BMA Mag 386 Jan 18 2012

www.bmamag.com

CANBERRA’S NO.1 FREE ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE #386 JAN18

an inkling for

INCUBUS INSIDayE lor

T *Noah Out *Sound era * Cavpailracy Cons

/ SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM SPIDERBAIT / THE POTBELLEEZ NOONAN AND THE CAPTAINS AUSTRALIA CELEBRATES LIVE KATIE COVER BANNER WED 25th JANUARY | SEE PAGE 6

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leekspin.com. Pretty much says it all about deadline Mondays.

# 3 8 6 J A N 1 8 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 Josh Brown Graphic Design Cole Bennetts Exhibitionist Editor Julia Winterflood E: editorial@bmamag.com Film Editor Melissa Wellham NEXT ISSUE 387 OUT FEB 01 EDITORIAL DEADLINE JAN 23 ADVERTISING DEADLINE JAN 26 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.

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Australia Celebrates Live concert

Gum Ball Festival Line-Up

INXS will headline the Australia Celebrates Live concert on the lawns of Parliament House on January 25, and will be joined by Katie Noonan and The Captains, Sneaky Sound System, Spiderbait and The Potbelleez in the concert’s strongest line-up yet. Irish born and Grammy nominated songwriter/performer Ciaran Gribbin, INXS’s new frontman, has worked with a range of artists including Snow Patrol, Madonna, Groove Armada and Paul McCartney. Since Gribbin joined the band in 2011 INXS has been touring solidly and continues to write and record new songs for their next album. Their new song UNITED in Australia will be launched at the Australia Celebrates Live concert, a treat for the Canberra audience. The celebrations kick off with the announcement of the Australian of the Year Awards at 6pm, and then the concert will commence at 7.45pm so arrive early, pack your picnic and get ready for a night of great Australian music.

Visit www.australiaday.org. au for updates or follow them on the Celebrate Australia Day facebook page.

Rolling back into the secluded bush land confines of the Hunter Valley NSW, the eighth annual Gum Ball Music and Arts Festival is well and truly back for 2012 and will be held on Friday-Saturday April 27-28.

Organisers have released a first round line-up that’s sure to entice the festival connoisseurs among us. It includes Brisbane’s favourite indie-pop heroes Custard, Sydney’s dreamy jungle folksters Jinja Safari, blues legend Ash Grunwald featuring critically acclaimed vocalists Vika and Linda Bull, Melbourne’s finest alt-country outfit Wagons, Darwin’s biggest soul export Sietta and a whole lot more. The festival provides camping and BYO options in a beautiful kick back country environment. Second round early bird tix are available through thegumball.com.au and Oztix.

Corinbank Crafternoon Continuing the tradition of community art on site at Corinbank, the festival is proud to announce their first Crafternoon, which is happening at the Cook Community Hub from 10am ‘til 4pm on Saturday January 21. Ever since Corinbank first burst onto the scene in 2008, the art of the community has been celebrated on site.

This year, Corinbank is throwing open its doors during the school holiday period for artisans of the Canberra community to join them in creating sustainable art to delight the eye and amaze the senses. The day is split up into two sessions and each one is limited to 20 spots. To register email visualarts@ corinbank.com. Corinbank is running from March 2 – 4 in the Brindabella Mountains, with headliners including Josh

Roller Skate in the City Garema Place is set to ignite this summer with a 450m2 open air roller skate rink – the first ever in Canberra. Skaters will be able to keep cool at the Garema Place ‘oasis’ with the large leafy trees that over hang the rink, multiple fan and mist machines and ‘skate through’ drinks stand. Special programming features from Wednesday to Sunday nights will include roller derby demonstrations, retro video discos, outdoor movie screenings and feature skate shows. The fun takes in

the summer school holidays and continues right through to Sunday February 5. For all the info head to inthecitycanberra. com.au/skate .

Kick off 2012 with UC Live!

UC Live! are set to kick off 2012 in style with the return of O Yeah! on Friday Feb 3 and O No! on Friday Feb 10 in the brand spankin’ new university bar – Zierholz @ UC. O Yeah! was established in 2010 and its sibling gig O No! followed the year after in 2011, coming alive to celebrate O Week at UC for new uni students, returners and the greater Canberra music scene alike.

This year O Yeah! is set to feature some of Australia’s freshest indie pop talent in Hungry Kids of Hungary, Loon Lake and Atluk. To keep the party going after O Week UC live! have brought together some of Australia’s finest party starters in Bumblebeez, Koolism and the Sosueme DJs for O No!. Tickets for both events are available through Moshtix. UC Live! is responsible for many of Canberra’s favourite music events. In the past two years they have delivered Groovin’ The Moo, Stonefest, All Our Friends, MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY 2010 and concerts from such artists as Lupe Fiasco, Dizzee Rascal and Kaiser Chiefs to name a few.

With a busy schedule on the calendar for 2012 with acts such as Lamb of God, GIVERS and Portugal. The Man it is looking to be yet another epic year for UC Live! For more information and to sign up for exclusive news and special offers head to uclive.com.au .

Hungry Kids of Hungary performing at O Yeah!

Pyke, The Bamboos, Bonjah and Sietta. For full details visit corinbank.com .

FROM THE BOSSMAN Things are heating up for the new year!

New year, new beginnings, new hopes, new appliances. Yes, new appliances. I bought BMA HQ a new microwave over the break, and I can’t tell you the giddy thrill it delivered sneaking into the office before the first day and eagerly installing it, and by that I mean plugging it in (I was trying to sound manly and knowledgeable by saying ‘installing’ when I am distinctly not; I could out mince Will Scarlett).

My excitement is two fold. Our old microwave did exactly what its title suggests, in that it emphasised the micro when it came to power and ‘waved’ goodbye to the concept of heat.

It was as slow as a turtle with a limp; you could heat up last night’s scraps faster by flapping your arms rapidly over the plate to generate kinetic energy. It had two heat settings - Off, and Really? - and instead of offering a range of meat defrost options it simply had a crank labelled Misc.

The final straw came one day late last year when a very hungry Paul the Ad Manager had to wait half an hour to defrost some soup. I could see him grow pale and wan before my eyes. In the end he conceded defeat and stabbed a fork into the icy husk to create a rudimentary broccoli flavoured icypole. Further to this, despite a staunch refusal to generate heat on the inside, the Tepidator 100 tended to burn an eerie incandescent purple shadow against the kitchen wall when dispiritedly attempting to warm something, which should be of concern except for the fact that the microwave has been here as long as the old geezer down the hall. He’s been here for years and seems to be fine. The flaky skinned wag.

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] To the piece of junkie trash who stalked me at Woden Lawn Cemetary on Boxing Day after I’d gone over to visit my dear old nan who passed seven years ago this year, then continued to follow me around taking photos of me on her camera phone whilst babbling incoherent foul mouthed trash about me of stalking you - you really, really, pissed me off!

Since you came to me, and not the other way around, that means you were doing the stalking, not me. I only got rid of you because I resisted the temptation to jam your phone up where the sun don’t shine and called the cops instead. Once you realised what I was doing, you scurried off like the cockroach you are.

You must be one sick fuck to be getting off on hassling people at graveyards who come to pay their respects to their dearly departed. And don’t even dream of pulling that shit on me again, because a) I’ve already reported you to the cops and b) the next photo on your camera will be a close up view of your large intestine. Do us all a favour and fucking OD you worthless parasite.

Now, we have a nuclear powered Zap-o-tron Three Billion with 87 heat settings (the weakest of which is Supernova) and I can happily report that not only does it make a sound akin to a lightsabre when you press Fire!, it can turn a Titanic-sized iceberg of soup into liquid magma within five seconds. It’s so pleasing to see the burnt and charred lips of Paul the Ad Man curl into a smile.

You wouldn’t think an appliance costing a mere $300 should summon so much joy, but this brings me onto the second reason for my excitement; the symbolism it carries with it. Whereas public service offices will hoof out a fleet of new computers every half year to keep up to date, and order new stationary cupboards with the same frequency we’d order a new pencil, the tightly fiscal nature of small business means that you often rag daily essentials into the ground before you concede to buying a replacement. This is why walking into a street press office can often be a delightful romp back in time; akin to walking around the set of The Flintstones (“It’s a living!”). So the ability to make the humble yet long overdue purchase of a microwave - thus ensuring my staff don’t go starving for another day - is a minor fistpump for the very lower end of the corporate world.

And if you happen to be in the neighbourhood and need a burrito nuked or some sensitive documents destroyed, drop in and we’ll gladly disintegrate.

Good to see you all again. Missed you, I have.

ALLAN SKO - allan@bmamag.com

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WHO: GIVERS and Portugal. The Man WHAT: BMA Magazine Presents a Laneway Festival Sideshow WHEN: Wed Feb 8 WHERE: UC Refectory

Having been announced for Laneway’s Sydney and Melbourne events, GIVERS and Portugal. The Man will also be bringing their bright breed of psych-pop to Canberra along with special guests Guineafowl. All three bands are as renowned for their dynamic live performances as for their irresistible tunes. GIVERS’ In Light is a vibrant debut, bursting with invigorating melodies, shifting rhythms and an abundance of energy, while Alaskan quartet Portugal. The Man’s latest album In The Mountain In The Cloud is filled with pulsing riffs and rings true to the buoyant rock and roll style that has permeated each album since the band’s ‘06 debut. Tix through Ticketek.

WHO: uniVibes WHAT: 100 hours of free music in five days WHEN: Mon Feb 13 – Fri Feb 17 WHERE: All over ANU

During last year’s ANU O Week uniVibes put on 78 hours of live music in five days. All local, all free. This year there’ll be a third and larger stage running on the grass of Union Court, as well as a jazz/solo/duo stage under the willows at Teatro Vivaldi, an electronic stage on the deck of the ANU Bar, and a band/DJ stage in the centre of ANU. Throw in some house parties and it’ll be over 100 hours of free local music. Want to play? Get in touch now at univibes@gmail.com.au. Students are preferred but all local musicians are invited to this open community.

WHO: The Barons of Tang WHAT: Your new favourite gypsy band WHEN: Sun Jan 29 WHERE: The Phoenix

The Barons of Tang eat music and spit notes. They have toured all over the world with nothing but a dream to carry them and a collective bruise to keep them warm. They write music that is both obscure and eternal with themes of dirt and the underdog. The Barons of Tang are, in fact, a mini orchestra with the taste of blood on their lips and the devil in their hips and they will not go quietly into the night. Mixing Klezmer and Balkan feels with the jagged edges of punk and whatever’s lying around the kitchen, these guys are making waves in the duck pond, and will be sure to tear the walls off The Phoenix despite it being a Sunday night.

WHO: Shaun Kirk WHAT: Boogie blues extraordinaire WHEN: Fri Jan 27 WHERE: Old Canberra Inn

Since the independent release of his award winning debut Cruisin’ in 2010, Shaun Kirk has been captivating audiences across the country with his charming style of boogie blues and soul. Kirk’s first fulllength album Thank You for Giving Me the Blues sees the 23-year-old troubadour take a leap in musical maturity. His new release has all the passion and vigour you can ask for in a contemporary blues/ soul record, and surrounded by a stomp box, tambourine, high hat, cymbal, kick and snare drum, his flair for playing six percussive sounds with his feet while delivering quality guitar and blues harmonica performances is undeniably impressive.

WHO: Ungus Ungus Ungus supported by BIG SCORE WHAT: Funk rock gypsy pop psychedelia WHEN: Wed Feb 1 WHERE: The Front

Sydney-based Ungus Ungus Ungus are celebrating the forthcoming release of their second more-than-full-length album, Time For Your Bath. This progressive funk rock gypsy pop psychedelia outfit crafts a unique fusion of styles, leaping from one genre to the next without ever settling down for long enough to be pigeonholed.

The band creates music that is at once accessible and challenging, familiar and weird. As explorative in their lyrically cryptic protest songwriting as they are in their genre-defying, multi-directional and technically profound instrumental explorations, Ungus Ungus Ungus are dedicated purveyors of original music. 7.30pm, $8.

WHO: Jungal and Faye Blais WHAT: All girl double bill WHEN: Sun Jan 22 WHERE: The Front

Melbourne all gal favourites Jungal and Canadian indie folk princess Faye Blais are returning to smash the socks off The Front. This will be the girls’ first and last tour for 2012 before leaving Australian shores to tour North America. Blais will hypnotise crowds with her mesmerising folk tunes and internationally praised vocals, while Jungal jump to the stage with a powerful rock roots set, pumping up crowds with foot stomping melodies. These two acts have been touring the globe together and the combination serves audiences a magical spread of sonic delights. 7.30pm, $10.

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an inkling for

INCUBUS incubus

james fahy

“We’ve got a lot of material from a lot of different records, so you know, a setlist is kind of a journey from beginning to end.” They’re not kidding. INCUBUS notched up their 20th year in 2011, and the current album, If Not Now, When, is their seventh. As long as we’re into numbers – there are five of them, they’ve had four number ones in the US, they’ve visited Australia a half dozen times and they recorded the new album in six weeks.

For a band with a history of complex instrumentation and very slick production, that’s really fast. “We didn’t spend too much time writing the music beforehand, we just sort of left it for the studio. We got into the studio, worked out an idea for a song right there and then over a few hours, and then just recorded it.”

The recording process of If Not Now, When pushed Incubus out of their comfort zone, which isn’t easy for a group of guys who have kept it together for two decades. Incubus have been working hard this time around, touring non-stop since June last year. They celebrated Christmas by playing a show, they fêted guitarist Mike Einzinger’s birthday on the road, as well as their 20 year anniversary. “It was actually November, which means we were on tour, so you know…”

All of this is great news for the man or woman in the crowd, who will be getting an extremely tight show as a result.

When Incubus grace the boards at Canberra’s Royal Theatre, they will have played Europe, the Middle East, Britain, the USA, Korea, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, and a couple of dates in Australia just to warm up. The word on the street (ie their agency) is that the set will be a real crowd pleaser, starring all of the favourites interspersed with material from the new album.

