Beat Magazine #1373

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ISSUE 1373 | 29 MAY 2013 | BEAT.COM.AU

OUTDOORS, INDOORS, EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME.

CITY AND COLOUR

DALLAS FRASCA

MONNONE ALONE

THE SEABELLIES

BEATS: JOHN DIGWEED

THIS WEEK: THE HARLOTS, MATTHEW E. WHITE, BLEEDING KNEES CLUB, EXPERIENCE JIMI HENDRIX, KORA, THE BEARDS, ON SIERRA, VIDA CAIN, BERNIE CARSON

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TUESDAY 11 JUNE THE PLENARY ON SALE NOW W W W.C H R I S T U C K E R .C O M W W W. F R O N T I E R T O U R I N G .C O M

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IN THIS ISSUE...

12

HOT TALK

16

TOURING

18

LAURA MARLING

20

ARTS GUIDE, THE GREAT GATSBY

22

ART OF THE CITY, THE COMIC STRIP

24

ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL: SXSW SHOWCASE HERDING CATS

35

INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH

36

DALLAS FRASCA THE BEARDS BLEEDING KNEES CLUB

KORA PG 40

THE GREAT GATSBY PG 20

38

MARK MONNONE

39

THE SEABELLIES

40

KORA, WAVVES, MATTHEW E. WHITE

41

CITY AND COLOUR

42

ASH GRUNWALD, EXPERIENCE JIMI HENDRIX

43

CORE/CRUNCH!

44

MUSIC NEWS

48

ALBUM OF THE WEEK, SINGLES, CHARTS

THIS WEEK IN BEATS

JOHN DIGWEED

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ASH GRUNWALD PG 42

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HOT TALK

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FLEETWOOD MAC

BABYSHAMBLES Many were pleasantly surprised to see ol’ mate Pete Doherty and co. gracing this year’s Splendour In The Grass lineup. Now Melbourne Babyshambles fans are in for a treat, with the band announcing a headline show at The Palace. The upcoming tour will mark Pete Doherty’s first ever visit to Australia in any guise, bringing with him Babyshambles’ well-loved catalogue of hits - plus we can expect a showcase of previouslyunheard material. Babyshambles perform at The Palace on Thursday July 25.

WHITLEY

GO VIOLETS

Coinciding with his surprise return from supposed retirement for this year’s Splendour In The Grass, Whitley will head around the country for a national headline tour. The tour will celebrate Whitley’s new LP, Even The Stars Are A Mess, follows on from Whitley’s acclaimed sophomore offering, Go Forth, Find Mammoth, with an irrevocable warmth, beauty and intimacy reminiscent of debut album, The Submarine. Whitley performs at The Hi-Fi on Friday July 19.

Brisbane surf-rock quartet Go Violets have revealed the second single from their upcoming debut EP. Recorded and produced by Sean Cook, Josie takes the band in a new direction, expanding their sound to encompass a darker mood. The wry, distorted guitars, thumping rhythm, and ballad-like vocals carry any kind of melancholy away fast and hard. Go Violets will launch Josie at The John Curtin Hotel on Thursday June 20, with their debut EP expected to drop later in the year.

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Iconic rockers Fleetwood Mac are set to smash through over two hours of their classic hits when they tour here in November. The Grammy Award-winning band and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, with a current lineup of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham along with Fleetwood Mac founders Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, will embark on their first Australian tour since 2009. Furthermore, the band last month released a four-track EP called Extended Play, consisting of three new tracks and one “lost song” from the 1973 Buckingham Nicks days – their first new material in more than a decade. Fleetwood Mac play Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday November 26 and at A Day On The Green on Saturday November 30 at The Hill Winery, Geelong. Tickets on sale Thursday June 13 from 9am courtesy of Live Nation.

CONVERSE GET LOUD Converse have announced their latest musical endeavour, a six-city live music series showcasing performances from 15 of the region’s most exciting emerging music talent and international artists. The Melbourne leg of the series will feature Millions and ScotDrakula alongside another yet to be revealed band. Furthermore, the show will take place in an undisclosed location where a gig has never been played before. The Melbourne event will take place on Saturday June 22, with the venue remaining a secret for now. Tickets are free of charge and available exclusively via RSVP through the Converse website.

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HITS & PITS 2.0 After riffing its way around the country in March, it was decided that waiting a full 12 months to do it again was just too long. November 2013, Hits & Pits Touring Mini-Festival is back! This time round it’s punk-asfuck. It’s to the point, with a bunch of international bands and later released Australian talent. Hits & Pits 2.0. It’s here. It’s real. It’s happening. Due to the pantexploding calibre of the lineup, the announcement has been split into two rounds, but we can tell you that Boysetsfire, No Fun At All, Jugheads Revenge and Off With Their Heads will be joining the party. They play The Palace on Friday November 22. Doors open 5pm.

HOT TALK

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ESKIMO JOE Following their recent crowdfunding campaign success, Eskimo Joe have announced the Winter Warmer Tour, which will see the band performing a handful of up close and personal shows around the country ahead of new releases later in the year. For the Melbourne leg of the tour, the lads will be stopping off at Ormond Hall on Friday July 12. Tickets go on sale Thursday May 30.

POWDER MONKEYS Celebrating the legacy of the band and the life of singer-bassist Tim Hemensley, The Powder Monkeys have brought together an all-star roster of talent for a massive day and night this July. The following bands will take over two stages at The Tote from 2pm: Hoss, Seminal Rats, Bored!, The Casanovas, The Spazzys, The Onyas, Power Line Sneakers, Hits, Digger & the Pussycats, Bittersweet Kicks, Swedish Magazines, Wrong Turn, Fortress of Narzod Leadfinger and The Undecided, with more to be announced. At the end of the night, surviving members of the Powder Monkeys, guitarist John Nolan and drummer Timmy Jack Ray, will share the stage with guest singers and musicians to perform a set of Powder Monkeys songs. Lined up so far is Joel Silbersher, Matty Whittle, Adalita, Dave Hogan, Roman Tucker, Sly Splatterhead, Spencer P. Jones, Dick (Hits) and more to be announced. I Thank You: The Powder Monkeys / Tim Hemensley 10th Anniversary Gig takes place at The Tote on Sunday July 21. Tickets from Oztix.

FEAR FACTORY Returning to Australia this July, metal titans Fear Factory will be performing their landmark album Demanufacture live and in full. The band’s second studio LP, Demanufacture has stood the test of time and stands as one of the defining artefacts of industrial metal. This tour will be the first time Australian fans can embrace the album wholly in the live setting. Fear Factory perform at The Palace on Sunday July 7.

60 SECONDS WITH…

DAVE HOANG

Define your genre in five words or less: Acoustic comedic originals cover pop. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? Hey Olaf! There is this Asian guy singing some songs about things...I don’t know what he’s singing about, but it sounds alright...There are smurfs in it, porcupines… even a toilet! If someone made a movie about your life, who would play you? Probably Robert Downey Jr simply because there is such a striking resemblance. I would also get him to wear like a suit of armour like the one in Iron Man but not quite. It would be like a metaphor that I go about my life wearing a spiritual armour but the movie will have it there literally. But it’s a metaphor. In the case that of Robert Downey Jr is unavailable, then Samuel L Jackson would be my second preference. If you could go on tour with any musician or band, who would it be? Umm Taylor Swift for sure! If your music was a chocolate bar, which one would it be, and why?

Definitely Snickers! I would hope that at some point my music would put a smile on your face and make you laugh. It is also quite smooth and nutty. What’s your favourite song, and why? My favourite song at the moment would have to be YOLO by Lonely Island. It’s the kind of music that entertains and makes you laugh and its the type of song that I’m writing at the moment. Maybe without the rap.. When, and why did you start writing music? Started writing seriously at the beginning of the year. I really wanted to find my own sound and bring a bit of my own personality to my music. Plus, the agenda with my songs is to draw out an emotional response, whether that may be joy or sadness. I’m a pretty positive and happy guy so a lot of my songs share a message of hope. Where would you like to be in five years? Hopefully have a couple of albums recorded and gigging on a wider level both nationally and internationally. Possibly even have my own action figure! Dave Hoang plays Thursday June 6 at Grumpy's Green. 8.30pm, free entry.

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Beat Magazine Page 13

HOT TALK

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BAD//DREEMS Adelaide’s Bad//Dreems are unleashing their single Caroline on Friday May 31 at The Gasometer in Melbourne with help from Bored Nothing, The Ocean Party and The Pink Tiles. Recorded with Paul “Woody” Annison (Children Collide, Red Riders, Hunting Grounds) and mastered by William Bowden (Gotye, Straight Arrows, The Church), Caroline is the first single taken from Bad//Dreems’ debut EP, which will be released later this year through Mirador Records. Doors 8pm.

PASSENGER ALL TIME LOW Pop-punk royalty All Time Low will return to Melbourne this August. The tour comes off the back of their latest album, Don’t Panic, and will see them swiftly return to Australian shores following their appearance on the 2013 Soundwave lineup. All Time Low hit Billboard on Saturday August 31. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday May 31 through Oztix.

ATLAS GENIUS

SENSES FAIL

Already announced as special guests on the impending Stereophonics tour, Adelaide outfit Atlas Genius have locked in a headline Melbourne show. Atlas Genius have toured the US with bands such as Silversun Pickups, Wolf Gang and Imagine Dragons, and strong performances on major US chat shows Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Letterman have propelled the band into the spotlight, earning their debut hit single Trojans US sales of more than 250,000. Atlas Genius perform at The Toff in Town on Saturday July 20.

New Jersey outfit Senses Fail will bring their hardhitting brand of post-hardcore to Australian fans this August. Senses Fail prevailed in the early 2000s and soon went on to help define the post-hardcore scene that was coming together around them. Latest record, Renancer, shows the band at their decidedly heaviest. Senses Fail perform at The Corner Hotel on Sunday August 11.

Mike Rosenberg, aka Passenger, has announced his return down under later this year with a string of capital city dates in December, culminating what has been a ground breaking year for the acoustic folk troubadour. The current album, All The Little Lights, started its extraordinary journey on Australian shores back in February last year, and has since travelled around the globe, spawning number 1 singles in thirteen countries and numerous Top 10 album chart positions across Europe. For the final tour from this album it seems very fitting to come full circle and finish with another Australian tour, where it all started almost two years earlier. Passenger will be playing an all ages show at The Palais Theatre on Wednesday December 4. Tickets on sale Wednesday May 29 through Ticketmaster.

KINGSWOOD Kingswood have revealed the first look of their 10-minute short film, Some Motherfucker’s Gotta Die, which will accompany their latest single, Ohio. The film, much of which was shot at the iconic Sydney venue The Annandale, features guest appearances by Seth Sentry, Thelma Plum, Sticky Fingers, Kira Puru, Dan Rule of The Annandale and cult surf icon Reg Mombassa, and will be launched on Saturday June 1 at Eureka Rebellion Trading. The only way to get a ticket to the launch is to purchase a ticket to their just-announced show at The Corner Hotel, in what will be their final show in Melbourne before heading to Nashville to record their debut album. Kingswood will hit The Corner Hotel on Thursday July 18. Check out kingswoodband.com for more details.

THE DEMON PARADE Barely resting after their long Summer tour around Australia, The Demon Parade have just unleashed a brand new single, Open Up Your Mind, and to celebrate they’re embarking on another round of East Coast shows after its release on May 31. Open Up Your Mind is a whirlwind psychedelic trip with frontman Michael Badger’s ethereal vocals drenched heavily over the reverb-coated instrumentals. The Demon Parade support US garage giants The BellRays at their Corner Hotel show on Wednesday June 12, before playing their own headline gig at Ding Dong on Saturday June 22.

HOWLER Good news for Melbourne’s music scene and nightlife with the announcement of a new venue in Brunswick. Howler is a multifunctional, multifaceted arts hub and bar – a purpose-built labour of love – a concept space hidden within a Brunswick warehouse that encapsulates all that is good about design, music, theatre, cinema, art and a unique night out. The venue will serve up Asian-style street hawker food with DJs spinning subtle tracks from Wednesday to Sunday. The outdoor area/front bar opens on Friday May 31 and performances will start in July once the full venue is open. Entry to Howler is via the car park opposite Brunswick City Baths on Dawson St. Beat Magazine Page 14

BREAKING ORBIT June 2013 sees Sydney’s Breaking Orbit traversing the country with their captivating blend of ambient, melodic and heavy progressive rock as part of the Silence Seekers national tour. The band’s powerful and engaging live show comes to Revolver on Friday June 14, showcasing songs from their debut record, while tantalising the tastebuds with some brand new tracks. Impassioned heavy rockers Sleep Parade will be supporting, along with fellow Melbourne locals Shadowgame and Transience. Tickets on sale now via OzTix.

THE COUNT WITH...

KATE FROM THE HARLOTS Ten bands everyone should know about: The Pretty Littles, Brothers Grim & The Blue Murders, Colour Bomb, Mojo Juju, Francolin, Los Tones, The Toot Toot Toots, Jess Ribeiro and the Bone Collectors, Naked Bodies, The ReChords. Nine food items that you need to make a kickarse dinner party: Fondue with cheddar, mini dim sims, prawn cocktails, HP sauce, twiggy sticks, figs, sardines, banana (boat song), meatloaf Eight possessions that define you: Pomade, waistcoats, skipping ropes, sweatbands, pickaxes, knuckleheads, warheads, shrunken heads. Seven favourite movies/TV shows that go on your mix-tape: Pretty Woman, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Monster, Taxi Driver, Risky Business, Twin Peaks, Secret Diary of a Call Girl. Six bad habits you can’t escape: Drinking, smoking, being late, finishing people’s sentences, scoffing, constant bitch-face. Five people who inspire you: Humphrey B. Bear, Billy Crystal, Billy Zane, Billy Bob Thornton, Wilbur Wilde. Four things that turn you on: Radishes, long limbs, rouge, Dickie Knee.

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Three goals for your music: Play for the Queen, record a Christmas album, make a calendar. Two live gigs you’ll never forget and why: Harlots: Playing on the blues train at Queenscliff Music Festival and looking at the passengers in our carriage trying to figure out who felt trapped. Kate: Going to see Radiohead. Because it’s Radiohead. One day left before the apocalypse and you… For some reason am granted the power of apparition. Am I missing the point? When’s the gig/release? Releasing our double EP Coarse Tunes on Saturday June 1 at The Spotted Mallard on Sydney Rd. $10 ticket to party.

HOT TALK

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FAT FREDDY’S DROP Fat Freddy’s Drop are returning to Australia with their latest album, Blackbird, in tow. Blackbird is a fusion of Ethio-jazz, Detroit techno, blues and soul, with the lead single, Clean The House, currently receiving critical acclaim around the globe. Fat Freddy’s Drop will play The Forum on Saturday August 31. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Thursday May 30 through Ticketmaster.

CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES Following the band’s recent headline tour of America, Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Racketttes return home to embark on a leisurely Walk of Shame (or stride of pride) around Australia, including an appearance at Splendour in the Grass. Armed with some new songs (including a limited edition 7” vinyl of their new song Walk of Shame) and a well-oiled machine of a show, the band are very excited to reveal some new material to the homeland. After selling out their first Corner Hotel show in May, they have announced a second show at The Corner Hotel on Friday July 19. Tickets selling fast!

THE BARONS OF TANG The Barons of Tang are returning to Melbourne for a free show next month. Straight off the plane following a whirlwind tour in Spain, The Barons are also sporting a new accordion player, Mr John Irish, who has featured in such bands as the Pure Evil Trio, Mutiny and many more. This will be the only chance to see them perform in Melbourne before they shoot off back to Europe. It all goes down at Bar Open on Saturday June 8.

opening night

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Beat Magazine Page 15

TOURING

WHO'S ON TOUR, WHERE AND WHEN

PROUDLY PRESENTS:

For all the latest touring news check out beat.com.au

INTERNATIONAL KAKI KING Corner Hotel May 30 THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT Billboard May 31 THE MILK CARTON KIDS Thornbury Theatre June 6, St Kilda Memo June 8 TYLER, THE CREATOR/EARL SWEATSHIRT Palace Theatre June 7 THE BLACK ANGELS Palace Theatre June 14 MARTHA WAINWRIGHT Melbourne Recital Hall June 14, 15 TOY Corner Hotel June 18 BORIS Corner Hotel June 19 MUNICIPAL WASTE Corner Hotel June 23 MONO The Hi-Fi June 23 A$AP ROCKY Festival Hall June 28 MANIC STREET PREACHERS Festival Hall June 28 BEN OTTENWELL The Worker’s Club June 29, 30 SPLASHH Ding Dong Lounge June 29 IDINA MENZEL Hamer Hall June 30 FEAR FACTORY Palace Theatre July 7 P!NK Rod Laver Arena July 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, August 27 GILBY CLARKE Northcote Social Club July 7 STEVE VAI The Palais July 13 A DAY TO REMEMBER Festival Hall July 14 TODD RUNDGREN Corner Hotel July 21 STEREOPHONICS Palace Theatre July 21 DAUGHTER Corner Hotel July 23 SURFER BLOOD Corner Hotel July 24 HAIM The Hi-Fi July 25 BABYSHAMBLES The Palace July 25 EVERYTHING EVERYTHING Corner Hotel July 26 WAVVES/UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA Corner Hotel July 27 JAKE BUGG Corner Hotel July 28 PALMA VIOLETS Northcote Social Club July 29 MS MR The Hi-Fi July 29 FIDLAR Corner Hotel July 29 COLD WAR KIDS The Hi-Fi July 30 LAURA MARLING St Michael’s Uniting Church July 30 VILLAGERS Corner Hotel July 30 PASSION PIT Palace Theatre July 30, The Hi-Fi July 31 ((())) ALT-J Festival Hall July 30 DARWIN DEEZ Corner Hotel July 31 JAMES BLAKE The Palais July 31 OF MONSTERS AND MEN The Palais August 3,4 JOAN BAEZ Hamer Hall August 8

Beat Magazine Page 16

THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS Rod Laver Arena August 10 SENSES FAIL Corner Hotel August 11 DON MCLEAN Hamer Hall August 17 CYNDI LAUPER The Palais August 29,30 JAPANDROIDS Corner Hotel August 30 FAT FREDDY’S DROP The Forum August 31 ALL TIME LOW Billboard August 31 POISON CITY WEEKENDER Various Venues September 6,7,8 AMANDA PALMER & THE GRAND THEFT ORCHESTRA The Forum September 20 FOALS Palace Theatre September 27 RIHANNA Rod Laver Arena September 30 ATP: RELEASE THE BATS Westgate Entertainment Centre October 26 FLEETWOOD MAC Rod Laver Arena November 26, A Day On The Green November 30 PASSENGER The Palais December 4 BON JOVI Etihad Stadium December 7 TAYLOR SWIFT Etihad Stadium December 14

NATIONAL ALPINE The Hi-Fi May 30 CLAIRY BROWNE & BANGIN’ RACKETTES Corner Hotel May 31, July 19 MATT CORBY Palace Theatre May 31 OWL EYES Corner Hotel June 1 BLEEDING KNEES CLUB Ding Dong Lounge June 1 BEACHES Northcote Social Club June 1,2 SASKWATCH John Curtin Bandroom June 1 THE SUPERJESUS The Espy June 7, 8 CLOUD CONTROL Corner Hotel June 7 THE NATION BLUE The Tote June 8 THE BELLRAYS The Corner June 12 ANDREW STOCKDALE The Hi-Fi June 14 SOMETHING FOR KATE The Forum June 14, Corner Hotel June 15 EXPERIENCE JIMI HENDRIX The Palms At Crown June 14 THE BEARDS The Hi-Fi June 15 THE RED PAINTINGS The Espy June 15 GYPSY AND THE CAT The Hi-Fi June 21 WAGONS Corner Hotel June 22 BABY ANIMALS The Hi-Fi June 22 THE WHITLAMS Hamer Hall June 28 ASH GRUNWALD Prince Bandroom June 28

BORIS The Corner Hotel June 19 YOU AM I The Forum July 3,4,6,7 KIRIN J CALLINAN Northcote Social Club July 4 DICK DIVER Corner Hotel July 5,7 BALL PARK MUSIC The Forum July 5 SLEEPMAKESWAVES The Evelyn July 6,7 THE JUNGLE GIANTS Corner Hotel July 6 ESKIMO JOE Ormond Hall July 12 GOLD FIELDS Corner Hotel July 13 LAURA IMBRUGLIA The Tote July 13 KINGSWOOD Corner Hotel July 18 WHITLEY The Hi-Fi July 19 ATLAS GENIUS The Toff July 20 AIRBOURNE Corner Hotel July 20 DAVID BRIDIE Northcote Social Club July 20 FRENZAL RHOMB Corner Hotel August 2 GRINSPOON Corner Hotel August 8 BERNARD FANNING Palace Theatre August 9 CLARE BOWDITCH Corner Hotel August 10 BIGSOUND 2013 Various Venus Brisbane September 11–13 PARKWAY DRIVE Palace Theatre September 21,22 XAVIER RUDD The Forum October 3

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LAURA MARLING BY HUGH ROBERTSON

Music journalists love context. Context is nearly always the Rosetta Stone to decoding an artist: once you know who they are, where they come from and what has shaped them, you have an ‘in’ into their world, and you can begin to pull on the threads of their life until the whole thing unravels and they are laid bare before you. Sometimes an artist’s context has no impact on their art, but usually that only applies to those ‘artists’ for whom you actually vocalise the inverted commas around them – no-one ever asks LMFAO what the metaphorical significance of ‘party rocking’ is, or why they would need to apologise for doing it. Sometimes, though, an artist’s context has little bearing on their art because their art transcends their context. No-one really cares anymore whether Johnny Cash actually shot a man in Reno, or whether Bob Dylan really train-hopped from Minnesota to New York as a teenager – the important thing is that they wrote about it, and in that metaphor were able to reveal something to us about ourselves. Musicians don’t get to escape their context much anymore. If they achieve any sort of fame they are immediately scrutinised, every detail of their lives picked over for contextual clues. But Laura Marling isn’t your average musician. Once I Was An Eagle is Marling’s fourth album in just five years, a statistic all the more remarkable when you remember she’s only 23. She’s always seemed older than her years, the combination of her assured writing and that deep, rich voice, collecting comparisons from day one to the great songwriters. Joni Mitchell and Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention were obvious touchstones, but there’s always been something about Marling which couldn’t be measured as a sum of her influences, something intangible, just off-screen which we know is there, but can’t ever be properly identified. But if that’s a characteristic of Marling’s music, it’s because that’s exactly how her brain works. She often speaks of what she sees as life’s central conflict between ‘love’ and ‘logic’, between the decisions you want to make and the ones you think you should, and that conflict in Marling’s mind has been the core of the conflict on each of her albums. “They call that ‘the sceptic’s view’ in psychological terms,” she says. “That’s my whole kick in life - making peace with reality, and trying to find stillness in chaos. Which is probably why I’ve ended up writing the same story in a different way three albums down the line, because it’s an unanswerable question.” The story, in this instance, is of our protagonist wandering through the wilderness, pestered and exhausted by what Marling terms “naïve love”, represented by a bird. But just as our protagonist is ready to abandon hope, the bird collapses at her feet with a broken wing, and our protagonist must save the bird and nurse it back to health before losing it back Beat Magazine Page 18

into the wild, sending it to a figure across the sea. And of course it’s tempting, in the quest for context, to apply this to Marling’s life: she has recently moved from her native England to Los Angeles, thousands of miles across the water, far removed from the life she led. None of that is at all responsible for the content of the album, but that hasn’t stopped people ascribing to her trans-Atlantic move all manner of things.

“MAYBE I WAS BORN TO COMMUNICATE IN THE MEDIUM THAT I DO, BUT I HAVE GREAT RESPECT FOR THOSE WHO CAN DO IT WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF THE GUITAR.” “I wouldn’t say it was people projecting things on to me,” Marling says. “It’s people projecting things on to the record. This was written long before I moved out here, or anything like that. There’s just a lot that you can attach to the imagery that I associate with doves, and birds, and eagles – peace, power, violence – which is why I used it. But [the birds on the album] more represent emotion than they do metaphor.” Marling’s influences have always been more literary than musical (although yes, that is a Bill Callahan shout-out in the title of the album). The pastoral folk songs of her debut are steeped in the language of the Romantic poets – Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron; her second, with its bleak, wintery emotional landscape takes its cues from the ancient Greek stories Marling was reading at the time; her third album draws much lyrical inspiration from the West Coast Americana of John Steinbeck.

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“It is true that I draw a lot on what I’ve read,” Marling admits. “There’s something about the written word – it’s the plainest way, other than speaking, of communicating something. And if someone does it very well, if someone executes a sentence that’s almost harrowingly well-written, it strikes you on such a level, and rings in your brain.” “It’s a skill I wish I had, and I don’t. And I’m not being pointlessly self-deprecating – it’s such a skill, and I think you’re born with it, that ability to communicate in whatever medium you communicate in. And maybe I was born to communicate in the medium that I do, but I have great respect for those who can do it without the protection of the guitar.” The literary influences continue on the new album, most notably on Undine, inspired by an old Germanic fable about a water spirit that would lull people in to believing there was no danger in the world, so much so that when they walked into the water to join Undine they drowned because they didn’t remember that they could. In Marling’s song, Undine’s power becomes the ability to make her prey ‘naïve’, so that they cannot comprehend the peril they are in. It’s not the only time the concept of naivety shows up on the album, with Marling at various times either taking it on or casting it off, blaming it for causing problems or celebrating its potential. It’s hard to know exactly where Marling leaves the topic on the record, but when asked about it she gives a beautifully poetic answer. “I find naivety an interesting thing,” she begins. “I’ve reappropriated the use of the word ‘naivety’ in regards to myself. I think everybody, at a certain age – it might be in your twenties, or thirties, or even in your teens if you are particularly unlucky – has a stage where they need to mourn their naivety being gone. Their naivety has left them. “And maybe people go through life and never have that – which is wonderful for them, lucky fuckers – but you have to face what first appears to be a very grey landscape, a world without naivety is a very cold, plain world. But then I suppose a lot of this record was reappropriating the word naivety. And in my personal life, I found such comfort in the thought of a new naivety when you enter that space, when you realise that nothing you thought you knew was true, and now I know nothing, and therefore I have the potential to know a lot more. “I’ve opened up so many gates of possible knowledge, and that’s exciting. So naivety changed for me from meaning ‘childhood’ to meaning I suppose a more appropriate use for it, which is ‘comfortable lack of knowledge’ and potential for influence.” How fitting, given Marling’s love/logic conflict, that she’s found a word that can mean both a lack of knowledge and the knowledge of what you lack. I can’t wait to see what she doesn’t know next. LAURA MARLING plays St Michael’s Uniting Church on Tuesday July 30 and Wednesday July 31 as part of the Heavenly Sounds series, as well as appearing at the sold out Splendour In The Grass festival. Once I Was An Eagle is out now through Virgin/UMA.

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THIS WEEK: ON SCREEN WITH TYSON WRAY. GOT THOUGHTS, NEWS, GOSSIP, COMPLAINTS OR CAT PHOTOS? EMAIL TYSON@BEAT.COM.AU OR SEND BY CARRIER PIGEON BEFORE FRIDAY 12PM.

Marcos Ruiz (Pablo Schwarz) is a bureaucrat. When he stumbles across the life’s work of a previously unknown Chilean artist, he vows to reclaim the artist for Chile and the world. First, however, he must deal with the cantankerous caretaker Don Felipe (Julio Jung) and the conniving snobs at the local historical society. Running as part of Melbourne Filmoteca, Cachimba is a quirky comedy about art, love and bureaucracy is based on a novel by José Donoso. In Spanish with English subtitles, it’s on at ACMI on Tuesday June 4 at 7pm.

ON STAGE

La Mama presents Button, an exploration of the universe and human loneliness. Created and performed by Carole Patullo and Jane Bayley, Button tells the story of two lonely women who become friends over a jar of buttons. Peter Farnan’s (Boom Crash Opera) crafted soundtrack will poignantly illustrate the women’s friendship, and the nuances of human healing and universal interconnectivity. Button opens at La Mama Theatre tonight, Wednesday May 29, and will be performed until Sunday June 16.

ON DISPLAY Fine artist Ezra Kryzwkulski’s newest collection of work, The Abstract Logic of Dreams, will be exhibited at the Artman Gallery this June. Inspired by the mythology of dreams, The Abstract Logic of Dreams delves into the linear progression of dreams through contrasting colours and cubistic geometry. Kryswkulski creates layered depths of reality and illusion, detailing the varying percentiles of dreams. The Abstract Logic of Dreams will be exhibited at Artman Gallery from Saturday June 1 – Saturday June 22. An opening drinks sessions will happen on Saturday June 1 at 2pm – 4pm. Admission is free.

BEAT’S PICK OF THE WEEK: Get ready for an evening of art, music and enlightened conversation at Art By Twilight. Listen as Fiona Hall discusses the powerful themes in her work with curator Kendrah Morgan and experts from the fields of zoology and environmental research. Explore the 21st century hunter’s den installation, Fall Prey. Sketch a slithering reptile in the life drawing class with a wild difference. Play environmental detective and solve the mystery to win a Fiona Hall prize pack. Enjoy the sounds of Breaking and Entering DJs. BBQ and drinks also available. It’s on at Heide Museum of Modern Art on Thursday May 30 from 6pm – 9pm. Tickets are $25 and include admission and a glass of wine on arrival.

Beat Magazine Page 20

THE GREAT GATSBY BY ALASDAIR DUNCAN

You may not have seen Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby just yet, but you probably already have a pretty firm opinion about it. In fact, it’s likely you fall in one of two camps: The Great Gatsby is a dynamic and visually-spectacular masterpiece from a visionary director, or The Great Gatsby is a gaudy travesty that lays waste to one of the 20th century’s greatest novels. That’s the effect Baz Luhrmann has – his films are big and bold explosions of colour and movement, laying the melodrama bare and then cranking it up to its maximum setting. His films may be dazzling, but subtle they are most certainly not. Brendan Maclean shares something of an affinity with Baz Luhrmann. The young singer is prone to grand gestures, writing lyrics that take everyday emotions and experiences and explode them to one hundred times their size. He doesn’t just sing, he performs, and his videos always offer some sort of visual splendour or surprise. Maclean is a life-long fan of Baz Luhrmann’s films, but he never imagined he’d get to perform in one, until the day he auditioned for The Great Gatsby. It was a strange and slightly surreal journey, involving burly tradesmen and butterflies, but it gave Maclean unique insight into the inner-workings of a Luhrmann production. It all began when a friend told him about the film’s Sydney auditions. “They needed piano players,” he says, “and I thought, ‘Oh, I can do that, playing piano in a film sounds like fun.’ So I went along and did the audition, and then they gave me some lines and asked if I could read them.” Maclean had never done a film before, so he read the lines as best he could, and was sent

off without a word. Needless to say, he felt a bit down. “I felt like I’d screwed up,” he continues, “like they’d never want to see me again, so I sent them the video for my song Practically Wasted, because that’s just incredible, it’s a really theatrical video clip, and it showcases a lot of the madness and joy that I bring to my live show on stage. After that, I got a little call asking if I could come back in again.” The call back was a second chance, and Maclean embraced it. “I walked into a room at Fox Studios, and there was a man in a silver suit, with silver hair and a salmon pink tie – it was Baz Luhrmann!” he says. “The guy is my hero – I grew up with his films, I grew up with all the things that surround his films, so yeah, I was a little bit blown away. We spent a long time improvising – he gave me this old telephone receiver thing, and we improvised around the script for about 40 minutes, for the role of Klipspringer.” Like any vulnerable and nervous young actor in an audition situation, Maclean asked Luhrmann if he had a lot of other

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actors coming in to try out for the part that day – ‘no, I just have one’ was Luhrmann’s reply. “I just started bawling on the spot,” Maclean says. “I had the part!” The Great Gatsby takes the affluent world of ‘20s America and turns it into a decadent fantasyland. As Jay Gatsby, Leonardo Di Caprio speeds around in a shiny yellow car, and throws lavish parties with glittering fireworks and flapper girls in various states of intoxication. It’s a paean to wealth and privilege, each and every shot crowded with details. Maclean was blown away to find himself in the centre of it all. “It was a stunning production,” he says. “The sets for this thing were just beautiful, you really felt immersed in the world. You can’t go wrong with something like that. I think people will be blown away – I think it’s going to be the film of the year and win every award.” Baz Luhrmann is a perfectionist, and no detail of the film was small enough to be overlooked. Maclean discovered this for himself when he arrived on set one day to find himself in the midst of a very unusual debate. “It was so funny,” he says, “I walked on set the first day, and there were like 16 big, muscly tradies in a circle. I was like, ‘What are they doing?’ I looked down, and in the middle of them were little butterflies, little felt butterflies. They were having this manly argument about whether the eyes should be glitter or diamante! There were 16 grown men arguing about butterfly eyes. That’s the level of detail that Baz Luhrmann’s films have – it’s insane.” Maclean continues to grow in his primary career as a musician – a few months back, his single Stupid was a viral hit, and anticipation continues to grow for his new album, out later this year. His work in Gatsby has given him a taste for film acting, and he has more on the way. “I just did another little part in a film called Tracks, with Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver from Girls,” he tells me. “We shot that in outback South Australia – we got to play with camels and emus and kangaroos – it was great. But of course, the thing I’m most excited about is Gatsby coming out – I feel like that film is going to explode the world!” The Great Gatsby opens in cinemas on Thursday May 30.

BOOKS THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE CRITICAL PATH - R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER ($29.95)

ANIMAL LIBERATION - PETER SINGER ($22.95)

R. Buckminster Fuller is regarded as one of the most important figures of the 20th century, renowned for his achievements as an inventor, designer, architect, philosopher, mathematician, and dogged individualist. Critical Path is Fuller’s master work - the summing up of a lifetime’s thought and concern - as urgent and relevant as it was upon its first publication in 1981. Critical Path details how humanity found itself in its current situation, at the limits of the planet’s natural resources and facing political, economic, environmental, and ethical crises. The crowning achievement of an extraordinary career, Critical Path offers the reader the excitement of understanding the essential dilemmas of our time and how responsible citizens can rise to meet this ultimate challenge to our future.

Since its original publication in 1975, this groundbreaking work has awakened millions of people to the existence of speciesism - our systematic disregard of nonhuman animals - inspiring a worldwide movement to transform our attitudes to animals and eliminate the cruelty we inflict on them. In Animal Liberation, author Peter Singer exposes the chilling realities of today’s factory farms and producttesting procedures - destroying the spurious justifications behind them, and offering alternatives to what has become a profound environmental and social as well as moral issue. An important and persuasive appeal to conscience, fairness, decency, and justice, it is essential reading for the supporter and the skeptic alike.

THE SATANIC BIBLE - ANTON LAVEY ($16.95) Anton La Vey began the road to High Priesthood of the Church of Satan when he was only 16 years old and an organ player in a carnival: “On Saturday night I would see men lusting after halfnaked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing the organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday night they’d be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. “I knew then that the Christian Church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man’s carnal nature will win out!” From that time early in his life his path was clear. Finally, on the last night of April, 1966 LaVey announced the formation of The Church Of Satan. He had seen the need for a church that would recapture man’s body and his carnal desires as objects of celebration.

