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PORT FAIRY
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Sinéad O’Connor • The Gloaming Buffy Sainte-Marie • Richard Thompson John Butler Trio • Christine Anu Charlie Musselwhite Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas • Ami Williamson Ash & ,Bloom • Sharon Shannon Band • Frank Yamma The Heartstring Quartet • Jeff Lang • The Black Sorrows Mark Seymour & The Undertow•Lake Street Dive•Steve Poltz WITH
Luluc • Mike Brady • Skipping Girl Vinegar Frankie J Holden & Wilbur Wilde • Chris While & Julie Matthews Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys • Hat Fitz & Cara Robinson Himmerland • Edwina Hayes • Jordie Lane • Ruth Moody • Shane Howard Ross Ainslie & Jarlath Henderson • The Chipolatas • Wagons Tom Mason & The Blue Buccaneers • Whitetop Mountaineers Ajak Kwai, All Our Exes Live In Texas, Bearded Gypsy Band, Catherine Britt, Chris Tamwoy, Maru Tarang, Danny Spooner, Davidson Brothers, Enda Kenny Trio, Fiona Boyes & The Fortune Tellers, Jan Preston’s Boogie Circus, Jenny Biddle, Jo Jo Smith, Jodi Martin Band, Kamerunga, Justin Bernasconi, Karavana Flamenca AND
Aniar, Bobby & The Pins, Fiona Ross Band, Kieran O’Connell & Shanakee, La Mauvaise Reputation, Lamine Sonko & The African Intelligence, Lucy Wise Trio, Marlon Williams, Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club, Michael Fix, Microwave Jenny, Nick Charles, Oh Pep!, Perch Creek , Roesy, Siskin River, Sky Scraper Stan & The Commission Flats, Steve Smyth , Stray Hens, Sweethearts, Rick E Vengeance, The Baker Suite, The Company, The Orbweavers, The Yearlings, Tracy Mc Neil & The Goodlife, Trouble In The Kitchen, We Two Thieves, Zeptepi, ZeoN
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Nick Anderson (solo)- 8PM
Friday January 30
The Velvet Archers + Alison Ainsworth - 8PM Sunday February 1
Thomas Byrne (Solo) - 5PM
Thursday February 5
ERECT presents #Melbourne Music
Nick Evangelou, Jane Sea, Grace King, Alexandra Pye 7.30pm Friday February 6
The Cliches +Melissa & Zac - 8PM Sunday February 8
Sunday Songwriters New Tides, Brett Franke, Acousticky Situation, Nick Evangelou, GK Stratton 5PM Friday February 13
Gary Eastwood 8PM
THE NECKS
The Neck' s mesmerising style of jazz, avant-garde, ambient music slowly unravels revealing new discoveries with each listening riveting audiences worldwide. The jazz trio of Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck and Lloyd Swanton conjures a chemistry together that defies description. Tickets $45
AVANT JAZZ TRIO
THU 12 FEB 7.30PM ‘One of the most extraordinary groups on the planet.’ The Guardian
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IN THIS ISSUE Primitive Calculators
12
HOT TALK
16
TOURING
18
THE SMITH STREET BAND
20
WHATS ON, THE SALVATION
21
ART OF THE CITY, THE COMIC STRIP
22
BLAK CABARET, BILL BURR
25
PBS DRIVE LIVE
26
LITTLE DRAGON, THE DECEMBERISTS
PBS DRIVE LIVE page 25
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN page 27
27
J MASCIS, BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
28
STEEL PANTHER, STEVE LUCAS
29
CORE/CRUNCH
30
MUSIC NEWS
33
LIVE
34
ALBUM OF THE WEEK, SINGLES, CHARTS
LITTLE DRAGON 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 PUBLISHER: Furst Media Pty Ltd. MUSIC EDITOR: Cara Williams ARTS EDITOR / ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR: Tyson Wray
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INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH
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FRANK YAMMA
THUNDAMENTALS
Thundamentals have announced a string of 2015 shows for their Elephant In The Room tour, seeing them perform in all states over the coming months. The tour coincides with the 12 month anniversary of their third album So We Can Remember, the only 2014 record nominated for a J Award, a Carlton Dry Independent Music Award, an ARIA Award, an Fbi SMAC Award and the Australian Music Prize. Thundamentals will hit up The Corner Hotel on Friday April 24. For tickets and more information, visit thundamentals.com.
Frank Yamma released his breathtaking album Uncle in October 2014 following a standout year of touring, including a sold out album launch at AWME in Melbourne. The SA-based Pitjantjatjara man sings in his native languages as well as English, with songs of country, protection, heartache and love that show the continuity of a musician that is hitting his peak with grace and conviction. Now, Melbourne audiences have a chance to catch him at two special concerts this February – Friday February 6 at Blak Nite Screen 6 in Treasury Gardens, and a headline show on Saturday February 7 at Yarra Hotel. Visit the venue websites for more info.
HORRORSHOW
Sydney hip hop duo Horrorshow are taking their unplugged show on an intimate national tour over March and April. Following sold out acoustic shows in Sydney and Brisbane, Horrorshow have already proven their worth in the Australian music scene, with their last records both hitting #2 on the ARIA charts. Joining them on tour are special guests Tuka and Tom Thum. Horrorshow perform in Melbourne at Ormond Hall on Friday March 20. Tickets are available from Oztix.
Q&A
SILVERSTEIN
Canadian post hardcore pioneers Silverstein have announced a national tour in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album, Discovering The Waterfront. Since the album’s 2005 release, Silverstein have gone on to play nearly 2,000 shows and sell a million albums. The upcoming run of dates will see the guys play Discovering The Waterfront in full along with their greatest hits. It will also come ahead of their new album, I Am Alive In Everything I Touch, which is slated for release around the time of the tour. They’ll be joined by Melbourne metalcore outfit Dream On Dreamer and Brisbane’s Young Lions. Catch ‘em on Friday May 8 at 170 Russell.
IRON RAEGAN
Hardcore thrash quintet Iron Raegan are returning to Aussie shores this April for a string of shows. Formed in 2012, Iron Raegan have already released a demo EP and full length Worse Than Dead, and are coming off the back of the recently released split with Exhumed From Tankcrimes. They perform at The Tote on Saturday April 11. Tickets available from the venue’s website.
YELLE
OF S TO L E N M OM E N T S FEVERTEETH CORDELL - LASER BRAINS FRIDAY 30TH JAN THE PUBLIC BAR DOORS AT 8:30PM 238 VICTORIA ST $5 ENTRY NTH MELBOURNE
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 12
French electro pop duo Yelle will return to our shores this March for a national tour in support of their latest album, Complètement fou. Produced by famed American producer Dr Luke, the album of brightly coloured electro with French vocals marks the pair’s third full-length release. Co-founded by Julie Budet and Jean-Francoise Perrier in 2005, Yelle is the French acronym for “You enjoy life.” They’ll hit The Corner on Sunday March 29. Tickets are on sale now through Live Nation.
HEAVY METAL TRIVIA
Attention metal heads. The Espy is bringing their much talked about Heavy Metal Trivia night back to St Kilda. Presented by Patterns of Bane Records and The Espy, Heavy Metal Trivia will again be hosted by the hilarious heavy metal duo of Doug Steele (Alarum, HEAVY TV) and Yeti (Frankenbok) and will feature three rounds of brain-busting questions, including some live shredding audio questions courtesy of the delightfully skilled hosts. The night will culminate in the awarding of bulging prize packs containing a whole heap of merch (including three limited edition Pantera t-shirts from a run of only 500 worldwide), CDs and metal magazines courtesy of sponsors Heavy Metal Merchant, Nerve Gas and Heavy Music Magazine. For more information, visit espy.com.au.
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Beat’s Artist Profile with
The Rider
Define your genre in five words or less: Psychedelic soul. 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? They would probably go on about how great we are, great harmonies, crazy solos and groovy as all hell. Their words, not mine. What inspires or has influenced your music the most? A lot of our inspiration comes from the ‘60s and ‘70s; flares, big collars, tie-dye, peace, love and mutton chops. That’s the sound I want our music to create. What do you think a band has to do these days to succeed? If I knew I am sure we would be much more successful, however, other that being the best band out there you need to be very persistent. Do you have any record releases to date? What? Where can I get it? Go to therider.bandcamp.com, it’s all there. Our first EP Mount Echo, a single, Talking Through Walls and our most recent release Songs from Side A. Why should everyone come and see your band? We play music that has intelligent and complex in its theory but we always make sure it is groovy and danceable. When are you playing live/releasing your album/EP/single/etc? Our show this Friday is for the release of the second half of our EP, Songs from Side B. I’m not quite sure why we are releasing an EP in two halves, it just kind of happened. But it does mean we get to tour twice, which is nice.
THE RIDER are playing at The Brunswick Hotel on Friday January 30.
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ANI DIFRANCO
Ani DiFranco, who really shouldn’t need an introduction, is one hell of an achiever. She’s a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and widely considered a feminist icon. She was one of the first independent musicians to create her own label, Righteous Babe, which has given her a tremendous amount of artistic freedom. She’s highly out-spoken on issues such as abortion rights and gay visibility. Plus, she has more than 20 albums to her name. Needless to say we feel a little inadequate in comparison. Thanks to Shock Records; we have one copy of her latest release, Allergic to Water, signed by the legend herself, to giveaway. For your chance to win, head to beat.com.au/freeshit.
BALLARAT BEAT ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL
The Ballarat Beat Rockability Festival is back, celebrating an all Australian lineup across four epic nights of music. Bands from across Australia are making their way to Ballarat, kicking things off on Thursday February 12 until Sunday February 15. The festival will showcase a range of acts, including The Satellites and The Lincolns from South Australia, The Detonators, Jump ‘n’ Jive and Atomic Hi-Tones from Melbourne, No Brakes and Satellite V from Sydney, West Texas Crude from Brisbane and The Sky Rockats from Warrnambool. Other great Aussie bands at the festival will include Ezra Lee and the Havoc Band, TJ and the Twinspinners, the Pacific Belles and The Dirty Boogie Band. Tickets for the Ballarat Beat Rockabilly Festival can be purchased through Ticketmaster. Visit ballaratbeat.com.au for more information.
ACE FREHLEY
Get ready to rock and roll all night. Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is coming to town for the first time since 2010 this autumn. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee will make the journey down under on the heels of his new Space Invader LP. His two hour show will feature everything from Frehley’s solo works like New York Groove, Snowblind and Rock Soldiers to KISS classics like Cold Gin, Strutter and Love Gun. Frehley is also slated to play a bunch of rare KISS songs for all of those die-hard fans like Talk to Me, Rocket Ride and Strange Ways. Catch him on Saturday May 2 at The Forum. Tickets go on sale January Wednesday 28 at 9am.
CLIENT LIASON
Client Liaison are hitting the ground running in 2015. The Ansett-adorning duo have just released the video for Pretty Lovers, the closing track from their 2014 self-titled debut EP. To celebrate, they’ll hit the road for one of their most extensive tours to date. They’ll hit 170 Russell on Friday March 20. Tickets available from Ticketscout.
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER EXHIBITION
The final days of this superb exhibition are on. For the finale, the exhibition will be open from 6pm on Saturday February 7 until midnight, the second last day of the exhibitions run before it departs to Paris on February 8. Food and drink offerings will be available from 6pm right through to midnight. If you haven’t seen this exhibition yet, don’t waste any more time. Luckily, we have a double pass to give away, valued at $28 each. To enter, head to beat.com.au/freeshit.
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Lamb of God
LAMB OF GOD
CHERRYROCK015
Thought that Melbourne’s greatest rock’n’roll festival to ever hit AC/DC lane, the colossal CherryRock, was done and dusted? Think again. While fear was circulating that the new 108 Flinders Street residential development and Pastuso restaurant at the foot of AC/DC Lane would put CherryRock into the ground, it seems that things have worked themselves out for Melbourne rock’n’roll fans. As Cherry Bar owner and booker James Young explains, “The new residents can just suck it up, but we did have concerns with Pastuso because they are a very popular Peruvian restaurant open seven days and nights a week. Thankfully David Parker and the guys are really good guys and we came to an ingenious solution. They host their annual staff party on Sunday May 10 and Cherry gives them all free tickets to come to CherryRock015. Bang. Deal done. Turn everything up.” Fuck yes. To mark their triumphant return, CherryRock015 have turned the heat up and delivered a mammoth lineup for their 2015 incarnation. From Portland Oregon to AC/DC Lane, stoner-rock heroes Red Fang will headline proceedings. CherryRock015 will also feature the volcanic sounds of Beastwars (NZ), Hits (Bne), Child (Cherry Awards 2014 Act of the Year), Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene, The Simpsons-inspired doom rock duo Dr. Colossus, tenth birthday celebrations from My Left Boot and Los Hombres Del Diablo (Syd). It all goes down on Sunday May 10 in AC/DC Lane. Visit www.cherrybar.com.au for tickets and more info.
RITA SATCH
Soul diva Rita Satch has announced her first show of the year – a special onenight-only appearance with her full band at Bennetts Lane. In the last 12 months, Satch has fast developed a reputation as an unforgettable presence in Melbourne’s neo-soul movement. She spent most of 2014 recording, touring and performing live, releasing her self-titled EP and finishing off performing European shows in London and Paris during December. Her next 12 months looks set to be more of the same. Rita Satch performs at Bennett’s Lane on Friday January 30. Visit bennettslane.com for more information.
Virginian natives Lamb of God have announced Sidewave shows in Melbourne, ahead of their appearance at Soundwave next month. Joining the band for their headline shows will be fellow Soundwave act Killer Be Killed, who will play their first ever club shows in the world during this tour. Lamb of God will play at 170 Russell on Tuesday February 24. Tickets are available through Oztix. Killer be Killed
BONOBO
TITLE FIGHT
Bonobo will return to our shores for a national DJ tour this March. The tour will see Simon Green travel to Auckland, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth for solo DJ sets with new eye-popping visuals. Bonobo released his fifth album The North Borders in 2013 and has since played over 175 shows across three continents and 30 countries. He was last in Australia for the 2013/14 edition of Falls followed by a slew of sold out headine shows. He’ll play the Prince Bandroom on Thursday March 19.
Title Fight have announced a headline Australian tour in support of their new album, Hyperview. Title Fight’s last release Spring Songs was a throwback to bands like Jawbreaker, and followed extensive touring with Pity Sex and fellow emo revivalists Dads. Their twelve date tour sees them hitting all states, playing in Melbourne on Friday June 26 at The Corner Hotel. For more information visit cornerhotel.com.
The Peep Tempel
AUSTRALIAN MUSIC PRIZE SHORTLIST
The 10th Annual Coopers AMP has announced a shortlist of nine albums up for the prize, selected from the 65 long list of nominees. Leading up to the winners announcement on March 4, the victors take home $30,000 prize money courtesy of PPCA. The shortlist is; About Face by #1 Dads, Built On Glass by Chet Faker, Gon’ Boogaloo by C.W Stoneking, Grassed Inn by Blank Realm, Laura Jean by Laura Jean, Raw X Infinity by REMI, Tales by The Peep Tempel, The Sleeper by Caitlin Park, and Typical System by Total Control. For more details, visit thecoopersamp.com.au. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 14
THE WATERBOYS
The Waterboys have announced a welcome return to our shores this March for a series of headline shows, in addition to their already announced Byron Bay Bluesfest appearance. Coinciding with the recent release of their eleventh studio album Modern Blues, The Waterboys will hit up the Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday March 27 for their second Australian appearance. Tickets are on sale at 10am on Friday January 30. Visit livenation.com.au.
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SLATES
Canadian punk rock four-piece Slates are bringing their act to Australian audiences, announcing a string of February performances across the nation. Described as “The Replacements of Edmonton” Slates have their snarling, socialist punk status locked down with two albums and three seven inches already under their belts. They perform in Melbourne on Wednesday February 18 at The Old Bar and Thursday February 19 at the Public Bar. For tickets and more information, visit slatesband.ca.
DARREN HANLON
Singer/songwriter Darren Hanlon is back in Australia, with a tour supporting the release of his fifth studio album Where Did You Come From? The tour will see Hanlon crisscross the country during March and April, playing festivals and regional venues in between major cities, ending with a show at The Corner on Friday April 17. Tickets are available through the venue.
SHANE JACOBSON AND THE MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA
Australia’s much loved actor/entertainer Shane Jacobson and the exhilarating big band sensation The Melbourne Ska Orchestra will unite on stage for an evening of hilarity, mischief and music at the Crown Palms. Conducting the MSO is the insanely charismatic Nicky Bomba. Together Jacobson and Bomba create a powerhouse comedy duo that will delight audiences as they perform tunes from the MSO’s ARIA nominated album, as well as hits from James Brown, Ray Charles, Glenn Miller, The Specials, Madness and many more. It all goes down at the Crown Palms on Friday February 6. For tickets are more information, visit www.shanejacobson.com.au.
Q&A
Blackwood Jack
What’s it like growing up in Warrnambool? I guess it’s no different than any country town, if you live here long enough you’ll want to get away from it, but once you get away you’ll always find yourself coming back. They always come back. How has it influenced your songwriting? I’m sure it has in some way, but it’s not like I’m writing songs about the place. There’s been a great music scene brewing here for a while, so it’s very supportive for such a relatively small town. When did you decide to move to Melbourne? Hey! We’re still in the ‘bool, but maybe one day we’ll make the move. What’s the last record you bought? Kirin J Callinan – Embracism. What’s the one thing people should know about your band? That we are a band of three young men. BLACKWOOD JACK are launching their EP The Pessimist at The Worker’s Club this Friday January 30. CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 15
TOURING
WHO'S ON TOUR, WHERE AND WHEN
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INTERNATIONAL FKA TWIGS 170 Russell January 28, 29 RUSTIE Howler January 29 PERFECT PUSSY Corner Hotel January 29 RITA SATCH Bennetts Lane Jazz Club January 30 SOHN Corner Hotel January 30 CHIODOS Corner Hotel January 31 BELLE & SEBASTIAN Palais Theatre February 1 FAIRFIELD SUMMER SERIES Fairfield Ampitheatre February 1, 8, 15, 22 LITTLE DRAGON 170 Russell February 2, 3 THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM The Forum February 3, Prince Of Wales February 4 RAURY Howler February 3 JAMES BAY Northcote Social Club February 4 ANGEL OLSEN Howler February 4 MAC DEMARCO The Hi-Fi February 4 JUNGLE 170 Russell February 4 HIGHASAKITE Corner Hotel February 4 MAHALIA BARNES & JOE BONAMASSA Prince Bandroom February 5 CONNAN MOCKASIN Howler February 5 VIC MENSA Corner Hotel February 5 BENJAMIN BOOKER Northcote Social Club February 5 CARIBOU The Forum February 5 SUZI QUATRO Melbourne Arts Centre February 5, 6, 7 RATKING Ding Dong Lounge February 6 STEFFI AND VIRGINIA Venue TBA February 7 LANEWAY FESTIVAL Footscray Community Arts Centre February 7 STING AND PAUL SIMON A Day on the Green February 7, Rod Laver Arena February 10 SARAH MCLAUGHLAN Melbourne Recital Centre February 9 SPOON The Forum February 11 J MASCIS Melbourne Recital Centre February 13 LUNICE Howler February 14 GENIUS OF TIME Venue TBA February 14 THE ANTLERS Melbourne Recital Centre February 14 LAMB The Forum February 14 CJ RAMONE Reverance Hotel February 14, Bendigo Hotel February 15 DANIEL ROSSEN Northcote Social Club February 15 PERFUME GENIUS Corner Hotel February 15 G-EAZY Howler February 16 LINDSEY STIRLING Forum Theatre February 17 SLATES Old Bar February 18, Public Bar February 19 TINASHE The Hi-Fi February 20 ROXETTE Rod Laver Arena February 20, Rochford Wines Yarra Valley February 21
GREAT AUSTRALIAN BEER FESTIVAL Geelong Racecourse February 21 PETER HOOK AND THE LIGHT Corner Hotel February 21 SOUNDWAVE FESTIVAL Flemington Racecourse February 21, 22 HINDS John Curtin Hotel February 22 THE EAGLES Rod Laver Arena February 22, Hanging Rock Macedon February 28 CIARA Alumbra February 22 THE SMASHING PUMPKINS Festival Hall February 23 SOUNDGARDEN Festival Hall February 24 INCUBUS The Forum February 24 LAMB OF GOD 170 Russell February 24 REAL ESTATE Corner Hotel February 25 THE COURTNEYS John Curtin Hotel February 26 CAMP CASUAL Gippsland, Victoria February 27 – March 1 DRAKE Rod Laver Arena February 27 STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS Melbourne Zoo February 27 DELTRON 3030 The Hi-Fi February 27 FREDDIE GIBBS Corner Hotel February 28 FOO FIGHTERS Etihad Stadium February 28 BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL Various Venues, Brunswick March 1 – 15 MOGWAI Hamer Hall March 1 SHARON VAN ETTEN The Hi-Fi March 3 RUTH MOODY Bell Union Trades Hall March 4, Caravan Club March 5 SHOVELS & ROPE AND SHAKEY GRAVES Corner Hotel March 4 SINEAD O’CONNOR Hamer Hall March 4 RUFUS WAINWRIGHT Palais Theatre March 4 GRUFF RHYS Northcote Social Club March 5 TECH N9NE The Hi-Fi March 6 NENEH CHERRY Hamer Hall March 6 FIRST AID KIT Palais Theatre March 6 PARQUET COURTS The Hi-Fi March 6 MAITREYA FESTIVAL Sea Lake, Victoria March 6 – 9 WOMADELAIDE Botanic Park, Adelaide March 6 – 9 SINEAD O CONNOR Port Fairy Folk Festival March 6 – 9 GRAVEYARD Ding Dong Lounge March 7 WAYNE ‘THE TRAIN’ HANCOCK Ding Dong Lounge March 6, Caravan Club March 7 MACY GRAY Palais Theatre March 7 THE POP GROUP Corner Hotel March 7 FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL Flemington Racecourse March 8 65DAYSOFSTATIC Northcote Social Club March 8, 9 GOODLIFE Flemington Racecourse March 9 PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING Northcote Social Club March 10 OBLIVIANS The Tote March 11, 12, 13
LOS STRAITJACKETS & BIG SANDY LuWOW March 12 BALKAN BEAT BOX Prince Bandroom March 12 ADAM COHEN Caravan Club March 13, The Toff In Town March 14 MAE Corner Hotel March 14 FOREST SWORDS Howler March 14 HTRK Shadow Electric March 15 JESSIE J Margaret Court Arena March 17 TONY JOE WHITE Thornbury Theatre March 18 BOBBY BROWN The Forum March 19 BONOBO Prince Bandroom March 19 HORRORSHOW Ormond Hall March 20 SMALLTOWN Secret warehouse location TBA March 21 SUN KIL MOON Athenaeum Theatre March 21 URIAH HEEP Shoppingtown Hotel March 21, Chelsea Heights March 22 BILLY IDOL Margaret Court Arena March 24, A Day On The Green March 21 MASTODON Festival Hall March 27 THE HILLS ARE ALIVE The Farm March 27 – 29 EMERY Northcote Social Club March 29 YELLE Corner Hotel March 29 SWITCHFOOT 170 Russell March 31 BEN HOWARD Margaret Court Arena March 31 KEB’ MO’ Melbourne Recital Centre March 31 CHARLES BRADLEY Corner Hotel April 1 JURASSIC 5 Festival Hall April 1 PAOLO NUTINI Palais Theatre April 1 SERENA RYDER Northcote Social Club April 2 MICHAEL FRANTI Festival Hall April 2 BETH HART Melbourne Recital Centre April 2 BOOGIE 9 Bruzzy’s Farm, Tallarook April 3 – 7 REBELUTION Corner Hotel April 3 GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC 170 Russell April 3 BAND OF SKULLS Bluesfest, Byron Bay April 3, Rochford Wines April 5, Corner Hotel April 7 COUNTING CROWS Palais Theatre April 4 G. LOVE AND SPECIAL SAUCE Thornbury Theatre April 4 THE CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD Corner Hotel April 4 THE BLACK KEYS Rolling Green April 5, Margaret Court Arena April 7 TROMBONE SHORTY AND ORLEANS AVENUE Corner Hotel April 6 DISPATCH Palais Theatre March 31, Prince Bandroom April 7 RODRIGO Y GABRIELA Palais Theatre April 7 POKEY LAFARGE Caravan Club April 8, Corner Hotel April 9 GARY CLARK JR. 170 Russell April 8 JIMMY CLIFF Corner Hotel April 8 DAVE & PHIL ALVIN Northcote Social Club April 9 DONAVON FRANKENREITER Corner Hotel April 10 NORMA JEAN Evelyn Hotel April 10 THE GIPSY KINGS Palais Theatre April 10 FRANK TURNER Corner Hotel April 12 ARCHITECTS 170 Russell April 12 ATILLA Arrow On Swanston April 15 (AA), Corner Hotel April 16 (18+) THE DICKIES The Evelyn April 16 THE OCEAN The Evelyn April 18 CITIZEN Reverence Hotel April 20, 21 (AA) DEMI LOVATO Margaret Court Arena April 24 SAM SMITH Margaret Court Arena April 30 ACE FREHLEY The Forum May 2 PALOMA FAITH Palais Theatre May 5 ANASTACIA Palais Theatre May 7 SILVERSTEIN 170 Russell May 8 SUFFOCATION & DECAPITATED Corner Hotel May 9 ALT-J Rod Laver Arena May 10 NICKELBACK Rod Laver Arena May 15 AGAINST ME! Corner Hotel June 6 YELLOWCARD Margaret Court Arena July 11 NEIL DIAMOND Rod Laver Arena October 27 AUDRA MCDONALD Hamer Hall October 31 TAYLOR SWIFT AAMI Park December 11
NATIONAL ME The Evelyn Hotel January 30 STEVE LUCAS Cherry Bar January 31 LA BOHEME Prince Bandroom January 31, February 1 ST KILDA FESTIVAL Various Venues, St Kilda January 31 – February 8 BENNY WALKER St Kilda Festival January 31, Melbourne Zoo March 13 NEXT STOP MELBOURNE SummerSalt Festival Hub, South Bank February 1 THE SMITH STREET BAND The Hi-Fi January 31, Northcote Social Club February 1 (U18) CLARE BOWDITCH Flying Saucer Club February 1, 8, 15, 22 NGV SUMMER SUNDAYS February 1, 8, 15, 22 POND Corner Hotel February 3 BEN FROST The Hi-Fi February 5 THE VANNS Sandbar, Mildura February 5, Gordon Hotel, Portland Febraury 7, Hotel Warnambool February 8, The Espy February 12, Saloon Bar, Traralgon February 27 SUN GOD REPLICA The Tote February 7 SUMMER SOUNDS Various venues, Hobsons Bay Febraury 7 – 28 GUY PEARCE & DARREN MIDDLETON Thornbury Theatre February 7 THE FUCK FUCKS Prince Of Wales February 8 LEPERS & CROOKS Lucky Coq February 8, Old Bar February 9, Great Britain Hotel February 14 THE TELEVISION ADDICTS Reverence Hotel February 12 COLLARBONES Hugs & Kisses February 12 INFECTED MUSHROOM RMH February 12 THE NECKS Melbourne Recital Centre February 12 KIM CHURCHILL Corner Hotel February 13 THE BIRTH OF BLACK SABBATH CELEBRATED Yarraville Club February 13 RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL Echuca-Moama February 13 – 15
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 16
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PROUDLY PRESENTS
JAN
30
SOHN
The Corner Hotel
Red Fang
MAY
10
CHERRYROCK015 AC/DC Lane
MEGAN WASHINGTON 170 Russell February 13 MELBOURNE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sidney Myer Music Bowl February 14, 18, 21 JAM AT THE DAM Invermay February 14 CARUS THOMPSON Northcote Social Club February 15 LITTLE BASTARD Northcote Social Club February 19 LIME CORDIALE Northcote Social Club February 20 KYNETON MUSIC FESTIVAL Kyneton Mechanics Institute February 20 – 21 ANGUS AND JULIA STONE Margaret Court Arena February 27 DZ DEATHRAYS Northcote Social Club February 27, 28 HOW YA GARN? YEAH NOT BAD John Curtin Hotel February 28 BETWEEN THE BAYS FESTIVAL Penbank School, Moorooduc February 28 RUTH MOODY Bella Union March 4, Caravan Club March 5 PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL Port Fairy, Victoria March 6–9 CLOWNS Bendigo Hotel March 6, 9 (AA) CHERRYROCK015 featuring Red Fang, Beastwars, Child and more, AC/DC Lane Sunday May 10 VANCE JOY Palais Theatre March 12, 13 PSYCROPTIC The Hi-Fi March 13, Wrangler Studios March 21 KINGSWOOD The Forum March 13 LUCA BRASI Northcote Social Club March 14, Wrangler Studios March 15 KYLIE MINOGUE Rod Laver Arena March 18 CLIENT LIASON 170 Russell March 20 XAVIER RUDD The Forum March 21 THE BEARDS The Hi-Fi March 21 HELLIONS Reverence Hotel March 21, Phoenix Youth Centre March 22 ROCK THE BAY The Espy March 21 WHOLE LOTTA LOVE Palais Theatre March 21 THE BENNIES Northcote Social Club March 21, Wrangler Studios March 22 LISA MITCHELL Howler March 27 PENINSULA PICNIC Mornington Racecource March 29 ROLLING GREEN FESTIVAL Rochford Wines Yarra Valley April 5 IRON RAEGAN The Tote April 11 AUGIE MARCH Melbourne Recital Centre April 15 DARREN HANLON Corner Hotel April 17 JORDIE LANE The Toff In Town April 18, 19 THUNDAMENTALS Corner Hotel April 24 THE GETAWAY PLAN Corner Hotel May 22 SHE WHO ROCKS TOUR The Hi-Fi May 29 TITLE FIGHT Corner Hotel June 26 DARREN COGGAN The Palms July 3
RUMOURS THE GO-BETWEENS, DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979, THE STROKES
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THE SMITH STREET BAND By Augustus Welby, Photo by Ian Laidlaw
For certain writers, there comes a time of moving beyond the realm of experience to become hyper-aware observers. Of course, life experiences continue, but instead of purely living in the moment, everything’s approached as a means to a creative end. Wil Wagner, frontman and chief songwriter for Melbourne’s The Smith Street Band, is a compulsive songwriter. In fact, his application to writing is borderline perverse.
