Sat 23 May 5pm
Ghost towns of the Midwest Alt-country five-piece formed by singersongwriter Cam Ewart, who cut his teeth sharing stages with The Drones, Don Walker, Wagons. They play upbeat stompers to barroom ballads.
Sat 23 May 9pm
Chelsea druGstore
Upbeat Americana alt-country with a bluesy rock edge.
Sun 24 May 3.30pm
dan warner & MarCel BorraCk
Settle in for brilliant acoustic originals and sound storytelling by these long-time performers.
Sun 24 May 5pm
sMall town roManCe
Upbeat five-piece playing country classics and honkytonk heart-stoppers.
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in this issue
16
Hot Talk
20
touring
22
the astor
24
whats on,
st kilda film festival
25
art of the city,
the comic strip,
calendar
26
NED
27
theatre reviews
28
out of the closet,
beat eats
30 fazerdaze, ruby boots,
FAZERDAZE page 30
MODEST MOUSE page 31
san cisco
31
modest mouse
32
raised by eagles,
lama, bobfest
33
the peep tempel
34
voyager, boris,
glass ocean 35
core/crunch
36
music news
41
live
42
album of the week,
singles, charts
43
albums
44
gig guide
48 BACKSTAGE/the local
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HOT TALK THE BIGGEST IN INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
BREWTALIT Y
SUPERSENSE Supersense is a brand new festival curated by performer, composer and festival director Sophia Brous, that explores music, film, dance, performance art, sound and light. Held at the Arts Centre Melbourne from Friday August 7 till Sunday August 9, Supersense will feature an astounding range of visual and musical talent from national and international artists alike – Ash Ra Tempel, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Gurrumul, Grouper, HTRK, Lydia Lunch’s Retrovirus, Marc Ribot and many more acts will all grace the lineup. Tickets for the three day event will go on sale on Monday May 25 from artscentremelbourne.com.au.
RECORD AND CD
FAIR
SUNDAY 31ST MAY (9.30am-5pm)
UKRAINIAN HOUSE 3 Russell St, Essendon (opposite Essendon Station)
70,000 RECORDS, 10,000 CD CD’s ALL STYLES & ERAS
Music books, magazines, memorabilia, 1000s of cheapies, DVDs & sheet music. Interstate stall holders attending. First fair for 2015. A collectors paradise, don’t miss it. Plenty of $2 LPs. It’s a music comfort zone for all ages.
RARITIES, HITS & BARGAINS! French Beatles EPs, modern jazz LP collection, Stones 3 CD ‘Best Of’ box sets with 100 page booklets. Plastic record & CD covers. Extensive turntable accessories.
AIR CONDITIONED, FREE PARKING, CANTEEN FACILITIES. $4 ENTRY. ENQUIRES PH. 9308 1729 BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 16
SHIHAD
BIG WINTER
New Zealand’s finest hard rock band will cross the pond for a special headline show this July. The Australian sojourn follows a year that signalled a huge return to form for the group, with their 2014 release FVEY scoring critical acclaim worldwide. They’ll be joined on the evening by King Of The North and Captives. It goes down on Saturday July 11 at the Corner Hotel – grab your tickets from cornerhotel.com.
Big Winter will launch their debut EP Small Things with a hometown show this May. The recording process took place in a variety of interesting places all around town. The band recorded drums, bass, guitar and vocals in an empty office in Port Melbourne, friends who are string players that perform alongside The Australian Ballet were called upon for a recording session in a kitchen, and the favours continued when the band managed to borrow a vintage ‘70s Rhodes piano. Big Winter will launch Small Things at Grace Darling on Friday May 29. Tickets are on sale through thegracedarlinghotel.com.au.
MR. RUCKMAN
EARTHQUAKE AID: HELP NEPAL The Shadow Electric are hosting a day of dancing soundtracked by some of the area’s funkiest players to raise money for those affected by the Nepal earthquake. The day will feature music from GL, Oscar Key Sung (DJ set), Edd Fisher, Simon TK, King Puppy & The Carnivore and Moksha. There will also be traditional dances and music courtesy of the Melbourne Nepali community as well as delicious food and masala chai. 100% of the door proceeds will go towards helping to meet the immediate and early recovery needs of those affected by the devastating April 25 earthquake, so get out and have a boogie for Nepal on Sunday May 31 at The Shadow Electric. Grab tickets from shadowelectric.com.au.
Fresh from dropping his latest single Work, the rapper will be premiering new songs off his latest release, Sooner or Later. Bringing together elements of hip hop, funk and soul, Mr. Ruckman has been working hard over the past ten years focusing on pulling together concept albums released both independently and through Obese Records. He’ll be bringing with him special guests Black Magic, Big T and Defron. It all goes down on Saturday May 23 at Northcote’s 303 – grab your tickets from 303.net.au.
E M M A D O N O VA N & THE PUTBACKS Queen of Australian soul, Emma Donovan will be hitting Howler on Sunday June 7 with her band The Putbacks. Donovan has been making waves with the release of her Dawn album, and her Howler show will prove to newcomers why the soul scene is up in arms over her work. If you don’t have to work in the morning, which you probably don’t - come celebrate both queens Elizabeth II and Emma D when the doors open at 8pm. Tickets available from moshtix.com.au.
ESSENDON RECORD & CD FAIR Melbourne’s record collectors and interstate stall holders will present a genuine 70,000 Records, 10,000 CD’s and music memorabilia from the past till present at the Essendon Record and CD Fair on Sunday May 31 2015 at Ukrainian House, 3 Russell St, Essendon (opposite Essendon Station ) between 9.30 am and 5.00 pm. This is Melbourne’s largest totally music related fair and the first biannual event for the year, and after seven months of waiting, the expectation level amongst music lovers is at an all time high. Stall holders will have an extensive range of pop, rock, grunge, blues, jazz, country, folk, punk, progressive, heavy metal, electronica, dance, alternative, funk, soul, disco, easy listening, and selections of most other styles, so if you’re looking to build on your record collection, Sunday May 31 is the time to do it.
A celebration of rock, metal and beer – the three greatest things on earth? Hell. Yes. Brewtality Fest is back for its 2015 installment and with a line-up of 33 noisy bands over three stages, you can’t say no to a day of headbangs and brews. The lineup includes punk legends Hard Ons, Suiciety playing their first show since 1997, Hobbs Angel of Death and many more. It all goes down at both The Tote and The Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood on Saturday August 8 from 2pm onwards. Get over to deserthighways.bigcartel.com for some bargain presale tickets.
MORNINGTON WINTER JAZZ F E S T I VA L Main Street Mornington will be abuzz this Queens Birthday long weekend with the sights and sounds of the third Mornington Winter Jazz Festival from Friday June 5 to Monday June 8. The Jazz Festival is a four day celebration of music, art and heritage from across the peninsula and beyond, and sees Mornington come alive with a showcase of entertainment including live laneway painting with The Snakehole Gallery artists, live and local Stages, roving jazz bands and pop up kidszones from 10am Saturday and Sunday. With headline performances including Emma Pask, Adrian Cunningham, George Golla with Jacki Cooper, Jude Perl, Jazz Party and many more, the jazz festival should have something for everyone and even more for jazz enthusiasts. Get your tickets from morningtonjazz.com.au before the festival starts on Friday June 5.
BUCKLEY’S CHANCE Taking a break from their 3RRR program Strange Holiday, Lewis Fidock and András are putting on Buckley’s Chance, a one-off hometown rager this Friday May 22 at The Tote. With genres ranging from pub to club, Lewis Fidock and András are set to showcase their hand picked favourites from Australia and NZ artists, with new-wave, protoelectro and punk-funk hits all promised a good spin. Check out thetotehotel.com for all the details.
RECLINK COMMUNITY CUP Pull your boots on - the Reclink Community Cup is back for 2015. The annual clash between the Rockdogs and Triple R 102.7FM / PBS 106.7FM Megahertz will be fought out at Elsternwick Park on Sunday June 21, and’ll feature a live set courtesy of Magic Dirt’s Adalita. The event aims to raise funds for Reclink Australia as they raise money to help some of the community’s most vulnerable and isolated people – those experiencing mental illness, disability, homelessness, substance abuse, addiction, and social and economic hardship. For more information on the event, head on over to communitycup.com.au.
SHLOHMO Shlohmo will return to Melbourne with a full live band this July. Already announced for the sold out Splendour In The Grass, the tour follows the release of his latest record Dark Red. After his sellout tour last year, this is 25-year-old Henry Laufer as no one has seen before – the chopped and screwed conductor to a crazed live band. He’ll be joined by D33J, Purple, Nick Melons and special guests. It goes down on Saturday July 30 at the Corner Hotel – get your tickets from cornerhotel.com.au.
FUCK THE FITZROY DOOM SCENE Hot off the heels of their stellar festival slots at Boogie and CherryRock, the band with undoubtedly the best name in Melbourne, Fuck The Fitzroy Doom Scene, are about to slay the Ding Dong Lounge stage when they launch their impending debut album, Facing The Ruin. With a slew of guest artists playing on the upcoming album, the stoner rock four-piece will be bringing each one of these guest contributors on stage for the launch, along with selling vinyls of the record on the night. Head down to Ding Dong Lounge on Friday June 5 from 9pm onwards and catch the boys for a big one hour show. Tickets available from oztix.com.au.
F O R A L L T H E L AT E S T, C H E C K O U T B E AT.C O M . A U
BaR WedneSdAyS
Open Mic
Show the boogie man what you’ve got ! free drink to encourage every performer!
tHurSdAy 21 mAy
HOUSeWRecKeRS with the Girls fridAy 22 mAy
STeVe LUcAS
Solo Session from 5.30 then
Y.e.T.i. (cAn) Shewolf, i Am mine SundAy 24 mAy
4TH AVenUe BAnd TRiO MAnipULATO THe SHAKe SHAcK BOOgie BAnd After Work HAppy Hour from 5pm:
$5 drinkS, Wed, tHurS, fri 160 Hoddle St AbbotSford
HOT TALK
74 JOHNSTON ST FITZROY 9417 4155
theoldbar.com.au
THE BIGGEST IN INTERNATIONAL & NATIONAL NEWS
OPEN 4Pm - 3am mON-FRI 2Pm - 3am SaT-SuN FREE WI FI
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Wednesday 20th May
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8.30PM $10
Internationally regarded as the signature Celtic gathering in the Southern Hemisphere, the National Celtic Festival in Portarlington continues to roll out its incredible lineup of world class international Celtic acts along with a roster of Australia’s finest Celtic musicians, theatre makers, and associated cultural activities. Further to the already announced international headliners Brian Kennedy, The Duplets, and Cherry Grove, the festival also features multi-platinum selling Irish-Australian singer Damien Leith, contemporary Irish singer songwriter Mick McHugh, and a host of theatre and cultural events across the weekend. Get your tickets ready before the festival begins on Friday June 5, ending on Monday June 8. For more information and tickets, go to nationalcelticfestival.com.
8.30PM $6
Mundane Mondays
Mares
8PM $5
tuesday 26th May
‘grit’ Zo daMage art oPening
river oF snakes dead Mutton
7PM $6
band bookings: bandbookings@theoldbar.com.au
J AY E L E C T R O N I C A THE LETTER STRING QUARTET Presented in the ambient surrounds of The Oratory at Abbotsford Convent, The Letter String Quartet will bring new life to chamber music in their Sonic Series 2015. Featuring Steph O’Hara and Lizzie Welsh, Biddy Connor and Zoe Barry, The Letter String Quartet will play three concerts over six months, each featuring collaborations and commissions from a variety of musicians and video artists. The Abbotsford Convent will complement this feast of the arts beautifully when Part One: Oculus Sonic begins on Saturday June 27 with Marita Dyson from The Orbweavers performing with poet Maria Zajkowski. To find more information and grab your tickets, get over to theletterstringquartet.com.
LANKS Melbourne crooner Lanks has locked in an east coast tour in support of his forthcoming sophomore EP, Banquet. Due out on Friday July 3, the EP is the follow-up to his widely praised debut, Thousand Piece Puzzle. The project features singles Hold Me Closer and Settle Down, which he’s had plenty of time to test out live playing alongside the likes of Broods, Mansionair, Andy Bull and The Antlers. Lanks will play at The Workers Club on Saturday July 18. Tickets are available through oztix.com.au. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 18
HOUSE OF LADOSHA Dosha Devastation and Cunty Crawford will transform The Curtin into the House of Ladosha when they hit the stage for an exclusive Vivid sideshow later this month. The New York-based artistic collective will visit Melbourne on the back of tracks like Rollin’ and BMF, which have gained a following by both hip hop and indie lovers alike. It goes down at The Curtin on Saturday May 30. Tickets are available through johncurtinhotel.wazala.com
TWENTY ONE PILOTS
ST KILDA FILM F E S T I VA L
The St Kilda Film Festival is back again for this year’s run at The Palais Theatre. More than 3000 people are expected to descend onto the Palais tomorrow for the Festival’s opening night, and if you want to rub shoulders with the best of Australia’s film industry talent, pay attention: we’ve got two double passes to give away. Opening night tickets are limited and will sell out, so if you don’t have one yet, this is probably your best shot. Remember, this is tomorrow night, Thursday May 21, so lickety-split jump onto beat.com.au/freeshit as fast as your fat little fingers will go.
SHELLEY SEGAL
Featuring members of Harmony, Batpiss, The Drones and Pairs, Pale Heads are launching their debut album with a gig at the Gaso. The album, titled Headless, sees this assembly of Australian music adepts create an intriguing form of dark, dirgey Australian punk rock. The band plays on Saturday June 6 at The Gasometer Hotel. Get your tickets from thegasometerhotel.com.au.
Monday 25th May
shiMa koukatsuna onani
FREE $HIT
Jay Electronica has announced that he’ll journey Down Under this July. After first bursting onto the scene in 2007 with his epic mixtape, Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), Jay has gone on to release a slew of singles and collaborations with the likes of Common, Big Sean and Mac Miller. He signed to Jay Z’s Roc Nation in 2010, but the world is still awaiting his debut album. Hopefully he’ll tease some songs from it when he plays three intimate shows across Australia this winter. Catch him at Howler on Thursday July 23. Tickets on sale now at livenation.com.au.
Melbourne singer/songwriter Shelley Segal made waves earlier this month, dropping her fourth studio release Strange Feeling. Recorded at the iconic Birdland Studios, with big producer names Robert Upward and Linsday Gravina (Adalita, Jet), Shelley’s quirky pop sensibilities shine through on the album, and she’s doing the rounds ‘round Victoria to support, playing at Caravan Music Club on Sunday May 24, and Northcote Social Club the week after on Saturday May 30. If you want to catch Shelley Segal at Northcote Social Club, buy a ticket you scab. Or, you could just win a double pass from beat.com. au/freeshit, whatever floats your boat.
ROBBIE WILLIAMS The British pop star is back to perform a stadium show full of hits that span his career. Williams was in town last year on his Swing tour, which saw him croon his way across the country. This time he’s back with fan favourites and chart topping singles including Angels, Rock DJ, Better Man and Bodies. Let Robbie Williams entertain you on Thursday October 22 at Rod Laver Arena. Tickets through Ticketek.
Mary J. Blige
After announcing the release of their new album Blurryface, dynamic indiepop duo Twenty One Pilots are heading to Australian shores for a headlining tour along the east coast with an under ages matinee show penned in at the Corner Hotel. After the release of their debut album Vessel, the band have garnered impressive levels of success including selling out shows on their first ever tour back in 2014, and playing on several big American festival lineups such as Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Sasquatch and Bunbury. Catch them when they hit the Corner Hotel on Sunday July 5, tickets available from cornerhotel.com.au.
FAZERDAZE New Zealand local Amelia Murray is bringing her bedroom pop project Fazerdaze across the Tasman, gracing our shores with an intimate gig at The Curtin on Friday May 29. Releasing her self-titled debut EP late last year, Fazerdaze has since been signed to indie label Flying Nun, and named by U.S blog Wild Honey Pie as an artist to watch in 2015. Hey, it’s 2015, so why not watch her? Tickets are $8 on the door, check out johncurtinhotel.com for more details.
SOULFEST Soulfest will return later this year for their sophomore outing. The first artist announcement for the 2015 incarnation is headlined by Mary J. Blige, and also features Jill Scott, Jhené Aiko, Charlie Wilson, De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Dwele, Floetry, Eric Benét, Daniel Merriweather, Kamasi Washington, Remi and BJ The Chicago Kid. The Melbourne edition of Soulfest will go down on Sunday October 25 at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Kings Domain Precinct. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, May 27. Visit their website for more details.
F O R A L L T H E L AT E S T, C H E C K O U T B E AT.C O M . A U
TOURING
WHO'S ON TOUR, WHERE AND WHEN
For all the latest tour dates check out beat.com.au
international HERBERT Prince of Wales May 22 BILL CALLAHAN Hamer Hall May 26 HERBIE HANCOCK & CHICK COREA Hamer Hall May 28 FAZERDAZE The Curtin May 29 HOUSE OF LADOSHA The Curtin May 30 BORIS Corner Hotel May 30 BEN HOWARD Margaret Court Arena June 1 BRIAN KENNEDY The Spotted Mallard June 4 BAD MANNERS Corner Hotel June 4 NATIONAL CELTIC FESTIVAL Portarlington June 5-6 AGAINST ME! Corner Hotel June 6, June 7 EMAROSA Wrangler June 8 YNGWIE MALMSTEEN 170 Russel June 10 TV ON THE RADIO The Forum June 12, June 13 CROOKERS Prince Bandroom June 13 PALLBEARER Northcote Social Club June 19 MACHINE HEAD 170 Russell June 22 EMMYLOU HARRIS & RODNEY CROWELL Palais Theatre June 25 MARLON WILLIAMS Corner Hotel July 3 WAXAHATCHEE The Toff July 4 SEETHER Forum Theatre July 4 CHRIS BOTTI Hamer Hall July 5 TWENTY ONE PILOTS Corner Hotel July 5 SHIHAD Corner Hotel July 11 YELLOWCARD Margaret Court Arena July 11 RYAN ADAMS Forum Theatre July 19, July 20 OF MONSTERS AND MEN The Forum July 20 CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN Corner Hotel July 22 JOHNNY MARR The Forum July 22 MS MR 170 Russell July 22 WOLF ALICE Corner Hotel July 23 PETER ROBINSON The Forum July 23 JAY ELECTRONICA Howler July 23 THE KING KHAN AND BBQ SHOW Corner Hotel July 24 SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS North Byron Parklands July 24 – 26
PURITY RING 170 Russell July 24 MARMOZETS Ding Dong Lounge July 25 EVERYTHING EVERYTHING & URBAN CONE The Corner July 25 TIGERS JAW Reverence Hotel July 25, July 26 (AA) BEST COAST Corner Hotel July 26 DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE 170 Russell July 26 AZEALIA BANKS Prince Bandroom July 26 THE VACCINES Corner Hotel July 27 THE DISTRICTS Northcote Social Club July 27 EARL SWEATSHIRT Prince Bandroom July 28 MØ & ELLIPHANT The Corner July 28 BLUR Rod Laver Arena July 28 THE WOMBATS Palais Theatre July 28 MARK RONSON Margaret Court Arena July 29 SHLOHMO Corner Hotel July 30 YEARS & YEARS Howler July 30 KITTY, DAISY & LEWIS 170 Russell August 2 SUPERSENSE Arts Centre Melbourne August 7 - 9 CHELSEA GRIN Corner Hotel August 14, Wrangler Studios August 15 (AA) YOB Max Watt’s August 21 MARY CHAPIN CARPENTER Palais Theatre September 4 POISON CITY WEEKENDER 170 Russell, Public Bar September 4, Corner Hotel, The Old Bar September 5, Reverence Hotel, Corner Hotel September 6 DEATH DEALER The Hi-Fi September 13 CIRCA SURVIVE 170 Russell September 20, September 21 (AA) JOAN BAEZ Arts Centre Hammer Hall September 24 MAROON 5 Rod Laver Arena September 26 THE STORY SO FAR Max Watts September 11 KISS Rod Laver Arena October 8, October 10 SNOT Corner Hotel October 17 ROBBIE WILLIAMS Rod Laver Arena October 22 SOULFEST Sidney Myer Music Bowl October 25 NEIL DIAMOND Rod Laver Arena October 27 ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK Palais Theatre October 29 HOZIER Palais Theatre October 30 AT THE GATES Friday October 30 ANATHEMA Corner Hotel October 31 AUDRA MCDONALD Hamer Hall October 31
FLEETWOOD MAC Rod Laver Arena November 2, 4, Mt Dundeed Estate November 7 UB40 The Forum November 24 EARTHCORE Pyalong, Victoria November 26 – 30 ED SHEERAN AAMI Park December 5 TAYLOR SWIFT AAMI Park December 11 ELTON JOHN Rod Laver Arena December 11, Mt Duneed Estate December 12 NIGHTWISH The Forum Monday January 11
proudly presents
national CRAFT & CULT 2015 Grumpy’s Green May 20 DAN PARSONS AND STEVE GRADY The Workers Club May 21 BUCKLEY’S CHANCE The Tote May 22 THE GETAWAY PLAN Corner Hotel May 22 SAN CISCO 170 Russell May 22, Hi-Fi Bar May 23 (U18) BOB FEST Memo Music Hall May 22 - 23 RAISED BY EAGLES Howler May 22 GANG OF YOUTHS Northcote Social Club May 22 CLOWNS Bar 12 May 22, The Tote June 12, Karova Lounge June 13, The Barwon Club June 27 MR RUCKMAN Bar 303 May 23 THE PEEP TEMPEL Howler May 23 SHELLEY SEGAL Caravan Music Club May 24, Nortcote Social Club May 30 NEIL FINN Melbourne Recital Centre May 27 BIG WINTER Grace Darling May 29 THE CHERRY DOLLS Shebeen Bandroom May 29 SHE WHO ROCKS TOUR Hi-Fi Bar May 29 COOPERS AFTER DARK Shadow Electric May 29 VOYAGER The Evelyn Hotel May 29 JOELISTICS AND ASTRONOMY CLASS Howler May 29 JEREMY NEALE Ding Dong Lounge May 30 EARTHQUAKE AID: HELP NEPAL Shadow Electric May 31 BIRDS OF TOKYO 170 Russell June 3 HOT DUB TIME MACHINE Hi-Fi Bar June 5 MORNINGTON WINTER JAZZ FESTIVAL Mornington June 5 - 8 FUCK THE FITZROY DOOM SCENE Ding Dong Lounge June 5 NATIONAL CELTIC FESTIVAL Portarlington June 5-8 IN HEARTS WAKE 170 Russell June 5, Arrows June 6 (U18) CERES Corner Hotel June 6, The Tote June 27, The Old Bar July 25 PALE HEADS Gasometer Hotel June 6, Corner Hotel June 7 EMMA DONOVAN & THE PUTBACKS Howler June 7 BEN LEE Northcote Social Club June 7 MY DISCO The Toff June 7 SAL KIMBER & THE ROLLIN’ WHEEL The Gasometer June 12 RICHARD IN YOUR MIND Shebeen Bandroom June 12 REMI Northcote Social Club June 12 COSMIC PSYCHOS & DUNE RATS Chelsea Heights Hotel June 12, Max Watts June 13 DAN CRIBB AND THE ISOLATED Public Bar June 12 WALLAPALOOZA The Espy June 12 DEEZ NUTS Arrows June 12, Corner Hotel June 13 OSCAR KEY SUNG Howler June 13 MIKELANGELO Hawthorn Arts Centre June 15 LANKS The Workers Club July 18 THE AUDREYS The Spotted Mallard June 19 DALLAS FRASCA Howler June 19 BAD//DREEMS The Tote June 19 THE GOBLIN BALL Northcote Town Hall June 20 HERMITUDE 170 Russell June 19 ART VS SCIENCE Howler June 20 RECLINK COMMUNITY CUP Elsternwick Park
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JUL
4
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MOJO JUJU Corner Hotel
Caravan Music Club
YEARS & YEARS Howler
THE GOBLIN BALL Northcote Town Hall
June 21 TIM ROGERS AND THE BAMBOOS Corner Hotel June 25 THE KITE STRING TANGLE & DUSTIN TEBBUTT 170 Russell June 26 TITLE FIGHT Corner Hotel June 26 EDDIE PERFECT Melbourne Recital Centre June 26 ALPINE The Forum June 27 HARTS Ding Dong Lounge June 27 MOJO JUJU Corner Hotel June 27, Caravan Music Club July 4 DARREN COGGAN The Palms July 3 YOUTH GROUP Northcote Social Club July 3 HOLY SERPENT The Tote July 3, Brunswick Hotel July 19 THE CHURCH 170 Russell July 10 ICE CREAM HANDS The Evelyn Hotel July 11 JARRYD JAMES The Forum July 11 BATPISS Howler July 17 FRASER A. GORMAN Gasometer Hotel July 17 DEAD LETTER CIRCUS Northcote Social Club July 17 BLACK CAB The Corner July 17 JIMMY BARNES Palais Theatre July 18 BREWTALITY FEST The Tote, The Bendigo Hotel August 8 THE GRATES Corner Hotel August 15 SETH SENTRY The Forum September 4 FLIGHT FACILITIES & THE MSO Sidney Myer Music Bowl October 17 MSO BACK TO THE FUTURE LIVE The Plenary November 6, 7 AC/DC Etihad Stadium December 6
Rumours: Gang of Four, Snoop Dogg, Merchandise = New Announcements
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OCT
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FLIGHT FACILITIES & THE MSO Sidney Myer Music Bowl
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T H E
LONG LIVE
A S T O R
By Augustus Welby
In our high-speed digital world, nostalgia is at an all time high. People get nostalgic about what they did a couple of years ago ‘Remember when we had landline phones?’ or ‘Remember when we made mix tapes?’ It’s all a bit cringe-worthy, especially considering these resources are still available. Going to the cinema is another activity that gets spoken like a sepia-toned vestige of yesteryear. Why is this? Could it be that the slick major cinema chains can’t offer anything to rival the convenience of multi-terabyte hard drives? But going to the movies isn’t just about watching a film and subsequently registering a rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a unique cultural experience; a multi-sensory journey that can potentially transform your thoughts. And for this reason, it shouldn’t be swept into the domain of the past. Zak Hepburn, the newly appointed general manager of St Kilda’s historic Astor Theatre, passionately agrees. The Astor Theatre - opening week: April 11, 1936. The owner, Frank O’Collins, stands out front.