NO LOGO - NAOMI KLEIN ($24.95) In the last decade, No Logo has become an international phenomenon and a cultural manifesto for the critics of unfettered capitalism worldwide. As America faces a second economic depression, Klein’s analysis of our corporate and branded world is as timely and powerful as ever. Equal parts cultural analysis, political manifesto, mall-rat memoir, and journalistic expose, No Logo is the first book to put the new resistance into pop-historical and clear economic perspective. Naomi Klein tells a story of rebellion and self-determination in the face of our new branded world.

THE ILLUMINATUS! TRILOGY - ROBERT ANTON WILSON ($29.95) It was a deadly mistake. Joseph Malik, editor of a radical magazine, had snooped into rumours of an ancient secret society that was still alive and kicking. Now his offices have been bombed, he’s missing, and the case has landed in the lap of a tough, cynical New York detective. Saul Goodman knows he’s stumbled onto something big - but even he can’t guess how far into the pinnacles of power this conspiracy of evil has penetrated. Filled with sex and violence - in and out of time and space - the three books of The Illuminatus are only partly works of the imagination. They tackle all the coverups of our time - from who really shot the Kennedys to why there’s a pyramid on a one-dollar bill - and suggest a mind-blowing truth.

PProducedd by by Multicultural Mu tuur tural u al Arts Ar Arts r Victoria Vict Victo Vi ctor cto ct oria in partnership paarrtnersh rttn tnersh ne shi s ip with with th PBS th P S 106.7 .77 FM M

GODEL, ESCHER, BACH - DOUGLAS HOFSTADTER ($32.95) This groundbreaking Pulitzer Prize-winning book sets the standard for interdisciplinary writing, exploring the patterns and symbols in the thinking of mathematician Kurt Godel, artist M.C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Douglas Hofstadter’s book is concerned directly with the nature of “maps” or links between formal systems. However, according to Hofstadter, the formal system that underlies all mental activity transcends the system that supports it. If life can grow out of the formal chemical substrate of the cell, if consciousness can emerge out of a formal system of firing neurons, then so too will computers attain human intelligence. Godel Escher and Bach is a wonderful exploration of fascinating ideas at the heart of cognitive science: meaning, reduction, recursion, and much more.

FOOD OF THE GODS - TERENCE MCKENNA ($24.95) Why, as a species, are humans so fascinated by altered states of consciousness? Can altered states reveal something to us about our origins and our place in nature? In Food of the Gods, ethnobotanist Terence McKenna’s research on man’s ancient relationship with chemicals opens a doorway to the divine, and perhaps a solution for saving our troubled world. McKenna provides a revisionist look at the historical role of drugs in the East and the West, from the ancient spice, sugar and rum trades to marijuana, cocaine, synthetics and even television - illustrating the human desire for the “food of the gods” and the potential to replace abuse of illegal drugs with a shamanic understanding, insistence on community, reverence for nature and increased self-awareness.

AIN’T NOBODY’S BUSINESS IF YOU DO - PETER MCWILLIAMS ($22.95) Peter McWilliams died recently in a manner he could hardly have anticipated back when he wrote this book - yet his death underlines the key point he makes in this wonderful tome. The book documents - and ridicules - U.S. bureaucrats’ attempts to legislate what people can and cannot see, read and imbibe. In 1996 when AIDS and cancer entered his life he became an advocate for medical marijuana testifying before the National Academy of Sciences and doing numerous media interviews. Peter wrote in an open letter in Daily Variety in December of 1997: “I can personally attest to marijuana’s anti-nausea effect”. Exactly seventeen days after he published those words the Government responded the only way it knows how: with a full-scale raid. Ain’t Nobody’s Business is vintage McWilliams - funny, well-researched, expertly argued and with a pleasant surprise on each and every page (a great quote, a deft turn of phrase, a piece of common ‘wisdom’ beautifully gutted and turned on its head).

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Beat Magazine Page 21

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ACO2 While their core musicians are touring the world, the Australian Chamber Orchestra will be showcasing their best and new talent in ACO2. Initiated in 2007 with an aim to travel the length and breadth of Australia, ACO2 have played across every state and territory; this year will be no dierent. Presented by ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, ACO2 will perform a selection of compositions, including Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in G Major, Block’s From Jewish Life and Vivaladi’s Concerto for Two Cellos. German cellist and virtuoso, Daniel Mßller-Schott, will join the ensemble for the performances as well. ACO2 will perform at Hamer Hall on Sunday June 23 at 2.30 pm, and Monday June 24 at 8pm.

BELCO PRIDE Australian documentary photographer Lee Grant presents Belco Pride, a semi-autobiographical collection of works, at Edmund Pearce Gallery this June. Inspired by her upbringing in the northernmost suburbs of Canberra, Belco Pride paints the landscape of Belconnen, and explores the notion that “you never truly leave behind the place you grew up� in.� Through candid family portraits and stark juxtaposition, Grant delves into the dichotomy of her life. Accompanying the exhibition, Grant will host an artist talk and book signing on Saturday June 15 at 2pm. Belco Pride will on exhibition at Edmund Pearce Gallery from Wenesday June 5 – Saturday June 22. Admission is free.

TRANSMISSION

SWAN LAKE

CACHIMBA

FELIX BAR COMEDY

LORD OF THE FLIES This June, Malthouse Theatre will present an innovative rendition of Lord of the Flies, featuring an all-female cast. Adapted from William Golding’s debut novel of the same name, Lord of the Flies will feature a ninemember cast who become stranded on an isolated island. Unlike previous productions of the classic, the actresses will be marooned on a raised platform for the duration of the play. Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 and details the story of a group of British boys marooned on an island. Throughout the novel, Golding explores the boys descent into savagery and their loss of civility, epitomising Darwin’s notion of the survival of the ďŹ ttest. Lord of the Flies will be performed at the Malthouse Theatre from Friday June 28 – Sunday July 14. It is part of Malthouse Theatre’s Helium season, which will run from Friday June 28 – Saturday October 5. Tickets can be purchased through the Malthouse, and a full program of the Helium season will be available online from Friday June 17.

WITHIN/OUT AND HISTORIC SPOTS

Fine artist Hamish Carr will host his newest solo exhibition at Anna Pappas Gallery this June. Entitled Transmission, the exhibition explores contemporary environments and the interactions we establish with them. Using an array of mediums, including acrylics, linen and mapping technique, Carr aptly captures the intersections between thought, environment and action. Transmission will be on exhibition at Anna Pappas Gallery from Tuesday June 4 – Saturday June 29. Opening drinks will happy on Friday June 7 at 6pm. Admission is free. Graeme Murphy’s masterpiece adaption of Swan Lake will return to the Arts Centre this June. Inspired by the renowned love-triangle of Princess Diana, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, Swan Lake was adapted by Graeme Murphy to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of The Australian Ballet in 2002. Swan Lake begins after Prince Siegfried’s marriage to Odette, where things soon unravel as Siegfried pursues an aair with Baroness von Rothbart. The betrayal drives Odette to madness, resulting in her psychiatric admission by the royal family. Murphy’s sinister twist of the ballet classic received much acclaim, including four Helpmann Awards and a Best Foreign Dance Company UK Critics’ Circle Award in 2005. During the performance season, Artistic Director David McAllister will host a special discussion panel detailing the fascinating intricacies of Murphy’s adaption. Swan Lake will be performed at the State Theatre from Friday June 21 – Monday July 1.

Abbotsford Convent will hold their last two exhibitions of Spiritous Projects, an arts funding program for art produced and presented at Abbotsford Convent, over the next two months. Both exhibitions centre around the theme of Abbotsford Convent and its history, including Jody Cleaver’s collection Within/out. Inspired by the records of former Convent residents, Within/out is a series of etched-based animations that explore the displacement, and uidity, of history through the juxtaposition of past and present. Complementing Cleaver’s animated collection will be Jo Mott’s Historic Spots, a series of sculptures that tribute the organic history of Abbotsford Convent. Scattered throughout the convent gardens, Mott’s sculptures reference indigenous habitation of the convent, its colonialisation, and its history with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Historic Spots is currently on display at Abbotsford Convent until Friday July 12. Within/out by Jody Cleaver will open on Saturday June 1 and close on Monday June 24.

GENESIS TO BROADWAY Director: Duration: Year: Country: When: Time: Where: Tickets:

Silvio Caiozzi 127mins 2004 Chile 4 Jun 2013 7.00pm ACMI Cinemas Full $15, Concession $12, ACMI members $11

Marcos Ruiz (Pablo Schwarz) is a bureaucrat. When he stumbles across the life’s work of a previously unknown Chilean artist, he vows to reclaim the artist for Chile and the world. First, however, he must deal with the cantankerous caretaker Don Felipe (Julio Jung) and the conniving snobs at the local historical society. This quirky comedy about art, love and bureaucracy is based on a novel by JosÊ Donoso.

tickets 8663 2583.

Beat Magazine Page 22

After a sold out season last year, Genesis to Broadway will be returning to Chapel o Chapel for a strictly limited season this June. Heralding the creation of Broadway, the play, as written and directed by Frank Howson (A Number), explores the musical journey of theatre from African reggae beats to medieval Spain to modern-day Broadway. Actress Fem Belling (Hairspray) will reprise her role within the production and will be accompanied by new cast member Tod Strike (South Pacific, Cats). Igniting the music will be internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Warren Wills. Genesis to Broadway will be performed at Chapel o Chapel from Tuesday June 11 – Thursday June 11.

THE LIGHT IN WINTER Federation Square have announced the return of their annual program, The Light in Winter, a month-long winter festival of delight. Inspired by winter pagan traditions, the highlight of the festival, the Helix Tree, is a free exhibition of a 17m wide, and 13m high metal tree that coruscates with 1.5kms of LED lights when you sing to it. Accompanying this, is the annual tradition of lighting the campďŹ re installation, Leempe yet Weeyn,which will happen on Saturday June 1 at 5pm. Halfway through June is Solstice Weekend, which will include the Solstice Celebration on Saturday June 22 from 5-8pm. Other highlights of the festivals include the series of free forums held at Deakin Edge. The forums will cover science and politics, and feature a forum between Fed Square and the National Press Club in Canberra. With much more to oer, The Light in Winter will run from Saturday June 1 – Sunday June 30.

CHECKPOINT CHARLIE COMEDY Checkpoint has hit the ground running since the festival with huge crowds and great acts. Tonight, they do it again with Ben Lomas, Daniel Connell, Michael Connell, Mike Nayna, Mark Conway and more. It’s Melbourne’s ďŹ nest spitting funnies into the business end of a mic. For just $5. Plus cheap piss. Show kicks o 8.30pm tonight, upstairs from Eurotrash Bar. Get down early for a seat.

HOW TO SURVIVE AN EARTHQUAKE Inspired by the Haiti earthquake three years ago, Melbourne playwright Christine Croyden returns with her newest play, How To Survive an Earthquake, at La Mama Courthouse this August. How To Survive an Earthquake is about two dysfunctional sisters who are brought together by their mother’s death. Jessica Gerger plays the altruistic sister Stephanie, a trained nurse stationed in Haiti, and Sarah Plummer breathes life into the disenchanted Jane, the sister who cared for their mother because of her death. How To Survive an Earthquake is an emotional exploration of forgiveness, compromise and family acceptance. How To Survive an Earthquake will be performed a La Mama Courthouse from Wednesday August 14 – Sunday September 1.

THE COMIC STRIP

Tonight Denise Scott headlines Felix Bar Comedy. Plus they’ve got Elbowskin, Xavier Michelides, Linda Beatty and more. Comedy doesn’t ďŹ nish when the festival does; in St Kilda, they’re only getting started. It’s happening at 8.30pm for only $12, at Felix Bar, St Kilda.

COMMEDIA DELL PARTE Liam Ryan hosts a great lineup of comics this week at Commedia Dell Parte with Karl Woodberry, Andy Matthews, Hayman Kent, Pete Sharkey, Andrew Brown and Graptus. With each week packing out, you’ll need to get in early to grab a seat. The room runs on a ‘pay as you like’ basis, so come along and have a great laugh, then pay what you believe the show is worth on the way out. Commedia Dell Parte runs every Thursday from 8.30pm at the George Lane Bar, St Kilda.Â

FIVE BOROUGHS COMEDY Pete Helliar headlines Five Boroughs Comedy this Thursday. They’ve been having big crowds, so get in early so you don’t miss out. Plus, they’ve got Bart Freebairn, Elbowskin, Steele Saunders, Daniel Connell and Adam Francis. They had Josh Thomas drop in as a surprise guest last week, so who knows who’ll drop in this week? Find out this Thursday, May 30 at 8.30pm, for only $12 at Five Boroughs (upstairs), 68 Hardware Lane, CBD.

COMEDY AT SPLEEN This Monday, it’s yet another cracking lineup down at your old mate Comedy@Spleen. They’ve got Bart Freebairn, Karl Chandler, Tommy Dassalo and heaps more. It’s this Monday June 3, 41 Bourke St, in the city, at 8.30pm. It may be free, but they appreciate a good gold coin donation at the door.

FAMESQUE

SOLOMON AND MARION Melbourne Theatre Company will host the premiere of the acclaimed South African production Solomon and Marion this June. Solomon and Marion, written by acclaimed playwright Lara Foot, creates a fresh perspective on modern-day South Africa through the relationship of Solomon and Marion. Featuring Gillian Jones (Packed to the Rafters, The Slap) as Marion, a mother who lost her son in a brutal act of violence, and Pacharo Mzembe (Underbelly: Razor) as Solomon, Solomon and Marion explores whether heartache can be healed through forgiveness and understanding. Solomon and Marion will be performed at Fairfax Studio from Friday June 7 – Saturday July 20.

THE GROTTO Painter Simon DransďŹ eld will debut his newest collection of work, The Grotto, at Rooftop Art Space. Using watercolour and acrylic paints as his main medium, DransďŹ eld constructs guileless pieces of work imbued with nuances of tribal motifs, and storytelling. His collection, The Grotto, depicts the importance of shelter and comfort. The Grotto is currently on exhibition at Rooftop Art Space until Saturday June 22. Admission is free.

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

Tinning Street Gallery will host Monique Barnett’s newest and harrowing exhibition, Famesque, this May. Despite her overt title, Famesque will thrust viewers into the harrowing idolatry of celebrities today. Through an impeccable mimicry of the imagery that pervades our media today—tanned legs, perfect hair and sculptured bodies—Barnett explores our interaction with the world, and our perception of ourselves based o this. Monique Barnett is a ďŹ ne artist from Christchurch, New Zealand. She is known for her voyeuristic approach to oil and acryclic painting, often including references to Western ideology and pop culture. Famesque will be on exhibition at Tinning Street Gallery from Thursday May 30 – Sunday June 16.

CINECITY Federation will host Cinecity this month, an architectural ďŹ lm exhibition. Cincecity is an annual ďŹ lm project held internationally, allowing architectural ďŹ lmmakers across the world to create 60-second ďŹ lms centred around a theme— this year’s theme was ‘Material’. The entrants have been diverse, ranging from world renowned architect Bernard Tschumi to the President of the Australian Institute of Architects and architect Shelley Penn. The project allows architects to express their ideas in an innovative medium, detailing their perceived connections between architecture and the world. Winning entrants will be announced between 6.30pm - 7pm at the Atrium Screen. Cinecity will be screened at Federation Square on Friday May 31. Admission is free.

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Beat Magazine Page 23

ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL: SXSW SHOWCASE BY TURK TARAS

In 1984, the St Kilda Film Festival’s inaugural year, the Festival’s director Nigel Buesst placed great emphasis on “uncompromising individuality”. This philosophy is mirrored by the culture of St Kilda itself – artistic, original and unapologetically so. Now celebrating its 30th year, it’s no surprise that the Festival has teamed up Claudette Godfrey – the Short Film Programmer at gargantuan cultural festival South By Southwest (SXSW) – to program a special SXSW Showcase. As Godfrey explains, SXSW embrace films that are often overlooked by other festivals – films with a flash of “uncompromising individuality”. “We’re willing to take chances on films when maybe another festival is like, ‘You know what? That’s not good enough’,” Godfrey says. “We see and try to foster the potential in people. Like a really good example of this is four years ago, we played Lena Dunham’s first feature at SXSW. If you watch it now, it’s not the most perfect film ever, but there was a vision there and something that was unique. Because not every film has to be perfect in every way – we’re looking more for a spark that’s different and interesting that makes it stand apart – we played that film and the next year she made an even better film. “She met people at SXSW and they all went away and worked together the next year and made another film called Tiny Furniture and Judd Apatow saw it and said, ‘I think this girl’s really interesting’ and that’s snowballed onto making the Girls TV show. When she made her first film, it wasn’t perfect and I’m sure tonnes of people were like, ‘Eugh’, but everything doesn’t have to perfect, that’s not what we’re doing.” Furthermore, having worked with SXSW for five years, Godfrey has the experience to offer some brilliant advice for filmmakers to not only get noticed but to create more interesting films.

“We’re trying to help and find and expose people who have talent and something different to say. That’s more of an issue with people making films, they focus on wanting to make every single aspect of it perfect and they end up with something that’s really polished that’s exactly like something you’d see on TV or on the internet or at the movie theatre, something that already exists, instead of focusing on telling a unique story, telling a story in a different way; focusing on that emotional connection and what they have to say… and I think everyone would agree, like films here at St Kilda – I wanna see something that I haven’t already seen 1,000 times, something that’s interesting.” Godfrey will be programming four special SXSW Showcase sessions, although at time of print, two will already have seen. This weekend, however, make sure to check out Best of SXSW Music Video – described by the Festival as “the wildest, weirdest, most progressive and artful videos in the recent history of SXSW Film Festival in one music video super session” – as well as a presentation of Godfrey’s selected short films in Best of SXSW 2. “What’s really fun about [programming SXSW Showcase for St Kilda Film Festival] was taking all the films that I’ve ever programmed at SXSW and getting to pick out

Hell No of those. Five years ago I loved this music video and I get to play it here, so that was a really fun part about it. Every program has its own feel, and I’ve given everybody a different answer on this,” she laughs, when deciding on her favourites, “because it depends on how I feel today, but…Hell No is a really great short, it’s directed by Joe Nicolosi and it’s such a treat. Joe is so smart and packs so much into that amount of time, basically it’s like a trailer for a horror film if people in horror films were smarter. We all like to scream, ‘Don’t go that way!’ or whatever, but it’s if they actually did the logical thing in the situation. It’s really funny, everything Joe makes it I’m like, ‘I love it’, because he doesn’t over stay his welcome, you just get so much for a really short amount of time.

“It represents the funky, more midnight-y side of SXSW because we are a little bit less traditional. The Best of SXSW 2 has a lot of films that are really funny or weird so I’m really interested to watch those with an Australian audience and see what the reaction is.”

like that in this play; everything makes sense.” There is a theme that runs throughout that examines the effects of technology on human separation and the way that the worlds we inhabit can isolate us. It looks at how people cope under the pump. “How do you deal with anxiety and loneliness? Do you stress and let it happen or do you fight against it?” The play brings together a cast of bizarre characters, all of whom are reaching for, but struggling to find, a human connection. “Justine sort of head butts her way through life and when you do that everything can kind of catch up with you. Suddenly you’re faced with the state of the world that you live in and the way you’ve been behaving,” says Fair. “It can be devastatingly hilarious or just devastating depending on what mood you’re in.”

In Fair’s opinion it is this dark sense of humor that is the play’s saving grace. “When I read it by myself I didn’t realise how funny it was. Then when we had our first read I realised it’s hilarious, it wasn’t until I heard it out loud.” Herding Cats confronts audiences with the malaise of the modern condition. “Even if you don’t want it to, it will strike a chord, probably exactly where you don’t want it to. It’s a hard show to pin point, it’s enigmatic. I guess the main thing is loneliness. I’m hesitant to say it’s about loneliness because that sounds like a boring play and it’s anything but boring.”

Check out the SXSW Showcase, running as part of the St Kilda Film Festival, at The Astor on Friday May 31 at 6.30pm (Best of SXSW Music Video) and Saturday June 1 at 4.45pm (Best of SXSW 2). Type stkildafilmfestival.com.au into the address bar of your internet browser and then hit enter for more information.

HERDING CATS BY JOANNA ROBIN

Lucinda Coxon’s Herding Cats will make its Australian premiere in a new production from the Red Stitch Actors Studio. It is a provocatively funny play about two 20-somethings who share a London flat and a disenchantment with the modern world. “It is really succinct and dense and fast. It has this beautiful shiny exterior crammed full of great stories and sexual tension. At times it’s quite shocking, like someone punching you in the stomach, but then you can kind of laugh about it after,” says Ngaire Dawn Fair, who plays the itinerant workaholic Justine. Fair describes the part as her dream role and is forthrightly fond of her inexhaustible alter ego. “She’s wild, she’s beautiful and she wears her heart on her sleeve. I hope that you can’t help but like her even though she is incredibly self-centred. It’s exhausting, I’ve never played a character that’s so consistently exhausting. She just doesn’t stop.” Justine is struggling under the pressure of her job as she is squeezed between an overzealous boss and the rising cohort of interns she refers to as ‘the trust fund brigade’. Justine brings the world of London and her workplace into the apartment that she shares with Michael. It is only in the comfort of their codependency that she can drop her facade and truly be herself. Michael is an agoraphobic who works from home pretending to be a woman and offering phone sex to men. “Lucinda describes the characters as two cats, scratching around in the same basket. Justine just scratches and scratches and Michael waits there to pounce,” says Fair. The play’s London location lends a big city feel. Justine complains constantly about how oppressively dark it is – dark when she gets up and dark when she gets home. Fair relates to the claustrophobia of city life and remembers her own time in London, where she would take the cramped Tube to a cramped apartment, which she shared with nine others. “They converted this tiny linen closet into a shower. It

was so small, you couldn’t shave your legs in there and you’d have to reach out for the shampoo and stuff. I was really young, there was lots of gross guys who just partied and played Xbox all the time.” Although she had done some acting as a child and during her adolescence, at that time it was more of a dream fantasy dwelling in the back of her mind. “I was told by a lot of people how hard it was, that it was really tough and I thought, ‘Would I dare?’ I think I made it a bigger deal in my head than it actually is. When I got back to Melbourne I felt more in my comfort zone and I started getting really stuck into it,” she recalls. Red Stitch is one of Australia’s most successful independent theatre companies. It has a unique ensemble structure and is managed largely by actors. Fair joined in 2011 and is grateful to have an acting home. “You spend years floating around going from job to job, everything’s temporary and you know it’s going to end. It’s nice to have a base where you’re actually in control of the work that you do. It’s quite grounding for an actor to have that kind of support.” There was some controversy when Herding Cats was selected for the program because of its dark themes, but for Fair these made it all the more compelling. “I am discovering that the writing is faultless the more time I spend with it. Often when I get a play these bits jump out at you and you’re like, ‘How am I going to make it work?’ There’s nothing

THEATRE REVIEW: THE DEATH OF PETER PAN The Death of Peter Pan was written in 1988 and first produced by Fly-On-The-Wall theatre the subsequent year. While it stretches across a 1920s era Eton, Paris and Oxford, its tale of unaccepted passions and profound love maintains a timeless quality. Michael Llewelyn Davies (Kieran McShane) is the play’s almost painfully naive protagonist. Davies is the favourite adopted son of renowned Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie and one fifth inspiration for Barrie’s Peter Pan. Like Peter Pan, Michael’s story is one of a young boy who struggles with societal expectations, falls in love and fails to grow up. The play commences in Davies’ carefree school days at Eton with his two chums Roger Senhouse (Sean Paisley Beat Magazine Page 24

Collins) and Robert Boothby (Matthew Werkmeister). It is here that he also meets the enigmatic Robert Buxton (Jordan Armstrong). Davies cannot resist the allure of Buxton’s impulsivity and charm, which promises to challenge his conventional existence. Actors dressed in the tailored suits and boaters of a bygone era are set against a backdrop composed of a few lush pieces of furniture. The sets are simple but effective in helping to invoke a sense of a period defined by its affluence. As the boys navigate the pangs of adolescence and leave the safety of Eton, each struggles with self acceptance in a world that is at once rapidly

progressing and stringently opposed to difference. Many of the themes explored in the play maintain their relevance, particularly in the context of the ongoing debate on marriage equality. The play deals with same sex attraction but also the universal emotion of love, although there is a strong focus on relationships between men. It explores the camaraderie of school friends navigating the path from adolesence to adulthood, a fraught father and son dynamic, the romantic relations of lovers, and the blurred spaces in between. There are glimpses of genuine tenderness, particularly in the relationship between Davies and Buxton, but some of the more pointedly sentimental moments fall flat. The performances are solid and McShane is as sweet and likeable as Davies. It takes a little longer to warm to Armstrong’s Buxton, but his over the top charisma

ARTS NEWS, REVIEWS, INTERVIEWS ONLINE – BEAT.COM.AU/ARTS

Herding Cats will run at Red Stitch Theatre from Wednesday June 5 until Saturday July 6.

is offset by the vulnerability he displays in his affection for Davies. Collins stands out as Senhouse and provides some much needed comic relief and pithy dialogue. He also adds some thoughtful commentary in his asides. Werkmeister also does an outstanding job as Boothby and makes the most believable transition into adulthood. He portrays a man, grieving and troubled, clinging to the conservatisms of a rigid society that has caused him immense loss. Overall it is a solid and for the most part engaging production that encourages tolerance, acceptance and most of all love. BY JOANNA ROBIN The Death of Peter Pan is playing at Chapel Off Chapel until Sunday June 2.

wednesday may 29 inside:

hnqo

p-money

robert babicz news tours club snaps + more

UPCOMING

JUNE

M AY

on tour RIFF RAFF [USA] Wednesday May 29, The Liberty Social OMAR-S [USA] Friday May 31, The Liberty Social ROBERT BABICZ [GER], MARC ROMBOY [GER] Friday May 31, Brown Alley VON-D [UK], CASPA [UK] Friday May 31, Brown Alley ELITE FORCE [UK] Friday May 31, RMH The Venue KUTSKI [UK] Friday May 31, Roxanne Parlour CHRIS FORTIER [USA] Friday May 31, New Guernica FLATBUSH ZOMBIES [USA] Saturday June 1, The Toff In Town 6TH BOROUGH PROJECT [SCO] Saturday June 1, New Guernica COSMIN TRG [ROM] Friday June 7, New Guernica DOP [FRA] Friday June 7, The Liberty Social HNQO [BRA] Friday June 7, Brown Alley JAMIE 3:26 [USA] Friday June 7, Mercat Basement TYLER, THE CREATOR [USA], EARL SWEATSHIRT [USA] Friday June 7, Palace Theatre THE REVENGE [SCO] Saturday June 8, The Liberty Social BREACH [UK], ROUTE 94 [UK] Saturday June 8, RMH The Venue GREGOR SALTO [NED] Saturday June 8, Alumbra DASH BERLIN [NED] Saturday June 8, Shed 14 TENSNAKE [GER] Saturday June 8, The Bottom End CHRIS LIEBING [GER], JIMMY EDGAR [USA] Sunday June 9, Brown Alley EARTHCORE LAUNCH PARTY: COMING SOON!!! [ISR] + MORE Sunday June 9, La Di Da JOHN DIGWEED [UK] Sunday June 9, Prince Bandroom JEFF MILLS [USA] Sunday June 9, The Bottom End SEPALCURE [USA], DJ RASHAD [USA] + MORE Sunday June 9, TBA ATA [GER] Friday June 21, Mercat Basement MAXMILLION DUNBAR [USA] Saturday June 22, Mercat Basement COOLIO [USA] Thursday June 27, Red Bennies OBIE TRICE [USA] Friday June 28, Trak Lounge WINTER BEATS SOUNDSYSTEM: SKAZI [ISR], BEHIND BLUE EYES [DEN] Friday June 28, RMH The Venue BRISK [UK] Friday June 28, Charlton’s Nightclub. A$AP ROCKY [USA] Saturday June 29, Festival Hall TOKIMONSTA [USA] Saturday July 6, The Hi-Fi JUAN ATKINS [USA], FUNK D’VOID [UK] Friday July 12, Brown Alley ALEX KIDD [UK] Friday July 12, Billboard RICK WILHITE [USA] New Guernica on Saturday July 27 JAMES BLAKE [UK] Wednesday July 31, Palais Theatre CHVRCHES [UK] Monday August 5, Corner Hotel D-BLOCK & S-TE-FAN [NED] Friday August 16, Chaser’s Nightclub RUDIMENTAL [UK] Saturday September 21, Festival Hall PORTER ROBINSON [USA] Sunday October 20, Billboard EARTHCORE: ANGY KORE [ITA], PERFECT STRANGER [ISR] + MORE Friday November 29 - Sunday December 2, TBA BRUNO MARS [USA], MIGUEL [USA] Tuesday March 4 & Wednesday March 5, Rod Laver Arena

tour rumours Roman Flügel, Maurice Fulton, Jam City, Andrew Weatherall, Silicone Soul

contact Editor: Tyson Wray / tyson@beat.com.au Editorial Assistant: Nick Taras / nick@beat.com.au Production/Cover Design: Pat O’Neill / art@beat.com.au Typesetting: Rebecca Houlden Advertising: Adam Morgan - (03) 8414 8719 / adam@beat.com.au Taryn Stenvei - (03) 8414 9711 / taryn@beat.com.au Kris Furst - (03) 8414 9703 / kris@furstmedia.com.au Photographer: Callum Linsell Contributors: Alasdair Duncan, Andrew Hickey, Annabel Maclean, Chloe Papas, Dan Watt, Jo Campbell, Kish Lal, Lachlan Kanonuik, Leigh Salter, Miki McLay, Morgan Richards, Nick Taras, Nina Bertok, Richie Meldrum, RK, Rose Callaghan, Ryan Butler, Simon Hampson, Tamara Vogl Deadlines: Editorial: Friday 2pm Advertising: Monday 12pm Publisher: Furst Media - 3 Newton Street, Richmond - (03) 9428 3600 beat.com.au

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john digweed word s / m o rga n ri c h a rd s

Opening a story with the line, “Here’s someone who needs no introduction,” is normally just a sneaky way for writers to avoid putting in a proper intro paragraph. But what about when you’re talking about someone who really actually doesn’t need an introduction? That someone is John Digweed. I could mention a few things— such as the legendary partnership of Sasha and Digweed and their early American forays at Twilo in New York, their game-changing mix CD Northern Exposure, the founding of Bedrock Records with Nick Muir — but if these things mean nothing to you, then you should probably go get yourself an education. Pronto. It’s morning in England when Digweed picks up the line. He’s just outside London, where it’s a “cloudy, grey and miserable day... as per normal.” Especially when you’ve come from sun-drenched Ibiza, where Digweed has an upcoming residency at Pacha throughout the summer. “We had a party on Friday for all the workers and the locals, which was really good,” he explains. “I’m playing in Denver, Vancouver, Los Angeles and then fly down to Australia to do a few shows there and then back home via Hong Kong. Then it’s full-on in Ibiza through the summer.” That’s a decent whack of US dates in there. What are Digweed’s thoughts on the States’ current obsession with “EDM”? “You’ve gotta be positive about the fact that there are a lot of young people who are into electronic music. A lot of it may be more on the commercial side of things, but I’d rather that they were getting their heads around a 4/4 beat and the whole festival vibe than being into hip hop or grunge or rock’n’roll. It’s a great way to introduce them. “There is an explosion out there, and you’re seeing a lot of clubs opening up that are focusing on that. But then you look at Brooklyn, where they’ve just opened a club called Output. No VIP, no bottle service, no cameras — it’s just like playing at Twilo all those years ago. As much as you’re going to see the clubs that try to be like Vegas, all show and champagne and over-the-topness, you’re going to see people trying to create the polar opposite to that. “I’ve been going to America for over 20 years and I’ve trudged around all those clubs and thought the potential for it to explode

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is here, it just needs the right thing to make it happen. It’s blowing up with the more commercial sound, but that’s not to say that there isn’t a knock-on effect for the sort of more underground scene as well. I look at it as a good thing.” Digweed is hopeful that some of America’s new generation of clubbers might even rediscover the roots of Chicago house and Detroit techno. “A lot of these kids are following all the latest stuff,”

he continues, “but you will find people that will want to delve a bit further, a bit deeper, and try to find out — where did this music actually come from? They’ll be surprised to find out it was actually on their doorstep all the time!” As for Digweed’s roots, his formative days involved gigs at dingy warehouses and muddy raves — beginnings that seem worlds away from his current tour schedule of huge festivals and packed megaclubs. While he’s moved on to bigger things, Digweed insists

John Digweed plays at Darkbeat’s 10th Birthday at the Prince Bandroom on Sunday June 9. facebook.com/djjohndigweed

- head to beat.com.au for more

winter beats soundsystem

off the record w it h

that elements of rave culture still can be found today. “I mean, you go around the world, there are still a lot of events that remind me of those days. It hasn’t disappeared completely. But you’re right, at some of the huge festivals, it has become quite corporate and it’s more about the show than the music. You’ve just got to move with the times. For me, it’s about playing every different kind of place. Sometimes it’s going to work and sometimes it’s not, but unless you get in there and play you can never really tell. I’m lucky, I would say that 99 per cent of my gigs I come away with a smile on my face. That’s all you can ask for, really.” On the releases front, Digweed mentions a few treats soon to be released on Bedrock. “I’ve got a new album called Live in Slovenia, which is released this Monday. It’s the third part in a series of these live albums I’ve been doing around the world. I think, even though we live in an era of everyone expecting things to be free on Soundcloud or podcasts, there’s a bunch of people that actually like a physical, well-presented mix album that represents a special night somewhere in the world. We’ve also got albums from Electric Rescue coming up in June and also the Japanese Popstars have something coming out in July. We’re trying to get a balance of doing a bunch of good singles and album projects as well.” What about a reunion tour with Sasha — is that out of the question? Digweed is non-committal. “At the moment there’s nothing planned. He’s been doing his Never Say Never parties and I’ve been focusing on Bedrock releases. We did do a lot of shows for about 18 years, so it’s been quite nice just focusing on our own solo careers for a while. But as they say... never say never!”

t yson

w ray

I’m willing to bet $100 that Amanda Bynes will take up a DJ career within the next five years. Anyone down?

Earthcore and Solar Empire have come together to bring Winter Beats Soundsystem to 2013. After 2012’s massive success, Winter Beats Soundsystem is returning and with an even bigger lineup than the last. With a host of internationals including Skazi and Behind Blue Eyes who will be joined by amazing local support Terrafractyl, Tetrameth, Circuit Bent, Blunt Instrument, Kalus together with Kodiak Kid, Monkey Bars, Electrocado, Lanksta, Desiseq, Volta, Killa, Danny Dobs, Miza, John Doe, Ozzy and much more. Head down to RMH The Venue for all the fun on Friday June 28.

masif hard dance icons

For the first time ever, The Masif Hard Dance Icons Tour will be making its first stop in Melbourne. With the biggest names in UK hard dance making their way down you can expect classics, anthems, fresh productions and everything in between to be played. The main room will be transformed into a celebration of all things hard dance and of course the debut of The Masif Dance Icons. The 2012 tour sold out so you can expect bigger and better things from 2013. With Kandy dancers, LED rotating stage screens, saffron pistal collaborations, even fruits and other ‘goodies’ the night is only elevated by it’s amazing lineup. Tidy Boys, Andy Whitby, BK, Nick Sentience, Karim, Ilogik and Steve Hill will be joined by stellar local support on what will be a night to remember. Head down to Billboard The Venue on Friday August 2.

electronic - urban - club life

d-block & s-te-fan

For the first time ever in a club show appearance Finders Keepers Entertainment and Masif Melbourne present D-Block & S-te-fan. With a big love for melody and bass, Diederik Bakker and Stefan den Daas bumped into each other towards the end of 2004. They immediately clicked and at that point they started moving their musical love to a higher level. Considered by fans and peers alike to be the world’s number one hard dance duo, D-Block & S-te-fan’s debut club show appearance in Melbourne will be seminal. The night will have a host of interstate and local talent including none other than Hard Dance Alliance. It’s all happening on Friday August 16 at Chaser’s Nightclub.

