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Come Celebrate the
OURTH OF JUL F Y with
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FFRIDAY RIDAY JULY JULY 4TH 4TH 7pm 7 pm
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CCelebrati l b ting LLiiving LLegendsd
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IN THIS ISSUE
12
HOT TALK
16
TOURING
18
FIRST AID KIT
20
ART OF THE CITY, THE COMIC STRIP
25
MILKY CHANCE, TUNE-YARDS
26
BARRY MORGAN, DAN BRODIE, THE HARLOTS
27
THE ORBWEAVERS, TINY RUINS
28
MUSIQ SOULCHILD, ANTHONY DEVINE, SOUL SAFARI
FIRST AID KIT page 18
TUNE-YARDS page 25
29
YAH YAH’S GRAND RELAUNCH
30
THE MYTH BEHIND THE RIFF, HIGH ON FIRE
31
CORE/CRUNCH!
32
MUSIC NEWS
37
LIVE
38
ALBUM OF THE WEEK, SINGLES, CHARTS
THE HARLOTS page 26 3 NEWTON STREET RICHMOND, VICTORIA 3121 Phone: (03) 9428 3600 Fax: (03) 9428 3611 email: info@beat.com.au www.beat.com.au BEAT MAGAZINE EMAIL ADDRESSES: (no large attachments please): Gig Guide: online at beat.com.au email gigguide@beat.com.au - it’s free! Club Listings: online at beat.com.au email clubguide@beat.com.au - it’s free! Music News Items: music@beat.com.au Artwork: art@beat.com.au Beat Classifieds 33c a word: classifieds@beat.com.au
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ALBUMS
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GIG GUIDE
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VENUE PROFILE,
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BACKSTAGE
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INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH
HIGH ON FIRE page 30
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BEN FOLDS WITH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Audiences will have a chance to enjoy Ben Folds’ music accompanied by a live orchestra when he joins various Australian symphony orchestras for the 2014 Ben Folds’ Orchestra Tour this November and December. Folds will join the Sydney, Western Australian, Adelaide, Tasmanian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras for nine concerts nationwide. You can catch Ben Folds with The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall on Saturday December 20. Tickets will go on sale on Friday July 4 at 9am.
CAITLIN PARK
Caitlin Park’s newly released sophomore album The Sleeper had the intention of revealing the way we approach wakefulness and exploring the relationship between light and dark. To bring this piece of work to a definitive peak, Park has put together a series of instrumental soundscapes to essentially help a listener in the process of letting go–to breathe out – to help the listener to sleep. To Breathe You Out EP is set for release Friday July 11. In celebration of both of these releases Caitlin Park is embarking on an east coast tour in July and August. You can catch her at the Bella Union on Friday August 1. Tickets available through the venue.
THE KITE STRING TANGLE
The Kite String Tangle is the solo project of alternative electronic artist and producer, Danny Harley. In 2013 Harley thrilled many with his gorgeous breakout single Given The Chance which saw The Kite String Tangle undertake two sell out tours of the country, a series of local festival appearances plus a trip to the US where he performed at the highly-regarded South By South West and Coachella music festivals. Arcadia is a taste from The Kite String Tangle’s debut EP, Vessel. Harley will be touring the track around the Australia throughout August and September. You can catch him at The Corner Hotel on Saturday September 6. Tickets available through the venue.
BAR WWW.THEPUBLICBAR.COM.AU
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WEDNESDAY 2ND JULY PUBLIC BAR COMEDY MICHAEL CHAMBERLAIN, CHLOE HOOPER JONATHON SCHUSTER, SIMON TAYLOR JACK DRUCE, SAM PETERSON 8PM $5 THURSDAY 3RD JULY BURN CITY UNDERGROUND HIP HOP NIGHT 8:30PM $10 FRIDAY 4TH JULY STRATHMORE, AS A RIVAL WE DISAPPEAR, GLADSTONE 8:30PM $10 CHEAP USA BEERS ALL DAY/NIGHT 2AM POSTSCRIPT SATURDAY 5TH JULY NEBRASKA, OLD LOVE HAVE/HOLD, MNNTAB 8:30PM $10 2AM SLOT: THE BENNIES FREE ENTRY ADOLESCENTS AFTERPARTY SUNDAY 6TH JULY COOPERS & SAILOR JERRY PRESENT: SUNDAY SCHOOL ALDOUS HARDING (NZ) HELLO SATELLITES HOT PALMS 4PM FREE MONDAY 7TH JULY KITCHEN OPEN TUESDAY 8TH JULY FACT HUNT TRIVIA 7:30PM FREE
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UPCOMING BANDS WEDNESDAY 2ND JULY
OPEN MIC Show the Boogie Man what you’ve got!
THURSDAY 3RD
The Vice Knights on Standby FRIDAY 4TH
Rosie and the Mighty Kings Arcane Saints Little House Godz
SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM
One of the country's highest acclaimed, feel good acts Sneaky Sound System are playing an exclusive Melbourne show at the GH Hotel, St Kilda. Sneaky Sound System have smashed the Australian music industry with their catchy tunes and energetic live show and are bringing it all to the GH Hotel, St Kilda. Having played a massive role in cementing St Kilda as Australia’s rock city, GH Hotel has staged all of the countries legends on their way to the top and the newly refurbished venue. Sneaky Sound System play GH Hotel Saturday July 26, doors open 9pm. Tickets are available through Oztix.com.au.
JACK ON FIRE
Melbourne’s Jack On Fire have announced that they'll play a show in support of their latest album, I Am Animal. The LP traverses swamp-rock, desert psych and country noir for a truly unique sound that has given them a reputation for their gripping live shows. Catch Jack On Fire at The John Curtin Hotel on Saturday July 5. Tickets are on sale through the venue.
ANGUS & JULIA STONE
Four years on from runaway hit Big Jet Plane and the ARIA-dominating album Down the Way, Sydney’s own folk siblings Angus & Julia Stone return to the stage this September, on their first national tour since 2011. Reuniting for their third studio album produced by pop legend Rick Rubin (Adele, Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Angus & Julia Stone (EMI) is their most collaborative effort yet. Angus & Julia Stone will bring their dream-drawn melodies back to the country where it all began – guiding audiences deeper into the songbook that captured the nation’s heart. Angus & Julia Stone will play Melbourne’s Palais Theatre Friday September 26. Tickets on sale Thursday July 10 at 9am.
Turk Tresize Band SATURDAY 5TH
Spidy Spidy CD Launch with Kill TV and MisSista Available for private functions
After Work Happy Hour from 4PM, $5 drinks, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 160 HODDLE ST ABBOTSFORD
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TOUR DE FRANCE AT THE OLD BAR
The French are known for three things – the Eiffel Tower, Kronenbourg 1664 and a nation of people riding erratically. At The Old Bar this July, you can be provided with at least two of these things. Thanks to our dear friends at Coopers we will have Kronenbourg on tap all month and will be showing the cycling on the TV each night of the race. Come along, drink some nice beer, eat some bread and carb up like only the French know how. Au revoir.
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PENNYWISE SACRED HEART MISSION FUNDRAISER
Sacred Heart Mission has announced a dazzling lineup for its annual fundraiser, The Heart of St Kilda Concert at the Palais in St Kilda, on August 13. Now in its seventh year, this highlight of the Melbourne live music and comedy calendar draws Australia’s finest and this year is no exception, with RocKwiz co- presenter, Brian Nankervis as the MC. Performing will be Dick Diver, The Melbourne Ska Orchestra, The Basics, Tim Rogers, Tripod, Julia Morris, Charlie Pickering and many more great performers and comedians. Tickets on sale now.
YES
Iconic, Grammy-winning rock band Yes will embark on a four-city Australian tour this November where the band will be performing two of their classic albums in their entirety. Fans will hear the 1971 groundbreaking album Fragile and the 1972 album Close To The Edge from start to finish, followed by an encore of the band’s greatest hits. Tickets will go on sale to the general public from 9am on Monday July 7. You can catch them play The Palais Theatre in Melbourne on November 18.
BAKEHOUSE STUDIOS LAUNCH
In a world first, some of Australia’s leading contemporary visual artists have transformed traditional rehearsal rooms with immersive art installations especially for the musicians that practice in these spaces. Art comes out of the confines of an art gallery and into a working inner city music studio. To celebrate, the Leaps and Bounds Music Festival are throwing a street party in Little Hoddle Street on Saturday July 12 and Bakehouse Studios will open their doors to the public for the first time. Studio tours and live music from Harmony and The Impossible No Goods with BJ Morriszonkle will begin at 11am and run through the afternoon. Make sure you come and check out this killer event.
SUZI QUATRO
Celebrating 50 years of performing, Suzi Quatro returns in January 2015 for her last Australian tour. With 30 Australian tours under her belt, this will be the final chance for Australian fans to see Suzi on stage. The tour will kick off in Perth on January 28 and finish in Cairns on March 1. She’ll be touching down in Melbourne to play the Melbourne Arts Centre on Thursday February 6, tickets available through Ticketmaster. This is your last chance to see Suzi live in Australia – don’t miss these shows!
I once met a guy at Public Bar who told me he was bailing to hang out with Pennywise and that I should come with. After spilling my probably twentieth one-dollar pot of Geelong Bitter over myself I decided it was a better idea to go home and vomit. This was probably a wise decision as retrospectively the whole situation seemed a bit creepy because Pennywise were on tour in another country. Regardless, with Jim Lindberg returning to front the band, the new Pennywise LP Yesterdays is sure to kick arse and we have three copies to give away on vinyl. Yesterdays is out July 15 via Epitaph records. Head to beat.com.au/freeshit to win.
ONE ELECTRIC DAY
The second annual One Electric Day has announced another massive lineup to rock the great lawn of Werribee Park this November. With the likes of Hoodoo Gurus, James Reyne playing Australian Crawl, Mondo Rock, Diesel, Daryl Braithwaite and Boom Crash Opera, this is set to be the ultimate day of Aussie rock. Last year’s inaugural event sold out well in advance and it’s anticipated that the 2014 festival of rock will be no different. Tickets go on sale 9am on Monday July 7. The event will take place Sunday November 9 at Werribee Park on the Great Lawn – don’t miss out.
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BEECHWORTH MUSIC FESTIVAL
After conquering the weather in 2014 with absolutely no hesitation, BMF Organisers are proud to announce that they will be back in 2015. The second Beechworth Music Festival will take place over the Australia Day long weekend on Saturday January 24 2015 at the Madman’s Gully Amphitheatre, Mayday Hills Decommissioned Lunatic Asylum in Beechworth. Stay tuned for line-up and ticket sale announcements.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 13
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FLYYING COLOURS
The last year has been a cracker for Flyying Colours. The Australian release of their debut EP was an excellent start, as was the amount of radio play and street press attention it received. But it was the international blogosphere that really got behind them, posting their psychedelic film clips on sites the world over. Flyying Colours are now back with new material and will be launching their new single Not Today around Australia this July. You can catch them at Shebeen on Friday July 25. Tickets available through flyyingcolours.com.
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
Atlanta rockers Manchester Orchestra have announced their return to Australia with a run of east coast dates. The band will be touring in support of their fourth full-length album, Cope, out now via Caroline Australia. They recorded the entire record in the home studio they built themselves after six months spent gutting and refurbishing the old house they used to live in together. Cope is the follow up to 2011’s critically acclaimed Simple Math. Catch the band perform the new record at The Corner Hotel on Thursday November 13. Tickets available through the venue.
FBI RADIO NORTHERN LIGHTS COMPETITION
For the first time ever, Sydney’s FBi Radio is launching a national competition. The station is taking one solo producer/artist and a band on an incredible adventure to Iceland Airwaves Festival. The prestigious music festival held in Reykjavik in November is a highlight of the international music industry calendar, renowned for its impressive lineup and showcasing of the best music from around the world. In 2011 and 2012 FBi Radio took two Sydneybased solo producers to Iceland Airwaves. This year they are extending the competition to a national call-out. Entries are open from June 26 to July 21. To enter visit fbiradio.com/northernlights.
THE STIFFYS
TALKING THE TALK with EMILY ULMAN
It would appear that Dan Watt has a massive boner for garage punk two-piece The Stiffys because they have just been announced to headline Watt’s On Presents at Prince Of Wales Public bar on Friday September 5. Since releasing their debut album, We Are Groovy, boys, Jason Leigh and Adam Stagg have been boogie boarding their way into the hearts, minds and hips of Melbourne’s music scene. It’s free entry so put it straight in your diaries diggers... try not to let your stiffy get in the way.
WILLOW BEATS
Electronic duo Willow Beats have announced a string of tour dates in support of their latest single Merewif. The pair burst onto the scene last year with their dreamy breakout single Blue. Their new single, Meriwolf is taken from their forthcoming EP set for release later this year. Willow Beats will play at the Northcote Social Club on Saturday August 16. Tickets are available from Oztix.
You’re playing a mountain of shows during the Leaps and Bounds Festival, alongside a host of spectacular Melbourne artists. What has compelled you to take part in Leaps and Bounds for another year? I’ll have to disagree with the term “mountain”, as I feel such a geographical allegory doesn’t really align itself with the Melbourne identity. I would suggest I am playing a “rich tapestry of intersecting laneways” of shows for Leaps and Bounds Festival. I couldn’t resist the prospect of bringing the vision and scope of a worldwide tour and bringing that passion to a myriad of venues across the City of Yarra. And to clarify, I will not actually be performing on the Yarra River on this tour, as the rhythmic yelps of its many coxswains makes it difficult to keep time, musically. You performed at the Leaps and Bounds Festival in 2013. What would you say was the most memorable experience of playing at this festival? What are you looking forward to this year? I’m looking forward to getting on stage and cranking out some quality tunes, night after night. As I’m already completely focused on the upcoming Leaps
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 14
and Bounds festival, I’m unable to recall last year’s most memorable experience. I always take things one show at a time. Or in this case, six shows at a time. You’re fairly active in Melbourne’s music community in both a professional and creative sense. Why are festivals like Leaps and Bounds so important to our music community? What makes Melbourne’s music community so special? Festivals like Leaps and Bounds are great for contextualising the mountain of musical talent Melbourne has to offer. What makes us so special? To be honest, I think it’s an indefinable blend of sporting spirit, artisanal caffeination, and general resilience to invariably temperamental weather. Sometimes it can be like four seasons in one day! I came up with that joke about Melbourne weather so don't attempt to steal it from me, okay? EMILY ULMAN is playing a bunch of shows during the Leaps and Bounds Festival alongside artists like Fraser A. Gorman, Phil Gionfriddo, Jacky Winter, Lucy Jean Roleff and tons more. For more information, visit leapsandboundsmusicfestival.com
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KASEY CHAMBERS
The music of Kasey Chambers nowadays feels almost as intrinsic to this country as vegemite and on August 29, the singer/songwriter and storyteller will release her tenth studio album and first solo record in four years. Produced by American Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, The Wallflowers, Powderfinger, The Living End), Bittersweet is something of a departure for Kasey from the ‘expected’. Kasey Chambers will premiere her new album Bittersweet at the Gympie Music Muster, followed by three intimate east coast city shows in September. Catch her at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne Wednesday September 3. Tickets available through the venue.
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SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are coming back to Australia with the most monumental and explosive soul live show they have ever toured. Last year, Daptone Records had just announced the August release of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings’ Give the People What They Want album when Sharon Jones was diagnosed with cancer. The scheduled release and touring were immediately put on hold and all efforts were quickly shifted to her treatment and recovery. Thanks to an extremely gifted medical staff, several months of recovery and the infinite love and support from friends, family and fans, Sharon is back, and was ready to once again join her Dap-Kings as they share their music with people around the globe. You can catch the effervescent Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings on Friday September 19 at The Melbourne Town Hall. Tickets available through Oztix.
MELBOURNE’S NEWEST VENUE Lulu white – a big ol’, husslin’, pimpin’, badass madam from 1920s New Orleans. No one messed with Lulu, and when you see a photo of her you’ll see why. To honour the great Lulu White, a group of Melbourne party producers responsible for some of your worse hangovers ever including Godzilla Bar, have built a dive bar in the hooker and heroin capital of Melbourne, Grey St, St Kilda. The demolition experts coming in over the next six weeks include The Bennies, Bareback Titty Squad, Ships Piano, The Pierce Brothers, Horace Bones, The Laughing Leaves, My Echo and heaps more. Lulu white is open from Saturday June 28 and will run all the way through July.
SUNSHINE RECORDER
Sunshine Recorder is establishing itself as a strong growing force in Melbourne’s music scene. Their label HQ and recording studios are world class and house some of the most desirable music gear to ever hit the globe. This month the team have been working on releases for Morningfence, Caroline Gale, and Mighty Sun. The studios are home to their label artists, and together they are assembling a top quality lineup for this year’s ‘Goddess’ – a unique night of female performers in a vaudeville/cabaret format. Goddess will be held at The Exchange in South Yarra on July 19. Sunshine Recorder will also be holding a launch party in August 2014. For more info visit www.sunshine-recorder.com.
STING AND PAUL SIMON Sting and Paul Simon, two of music’s most renowned and enduring artists, will bring their critically-acclaimed On Stage Together tour to Australia and New Zealand in January and February 2015. Sting and Paul Simon will play Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Tuesday February 10. In great news for the Geelong region, the tour will include a very special A Day On The Green event on Saturday February 7, in the stunning outdoor environment of Mt Duneed Estate (formerly The Hill Winery). The show will also feature a very special guest, the wonderful Sarah Blasko. Tickets for all shows are on sale Monday July 7 at 10am. Fans will have access to pre-sale tickets through both artists’ official websites from Tuesday July 1 at 10am through to Thursday July 3 at 3pm. That's tomorrow people. Set your alarms.
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BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 15
TOURING
WHO'S ON TOUR, WHERE AND WHEN
PROUDLY PRESENTS
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INTERNATIONAL BELL X1 The Hi-Fi July 3 ADOLESCENTS The Evelyn July 5 TINY RUINS Northcote Social Club July 8 LORDE Festival Hall July 15, 16 KINA GRANNIS Athenaeum Theatre July 16 HIGH ON FIRE The Hi-Fi July 19 THE STRYPES Northcote Social Club July 22 KELIS Prince Bandroom July 22 LONDON GRAMMAR Festival Hall July 22 ÁSGEIR The Forum July 22 SKY FERREIRA Prince Bandroom July 23 TUNE-YARDS Howler July 24 THE ACID Northcote Social Club July 24 LILY ALLEN Festival Hall July 24 SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS PRE-PARTY The Great Northern, Byron Bay July 24 PELICAN The Hi-Fi July 25 METRONOMY & CIRCA WAVES The Forum July 25 MIKHAEL PASKALEV 170 Russell July 25 THE WILD FEATHERS Northcote Social Club July 25 PHANTOGRAM Prince Bandroom July 25 GROUPLOVE 170 Russel July 25 MAS YSA Prince Bandroom July 25 KING PARROT Ding Dong Lounge July 25, Wrangler Studios July 26 (AA) DARLIA LOCK Northcote Social Club July 26 SKATERS Corner Hotel July 26 CHROME SPARKS/RAT & CO Howler July 26 THE 1975 The Hi-Fi July 27 FUTURE ISLANDS Corner Hotel July 28 FOSTER THE PEOPLE Palais Theatre July 28 THE HEAD AND THE HEART Howler July 28 WILD BEASTS Prince Bandroom July 29 JUNGLE Corner Hotel July 29 BEN HOWARD Palais Theatre July 30 RY X Howler July 30 FIRST AID KIT The Hi-Fi July 31 ANDREW STRONG DOES THE COMMITMENTS Corner Hotel August 3 NEUROSIS Corner Hotel August 7, The Hi-Fi August 8 I AM GIANT Cherry Bar August 8 TWENTY ONE PILOTS 170 Russell August 8
KASABIAN Festival Hall August 9 KING BUZZO Ding Dong Lounge August 15 COURTNEY LOVE Festival Hall August 16 BOB DYLAN Palais Theatre August 18, 19 KNAPSACK Reverence Hotel August 21 LADY GAGA Rod Laver Arena August 23 KID INK The Hi-Fi August 24 THE USED & TAKING BACK SUNDAY 170 Russell August 25 PITY SEX The Old Bar August 25 THE DANDY WARHOLS Corner Hotel August 26 QUEEN Rod Laver Arena August 29 THE WONDER YEARS The Hi-Fi September 4, Phoenix Youth Centre September 5 PROTEST THE HERO The Hi-Fi September 6 BIFFY CLYRO Palais Theatre September 7 ANBERLIN The Forum September 7 YOU ME AT SIX The Hi-Fi September 9 (AA), 10 KANYE WEST Rod Laver Arena September 9, 10 ANBERLIN 170 Russell September 10 CANNIBAL CORPSE 170 Russel September 12 ROBBIE WILLIAMS Rod Laver Arena September 16 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Etihad Stadium September 18 DAMIEN JURADO Northcote Social Club September 19 SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS The Melbourne Town Hall September 19 RISE OF BROTALITY 170 Russell September 19, Phoenix Youth Centre September 20 (AA) INGRID MICHAELSON Corner Hotel September 20 VERUCA SALT Corner Hotel September 26 SEPULTURA 170 RUSSELL October 1 LISTEN OUT FESTIVAL Royal Botanical Gardens October 4 MILEY CYRUS Rod Laver Arena October 10 THE DWARVES The Evelyn October 11 ROLLING STONES Rod Laver Arena November 5, Hanging Rock, Macedon November 8 JOE SANTRIANI The Palais Theatre November 8 MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA The Corner Hotel November 13 KATY PERRY Rod Laver Arena November 14, 15 ACCEPT Corner Hotel November 15 YES The Palais Theatre November 18 UB40 The Palais Theatre December 11
BEN FOLDS Hamer Hall December 20 SUZI QUATRO Melbourne Arts Centre February 6 STING AND PAUL SIMON A Day On The Green February 7, Rod Laver Arena February 10 ROXETTE Rod Laver Arena February 20, Rochford Wines Yarra Valley February 21 THE EAGLES Rod Laver Arena February 22, Hanging Rock Macedon February 28
NATIONAL
JULY
BEN LEE Howler July 2 LITTLE BASTARD Northcote Social Club July 4 CROOKED COLOURS Shebeen July 4 THE HOLIDAYS The Hi-Fi July 4 COOKIN’ ON 3 BURNERS The Corner Hotel July 4 JEFF LANG The Caravan Club July 4, Thornbury Theatre July 5 DAN BRODIE Grumpy’s Green July 4, The Owl and the Cat July 10, The Tote July 12, 13, The Standard July 16, Labour in Vain July 17, The Wilde July 20 LEAPS AND BOUNDS 2014 Covers 40 traditional venues from the Corner Hotel to Longplay, Over the City of Yarra July 4, 20 BONJAH Cherry Bar July 4, Yah Yah’s July 5 THELMA PLUM Northcote Social Club July 5 VIOLENT SOHO The Hi-Fi July 5 SASKWATCH Corner Hotel July 5 BENJALU The Retreat Hotel July 5 JACK ON FIRE The John Curtin Hotel July 5 SEX ON TOAST The Toff In Town July 5, 6 THE MYTH BEHIND THE RIFF Fitzroy Town Hall July 9 THE PAST IS NEVER WHERE YOU THINK YOU LEFT IT The Fitzroy Reading Room July 10 REMI Corner Hotel July 11 MIKELANGELO - THE BALKAN ELVIS Collingwood Town Hall July 11 BIG SCARY Ormond Hall July 11 LIVING LEGENDS SERIES The Tote July 11, 12, 13 DAVE GRANEY Deans Martian Cafe, Lorne July 12 REVERENCE 2ND BIRTHDAY The Reverence Hotel July 12 LIVING IN THE '70s Yarraville Live July 12 TOEHIDER Workers Club July 12 DELTA RIGGS The Gasometer Hotel July 15 STONEFIELD The Gasometer Hotel July 16 CLARE BOWDITCH Sooki Lounge July 17 DAN SULTAN The Forum July 17, The Corner Hotel July 25 THE BEARDS 170 Russell July 18 HUSKY Northcote Social Club July 18 TIM FREEDMAN Arts Centre July 18 SOMETHING FOR KATE The Forum July 18 MELODY POOL & MARLON WILLIAMS Fitzroy Town Hall July 18 ELLA HOOPER Shebeen July 18 SMITH STREET DREAMING – LEAPS AND BOUNDS 2014 Smith Street July 19 LOWTIDE The Tote July 25 FLYYING COLOURS Shebeen July 25 THE SINKING TEETH The Workers Club July 26 SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS North Byron Parklands, Byron Bay, July 25 - July 27 DAVE GRANEY The Toff In Town July 26 SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM GH Hotel July 26 GREEN LINE GROOVES Melbourne Town Hall August 1 KAV TEMPERLEY Northcote Social Club August 1 SHEPPARD The Hi-Fi August 1 CAITLIN PARK The Bella Union August 1 ALISON WONDERLAND Star Bar, Bendigo August 1, Karova, Ballarat August 16 TOEHIDER The Tote August 2 DOUBLE LINED MINORITY Wrangler Studios August 8
27
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30 OCT
1
THE 1975 The Hi-Fi
BEN HOWARD Palais Theatre
SUPULTRA 170 Russell
PRETTY CITY The Gasometer August 8 BODYJAR Corner Hotel August 9 SACRED HEART MISSION FUNDRAISER Palais Theatre August 13 MONIQUE BRUMBY Flying Saucer Club August 16 WILLOW BEATS Northcote Social Club August 16 SEEKAE 170 Russell August 22 POISON CITY WEEKENDER 2014 Corner Hotel August 22 POISON CITY WEEKENDER 2014 The John Curtin and The Public Bar Hotel August 23 BUSBY MAROU Corner Hotel August 23 POISON CITY WEEKENDER 2014 Reverence Hotel August 24 SPIDERBAIT Corner Hotel August 29 SPENDER Shebeen August 29 THE AMITY AFFLICTION Festival Hall August 31 KASEY CHAMBERS Northcote Social Club September 3 THE ASTON SHUFFLE Corner Hotel September 5 BOY AND BEAR Palais Theatre September 5 THE STIFFYS Prince Of Wales Hotel September 5 THE KITE STRING TANGLE The Corner Hotel September 6 BIGSOUND Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley Precinct September 10,11 HOWLING BELLS Howler September 11 360 Festival Hall September 12 TINA ARENA Palais Theatre September 17 AREA 7 Corner Hotel September 19 THE BENNIES The Barwon Club September 24, Karova Lounge September 25, The Evelyn September 26 ANGUS & JULIA STONE The Palais Theatre September 26 BONJAH The Hi-Fi October 4 THE CAT EMPIRE Festival Hall October 4 DAREBIN MUSIC FEAST Various Venues October 8 – 19 ONE ELECTRIC DAY Werribee Park November 9 QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL Queenscliff November 28 - 30 NICK CAVE The Plenary December 16 BEECHWORTH MUSIC FESTIVAL Madman’s Gully Amphitheatre, Beechworth January 24 = NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS
RUMOURS JAGWAR MA, PEACHES, L ANA DEL REY, THE HORRORS
PROUDLY PRESENTS
NOV
13
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MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA The Corner Hotel
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FIRST AID KIT By Rhys McRae When you hear the words ‘Swedish folk music’ the first image that jumps to mind is probably men in tiny green overalls yodelling from mountaintops. It’s been eight years since First Aid Kit smashed that stereotype with their country-tinged indie pop that first came to the attention of the world in the abrupt fashion of a viral video. The Swedish sisters have just released their third album, Stay Gold, and have turned their lyrical gaze onto themselves, exploring themes of remorse, nostalgia and the need for escape. It’s the follow-up to 2010’s The Big Black and the Blue and The Lion’s Roar in 2012 which featured their runaway single Emmylou – voted the tenth best song of 2012 by Rolling Stone. This time around the song ripping up the airwaves is a little ditty you might have heard called My Silver Lining. The opening violin line screams out of the speakers grabbing your attention like a rogue bull, but its melancholy Texan-tinged notes set the scene for something less menacing. In the first verse, Soderberg sings of wanting to be taken to a place where there’s music and laughter to forget her search for the answers to life’s big questions. Looking for meaning is a natural aspect of humanity and the lyrics express it in such a down-to-Earth country way there isn’t a hint of wankiness about it. Guitarist, singer and younger sister Klara sounds perky over the phone, talking about the band’s next gig, playing in Arizona for the first time. It’s not long before talk turns to the popularity of the recent single and what it means for her to live in the moment. “I was sitting in Johanna’s apartment last year,” Soderberg explains. “I was just sitting there in the living room and started playing that first verse and I started singing those first lyrics to the song and just kept going for a long time. I was wise enough to record it on my phone. We had to pick out lyrics from there and that’s how it started. “Take me to some place where I don’t have to think, and just sort of be, which is such a hard thing to do, to just kind of enjoy. That’s a thing that’s also been a theme with Stay Gold. How you can’t really appreciate everything that’s going on. You sort of look back at things and think I was happy then. It’s a strange thing.” A wise rocker once said ‘from little things, big things grow’ and it couldn’t be more applicable while watching the old viral video of the young sisters covering Fleet Foxes’ Tiger Mountain Peasant Song. In the middle of a forest, a flannelette-clad Klara introduces the song as a gift to the band before they fill the woods with their skin-trembling vocal harmonies. The reworking caught the ear of Fleet Foxes’ frontman Robin Pecknold who decided to give it a plug on the band’s website causing a tsunami of adoration from fans. The rise of folk in recent years also helped to widen the band’s audience although it could be argued they were one of the reasons behind the boom. Stay Gold doesn’t stray far from their signature style of country but builds on it with grandiose arrangements courtesy of collaborations with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra. Soderberg takes a somewhat humanist approach in her BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 18
ideas towards the folk revival, seeing it as retaliation to the ever-growing technology-based music styles. “A lot of the music that’s now popular is stuff like house music. It’s music that doesn’t really have anything to do with the human voice,” Soderberg contends. “It’s music to move your feet, not your heart really. I think people long for something more simple. It’s a longing for the human voice. It’s also just the kind of music that’s always around because it’s so simple; it’s a timeless genre. People just sing about their lives and what they’re going through.” The band are heading to our faraway island for a slot at
“ WHEN YOU’RE PLAYING AN INTIMATE SONG AND SINGING LYRICS THAT MEAN A LOT TO YOU, OR ARE EMOTIONAL, YOU CAN SEE SOMEONE IN THE AUDIENCE AND THEY’RE SINGING ALONG TOO. LOOKING INTO SOMEONE’S EYES IS A REALLY POWERFUL THING ” Splendour where they’re sure to be quite the hot ticket judging by their two sold-out sideshows in Melbourne and another in Sydney. A tour back in 2012 that took in the Forum and the Sydney Opera House is fresh in Soderberg’s mind when discussing their next trip. Selling out those venues would be enough to knock your socks off but it seems it may have been trumped by seeing some of our most famous personalities. “They were amazing, they were incredible,” Soderberg gushes over the past tour. “Right now the one thing I’m thinking of is that we got to hang out with some kangaroos. That was cool but also playing the shows. We always felt like we’ve got a lot of love from Australia which is amazing. “It’s kind of crazy to us. I remember when we played our first shows in Australia they were these huge sold-out shows – it was crazy. We’d never been here before and
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it’s very, very far away. And there’s people that want to come to our show, it’s a cool thing. It’s a cool thing that anyone wants to come to our shows ever.” The major difference between their past tours of Australia and this one is (aside from Splendour) the venues they’ve chosen are much more intimate. It couldn’t have been a decision based on whether they could fill those big rooms again considering Stay Gold’s first week placing at number nine on the ARIA charts. It’s more a question of where the music fits and how best it can be appreciated, where big rooms offer grandiose events and smaller spaces give you the chance to form connections with your fans. Folk and country are intimate types of music that are generally best played from small stages where the singer doesn’t need to scream their stories. These may be the deeper reasons for playing cosier venues but on the surface the idea has a much more playful aspect. “I think it’s because it’s just fun,” Soderberg exclaims. “We’re probably going to come back later on and perhaps do something bigger but it’s also because we really enjoy playing smaller venues. We like the intimate feel and you can look at everyone in the audience. I really enjoy playing all sorts of rooms but that’s going to be fun. “It’s just when you’re playing an intimate song and singing lyrics that mean a lot to you, or are emotional, you can see someone in the audience and they’re singing along too. Looking into someone’s eyes is a really powerful thing. When you’re in a bigger room and you can’t see anyone it’s a different feeling. You can’t really have a connection in that same way.” If you got your hands on tickets to those sold-out shows, don’t be expecting the huge orchestrations you hear on the record, with the sisters deciding to strip the band back to the bare essentials. “We’re just a four-piece on stage so we won’t really be recreating that but I kind of like that because it’s a different thing, the live experience from the record,” Soderberg says. “It is more intimate. We’re just four people but I really like it. I don’t think you really have to sound exactly the way you do on record.” The ominous ticking down of clock isn’t exactly a new idea in music but it is a universal one that’s buried deep in our collective minds. The themes First Aid Kit explore of nostalgia and longing for past glory days are all offshoots of the ultimate question of our own mortality, which gives their indie pop a darker tinge. What’s also refreshing is to hear it done in such an honest way that distances it from the usual method of overzealous poetry and opaque empty metaphors. The questions Klara is running from in Silver Lining are ones we all have to deal with and listening to First Aid Kit may make you face up to them, hopefully for the better.