“I’ll see someone on the tram and write two lines about them,” he says. “I’m always trying to collect information and put it through a spectrum and then try to write about it. It’s almost my job to try to live an exciting and romantic life so I have things to write about.” Thankfully, the fruits of Wagner’s mania serve a communally beneficial purpose. Released last October, The Smith Street Band’s latest album Throw Me In The River – the quartet’s third LP since adopting the name of the Collingwood neighbourhood hotspot five years ago – landed in the ARIA Top 20. The band spent the remainder of 2014 playing live, marking a trail through the US, UK, Europe and Australia. Last week The Smith Street Band kicked off yet another Australian tour, tagged ‘Get High, See Everyone.’ They’re doing their utmost to live up the tour’s title – along with Saturday’s sold out date at The Hi-Fi, they’ve scheduled an U18s show at Northcote Social Club on Sunday and visits to Bendigo, Geelong and Ballarat. It’s been a jam-packed few months, but that hasn’t dulled Wagner’s songwriting urge. “I’ve got 30-something demos for the next Smith Street record, whenever that’s going to happen,” he says. “My relaxing downtime activity is writing and playing guitar. I play guitar for hours everyday. It’s like a puzzle that you’ll never quite finish but it’s really satisfying when you find the right piece. “I don’t really write for the band,” he adds. “I write to stay sane. Since I was really young – 13 or 14 – it’s been a coping mechanism for me, to sit down and write lyrics. It helps me understand how I think about things and helps put things in perspective for me.” Wagner’s tendency to use songs as a means of finding clarity amid experiential congestion is evidenced by the darkness that frequently crops up on Throw Me In The River. It’s not darkness of the horror film variety; rather, it’s a lived in emotional murk, a place of selfdisgust and shattered fancies. It’s not all doom and gloom, however, as Wagner’s lyrics regularly contain signs of hope within reaching distance. The line “I just want someone to talk to/ Someone to hold their hand against my hand/ Say it’s alright, I understand,” (taken from It’s Alright, I Understand) is a prime example of how often the misery-mending force is another’s embrace. Yes, despite The Smith Street Band’s loud, aggressive nature, the subject underpinning a vast portion of their catalogue is love. As ever, life experiences provide Wagner with excellent creative fodder in this regard. “The last few break ups I’ve had, the people have been like, ‘This is going to end up on a fucking album isn’t it?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah… sorry’,” he says. “I really like people and interacting with people – especially being able to go overseas and meet people from completely different backgrounds to anything that I’ve ever BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 18
experienced. People will just put ideas in my head. Everything’s constantly inspiring me. “My mum’s an author. I remember when I was 15 or 16, going through a really bad break up, and she said, ‘Well you’re a creative person, so when things like this happen to you it’s bad, but it’s material.’ That’s something that’s really stuck with me.” By looking deeply into one’s thoughts, with hopes of recovering something of creative utility, a writer risks their work growing uninvitingly insular. Conversely, gifted lyricists are able to depict scenes and emotions with such vivid accessibility that listeners are made to feel like part of the action. On past releases, Wagner’s frequently referenced specific Melbourne sites and phenomena, which added greater interest for local listeners. On Throw Me To The River, he turns his attention towards a number of overseas locations he’s visited during the last couple of years. In spite of this, lines such as “The first time we made love/ It was dark and we were drunk/ In someone else’s hostel bathroom,” from Calgary Girls, provide enough tactility to prevent alienating any listeners who are only familiar with the 3000s postal region.
“I WRITE TO STAy SANE. SINCE I WAS REAlly yOUNG – 13 OR 14 – IT’S BEEN A COPING MECHANISM fOR ME, TO SIT DOWN AND WRITE lyRICS.” “When I’m writing lyrics I try to take myself out of it as much as I can,” Wagner says. “Especially now that a few more people are listening, it’s easy to get caught up about saying the right thing, or, ‘Should I be singing only about myself ?’ or ‘Should I make it about everyone?’ The songs I really like and relate to – same with books and authors – are things that are written in a very immediate way. I try to do that with songs as much as I can. “As soon as I come up with an idea for anything, I start recording straight away so that all of those initial flurry of ideas are there,” he continues. “I try not to edit as much as I can… I just let it come out. I don’t really understand how it works; I don’t think anyone really does. I just try to let my hand write whatever it’s writing and see what happens from there. I do try to make everything very immediate and upfront. I want things to be impactful when we’re playing them.” Speaking of international travel, gigging in the Northern Hemisphere is now a regular component of life for The Smith Street Band. The band’s fortunes
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overseas have been on an upward slant for a couple of years now, but they’re not occupying billboards in Times Square just yet. International touring is a gamble for most performers – and particularly so for an independently run enterprise like The Smith Street Band – but Wagner isn’t the type to moan about the rough side of life as a musician. “We make less than minimum wage off the band, but I can’t think of any job I would rather be doing than going to Europe twice a year,” he says. “It’s pretty awesome. Even going on tour and losing money, it’s like, ‘Well, what else are you going to spend money on besides going overseas and having an incredible time?’ That’s not losing money, that’s spending money. I think so many bands get caught up on that, like, ‘Oh if we go to Europe we’ll lose money.’ Yeah, you’ll lose money the first five times you go to Europe. But you get to go to fucking Europe. “In the middle of six months of touring, you wake up feeling like dog shit and it’s like, ‘Oh God why do we have to keep doing this?’ It’s like, ‘Well, it’s still better than working at a call centre’,” he laughs. Visiting countries that many folks only dream of seeing is definitely a perk of the job. What’s of greater importance for Wagner, however, is that the people coming to the shows – be they many or few – get something meaningful from the performance. When that’s the case, there’s no other payment that could even compare. “You put out records and make them as cheap as you can and tour heaps and work your arse off – that’s what makes me feel good about playing music,” he says. “I’m not worried about numbers and record sales. It’s more like, if a few people come up to me after a show and say, ‘That was fucking incredible’, that means so much more to me. “Because we do play so much, I’m so used to getting that positive reinforcement of playing shows. You know, every night people just applaud my decision to drop out of university. It’s pretty easy to get addicted to.”
Catch THE SMITH STREET BAND on Thursday January 29 at Barwon Club in Geelong, Friday January 30 at Karova Lounge in Ballarat, Saturday January 31 at The Hi-Fi (sold out), Sunday February 1 for an U18s show at Northcote Social Club and Thursday February 19 at The Hi-Fi. They’re also playing Party in the Paddock over Friday February 20 and Saturday February 21. Tickets are on sale now from www. thesmithstreetband.com. Throw Me In the River is out through Poison City Records.
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BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 19
THIS WEEK: ON SCREEN Beautiful Noise, a tribute to the short-lived but hugely influential scene that was shoegaze, will make its Australian premiere at ACMI this January and February. Evolving from the hypnotic and moody sounds of bands like Joy Division and The Cure, the shoegaze scene developed and eventually evolved into the monstrous Brit pop movement, epitomised by Blur and Oasis. Shoegaze took the mood of the post-punk sounds and the layer-upon-layer approach of psychedelia to create a fusion of guitars, synth and heavy beats. For a decade straddling the 1980s and 1990s, and primarily centred in the UK, the period produced a range of outstanding records and musicians with the sound remaining fresh and inspiring today. Records such as The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Psychocandy, Ride’s Nowhere and My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless defining the time. Beautiful Noise is screening at ACMI from Saturday January 31 until Sunday February 8.
With Tyson Wray. Got thoughts, news, gossip, complaints or cat photos? Email tyson@beat.com.au or send by carrier pigeon before Friday 12pm. women, their faces, all had a little bit of enhancement. I was also production designer – with the interiors, the houses, I wanted to do something that felt realistic. I spent a long time with every detail of the film.” The Salvation was shot in South Africa after Levring found both the United States and Australia were too expensive. “In a Western the landscape is like a character, part of the visual style. South Africa sounds like a compromise but I needed to shoot the film in the right place, with the right landscape, and also somewhere where there is already an industry in place; we needed horsemen, stunt people.” Was Mikkelson Levring’s first choice for the lead role? “Oh yes. Because we’re a tiny country and there are not that many actors of stature and calibre. I knew him already for a long time. He had always wanted to do a western. He’s a very physical actor; he loves to ride. And he brings much more to the film, he’s a loyal person, he’s behind you – he works very hard and he’s still hungry as an actor – a real wonderful man.” Which elements of the film in particular had Levring had been carrying around for years? “Quite a few specific moments. There is one scene where the priest/ sheriff talks about walking down that ‘wrong path’. I had that scene in mind many years ago.”
ON STAGE Married bliss or hit and miss? Four vastly different married couples descend on the peaceful country setting of the Paradise Valley Couples Retreat, for a weekend of relationship therapy. Sharing their stories and situations, and revealing their true selves, events unfold to explore their relationships warts and all, giving the audience a fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the character’s private worlds. Based on real life events, the production explores the themes of marriage, commitment and love, as the couples interact and reveal their issues, resulting in some touching moments, many comical situations and surprising revelations. Couples will be performed at La Mama on Friday January 30 and Saturday January 31.
ON DISPL AY Exxopolis is a dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes, a monumental inflatable structure designed to generate a sense of wonder at the beauty of light and colour. Islamic architecture, Archimedean solids and Gothic cathedrals meld into an inspiring mix of design and engineering, creating a luminarium of nearly 1,000 square metres. Exxopolis is the first luminarium to be mainly designed on computer with new technology allowing a verywide ranging experiment. Be transported into a colour-filled universe. Exxopolis is a spellbinding experience that is perfect for all ages. It is currently on display at the ACCA forecourt until Sunday February 1 as part of the SummerSalt Outdoor Arts Festival.
PICK OF THE WEEK
Following the recent rebooting of the legendary Star Trek film franchise, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will perform two very special concerts this weekend. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will perform Michael Giacchino’s evocative score whilst J. J. Abrams’ Academy Award-winning Star Trek film is shown simultaneously in high definition on the big screen. It will be performed at The Plenary on Saturday January 31 and Sunday February 1.
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THE SALVATION By Liza Dezfouli
The Salvation by Danish director Kristian Levring is thrilling fans of the classic Western everywhere. Even audiences at Cannes. “I never imagined that Cannes would take it,” says Levring, speaking to Beat from London. “I never thought it was that kind of film, to get into that festival. The reception there was overwhelming, very touching. Cannes can be so rude.” Levring’s film features a lone hero, Jon (the incandescently talented Mads Mikkelson) on the run with his brother (Sean Michael).The pair migrated to the US from Denmark in the 1870s. When the film opens the brothers are meeting Jon’s newly arrived wife and son, from whom Jon has been separated for seven years. Events take a tragic turn and as a result, Jon finds himself the outsider, betrayed by the townsfolk, and hunting down a charismatic villain, Delarue (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan with gleeful malevolence), who apparently holds all the cards. The Salvation was written by Levring and his long term collaborator, Anders Thomas Jensen. It has been described as being ‘imbued with a Nordic temperament’. But surely it’s a western through and through with a hero who happens to be Danish? “A Scandinavian will recognise that ‘Nordic temperament’ better, explains Levring. “We are brought up with Scandinavian sagas, the Nordic sagas, these very Viking tales about death, life, brotherhood, love and revenge. They are simplistic, straightforward and brutal stories and they inspired us. It’s not manifested in the film in terms of ‘it’s at that point there or at this point here’, it comes in moments, in a specific viewpoint; there is darkness in it.” The film pays homage to the great directors of Westerns, to John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, Howard Hawks and Sergio Leone as well as Japanese director Kurosawa. “It’s fantastic to do this – a childhood dream,” Levring says. “I wanted to put my soul into
it, make a classic western that I used to love. There are small things that made it my film within the framework of the story rules. There are quite important references to other westerns. We’re not looking at character, it’s not a psychological film,” he continues. “There are two kinds of Westerns – the psychological and the mythic. The mythic is my type; it’s bigger than life, more than a myth. The Salvation is not a dialogue-heavy film. We wrote it – and the dialogue was much longer. With a western you have to condense everything, make it into something not realistic. Everything had to be shortened. It’s a different style of writing.” There’s an intensely heightened aesthetic to the film, scenes of deep chiaroscuro, a distinctive palette and a measured focus that’s unique. “All the good Westerns are very visual,” says Levring. “It’s an important aspect of storytelling, creating the mood of the film with the visual style, you are bringing the audience to the way you want them to see this world. The men and the
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What does Levring hope audiences will take from the film? “That’s the hardest question to answer. Films are never messages. There are emotional moments you want people to go through, it’s not something you can write or tell – you film it. The specifics of this film – it’s a revenge story. What happens to people when you go down that path, what’s the price of revenge? The most important thing is the sensation when you watch the film, the emotion of going through this story with this man Jon. You go down that road with him, trying to understand and see this the way he does. Have I got a right as a Dane to make a film that takes place in the US that involving US history? But US history is also some of my history as a Dane: in the 1870s a lot of Scandinavians went to America. There were some lovely films about that – The Immigrants. I could have done a film about the immigrant experience but then you go into the realistic world. I’ve tried to make a more mythological film, while keeping in touch with the European viewpoint.” The Salvation has been picked up by theatres worldwide and will open in the States in February. Is the western out of Levring’s system now? “I don’t think it’s something I’ll do again. In the ‘40s and ‘50s every second movie was a Western. You do it as an act of homage, for people who love westerns. It was really a fun movie to do.” The Salvation is currently screening until Sunday February 1 at ACMI.
THE COMIC STRIP PORTL AND HOTEL COMEDY
For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au Roman Holiday
Greg Fleet
This Thursday, Aussie comedy legend Greg Fleet headlines Portland Hotel Comedy. Plus they’ve also got Harley Breen, Elbowskin, Greg Larsen, Becky Lucas, Ciaran Lyons plus some special guests. What a lineup. The show has been super packed in the last month, so get down early to guarantee a seat. It’s all happening this Thursday January 29 at 8.30pm, at Portland Hotel Comedy, 127 Russell Street (upstairs), CBD, all for only $12.
PUBLIC BAR COMEDY Adam Richard
ROMA! THE SCREEN LIFE OF THE ETERNAL CITY
ACMI will reveal the real Rome when its new season, ROMA! The Screen Life of the Eternal City screens this summer. Opening the season is William Wyler’s 1953 Hollywood film, Roman Holiday. It will be followed by Rome-based films like La dolce vita, The Great Beauty, Gianne e le donne, Sacro GRA, L’amore in citta, La notte brava, Mamma Roma, L’eclisse and L’udienza. Roma! The Screen Life of the Eternal City will screen at ACMI from Friday February 6 to Sunday March 1.
THEATRE WORKS
After a sold out and red hot show last week, Public Bar Comedy returns in its new Saturday afternoon slot with another lineup of some of Australia’s finest. This week they’ve got the outrageously hilarious Adam Richard and the green guide letter loving Steele Saunders. Plus rare Melbourne spots from rising star Becky Lucas and truly one of Australia’s most unique comedians, Nick Sun, aren’t to be missed. Plus it’s all hosted by everyone’s favourite Luke McGregor. Yup that’s quite the show and they’ve already got one special guest dropping in that they can’t name all for just $10. Kicks off at 4pm and wraps around 6pm making it a perfect start to your Saturday night.
COMEDY AT SPLEEN Yet another full house is guaranteed at Comedy At Spleen this Monday. This week, the Moonman (Lawrence Mooney) hosts, plus heaps of guests including David Quirk, Jason English, Jimmy James Eaton, Corey White, Laura Dunemann and more. It’s this on Monday February 2, at 41 Bourke Street, CBD, at 8.30pm. It’s free to get in, but they appreciate a good gold coin donation at the door.
Clear your schedule, St Kilda’s Theatre Works has unveiled the program for its 2015 season. This year’s program is jam-packed with plays as well as special events. Amongs some of this year’s long list of productions are Cut Snake, Rust and Bone, Letters Home, Yours the Face, The Dead Twin and Ricercar. Apart from the stage, Theatre Works will also play host to a series of special events. The company is set to collaborate with Adelaide Festival’s inSPACE program for A Series of Intimate Experiments. Inspired by the Lincoln Center’s Director’s Lab, Theatre Works will facilitate Directors Lab Melbourne, a program of events for professional directors from around Australia and the world. Even more, its Flight program will provide a platform for performances of new Australian works that have been developed by writers who have completed the VCA Masters in Writing for Performance course. Theatre Works has also established a Community Connect program to remove financial and social barriers for community members who live with an experience of marginalisation to attend productions at no cost. And finally, the annual Abundance party will return to raise funds for independent artists. It’s looking to be a big year for Theatre Works, so head on over to their website for bookings and more information.
THE SHADOW ELECTRIC
Thought the program for the world’s only outdoor cinema inside a convent couldn’t get any bigger? Think again. The Shadow Electric has just revealed a slew of additions to this year’s cinema program. New films include Talking Heads-Stop Making Sense, Ukraine Is Not A Brothel, Birdman, Kingsmen: The Secret Service and Wild. They’ll join the likes of already announced films Force Majeure, All This Mayhem, Finding Fela and Charlie’s Country. Even more, every Saturday night The Shadow Electric Bandroom plays host to gigs and special events. World’s End Press, Kirkis, Public Opinion Afro Orchestra and HTRK are all scheduled to appear in 2015. For the full program and more information, head over to shadowelectric.com.au. The Shadow Electric is located inside of the Abbotsford Convent.
STRANGELY FLAMBOYANT
Cabaret darlings Claire Healy and Strangely will bring their acclaimed show Strangely Flamboyant to Melbourne this February. The show has already been received in over a dozen countries on three continents, including sold out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. With Healy on vocals and Strangely on accordion, Strangely Flamboyant has been praised by Broadway Baby as a “a sparkling diamond of delicious innuendo.” Strangely Flamboyant will run from Tuesday February 3 to Sunday February 8 at The Butterfly Club.
Cannabis – RobeRt Connell ClaRke ($125)
Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary exploration of the natural origins and early evolution of this famous plant, highlighting its historic role in the development of human societies. Cannabis has long been prized for the strong and durable fibre in its stalks, its edible and oil-rich seeds, and the psychoactive and medicinal compounds produced by its female flowers. The culturally valuable and often irreplaceable goods derived from cannabis deeply influenced the commercial, medical, ritual, and religious practices of cultures throughout the ages, and human desire for these commodities directed the evolution of the plant toward its contemporary varieties. As interest in cannabis grows and public debate over its many uses rises, this book will help us understand why humanity continues to rely on this plant and adapts it to suit our needs.
HasHisH – RobeRt Connell ClaRke ($39.95)
This lavishly illustrated compendium of all things hashish appeals to illicit substance consumers, medical users, and history buffs alike. Author Robert Connell Clarke traces hashish origins, history, consumption, production and chemistry, from earliest times to the present. Traditional methods of collecting cannabis resin and processing it into hashish are described in detail. The second edition of Hashish boasts more than 270 photographs, drawings, maps, graphs, and tables, including 63 updated colour photographs. It also includes bibliographical references and a useful index.
Jonathan Holloway
Divine MusHRooMs anD Fungi – JoHn W allen ($29.95)
ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL
MELBOURNE FESTIVAL
Jonathan Holloway is set to take over creative duties of Melbourne Festival from next year onwards. After stints as a theatre director, playwright, dramaturg and programmer, Holloway has been the Artistic Director of the Perth International Arts Festival since 2012. Before working in Perth, UK-born Holloway was the Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Melbourne Festival CEO Katie McLeish was enthusiastic about the new appointment, stating, “I can’t wait to work with such an experienced and enthusiastic festival expert and director. Jonathan has a wicked wit, is very team focused and displays an uncanny ability to interpret the city in which he finds himself in with meaning and creativity.” Melbourne Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2015 and will take place from Thursday October 8 to Sunday October 25.
Revered film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton have been announced as the 26th annual Alliance Française French Film Festival patrons. Admired by move aficionados throughout the country, Pomeranz and Stratton have shared their love of films together for nearly three decades at the helm of At the Movies and The Movie Show. In celebration of the announcement, the pair have selected their favourite festival titles from this year’s program. Pomeranz’s top picks include 3 Hearts (3 Coeurs), Far From Men (Loin des Hommes) and The Last Hammer Blow (Le Dernier Coup de Marteau), while Stratton chose Diplomacy (Diplomatie), The Blue Room (La Chambre Bleue), Tokyo Fiancee and Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion). The 2015 Alliance Française French Film Festival will take place from Wednesday March 4 to Sunday March 22 at Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth and Kino Cinemas. For full program and more information, visit their website.
Filled with beautiful colour photographs, Divine Mushrooms and Fungi is a must-have for anyone who wants to step into the magic mushroom field of ethnomycology. With detailed information on how to distinguish magic mushrooms from potentially dangerous lookalikes, this guide also features a detailed history of the ritual use of magic mushrooms among pre-Columbian inhabitants of the New World and the evolution of the use of psychedelic fungi from sacred rituals to today’s recreational use. Common epithets used for naming mushrooms around the world are accompanied by photographs and descriptions of both magic mushrooms and their poisonous lookalikes. An ideal companion for mushroom-gathering forays, Divine Mushrooms and Fungi provides readers with the sacred knowledge that can lead to a visionary experience.
Heavy Metal Movies – Mike MCPHaDDen ($39.95)
The unadulterated journey of “Heavy Metal Movies” spans concert movies and trippy midnight flicks, inspirational depictions of ancient times and future apocalypses, and raw handheld digital video obsessions. As brash, irreverent, and visceral as both the music and the movies themselves, “Heavy Metal Movies” is the ultimate guidebook to the complete molten musical cinema experience. Exploding with way over 666 true headbanger classics--raging with disturbing documentaries, bulging barbarians, Satanic shockers, spluttery slashers, post-nuke dystopias, carnivorous chunk-blowers, undead gut-munchers, midnight mind-benders, concert films, killer cameos--plus witches, werewolves, bikers, aliens, lesbian vampires, and vengeful vikings galore...the heaviest sin-ematic sensations of all time!
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
DEPTH OF FIELD
The Malthouse Theatre will host an outdoor performance event this March, featuring performances by Chunky Move dancers. Depth of Field is a “playful and poetic interaction between three dancers and a city” and features Chunky Move dancers Tara Jade Samaya, James Vu Anh Pham and Niharika Senapati. The performance is choreographed by Anouk van Dijk, who is the creator of the movement system Countertechnique. Depth of Field will run from Friday March 6 to Saturday March 14 at the Coopers Malthouse Forecourt.
tHis is HoW: suRviving WHat you tHink you Can’t – augusten buRRougHs ($22.95)
If you’re fat and fail every diet, if you’re thin but can’t get thin enough, if you lose your job, if your child dies, if you are diagnosed with cancer, if you always end up with exactly the wrong kind of person, if you always end up alone, if you can’t get over the past, if your parents are insane and ruining your life, if you really and truly wish you were dead, if you feel like it’s your destiny to be a star, if you believe life has a grudge against you, if you don’t want to have sex with your spouse and don’t know why, if you feel so ashamed, if you’re lost in your life, if you have ever wondered, How am I supposed to survive this? This is how.