Skazi

electronic - urban - club life

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news

- head to beat.com.au for more

porter robinson

snaps in tribute: ajax lucky coq

Porter Robinson is returning to Melbourne in what is set to be a rare and intimate show. Coming off playing the biggest stages worldwide at Ultra Music Festival, Coachella, Tomorrowland, EDC and Australia’s Future Music Festival and Stereosonic, Porter Robinson has truly risen to be one of the top names in EDM. With his last two singles Language and Easy on high rotation, Porter has become a household name in an incredibly short amount of time. Head down to Billboard The Venue for what will be a very special night on Sunday October 20.

organic audio

fuzion

Ultrasound and O.P.A are joining forces to bring together Melbourne’s newest night. With plans for amazing décor, lighting, a great vibe and an all-star local lineup, they’ve sweetened the deal with adding a legendary international artist, Brisk, to the bill. Purveyors of all things hard will get a chance to enjoy hard house, hard trance, hardstyle and hardcore all under the one roof. Brisk is renowned for his production, remixes and his ability to weave in and out with an array of different genres and styles. Having won awards for being the best hardcore DJ, travelled every inch of the globe, running a radio show and coowning three record labels, it’s any wonder Brisk could find time to fly Down Under. He’ll be joined by Soul-T, Karpe-DM, Uforia, Gazmatron, Danny J and much more. It’s all happening on Friday June 28 at Charlton’s Nightclub.

kim & beni

This winter sees KIM and Beni join forces for a string of DJ dates around Australia. This national tour sees them DJ back to back for three hours on what is a journey through some of their latest interests along with their long standing influences, and everything in-between. KIM, one half of The Presets, is out for his first national DJ run in four years. In that time he’s released Selected Jerks 2001-2009, co-produced, released and toured the critically acclaimed Pacifica with The Presets and lent his skills to a wide and varied array of brilliantly talented artists. Beni is no stranger to the DJ booth with his constant touring and excellent production making him one of Australia’s best electronic talents. Along the way he’s remixed Tiga, Kimbra, La Roux and Etienne De Crecy. Beni has DJed at festivals all round the country including Parklife, Stereosonic, Groovin’ The Moo and triple j’s House Party Tour. They land in Melbourne on Saturday July 13 at The Bottom End.

party profile: earthcore 20 year anniversary launch party

earth

A four-day celebration of beats and bass in the Victorian bush with friends, good music, a massive sound system and camping is what Earth is all about. In order to maintain the vibe and magic that made the last Earth so special this will be a strictly limited numbers event. In order to avoid the trend of losing out on their roots, the guys behind Earth have decided this is an essential measure in keeping being the same festival everyone has grown to love. The lineup so far includes Roln, Beatski, Patch, MC Pab, 1LC, Trooper, C:1, Kodiac Kid, Heartical Hi-Fi Outernational, Stryka D, System Unknown Soundsystem, Citizen.com, Matty Blades, Lex, SpinFX & Foxtrot and many more to be announced. It’s all happening in Gippsland on Friday November 8.

behind the decks with:

amin payne

coming soon!!! When is it? Sunday June 9. Where is it? La Di Da, CBD. Who’s playing? Special guests from Israel Coming Soon!!! plus MoGo, RickySixx, PakMan, Twisted Molecule, Left of Centre, Neshi, Blaumann, Killa, Azrin What sort of shit will they be playing? Two rooms of banging techno, progressive and trance. What’s the crowd going to be like? Loose. What will we remember in the AM? Absolutely nothing. What’s the wallet damage? $25 presale, more on the door. Give us one final reason why we should party here. It’s better to party with us then at your mum’s house!

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Organic Audio is an event that looks to capture a vast collaborative soundscape encompassing the expansive measure of Australia and New Zealand and bridging the distance between them. The night is all about supporting artists with distinctive individual styles, representing and depicting their own inherent sound. A sensory concoction aiming towards the unity of like-minded souls. Organic Audio is a platform for ground-breaking artists to take you to the places they love and share with you sounds and art-forms inspired by their home and land. In over three different rooms your ears will be graced with the sounds of Antix, Fiord, Closer Apart, Thankyou City, Moodmachine, Boogs, Muska, Nixie, Oddphonic, Timmus, Tahl, Sun In Aquarius, Mindbuffer, Griff, Altruism and Kodiak Kid. It’s all happening at Brown Alley on Friday July 5.

Where’s the strangest place you’ve woken up? Under a coffee table. Describe yourself using the title of a song. I’m Not That Guy. What was the weirdest thing you believed as a child? That there was no such thing as racism. The most awkward moment you’ve had as a DJ? When the promoter that booked me thought I played mainstream music and that I was providing the turntables also. What would be the worst dance track in the world to be tortured with on repeat? Eiffel 65 – I’m Blue.

electronic - urban - club life

What’s the most played record in your bag? I don’t really play records much when I DJ even though I dig for records on a regular. I use Serato so my most played track is Tom Browne – Funkin’ for Jamaica. What question would you like to ask an omniscient, allknowing being before you die? If there is a Heaven can you hook me up with a free entry? I’ll shout you a drink. If you hadn’t made it as a DJ, what job would you choose to work in instead? Recording Studio Engineer and Manager. When and where is your next gig? Friday May 31 at Workshop for CDMK Lounge Session.

snaps level 2

robert babicz word s / a l a s d a i r d u n c a n

Electronic music titan Robert Babicz releases his long-awaited new album, The Owl And The Butterfly, this month. The music brings together his signature blend of deep techno and melodic house, and the rather cryptic title is an attempt to sum up his journey so far. “I wanted to find symbols to illustrate the process that I’ve been through as an artist, and the owl and the butterfly both have deep meaning for me,” he says. “The butterfly is a symbol of transformation, and the owl stands for wisdom.” Babicz has been involved in music for more than two decades, and has gained a good deal of knowledge in that time, while constantly trying to improve and transform along the way. “At this point in my career, I feel like an advanced beginner!” he laughs. Babicz moved to Germany from his native Poland in the early ‘90s, immersing himself in the burgeoning techno culture, and attending parties like the iconic Love Parade. He remembers a sense of freedom in the air at that time, and says that, since then, boundaries between electronic music styles have become more rigid and defined. He tries not to let new and current trends influence his own work, but as someone who plays in clubs every weekend, that can be impossible. “I hear the DJ playing before me and the DJ playing after me,” he says, “so I hear a lot of new music. In addition to this, I’m a mastering engineer – I work for many different people and different

labels, and so I can see trends as they start, I can hear people starting to copy certain sounds or follow certain rules.” While he hears what’s going on in the world of electronic music, Babicz is determined to always try and find his own way. “I’m only human, so I take on influences, although I try not to as much as possible,” he says. “People always ask what kind of music I’m making, what style I’m working in – a few years ago, I decided that the only answer to that question is that I do Babicz Style. I think every musician should just do their own thing, and offer their own personal view.” Babicz is adamant that, as an artist, he is not part of a machine, and does not need to confine himself to any one style. “I’ve always been an individual when it comes to music,” he continues. “I’ve released on many different labels under many different names, but I’ve never been part of a group. That might account for my way of thinking.” Many producers will slave away in the studio for weeks, working on new tracks, and then play them in DJ sets to gauge the crowd’s reaction. This is not the case for Babicz, who finds that to be a tedious way of working, and instead, plays everything live and in the moment. His show is built around an array of synths, and he improvises all the way through the show, constantly dreaming up and refining new ideas on the fly.

hnqo word s / j o d y m a cg rego r

workshop

Henrique Oliveira, aka house DJ, producer and head of the Playperview label HNQO, comes from the Brazilian city of Curitiba. After watching a tourist commercial on YouTube, the main impression I came away with is that the people of Curitiba are very proud of their public transport system, so I ask Oliveira for a better idea of what kind of city it is. “Curitiba is a city of about three million people,” he explains. “It’s not that big, not that small, but it has its own life, its own characteristics. Like very good public transport. It’s kind of renowned all over Brazil.” This must be how foreigners feel when Melbournites talk about the trams. As far as its music, Oliveira explains that in Brazil – especially southern Brazil – house music is popular at the moment, with places like the Warung Beach Club, which calls itself “the South American Temple of Electronic Music”, acting as hubs for a thriving scene. “The crowds are really warm at the moment and more open-minded than they used to be three years ago. Now’s a really good moment for the house scene. I would say that it’s pretty much very similar to playing in Brazil and over in Europe or Asia, not a big difference. Maybe in Europe there’s a bigger scene for techno and everything but house I would say it’s pretty similar at the moment. “I feel pretty comfortable to play either in Brazil or in Europe or

Asia, the places I go to now I feel really comfortable. Sometimes I feel more comfortable playing in Brazil. My city, for example, the club vibe I know exactly what I can play and it’s really chilled out, the people are open-minded and they respect the new ideas and everything so it’s cool.” But right now Oliveira’s not in Brazil. He’s in Switzerland, taking four days off before heading to Berlin, which is the next stop on a touring schedule that will bring him to Australia in June. Although he’s seen plenty of the rest of the world, this will be his first time in Australia. Friends who’ve been here before have given him the lowdown on what to expect. “They tell me some good things about it especially like the beautiful landscapes, beaches and also some nice parties going on there,” he says. “Like of course Sydney, Melbourne, they’re pretty worldwide famous so I’ve seen some photos and I know a little bit.” That’s not been his only source of information on our country, however. “I’m expecting a warm crowd because on my Facebook page I receive a lot of messages from people in Australia telling they are waiting for me there,” he says. “They’re looking forward, excited to see me playing, so I think it’s going to be nice.” When Oliveira was a teenager, before house music exerted its pull on him, he was into hip hop and even a member of a

Didier Cohen

p-money word s / l a c h la n k a n o n i u k It’s been a while since we last heard from Kiwi producer extraordinaire P-Money. Turns out he’s been plugging away at a new album while based in downtown Manhattan. It’s here where I find P-Money nested in his East Village apartment, just before his Antipodean homecoming for a tour to launch his star-studded new LP, Gratitude. His Kiwi accent undiminished by his newfound New York residence, he recounts the starting point of the album’s winding journey. “I would say it was somewhere around August-September last year was when I really made the absolute decision – ‘cool, I’m gonna do this album, it’s going to be a compilation of different artists, and I need to get it done by a certain date’,” he states. “Music-wise I already had beats, so I had some things to choose from. That helped define the sound.” Gratitude marks a return to fundamental hip hop values, enlisting the vocal talents of Talib Kweli, Mobb Depp’s Havoc, Monsta G, Freddie Gibbs, Blaison Maven, Jamall Bufford and plenty more. Moving to New York was a motivated decision to become absorbed in the city’s rich hip hop history. “I guess it was a deliberate move when I moved here, to be in the mix

with hip hop and other genres of music. New York is the hub, and I wanted to be a part of that. Just being in this environment, hearing other people’s music. And just being closer to that underground hip hop movement. I’m working with [record label] Duck Down, and that’s their area of expertise. It’s just got me back on that vibe of making rap beats for straight up hip hop – not for radio or the dancefloor. Just good stuff for the rap fans to listen to.” Though the history of hip hop is both rich and expansive, P-Money has narrowed his scope to the classic era of East Coast rap. “It definitely harks back to the commonly referenced era of the ‘90s New York sound, pioneered by guys like Pete Rock and DJ Premier with Gang Starr. They’re the dudes that I always listen to. That samplebased stuff, chopping up records. That’s always a reference point for a lot of the stuff that I do, particularly with this album.” All genres of electronic music are more susceptible to the follies of trend, hip hop not excluded. But Gratitude manages to avoid any current trend alignment – a deliberate move on P-Money’s behalf. “I’m a music fan, so I’m always aware, I like to stay in touch with what’s happening. This album I felt that it didn’t stick with any particular trend, but I felt that it’s cool music and there are people

electronic - urban - club life

“I really like to just play along with the machines, with no idea of what’s going to happen,” he says. “It’s very immediate. As soon as I try something new, I can say ‘this was an interesting move’ or ‘this was totally wrong, I should never do this again!’ All the improvising gives me knowledge I can use during the week in the studio.” Babicz refers to improvising as “the best music school” he could have asked for. It adds a spontaneous quality to his music, and makes him more decisive in the studio. “One of the biggest things it has taught me is the ability to make decisions in the moment,” he says. “When I’m working on a track, I don’t need to change a dozen bass lines around and mess with a bunch of different hi-hats – I know right away what works and what I want.” Indecisiveness, he says, is the biggest fault that many young producers have. “They’ll sit in the studio for months working on a track, and change little things here and little things there,” he says. “I would go mad if I had to sit on a track for such a long time. It would be impossible.” Electronic gear can be very fragile, and Babicz is very conscious of the need to keep his synths in good working order when he tours the world. “Keyboards get damaged all the time!” he says. “That’s one of the reasons why I stopped carrying a lot of analogue gear in the past, but it was knocked around so many times that my technician told me, ‘If this gets damaged one more time, it’s going to get destroyed and I won’t be able to repair it’. I had to find new ways to do it. I’m very happy about the whole digital revolution, very much. We can do things now that were impossible on the stage, really complicated stuff. I just have two hands.” Many producers get nostalgic for the good old days of analogue, but Babicz is defiantly not one of these, and embraces the possibilities of the digital revolution. “As a human, I’m always curious,” he says. “I want to move on and I want to learn. I try to use the best things from both worlds. There’s no difference for me – I either like things or I don’t like them.”

Robert Babicz plays alongside Marc Romboy at Brown Alley on Friday May 31. facebook.com/robertbabicz soundcloud.com/robbabicz local breakdance crew, which he joined after they put on a demonstration at his school. “They were the best crew in town,” he says, “and I started practising with them and started dancing together. I think three years [later] I had to quit it because I started working. I also did college – it became more heavy, more and more tasks, I had to quit it and then suddenly I found myself amongst the music, going to clubs and started to throw my small parties in the city with some friends. Nothing extra special but just for fun, with local DJs.” What he modestly calls “small parties” were where he first made contact with the DJs who would become the stable of Playperview, and where he first tried DJing himself. It seems like a sudden rise from there to travelling the world with his music. “Just for one year I was kind of under the radar,” he says, “and then I started to put my music up on Soundcloud, looking for some labels and then after that started releasing some stuff. After a year and a half things got pretty big and happened quite fast, but not that fast.” His own music is built around a nugget of the hip hop he used to listen to as a breakdancing kid – he namechecks Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Grandmaster Flash and Jurassic 5 – both in the vocal samples he chooses and the breaks. “I would say that hip hop is my background because I’ve been listening to it such a long time, even before I started breakdancing. I think that the drums of hip hop really inspired me, the breaks inspired me. I like percussion, I like drum grooves, so yeah, definitely the hip hop rhythms inspire me from my position. Sometimes it sounds more hip hop-ish I would say, sometimes not, but definitely I’m always listening to hip hop and just chilling. Or jazz, some blues also. Definitely the percussion – drums inspire me.”

HNQO plays at Brown Alley on Friday June 7. facebook.com/hnqopage soundcloud.com/hnqo

out there that miss the sound, that still dig the sound, and they would really dig the record. I guess it was a deliberate move against the trends. I’m aware of what’s going on, but this is its own thing and hopefully it stands up on its own.” One of the first tastes from Gratitude came in the form of The Hardest, a collaboration with iconic rap duo M.O.P. “With that particular song, when we first got in touch with M.O.P. to see if they were interested and had to send the track first and foremost so they could hear what I was pitching to them. Then they liked it and said they could do the track. I wanted to record in person, so we got together in a studio near where I live in Soho,” he reveals. “They were down to do that, and they’d written the bones of it then finished the rest off in the studio. They’re absolute legends in my mind, I’ve been listening to their music since I was a kid. So it was interesting just as a fan to see how they work. I just wanted them to do what they do, they’re known as one of the hardest, most hardcore, rap duos of all time, and I wanted that on the song. And they definitely brought it.” Despite being away from his homeland for the course of a year, P-Money has been keeping track of New Zealand’s hip hop scene. “It’s as strong as ever. In some ways it’s enjoying a second renaissance, definitely in the underground side of things. There are artists who have embraced the current music industry model where they can record themselves and distribute it online without the need for any major label infrastructure,” he beams. “I’m watching these kids and some of them are rising to the surface and translating it into real albums that people can purchase. Home Brew is the perfect example, where they did their thing online then at clubs and venues around the country, then within a two year span they’ve had a huge album. There is a whole flock of kids coming up who have seen that example and thought, ‘Cool, we can do that ourselves.’ And that’s really encouraging and great to see.”

P-Money plays alongside David Dallas on Friday June 7 at The Espy. His latest album Gratitude is out now. facebook.com/pmoneynz soundcloud.com/p_money

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electronic - urban - club life

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club guide wednesday may 29

COQ ROQ - FEAT: AGENT 86 + DJS LADY NOIR + JOYBOT + KITI + MR THOM Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm. COSMIC PIZZA - FEAT: NHJ Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm DUBSTEP GRIME DRUM & BASS - FEAT: DJ BADDUMS + DJ CARMEX Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. HALFWAYS Workshop, Melbourne. 8:00pm. HOODRAPZ - FEAT: WEDNESDAY Workshop, Melbourne. 7:00pm. LOST & FOUND - FEAT: DJ SPIDEY + DJ RUBY FROST Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. MO’ SOUL - FEAT: DJ VINCE PEACH & MISS GOLDIE Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. NEW GUERNICA WEDNESDAYS New Guernica, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. SOUL ARMY Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE DINNER SET Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 6:00pm.

thursday may 30

3181 THURSDAYS - FEAT: HANS DC + JAKE JUDD + NIKKI SARAFIAN + HEY SAM + JESSE YOUNG + JOHN DOE + SEAN RAULT Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 5:00pm. BANG N MASH Word Events Warehouse & Lounge, Melbourne. 8:00pm. BILLBOARD THURSDAYS - FEAT: MATT DEAN + MATTY GRANT + PHIL ROSS Billboard, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $10. CHI BEATS Chi Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. DJ KRONIC + MS BUTT Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. DO DROP IN - FEAT: DJ KITI + DJ LADY NOIR The Carlton Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. DON’T THINK I’M ALIVE THURSDAYS The Vineyard, St Kilda. 7:00pm. FREE RANGE FUNK - FEAT: AGENT 86 + LEWIS CANCUT + WHO Lucky Coq, Windsor. 6:00pm. GOOD EVENING - FEAT: DJ PEOPLE Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. GRAD PARTY THURSDAYS - FEAT: DJ ROWIE European Bier Cafe, Melbourne Cbd. 5:00pm. LE DISCO TECH Pretty Please, St Kilda. 8:00pm. LOVE STORY Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS - FEAT: DJS PREQUEL & EDD FISHER Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. MOOD - FEAT: NUBODY Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. RADIONICA Workshop, Melbourne. 8:00pm. THE RITZ THURSDAYS - FEAT: NARI & MILANI + CARRICK DALTON & SAM COHEN + CAUC-ASIAN DJ’S + ED WILKS + JOSHUA GILILAND + KEN WALKER + LUCILLE CROFT + MAX KRUSE + TIM LIGHT + ZACK ROSE Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 8:00pm. $20. TROCADERO Match Bar & Grill, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.

friday may 31

BADABOOM FRIDAYS - FEAT: DJ ROWIE

European Bier Cafe, Melbourne Cbd. 4:00pm. CANT SAY Platform One, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $10. CHI FRIDAYS Chi Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. CQ FRIDAYS Cq, Melbourne. 8:00pm. CRUCIAL SOCIAL ACADEMY - FEAT: DJ A13 + DJ JELLYFISHWORKSHOP, MELBOURNE. 8:00PM. discotheque - feat: elana musto + greg sara + scott t MATCH BAR & GRILL, MELBOURNE CBD. 7:00PM. FRIDAY NIGHT COMMERCIAL HOUSE DJS - FEAT: HIJACK + LIVNBEYNG + MAGIC HOUSE Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 8:30pm. I LOVE OLD SCHOOL - FEAT: SHAGGZ & PUPPET + DJ TEY + MERV MAC Red Bennies, South Yarra. 10:00pm. $10. MEET YOUR MATES FRIDAYS Libation, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. PANORAMA - FEAT: DJS MATT RAD + MR GEORGE + PHATO A MANO + TOM MEAGHER Lucky Coq, Windsor. 8:00pm. POPROCKS - FEAT: DR PHIL SMITH Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. REMEMBER ME The Motel, South Melbourne. 8:00pm. RETRO SEXUAL One Twenty Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. SHUFFLE FRIDAY NIGHTS Bridie O’reilly’s Brunswick, Brunswick. 10:00pm. SVELT + BISCOTTI + MANGELWURZEL 303, Northcote. 8:30pm. $10. THE FOX FRIDAYS Fox Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm. UPTOWN GROOVE Order Of Melbourne, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. WEEKENDER! Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. SHUFFLE FRIDAY NIGHTS Bridie O’reilly’s Brunswick, Brunswick. 11:00pm. THE FOX FRIDAYS Fox Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. UPTOWN GROOVE Order Of Melbourne, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.

saturday june 1

VENICE MUSIC - FEAT: DJ ALI E Some Velvet Morning, Clifton Hill. 8:00pm. BILLBOARD SATURDAYS - FEAT: FRAZER ADNAM SCOTT MCMAHON + JAMIE VLAHOS + MR MAGOO + ZIGGY Billboard, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15. CHI SATURDAYS Chi Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm CLUB FICTION - FEAT: KITTY ROCK & THE BAD LADIES Red Bennies, South Yarra. 2:00am. DJ PLAZMA Idgaff Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. FIRST FLOOR SATURDAYS - FEAT: BILLY HOYLE + DJS DUCHESZ + MZRIZK + WASABI First Floor, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. GLITCH THIS - FEAT: SATURDAY Workshop, Melbourne. 7:00pm. HOT STEP Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. LAB 22 Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. MIXED DRINKS SATURDAYS

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snaps bimbos

omar-s One of Detroit’s most revered contemporary producers, Omar-S’ 2013 tour comes off the back of his latest release Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself. The techno and house stalwart was meant to return to Melbourne in 2011 for a show alongside Robert Babicz and Scuba but was forced to abandon the tour in the eleventh hour. Omar-S will play at The Liberty Social on Friday May 31 with support from the bearded adonis Tornado Wallace and Andee Frost. Libation, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. MOTEL SATURDAYS The Motel, South Melbourne. 8:00pm. NEW GUERNICA SATURDAYS New Guernica, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. ONESIXFIVE - FEAT: DJ COURTNEY MILLS + DJ HOOPS + DJ OLLIE HOLMES + DJ JOSH PAOLA + DJ WILL CUMMINGS Onesixone, Prahran. 3:00am. POISON APPLE Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 8:00pm. SATURDAY CONFIDENTIAL Galley Room, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. SATURDAYS - FEAT: ACTION SAM + DJ ROWIE European Bier Cafe, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. SATURDAYS @ LEVEL 2 - FEAT: DJ BOOGS + DJ CHESTWIG + DJ LUKE MCD + DJ MIKE HUNT + DJ ROWIE + DJ SPECIAL K Level 2 The Club, Northcote. 9:00pm. SATURDAYS AT ONE TWENTY BAR One Twenty Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. SOUND EMPIRE - FEAT: DJ TATE STRAUSS + DJ JOE SOFO + DJ MATTY + DJ MISS SARAH + DJ PHIL ROSS Fusion, Southbank. 9:30pm. $25. SOUTH SIDE SHOW - FEAT: EDD FISHER + KNAVE KNIXX Red Bennies, South Yarra. 8:00pm. $15. STAR SATURDAYS Star Bar, South Melbourne. 8:00pm. STRUT SATURDAYS - FEAT: COLLECTIVE + ANDREAS + DANNY MERX + HENRIQUE + JASON SERINI + MARK PELLEGRINI + MC JUNIOR + NICK VAN WILDER Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 8:00pm. $22. SUNDAY NIGHTS - FEAT: DJ DAMION DE SILVA + DJ JAY J + DJ KEN WALKER + DJ LIGHTING Co., Southbank. 8:30pm. TEMPERANCE SATURDAYS - FEAT: DJ MARCUS KNIGHT + DJ XANDER JAMES Temperance Hotel, South Yarra. 8:00pm. TEXTILE - FEAT: DJS PACMAN + JEAN PAUL + MOONSHINE + TAH Lucky Coq, Windsor. 6:00pm. THE FOX SATURDAYS Fox Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm. THE HOUSE DEFROST - FEAT: DJ ANDEE FROST Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. WHAT’S DOING? - FEAT: DJ CITIZEN.COM Workshop, Melbourne. 8:00pm. WHY NOT? - FEAT: SATURDAY Pretty Please, St Kilda. 8:00pm.

sunday june 2

COSMIC TONIC Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 9:30pm. DANGER - FEAT: GEORGE HYSTERIC & ROHAN BELL-TOWERS The Carlton Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. GUILTY PLEASURES Pretty Please, St Kilda. 8:00pm. MOTEL SUNDAYS The Motel, South Melbourne. 8:00pm. NO MORE-BANG-FOR-BUCK BURLESQUE SHOW! Red Bennies, South Yarra. 8:00pm. REVOLVER SUNDAYS - FEAT: DJ BOOGS + DJ SPACEY SPACE + DJ RADIATOR + DJ SILVERSIX + DJ T-REK Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 6:30pm. SOUTH SIDE HUSTLE - FEAT: ASKEW + BOOSHANK + DISCO HARRY + JUNJI + MISS BUTT + PAZ + PETER BAKER Lucky Coq, Windsor. 8:30pm. SUNDAE SHAKE - FEAT: AGENT 86 + PHATO-A-MANO + TIGERFUNK Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 4:00pm. SUNDAY SESSIONS - FEAT: DAN BOWDENA ND MAYFIELD + FOUNKSHUI Veludo Bar & Restaurant, St Kilda. 4:30pm. SURRENDER - FEAT: DJ SERGEANT SLICK + DJ ADAM TRACE + DJ ADRIAN CHESSARI + DJ CHRIS OSTROM + DJ SEF Fusion, Southbank. 8:00pm. THE SUNDAY SET - FEAT: DJS ANDYBLACK + HAGGIS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 4:00pm.

monday june 3

IBIMBO - FEAT: LADY NOIR & KITI Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. KOOL AID - FEAT: DJ MU-GEN Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. STIFF DRINK - FEAT: DJ MICHAEL KUCYK + DJ MICHAEL OZONE + DJ ROMAN WAFERS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. TWERKERS CLUB - FEAT: DJ FLETCH Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:00pm.

tuesday june 4

BIMBO TUESDAYS - FEAT: ADAM ASKEW Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. COSMIC PIZZA Lucky Coq, Windsor. 8:00pm. DJ JAGUAR E55, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. NEVER CHEER BEFORE YOU KNOW WHO’S WINNING - FEAT: REPETER FONDA Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm.

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electronic - urban - club life

first floor

urban club guide snaps be. at co.

wednesday may 29 Compression Session - Feat: Cassawarrior + Dd + Ricka E55, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. Soul Ensemble Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.

thursday may 30 Pennies Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:30pm. $6.

Shaggz + Shaun D La Di Da, Melbourne. 8:00pm. Rnb Superclub - Feat: Young Men Society Rnb Superclub, Southbank. 8:00pm. Studio Chasers, South Yarra. 8:00pm. $20. Sweet Nothing Fridays - Feat: DJ Marcus Knight + DJ Xander James Temperance Hotel, South Yarra. 9:00pm.

saturday june 1

friday may 31 Chaise Fridays - Feat: Soulclap + DJ Claz + DJ Dirx + DJ Peril + DJ Sef Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 4:30pm. Crew Love - Feat: DJ Tony Sunshine Sub Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. $15. DJ Thaddeus Doe The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm. Faktory Khokolat Bar, Melbourne. 2:55pm. Faktory - Feat: DJ Damion De Silva + DJ Durmy + DJ K Dee + DJ Yaths Khokolat Bar, Melbourne. 9:30pm. Get Lit Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. Like Fridays - Feat: Broz + Dir-X + DJs Dinesh + Nyd + Sef +

monday june 3 Freedom Pass - Feat: Phil Ross + B-Boogie + Chris Mac + Dozza Co., Southbank. 10:30pm. Hip Hop Open Mic First Floor, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

tuesday june 4 Can I Kick It? Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.

Chaise Lounge Saturdays - Feat: DJ Andy Pala + DJ Kah Lua Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. Cheap Sober + Maggot Mouf & Gutz + Pete Mc + Planz The Hi-fi, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $26. Laundry Saturdays Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:30pm. Saturday Nights - Feat: DJ Damion De Silva + Dj Jay Sin + DJ K Dee Khokolat Bar, Melbourne. 9:30pm. The Dojo Order Of Melbourne, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. The High Society Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.

faktory at khokolat bar

rhythm-al-ism at eden

khokolat koated at khokolat bar

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INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP

with Christie Eliezer * Stuff for this column to be emailed to <celiezer@netspace.net.au> by Friday 5pm THINGS WE HEAR

All three days of the punk-rock Poison City Weekender festival sold out in a day. The event takes place on September 6, 7 and 8 at The Curtin, The Corner Hotel and The Reverence. Headliners on each of the nights are Nation Blue, The Smith Street Band and Blueline Medic.

* Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter has revealed how their anonymity because of their masks can backfire. A man ran up a huge bar tab in Ibiza claiming to be him, while scalpers tried to sell them tickets to their own show in London. This week their album came in at #1 on the ARIA chart, turning platinum. * All the clubs on LA’s Sunset Strip dimmed their lights for a minute in tribute to The Doors’ Ray Manzarek. A quiet spoken and eloquent man who loved jazz, during an Australian visit he insisted this columnist get him a copy of Dave Graney’s Morrison Show – where Jim Morrison disguised himself in a Doors tribute band – to take back to America and play it to the others. * Muse sparked an alarm in the English town of Coventry: they were rehearsing special effects for their show at the local stadium, and residents who saw flames rising on the roof thought it was on fire. * The Cat Empire’s Steal The Light hit Top 20 in iTunes in five countries after its first day of release, and Top 100 in five others. * Airbourne frontman Joel O’Keefe admits he can’t play his own song on Guitar Hero and was bested by his four-year-old nephew. * triple j Magazine has been axed by its publisher and will only be published once a year after the June/July issue. Meantime, Roadshow Music (Savage Garden, Killing Heidi) has closed, says The Music Network. * Laneway Festival’s first appearance in America, in Detroit in mid-September, will be headlined by Sigur Ros and The National with a bill including The Deerhunters, Flume, Chet Faker, CHVRCHES and Frightened Rabbit. * Wolfmother have been playing spur-of-themoment gigs around Victoria, including the Cullen in Prahran and Bendigo’s Golden Vine Hotel. At the Bendigo show, the place filled up to its 230 capacity even though the show was only announced the day before, with another 150 queued outside. * The entire board of Castlemaine’s WMA community radio station quit last Thursday after a row over future funding with members. Things had been simmering for a time after station manager Martin Myles was removed. John Rowland is acting interim president.

FIONA PEACOCK JOINS ON THE MAP PR

UNFD TEAMS WITH US LABEL EQUAL VISION

WILL 360 DOMINATE APRA AWARDS?

Will 360 lead hip hop’s onslaught at next month’s APRAs? 60, whose mum calls him Matthew Colwell, and his collaborator Kaelyn Behr of Styalz Fuego, got four nominations. Guy Sebastian, Sia Furler and Timomatic had three. The full list of nominees are at apra-amcos.com.au Up for Song of the Year: 360’s Boys Like You, two from Tame Impala (Elephant, Feels Like We Only Go Backwards), Guy Sebastian & Ian Barter’s Get Along, Courtney Barnett’s History Eraser and Mia Dyson’s When The Moment Comes penned with Patrick Cupples and Erin Sidney. 10 of the 90 nominated writers are first timers, including Barnett, Georgi Kay, Vandalism & Ikid, Seth Sentry, Feenixpawl & Ivan Gough, The Rubens, Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes and Alpine. Russell Morris is also up for his first APRA award after his chart comeback this year. Vying for Breakthrough Songwriter are 360 & Behr, DNA’s Anthony Egizii and David Musumeci, Alpine, Seth Marton (Seth Sentry) & Stephen Mowat and Tjimba Possum-Burns & Danny Ramzan of Yung Warriors.

POISON CITY SELLS OUT IN A DAY

After a brief break from the biz to start a family, Fiona Peacock has joined forces with Emily Cheung’s expanding communications firm, On The Map PR. “To be given the opportunity to work for a company such as On The Map with artists and projects I feel passionate about has really re-ignited my love for PR,” she explains. Peacock has been in music publicity, promotions and PR for ten years, Polygram Records, Warner Music Australia, Shock Records and most recently Sony Music Australia. She’s at fiona@ onthemappr.com.

RUSSELL MORRIS GOES GOLD

Russell Morris’ Sharkmouth has gone gold, for sales of 35,000, his label Ambition Music Group said. The album, the singer songwriter’s first Top 10 album after a 44-year solo career, is up for a nomination in the Blues & Roots category of next month’s APRA Awards. Ambition is currently working on a TV special around the album and the history behind the characters in the songs.

FAST TRACK SINGING SHIOWCASES LAUNCHED

Ben Brazil and biz partner Christine Collyern launched Fast Track Singing Showcases. It’s designed for vocalists of all ages and abilities, with a category for inexperienced performers to ‘Win A Mentor’. Kicking off at Docklands in July with partners Yamaha Music Australia, Fast Track will offer thousands of dollars in awards, $5,000 worth of prizes from Yamaha and a high profile judging panel to provide feedback. The first round of entries saw over 100 applicants, with Fast Track to launch in Sydney and Brisbane. For more info and to get involved email info@fasttracktalent.com.au

A YEAR OF SPOTIFY IN AUSTRALIA: NEW CHART, NEW FIGURES Spotify celebrates its first year in Australia by releasing figures. How many Australian subscribers it has remains a secret. But Australians listened to 42.5 million hours of music. Over 14 million playlists were created over 12 months. 230,000 of these were for travel and holidays, almost 150,000 for exercising, 240,000 about love, 55,000 related to weddings and 65,000 for work. The service last week launched the Spotify Charts (charts.spotify. com), which updates the most streamed or most shared tracks on a weekly basis.

UNFD officially announced its partnership with US label Equal Vision Records. It will distribute their music in Australia and NZ, and relaunch their back catalogue. Equal Vision is home to Converge, Saves The Day, Give Up The Ghost, Coheed and Cambria, We Came As Romans, Circa Survive and Pierce The Veil. UNFD this year issued Say Anything’s 3-disc set of early rarities and new albums from The Dear Hunter, Eisley and Pretty & Nice. UNFD founder Jaddan Comerford said, “Equal Vision are responsible for some of the most iconic punk and hardcore records of the past 20 years.”