FIRST AID KIT play Splendour in the Grass at North Byron Parklands from Friday July 25 – Sunday July 27 alongside Outkast, Interpol, Two Door Cinema Club and more. They also play The Hi-Fi on Wednesday July 30 and Thursday July 31 but you’re shit out of luck because they’ve both sold out. Stay Gold is out now through Columbia Records.
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THIS WEEK: ON SCREEN This weekend will see The Astor Theatre host a double feature of both The Hobbit films. In the films, a curious hobbit Bilbo Baggins journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit 2: Desolation Of Smaug will screen this Saturday July 5.
With Tyson Wray. Got thoughts, news, gossip, complaints or cat photos? Email tyson@beat.com.au or send by carrier pigeon before Friday 12pm. character to ask him – he has an open door like that.” Nairn is happy to take Hodor’s character as it comes. “I don’t really want to know – I don’t need to know what’s behind the door sometimes,” he says. “And I definitely don’t want to know what’s going to happen in the future. With a character like Hodor, who operates on the basis of pure reaction and pure emotions, it doesn’t pay to know too much about what’s going to happen, so that’s why I don’t read the books.”
ON STAGE Shakespeare’s classic Henry V will get a facelift when it opens in Melbourne this week. Director Damien Ryan’s vision for the play was inspired by a true war story. In 1941, for 57 consecutive nights during the London Blitz, a group of boys trapped in a bunker rehearsed a new play each week and would then perform it for others in the shelter. Ryan’s production explores the rite of passage that violence and conflict offer as a threshold to manhood and the brotherhood that can result. Henry V will run until the Saturday July 12 at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio.
ON DISPL AY This year, Benalla Art Gallery launched the Benalla Nude 2014 art prize, now entries from the 32 finalists are being exhibited. The inaugural $50,000 art prize for a nude work by an Australian artist, was donated by the local Benalla community through the Friends of the Benalla Art Gallery Inc. and is one of the largest nonacquisitive art prizes in the country. The winner of this year’s prize is internationally renowned Australian artist Juan Davila with his entry After Image &. The exhibition also features 31 shortlisted works from Australian artists ranging from dual Archibald Prize winner Wendy Sharpe to a host of emerging artists. The exhibition seems to have sparked a local interest in the nude. Life drawing classes held during the exhibition’s public program have proved highly popular and local shop windows have displayed an eclectic range of nude interpretations. Benalla Nude 2014 will run until Saturday July 13 at Benalla Art Gallery.
PICK OF THE WEEK The countdown to Melbourne’s Oz ComicCon is over. It’s all about the heroines, hunks and handymen this year. Headlining the event is Hollywood sci-fi royalty Veronica Cartwright (Alien, The Witches of Eastwick), Tom Skerritt (Alien, Picket Fences, Top Gun) and Richard Dean Anderson, known for bringing to life the gadget building and wielding title character on the iconic TV series Macgyver and the wisecracking Jack O’Neil on the long-running scifi show Stargate SG-1. Other celebrity guests announced so far include TV heartthrob Wilson Bethel (Hart of Dixie) and talented twins Shawn and Aaron Ashmore. Shawn is well-known for his part in the TV series The Following and for playing mutant superhero Iceman in the X-Men series of films, including upcoming blockbuster X-Men: Days of Future Past, while Aaron is most recognised for roles in cult-hit TV shows such as Warehouse 13, Smallville and Veronica Mars. Also on board for the Melbourne event is Jim Cummings, the man who gives voice to the legendary animated characters Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, plus a huge lineup of comic book artists who have illustrated such comic books as DC’s Earth 2 and Birds of Prey (Nicola Scott), IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters (Tristan Jones) and Marvel’s X-Factor and Thunderbolts, along with DC’s Injustice: Gods Among Us (David Yardin). Oz Comic-Con Melbourne will be held at the Royal Exhibition Building on Saturday July 5 and Sunday July 6.
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KRISTIAN NAIRN By Patrick Emery
In the complex, violent and treacherous world of Game of Thrones (nee A Song of Ice and Fire), the character of Hodor stands out – and not just because of the character’s seven foot height, and superficially imposing appearance. Hodor’s dialogue is limited – surely there must be a Game of Thrones drinking game that requires skolling for every emphatic utterance of the character’s name – but his kindness, dependability and consistency renders him one of the series’ most endearing characters. Kristian Nairn, the towering actor who plays Hodor, studied music and drama at university in Ireland. Music was Nairn’s primary interest – he maintains a semi-professional role as a DJ – but drama was a natural path to follow. “I studied drama and music at university, though music was always my first love. Acting just comes naturally, to be honest,” Nairn says. “I’ve had some pretty interesting acting classes, but that’s all been retrospective, after getting onto Game of Thrones. I don’t think it’s necessary these days, but there’s definitely some interesting techniques you can pick up.” After the occasional low-profile acting role, Nairn auditioned for the role of Hodor. Unfamiliar with George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire historicalfantasy books, Nairn was nevertheless impressed with the role; when he told his mother that he’d been offered the part, his decision was sealed. “My mother is a huge fan of the books,” Nairn says in his lilting Irish brogue. “I remember after the audition I told her, and she knew the character Hodor straight away. She said ‘Oh, my god those books are fantastic – it’s definitely going to be a massive show, so absolutely take the part!’” Four years after taking on the part, and with the television series continuing to enthral, perplex and
horrify audiences, Nairn confesses he still hasn’t read any of Martin’s books. Game of Thrones has its historical origins in the War of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York; Nairn admits his recollections of high school history study focus on World War Two rather than the great mediaeval battles. “I do know that Game of Thrones has some basis in historical events – I’ve heard George talk about that. But it’s not something that I’m hugely knowledgeable about, unfortunately,” Nairn says. Nairn is, however, fiercely attracted to the fantasy aspect of the storyline. “I love fantasy – Lord of the Rings is one of my favourite films,” he says. “Though I probably love a bit more magic – I love the way that Game of Thrones hints at it, and you see the odd case of magic. But I think I like a few more unicorns, maybe some fairies flying around the place. But I like the way in Game of Thrones it’s hinted at, and you maybe see the odd flash, but it’s not sort of Dungeons and Dragons in your face.” Upon getting the role George Martin offered Nairn the opportunity to discuss the character of Hodor, including Hodor’s history and motivation. “George has been very hands-on from the start,” Nairn says. “As soon as you’re cast, George sends you an email says if there’s anything you want to discuss about your
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One of the most striking attributes of Martin’s stories – that is, apart from the bloodthirsty and sexually charged behaviour of the protagonists – is the fluctuating morality of the main characters: Jaime Lannister has the occasional flash of humanity; his incestuous partner in family crime Cersei exhibits an almost endearing vulnerability. And even the late Ned Stark wasn’t immune to random acts of violence. But Hodor is, well, just Hodor. “That’s one of the things I do like about Hodor – he is black or white,” Nairn says. “If black was evil, then Hodor’s very much white. I don’t think anyone has any doubt about that, and that’s why he stands out as one of the fans’ favourite characters. I didn’t really understand why he was so popular, but then when I started playing him I realised he was immensely loveable, especially against a background of twisted, difficult characters.” This weekend Nairn will appear at Oz Comic-Con at Melbourne’s Exhibition Building in Carlton. Nairn is a graphic novel fan from way back. “I’m a huge Marvel fan – I love anything to do with Hulk or Thor or X-Men. I’m very big into superheroes”. And while it might be expected that Game of Thrones fans would be prone to extreme fandom, Nairn says his experiences so far lead him to believe that the fans of the show are surprisingly balanced. “Unlike other areas of sci-fi, I think Game of Thrones is one of the most grown-up shows that’s even been on TV,” Nairn says. “And I think that keeps a certain type of fan away from it. People who love Game of Thrones tend to be very intelligent because you need to be in order to follow the storyline because it’s very complicated. In general, we’re very lucky to have the Game of Thrones fans – they’re awesome. They’re not Twilight or Harry Potter, if I can put it that way.” Catch Kristian Nairn at Oz Comic-Con which will be held at the Royal Exhibition Building on Saturday July 5 and Sunday July 6.
THE COMIC STRIP HA HA’S AT YAH YAH’S
GLORY DAZED
LABORASTORY
Award-winning production Glory Dazed will come to Melbourne this winter. Written by UK playwright Cat Jones, the play follows ex-soldier Ray as he navigates the trials of returning from the Middle East. Having already premiered in Adelaide, the play has received praise for illuminating the challenges that soldiers face when returning to civilian life. Catch Glory Dazed from Friday July 25 to Sunday August 23 at Red Stitch Actors Theatre. Bookings are available from redstitch.net.
New science storytelling series, Laborastory gives science enthusiasts a chance to hear some of the most bizarre and fascinating stories in the field. The night brings together five scientists from an array of fields and asks them to tell a story about a hero in their field. Stories have ranged from the life of Galois to the invention of the Pap smear and previous speakers have included computer scientists, obstetricians, mathematicians, physicists, forensic pathologists and even comedians. The Laborastory joins other science storytelling nights that have started across the country. The next Laborastory will take place on Wednesday July 9 at The Spotted Mallard. Doors open at 6pm, show starts at 8pm.
Keep Everything
SIMON TAYLOR DIRTY DANCING Get ready to have the time of your life. A decade after its world premiere in Sydney, Dirty Dancing is set to return to Australia in late 2014. Since its 2004 premiere, the musical version of the classic 1987 film has toured the world becoming one of the most popular musical productions of all time. Auditions for the musical will begin shortly and you can sign up for the waitlist for tickets at dirtydancingaustralia.com.au.
PATYEGARANG Following its world premiere in Sydney, Bangarra Dance Theatre have announced they will be bringing Patyegarang to Melbourne for a ten-show season. Patyegarang tells the story of one of the few positive encounters between our Indigenous people and English settlers, during Australia’s first contact. In a dance experience, the show brings to the stage the story of a young Eora woman who befriended one of the first settlers, Lieutenant William Dawes, gifting him her culture and language. Though this cultural exchange took place over 200 years ago, it still remains a timeless story about human curiosity, respect and learning. Currently being presented in Sydney, Patyegarang will be performed in Canberra, Perth and Brisbane before arriving in Melbourne. Patyegarang will run for a ten-show season at Arts Centre Melbourne, opening Thursday August 28.
Local man-about-town Simon Taylor will present his latest performance The Best of Everything He’s Ever Done Ever next month. A seasoned comedian, magician, poet, musician and improviser, his latest show will be an amalgamation of the best of everything he’s ever done ever, with no boundaries or genre constraints. Most recently, Taylor completed a sold out run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and has ARTS HOUSE written for television programs such as The Tonight Arts House have revealed a gargantuan season two of Show with Jay Leno and Shaun Micallef ’s Mad as Hell. their 2014 program. Opening with Keep Everything, a Catch Simon Taylor and The Best of Everything He’s collaboration with Chunky Move, highlights include Ever Done Ever at The Butterfly Club on Saturday July Robin Fox & Liquid Architecture’s Liquid Architecture 12, Saturday July 19 and Saturday July 26. 2014: RGB Laser Show, Dewey Dell’s dance work Marzo and live art piece Since I Suppose (both of which are collaborations with Melbourne Festival) and Ridiculusmus’s theatre work The Eradication of Schizophrenia YOORALLATEE in Western Lapland. Visit artshouse.com.au for more The ten winning designs from the YoorallaTEE t-shirt details. competition have been selected and will be on display at Federation Square this July. YoorallaTEE is a team effort between Dangerfield, 99designs and the Father PASSION Bob Maguire Foundation. Now in its fourth year, it Life Like Company have announced a new production aims to promote positive images of disability through of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony Award a t-shirt design competition. This year’s competition winning musical Passion, for four nights this Novemreceived close to 1500 entries from around the globe, ber. Passion transports audiences to a remote military with ten designs being selected by a panel of judges outpost in 1863 Italy, where army captain Giorgio as the winning entries. They will share in a prize pool has become separated from his beautiful but marworth $7000 and will have their designs sold in Danried – mistress, Clara. He is forced to re-evaluate his gerfield stores across Australia. This year’s winners inbeliefs about love when he becomes the object of the cluded four Melbourne-based designers- Jennifer Thy, obsessive, unrelenting passions of Fosca, his Colonel’s Natasha Bonilla, Tim Cooper and Chloe Pisani. All plain, sickly cousin. The new Melbourne production ten winning designs will be on display at Fed Squares includes musical theatre star Kane Alexander (UriFracture Gallery from Monday July 7 until Saturday netown, Hair, Les Miserables) as Giorgio, Green Room July 19. Award-winning musical theatre star and recording artist Silvie Paladino (Chess, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables) in the role of Clara, opera singer Theresa Borg (Les Miserables, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera) as Fosca and John O’May (The Last Confession, The Phantom of the Opera, A Little Night Music) as Doctor Tambourri. The original Broadway production of Passion received ten Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Passion opens at The Playhouse, Arts Centre Melbourne from Wednesday November 5 until Saturday November 8.
VIKINGS AND DRAGONS ACMI will celebrate How To Train Your Dragons 2 with Vikings and Dragons Family Day. The free event will feature performances, crafts, studio workshops and games. Kids can strike a pose as their favourite viking in the viking photobooth or can fly with dragons in Learn To Breathe Fire, a behind the scenes experience in which kids can learn basic stop-motion techniques. Comedian Rama Nicholas will be on hand to provide entertainment and fans of the film will also gain rare insights into the creation of How To Train Your Dragon. The first 100 visitors to arrive in costume will also receive free entry to DreamWorks Animation: The Exhibition. Vikings and Dragons Family Day takes place from 10am to 4pm on Sunday July 13.
STRICTLY BALLROOM Baz Luhrmann’s hit show Strictly Ballroom The Musical is set to open in Melbourne next January. The production opened to positive reviews in Sydney last April and is staged by the original creative team behind the classic 1992 film. Tickets for Strictly Ballroom The Musical will go on sale on Monday July 21 from Ticketek.
OZ COMIC-CON With only a few days until Oz Comic-Con the organisers of the event are continuing to ramp up the lineup. Yvette Nicole Brown, star of the cult comedy hit Community, has been added the lineup alongside Once Upon a Time lead Jennifer Morrison. Brown and Morrison will be joining the already illustrious lineup of stars attending the event, including Robert Englund (Freddy Kreuger in A Nightmare on Elm Street), Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver, Stargate SG-1), Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams in Doctor Who) and more. Oz ComicCon Melbourne will be held at the Royal Exhibition Building on Saturday July 5 and Sunday July 6.
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA You’ll get the chance to hear soloists from the Australian Chamber Orchestra in an intimate setting this July when five of its musicians perform a string of special shows together. The repertoire for the sure to be electrifying evening will include Lutoslawski’s Subito, Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet and Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81. A rare 1610 Giovanni Paolo Maggini viola will also make its public debut on the tour. The quintet will play Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday July 21.
GREASE Following a three-month sold-out season, Grease will return to Melbourne this December. Since the production opened in January, over 400,000 Australians have been a part of one of the fastest selling shows to play in Melbourne. Because of the demand for tickets, the show will return for more fun at Rydell High in December and January. Do the hand jive from Thursday December 11 at the Regent Theatre.
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
Looking for a fresh way to cure that Sunday hangover? We’ve got the perfect way to cap off each weekend in July; Yah Yah’s new comedy series Ha Ha’s at Yah Yah’s. Kate McLennan will take on MC duties all month while this week sees Karl Chandler, Tommy Dassalo and Nick Cody provide the laughs. Catch them at Yah Yah’s on Sunday July 6. Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 8.30pm.
PUBLIC BAR COMEDY Public Bar Comedy is on fire of late and this week will be no different with Good News Week’s Claire Hooper hosting a hell of a good lineup in the intimate Public Bar band room. Jonathan Schuster is back from San Francisco and lists the night as his favourite, probably ‘cause he’s slayed every time he’s been on. When you add in Michael Chamberlin, Simon Taylor, Jack Druce and Sam Peterson you’ll be feeling guilty it’s a mere $5. Plus you never know who might pop in, in the past weeks Luke McGregor and Celia Pacquola dropped in to rip it up. If you’re up a super fun Wednesday night grab $5 and we’ll see you at 8.30pm.
COMEDY AT SPLEEN Another great lineup at Comedy At Spleen this Monday, with comedy festival favorite David Quirk hosting. Plus Josh Earl, Jim McDonald, Demi Lardner, Corey White, Peter Jones, Chelsea Hughes, Xander Allan and more. It’s this Monday July 7, 41 Bourke St, in the city, at 8.30pm. It may be free, but they appreciate a good gold coin donation at the door.
CRAB L AB After an absolutely packed show last week Crab Lab goes from strength to strength tonight with the awesome sketch group Aunty Donna who’ve just featured on the ABC’s Fresh Blood. Plus there’s Greg Larsen, Andy Matthews, Jason English, Aaron Gocs and heaps more right in the heart of the CBD. 8.30pm start, 16 Corrs Lane.
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For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au
KATE MCLENNAN
What is the meaning of life? I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and worms. You’ve just been made Prime Minister of Australia after a bizarre yet strangely believable series of events. What do you do first? a) Sell the film rights to the ‘bizarre yet strangely believable’ story that has led me to being Prime Minister. Sounds like a ripping yarn to me. b) Get my kids on scholarships stat! c) Hold a press conference and say ‘Let’s have a chick’s question’. If you could write the eulogy for your own funeral what would you say about yourself? Honestly, none of you could have written my eulogy? Fuck, I have to do everything round here! Some rad Melbourne restaurant is naming a dish after you. What is it? Sichuan hot pot: a tasty treat that’ll stay with you for long after you’ve left the restaurant. If Melbourne were a verb, what would it mean? Look I went to a state school in the ‘80s so I have no idea what that question even means but I’ll give it a crack. Melbourne: To share drinks with friends in a pub/ bar/gutter after experiencing a day where life has shat on your face. Create a nickname for your genitals. You create a nickname for your genitals, jerk. Where can we see you perform next? Hosting comedy at Yah Yah’s every Sunday in July 8.30 sharp. Sunday July 6 features Karl Chandler, Tommy Dassalo and Nick Cody. Where can we follow/stalk/find out more about you? Twitter: @katemclennan1
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 21
on tour
news tours club snaps + more
electronic + urban + club life
KOAN SOUND [UK] Friday July 4, Brown Alley FEATURECAST [UK] Friday July 4, The Espy HENRY FONG [USA] Thursday July 10, Royal Melbourne Hotel
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GARETH EMERY [UK] Friday July 11, 170 Russell CHINGY [USA] Friday July 11, Colonial Hotel GIRL UNIT [UK] Saturday July 12, Revolver Upstairs OLIVER HUNTEMANN [GER] Friday July 18, Brown Alley CHROME SPARKS [USA] Saturday July 26, Howler
alison wonderland words / simon donnes
COOLIO [USA] Friday August 1, Brown Alley MYON & SHANE 54 [HNG] Friday August 15, Trak UZ [USA] Saturday August 23, The Hi-Fi. KID INK [USA] Sunday August 24, The Hi-Fi HARDWELL [NED] Friday October 3, Sidney Myer Music Bowl LISTEN OUT: FOUR TET [UK], BONDAX [UK],
UPCOMING
SCHOOLBOY Q [USA] + MORE
One of the biggest names in the Australian club scene is Alison Wonderland. She’s just finished a nation-wide warehouse tour rocking the industrial districts of our major cities, but not content to just smash out bangers on the dance floor, she’s just released her first EP, Calm Down. Amongst a fierce competition, one name has risen to the fore of Australian DJs. Alison Wonderland is a force to be reckoned with on the decks, and, having teased singles on her Soundcloud, is dropping her first EP in a matter of days. “I’d been writing a lot of songs for a long time and that EP all came to me in a week, I wrote all of those songs in a week. I had this huge burst of creativity, got really inspired and just wrote them all. There’s a few tracks I’ve done in collaboration, there’s a few with Lido, he’s Norwegian, and
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Djemba Djemba from LA.” Regarding her success, “Maybe cause I’ve kept it real: I think I’ve always been honest with what I do, and I think when people are doing it for the right reasons that it maybe communicates a little bit better. I’ve been writing music for a long time, production I got into around 2008. I was producing under a different name and when I got signed to EMI it all merged into the one moniker. I’m a classically trained cellist so I’ve always dabbled in song writing.” The Warehouse Tour – sneaky, secret and fresh, brought an energy to the scene that hasn’t been seen in a long time. “I wanted to do something where people have more of an experience than just being at a club, and everyone has been so nice to me, it was like my way of saying thanks, like, thanks everyone, let’s have a
party.” “The warehouse party was probably my favourite tour ever, without being biased. It was really cool because I had some friends with me, Wave Racer and Young Franco, and we had a great time together just nerding out - we had a lot of good experiences together.” Despite the hectic schedule, watching Alison mix is mesmerising. Hitting every beat, she puts it down to one thing. “I practice, a lot. I think practice is key, that and you have to really know your tracks – where they build and where they drop so you don’t have to plan it so much. If you understand what your songs are going to do you can play it off the crowd a bit more, and if they’re going in a certain direction then I’ll take them there. That’s probably the most important thing, to really know your tracks.” The new record is a blinding crash course through a changing soundscape, but with one core lineage: “The Knife, The Knife, The Knife – OH MY GOD – The Knife. They were the reason I bought myself a computer: I worked at a telemarketing centre to buy a laptop so I could produce music because of The Knife record Silent Shout.” Alison, a classically trained cellist, even sneaks a little of the unwieldy instrument into the new EP. “I like the thought of having something organic in the mix occasionally, like, why not?” On the changing tides for Australian producers, Alison’s glad to see a burgeoning scene here at home. “Since I started I’ve definitely noticed that Australians are supporting Australian musicians much more than they used to, it’s really cool to see: with the time I’ve spent overseas, I’ve learnt the Americans are definitely looking to us as beat makers at the moment, so it’s nice to have this homegrown support. I’m happy for my peers who are getting recognised for their work.” On the EDM trends of the current night-life, Alison’s not going to judge. “I think a lot of half time beats are quite in, I love that kind of stuff. I don’t want to judge it too harshly because I’m happy where it is, obviously there’s shit music out there: there’s heaps of shit electronic music, there’s heaps of shit music of every genre out there – I’m focused on the music that really speaks to me no matter where it’s from.” One of Alison’s many charms is her unadulterated online presence. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are pure Wonderland, where her followers are led through a world of over-sized novelty shirts, bad puns and nuggets of wisdom.“I’m usually updating it when I’m drunk, and then the next day my manager gets on me about it – like ‘nice job idiot’. Oh well, YOLO. I’m not going to be all weird and robotic and PR-like, no-one wants that.” Calm Down is out now. You can catch her at 170 Russell on Friday August 15. facebook.com/awonderdj
- head to beat.com.au for more
Saturday October 4, Royal Botanic Garden’s Observatory Precinct FOURCOLOURS: SUDUAYA [FRA], IRINA MIKHAILOVA [UK], BE SVENDSEN [DEN] + MORE
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Just opened my mail with a fork. Day is not off to a good start.
sneaky sound system
earthcore
Sneaky Sound System have locked in an exclusive Melbourne performance. A staple in the Australian festival circuit for well over a decade now, Sneaky Sound System will bring their catchy tunes and energetic live show to St. Kilda next month. Sneaky Sound System play at the GH Hotel on Saturday July 26.
Earthcore has unveiled a mammoth lineup for its 21st edition. International acts Boris Brejcha, 1200 mics, Da Vinci Vode, Victor Ruiz, Day Din, Behind Blue Eyes, Zentura, GMS, Blue Planet Corporation, Asura, Zen Mechanics, Format; B, Ticon, Shpongle (DJ set), Tripswitch, Chicago, Lucas, Dnox & Beckers, Gaudi, Klopfgeister, Fishimself, Bliss, Ann Clue, Nick Sentience, Vibe Tribe, Ace Ventura, Audiotec, Hux Flux, Ritmo, Raja Ram, John 00 Fleming, Exosomatika, Liquid Soul are all set to perform alongside a slew of local talent. There’s still one headliner left to be unveiled so keep an eye on Beat for the announcement. It all goes down from Thursday November 27 to Monday December 1 in Pyalong.
Saturday October 11, Revolt Artspace SOULFEST: D’ANGELO, [USA], MAXWELL [USA], MOS DEF [USA] + MORE Sunday October 19, Kings Domain Gardens and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl STRAWBERRY FIELDS: ÂME + MORE Friday November 21–Sunday November 23, TBA EARTHCORE: RAJA RAM [UK], JOHN ‘00’ FLEMING [UK] + MORE Thursday November 27–Monday December 1, Pyalong, Victoria
tour rumours Alexis Raphael, Clive Henry, Andres, HNNY, Clouds, Madteo, Miguel Campbell, Huerco S
h3 express festival H3 Express Festival uses the popularity of hip hop, song, spoken word and dance among culturally and linguistically diverse young people to make the message and importance of sexual health appealing to them. More than a quarter of Victoria’s refugee and humanitarian intake are 25 and under, with limited sexual health knowledge on arrival. H3 Express, an initiative of Multicultural Health and Support Service (MHSS), continues to use their festival toequip newly arrived communities with information to help them make positive health choices. For five years, H3 has worked with migrant and refugee communities in building their capacity to promote sexual health. A series of information sessions led by H3 workers form the basis of the performances, culminating in a festival where participants showcase their talents. The festival coincides with AIDS2014, the leading worldwide conference dedicated to ending HIV. H3 Express Festival takes place on Saturday July 19 at Deakin Edge, Federation Square.
domestique
contact Editor: Tyson Wray / tyson@beat.com.au Production: Gill Tucker / art@beat.com.au Advertising: Thom Parry - (03) 8414 8719 / thom@beat.com.au Cara Williams - (03) 8414 9711 / cara@beat.com.au Kris Furst - (03) 8414 9703 / kris@furstmedia.com.au Patrick Carr - (03) 8414 9751 / patrick@furstmedia.com.au Dan Watt - (03) 8414 9712 / dan@furstmedia.com.au 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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willow beats Electronic duo Willow Beats have announced a string of tour dates in support of their latest single Merewif. The pair burst onto the scene last year with their dreamy breakout single Blue. Their new single Meriwolf is taken from their forthcoming EP set for release later this year. Willow Beats will play at the Northcote Social Club on Saturday August 16.
The Shadow Electric, in cooperation with Kronenbourg Blanc, are presenting the third Domestique pop up bar this July for all you cycling enthusiasts. Domestique is the Melbourne home of Tour De France parties. Boasting a large indoor screen, and even a ping pong table, screenings will take place throughout the four weeks and cover all mountain stages as well as the ever important time trial. They’ve teamed up with Fancy Hanks Barbecue and Pierogi Pierogi to provide all the pre and post race nutrition. Every Friday and Saturday night will also feature DJs including LA Pocock, Simon TK, Otologic and Ms Butt. Head down to Domestique at 83 Kerr St, Fitzroy, during this year’s Tour De France. It’ll be kicking off Saturday July 5 and winding up Saturday July 25.
the kite street string tangle Alt-electronic artist Danny Harley’s solo project The Kite String Tangle has just released his new single Arcadia and he’s hitting the road to celebrate. The track is a taste from his forthcoming debut EP Vessel, which will hit stores on Friday June 27. Since the release of his wildly successful single Given the Chance, he has sold out two national tours as well as performed at SXSW and Coachella. The Kite String Tangle will hit the Corner Hotel on Saturday September 6.
bunker After their massive first birthday celebrations in May Bunker return to Boney for their next party on Friday July 11. This time around they will be joined by Melbourne techno royalty and all round nice guy Matt Radovich and the techno alias of Kris Baha, Zancig. Joining in support will be PWD and Sly Faux as well as Bunker residents Adrian Bell, ACM vs Jake McDonald and special guest Dylan Riley. The party starts at midnight and will be running through until breakfast time. If you like techno, you’ll like this.
electronic - urban - club life
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snaps
snaps
circus sundays
The B.East’s first birthday
lucca tan wo rd s / rk
power station
new guernica
There are plenty of DJs and promoters that are part of the underground in Melbourne who seemingly work day and night, satisfying the hearts and minds of punters with every gig and taking it all in their stride. “I’ve been a DJ since I was about 16 years old,” chimes the affable Lucca Tan. “I got into it when I was pretty young, coming from a strong musical background brought about by my family. Back then, I had some friends who showed me the ropes and I got into my first gigs in the scene when I was about 18 as an events coordinator at Wah Wah Lounge.” He is likewise a candidate for one of these guernseys. Years on – and maintaining his love of techno and house sounds, Tan is doing his radio show on Kiss FM on Wednesdays, with a decidedly deeper flavour. “We try to keep it on the down low, bring in some cool guests, that sort of thing.” Yet despite his finger being in many pies, Lucca is also kept rather busy with his own commitments. “I have my own little network and media company. With that, I have my own radio show on Kiss FM called Volatile Sounds and run a monthly event at Revolver called Mi Casa. We have our fourth birthday coming up and it’s going really well. Another event I’m running is called No Vacancy at The Flamingo which is something I’ve done over the summer, keeping the brand alive, you know?” Indeed, his approach not only to his music but his love of hosting events and generally supporting the local scene is encapsulated by the varied roles he undertakes. “No matter what we do or what I’m a part of, we’re about featuring the best artists in the music scene. With some events we’ve gone into hibernation but I’m going to start the parties back up again. I’ve started running The Summit, which is at Circus every Sunday morning – we recently had our launch party there and I’m involved in running another party called Killing Time Saturdays as well.” But the moral of this story is the Fourcolours party that is hitting the streets this weekend. The brainchild of Peter Suwara, another of Melbourne’s fearless underground ambassadors, the gig will bring together the very best of Melbourne’s music and creative communities. “I’ve known Peter via his work with Solar Empire,” explains Lucca.
