don’t overdo it. This plant is very much a night-owl and, given half an excuse, will stay up all night, keeping the other plants up with it.

The last thing you need is an exhausted garden bed.

• Pavetta Australiensis: also known as ‘The Butterfly Bush,’ Pavetta is most famous for co-authoring the 1969 children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar with Eric Carle.

Carle filed a copyright suit in 1972 to gain full rights to the book, and Pavetta hasn’t seen a cent of the profits since.

Other literary works Pavetta has contributed to, and has lost authorial attribution, include, but are not limited to:

Whitethorn (co-written with Bryce Courtenay)

The Chemistry of Tears (alternate chapter collab with Peter Carey)

Joan Makes History (ghost-written for Kate Grenville)

Big Little Lies (co-written with Liane Moriarty)

The legal status of plant-based authors is a contentious issue, and Pavetta prefers not to speak about it.

Try to sow your Pavetta seeds at 12pm on the dot. A minimum of three hours of 1940s French-literature audiobooks should be played to the growing seeds each day until the sprouts break the surface, at which point Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.2 can be played up to 18 hours a day (ideally the 1997 Prague Philharmonic interpretation).

Gardening can be hard work, but it’s always rewarding. Learning to understand the secret lives of plants can open up a whole new world for beginners, experienced, and even full-combat gardeners.

The above advice has been taken from the upcoming Volume VI of my Plant-Life Encyclopedia series, available for purchase in July.

Chris Marlton’s latest stand-up comedy special Mephisto Waltz is available to watch now on YouTube. Upcoming live comedy shows and social media links are available at linktree/ChrisMarlton.

Dylan Moran says We Got This...

but what ‘this’ that we’ve got?

By Allan Sko

Dylan Moran’s brand new stand-up show We Got This is coming to Canberra Theatre on 27 & 28 April. But what exactly is the ‘this’ that we’ve ‘got’? Such ponderings, along with talk on alcohol (or lack of it), books, post COVID, and the show itself incoming. It’s always a pleasure chatting to Dylan Moran. This happy occasion marks my fifth conversation with the man, and it’s always a joy; the dulcet Irish tones, the laconic speech counterpointing a clear furious intelligence and wit. What’s not to love?

And in 2023, he is applying these personal attributes to penning a book between touring. But good luck getting any details about it. Understandably so.

“I am writing,” he breezily states. “I’m messing around with a bunch of stuff. Obviously, when I tour, I don’t do that as much, but when I finish that then I will do my homework, I’ll be a good boy, and I’ll do my book. But for now, I’m all about the show.”

Any clues on what the book is about?

“I’ve been kicking around a few things for a few years,” he says. “It’s a lot of things. I don’t tend to announce what I’m doing until I’ve done it, you know. Because otherwise you look like a dick.”

Quite.

An aspect, perhaps, that will aid in the completion of his book is his continuing sobriety, a fact I discovered, to my surprise, during our last chat.

“Yeah, that’s still the case,” he says, on shelving the booze ‘n’ fags. “I had a holiday from sobriety for a while, but I’m now back living the alcohol free life. And enjoying it.”

As a four-year sober alcoholic myself, knowing the difficulty of such a feat, I commend Dylan.

“Well, thanks very much Allan, but I have to say I wasn’t asking for… (laughs). You asked the question! And then I gave you my answer, and now you’re congratulating me.

“So, I’m not sure what my position on it is. I think we tend to project our own stories onto other people. All I know is that I drank

for a long time, and then I wondered ‘Why am I doing this?’ And it was simply because everybody did it where I was growing up.

“And when I did stop, I was ‘Wow… I’ve got a lot more energy’.

“So I’m beginning to get that energy back. But alcohol has its virtues. It’s up to the individual what their story is.”

From the individual to the universal, talk turns to We Got This, with the pandemic, its subsequent deracinated people and society, and its fallout providing a spark.

“Everybody’s discombobulated, and trying to put themselves back together, and everything’s out of joint and everything changed in that time,” Dylan says.

“I’m talking about it all in the show; how we’re living, you know, the way we think and work when it comes to our relationships, and how we think of ourselves, and how we look at other people or the country, what home means, what you need to keep it together, and what structures you need whether it’s family, or football teams, or a group of girls to hang with, or whatever it is, you know?

“And before I get to you guys, I will advance all over Europe. So when you’re talking to Germans and Swedes and Austrians and Estonians, you’ve really got to think: well, what’s true everywhere?”

And with a positive title like We Got This, an uplifting time awaits for one and all, right?

“The titles I tend to use for shows; you can look at them from a few points of view. So, it’s the same with this one.”

Well… There I go projecting my own narrative onto other things again.

“Well, it may be what you see,” he says of my interpretation. “Or it may be the question of well… what is it that we’ve got?”

Despite this desire to attain a universal appeal with his stand-up, that doesn’t mean his shows are written and done, simply idling until performance.

“It’s never done,” he says. “You’re always throwing logs onto the fire and stirring the soup. Every day is a new place and new show.

“Without that, you’re sort of fucked, really.”

Before we lovingly part ways, I indulge in my endless fascination with the start of things. That occurence—a particular song, a class, or an offhand comment—that served as the germination point for what would eventually become, if not a successful career, then at least a consuming passion.

Was there any such moment for Dylan? Did he recognise his own comedic talent way back when? Or was it pointed out to him by another?

“Well, Allan, if I had thought about it as much as you have, I’d’ve never done anything,” he dryly states.

“That’s what stops us doing things. If we start analysing, and wondering what it is… I mean, it’s fine, in the right place.

“But if you’re going to do something you’re not sure about, and would quite like to do, then asking yourself about it a lot… you’ll end up doing less.”

And so we finish on a philosophical point.

“Self-analysing can stop us doing things. You might enjoy interrogating the situation before it happens; with a need to be in control. But that means you can get left out of a lot of life.”

So don’t think about going to see Dylan Moran’s new show We Got This; just do it! It happens at the Canberra Theatre on 27 & 28 April at 7:30pm both nights. Tickets are $89.90–$99.90 via the venue.

photo by Andy Hollingworth

PORTRAIT23: Identity

BMA Mag’s TAMSIN KEMP took a tour of the National Portrait Gallery’s latest enthralling exhibition PORTRAIT23: Identity, a collection or works that interrogate what sits at the heart of genre - identity.

By Tamsin Kemp

“It takes two to speak the truthone to speak, and another to hear.”

- Henry David Thoreau

What do you hear when you put a shell to your ear? The sea, all the stories of the sea, from all time and all places. The everywhen.

Standing beside you, as you enter Portrait23, is Christopher Bassi’s self-portrait A piece of the continent, a part of the main, where he stands in a haze of golden light, listening to shell that we know contains the whole world. Bassi is our instructor. His life size body, gently leaning into secrets, tells us we are not here just to view, but to listen.

Opening the exhibition with palpable excitement for the works, Sandra Bruce, National Portrait Gallery Director of Collection and Exhibitions, highlights how the commissioned artists were invited to “play in spaces we haven’t played in before”.

Bruce welcomes us into the “breadth of conversation” in an exhibition that “interrogate(s) what sits at the heart of the genre – identity”.

Identities in shapes and layers we may not have previously labelled as portraiture but

will leave us expanded in our understanding of how we describe ourselves as humans.

To help us to recognise the shapeshifters that we are.

For rooms full of multi-media, contemporary practice, and intersecting concepts, there is a strange and overwhelming sense of the ancient to be felt.

There is a richness in the works, media carefully chosen and crafted to be as much the custodian of the story as the image or form itself.

Such as with Abdul Abdullah’s magnificent duo of tapestries. The young men who wear the heads of mythological ‘Weretiger’ are on a cultural tightrope, balancing between life worlds, between plural histories and futures.

This is all contained in the luxurious threads, colours, and craft of the weaving as much as the pictorial references of pattern, what the boys wear, and their street-smart postures.

Histories also ooze from Sally Smart’s delightful, if somewhat macabre, troupe of puppet figures. They stand like a company of dancers waiting for the music.

