BMA Mag 348 12 May 2010

www.bmamag.com

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Nadastrom Playing at All Our Friends!

Proxy Playing at All Our Friends!

A Show to Make You Smile Not playing at All Our Friends!

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death of a farmer

Yep, the Moo was suitable Grooved.

# 3 4 8 M A Y 1 2 Fax: 02 6257 4361 Mail: PO Box 713 Civic Square, ACT 2608 Publisher Scott Layne General Manager & Advertising Manager Allan Sko T: 6257 4360 E: advertising@bmamag.com Editor Julia Winterflood T: 02 6257 4456 E: editorial@bmamag.com Accounts Manager Ashish Doshi T: 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com Sales Executive Danika Nayna T: 0408 657 939 E: sales@bmamag.com Super Sub Editor Josh Brown Graphic Design Cole Bennetts Exhibitionist Editor Naomi Milthorpe Film Editor Mark Russell Principal Photographers (The Flashbulb Posse) Andrew Mayo Nick Brightman NEXT ISSUE 349 OUT MAY 26 EDITORIAL DEADLINE MAY 17 ADVERTISING DEADLINE MAY 20 Published by Radar Media Pty Ltd ABN 76 097 301 730 BMA is independently owned and published. Opinions expressed in BMA are not necessarily those of the editor, publisher or staff.

astro - nomical The almighty Astro Chem are back at Woden Youth Centre on Friday May 15 with their unique brand of indie and funk. Accompanying them are exciting new pop-punkers Steady the Fall from Belconnen, grunge punk boys No Assumption from Queanbeyan and new kids on the block Draw Back. Doors at 6pm, $5.

midweek music The Wesley Music Foundation’s weekly series of Wednesday Lunchtime Live concerts, held at the Wesley Music Centre at 20 National Circuit, Forrest, ACT from 12.40pm to 1.20pm, is searching for potential performers. By arrangement with the ANU School of Music, some concerts are earmarked for performances by ANU students as Professional Performance Units. If you’re interested email the Centre through wesleymc@bigpond. net.au or head to www. weslevcanberra.org.au/music .

let the cat outta the bag Catapult is a first of its kind song contest aimed at launching local song writers and artists onto the world stage through social media.

The competition prize pool now sits at over $35,000 including a recording session with Studios

on the cards Hailed as Melbournes ‘belle of rootsy-rockabilly-twang’, Abbie Cardwell returns to Canberra after her well received performances during the 2010 National Folk Festival. The multi-award winner will pull out her banjo, ukulele, guitar and harmonicas to serenade you at The Front on Wednesday May 26 from 8pm. Also performing is the divinely gifted chanteuse Kira Puru & The Very Geordie Malones.

do you speak americano?

Spank! Records has joined forces with Sweat It Out! Music in a quest to discover another fresh batch of beathungry, production-loving local talent in a nation-wide annual remix competition.

This year’s competition track is the collaboration between Sweat It Out! artists DCUP and Yolanda Be Cool, We No Speak Americano. It has been number one on the Aria Club Charts for a few weeks now and is being smashed on the jays. The winning remix will be released on the Sweat It Out! Music label and be eligible for a prize pack worth over $3,500. Head to spankrecords.com.au for more.

history lesson The University of Canberra has joined a nationwide campaign against global poverty, and is hosting a free concert headlined by Aussie music acts Evermore and Blue King Brown as part of the upcoming MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Road Trip. 1,000 young ambassadors from across Australia, including 10 UC students, will embark on the road trip next month which was designed to raise awareness of global poverty and will culminate with a MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY Concert at the UC Refectory on Friday May 14. Joining Evermore and Blue King Brown will be Bonjah, Diafrix, Zoophyte, Vox Congo and local lads Hancock Basement, with more acts to follow. UC LIVE! is proudly presenting this concert, which can be enjoyed free of charge – though numbers are strictly limited. “It has been the aim of UC LIVE! right from the start to bring quality artists to the capital so that we can provide live entertainment events that Canberrans can be truly proud of. We’re very excited to be a presenting partner of this event. I see this as a unique opportunity not only to bring these fantastic acts to our University, but more importantly to align with what I believe is an amazing cause,” Anna Wallace, UC LIVE! Entertainment and Marketing Manager, said. Damn straight.

You can nab your free ticket at theroadtrip.com.au .

lullabIES Domenico de Clario is one of Australia’s most influential installation, site-specific and performance-based artists.

In this performance entitled Sleep, concert goers are invited to bring their PJs and pillows and immerse themselves in the dreamscape created by de Clario as he creates a music sound installation to soothe the audience to sleep. There’re two performances, on May 21 and 22. Head to www.cimf.org.au . diafrix

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The Phoenix will come alive on Sunday May 16 from 5.30pm with the highly anticipated return of Sydney bands Dead Farmers and Pee Wee. The last time the ‘Farmers played was at the fabled Gangbusters (RIP). Supporting will be the local party punk outfit The Fighting League and grunge duo Killing Birds who are both flying high in the local scene. So join in the Sunday Phoenix Pub tradition of early evening shows that are fun for any alcoholic or music lover. Presented by BirdsLoveFighting.com .

301 in Sydney or Byron Bay, CD pressing packages, a licensing deal and more. By entering on the Catapult website, artists upload their video-song entries via YouTube which is then sent out for the world to vote on using Facebook. Catapult launches late in May – check out catapultsongcontest.com.au .

URBAN HEADLINES SECRET SONG ON END OF CD COULD PROBABLY HAVE BEEN LEFT OFF MAN FEELS WEIRD AFTER TIPPING AGAINST OWN FOOTBALL TEAM UNI STUDENT PRETENDS TO UNDERSTAND BOB DYLAN LYRIC FILM BUFF DISTRACTED BY MARGARET POMERANZ’ SNORT LAUGH HAIRDRESSER FLIPPANT ABOUT CLIENT’S DAY SPORTS DRINK COULD JUST BE CORDIAL FASHION MAGAZINE NICE PLACE TO VISIT WOULDN’T WANT TO LIVE THERE BOY UNABLE TO DATE AFTER REALISING ALL CANDIDATES ARE HIS FRIENDS GIRL SECRETLY BORED AFTER BAND START TO GET A BIT SAMEY ARTIST FEELS PATRONISED IN BANK TWO AND A HALF MEN ON AGAIN TEENAGER INTIMIDATING CIGAR BAD IDEA FRIENDS STORY ABOUT WORK COULD HAVE DONE WITH EDIT BOY FORCED TO NURSE BACKPACK AFTER JIGGLY BUS TRIP FACEBOOK BASICALLY A SOCIAL POKER MACHINE GIRL PRAYS FOR PERIOD BEFORE OR AFTER MUSIC FESTIVAL TEXT MESSAGE GRAMMAR SUFFERS WOMAN CAN’T REMEMBER WHAT SHE DID TWO BIRTHDAYS AGO OLD HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND PUTS ON WEIGHT MULTI VITAMIN DOES LITTLE OTHER THAN MAKE WEE BRIGHT YELLOW JUSTIN HEAZLEWOOD www.bedroomphilosopher.com Justin performs as The Bedroom Philosopher and writes for Frankie and Jmag.

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YOU PISSED ME OFF!

thing…

He is coming. Don’t look so confused and worried. You know who I mean. What? You haven’t a clue what I’m clearly so excited about? I say again, louder and slower this time: H-E I-S C-O-M-I-N-G. That’s right. I am in a state of high excitement because MICHAEL BOLTON IS COMING TO CANBERRA! Oh yes. One of the great hard rock voices of all time will be expositing his wares amongst us at the AIS on May 21st. I hear you sniggering. I see you wiping the flecks of spittle from your smug chops as you contemplate my clearly demented excitement. Hard rock? In a chimp’s cock…

But it’s true, brothers and sisters, it’s true. After a brief false start in the mid seventies under his real name, Michael Bolotin, when he released two soul-influenced elpees, Bolton hit paydirt at the end of the decade in the band Blackjack. Blackjack also featured Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick, and the band produced two sterling slabs of Bad Company-styled bluesy hard rock on the Polydor label. Their biggest hit, the strutting Without Your Love still occasionally gets a run out on Rage in the weekend small hours.

Of course, the cream rarely rises to the top in the music industry, and Blackjack withered on the vine thanks to some rubbish record company decisions. By the start of the eighties Bolton was out on his own again. In 1983 he released his third (self titled) solo album, and reminded the world once more that here was a set of lungs to be reckoned with. Combing the hard rock elements of his Blackjack days (Kulick again lending his not inconsiderably six string skills to the Bolton Bellow) with a slicker pop sensibility, Michael Bolton is an absolute classic of eighties AOR, with every track featured delivering the goods. But the album only got to number 89 on the US chart, despite good reviews, and once again Bolton was forced to question his direction.

Taking stock of the musical environment in America, and its seeming turn to a harder-rocking style, Bolton decided to return to the arena rock stylings of Blackjack for his next released. Put simply, 1985’s Everybody’s Crazy is one of the greatest melodic hard rock albums ever released. Written and performed by our hero and an absolute who’s-who of AOR royalty, EC quite literally had it all – bone crushing rockers (the title track and the devastatingly tearjerking Save Our Love), achingly yearning ballads (Desperate Heart and the majestic Call My Name, later covered by Jennifer Rush) - there literally isn’t a bad song in the set… but since when has that actually made any difference to an album’s success?

Everybody’s Crazy inexplicably stiffed, leaving Bolton propping up the bar in the last chance saloon. For what would probably be his last shot at the big time, he changed tack again – and the rest, as they say, is history. 1987’s The Hunger was Bolton’s first platinum album, and, sad to say, its success was largely derived by getting rid of the rock. Sure, some highlights for fans of the good stuff are still in evidence – the title track and Gina both bring the hairs on the back of the neck to attention – but for the most part the man’s banshee wail was reduced to a cocktail lounge croon as soul classics (Bolton’s version of Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay is here) and big production numbers became the order of the day…

And that’s what he’ll be singing at the AIS, of course. But I’ll be there, just in case he decides to crank out some of ‘our kind of music’ – I can dream, can’t I? scott adams thirtyyearsofrnr@hotmail.com

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Has someone yanked yer chain recently? Well send an email to editorial@bmamag.com and have your sweet vengeance.

And for the love of God, keep it brief! [All entries contain original spellings] Dear *****, the way you talk to me during work really hurts. I know I’m not as good as the other guys but they’ve been chefs for years. It’s just, when you call me a useless midget it makes me feel worthless and unloved. My mum tells me to just ignore it because you only do it to feel good about yourself but it’s hard because I look up to you. You don’t need to be so mean to me, you’re a chef not a drill sergeant. You pissed me off. Nathan.

To a certain Civic gym for being a pack of deaf shits. I swear if I hear ‘EVACUATE THE DANCEFLOOR!?!?!?’ or some utterly pathetic and unrenowned 80’s - 90’s pop crap (‘Pull up to the bumper’, WTF??) once more I am going to go on a rampage. I dont know if you idiots around the table think that you are ‘satisfying the market audience’ or whatever but for $23.95 a week, you assholes have some nerve! I would rather toast my testicles than go to your epically crap ‘gym’ and listen to that musical dung. So go make me a sandwich. You wankers pissed me off!

FROM THE BOSSMAN Let’s see, what’s in the news this week…

Iconic red food van Brodburger is under attack once again, with the NCA allegedly refusing to renew their hawker’s license.

The NCA were not quoted as saying “Entertainment? Good times? Not in MY town! AAAAA ha ha ha HA!” before throwing themselves out of a nearby window. Yes, the thought of people enjoying top quality food by the scenic Lake Burley Griffin – a gaudy act that could be used to promote tourism in the ACT – just makes me sick to my ass too.

What else? Ahhh yes, it seems BMA has been ceremoniously drummed out of Merici College for being “not suitable for our girls”. Why the cunting fuck not? Damn Catholics and their dead religion.* Groovin’ The Moo proved to be one of the biggest and most successful events to hit Canberra, a glittering jewel in the ACT’s entertainment crown and something that lifts Canberra up to the standard of an international-grade city. No doubt authorities will be moving in swiftly to shut such nonsense down. The NCA were not quoted as saying “Entertainment? Good times? Not in MY town! AAAAA ha ha ha HA!” before throwing themselves out of a nearby window.

Right, that’s quite enough of that. Silly. ALLAN “PROPOGATOR OF NONSENSE” SKO * for heaven’s sake, put down that pen, it’s a joke.

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TRAVIS HEINRICH

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WHO: Brethren WHAT: Sydney Hip-Hop Veterans WHERE: The Front Café and Gallery WHEN: Sun May 15

Word up to my Home Brews. Brethren are some of the founding members of Sydney hip-hop, comprised of Mistery and Wizdm (I’m unsure if the latter name is intentionally ironic, but it gets a gold star from me). The lads are celebrating 20 years of rhyming with the release of their new album Bastion. A man who needs no introduction, Chuck D, opens the album with a delightful introduction. Another gold star for Wizdm. Straight up hip-hop, Brethren are showcasing their new material at the wonderful Front and want you and your Home Brews to attend.

WHO: You WHAT: ANUMuS REBOOTS video game music played with gusto WHERE: Gordon Arthur Hall, St John’s Church, Reid WHEN: Sun May 23

The ANU Music Society’s first concert for 2010 will feature special arrangements of The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Mario, Tetris, plus a few movie jams like the Pirates (Caribbean, not porn) series, Indiana Jones and The Wizard of Oz. So pretty much as I see it, all the adults are dead and the music kids are playing the ‘forbidden music’ and eating ice cream for dinner every night. So trick your girlfriend into thinking you’re classy by taking her to a night of classical music, when in fact you’ll just be fantasising about getting a long piece (Tetris, not porn). Tricks = marriage. Tix $5/$12.

WHO: You, on a unicorn, possibly surrounded by Daleks WHAT: Inner North Community Fair WHERE: Hawdon St Oval, Dickson WHEN: Sun May 16, 11am

The Wetlands are a $13.9 million ACT Government initiative to improve water quality and enhance wildlife and water irrigation in the Inner North. There’s a community fair this Sunday to promote it with information about the project, entertainment and MOTHERFUCKING UNICORN RIDES. I knew the government had unicorns. Aside from this, there’s a clothes swap, and Indigenous dance and smoking ceremony and finally MOTHERFUCKING DALEKS. I’m not lying - this was all in the press release. If the government is secretly building nuclear missiles, with the Wetlands being a cover - then they have successfully distracted me with the unicorns and Daleks.

WHO: You WHAT: The Human Rights and Film Festival 2010 WHERE: ARC Cinema WHEN: Thu May 27 – Sat may 29

Sometimes it’s hard to proactively show your concern for certain world issues when socialists exist. Not all socialists - I’m talking the 18-22 yr old muggacino swilling fakes that haunt the ANU and litter their photocopied nonsense all about. They are why we can’t have nice things. Thankfully, people who know what the hell they’re doing are putting on the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival. Their aim is to raise awareness about human rights issues by bringing you the best films and art from around the globe, with special guest speakers for all films, and a poetry slam at The Front on the Friday.

Tickets $15 for opening film night, $10 for the rest, $3 for the slam.

WHO: Tonk WHAT: Playing a very rare gig, so don’t miss out WHERE: The Maram WHEN: Sat May 29

Are you constantly doing the horns, shredding sweet licks and admiring your goatee in the reflection of a Woodstock can at a Kambah bus stop? Hey Tonk fan. Your favourite local band are busy penning their second album, but are having a somewhat special show (one of a few in 2010) at The Maram. Come see what they’ve been up to, go into British nanny mode and start shaking that head of dreads/baldness/unironic gelled spikes. Try to keep that Prince Albert in your pants when you see the equipment they have and how they make it work as a whole, and check out their snazzy blog for upcoming info, sister-switchblade.blogspot.com .

WHO: Jackie Marshall WHAT: A big-lunged Joplin inspired lass WHERE: McGregor Hall WHEN: Sat May 22

From what I’ve heard, Jackie Marshall packs a fat lung. She spouts a mean vocal shake which Triple J have fondly clasped on to.

