BMA Mag 374 Jul 05 2011 by BMA Magazine

www.bmamag.com

URBANICE ! Canberra’s hooked on ice

DIGITALISM They love you dude

#374JULY06

we PREDICT A RIOT

“It looks like shit but it’s passable. That’s the BMA way!” - Bossman #374J U LY 0 6 Fax: 02 6257 4361 Mail: PO Box 713 Civic Square, ACT 2608 Publisher Scott Layne Allan Sko General Manager Allan Sko T: 6257 4360 E: advertising@bmamag.com Advertising Manager Paul Foley T: 6257 4360 E: sales@bmamag.com

Editor Julia Winterflood T: 02 6257 4456 E: editorial@bmamag.com Accounts Manager Yu Xie T: 02 6247 4816 E: accounts@bmamag.com Super Sub-Editor Zoya Patel Graphic Design Cole Bennetts Exhibitionist Editor Julia Winterflood E: editorial@bmamag.com Film Editor Melissa Wellham NEXT ISSUE 375 OUT JULY 20 EDITORIAL DEADLINE JULY 09 ADVERTISING DEADLINE JULY 12 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.

It’s that time of year again; you’re eagerly awaiting NYE festival line-ups or starting to ruminate on an epic camping trip, or simply wishing there was something happening in the ‘Berra other than fireworks and B-grade bands. Get us not wrong, we love The Whitlams, but they played at an alcoholfree event last year, and what’s a Whitlams sing-along on NYE without a glass of red in hand? It’s now time to rethink the mass exodus over New Year’s dear readers, as BMA is tickled pink to be able to tell you there is a major festival happening in our fair city on December 31. That’s all we can tell you at the mo, but stay tuned to this fine rag for more info as it develops.

Volunteers needed to mentor young refugees and asylum seekers Inspired by Go Back to Where You Came From? Then here’s the perfect opportunity to act. Australian Red Cross is on the hunt for young Canberrans to join a new youth designed volunteer program mentoring newly-arrived teenage migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Red Cross is seeking mentors aged between 16 and 25 who are available for at least six months. Mentors need to be open minded towards other cultures and beliefs, and have good communication and interpersonal skills. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Fiona Amundson on 02 6234 7613 or famundson@redcross.org.au or Michelle Mellier on 02 6234 7612 or mmellier@redcross. org.au .

Swapping comes to the Capital The Clothing Exchange is excited to announce the launch of regular swap events in Canberra. Since ‘04, thousands of super-savvy ladies have made their way to their

NJE at ANU Bar NJE makes his first headline performance in Canberra to give his fans a sneak preview of his upcoming album Like Food For The Soul, due late this year. According to the press release he’s supported the likes of Ice Cube, Xzibit, Bone Thugs-nHarmony, D-12, Phrase, Briggs, Illy, M-Phazes, 360, Pez and more. Wowzers. Like Food For The Soul is the third album from the Sydney based unsigned/ indie Aussie hip-hop artist and features special guests like the legendary Kool G Rap, WuTang affiliate Solomon Childs, Chase, Sceptic & Dseeva, and Untaymable. He’s hitting up ANU Bar on Saturday July 23. Tix through Ticketek.

The Nextmen at Transit Unless you’ve fallen lifeless somewhere through the cracks you’ve more than likely heard of The Nextmen and their sweaty styled-out club sets, festivalsmashing performances and incendiary mixtapes that are still filling the ears of the

blissed out masses who just want to kick back or kick up with big boss tunes, not wipe the irony from their chins from the up-chuck of resoundingly vapid faux counter-culture buffoonery. All mouth posers with limited social agendas beware - The Nextmen are not the centre of cool for the next five minutes. Beloved the globe over by dedicated followers of music not dedicated followers of fashion? Yep. Loving of the good groove irrespective of genre but not of taste? Yep. The all day every day no-brainer block rocking choice? Natch. O boy do we love a good press release. Catch ‘em at T-Rans on Saturday July 9, with Buick, Faux Real and DFP. $15+BF through Moshtix.

Skate in The City The ice skating rink smack bang in the middle of Garema has everyone falling in love with winter again. Believe it or not Alice Springs busts a rink out in summer, so it’s about time the centre of our icy strumpet of a city got one too. It’s not just a massive slab of ice though; the area has been transformed into a festival site with twinkling snow flake lights, a licensed café, markets and pro skating performances. Best of all however is urbanIce; a month-long Friday and Saturday night series of DJs, multi-instrumentalists, singers, emcees and all manner of musos who’ll be providing the soundtrack to your Salchow jumps or if you’re like me, your massive stacks. Head to inthecitycanberra.com.au/ skate for all the info.

There’s ice in Garema Place. Get on it

Major New Year’s Eve Festival whisper

signature swaps in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth with bags full of fashion in tow. And now they’re bringing swapping to Canberra. On Sunday July 10 fashionistas can reinvent their wardrobes by swapping clothes and accessories at the inaugural Canberra Clothing Exchange at Canberra Ginninderry Homestead, five minutes drive from Kippax Shopping Centre. Check in commences at 10am and admission is $25. Tickets are limited so book online at clothingexchange.com.au .

FROM THE BOSSMAN “Poets claim that we recapture for a moment the self that we were long ago when we enter some house or garden in which we used to live in our youth. But these are most hazardous pilgrimages, which end as often in disappointment as in success. It is in ourselves that we should rather seek to find those fixed places, contemporaneous with different years...” - Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time. Jeez, these lit-er-rare-ee types can get heavy, eh? Although Prousty there does have a bit of a point. As daring and exhilarating as it seems to cross the far reaches of the globe with your family to start another life, when my ten-year-old frame was dragged howling lupine-like across the Pacific all those years ago, I was devastated to be leaving behind the friends I had awkwardly accumulated in my own little Tatooine-like dustbowl of Kambah.* Now, with Lady Hindsight coyly winking at me, I couldn’t be happier I spent time abroad, for now I had a place of Past to step back in to, a gleeful gaggle of friends to reconnect with, and my very own family to drag howling across the ocean to show off. You may recall last issue I was in England for the purpose of a mate’s wedding. Much of the trip was indeed hazardous. Needing to obtain an overseas mobile, or “burner” to use the argot of Baltimore drug pushers, saw me search like some alabaster Stringer Bell for a temp phone. Fortunately, the British Museum was kind enough to give me lend of Britain’s Oldest Working Phone, the next model up from the Nokia Two-Tin-Cans-AndA-Piece-Of-String. Add to this, being in England makes you feel young. Spending so much time in Australia - a country that contextually is not even out of its nappies - it’s easy to forget just how terribly old everything is in England. Everything is made of stone. Even the wood is made of stone. Whereas here we proudly boast that something “Was Established in 1973” with the kind of hushed, revered tone that suggests even Jesus Christ himself could have been at the grand opening, in England something made in 1600 is still considered fresh out of the box. I could go on, but at risk of boring you with an extensive travelogue, here’s an abridged version of the trip highlights:

YOU PISSED ME OFF! 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 Sydney, every time I visit you I’m reminded of just how much you and your people piss me off. I dodged all the takeaways on my way up for a house party in favour of what lovely, healthy home-cooked spread might await me, only to be greeted by a vegan-friendly, nut-free, gluten-free array of blandness. Shouldn’t these people be in quarantine? How do you survive eating pure wank? Get an immune system. Yes, I do like Canberra, thanks for asking that as your first question when you finally get over yourself enough to talk to a new person, and yes, I am a public servant and will choose to politely ignore that sour face you’re pulling right now. How much money do you make as a post-grad student doing an internship at an art gallery while having to work three other part-time jobs in hospitality? That life must be treating you well. I do not care about the social damage of labelling groups by the way they dress, you boring hipster, and I don’t give a shit about what percentage of soy beans are genetically produced. Your ability to pull fun facts about obscure artists out of your arse is inspiring me to fall asleep and I’m running out of questions to ask you but am well aware that if I stop encouraging you to talk about yourself you’ll stand there in awkward silence… When do we get to play Kings?

The Plane Trip There - 25 hours with a six-month-old. Brilliant Wedding - great, although I nearly blurted out “He’s a massive bummer!” when the priest asked “If you know any reason why these two should not be wed...”, prevented only by a well placed shin kick by the dear lady wife Bristol - lots of stone Oxford - more stone Stonehenge - stones in a field Best Bit - my daughter becoming so excited by penguin feeding time at London Zoo that onlookers started watching her instead of the feast Worst Bit - having my lunch stolen by a penguin The Plane Trip Back - five children decided they’d pass the time by indulging in a good ol’ fashioned game of ‘Who Can Scream The Loudest’. In the end, I won. So was returning to the grounds of memory a disappointing pilgrimage, as the wise Marcel-Balls suggested it may be? Well... No. Just in the same way returning to the bitter cold of Canberra is not disappointing. Because, damn it, people are our fixed places, and my people in England and my people here in Canberra make me feel joyfully contemporaneous. Whatever the hell that means. ALLAN SKO - allan@bmamag.com *And I really did know how to bullseye womp rats, but you don’t want to know what that means in a Kambah context. Really. You don’t.

and

another thing…

The following is part of an ongoing series. To catch up jump on the BMA website, bmamag.com . “I’m sorry sir, but airline policy is that flights before midday carry no alcohol apart from limited stocks to be sold from the duty free air kiosk. I can get you a soft drink, tea, coffee?” The female flight attendant is doing her best to ignore the miasma of anger and vodka fumes that Bobby is radiating after being told we’re on a dry plane. I take charge and order two black, heavily sugared coffees to go with the rather nice bacon and egg muffins we’ve been given. Bobby, still shaking his head and muttering, pushes his food onto my table, swearing under his breath. “Not hungry yet? I’ll save it for you and you can have it later. Maybe you should have a little nap. It’s still early after all.” Remember what I said about looking after kids? I’m just thinking about asking the stewardess for one of those colouring in kits they have for the sprogs when she hands me the two piping hot coffees. Not wanting to cause any more alarm, I smile and take them both, but my tray is now full of two sets of breakfast. Bobby is snoring – loudly – so I figure it’s safe to put his tray back down and leave the coffee on it, just while I finish my own breakfast. Looking back now I guess I should have taken the fact that he was muttering in his sleep as a warning, but I really was hungry and those muffin things were lovely. No one could have been prepared for the stentorian bellow of “FUCKING HELL! THE FILTH!” followed by a frantic thrashing of limbs that saw the coffee shoot up to the air conditioning panel before coming back quickly to the fold-out tray sans contents. Bobby is now wide awake, staring wildly about himself and clutching his groin, which is now covered in boiling coffee. He looks like he’s ‘had an accident’ as they used to say at infant school, and he’s furious. Child that I am, I start giggling, causing a clearly stillconfused Bobby to start flailing at me with his arms. He’s not a particularly muscled man, however, and to be honest more damage is being done by the constant stream of obscenity flowing from his mouth than by his old man’s arms weakly battering my chest. We both calm down when what looks like the entire flight crew – including Captain Lerby, I note, come and stare at us with stern looks on their faces. “What is happening here?” he demands in clipped tones that make him sound like the Gestapo officer on ‘Allo ‘Allo. “I’m sorry, Mr Shrubbs has had an accident. He was asleep and I’m afraid I spilt the hot coffee on him. He woke up in a bit of a state. I don’t think he’s badly hurt.” I invite the attention of all present on to Bobby, hoping some sympathy might mollify him. He’s fuming, covering up the wet patch on his trousers in embarrassment as if he really has ‘had an accident’. When everybody goes back to their business he refuses to look at or talk to me, biding his time. Finally, as we start circling Copenhagen to make our descent, he leans over, half smirking, and hisses, “You’re fuckin’ fired.” scott adams thirtyyearsofrnr@hotmail.com

WHO: UC Live! WHAT: New Comedy Club, the ChUCkle hut WHEN: Launching Fri Sept 30 WHERE: Zierholz @ UC

UC Live! is excited to announce the launch of their new Comedy Club the chUCkle hut in the new University bar, Zierholz @ UC. Headlined by triple j’s Tom Ballard, the first ever chUCkle hut event is sure to make you ROFL and don your LOLLERSKATES (Thanks Nelly! – Ed.). Joining Tom will be Steve Philp and Dave Jory, two of Australia’s most promising comedic talents. The chUCkle hut will bring quality comedy to Zierholz @ UC on a regular basis and promises to become a Canberra favourite. For more info and to sign up for exclusive news and special offers go to uclive.com.au .

WHO: Chewy Chocolate Cookies WHAT: Grind Up WHEN: Sat July 16 WHERE: The Clubhouse

For their next instalment of bass music party Grind Up, The Clubhouse are bringing out Chewy Chocolate Cookies from the UK to headline a night of electro, progressive techno, thrasher electro, hard electro and dubstep. Also along for the wild, wild ride are The Clubhouse’s highly accomplished resident DJs Dirtey Rascals, Gabe ‘the babe’ Gilmour, Cash Munny and Ben Colin. If you’re yet to check out The Clubhouse this is the perfect op to do so. It’s a smoky, laser-filled seething mass of bodies on a Saturday night, a place where chances are you’ll hear sounds you’ve never heard before. Find The Clubhouse and Grind Up on Facebook for more info.

WHO: Cilla Jane WHAT: An enchanting live experience WHEN: Sat July 9 WHERE: The Front

Cilla Jane has steadily built her profile on home shores over the past years, receiving the coveted John Butler Seed Fund grant in 2006 and sharing the stage with the likes of The Audreys, Kate Miller-Heidke and Tim Freedman. Following on from the success of her debut album When The Night Falls, which received praise from triple j, Cilla Jane looks forward to touring her new LP Until Morning Comes, which received a four star review in the June 15 issue of this fine rag. Cilla Jane’s shows are an enchanting live experience. Be sure to catch her up close and personal at The Front. Tix on the door.