“Between him, Spiro Boursine and myself, we helped him to establish his brand. And since, we’ve had a good working relationship with him via Realityworks and we’ve met up on various things over the times, from artists, venues and artistic direction.” And with that, The Realityworks crew presents the Fourcolours launch party this Saturday – in fact a pre launch party, as the official launch happens later this year in October. Regardless, the gig is being held at Rubix Warehouse in Brunswick. Lucca explains: “I was actually out with the crew before, and they’ve sourced some great international talent. The gig is really well pre sold too and some of the décor is going to be really funky. The event is going to be more of a show that just a gig so I’m really looking forward to that. We will have some really funky big artistic pieces up around the place with a fair bit of time and effort having gone into the production. A lot of the people playing there like Timmus, Ricky Garra, Hornsby – they’re good friends and they’re the main honchos of the whole event,” describes Lucca. “The main launch party coming up in October is going to be a 500 capacity event, with Peter doing this idea with 4 separate colours, each representing a different concept – overall, it’s a really cool idea. Not many promoters are putting this much effort into things, but I’m really looking forward to working with him and helping him on it. At the gig this Saturday though, I’m going to go with a deeper, rolling type of groovy techno. It’s definitely more of a bush rave sort of vibe and I think I’ll be able to get away with playing a driving style. At these events, people are always up for it and with the variation between trance and techno it should be great – it’s never about ego or anything like that, it’s about having a good time.” Hear hear. Catch Lucca Tan at the Fourcolours launch party at Rubix Warehouse in Brunswick on Saturday July 5. facebook.com/luccatanfan
nina las vegas
new guernica
word s / rk Not only is she a well-known radio ambassador, producer and DJ, Nina Las Vegas is unquestionably one of our finest proponents of forward thinking music. And as testament to her success, she is everything a performer should be – driven, talented, determined and selfless. From the community work she’s done to her ability to seemingly blur her musical output across genres, the lady stands in good stead for the next phase of her career. Just back from a three-month stint overseas, Nina has a new perspective on things and is feeling recharged and committed to taking things to the next level. “A whole lot has changed in the time I’ve been away,” she says. “I’ve backed down from house music in some ways and I’m showcasing what I like more. I think it’s a really exciting time for dance music right now too. It’s a big wide world out there and it’s a positive thing to be listening to a lot of different stuff, important even.” Indeed, whether it’s house, progressive or something more urban, Nina has the wherewithal to present her wares in a splendid fashion – music layered amongst a sea of groove and rhythm. And with her involvement with triple j, her name continues to remain up in lights for all the right reasons. Her mixes and updated web page are sure to excite, so be sure to check them out. She adds this: “I’m always wanting to keep the mixes exclusive and to use them to showcase different movements. I think it’s
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important to be showcasing in other directions musically too – as I said, it feels like a really exciting time in music and it’s great to be a part of it.” In other news, Nina says she attended Coachella in the United States – an event where she describes everyone as ‘super lovely’ and ‘without pretension’. “For such a massive festival, everyone is just so friendly and wanting to have a good time. The festival itself is massive. Skrillex is in this massive spaceship and it’s just on! It’s amazing just how much energy goes into the show. It’s huge over there.” Likewise, she describes the scene in the UK as one that is burgeoning. The almost ubiquitous sounds of house and techno flood the scene and very few DJs stick with one sound or style. “The whole scene overseas is different. It’s amazing how it evolves; just when you think things have settled they change up again. It’s pretty remarkable.”
Catch Nina Las Vegas at Splendour In The Grass which will take place from Friday July 25–Sunday July 27 at the North Byron Parklands, Byron Bay. facebook.com/ninalasvegas
electronic - urban - club life
club guide wednesday july 2 BLOW OUT - FEAT: GET BUSY + MAT CANT + SAMMY THE BULLET Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm.
thursday july 3
CQ SESSIONS Cq, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. FILL INZ - FEAT: BEN KEYNES Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00. GOOD EVENING Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. LOVE STORY Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS - FEAT: PREQUEL + EDD FISHER Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. VARSITY - FEAT: KITI + FOOFARAW Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm.
friday july 4 BRYCE LAWRENCE & ZACH PM Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. BUST A MOVE - FEAT: KOAN SOUND + A. SKILLZ + LICKWEED + M O П Κ Σ Σ + KODIAK KID + MUSKA + SCHWARR + ANGUS GREEN + DEEFIN + CITIZEN.COM + MATTY BLADES Brown Alley, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $30.00. CQ FRIDAYS Cq, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. CROOKED COLOURS (EP LAUNCH) + GUESTS: DEA + SWEETLAND + ARTIST CARTEL DJS Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. FAKE TITS - FEAT: BOOGS + SPACEY SPACE + SUNSHINE + MIKE METRO + HEY SAM + AZMAC Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. FEATURECAST + TOM SHOWTIME + DFRO + MZ BUTT Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. FREQUENCY FRIDAYS Fusion, Southbank. 10:00pm. $20.00. GET LIT - FEAT: HANS DC + TWERKSHOP MELBOURNE Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. I LOVE DANCE HALL - FEAT: ANDY ITES + SO FIRE + DJ NERO + MR FISH + AYNA + DJ THOUSAND VS DJ SELEKTAH + JUNGLE CITY DANCERS Brown Alley, Melbourne
Cbd. 10:00pm. $7.00. LA DANSE MACABRE Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. LUCK TRUCK FRIDAYS UPSTAIRS FEAT: CONGO TARDIS Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. MUSIC BOX (DOIN’ IT AT THE D.I.S.C.O) - FEAT: MG + WAHL Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. OMG FRIDAYS Seven Nightclub, South Melbourne. 10:00pm. $20.00. PANORAMA FRIDAYS UPSTAIRS - FEAT: PHATO A MANO + MR.GEORGE + MATT RADD + ASHLEE Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. PARTY BULLSHIT - FEAT: JUZZY B + KAYZ Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. POPROCKS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. REVOLVER FRIDAYS - FEAT: MIKE CALLANDER + LEWIE DAY + KATIE DROVER + WHO Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. THE DISCO - FEAT: JEN TUTTY + LUKE MCD + LEWIE DAY + PREQUEL + KATIE DROVER + MITCH KURZ + MIC NEWMAN + TOM EVANS + JOEL ALPHA + LIAM WALLER + AARON TROTTMAN + NICK JONES + JESSE YOUNG + ANDRAS FOX + JAC OSCAR WILKINS Onesixone, Prahran. 9:00pm. $25.00. THE HOLIDAYS + THIEF The Hi-fi, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $21.40.
saturday july 5 BIG DANCING SATURDAYS - FEAT: MAT CANT + GET BUSY Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. BIG RED BUS - FEAT: DION VAN MEURS + BOBBY RAVER + RACHEL ORCHARD + FLOW THEORY + AARON SMILES + LUKE SHAMANIX My Aeon, Brunswick. 10:00pm. $10.00. DJ GOLDIE The B.east, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. FOUR COLOURS WAREHOUSE PARTY Rubix Warehouse, Brunswick. 5:00pm. FUNKY FREAK SHOW - FEAT: BELLATRIX & OLIN + MAXI BASSHEAD + ALLEYYCAT + OLLIE WILKES & MONKEY PAWS Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. HELMET + HELMET MASIF Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd.
7:00pm. MANIA - FEAT: SLEEP D + MDNIGHT TENDERNESS + DAN WHITE Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. RAZZMATAZZ INDIE DISCOTHEQUE - FEAT: CAITY K + TED C Exford Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $5.00. SATURDAY MORNING - FEAT: SUNSHINE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00am. SCNDL Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 10:00pm. $25.00. SEVEN SATURDAY DISCOTHEQUE Seven Nightclub, South Melbourne. 10:00pm. $20.00. SUCK MUSIC - FEAT: JACK LOVE + NICK COLEMAN + DOAKES + SOPHIA SIN Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 1:00am. TEXTILE SATURDAYS - FEAT: KODIAK KID + D’FRO + JENS BEAMIN Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. THE HOUSE DEFROST - FEAT: ANDY FROST Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. $35.00. THE LATE SHOW - FEAT: RANSOM + MAT CANT + PAZ + LEWIS CANCUT + BOOSHANK + DANIELSAN + LA POCOCK & BOOGS Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. THERAPY SATURDAYS - FEAT: BOMBS AWAY + TATE STRAUSS + ED COLMAN + MATTY G Fusion, Southbank. 10:00pm. $20.00. VAULT SATURDAYS Platform One, Melbourne. 9:00pm.
JACOB MALMO + HANDSDOWN + LUKE VECCHIO + METWALLY Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. SPITROAST SUNDAYS Cushion, St Kilda. 10:00pm. STAR BAR SUNDAY FUNDAY - FEAT: KEN WALKER + JESSE JAMES + ZACH ROSE + TIM LIGHT + RYAN R CUE Star Bar, South Melbourne. 9:00pm. $5.00. STAR BAR SUNDAYS - FEAT: KEN WALKER + JONO EARLE + MORGAN Star Bar, South Melbourne. 9:00pm. $10.00. THE SUNDAY SET - FEAT: DJ ANDYBLACK & HAGGIS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 4:00pm.
MELLOW DIAS THUMP - FEAT: CAZEAUX O.S.L.O + GEEZY Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $0.00. MVP (WEEKLY HIP HOP PARTY) - FEAT: ROB STEEZY + THADDEUS DOE + STEPHELLES + LOW-KEY Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $0.00.
MONDAY STRUGGLE - FEAT: TIGER FUNK Lucky Coq, Windsor. 6:00pm.
tuesday july 8 GIGGLE TUESDAY - FEAT: WHO + JAKE JUDD Lucky Coq, Windsor. 8:30pm. PHILLIP PEREZ 3CR RADIO DJS Catfish, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. TASTEMAKERS - FEAT: ABLE8 + ARCTIC + JEREMIAH JONEZ Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. TRAMP TUESDAYS Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.
THURSDAY 3 JUL BURN CITY UNDERGROUND HIP HOP NIGHT Public Bar, North Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10.00.
be. at co.
sunday july 6 BOP ART - FEAT: HAWAII + WHO + TIGERFUNK + MATT RADOVICH + LEWIS CANCUT Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. DJ TODD BEEBY The B.east, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. GALLERY - FEAT: PWD + CHIARA KICKDRIM + HAROLD Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 5:00am. $15.00. JUNGLE - FEAT: HANDS DOWN + ZAC DEPETRO + PETE LASKIS + TRAVLOS + JOHN DOE Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00am. $15.00. REVOLVER SUNDAYS - FEAT: MANIK + BOOGS + SPACEY SPACE + T-REK + RHYTHM & WEIGHT +
faktory
MILWAUKEE BANKS + WZRDKID Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $8.00.
FRIDAY 4 JUL
khokolat koated
monday july 7
urban club guide WEDNESDAY 2 JUL
snaps
BUMP FRIDAYS - FEAT: DJ KAHLUA Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00. NEXT CROP 4 - FEAT: HIGH NIGHTS + FRAME MC + ESKK EMCEE + FILOSPHER + EPIC MC + CAM DOGG + JESSE JAMES + TORNATO + JAM JAM + CONSC1ENCE + 2SEE + DJ-KRUPT Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $15.00.
SATURDAY 5 JUL ELECTRIC DREAMS - FEAT: T-ROY + SLAZ + FREDDY WEBBER + RYAN R CUE + DJ REWIND Co., Southbank. 9:30pm. $20.00. RHYTHM NATION SATURDAYS - FEAT: DJ BIG SAAD + DJ KAHLUA & ANDY PALA Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00.
SUNDAY 6 JUL
BE. SUNDAYS Co., Southbank. 10:00pm. $15.00.
electronic - urban - club life
3
MILKY CHANCE By Nathan Hewitt European electro-folksters Milky Chance are humble almost to a fault. Sadnecessary has so far proven itself export gold for minimalist trip-jammers – a pernickety niche if ever there was one – and the duo seem a little nonchalant about their breakthrough. They’re simply not the river-dwelling enigmas commercial hype machines depict; success was unprecedented, but accepted. For singer-songsmith Clemens Rehbein, the comforts of an isolated home may make success manageable. “I feel good right now,” Rehbein says, at home in Kassel, Germany. “We live in the same town, so we’re doing a lot of chilling at the moment.” ‘Chilling’ may involve more creation with mate and counterpart Philipp Dausch, but he prefers not to confirm. “We’re kind of removed from all the attention, so it’s kind of funny.” Sadnecessary’s D.I.Y. foundations were laid mostly in Clemens’ parents’ house, where he still resides, and he insists Mum and Dad were – and presumably still are – cool both about the recording process and everything that happened after. “Our parents weren’t strict or anything. They were great about it.” He supposes there was no better place than home to create hits like Stolen Dance. “You feel more comfortable in your own space.” Rehbein and Dausch tackle Milky Chance as creative symbiotes – one the songwriter, one the beatmaker. Dausch reportedly handles tech. “He’s more the brain,” says Rehbein. “He knows the hardware and software, and production too. I handle songwriting.” There’s a formula the two swear by. “I’ll start with an acoustic guitar or some vocals and we’ll work on a beat from that.
He’s a technical genius,” he laughs. Rehbein prefers not to write lyrics in his native tongue because he considers English a more succinct alternative. “I’ve always done it in English,” he explains. “I think it’s because I listened to mostly English music growing up. Also, I think it’s because German is a very precise language – you can have five or six words for a single English word.” Wordplay is more straightforward, too. “It’s easier to create pictures; lots of metaphors. And I think it just sounds better in English. I’ve never tried singing in German,” he laughs. Milky Chance are often lauded for their cool melancholic shtick but Rehbein says newer songs have required he widen his creative scope. “We’ve written new songs, which we have played live, and fans tell us they’re great.” He doesn’t dally with self-criticism. “I like our new songs better.” The self-reliant two, along with another mate, founded their own record label – Lichtdicht Records – in the last year, and the enterprise is already self-sustaining. “Lichtdicht basically means ‘opaque’,” Rehbein explains. “We were three friends, just out of school. We could
have chosen to travel, or study, but we decided to try something out.” The evolving ‘something’ is apparently “going really well.” Rehbein and Dausch are itching to connect intimately with their Australian listeners. Early next year, they’ll have the opportunity. “I so appreciate our Australian fans, and I still can’t believe our music has reached them,” he says. “We’re playing some festivals in Australia next year, and we’re really excited about heading down.” A European tour comes first, though. “We tour a lot. We always take breaks, but we really love
playing live.” For all their post-release ‘chilling’, Rehbein insists Milky Chance are maintaining all momentum gained over the last few months. He and Dausch have a record label to run – which, in the meantime, is surely reaping the dividends of releasing Sadnecessary – and southern hemispheric demands to satisfy. At the moment, only a visit will do the trick. The boys are practised tantalisers. “We’re hoping they’re ready,” he laughs.
makes me happy; it gives me energy looking at it’. And that’s the bonus of being a rock star. I can get away with anything,” recounts Garbus. Although tUnE-yArDs are in the midst of an exhausting touring schedule, they try to remember that this lifestyle won’t last forever. It truly seems that Garbus has full grasp on just how amazing this opportunity is. “Being at home and writing an album for a year has really made it clear what a privilege it is to be able to travel internationally and be witness to other people’s lives first hand. For me, that is really priceless information,” she explains. Having visited our Antipodean shores before, the band are well versed in where to find a delicious kangaroo steak and that’s at the top of their to-do list during their one scheduled day off in Sydney. But it’s not just our unique culinary delights Garbus wants to sample.
This time, a spot of retail therapy is also on the cards. “There’s an Australian designer, I forget the name, one of our band members Jo loves. She definitely has her eye on their stuff. Apparently they make clothes with sequined eyeballs all over them?” an inquisitive Garbus noted. Upon learning that the name of their new fashion designer crush was in fact local fashion label Discount Universe, Garbus excitedly fan-girled, saying, “Yes! That’s it! Can you hook us up? We’ve been ogling their stuff for a while now, so can you tell them we are huge fans?”
MILKY CHANCE’s debut album, Sadnecessary, is out now via Universal Music
TUNE-YARDS By Steph Marks It’s almost that time of year where international and local musicians and their hordes of gumboot-clad fans make the pilgrimage to Byron Bay for one of Australia’s favourite music festivals: Splendour in the Grass. Avant-pop act tUnE-yArDs have jumped on board the bandwagon this year to show off their freshly released third album, Nikki Nack. They are pretty pumped to be finally sharing it with live audiences at the festival and their more intimate but equally as fun sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. Merill Garbus, the band’s eclectic front woman, believes that visual expression is paramount for tUnEyArDs and that bright colours and boldness correspond with what their music wants to do. She runs through what punters can expect from their upcoming gigs. “There’s going to be a lot of insanity. We have a really strong live show; we’ve honed it. We now have two back up singers in addition to me, and then a percussionist, and it’s pretty incredible how much we all intersect. It’s hard music to make look easy and relaxing, but that’s what we are trying to do.” It’s fair to say that relaxing is not exactly what they were doing in the lead-up to recording the album, having sought out the help of two of the industry’s most respected producers to refine the band’s earlier sounds. John Hill (Rihanna, M.I.A.) and Malay (Frank Ocean, Alicia Keys) taught Garbus and her long-time collaborator Nate Brenner how to get people moving. “I wanted to make a dance album; I wanted to make people shake. The reason why we brought in producers for help is because they have the inside scoop about what makes dance music and radio pop work.” The tUnE-yArDs’ sound definitely has the ability to get people up and out of their seats. Listening to tracks featuring layers of repetitive drumming like the personality packed Water Fountain, it’s almost impossible not to want to throw shapes wherever you are. “Nate comes from a jazz background and I come from a more DIY background. We learnt about the
really deep synth and sub-harmonic sounds and drum machines and some other really technical tricks of the trade,” says Garbus. Even with the help of some big-wig producers, Garbus has her own ideas on how the process of making her version of pop music has developed since tUnE-yArDs was born. “I think for me of course it’s hard to have perspective on what I am doing sometimes. I’m just following my nose, but I’ve been told that it sounds crisper and more refined. I still like to think that it’s got a lot of rough edges – an abrasiveness that’s intentional. It’s gone from being a really lo-fi project to having the lower-fi elements being a part of the overall sound and we have been lucky enough to record with amazing engineers, too. I feel more like a composer now. The early years were pretty simple and I feel like I have a broader confidence now,” Garbus admits. But it’s not only their music that has undergone a transformation, as Garbus opens up about the personal challenges she’s dealt with on a parallel to her music. “You know I used to wear all black? I think as part of tUnE-yArDs, I’ve really enjoyed coming into my body more. My body was always a source of pain and shame for me for a lot of my life and it’s been great to become bolder. A common thread throughout their music videos are colour, movement and energy – three elements that she exudes perfectly in her own personal style. “I looked in the mirror the other day at this crazy clashing outfit that I had on and thought, ‘That just
TUNE-YARDS play Splendour in the Grass, on at North Byron Parklands from Friday July 25 – Sunday July 27, alongside Outkast, Lily Allen, Two Door Cinema Club and more. You can also catch them supported by DD Dumbo at Howler on Thursday July 24 and Friday July 25.
60 SECONDS with RIFLE BIRDS Describe the best gig you have ever played. Probably a start-up festival we played last year near Daylesford. The stage was the verandah of the house, the drink was home brew, the dress code was denim overalls, and there was no chance of being too loud. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like?
Lately I’ve been saying it’s alt-rock, dark country and psychedelic blues. We’re all fans of The Band so that would be one common influence that comes through in our music. When are you playing live/releasing your album/EP/single/etc.? We have a single on Bandcamp called Easily. Album coming soon.
When are you doing your thing next? This Saturday July 5 at The Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. What can a punter expect from your live show? At The Labour In Vain, Roman at the bar will pour you a pint and you can sit back and enjoy the tunes. We’ll play two sets from 5-7pm and it’s free.
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES..... WWW.BEAT.COM.AU/TV
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 25
BARRY MORGAN By Augustus Welby A few years ago, Barry Morgan was an unknown organ salesman, running a store in Adelaide’s Sunnyside Mall. Then in 2010, after accepting an invitation to perform on ABC TV’s Spicks and Specks, word about his ecstatic manner behind the organ quickly started to spread. The mustachioed eccentric proceeded to bemuse and delight audiences around the country with his ‘World of Organs’ live show. Now – having recently assumed the position of Cultural Ambassador of Bayswater – he’s back with the Barry Morgan Variety Hour… and a Half. “I can’t believe it’s happening to me actually,” he says. “Humble beginnings as a home organ salesman to the bright lights of Bayswater.” Yes that’s right, Morgan’s latest culture-versus-kitsch extravaganza (happening next Thursday and Friday nights) will take place at the Knox Community Arts Centre. It might seem odd that a man whose heart rests snugly in the City of Churches is devoting so much attention to an outer suburb of Melbourne. However, the serendipity that characterises Morgan’s rise to celebrity introduced him to Bayswater a couple of years ago. “I was on my way, in my trusty Toyota Crown Royal Saloon, to the Melbourne Fringe,” he explains. “I headed out here thinking this was the fringe of Melbourne and I got completed bamboozled and found myself at the Knox Performing Arts Centre. They were
pretty excited to see me, because they’d seen me on the TV, and we got chatting and they directed me that the Melbourne Fringe was actually in the city. But we kept in contact and over a period of time it’s become my home away from home – like a surrogate mother.” While the World of Organs show was most certainly an amusing and lighthearted experience, it was a little lacking in variety. This time around a bevy of musical guests will join Barry’s beloved organ – the Hammond Aurora Classic – under the spotlight. “On the first night we’ve got Dave Graney, Linda Bull and Mick Thomas from Weddings Parties Anything,” he beams. “I can tell you I’ve done a few weddings and a few parties and now I’m keen to do anything. Then on the second evening we’ve got the lovely Greg Champion from the Coodabeen Champions, Jane Clifton and a young fellow from Arnhem Land
named Yirrmal Marika.” But wait there’s more. “We’ve got John Deeks from Channel 7, who’s the famous voice-over man of generations. And we’ve got a lovely little house band, The Tijuana Peanuts, [who are] based in Melbourne but they play that beautiful Herb Alpert sound. If Campari was music it would be the Herb Alpert sound.” Following the classic variety show format, Morgan will be interviewing the guests before asking them to perform a song featuring organ accompaniment. It’s a rather interesting lineup of acts and the star of the show explains how he came into contact with the assorted guests. “Some of them have been coming into the shop over in Sunnyside Mall, to the World of Organs. Ever since Gotye visited and Gurrumul Yunupingu visited, a few of the stars are popping in. It’s becoming a place where the music stars tend to go when they’re in
South Australia. I mean there’s probably other places to go, but the World of Organs is fairly central now.” Yes, thanks to Morgan’s influence, the home organ renaissance is well under way. It figures, seeing as though the instrument is a precursor to modern electronic music. “I always say it’s like the original DJ. It’s one finger, like the click of a mouse. I saw Flume at Splendour from backstage and he was flicking with that one finger and all that beautiful music was happening. In a way that’s what my one finger method is all about. When life gets a little bit complex I just go back to the organ and put on Rock 1 and place a finger here and a finger there and it’s all easy and breezy.”
lent alt-country release, Deep Deep Love. The album came out in 2013, just before health-wise it all kicked off. Nearly all of the songs touch on love and many of them speak of weariness. This too makes sense in hindsight. “Looking back I was getting really sick at that time, really tired”, he recalls. “Recording that coincided with the beginning of cancer. I think that’s where the weariness came from. The love stuff though, I don’t know. I could have called the album Deep Deep Sleep. In fact, in some ways I wish I had.” Brodie has always expertly straddled alt-country and indie rock. It’s a vexed question for him. “I actually think about that a bit,” he muses. “I like both styles. I love music in the broad sense of the word. Paul Kelly and Tex Perkins have straddled the two in their careers. It’s particularly difficult in Australia though – we just don’t have the population to support it. If you go too far one way you can go from playing [in front
of ] 1000 people to 100. You can do all styles, but don’t expect to make a living out of it … but fuck it, you do what you do.” Brodie is very much looking forward to the spate of gigs scheduled as part of the Leaps and Bounds Festival. “I’d play every night if I could,” he states. “This year’s been quite a write-off in terms of recovering, but it’s onwards and upwards from here. I’m just going to try and stay alive. I really love that quote from Lemmy – something like, ‘What’s the secret of your success? Not dying’.”
later in life, but the balance provides, “interesting perspectives,” when the songwriting takes place. Of being a mighty six-piece, Pitts says, “It’s a fucking pain to travel with! We don’t even fit in one car!” Has the band ever considered investing in a Tarago, or a vehicle of equal magnitude? “Yeah, we looked briefly at getting a Kia Karnival, but man are they expensive. Also, no one wanted to be responsible for it... People assume things of you when you have a car like that,” he concludes. Speaking of assumptions, the word ‘charismatic’ seems to be innately tied to Pitts when describing his on stage style, and few reviewers can resist the complimentary adjective. Another of those buzzwords is ‘gyrating,’ and Pitts recalls that this particular choice of dance started one show when his keyboard was placed on the side of the stage, instead of in front of him.
“Suddenly, there was nothing between me and the crowd, and I didn’t want to just stand there, so I started dancing,” he laughs. So is this particular style of dancing a practised art form? “I have actually been caught, by my housemate, practising dancing to my own music ahead of a gig,” he reveals. While only a rare occurrence, when asked if being caught partaking in such a self-indulgent activity could be likened to masturbating, Pitts says, “Well, I’ve been caught doing that, too, and in both cases no-one wants to talk about it after.”
BARRY MORGAN performs at Knox Community Arts Centre on Thursday July 10 and Friday July 11 with a range of special guests.
DAN BRODIE By Meg Crawford Happily, beloved Australian singer-songwriter Dan Brodie has returned from an extended hiatus following diagnosis and treatment for Hodgkins’ Lymphoma last year. It’s been a hell of a journey, but his reflections are equal parts philosophical, pragmatic and funny, albeit darkly humorous. Brodie plays with a straight bat and he calls it how he sees it. It’s pretty well known that Brodie comes from a musical family – his brother is Chris Brodie and his dad was a muso too. Growing up in that kind of family, Brodie was probably destined to be a musician, but today, he wants to get something straight. “Well, it was good, but we certainly weren’t the sort of family sitting around the fire and playing guitar,” he reveals. “The two worlds were quite separate – Dad wanted to keep a line between the music industry and family, but he was always playing guitar around the house. Also, I was encouraged to pick up a musical instrument. I played the piano from a young age.” Interestingly, for a time Brodie was attracted to the idea of being a lawyer. For our sakes, thank God he didn’t do it – think of the music we would’ve missed out on. In hindsight, it makes sense though. “I have lots of friends who are lawyers,” he laughs. “From an academic perspective, it’s all about use of words and meaning – it’s just not as creative as music though. I missed out on law by quite a few marks. By
the time I got to uni, I could probably have worked hard and got there, but music had already gripped me.” On the topic of cancer, Brodie is unflinching and without self-pity. “I think I was a prime candidate,” he reflects. “I smoked for 20 years and stressed. I was making use of every single one of those 24 hours – musically and socially. When I was diagnosed, I felt very much ‘just get on with it’. I’m pretty fatalistic. There’s that line: how do you make God laugh? By telling him your plans. “And thinking about this,” he continues, “the multimillion dollar health and vitamin industries can go and get fucked. If people want to drink and smoke, they should fucking well be allowed to. What’s that thing the Greeks used to say? It’s all about balance.” At least one thing has changed as a consequence of his diagnosis. “I try not to associate with arseholes anymore,” he puts bluntly. “My arsehole and bullshito-meter has definitely gone up.” Brodie’s had some time now to consider his excel-
DAN BRODIE performs as part of the Leaps and Bounds Festival on Thursday July 10 at The Owl and the Pussycat, Friday July 11 at Mr Boogie Man Bar, Wednesday July 16 at The Standard, Thursday July 17 at Labour in Vain and Sunday July 20 at The Wilde.
THE HARLOTS By Izzy Tolhurst Tom Pitts may be the lead singer and keyboardist for Melbourne sextet The Harlots, but in his spare time, he’s also busy writing a film. It’s about a group of people who go out to buy candles after a blackout, and while venturing out they hit someone in their car. From there, Pitts says, “It’s about questioning people as to whether they go for help, or working out how valuable each life is.” In his capacity as a musician-come-filmmaker, he sounds a little like his uncle, esteemed Australian musician Nick Cave, but he doesn’t fancy you asking about it, thanks very much. “People are inclined to make comparisons between us, which is fine, and while I very much respect and admire what he does, we’re striving to be original with what we create,” he says. “Sometimes people suggest we go on tour with him... but I just hate the thought of, ‘Nick Cave tours with nephew!’ written up everywhere,” Pitts cringes. For The Harlots, being original includes the forthcoming unveiling of two singles, Chopin, and Somewhere To Go, as well as a video to accompany the latter track. Their past videos have played with the strange and surreal, the most memorable of which, Got No Soul, features a man going on several dates, all of which fade into oblivion while he pursues – and is only truly satisfied by – the company of a “pint-sized rocking BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 26
horse.” But the video for Somewhere To Go differs, as wherein the past the band have used many of their actor friends to realise their songs, this time “we feature,” says Pitts, excitedly. The songs, too, differ from past work, and really “focus on each instrument, without getting on top of each other.” Pitts explains that it was the advice of close friends and the departure and arrival of old and new band members respectively that allowed them to refine their sound. “Friends generally just tell you you’re good, but it was the really close friends who also alerted us to that fact that we sometimes played on top of each other, and that there was a lot going on,” he says. The other, more refined single to be revealed, Chopin, has little to do with the Polish composer, but it provides a fine segue into the band’s musical backgrounds. Pitts says it’s relatively balanced between those who were classically trained and those who picked it up
DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION
THE HARLOTS launch Chopin and Somewhere to Go at Ding Dong Lounge on Saturday July 19 alongside Guests of Ghosts and James Moloney and the Mad Dog Harrisons.