UNIVERSAL AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES CAROLINE LABEL SERVICES Universal Music Australia has set up Caroline Label Services. It is to provide “a flexible solution” to labels and artists, with the backing of a major and a tie-in with Caroline offices in America and Europe. Caroline is based out of Melbourne with General Manager Tim Janes and Label Manager George Dalziel, and National Publicist Gabrielle Ryan in Sydney. Its label partners are Spunk, Popfrenzy, Dine Alone, Cooking Vinyl, Resist and Spinefarm.

TRIBUTE TO TIM HEMENSLEY

play, joined by guest vocalists. The annual Hemensley Cup footy match will kick off the day’s celebrations at Victoria Park in Abbotsford from 11am. Their 1993 debut album Smashed On A Knee (originally on Dog Meat) is reissued in July by Freeform Patterns/Fuse remastered by Mikey Young with three bonus cuts and a 16-page booklet.

VENUES #1: B.EAST SCALING BACK MUSIC The B.East (80 Lygon St, Brunswick East) is scaling back its live music “due to pressure from the council, and noise complaints from neighbouring residents.” Instead of having acts four nights a week, it will focus on special events and one-offs with DJs. The venue said that soundproofing would cost too much.

VENUES #2: EUREKA HIT WITH $10K FINE The licensee of Geelong’s The Eureka Hotel were fined $10,000 and have to operate under strict conditions, the Geelong Advertiser reported. These will include not serving drinks in glass, employing three more security guards after 10pm, throwing out drunk patrons and not using promo material that encourages irresponsible drinking or references to students. The police initiated the inquiry saying that between October 2009 and September 2012, there were 13 violent incidents at or near the venue. They wanted the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation to strip Timothy Bongiorno and Mario Gregorio of their licenses and fine them $35,000.

VENUES #3: MENGER JOINS CURTIN TEAM Carlton’s The Curtin’s kitchen re-opens with chef Tim Menger at the helm. He was previously at the Morning Star winery in Mornington and St Ali, where he was the head chef for years. Full details at johncurtinhotel.com.

FIONA LEE MAYNARD TEAMS WITH FILM MAKER

Fiona Lee Maynard (Have A Nice Day, In Vivo) teamed with filmmaker Addison Heath for a video for a track off her debut EP with Her Holy Men. Heath just completed work on a full-length feature Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, and the video may include a prequel and sequel. “Making movies is fun!” says Maynard, who is also negotiating management with UK based journalist Paul Stenning who worked with Take That’s management team. The EPs launch is on Friday June 14 at the Flying Saucer Club with a bill starring Jack Howard’s Long Lost Brothers and Large Number 12’s.

GOOD WORKS #1: FRANK WARD BENEFIT

Born: son Hendrix to Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Cam McGlinchey. Ill: Pogues guitarist Phil Chevron’s cancer has returned and is fatal. Ill: Judas Priest Rob Halford is in a wheelchair during to a back problem. Investigating: LAPD is looking into death threats made against Chris Brown. A person made multiple calls to his attorney to pass the threat on. Suing: Rihanna takes action against British retail giant Topshop for $5 million for selling T-shirts bearing her image without her consent. When she first complained, they offered her $5,000 to shut up. Suing: Stone Temple Pilots want their former singer Scott Weiland to stop using their name or songs. Died: British bassist Trevor Bolder (Bowie’s Spiders From Mars, Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash), 62, after a four year battle with cancer. Died: Phil Buerstatte, ex-drummer with White Zombie and Last Crack, 44. Died: Steve Hyams, sang with Mott The Hoople in 1977, 62, heart problem. Died: influential house producer Romanthony who performed vocals on Daft Punk’s single One More Time, at his home in Texas. Died: British bassist Ken Whaley (Ducks Deluxe, Man), 66, long illness. played on an episode of US reality TV show American Colony: Meet The Hutterites, which airs here on Tuesday June 4 on National Geographic Channel. “I’ve been writing since 11, so it’s such a compliment to be getting international recognition,” the 20-year old admits. Both were co-written and produced by Jem Carp & Dan Karni of Law of Numbers. They had two songs on US TV drama Miami Medical some years ago, and, together with producer Adrian Klineberg have written tracks for Aussie Pickers on the A&E channel.

HELLO WORLD #3: RAT & CO JOIN CHET FAKER IN EUROPE

Rat & Co are currently touring Europe on Chet Faker’s first trek in that neck of the woods. The eight dates kicked off last week taking in Brighton, Paris, four dates in Germany and, next week, two shows in Spain. In Australia, Rat & Co got strong reviews and airplay for debut album One ( ) Uno ( ) Ein.

APPLICATIONS OPEN MELBOURNE PRIZE

FOR

THE

Entries opened for this year’s Melbourne Prize for Music. The $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Music is for a Victorian musician or a group of musicians whose work has made an outstanding contribution to Australian music and enriched cultural and public life. $30,000 Outstanding Musicians Award is for work representing outstanding creativity or skill, and includes $2,500 of Qantas international travel. The Development Award, for those aged 30 or under with outstanding talent and great potential, consists of $6,000 worth of Yamaha gear and $7,000 cash. This year Readings has come up with a $4,000 Civic Choice Award. Entry forms at melbourneprize.org

A benefit is held on Sunday June 18 for the family of Frank Ward, head of production at the Victorian Arts Centre. Ward is battling bowel cancer. He was also in ‘90s dance act Bellydance which was nominated one year for an ARIA for best dance album. It is at Le Page Park (112 Argus Street) Cheltenham with live entertainment, auctions and raffles. Google wardfamilyfundraiser/benefit and find the Facebook event. If you can donate items for auction, contact Paul at paul@kenkleen.com.au or Dannee at adam. dannee@bigpond.com.

GOOD WORKS #2: ONE LOVE FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA A group of Melbourne musos got together at 303 Bar in Northcote to bring awareness to schizophrenia in a funky manner. Using Bob Marley’s One Love, they jammed with a band from Wales and one from Boston via a large screen. It was a great statement for world mental health consumer and carer unity. See youtube.com/watch?v=615ME0AV10o

HELLO WORLD #1: VAUDEVILLE SMASH FOR JAPAN JAZZ FESTIVAL

Since Powder Monkeys singer and bassist Tim Hemensley passed away aged 31 on July 21, 2003 his parents and friends have gathered at the Tote each anniversary to share a quiet drink for him. This year, to mark his 10th death anniversary, The Tote is hosting a day-long bash. It includes Hoss, Seminal Rats, Bored!, Power Line Sneakers (making their debut featuring John Nolan, Sly Splatterhead and Katie Dixon), The Casanovas, The Spazzys, The Onyas, Hits, Digger & the Pussycats, Wrong Turn, Fortress of Narzod, Leadfinger and The Undecided as well as a couple of new bands inspired by Hemensley. The surviving Powder Monkeys will

LIFELINES

Melbourne’s Vaudeville Smash are confirmed to play the main stage at the Sapporo City Jazz Festival in Japan on August 25. Over 350 acts will play there between June 29 and August 28. This year, Vaudeville Smash were invited back to South By Southwest for seven shows, which they followed with three shows at Canadian Music Week and two at New York’s Bitter End club. They’re currently performing in Singapore at Music Matters Live and return to Oz in June to tour behind debut album Dancing For The Girl out in May.

HELLO WORLD #2: DEITRON LANDS TRACKS ON U.S. SITCOM One time The Voice contestant Alanna Deutrom landed her first major music TV deal. Two of her songs, Boom Boom Boom and Pay The Rent are

WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES..... WWW.BEAT.COM.AU/TV

I’M ADELE, FLY ME!

Adele’s Someone Like You the best song for nervous flyers because it most effectively calms nerves, a Spotify study found. Anxiety psychologist Dr Becky Spelman says slow songs with a tempo of 67 beats per minute and harmonies, reduces heart rate and blood pressure. Others include Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) by Enya; Paradise by Coldplay; Scar Tissue by Red Hot Chilli Peppers; Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley; Better Together by Jack Johnson; and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major (Elvira Madigan).

PLUDO SIGNED TO UNIVERSAL’S CTRLALT

Emerging duo Pludo signed to Phil Israel’s Sydney based label ctrl-alt Records through Universal Music Australia. It will release their live standout Haywire as a single on June 14. The act was formed by former Sound Mind singer Anthony Kupinic as a solo project until he spotted Alex Cooper busking in Sydney. Their debut independently-released single Frenemies scored national airplay including the Triple M network. The act tours through the Hi Fi network from midway through next month. Beat Magazine Page 35

DALLAS FRASCA BY ZOË RADAS

Sometimes a rock band can breed a type of frontman who revels in their own apparent nonchalance. Others take the passion and fervour of rock and bring it to a totally different place, where trying your guts out is actually (gasp) admirable. Melbourne’s new bona fide princess of rock, Dallas Frasca, sits herself squarely in the latter camp. “If you put 80 per cent in, you’re going to get 80 per cent back,” Frasca says assuredly. “If we put all our fucking love and passion into working on this album, then we’re going to get those results. The Beatles used to write in their tour van before going on stage. How the hell did they write so many great songs? It’s because they never stopped writing.” The album she refers to is her band’s third, after 2009’s Not For Love or Money and Sound Painter in 2012. Sound Painter contained the foot-stomping All My Love, which Frasca entered into the International Songwriting Contest (whose judging panel comprised Ozzy Osbourne, Tori Amos, Janelle Monae, Tom Waits and Basement Jaxx) and won herself third place. There were over 16,000 entries that year. You can bet there’s going to be some similar gold on the upcoming record. “Since we got back from Europe at the start of the year we’ve been ... treating it as a bit of a day job, like nine to five,” Frasca explains. “And I think there’s a lot of bands that do it: Nick Cave, Crowded House. For us, it’s about the song; it’s the core element of what the band’s about. Our dream is to write that fucking song that really resonates with people. And it might help them, or take them somewhere else, or have some kind of effect.” The progress the trio has made since Sound Painter and its success isn’t something Frasca appears worried about. She

believes that dymamics and influences are fluid in music, like anything else. “The last album we spent two years working on, and with this one we’re really starting to lay down the foundation. It’s been two years since we finished writing the last one, and the band’s evolved and come a long way as songwriters and performers, and also where your head’s at and what you’re writing about, things like that.” The most manifest evolution since the last release has been a new drummer – a pretty recent occurrence and one that Frasca is clearly stoked with. Zane Rosanoski was the longtime drummer for Melbourne hard rock group Mammal (who disbanded in 2009). “We’ve always known Mammal, and loved watching Zane,” Frasca says warmly. Then we were looking for a new drummer for our European tour; Zane’s name popped up and we went, ‘Imagine what that would do to our band, having him amongst the group’. We had the first jam a few weeks ago. It’s like we’ve finally found the last piece to our musical partnership in this band. Pretty cool.” The third member of Frasca’s band is Jeff Curran, who shares guitar duties with Frasca. The two have known one another for quite a while, and they got together in another little bout of good ol’ musical serendipity. “Jeff’s probably got a very

different version of the story,” Frasca laughs. “I was doing a residency about seven years ago ... Jeff’s described it as I had these dreadlocks flying everywhere and I looked like a hippy playing these slave damps in a little pub. I’d started this solo project and Jeff walked into the bar, and somehow - I must have had a set break - he ended up on stage. And I was like, [gasps] ‘Who are you!’ We ended up jamming all night and the rest is history.” The magic hasn’t faded, either. “It’s amazing, you know, every time I play music with Jeff I still have that same feeling,” Frasca says. “I’m very blessed to have such great musicians in my life, and also good mates. It’s like a great lover. I mean, Jeff’s definitely not my lover, but he’s my musical partner in crime. You just know on some different kind of level with certain people, and it doesn’t come along very often.” The tours are coming thick and fast for the group, with just one show this year in Melbourne at the Rock N Load Festival at The

Espy, before they head off across Europe for a bunch of shows, including supports for Patti Smith and Earth, Wind & Fire. “You’ve got to be careful who you tour with, it comes down to that,” Frasca laughs. “I’ve been through all of that with bands in the past. There’s so many big wonderful personalities on the road and sometimes it doesn’t always work. There’s never a dull or negative moment when you’re touring with Jeff. We’ve toured around the world, we’ve slept on couches, top and tailed in beds in the early days. It’s not for everybody, touring on the road. You have your moments, but we’ve all got the same vision at the end of the day and I think that definitely drives us.”

they learned in their youth.” Punters at Beards shows immediately feel the fervour the Beards have for beards. They’ll praise the bearded and hold the clean shaven up as targets for boos and hisses. Nathaniel would ideally make examples of them on stage, but he “doesn’t like getting that close to beardless people.” “I am concerned that someone whipped up in a frenzy from our propaganda might just hurt the guy or something. We don’t want to destroy the guy’s face; we just want to put a beard on it. “We still cultivate an atmosphere of shame so that anyone without a beard feels guilty. We tell them that shame is perfectly natural, and it’s just their body telling them to grow a beard.” The Beards write songs about beards; it’s all they sing about. It’s all they’ll ever sing about. They’re currently writing their fourth album and it’s predictably in tribute to beards. Nathaniel felt uneasy about releasing another set of songs about beards, fearful they might have tapped the well of bearded creativity dry. “We have a lot of ideas coming in,” he affirms. “It turns out that having a beard provides an unlimited source of

inspiration. We’ve got a power ballad about beards, an electro-rock song called There’s A Bearded Man Inside Me, we’ve got a sort of ‘60s pop kind of song which is called Strokin’ My Beard, and we’ve got a burster of a track called All The Bearded Ladies. “I want to tell you right now that it’s not a parody song of Beyoncé’s All The Single Ladies. We don’t delve into the realm of parody songs, we think that’s for someone else to do. We write original songs about beards.” Nathaniel’s ‘beard revolution’ has no intention of stopping. Outsiders might think there’s a sinister bearded underground poised to take over. It’s far less insidious than the unbearded envisage. “There’s not a secret bearded society,” Nathaniel explains. “There’s just a bearded society, and we’re not hiding from anyone. Anyone can join the bearded society by growing a beard. Of course, this will just soon be known as society.”

be patient for just a while longer, though Alex promises the songs already written will bring more of the same, with a spark of maturity. “We haven’t started recording it yet, so I don’t know when it will be released, but we’ve written all the songs. They’re a lot bigger and I guess they’re similar to Feel. I think the EP is going to be pretty awesome. The songs just cover a lot of different topics and they’re a lot more mature and musically more advanced than our older stuff.” The latest single, Feel, is an earnest and relatable account of a breakup, and the accompanying video is replete with adorable puppy dogs that double as a metaphor for unhappy couples.

“I was in a relationship and my girlfriend was always telling me how to do things and what to do, and it was really frustrating me. Then I didn’t really want to be in the relationship, but it was too hard to get out of it and then it eventually ended and I wanted to be back in the relationship because I felt bad. “The video is as if I am the dog and the owner is the girlfriend and I’m just on a lead getting told what to do. If I didn’t have my owner I’d probably die because I wouldn’t be able to get food because I’m a dog.”

DALLAS FRASCA and her band are playing the Rock N Load on Saturday June 1 at The Espy, along with a whole stack of other high-octane rock acts. Tickets available from Oztix.

THE BEARDS

BY TOM VALCANIS

The Beards want you to grow a beard. Bassist Nathaniel Beard is the world’s most outspoken beard advocate and he’s been busy planting seeds in Europe’s chins to a spread global beard “revolution.” Nathaniel Beard is quietly fuming underneath his luscious, double arrowhead beard. Chatting while he caught five spare minutes in London, he can still taste bitterness in and around his beard. Two Sundays ago, the band played the Bearded Theory festival, placed on the outskirts of Derby in the UK. The problem was that it lived up to its name. It was bearded only in theory. Only one other band on the bill sported a (singular) beard – a member of The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing. “Well they can be blamed for that then,” Nathaniel says, disrespectfully. “I can certainly blame them for that. For only having one beard.” The festival itself had beards maxed out to 11; either homegrown or something less organic tacked on. The Beards actually fit in for the first time, bewildering Nathaniel. “It was a strange festival because it had a bit of a beard theme. It was weird because for one day we weren’t a novelty band. Normally people are surprised when they see us at a festival – ‘What! This band’s only singing songs about beards!’ – for me, when we were on stage we were just like a regular band.” Did it deflate their spirits a bit? “Oh, we don’t care what they think,” Nathaniel declares. “We think beards are great.” Europe doesn’t. Of late, Nathaniel and the band have not just unfurled hair across the UK, but Germany and Holland. It’s irked him and his bandmates. “There’s been a good ratio of bearded people in the audience - most people have a beard or a fake beard in the audience and it’s hard to see a clean shaven face,” he cheerfully reports. His mood quickly darkens, though. “I have noticed on the streets in the European cities we’ve

visited so far there seems to be a lower rate of beards than in Australia and North America. It’s concerning and it certainly makes me want to do more work over here to bring Europe up to speed.” Shows are one thing, but he’s talking about a particular brand of hair-raising evangelism. Nathaniel has publicly stated he wants everyone in the world to have a beard. Before I can ask if it’s too lofty an ambition, he snaps, “Yes I do.” “I think it’s the right level of ambition,” he says confidently. “You don’t want to dilute your dreams. If you set out to do something, you don’t want to compromise on what that goal is. I personally will not rest until every single person in the world has a beard.” Even women? “Even the women and the children and all the animals as well,” he declares. “But we’re focusing on humans first.” His first great (human) breakthrough came at Brighton, UK’s Great Escape festival. “There were very few beards in the audience, but I think we convinced many people to grow beards,” he says. “There were many children in the audience and we convinced them to grow up and grow a beard. I see all children as a potential beard. Once they reach the right age, they’ll remember what

THE BEARDS play Pelly Bar (Pier Live) in Frankston on Thursday June 13, Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on Friday June 14 and The Hi-Fi on Saturday June 15, in conjunction with Roadsmarts.

BLEEDING KNEES CLUB BY GEORGIA WOODROFFE-HILL

After the success of their first album Nothing To Do, Bleeding Knees Club have gone from strength to strength. 2012 was a massive year for Bleeding Knees Club. After recording their debut album in New York and releasing it to an overwhelmingly positive reception, the two Gold Coast boys embarked on an international tour, which lead singer and guitarist Alex Wall says helped the band to hone their skills as musicians. “We have gotten a lot better at our instruments and a lot better at music. Nothing To Do was recorded over a year ago now and we’ve played a show pretty much every week since then, so now we can actually play the music we want to make. “The band has changed a heap. I started off playing drums with Jordan [Malane] on guitar and we travelled and played like that for a while. Then after Nothing To Do came out we changed to a three-piece with me on guitar and Jordan on bass and we had a drummer and then we got rid of that drummer and then we got another drummer, but he quit. Now we’ve got a new drummer who is awesome so that aspect of the band has changed heaps. I guess when we started, we were all down for partying and we still do, but it got old after partying every night for three years. Now we’re Beat Magazine Page 36

just hanging out and having fun.” The band’s raw and no-fuss style of rock’n’roll can be attributed to Alex reacting to an overload of dance music post-high school. “When I finished high school, it just seemed like every band was making dance and electro, no-one was just doing hardcore rock’n’roll. And all of a sudden there’s all these kids just putting up home recordings on the internet of them playing guitar, and then the kids would be like, ‘I could do that at home’. “I think it was popular because anyone could do it and you didn’t have to look up to massive rock stars whose songs you couldn’t play because you don’t have a $500 keyboard. Anyone can play a guitar song.” Those awaiting new Bleeding Knees material may need to

DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION

BLEEDING KNEES CLUB launch Feel at Ding Dong Lounge on Saturday June 1.

SOUNDKILDA AUSTRALIAN MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION & AFTER PARTY THURSDAY 30 MAY 8.30PM 3 0

S H O R T

Y E A R S

Presented by

2 3 M AY – 1 J U N E 2 0 1 3 T H E A S TO R T H E AT R E PA L A I S T H E AT R E W W W. S T K I L DA F I L M F E S T I VA L .C O M . AU

WATCH MUSIC VIDEOS AS THEY WERE MEANT TO BE SEEN — LOUD AND LARGE ON THE BIG SCREEN SoundKILDA is Australia’s leading music video competition. Watch nineteen clips from superb Australian musicians and some of our most talented filmmakers, cast your vote for the top clips of 2013 then stick around for the AWARDS CEREMONY and AFTER PARTY. Tickets available through TICKETMASTER St Kilda Film Festival advises that all films, unless otherwise noted, are restricted to 18 years and over.

CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 37

MONNONE ALONE BY EDWARD SHARP-PAUL

Head of Lost and Lonesome Records and former bassist for the much-loved Lucksmiths, Mark Monnone is a familiar figure around the Melbourne scene. Which is why it’s remarkable to think that Together At Last is not only his first album under the Monnone Alone moniker, but his first ever solo release. Ahead of the upcoming album launch, the man himself was only too happy to set the record straight on a few things; from Together At Last’s long gestation, to his geopolitical ambitions. The first thing one wonders about Mark Monnone’s first solo album is: what took you so long? “Well, I’ve always just been the bass player, so the solo thing is a leap into the unknown,” Monnone reasons. “That’s why I decided to do it with a lot of friends – no way in hell I’m going to send my voice out there on its own. Besides, I’m not really a singer, and I don’t intend to be.” Continuing the ‘reluctant frontman’ theme, Monnone explains that the genesis of Together At Last was largely down to a series of fortuitous circumstances that came together while touring with Still Flyin’, all the way back in 2010. “The whole idea for the album came about because I was crashing at a friend’s house – in his basement, actually, which was also his studio. His housemate is a really good drummer, so I asked her to play drums on a couple of songs. It was never the intention to go in and record an album, and there were long gaps between sessions – I started out in 2010, so it’s taken a long time to pull it together.” Part of this is down to Monnone’s insistence on tracking the entire record at his friend’s studio, Marlborough Farms. Of course, this ‘friend’ is none other than Gary Olson, lead singer of cult New York indie poppers The Ladybug Transistor. Of his connection with Olson, Monnone explains, “I’ve known Gary since the Lucksmiths; we toured Sweden with the Ladybug Transistor in 1998. We always wanted to record at his studio [Marlborough Farms], but we could never squeeze it in.” As a solo artist, Monnone finally got his wish, but not without difficulty. “With Together At Last, we did the whole album on days off, on tours, wherever we could manage. But I didn’t want it to sound piecemeal, I wanted it to feel like an album.” In terms of sound, Monnone Alone bring to mind a roll-call of indie pop luminaries including, of course, The Ladybug Transistor, as well as the C86 era, and the iconic output of K Records and Sarah Records. When pressed on his musical lineage, Monnone accepts the inevitability of such comparisons, but offers a far more prosaic assessment of his influences. “When I was 12, I got a Midnight Oil songbook, and learned all their songs,” Monnone deadpans. “Seriously though, none of the bands I’ve been in have ever really tried to sound like anything. We were just happy to play with our friends’ bands, and maybe sound a little bit like them. There were a lot of awesome bands, around Melbourne in the ‘90s. Travelling overseas as well, you play with these amazing bands, and you can’t help but learn from them…and rip them off, in a tiny, subtle way,” he cheekily adds. “I like Jonathan Richman a lot, but no-one’s gonna sound like him and get away with it. I’d never try to, but I do learn from his approach to making music. Really, I’m more influenced by peoples’ attitudes toward making music than by the sounds they make.”

“A sensational 4th album” 9/10 Uncut

“beautiful, heartfelt, searching, sublime” Q

“It’s the sweet sound of this unique talent evolving and it’s utterly captivating” Mojo

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“THAT’S WHY I DECIDED TO DO IT WITH A LOT OF FRIENDS – NO WAY IN HELL I’M GOING TO SEND MY VOICE OUT THERE ON ITS OWN.” Monnone might have achieved the result that he was after, but certainly not in his intended timeframe, due to the demands of running his Lost and Lonesome label. “It was actually finished a year ago. With running the record label, it’s hard to prioritise yourself over the other acts. Plus, delayed releases are pretty much a tradition round here!” he adds, ruefully. In addition to a local release on Lost and Lonesome, Together At Last is getting an Italian release, through the excellently-named We Were Never Being Boring. “Yeah, I think they just like the name Monnone Alone, they thought it was hilarious. When I finally sent them the record, they were like, ‘Uh, that’s it?’ But they put it out anyway, bless them,” he says, possibly joking. “They hooked up a tour, as well – I think I’m basically playing on different beaches around Italy for two weeks…but I trust them.” Monnone’s connection to Italy is tenuous, comprising his own heritage (he is Sicilian via New York via Auckland via Brunswick), and his drummer Connal Parsley, who is both in a relationship with an Italian and fluent in the language. “Yeah, I’ve done a little solo tour there. I played tiny places, but people were really enthusiastic. I was amazed. I’ve played there with The Lucksmiths and Still Flyin’, so I guess there were people interested to hear a guy from those bands playing solo.” He sounds modest, but Monnone admits to having grander plans in place. “I would be stoked to be a household name in Italy, at least – my own chunk of Southern Europe.” Together At Last is out now through Lost And Lonesome. MONNONE ALONE will be launching the album at The Tote on Saturday June 1.

THE SEABELLIES BY EDWARD SHARP-PAUL

Newcastle natives Seabellies have clocked up some serious miles since the release of their debut album, By Limbo Lake. Ahead of an all-too-rare Melbourne show, lead singer Trent Grenell explained where they’ve been hiding, among other things. Things have been quiet in the Seabellies camp for a while now, but with three years having elapsed since the release of their excellent debut, By Limbo Lake, the Newcastle sextet have spluttered to life, with a series of shows and a fine new single, Paper Tiger. In spite of the apparent lack of activity, Grenell explains that they haven’t exactly been taking it easy. “Most of the band spent time in Europe over the last few years, and a lot of that was in Berlin,” he says. “We did a lot of writing, over there.” In essence, the band was on a working holiday, but it certainly wasn’t planned that way. “It was intended to be a retreat. By the end of the album cycle with By Limbo Lake, we realised that we’d been touring together for five years, and we all needed a little bit of downtime, so we all took off for Europe.” This downtime, though, evolved into the creation of Fever Belle, their soon-to-be-released album. “So we were in Europe,” Grenell explains, “and eventually we converged on Berlin, and started some writing sessions. Then we came back to Sydney, went into the studio and started putting it all down. Then Berkfinger went back to Berlin – he has a studio there – and I followed him, and we did the overdubs and vocals and mixing.” For the new album, the band went with an unusual production arrangement. “We went with two producers this time – Tim Whitten and Berkfinger. Tim was kind of in charge of sonics, and Berkfinger was focusing on performance, and pushing the boundaries in terms of how to record things. They come from two very different schools of thought, but they worked really well together, and with us.” It sounds like things might’ve gotten a little tense from time to time, but Grenell is adamant that the sessions ran smoothly. “No, they’re old friends,” he says of Whitten and Berkfinger. I don’t think they’ve really done anything like that before, so they were really excited.” Seabellies have comprised the same six members since their inception, and it seems that their collective relationship is as healthy as ever. “It started off as separate journeys,” Grenell says of their ‘hiatus’, “but yeah, we all ended up meeting up after a few months. We played a show in Newcastle not long ago,” he continues, “and SPA, themusic.com.au, RRR, StoryBaker and Premier Artists present the sound guy said, ‘You guys must be the longeststanding Newcastle band I’ve ever seen.’ It’s hard to stay together – so many bands that we came up with, and toured with, have fallen away – but it’s worth it.”

“WE REALLY WANTED TO BE SUCCESSFUL, AND WE WERE TALKING TO A LOT OF LABEL PEOPLE. I THINK IT CONFUSED US – EVERYONE HAD THEIR OWN IDEAS ABOUT WHAT WE SHOULD BE.” As if all this wasn’t sufficiently exotic, Grenell took the unusual step of slipping away during the recording sessions to work at a Ugandan orphanage. Sadly, this was not a Paul Simon-esque sonic pilgrimage, but an attempt to put some personal troubles behind him. “Yeah, that’s another reason the album took so long,” Grenell offers, by way of explanation. “I had a bit of heartbreak during tracking, and I had to take off for a little while to do some soul-searching, and it took me to Uganda. It just helped me to refocus, and return to Berlin in a clearer state of mind.” It seems Grenell is possessed of a rare decisiveness, both in his career and in his personal life. “Yeah, I just woke up one morning and said, ‘Stuff it, I’m going’. I spent a month there and it was amazing, really grounding. I know it’s a cliché and everyone says it, but it’s true. “Still, it was a shitty year, last year,” Grenell says ruefully. So far, the only aural evidence of The Seabellies’ upcoming album is Paper Tiger, a strutting, electrofied anthem. Is it an indicator of Fever Belle’s direction? “Yes and no – it’s probably one of the boldest things on there. People that have heard the new album tell us that it definitely sounds like us, but it’s a little more adventurous, in different ways.” Grenell believes that the band have grown considerably since their first effort. “Because the last album was our first, it was a product of us trying to impress record companies. I think we partially nailed down our own sound, but I think you can hear a few songs that were pandering to A&R types. It didn’t feel like a completely comfortable Seabellies record, and this one does, I think. It’s still pretty diverse, though. “It took a long time to get the first album together. We really wanted to be successful, and we were talking to a lot of label people. I think it confused us – everyone had their own ideas about what we should be.” Back in the here and now, and Grenell mostly just excited to get in front of an audience. “Basically, it’s us road-testing songs that we’ve not played before – ever. We played a bunch of new ones last night, and it went really well. It gives our set a bit more depth now. It’s what we’ll be doing when we come to Melbourne, introducing more new ones as the tour progresses.”

The Winter Secrets Tour 2013

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THE SEABELLIES will be playing at The Grace Darling on Thursday June 6. Their second album is due to be released in late 2013.

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Beat Magazine Page 39

KORA BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

In the midst of recording new material, Dan McGruer, keyboardist from New Zealand’s uncanny funk group Kora, offers some thoughts on the five-piece’s climbing trajectory. “We’re just writing some new stuff and seeing how it’s going. We’re finding that our songs are getting better and better. The more we’re recording, the more that we’re liking our stuff.” Kora’s second LP Light Years came out late last year and showcased a number of new stylistic tenets for the band, most notably delving into heavier electronic territory than on their self-titled debut. McGruer explains that the band constantly seek to expand their songwriting approach while maintaining a unique substance. “We try stuff out and it depends how we feel at the time. Light Years was recorded probably a year ago now, so it was a reflection of that time. But I think we tried to write a timeless album as well, so it will stand up in ten years’ time and people will still find something good from it.” Kora is comprised of McGruer and the four Kora-family brothers - Laughton, Stuart, Francis and Brad. The band began in Queenstown in Southern New Zealand and the Koras are originally from Whakatane on the North-East Coast, however, three-fifths of the band have recently been lured into city living. McGruer admits that moving to Auckland from the subdued countryside has been a big shift, but he’s embracing the change of scenery. “The move to Auckland was a whole different vibe. I’ve lived in the country and I like the open mountains and stuff. To live in the city is a whole other vibe, but I enjoy it.” McGruer’s home in Auckland doubles as Kora HQ and includes a makeshift recording studio where Light Years was recorded.

“I’ve got a unit apartment, one of the rooms we’ve got set up as the control room and we use the rest of the house and make it our own studio. That’s where we do all the recordings and the mix-downs and everything like that,” says McGruer. The fact that Kora includes four brothers could lead to power struggles, which would inevitably impact upon the band’s creative dynamic. However, McGruer explains that they’re fairly reasonable when it comes to writing music. “We’ve always done okay because we try to compromise with each other and learn from each other and take on board what the other members are saying. We often write music for each other, so I would try to write music I know the other boys would appreciate and vice versa.” McGruer indicates that upholding a five-way internal consensus certainly has its benefits, because it pushes the individuals to conceive ideas that stand out. “It’s kind of a mix-mash of ideas but the more you write the more chance that your song’s going to be enjoyed a bit more. If the boys put more time into their songs it usually gets played and we end up turning it into a song,” he says. A song can preserve an emotion and returning to a song gives one the opportunity to re-visit that particularly feeling. However, given that a song can develop over a series of days or weeks, the songwriter

might need to reconnect with the driving emotional state in various settings. “When writing a song, it’s trying to capture how you’re feeling then. The way I do it, I try to think, ‘How do I feel right now?’ and write from there. Usually the song recording and writing process goes for a couple of days for me anyway, so quite often I change the frame of mind I was in. I’ve got to be conscious of trying to capture that moment I was in yesterday as well,” explains McGruer. McGruer admits that it can be difficult to re-connect with the exact feeling that instigated a song, but he reasons that you shouldn’t be too determined by one feeling or idea as that can be limiting. “Sometimes the more you work on it the better it gets and evolves into something different which is better. You’ve just got to experiment with stuff really,” he says calmly. Kora have been making music together for over ten years, and McGruer suggests that the years spent working together have allowed them to developed a rapid understanding of each other’s intentions in the creative environment.

“We all have different styles but we kind of all have the same style as well. There is five people and we all put our songwriting flavours into it. We just put pressure on ourselves to write good songs.” Mountains of influences converge in Kora’s recorded output, so it’s almost surprising to hear there are ideas that would be excluded from being in a Kora song. However, McGruer alludes to the boundaries demarcating what’s considered appropriately ‘Kora’. “If I like a song, I can tell if it might not be suitable for Kora, but I would use it in a side project or something like that, because I think it sounds good but it’s not quite Kora’s flavour. It’s taken a few years to find that ground where we know what is Kora because we’ve been so experimental and we’ve been trying stuff out for so long. In the last couple of years we’ve been accepting who we are and accepting that we’re eclectic and we’ve got all these different sounds.”

The band’s pop bent has moved in a slightly different direction on 2013’s Afraid of Heights, where Hayes has been replaced by Jacob Cooper (The Mae Shi). The San Diegan’s fourth record is produced by John Hill (Rihanna), and his steady hand is obvious from opener Sail to the Sun. After tinkling carillons usher in the track, Williams’ vocals roar to life. He is still whining, and it all seems slightly manic, but there is an appealing clarity to the product. The album is clear without being clean, and possesses a muscled musicality that allows it to avoid being viewed as a rejection of their recent successes. 2013 is shaping as Wavves’ most successful year to date. They are playing Splendour in the Grass, as well as coheadlining shows with Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Their Australian tour will come hot on the heels of their second visit to Japan, and their first to Taiwan. Yet they insist such trailblazing is being done with a measure of rest and relaxation, in order to avoid the mishaps of the past. “We just got off a six week tour,” Williams says. “We’re a little tired from that, so we’re resting up for the next little bit. Having said that, we did go hiking yesterday.”

That sounds very healthy, and dare I say it, bordering on the wholesome. Is this a whole new band? “Well, it was only a small hike,” Pope says, “and you know, we still had a good amount of fun…” The band has high hopes for the third Australian tour. “Australia is actually Stephen’s favourite place,” Williams says. “That sounds like bullshit, but it’s actually true.” “We want to be the biggest band in Australia,” Pope says, warming to the theme. “We think the title of this article should be This Band Should Be Really Famous. Or not. It’s really all up to you guys.” “Seriously, though,” Williams interrupts. “We really are looking forward to getting out there. It’s a magical place where you live. I get there, and I just feel like anything is possible.”

KORA play The Espy on Friday June 21.