Totally appropriate given the relationship to the Ballet Russes present here. The costumes— they feel like costume rather than everyday dress—are putting their hands up for roll call – Goncharova? Here. Matisse? Here. Delaunay? Here. Picasso? Haven’t seen him today Miss, he’s probably at the beach… I am lucky enough to speak with Smart, and she talks about “what is worth reimagining”. Lineages, it would appear: honouring them, building on them, giving them more time and space to share their stories. Shapes and palettes that echo the magnificence of the Ballet Russes originals but also pull us into the pleasure of performance itself.

The figure I love best is the with the smock printed with the image of a dancer wearing Smart’s costume from a previous performance, the movement and swing of the live body hung on this gangly, and empty, member of The Artist’s Family

A body on a non-body, but what is a body anyway? The knowing bronze head asks us. Deborah Kelly is posing a similar question, with her work A Stitch in Time. Two larger than life portraits of artists she has been working

with on a series since 2013, replete with symbolic flora and fauna, depict the ways our bodies and skin reflect our lived experience.

Taumoepeau, on the right, has the ocean in her belly, starfish on her skin. And we are all invited to the skin.

By the time Kelly has facilitated the collaborative sewing circles with the willing public, they will be bedecked with beading, ribbons, embroidery, and of course love, continuing the “unfolding evolution” of these “participatory portraits”.

Invitation is also at the heart of Vipoo Srivilasa’s little army of ceramic portrait figurines. The works were developed in response to submissions from the public.

People were asked to draw themselves in an outfit representing the happiest version of themselves, with this happiest version dressed in their best ‘Australian Eleganza Extravaganza outfit’.

Srivilasa has given these stories flesh. Like eccentric wedding cake figures, or gods and goddesses playing dress ups, the ten on the catwalk are as poetic as they are whimsical.

Happy Australian offers an appearance of nonsense that belies the depth of feeling in the stories submitted. These vivid imaginings were born of the isolating days of the pandemic after all, and one of the most touching aspects of Srivilasa’s waggish work is this exquisite little community he has built. They are no longer alone, they are here in some kind of person, and they all are telling you stories.

The River Rock Cod and the Kangaroo have a story too. Naomi Hobson’s collection of clay objects take us through how the love between fish and kangaroo formed Country.

The objects speak of place—rocks, trees, coffins, fires—and how place is inextricable from person and identity.

The Yarrenyty Arltere artists, while the mode and media differ, have given us objects that speak of place, too.

Described as “soft sculpture memory portraits”, the birds and animals appear to have sprung from the earth itself.

Emblems of moments in time, made by hands that have received and imparted knowledge

of skills and stories for countless generations, these colourful messengers are a powerful description of spiritual connection to Country. There are so many works here that will capture you in a gaze, maybe give the sense you are the observed as much as you are the observer (Dylan Mooney’s A Way with Words, Tarryn Gill’s Limber).

The pervasive sense of the ancient remains; land, memory, spirit, kin, are all in union here. Louder in some works more than others, but this is very much the new and the old at a powerful interface.

A place of skins – skins that bind us as we live, release us when we die, skins that are permeable, cultural, familial, that allow us to inhabit liminal spaces across identities.

Shapeshifting ancestors hang around the gallery waiting for you to notice them.

Portrait23: Identity is on daily from 10 March until Sunday, 18 June 2023.

For more information on the collaborative sewing circles for Kelly’s work at: portrait.gov.au/calendar/a-stitch-intime/2693

Clockwise from top left: Visitors in Portrait23: Identity featuring works by Deborah Kelly and Kaylene Whiskey; Works by Abdul Abdullah; Works by Alison Alder; Works by Kate Beynon and Vipoo Srivilasa; Works by Tarryn Gill, Photo Credit: Liv Cameron

Reasons To Be Watching

By Karena Blake

Reasons To Be Pretty will soon adorn the stage of Canberra’s newest arts venue, Mill Theatre at Dairy Road in Fyshwick. Starting with a volatile opening scene, the play transports the audience to an intimate setting in a small middle-American town, where we get upclose and personal with two couples—Greg (Rhys Hekimian), Steph (Alana Denham-Preston), Kent (Ryan Erlandsen), and Carly (Lexi Sekuless)—as they navigate a toxic environment.

The audience is asked to ponder as the characters reflect on their own lives, the concept of beauty, and the common question: How much is pretty worth?

Reasons To Be Pretty is a true-to-script presentation of Neil LaBute’s first Broadway play. Producer, actor, and Mill Theatre overseer, Lexi Sekuless, wants the production to reflect Canberra’s performing arts environment, whilst showing off what the newly created space can house.

Meeting with Lexi and Director Tim Sekuless at this very space to find out more, I find Tim seated in the studio’s performance space.

“The plan for the set is a kind of ‘industrial minimalism’, with concrete walls, raw materials, and brutalist style furniture,” Tim explains. “The intimacy of the space will allow the audience to be seated up close to the play’s colourful characters, permitting an immersion into their lives as we follow their journey.

“That prop will be central to the mechanics of the stage,” he says, pointing to an orange brutalist style chair. It’s a gift from a nearby Dairy Road business. Lexi is keen to expand:

“As soon as I noticed the chair looking discarded at the back of the building, I knew it held a history,” she reveals. “It has the raw qualities I need to bring to the production.

So I asked the owner to borrow it!”

For her, the brutalist style chair has taken on potent symbolism.

It represents a sturdiness, exuding a striking and simple strength that Lexi needs from the production team and the cast. This thinking lends itself to the reason for this choice of play.

“I had chosen LaBute’s Reasons To Be Pretty specifically because it poses the question: Why do we keep going when things get tough? It provides both the performers, and the audience, with an opportunity to reflect on this question in their own lives.”

It’s a timely mental practice for the current times.

“The performing arts industry took a hit during the height of the pandemic,” Lexi says. “It created a collective low resilience amongst performers and made it difficult to commit to a performance even post-Covid.”

By keeping true to the language of the text, the performance brings an American-style laugh-out-loud humour. Concurrently, it

challenges the cross-societal issue of superficiality shared within Australian popular culture.

“What I like about this dialogue-rich play is that it’s littered with literary references about US authors,” Tim chimes in. “Keeping true to the text provides a glimpse into an American slice of life.”

Indeed, to remain truly consistent with the original script, Tim and Lexi went the extra distance.

“We brought in an accent coach to ensure the cast has the same US style twang,” Lexi says, “We want to be representative of the characters’ small town origins.”

Far from being strictly American in content, the play allows the audience to access and connect with another side of Australian life, that of living in a country town or an outlying suburb.

Universally appealing, the plot centres around four young workingclass friends comprising two couples who recognise their increasing dissatisfaction with their lives, and each other. A misunderstood comment about the attractiveness of one of them sparks a captivating series of musings.

The plot, and the age of the characters, intends to resonate with young people, as well as those who are still growing in life, in (or out of) a relationship, and beyond.

The newness of the Mill Theatre and the Players Ensemble model, combined with the limited opportunities for the development of theatrical arts in Canberra, see the production team admit to some of their own growing pains in the initial stage of casting.

“I think we needed to go through a period of ‘adulting’,” Lexi identifies, “to emerge with a team of people willing to work and commit to doing the brutal ‘hard yards’ in the creative industries.”

Like the principles embedded in the company, Lexi and Tim have built this show around emerging and independent actors, as well as stage and sound design crew, with an aim to build and support the growth of live Canberra theatre. Every member of the production team provides ‘shadow’ opportunities to emerging industry artists, with a view to mentoring them for the next production.

Speaking of which! There are already plans for the Mill Theatre to present LaBute’s sequel Reasons To Be Happy early next year. Set three years later, the sequel follows the same four characters, this time searching for that elusive happiness, asking the question: Is society’s obsession with material aesthetics holding them back in their lives?

So be sure to engross yourself in the start of the journey! And in the spirit of development, a week of Reasons to be Pretty previews are offered at an affordable ticket price to further grow the performance in time for the official three-week season.

As Lexi concludes: “With Reasons To Be Pretty this year, and the expectation of Reasons To be Happy next year, Mill Theatre is establishing a reputation for exciting live theatre and bringing a new dimension to Canberra's already dynamic theatre scene.”

Reasons To Be Pretty is on at Mill Theatre at Dairy Road. The preview week spans Wednesday, 12 April to Saturday, 15 April. The official season is on Wednesday, 19 April to Saturday, 6 May. Tickets available now via Humanitix.

ensure ideas,art and artistry are channeled through practice to grow in their production of Reasons to Be

By Jen Seyderhelm

In the week before I got married, my work colleagues and future sister-in-law took me out to Men Afloat, or something of the ilk. I considered it some sort of rite of passage that I had to endure.