WHO: Young Revelry WHAT: Dramatic psych rock WHEN: Sat July 16 WHERE: Transit Bar

Playing alongside the likes of Dead Meadow (US), Handsome Furs (Can) and Shihad, and touring nationally with Jebediah, Red Riders, Children Collide and Violent Soho all in the last 12 months, Perth’s Young Revelry are in full flight. They’re stepping out on their own in July and August in support of their new single Never That Close. After the snowballing success of their debut EP You And I featuring the title track which became an instant triple j fav, Never That Close is a dramatic psych rock tune, packed full of bleeding guitars and emotional melodies. Tix $10 on the door.

WHO: Greenthief WHAT: More dramatic psych rock WHEN: Fri July 8 WHERE: The Basement

From a spark to a revolution, Greenthief is an alt rock three-piece hailing from Brisbane and only three years young, the band have not wasted time spreading their word and music up and down the East Coast crashing the indie scene with a blend of psychedelic rock. Through constantly playing live shows, the band has broken sound barriers and state lines while enchanting audiences with a sound akin to a lovechild of Jeff Buckley and Trent Reznor. Early this year Greenthief recorded their new EP with legendary British producer Steve James (Sex Pistols, The Jam). The EP was mastered by Tim Young (Björk, Placebo). Tix $10 on the door.

WHO: Sarah McLeod WHAT: Live and unplugged WHEN: Wed July 20 WHERE: Transit Bar

The ARIA Award winning former lead singer of The Superjesus not only solidified her reputation as a rock artist both here and overseas, but in recent years has also gained a huge notoriety on the dancefloor working with some big name DJs and producers. Sarah McLeod has been one busy woman over the last few years. After touring extensively with The Superjesus for so long she decided she wanted to try some different projects, so she’ll be doing some intimate stripped back shows performing songs from her early days with The Superjesus up until her latest solo work. Tix $15+BF through Moshtix.

Kings of the Future TIM GALVIN Contrary to what the wrinkly tabloid magazines carefully stationed around the waiting room at my local dental surgery will lead you to believe, famous musicians are just like normal people - they have eyes, ears and deviated septums just like, well, some of you. It is an industry myth that the only feedback they will entertain is yammers through a speaker stack, for in our shiny new age of imperforate and immediate social contact, the best of the bunch are tuned in to ‘Radio YOU’, just like Simon Rix from UK supergroup KAISER CHIEFS, who have just released their long awaited fourth studio album The Future Is Medieval with an empathetic nod to their international fan base. “It’s always important for us to be the best we can be, because we are the ones who have to go out on stage and perform the songs, so we want to make sure we have I think back in those days we were a little a lot of pride in [our songs] first,” he says. guilty of following “I’ve read that some n whe ds tren er oth people have said that we should have just there aren’t as many been playing music ‘sing-along hits’ on that we like this album which I guess is a result of us always being judged against our first album, but I think that this one is definitely more creative instrumentally and is a real leap forward musically.” The Kaisers have long suffered the terribly contagious ‘we-likeyour-old-stuff-better-than-your-new-stuff-itis’, an affliction that, sadly, doesn’t command the same media attention as say, bird flu or rabies, but that affects those with the title of ‘celebrity’ in just as great a number. The success of their monumentally iconic debut Employment, released back in 2005, has long been a bugbear for the UK four-piece, an achievement which all of their subsequent releases have been held unfairly against, quite like those before and after shots of Amy Winehouse. It was therefore important for the band, after a three-year hiatus, to reintroduce themselves to their legion of loyal fans, a task made even more emphatic by their method. Fans were able to preview and compile their own ten track album from a list of 20 songs, the most popular of which all ended up on the final version that now proudly lines the front window of your local music emporium. “We have been away for a while so we just wanted people to know that we’re still here!” says Rix. “When you’ve been away for an extended period you have to come back and make a statement like ‘hello, we’re back!’, which is why we decided to do things a bit differently with the release. I guess for me personally it’s been quite a nervous experience, it’s like the same sort of excitement

I had with our first album. It’s good to reignite those old feelings again.” The album was released on July 1, the beginning of a new financial year which also signifies a rebirth for the Chiefs, who have been burning the midnight oil to reinvent themselves musically. “The most important thing for us was to make sure that the songs were all very strong and it wasn’t just a bunch of hits with a few unreleased B-sides thrown in there,” Rix says. “It was really surprising for us with some of the stuff that the public chose in the end; things like Heard It Break are not traditional Kaiser material, so it really showed that people like seeing us try something different, which is great!” Most will agree that the tone of The Future is Medieval is a lot more sophisticatedly moody than on their previous records, where the most focus was placed on thrashing out elementary radio rock. Tracks like their new single Little Shocks are wrapped in a raw and grainy shell rather than the safely padded cocoon from which they have emerged. “It’s a bit introspective, I guess,” says Rix, thoughtfully, “because of some sicknesses and deaths around us, it might be a bit darker because of those life experiences. It’s also about us moving away from home to live in London, to the big city, where everything is old and has this rich history to it, and about us experiencing the darker side of that.” The album was co-produced by, among others, Ethan Johns, most famous for his collaborations with Ryan Adams and Kings of Leon. Johns is most famous in the UK music community for his headstrong approach to recording ethos, something which Rix explains was a welcome aid in the evolution of their latest album. “It was a good surprise with Ethan, we were really pleased about that!” says Rix. “He is just one of those people who gets you in the room and gets it all done. I don’t think we would have been able to finish this record without him. I do have to give credit to Nick, our drummer, as well because he put a lot of work into the production on this album. It’s really good to have people that you trust in charge.” The four school friends from the suburbs of Leeds have come a long way since first banding together in the late ‘90s as repudiated punk outfit Runston Parva, an era that, for most, would have spelled the end of a promising career in rock music. “We were all way too stubborn to not make it. I think back in those days we were a little guilty of following other trends when we should have just been playing music that we like, which is what we are doing now and what has definitely brought us the most success.” If the future really is medieval, the Kaiser Chiefs will surely take their place on the gilded throne as kings of UK rock music once again. Let’s just hope they can stay there a while longer this time around. Kaiser Chiefs will be playing The UC Refectory on Wednesday August 3. Tickets are $60.60, and are available through Ticketek.

ALL AGES It seems finally something is being done to make the Canberra winter that little bit more bearable with Skate in the City. For the entire duration of July, the city will transform into a fun-filled winter wonderland with a 360m² open air ice skating rink in Garema Place, the heart of the city. General skate sessions, which give you 90 minutes of skating and are open every day of July cost just $12 concession and $25 full, including skate hire. Those under the age of five skate free. You can also enjoy a number of different skate shows and show-and-skate deals. Only adding to the festivities, Garema Place will be lined with snacks, buskers, street performers, kids craft activities and exciting stalls selling hand made goods and clothing. Unfortunately the urbanIce late night

dance parties are strictly for those over 18, but there is plenty for us under-agers to enjoy. For more information on shows, fees and goings-on, visit inthecitycanberra.com.au/skate. Booking in advance is advised. Canberra has done well this year! Skipping Girl Vinegar, the increasingly popular folk/indie rock fivepiece comprised of siblings and childhood friends are on the road in celebration of their second studio album Keep Calm Carry the Monkey. They’ll be at The Street Theatre on Friday July 8. Doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets cost $25 full, or $19 for students. You also have the opportunity to take up a special offer that includes both your ticket and a copy of Keep Calm Carry the Monkey for just $47. Tickets can be purchased through the venue. On Friday July 15 the Lanyon Youth Centre will play host to an exciting local post-hardcore line-up, featuring six-piece When Giants Sleep and supporting acts Flight or Fall and Sharptooth. Come along and show some support for what has been called Lanyon’s “opening gig for 2011”, which implies there is more to come from this venue. Tickets cost $5 at the door. This is a strictly drug and alcohol free event, as usual. Doors open 6pm. Central Coast trio Short Stack, as part of the This Is Bat Country tour, will be stopping for a performance at The Royal Theatre (or National Convention centre) on Saturday July 23. Touring alongside the boys will be Heroes for Hire and Because They Can. Tickets cost $60 (+bf) from Ticketek. The Woden Youth Centre have always stuck by the all ages scene, and thus we should always stick by the Woden Youth Centre. Rising local metal acts Na Maza, Ameliah Brown, Friend or Enemy, Frostbite and Immersion are collaborating to provide us with our fix of moshing, sweat, bumps and bruises. The action takes place on Friday July 29. Tickets cost $5 at the door. Show starts at 6pm. NAOMI FROST allagescolumn@gmail.com

LOCALITY

Ben Drysdale of Cardboard Charlie has been booking The Bootleg Sessions at Phoenix for the past seven years and is soon to bid a fond farewell to his beloved Boots. Before he does though he’s got a month of Bootlegs Specials lined up. I caught up with him to talk about the good times and to find out what’s in store for Bootlegs in July.

How has Bootlegs changed over the years? The bands have changed as they developed and moved on to bigger gigs that can pay more, and with that the audiences changed. One thing that has stayed the same however is that at any one time there are always a bunch of people who make sure they are at Phoenix every Monday night for a while… but that crowd changes eventually too, probably because there are only so many consecutive Tuesdays you can come in late, call in sick, or just be really off your game at work. What have been the highlights? That’s a really tough one. There’s been so many but the most memorable times are all the bands that got the whole place dancing. Changeable Dan, Dubba Rukki, The Fuelers, Dahahoo, The Andi & George Band, Fun Machine and a bunch more. It’s also been amazing to watch artists like Beth Monzo and bands like Julia & The Deep Sea Sirens grow from shy 18-yearolds into the successful musicians they are today. We’ve had a bunch of great interstate acts like Kim Churchill, Daniel Champagne, and Anarchist Duck along the way too. Every Monday in the month of July is definitely going to be a highlight... it’s Cardboard Charlie’s last month of booking Boots and we’re going out with a bang with each night representing a different phase of the journey. What advice do you have for upcoming bands wanting to play Bootlegs? Go see as much live music as you can, learn from the more developed musicians who appeal to you. Pay attention to the things that set them apart, like how they hold themselves on stage, technical choices they make with chord progressions, vocal lines, arrangements, or even genre. Doing all these things over the seven years of running Bootlegs has had a profound effect on my own musicianship. What does the future hold for Bootlegs? The Bootleg Sessions is going to continue in a new format with different people organising different nights, and Cardboard Charlie may even do one from time to time. As the new format develops contact bookings@ lovethephoenix.com for bookings and info. It’s been an amazing seven years; we’ve seen so many bands grow into their musical boots, and stepping away is indeed going to be, in the words of Big Chris, emotional. Massive thanks to all the musicians who played, all of you who came out every Monday, and of course, The Phoenix, for helping Cardboard Charlie support original music and developing artists at The Bootleg Sessions. Stay tuned to cardboardcharlie.com for the exciting plans we have coming up as we move on to the next step in the adventure. See ya to the music. JULIA WINTERFLOOD julia@bmamag.com

DANCE THE DROP

Contrary to what bow-legged hipsters LMFAO will lead you to believe, the Melbourne Shuffle is not the hottest dancefloor craze sweeping our nation. The lionised ‘sideways running man’ pales in comparison to the latest fresh club choreography born in our own nation’s capital. I am, of course, referring to the Canberra Crump. The moves are simple. Step One: lunge in front of a stranger, drink in hand, and throw your elbows around like you’re struggling to escape from a washing machine, taking extra care to spill your beverage all over their best shirt or dress. Step Two: thrust your bottom in and out making sure to invade as much of their personal space as humanly possible, all the while whooping and hollering like an injured seal. Something for us all to be proud of really.

facebook.com/ trinitybarcanberra The local dance music scene has a fiery counterpunch to winter’s icy jabs in the form of one of its biggest months to date, seducing you back into the land of strobe and smoke with an unbelievable array of local and international artists visiting our city in July. Calling yourself The Nextmen conjures up images of camply accessorised nylon suits and back alley crime fighting, and while I can’t comment on the validity of these assumptions, I can tell you that this particular duo are sensational deck wizards. If you like a bit of party tune mash-up action, head on down to Transit Bar on Saturday July 9 for a close up look at one of the UK’s most entertaining musical layabouts. Trinity sets the bar extremely high with its stellar July roster kicking off with UK wonky house master Boy 8-Bit on Friday July 8, Ministry of Sound regular Goodwill revisits on Friday July 15, inventors of the brown noise Dem Slackers (UK) kick things up a notch on Friday July 22 and B-more superstar Tittsworth trundles his bag of booties across the floorboards on Saturday July 23. Phew! Fresh from completing the first season of their amusingly staged reality TV series, the Stafford Brothers are heading back to headline Academy on Friday July 8. The duo are direct from the production studio with a designer bag full of new club bangers set to melt the fake tan all over your new dress. The ticket price also usually includes being showered with Jagermeister at some stage of the night, so you should probably wear black, ladies. Who remembers that brilliant filtered masterpiece Spaced Invader? For those of you who were a little too green to experience proper house music in its prime, Academy have secured the services of mega Canadian producer Hatiras on Friday July 15, do not miss! Finally, to satisfy your hunger for new club weapons in July, here are some hot new records for your playlist, Crookers, Feat. Wax Motif & Neoteric, Springer; The Only, Hollywood Anthem (River Phoenix); LAZRtag, Guess What?; and Beni, It’s a Bubble. Enjoy!

TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

DIGITAL DUDES peter rosewarne İsmail “Isi” Tüfekçi of established electro Hamburgers, DIGITALISM, doesn’t mind if you don’t like their new album, I Love You Dude. “You know, what I think we did is, we took our songs a little bit further,” Isi starts, in his winsome German accent. “And it’s really good that people have different opinions. First of all, some people don’t like it, some people like it. And this is a good sign because for us... We don’t care about this, to be honest.” Isi doesn’t mean this in an off-hand way. Digitalism’s approach was to create something decidedly different to their debut. He explains, “What we did with the second album is that we put it in the extreme way. The harder stuff is even harder, the softer stuff is even softer, the melodic has more melodies... The second album is also more mature. We are not so young anymore so we took some things more seriously.” I Love You Dude is the second album to emerge in four years since the debut. In that time, Digitalism have released EPs, singles and

remixes. It’s any wonder they were [Australia’s] planning to return with another album, a pretty influential particularly given the internet-heavy country, not climate of the modern music age. “People just music-wise but [music] are searching for new ways to release taste-wise things because we are living a fast life,” Isi exclaims. “Robyn released three EPs before releasing them as an album... But albums are still really important. I mean you can put three or four tracks out but if you have a whole album in your hands you’re listening to a full story.” Digitalism worked with The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas on I Love You Dude. Isi admits that this is a “boring story”, and that much of the song was developed via email. Although they’re open to working with others, unless there’s something special about that person it is not common practice for Digitalism. When it comes to infusing their own ideas into others’ music and vice versa, they prefer remixing. Isi excitedly says, “It’s really cool! In the last few years we’ve met so many talented people and so many talented producers. I think you have to give them the opportunity to show that they are really good at what they do and you have to give them a chance and push them.” Some of those talented people include Australian bands like The Presets. “Australian people know, before other people realise, what the new sound is. I think a lot of stuff is coming from Australia [he mentions Strange Talk and Light Year as two recent bands of interest] but people don’t realise it. It’s a pretty influential country not just music-wise but [music] taste-wise,” Isi gushes. “We like to travel [to Australia] because the crowds are really intense. We’ve had such a good time!” Digitalism will be playing Parklife, from Saturday September 24, with a group of other great acts including Strange Talk. Tickets to the festival are $145 through Moshtix.

E X H I B I T I O N I S T

useful life skills. He also believes that you can “live your life equally effectively in an improvised manner or a prescribed manner”.

NO REHEARSALS NECESSARY Zoe Pleasants This July, a unique theatre event is happening on your doorstep. Australia’s largest gathering of theatrical improvisers will descend on The Street Theatre for a week-long festival and convention in the art of improvisation. IMPROVENTION, as it’s known, is in its second year and involves 120 improvisers participating in workshops, forums and public performances. But perhaps what is more impressive is that it is 100 per cent Canberra born and bred. Improvention is the brainchild of Nick Byrne. It had its genesis six years ago when Nick came to Canberra, ran into an old impro friend of his and together they started Impro Theatre ACT. As a way of getting the best and brightest in the business to come to Canberra and mix it up with the locals they started The Challenge, an improvised theatre tournament in the vein of Thank God You’re Here. The popularity of The Challenge grew each year to the point where Nick saw the potential to turn it into a festival. The Challenge is still part of Improvention; the heats run all through the week with the Grand Final on Sunday night. And Nick assures me that even though the heats “are loaded with impro world greats, at least one Canberra local, maybe in their second show ever, usually makes it through to the final”. But isn’t improvised theatre just a bunch of actors too lazy to learn a script? Absolutely, says Nick. This, in fact, is what drew Nick to impro in the first place, because not having a script and not having rehearsals “puts actors right on the edge; it forces them to commit to their character,” explains Nick. But what happens if you’re lost for words? “Well, you delve into your bag of impro skills and pull out something random like a physical gesture!” he laughs. “Impro relies on a reasonable percentage of success and failure,” Nick explains. “[For audiences], watching people get into and out of trouble can have them on the edge of their seat, they’re on a genuinely risky ride! If actors play it safe, the show will suffer. No planning is best.” Now, there’s a good philosophy for life if ever I heard one! And Nick agrees, saying that the skills you need for improvising are very

He talks about how you can spend time planning and studying different ways to do something before deciding (or not) on a course of action, be it losing weight, training to run a marathon, or putting a baby to sleep. Or you can just do it and learn from your mistakes. “If you accept that you’ll make mistakes, then you can do more by being open to opportunities than planning,” Nick reflects. What’s more, improvisation is at its best when the actors are being generous to each other. “You need to work with what other people give you,” explains Nick. “It is other people that make you look good, so they may get you into a hole but they’ll also get you out of it.” And it is this “gifting to people on stage” as Nick describes it, that makes improvising such a joyous way for him to work (and not a bad way to live as well). So back to Improvention, whether it’s a philosophy or a good laugh you’re after, there’s plenty to try out. The festival runs from Monday July 18 to Sunday July 24, with workshops and forums on during the day and public performances in the evening. Tuesday evening features a one-hour non-comedic local show about the experience of being displaced. Appropriately called The Displaced, Nick describes it as a powerful show committed to getting to the truth of what it is to be shown the door. If you’re game, on Wednesday evening Playback Theatre makes its first appearance at Improvention. This is a form of improvising that involves members of the audience telling stories from their own lives and then seeing those stories enacted on stage. On Thursday night, you can see one of the festival’s international guests, Per Godfredsson from Sweden, in a show called Inspired by Strindberg. Nick describes Per as the Cannes of improvised theatre. “His show has the feel of a European film that will leave you asking ‘where is my linear narrative?’” Nick laughs. Friday night features a slick part noir, part cabaret show called In a New York Minute; an improvised Rock Opera; and a chance to see Columbian improviser Felipe Ortiz in action, who Nick tells me is “the most invited guest to impro festivals around the world!” He is known for his physical improvisation and his show, People, is a whirlwind through changing scenes, places and characters. Saturday night features the festival’s keynote international guest, Randy Dixon from Seattle, co-directing a show in the style of Shakespeare. And you can catch Randy again on Sunday night in the show Spoken, which explores how a person’s background influences the way that they interact with other people in the present. And don’t forget the grand final of The Challenge is on Sunday night as well. You will also be able to see some very talented Australian improvisation artists in action during the festival including Daniel Cordeaux, Rebecca De Unamuno, Glen Hall and, of course, Nick Byrne! So apart from the planning needed to buy a ticket, go have some spontaneous, improvised fun! Improvention is on at The Street Theatre between Monday July 18 and Sunday July 24. For program details go to improvention.com/2011 .

PUBLIC VS PRIVACY ben hermann New Zealand born and Sydney based street artist MINI GRAFF remembers clearly her first experience with street art; one that would impact upon her not only the playfulness of the art form, but also its vast audience. “It was a third year art project requiring the capturing of a dialogue between the artist/artwork and the viewer,” she says. “I screen printed and pasted around the city a series of posters with a 1800 number on them with a prompt to call if the viewer responded to the content of the posters. The campaign worked and I had a phone bill of more than $300 worth of calls to pay!” On show at Megalo Print Studio and Gallery from Thursday July 7 to Saturday July 23 is Mini’s latest exhibition Privacy, a collection of screen prints using the gallery’s very own, and it seems, much sought after, printing table. “Large poster prints are my preferred medium of communication currently,” Mini says. “Megalo has a printing table [‘The One-Arm Bandit’] which is my preferred production tool.” As with many street artists, Mini uses sardonic parody, cutting satire, and an acid wit to comment on a range of social issues; not uncommonly the relentless intrusion of corporate marketing throughout private and personal spaces, and the transformation of lifeless and repetitive urban landscapes into engaging aesthetic experiences. Despite most street artists’ sincere intentions, winning over those who consider the medium nothing more than glorified vandalism is an ongoing battle. “There are several exhibitions on at the moment that appear to be working to educate the public about the art form,” Mini says. “MAY’S Lane, as part of the MAY’S Lane Street Art Project in Sydney is a terrific example of a successful marriage of street art and local community support.” Household familiarity with street art has grown exponentially over recent years, thanks in no small part to the exposure of artists such as Banksy. Exit Through the Gift Shop depicted the abominable commercialisation of a movement that grew itself from a desire to collectivise and de-commodify art. For her part, Mini is not phased by such a perceived trend. “It seems inevitable that the commercial world will take from any sub-culture, as a means to tap into that demographic,” she acknowledges. “Street art seems to have settled into being another ‘style’ of communication employed by commercial designers. However, the adoption of this style has not diminished my desire to work in this way.” Derisive of conformity as it may be, street art itself is not immune to accusations of exclusivity and conceit. Mini recounts reactions to several pieces of artwork referencing Australia’s favourite punching bag. “In one recent collaborative poster work, we made reference to ‘Bogans’. A few days later, the 3X2 metre poster artwork had scrawled across it ‘Better BOGAN than wanker’. Another response to a small bogan poster was ‘Don’t paint all Bogans with the same brush’. Quite articulate responses, really.”

Privacy will open at Megalo Print Studio and Gallery on Thursday July 7 from 6 - 8pm. The exhibition continues until Saturday July 23.

The difficulty of acceptance is illuminated as Harry’s girlfriend Joyce struggles to accept Jeff’s sexuality, while the young man’s new boyfriend, Gregg, finds it difficult that Harry is so supportive, in contrast to his own father.

FAMILY TIES AND TRIALS grace carroll For those grappling with the trials and tribulations of familial and romantic relationships, THE SUM OF US is the play for you. David Stevens’ iconic Australian play illuminates the complex and revealing drama of family life that most of us can relate to. First performed in 1990 and later made into the hit film starring Jack Thompson and Russell Crowe, The Sum of Us is currently touring the country with an all-new production. The play focuses on the relationship between father and son as they each search for love. Australian acting veteran John Jarratt plays the charming widower Harry, while former Neighbours star Patrick Harvey plays the role of Harry’s homosexual son, Jeff. As the play progresses, the pair’s supportive and caring bond is developed, particularly when tested by bittersweet events. This bond is the strength of the play, which, as Jarratt contends, is “about acceptance and family, with a nice little twist at the end”.

Jarratt’s appearance in The Sum of Us breaks a 15-year-long absence from the stage. His lead in the hit horror film Wolf Creek (2005), among other things, filled this gap. Best known for this and other cinematic roles, including the ‘70s classic Picnic at Hanging Rock, Jarratt has revelled in the opportunity to act on stage for what may be the last time. Accompanied by what he considers a “brilliant” cast and crew – especially Harvey – the actor’s love of the theatre has been enriched by the experience. Jarratt is not the only one enjoying the show, with praiseworthy reviews of his and Harvey’s performances signalling the production lives up to the play’s reputation as a compelling bittersweet comedy. The appeal of The Sum of Us lies in its accessibility. It explores the lengths that families go to for each other, while simultaneously revealing the pain and misunderstanding that can also come from these relationships. These ever-present issues are just as pertinent today as when the play premiered two decades ago. Reminiscing on growing up in the era of “sex, drugs and rock and roll”, Jarratt adds that, in many ways, “the world has become more conservative”. When first performed, AIDS was casting what Jarratt calls a “dark shadow” over society, and preconceptions about homosexuality were challenged. Perhaps this is why the play’s run has been populated by older audiences who recall this time period. Nonetheless, The Sum of Us offers as much for Gen Y as for baby boomers like Jarratt, as family life, with all of its ups and downs, is something we can all relate to. The Sum of Us will be showing at the Canberra Theatre on Saturday July 16. Tickets are from $39.50 and are available through the venue.

as a communal hub, fostering a community of makers who have worked with the place, bringing them back to the city and forging an ongoing connection with it.

UNINHIBITED

In this sense, the ‘idea’ of Canberra is bigger – it’s a fulcrum on a map with a thousand lines stretching out across the globe. It’s an important way of placing Canberra within a global creative community.

Does Canberra come to mind when the nation thinks of a vibrant, creative hub? Probably not.

Likewise, record label Birds Love Fighting is an example of how to link the communities of makers in this city with a wider audience in another. After successfully infecting the capital with shows and records between 2007 and 2011, BLF mainman Warwick Smith has moved to Melbourne. Instead of abandoning the capital however, Smith sees the move as a way to extend the reach of both the artists on his label and the city itself. He’s building a clearer pathway between our city and the southern Mecca.

And yet, it’s exactly that. It’s a place that produces an extraordinary amount of interesting, progressive and successful work across the visual art, music and performance spectra. So why the bad rep? Part of it surely ties in with a wider idea about the city (administered from afar), that equates the idea of the place to its flood of bureaucrats servicing the big building on the hill. And part of it must come from the fact that Canberra is a transient space. Many artists are born here or come to study. And many leave. Canberra folk shouldn’t take this too personally. Self imposed exile has always been a significant narrative in the creative process. New environs promote fresh vision. In terms of designating Canberra as a premier creative space though, we could be making a louder noise about what we have, both as an active space that fosters talent here and now, and the city as a breeding ground for a raft of creative people working throughout the world. Some organisations are working hard, and successfully, to shift the reputation. Craft ACT is a very fine gallery space that shows the work of local and international craft artists. But Craft ACT also acts

The thing about the reputation of a city is that it’s an idea. It doesn’t necessarily reflect the realities. And to shift an unflattering idea or brand, a city needs to be clever in the way it projects its wares. More critically, it can’t be shy about itself. This idea of Canberra sometimes infects its inhabitants, causing us to mutter apologetically when we discuss our home town. For the reputation of the place to change, it needs to articulate to the outside world what is going on. We might be waiting forever for the right balance of venues, third-party support and due recognition. But by reaching outside the city whilst recognising and loudly trumpeting what is being made within it, that reputation will shift. There’s plenty going here. Spread the word. GLEN MARTIN glenpetermartin@gmail.com

ARTISTPROFILE: Shags

What do you do? A lot of drawing, some printing, some stitching, some digi-snaps, some writing of words and sometimes music. And high, low or mono brow; it’s all good. When did you get into it? I’ve always had a doodle addiction (heh) though I guess it was about 15 years ago when the lovely, ex-Canberran Mandy Ord asked me to draw a comic for Sticky Murmurs. Who or what influences you as an artist? I get excited by people who are compelled to create; especially if they are self-taught. I dig the DIY ethos where you don’t need expensive equipment or years of training to do something great. I’m also fascinated by neuroscience and human behaviour. And handmade - handmade is also good. What’s you biggest achievements/proudest moment so far? I got a ‘You pissed me off’ published once. Um… *thinking*… I had an animation shown on Recovery back in the day. Oh! My favourite thing: two of the five paintings I did for The Basement have gone missing, that’s pretty flattering.