WAVVES

BY BENJAMIN COOPER

“We’re just in the living room, man. The finals are on, so we’re catching as much ball as possible in between – and during – today’s interviews.” It’s a frank – but not entirely unexpected – admission from Nathan Williams, who forms one third of the creative core of American band Wavves. Williams and his band mate Stephen Pope are watching game six of the NBA encounter between Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. They are so engrossed that there is little chance of them taking a break for anyone, but they’re happy to have a quick chat during the half-time break. They are clearly two dudes who do it their way. To say that the Californian surf punks have had a tumultuous career is something of an understatement. Williams commenced proceedings in 2008 with two home-recorded 7” vinyl releases, before continuing in a flurry by dropping his debut self-titled record the same year. September 2008’s Wavves is a dark and dirge-heavy affair; cuts like California Goth and Vermin caught critics off-guard with rough and ready instrumentation that unexpectedly justified the early online hype. Less than six months later, Williams gifted Wavvves to the waiting masses. The album’s title involves an extra ‘v’, and the Fat Possum release packs far more snarl than its predecessor. Killr Punx, Scary Demons and To The Dregs recall the pure noise heroics of vintage era Sonic Youth, while poppier songs like So Bored kept toes tapping. As their catalogue kept growing, so did the infamy surrounding Wavves’ live shows. They were touring constantly and – perhaps inevitably – Williams suffered a breakdown on stage at 2009’s Primavera Festival in Barcelona. The singer admitted to having an addiction to alcohol, and the band went on hiatus. Fast-forward a year and things were back on track. In August 2010 King of the Beach was released on Fat Possum, with an all new lineup including the late Jay Reatard’s former rhythm section of bassist Pope and

drummer Billy Hayes. The album blew up, and lifted the band from middling scuzzy punks to festival and radio favourites. In Australia the titular track became a triple j anthem, and many of the album’s hooks were heard on the soundtracks of popular television programs in America. King… is undoubtedly their most designed pop offering, and they happily admit that the band’s aesthetic shifts are not accidental. “I would definitely not want to ever be treading water with how we do things,” Williams says. “I’m not sure that it is our best record, but maybe that’s how we need to be thinking. Gotta keep it on the up, you know?” The album took them into strange territory. Not only were they cool, but they had somehow become hugely popular. In October of that year the band were invited to play at CMJ Music Marathon in New York, alongside luminaries such as Dirty Projectors, Phoenix and a surprise appearance by some other famous Frenchmen. “That was pretty weird,” Pope says. “We were at Madison Square Garden, and there’s 20,000 people who are all there for Phoenix. And then we’re up there, doing our thing, and confusing the hell out of people. But Daft Punk show up for the main event, and everybody just loses their shit. That was pretty funny.” Are the band fans of the dynamic French duo’s latest funk inspired work? “Stephen’s mum is really into that Get Lucky song,” Williams laughs.

MATTHEW E. WHITE BY KRISSI WEISS

Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer/arranger/free jazz virtuoso Matthew E. White (a legitimate slashie) is heading to Australia for Vivid LIVE, and apparently figured he’d be a part of not one but two mammoth shows for the festival. While he’ll be sharing the stage as co-creator of Sounds of the South for two performances, he’s slipped in a third – a performance of his debut solo album, Big Inner. Critics are busy labelling this album an “instant classic from a relative new comer,” but there’s nothing “new” about White. Yes, this is his first journey away from the chaotic free jazz of his most famed project, Fight The Big Bull, and into a more songbased project of Stax/Motown-inspired blues. Yes, he’s also taking on the role of front man and vocalist, but White is an old hand – at the mere age of 30 – when it comes to music (arranger for The Mountain Goats and guitarist for psychfolk outfit The Great White Jenkins are some of the more prominent projects that also find themselves on White’s resume). Having just embarked on a busy tour of the US to promote Beat Magazine Page 40

his latest album, White is repairing his voice. It’s on its way out when we chat, but tea and time are healing it well and he’s excited about his first Australian visit. Bringing this album to a live environment is a completely new journey for White. “Trying to take what works on the album and make it work on stage can sometimes be tricky, but it’s coming together OK and we’re having a good time,” White says. “We’re putting a lot of energy into it and we’re trying to create an energy where everyone can have a good time, you know? The audience and us. Live shows should be special events; there’s a time and place that should only happen once so we try to approach playing in that way and that’s what makes a live show so incredibly different to just listening to a record.” For those who have followed White’s career, it’s easy to assume that Big Inner is a typical solo album – a singer alone,

on stage with a guitar and their innermost secrets – but for White this experience is totally removed from that concept. He explains that while he’s performing under his own name and not a band name, things aren’t really that drastically different in terms of the creative process. “In some ways the idea of a solo project is a bit of a myth,” he explains. “With me, I’m leading the project but I’m still working with a lot of people just like I do with Fight The Big Bull. Conceptually, things aren’t really that different, apart from the fact I’m singing my songs as opposed to playing my compositions. When you’re singing and you’re truly a front man there’s a little bit more of a personal energy that goes into it I guess, but I think the main difference is stylistically. Fight The Big Bull is basically avant-garde, experimental music, while Matthew White is songs that are far more inthe-box compositions. I like having that dual outlet; it’s more than it being a group and solo thing. It’s far out, experimental compositions versus songs that people can easily listen to and relate to. “I feel the most comfortable in song-based stuff at the moment. I think my journey has been through all other music to that, and I think the more I’m touring all over the world playing these songs; the more it makes me want to keep doing it. At the same time, going through Fight The Big Bull and learning about composition and learning about arranging has been like a laboratory where I can bring my

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WAVVES play The Corner Hotel on Saturday July 27. Wavves play a joint show with the Unknown Mortal Orchestra at The Corner Hotel on July 27, as well as the sold-out Splendour In The Grass festival. Afraid Of Heights is out now on Mom + Pop music.

own songs and I’m able to bring that element into what I do in these songs.” MATTHEW E. WHITE plays Sydney Opera House for Vivid LIVE on Sunday June 2 and Northcote Social Club on Monday June 3.

CITY AND COLOUR BY LACHLAN KANONIUK

With his breakthrough post-hardcore outfit Alexisonfire putting a definite full-stop on their career at the close of 2012, Canadian singer/songwriter Dallas Green has wholly shifted his focus to his incredibly successful solo guise, City And Colour. Previous album Little Hell, his third full-length, took City And Colour to greater heights – to the extent of performing as headliner for last year’s Groovin’ The Moo and decent-sized sell-out headline performances. Speaking ahead of the release of his hotly anticipated new album, The Hurry And The Harm, Dallas charts his musical growth over the course of the past decade. The most immediately noticeable development on The Hurry And The Harm is Dallas’ development as a vocalist, stretching beyond with hints of tremolo. “I think that I’m always trying to be better at singing, trying to find new spots in my range. I think I’ve always approached it that way from the beginning. If you go back to the first Alexisonfire record, and you compare my voice from that to this, it sounds like two different people. And that’s because it is – a 21-year-old kid versus a 32-year-old person,� he states. “I don’t approach writing new songs thinking, ‘I have to become a better singer’, I just try to become a better singer, if that makes sense.� As for his approach to recording, Dallas has been steadfast in his ability to swiftly record an album in its entirety. “The songs are fully finished before I go into the studio, at least in the last few times. I don’t have a studio at home, but my basement is set up with all sorts of instruments lying around. So when I come up with a song idea or a drum part, or if I hear a guitar part or keyboard part, I will demo it until I am completely happy with it. When I go to the studio, I want to be ready to work. I don’t want to be there thinking, ‘Oh what song do I want to write?’ Not even in Alexis did we really do that. “I think it stems from being an independent band without a lot of money to record with, just approaching it in the most cost-effective way,� he reasons. “I just can’t imagine it, when I hear about people being in the studio for a year, I would go completely insane if I did that. I shape the songs and trim the fat before I go in. There are times when you discover that you need to change the tempo and slow it down when you hear it clearly in the studio. But the songs are ready to go by the time I get in there.� In regards to the sonic qualities present on The Hurry And The Harm, I offer to Dallas a comparison to the alternative songwriter greats of the ‘90s. “It’s cool to hear you say that. I write songs and record them, and that’s where my job ends. It’s your job to listen to it and take what you need from it. I’ve never been good at describing what the music sounds like. I didn’t go into making the record thinking that I wanted it to sound a certain way, or I wanted to emulate a sound. I just had these songs, and obviously I wanted them to sound good. I sang all the songs in three or four days, so it’s kind of in the same spot whether I was singing high or soft.� The Hurry And The Harm features some bold thematic assertions, with tracks like The Golden State taking aim at song-form loveletters to California and is Commentators Dallas purposefully setting out to rattle a few cages?

“MAYBE IT RESONATES BECAUSE IT’S TANGIBLE, YOU CAN REALLY GET IN THE SONG, IT’S NOT JUST A CATCHY HOOK WRITTEN BY THE SONGWRITER OF THE DAY.� “I think to a degree I am, but if you listen to the songs – take The Golden State for example – and get angry about it, I don’t care. If you get angry about that song, then you shouldn’t be listening to the record. That song is ironic, because I’m obviously singing about California with lyrics like ‘Why is everybody singing about California?’ It’s a tongue-in-cheek reaction I had when I heard one too many songs about California and had enough,� he laughs. “And Commentators is my opinion about how I feel today and how I feel about the internet, where there’s no accountability when people say things to each other facelessly and namelessly. I think it’s a horrible, disturbing time to be alive. Everyone says how the internet is bringing everyone together, but it’s really just driving a wedge in between actual interaction with people. The internet is ruining people’s manners. More people come up to me and say, ‘Can I have a picture with you?’ rather than ask how I’m doing. ‘Can I have a picture’ is the new ‘hello’, it’s very strange. I always say, ‘Yes, you can have a picture. But can you tell me your name?’ “People are too concerned with updating their social media before they even have a conversation with somebody socially. It’s very strange. Strange to be alive, and strange to be in the position I’m in. I’m not saying you have to agree with me, and you don’t have to listen to the record. I’m not trying to be the biggest, I’m not trying to be U2. I just want to sing.� City And Colour, a solo acoustic project at its core, has gained immense traction in an era of electronic-based laptop artists and stadium-sized indie rockers. It’s a phenomenon that Dallas struggles to rationalise. “I would hope that people see something honest in it. But it’s not really for me to judge or to come up with an answer. If I could come up with an answer, I would just write a book on how to be successful, then retire. The hope is that I write songs that are relatable to people and they can get what they need from it,� he muses. “But really, I don’t know. Especially when I look at all the pop music out there and how lifeless it is these days. Maybe it resonates because it’s tangible, you can really get in the song, it’s not just a catchy hook written by the songwriter of the day.� Most recently Australia for Alexisonfire’s farewell jaunt, Dallas is more than keen to return under the City And Colour banner. “I’m hoping to come back at the beginning, or early, next year. I’ve kind of got stuff booked up until then, but if it was up to me I would come tomorrow. I love it there, it’s my favourite place to tour outside of Canada – which I’ve said many times in many interviews. I do mean it, it’s sort of a second home to me. So hopefully early next year I will be in and around, and hopefully people are still excited and they like the new record.� CITY AND COLOUR releases The Hurry And The Harm on Friday May 31 through Dine Alone Records.

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Beat Magazine Page 41

ASH GRUNWALD, SCOTT OWEN & ANDY STRACHAN BY PETER HODGSON

It’s a match made in Oz music heaven: one of our funkiest, bluesiest singer/guitarists and the red hot rhythm section from The Living End. Ash Grunwald, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan are teaming up for an Australian tour, with four shows spread across Victoria as well as plenty more in other states. Audiences will be treated to something special, a kind of musical alchemy whereby three previously known elements are combined in hitherto unexpected ways, with the ultimate goal of creating something that wouldn’t exist in Grunwald, Owen or Strachan’s day jobs. “Scotty and I have been buddies for a while,” Grunwald says. “We both live around Byron, but we’re still Melbourne boys through and through. So we’ve got a lot in common. Our families go on holidays together and our wives play together in a band that Scotty plays in as well.” So the lads considered it a no-brainer to play music together. And with the Living End currently taking a little break while Chris Chaney spends some time in the USA, Owen and Strachan found themselves in need of a creative outlet. Ash and Scott played Falls Festival with Rob Hirst from Midnight Oil on drums – including a filthed-up cover of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy – but when a few more gig opportunities came up, Strachan was drafted. With no rehearsal. To play St Kilda Festival. To thousands. “The vibe of it was very… ass-kicking,” Grunwald laughs. “And actually, even though my solo stuff is about energy and partying and that kind of thing usually, this has turned up the volume on it. It’s very rocky and forward and pushy. It gets you kind of excited.” So now they’re hitting the road, with a setlist that includes the cover of Crazy as well as Grunwald tracks

and a few new tracks. “There’s one – I got invited to submit a song for the latest Arnold Schwarzenegger movie,” Ash explains. He didn’t get the gig, but he had this “very muscular song” sitting around looking for a home. So last week he, Owen and Strachan reworked it from a “muscular, Austrian-on-a-motorcyle song to a very muscular anti-CSG song.” Compared to Crazy – which is already a very fatsounding track that you can download for free on Soundcloud and hear on YouTube – Ash says the rest of the material on the trio’s forthcoming album is going to be “way fatter”. “I was able to spend longer on the other stuff. Have you seen the movie Sound City? The studio we used is a bit like Sound City. They’ve got a really good Neve desk and lots of outboard, lots of guitars. It’s all about the performance and playing live, which is very at odds with what I have been doing for the last eight years or so. I’ve basically made my music with the same methods as an electronic musician, but this is all about the live performance. The guys made it really huge and fat so I needed to match that, and I think on guitar a good way to match that is just a gazillion takes of the same thing. You get those really huge

EVEN THOUGH MY SOLO STUFF IS ABOUT ENERGY AND PARTYING AND THAT KIND OF THING USUALLY, THIS HAS TURNED UP THE VOLUME ON IT. IT’S VERY ROCKY AND FORWARD AND PUSHY. IT GETS YOU KIND OF EXCITED.”

sonics, especially when it’s all good analog gear. That was probably my first experience of doing it that oldschool rock way, and how huge that can all sound!” The sessions have taught Grunwald a lot about what is needed to get across a live feel in a rock band situation, in terms of what needs to be actually recorded live on the floor and what can be added later. Think of it like the old Simpsons gag: “Uh, sir, why don’t you just use real cows?” “Cows don’t look like cows on film. You gotta use horses.” “What do you do if you want something that looks like a horse?” “Eh, usually we just tape a bunch of cats together.” “In the studio, if you want to have something with the energy of live, the last thing you’d do is just go in there and play live,” Grunwald explains. “That actually tends to lack energy because you can’t see it when you’re listening to a CD. So you need to layer it to give it the excitement of the live thing. And I think this album we’ve just done will translate very well live, because that was the ethos: to make it sound very much like a live record. We weren’t doing it actually to tape – we were using Pro Tools – but basically, if you put in front of the computer a sound that’s going

through classic analog gear from a classic instrument, it will have that massive character.” So to that end, how does he plan to translate this sound to the live environment? (If you’re not into the guitar nerd talk, you can tune out for a paragraph.) “I try to have a complex setup that can be played with sensitivity so that different nuances can come out at different times,” Grunwald says. He uses a multiamplifier setup to achieve a wide variety of tones, rather than relying on a few stomp boxes going into a single amplifier to change everything. “One line will have a tremolo and a Blues Driver pedal. And also on that signal I split that to an octaver as well, to give it the bass sound, but I don’t use that when Scotty’s playing. And the next one is a Big Muff line, and another one is a Deja Vibe, a kind of rotating speaker sound. So that’s basically it!”

death? “I guess at the end of the day, the common thing is, there are certain larger-than-life characters who have dotted the guitar players’ manual. When you pick up a guitar, from that day you are gonna discover certain people, and even if you don’t like them you’re going to have to discover their work and form some kind of opinion about it. And Hendrix is one of those guys. So even if you don’t end up being a Hendrix devotee, you’ll take away from it some thing that you just have to know. A little blueprint on how to do certain things.” Both being guitar nerds, the conversation dwells on guitar matters – just like last time we chatted with Hocking about an Experience Jimi Hendrix show, come to think of it. “Wouldn’t it have been amazing to have been there,” he ponders, “to have seen that transition into what became ‘the thing’? There’s a story – it’s either Mick Jagger or somebody like that – tells this story about driving along and hearing Purple Haze on the radio, and they literally had to pull the car over to listen to it and basically say, ‘What the

fuck was that? What was that?’ “To have that kind of impact on a musical landscape would have been just phenomenal. And I’ve got a couple of young students who have been coming to see me, and when people get into their first extended chordal harmony, they learn what we call ‘The Jimi Hendrix chord,’ which is an E7#9. That’s the chord where people go from just playing major and minor chords to playing something …else!”

ASH GRUNWALD plays with SCOTT & ANDY from The Living End at the Corner Hotel on Thursday June 27 and the Prince Bandroom on Friday June 28, as part of the Roadsmarts campaign.

EXPERIENCE JIMI HENDRIX BY PETER HODGSON

It’s more than 45 years since Jimi Hendrix was unleashed on an unsuspecting public. Nobody could have predicted his existence just a few short years before, and now it’s impossible to imagine how the course of rock music would differ had he not graced us with his presence for those few short years before his death in 1970 at the age of 27. On Sunday June 23, an army of some of Australia’s best guitarists will gather to pay tribute to the voodoo child, including Kevin Borich, Geoff Wells (Daryl Braithwaite), Brett Garsed (Nelson), Jimi Hocking (The Screaming Jets), Jak Housden (The Whitlams & The Badloves), Phil Ceberano, Simon Hosford (Tommy Emmanuel), Stuart Fraser (Noiseworks) and introducing James Christowski (Voodoo Sons). “It’s a bit embarrassing, but I came into Hendrix a little bit late in my guitar playing life,” Hocking admits. “I know that’s ironic because I call myself Jimi Hocking, with the same spelling!” Hocking grew up in a musical family, and was exposed to lots of different styles throughout the ‘70s, when he was cutting his teeth. He started playing electric guitar around the mid ‘70s and began forming his own ideas based on his musical experiences at that time – Countdown, AC/DC and things like that. Then in the early days of video, a mate brought around a tape of a Hendrix concert. Hocking was hooked. “He was jamming off, doing his own thing, and I remember me and my friend sat there watching with our jaws open thinking, ‘What’s he doing?’ Because we were so used to the idea of rock music being kinda tidy. I know that sounds a bit weird, but if you take an AC/DC song or even a Thin Lizzy song, it was very structured. And we saw this guy with his eyes shut and his mouth open playing what we

thought was kind of this jazzy, free-form thing, with no real care for song structure. We were a mixture of blown away and confused that somebody would do this!” When it comes to song selection, a gig like Experience Jimi Hendrix can be a bit of a tense one. It goes without saying that there are some Hendrix classics that everyone wants to get their shot at. This year, Hocking has scored a huge coup: he’s the lucky bugger who managed to call dibs on Voodoo Child. “I actually figured that would be the first one to go,” Hocking reasons. “I knew KB (Kevin Borich) was playing, and he often plays that in his set. So I figured he’d do it, and I’m the reverse: I’d always like to but someone else is always doing it. So I threw it out there and they came back like, ‘Yeah, sure!’ So that was a surprise!” So what is it about Hendrix that made him so revolutionary, and that keeps him at the top of guitarists’ list of favourites some 43 years after his

WE SAW THIS GUY WITH HIS EYES SHUT AND HIS MOUTH OPEN PLAYING WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS KIND OF THIS JAZZY, FREE-FORM THING, WITH NO REAL CARE FOR SONG STRUCTURE. WE WERE A MIXTURE OF BLOWN AWAY AND CONFUSED THAT SOMEBODY WOULD DO THIS!”

Beat Magazine Page 42

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EXPERIENCE JIMI HENDRIX is on Friday June 14 at The Palms at Crown, and will feature Kevin Borich, Geoff Wells (Daryl Braithwaite), Brett Garsed (Nelson), Jimi Hocking (The Screaming Jets), Jak Housden (The Whitlams & The Badloves), Phil Ceberano, Simon Hosford (Tommy Emmanuel), Stuart Fraser (Noiseworks) and introducing James Christowski (Voodoo Sons).

CORE

CORE GIG GUIDE

PUNK, SKA, HARDCORE NEWS, REVIEWS AND GOSSIP BY EMILY KELLY: EK1984@GMAIL.COM

All Time Low are bringing their pop punk vibez our way this year. Billboard The Venue will host these legends on Saturday August 31 (overage) and Sunday September 1 (underage). Get those tickets now.

Happy birthday to everyone’s new favourite pub of awesome, The Reverence Hotel. The team behind The Arthouse are celebrating their new baby’s first birthday by hosting The Smith Street Band, Infinite Void, The Gun Runners, High Tension, Grenadiers and heaps more this Saturday. See yas there! Hits and Pits is back! And much sooner than we anticipated. The mini-fest is returning for another installment this November and they’ve amassed some pretty decent bands. Newly reformed Boysetsfire will join No Fun At All, Off With Their Heads, Jugheads Revenge and heaps more on November 22 at The Palace. Heaps more to be announced apparently. Ripper!

La Dispute are on their way and they’ve announced supports to accompany them on their string of shows with Pianos Become The Teeth. The sold out show at the Corner on Friday July 12 gets Stockades while the underage Corner Hotel show on Saturday July 13 is treated to Initials. Tickets still remain for the Sunday July 14 overage gig at the Corner with Fear Like Us. Wil Wagner of The Smith Street Band has announced heaps of solo dates in support of his recent Laika EP. We were treated to an entire Reverence residency last month, but if you missed it then make sure you go see him at Longplay in Melbourne on Friday July 5. I dare you not to cry into your beer when he plays the title track.

CRUNCH!

Sydney-siders Lo! will team with Melbourne locals High Tension to tour their new album Monstrorum Historia in Australia. Having just chucked a pretty spiffy European tour with Cult Of Luna, this excellent outfit will play Footscray’s Reverence Hotel on Saturday July 13. Get on it.

Paper Arms are making one last stop in Melbourne before heading off to Europe to play some sick shows. See them on Friday May 31 (this week!) at the John Curtin Hotel with Lincoln Le Fevre and Wil Wagner. The Real McKenzies return to our shores for the first time in a decade this winter. They’ll grab The Go Set and chuck a lot of all capital cities. See them in Melbs at The Espy Gershwin Room on Saturday August 31. Tickets on sale on Monday. In Hearts Wake have recently revealed that they’ll bring Counterparts, The Storm Picturesque and Stories with them when they land at The Workers Club in Melbourne on Saturday June 22 for their headlining show. Their all-ages jam at Phoenix Youth Center the next day will feature the same lineup plus The Approach. Senses Fail just dropped their new album Renacer so they reckon it’s time to pay us a visit. Check them out on Sunday August 11 at the Corner Hotel. Tickets are available now.

WEDNESDAY MAY 29: THRASH WEDNESDAY! Sewercide, The Kill, Internal Rot, Terror Strike at The Gasometer THURSDAY MAY 30: Brad Vincent, JNT, Nathan Seeckts, Kissing Both, Maricopa Wells at The Gasometer Boris The Blade, I Valiance, Empires Fall at Bang Before Days End, Fisker, September Falls at The Reverence Front Bar Surrender, Disasters, Searcher, Love Alone, Purity at The Reverence Band Room FRIDAY MAY 31: The Reverend Horton Heat, Mojo Juju, Doubleback at Billboard Bastard Squad, Glen & The Peanut Buttermen, Stone Revival, Home Invaders at The Bendigo Little Desert, Nathan Hollywood, The Kremlings upstairs at The Gasometer Paper Arms, Lincoln Le Fevre & The Insiders, Wil Wagner at The John Curtin The Vanturas, The Spin, Celadore at Cherry Bar SATURDAY JUNE 1: Sherrif front bar residency with Batpiss at The Tote Feed Her To The Sharks, Exposures, In Dreams Like These, Young Lions at Bang The Smith Street Band, Infinite Void, The Gun Runners, High Tension, Grenadiers, The Union Pacific, Feverteeth and more at The Reverence SUNDAY JUNE 2: Declaration, Scalphunter, Clowns at The Workers Club Ribbons Patterns, Tim Hampshire, Dan Raw at The Reverence

METAL, HEAVY ROCK, CLASSIC ROCK

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOOD SHIT WITH PETER HODGSON: CRUNCHCOLUMN@GMAIL.COM

NEW GUITAR DAY: IBANEZ 8-STRING

I just got a new toy, an Ibanez RGIR28FE Iron Label 8-string from the Ibanez Guitar Centre in Adelaide, and it’s awesome. Now that 8-string guitars are becoming more commonplace (and more affordable) I can’t wait to see what kind of things heavier bands are going to do with them. There’s so much scope for creative, interesting stuff beyond the obvious (and obviously fun) Meshuggah covers and Periphery-style djentathons. Any other 8-stringers out there? Email me at crunchcolumn@gmail.com and I’ll put together a few links to your music in a future column.

NEW BABY ANIMALS OUT THIS WEEK They’re one of the greatest Oz rock bands ever – and all the more intriguing because it looked like their story was going to end with only two albums – but now the Baby Animals are back with This Is Not The End, their first album in over 20 years. It’ll be released on Friday May 31 via Social Family Records, and to celebrate the release of the album the band have will tour the east coast of Australia this June. They’ll be at The Hi-Fi on Saturday June 22. Aside from Suze DeMarchi and guitarist Dave Leslie, the band now includes Dario Bortolin on bass and Mick Skelton on drums. The album was produced by David Nicholas (INXS, Ash), while Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots) also lent his considerable skill on the record’s first single, Email. “I’m really, really proud of this album,” Suze says. “I love every track and I can’t wait to perform these songs on tour. I love playing live; gigs really are the pay off. We want to go wherever this record takes us.”

FEAR FACTORY TO DEMANUFACTURE LIVE

PLAY

Fear Factory’s Demanufacture changed metal. It fucking did. It showed us that you could be brutally heavy, hauntingly melodic, technically precise and crushingly industrial all at the same time. And bands are still trying to rip it off today. The band will be performing this classic album in its entirety for Australian fans in July. You should go. They’ll be at The Palace on Sunday July 7. Tickets from Ticketek and Oztix.

THIS WEEK AT THE BENDIGO...

Catch Blackwater, Armoured Earth, They, Ordnance and Conscious Control at The Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood on Saturday June 1.

MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE GIVE YOU LOVE

For more than 15 years Mindless Self Indulgence have been making their infamous electric madness for anyone who wants something unique. After successfully achieving the second highest Kickstarter campaign ever, Mindless Self Indulgence release their newest, most offensive and highly original work yet – How I Learned to Stop Giving a Shit and Love Mindless Self Indulgence, set for release on Friday June 21 on 3Wise Records. A record that is all at once politically incorrect, profoundly sexual and amazingly catchy, if you thought getting older, getting married and having kids would slow the band down you are sadly misinformed.

BRUCE BOUILLET RETURNS

Former Racer X/The Scream guitarist Bruce Bouillet releases his new album The Order Of Control soon, and from what I’ve heard it’s going to be awesome. I was lucky enough to hear some of the final mixes: producer James Lugo, who mixed the album, was working out of Pony Music in Hallam with Dead City Ruins when I swung by the other day, and if you’re into heavy instrumental guitar rock then this is going to tear your face off. Check out James Lugo’s YouTube channel for a series of videos from the mixing sessions.

THE NEW ALICE IN CHAINS – IT’S GOOD!

The new Alice In Chains album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, is out now and it’s rather bitchen. It is, of course, their second album with vocalist William DuVall, although he’s in more of a ‘co-vocalist’ role alongside Jerry Cantrell than a ‘lead vocalist.’ This is really the way AIC were heading towards the end of their time with Layne Staley anyway, so AIC’s last few releases have felt pretty consistent with the direction the band was going in. And the new album is killer. Maybe not as many instantly catchy songs compared to Black Gives Way To Blue, but more of a sustained – and immense – mood. Check it out.

ENSLAVED SUPPORTS NAMED

The supports for the rescheduled Enslaved tour have been announced: Melbourne fans will be treated to Ne Obliviscaris and Hybrid Nightmares on Friday June 14 at The Hi-Fi. CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 43

MUSIC NEWS

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King Of The North

ROCK N LOAD RETURNS The second annual Rock N Load Festival returns to The Espy on Saturday June 1 with a massive 30 acts over three stages. The Espy will feature some of the best live rock acts from Melbourne and interstate, including Dallas Frasca, The Fumes, The Nerve (featuring Ezekiel Ox and Lucius Borich), King Of The North, Ten Thousand, My Secret Circus, Massive, Gay Paris, Don Fernando, Dead City Ruins, Vida Cain, Riot In Toytown, Sudden State, The Dead Love, Sheriff, Virtue and heaps more. Tickets are sure to sell fast, so get ‘em now via Oztix and from The Espy. Check out www.rocknloadfestival.com for the lineup and ticketing details.

WILLOW BEATS Their 2012 self-titled EP earned them their place as “one of Australia’s best electronic acts,” and now Willow Beats are celebrating the launch of their recent Alchemy EP. With a string of national shows, Narayana Johnson and Kalyani Ellis will return to The Workers Club on Thursday May 30, with support from Alta and Indian Summer. This gig is sure to enchant you, as the title track and Elemental set the pace for their organic layered sounds. Tickets are $15 and doors are at 7.30pm.

THE CLITS It is sadly the final installment of The Clits' residency at The Tote on Wednesday May 29, and tonight’s support acts are the always captivating Grand Prismatic and The Ocean Party. If you haven’t been to see them play all month, don’t miss tonight! Doors are from 8pm and door charge applies.

THE NITTY GRITTY The Nitty Gritty is a new side project for Moreland City Soul Revue members Paul Slattery and Adrian Whitehead and Barebones bassist Peter Hillman. Get down to The Retreat Hotel front bar on Wednesday May 29 at 7.30pm and be treated to some soul classics from the golden age of American music, from classic labels like Stax, Atlantic, Motown, Chess and Fame. Two sets of straight-up soul. No nonsense. No fuss. Just pure music.

OH PEP! Olivia Hally and Pepita Emmerichs write songs about travelling and the sea and travelling on the sea. Most recently, Oh Pep! released their long-awaited selftitled EP recorded with Cam Trewin (Saskwatch, Stonefield, Kingswood), and played a run of shows across the country. They are set to record their next EP in June with country producer Shane Nicholson (Kasey Chambers, Quarry Mountain Dead Rats) and tour the East Coast with their exciting blend of folk, pop, country and bluegrass. They are playing at The Retreat Hotel on Thursday May 30 at 8.30pm.

THE BOMBAY ROYALE Get ready to be blown away – you better believe it – Bar Open is hosting The Bombay Royale each Friday for a month. What’s more is that each show is free! It kicks off Friday May 31, so don’t miss your chance to see them before they dazzle Europe with their daring new tunes and even bolder new outfits. Doors are at 10pm.

ANIMAUX They’re a seven-piece pop-funk machine that has been handpicked to support The Cat Empire twice. With festivals and residencies under their belt, Animaux are returning with their stellar performance on Sunday June 2 to Prince Public Bar. With support from Sportsmen, expect to boogie on down with new tracks, old dance floor fillers (and maybe a cheeky cover or two). The best part is it’s free, so don’t miss out.

RAISED BY EAGLES Raised By Eagles are a superb alt-countrybluegrass-rock-pop crossover band led by Luke Sinclair (The Idle Hoes), featuring Nick O’Mara (Fingerbone Bill), Luke Richardson (The Stetson Family) and Johnny Gibson (Van Walker Band). They play four fat Saturdays of gold at The Union Hotel from 5pm this month.

COLLAGE TURNS TEN Collage is celebrating its tenth anniversary on Saturday June 22, making it the longest running independent music showcase in Melbourne. With over 1000 shows and 4000 individual performances across all genres including soulful acoustic, thumping roots, indie, alternative and of course rock’n’roll. The Collage Tenth Anniversary will be held in The Espy Gershwin Room on Saturday June 22 from 7pm and will feature eight original live acts showcasing the depth, variety and quality of artists that have graced the Collage stage. Tickets $13 + bf available via espy. com.au and all Oztix outlets.

THE WIKIMEN Throughout their daily toils and tribulations, The Wikimen always find time to string up the Double bass and polish the vibraphone for a new sonic adventure in the realms of early 20th Century jazz-pop. The Wikimen will set up shop at The Spotted Mallard throughout the months of June and July; these free entry shows will occur every Sunday from 4pm. And to celebrate their return, the Mallard kitchen is serving up a succulent Sunday roast with all the trimmings.

DRUNK MUMS “Formerly from Cairns, now Melbourne’s best band,” Drunk Mums are playing live at Cherry Bar’s Boogie! Reunion Cocktail Party on Friday May 31. Hot off the tails of their killer set at Cherry Rock, catch their scuzzy brand of garage rock in Melbourne’s quintessential rock’n’roll bar. $10 cocktails and $1 home-made sausage rolls. Starts at 5pm and it’s free.

THE VANTURAS These guys have been playing every show like it’s their last! They are launching their new single, Tightrope, at Cherry Bar on Friday May 31. On the night they will be supported by The Spin, Celadore and DJ Lucy Arundel (playing until 5am). Doors open at 5pm, $13 entry from 8pm ‘til 11pm, then $10 ‘til 5am. It’s high energy, sheer attitude rock’n’roll all night long!

TEN THOUSAND Having played with Van Halen and Aerosmith at Stone Festival, Ten Thousand have returned and will be hosting Wednesday nights at Cherry Bar every week in May! With new bands each week, free entry and $4 jagers, come down and party with the boys before they head out on tour in June! Doors at 5pm, bands from 9pm and DJ ‘til 3am.

THE PEEP TEMPEL After touring Europe and the East Coast of Australia in 2012, these neon-punks are set to follow up their acclaimed self-titled debut album. Their latest EP, Modern Professional, portrays a band that is forever evolving in sound and nature. The EP is available on July 5 and the band plays The Public Bar on Monday June 10. See why they have gained a reputation as one of the champions of the Melbourne underground.

STOVETOP It’s been far too long, and finally Stovetop are coming back to release their third album, Three, at The Spotted Mallard on Friday May 31. They will be supported by Shane Reilly. Doors at 8.30pm and it’s free.

FRACTURES Melbourne based singer and multi-instrumentalist Fractures has just announced his debut live show and the launch of the film clip for his debut single, Twisted, at The Toff in Town on Thursday June 20. The track is hauntingly fragile, and showcases Mark’s atmospheric voice through lofty yet restrained arrangements, combining electronic & instrumental production. On the night he is performing with a full band and will be supported by Brightly. Doors open at 7.30pm.

EVIL TWIN Evil Twin are set to hit the stage of the Great Britain, this time round with blues outfit Eleven Dollar Bills. It’s all on Saturday June 1 when the Great Britain will be awash with catchy rock riffs and smooth blues beats. This is the last gig Evil Twin play before they lock themselves away and then reappear with their debut recording. It will be the Eleven Dollar Bills’ first time at the Great Britain; get along and witness great local talent doing what they do best. Doors are at 9pm and entry’s free.

WAYFARING STRANGERS It’s their one and only annual gig at The Public Bar this Friday night, and it’s also a farewell to Dorn De Plume (vocalist and acrobat of the band), who is relocating overseas. Come get yer grub on with some fried chicken and crabmeat before you witness the once in a year event. Doors at 8.30pm.