CoCaine ConFiDential – Wensley ClaRkson ($22.95)
Cocaine is the world’s most notorious narcotic. It underpins a vast, multi-billion pound underworld with a dark and deadly side. But who really are the shadowy people behind this chilling network? The coca farmers, the jungle sweat-shop workers, the smugglers, the suppliers, and, ultimately, the dealers who provide for the world’s hundreds of millions of users. Cocaine Confidential goes inside the lives of all these characters to reveal their stories for the first time. Along the way you’ll meet hitmen, pimps, desperate former international footballers, coke barons, mules, hardened traffickers and corrupt cops as the truth is unravelled in a roller coaster ride through this secret world.
visions oF geRaRD – JaCk keRouaC ($22.95)
“His life . . . ended when he was nine and the nuns of St. Louis de France Parochial School were at his bedside to take down his dying words because they’d heard his astonishing revelations of heaven delivered in catechism on no more encouragement than it was his turn to speak. . . .” Unique among Jack Kerouac’s novels, Visions of Gerard focuses on the scenes and sensations of childhood—the wisdom, anguish, intensity, innocence, evil, insight, suffering, delight, and shock—as they were revealed in the short tragic-happy life of his saintly brother, Gerard. Set in Kerouac’s hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, it is an unsettling, beautiful, and sad exploration of the meaning and precariousness of existence.
DiReCt stRuggle against CaPital: a PeteR kRoPotkin antHology ($34.95)
Peter Kropotkin was one of anarchism’s most famous thinkers. His classic works include “The Conquest of Bread” and “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.” This is the most extensive collection of Peter Kropotkin’s writings available in English. Over half the selections have been translated for the first time or salvaged from long-out-of-print pamphlets and newspapers. Both an introduction to classic texts and a recontextualization of Kropotkin from saintly philosopher to dangerous revolutionary.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 21
For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au
BLAK CABARET By Liza Dezfouli
Blak Cabaret, a satirical comedy featuring some of Australia’s finest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers, has evolved from being a showcase for various indigenous artists to a full-scale theatrical production. Creative producer Jason Tamiru is looking forward to seeing the show in Melbourne next month. “It’s become more of a theatrical production and there’s a story that goes from beginning to end,” explains Tamiru. “It’s a comedy gig, a music gig, theatre – it’s got a little bit of everything.” Without giving too much away, we ask Tamiru what the storyline involves. “The Aboriginal invasion,” he says. “The Aboriginals are coming! And find the place needs fixing up a bit. Blak Cabaret puts the mirror up to people. The show is very provocative; it plays with people’s feelings. It will make you laugh, make you cry, make you think, feel uncomfortable. Maybe enlightened, too. History is told by so many people. Australia has an Aboriginal history – our show has a look at what Australian history really was. We’re having a little bit of fun with Australian history. We flip Australian history on its head.” As the creator of the Blak Cabaret concept, Tamiru got the writer of television’s Black Comedy to get it onto the page and then the stage. “Nakkiah Lui [is] a contemporary comedy writer from NSW who put together Black Comedy that’s aired on TV,” says Tamiru. “I made contact with her and asked if she was interested, how she felt about writing it. I had it all in my head and needed to get it out of her head, so she was able to do that.” Despite his creative involvement, Tamiru doesn’t appear in the production himself. “I’m not going to embarrass myself in front of these artists. I’m a producer; I’ve been producing various [things] for seven or eight years. I
produce festivals, music gigs, comedy gigs and theatre, a bit of everything. The thing I find most enjoyable is doing gigs for my people – the community gigs.” Tamiru has a strong idea of what he wants audiences to take away from the show. “The majority of our audiences will be non-indigenous. People will see this project as something – not just special, as in Aboriginal special, just a special Australian show, and an Aboriginal Australian cabaret show. It will be judged on whether or not it’s a good or bad show. People will say, ‘It’s good for diversity,’ put it under a label; people will put it in some kind of box. Blak Cabaret is a platform for our people, but it’s not under the banner of NAIDOC or the Sorries or Recognition. It’s a cabaret show, featuring some wonderful performers who also happen to be Aboriginal. “I’ve seen all these people perform, worked with all the artists before Blak Cabaret. Everybody ‘gets’ the show. They all want to invest their time in it. “We’re a proud race of people,” Tamiru continues. “We just like being who we are, outside the politics and so forth. We want to just go about doing our business, and that’s not making boomerangs or nets or anything, not hunting or fishing. We’ve been prodded and poked and it’s having a negative effect. Australia’s having an
identity crisis. Constitutional recognition isn’t an issue for a lot of us – we can’t go back to yesterday – but we want our connection to our land acknowledged. We just want to live and breathe as indigenous people. We’re just telling the world we are who we are. People aren’t listening. We just want to be recognised and respected as the traditional owners of this country, and
to share the fruits of this country. I’d absolutely love to tour Blak Cabaret round the country, take it round Australia.”
people laughed, the jokes worked. It’s disgusting.” The spirit Burr brings is infectious. He can be talking over the phone or slouched on the couch with Conan, and it’s great. So if he brings us the same level of personality, professional intensity and genuine
happiness and hunger to perform, his Australian tour will be an experience to remember.
Blak Cabaret will hit the Malthouse Theatre on Tuesday February 10 - Sunday February 22 as part of the Summersalt Outdoor Arts Festival.
BILL BURR By Anthony Edward Bell
Bill Burr has been called a ‘comedian’s comedian’, a relatable performer who works hard and stays humble. He brings this attitude and reputation into not only stand-up, but his acting and voiceover work too. But he remains conscious of his roots. “I’ll always enjoy stand-up,” he says. “I still love it. If you maintain your comedy following you’re never unemployed. That’s something you can’t [often] say in show business – it’s brutal. “With each hour I do I try to expand where I tour. I get to see the world and meet all these different people, get a different perspective … It adds layers, hopefully, to my act. I’m learning how to curse better through my travels, too.” Burr is topical, honest about his personal oddities, and opinionated – a mix that makes for fantastic comedy. To audiences, however, he is popular for just being brave enough to be himself. He has a swagger onstage and leans on his mic like a tradie at a job site chatting with his mates. Offstage, he’s a down-to-earth character and a thankful spectator of the world. He’s also unashamed about his ‘Acca Dacca’ obsession – though he sheepishly admits he does practise riffs in his sweatpants. What’s not to love about the guy? But Burr’s upcoming Australian debut tour isn’t to cover an AC/DC pilgrimage. It comes off the back of a vinyl album release, a new special called I’m Sorry You Feel That Way, as well as the announcement of an upcoming movie role (Black Or White) and an animated series, F Is For Family. Alongside his own work, Burr is just as obsessed with the newest series out there – The Killing and Silicon Valley. But a personal highlight was his appearance on one of television’s biggest recent hits. “I was totally engrossed in Breaking Bad before I was even on it,” he
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 22
says. “When I finally got a part in it, it was unbelievable – to be that emotionally invested in a show and be following all these characters and their storylines and then all of a sudden you get a part in the show? It was surreal.” As a multifaceted talent, Burr is aware that stepping into the larger arenas of the pop culture domain doesn’t mean it’ll be a Hollywood dream. Social media gives fans a greater opportunity to observe and talk about their favourite obsessions, but it also means artists are being watched – all the time. Nothing you say or do escapes critique or ridicule. Does it bother Burr? The answer is yes and no. “I gotta be honest, I don’t take it all too seriously. I try to have a good time. I try to improve. But as a comedian, when comedy fans talk about your specials to debate which one is their favourite, that’s all you can ask for.” And those who aren’t such fans? “I don’t think about it too much,” he calmly starts. But then he opens up. “Some deliberately take things out of context – they’ll take what you say and try and redefine it. Like, they’ll take a recording from a comedy club – the comic tells a joke and you hear the crowd laugh, but because one person didn’t like it they’ll play it on the news and speak over the laughter. ‘Controversy erupts down at the comedy club!’ They say there was controversy, yet
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES... BEAT.COM.AU/TV
Bill Burr will perform two shows at Hamer Hall on Thursday January 29.
UPCOMING
JANUARY / FEBRUARY
on tour RUSTIE [UK] Thursday January 29, Howler SOHN [UK] Friday January 30, Corner Hotel FLYING LOTUS [USA] Friday January 30, 170 Russell SOFT ROCKS [UK] Friday January 30, The Mercat HORSE MEAT DISCO [UK] Saturday January 31, The Toff In Town LEON VYNEHALL [UK] Sunday February 1, Lounge FINNEBASSEN [NOR] Sunday February 1, Revolver Upstairs RAURY [USA] Tuesday February 3, Howler CARIBOU [USA] Thursday February 5, The Forum VIC MENSA [USA] Thursday February 5, Corner Hotel MR SCRUFF [UK] Friday February 6, 170 Russell DJ EZ [UK] Friday February 6, New Guernica STEFFI [GER] Saturday February 7, TBA LEE BURRIDGE [GER], MATTHEW DEKAY [NED] Saturday February 7, Caulfield Racecourse KOLOMBO [BEL] Sunday February 8, Prince Bandroom MODESELEKTOR [GER] Thursday February 12, The Hi-Fi CARL COX [UK] Friday February 13, Trak Lounge LUNICE [CAN] Saturday February 14, Howler MADGA [USA] Saturday February 14, The Liberty Social GENIUS OF TIME [SWE] Saturday February 14, TBA G-EAZY [USA] Monday February 16, Howler MOODYMANN [USA], DJ TENNIS [ITA] Friday February 20, Brown Alley TINASHE [USA] Friday February 20, The Hi-Fi DETROIT SWINDLE [NED] Sunday February 22, Revolver Upstairs CIARA [USA] Sunday February 22, Alumbra DELTRON 3030 [USA] Friday February 27, The Hi-Fi DRAKE [USA] Friday February 27, Rod Laver Arena THEO PARRISH [USA] Saturday February 28, Revolt Artspace FREDDIE GIBBS [USA] Saturday February 28, Corner Hotel TECH N9NE [USA] Friday March 6, The Hi-Fi GOLDEN PLAINS: THEO PARRISH [USA], DJ SHADOW & CUT CHEMIST [USA] + MORE Saturday March 7 - Monday March 9, Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre TAMA SUMO [GER] Sunday March 8, Lounge FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL: DRAKE [USA], THE PRODIGY [USA] + MORE Sunday Match 9, Flemington Racecourse SHACKLETON [UK] Friday March 14, The Mercat FOREST SWORDS [UK] Saturday March 15, Howler BONOBO [UK] Thursday March 19, Prince Bandroom JURASSIC 5 [USA] Wednesday April 1, Festival Hall
tour rumours
Juan Atkins, Hieroglyphic Being, Vatican Shadow, Container, The Bug, Evian Christ, Motor City Drum Ensemble
news tours club snaps + more
electronic + urban + club life
low conga feat. kangaroo skull wo rd s / d a n wat t It seems these days that there is a glorious proliferation of underground electronic music dance parties in Melbourne. Low Conga one such party that consists of a collection of artists who coalesce to create all night dance parties that specialise in the rarer forms beats. On Friday February 20 Low Conga party is being staged at Boney, an event that will also double as a 12” launch for deeply experimental electronic music artist Kangaroo Skull. Beat caught up with party organiser and one-time Kangaroo Skull collaborator, Ben Andrews, to discuss the event and many other things pertaining to deep electronic music. Kangaroo Skull formed in 2011 at New Zealand’s now defunct Camp A Low Hum when Australian post rock-band My Disco’s guitarist Ben Andrews and drummer Rohan
news
Rebeiro performed an improvised techno collaboration. “Yeah we did, I had forgotten about that. It was kind of a random Camp A Low Hum thing. It was good like that because it allowed people to get up on stage and do experimental stuff and at the time we were doing a live drums and laptop improv set and in the last couple of years it turned in to the techno thing.” However, in recent times Andrews has left Kangaroo Skull and nowadays it is solely Rebeiro’s project as Andrews’ explains. “Me and Roh just sort of went in different directions – he wanted to do not so much four on the floor dance music and he is doing all these alien sound now, it’s a pretty abstract German-influenced rhythm and sound manufacturing.
Where as I am concentrating on my Arabic sort of droney music with Assad,” states Andrews. Andrews now marvels at Rebeiro’s idiosyncratic production techniques in making Kangaroo Skulls music: “He works very differently to most producers, myself included, where we will get an Abbleton package and then start using 808 kick sounds and so on. Whereas he uses a program called Max/ MSP where everything starts clean and you build your own sequences and there is no patches or sound templates in there already, so this process may take eight hours to come up with an idea and then decide if it’s good or not good,” explains Andrews. “It seems like a lot of work to not even know if you are going to use something but it does ensure that the productions are very interesting sounding and unique,” he observes. Nowadays, Andrews is residing in Indonesia where he is doing a bit of music and ‘other weird stuff’, he explains how Rebeiro and his other band’s recording schedule made this month’s Low Conga party possible: “I booked the party because I am back here [Melbourne] recording with My Disco and then it turned into the big launch for Kangaroo Skull because Roh had or should I say will have the Live Palace Of Nothing 12” ready in the next couple of weeks and Assad is just doing a show,” states Andrews. The remainder of the Low Conga lineup reads like a who’s who of Melbourne’s electronic music producers who are truly pushing the perceptive boundaries of electronic music, they are Elisabeth, Assad, Jamal Amir, Cale Sexton, Kangaroo Skull, Jake Blood and more. As the curator of this lineup, Andrews, attempts to describe what words he would use to describe the overall stylistic tone of the lineup. “I mean Cale, Elisabeth, and James (aka Jamal Amir) are, to me, the new breed of live techno in Australia. James is a bit different in that he uses a lot of analogue hardware to make more like dark house music, whereas the others are kind of doing pretty straight down the line digital techno and then Roh is out on as he always, the new Kangaroo Skull stuff is kind of hard clinical beats but really disjointed, ostensibly they’re a bit alienating from a dance perspective,” concludes Andrews with a wry awkward chuckle.
Kangaroo Skull is launching the Live Palace Of Nothing 12” at Low Conga at Boney on Friday February 20.
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off the record w i t h
t yson
w ray
1.30am on a Tuesday and I feel like I’m a few bad decisions away from a transatlantic marriage.
yelle picnik electronik Picnik Electronik has landed in Melbourne and they’ve just released their lineup of artists for February, including ON Bast, Egbert, Deadbeat and John ‘Jammin’ Collins. First launched in Montreal in 2003 and expanding to Barcelona in 2012, the weekly outdoor event plays host to a specially curated lineup of DJs and producers. Picnik Electronik Melbourne will run every Sunday until March 29.
French electro-pop duo Yelle will return to our shores this March for a national tour in support of their latest album, Complètement fou. Produced by famed American producer Dr Luke, the album of brightly coloured electro with French vocals marks the pair’s third full-length release. Co-founded by Julie Budet and Jean-Francoise Perrier in 2005, Yelle is the French acronym for “You enjoy life.” They’ll hit the Corner Hotel on Sunday March 29.
dj ez
bonobo Bonobo will return to our shores for a national DJ tour this March. The tour will see Simon Green travel to Auckland, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth for solo DJ sets with new eye-popping visuals. Bonobo released his fifth album The North Borders in 2013 and has since played over 175 shows across three continents and 30 countries. He was last in Australia for the 2013/14 edition of Falls followed by a slew of sold out headine shows. He’ll play the Prince Bandroom on Thursday March 19.
client liaison Client Liaison are hitting the ground running in 2015. The Ansett-adorning duo have just released the video for Pretty Lovers, the closing track from their 2014 self-titled debut EP. To celebrate, they’ll hit the road for one of their most extensive tours to date. They’ll hit 170 Russell on Friday March 20.
electronic - urban - club life
Growing up in Tottenham, North London, DJ EZ got into DJing through way of Pirate Radio in the burgeoning late 1980’s scene. After a variety of shows and pirate stations, DJ EZ began his own club night and Club Z and over the course of the nineties his DJ career soared. In November 1999 EZ made his transition to commercial radio, garnering a guest spot on Kiss 100 that eventually lead to his permanent primetime slot. It is here that he held his weekly residence till September 2014 after a staggering 14 years on air. Don’t miss world’s #1 UK garage legend DJ EZ on Friday February 6 at New Guernica.
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club guide wednesday jan 28
snaps anyway
CURIOUS TALES - FEAT: DJ WHO + TIGERFUNK + TOM SHOWTIME + FLAGRANT Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. REVOLVER WEDNESDAYS - FEAT: DAN SAN Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm.
thursday jan 29 3181 THURSDAYS - FEAT: HANS DC WITH GET BU$Y + JESSE YOUNG + WHO & SAM GUDGE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 6:00pm. CQ SESSIONS Cq, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. FLANAGANS THURSDAYS - FEAT: DJ ONTIME + COLONEL Pier Live, Frankston. 8:00pm. GOOD EVENING Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. SUMMER NIGHTS Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 4:30pm. THE RITZ - FEAT: KEN WALKER + ANDO + JOSHUA GILLILAND Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 10:00pm. $20.00. VARSITY - FEAT: KITI + FOOFARAW Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. XS DISCO - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Onesixone, Prahran. 8:00pm.
friday jan 30 #MASHTAG - FEAT: MALPRACTICE + AGENT 86 + BENZO + ANDRE LE VOGUE + SILVERFOX + AHAB + OLLIE Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. 50/50 - FEAT: AFFIKS + ARCTIC + FRAKSHA + ALASKA + DIEM + 2FUDDHA + SCOTTY HINDS + REALTEK + ALEX JONES + GINGUS + THREATZ Grumpy’s Green, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. 8EYEZ - FEAT: CHASE G + BRODIE HAYWARD + BENNY D Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. ANIMALS DANCING - FEAT: SOFT ROCKS + TORNADO WALLACE + OTOLOGIC + ANDEE FROST The Mercat, Melbourne. 10:00pm. BACON BITS - FEAT: ASYLUM + BADDUMS + DEEP ELEMENT + MONKEE + SPRINKLES + TOKEN Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. CAN’T SAY Platform One, Melbourne. 9:00pm. CQ FRIDAYS Cq, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. DIRTY DIKE - FEAT: DJ SAMMY B-SIDE Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. D’FRO + HIJACK + MAARS Penny Black, Brunswick. 7:00pm. FABULOUS FRIDAYS Co., Southbank. 8:00pm. FAKE TITS - FEAT: BOOGS + SPACEY SPACE + SUNSHINE + SAMMY LA MARCA + BUTTERS + ADAM BARTAS + JUNGLE JIM Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. FRIDAYS @ ONESIXONE - 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. 8:00pm. I <3 DANCE HALL - FEAT: LISA VIOLA Brown Alley, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. LUCK TRUCK FRIDAYS DOWNSTAIRS Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. OMG FRIDAYS Seven Nightclub, South Melbourne. 10:00pm. $20.00. PANORAMA FRIDAYS UPSTAIRS - FEAT: PHATO A MANO + MR.GEORGE + MATT RADD + ASH-LEE Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. POPROCKS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. REVOLVER FRIDAYS - FEAT: MIKE CALLANDER + KATIE DROVER + LEWIE DAY + ARAM & WHO Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. THE EMERSON CLUB FRIDAYS The Emerson, South Yarra. 3:00pm. THERAPY FRIDAYS - FEAT: STEVIE MINX + MATTY G + APAX + CHRIS MAC Level 3 @ Crown, Southbank. 8:00pm. $20.00. TROPICAL SHAKEDOWN - FEAT: MIKE WHO + HARMON + THE CUMBIA COSMONAUTS + LEWIS CANCUT + PAZ + MS BUTT Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $10.00. TUNES BY DAVE GRAY Gem Bar, Collingwood. 8:00pm.
saturday jan 31 ALL GOOD ALL STARS - FEAT: DANIELSAN + LEGS AKIMBO + PAZ + LEWIS CANCUT + EDD FISHER + MONTY MCGAW + NORTH POLLARD + JIMMY LE MAC + DAVID SPACE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. ANYWAY - FEAT: VARIOUS DJS Bottom End, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. AUDIOPORN SATURDAYS - FEAT: DR. ZOK + JAMES WARE + GREG SARA + JACOB MALMO + TOM EVANS + ROWIE Onesixone, Prahran. 9:00pm. $15.00. CUSHION SATURDAYS Cushion, St Kilda. 9:00pm. ELECTRIC DREAMS Co., Southbank. 8:00pm. $20.00. FAMILIAR STRANGERS The Emerson, South Yarra. 10:00pm. $20.00. HORSE MEAT DISCO + SAL P + ANDEE FROST Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. $30.00. HOT STEP - FEAT: ADAM ASKEW + GRAYSKULL + KELTEC + MYLES MAC + PETER BAKER + REV. THORN + SAM MCEWIN + SHANE COPAL + TOM EVANS Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. KLP Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 9:00pm. $23.50. MIDNIGHT RUN Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 11:30pm. $7.00. MR LOB + OBLIVEUS + MATT RAD Penny Black, Brunswick. 7:00pm. NANOPLEX & BEN CODA + SIMON MURPHY + HERC KASS + J-SLYDE + MISH’CHIEF + ALEX DAVID + MIZA La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. ROSE Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 8:00pm. SATURDAY MORNING - FEAT: SUNSHINE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00am.
SEVEN SATURDAY DISCOTHEQUE Seven Nightclub, South Melbourne. 10:00pm. $20.00. SILHOUETTE - FEAT: ZANNA MAZZITELLI + CLARE BLAKE + SYNCRETIC Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. STRAY - FEAT: CRAIG BELL + LUKE SYRYLO + CASPIAN C CASPIAN + STOCKHOLM SYNDROME + MUTANT DANCE 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. THERAPY Level 3 @ Crown, Southbank. 9:00pm. $20.00. TRAMP SATURDAYS Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. TUNES BY ADALITA Gem Bar, Collingwood. 8:00pm. VAULT SATURDAYS Platform One, Melbourne. 9:00pm. VERSION PART 3 - FEAT: IRON DUBZ + ART & NARAM + MAMACITA BONNITA + COL MUSTARD + LQ + HAWK I 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.00.
sunday feb 1 SUMMER SERIES - FEAT: FINNEBASSIN Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. BOP ART - FEAT: HAWAII + WHO + TIGERFUNK + MATT RADOVICH + LEWIS CANCUT Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. ENCORE - FEAT: DAN SLATER + ADAM LOVE The Emerson, South Yarra. 9:00pm. JUNGLE - FEAT: HANDS DOWN + ZAC DEPETRO + PETE LASKIS + TRAVLOS + JOHN DOE Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00am. $15.00. REVOLVER SUNDAYS - FEAT: BOOGS + SPACEY SPACE + T-REK + RADIATOR Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. SPITROAST SUNDAYS Cushion, St Kilda. 10:00pm. THE SUNDAY SET - FEAT: DJ ANDYBLACK & HAGGIS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 4:00pm. WAX ON WAX OFF Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm.
monday feb 2 CALL IT IN - FEAT: JAMES TOM & DYLAN MICHEL Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. MONDAY STRUGGLE - FEAT: TIGER FUNK Lucky Coq, Windsor. 6:00pm.
tuesday feb 3 OASIS Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. THE WHITE TREE SHOWCASE Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm.
urban club guide thursday jan 29
NO MONEY NO PROBLEMS Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.