I think we caught a lot of people off guard

Critical opinion has been divided by If Not Now, When. Frontman Brandon Boyd has described it as “darker, slower, more rich, more refined, and more involved than anything Incubus has birthed to date.” It’s an accurate statement that touches on a couple of salient points. The lyrics are definitely darker in tone than the uplifting Make Yourself and Morning View; Boyd describes himself as an “empty well”, he “dines on ashes” and he even gives a nod to the Australian summer – “Your smiles are… a slap upon a back that’s been toiling in the sun.” But the darkness often doesn’t reach the music, which was described by Consequence of Sound as “slow, elevator-music-style [and] lazy”. Antiquiet (ironically) hit back, calling it a “gentle reaffirmation” and supporting Boyd’s

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assertion that the band were “searching for a sense of balance between all of the possibilities inherent in crafting a song”. In essence, the band have rocked, trip-hopped, discoed, progged, jazzed (seriously! Listen to Anti-Gravity Love Song on Science) and definitely popped, so… where to next? As it turns out, a mix of acoustic rock and angsty folk moments, with some strong choruses thrown in to keep ears perked.

So the new material could have been a difficult sell, even to an audience that has faithfully followed the band’s journey down the genre rabbit-hole. Incubus’ drummer Jose Pasillas knew it going into this enormous tour, but reports a favourable crowd response.

“It’s definitely a different approach for us, it’s mellow from beginning to end, so I think we caught a lot of people off guard… but it’s been a really good response. Taking it out on tour and seeing a lot of people being really accepting of it has been great.”

Part of the explanation for the good response could be a really strong closing section that rewards the long listen – the band finally funks out Chili Peppers-style on Switchblade and the pseudo-‘40s film score strings that end the record are a pleasure to the ear after so many long, sustained, evenly-paced pop pieces.

What’s really important about this latest album is that it fills in a section of the Incubus canvas that has heretofore been left blank.

The power and scope of this band’s catalogue place them firmly in the top tier of touring acts, particularly that choice fraction that deign to visit Canberra.

The beauty of Incubus is that you can’t pin them down. They’re not hard rockers with choreographed Pantene hair-flips. They’re not young punks who are still touring on a young punk platform late into their 30s. They’ve never even been pinned down to a single sound for the length of a record. The surplus of talent shared by Boyd, Pasillas, Einzinger and the rest of the cast spills over as an unpredictable and dynamic musical exploration, and after such a long time together, they have to keep it a little unpredictable to keep it alive. In Jose’s words, “we’ve always had that sort of element. Each record we leave a couple of songs for the studio… we do it to keep out of our comfort zones.” That same element manifests itself in their live shows, meaning no two shows are the same. “They’re two different animals altogether. It’s just a different experience.” So if you have half an inkling to catch Incubus at The Royal Theatre, make it a full inkling, and expect the kind of musical smorgasbord that you can only build out of a string of fascinating albums and 20 years of hard touring.

Catch Incubus live at The Royal Theatre on Saturday February 4.

Tickets cost between $50-89.90 + bf and are available through Ticketek.

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Taylor Made to Delight

and Disturb Allan Sko Noah Taylor. One of Australia’s most beloved actors, although he wouldn’t have you believe it. Despite playing significant and deeply memorable parts in Shine, He Died With a Felafel In His Hand, Almost Famous, Flirting, Red Dog (I could go on) he’s “not much into film these days” because of just that; he merely plays a part. But more on that later.

When not lighting up the silver screen with pitch perfect portrayals of the human condition, he is harnessing his emotional acuity as the driving force behind Noah Taylor & The Sloppy Boys, releasing an album that friend and musical influence Nick Cave described as “Some of the strangest, funniest, rawest, most heart-wrenchingly deranged music I have ever heard... A flat-out, freaked-out masterpiece.”

Indeed it is. So dripping in emotive post break up angst and sexual malaise it had me, at the very beginning of our interview, braying into the phone that his December-released Live Free or Die!!! six tracker was so raw and exciting it made me want to wank into my own mouth.

“Umm... Wow. Umm... OK. Well. I can honestly say I’ve never heard that one before.”

It’s 10am in Brighton, England where Taylor is fielding this call, so despite the man’s gentle candour and freewheeling nature this graphic image may understandably not merge well with thoughts of breakfast. But as this lovable rag’s wily Editor Julia Winterflood espoused in her recent review of the album, “second track Fuck You, with its smashing cymbals and simple chords is the raunchiest, most honest confession of insatiability (“I wanna fuck you all night long / And all the next day too”) since QOTSA’s Make It Wit Chu.” So you see, we’re dealing with the kind of virile material that elicits such fowl interviewing behaviour.

I bet you won’t put that in the article. If I had said it, it would be the lead quote

“It’s nice to hear you enjoyed the record,” Taylor says. “It’s hard to be objective about your own work. Sometimes you read reviews that are so vitriolic it’s as if you went to the publication offices and personally defecated on their table. So it’s nice to hear the other side of things.” You could forgive people for misunderstanding Taylor’s musical work; it’s a frenetic wall of sound, a crunch of guitars and wailing vocals about all things sexual.

“Fuck You is about what’s on everyone’s mind,” Taylor asserts. “It’s about what so many people think but, in a strangely conservative world, we’re not allowed to say. It’s the rock equivalent of lyrics like ‘I want to rock you all night long’ and ‘I want to give you every inch of my love’ but just coming straight out and saying it. One of the purposes of the album is to be out in people’s faces.”

Taylor’s tone is relaxed and measured. He takes regular pauses between forming and articulating ideas. Despite living in the

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UK for the past 12 years, a warm familiar Australian twang still peppers the voice of this eminently friendly gentleman. His music and lyrics may be raw and uncompromising, but his manner is that of a person you would happily while away a jolly afternoon in a London pub with. “The whole album is written as an amalgam of the different ideas that flow through us at some point,” Taylor continues. “That post love stupor surrounding ideas of sex and love and what it all means.”

Indeed Fuck You’s forthrightness is immediately followed by the fear of love found in Scary (“I’m shittin’ my britches / And life is a bitch cos / I’m scared of falling in love”) which presents itself as an inspired piece of track ordering. Taylor is more humble when commenting on it. “With only six tracks on the album, we didn’t overthink the order. Fuck You and Girl sound quite similar so we split them up. That’s about as involved as we got.”

Friend, neighbour, and inspiration Nick Cave is thanked on the album’s liner notes; indeed Taylor’s Sloppy Boys supported Grinderman late last year. I wryly congratulate him on getting Grinderman to support them. “Ha, yes, it was nice of us to let them come along,” Taylor jests. “Nick’s always been very encouraging.

Giving us that quote went a long way to helping us get noticed. His music has always been an inspiration, and he’s a good friend, and that quote helped open a few doors which was really good of him to do considering how busy and successful he is. So that warrants a thanks I’d think.”

From here we move on to a surprising portion of the interview.

Gearing up to ask how he reconciles being a well known actor with a not-as-well-known musician (“You’ve made a pretty decent fist of this acting game,” I jest) Taylor derails my line of questioning with stupefying humbleness. “Well, not really. I think you can give the illusion of success, when three films all come out at once, but it’s not necessarily the case. I’m not much into film these days, as in I don’t find myself watching a lot of them. It’s all about music and books for me. To use a music metaphor, acting in a film is like being a session musician; you’re playing an important part in essentially someone else’s creation. With music, you get to control and say exactly what you want.”

So those long, boring stretches between takes on set are often filled with daydreaming about being in the studio or on stage? “No, I’m there to do a job, so my mind is focused on that,” Taylor says. “I find I often have side projects going at the same time to keep me busy. It pays the bills.”

With the happy news that Taylor has spent the first trembling steps of 2012 working on more music, I leave the man to his busy day. “Hearing that you were on hands free earlier makes me slightly worried about that wanking comment,” Taylor takes the chance to say before we part ways. “I bet you won’t put that in the article. If I had said it, it would be the lead quote,” he says with a smile in his voice.

What can I say; good music makes journalists do strange things.

Noah Taylor & The Sloppy Boys’ Live Free or Die!!! is out now.

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ALL AGES Welcome back, everybody! To my disappointment, the first column of the year is not bearing the greatest of news. The youth services team of the Tuggeranong and Weston Creek Community Centres have announced an end to all music events due to their funding not being renewed. The Youth Services Team were kind enough to issue the following statement regarding the defunding: Over the past five years, Communities@Work’s Tuggeranong and Weston Creek Youth Centres have successfully presented all ages Music Shows to meet the current shortfall in venues in the ACT. These drug and alcohol free events offered young

people access to live music performances in safe and supervised environments. The shows were often technically supported by young people involved in the live music production mentoring program The Live Sound Crew provided by Communities@Work.

The program gave participants the opportunity to work alongside professional touring artists and gain valuable skills and experience, with the aim of opening up future employment pathways within the music industry.

Over the past five years, The Tuggeranong and Weston Creek Youth Centres hosted international, national and local artists, with combined audience numbers exceeding 6,000. Artists included names such as Propagandhi, Four Year Strong, Evergreen Terrace, The Red Shore, Attack Attack, Heroes for Hire, Emmure, Dream on Dreamer and many more. Communities@Work’s Youth Services forged strong relationships with local and interstate music promoters during this period.

Due to recent changes in funding of the Youth Sector in the ACT, Tuggeranong and Weston Creek Youth Services will no longer have the capacity to host these music events. However, there will continue to be a Communities@ Work Youth Engagement Worker in the Tuggeranong region who will be able to assist young people with referrals to other services and conduct limited activities.

The Communities@Work Youth Services team would like to thank the many young people who have attended its gigs, been involved with the Live Sound Crew and made our jobs so much fun.

We would also like to thank all stakeholders for their support, as well as BMA Magazine.

We have greatly enjoyed our involvement with Canberra’s all ages music and look forward to any opportunities to be involved in in the future.

For more information in regards to youth engagement in Tuggeranong please email youthservices@ commsatwork.org or call 6126 9059.”

The Youth Services Team deserves a huge amount of appreciation for what they have given the community. I personally would like to thank them for their commitment and hard work, and for their constant involvement with BMA Magazine and the All Ages column in particular. This is a massive loss to the entire Canberra community. Sorry to have to deliver such horrible news in the first issue of 2012, but it is important to recognise the great work they’ve done. Thank you.

NAOMI FROST allagescolumn@gmail.com

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LOCALITY

The day after our end of year issue hit the streets I flew to the capital of Vietnam, Saigon, then up to the beautiful city of Hanoi.

For two weeks I traipsed solo down the long narrow country, and then flew to Bali to meet my boy for ten days of island hopping across Indonesia. On my first day in Saigon I sat in a bright yellow wicker chair at a bar on the corner of a crossroad in the backpackers district, drank a giant Bia Saigon and smoked a Champion, and watched a million motorbikes zip by. The Beatles crooned in the background. I was in a foreign country and yet somehow, listening to the music I love the most, I felt at home.

I had the same feeling in a restaurant on my first night in Hanoi. The music was faint so I had to strain an ear, but after a few seconds it became clear: Clare Bowditch. And following Divorcee By 23, some Bernard Fanning. Not even Powderfinger, but Fanning. “Who’s going to be next, Bob Evans!?” I wrote in my little black journal. Nope, it was Finley Quaye’s Even After All, which the Bossman had played during the final hours of the work year to calm my deadline nerves. And then, later that night at the reception of my hostel, Birds of Tokyo on the stereo. And then, a week later in the bar of a hostel in Hue, Augie March. I may have been far from home but each time I heard music from home it didn’t feel like it.

Throughout Vietnam I kept waiting to run into someone I knew; everyone who’s traveled overseas has at least one of those ‘uncanny coincidence’ stories. Three years ago at a sitar concert in Kerala in Southern India I heard an Australian voice. I didn’t know the girl but it turned out she lived a few streets away from me in Watson and was the cousin of one of the members of Me and the Grownups, the first band I interviewed face to face for BMA. It didn’t happen in Vietnam, but in Ubud in Bali I received a Facebook message from an old mate from back home in Alice whom I hadn’t seen for years: “Dude! I’m working at Manta Dive Gili Air! I just saw your name pop up on the computer I logged in to!” I’d left Gili Air the day before so my old mate and I didn’t catch up, but the uncanny coincidence I was expecting occurred, and was yet another reminder of home.

Canberra’s best pub & original live music venue.

JAN GIG GUIDE WED 18 JAN BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT! POETRY NIGHT

TUES 24 JAN QUIZ NIGHT

SUN 29 JAN THURS 19 JAN THE BARONS OF TANG THE TOOT TOOT TOOTS DELANEY DAVIDSON MOTHER AND SON MON 23 Jan MON 30 JAN THE BOOTLEG SESSIONS THE BOOTLEG SESSIONS BONES HAYLEY SHONE BUMFACE YES/NO MAGIC ROB UNIVERSE UNGUS UNGUS UNGUS SPACE PARTY STREETLIGHT PARADE 21 East Row, Civic | Bus Interchange | Tel: 6162 1581

www.LoveThePhoenix.com

I’ve always loved the SBS News slogan “News from home, if you live in the world”. Some of us spend so long in the once place we sometimes forget there’s a whole world of new places to visit and perhaps one day call home. I made friends with a Californian guy who was working at the backpackers in Hue. He recently posted this on Facebook: “It is so amazing to be accepted into a local community in a country that is not your own. The people here have shown me not only acceptance but friendship and love… There is so much world to experience outside of our limited day to day life perspective that many seem to hold to in America. To all who have not truly traveled (not talking about vacation), I encourage you to immerse yourself in another culture, and if possible, share some of the benefits that we are blessed with living in the most wealthy country in the world.”

Mum, Dad, I’m moving to Vietnam!

JULIA WINTERFLOOD - julia@bmamag.com

AUSTRALIAN PIONEERS OF GYPSY DEATHCORE with

DELANEY DAVIDSON

7pm SUN JAN 29th

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DANCE THE DROP

According to the Mayans we all have 338 days to live, but can we really take advice from a race that played social three on three with a severed head? Would you put your money on a prophecy crudely chiselled into stone by a shoeless Ted Bundy wannabe wearing a necklace of human ears? Sure I’d be superstitious too if I walked around all day naked from the waist down surrounded by a jungle full of claws and fangs, but we’ve come a long way since the days of primitive irrationality.

Although what if they are right, what if there is a minute chance that 2012 is the last year in which we draw breath? I, for one, am a one percenter; a bastion of the minute possibility that we are all headed for a fiery demise, and so I declare 2012 to be the most insane no holds barred party marathon we have ever endured. Strap yourselves in, it begins now.