NAKED BODIES This Thursday May 30, Naked Bodies will hit The Old Bar with Brendan West & Broken Bones, and The Strange. Quang Dinh is the garbling mad ringleader to his troupe of merry lunatics who vibrantly pain his wild garage-born ballads with Will Coyote’s haunted violins, Brendan West’s deep-sea bass lines, and Cameron Potts’ heaving percussion. It’s an easy one to remember – doors 8pm for $8.

ELEPHANT EGO Elephant Ego are one of Melbourne’s most talked about new bands - they play intricate and brooding shoegaze meets well-constructed classic-rock. On Thursday May 30 at the Evelyn Hotel they are playing with White Summer, Seven Year Itch and I’ll Be An Indian. The show will challenge the audience’s perceptions of rock music because all four acts offer something a little different.

JOE FORRESTER Thursday June 6 sees Joe Forrester, Bernie Carson and Dave Hoang bringing the heat, or hopefully at least warmth, to Grumpy’s Green. Forrester’s blend of crafty, tongue-in-cheek upsetting folk-pop should be sure to please, whilst Carson and Hoang provide some of the most simply charming and love-inducing music your ears are likely to feast upon in Melbourne. These are three of Melbourne’s most unique and special solo singer-songwriters and definitely should not be missed on a lineup together. Forrester will be making a rare return to the stage from a bout of recording for a new album, a hi-fi follow-up to 2012’s lo-fi Free EP, anticipated late 2013. Show starts 8:30pm with free entry all night long. Beat Magazine Page 44

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FLYYING COLOURS After a sellout single launch for Wavygravy at the Grace Darling, fuzzy shoe-gazers Flyying Colours will be spending the next few Thursdays at the Espy Basement with good pals Laughing Leaves and a rotating cast of excellent openers – free entry on Thursday May 30 and Thursday June 6.

THE BOMBSHELLS It’s been 12 years with several false starts and Spinal Tap-esque lineup changes, but Bombshells are finally launching their debut self-titled LP at The Public Bar on Saturday June 1. It will be the first show with the four-piece, twin guitar drunken punk’n’roll lineup. Look Who’s Toxic and Solid Waste will be supporting. Doors from 8.30pm and it’s only $6.

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MARK SEYMOUR & THE UNDERTOW

THE HARLOTS The Harlots are launching their first full action, long player in their short but exciting history on Saturday June 1 at The Spotted Mallard. Coupled with a live set that has forced venues to re-think the size of their dance floors, The Harlots are a force to be reckoned with. Supporting them are the unashamedly folk-pop group Francolin, the surfabilly La Bastard, and the haunting Strangers From Now On. Doors at 9pm and entry is $10.

DENIM OWL Denim Owl will celebrate their first live show in just over a year at The Old Bar on Wednesday May 29. The new single Blank Face has been wowing people since its release a few weeks ago. Pascal Barbere & Teeth will be in small and intimate mode, as Pascal croons his way into your consciousness. Victory Lap (the electronic debut of Aleks and the Ramps’ main man) and Arrester (Simon of Les Ramps) will also support the night. It’s only $6 from 8pm.

ALEX & THE SHY LASHLIES Alex & The Shy Lashlies sadly finish their residency at the Great Britain Hotel, but it will go out with a bang. Alex will be bringing in the big band to explore all things rambling alt-country; his Shy Lashlies comprise of individuals who all stand very strong as solo performers in their own right, but together it’s something truly unique. Check them out on Sunday June 2. Doors open at 8pm and it’s free.

SHERIFF Sheriff have a front bar afternoon residency at The Tote throughout June, kicking off on the first of the month with special guests Batpiss. If you miss out on this gem, the coming weeks' support acts include My Left Boot, Spermaids, The Berkshire Hunting Club and Wicked City. It will be your last chance to catch Sheriff before they get back in the studio. Entry is free from 4pm.

FARROW With influences from Bon Iver, The xx and Passion Pit, Farrow were born out of last year’s Winter, emerging from late nights spent recording at an inner-city apartment. The six members (seven in live shows) play intimate and epic music that combines guitars, synth, and brass to create a unique blend of folk, electronica and rock. Jeremy Hunter (ex-Inland Sea) and Cider Tree Kids support the band when they play on Friday May 31 at Prince Public Bar.

Having released their album Seventh Heaven Club earlier this year, Mark Seymour & The Undertow are about to embark on a national tour. The album comprises of 12 love songs as written and recorded by other artists that Mark has collected and performed live over the past 14 years as a solo artist with his band, The Undertow. It marks his ninth album release since the disbanding of Hunters & Collectors. Mark Seymour & The Undertow perform at The Hawthorn Hotel on Friday May 31 and at The Ferntree Gully Hotel on Saturday June 1.

OVERDRIVE It’s Lounge Bar’s garage-rock-punk-swamp-psych night, and if that collection of genres has made you curious, Thursday nights just got a lot more interesting. With loud and live garage bands and DJs, concrete jungle fashionistas and musos can rejoice. There’s cheap booze and entry is free from 10pm.

ELECTRIC I Hot off the heels of a smoking hot EP launch, Electric I are set to rock Bar Open on Wednesday May 29 with Super Fat Fruit and Roxy Lavish & The Suicide Cult. With a core lineup of musicians from Colombia, Cuba, New Zealand and Australia, and guest appearances by outstanding performers from all over the world, Electric I uncover unsuspected intersections of musical influences and rhythmical patterns. It’s free and doors open at 8.30pm.

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COMPOSITION

TUITION

SKYSCRAPER STAN AND THE COMMISSION FLATS Now, with a solidified lineup and a whole gang of tunes, Skyscraper Stan and the Commission Flats will be taking over The Old Bar every Sunday in June. They’ll be launching their debut EP, Tall Stories, at the first show on Sunday June 2.

JUDGE PINO & THE RULING MOTIONS Returning to Bar Open this June, Judge Pino & The Ruling Motions offer their super tasty musical treats on Saturday June 1. This night is guaranteed to put you in the right mood and take away those chilly winter blues. Doors at 10pm and entry is free.

MAGIC HANDS The duo formed in late 2011 in a typically smoky and tiny Berlin bar. Alex (Aleks & The Ramps) and lyrical folk singer Lucy Roleff make the electro dream-pop of Magic Hands; inspired by traditional music cultures, the Twin Peaks soundtrack and 808 clap samples with too much reverb. Their debut EP was recorded earlier this year, with first track, Golden Boy, a taste of what’s to come. Catch them on Wednesdays in May at The Old Bar, because you never know when they’ll go back to Germany. They’ll be playing with Denim Owl, Pascal Barbere & Teeth, Victory Lap and Arrester from 8pm tonight. Entry is $6.

THE BLOOMIN HEATHERS A cooking strings project featuring four great local musicians Heather Stewart, Ewan Baker, Brian Strating and Jim Green all singing great songs and playing three fiddles, two mandolins, guitar and double bass. Check them out at The Retreat Hotel on Tuesday June 4 at 7.30pm.

ADRIAN STOYLES MONIQUE BRUMBY The breathtaking Tasmanian landscape where Monique Brumby grew up continues to inspire this ARIA award-winning artist to create music that is wild at heart. Monique is a prolific songwriter, having released four albums and three EPs of original work since 1995. Currently Monique is based in Melbourne and is recording her fifth studio album. This show is a farewell concert celebrating the drumming career of Shamus Goble, who has drummed with Monique for 11 years. Fittingly, Maryanne Window will strap on the bass and join the band for one last blast. The band will play two sets of songs spanning 17 years of Monique’s recorded works. Come and celebrate and raise your glass to one of the finest men you’ll come across in rock‘n’roll and then boogie down with DJ Shaky Memorial. It all goes down at The Retreat Hotel on Friday May 31 from 9.30pm.

He’s a core member of Brisbane’s The Gin Club, and now Adrian Stoyles is set to play The Old Bar with The Spoils and Jimmy Tait on Tuesday June 4. Hayley Couper and Osker Herbig will support. While The Gin Club are recording, Stoyles will preview some of their new material; a sound often compared to Split Enz, The Triffids and The Go-Betweens. Doors are at 7pm and it’s free.

DANCING HEALS After a bumper 2012 that ended on a high, thanks to the news of Arts Victoria funding their second album, Melbourne-based indie rock outfit Dancing Heals have emerged from the studio and are ready to hit the road for an east cost tour in support of their brand new LP, You Will Never Be Younger Than You Are Now, due for release on July 5. A favourite on Melbourne’s live circuit over the past three years, the four-piece will launch the LP at The Workers Club on Saturday July 27.

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Beat Magazine Page 45

MUSIC NEWS

SEABELLIES

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SUZIE STAPLETON Suzie Stapleton’s voice commands a room. In an instant it can spiral from a charcoal murmur to a thundering roar, not unlike a 747 taking off. Patti Smith and Marianne Faithful are obvious reference points, but there is more to Suzie’s work than that. A new class from the old school perhaps. Suzie plays the Drunken Poet’s ‘Wine, Whiskey, Women’ this Wednesday night from 9pm.

BAIN WOLFKIND HARRY HOWARD & THE NDE The long awaited screen debut of We Can’t Decide, a video by Bernadette Keys of the famed duet Harry Howard & the NDE, shows for the first time at The Old Bar on Friday May 31. Go Go Sapien and E-Wah will support from 8.30pm with $10 entry fee. One of Berlin’s original punks DJ Oliver Shunt will be spinning tunes ‘til 3am.

PAPER HOUSE With their live show described as “offering you candy and then pushing you in the dirt”, Paper House have gained a reputation for their captivating and dynamic live shows. Built on atmospheric electronics augmented by a live band, Paper House plays with genres with hints of folk, rock, jazz and experimental influences. While busy writing their second release, Paper House will perform a rare, stripped back acoustic set, featuring string players from the MSO and some strange old country instruments they found in the shed! Free in the front bar at Gertrude’s Brown Couch on Tuesday June 4 from 7:30pm.

BEFORE DAYS END Before Days End will be rocking the Reverence Hotel’s front bar on Thursday May 30. Combining catchy melodies over a backdrop of distorted guitars and killer bass lines, Before Days End create an energetic sound and modern rock vibe. Joining them will be Fisker and September Falls. Show starts at 8pm and is $10 on the door.

Beat Magazine Page 46

The music of Bain Wolfkind could be described as a Lynchian take on artists such as Lee Hazlewood, with dark brooding vocals and a swampy amalgam of slow blues, rock and country with electronic overtones. He will take stage at The Toff In Town on Sunday June 9, with Heirs and Miles Brown (The Night Terrors), plus special guest DJs to keep things dark and wonderful ‘til the early hours. It’s $10 and doors open at 8pm.

SUNSET BLUSH/SLAQUER Sunset Blush will be teaming up with stylin’ punk-kids The Antoinettes and Slaquer. There will be no extra cheese on the menu tonight, for the garage will be critically demolished. With some serious pop-punk action that will leave the Vatican thinking DAAAAAAAAAAMN! Check it before you wreck it, and get ready for some serious slamming! It’s at 9pm on Thursday May 30 at Yah Yah’s.

SECOND HAND HEART Critical acclaim has been simmering for the young Melbourne quintet, who has been compared to Big Scary and Local Natives. Their new single, Hold On, simmers with an arresting melancholy and hypnotic chorus. It has the unique distinction of feeling like a heavy and hardened affair, yet one deceptively ripe for replay. Written between New York and Melbourne, the single sees Second Hand Heart in fine form, cultivating great expectations. The band plays The Workers Club tonight Wednesday May 29.

KIDS FROM THE MILL They’ve been unloading their energetic live act across Melbourne over the past few weeks, and on Sunday June 2 at The Bendigo Hotel, Kids From The Mill will host a night with friends in a creation of rock’n’roll goodness. Alice D, The Thrusts, Needleburner and Tricking Emma will complete the lineup of fiery fun. Bands start from 5pm and it’s $8 on the door.

MY FICTION To celebrate the first single off their next long player, My Fiction are bringing the tunes down south to Melbourne on Friday May 31 to grace the stage at Yah Yah’s, along with Young Maverick, Aircrafte and Charm. So go and get your dance on this Friday. Doors 8.30pm for a bargain $10, or free entry from midnight. Late tunes provided courtesy of Mohair Slim.

JOHNNY GIBSON & THE HANGOVERS After a knockout double-bill at The Tote on Valentine’s Day, Johnny Gibson And The Hangovers and Sea Jelly team up once more for a show at Tago Mago on Saturday June 1. Sea Legs (in an intimate trio version that showcases Cam Lopez’s sublime lyrics) open, and they bring the sizzle. The Hangovers close and they bring the steak. Entry is free.

BRENTON FOSTER BAND Combining pop sensitivity and sentiment with insatiable grooves and melodies, Brenton Foster Band have been likened to John Mayer and Jamiroquai. The band has rapidly become Adelaide’s finest up and coming pop-rock outfit, garnering public acclaim from patrons and venues each time they perform. Catch Brenton Foster Band launching their new single, Yes and No, at The Empress Hotel on Friday May 31, supported by Chris O’Neil and Tiaryn.

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Newcastle’s Seabellies are back. They’ve spent most of the past 18 months making their sophomore record, Fever Belle. With the LP recorded in both Sydney and Berlin, the band have been calling the German capital home for the past two years whilst creating new material. With both Tim Whitten (Powderfinger, Augie March) and Simon ‘Berkfinger’ Berkelman co-producing the album, you could say Seabellies had the best of both worlds. Seabellies will play their new album at The Grace Darling on Thursday June 6, with support from Hiding With Bears and Towers. Tickets are $10 at the door – it doesn’t get any better than that.

BIG SMOKE Big Smoke play a brand of folk-country inspired rock‘n’roll that tips its cap to the sounds of The Boss, The Band, Wilco and Dawes. Formed in 2009, combining the collective talents of members from former Melbourne indie band, Major Major, and Brisbane’s Tragic/Athletic. After a hiatus or two (or three), Big Smoke are starting to get the ball rolling in 2013, getting back on the stage and mixing tracks for their debut EP. Playing the Victoria Hotel this Friday, 10pm.

ANNA’S GO-GO ACADEMY Anna’s go-go classes are great fun, an excellent cardio workout, and have been described as ‘inspiring’, “a retro hit parade…everything from Elvis’ Jailhouse Rock to AC/DC’s Jailbreak”, and a “high energy dance party with the hostess with the mostest”. Now with two classes every Thursday night at The Vic Hotel from 6.30pm and 8pm. Entry is $10.

RHYTHM MACHINE Don’t miss this one night only concert where the heat of Cuban dance halls and masterful restraint of Ravel’s Bolero grace Melbourne Town Hall on Thursday May 30. From 6.30pm, this exciting mid-week concert will see the MSO join forces with acclaimed UK percussionists Ollie Cox and Owen Gunnell, and composer Fraser Trainer. It will feature a brand new piece by Trainer for the MSO and O-Duo, which resonates strongly with contemporary urban rhythms, alongside orchestral works from a range of composers, including Bela Bartok, Maurice Ravel and Arturo Marquez. School cost is $10 students and parents free for teachers, and regular costs are $18 adults, $12 children and $50 family (two adults and two children).

I KNOW THE CHIEF I Know The Chief is the lovechild of former indie band Passport. Describing their euphoric sound as ‘jungle disco’, these five young men have already undergone a rollercoaster in their music journey. Drawing upon influences such as Two Door Cinema Club, Twinsy and Phoenix, they set out to move the needle on the Australian music culture. They finish up their Wednesday residency at The Evelyn tonight.

TEK TEK ENSEMBLE Tek Tek ensemble is a festive anthropological miniorchestra consisting of three guys and three girls playing trumpet, trombone, violins, percussion, guitars, double bass, piano accordion and the human voice. The encyclopedic repertoire of the ensemble is bound by the strict yet simple stipulation of danceability. They wrap up their residency at The Spotted Mallard this Thursday May 30.

MAMA TOTO Mama Toto hail from Gippsland, and will be bringing their fresh, hauntingly familiar and addictive sound to The Empress Hotel on Sunday June 2. Inspired by the human condition and the fragile nature of life and love, the band will be supported by Robbie Bundle Band and Justin Brady. Doors open at 7.30pm.

UNION ROYALE When you combine Shane Reilly on pedal steel and vocals (Tex Perkins, Blue Sun), Simon Burke on keys (Mia Dyson, Something For Kate) and Toby Lang on drums (ex-Audreys, Kate Nash), you get a whole lot of Buck Owens to Bowie. The intimate Sunday sessions at The Retreat start at 4.30pm and are free.

INTRODUCING MWT INSTITUTES DIPLOMA OF MUSIC COURSES You don’t need a PhD to realise the Australian Music Industry has undergone ridiculous change in recent times. However, keeping up with this change and making the most of the opportunities that are now available does require a qualification, and that is where MWT Institute’s Diploma of Music courses are at your service. Your career in the Music Industry can be more than being a Rockstar or Popstar, and instead of a `boring’ day job, you can gain employment in the numerous fields within this industry and build the essential networks and experience required to help you on your way. MWT offers six month Diploma courses in three streams of Performance, Composition and Tuition, tailored to take your interests in these areas to the point of obtaining employment in these fields. MWT caters for students from all backgrounds, styles of music and walks of life and is a government registered training organization that has been running Music Diploma Courses for four years and successfully breaking working music professionals into the creative industries. For more information you can visit mwtinstitute.com.au or call 1300 855 846.

THEM SWOOPS Melbourne’s Them Swoops are thrilled to announce the release of their debut EP, Glimmers, out Friday June 14. To celebrate, they’ll be playing the Northcote Social Club on Saturday June 15 for the official EP Launch, and if Swoops’ last sold out headline show is anything to go by, fans better get in quick. From unknown triple j Unearthed winners plucked from obscurity to selling out their debut headline show, to supporting the likes of The Maccabees, Ball Park Music, Birds of Tokyo and The Rubens, the EP will be a taste of things to come from their forthcoming album. They’re supported on the night by The Greasers.

SUMMERS MISTAKE Summers Mistake consists of Michael Keirs, Brendan Aked and Emma Jones. Forming in 2004 they have written and independently released four EPs on top of playing numerous live shows in Melbourne over the years, as well as participating in two Freeza battle of the bands, several Moonee Valley Festivals and Youth Week shows and a Western regional semi-final. $5 up in the bandroom from 8.30pm this Friday, they’ll be launching their EP at Gertrude’s Brown Couch with support from Bot Red and Paul Reid.

MUSIC NEWS

YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE

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AMY GANTER & THE LOVE AND SQUALORS The music of Amy Ganter and the Love and Squalors is a blend of musical styles, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of the band members. Drawn from all over New Zealand and Australia, they bring the flavor of their own careers, in classical, jazz, blues and folk music to create a new folk sound. Blending cello, dobro guitar, nylon guitar and saxophone, they create the perfect atmosphere to support the unique voice and wonderfully honest songs of Amy Ganter. Catch this ensemble supported by the wonderful Mana Band at Richmond’s Great Britain Hotel, Thursday May 30. Doors open 8pm.

REVERENCE HOTEL 1ST BIRTHDAY The Reverence Hotel is celebrating its first birthday on Saturday June 1. The past year has seen the pub become one of Melbourne’s favourite live music venues. Performing on the day to help celebrate this huge event will be The Smith Street Band, Infinite Void, The Gun Runners, High Tension, Grenadiers, The Union Pacific, Feverteeth, Maricopa Wells and Darren Gibson. Tickets are on sale now and available through reverencehotel. com. They are selling super fast so get onto it before you miss out! $20 + bf, 5pm 'til midnight.

ON SIERRA On Sierra have been creeping up on everyone’s radars since shocking over 200 people at The Red-Tape Records Launch Party with their acid space break-funk. They’re about to release their new EP, Music To Crack Safes To, and to celebrate they’re throwing a launch party at The Grace Darling Hotel on Saturday June 1. Support comes from Cat Or Pillar, Lopaka and Solaires, doors are at 9pm and entry is $10.

MAMA TOTO Mama Toto hail from Gippsland, and will be bringing their fresh, hauntingly familiar and addictive sound to The Empress Hotel on Sunday June 2. Inspired by the human condition and the fragile nature of life and love, the band will be supported by Robbie Bundle Band and Justin Brady. Doors open at 7.30pm.

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THEM BRUINS Them Bruins have been busy writing and demoing new tracks over the last month, but June will see them back in action. To warm up for a run of east coast shows with The Foreign Objects, the boys will be supporting Californian garage/soul rockers The BellRays at The Corner Hotel on Wednesday June 12. Get down early to get involved in some rock shenanigans. Doors at 8pm and tickets available from cornerhotel.com.

MONNONE ALONE Mark Monnone has put in some long hours and even longer miles to finally touch down at the debut Monnone Alone album, Together At Last. His brief urban accounts are told with one eye for the absurd, and one for the mundanely beautiful. Having cofounded The Lucksmiths in 1993, their demise in 2009 saw Monnone continue to sharpen his focus on songwriting, first stepping out on his own with single Pink Earrings in 2011. Monnone Alone will launch the LP on Saturday June 1 with The Harpoons, The Sublets and Tim Richmond. Pre-sale is available from the venue site. Doors are at 9pm and door charge applies.

ANDY BROWN Canada’s Andy Brown has been touted as a performer that ‘gets into your head and heart’, the 2010 Galaxie Rising Star winner has a contemporary folk-rock style all his own, taking you on a lyrical journey that transcends a realm torn between love, happiness, and sorrow. His hit song Ashes was featured in season two of Rookie Blue, and hours after the episode, Andy’s song and album landed number one on the iTunes singersongwriter chart in Canada and Ashes reached number two on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart in the United States. He is playing at The Retreat Hotel on Sunday June 2 at 5pm.

OL’ TIMEY BLUEGRASS JAM Craig Woodward of Headbelly Buzzard, among other bands, brings his weekly jam session to The Vic Hotel every Saturday afternoon from 4pm. You can join in musically and bring an instrument, or just hang out and take in the atmosphere.

Beat Magazine Page 47

ALBUM OF THE WEEK LAURA MARLING

COLLECTORS MISSING LINK

Once I Was An Eagle (EMI)

WEDNESDAY 29 MAY RESIDENCY – FINAL NIGHT

I KNOW THE CHIEF ANIMAUX THE MERCHANTS $5 TOUCAN COCKTAILS THURSDAY 30 MAY EP LAUNCH

ELEPHANT EGO WHITE SUMMER SEVEN YEAR ITCH I’LL BE AN INDIAN $2.50 POTS, $5 VODKAS! FRIDAY 31 MAY EP LAUNCH

KALACOMA SLEEP DECADE WUNDERLUST NOTHING FINAL BRETT SCHEYEZER SATURDAY 1 JUNE ALBUM LAUNCH

BUILT ON SECRETS SOUND OF SEASONS WAY WITH WORDS HOMETOWN SUNDAY 2 JUNE MATINEE SHOW

JESS PALMER HAIKU WIRE BIRD BLAKE

EVENING SHOW

MARK JOLLEY PETER BIBBY RYAN VAGER SONIC THE DEATHHOG

I’ve started writing this review about eight different ways, each focusing on a different aspect of Laura Marling in order to explain just how strongly I feel about this album, and about this remarkable young woman. But I have to keep starting over because there are so many things I want to put in the first paragraph that the only way I’ll fit all of them in is if the whole review is the first paragraph. Marling burst on to the scene in 2007 with her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim, a lovely, rollicking album of pastoral folk that saw her immediately lumped in with Noah & The Whale, Mumford & Sons and the rest of the ‘nu-folk’ bands. Six years on, although those two bands are undeniably bigger drawcards, only one of those songwriters has a claim to being the best songwriter of their generation. Marling has exhibited extraordinary personal and musical growth over the course of her career, and Eagle (her fourth album in five years) shows just how far she has come. We have witnessed her growing up in front of our eyes, the optimistic, light-hearted folk of her debut giving way to darker, more nuanced examinations of womanhood, of love, of duty, of creativity as Marling gets older and encounters these rites of passage. Musically, Marling is still of the ‘folk’ genre, but no one label could contain all of her influences. There are songs here (like Master Hunter) with a rambling, loose feel to them, reminiscent of immediately preelectric Bob Dylan, there are songs that could be Joni Mitchell, or Sandy Denny, or Neil Young. But Marling’s influences have always been more literary than musical, which is why her inspirations aren’t always immediately identifiable. Marling was reading

FAT FREDDY’S DROP

Clean The House (Remote Control) An irresistibly soulful offering from New Zealand’s foremost purveyors of dub, Clean The House is pure class on every level. There’s a slow burn of underwater guitar wah and powerhouse vocals until the eventual fanfare of horns. Be sure to check out the ace Tarantino-meets-Team America clip for some sick marionette action.

MANGELWURZEL

TUESDAY 4 JUNE RESIDENCY – OPENING NIGHT

BLOODS

DJ LOVELY CLEARWATER OBAT BATUK DIPLOID

KOOYEH

CLEVER AUSTIN THE SEVEN UPS

COMING UP

TIX AVAILABLE THRU MOSHTIX: I KNOW THE CHIEF (WEDNESDAYS IN MAY) MANGELWURZEL (MONDAYS IN JUNE) KOOYEH (TUESDAYS IN JUNE) THE PRIMARY – FAREWELL SHOW (JUNE 6) AURAL WINDOW – SINGLE LAUNCH (JUNE 7) METALS + DUB THE MAGIC DRAGON (JUNE 8) TIJUANA CARTEL (JUNE 14) COTTON SIDEWALK – EP LAUNCH (JUNE 15) CELADORE – FINAL SHOW (JUNE 21) TULAHLAH – EP LAUNCH (JUNE 28) KIRKIS (JUNE 29) THREE’S A CROWD (MONDAYS IN JULY + AUGUST) SLEEPMAKESWAVES (JULY 6 + 7)

Back To You (Independent) Showing flashes of vintage Magic Dirt goodness, Sydney’s Bloods up the ante after a handful of bratty punk jams to achieve something a little more ambitious with Back To You. Not necessarily breaking any new ground, the Sydney trio still provide a very worthwhile offering of poppy guitar goodness.

Best Track: I Was An Eagle If You Like This You’ll Like: Heart Of Nowhere NOAH AND THE WHALE, Babel MUMFORD & SONS, Time (The Revelator) GILLIAN WELSH. In A Word: Heavenly

the tidy Bonham-isms on the kit that give the track its heart, opening up an enticing amount of space behind the headbanging shopfront.

BEST COAST

Fear Of My Identity (Popfrenzy) So for Record Store Day Bethany Cosentino managed to whip up a song that wasn’t about California or how cool it is to have a boyfriend, and the result is actually pretty good. The saccharine sunshine elements are still present, but this time there’s a gritty menace lying beneath the surface. Way better than anything off the last Best Coast LP, but still not terribly inspiring.

Speak Low (Yes Please) Taken from the upcoming EP A Warm Reception, Speak Low is a dreamy wash of stuttering percussion and swirling, clean guitar licks. The track’s greatest success is its ability to call a myriad of sonic touchstones to mind while sounding unique in its own ornate manner. It pulls off a gentle balance between a warm organic quality and intricate electronica-like composition.

TWENTY SEVEN WINTERS

Cleopatra’s Bed (Beast/Spooky) A smouldering, sleazy display of swampy blues acumen, Cleopatra’s Bed slithers along with burnt out guitar tones and wonderfully restrained drum smatterings. While not rivalling Cave or Liddiard in terms of narrative, the track is a fine example of dark Australiana-tinged folk.

VAUDEVILLE SMASH

Don’t Say A Word (Indpendent) Toning down their affable disco schtick on the second single from new LP Dancing For The Girl, the bombastic Don’t Say A Word is buoyed by nostalgic pop smarts to create something that wouldn’t sound too out of place on the new Phoenix record. The track seals the deal with one very tasty sax solo.

THE DEMON PARADE

Open Up Your Mind (RiSH) Nailing the authentic ‘60s psychedelic throwback, Open Up Your Mind sees The Demon Parade ascend to greater heights with a desert-sized soundscape. There’s a bold swagger on display, something you might expect from the mind of Bobby Gillespie or Anton Newcombe. An impressive and trippy rock‘n’roll meditation.

VIDA CAIN

Reloader (Independent) An unashamedly derivative foray into classic rawk territory, Reloader showcases some decent Plantlike wailing and heavy Page-esque riff work. But it’s Beat Magazine Page 48

HUGH ROBERTSON

I’LLS

UDAYS TIGER

(I Need A) Summertime Hit (Independent) With (I Need A) Summertime Hit, Melbourne duo Udays Tiger indulge in a breezy and measured garage jam with a hypnotic stop-start structure. The heartfelt vocals resonate with a hefty force ahead of a haunting and hammering breakdown. This is promising stuff from two grungey gadabouts.

MONDAY 3 JUNE RESIDENCY – OPENING NIGHT

existentialists when writing and recording this record - Camus, Satre, and Russian “miserablists” - and that pessimistic world view comes through on the record. With Eagle, Marling has created a universe where characters make their own decisions, but will never know if those decisions were the right ones. On Eagle, as in life, all we can do is stand by our choices, hoping that we made the right call but always mindful of greener pastures. Marling gets better with every album, and her last three were all Album of the Year contenders.

SINGLES BY LACHLAN Whenever Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon is playing I turn to the nearest person and tell them that my sister was named after the song and then I follow it up by saying her name is Fleetwood Mac.

TOP TENS

GO VIOLETS

Josie (Hairy Mexican Music) Sounding like The Ramones in full Spectorindulgence mode, Go Violets project an effortless cool on Josie with pounding percussion and flourishes of Raw Power-like piano garnish. A tantalising forecast for their impending debut EP that is due to drop this August.

SINGLE OF THE WEEK NGAIIRE

Around (Wantok Music) An exercise in deceptive understatement, Around showcases the formidable vocal talent of Sydney’s Ngaiire over a stripped back core of Casiotone beats. There’s an immense lyrical depth on offer, contextualising the tribulations of a break-up within a hypothetical wartime. Sounding like a more intimate Janelle Monae, Ngaiire is giving every indication that her debut album Lamentations, out Friday July 12, could well be one of the standout local releases of the year.

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CORNER

1. White People & The Damage Done (CD/ LP) JELLO BIAFRA & THE GUANTANAMO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 2. Split (LP) EXTORTION/COLD WORLD 3. Snapper (12”) SNAPPER 4. One Of Us Is The Killer (CD) DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN 5. Thy Kingdom Scum (CD) CHURCH OF MISERY 6. Wigwam/Thirsty Boots (7”) BOB DYLAN 7. Negative Reinforcement (7”) NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT 8. Bloodrule (TAPE) BLOODRULE 9. Asbestos (7”) HELTA SKELTA 10. Killing Joke (CD) KILLING JOKE

RECORD PARADISE TOP TEN VINYL 1. Trouble Will Find Me THE NATIONAL 2. Fade YO LA TENGO 3. Dead Wood THE STABS 4. She Beats BEACHES 5. Ooga Boogas OOGA BOOGAS 6. Fragile Disco PHILOSOPHY OF SOUND 7. Calendar Days DICK DIVER 8. Monomania DEERHUNTER 9. Indigo Meadow BLACK ANGELS 10. The Next Day DAVID BOWIE

ARIA CHARTS 1. Random Access Memories DAFT PUNK 2. Trouble Will Find Me THE NATIONAL 3. Steal The Light THE CAT EMPIRE 4. Love Lust Faith + Dreams 30 SECONDS TO MARS 5. Original Soundtrack THE GREAT GATSBY 6. Unorthodox Jukebox BRUNO MARS 7. To Be Loved MICHAEL BUBLE 8. Home RUDIMENTAL 9. A AGNETHA FALTSKOG 10. The Truth About Love P!NK

HEARTLAND RECORDS 1. In Concert (LP BOX SET) DEAD CAN DANCE 2. Silence Yourself (LP) SAVAGES 3. Ready To Die (LP/CD) IGGY & THE STOOGES 4. Monomania (LP/CD) DEERHUNTER 5. A Place Beyond The Pines (LP) MIKE PATTON 6. Black Pudding (LP/CD) MARK LANEGAN 7. Infestissumam (LP/CD) GHOST B.C. 8. Water On Mars (LP) PURLING HISS 9. Blue Sunshine (RSD LP) THE GLOVE 10. Bankrupt (LP/CD) PHOENIX

AIRIT NOW CHARTS 1. Leeward Side JOSH PYKE 2. Career ZEAHORSE 3. Emmanuelle PRUDENCE REES-LEE 4. Feel BLEEDING KNEES CLUB 5. Peanuts THE WATER BOARD 6. Toothless Tiger JEN CLOHER 7. Human Spring BUCHANAN 8. Love Gets Sweeter SUE-ANNE STEWART 9. Brighter Than Gold THE CAT EMPIRE 10. Back To You BLOODS

SYN SWEET 16 1. Immunity JON HOPKINS 2. Free Time FREE TIME 3. Avalanche AXOLOTL 4. It’s Coming OSCAR KEY SUNG 5. (I Need A) Summertime Hit UDAYS TIGER 6. Sandy JACKSON SCOTT 7. Warm Shadow (Sideshow Dub Shadow Version) FINK 8. Dumb Disco Idea HOLY GHOST 9. Business Park BIBIO 10. Cockroach CROCODILES

TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT BIRDS 1. Chicks Chicks Chicks PAULY FENECH 2. Blackbird THE BEATLES 3. Bird Stealing Bread IRON & WINE 4. Shake Ya Tail Feather P DIDDY, NELLY, MURPHY LEE 5. Little Wing JIMI HENDRIX 6. Loch Raven ANIMAL COLLECTIVE 7. Eagle ABBA 8. Three Little Birds BOB MARLEY 9. Freebird LYNYRD SKYNYRD 10. Yellow Bird CHRIS ISAAK

ALBUMS

MOUNT KIMBIE

Cold Spring Faultless Youth (Intertia) FOR MORE REVIEWS GO TO

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KIM VOLKMAN AND THE WHISKEY PRIESTS Setting Sun (Independent)

Sometimes, as you fight your way through the polluted air of artistic pretension, social media pranks and specious advertising hype, it’s possible to catch a glimpse of honest-to-goodness rock’n’roll. Yet so it is with Kim Volkman and the Whiskey Priests. Kim Volkman isn’t a household name, but he is a name to be reckoned with in Melbourne’s booze-laden rock’n’roll dens of vice and iniquity. Setting Suns, Volkman’s latest record with his three-piece outfit, the Whiskey Priests, is a dose of rock’n’roll in its dirtiest, bluesy, raw guise. The album opens with Poor Tom, a Led Zeppelin track recorded on the cusp of that band’s stratospheric rise, and released posthumously in the early 1980s. Volkman and fellow guitarist Tim Deane wrench every last drop of blues attitude from its festering body; this is the devil’s music, writ large. A few songs later, and Devil’s Coat Tails takes you down the well-travelled road of boogie rock; Only Money is a philosophical, if potentially disingenuous, assessment of our commoditised existence. You can hear Keef chilling in the backroom in Fools Gold; you can strut like an exiled motherfucker in Monkey and reach a higher plane of rock’n’roll consciousness. And then there’s Volkman’s sensitive side, from the sweet and heavy You and Me, to the album’s dark, brooding and mysterious closing track, Setting Sun. Seven minutes later, and the air is still dense with love, hate, anger and remorse, each grinding blues chord slicing piercing your brain Best Track: Mexico like a evangelist preacher summonsing the devil from If You Like These, You’ll Like This: IAN RILEN AND THE a sinner’s tormented soul. Rock’n’roll was always LOVE ADDICTS, MUDDY WATERS, ROBERT JOHNSON supposed to be this way. In A Word: Dirty PATRICK EMERY

Mount Kimbie's brilliant debut Crooks and Lovers helped define the 'post-dubstep' sound. Whilst some American dubstep artist were competing for listener’s attentions by seeing who could be the most aggressively irritating, post-dubstep artists like Mount Kimbie, Burial and James Blake were taking the music in much more intimate, melancholic directions. Warm organic sounds brushed up against conventional dubstep elements like stick’n’kick beats, finely diced vocal samples and rumbling bass. It was tender music that bled out the speakers as sweet and slow as molasses. Mount Kimbie's new album refines that signature sound whilst effortlessly incorporating some new and unexpected influences. There’s a much more obvious post-rock influence, most notably on Break Well – in which a swelling build-up of ambient synth melodies suddenly morphs into a gorgeous burst of jangly guitar riffs and pounding drums. Many songs on Cold Spring Fault Less Youth feature vocals; Kai Campos’ fragile voice adds another layer of yearning to tracks like the bittersweet rnb opener Home Recording. And there are two collaborations with King Krule - a sullen kid who half sings/half raps in a slurred drawl that makes him sound like a belligerent drunk. His distinctive style’s not for everyone, but it suits Mount Kimbie’s foggy atmospherics. Debut single Made to Stray is the closest thing to a dance track here - a thumping house beat underpins a lush mix of skittering percussion, ambient noise, and richly textured organ chords. Like the best Mount Kimbie songs it evokes a sense of ephemeral beauty - enveloping the listener in a sweet seductive haze for a few fleeting moments before disappearing back into the ether. If there is one complaint about this album it's that too many tracks are frustratingly short. Several good songs seem to end prematurely just as they’re on the cusp of turning into Best Track: Made to Stray something great. So whilst fans of Mount Kimbie won’t If You Like These, You’ll Like This: JAMES BLAKE, BURIAL, be disappointed by Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, it never NICOLAS JAAR quite reaches the transcendent peaks of their debut. In A Word: Lush ADAM BLACK

MONNONE ALONE

Together At Last (The Lost & Lonesome Record Co.)