Afterwards, I felt like I hadn’t enjoyed the experience, although I’d really tried to. I also felt that the men involved weren’t enjoying the experience, audience, or location (a little NSW country town) either.

Fifteen years later, not long before the pandemic, I was visiting the daughter of that sister-in-law in Brisbane; now a fledgling adult herself. I take being an aunt very seriously, and decided that during my stay I, too, would initiate her to the world of male entertainers, booking front row tickets to a show by Briefs Factory (great name btw) at the Powerhouse.

Man, my life and perspective were changed.

The now Briefs Factory International (thank-you-very-much) are heading to the Canberra Theatre in May for three performances. As co-founders and key creatives Mark Captain Kidd Winmill and Fez Faanana aka Shivanana will tell you, come prepared for some good old-fashioned escapism, draped in stunning outfits, and possibly presented to you upside down.

I managed to catch up with Mark and Fez as they tried to enjoy a precious day off after some gigs in Noumea. They’ve been together personally and professionally for more than 20 years, and are the yin to each other’s yang.

Mark—whose Captain Kidd moniker came about after being crowned King of Burlesque 2011 at the Las Vegas Burlesque Hall of Fame— speaks of how lucky they are to still be able to perform to national and international success.

Fez, whose Shivanana is the illegitimate love child of the bearded lady and ringmaster, is equally grateful.

“We just want to remind people that it’s still okay to have a great time,” Mark says.

An important mantra at the best of times, let alone the times we had to endure in recent years. Like many in the arts/performing industry, COVID hit HARD.

“We were heading to the Perth Fringe Festival in 2021,” Fez explains. “Half of us managed to get on a plane, whereas the other half were turned away.”

But out of that comes this show, Dirty Laundry, which Mark describes as exactly what it says on the soap box, “It’s our therapy show,” he quips. “But it’s an adventure. A celebration of survival.”

The Briefs’ team has always been about this, pre and post pandemic. They’re immensely proud of the way that they acknowledge the individual, their talent, gender identity, and unique background, both with the team they’re building with the Factory, and the devoted audience who follows and supports them.

Fez laughs about this.

“I’m from Ipswich,” he says. “Mark is from Grafton. Another in the team is from Broome. We’re relatable, and it’s always been about human interaction.”

So, who’s coming to Canberra? Fez gives us a colourful role call:

“Along with Captain Kidd and myself there’s Thomas Worrall, the amazing aerial acrobat. Juggler extraordinaire Louis Biggs. Luke Hubbard, better known by his drag persona Nastia.

“Dylan Rodriguez, or Enter Serenity, who can do the most amazing stunts in stilettos. And Brett Rosengreen, the ONLY Australian to be nominated in this year’s Burlesque Hall of Fame for Best Debut.”

Hell yes!

Working in the music industry for a long time, there is the inevitable genre compartmentalisation that occurs whenever a new artist emerges. We must put them into boxes, and compare them to similar artists: “Country/Folk – sounds like Miley Cyrus”.

With this in mind, I ask Mark and Fez how they’ve avoided this? I expected, at the show I saw in Brisvegas, that the crowd would be just women and gay men.

It was nothing of the sort. Fez smiles at this:

“Drag has changed,” he says. “People don’t think they’re going to get heckled anymore. And we don’t need that defence mechanism.

“I do have political commentary running throughout,” Fez continues. “But it’s with sass, not malice.

“People get out of it what they’re ready for. If they want just an idiotic, yummy good time, we’ll provide it.”

And that they do. On all counts. The amazingly fit, strong, brilliant, dazzling, acrobatic, funny, and creative Briefs’ ensemble will knock your socks off, then put them in their dirty laundry. Take your partner, best mate, Mum, Dad, brother, boss, neighbour, neighbour’s neighbour – this truly is a show for everyone.

Briefs - Dirty Laundry is on at The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre from 10 - 13 May. Tickets are $79 + bf via the venue.

Me Tonight is the fourth single release from BARBARA, the bedroom project of former Canberran and now Sydneybased stand-up comedian, and former Fricker frontperson, Ian McCarthy.

The new track blends indie electro-pop with a smattering of dance, yet it is the peculiarities and quirkiness that rise to the surface.

While utilising percussive keys and synths to set the pace, the song is segmented into melodically robust elements. The low-toned inflections of the vocal approach stand out, presenting an idiosyncratic and whimsical style that doesn’t fit neatly into any particular genre.

The production is minimal yet augmented by additional rhythmic elements, specifically the drum machine patterns, in what one might label the track’s chorus.

Though those distinctions don’t necessarily seem apt. With an arrangement that adheres somewhat to ideas of generating intensity and dynamism—for example, the recurring background vocal parts, which give the sound a pleasing texture juxtaposed as it is against the more mechanised elements—the track veers from part to part in an amusing and affable way.

Ratbag is the fourth single for Canberra-based duo Big Reef (Morgan and Hayden Quinn) who, in its relatively brief time as a live act, are selling out shows in its hometown and building a decent fanbase across the country.

The brothers harness a litany of influences, including new wave, ‘80s post-punk, and post-rock, and take some cues from the likes of Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Tears for Fears, and Talk Talk.

On Ratbag, the pair sound as self-assured and in control as ever, producing perhaps the outfit’s most accomplished track to date. Ratbag’s lustre and shimmering studio competency is evident here. As such, the conjured aesthetics are more akin to The Doobie Brothers (Michael McDonald era), Hall & Oates, and, during some musically slick and ambitious moments, Steely Dan. Yacht Rock indeed.

However, Ratbag doesn’t adhere to all the conventions of the ironically esteemed genre, but circles it, adopting elements such as surprise chord changes, as heard pre-empting the chorus or embracing the ever-efficient technique of jutting accents.

On this occasion it’s during the chorus that, together with its silky melodic flow and vocal harmony additions, is unavoidably hooky and the track’s biggest pay-off.

Me Tonight does build, with its inclusion of a semi-spoken bridge and added synth touches gracing the end. But it returns to the opening verse, so the impression is more cyclical than climactic.

Me Tonight is high on quirk yet also attends to some necessary ingredients, such as melody, groove, indie sensibility, and committed performance.

The track also features a few little lyric hooks, including the refrain, ‘nothing’s gonna stop me tonight,’ and, to a lesser extent, the more embedded kinds such as ‘If it gets you high at least it’s something.’ Indeed, if this track does get you there, it is something.

BARBARA does a good job of selling the track, with detailed attention given to the attributes mentioned above, all blending soundly with a self-assured, unhindered vocal.

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Another genre attenuation comes in the form of the arrangement, with the bridge section seemingly taking over the direction of the track, changing up the mood and groove.

It surely must have been difficult for the duo to resist closing the track with the chorus’s soft rock power polish, but perhaps this is where the siblings’ self-attested sense of humour reveals itself.

And Ratbag reveals a lot more. The song contains enough familiar rings to it to appeal to a broad slice of the audience, including people who have not yet explored the genre Big Reef has harvested here.

For listeners who are well-acquainted with it and those who find delight in both subverted expectations and pure listening pleasure.

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SINGLE IN FOCUS

But what differentiates this new one is the prominence of the bass guitar. Not only does it introduce the song, but we’re exposed to a prolonged version of it in the form of a solo, which follows a second chorus.

Yes, that’s right; a bass solo. These don’t come by very often in a pop song, if at all, yet the rhythmic tendencies highlighted on Tonight? prove to be a suitable platform for such a thing.

Fear not, though; this is no prog rock indulgence. These deeper, spotlighted tones are wedged between a smooth and relatively expansive chorus.

MUESLI TONIGHT?

Since forming in November 2020, Muesli has wasted no time. Quickly establishing a writing, recording, and gigging cycle, they have performed alongside local and national acts such as Ruben Styles (Peking Duck & Y.O.G.A), Rum Jungle, Tim Rogers, and local bands ARCHIE, Kirklandd, and Koebi Faumui.

The group’s debut release, Hello Out There , was voted 2022 Independent Debut Single of the Year at the MAMAs and was licensed by Visit Canberra to score Canberra’s spring national marketing campaign.