Have you ever carried your shoes home from a woolshed? I’m not talking about some kind of bedevilling backwash to a regretful roll in the hay with a guy named ‘Bazza’ at a B&S ball, I’m referring to the potentially messy aftermath of attending the exciting Ultra Dimensions II event at The Yarralumla Woolshed on Saturday January 28. This 16+ rave features a hefty tuckerbag of hard style, hardcore and hard dance DJs including Weaver, Hardforze, Nomad, Loose Cannon, DJ Cassandra and Kiron, so what better way to annihilate your new year’s resolution to stay or get healthy than to make your way to this!

Two of my favourite things are sandwiches and breakbeat and in an overly hedonistic gesture, the lovely team at Trinity Bar have decided to combine both into one romping Sunday afternoon. The Picnic Jam parties are building steam in January with their biggest international guest to date. The Plump DJs have been announced on Sunday January 22 alongside an impressive array of local talent including Offtapia, Eldred, Peking Duk, Shaolin, Skinny, Dept of Defiance, Party by Jake DJs and Strangeways DJs. Get in early because this is going to be rather large!

After a monstrous evening with Calvin Harris, the Academy crew are keeping the big names rolling in for summer. Young Blood returns on Friday January 20 featuring Kid Kenobi’s project Two Fresh and Friday January 27 welcomes back the horniest man on the planet, Timmy Trumpet, for another massive main room set.

Festival season always begets a swag of amazing new EDM releases and this year is no exception. Local lads Peking Duk have released their long awaited solo single Welcome which features a stellar remix from Dutch bass head Dem Slackers, which has already been getting spins from Tiesto. Fatboy Slim’s classic Ya Mamma has been given a gargantuan rebirth by Moguai and The Aston Shuffle have waved their magic wand over my favourite track from last year: Joe Goddard – Gabriel. Enjoy!

TIM GALVIN tim.galvin@live.com.au

22

PUTTING ON THE BREAKS

SONIC DEATH FART

Allan Sko

Tim Galvin

Older dance denizens will fondly remember the zenith of breakbeat in the early-to-mid noughties, a time when citizens side-shuffled to a 130bpm groove and the Finger Lickin’ label ruled the realm. Now, as 2012 readies to take its first trembling steps, we’re more likely to hear dubstep crack the plaster of clubs and bass music to accompany the chin stroke of discerning EDM lovers.

In an industry currently monopolised by 30-something half bearded millionaires, it is refreshing to see that the EDM torch is slowly being passed down to the next generation of producer/DJs. The new breed are raw and exciting, with potent rock star DNA replacing the formerly archetypal geek stereotype that usually accompanies a fresh faced electronic musician. If dance music were to have a spiritual home - a figurative mecca for the blooding of future industry kings - it would be impossible to look past the fertile breeding ground of Holland, which just so happens to be home to one of the most exciting young stars in modern electro - Kevin van Veelen AKA DEM SLACKERS.

Not for UK’s PLUMP DJs, though; the duo is determined to prove the lustre of their crown is as bright as ever. “We could always go into pop music,” Lee Rous jests, “but that’s just not us. What we do is more like 808 electro from the late ‘80s; electric disco if you will. We like making modern day electro tunes.”

Pleasingly, the Plumps are continuing with their two-man fourdeck set-up implemented a few years ago. “We always DJ on four decks now,” Rous confirms. “It’s a particular priority at festivals, but we’re doing a club run in Australia this time. You have a real safety net as a performer at a festival, but we wanted to get back to our roots.” I venture that with the crisis in the current festival market a club tour couldn’t be better timed.

There’s three things in life you should never scrimp on... Your bed, your partner and your job

“Yeah, but y’know, sad as it is to see so many fall, it’s not a completely bad thing,” Rous waxes philosophically. “Tough times weed out the dodgy promoters and the people in it to make a quick buck and you’re left with those with a true passion for music who can build it up again.”

This is the fifth time over eight years I have conversed with Mr Rous on a professional level and he has not lost his claim as one of electronic music’s stand up geezers. Although this chat occurs during a tumultuous time for music, Rous’ buoyant personality and eternal optimism shines through regardless. “I feel rich, but certainly not in terms of money; nobody’s buying records any more,” he quips. “But we’re doing what we love, and we feel lucky to be making music full time. There’re three things in life you should never scrimp on... Your bed, your partner and your job. As long as you look after those three, you’re laughing.”

This unbridled optimism feeds into their future, with a long awaited album on the cards for April. “It’s called Dirty Weekend,” Rous says with satisfaction. “We’ve been banging out big tunes for two years now without an album, so the time has come. It’s all about our new style; dirt disco. Plenty of dirty baselines.”

2011 may have been all about dubstep and the explorations of bass music, but the hardworking Plumps continue beavering away at what they do best, providing a musical option for lovers of EDM and proving why they have been on top for over 12 years.

Plump DJs will play at Trinity Bar, Dickson on Sunday January 22 as part of the new Picnic Jam! Sunday sessions. From 12pm. Tix are $20 on the door before 6pm. Supports from Offtapia vs Eldred, Peking Duk, Dept of Defiance, Shaolin vs Skinny, Party By Jake DJs and Strangeways DJs.

I still think it’s so strange that track got so big.

It’s basically just a fart sound with some big live sounding drums

The feisty teenager first appeared on our radars back in 2010 courtesy of an amazing remix of Sandro Silva & Anjiro Rijo’s Fifty What; the track fittingly nicknamed ‘The Brown Noise’ due to its uniquely cruddy bassline.

“I still think it’s so strange that track got so big. It’s basically just a fart sound with some big live sounding drums. I never expected so many DJs would play it out!” he laughs. Although he is only known to us as an electro producer, van Veelen honed his craft in other mediums before switching to digital composition. “Music has always been the number one thing in my life,” he says. “I used to play the guitar and then switched to electronic music when I was about 12 or 13. I started out making hip-hop until one of my friends got a couple of his tracks signed to Dutch label Spinnin’ Records. I was really interested in the whole dance thing and decided to give it a try… And the rest is history!”

Barely 19 years old, the Dutchman has already chalked up a healthy catalogue of original material and remix work including recent reworks for Canberra’s own The Aston Shuffle (Start Again) and Peking Duk (Welcome), the latter recently finding its way onto the playlist for one of DJ Tiesto’s radio shows. “I love the Peking Duk boys, they’re doing big things,” he says. “I’m always really happy when Tiesto plays one of my songs on his show. He has been doing it for a while now so I have to try and not see it as something normal… Because it is pretty freaking awesome!”

With success comes notoriety and demand, and the new year looks to provide a lot of opportunity for Van Veelen to increase his profile around the world with some big announcements due soon. “Beyonce’s dad is managing this new girl group called From Above and I just did a remix for them. I did a mix for Tuff Em Up which will also be the label that drops my new single Schlingel soon. And I’ve got a bunch of other remixes in the works but I can’t say anything about those yet. So head over to the Facebook page and stay informed!”

That Fifty What remix really does sound like an extended fart, I’m telling you. It’s awesome. Anyway, Dem Slackers play at Trinity Bar on Thursday February 2.

23

Toomelah

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

The Australian flag will continue to be proudly flown as the year progresses, it seems, including a pleasing look at the world of Melbourne punk in Autoluminescent.

“We’re showing Australian director Ivan Sen’s new film Toomelah in an exclusive season during February; the film screened a couple of times at last year’s Canberra International Film Festival to packed audiences. And of particular interest to your peeps, I think, is the exclusive season of the new documentary Autoluminescent: Roland S. Howard which is screening from February 3.”

But it’s not all about celluoid from a sunburnt country. Arc Cinema will continue to showcase films old and new from around the world.

FILM CUTTING A SPLENDID ARC ALLAN SKO Back in 2006, beloved Canberra (nay Australia) institution the National Film & Sound Archive was one of few film archives in the world without its own on-site cinema to showcase its extensive and deeply historically important collection of films. Under the then-directorship of Paolo Cherchi-Usai 2007 saw the birth of ARC CINEMA. Under the guidance of David Boden (Manager of Access, Research and Development), Quentin Turnour (Chief Cinema Programmer), Cynthia Piromalli (Assistant Cinema Programmer), Trevor Anderson (Theatre Manager and, I’m told, a man instrumental in Arc’s construction), Reece Black (Chief Projectionist) and Greg Rooke (Projectionist) Arc Cinema has blossomed into an important cultural landmark that hosts a wonderfully eclectic snapshot of human life through film.

At the dawn of 2012, I caught up with the ever-affable Cynthia Piromalli to discover the cinematic sights and sounds we have to look forward to for the year ahead.

“American Movie Treasures is on again in 2012,” Piromalli reveals, “which is a program we run with the support of the Embassy of the United States to bring Canberra audiences classic American cinema from film archives the world over. The first part of the season will be an Elia Kazan retrospective, kicking off with A Streetcar Named Desire outdoors in February then continuing with other classic Kazan titles in March/April and more US director retrospectives later in the year.

“For the warmer months [and we use that term loosely these days] the Arc Outdoors screenings continue every Saturday night in the courtyard with Spinal Tap, Taxi Driver and Monty Python and The Holy Grail. We’ll also be running free Australia Day screenings including rarely seen films from the NFSA Collection including a featurette by Ken G Hall made in 1939 called Gone To The Dogs and a few of shorts in Bonza, Darra Dogs (by Dennis Tupicoff) and Down, Rusty Down by John Curran featuring Noah Taylor and Bob Ellis playing a pack of stray dogs. Plus we’ll have the 2011 box office hit Red Dog.”

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“The 2012 Alliance Francais French Film Festival will again be co-hosted at Arc Cinema - including opening and closing nights - from March 14 to April 1,” Piromalli confirms, with news that the full program will be published in just over a fortnight at www. affrenchfilmfestival.org/default.aspx. “We will again be co-hosting the 2012 Canberra International Film Festival in late October/early November,” Piromalli continues, “and we will also be hosting the 2012 Japanese Film Festival in November which always has an excellent line-up of new and classic anime, brilliant action films and incredibly shot dramas from this amazing film culture. Further to this we also hope to bring a regular anime program to Arc this year, with the support of the Embassy of Japan.”

Of course an Arc NFSA program would not be complete without examples of the dawn of cinema, which will be ably demonstrated this year by the Autumn Silents season.

“Now this is where Arc shines!” Piromalli enthuses. “We’re one of the few cinemas left in Australia that can run silent film at correct variable speeds with live musical accompaniment. We will be screening rare films from archives around the world, shown as they were originally; as they should be seen. This happens in the first two weeks of March, including some outdoor screenings early in the month.”

All this should have cinephiles suitably salivating for the months ahead. I ask Miss Piromalli if there’s anything else she’d like to add before we part ways.

“That’s about as much detail as I can offer, given we have only just programmed until April,” she reveals. “However we can promise - oh yes, promise - our usual year-long fare of exclusive seasons of new films, director retrospectives from around the world showcasing some rarely seen films from some of the best known filmmakers, our regular Sounds On Site program of music documentaries, the old cult title, new and classic Australian cinema every Saturday at 2pm and all with most films shown on - egad! - real film!”

To keep up with Arc Cinema’s terrific program you can sign up for their newsletter for the odd ticket giveaway and trailers of upcoming films at www.nfsa.gov.au/Arc or email arc@nfsa.gov.au, search for them on Facebook and Twitter or keep a beady eye on these pages for news.

ACT WRITERS CENTRE JULIA WINTERFLOOD 2012 is bristling with a wide range of invaluable workshops for writers of all levels at the ACT Writers Centre. Communications Manager Kimberley Gall explains what’s on offer, as well as the bountiful benefits of becoming a member.

Can you give me a run down on the workshops?

Our first two workshops coming up in February are about how to sell your book to an Australian publisher so it’s looking at if from the business perspective. One of them is actually a free workshop that we’re running with support from Writing Australia which is specifically for writers from a non-English speaking background.

The other is open to everybody. We try to run it every year but it tends to be every two years as Rhonda Whitton, the woman who runs it, is a very in demand woman. It’s just brilliant. She wrote the book that is our ‘go-to’ whenever anyone has questions about submitting to publishers.

Following on from that are two editing workshops held specifically because we want people to say ‘this is a new year, and the year that I want to turn my writing from a hobby into something more’. But in order to do that people have got to let go of the idea that writing is just the creative process and they have to be able to look at it with a little bit more of an objective eye.

Every year we schedule editing workshops for the beginning of the year. You should write because you love it, because even with the absolute best writing there’s never quite a guarantee that you’re going to end up published and even if you are published there’s no guarantee that your next book will be published. Very, very few

writers have that 100% guarantee. So you should do it because you love it and then you’re going to be guaranteed to enjoy it no matter what, but the next step up from there that we’re trying to explain to people the importance of is that if you want to be published and if you do have that dream – even if you want to self publish which is becoming more and more viable – you need to look at it as a profession.

What other topics do they cover?

Following on from the editing workshops we’ve got all the workshops that focus on the creative side of writing. We find people don’t give themselves permission to just love writing and love learning about writing. Some of our most popular workshops are the ones about ‘how do I get published?’ and some of our most popular events are the ones where we have publishers and agents come and talk and that’s wonderful but none of that’s actually going to be any good if you can’t actually write well. Good writers really appreciate learning from other good writers.

What are some of the benefits of being a member of the ACT Writers Centre?

Members get generally about a $60 discount on every workshop.

Members also get invited to member-only events, and they get discounts on our other services like our manuscript appraisal service. Members also receive 12 issues a year of our magazine, which has come a long, long way in the last couple of years. Each issue contains articles which are all on a theme. Last year we ran a series called How did I get here? which was a serious of Q&As I did with people who were writers who wrote for a living. So people who always knew that they loved writing.

For more information head to www.actwriters.org.au. A much lengthier Q&A can be found at www.bmamag.com .

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The Creative Camps give everyone and anyone an opportunity to get more involved. Erika says this helps create a strong sense of community on the March weekend and a very cool vibe. “There are very few festivals, I think, that have the kind of jam packed activities and chances to really be a part of the festival no matter who you are.

You don’t have to be a performing artist or a musician to actually be a part of the program and to run something at Corinbank. I think that’s quite unique.”

In 2008, Corinbank’s first year, there were five camps with 12 or so people involved. This year Erika expects around 20 camps with up to 100 people running them. Some old favourites from years past will be returning alongside some fresh ideas.

GET CREATIVE AT CORINBANK LAUREN BICKNELL There’s something so gently unique about our beloved CORINBANK Festival both in the ideas it has and the ideals it supports. A perfect example of this is the CREATIVE CAMPS program, which has grown since the festival’s dawn in 2008. For those not familiar with the finer features of Corinbank, Creative Camps are difficult to define as they’re almost limitless. Each camp is based on a different idea and all that is required is for the camp to be welcoming, interactive, enjoyable, creative and free. Any fee charged is small and is justified to cover some basic costs.