Reviews suggest you “Think Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton and Martha Wainwright rolled into one”. Well I’m not sure how Martha and Dolly would feel being rolled up (in carpet I assume?) with a 40-year-old skeleton - but hey let’s hope they’re big fans. That might actually be quite a thrill for these long forgotten geriatrics - but who knows.

I’m unaware if this is also a dream of Jackie’s, but I do know that her gig sounds pretty awesome. Catch her with Heath Cullen & The 45.

8pm, $20/$15.

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RK For a guy who rolls in the most elite of circles – I’m talking Madonna, Garbage and Diddy – Felix Stallings is a humble and down to earth bloke. And importantly, that makes Felix one cool cat. I remember last time we spoke – having got the interview times horribly mixed up – I caught him fighting the brakes on his newly leased and redleather-clad BMW Z4! He even remembers the conversation – funny how the mind harks back to special moments.

I wonder how many fans have those memories of one of his marathon, epic sets. But incidentals aside, the uncomplicated Detroit born, Chicago bred man that is FELIX DA HOUSECAT tells of his life as a youngster. “When I was 13, my father wanted me to play saxophone and clarinet. I was in all these bands and stuff; band uniforms look good now but at the time they looked bad and I couldn’t get girls playing clarinet, so I decided to switch and I taught myself how to use synthesizers and boards.

Then when house started in 1983, I got into the drum machine and my parents helped me buy all this cool gear!”

Make music that doesn’t label you. Always dare to be unique

Not a bad outcome for a chap who was almost resigned to a boring career in orchestra playing instruments; though luckily he has moved on from that. Today, he is laughing endlessly and recounting how revolutionary house music was in the early years. “I was so young in Chicago and it was really the only sound we had. It was bigger than hip-hop and R&B; it was really the sound of the youth movement but no one really knew how big it was or how big it was going to be.”

Indeed for Felix, music was always a hobby and he never considered himself the type to sit idly in a room with a TV and remote control. He adds he didn’t even start taking music seriously until 1992 when he visited England, though it was the revelation that it wasn’t “rocket science” that helped him on his way. And with the 1994 release of Thee Dawn on Guerilla Records, it was on.

By 2010, there is little that Felix hasn’t achieved. Forget the critical acclaim, the extensive and prolific output that characterises his body of work as well as his ability to stay current, relevant and fresh – and all of this over a number of decades. Whether it be house, electro or whatever in between, here is a man who has long held his finger firmly on the pulse of the fickle and dynamic EDM world.

And to this end, Felix has always drawn upon a wide variety of influences – all taken from more than just house. And while he doesn’t shy away from his greatest love, he plants the seeds of doubt early on. Laughing uncontrollably again, he adds “man, a lot

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of my new stuff is house and disco and electro – I like music man!

Sometimes you upset the house posse or the electro kids; I just try to move away from what I’ve done previously and do something different. There’s only so much you can do with house.

“I’ve always known it was a limited idea, like everything – and I always learned from Pierre and Knuckles that you should make music that doesn’t label you. Always dare to be unique. I do what I do because it makes people dance; it’s like one part of my body that’s working – I don’t feel like I’m working though, and that’s the beauty of it!”

Just as he finishes that sentence, he yells out “man, there is a deer running across the road!” And as we both pause to chuckle, I ask him about his project Jack U, a hip-house morph project he produced with P.Diddy. “We just got together, did some music.” And that’s the thing with Felix – you’ll never pin him down, or better yet, accuse him of standing still.

“When I did Son of Analog, it was a follow up – a chance for me to try stuff that I hadn’t ever tried before. That was like all of my albums rolled up into one, with a twist. Like one big fucking remix.”

And from there, the 2009 He Was King album also raised eyebrows with its take on a kind of electronic pop.

So just as part of one big plan, I wonder whether there is anything left for him to achieve. Giorgio Moroder and New Order fall under his remix discography, while his music has probably been heard in dust particles from Okinawa to Eritrea. It’s his mission – like a legacy almost. “If I left the Earth now, I honestly don’t feel like I’d need to do anything else – it’s just my inner demons that aren’t letting me go.”

Though he is realistic and proves it with this: “you can’t keep putting in 50 points like Jordan every game. An artist has to know when their music starts to sound like shit – they have to give up. I can make 50 songs for an album and while you want people around you who are honest and upright to tell you how it is, you don’t want a bunch of yes-men either. “It’s just that tequila that turns those two-hour sets into five-hour marathons.

I just don’t know where to stop!” And for a Grammy Award-winning pioneer of the dance music world, to that, I can only say one thing. Amen.

Catch Felix as part of the All Our Friends festival, held at the UC Refectory on Saturday June 5, alongside Nadastrom, Proxy, Skool of Thought, Aston Shuffle and more. Tickets through QJump, Moshtix and Landspeed Records.

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ALL AGES Well, our extended summer had a pretty good run this year as far as I’m concerned. Global warming finally did something remotely positive for us all. But now back to normality, another desolate Canberran winter is slowly closing in on us. So back into hibernation we all shall march, with the warmth of a powerful heater or a poofy doona to comfort us at any given chance. Although conveniently enough the Canberra music scene is responding to the cold in exactly the same way as we are – slowly moving off the grass, out of the chilling fresh air and back into their default warm indoor environments.

What is the one venue that we can always count on for a great last minute gig? The Woden Youth Centre of course! Just a couple for you this time. On Saturday May 15 Steady the Fall will be headlining a gig with Astrochem and No Assumption. Tickets are sold at the door on the night! A fortnight later on Friday May 28 also at the Woden Youth Centre, local funk-masters Pleased to Jive You will host yet another gig with their supporting acts soon to be announced. Ticket prices are not specified although I can reassure you that the generous people at the Woden Youth Centre are well aware of the average ‘income’ or lack thereof that many underagers receive.

I hope that a few of you have your tickets all ready to go! For those of you who have no idea as yet, on Tuesday May 18 is a lineup not to be missed. Hailing from Florida, USA, hardcore five-piece Evergreen Terrace are back again for yet another tour. This time featuring Casey Jones (USA) and Newcastle hardcore band Dropsaw, touring for the first time since the recording of their soon to be released album Hard Justice. There is also some word that MORE acts are still to be announced! You can catch all the action at the Tuggeranong Youth Centre for just $36.30 (+bf). You can grab your tickets from Moshtix or Landspeed Records, and I suggest you do it fast.

The following night at The Jam Factory you can experience a no less than earth shattering performance by New York City’s hardcore pride Shai Hulud, finally touring Australian shores again, still in support of their 2008 album Misanthropy Pure. Supporting them on this step of their national tour is Sydney’s Shinto Katana and Canberra’s very own I Exist. Tickets will cost you $20 (+bf) from any Moshtix outlet. Doors open at 4pm on Wednesday May 19.

On Friday June 18, Deez Nuts will headline a gig at the Tuggeranong Youth Centre. The rest of the lineup is soon to be announced, tickets sold at the door.

This is especially for those of you who would rather be giggin’. On Tuesday June 22, Perth hardcore/punk bands Miles Away and Break Even will be passing through Canberra on the I’d Rather be Giggin’ tour (Yeah! You think it, they say it!). Supporting the Perth pair are Melbourne bands Hopeless and The Broderick at the Tuggeranong Youth Centre. Tickets are sold at the door my friends. Nothing better to warm you up than cutting loose in a moshpit, right?

NAOMI FROST allagescolumn@gmail.com

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LOCALITY

SUBMISSION TO THE INQUIRY INTO LIVE COMMUNITY EVENTS Dear Ms Porter,

I am not a lifelong resident of Canberra like many of those who’ve made erudite submissions but I have been here long enough to witness the devastating closure of Toast and the conclusion of Trinity Bar’s Block Party, and the gaping hole this left in our live music community.

It is with a heavy heart that I now await the impending demolition of McGregor Hall, homeland of the Canberra Musicians Club. The noise complaints against Transit Bar are adding insult to injury and I cannot help but speculate how long it will be until The Front Café and Gallery experiences the same anguish.

It was with great pride however that I read the most recent submissions to the inquiry, which after a slow start has now hit the ground running; consequently I do not feel it necessary to address the order of occupancy legislation for it has been made perfectly clear by many contributors that this matter is self evident. What I would rather focus on is Canberra’s constantly evolving and consistently astonishing local contemporary music scene, which, due to our severe lack of appropriate venues and numerous other barriers to performance, is suffering greatly.

The looming demolition of charming and character-rich McGregor Hall, which regularly hosts local and interstate artists and has seen countless nights of rollickingly good music over the past year, should motivate the ACT Government to immediately begin planning purpose built, community run, contemporary music venues in all town centres, as Nigel McCrae, the entertainment coordinator of the Canberra Musicians Club, suggested in his submission.

I feel it important to acknowledge that in terms of performance and visual arts centres artsACT does a top job; The Street Theatre, Theatre 3, Canberra Contemporary Arts Space in Braddon and Manuka, as well as the Watson, Tuggeranong and Ainslie Arts Centres,to name but a handful of Government supported facilities, are brilliant. This begs the question, why are contemporary music facilities completely overlooked?

Even the ACT screen industry received a significant $400,000 boost in the 2010-2011 budget (as did Canberra Stadium to the sweet tune of $650,000, to upgrade the stadium’s televisions from analogue to digital), but contemporary music facilities (bar an outdoor stage in Tuggeranong) were not included at all.

I was disappointed to read that $100,000 has been allocated to commission an Australian composer to write music for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra to help celebrate Canberra’s centenary. Why not spend a quarter of that amount on gathering together the cream of Canberra’s contemporary musicians who could without doubt produce a work far more accessible and far more popular with Canberra’s wider community? Our shortage of venues is also why many nationally touring artists, whose tour schedules often include cities much smaller than ours, choose to bypass Canberra completely. As our music and arts streetpress editor it pains me to read tour press release after tour press release knowing full well an ACT date will not be included, even though dates in Cairns, Newcastle and Launceston will be.

I implore the Government to support our incredibly talented yet undervalued contemporary musicians by providing them the same opportunities it does our visual and performance artists, in addition to providing Canberra’s music loving community the same opportunities to experience contemporary music as other regional centres enjoy.

JULIA WINTERFLOOD julia@bmamag.com

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DANCE THE DROP Dance pundits around town were rocked last week with the sad news of prominent promoters Pang! pulling up stumps at regular haunt Lot 33. The decision has sent shock waves through the local industry with many of Pang!’s upcoming gigs, such as James Holden and TyDi, left homeless. Head honcho Hubert cited in a statement released to local media that “numerous ongoing complications with Lot” were to blame for the split. The lack of upkeep has been apparent to punters of late with large holes left unattended throughout the venue. Pang! protégé DJ Cheese remains optimistic about the decision. “It’s a sign of Pang!’s growth and development,” he said. “The Pang! residents, such as myself, will be sticking by Pang!

100% and will follow them wherever the party goes.”

A clear indication of Pang!’s expansion is their upcoming All Our Friends festival at the University of Canberra on Saturday June 5.

The festival, which still has tickets available, is an affiliate of the We Love Sounds tour so many of their top artists will be in town. Along with a strong local contingent the lineup includes Laidback Luke, Tiga, Felix Da Housecat, Steve Aoki, Proxy and Joachim Gerraud.

For those of you concerned about where the great James Zabiela will play on Sunday May 23; I can announce that Pang!, Effigy and UniVibes are in cahoots with Transit Bar to host the gig. Doors open at 2pm, suggesting the renowned headliner won’t be on too late in the evening.

Come with us now on a journey through time and space to the world of the Mighty Booooosh. Shaman Naboo the Enigma is DJing this Thursday May 13 at Meche supported by Mikah ‘Aston Shuffle’ Freeman. So dress in your best Boosh garb and head on down for an eclectic mix of who knows what!

Kicks are sticking to a more mainstream diet for their Academy events on Friday May 14 and Saturday May 15. TV Rock is gracing the stage on Friday May 14 as Kicks and Academy try to reestablish TGIF clubbing at the venue. Much to the delight of male dance enthusiasts Emily Scott returns the following Saturday with her unique style of mixing and posing. The following weekend Academy welcomes DJ Zinc through their doors on Friday May 21. Zinc is regarded as one of dance music’s jungle pioneers, though his recent releases have an openly house influence.

Lastly, with Warehouse less than a fortnight behind us Kicks have taken the opportunity to announce the date for their summer gala Foreshore. Leave Saturday November 27 free to join the party at Commonwealth Place. The jury is still out on this year’s lineup, but if you’re savvy you might spot some Myspace tour dates before the official release. mi favorito… If you can afford a $30 door charge on a Thursday night, checkout DJ Mike Fielding aka Naboo at Meche.

STAKY staceymanson@gmail.com

myspace.com/pangnight

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BACK TO SKOOL TIM GALVIN Some people might say that the art of broken beats has fallen by the wayside, destined to ruminate in a forgotten corner of the dancefloor beside hard house and the leathery carcass of Tara Reid. Luckily for hardcore fans of the genre, there are certain producers out there that rely on a different SKOOL OF THOUGHT.

“There’s a lot of amazing breaks being produced right,” says the Against The Grain head honcho. “People like Ctrl Z, Specimen A, Splitloop and Afghan Headspin are pushing the boundaries and outshining other genres, but it’s The feeling is kind of flying under the radar at the moment. The feeling is you’ll see you’ll see breaks breaks re-establish itself again this re-establish year. There was a large void where itself again this breaks left off and nothing has replaced year it. That said, genres seem to be less important at the moment, lots of people are playing a mixed bag and that’s healthy too.”

The UK native, known to the tax office as Lloyd Seymour, has recently set up shop in Australia where he is juggling his time between performing club shows and running the world’s most recognisable break beat label.

“My Natural Selection compilation is being released in four parts over the coming weeks,” he explains. “We’ve had amazing reactions so far. I’ve decided to give the final DJ mix away for free to anyone who is a member of the Against The Grain mailing list. [Go to againstthegrainrecords.com to join!] There will also be exciting singles from the likes of Splitloop and Freestylers, and Krafty Kuts’ new album is ready to drop very soon too.”

With new genres popping up faster than pimples on Justin Bieber’s forehead, Seymour states that he has been experimenting with a few new styles of music, with mixed results. “I’ve tested the water with a bit of dubstep. It was an interesting format for a while but already I’m bored with it! I’m a diehard breaks fan really, it’s in my blood.”

Having rinsed out heaving crowds all over the globe, I ask the delightful pommy scamp where his favourite places to play are.

“Either the Concorde 2 in Brighton [UK] which is my hometown,” says Seymour. “I have played so many amazing shows there to sold out crowds who are so passionate about their music. Or Villa in Perth, a super sharp club with a great DJ booth and enthusiastic crowd, run by great people who love breaks. Can’t ask for more than that really.”

Returning to our nation’s capital for the All Our Friends festival, Seymour explains that he has fond memories of our little city. “I had a great gig last time I played in Canberra at Foreshore. The city seems to have a real hive of activity around dance music, it’s great to see. I’m looking forward to getting back there!”

Catch Skool of Thought at the All Our Friends festival, held at the UC Refectory on Saturday June 5. Tickets through Qjump.

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MOSCOW MADNESS

NADASTROM IS BREWING

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CHAD SEXINGTON

The former USSR was the biggest basket case. Indeed, way back in 1992 around the time of Gorbachev’s Glasnost and Perestroika, who would have thought that some of the coolest, most twisted electro-come-experimental techno would be coming from the to-be Russian Federation? Ironically, PROXY claims it was a standard set of circumstances. “I guess it’s a rather ordinary story for a guy of my age.

I started playing at an ordinary club for ordinary people. Then I got bored of all this music and decided to try to do something myself. So that’s how it all began!”