“[The Astor] is a destination venue,” he says. “This is a place run by film fans for film fans. It’s not like you’re just going down to watch a movie at the local multiplex. This is almost a museum in some respects. You come here and it’s taking you to a place that is touching on decades of cinema history. The audience aren’t just here to see a film, they’re here to see an event, they’re here to see a film presented with the curtains opening, with the little pre-show.” After a few bumpy years – which saw relations between The Astor’s erstwhile tenant, George Florence, and the building’s owner, Ralph Taranto, grow increasingly hostile – in early April, the St Kilda landmark shut its doors. Consequently, fear set in that the iconic local picture house would soon go the way of the buffalo. Fortunately, the Palace Cinemas group promptly stepped in to take over Florence’s lease, and under Hepburn’s management, the theatre will re-open on Sunday June 7. Hepburn’s pleased to report that inside the Astor, not much has changed. “We’re definitely keeping it as a single screen theatre,” he says. “I think that kind of picture palace aesthetic is integral to the location. We really wanted to give the building a slight bit of fresh air – a lit bit of paint here and there, a little bit of updating of the electrical areas, just some refinements. There’s no structural changes that are taking place. The projector equipment and seating has all remained.” Some people would no doubt recognise Hepburn from his regular film reviews on ABC News Breakfast. Hence, you’re probably wondering whether this film critic is really the right person to take charge of the Astor Theatre. But Hepburn isn’t just an overly-eager movie nerd. In fact, he’s maintained a successful working relationship with Palace Cinemas since 2006. “I started as a front of house worker at the Palace Westgarth,” he says. “Through that time I became really obsessed with the event cinema scene that was happening in the USA, so I developed a repertory program at the Westgarth of 35mm prints, usually of exploitation or other kinds of genre-cinema. I then went over to the Palace head office and started to assist with the national film program.” A few years ago, Hepburn left his role at Palace in order to complete a masters in Moving Image Studies, and subsequently established himself as a freelance film critic. But, in spite of his respected literary and journalistic pursuits, it’s film programming that gives him the greatest kicks. “I just really love being in a cinema environment and BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 22
operating cinemas,” he says. “I think it’s a really unique job. You get to wear a lot of different hats and you get to show some cool movies. [So when] I got invited to come back to Palace and be involved with the Astor, it was such a unique opportunity that I couldn’t say no.” A veritable film tragic, Hepburn’s fascination began at a young age and he’s since been done whatever it takes to make film his life’s chief focus. “It’s just one of those pre-ordained things,” he says. “I got taken to see Howard the Duck at Greater Union when I was two years old and it terrified me, but I was obsessed with going to movies ever since then. When it came to me doing professional stuff, the cinema just seemed to be the natural selection.” A true indication of Hepburn’s obsession is that, despite being enmeshed in film for the entirety of his working life, he still wholeheartedly relishes the cinematic experience. “Going to the movies is like going to church,” he says. “It’s a real hallowed territory. You don’t have your phone, you don’t have any distractions from the outside world. When you go in through that door and the lights go down, you’re really entering another world. I think that’s one of the main powers of film. A great film takes you on a journey and that’s part and parcel of having your undivided attention to what’s going on. If you think about it film is actually a relatively young medium, in comparison to books or music, but it really has a way of inhabiting your psyche.” It’s this sense of entering another world that’s made the Astor Theatre such a cherished cultural artefact, particularly since Florence took over the lease in the early 1980s. The theatre’s estimable reputation closely relates to a long-standing emphasis on classic films and cult favourites. The Astor has also distinguished itself by presenting repertory films in their original format – that is, on film. Thankfully, the Palace Cinemas takeover won’t interfere with the screening of such Astor staples as Poltergeist, Aliens, Baraka and Hamlet. Plus, in the lead-up to the re-launch, Hepburn’s secured some other rare 35mm prints. “I’ve got a great 35mm print of the brilliant Ken Russell film The Devils with Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave,” he boasts. “I’ve also got a fantastic 35mm print of Mean Streets, the Martin Scorsese film. I’d say just shy of 50 per cent of the program is probably on celluloid. I’m also really excited about some of the other newer content that we have that is available in digital format. I’ve been able to get stuff like Big Trouble in Little China, Brian De Palma’s Phantom of
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the Paradise, Michael Mann’s Thief – stuff that doesn’t get screened very often.” On the topic of rare screenings, the survival of the Astor Theatre will be celebrated with a red carpet gala event on Thursday June 25, which includes a premiere screening of director Gillian Armstrong’s new documentary, Women He’s Undressed, followed by a party in the building’s opulent foyer. “We really wanted to have people in, watch a film inside the single screen auditorium and then come out and have a chat about it,” Hepburn says. “There’ll be some food and drinks and live music. It’s just a really great way for patrons to re-establish their connection with the location.” Armstrong, a Melbourne local, will appear at the gala to introduce the film, which takes a look at the career of the under-appreciated Australian costume designer Orry-Kelly. Kelly was a prominent Hollywood designer in the mid-20th century, dressing the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis and Ingrid Bergman. In tribute to Orry-Kelly’s career, the Astor’s forthcoming film program will showcase plenty of his handiwork. “[We’re showing films like] Maltese Falcon, Arsenic and Old Lace, Casablanca,” Hepburn says. “That’s one of the strands the program hinges off, along with it being an ode to classic Hollywood and classic picture palaces.” The nature of Women He’s Undressed – that is, a new film that addresses classic cinema – aptly reflects the underlying ethos of the Astor Theatre. It’s not uncommon to feel as though looking backwards is a form of regression. Of course, if you’re too focused on the past, you’ll never get anywhere. But it’s important that we’re informed about our cultural history in order to frame our present thoughts and progress into the future. “[Women He’s Undressed] is a really great statement on what we want to achieve here and the sort of films we want to celebrate,” Hepburn says. “It acknowledges some amazing works of cinema, but also is a new look on things. That’s a fantastic match to how we want to continue the operations of the theatre.”
The Astor Theatre, which is one of the last remaining single-screen theatres in the southern hemisphere, will re-open to the public on Sunday June 7 with the red carpet gala event for Women He’s Undressed following on Thursday June 25. Furthermore, The Astor’s new calendar will be revealed on Thursday May 21.
This Week:
With Tyson Wray. Got thoughts, news, gossip, complaints or cat photos? Email tyson@beat.com.au or send by carrier pigeon before Friday 12pm. Flat Daddy
This week Elijah Moshinsky returns to Opera Australia with his lavish production of Don Carlos, a sumptuous affair, rich in detail like a Velázquez painting. Light gleams off dark marble monuments and the terror of the Spanish inquisition is captured in a stage beset with shadows. Verdi’s music masterfully controls the twisting and turning story. Vivid orchestral colours and affecting melodies manipulate his audience to devastating effect: we love, we hate, we turn and sympathise as each note reveals a little more of these complex, charismatic characters. The opera is testament to Verdi’s ability to create light and dark in a single moment, and to sing it, you need a huge cast of extraordinary performers. Leading the cast of 17 principal singers is Ferruccio Furlanetto, the most famous Philip II of our time, who recently sang the role in New York, London and Vienna. It will be performed at Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre, from Wednesday May 20 - Friday May 29. ACMI will celebrate acclaimed cult director Lukas Moodysson with a special spotlight season titled Lukas Moodysson on Film. The season will feature four films from the Swedish director, beginning with his smash-hit, We Are the Best!, which follows a trio of teens as they endure the trials of adolescence in the ‘80s. Other films include dark fable Lilya 4-Ever, comedy Together and 1999’s teen drama Show Me Love. Lukas Moodysson on Film will screen from Friday May 22 to Tuesday May 26. The latest production to come to the Malthouse Theatre, A Singular Phenomenon will explore one of Australia’s most loved and loathed cultural icons. Like a massive game of 20 questions, A Singular Phenomenon will delve into the inner world of a particular song that has been translated into 40 languages, been stolen by Sir Elton John and allegedly been used by the US as a means of psychological warfare. Any guesses? Created by Lara Thoms with Aaron Orzech and Liz Dunn, performers include the La Voce della Luna choir, Lin Van Hek and Shian Law. A Singular Phenomenon will run from Thursday May 21 Sunday May 23.
PICK OF THE WEEK The St Kilda Film Festival is back for its 32nd year. One of Australia’s longest-standing and publicly owned short film festivals, this year’s event will feature 100 of the country’s top short films, music videos, archival screenings, youth programs and more. Some of the highlights include grandpa-grandson flick Imagination Game; Flat Daddy, the story of the effect a lifesize cut-out of a military officer dad has on his family; Melma, the true story of Metalicus founder Melma Hamersfield; and Jack’s Promise, a narrative of a man trying to make it all work. Along with the film program, the festival will also play host to SoundKILDA, showing off the best music videos of local and international musicians created by some of the country’s most talented filmmakers. Guy Pearce, Client Liason, Bob Dylan and Courtney Barnett will all hit the big screen this year. Other events within the festival include two archival programs, a showcase of films celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers, a filmmaker development series and a competition for filmmakers under 21. St Kilda Film Festival will run from Thursday May 21 to Saturday May 30.
St Kilda Film Festival By Liza Dezfouli
Beat has a chat to Paul Harris, long time Director of the St Kilda Film Festival, about this year’s top 100 short Australian films. As well as the Australian content and specific programs screening genre films, this year the St Kilda Film Festival partners with Palm Springs International ShortFest to present four programs of films from their festival’s last two years of screenings of films from around the world, an initiative that came about after the Palm Springs Festival Director, Darryl McDonald, was a guest of the St Kilda Film Festival last year. The venue this year is the St Kilda Town Hall rather than its traditional home at The Astor, which has recently changed hands. Seating from an old cinema from the 1930s will be brought into the Town Hall to help create the atmosphere of a vintage cinematic experience. For Harris, the thrill of cinema hasn’t faded. “You sit down, the lights dim, the curtains open and you get that sense of keen anticipation, the eagerness, and the sense of excitement,” he says. “We’ve been going since 1983.The St Kilda Film Festival is Australia’s premier short film festival. We’re purely about Australian shorts. We’ve helped establish the career of several filmmakers – to be screened in this festival helps them in their future career; it plays an important role. We don’t rival the other film festivals, we complement them. We’ve got a huge field of films to choose from. We had 600 entries. We’ve started putting together a program of Melbourne themed films, we’ve got documentary, horror, animation, comedy – we screen them all as part of the top 100. A lot of our films are government funded, or out of film schools. Some of the documentaries, for example, might be technically crude, roughly put together; they may be films that may not make it into the more competitive film festivals.” Do films have to be exclusive to the St Kilda Film Festival in the same way as they do for MIFF, for example? “We don’t compete with other film festivals,” Harris says. “Look at Sundance! They don’t have that rule. We take the view that exposure is oxygen for a film, the more, the better.” While on the subject of the Sundance Film Festival, Dilcia Barrera, the short film programmer at Sundance will be a guest at this year’s St Kilda Film Festival; a singular opportunity for local filmmakers to talk to her and learn about how to get their films noticed internationally. Has Harris noticed any trends amongst the coming his way? “This year there’s lots of horror, a lot more people are making horror films, and we’re seeing lots of films with a horror theme. We have a horror feature,
RE-OPENING
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Shock Value, a feature length anthology from the archives from the University of Southern California, films made by horror writers in the ‘60s before they became famous, people like John Carpenter, from the original modern slasher/zombie filmmakers like Dan O’Bannon (of Alien and Total Recall), and John Carpenter (of Halloween, Escape from New York). They’re not on YouTube, they’re not on DVD; you don’t see them anywhere else. Here you get a chance to see them on the big screen.”
Imagination Game One treat is The Go Show: the premiere screening of a restoration of an episode of a British TV program from the ‘60s. Episode #117 features star of the day Crispian St Peters along with The Strangers, The Mixture and Normie Rowe. The ads from the time have been kept in for the sake of nostalgia. Melma is a documentary
about local artist and designer Melma Hamersfeld who founded the label Metalicus. Flat Daddy, directed by Matt Holcomb and starring Kat Stewart, deals with absent father issues, and Imagination Game tests a grandfather’s patience with an imaginative grandson. Does Harris think any of the film schools are producing particularly strong films? “The films coming out of the VCA are very strong at the moment. There’s a great diversity coming out of that school. But what I tell filmmakers is, don’t worry if you haven’t been to film school. Young filmmakers tend to be autobiographical in nature: coming of age stories about sexuality, the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It’s like the first novel, their strongly autobiographical. We live in a media saturated landscape. These days you really have to stand out from the pack. Short films are everywhere, in bars, on phones, on iTunes, all these new technologies, on cable. My advice to any young filmmaker is to make a short film, not a feature trapped in the body of a short film. The shorter, the better. Be economical in storytelling. I liken it to trench warfare – you’re hiding in the trenches, it’s like a commando style battle, you race out, make an impact, and then you get back in the trench before the opposing forces realise what you’ve done. With short films you can make mistakes, make as many mistakes as you like, craft your storytelling skills; it doesn’t matter. If you make mistakes at the feature film level you don’t get asked back.” St Kilda Film Festival will run from Thursday May 21 to Saturday May 30. To view the full program and to purchase tickets, visit stkildafilmfestival.com.au.
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS AU premiere restored 4K | 7.00PM THE MISFITS AU premiere restored 2K 7:30PM GET CARTER + POINT BLACK 35MM DOUBLE FEATURE 7:30PM BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT 7:30PM THE GOONIES + BEETLEJUICE 35MM DOUBLE FEATURE TH 7:30PM THE IPCRESS FILE (50 ANN.) + THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE 6.15PM WOMEN HE S UNDRESSED PREMIERE & OFFICIAL OPENING NIGHT PARTY 1.30PM
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THE COMIC STRIP CRAB LAB For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au
Luke McGregor, fresh from winning a Logie, is at Crab Lab tonight. Plus there’s recent MICF award winner Corey White, Matt Dyktynski, Michael Chamberlin, Ben Lomas and more, and it’s absolutely free. Doors at 7.30pm for an 8.30pm start at the House of Maximon, 16 Corrs Ln, CBD.
PORTLAND HOTEL COMEDY
Love and Information The experimental production written by Caryl Churchill will find eight of Australia’s leading actors rehearsing for a national premiere, without knowing what parts they will play beforehand. Love and Information is considered one of Churchill’s finest works. The play explores the way individuals connect with and understand one another, through the daily struggles and interactions that comprise life. Featuring 60 stand-alone scenes and more than 100 characters, the cast includes talented Australians including Anita Hegh (Stingers), Alison Whyte (Frontline), Ursula Yovich (Redfern Now) and Harry Greenwood (Gallipoli). Love and Information will run from Friday June 12 to Saturday July 4 at the Malthouse Theatre.
Cinderella
The belle of the ball will return to Melbourne when The Australian Ballet presents Cinderella this winter. Created in 2013 by one of the world’s most sought after choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky, the award-winning show has gone on to become one of the company’s landmark ballets and sold out seasons in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. The classic tale of two unlikely lovers will make its international debut in Shanghai following this winter’s season. Cinderella will run from Friday June 19 to Saturday June 27 at Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre.
Last Orders!
Riot
The National Institute of Circus Arts will present its new show Last Orders! with 2015’s graduating class. The students will have the chance to showcase their talents as they take on the role of waiters. To satisfy their customers, the 16 artists will perform acts specially selected from the menu and made to order. Last Orders! will run from Thursday June 11 to Saturday June 20 at the NICA National Circus Centre.
The Owl and Cat Theatre will present its provocative new production, Riot, this June. Written and directed by the theatre’s new artistic directors, Gabrielle Savrone and Thomas Ian Doyle, the play explores the depths of what we’re capable of and whether our cruelty can be redeemed. Riot will play at The Owl and Cat Theatre from Monday June 1 to Sunday June 14.
Coming Up Semaphore
Wednesday May 27 - Sunday May 31 Arts House
North By Northwest
Monday June 1 - Saturday June 20 Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse
The Dream
Thursday June 4 - Saturday June 13 Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre
Love, Love, Love
Friday June 5 - Saturday July 4 Red Stitch Actors Theatre
Birdland
Saturday June 6 - Saturday July 11 Southbank Theatre, The Sumner
Retro Futurismus
Wednesday June 10 - Sunday June 28 fortyfivedownstairs
But Wait... There’s More
Wednesday June 17 - Sunday July 12 Circus Oz Big Top, Birrarung Marr
Melbourne Cabaret Festival Thursday June 18 - Sunday June 28 Various Venues
Dylan Moran
Monday July 27 - Saturday August 1 Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre
MSO: Back To The Future Live In Concert Friday November 6 - Saturday November 7 The Plenary
Early Burly Miss Adelaide Everheart will showcase a bevy of bold women in a vaudevillian variety show when she presents Early Burly later this month. Dolores Daiquiri, Elena Gabrielle, Miss Katie Bombshell and Miss Adelaide Everheart herself will sprinkle songs and satire throughout the evening of burlesque, circus and cabaret. The Butterfly Club will host Early Burly on Friday May 29.
Colour Sensation: The Works of Melinda Harper The Heide Museum of Modern Art will hold the first major museum exhibition for abstract artist Melinda Harper’s work. The exhibition will feature a wide body of Harper’s work, who is acclaimed for her vibrant colour relationships and geometric paintings. For the first time, a collection of Harper’s drawings, collages, photography and embroidery will also be on display. Colour Sensation: The Works of Melinda Harper will be held from Saturday June 27 at the Heide Museum of Modern Art.
Russian National Ballet Theatre
The Russian National Ballet Theatre will return to our shores to perform two of their most loved productions, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. When they first performed Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake to St. Petersburg audiences in the 19th century, they acted as a manifesto for the Russian Imperial style. To this day, they still acts as cornerstones of the classical repertoire. The current reiteration is directed by Evgeny Amosov and aims to preserve their world renowned history while searching for new forms of choreography. Catch the Russian National Ballet Theatre when they perform at the Australian National Theatre on Sunday November 8.
Essential Bergman: Selected by David Stratton ACMI have announced a retrospective season of works by Swedish master filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, curated by David Stratton. Essential Bergman: Selected by David Stratton will showcase ten handpicked films by Ingmar Bergman, featuring some of cinemas most important and iconic titles. The screenings will include renowned films such as The Seventh Seal, Persona, Wild Strawberries and Cries and Whispers. Essential Bergman will run from Thursday June 11 to Sunday June 28 at ACMI.
Jimeoin headlines Portland Hotel Comedy this Thursday. He’s a legend, and arguably still the biggest drawcard in Australian comedy, plus Tom Ballard hosts. That’s two headliners for the price of one. Plus more guests like Karl Chandler, Karl Woodberry and Corey White. Last week they sold out, so get in early. It’s all happening this Thursday May 21 at 8.30pm, at Portland Hotel Comedy, 127 Russell St (upstairs), CBD, all for only $12.
COMEDY AT SPLEEN Mondays at Comedy at Spleen continue to pack out, and it’ll be full yet again this Monday with Geraldine Hickey hosting, plus guests like Josh Earl, Harley Breen, Ben Lomas, Chimp Cop, Nat Harris and more. It’s this Monday May 25, at 41 Bourke St, CBD, at 8.30pm. It’s free to get in, but they appreciate a good gold coin donation at the door.
COMEDY AT THE WILDE Tuesday night at The Wilde some of Melbourne’s best young comedians join with sign up on the night open mic acts for one of the loosest nights in town. 2015 MICF Best Newcomer winner Corey White joins guest MC Timothy Clark and more this week for another big, fun night of comedy. It’s on this Tuesday May 26 at 153 Gertrude St, Fitzroy, at 8pm. And, it’s totally free.
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Step into the booth. Check your judgments at the curtain. Close your eyes. Listen: you can hear the voices of the visitors who sat here before you: some of the most twisted, drug-addled, deviant, lonely, lost, brilliant characters ever to be caught on film. What do you have to offer the booth?
Traditional psychotherapy seeks to unburden the unconscious mind purely through talk and discussion. Psychomagic recognizes that it is difficult to reach the unconscious with rational thought. We should instead speak directly to the unconscious in its own language, that of dreams, poetry, and symbolic acts. By interacting on this deeper level, we can initiate quicker and more enduring change to resolve repressed childhood trauma, express buried emotions, and overcome deep-seated intimacy issues. Through the lens of psychomagic, illness can be seen as the physical dream of the unconscious, revealing unresolved issues, some passed from generation to generation. In this workbook of psychomagical spells, legendary filmmaker and creator of psychomagic Alejandro Jodorowsky provides several hundred successful psychomagic solutions for a wide range of psychological, sexual, emotional, and physical problems from stuttering, eczema, and fear of failure to repressed rage, hereditary illnesses, and domineering parents. Each solution takes the same elements associated with a negative emotional charge and recasts them into a series of theatrical symbolic actions that enable one to pay the psychological debts hindering their lives. Jodorowsky explains how the surreal acts of psychomagic are intended to break apart the dysfunctional persona with whom the patient identifies in order to connect with a deeper, more authentic self. As he says in the book, “Health only finds itself in the authentic. There is no beauty without authenticity.”
seven nights with AyAhuAscA: A grAPhic Account of heAven AnD hell AnD the BizArre infinity in Between, nicholAs floyD, $19.95
Secluded in the depths of the Peruvian Amazon, Nicholas Floyd plunges headfirst into the ancient shamanic ritual of ingesting Ayahuasca, a medicinal and extremely potent hallucinogenic brew that thrusts him into a profound introspective journey of unbridled euphoria, unbearable anguish, unsettling imagery, and unexpected epiphanies. Brutal and heart-wrenching visions force him to confront himself for the first time in his life, and he emerges from the emotional crucible as a man reformed in ways that he never predicted. Seven Nights with Ayahuasca is the graphic firsthand narrative of one man’s life-changing Ayahuasca visions, written in precise language devoid of the vague analogies and cryptic spiritual lingo that often saturate such accounts of Ayahuasca. In this gripping and phantasmagorical expedition of the mind — easily accessible regardless of one’s experience with hallucinogens — Floyd vividly details both the Ayahuasca intoxication itself, as well as the incredible therapeutic potential thereof.