Creative Camp Director Erika Alacs said the camps, “embody some of the Corinbank philosophies which are about immersing yourself in the festival, leaving all of your worries behind and actually getting involved, participating, and getting your hands dirty in the Corinbank festival spirit.”

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Some of you may remember Lucy’s Advice Tent where you can ask Lucy any question, big or small, and I have it on good authority she comes up with some golden answers. The Backshed Brewery will be back again with something to wet your whistle. Then there’s the ever-practical Back Up Plan who’ll help you out with any camping essentials from toothbrushes and socks to re-stringing your guitar for you. Or perhaps you’d like to spend some time making a beaded butterfly at Heed the Beads.

Some new camps include Pete’s Freakin Hippie Wash where you’ll essentially be given a fully clothed dog bath. Or you could pop over to the Glücksmoment Tree to share a good moment of the day.

So if you’d like to experience more of Corinbank than meets the eye, the Creative Camps are most definitely worth checking out, even if you just want to be read to for a while because, yes, there’s even a camp for Story Time.

Corinbank will be held in the beautiful Brindabella Ranges from March 2-4.

For more info or to buy tix (which range from $39 for a day pass to $149 for the whole three-day fest) head to www.corinbank.com .

27

FAKER REFUSE TO FADE

TASTE THE RAINBOW

Alistair Erskine

Morgan Richards

FAKER were following the normal successful Aussie rock band path – tried for years to get their first album out, then achieved rather large Australian success with their second, toured it extensively, and started working on the third. Stripping the band back to just two members – singer Nathan Hudson and bass player Nic Munnings – they went into the studio full of new ideas and confidence.

In less than a fortnight a small area of farmland near the town of Lexton, Victoria will be transformed into a phantasmagorical confluence of feather headresses, tie-dyed t-shirts, fisherman’s pants and ecstatic, grinning people from all corners of the world.

Not forgetting, of course, an ample amplitude of deep grooves and tasty beats. Welcome to the 2012 RAINBOW SERPENT FESTIVAL.

“We initially announced we were going to make an EP, and the record label were all very supportive and excited. It turned out that we had enough for an album so, quite rightfully, they pushed the release date to the middle of 2011 for promo reasons. And then...” Nothing.

I talked to one of Rainbow’s directors, Tim Harvey. Tim works in the marketing and music programming aspects of the festival; as you might expect from somebody in his position, he’s a total wizard.

Everything was changing – the industry, the band, and somewhere Getting [the album] released along the way inertia dissipated. the way we have In October an EP was released was difficult, but as a precursor to the album, but nowhere near as the corresponding tour didn’t go so well, the album release was difficult as the pushed back to January, and ... ting wai Nathan and Nic decided the best course of action was to get the album out, and to as many fans as possible by popping Faker’s third LP up on their website as a free download. “I want people to hear our music, and I want to play it to people live, and being able to do that comes from people knowing what we do.”

Listening to their latest album Get Loved I can’t help but feel the frustration that wait would have created, as its mix of modern indie pop, ‘80s sounds and structure, and naughties dancefloor phrasing would have made it the perfect release for the beginning of 2011, less so the end. “That’s it – you want to make music that has some longevity over its shelf life, but we also want to live in our time, and the songs reflect at least in part what is going on in our lives at that point, around us socially and politically. Getting it released the way we have was difficult, but nowhere near as difficult as the part where we were waiting, wondering what was actually happening with it.”

This record holds together – each song draws you in to the point where the gap between tracks gives you a slight break, jarring you back to reality. “We love to think about how songs will go together, and create their own little universe. With this studio session we really had to change very little, only compliment existing work. In Long Forgotten Town we paid really specific attention to a high pitched analogue key that pervades the song, it sounds almost like a siren’s operatic singing, so we went back and popped it in two or three of the other songs. We find it important to create a correlation between songs; you want to create a unity of ideas.”

You can catch Faker’s unity of ideas at the Big Day Out shows around the nation. Tickets are on sale now.

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So let’s begin at the beginning. I ask Tim to describe Rainbow’s opening ceremony. “Our massive amphitheatre is jam-packed with about 8,000 people and one of our Aboriginal elders, Auntie Mona, gets up and has a chat to us about the important things in life. It’s a beautiful thing to experience, and it really sets the vibe and the tone for the weekend.”

It’s now such an ingrained ethos of Rainbow – friendly vibes, no judgments, come with an open mind

And how about the sort of music played at Rainbow? The lineup this year ranges from glitchy breaks and psydub to more straightforward techno and prog house. Tim concedes that there is also “a little bit of psytrance” on the programme - quite possibly the understatement of the century.

If you can relate to the line in Frenzal Rhomb’s Bucket Bong, about going to a bush-doof party “where the acid made the music worse”, then you’re probably frowning at this point. But relax - there’s live music at Rainbow as well. “For three or four years now we’ve had gypsy and swing bands. It’s quite a recent divergence for us, but they’re incredibly popular,” says Tim. “It’s all about that carnivale sense of feeling - have fun, let your hair down... We’re all into it.”

In the 15 years since its inception, Rainbow has grown from a small, homely event into a festival of enormous proportions. This year it’s expected that around 12,000 people will attend. Have there been challenges having the festival grow so large while trying to keep the original spirit it was created in?

“Not really,” says Tim: “It’s actually been quite fun. We’re a very niche festival. We’ve never had to compete with a lot of the more commercial events so that’s been good for us. As we’ve grown we’ve wanted to keep the same vibe that people loved when we were smaller. It’s now such an ingrained ethos of Rainbow - friendly vibes, no judgments, come with an open mind. It’s not just a music festival.

There are art installations, workshops, speakers on a whole heap of subjects - it’s a weekend of opportunities. Opportunities to move your body, to learn something new, and to connect with someone you wouldn’t normally connect with.”

Rainbow Serpent runs from Jan 24-27 at Lexton, Victoria. For more info and tix ($250) head to www.rainbowserpent.net .

s t n e m i r e p x e d n u o s in

dan bigna

It becomes a drag finding oneself seemingly forever stuck in queues at rock festivals where you’re subjected to cheering for sounds hopelessly out of reach. But a complete turnaround of this feeling took place at free music festival SoundOut 2011.

Held at The Street Theatre last January the experimental/free jazz/improvisational event featured a stellar line-up of local and international performers who traversed an arc encompassing microtonal electro-acoustics, uniquely configured group improvisations and full on sonic blasts from the likes of Swedish power trio The Thing that shook the floor and ceiling of the intimate theatre with visceral force.

So too will SOUNDOUT 2012 enliven the senses of discerning music fans with an engaging line-up including Japanese electroacoustic artist Toshimaru Nakamaru whose instrument of choice is a mixing console; French saxophonist Christine Sehnaoui; and Melbourne based percussionist Robbie Avenaim. Festival organiser Richard Johnson is devoted to promoting the many joys of improvised music, and has overcome funding difficulties this year to ensure festival goers are treated to diverse and stimulating performances from musicians the world over that will illuminate limitless possibilities and unique configurations.

In this respect SoundOut has been inspired by an observation from guitarist Derek Bailey when organising European Company performances in the ‘70s that “for some time it has seemed that the most interesting results in free improvisation come from the semi ad-hoc groupings of musicians.” Johnson improvises on a variety of instruments himself, including conical gourds, and he has enthusiastically run with Derek Bailey’s idea in order to promote improvised music in Canberra.

“Experimental music, especially free improvisation and free jazz, always has a place and it speaks volumes to the fact that we can keep on drawing both performers and audiences to a festival of this nature and to Canberra,” he says. His intent stems from the very nature of improvised music to focus on deep creative exploration beyond quick fix capture and dissemination. Free improv isn’t about momentary distractions that are all the rage in mainstream culture. To fully appreciate what is going on the audience needs to engage with the music which, in turn, is a product of both the environment in which it is created and the combinations of featured performers.

“Each individual festival is unique in the sense of the individual musicians appearing at it,” Johnson says. “And they don’t necessarily come to play together at any other time. So a festival of improvised music is unique in that it creates an environment for

people who’ve hardly played together or never played together.

People are coming together with a common language or maybe striving towards a language that is diverse and open in a free improvisational setting; a new language in sound.”

This idea of working towards a new musical language is taken up by percussionist and SoundOut performer Evan Dorrian who is also known as one half of improvisational music duo Spartak.

Dorrian says the language of improvisation is about, “spontaneity and making things up in the moment, and for me it has a strong reactionary element to it. Especially the sort of improvising that will happen at SoundOut. It’s to do with the performers reacting to each other and playing with people you have never performed with before. In that sense there is a conversational element to it by being able to get together with players with a common language that involves being able to adapt and improvise.” Dorrian likens improvising on the drum kit to a free flowing discourse between performer and audience in much in the same way as the punk rockers of the late ‘70s pursued an open exchange of art and ideas that negated commercial ‘artists’ pandering to passive consumers.

“It’s about relating music and sound to a conversation,” Dorrian confirms. “At one point somebody will perhaps take the lead and then other people will contribute. Then somebody else will have a strong idea and have a go at the lead and it goes on like that.”

The outcome is a joyous musical freedom, and festivals like SoundOut promote an openness of expression that is new and spontaneous. Dorrian observes that, “there’s an exciting element about improvisation by being unsure about what’s going to happen at any given moment. The spontaneity of the collaboration is something that will only happen the once.”

When melded with musical textures and non conventional approaches to familiar instrumentation, the spontaneous flow of ideas advances cultural expression in enjoyable and innovative ways. Anyone who cares about the art they absorb should be checking out SoundOut 2012. This goes for both the audience and participating performers. Richard Johnson points out that for younger musicians such music events “illuminate different directions, making them realise that they can do other things, that they can be composers and improvisers at the same time.” Johnson cares greatly about the music he performs and enjoys, and is living proof that without a high level of enthusiasm and commitment to the cause, such events as SoundOut would remain the stuff of dreams.

SoundOut 2012 event happens at Canberra Repetory’s Theatre 3 on January 27 (7pm-midnight) & 28 (1-5pm & 7pm-midnight). Tix are between $25-40 from 6257 1950 or www.canberrarep.org.au .

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POWER TO THE PEOPLE

FLYING HIGH

Nils Hay

ASHLEY THOMSON

This time last year, LA’s FOSTER THE PEOPLE were riding the wave of hype ignited by debut single and sole release Pumped Up Kicks.

12 solid months of international touring later and the hype has crystallised into fame and chart success. They even find themselves staring down the barrel of two Grammy nominations. “It’s a bit bizarre,” confesses drummer Mark Pontius. “When I was younger and thinking about a career as a musician it was the most obvious career ever. You play music and you go to different places to play music. It’s so easy!” Ahhhh the folly of youth…

Jae Laffer, lead singer of THE PANICS, is an easy interview. Give him a brief thought and he launches into a breathy monologue from which you can easily skim phrases. Having just finished touring their new album, Rain On The Humming Wire, these disjointed tangents, cluttered with “y’knows”, were full of nervous positivity. “It’s been really tough a lot of the time… We’ve got a decade of songs to choose from and that in itself is something you get to, y’know, hang up in front of everyone and go, y’know, ‘check it out’.”

“There’s a lot of work involved,” he admits.

“With all this fame, there’s a lot you need to do to keep it going. I don’t think any of us really expected any of this so quick.”

He remains pragmatic about it though.

I socialise and try halting cadence fit The Panics. That the and fall in love band’s longevity (let alone success) has and party and not been guaranteed is something he read and write seems to accept. Laffer’s concern for and all the good his music and (by proxy) his happiness things in life

When I was younger and thinking about a career as a musician – it was the most obvious career ever.

You play music and you go to different places to play music. “It comes with the territory; it’s the same with actors and movies. You can’t It’s so easy! just make music and relax; it’s not that easy.” The boys haven’t shirked from the effort though. The Los Angeles indie rockers’ recent tour schedule reads like the board at an international airport, while their US tours looks like an attempt to cram the most shows into the smallest time frame possible. The only real downside is the effect on the creative process – something the band is keen to remedy in 2012.

“I think you have to figure out a balance,” Pontius offers. “We haven’t really been able to work on music for our second album yet because we have been so busy [touring].” He’s quick to defend the decision though… “It’s been super important. If we hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be where we are now, we wouldn’t have the momentum that we have. I think the balance is just figuring out how to find the time to do that.”

After a year heavily touring their debut album Torches, thoughts have turned to the follow-up. “There’ll be a lot of experimenting and there’ll have to be a balance between keeping elements of this first record while also doing something new,” he tells me. “We can kind of just throw everything against the wall and see what comes from it; there’s no real limit.” Before they can retreat to the studio there is a trip to Australia to contend with; the upcoming Big Day Outs mark Foster The People’s third trip down under in 12 months. “It’s kind of weird because Australia took on the music first, somehow. Through the internet, or whatever it was, and that was the first place that we decided we needed to go because there was an element of people wanting to see us.”

Many things may have changed for the group over the course of the last year, but it’s fair to say, with their hotly anticipated festival appearances and several sold out sideshows coming up, the huge demand from Australian audiences is not one of them.

Foster The People will be in the country soon for the Big Day Out. For details and tickets check out bigdayout.com or ticketmaster.com.au .

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Laffer’s shy pride, self-deprecation and

was more personal. “Sometimes I feel like a slave to creativity. It’s hard to plan my life… I feel like all the best stuff I can make, it’s still to come… In the meantime I try to learn not to be a fuckin’ anxious mess.” His laugh said that becoming a “fuckin’ anxious mess” was a genuine possibility.

But things keep getting better for The Panics. They’re playing St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in 2012, alongside creative powerhouses like M83, Girls and Toro Y Moi. “It’s festivals like Laneway that bring it together. It’s people who want to be out there, people who want to be bigger than they are, all excited because they’re just breaking through.” Laffer lingers to spare a thought for lesser festivals.

“Some of the festivals… there are just bands around who probably shouldn’t be still hangin’ out together, y’know,” he laughs, “‘cause they’re just miserable.”

That The Panics aren’t miserable seems to be the product of transience and simplicity. “I wish we could afford hotel rooms,” scoffs Laffer. “I do whatever you do. Socialise and try and fall in love and party and read and write and all the good things in life and when I can I like to get on an airplane and go somewhere excellent… I don’t know how to explain it but things gain clarity when you’re on the road or overseas.”