THE ORBWEAVERS
By Meg Crawford
Melbourne band The Orbweavers play music that’s surreal, soothing, a little bit country, a little bit haunting and sometimes gentle, gentle pop. It’s music that lets you lie on the floor and dream. That experience may well take on a new dimension, because they’re about to play in the National Gallery of Victoria’s Great Hall again, beneath that glorious ceiling. Everyone loves lying on that floor and staring at the roof, but now you can do it and listen to The Orbweavers. Marita Dyson, one of the band’s singers and guitarists (the other is Stuart Flanagan, her long-time partner) is excited by the prospect. After all, the band confesses to being borne of a shared love of “history, natural sciences, museums and archives.” Dyson describes the thorough and thoughtful approach the band takes to the exercise. “A couple of years ago, I was working there as an art handler during a relocation,” she recollects. “It’s lovely to be back there in a different way. We were so lucky to perform there during the Napoleon exhibition. “Beforehand, Stuart and I went through it and the catalogue and drew some connections with our songs. We haven’t done that again yet, but I have some time off before the gig and I’m planning on going and having a look. I’m hoping to find some connections
again. It can help link what we’re doing as musicians and performing in a space that’s ordinarily used for visual arts. “I like to do that, although sometimes it’s hard. The NGV is constructed of bluestone – that’s one of our favourite stones. We have a song which references bluestone, so we can use that if we don’t find any other connections, but I think we will.” You can locate Melbourne in many of The Orbweavers’ songs. Partly, this stems from the fact that Dyson and Flanagan spend a lot of time meandering about with their beloved, retired greyhound Fern (Dyson describes her as the “apple of our eye”). “I have a strong need to be outside and experience the world as it is”, Dyson reflects. “We spend a lot of time walking and just taking it all in. You never know
what you might find. We’re lucky enough to live close to the Merri Creek and we walk there every day, or nearly every other day, with our dog. You find yourself following trails or taking side streets and some of the things we find form part of our lyrics. “When I was little, I spent a lot of time on my bike, back when there was less traffic. We’d adventure as far away as we were allowed. There’s peace in being outside buildings. It’s part of our nourishment.” The Orbweavers’ songs evoke vast quantities of nostalgia. Take Ceiling Rose, for instance, off their EP of the same name, which is about a time well before Dimmeys was turned into apartments. “Yes, I have to be careful,” Dyson laughs. “The more history I read, I have to be careful that I’m not romanticising the past in my mind. Mum tells stories about her childhood and they sound fantastical. My childhood was fantastical too … but it’s untouchable isn’t it? You can pick out the beautiful moments.
“Sometimes when I’m walking I get a nostalgic yearning to know what life would have been like for someone like me. The other day, I went for a walk past the Prestige Knitting Mills – it’s a place where women younger than me would have been working and walking in the ‘40s, which was when it was at its peak. Now it’s deserted. It’s interesting to stand in that landscape and imagine what it was like before and then to imagine what it was like back even further – before settlement. We think about these things in our songs.” Go and see The Orbweavers. You’ll want to walk and dream with them.
co. perfectly. After all, Tiny Ruins started out in a bedroom, somewhere in Auckland with the songwriter crafting her delicate, folk pop. “It was very snug, the three of us all together in a room,” she reflects. “It was an intimate way to record.” The artwork for Brightly Painted One also seems to have been a marriage that came together perfectly. “The artwork was decided on before the album title and it’s kind of a coincidence that the artwork and the title ended up really suiting each other,” Fullbrook admits. “I was actually thinking a lot about figures of strength, particularly females. I wanted a female figure or character on the front cover. I was searching images of Joan of Arc and came across this old book cover from the ‘60s which was really striking. So it’s sort of using that particular book cover as the cover art.”
With the release of Brightly Painted One, a mountain of touring lies ahead for the band, where they’ll be playing a string of shows across the globe before opening for Sharon Van Etten in October. It’s the next phase in the rise and rise of Tiny Ruins. “We’re heading off to Oz, then onto the US and Canada and Europe and then back to the US. So it’s kind of a five-month crazy adventure that we’re about to embark on. Australia is a really cool place to start with because we’ve always found our audiences there to be really warm and appreciative and we’re looking forward to being back.”
or character. But frantic tour schedules are something Bell X1 have long grown accustomed to. “We’ve been together so long we’ve become a family, and so we hold each other in the familiar contempt that you hold your family in,” Noonan laughs. “So you’re comfortable sitting in a van grunting at each other occasionally to pass a magazine or whatever. Making music together can be a very intimate and vulnerable thing, especially the songwriter, where you’re revealing things that you wouldn’t ordinarily say. So you tap into quite a deep place with who you make music with. “We’ve often gone through the process of writing a song together that’s pretty heavy, and don’t actually talk about it until we find ourselves doing interviews. Having played together for so long we don’t generally have to pause and explain everything as we go; we can
communicate through the music more than anything else. There’s a great intuition there. “The thing about touring is – and it’s changed over the years – when we first started playing we were in our teens, and there’s an incredible wide-eyed wonder about it. The act of getting in the van and going somewhere, playing a show in front of people you don’t actually know, all of that is incredibly exciting. To be honest, we still get that, especially with places we’ve never been. We feel like we’re starting from the ground up; we’re starting back in small clubs, being able to look people in the eye. Being a musician, there’s something very primal about that, and there’s no substitute for it.”
THE ORBWEAVERS perform as part of the special Friday night viewings of the Italian Masterpieces from Spain’s Royal Court exhibition at the NGV International on Friday July 25. They also play Winterbound alongside Black Cab and more at The Tote on Sunday July 20.
TINY RUINS
By James Nicoli
Tiny Ruins’ world is a vastly different place to what it was five years ago. Since the release of her debut album Some Were Meant for Sea in 2011, there’s been international tours, high profile support slots, record deals and critical acclaim. Now, with the release of her second album Brightly Painted One earlier this year, the world for Tiny Ruins, aka Hollie Fullbrook, is set to change again. Yet despite these transitions, the Auckland native is managing to keep her feet securely on the ground. “I think I’ve always had a down-to-Earth attitude towards it because it has been a slow growing thing,” Fullbrook assures me. “I haven’t been an overnight success or anything. I’ve kind of wanted it to be like that. I think everyone wants to be successful but it’s just slowly growing and I’m still learning a lot.” Since the release of Some Were Meant for Sea first starting making waves globally, Tiny Ruins has been steadily building her fan base, both locally and internationally. The release of Brightly Painted One is her first through the Bella Union record label in the UK and Europe and Flying Nun in North America. “I think the music industry is based on all these chain reactions and having a good team around you, which I’m slowly starting to build up,” says Fullbrook on the forging of these new musical partnerships. “They’re really personable, awesome people to work with and that makes a huge difference when you’re trying to
navigate your way around the music industry. So it makes a really big difference to have your music put out into the world. I’m lucky that I’ve found these guys.” For the recording of Brightly Painted One, Fullbrook and her fellow band mates – bassist Cass Basil and drummer Alexander Freer – returned to their hometown in Auckland where they laid down tracks for the new record with producer Tom Healy at The Lab. “The Lab is this underground, very dusty, rusty and dated underground passageways here in my hometown Auckland,” says Fullbrook with a laugh. “A whole bunch of bands record there; it’s been running for many, many years and it’s one of the more approachable studios, it’s not a big flash studio. It’s got lots of little rooms and it’s where people can set up almost kind of bedroom-style home recordings.” It was a recording method that suited Fullbrook and
TINY RUINS play Northcote Social Club on Tuesday July 8. Brightly Painted One is out now through Spunk Records.
BELL X1
By Adam Norris
Lord knows, I tried. And for the most part I like to think I succeeded. But then, midway through my interview with Paul Noonan from Bell X1, the unthinkable happened. I started slipping into an Irish accent. I tried to reign it back – keep it together, man, you’re a professional! – but it had suddenly become St. Patrick’s Day in my mouth, and in the end it was the best I could do not to invite the poor guy over for a Guinness and potato pie. Turns out that wouldn’t have been a ridiculous notion, given that pies are one of Noonan’s most enduring memories of his first experience in Australia. “I’d been over there before about 15 years ago,” he recalls on an early overcast morning in Ireland. “Our first record was produced by Nick Seymour of Crowded House. We went to visit him shortly after we wrote that record, so he was sort of our introduction to all things Australia. I remember that man made a mean meat pie. He used to brag about how important the white pepper content was.” Of crucial importance, I assure him. Still, 15 years is a long time between visits, especially when Bell X1 have developed into one of the most successful Irish bands around. In the last four years alone they have toured North America eleven times, and at home their success is only surpassed by a little band you may have heard of called U2. Yet they have held off on touring Australia, electing to wait until the timing
was right. “I think we just reached a tipping point where we felt our records had percolated through enough,” says Noonan. “The last couple of releases had been well received, and I think with the amount of Irish people down there now it means you have an audience who knows you from back home, who will help spread the word … [But] we wanted to reach beyond the Irish community who already know us.” It will be an exciting albeit brief opportunity for Australian audiences to catch a band renowned for their live performance. The entire national tour will last just a week, which hardly seems like an ideal opportunity for the guys to get a sense of local colour
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BELL X1 play The Hi-Fi on Thursday July 3. Chop Chop is out now through BellyUp.
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MUSIQ SOULCHILD
By Augustus Welby
In the early years of the 21st century, radio playlists were dominated by nu-metal, pop punk, Eminem and R&B. While the former two movements are now basically considered amusing follies, many releases from the latter two have stood the test of time. However, given the era-defining appeal of the material from that period, making substantial stylistic progress has proved rather difficult. Over the last 14 years, Musiq Soulchild has released six LPs of Grammy-nominated and commercially successful contemporary R&B. But he hasn’t avoided problems concerning artistic expansion. “You’re trying to live up to something that’s gone,” he says. “I can’t be the same person that I used to be. That moment has come and gone. It’s just scientifically impossible. But we stress ourselves out, lose our hair trying to live up to something that just isn’t real.” Soulchild gathered instant acclaim back in 2000 for the soulful vocal performances and feel-good R&B featured on his debut LP, Aijuswanaseing. Even though he’s successfully stayed within the realms of neo-soul and R&B on subsequent releases, being a celebrated genre artist has had stifling side effects. “There is this concept that I initially came out as an
R&B artist,” he says. “No. I was an artist who was able to be immediately successful with R&B music. I think that just sticking to one genre of music is like asking an actor to play the same role in every movie that they’re in. For some people, for whatever reason, it makes sense for a musician to just make one thing.” Soulchild’s latest release, 9ine, shows that he’s now trying to break free from the shackles imposed by listener expectations. While the record is a collaboration with fellow R&B mainstay Syleena Johnson, it’s composed entirely of reggae songs. “It was something that presented itself to me and I just went along with it and something amazing came out of it,” he explains. “[Syleena’s] an amazing artist and a good friend of mine and we got a chance to be creative for the sake of being creative. If it made a whole lot
of money [that would be] fine, but that’s not why we did it.” In a commercial sense, 9ine isn’t one of Soulchild’s bigger career triumphs. Of course, making a satisfactory commercial imprint while expressing exactly what you want is never a guarantee. This means that in order to keep fans and industry bigwigs happy, one’s true ambitions are often compromised. “Through the years I’ve basically conceded to a lot of what the label wanted me to do or whatever radio wanted from me,” Soulchild admits. “I may have put my own personal creative passions aside to serve that. “Despite that I was still able to make stuff that people enjoy,” he clarifies. “I never made it about me. If I made it about me, I would be a very bitter artist. But I’m not – in fact I’m very grateful that, despite whatever the projects may have been, people were able to enjoy what I put out. I was able to commercially thrive in this game.”
Musiq Soulchild will join Maxwell, D’Angelo, Common and many more at the inaugural Soulfest this October. In the meantime he’s hard at work on a follow up to his 2011 solo LP, MusiqInTheMagiq. This time he’s not focusing on what’s likely to be commercially viable. “I have to consider you guys according to what I know you’re going to need, regardless of what the trends are,” he says. “What I came down to is, regardless of what the trends are, you’re going to want good music. Good music is not contingent on what’s going on at the moment. Good music depends on the time, effort and the quality of the product. I definitely want to make sure that you guys are getting the best that I can give you.”
that tendency in a genius way in that, with each song having various artists, the songs will appeal to a variety of people. “Each song is individual,” Devine explains. “I’d like to think the CD is for everyone; there are a lot of different songs in there and a lot of different genres involved. Anyone can pick it up and say, ‘That’s a cool song, I’ll download that one’. You can say, ‘I like that artist, I like that artist, I’ll download that one particular track’.” This versatile approach is likely to work well with online stores like Spotify and iTunes which is a prescient if not sly move on Devine’s part. “It will respond to a lot of people. People can download a lot of different tracks. I’m not trying to force everything on everyone.” Before his first album is on any shelf, virtual or tangible, there are already plans for another collaborative project with, “KRS ONE, Brother Ali, and a few other people,” and then he plans to use connections with The Temple
of Hip Hop and radio distribution networks in America and Europe to take the show worldwide. In the meantime, his focus is on his launch party at The Toff on July 13 where he’ll be flexing more talent from his social circle to perform the album. Though as an artist, he’s sensitive to keeping the integrity of the songs, detailing over the stuttering phone line, “I’ve got the original hooks in place, but they’ll be doing different verses and still have the same subject matter. I don’t want people to impose on what people have done before,” and then cheekily hopeful of the future he adds, “but if Akil and Jean Grae were in the show, they’d be more than welcome to jump up.”
journey, but it’s definitely been worth it. We’re in a good place now.” It’s inspiring talking to Faithfull – she is genuinely passionate about what she does and she doesn’t take it lightly. “There’s no job that could pay me enough not to do music,” she states. “Music is an important job. Having an awareness of how music will affect people is really important. We need music that moves people – that moves them to dance, to feel things or to be comfortable in their own skin. If you take a step back, it was love songs and protest songs. I want to do music that inspires people.” Faithfull is super excited about the release of The Programme, which will be the band’s first single off their
debut album (due November). For Faithfull, this is gratifying and a relief. “All the emotion and energy is starting to pay off,” she enthuses. “Everything we’ve earned playing is going into recording this album and because of the feedback we’ve been getting, we now know that people will really embrace it.” Coincidentally, the launch coincides with Faithfull’s birthday. What a perfect way to celebrate.
MUSIQ SOULCHILD plays Soulfest at Yarra Park on Sunday October 19 alongside Maxwell, D’Angelo, Mos Def, Aloe Blacc and more.
ANTHONY DEVINE By Edgar Ivan Anthony Devine has more friends than you, plain and simple. A multi-hyphenate of musical trades, Devine is a mainstay of Australia’s hip hop community whose dalliances in other genres – through playing double bass and a career as an event organiser and promoter – has afforded him a sizeable social circle. So much so, that when he decided to put an album together he amassed more than 30 names to help him, names like Che Fu, M-Phazes, Jurrasic 5’s Akil The MC, Dead Prez’s Stic.man, King Kapisi, and Mantra, who were all willing to lay down versus and beats to contribute to the album he’s named Contest Us. The gravitas of these names hasn’t slipped by him either. “To have some of the names I do on there is absolutely fantastic,” he enthuses. “For them to believe in what I do, and thinking the tracks are good enough to be on there is just overwhelming.” Speaking through a phone-line diced by Melbourne’s weekend weather tantrum, Devine went on to explain how he came upon making an album. “I had a whole lot of songs from different bands that had fallen to the wayside. I wanted to do something with those songs, and through helping to organise tours and organising tours myself, I thought I’d get those types of people – like people from Jurassic 5 – and put them on tracks with the local people who I’m friends with in Melbourne to make a great album, and to show that
people in Melbourne can be recognised internationally, and are just as good as [those international acts].” Contest Us saw Devine scouring his network for artists he thought would coalesce perfectly with songs he already had a vision for. After four years of sessions, production, playing bass, and adding the odd questionable back-up vocal (“I’m a horrible singer,” he confesses), the album is poised to fulfil two of Devine’s dreams. One of them was to stake airplay on triple j, which he attained through Cries of Freedom and the other was “to have a CD in JB Hi-Fi, which will come true on Monday.” Big projects like Contest Us have a premise of being thematic – of the album’s crafters tethering an allegory to the piece to add weight. Contest Us eschews
ANTHONY DEVINE launches Contest Us at The Toff In Town on Sunday July 13 alongside Che Fu, M-Phazes and more.
SOUL SAFARI
By Meg Crawford
Melbourne based funk/soul extravaganza Soul Safari will launch their new single, The Programme, this Saturday night. Rather than pocket all of the proceeds, two bucks from the sale of each one will go to reachout.com – Australia’s leading online mental health service for people under 25. So, what prompted this generosity? Well, when she’s not wowing the shit out of crowds while fronting the band, Lisa Faithfull teaches music to young folk. They tell her stuff that they can’t tell their own parents, and Faithfull’s not liking what she hears: 13-year-old girls taking diet pills and kids being bullied based on their looks. “It’s just horrible,” she sighs. “So much pressure to look a particular way. I’m lucky. I never felt that, probably because soul music is not like that – we can wear what we want because we’re not pop stars. I’ve got pink hair and tats.” That the band have elected to take this tack is not surprising. They sing about real issues affecting real people and they’re not afraid to get a bit gritty. The love of funk and soul goes way back for Lisa Faithfull, the band’s enigmatic frontwoman, and now she gets to share it with a band who are equally committed to the music. “I guess as a kid I always played Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker and Stevie Wonder – that sort of thing,” she reflects. “Even when I was six or seven I remember them being on. Then, when I was at uni, I met BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 28
the band’s drummer and we decided to start Soul Safari. “That was just when the Bamboos and Cat Empire were starting out, so we took some inspiration from them. Back then, we were much more soul than funk. We wanted our songs to develop organically, but they always came out soul. That’s the way they were always written. Our ears must just like that sound. I sometimes feel like I was born in the wrong era.” The band’s sound evolved from old school soul to a modern sound and Faithfull’s very happy with it. “Yeah, old soul is sometimes a bit clean,” she puts carefully. “Sometimes there isn’t enough grit. Lyrics should grab you in the stomach and wrench emotion out of you. In the last year or so, it really feels like the band has become what the drummer and I always wanted it to be. To start off with, we sounded more like Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Then we had that lineup change and we changed from traditional soul to more a funk thing. It gets a different response. Now we’re able to play places like The Espy, and because we’re more funky, people dance. It’s been a long
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Soul Safari’s single launch party for The Programme is on at Bar Open on Saturday July 5. Get along and support them and reachout.com. They also hit up Star Bar on Saturday July 26 and The B.East on Thursday August 14.
YAH YAH’S GRAND RELAUNCH By Rhys McRae If it wasn’t for Melbourne’s patron saint of rock’n’roll and co-owner of Cherry Bar, James Young, then rumour has it Yah Yah’s would probably be dishing out spicy butter chicken instead of steamy garage rock. The venue’s sticky carpet was at risk of being ripped up by some lame wads thinking Smith Street needed another eatery, but that shit was never going to fly with Young. He swooped in at the news to purchase the venue, and this July he’s staring squarely at you to bring the party. It’s going to be a killer 31-days at the late night haunt with the creamy crop of Melbourne’s rock bands ready to explode your minds while you indulge in whatever vices take your fancy. It’s time to go all Matrix-style cave rave while the mindless corporate robots slowly try to eat through to our only sanctuary. You won’t even have to worry about that ball-breaking hangover, with comedians on stage every Sunday to restore the dopamine levels in your cranium. It’s a happy day for rock music and after the closure of so many totally excellent venues it’s time to celebrate
a victory. Tell your friends! Tell your postman! Even tell that creepy clown that stands outside your window late at night whistling the theme to The Godfather while staring into your soul. Everybody’s welcome to the little rock’n’roll venue that could. So any of you that have found yourself on the Yah Yah’s stage at 3am dancing like Patrick Swayze just pulled you out of the corner, it’s time to show your gratitude. How? Check out this assortment of bum punting good gigs and get your punted arse there to see it happen. No pussyfooting around and no
WEDNESDAY RESIDENCY: THE PASS OUTS
umming or ahhing. If you like it, then start supporting it by partying till your ears bleed tears of pleasure. It seems developers and restaurateurs are forgetful bastards and are in good need of reminding to stop fucking with the Melbourne music scene. Come celebrate the beginning of a huge month for Yah Yah’s at YAH YAH’S GRAND RELAUNCH throughout all of July.
SATURDAY JULY 12: DEAD CITY RUINS, STONE REVIVAL, UGLY KINGS, TWO HEADED DOG
The Pass Outs have a penchant for melody over their straight up rock riffs and, after selling out their recent album launch at Cherry, are now looking to rip up Yah Yah’s. Wednesday is a bit of a shit night to go out but here’s a bit of advice if you’re feeling lazy and tired. Imagine the people around you are those shit eating co-workers who always tell you it’s hump day and power up on that rage until it explodes out of you in a dangerous dance routine of karate kicks and fist pumps. You’ll be the bell of the ball.
Shave your head and buy some nice stomping boots to see Dead City Ruin’s punk rawk tear Yah Yah’s apart. There’s another band playing called Two Headed Dog which could be a really good way of calling someone a two-faced bitch. They’ve got a fierce bluesy punk swagger that sounds like what you’d imagine The Doors would have been like if they were born in the ‘80s.
THURSDAY RESIDENCY: PALACE OF THE KING
SATURDAY JULY 19: DRUNK MUMS
These guys play some real heavy psychedelic trippy shit and they’re choosing this residency to launch their new vinyl. Palace of the King’s riffs would be best enjoyed with one of those ‘doobie’ things I’ve heard so much about. I’ve never tried one because once my friend Mark told me he got lost in his car and couldn’t get out for three days after he did a smoke. Lose your shit to these guys every Thursday, bitches.
Fresh off touring the country for the release of their single, Plastic, Drunk Mums have been carving up stages around the land like your dad on Christmas. Their garage punk will boil your blood like that hilarious moment when our esteemed elected leaders decided to stop funding the Climate Commission. We’re all fucked and when we enter our Water World phase of existence it’ll most likely be the Drunk Mums robbing you for that precious soil.
FRIDAY JULY 4: REDCOATS, CHILD AND FUCK THE FITZROY DOOM SCENE (THE GRAND RELAUNCH) This is a big one! The official relaunch party is sure to leave your face in a disgusting puddle of gristle on the floor at your feet. I’m a giant fan of hating on things I have little to no knowledge about so I’m all for telling the Fitzroy doom scene to suck a lemon. Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene play some head-banging stoner rock that will leave you moving your head around like Batman for the rest of the year. Child’s mountainous bluesy riffs are coupled with some slick lead guitar lines that sound like the guys have been sitting in a high school time capsule for the past 50 years. Closing this festival of fiendish delights will be the dirty swamp rock of Redcoats and at the end of proceedings any faces not collected off the floor will become the property of James Young. Oh, and if you miss out on this first Friday of musical mayhem, the bands will return to the stage every Friday during the month.
SATURDAY JULY 5: BONJAH Bonjah have had quite the spree since releasing their latest album, Beautiful Wild, which is still spending time at the pointy end of the ARIA charts. A while back, they were a loose unit of bluegrass and roots but have since evolved into a rollicking rock’n’roll rollercoaster. Although the current status on the looseness of their units was not available at the time of publication, it’s this hack’s opinion that first Saturday is going to be a bloody wild ride.
THURSDAY JULY 24: KINGSWOOD On the last Thursday of the month, Kingswood are stealing Palace of the King’s thunder and taking over their residency. It’s a pre-Splendour party for the lads whose heavy rock has become as infectious as the latest animal-to-human crossover virus. Currently no cure has been found and people are being asked to quarantine themselves at their closest Kingswood gig.
SATURDAY JULY 26: PIERCE BROTHERS PLAY TWO SETS (AFTERNOON AND NIGHT) Two shows in one day is nothing to these busking brothers who have been battle hardened to any imaginable force of nature you could think of. I’ve personally witnessed them walk through fire while eating a double down and neither intense heat nor the slow buildup of cholesterol seemed to harm them. The boys have shifted around 25,000 copies of their two releases entirely independently, and are currently playing their way around the country thrilling crowds with their intricate blues and roots music. Five sold out shows at Shebeen is making sure these tickets are going to be hotter than the car radios at Laverton market.
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Phoebe Pinnock
Matt Young (centre)
MYTH BEHIND THE RIFF By Peter Hodgson What does it take to make it in the metal or hardcore scenes in Victoria? What does it take to break out of the state and take your music to the whole country – or the whole world? These are questions which will be explored at The Myth Behind The Riff – a metal and hardcore workshop presented by the Leaps and Bounds Music Festival and Music Victoria. Moderated by Stu Harvey (presenter of short.fast.loud on Triple J), the workshop will include speakers Matt Young (King Parrot), Phoebe Pinnock (Heaven The Axe), Chris O’Brien (general manager of the Soundwave Festival), Cael Johnston (national events manager of Destroy All Lines), Guy Palermo (publican of the Bendigo Hotel) and lawyer Andrew Fuller. “I think it’s an excellent cross-section of people involved in the industry,” says Harvey. I hate calling it an industry but that’s what it is. You’ve got Phoebe and Youngy who are out there doing the hard yards at different levels of success and going through different channels. Chris has got an incredible history through Soundwave and everything he’s done before that – 2IC for the biggest touring festival in the country. “Cael’s got some incredible experience from a different angle with the Destroy All Lines club nights which
come at things from a different angle, giving young bands a captured audience to cut their teeth in front of, and a good place to break new bands,” Harvey continues. “Guy is at the front line of the Bendy so he’s done some incredible stuff. That venue has been a great supporter for heavy music and has picked up a lot of slack from the Arthouse. And Andrew, I’ve worked with him for many years at Shock. He’s worked on deals like Thy Art Is Murder and Bring Me The Horizon. He’ll bring a different perspective because he’s not living and breathing rock, metal, punk and hardcore but he knows the ins and outs. He’s very actively involved in the industry so he can take a look at it from one step back. “And I’ve done a couple of things over the years. Hopefully I can steer the conversation in different directions. Whenever I do a panel I like to think about
Stu Harvey
the people who paid their hard-earned to come in. It’s easy for these kinds of panels to turn into a circle jerk but I want some kid to walk up to us afterwards and say, ‘I learned something from this’. When you’re working on the inside you forget that it can be pretty complex at times and it’s hard to know the best way around and inside it.” King Parrot are rapidly climbing the ladder in the Australian and international heavy music scenes, going from local shows to touring the United States, hanging with Mr. Phil Anselmo and generally causing good old fashioned mayhem wherever they go. But the band have built their success on a solid foundation of planning, foresight and clever decisions, as frontman Matt Young explains. “I’m in my 30s now and I’ve been in bands since I was 15,” he says. “You learn a lot along the way. More than anything I’ve learned from making mistakes. I’ve made heaps of those. A lot of people really don’t want to get involved in the business side of the band. They think they’ll just get picked up and someone will take care of them, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Unless you go out and get it you’ll just be left in the jam room. A lot of bands don’t get much further than that because they haven’t wrapped their head around it, that if you want to tour and you want to do all those cool things with a band, you’ve really got to go out and make your own life. And talk to people! Don’t be afraid. “I guess that’s where the whole ego thing comes into it as well,” Young suggests. “People don’t want to seem like they’re uncool for asking someone for advice, but I don’t mind people asking me, and a lot of people I’ve asked in the past for advice have always been cool. I like talking about the industry. You’ve got to ditch the whole ego thing and have no fear around trying to get to where you want to be with it.”
HIGH ON FIRE By Jessica Willoughbye
Sobriety is a fickle creature. Getting clean after years of alcohol abuse can do wonders for the body, but the mind plays by its own rules. High on Fire frontman Matt Pike is no stranger to this game. Insecurity, anxiety, panic attacks – all stresses that feature in the life of a former alcoholic. Pike has experienced them all, and more, as he explores the highs-and-lows of his new lifestyle choice. After heading to rehab in 2012, he emerged a stronger musician as a whole – but dealing with the rollercoaster of his own mental state is a daily battle. “The whole writing process is different now,” Pike explains. “I’m realising when I wrote a lot of my older material, I was always high, medicated or drunk. With clarity now, it’s a little hard sometimes to judge whether something’s good or bad. There’s a lot of anxiety that goes along with being sober – just the comfort level in social environments. I’m learning how to do things this way still. But I really think my guitar playing has gotten a lot better, so it’s definitely a positive change. “I’ve never really doubted myself,” he continues. “There was never a thing where I doubted whether I was talented because I was drunk or not – or high or not. I never faulted with that but, then again, I am not an egotist. I have flaws. I think it’s just part of the evolution of life and how you grow as a person. I just judge my music on whether I can put my heart into my fret board. You can hear what someone is going through in their life if they do that, for sure.” Now, instead of turning to the bottle or other
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pharmaceutical means to find comfort, Pike finds inspiration in new things. Most recently, a trip to Peru got the creative juices flowing for High on Fire’s upcoming seventh full-length. “After a tour not that long ago, me and my fiancée went to Peru and I really got inspired from being there and going to all these ancient monoliths and all this weird alien stuff,” Pike explains. “It really got me thinking lyrically. I’ve been working with that and writing scifi also – along with the riffs. It’s coming along, as all records do. We’ll be recording in September or October, so it should be out next year, if it all goes well. I don’t like to rush it or force it, it’ll just happen.” This yet-to-be-named LP builds on the Slave The Hive 7” released last year, according to Pike. “It’s all sorts of stuff – faster songs and slower songs. We try to make each album so it’s got a nice rollercoaster feel to it; it gets all the different moods, tempos and emotions. It’s hard to describe something until it’s really finished, but I definitely know this one’s going to be good though.” But that’s not the only musical venture this guitarist has been pouring his blood, sweat and tears into the past 12 months. In 2013, when he underwent knee surgery and was taking some much needed recovery downtime, there was talk of a new project completely separate from his High on Fire and Sleep links.
Although he still couldn’t reveal much more about this now, he did give a few hints about its progress. “It’s hasn’t really been put together yet,” he says. “I’m working on a story line and possibly some films to go along with this and music. It really hasn’t taken the shape yet, as far as I wanted it to be. These things come together when they want to come together. I am pushing for it and I’m writing. But it will make sense when it makes sense.” HIGH ON FIRE play The Hi-Fi on Saturday July 19 with High Tension & Horsehunter.
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Phoebe Pinnock and her Heaven The Axe bandmates have very cleverly worked the social media and networking angles to place their music in front of the right people at the right time and in the right way. Nothing the band does feels contrived. Rather, it all feels like part of a unified whole, a lifestyle you’d want to belong to or a party you’d like to go to. And that’s a natural instinct for the band. “People who are in the music industry or similar bands to us, we’ve been able to make connections forged on mutual respect for the music,” she says. “We’re very friendly, open people and we’ve built great friendships built on mutual appreciation and passion for what we do. That’s how things such as the Regional Roulette tour came about last year, because we were friends with the guys from Deadnaught, Frankenbok and King Parrot, because that’s what we naturally talk about.” Pinnock says she finds it important to visualise goals and place herself in a good mental, emotional and spiritual place to achieve them. “Visualisation is so important to me. I find that if I get up in the morning and go and exercise, my whole day is sorted because I’ve had time to think about what I’m going to create, and that helps me to manifest what I want to do throughout the day. It shakes out any sort of negative mindset. You’ve got to be unstoppable and you’ve got to put aside financial rewards in the short term or earn money elsewhere so that you can put in the groundwork to give you the possibility to be able to go and tour and promote yourself so the band can put money into paying for itself.” THE MYTH BEHIND THE RIFF metal and hardcore workshop, presented by Music Victoria and Leaps and Bounds Festival is at Fitzroy Town Hall Reading Room, 201 Napier St Fitzroy, on Wednesday July 9 from 6pm.