Tonight? is the band’s fifth single release and perhaps its most resolute sounding and adventurous. Although such self-assuredness might seem at odds with taking risks, Tonight? manages to tick a number of different boxes that prove otherwise, and help firm up their hybridised style.

The funk-tinged melodic approach featured on their previous songs is intact, as is the amiable intimacy of the vocal performances, and the playfulness of the instrumentation.

Add to this a chant-like hook, which not only reels us in but acts as a dynamic counterpoint to the preceding verses.

The prior mentioned solo acts in much the same way a tastefully extended guitar break might, relying on agreeable patterns and steadily building anticipation—with the aid of other instrumentation—for the chorus outs.

Tonight? denotes more than just a reaffirmation of Muesli’s style but an exuberant willingness to reveal its progressive, evolving nature.

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Canberra’s Mangrove, comprising Matt Duprez and Callum Selmes, released its debut Howlin in 2022. They swiftly followed that up with the EP Hooks In The Eyes of The Deaf, and single XPA, earlier this year.

The new one is a fulminating blend of psychedelic blues rock with tinctures of early heavy rock. It’s raw and replete with a decimated blues rhythm, a whole bag of vocal manifestations, guitar riff wailing, and unruly splendour. It’s a striking indie rock amalgamation that showcases the band’s self-possessed talent for crafting searing guitar-driven tracks augmented by tight yet unleashed musicianship.

From the opening chords, Dear Sir or Madam establishes a propulsive, urgent energy that only builds as the song progresses. The vocals decisively convey frustration and defiance mirrored in the pugnacious guitar work and chaotic reverie of the late ‘60s Mitch Mitchell drum adaptations. The commitment to creating a high-energy, cavernous, larger-than-life sound is evident throughout, with each element contributing to the overall intensity of the track. What differentiates Mangrove from other indie rock bands is the ability to incorporate a slew of influences and stylistic

Canberra metal band, Black Iris, formed in 2018 and dropped its debut track, Death Beckons, in 2022. Eviscerate is the sophomore track, and eviscerate it does! Albeit in not quite the way one would expect from the metal genre.

Well, not necessarily a contemporary representation of that genre, despite the splintered stylistic variances that now exist.

Black Iris fuses a curious combination of old school and tinges of relatively new metal, with the vocal being the main attribute which counts for such a thing as old school. It may also mean a more instantly recognisable approach that empowers the song and its effect with a greater degree of assuredness.

Whereas Death Beckons explored a textured guitar-centred palette, Eviscerate harnesses a more formal structure to bring the band’s creative vision to life.

Kicking off with a chorus, we are led from segment to segment without a bump. The following verses are dissected by a recurring chomping guitar interlude that acts as a breather before each hit of the sly-yet-strangely-alluring menacing vocal. But it is only menacing insofar as it’s playing up to the genre. Such a voice feels refreshing in the way it alludes to more

fundamentals into their sound—including those of the post-punk and post-grunge era—without sacrificing their more traditional-based sensibilities.

The guitar work is intricate and layered, utilising cascading, colliding riffs that are both hard-hitting yet strangely, and enticingly, melodic. The rhythm section is tight and dead-on, with a sense of urgency that perfectly matches the lyrical explorations of the track.

And the production is clean—just what the indie rock doctor ordered—allowing each aspect of the song to shine through without overpowering the rest. The mix is well-balanced, with the vocals and guitars taking centre stage while the drums and bass provide a fluid sort of foundation. It remains reliably supportive for the rest of the instrumentation and indeed, for the track.

Stirring, enervating stuff. VINCE

classic-sounding metal vocalists of the past. There is no attempt to entrap with more snarly, guttural, inflexions.

That said, the always enjoyable dramatics of the metal oeuvre are present, but are executed in such a confident, conclusive manner it becomes a main attraction.

Amid the typically strident metal hooks, the accents, the dynamics, and the candid energy, there are many lyric hooks also. The song’s arrangement is strengthened by lines such as ‘remove your heart so I can feel it beat’ and ‘come with me it’s not a dream.’

Indeed, Black Iris has invoked a kind of heavy metal slash rock dream, eschewing contemporary tropes save for occasional guitar garnishes to produce a more timeless and enchanted musical netherworld.

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BLACK IRIS EVISCERATE

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ALBUM IN FOCUS

But this mood varies ever so slightly; the tone is unfailingly governed by Mark’s genial yet disarmingly self-assured vocals. His conjured landscape is enriched by an assortment of renowned local musicians, their abilities and choices adding suitable taste and weight to the good-tempered and tenderhearted charm traversing the terrain.

Undoubtedly, it is Mark’s lyric writing faculties that serve as the unifying force behind the tracks on Plastic Flowers . It is a seemingly effortless series of narratives that issue a solemn kind of subtle energy

through brevity, detail, and to a surprising degree, humour.

To whit/wit, Mark intones on Ain’t No Way :

It ain’t a way to make a living

But a pretty good way to live

Plastic Flowers might be primarily for country and blues fans, with the album containing generous doses of the more traditional forms.

But this is fused with the less-so. It is for those curious about such a genre, generated and delivered through a familiar and candid lens.

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It seems fitting that Mark Thomann’s new album has an accompanying narrative. The record has taken three years to put together—while Mark was in self-imposed isolation and recovering from heart failure.

If that’s not enough to sharpen your observational focus, then I don’t know what is.

Mark has been playing and writing country/blues/roots songs for 50 years and is particularly drawn to the songwriting style of the ‘60s and ‘70s, merging that sensibility with storytelling relevant to today’s issues.

And there is no shortage of contemporary honed narratives on Plastic Flowers . There’s drought and uncertainty as featured on Seven Long Years , or the trials of ageing on Never Too Old

But amid the wry asides and recountals, Mark’s laid-back vocal style manages to impart broad notions of love, too. He creates a level of down-home intimacy, casually inviting and offering an unfiltered, unaffected country-imbued blues musical experience.

Across the ten-song listing, the mood varies. From songs utilising four-wheeldrives ( Bush Rocket ) to bursts of nostalgia replete with exuberant fiddle work ( Where’s Summer Gone? ).

MARK THOMANN PLASTIC FLOWERS

Lior & Domini

an intimate evening of song and story

By Sammy Moynihan

Beloved singer-songwriter Lior is joining forces with acclaimed emerging artist Domini Forster for an eclectic concert at The Street Theatre in May. The pairing is perfect, with both artists known for their haunting, evocative sounds. Their upcoming album highlights their journey of creativity and resilience, navigating the challenges of lockdown and long-distance recordings.

While the two began collaborating in 2019, their album Animal in Hiding was written during Melbourne’s COVID lockdown. Not one for hiding, Lior was eager to hit the touring circuit soon after the lock’ was lifted.

“The last year was amazing,” he gushes. “I had my busiest tour year ever and it felt so great to get out and do so many shows.

“And this project with Domini, also. We very much focused on not just going to cities. We've taken this show all around Australia and hit up regional spots. It's just been a great way to get back into the touring zone.” Indeed, this will be his third time visiting Canberra in the last few months, having performed only recently at the National Folk Festival. But this time, it’s different.

“I love Canberra. I've always had a really lovely audience there,” Lior says. “My first gig out of COVID, I played with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra at Commonwealth Park to a few thousand people. That was exciting, and a nice way to hit the stage again after such a long hiatus.”

The upcoming gig at The Street will be a more intimate affair, and he and Domini are looking forward to a relaxed evening of storytelling and audience interaction.

“I think the beautiful thing about these smaller shows is that we get a chance to just tell stories, and detail the background for each song,” he says. “We can go off script, inviting people into our lounge room for the night, interacting with the audience.

“I think the larger scale shows with the heavier production,” Lior continues, “they become more rigid. You are attached, whether it be to a script, or an order, or lighting cues; so many potential things. It's nice to tour in a very relaxed frame where it is slightly different each night. And it really is more about an intimate gathering.”

The duo first met when Domini was Lior’s support act. They subsequently wrote and released a song together entitled Where Will We Be

“As soon as we started singing together, we found this synergy in the way we harmonised; this beautiful tonal blend.”

This was the beginning of a fierce partnership that would lead to the COVID-bound creation of an album.

“We had a great connection in both writing and singing, so we embarked on a collaborative songwriting project”, he reflects. “About halfway through writing it, COVID hit, and we had to find a way to finish this project during lockdown.