It’s hard to tell whether this lifestyle is sad or romantic. “I don’t know what home is,” Laffer goes on. “To tell you the truth, maybe home’ll be that place, wherever you are, when you finally reach a goal… I’ve been given some kind of path where I get to document that kind of feeling.” He takes a moment. “Sometimes I wonder why anyone would really want to listen to it.”

But Laffer finishes on a high. “The strength you take is never fucking let anything get in your way.” With new material on the way for Laneway, The Panics look set to put their four year hiatus behind them. “It’s time to go on an absolute creative high,” Laffer forecasts.

The Panics play St Jerome’s Laneway Festival around Australia from Saturday January 28 to Saturday February 11. Tickets are available from the festival’s website.

FINDING BEAUTY IN FRAGILITY Lauren Bicknell Sometimes Australian artists reach a place in your heart that no one else can quite seem to touch. It’s hard to say whether it’s her accent, her vivid lyrics, or her undying pursuit of quality. It’s probably all of these things and many more because something about JEN CLOHER takes me back to North Durras, camping on the beach under the stars; or to my grandpa’s farm in NSW chasing sheep; or to a good night around a fire with friends who are soon to move far away.

After spending the past year writing a lot of music and not playing so many shows, 2012 will mark a big time in Cloher’s career.

She’ll be continuing to run intensive workshops with I Manage My Music, a program she founded which helps independent musicians make their career work for them. When not running workshops, she’ll be recording a new album and launching her new website.

All of my songwriting, even if it is looking at mortality… [is] always looking at how joyful life is too

If that’s not enough for the celebrated songstress, she’ll be releasing an EP that will only be sold at live shows. “It’s just something that I want to give to people that are going to make the effort to come and see us play, so it’s really just a gift back to those that make the effort to support live music because I think those people are the ones that keep independent music making alive.” Cloher says she wants people to know that what they’re getting is something that’s been specially put together just for them, so even the packaging for the EP will be handmade.

She reveals that the inspiration for a lot of the music she’s creating comes from a turbulent 2011. After both of her parents passed away within three months of each other, Cloher was left reflecting on life and mortality but said she found the process gave her an odd sense of freedom. “I’m just learning to lighten up a bit and see the humour in life and just enjoy it, you know? Just enjoy it, because I’m gonna be dead in 40 years or however long it’s gonna be, so I think for me 2011 was really about just enjoying life today.”

While it wouldn’t have been surprising if the music took a darker turn, Cloher says it’s not the case. She describes the upcoming album as “…absolutely positive; all of my songwriting, even if it is looking at mortality or looking at how fragile and brief our lives can be, at the heart of it I’m always looking at how joyful life is too.”

Her work will be doubtlessly breathtaking and if you want a sneak preview of what’s to come she’ll be gracing us with her presence, her voice, and the highly coveted EP at this year’s Corinbank festival with The Merri Creek Pickers.

Corinbank will held in the beautiful Brindabella Ranges from March 2-4. For more info or to buy tix (which range from $39 for a day pass to $149 for the whole three-day fest) head to www.corinbank.com .

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THE REALNESS Happy new year all! Hope you are all recovered from the holiday period and gearing up for another exciting year of music. So without further ado…

Not sure what Common (or Warner Bros) were thinking releasing his latest album in the dying stages of 2011 but nonetheless The Dreamer/The Believer is out now. Getting a bit of extra press for dissing Drake for being soft (interesting given some of Com’s previous work and collaborations) the new album features a more chiselled and hard-hitting Common. Beats come from a rejuvenated No.ID, so it’s great to see them working together again. Maya Angelou, Nas and John Legend all guest star.

Former Stones Throw artist Roc C seems to have been floating around the indie rap world for a while now, but his latest effort Stoned Genius has him more focused. With production from Lex Luther, Jake One, The Alchemist, Madlib and Oh No, as well as guest slots from Freeway, Termanology, Chali2na, Big Pooh, Guilty Simpson and Blu, it looks like he’s back on track. Speaking of Blu, dude dropped his 1034th album (it seems!) of 2011 in NoYork. Huge guest list I’m not even going to go into, suffice to say Edan is on there, so that’s dope. Production comes from some of LA’s wonky finest in the likes of Flying Lotus, Samiyan, Dibiase, Daedulus, Exile and Sa-Ra. Madlib’s on there too.

Bonobo’s Black Sands was one of 2010’s stellar releases and now those nice folks at Ninja Tune are releasing a remixed version of the album. One look at the culprits and I’m down; Lapalux, Cosmin TRG, Floating Points, Arp101, FaltyDL, Mark Pritchard, Machinedrum, Mike Slott, Blue Daisy and Duke Dumont. It’s out Feb 13.

Jacques Greene is fast climbing the ladder and becoming one of my favourite new producers. He’s celebrating this fact by launching a brand new record label called Vase. The first release will be the Concealer EP which features four new productions and collaborations with Ango and Koreless. It’s out late Jan. Julia Holter’s beautiful and experimental opus Tragedy became one of my fav end-ofyear discoveries. Not an easy listen, it was one that got under my skin somehow with its subtle ambition. She’s following it up quickly in 2012 with Ekstatis which will continue her explorations of dreamscape-like pop music. It’s out in March.

Those local Raw City Ruckus troublemakers are set to release their brand new debut EP Genesis at ANU Bar on Feb 10.

About a year in the making, and hot on the heels of a number of awesome live performances, the EP looks set to really herald the group as one to watch!

Also, keep your eyes and ears peeled for the work of a new producer by the name of Pink Juse (reportedly the work of a renowned local hip-hop producer acting incognito). Check out the new Pink Juse page on Facebook to download a few new exclusives with more tracks set to emerge in 2012.

To listen to music from all the above and more, tune to The Antidote on 2XX 98.3FM, Tuesday nights from 11.30pm.

Stream at www.2xxfm.org.au .

CED NADA aka ROSHAMBO roshambizzle@yahoo.com.au

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33

METALISE Happy n’yeah and all that.

The Cavalera Conspiracy, yes, those Cavalera brothers of the legendary band whose name rhymes with “Cecil Pura” (my apologies, it’s my first column of the year and I’m rusty) are doing a show right here at the ANU Bar on Friday January 27 with Lynchmada and Contrive from Melbourne. It’s 15 years almost to the day since their previous collaboration cancelled a show here on my birthday, but I’m not bitter and shall attend with enthusiasm!

In less good news on the international tour front, Karma To Burn had to cancel their Aussie tour due to Visa issues. Tickets can be refunded from point of purchase.

Don’t forget the ANU Bar is hosting that great solo tour with Scott Kelly of Neurosis and John Baizley of Baroness on February 8!

Locals Tortured have just put out a full length slab of utterly brutal death metal entitled A Lesson In Holocaust and it’s quite the package. Complete with a CD cut into the shape of a ban saw blade (which makes for an amusing whistle tip like noise whilst ripping into your iTunes library) and conversely a cover that shows the band didn’t cut any corners at all. I’ve only had a chance to spin it a couple of times since returning from a south coast jaunt, but the 45-odd

34

minute full lengther is jam packed with ten slabs of unrelenting brutal death metal proving that Canberra still has it when it comes to producing world class music in a competitive genre. The band are launching the LP at The Basement in Belconnen on Saturday January 28 with a slew of great young Aussie metal bands including Whoretopsy, Empirical and Wretch which will serve as a good hair of the dog gig to follow up Cavalera Conspiracy the night before.

Infinitum and The Kill are two great Aussie bands that will have their own slabs of brutality out early this year so stay tuned to find out when you can get your mitts on these records.

Looking Glass, The Vee Bees and Sydney’s Mother Mars have a show on at The Basement in Belconnen on Australia Day Eve, Wednesday January 25. Check the feature to the right for more details. Also at The Basement on Friday February 3 is I Exist doing their Keeping It Denim tour home match with Life & Limb, Venom Eyes and Something Must Break.

Chaos ACT VI hits The Woden Tradies in March with Switzerland’s Sybreed, Aeon of Horus, Ignite The Ibex, Elysian, Anno Domini, Mytile Vey Lorth, Ouroboros, Alice Through The Windsheild Glass, A Million Dead Birds Laughing, House Of Thumbs, The Schoenburg Automation, The Automata and Norse. Put it on your calendar now!

[And stay tuned for more coverage - BOSSMAN AL].

Unkle K’s Band Of The Week: Hot Graves, from Florida in the USA providing some crusty thrash for good times – hotgraves.bandcamp.com .

JOSH NIXON doomtildeath@hotmail.com

BEYOND THE LOOKING GLASS

BENEATH THE CONSPIRACY

Josh Nixon

Stephen Samara

If you’ve been attending heavier shows in Canberra in the last seven years, chances are you’ve found yourself drawn to the stage when three of Canberra’s maestros have been plying their Sabbathy fuelled riffs, driving bass lines and world class guitar playing.

Further, if you had any sense at all, you would have picked up one of their three albums. I refer, of course, to LOOKING GLASS. Be it the considered riffing and great songs of their eponymous debut, the spacey jam approach of their second album 2, or the career best combination of the greatest elements of the first two records on their latest LP III, you know you’re listening to a truly special band.

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY was formed in 2007 when Iggor Cavalera called his brother Max after a ten year period of silence. The split came in 1996 after the murder of Max’s stepson forced him to leave the band the brothers founded, Sepultura. A decade later Iggor parted ways with Sepultura, citing “artistic incompatibility”. The year after, Cavalera Conspiracy was founded and work began on their first studio album, Inflikted (2008). The musical connection between Max and Iggor was immediately apparent. “When we jammed again it felt like we’d never stopped, like we’ve been playing together forever,” Max explains. “We went back to being brothers again, and we also went back to playing in the same band again. Everything picked up where we left off.”

There is a drawer full of cutlery being hit with sticks throughout one of the tunes

Having trod the boards all over the country, with a couple of jaunts to NZ, the band have soared in the last 12 months. Catching up with veteran Canberra bass legend Lachlan Paine, I wanted to know what laid the foundation for my favourite record of 2011.

“We tried things that we hadn’t done before, like two of us singing, keyboards, and the use of instruments other than our standard guitar, bass and drums. There is a drawer full of cutlery being hit with sticks throughout one of the tunes. It’s subtle, but it’s there. This has opened the floodgates for new ideas and we are very positive as to which direction we are heading in; we’ve had great reviews of the disc from all over the world. We are also working on a ‘bits and pieces’ recording gathering everything that hasn’t made it onto our albums. Having access to our own studio now has enabled us to finish things from the past without time and budget constraints.”

Their second studio album, Blunt Force Trauma, was released in February last year. It features the same relentless riffing and groove-laden drumming that was on Inflikted, signalling that the Cavalera brothers’ combined musical talent – the one that set Sepultura’s brand of explosive thrash apart from the pretenders – was still intact. Cavalera Conspiracy, completed by Marc Rizzo on lead guitar and Jonny Chow on bass, toured BFT extensively throughout 2011 to massive critical success. “We toured the whole year and the album really grew on everyone,” Max says. “A lot of songs came out as crowd favourites. I think it was the right decision to make this kind of record, and combined with stuff from Inflikted and a little bit of old Sepultura stuff, it makes for a killer setlist.”

We went back to being brothers again, and we also went back to playing in the same band again.

Everything picked up where we left off

The DIY approach carries over into the band’s merchandising also.

“We run our sales through Bandcamp now, which has been the best website for bands in recent times. I am visiting the post office a few times a week to mail out discs interstate, to Europe and the US that have been purchased through the site. In fact, we have sold more stuff through the site since the last album’s release in October than we have over the past two years. Most of the sales can be tracked back to CD reviews on overseas sites.”

Max Cavalera has been dispelling rumours about a Sepultura reunion for many years, but with Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy on his hands he seems less than optimistic about a consolidation.

He goes on to say, “We’re not speaking at all. Everybody’s doing their own thing, and we’re all really busy. If it happens it happens, if it doesn’t it doesn’t. I would like to do it for the fans, and that’s the only reason I’d do it: because it would be awesome for some of the fans to get to see Sepultura with the original line-up. I’m pretty happy with my two bands now. I’ve got my plate full so I can’t complain.”

Recent tours on the Doomsday shows with US bands Acid King and Cough have garnered further respect plus tantalising offers to head stateside. “III definitely stirred up more interest overseas than anything we have done before. With the current climate of physical CDs heading out the door and only digital recordings being marketed, the possibility of us heading overseas is closer to reality.

The NZ shows are always great and Cough and Acid King both spoke of the possibility of us doing a bunch of US shows with them. We sell quite a bit digitally overseas – it would be great to back it up with some shows.”

Cavalera Conspiracy are wrapping up the current touring schedule with a final run of shows in Australia. Max and Iggor have played here together as Sepultura, and Max last toured here with Soulfly in September 2010. However, this will be the first Cavalera Conspiracy tour of Australia. Max hopes to see a bit more of our country this time around, though. “I do hope to do some sightseeing and see a bit more of Australia if we have the chance,” he says, “I’m not sure how much time we’ll have off but I will definitely have time to see some stuff. Australia is so huge and such a great place to visit.”

The band’s show at The Basement on Wednesday January 25 will include a full track by track performance of the latest record. You can catch them alongside The Veebees and Mother Mars.

Cavalera Conspiracy play the ANU Bar on Friday January 27 with special guests. Tix are $73.65 + bf. Doors 8pm. You can also catch them at Big Day Out Sydney on Thursday January 26, tickets for which are on sale now.

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the word

on albums

album of the issue trailer trash tracys ester [double six/domino]

It only takes seconds. Trailer Trash Tracys hit you with what will be the enduring magic of their new album Ester right off the bat: dreamy, perfectly produced, sound -art that drops you into and out of accessibility like an orphan drops between institutions.

If you felt betrayed by the MGMT album after the one that everyone liked, or you can see why people like the new, reverby, faux-surf Beach House sound but you aren’t really buying it, then here’s your album. Sexy baritone guitar underscores every track, as does an earworthy vocal version of Nico that croons throughout easy-going structures juxtaposed with art-music that never devolves into noise. These guys trashed their first two attempts at their debut record and Ester lives up to the perfectionism – every instrument sounds a little magical. Did I mention it’s all in solfege tuning? It is. Not that you’ll notice. It’s a non-standard but perfectly normal tuning that was the go-to a couple of centuries ago.

That sums it up, really – there are obviously things going on behind the scenes that are intellectual, pseudo-magical, difficult and brilliant, but in the end, you just drift through sweet, groundbreaking goodness.