Those things you say that are so wrong that you just have to laugh. Swearing. In fact, several swear words in quick succession is pretty hilarious. What pisses you off? Aside from my neighbours playing Rock Band after midnight on a Tuesday? Inequality, assumptions and people being mean because they have no self-awareness as to what makes them scared. What’s your opinion of the local scene? I hear there’s a lot going on. I don’t go out much ‘cause talking to people makes me tired - though I do get to the Canberra Comic Meet-ups occasionally. I love some of the public art that’s around: Nanna Brown’s bird people near the merry-go-round are GREAT! Belco owl-phallus? Hmm, not sure. As far as artists go, I dig Margaret Preston, Ghost Patrol and Stelarc. What are your upcoming projects? Black Line Fever. It’s my first solo exhibition; a bunch of wee, low-brow, involuntary scribbles that were never intended to be seen by anyone, ever. Some silly. Some melancholic. Some just confusing. Made the frames too. It opens at The Front on Thursday July 14, at 6pm. Contact info: Send an email with your list of favourite swear-wordsin-a-row to shagsy@gmail.com .

What are your plans for the future? Thanks to something Layne Beachley said to me in a dream last year (ooh how finger-wiggling mysterious...) I’ve been thinking of grabbing some hemp t-shirts and printing onto them - so perhaps I’ll see what comes of that. What makes you laugh? Dad jokes. Bum jokes. Kitties falling off the back of couches. Someone else laughing.

IN REVIEW A Glit On The Wire M16 Artspace Friday June 24 - Sunday July 10 Part animal, part human and part machine; is this art or an entirely new species? Combining the organic and the mechanical, Michelle Day’s work in her exhibition A Glit On The Wire transcends boundaries and the result is a fascinating blend of the beautiful and the grotesque. Each piece is unique and perplexing with remarkable attention to detail and precision of technique.

developed, coming together as the completion of a total body of work. This series with Elka Mar, who wrote the words that accompany the exhibition, suggests something similar to a 19th century cabinet of curiosities, specimens of creatures unknown to us yet eerily familiar. Organza fabric coated in silicone evokes human flesh, white and dead. Light boxes illuminate work from underneath or behind to create an ethereal glow, as if the works are lit from within, suggesting the last breaths of life for these inanimate creatures. Day is fascinated with creating dichotomies in her work; the organic merges with the mechanical in a contrast between old and new.

Day graduated from the ANU School of Art in 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in textiles and Honours in sculpture. Her work is an impressive amalgamation of organza fabric, silicone, oil paint, found objects, assorted wire and metal, glass, Perspex, wood and light.

Primitive mechanics draw nostalgia for an industrial era that has been surpassed by new technology. Whilst in contrast the organic and fleshy aspects of these works suggest human mutations or scientific experimentation.

A Glit on the Wire is a continuation of Day’s exhibition at CCAS Manuka last year, and since then her ideas have been further

The crossover between new and old, ancient and futuristic, is so much so that you are left questioning whether or not these works are creatures from the future, a new species created for unknown purposes, or remnants of an ancient past. The use of secondhand drawers, wooden trestles and containers adds to the feeling of nostalgia in works such as How to Grow Submarines and Catching & Eating Their Inventions III and IV. Catching & Eating Their Inventions IV appears to be a trap for a series of small winged creatures, captured by screws, saws, nails and thread, forever suspended in their death. If you love all that exists in the world of the imagination and on the fringes of our mind, then this exhibition is not to be missed. Day’s work challenges our perceptions and encourages us to explore the unknown. Vanessa Wright

bit PARTS WHO: Jacqueline Bradley WHAT: The Outdoors Type exhibition WHEN: Fri July 15 – Sat Aug 20 WHERE: Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Gorman House Jacqueline Bradley is a Canberra based artist who during a residency at Bundanon began exploring this unique landscape and our interaction with it. Her exhibition The Outdoors Type at Canberra Contemporary Art Space will present the work she made during this residency and open up new ways to interact with our environment. Walk into the gallery and you could be forgiven for thinking The Outdoors Type consisted simply of vintage dresses hanging from the ceiling from unusually long coat hangers. Vintage fabrics and weathered wood take us back to a time when less people lived in cities and we had a greater relationship with the land. But look again. These are not ordinary clothes. Armed with Bradley’s creations we can lay down old grudges, and pave the way for a new friendship with the outdoors.

WHO: Fiona Veikkanen WHAT: Warmth and Welcome exhibition WHEN: Wed July 6 – Sun July 11, opening Thurs July 7, 6pm WHERE: The Front Gallery and Café Wild woollen objects, sculpted, stitched and crocheted, will occupy the inviting Front Gallery and Café in Warmth and Welcome. This exhibition is about warmth – warmth and welcome, comfort and coziness – on a chilly Canberra evening. The works convey the ways we keep warm, and the nourishment derived from a lovingly handmade object. Artist Fiona Veikkanen is making a name for herself working with tactile, homely materials, and making the familiar seem strangely new and wonderful. Woollen garments, blankets and yarn have been collected and transformed into a show that includes sculpture, textiles, books and drawings. fionaveikkanen.blogspot.com . WHO: Arab Film Festival WHAT: Stories From the Front WHEN: Thurs July 14 – Sun July 17 WHERE: Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive The 2011 Arab Film Festival will present a selection of films that take the pulse of the Arab world in a time of incredible change. Presenting front-line stories from Morocco to Iraq and beyond, this year’s program is a round-up of the best films coming out during this Arab Spring. Showcasing the fascinating cultural shifts reshaping our world, many of these films come direct from the Middle East and North Africa and others have been presented at major recent festivals including Cannes, Dubai, Berlin and Sundance. “These films are going to make you laugh and cry, and they will surely take you on a journey,” said festival co-director Fadia Abboud. For more info head to nfsa.gov.au and arabfilmfestival.com.au . WHO: Mindscapes WHAT: National Short Film Competition call for entries WHEN: Now! WHERE: Call Rachel Muller on 02 62497756 or email admin@ mhccact.org.au

WHO: Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre WHAT: Elements exhibition WHEN: Now until Sat Aug 6 WHERE: Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre This year Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre celebrates its 40th birthday. Canberra is home to many of Australia’s internationally renowned practitioners and has a reputation as a seeding ground for creative development. To celebrate the Centre has curated a series of group exhibitions titled Elements. This series highlights the diversity of craft and design mediums – metal and jewellery, glass, fibre, ceramics and wood – and showcases work by influential and leading craft practitioners and designer makers. The second exhibition in the series, Elements: glass, highlights the diverse practice and processes artists employ in exploring the medium of glass.

Are you a filmmaker looking for a project that enables you to explore a topic that affects people every day around the globe? Then the National Mindscapes Short Film Festival 2011 is for you. World Mental Health Day on October 10 is fast approaching and the ACT Government and mental health community are marking the occasion by holding a Mental Health Music, Arts and Film Festival called Mindscapes. The theme of the Mindscapes Festival is No Health Without Mental Health which is also the theme for the National Short Film Competition. Films must be seven minutes or less and there are three categories. Entries close on Friday Sept 2. WHO: ACT Writers Centre WHAT: 2011 ACT Writers Centre Awards WHEN: Now! WHERE: actwriters.org.au/awards The 2011 ACT Writers Centre Awards are now open. The awards include the Michael Thwaites Poetry Award for an emerging ACT region poet, the Marjorie Graber-McInnis Short Story Award for an emerging ACT region writer, the Z4 Wines Awards for book and restaurant reviewing and the ACT Writing and Publishing Award, recognising, rewarding and promoting writing by ACT region authors that have been published by small publishers or self-published. All ACT Writers Centre Awards close in September. Winners will be announced at the 2011 ACT Writers Centre Christmas Party in December. Details are available at actwriters.org.au/awards .

NAKED AND NOISY Chris Downton The last time Sydney post-punk/noise band NAKED ON THE VAGUE played in Canberra (at the sadly departed Toast), they were a duo centred around the core of Lucy Phelan, Matthew, and a trusty drum machine. In the intervening years and with the recent release of their second album Heaps Of Nothing on Siltbreeze, they’ve expanded into a four-piece, and it’s this incarnation that audiences will get to see at their upcoming Transit Bar show. “We were writing sounds that we felt needed a more full sound, a rhythm section to accompany what was already there,” explains NOTV’s Matthew, regarding the new band line-up. “We were finding it too frustrating, and as a We’ve always attempted two-piece it was lacking a re to work in a way whe certain density we were we let the songs dictate after, attempting to create d soun in ns ctio dire new the sound we wanted live ion, ntat and instrume with just the two of us was rather than funnelling whatever we write into a becoming very difficult. We were interested in making set structure it easier, and steering it towards a more traditional rock/goth direction, so we enlisted the two most angsty, emotional goths we knew – Lachlan Vercoe on drums, and Nic De Jong on bass.” It’s a move that has resulted in NOTV becoming quite a different beast compared to the stripped-down, angular sounds explored on Blood Pressure Sessions. “Well, it’s mutated somewhat into a slightly different sound that we think is more pop and accessible, although some people think it’s just as unlistenable as ever,” suggests Matt. “In all honesty we believe it has become a fun, pop/goth/rock band, embodying a more Australian sound in some ways. Others might see it differently, it’s hard to pinpoint the differences exactly… Now with the organic rhythm section, rather than the drum machine of Blood Pressure, it’s become less industrial and more groovy and funky. We’ve always attempted to work in a way where we let the songs dictate new directions in sound and instrumentation, rather than funnelling whatever we write into a set structure.” Having completed an extensive tour of the US behind Heaps Of Nothing in the last few months, I’m keen to find out whether those experiences have exerted an effect on NOTV’s current live show. “The recent tour saw us mostly playing material from the 12 Dark Noons EP [which sees NOTV collaborating with Future Primitive and Sacred Bones Records on a short film project], and our recent 7” Abstract Figures, which is out on RIP Society. Only a few tracks from Heaps Of Nothing feature in the current live set,” explains Matt. “The tour turned out pretty well. We were touring with Zola Jesus, so as a result we played some pretty big sold out shows which was great.” Naked On The Vague bring their live show to Transit Bar on Thursday July 7, with Crash The Curb and The Brother Gozu as capable supports. Entry is free.

see Canberra as kind of cold and unpleasant in winter so hopefully we’re making a virtue of that by having a skate rink.”

ICE ICE BABY! Lauren Bicknell I love winter. I love ear muffs and mittens and scarves, big blankets, snuggles, hot chocolate and the way our beloved Lake Burley Griffin looks in the morning. Sometimes the frosty season gets a bad rap but not in Canberra this year. Some of you may have noticed the new ice rink in Garema Place underneath fairy lights and surrounded by trees holding onto the We’re hoping to last of their autumn create an atmosphere leaves. What you really, if nothing else. may not have known Whether people stay about is the music URBANICE, or not – we want them festival, accompanying Civic’s to take notice of it chilly attraction. One of the festival organisers and performers, Jonty Hall, explains that the whole idea of the ice rink works by embracing Canberra’s notoriously cold weather. “I hope that the middle of Civic [will be] buzzing in July more than it usually would… I think people expect to

Every Friday and Saturday night of July, punters will be able to skate while they jive to hip-hop and electronic based groups from Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and also from overseas. Jonty says, “We were trying to go for something that has a reasonably broad appeal but is still kind of interesting and a bit unusual for Canberra, so we decided to go with more progressive genres… we have mostly selected things that we think will complement the ice skating… you know? Music that will get people wanting to move.” He also says that booking acts wasn’t too tough. “Most of the artists have been really excited by the idea of something different that hasn’t been done before.” The festival began last weekend with Jemist, Dark Horse, The Rock Steady and ELECTRO Latino. For the rest of the month you’ll be able to catch acts like DJ Soup, Shifty Business and Convaire, among others. Jonty mentions an early festival highlight planned for Friday June 8, where D’Opus and Roshambo will follow MoneyKat, featuring Omar Musa and Mighty Joe (pictured). The closing night of the festival will be another big one, presenting Magnifik (Ashley Feraude’s new project) and James Curd, creator of Greenskeepers. But you don’t have to skate to enjoy some of the cool attractions and sounds. With cafés, markets and a licensed bar, Garema Place will certainly be a bit livelier. As far as the music is concerned, Jonty says, “It’ll be loud enough so that if you’re out in civic you’ll hear it… we’re hoping to create an atmosphere really, if nothing else. Whether people stay or not - we want them to take notice of it.” urbanIce is on every Friday and Saturday night of July in Garema Place. Tickets are $20 for concession and $25 for adults. They can be purchased inthecitycanberra.com.au/skate or over the phone on 0400 505 284.