Forming in the fall (as Americans say) of 2007, Washington based duo NADASTROM – comprising Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom – have enjoyed the kind of early success typical of their ilk. Signed to the mighty Switch’s Dubsided label in 2008, the fun loving duo have been spreading their glitchy brand of house ever since. After dialling a seemingly infinite number of digits, the wonderfully enthusiastic Dave Nada tells me about this most auspicious occasion, and how their devastating Nadastrom sound came about. It’s all Tittsworth’s fault, apparently.

For Yevgeny Alexandrovitch Pozharnov is a mouthful; but when he fires up his monster hit Raven or the 2009 electro house smash Who Are You? the dancefloor invariably loses it. Discovered by Canadian guru Tiga, Proxy already has a handful of releases on the man’s Turbo label – expect more to come.

It’s like the alignment of the stars; a citizen of a former communist society decides he isn’t interested in being a lecturer or engineer like most of his compatriots – music is his calling. And with a dirty, slimy sound somewhere between Boyz Noise and The Prodigy, he has carved a fine niche for himself.

“It started with a good friend, [DJ superstar] Tittsworth, who introduced us two and a half years ago. We grew up in the DC hardcore punk and rave scenes, had plenty of mutual friends, so it’s funny we never crossed paths until then. We were trawling through the early 2000 scene when Baltimore and electro house started to become integrated, and we ran into each other on Tittsworth’s urging.”

I started playing at an ordinary club for ordinary people

He started producing sometime around the turn of the millennium with basic equipment such as the Roland JP 8000 Alesis, Andromeda Roland SH101 and his favourite, the Roland V-Synth, which he claims has the finest sound. “I have practically made all of my tracks with it, that’s how much I love it,” he explains. And while being discovered was seemingly the easy part, the hard part is continuing to stay current and fresh. So in turn, surrounding oneself with the right people is half the challenge.

Which is why when the Tiga express came to town, Proxy had no hesitation in getting on board. He continues: “I sent a link to my track to Tiga via Myspace. I got the answer the next morning – he liked the track! We mailed each other for some time, then I tried to catch up with him in Moscow but we ended up meeting somewhere else in Europe. He turned out to be a really good guy.” Indeed, the Turbo Recordings label – as well known for its slick graphics and coloured covers as it is for its new and undiscovered talent – was the perfect outlet for his unique, warped sound.

And a conversation with label boss Tiga a little while ago explains why the two are such a good fit. “Every release on the Turbo label was designed to be part of an ongoing library of electronic culture,” Proxy says. Today Tiga admits the label is in transition, because they released a lot of compilations but the raison d’être behind the label has always been to continue to provide creative control for the artists on their roster. And that’s just what Proxy is looking for.

Catch Proxy at the We Love Sounds festival, held at the UC Refectory on Saturday June 5. Tickets through Qjump.

We like to trade back and forth on the turntables

Whilst today Nada would describe their outfit as “being able to read each other’s brains,” the unique Nadastrom sound came from musicians with two contrasting sounds and approaches to music making. “I was heavily involved in the Baltimore club scene, and really into that aggressive, ‘tear the club up thing,’” Nada enthuses. “With early Nadastrom tunes I’d take a piece of music to a point and hit a wall, then Matt would step in with a dubstep approach and take it in a new direction. It was crazy! Almost bi-polar. It was a big wake up call for us as producers, and really helped us mature and develop our sound.”

It’s a sound that has caught the ears of millions across the globe, from sweat-soaked general punters to major labels and artists, with remixes of Art vs Science, Laidback Luke, Kid Cudi and personal favourite Udachi’s P Funk Skank already under the belt.

Also catching the ears of the All Our Friends festival promoters, Nadastrom will be joining the likes of Laidback Luke, Steve Aoki, Proxy, Sonic C and a host of others. “You just named half our friends,” Nada extols. “This is going to be wild.

“We’re always looking for places to play. We’re having a blast. There’s so much good music out there at the moment, the standard two hours for a set is just not enough. We like to trade back and forth on the turntables, and we’ve started to introduce new toys to the live shows. We both played in bands for ten years, so we’re real musicheads and know how to play instruments, which will come in handy for album preps.” A tantalising tidbit for the future, but for now we can salivate at the prospect of catching the dashing DC upstarts early next month. The man himself said it would be wild, and you’ve gotta trust a man from Washington, right?

Nadastrom join Felix Da Housecat, Tiga, Concord Dawn and a stack of others at All Our Friends at UC on Saturday June 5. Tix from Moshtix, Q-Jump or Landspeed Records. Wild.

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First conceived by Mark Cleary of the Newtown Theatre in Sydney, the Short+Sweet festival receives more than 1500 entries from all around the world each year, the only condition of entry being that the play must be less than ten minutes in running time. Over 100 of these are then chosen to be produced for that year’s season.

While the festival provides a new form of theatre in itself, it also provides a platform for less experienced writers, actors and directors to display their work, and to provide an environment where these less experienced artists can learn from, and be supported by those who are more established.

SWEET NOTHINGS BEN HERMANN When you consider the vast spectrum of arts and creative enterprises, from cinema, theatre, music, visual art and writing, to journalism, photography, dance or even cooking, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to deduce that theatre is the only medium which has thus far not succumbed to vicious homogenisation and commodification. Whether it be due to its defining ‘live’ nature, or perhaps even its supporters’ spirited defence of theatre culture from reality television producers, it seems that theatre has, unlike most other art forms, protected itself from being raped of the very imagination and emotion from which its beauty derives, primed for marketing to the lowest common denominator and prepared for ready consumption in whichever prime-time slot or tabloid rag proves most convenient.

However, that’s not to say that theatre has not, to some degree, adapted itself, in order to be accessible to the shortened attention spans that our convenience-seeking society has inevitably produced. Short+Sweet, Australia’s very own (and also the world’s largest) short play festival, has shown, in its nine-year history, that plays do not need to be 120 minutes long to draw out inspiration, emotion and feeling from their audiences. And this year, six of the best entries from recent years of the festival will tour as SHORTER+SWEETER, showing audiences the incredible brilliance that theatre can produce in only ten minutes.

“The best thing about short plays is that it forces writers, actors and directors to be disciplined and not be indulgent and waste time,” says Alex Broun, the current Artistic Director of Short+Sweet.

“In Short+Sweet, writers must value every word, directors every moment, and actors every breath.”

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Shorter+Sweeter will showcase six of the most popular plays from recent years of the festival, including Broun’s very own 10,000 Cigarettes, David Sharpe’s Mandragora, Richard Graham’s Trough, Jane Miller’s Perfect Stillness, Cerise de Gelder’s Hi, it’s me, I’m on the train, Jonathon Gavin’s Sleepless Night, and Gregory Hardigan’s 49 stories about Brian Mackenzie, each of which, Broun assures me, has the ability to move you as much as any traditional length play.

“It’s tough to choose a favourite,” says Broun of Shorter+Sweeter’s productions, “but for sheer originality I’d have to say 49 stories about Brian Mackenzie, which is unlike anything I have ever seen.” Quite a resounding judgment, for someone who has seen literally thousands of ten minute plays in his lifetime. “It is as moving, profound and deeply human as any full-length play and communicated with such simplicity and beauty.”

Like more traditional-length plays as well, Short+Sweet entries cover most conceivable topics. “There are certainly themes that reoccur from year to year – heaven and hell, satires on Shakespeare, homages to Waiting for Godot. And there are sometimes current trends – we had a lot of anti-Howard plays for a while, a lot of refugee plays after the Tampa incident, and every year we get plays about indigenous issues. The great thing about the festival is that we can be so topical,” says Broun.

But what of character development? Atmosphere? Tension?

Empathy with the characters? Immersion of the audience into the world of the play? Don’t these things take more than ten minutes to truly construct?

“The reality is that life has sped up, audiences are smarter, more sophisticated and can absorb information at a much quicker rate.” claims Broun. “They don’t need all the set up – you can just jump straight to the knockout punch,” he says.

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SWEET NOTHINGS CONTINUED “So much theatre tries to pretend that cinema, television, MTV, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were never invented. In our fast-paced, time-poor modern world I really believe ten minute theatre is the answer.”

Timely advice indeed, especially for those who sat through over two hours of John Bell’s King Lear on the weekend, when they could easily have been at home catching up on the latest season of The Big Bang Theory or out shotting cock-sucking cowboys at Tongue and Groove.

However, even when the topic of Tropfest is raised – the cinema equivalent to Short+Sweet, Broun admits – Broun successfully defends the festival from any suggestion that critics may see Short+Sweet as a simplification, or dumbing-down of theatre.

“Tropfest seems a little mired in the gag or twist flick, whereas we’ve found in Short+Sweet that ten minute plays can also be complex, dark, profound, even moving.

“It’s about making the less obvious choices, taking a risk, pushing the boundaries of the form – I think that’s something Tropfest could take a look at!” But ultimately, Broun concludes, Short+Sweet is a microcosm of theatre as a whole, and the incorruptible power and beauty inherent within it.

“It has re-affirmed my unwavering belief in the power of theatre,” says Broun. “The powers of actors on stage – with only characters, words and a story – to transcend life, and capture it, in one, poetic moment.”

Shorter+Sweeter runs at The Playhouse from May 25-29. Tickets $35/$30 from Canberra Ticketing or www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au .

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a band, and he approached local musicians he admired, but hadn’t worked with before.

The Well-Dressed are Bec Taylor on piano, Zach Raffan on trumpet, Nicola Menser Hearn on bass clarinet, Catherine Keely on double bass and Nick Peddle on drums. Working with a new band has also shaped the music and Morris says he’s constantly blown away by what comes out of rehearsals. “It’s called A SHOW TO MAKE YOU SMILE, so there will be laughs, but there’s also a more serious side to my music that people haven’t heard before. There are some Dixieland songs, some straight pop, ballads and rock… it’s diverse,” he says.

a show to make you smile emma gibson Chances are you’ve already seen Rafe Morris performing, whether solo, or back in the day as the vocalist for ska-rock band Dahahoo.

Now he’s bringing a new musical experience to Canberra, as Rafe and the Well-Dressed prepare to perform at Tuggeranong Arts Centre. “It all came about when Dominic Mico [from Tuggeranong Arts Centre] approached me earlier this year about doing a show.

He’d discovered me at the Fringe festival and heard I was back,” Morris says. “He and Tuggeranong Arts Centre really understand the importance of supporting local emerging artists.”

The show is perhaps best described as cabaret, although Morris reckons it’s hard to define in a single genre. The first step was to find

“If I’ve got a strong idea of how I want something to sound, I communicate with the musicians, and if I don’t know what I want I leave it with them and they come up with gold. They are gold—and way better musicians than I am!”

The six musicians will be joined by actors, dancers and other performance artists, under the direction of Canberra’s grand master of absurdity, Hadley, who recently triumphed at the National Folk Festival with his Majestic Fringe big top.

“Silliness is Hadley’s domain, and no doubt he’ll deliver,” Morris promises. Most, if not all, songs are originals, mostly written overseas in the last two years. Morris says the songs aren’t about his travels, but about his experience away from Canberra.

“The songs are more about me and how I was feeling about where I was, although the Czech Republic trams feature, and car rides in England. So a lot of it’s about journeys and moving from one place to another.”

Catch A Show To Make You Smile at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre from 8pm on 27–29 May.

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combines painting and drawing, but focuses on photography and its emergence as a popular format for personal portraiture.

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD JEMIMA FORT Walking through the small exhibition space of the National Portrait Gallery’s HUSBANDS & WIVES is like walking across the colourful scrapbook page of an anachronistic socialite settled in Australia in the 1800s. The exhibition’s design compliments and frames the works within it. They are set off against patterned mahogany inspired by the original velvet casing of the daguerreotypes: it extends through the velveteen lining of the display cases to the very walls of the space.

This enforces synchronicity and sameness, grouping together what is a great and interesting variety of work to tell a story about the time in which it was created. Husbands & Wives is an exhibition of 19th century family portraiture which explores depictions of spouses. The exhibition is made up of a variety of media drawn from Australian collections. It

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Despite focusing on images of married couples, Husbands & Wives does not seek to explore the reality of marriage at the time, nor does it examine this genre as an artistic theme. Rather, it provides an opportunity for visitors to examine rare photographic portraits that are not often displayed. These are presented in historical context, amidst an industry of contemporary personal portraiture. The exhibition examines the emergence of photography and its effect on portraiture in 19th century Australia. This effect was liberalising: bringing portraiture to a wider range of people. Photography presented another choice to a society whose only options had been arduously long and restrictively expensive painted portraits or a variety of less-influential smaller media (like miniatures, silhouettes and sketches). Photographs were small, but comparatively quick and portable. A photograph could capture what was considered a far truer likeness of its sitter than any other form of portraiture. On top of this, photographs were so affordable that classes of society who had never considered portraiture now embraced it.

The format of Husbands & Wives is interesting because much of the thesis behind it is not explained within the exhibition. The minimal text within the show is restricted to simple descriptions of artistic technique and biographical information about the artists and their sitters. The visitor is left to wander the space and contemplate the relationship between the works for themselves—they are given the choice to consider deeper meaning, or to simply appreciate the works aesthetically. That said, the wealth of research behind the exhibition is available in a variety of supporting ephemera with which visitors may choose to inform their viewing. Husbands & Wives is an enchanting window into a time when, as curator Joanna Gilmore describes, “photography was a more permanent process”.

Husbands & Wives is on at the National Portrait Gallery until July 11.

a different name. So he shared the same idea of other self, and an antiauthoritarian streak.” The now famous artworks had humble beginnings.

They were painted in the late 1940s on the kitchen table at Heide, an artist’s sanctuary and the home of art world champions John and Sunday Reed, Nolan’s great friends and mentors.

Around this time artists were becoming interested in ways of telling local stories and history, not much of which had been done in the settler society. There wasn’t the plethora of movies and books about the Ned Kelly legend that there are now, so it was a story that Nolan researched for himself, travelling through Kelly country to get a sense of the landscape where these infamous events unfolded.

don’t lose your ned yolande norris Is there anything more iconic in the world of Australian art than the solid black box of Ned Kelly’s helmet? I am sitting in the National Gallery of Australia with Deborah Hart, Senior Curator of Australian Painting and Sculpture. We’re in the new Nolan Gallery, soaking up the rich visual treats resulting from one of Australia’s most legendary artists painting one of Australia’s most fascinating legends. When Sidney Nolan painted his first Kelly series he could never have foreseen that his retelling of this tough-as-nails tale of hero and anti-hero, would go on to take pride of place in the NGA. “He was obviously obsessed,” laughs Hart, of the twenty six paintings in the series. “Nolan identified with Ned Kelly. He had absconded from the army during the Second World War, and lay low for a while, even using

In 1977 Sunday Reed gifted the paintings, which had been left at Heide, to the NGA, on the condition that the series should always be shown together. “She believed they would be fitting in the National collection,” explains Hart. For decades the series has been exhibited upstairs in the Australian Art Galleries, but current Director Rod Radford decided that paintings of such iconic status deserved to be far more accessible. He imagined a dedicated gallery space that would show the series to its best advantage, and encourage an active engagement with Australian art. In late 2009 his vision became a reality, with the unveiling of the purpose built Nolan Gallery. In their new home – an elegant, oval shaped room – the paintings are revitalised and unified. The most iconic image – Kelly on horseback – is front and centre, with the expert lighting and design creating an immersive and meditative space.

As Hart and I watch an excitable school group make a circuit around the Nolan Gallery it is easy to see the magic Ned Kelly and Sidney Nolan weave over the visiting public. Just as the Kelly legend continues to resonate with Australians, influencing Australian art and culture, the Nolan Kelly series will continue to capture our imaginations.

Get amongst Nolan’s Kelly series at the National Gallery of Australia – entry is completely free and the gallery is open seven days.

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bit PARTS WHO: Everyman WHAT: The Laramie Project WHEN: May 20 – 29 @ 8pm WHERE: Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Everyman’s latest, to quote: “In 1998, on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming, 22-year-old student Matthew Shepherd was tied to a fence, savagely beaten, and left to die. In the attack’s aftermath, Laramie became the centre of a media storm. The Tectonic Theatre Company, under the direction of Moises Kaufman, conducted extensive interviews with residents of the town: those directly involved in the attack and those affected by it. The Laramie Project is a moving look at what happens when an unknown town suddenly becomes synonymous with the words ‘hate crime’.” This production, directed by Jarrad West and featuring a cast of the Can’s finest, is tooth-gritting drama not to be missed. Check out Canberra Ticketing for details and bookings.