DE SILVA + K DEE + DURMY Khokolat Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm.
saturday jan 31
friday jan 30
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY - FEAT: DJ RCEE + KAHLUA + DJ SHOOK + DJ ANGEL JAY Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. FAKTORY FRIDAYS - FEAT: DAMION
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KHOKOLAT KOATED SATURDAYS FEAT: DAMION DE SILVA + K DEE + DURMY + TIMOS Khokolat Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. RE UP The Mercat, Melbourne. 10:00pm. $10.00. RHYTHM NATION SATURDAYS - FEAT:
electronic - urban - club life
DJ BIG SAAD + DJ KAHLUA & ANDY PALA Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00.
sunday feb 1
BE. SUNDAYS Co., Southbank. 10:00pm. $15.00. MUMA DOESA + BUMAYE + RUTH ROGHERS WRIGHT + SKOMES + CAZEAUX O.S.L.O + DJ RELLIK Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $12.00.
snaps circus sundays
PBS DRIVE LIVE
Primitive Calculators
By Patrick Emery
There’s a school of thought among business analysts that commercial broadcasting is the next media business model approaching the precipice of financial oblivion. With content available online, and on-demand, the entire notion of unilateral program schedules is arguably anachronistic; add to that the continuing migration of advertising revenues to online platforms, and the commercial broadcasting model takes on a very vulnerable guise. So in that context, where to for community broadcasting, commercial broadcasting’s idiosyncratic younger sibling? “I can quite happily say that community media is bucking that trend,” says Cameron Durnsford, market manager at Melbourne’s PBS community radio station. “It’s amazing that while large corporate-controlled media organisations are really up against it, we’ve seen growth in the community sector, every year as far I’m aware in my time working at PBS, and anecdotally from other people in the sector. It’s sustainable growth in terms of membership and subscriptions, and also in terms of listenership. So it’s heartening to know that community radio has remained relevant in an era of streaming media.” Beyond a simple analysis of the diverse content of community radio programming, community radio, as the name of the sector suggests, plays a critical role in supporting, fostering and championing local music artists. Indeed, it’s the symbiotic relationship between artists and community radio that makes stations like PBS so essential to the viability of the local music scene. “Like community stations all around the country, PBS is pivotal to local artists, especially earlier in their career,” Durnsford says. “Invariably, their first airplay and interview, and in the case of Drive Live, their fully fledged live-to-air performance comes through stations like PBS. Without community radio in that space it would be very different progression for bands. I don’t know what bands that play at The Tote on a Thursday night would get that type of exposure.” The bond between community radio and local music is also at the heart of annual PBS’s Drive Live event, which features live-to-air performances from a range of local acts. This month’s Drive Live, running from Monday February 2 to Friday February 6 between 5pm and 7pm, features an eclectic range of artists including Ausmuteants, Kim and Leanne, Love of Diagrams, Ben Frost, Black Cab, Primitive Calculators and Power. “The announcers on the programs give me their wish list, and I approach everyone on there and work together to put something that’s somehow cohesive and representative of what their program is about,” Durnsford explains. Durnsford points to the difference between the electronica flavour of Monday’s Zen Arcade program and Thursday’s Fang It! as indicative of PBS’s diverse programming and audience: “As a member-based organisation, PBS has some pretty rusted-on fans of particular programs, and it’s important to make sure what’s featured is representative of those programs,” Durnsford says. As a subscription-based community organisation, PBS is always on the lookout for paying members. But even wearing his marketing hat, Durnsford doesn’t see Drive Live as a de facto subscription drive. “I wouldn’t say that Drive Live is crucial to the station’s commercial viability or security,” Durnsford says. “It’s more about PBS giving something back to the music community because we do our best to promote the diversity of different music scenes around Melbourne. I guess this is our way of shining a bit of a spotlight on some genres that aren’t necessarily immediately associated with PBS. We’ve got a bit of a reputation for funk and soul, and world music, so this is our way of saying we’re also engaged with what’s broadly referred to as indie rock and electronic genres.” That said, Drive Live draws attention to PBS’s association with the Melbourne music scene, and highlights the station’s position in the broader music community fabric. “Drive Live does coincide with our Performer Member month, which happens in February,” Durnsford says. “So coming off Drive Live, which is a celebration of local music, we run a small campaign for the rest of the month where we ask performer members to sign up. And we’ve seen that grow as a category of membership over the years, so that says to us that we’re doing well, which is encouraging.” While he commends the breadth and artistic quality of the entire Drive Live program, Durnsford is particularly interested in seeing Ben Frost on Monday’s Zen Arcade show and the legendary Primitive Calculators on Friday’s Stone Love program. “As far as I can tell it’s their first live-to-air on PBS, which is amazing given that they’ve kind of existed side-by-side with PBS since 1979. There might be a tape from the St Kilda days, but I haven’t tracked it down,” Durnsford says. As for emerging artists, Durnsford points to Power, playing on Thursday’s Fang It! program (“a great swinging three-piece kind of a punk band, but even with elements of old British metal in there”), and Ausmuteants, still riding how on the back of last year’s Order of Operation album. As to his own ultimate wish list from the entire Melbourne music history, Durnsford says he’d love to have had the opportunity to include Magic Dirt in their prime. “I’m a big Magic Dirt fan, and I think Magic Dirt are a band that very much had PBS’s support over the years - there’s lots of Magic Dirt posters around the station. And there’s a few staunch Adalita fans in the office as well,” Durnsford says. PBS DRIVE LIVE is happening on 106.7fm from Monday February 2 to Friday February 6. To attend, RSVP by sending an email to events@pbsfm.org.au with the following info in the subject line: NIGHT (Monday, Tuesday) YOUR NAME, and MEMBER NUMBER (if applicable). See www.pbsfm.org.au for more information. WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES..... WWW.BEAT.COM.AU/TV
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 25
LITTLE DRAGON
By Adam Norris
When Erik Bodin calls, I have just finished herding peacocks off the roof and bottlefeeding a belligerent lamb. I thought my evening was tipped to win the Unusual Location Game, but the Little Dragon drummer is thinking two moves ahead. “I’m in a weightlifting gym in Gothenburg,” he informs me. “I joined a little community of Olympic weightlifters, so in comparison I’m not very good, but I’m ambitious. You should always shoot for the moon, and if you don’t make it, well, there’s always the Olympics.” Bodin’s phone demeanour can only be described as ‘bubbly.’ He is excitable and quick to laugh about the band’s foibles, which, for a group closing in on its 20th anniversary, is rather refreshing. There is nothing tired or jaded in his outlook on Little Dragon’s success abroad (quite strong) or at home (much more restrained). Similarly, tensions within the band seem to have carved an easy groove over time. “Well, it’s taken years,” he exclaims. “We all work on finding ways of giving criticism with love, and go straight to the point rather than go through this boring, roundabout way because you’re afraid of stepping on toes. But I think we’re all grown up enough now that we can be very straight with each other without being arrogant. That’s the trick. It takes trust. But collaborating with people who aren’t in the band, that’s where you have to be careful from the beginning. There’s nothing worse than being polite from the very start and find yourself agreeing to something that nobody likes.” Little Dragon’s fourth album, Nabuma Rubberband, features several notable collaborations including Robin Hannibal and David ‘Trugoy’ Jolicoeur of De La Soul, so the chances of producing dud tracks out of politeness were fairly slim. Impressively, the Grammy Awards clearly agree, nominating the release for Best Dance/Electronic Album. It’s quite an achievement for a band yet to really take off in its native Sweden. “I remember one of the first shows we did at home,” Bodin recalls, and breaks off laughing. “And the reviewer really murdered us. She was so negative. I remember almost looking up her number to call and say, ‘What the fuck, lady?’ That didn’t happen, thankfully. It’s a nice thing to go out and do all these shows, tour around and then step back to a normal life in Sweden.
But we’re growing very, very slowly here as well. We’re nominated as one of the bands of the year on the radio, but I don’t think we’re going to get it. We’re up against Robyn, First Aid Kit, some of the big names. And we’re not really big in Sweden. We’re big in America, but at home we’ve got a way to go. We never really stressed about making it big here, though. We’re a little nation, nine million people. If they don’t like us, well, we can always go elsewhere.” With such a small population, it’s nice to imagine Sweden as place full of musical overlap, with songwriters and musicians high-fiving each other as they wander down the street, streaming in conga lines from venue to venue. But then you remember, of course, that Sweden is a land of ice, snow, and, presumably, yetis. “We try and spend time with other bands we know here in Gothenburg. Bands like The Knife, José González, [and] Studio. It’s typical of living in Sweden though that, well, in summer things are good, you’re outside. But it’s such a short summer, and in winter we hibernate. It’s very productive; we’re high on coffee all the time, making tunes. So there’s just not much time for hanging around. If we’re lucky we might go out and grab a beer.” The hibernation has certainly paid off, and the album includes several stand-out tracks – Klapp Klapp and Pretty Girls are both strong and feature a fantastic set of related videos. The entire album, in fact, features a connectedness from song to song that is partly inevitable, and partly by design. “When you’re in a songwriting period, they’re all siblings. Some have strong personalities, and really stick out. You might love that song, but it might be too schizophrenic somehow, it might sound out of place. We write so many, but you feel quite instantly which songs are related to each other. I don’t know what that is exactly, other than it’s something that we all just happen to like. With so much writing, that’s the first challenge, finding those songs that everyone likes. But on this album they all feel related, and we’re happy with them.”
THE DECEMBERISTS
Before I return to peacock-wrangling and Bodin hits the weights, I wonder how comfortably the band sits with the name Little Dragon after all this time; if it is still meaningful, and if there were ever any other contenders. “Yellow Danger,” he replies instantly. “It’s a name, and also a bit of a safety message here in Sweden. But we’ve been Little Dragon so long. It’s a difficult question. Of course, you could change it, it’s just a name after all, [and] it doesn’t really say anything. It’s just two empty
words. They mean something, but what we’re doing is so much bigger than a name. Musically, emotionally. There’s always things you want to change at different times, but we’re mostly settled with the past.”
Decemberists until 2016? This is an outrage. “Sorry!” he exclaims. “At the very least, it’ll be summertime by the time we get there.” Talk turns to the last time the band came out to Australia in support of The Hazards of Love. “My memory of the last time we were in Australia was constantly following Passion Pit at the Big Day Out,” he says. “Passion Pit were massive at the time, and they had these massive crowds of people pumping their fists, girls getting on their boyfriend’s shoulders, hands in the air, just raving away. We’d be psyched by that, thinking
we’d have the same sort of thing... and then we’d have maybe ten people in front of our side of the stage.” Still, it’s not as if The Decemberists were ever hoping to fit into the festival realm – let’s not forget that half of the band’s 40-minute set in Sydney was taken up by their epic 18-minute single, The Tain. “Wait, wait, wait,” Meloy interrupts. There’s a beat, before he asks in bewilderment: “We played The Tain?”
LITTLE DRAGON are playing at 170 Russell on Monday February 2, Tuesday February 3 and Laneway on Saturday February 7 at Footscray Community Arts Centre. Nabuma Rubberband out now through Because Music/Warner.
By David James Young
It was extremely late in the game of 2014 that The Decemberists announced their imminent return after a lengthy period out in the proverbial wilderness. They got in early for 2015 with the January release of their seventh studio album, entitled What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World. There may have been a degree of uncertainty among fans as to whether the band’s break would extend into a permanent vacation, but they are quick to put to rest that such an idea was never the case. “We’d been going at it for ten years or whatever, pretty consistently releasing records and touring,” elaborates Colin Meloy, the band’s lead singer, guitarist and chief songwriter. “It felt like a good time to slip away from it and focus on other projects. I had been working on these books, The Wildwood Chronicles, with my wife. I wanted to focus on those and be a writer for a little bit. It was a matter of sowing other creative oats. We always knew that we would come back to it eventually.” What a Terrible World sees the songwriting take a shift into the introspective, which is a world away – fittingly enough – from the band’s ‘normal’ subject matter of barrow boys, mariners, trapeze artists and architects. Is it a matter of Meloy quote-unquote “growing up” in this sense? Or was it just a matter of the context in which the album was written. As it turns out, it’s a little from column A, and a little from column B. “My interests and my fascinations shift and change over time,” he says. “Working on the books, oddly enough, seemed to satisfy my narrative urge. I noticed that the songs I was writing while I was writing the books tended to be less about an outside narrative and character-based stuff and more meditations on myself. If anything, writing the books kind of lead me away from overtly-narrative stuff. Then again, after I was done writing the books, the last two songs that I wrote for the record ended up being more narrative again. There might be a connection there, who knows?” The band’s previous release came all the way back in 2011 with the album The King is Dead. It, too, saw the band taking in a more realistic approach that served as a far cry from the hyper-literacy of earlier LPs such BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 26
as Picaresque and The Crane Wife. “The King is Dead was more or less a reaction to me having written The Hazards of Love,” explains Meloy. “It was coming at a period of time when I was in somewhat of a darker mood, and when we were touring Hazards I began to get the inclination to start writing ‘pretty’ songs, for lack of a better term. Something a little more simple, something to sing along to.” Would you consider, then, that What a Terrible Word was written in reaction to The King is Dead? “Not quite,” he says. “There’s probably more in common than you’d think.” Fans were alerted to the band’s return with the release of the single Make You Better, which was also coupled with an exceptional music video starring the wonderful Nick Offerman, better known to the world as Pawnee native Ron Swanson. “We were invited to be on the season finale of Parks and Recreation,” he says. “We had connections with Parks & Rec because Michael Schur, the show’s creator, and his crew were actually behind our video for Calamity Song. We met Nick through doing that, and I think we were kindred spirits. I’ve been a long-time admirer of his work, so I called him up and asked how good his German accent was. He responded, ‘That’s a very personal question.’ Very Nick, right?” Touring is very much underway for What a Terrible World, and it looks set to take the band all across the world in support of it – including, yes, down under. Meloy warns, however, that their arrival may take a little longer than some fans had hoped for. “We’re talking about putting something together for early next year,” he says. “It may well be in the works now.” No
DISCUSS WHAT? BEAT.COM.AU/DISCUSSION
THE DECEMBERISTS’ What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World is out now via EMI.
J MASCIS
By Patrick Emery
A few months ago, J Mascis was interviewed by ten-year old Elliott Fullam, the son of Daniella and Justin Fullam, creators of the fashion and design website Little Punk People. Confronted by Elliott’s enthusiasm and excitement, Mascis is typically deadpan: when Elliott suggests Mascis is ‘a guitar god,’ Mascis demurs; Elliott responds by repeating the superlative, brushing past Mascis’ humility as if it were cobwebs covering a Renaissance painting. Whereas most interviewers greet Mascis’ enigmatic demeanour with frustration and occasional annoyance, Elliott is unflappable. “Do you like to dance?” Elliott asks. “My kid is a better dancer than me,” Mascis replies, with just the vague hint of a smile. Mascis isn’t sure how the interview opportunity came about – you get the impression he remains slightly bemused by the promotional conveyor belt he’s occasionally forced to travel on each time he releases a new record - but he claims to have enjoyed the experience. “I’m not sure how that came about. But it was pretty interesting,” Mascis says. Mascis did learn one thing from the interview and its immediate aftermath: don’t read the comments box. “I made the mistake of reading some comments underneath, and was surprised that people thought I was a complete dick to the kid,” Mascis deadpans. “It was strange to read – I couldn’t work it out. And I didn’t know why I was reading it - it was such a strong reaction. It was weird.” Mascis is notoriously a difficult interview subject; his answers are succinct, generally followed by a stony silence during which you wonder whether he’s counting down the seconds left in the interview. There’re no profound philosophical observations on the nexus between music, art and life, no colourful stories of sex and drugs on the road, no slanderous observations on his contemporaries or the wheelers and dealers of the music industry. A few months ago, Mascis released his latest solo album, Tied to a Star, the follow-up to 2011’s Several Shades of Why, and announced his upcoming Australian tour to promote the record. Given his fraught relationship with all the other members of Dinosaur Jr., Mascis revels in the opportunity to create and refine his own songs, free from the commentary of his bandmates: “It’s good not having to deal with those guys, or care what they did or didn’t play. It’s good to not have that around to think about,” he says. In solo recording mode, Mascis is notionally confident
of the type of music product he’s looking to create: “I know what I like, and I always have a definite idea of what I want to come out. It’s not hard for me to work out what I like,” he says. On Several Shades of Why, Mascis stepped away from the hardcore-cum-Neil Young sound of Dinosaur Jr. in favour of a lighter, more acoustic sonic aesthetic: “In general, I suppose I was influenced by English folk, Fairport Convention, that Crosby, Stills and Nash scene,” Mascis says. Those aren’t bands that you’d ordinarily associate with Mascis in his original hardcore days, an observation with which Mascis concurs. “Right at that moment I was pretty exclusively into hardcore, and I couldn’t think of listening to anything else. It was the only time that I felt that exclusively into what I was doing,” Mascis says. “I sold some of my old records, and I didn’t know why I ever liked them. It was pretty interesting being into only one thing. But that changed, and I got out of that mindset, and back into liking different types of music again.” Mascis doesn’t give the impression that he spends too much time pondering the balance of light and heavy in his musical world: “It’s about taking a breath from the noise, or something,” he muses. “I don’t know if it’s important, but I get sick of listening to the same thing all the time. Not that I have really varied tastes, but a little bit I suppose.” While Tied to a Star eschews the overt acoustic style of Several Shades of Why, Mascis is equivocal on whether the new record is a deviation from its predecessor: “On the first album, I gave up the songs to a lot of people to play what they wanted on them, and some of the stuff I’d recorded I wasn’t sure what I wanted it to sound like in the end,” Mascis says. “With this album I didn’t use as many people, and I had a more definite idea of what
I wanted it to sound like. When I asked someone to do something it was more specific, like I already had the sound in mind.” So is there a specific theme or idea at the heart of the record? “It’s more just a vibe that I want out of a record, it’s hard to describe. I know what I want it to feel like in the end, and I want all the songs on the record to work toward some kind of vibe. It’s hard to put it into words, but I knew what I was going for.” On his upcoming Australian tour, Mascis will be joined by Adalita, whom Mascis met originally when Magic Dirt supported Dinosaur Jr. on their 1995 Australian
tour. Mascis remains a fan of Magic Dirt, though his lasting recollection of touring with Magic Dirt concerns the band’s shabby instrument casing. “My main memory of Magic Dirt on that tour was one of their guitars having a really crappy case and being checked into the airport,” Mascis says. “When we’d watch it come out on the belt at the airport I’d worry that it was going to be in pieces.”
I could start fitting in a little more since everyone else had started playing stronger as well. Especially Stuart’s singing. After that, a lot of songs definitely needed a heavy backbeat or a stronger rhythm, and after a while we got used to it. But those early days, brushes all the way. I’d never break a sweat,” he laughs. Preparing the new record came with the double-edged sword of a larger budget and production than previous outings. It allowed for more flexibility in the studio and for more elaborate live sets, but has the potential to add a level of expectation and self-consciousness the band could well do without. “With a bigger budget you generally get more time, or at least more facilities, different producers,” says Colburn. “From that side of things it opens up more possibilities. But at the same time, it does put pressure
on you, because now you have to come up with something that’s actually good,” he laughs. “I feel in this day and age the album is slowly coming back, but the way people listen to music now, people listen to songs individually. It’s not like years ago where the album ruled. We’ve always been a fan of one body of work, and that’s the album. And that needs to flow perfectly; each part has to be right. We still look at albums as albums. They should never be just a vehicle for individual songs.”
J MASCIS is playing the Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday February 13. Tied to a Star is out through Inertia.
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
By Adam Norris
Belle and Sebastian command a particularly loyal following. Between the strength of their lyrics and the group’s overall aesthetic, their listeners are drawn from a wide pool. With the electronic shift of new album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, they’re well placed to gain a whole new sweep of fans again. It’s a pleasantly unsurprising leap for a band that’s long been a favourite of music mavens but has yet to strike that commercial vein; from the beginning, Belle and Sebastian have reluctant to be categorised. Drummer Richard Colburn recalls their early days of fake biographies and shifting sounds. “We definitely fictionalised quite a lot,” he chuckles. It’s cold and rainy here in Sydney, but Colburn wins the weather game; down the phone line I hear a Glasgow snowstorm wailing, and gale force winds are battering the walls. “Another thing we did was to take band photographs, but just get a bunch of friends along to be in them. I think the first time there was ever a real band photograph; it was me lying underneath a van like I’d just been knocked over. It was all a little obscure, but we didn’t want to have a press angle in the beginning. We wanted the music to be the focus. I remember we had a few interviews with big magazines and they’d bring along a photographer, and we’d go, ‘No, no, we want to do our own photographs.’ And of course that would always turn out ridiculously. Those early years were very anti-press.” I hazard that after so many years of touring and recording, Colburn’s appreciation for the press has become slightly more pronounced. After all, the last thing this interview needs is a pissed-off Glaswegian drummer in a snowstorm feeding disinformation to a gullible Australian journo. That said… “I’m not too bad. Over the last three records, we’ve done a lot more press than ever before. Sometimes it can be annoying in that once you start some media campaign, a lot of journalists will just jump on that first interview and take all the quotes, pull it to bits and throw it back at you. Now we have someone who handles all of it, so that the interviews we do do are
big ones, the interesting ones that are going to get the best spread. It’s just one of those things in this modern age as well; you have to just do it. And with bloggers, reviewers everywhere, whatever you do, it’s going to be catalogued somewhere.” He sounds resigned to the role, but happily so. The band is now just a few years shy of its 20th anniversary, and whatever highs and lows the life of a musician can offer, Colburn is by now surely familiar with them. Belle and Sebastian’s sound has evolved steadily over this time, thanks in part to a host of creative producers enlisted along the way, but also by that old chestnut of ‘practice makes perfect.’ From 2006’s The Life Pursuit on, Colburn’s drumming in particular has become much more prominent. “In the early days, Stuart [Murdoch] sang so quietly and so far away from the microphone that if we’d try to play even slightly louder it would spill into his mic and you’d get nothing but feedback, especially when we were playing live. So for the first couple of records I just played brushes or plastics, and if I ever tried drumsticks I had to do it really, really lightly because they’d interfere with his vocals. And that’s just the way it was. It was good training for me, but as Stuart got more confident singing, ” Colburn trails off for a moment, trying to summon the memory. “It might have been 2001 when we started to tour properly. Before that we were quite sporadic and the shows weren’t quite clear. So as we toured more, we grew confident and played better, and
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BELLE AND SEBASTIAN are playing at The Palais on Sunday February 1. Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance through Matador/Remote Control. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 27
STEEL PANTHER
By David James Young
What springs to mind when one thinks of Steel Panther? Is it the drugs? The women? The guitar solos? The impeccably-preened hair? How about boy bands? Probably not. Still, worlds collided during the Panther’s latest world tour in support of their fourth studio album, All You Can Eat. “We flew to London to do a BBC Radio One thing, and then we did this special acoustic show while we were there,” explains Michael Starr, the band’s lead singer. “The guys from 5 Seconds of Summer actually ended up coming to our show. Apparently, they’re big Steel Panther fans. I was like, ‘Really? This Disney band are Steel Panther fans?’ We called out to them while we were on stage, we tried to get them to come up and join us. They didn’t do it, but afterward I sought them out. I just wanted to know if they wanted to do some cocaine. Everyone wants to know why Panther is hangin’ out with 5 Seconds of Summer? Because they like to party and they like pussy. You put those two together and you got a common bond.” The celebrity stories don’t stop there. Starr leaps from anecdote to anecdote in a single bound, rolling right into the next famous person who turned out to be a Panther fan, as well as someone who’s much more reflective of the band’s ethos. “We ran into Jack Black while we were touring in Japan,” he says. “We were both in the same hotel – I think he was playing a show with [Tenacious] D or something – and we both ended up at the same club that night. Jack is the same dude that you see him on stage or on the screen. That’s just like us – we’re the same guys. People always talk about how we’re jokin’ around, talking about tits and arse, that’s who we are. When you come and see us, it’s not like we’re faking it. We love heavy metal, we love to have a good time and we love chicks.” Enjoying some strong sales on the back of All You Can Eat – including a peak at number two on the album charts in Australia – the band took time off over the Christmas and New Year period to have a muchneeded break. Contrary to what you may believe, a Steel Panther Christmas isn’t as wild as one would expect it to be. As a matter of fact, it’s relatively normal – well,
maybe the better turn of phrase is ‘comparatively.’ “The holidays were totally killer,” exclaims Starr. “I went to see my mum and my dad, we opened some presents and then we sat down and watched a Steel Panther DVD.” Wait... seriously? “I like to catch my parents up on what’s going on with the Panther,” he justifies. “They don’t really go on the Internet, so when I get them onto YouTube it’s like another TV station to them. I’ll show them us playing in Australia, I’ll show them footage from our arena tour... after awhile, though, I’ll get sick of watching myself, so I’ll sub in some Van Halen or some Iron Maiden. I love watching these dudes that have perfected their trade.” The Panther have shared the stage with some iconic rock names in their time, including Aerosmith, Guns n Roses and Def Leppard. Sure, it’s clear to anyone with half a brain that the band is faithfully sending up the lifestyle these bands actually had at the peak of their success. Even so, Starr makes sure everyone’s on the same page. Besides, they’re not laughing at them, it’s with them. “The best thing about getting to see all these veteran bands and these classic bands is that I get to learn from them,” he says. I get to take something that they’ve done and interpret it with my own body. It comes out different, but still the idea was born out of watching and learning. You gotta’ do that, man. People that have seen us before want a new and improved Steel Panther. I gotta’ deliver. I’m taking notes, I got myself a clipboard, I’m working towards bettering ourselves.” Without prompting, Starr launches into another story. This one involves the legendary Judas Priest, who the band will appear alongside at Soundwave in late February and early March. It’s less a story of inspiration and more a matter of just straight-up stealing an idea – and Starr’s exceptionally proud of that fact. “We were on tour with Priest for about seven weeks,” he says. “I
watched Rob [Halford] sing every single night, and he is just amazing. I’m not ashamed to admit that I stole a lot from him. He does a lot – he walks a lot. He’ll walk to the left, to the right, to the drum riser, back to the front. I started doing that, and it really gets you going. I’ve added it to my repertoire.” While we’ve got Starr in the proverbial confession booth, he throws in another admission. “I’ve also stolen Steve Tyler’s mic stand,” he says. “He gets fucking stands sent to him every day. The girl that does wardrobe for Aerosmith also does
wardrobe for us when she’s not on tour with them, so I knew exactly where to get it.”
that Lobby [Loyde, producer] was there to capitalise on it,” he says. “At Home With You, we were lucky again. Then we got to that horrible X And More thing, when they tried to make X a commercial viability. I learnt more from the fuck ups with doing that session and what followed than I probably learnt in the years leading up to it. It made me very certain of one thing: to have control over your own life and destiny is really
important. And if you’re going to rely on other people, they have to be solid.”
STEEL PANTHER are playing Soundwave over Saturday February 21 and Sunday February 22. Their Sidewave with Slash at Festival Hall is on Thursday February 26. All You Can Eat is out via Open E Records and Kobalt Label Services.
STEVE LUCAS
By Augustus Welby
The Beatles’ 1969 single The Ballad of John and Yoko is a lyrical account of the events surrounding John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s wedding. The song charts the couple’s journey from England to Europe, noting their marriage in “Gibraltar near Spain” and ensuing escapades around the continent, before culminating with their return to London. Living and Loving in the USA, the new single from former X frontman Steve Lucas, occupies similar narrative territory to The Beatles’ chart-topping tune. Essentially, it’s an upbeat retelling of Lucas’ recent trip to the American West Coast, where he and Joey Bedlam (of Melbourne band DollSquad) got hitched. There’s a distinct similarity between the two songs, but it’s not as though Lucas is aping a formula Lennon invented. Rather, both songs demonstrate the essence of the folk song tradition. “Songwriting at its best is simple story telling,” Lucas says. “If you can get the story across and create some kind of emotion, no matter how fleeting, there’s a degree of success.” A hardcore Beatles-phile will tell you that Lennon penned his classic tune while he and Ono were on honeymoon. Here again, Lucas followed the wry Liverpudlian’s lead: “When I was in the States we went to this second hand guitar shop and I picked up this beautiful Danelectro guitar – all beat up, but it played beautifully well – and the first thing I started to play on it was the basic riff to Living and Loving in the USA.” This Saturday, Lucas will hit up Cherry Bar to launch the single and its B-side All That I Want (Is You). In a strange turn of events, Lucas’ freshly conceived garagepsych trio The Strawberry Teardrop will fill the post of support act. What’s more, The Strawberry Teardrop are also flogging a new release, the three-song EP Love On the Run. “I’m like a split personality,” he says. “All That I Want is almost gospel, then you’ve got the ‘70s West Coast sound of Living and Loving, then at home, at the same time, I’m banging out Nuggets-y ‘60s garage-pop/ psychedelia. I try to honour the music that I loved listening to when I was growing up and that I love to listen to now. I try to be faithful to it. “I love the urgency of The Strawberry Teardrop stuff,” he adds. “It sounds unrehearsed but it’s not. It took a lot to teach the guys how not to play things. I went back to that early X kind of vibe, where it’s all about the feel and it was just really catching the energy of BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 28
the moment.” Both releases will be available for purchase at the show, exclusively on 7” vinyl. Given Lucas’ preference for classic sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s, it’s no surprise he places high value on spinning discs of wax. “I thought about doing a mini-album on CD, but no one buys CDs anymore,” he says, “and there’s 20 billion people on iTunes and every other digital thing. I love vinyl, Joey and I have a huge vinyl collection, so I just thought, ‘Bugger it, I’m going to create something that will be a product in the very old-fashioned sense of the word.’ I thought if I do it like that it’s personal, it’s a statement and it’s a nice little physical piece of the present that keeps the past alive in me.” On the subject of old-fashioned methods, instead of bringing in a producer or sending Love On the Run away to a third party for mixing, Lucas saw to these tasks himself. And it’s something he’s quietly proud of. “Apart from engineering, I did everything,” he says. “I mastered it, I did the artwork. It’s real home made stuff, but it’s not lacking for it. In fact, it’s the most energetic, vibe-y thing I’ve done in ages. When I play it I still can’t believe that I did it.” It should be noted that Lucas did have some assistance when it came to transforming his home into a studio: “A friend of mine from Ireland, Andy White, had spent some time in the Abbey Road studios – and got to know people like Geoff Emerick who recorded all those Beatles albums – and learnt all those mic-ing tricks. He came round one day and said, ‘You could do an album down here in your garage, it’s great down here. I’ve been taught by the guys how to mic up’.” Clearly, Lucas isn’t too concerned about obeying prevalent music industry standards. Over the course of almost four decades in the music biz – dating back to the formation of X in the late ‘70s – he’s picked up some very valuable wisdom: “With X-Aspirations we were lucky that we didn’t know what we were doing and
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STEVE LUCAS will be playing at Cherry Bar this Saturday January 31 in a double single launch. Living & Loving in the USA / All That I Want is available through his Bandcamp.