THE REALNESS The next release to get local distribution through Obese Records is from Adelaide’s Mase N Mattic. Their album is due Friday July 15 and comes to the people with a fresh Suffa co-sign. The guys are joined by DJ Adfu on the wheels of steel and have held down support slots for the ‘Hoods, Drapht, Funkoars, Urthboy and Phrase as well as joining M-Phazes on his Good Gracious tour. Their LP Sound The Horns was recorded in Byron Bay and features production from Trials, Debate and Mattic. Former Canberran Dekoda has just dropped a new EP of his original hip-hop style. Now relocated to Melbourne, Dekoda continues his obsession of all things grime-y, dirty and downtrodden with this

latest release. He is a gentleman however, and is giving the release away to the people for the price of nil. Grab a copy and support at dekodacrodent.bandcamp.com. Debonaire P from Low Budget has also just released a vinyl LP of remixes he’s put together. Limited to 150 copies at $20 + postage, you had better get cracking before these limited edition wax nuggets are all snapped up. There’s some long awaited and dope overseas hip-hop touching down at the moment from some of the game’s true legends. Pete Rock has teamed up with Smif-N-Wessun for the Monumental LP. Entirely produced by Pete Rock, the album has dropped on Duck Down and features a dream line-up of Raekwon, Styles P, Sean Price, Memphis Bleek, Rock, Bun B, Freeway, Jahdan Blakkamore, Buckshot, Black Rob and more. Also just released on Duck Down is the highly anticipated album from your favourite producer’s favourite producer, Black Milk. Milk has teamed up with Sean Price and Guilty Simpson under the Random Axe moniker for a full length of heavy Detroit-style boombap. Sandboxautomatic has made available a number of previously ‘hard to find’ classic releases on CD reissue for those younger heads who missed out on these slices of hip-hop legend. Nice & Smooth’s 1994 self-titled album, D-Nice’s 1990 classic Call Me D-Nice and King Sun’s impossible to find XL album, previously released in 1989. The releases have all been remastered and repackaged. Over to more bass heavy stylings now and the news that DJ Diamond is the next on Planet Mu to showcase his 160bpm flex after DJ Nate and DJ Roc. His Flight Muzik LP is due out in August. Modeselektor are prepping the debut full-length release of Cosmin TRG on their 50 Weapons imprint for late August. London bad boy Distance is the next don of bass lined up to mix the Dubstep Allstars Series. His volume eight mix will feature the likes of Cyrus, Vivek, J:Kenzo, Lx One, Kryptic Minds, Tunnige, Distance himself and much more. And finally this month is the news that Shlohmo is returning with his first LP proper with Bad Vibes on Friends Of Friends. Following on from his excellent Shlomoshun Deluxe EPs, Bad Vibes will further showcase his beautifully melancholic take on downbeat instrumental hip-hop and experimental electronica. To hear music from all these artists, releases and much more, tune to The Antidote every Tues night from 9.30 – 11pm or stream at 2xxfm.org.au . ROSHAMBO roshambizzle@yahoo.com.au

“I tried to fit as many thoughts and ideas into [Marked for Death] as possible. A lot of the issues on the album, I really wanted to explore. Like, the economy, society… life and death, y’know? Our approach to sampling changed – we’re getting a lot of heat for sampling now. We try to avoid loops and sampling now, because it’s really expensive and all that noise.”

MARKED FOR SUCCESS palimah panichit VENTS is Australian hip-hop’s aggressive gravel voiced rapper, who doesn’t so much rap over a track as he does yell at it until it cowers into submission. His intelligent critique of the current political climate and society has landed him in the proverbial pantheon of Australia’s finest MCs. His 2007 When I was younger, I effort Hard to Kill was strongly e essiv aggr y reall was entrenched in the consciousness and really angry, and of the Australian hip-hop scene, I think that [hip-hop] gave me a good angle with his single Love Song it and to channel it into appropriately thrashed all over still does triple j. Now he is back with Marked for Death - another intense, sometimes humorous socio-political analysis delivered with his trademark guttural stylings and set to the oft heavy rock production by Trials. After saying all that, it was a surprise to find that Vents himself is a mumbler, to the point where it was hard to understand him over the ol’ fellytone.

Vents pauses, as he does with every other sentence, drifting off into silence before suddenly offering up other bits and bobs of information. “A lot of the guys I know have been a big influence. Like, when I first started, it was Funkoars… I got a lot from my peer group, and everyone wanting to be better than the average. It was the calibre of those people that really set their goals high. I always sort of wanted their respect. “We used to cipher for fun, all the time. That’s what we did for fun. We haven’t really done that for years. If we ciphered again, I’d probably say again I’d want my mates and my peer group, like Funkoars and Hilltop Hoods, and Terra Firma and that. I think that’d be kinda cool if we hooked back up and did a big cipher! I sort of saw them as a competition. Other people probably wouldn’t admit it, but I’m very, very competitive and I always want to be the best.” Vents sounds genuinely enthusiastic when he starts talking about ciphers and his peers. I asked him why. “That’s something that attracted me to hip-hop, like, a lot. The competitive nature of it. When I was younger, I was really aggressive and really angry, and I think that gave me a good angle to channel it into and it still does. I like to feel it. I’m one of those dudes who really, really got into hiphop, y’know? I’ve been doing this shit for a long time. “Hip-hop is a career for us now. Now it’s something that you’re on the clock for.” Vents will be at Transit Bar on Thursday July 14. Tickets will set you back $15 + BF from Landspeed Records, or Moshtix.

METALISE Promo is beginning in earnest for a number of Australian metal fests coming up this year and first cab off the rank is the fourth instalment of Slaughterfest on Saturday July 30 at The Sandringham Hotel in Sydney. Notables include Looking Glass representing for us Canberra folk, along with Melbourne’s astounding Fuck…I’m Dead and heaps more great Aussie bands from a wide variety of heavy music. Bastardfest is evolving rapidly and the Sydney line-up is another showcase of prime Aussie beef with Extortion, Ruins, Daemon Foetal Harvest, Enforce, Ignite The Ibex, Psycroptoc, Blood Duster, The Dreamkillers, Claim The Throne, Pod People, I Exist, Bane Of Isildur, Ouroboros, Anno Domini, Chaos Divine and Dawn Heist. That’s also at The Sandringham on Tuesday September 20. Speaking of Looking Glass, the boys are nearing completion of their next full length record, and given the performances of new material in recent shows, it’s looking like an absolute monster of a record. Futility are also nearing completion on the follow up to their self-titled effort from 2009. Funeral doom hasn’t been done this good in the Capital ever, and Kurt was talking about a 75 minute-long ambient piece that just sounds jaw dropping. Check it. I almost yelped for joy when my good friend Nathan from 666 Promotions let me announce the headliner for the recently announced run of dates for this year’s instalment of the third consecutive Doomsday Festival. Japan has two all time great doom bands, and Church of Misery are one them (Corrupted are the other, for those interested). Combining a deep love of Black Sabbath with a lyrical theme exclusively around serial killers and mass murderers, these guys have been kicking arse since the late ‘90s. The Doomsday Festival is taking in four cities, Brisbane (Friday October 14) Sydney (Saturday October 15), Adelaide (Friday October 21) and Melbourne (Saturday October 22), but much like last year’s Acid King tour, Canberra will get a special show for those that can’t travel on Thursday October 20 at The Basement. Sonic Forge is the other domestic fest and is looking to be held at the Esplanade Hotel in late November this year. 30 bands played last December’s show and the promoters are looking to book acts now. Got metal? Contact sonicforefestival@gmail.com with your bio, photo and a link to some tunes to get on board. Darker Half are on a national tour this winter launching their new album Desensitized and The Basement will play host to the Canberra leg on Saturday July 9. Along for the good times are Perpetual End, Immorium and Katabasis. The USA’s Doomriders tour hits the ANU Bar on the Monday July 25 of their first Australian tour with locals I Exist, who pulled a bit of a coup in bagging Drum Media’s CD of the Week with their new album The Broken Passage, beating Lady Gaga and The Black Dahlia Murder to the honour (not to mention bagging our Album of the Issue. Check it on page 36. - Ed.). Unkle K’s Band of the Week: Zebulon Pike - myspace.com/zebpike. Killer instrumental prog from the USA. JOSH NIXON doomtildeath@hotmail.com

COME FLOAT WITH ME alisha evans With band members from acts such as Scarymother, Cog and Karnivool, FLOATINGME is a band like no other. Drummer Lucius Borich says FLOATINGME is different to the bands that they have come from and sounds like nothing they’ve done before. “The songs are all as original as a fingerprint or snowflake.” Lucius believes that another point of difference is the baritone voice of singer Andrew Gillespie. “It’s nice to hear that type of sound in progressive rock,” he says. FLOATINGME started out with friends Lucius and Andrew arranging songs, and it evolved into a band. “We created something we liked to hear and had fun with and over time this manifested into a band,” says Lucius. “It was a very organic process. It’s nice to have no real pressure so we could have fun making music.”

Every day I wake up is an opportunity to use the magic of the day to be creative

The five band members have been working together for the last two and a half years but Lucius says they’ve only officially been FLOATINGME since the selftitled debut album was released on Friday April 15. He says they had 10 or 11 songs ready to be mixed before the band had a name. The band’s name is a lyric in the track Spirals. Lucius was listening to their songs trying to come up with a name, and decided FLOATINGME had to be the one. “It sat right with me and where I’m at in my life right now. The name made sense and is a lot closer to home than something we just made up.” Lucius compares their music to life, in that it changes from one minute to the next. “It’s like, one minute you’re going for a stroll in the park, the next you’re driving a V8. The music has more crescendos and build-ups and it’s these fantastic elements that give it more drama and depth. “You can equate this to your own emotions - you have periods of elated excitement where you’re full of joy, and then all of a sudden you’re fearful or angry, and not long after you’re peaceful and serene.” Lucius also thinks the fast paced aggressive tone of current music is a reflection on how fast paced modern life has become. He says people need to make the most of their lives and be creative even if it’s in a small way. “Every day I wake up is an opportunity to create and use the magic of the day to be creative. In FLOATINGME the best thing is knowing we have a group of people that love to create and make music.” Lucius hopes people who go to their Canberra gig will walk away feeling great. “We hope to see loads of lovely Canberra faces shaking their booties and having a good time.” FLOATINGME will be awing audiences at ANU Bar on Friday July 8. Tickets are through Ticketek for $18.90 a pop. --

NAMELESS NOSTALGIA ben hermann The late ‘80s were riveting times for California. Not only was their former Governor busy playing house in much of Latin America, but the underground punk scene that had grown from the ashes of the ‘70s punk explosion was itself giving birth to groups who would become the bricks and mortar of the global ‘90s bubblegum-punk Yeah, of course, the phenomenon. One such group, NO USE FOR A NAME, formed in San Jose in loyal fans are still there in the front at 1987, would go on to embody in all its every show, always yelling and throwing glory the SoCal punk style, becoming one of the stalwart bands of Fat Mike’s up on us. I love it monolithic Fat Wreck Chords, and moving – like the scene itself – from hardcore, anti-authoritarian disposition to a greater concern with partying and relationships. Almost 25 years later, the group is still – albeit after numerous lineup changes – touring the globe, including a quick swing by the ANU Bar with fellow old-timers Frenzal Rhomb later this month. Ahead of recording their tenth record, frontman Tony Sly says that their new material harks back to the group’s earlier days. “Our new drummer [Mad Caddies’ Boz Rivera] is super influential; he makes me want to smash my guitar. I’m getting some angst back in my life I think. I’ve been listening to tonnes of old punk rock and remember the feeling of the old days of going to shows, the smell of clove cigarettes and leather, paying $1.50 for gas, the first George Bush era, that was my punk era.” Sly, like a litany of other ageing rockers, has been dabbling in some solo acoustic work in the last five years; a factor that he says has influenced his songwriting as well as his perspective on NUFAN. “At first it blew me away because I was in complete control and could do anything I wanted to do. Then I missed the punk, the rock, and all the friends on the road. We really feel closer as a unit now after Matt’s [NUFAN bassist] five month hospital stay, so right now I’m 100% No Use, fully committed to the future whatever that may hold.” Although the group’s Australian touring will in part be in partnership with the Frenzal boys, Sly notes that the group doesn’t always tour with groups of the same generation. “We mix it up,” he says. “I like watching new bands that are good because one, it makes me want to get up there and have some healthy competition and try to blow them away, and two, it’s good for me as a songwriter to hear other good songwriters sing and play. It’s influential when you get home, you become a fan of the band hopefully.” But of course, supports may not mean much to many NUFAN fans; a Short Stack support slot probably wouldn’t dampen their support base much. “Yeah, of course, the loyal fans are still there in the front at every show,” Sly says, “always yelling ‘Feeding the fire!’ and throwing up on us. I love it.” No Use For A Name and Frenzal Rhomb are playing ANU Bar on Friday July 29 . Tickets are $35.95, and are available from Ticketek.

the word

on albums

Def Leppard Mirror Ball [Frontiers/Riot]

album of the issue I Exist II: The Broken Passage [Resist Records]

After only a couple of years together Canberra’s I Exist have already released a second album. Backed by constant touring and produced by Billy Anderson, known for his work with Sleep, Eyehategod, The Melvins and others, many fans were excited by the follow up to last year’s I: A Turn For The Worse. With four guitarists there to provide the driving backbone, a slogan used regularly in regards to I Exist is ‘all hail the riff’. That’s what we’re presented with at the beginning of opener Winter’s End, something Black Sabbath fans would be very happy with. The 12 tracks meld hardcore, blues, metal, sludge and straight up rock and roll. There is something for all fans of heavy music. Their earlier releases focussed more on an anti-religion theme, which has been slightly departed from here as mystical characters are entering the realms of their music. Although the sound is more produced than their earlier releases, it’s still raw. This just shows the progression of the band, all melding together under a renowned producer. This is another thrilling chapter in the I Exist discography, and I look forward to number three. DANIEL BOYLE

Incredibly, for a band of Def Leppard’s history and stature within their chosen milieu, Mirror Ball is their first ever live release. A cruel man might say that’s because vocalist Joe Elliott is one of the worst singers ever to make it big in the history of hard rock; any attempts to capture the man ‘in action’ would need so much touching up in the studio, the result would essentially be a greatest hits set with added crowd noise... But I’m not a cruel man so let’s take a gander at Mirror Ball under the guise of ‘giving it a fair listen’, shall we? In all honesty, MB isn’t a bad album at all. It is a greatest hits set, with the addition of the likes of C’mon C’mon from their last studio outing Songs from the Sparkle Lounge and three piss-poor new studio offerings tacked on to the end of the set, one of which, the unintentionally hilarious Kings of the World, is an utterly embarrassing Queen pastiche that has to be heard to be believed. The live material is good for two reasons, namely the fact that the band doesn’t insult your intelligence by airbrushing Elliott back to perfection – he’s here warts and all, and you’ll love the fact that you can sing along and beat him to all the high notes with ease; the other being Phil Collen’s marvellous wang-bar obsessed axe work – it’s air guitar mayhem guaranteed. Nambucco ‘I suppose a rock’s outta the question’ Deliria

friendly fires pala [XL Recordings/Remote Control]

jack ladder & THE DREAMLANDERS Hurtsville [Spunk]

Largely recorded in their garage over an English winter, Pala was destined to take Friendly Fires and their fans away from the cold to a sunny paradise. It’s a little cocktail umbrella composed of pop, dance, funk and soul. The trio has captured the holiday escape feeling, from the brilliantly coloured parrot in the artwork to the samba-like drum rhythm underlying the opening tracks. The mood is cruisey rather than berko dance party, with most tracks inviting luxurious reclining rather than frantic jiving. The party theme couldn’t be better expressed than in the opener Live Those Days Tonight, with its fresh, super groovy beats and shimmering multi-layered vocals. Blue Cassette morphs the dance theme, harking back to the days of ‘70s tape machines. It incorporates the quirky effects of that form including the tape squeal and fuzziness of a worn cassette. Hawaiian Air is an album highlight, combining discotheque cool with the lush sensuality of languid tropical nights. Members of the Harlem Gospel Choir provided vocal support in Hurting, infusing the track with a marvellous soulful feeling, making it another standout. The title track is a slow, ultra cool hip grinder, with a strong ‘70s feel brought on by the perky keyboard chords and its slow, sultry feel. The sparkle in the songs fades somewhat mid-disk. Nonetheless, Pala is a super soundtrack for your next tropical themed dance party, to take you a world away.