CORE
CRUNCH
PUNK, SKA, HARDCORE NEWS, REVIEWS & GOSSIP
By Emily Kelly: ek1984@gmail.com One of the biggest festivals in the country is changing its format dramatically. Soundwave will now be spread across TWO days in each city, with Melbourne and Adelaide hosting the event on the very same weekend and alternating acts overnight. It seems like a massive move and somewhat of a logistical nightmare, but promoter Maddah insists that it will allow bands and punters alike extended sets from their favourite bands. It poses a lot of questions about what the audience are prepared to pay for though. Will punters be prepared for two full days of festival frivolity, with exhaustion set in on day two? You’ll know next year when Soundwave takes place in Melbourne on Saturday February 21 and Sunday February 22. You can buy a one day ticket ($120) or a two day ticket ($185). Interesting stuff. Relatively young UK hardcore band Heights are quitting after just five years. Pretty early to call it a day. Nevertheless, they’re ensuring they see Australia again before they go. They’ve announced ten east coast dates with supports from Caulfield and Bare Bones. See all three at The Evelyn on Thursday September 18 or Wrangler Studios on Friday September 19. Obits have announced which bands will play alongside them on their upcoming second visit to Australia. “Our band has had a long standing affinity for Australian rock’n’roll,” they recently said before they added Peel Tempel and Kids of Zoo to the Barwon Club show on Friday August 1 and The Stevens, Freak Wave and Deep Heat to the Saturday August 2 show at The Rev. Onya Obits. The Gifthorse are back! After splitting up many years ago and playing the occasional reformation gig since, the Brisbane band are officially releasing their comeback via Poison City on Friday August 22. Titled Give My Body to His Town, the album has to be one of the most anticipated on the label’s roster this year. You can catch them at the annual Weekender Fest in August with Knapsack. Not many tickets left now. Melbourne’s Harmony will cram their entire ensemble into a van and hit the road again in support of the new single from their excellent Carpetbombing album. The Vapour Trails tour will hit The Rev on Sunday August 24 for Weekender. Dead Kennedys are returning! They were supposed to be here last year but their plans fell through due to injury. The dudes will be hitting multiple cities on their tour which will be supported nationally by The
METAL, HEAVY ROCK. CLASSIC ROCK LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOOD SHIT
With Peter Hodgson: crunchcolumn@gmail.com
CORE GIG GUIDE THURSDAY JULY 3: Empra, Dividers at The Espy Dr Piffle & The Burlap Band, Eaten By Dogs, Chores at The Bendigo Masketta Fall, The Just-Us League, The Spinset at Next FRIDAY JULY 4: Broozer, Dread, Motherslug, Zombie Motors, Wrecking Yard at The Reverence Hotel SATURDAY JULY 5: Foxtrot, Ebodagoldfish, Dividers, The Quarters, Beacons at The Reverence Hotel Adolescents, The Bennies, Clowns, Wolfpack at The Evelyn Hell City Glamours at Cherry Bar Muscle Beach, Blue Stratos at The B East When Giants Sleep, Road To Ransome, Bayharbour, To The Grave, Interview with an Escape Artist at Wodonga Masonic Hall Ocean Grove, Belle Haven, Ever Rest, Griever at Bang A Million Dead Birds Laughing, Norse, Aeon of Horus, Hadal Maw, Apparitions of Null at The Reverence SUNDAY JULY 6: Adolescents, The Go Set, The Bennies, Batpiss, The Kremlings, Wolfpack, Japan For at The Barwon Club When Giants Sleep, The Road To Ransome, Bayharbour, To The Grave, Interview With An Escape Artist at Musicman Megastore Bennies. See them at 170 Russell on Wednesday October 1. Tickets on sale this Friday. There’s nothing quite like New York hardcore, and veterans of the genre Merauder will be visiting our shores this year to dish out some live performances for your ear drums. The Bendigo will host on Thursday November 27 with Blood Duster, Metalstorm and Against. Tickets are on sale from Monday July 28 so sit tight.
ANAAL NATHRAKH TO METAL BLADE
SIGNS
Metal Blade Records has signed Anaal Nathrakh to its roster. The band says, “We are very pleased to announce our signing with Metal Blade Records. It means we are joining a roster with some truly titanic figures, and a label responsible for releasing some utterly legendary albums. Few other labels can touch their legacy in metal. With Metal Blade’s reputation and clout behind us, we look forward to previously undreamed of levels of despoilment.” Anaal Nathrakh was created for one purpose – to be the soundtrack for Armageddon, the audial essence of evil, hatred and violence, the true spirit of necro taken to its musical extremes. Since being founded in 1999, the band have gained a reputation for embodying precisely these things, with a history including not only the release of seven albums and an EP to rapturous acclaim, but collaborations with such legendary figures as Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Shane Embury and Danny Herrera (Napalm Death), Nick Barker (Testament, Dimmu Borgir), Joe Horvath (Circle of Dead Children), Sethlans Teitan (Watain) and more.
RECOIL VOR ANNOUNCE NEW EP SERIES Sydney prog metal masters Recoil VOR made a huge impact with their second album, 2013’s Sleep for the Masses, and they’re following it up with a series of EPs. Head to their official YouTube channel to hear them talk about the first.
NEW NAME FOR AS SILENCE BREAKS One of Sydney’s most respected and best loved bands, As Silence Breaks, has been reborn as Daemon Pyre. Check out their debut single Misanthropic Parallels.
KILL TV AT MR BOOGEYMAN Kill TV play Mr Boogeyman Bar on Saturday July 5. The band are all set to record their debut EP mid July. Watch out for the launch in September.
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ALICE COOPER’S NEW GUITARIST IS… Congratulations to Nita Strauss from Femme Fatale and all-female Iron Maiden tribute band The Iron Maidens for landing the guitar spot in Alice Cooper’s band left vacant by Aussie Orianthi (who is now performing and writing with Bon Jovi’s Richie Sambora, who ironically has written songs for Alice Cooper. It’s circular, innit?). Nita has just played her first few headlining shows with Alice, and now they’ll join up with Motley Crue for Motley’s final tour. Here’s hoping Alice tours Australia again soon.
TOUR DATES: Voyager: Saturday, July 12 – The Workers Club Pelican: Friday July 25 – The Hi-Fi Anathema: Saturday August 23 – the Corner Hotel Pop Will Eat Itself: Sunday September 7 – The Hi-Fi Whitechapel & Devildriver: Sunday September 7 – 170 Russell John Garcia: Friday September 12 – The Espy Veruca Salt: Friday September 26 – the Corner Hotel Slaves: Friday October 10 – the Evelyn Hotel Toxic Holocaust & Iron Reagan: Sunday November 16 – The Reverence, Footscray Melbourne Gorguts: Friday November 14 – Northcote Social Club
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MUSIC NEWS
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WEDNESDAY 02 OPEN MIC AT THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL
Whether you're a comedian, poet, musician or dancer, you’re welcome at the Brunny every Wednesday. Register from 6pm onwards, the timeslot raffle is drawn out at 6.30pm and $10 jugs of Boags will be available for those in need of liquid courage.
SAL KIMBER
With this being her last Melbourne show for a few months, Sal Kimber’s appearance this week makes for a very special edition of Wine, Whiskey, Women. Sal’s about to head off to North America for a few months of shows, highlighted by an appearance at the Nashville Americana Showcase. Exciting times! Sal’s farewellfor-now performance kicks of at 8pm this Wednesday July 2 at The Drunken Poet.
JEMMA & THE CLIFTON HILLBILLIES
David Bridie
MELBOURNE FOLK CLUB
Get your folky kick this week as the exceptional Melbourne Folk Club returns to the Bella Union for another week. Tonight will feature seven-time ARIA award winner David Bridie and rising star of the Australian folk world Daniel Champagne. The Melbourne Folk Club has also announced an epic August line-up including Jen Cloher, Husky (Solo), Jae Laffer (The Panics), Angie Hart, Charles Jenkins, Lisa Miller, Ben Salter, Christopher Coleman, Kira Puru, Georgia Fair and Dom Byrne (New Gods). Tickets and info from www.themelbournefolkclub.com
They have hung up their adjectives of wise, young, and ambitious, and refined, or reviewed themselves as local Clifton Hillbilly outlaws, in their cowboy county suburb with a couple of new members. Joined by Josh Duiker (Downhills Home) on drums, and Cal Walker (Van & Cal, Wally Corker’s Drunk Ass Band) on bass. Wise, young and ambitious regulars, Ben Mastwyk (Sweet By & By) on banjo, Richie Brownlee (The Palenecks) on pedal steel and Sean McMahon (Downhills Home, Sean McMahon & The Moon Men) on guitar. Frontwoman Jemma Rowlands delivers golden era country songs with her hands on her hips, swooning stories of discarded clothes, dangerous haircuts and trespassing lovers, backed by still an ambitious lot, made out to be more outlawish than they probably are. They’re actually really nice, no one lives in a trailer, just fairly nice homes in Clifton Hill. They play every Wednesday in July from 7.30pm in the front bar of The Retreat Hotel, with guests including Adrian Stoyles, Alison Ferrier, The Shotgun Wedding, Amarillo, and Van Walker. Free entry.
gems such as Catch My Disease, Cigarettes Will Kill You, Gamble Everything For Love and Love Me Like The World Is Ending, Ben’s amassed an impressive, everevolving body of work. Nine albums so far, as a matter of fact, including 1995 debut Grandpaw Would, 1998’s Breathing Tornados, 2005’s Awake Is The New Sleep, and 2007’s Ripe. Catch Ben Lee at Howler this Wednesday July 2.
THURSDAY 03 SOUL IN THE BASEMENT
Soul in the basement this week features Reverend Funk & The Horns of Salvation. They’ll be on from 10pm with DJs Vince Peach and Pierre Baroni playing till late, $10 from 8pm till 5am. This Thursday July 3 at Cherry Bar.
FRIDAYS AT THE REVERENCE
Alright folks, we’ve carefully curated a series of free front bar shows every Friday in July at the Reverence Hotel. We’ve gathered a bunch of Melbourne’s most rowdy, rocking, dance party inciting bands to stave of the winter worries and get everybody all hot, sweaty and smiling. A guaranteed good time for all, Friday’s in July will feature two sets each week, kicking off with riotous modern soul courtesy of the overwhelming and seductive The Perfections. In week two the party ship will be steered by highly entertaining and utterly jaw-dropping 15-piece girl group, Melbourne’s mighty, The Rebelles. Week three the The Stormy Mondays will step up to the plate with ol’ fashioned swing & shake R’N’B tunes. And week four will see the month end in a most wild style, as The Bluebottles take to the stage and make hips shake with their take on 1960s surf rock’n’roll. Smooth as hell. So hop to it, see you at The Reverance for a Mexi meal, a beverage and a dance every Friday in July.
OPENING NIGHT OF THE LEAPS & BOUNDS MUSIC FESTIVAL
BEN LEE
With a brand new album due for release later this year and promising a live show packed full of your favourites, Australia’s much-loved troubadour, Ben Lee, is coming home. Ben Lee has been making music for half his life-time. Discovered at age 14 by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, the four-time ARIA Award winner grew up fronting Sydney punkers Noise Addict, before going solo and charming his way into the hearts of fans worldwide. Now 35, thanks to penning pop
FRIDAY 04
LA BASTARD
La Bastard bring their rollicking rockabilly party show to The Retreat for the first time in 12 months on Thursday July 3. Fresh from a national 7” single tour which saw the band play packed houses in Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Brisbane, Adelaide, and regional Victoria, La Bastard showcase a bunch of new songs slated for album number three. Joining them are Brisbane swamp-blues masters Transvaal Diamond Syndicate and Melbourne alt-country duo, The Mockingbird. This will be one of La Bastard’s final shows before they head to Europe – so don’t miss out.
The Tote is organising a series of gigs where a local artist/rocker designs a t-shirt, and a limited number are sold only at a gig said artist/rocker helps to organise (dare we not ever say the wretched term “curate”). After the gig, the art will be framed and hung in the front bar. Many big time artist/rockers have t-shirt designs in the works for future gigs, including Stephanie Hughes (Dick Diver), Steve Cohen (Flour, Cut Sick, Too Far Goner Merch) and Mick Turner. The first such artist/ rocker is Justin Fuller. Currently playing in Zond, Lakes and performing solo, previously in Tax, Divorced, Mum Smokes, and several collaborations. Fuller has been dealing nothing but the seminals around Melbourne and Geelong for twenty years. Likewise his art has graced and disgraced countless flyers and album covers, now a specially commissioned t-shirt for the Tote, this gig will be the only chance you have to buy it. Cop your top on Friday July 4.
CALLUM & THE BIG ORDER
Brothers and Sisters join us for an explosive happening at The Reverence Hotel. Kicking of the night will be Callum & The Big Order delivering a rare acoustic country-bluegrass set exploring their rich, dynamic country roots, then witness the supreme garage surfrock act The Dead Heir before Callum & and The Big Order return to demolish the stage with their staunch swamp rock sound for the final set. Great venue, great drinks and great food. $10 entry fee includes a copy of Callum & The Big Orders new LP. Come on down this Thursday 3.
THE ADELAIDE CROWS
The Adelaide Crows are finally recording a follow up EP to their debut Ornithology, released to acclaim in August last year, and before they head into creative hibernation, they’re celebrating. They are joined by the veterans of Melbourne’s music scene Teaser Pony, formally Sinking Tins but bigger and better, and Plebs, the party punk rockers everyone needs to hear. So come join them sinking pints with fairy lights at your/their favourite live music venue The Old Bar this Thursday July 3.
ANDY PHILLIPS AND THE CADILLAC WALK
Having played Australia, USA, New Zealand, Festivals, Clubs, and dives, etc. Andy Phillips fronts the band Cadillac Walk, showcasing his striking vocals and electric guitar work. Andy’s work stretches back over the last 15 years with crack outfits and power trios and a range from mellow bourbon soaked blues numbers, to high energy hard driving classic rock'n’ roll. On a Les Paul or Strat he and the boys rip it up and deliver a unique gig at the Whole Lotta Love Bar on Thursday, July 3, 8pm.
MALLARD MOVIES
Mallard movies is back for its second instalment, with the screening of Death In Brunswick with Thunder Rd and Cake Wine sponsoring. The kitchen will knock out some movie snacks Mallard style and you will be able to wee whenever you damn well feel like it! So get your booking shoes on for the best seats in the house and lament no more about how fab it would be to drink booze and scoff a burger at the cinema. This Thursday July 3 at The Spotted Mallard.
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BONJAH
With their latest critically acclaimed album Beautiful Wild under their belts Bonjah set off on a pretty epic run of tour dates all around this country from now until October. Kicking off this weekend in Melbourne the band take on Cherry Bar on Friday July 4 with Red X and Gena Rose Bruce. Tickets on sale now. Beautiful Wild is out now on Inertia.
BLOODWOLVES
On Friday July 4, The Brunswick Hotel plays host to a scathing metallic hardcore assault. Bloodwolves deliver a neat package of abrasive thrash, dissonance and aggression while Dead Architect (Sydney) make their Melbourne debut, bringing forth a raging blend of HM-2 crust, blackened hardcore and seizure inducing blast-beats. Support on the night comes from dark hardcore noise-mongers Removalist, who have been impressing local crowds of late, as well as newcomers Solis and Iscariot.
DEAD CITY RUINS
Dead City Ruins have been carving their own path in the world of hard rock. Starting out in London, England and making their way home to Australia whilst playing as many down trodden, hole in the wall pubs and clubs as one band can fit into a seven day week. Splicing the musicianship of ‘70s and ‘80s metal and the soul catching riffs of bluesy rock with the intensity and ‘fuck ‘em all’ attitude of punk rock, Dead City Ruins have left crowds from London to Melbourne reeling for more and asking themselves where the hell this band came from. They play The Retreat Hotel on Friday July 4 with Peeling Sun. Free entry, DJ Traffic Jam til 3am.
BROWN RIVER
Join RRR’s Jonnie Von Goes at the 2014 edition of the crown jewel gig of last year’s Leaps and Bounds
MUSIC NEWS
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For all the latest news check out beat.com.au Music Festival are Brown River. For the second year running, JVG presents a night of variety extravagance reminiscent of one of his epic and infamous BBQ days or his Stopping All Stations Except East Richmond gigs. The municipality will be celebrated and dissected in song and poetry by a star-studded cast of artisans. A lot of music happens in the City of Yarra, a lot of other stuff happens in the city of Yarra. A lot of music and a lot of other stuff will happen at The Yarra Hotel on Friday July 4.
around to moisten up the old chompers at The Public Bar with Strathmore, As A Rival, We Disappear and Gladstone. This of course includes a feast at the Crab Shack and some good times with good tunes. Come celebrate America’s Independence Day the Aussie way: at a pub, drinking too much and with high possibility getting Crabs. This Friday July 4.
MISS COLOMBIA
Join this musical journey hailing from the coasts of the Caribbean to the islands of the Pacific on a night of tropical Island Rumba. Miss Colombia’s got a heart that beats a soft spot for Spanish pop. A heartbumping show mixing music, theatre and a tad of ‘60s and ‘70s film clips, Miss Colombia bring an exuberant and delirious ready-made performance combining traditional Latin rhythms with hip-hop, folk, funk and electronica. Sol Nation take a large melting pot, fill half way with reggae, add a dash of East Timorese folk song, a punch of Cuban salsa, a sprinkle of Latin dance, three parts Afro-beat, two parts tropical island rhythm, a sprinkle of Brazilian Samba, fill with funk and stir. DJ Plug Seven Ari Roz gets the party going and keeps it there at the full throttle of an outrigger canoe. See it all at LuWow on Friday July 7.
TOBIAS HENGEVELD
Tobias Hengeveld’s songs weave a mist of isolation, drunken-delusion, yearning and ill-intent. Hengeveld unravels vignettes of other lives lived, calling through time to capture the mysteries of the everyday. Inhabiting similar musical space of the likes of Bill Callahan, this is honest Australian folk music. Tobias will be bringing his band down to the Drunken Poet one Sunday July 4 from 4pm.
STRATHMORE
With Strathmore’s album-launch just around the corner they thought they’d throw a little shindig with some of their favourite Melbourne bands getting
THE B.EAST
It isn’t often that we celebrate the land of stars and stripes but the 4th of July seems too good to resist. Throw on your colours and join us with flags and theme-ish straws for an evening that will celebrate some of the best American things. Come and stuff your faces with our all-American BBQ special menu while listening to what happened when a bloke from the Midwest met the glorious hunk of humanity that is Caesar Slattery. The opening set will feature James Cisco playing ragtime and dixieland tunes on the banjo YEOW! Bourbon shots will be plentiful and bar stools will be sturdy. Celebrate the 4th of July with US (A). Friday July 4 at B.East.
COMBO PACIFICA
Combo Pacifica is a four piece musical travelogue of the pacific rim and beyond, performing two sets at The Spotted Mallard this Friday July 4 from 9.30pm, free entry.
NORSE
Roaring back to life from the depths of the southern highlands, Norse will lead Aeon Of Horus, Hadal Maw and Apparitions Of Null on the year’s most depraved expedition along the east coast of Australia. Joining them on this leg of the tour will be Melbourne’s own A Million Dead Birds Laughing. One night of metal at The Reverence, Friday July 5.
DUKE TEDERSCO & MATT JUNGLE FEVER
The best upcoming party band in town are bringing their blazing show, full of surprising twists and turns through the world of Vegas rock and soul music to LuWow. It’s a full band which incorporates elements of ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘80s music to get the floor jumping. Duke Tedersco and Matt Jungle Fever play the Platters (and the Marathons, Olympics, Midnighters, El Toros, The Flamingoes, Capris, Edsels, Five Keys, Valentines, Coaster, Young Jessie, Spaniels, etc...). Tickets are $5 or free for LuWow members. Come and get those hips shakin’.
WATTS ON PRESENTS: THE LOVE BOMBS
This Friday Watt’s On Presents is lucky to have secured a set from The Love Bombs who are riding high on the release of their latest EP. This band is good, really good. Combing the tightness of hard rock with the inherent groove of blues and soul. Playing with them is Drifter who are one of the best stoner grunge bands in Melbourne – they are so good. We are so rapt to have them on the bill. Opening the night is the illusive J M S Harrison who is playing the show so he can get the money to purchase a knife sharp enough to purchase his chest cavity. Be there. Prince Of Wales Public Bar from 8.30pm.
up and saying goodbye. Catch them this Saturday July 5 at Cherry Bar. Tickets available through the venues website.
RORY ELLIS & THE DEVIL’S RIGHT HAND
Rory Ellis and the Devil’s Right Hand put the “Alt” back into Alt Country. Featuring Australia’s most charismatic songwriter Rory Ellis, his voice alone will command the hair on your arms to stand up. Catch them at The Victoria Hotel this Friday July 4 from 9pm.
SATURDAY 05 HELL CITY GLAMOURS
Hell City Glamours play their final show alongside Don Fernando, My Dynamite and Dukes of Deliciousness. After 12 depraved years the Sydney rockers are breaking
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEN WHITING
Born by the sea in northern NSW, Ben Whiting started writing songs at age eleven and formed his first band at age twelve. With recording, writing and touring introduced to Whiting at a young age, his love for songwriting has been constantly nurtured and has helped shape his music today. Bens’ songs find themselves delving into topics of everyday life, nostalgia, thoughts, memories and the future. His harmonies and lyrics resonate with those who stumble across him. He’s playing two sets in band mode at The Retreat in Brunswick on Saturday July 5 from 8pm. Free entry.
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MUSIC NEWS
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For all the latest news check out beat.com.au Nick Smethurst, Pete Hansford and Isaac De Heer. Catch her this Saturday July 5 at The Old Bar.
being the recipient of the Australia Council Contemporary Music Touring Program for the second time. In May, Gumby flew the flag for Benjalu in Europe for the very first time with 30 shows in 22 days straight spanning across Germany as well as the Netherlands and Belgium. Watch this incredible showman perform at The Retreat on Saturday July 5. Music kicks off at 5pm.
Reverence and enjoy three of Melbourne’s favourite up and coming bands.
SUNDAY REEDS
The Sunday Reeds launch their new EP Amour Tragique with the help of special guests Sooky La La, The Dead Heir and The New Pollution at The Old Bar on Saturday night. DJ Dirty Garry will also be on hand spinning all manner of French psych, pop and other rock ‘n’ roll gems into the early hours of the morning. Visuals will be provided during the night by Input/Output with a good dose of French New Wave Cinema and ‘60s psychedelia.This Saturday July 5 at The Old Bar.
CASH FOR GOLD
Matik and Weaving don’t know how to describe their angle. Actually we don’t think they really care what it is? Some like to call it ‘Death Pop’. We’ve heard everything from early Janes Addiction, to the Jesus and Mary Chain, and we’ve even overheard one drunk chick describe it as Kasabian with killer vocals. The truth is they sound like Cash For Gold. Two guys smashing out the tunes they want to hear. Stupidly destructive drums, fuzz guitars, and hook riddled vocals spitting out tales of destruction, love and doom. They’ll be playing The Grace Darling this Saturday July 5. Entry is $8.
JESS LOCKE
Come down to The Old Bar this winter for heart warming melodies and tummy warming liquors. Every Saturday afternoon in July Jess Locke will be sharing her special mix of minimalist melancholy folk pop. Special guests each week will be Virginia Villain,
MUSTERED COURAGE
BENJALU
2014 has already been a massive year for Benjalu, with various festival slots at Big Day Out, Festival of King Island, Party in the Paddock and Nannup Music Festival, as well as tour supports for Mat McHugh and Ash Grunwald. This year, Benjalu also had the honour of
60 SECONDS with DAVID BRIDIE
Mustered Courage are off to the USA for a two-month tour. Don’t miss them this Saturday July 5 at The Spotted Mallard – one of the last chances to catch them live before they hit the open road. Mustered Courage bridge the gap between traditional bluegrass and modern roots music. Support comes from The Stray Hens. Doors/ dinner 6.30pm, Showtime 8.30pm.
GOLD GULL + GREG STEPS
Gold Gull are a band of four (voices, guitars, piano, bass, drums, occasional violin) playing music that is equal parts rock, folk, country, white soul. Greg Steps is at times poetic, at other times merely drunk, he possesses a distinctive voice and can sometimes hit the notes he intends to hit. Join them for a drink and a tune and warm up this weekend at The Victoria Hotel from 9pm.
SKYSCRAPER STAN AND THE COMMISSION FLATS
Skyscraper Stan and the Commission Flats are all set to spring through next month’s Leaps and Bounds Music Festival. With a July-long Sunday residency at the Yarra Hotel in Abbotsford, Stan and the band are getting ready to make pub punters spit out their Sunday roasts with a bunch of rollicking, messy and always entertaining live shows. Just don’t make them steal the tip jar, spot loose change on the floor or pass around a tweed cap – Skyscraper Stan and his trusty bunch of Commission Flats want your cash. They’ll be flogging good stuff on Pledge Music for the worthiest cause of all–the band’s ‘likely to be record-breaking debut album’. A spot of dosh is required to get ten genius tracks mixed, mastered and polished up ready for release in August 2014. Come to the Yarra Hotel Abbotsford at 5-7pm every Sunday in July to throw cash, coins and underwear at the band. Or, at least choke on your beer watching Stan dance like a drowning huntsman.
SUNDAY 06 THE TASTE OF INDIE COLLECTIVE
The Taste of Indie Collective presents four very tasty acts at The Brunswick Hotel on Sunday July 6. Opening the night are crossover-folk duo Bad Hobbits, who are currently recording a new album with Hugh McDonald (Redgum). Then, it’s time to get a bit noisy with the experimental duo of Niko Niko, followed by They Move Like Wolves, who are returning to the live music scene after a brief spell on the bench. Headlining are ambient-instrumental trio Chinese Handcuffs. This Sunday July 6 at The Brunswick Hotel.
Define your genre in five words or less: Piano songs. Bearing the terrible clichéd nature of this question, what do you reckon people will say you sound like? That guy who used to be in those bands with dumb names. What do you love about making music? You can lose yourself in it; you can dance to it; you can sing along with it; you can learn from it; you can get drunk to it; you can clean the house to it; you can stamp your tribe with it; you can make a statement with it; you can kick against the pricks with it; you can fall in love to it. What’ve you got to sell CD-wise? My solo CDs, especially Wake and some of the soundtrack CDs as well as a few Wantok label CDs from PNG from artists like Telek, Tha Feelstyle, Airileke, and Richard Mogo. 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? “That young man has potential.”
stringband music, Island Records, electronica, the Valhalla cinema M squared, 4AD, Flying Nun, the West Papuan resistance movement, Rize of the Morning Star, going bush. What do you think a band has to do these days to succeed? Appeal to the majority of people, sound like their mum and dad’s record collection, have autotune vocals, play Appalachian music or white soul, have a beard, be an ex soap actor. Do you have any record releases to date? What are they? Where can I get them? The latest record is Wake – from all discerning record stores and on davidbridie.bandcamp.com If someone made a movie about your life, who would play you? Frank Thring. What advice would you give to bands that are new on the Melbourne music scene? Don’t put up street posters in a thunderstorm. If you could go on tour with any musician or band, who would it be? Spinal Tap.
How long have you been gigging and writing? Not Drowning Waving released its first single in 1983, but I played at my school social before that.
How do you balance making and playing music with your other commitments? Not very well.
What inspires or has influenced your music the most? Going to the Black Islands, writers and thinkers who I love and respect, punk, prison music, the Melbourne indie scene, community radio,
When’s the gig and with who? Wednesday July 2 at Melbourne Folk Club Bella Union with the wonderful Daniel Champagne. Also at the Yarra Hotel on Thursday August 21.
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THE BAND WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Woodchop Jazz veterans The Band Who Knew Too Much celebrate the important things: Beer, spending the rent, whales, suburban lunch-cutting and Singapore Jos. Sunday Arvos in July will see the band unleash at the rare and reclusive, often neglected Spotted Mallard in Brunswick. Reidy’s been busy in the off season doing arm-lifts and elbow bends in preparation for a long month. Doors at 4.30pm, free entry.
KISSING BOOTH
July marks International Kissing Day, a date that Kissing Booth, Udays Tiger and Employment have now claimed their own by helping out local charity Minus18, an organisation for same-sex attracted and gender diverse young people. The impetus behind this is that people, no matter what should be able to kiss who they like. Playing a special early show (6.30pm) you can catch Employment fresh back from a run of shows with Sydney locals Hannahband. Udays Tiger join the bill playing a brand of blistering, loud and tight post punk and working on a new release. Returning from a short break after their tour with Lemuria to write for an upcoming album, Kissing Booth head the bill brandishing a handful of new songs and their prominent sound of tight melodies and wandering, clean guitars. Be sure to head down early to The
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LAURA IMBRUGLIA
Laura Imbruglia and band return to The Retreat to play one last headline show before she focuses on writing her next album. Laura and band (comprised of members of Augie March, The Zebras, Anthony Atkinson’s Running Mates and Split Seconds) will be playing a set heavy with cuts from last year’s What A Treat (Voted #17 in the Mess+Noise Readers’ Top 50 Albums of 2013). Supported by fellow Brunswickians Willow Darling, this is a show not to be missed. It’s free entry too, What more do you want?
COPACABANA LEAPS AND BOUNDS
Ali Bird and Aarght Records are back again this year presenting the fun Sunday afternoon series at Copacabana. Come join the carnival kicking off at midday each Sunday during the Leaps and Bounds Festival. There will be bands, DJs, the soon-to-be cult record fair with stalls from local independent record labels, cheap Bloody Marys, Uncle Dougie’s BBQ and vegan cupcakes from sweethearts Sweetie Pie and Cuddle Cakes. Sunday July 6 will involve Dick Diver, Hierophants, Steve Miller band and DJs Mikey Young and Joe Kokomo. Doors open at midday and entry is $8.
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SOUL-A-GO-GO Soul-A-Go-Go is back this July in the heart of the city at Shebeen, on Manchester Lane. Soul-A-Go Go is Melbourne’s biggest soul and funk party and it’s back. Featuring PBS DJs Miss Goldie (Boss Action), Vince Peach (Soul Time), Matt McFeteridge ( Jungle Fever), DJ Manchild (The Breakdown), and Chelsea Wilson ( Jazz got Soul) with special guests Alessia Pegoli & Jack Sparrow. It’s $10 for members and $15 for future members. Get there early as it fills up quick. Saturday July 7 from 9pm right through to 3am at Shebeen.
RILEY BEECH
DAMON SMITH
Busy young Sydney songwriter Riley Beech hits Melbourne for the first time this weekend, and he’s bringing his effervescent debut E.P., Lemonade with him. He has packed all his hooks, his cheeky metropolitan wit, and even his wife, who will join him on stage as The Old Married Couple. Catch both manifestations of this delinquent talent on Sunday July 6 at perennial favourite drinkery, The Drunken Poet in the North Melbourne, doors open at 6pm.