JAMES FAHY

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Author Author [Tectonic Recordings]

COMMON The Dreamer/The Believer [Warner Bros. Records]

Hometeam freddie [Independent]

Separately, Leeds-based producers Jack Sparrow and Ruckspin (real names Ryan Gath and Dom Howard) are established UK dubsteppers with 12” releases on the Earwax and Pushing Red labels. On the heels of The City/Teacher 12” this debut LP offers up the first fruits of their collaboration as Author with eight tracks taking aesthetic cues from the smoky likes of The Herbaliser and Kruder & Dorfmeister and passing them through an afterhours-oriented, chilled dubstep filter. Turn sees the mood venturing towards futuristic jazz-soul as Ed Thomas’ smooth soul vocal glides like honey over a wearysounding backdrop of slow, lumbering beats and wobbling sub-bass with the echo of majestic muted trumpets adding just the right melancholic edge as ambient pads shimmer in the distance. Revolutions sees slow loping dubstep rhythms, trailing electronics, and ghostly jazz horns provide an eerily atmospheric backdrop for Black Panther’s spoken samples, calling to mind Skull Disco’s phantom-like creep.

Elsewhere, Dashiki sees subtle techno elements creeping into the mix as a rattling backbone of tribal percussion rolls beneath moody synth swells and the forlorn trail of violins in one of the most evocative moments, before Fix ushers forth a super-deep wander out into skipping garage-inflected house rhythms, dubbed-out male soul vocals and blippy electronics. Gorgeously deep and subtle stuff geared towards late nights in.

After spending a few years in the cinematic wilderness, Common is back spitting rhymes over dusty No.ID boombap beats with an undeniable feel of pleasing familiarity.

Yet things have changed.

Fortunately Common has left behind the experimental hip-hop found on the largely disappointing Universal Mind Control – an admirably bold album not without its charms (Make My Day with Cee-Lo) but one that jarred after the sublime warmth and earnestness found on Be. Here album opener The Dreamer announces itself with a punchy beat, a soulful chorus and a spoken word inspiration piece from the wonderful Maya Angelou. We’re back to ol’ Common it seems. Yet Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr seems more aggressive, boastful and hard-hitting this time around.

He swears more prolifically, uses sexual imagery (“I want a bitch that look good and cook good,” he opens the Nas sporting Ghetto Dreams) brags about his film work and success (“How can I say this? Fuck it, I’m the greatest!”) and, in content matter at least, sounds much like every other rapper. Which is a shame. I prefer the soulful, poetic Common of Be, not the one you half expect to bellow “King Kong ain’t got shit on me!” at any moment. This said, Common’s quickfire flow has not been blunted since his time away; No.ID’s beats are sure to put a crick in many a neck; and the album, heavily influenced

by Kanye West to this ear, is not without its highlights. Just drop the hate, Com. I miss the happy, soulful you.

DLB and Kid Future (AKA Darcy and Jackson Bourke) are Oz hiphop duo Hometeam. Future’s lived in Canberra for several years and, in the spirit of full exclosure, they’re friends of mine. But that only motivates me to be stricter with review.

After all, I know it was recorded in a home studio belonging to the son of Vulcan from TV’s Gladiators. I also know it’s called Freddie because the beats have been stolen from beat-building genius Freddie Joachim, but there’s some kudos due to Hometeam here. They wear it on their sleeve (get it?), and Future’s re-appropriation of Joachim’s beats suits their style elegantly. Where Kid Future is the mixtape’s puppet master and vocal hook provider (as well as delivering about a third of the verses), DLB is the lyrical spitter. For a younger brother you’d be amazed at his sagely take on life, and on romance especially. There is such unassuming honesty and wisdom in some of DLB’s rhymes (such as those found in One More Night) that it gives you real faith in next-generation Aussie hip-hop. The feature verses from Sydney up-andcomers Prolifik and Semantic give you insight into how deep this goes. But this is still a first release and its rough edges are evident. The vocal hooks occasionally lack imagination and the mixtape’s themes are limited. The production, too, is scant and sometimes tinny, but if ‘showing potential’ was ever applicable it’s here, and it sounds damn good for something born in a bedroom in Belconnen.

CHRIS DOWNTON

ALLAN SKO

ASHLEY THOMSON

James Blake Love What happened here [R&S]

Phish Hampton/WinstonSalem ‘97 [Jemp]

Love What Happened Here is James Blake’s fifth EP, and his second after the release of his stunning, self-titled 2011 debut album. After his weakest work, the Enough Thunder EP, Blake has returned to form with an audible sense of purpose. The opener and title track takes Blake back to his R&B sampling days. It packs enough funk to sound like the latest R. Kelly single. It also revives Blake’s sense of gospel, with the keys making a full comeback. Blake’s trademark intrusions of off-kilter pitch and split-second vocal sampling instantly cement it as one of his best. Second track At Birth is moodier, drifting from a low-impact club rhythm dripping with synth to a pulsing, minimalist break. Once again the track is marked with clipped vocal samples, and once again they are welcome additions rather than distracting noise.

They add melody to a track built on very little. Final track Curbside is the EP’s challenge.

A thumping beat plods out the song’s core as horns bleat and snatches of semi-melodic gibberish are spat out with such randomness that it is almost at odds with the listener. In the background there is a steady roar – a plane’s engine or the rumble of thunder, perhaps? It is an unsettling track, but one crafted with a demonic, rattling rhythm that becomes difficult to deny. Blake has reined in the overwrought clip sampling that derailed Enough Thunder. These are tracks you can sink your teeth into.

Phish were one of the biggest bands of the ‘90s. OK, it’s an argumentative opening gambit – but it’s partially true.

In terms of radio play the Vermont-based jam/improv/ jazz/rock band were minnows; barely scoring a hit in their 25 years together. And in terms of breaking through to capture the popular cultural zeitgeist they had limited success; a few appearances on Letterman, a few Rolling Stone covers, a brief Beavis and Butthead appearance and a flavour of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream named after them.

ASHLEY THOMSON

But as a touring band they were a phenomenon. Forever on the road, they picked up large tracts of the audience that were deserting Grateful Dead which made them one of the most successful touring bands of the era. This set of live shows from 1997 captures Phish at the height of their powers; it was one of the most sought after shows on the bootleg trading circuit. Running at seven discs, almost every key track gets a run – Down With Disease, NICU, Character Zero et al – and the sound is shockingly crisp, present and full.

But be warned, Phish are an acquired taste and I doubt there is any middle ground; they aren’t the sort of band you can half like. You either accept the need for endless twiddly guitar histrionics or you find it excessive. But there’s probably no better way to tackle this intriguing band.

JUSTIN HOOK

REM Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth [Warner]

The Weeknd Echoes of Silence [Independent]

Prickly as ever, REM decided to call it quits in September 2011 thus summoning attempts to package their recording career in neat round figures. Had they waited until January it’d be 30 years. But REM rarely followed the script. Forming in Athens, Georgia in the early ‘80s they spent their first two decades releasing a string of mostly unassailable records and their final decade confounding critics and fans who yearned for a more subtle, agreeable and tune-y late career coda. It’s a journey well documented on this two-disc career spanning release. Drawing together material from the IRS and Warner years for the first time and sequenced by the band (illuminating liner notes are provided by the whole band and that means Bill Berry as well!) Part Lies… presents a fair but excruciatingly incomplete picture of REM. It’s more than just the absence of choice tracks (Drive, Bang & Blame, Bittersweet Me) because no single compilation could possibly satisfy every fan. But you get the impression Stipe & Co. are trying to present an image of the band that doesn’t quite quarry with reality.

For example, 1993’s thendisastrous-but-actually-notbad ‘guitar’ album Monster gets one song whilst the actually quite rubbish Accelerate gets three too many i.e. three. Indeed the late ‘90s albums are almost universally ignored. Hmmm…

Are they saying critics were wrong in ‘00s but right in the ‘90s? Part Lies… is – fittingly – an awkward, incomplete and argumentative compilation.

The Weeknd has become such a potent underground phenomenon that it’s hard to imagine what will happen when he (Abel Tesfaye) goes mainstream. Maybe he’ll dissipate. His creepy, incipient brand of ‘R&B’ is so ethereal that it may never have been meant for direct sunlight.

Tesfaye seems to know this.

Rather than face the sun, he has chosen to solidify in the shadows and coax his victims in.

His call is a menacingly patient croon with lyrics steeped in torrid videotaped sex, stale Patròn, and drug abuse. “Baby, when I’m finished with you / You won’t want to go outside,” he lulls in his falsetto sliver. By any measure of its properties this is still R&B, but R&B hasn’t been this passionate or innovative in years. It’s dark and confronting, brave in its depth of vision and violent honesty. But The Weeknd has done all that before. Where this album truly shines is in its new elements.

On album opener D.D., Tesfaye slams a disco anthem out with the best impression of Michael Jackson you’ve ever heard, and the album’s elegant, piano-based closing tracks are gently brilliant. Wise beyond his years and wielding expert references to M.J., Serge Gainsbourg and classic Motown (not to mention his two preceding albums, House of Balloons and Thursday) The Weeknd is concluding a trilogy in perfect form. Having shed his anonymity, Tesfaye is the harbinger of his own brilliance at only 21 years of age.

JUSTIN HOOK

ASHLEY THOMSON

37

the word

on films

WITH MELISSA WELLHAM

2012 is here, my delightful readers, and what a year in cinema we have to look forward to! Far off in the future we have, of course, The Dark Knight Rises – but even before these last months of summer end, there are a range of new releases to delight and scintillate! Hugo and The Artist will both draw on retro cinema, while The Muppets and Young Adult are sure to bring some laughs. And if old-school spy thrillers are more your thing, there’s always Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. And really, whose thing is that not?

quote of the issue

“May I kill him?” Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is brutal film – and while you might not always want to watch the screen, you won’t be able to look away. It’s completely captivating. The English adaptation of the novel by Stieg Larsson, follows Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) a journalist whose reputation is in tatters. He is hired as a private investigator by a wealthy patriarch (Christopher Plummer), who wants his help finding out which member of his family murdered his niece 40 years earlier. Blomkvist, however, finds the needs help, and in turn hires a deeply troubled young woman, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).

Rooney Mara is a revelation as Lisbeth Salander. Having only seen her performance in what was essentially a bit-role as Erica Albright in Fincher’s The Social Network – a film where she plays a relatively sassy young woman, but certainly not someone you can imagine withstanding violence from, nor inflicting it upon, another human being - she came as a complete surprise. She is both violent and vulnerable; closed-off from the world, but with a face like an open book.

Having read neither the hugely popular series that the films are based on, nor seen the highly acclaimed Swedish adaptations, I was able to approach the film with few expectations. Well, except for the one massive expectation that as the film was directed

by David Fincher, it must be awesome…

And, to ease your fears, it was.

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Melissa Wellham

The Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister was hardly uneventful – but I will say that The Iron Lady left me a bit drowsy in parts.

The film zips between Thatcher (Meryl Streep, brilliant as usual) as an old lady (coming to terms with what her personal decisions have cost her), and her earlier years. We dash back and forth between old Thatcher and a young, determined Thatcher just breaking into politics, and of course Thatcher at her height of power, as Prime Minister.

Basically, there wasn’t enough on the politics of the Thatcher era, which was what I went for, and far too much of Streep in old-person makeup. Plus, how are you not going to feel for her, just a little, when she’s wandering around all feeble and confused? That element irked me, biopic or not.

Though it’s not exactly wildly skewed in Thatcher’s favour, it still doesn’t sit right. Plus, the focus on her personal life meant a lot of the really gritty stuff was omitted, apart from the occasional (top notch) montage.

The film itself is not at all sure what it’s doing, what story it wants to tell, who it thinks Margaret Thatcher is.

The Iron Lady is one of those films where the more I thought about it, the more I realised I disliked it. Overall it left me a bit cold - funny that.

MEGAN McKEOUGH

Sherlock Holmes 2: Game of Shadows The crime – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows doesn’t live up to the first film in the franchise.

When Guy Ritchie first decided to shake up the Sherlock Holmes tradition, he did so with a steampunk style and panache. The first film in the franchise was criticised for diverting too much from the original text, but this reviewer found that instalment to be a refreshing and fun take on a classic. Although Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows follows the same formula – so much so that outlining the plot feels redundant – it falls short.

In what way do the two films diverge? The difference is elementary, my dear readers.

The bromance between Sherlock (Downey Jnr) and Watson (Law) is still just as believable (indeed, I kept hoping Ritchie would up the ante, and take it from bromance to romance. The two male leads have a helluva lot more chemistry with each other, than they do with their female companions, in any case) but for the most part, A Game of Shadows doesn’t hold a flickering, mysterious candle to the original. And it’s because Sherlock doesn’t use his head.

Where the first film Holmes’ main weapon is his mind, backed-up by some ass-kicking action, in the sequel there is very little sleuthing, and more cruisin’ for a bruisin’. The smarts are gone, and replaced by brute strength. It’s absolutely criminal.

Case closed.

MELISSA WELLHAM

the word on dvds

George Harrison: Living In The Material World [Roadshow]

The Clive James Collection [MADMAN]

We don’t need another Beatles doco. What little there is to know best remains unknown.

But more than half a century after they first harmonised, The Beatles remain pop culture giants and major influences on generations of musos. Therefore, this goose still lays golden eggs.

In 2009 Clive James presented a piece on BBC radio about the value of scepticism. He argued there was valid reason to be sceptical about the evidence presented for anthropogenic climate change. James isn’t a scientist and makes no claim to be but he is ‘a thinker’. He’s no slouch when it comes to philosophical, historical and cultural analysis either, and the piece is largely rationally argued. But by wading into the climate change cesspool of debate the loquacious, defiantly left-leaning Kogarahborn author ruffled plenty of feathers. The invective-driven conservative right suddenly realised that the very pro-union ‘large L labour man’ was the sanest bloke on the planet; the left felt disowned. It was a sight to behold both sides twist themselves into knots.

Split into two halves, this three hour-plus film makes a decent stab at reducing five decades’ worth of pop history into digestible chunks. Largely, it sticks to the well-documented Harrison script: he was the third wheel in a legendary song writing partnership (Lennon/ McCartney), he was a loner, the quiet one, an intensely spiritual man and the coolest member.

The first half plays more as a history of the band than of Harrison and whilst interesting, it seems ill-pitched; McCartney confirms his unsightly smugness when it came to his rhythm guitarist and seems all too willing to reduce Harrison to a bit player. The second half is even more troubling.