With a booming baritone, Jack Ladder is often compared to Nick Cave. That’s not being a lazy critic; it’s a statement of fact. On this album Ladder himself doesn’t appear to want to disabuse us of these accusations (Blinded By Love is a Cave cover, right?) although he’s also thrown in a bit of Pete Murphy in a set of songs that seem to be aiming of that most overlooked of markets: ‘80s goth pop. It’s not an altogether ghastly ambition but it would be nice if the tunes were there. Still, at least he didn’t aim for Andrew Eldritch.

RORY McCARTNEY

First single Cold Feet is the undisputed highlight… galloping rhythms, descending scrappy riffs and detached maudlin warble, the song casually drifts off into the spectral plane courtesy of Kirrin Callinan’s best Robert Fripp approximations, circa Ashes to Ashes. But after that it’s one formless dirge after another, although to hear a modern musician sound like forgotten studio whizzes David + David is a worthwhile pleasure (Beautiful Sound). The plaudits being thrown at Hurtsville are confusing. It’s a collection of middling songs lead by one absolutely terrific track. It doesn’t matter whom it might sound like because ultimately the songs fall flat. And that should be the only metric. justin hook

singled out

with Dave Ruby Howe

Sebadoh Bakesale (2011 reissue) [Sub Pop] When the wonderful Bakesale came out 17 years ago it was lauded for being ‘low-fi, but more accessible’ and, compared to Sebadoh’s previous four albums, it was. Tracks like Not Too Amused, Give Up and Licence To Confuse rock pretty hard, while Temptation Tide and Skull are soft enough to be used in the movies you create in your daydreams, imagining yourself to be a character in a side-story to Reality Bites and such. Remaster jobs on this period’s works range from the horrid (Nirvana remastered) to essential (Sonic Youth’s Goo for instance). With Bakesale, remasterers have crisped up the guitars and raised the vocals in the mix slightly, luckily never losing the layers of fuzz that happily and purposefully season the melodies, so count this as a win.

Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell Ghosts Outside [Domino]

A must hear for the first time, a fabulous reminder for those already familiar.

Former Beta Band-er Steve Mason dished up one of the best albums of 2010 with Boys Outside, delighting us all with ten songs brimming with emotional honesty and melodic beauty. Here, we are delivered a rather curious offering in the form of a complete album overhaul, with Barbados born Matumbi member Dennis Bovell giving all the tracks a dub rerub. With Ghosts Outside Bovell keeps Mason’s melodies largely intact, extends the running time and infuses the echoes, horns and 80bpm bump synonymous with the genre. The result is a largely enjoyable affair, with an ‘if’ caveat. Letter Dub and Yesterday Dub have the effortless cool that made The Good, The Bad and The Queen so enjoyable but, and this sounds obvious, you need to really love the dub genre to enjoy this. The strip back denies some of the original magic of Boys Outside, with Mason’s beautiful vocals taking a bit of a backseat and many of the beloved emotional peaks and troughs somewhat flattened out into the rolling dub style; Dub Position whilst certainly not bad does come across as a bit flat, whereas opener Lost And Dub pushes a little too far, with the drop veritably screaming “Look! It’s a dub remix!” with its abundance of echoes and horns. But this said, this is a worthy addition to the canon, so if you like yer dub, then rub your nub on this bub. (What does that even mean!? – Ed.)

alistair erskine

ALLAN SKO

The bonus disc of studio outtakes, acoustic versions, and B-sides (the excellent song Daramine being the highlight) should be enough to pique those well versed with this album. However, the real joy with this album getting a re-issue is that it opens up another generation to one of the best slices of what back then people told us was college rock, which these days is the sound that most of your favourite low-fi indie bands borrow from heavily.

The Grates Secret Rituals [Dew Process] Brisbane’s duo The Grates took themselves into a New York blizzard to find their commercial soul, following the loss of their third member, Alana Skyring, to a budding culinary career. The fruit of an intensive period of time locked up in the studio, third album Secret Rituals is a wellgroomed, alt-rock meditation that marks a distinctive turning point in their career. The whole album is currently streaming on the band’s website with black and white ‘micro videos’ set to each track, ghostly flirtations with stop frames, but these are the only parts of the production which feel home cooked. The sound is blistering with compressed distorted guitar, mature lyrical vocal arrangements, adding keyboardist and session drummer to (blasphemous) bass guitar, and is slickly produced by John O’Mahoney (Metric, Coldplay). Turn Me On is a track that is catchy enough, musical enough, and radio friendly enough to just about carry the album on its own. Patience takes her voice into new corners of the sound archive and comes back with The Breeders, but all mixed up with her usual inimitable nervous energy that is the band’s most potent instrument on its own. The Grates with Secret Rituals are confident enough to play around with their own sound that they have dared to ditch much of what made them The Grates. Can they survive this critical rebirth and find a wider audience? Only time and patience will tell. Alex Watt

Coldplay Every Tear Drop Is A Waterfall [EMI] Coldplay cop a lot of shit for selling out stadiums, headlining Splendour and wearing questionable band uniforms, but this just shows that they can still make some good music. Every Tear Drop Is A Waterfall is poorly titled but nonetheless an interesting song with plenty of instrumentation that’s foreign to radio, and if it can get one person to stop listening to LMFAO for four minutes then I’ll consider it a gift from God.

Stan Walker Loud [Sony BMG] Lol, remember Idol? The deceased talent show’s final winner Stan Walker hasn’t done anything of great note since taking the prize in 2009, and now Loud sees him playing catch-up to every other vaguely danceable pop hit from the last 18 months. That description is not particularly exciting, I know, but neither is the tune. At least he can belt it out, though.

Tensnake Something About You [Mirau Musik] While it’s not as totally infectious as Coma Cat was, Tensnake’s latest jam Something About You is another trip back to a time when you were probably listening to The Hooley Dooleys or their ilk; the early ‘90s! Pumping house thumps and some breathy diva flourishes abound here and somehow it all makes sense.

the word

on films

WITH MELISSA WELLHAM

I have a lot of sympathy for chick flicks. They seem to get a disproportionate amount of criticism for how bad they really are, whereas truly awful action films manage to escape too much scathing criticism, as if the prevalence of explosions were a substitute for plot. ‘Boys will be boys’ is apparently a more acceptable excuse than ‘girls being girls.’ In any case, Bridesmaids is an example of ‘girls being boys’. Maybe chick flicks have more in common with dick flicks than previously thought.

quote of the issue “This is so awkward. I really want you to leave, but I don’t know how to say it without sounding like a dick.” Ted (Jon Hamm), Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids

Super 8

Little White Lies

Bridesmaids is bold, venturing where few chick flicks have ventured before: into the territory of bad taste. But, as this film proves, bad taste can make for good humour. Annie (Kristen Wiig) is just your average Liz Lemon-ish 30-something: single, stuck in life, and self-deprecating. When her best friend Lillian (Maya Rudolph) gets engaged, a battle of the bridesmaids commences between Annie and the annoyingly perfect Helen (Rose Byrne). As Annie’s life spirals wildly and often disgustingly out of control, it is exacerbated by the bizarre rituals that weddings entail.

I went into this film with high expectations, and luckily I ended up thoroughly enjoying my Super 8 experience.

Little White Lies is a film about self-deception and soul-searching, set amongst a group of friends who are lying to themselves as well as each other. Comedy and pathos come together as a group of friends travel to a beach house in the wake of an accident. Ludo (Jean Dujardin), the wild one in his group of 30-somethingaged friends, has just been awfully injured in a motorcycle accident. Despite this, the rest of the friendship group decide to head off on their planned holiday – and it soon becomes apparent that none of the group are any more together than Ludo. Max (Francois Cluzet) is rich and uptight; Vincent (Benoit Magimel) is married but also in love with Max; Eric (Gilles Lellouche) is a serial womaniser who can’t give up the chase, despite how much he loves his girlfriend; and Marie (Marion Cotillard) is a free spirit, bordering on commitmentphobic; among others.

Wiig stars in and co-wrote the script for Bridesmaids, which is causing a furor among some audiences, who seem unsure about how to deal with the prospect of women being funny. Or at least, women being funny in this particular way. Yuk-fest films have seldom been combined with chick flicks, but Bridesmaids is indeed hilarious spawn. Aside from the gross-out elements of the film, Bridesmaids is also surprisingly touching. A meditation on female friendship and being true to yourself (and yes, those phrases are themselves more sickening than toilet humour could ever hope to be, but it’s true), the film also includes a sweet romantic subplot between Annie and bumbling cop Rhodes (Chris O’Dowd).

Out one night filming their amateur zombie flick, a group of youngsters catch some interesting footage on camera when a train unexpectedly crashes nearby. Strange occurrences start to plague their small town shortly after, and they soon escalate into full-blown mayhem – and the kids start to unravel a very extra-terrestrial mystery. There’s so much here to love – the adorably retro 1970s setting; the camaraderie of a group of adolescents struggling with emerging feelings; a government conspiracy complete with an interwoven moral message. Director J.J. Abrams goes a bit crazy with the lens flare, but he also crafts a sweet and entertaining film that probably won’t leave a lasting impression on most, but that some will truly love. The end gets a bit twee, but as far as conjuring up the feelings of youthful wonderment that old-school Spielberg used to, Abrams doesn’t do too badly. The performances of the young actors aren’t perfect, but there are some truly poignant moments between them, and their interactions are both amusing and genuine.

Gross-out humour may be one small step in everyday life for a man, but it’s one big step forward for womankind.

Overall, while there’s nothing really groundbreaking here (and it’s so family-friendly it hurts), Super 8 is an atmospheric film that delivers exactly what it intends to.

Melissa Wellham

MEGAN McKEOUGH

With an ensemble cast of 12 plus, it’s perhaps not surprising that Little White Lies runs for slightly too long. At approximately two and a half hours, the film packs many an emotional punch into that timeframe. Though it’s not all doom and gloom: Little White Lies has the feel of a French, early Woody Allen film, combining comedy and melancholy in equal measure – although slightly less selfaware, and without the mockery directed towards its ensemble. Little White Lies is both uplifting and heartbreaking – and definitely worth the time. MELISSA WELLHAM

the word on dvds

Inside Job [Sony Pictures]

Whites [BBC]

Unknown [Warner Home Video]

Earlier this year when Inside Job won the Oscar for Best Documentary, its director Charles Ferguson launched into an excoriating speech reminding the crowd that three years after one of the most damaging financial crises in contemporary history not one single person had been charged or sent to prison for the damage inflicted. Portions of the crowd shifted. After watching this you’ll be more than seat shuffling. You’ll be screaming and breaking windows.

Written by Matt King (Super Hans from Peep Show) and starring Alan Davies (regular QI panelist/Jonathan Creek), Whites should have been a hilarious and pithy look into the life of a brilliant chef on the verge of cracking the big leagues. Unfortunately this was not the case.

In 2008’s grim but effective surprise hit Taken, Liam Neeson reversed a couple of decades worth of roles that had him pigeonholed as the dependable Irish dude who could hold a picture (Kinsey, Rob Roy), or the guy you threw in to add a layer of respectability (those Star Wars films, Love Actually). Taken introduced Liam Neeson as the OAP Jason Bourne – the 55-year-old action hero knocking off Albanian sex slave traders with dour steely eyed intent. He’s obviously enjoying his mid-career jaunt through fists and guns territory, and as a professional boxer in earlier years Neeson has the body and stamina to make it work.