Damon Smith is deliriously happy to finally launch It’s Time to Let the Wolves Out, the debut single from his shiny new soon-to-be released album as part of the Leaps and Bounds Music Festival. It’s Time to Let the Wolves Out enters the room with strut and swagger, all souled-out and funked up with righteous backing vocals set against the backdrop of a hugely contagious melody. Don’t miss the single launch on Thursday July 10 from 8pm at the Yarra Hotel in Abbotsford.
MONDAY 07
PBS LIVE FROM LEAPS AND BOUNDS
DEAR MONDAY: HANDPICKED NEW AND EMERGING TALENT In this great music town, there is an endless flow of new talent arriving on the scene. This Monday July 7, the Retreat Hotel presents ten acts that represent some of the most exciting new and emerging talent we’ve seen. This is no open mic, it’s a love letter to the heart of musicality that is Melbourne, and this love letter begins with Dear Monday. 7pm – Intamelodies, 7.40pm - Kate Anastasiou, 8.20pm – Gus McKay, 9pm–Sasha March.
TUESDAY 08
EMILY ULMAN
RICH DAVIES
Emily Ulman has established herself as one of Melbourne’s finest singer/songwriters. She is applauded for her lyrical honesty (ranging from moving and confessional, to humorous and selfdeprecating), and the sheer beauty of her clear, distinctive vocal delivery. Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is a perfect opportunity for Ulman to road test some of her new material in six of Melbourne’s most intimate venues including Kent Street, The Standard, Grumpy’s Green, Long Play, The Owl & the Cat and Some Velvet Morning. Joining Emily will be different guests for each show such as Phil Gionfriddo ( Jacky Winter, Sam Cooper (Sagamore), Etta Curry and Nellie Jackson (Loose Tooth), Fraser A. Gorman, Lucy Jean Roleff and Sarah Mary Chadwick. Visit leapsandboundsmusicfestival.com for dates and details.
Rich Davies will be performing with his acoustic band, every Tuesday in July at the Retreat. Each week Rich will be joined by a different support act from 7.30pm, followed by Rich Davies at 8.30pm. Catch him this Tuesday July 8. Free entry
WAYWARDBREED Winter sees Waywardbreed rise from its summer slumber to descend on The Old Bar for Sunday nights in the month of July. Returning to the scene of their sold-out launch of Gathering for the Feast in 2013, and armed with a cluster of new songs in the leadup to recording their next album, Waywardbreed will take you in hand and dance you through the long winter nights with their sweet, melancholic folk/ country inspired music. Joining them will be some of Melbourne’s best bands to ensure evenings replete with auditory delights. This Sunday July 6 at The Old Bar.
LOOKING FORWARD JULY JEMMA & THE CLIFTON HILLBILLIES They have hung up their adjectives of wise, young, and ambitious, and refined, or reviewed themselves as local Clifton Hillbilly outlaws, in their cowboy county suburb with a couple of new members. Joined by Josh Duiker (Downhills Home) on drums, and Cal Walker (Van & Cal, Wally Corker’s Drunk Ass Band) on bass. Wise, young and ambitious regulars, Ben Mastwyk (Sweet By & By) on banjo, Richie Brownlee (The Palenecks) on pedal steel and Sean McMahon (Downhills Home, Sean McMahon & The Moon Men) on guitar. Frontwoman Jemma Rowlands delivers golden era country songs with her hands on her hips, swooning stories of discarded clothes, dangerous haircuts and trespassing lovers, backed by still an ambitious lot, made out to be more outlawish than they probably are. They’re actually really nice, no one lives in a trailer, just fairly nice homes in Clifton Hill. They play every Wednesday in July from 7.30 in the front bar of The Retreat Hotel, with guests including Adrian Stoyles, Alison Ferrier, The Shotgun Wedding, Amarillo, and Van Walker. Free entry.
FRIDAYS AT THE REVERENCE
JOHNNY PAV & TJ QUINTON Head down to one of Brunswick’s favourite watering holes this Sunday to catch Johnny Pav & TJ Quinton. Johnny Pav & TJ Quinton will take you on a vivid adventure through engaging and original songs and unique interpretations of modern pop music. If that’s not good enough for you, there will be $12 jugs of Brunswick Bitter to carry you through the evening. Kicks off at 5pm Sunday July 6 at The Vic.
Alright folks, we’ve carefully curated a series of free front bar shows every Friday in July at The Reverence Hotel. We’ve gathered a bunch of Melbourne’s most rowdy, rocking, dance party inciting bands to stave off the winter worries and get everybody all hot, sweaty and smiling. A guaranteed good time for all, Friday’s in July will feature two sets each week, kicking off with riotous modern soul courtesy of the overwhelming and seductive The Perfections. In week two the party ship will be steered by the highly entertaining and utterly jaw-dropping 15-piece girl group, Melbourne’s mighty, The Rebelles. Week three The Stormy Mondays will step up to the plate with ol’ fashioned swing & shake RnB tunes. And week four will see the month end in a most wild style, as The Bluebottles take to the stage and make hips shake with their take on ‘1960s surf rock’n’roll. Smooth as hell. So hop to it, see you at The Rev for a Mexi meal, a beverage and a dance every Friday in July.
To celebrate the return of the City of Yarra’s annual live music festival Leaps and Bounds in 2014, PBS will be broadcasting live from the Yarra Hotel on Thursday July 10. The live broadcast will once again feature PBS’ longest running program Acid Country (Thursdays 3-5pm), which is hosted by none other than this year’s Yarra’s Citizen of the Year recipient David Heard. This very special two-hour episode will once again showcase some of Heardy’s picks including Mick Thomas, Charles Jenkins and Ruby Boots playing live from the Yarra Hotel and straight to the airwaves for both punters and listeners to enjoy live. The broadcast kicks off at 3pm sharp and goes through until 5pm. Head down to the Yarra and catch the show in person or tune into PBS 106.7FM to hear all of the action on your dial.
THE REVERENCE HOTEL BITHDAY BONANZA Footscray’s mighty Reverence Hotel has announced its second birthday bonanza, and holy shit, the new additions to the lineup are pretty damn sweet. The legendary Hard-Ons are joining the party, along with party-starters Heads of Charm. It'll be a night filled with cheeky grins, fists in the air, friends, food and many, many drinks. Oh, and let's not forget Beat's all time fuckin' favourite psychedelic-reggae-skadoom-metal-punk-rock bandits The Bennies, who'll also be joining in the party. Friendly New Yorker Jeff Rosenstock (Bomb the Music Industry band leader) will be bringing the vibes with his solo material. Newly beloved emo-rock locals Ceres will provide sweet singalongs. Adelaide’s Hightime will dish up their high energy posi-punk rock, and new dudes Regrets have all the moody punk rock your heart could desire (and hey, isn’t that the singer from A Death in the Family?). Super-special guests to be announced soon. Best of all, tickets will only set you back $20 a pop. Get ‘em quick via The Reverence Hotel’s website.
LIVING LEGENDS SERIES Leaps and Bounds Festival will bring together an allstar lineup for its Living Legends Series next month. Set over three days, the series will kick off on Friday July 11 with Kim Salmon, Gareth Liddiard, Mick Harvey, Dan Kelly, Caroline Kennedy, Brian Hooper, Penny Ikinger, Text Napalm, The Bulls, Midnight Scavengers, Marilyn Rose and the Thorns, Teenage Libido, The Braves and more. On Saturday July 12 Spencer P Jones will headline while Adalita, Chris Russell, Dan Brodie, Geoff Corbett, Tom Lyngcoln, Cherrywood, Greta Mob, Pink Tiles, Sons of Lee Marvin, Space Junk, the Cheats and more will all take the stage. An afternoon session on Sunday July 13 will be all about Charlie Owen with Adalita, Mick Harvey, Joel Silberher, Dan Kelly, Paul Kelly, Dan Brodie, Penny Ikinger, Grindhouse, The Love Bombs, Suzie Stapleton, Julitha Ryan and more. Tickets are available now via oztix.
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BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 35
MUSIC NEWS
YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE
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STRAIGHT ARROWS
Straight Arrows’ new album Rising is set for release this Friday June 13. To celebrate the release, the good people at Pitchfork Shake Appeal are streaming the full album in advance as part of an interview with Angie. To carry on with the good news, a vinyl edition of Rising will be available July 11. In support of the new record, Straight Arrows hit the road this week playing up and down the east coast with TV Colours. You can find them in Melbourne at the Northcote Social Club on Savay July 12.
WHITE SUMMER
After being hailed for their performance at triple j’s One Night Stand after-party, buzz-band White Summer are very excited about the recent release of their menacing rock single Smoke Screen. To celebrate, the Melbourne four-piece are touring, and will play on Saturday July 12 at The Toff In Town.
TRIBUTE TO CHICK RATTEN
As part of the Leaps and Bounds Music Festival this year, there will be a huge show on at The Rainbow Hotel in St David Street, Fitzroy in tribute to the legendary late Chick Ratten. Apart from being the publican of the Rainbow, Chick was a pioneer when it came to dealing with the problems which arose due to the gentrification of Fitzroy. On Saturday July 12 there will be an all-day show in his honour with some of the acts that played there regularly while he owned the pub. Werner Martin, who ran the ‘Hot Damn Tamale’ show for twelve years on a Wednesday night, will MC the event. Confirmed performers are Dave Hogan’s Meltdown, Andy Baylor and band, the Grand WaZoo, Sarah Carroll, Chris Wilson, Kerri Simpson and Lisa Miller with Matt Walker plus many more to be announced. It will be one long merry day at The Rainbow on Saturday July 12 with live music starting at 2pm and kickin’ on till late.
Gotye
THE BROKEN NEEDLES
The Broken Needles return home from their tour to launch their new record Holy Coast on July 19 at The Catfish in Fitzroy. The Melbourne-based band’s second record sees their ferocious twin-guitar attack gracefully supplanted by billowing synth textures, meandering pedal steel lines and baroque string arrangements; igniting a flickering, slow-burning lounge flame with a pulsing undercurrent of detached lunacy and seroquel soul. But don’t fret, Melburnians – if it’s squalls of fuzz & feedback you seek, there is still plenty of bubbling piss & vinegar left in this old grey mule to keep your guts gurgling and ears oozing into next week. Joining them in support are Ivy St., Tender Bones and Willow Darling.
GREEN LINE GROOVES
PIERCE BROTHERS
To celebrate the release of their highly anticipated EP The Night Tree, the charismatic indie-folk duo The Pierce Brothers have been touring and selling out venues across the country. 2014 has seen the band move in leaps and bounds, achieving over 20,000 CD sales independently. The twin brothers will play two shows at Shebeen – Thursday 26 and Friday 27 July.
AUGUST Kira Puru
PEPA KNIGHT
TALES IN SPACE
Sydney electro-pop duo Tales In Space are celebrating the release of their debut album, Formula. The band that brought us the 2013 hit single Shades and current single All Messed Up will celebrate the arrival of the LP by hitting the road for a five-date tour, including The Workers Club on Thursday July 17.
ALI E
The ever prolific Ali Edmonds (aka Ali E) has been cavorting through the Australian music landscape for some time now. In cahoots with a handful of bands including Damn Terran, Heavy Beach and Little Athletics, she returns to her solo project, Ali E to unveil a sneak peek of her forthcoming album, with the single We Are Strangers. Recorded at Sing Sing South by Anna Laverty (Nick Cave, Paul Dempsey) and mastered by Mikey Young, We Are Strangers sees Ali slip into full band mode with fellow Damn Terran band mate, Leigh Ewbank on drums, Anto Skene on bass and Lucy Rash (Tantrums) moonlighting on violin, while Ali takes care of everything else. We Are Strangers is the first release from Ali E since her debut album Landless in 2012. Catch Ali E and the whole band launch We Are Strangers at The Workers Club, July 18 supported by Bad Family & Grand Prismatic.
WINTERBOUND
In the depth of Melbourne’s winter, comes Winterbound, an all-day event presented by Premier Artists as part of Leaps and Bounds Music Festival featuring some of Melbourne’s most loved acts. Spearheaded by electro heavy-weights, Black Cab who will play a rare show while they put the finishing touches on their long-anticipated fourth album, plus the subliminal beauty of The Orbweavers as well as Jimmy Tait, The Spinning Rooms, Early Woman, no-wave new kids on the block, The Infants, DUET (featuring Harry Howard & Edwina Preston) and Matt Bailey with the in-between bands soundtrack provided by DJ Frankie Teardrop. It all goes down at The Tote on Sunday July 20.
HEEL BURNERS
There’s only one Heel Burners all-night party this year and it’s a cracker! Featuring a surprise headline act, Kira Puru’s electronic pop-hustle, Mangelwurzel’s genre bending demented punk, the surf-punk rock marathon that is La Bastard, She’s the Band’s riot grrrl party bus, surf-zombie-punk-rock group The Villenettes and the proto/post punk genre-clash of Them Nights. Not to mention DJs Tanzer, Lady Blades & Long Dong + dance competition (Sailor Jerry prizes) and drink specials all night! It all goes down on Saturday August 2 at Bella Union, 54 Victoria St, Carlton. Music starts at 7pm and it costs a measly $15. Get your fancy feet down there.
SLIGHTLY LEFT OF CENTRE
ELLA HOOPER
The always energetic Ella Hooper is hitting stages again next month on a launch tour for her newly announced single, The Red Shoes. Rising out of the ashes of the rebooted Spicks And Specks (RIP), the former Killing Heidi singer is set to release The Red Shoes on Friday June 20, ahead of forthcoming album In Tongues. You can catch Ella Hooper and reminisce on those amazing colourful dreadlocks that used to adorn her crown on Friday July 18 at Shebeen.
MONIQUE BRUMBY
Iconic Australian singer, songwriter and ARIA award winner Monique Brumby has announced the release of a new single, Silent War alongside her self-titled, fifth studio album. Brumby will be hitting the road to celebrate the releases, and will play in Melbourne at the Northcote Social Club on July 19.
KELLY MENHENNETT
South Australian singer/songwriter Kelly Menhennett is excited to present her big, beautiful new twelve-song album Small Dreams, out through MGM/The Planet Company on June 6. She’ll be touring Australia with a swag of dates across July and August. You can find her when she swings by Melbourne at the Northcote Social Club on Saturday July 19. Tickets are available through the venue.
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Quick trivia: What do Gotye, Tex Perkins and Nicky Bomba all have in common, besides creating great music? Well, they’re all Ambassadors for The Thin Green Line Foundation (supporting Rangers in anti-poaching work across the world), and they are joining forces for a one-off superband gig on August 1 as the Thin Green Line Ambassador Allstars for World Ranger Day. This once in a lifetime showcase sees these three leading musos play some well loved hits from their own back catalogue of songs, as well as some surprising covers (with equally surprising guest artists). There’s no doubt about it; this is one superband show not be missed. The largest organ in the southern hemisphere will also come into play. These Australian music champs will be supported by TinPan Orange, Hawaiian sensation Makana, and Damian Howard, with Dj Max Crawdaddy spinning some tunes. Oh, and all in attendance have the chance to win a trip to India on the night of the gig. Holy smokes! It all goes down at Melbourne Town Hall on August 1. For more info and tickets, visit www. thingreenline.org.au/whats on.
THIRD EARTH PRESENTS: CHRISTMAS IN JULY
After releasing their Christmas EP Merry Christmas You Filthy Animal last December, Third Earth thought what better excuse to play the EP in full than to launch it at a Christmas in July party. The show will feature Christmas themed visuals projected throughout the night, special guests as well as aggressive rock’n’roll performed by Honey Badgers, Third Earth, King Puppy and the Carnivore. Thursday July 24 at The Grace Darling Basement. Entry is free and doors open at 8.30pm.
THRASHED
Thrashed from Sydney are not your usual metal band. The Shire boys boss the stage with a beastly live show backed by a loyal fan base not seen since the heyday of Pantera, but they’re equally as likely to bare their hairy physiques in a leotard, practice some aerobics and post it on YouTube for the world to see. They’ll be stopping off in Melbourne as a part of their east coast tour at The Espy front bar on Friday July 25.
Jinja Safari co-frontman and Central Coast musician, Pepa Knight, has been developing an impressive amount of buzz since launching his own solo venture in early 2014. After accumulating a notable degree of praise for his debut single release, the emphatic Rahh, Knight is proud to announce the release of his follow-up track Clams. To celebrate his release, Pepa Knight will be performing two highly-anticipated debut live shows in Sydney and Melbourne in August, at Goodgod Small Club and Northcote Social Club respectively. You can catch him in Melbourne on August 8, tickets available from TicketScout.com or for $12 on the door if you’re lucky.
SEPTEMBER DEVILDRIVER
Devildriver have been slaying their way across the USA in a string of sold out shows with the irrepressible Whitechapel in tow. These two titans have joined forces and will be bringing their pure fuckin’ metal forces to Australia in September. While many bands in the modern era are already withering away, Devildriver have proven to mutate, grow stronger, deadlier and more immortal. Devildriver conjure genuine chaos and make it beautifully brutal in their crushing live performances. Returning with the fifth full-length album of their decimating career, there is no stopping the juggernaut that is Whitechapel. Having spent several years lauded as one of the frontrunners in their genre, Whitechapel stand as a defining force in contemporary heavy music. Don’t miss your chance to see one of the most brutal and crushing live shows of the year. Devildriver play 170 Russell with Whitechapel Sunday September 7.
HOWLING BELLS
Bohemian rock ‘n’ roll outfit and Sydney locals, Howling
Hot off the back of selling in excess of 50,000 units and generating over 85,000 downloads worldwide, Australian trio Slightly Left of Centre return to the worldstage with some of their most strongest, original and most diverse material to date. Taken from the bands upcoming album, ‘Call Me for the Weekend’ is testament to the band's tongue-in-cheek mentality, with soaring hooks and vibe reminiscent of Maroon 5 meets DaftPunk, that will keep you coming back for more. See the band launch their latest single at The Northcote Social Club on August 3 in a special matinee show.
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Bells, have announced their first national headline tour in Australia (since 2011) this September, in support of their recently released fourth album, Heartstrings. After a two-year hiatus between the release of 2011’s The Loudest Engine and the recording of Heartstrings in autumn 2013, there’s a renewed energy within the band, which is critically evident throughout this new release. Catch them at Howler on Thursday September 11.
LIVE
REPORTS FROM THE FRONT ROW
For more reviews go to beat.com.au/reviews Photo courtesy NGV
SOHN Ding Dong Lounge, Wednesday June 25 The intimate space of Ding Dong Lounge proved to be a great match for the intimate soul-searching of UK producer Christopher Taylor (aka Sohn), who reeled in a sell-out crowd on the strength of his impressive debut album, Tremors. Support act Japanese Wallpaper warmed up the attentive room of listeners with an impressive set, the standout of which was a spine-tingling cover of Grizzly Bear’s Knife. Soon enough, the sparse stage was invaded by a shadowy trinity of black caps/hoods/beanies, surrounded by tech. The element of threat came undone when Taylor spoke softly in his endearing British accent, and there’s no denying the onstage good vibes and genuine niceness of a trio of performers on the final gig of their three-month world tour. Taylor confirmed that music-loving Melbourne’s the place to finish up in style (even the Sydney crowd admitted as much to him). It can be a challenge to make a fully satisfying meal of a single album, here played almost in its entirety, but Tremors was cleverly re-sequenced to make for a commanding live show and offer a twist on the recorded version. The crowd was eased in with moodier, gentler numbers, the middle of the set was stacked with the poppier early-album tracks and a rave-like atmosphere was conjured up with the beat-driven numbers as a climax – no mean feat for a Wednesday evening. “It’s going to get really nasty,” warned Taylor just as Lessons kicked in as a closer. And it did get nasty, but in the nicest possible way. CHRIS GIRDLER
LIKED: The a cappella opening to Tremors DISLIKED: People insisting on capturing every moment on their phone DRANK: Fat Yak
KIRIN J CALLINAN National Gallery of Victoria, Friday June 27 Being in NGV after hours always feels like gaining accidental admittance to an exclusive party designed ned for the well dressed, friendly elite. A crowd spanning multiple generations packed into the exhibition space earlyy on before retreating to the comfortable bar and performance area. The extensive selection of Italian masterpiecess charmed, showcasing impressive realism, a large helping of ecclesiastical imagery and particularly affecting baroque ue still lifes. ht’s musical The artwork mightn’t be viscerally thrilling but it certainly commands reverence. This made the night’s entertainment a perfect complement. Kirin J Callinan deals largely in irreverence, but he has an undeniably niably awestriking presence. Even for people who aren’t objectively fond of what he does (and there was probably a few in the house tonight) it’d be hard not to get drawn in. Since releasing Embracism 12 months ago, Callinan’s been touring non-stop. He’s long been a captivating vating solo performer and has now transitioned into presenting rock shows of the highest order. His three band members – keyboardist Tex Crick (who resembles a nihilist from The Big Lebowski), drummer Dave Jenkins and bass player Aaron Cupples – are integral links in this almost unfathomable version of a rock band. Callinan inhabits explicitly idiosyncratic terrain, but he’s not limited by the aesthetic adventurousness. The setlist overflowed with highlights, from abrasive hard dance numbers C’mon USA and Way II War, to mock-mouthed k-mouthed anthems Victoria M and Love Delay, and the gloriously empowered diatribe, Landslide. It all came together, her, leaving the impression of what you might hear encouraging the counter-culture breakaways in a dystopian setting, etting, a la Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. In that dystopia it’s likely that simply witnessing Callinan’s guitar sounds would be a crime, such is the soul-pervading noise rebellion. Kirin’s massive overseas exploits haven’t dampened the immense passion he puts into each performance. ce. Tonight, as he channelled provocative energies, he maintained awareness of this particular moment. Nowhere wass this more evident than in show closing (solo and sans-guitar) number, The Toddler. The song lucidly exhibited how w Callinan’s utterly committed to this moment of expression, whether or not it’s to your taste. Even though he doesn’t esn’t vie for approval, he does really want you to be part of it, which made for an especially enthralling performance. Kirin J Callinan has always been in his element on LOVED: It stage, but the live show’s never been this world class. HATED: That it’s KJC’s last Melbourne gig for the year DRANK: Quiet Deeds AUGUSTUS WELBY
TEETH & TONGUE Howler, Saturday June 28 Arriving at Howler early to catch Montero’s set was a good idea; they were at times rock, at times Bowie-inspired, cool-to-the-limit-pop, with some pretty Brian Wilson harmonies thrown in, too. They are also a band made up of big personalities that fit together both musically and visually. Drummer Cameron Potts’ flailing arms and animated features threatened to steal the show, while singer Ben Montero casually draped himself across a guitar amp and then the floor of the stage, showing off a surprisingly strong voice for someone so softly spoken. Although the band has Montero’s name, the sound is clearly a group effort, and a highly catchy and entertaining one at that. Jess Cornelius has been perfecting her sound as Teeth & Tongue over several releases and a few years now. Grids, the album being launched before a full room tonight, shows a massive step forward in realising Cornelius’ sonic vision, managing to strike a beautiful balance between her dramatic Kate Bush leanings and her love of dirty rock guitars. Appearing with a full band – long-time collaborators Marc Regueiro-McKelvie and Damian Sullivan on guitar and bass respectively as well as drummer James Harvey and backing vocalist Jade McInally – Cornelius looked the part, wrapped in a dress that seemed to be made out of a sheet of plastic, and rocking it. Kicking off with a stripped back version of Sad Sun, from 2011’s Tambourine, the rest of the set was dominated by tunes from the new album, with Cornelius switching from keys to guitar about halfway through. The band were very tight and the arrangements subtly brought out the best in each song, with the use of keys, guitar pedals and vocal effects helping to make it sound as if there were more people on stage than there were. There was a definite tonal nod to the ‘80s with the use of long reverbs on the guitars and vocals, but this was all done in an original and tasteful manner, with artist Keith Deverell’s projections helping to add an extra visual dimension to the performance. As a frontwoman, Cornelius strikes a great balance between being musically sure of herself, with a flair for drama and eye-catching imagery (the dress, the projections, the tripped out album cover) and being quite down-to-Earth. Her stage banter could be described as charmingly awkward, and it would be hard not to enjoy how excited she obviously was. However, none of that is really important the moment she opens her mouth. She possesses a voice that is surprising in both its pureness of pitch, depth, and range, like all of that sound shouldn’t come out of such a small person. Able to switch between a deep sultry register and a perfect falsetto from one word to the next, Cornelius’ vocals are the centrepiece of the Teeth & Tongue sound – very expressive and dramatic, without overplaying it. Ending the night with a cover of The Motel’s Total Control and a second version of Sad Sun, this time with sprawling rock guitars, it was clear that Teeth & Tongue have evolved from a solo project to become LOVED: The $50 Jess Cornelius paid me to write this review not only a highly original band but a great live act. HATED: This being on the same night as The East Brunswick Girls Choir and Tracy McNeil launches ALEX WATTS DRANK: Tears of pure joy
BITTER SWEET KICKS CKS Cherry Bar, Saturday June 28 Cherry Bar is the Melbourne Club of Melbourne rock’n’roll. But whereas the Melbourne Club thrives on exclusivity, privilege and anachronistic social tradition, Cherry Bar proclaims itself a haven of inclusivity, a dark and grimy institution for the artists, punters and sundry ne’er do wells who make rock’n’roll the confrontational sub-culture it must always remain. “I’ve just seen the best band in Melbourne,” remarked a friend as we arrived at Cherry Bar at 9.30pm. That band was Batpiss, and only the reality of domestic logistics stood between the rest of us and Batpiss’ spit-in-your-face attitude. Like every other band with a grip on the crown of Melbourne’s best rock’n’roll band – and there’s plenty of ‘em – Batpiss deserve and command respect. And there is HITS. Is there a better exponent of the rock’n’roll craft in Australia? Dick Richards is a pocket battleship: the wild, unkempt coiffure of a man who’s spent six months living with wilderbeast, the thousand-mile punk rock stare of someone for whom rigid social, political and economic structures are the source of both pity and offence. HITS play rock’n’roll like it must always be: loud, brash, brutal and confrontational. Tamara Dawn Bell and Stacey Coleman trade licks like silver-tongued revolutionaries exchanging venomous barbs, and a shiver goes down the collective spine. Does it ever get better than this? Quite possibly not. The hits are thrown down thick and fast: Jeezus F Christ, Bitter and Twisted, Bullet Train. Bitter Sweet Kicks’ Brendan Charlie joins the band on stage for Sometimes You Just Don’t Know Who Your Friends Are. John Nolan, a man who whose own punk rock trajectory saw him burnt within an inch of his life, stands to the left of the stage, an impish grin barely disguising unbridled respect. According to local lore, Bitter Sweet Kicks were discovered one Sunday afternoon by Spencer P Jones. Since that time the Kicks have evolved, some might say mutated, into another of Melbourne’s most fantastic rock’n’roll beasts. Jack Davies takes to the microphone like the proverbial deranged preacher; his body writhes and contorts in concert with the razor sharp riffs of guitarists Chris Taranto, and the soon-to-be-departed Brendan Charlie. Johnny Kicks strips down to his birthday suit, the loose contours and rolling curves of physique acts as a onefingered salute to the fitness fanatics and diet zealots who dominate mainstream culture. This might be the last time we see Bitter Sweet Kicks for a while, and we try and savour the memory for all it must be worth. It’s pouring with rain outside, and the mercury is dropping faster than Tony Abbott’s approval rating, but inside Cherry Bar there is only that special type of communal love only rock’n’roll can foster. God bless rock’n’roll. LOVED: Every single fucking minute of it PATRICK EMERY HATED: That it had to eventually finish DRANK: Coopers, both red and green, because it was my birthday and I could.
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BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 37
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
HEARTLAND RECORDS TOP 10
VOYAGER
V (Independent)
In the present day and age, Australian heavy music never fails to impress. Now, a new chapter opens. This legendary Perth outfit have been plying their world class trade since the late ‘90s, and this is their fifth album. Nothing could have prepared me for the musical wonder that is V. Talk about a band with an absolute grasp of their craft – it’s like all of their previous releases were leading up to this moment in time. The planets have aligned for Voyager on this record, and they have created their masterwork. The songs are beautifully crafted pieces of melodic, progressive metal works of art, set-up beautifully by opener, and second single Hyperventilating. The slightly more direct, immediate second single Breaking Down follows, then the magnificent A Beautiful Mistake, which features the majestic guest vocals of Zemyna Kuliukas. An unbelievably strong opening, which in the hands of a less consistent band may have been a problem, may have been rather difficult to better. But not these guys. The album fairly goes from strength to strength. Driving verses cascade into sublime, uplifting choruses. Beautifully constructed and delivered melodies abound, juxtaposed against riveting metal riffs and grooves. Sweet touches of electronica provide yet further colour to the mix. Moments of pounding percussive muscle. Musicianship and production values of an untouchable kind.
SINGLES
1. Partly Fiction LP HARRY DEAN STANTON 2. More Modern Classics LP PAUL WELLER 3. Noise CD/LP BORIS 4. War Of Roses LP ULVER 5. More Than Any Other Day LP OUGHT 6. Disgraceland LP THE ORWELLS 7. Soundtrack LP CIRCLE JERKS 8. Voyage LP DE LUX 9. Earth Rocker Deluxe CD/DVD CLUTCH 10. Aventine LP AGNES OBEL
RECORD PARADISE TOP 10 VINYL 1. Leaf RAT COLUMNS International attention has certainly come their way with their previous few releases, however, if there is any justice in the musical world, this should be release that confirms these guys as one of the premiere melodic/ progressive heavy acts on the planet.
2. Rock And Roll Juice CIGGIE WITCH
ROD WHITFIELD
GIRLS CHOIR
BEST TRACK: A Beautiful Mistake IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU’LL LIKE THIS: VANISHING POINT, EYEFEAR, DEVIN TOWNSEND IN A WORD: Superb
BY LACHLAN
ZOLA JESUS
Dangerous Days (Mute) Gleefully venturing into soaring pop bliss, Zola Jesus marks a return with the soaring pulse you might expect from top-form Robyn on the undeniable Dangerous Days. It feels like there’s a circular chain of influence.
DIE! DIE! DIE!
Sister (Black Night Crash) Kiwi stalwarts Die! Die! Die! kick off Sister, one of two just-released singles preceding album number five S W I M, like a thrashier March of the Pigs. After all these years, Die! Die! Die! still sound hungry as fuck, and for that we should be thankful.
FKA TWIGS
Two Weeks (Young Turks/Remote Control) Right there, in the second line of Two Weeks, Twigs hits a breathtaking note like it ain’t no thing, only to escalate everything from that point onward. It’s been a lacklustre year of albums so far, thankfully we have FKA Twigs’ debut LP on the horizon, primed to leave everyone else in her wake.
PUSSWHIP BANGGANG
Jambalaya (Drag City) Whoooo, now THAT’S what I’m talkin’ ‘bout! Purveyors of some of the tastiest deep ‘n’ dirty Southern rock south of the Mississippi, Pusswhip Banggang serve up a family-sized, nine-minute offering of spicy guitar licks, plus some practical culinary instructions on how to whip up the titular Cajun dish. Let’s party. Don’t forget about the shrimp.