“In the short openings that we had, we quickly got together and finished writing it, recorded it, and then had to do a lot of the detailed recordings with different people, long distance, sending stuff over digitally.”

While he describes the process as “a bit of a mission”, both he and Domini felt a real sense

of accomplishment to share their beautiful gift with the world.

“It was nice in the sense that when COVID was finished, we had a lockdown project to show for the time we were isolated. And it's been amazing over the last 12 months, taking these songs to theatres around the country.”

Lior speaks highly of the collaboration with Domini, and looks forward to sharing their artistic chemistry with Canberra audiences.

“It's a symbiotic relationship. Working with an emerging artist takes you back to when you were at that phase of your career; how excited and enthusiastic I was when things were new. It reignites that excitement that can fade over time with things becoming a bit normalised. Not to mention the natural pressures of getting older.

“We're so locked in when we sing together. It often feels like I’m not singing, but listening to her. I think that's one reason why we sing so well together. We've become really attuned to each other's expressions. And even breath.

“I can tell where she's going via her breath, and when she's going to elongate a phrase.”

This sense of deep chemistry and collaboration lends itself to a mesmerising evening that Canberrans are sure to be enchanted by. Their passion for music, storytelling, and connection promises an unforgettable evening that will leave audiences captivated and inspired.

Lior & Domini’s Animals in Hiding EP launch happens at The Street Theatre on Friday, 26 May at 7:30pm. Tickets are $42 - $49 + $4bf via the venue.

Photo: Claudia Sangiorgio Dalimore

Come With Us Now On A Journey Through Time and Space

By Anthony Plevey

The Necks—Chris Abrahams (piano), Tony Buck (drums, percussion) and Lloyd Swanton (double bass and bass guitar)—have been together for over 35 years, won multiple ARIA and APRA awards and a National Live Music Award, and have released 17 studio, plus five live, albums. They regularly tour Europe, the US, and Australia playing their distinct “first time - only time” hour-long improvisational pieces which, The Necks’ Pianist Chris Abrahams explains, “are an alchemy of science, philosophy, and art”.

Looking, at a glance, like a standard acoustic jazz trio, their work is amplified to sound like a mighty stereo, deftly tuned to the resonance of each performance space. This is achieved by The Necks’ long-time studio sound engineer Tim Whitten, reflecting a fundamental of the band’s ideology; that time and place make each occasion they play distinctly different.

The performance space may have a 50m high roof, concrete walls, padded floors, be the size of a bar’s backroom, the expanse of a concert hall, and everything in-between. The PA will sound a certain way, on a certain day.

“When we play live, it’s not about trying to impress the audience with how well you can play,” reveals pianist Chris Abrahams. “We play with emphasis on crescendo and the building up of suspense, using ostinato, sympathetic resonation, modulation, and frequency modulation, the harmonics, the additive, the subtractive, and the sympathetic vibrations; expressing ourselves through those.

“I can understand the physics,” Abrahams continues. “But we want to go beyond the individual instruments, and perform together to a transcendence. To reach a point where, suddenly, you start to hear all these weird, almost hallucinatory sounds emerging from within the space, picking up all sorts of enharmonic or in-harmonic information. Clashing frequencies and waveforms.

“When we get a piece up and running, we start to play with those.

“We play, and then we are being played, and we can’t not do what we do at certain points. We want to express our excitement at hearing these things.”

And how did The Necks collective explain such a distinct manner of sound creation and performance?

“It’s like in cricket,” Abrahams muses. “I don’t think anyone can say why a particular bowler swings the cricket ball or why; on some occasions, it won’t swing. We know the physics. There’s a shiny side, and the humidity, but that doesn’t fully account for it. The experience is beyond conscious decision making.

“If I am making decisions consciously when playing, that’s a sign things aren’t going that well. I try to remove myself from that state.

“In our approach to improvisation, there is also a two-way between the performers and the audience. Importantly for us, the performer is also an essential part of the audience.”

All of these aspects are part of the curious chemistry of The Necks’ real-time compositional practice. There is no leader of the group, no songwriter, nor are there any team meetings to decide which direction the music needs to go.

It’s a gradual process of evolution.

This particular approach, and the fact that listeners, as Abrahams acknowledges, need a level of trust to access “the weird stuff”, has seen the band and its fans referred to as a cult. With inescapable connotations.

“We’ve been described that way for decades,” Abrahams says. “It isn’t likely to change, given the ideology of the band. Not to mention the aesthetic of the music that we make; unique, improvised, and site-specific.

“We haven’t got a major record company. We’re not going to sell out huge stadiums or have massive hit records. There’s no set-lists, no songs from the new album, or hits and distinct memories. There are people who love that, and I guess ‘cult’ deals with those aspects of the band and our music.”

However, Abrahams rejects the description of The Necks’ music as experimental.

“I wouldn’t say we’re experimental,” he says. “The outcome of an experiment is something that can’t be predicted. The Necks’ work is honed by a long trajectory of technique development. Specialising in repeatedly undertaking a complex activity over a long period, like making improvised music, of course has some unpredictability. But that’s not the overriding reason that we make music.

“There isn’t an experimental attitude or approach,” he continues. “The Necks want to make music that is “good” rather than conduct amazing experiments. That was there from the formation of the band.”

This compelling soundscape is, of course, far from radio-friendly.

“There are limitations commercially,” Abrahams admits. “It’s incredible that we can mount tours in so many different places and attract an audience for it to be viable. We think it’s because our audience really appreciates the fact that we are just trying to make music.

“And … how can I put this without sounding a bit arrogant?” Abrahams muses, in closing. “We are really grateful for the audience, and love playing in front of an audience. But it’s like there’s an audience for music that is not necessarily made for an audience.”

Mind. Blown.

You can be in the same time and space as The Necks when they conjure their next unique soundscape on Sunday, 7 May at 4pm. Tix are $39 - $49 + bf via the venue.

Photo:CamilleWalsh

HANIA RANI set to wow come May

Piano Prodigy HANIA RANI set to wow come May

By Sammy Moynihan By Sammy Moynihan

Canberra Theatre will soon be filled with the captivating sounds of acclaimed pianist Hania Rani. The Polish native—who has garnered much international attention in recent years, as evidenced by her extensive sold-out tour of Europe—is a masterful storyteller. She weaves together intricate melodies and harmonies to create music that is both emotional and thought-provoking.

“I don’t know how it is, to not be able to play the piano,” she reflects. “My life is connected to music, particularly the piano. It is my language and my voice. It’s how I communicate with the world and I cannot disconnect myself. It’s very primal.”

Rani views the piano as an important friend that gives her a sense of freedom. She views her concerts as a conversation between herself and the instrument.

“The more I play piano and the more I learn, I realise you have to trust the instrument,” she says. “There is a common thread of trust between us. You can feel the energy under your fingers and move it forward again and again. Like with people, you’re having this great back and forth. It’s a dialogue.”

Rani's music is inspired by a wide range of influences. Indeed, when asked to name some, Rani lists an extremely diverse variety of musicians, from Mozart to Radiohead.

“Classical music is a great thing to be inspired by, but I also have a big fascination with jazz. When it comes to a shift between classical and electronic, the band that really changed my life was Portico Quartet.

“I also really admire pop music. I’m not an ideal user of Spotify”, she laughs. “The algorithm is totally twisted in all directions.

“I just love music. I’m always fascinated by it and listen to everything.” Her compositions are characterised by their minimalist approach, with simple, repetitive motifs building into complex and layered soundscapes.

“My life is quite intense, so when I make music I’m looking for something very calm and very broad.”

This leads to sounds that are deeply introspective, with each piece telling a story that is both personal and universal.

“Music is the language that we all can understand easily, wherever we come from. I often play for people that don't speak my language at all, or I don't understand their language, and we always could communicate. So, I think there must be something very special about this medium.”

For Rani, music is a way to connect with people on a deeper level.

As well as conversing with her piano, her concerts are also a dialogue between herself and her audience, a chance to share her stories and experiences and to listen to the stories and experiences of others.

“There is an amazing connection with people during a concert,” she entuses. “It’s a very special and rare feeling. It’s spacious; without borders. Sometimes, I look at the audience and they seem hypnotised; a feeling of deep relief and relaxation sweeping over them.”