ANIMAL HANDS

Animal Hands (Independent) Is grunge dead? Essentially not, if there are bands out there keeping it alive and Melbourne’s Animal Hands are one such act. These guys are a grunge act, pure and simple; they have the minimalist, early 90s sonic aesthetic down pat. But there is one key difference, they are female fronted. And it’s a good thing too, when you plough musical terrain that’s been done to death for over 20 years it pays to have a point of difference. Plus there’s the fact that these guys’ take on the sub genre is kinda laid back, a little on the droney side. Normally, the anger inherent in grunge music lends it a gnarly energy – not so here. The female vocals, while they are still kinda languid in their delivery, give proceedings a very welcome and slightly brighter tone than would a lower range male voice. Outside that, everything else is in place. The guitars are fuzzy, the grooves are fat and the drums sound like they were played and produced by a very stoned Dave Grohl in 1991. This is one of those situations where if you dig the niche that a band is pushing, you’ll get right into it. If not, then it will probably leave you a little cold. Grunge fans will lap this, and probably enjoy it most when indulging in certain recreational pharmaceuticals. Others may wish to give it a bit more of a wide berth. Ultimately, props to these guys for doing what they want to Best Track: Paper Crown do, even though it may be currently a fair way off If You Like These, You’ll Like This: HOLE, MUDHONEY, L7 the ‘cool’ radar. In A Word: Grungey ROD WHITFIELD

MILK MUSIC

Cruise Your Illusion (Fat Possum) Cut from the same Salvation Army thrift-store cloth of Olympia, Washington’s “freak scene” (They are the closest major town to Aberdeen, WA after all) Milk Music have stinging eyes set on recapturing the spazzed-out zeitgeist of their rebellious Washingtonian forebears. They kick around shuffling rhythms and stretch into tunefulness when it suits them, diving into melody like a decrepit Husker Du. Drawing from a bottomless well of 80s college rock inspiration and bathing in the cathode ray sunshine of Television, they stumble and stumble often between deliberate art rock and a case of full blown improvisation. Riding into dusky stretches of desert on Illegal and Free, fingers take orders from the soul leaving technique to the wolves. Their libertine approach streaks all over No, Nothing, My Shelter, singer Alex Coxen yelping he “often grieves with Hendrix,” as fuzzy bass bounces around trundled guitar, pushing it reluctantly forward. Guitars chime breezily along in album jewels Dogchild and Lacey’s Secret, channelling bittersweet free-form jam of Neil Young & Crazy Horse. They take on heartland rock drowned in the pure grain spirits of tearaway youth as Coxen desperately implores “Let’s steal a car.” Bulks of his drunken poetics are scrawled during a long-walked distance between themselves and the mainstream. Strained of volatility since Beyond Living EP, it’s a piece of timeless ironic Americana from a band determined to prove feeling courses through Best Track: Dogchild If You Like These, You’ll Like This: DINOSAUR JR, HUSKER fingers and throats than anything else. It is music for when you’re out at 4am, on a bender and barely able to DU, TELEVISION quash a lingering yet futile desire to kick on. In A Word: Ramshackle TOM VALCANIS

CITY AND COLOUR

The Hurry And The Harm (Dine Alone) Like a daisy sprouting through a crack in the concrete, Dallas Green emerged from his post-hardcore brethren, Alexisonfire to become folk outfit City and Colour. Now, after eight years and three albums, City and Colour has won us over with a re-directed masculinity, trading thrash and anger for an acoustic guitar and a self-reflective folk sensitivity - it seems the only remnants of his past are the tattoos that poke out of his button-down shirt. With the impending release of fourth album, The Hurry And The Harm, Green is back on the radar with Alex Newport (The Mars Volta) as producer and joined, among others, by Jack Lawrence from The Dead Weather on bass. Recorded over winter in Nashville, Tennessee it doesn’t grab you by the throat at first like 2011’s Little Hell did. Having said that it was always going to be a hard act to follow with an opening song such as We Found Each Other In The Dark, but there are certainly echoes of the same self-conscious folk balladry as he mines emotional depths with breathtaking falsetto. There’s a delicious country lilt on the title track and gorgeous backing harmonies notable on Paradise as Green gently refrains: “I’m searchin’ for a paradise that I just can’t seem to find”. The Lonely Life ironically shows off the full band sound while first single Of Space And Time has beautiful sway, a sardonic lilt and is Green at his most poetic: “I don’t know what drugs to take / To successfully alter the state / That my mind has been in as of late.” It’s hard to fault City and Colour; mostly because he never claims to be anything he’s not. Sure, it’s not groundbreaking stuff but it’s always personal and woundingly honest; Best Track: Of Space And Time “I’m not trying to be a revolutionary” sings Green on If You Like These, You’ll Like This: DAMIAN RICE Commenters. In A Word: Another winner. ADELAIDE FRENCH

THIS WEEK

WEEK AFTER

WONDRCORE WEDNESDAYS

THE ASH BALL PROJECT

WED 29TH

MON 3RD

WEEK 5 FEAT ... LUKE SAUNDERS TRIO + CAZAUX O.S.L.O

RUN RABBIT RUN + JAMIE DEBOUCHERVILLE - ON SALE NOW

THURS 30TH

WORKING GIRLS

WED 5TH

RIVER CLISSON & SLACK HANDS (CO HEADLINE)

MERSEY, MILKSHAKES + GUESTS

FRI 31ST

AFTR DARK FEAT BUCHANNON (RECORD LAUNCH)

PLASTIC SPACEMAN + ROSERVELT

LINCOLN LE FEVRE & THE INSIDERS

PAPER ARMS + WIL WAGNER (THE SMITH STREET BAND)

THURS 6TH

HARTS + CLUBFEET DJ’S

FRI 7TH

THIS THING PRESENTS FRIENDZONE

SAT 1ST

FEAT KANE IKIN, HARVEY SUTHERLAND, HYPERBOREA + ANGEL EYES

MONEY FOR ROPE + FRASER A GORMAN, NORTHSIDE RECORDS DJ’S - ON SALE NOW

PRUDENCE REES-LEE ‘RECORD LAUNCH’

SASKWATCH FAREWELL HOUSE PARTY

KITCHEN HOURS

Mark Monnone is alone but not lonely on his debut as a solo artist, Together At Last. This is because Gus Franklin (Architecture in Helsinki, The Smallgoods) is on hand to apply his multi-instrumentalist skills and produce the album alongside The Ladybug Transistor’s Gary Olson, while backing vocals come courtesy of pals such as Ryan McPhun (Ruby Suns) and Kyle Forrester (Crystal Stilts). The first few tracks recall, understandably, Monnone’s former band The Lucksmiths, and tell tales of being unable to commit (or return library books) while being wooed by pink earrings. Like the music of his former band, the stories are set on a fluffy cloud of blossoming love, but with a lingering melancholy and laced with self-effacing humour. As the album develops, it forms its own personality, offers more variety and doesn’t stop having fun. It’s hard not to smile through the balmy Tangerine and the Bear and the Conchords-style humour of The Business World, while melodic highs are hit on breezy sunbursts of songs like Echoing Days and Sunset Video Project. The high standard is kept up at the end of the album, with a wistful duet with The Harpoons’ Bec Rigby and a lovely little closing ballad that finally breaks Best Track: Echoing Days If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Here Come The Cars free of the three-minute pop-song mould. Who needs T-shirt weather with an album this packed with summery DAVID KILGOUR, Where Were We? THE LUCKSMITHS pop gems? In A Word: Self-hug CHRIS GIRDLER

SUN 2ND -

THE MIDNIGHT SOL

WILDFIRES, RAD NAVAJO + MADI DAY

SAT 8TH

STELLA ANGELICO + JONNY TELAFONE AND DJ LADYSHAKES

SUN 9TH

DROWN UNDER 7” LAUNCH

LEVITATING CHURCHES, NUN, JUSTIN FULLER + MISS DESTINY

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DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? POP CULTURE TRIVIA

TUESDAYS FREE IN THE FRONT BAR - 8PM 28/4 - ALEX HAMILTON (MERRI CREEK PICKERS) 4/5 - ASH OFFICER 11/5 - PHIL HOLMES (EX - THE STILL TREE’S) 25/5 - AWES MCBEEF Beat Magazine Page 49

GIG GUIDE WEDNESDAY MAY 29 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC B FOR CHICKEN 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. DIZZY’S BIG BAND Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 7:00pm. $14. KAZ BAND Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:30pm. MELBOURNE JAZZ CLUB Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 8:30pm. OZARK Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. SWING NIGHT First Floor, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE ELECTRIC I + ROXY LAVISH & THE SUICIDE CULT + SUPER FAT FRUIT Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. THE NICK HAYWOOD QUARTET Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15. THE NITTY GRITTY Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. VIVE LA DIFFERENCE Claypots Evening Star, Melbourne. 8:00pm. ZOE K & THE SHADOW KATZ Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS DENIM OWL + ARRESTER + PASCAL BARBERE & TEETH + VICTORY LAP Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $6. GOING SWIMMING + WOD Cornish Arms, Brunswick. 8:00pm. I KNOW THE CHIEF + ANIMAUX + THE MERCHANTS Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5. PRETTY CITY + A GAZILLION ANGRY MEXICANS + BROTHER CHILDS Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $5. ROBOT MUGABE + THE CHOLESTEROLLERS + THE MISSING FUNDAMENTAL The Public Bar, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $5. ROOTS OF MUSIC - FEAT: MIKASHA + BELLA & THE MELLOWS + COBI MARSH Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. RPG RADIO + SHELLEY SEGAL + TIM WOODS Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

60 SECONDS WITH...

SECOND HAND HEART (SINGLE LAUNCH) + DANVERS + KATE MARTIN Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $12. TEN THOUSAND + AURAL WINDOW Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. THE CLITS + THE BIG TABACCO + VELCRO Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. THRASH WEDNESDAY - FEAT: SEWERCIDE + INTERNAL ROT + TERROR STRIKE + THE KILL Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $7. WONDERCORE WEDNESDAY - FEAT: LUKE SANDERS TRIO + CAZAUX O.S.L.O John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK COLLAGE Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. MUNDY + GALLIE + MICK MCHUGH Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm. $40. OPEN MIC Grind N Groove, Healesville. 6:30pm. OPEN MIC Ontop In Ormond, Ormond. 7:30pm. OPEN MIC Musicland, Fawkner. 7:00pm. OPEN MIC NIGHT Tago Mago, Thornbury. 7:30pm. PETER EWING Kent St Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. RUTH LINDSAY & BETH BARKER Standard Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. SAMARA WILLIAMS + AMOROSO + EAMON & DUDI PROJECT Bar Oussou, Brunswick. 7:00pm. SIMPLY ACOUSTIC Wesley Anne, Northcote. 7:00pm. THE ADAM COUSENS BAND (SHOTGUN LAUNCH) + CHARLES BABY + KASHMERE CLUB Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10. WINE WHISKEY WOMEN - FEAT: SUZIE STAPLETON + THE SIDESHOW BRIDES Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm.

THURSDAY MAY 30 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ALPINE + ALI BARTER + CITY CALM DOWN The Hi-fi, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $26. ALTITUDE + GENGHIS CAN’T SWIM + THE ATTICS +

THE BREAK Following an exceptional run of shows with Rodriguez on his recent national tour, including a star performance at Bluesfest, those fine surf rock gentlemen of The Break are prepping for another series of national dates to celebrate the release of their sophomore album Space Farm. Released back in March, Space Farm has been embraced by fans and critics alike. Featuring chants by The Gyuto Monks Of Tibet, various noises by the enigmatic Brian Ritchie and a full vocal performance by Engelbert Humperdinck, it‘s truly a unique musical masterpiece. The Break hit the Caravan Music Club in Oakleigh on Thursday May 30 and the Thornbury Theatre on Friday May 31, with tickets available from each venue‘s respective website. THE NAYSAYERS Penny Black, Brunswick. 8:00pm. BEFORE DAYS END + FISKER + SEPTEMBER FALLS Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $10. BRAD VINCENT (EP LAUNCH) + J N’ T + KISSING BOOTH + MARICOPA WELLS + NAGHAN SEECKTS Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8. CREATE/DESTROY + CONSCIOUS CONTROL + FALSE PROPHETS Idgaff Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. $5. ELEPHANT EGO (EP LAUNCH) + I’LL BE AN INDIAN + SEVEN YEAR ITCH + WHITE SUMMER Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10. FLYYING COLOURS + LANDS + LAUGHING LEAVES Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. FORTRESS OF NARZOD + LEVITATING CHURCHES + NUMBER ONE JONES + THE UNDECIDED Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. GABRIEL LYNCH (DEPENDANT STATE LAUNCH) + ESTHER HOLT + LEADLIGHT + WHITAKER Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $10. JAMES KENYON Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. JOHNSONVILLE CITY NIGHTS + DIRT LAND Tago Mago, Thornbury. 8:30pm. KAKI KING Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. $35. LEEZ LIDO + THE MONGRELS + VOODOOCAIN Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $15.

ELEPHANT EGO

Define your genre in five words or less. Beachy, groovy, brooding, intricate, clusterfuck. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like? People say we kind of sound like a giant melting pot of different sounds, relaxing yet you can dance, poppy but complex. Everyone says a different thing and that’s what we strive for. If you could travel back in time and show one of your musical heroes your stuff, who would it be and why? Jim Morrison. Because it’s fuckin’ Jim Morrison, if he said anything positive about our music, I would die a happy man. What can a punter expect from your live show? A chilled vibe that can escalate into a groove and jam at any given moment. When’s the gig and with who? Thursday May 30 at The Evelyn. We are playing with

Beat Magazine Page 50

LIVE ON LYDIARD - FEAT: BIRAHNY LAWRENCE + MELODY MOON + THE JEZ GRONOW TRIO University Of Ballarat, Ballarat. 8:00pm. NAKED BODIES + BRENDAN WEST & BROKEN BONES + THE STRANGE Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $8. NEXT - FEAT: BORIS THE BLADE + EMPIRES FALL + I VALIANCE Colonial Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15. OBAT BATUK + DEBACLE + HAVITTAJAT + HEADLESS DEATH The Public Bar, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10. RECREATION + LIONESS EYE + LUNA GHOST + THE GRAND RAPIDS Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. RIVER CLISSON & SLACK HANDS + RIVER CLISSON + SLACK HANDS + PLASTIC SPACEMAN + ROSERVELT John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. ROSENCRANTS + CHOP SQUAD + THE KILNIKS Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $5. SUNSET BLUSH + SLACQUER + THE ANTOINETTES Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. SURRENDER + DISASTERS + LOVE ALONE + PURITY + SEARCHER Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $6. THE BREAK Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $28. THE MURDERBALLS + ADMIRAL ACKBAR’S DISHONOURABLE DISCHARGE + LIQUOR SNATCH + NOW YOU DIE + WOT ROT Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE RED LIGHTS & INDIAN RED + INDIAN RED + THE RED LIGHTS + KURT GENTLE + REIKA Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 7:30pm. $10. THE TIGER & ME + ACHOO! BLESS YOU + KALLIDAD + THE MOUNTAINS Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. THE ZONKS + HOY + JIMMY TAIT Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8. TULLY ON TULLY + HALCYON DRIVE + MERCIANS The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm. VOCAL LOTION + ELLIOT FRIEND + SHANE BAUER + THE PORCHIES Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 8:00pm. WILLOW BEATS (EP LAUNCH) + ALTA + INDIAN SUMMER Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $15.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC White Summer, Seven Year Itch and I’ll Be an Indian. All of whom are really sweet and offer something a lil different.

music they make. So in terms of being in a band, and playing any style of music we want, it would have to be them.

What inspires or has influenced your music the most? I think we all really inspired by the Perth scene that has emerged in the last four/five years (Tame Impala, Pond, The Growl, Mink Mussel Creek etc). The fact that it is a giant group of friends who all play in each other’s bands is really cool, and of course we love the

Do you have any record releases to date? What are they? Where can I get them? You can get our EP by coming down to The Evelyn, which you can, for one-night only, completely free. It will also be up on Bandcamp for afterwards, able to purchase at an affordable price. You can also check out our stuff on Soundcloud, triple j Unearthed etc.

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ALWAN Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 8:30pm. LOS COUGARMEN Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15. MARY FAIRBURN ORC-EST-RAAGH Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 8:30pm. MILLAR JUKES & THE BANDITS + RED MOON DUKE + TRAV ADDISON Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5. REVEREND FUNK & THE HORNS OF SALVATION + DJ PIERRE BARONI + DJ VINCE PEACH Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10. RHYTHM MACHINE - FEAT: FRASER TRAINER + ODUO Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne. 6:30pm. $10.

SAM COPE & THE TRAINED PROFESSIONALS 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10. STEPHANIE MONK 7 Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14. SYZYGY Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. TEK TEK ENSEMBLE Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:30pm. THE DANIEL GASSIN SEXTET Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $15. THE OVEREASYS Claypots Evening Star, Melbourne. 6:30pm. THE SIMON BARKER TRIO Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK AMY GANTER & THE LOVE & SQUALORS + MANA BAND Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. BLOW The Horn African Music Lounge, Collingwood. 8:00pm. CHAD MASON Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. COLLEGE FALL Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. $7. JUSTIN BERNASCONI + OH PEP! Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 9:30pm. LEESA FARRUGIA + LINC & LISE Bar Oussou, Brunswick. 7:00pm. LOUNGE THURSDAYS - FEAT: CAM LOPEZ GROUP + SHIPS PIANO Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. MARILLA HOMES & THE HOUSEMEN Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm. MIKE ERLINGTON Ontop In Ormond, Ormond. 8:00pm. OPEN MIC Acoustic Cafe, Collingwood. 6:30pm. OPEN MIC Balaclava Hotel, Balaclava. 6:00pm. OPEN MIC Balaclava Hotel, Balaclava. 7:00pm. RDZJB + CAILLAN + LACHLAN DUTHIE Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. REBECCA BARNARD Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 8:30pm. SHOTTLEBOPPERS + BESSIES’ BEST Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:30pm.

FRIDAY MAY 31 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ANDY BULL (SINGLE LAUNCH) + AINSLIE WILLS Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $18. BAD//DREAMS + BORED NOTHING + PINK TILES + THE OCEAN PARTY Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10. BASTARD SQUAD + GLEN & THE PEANUT BUTTERMEN + HOME INVADERS + STONE REVIVAL Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10. BIG SMOKE & THE STRANGE Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. BITTER SWEET KICKS + A GAZILLION ANGRY MEXICANS + COTANGENT + LEUTENANT JAM Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $8. CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN’ RACKETTES + CHRIS RUSSELL’S CHICKEN WALK + TREASURE ISLAND DJS Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $35. CNBLUE Festival Hall, West Melbourne. 7:00pm. $105. COBRA + GRIND BURLESQUE + KITTY ROCK BUMP Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. DEAN GEYER Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $20. DRUNK MUMS Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 5:00pm. FARROW + CIDER TREE KIDS + JEREMY HUNTER Prince Public Bar, St Kilda. 8:00pm. FOURTEEN NIGHTS AT SEA + JUNK HORSES Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 8:30pm. $8. HARRY HOWARD & THE NDE (FILMCLIP LAUNCH) + DJ OLIVER SHUNT + E-WAH + GO GO SAPIEN Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10. JAMES JOHNSTON & THE DRIFT + JOSH MCCARTNEY + MATT GRAHAM Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $10. JOHN PATRICK & THE KEEPERS + MAMMALS The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm. KALACOMA (SPIRAL EYES LAUNCH) - FEAT: KALACOMA: + BRETT SCHEYEZER + NOTHING FINAL + SLEEP DECADE + WUNDERLUST Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10. LINCOLN LE FEVRE & THE INSIDERS + PAPER

MONNONE ALONE Since the break-up of The Lucksmiths in 2009, Mark Monnone has played bass on albums for Sally Seltmann, Geoffrey O’Connor and Still Flyin’ and has now stepped out on his own, armed with a jangling guitar and a stockpile of straight shooting pop tunes. Recorded in Brooklyn, Together At Last sees Monnone collaborating with members of Architecture in Helsinki, Your Wedding Night, Crystal Stilts, The Ladybug Transistor and The Clean. Meanwhile, the live Monnone Alone lineup is an enviable power-trio featuring the talents of Gus Franklin (AiH) on drums and Joe Foley (Aleks & The Ramps) on bass. Monnone Alone launch their debut album Together At Last on Saturday June 1 at The Tote with guests The Harpoons, The Sublets and Tim Richmond. Doors at 9pm, $10 entry.

ARMS + WILL WAGNER John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. LITTLE DESERT + NATHAN HOLLYWOOD BAND + THE KREMLINGS Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $7. LIVE ON LYDIARD - FEAT: GULLIVAN + ZIKORA University Of Ballarat, Ballarat. 8:00pm. LUCIE THORNE + JO JO SMITH Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury. 8:00pm. MATT CORBY Palace Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $37. ONE FOR THE HEART - FEAT: JAMES MCCANN & THE NEW VENDICTIVES + CRYBONES + GEORGE E BEAN + LOS DOMINADOS + THE EXOTICS + THE FALLING STANDARDS + THE HOSTILES + THE SHIVERS + WACO SOCIAL CLUB Espy, St Kilda. 6:00pm. $15. OVERLOAD Ontop In Ormond, Ormond. 9:30pm. ROSERVELT Idgaff Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. ROYSTON VASIE + ALEJANDRO ADAMS + ATOLLS + HOLLOW EVERDAZE + SPLIT SECONDS Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. STRANGERS FROM NOW ON + TROMBONE + YUM YUM CULT Tago Mago, Thornbury. 9:00pm. SUMMERS MISTAKE + BOT RED + PAUL REID Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5. SUPER WILD HORSES (ALBUM LAUNCH) Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. THE BOMBAY ROYALE Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. THE BREAK Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury. 8:00pm. $25. THE BRENTON FOSTER BAND + CHRIS O’NEIL + TIARYN Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE BULLETTES + DJ BARBARA BLAZE + THE BRIDGETTES The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.

DANS LES ARBRES Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:00pm. $33. GILAD HEKSELMAN & THE JAMIE OEHLERS TRIO

THE PUBLIC BAR NOW OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

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SATURDAY 1ST JUNE

THE BOMBSHELLS - LAUNCH LOOK WHO’S TOXIC SOLID WASTE 8:30PM $6 KITCHEN OPEN 5PM - 9PM

SUNDAY 2ND JUNE KITCHEN OPEN 5PM - 9PM

Rockabilly-happy The Reverend Horton Heat have finally returned to Melbourne. The Reverend Horton Heat, the stage name of Texan musician Jim Heath grew to have a strong cult-like following throughout the 1990s, attracting such a following thanks to his penchant for black humour. The Reverend Horton Heat will be playing at Billboard on Friday May 31.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

238 VICTORIA ST, NORTH MELBOURNE

FRIDAY 31ST MAY

THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT

THE MURDERBALLS + HOPE’S ABANDONED + LIZARD PUNCH + THE SAVAGES Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. THE QUARRELMEN The Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:00pm. $20. THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT + DOUBLEBLACK Billboard, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. THE SKAMPZ Hallam Hotel, Hallam. 9:00pm. THE VANTURAS (TIGHTROPE LAUNCH) + CELADORE + DJ LUCY ARUNDEL + THE SPIN Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13. TOECUTTER + BEFORE CIADA + I CONFESS + THREE GOATS STOREY Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $10. VERDAINE + THREE MONTH SUNSET + TOMORROW’S TIME Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $10. VICIOUS CIRCLE + SCALPHUNTER + WOLFPACK Cornish Arms, Brunswick. 8:00pm. WAYFARING STRANGERS + THE DANNY WALSH BANNED + THE TEN IN ONE The Public Bar, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10. WILDE STYLE Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. $10. YOUNG MAVERICK + AIRCRAFTE + CHARM + MY FICTION: ALBUM LAUNCH Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10. ZOOPHYTE + THE ELLIOTTS + VIDA CAIN Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. $15.

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for bookings: bandbookings@theoldbar.com.au

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Wednesday 29th May

DENIM OWL

PASCAL BARBERE & TEETH VICTORY LAP ARRESTER

8PM $6

Thursday 30th May

NAKED BODIES

BRENDAN WEST & BROKEN BONES THE STRANGE

8PM $8

Friday 31st May

HARRY HOWARD & THE NDE - FILMCLIP LAUNCH GO GO SAPIEN E-WAH DJ OLIVER SHUNT

8:30PM $10

Saturday 1st June

YES, I’M LEAVING (SYD) - LAUNCH

NO ACTION (ADEL) HALT EVER TEENAGE LIBIDO DJ KEZBOT

8:30PM $10

Sunday 2nd June

BEERSOAKED SUNDAYS:

SKYSCRAPER STAN & THE COMMISSION FLATS CLINKERFIELD GATOR QUEEN 8:30PM $6 DJ JUKE JOINT (PBS)

Monday 3rd June

UNPAVED PRESENTS SONGWRITER SESSIONS CROTCHETY KNITWITS

8:30PM $5

KNITTING, SEWING, BOOZING

6PM FREE

VHS CLUB: FALLING DOWN

6PM FREE

Tuesday 4th June

ADRIAN STOYLES PARLORS OSKAR HERBIG

8PM FREE

band bookings: bandbookings@theoldbar.com.au

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 51

The Nerve

SATURDAY JUN 1 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

ROCK N LOAD The second annual Rock N Load Festival returns to The Espy on Saturday June 1 with a massive 30 acts over three stages. The Espy will feature some of the best live rock acts from Melbourne and interstate including Dallas Frasca, The Fumes, The Nerve (featuring Ezekiel Ox and Lucius Borich), King Of The North, Ten Thousand, My Secret Circus, Massive, Gay Paris, Don Fernando, Dead City Ruins, Vida Cain, Riot In Toytown, Sudden State, Hotel On Mayfair, Sheriff, Virtue, High Side Driver and heaps more. Tickets on sale now from The Espy and oztix.com.au, and check out rocknloadfestival.com for the full lineup and further information. Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 7:30pm. $30. MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT GALA Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 8:00pm. OVERLOAD Ontop In Ormond, Ormond. 8:00pm. PERCH CREEK FAMILY JUG BAND Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $18. RESENSKI BISERI + LUCAS MICHALIDIS Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. SASKWATCH Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. SPYNDRIFT + LILY & KING + PRESTON SKATE MASSIVE 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10. THE GATSBY WINTER SOIREE - FEAT: SHIRAZZ + HORNS OF LEROY BRASS BAND + THE CAIRO CLUB ORCHESTRA Malvern Town Hall, Malvern. 8:00pm. $30. THE GRID Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:30pm. $15. THE IRWELL STREET STRING BAND Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $30. THE RORY CLARK TRIO Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $25. THE SEVEN UPS Jewell Of Brunswick, Brunswick. 9:00pm. TRIO BEM BRASIL Claypots Evening Star, Melbourne. 7:30pm.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ARCHER & HIS BAND Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm. BRONI Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. MARGIE LOU DYER + ALYCE PLATT Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 8:30pm. MARK SEYMOUR The Hawthorn, Hawthorn. 8:00pm. MARK SEYMOUR The Hawthorn, Hawthorn. 8:00pm. $25. MATT KATSIS Elsternwick Hotel, Elwood. 9:00pm. MONIQUE BRUMBY + DJ SHAKY MEMORIAL Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 9:30pm. ROD PAINE & FULLTIME LOVERS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. SOPHIE ROSE + APPLEJACK + FRANKIE ANDREW + NATHAN DAVIS Horse Bazaar, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. STOVETOP + SHANE REILEY Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:30pm. THE JAMES SOUTHWELL BAND Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:00pm. THE JENNY BIDDLE BAND + DAVE DIPROSE Burringa Cafe, Upwey. 6:30pm. THE RAPTORS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC SESSION - FEAT: DAN BOURKE Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 6:00pm. VELVET CAKE GYPSIES + ALYSIA ATKINS + RIO DE MELODY Thornbury Local, Thornbury. 9:00pm.

ALISON WEDDING & SNARKY PUPPY Forum Theatre, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $39. CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE TRIO Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:30pm. $59. DANS LES ARBRES Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:00pm. $33. DOUG DE VRIES Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $25. FATS WAH WAH Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. ITALIAN MUSIC SPECIAL The Luwow, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. LEIGH BARKER & THE NEW SHEIKS Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $30. SOUL SLAP First Floor, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE END Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 7:30pm. $25. THE GRID Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:30pm. $15. THE IMPRINTS (CD LAUNCH) + SUMIYOSHI Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. THE JAMES MACAULAY QUINTET Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE JOHN MONTESTANTE QUINTET Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $25. THE MIGUEL ATWOOD-FERGUSON ENSEMBLE The Hi-fi, Melbourne. 9:00pm. $45. TRIO RIO 57 Claypots Evening Star, Melbourne. 8:00pm.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS BANG - FEAT: FEED HER TO THE SHARKS + EXPOSURES + IN DREAMS LIKE THESE + YOUNG LIONS Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $20. BEACHES (ALBUM LAUNCH) + BUSHWALKING + EARLY WOMAN Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. $15. BLACKWATER + ARMOURED EARTH + CONSCIOUS CONTROL + ORDNANCE + THEY Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $13. BLEEDING KNEES CLUB + ATOLLS + SURES Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $15. BLEEDING KNEES CLUB (U18) + ATOLLS + SURES Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 12:00pm. $15. BUILT ON SECRETS (THE DISCONNECT LAUNCH) + HOMETOWN + SOUND OF SEASONS + WAY WITH WORDS Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10. DARLING JAMES + MADELEINE PAGE + MINIBIKES Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 8:00pm. DISCO COMPUTER + WICKED ANNABELL Thorn-

60 SECONDS WITH...

BERNIE CARSON

Define your genre in five words or less: Folk, pop, acoustic. What do you love about making music? The reason I love making music so much is because of the way it can connect people, the happiness it can bring, the stories it can tell. I love how it can inspire and it makes me so happy that I can bring happiness to people through my music and performances. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? Tiny quirky lady with a big voice. Describe the best gig you have ever played. I played a show at the nursing home where I work, 50 of the residents came to watch me perform for them. There Beat Magazine Page 52

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

bury Local, Thornbury. 9:00pm. ENOLA FALL + TALES IN SPACE The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm. EVIL TWIN + THE ELEVEN DOLLAR BILLS Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 9:00pm. FLATBUSH ZOMBIES + BROTHERS HAND MIRROR + MAFIA Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $40. INTOXICA + DIRTY HARRIET & THE HANGMEN + DOGSDAY Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. JAKUBI + DJ AIRWOLF + DJ JASPER + DJ SUEDEHEAD + THE HOLLY ROLLERS Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $10. JOHNNY GIBSON & THE HANGOVERS + CAM LOPEZ + SOME SEA JELLY Tago Mago, Thornbury. 9:00pm. JUDGE PINO & THE RULING MOTIONS Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. LA NOUVELLE + ALEXIS NAYLOR + WILD HONEY PIE Chandelier Room, Moorabbin. 8:00pm. $10. LA NOUVELLE + WILD HONEY PIE + ALEXIS NAYLOR + ALEXIS NAYLOR + WILD HONEY PIE Chandelier Room, Moorabbin. 8:00am. $10. LIVE ON LYDIARD - FEAT: ROD DAVITT + KRAZYFISH + WINTER YORK University Of Ballarat, Ballarat. 8:00pm. LLOYD SPEGIEL Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 8:30pm. $15. MIGHTY SUN (EP LAUNCH) + JEFF HANN + MATT GLASS + MUNRO MELANO Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury. 8:00pm. MONNONE ALONE (ALBUM LAUNCH) + THE HARPOONS + THE SUBLETS + TIM RICHMOND Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. MOONEE VALLEY MEGABOWL - FEAT: THE PEOPLE + DJ LUM + DJ S ‘N’ J + DJ WIZZRD + MATT KATSIS & THE INDIA BLACK + MUSTARD Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. $10. ON SIERRA + CAT OR PILLAR + LOPAKA & SOLAIRES Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $10. OWL EYES + COLLARBONES + MAMMALS Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $28. PARTY VIBEZ + FIREARMS + SCALPHUNTER + STREET FANGS Idgaff Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 7:00pm. PLASTIC SPACEMAN (EP LAUNCH) + DEF DIGITAL + IVORY ELEPHANT + VERY HANDSOME MEN Cornish Arms, Brunswick. 8:00pm. PRONTO + BONNIWELLS + ROSS DE CHENE HURRICANES Rochester Castle Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. RAW BRIT The Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:30pm. $22. ROCK N’ LOAD - FEAT: DALLAS FRASCA + KING OF THE NORTH + THE FUMES + THE NERVE + DEAD CITY RUINS + DON FERNANDO + EN THOUSAND + GAY PARIS + HIGH SIDE DRIVER + MASSIVE + MY SECRET CIRCUS + RIOT IN TOYTOWN + SHERIFF +

was so much love in the room, watching these elderly people come to life through music I was delivering…it was a very amazing feeling. Playing at the Woodford Folk Festival would also have to be at the top of my list. When, and why did you start writing music? I started writing music when I was 15, I just sat down on my bedroom floor one day with the first two chords my dad ever taught me on the guitar and wrote a song. I enjoyed singing cover songs, but I always wanted to tell the stories of those around me. From there I was spending weekends sitting on my bedroom floor writing songs...and now performing them. When’s the gig and with who? Thursday June 6 at Grumpy’s Green with Joe Forrester and David Hoang! Ohhh yeahh!