4. Grids TEETH AND TONGUE 5. Seven Drummers EAST BRUNSWICK ALL 6. Aussie Dream TRALALA BLIP 7. Nose Dive SASKWATCH 8. Dogging LOW LIFE 9. Mullum Mullum EASTLINK 10. Black Rat DZ DEATHRAYS
PBS TOP 10 1. Blind Bet COOKIN’ ON 3 BURNERS 2. Blue Volume JOELISTICS 4. Axels & Sockets –The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project VARIOUS ARTISTS
the tropical bubblegum bliss of Phone Sex (still the strongest track in the Grimes setlist). A satisfying stopgap ahead of the follow up to Visions, but it might feel like a cop-out if Go finds its way onto the album tracklist.
5. Band Of Brothers WILLIE NELSON
LOWER SPECTRUM
9. Favorite Waitress THE FELICE BROTHERS
6. The Fourth Perfection ADAM SIMMONS 7. Bed & Bugs OBITS 8. Ex Nihilo GUERRE
Khlever (Independent) Carving a brooding space between mammoth THXscale mountains of sound and dancefloor grind, now Perth-based producer Lower Spectrum manages to deftly pull the strings without resorting to cheap EDM tactics on the enticing groove of Khlever. Taken from the upcoming EP Traces.
10. The Monash Sessions VINCE JONES
BEASTWARS
4. Ghouls HOLYOAKE
SYN SWEET 10 1. Seek Warmer Climes LOWER 2. H22 JON 3. Won’t Win FRACTURES
Rivermen (Independent) Creeping on the horizon like a flame-drenched Leviathan, Rivermen see Beastwars exercise restraint on the tempo to maximise the apocalyptic impact of the all-obliterating chorus. Obey the fucken riff.
5. Couch Potato JAKUBI
YUNG LEAN
9. Bamboo DEERS
Yoshi City (Independent) On the first single from Unknown Memory, rising Swedish rap icon Yung Lean stunts majestically with the Sad Boys manifesto in hand, over playful and emotive instrumentation.
6. alltimepartydrugsindahouse KAKARIKO 7. Hunger Of The Pine ALT-J 8. Adult Diversion ALVVAYS 10. Moor EVERY TIME I DIE
3RRR SOUNDSCAPE 1. Typical System TOTAL CONTROL 2. The Bohicas EP THE BOHICAS 3. Liminal THE ACID 4. Remedy OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW 5. Life/Thrills LOWER PLENTY 6. Donovan Blanc DONOVAN BLANC 7. Heartstrings HOWLING BELLS
ALI E
8. Seek Warmer Climes LOWER
We Are Strangers (Independent) With Damn Terran taking some time away from the spotlight, the band’s bassist-vocalist Ali E dives fully into solo mode on We Are Strangers. There’s plenty of depth on offer, regaling suburban malaise and the human condition while jack-knifing between stripped back electric guitar, flourishes of strings, and rock-solid riff action. Catch Ali with full backing band for the single launch, Friday July 18 at The Workers Club.
GRIMES FEAT. BLOOD DIAMONDS
Go (4AD/Remote Control) Apparently the fact this song was written for Rihanna is a talking point, which might have made sense five years ago, but the fact that Sia wrote a song, a very successful song, for Rihanna that sounded like Zola Jesus, the train of thought feels redundant. Go has some great elements, the trappy instrumental hook doesn’t really work as a hook, and isn’t exactly ahead of the curve, but it still hits the spot. It’s a world away from the previous Blood Diamonds x Grimes collab,
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 38
3. Magnetic Memories NATHAN ROCHE
3. No Mercy for Mayhem MIDNIGHT
For all the latest singles check out beat.com.au BONTEMPELLI YOU BLOODY BEAUTY!
TOP TENS:
9. Band Of Brothers WILLIE NELSON 10. N.O.W. Is The Time NIGHTMARES ON WAX
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
ALEX CAMERON
The Comeback (Siberia) Nobody owes you anything. Especially in show business. The Alex Cameron is, presumably, far removed from the Alex Cameron of Seekae, shrouded behind a caricature of wrinkled prosthetic skin, bemoaning the sham of an industry and the nightmare of chasing the dream. It’s funny, it’s pathetic, it’s confronting. You could dismiss “Alex Cameron” as being deluded. But there’s undeniable heart and conviction underneath the veneer, a blindsiding truth there for the taking. “Life crisis”, reads the Soundcloud description.
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BEAT’S TOP 10 SONGS ABOUT FIRST AID 1. Fuck the Pain Away PEACHES 2. Hurtin’ JAMIROQUAI 3. Fragile STING 4. Truth or Dare BLEEDING KNEES CLUB 5. How to Save a Life THE FRAY 6. Do They Know It’s Christmas? BAND AID 7. I Cut Like a Buffalo THE DEAD WEATHER 8. Battlescars MIDNIGHT JUGGERNAUTS 9. Be Prepared SCAR FROM THE LION KING 10. Fix You COLDPLAY
ALBUMS
NEW MUSIC IN REVIEW THIS WEEK
For more reviews go to beat.com.au/reviews
THE MILK CARTON KIDS
THE ANTLERS
Familiars (Inertia/Pod) Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a noticeable refinement to the sound of Brooklynâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Antlers in the last few years. What was once a solo vehicle for Peter Siberman developed as the band became a three-piece with the addition of Michael Lerner and Darby Cicci. A few demons have been exorcised after the lurching dynamics of 2009â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospice and the harrowing sadness of 2011â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Burst Apart, making way for a calmer, subtler fifth record. The emotions are still heightened and Sibermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Buckley-like, angst-ridden vocals are still prominent, yet these elements are contained and controlled within their environment. This shift in style is reflected in the lyrics, which often deal with being restricted in a protective shell (Hotel, Intruders) or about determining some sort of control over chaos (like the orchestrating protagonist of Director). The music of The Antlers is essentially post-rock, though it is transformed into something else altogether by the added layer of Peter Sibermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dramatic vocals. This paring back doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t diminish the power of the songs; rather, it makes them all the more effective. The songs on Familiars range between five and eight minutes each, but never command you to a climax or shout at you about what you should be feeling. Instead, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a subtle build within the jazz-inflected ghostly quarters the band have housed their compositions in. BEST TRACK: Hotel The Antlers have reigned it in without losing what IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL LIKE THIS: The Year makes them such a distinctive band. Who knew Of Hibernation YOUTH LAGOON, Ladies and being boxed-in would suit them so well? Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space SPIRITUALISED IN A WORD: Atmospheric CHRIS GIRDLER
TAPE/OFF
Chipper (Sonic Masala Records) They say life is a little bit more laid back in Queensland, but the length of time it has taken Brisbaneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tape/Off to record and release their debut album is surely taking the piss. After years of putting out singles and EPs, the quartet of Nathan Pickels (vocals/ guitar), Ben Green (guitar), Cameron Smith (bass) and Branko Cosic (drums) have finally gone and done it, and thankfully it has been worth the wait. While first single Pedestal Fan is a typically brutal piece of Tape/Off alt-rock, it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t necessarily an all-encompassing indication of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to be found on this 11-song effort, as thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than a healthy dollop of shoegaze messily slopped all over. Opener Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Liveable City eases us gently into proceedings with a dazed, meandering stroll through the beauty and banality of living in Brisbane in 2014, before Peggyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lookout opens up into the heavy sound we know and love Tape/Off for. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still a debt owed to Pavement through tracks like Different Order and Believe In You, while fractured New York Dolls-esque highlight Climates exemplifies their ramshackle charm. Trying to guess whether each upcoming song will be a cruncher or a softie is like trying to predict whether the school bully will focus his meaty aggression on you on a particular day, but somewhat surprisingly itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the less brutal tracks that are most memorable, like Escalator and downbeat closer Another Year. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s this fantastic mix of aggression and restraint that make you want to grab the band by the lapels and â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in true school bully fashion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; tell them not to leave it so damn long BEST TRACK: Climates IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL LIKE THIS: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;90s fuzz, next time. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;70s punk PAUL MCBRIDE IN A WORD: Finally
DEATH GRIPS
Niggas on the Moon (Independent) Dropping a bomb on fans by delivering another free release on their website, Death Grips return with their signature brand of psychotic experimental rap with their independently released Niggas on the Moon. Conceptually, the album sounds great on paper â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a seamless flow of eight tracks featuring samples from Bjork, as well as being half of a two-part album the act intends to release dubbed The Powers That B. However, despite all efforts to sound interesting, Death Grips have only proved with Niggas on the Moon that not everything on paper is as good as it seems as the album winds up being the unfortunate product of failed experimentation. The best track the album has to offer is debatably Billy Not Really. The track creates the polar opposite of anything Death Grips have previously released with an oddly vibrant, fast and warm sounding song, sewn together with clever use of Bjorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voice as she warbles between the beats. However, outside of this there is little saving grace. Points of the album have frustratingly irritating use of the Bjork samples, which detract from everything else going on. The use of these samples evoke feelings comparable to being tortured through waterboarding or being stabbed in the ears with pins repeatedly, with the equally unlistenable tracks Have a Sad Cum Baby and Fuck Me Out really adding that Guantanamo experience to the album. The problem with Niggas on the Moon is that Death Grips have decided to replace their good ideas with terrible ones. Outside of Billy Not Really, the one redeeming feature that Niggas on the Moon brings to the table is BEST TRACK: Billy Not Really that they couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possibly wrap up The Powers That IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL LIKE THIS: RUN THE JEWELS, APHEX TWIN B with a worse album â&#x20AC;&#x201C; fingers crossed. IN A WORD: Flaccid THOMAS BRAND
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The Ash and Clay (Anti/Epitaph) Before there was the folk revival of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;60s, there was the American folk music scene of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;30s. That folk music subsequently came to be viewed as part of the American cultural milieu rather than a centuries-old and radically diverse European phenomenon could â&#x20AC;&#x201C; depending on your ideological bent â&#x20AC;&#x201C; be an ironic symptom of contemporary American cultural hegemony. But to listen to The Milk Carton Kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; new record, The Ash and Clay, is to realise that folk music is alive and well, with one eye cocked toward the past and the other gazing into the future. The sense of hope and excitement spilling out of Hope of a Lifetime should be distilled and infused into the water supply; Snake Eyes is Lead Belly via David Crosby and Honey, Honey is the wide-eyed spirit of Simon and Garfunkel with neâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;er a grumpy ego to be seen. Years Gone By laments the passage of time, and wonders if the emotional scars will ever heal; the title track hops on the back of a jalopy, casts a glance around and wonders if everything will be alright. The darkness of Promised Land is tempered by a faint hope for romantic light; maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll happen, maybe it wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. The Jewel of June is so soft and beautiful you want to squeeze it til you cry; Whisper in Her Ear is the love song every love-struck adolescent wants to write instead of the turgid high school poetry that usually eventuates and On the Mend reminds us all that after the bad must surely come the good. Heaven heads out onto the front porch and finds inspiration in Greenwich Village Idealism and Hear Them Loud is Johnny Cash on the light rail and Memphis is, well, just beautiful. About one in 25 albums that I play for my family provokes anything other than dismissive rhetoric. The BEST TRACK: The Jewel of June IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL LIKE THIS: BOB Ash and Clay has found its way onto high rotation on DYLAN, DAVE RONK, CROSBY, STILLS AND NASH the family stereo. Make of that what you will. IN A WORD: Folk PATRICK EMERY
JACK ON FIRE
I Am Animal (Independent) One of the great casualties of the digital distribution boom is the weakening of the once revered album cover to the point of near redundancy. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a massive loss. Especially when you come across such a striking, memorable image as the cover for Jack On Fireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest record I Am Animal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the follow-up to the local quintetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debut LP Stranger Cain. The miniature bush landscape, created by artist Alyce Brandner, is an excellent evocation of the Australian Gothic, oozing mystery and menace. Thankfully, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a premise thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s confirmed in the sprawling desert psych of album opener and title track I Am Animal. Amidst swirling tambourines and pounding drums, Jack On Fire build steadily on a droning, hypnotic riff. Ben Blakeneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocals swim in a tidal wash of reverb. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loose, unhinged, spooky, and resoundingly stoned. Unfortunately, though, the quality isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite sustained throughout what is relatively a short album. Blood on the Mountain seems to simply run out of ideas around the two-minute mark and stumbles to an abrupt, unsatisfying finish. The jangly indie rock of Take Me Home also feels underdone. Perhaps itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a matter of the songs feeling constricted, lacking in depth, when measured against the spaciousness of the opener. That said, I Am Animal still offers a number of genuinely disquieting moments. Suzanne is a creepy murder ballad in the vein of Nick Cave, underpinned by Blakeneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ghostly vocal delivery and a closing rock-out that throws the song into the chaos of its subject matter. Old Love is another highlight, marrying hushed vocal harmonies with an eerie guitar line. And closer See Through the Rain provides a welcome dose of spirited, swampy BEST TRACK: I Am Animal rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;roll. Still, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not quite enough to elevate I Am IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL LIKE THIS: THE TRIFFIDS, THE GO-BETWEENS Animal beyond the potential the band clearly possess. IN A WORD: Promising WAYNE MARSHALL
POPSTRANGERS
Fortuna (Spunk) The previous album from Popstrangers, Antipodes, was a grizzled attention-grabber produced from their Auckland base. Their latest album polishes their sound in accordance with their big shift to London. Fortuna reveals the trioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pop sound to be less Flying Nun, more Britpop â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the classic â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;60s ilk as much as the more recent kind. The arm-waving chorus of Her is particularly reminiscent of UK â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;90s indie pop. The wide embrace of past and present settles somewhere between the wide-eyed jangle of Smith Westerns and the psychedelic indie rock of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, though the mixed outcome suggests itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an assemblage that needs to go one way or the other. Some songs play on dynamics to great effect and these make for the most memorable moments: sluggish verses with chugging guitars grind against softer, simpler choruses with disarming pauses on Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Be Afraid, while final song Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s On Your Mind? has a deliciously dark streak and a satisfying dose of psychedelic as it builds. On the other hand, offhand thrashers Distress and Right Babies fall a little flat. BEST TRACK: Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Be Afraid Fortuna sounds like a transitional album, as if the IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL LIKE THIS: II band are still settling into their new home â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and still UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA, Microcastle settling into a sound that works for them. DEERHUNTER CHRIS GIRDLER IN A WORD: Unsettled
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/<*21 67 &$5/721 7 BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 39
GIG GUIDE
WHAT'S ON AROUND MELBOURNE THIS WEEK
For all the latest gigs check out beat.com.au
WEDNESDAY 2 JUL INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
4TRESS + TRIUMPH OVER LOGIC + SAMMY OWEN BLUES BAND + DEMONIC COWBOYS Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5.00. BEN LEE + DANNY ROSS Howler, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $46.20. BJ MORRISZONKLE + DEAR PLASTIC + GREAT EARTHQUAKE Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 7:30pm. $10.00. COQ ROQ WEDNESDAYS - FEAT: JOYBOT + AGENT 86 Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm. HAYDEN CALNIN + LANKS + RUBY WHITING Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $10.00. HOLYOAKE + THE NARROWS + SHUT UP JACKSON John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. MASKATTA FALL Rubix Warehouse, Brunswick. 8:00pm. OPEN MIC Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. SECRET CRACKPIPE HANDSHAKE + DESTRENDS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $6.00. SHADY LANE RELAUNCH - FEAT: THE SWEETS + MARMALADE GHOST + STAX OSSET Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $7.00. SLVRKN + WHERE’S GROVER + THE BRAIN SNAPS Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. THE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS - FEAT: EM BOYD + ASH BALL Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. THE PASS OUTS + KING MAMMAL Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE PIERCE BROTHERS + SEAN POLLARD + MILLINGTON Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $15.00. TWO HEADED DOG & STONE REVIVAL Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $5.00. YOUNG LIBERALS + THE SHIFTERS Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 4:00pm.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
ALICE SARA OTT & FRANCESCO TRISTANO Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:30pm. $92.00. BOPSTRETCH Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. JAMES MCLEAN ALL TALK + ALISTAIR MCLEAN + SAMUEL ZERNA + JAMES MCLEAN Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $18.00. LUKE BRENNAN + PENCIL + LIL’ LEONIE LIONHEART Bar Open, Fitzroy. 11:00pm. PETER HEARNE & DIZZY’S BIG BAND Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00. TIM PLEDGER’S SANDWICH JESUS’ + SLIPPER + LOUISE GOH’S LAA 303, Northcote. 8:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
JEMMA & THE CLIFTON HILLBILLIES + ADRIAN STOYLES Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. MELBOURNE FOLK CLUB - FEAT: DAVID BRIDIE + DANIEL CHAMPAGNE Bella Union Bar, Carlton. 8:00pm. $20.00. OPEN MIC/JAM Musicland, Fawkner. 7:00pm. REBECCA BARNARD & BILLY MILLER’S SINGALONG Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 7:00pm. $15.00. SIMPLY ACOUSTIC Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL’S OPEN MIC Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm. WAIT LONG BY THE RIVER - FEAT: DARREN HANLON Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. WINE WHISKEY WOMEN - FEAT: SAL KIMBER Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm.
THURSDAY 3 JUL JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
CAM SCOTT HAMMOND GROUP 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.00. CINDERELLA - FEAT: OPERA AUSTRALIA Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 11:00am. $23.00. FREE RANGE FUNK - FEAT: JAKE JUDD + TIGERFUNK + LEWIS CANCUT Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm. JANIS SIEGEL Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:00pm. $45.00. JAZZ & SWING THURSDAYS - FEAT: ALLIRA WILSON Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. JAZZ THURSDAYS - FEAT: MANDY MEADOWS & THE JOHN MONTESANTE QUINTET The Commune, East Melbourne. 6:00pm. MELBOURNE IMPROVISERS COLLECTIVE Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. REV FUNK & THE HORNS OF SALVATION Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.00. STEWART D’ARRIETTA (THE TOM WAITS PROJECT) Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $35.00. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 40
GIG OF THE WEEK!
THE BOYS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. THE JAZZ CATS Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00. THE KING’S SINGERS Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:30pm. $99.00.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
3181 THURSDAYS - FEAT: MOKUMO + HANS DC WITH BLAIR STAFFORD + JOHN DOE + MONTY MCGAW + BENSON + SAM GUDGE + DYLAN B Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 6:00pm. ADELAIDE CROWS + TEASER PONY + PLEBS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $7.00. ANDY PHILLIPS & THE CADILLAC WALK Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. ANTHONY YOUNG & THE NEXT MAN DEAD (EP LAUNCH) + NICOLETTE & THE FORTE JAM BAND + ELLIOT FRIEND + TASH SULTANA Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. $10.00. BEC LAUGHTON + FIVE MILE TOWN + GENA ROSE BRUCE Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $12.00. BELL X1 + THE PHONCURVES The Hi-fi, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $55.00. DR PIFFLE & THE BURLAP BAND + EATEN BY DOGS + CHORES Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. EMPRA + THE DIVIDERS + SMOKESTACK RHINO + MAN FROM THE METEOR Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. GREEVES + DIAMONDS OF NEPTUNE + THE LOVELY DAYS Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8.00. GRENADIERS + MY ECHO + MAGIC BONES + HOLLIAVA John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. JACK BARCLAY + TWIN AGES + DEL BOCA VISTA + YOU & YOUR FRIENDS Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. LA BASTARD + TRANSVAAL DIAMOND SYNDICATE + THE MOCKINGBYRD Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. LIVE N COOKING - FEAT: THE GUILTS + ARRESTER The B.east, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. MAJOR LEAGUES + BLOODS + MAJOR LEAGUES + BLOODS Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $12.00. NEXT - FEAT: MASKETTA FALL + THE JUST-US LEAGUE + THE SPINSET Colonial Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15.00. PALACE OF THE KING + CONTANGENT Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. PLUGGED IN THURSDAYS - FEAT: THE DEAD ELECTED + MOTION LINERS + KIDS FROM THE MILL Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $5.00. PURPLE TUSKS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:30pm. SASKWATCH + HOLLOW EVERDAZE + JIM LAWRIE Corner Hotel, Richmond. 7:30pm. $22.00. SHAKE SOME ACTION - FEAT: STREETPARTY + SAMARITAN + POLYAVALANCHE Onesixone, Prahran. 9:00pm. $8.00. THE CHOPS + SUMMON THE BIRDS Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. THE KILNIKS RESIDENCY + THE SAND DOLLARS + DAYRIGS + THE FINAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART (80S COVER BAND) Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $2.00. THE NARROWS + MALADAPTOR + GANG DARTS Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. VAN WALKER Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 8:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
DAVID CARLIN + SARLIN + I’M FRANKIE Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $5.00. BENJALU Baha Tacos & Tapas Bar, Rye. 8:00pm. $10.00. CALLUM & THE BIG ORDER + THE DEAD HEIR Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $10.00. GALLIE Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. MEL WILKINSON + SHANE BAUER + CURTIS WHY Highlander, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. MORNING MELODIES (CHRISTMAS IN JULY) - FEAT: BRIAN MULDOON Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully. 12:00pm. $6.00. OPEN MIC Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm. OPEN MIC Elsternwick Hotel, Elwood. 8:00pm. THE VICE + KNIGHTS ON STANDBY Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. TRAPPIST AFTERLAND + CITRADELS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm.
FRIDAY 4 JUL JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
COOKIN’ ON 3 BURNERS (ALBUM LAUNCH) FEAT: DANIEL MERRIWEATHER + KYLIE AULDIST + JASON HEERAH + MANTRA + 1/6 Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $22.00. CRAIG SCHNEIDER TRIO Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $20.00. JANIS SIEGEL Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank.
THE HOLIDAYS Gee, have I had some absolute shocker holidays in my life. This one time, when I was seven, Dad took us to Canberra (what a guy) and we went to the War Memorial. Dad told my twin sister to touch one of the life-size soldier models in the exhibition, and when she did, the alarm went off and rang really loudly. My sister was crying and crying as Dad told everybody in the Memorial, “She did it, everybody! She did it!” To this day my sister still hasn’t recovered – she simply stays at home, refusing to touch anything made of plastic. Sometimes it’s worse. Sometimes she’ll bump into an old friend on the street and they’ll say, ‘We should stay in touch’ and she faints. But there are also good holidays – like Aussie indie pop band The Holidays. The boys will be joined by the very talented funkadelics Thief when they play The Hi-Fi on Friday July 4.
8:00pm. $50.00. JAZZ AT THE PARK - FEAT: ALEXANDER NETTELBECK + RENE TESSMER + ANDREW HORNEMAN + MIMI ZAETTA-THOMAS Raddi Restaurant & Bar, 6:00pm. STEVE MAGNUSSON TRIO Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. THE FABRIC Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $6.00. THE FURBELOWS + KELSEY JAMES Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $25.00. THE KING’S SINGERS Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:30pm. $99.00. THE PERFECTIONS Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 9:00pm. $10.00.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
ANDRE - FEAT: ANDRÉ + SLOW DANCER + MERSEY Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $10.00. BEAUTIFUL BEASTS + ZED EPPELIN + MYA WALLACE Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $10.00. BEST OF THE FEST - FEAT: SALAD DAYS + JAMES CADDY + WINONA FOREVER + KID SYDNEY Espy, St Kilda. 6:30pm. $20.00. BLOODWOLVES + SOLIS + DEADWEIGHT + REMOVALIST + ISCARIOT Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. BONJAH + RED X + GENA ROSE BRUCE Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $15.00. BROOZER + DREAD + MOTHERSLUG + ZOMBIE MOTORS WRECKING YARD Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. CALLUM & THE BIG ORDER Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 8:30pm. $10.00. CAN’T SAY Platform One, Melbourne. 9:00pm. COLLARD GREENS & GRAVY Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm. DEAD CITY RUINS + PEELING SUN Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 10:00pm. EBOLAGOLDFISH + DIVIDERS + THE FURROWS + BROWDOWN + STREET FANGS Vinyl Bar, Moonee Ponds. 8:00pm. EINSTEIN TOYBOYS Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. $10.00. FALCONIO + THE RASH OF SATAN + A PROCESS OF Sound Bar, Werribee. 8:00pm. $8.00. FLANAGAN’S FRIDAY NIGHTS - FEAT: NO STAIRWAY Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully. 9:00pm. $5.00. FOLLOW ME TO TENNESSEE - FEAT: LACHLAN BRYAN + DAN WATERS + THE WEEPING WILLOWS Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $15.00. FUNK BUDDIES + DIAMONDS OF NEPTUNE + BON SCOTTS + PEAR Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $8.00. HUGO RACE AND SHANNON BOURNE + HUGO RACE + SHANNON BOURNE Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 6:00pm. $18.00. ISLAND RUMBA + SOL NATION + MISS COLOMBIA + GOGO GODDESSES + DJS BRUCEMILNE & SCREAMIN J The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10.00. JEFF LANG Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $23.00. KINGS & QUEENS - FEAT: WARBIRDS + SHADOWQUEEN + CHASING LANA + ARAKEYE + SPACE RIOT + AVENUES OF THE EARTH Espy, St Kilda. 7:00pm. KINGSTON CROWN + JAJU CHOIR Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. MERRI CREEK PICKERS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES... BEAT.COM.AU/TV
East. 9:30pm. MIGHTIEST OF GUNS - + CHERRYWOOD + JUNK HORSES + GHOSTS ON THE HIGHWAY + DJ DRAW 4 Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.00. MOJO JUJU + FRANK SULTANA Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $20.00. SEXY/ HEAVY Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. SLY FAUKNER Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 5:30pm. STRATHMORE + AS A RIVAL + WE DISAPPEAR + GLADSTONE Public Bar, North Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10.00. THE BOOTLEG RASCALS Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. THE GRAND RELAUNCH - FEAT: REDCOATS + CHILD + FUCK THE FITZROY DOOM SCENE Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10.00. THE PHOSPHENES + ALICE D + QUINN & THE DEE Dancing Dog, Footscray. 8:00pm. $5.00. THE SINKING TINS + CIGGIE WITCH + BAD FAMILY John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:30pm. $8.00. TRANSVAAL DIAMOND SYNDICATE Catfish, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
DAN BRODIE Grumpy’s Green, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. ALFORD BULWINKLE + MARK HOWARD Owl & The Pussycat, Richmond. 7:00pm. $10.00. BENJALU Elwood Lounge, Elwood. 8:00pm. BLUES PARTY - FEAT: ALEISTER JAMES BLUES ASSEMBLY Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. BROWN RIVER YARRA SONGS - FEAT: JVG + MICK THOMAS + ANGIE HART + PETE LAWLER + CHARLES JENKINS + COOKIE BAKER + PETE WEING + FRANK JONES + BRUCE HEARN Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:30pm. $15.00. CHRIS WILSON Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:30pm. CISCO CEASAR The B.east, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. COMBO PACIFICA Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:30pm. FLYING ENGINE STRINGBAND Railway Hotel, Windsor. 9:30pm. FLYING ENGINE TRIO Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. LITTLE FOOT + SAMMY OWEN BLUES BAND + JAMES TEAGUE + MJ MAGUIRE + ZA ZA 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.00. RORY ELLIS & THE DEVIL’S RIGHT HAND Victoria Hotel (brunswick), Brunswick. 9:00pm. ROSIE & THE MIGHTY KINGS + ARCANE SAINTS + LITTLE HOUSE GODZ Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. SIMONE PAGE JONES Grant Street Performance Space & Bar, Southbank. 7:30pm. SONGWRITERS IN THE ROUND Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. SPENCER P JONES Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 5:00pm. SUN ON THE MOON Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury. 7:45pm. $22.00. TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC SESSION - FEAT: DAN BOURKE Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 6:00pm.
SATURDAY 5 JUL INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
CASH FOR GOLD + FIVE MILE TOWN + STAX OSSET Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $8.00. A MILLION DEAD BIRDS LAUGHING + NORSE +
GIG GUIDE
WHAT'S ON AROUND MELBOURNE THIS WEEK
For all the latest gigs check out beat.com.au AEON OF HORUS + HADAL MAW + APPARITIONS OF NULL Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $5.00. ADALITA Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 8:30pm. $20.00. ADOLESCENTS Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $37.00. BAND NIGHT - FEAT: MARK SNARSKI + MIA SCHOEN + TOTALLY MILD + TAYLOR PROJECT + BROWN & HURLEY + TIM & BRIDGET Coburg Rsl, Coburg. 7:00pm. $5.00. BANG - FEAT: OCEAN GROVE + BELLE HAVEN + EVER REST + GRIEVER Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. BEACONS + THE QUARTERS + DIVIDERS + EBOLAGOLDFISH + FOXTROT Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $10.00. BEN WHITING + DJ SOUL LOCO Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. BEN WRIGHT SMITH (EP LAUNCH) Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.00. BEST OF THE FEST - FEAT: NIKHAIL + TWIN AGES + AARON JAMES + CITY SHARPS + CORNERSTONE Espy, St Kilda. 6:30pm. $20.00. CHUPAROSA Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. COLOUR FOR THE GREY (EP LAUNCH) + HOLLIAVA + SUNDAY CHAIRS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.00. GRIND TILL DEATH - FEAT: ICONIC VIVISECT + MORBID ANAL + THE SEAFORD MONSTER + BRUTONOMY + THE MALEDICT Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $12.00. HELL CITY GLAMOURS + DON FERNANDO + THE DUKES OF DELICIOUSNESS + DJ BOBBY LOU Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $20.00. JACK ON FIRE (I AM ANIMAL LAUNCH) + HOWL AT THE MOON + GRETA MOB John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:30pm. $10.00. JESS LOCKE + VIRGINIA VILLIAN Old Bar, Fitzroy. 3:00pm. $10.00. JOHNNY CANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T DANCE Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. KING WOLF CatďŹ sh, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. KIRKIS + BLACK VANILLA + MARTIN KING + SUI ET SUI + PEACE PIPE X NO ZU DJS Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $17.00. LITTLE BASTARD Baha Tacos & Tapas Bar, Rye. 8:00pm.
LOW FLY INCLINE + SIERRA LEONE Vinyl Bar, Moonee Ponds. 8:00pm. MONESQUE FIETJE Owl & The Pussycat, Richmond. 8:00pm. $10.00. MUSICFEST - FEAT: IRON MADNESS + COVERDALE + STORY + KISS THE VYPER + 77 + RIVERSNAKE + STRONGER THAN ALL + MORTH. MERCURY WHITE + SEVEN DAYS FALLING + TEMPLE + AMONG THE LIVING + AMETHYST + THE STRANGERS IN TOWN + PATH OF DESTRUCTION + WILD VIOLET Musicland, Fawkner. 2:00pm. NEBRASKA + OLD LOVE + HAVE/HOLD + MNNTAB Public Bar, North Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10.00. POUNCE Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. PRESTON SKATE MASSIVE (THE VAGRANCY TOUR) + SPYNDRIFT + OLIN + STONE DESERT + NEHI&EVER-E-DAY + BOSSCO-ROCK + BINORMAL + MELISSA MAIN BAND Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. RICHIE 1250 & THE BRIDES OF CHRIST Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm. SASKWATCH + HOLLOW EVERDAZE + JIM LAWRIE Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $22.00. SEX ON TOAST + HORNS OF LEROY + UP UP AWAY Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $12.00. SOUL SAFARI + THE PUTBACKS + MZRIZK Bar Open, Fitzroy. 9:30pm. SURRENDER + POSTSCRIPT + THE APPROACH + RETRACE 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.00. THE SUNDAY REEDS + SOOKY LA LA + THE DEAD HEIR + THE NEW POLLUTION + DJ DIRTY GARRY Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.00. THREEZZACROWD Lincolnshire Arms Hotel, Essendon. 8:00pm. TINSLEY WATERHOUSE Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. TRANSVAAL DIAMOND SYNDICATE + DUMB AND BORED + TWO HEADED DOG + COTANGENT Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. VILLAINETTES + STRANGERS FROM NOW ON + HONEY BADGERS Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.00. VIOLENT SOHO + THE SMITH STREET BAND The Hi-ďŹ , Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $35.50.