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WHO: Musos in the classical vein WHAT: Canberra International Music Festival WHEN: May 14 - 23 WHERE: Various locales around our glittering city The 2010 Canberra International Music Festival has been programmed around the theme GOLD, as, to quote: “the Creative Arts represent the true Gold of our time. Gold is universally seen as a symbol of love, marriage, warmth, incorruptibility, excellence, purity, malleability, and transcendence. Given that the only human activities that seem to remain in use for up to a century are the very best works Artists create and the finest Architecturally designed buildings, we believe the Creative Arts represent excellent and lasting value.” Exhibitionist applauds the sentiment and the use of capitals. www.cimf.org.au .

WHO: Impro ACT WHAT: The Target and The Secret WHEN: May 22 & 23 WHERE: Street 2, The Street Theatre Although the names of these events sound vaguely cultish, like dating and/or personal success guide books, and though impro theatre is in itself vaguely cultish in its ability to evoke wild support or, conversely, creeping suspicion, we at Exhibitionist are sure (sure!) that Impro ACT won’t be providing any Kool Aid as halftime refreshments. Instead, they explore the “hush-hush” of life in The Secret at 7pm, and “the objectives and desires that motivate characters be it silly, serious or sinister” in The Target at 8.30pm. For tickets and bookings call The Street on 6247 1223.

WHO: Operaticals WHAT: New Opera Ventures Australia (NOVA) WHEN: Shortlisted works were announced May 5 WHERE: Across Australia!

New Opera Ventures Australia (NOVA) is a venture begun to enable the creation and development of new Australian opera and music theatre, and five works have been shortlisted for workshopping with artists from Victoria Opera and Chamber Made. From an open national call in August 2009, 43 entries were submitted and then reviewed by an esteemed panel including Victorian Opera Musical Director Richard Gill, Chamber Made Opera’s Artistic Director David Young, Robyn Archer, Matthew Lutton, Gerald Brophy and Caroline Stacey, and the finalists include two composers from the ACT – Sandra France with Playing With Fire and the delightful Peter J Casey with The Devil Builds a Chapel. Many congratulations!

WHO: The Small Poppies WHAT: The Small Poppies Don’t Care (the end of the world is nigh) WHEN: ’Til May 15 @ 8pm WHERE: Street 2, The Street Theatre

WHO: Trevor Nickolls WHAT: Other Side Art WHEN: ‘Til May 23 WHERE: The Drill Hall Gallery, ANU

With climate change a hot topic and war a favourite human pastime, Melbourne comedy trio The Small Poppies invite you on a rollercoaster ride of apocalyptic proportions to answer that burning question: How would human beings deal with the end of the world?

Hailing from Canberra, The Small Poppies (Caitlin Croucher, Adam Brody-Mckenzie, and Andrew Nichols) have performed at the 2008 and 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festivals, and the 2010 Adelaide Fringe Festival. With a comic pedigree in social satire and a penchant for impersonations, The Poppies have forged a reputation for irreverent comedy and socio-political satire. Tix $20/ $15 on 6247 1223.

To Quote: “This is a major survey of three decades of paintings and works on paper by the important urban indigenous artist, Trevor Nickolls. Born in Adelaide and belonging to the Nunga people, Nickolls’ early influences included comic books and theatre arts which impressed him because they communicated with viewers so directly. Political activism with its potent philosophy of ‘the personal is political’ fuelled the artist’s choice of imagery and his commitment to pictorial accessibility. His themes include selfportraiture, Aboriginal land, dreamtime/machinetime stories and the urban landscape. At times the intricate complexity of his style enables him to make works that encompass all of this imagery and narrative richness. In 1990, along with Rover Thomas, he represented Australia at the Venice Biennale.”

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ARTISTPROFILE: Andrew Holmes

What do you do? I direct or act in theatre shows and play guitar in local band Kempsey.

When did you get into it? I got into theatre way back in college as I did with playing music. So since around 2001-2002. Ughh, I’m old…

Who or what influences you as an artist? Musically, Ryan Adams.

Good theatre influences me in drama. Whenever I see a really amazing production, no matter if it’s pro, pro-am or amateur, and whatever genre, I get really moved and excited about theatre as an art form and what it can achieve. And Federico Garcia Lorca.

What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far? I once stood at a urinal in between Mark Taylor and Eddie McGuire - does it get any better than that? I was really proud of my Theatre Honours Production last year. I felt myself, the cast, and techs all created the vision that I had.

What are your plans for the future? Kempsey are about to go into a studio in Melb to record some new tracks. Exciting times! Also, I’m currently working on my PhD in Drama, so that should eat up… well…at least the next three years of my life.

What makes you laugh? The Office (I love you Ricky Gervais), absurdist humour, nudity and toilet jokes, my girlfriend, and, I know I’m going to regret telling him this, but Flynn Wheeler.

What pisses you off? How much room do I have? And in what context? I suppose wasted talent (not in the David Brent scenario).

Seriously, I am surrounded by so many talented people in many aspects of my life, and it pisses me off that they’re not getting what they deserve. That and flared jeans… I don’t understand why jeans companies are still making them.

What’s your opinion of the local scene? In the theatre, there are so many talents around. There are heaps of young writers, actors and directors who are going to have long, prosperous careers.

What are your upcoming performances/exhibitions? Coming up, I’m directing After The Fact, a season of three short comedies written by David Travers for the National University Theatre Society.

May 27-29, 8pm at the ANU Arts Centre. If you fancy male nudity, immature humour, absurdist remarks about creative authorship and religion, and theatre jokes, then the show is for you! Kempsey are playing on June 16 at Bar 32 as part of our Good Times Tour with two other awesome bands, The Retreat and Jonesez.

Contact info: andrew.holmes23@gmail.com, check out the band at myspace.com/kempseymusic .

UNINHIBITED This morning Uninhibited greeted the day in our customary fashion, tautological as it may be, with a coffee and a slice of middlebrow breakfast served up by the delightful folk at Channel 7. Yes, Sunrise is our diurnal ritual, more important even than toast, and preferred method of stimulating the workings of the bile ducts, so crucial to the work of a harried editor. It retains pride of place in our heart not only because its major rival breakfast program (which shall remain nameless) seems populated entirely by misogynists and fembots, but because of the frequent humour (intentional or not) generated by the newsbar.

Favourite newsbars over the years have included: PROSTITUTE SERIAL KILLER SUSPECT FACES COURT NUMBER OF IVF TWINS BORN PLUMMETS and the best ever, from December 2007: GETTING OLDER - WHY MEN BECOME DISTINGUISHED AND WOMEN JUST AGE We’d be here forever listing all the chestnuts that flash across the screen each morning, but to get to the point of this incredibly long opening digression, this morning’s newsbar: SIR IAN MCKELLEN MISTAKEN FOR BEGGAR IN MELBOURNE Which, as newsbars go, is pretty special.

McKellen is, of course, in Oz playing Estragon in Waiting For Godot (sadly without his costar in the English production, Patrick Stewart) and was outside, when a kindly Australian, who apparently didn’t recognize Gandalf, threw a buck in his upturned bowler hat.

Sir Ian tweeted the news (the tweet being, of course, the personal equivalent of the newsbar): “During the dress rehearsal of Godot, I crouched by the stage door of the Comedy Theatre, getting some air, my bowler hat at my feet (and) seeing an unkempt old man down on his luck, a passer-by said, ‘Need some help, brother?’ and put a dollar in my hat.”

SIR IAN MCKELLEN MISTAKEN FOR BEGGAR IN MELBOURNE Fantastic.

In more local news, there are a lot of performances being produced

by Canberrans (or former Canberrans) which you can read about in these pages: The Small Poppies’ show at The Street; After The Fact, the first NUTS show of the year; The Laramie Project from Everyman Productions; and Rafe Morris’s A Show To Make You Smile. What’s even more exciting, there are shows that we haven’t been able to fit in, like Spamalot from SUPA, and Fame, from the Queanbeyan Players. And that’s just the theatre arts. We haven’t even begun talking about music, visual arts, dance…

People complain that there’s no life in Canberra - nothing to be done.

They’d be wrong.

At Exhibitionist we’re coming up for a big bumper anniversary edition, and the problem isn’t that there’s nothing on – but that there’s too much to fit in.

That’s a good problem to wake up to.

NAOMI MILTHORPE exhibitionist@bmamag.com

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STEPPING UP TO BAT

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peter krbavac

With a voice like velvet, what’s not to love about SIANNA LEE? Her new album, Phoenix Propeller, “tastes like sardines – either really your thing, or really not.” Well ladies and gentlemen, Sianna Lee really should be your thing, if she isn’t already. Inspired by other women, her sound is oh so sweet, rich, strong and feminine (but never cute). Her album cover is an image of her seated in a trapeze wearing a black and white boy-leg leotard; her eyes are focussed on the viewer, daring us to come closer. “I had a lot of creative control over the album and album art,” she says. “I had visions of playing with hula hoops in the sea with a storm crashing overhead.”

BATRIDER aren’t a group that stay still for long. After forming in Wellington in 2002, the restless scuzz-rockers made the trip across the Tasman to settle in Melbourne and, three years ago, moved on to ol’ Blighty. While their two and a half years stationed in London allowed the band to tour Europe extensively without breaking the bank, frontwoman Sarah Mary Chadwick says that in her experience, the capital ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Sianna’s femininity comes through in her style. She feels she sounds “like a lot of women who have gone before me. Most of the people who have influenced me, I hope, [their sound is] not that easy to pick up… I hope I sound good, I hope I have put something of my own in it. When people ask me [what I sound like], I tend to say ‘good.’”

I am the half empty glass over glass half full

Formerly of Love Outside Andromeda, Sianna says 2006 was the time for the band to break up. “Everything has a lifespan and a timeframe… when you’re in a band that is doing quite well, it can take over your entire life but there are other parts of your life and personality that need attention. You’ve got to feel like you have something to express.”

Her album explores experiences and feelings through water imagery in her lyrics and photographs. The darker side of her personality is revealed. “I think that there are people who have different dispositions. I am the half empty glass over glass half full.”

Unique and creative, Sianna’s music is intuitive and honest. “I like to experiment with song structure,” she explains. “I deal with it in an intuitive way. I listen to it myself and decide where it should go.

With this album, I don’t feel there is a chorus or verse.” Her lyrics and music go hand in hand, breaking away from the conventions where music supports lyrics. “I wrote the lyrics to be said. If I don’t think it goes there then I don’t put it in.”

It is evident Sianna simply loves to sing. “It makes me happy. I love to sing, I love to hear it bounce off walls or tiles or reverberated spaces. It feels like breathing. That’s when I like the sound of it the most.” Her voice is bolder, stronger and refreshing yet still graceful and elegant.

From Melbourne, Sianna Lee’s music is deeply connected with her lyrics that come from within. “I think what I’ve tried to do is live an honest life,” she says. “Honesty is what I always find interesting in people. It is what I like to do with my songs; convey something personal that is not fabricated.”

Sianna Lee will play The Front Gallery and Café on Sunday May 23.

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“The London music scene seems pretty bullshit really,” she opines.

“Competitive is a good word: there’s a feel that everyone wants to be on the cover of the NME. Not much originality at all, heaps of matching outfits. We found it nearly impossible to meet bands that were even vaguely on the same page as us, not only in terms of sound but in terms of attitude towards what they were doing.”

The London music scene seems pretty bullshit really

The move to England also saw the band lose guitarist Julia McFarlane (now of The Twerps) and later drummer Tara Wilcox, leaving Sarah the only remaining original member. While she admits they came close to calling time on the group, Batrider has managed to endure, now boasting one-time manager Sam Featherstone on bass and Steph Crase (of Adelaide’s Birth Glow and No Through Road) on drums.

“Even though there’s been three other people in the band over the years, I don’t think they would argue with me if I said that such a massive part of myself has gone into this band,” Sarah says. “I ended up feeling pretty attached to [Batrider] in that way. I put more of myself into it in different ways than what the others did, so fuck you guys, I want to keep going,” Sarah says jokingly.

“It can be quite a tough thing when people leave your band,” she continues. “It generally doesn’t happen amicably, but I feel like we’ve come out the other end. I really like the band as it is now and I’m on good terms with the other three who’ve left.”

Now back in Australia and based in Adelaide, Batrider are gearing up for a tour to belatedly launch their second LP Why We Can’t Be Together, recorded with the four-piece lineup and released last year. They’ll also be touting the Bag Wine Forever 12” EP (a grab bag of unreleased tracks new and old) and a sneaky live recording from their US tour which comes packaged with a neat little book. But for how much longer they’ll remain on colonial soil, following the tour, remains to be seen.

“I feel like I haven’t got my travelling done yet,” says Sarah. “I’d like to have a more permanent base when we travel because I’m a bit sick of selling all my shit and buying all different versions of the same thing – it’s getting annoying.”

Batrider play The Phoenix on Sunday May 23 with Pets With Pets and Teddy Trouble. Entry is free.

did not come about easily. The group’s This album was previous album mixed dark, brooding painstakingly Tom Waits-style blues with rapturous meticulous in its gypsy dance rhythms and Slavic crafting folklore-type storytelling. Sellin’ You Salvation, by contrast, takes the jazz, cabaret and big-band influences that were barely a footnote on their debut, and balloons them out into the album’s raison d’être, and in the process transforming their sound from that of a Gypsy dancehall to 1920s New York.

JUJU HOO-HA BEN HERMANN Since their formation four years ago, Melburnian blues/jazz/cabaret outfit MOJO JUJU & THE SNAKE OIL MERCHANTS have experienced a groundswell of change. After releasing their debut, self-titled album several years back, and embarking on several thoroughly extensive tours of the country, the group went through a rather large lineup change prior to the recording of their recently-released second album, Sellin’ You Salvation. Prior to setting off on yet another expedition across our fine nation which will bring them by Canberra later this month, I ask Mojo Juju – the group’s founding member and lead singer/guitarist – how the recording of Sellin’ You Salvation compared to the creation of their very well-received debut effort.

“I think it’s always where I was heading and where I intended to go” says Mojo Juju, when I comment on the album’s dominant horn section and the extent to which, at times, listeners might think they’re actually listening to the soundtrack to Chicago. “The first album happened when I was putting the band together. Since then we’ve solidified the identity of the band, and now we have more of an idea of who we are and where we’re going. The lineup’s changed a lot, but we’ve finetuned our sound. I didn’t have access to horn players before, but I have them now, so I was able to do what I wanted.”

“For the first album, we went in and did it in a couple of weeks in a room all together,” she says. “This album, however, was painstakingly meticulous in its crafting. It took two years to write this record, and there were a lot of tears shed, and punches thrown, in the process.”

It’s not surprising that the group has chosen the musical path as reflected on Sellin’ You Salvation. Mojo Juju and her brother (T-Bone, the group’s trumpeter) are the grandchildren of jazz musicians, and children of singers, who immersed them in jazz festivals and jazz culture from a very early age. “I grew up with a really romantic fascination of the decadence of the inter-war years. People lived their lives with real immediacy,” she says. “The music was often played by people who were oppressed, but they still lived excessive and decadent lives. My appreciation of that type of lifestyle and attitude I think really comes across in our music.”

While she assures me that her references to tears and punches are to some degree metaphorical, it’s unsurprising that Sellin’ You Salvation

Mojo Juju & The Snake Oil Merchants play a free show at the Phoenix on Friday May 28. Joining them will be Kira Puru & The Very Geordie Malones, and Frankie Valentine.