Harrison was on an endless search of enlightenment and peace. Through religion and meditation he calmed an angry soul but we never get to the source of his distemper.

What drove him inwards?

Some things rightly remain private, but equally there is an obligation to refrain from obliqueness when constructing intimate portraits. The other elephant in the room?

Accusations of plagiarism on his biggest hit My Sweet Lord.

He ended up losing a $1.5 million court case over it. A serious oversight, but one most likely demanded of Olivia Harrison, wife and Co-Producer.

Throughout his career, James has assiduously poked fun at the establishment, himself, and the culture that surrounds him. And despite having a face for radio, one of the most successful aspects of his career has been his TV presence. As a critic and as a presenter he has always placed a high value on the medium and never shied away from offering thoughtful analysis or droll commentary.

This collection of shows from the mid ‘80s captures James at his driest and funniest.

In spite of these misgivings (and my distrust of Martin Scorsese-helmed music docos) Living… is a superlative doco thanks to acres of rare footage and a subject who radiates unpredictable energy.

Part of the attraction of Clive James is seeing an outsider trying to understand the unfathomable without resorting to snide takedowns; so we see him bathing with Playboy Playmates, ingratiating himself with the San Francisco 49ers and tackling Japan when it was still a novelty. We get to see James the humanist, the one who asks questions, the one who makes the obvious seem illuminating. Clive James is a national treasure and this collection captures part of his polymath brilliance.

JUSTIN HOOK

JUSTIN HOOK

BOARDWALK EMPIRE [Warner Home Video] In looking to fill the coveted and prestigious Sunday night slot – vacant since the departure of The Sopranos and The Wire – HBO threw everything it had at Boardwalk Empire; Martin Scorsese, Terence Winter, Steve Buscemi, along with $50 million ($18 million alone for the pilot). That sort of creative and financial support from the network meant that anything less than an award gobbling masterpiece would fall short. But there’s the rub; expectations for, and perception of, this show are unreasonably lofty.

Boardwalk isn’t The Sopranos via 1920s prohibition, a denuded Mad Man period piece, or a skeezy-methy Breaking Bad. It’s a lavish drama full of real life gangsters (of both the political and Italian variety), natty threads, incredible set design and loving attention to detail.

It’s visually arresting, delicately paced and, despite the criticisms piling up against it, a dense and supremely enriching viewing experience.

At its core it’s a show about politics, not gangsterism.

Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Buscemi) is Atlantic City’s corrupt Republican treasurer ensuring streams of bootleg flow in his good-time town during prohibition, whatever the human or financial cost.

And that’s basically it, along with some election rigging and internecine, inter-city warfare.

Buscemi as Nucky starts off thrillingly; a snide, belligerent schemer with a heart for the downtrodden, he is everywhere in early episodes. But as his costars hit their straps (especially Michael Shannon as the selfflagellating Federal Narc and the iridescent Kelly McDonald) Nucky is frequently coming off as a background player in his own larger-than-life life. But Boardwalk regularly underplays its hand. For that we should be thankful, not dismissive.

JUSTIN HOOK

39

the word

BLACKBOX

on games

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Developer: Naughty Dog Platform: PS3 Length: 10hrs Rating: Take or leave Drake’s Deception is mutton dressed as lamb, albeit the juiciest freakin’ lamb you’ve ever sampled. The gameplay is clunky, highly repetitive and, three games in, kinda tiresome. The puzzles are patronisingly simple and the game design is painfully linear. Even the sweet parkour stuff is unnecessarily outlandish now, especially given it involves Drake dying seemingly every second minute – a fact that quickly removes all sense of danger from the game.

That said, the game has still sold amazingly well and swept up many a critic, which can almost entirely be attributed to its sheer spectacle. Any PC player that tells you that consoles can’t keep up with the big boys obviously doesn’t appreciate how far optimising for a particular hardware platform can get you. In other words, for a game running on a console over half-a-decade old, this shit looks stunning. And it’s not just the quality of the visuals, it’s the sheer quantity. There’s so much detail in this game, you can’t help but appreciate how much time and effort must has gone into crafting it.

Unfortunately, while I am a man who loves his visuals, there are so many other major things you can fault in this game that there’s no free pass being handed out by this reviewer. The controls present one of the game’s most frustrating aspects, which have seemingly regressed since the last outing. The aiming is twitchier than ever and at times the camera can be difficult to orientate, and that’s coming from a Drake’s… veteran. Put a Mario/Zelda player in control and it becomes an entirely painful experience to watch.

The cover system can also provide some strife. Often I nicely asked Drake to take cover, but instead he either flatly refused to do so or chose to perform a barrel roll off a cliff. On other occasions, I tried to throw a grenade back only to have Drake rather hilariously throw it straight into the wall next to him. The dolt.

The game also feels annoyingly dumbed down; every latchable edge is nicely highlighted; only the right route forward is traversable; and most of the ‘puzzles’ could be solved by a toddler. For a game about uncovering lost treasures, there’s almost no free-roaming exploration. As such, progressing becomes cheap and effortless, leaving the storyline with the task of holding your attention.

While the set-pieces are indeed awesome, the story is ultimately underwhelming. Despite promising much regarding the relationship between mentor Sully, Drake and the bad guys, very little of this is resolved, which makes for a disappointing, and frankly crap, ending.

With all that said though, if you’re still a Drake virgin this game is definitely worth grabbing. For the veterans our there, best hold off ‘til The Last Of Us. TORBEN SKO

40

Chez Blackbox is simply giddy with excitement at the prospect of the new ratings season. Not since the original Underbelly series (which brought the trash whore lingo of Roberta Williams into the lexicon) has there been this much excitement at new free-to-air TV series. And this year there are two – one from Showtime, one from Auntie – offering very different takes on crime.

Homeland (SCTEN, Sun Jan 22, 8.30pm) is the latest slickly produced drama from Showtime. From the folks behind 24 with a stellar cast including Claire Danes and everybody’s favourite almost-bad-guy Damien Lewis, the political-come-espionage thriller has a lot to live up to. And it does. Danes’ portrayal of a paranoid and slightly mentally unhinged CIA agent is compelling – perhaps honed from all those years with Ben Lee. And Lewis puts in another Emmyworthy turn as a US soldier held captive by terrorists for eight years, a man returned as a hero but who Danes suspects is a sleeper.

It sounds like an obvious plot but it’s executed with an incredible attention to detail, slick dialogue, and compelling performances.

Should be water cooler worthy for fans of good drama.

Once you get past the title sequence, which is a straight rip off of the True Blood credits, The Straits (ABC1, Thu Feb 2, 8.30pm) is the best totally fictional crime series Australia has seen for an eternity. The story of a crime family running drugs and guns through the Torres Straits, using their own island connections, has the right mix of drama, violence and humour to hold even the most jaded TV addict’s attention. With an opening sequence that involves a drug deal gone wrong with Papuan tribesmen, automatic gunfire, and a spear through the face, it is refreshing that the series isn’t trying to highlight ndigenous injustice but rather entertain through the prism of islander culture. And the humour? Tripped out drug dealers seeing the iconic kangaroo warning signs as a hitch-hiker, brothers who blow up a meth lab with a mobile phone, and an Indian dentist found floating in a large esky. And that’s just for starters.

DO NOT MISS The Wild Ones: Cane Toads – The Conquest (ABC1, Tue Jan 31, 8.30pm) the follow up to the best doco ever – 1988’s Cane Toads – An Unnatural History. You have been warned.

Other new offerings to look out for in the next couple of weeks include News Exchange (ABC News24, Fri Feb 3, 8pm) a web focussed news program that also looks at social media; Jamie Cooks Summer (SCTEN, Fri Jan 20, 7.30pm) with, presumably, a book from Mr Oliver to follow; and the Zooey Deschanel vehicle New Girl (SCTEN, Sun Jan 22, 8pm).

Auntie’s love is being spread around with Sea Change (7TWO, Fri Jan 20, 7.30pm) being shown from the beginning.

Docos to check out include Persecution Blues (ABC2, Wed Jan 25, 8.30pm) a homage to legendary Melbourne venue The Tote, Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard (ABC2, Wed Jan 25, 9.30pm) about the Melbourne punk scene, Nick Cave: Triple J’s Tribute (ABC2, Thu Jan 26, 9.30pm), Oz and Hugh Raise the Bar (SBS1, Thu Jan 26, 8:30pm) following Hugh Dennis and wine expert Oz Clarke as they collect the best of British drinks for their British pub (a must for home brewers), and Video Killed the Radio Star (ABC2, Sun Jan 22, 7pm) which charts the rise of the music video through the eyes of the producers and artists that made them happen.

TRACY HEFFERNAN tracyheffernan@bigpond.com

the word

Darren Hanlon / David Dondero / The Cashews The Street Theatre Wednesday December 14

on gigs

Now listen. I know the festive season is basically over and done with, and even the most sluggardly decorators have packed their tinsel and baubles away. I’m aware that maybe the last thing you want to hear about is a Christmas show, with your Yuletide enthusiasm at its yearly nadir. I’m sorry if that’s the case, because I’m pretty determined to tell you all about Darren Hanlon’s Christmas visit.

In mid-December Hanlon settled on The Street Theatre stage for the second year running. With support from local pop-lovelies The Cashews and deadpan US troubadour Dave Dondero, the show was sold out, and for good reason. Right in the middle of the Christmas stress-out period, the bandless Hanlon and his cohort of supporters wrapped The Street in a giant cheerful hug, softened with just enough wistful melancholy to make everyone want to hold hands. It was a Christmas show in name; no trumped-up carols or candle-lit hymns made their way into set-lists, and if one or two songs namedropped the holiday season, I didn’t hear anyone complain.

Opening the show, the well-loved Cashews brought all their summery sweetness to the unfamiliar climes of the spotlighted stage. The duo is famous for their pop-up gigs in the parks and backyards of Canberra, but the more formal feel of The Street Theatre suited them beautifully. Swapping between guitars, ukuleles, trumpets and melodicas, the charming pair of songwriters evoked in harmony sunny afternoons by the river and the joyful tribulations of falling in love.

Dave Dondero brought a slightly cooler change to the evening.

He and Hanlon have toured the US together and have even, if my memory serves, played together in Canberra in the past. It’s a partnership that rings of opposites attract: Dondero’s onstage catharsis drives a darker set of lovelorn ballads and gritty guitar.

Dondero is cleverly cynical, lyrically sharp and an excellent storyteller, and recalls a less-polished Bright Eyes in tone. His songs departed from familiar paths to pay tribute to homelessness and – my favourite – civil engineers.

Hanlon’s ever-evolving live show has well-earned its devoted followers. He is a master of casual banter, and his warm and witty stage presence transforms catchy indie pop songs with sincerity and depth. The show this year was heavy on the new stuff, with the first half of the set comprised mostly of the meandering post-love stories of the 2011 record, I Will Love You At All. Hanlon was in a ‘theatrical’ mood, as he told the audience, miming himself in the bus stop rain evoked by the rollicking Waited for the 17, and gazing into the wistful middle distance. Without his usual accompaniment of spunky girl-drummer, Hanlon rounded out songs with percussion played on toy-sized ukuleles and even sang both sides of a duet on his own.

photos: martin ollman

Which was all the more endearing in hindsight, as Hanlon was joined onstage by another well-loved vocalist soon after. A beautifully poignant (but very exciting) surprise guest appearance by Sarah Blasko for two songs mid-set had the wildly applauding crowd disbelieving their luck. The two duets the pair performed – one a Hanlon classic, the other a Blasko cover ‘given a guitar remix’ – were simple and sweet, with bright, warm harmonies. So as far as Christmas shows go, I’m happy to report that this one had just the right mix of sweet and sad, surprise and warm familiarity. If you’ve made it this far despite the waxing power of your inner Grinch, I can only urge you – if we’re lucky enough to have Mr Hanlon come to town again – to check out the show next Christmas.

Kayla Martin

41

GIG GUIDE Jan 18 - Jan 23 wednesday january 18 arts Transition – A Captured Moment

Beats & Treats

Blahnket and Treehouse move to a new clubhouse for bass driven sounds. 8pm, free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

saturday january 21 arts Transition – A Captured Moment

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

Live Chicago Charles

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

Bad!Slam!No!Biscuit!

The Toot Toot Toots

Arc - Outdoor Cinema

THE PHOENIX PUB

THE PHOENIX PUB

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

8pm, free.

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Comedy The Must See Comedy Tour

Bob Franklin, Nelson Twins, Troy Kinne, Luke Heggie, Anna Log & Daniel Connell. comedyact.com.au .

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

With Mother and Son. 9pm.

Loren and Murray Kyle

Emotive and lyrically driven music with heart, soul, groove and energy. 7.30pm, $10.

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

Open Mic Comedy

friday january 20

8pm, free.

Live Hippo Live: The Lethals HIPPO LOUNGE

Mon Kerr

Dark folk, blues and soul; twisting stories with captivating sensitivity. With Del Luna. $12, 7.30pm THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

Fame Trivia

Kicks off at 7.30pm, book your table early!

The Belles of St Trinian’s (1954, G).

Doors at 7pm for sunset start.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Dance Love Saturdays

With Jared de Veer.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

CIVIC PUB

POT BELLY BAR

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

arts Transition – A Captured Moment

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

One Love: Mario Gordon HIPPO LOUNGE

Mr Bill Live

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

We Are Not Obscene Magazine Drop

The 2nd issue of the street publication on skateboarders and artists involved with the culture.

SHIFTY’S SKATE SHOP

sunday january 22 arts Transition – A Captured Moment

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

With Luko Fiasco, Gabriel Gilmore, T:Mo. $10 before 10pm, doors at 9pm.

Dance

Cube Saturdays

The Plump DJs

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

TRINITY BAR

THE CLUBHOUSE

10pm ‘til 5am with DJs Matt & Pete.

Two for one drinks and free entry until 11pm.

With Offtapia, Eldred, Peking Duk, Shaolin, Skinny, Dept of Defiance and more.

Camo & Krooked

Hospitality Sundays

With Offtapia, Skin & Bones, Ced Nada and more. Free before 10pm.

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

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

trinity bar

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Dance

Live

Live

Cheese/Retro

HeatWave 2012

Irish Jam

TRANSIT BAR

EXHIBITION PARK

Cheesy cheesy cheesy cheese. 8pm, free entry.

Tech N9ne, D12, Obie Trice, and swags more hip-hop acts. kokyprik.com .