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A facsimile edition of one of the “classic” photography books. Elsken focuses on the Left Bank of Paris in the 1950s--a time when it was recognised as a centre of creative ferment which would determine the cultural agenda of a generation. With its unconventional, gritty, snapshot-like technique the work has been acclaimed as expanding the boundaries of documentary photography. Drawing upon 15 years of profound research, Articulations is an illuminating inquiry into the many different plants and compounds available in the modern day, conducive ‘mindsets’ and understandings regarding how psychedelics can be most constructively utilised. Articulations presents an uncompromising and clear analysis of the psychedelic state, intricately exploring the origins of the visions, the nature of the beings, and how authentic healing can most effectively proceed through the conscious use of psychedelics.”
Art of metAl: five DecADes of heAvy metAl AlBum covers, Posters, t-shirts AnD more, mAlcolm Dome, $49.95
Since the late 1960s, the imagery of the heavy metal genre has been closely connected with the music itself. Classic albums evoke memories of famous cover artwork; metal bands have become forever synonymous with their iconic logos; and landmark live shows have led to instantly recognizable gig posters that embody the time, place, and passion of the events. It’s even possible to trace the genre’s evolution by examining a continuum of its art. In “The Art of Metal,” renowned music journalist Malcolm Dome offers a beautifully presented chronological collection of the colorful, outlandish, and sophisticated album covers, posters, T-shirts, and more that span decades of heavy metal music. More than 400 gorgeously reproduced works of art are complemented by in-depth features, including quotes from the graphic artists and musicians responsible for them. Dome also spotlights the metal genre’s most influential artists and photographers and delves into other topics that include metal merch, magazines, fashion, and tattoos. In the process, “The Art of Metal” illustrates and explores the close-knit relationship between those timeless riffs that thunder from Marshall stacks and the images that have come to represent the songs, anthems, and sheer nature of headbanger culture--a must for any true thrasher’s bookshelf.
check out our weBstore: Polyester.com.Au FREE AustRAliA-widE shipping.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 25
For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au
NED
By Matt Cameron-Rogers
The legend of Ned Kelly will spring to life at Bendigo’s Ulumbarra theatre in this exhilarating new Australian musical from the creative talents of composer Adam Lyon (King Kong the Musical – Global Creatures) and director Gary Young (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon – Cameron MacKintosh Organisation, Australia). Step into the state of the art halls of the Ulumbarra Theatre and be transported back in time to country Victoria in the late 1800s, and the events that would forever shape our ideas of Australian history and identity.
ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL CALENDAR
Built within the walls of the old Sandhurst Gaol, the Ulumbarra Theatre provides a profound and eerie setting for this production about one of Australia’s most notorious and celebrated criminals. As you pass the iron cell doors and still visible gallows and into the performance hall – to be honest – it’s hard to imagine a more perfect venue. NED tells the story of a boy, born into poverty in country Victoria growing up in an ordinary Irish immigrant family, who plays witness to the abuse laid down upon such folk by men in uniform. The son of a convict, Ned sees how hard his mother must work and struggle to keep their family together in the face of such adversity. Fortunes sour further after the death of his father, as Ned is forced to take charge of the house as a boy aged 12. Spiraling from his first arrest to serving time in Pentridge at 16, Ned finds himself on the run with his gang from the police when his mother is falsely accused of attempting to murder a police officer, and begins plotting vengeance. NED masterfully explores how this man was made – his family, friends, the society and events that shaped both Ned and his legend. Through its hauntingly beautiful melodies, raucous humour and a driving All screenings excluding Opening Night are held at orchestral score, the production shows us why we St KildaTown Hall Cnr Brighton Rd and Carlisle St. should care about a criminal from a century long past, Visit stkildafilmfestival.com.au for full program details. and why we celebrate him even now. The production itself is very much grounded in central TICKETS Victorian earth, with many of the creative team behind production having grown up locally before launching $18 Full/$15 Concession into successful careers. (excluding Opening Night, Youth Programs & SoundKILDA) The show’s star, Nelson Gardner, certainly provides Tickets available through one such stellar example. A Bendigo boy and graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts Bachelor of #STKILDAFILMFEST | STKILDAFILMFESTIVAL.COM.AU Music Theatre course, Gardner has long been a part of NED’s developmental process along with the production’s book writers Anne Lyon and Marc MONDAY 25 MAY GENRE TIME McIntyre. Drawing on past experience working with Special Event: Music 7.30pm the Australian Shakespeare Company, Gardner’s Let’s Go!! Back To The 60s powerful performance gives life to a complex and morally ambiguous Ned. TUESDAY 26 MAY GENRE TIME The detailed costumes from award winning Emily Special Event: Indigenous 6pm Barrie will transport you back in time – including
21- 30 MAY 2015
THURSDAY 21 MAY
GENRE
TIME
Opening Night
Variety
7.30pm
FRIDAY 22 MAY
GENRE
TIME
Australia’s Top 100 Session 1: A Mixed Bag
Variety
6.15pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 2: A Mixed Bag
Variety
8.15pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 3: Laugh Out Loud
Comedy
10pm
SATURDAY 23 MAY
GENRE
TIME
Films For The Whole Family Children under 15 FREE
Family/ Animation
Opening Night Encore (Captioned)
Variety
Palm Springs Int’l ShortFest: Animation Showcase
Animation
Australia’s Top 100 Session 4: A Mixed Bag
Variety
5.45pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 5: Mysteries! Thrillers! Horror!
Horror/ Fantasy
7.30pm
Special Event: Shock Value
Horror
9.30pm
SUNDAY 24 MAY
GENRE
Palm Springs Int’l ShortFest: Jewish Showcase
Australia’s Top 100 Short Films
Blacks To The Front
Special Event: Timor Leste: We As People
East Timor
8pm
WEDNESDAY 27 MAY
GENRE
TIME
Youth Program: Under The Radar (Free Event)
Variety
6pm
12.30pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 8: Coming Of Age
Drama/ Comedy
8pm
2.15pm
THURSDAY 28 MAY
GENRE
TIME
Youth Program: Variety Armed & Dangerous (Free Event)
1.30pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 9: Shorts Starring Melbourne
Variety
6.30pm
SoundKILDA
Music
8.30pm
FRIDAY 29 MAY
GENRE
TIME
Australia’s Top 100 Session 10: Docos To Feed The Mind
Documentary
6.30pm
TIME
Australia’s Top 100 Session 11: A Mixed Bag
Variety
8.15pm
Jewish
2pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 12: Late Night Shorts
Drama/ Comedy
10pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 6: LGBT Screening
LGBT
4pm
SATURDAY 30 MAY
GENRE
TIME
Drama
2pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 7: A Mixed Bag
Variety
5.45pm
Australia’s Top 100 Session 13: Relationships Australia’s Top 100 Session 14: A Mixed Bag
Variety
3.45pm
Palm Springs Int’l Shortfest: Thriller Showcase
Thriller
7.30pm
Palm Springs Int’l Shortfest: LGBT Showcase
LGBT
5.30pm
Produced by
Government Partners
4pm
Major Partner
The St Kilda Film Festival acknowledges the financial assistance of Screen Australia and Film Victoria.
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
Ned’s iconic suit of armor – and the Broadwayinspired choreography of rising star Michael Ralph are sure to captivate and immerse you in this formative period of Victoria’s history while the music carries you along for the ride. It’s also the music that grabs you with this production. Adam Lyon masterfully uses orchestra scores to draw you in to Ned’s world. A graduate from the VCA Bachelor of Music, Lyon trades in recent onstage success starring in the 2013 King Kong the Musical to collaborate with music-director Loclan MacKenzieSpencer. A Bendigo local, MacKenzie-Spencer has had his compositions performed as far away as Poland, Denmark and Portugal, with assistant-director credits on the recent Australian production of Wicked. Finally, it takes a formidable director to bring such talent together, and Gary Young has more than stepped up to the task. With recent directing credits including the acclaimed jubilee production of Mouse Trap, Young brings a deft and experienced hand to NED, along with a vibrant history in musical theatre – from the 2010 production of Mamma Mia to Les Miserables and Miss Saigon. NED is also the first foray of Young’s production company Groaning Dam into theatre production, and certainly delivers on its commitment to create and produce fresh and uniquely Australian musical theatre. NED is a must see for fans of Australian musical theatre, and there could be no more perfect place to see it than surrounded by history in the Ulumbarra Theatre. NED will be performed at Ulumbarra Theatre, Gaol Road, Bendigo, from Friday May 22 until Sunday May 31. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 26
For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au
Theatre Review: Double Feature
Theatre Review: Endings
MKA’s Double Feature kicks off the MTC NEON season with a bang. Consisting of two shows (Lucky, written by Tobias Manderson-Galvin and directed by John Kachoyan, and Lord Willing and The Creek Don’t Rise, written by Morgan Rose and directed by Kat Henry), the two pieces explore two worlds set in damaged landscapes – colonial Australia (Lucky) and New Orleans, post-Hurricane Katrina (Lord Willing). Both pieces examine the nature of human relationships and how they can affect us for years to come. In Lucky, we are introduced to three characters who are escaping their captors. Interspersed with current references to Australia’s current political landscape, a preacher, a convict woman and an Aboriginal man have banded together to try and escape the current hell they are in. Meanwhile, Lord Willing takes us to postHurricane Katrina and explores the devastation of the event and how it has affected the town, as inspired by real-life events at the time. Rose’s Lord Willing is the strongest of the pair. As the central figure Earl, Kevin Kiernan-Malloy is electrifying in his performance and his breakdown over the course of the show is powerful to watch, while Jan Friedl is also a treat to watch as a
Endings is a haunting arrangement of recorded interviews, live music and performance all revolving around the premise of death and the loss felt by those the dead leave behind. Created by Tamara Saulwick, this multi-disciplined experience brings on recorded recollections of loss and meetings with mediums to weave together a truly rare piece of theatre. It’s a slight mystery to consider how Saulwick and her team manage to connect all of these elements. Vinyl recordings, tape loops, electronic and acoustic music, performance and an intricate lighting system all just meld together in seamless symphony. It is like an hour spent in someone else’s dream. Although there are recorded experiences spoken by anonymous voices, Endings feels like you are freefalling in Saulwick’s own understanding and experience of loss. While the electronic rhythms give way to an entrancing element of the show, it is Paddy Mann (Grand Salvo) whose presence casts an unexpected light onto the play. Every now and then, Mann’s soft voice and acoustic guitar echoes from beneath a spotlight and adds a layer of warmth over the cold experiences of death. The sensation that builds in a performance of
faded southern belle. While the cast of Lucky are impressive, especially Johnny Carr and Devon Lang-Wilton, and work well with the material, the rawness and brutality of Lord Willing overpowers the first piece and leaves the audience with a bleak, confronting and thought-provoking ending. Double Feature is a fascinating exploration into the Australian gothic modes of storytelling and is a great example of how we need to continue to nurture and support new talent in all areas of theatre-making. BY MYF CLARK
Saulwick’s is pretty near ineffable. There is a desire to bandy around stirring adjectives but there is no doubt they will fall short in doing Saulwick any justice. She is a powerhouse when it comes to breaking through human layers, extracting the personal considerations we have and using them to concoct a tingling performance that finishes with you feeling slightly stunned. As her work Pin Drop did before it, Endings leaves you in a state of goose bumps and awe. Tamara Saulwick is an eerie force of theatric experience, one that should be experienced first hand to fully appreciate it. BY LAURA MAIN
BERNZERK PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
An immersive, experiential theatre event that explodes into a celebration of the erotic woman!
12 MAY to 7 JUNE END TO END BUILDING REAR OF 48 EASEY STREET, COLLINGWOOD (ENTRY VIA BUDD ST.) TICKETS: www.ticketek.com.au AND www.livingmuseumoew.com.au
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 27
OUT OF THE CLOSET
Queer happenings around town with Anna Whitelaw.
House of Ladosha Miley Cyrus
Last week, when at a press junket amidst the madness of Cannes Film Festival, Cate Blanchett was asked by a reporter from Variety whether she drew inspiration for her portrayal of a lesbian love affair in the upcoming Carol from relationships with women in real life, Blanchett reportedly responded: “Yes. Many times”. For a split second the reporter must have thought they’d landed quite a scoop and the media was immediately aflutter with the idea that our Blanchett, who has been married for 18 years to theatre director husband Andrew Upton and is a mother of three children, might have dabbled in her own Sapphic encounters. A few days later, Blanchett put the matter quickly to bed when she clarified that she hasn’t in fact dated women in the past, and claimed she was misquoted. But she instead shot back that the question was irrelevant. “In 2015, the point should be: who cares?” The film itself is based on a 1952 novel written called The Price of Salt by lesbian author Patricia Highsmith, who wrote the potboiler about a Manhattan housewife and a department store shopgirl in 1950s New York who have a forbidden and clandestine lesbian love affair. At the time, it was one of the own lesbian novels with a happy ending, but the author penned the novel under a pseudonym for fear of being outed. The film version named Carol, directed by Todd Haynes, and starring Blanchett as the housewife opposite Rooney Mara as the shop assistant took
more than a decade to reach the screen, and the screenwriter Phyllis Nagy credits the film finally getting made as a sign of progress. The film has been met with resounding critical acclaim, showered with five-star reviews and critics consider the film to be the frontrunner for the Palme D’Or, and Blanchett a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination. Miley Cyrus also this month outed herself as “not straight” when she announced her charity work with LGBT and homeless youth. She wasn’t willing to label herself as bisexual, or gay, but acknowledged she’d had relationships with both men and women and is not happily single. Elsewhere, in the world, In the tiny sovereign city of Luxembourg, the openly gay Prime Minister married his partner in a civil ceremony, and a Tasmanian woman had her dying wish to marry her long-time partner granted. Tasmanian couple Lee Bransden and Sandra Yates were married in New Zealand over the weekend after a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe raised more than $11,000 for their nuptials. The couple were desperate to get married in New Zealand, as Lee has a terminal illness and has only a few weeks to live and couldn’t wait for Australia to get around to finally changing our marriage laws. Thankfully, more than 270 people – many of them strangers – donated to the campaign set up by Australians for Marriage Equality – to help pay for the pair to make it down the aisle.
On Saturday May 30, Grouse is teaming up with the House of Mince and Contrary to bring NYC act House of Ladosha to the John Curtin Hotel for the second time. The gender-bending hip hop collective will perform their only Vivid sideshow, and will be joined with Chela before she returns to LA, and DJs Sveta, Fletch and Sov Trax. On Sunday June 7, the Queen’s Birthday Eve is bringing out all the queens from both sides of the river. Sundaylicious with be throwing their annual Sunday day-to-night party starting at 3pm, but this one will be running until late at the Long Room, 162-168 Collins Street, CBD. Entry is free, and all LGBT people are welcome. DJs Jason Conti, Mike Evans, KDJ and John Knap are on the decks, and as usual the place will be packed with gay girls and their friends of all ages. Swagger are throwing an All Hail the Queens party for
all the gays who like to twerk to R&B. Their Sunday party kicks off from 11pm till late at The Bottom End, 579 Little Bourke Street, CBD. Tickets are $10 online, or $15 on the door, with a discount for students. And of course, YASS QWEEN! is taking over the whole of Roxanne Parlour and Charltons. Along with a huge DJ lineup across both floors headlined by Total Giovanni doing a DJ set, YASS QWEEN! will also feature Karaoke Qween, a karaoke competition hosted by Karen From Finance, and a host of performers and dancers. Early birds are sold out, and first release are selling fast. Got tip offs, praise, complaints or cat photos? Email closetpartymelbourne@gmail.com to be included in this column.
News Bites. The Lincoln
The Lincoln is hosting a Sunday lunch and beer series. On Sunday May 31 they will welcome the phenomenal Stefano De Pieri, of Mildura Brewery and Stefano’s Restaurant, to the venue to present a four course Italian themed lunch that will be matched with beer (wine is optional). De Pieri, being of Italian background, has a strong affinity for Carlton and calls it his home away from home. The lunch is $80 per person, and bookings are essential. It starts at 1pm. For bookings call 9347 4666.
Huxtaburger
Huxtaburger #4 opened in Hawthorn last Friday. Hawthorn Huxtaburger will be the first for Melbourne’s rastern suburbs, and is placed within the beautifully restored Lido Cinema Centre. Chef Daniel Wilson has observed the evolution of Glenferrie Road over the last few years, and is confident that Hawthorn is the right location for the fourth instalment of the popular burger brand. Burgers, burgers everywhere!
L’Hotel Gitan
L’Hotel Gitan have begun serving fantastic savoury crêpes as a daily special in an ode to France. With a modern twist and nod to today’s dietary restraints, the crêpes are made with buckwheat flour so they are gluten free (you legends), and have vegetarian and meat options. Some of the delicious fillings are braised beef, celeriac and mustard vinaigrette or butternut pumpkin, julienne carrot, beans and sauce béchamel. Owner operator Antoine Reymond notes, “Crêpes are not just for breakfast or late-night snacking, but also fantastic for lunch, much like another French classic, the quiche.” L’Hôtel Gitan invites you to come in and try a crêpe for lunch, and let Sommelier, Edouard Reymond recommend a well-suited wine to accompany. The crêpes fillings change regularly to reflect seasonality and the best available produce. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 28
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
Surely Not Surely
There are some new kids on the block in the podcast scene, Luke and Jon from Surely Not Surely. Each week the boys drink a bottle or more of wine and answer anonymously submitted questions. This week they throw back some Le Chat Noir, and they give equal parts advice and ridicule. It is brutal and hilarious; Goes well with a woody Shiraz, and a deep sense of regret. Listen in to find out the answers to your burning shameful questions and which wines make you too honest. facebook.com/surelynotsurely.
off the record
electronic + urban + club life
snaps khokolat koated
wednesday may 20 MIDWEEK SHAKA - FEAT: 6AM AT THE GARAGE + LOOSE JOINTS + SPIN CLUB Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 7:45pm.
friday may 22 #MASHTAG - FEAT: NU-GEN + MALPRACTICE + FLAGRANT Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. BATTLESICK + ASYLUM SISTERS + ITSOKMAN + SEASLOTH Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $5.00. BDOH009 RELEASE PARTY - FEAT: SLEEP D + DAZE + DYLAN B Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne. 10:00pm. BUCKLEY’S CHANCE - FEAT: LEWIS FIDOCK & ANDRAS FOX Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. CAN’T SAY Platform One, Melbourne. 9:00pm. CHEEKY TIKI FRIDAYS La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 5:00pm. $20.00. CIROQ FRIDAYS Cq, Melbourne
Cbd. 8:00pm. DARKBEAT - FEAT: CLARIAN Railway Hotel, South Melbourne. 8:00pm. $15.00. 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. GARBAGE PARTY #3 + GARBAGE + ELISABETH DIXSON + I.O.U + D[JGRBAGE + SPIN CLUB + FUNGLE CLUB + L.I.A.M. Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. HERBERT + EDD FISHER + RICHARD CAMPBELL & DECLAN KELLY + KEN CLOUD Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 9:00pm. $49.00. JOEL Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown. 9:00pm. MODULATE - FEAT: MICHAEL RICCI + SUNDELIN + JUXTPOSE Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. MUSE FRIDAYS La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH FEAT: GRANT CAMOV + PAUL JAGER Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. OMG FRIDAYS Seven Nightclub, South Melbourne. 10:00pm. $20.00. PANORAMA FRIDAYS UPSTAIRS - FEAT: PHATO A MANO + MR.GEORGE + MATT RADD + ASH-LEE Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. POPROCKS AT THE TOFF FEAT: DR PHIL SMITH Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. REVOLVER FRIDAYS & MAMA SAID - FEAT: MIKE CALLANDER + ISAAC FRYER + BRENDAN RUYS + MIKE BUHL + DJ WHO + DOAKES + JACK LOVE + LUCILLE CROFT + NICK COLEMAN + PETE LARGE + SOPHIA SIN + WE’RE DEUX Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm. THE EMERSON CLUB FRIDAYS The Emerson, South Yarra. 3:00pm. THE RETURN OF THE NIGHT - FEAT: BOOG$ + STEVE WARD + ISAAC FRYAR + LOVE HOTEL DISTRICT + RORY
MARSHALL + MARK SCHOTT + MATTHEW FISHER + BLAKE! + JAY MUGELLI + EEMUS & SEEDY JAZZ + ANDREW NORTHOVER + CHIPS + TOM GRANT New Guernica, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. ZANZIBAR CHANNEL Little & Olver, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. $15.00.
saturday may 23 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. BOOGIE BEATS FIRST BIRTHDAY - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Brown Alley, Melbourne Cbd. 2:00pm. $10.00. CQ SATURDAYS Cq, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. CUSHION SATURDAYS Cushion, St Kilda. 9:00pm. DAVEYS SATURDAYS - FEAT: SUPERFLY DJS + SAMMY DRED Daveys Bar & Restaurant, Frankston. 8:00pm. $10.00. DIAL UP - FEAT: RAW WAX/CC: DISCO + LAIKA + CLEVERHANDS + BBD The Mercat, Melbourne. 10:00pm. E L I Z A B A N D + HOW AT THE MOON + THE WONDER Dane Certificate’s Magic Tricks, Gags & Theatre, Brunswick. 9:00pm. $10.00. ELECTRIC DREAMS Co., Southbank. 8:00pm. $20.00. GEARDY Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown. 9:00pm. HOT STEP - FEAT: 99 PROBLEMS + TIGER FUNK + SILVER FOX + ASKEW Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. IN THE CARRIAGE - FEAT: JNETT Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm. LOOSE JOINTS - FEAT: JEFF JACKSON Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm. LOST WEEKEND - FEAT: AMIR ALEXANDER + BRYCE LARENCE + MYLES MAC + JIMMY CAUTION + CC:DISCO + PROXYCONTIN + ANDEE FROST Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. LQ SATURDAYS - FEAT: DJ CASPER + DJ TPC + DJ PATO + DJ SHAGGZ + DJ MATT CROSS Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 10:00pm. MANIA - FEAT: SLEEP D + MOS HOW + WAEL NAJM + JAMES BARROS Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. ORB + SCHLAGER MUSIC Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 5:30pm.