BEN LEE Disease-ridden Sydney songwriter Ben Lee is an Australian music icon. Not only did Lee win several ARIA Awards in 2005 for his honest, touching song about his condition, Catch My Disease, but according to my friend Thomas, if you catch a Hitmonlee in PokĂŠmon Red and use a Leaf Stone on him, he evolves into Ben Lee. Never tested it but can you imagine?! â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ben Lee uses his sweet, charming voice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s super effective! Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve caught his disease!â&#x20AC;? Great stuff. Before he releases his new album later this year, Ben Lee plays Howler tonight with special guest Danny Ross.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
DOUG DE VRIES & ROGER CLARK QUARTET Dizzyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $20.00. EUGENE BALL QUARTET Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. JANIS SIEGEL Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 4:00pm. $50.00. JANIS SIEGEL Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 8:00pm. $50.00. SOUL A-GO-GO - FEAT: MISS GOLDIE + VINCE PEACH + MATT MCFETERIDGE + DJ MANCHILD + CHELSEA WILSON + ALESSIA PEGOLI + JACK SPARROW Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $15.00. THE EIGHTY 88S + GOGO GODDESSES + DJS MATT MCFETERIDGE + DUKE TEDERSCO The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5.00. WHODAFUNKIT? Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:30pm. $5.00.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
BENJALU Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. BRUNSWICK BLUEGRASS COLLECTIVE Open
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CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 41
GIG GUIDE
WHAT'S ON AROUND MELBOURNE THIS WEEK
THE PUSH
+ BEAT PRESENT... whatson@thepush.com.au
For all the latest gigs check out beat.com.au STEWART D’ARRIETTA (A CONCERT OF TOM WAITS SONGS) Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 3:00pm. $28.00. SUNDAY JAMS Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. THE ARCHITECTS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. THE BAND WHO KNEW TOO MUCH Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 4:30pm. THE HARMANIAX - FEAT: THREE KINGS Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 4:00pm. THREE KINGS + TRANSVAAL DIAMOND SYNDICATE Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 2:00pm. $5.00.
MONDAY 7 JUL TINY RUINS Tiny Ruins was initially formed as a solo project by Hollie Fullbrook in 2009, but now it’s a full band. Sort of reminds me of when you try take a shower and your family or housemates come in to do their hair and makeup. I mean, get fucked. Don’t even worry about your hair, just be confident and love yourself. I think in this case Hollie wanted them in the band, so maybe it’s a bit different, but still, all I ask for is 10 minutes – take your blow dryer and piss off into your room quite frankly. Tiny Ruins released their second album, Brightly Painted One, in May 2014 and have since toured New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the USA and Europe, seeing them through until Iceland in November. They are amazing live, I imagine they all want to be in the band and give each other space to shower, so come see them play Northcote Social Club on Tuesday July 8. Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. BUDDY LOVE Kojo Brown, Richmond. 7:00pm. DALE GORFINKEL Grant Street Performance Space & Bar, Southbank. 7:30pm. $20.00. GOLD GULL + GREG STEPS Victoria Hotel (brunswick), Brunswick. 9:00pm. HARRY HOOKEY BAND Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:30pm. HEY GRINGO + MIKE RUDD & NEALE JOHNS Wine Larder, Brighton. 5:30pm. JEFF LANG Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury. 8:00pm. JOHNNY GIBSON & THE HANGOVERS Union Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. JULIAN BRYNE & DAN DINNEN Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 9:00pm. MARK WILKINSON Forum Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $30.00. MUSTERED COURAGE + THE STRAY HENS Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:30pm. RIFLE BIRDS Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. SPIDY SPIDY + KILL TV + MISSISTA Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. SUN ON THE MOON (THE MUSIC OF JAMES TAYLOR) Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:00pm. $23.00. THE HORNETS (CD LAUNCH) Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $18.00. THE LONG STAND Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. THE TIPPLERS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 5:00pm. THREE KINGS Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:30pm. VIC OLD TIME JAM SESSION - FEAT: CRAIG WOODWARD + WARREN ROUGH Victoria Hotel (brunswick), Brunswick. 5:00pm.
SUNDAY 6 JUL JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
JAMES MULLER TRIO + ALEX BONEHAM + BEN VANDERWAL Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $20.00. THE RUBY ROGERS EXPERIENCE Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. ULTRAFOX Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 5:30pm.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
BERNIE CARSON + MARK HOWARD Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 3:00pm. CAT CANTERI Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. CHINESE HANDCUFFS + THEY MOVE LIKE WOLVES + NIKO NIKO + BAD HOBBITS Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. CLIENT LIAISON & ANIMAUX (ALL AGES) Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 2:30pm. $10.00. DAVE SAVAGE + JOE GUITON + SIMON WILSON + TAYLOR MCKNIGHT Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 4:00pm. DICK DIVER + HIEROPHANTS + STEVE MILLER BAND + DJS MIKEY YOUNG + JOE KOKOMO Copacabana, Fitzroy. 12:00pm. $8.00. EMILEE SOUTH Catfish, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. EZRA LEE Clare Castle Hotel, Port Melbourne. 8:00pm. GARETH LIDDIARD + SARA RETALLICK Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $20.00. GREAT JOHN HIMSELF + ROAD TRAIN + WHITEHALL Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5.00. GUNN MUSIC ARTIST SHOWDOWN - FEAT: PSEUDO + ASH ARCHER & THE SPITFIRES + CHASER + DICE + SHUT UP & CHOKE ME + BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 42
BRENDAN FORWARD + TURTLE MEAT FOR SMILES + JEFFRY’S CABBAGE Espy, St Kilda. 12:30pm. HOY + WHITAKER Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 7:30pm. $10.00. ITCHY SCABS Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 4:00pm. KISSING BOOTH + UDAY’S TIGER + EMPLOYMENT Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 6:30pm. $8.00. LINCOLN LEFEVRE + VIRGINIA VILLIAN + JACK LIVINGSTONE Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 3:00pm. MINISTRY OF PLENTY + POLICE & THIEVES + CHAMBERS + ALISTAIR MASCOT Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 6:00pm. MOUNTAIN GOAT BEER SOAKED SUNDAYS FEAT: WAYWARD BREED + EMPIRE OF POETS + RAVENSWOOD + THE SCOUTS + ROLLER ONE + BBROOKE RUSSELL & THE MEAN REDS + SEAN MCMAHON & THE MOONMEN + JUNK HORSES Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $8.00. MUSICFEST - FEAT: IRON MADNESS + COVERDALE + STORY + KISS THE VYPER + 77 + RIVERSNAKE + STRONGER THAN ALL + MORTH. MERCURY WHITE + SEVEN DAYS FALLING + TEMPLE + AMONG THE LIVING + AMETHYST + THE STRANGERS IN TOWN + PATH OF DESTRUCTION + WILD VIOLET Musicland, Fawkner. 2:00pm. PHAKE PHUR Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 4:30pm. SEX ON TOAST + SWOOPING DUCK + DX HEAVEN Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $12.00. SKYSCRAPER STAN & THE COMMISSION FLATS Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 4:00pm. STEVE LUCAS Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbotsford. 5:00pm. SUNDAY SCHOOL - FEAT: ALDOUS HARDING + HELLO SATELLITES + HOT PALMS Public Bar, North Melbourne. 4:00pm. TASTE OF INDIE COLLECTIVE - FEAT: BAD HOBBITS + BRETT FRANKE + GEORGE BORTHWICK & OKKEY SUMIYOSHI DUO Wesley Anne, Northcote. 3:00pm. $5.00. THE BENNIES Public Bar, North Melbourne. 2:00am. $10.00. UGLY KINGS + THE BLACK ALLEYS + BAD UNCLE + TWISTED PISTOL Bar Open, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. VIOLENT SOHO + THE SMITH STREET BAND The Hi-fi, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $35.50.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
BACKWOOD CREATURES Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. BAD HOBBITS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 3:00pm. CRAIG WOODWARD’S BANJO-B-QU Mercat Cross, Melbourne. 1:00pm. DAREBIN SONGWRITERS GUILD 303, Northcote. 3:30pm. FIELDS SEE & MASON Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North. 4:00pm. IAN VANDY Tram Stop Bar, Moonee Ponds. 3:00pm. JOHNNY PAV & TJ QUINTON Victoria Hotel (brunswick), Brunswick. 5:00pm. LAURA IMBRUGLIA + WILLOW DARLING Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. LAYLA & RHI FIBBINS Union Hotel, Brunswick. 3:30pm. LIV CARTLEDGE World Restaurant Bar, Southbank. 8:00pm. MARTY KELLY & THE WEEKENDERS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:00pm. MICK DALEY & THE CORPORATE RAIDERS Union Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. OPA 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $5.00. OPEN MIC NIGHT Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 6:00pm. RILEY BEECH + TOBIAS HENGEVELD BAND Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 4:00pm.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
BENNETTS LANE BIG BAND Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $18.00.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
BROADWAY UNPLUGGED - FEAT: ALI CALDER + JOSIE LANE + LUCY MAUNDER + CLE MORGAN + JESSICA PRINZI Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $20.00. CHERRY JAM Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. FORMLESS MONDAYS - FEAT: HOODLUM SHOUTS DUO Catfish, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. I DO LIKE MONDAYS - FEAT: LANARK + BREVE + THE NOISE POLLUTION + DEAN ANTHONISZ Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $6.00. THE HURRICANES Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
CAJUN DANCE PARTY - FEAT: THE ‘JOHNNY CAN’T DANCE’ CAJUN BAND Victoria Hotel (brunswick), Brunswick. 7:00pm. DEAR MONDAY - FEAT: GUS MCKAY + KATE ANASTASIOU + INTAMELODIES + SASHA MARCH Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm. ELIZABETH BARKER Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. SONGWRITERS COLLECTIVE 303, Northcote. 8:00pm.
TUESDAY 8 JUL JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
ALISA WEILERSTEIN Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:30pm. $92.00. DARREN WRIGHT & SOURTHERN STARS Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00. JAMES MULLER TRIO + ALEX BONEHAM + BEN VANDERWAL Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $20.00. STANDING TALL Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00. SWEET ADE Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
FRESH INDUSTRY SHOWCASES Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. $15.00. GEORGIA SPAIN + JOSH RENNIE HYNES + STEVE GRADY Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $6.00. KRAKEN CHEAP RUM NIGHT - FEAT: GEORGIA SPAIN + JOSH RENNIE HYNES + STEVE GRADY Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $6.00. RICH DAVIES & THE DEVILS UNION + GHOST TOWN OF THE MIDWEST Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. ROOTS OF MUSIC - FEAT: MAEFLOWER + SONS OF MAY + HARRISON STORM Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $8.00. RUBY BOOTS & THE ABBOTSFORD THREE Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. RUBY TUESDAYS - FEAT: AMISTAT + SARLIN + DJ LOVELY CLEAR WATER Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $7.00. THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL DISCOVERY NIGHT FEAT: OFFSPRING FOR CONVICTS + LITTLE MISS REMEMBERING + CHAMBERS + CLICK Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. THE UNDERHANDED - FEAT: TRANSVAAL DIAMOND SYNDICATE + A BASKET OF MAMMOTHS + MALADAPTOR Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. ZOE RYAN & THE DANDY LION 303, Northcote. 8:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
CAMERON LEE-BROWN John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. IRISH SESSIONS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:00pm.
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ACCESS ALL AGES Wednesday July 2, 2014 With Alex Black
If Big Day Out’s demise has got you down in the dumps and the typical Melbourne winter weather is just pulling your mood further south, then what I’ve got up my sleeves this week will be sure to turn that frown upside down! First up we have Head of a Lion. This Melbournebased band recently took first place at Maribyrnong Freeza’s Battle of the Bands and they’ll satisfy all your metalcore cravings. After forming early last year and sharing the stage with Boris The Blade and much loved band, House Vs Hurricane, they’re set to release their self-titled EP this July so keep your eyes peeled for that. I know you love it when I feed your metal cravings but here’s something different to add to your playlist. Melbourne girl Bianca Mallouk will make your heart melt and give you the same warm fuzzy feeling sitting on the ducted heating does (if you don’t do this you’re missing out). From her Bring Me the Horizon covers to original compositions this girl will leave you wanting more, head over to youtube.com/user/ h0peinw0nderland/ to get your fix! And only because good things come in threes, here’s another rad artist for you to check out. Straight out of Tasmania, six-piece indie surf rock band Ursine made waves when their track Cloudberries reached number one on the triple j Unearthed charts last year and are set to stir things up yet again with their newly released Everything Looks Better EP. If indie pop is your jam then you can catch them on their east coast tour this July. To download their EP head over to ursine101. bandcamp.com. Have you heard about Music Victoria’s Dollars and Sense funding and grants workshops yet? If you’re looking for some hot tips on how to plan, budget and write applications that will knock the socks off whoever reads it then look no further! Don’t miss out on this killer opportunity, email info@musicvictoria. com.auto reserve your spot. If your head is in the clouds of the digital realm and you haven’t already downloaded Music Victoria’s Melbourne Music City Gig Guide app yet then you better head to the app store before you miss out on any more gigs!
ALL AGES TIMETABLE FRIDAY JULY 4 Push Start Battle of the Bands – Casey heat w/ Sierra, Glorified, Shoreside, Heatherlea, Shelbyville, To The Gallows, The Evercold, Epimetheus, Stand Against, Cranbourne Public Hall, Cnr South Gippsland Hwy & Clarendon Street, Cranbourne, 6.15 pm–11.15 pm, $10 with a pass, $12 without, casey.vic.gov.au/youth, AA SUNDAY JULY 6 Pay What You Wish w/ Graves, Elegist, Void Of Vision, Villes, Acrasia, Harbour, OLP Ringwood, 4 Wilana Street, Ringwood, 1pm-5.30pm, Pay what you wish ($2-$50), contact ash at ash@brightsideagency. com, AA Queenscliff Music Festival and FOOT-in-theDOOR FReeZA Residual + Bellarine Secondary College Year 12 VET Music Students, The Pavilion, Lower Princess Park (cnr Symonds st & Hygeia Drv) Queenscliff, 2pm – 6.30pm, Free, qmf.net.au, AA Client Liaison w/ Animaux, The Gasometer Hotel, 484 Smith Street Collingwood, 2:30-6pm, tickets. oztix.com.au, AA TUESDAY JULY 8 The Push Freeza Summit Melbourne, Fitzroy Town Hall, 201 Napier St, Fitzroy, 10.45am – 3.30pm, Free but must RSVP, thepush.com.au, AA WEDNESDAY JULY 9 The Push Freeza Summit Euroa, Wednesday 9th July, Strathbogie Shire Council Offices, 109A Binney Street Euroa, 10.45am – 3.30pm, Free but must RSVP thepush.com.au, AA
Thurs 3rd @ 8.30 pm
PURPLE TUSKS (Pointy end funk-rock)
Friday 4th @ 9.30pm
MERRI CREEK PICKERS (Slick-picken’ bluegrass)
THU 3RD
Saturday 5th @ 9.30 pm
$&2867,& ´*$//,(µ ,5,6+ )2/.
“JOHNNY CAN’T DANCE” CAJUN BAND
FROM 8.30 PM
SAT 5TH
(Cajun cookin’)
Sunday 6th @ 5.30 pm
ULTRAFOX (CD LAUNCH) (Foxy gypsy swing)
;IH RH .YP]
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TWO SETS FROM 5 TO 7 PM
MARTY KELLY & THE WEEKENDERS (Acoustic roots)
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MUSIC TRIVIA NIGHT HOSTED BY LAURA IMBRUGLIA WIN BOOZE FOOD & KNOWLEDGE 7.30PM TUES
LOCALS NIGHT
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WED
RHYTHM KITCHEN (4th JULY) THE O’DOWDS (5th JUly)
“TOMORROWS DREAM” CLUB NIGHT GUEST DJ KISS ME DEADLY 8PM THURS
THE NO 1 JONES 9PM FRI
JAMES MCCANN & THE NEW VINDICTIVES 9PM SAT
MY PROBLEM CHILD PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS 9PM SUN
SPENCER P JONES (SOLO)
SUN ARVO RESIDENCY WITH BRIAN HENRY HOOPER (SOLO) 4PM
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BACKSTAGE
THE PLACE FOR MUSICIANS
For more information or ad bookings call Aleksei on 9428 3600
HEAD GAP
How big is the studio? Housed in a 400 sqr meter building, Head Gap is purpose built for audio production. Incorporating the studio, lounge, kitchen, outdoor bar-b-q space and technical repairs workshop, all areas of Head Gap have been carefully designed to incorporate natural light, providing an open and creative atmosphere. The studio layout provides a space that allows a band to set up and play live, as you might at a gig or rehearsal. Instruments like drums, bass, guitars and keyboards can all be recorded at the same time, with or without isolation, if that is the way you like to work. This allows efficient use of time, and the ability to capture the music with the greatest degree of spontaneity and feel.
Anything else you’d like to mention? Head Gap specialises in recording and mixing music, and we believe you’ll be happiest with the results when that entire process takes place at our studio. However, budgets are budgets, and we understand that. So maybe you want to record with us, making use of our tape machine and great sounding live room for drums, but then over dub elsewhere and come back for mixing. That’s fine. Or maybe you want to record everything with us, using great gear all the way, making sure you walk out with primo sounds, then mix the songs yourself at home. That’s also fine. Maybe you’ve done a great job recording yourself at home, but would like your songs mixed on an analogue console for the best final results. We do this a lot, too. So really, any combination you can think of is fine with us, and we are only too happy to talk through the merits of differing approaches. Please contact us to organise an obligation-free tour of the studio and catch a vibe!
PHONE: (03) 9480 6280 WEBSITE: www.headgap.com.au E-MAIL: info@headgap.com.au
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Recording gear available? Most of the usual suspects including a Studer A800 multi-track tape machine, Neotek Elite 50 channel analogue in-line mixing console, 40 I/O ProTools HD system, Event OPAL monitoring, Neve, Neumann, AKG, Royer, Urei, Empirical Labs, Lexicon.
Producers and Engineers: Head Gap is owned by Melbourne producer/engineer Neil Thomason who has operated the space as his home base for the past eight years. Joining him currently for production and engineering work is Simon Cotter. The studio is also able to be booked by freelance engineers. Please contact us for rates and details.
AW A
What are the digital and analogue capabilities of Head Gap? Head Gap has endeavored to provide an ‘all-solutions’ equipment list to allow a band to explore the many ways of making a record. For bands interested in recording to analogue tape, we provide one of the finest 2 inch 24 track machines ever made. Other sessions may require the high track-count and complexity that can only be dealt with by recording digitally. Most projects end up involving a combination of both approaches, and Head Gap has been put together to allow this to happen as seamlessly as possible. We even provide the option of recording to both tape and digital simultaneously, if that’s your bag.
ONTHS GI VE
Hours of operation: 24/7.
Artists and bands you have worked with? The Dirty Three, Paul Kelly, Courtney Barnett, Augie March, Beaches, Adalita, My Disco, The Twerps, Violent Soho, Magic Dirt, Jen Cloher and Regurgitator. Please visit headgap.com.au for a full client list.
IS M
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BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 45
INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH
MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
With Christie Eliezer * Stuff for this column to be emailed to <celiezer@netspace.net.au> by Friday 5pm
BAKEHOUSE STUDIOS LAUNCHES AT ROOM FOR MUSICIANS Contemporary visual artists have transformed Bakehouse Studios’ traditional rehearsal rooms with art installations for the musicians. These include those made of cake icing by the Hotham Street Ladies; taxidermy from vegan artist Julia deVille; a metal room by jeweller Cass Partington; musical history room from Bruce Milne; a bespoke ‘backstage’ by design duo Brustman+Boyde; a homage to pulp fiction by screen printer Stewart Russell; and a glam rock disaster by Garrett and Will Huxley. To celebrate, the Leaps and Bounds festival is throwing a street party in Little Hoddle Street on Saturday July 12 and Bakehouse will open their doors to the public for the first time. Studio Tours and live music from Harmony and The Impossible No Goods with BJ Morriszonkle from 11am and running through the afternoon.
DV8 CLOSING After 14 years, punk, metal and goth mecca DV8 is hanging up its horns. It launched many bands and DJs and its “No Suits Allowed” sign meant patrons created a sense of community over its three levels. Its last hoorah is on Saturday July 5. Past to present DJs and bands are playing, all filmed for posterity.
NO SLEEP ‘TIL SXSW Artist applications for South by Southwest (March 17-22 2015, Austin) are uploaded via sonicbids.com as an EPK from Tuesday July 8. Details at sxsw.com/music/shows/apply. The application fee is US$33 rising to US$45 September 12 and closing October 10. The Aust, NZ, Hawaii rep, Phil Tripp, urges Aussies to apply as early possible, to be in the first in the queue with the US listening panel, and government grants and appropriate visas.
THINGS WE HEAR • Sia is well known for her media-shy antics, including appearing on the cover of Billboard with a paper bag on her head. At the APRA awards in Brisbane, she “received” her Songwriter of the Year gong with a video speech. Her US manager David Russell sported a platinum-blonde wig and lip-synched to her recorded words, during which she thanked “all the Australian musicians who taught me subconsciously how music should be.” Lindy Morrison received a standing ovation and v-e-r-y long cheer when she picked up her achievement trophy. She recalled that back in the Joh Bjelke-Peterson days she was arrested in the square out the front of Brisbane City Hall. When Robert Forster announced Song of the Year, he said, “I heard it in Coles, it’s Riptide by Vance Joy.” Brian Nankervis was a well-acclaimed host, at one point getting everyone to holds hands and do the Brisbane City Hall chant. • Twitter is said to be considering ways to introduce more music audio content onto the site, wanting consumers to have the same service as on phones. • Katy Perry was given an award for highest-selling digital act in America in the history of Gold and Platinum awards, the first to pass the 70 million mark. • A British scientist got thrown out of a classical concert in the UK. He tried to crowd surf during a performance of Handel’s Messiah. • Brisbane street mag Scene is going monthly and changing name to scenestr. • At K-Rock in Geelong, Victoria, breakfast co-host of six years Chicken Dyer moves on to concentrate on his surf company Winkipop Surf Industry. Jody McLeod aka Hunter (ex-Nova 100 Melbourne) joins as workday announcer. • The Herald Sun reckons the Reclink Community Cup drew 13,500 people.
• Ballarat’s live music venue Karova Lounge is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. Manager Lachie Anderson and owner Gary Wilson are releasing a book of photos and messages and putting together a show on Saturday July 19 of local acts including Yacht Club DJs and a reunion by Neon Love. • After putting on a blistering rock show in Kiev on May 24, one time AC/DC member Dave Evans is invited to return to the Ukraine for a tour in October. • Tourism Victoria’s Events Program is providing assistance grants to two cultural events: the Melbourne Fringe which attracts 16,000 visitors from intestate ($15,000) and the Melbourne Writers Festival ($8,500) to promote themselves. The two get $591,000 annual funding from the State Govt. • Two more Melbourne acts notch up frequent flyer miles. Twenty Two Hundred were picked to open for Slash’s UK tour in November and December. Dub FX played this week at Rome’s world music festival.
NEW SIGNINGS #1: ALBERTS SIGNS KATHRYN ROLLINS Melbourne songwriter Kathryn Rollins signed a world publishing agreement with Alberts. Her new track Cut & Paste It is a new direction from the finger-picking acoustic feel of her 2012 debut EP Reckless. Raised in WA with a jazz guitarist father who taught her to harmonise, Rollins first began writing songs as a teen learning piano at 12 and guitar at 14. Her 2013 single Who Shot The Bird Down? got triple j airplay and placed in TV series Wentworth.
NEW SIGNINGS #2: DEW PROCESS GET POWDERFINGER PUBLISHING Powderfinger moved the publishing of their two million selling back catalogue from Mushroom Music to Dew Process, in a worldwide administration deal. It includes their entire first five albums. Dew Process will also represent songs on Dream Days at the Hotel Existence and Golden Rule in Europe, North America and the UK through its arrangement with Kobalt Music Group.
NEW SIGNINGS #3: LITTLE MAY JOIN DEW PROCESS Sydney trio Little May signed with Dew Process, issuing a new single Dust. Their earlier singles Boardwalks and Hide have had a million plays.
NEW SIGNINGS #4: JACKNIFE MUSIC ISSUES GEORGIA MAQ Jacknife Music (The Smith Street Band, The Bennies, Lucy Wilson) will next month release With A Q, the debut single by Georgia Maq. The 19-year-old daughter of Redgum’s Hugh McDonald played on stage with him while at school and learned songwriting at 10. Through high school, she uploaded covers onto YouTube. On the final day of school, “I turned off my phone, skipped work, ran into the city, got my busking license and started playing that night.” A five-track EP of folk punk Friends and Bowler’s Run was sold at gigs.
NEW SIGNINGS #5: REICHARDT JOINS I FORGET, SORRY! Producer and multi-instrumentalist Reichardt joined Sydney’s I Forget, Sorry! collective. Having worked with Tim Hart (Boy & Bear) and Bliss N Eso, he steps into the solo spotlight with his debut single Sunflower featuring Hart.
NEW SIGNINGS #6: DIE! DIE! DIE! AT BLACK NIGHT CRASH
Night Crash Records, releasing their fifth album S W I M on Friday August 15. BNCR earlier signed Bo Ningen ( Japan/ UK).
NEW SIGNINGS #7: VIOLENT SOHO SIGN U.S. DEAL Brisbane’s Violent Soho scored a US deal with punk label SideOneDummy Records, which will see Hungry Ghost released there on Monday September 29.
NEW SIGNINGS #8: NATALIE STARZYNSKI GETS PUBLISHING DEAL Nashville-based Melbourne singer-songwriter Natalia Starzynski was signed by Warner/Chappell Music Nashville for a world publishing deal. She has been writing with American country music writers. She will continue to live in Nashville while recording her first album.
LEMON TREE MUSIC BEARS FRUIT After a soft launch this year, Lemon Tree Music – the management firm set up by Melbourne band Bonjah’s Regan Lethbridge and David Morgan – is now official. Aside from Bonjah (who just sold out four shows in Melbourne and hit #1 on the AIR chart and #21 on the ARIA chart), the roster includes Pierce Brothers who head to Europe in August to play Lowlands Festival in Netherlands; NSW Central Coast multi-instrumentalist Daniel Lee Kendall who just inked a record deal and upcoming singer/songwriter Jack Stirling.
MBAS BLUES CHALLENGE The Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society (MBAS) is holding its Blues Challenge, with heats and final at the Royal Standard in West Melbourne. Heat 1, on Monday July 14, features Dan Dinnen, John McNamara, Le Toot Ensemble and Leigh Slogett Duo. Heat 2 is the next day, also starting at 7.30, with Dave Diprose, Michael Politt, The Hornets Duo, Paul Jamieson and Mark Rombout and Wilson and White. The final is Sunday July 20 at 5pm. Table bookings at 9328 2295 or info@royalstandardhotel.com.au
MUSIC COMMUNITY HELPS NORDOFF-ROBBINS In the wake of the music industry’s Music Quiz event raising $250,000 for music therapy organisation Nordoff-Robbins, $275,000 was made from Art Of Music which auctioned 11 pieces of art inspired by iconic Aussie songs. Guy Maestri’s burned-out bush landscape Are You Leaving for the Country, based on The Drones song, raised $40,000. Also attracting attention were Ben Quilty’s portrait of Missy Higgins based on The Sound of White, Lucy Culliton’s ballerina on Don Walker’s Young Girls and Leslie Rice’s semi-nude woman and skeleton holding a guitar for AC/DC’s Back In Black.
‘SEARCH FOR PEARLS’ WINNER ANNOUNCED! In a night of fun filled entertainment, Black Pearl Studios located in Melbourne’s east hosted the final round of the Search For Pearls Songwriting Competition. From over 900 songs that were entered, a shortlist of twenty singers, bands and groups represented all genres across seven broad categories and a variety of ages, sounds and styles. The overall major prize winner was local Melbourne band, Slightly Left of Centre, taking home the $10,000+ major prize of recording sessions, production, mastering and two months promotion. They will celebrate by releasing their new single at the Northcote Social Club on August 3rd. For more information on Black Pearl Studios, the amazing curators and hosts of this awesome songwriting competition, visit www.blackpearlstudios.com.au
LIFELINES Born: son Memphis Julian to publicist Vince Sanna and wife Ana. Engaged: Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid and Friends actress Courteney Cox after stepping out for six months. Injured: a 17-year-old trying to sneak into the Solstium Shadows festival in the Watagan State Forest north of Sydney with two friends via a 260-foot cliff in the dark. It took 12 hours for rescuers to reach him. Recovering: US singer Merry Clayton, best known for her appearance on The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama after being seriously injured in a car accident in LA. Ill: one-time Canberra band manager and promoter turned head of Canberra Institute of Technology Adrian Marron, revealed to ABC 666 he spent most of last year battling leukemia. Ill: Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell will undergo a stem cell transplant to battle the return of his Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In Court: The FBI are asking for Insane Clown Posse’s lawsuit against them for calling their fans gang members to be thrown out. In Court: New Kids on the Block’s Joey McIntyre is being sued by a Californian family whose members were hurt in an alleged car accident. In Court: Kevin Mann, owner of Zelda’s nightclub in Perth’s Rockingham, successfully appealed against several conditions put on his licence after two bikie-related assaults near his club in 2011. He had to close at 2am and could not put on adult entertainment. He told the Supreme Court that his crowd were not “Hollywood” types but still deserved to be able to go to a nightclub. In Court: Liam Gallagher is “fuming” after the New York mum of his daughter pulled out of a settlement after he paid her US$5,000 a month support. Died: US soul man Bobby Womack, after a medical decline with colon cancer and early Alzheimer’s. Known for hits as Across 110th Street and It’s All Over Now, he enjoyed a renaissance, appearing on the Gorillaz’s Style with Damon Albarn producing his 2012 album Bravest Man in the Universe. Died: NSW bassist and singer Izzy Foreal (The 69ers, The Zarsof Brothers), 65, while jogging through the Bongil Bongil National Park. His gig on the weekend at the Raleigh School of Arts became a celebration of his life. Died: US country Cajun fusion pioneer Jimmy C. Newman, best known for ‘Alligator Man’, 68. Died: Memphis soul songwriter and guitarist Mabon ‘Teenie’ Hodges, 68, from emphysema. He wrote many of Al Green’s hits including Take Me to the River and performed on Ann Peebles’ I Can’t Stand the Rain.
Dunedin, NZ-based punk trio Die! Die! Die! signed to Black
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