Too Fresh

Jessica Mauboy

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Summer Sounds in the Gardens Annie and the Armadillos with Folk Dance Canberra (Special Australia Day Concert). 5.30pm – 7.30pm.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

With Stan Walker. Galaxy Tour. Bookings 6283 7288.

Live

Oscar

arts

Touch Of Soul

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Hardcover

Transition – A Captured Moment

Special K

Summer Sounds in the Gardens

THE GEORGE HARCOURT INN

TRANSIT BAR

thursday january 19

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Comedy The Must See Comedy Tour

Bob Franklin, Nelson Twins, Troy Kinne, Luke Heggie, Anna Log & Daniel Connell. comedyact.com.au .

Presented by Young Blood.

HIPPO LOUNGE

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Killing the Sound

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

42

From 1pm.

Jungal and Faye Bliss Double Bill

Co-pilot

SUB URBAN

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

music, coffee

Something Different

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

MOCAN AND GREEN GROUT, NEWACTON

EUCALYPT LAWNS, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS

One of the bright new talents on the Australian roots music scene. 8pm, $8.

Xavier Dunn strumming the weekend into life. 11am-midday.

When Giants Sleep

Secretive George

With Escape Syndrome, She’s Taken Empires, Rose From Ruins, Sharptooth.

6-10pm, free.

AXIS YOUTH CENTRE, QUEANBEYAN

Roller Skate in the City

9pm ‘til 5am with DJ Pete. Two for one drinks ‘til 11pm plus free pool all night long.

SUB URBAN

Jed Rowe Band and Konrad Lenz

Dance

Cube Thursdays

The Wedded Bliss with Folk Dance Canberra. Bring a picnic! 5.30pm – 7.30pm.

Co-pilot

SUB URBAN

Kiwi G

CIVIC PUB

HIPPO LOUNGE

10pm.

EUCALYPT LAWNS, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS

Melbourne all gal favourites Jungal and Canadian indie Folk Princess Faye Blais return. 7.30pm, $10.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Something Different

Alex Carder

SOUTHERN CROSS CLUB

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

Supported by Fun Machine and Crash The Curb. 8pm, free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

Steve Smyth and Bennie James Smyth creates a sublime and haunting array of songs united that make time stand still. 8pm, $6.

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

KP Records HeatWave Summer Hip-Hop Festival Feat. D12, Obie Trice, Koolism, D’Opus and Roshambo, Kodak and more. kokyprik.com . epic

Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

monday january 23 arts Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

43

GIG GUIDE Jan 23 - Jan 28 monday january 23

wednesday january 25

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Zeds Dead

GALLERY@BCS

trinity bar

arts

arts

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

Transition – A Captured Moment

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Transition – A Captured Moment

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

With Skin & Bones, Mechanize, Dept of Defiance, Ced Nada. $20 on the door before 10pm.

Live Chicago Charles

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

Dance RNB Heat

9pm ‘til 5am with DJ Pete. Two for one drinks and free entry ‘til 11pm. Rhys on stage from midnight.

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

SoundOut 2012

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

TRANSIT BAR

Comedy

Live

Open Mic Comedy

Roots, reggae, and hip-hop on deck.

4pm, free entry.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Dance Biscuits Crew

Monday night house party action. 8pm, free entry.

The Bootleg Sessions

Space Party, The Magic Rob Universe, Bumface, Bones. 8pm.

THE PHOENIX PUB

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

tuesday january 24 arts Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

Transition – A Captured Moment Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

GALLERY@BCS

Transition – A Captured Moment

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

8pm, free.

Australia Day Eve.

Cube Thursdays

International festival of free improvisation, free jazz and experimental music. canberrarep.org. au .

Jayo & MGO

Spruce Moose

TRANSIT BAR

Dance

Dos Locos

Australia Day Eve

Australia Day at Charlie Blacks

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Drop the Bass!!!

THE CLUBHOUSE

Something Different

Australia Day Eve Jemist.

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

LLIK LLIK LLIK

Puts another shrimp on the turnie, with Biggie, Gabba Gilmour, Anjay, SVRT, and more! 8pm, free.

TRANSIT BAR

Nadastrom

Alongside Rogerseventytwo. With Offtapia, Peking Duk, Shaoulin Vs Skinny, Dept of Defiance and more. Free before 10pm.

CHARLIE BLACKS

Mooseheads Australia Day Afternoon

Official JJJ H100 party venue. Free pool and BBQ. MOOSEHEADS PUB

Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

friday january 27

trinity bar

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Live

arts

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Hippo Live

Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Live The Phoenix Quiz 7.30pm.

THE PHOENIX PUB

Irish Jam

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

HIPPO LOUNGE

Looking Glass

Performing Looking Glass III. Supported

by The VeeBees and Mother Mars.

8.30pm, $10.

THE BASEMENT

Australia Celebrates Live

INXS, Sneaky Sound System, Spiderbait, The Potbelleez, Katie Noonan and The Captains. Free concert, 6pm.

Parliament house lawns

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

GAREMA PLACE

Karaoke Love

Croon your best or worst. 9pm, free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

thursday january 26 arts Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

44

10pm.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Squirrels Gabriel Lynch Album Launch

Ruth O’Brien, Matt Dent, Brass Knuckle Band, Freyja’s Rain, Sidney Creswick and more. 2.30pm.

Bare Noize (UK), A-Tonez, Ryz, Autoclaws, Logic, Ced Nada and more.

THEATRE 3

SUB URBAN

Live

MOOSEHEADS PUB

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

9pm ‘til 5am with DJ Pete. Two for one drinks ‘til 11pm plus free pool all night long.

POT BELLY BAR

Beach Party with special guest Krunk.

Rhys Bobridge Live

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

Transition – A Captured Moment Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Dance Academy Fridays With Timmy Trumpet.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Alex Carder HIPPO LOUNGE

Buick

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

Purple Sneakers

Your favourite favourite late night indie disco spot. 9pm, free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

Lynch made waves in ‘09 when he supported The Whitlams on a national tour. With James Fahy. 7pm, $10 THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

saturday january 28 arts Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

Arc - Outdoor Cinema

Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Doors at 7pm for a sunset start.

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

Transition – A Captured Moment Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Dance Party By Jake

Indie meets disco meets everything else. 8pm.

TRANSIT BAR

Love Saturdays With Tommy Trash.

ACADEMY NIGHTCLUB

Cube Saturdays

10pm ‘til 5am with DJs Matt & Pete.

Two for one drinks and free entry until 11pm.

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Frost

KNIGHTSBRIDGE PENTHOUSE

GIG GUIDE Jan 28 - Feb 03 Ultra Dimensions II

Hardforze, Nomad, The Saint, Convict and more. 16+, 9pm - 6am.

YARRALUMLA WOOLSHED

live Tortured

With Whoretopsy, Empirical and Wretch.

THE BASEMENT

Touch Of Soul HIPPO LOUNGE

Killing the Sound

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

SoundOut 2012

International festival of free improvisation, free jazz and experimental music. canberrarep.org. au .

THEATRE 3

Summer Sounds in the Gardens Finale Weekend RMC Band & Vertical with Salsarbor Dancers. Bring a picnic! 4.30 – 7.30pm.

EUCALYPT LAWNS, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS

music, coffee

Xavier Dunn strumming the weekend into life. 11am-midday.

MOCAN AND GREEN GROUT, NEWACTON

Mark Travis

Summer Sounds in the Gardens Finale Weekend

Live

Dance

Matt Handel Trio and Liam Budge Quartet with Kokoloco Dancers. Bring a picnic! 4.30 – 7.30pm.

Irish Jam

Cube Thursdays

Jase Hart

Roller Skate in the City

EUCALYPT LAWNS, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS SUB URBAN

Jess Hooper From 1pm.

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

Something Different

THE GEORGE HARCOURT INN

GAREMA PLACE

Something Different

Followed by Drag Bingo. 7.30pm.

THE PHOENIX PUB

GAREMA PLACE

Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

monday january 30 arts Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

Transition – A Captured Moment

wednesday february 01

arts

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Autoluminescent: Roland S Howard

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

The new doco on the life of The Birthday Party guitarist. 7pm.

GALLERY@BCS

ARC CINEMA, NATIONAL FILM & SOUND ARCHIVE

Transition – A Captured Moment

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Something Different

Biscuits Crew

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

Monday night house party action. 8pm, free entry.

TRANSIT BAR

live The Bootleg Sessions

sunday january 29 arts Exhibition - Beyond the Laughing Sky

Natalie Azzopardi’s exploration of the photographic tradition prior to the digital age.

HUW DAVIES GALLERY

The Streetlight Parade, Ungus Ungus Ungus, Yes/No, Hayley Shone. 8pm.

THE PHOENIX PUB

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

Transition – A Captured Moment Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

Dance Hospitality Sundays

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

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Live Barons of Tang

With Delaney Davidson. 7.30pm.

THE PHOENIX PUB

Irish Jam

KING O’MALLEY’S, CIVIC

arts

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

Live

Ungus Ungus Ungus

I Exist

With Life & Limb, Venom Eyes and Something Must Break.

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

THE BASEMENT

Something Different

8pm.

Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

Kicks off at 7.30pm, book your table early!

TRANSIT BAR

thursday february 02 arts

Key Grip OLD CANBERRA INN

O Yeah!

Feat. Hungary Kids of Hunary, Loon Lake, Atluk. Tix through Moshtix.

ZIERHOLZ @ UC

Matt Dent

Fame Trivia

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

tuesday january 31

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

GALLERY@BCS

Progressive funk rock gypsy pop psychedelia. With Big Score. 7.30pm, $8.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

friday february 03

arts

Dance

Roller Skate in the City

Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

THE FRONT CAFE AND GALLERY

Debian Blak holds his own as one of the emerging artists to watch. 8pm, $10.

Something Different

The Phoenix Quiz

Live

Debian Blak

CUBE NIGHTCLUB

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series.

‘Til March 15.

SUB URBAN

9pm ‘til 5am with DJ Pete. Two for one drinks ‘til 11pm plus free pool all night long.

From 7pm.

THE GEORGE HARCOURT INN

Something Different Roller Skate in the City

Open air roller skate rink, feat. roller derby demonstrations, retro movie nights, roller disco.

GAREMA PLACE

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

Plucked Part 1 – Sculpture

Works by graduates of the 2011 ANUSOA sculpture department. ‘Til Feb 3.

GALLERY@BCS

Transition – A Captured Moment

Winner of the 2011 Ranamok Prize, Masahiro Asaka exhibits his new series. ‘Til March 15.

CANBERRA GLASSWORKS

OUT Feb 01

st jerome’s laneway festival sideshow feat. givers and portugal. the man tinariwen windows on europe film festival ...AND MORE!

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FIRST CONTACT

SIDE A: BMA BAND profile

Rachael Thoms & Luke Sweeting Duo Describe your sound: Chamber jazz, ethereal textures meeting sweet melodies and interesting harmony.

Who are your influences? R: I am influenced by current jazz musicians/singers like Esperanza Spalding, Gian Slater, and Becca Stevens, as well as jazz greats like Carmen McRae and Wayne Shorter. L: Rach and I are both really inspired by some of Australia’s great duos: Macklin/Newcomb and Gian Slater/Will Poskitt.

What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had whilst performing? L: One day I was performing for a charity auction, and the prize piece of the night was sitting on this large easel right next to us. We were on a bit of a break while the main speaker was working up some meaningful speech before auctioning the famous glass framed photograph, and we got the nod to move our gear off-stage. While moving I heard this unison gasp of about 100 people, as the crowd could obviously see it all happen in slow-mo: somehow by moving my keyboard stand away, it let the easel drop violently to the floor, smashing the glass frame, killing the speaker’s mood, and ruining the main auction piece of the whole night!!

What’s your biggest achievement/proudest moment so far? R: Recording and releasing the album The Great Unknown with Luke was a huge achievement.

What are your plans for the future? R: Luke and I are pretty pumped about getting the album on the road, so we hope to be doing some shows in most major capitals. L: I’m heading up to Sydney next month to record a bunch of new tunes with my sextet, and I am heading to Korea in April to do some gigs with drummer extraordinaire, Namhoon Kim. What’s your opinion of the local scene? R: I wasn’t sure what to expect when I moved here four years ago, but I’m still surprised and impressed by the wealth of diverse talent here. L: I’ve noticed a big boom with the jazz/improv scene.

The amount of high quality bands and performers coming through Canberra has really blossomed.

What are your upcoming gigs? Poachers Pantry, Feb 12, 12pm-3pm. Poachers Pantry, Feb 25, 12pm-3pm. The Pond, Spring Bank Rise Feb 22, 6.30pm-8.30pm. Alliance Francais, July 27, 7.30pm.

Contact info: www.rachaelthoms.com www.lukesweeting.com

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Aaron Peacey Aaron 0410 381 306 Activate Jetpack activatejetpack@ hotmail.com Adam Hole Adam 0421 023 226 Afternoon Shift Adam 0402 055 314 After Close Scotty 0412 742 682, afterclose@hotmail.com Alcove Mark 0410 112 522 Alice 0423 100 792 Allies ACT (Oxfam Group) alliesact@hotmail.com/ myspace.com/alliesact Amphibian Sound PA Clare 0410 308 288 Amplif5’d Classic rock covers band Joy 0407 200 428, joybarac-heath@hotmail.com Annie & the Armadillos Annie 6161 1078/0422 076 313 The Ashburys Dan Craddock 0419 626 903 Aria Stone, sax & flute, singer/ songwriter (guitar) Aria 0411 803 343 Australian Songwriters Association (Keiran Roberts) 6231 0433 Arythmia: Ben 0423 408 767/ arythmiamusic@gmail.com Backbeat Drivers Steve 0422 733 974, www.backbeatdrivers.com Big Boss Groove Andrew 0404 455 834, www.bigbossgroove.com.au Birds Love Fighting Gangbusters/DIY shows - bookings@birdslovefighting.com Black Label Photography Kingsley 0438 351 007 Blister Bug Stu 0408 617 791 Bridge Between, The Rachel 0412 598 138, thebridgebetween.com.au Bruce Stage mgr/consultant 6254 9857 Caution Horses Nigel 0417 211 580 Chris Harland Blues Band 0418 490 640 chrisharlandbluesband@yahoo.com.au Clear Vision Films rehearsals/film clips/stunts - 0438 647 281 wcoulton.clearvisionfilms.com Cole Bennetts Photography 0415 982 662 /colebennetts.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

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