CORE
PUNK, SKA, HARDCORE NEWS, REVIEWS & GOSSIP
By Emily Kelly: ek1984@gmail.com The Soundwave Sidewaves continue to trickle through as the festival quickly approaches. Now only a month away, Soundwave recently released details on a bunch of very decent shows taking place in Melbourne in addition to the festival itself at Melbourne showgrounds. See Lamb Of God and all-star ensemble Killer Be Killed at 170 Russell on Tuesday February 24. Marilyn Manson will headline a couple of shows but Melbourne has been denied. Eyehategod have had their Australian tour cancelled again. In devastating news for fans, the most recent incarnation of their Aussie tour has been scrapped, this time due to health issues. Last year, their headlining run was cancelled due to issues with the promoter, this time vocalist Mike Williams is unwell and had to cancel their entire tour as a result. Refunds are available from point of purchase. Local lass Georgia Maq will team up with Newcastle’s Spencer Scott to release a split 7” together this year. LostBoyRecords will put out the split, on which they both contribute two tracks, on February 28. Stream two of the tracks online now and keep your eyes peeled for local performances. Melbourne favourites Initials are calling it a day after just four more shows. If you missed them playing at The Rev’s Australia Day benefit, you better make sure you see them on Friday February 6 The Public Bar, Wednesday February 18 at The Old Bar or back at The Reverence for an official farewell on Saturday March 28. Full details to be revealed shortly. Emarosa have announced their return to our country this winter. They’ll be playing a bunch of club shows around Australia though Melbourne’s show is happening at Wrangler Studios on Monday June 9 and it’s all ages. You can pinch some tickets from Wednesday January 28. Asking Alexandria have split with their notoriously mouthy vocalist Danny Worsnop. He’s left the band to “pursue other musical interests.” The rest of the band are continuing unabated, “We are going to tour harder than ever” they’ve insisted.
CRUNCH
METAL, HEAVY ROCK. CLASSIC ROCK LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL GOOD SHIT
With Peter Hodgson: crunchcolumn@gmail.com
CORE GIG GUIDE WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28: The Smith Street Band, Pup, Great Cynics, Apart From This at Musicman Megastore, Bendigo THURSDAY JANUARY 29: Perfect Pussy at Northcote Social Club The Smith Street Band, Pup, Great Cynics, Apart From This at Barwon Club, Geelong The Getaway Plan at The Loft, Warrnambool Whoretopsy, Direblaze, Adeptus at Next The Jacks, Holy Serpent, Fried Goods, Ten Cent Pistols at The Bendigo FRIDAY JANUARY 30: Grenadier at The Gasometer, Collingwood ME, Mayfair Kytes, Phia at Evelyn Hotel The Smith Street Band, Pup, Great Cynics, Apart From This at Karova Lounge, Ballarat The Getaway Plan at Torquay Hotel Bagster, Ramshackle Army, The Quarters, Beacons at Yah Yah’s I Am Duckeye, Pissbolt, Order Of Chaos, Strict Vincent, Grudge, Overpower at The Bendigo SATURDAY JANUARY 31: Chiodos, Storm The Sky, Acrasia, Renegade Armada at Corner Hotel The Smith Street Band, Pup, Great Cynics, Apart From This at The Hi-Fi Bar Break Even, Strickland, The Evercold, Ambleside at Bang The Abandonment, Synthesist, Picture The End, A Secret Death, Anchors, Electrik Dynamite, Glass Ocean, Crowned Kings, Jack The Stripper, Metalstorm, Join The Amish, Faux Defeated at The Espy Break Even, Strickland, The Evercold, Ambleside at Bang The Getaway Plan at Riverview Tavern, Tarwin Lower
Hey folks! I’m writing this week’s column from a Denny’s in Anaheim, California, exactly two minutes after the NAMM Show wrapped up. NAMM is the annual musical instrument trade show and it’s huge. I’ve seen some great stuff this year, hung with the Periphery lads, interviewed Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine for Seymour Duncan, Dream Theater’s John Petrucci, nerded out over guitars with Dethklok’s Brendon Small, visited Grover Jackson at his GJ2 Guitars workshop (they’ve secured Australian distributorshiop so you’ll be able to play these beautiful guitars soon) and got to visit Zakk Wylde to see his new guitar and amp line, Wylde Audio. If you ever get the chance to go to NAMM, do it. It’s an amazing experience.
NEW SCORPIONS ALBUM
German rock legends Scorpions will release their new album, Return To Forever, in Australia on February 20 via Sony Music Australia. “Actually, we only wanted to finally record some song ideas for the fans, which we had worked on in the past but never put on an album, and then release them without much fanfare,” guitarist Matthias Jabs says. “There had been quite a few over the years, ideas that were really good, but in the end didn’t make the cut back then due to the limited space on vinyl and later on CD. We quickly had eight songs, which partly had to be finalised first and were then recorded from scratch. During the work, increasingly new song ideas were added from our end, as well as from the two Swedes. We had so much fun working and suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of the songwriting process once again. And in the end, it turned out to be a brand-new Scorpions album after all.”
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1: Millar Jukes and The Bandits, Dave Grimson, Ramshackle Army at The Reverence
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FAREWELL MOTLEY CRUE
Mötley Crüe have announced the details of their final performance, marking the end of their touring career and their two-year Final Tour cycle at the end of 2015 on New Year’s Eve, December 31 at Staples Centre in their hometown of Los Angeles where the band’s career began 34 years ago. The 2015 leg of the Final Tour will see the band play Japan in February, then Australia/New Zealand in their autumn. In June Mötley Crüe will say farewell to the European Festival circuit with three massive performances at Download (UK), Sweden Rock (Sweden) and Novarock (Austria) Festivals before taking their show back to the US, Canada, and Mexico for 34 final North American shows due to tremendous fan demand. “In some of the cities, we could only reach a fraction of the fans who wanted to come see us play last year because of ticket demand so we’re coming back to those places to bring them our full production including the Crüecifly drum coaster, as well as all pyro and every other bell and whistle,” Nikki Sixx says. “Even despite the overwhelming fan demand we can only add so many new cities in North America because of our commitment to take the Final Tour global on our final year.” The band’s new single and video All Bad Things is out now.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 29
Q&A
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YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE
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Dear Stalker
Define your genre in five words or less: Grunge pop. So, someone is walking past as you guys are playing, they then go get a beer and tell their friend about you... what do they say? “I’m gonna’ buy these guys a beer.” What has been your favourite gig you’ve played to date? We headlined the first ever Queens of Noize festival in Bendigo. When we first stepped onstage, everybody was sitting down and it all felt a little too polite. By the end of our set, everybody was up out of their seats and rocking out. They sure know how to party in the country. It was awesome. What inspires or has influenced your music the most? The rich tapestry that is life, with its many experiences. And sushi. What do you think a band has to do these days to succeed? Have fun. Nothing kills the vibe more than stressing about the business side of things to the point that you forget why you’re doing this in the first place. Do you have any record releases to date? What? Where can I get it? Our debut self-titled EP and Whole Other Kind single are both available from dearstalker.bandcamp.com and iTunes. Why should everyone come and see your band? Why shouldn’t everyone come and see our band? When are you playing live/releasing your album/EP/ single/etc? At The Brunswick Hotel this Saturday. It’s a fundraiser show to help us record our new EP. We get paid a percentage of bar takings, so it’s the perfect excuse to join us for a beer and help us out in the process. Catch DEAR STALKER at The Brunswick Hotel on Saturday January 31.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 30
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 28
ANNA MORLEY
Anna Morley is an Australian multiinstrumentalist and composer based in Berlin. Her music has been described as an eclectic fusion of electro-acoustic vibes with ambient overtones woven together by fresh minimal grooves. Morley’s principally a vibraphonist, but also lends her talents to violent, vocals and a range of keyboard and percussion instruments. Catch her with Amber Isles and Frieda Le Bjorn at The Grace Darling this Wednesday January 28 from 8pm.
play with them including The Infants and Kalacoma on Thursday January 29, tickets are $8 on the door. From 8pm.
THEE GOLD BLOOMS
KRISTA POLVERE
The divine Krista Polvere is set to release her third record in Australia in early 2015. Polvere has just returned from Virginia in the US, where she toured for eight months. Solid. Polvere has been wowing audiences at The Retreat every Wednesday throughout January, and returns this week for the last of her residency shows. The performance will see Polvere teaming up with US musician Bryan Elijah Smith and local artists Ayleen O’Hanlon and Liam Gerner. It all kicks off at 7.30pm on Wednesday January 28 and it’s free.
DAN SAN
Wednesday nights sit in the masterful hands of humble legend Dan San (aka DJ Danielsan, one half of the celebrated Australian duo Koolism). Colonel Tan’s kitchen turns out loving crafted meals to a soundtrack curated by one of Melbourne’s most accomplished DJs packing an enviable array of tunes on wax and HDD plus occasional guests. On Wednesday January 28, get down to Revolver from 7pm onwards for some serious hump day therapy.
In The Grace Darling basement, Perth garage rockers Thee Gold Blooms have just announced their self-titled debut album, dropping this Friday January 30. To coincide with the album release, the four-piece are heading on a national tour, playing a string of shows in Melbourne. This Wednesday January 28, see them with The Sugar Ghouls, doors are at 8.30pm and tickets are just $6 on the door.
THE SPACE AGE
The Electric Guitars humbly present a formidable undertaking as they perform a live musical representation of the entire history of time, over four Wednesday nights in January at The Gasometer. Helping them to realise this idea are a lineup of special guests. This Wednesday January 28, catch The Space Age, with Vacuum and Orlando Furious. Doors are at 8pm, tickets will be $8. THURSDAY JANUARY 29
DEAR PLASTIC
Following their huge debut album launch back in October, Dear Plastic return to The Gasometer for Thursday residency in January. They’re bringing their friends to
PENSIVE PENGUIN
Pensive Penguin are a wry and quirky indie rock band from Melbourne. Having recorded their sophomore EP Odes and Ends in a warehouse studio in Kensington, they enlisted the mixing talents of Miro Mackie (Little Scout, Stevie) and master of all masterers Dom McGlinn (Regurgitator, The Ron Swansons) to create a collection of tunes that are three parts jangly, two parts pop and one part mad. They play The Retreat Hotel on Thursday January 29. Expect good times and the potential for penguins.
BLOOD LINE
One of Melbourne’s favourite heavy hitters, Blood Line have been mercilessly carving their name in everything since their inception in 2009. With shredding guitars and thunderous bass and machinegun blast beats that would make Troy Saunders cream himself, Blood Line are bound to get your head banging. They hit The Brunswick Hotel this Thursday January 29 with Atlantic, Arcadian and Behold The Defiant from 8pm.
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TAILOR BIRDS
Having just returned from their second European tour, electronic folk outfit Tailor Birds are coming to The Drunken Poet for a free gig this Thursday January 29. Releasing their debut album in 2013, and a live EP the following year, Tailor Birds tell a tale of love, loss, hope and redemption through front woman Monique Kerr’s empowering lyricism, perfectly accentuated by Sophie Kinston’s electric violin and Daniel Brate’s haunting percussion. Joining them for the gig will be 19th Century Strongman taking the stage at 8pm, with Tailor Birds immediately after.
WHERE’S GROVER?
Rockabilly punks Where’s Grover?, garage dorks Plural, fast food aficionados The Cruntburgers, Greek food aficionados Tzatziki Party, and the eternally excellent The Dirty Birds hit up Public Bar for a post-Australia Day mixed-up gig at Public Bar on Thursday January 29. Doors are at 8.30pm, 8 bucks entry.
MUSIC NEWS
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For all the latest news check out beat.com.au MARMALADE SHOES
an east coast tour and a busy 2014 where they featured on PBS FM’s 2014 Drive Live program, played as the house band on Channel 10’s International Comedy Gala All-Star Supershow and released their first music video for, Mi Querida. Get down for their first ever album launch Friday January 30 at Howler. Tickets are $15. Doors from 8pm.
Those dapper gents at Jack London are presenting this free gig on Thursday January 29 at The Grace Darling. This secret gig will headline a well known Australian band performing under the pseudonym Marmalade Shoes, and supported by locals, Red Spencer. Doors open at 8pm with free drink cards until 9pm.
THE RULING MOTIONS
THEE GOLD BLOOMS
Perth garage rockers Thee Gold Blooms have just announced their self-titled debut album, dropping this Friday January 30. To coincide with the album release, the four-piece are heading on a national tour, playing a string of shows in Melbourne. This Thursday January 29, see them hit up The Old Bar, performing with The Shabbab and The Dead Heir. Doors are at 8pm, entry is free.
THE RIDER
FRIDAY JANUARY 30
The Rider are a Sydney band creating songs with psychedelic jams, jazz chords, grooves and melodic harmonies in a style they like to call rock’n’soul. They journey south this Friday January 30 to The Brunswick Hotel to share songs off their new EP, Songs from Side B. Supporting them will be Melbourne locals Major Tom and The Atoms, Above Kings and Fierce Mild. Free entry, with doors at 8.30pm.
THE RULING MOTIONS
THE TROTSKIES
The Ruling Motions are back at The LuWow to delight and enhance your tropical escapades. Their shows are formidable retro-sonic musical experiences reflecting a deep knowledge of the history of Jamaican reggae music and showcasing high energy, deep soul and wild improvised dub sessions. Get down to see the sublime reggae lovers that are The Ruling Motions this Friday January 30. Other things to get excited about are: DJ Conor Healy spinning retro sounds all night, exotic Go Go dancers, tropical cocktails and cheap Mexican beer. Dress to impress. $5 on the door, opening from 8pm and bands from 9.30pm
residency at The Retreat. Offering an original mix of country, folk and blues, Ferrier’s debut album Sugar Baby has been described as containing “mighty and tender, harrowing and beautiful songs, superbly performed.” Alison Ferrier brings her country charm to The Post Office Hotel this Friday January 30. She performs at 9:30pm, entry is free.
After the release of single DYR late last year, The Trotskies are on a roll, touring the east coast of Australia and following it up with appearances at the Semplesize Block Party and Beyond The Valley. Catch these guys in an intimate headliner tour prior to their sophomore PE release at The Grace Darling Basement this Friday January 30. Doors open at 9pm and tickets are $5 on the door.
SUGAR FED LEOPARDS
Melbourne sweethearts, Sugar Fed Leopards, are launching their debut album Sweet Spots at Howler in shimmering spectacle on January 30 with support from Mighty Duke and The Lords, Real Hot Bitches, Richie 1250 and CC Disco. The band are fresh from
The Ruling Motions are back at The LuWow to delight and enhance your tropical escapades. Their shows are formidable retro-sonic musical experiences reflecting a deep knowledge of the history of Jamaican reggae music and showcasing high energy, deep soul and wild improvised dub sessions. Get down to see the sublime reggae lovers that are The Ruling Motions this Friday January 30. Dress to impress. $5 on the door, opening from 8pm and bands from 9.30pm
BLACKWOOD JACK
Blackwood Jack are a three-piece pushing their weight of tender and abrasive tones from the Victorian town of Warrnambool. Held together by the dynamic rhythm section of Talen and Daniel and narrated by frontman Benjamin; Blackwood growl, preach and drawl their idea of music through hollowed out lullabies and vulnerable angst that lies on a bed of unorthodox beats and unconventional story telling. Not ones to follow the norm of traditional studio trends, Blackwood Jack hibernated late April to self produce their upcoming six-track EP. Catch them at The Workers Club this Friday January 30 with Red Eagle and COVE. Tickets are $10 on the door.
ALISON FERRIER
Alison Ferrier has been performing non stop over summer, coming off a recent
ME
Melbourne boys ME have spent a stupid amount of time on the road in Europe, and have now announced their return to The Evelyn stage after their two-year absence from home. They’ll be bringing back a bundle of new material too, which is the result of their majorly prolonged absence. Show ME just how much you missed ‘em on Friday January 30 at The Evelyn Hotel. Visit www.evelynhotel.com.au for tickets and info.
OF STOLEN MOMENTS
Get ready to sink your teeth into this coheadline show at Public Bar this Friday January 30 when post-hardcore foursome Feverteeth and melodic hardcore fivepiece Of Stolen Moments will surely melt faces when they hit the stage. With them, they’re bringing Cordell and Laser Brains to cap off what promises to be an epic night. It kicks off with doors at 8.30pm, $10 entry.
60 seconds with...
Blood Line
So then, what’s the band name and what do you ‘do’ in the band? The band name is Blood Line and we’re all from Melbourne. I, Tommy Elm, got stuck playing bass. What do you reckon people will say you sound like? We actually love asking people. It’s groovy, yet so fucking heavy. What we want the sound of our music to do is make people who are not even into metal, walk into the room and have no choice but to bob (read: bang) their head and go “this is fuckin’ cool.” What do you love about making music? Our band is a team, we’re all bros and it just feels fucking rad to get on stage with our squad and see how crazy we can go and try to make people move. What do you hate about the music industry? How cliques grow in the metal industry. One of the reasons we’ve got two hardcore and two metal bands booked is to keep this sub-community together and not separated into this us vs. them bullshit. What’ve you got to sell CD-wise? We release our EP, Beyond the Pale in 2014, we’re really proud of it so please come grab a copy. Buy us a beer and we’ll probably give you a free one. What can a punter expect from your live show? Us in the crowd. Massive riffs. Shane is a crazy bearded vocalist, expect the sweat. Catch BLOOD LINE at The Brunswick Hotel this Thursday January 29 with Atlantic, Arcadian and Behold The Defiant.
Q&A
Feverteeth versus Of Stolen Moments Feverteeth to Of Stolen Moments: Rise and Shine is a killer EP. For someone who hasn’t heard it, how would you describe it? Thanks. We spent almost two years writing and perfecting the songs and we weren’t going to stop until we were completely happy with them. R&S is melodic, fast, and layered with honest and sincere vocals and lyrics. OSM to F: Feverteeth are stranded on an island, choose one thing each to have with you on the island. What is it? Jimmy would bring rope. Matt would bring medical supplies. Colgan would bring hunting gear. Jordan would bring fresh water. Chris would bring cassettes. F to OSM: What can people expect from a Of Stolen Moments live show? We really strive to be tight and together as a group, so we hope that shows in our live performance.
OSM to F: What was the worst gig you ever played? What happened? We had an old dude in a suit jump on stage halfway through a band’s set to yell at all the bands for being too loud. He owned the venue. F to OSM: Of Stolen Moments gets marooned on a deserted island, who gets eaten first? We like to resolve these sorts of situations with our band food chain. Simon is currently at the bottom for being late to prac, so sorry Simmo, you’re getting eaten. OSM to F: Who’s buying the first round after the show on Friday? We’re all broke so Laser Brains. FEVERTEETH and OF STOLEN MOMENTS are co-headlining Public Bar this Friday January 30. $5 at the door.
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BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 31
MUSIC NEWS
YOUR COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL GUIDE
For all the latest news check out beat.com.au Reverence this Saturday February 1 for four songwriters, many beers, and possibly a few tacos. Music from 8pm, entry is $10 on the door.
SOHN
London-raised, Vienna-based multiinstrumentalist and producer SOHN is returning to Australia this year. The 2015 visit Down Under will follow a remarkable 12 months for the English expat, having released his debut album Tremors, picked up support from the likes of The Fader and Pitchfork, performed at SXSW and sold out shows worldwide. Alongside his appearance at Laneway, he’s also now locked in a run of intimate headline dates around the country. Catch him on Friday January 30 at The Corner Hotel.
BIG SMOKE
Melbourne’s Big Smoke have built their sound upon the shoulders of musical giants, wading their way through the history of rock and roll as pop, folk, country and soul sensibilities collapse together with personal, hard-wrought lyrics, ultimately coming together for the desired result – a classic song. Come down to The Catfish on Friday January 30 as Big Smoke take over the front bar for a free entry show.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 1
CLARE BOWDITCH
GHOST TOWNS OF THE MIDWEST
Having just launched their Field Recordings Of... EP, Ghost Towns of the Midwest are heading to Open Studio in Northcote this Saturday January 31 to celebrate, play music and eat some crepes. Fronted by singer/songwriter Cam Ewart, the band has no newcomers to the scene, having performed for over 15 years. Audiences have come to expect the unexpected at a Ghost show, from joining the band on percussion, to providing materials to punters to make their own Ghost Towns t-shirts while the show rolls on. A fun time is always guaranteed. The show starts 5pm, with free entry.
Kylie Auldist
ARRESTER
Kicking off St Kilda Festival on Friday January 30 at Prince of Wales is indie rock three-piece, Arrester. The band’s sets are accented by subtlety and sincerity spinning halfway between Band Of Horses and PJ Harvey (circa Stories From The City, Songs For The Sea). Joining them on the lineup is Melbourne via Glasgow is rollicking rock act Aye Candy. Remember how rad it was the first time you heard Sons & Daughters’ Dance Me In in 2005? This three-piece is all that and more. Entry is free. SATURDAY JANUARY 31
DRIVEWINDER
Drivewinder are set to hit the Yah Yah’s stage for their single launch, going down this Saturday January 31. The night is set to showcase Drivewinder’s heavy metal sounds of lush bass hooks and decadent guitar feedback, promising appearances from special guests The Hidden Venture, The Balls and T B D F. Tickets are $13 at the door, opens 8pm.
DORSAL FINS
Dorsal Fins is the brainchild of Melbourne’s busiest musician/composer Liam McGorry (Saskwatch, Eagle and the Worm). The band was originally envisaged as a ‘recording-only’ project, however, fortunately for us the temptation to step on the stage was too much. Dorsal Fins are intent on exploring an array sounds spanning from 80’s dance music to 90’s grunge, punk to synth pop focusing on tone, timbre and feel to best convey the emotion of each song. Catch them at The Gasometer this Saturday January 31 at Collingwood Open Series with New Gods and Bec Rigby. Doors are at 7pm, tickets are $10+bf or $12 on the door.
SCOTT COOK
This will be the second instalment of Cafe Go Get Folk with Candice McLeod and Scott Cook this Friday January 30 in Geelong. There’ll be live art, a lush courtyard and your $20 entry includes your choice of curry, bargain, making for a special night out at this perfect little cafe turned band room. 37 Bellerine Street, Geelong.
SHADOWS AT BAY
Heavy metal Melbourne trio Shadows At Bay are taking on The Reverence Hotel stage to celebrate the release of their first EP this Saturday January 31. Expect a massive night as the boys are bringing locals Dojo Collectors and Annie Crooners along for the ride. Tickets are $10 and include a copy of the EP. Doors open 8pm. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 32
Wanna spend a lazy Sunday afternoon (or two) with Clare Bowditch at The Flying Saucer Club? Bowditch is famous for being one of the finest storytellers in music; she makes her audiences laugh, cry and get to know themselves better. She’ll be bringing songs from all seven of her albums, plus brand new songs from her soon-to-be-recorded eighth album, 3pm every Sunday in February. She’ll tell stories from her burgeoning TV career, and she may even bring along a couple of special-guests. Add this mix to the relaxed atmosphere of the Flying Saucer Club and you have all the ingredients for a brilliant month of Sunday afternoons. Tickets are $35 at the door, $45+BF for reserved seats at flyingsaucerclub.com.au.
for a complex blend of musical flavours, with a nice kick at the end. They play this Sunday February 1 from 5pm, entry is free.
LAURA PALMER
Local punk rockers Laura Palmer have locked in a summer residency at The Old Bar in Fitzroy, performing every Sunday evening in February. Come hang out in the beer garden, grab a bev and relax as Laura Palmer play tracks from self-titled 2014 EP, as well as a couple new ones. Support this week comes from locals Summer Blood and Daybreak. Music starts 7pm, every Sunday in February at The Old Bar.
GRINDHOUSE
Melbourne’s own garage punk outlaws Grindhouse are down for a free evening of rock madness at Yah Yah’s, kicking off the first in a series of shows presented by Hurricane Music and Singing Bird Studios. Tying together garage style punk rock with a good old Australian pub rock vibe, Grindhouse are bringing along guest misfits Flour and Laser Brains to make sure your ears are proper fucked.
THE RAMSHACKLE ARMY
In a totally solid move, The Ramshackle Army are heading down to one of our favourite Melbourne venues, The Reverence Hotel for some sunny Sunday arvo sessions. Joining them are a stack of awesome musos and singer/ songwriters. It’s free entry, so head on down and have a tasty pint with them.
DEAR STALKER
Grunge/pop rockers Dear Stalker return to their favourite Melbourne venue, The Brunswick Hotel on Saturday January 31 for their first headline show of 2015. The band have been busy writing a bunch of new material that they can’t wait to bring to the stage. All takings from the show will be going towards Dear Stalker’s upcoming studio recording, and there’ll be limited edition merch available on the night. Joining Dear Stalker will be Sun Rosa, The Dark Ales, and Underground. From 9pm.
THE NEW SAVAGES
The Drunken Poet is home to a sparse, yet fully realised original blues sound this Saturday January 31, emanating from Melbourne band, The New Savages. Digging out long lost grooves from pre WWII-era blues music, this band creates a hypnotic and archaic beat to get people on the dance floor. Evoking the poetic imagery of Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt, singer/guitarist Milan plays a skilled one chord slide guitar style reminiscent of old blues masters. His other half Nathan is a seasoned professional from jazz and soul projects, providing a solid groove to compliment Milan’s droning guitar and get the masses dancing. The New Savages start playing at 9pm, with free entry.
TABERAH
Tassie melodic metallers Taberah are back in Melbourne. Hitting up the Bendigo Hotel, expect a great selection of tracks from the bands catalogue, including ones from latest release Necromancer. With album number three soon in the works, who knows how long it’ll be till Taberah are back in Melbourne? The boys are bringing a monster support cast to the party, featuring Damnation Days, Maniaxe, Espionage and Stormtide. It’s been a while between local appearances so this special headlining set will definitely be one not to miss. It all starts this Saturday January 31 at 7pm; tickets are $15 at the door.