PLATFORM ONE SATURDAY NIGHTS Platform One, Melbourne. 9:00pm. PONY SATURDAYS La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. SATURDAY MORNING - FEAT: SUNSHINE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00am. SEVEN SATURDAY DISCOTHEQUE Seven Nightclub, South Melbourne. 10:00pm. $20.00. TEDDY’S Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 10:00pm. $25.00. TEXTILE SATURDAYS - FEAT: KODIAK KID + D’FRO + JENS BEAMIN Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. THE HOUSE DEFROST - FEAT: ANDEE FROST Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. TRAMP SATURDAYS Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. TUNED IN - FEAT: WINGMAN + VORN LEWIS Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.
sunday may 24 DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE FEAT: NIGEL LAST Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. ENCORE - FEAT: DAN SLATER + ADAM LOVE The Emerson, South Yarra. 9:00pm. IN CAPITAL + WINTERPARK Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $5.00. JUNGLE - FEAT: HANDS DOWN + ZAC DEPETRO + PETE LASKIS + TRAVLOS + JOHN DOE Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00am. $15.00. LOCAL TRAFFIC 5 - FEAT: SLEEP D + SAM HILTON + DAN FABRIS + JOSH P + UDMO + PACKPRESS + BILLYFLIPPER Railway Hotel, South Melbourne. 3:00pm. 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 may 25 CALL IT IN - FEAT: JAMES TOM & DYLAN MICHAEL Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. MONDAY STRUGGLE - FEAT: TIGER FUNK Lucky Coq, Windsor. 6:00pm. tuesday may 26 AO - FEAT: MIMICRY + DONNY + A NEW VISION Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $3.00. SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. STEPHAN BODZIN Brown Alley, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $27.00.
urban club guide thursday may 21
BEY DANCE The Luwow, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. NO MONEY NO PROBLEMS - FEAT: DJ ZAC HENDRIX + ARKS + KIRKIS + SILENT JAY Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. SHAGGY Forum Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $91.00. SWEET FELICIA & HONEYTONES Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:30pm.
friday may 22
tyson
wray
Why is Robbie Williams dressed up as a juggalo in his new press shots?
club guide
thursday may 21 3183 THURSDAYS - FEAT: HANS DC WITH MOONSHINE + JOEY & YANNI SARANTIS + SAM GUDGE + JESSE YOUNG Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 6:00pm. AN ELECTRONIC FEAST FEAT: HONOR EASTLY + ZÓL BÁLINT + WINTERPARK + GLASFROSCH + MANNY SHARRD + NINOOSH Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. C.C DISCO + PAUL JAGER Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. DANCE TECHNIQUE - FEAT: POST PERCY + GROOVE CONTROL + BEN RYAN New Guernica, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. FLANAGANS THURSDAYS FEAT: DJ ONTIME + COLONEL Pier Live, Frankston. 8:00pm. HOMEWORK + MYLES MAC + DJ CAMOV Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $10.00. ROLAND TINGS Howler, Brunswick. 8:30pm. $18.00. SILENT DISGLOTECH - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Rubix Warehouse, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $11.50. THE RITZ - FEAT: KEN WALKER + ANDO + JOSHUA GILLILAND Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 10:00pm. $20.00. VARSITY - FEAT: PAZ + MATT RAD + PYZ Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. XS DISCO - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Onesixone, Prahran. 8:00pm.
faktory
with
BEY DANCE The Luwow, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY - FEAT: DJ RCEE + KAHLUA + DJ SHOOK + DJ ANGEL JAY Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. CIECMATE + FRAKSHA & SCOTTY HINDS + P-LINK + DIRTY SERB + DJ RELIK Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10.00.
FAKTORY FRIDAYS - FEAT: DAMION DE SILVA + K DEE + DURMY Khokolat Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. GET LIT - FEAT: TWERK SHOP + THADDEUS DOE + D’FRO + NAM Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. JUNGLE HOP - FEAT: LIL MAC & THE MONSTER MEN + BRUCE MILNE + MATT MCFETRIDGE The Luwow, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. PARTY & BULLSHIT Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.
saturday may 23
ADAM KATZ TRIO PLAYS J-DILLA + AMIN PAYNE Hugs & Kisses, Melbourne. 9:00pm. $10.00. KHOKOLAT KOATED SATURDAYS FEAT: DAMION DE SILVA + K DEE + DURMY + TIMOS Khokolat Bar, Melbourne
electronic - urban - club life
Cbd. 9:30pm. LAWWD MXXY WAREHOUSE PARTY - FEAT: LARRIE + NEW WAVE + JADE ZOE + GETBUSY + SAMMY THE BULLET 524 Flinders, Melbourne. 7:00pm. $10.00. MR RUCKA + BLACK MAGIC + DEFRON + BIG T 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. RHYTHM NATION SATURDAYS - FEAT: DJ TIMOS + DJ KAHLUA + DJ ANGE M & ANDY PALA Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00. YARD BOUNCE - FEAT: ZARE DEMUS + DJ PIT + AND BELLYAS + KING RU + SLICKER 1 + BURN CITY QUEENZ Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. $10.00.
sunday may 24
zanzibar chanel Zanzibar Chanel are headed back to Australian shores and are ready to make your arse pump once again. Fresh from a European sojourn, with two sold out records and a cop bashing video clip, for their homecoming show they will be joined by GL and other special guests at Little & Olver on Friday May 22.
soulfest Soulfest will return later this year for their sophomore outing. Revealed today, the first artist announcement for the 2015 incarnation is headlined by Mary J. Blige, and also features Jill Scott, Jhené Aiko, Charlie Wilson, De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Dwele, Floetry, Eric Benét, Daniel Merriweather, Kamasi Washington, Remi and BJ The Chicago Kid. The Melbourne edition of Soulfest will go down on Sunday October 25 at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Kings Domain Precinct.
shlohmo Shlohmo will return to Melbourne with a full live band this July. Already announced for the sold out Splendour In The Grass, the tour follows the release of his latest record Dark Red. After his sell-out tour last year, this is 25-year-old Henry Laufer as no one has seen before – the chopped and screwed conductor to a crazed live band. He’ll be joined by D33J, Purple, Nick Melons and special guests. It goes down on Saturday July 30 at the Corner Hotel.
justin jay Fresh off appearances at Coachella, LA house producer Justin Jay is making the journey across the Pacific for a run of club shows. The youngest member of Claude VonStroke’s Dirtybird family, Jay has enjoyed releases through the likes of Culprit and Southern Fried Records. He’s also made much more of his uni breaks than his counterparts, having played to huge crowds at LA’s HARD Summer and Sankeys Ibiza...and that festival out in the desert called Coachella. He’ll play Tramp Bar on Saturday June 6.
house of ladosha Dosha Devastation and Cunty Crawford will transform The Curtin into the House of Ladosha when they hit the stage for an exclusive Vivid sideshow later this month. The New York-based artistic collective will visit Melbourne on the back of tracks like Rollin’ and BMF, which have gained a following by both hip hop and indie lovers alike. It goes down at The Curtin on Saturday May 30.
BE. SUNDAYS Co., Southbank. 10:00pm. $15.00.
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Faze r daze
BEDROOM REBELLION By James Di Fabrizio
Amelia Murray, better known as the woman behind Fazerdaze, creates the type of music you can lose yourself in. Atmospheric and dreamy, her eponymous EP is a collection of songs featuring driving guitars, pop hooks and the type of finely crafted production that comes from countless hours locked away in a bedroom. “It’s brought D.I.Y. to the forefront. It’s really cool talking to some of my friends who have been going to music school and seeing how they’re really inspired by that,” says Murray, who has just graduated with a degree in music. “There is a way of going about things; you send off your CD artwork to a factory and they print off 500. There is this set out way, and I feel like I didn’t go into a studio the way you should. I did what I could, with what I have, and the finished product comes out like a fun project that a girl did in her bedroom.” Murray’s industrious approach to her debut EP allowed her the creative freedom to flesh out a clear vision. Right down to hand-crafting the CD cases and artwork herself, Fazerdaze is a testament to the blood, sweat and tears Murray has put into her product. Released late last year to critical acclaim in her home country of New Zealand and overseas, the entirely self-recorded and produced EP showcases Murray’s penchant for dense, ambient productions, which are both abstract and accessible. “I’ll write a song and then the production is really
an art in itself,” she says. “I spend a lot of time in my room exploring. I love creating a strong mood for a song. Sonically, it’s got to encompass a feeling. It can sometimes get stressful. If a song isn’t working, you can begin to doubt the song or your ability. I just try to play and enjoy the process.” Although this immersive approach may be demanding, it’s clearly paying off. In recent months, Fazerdaze has landed gigs with high profile, big name artists such as Milky Chance and Tiny Ruins. This experience has inspired Murray to work even harder than before. “I’ve learnt to be more professional,” she says. “It’s really good watching and playing with these people that are a few steps ahead of me. I think there is a bit of an image with musicians, where you think they’re quite careless and blasé. It was really cool playing with Milky Chance and Anthonie Tonnon to see how seriously they take it. You have to if you want to be that good.” While the sound of Fazerdaze occasionally edges towards ambient pop, the use of crunchy, ’90s-esque guitars creates a point of distinction. “Even as a six year
old, having just heard a rock song, what I heard made me feel so good,” Murray says. “I’m 22 now and I still feel really good hearing guitar music.” As the humble guitar struggles to compete with futuristic technology in the contemporary music climate, Murray sees herself as a reaction. “There is a whole soundcloud culture, where you plug in your midi keyboard and you’ve got a world of electronic sounds,” she says. “That seems to be the main thing these days; synths and electronic music. Guitar is a little unfashionable right now. I think the third track on my EP, Zero, that’s me taking those feelings of exhilarating guitars and putting it into a song.”
Murray mightn’t be prospecting to be the next guitar hero, but her music demonstrates that any idea can be turned into a reality if the conviction’s there and the work ethic is strong enough. “I want the listener to feel inspired,” she says. “Regardless if it’s music, journalism, art or sport, if anyone could take anything from the EP, it would be to do their own thing, own it and embrace who you are.”
the one who has to hold it all together. I have to be an entrepreneur and a businesswoman as well as an artist. So that can feel like work at times. But then you get on the road, once everything’s hopefully lined up, and you’re reminded [what it is] that you’ve been working 12 hours a day on. Once you’re on the road, you’re in that world, and it makes everything worth it.” So how does Chilcott feel now that the record is finally out there? “Relieved,” she exclaims. “I’m feeling really relieved, and a lot lighter, and I’m actually starting to feel excited again now that it’s out. When you have a body of work that you’re sitting on, you really need to just get it out into the world.” As for the music itself, Chilcott is determined to keep
doing things on her own terms. “In my eyes, I know that I’m not making straight-down-the-line country music, in terms of what Australia labels it,” she says. “And it’s more fun for me doing it that way. I think on the commercial side of stuff, it’s about generating money, and I’ll never be about that. I live off the smell of an oily rag, so I’m going to make the kind of music I want to make, all the time.”
“He’s been organising some stuff for our next tour,” Stevens says. “Logistical things on the production front.” For those that didn’t hear the story back in March, just prior to the release of Gracetown, Gardner was kicking back at a friend’s farm in the West Australian town of Collie. During a bumpy drive around the property, a gun on the floor of the vehicle was activated, blasting a hole through the bass player’s foot. While she’s certainly sympathetic, Stevens isn’t too impressed about the circumstances that led to Gardner’s injury. “He should never have had a gun in the first place,” she says. Thankfully, Gardner recovered in time for the band’s well-received performances on this month’s Groovin The Moo tour. San Cisco are now back at full strength and powering through the Australian leg of their
Gracetown headline tour. Immediately after the record came out, the band updated their setlists with several of the new songs. Given the record’s predominant positivity, the songs have nestled in seamlessly. “They’re sounding good,” says Stevens. “I think Too Much Time Together is a fun one for the crowds, seeing as it’s the single as well. Snow goes down really well, it’s a bit more dancey, four-to-the-floor. It kicks in and has a really big sound. It works well at gigs. Bitter Winter goes well, people sing a long to that.”
Catch FAZERDAZE on Friday May 29 at The John Curtin Hotel and on Saturday May 30 at the Grace Darling as part of Harmonic Divisions. Her selftitled EP is out now.
Rub y B oots
T H E S O L I TA R Y L I F E By Tom Clift
Last month saw the release of Solitude, the debut album from singer/songwriter Bex Chilcott, better known by her stage name Ruby Boots. To quote the last track on the record, Chilcott’s debut has been a long time coming. Since embarking on her solo career at the beginning of the decade, the West Australian alt-country songwriter has cultivated a dedicated fan base, playing more than 100 gigs in the last 12 months alone, whilst also putting the finishing touches on Solitude. “I feel like I recorded four different albums,” laughs Chilcott, as she recounts her roundabout recording process, which involved travelling around the country to work with a ramshackle crew of producers, singers and bands. “I got to play with so many great artists from around the country and it meant that there was so much energy in the songs. I started in Melbourne with Jordie Lane. We recorded Lovin’ In The Fall in Soundpark Studios in Northcote, and I just love that place to pieces. Then there was Sydney, with Tony Buchen. There were some great sessions over there. Then back to Melbourne with Anna Laverty.” For an album called Solitude, there certainly was a lot of collaboration. According to Chilcott, the title instead encapsulates a personal journey. “I wanted to pay homage to where I started writing and playing songs, which was out on the boats,” she says, tipping her hat to the time she spent working on a pearl boat off the coast
of north-west Australia. “I think that’s the beauty of song. I feel like my job is to create a story with enough of myself in it and enough emotions that people can then adapt and take on as their own.” When questioned further about her writing process, Chilcott says one of the toughest things is simply finding the time. “As a modern artist today, there is so much to juggle outside of writing and recording. So essentially you have to be flexible. There will be times where I’ll put a month of Mondays aside. If I’m in Perth I’ll go around to my guitarist’s place. And then there are other times where I’ll go away for a couple of weeks, just to get out of the country. And then there are other times where I’m just feeling really inspired, and just mucking around on the guitar.” Asked if she ever feels exhausted by the juggling act, Chilcott admits that it can get a bit overwhelming. “I have wonderful supporting people in my team, but I’m
RUBY BOOTS debut album Solitude is out now through Universal. She’s teaming up with Raised By Eagles to launch the album this Friday May 22 at Howler.
SAN CISCO
WILD THINGS RETURN By Bob Gordon
San Cisco drummer Scarlett Stevens is “in a hotel in the middle of nowhere, in Amsterdam.” It sounds pretty appealing doesn’t it? This isn’t, however, a holiday. We’re speaking shortly after the release of the band’s second LP Gracetown and the Perth indiepoppers are in the midst of a European tour, which follows a very successful US visit that included a performance at Mexico’s Vive Latino Festival. “Mexico was insane,” Stevens says. “It was like a big scale festival. We had a big crowd and that was really nice, but the thing that blew our mind was the signing that we did at a record store the next day. The line was going down the street and around the block. It took like two-and-a-half hours to meet everyone. The fans there are so passionate and affectionate. They bring you letters and fan art. The level of enthusiasm from the fans was crazy. “I haven’t seen that anywhere else,” she muses. “We meet fans all over the world but we’ve never had anything on that scale. Their energy... maybe it’s the South American way. They’re just so vibrant and enthusiastic. They want to kiss and hug you.” And sing to you. The band’s Mexican fans sung along to the songs from Gracetown with surprising vigour. “It was pretty surreal,” Stevens says. “I don’t know how, because I don’t think the album had been released yet, but they knew the words.” BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 30
The band’s headline shows were also a success, so much so that they’ll be returning Stateside for a bigger jaunt in June. “We sold out both New York shows and the Troubadour in LA and they were all really fun shows,” Stevens says. “We’d been at South By Southwest just before, so we were a little bit run down but they were really great, fun shows.” Well versed in the art of touring, Stevens realises that ‘run down’ may as well mean ‘keep running’. “We’d all gotten a bit of flu at the time we went to New York, but we all had ours heads in the game, I think. We were well-rehearsed from South By Southwest, so the New York shows ended up being the best ones on the tour.” Speaking of run down, bass player Nick Gardner was unable to join the band for this tour after injuring his foot in a shooting accident (rather ironically, his substitute, Jennifer Aslett, plays for fellow Fremantle outfit, Gunns). Despite the damaged limb, Gardner found a way to be useful.
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You can catch SAN CISCO this Friday May 22 and Sunday May 24 at 170 Russell. Under 18s, you get your turn too, this Saturday May 23 at Max Watts. Gracetown is out now independently.
Raised By Eagl es
F ree T o S oar By Natalie Rogers
Melbourne’s Raised By Eagles have come into their own. The alt-country quartet – made up of drummer Johnny Gibson, guitarist Nick O’Mara, bass player Luke Richardson and vocalist/ guitarist Luke Sinclair – have spent years paying their dues on the stages of our city’s pubs and clubs. When you first listen to the band’s new LP Diamonds In The Bloodstream, you’ll hear raw and gritty Americana accompanied by soulful lyrics. But on subsequent listens, you’ll hear deeply personal tales of hope and loss, brought to life with lots of tender loving care. “All the people involved in the making of this album were, or have become, really close friends,” Sinclair says. “We’ve never been interested in working with people simply because we’ve heard that they’re a crack-shot session musician.” In spite of suffering from a self-described case of “man flu”, Sinclair’s natural manner and self-deprecating sense of humour make it easy to see why he’s one of the most admired and popular figures on the local alt-country/ folk circuit. Diamonds In The Bloodstream came together with help from several of the band’s talented contemporaries, including solo artists Liz Stringer, Tracy McNeil and Van Walker, as well as O’Mara’s Amarillo band mate Jacqueline Tonks. “There was a lot of love in the studio,” says Sinclair. “[Love] within the band and for the people who helped us along the way, including our engineer Roger Bergodaz – he’s a very lovable guy. “The live music scene in Melbourne is really close-knit,” he adds. “All of our mates are musicians, and they just happen
to be incredibly talented, so that makes life a little easier.” With goodwill in abundance, Sinclair says the making of Diamonds In The Bloodstream was fairly relaxed. This contradicts reports that the band members were anxious to repeat the success and acclaim that surrounded 2013’s self-titled debut. “You know, it’s funny, I read that we felt pressure,” Sinclair says, “but I’m not really sure how that made it into any of the other press. What I’ve said was that it was in the back of my mind that I was writing an album that people were going listen to critically. I never really thought anyone cared that much before. “If anything this record was incredibly easy to make,” he continues. “It was the first one that was a struggle. Because we’d worked really hard for the past couple of years gigging around the place, we were really match-fit when it came time to get into the studio. We had it in the can in five days because we just did live takes. Every song on the album was recorded live – we wanted them to sound like they would at a show. We just over dubbed some extra guitars and the backing vocals and it was done.”
A notable change on Diamonds In The Bloodstream is the restrained use of harmonica – an instrument that featured heavily on the band’s previous release. “It was a conscious decision on my part,” Sinclair says. “I’ve played the harmonica for years, but I’ve never felt comfortable with it. I’m not a good harmonica player and when I go out to watch a band and I see someone whip one out, honestly, I’ll be apprehensive. “It’s just such a tired way to play acoustic or Americana or folk music,” he elaborates. “You have to be really clever with it for it to work and lot of people are, but there’re also a lot of people that aren’t. I certainly didn’t want to fall into that category. We used it well on the first album, but I’m trying to phase it out of our live shows, because to tell you the truth it drives me crazy having that thing around my neck. I don’t want it anymore – I want to feel free.” Raised By Eagles will be launching Diamonds In The Bloodstream at Howler this weekend, which is part of a national co-headline tour with Perth’s Americana sweetheart Ruby Boots, aka Bex Chilcott. “I’ve known Bex for a while,” says Sinclair. “She comes to Melbourne
fairly often and we’ve shared stages before. I’ve always been so impressed with her, not only her songwriting, but her delivery and her voice. It’s just one of those voices that sounds like classic country – think Lucinda Williams. When I listen to her play I just want to go home, play my guitar and write. It’s always good to be involved with artists that inspire you. Working with Bex has been a bit of an education in terms of work ethic. She really has a great handle on the business side of things. It’s been a lot of work putting these shows together.” But here comes the fun part, “Because we’ve been sitting on these songs for a long time, it feels so good to be able to share them with people,” Sinclair says. “We have a small but very loyal fan base, which is thankfully starting to grow, so it’s all very exciting.”
Basically, I had this huge revelation where I realised I could write songs in major keys. The difference between Lamarama and Lama is pretty much major and minor. Take something like Eat!, which is really a break-up song. I hear people say, ‘Man that’s such a sad song,’ and I think, ‘Really? That’s in D Flat Major.’ The juxtaposition is the magic of that song.” The Eat! launch is fast approaching and it’ll see the band unleash a carefully curated setlist. They’ll be joined by “supports which are just incredible, some awesome bands”, namely Humans As Animals, Dear Plastic and The Cactus Channel. Looking ahead, the future promises to bring more performances rambling out across the Victorian night, and Lama’s eagerly awaited album. “The album is looking very eclectic,” says Adams.
“There’s rock and then some nice old-fashioned Beatles sounds. We’ve got a song called Emily, which is very Beatles-ish. It’s about a twelve-year-old girl who’s the tallest girl in class and makes a wish that she was the shortest. It comes true, but she gets too small and disappears into the grass. It’s a cautionary tale. Sometimes I write very literal lyrics, but for that one I wanted to write something bizarre. And because the lyrics are bizarre, the music has to be as well. I think we managed that.”
This statistic has nothing to do with creative laziness. Rather, Dylan’s catalogue encompasses such variety and nuanced appeal that it continues to elicit inspiration. “It’s a formidable body of work,” says Howard. “You can always trawl back through and you find some other little gem hidden away in there.” Along with keeping up a steady stream of new releases, throughout his career, Dylan’s live shows have largely consisted of reworked versions of his own material. Every couple of years he tours Australia, and with each visit he upsets a contingent of puritans who long for a precise reenactment of the original recordings. Bravo to Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones for presenting their songs in exactly the same manner for 50 years. But since writing Blowin’ In the Wind in 1963, Bob Dylan (who turns 74 this Sunday) has never stood still. “Any creative work is in a state of transition,” Howard
says. “I just love seeing the artist at work. He’s constantly refusing to be a nostalgia show. I got switched onto Bob at a young age, to The Times They Are a-Changing, and it lit a fire in my head. He’s kind of become a bit of a benchmark through my whole career. And here he is this far down the track, still going as an artist, still creating relevant work. “We don’t want [Bobfest] to be just a nostalgia show,” he adds. “You’ll hear some really beautiful interpretations. Mick Thomas last year did Most of the Time, but he completed rejigged the whole setting of the song. It is great to fiddle with the songs. They’re given new life.”
RAISED BY EAGLES latest album Diamonds In The Bloodstream is available through Vitamin Records. Catch the band at Howler on Friday May 22, alongside Ruby Boots.
Lama
A nimal appetite By Adam Norris Don’t let their quirky persona or easy-charm fool you, Lama might just be our next big thing. An eight-piece band wandering the wilds of Victoria like musical wraiths, Lama are currently waist-deep in the construction of their debut album and they’re all set to launch the lead single Eat!. Frontman Dave Adams describes the band’s evolution from their earlier existence as Lamarama, and why it’s helpful to fill a band with the best musicians magic beans can buy. “Our shape’s never-ending,” says Adams. He speaks in a rich, somewhat blokey tone; the kind of voice that’d help you smuggle a bottle of scotch onto a golf course. “I don’t want people to get the vibe that it’s somehow deadly to be in the band. We’re always having a great time with each other. It’s good because our music has been changing and evolving. I’m not even the first original singer. Lamarama used to have a female singer before me, going back five or six years. I was singing a few of her songs, but because they were in a female key, rather than change the key, I just kind of belted it out in this upper male rock register. It gave it a different vibe straight away and that’s how we were for a while. Lamarama were sort of a dark, psychedelic rock band, but now I’ve pretty much thrown that whole set in the bin. We had so many new members, and rather than get new people and teach them all the old stuff, I thought
it was time for a new everything. New set, new name.” Together, Lama summon a terrifically alluring sound, which takes elements from Of Monsters & Men and The Beatles and channels them through the songwriting filter of someone like Jack White or Josh Pyke. Sounds weird, right? But however you describe them, their songs are vibrant vignettes spanning a variety of genres. On that note, Eat! is likely to be one of the most energetic heartbreak songs you’ll hear any time soon. “Someone described it as cabaret the other week,” Adams says. “‘Cabaret and glam,’ she said. That sort of image had never occurred to me, but I’m looking at one of our band photos right now where we’re all in a ball pit in these ridiculous costumes, and you know, maybe she had a point. It’s funny. Not all of our songs sound like Eat!, but we seem to be going in that direction.
LAMA are playing 24 Moons this Friday May 22, alongside Humans As Animals, Dear Plastic and The Cactus Channel. Their debut single Eat! also comes out on Friday.