SUDDEN STATE + VIDA CAIN + VIRTUE Espy, St Kilda. 2:00pm. $21. ROD STEWART TRIBUTE SHOW - FEAT: ATLANTIC CROSSING Musicland, Fawkner. 8:00pm. $20. RON RUDE RENAISSANCE + JAMES BUTT Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 4:00pm. SAM LOHS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 3:00pm. SASKWATCH FAREWELL HOUSE PARTY + FRASER A GORMAN + MONEY FOR ROPE + NORTHSIDE RECORDS DJS John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. SHEPPARD Prince Public Bar, St Kilda. 8:00pm. SHERIFF + BATPISS Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 4:00pm. STRANGERS + BORN LION + THE SINKING TEETH Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13. THE ALAN LADS Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. THE BOMBSHELLS + LOOK WHO’S TOXIC + SOLID WASTE The Public Bar, Melbourne. 8:30pm. $6. THE HARLOTS + FRANCOLIN + LA BASTARD + STRANGERS FROM NOW ON Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:00pm. $10. THE MERSONS Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 2:00pm. THE SMITH STREET BAND + DARREN GIBSON + FEVERTEETH + GRENADIERS + HIGH TENSION + INFINITE VOID + MARICOPA WELLS + THE GUN RUNNERS + THE UNION PACIFIC Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $20. TINSLEY WATERHOUSE BAND Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. UR BANGS + DJ SADGE + EE’DA + GILIUS KOGOYA 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10. WE HATED IT BEFORE YOU DID - FEAT: ZOND + ASPS + HEX ON THE BEACH + MILES BROWN + NUN + WORNG Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $15. WINTER IS HERE - FEAT: DIPROSUS + BENEATH THE WATER + DECREPIT SUN + TRIGGER Barleycorn Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10. YES I’M LEAVING + HALT EVER + NO ACTION + TEENAGE LIBIDO Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ANDREW MCSWEENEYS’ MIDNIGHT HUNTING CREW Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. BETAMAX Ontop In Ormond, Ormond. 8:00pm. CHELSEA DRUGSTORE + DJ FANTA PANTS + DJ XANDER Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. GOYIM KLEZMER KAOS Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 8:00pm. HARMANIAX Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. HERE COMES THE NIGHT - FEAT: JOE CAMILLERI + VIKA BULL + VINCE JONES Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 8:00pm. KALLIDAD Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:30pm. KIM SALMON & SPENCER P JONES Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm. MUDDY WATERS RUNS DEEP LAUNCH - FEAT: DOM TURNER + BEN EDWARDS + CIRTIS MARTIN + DON

HOPKINS + IAN COLLARD + JEREMY EDWARDS + JOHNNY CASS + KEVIN BENNETT Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $25. OLD TIMEY JAM BAND - FEAT: CRAIG WESTWARD Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. STEVIE PAGE Elsternwick Hotel, Elwood. 9:00pm. STRINGYBARK MCDOWELL Grind N Groove, Healesville. 8:00pm. THE GROOVETONES Blarney Stone Irish Pub, Yarraville. 8:30pm. THE MOONEE VALLEY DRIFTERS Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. THE PHEASANT PLUCKERS + THE PRAYERBABIES Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. THE STETSON FAMILY Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 9:00pm. WAYWARDBREED Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 9:00pm. WOODEN MUSIC FESTIVAL Substation, Newport. 8:00pm.

VIDA CAIN

60 SECONDS WITH...

SUNDAY JUN 2 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ANTHONY SCHULZ & NICK TSIAVOS Monkey Bar, Fitzroy North. 7:00pm. BLACK JESUS EXPERIENCE The Horn African Music Lounge, Collingwood. 6:00pm. HOT B HINES Burvale Hotel, Nunawading. 1:30pm. $15. JAZZ VOCAL SESSIONS 303, Northcote. 2:00pm. $5. KNEEBODY Forum Theatre, Melbourne. 8:00pm. KYLIE AUDIST & THE GLENROY ALL STARS The Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 3:00pm. $27. MARGIE LOU DYER TRIO Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 8:30pm. MONASH ART ENSEMBLE Forum Theatre, Melbourne. 6:30pm. $25. NUDIST FUNK ORCHESTRA + BAD BOYS BATUCADA + MS BUTT + THE DALE RYDER BAND Espy, St Kilda. 5:30pm. OPA 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $5. PACIFICE LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY JAZZ ENSEMBLE Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 2:00pm. $20. PENY BOHAN Wesley Anne, Northcote. 7:30pm. RECEITA DE CHORO + ADE ISHS TRIO Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. REMASTERED MYTHS - FEAT: MADUP CHOL + THE PUTBACKS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 3:00pm. $10. SAM KEEVERS RED FISH BLUE Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 7:30pm. $30. STEVE ELY & BEN LAGUDA Ontop In Ormond, Ormond. 8:00pm. THE GRID Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:30pm. $15.

What part of making music excites you the most? Aside from the obvious feeling of writing something new, exciting and expressing yourself creatively, the thing I love most are the crowds. A crowd is what makes a gig either memorable or not. There doesn’t need to be 1000 people there, just a good crowd who are loving what you are doing and showing their appreciation. Having underwear thrown on stage is always a good sign! Why should everyone come and see your band? Not only have we come all the way from Perth just to play for you, but given that you all have short attention spans, our songs are nice and short…all killer and no filler. We pump out a heap of energy which will fill everyone in the room with love, joy and happiness. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? If they were just walking past, they may have been able to catch at least three of our aforementioned short songs. They would say to their friend, “Why am I standing here talking to you like a dick when there is a great band from Perth on in the other room? I’m going back in there, bye asshole.” When, and why did you start writing music? I would have been about ten years old. We were away

at some family camp and me and some other little kid made up a cheeky song that took the piss out of all of the parents, and then sang it to them, and then they gave us money. I only knew one chord then, but hey, sometimes you only need one chord if the lyrics are as deep as that. I think the chorus mentioned that one of my friend’s parents smelt like horse poo. Do you have a pre-gig ritual? If so, what is it? Well mine isn’t that interesting. A shot of Agwa then some vocal exercises. I did however once see a hard rock band rubbing Dencorub on each other and bumping chests like they were getting ready for a WWE fight. Maybe that would help. They did stink the band room out with Dencorub though, so there is at least one downside. How do you stop your pre-gig jitters? Dencorub. When are you playing live/releasing your album/EP/ single/etc? By the sounds of it, we have a couple of great Melbourne shows on this tour. Friday May 31 at Northcote Social Club with Zoophyte & The Elliotts, and Saturday June 1 is Rock&Load Festival at The Espy. This tour is to promote our debut EP Vida Cain Rots ya Brain and our new A-side single. That is all of the shameless plugging out the way I hope (vidacain.com, sorry there’s some more.)

EP LAUNCH “Dark yet soaring rock’n’roll” – Denver Maxx, Beat Mag

The Evelyn Thursday June 6 With Cold Hiker and Demian, $10 includes EP

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 53

THE ROB BURKE & TONY GOULD QUARTET Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:00pm. $25. THE TRACY MCNEIL BAND Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. WE SING FOR RECONCILIATION Wesley Anne, Northcote. 3:00pm.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ANIMAUX + SPORTSMEN Prince Public Bar, St Kilda. 6:00pm. BACKWOOD CREATURES Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. BATTLE OF THE BANDS - FEAT: KATANA CARTEL + AUDEMIA + BESAR BODOH + FALLEN ANGELS + I AM MINE + INDIGO LAKE + LITTLE MISS REMEMBERING + THE SMALL PRINT + THE SPITTING SWALLOWS + WE BUILT THESE RUINS Musicland, Fawkner. 12:30pm. BEACHES (ALBUM LAUNCH) Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm. $15. BELLUSIRA Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 3:00pm. DECLARATION + SCALPHUNTER Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $8. ELLIOT FRIEND + ANTHONY YOUNG + WILD HONEY PIE Bar Open, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. EXIT CROWD Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 4:00pm. $15. JESS PALMER + BLAKE + HAIKU + WIRE BIRD Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 1:30pm. $8. KIDS FROM THE MILL + ALICE D + NEEDLEBURNER + THE THRUSTS + TRICKING EMMA Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 5:00pm. $8. LAZYBONES + DAZO COLLECTORS + SHADOWS OF HYENAS Idgaff Bar & Venue, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. LINKZ INC FUNDRAISER - FEAT: DIAMONDS OF NEPTUNE + BLUEJAY + CIDER TREE KIDS + FRANKIE ANDREW Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 6:30pm. $10. MAMA TOTO + ANDREW MC SWEENEY & MIDNIGHT HUNTING CREW + ROBBIE BUNDLE Empress Hotel, North Fitzroy. 7:30pm. OWLS OF THE SWAMP (SINGLE LAUNCH) + AL PARKINSON + ALUKA Workers Club, Fitzroy. 1:30pm. $8. POCKETS + CHRIS WATTS Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. RIBBONS PATTERNS + DAN RAW + TIM HAMPSHIRE Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 3:00pm. THE MIDNIGHT SOL + MADI DAY + RAD NAVAJO + WILDFIRES John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. THE NEW CALEDONIA + DANE CERTIFICATE + EUCLID + YOUR OL’ LADY Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10. THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT + ATOMIC HIGHTONES + DJ JAZZA + MOJO JUJU + THE ROCKADEES Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully. 4:00pm. THE WIKIMEN Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 4:30pm. $10.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ALEX & THE SHY LASHLIE’S Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. ANDY BROWN Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. BEERSOAKED SUNDAYS - FEAT: SKYSCRAPER STAN & THE COMMISSION FLATS + CLINKERFIELD + DJ JUKE JOINT + GATOR QUEEN Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $6. CHRIS WILSON Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 4:00pm. DR DUPREE Standard Hotel, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. HEATHER STEWART BLUES Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 5:30pm. JAM SUNDAYS Musicland, Fawkner. 5:00pm. JULES BOULT Bay Hotel, Mornington. 3:00pm. LEON THOMAS + ALI BARTER Penny Black, Bruns-

CLASSIFIEDS

33c PER WORD PER WEEK (INC GST) • Send your classified listing information to Beat Magazine at 3 Newton St, Richmond 3121 with a cheque, money order or credit card number (including expiry date and name on card, NOT AMEX or DINERS) (1.5% surcharge on Visa and MasterCard) OR deliver it yourself with cash OR you can email your classifieds to us - classifieds@beat.com.au with credit card details • DEADLINE IS THURSDAY 5pm, prior to Wednesdays publication • Minimum $5 charge per week. We do NOT accept classifieds over the phone - sorry.

MUSICIANS WANTED ACOUSTIC ACTS WANTED FOR FRIDAY NIGHT SPOTS IN FITZROY. Solo/Duo/Groups send an email with pics or samples to drink@the86.com.au. Bar split is paid, summer dates available. BATTLE OF THE BANDS. Registration now, starts Wednesday the 28th Dec and every Wednesday after for 8 week. First prize: recording time in a studio. Call Jesse 0411 803 579

Beat Magazine Page 54

wick. 5:00pm. LIV CARTLEDGE Wonderland, Windsor. 4:00pm. LUCAS Kent St Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. MARK JOLLEY + PETER BIBBY + RYAN VAGER + SONIC THE DEATHHOG Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. MICK TURNER & CAROLINE KENNEDY Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 4:30pm. MOCKINGBIRD Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 3:00pm. MOUNTAIN & SWAMP Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 4:00pm. NICK CHARLES + ALEX BURNS DUO Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 4:00pm. PHOEBE & SCHINA + DORKUS MALORKUS + ELEPHANT + HUCK WEST Tago Mago, Thornbury. 5:00pm. SONGWRITERS COLLECTIVE - FEAT: JESS HIESER Willow Bar, Northcote. 7:00pm. STEVE ELY & BEN LAGUDA Ontop In Ormond, Ormond. 5:00pm. SUNDAY FUNDAY - FEAT: ROWIE + NACKERS Big Mouth, St Kilda. 6:00pm. THE PRESLEY FAMILY Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. THE RRRRROCKETS! Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 2:00pm. $7.

BLEEDING KNEES CLUB Brash Gold Coast duo Bleeding Knees Club are returning to Melbourne with their new single Feel. From a duo whose first EP was recorded in the back of a shoe shop in their hometown, Bleeding Knees Club have come a long way in their short but busy existence, with their 2012 debut album Nothing To Do recorded in New York City with producer Dev Hynes. Bleeding Knees Club will be playing on Saturday June 1 at Ding Dong Lounge, supported by Sydney’s SURES.

MONDAY JUN 3 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS PHANTOM HITMEN & HIT THE FAN Espy, St Kilda. 8:30pm. THE ASH BALL PROJECT + JAMIE DEBOUCHERVILLE + RUN RABBIT RUN John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ALLAN BROWNE’S LOST IN THE STARS Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 7:30pm. $25. ANJA & ZLATNA Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. LEBOWSKIS 303, Northcote. 9:00pm. $8. THE DAVID ADES BAND Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:00pm. $33. THE GRID Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:30pm. $15. THE JANE CLIFTON TRIO Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 8:30pm.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK ACOUSTIC SESSION Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. CHERRY JAME Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 6:30pm. MATTHEW E WHITE - FEAT: MATTHEW E. WHITE Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 7:30pm. $43. PORT PHILLIP GILGAMESH READINGS Claypots Evening Star, Melbourne. 7:30pm. SONGWRITER SESSIONS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5.

Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $20. JAY FRASER & TIMOTHY JOHN Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. MARY MASS & THE ROGER CLARK QUARTET Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $20. OPEN LOOSE Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 7:30pm. $39. THE GRID Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:30pm. $15. THE SEAN WAYLAND BAND Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne. 10:00pm. $28. WAZ E JAMES BAND Claypots Tavern & Fair, St Kilda. 8:30pm.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC BOSSA NOVA JAM Claypots Evening Star, Melbourne. 8:00pm. GIANNI MARINUCCI NONET Paris Cat Jazz Club,

PRODUCER/SONGWRITER SEEKS AMBITIOUS FEMALE SINGER 18-22. Must be dedicated, flamboyant, a plus for recording project. Think GaGa, Havana Brown, Katy Perry. David: 0431 526 185 swdavid@yahoo.com

SERVICES ATTENTION MUSO’S: TATTOO’S! $100 hourly rate all day, every Tuesday. $80 for the first hour any other day. www.facebook.com/CherryBombTattooStudio.Melb Limited time. 0468 450 599 CHEAP WEBSITE HOSTING. Host your website with MediaFortress.com.au. Free website builder with every package. Get your website online in 30 minutes. Domains only $15.00 per year. FREE VENUE HIRE - Fully stocked bar - Huge capacity, whole venue or partial. Call Jesse 0411 803 579 SOUNDPARK RECORDING AND REHEARSALS - Large tracking room, three booths, loads of Vintage Mics, Pre’s, Compressors, Amps, Keyboards, Drums, Grand Piano, 24tk

ON SIERRA

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ELLA HOOPER + ROSCOE JAMES IRWIN + TEXTURE LIKE SUN Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $10. EMMA LOUISE (ALBUM TOUR) + PATRICK JAMES + THELMA PLUM Corner Hotel, Richmond. 7:30pm. $20. MELBOURNE FRESH INDUSTRY SHOWCASE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. $15. PAPER HOUSE Gertrudes Brown Couch, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. SAMBROSE + P BIBBY Cornish Arms, Brunswick. 8:00pm. THE ALAN LADDS Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL DISCOVERY NIGHT FEAT: DAZOOK Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. WILLOW + HIDING WITH BEARS Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $5.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

TUESDAY JUN 4

60 SECONDS WITH…

COLLAGE Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. KLUB MUK 303, Northcote. 7:30pm. OPEN MIC Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. OSKAR HERBIG + ADRIAN STOYLES + PARLORS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. PETER EWING & NICK BASTIRAS Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. THE BLOOMIN HEATHERS Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm.

Ten bands everyone should know about: Hiatus Koyote, Kalacoma, Holy Fuck, Euclid, Three Trapped Tigers, Lopaka, New Caledonia, The Sinking Teeth, Gatherer, Stockades. Nine food items that you need to make a kickarse dinner party: Avocado, red onion, garlic, chilli, lime, coriander, tomato, corn chips, Corona. Eight possessions that define you: Two cats, five snares, basketball. Seven favourite movies/TV shows that go on your mix-tape: NBA League Pass, Star Trek TOS, Star Trek Next Gen, Star Trek DS9, Star Trek Voyager, X-Files, Frasier. Six bad habits you can’t escape: Star Trek, goodnight gherkins, midnight munchies, fart noises, Parmesan cheese, winning

Tape Machines, 24tk Pro-tools. See Soundparkstudios.com. au for full list. $60 an hour with engineer or $450 day (14hrs) without engineer. Rehearsal rooms from $50

Five people who inspire you: OSHO, Nikola Tesla, Peter Joseph, Ray Charles, Jean Luc Picard.

EMPLOYMENT

Four things that turn you on: Star Trek Federation Uniforms, vintage Instruments,, being home alone, wide screen TVs.

FLAUNT IT. Internationally acclaimed producer of profeminist erotica looking for confident, adult women to smash the stereotypes and earn good money ($400 and up). Don’t overlook this til you’ve found out more about it. Jessica 9495 6555 or www.feck.com. WE WANT EVERYONE Promoters, Bands, DJs Revitalised bar, The Barley Corn, has reopened its doors 7 days a week and we want YOU. Call Jesse 0411 803 579

TUITION PAUL’S DRUM SCHOOL. Students wishing to learn please contact Paul: 8786 3421

SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Three goals for your music: To consistently experiment with new ideas, make people dance, make lots of money. Two live gigs you’ll never forget and why: Camille at Billboards because she made me cry from my eyes, Roy Ayers at The Palace, because he made me jump and squeal like a little girl. One day left before the apocalypse and you… …are a zombie. When’s the gig/release? It’s at The Grace Darling on Saturday June 1.

THURSDAY MAY 30TH

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Wed. May 29th: wine, whiskey, women

8pm: The Sideshow Brides 9pm: Suzie Stapleton Thurs. May 30th:

8pm: Marilla Homes & the Housemen Fri. May 31st:

6PM: Traditional Irish Music Session with Dan Bourke & Friends Sat. June 1st:

9pm: The Stetson Family Sun. June 2nd:

4PM: Alex Burns Duo 6:30PM: Nick Charles Tues. June 3rd:

8PM: Weekly Trivia The Drunken Poet, 65 Peel Street (directly opposite Queen Vic Market), Phone: 03 9348 9797. www.thedrunkenpoet.com.au SUBMIT YOUR GIGS TO GIGGUIDE@BEAT.COM.AU

Beat Magazine Page 55

BACKSTAGE THE PLACE FOR MUSICIANS

for more information or ad bookings call Aleksei on 9428 3600

STORE PROFILE

EASTGATE MUSIC

Established: 2001

Hours Of Operation: Mon-Thursday 9.30-6.00pm Friday 9.30-7.00pm Saturday 9.30-5.00pm Main brands and products you specialise in: Electric and acoustic guitars, tube amps, FX pedals, bass gear, P.A systems, home and live mixing and recording equipment, drums, keyboards, violins and cellos. Brands include Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, Gretsch, Epiphone, Yamaha, Marshall, Vox, Badcat, Fryette, Fuchs, Voodoo Labs, Home Brew Electronics, Lehle, Maxon, AMT, Plush, Guyatone, AKG, Shure, Tascam, Martin, Taylor, Maton, National Reso-Phonic and many more.

Point of difference: Eastgate Music is a full line independent music retailer specializing in all types of guitars, amps, FX pedals and music gear. It stocks a huge range of accessories, music books, guitar and amp parts including vacuum tubes and pickups. Eastgate also sells second hand and vintage instruments and amplifiers, offering cash and/ or trade-ins for quality used music gear. Limited edition custom shop electrics and acoustics. If “searching for tone” is important to you, this is the place to shop. Extras: We offer great deals in store and pride

JMC ACADEMY

JMC Academy is celebrating 30 years in tertiary education and still remains Australia’s leading Creative Industries institution. The Academy offers a wide range of Degrees and Diplomas including Audio Engineering, Music Performance, Entertainment Business Management, 3D Animation, Game Design and Film & Television Production. We caught up with JMC for some insight into their Audio Courses.

Location: 1131 Burke Rd, Kew, 3101.

Services offered: Repairs, setups and restorations to all instruments and amplifiers. Our in-house service techs are players who understand the subtleties of tone and the requirements of working musicians. Fast, friendly and affordable service.

COURSE PROFILE

ourselves on stocking the best brands at the best prices. We offer friendly customer service, so don’t be shy come in, ask the questions you need answered and get a great deal, you won’t be disappointed. We also have a handy customer carpark at the rear of the store with access between Barkers Road and Mount Street. Any upcoming Sales? As we’ve recently relocated to 1131 Burke road Kew, we’re encouraging everyone to come check out our new store with a massive sale offering fantastic deals on guitars, amps, keyboards and orchestral instruments. Best to get in quick as our sale of up to 35% off (selected items) finishes Saturday the 1st of June 2013 COB. Phone: (03) 9817 7000 Website: eastgatemusic.com.au

What skills can students hope to acquire from JMC Academy’s Audio Engineering and Sound Production courses? As a student at JMC Academy, you will gain in-depth knowledge into the operational and technical aspects of the audio production industry, with particular emphasis on production, editing, recording and mixing. During your course, you will also undertake studies in analogue and digital recording, studio operation, live PA, post production for television and video, acoustic design, electronics, music editing for picture, and midi sequencing. In addition to the audio specific units, you will also cover the business fundamentals of the industry. What sort of positions are graduates qualified to work in? By combining the fundamental audio principles with practical application and training on a range of equipment styles, students graduate with the ability and flexibility to undertake a wide range of industry projects. A few examples include Music Producer, Studio Engineer, Production Coordinator, Mastering Engineer, Stage Technician, AV Specialist and Radio Content Producer to name just a few. Why are these audio courses unique? An enviable reputation! JMC Academy has been delivering courses in Audio Engineering for over

AUSTRALIA'S ONLY NATIONAL MUSIC STREET PRESS WITH A COMPREHENSIVE AND FREE DISTRIBUTION. DESIGNED, WRITTEN AND CREATED FOR MUSICIANS AND LOVERS OF MUSIC.

INTERVIEWS WITH THE WORLD'S BIGGEST ARTISTS AND HOME GROWN HEROES. FEATURE STORIES ON THE MUSIC INDUSTRY PRODUCT NEWS AND GEAR REVIEWS EDUCATION COLUMNS STUDIO Q&A'S AWESOME MONTHLY GIVEAWAYS + HEAPS MORE

HITS THE STREETS AND ONLINE IN THE FIRST WEEK OF EVERY MONTH 2013 ONLINE AND STREET DATES: MAY 8 TH JUNE 5TH JULY 3RD

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For more information on Mixdown Magazine contact Aleksei on (03) 9428 3600 or email Mixdown@beat.com.au

Beat Magazine Page 56

BACKSTAGE: BEAT’S ONE STOP SHOP FOR MUSICIANS

30 years, responding to changes in the industry with vigour, a comprehensive and well structured curriculum and incomparable facility upgrades. Over this time, JMC Academy has earned the respect of industry leaders such as Yamaha, Shure Microphones, JVC, and Jands enabling our students to train in the highest quality of audio equipment. JMC Academy’s audio courses are seriously production based and will position you for a solid career path in the international audio industry. At which Australian campuses are you located? JMC Academy has three campuses located in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Students are able to transfer between campuses throughout their Audio degree. JMC Academy is now accepting applications for enrolments for their June intake. Contact your nearest campus to speak to a Student Recruitment Advisor today. Phone: 1300 410 311 Web: jmcacademy.edu.au

THIS SPACE COULD BE YOURS!

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571 High Street Preston VIC 3072 Tel (03) 9471 1023 Fax (03) 9471 1919 Internet: www.jamhutstudios.com Clean and fully ventilated rooms with professional equipment. Complimentary tea & coffee.

REHEARSAL

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Comprehensive PA systems delivered, set up and operated with crew. Compact, easy, sound systems you can pickup and assemble yourself.Components such as microphones, speakers and effects are also available separately. Lights also available. For details phone Mark Barry on 03 9889 1999 or 0419 993 966

1131 Burke Rd KEW 3101 Phone: 03 9817 7000 www.eastgatemusic.com.au

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LIVE

SAN CISCO Saturday May 25, The Corner Hotel

Photo by Brandon Cook

WATT’S ON 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY: TOM LYNGCOLN/FORCES/DAN WATT’S IPOD Friday May 24, Ding Dong Lounge What usually happens in Melbourne between the hours of 6.30pm and 9pm? Yeah, lots of things but nothing like what occurred at Ding Dong on this grey and mellow Friday early evening. This music journalist, online video blogger, interview dude Dan Watt has been doing this weekly kinda gig guide thing on Beat TV for a year and he had a party to commemorate it. Chosen to play was certified Melbourne hard rock royalty Tom Lyngcoln, of The Nation Blue and Harmony, along with techno purists FORCES. Lyngcoln’s set consisted of stripped back versions of The Nation Blue catalogue reaching as far back at 2001’s A Blueprint For Modern Noise with a stand out song National Anthem along with Copper from 2004’s Damnation. Lyngcoln is a consummate storyteller and his stories are very Australian and very glum. I hope one day his lyrics are taught to private school kids and those kids then kill themselves. After Lyngcoln’s set, like any event with free beer, courtesy of Quiet Deeds, the mixed crowd – Melbourne bands, bookers, Factory X fashionistas and Dan Watt’s friends plus totally smoking hot girlfriend

– all those unknown to each other were quickly becoming friends. FORCES’ set was incredible. It’s a bit of a cop-out to not throw more adjectives into that initial pronouncement but the reality is that vast complexity of their synth driven layers is so visual that trying to describe it in words would be an injustice. Alex Akers and Thomas Henderson cut an intimidating swathe through the minds of those watching with their post-apocalyptic beats and their ultraconservative aesthetic (checkout their song Specialize for a reference point). In the immortal words of Hilltop Hoods, “what a great night!” and “I love summer days!” WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN LOVED: When FORCES asked Dan’s permission for something and he said, ‘Of course you can! I’m not forces you to do nothing!’ HATED: When Dan inserted a thumb in both Woodward and I. DRANK: Quiet Deeds.

BOBBY WOMACK Saturday May 18, Hamer Hall I always feel a little weird going into Hamer Hall – it could be the uppity geriatrics you always get there or perhaps there’s latent feelings of tension from high school where we’d go in to see some Shakespearean thing or another and the teachers were constantly hissing at you to shut it. The audience which flocked to see deep soul/funk/jazz legend Bobby Womack, however, were so varied I forgot all about the Hall’s usual vibe. The 69-year-old Womack had himself a 13-piece band, whose two percussionists started with a big bloody bang. We knew right away this was going to be killer. Bobby minced out in this leather suit, hooting ‘yeah, yeah’, his voice totally rich with a vibrato that actually flutters between full notes. Amazing. Across 110th Street came early on, with the pork pie drummer full of strength and the dishy horn section stepping time together. Womack left some of the melody up to his totally capable trio of sassy back-up singers towards the end of the song, and I wondered whether his frailty was being cleverly eclipsed a bit by the incredibly tight band. Womack then announced he was going back in time, and the keys player did some through-the-looking-glass arpeggios while the percussionist went mental on the chimes. There were quite a lot of chimes throughout the set, to be honest. Maybe more chimes than I’m

comfortable with. Anyway, like some sort of professional Vegas show there was no real banter between songs but rather sensual stage chatter while the intro to the next song started pumping out. It was more in the ballads where Womack shone – he didn’t have to stretch his voice but its gorgeous timbre came out. The Bravest Man in the Universe, from the 2012 album of the same name, was so great: a sassy, fullthroated, unhurried groove of warning. With the brass belting out it truly sounded as if it belonged on a Bond soundtrack. Unfortunately some of Womack’s interjections into the horn sections solos sounded forced, like he was trying to keep our attention (which was totally unnecessary). After a few Christianthemed singalongs (“I think I hear the rattling of a collection plate,” said Monsieur Obscure) Womack made a slightly weird exit, with his gofer running after him holding out his jacket and the mic. The primary back-up chick came forward with her giant voice to bring the show to a close.

Despite looking barely old enough to pass the 18+ restrictions of the evening, San Cisco performed with a natural ease. Received onstage by a full house would have been enough to intimidate the hell out of any rookie band, however the WA quartet showcased their indie-pop repertoire with poise and exuberance. Looking like a ‘70s pop outfit, complete with printed floral shirts and wavy hair, San Cisco kicked into their set with Rocket Ship, a track defined by its fast tempo and solid backbeat. The audience’s gaze immediately swept to female drummer and co-vocalist Scarlett Stevens, a lively little package that looked more like Tinkerbell than a percussionist. Looking like a little girl bashing on a toy drum kit, her dexterity and vigour were amazing, her tiny frame incongruent with the strength of her wrists. San Cisco played a lot of favourites, including Fred Astaire, Golden Revolver and Hunter, tracks which inevitably began to sound the same after a while, their stagnant melodies unable to really go anywhere beyond the “pop” paradigm. Halfway through the set, the audience became less interested in the band and more excited about the inflatable beach ball that was being thrown around. The immaturity of the crowd was manifested in their shrieks and high pitched laughter as the beach ball, followed by an inflatable condom, circled the room. One could not help but feel sorry for San Cisco at this point, as the energy which had initially been for them was now directed elsewhere. Luckily for the band, this distraction didn’t last long as lead vocalist Jordi Davieson went ahead and asked if the crowd wanted to hear Scarlett sing, a saving grace

which was immediately answered in the affirmative. The crowd went nuts when they heard the opening guitar riffs of Awkward, the band’s most popular track to date. The call and response duet between Jordi and Scarlett was oh so cute, however the latter’s vocals sounded feeble in comparison with Jordi’s. Another crowd favourite was Beach, a mellow track which illustrated San Cisco’s competence in producing slower tempos. The bassist was an interesting guy to watch, as his fingers always seemed like they were floating over the chords, never once changing speed. He played effortlessly, moving gracefully across his instrument without appearing to really touch it. He remained inscrutable throughout the entire set, his indifference almost hinting at boredom. In contrast, Scarlett’s blatant glee and enthusiasm made her the most exciting to watch. San Cisco concluded their set with Wild Things and No Friends, an encore which included the appearance of some random, sporadic dancers, most likely the support acts. A little too juvenile for the likings of some, San Cisco still put on a solid performance, their catchy pop tunes resonating amongst the crowd long after their exit. DINA AMIN

LOVED: Seeing a female drummer. HATED: Getting hit in the head by an inflatable ribbed condom. DRANK: Water, due to zero pennies.

STAN RIDGWAY Saturday May 18, The Corner Hotel Stan Ridgway comes from Barstow, a small town in eastern California. Few people would know much of Barstow, beyond its reference in the opening line of Hunter S Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Ridgway’s drawling delivery suggests he’s from Southern origins, maybe somewhere in the backblocks of Texas where everything is big, including the tales. Ridgway tells a story like the raconteur at a local bar delighting regular patrons and visitors alike. Like Lou Reed, Ridgway doesn’t so much sing as speak in rough concert with the melodies of his guitar. It’s patronising, but not completely off the mark, to lump Ridgway in with the American storytelling tradition of Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe and Jack London; in Ridgway’s case, however, his involvement as narrator is largely a convenience. Ridgway was back in Australia tonight to ply his trade. A cursory check of his website suggests he spends the vast majority of his time on the road, having successfully transposed his art into a professional career. That professionalism is obvious in both his musicianship, and his comfort with the crowd – at one stage, Ridgway and his wife, keyboard player and accomplished artist in her own right, Pietra Wexstun, launch into an impromptu Antipodean-themed song to thank Ridgway’s local benefactors. It’s corny, and delivered with the dose of irony it’s often assumed (erroneously) that Americans lack.

Ridgway promises some older material, and some not-older material. The Wall of Voodoo material is particularly well received, most notably Mexican Radio, the song that first brought Ridgway’s distinctive atonal voice to commercial radio almost 30 years ago. Of his solo material, it’s the songs from 1986’s The Big Heat that strikes the strongest chord, including the title track, Camouflage (which, in the context of the Vietnam War reflective zeitgeist that was 1987, stands above its competing cinematic efforts) and Just Drive She Said. Wexstun gets her moment in the nocturnal stage sun with Take It Away; Calling Out To Carol and Peg and Pete And Me are, simply, great songs. To the Maestro pays tribute to the influence of Ennio Morricone; Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire is reinterpreted into a devilish narrative of a life lost to irreligious pursuits. The encore provides yet more joy, including Roadblock and Police Call. Stan and his band farewell the crowd and depart. Is Stan, is good. PATRICK EMERY

DRANK: Coopers Pale Ale. LOVED: Camouflage. HATED: The attitude from the security staff.

60 SECONDS WITH… HOWARD

ZOË RADAS LOVED: The band are obvs top of their game, excellent stuff. HATED: Hamer Hall staff are so stuffy. DRANK: Crownies.

PBS WOMEN OF SOUL Saturday May 25, Bella Union, Trades Hall The bar was packed at 9pm, with Miss Goldie spinning some corkers before the titular women of soul even came onstage. Comprising of Shirley Davis, Chelsea Wilson, Christina Arnold, and stand-outs Candice Monique and Kylie Auldist, this show was a super big pile of fun. Monique (with the inimitable Mikey Chan on guitar) was sauce personified, and her performance licks were totally genuine – this woman is no faker. She can do fierce but graceful, and was never crass. There were definite Jamiroquai influences to her soul, and she got the d-floor moving perceptibly. Auldist was stunning as always, bringing things down a notch for a second with a track performed solo with the keys player, swaying hypnotically in her marbled dress and platform Sketchers. You can tell when vocalists Beat Magazine Page 58

are ‘present’ in the musical sense; they’re singing the words as if they’re saying them spontaneously in a conversation, with conviction and heart, and Auldist is a pro with this. She’s as beautiful in the lower registers as the delicate highs, more beautiful in fact – or ‘handsome’ as my mum would say. For the finale all the gals got onstage, doing Heat Wave and then Salt-N-Pepa’s Whatta Man, with Monique busting out her rap chops for one of the versus (she’s damn good). This was top, top shit and I can’t wait for the next one. ZOË RADAS LOVED: Being a woman. HATED: Is it just me or does the bar there have a pretty weird selection? DRANK: Some sort of cider I’ve never heard of.

Define your genre in five words or less: Folk rock meets psychedelia meets gypsy. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like? One of our friends once described our sound as if “Queen went to Hebrew school”. When are you playing live/releasing your album/EP/ single/etc? On Thursday June 6 we’re launching our debut EP at the Workers Club. $10 entry gets you a nice shiny CD. What part of making music excites you the most? It’s like planting the seed of a delicious vegetable in your garden - you can watch it grow and eventually eat it. From little things, big things grow.

FOR MORE LIVE REVIEWS & PHOTOS GO TO BEAT.COM.AU

What’s your favourite song, and why? Green River by CCR. We all have our favourites but John Fogerty’s luscious locks braid our friendship together. Do you have a pre-gig ritual? If so, what is it? Go to Emma’s house for a fresh pot of coffee and a gossip. How do you stop your pre-gig jitters? When we’ve had too many coffees we start drinking beer. Describe the worst gig you have ever played. Our first show at Bar Open. We felt like 12-year-old schoolboys not being able to stand up to answer a question because we had an erection.

1300 ALLANS

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