This is one of the remarkably few docos on the financial crisis that provides succinct and digestible explanations of what actually happened; brilliantly so. It tells a complex story (industry participants have no idea how credit default swaps and collateralised debt obligations work) with comparative simplicity. It also gained extraordinary access to central players in the global financial community. George Soros, Eliot Spitzer, DSK (!!!) and his successor at the IMF, Christine Lagarde all appear, usually responding with blushinducing candour. Even though Inside Job is polemical and plays as an impassioned screed against corporate malfeasance, it highlights that both sides of politics buckled under the lobbying power. It’s the sort of film that demands repeat viewings. It also fills many gaps in the story; in a series of stunning exchanges it exposes the empty heart of economic academia, laying bare the utter conflict of interest between academics in the pocket of investment banks. It’s impossible not to recoil in horror. With Greece still in serial default and the US asking for a few trillion more on the Amex card this doco couldn’t be more current. Inside Job deserved its Academy Award. The only problem was it should have won Best Picture as well. JUSTIN HOOK

The show follows Roland White (Davies), an amazing but lazy chef, who is trying to achieve success and a Michelin star before he gets too far past his use by date. He is supported by a long-suffering sous chef (superbly played by Darren Boyd), a reckless and sneaky apprentice, a very dopey waitress, an irritable but ultimately supportive restaurant manager, and a wealthy hotel owner who must be kept happy at all costs. The character development in Whites is impressive. The amount of character development, however, makes for quite a slow moving show. There are some genuinely funny scenes; a waitress taking an order for an eggless omelet is certainly one. Where Whites falls down is the predictability of the writing. The way in which an episode is going to end is apparent from early on throughout the series – meaning you’re just waiting for it to happen, rather than anticipating a twist or looking forward to finding out the resolution. Perhaps a second season would be more enjoyable – with the character development out of the way, episodes could have more room to move. Unfortunately, we’ll never know as the show was not well received and the BBC has not commissioned any more episodes.

In Unknown he plays plant fiddler Dr Martin Harris in Berlin giving a keynote presentation at a botanist conference with his wife in tow (Mad Men’s January Jones solidifying her ability to stand in position and dolefully recite lines). After realising his briefcase has been left at the airport he scurries back only to wind up half-dead in a river after his taxi careens off a bridge. Four days in a coma leaves Harris struggling to piece together the fragments in his shattered mind. He knows he’s married but that’s about it – no passport, no documents and a killer headache. Returning to his hotel he confronts his wife only to be snubbed – she has no idea who this impostor is. Indeed she already has another Dr Martin Harris under her arm proving once and for all, trophy wives shouldn’t be trusted alone in cosmopolitan German cities.

Overall, it was a good try from King and Davies, however both have done better in the past.

The third act turns everything upside down and a shapeshifting spy action thriller emerges; one that plays a few cute tricks and requests some pretty large suspensions of belief. Nevertheless Unknown is an efficient action thriller in a genre bloated with films lacking verve, wit or tension.

CLARE BUTTERFIELD

JUSTIN HOOK

the word

BLACKBOX

on games

Operation Flashpoint: Red River Developer: Codemasters Platform: PC, 360, PS3 Length: 1 hour Rating: Don’t bother Going into this game my expectations were low. After all, I’m not really a tactical-shooter kind of guy. The idea of continually issuing orders to braindead subordinates sounds more like hard work than fun. But there was a part of me wanting to be surprised and even possibly impressed by how they’d managed to make the squad controls not only effortless, but fun to boot. Well, dream on dickhead, ‘cause this game blows chunks. With the possible exception of the audio, there’s nothing outstanding about Flashpoint. The graphics are ordinary - if not below average, the character models and scenery are bland, the controls overloaded and the aiming twitchy. Far worse than these flaws is just how boring parts of the game are. You spend a good portion of the first hour sitting in a damn jeep, listening to a racial stereotype lecture you about how hellish war is. In its defence, I expect the developers would claim that the inclusion of such inane moments makes the experience more realistic. Such an argument would be greatly flawed though, given how regularly Flashpoint likes to remind you that this isn’t real, and is in fact just a game. One of my favourite examples of this is with the med-packs, which are apparently so effective that they need only be held near a teammate to revive them. That’s some Star Trek shit happening right there. Another thing letting down not only the realism, but also just how enjoyable the game is, is the AI. Not only are the enemies almost clinically retarded, but annoyingly, so are your teammates. On numerous occasions I had them push me out of my cover, just before they themselves decided to perform an unsuccessful Captain Spears effort (go grab Band of Brothers if you’re not sure what I’m talking about). In that regard, you know a game has failed when you take pleasure from seeing your teammates getting mown down. Another frustration of note was with regards to how lost I felt whilst playing. Frequently our stereotyped friend would be shouting orders at you as if you’ve been doing this shit for years. Well, I haven’t and frustratingly the game does a terrible job of explaining how to do anything other than shoot. Case in point being that I ran around with my flashlight on for roughly the first hour. Luckily most of this was spent in a jeep, so no real harm done. Despite all its faults, I’m sure there will still be a special group o people who will love this shit. It’s safe to say I’m not one of them and I expect it’s unlikely you’ll be one of them either. TORBEN SKO

There are two types of drama in the US. The first is the good, well scripted variety that usually comes out of the Showtime or HBO stables and eventually makes its way to Australian free-to-air networks, usually via pay TV here. Think Sons of Anarchy (One, Wed, 9.30pm), The Wire (ABC2, Fri, 10.30pm), Californication (11, Tue, 10pm), The Big C (GEM, Mon, 11.10pm), Deadwood (ABC2, Mon, 9.30pm), Mad Men (SBS, TBC) and True Blood (still waiting for freeto-air debut). The second is the replicating an old TV show, movie, or worse still, Americanising a show that’s been successful in another English speaking country. Buffy and The Office (11, Tue, 8.30pm) were successful, Kath and Kim less so. This week’s new offerings are most definitely the second type. Teen Wolf (Prime, Mon July 11, 9.30pm) takes the ‘80s Michael J Fox teen movie and turns it into a series. Or tries to. The US network execs have taken the British cult underworld drama Being Human (11, Mon, 9.30pm) about a vampire, werewolf and ghost sharing a house, transplanted it in Boston and done what every network exec is bound to do – filled it with pretty people. What is it about Americans needing their TV casts to look like they stepped out of a photo shoot for banality? This comes off the back of the US version of Wilfred (11, Tue, 9.30pm), which is watchable because of Elijah Wood, but mostly because Jason Gann has reprised his role as Wilfred. Watch out for the US version of Shameless with William H Macy. Good old Auntie has fresh Australian drama with Crownies (ABC1, Thu July 14, 8.30pm) set in the courts and legal chambers. While this is no Rake, it is still worth a look. Marchlands (ABC1, Sat July 23, 8.25pm), is an innovative and intriguing BBC drama about a haunted house, with three interconnecting plotlines set in 1968, 1987 and 2010. The ‘much funnier when he was an acerbic judge on idol’ Dicko hosts SCTEN’s newie Can of Worms (SCTEN, Mon, 8.45pm). Other new series include a new season of Grand Designs (ABC1, Sun, 7.30pm), Jail (7Mate, Thu July 14) an ob doco series on… well, jail, Young, Dumb and Living off Mum (Prime, Mon, 10.30pm), and brilliant UK political satire The Thick of It (ABC2, Thu July 21, 10.15pm). Docos to check out include: The King of Calls (SBS1, Sun July 17, 9.30pm) which looks at the day-to-day operations of an Indian call centre, The Buddha (SBS2, Tue July 19, 7.30pm) a two-parter narrated by Richard Gere to tell the story of the Buddha, triple j’s One Night Stand (ABC2, Sun July 17, 8.30pm), 7 Ages of Marriage (ABC2, Wed July 13, 8.30pm) about how people approach weddings, and Jennifer Byrne Presents: Fantasy (ABC1, Tue July 12, 9.55pm) with guests Jennifer Rowe (aka Emily Rodda), Lev Grossman and Fiona McIntosh. Cycling junkies won’t want to miss Le Tour de France - live nightly (SBS1, nightly 10pm until Sunday July 24), morning updates (SBS1, daily 7.30am) and daily highlight packages (SBS1, daily 6pm and SBS2, daily 8.30pm). Movies to look out for include spaghetti western For a Few Dollars More (ABC2, Sat July 23, 8.30pm) and New York, New York (ABC2, Sat July 16, 8.30pm). TRACY HEFFERNAN tracyheffernan@bigpond.com

the word

Fun Machine / nozl / Gyöngyös Bokréta Hungarian dancers / Jacinta and Kael Bogdanovs / Julia and the Deep Sea Sirens White Eagle Polish Club Saturday June 18

on gigs

It’s a well-conceded fact now that ‘Shitting On Canberra’ is pretty much a national pastime, along with ‘Getting Sozzled’, ‘Falling Asleep on the Toilet’ and ‘Bringing Successful People Down to Our Petty and Spiteful Level’. But if any of our naysayers had been at the White Eagle Polish Club in O’Connor on the evening of Saturday June 18, they might have had a change of heart. The convivial crowd and the calibre of acts gathered for the Fun Machine EP launch proved that there is indeed more to this small city than a sterile, empty landscape and vexed public servants. Amid tarot readings, a face painting station and dress-up photo booth, Julia and the Deep Sea Sirens opened the night with their sweet, nu-folk melodies lulling the mostly seated audience into a world of finger-picking, fluffy-clouded goodness. Then on the upper stage, the Gyöngyös Bokréta Hungarian dance troupe made an amusing interlude with their feathered hats, twirly skirts, and fevered foot-slapping to traditional folk music. Meanwhile, the orange-capped members of nozl were setting up on the other stage for what went on to be a jazz-and-funk-fuelled set. The driving bass over the Ace Tone synth-infused rhythms got the absolute majority dancing. Next, armed with only a mic and plenty of skill, beat boxer Kodak the Moment wowed us with some hip-hop, dub-step and d’n’b-influenced beats, all emanating from his ridiculously talented chops. Slightly reeling from that incredible performance I’m not exactly sure what happened next, but it involved an inner eardrum-stirring stream of bizarre and dark prose about inventing a fun machine by mad scientist Jacinta (Adam Hadley) and magic tricks performed by fellow maniac, Kale Bogdanovs. Finally, it was Fun Machine’s turn. The crowd had considerably thickened for the band de jour who kicked things off with three tracks off the Desert Creatures EP, Wichita, Coming With Muskets and Do I. Playing an impressive repertoire of 17 songs altogether, several guests joined drummer Bec Taylor, guitarist Chris Endrey and bassist Ramsay Nuthall on stage, including Deep Sea Siren Nick Peddle, Beth Monzo of Dub Dub Goose, Kodak the Moment, Sam King (who was also behind the sound decks for the evening), and Spike and Emma from Mr. Fibby and The Ellis Collective for a new, yet-unnamed song. The three core, instrument-swapping members each sang and even broke into a few choreographed moves. Bringing the set to a climax with the funky and kooky (fooky?) pop single Toxic, Endrey and Robin Dalton from Pocket Fox busted out some scorching brass solos on trombone and trumpet respectively. Reminiscent of Machine Gun Fellatio without the weird sleaze, Fun Machine deftly oscillated between Scissor Sisters-like electropop to theatrical indie rock and alt-folk, as their friends and fans sang and danced along, all having a gay old time. PHOTOS: cole bennetts

In spite of the cheap, novelty-sized beer being heartily consumed, Fun Machine lived up to their name in a thoroughly wholesome way. KG

GIG GUIDE July 06 - July 09 wednesday july 06

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

Arts

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory.

Jazz Garters

Warmth and Welcome

Bookings 6257 1950. More info canberrarep.org.au . THEATRE 3

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Wild woollen objects, sculpted, stitched and crocheted. 6pm, free. THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke. BELCONNEN GALLERY

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

Optical Eyes

Charles Chatain

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Dance

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Dance

Latin Nights

Live

Foreplay Fridays

MONKEY BAR

Vel’vette

9pm.

Live

With Knightsbridge’s AHA awardwinning $10 Thursday cocktail list.

HIPPO LOUNGE

A Commoner’s Revolt

Georgia Fair and Daniel Lee Kendall

Daniel Lee Kendall has teamed up with close friends and now stalwart touring mates Georgia Fair. THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

The Lurkers

With A Commoner’s Revolt (Melb) and Ducks in the Mud (Melb). THE PHOENIX PUB

Something Different

Ducks in the Mud, The Lurkers. THE PHOENIX PUB

Transcription Of Organ Music With Saskia Sansom. Haunting and atmospheric. THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Saskia Sansom

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Chicago Charles

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Something Different

New collaboration with video artist Tim Dwyer.

9pm till 5am with DJs Matt & Pete. Two for one drinks & free entry until 11pm. CUBE NIGHTCLUB

9pm.

MONKEY BAR

Jemist

Spinning funk, soul and hip-hop. KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Strangeways - I Believe I Can Classic R&B, from Ray Charles to R. Kelly. Free entry. TRANSIT BAR

New Era Fridays - Goodwill

Open Mic Night

The Stafford Brothers

Fame Trivia

POT BELLY BAR

Free entry fantastic prizes, bookings are essential. 6pm.

Free entry, from 9pm onwards.

friday july 08

P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

thursday july 07 Arts Jazz Garters

Bookings 6257 1950. More info canberrarep.org.au . THEATRE 3

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke. BELCONNEN GALLERY

TRINITY BAR

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Live The Bridge Between Duo CASINO CANBERRA

Arts

Friday Night Acoustic Series

Jazz Garters

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Bookings 6257 1950. More info canberrarep.org.au . THEATRE 3

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Images from the Cage of Time

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

Free live music with one of Canberra’s best. 8.30pm.

Mitch Canas (5pm) & Top Shelf (10pm) KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Friday Night Acoustic Series Kevin Bennett From 8pm, free entry.

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

saturday july 09

Havana Nights

CIVIC PUB

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

THE STREET THEATRE

HIPPO LOUNGE

One of Sydney’s favourite exponents of house, electro and techno. Free before 10pm, $15 after.

Featuring Marie Helou plus supports. 8pm, $10 from www.comedyact.com. au or at the door.

With Colleen Hixenbaugh (Canada) and special guests. Tix through the venue.

Nick Clarke

8.30pm till 11pm followed by DJ Kiz till 5am.