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ROGER THAT

ROOTS ‘N’ BLUES

DAVID BUTLER

ANGUS DUNCAN

The labels ‘singer-songwriter’ or ‘You Am I frontman’ used to be enough to introduce TIM ROGERS. But with a variety of new and different projects on the boil, Rogers is a man wearing many hats, and busier than he’s ever been. When we catch up for a chat ahead of his upcoming Canberra show, Rogers is walking home after dropping his daughter at school, and planning a big day of writing ahead.

My first experience of THE VEEBEES was watching them play a dingy pub in the northern suburbs of Canberra in 1993 and I was hooked from the start. The band had a swag of top notch songs that they played with a conviction that only they have. But it wasn’t just the songs that made The VeeBees special. It was the whole experience. At that show in 1993 the band swaggered on stage with an esky, dressed in their now legendary gig thongs, and proceeded to hand out beers to whoever would have one before they had even plugged their guitars in. Obviously there’s a scale of priorities happening there. They then belted out the best collection of Aussie rock ‘n’ roll I’ve ever seen.

That was the first time I saw them. The last time I saw them in 2010 they were cooking a BBQ on stage and handing out snags to whoever would have one between songs. Apparently it’s a band philosophy. “We’re a thinking man’s band,” says bass player Glenno. “There’s no better combination of anything at all than meat, beer, bread and loud rock ‘n’ roll. Anyone who thinks any differently is a complete dickhead.”

“I’m writing a cabaret for the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, and we start the new You Am I record in a couple of weeks, and I’m also doing some book reviews,” he says. “At the moment it’s like I’ve taken on a lot of work, and I get offered all these really interesting projects, but there are limits to what I can do in an interesting way. It’s hard to say no to some of these things. I feel really lucky to be offered things rather than have to go begging.”

It’s like you’re a cowboy or something

The temptation of packing up the guitar and jumping in the van is one that still holds strong appeal for Rogers, and he still can’t believe he’s getting away with it.

“I was watching the movie Crazy Heart a couple of weeks ago. So I’m sitting there at the theatre with a drink in my hand watching this thang about a country singer jumping in his car with a bottle of hooch, and going to another town and playing another show, and I was thinking ‘that looks like a pretty good life.’ It’s the kind of thing I always wanted to do: it’s like you’re a cowboy or something. And then I had to stop myself and realised ‘fuck it! That is my life! That’s what I do,’” Rogers says.

Taking some of the members of backing band The Temperance Union along with him, this mini-tour is centred on a fundraising show in Wagga Wagga for a youth mental health charity that Rogers works for. He says that a few extra shows were tacked on the end ‘to pay the band.’ “It’s just an opportunity to get in the van, and we managed to find a show in Canberra. That’s sort of the way it’s been for the last couple of years. The shows we do with You Am I are a bit more structured, but anything I do by myself tends to be a bit more haphazard.”

With a lot of work waiting for him back in Melbourne and a new album to start work on as well, Rogers says he relishes the opportunity to get out of town and play some shows.

“I don’t take these opportunities lightly,” he says. “The Temperance Union are all really amazing people to play with, and they all play really differently. There’s no real guarantee what show we’re going to do – maybe we’ll do a quiet show, maybe we’ll decide to roust it up a bit. Hopefully it will be a mixture of all of it.”

Catch Tim live at Transit Bar on Thursday May 20. Tickets are $20 on the door.

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Photo: Patrick Cox

There’s no better combination than meat, beer, bread and loud rock ‘n’ roll

Veterans of the Canberra punk rock scene, Glenno and Tommo (drums) started the band in 2000 at a backyard BBQ, recruiting Simo as guitarist/vocalist. The intention was to play some classic Aussie pub rock with the emphasis on Aussie. Early songs like Aussie Beef Snags, Beer O’Clock and Whaddya Reckon About Me Ute are still crowd pleasers to this day and show that their simple catchy punk-flavoured rock ‘n’ roll still appeals to many. “I suppose that we are a pretty blokey band but some of our biggest fans are women.

We’ve had all sorts down the front at our shows; middle-aged mums, teenage tattooists, headbangers and hardened country music fans, all letting their hair down, singing along, muckin’ up and having a great time. Heckling too, we love a good bit of heckling; if they don’t start on us then we start on them. You gotta love crowd and band interaction.”

The VeeBees are about to release their fifth and latest album Roots‘n’Blues. According to Glenno, “this one isn’t about John Butler I tell ya, it’s about rootin’ and bluein’. It’s completely different to the last album. Crack Us Anotha had nine songs on it, Roots‘n’Blues has 12. In showbiz they call that progression. Check it out for our new hit single I’d Rather Be On A Brewery Tour and our ode to fashionistas, Three Thongs. It’s about wearing three thongs; two on the hoof and one up the crack. That one’s in G. I love plucking a G-string, it’s good to hear it ring out.”

And on that note, we’ll leave it there.

The VeeBees play The Basement, Belconnen on Saturday May 22.

The Casino Rumblers and Manic Pisteleros join them for a night of shenanigans. Tickets are $10 on the door.

of different business ventures – his most recent being a Sydney based property company that was hit hard by the Global Financial Crisis. Returning to his native Canberra, Turner had the time and money to plan his next move and feels that his experience in the Australian music industry as well as his business acumen could combine to benefit local musicians as well the company’s bottom line.

Music videos is where it’s at

I CAN SHOW YOU THE WORLD DAVID BUTLER With Canberra’s live music scene increasingly under threat from stringent noise restrictions and a conservative Labor government, local business man Nir Turner is attempting to kickstart the industry with a one-stop-shop for up and coming Canberra bands. Offering band management, promotions and music video production, WORLD MUSIC PRODUCTIONS is aiming to put the Canberra scene on the map.

Self-professed ideas man Turner says that the initial focus will be on producing music videos; the idea being that if a picture tells a thousand words, then a professional music vid behind a good tune could easily sell a thousand records. “We feel that if people have their own music videos as opposed to just CDs then they can get their image out there as well,” Turner says. “So our team can create anything from a pretty basic music video, right up to something a lot more comprehensive and professional. We start at about $500 and go right up to 11 grand.”

An ex-muso himself, Turner has a background in the promotions side of Sanity Music, and since then has been involved in a number

“When I was in a band years ago in the late ‘90s we came seventh in the Australian Songwriter’s Competition, so I know what it’s like gigging around,” Turner says.

“We never took that next step. Yeah, we had a couple of CDs produced and it got played on triple j, but if you want to take that next step and you really want to get out there, basically music videos is where it’s at because people get the gist of your band straight away.”

‘So what’s Turner selling?’ you may well ask. After all, there’s always plenty of fast-talking suits trying to sell young artists a flattering image of themselves with some pretty heavy fine print. It’s probably a good time to remind up-and-comers that, in the immortal words of Tex Perkins, ‘you’d better get a lawyer son.’

Turner says that it’s his music industry contacts, management skills and enthusiasm for the industry that sets him apart. “I’ve got very strong contacts with Sanity Music Group, HMV, and Virgin Music in Australia, so we’ll be working closely with those guys and Sony as well to promote new bands. And later on in the year we want to start our own record label as well to fast track the process.”

Bands, musos or groups with a good tune stuck in their heads, should call World Music Productions on 0435 861 125 and meet with Nir Turner and his crew for a consultation. Music videos start from $500 before GST.

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METALISE It was great to get an email from one of Australia’s pioneer metal gods Joel Green, ex-Armoured Angel, this week. Along with another of Canberra’s long serving axe slingers Tony Kirk (most recently of Kill For Satan infamy), the two have released their debut slab that was discussed in Metallise last year when Joel came to town to record it (he’s in Adelaide now). The project’s name is Wardom and the debut release is entitled When Darkness Reigns. If you’d like a preview of the album, check myspace.com/wardom666 .

Unrelenting walls of international tours continue to cause the credit cards of heavy metal maniacs to suffer, particularly those heading over to catch the annual Maryland Death Festival at the end of

the month (you lucky bastards know who you are). That said, those travelling eleventy thousand miles to see the likes of Autopsy, Pentagram and Entombed along with high profile slots for our own Captain Cleanoff, Blood Duster and Portal are likely to favour one of the following tour date revelations over the other.

Metallica tickets will go on sale roughly the day this ish hits the brutal frost-bitten streets of Canberra. Of course the ‘Metclub’ members have already had a feeding frenzy or two online for the band’s two part tour in October and November. The New Zealand and Australia tour starts in Auckland on Wednesday October 13, with shows in Brisbane and Perth on Monday October 18 and Friday October 22. Then a quick kangaroo patting gap until Wednesday November 10, where they play Acer Arena. If you can’t get tickets for that show, Thursday November 18 is the date for Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena. Good luck in the credit card ruck online and may ebay be kind to you if you miss out.

Really exciting news from Soundworks Touring this week on their new website, soundworkstouring.com. Napalm Death and Dying Fetus have announced a September jaunt around the traps with a five date tour starting Wednesday September 1 in Adelaide. The two closest shows for us would be either Saturday September 4 in Sydney at The Factory or Sunday September 5 at the Hifi Ballroom in Melbourne. In digging around the traps I’ve heard that Australian hardcore band extraordinaire Extortion will be the main support on the tour. May seem like a strange choice, but for those who don’t know, Extortion released their new album Loose Screws (and a fine album it is, BTW) earlier in the year which features guest vocals in the form of Mr Mark “Barney” Greenway on the final track Socially Inept.

Tickets at Moshtix or the Factory and Hifi ticketing offices.

The Nile, Abigail Williams and Hate Eternal tour lands in Australia in a couple of weeks’ time and tickets are getting scarce for the Friday May 28 show in Sydney at The Factory. This much quality international brutality on one night is not to be missed, and you can try to get a ticket from the Factory website. Don’t sleep on these, they will sell out. The Coffins tour announced a couple of weeks back has a few more details on ticket purchase points. For the Sydney show at The Metro on Saturday September 25, you can get tickets from redanttouring. com, metrotheatre.com or Ticketek. Apparently there are also ‘VIP meet and greet’ packages available from the Red Ant Touring page.

JOSH NIXON doomtildeath@hotmail.com

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THE REALNESS Yo, D’O and I just completed the first date of our short tour to promote our new single Come Find Out, hitting Adelaide and linking up with Social Change from Butterthief family to rock the V.High.P Jam 8 at the Crown & Sceptre venue. It was a dope trip and really re-highlighted for me how vibrant and productive the SA scene continues to be in 2010. We met and built with a number of artists from veterans such as Bdeps and 2Biz to enthusiastic up-and-comers like Jekyl and Grifters Inc. We stopped by the Best Kept Secret show on 3D radio with Stej and Harvey Dent – dudes holding it down in the community radio scene down there. It’s timely, following our trip, to word you up about some new and upcoming releases coming outta Adelaide.

On the jump off, Fat Pockets aka DJ Snair and Funkwig from Social Change present their latest Butterthief Phattape which features a bunch of exclusive material from the likes of Social Change, K21, Dialect, Chris Bass, Crossbred Mongrels, 2Biz and Mesha. The release is a precursor to the forthcoming LP from Social Change which is due later this year and their new tunes were sounding massive live, with Joe killing it with the mic presence, crowd control and rapid fire flow.

Snair always dominates on the cuts and Funkwig holds it down on the MPC (is there anyone faster on the pads?). In fact, Social Change are scheduled to roll into town as part of the Tri-State Hip-Hop Jam that the Mercury Switch crew are putting on at Transit Bar on Saturday May 22 along with Choose Mics and Dialect. Speaking of Dialect, dude is a beast on the mic and impressed us in Adelaide with a number

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of razor sharp freestyles. He’s definitely one to watch in 2010 with his second LP just on the horizon. It’s a collaboration with producer Despair and features Delta, Social Change and Motion on guest vocals.

Really looking forward to this one and predicting it will be one of the standout releases of 2010.

The more rugged and raw tip is Evolve who impressed with his no-holds-barred old school aesthetic. Dude really speaks his mind and epitomises the ‘move-the-crowd’ motif. He’s a ‘what you see is what you get’ type of cat and recently released his debut LP The Dirt Merchant through Battlehogs/Snipershot. With heavy head-rocking percussion supplied by Trials, Conceps & Beats, K21 and Sublime, Evolve has also enlisted a who’s who of militant MC styles on the assist from the likes of Conceps, Mids, K21, Realizm and Mortar. If you like your sounds heavy and neck-cracking you should give his tunes a listen.

Grifters Inc have been bubbling around the Adelaide scene for a minute now, hustling a number of limited pressed EPs hand to hand at shows, and I managed to grab a copy of their latest offering Checkout Chicks, Bargirls and Goths. For a young duo, they exhibit a real professionalism and maturity, and their music has a heavy Atmosphere influence.

Gotta give props also to One Above who opened the night with a showcase of instrumentals from his forthcoming LP. He also recently won the beat battle in Adelaide too, and from what I heard on the night, I’m expecting some really nice sounds on his LP coming with that dusty blunted style. Anyway, that’s my rant for the month – hope to see you all out at shows in Canberra in May and don’t forget to tune to 2XX 98.3FM every Tuesday from 9.30pm to hear from all the above releases and more.

ROSHAMBO roshambizzle@yahoo.com.au

william glasgow “Someone was telling me about a gig they went to in Brisbane the other night. The place was trashed – there was shit everywhere,” recounts Mules, the production half of Gold Coast-based hip-hop crew Choose Mics. “The night before there was a metal gig, and this guy, a Brisbane MC, was talking to the guy who runs the place, and he said, ‘We had the best time last night! People were spewing all over the floor! There were punch-ons! Bloody stabbings and stuff!’ And then he looks at the guy, the MC, and goes, ‘There better not be any trouble with you and your hip-hop tonight, graffing my toilets up.’”

The Australian hip-hop scene has reached heights that were unimaginable ten years ago. Impressive success by those at the top, however, hasn’t necessarily trickled down to smaller acts.

Booking a gig as a little known, or even reasonably well-known, hip-hop crew is still difficult. This difficulty is partly the result of the scene’s uneasy relationship with venues.

“It’s just funny, man. Hip-hop seems to have this stigma about it,” says Mules. “It’s alright to get rowdy if you’re in a metal band, but when it comes to hip-hop, they don’t like it.” As a Gold Coast-based act, Mules and his MC, Birmingham-expat Haunts, are able to play venues in Brisbane, only 50 minutes away. “It hasn’t quite got to the stage where they’re saying no completely. I know in Sydney at some places they are, but in Brisbane it’s still alright – they just give you the dad talk.”

Unfortunately, the Canberra scene doesn’t so closely neighbour a big city. Cooma, Bungendore and Hall are all lovely spots to buy pies, leather goods and second-hand books – but they’re still to establish thriving hip-hop scenes.

This situation leaves Canberra-based acts with limited performing options. It’s a reality that troubles D’Opus and Roshambo, who, since the relocation of Koolism, are Canberra’s biggest hip-hop act.

Hip-hop gets a bit of a rep

“We met back when the scene was much more vibrant. It was really good around the late ‘90s-early ‘00s,” says Ro. “Yeah, it had a bit of a nice period there, the honeymoon period. There were lots of international MCs and acts touring, and it was viable to put on a show in Canberra – at Toast, the Holy Grail, the backroom of Heaven, ANU Bar,” adds D’Opus.

But, much like the newspaper business, the silent film industry and, most regrettable of all, Peter Andre’s music career, these are not great days for the Canberra hip-hop scene – at least as D’Opus and Roshambo see it. “It’s not in the best place it could be. It’s still positive – international acts can come through and they’ll get good support. The big acts are getting bigger and bigger crowds, the medium acts are getting good 200-300 hundred crowds. But, I think probably the reality is that the smaller stuff isn’t getting as much of a shine as it should because they’re not pulling the numbers that the bigger stuff would,” says D’Opus.

“There’s not as many venues [in the city] that put hip-hop on at the moment, so guys have been going out to Tuggeranong or out to Belconnen to try to put local nights on,” says Ro. “Hip-hop gets a bit of a rep. If a venue owner sees a fight or some trouble at a hip-hop show…” And so here we are again, circling the scene’s central problem: friction with venues. Clearly it’s not just a Brisbane problem.