Rani's latest album, Home, has been hailed as a masterpiece by critics and fans alike. The album was recorded during the pandemic lockdown, and its themes of isolation and introspection resonate strongly with audiences around the world. Her ability to capture the emotions and experiences of this tumultuous time in history has made her one of the most exciting and relevant artists of our time.

Rani's upcoming concert at Canberra Theatre’s The Playhouse promises to be a night to remember. Her live performances are known for their intimacy and authenticity, with Rani's soulful playing drawing audiences in and holding them spellbound. The concert will be a mix of original compositions and improvisations. Rani expects the performance, like all her concerts, to take on a life of its own.

“I think the audience will be surprised,” she states. “Even those who are familiar with my work. I'm also singing, and then just playing the piano. I’m looking forward to floating through the audience and going through so many emotions with them.”

If you are a fan of minimalist music, or if you simply appreciate the beauty and power of the piano, then Hania Rani's Canberra concert is not to be missed. She is one of the most talented and exciting young musicians of our time, and her music has the power to touch hearts and minds.

A night of magic and wonder with Hania Rani awaits.

Hania Rani plays at The Playhouse at Canberra Theatre on Thursday, 4 May at 8pm. Tickets are $75 + bf via the venue.

THU 6 APRIL

EXEK (VIC) + Soft Toy

Legendary Naarm band EXEK make their way to the capital for the first time. Kicking off the long weekend with a night for the ages. A rare opportunity to catch one of the best Australian bands of the last decade. 6pm, $15 - $25 + bf via Humanitix

SIDEWAY

Boop by Statera Circus

Your everyday supermarket transformed into a joyous world of trolley races and terrifying stunts! A ragtag team of employees try to find their place in the world, travelling into existential spirals of absurdism. 6:30pm, $15-$30 via venue

GOULBURN PERFORMING

ARTS CENTRE

FRI 7 APRIL

Johnny Reynolds Power Trio

Johnny Reynolds has an impressive background as an international performer for the past 40 years starting in the Dublin circuit in 1982. He went on to join acclaimed Dublin

outfit The International Blues Band who toured in the UK, Canada, and Ireland, where they supported James Brown at the Point Depot in Dublin. 8pm, free

DICKSON TAPHOUSE

SAT 8 APRIL

Easter Weekend Event Feat. The Johnny Reynolds Power Trio & The Crossbenchers

Come on down to The Old Canberra Inn’s Easter Family Fun day! 12pm, free entry

OLD CANBERRA INN

Une Nuit Seulement

French songs and gypsy swing, plus a late night jam! 6pm, $20 conc/$25 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Duxie & Louis

Taking to the stage at Blackbird. 7pm, free entry

BLACKBIRD

Divine Miss Bette Starring

Catherin Alcorn

Multiple award-winner and entertainer Catherine Alcorn returns in her most iconic role as The Divine Miss Bette, a spectacularly joyous music

and comedy event where she channels the legendary Bette Midler. 7:30pm, $75 via venue

BAY PAVILIONS, BATEMANS BAY

Zen Monkee Single Tour

With special guests Goese and Serotonia. 8pm, $15 + bf via Oztix or $20 on the door

TRANSIT BAR

SUN 9 APRIL

NeonHoney

NeonHoney is a music producer and songstress from right here in Canberra. 2pm, free entry

QUEENIES

Sally Davis

Having discovered Joan Jett at the age of 14, Sal is passionate about women in heavy music. Join her, and her handmade Cole Clark acoustic guitar, as she takes you through a list of her favourite covers. 4pm, free

OLD CANBERRA INN

Renae Stone

Renae performs a wide range of popular covers songs, including today’s top 40 pop, dance, and R&B hits, with a range of pop rock classics. 4pm, free entry

DICKSON TAPHOUSE

TUE 11 APRIL

Scroggin

Join Scroggin for a mix of dried bluegrass and roasted western swing, sprinkled with dessicated Australiana and traces of traditional, handmade, downhome prog. 7pm, $15 conc/$20 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

THU 13 APRIL

The Crisps + Pilots of Baalbeck + UNDERMINES

Ready to rock? The Crisps (featuring the legendary Stu Wilson of New Christs fame), and Canberra friends will crank out an evening of full-on Detroitinfluenced, garage-infused rock. 7pm, $15 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Daniel Sloss - Can’t

Scotland’s international comedy superstar is bringing his eagerly anticipated 12th solo show, Can’t, across Australia in April 2023. 8pm, $59.90–$79.90 + bf via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

FRI 14 APRIL

Anna Weatherup x Amy Vee

Two of Australia’s most enduring independent singersongwriters have joined forces to present a series of unforgettable intimate performances on a multi-state tour in early 2023. 7pm, $20 conc/$25 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Adalita Inland Album Tour

Adalita will be joined by her powerhouse band consisting of Matt Bailey (Paradise Motel) on bass, Dan McKay (Nation Blue) on drums, and Lewis Boyes (Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males) on lead guitar, together with very special guest supports TBA. 7pm, $45.40 via venue

THE BASEMENT

Basil’s Kite, Freezer, Hymmnn & Frames

Brought to you by Burntout Bookings, Basil’s Kite are an Australian microtonal mathcore outfit with members spanning from Katoomba to Wollongong. 7pm, $15 + bf via Oztix, or $20 on the door

THE BASEMENT

Lee Jones

Lee Jones takes the stage at Blackbird. 7pm, free entry

BLACKBIRD

The SunBears

The SunBears, always on the road touring the country, are finally putting on a hometown show. They’ve invited special guest Bek Jensen who has performed with Australian music royalty Jimmy Barnes, and more! 7:30pm, $25 via Trybooking

LIVE THE POLO

The Righteous Prannies

An upbeat five-piece Celtic, western swing, bluegrass and roots band. 8pm, free entry

DICKSON TAPHOUSE

SAT 15 APRIL

Alec Randles

Alec Randles is an independent fingerstyle guitarist and roots musician. His original music draws a heavy influence from his background in Celtic, classical, blues, tap/percussive, African, and flamenco fingerstyle guitar. 2pm, free entry

OLD CANBERRA INN

Melody Pool

Melody Pool returns to celebrate the release of her EP Lost In Time 6pm, $25 conc/$30 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Showmen - The Ultimate Magic Spectacular

Prepare to experience a jaw dropping spectacle of live magic, illusions, and stunts with Showmen – a supergroup of conjurers, tricksters, comedians, illusionists, daredevils, dancers, and more! 6:30pm, $69.90 + bf via the venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

Monica Moore Trio

Monica Moore trio take the stage at Blackbird. 7pm, free entry

BLACKBIRD

Heavy Metal

Trivia & Comedy Night

Bringing you two shows for the price of one, kicking the night off by testing your knowledge of the world metal scene with general knowledge, sound, and visual based questions, followed by comedy sets from local metalhead comedians. 7pm, $20 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Katie Noonan - Joni Mitchell’s Blue 50th Anniversary

For lovers of Joni, music, and poetry alike, this will be a spine-tingling evening you won’t want to miss. Supported by the magnificent Ruth O’Brien. 7:30pm, $59 + bf via venue

THE STREET THEATRE

Canberra Beatdown - Beat Battle

After a four-year hiatus due to COVID, it’s back! The 2023 Canberra Beatdown is bringing the best local and interstate beatmakers battling it out head to head for the title of Canberra Beatdown Champion. 8pm, $25 + bf, $30 on the door

TRANSIT BAR

Wish You Were HerePink Floyd Tribute

After selling out their last show, the band is back to celebrate the music of Pink Floyd. Delivering an authentic recreation of the entire Wish You Were Here album, followed by the essential classics, this show is not to be missed.

8:30pm, $25 via Try Booking

CANBERRA IRISH CLUB

SUN 16 APRIL

Gia Ransome

Gia Ransome is a 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. Playing from 2pm, free entry

QUEENIES

Inez Hargaden

Inez Hargaden is an Irish singersongwriter from County Cavan. She draws from folk, pop, rock, and jazz to commonly reflect on the joys and tribulations of life.

4pm, free entry

OLD CANBERRA INN

Alec Randles

Alec’s original music draws a heavy influence from his background in Celtic, classical, blues, tap/percussive, African, and flamenco fingerstyle guitar.