BOBFEST
T he T u nes T hey A re - a C hangin ’ By Augustus Welby Every now and then, accusations emerge labelling Bob Dylan a thief. These claims usually concern Dylan’s appropriation of traditional folk melodies and interpolation of lyrics from early blues numbers or 19th century poetry. While they’re not weightless assertions, such pedantry is always fairly tiresome to witness. Sure, if Dylan’s whole shtick was stolen from somewhere else, we’d have reason to criticise his authenticity. But Bob Dylan is (and has always been) a folk musician, and he knows better than to treat folk music with passive reverence. “You’ve got to understand folk songs, and a lot of the folk songs in the tradition, to understand how he’s turned them in his own direction,” says Melbourne music hero Shane Howard. “Like ‘I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.’ You go back and Maggie’s Farm is devised from an early folk song. There’s a lot of that in Bob’s work – there’s a new idea every now and then that hadn’t been tried, but he frames it in such a way that it seems inevitable.” This weekend, Howard will figure prominently in the third annual installment of Bobfest. Over two-nights at the Memo Music Hall, the likes of Tex Perkins, Stephen Cummings, Chris Wilson, Suzannah Espie and Van Walker will perform songs from Dylan’s immense repertoire. Howard’s playing guitar in the house band alongside some of the hardest working men BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 32
in Australian music. “It is great to work with guys like Peter Luscombe, Bruce Haymes, Steve Hadley and Jeff Burstin,” he says. The Bobfest setlist will explore widely through Dylan’s vast catalogue, which spans five decades and 36 studio LPs. For instance, while Espie will do Blowin’ In the Wind, Perkins is having a crack at Love Sick and Not Dark Yet from 1997’s Time Out of Mind. Howard himself will take the spotlight for a version of the early‘60s deep cut Lay Down Your Weary Tune. “It’s a lesser known song,” he says. “It’s beautiful poetry really – that period of magical realism.” When it comes to the most covered songs of all time, The Beatles’ Yesterday and The Stones’ Satisfaction probably top the list. However, it’s difficult to think of anyone who’s had more songs covered than Bob Dylan.
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The likes of Chris Wilson, Tex Perkins, Mick Thomas, The Dusty Millers + more will make you feel the love at BOBFEST this Friday May 22 and Saturday May 23 at St Kilda’s Memo Music Hall.
The Peep T empel
T he B r o thers G rit By Augustus Welby
A few weeks prior to Christmas 2014, The Peep Tempel played a show at the John Curtin band room. Amid some hilariously uncouth banter, frontman Blake Scott set the scene for the song Big Fish by explaining that it’s about his brother, who’d just been released from jail. Subsequently hearing the song – which includes surly lyrical come-ons like, “I can help you Danny/ You better stroke my scales,” – it took on an especially sinister quality. However, ahead of The Peep Tempel’s headline show at Howler this weekend, Scott has a confession to make. “I don’t have a brother and he’s never been to jail,” he laughs. “That’s the thing about nervous energy, it does amazing things. Sometimes I go into some sort of storyline and that one’s pretty embarrassing.” In this instance, Scott might’ve been fibbing, but that does nothing to lessen the impact of The Peep Tempel’s songs. Big Fish is taken from the band’s second LP Tales, which came out last October. The album is loaded with fascinating and slightly unnerving character portrayals; accompanied by gritty three-piece rock arrangements; and topped off by Scott’s off-kilter, and frequently aggressive, vocal charisma. The album’s lead single Carol (which was recently nominated for APRA song of the year) perfectly portrays the band’s arresting strength. When Scott imploringly bellows, “I don’t think Trevor is good for you… Carol,” it matters little if these people actually exist. “They’re urban fairytales in a sense,” Scott says, “but everything that is behind them is that unhinged nervousness and me generally not being the most stable individual. I’ve always been a bit unhinged. I’m very erratic. Music helps me manage that a little bit. I get to yell and scream and flip out and that sort of thing.” Scott’s not the only one chanelling dangerous impulses into this music. Since forming the band in 2008, he and his band mates – drummer Stevie Striker and bass player Stewart Rayner – have used The Peep Tempel as a platform for frantically exerting themselves. “This band has been a lot to do with the noise and how furious it is,” Scott says. “It’s really taxing on the body for all of us. In the writing process we’ve always kept that in mind. It needs to be something that we’re having to work really hard to get to the end of. It’s some sort of grit in amongst the every day living.” Understandably, the band’s physically exhaustive compositions make live performance a continual challenge. “I almost liken this band to playing a team sport,” says Scott. “Having that satisfaction at the end that you’ve gone out and got stuck in and gone hard. There’s probably a sinister deeper meaning to why us as a band and sometimes people in general want to put themselves through physical and emotional exertion, but there’s something really pure and cool about it.” This Saturday’s Howler show comes at the tail end of The Peep Tempel’s biggest Australian headline tour to date. The size of these shows is indicative of how far the band’s profile has lifted since the release of Tales. In many respects, the album was a breakaway success. Upon release, it received praise from publications countrywide, and both Carol and Big Fish became minor viral sensations. Then earlier this year the record was one of nine albums shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize. Strangely enough, prior to its release, Scott had mixed emotions. “The other guys were a lot more optimistic than I was,” he says. “[Writing and recording] wasn’t a really enjoyable experience the whole way through. The actual recording of the final product was great, but I just felt a bit flat after we’d mixed it, whether that be exhaustion or I’d just invested too much in it. It’s not that I don’t think Tales is strong, but at the time there was a lot of trepidation. Stuff like the The Opera of Lester Moore. As fun as it was, the idea of doing a quirky opera thing, a real theatrical sort of track, it’s like, ‘Well how our people going to receive that?’ I was a bit insecure about it.” In the ensuing months, Scott’s spirits have lifted: “It hasn’t been until I’ve actually heard the feedback on the record and people who I respect speak to us about the album that I’ve started to go, ‘Wow, you know what, that is actually pretty cool’.” That’s putting it modestly. The Peep Tempel’s music elicits appeal on a number of levels. Firstly, it’s a heck of a lot of fun; loud and brash, yet relatable and often humourous. But, while amusing at the surface, there’s a pronounced darkness within, which has profoundly affected some listeners. “There was a particular guy in Brisbane who was talking about what the record meant to him and how it had given him so much joy in a time of his life that he wasn’t getting much of that anywhere else,” Scott says. “It was confronting and difficult to have that conversation with him. I never pictured our album to be one to help anyone kick on through a difficult time. It’s just a rock’n’roll record. “We do come across people quite often who really are invested in the band. It’s not just like, ‘Gee, I like your music.’ We have some very, very passionate fans. It shows that we’re doing something right.”
THE PEEP TEMPEL play at Howler this Saturday May 23. Tales is out now through Wing Sing Records. WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES..... WWW.BEAT.COM.AU/TV
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V O YA G E R
A N U P WA R D E X P E D I T I O N By Adam Norris Chatting with Voyager frontman Danny Estrin is a genuine treat. Not only is he a funny guy, but I’m also shamelessly exploiting him as my guide into the world of prog-metal, and he’s totally down with that. Partly this is to do with Voyager’s own uncertainty about their place in the music world; they love metal, and love what they do, yet they seem to slide between labels. But however you categorise the Perth quintet, they’ve certainly found a surging audience in all corners of the globe. What’s more, you can play them to your folks without fear of explosion. “It’s melodic, catchy, it’s a bit poppy,” Estrin says. “I appreciate we’re branded as metal, and I love it, but it doesn’t always fit. The first metal band that hooked me was called Type O Negative, a band in the early ‘90s. I remember listening to triple j’s 3 Hours of Power and I remember hearing melody, hearing this heavy guitar, and thinking, ‘What. Is. This?’ All I’d been listening to up until then had been Nirvana, and the combination of that real heaviness – those chunky low guitars and the amazing melodies – completely turned me. And it all went downhill from there. The next week I was there listening to really hardcore black metal, which my dad described as sounding like a vacuum cleaner.” Over the last decade, Voyager’s popularity at home has led to major headline tours and some impressive supports. But it’s the band’s international success that marks them as an act making steady waves. While Europe is the spiritual home of metal these days – and
has certainly embraced the Perth lads with open arms – Voyager have found even greater success somewhere unexpected. “I think our popularity in Europe has been dwarfed by what we’re experiencing in the US and Canada,” Estrin says. “They’re difficult markets to break. We played there for the first time in 2011, and got invited back for 17 shows in 2012 and the reception was just incredible. The thing I notice with US fans, especially with the heavier genres, is that they’re super loyal. They’ll hear you once, and then they’ll be on your Facebook, your Instagram, and constantly be stoked to follow you. So I think the US has more of a hard-fan culture than Australia. I mean, Australians love to go to an outdoor gig and check it out, but the hardcore fan culture is much stronger in the US. Fans around the world are always different, but they always know that we bring a good live show, and while we take our music seriously,
we don’t take ourselves too seriously.” Given heavy metal’s chequered history – from Ozzy Osbourne’s insanity to Tipper Gore’s censorship – it’s little wonder that fans of the genre now come from a wide sweep of backgrounds. Time is, after all, the great leveller, and while there was a period when heavy gigs would be picketed, they’re now far more accessible. As Estrin says, it’s an exciting time to be riding that strange wave. “I think now we’ve got a culture of what you might call smarter heavy music,” Estrin says. “Bands like Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, they’re accepted by a wider audience now. It’s not something which is necessarily anti-establishment. There are lyrical themes which are not just ‘Screw the system,’ you know? If you
look at your metal-head now, they’ll look like normal people. They don’t need to be wearing leather jackets or trench coats with patterns. Some people lament that the scene’s dying, but I think it’s great. It shows that people can get into heavy music from all walks of life. I think we’re at a point now where heavy music – not necessarily metal, that probably still has a bit of a stigma to it – but progressive heavy music is definitely being accepted, and is one of the strongest points in the Australia music scene. Record numbers, bands doing big things overseas – it’s awesome to see.”
to choose from, one can never be sure what to fully expect from a Boris show. Even when the live show is predominantly predetermined – as it was the last time the band were in Australia, playing the entirety of their 2000 LP Flood – there’s still room for plenty of unexpected tangents. Takeshi himself admits that assembling what the band is going to play across any given tour is one of the more difficult tasks the band faces. “Basically Boris play our latest songs for the show, though it is pretty hard for us to decide the setlist,” he says. “We want to have both new and long term-fans enjoy shows at once. Boris have always tried to play enjoyable sets, not only for our audience, but also for us.” The band will soon return Down Under for a quick headline tour, which brings them to the Corner
Hotel next weekend. Boris have been frequent Australian tourists throughout their career; last visiting for the aforementioned Flood tour in 2013. The relationship between Boris and their Australian fans is one of mutual respect, which fills the band with enthusiasm for each return visit. “[Keyboardist/guitarist] Wata was so happy when she held a koala and watched the kangaroos and the other animals last time,” he says. “Audiences in Australia look so excited. We can enjoy our own shows every time. We are all looking forward to upcoming shows too.”
acoustic guitar, synth, you name it, it’s all on there. “Rather than over-thinking things and being superprecise, we wanted to just go on feel and make it a bit looser,” he adds. “And that’s how it turned out – it’s much more organic. It’s a very real representation of what the band can do. This one’s like a blueprint of maybe where we’re going to go next.” It’s worth noting that II is actually the first release under the Glass Ocean banner to feature the band’s complete four-piece live lineup. In addition to Petterson, who’s a non-playing, co-writing member, Atkins is joined by bass player Joshua Haworth-Webb, guitarist Curtis Martin and drummer Patrick Smith. In order to distance themselves from the stylistic connotations of last year’s self-titled EP, II was recorded with producer
Lachlan Mitchell (The Jezabels, Something With Numbers). “Lachlan really know his shit,” says Atkins. “He really puts things in perspective and he’s the most unsuperficial engineer/ person I’ve ever met, so if you don’t capture it when you play it and it doesn’t sound right, then you shouldn’t be there. He makes you play the guitar track all the way through. He really wants to make you work for it. So the whole thing is very honest.”
See VOYAGER bend the boundaries of metal on Friday May 29 at The Evelyn. The band’s latest release V is available now courtesy of Bird’s Robe Records.
BORIS
BRING THE NOISE By David James Young For over 20 years, the name Boris has been synonymous with all things heavy, noisy and abrasive. The band’s aggressive experimental metal doesn’t just raise hairs in their native Japan, but on a global scale. By now, you’d say Boris’ reputation is nigh on unshakable. They’ve been flag bearers for the brutal and the belligerent across 20 albums (as well as collaborative records with the likes of Merzbow and Endon) and countless tours around the world. In spite of their prolific propensity, Boris have upheld such consistent quality that there’s a weight of expectation on everything they release. One would understand and empathise if the band felt burdened by the pressure to continually progress. They insist, however, that it’s water off a duck’s back. “We have never intended to change our musical styles intentionally,” says Takeshi, who is a founding member of the band and provides bass, guitar and vocals. “Some may feel we do, but we don’t. As long as it still means ‘heavy’ for us, whatever music style sounds great to us. There is a certain signature sound and music that only three of us can play, and that will never end.” Boris’ most recent offering was an LP succinctly titled Noise, which the band described as their “most allencompassing effort to date.” Released in mid-2014, the record saw Boris once again exploring the greater reaches of their microcosmic universe, encompassing both sprawling compositions (such as the 18 minute Angel) and blunt brutality. Noise was officially Boris’
19th studio album in 18 years – an insanely impressive feat anyway you cut it – though the band aren’t resting on their laurels. In fact, as warmly as the album was received, Takeshi is adamant that the songs have gotten better through playing them live. “It is pretty exciting to see how our songs grow and are being developed with playing those songs in front of audiences and being accepted in an unpredictable way,” he says. “That feeling will lead a motivation to do a new one for us. We prefer to play new songs because we can show an audience our most updated sound and style live and would like to present to our audience the latest one freshly.” With literally hundreds of songs in their vast catalogue
BORIS play at the Corner Hotel on Saturday May 30. Noise is out now through Sargent House.
GLASS OCEAN
SWIMMI NG FREELY By Augustus Welby
You can usually learn a lot about someone just by looking at who they surround themselves with. The same goes for bands. Over the last 12 months, Sydney’s Glass Ocean have supported the likes of metalcore outfit Dream On Dreamer and instrumental postrockers Sleepmakeswaves. Plus, all of the band’s songs are co-written by Nic Petterson, drummer for burgeoning prog-metal act Northlane. These connections indicate Glass Ocean are eager to establish themselves on the heavier side of the prog-rock spectrum. But just one listen to the band’s second EP II throws this image way out of whack. “It’s a real throwback to things like old INXS and Crowded House and a lot of my influences – the real Australiana rock feel,” says frontman Tobias Atkins. “Our fanbase comes from a prog rock/ metal kind of background. The first EP [last year’s self-titled effort] had a production style that matched those styles of music, but with this EP I really wanted to do the opposite thing, that didn’t even sound like the first one. I’m not sure how the old fanbase is going to take it, but I feel like we’ll get a new market of people who’ll really like it for what it is.” Atkins started Glass Ocean roughly three years ago, initially as a solo project. He’d previously played guitar in the math-metal band Maze, but with Glass Ocean, he was intent on turning a new leaf. “I was in London in 2012 and I started writing some
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music there,” he says. “I was like ‘I want to figure out what I want to say and go from there’, because I’d spent years in musical limbo once Maze broke up called. So, long story short, in London I started it, then I came home in 2013 and said to Nic, ‘We’ve got to write some music together.’ Ever since year 10 he’s been my best friend and I wouldn’t want to write music with anybody else.” Judging by the stylistic variety featured on II, Atkins still hasn’t pinned down exactly what he wants to say. “It’s the weirdest EP,” he agrees. “It’s got a Chili Peppers funk track at the end [What Plato Said]; it’s got Ghost, which is quieter, almost like a Jeff Buckley kind of thing; and then we’ve got Voice of Fire, which should be the A Current Affair theme song – we wanted to do mandolin, seven-string,
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GLASS OCEAN’s new EP II is out now via MGM. They’re coming our way this Friday May 22, playing The Workers Club alongside Alithia, Myyth and Enlight.
What a week for live music. No matter how much the weather tries to deter us from heading out, the Melbourne music scene feels more vibrant than ever. It’s truly a nice time to be alive. I caught Karnivool at one of their many sold out performances at the Corner and was completely gobsmacked at Ian Kenny’s vocals. The dude sings so effortlessly, he’s almost otherworldly. His register and precision are pretty impressive to behold. I’m officially really excited to hear some new material from them. The lineup at the Corner on Saturday wasn’t bad either – Batpiss, Colossvs, High Tension and King Parrot all jammed onto one bill meant that the show was always destined to sell out. After having their appetites tickled by the brilliant, international quality support acts, the crowd was absolutely ravenous by the time King Parrot came on stage. Their new LP Dead Set is a banger. Make sure you grab a copy. The Decline have returned with a new lineup ready and raring to go. Their new LP Resister is on its way (it’s out on June 12 but you can pre-order it from Pee Records from May 21) and they have some tour dates on the way as well. Check them out at Next on June 11 with Ganbaru and Pitt The Elder.
Melbourne’s Ocean Grove have announced they have a new album on the way. Black Label will come out on June 12 via Shock Records and they’ll tour in support of it with Void Of Vision and Devastator in July. See ‘em all at Ding Dong on July 17, or OLP in Ringwood for an afternoon all ages jaunt on July 19.
New Orleans band Pears have been tipped as the next big thing by a lot of people for some time now and Fat Wreck Chords have just snapped them up. The label will re-release last year’s awesome Go To Prison album next month and then back them on their next effort, a full length LP due for release in 2016. The guys have been touring with Strung Out, Red City Radio and La Armada for the past couple weeks and will soon hit the road with Teenage Bottlerocket.
CORE GIG GUIDE
Sydney’s Hand Of Mercy will tour extensively this winter. They’ll bring Sydney’s Vices and Melbourne’s Glorified with them when they hit Ding Dong Lounge on June 26 and Arrow On Swanston on June 27. That’s plenty of bands for your buck. Melbourne quartet Flour have joined Poison City for the release of their debut LP Morbid Thoughts. The album will drop in September and after dropping their neat Silver Spoon video a couple of weeks ago, it’s safe to say it’s hotly anticipated. They play pretty regularly around Melbourne, so keep an eye out for them in the meantime. If you missed out on Poison City Weekender tickets that got snapped up super fast, then you should hurry up and grab tickets to see Iron Chic, Modern Baseball, Ceres and Laura Palmer when they play at The Reverence for ‘Pre-Keender’ on September 3. Limited tickets are available at time of print so pray to the punk rock gods that you don’t miss this lineup.
Wednesday May 20:
• The Go Set at Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy
Thursday May 21:
• Atlantic, Pridelands, Countdown to Armageddon at Next
Friday May 22:
• Enter Shikari, Hands Like Houses, Hellions at The Forum • The Getaway Plan at The Corner Hotel • The Kill, Sewercide, Hailgun, Trench Sisters, Atomic Death Squad, Dogshit at The Bendigo • Battlesick, Asylum Sisters, ITSOKMAN, Seasloth at The Reverence • Clowns, Summer Blood at Bar 12, Frankston
Saturday May 23:
• The Peep Tempel, YIS, Pselodux at Howler • TTTDB, Zeahorse, Spermaids, Hard Rubbish at The Tote • Georgia Maq, Wil Wagner at The Old Bar • Encircling Sea, Funeral Moon, Hordes Of The Black Cross, Thrall & Grimalkin at The Bendigo • The Cops, The Suits, The Hovercrafts at Northcote Social Club • A Saturday to Remember, This Fiasco, Justice For The Damned, The Punching Ponies at Bang
Sunday May 24:
• The Innocence, Single For Summer, Satellites & Stereos, One Day Maybe at The Bendigo
HEAVEN MEETS HELL AT MUSICLAND
On Saturday June 6 the first Heaven Meets Hell show goes down at Musicland in Fawkner with one of Australia’s best metal bands Black Majesty and new melodic heavy rockers The Radio Sun. Both bands will release new albums in the coming months; Black Majesty will release their sixth album titled Cross Of Thorns in July via Pride & Joy Music and The Radio Sun will release their second album Heaven Or Heartbreak in September on Melodic Rock Records. Fans of classic heavy metal and heavy rock should come together and unite for what promises to be a great night of Australian music. Doors open at 8pm.
THE BENDIGO HOTEL
This Friday May 22 check out grind masters The Kill playing their first show in over a year. Their new album will be on sale on the night too. Joining them is a monster local line-up including Sewercide, Hailgun, Headless Death, Atomic Death Squad and Dogshit. Doors open at 8pm and entry is a mere $10. On Satuday May 23 FALSExIDOL Records presents the Encircling Sea and Funeral Moon tour. Dedicating years to refining their musical craft of ambient black metal, richly grounded in the ecology of Australia’s unique landscapes, Encircling Sea return to perform new and old material in a short reprieve from life in the concrete wasteland. Joining them are Adelaide’s Funeral Moon (featuring half of Space Bong). Playing black metal with deep connections to crust punk, Funeral Moon are stripped down to the bones, exposed and ready to blow. Joining them on this Melbourne leg are Australia’s finest young dark artists, Hordes Of The Black Cross, Thrall and Grimalkin, pushing boundaries of hate, pessimism and organic savagery.
SENSES FAIL NEW ALBUM
Influential post-hardcore band Senses Fail will release their highly anticipated sixth studio album Pull The Thorns From Your Heart on June 30th via Pure Noise Records/ Sony Music Australia. As a teaser of what’s to come they’ve revealed a video for the track The Importance of the Moment of Death. “This record is the complete documentation of my transformative spiritual experience from the darkness to the light,” frontman Buddy Nielsen says. “It is the completion of
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a journey I have been on since I started making music when I was 17. I want this record to be more than just words and music but a blueprint for how through contemplative practice you can come to love, grow and blossom out of the muck of life and into the light. It is not intended to motivate in steps or exact teachings but empower. It is above all a personal story of struggle and realisation.”
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER TOUR
The Black Dahlia Murder are coming to wreck the joint once again. In Melbourne you can catch them at the Northcote Social Club on Saturday June 20 (sold out) and Sunday June 21 (all-ages in the afternoon and 18+ in the evening). Tickets are on sale now. TBDM’s latest album Everblack and DVD Fool Em All are available in Australia via www.nervegas.com.au.
LAMB OF GOD SIGN TO NUCLEAR BLAST
Grammy-nominated, chart-topping Richmond, VA based heavy rock band Lamb of God will release their highly-anticipated seventh full-length album VII: Sturm und Drang this July via Nuclear Blast Entertainment, with whom the band signed a record deal for all territories outside of North America. Drummer Chris Adler says, “Finally joining forces with Nuclear Blast Entertainment outside of North America is something Lamb of God is excited to finally see happen. We first met back in 1997 – almost signed then, but have been flirting ever since. It’s now time for a new chapter for us to connect with our friends and fans overseas, which is long overdue. See you all very soon – with a nasty new album.” Vocalist Randy Blythe says, “The time has come to give the fans their first taste of the new Lamb of God album. This is a very, very dark, yet sonically highly varied, record. As it’s always good to come out of the gate hard with a fast and aggressive one, we chose this track Still Echoes to kick it off. Enjoy/destroy.”
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Q&A
PHIL HANCOCK & HOLLY TERRENS
WEDNESDAY MAY 20
THE BENDIGO HOTEL
Dan Parsons
FOREST FALLS
So then, what’s the band name and what do you ‘do’ in the band? The band name is Dan Parsons and I am the singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional multiinstrumentalist and producer/ engineer. What do you reckon people will say you sound like? James Taylor, Ryan Adams, Don McLean. What do you love about making music? Bringing a mood or feeling to life out of thin air. What do you hate about the music industry? The way young artists (mostly) can get led astray from developing their natural skill set to focus more on becoming a marketable commodity. Age-old story, I suppose. If you could travel back in time and show one of your musical heroes your stuff, who would it be and why? I would love to go back to the early ‘70s and show Linda Ronstadt some songs. In a perfect world she’d decide to cut a version and it’d be a hit. To jam with Levon Helm would be ace too. If you could assassinate one person or band from popular music, who would it and why? It would have to be Neil Diamond, only because of his performance on The Last Waltz. Actually, Neil’s okay, but he shouldn’t have been in that film/ concert. What can a punter expect from your live show? Stories, clear vocals, great band, intimacy and swagger. What’ve you got to sell CD-wise? My last self-titled album that came out in 2013. DAN PARSONS is playing at The Workers Club on the Thursday May 21 with Steve Grady and Brooke Russell.