PADDY MCHUGH & LINCOLN LE FEVRE
Paddy McHugh and Lincoln Le Fevre recently played a show together in sunny Queensland and got Rugby League drunk. They had such a good night they decided it would be fun to do it again in Melbourne. Jud Campbell was drinking with them and decided to come along for the ride. Wolf Whistler will be the filling out the bill and helping round off what promises to be a cracker evening. Come down to The
RETREAT SUNDAYS SUMMER OF SOUL
The Retreat and Collingwood Draft are combining to bring you The Retreat Sundays Summer Of Soul. It all kicks off with DJ Manchild in Brunswick’s favourite beer garden at The Retreat. As the sun slips from the sky, Melbourne’s soul siren Kylie Auldist & The Glenroy Allstars will take to the main stage. There’ll also be a smoking BBQ and Collingwood Draft giveaways. Get down this Sunday February 1. Free entry from 2pm onwards.
GRINDHOUSE
This is the first in a series of gigs presented by Hurricane Music and Singing Bird Studios, Sundays at Yah Yah’s just got a lot more interesting. Grindhouse are Melbourne’s own garage punk outlaws and they’ll bring all their sexy swag to this Sunday evening of punk rock madness. In Support is FLOUR, another band of punk rock misfits and the amazing Laser Brains who will open by demolishing all your face holes. Did we mention it’s free? From 8pm.
BODIES
Dettol Forever presents Minimum Wage; a killer lineup at The Grace Darling from 6pm this Sunday February 1. Catch Bodies, Diploid, Ply I Ers, and Kids of Zoo. Entry is free.
THE WOODLAND HUNTERS
Some bands are champagne. Lots of fizz, life of the party. Some are beer – solid, dependable and even better after 3 bottles. The Woodland Hunters are whiskey. Interesting flavours, aged well, worth contemplating. You’ll notice a rhythm section that pays attention to the groove, guitars that alternately jangle and bite, songs that tell stories – ghost stories, love stories – and not always with a happy ending. Sunday afternoons are good for a whiskey, and there ain’t a better time to join The Woodland Hunters at The Retreat
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MONDAY FEBRUARY 2
SEAN SIMMONS & WAYWARD BREED
Nine years since they met as guitarist and bass player in much loved but now defunct noir-jazz act, The Dumb Earth, Sean Simmons (The Spoils) & waywardbreed (aka Justin Avery) partner up for a special evening on Monday February 2 at The Retreat. The duo will each perform a short set of their own material and then a final set together, offering different interpretations of their own songs as well as covers. As always, it’s free entry. TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3
RAURY
June 10 marked the 18th birthday of the tenacious and talented Altana songwriter Raury, who’s collaborated with SBTRKT, swapped tracks with Kanye West and got booked to open for OutKast, all before releasing a single record. Cultivating his craft of singing, songwriting and production since the age of nine, Raury has been turning heads with his intriguing and unique blend of rap, folk and soul as heard on his debut LP Indigo Child. His intelligent lyrics double as the voice of his generation, talking about the frustrations of adolescence and the deeply felt topics of acceptance and ambition. Come see what he comes up with on the live stage during his first trip to Australia, stopping in Melbourne for a Tuesday February 3 show at Howler. Supporting on the night will be hip hop locals Milwaukee Banks. The show starts 8pm, tickets are $29+BF available from moshtix.
ARTHUR PENN & THE FUNKY TEN
Arthur Penn & The Funky Ten are embracing the new year by throwing a month long party at The Gasometer Hotel this February. Every Tuesday night you’ll be able to catch the 11-piece aviation themed theatrical funk ensemble doing what they do best. They’ve started to make a name for themselves as an explosive, high energy act filled with a tight rhythm section, punchy horn lines, diverse harmonies and very questionable choreography. Joined each week by some very special guests, this will be a month to remember, tickets will be $7 on the door, doors are at 8pm.
LIVE
REPORTS FROM THE FRONT ROW
For more reviews go to beat.com.au/reviews CATFISH & THE BOTTLEMEN The Hi-Fi, Sunday January 25
SUGAR MOUNTAIN VCA, Saturday January 24
Photo by Phoebe Powell
Nas by Rebecca Houlden
The Welsh rockers everyone had come to see arrived onstage to a lively reception. The band swung into action with Rango, the infectious single getting the mosh pit area of the venue up and dancing early and they didn’t stop all night. Reaching a high gear by launching into Pacifier, their energy was ridiculously impressive, and it transferred to the audience, creating a brilliant back and forth between the crowd and the stage. Towards the end of their regular set, they played one of the biggest hits from the debut album The Balcony by tearing through Kathleen. It once again sought to show off lead singer Ryan Van McCann’s supremely impressive vocals. McCann regularly thanked the crowd for their attendance and repeatedly seemed amazed by peoples’ support. The crowd lapped up everything the band did, from their improvised banter to their enthusiasm. It’s hard to remember a band touring Australia for the very first time that’s put on a show as impressive as what Catfish & The Bottlemen managed at The Hi-Fi. Their eagerness to impress was clear and it was far easier to surrender to the good time vibes in the room than just stand and watch. There was less moshing and more dancing: people up the front were dancing even, it seemed, with complete strangers. The band finished with their massive hit Cocoon before bowing out of their Melbourne headline visit with their debut album’s final song, Tyrants. It seems likely that the next time they return they’ll be playing at a much bigger LIKED: Everything Catfish & The Bottlemen did. venue. HATED: Literally nothing. DRANK: Tinnies. ALEXANDER CROWDEN
TRUCKFIGHTERS Yah Yah’s, Saturday January 24 Photo by Emily Day
Early on, we got the reliably tantalising psych of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, foppish Scandinavian irony-core from Iceage and a set of lived-in pop from local favourites, Twerps. US experi-R&B guy How To Dress Well has expanded his live setup since his previous Australian visit; today working with a full-band to realise the fleshy vulnerability of last year’s stunning LP What Is This Heart? As the beating sun became a little easier to handle, Melbourne’s No Zu showed up with more grooves than a hostel bed and enough perky brass interplay to give you tennis elbow. Gaining added power from vocalist Sal P (of New York post-disco legends, Liquid Liquid), there’s no doubt No Zu left the stage with stacks of new fans. As well as the multi-faceted lineup, the VCA proved to be a unique event site. Other than the intimate theatre stage and a trio of gallery rooms, most of the action went down outdoors. At the end of a street, wedged between multi-story brick buildings, the main stage area had the feel of a block party, which even gained the approval of Nas late in the evening. What’s more, the summit’s art-side wasn’t just an underwhelming peripheral feature, as is often the case. The galleries offered respite from the heat and, once inside, the fluorescent colour splashes by Australia’s Leif Podhajsky and absurdist collages by Japan’s Hisham Bharoocha engaged punters of their own accord. When 6.00pm rolled around, Ariel Pink arrived to induct us into his realm of weird. Pink is recognised as a curt oddball and outsider-art poster boy, but most significantly, he’s a genius songwriter. This evening he leant heavily on his latest release pom pom, which led to manifold highlights, such as freaky twee-pop number, Plastic Raincoats In The Pig Parade and glam-rock mini-opera, Black Ballerina. Speaking of outsider-art heroes, Swans basically sit at the top of that mountain. Largely ignoring their latest LP To Be Kind, there’s no telling how many (if any) songs the gang of grey-haired eccentrics played. Nevertheless, Swans gave us a dark and challenging exploration of emotion that occasionally surged to the highest possible volume. And, believe it or not, it was devoid of wank. Next up was Sydney’s Kirin J Callinan, who’s almost peerless in the area of onstage theatrics. Exclusively developed for Sugar Mountain, tonight’s ‘Terrible Love’ show meant we got a set full of love songs, with help from some juicy guest vocalists. Callinan’s onstage persona tends to push the boundaries of awkwardness, and tonight he took this to the extreme. The first two invited guests, Ariel Pink then Bo Ningen, simply didn’t show up. From here, Callinan looked to his computer screen ± projected onto the stage wall ± which led to Skype-facilitated duets with Jack Ladder, Seekae’s Alex Cameron, Dev Hynes/Blood Orange and a cover of Don’t Dream It’s Over featuring Neil Finn himself. Awkward silences and connection troubles ensued in what was one of the most ecstatically silly things you’re ever likely to see. Headliner Nas was here to perform his 1994 masterpiece Illmatic in full. The record’s more than 20 years old, but Nas’ execution was flawless. During Halftime, Nas intoned “Of rap I’m a professional/ And that’s no question, yo.” It didn’t even sound like boasting ± rather, it was a simple statement of fact. Following the Illmatic retrospective came a slew of the New Yorker’s subsequent hits, which LOVED: The live Triple R broadcast, including an made it so no one here could possibly disagree with the interview with Dan Deacon. MC’s self-impression. HATED: Time clashes. DRANK: Craft beer, then beer beer. AUGUSTUS WELBY
We’re still a bit stunned even the day following Truckfighters’ Aussie onslaught. Our Swedish fuzz/stoner mates rocked way hard. Yah Yah’s was super sweaty even before Truckfighters hit it. There was a lot of long hair and testosterone (and too little deodorant ± bef ore we get completely evangelical about the topic, sort that shit out please). The three lads played for an hour and 15, which was about as much as it looked like Axl, the new drummer, could handle without risk of a stroke. Maybe this is why Truckfighters lose their drummers Spinal Tap style; not because they die, but because they wear the poor fuckers out. Dango (guitar and vocals) reminded us, in the best possible way, of the Muppet Animal. Dango’s like a ripped human pogo stick: wild-eyed and roaring at the crowd, which makes it both exhilarating and a little disconcerting when he makes eye contact. Ozo (bass and vocals) was equally out there ± his poor neck, seriously ± it’s slightly alarming to watch the way he throws himself around. But that’s part of the spectacle right? At the best gigs, we get a vicarious buzz from watching something wild played out onstage and Truckfighters delivered tenfold. We were entertained when Dango roared “It’s fucking hot up here [no shit, down here too mate]. Do you want to hear a long song?” The irony man, Truckfighters don’t really do songs shy of ten minutes. It was hitting the temperature of riot when Truckfighters played Gweedo-Weirdo and Desert Cruiser. Ozo was well chuffed that we knew the words and repaid us by LOVED: When the fuzz met the groove. Also, engaging in a little crowd surfing action himself. special mention goes to the manners on the lanky We don’t give a rats if QOTSA were taking the piss when young lad in front of us who checked if we could see they said Truckfighters were one of the best live bands in not once but twice. the world, it happens to be true. Rock out and rock on. HATED: Face sweat and the dickhead who was making a menace of himself. There’s always one. MEG CRAWFORD DRANK: Water. CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 33
THIS WEEK AT
THURSDAY 29TH JANUARY IN THE BEER GARDEN -
NORTHSIDE SPACE FUNKERS
feat. Hyperfokus & Kodiak Kid, Hip-Hop, funk, trip-hop, electro soul & swinging jazz. Playing inside & out from 7pm FRIDAY 30TH JANUARY MAIN BAR 9:30PM
THE BRAD MARTIN PROJECT DJ’S
7PM MAARS / 9PM HIJACK / 11PM D’FRO SATURDAY 31ST JANUARY DJ’S
7PM MATT RAD 9PM OBLIVEUS 11PM MR LOB SUNDAY 1ST FEBR UARY MAIN BAR
LIVE MUSIC
CHECK FACEBOOK.COM/ THEPENNYBLACK.420SYDNEYROAD FOR MORE DETAILS MONDAY 2ND FEBR UARY
$10 LONGNECKS $4 PIZZA & FREE POOL + FREE WORKSHOPS – Call venue for details
TUESDAY 3RD FEBR UARY
FREE MOVIE NIGHT: BACK TO THE FUTURE
Screening in the beer garden at 8:30pm
WEEKLY FOOD SPECIALS
$4 PIZZAS
Monday - Thursday ALL DAY & NIGHT, Friday 12pm to 5pm
$12 STEAKS
Wednesday: from 5pm
$12 BURGERS Thursday: from 5pm (meat + vego optn)
ALWAYS FREE ENTRY INSIDE & OUTSIDE
420 SYDNEY RD, BRUNSWICK (03) 9380 8667, INFO@THEPENNYBLACK.COM FACEBOOK.COM/THEPENNYBLACK.420SYDNEYROAD @THEPENNYBLACK THE_PENNYBLACK
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 34
ALBUM OF THE WEEK SLEATER KINNEy
TOP TENS:
No Cities to Love (Sub Pop)
HEARTLAND RECORDS The last time we heard from Sleater Kinney on record the band was deep in the dense sonic foliage of The Woods. The intensity of the recording experience with Dave Fridmann left Sleater Kinney mentally and artistically exhausted; within 18 months, Sleater Kinney was no more; its once-impregnable punk rock core fractured. Ten years later, and Sleater Kinney is back with a new album, No Cities to Love. This is the Sleater Kinney of yore, the passage of time barely noticeable save for the maturity of the songwriting and consistency of performance. There’s an angularity of delivery in Price Tag reminiscent of Call the Doctor, replete with rhetorical barbs on the corrupting influence of the contemporary corporate culture. Fangless is Heavens to Betsy meets the Tom Tom Club; Corin Tucker’s shrill vocals interweave with Carrie Brownstein’s razor-edge riffs and Janet Weiss’s rolling syncopated beats. On Surface Envy the personal is political and the music is laced with punk attitude, while No Cities to Love deconstructs the emptiness of the modern urban environment. A New Wave is a pop song, Sleater Kinney style: Lena Lovich via The Go Gos; No Anthems stares down the ogre of sub-cultural nostalgia, with its penchant for cheap mythology specious celebration. Gimme Love is a square peg that will never find a round hole to fit into; there’s a hint of Zappa, if Frank morphed into a Portland hipster. Bury Our Friends is the song of a band that’s observed
SINGLES
TOP TEN 1. Wunderkammer 5LP BOX FANTOMAS 2. B-Sides & C-Sides 2LP RANCID 3. 1 LP MESHUGGAH 4. Falling Deeper LP ANATHEMA 5. Variant 12” BEN FROST the perils of fame and survived to tell the tale; it’s part scathing critique, and part resilient one-finger salute. Hey Darling is the best song never recorded in LA in 1980 and Fade drifts out into the deep waters of introspection and uncovers the sociological contradictions inherent in the psychology of experience. Sleater Kinney is a band with many contemporaries and a truckload of imitators, but few peers, past or present. No Cities to Love is the album Sleater Kinney could have made at any time in the past; the fact that it’s now confirms Sleater Kinney remains a force to be reckoned with.
6. Computer Controlled 12” APHEX TWIN
PATRICK EMERy
RECORD PARADISE TOP
By LACHLAN
CHOOK RACE
Time (Independent) A corker of a live band, Chook Race meander a little on Time, sitting on the chill refrain of “I haven’t got time for you” without really building upon it. It’s nice, but lacks a certain character to distinguish from the glut of likeminded Melbourne acts doing the rounds.
PURITy RING
Begin Again (4AD/Remote Control) Digging this more than previous single Push Pull, but Purity Ring still can’t real hold down a solid hook on Begin Again. It’s not a banger and not quite a showcase of groundbreaking production.
RIHANNA & KANyE WEST & PAUL MCCARTNEy
FourFiveSeconds (Westbury Road) A beachside acoustic jam from Rihanna, Yeezy and Macca with contributions from Ty Dolla $ign and Dave Longstreth? I’m here for it. 2015 is fucking crazy. But yeah, sweet feel-good vibes with a throwback to ‘90s radio-friendly alternative.
ST VINCENT
Bad Believer (Caroline) Bad Believer starts with what could pass as a heaps sick EDM drop because Annie Clark can do whatever the hell she wants. This shit is ridiculous; revelling in excess and earworm cheek, served with church hall resplendence. It’s addictive. An addendum in an upcoming deluxe repackage of St Vincent’s album of last year, Bad Believer is blessed by a sense of offhandedness, a blown out freedom found on 2012 RSD release Krokodil. I’ve listened to Bad Believer a lot on repeat, unsuccessfully repressing the urge to dance each time, because goddamn, by the time the final hook build up hits, I’m involuntary shooting index fingers into the air like see-sawing rockets.
LAURA MARLING
False Hope (Caroline/Virgin) Smouldering with invigorated electric guitar, UK folk hero Laura Marling bounds down False Hope like it’s a white water rapid, emanating deft triumph through compelling ebbs and flows. An understated powerhouse, False Hope is a solid indication. Marling will continue a stellar streak of LPs with the upcoming Short Movies.
CLIENT LIAISON
Pretty Lovers (Dot Dash/Remote Control) Client Liaison really out here dropping lo-fi film clips feat. Swan ice sculptures. Respect.
TOBIAS JESSO JR
How Could You Babe (True Panther) Decent stripped back R&B-pop ballad but the dude looks like Jesse Eisenberg and fuck Jesse Eisenberg.
8. Eggnog/Lice 2LP MELVINS 9. Ozma/Bullhead 2LP MELVINS 10. Pale Emperor LP MARILYN MANSON
TEN 11. Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face 7” THE SMITH STREET
12. Range Anxiety TWERPS 13. Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes THOM YORKE 14. Moonlight HANNI EL KHATIB 15. Modern Blues THE WATERBOYS 16. Girls In Peace Time Want To Dance BELLE AND SEBASTAIN 17. G Stands For Go-Betweens THE GOBETWEENS 18. Computer Controlled Acoustic Instruments Pt2 APHEX TWIN 19. Content Nausea PARKAY QUARTS 20. pom pom ARIEL PINK
BEAT’S TOP TEN SONGS ABOUT MELBOURNE
TORO y MOI
Empty Nesters (Mistletone/Intertia) Michael, the debut album from Chaz Bundick’s beats-y side-project Les Sins, was one of my low-key faves of 2014, producing more than a few magic moments. Its weak points were moments sounding a little similar to Toro y Moi (Bundick’s main gig), which isn’t to say I don’t dig Toro y Moi – quite the opposite – and here on Empty Nesters, Toro y Moi is sounding less like Toro y Moi than ever. The chillwave aural signifiers are nowhere to be seen (incidentally, the Hipster Runoff domain is up for sale, times have changed), crafting lush, dreamy flower pop. Reminds me of Liam Finn’s finer moments.
DECEMBERISTS
BAND
For all the latest singles check out beat.com.au Fuck Prince Phillip, knight the teen that saved Lil B from the fire.
7. What A Terrible World LP
21. From St Kilda to Kings Cross PAUL KELLY AND THE COLOURED GIRLS 22. Rain THE BEATLES 23. Sangria REMI 24. Pub COSMIC PSYCHOS 25. Punt Road Traffic MARK FERRIE
SINGLE OF THE WEEK NULL
Luv U, Luv Me (Acéphale/Siberia) After a brief chrysalis, Melbourne producer Null has emerged with a full-realised vision, leading with single, Luv U, Luv Me. There’s a touch of nostalgia, maybe subjective on my behalf, invoking Donkey Kong Country soundtrack goodness. It’s wonderfully put together with dextrous grooves, the pay-off comes in the form of blinding drum and bass breaks, all coming together for something resoundingly next level. Taken from the debut EP Almost, out this March.
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES... BEAT.COM.AU/TV
26. Melbourne THE WHITLAMS 27. Four Seasons in One Day CROWDED HOUSE 28. Boys Light Up AUSTRALIAN CRAWL 29. Footscray Park BOB EVANS 30. Lygon Street Meltdown MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA
ALBUMS BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
New music in review this week - For more reviews go to beat.com.au/reviews
DEATH GRIPS
DRIFTER
Fashion Week
Violent at Altitude
(Third Worlds)
Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance
(Desert Highways)
(Matador/Remote Control Records)
Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch gets personal on Nobody’s Empire, the first track of the band’s new album. Documenting the loneliness he felt in the wake of suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome and matched to the music’s sensitive slow-build, the band achieve one of their most eloquent opening songs. But, as per their previous album’s I Didn’t See It Coming, it’s the collection’s highpoint. Although Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance is a stronger album than 2010’s Belle and Sebastian Talk About Love, it suffers from the lack of a personal touch. After the autobiographical Nobody’s Empire, the album takes on a broader view that touches on war and politics, but doesn’t effortlessly connect like their best material does. Where the album succeeds is its adoption of a sleek pop sound, something that will appeal to fans of the band’s more upbeat efforts, Dear Catastrophe Waitress and The Life Pursuit. The Party Line and Enter Sylvia Plath recall the bookish disco of St Etienne or the sunny anthems of Stars, while Play For Today simmers away on a dance floor beat for seven minutes with the Dum Dum Girls’ Dee Dee Penny as guest vocalist. Subdued ballads The Cat With The Cream and Ever Had A Little Faith? could’ve slotted easily in on 1996’s If You’re Feeling Sinister, but the ambient wash of closer Today (This Army’s For Peace) trumps them both. It’s a reminder that this long-standing Glaswegians may not always hit the mark but they show a willingness to look forward. CHRIS GIRDLER
Fashion Week is the first Death Grips album to not feature MC Ride’s bitter howls cutting through the music, and this noticeable absence leaves for a release of pure electronic instrumental hip hop. Featuring an assortment of tunes with individual tracks drawing from differing styles and moods, riddled with intense drumming on Zach Hill’s part, the album does well to keep an emphasis on staying unique on a track by track basis while still mimicking a high level of electronic prowess not dissimilar from the band’s first studio album, The Money Store. However, the unfortunate issue with Fashion Week is the release suffers from being a safer, less experimental release than previous albums. Fashion Week comes strong with mixed moods and sounds conveyed by an equally wide range of synths and instruments featured over the course of the 14-track album. While all these tracks are interesting in their variation, it feels like a DJ set rather than a Death Grips album ± this could be due to the lack of vocals, or the lack of chaotic moments. Fashion Week has all the hallmarks of a decent electronic album in that the tracks still evoke enough to make a person want to move, but there’s nothing that challenges a listener. The challenges lie in the questions that the release poses ± the album’s release comes seemingly out of the blue after the band has disbanded, the end of each song forms an acrostic spelling reading out JENNY DEATH WHEN, and there’s no MC Ride ± and while this speculation is all well and good, the fact stands that the music itself isn’t as daring as the questions it poses. THOMAS BRAND
Listening to Melbourne three-piece stoner-rock group Drifter’s debut album Violent at Altitude is a little bit like cracking a tinnie on public transport: outwardly rebellious, internally satisfying and a big ‘fuck you’ to the status quo. Opening song Another You is a real cruiser that’s belied by a dark leitmotif, it also pays homage to the origins of stoner-rock with a Kyuss like ‘slowburn’ drawl to the vocals, rattling guitar plucking on the intro and a Wild West lyrical content: “You’re out of control / You pull a gun too fast.” As is the modus operandi with your typical stoner album, there’s an instrumental track: Devil Digger. Coming in at 3 minutes 50, one would imagine that when it was conceived in a rehearsal space by Dan King (vocals/guitar), Troy Dawson (bass) and Dave Payne (drums) they were locked in this song’s groove for much longer. The song Drugs is an upbeat charger that implies the title is paying homage to those of the amphetamine persuasion as opposed to opiates. Having seen Drifter live, I know the full impact of the faster numbers are lost a little on this recording which is a shame because, as witnessed by their sold out Violent at Altitude launch at Old Bar, many are switched on to the fact Drifter are a hard hitting live band. Other album highlights include the brutally cutesy Prisoners and the title track that also closes out this excellent 35 minutes of music. In a local climate where most bands are trying to be next King Gizzard, Violent at Altitude is refreshing and a must have for fans of Melbourne made stoner-rock and metal. I haven’t been this excited about a local harder edged act since Bugdust. DAN WATT
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
MEN WITHOUT COUNTRY
THE GRATES
Dream Team
(Death Valley / Create Control)
Maximum Entropy
Absent Fathers
(Lost Solution Recordings)
(Warner Music)
American singer/songwriter Justin Townes Earle originally planned Absent Fathers and Single Mothers as a double album, before deciding to release them separately. Absent Fathers seamlessly combines country, folk and blues, with Earle’s smooth vocals complementing his gentle melodies. In contrast, his candid lyrics are mostly sombre. The album’s title alludes to Earle’s strained relationship with his father, as does the opening track Farther From Me, which begins with the heartbreaking line: “Wish I could say I didn’t know you.” Steel guitar features prominently in many tracks on Absent Fathers; especially Least I Got The Blues. The tempo lifts with blues-y rock tune Round The Bend. Townes Earle then highlights his country prowess on Someone Will Pay. There seems to be a glimmer of hope on Looking For A Place To Land, the best track on the album. Townes Earle concludes Absent Fathers with an acoustic cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams. Absent Fathers is an emotional album which has proven to be just as strong as its companion, Single Mothers. ALI BIRNIE
from
Men Without Country play electronic rock with a blush of The Eurythmics, Gary Numan and Heaven 17. The cluttered and clamouring style does suggest that the music contains so much transience as do dubious sanitary conditions. There’s also a humour that reminds of the old Soviet propaganda poster which declares: “Today you will play jazz, tomorrow you will betray your country” and there is enough Red Army frisson behind Virga and Romanek to send tingles down the spine. For whatever reason, Entropy resurrects the pugnacity of Laurie Anderson with a similar bout of contradictions. The New Order start to Laws Of Motion is considerably better than what could’ve been a joyless division rendition as it swaggers toward Pet Shop Boys territory, although taking on so much can sometimes sound as exciting as a deflating balloon. Oil Spill is a bold tune and sees Men Without Country at their ideal fighting weight, thumping along and as restful as it is relentless. Loveless Marriage is a relationship ice age which struggles to progress forward as both an idea and a tune. Dead Sea is therefore so much better. The vocals are overbearingly distorted and manipulated although this piece has the grandeur of an accomplished work which screams the news the band are not stuck in their monochrome ways. Catfish is a title silly enough to be mistaken for a rockabilly tune. Not so, as it contains bubbling synths and angelic vocals. The steely Romanek and Virga also feature skipping harmonic arrangements that carry both songs into unique soundscapes.The album finishes with songs that see the band stretch themselves musically. Incubation borders on Steve Reich while Deliver Us From Evil maintains a murky edge throughout it mea culpa salvation.