4pm, free entry

DICKSON TAPHOUSE

Neil Murray

Maverick song man Neil Murray, founding member of the pioneering Warumpi Band, is touring with his new album, The Telling. 7pm, $45 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Wacken Metal Battle AU/NZ

2023 - Canberra Heat

The Wacken Open Air festival is the promised land for every metalhead. For some it’s simply a dream to attend, but a hallowed few gain the right to play the festival by winning the Wacken Metal Battle! Competing are: All is Fire, Deprivation, Noveaux, and Project Ultimate Satan. 7pm, $20 + bf via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Katie Noonan - Joni Mitchell’s Blue 50th Anniversary Tour

Celebrated Queensland artist Katie Noonan will be presenting Joni Mitchell’s Blue accompanied by guitar virtuoso Ben Hauptmann. According to Mitchell, Blue was, “the purest emotional record that I will ever make in my life…” Supported by Ruth O’Brien. 7:30pm, $59 + bf via venue

GOULBURN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

TUE 18 APRIL

No Bragging Rights (US) Australian Tour w/ Outsider & Proposal

For the first time in ten years, California melodic hardcore band No Bragging Rights will be returning to Oz. As drummer/ vocalist Martin Alcedo says of their new output: “It’s got some of our heaviest stuff, some of our most emotional stuff, and our most technically challenging stuff. But it’s still classic NBR.” 7pm, $39.80 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

WED 19 APRIL

Sujan Chapagain & The Band

Live music by Sujan Chapagain and the band from Nepal. 7pm, $45.40 - $51 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

THU 20 APRIL

Catholic Guilt - Live For the Rush Single Launch w/ Bad Lunar & Birdcapital

To celebrate the launch of

their nostalgia-drenched new single, Melbourne/Naarm’s own Catholic Guilt bring their catalogue of heartfelt anthems to The Basement for a night of big emotions and even bigger singalongs. 7pm, $15 + bf via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

FRI 21 APRIL

Karen’s Diner on Tour

“We pride ourselves on our terrible service, rated 1*” by Karen herself! This is dining with a twist - the food is great, the service is ungrateful, but your experience will be unforgettable. First service from 4pm, $47 via explorehidden. com

CLUBHOUSE KALEEN

Money Boys w/ Bad Lunar & Parrots with Piercings

Melbourne punk four-piece Money Boys embark on their first national headline tour. The group’s relentless energy, tight rhythm, and punchy performances will bring the release of their first single, Gun, to life. 7pm, $18.40 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

WILSN

To celebrate the release of Those Days Are Over – an album that finds a new power on stage - WILSN has announced her headline ten-date Australian tour. 7pm, $20 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Sir Archer w/ Muesli & Sam Sly

Described as a band you would hear on an ‘80s am radio rock station, Sir Archer has been causing a stir across Sydney since the release of their first EP

The Sauce. The 7-piece band will now take their show on the road to support of their new single, Getaway. 7pm, $20 earlybird, $23.44 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

The Crossbenchers

The Crossbenchers are a fourpiece Canberra band doing lounge, blues, R&B, originals, and covers. From Chuck Berry to Frank Sinatra, to Ray Charles to The Doors. 8pm, free entry

DICKSON TAPHOUSE

Rock or Be Rocked

8pm, live and free ROSE COTTAGE

SAT 22 APRIL

Chris Harland Duo

Simple formula, maximum impact. The Chris Harland Blues Band has the command and the precision to nail every number they play. Every CHBB set remains a memorable, musical event, revisiting the best of the blues standards: B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters et al. 2pm, free entry

OLD CANBERRA INN

Autumn Rhythm:

Afro Reggae Roots Dub World

Seven hours of the best global music, featuring seven bands and two DJs. 6:30pm, tickets $20 - $30 via Oztix

TRANSIT BAR

Ruby Archer

Ruby Archer is a young singersongwriter from the NSW Central Coast who creates angry, jazzy rock with feminist undertones and husky vocals. 7pm, $10 conc/$15 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Steve-O: The Bucket List Tour

Every idea on Steve-O’s Bucket List was so ill-advised, he never expected to go through with

any of them. Until it was time to prepare for this tour. 7pm, $79.34-$143 +bf via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE CENTRE

Dancing In The Shadows Of Motown

This ten-piece powerhouse band is a sell-out every-time they come to town, playing hits from The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Jackson Five, Four Tops, and much more. 7pm, $45 + bf via Eventbrite

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Metal United Down Under w/ Temtris, Carbon Black, Snakewitch & Taliesin

MUDU returns for another year of celebrating homegrown Aussie metal. The national event, now in its ninth year, will take place across Australia. 7pm, $20 + bf via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Blackbird’s 3rd Birthday

No-one throws a party like us, and this is certainly one we are ready to celebrate. A huge night planned with live acts, DJs, and a few surprises thrown in just for good measure. 7pm, entry $15 on the door

BLACKBIRD

Three Great Bands

A great night of original music, featuring a little bit of gothic punk, a little bit of pop, and a little bit of country. 8pm, free

POT BELLY BAR

SUN 23 APRIL

Canberra Blues Society Pro Jam

- Hosted By James Southwell

The best blues musicians in Canberra jamming together with blues superstar James Southwell and his band., 1pm, $10/CBS members $5 via Humanitix or at the door

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Adam Corbin

Adam Corbin is a very talented

Canberra-based musician who plays a mix of original material, Australian covers, and blues. 2pm, free entry

QUEENIES

Butcher ABC (JPN) w/ 100 Years

War, Dark Horse & Wretch

For the first time in Australia, Japanese gore grind legends

Butcher ABC embark on their Reborn in Butchery tour. 3pm, $25 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Eden Plenty

Australian artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist Eden

Plenty is a devoted music craftsman. He uses his range and thought provoking lyrics as a method of connecting and making each song like a personal exploration of emotion, intimately shared with the listener. 4pm, free entry

OLD CANBERRA INN

Inez Hargaden

Inez Hargaden is an Irish singersongwriter from County Cavan. She draws from folk, pop, rock, and jazz to commonly reflect on the joys and tribulations of life. 4pm, free entry

DICKSON TAPHOUSE

TUE 25 APRIL

Anzac Day @ Moby

Get in on the Anzac Day action at Moby Dicks Tavern in Kippax with two up from 12pm, and 5150 playing from 6pm. Free entry

MOBY DICKS TAVERN

WED 26 APRIL

The Best Of Helmet ‘89-’23 Australia Tour

Honouring the patience of devoted fans all over the country, Helmet have confirmed their long-waited return to deliver the very best of their celebrated catalogue. A complete evening of essential music from one of heavy music’s most essential bands. 7pm, $69.90 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Wallflowering

Wallflowering, by award winning Australian playwright Peta Murray, is a funny and poignant play about the nature of marriage and the elusive pursuit of happiness. 7:30pm, $60 - $68 via the venue

BAY PAVILIONS, BATEMANS BAY

Rhys NicholsonRhys! Rhys! Rhys!

The winner of the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award for Most Outstanding Show, Rhys Nicholson returns for a very special one-off performance of their critically acclaimed show Rhys! Rhys! Rhys!. 8pm, $39.90 + bf via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

THU 27 APRIL

Taste Festival CanberraWine and Food Event

Get ready to experience endless wine and craft spirit tastings whilst indulging in generous gourmet plates at Casino Canberra. Five amazing sessions will be held over four days. 5:30pm, $39 - 69

CASINO CANBERRA

Sam Buckingham

Revered for soul baring, intimate performances, the new live show sees Sam keeping organic sounds and storytelling at the core, with the bold addition of live looping and sampling. 7pm, $25/$30 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Dylan Moran - We Got This We Got This is the brand new show from BAFTA and Perrier award winning comedian Dylan Moran. It promises to be a joyously furious romp through the frustration and folly of modern day life. 7:30pm

CANBERRA THEATRE

FRI 28 APRIL

Sun Burn 4 - Night One

Australia’s biggest annual stoner rock and doom festival is fast approaching. Featuring 34 of the very best bands of that genre from all over Australia. From 4pm, $96.90 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Angus Gill ft Pixie JenkinsDeparture and Arrival Tour

CMAA Golden Guitar winner Angus Hill with special guest fiddle-playing sensation Pixie Jenkins. 6:30pm, from $27.33 via Eventbrite

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Mixed Bill Madness

Four bands, one night - strap in! 7pm, $25 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

Dylan Moran - We Got This

We Got This is the brand new show from BAFTA and Perrier award winning comedian Dylan Moran. It promises to be a joyously furious romp through the frustration and folly of modern day life. 7:30pm

CANBERRA THEATRE

Chris Harland Blues Band

Revisiting the best of the blues standards: B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters et al. 2pm, free

DICKSON TAPHOUSE

SAT 29 APRIL

Stomp Festival Canberra

Stomp Festival features exclusive wine releases, grape stomping, live music, art, tours, barrel room tastings, back vintages, demonstrations, country music legends, comedy, challenges, games, and plenty of prizes. 10am - 4pm, $29.50 via Humanitix

CANBERRA WINERIES

Sun Burn 4 - Night Two

Australia’s biggest annual stoner rock and doom festival is fast approaching. Featuring 34 of the very best bands of that genre from all over Australia. From 4pm, $96.90 via Oztix THE BASEMENT

Abel Ibáñez G.