THE WORKERS CLUB
Evocative Melbourne folksters Forest Falls are currently mid way through their Workers Club residency, playing every Wednesday in May. The residency follows the release of single Hounds, taken from their upcoming sophomore EP of the same name. With a wellrounded show that will surprise and entertain, fans can expect thrilling five-part harmonies, captivating chants, memorable hooks and a performance bursting with integrity and heart that will leave you wanting more. Forest Falls play at The Workers this Wednesday May 20, with WILSN and Bears With Guns. Doors open 7pm with $8 entry on the door.
SEEDY JEEZUS CHERRY BAR
Get down to Cherry Bar this Wednesday May 20 when Seedy Jeezuz hit the stage, taking sweet jams, sweat and beads to the stage for a sermon of seedy proportions. This instalment has guests Dukes of Deliciousness and Logic Defies Logic supporting - get to Cherry Bar from 6pm to catch a steadfast set of Wednesday night rock. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $5 – plus you get a cheeky shot of Jager with your entry fee.
Phil Hancock and Holly Terrens are teaming up for a co-headline east coast Australian tour, promoting the release of their recent collaboration 3 Hearts. Both originally from Queensland, Holly Terrens is still fresh from releasing debut EP The Right Mistake, while Hancock is preparing for a solo release later this month. The tour sees them play at The Bendigo this Wednesday May 20, joined by Mechanical Pterodactyl and Maddison Wilson. Doors open 7.30pm, with $10 entry.
RUM-BLE IN THE JUNGLE THE LUWOW
Every Wednesday night at The LuWOW will see a new kind of event take place at the tiki cocktail paradise – Rum-ble in the Jungle. Joey Elbows will play an awesome mix of the finest roots music, from the '40s to the present, every week alongside the bar’s already popular Ye Olde Rum Club. Jump blues, rockabilly, rock'n'roll, country, rhythm and blues, doo wop, bluegrass, western swing will all feature and be the perfect backdrop to a night of enjoying half price rum. Get down to LuWoW when the doors open at 5pm.
THE WELLINGTONS DUO T H E R E T R E AT H O T E L
Local Power Pop Combo The Wellingtons have been playing shiny boy-girl pop music for over ten years. They’ve enjoyed national commercial airplay and have taken their bag of sharpened pop hooks all over Europe, Japan and the U.S, while collecting near flawless reviews from a long list of pop aficionados. The band are currently working on their 5th album but are taking time out to play an acoustic show at one of their favorite places to play, The Retreat Hotel, on Wednesday May 20 from 7.30pm onwards. Entry is free, as always.
DIANA RADAR
THE PUBLIC BAR
Diana Radar and their new-wave, oldskool, garage-infested rock are gracing The Public Bar every Wednesday night throughout May. The three piece from Melbourne’s North have been gaining momentum and airplay with the launch of their debut self-titled EP that features their recent single Cubic Zirconia. These juvenile delinquency graduates will be blasting through the walls with their noisy mates: Messed Up, Sunnyside and Trio. Be there for a rollicking good time when the doors open at 8pm – entry is $6.
SUNDAYS IN MAY
tuesdays in may FACT HUNT TRIVIA QUIZ STARTS AT 8PM
wednesday 20th may LOUISA WISE *CD LAUNCH* $10 FROM , SHOWTIME 8:30PM
THURSDAY 21ST MAY
COTTON CLUB: ZEVON (OF WEREWOLVES OF MELBOURNE) + SAMMY OWEN
+ BEGGINER BLUES DANCE LESSONS
ANDREW NOLTE & HIS ORCHESTRA NO COVER, SHOWTIME 4:30PM
27/5 MALLARD MOVIES PUSSY RIOT: A PUNK PRAYER 28/5 WILLOWY + DIREWOLF +TOM DOCKRAY 29/5 TOBIAS HENGEVELD + JAMES KENYON 30/5 THE FURBELLOWS ALBUM LAUNCH
LESSONS $15 pp FROM 7:30PM SHOWTIME 8:30PM, NO COVER CHARGE
FRIDAY 22ND MAY
PAPA PILKO & THE BINRATS “HOW LONG” TOUR + MICK DOGS BONEYARD
PERFORMING 2 X SETS, NO COVER CHARGE, SHOWTIME 9:30PM
SATURDAY 23RD MAY
THE WHIRLING FURPHIES + MADELINE LEMAN & THE DESERT SWELLS
DOOR /DINNER 6PM | SHOWTIME 8:30PM PRE SALE $15 + BF
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 36
HAPPY HOUR $8 Pints Of Craft Beer 4pm-6pm Daily
KITCHEN HOURS -
NEW AUTUMN MENU Tues-Fri 4pm ‘til your full Sat & Sun 2pm ‘till your full
TICKETS
For ticket sales visit www.spottedmallard.com
314 SYDNEY RD BRUNSWICK
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WOODLOCK HOWLER
So far 123 Agency’s takeover of Howler has resulted in two fantastic sets from Animaux and Tash Sultana, and with a third show in the series scheduled for New Zealand acoustic alternative trio Woodlock, you can bet that Howler is getting ready for a hat trick of talent this Wednesday May 20. The boys have been known for busking their asses off around the corners of the Melbourne CBD, captivating crowds with energetic performances as they strum, sing and drum to onlooker’s delight. With new material set to be showcased on the night, this will be one to remember – get down to Howler on Wednesday May 20 when the doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets will set you back $12.30+BF. THURSDAY MAY 21
POWER
YA H YA H S
Power is an apt name for a band that performs high voltage rock the way it was played 40 years ago. The Melbourne three piece delve into a murky and loud world where hard rock and boogie is mixed with punk, metal and psych as they plot their next move in a basement with walls adorned with Black Flag, Stooges and Hawkwind posters. They’re taking up a residency for every
Thursday night in May, with supports this week coming from Masses and No Class. Entry won’t set you back a single dollar, so get in when the doors open at 6pm for some free, furious rock this Thursday May 21.
when Parsons hits the road with Steve Grady for a co-headline tour in May, playing The Workers Club Thursday May 21. Tickets are $10.20, doors open at 8pm.
THE STRAGGLERS
THE REVERENCE HOTEL
Folk punk’s goin’ up on a Thursday as three great alternative acts hit The Reverence Hotel for a cheap show to ease you into the end of the week. The Stragglers, Tim Crossey, Cal Walker and Elements of Fiction will be gracing the front bar out in Footscray tonight, so head on down and catch some riffs from 8pm onwards. Tickets will set you back $5.
KRISTA POLVERE
THE POST OFFICE HOTEL
Krista’s second record Reservoir Drive mines rich alt-country Americana territory, combining both the femme fatale archetype pioneered by Bobbie Gentry and the gritty female troubadour of Lucinda Williams. The Post Office hotel brings you Krista’s beautifully understated and calming voice for one night only. She’ll play two sets for free on Thursday May 21; get in from 8pm onwards to catch her storytelling prowess in action.
DAN PARSONS
THE WORKERS CLUB
Local Melbourne troubadour Dan Parsons shared the first cut off his forthcoming album with the new single I’ll Live and I’ll Die released earlier this month. Using just a voice and guitar, Dan Parsons sings intimate songs of failed love, great love, missing home and the intricacies and anxieties of the human experience. See it all come to life
and disco influenced beats, No Money No Problems has everything you could want and more. Encompassing live beat performances, DJs, b boying, and karaoke, No Money No Problems is guaranteed good vibes all night long. Come early for the performances, stay late for the dance floor, this Thursday May 21 at Boney from 10pm. Entry is free. FRIDAY MAY 22
THE KILL
THE BENDIGO HOTEL
JULZ EVANS & THEN SOME
T H E R E T R E AT H O T E L
Tonight marks the night that Julz Evans & Then Some releases their So Many Words single upon fresh ears – part of an upcoming 14 track album due to be released this October. Julz’s fresh new band - a five piece including cello for this launch party - play indie folk pop, upbeat country and everything in between. They’re on the move this year and you’ll want to keep an eye on them. Support acts for the night include exceptional songwriters and performers Invisible Dears and Chris Pickering – so get down to The Retreat Hotel to catch these acts in action from 8.30pm onwards. Entry is free as always.
NO MONEY NO PROBLEMS BONEY
No Money No Problems is a new weekly hip hop party at Boney with a twist each week a different crew will take-over the venue and provide their unique spin on the genre to bring you the finest in hip hop. From boom bap to dirty south to new jack swing to R&B to soul, funk
The Kill are hitting The Bendigo Hotel for their first show of the year – so if you’re keen for a mid may grindcore fix, get your head down to Collingwood for riffs and pigsqueals until your ears bleed. Featuring on the lineup are Sewercide, Hailgun, Headless Death, Atomic Death Squad and Dogshit – get down to The Bendigo Hotel on Friday May 22 when the doors open at 8pm and catch these 6 killer bands for a cool $10.
GONE SWIMMING PUBLIC BAR
After an EP and a couple of singles, Going Swimming have returned to the helm with a small first taste of their upcoming debut LP. Your Sister, their first single since 2013, delivers rock‘n’roll with an eye toward the dirty south, prompting visions of garage legends like King Khan & BBQ Show or early era Black Lips, while forging their own sonic pathways. According to Jason Powell of Guantanamo Baywatch, they’re like White Zombie if White Zombie were a surf band. The boys will be launching Your Sister in characteristically unruly fashion at The Public Bar this Friday May 22, with help from fellow garage friends Messed UP, psych wizards The
Dead Heir and everyone’s favorite pub rock larrikins Mighty Boys. Doors open 8.30pm with a cheap as $10 entry.
Q&A
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL OPENING SHOW F E D E R AT I O N S Q U A R E
The 2015 Melbourne International Jazz Festival is set to warm up the city in midwinter with an incredible program featuring some of the world’s most important and iconic jazz artists, genre bending innovators, virtuosic instrumentalists and soulful singers The rich 2015 program brings jazz into the heart of the city with intimate club gigs, late-night art parties, film screenings, conversations, workshops, events for families and children and a wide range of free events – the first of Friday of the festival sees Federation Square hosting a free show for jazz enthusiasts and passersby. Get to Federation Square to catch samplings of The Bad Plus, Eric Haland and The Hoodangers. It all happens from 12.30pm-2.30pm on Friday May 22.
PAPA PILKO AND THE BINRATS
THE SPOT TED MALLARD
Known for their diverse style and wild live shows, Sydney septet Papa Pilko And The Binrats perform at The Spotted Mallard this Friday May 22 in support of their new single How Long from their upcoming debut album set for release later on in the year. Expect them to cast some haunting shapes as they take their brand of voodoo soul and alt country rock, with support from Mick Dogs Boneyard. Free entry, doors open 9pm.
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Holly Terrens
1. Growing Up. I grew up going to my stepfather’s sound checks. He bought me an electric guitar when I was seven but all I wanted was a violin. I ended up studying classical flute and just wrote songs, taught myself piano and sung for fun. Then it became my main focus as I got older. 2. Inspirations. Playing flute really grounded me in classical music and I draw a lot of inspiration from that. I also love great storytellers like Carol King. I play around with different time signatures whilst telling my own stories. It’s a sort of prog/ pop blend. 3. Your Band. I met my drummer Daniel Hitzke at a games night. We jammed a few days later and really clicked. I’d met Dave Couper months earlier after I played flute on a track for his band Caligula’s Horse. 4. The Music You Make. I’m just about to release my new single Not The Same, produced by Guy Cooper of Serotonin Productions and Human Records. People can expect lush string arrangements, flowing piano melodies, heavier moments and I’m also playing a bit of flute. 5. Music, Right Here, Right Now. I feel part of the minority as a singer/songwriter who plays piano instead of guitar. I like that. I lived in Japan last year and fell in love with the music scene. Tokyo will be my next stop. As far as Brisbane goes, I continue to be inspired by progressive, alternative, rock band Caligula’s Horse. HOLLY TERRENS is playing at The Bendigo Hotel on Wednesday May 20
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 37
ALBUM OF THE WEEK Ella Thompson
Janus
HUB/Caroline
Listen up class: no talking at the back and spit out that gum. Today’s lesson incorporates history, music, a multi-talented Melburnian and a debut album featuring one of the finest female voices in the country right now. Roman mythology 101 tells us Janus was the god of all beginnings, synonymous with doorways and the opportunities they present. He also had two faces to look towards both the past and present, and at times sported a hipster beard. All of these elements relate to the form and feel of Thompson’s excellent debut LP (besides the facial fuzz, of course). Following up her work with GL, Axolotl, the Bamboos and Dorsal Fins, Janus allows Thompson to flaunt her more-than considerable vocal talents in a solo setting. The titular god’s two-headed nature is reflected in that there are several styles and moods present throughout the ten tracks. Neo-psychedelia, ‘80s synth-pop, sparse balladry, and layers of distorted, dreamy loveliness provide the backdrop to Thompson’s tuneful talents. Hazy opener Drift and the Spector-esque Away Too Long seduce and spellbind, while first single Arcade is a honey-drenched slice of synth-pop that oozes contradiction, and things get weird on the six-
SINGLES
minute Taller. However, the songs benefit most when Thompson gives her vocals some oomph, such as on the second single I Go Over. Now, this isn’t a sunny synth-pop record by any stretch; there’s misery in many of the lyrics (particularly the album closer Losing You), but despair has never sounded so good. With Janus, Thompson has flung open the door of her solo career and it’s open for students of music to enjoy. Do your homework and get on board. by Paul McBride
BY LACHLAN
For all the latest singles check out beat.com.au Mad Max more like not-bad Max. Seriously it’s a good movie, check it out. Who needs Margaret and David when you’ve got old mate Lacho. Cheers.
TAYLOR SWIFT FEAT. KENDRICK LAMAR
Bad Blood (Remix) (Universal) Bad Blood isn’t one of the super strong cuts from 1989, but it’s not exactly an instant skip on the tracklist. Here it gets a trappy inflection on the beat with a few guest verses from K-Dot, not to mention a blown out, star-studded video – a throwback to Diddy excess that seems to have fallen by the wayside as label budgets tighten. I’m here for this.
TOTAL GIOVANNI
When We Break (Dot Dash/Remote Control) Previous single Paradise was a little bit of a lull for dancefloor lotharios Total Giovanni, but When We Break corrects their course into the stratosphere (the launchpad being a show-stealing appearance at Golden Plains). Here they capture a genuine emotion that digs deeper than a d-floor free for all – it takes control of hips while twigging a certain melancholy in the chest. The track plays mostly to their strengths, save for maybe the trail off vocal-melody syncopation.
METHYL ETHEL
Twilight Driving (Dot Dash/Remote Control) The tremolo-laden folk vocal on Twilight Driving couples nicely with a noodling arpeggio chime, but the strong chorus deserves something a little more impactful, resulting in a slightly muddled feel. Still, the command for a little effort in wading through the murk is mostly rewarding and the track holds up.
SLAVES
Cheer Up London (EMI) Two white prats dressing in all white using imagery of all-white animals as avatars call themselves Slaves, produce awfully shite punk with about as much edge as Boris Johnson’s barber’s scissors. An outright travesty, even by NME buzz band standards. Hopefully they’ll fade away before we’re subjected to a Falls Festival appearance. Don’t want to even think about the prospect of Laneway billing.
OSCAR KEY SUNG
Altruism (Warner) The title track to Oscar Key Sung’s Altruism EP is one of his strongest cuts yet, his lyrical conviction rising to the excellent production, achieving a resonant intimacy. Still, you get the feeling Oscar is capable of so much more. Maybe a full-length mixtape to get all this Shlohmo x Jeremih biz out of the system, then an album proper with a banger or two in line with All I Can Do. Just spit-ballin’ here.
MAC DEMARCO
They Way You’d Love Her (Spunk) Maccy DeMarc-bro follows up last year’s Salad Days with a quickfire mini-LP Another One, featuring lead single They Way You’d Love Her. It’s more of the same wavy guitar tones featured on Salad Days, delving more into outright love song territory than the introspection of that album. Breezy ‘n’ bewdiful.
SINGLE OF THE WEEK HIGH TENSION
Sports (Double Cross) A dextrous three minutes of cauterising energy, Sports shifts masterfully between skittish menace and sheer power, paying due worship to the power of the riff throughout. High Tension haven’t set a foot wrong yet, and the just-announced new LP Bully is set to be a corker. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 42
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ALBUMS New music in review this week - For more reviews go to beat.com.au/reviews
DARTS
REMI
Call It What You Want (F.Y.G. ACT:2)
Below Empty & Westward Bound
(Domino/EMI)
(House Of Beige/Unified)
(Rice is Nice)
The thunderous sound of local five-piece Darts harks back to ‘90s post-punk and slacker rock. On the band’s latest album Below Empty & Westward Bound, the hoarse yelp of singer and guitarist Angus Ayres vividly conjures up memories of early Modest Mouse, particularly on Push Me Thru and Westward Bound. Comparisons aside, the band’s bristling energy and ability to keep the good tunes flowing makes them a pretty awesome force in their own right. There’s hardly a moment to gasp for air during the neckbreak trio of songs that starts off the album, before a well-judged drop in tempo comes, along with the contrasting vocals of Ally Campbell-Smith, on the woozy, nostalgia-clouded Aeroplane. The strange conjoining of two mid-album songs (Below Empty and Westward Bound) to make the album title makes a lot of sense when you listen to the album in full. The name matches the songs’ disorientating rush, which sees the band shaking off feelings of inadequacy and selfdoubt by submitting to the cathartic force of choppy, charging guitars. Darts invite you to join them in this act and let the music take you into the darkness of the unknown. There isn’t a specific destination to get to, but it’s one hell of a ride.
Remi Kolawole is a morally-inclined lyricist. At this point in his career, the only thing tainting his halo is a few curse words and a pocket full of ciggies. The 23-year-old Melburnian is a child of hip hop and philosophy, so expect no less on this new free mixtape Call It What You Want (F.Y.G. ACT:2). All seven tracks, produced by the quietly epic Sensible J, pay tribute to the pair’s careful selection of musical influences. Beats are borrowed from a group of mismatched artists, including Nick Cave and fellow locals Hiatus Kaiyote. But it’s all conceptually motivated; after some serious melodic tweaks and tempo shifts, these tunes are only a faint echo of their prototypes. In terms of theme, the record takes no hardline direction. Along with from saluting a few great artists, Remi hops from hot button topics like violence against women on Hey You to hitting up the local pub on Melbourne Knights. At times it can feel a tad scrappy, but it’s a super decent seatwarmer until the rapper’s next official release, which is due to drop at the back end of this year. JESSICA ANKOMAH
CHRIS GIRDLER
HOT CHIP
Why Make Sense?
A common factor in the output of Hot Chip (who’ve now been making music together for 15 years) is the upbeat, domineering singles that precede their albums. Just look at The Warning’s prologue Over and Over, the classic title track from 2009’s One Night Stand, and Night and Day from the band’s previous album, In Our Heads (2012). Their albums have always been solid, but tend to quake in the shadow of the shiniest pop moments. Like Blur, Hot Chip are something of a singles band. Why Make Sense? differs in that there’s no show-stopping lead single, just eight consistently great party tracks and a couple of soulful slow jams thrown in for good measure. At one point, a double album was proposed, but the recordings were eventually culled to form a single 45-minute album. This ensures there’s no filler to detract from the killer, though the four-track companion EP continues the high quality of the album’s ten tracks. This aspect of valuing quality over quantity extends to the songs themselves. The uncluttered, clean production by the band and co-producer Mark Ralph sharpens the focus on the direct, hook-heavy compositions. Plus, they’ve made a push to represent the raw energy of their live performances. It all goes to show, you don’t need extra layers of cheese on top of what Hot Chip already deliver to get the best out of them. CHRIS GIRDLER
Hiatus Kaiyote
Death Cab For Cutie
Choose Your Weapon (Flying Buddha/Sony)
Raised By Eagles
Kintsugi
Diamonds In The Bloodstream
(WEA International) I’m calling it. Hiatus Kaiyote are the best band to come out of Melbourne. Ever. For proof, look no further than their sophomore album, Choose Your Weapon. The past few years have seen the group ascend to dizzying heights, garnering international acclaim and a Grammy nomination for their self described ‘multi-dimensional, polyrhythmic gangster shit’. Clocking in at over an hour, Choose Your Weapon captures the tight-as-clockwork live feel the band is known for, as well as incorporating immersive soundscapes and exciting detours. Opening with a bubbling collection of field recordings, video game voiceovers and Perrin Moss’ signature wonk beat, you’re immediately enveloped in the musical world of Hiatus Kaiyote. This is a world of their own creation, where the rules of rhythm, genre and melody are constantly in flux. Shaolin Monk Motherfunk shifts fluidly between ambience, swing, Afrobeat and the dirtiest hip hop beat you’ll hear all year. Amazingly, the music never sounds disjointed. Each change in groove manages to appear like a natural progression from the last, while remaining consistently unexpected. Album highlight Borderline With My Atoms is a master class in neo-soul, replete with perfectly timed hits and subtleties of texture. The band’s four players have reached a level of rhythmic and dynamic connection that makes every arrangement feel virtuosically cohesive. Arguably, the glue that holds it all together is Nai Palm’s fantastic vocal performances, which showcase her airy tone and inclination for rhythmic phrasing. Elsewhere, slow-jam Fingerprints sounds like one of the best songs Erykah Badu or D’Angelo never wrote, and Swamp Thing – featuring blistering piano work from Simon Mavin – effectively drags jazz music kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Hiatus Kaiyote have created a modern classic that sounds timeless and cutting edge at the same time. The band have not only forged a completely unique sound, but they’ve mastered it. Serially inventive, authentic and ultimately brimming with feeling, Melbourne should be proud to call this band one of our own.
Kintsugi is the first album since Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard split with ex-wife Zooey Deschanel. In essence, this is a break-up record in disguise. It doesn’t have any angst, and instead it asks the questions we all ask when a relationship fails. Yet, as this is Death Cab For Cutie, these questions and themes are tackled in an amazingly talented way, with lyrics only Gibbard could produce over the soundscapes that guitarist/ keyboardist Chris Walla has become known for. Unfortunately, Walla left the band after recording this, their eighth studio album. Luckily for fans, he finished off the album, which is a serious return to form for the US indie-pop mainstays. While their last two albums were still good, Kintsugi sees them in career-best form. Think a more modern and lighter version of 2005’s Plans or even a less isolated Transatlanticism (2003). Opener No Room In Frame is perhaps the most tragic break up song ever – and also the most beautiful. Listen to the lyrics closely and you’ll realise it’s obviously based on Gibbard’s failing marriage. The Ghosts of Beverly Drive and lead single Black Sun are fairly upbeat for a Death Cab record, while Little Wanderer chronicles the trials and tribulations of a long distance relationship and You’ve Haunted Me All My Life catalogues a long-standing unrequited love. Tucked away right at the end of the album, Binary Sea again affirms this album’s quality. Who knows if Death Cab can create this kind of effort without Walla at the helm, but right now Death Cab sounds as good as ever.
(Vitamin Records)
Raised By Eagles aren’t new kids on the block – each member of the four-piece has spent years honing their craft playing in noisy pubs and clubs around Melbourne’s CBD. This experience shows up in spades on the eight exquisitely crafted tracks that make up their second LP Diamonds In The Bloodstream. The decision to record each song in the same manner that it would be played in live (with the exception of a few over-dubbed guitars and backing vocals) was inspired, as it showcases the chemistry and trust within the band, which sets them apart from their alt-country contemporaries. Opening number Falling Through sets the pace and tone for the record. Listening to the first few bars, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d unearthed a long-lost Dire Straits recording. But towards the chorus, Luke Sinclair’s distinctive vocal style kicks in and commands your attention (and manages to hold it for the album’s entirety). From there, Sinclair displays his natural talent for storytelling. Jackie captures a moment in time when innocence is lost and love leads to heartache. Thanks to the dual songwriting efforts of Sinclair and lead guitarist Nick O’Mara, the mood takes a haunting turn on Waterlines, before the country-funk riffs of Day’s Fall drive the album to its comfortable conclusion. Diamonds In The Bloodstream showcases Raised By Eagles at their raw and gritty best. There’s less harmonica, but way more heart. NATALIE ROGERS
ALEXANDER CROWDEN
James Di Fabrizio
CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 43
GIG GUIDE
WHAT'S ON AROUND MELBOURNE THIS WEEK
For all the latest gigs check out beat.com.au
WEDNESDAY MAY 20 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
••seedy jeezus + dukes of deliciousness
+ logic defies logic Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd.
9:00pm. $5.00.
••aaron choulai trio Bennetts Lane Jazz Club,
••the wellingtons duo + matt simmons Retreat
••bopstretch Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••woodlock Howler, Brunswick. 7:30pm. $15.30.
Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $18.00.
Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm.
••dizzy’s big band - feat: peter hearne Dizzy’s
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
••harry coulson’s rain dogs Conduit Arts, Fitzroy.
••colin hay Forum Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $60.00.
••hue blanes quartet Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne
••elwood myre Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.
Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $14.00. 8:30pm. $10.00.
Cbd. 8:30pm. $15.00.
••julien wilson ‘b for chicken’ quartet 303, Northcote. 8:00pm.
••peter voglis Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm.
••ruby & the crystal set Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $17.50.
••schellenberger conducts the university
of melbourne orchestra Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:30pm.
••stellafauna + mayfair kytes + kid radio Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.00.
••the rookies The Rooks Return, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••booty pageant + luna deville + steph
fischer-ivansky Old Bar, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. $7.00. ••diana radar + hooper crescent + the dull joys Public Bar, North Melbourne. 7:00pm. $6.00. ••forest falls + wilsn + bears with guns
••daryl roberts Clifton Hill Hotel, Clifton Hill. 8:30pm.
••holly terrens + phil hancock + mechanical
pterodactyl + maddison wilson Bendigo Hotel,
Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••louisa wise + jim green & sam lemann + the
wise women Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••muddy’s blues roulette - feat: mr black & blues Catfish, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••open mic Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 8:00pm. ••open mic Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown. 7:30pm. ••open mic Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. ••open mic night Ascot Vale Hotel, Ascot Vale. 8:00pm. ••spencer p jones & charlie marshall Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm.
••the brunswick hotel’s open mic Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm.
••the go set acoustic Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy. 7:00pm.
••wine, whiskey, women - feat: megan cooper
+ elisa kate Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm.
THURSDAY MAY 21
Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. $8.00.
••fried goods + spacejunk + whailer Tote Hotel,
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
••gang of youths Northcote Social Club, Northcote.
••a secret place - feat: connie lansberg
Collingwood. 8:00pm. 8:00pm.
••lovequake - feat: amadou suso + francesca
mountfort + the lustral water + torvill and dean + the will & kate variety show + tim richmond + george johnson + the lovely days Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm.
$5.00.
••rum & records - feat: joey elbows The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
Q&A
quartet Secret Location, 8:00pm. ••aaron choulai Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $20.00.
••cathy menezes Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $15.00.
••destination moon jazz trio Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.
••jazzaoke - feat: mordialloc jazz
orchestra Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••lady oscar + esther henderson + joanna kerr + odie ida 24 Moons, Northcote. 7:30pm. $10.00. ••melbourne improvisers collective Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••menagerie (they shall inherit) - feat:
lance ferguson Chapel Off Chapel, Prahran. 7:00pm.
$25.00.
••paavali jumppanen Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:30pm. $55.00.
Western Stars
Define your genre in five words or less: Slacker country 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 really shouldn’t drink so much man. Just last night I was out drinking and I saw a band that sounded like Pavement playing the songs of Dinosaur Jr playing the songs of Wilco playing the songs of Cheap Trick and I got really confused by all the references. How long have you been gigging and writing? We’ve been together in this incarnation for about six months. What has been your favourite gig you’ve played to date? Any show where all the equipment works, the strings don’t break and we don’t spill beer on our pedals is deemed a success. What inspires or has influenced your music the most? Guitar solos, beer, palm trees, aeroplanes and women. What do you think a band has to do these days to succeed? Private jets, cocaine fountains and huge record company advances don’t happen much any more, so success to me is loading the gear without hurting myself, beating traffic, maybe playing a new song and sucking back cold ones with my friends. Do you have any record releases to date? What? Where can I get it? We digitally released Mexican Motel last year and So Long, Gene last week via bandcamp. Why should everyone come and see your band? Because they don’t mind the sound of a guitar and they have nothing better to do.
WESTERN STARS play on Thursday May 21 at the Brunswick Hotel with Del Boca Vista, Plebs and Kilby. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 44
GIG OF THE WEEK!
••percy grainger Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 6:00pm. $25.00.
••soul in the basement - feat: andrea marr
and the funky hitmen + vince peach + pierre baroni Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••steinway piano series Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm. $17.50.
••the good egg thursdays - feat: henry who
+ tigerfunk + lewis cancut Lucky Coq, Windsor.
7:00pm.
••timbalero thursdays La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••alanna eileen + emily soon + james teague Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $8.00.
••andrew riggo Customs House Hotel, Williamstown. 8:00pm.
••arbes + ministry of plenty + humus Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $2.00.
••creo + gatherer + my piranah + gypsy boots Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 7:30pm.
••housewreckers + the girls Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••jazz thursdays - feat: john montesante
quintet ft. rebecca mendoza The Commune, East Melbourne. 6:00pm.
••klinger + hugh gurney + the darjeelings Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 7:30pm. $12.00.
••lady dreams + toyota war + milk money Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $8.00.
••luna ghost + vhs dream + rabble rouser +
seasloth Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10.00. ••melbourne city mission’s sleep at the ’g 2015 - feat: british india + l-fresh the lion + penelope swales The Melbourne Cricket Ground, Richmond. 5:00pm. $60.00.
THE PEEP TEMPEL
The Peep Tempel are gettin’ on by with their Getting’ On By tour, in support of their recently released single of the same name. Aussie to the core, the local trio play gritty rock’n’roll that wouldn’t sound out of place in any pub ‘round the nation. Have a peep, a squiz, a gander if you will, at The Peep Tempel, playing this Saturday May 23 at Howler.
••next - feat: atlantic + pridelands +
countdown to armageddon Colonial Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $15.00.
••nun of the tongue + chelsea bleach + ghost
dick Public Bar, North Melbourne. 7:30pm. $8.00. ••pablo naranjo Great Britain Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. ••power - feat: brookepowerlove + masses + no class Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. ••richie 1250 Catfish, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. ••total giovanni + la pocock + jnett Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $15.00.
••vowel movement + the mcqueens +
sportsmen Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm.
$5.00.
••western stars + kilby + plebs + del boca
vista Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm.
••young dylan + wild world Karova Lounge, Ballarat. 9:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••backstage blues night - feat: dan dinnen
••daveys fridays - feat: disco dave thornton Daveys Bar & Restaurant, Frankston. 9:00pm. $10.00.
••funk rabbit + clusterfunk + tom showtime
+ kodiak kid + hyperfokus Penny Black, Brunswick.
7:00pm.
••jam the funk - feat: nikki nicholls + eric mc
cusker + robyn payne + paula reid + danny simcic + rick petropoulos Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:00pm. $18.00.
••joe o’connor quartet Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••kekoson The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:00pm.
••michelle nicolle + chantal mitvalsky &
bridgette allen Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $25.00.
••rebecca mendoza quartet Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $25.00.
••reverse swing Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $20.00.
••southside soul fundraiser for nepal - feat:
various artists Kingston City Hall, Moorabbin.
8:00pm. $5.00.
+ the shake shack boogie house band + dj barry maxwell Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. ••ben mason + the zebras Toff In Town, Melbourne
••swing train ft. gianni marinucci & hetty
••dan parsons & steve grady Workers Club, Fitzroy.
••the tipplers Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:30pm.
Cbd. 8:00pm. $15.00.
7:00pm. $8.00.
••donna iverson Open Studio, Northcote. 6:00pm.
kate Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $25.00.
••the dub captains + ras jahknow Bar Open, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. $10.00.
••tina - feat: rebecca o’connor Milanos Tavern, Brighton. 8:30pm. $25.00.
••elwood myer Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm.
••traditional irish music session Drunken Poet,
anderson Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $5.00. ••jules boult Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy. 7:00pm. ••julz evans & then some + invisible dears + chris pickering Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. ••justin yap band Carters Bar, Northcote. 8:00pm. ••krista polvere Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 8:00pm. ••open mic nite Inkerman Hotel, Balaclava. 7:30pm. ••peter cupples Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. $15.00. ••station 59 open mic Station 59, Richmond. 8:00pm. ••the cotton club - feat: zevon + sammy owen
••trumpet Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $16.00.
••jimmy chang + edith lane + tiprats + grace
Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 7:30pm.
••the stragglers + tim crossey & cal walker
+ elements of fiction Reverence Hotel, Footscray.
West Melbourne. 6:00pm.
••vince jones Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $40.00.
••what the funk fridays Purple Emerald, Northcote. 9:00pm.
••women of soul - feat: the ladies sing jazz +
dj mzrizk Malvern Town Hall, Malvern. 8:30pm. $28.00.
••zoo party orangutan fundraiser - feat:
colonel mustard + echo chamber crew + red robin + ranking yoni + mamacita bonnita + naram & art + dizzy dee 303, Northcote. 7:00pm. $10.00.
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
8:00pm. $5.00.
••admit one + set the score + boy wonder +
8:00pm.
••alithia + glass ocean + enlight + myyth
monique shelford Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 7:15pm.
••allegory! things that rhyme with corey ft.
••tingy celestino Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown. ••tom lee-richards + mirando + canary + $9.00.
••voix d’or Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm.
FRIDAY MAY 22
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••accademia arcadia Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 6:00pm. $28.00.
••bebop duo Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $17.50.
••beethoven symphony no.7 - feat: karen
gomyo Hamer Hall (arts Centre Melbourne), Southbank. 8:00pm. $25.00.
••brass band battle - feat: horns of leroy
& the immortal horns Melbourne Bowling Club, Windsor. 9:00pm. $20.00.
••chalouche Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm.
••dana czarski & nicolai sanadze Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm.
••danny maia Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.
WATCH INTERVIEWS, CHATS & AWKWARD SILENCES... BEAT.COM.AU/TV
avenue’s end Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $12.00. Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $10.00.
sex face + goodbye enemy airship + hap & ryda Karova Lounge, Ballarat. 8:30pm. $10.00. ••champagne alley Inkerman Hotel, Balaclava. 8:00pm. ••chris wilson Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. ••culture cabinet - feat: various artists Rubix Warehouse, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $8.00.
••dangerous curves + von stache + for pluto
+ hollow ground Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong. 8:00pm. $5.00.
••dead letter blues + a basket of mammoths
+ my piranha + maladaptor Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••dj brat farrar Victoria Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. ••dj dave gray Gem Bar, Collingwood. 7:00pm.
••enter shikari Forum Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $66.00.
••friday night live - feat: single income &
eastwood revine Pier Live, Frankston. 8:00pm. $5.00.
SATURDAY MAY 23
••frozen planet 1969 + borracho + olmeg +
merchant Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. ••gang of youths Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. $15.00.
••going swimming + the mighty boys + the
dead heir + messed up Public Bar, North Melbourne.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••afrobeat summit - feat: shaolin afronauts
+ the public opinion 6 Malvern Town Hall, Malvern.
9:00pm. $28.00.
8:30pm. $10.00.
••babylon burning + up up away The B.east,
Hotel, Essendon. 10:00pm.
••back to brazil - feat: tropicana tease 24
••hey hey it’s friday - feat: astro boys Royal ••hot wings The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••humans as animals + lama 24 Moons, Northcote. 8:00pm.
••juke box racket Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm.
••lindsay lowhand + deaf wish + the shifters Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.00.
••marty rose & the world play the beatles Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm.
••massive + tequila mockingbyrd The Loft,
Brunswick East. 9:00pm.
Moons, Northcote. 8:00pm. $18.00.
••beethoven symphony no.7 - feat: karen
gomyo Hamer Hall (arts Centre Melbourne), Southbank. 2:00pm. $25.00.
••dave graney & the mistly - feat: the
darling downs Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 8:00pm. $23.00.
••dj ethan mclaren Prince Public Bar, St Kilda8:00pm.
••dressed up and messy with geoff allan Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $20.00.
Warrnambool. 8:00pm.
••emma gilmartin quartet Bennetts Lane Jazz Club,
9:30pm.
••espana 1556 Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank.
••mojo corner + wayne jury Black Hatt, Geelong. ••no dramas Customs House Hotel, Williamstown. 9:30pm.
Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $25.00. 4:00pm & 6:00pm. $29.00.
••raised by eagles & ruby boots Howler,
••harry james angus & tinpan orange Bennetts
••riblja corba + gale + najda Max Watt’s,
••imogen pemberton Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.
Brunswick. 8:00pm. $23.00.
Melbourne. 7:00pm. $60.00.
••roadhouse Ascot Vale Hotel, Ascot Vale. 8:00pm.
••saint jude Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $12.00.
••san cisco + crooked colours + methyl
ethel 170 Russell, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. ••sleazy listening - feat: arks + richard kelly + hysteric + k.hoop Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm.
••the clichés - feat: the cliches Carters Bar, Northcote. 8:00pm.
••the getaway plan + gatherer + freeds Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $25.00.
••the gold street sounds Catfish, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.
••the harlots + kashmere club + pretty city
+ dj max crawdaddy Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd.
8:00pm. $13.00.
••the kill + sewercide + hailgun + trench
sisters + atomic death squad + dogshit Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••the national evening express + kaato +
space riot Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. $10.00.
••the new order - feat: wendi + eris +
batfiends + spyke + skinny + pj + amelia + louis + voodoo kitten + anarki + malefactor The Mercat, Melbourne. 10:00pm. $12.00. ••the quarters Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00.
••the smash bros + dick + stoned to death +
master_beta Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. ••the stu thomas paradox Tago Mago, Thornbury. 7:30pm.
••walker + elephant ego + slim jeffries John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm.
••watts on presents Prince Public Bar, St Kilda8:00pm. ••y.e.t.i. + shewolf Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 8:00pm. $10.00.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••alleged associates Smokehouse 101, Maidstone. 8:00pm.
••arrester + rebetiko + ciggie witch + dj
adalita Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm.
••bandaoke Pier Live, Frankston. 9:00pm.
••chris cavill & the prospectors + paul
mcmanus & the mayblooms + old feather Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $10.00.
••einsteins toyboys + rattlincane Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm. $10.00.
••forever young (songs of bob dylan) - feat:
tex perkins + shane howard + stephen cummings + mick thomas + suzannah espie + chris wilson St Kilda Memo, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $38.00. ••hank’s jalopy demons Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm.
••jasmine rae + matt cornell Revolver Upstairs,
Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $30.00.
••mai khoi + christopher gordon + muji +
muji & zoupa Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd.
6:00pm. $22.50.
••phil noy quartet Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. ••pussy power - feat: various artists Little & Olver, Fitzroy. 10:00pm. $15.00.
••ronny ferella trio Uptown Jazz Cafe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm.
••sarah maclaine with roger clark quartet
boneyard Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:30pm.
••spencer p jones Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 5:30pm. ••stray hens Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm.
••the distance duo Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy. 7:00pm.
••tulalah + 30/70 + jamil zacharia Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 7:30pm. $10.00.
••shimmy shimmy launch party - feat:
mohair slim + cece brown + dusty stylus + lady blades + emma peel + richie 1250 & pierre baroni + johnnie and jonnie johnnies Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $12.00. ••the citradels + sacred shines + the baudelaires + the crimsonettes Old Bar,
••tropical rhythms in the island village The Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:00pm.
••vintage roots Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $25.00.
••vivian sessoms Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $35.00.
••wild world + tully on tully + ted + sam
mcewin + obliveus Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:00pm. INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••bang! - feat: a saturday to remember +
mermaid Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $13.00.
••tttdc + zeahorse + spermaids + hard
rubbish Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $10.00.
••tunes by dj king 7 Gem Bar, Collingwood. 8:00pm. ••victor cripes + alex elbery & the
strangers Workers Club, Fitzroy. 1:00pm.
••vitruvian man + soulenikoes + king evil Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. $10.00.
Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $10.00.
••wilderornes The Eastern, Ballarat East. 8:30pm. $10.00.
Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:30pm. $12.00.
••brunny saturday arvo session - feat: dr
••the mary goldsmiths + neighbourhood
youth + brother james + kostantine xii Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $13.00.
••the peep tempel Howler, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $18.00. ••the tarantinos Catfish, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.
••the ultimate aussie rock show - feat:
thunderstruck + john swan + andy lutze + musiclands all star band + gold chisel band Musicland, Fawkner. 8:30pm. $25.00. ••torrential thrill + h.zed + acolyte + dj
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
ric’s dishonourable discharge Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm.
••chelsea drugstore Union Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. ••chelsea wilson + tess mckenna & the
shapiros Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm.
••cold heart Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 9:00pm.
••drunken poachers Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy. 7:00pm.
••forever young (songs of bob dylan) - feat:
tex perkins + shane howard + stephen
this fiasco + justice for the damned + the punching ponies Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $25.00.
••ben gel & the boneyard saints + australian
kingswood factory + the me-graines + terminal wally Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 9:00pm. ••byo vinyl night The Fox Hotel (south Melbourne), South Melbourne. 7:30pm.
••cabbages & kings + the shabbab + shit sex +
bj morriszonkle Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood.
8:30pm. $6.00.
••carmada + kilter Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:30pm. $30.00.
••claire birchall & the hitchhikers Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong. 8:00pm.
••cracked tapes + bog + the high drifters +
she beast Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 9:00pm. $5.00.
••crepes Karova Lounge, Ballarat. 8:30pm.
••dylan joel + peezo + kwasi + dex Workers Club,
WEDNESDAY 19TH 7PM
MELLOW DIAS THUMP FEAT.
CAZEAUX O.S.L.O & GEEZY THURSDAY 20TH 7PM
Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $16.00.
••e-sono music showcase #2 - feat: various
artists Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. ••edith lane + the gooses + amy wright Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $5.00.
••encircling sea & funeral moon + hordes of
the black cross + thrall + grimalkin Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm.
••ezra lee and the havoc band Sound City Melbourne, Spotswood. 8:00pm. $15.00.
? FRIDAY 21ST 7PM
C.C DISCO PAUL JAGER
••karaoke with zoe Customs House Hotel, Williamstown. 9:00pm.
••kings & queens rock night - feat: coastline
+ amaronix + entropy + zandata + pride only hurts + the archaic Prince Bandroom, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $14.00.
••lizard punch + foley! + coffin wolf + tired
••papa pilko & the binrats + mick dogs
Hotel, Essendon. 10:00pm.
Southbank. 2:00pm & 7:30pm. $59.00.
••sondheim on sondheim Melbourne Recital Centre,
Somerville. 7:30pm.
Morning, Clifton Hill. 8:00pm.
••saturdays r covered - feat: radio star Royal
••the cops + the suits + the hovercrafts
••kisstroyer + who au Sandbelt Club Hotel,
••nigel wearne + georgia spain Some Velvet
Sydney rockers Gang Of Youths only released their debut album The Positions last month, but they’ve already made a huge splash in the Aussie music scene, breaking into the fabled ARIA Top 5 Album Charts. Touring to support The Positions release (though they don’t really need to), Gang of Youths have made it to Melbourne, playing over two huge nights at Northcote Social Club, with Ecca Vandal in support. Catch their performance this Wednesday May 20, and again on Friday May 22.
Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $16.00.
Prahran. 8:00pm. $20.00.
••mike rudd & broc o’connor Vesbar Wine Lounge,
GANG OF YOUTHS
Moorabbin. 8:00pm. $26.00.
breeds Public Bar, North Melbourne. 8:30pm. $10.00.
••magic america Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00.
••nice types Ascot Vale Hotel, Ascot Vale. 8:00pm. ••ohms + brat farrar + drongo & the
drongos Bar Open, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.
••poly + jeffers limit + reuben bloxham +
shima John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:30pm. $8.00.
SATURDAY 22ND 7PM
NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH FEAT. GRANT CAMOV SUNDAY 23RD 6PM - 1AM
LOOSE JOINTS
FEAT. JEFF JACKSON (MEHODS OF MOVEMENT PERTH)
••san cisco (u18) + crooked colours + methyl
ethel Max Watt’s, Melbourne. 12:00pm. $40.50. CHECK OUT ALL THE LATEST NEWS, REVIEWS AND FREE SHIT AT BEAT.COM.AU
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 45
GIG GUIDE
WHAT'S ON AROUND MELBOURNE THIS WEEK
3:00pm.
••georgia spain & james locke Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy. 3:00pm.
••ghost towns of the midwest Union Hotel (brunswick), Brunswick. 5:00pm.
••introduction to oz blues - feat: matt
taylor Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 8:00pm. $25.00. ••miss whiskey Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm. ••nigel wearne & the cast iron promises + stray hens Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. ••pete fidlers’ little rabbit Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm.
••riflebirds Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. ••ruby boots Major Tom’s , 8:00pm.
••the moonee valley drifters Victoria Hotel (brunswick), Brunswick. 9:00pm.
••the outdoor type + dreamcoat + stephen
jonathan smith Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $8.00.
••the perfections Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 9:30pm.
••whirling furphies + madeline leman & the
desert swells Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:30pm.
$15.00.
SUNDAY MAY 24
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
••allan browne with julien wilson, scott
satellites & stereos + one day maybe Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood. 6:30pm. $8.00.
••the mcqueens + al aska + the karmens Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $7.00.
••the ‘64 falcon Inkerman Hotel, Balaclava. 4:00pm.
••b3 breakout 303, Northcote. 8:00pm.
••twin ages + kill dirty youth + crossfire
hurricane Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. ••winter is coming - feat: guthrie + the annie crooners + brockway lights + logic defies logic + tragic earth + stone revival + the balls + pegbucket + bad uncle Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 2:00pm. $10.00.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
sticking place + the bean project Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 4:00pm.
••claws & organs + shards + sadults John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 4:00pm.
••eurovision...it’s a gas! - feat: kitty bang Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 6:30pm.
••good faces for radio + dj helmer Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong. 7:00pm. $5.00.
••harmaniax Gem Bar, Collingwood. 8:00pm.
••hugh mcginlay & the recessive genes Standard Hotel, Fitzroy. 7:00pm.
••jam at musicland sundays - feat: jameoke Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm.
••melbourne artist showdown - feat:
dj maars Penny Black, Brunswick. 5:00pm.
••mariachi los romanticos - feat: mariachi
los románticos Tramway Hotel, North Fitzroy. 3:00pm.
••mostly mendelssohn - feat: stefan jackiw Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 2:30pm. $49.00.
••musical theatre open mic night Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $12.50.
••nadav Yacht Club Hotel, Williamstown. 1:00pm.
••shol quintet Open Studio, Northcote. 5:00pm. Daveys Bar & Restaurant, Frankston. 2:30pm.
••windari Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••andrew swift + megan cooper + gretta
ziller Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 3:00pm. ••brent parlane band Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East.
••canyon Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 3:00pm. $18.00. ••cherry blues - feat: goatpiss gasoline
+ john power band + the china blues experiment + dj max crawdaddy Cherry Bar,
••rumblin’ wolf Workers Club, Fitzroy. 1:00pm. $5.00. ••san cisco + crooked colours + methyl
ethel 170 Russell, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $35.00. ••sugar fed leopards + chook race + the reprobettes Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 4:00pm. $10.00.
••the innocence + single for summer +
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS ••cherry jam Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. ••kagu & ali barter + orca Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 7:30pm. $10.00.
••maddawg mondays - feat: t-rek Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.
••monday night mass - feat: matt bailey +
bonnie mercer + caroline no + hero Northcote
Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm.
••mundane mondays - feat: mares + shima +
koukatsuna onani Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5.00. ••paul williamson’s hammond combo Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. $10.00.
••pretty city Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $3.00. 8:00pm. $7.00.
••kash nexus + heidi everett & friends +
Coburg. 4:30pm.
$35.00.
••ainslie wills + spender Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $15.00.
••fitzroyalty - feat: philemon + sean
kirkwood Little & Olver, Fitzroy. 7:00pm.
••girl fridas + swim team + theft + piss
factory Public Bar, North Melbourne. 7:00pm. $8.00.
Williamstown. 3:00pm.
••oliver paterson beat project + thhomas
Melbourne. 3:30pm.
••taste of indie tuesday - feat: michael yule +
••pheasant pluckers Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm. ••rockabilly sundays Prince Public Bar, St Kilda8:00pm.
Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5.00.
ali hughes + kat o Prince Public Bar, St Kilda8:00pm.
••the brunswick hotel discovery night
••small town romance Union Hotel, Brunswick.
- feat: echo beep + the asylum sisters + audioblivion Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. ••them bruins + the mary goldsmiths Cherry
••sunday sessions - feat: various artists
••tuesdays are fridays Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood.
••shelley segal Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh. 3:00pm. $18.00.
5:00pm.
Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully. 2:00pm.
••sunday sessions - feat: various artists Lucky Coq, Windsor. 4:00pm.
5:00pm.
••the shotgun wedding + james kenyon
music Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm. ••tooze & bruce sunday residency Tago Mago, Thornbury. 7:00pm.
••townes van zandt tribute - feat: jack
evan johnson + the weeping willows + dan waters + nick batterham + tom dockray + michael plater + dan parsons + the happy lonesome + amarina waters + james stewart’s fourdoorshitbox + georgia spain + patrick wilson + joseph dwyer +
Tomorrow is the opening night of the St Kilda Film Festival. More than 3,000 guests will appear at the gorgeous Palais Theatre to launch the Festival and sample some of the best works on offer in the 2015 program. Visit www.stkildafilmfestival. com.au for details on how to purchase tickets, don’t miss out. Dates have been announced for Push FReeZA Summits. These FREE training sessions are a terrific opportunity for anyone to improve their knowledge on event management issues as well as participate in some hands-on workshops, network and hear firsthand from music industry experts. They’ll be happening in Traralgon on June 30, Ballarat on July 7 and Fitzroy on July 9. Register online at www.thepush.com.au. Full program will be released soon. 17-year-old electronic producer Japanese Wallpaper has recently announced that his debut EP will hit the public’s ears on June 18. To celebrate the release, he’s venturing out on a headline tour. He has sweetly included a few under-18 matinees in the tour, playing at Northcote Social Club with Edward Francis on July 12. Tickets are already selling fast so get on www.northcotesc.ticketscout. com.au to snatch them up. Ministry of Plenty are an experimental pop/ psychedelic four-piece from the Eastern Suburbs and by the end of May their first EP Assertions will drop. They have a massive, gorgeous live sound that will be so exciting to hear in a neat compilation. You can listen to the single What I Gave You on Bandcamp as well as a few other tracks on Soundcloud.
All Ages Timetable
TUESDAY MAY 26
••a tip to the glass to prohibition cocktail
Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm.
With Jess Zanon
Thank God that summer exists in other parts of the world right now so that we’re still getting super summery tunes during the beginning of this dreary season. Did you hear Mac DeMarco’s new song The Way You’d Love Her from his upcoming miniLP Another One? Perfect reminder it’s not always this cold and grey.
masterclass Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 1:00pm.
7:00pm.
••greg walsh The Woodlands Hotel, Coburg. 4:00pm.
••harry hookey + elwood myre + kris morris
ACCESS ALL AGES
$6.00.
sisterix & krista polvere Retreat Hotel, Brunswick.
snakes + dead + mutton Old Bar, Fitzroy. 7:00pm.
(brunswick), Brunswick. 3:30pm.
PRESENT
For all you filmmakers and animators, the Screen It competition is your chance to create something amazing and win some great prizes. Every year, hundreds of students across the nation enter Screen It – ACMI’s epic moving image competition for Primary and Secondary school students. This year’s theme is ‘change’. The entry categories for secondary school students are Animated Film, Live Action Film and Videogame. Jump on to www. acmi.net.au for details on how to enter and further information.
••the mutual appreciation society - feat:
••‘grit’ zo damage art opening - feat: river of
••the flaming mongrels Retreat Hotel, Brunswick.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 46
The Apartment, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $15.00.
Melbourne. 4:00pm.
••the f100s Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North. 4:00pm.
WANTED COOKIES! Me want alllllllllllll the cookies. Email:sometimesfoodisasham@sesame.com BANDS/ACTS WANTED for Espy Shows. Shoot an email through to mark@gunnmusic.com.au for more details
featuring becky martin & willie murillo
••dan warner & marcel borrack Union Hotel
••nicky del rey & layla jean Clare Castle Hotel, Port
Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm.
Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 8:00pm. $49.00.
••the daryl mckenzie jazz orchestra
INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS
••cyndi boste & pete fidler Drunken Poet, West
••peter lubulwa + kodiak galaxy + bob
••rag n’ bone + scrum vegas + the moltens
artists St Kilda Memo, St Kilda. 8:00pm.
Melbourne Cbd. 2:00pm. $5.00.
••palace of the king + the drop bears Beav’s Bar,
2:00pm. $10.00.
artists Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm.
$12.00.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK
4:30pm.
••michelle gardiner Customs House Hotel,
harrow + madeline duke Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy.
Room, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm.
••monash large ensembles - feat: various
nolte & his orchestra Spotted Mallard, Brunswick.
pheonix 303, Northcote. 3:00pm. ••louis king & the liars klub Post Office Hotel,
Geelong. 8:00pm. $15.00.
Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $12.50.
••dana czarski & nicolai sanadze Ruby’s Music
••t.v. + ivy st + palm springs Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy.
••oxygen college artist development Brunswick. 6:00pm.
••christopher gordon + muji & zoupa Ruby’s
5:30pm.
••bugger monday sundays - feat: andrew
••hemus Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 6:30pm.
program - feat: elasticalpaca Brunswick Hotel,
6:30pm. $25.00.
••mostly mendelssohn - feat: stefan jackiw
Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $18.00.
various artists Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 12:30pm. $12.00. ••melbourne hit parade Carters Bar, Northcote. 5:00pm.
gomyo Hamer Hall (arts Centre Melbourne), Southbank.
••easy now - feat: agent 86 + tom showtime +
••vince jones St Kilda Memo, St Kilda. 3:00pm. $32.00.
Ascot Vale. 8:00pm.
••beethoven symphony no.7 - feat: karen
••monday night jazz party - feat: various
••apia good times tour - feat: brian cadd-
••bulk of man + the tattered sails + the
Recital Centre, Southbank. 7:00pm. $50.00.
••casey golden trio Bennetts Lane Jazz Club,
••sunday soultrain - feat: the detonators
joe camilleri-glenn shorrock & kate ceberano Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 7:30pm. $80.00. ••beersoaked sundays - feat: mollusc + tsatwip Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $6.00. ••better late than never trio Ascot Vale Hotel,
Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $18.00.
••the steve martins Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East.
••4th avenue band + trio manipulato Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 5:00pm. $5.00.
tinkler & phil rex + allan browne with julien wilson + scott tinkler & phil rex ••and...action - feat: various artists Melbourne
9:00pm.
THE PUSH
MONDAY MAY 25
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC
For all the latest gigs check out beat.com.au
cummings + mick thomas + suzannah espie + chris wilson St Kilda Memo, St Kilda. 8:00pm. $38.00. ••georgia maq + will wagner Old Bar, Fitzroy.
brooke russell + maddy leman Little Mess,
Brunswick. 3:00pm.
Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. 4:00pm.
Friday MAY 22
• Neon Dreams w/ Adrian Gatto, Ben Nicholas, Mitch Brasher, at EV’s Youth Centre, 212 Mt Dandenong Rd. 6.30-11pm, $12. www. maroondahyouthservices.com. U18. • Teens on the Green, w/ Ben Cross at Warrnambool Civic Green. 5-9pm, $5, www. warrnambool.vic.gov.au. U18. • Revolution w/ Bellarine Secondary College VET Music Students at The Pavillion, Princess Park Queenscliff. 2-6.30pm. Free. www.qmf.net.au. AA. Saturday 23 May
• San Cisco w/ Crooked Colours and Methyl Ethel at Max Watt’s,125 Swanston St, Melbourne. 12pm, $40.50. www.tickets.thehifi.com.au. U18. • Jackson McClurg w/ Lachie Ryan at Wrangler Studios, 8C Whitely Parade, West Footscray, 1pm, $18.40. www.tickets.oztix.com.au. AA.
JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC ••bebop duo Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $12.50.
••destination venice - feat: ludovico’s band Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 6:00pm. $38.00.
••irish session Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. ••monash large ensembles - feat: various
artists Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm.
Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 6:30pm. $9.00.
••ruby james & friends Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.
ACOUSTIC/COUNTRY/BLUES/FOLK ••baby blue + alannah eileen Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:30pm.
$12.00.
••bill callahan Hamer Hall (arts Centre Melbourne),
6:00pm.
••the weeping willows w/ john flanagan Yarra
••peter voglis Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. ••quartet on collins #2 - feat: flinders
quartet Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank. 1:00pm. $38.00.
••remco keijzer quartet Bennetts Lane Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $18.00.
••richmond music academy open mic night
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Southbank. 8:00pm. $75.00. Hotel, Abbotsford. 8:00pm.
Wed 20th May
WINE, WHISKEY, WOMEN 8pm: Elisa Kate 9pm: Megan Cooper Thurs 21st May
8pm:
Elwood Myer Fri 22nd May
6pm: Traditional 8:30pm:
Irish Session
The Tipplers
Sat 23rd May
Cold Heart 4pm:Cyndi Boste & Pete Fiddler 6.30pm:Heymus W E E K lY T r I V I a 9pm:
Sun 24th May
Tuesdays
The Drunken Poet, 65 Peel Street (directly opposite Queen Vic Market), Phone: 03 9348 9797. www.thedrunkenpoet.com.au
PA HIRE Comprehensive PA systems delivered, set up and operated with crew. Compact, easy, sound systems you can pickup and assemble yourself.Components such as microphones, speakers and effects are also available separately. Lights also available. For details phone Mark Barry on 03 9889 1999 or 0419 993 966
www.bssound.com.au bssound@bigpond.com
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KINDRED STUDIOS
IN YARRAVILLE
Co-Working & Creative Office Studios Short and long-term leases available Base your digital media, recording or other creative business out of Kindred Studios. Call 9689 9859 to make an enquiry.
kindredstudios.com.au
03 9687 0233
INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH
MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
With Christie Eliezer * Stuff for this column to be emailed to <celiezer@netspace.net.au> by Friday 5pm
REVENUES UP FOR UNIVERSAL, WARNER, IN 2015
Both Universal Music Group (UMG) and Warner Music Group (WMG) announced revenue growth in the first three months of 2015, as growth in subscription and streaming revenues more than offset sales of CDs and downloads. What’s more, they expect digital to grow as they put pressure on streaming companies to abandon free tiers. UMG saw revenues across recorded music, publishing and merchandise up 11.6% year-on-year in the first quarter to $1.1 billion. Digital music income alone grew 8% to $459 million. Recorded music revenue was up 2.4% to $874 million thanks to new releases from Drake, Madonna and Kendrick Lamar and carry-on sales from last year’s releases by Taylor Swift, Sam Smith and the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. Music publishing brought in $184 million. WMG translated its $59 million loss in the first three months of 2014 to a net income of $19 million this year. Total revenue was up 13%, with recorded music up 15%. All its divisions did well except artist services and expanded-rights. Notably, streaming overtook downloads for the first time for a major. US recorded music digital revenue was $144 million, now 61% of all its recorded music revenue. The biggest digital sellers were Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé, Led Zeppelin and David Guetta, while Zeppelin and Kid Rock also brought in strong CD sales.
ARIA LAUNCHES STREAMING CHART
ARIA this week introduced a new weekly Audio & Visual Streaming Chart. It incorporates all official music videos on YouTube, including Vevo on YouTube, and user-generated clips that incorporate audio recordings in addition to the audio streams already collected from music streaming services Deezer, JB Now, Rdio, Google Play and Spotify. ARIA CEO Dan Rosen said, “We aim to continuously evolve the ARIA Charts to ensure that they accurately represent the new ways that Australian music fans are consuming their favourite music. There is no denying the impact YouTube has today on music and popular culture.”
Q&A
Klone
Hello! Who are we speaking with and what do you do in Klone? Hi, this is Guillaume, guitarist and principal composer for Klone. You’ll be travelling to Australia, all the way from France, for a run of shows with Voyager. What should we expect from your live set? We’re very excited to come and play in Australia. Klone will play songs from our last three albums, Black Days, The Dreamer’s Hideaway and Here Comes The Sun. Klone’s music has the particularity of allowing the spirit to travel. On stage, the band is full of energy, just let the music catch you. You released your first album Duplicate way back in 2003. How has you music developed over the years? Klone began to play metal with rock influences. Over the years the music becomes more and more atmospheric with clean vocals, and more and more progressive. We just want to play good music. Can you tell us a little about your most recent release Here Comes The Sun? We really worked hard on this album – it was a real challenge for us to not repeat what we did on our previous albums. This new album is emotionally intense and this music was written to touch the people in their hearts – a sort of “call to meditation”.” With Here Comes The Sun, the band’s songwriting has reached the next level. What is unique about France’s live music scene? We have really good bands, like Gojira , Trepalium , Hacride , Lizzard and Hypno5e. The fact is that all these bands are really passionate about the music and they dedicate their life to that. You can feel it on the stage. All of them are true and intense. KLONE will be supporting Voyager at The Evelyn on Friday May 29. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 50
ONLY JET FOR AC/DC?
A rumour started on Triple M’s Grill Team by an unnamed industry insider that AC/DC has thrown a big wad of cash at three defunct Aussie acts to reform for their summer tour. Both Silverchair and Powderfinger have denied plans to the media, saying they’re busy with their solo careers. But Jet responded with a link to the Triple M report with the one-word comment “Rumours???”
CBD NIGHTCLUB CLOSED
After 20 years, CBD Nightclub has closed for good, owner Mark Demajo said. It introduced Escape, Subculture, Bass Station, 3D and DV8. Demajo said, “Everything that could possibly be done to keep the doors open over recent months had been done. It is the time when a commercial four level building in the heart of the CBD with an underground clientele as its target market is very challenging to maintain financially on a weekly basis. In addition, the current economic climate and increasing regulatory pressure and fees makes it very difficult for the survival of all larger capacity nightclubs at the moment.”
THINGS WE HEAR
• Is a 30-year old payment to a tour manager by a major act finally being settled? • Which journo was bagging a rival scribe to a record company publicist, without realising he was her partner? • Tours: Mumford and Sons will be here this year, Ben Lovett told triple j and confirmed by their label. New York dancehall artist Kranium is heading here, said Atlantic Records. Mike Love said the Beach Boys will return in 2015. • Ed Sheeran led this week’s certifications, with X reaching six times platinum in Australia, Thinking Out Loud six times platinum and Bloodstream hitting its first platinum. Taylor Swift’s 1989 went six times platinum, and Vance Joy’s Georgia’reached platinum. •A listener poll by Triple M to mark its 35th anniversary chose AC/DC’s Back In Black as the best album of the past three decades. The others in the Top ten were Metallica’s Metallica, Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction, Nirvana’s Nevermind, Pearl Jam’s Ten, INXS’s Kick, Cold Chisel’s East, Midnight Oil’s 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion I & II and RHCP’s Blood Sugar Sex Magic. •After the second of two shows at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda as part of Pure Gold, Mi-Sex bassist Don Martin had his rare red and orange 1962 Fender bass guitar stolen from backstage. He’d had it for 40 years. • Hard touring took its toll on Sydney’s Sticky Fingers. They cancelled a UK tour to start last week, but will still do a London show on May 24. They posted, “This is due to personal reasons within the band. Right now we’ve felt the need to take a step back and look after each other like a proper band should.” • After a U2 fan hacked off a branch of the Joshua tree used on the cover of their album as a keepsake, another fan, George G, worked in the middle of the night, armed with just a flashlight, to re-affix it with adhesive and liquid screws. • A thief broke into musician Genevieve McGuckin’s home in in St Kilda and made off with 200 records – which, The Age reported, included rare pressings belonging to her late partner, Rowland S. Howard, including those by The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and These Immortal Souls.
RDIO LAUNCHES BUDGET ‘RDIO SELECT’
With Apple’s Apple Music streaming service here in a month, Rdio launched ‘Rdio Select’, a cheap version at $5.99 a month for ad-free radio and on demand music downloads. Subscribers can keep 25 songs at a time for as long as they want, and replace them with up to 25 new songs every day. Rdio Select also includes unlimited access to ad-free streaming radio with unlimited skips and high quality audio at 320 kbps. This is an enhanced way to enjoy music inspired by specific artists, albums or songs as well as stations curated personally by artists, labels and the Rdio programming team.
GEMMA MUMFORD LEAVES SHOCK
Shock’s communications manager Gemma Mumford has left the company after getting a new gig in Sydney. All marketing and advertising enquiries will be directed to Simon Dower (Simon.dower@shock.com. au) and publicity and promotions to Jessica Hutton ( Jessica.hutton@shock.com.au).
JOSH EARL JOINS TRIPLE R’S BREAKFAST TEAM
Comedian Josh Earl joins the Triple R breakfast team from June 9, after Declan Fay’s decision to step down from the mic. Fay just wound up shows
at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Breakfasters Alicia Sometimes and Steve Wide are joined by Chris Hatzis in the interim.
JESSE LUBITZ JOINS AIR
Jesse Lubitz joins independent trade association AIR on Monday May 25 as Membership & Operations Manager. He was most recently at APRA AMCOS for five years in the Writer Services Team. Lubitz has also been band manager and principal member of Melbourne indie-folk band Tinpan Orange.
ELWOOD BLUES CLUB MOVES TO PRINCE PUBLIC BAR
The Elwood Blues Club, which started over 15 years ago, kicked off its weekly Sunday sessions at its new home the Prince Public Bar on the weekend, with Ian Collard. The club’s house band, the EBC Allstars, welcomes amateur and professional musicians to join them each week for one of several three-song sets. The music begins at 5 pm. See the Prince’s Facebook for more info.
SONY MUSIC PICKS UP ROSTRUM RECORDS
Sony Music Australia picked up distribution for US indie Rostrum Records, which launched US chart topping rappers Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller. It was set up in 2003 by Benjy Grinberg, who started as assistant to Antonio “L.A.” Reid. The deal covers Australia, NZ, SE Asia and China. First album out will be LA-based “hippie hop” purveyor Mod Sun’s debut album Look Up.
NEW OWNERS FOR THE PRINCE ALFRED
Brother and sister Linda Turner and Steve Schultz, who ran a hotel on the Bellarine Peninsula, are new owners of Port Melbourne’s live music spot Prince Alfred Hotel. It was previously owned by former North Melbourne AFL star Corey McKernan and his company CM Ultimate Events.
SASKWATCH HIT UK
Melbourne’s Saskwatch kicked off an eight-date UK run on May 15, taking in festivals such as The Great Escape and Liverpool Sound City. They’re also doing two shows in Berlin. These shows will see them preview their third studio album Sorry I Let It Come Between Us, out via Northside Records/ Remote Control Records on Friday June 12. It was recorded over a month at Mt Slippery outside Philadelphia – an old silversmith warehouse turned into a recording studio by Dr Dog’s Scott McMicken and Nathan Sabatino, who produced.
A GUNNER DENIES OZ CRAWL ‘THEFT’ ACCUSATION
Duff McKagan denies accusations from Australia that their massive 1987 hit Sweet Child O’ Mine was nicked from Australian Crawl’s 1981 album track Unpublished Critics. The story surfaced on Max TV last week, and the videos of both songs showing some similarity went viral. Oz Crawl’s James Reyne certainly noticed it then, and has been known to play a bit of the Gunners song before his own at concerts, but he admits that he never had the money to “take on the might” of the American band’s lawyers. McKagan told Radio.com that he was only sent the video with the two songs last week. “It is pretty stunning,” he admitted. However, he quickly added, “But we didn’t steal it from them. I swear [put his hand on his heart], I never heard that song until a couple of days ago.” He was curious why the story emerged after all this time. Probably because of rumours the original Gunners lineup were planning to reunite.
SUZE DE MARCHI SIGNS WITH SOCIAL FAMILY
Suze de Marchi signed a multi-album solo deal with Social Family Records. Her second solo album Home (out on July 24 – 15 years after her first) sees her duet with Jimmy Barnes, Russell Morris, Diesel, Tex Perkins, Dallas Frasca and producer Shane Nicholson. The album’s made up of covers of homethemed songs by The Clash, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sheryl Crow, Adele and Ryan Adams. She previews it at the Newtown Social Club July 9.
BUDGET BLOW FOR COMMUNITY RADIO
The music industry smiles greeting last week’s Federal Budget were from regional arts, hotels and small businesses. The frowns came from the Australia Council, which lost some of its programs to a new Government funding initiative that may be reliant on favours from politicians, a 10% price rise for those downloading music and videos from overseas, and a two-year funding freeze on community radio. Adrian
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LIFELINES Marrying: Perth drummer James Baker will wed Catherine Podger. As part of the celebrations, he’s putting on a concert called I’m Flipped Out Over You at the Rosemount Hotel on June 6. It’ll feature members of his past bands as The Victims, The Scientists, The Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon and The Dubrovniks, including Dave Faulkner, Kim Salmon and Spencer P. Jones. Baker is playing in four bands on the night. Married: former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and Formula One boss Christian Horner, head of the Red Bull racing team, in the UK. Ill: screaming at his shows in the past 20 years led EDM act Steve Aoki to cancel European shows for surgery on his vocal cords. Diagnosed: Creed’s Scott Stapp confirmed he has bipolar disorder which caused his recent erratic behavior – including accusing his family of being ISIS members who were plotting to assassinate President Obama. Injured: All That Remains drummer Jason Costa needs dental work after a flying piece of broken drumstick damaged one of his teeth. In Court: Omar Barri, 43, owner of Fever nightclub in Wollongong appeared before Port Kembla Local Court charged with raping one of his staffers at his home in March 2014 when she was drunk and drug-effected. In Court: Joseph Robert Houston, found guilty of murder in the WA Supreme Court after slashing the throat of James Dorloff, 20, at a New Years Eve rave at Wedge Island, WA, and severing four fingers of another patron. He will be sentenced in August. Died: among tributes for the recently departed BB King was Eric Clapton urging fans to check out the maestro’s Live At The Regal, which he said “for me is where it all began.” King spearheaded the global popularity of the blues, breaking the mainstream charts with The Thrill Is Gone, and toured Australia numerous times. Just before his death last week aged 89, King’s family had gone unsuccessfully to court to wrest guardianship of his estate from his manager Laverne Toney who they claimed abused the guitarist and misplaced more than $1million of his $5 million fortune. Died: Alex Mcnulty, bassist with Tasmania’a Save The Clock Tower, cause unspecified. They are signed to Fiction in Australia and Bullet Tooth in the US. Died: US folk singer Guy Carawan – whose version of the traditional gospel number We Shall Overcome became the resistance anthem for civil rights groups around the world – 87, from dementia.
Basso, president of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia said this would mean that the 440-plus stations would have to tighten their belts even more, would delay their digital conversion and put a question mark on the survival of many.
LANKS AT SELECT MUSIC
Sydney-based Select Music booking agency has signed Melbourne’s Lanks (Will Cuming) and put him on a seven date headline tour of the East Coast behind his forthcoming EP Banquet. After his debut last year Thousand Piece Puzzle’got attention from the NME and triple j, his new single Settle Down debuted on UK tastemaker blog The 405.
NEW WINTER FESTIVAL FOR BALLARAT
Ballarat hosts a new winter festival, Winterlude, launched last Friday by City of Ballarat and Ballarat Regional Tourism. Events include three weekends from July 17 till August 2 with live music, street theatre and light installations in laneways, while music is also a feature of the new Winter Solstice Market at the Mitchell Harris Wine Bar. More info at www. ballaratwinterlude.com.au.