While the Canberra hip-hop scene might be at a bit of a low point, there are still things going on. On Saturday May 22, for example, Transit Bar will be hosting the TRI STATE HIP-HOP JAM. Hip-hop is coming to the city.

The show is the result of a lot of work by D’Opus and Roshambo.

“We’re trying to do something that will get the scene united. It’s gonna be a cool show. All the acts playing have just released or are just releasing new music. The acts – us, Choose Mics and Social Change – are very different, with different sounds… And we’re going to have the Vinyl Only DJs, which has got a really nice, oldschool hip-hop aesthetic.”

The show is also functioning as the Canberra stop on D’Opus and Roshambo’s Come Find Out tour to promote their new teaser single (Come Find Out is on triple j’s Unearthed page, features Canberra’s Chanel Cole and sounds great). The tour is an announcement that the group is back and preparing to release their second album later in the year.

For aspiring hip-hop acts, the Tri State Hip-Hop Jam will offer an excellent opportunity to learn from three of the country’s most exciting acts. For music fans (professional, semi-professional and recreational), the show will offer an excellent opportunity to assess the state of the Australian hip-hop scene – to measure the hype against the reality. And for the dancers out there – the most important group of all – the show will offer excellent dancing opportunities. “If you’re there to tap your knee and nod your head, then it’s probably not going to be for you,” says Mules of the Choose Mics live show. “ But if you want to jump around and really have a good time, then please, come down.”

And, everybody, please, for the love of Tupac, Biggie Smalls and Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes – no graffing the toilets up.

Catch D’Opus & Roshambo, Social Change, at Transit Bar on Saturday May 22.

Choose Mics and Dialect

Choose Mics

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mbo

nd Rosha

D’Opus a

the word

BLACKBOX

on games Street Fighter IV Developer: Dimps/ Capcom Publisher: Capcom Style: 1 on 1 Fighting Platforms: 360, PS3, PC, Arcade Rating: Worth buying

The Street Fighter series finally received some necessary reinvigoration with last year’s SFIV, after nearly a decade of absence since the release of SFIII: TS. I’ll be honest, having been a dedicated 2D fighting game player since their inception, I was hesitant about SFIV, and I’ll go even further to admit to not having picked it up until about a month or two after release. Fast forward to April 2010, and checking my game time on SFIV, I see I’m well into the 500+ hours mark. Capcom did something very, very right.

The Street Fighter series suffers from criticism due to the constant reiterations, generally seen as some cash-in in this world of home console gaming, but an absolute necessity in the game’s roots as an arcade machine. Things have to be kept interesting, balance tweaks must occur to existing characters, add some new characters, and still maintain each iteration’s individuality. Does SSFIV address these elements?

Immediately noticeable are the changes to the roster, which includes nods to the previous Street Fighter games, plus some new characters to the IV canon. The additional characters balance out what tends to be a slightly redundant roster; in this case the additions lean towards leaner, faster or stronger characters, and eschew the projectile types. This certainly opens up the game – long gone is the all too common online Ryu-Ryu-Ryu-Sagat-Ryu-Ken-RyuSagat ad infinitum frequency.

This has occurred in due part to some hefty character balancing, for instance, bringing Sagat more down to earth with his damage dealing, and increasing the health on characters like Dhalsim, and minor tweaks to damage and priority all around. Characters now receive the choice of two ultras prior to the match, and it’s up to you to commit as to which one you’ll choose.

A major overhaul comes in the form of the multiplayer aspect, which has been the most exciting part of this generation’s contribution to SF. Tweaks to the netcode mean smoother matches and matchmaking has been streamlined so it’s easier to come across players from the same region. Australia’s tyranny of distance has always made this quite iffy, in a game that relies so much of finesse and timing. The inclusion of Endless Battle mode brings the arcade experience closer, with its ‘winner stays on’ principle. Just right.

In brief – it’s SFIV made that much better. You can still choose to play it like you did the original SF2 down at the takeaway in the ‘90s, without a doubt. I would recommend exploring all the new things on offer, as it is a much richer experience. Here’s to another 500+ hours.

JEMIST

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Stone the flamin’ crows – the TV Gold Logie should be renamed the ‘old bastard left standing’ award. It wasn’t enough that last year’s ‘top Australian television award’ (if you don’t count the AFIs) went to Harold Bishop, this one had to go to rival network old bastard Alf. Let’s face it – it’s the characters rather than the actors getting the votes of the square-eyed TV Week readers (and network publicists).

Next year Blackbox intends to mount a grassroots campaign to give the Gold Logie to B1, so get voting forms now.

Speaking of ballots, it’s time for Eurovision – Semi Finals (SBS1, Fri May 28 and Sat May 29, 7.30pm) and Finals (SBS1, Sun May 30, 7.30pm). Polish the fondue pot and get your Eurotrash on. Sure, your vote won’t count but a lucky sweep pick could just make up for that.

Get prepared early with A-Z of Eurovision (SBS1, Sat May 22, 8.30pm).

And yes Lost (Prime, Wed May 26, 8.30pm) is about to get a bump in its ratings with the last episode ever. The ep airs in the US on Sun May 23 so there is plenty of opportunity to log on and find an abridged version if you can’t be bothered with the movie length finale. If you’re a true tragic, tune in to the Lost Special: The Final Journey (Prime, Wed May 26, 12pm) which looks into the many theories about what’s going on. Let’s just hope a movie exec bereft of ideas doesn’t decide to turn it into a film in a decade or two.

The much promoed Modern Family (SCTEN, Tue May 18, 8pm) starts this week, and schedules are moving around all over the place – 30 Rock (Prime, Sun May 16, 11pm) shifts to Sundays with double eps, the disappointing V (WIN, Sun, 10.30pm) gets bumped later.

Glee (SCTEN, Mon, 10pm and Thu, 8pm) is set to become the new Simpsons (SCTEN, Sun-Fri, 6pm), Top Gear (WIN, Tue, 7.30pm – Go, Sun, 6.30pm and Thu, 7.30pm) or Big Bang Theory (WIN, Mon, 8pm and Tue, 9.40pm – Go, Sun 8.40pm and Thu, 8.40pm) repeats replace the less than funny Cleveland Show.

If you dream of travelling to a galaxy far, far away, don’t miss auntie’s new doco series, Voyage to the Planets (ABC1, Thu May 13, 8.30pm), a visual guidebook of the planets with tips from those intimately familiar with the planets, albeit from a distance.

Other docs to look out for include The Hottest Place on Earth (SBS1, Fri May 14, 7.30pm), a series following five adventurers to the home of the Afar, the volcanic Danakil region of Africa where it reaches 60°C, Iran and the West (SBS1, Fri May 14, 8.30pm) – a two parter exploring the relationship between Iran and the US over the past three decades, Iceland’s Killer Volcano (SBS1, Sun May 23, 7.30pm) which looks at the history of the now infamous Icelandic volcano, poisonous gas from which killed a third of the population in 1783, Lani’s Story (SBS1, Tue May 25, 8.30pm), a personal story of severe domestic violence, In My Father’s Country (Tue May 25, 10pm) which looks at traditional life in one of Australia’s most remote Aboriginal communities, and Conviction: The true story of Clarence Elkins (ABC2, Wed, 9.30pm) which looks at the case of a man wrongly convicted of murder and rape in the US. Get ready for the FIFA World Cup in June with the FA Cup Final (SBS1, Sat May 15, 10.30pm), UEFA Champions League Final: Bayern Munich v Inter Milan (SBS1, Sun May 23, 4am) and Women’s Asian Cup: China PR vs Australia (ABC2,, Sun May 23, 6pm).

TRACY HEFFERNAN tracyheffernan@bigpond.com

the word

on gigs

Groovin’ the Moo University of Canberra Meadows Sunday May 9 Sunday May 9 should have been a day of chrysanthemums and croissants, but thanks to some incredibly crafty event organisers there were thousands of kids having to send in absent apologies to mothers and explain what “a Silverchair” was. Groovin’ the Moo was, after all, the biggest festival Canberra’s ever seen, so it’s pretty likely that no one would have cared how it was organised, because these miraculous unknowns had brought us some of the biggest bands in the world and plonked them on our Belconnen ovals. But apart from the udderly tripe burgers beings served, everything was incredibly smooth. There were few lines for the overpriced beers and there was toilet paper in all the loos and on the soles of many a punter’s shoe for the entire day With Jonathan Boulet kicking off the interstate acts it was quite a sight to see the masses flock when the opening plucks of Community Service Announcement began. The turnout grew strong and fast over the next couple of hours, as did the black and white cow combination outfits and the orange wristbands in the air for Kisschasy’s set.

Lisa Mitchell ho-ed and hummed her soul away just right and I’m pretty sure everyone drew an incredibly tight breath when Miami Horror’s Josh Moriarty climbed to new scaffolding heights and made hot pink blazers look better than Molly Ringwald ever could.

Sadly Spoon’s set was pretty hit and miss with songs like You Got Yr Cherry Bomb smashing the dedicated away, while I Turn My Camera On not reaching anywhere near its potential.

Grinspoon was basically Phil Jameson leading a mass karaoke party and sadly when the ambulances rolled by we remembered he was off ice and still on stage. I was forced to regret my laziness when everyone came back from the Moolin Rouge tent praising Bag Raiders set and getting Fat Mike’s voice stuck in my head when two Canadian sisters appeared on stage.

Empire of the Sun need to think about releasing workout videos and/or getting some charisma, because the constant ‘I’m too good to acknowledge you’ act that Steele produces has passed its use by date and where everyone should have been dancing, there were only girls on stage in great lycra and a bewildered crowd.

I’m pretty sure that all the requested Dr Pepper and Barossa Valley goat’s cheese went straight to Vampire Weekend’s head because they came out roaring and didn’t stop until the very end. Koenig commanded the crowd like he would a classroom, and gave a show of manners that would have made all our mothers proud we were there and not slaving over a roast for them.

Yacht Club DJs were the perfect end to the evening for people wanting to warm up or come down before the parents arrived, and even though they were one man down the set ran smoothly. They were able to prove their talents as musicians, and not just another DJ set on the festival circuit. Though I will say, please, when shirtless, stand side on. The shadow under the man-boobs is not the best final vision for the night.

PHOTOS: ANDREW MAYO

When the Silverchair-loving members of our party arrived back at the car all they could utter in half Jewish grandmother half man drawls was “Fuck. Fuuuuuck, fuck that was good” and “I’ve lost my voice. Silverchair’s fault.” Every voice and hour of memory lost and splotch of sunburn earnt it seems was entirely worth it, and we’d really appreciate its return next year if you please.

KATY HALL

39

the word

on albums

Autechre Oversteps [Warp]

album of the week Cloud Control Bliss Release [Ivy League]

Cloud Control from The Blue Mountains, with their vivacious performance and stand-out, crowd winning sound, were the surprise find as the support act for Josh Pyke in 2009.

The description of their style as indie pop doesn’t do justice to their debut album, which is heavily influenced by world music sounds. Super catchy Afro rhythms appear frequently, popping up in the chorus of Meditation Song, This Is What I Said and Gold Canary, which has been released as a single and achieved exposure in the UK. There are strong spiritual themes, including the quest for the meaning of life in the opening track, a song in praise of Mother Ganga the River Goddess, and the eerie Ghost Story. There’s magic too in the vocal arrangements in tracks such as Hollow Drums and the sparkling My Fear. Al Wright leads the vocals in most songs, but Heidi Lenffer shines in the sultry closer Beast of Love.

The quality of the production is remarkable, considering most songs were recorded in family homes. Cloud Control will showcase their album at Transit Bar on Saturday June 5. It should be a special night.

RORY McCARTNEY

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Autechre are one of the most challenging and exciting electronic artists of the last 20 years – they meld harsh glitchy computer music and warm analog synth melodies to great effect. Oversteps is the ninth studio album from seminal electronic duo Sean Booth and Rob Brown. True to form, the production is still engaging. The slow fade in of album opener r ess begins a more ambient and spacious release. The ambient sections are well placed, allowing the listener to catch a breath before the paralysing computer bleeps return. Though Oversteps is more ambient, there are still many alienating sections without a frequent pulse or a discernible motif. This is not a criticism but merely a challenge that Autechre present on all their releases.

Oversteps features a more melodic focus than their previous albums, at times providing a great contrast to the glitches that buzz and bend like a machine thinking.

However Autechre’s melodies can often sound too pentatonic, conjuring up the soundtrack to a bad spy movie or a tweaked Age of Empires theme. Experimental and modern sounds are knitted to old tones that recall Autechre’s influential LP5 and Aphex Twin’s Drukqs. Oversteps combines jarring algorithmic drum machines with enough head-bobable back-beats to keep the listener both exhilarated and satisfied. This month Autechre are touring Australia for the first time in 16 years and it could be their last.

Oversteps shows that they still have it; don’t miss them. josh becker

The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night [Inertia] Montreal really is a magical city. Even when stripped of its musical heritage, from prohibition-era Jazz hang out through to millennial straddling post-rock epicentre and obviously Celine Dion’s hometown, there’s a rough hewed, dark, intensity to the place that escapes words. It is after all, basically a French town an hour’s flight form New York. Maybe that’s why music has always been at the forefront of the city’s identity; and for me The Besnard Lakes are one of clearest exemplars of Montreal’s strange logic fusing crunching ‘70s guitar rock, dreamy psychedelia, grinding shoegaze and swirling spine-chilling harmonies (Dennis Wilson’s Pacific Ocean Blue loomed large during recording) into something approaching indie prog. Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt’s 1 and 2 is the perfect album primer, opening with co-lead singer Jace Lasek’s eerie disembodied falsetto floating into range like a lost seaman’s clarion call until about the four minute mark when the guitars drop right in, letting you know that Lasek not only looks spookily like Ian Hunter – but he also can major chord crash like the heavily ringleted power rock genius. And This Is What We Call Progress and Albatross round out the four standout tracks on the album; the former is a pulsating, riff laden shin-tremor whilst the latter is an undisguised Bilinda Butcher shout out. The Roaring Night doesn’t quite match the sheer grandeur of 2007’s The Dark Horse but I still listen to that album weekly, so comparisons at this juncture might be a tad uncharitable.

JUSTIN HOOK

Field Music Field Music [Measure] For the time being, the brothers that make up the core of Field Music (David and Peter Brewis) have yet to descend into Gallagher-style public slag offs – which is not all that surprising when you consider they come across as the aural equivalent of an afternoon of tea and scones.

That’s not to suggest they are either weak or limpid; far from it – this is clever, muscular, at times baroque but uniformly brilliantly written indie pop music. Think Grizzly Bear through an Anglopasture-funnel (they exist) but 75% less insufferable. Actually, The Rest Is Noise sounds like Billy Joel circa Brooklyn 2009 but that’s as close to it gets to hacky scenster-ism.

The remainder of the album is a total grab bag of quality influences and musical quotes – Todd Rundgren looms large on the prog-pop arrangements, but this is suffused with the uniquely British, jaunty cloak of XTC with a little bit of skeletal Richard Thompson riffage for good measure; the iridescent Effortlessly makes it seem, well, effortless and Measure is surely Kate Bush via The Books for goods sake. For a double album, it’s hard to fall back on that old adage that “a few less songs would have made it a classic” and Field Music mounts a convincing argument that a surfeit of ideas can be wrangled into something listenable, cohesive and memorable. There might be better albums released this year, but I’d be surprised.

JUSTIN HOOK

singled out

with Dave Ruby Howe

Iggy and The Stooges Raw Power (Legacy Edition) [Sony]

Noisia Split the Atom [Stomp]

We are dealing with an undeniable masterpiece here, so caution is required when mentioning anything that might taint one of the great rock albums of all time. Firstly, anyone out there who has even the slightest inclination for self expression should always take a look at the more intense end of the scale because that is where the good stuff often happens, and so it is with Raw Power.

This album originally appeared in 1973, and its failure to hit the charts tells you much about the often questionable taste of the listening public.

Boldness, confidence, sense of purpose. Three great things to expect from your artists and with this, their debut LP after many-a-year twiddling away on the 1s and 2s, tech-triumvirate Noisia have achieved the holy trifecta, delivering a cohesive telling of their trademark uber-phat, ‘full’ sounding production. Pulling no punches, Machine Gun fires first with what starts as a semi-standard electro house number before descending into multi timesignatured, distorted bass madness (and be sure to watch the accompanying video on YouTube; one of the finest I’ve seen in a fair old while).

What helped things along for a band on the verge of dissolution was the intervention of David Bowie who realised early in the piece that his successful Ziggy Stardust persona was indebted to those in the know like Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, and all credit to him for prodding Iggy and his band to wallow in the further extremities of rock ‘n’ roll. However, one significant problem was Bowie’s odd production work which sucked the life from parts of the album, apart from James Williamson’s screaming guitar which certainly hits the listener with full force on opening track Search and Destroy. Iggy Pop addressed this issue with his own brutally appealing 1997 mix, although this remastered original version nevertheless communicates its own savagery, and the bonus disc which features an incendiary 1973 Stooges performance in Atlanta Georgia, is pretty much the icing on the cake.

Dan Bigna

Title track Split the Atom and Red Heat scream “dance motherfucker!”, reminding us of the glory days of dirty breakbeat. But Messrs Roos, de Vlieger and van Sonderen do not completely abandon the warped D&B roots that made them famous, nor the roots of the D&B genre itself.

Shellshock with Foreign Beggars and Dystopia contain the kind of Hades-driven bass and fury you’ve come to expect from the group that gave you The Tide, whereas Diplodocus and Hand Gestures with Joe Seven are pleasing harks back to drum ‘n’ bass of 15 years ago, directly channelling late ‘90s Ed Rush & Optical style neurofunk to great success.

I don’t know what they put in the water in Holland, but whatever it is, make mine a pint. allan sko

Rhapsody of Fire The Frozen Tears of Angels [Nuclear Blast/Riot] I love Italy’s Rhapsody of Fire.

I love everything about them – their ambition, their vision, their pomp, their circumstance... but mostly I love their music. This is fortuitous, because here they are with their eighth full-length outing, the superbly OTT The Frozen Tears of Angels. After the obligatory cinematic opening, the album proper kicks off in frankly superb style in the shape of Sea of Fate, an old school slice of operatic power/speed metal that’ll have the veins in your temples throbbing as you sing along, after a fashion, with consummate throatsmith Fabio Lione. Follow up Crystal Moonlight is no less gargantuan, Luca Turilli’s superb fretwork framing Lione’s spectacular vocalising to devastating effect.

In fact that’s pretty much the story of the whole album – Turilli and Lione are the stars here, as the band power through slab after slab of fast and furious magnificence; it’s almost a given that TFTOA is just a part of a sprawling, multi-album fantasy (it’s the third part of The Dark Secret Saga, if you’re interested), but that’s of no real matter if you’re arriving to the band late. The music here is so vital, so thrilling, so compelling, that it stands quite nicely on its own two feet outside of the concept; if what you’re after is complex, passionate, rousing music of the first order then this album fits the bill, with or without its companions.

Scott Adams

foals - this orient [Warner] Abandoning the jerky, disjointed post-punk of their debut album, Foals’ new single sees the UK lads exploring fresh terrain and discovering joyous synth-driven anthems along the way. This has some euphoric builds and exciting, spacious production and is convincing enough to at last let go of Hummer.

Jamaica - I Think I Like U 2 [Independent] Formerly a three-piece known as Poney Poney, the Jamaica dudes have slimmed down to a duo, and also sworn off using synthesizers in the studio.

So that means we’ve still got the same hooky songwriting, touched up with Justice production, but now based on bombastic garage pop. Count me in.

Teenagersintokyo - End It Tonight [Backyard] This will be at least the third time that this jam gets released as a single and although that kind of label pushing isn’t ideal, a spade is still a spade and a good tune is still a good tune.

And this is a great tune. Even better is it’s not got an extra beefy production courtesy of Dave Kosten. Now let’s put it to bed and get to the new stuff!

The Juan MacLean - Feel So Good [!K7] I tend to take the approach with life that any Juan MacLean is better than nothing. So although this new cut from the Juan DJ Kicks comp is the band rushing through Studio 54 ready progdisco (now a genre, okay) in their sleep, it’s still pretty remarkable.

41

the word

on films

WITH MARK RUSSELL

Just how much have special effects changed the cinemagoing experience? The Iron Man 2 climax was, for me, kinda reminiscent of video game geeks, saving the world from their purpose-built chairs. There’s a point when Iron Man takes out a bunch of drones before we get a close up of Robert Downey-Jr’s face surrounded by bleeping holographic images as he says “Did you see that?” then a cut to Don Cheadle’s face behind War Machine responding with “Niiiice.” All it needed was a Downey Jr snorting “Owned”, before shoving a handful of cheesels into his face. Ah, the depth and magic of Hollywood.

quote of the issue “I want you dead. I think you owe me that. I do. Because that’s what you’ve done to me. You’ve fucking killed me.”

Colin Diamond (Ray Winstone), 44 Inch Chest

44 Inch Chest

IRON MAN 2

In 2000 the film Sexy Beast gave us a different British gangster amidst a wave of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels imitators. It showed us men whose personality was intimidating enough with little need for actual violence.

The same writers and a good portion of the cast of Sexy Beast have come back for 44 Inch Chest.

Iron Man Poo, more like. Ha! Preschool-hilarity-I-shouldhave-grown-out aside, it’s not that bad, but far from a well-crafted action romp. Tony Stark has the world at his feet; rich, a superhero, adoring public, responsible for world peace. But he’s dying from the radioactive thingy keeping him alive (mad irony, dude), the government wants his suits (if you can’t trust the American government with weapons, who can you trust, right?), and crazy Russian physicist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is plotting revenge via big electrified whips (kinky), and a little help from Stark industry rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell).

The film focuses on Colin (Ray Winstone), a man who’s been destroyed by the news that his wife’s been cheating on him and is now leaving him. Colin calls up a few of his aging hard-arse buddies and together they kidnap his wife’s new lover. Our story concerns the decision of what to do with this young upstart.

44 Inch Chest is intended as an ode to the power of love: mature, dependent, lifedefining love. The film looks at how the most brutal of men can be undone by these feelings.

The main problem is - it doesn’t look at it with a particularly broad perspective.

In the end, we don’t get enough of Colin’s character and back story as a violent man to be impressed when love turns him around.

But these moments are too stretched out. Again, the pacing is off (the middle is a chore) and the ‘climactic battle’ is far from that. The action scenes will delight many, but for me they were dull; seeing CGI models slugging it out without the gaming controls to move them is as unsatisfying and hollow as the recent Star Wars trilogy.

And more could have been done with Rourke’s character; the Vanko/Stark relationship cries out for more. It’s a decent enough film to polish off a jumbo size popcorn to, but you’ll feel bloated and strangely unsatisfied afterwards.

MARK RUSSELL

ALLAN SKO

The long and short of it: this is a stage play, filmed. This is almost never a good idea and this film is a brilliant example of exactly why it doesn’t work. The drama spends almost the entire time in one room, creating a claustrophobic feeling that doesn’t boost the tension but instead adds staleness. The language is overly theatrical as well and, though it’s delivered with consummate skill by the phenomenal cast, it merely detracts further from the realism.

42

The good points - Downey Jr is always a joy to watch (although perhaps a tad over quirky here), Rockwell and Don Cheadle are great, and Paltrow and Rourke do well with limited material.

There’s sassy one-liners, scenes of snappy dialogue (a la The West Wing) and a rollicking Monaco GP action piece.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Very solid filmmaking; a leeeetle heavy on the rape.

The other international title for this film is Millennium Part 1: Men Who Hate Women. I didn’t know this walking in however and was a little unready for the whole thing. The film contains a very strong undercurrent of twisted brutality, an attitude towards women that is a long way from adulation.

Unfortunately, this brutality doesn’t quite seem justified.

Though rape and aggressive misogyny are crucial parts of the plot, they didn’t seem crucial enough to explain the scenes we had to sit through.

That said, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a very wellmade film. It’s beautifully shot and makes good use of many harsh and eerie landscapes of Sweden. The story follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) as they track the disappearance of a young girl 40 years earlier; as well as the twisted family she came from.

The meticulous way in which they move through the investigation keeps the tension bubbling away, occasionally boiling over into high action or sickening sadism.

At over two and a half hours, this edgy mood is almost sustained throughout, but could have lost a few minutes off the running time. mark russell

the word on dvds

A Perfect Getaway [Roadshow]

nowhere boy [icon]

Party Down – S1 [Anchor Bay]

Occasionally, a film that promises to be a B-grade, straight to DVD, phonemessage-checking, magazinereorganising, CD-alphabetising snorefest turns out to be halfway decent. It’s not that I have anything against Timothy Olyphant; as Deadwood’s Seth Bullock he was the stoic heart and moral compass in a world gone batshit insane and sure I no longer harbour a grudge against Steve Zahn for appearing in Reality Bites but really… on paper A Perfect Getaway looks formulaic, dull and uninspiring.

It’s a story about a couple honeymooning in Hawaii hot on the heels of a spate of gruesome murders. But being the stubborn young would-be victims that they are, Cliff (Zahn) and Cydney (the underused Milla Jovovich) set out to camp on a scenic, secluded beach. A run in with some island trash spooks the happy couple but warning signs are for audiences – not characters in films. More warning signs pop up in the form of rugged, know-it-all man of action Nick (Olyphant) who, as an exaggerated ex-Marine type, is suitably threatening and occasionally helpful in unequal measures. The trailer trash re-appear out of nowhere just as expected and it’s from this point that the guessing game really begins in earnest. Writer and director David Twohy is no slouch – he’s behind some of best (The Fugitive), the worst (Waterworld) and inexplicably popular (the Vin Diesel helmed Riddick franchise) films of the past few decades. The key to A Perfect Getaway’s success is how Twohy plays with audience expectations – drawing us into well designed, but ultimately dead ended side plots but also keeping the clues solvable. Once the real killers are revealed the movie picks up in pace but loses dramatic tension. It’s an unfortunate trade-off because I was quite enjoying the tease.

Nevertheless, it’s an unusually satisfying action thriller and one that really came from nowhere.

Nowhere Boy, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, focuses on the early life of John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) and the emotional turmoil behind his musical education. A young John is torn between two women: his aunt and his mother. Controlling and severe Aunt Mimi (Kristen Scott Thomas) raised Lennon since he was a boy, and his free-spirited mother (Anne Marie Duff) hasn’t seen him since she abandoned him to his Aunt’s care.

Party Down is an unassuming show; the sort that creeps up on you over ten episodes slowly revealing its idiosyncrasies.

Revolving around the lives of a small group of dissatisfied and disillusioned actors working in catering to pay the bills before their dreams evaporate means that Party Down is an office comedy with a brilliant get out of jail free card – the putative ‘office’ changes every week when the team go to another home, function, seminar or birthday party. It’s a brilliantly simple plot device that gives the show a sense of forward momentum, leaving behind the sordid office politics so readily mined elsewhere (The Office as an obvious but by no means solitary example). The other brilliant element of the show is its understatement.

justin hook

The actors are well cast. Aaron Johnson perfectly embodies the brash arrogance that one expects from Lennon (and he pulls off the hairstyle, too), while Thomas Brodie Sangster is instantly likeable as a whitesuited, pink-carnationed, teadrinking Paul McCartney.

Screenwriter Matt Greenhalgh (who also wrote Joy Division biopic Control) captures the dialogue of the time, and punctuates the script with sly references to The Beatles. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is the typically rock ‘n’ roll atmosphere; the swinging soundtrack, the carefully coiffed hair and slick cityscapes. However, the real charm of Nowhere Boy is its heart, and how much it cares for the characters (and not just because two go on to be members of the Fab Four).

The special features are extensive and include a making of, deleted scenes, theatrical trailer and an extended interview with Sam Taylor-Wood. For Beatles fans, Lennon’s Liverpool walks the audience through the effect of Lennon’s surroundings on his music and the significant landmarks featured in the film, while another featurette includes interviews with the original members of Lennon’s first band, The Quarrymen.

From the references to The Beatles, to the bromance, to the stylish Buddy Holly glasses – Nowhere Boy is worth the rental, if not the cost of owning on DVD. melissa wellham

Mercifully free of big personalities, zany characters and fish out of water situations it is droll, dry and harsh where every other comedy these days is either trying to be the next Arrested Development or has re-heated the mocu-drama to within an inch of its life; Modern Family and Parks and Recreation excepted as they are both quite splendid. Party Down the catering company is managed by Ron Donald (Ken Marino), an overly cautious Brent-like character struggling to supervise a handful of employees who routinely ignore him, regularly drink on the job and generally don’t give a shit about anything – least of all any last vestiges of self respect they may still cling to. Adam Scott (Six Feet Under and fine jaw-bones) is the standout as Henry Pollard – the guy who once had a famous catchphrase in an advert years ago – he knows it’s over, but he lives in hope. Jane Lynch (Glee), Martin Starr (Freaks & Geeks) and Lizzy Caplan (True Blood) elevate this show to instant cult status.

JUSTIN HOOK

43

GIG GUIDE May 12 - May 19 wednesday may 12

Live

saturday may 15

Genevieve Chadwick

Arts Moon Over Buffalo

Everything that could go wrong does, and knowing it could happen, makes it even better. ‘Til May 15.

CANBERRA REPERTORY

Desert Links

An exhibition of paintings and soft sculpture.

CHAPMAN GALLERY

The Importance of Being Earnest

Arts

David Robertson

Arc: Richard Meale: Three Film Scores (18+)

9pm - midnight.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

something different Karaoke

Cash prizes, 2 for 1 basic spirits and tap beer, and free pool. DJ Peter Doree from 11pm.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Produced by those bastions of the Can scene, Free Rain Theatre. ‘Til May 16.

6275 2700 for details.

COURTYARD STUDIO, CTC

Mezzanine

Exhibition by the Fijian artist Rusiate Lali. ‘Til May 28. Opening 6pm.

ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE

Luuk

An exhibition by Luke Chiswell. ‘Til May 16.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ARTS SPACE - MANUKA

Every Single Saturday

Looks at sport from the sidelines – literally – examining the drama that happens on the margins

friday may 14 dance Nathan Frost

TRANSIT BAR

Your weekly Big Night Out with DJs playing rock, indie, alternative, punk and dance 9-way late.

Foreplay Fridays CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

MCGREGOR HALL

With Fire on the Hill.

Do you know lots of stuff about nothing? Then why not try your hand at trivia every Wednesday at 6pm

Make Poverty History Concert

Trivia @ Transit Bar / $5 Night

UCU REFECTORY

Evermore, Blue King Brown, Diafrix, Bonjah, Hancock Basement and more.

Free.

Take Cover

HOLY GRAIL, KINGSTON

Frequently Asked Questions Duo

Live Irish Jam Session

Come and have a fiddle from 5pm.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Killing Birds

With Dead Farmers, Pee Wee Show, The Fighting League.

THE PHOENIX PUB

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live

monday may 17 live Sounding the Churches

Canberra International Music Festival Amazing Space series featuring various organs.

WESLEY CHURCH

Sunset Riots

Dance

Brethren (Wizdm + Mistery)

Hospitality Night w/ Univibes DJs

THE BASEMENT

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Groovalicious

HOLY GRAIL, CIVIC

Gothic Toccata

TRANSIT BAR

Something Different Fame Trivia

Do you know lots of stuff about nothing? Then why not try your hand at trivia every Monday at 6pm

Concert 4 in the 2010 Canberra International Music Festival series. Tix through Canberra Ticketing.

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

Billy Goat and The Mongrels

live

THE PHOENIX PUB

Evergreen Terrace

tuesday may 18

WESLEY CHURCH

With C.J. Shaw.

As Famous As The Moon CASINO CANBERRA

The Gift of the Magi

With Casey Jones and Dropsaw. Tix through Moshtix and Landspeed.

TUGGERANONG YOUTH CENTRE

Trivia

Something Different Rock Nation

Mike Fielding AKA Naboo DJ Set

HIPPO LOUNGE

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Carry-On Karaoke

Le Chat Noir

Funk, soul and R&B with Mario Gordon and Jayo from 9pm.

Party on after the weekend’s over with DJ TJ from 10 ‘til late. Free pool.

Something Different

Dance

Soul Train

Cube Sunday

ANU BAR AND REFECTORY

Doors at 7, show starts at 9. $10.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

TRINITY BAR

TNT: Karaoke Dynamite

The Sneakquel tour. Tix from urthboy. com .

Coming in from West Philly, starting trouble in yo neighbourhood.

Sunday reggae roots and culture plus Jamaican BBQ from 4pm.

LLEWELLYN HALL

Arc: KJ: Music and Life (2008, 18+)

Faux Real

Rock Steady!

Urthboy

CASINO CANBERRA

MECHE

Dance

As part of the Canberra International Music Festival. Tickets $45/$35 through Ticketek. 6pm.

Arts

You know him from the Boosh, now see him work his voodoo magic on the decks. With Mikah Freeman. 8pm

10 ‘til 5 with DJs Peter Dorree and Matt Chavasse.

Emily Scott

Fame Trivia

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Candy Cube

Oscar

Something Different

As part of Canberra International Music Festival. 7pm.

TRANSIT BAR

Playing all your favourite covers.

Orright! From 8pm.

10pm-2am.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Veterans of the Oz hip-hop scene are celebrating 20 years as a crew. 8pm, $8.

Mikelangelo and the Tin Star with Saint Clare

thursday may 13

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Strangeways DJs

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

TRANSIT BAR

As part of Canberra International Music Festival. 7pm.

REV

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Pedestrian Orchestra

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

Arc: Mahler (1974, PG)

Brings that beat back, flips it, then takes it waaay out.

Dos Locos

18 PEDDAR STREET, O’CONNOR

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

TV Rock

Tea for Two performed by ANU Ensemble members.

The all-welcoming open mic night is the newest Canberra institution. Your mid-week dose of wonder.

As part of Canberra International Music Festival. 4.30pm.

D’Opus

9 ‘til 5 with DJs Pete & Matt. Free entry before 10pm.

WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

Arc: Arvo Part: 24 Preludes for a Fugue (18+)

Rob Swift

live

Wednesday Lunchtime Live

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Dance

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

BAR 32

THE PHOENIX PUB

As part of Canberra International Music Festival. 2pm.

Easy on the eyes, cool to the touch.

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE\

Owen Campbell Band

As part of Canberra International Music Festival. 4.30pm.

8pm.

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

Arc: In Search of Beethoven (2009, G)

Warm up your vocal cords and get ready to sing from 9pm.

Something Different TRANSIT BAR

HOLY GRAIL, KINGSTON

Bad!Slam!No!Biscuit!

THE PHOENIX PUB

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

wednesday may 19

THE HUSH LOUNGE, PHILLIP

Featuring a fashion show, burlesque DJs and live music. An event not to be missed!

KREMLIN BAR

sunday may 16 Arts Arc: The Genius Within (2009, G)

The Inner Life of Glenn Gould. As part of Canberra International Music Festival.

2pm.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

live Kane Yeoseop Yoon

With Reuben Ingall and Alistair Riddell.

Yoon is a laptop sound artist whose.

Snazzy. 8pm, $5.

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Shai Hulud

With Shinto Katana, IExist, Dead Kings, Phantoms. AA. Tickets $25 on the door.

AXIS YOUTH CENTRE, QUEANBEYAN

Wednesday Lunchtime Live

Kylie Loveland (piano) and Karen FitzGibbon (soprano).

WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

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GIG GUIDE May 19 - May 26 Fire on the Hill

friday may 21

THE PHOENIX PUB

Shunji

Something Different

Arts

Fame Trivia

Death Proof

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

Do you know lots of stuff about nothing? Then why not try your hand at trivia every Wednesday at 6pm

Trivia @ Transit Bar / $5 Night TRANSIT BAR

thursday may 20 Arts Arc: The Genius Within (2009, G)

The Inner Life of Glenn Gould. As part of Canberra International Music Festival.

7pm.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Dance

An exhibition by Helen Shelley. ‘Til June 26.

Outback Explorer

An Exhibition by James Dodd. ‘Til June 26.

Now hailing from Sydney, with perfectly impeccable music taste.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Candy Cube

Irish Jam Session

10 ‘til 5 with DJs Peter Dorree and Matt Chavasse.

Totaal Voetbal

The Veebees CD Launch

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

THE BASEMENT

Nathan Frost

Incredibly handsome DJ.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

DJ Zinc

Live

9 ‘til 5 with DJs Pete & Matt. Free entry before 10pm.

Charles Chatain

After Dark

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

9pm - midnight.

10pm-2am.

Live Jazz

The Squirrels

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

P J O’REILLY’S, TUGGERANONG

From 8pm.

From 8pm.

Nicola Watson

Rushcutter

Drawing on diverse influences from folk to jazz, indie to pop. 7:30pm by donation.

Melbourne four-piece brought together by a shared love of rock ’n’ roll, country, folk and Americana

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Something Different

HOLY GRAIL, KINGSTON

Karaoke

Cash prizes, 2 for 1 basic spirits and tap beer, and free pool. DJ Peter Doree from 11pm.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Identical Srangers KarismaKatz Duo CASINO CANBERRA

saturday may 22 Arts Arc: In Search of Beethoven (2009, G)

As part of Canberra International Music Festival. 7pm.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Arts A Concert Tribute to Alberto Ginastera

CASINO CANBERRA THE PHOENIX PUB

Live

tuesday may 25

Natalie Magee Trio

TRANSIT BAR

TRANSIT BAR

TRANSIT BAR

TRANSIT BAR

Cheese

Yep, that old chestnut. Sure to be one hell of a show. $20 on the door.

Hospitality Night w/ Univibes DJs

With D’Opus & Roshambo, Social Change, Choose Mics and Dialect.

Support local hip-hop!

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

dance

Tri-State Hip-Hop Jam

Ashley Feraude

Tim Rogers

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

monday may 24

With Casino Rumblers and Bulldoze All Bowlos.

Hoodlum Shouts

Foreplay Fridays

Come and have a fiddle from 5pm.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live

Dance

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Something Different

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

An exhibition by James Lieutenant. ‘Til June 26.

Ex-Love Outside Androeda. Touring her new solo album Phoenix Propeller. Not to be missed. 8pm, $10.

Chris Fraser vs Ashley Feraude

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Smoove, groovy, deliciously deep house.

Sianna Lee

Dance

A spectacular percussion work Celebrating the Bicentenary of Argentina. Tix through Ticketek.

With Waterford and East Moon.

Something Different

LLEWELLYN HALL

Cougar vs Manther Night

Something Different

THE HUSH LOUNGE, PHILLIP

Trivia

Doors open at 7pm, $5.

HOLY GRAIL, KINGSTON

TNT: Karaoke Dynamite

sunday may 23

TRANSIT BAR

Arts

wednesday may 26

Arc: White Material (18+)

The new film by Claire Denis. 4.30pm.

live

Arc: KJ: Music and Life (2008, 18+)

With Hannah Gillespie and Adelaide Jones.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Jane Williams

As part of Canberra International Music Festival. 2pm.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Dance

THE PHOENIX PUB

Kira Puru & The Very Geordie Malones

Wine soaked, tobacco smoked, hard rockin’ rhythm and blues. Supported by Abbie Cardwell. 8pm, $10.

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Cube Sunday

Party on after the weekend’s over with DJ TJ from 10 ‘til late. Free pool.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Wednesday Lunchtime Live

“Fantastic Flutes: a recital” Elizabeth Mitchell, Jennifer Vaughan and Anthony Smith on piano.

WESLEY MUSIC CENTRE

Live Batrider

With Pets with Pets and Teddy Trouble.

THE PHOENIX PUB

OUT MAY 26

exhibitionist’s first birthday bumper issue the aston shuffle the butterfly effect and more...

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FIRST CONTACT SIDE A: BMA band profile

Mikelangelo and The Tin Star Where did your band name come from? The classic 1952 Western, High Noon starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly.

Group Members: Mikelangelo – vocals, guitar, whistling, kung fu, Fiete Geier – guitar, goldentone, Gareth Hill – bass, whittling, Pete Olsen – drums, vibroslap. Guest star: Saint Clare – vocals, go-go dancing.

Describe your sound: -Surf ‘n’ Western.

Who are your influences, musical or otherwise? The smell of gunpowder on an ocean breeze.

What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had whilst performing? Losing the plot with the head mistress pirate when the rider ran out at our show on their ship, and her bringing us lollies and Doritos to make up for it (true story).

What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far? Mikelangelo winning a cage fight with an alligator and then Saint Clare nursing it back to life.

What are your plans for the future? Making Surf ’n’ Western a category in record shops and on iTunes.

What makes you laugh? The Cherokee film clip by Europe.

What pisses you off? People not realising that a high percentage of the best music being made in Australia comes out of Canberra.

What’s your opinion of the local scene? There are some okay swingers parties out in Belco, but Civic could do with a few more on weeknights.

What are your upcoming gigs? This Friday the 14th at McGregor Hall (cnr Barry drive and Marcus Clarke) with Fire on the Hill, doors at 8.

Contact info: facebook.com/thetinstar

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Aaron Peacey Aaron 0410 381 306 Activate Jetpack activatejetpack@ hotmail.com Adam Hole Adam 0421 023 226 Afternoon Shift Adam 0402 055 314 After Close Scotty 0412 742 682, afterclose@hotmail.com Alcove Mark 0410 112 522 Alice 0423 100 792 Allies ACT (Oxfam Group) alliesact@hotmail.com/ myspace.com/alliesact Amphibian Sound PA Clare 0410 308 288 Amplif5’d Classic rock covers band Joy 0407 200 428, joybarac-heath@hotmail.com Annie & the Armadillos Annie 6161 1078/0422 076 313 The Ashburys Dan Craddock 0419 626 903 Aria Stone, sax & flute, singer/ songwriter (guitar) Aria 0411 803 343 Australian Songwriters Association (Keiran Roberts) 6231 0433 Arythmia: Ben 0423 408 767/ arythmiamusic@gmail.com Backbeat Drivers Steve 0422 733 974, www.backbeatdrivers.com Big Boss Groove Andrew 0404 455 834, www.bigbossgroove.com.au Birds Love Fighting Gangbusters/DIY shows - bookings@birdslovefighting.com Black Label Photography Kingsley 0438 351 007 Blister Bug Stu 0408 617 791 Bridge Between, The Rachel 0412 598 138, thebridgebetween.com.au Bruce Stage mgr/consultant 6254 9857 Caution Horses Nigel 0417 211 580 Chris Harland Blues Band 0418 490 640 chrisharlandbluesband@yahoo.com.au Clear Vision Films rehearsals/film clips/stunts - 0438 647 281 wcoulton.clearvisionfilms.com Cole Bennetts Photography 0415 982 662 /colebennetts@gmail.com Cris Clucas Cris 6262 5652 Crooked Dave 0421 508 467 Danny V Danny 6238 1673/0413 502 428 Dawn Theory Nathan 0402 845 132 D’Opus & Roshambo hifidelitystyles@yahoo.com DJs Madrid and Gordon 0417 433 971 DJ Latino Rogelio 0401 274 208 DJ Moises (RnB/Latin) 0402 497 835 or moises_lopez@hotmail DNA Vic 0408 477 020 Drumassault Kate 0414 236 323 Easy Mode Daz 0404 156 482, easymodeband@gmail.com Entity Chris 0412 027 894 Epic Flagon band@epicflagon.com Fighting Mongooses, The Adam 0402 055 314 Final Warning Brendan 0422 809 552 Fire on the Hill Aaron 0410 381 306/ Lachlan 0400 038 388 4dead Peter 0401 006 551 Freeloaders, The Steve 0412 653 597 Friend or Enemy 6238 0083, www.myspace.com/friendorenemy Funk Shui Dave 0407 974 476 Gareth Hailey DJ & Electronica 0414 215 885 GiLF Kelly 0410 588 747, gilf.mail@gmail.com Groovalicious Corporate/Weddings/ Private functions 0448 995 158 groovalicious@y7mail.com Guy The Sound Guy live & studio sound engineer, 0400 585 369, guy@ guythesoundguy.com HalfPast Chris 0412 115 594 Hancock Basement Tom 6257 5375, hancockbasement@hotmail.com Happy Hour Wendy 0406 375 096 Haunted Attics band@hauntedatticsmusic.com Hitherto Paul 0408 425 636

In The Flesh Scott 0410 475 703 Inside the Exterior Nathan 0401 072 650 Itchy Triggers Andrew 0401 588 884 Jacqui Seczawa 0428 428 722 JDY Clothing 0405 648 288/ www.jdyclothing.com Jenn Pacor singer/songwriter avail. for originals & covers, 0405 618 630 Jim Boots 0417 211 580 Johnny Roadkill Paulie 0408 287 672, paulie_mcmillan@live.com.au Karismakatz DJ Gosper 0411 065 189/ dj@karismakatz.com Kayo Marbilus myspace.com/kayomarbilus Kurt’s Metalworx (PA) 0417 025 792 Little Smoke Sam 0411 112 075 Los Chavos Andy 0401 572 150 los.chavos@yahoo.com.au Manilla Green Herms 0404 848 462, contactus@manillagreen.com, Mario Brujo Gordon world/latin/ reggae/percussionist and DJ. 0405 820 895 Martin Bailey Audio Engineer 0423 566 093 Words for You: writer/publicity/events Megan ph 6154 0927, megan@wordsforyou.com.au Mercury Switch Lab Studios mercuryswitch@internode.on.net Missing Zero Hadrian Brand 0424 721 907 hadrian.brand@live.com.au Moots aspwinch@grapevine.com.au Huck 0419 630 721 MuShu Jack 0414 292 567, mushu_band@hotmail.com MyOnus myonusmusic@hotmail.com/ www.myspace.com/myonus No Retreat Simon 0411 155 680 Ocean Moses Nigel 0417 211 580 OneWayFare Chris 0418 496 448 Painted Hearts, The Peter 6248 6027 Phathom Chris 0422 888 700 The Pigs The Colonel 0422 412 752 Polka Pigs Ian 6231 5974 Premier Audio Simon 0412 331 876, premier_audio@hotmail.com Rafe Morris 0416 322 763 Redletter Ben 0421 414 472 Redsun Rehearsal Studio Ralph 0404 178 996/6162 1527 Rhythm Party, The Ross 0416 010 680 Roger Bone Band Andy 0413 483 758 Rob Mac Project, The Melinda 0400 405 537 Rug, The Jol 0417 273 041 Samsara Samahdi 0431 083 776 Sansutra J-Ma 0403 476 350 Simone Penkethman (Simone & The Soothsayers, Singing Teacher) 6230 4828 Soundcity Rehearsal Studio Andrew 0401 588 884 Solid Gold Peter 0421 131 887/ solid.gold@live.com.au Super Best Friends Matt 0438 228 748 Surrender Jordan 0439 907 853 Switch 3 Mick 0410 698 479 System Addict Jamie 0418 398 556 The Morning After (covers band) Anthony 0402 500 843/ myspace.com/themorningaftercovers Tiger Bones & The Ferabul-Zers Danny feralbul@aapt.net.au Tim James Lucia 6282 3740, LUCIAMURDOCH@hotmail.com Top Shelf Colin 0408 631 514 Transmission Nowhere Emilie 0421 953 519/myspace.com/ transmissionnowhere Udo 0412 086 158 Undersided, The Baz 0408 468 041 Using Three Words Dan 0416 123 020, usingthreewords@hotmail.com Voodoo Doll Mark 0428 650 549 William Blakely Will 0414 910 014 Zero Degrees and Falling Louis 0423 918 793 Zwish 0411 022 907

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