Comedy Club

Karaoke

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Skipping Girl Vinegar

Dance

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Vicky Gaye Phillip and Jeff Raglus make up the duo of Victoriana Gaye. 8pm, $10.

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory.

Faux Real

Victoriana Gaye

Featuring ‘Kevin Bennett’ solo (‘The Flood’/Sydney). 8pm, FREE entry.

urbanIce- MoneyKat

(CaliInternational hip-hop duo MoneyKat, comprising Omar Musa and Mighty Joe. 10pm. GAREMA PLACE

urbanIce - D’Opus and Roshambo 11pm.

GAREMA PLACE

Arts Jazz Garters

Bookings 6257 1950. More info canberrarep.org.au . THEATRE 3

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Images From the Cage of Time

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke. BELCONNEN GALLERY

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Dance Alex Carder HIPPO LOUNGE

Cube Saturdays

10pm till 5am with DJs Matt & Pete. Two for one drinks & free entry until 11pm. CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Welcome Home Tsunami!

The hectic return. Cranking bass music. $10 before midnight. THE CLUBHOUSE

GIG GUIDE July 09 - July 12 saturday july 09 Dance Urban Playground

10pm.

MONKEY BAR

Nathan Frost

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Nextmen (UK)

UK party hip-hop at its finest, with Buick, Faux Real and DFP. $15 from Moshtix. TRANSIT BAR

Solid Saturdays - Tom Piper

Sydney house/electro don. Free before 10pm, $15 after. TRINITY BAR

Oscar

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

The Alohas

With Space Party, David Bath & The Hot Tubs. 8pm, free entry. THE PHOENIX PUB

Darker Half

Launching their Desensitized LP, with Perpetual End, Immorium and Katabasis. 9pm, $10. THE BASEMENT

Something Different Carry On Karaoke

All your sing along favourites and current chart hits available for you. 10pm. P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

Live

sunday july 10

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Black man’s writings

Addressing the great silence, with activist and writer, Sam Watson. 2.00 - 3.00pm.

Dance

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen

Hospitality Sundays

10pm ‘til late with DJ TJ. Free entry, free pool & discounted drinks. CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live Obsessions Live

Arts

urbanIce – The Ashmatix

Elements: Glass

Nicole Canham

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners.

Cilla Jane

Images From the Cage of Time

GAREMA PLACE

CRAFT ACT

Melbourne singer songwriter Cilla Jane combines folk style guitar and enchanting vocals. 8pm, $TBA.

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Bruce Mathiske’s Rhythm Express

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke. BELCONNEN GALLERY

Master guitarist. Book now through the venue. THE STREET THEATRE

ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Frequently Asked Questions Trio Sydney-based fusion quartet, combine traditional Jewish melody, old school hip-hop beats. 10pm.

Arts

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Featuring Steve Quick, brilliant lead from Neill Ross and a huge sound. 12pm.

CASINO CANBERRA

monday july 11

ROSE COTTAGE

Images From the Cage of Time ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke. BELCONNEN GALLERY

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Something Different

An experimental electro-acoustic odyssey - in miniature! 6pm, $10.

Fame Trivia

Irish Jam Sessions

P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Free entry, fantastic prizes, bookings are essential. 6pm.

Sunday Best - Dylan Hekimian

tuesday july 12

5pm to 7pm, Free of charge. A BITE TO EAT CAFE

Arts Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

GIG GUIDE July 12 - July 16 tuesday july 12

Elements: Glass

Arts

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners.

Images From the Cage of Time

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke. BELCONNEN GALLERY

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

wednesday july 13 Arts

CRAFT ACT

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke. BELCONNEN GALLERY

Dance Dirtey Rascals HIPPO LOUNGE

An exciting and funny School holiday attraction. 2pm & 8pm. Bookings: 62931443. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Images From the Cage of Time

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke.

The Pirates of Lake Tuggeranong

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Jacqueline Bradley’s The Outdoors Type, Andrzej Zielinski’s Prototype & Ash Keating’s Activate 2750.

dance Foreplay Fridays

9pm ‘til 5am with DJs Matt & Pete. Two for one drinks & free entry until 11pm. CUBE NIGHTCLUB

New Era Fridays - Boy 8-Bit (UK) Free before 10pm, $15 after. TRINITY BAR

Label Night

Architect DJs

THE CLUBHOUSE

TRANSIT BAR

Ft. records from DMZ, Brainfeeder, Tempa and more. $5.

Ashley Feraude

The Pirates of Lake Tuggeranong

CCAS - One Place, Three Exhibitions

Plus Knightsbridge’s $10 Thursday cocktail list. KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Live Black Line Fever

A bunch of wee, low-brow, involuntary scribbles, on exhibition from 13-24 July. Opening 6pm. THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Vents

Beers ‘n’ beats on the Rollin Balls tour. Featuring Adfu. Tix from Moshtix. TRANSIT BAR

Dos Locos

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Open Mic Night

Professional club wreckers and selfconfessed gambling addicts. Free entry.

New Era Fridays Boy 8-Bit (UK) TRINITY BAR

An exciting and funny School holiday attraction. 2pm & 8pm. Bookings: 62931443.

CCAS - One Place, Three Exhibitions

Jacqueline Bradley’s The Outdoors Type, Andrzej Zielinski’s Prototype & Ash Keating’s Activate 2750.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Images From the Cage of Time

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

Miss Kitka’s House of Burlesque

Effigy Presents Matt Rowan [Syd]

It’s Christmas in July, burlesque style! Visit www.misskitka.com.au for more info.

THE CLUBHOUSE

Dance

With very special guest. $10 before midnight.

Timber

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Glass House Presents: Fro & Mo With DJ sets from Raw City Rukus, Readable Graffiti, Fro & Mo, Glass House & Princi. Free entry. TRANSIT BAR

Hatiras and Vengeance

The long-serving lords of clubland make a visit to us humble Canberrans.

CANBERRA IRISH CLUB

Cube Saturdays

10pm ‘til 5am with DJs Matt & Pete. Two for one drinks & free entry until 11pm. CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Emalkay

Dub Police / UK. 8pm. TRINITY BAR

Maria de Los Angeles

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

HIPPO LOUNGE

POT BELLY BAR

Live

Poetry night. This shit gon get crazy.

Something Different

Panama Jim Duo

With Chewy Chocolate Cookies (UK), Cashmunny, Ben Colin, Gabe Gilmour and Dirty Rascals.

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

Karaoke

Touch Of Soul

D’Opus

BELCONNEN GALLERY

BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! THE PHOENIX PUB

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory.

9pm, free entry.

CASINO CANBERRA

8.30pm ‘til 11pm followed by DJ Kiz till 5am. CUBE NIGHTCLUB

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

friday july 15

Dance Latin Nights

Arts

MONKEY BAR

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

9pm.

Live Hippo Live

Ben Marston Quartet HIPPO LOUNGE

Something Different Fame Trivia

Free entry fantastic prizes, bookings are essential. 6pm. P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

thursday july 14 Arts JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

The Pirates of Lake Tuggeranong

An exciting and funny School holiday attraction. 2pm & 8pm. Bookings: 62931443. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

HIPPO LOUNGE

Monster Grind Up

THE CLUBHOUSE

Friday Night Acoustic Series

The wizard of all things funk, soul and hip-hop.

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Live

Featuring ‘Meraki’ duo (ACT). 8pm, FREE entry.

urbanIce – DJ Rush

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

DJ Rush started spinning in clubs at the age of 19, and has since spun into success! 10pm.

Young Revelry

urbanIce – Sa’ad

Benjalu

With Super Best Friends. $10 on the door. TRANSIT BAR

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory.

GAREMA PLACE

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Sa’ad plays everything from deep house and disco to prog and electro. 11pm.

The Pirates of Lake Tuggeranong

GAREMA PLACE

Free Live Music

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

CASINO CANBERRA

An exciting and funny School holiday attraction. 2pm & 8pm. Bookings: 62931443. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Images From the Cage of Time

With Elska. 8.30pm.

Quartessence Trio

Friday Night Acoustic Series Meraki

urbanIce – DJ Soup

From 8pm, free entry.

HARMONIE GERMAN CLUB

Special K (5pm) & Identical Strangers (10pm) KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

The paintings and drawings of Geoffrey De Groen ANU DRILL HALL GALLERY

saturday july 16

NAIDOC Week Exhibition

Arts

BELCONNEN GALLERY

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory.

Journey to Awe – Phase I. Paintings by Margy Duke.

Benjalu shows are always energetic, and are only becoming more so. 8pm, $10.With James Fahy in support.

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Deep, wobbling dubstep-inspired bass lines, honking saxophones and warm old-world production. 10pm. GAREMA PLACE

Heurisitc

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Something Different Carry On Karaoke

All your sing along favourites and current chart hits available for you. 10pm. P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

GIG GUIDE July 17 - July 21 sunday july 17 Arts JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Miss Kitka’s House of Burlesque

It’s Christmas in July, burlesque style! Visit www.misskitka.com.au for more info. CANBERRA IRISH CLUB

Dance Hospitality Sundays

10pm till late with DJ TJ. Free entry, free pool & discounted drinks. CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live Sunday Best - Dan Wolsner 5pm to 7pm, free of charge. A BITE TO EAT CAFE

In The Walls

With The New Breed, Ameliah Brown and Friend or Enemy. 8pm, 18+, and $10 entry. THE BASEMENT

Elements: Glass

The Pirates of Lake Tuggeranong

CRAFT ACT

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

Something Different

- GORMAN HOUSE

Fame Trivia

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners.

Free entry fantastic prizes, bookings are essential. 6pm. P J O’REILLY’S, CIVIC

tuesday july 19

Improvention 2011 7.30pm, $20.

THE STREET THEATRE

Arts

Live

JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

Hippo Live

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

The Pirates of Lake Tuggeranong

An exciting and funny School holiday attraction. 2pm & 8pm. Bookings: 62931443.

Ben Marston Quartet HIPPO LOUNGE

Sarah McLeod

Supported by Julia & The Deep Sea Sirens. Tix $15 from Moshtix. TRANSIT BAR

thursday july 21

TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

CCAS - One Place, Three Exhibitions

Jacqueline Bradley’s The Outdoors Type, Andrzej Zielinski’s Prototype & Ash Keating’s Activate 2750.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE - GORMAN HOUSE

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners.

An exciting and funny School holiday attraction. 2pm & 8pm. Bookings: 62931443.

CCAS - One Place, Three Exhibitions

Jacqueline Bradley’s The Outdoors Type, Andrzej Zielinski’s Prototype & Ash Keating’s Activate 2750.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE GORMAN HOUSE

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

Live Chicago Charles

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Arts JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Preserved Disintergrations

Prints, drawings and artists books by Peter McLean. Free. THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

CRAFT ACT

That’s Life

Life Drawing by Marilyn Hutchison, 6pm. Open until July 29. BELCONNEN GALLERY

monday july 18 Arts JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

CCAS - One Place, Three Exhibitions

Jacqueline Bradley’s The Outdoors Type, Andrzej Zielinski’s Prototype & Ash Keating’s Activate 2750.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE - GORMAN HOUSE

Elements: Glass

Celebrating Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre’s membership of leading craft practitioners. CRAFT ACT

wednesday july 20 Arts JamFactory : 10 Good Stories

The tale of the diverse community of artists working in the Glass Studio at Adelaide’s Jam Factory. CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

The Pirates of Lake Tuggeranong

An exciting and funny School holiday attraction. 2pm & 8pm. Bookings: 62931443. TUGGERANONG ARTS CENTRE

CCAS - One Place, Three Exhibitions

Jacqueline Bradley’s The Outdoors Type, Andrzej Zielinski’s Prototype & Ash Keating’s Activate 2750.

CANBERRA CONTEMPORARY ART SPACE

meet me in the OUT middle of the air tim rogers 20 LY JU frenzal rhomb jordie lane catherine traicos mojo juju dark horse ...and more!

FIRST CONTACT

SIDE A: BMA band profile

Bacon Cakes Where did your band name come from? I’m not really sure how it came about exactly (you’d have to ask Rebecca Delatorre she might remember), but it’s something a couple of friends and I use to annoy each other with and I thought it sounded cool so I changed to that. Group members? It’s pretty much just me at the moment bashing drums and guitar, although I am working on some side projects, eg B.L.T with Tristan from The Nugs, and Bad Killers with Shaun from Party Bus, but nothing too solid yet. Describe your sound: We play so loud that all the amps couldn’t take it, but now we got these amps that really work, you know? We can really push ‘em and we could blow this place apart if we wanted to. Who are your influences, musical or otherwise? VOODOO, like real voodoo, not loser I-wanna-be-cool voodoo. Musically: Oh man, oh man I guess Dead Moon, Fred Cole is a hero, Rocky Erickson, The Reatards are a main influence and James Gosman. Anything Bubblegum is good, like Ohio Express, and anything under the Kaz Kats wing. What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had whilst performing? My drink got spiked at a house party show one time. I remember climbing on furniture playing this set and running around at people with my guitar, and then next thing I know I wake up in the driveway in different clothes and I still can’t remember a thing. What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far? Getting kicked out of the Opera House with King Khan for protesting with hookers after hangs with him, Lou Reed, and Mark Sultan. “NO BAD WHORES, JUST BAD LAWS!” What are your plans for the future? I hate planning things. What makes you laugh? Everything, you have no idea. What pisses you off? People slopping when they eat. OH MAN, oh man. What’s your opinion of the local scene? Yeah, it’s ok. There are a lot of good bands surfacing, I just wish more of them would stay together. What are your upcoming gigs? With The Nugs from Newcastle and Bumface at Phoenix on Saturday July 16, and at the Braidwood Hotel in Braidwood on Saturday August 13. Contact info: greenwood_10@hotmail.com

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.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 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