Brisbane’s The Grates surprised everyone by coming out of nowhere and releasing their fourth album just before 2014 drew to a close. Dream Team was recorded in just one week and as such it has an unsurprising mish-mash and thrown together feel. Imagine the brash sounding appeal of The Hives, which is distinctly hotchpotch; yet they actually spend years on each album carefully crafting a record that seems haphazard when the result is anything but. It’s the musical equivalent of a guy spending half an hour on his hair aiming for the ‘just rolled outta’ bed look’ whereas recording the album in just a week, The Grates sound a little like they did just roll out of bed. And there’s a big difference between those hairstyles, just as there is in the sounds created by the two bands in question. Dream Team does improve on repeated listens, but what the album lacks is the infectious catchy pop tunes found on all three of their albums through their ridiculously consistent career up until this point. Dirty Hands has Patience Hodgson’s trademark screaming howl, but it doesn’t latch on in the brain and isn’t remembered after the song draws to a close. Holiday Home is the best cut to be found and luckily there’re just enough good tracks to incorporate three to four songs into the band’s brilliant live sets in the future. There’re plenty of examples of bands recording brilliant albums in a short amount of time, this just isn’t one of them, but top marks for the effort. Hopefully next time around The Grates spend a bit more time in the studio. ALEXANDER CROWDEN
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GIG GUIDE
WHAT'S ON AROUND MELBOURNE THIS WEEK
For all the latest gigs check out beat.com.au
WEDNESDAY JAN 28 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••ANNA MORLEY + AMBER ISLES + FRIEDA LE
BJORN Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. ••ANTECHAMBER Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. ••COQ ROQ WEDNESDAYS - FEAT: VARIOUS DJS Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm.
••EAGULLS + SUNBEAM SOUND MACHINE + HALT
EVER Howler, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $32.00.
••FKA TWIGS 170 Russell, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.
••PLYMOUTH + CHARLIE’S OFFICER + AVENUES Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••RIGHT! + MIDNIGHT SCAVENGERS + THE GALAXY
FOLK Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm.
••SPACEJUNK! + THE JACKS + MASTER BETA + DJ
MERMAID Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm.
••THE ASMATICS + LOOKS LIKE RAIN + OFF TO
BATTLE Public Bar, North Melbourne. 8:00pm. $7.00. ••THE ELECTRIC GUITARS + VACUUM + ORLANDO FURIOUS Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8.00. ••THE GUILTS Catfish, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••THE SHAKES + THE MARYGOLDSMITHS + JARROW
Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $10.00.
••THEE GOLD BLOOMS + THE SHABBAB Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm.
••BOPSTRETCH Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••MINGUS THINGUS Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15.00. ••MUSICAL CONVERSATIONS - FEAT: CAERWEN
MARTIN + AVIVA ENDEAN Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. ••PETER HEARNE & DIZZY’S BIG BAND WITH CELESTE COULSON Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00. ••PILOT Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $18.00. ••TIM PLEDGER’S SANDWICH JESUS + BOHJASS 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••KRISTA POLVERE + LIAM GERNER Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. ••OPEN MIC Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 7:00pm. ••OPEN MIC/JAM Musicland, Fawkner. 7:00pm.
••THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL’S OPEN MIC Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm. ••THE HAMMOND ORGAN NIGHTS Musicland, Fawkner. 7:00pm.
••WINE WHISKEY WOMEN - FEAT: ALI E + LADIE DEE
Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm.
THURSDAY JAN 29
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
••TIM EDEY TRIO + SAOIRSE Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:30pm. $18.00.
••BLOODLINE + ATLANTIC + ARCADIAN + BEHOLD
Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $8.00. ••WALT + LOCAL GROUP + SAM FILMER Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $7.00.
••DEAR PLASTIC + THE INFANTS + KALACOMA
••VOLTAIRE TWINS + COVERS + NATHAN EWING
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••ALEX YAROSH TRIO Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $15.00.
THE DEFIANT + DJ BABY TONES Brunswick Hotel,
Brunswick. 8:00pm.
Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8.00. ••FKA TWIGS 170 Russell, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $50.00. ••FLYYING COLOURS + TINY LITTLE HOUSES + FEAR OF LYING Espy, St Kilda. 8:30pm. ••FOREIGNER + SARAH MCLEOD Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 7:30pm. $99.00. ••GRANDSTANDS + COOL SOUNDS + GREAT EARTHQUAKE + TIPRATS Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5.00. ••LUNA GHOST 24 Moons, Northcote. 8:00pm. ••LYKKE LI Forum Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $75.00. ••MARMALADE SHOES + RED SPENCER Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. ••NAKED BODIES + KINDER + AL MATCOTT Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••NEXT - FEAT: WHORETOPSY + DIREBLAZE + ADEPTUS Colonial Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $10.00. ••NIGHTFLITE + SUNBORNE + LORAKEET + COLUMBIA Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. ••PENSIVE PENGUIN + THE LOST DAY + WILEY RED FOX Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. ••PERFECT PUSSY + AUSMUTEANTS + EXHAUSTION + TODD ANDERSON-KUNERT Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 7:30pm. $40.00. ••PLUGGED IN THURSDAYS - FEAT: KING EVIL Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:30pm. $7.00. ••RUSTIE + ONEMAN Howler, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $40.00. ••SPIRAL ARM + PINK HARVEST + VULPIX + THE WALNUTS Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••THE GETAWAY PLAN The Loft, Warrnambool. 8:00pm. ••THE HUNTED CROWS + THE LOVE BOMBS + RAD NAVAJO + DJ MERMAID Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••THE JACKS + HOLY SERPENT + FRIED GOODS + TEN CENT PISTOLS Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 6:00pm. $10.00. ••THE SMITH STREET BAND + PUP + GREAT CYNICS + APART FROM THIS Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong. 8:00pm. ••THEE GOLD BLOOMS + THE DEAD HEIR + THE SUGAR GHOULS Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $8.00. ••WHERE’S GROVER? + PLURAL + THE
CRUNTBURGERS + TZATZIKI PARTY + DIRTY BIRDS Public Bar, North Melbourne. 7:30pm. $8.00. ••YOUTH + ABELARD + OU EST LE SWIMMING POOL Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $5.00. JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••DO YO THANGS + DJ VINCE PEACH & PIERRE
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 36
GIG OF THE WEEK!
FKA TWIGS
FKA twigs might be the coolest person I have ever had the opportunity to Google image search. Seriously, look at her. There’s no way anyone else could make dating RPatt remotely desirable, but there it is. She even makes me want to by Google Glass, despite the fact that it’s been pulled from the market due to abhorrent sales. If you’ve managed to score a ticket to these two Laneway sideshows, taking place on Wednesday January 28 and Thursday January 29 at 170 Russell, lucky you, because duh, they sold out in hours.
BARONI Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.
••DOMINIQUE Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. ••JARON FREEMAN-FOX & THE OPPOSITE OF
EVERYTHING Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. ••KING CAKE 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••LETTERS TO YOU Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne
Cbd. 7:00pm. $15.00. ••MEL SEARLE & THE CRAIG SMITH QUINTET Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00. ••MELALUKA + MAXIMILIAN & THE HONEY B’S Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:30pm. ••MINTON’S PLAYHOUSE SESSIONS The B.east, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. ••NORTHSIDE SPACE FUNKERS - FEAT: HYPERFOKUS + KODIAK KID Penny Black, Brunswick. 7:00pm. ••SALSA THURSDAYS - FEAT: DEL BARRIO La Chinesca, Melbourne. 8:00pm. ••SAM APPAPOULAY Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $15.00. ••SHOL QUINTET Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $15.00. ••THE GOOD EGG THURSDAYS - FEAT: HENRY WHO + TIGERFUNK + LEWIS CANCUT Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm. ••THE MELBOURNE IMPROVISERS COLLECTIVE Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••YAMAHA PIANO SERIES (HUE BLANES) Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $18.00. ••ZEKE RUCKMAN Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••GEOFF ACHINSON & BRENDAN FORWARD - FEAT:
TOM DOCKRAY & BRENDAN FORWARD Whole
Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. ••OPEN MIC The Wilde, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. ••TAILOR BIRDS + 19TH CENTURY STRONGMEN Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm. ••THE LUAU COWBOYS Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 8:00pm. ••VAN WALKER & CO Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:00pm.
FRIDAY JAN 30
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••JUDGE PINO + BARBARA BLAZE DJ + GOGO
GODDESSES The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5.00.
••BAGSTER + THE RAMSHACKLE ARMY + THE
QUARTERS + BEACONS Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $13.00.
••BLACKWOOD JACK + KING EVIL + RED EAGLE +
COVE Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••CHERRY BOMB European Bier Cafe, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. ••EINSTEIN TOYBOYS + CASSETTE Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. $10.00.
••FLYING LOTUS + SILENT JAY & JACE XL + SEAN
DEANS + CAZEAUX + O.S.L.O 170 Russell, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $65.00.
••FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE - FEAT: SINGLE INCOME &
EASTWOOD REVINE Pier Live, Frankston. 8:00pm. $5.00. ••FRIDAY NIGHTS AT JEAN PAUL GAULTIER - FEAT: RAT & CO National Gallery Of Victoria, Melbourne. 5:30pm. ••GETAWAY PLAN Torquay Hotel, Torquay. 8:00pm. ••GREG CHAMPION & THE USEFUL MEMBERS OF
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES... BEAT.COM.AU/TV
SOCIETY Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm.
••GRENADIERS + ANCHORS + OUTLINES + OH
PACIFIC Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $14.80. ••HALF BAKED III - FEAT: GEORGIA MAQ + MARICOPA WELLS + MIYAZAKI! + ROCKENSPIELE + THE BERKELEY HUNTS 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••I AM DUCKEYE + PISSBOLT + ORDER OF CHAOS + STRICT VINCENT + GRUDGE! & OVERPOWER Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••IVAN OOZE Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $12.00.
••JUKE BOX RACKET Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm.
••KENNY ROGERS + BECCY COLE + ADAM HARVEY
Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $109.90.
••KID CONGO & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS + HARRY
HOWARD & THE NDE + THE PINK TIES Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. $35.00.
••LAMARAMA + HUMANS AS ANIMALS Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••LOS ROMANTICOS Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm.
••LUCIE THORNE + DAN LETHBRIDGE + DJ SHAKY
MEMORIAL Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 9:30pm.
••MAMMALS Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••ME + MAYFAIR KYTES + PHIA Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.00. ••MELBOURNE ZOO TWILIGHTS - FEAT: JAMES
REYNE PLAYS AUSTRALIAN CRAWL Melbourne Zoo, Parkville. 5:30pm. $55.00.
••OF STOLEN MOMENTS + FEVERTEETH + CORDELL
+ LASER BRAINS Public Bar, North Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10.00. ••ROLLING STONES ‘BLACK & BLUE’ TRIBUTE Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $25.00. ••SOHN + KLO + DOWNTIME DJS The Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $46.20. ••STRAYLOVE + SYNESTATIC + ZUZU ANGEL + DJ MAX CRAWDADDY Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13.00. ••SUGAR FED LEOPARDS + MIGHTY DUKE & THE LORDS + DJ CC DISCO + DJ RICHIE 1250 Howler, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $15.00. ••THE BRAD MARTIN PROJECT Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:30pm. ••THE DEEP END (LAST SHOW EVER) + SMOKE STACK RHINO + SUDDEN STATE + TRACER Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. ••THE DIECASTS Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••THE HELLHOUNDS + THE HOUSEWRECKERS Espy, St Kilda. 8:30pm. ••THE MIGHTY BOYS + SCOTDRAKULA John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. ••THE RIDER + MAJOR TOM & THE ATOMS + ABOVE KINGS + FIERCE MILD + DJ DAN ATTARD Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. ••THE SMOKES Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $10.00. ••THE SWAMP STOMPERS The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm. ••THE TROTSKIES - FEAT: MARMALADE SHOES + OWEN RABBIT + BREVE Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $5.00. ••WATT’S ON - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 8:30pm.
PERFECT PUSSY
My idea of a perfect pussy is one that doesn’t use my nice couch as a scratching post, doesn’t leave dense fur balls in my shoes and doesn’t leave smelly dead birds on the kitchen floor. But I guess there’s no such thing as a perfect world, huh? In comparison to my housemate’s shitty cat, Perfect Pussy are a purrfectly (yep, I did it) abrasive and volatile noise-punk five-piece hailing from New York. They’ll unleash at their Laneway sideshow this Thursday January 29 at Northcote Social Club. JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••EMMA GILMARTIN QUARTET Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $20.00.
••EUGENE BALL QUARTET Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••GRAND WAZOO Thornbury Theatre, Thornbury. 7:30pm. $22.00. ••HONKYTONK’S BOOGIE BAND + THE RUBY
ROGERS EXPERIENCE Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••LA NUIT BLANCHE FEATURING RALGEIGH Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $20.00. ••LIVE JAZZ SUNDAYS Elephant & Castle Hotel, Geelong. 3:00pm. ••MERLE STREET JAZZ BAND Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $20.00. ••OSCAR JIMENEZ & THE AMARU TRIBE Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. ••REIMAGINING BURT BACHARACH Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $20.00. ••SOUL BLUE Bell Tavern, Belgrave. 9:30pm. ••THE FURBELOWS Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:30pm. ••THE JOE RUBERTO TRIO Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $20.00. ••THE RITA SATCH BAND Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $25.00. ••VULGARGARD + THE OPPOSIE OF EVERYTHING + JARON FREEMAN-FOX Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:40pm. $25.00. ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••ALISON FERRIER Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm. ••ANDY GRANT DUO European Bier Cafe, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm. ••AUSTIN BRADY Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. ••CANDICE MCLEOD + SCOTT COOK Cafe Go, Geelong. 6:00pm. $25.00.
••CAPTAIN APPLES + LEAH & ANDY SENIOR Wesley Anne, Northcote. 8:00pm. $12.00. ••CHRIS WILSON + SPENCER P JONES Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. ••DAMON SMITH PLAYS PIANA + DJ BLOODNUT
Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 7:00pm.
••LINCOLN LE FEVRE + PADDY MCHUGH + JUD
CAMPBELL + WOLF WHISTLER Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••RIP RAWERS Pascoe Vale Rsl, Pascoe Vale. 8:00pm. $8.00. ••SAMMY OWEN BLUES BAND + THE SPLITTERS + THE SURE SHOTS Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. $10.00. ••THE TIPPLERS Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:30pm. ••TRADITIONAL IRISH MUSIC SESSION - FEAT: DAN BOURKE Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 6:00pm.
SATURDAY JAN 31
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••#1 DADS + MACHINE AGES + TOM SNOWDON +
AINSLIE WILLS Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. ••ADMIRAL ACKBAR’S DISHOUNABLE DISCHARGE + LO PAN + TZATZIKI PARTY Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 9:00pm. ••BANG - FEAT: BREAK EVEN + STRICKLAND + THE EVERCOLD + AMBLESIDE Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $20.00. ••CHIODOS + STORM THE SKY + ACRASIA + RENEGADE ARMADA The Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. $40.70. ••DALLI + SAN SAAKAR + SUNBOURNE + HUNGRY &
SOHN
Sohn quite frankly has an angelic voice that gives me goosebumps; you could even say it gives me Tremors (geddit? Cos that’s the name of his album). Recorded entirely at night, Tremors was hell of a debut release. This English-raised, now Viennabased electronic/ambient musician will surely be one of the stand-outs of Laneway and he’ll be hitting The Corner Hotel this Friday January 30 with Klo and Downtime DJs. His last tour here sold out so quick sticks, get onto it.
FOOLISH Espy, St Kilda. 9:00pm. $10.00.
••DEAR STALKER + SUB ROSA + THE DARK ALES
+ UNDERGROUND Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. ••DECIMATUS + ARMOURED EARTH + ENVENOMED + HARLOTT + TRIGGER Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $15.00. ••DORSAL FINS + NEW GODS + BEC RIGBY Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm. $12.75. ••DRIVEWINDER Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $13.00. ••EYEHATEGOD + BODIES Public Bar, North Melbourne. 1:00am. ••GOLD CLASS + SARAH MARY CHADWICK Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 4:00pm. ••GREENTHIEF + TWO HEADED DOG + DELLACOMA RIO + SPOONFUL + PHIL PARA Espy, St Kilda. 8:00pm. ••HALCYON DRIVE + ALBERT SALT + PRETTY CITY Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $8.00. ••HALFNOISE + LANKS + ALTA Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. ••HOLIDAY FOR CAMBODIA (A BENEFIT FOR CAM WARD) - FEAT: THE ABANDONMENT + SYNTHESIST + PICTURE THE END + SECRET DEATH + ELECTRIK DYNAMITE + ANCHORS + GLASS OCEAN + CROWNED KINGS + JOIN THE AMISH + METALSTORM + FAUX DEFEATED Espy, St
Kilda. 2:30pm. $35.30.
••HOLLYWOOD TALL + FRAME + CLAY ADAMS & VEX
Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm.
••JAMIE HUTCHINGS + JMS HARRISON + SPARROW
& SPARK Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 8:30pm. $10.00. ••JOE COCKER SHOW - FEAT: SMOKIN’ JOE + COVERDALE Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. $15.00. ••KILL THE DARLING + WISECHILD + NEEKO Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. ••LA BEATLES BOHEME Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 4:30pm. $34.70. ••LIEUTENANT JAM + VISION ST The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm. ••LIGABUE + GEOFF DROVER Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $100.88. ••MADELINE LEMAN & THE DESERT SWELLS + TOM DOCKRAY + BABY BLUE Workers Club, Fitzroy. 1:30am. $12.00. ••MELBOURNE ZOO TWILIGHTS - FEAT: BERNARD FANNING + LITTLE MAY Melbourne Zoo, Parkville. 5:30pm. $70.00. ••MISS LIZZY & THE NIGHT OWLS + JUMPIN JOSH DJ + GOGO GODDESSES The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5.00. ••PIONEERS OF GOOD SCIENCE + SHIT SEX + THE FACTORY Victoria Hotel , Brunswick. 9:00pm. ••PRAY TV Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:30pm. ••SHADOWS AT BAY + THE ANNIE CROONERS + DOJO COLLECTORS Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:30pm. $10.00. ••SHENANIGANS - FEAT: RADIO CHOAS Pier Live, Frankston. 8:00pm. ••STEVE LUCAS & THE CALIFORNIAN WINOS + STEVE LUCAS & THE STRAWBERRY TEARDROP + WOD Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13.00. ••TABERAH + DAMNATION DAY + MANIAXE + ESPIONAGE + STORMTIDE Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm.
••THE BEAUTIFUL BEASTS Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. $10.00.
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 37
GIG GUIDE
WHAT'S ON AROUND MELBOURNE THIS WEEK
For all the latest gigs check out beat.com.au ••THE DETONATORS Union Hotel , Brunswick. 9:00pm.
••THE DIECASTS + THE QUARTERS + THE MARLENES
+ 1891 Public Bar, North Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10.00.
••THE ENGAGEMENT + THE BAREBONES Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. ••THE EXECUTIVES + ALONE WITH TIGER +
GOSSAMER PRIDE Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••THE RIPE - FEAT: WORLD’S END PRESS + ILLS + KIRKIS + ARA KOUFAX + BROADWAY SOUNDS + OSCAR KEY SUNG + RAT & CO + BANOFEE + PLANÈTE The Shadow Electric, Abbotsford. 3:00pm.
$15.00. ••THE SMITH STREET BAND + PUP + GREAT CYNICS + APART FROM THIS The Hi-Fi, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $35.50. ••THE WILD COMFORTS + JUDE SAINT + BIG SMOKE + JUNK HORSES Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.00. ••WALLY HOWLETT + ALI E + HOLLOW DRUMS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $10.00. ••ZIG ZAG + CREPES + DREAMIN’ WILD + BARBITURATES Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $7.00. JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••AFRO MANDINKO + CIRCUS VISION AFRICA
Werribee Open Range Zoo, Werribee. 4:30pm. $30.80. ••BOURBON STREET TO BENNETTS LANE - FEAT: MARGIE LOU DYER & ALLAN BROWNE Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $25.00. ••GHOSTS OF THE MIDWEST! Open Studio, Northcote. 5:00pm. ••GOOD MUSIC - FEAT: ETHAN MCLAREN Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 8:00pm. ••GREEN DAIRY’S ANGEL ENSEMBLE Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $20.00. ••HEATHER STEWART “SINGS BILLIE HOLIDAY” Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $20.00. ••MAY JOHNSTON & THE ROGER CLARK QUARTET Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $20.00. ••NICHAUD FITZGIBBON QUINTET Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $25.00. ••SCOTT TINKLER & JULIEN WILSON QUARTET Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••SHANTY TOWN Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. ••ST KILDA FESTIVAL OPENING - FEAT: THE DEANS
+ BENNY WALKER + THE CHARCOAL CLUB + JAMES HENRY + MERIKI HOOD + DELINE BRISCO
+ INDIGENOUS HIP HOP PROJECTS O’donnell
Gardens , St Kilda. 12:45pm. ••STEVE LANE & THE AUTOCRATS + JIMMY WILLIAMS + DJ CRISPI Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:30pm. ••TAMARA KULDIN’S DIRTY MARTINI RETURNS Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $25.00. ••TRU GROOVES - FEAT: THE SUGARCANES 24 Moons, Northcote. 10:00pm. ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••ACTION SAM European Bier Cafe, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. ••CANDICE MCLEOD + SCOTT COOK + CONNOR
SHEEDY Saints & Sailors Cafe, Portarlington.
8:00pm. $5.00. ••ERIC LEE BEDDINGFIELD + TURK TRESIZE BAND Koo Wee Rup Hotel, 8:00pm. $30.00. ••LIZ STRINGER Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $20.00. ••ODEN + THE BEAN PROJECT Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 9:00pm. ••SOUNDS OF STAV + DJ JACINTA PARSONS Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. ••STEADY COOLIN’ Wesley Anne, Northcote. 6:00pm. ••STEVIE WILIAMS + JOEL PARNELL Old Bar, Fitzroy. 2:00pm. ••THE DRUNKEN POACHERS + MOOSEJAW RIFLE CLUB Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:30pm. $5.00. ••THE STETSON FAMILY Union Hotel , Brunswick. 5:00pm. ••TIM EDEY TRIO + SAOIRSE Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:00pm. $27.00. ••TIM SCANLAN + TOSHI BODHRAN & CO Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. ••VINCE & GLENN Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm.
SUNDAY FEB 1
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••A PLAY ON WORDS - FEAT: BERGMAN & THE
BALLADEERS Black Hatt, Geelong. 4:00pm.
••BELLE & SEBASTIAN Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 7:30pm.
••EZRA LEE Clare Castle Hotel, Port Melbourne. 8:00pm. ••GEOFF ACHISON + STAND & DELIVER 80’S +
SUPERSOUNDS MIXTAPE Espy, St Kilda. 6:00pm.
••GREENS DAIRY ANGEL ENSEMBLE Catfish, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. ••GRINDHOUSE + FLOUR + LASER BRAINS Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••GROOVELATION Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine. 4:00pm. ••LA BEATLES BOHEME Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 4:30pm. $34.70.
WANTED
BANDS/ACTS WANTED for Espy Shows. Shoot an email through to mark@gunnmusic. com.au for more details DJ COMPANY SEEKING event managers, promoters, party organizers and djs for projects. Please text 0411 024 794 for a prompt reply. JAZZ ROCK GUITARIST WANTED 0433 726 449 SOMEBODY, somebody, SOMEBODY, somebody. Can anybody find meeeeee somebody to love? VOCALIST WANTED for hard rock band. Ages 19-25. Influences: Motley Crue, Guns n Roses, Van Halen, Ratt, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Alice in Chains, etc. Rehearse in Hallam Monday 6pm-midnight. For all questions or to discuss any information further, email or txt Tommy (txt 0488 613 012 or email tommyrocker8@gmail.com)
SERVICES
SOUNDPARK REHEARSALS NORTHCOTE. From $50. Great rooms/p.a’s. Parking/Storage/Hire. Phone Andrew 0425 706 382. Soundparkstudios.com.au
MISSING
Having trouble locating people with a real sense of solidarity following our national day. If you have seen one please email everyonescountry@ shutyourfuckingmouth.com.au BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 38
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••WILD@HEART SONGWRITING COLLECTIVE 303, Northcote. 3:00pm. ••A MONTH OF SUNDAYS - FEAT: DANNY WALSH
BANNED + LUCY & THE DIAMONDS + THE ORIGINALS + THE WILLING VICTIMS Toff In Town,
Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $8.00.
••ADRIAN THOMAS MUSIC + ANDY KENTLER
BAND + THE WINTERFIELDS Linden Centre Of Contemporary Arts, St Kilda. 12:00pm.
••CHEEKY GOOSE + SINCE WE KISSED + THE MAX
RUDD BAND Big Mouth, St Kilda. 3:00pm.
••CISCO CAESAR Union Hotel , Brunswick. 5:00pm. ••CLARE BOWDITCH + CHARM OF FINCHES Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 3:00pm. $45.00. ••DARYL ROBERTS & HEY GRINGO Royal Hotel, Essendon. 3:00pm. ••GALIT KLAS Wesley Anne, Northcote. 3:00pm. $10.00. ••JAM SUNDAYS Musicland, Fawkner. 6:00pm.
••JULES BOULT + FLASH COMPANY Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 4:00pm.
••KERRI SIMPSON Union Hotel , Brunswick. 3:30pm. ••KHRISTIAN MIZZI & THE SIRENS + LAUREN
ELIZABETH + DASH Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 8:00pm. ••RON S PENO TRIO Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 4:30pm. ••STEPHEN CUMMINGS Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 4:30pm. ••SUNDAY SESSIONS - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Lucky Coq, Windsor. 4:00pm. ••SUNDAY SESSIONS - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully. 2:00pm. ••SWEET FELICIA & THE HONEYTONES Standard Hotel, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. ••THE BEARDED GYPSY BAND Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 5:00pm. ••THE DRUNKEN POACHERS + ANNE OF THE WOLVES Workers Club, Fitzroy. 2:00pm. ••THE RAMSHACKLE ARMY + MILLAR JUKES & THE BANDITS + DAVE GRIMSON Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 3:00pm. ••THE WOODLAND HUNTERS Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. ••THREE KINGS + BLUE HEAT! + DJ MAX CRAWDADDY Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 2:00pm. $10.00. ••ULTRAFOX Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 5:30pm.
MONDAY FEB 2
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••CHERRY JAM Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm.
••THE MARY GOLDSMITHS + BOOGIE MONSTER +
DJ DILLON NORRIS Workers Club, Fitzroy. 9:30pm.
$3.00.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••AFRICAN STAR DANCE & DRUMMING COMPANY St Kilda Festival Site (various Stages), St Kilda. 6:00pm. ••FUNKALLEROS Republica, St Kilda. 7:00pm.
••SEAN SIMMONS & WAYWARD BREED Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm. ••THEATRE OPEN MIC Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $15.00.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••BLT’S West Beach Bathers Pavilion, St Kilda. 7:00pm.
TUESDAY FEB 3
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••ARTHUR PENN & THE FUNKY TEN + ECHO DRAMA
+ BIG WORDS Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. ••ICEHOUSE The Palms, Southbank. 8:15pm. $90.74. ••LITTLE DRAGON 170 Russell, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. ••MAC DEMARCO + THE MURLOCS The Hi-Fi, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $54.00. ••NIANDRA Public Bar, North Melbourne. 7:00pm. ••POND + THE SHABBAB Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. $20.00. ••THE BRUNSWICK HOTEL DISCOVERY NIGHT FEAT: OBSCÜRUM + AZTK + JURASSIC NARK Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm.
••THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM Forum Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $82.22. ••THE HUNTED CROWS Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••DEXTER’S ASIAN CONNECTION Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $15.00.
••ISM TRIO Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00.
••RAURY + MILWAUKEE BANKS Howler, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $29.90. ••THE NEXUS PROJECT Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••KLUB MUK 303, Northcote. 7:30pm. ••ALTIJA Eclectico, St Kilda. 7:00pm.
••BELLE ROSCOE Readings, St Kilda. 6:00pm.
••BEN SALTER + LADIE DEE Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm.
••LAMB BOULEVARD + ATLAS + THE ROMEY & JOE
••ICEHOUSE The Palms, Southbank. 8:15pm. $90.74.
••CHEEKY GOOSE Monarch Laneway, St Kilda. 7:00pm.
SHOW Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. ••NGV SUMMER SUNDAYS - FEAT: LANIE LANE + MELODY POOL + BRITISH INDIA DJS National
••MONDAY NIGHT MASS - FEAT: KIT CONVICT & THE
••MELDOY POOL + ERIK PARKER + TIMOTHY
Gallery Of Victoria, Melbourne. 1:00pm. ••ROCKABILLY SUNDAYS - FEAT: HEELS ON DECKS DJ Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 4:00pm. ••SUNDAY SCHOOL - FEAT: BANFF + MACHINE AGE + THE OUTDOOR TYPE Public Bar, North Melbourne. 4:00pm. ••THE SMITH STREET BAND (U18) + PUP + GREAT
••LITTLE DRAGON 170 Russell, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $50.00.
TERRIBLE TWO + THE SHABBAB + MOTEL LOVE + WET MEAL Northcote Social Club, Northcote.
6:00pm.
••PLYMOUTH 303, Northcote. 8:00pm.
••IRISH SESSIONS Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:00pm.
NELSON Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:00pm.
••OPEN MIC Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 8:00pm. ••SARA JANE Bay City Burrito, St Kilda. 7:30pm.
CYNICS + APART FROM THIS + THE PLASTERED BASTARDS Northcote Social Club, Northcote.
12:00pm. $25.00.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••FAIRFIELD SUMMER SERIES - FEAT: KYLIE
AULDIST Fairfield Amphitheatre, 5:00pm.
••FUNKALLEROS West Beach Bathers Pavilion, St Kilda. 5:00pm. ••GLENN MUSTO Fitzrovia, St Kilda. 4:00pm.
••KEKOSON (CUBAN STREET MUSIC PARTY) The B.east, Brunswick East. 4:00pm. ••KEVIN’S JAZZ NOTES Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $15.00.
••KYLIE AULDIST & THE GLENROY ALL STARS + DJ
MUSICMAN Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm.
••ROOM 3 + REVOMATIX + MICHAEL GT BLAIR & THE
FUNKADELIC SIDE Bar Open, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••THE GROOVE DOCTORS Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North. 4:00pm.
••TONY GOULD & FRIENDS Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $22.00. ••UP UP AWAY John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 3:30pm.
THE SMITH STREET BAND
When The Smith Street Band played at Meredith two years ago, my mate paraded around the moshpit and on another mate’s shoulders in a blue Power Ranger morph suit. Appearing in almost everyone’s photos from that set, he subsequently became famous, although he couldn’t use this new-found street cred on the ladies because with his face covered, heck, it could’ve been anyone. The Smith Street Band have just embarked on a massive national tour, Barwon Club in Geelong on Thursday January 29, Karova Lounge in Ballarat on Friday January 30, The Hi-Fi (sold out) on Saturday January 31, an U18s show at Northcote Social Club Sunday February 1 And exhale.
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES... BEAT.COM.AU/TV
Thursday 29th @ 8.30pm
VAN WALKER & CO (Cross-country roots) Friday 30th @ 9.30 pm
SATURDAY 24TH JANUARY
MOOSEJAW RIFLE CLUB (EP LAUNCH) FROM 7PM
SUNDAY 24TH JANUARY
HARVEY CARTEL DEADLY BLUES FROM 5PM
AUS DAY - MONDAY 26TH JANUARY
PETE EWING’S HEXHAM VOX
DOUGY & WESTON BBQ ON THE ROOF TOP EVERY FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY ALL SUMMER LONG...
GREG CHAMPION & THE USEFUL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY (Rock n’ schlock)
Saturday 31st @ 9.30pm
TIM SCANLAN + TOSHI BODHRAN & CO ((Steaming Irish/Japanese stew!) Sunday 1st @ 5.30 pm
ULTRAFOX (Gypsy swing thing) Tuesday 3rd @8pm
IRISH SESSION (Fancy fiddlin’)
ALL GIGS ARE FREE EXCELLENT RESTAURANT AND BAR MEALS
LOMOND HOTEL 225 NICHOLSON STREET BRUNSWICK EAST, VIC 3057 9380 1752
Wed 28th January
WINE, WHISKEY, WOMEN
Ladie Dee - 8pm, Ali E - 9pm Thurs 29th January
8pm - 19th Century
Strongmen (solo) 9pm - Tailor Birds Fri 30th January
6pm: Traditional Irish Session 8.30pm - The Tipplers Sat 31st january
9pm: The
New Savages
Sun 1st February
4pm: Flash Company 6.30pm: Jules Boult (Duo) Tues 3rd February
8pm:
Weekly Trivia
The Drunken Poet, 65 Peel Street (directly opposite Queen Vic Market), Phone: 03 9348 9797. www.thedrunkenpoet.com.au
BURGERS-BOOZE-BANDS E VE R Y T U E S D AY R O C K A N D P O P C U LT U R E T R I V I A
h o s t e d by J e s s M c G u i r e & G e o r g e H - T A B L E B O O K I N G S T R O N G LY R E C O M M E N D E D -
EVERY WEDNESDAY IT’S A WING THING
Basket of Wings for $10 - S o u t h e r n s t y l e f r i e d s t i c ky c h i c k e n w i n g s -
every sunday s u n d ay b l o o dy s u n d ay d j t o p h e av y + k e ko s o n
- 4 s t y l e s o f b l o o dy m a rys a l l d ay -
T H U R S D AY 2 9 t h J A N U A R Y Minton's Playhouse Sessions
f r i d ay 3 0 t h j a n u a ry
TUESDAYS
GRUMPY TRIVIA $6 CHILLI DOGS ALL NIGHT
WEDNESDAY JAN 28TH
2 FOR 1 MEALS $12 JUGS THURSDAY JAN 29TH THE BEAT RAFFLE
wITH POSTIe P & DJ BuICk @ 7Pm- fuNk/SOuL/PArTy JAmS & $1 wINGS $15 JuGS ALL NIGHT. DrINk DrINkS, HeAr BeATS, wIN STuff.
FRIDAY JAN 30TH
FRAkSHA, AFFIkS, ALASkA, GInGUS
swa m p f u n k
+mOre. PreSeNTeD By 50/50 GrIme & ONe Puf @8Pm
D j N u i & C o + T h e swa m p s t o m p e r s
FUnkIn’ GOnUTS
S A T U R D AY 3 1 s t j a n u a ry Lieutenant Jam + Vision St pbs djs
O P E N 7 d ays a we e k 11AM TIL LATE
facebook.com/thebeastburgers i n s t a g r a m T H E B E A S T B U R G E R S - w w w. t h e b - e a s t. c o m PH 9036 1456 | 80 LYGON ST BRUNSWICK EAST
SATURDAY JAN 31ST
feATurING mArk N - 45s TurNTABLISm SeT
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$15 LAMB BURGER & PInT dAY + $20 BOTTLe Of HOuSe reD Or wHITe.
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www.GrumPySGreeN.COm.Au CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 39
THE LOCAL For more information or ad bookings call Aleksei on 9428 3600
News Bites.
Eat A Scroll
There are only three days left to sample the Pav Cruffin ± an amazing dessert hybrid brought to you by Melbourne’s first and only dedicated scroll shop, Eat A Scroll. A combination of a croissant, muffin and topped with meringue, it’s filled and topped with passionfruit curd and fresh strawberries. They can be purchased solely or in a box at 86 Smith Street, Collingwood.
Entrecôte
South Yarra has welcomed a Parisian steak house to Domain Rd. Entrecôte occupies the iconic corner block that used to house Lynch’s ± one of Melbourne’s most revered eateries from generations past. Named after the French word used to denote a premium cut of beef, Entrecôte’s embraces a mantra that keeps things simple and retains outstanding quality. French-style breakfast will be available seven days (including absolutely unheard-of $2.50 takeaway coffees) from 7am until midday, then, as the French do, the dining room will be open from noon to midnight. Entrecôte is located at 133 Domain Road, South Yarra.
ROCK FOR REYNOLDS
Lieutenant Jam
ByThomas Brand
Picture this: you’re a selfless photographer, working night after night taking snaps and helping run events at your local pub. You’ve left your stuff out by accident one night and someone comes along, spills a pint on your laptop, making your everyday work about ten times harder than it should be. The Brunswick Hotel’s resident photographer and poetry night organiser Michael Reynolds recently suffered this misfortune, so after hearing about the loss of his equipment, several local bands and members of the community put their hands up to play Rock for Reynolds at the venue in order to raise funds to replace his damaged gear. Helping organise the event is Joel Brokate, from local grunge punk act Lieutenant Jam, who explains why the bands and other members of the community have gotten together to give something back to Reynolds. “He’s just a top guy,” says Brokate. “He runs around helping out the community at The Brunswick Hotel with the poetry night there and he’s pretty much at the pub every night taking photos for free. He’s pretty involved in the Brunswick community for longer than I’ve been playing which has been about three years, doing a lot of the poetry and music around venues out there which is why everyone’s eager to help out.” With a lineup of 27 bands and solo artists playing over the day, the show doesn’t just benefit Reynolds, but offers opportunities for the acts playing. Brokate ACROSS
Melbourne Barbecue Festival
The inaugural Melbourne Barbecue Festival kicks off at the Queen Victoria Market this week. From Sunday February 1 until Wednesday February 4, the festival aims to showcase a selection of Melbourne’s best barbecue food, ranging from American-style barbecue to Filipino and Mexican. Attendees will be able to sample, view and purchase barbecue-related equipment and products from a range of exhibitors. Bibs and appetites at the ready, friends.
goes on to explain: “About a third of the bands on the lineup are here to help ± a lot of the metal and punk bands are very involved with that ± but we’re not doing it for money,” he says. “It’s giving bands a go at getting exposure for a bigger audience and working to festival timeslots. It allows people to listen to music they haven’t heard before and with the bands doing a 30-minute set each, they’ve really gotta put on their best stuff.” The origins of the fundraiser stemmed from a simple conversation at the bar, surprisingly months after the gear had been broken. “I only heard about the laptop thing from [David] ‘Frankie’ [Cudmore], who owns the bar and books the shows at The Brunswick Hotel.” Brokate says. “I was talking to him at the bar and we both thought we should find a way to get him a new laptop so we came up with the idea of the fundraiser back in December. He’s been without his gear for about eight or nine months.” As far as getting the lineup together, Brokate admits it was no huge challenge despite the scope of the event: “We’re in a band ourselves and we do a bit of band
booking so it was pretty easy getting everyone together,” he says. “I just asked Frankie and a couple of bands that Michael likes and flicked them a few emails. This one’s a bit heavier than normal with more metal, more punk acts playing, although a few rock and acoustic acts are going to be there too.” Reynolds’s altruistic approach to the performers at the hotel has clearly left a lasting effect on the people around him, which is the base reason for the show itself, as Brokate elaborates: “Frankie lent Michael a laptop to help him out with his work and he’s still been working, but Michael didn’t really know about the event, didn’t ask for the help at all. He never asks for anything. It’s a case of doing a nice thing for a person who’s helped out the rest of us and I think he’ll appreciate it.”
ROCK FOR REYNOLDS is happening at The Brunswick Hotel on Saturday February 28 from midday.
BEER
Prizepacks up for grabs! Send an image of your completed crossword to puzzleguy@beat.com.au for a chance to win a prizepack from Thunder Road Brewery and the Brunswick MusicFestival.
North South Feast West
Immigration Museum will play host to Courtyard Cantina every Friday night in February as part of their North South Feast West program. From 5pm to 9pm, there’ll be Argentinian barbecue, Korean street food, Jamaican cuisine and heaps more food from around the world, pop up bars and PBS DJs. The festival will also celebrate chilli and coffee in two dedicated festivals ± Chilli Chilli Bang Bang! and Coffee Fest ± taking place on Sunday April 19 and Sunday June 14 respectively, from 11am to 4pm. Immigration Museum is located at 400 Flinders Street.
DOWN
Converse X Andy Warhol (Tomato Soup)
puzzleguy@beat.com.au
This news comes from our friends down the hallway at Fashion Journal and yes I know it’s not your traditional food news but it’s still pretty darn cool. Launching in February, Converse have partnered with the Andy Warhol Foundation to create shoes printed with Campbell’s soup cans inspired by some of the pop artist’s greatest work. The shoes hit the shelves in February and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the foundation. They’ll retail for around a hundred bucks and available from specialty retailers, Converse stores and Converse.com from Saturday February 7. Got some gourmet gossip? Tasty twaddle? Let me know: soph@furstmedia.com.au
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INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH
MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
With Christie Eliezer * Stuff for this column to be emailed to <celiezer@netspace.net.au> by Friday 5pm
ATO SLUGS ARTISTS OVER YOUTUBE INCOME
Following the Australian Tax Office’s decision to tax artists from some crowd-funding campaigns, it now says income from YouTube (and other digital sources) is up for tax. It ruled: “The income the taxpayer receives from Google for their YouTube videos is a reward for providing services relating to their activities as a special professional... Therefore, the income can form part of the taxpayer’s assessable professional income.” It’s difficult to know what percentage of Aussie artist sales come from YouTube. But you’d get some idea from views they get. For instance, Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know received 570 million views. 5 Seconds of Summer have a total of 92 million. Adelaide-born Sia’s Chandelier has so far notched up 468 million.
LIVE NATION BUYS U2 MANAGEMENT CO’S FOR $30M
Live Nation bought two U2-associated management firms for US$30 million. They are Paul McGuinness’s Principle Management (which looked after them until 2013) and current manager Guy Oseary’s Maverick who also looks after Madonna. Principle, now Evergreen Ventures, is winding down operation after spending four years with a decline in profits of €1.9 million.
GURUS MARK RETIRING
The Hoodoo Gurus announced that their drummer of 30 years, Mark Kingsmill, is retiring at the end of March. They explained he “had enough of this vagabond rock’n’roll lifestyle we all lead.” He advised them some months ago. Dave Faulkner emphasised on a replacement: “Trust us, we will not settle for anything less than someone we feel is a perfect fit.”
TRIPLE J UNEARTHED LAUNCHES SOUNDWAVE COMP
triple j Unearthed is offering an unsigned act to join the Soundwave lineup at all its shows. Upload your best tracks on triplejunearthed.com by Sunday February 8.
AUSSIES LISTENING TO MORE RADIO THAN BEFORE
Figures from Commercial Radio Australia claim Aussies in the five capital cities are tuning into commercial radio more than ever. The biggest growth came from the 25 to 39 age group, 80 per cent of which listen to commercial radio. Last year a cumulative 10.1 million tuned in each week, up 4.13 per cent from 2013. Over 7.3 million listened to weekday breakfast, 6.8 million during drive time and 4.2 million from 7pm to 12-midnight. Three million listen to digital radio.
PUSH FOR 12 YEAR OLD TO OPEN FOR AC/DC
A Facebook campaign has started for 12-year old busker Kris McDowall to open for AC/DC at their stadium show in Glasgow this year. The kid, who earns £600 a day on the street, recently made a video of him doing You Shook Me All Night Long which went viral. It’s had 600,000 views, and some of AC/DC’s official fan clubs are pushing to make his dream come true.
JAKUBI SIGN TO CREATE/ CONTROL
Melbourne-based hip hop/pop/grunge collective Jakubi signed to Create / Control, which has released their new Holiday EP. After summer shows across Australia, they return to the US in May. These include festivals as Summer Camp and Wakarusa. Last year they toured the US and Canada, their music hit almost five million Soundcloud and four million YouTube views, and singles Can’t Afford It All and Holiday reached #1 on Hype Machine charts.
MISDEMEANOR GRIMES UP WITH DAVID SEEDSMAN
Misdemeanor Records signed Melbourne multiinstrumentalist David Seedsman to an initial onealbum contract. The first is the debut avant-garde jazz album David Seedsman Presents: Seedy v Grimes. Misdemeanor’s Dan Webb told Industrial Strength that “deals for additional projects expected to be inked and announced in the very near future.”
THINGS WE HEAR
* Which female singer got knocked out in a club brawl? * Which partnership split up was so severe that cops were almost called? * Has Adele’s album been delayed as the James Bond people have flown her to LA to talk about contributing to the next soundtrack? * Expect “Weird Al” Yankovic to play in Australia next summer, with a team up of Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea sometime in 2015. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 42
* Melbourne metal band Barbarion premiere their latest project, The Legend Of Dio: A Metal Musical, based around the songs of the late Sabbath, Dio and Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio, in March at The Corner Hotel. * The Shamrock Hotel in Dunnstown, near Ballarat, will make its rockabilly festival an annual event after the first one, on January 18, proved a success. * 5 Seconds of Summer were refused registration of the trademark 5SOS after the Australian Trade Marks Office found it was too close to SOS and pronunciations such as ASOS, PSOS or SOSO (yes we know ASOS isn’t pronounced like that). Also the bloke who made the decision sniffed he’d never heard of them. * The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack sold one million in the U.S. * Jai Waetford, who’s had 15 million total views on his YouTube channel, looks set to add to that figure. The video for his new single, Shy, featuring blogger Kimmi Smiles, had 80,000 views in the first two days of going live. * Two Dead Kennedys fans who had sex onstage during a San Diego show could face criminal charges. But so far no one has made a complaint. * Shazam is now worth US$1 bllion. * Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo has a problem with his fan mail. For some odd reason, he says, he keeps getting gifts meant for Incubus’ Brandon Boyd. * Bendigo’s The Capital theatre had a record year in 2014, with almost 90,000 attending shows, functions and performances there. Its manager David Lloyd says it shows the need for a larger venue in Bendigo.
SYDONIA HEADING BACK O/S
Sydonia head back overseas in May, following up interest from the global release of second album Reality Kicks via MGM. Before that, they write and demo the third album, which they will review on east coast shows in March/April. These include appearances at a Destroy All Lines show at Next, the two-city El Grande Festival in Queensland and a final Melbourne date which is a fund-raiser for the overseas trip. The third album will be recorded mid-year, with a single due by end of 2015 and the album out in early next year. Word is the new stuff is harder, heavier and faster than before.
REMI MAKING NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT
Fast rising Melbourne rapper REMI is spreading the love to North America. He makes his US debut at South By Southwest in March. That will be followed by the Tuesday April 14 release in North America of the Raw X Infinity album. American urban magazine Vibes put the 23-year old (Remi Kolawole, of Nigerian descent) on their “watch list”. REMI then returns to Europe.
CHANGES AT WAU MANAGEMENT
WAU Management, a division of Unified, signed The Kite String Tangle to worldwide management. TKST aka Danny Harley had a great 2014, selling out shows, a gold single and his Vessel EP (through Warner Music) scoring an ARIA Top Ten debut. His management is handled by Unified owner/CEO Jaddan Comerford and newly appointed Head of Management, Nick Yates. WAU also hired Jeremy Stones to its team, working out of the new Unified Sydney office in Woolloomooloo. He brings The Delta Riggs to the company.
DUNLOP, SULTANA, JOIN 123
Sydney’s Eleanor Dunlop (former Cameras singer) and Melbourne teen acoustic roots singer and guitarist Tash Sultana are the latest to join 123 Agency. Both have triple j support and will tour nationally in 2015. Recently, 123 also signed Brisbane punks Columbus and EDM act The Belligerents.
Hold Back The River and James Newton Howard’s The Hanging Tree. Of albums, Guns N’Roses’ Greatest Hits went eight x platinum, with Taylor Swift’s 1989 and Frozen their fourth. Chet Faker’s Built On Glass went platinum. The Eagles’ Selected Works, Alt-J’s This Is All Yours and Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga’s Cheek To Cheek struck gold.
PALACE THEATRE UPDATE
Mediation at VCAT for The Palace Theatre building is now scheduled for Friday February 20 at 10 am, and expected to last a day. The hearing proceeding is listed for Friday March 20 before two members, which could last for five days.
MARION POTTS LEAVING MALTHOUSE THEATRE
Malthouse Theatre loses its Artistic Director of 4 ½ years, Marion Potts, at the end of March. She’s joining national arts funding body the Australia Council as Director of Theatre. During her time, Malthouse performed to 200,000 here and abroad, presented 19 world premieres and hired 400 artists. Associate Artist (Directing) Matthew Lutton steps in as Acting Artistic Director.
WORKERS CLUB SETS UP IN GEELONG
Fitzroy’s Workers Club teamed with Geelong bookers Spinning Half to open Workers Club Geelong in late March on Little Malop St. The Melbourne club’s John O’Brien and Spinning Half ’s Steven Nichols attended college in Geelong. See beat.com.au for full story. Contact music@theworkersclubgeelong.com.au.
AUSTRALIAN CULTURAL ECONOMY SEMINAR
There is much confusion as to what Australia’s cultural economy is, why we should value it, and ways to support it. On Tuesday February 3, Re-setting Australian Cultural Economy: Towards a New Agenda will be held at the State Library from 5pm to 7pm. Federal Shadow Arts Minister Mark Dreyfus sets out Labor’s principles for a national cultural policy. Also on the panel are Rachel Healy (Executive Manager Culture, City of Sydney), Julianne Schultz (Griffith Review) and broadcaster Marcus Westbury (Renew Newcastle/Australia). The Q&A will be chaired by Ben Eltham. It’s free, but bookings are recommended via artsonline.monash.edu.au or email halina.bluzer@ monash.edu.
FREE MUSICIANS ‘RIGHT TRACK’ WORKSHOPS
The Right Track is a free musician’s workshop which is part of the St Kilda Festival Artist Development Series. It’s held on Saturday February 7 at The Prince Bandroom between 11am and 4pm. Speakers include The Age’s Chris Johnston, Eric Moore and Stuart Mackenzie (King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard), REMI and his producer Sensible J, Charles Jenkins, Benny Walker, Meriki Hood and Jenny Valentish of Time Out. Sessions include motivation behind songwriting and how to prepare for an album recording session. Seats are limited, see stkildafestival. com.au for more info.
JONATHAN HOLLOWAY TO HEAD MELBOURNE FESTIVAL
Jonathan Holloway, who’s winding up as artistic director of Perth Festival, will cross the Nullabor in April to head Melbourne Festival from 2016. He takes over from Josephine Ridge who finishes her third term in October.
LATEST AUSTRALIAN CERTIFICATIONS
Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass went six x platinum with Lips Are Moving going platinum x two. Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off is platinum x six and Blank Space, it’s third. Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud and Timmy Trumpet’s Freaks got fourth, and Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk and Klingande’s Jubel their third. Hozier’s Take Me To Church and Coldplay’s A Sky Full Of Stars got their second. Getting their first platinum were Nicki Minaj’s Bed Of Lies, Charli XCX’s Break The Rules, Will Sparks’ Ah Yeah So What. Omi’s Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn remix) and Jeremih’s Don’t Tell ‘Em. Going gold: Lorde’s Yellow Flicker Beat, Clean Bandit & Jess Glynne’s Real Love, Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP’s Real Love, Ariana Grande’s Love Me Harder, Parra For Cuva’s Wicked Games, James Bay’s WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES... BEAT.COM.AU/TV
LIFELINES Born: twins Billy and Betty to singer David Campbell and wife Lisa. This makes Jimmy Barnes a grandfather yet again. Divorcing: Ryan Adams and Mandy Moore after six years. Injured: Vamps guitarist James McVey is only doing backup vocals on their current Oz tour, prohibited from playing guitar for two months after wrist surgery. Injured: Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington badly injured his leg (we don’t know how) forcing the band to cancel the rest of its US tour. Injured: Sydney band Lepers & Crooks’ singer Sam Baker split his head open at a gig at The Bondi Beach Hotel after he hit guitarist Alex Court’s axe. He continued the gig with blurred vision and blood streaming down his head. Ill: Sharon Osbourne, who battled cancer, is now terrified she’ll die of Alzheimer’s like her father Don Arden after a DNA test revealed she carries two of the genes responsible for the disease. In Court: an American jury found that Aussie expat Rick Springfield did not injure a woman at a New York show when he fell into the audience. Vicki Calcagno, 45, sued claiming his arse hit her head, causing lasting injuries. In Court: Beastie Boys’ lawyers, who represented the band when they sued the maker of Monster Energy drink for copyright infringements, are asking a court to declare that Monster Energy should pay their $2.5 million legal bill. In Court: 18-year old Irish tourist Hugh McMahon faced Southport Magistrates Court over an incident where after being thrown out of Sin City nightclub in Surfers Paradise twice the same night, he tried to sneak back through the roof. He got stuck and had to call the cops. He pleaded guilty to four charges, was fined $900 and must pay $1,700 for damage to the club’s roof. In Court: UK folkie Roy Harper denied charges he abused an 11-year old girl in the ‘70s and an 16-year old in the ‘80s. Arrested: a 39-year-old Israeli man is suspected of hacking into Madonna’s computer and leaking her new album, Rebel Heart. Sued: Disclosure are describing claims in a lawsuit by songwriter Katie Farrah Sopher as “completely false.” Sopher says she wrote the words for Latch, White Noise, You And Me and Attracting Files. Died: Edgar Froese, founder keyboardist of Tangerine Dream and electronic music pioneer, from a pulmonary embolism, 70. He showcased at last year’s Melbourne Music Week discussing strategies for independent music and planned to return on a Tangerine Dream tour this year. Died: Crosby Stills Nash & Young and Van Morrison drummer Dallas Taylor, 66. In the mid-‘70s he quit music and became a drug counselor. Died: A$AP Yams, 29, founder of hip hop collective, ASAP Mob. Harlem-bred Yama (Steven Rogriguez) A$AP Bari, A$AP Illz and A$AP Rocky were determined to “ride in on our own wave” and landed a major deal. He was in rehab last year for struggles with codeine and Xanax. Died: John Sundahl, who dated Britney Spears in 2007 after meeting in an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting, died at 44, after his helicopter was reportedly shot down by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was working as a private pilot for visiting dignitaries. Died: US entertainment executive Alan Hirschfield, 79. He started Arista Records with Clive Davis and ran Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox making movies as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Taxi Driver.