Abel Ibanez G. is a Sydney-based Mexican songwriter, musician, and singer. His songs aspire to provide a certain company and comfort on those times when people experience loneliness. 4pm, $10 conc/$15 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

The Bellhops

The Bellhops are an award winning six-piece blues, jump ‘n’ jive, and swing band from Sydney. Bring your dancing shoes along for this one. 8pm, $25 + bf via Humanitix or $30 at the door

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

TraXion Big Band Presents: Jazz Next Door

Join TraXion Big Band for a night of big band jazz. 7pm, $25 via Trybooking. Tables of 10 available

AUSTRALIAN CROATIAN CLUB

Flamenco for Everybody

Discover the foot-tapping energy of flamenco with this live performance by award-winning dancer Annalouise Paul and some of the country’s finest musicians. Poetry, percussion, flamenco guitar, contemporary dance, and storytelling. 7pm, $15$45 via venue

GOULBURN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

Björn Again – Thank ABBA For The Music Tour

Björn Again bring ABBA’s timeless hits back to the stage in a sing-along, dance-along extravaganza. 7:30pm, $89 –$98.50 + bf via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

Australia’s Oconic Princesses of Pop

In a masterful performance, Australian singer and actress Nikki Bennett takes us on a journey through the lives, loves, and greatest hits of Australia’s first three truly international superstars. 7:30pm, $59.90$69.90 via venue BAY PAVILIONS, BATEMANS BAY

Love Disco

Strap on your roller-blades, slip on your favourite pair of bell bottom jeans, and pop a few extra buttons on your satin shirt ‘cause Phish and Phreak Productions alongside ZACH KNOWS are bringing Love Disco to Blackbird! 9pm, $20 + bf via Stickytix or $25 on the door

BLACKBIRD

SUN 30 APRIL

Alec Randles

Alec Randles is an independent fingerstyle guitarist and roots musician. His original music draws a heavy influence from his background in Celtic, classical, blues, tap/percussive, African, and flamenco fingerstyle guitar. 2pm, free QUEENIES

Class Traitor - Broken Energy Highway Album Launch w/ Blight Worms, Creep Diets, Facecutter & Freezer

With their first full-length album Broken Energy Highway, Class Traitor have built a path into a world of ritualised nihilistic abandon, littered with dead amps. 3pm, tickets $18.40 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Eden Plenty

Australian artist, singer, songwriter and guitarist Eden Plenty is a devoted music craftsman. He uses his range and thought provoking lyrics as a method of connecting and making each song like a personal exploration of emotion, intimately shared with the listener. 4pm, free entry DICKSON TAPHOUSE

TUE 2 MAY

Sara Pascoe - Success Story

Multi award-winning comedian Sara Pascoe returns to Australia with her brand-new live tour, Success Story. One of the most revered comedians in the UK, Sara has also hosted Live at the Apollo, and appeared on many beloved TV shows. 8pm, $69.90 via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

WED 3 MAY

Wild Thing

A tale of sea eagles and pole dancing, of children and childhood dreams, of religion and rock ‘n’ roll. Most of all, it’s a tale of friendships that have stood the test of time. Until now. 8pm, $15-$45 via venue

GOULBURN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE

THU 4 MAY

Hania Rani - Live

One of the most successful and intriguing pianists in the world right now, Hania Rani blends classical traditions with contemporary jazz and house music. 8pm, $75 + bf via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

Ross NobleJibber Jabber Jamboree

Jibber Jabber Jamboree marks Noble’s 21st solo stand-up tour. To celebrate this milestone, he invites you to join him for an evening of the sort of inspired nonsense that has cemented his place as the one of the best. 8pm, $49 to $54 via venue BAY PAVILIONS, BATEMANS BAY

FRI 5 MAY

Ablaze w/ Rental Snake & Spinning Plates

Melbourne hard rockers

Ablaze are BACK and bringing their high-energy brand of rock straight to your eagerlyawaiting eardrums with the release of their new single Gasoline, which is two minutes and 58 seconds of pure rock n’ roll mayhem. 7pm, tix $18.40 via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

Dracula’s:

The Resurrection Tour

Dracula’s was born in a dark, dingy Melbourne laneway in

ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE

1980, embracing a cult following that spans generations. Now, the legacy continues with the first ever Dracula’s touring production coming to Canberra!

8pm, $89 - $109 + bf via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

The Bee Gees ShowsOne Night Only

A celebration of the timeless music of the BeeGees. With sellout performances around the country this magical concert experience honours their musical and vocal brilliance with the fun and energy the band was known for. 8pm, $35 to $55 via venue

BAY PAVILIONS, BATEMANS BAY

SAT 6 MAY

Robertson Potato Festival

The potato growing town of Robertson in the gorgeous Southern Highlands will be your friendly hosts, where you and all the family can be fed, watered, and entertained over two Spud-tastic days. From 10am, $20 via festival website

ROBERTSON SHOWGROUND

The Tap Pack

Following sold out houses and rave reviews on London’s West End, at Sydney Opera House and in the USA, Australia’s newest and hottest tap dance sensation is coming to Canberra. 1pm & 7:30pm, $109.90 - $119.90 + bf via venue

CANBERRA THEATRE

Anton Delecca + Chris Johnstone Quartet

A night of fine jazz awaits. 6pm, $20 conc/$25 via venue

SMITH’S ALTERNATIVE

CBS presents Blues Trilogy

Three formidable guitarists team up with a cracking rhythm section for a night of steaming hot blues. 7pm, $25 / $30 + bf via Humanitix or $35 on the door

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Operation Ibis - Avian Overlords Launch w/: A Commoner’s Revolt + Tantichrist + The Strike-Outs

Everyone’s favourite ska-punk party birds are launching their record Avian Overlords. Hailing from the dumpsters of Sydney’s Inner West, Operation Ibis have built a reputation for a

high energy, frenzied and fun performance. 7pm, $15+bf or $20 on the door

THE BASEMENT

Night Train -

20th Anniversary Show w/ Using 3 Words + Seppy Night Train are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of their hit song Black Sally Lane, and they’re inviting everyone along to celebrate. Reforming for this one-off show will be Canberra band Using 3 Words! 7pm, $20 + bf via Oztix

THE BASEMENT

SUN 7 MAY

An Afternoon at The PromsA Musical Spectacular

This stunning spectacular salutes the famous BBC Proms Concerts of London’s Royal Albert Hall, including well-known favourites Rule Britannia, Jerusalem, and Pomp and Circumstance: Land of Hope and Glory. 2pm, $99 +bf via venue CANBERRA THEATRE

The Necks: Travel Album Launch

Conjuring textures and aural illusions that defy description.

4pm, $35 - $45 via venue

THE STREET THEATRE

Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy returns to Australia in May 2023 for the first time in four years. He will undertake a packed three-week national tour, including headlining the renowned Blues On Broadbeach.

7:30pm, $79.90 - $129.90 via venu CANBERRA THEATRE

WED 10 MAY

Candy (USA) Australian Tour w/ Ekulu (USA) + The Others

Covering a range of hardcore styles, but all full of energy and intent. 7pm, $40.30 via Oztix THE BASEMENT

Kings of Country

Direct from the USA, Abstract Touring presents The Kings of Country, a remarkable tribute to the biggest names in country music of this century. 7:30pm, $33-$68 via venue

GOULBURN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE