POPFRENZY PRESENTS
FIRST SHOW SOLD OUT
SECOND SHOW
SUN 6 MARCH 170 RUSSELL F OR TICKETING GO TO 170RUSSEL L . C O M POPFRENZY.COM.AU W W W. B E AT.C O M . A U
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M E L B O U R N E R E C I TA L C E N T R E P R E S E N T S
‘TEN NEW ARTISTS YOU NEED TO KNOW.’ ROLLING STONE Rising alt-country starlet, Natalie Prass and her band are touring Australia for the first time. Prass has mesmerised fans and critics alike with her refreshing and intelligent music and lyrics earning her widespread comparisons to the work of Dusty Springfield and Carole King.
‘SPELLING BINDING COUNTRYSOUL.’ THE GUARDIAN (UK) MON 29 FEB 7.30PM TICKETS $55
THE NECKS S AT 5 M A R C H 7 . 3 0 P M
TICKETS $55/$45
Cult Australian improv trio, The Necks’ live shows have been described as religious experiences. Celebrated for creating immersive sets with sensitivity, intelligence and stamina, blending jazz, ambient and avant-garde, their music gradually changes as the narrative fades and drifts – and no two shows are ever the same.
‘Absolutely riveting... how three musicians can sound like 18 is a mystery... extraordinary magical sounds emerged from the ensemble.’ Financial Times (UK)
‘Entirely new and entirely now. They produce a post-jazz, post-rock, posteverything sonic experience that has few parallels or rivals.’ The Guardian (UK)
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The Brunswick Hotel 25th Jan
- Daisy West - Saturn 3 - Ultravibralux - The Crooks -
Monday Australia Day Eve - Starts 8pm Free Entry
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Monday Residency 7.30pm
MORELAND CITY SOUL REVUE Get on board the soul train and check out this allstar cast of musos playing old soul and soulful funk. PLUS: Check out the dinner special: Moreland City Soul Revue fried chicken dinner. Every Monday night at the Union!
Sundays In January 5pm
LOST RAGAS
Rockin’ alt-country outfit led by Aria Award winner Matt Walker, playing tunes from brand new record Trans Atlantic Highway. Dashville.com.au calls it: “Broken hearted alt-country that flies off into amazing dual slide guitar meets lap steel, all centred around Matt Walker’s beautifully dark voice.”
Sat 23 January 5pm
AMARILLO
The project of songwriter and guitarist Nick O’Mara (Raised by Eagles, the Butcherbirds) and songwritervocalist Jac Tonks. A mix of dark, tremolo infused ballads and jangly alt-country with a folk-pop twist.
Sat 23 January 9pm
DRUNKEN POACHERS
Rambunctious, whisky swilling, boozy singing septet.
announcing THE FULL 2016 LINE-UP!
BLIND BOY PAXTON
(USA)
CUMBIA MASSIVE PARTY
DJUKI MALA
WITH SWEET MONAS, PETER MILES & POPE JOAN
GOSPEL BRUNCH
HAT FITZ & CARA
KYLIE AULDIST
ALSARAH & THE NUBATONES (SUDAN / USA)
EMMA DONOVAN & THE PUTBACKS
GAME OF THROATS
I FEEL LIKE GOIN’ BACK
IF YOU SEE HER SAY HELLO
MIA DYSON
MAGNA GRECIA
JESS RIBERIO
MOUNTAIN MOCHA KILIMANJARO
ITALIAN GREEK ORCHESTRA
(JAPAN)
(AUS / IRE)
MOXIE
(IRELAND)
www.brunswickmusicfestival.com.au The Brunswick Music Festival is proudly presented by Performing Arts Moreland with the continued support of principal public partner Moreland City Council.
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AUSTRALIA DAY EVE AT LUCKY COQ 9PM — 3AM / FREE ENTRY CNR CHAPEL & HIGH ST WINDSOR WWW.LUCKYCOQ.COM.AU
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U PSTA IRS Clancey Pakatak Tigerfunk
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DOWNSTAIRS Malpractice Jens Beamin Matt Radd
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J O H N D I G W E E D • PG. 34
PBS DRIVE LIVE• PG.36
#1508 • JANUARY 20 14 20 22 24 25
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HOT TALK / FREE SHIT UPCOMING TOURS & GIG OF THE WEEK COVER STORY: FAT WHITE FAMILY WHAT’S ON THE HATEFUL EIGHT ART OF THE CITY THE COMIC STRIP CALENDAR JIMMY CARR MAAJID NAWAZ OUT OF THE CLOSET BEAT EATS BEAT’S GUIDE TO MIDSUMMA BEAT’S PUBLIC HOLIDAY GUIDE BEAT’S GUIDE TO RAINBOW SERPENT JOHN DIGWEED SPOONBILL PBS DRIVE LIVE EXIT CEREMONIES LOUISE LOVE SAVAGES GUILTY SIMPSON SETH SENTRY COOKIN’ ON THREE BURNERS FATBOY SLIM VIET CONG MANTRA CORE & CRUNCH COLUMNS PANIC! AT THE DISCO LIVE ALBUM OF THE WEEK SINGLES / CHARTS ALBUMS GIG GUIDE / ALL AGES BACKSTAGE INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH
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E X I T C E R E M O N I ES • PG. 36
GUILTY SIMPSON • PG.38 PANIC! AT THE DISCO • PG. 40
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PUBLISHER: Furst Media Pty Ltd. MUSIC EDITOR: Cara Williams ARTS EDITOR, ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR & ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray SUB EDITOR: Augustus Welby ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE & EDITORIAL COORDINATORS: Thom Parry EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS: Michael Clark, Cassie Hedger, Gloria Brancatisano, Thomas Brand, Jess Zanoni, James Di Fabrizio, Kate Eardley. MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr BEAT PRODUCTION MANAGER: Michael Cusack GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Michael Cusack, Andrew Rozen, Lizzie Dynon. COVER DESIGN: Michael Cusack ADVERTISING: Cara Williams (Music: Bands/Tours/Record Labels) cara@beat.com.au Thom Parry (Hospitality/Bars) thom@beat.com.au Keats Mulligan (Backstage/Musical Equipment) mixdown@beat.com.au CLASSIFIEDS: classifieds@beat.com.au GIG GUIDE SUBMISSIONS: now online at www. beat.com.au or bands email gigguide@beat.com.au ACCOUNTANT: accountant@furstmedia.com.au OFFICE MANAGER: Lizzie Dynon ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au DISTRIBUTION: Free every Wednesday to over 2000 points around Melbourne. Wanna get BEAT? Email distribution@beat.com.au CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS: Mary Boukouvalas, Ben Gunzburg, Anna Kanci, Charles Newbury, Tony Proudfoot, Laura May Grogan, David Harris, Emily Day, Lucinda Goodwin, Dan Soderstrom. SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR: Christie Eliezer SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR: Patrick Emery SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Ian Laidlaw COLUMNISTS: Emily Kelly, Peter Hodgson, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Anna Whitelaw BEAT TV/WATT’S ON PRESENTER: Dan Watt CONTRIBUTORS: Kelsey Berry, Graham Blackley, Gloria Brancatisano, Chris Bright, Avrille Bylock-Collard, Alexander Crowden, Liza Dezfouli, Jules Douglas, Jack Franklin, Emma Gawd, Chris Girdler, Joe Hansen, Nick Hilton, Peter Hodgson, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Cassandra Kiely, Billy Killing, Jody Macgregor, Nick Mason, Denver Maxx, Krystal Maynard, Paul McBride, Miki Mclay, Rhys McRae, James Nicoli, Adam Norris, Jack Parsons, Leigh Salter, Sisqo Taras, Kelly Theobald, Tamara Vogl, Dan Watt, Augustus Welby, Garry Westmore, Rod Whitfield, Jen Wilson, Thomas Brand, Alex Watts, Tyson Wray, David James Young, Bronius Zumeris, Simone Ubaldi, Natalie Rogers, James Di Fabrizio, Tex Miller, Emily Day, Matthew Tomich, Matthew Woods, Matilda Edwards, Lee Spencer Michaelsen, Joe Hansen, John Kendall, Bel Ryan, Izzy Tolhurst, Isabelle Oderberg, Navarone Farrell DEADLINES: Editorial copy accepted no later than 5pm Thursday before publication for club listings, arts, gig guide etc. Advertising copy accepted no later than 12pm Monday before publication. Print ready art by 2pm Monday. Deadlines are strictly adhered to. © 2015 Furst Media Pty Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the consent of the copyright holder.
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LINEUP ANNOUNCED FOR PO’ BOY QUARTER AND DING DONG’S FAT TUESDAY FESTIVAL
Dubfire
PIKNIK ELECTRONIK HAS RETURNED FOR SECOND SUMMER SEASON In case you missed it, Piknic Electronik Melbourne’s second season kicked off on Sunday, with respected Detroit act Kevin Saunderson headlining the Federation Square launch party. Piknic Electronik present unique summer events in several of the world’s leading cities, and things are looking good for Melbourne audiences with a rotating cast of artists set to take over Fed Square for 12 straight Sundays of fun. As always, electronic music is the chief focus, coupled with an emphasis on relaxed socialising. The remainder of the program includes the likes of Dubfire, The Hacker, Kode9, Ed Banger House Party (Busy P and Boston Bun), K.I.M (The Presets), Sammy Dee, Rampue, Secret Cinema and Oliver Schories. Piknic Electronik Melbourne’s second summer season will run into Sunday April 3 at Federation Square. Tickets available now via their website.
Ding Dong Lounge and Po’ Boy Quarter have announced a stellar music lineup to head up the second incarnation of their Fat Tuesday Festival; the most colourful food and music event of the season. Taking centre stage at the festival will be the likes of Adam Rudegeair’s Bayou Tapestry with Henry Manetta, Jazz Party, Horns Of Leroy, The Always for Pleasure Allstars with Kerri Simpson and The Gumbo Blues Band with Chris Wilson, Steve Lucas, Jerome Smith, Matt Dwyer and Ash Davies, and Skyscraper Stan and The Commission Flats. The event will be hosted by none other than RocKwiz’s Brian Nankervis and DJ’s Mohair Slim (PBS) and Bruce Milne (Triple R). Fat Tuesday is happening on Tuesday February 9 from 4pm-10pm at Piazza Italia in Carlton. Tickets are available now.
Midsumma is in full swing, and Gasworks Arts Park is hosting a huge number of productions throughout the season. One in particular is Gone; an awardwinning comedy about a gay man who loses his penis. What a travesty. This show is a Premier event in the 2016 Midsumma calendar, so it’s bound to be good. Want tickets? Sure you do. Hit up beat.com.au/freeshit to win.
JEFF MILLS, DERRICK MAY AND THE MSO On Saturday January 30, two titans of the Detroit techno scene, Jeff Mills and Derrick May will play an extraordinary show with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. You may recall Jeff Mills performed with the MSO last year as part of Melbourne Festival, and they tore Hamer Hall to shreds. This time around, he will stage an all-new, never-beforeperformed set especially created with composer Thomas Roussel, while May’s set is entitled Music is Music – a homage to his early moniker Rhythim is Rhythim. Want tickets? Lucky you – we’ve got some here to giveaway. Visit beat.com.au/freeshit to win.
BOWLED OVER AUSTRALIA DAY PARTY
BOWLED OVER HOTTEST 100 PARTY ANNOUNCES 2016 LINEUP Australia Day is just around the corner and we all know what that means: it’s time to crank to js and place friendly bets on who’ll get top spot in the Hottest 100. Now in its sixth year, Bowled Over can safely claim to be the biggest Hottest 100 party in Melbourne. Even if you’re not a mad triple j fan, the yearly event is an ample opportunity to kick back in the sunshine with some ice cold drinks, bbq’d goods and watch the good times roll out before you. This year’s Bowled Over will feature live performances from Adelaide punks Grenadiers, pop rockers IV League, and local rock’n’soul wunderkind Harts. There’s also a Secret Garden area fitted out with deckchairs and bean bags, and the Picnic Park eating zone. Plus Leonard’s House of Love are bringing along their pop-up chicken shop, and the True Blue BBQ will be doing precisely what their name suggests. Bowled Over 2016 goes down on Tuesday January 26 at St Kilda Bowls Club. Grab your tickets from bowledover.com.au.
TOTALLY ‘80S ANNOUNCE LINEUP Ever wanted to party with seven international superstars from the ‘80s? Well it looks like you can - all together in one night. Totally ‘80s unites Martika, Berlin, Limahl of Kajagoogoo, Paul Lekakis, Katrina (ex Katrina & The Waves), Men without Hats and Stacey Q. Sharing the stage with them will be two of Australia’s own Countdown Favourites Wa Wa Nee and Real Life. The Totally ‘80s tour will re-live some of the decade’s biggest smash hits, dance moves and musical memories with none other than the stars themselves. Get your groove on Friday July 15 at The Palais Theatre.
MAGIC BONES ANNOUNCES FIRST SHOW OF THE YEAR Garage four-piece Magic Bones have released news of a headline show in Melbourne, coming later this month. Coming off a huge 2015 which saw Magic Bones play two headline tours and score two national supports slots with British India and Stonefield, the group are back to kick off their year at Shebeen with Mild Manic and Ali. Since forming in 2010, Magic Bones have released a self-titled EP and a string of singles including Round The Block, Anytime Anywhere’, and their latest, Danger I Am, which is set to appear on their forthcoming album. Catch them at Shebeen on Friday January 29. Tickets via the venue.
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PARTY IN THE PADDOCK Tassie’s Party in the Paddock starts back up next month, running over February 19 and 20 with a lineup stacked with the best of the best of the Australian music scene. The all Aussie lineup so far features the likes of Violent Soho, Tkay Maidza, British India, Spiderbait, The Preatures, SLEEPMAKESWAVES, Bad// Dreems, The Bennies and Ecca Vandal. Are they forgetting any other big names? Nah, I think they’re good. For the Party without the pricetag, we have a double pass to the Festival up for grabs at beat.com.au/freeshit.
LOUISE LOVE EP LAUNCH
ROUNDTABLE ALBUM LAUNCH AT THE TOTE Stoner doom crew Roundtable have unveiled plans for the physical launch of last year’s critically acclaimed LP, Dread Marches Under Bloodied Regalia. Released back in October, Dread Marches Under Bloodied Regalia has since made a few unexpected but not undeserved appearances on multiple ‘Best of 2015 in Doom’ lists. Stoner rock contemporaries Holy Serpent, Merchant and Field will lend their support on the night. Roundtable launch Dread Marches Under Bloodied Regalia at The Tote on Friday February 12. Grab your tickets now through Oztix.
Bowled Over has been the biggest unofficial triple j Hottest 100 countdown party for five years running now, and of course it’s back again for this year’s Australia Day tradition. Even if the countdown isn’t really your deal (remember to act surprised when Depreston wins), there’ll be drinks, food and BBQ’d goods on offer all day, along with live performances from Grenadiers, IV League and Harts. It ain’t free, but it will be for two lucky readers. Find out if it’s you at beat.com.au/freeshit.
Be Svensden
RAINBOW SERPENT REVEAL 2016 AFTER PARTY DETAILS Missed out on tickets to the sold out Rainbow Serpent? Or just want to kick-on? You’re in luck. Held on the Saturday after the festival, Rainbow Serpent will host their official Afterglow party. With an outdoors stage, the event will feature a selection of international and local talent, including James Monro, Jossie Telch, Be Svensden, Cello Joe, Mista Savona, Griff and Mortisville. Have a shave, have a shower, and get down with the RS crew for a final time. It’s happening on Saturday January 30 at Ceres Environment Park. Tickets via their website. HOT TALK
Electro pop guru Louise Love has been running through a string of dates around the nation this month, touring off the back of her single Get Back, and she’s finally bringing the show down to the Grace Darling on Friday January 29. Set to launch her Tantric Shuffle EP, Louise Love will receive some superstar support on the night from Simona Castricum, Astral Skulls and InfraGhosts, making this a must-see for local electronic enthusiasts. Head to the launch with a double pass from us over at beat.com.au/freeshit.
BAR WEDNESDAY 20 JANUARY
OPEN MIC
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STEVE LUCAS HAPPY HOUR FROM 5PM THEN
NEVER THE EMPRESS MISSISTA AURORA SATURDAY 23 JANUARY
MORTH SHEWOLF DIRTY RATS MENTAL THUNDER SUNDAY 24 JANUARY
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Mon - Fri til 7pM - $6 pints Mondays - $15 JuGs Mt Goat sundays - $10 JuGs unicorn laGer $5 cans eVery day/niGht
Wednesday 20th January
Maricopa Wells Joe Guiton pete akhurst leWis nixon
MANGELWURZEL RELEASES ALBUM DETAILS, SINGLE AND TOUR
8pM Free
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sunday 24th January Beersoaked sundays:
ELLE KING ANNOUNCES 2016 MELBOURNE SHOW
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8pM $6
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aus day eVe
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8pM $5
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Ahead of her appearance at this year’s Bluesfest, singer/songwriter Elle King has locked in a Melbourne sideshow. King went from strength to strength last year, with her breakthrough hit Ex’s & Oh’s climbing to #1 on the Billboard Alternative Charts, culminating with two Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance. Her debut full-length, Love Stuff, was met with critical and commercial success and led to tours with Ed Sheeran, Of Monsters And Men and James Bay. Elle King will play at the Corner Hotel on Tuesday March 22. Tickets through Bluesfest Touring.
Deemed to be possibly the “weirdest Melbourne band” by The Herald Sun, six-piece Mangelwurzel is set to release their long-awaited debut LP Gary on Friday February 26. Having been privileged to support bands such as Pond, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, The Courtney’s (CAN) and Tonstartssbandht (USA), as well as playing Boogie, Camp A Low Hum, Camp Doogs and the Victorian leg of Falls Festival, Mangelwurzel are a spectacle that needs to be seen and heard to be believed. Their latest single I.O.U gives fans a taste of what’s to come, ahead of previously released album singles Fishy Fry, My House and Everybody’s Friend. Mangelwurzel launch Gary on Friday February 26 at Northcote Social Club. Tickets through the venue.
MARCS FESTIVAL GEARS UP FOR 2016 INCARNATION After the success of their inaugural event last March, MARCS Festival has announced their return for an end of summer celebration. Sponsored by the City of Melbourne, and finalised for Sunday February 28, the music, food and arts festival have promised this year will be massive step up from last year’s antics. Neal White, Head Chef of Papa Goose in Flinders Lane, was inspired to pioneer this festival through his big love for Melbourne’s laneway culture and street art. There’ll be live music on offer throughout the day thanks to The Eighty 88s, Suck Music (DJ’s), Zevon & The Werewolves of Melbourne, Malcura, Shazam, Emily Ward and Lucky Moore. Catch them for free at AC/DC Lane and Duckboard Place between 12pm7pm.
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$6 PINTS EVERY DAY UNTIL 7PM $10 JUGS EVERY DAY UNTIL 8PM $5 CANS ALL THE TIME WEDNESDAY 20TH JANUARY
SCOOT MOLLY TROUSERFORCE SEMI FICTION 7:30PM $7
THURSDAY 21ST JANUARY
GUY PARKMAN BAND
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THEPALE MARQUIS TRIP DEAD END FUZZSUCKER 8PM $10
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OF MONSTERS AND MEN LOCK IN SECOND 2016 MELBOURNE SHOW Of Monsters and Men will return to Australia this year. The Icelandic sensations recently delivered a rapturous performance at last year’s Splendour In The Grass, and have since performed at the likes of New York’s Beacon Theatre to LA’s Greek Theatre, along with an appearance at Austin City Limits. 2016 will bring multiple Lollapalooza appearances, South African festival performances and now an Australian tour. Catch them on Wednesday May 4 (sold out) and now Thursday May 5 at the Palais Theatre. Tickets via Ticketmaster.
Power pop mainstays Even have lined up a Melbourne show for later this month, potentially their last for a long, long time. The Melbourne trio’s performances are much rarer these days given that drummer Matt Cotter calls central Australia home, so that’s further incentive for you to get along when they take over Ding Dong Lounge later this month. You won’t even have to worry about that killer wake up the next morning to go to work because the gig falls on the eve of a public holiday. Joining Even are Demon Parade, dreamy Spanish pop band Dead Parties and Wild Meadows. Catch Even at the Ding Dong Lounge on Monday January 25. Tickets available via Oztix.
MAX FROST DEBUT AUSTRALIAN PERFORMANCE THIS MARCH
HORACE BONES UNLEAH DEBUT SINGLE AND ANNOUNCE EAST COAST TOUR
Singer/songwriter Max Frost will touch down on Australian shores for the first time later this March, locking in a show at Northcote Social Club on Friday March 4. At just 23 years of age, Frost already has two EPs under his belt, championed by noteworthy singles White Lies and Paranoia which received generous airtime on triple j. Finishing last year by playing big name stages SXSW and Firefly Music Festival, Frost comes to Australia off the back of his latest EP, Intoxication. Max Frost plays Northcote Social Club on Friday March 4. Tickets through the venue.
Psychedelic-garage groovers Horace Bones have released the first single from their forthcoming debut double A-side, Tarantula, and are celebrating by hitting the road this month. Having already shared the stage with the likes of Pulled Apart By Horses (UK), Remi, Bad// Dreems and Money For Rope, Horace Bones know exactly what it takes to put on a world class live show. The official launch party for Tarantuala goes down on Friday January 29 at Cherry Bar, closely followed by Horace Bones’ St Kilda Festival appearance on Sunday February 14.
LOW REVEAL 2016 MELBOURNE SHOW CERES TO PLAY MELBOURNE HEADLINE SHOW Gregarious emo-rock cats Ceres will be playing a farewell show before they bunker down to record their sophomore LP. This will follow their critically acclaimed 2014 album I Don’t Want To Be Anywhere But Here via Hobbledehoy Records. Special supports will be announced soon. Catch ‘em at the Northcote Social Club on Friday February 19. Tickets on sale now.
Straight off the back of their recently released 11th studio album, Ones And Sixes, Minnesota natives Low are returning to Melbourne after a six year absence for a one-off show. Rising to cult status in the ‘90s, Low found themselves at the forefront of the ‘slowcore’ movement. Since then, their discography has seen countless shifts in sound and influence. After more than 20 years as a group, their latest effort arrives as a career-spanning album that draws on all facets of their back catalogue. Catch Low at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday April 4. HOT TALK
MODEST MOUSE LOCK IN 2016 MELBOURNE SHOW One of America’s best-loved indie rock outfits will return to Australia in March. Already announced for the 2016 Bluesfest, the tour marks Modest Mouse’s first sojourn to Australian shores in five years. It also follows their first album in eight years, Strangers To Ourselves (out now through Epic/Sony Music Australia), which reached #3 on US Billboard’s 200 Album chart and #1 on the Rock, Alternative, Vinyl and Internet charts upon release. Catch them at Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday March 23. Tickets via Ticketek.
Wesley Anne - Bar • Restaurant • Etc -
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BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL REVEAL FULL 2016 LINEUP The 2016 Brunswick Music Festival is fast approaching. Set to be their biggest incarnation yet, they’ve finalised their 2016 lineup. Added to the lineup are an eclectic and globe-trotting collection of artists, including Blind Boy Paxton, Jeff Lang, Alison Ferrier, Kim Salmon, Mandy Connell, Mick Thomas, Charles Jenkins, Cat Canteri & Justin Bernasconi, Sean McMahon, Jemma Rowlands, Rich Davies, Brooke Russell, Ayleen O’Hanlon, Zourouna and Lala Shouha, Sweet Monas Choir, Ajak Kwai, Bashra, Jawa Pitu Band, Santa Taranta, GYZI, Cumbia Cosmonauts, Los Kumbia Killers, La Descarga, Saca La Mois DJ!! and Sonidero Esperanza. They join the already announced acts which featured the likes of East-African retro-pop outfit Alsarah and the Nubatones, Scottish multi-award winning folk, traditional, Celtic rock group Manran, the highly charged Japanese Godzilla funk of Mount Mocha Kilimanjaro, the contemporary rhythms, jazz, rock and harmonies of Moxie, the fiddle-toting Shooglenifty celebrating their 25th anniversary, Spiro’s blend of English folk music and traditional Northumbrian tunes, Shane Howard and Yirrmal playing at CERES and local leading ladies Mia Dyson, Jess Ribeiro, Kylie Auldist and Emma Donovan. It all kicks off with the Sydney Road Street Party on Sunday March 6, while the festival itself will take place from Tuesday March 15 - Sunday March 20. Hit their website for more details.
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Acclaimed R&B sensation Tinashe has announced she will be returning to our shores in May as part of her Joyride World Tour. The singer/songwriter, dancer and producer is quickly making a name for herself as a live performer. After releasing her 2014 critically lauded debut album, Aquarius, Tinashe toured relentlessly, taking her live show around the globe several times over, including sold-out shows across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East. The new tour takes its name from Tinashe’s upcoming sophomore album, Joyride. The album features Tinashe’s own production work, along with collaborations with the likes of Joel Compass, Nic Nac, Max Martin, LULOU and Alex Purple, and Metro Boomin, while also reunited her with Boi-1da and Devonté Hynes. Catch her at The Forum on Wednesday May 25. Tickets via Livenation.
WHITE NIGHT MELBOURNE REVEAL 2016 MUSIC PROGRAM The annual up-all-night extravaganza White Night Melbourne have announced their 2016 music program, which will deliver the equivalent of 100 hours of live entertainment from more than 220 performers. Across four stages, the night will showcase a variety of music genres including jazz, blues, funk, R&B, soul, world music, pop, hip hop, dance, electronic, classical, country, instrumental and rock. “There’s something for everyone and the best of everything on offer at this year’s White Night Melbourne,” commented Minister for Tourism and Major Events John Eren. “It’s going to be a great event, and the music lineup announced today means revellers are in for a real treat.” Some of the many highlights include the likes of Kylie Auldist, Cookin’ on 3 Burners, Ruby Boots, Thelma Plum, Robert Forster, Harpoons, Sampa the Great, Briggs, Gold Class, Emma Donovan & The Putbacks, Harvey Sutherland, Otologic, Planete and Chris Russell’s Chicken Walk. White Night Melbourne will return from dusk ‘til dawn on Saturday February 20.
Troubadour rock’n’rollers Skyscraper Stan and the Commission Flats have announced their plans for a full Australian tour kicking off in a few weeks. Their debut album, Last Year’s Time, was released in March last year and received shining critical reception from the likes of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. They were named one of the most exciting new acts to hit the stage at Port Fairy Folk Festival, and launched their record to a sold out Gasometer Hotel in Melbourne. Catch them this time around at Cherry Bar on Saturday April 8.
HIGH HIGHS ARE HEADING TO MELBOURNE In celebration of their upcoming LP Cascades, High Highs are returning for the second time to Australian shores. It will be the bands first time in Australia since 2014. The album Cascades, due for release on Friday February 5, drew inspiration from the music of their youth and will be released via Spunk Records, the duo’s first album with the label. Check out High Highs on Friday February 12 at Northcote Social Club. HOT TALK
Total Chaos are ready to share with Australia what punk rock is really all about. Originally forming in 1989, the hardcore juggernauts will be touring with their new album World Of Insanity, featuring unrelenting, politically charged classic punk tunes. Joining them for the tour are Melbourne not-for-profit thrash punk juggernaut Wolfpack, who have now raised over $19,500 for charity and animal welfare, and are back on the road promoting their new EP, Benefit Four. It’ll be going down here in Melbourne at The Reverence Hotel, Sunday March 13. Tickets via oztix.
The undisputed leader in horror punk will return to Australia with his band early this year. Over the last two decades, Wednesday 13 has been one of rock’s most prolific protagonists, with a vile imagination that has endeared him to countless fans of riff-driven macabre. It’s happening on Thursday April 14 at the Corner Hotel.
DALLAS CRANE TO PLAY AT THE GRAND HOTEL IN MORNINGTON Oz rock mainstays Dallas Crane are set to play a huge show at The Grand Hotel in Mornington on Friday January 29. Regularly touted as one of the hardest working bands in the country, Dallas Crane will be bringing their riff-heavy anthems to the stage in this special show. Not only will fans get be able to indulge in the horde of classic Dallas Crane tracks that we all know and love, but they’ll also hear tracks from the band’s latest release, Scoundrels. No doubt about it – this one will get messy. Catch Dallas Crane play at The Grand Hotel in Mornington on Friday January 29. Tickets are available now through the venue.
David Graney
RICHMOND THEATRETTE ANNOUNCE FOUR SHOW SUMMER SERIES Richmond Library’s enigmatic upstairs venue is back with another stellar run of shows. Located above the Richmond Library, the Richmond Theatrette emerged during last year’s Leaps and Bounds music festival. Such was its success that they’ll be back in business for four exclusive shows later this month. The headliners for the mini-series are Skipping Girl Vinegar frontman Mark Lang, Dave Graney and Clare Moore, Even’s Ash Naylor, and capping it off on Australia Day Eve are Dan Kelly’s Dream Band. Summer Series comes to Richmond Theatrette from Friday January 22 until Monday January 25. Find out more through their website.
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PIKNIC ELECTRONIK MELBOURNE Federation Square January 17-April 3 THE 1975 Festival Hall January 20 TURNSTILE Northcote Social Club January 20 OKMALUMKOOLKAT Ding Dong Lounge January 21 LUCA BRASI Northcote Social Club January 21 ASH GRUNWALD Sooki Lounge January 21, Chapel off Chapel January 22 CHAPEL SUMMER SESSIONS Chapel off Chapel January 21, 22, 30 RICHMOND THEATRETTE SUMMER SERIES Richmond Theatrette January 22 - 25 THEE OH SEES Howler January 20, 21 22 RAINBOW SERPENT FESTIVAL Lexton January 22 – 26 THE GOOCH PALMS The Curtin January 22 COURTNEY BARNETT Palais Theatre January 22 SUNSET SERIES Fitzroy Gardens January 23, 24 DIE! DIE! DIE! Ding Dong Lounge January 23 ROCK’N’LOAD The Corner January 23 BEECHWORTH FESTIVAL Beechworth Asylum January 23 A DAY ON THE GREEN Michelton Wines, Nagambie January 23 BOY & BEAR Festival Hall January 23 MICHAEL HURLEY Northcote Social Club January 23 SUGAR MOUNTAIN Victorian College of the Arts/ Melbourne Arts precinct January 23 M*SYNCH MPavilion January 24 EVEN Ding Dong Lounge January 25 RYLEY WALKER The Toff In Town January 25 URBAN SPREAD Chelsea Heights Hotel January 25, Pelly Bar February 19, York on Lilydale February 20 FATBOY SLIM St Kilda Beach January 26 SUMMER TONES Shadow Electric January 26 GIRLPOOL The Reverence Hotel January 27 NOTHING BUT THEIVES Ding Dong Lounge January 27 MAGIC BONES Shebeen January 29 HORACE BONES Cherry Bar January 29 YOU BEAUTY The Tote January 29 HOLY HOLY Corner Hotel January 29 RAINBOW SERPENT AFTER PARTY Ceres Environment Park January 30 GL The Curtin January 30 DERRICK MAY, JEFF MILLS & THE MSO Sidney Myer Music Bowl January 30 GUILTY SIMPSON & KATALYST Laundry Bar January 31 PBS DRIVE LIVE 2016 PBS Studios February 1 – 5 KALACOMA The Evelyn Hotel February 3, 10, 17, 24 GRIMES 170 Russell February 3 JAMES BAY Festival Hall February 3 TOBIAS JESSE JR The Corner February 3 SHAMIR Howler February 4 X The Tote February 5 GILLIAN WELCH Palais Theatre February 5 MSO PRESENT HITCHCOCK AND HERRMANN Hamer Hall February 5, 6 ST KILDA FESTIVAL Various venues, St Kilda February 6 – 14 FAIRFIELD SUMMER SERIES Fairfield Ampitheatre February 7, 14, 21, 28 CAT POWER Melbourne Recital Centre February 8, 9 CHVRCHES Forum Theatre February 9 THE INTERNET The Corner February 9 BEACH HOUSE 170 Russell February 10 PUNK ROCK KARAOKE The Corner February 10 COLLIE BUDDZ Prince Bandroom February 11 SAL KIMBER & JOHN FLANAGAN The Toff In Town February 11 DIIV The Corner February 11 PURITY RING + MAJICAL CLOUDZ Forum Theatre February 11 THUNDERCAT Max Watt’s February 11 HEALTH Howler February 11 SOUL FLATS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL Deniliquin, NSW February 12 – 14 TOEHIDER Ding Dong Lounge February 12 ROUNDTABLE The Tote February 12 HIGH HIGHS Northcote Social Club February 12 SEAN MCMAHON AND THE MOONMEN The Spotted Mallard February 12 MAJICAL CLOUDZ The Toff In Town February 12 THIEVERY CORPORATION The Forum February 12 BATTLES Max Watt’s February 12 METZ The Corner February 12 GIDEON BENSEN Shebeen February 12 JOSH PYKE Melbourne Zoo February 12 RADIO MOSCOW Cherry Bar February 13, 14 LUNATICS ON POGOSTICKS The Worker’s Club February 13 COMMON KINGS The Corner February 13 LANEWAY FESTIVAL Footscray Community Arts Centre February 13 GURRUMUL Max Watt’s February 15 AT LAST – THE ETTA JAMES STORY Arts Centre Melbourne February 16 – 21 SOILWORK 170 Russell February 16 A$AP ROCKY Margaret Court Arena February 17 DAN POTTHAST Northcote Social Club February 18 BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 20
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THE PEEP TEMPEL Shadow Electric February 18 REGGAE ROYALTY Palais Theatre February 18 WAXAHATCHEE Howler February 18 ALPINE Estonian House February 19 CERES Northcote Social Club February 19 COSMO’S MIDNIGHT Howler February 19 DAVE RAWLINGS MACHINE Palais Theatre February 19 TINA ARENA Hamer Hall February 19 PARTY IN THE PADDOCK Burnscreek, Tasmania February 19 RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL Murray River, Echucha February 19 – 21 HIGH ON FIRE Max Watt’s February 19 JD MCPHERSON Corner Hotel February 19 FAT FREDDY’S DROP The Forum February 19 WHITE NIGHT MELBOURNE Various Venues February 20 DEKMENTAL FESTIVAL Caulfield Racecourse February 20 SECRET FESTIVAL Yarra Valley February 20, 21 DALLAS CRANE The Corner February 20 GOOD LIFE FESTIVAL Melbourne Park and Hisense Arena February 20 ROB THOMAS Rob Laver Arena February 20 KATE MILLER-HEIDKE Estonian House February 20 JEREMIH Trak February 21 LEFTFIELD Yarra Valley Estate February 21 ALBERT HAMMOND JR The Corner February 21 THE SWORD Max Watt’s February 22 HORROR MY FRIEND Old Bar February 22 WU-TANG CLAN Margaret Court Arena February 23 OCEAN COLOUR SCENE Max Watt’s February 23 THE GAME The Forum February 24 MANGELWURZEL Northcote Social Club February 26 SPIDERBAIT 170 Russell February 26, 28 THE JEZABELS The Forum February 26 GBH The Bendigo Hotel February 26 CHI WAH WOW TOWN TBA February 26 – 28 SUFJAN STEVENS Hamer Hall February 26 HOMESHAKE The Curtin February 27 MOSES GUNN COLLECTIVE Northcote Social Club February 27 ECCA VANDAL Howler February 27 MARCS FESTIVAL AC/DC Lane, Duckboard Place February 28 SUFJAN STEVENS Hamer Hall February 28 NATALIE PRASS Melbourne Recital Centre February 29 PASSENGER Palais Theatre March 1 G-EAZY Max Watt’s March 1 CALEXICO Hamer Hall March 2 GLEN MATLOCK, EARL SLICK & SLIM JIM PHANTOM Ding Dong Lounge March 4, The Flying Saucer Club March 5 MAX FROST Northcote Social Club March 4 SENSES FAIL Corner Hotel March 4 THE SNOWDROPPERS Howler March 4 CHAPTERFEST 24 Gasometer Hotel March 5 PALMS Shebeen March 5 CLUTCH The Forum March 5 THE NECKS Melbourne Recital Centre March 5 ALVVAYS Northcote Social Club March 6 SYDNEY RD STREET PARTY Sydney Rd March 6 GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR Melbourne Recital Centre March 7 THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN The Forum March 7 MICHAEL GIRA Melbourne Recital Centre March 8 THE MUMMIES Max Watt’s March 9 SLEATER-KINNEY The Croxton March 9 RUBY BOOTS Northcote Social Club March 10 IBEYI Max Watt’s March 10 ART VS. SCIENCE 170 Russell March 11 ASH The Gasometer March 11 A FESTIVAL CALLED PANAMA Lone Star Valley March 11 - 13 PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL Port Fairy March 11 – 14 GAYTIMES FESTIVAL Kinglake March 12 - 14 FREDDIE GIBBS Max Watt’s March 12 BEN HARPER AND THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS Sidney Myer Music Bowl March 12 BUILT TO SPILL The Corner March 12 MADONNA Rod Laver Arena March 12, 13 GOLDEN PLAINS Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre March 12 – 14 PURE POP FOR NOW PEOPLE Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley March 12 TOTAL CHAOS The Reverence Hotel March 13 JOHN GRANT The Forum March 13 BUZZCOCKS The Corner March 13 THE CHARLATONS 170 Russell March 13 BUCKCHERRY 170 Russell March 14 ST GERMAIN The Forum March 14 ACTION BRONSON The Forum March 15 BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL Various Venues March 15 - 20 HIGHLY SUSPECT The Evelyn March 16 LUKA BLOOM The National Theatre March 16 DON MCLEAN Hamer Hall March 16 SUNN O))) Max Watt’s March 16
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RAINBOW SERPENT FESTIVAL Lexton January 22 – 26 Having sold out more than a month in advance, Rainbow Serpent are set for a gigantic 19th incarnation. John Digweed is set to headline, along with a diverse range of acts - Hernan Cattaneo from Argentina, United Kingdom’s Dickster and JFB alongside Germans Oliver Schories, Monkey Safari and Pachanga Boys will all take over the event, with 100s of international and local artists joining them. An array of visual artists are set to transform the rural Victorian landscape, and there will also be host countless talks, workshops yoga sessions and a dedicated children’s area alongside free healing therapies, art galleries and many other activities. Make the pilgrimage down to Lexton from Friday January 22 - Monday January 26. SONGHOY BLUES Melbourne Recital Centre March 16 MARY BLACK The Forum March 17 DIED PRETTY Max Watt’s March 18 THE VIOLENT FEMMES The Corner March 17 SEVENDUST 170 Russell March 18 BRYAN ADAMS Rod Laver Arena March 18 STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES Melbourne Recital Centre March 18, 19 THE STIFFYS The Old Bar March 19 STRUNG OUT The Corner Hotel March 19 D’ANGELO Palais Theatre March 19 TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND Forum Theatre March 19 THE PENINSULA PICNIC Mornington March 20 LORD HURON The Corner March 21 LUCKY PETERSON Northcote Social Club March 21 KENDRICK LAMAR Rod Laver Arena March 21 TWEEDY Melbourne Recital Centre March 21 ELLE KING Corner Hotel March 22 KAMASI WASHINGTON Prince Bandroom March 22 STURGILL SIMPSON 170 Russell March 23 MODEST MOUSE Margaret Court Arena March 23 RHIANNON GIDDENS The Corner March 23 THE RESIDENTS The Croxton March 23 YEO Howler March 24 HOUNDMOUTH Northcote Social Club March 24 ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES The Corner March 24 BLUESFEST Byron Bay March 24 – 28 WAFIA Northcote Social Club March 25 COLD WAR KIDS 170 Russell March 25 BOOGIE FESTIVAL Bruzzy’s Farm March 25 – 27 TOM JONES Hamer Hall March 25 THE SELECTER Corner Hotel March 25 THE HILLS ARE ALIVE South Gippsland March 25 – 27 LEGION MUSIC FEST Melbourne Showgrounds March 26 NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE The Corner March 27 THE WORD The Corner March 28 NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING BIRDS Margaret Court Arena March 29 JASON ISBELL Melbourne Recital Centre March 29 THE DECEMBERISTS Hamer Hall March 29 TAJ MAHAL Melbourne Recital Centre March 30 NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE NIGHT SWEATS 170 Russell March 30 LUKAS NELSON & PROMISE OF THE REAL Howler March 30 MELISSA ETHERIDGE Palais Theatre March 30 VINTAGE TROUBLE The Corner March 30 STIFF LITTLE FINGERS 170 Russell March 31 ALLEN STONE The Corner March 31 THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA Melbourne Recital
S O . M A N Y. G I G S .
Centre April 1 JACKSON BROWNE Palais Theatre April 1 CITY AND COLOUR Sidney Myer Music Bowl April 2 BRIAN WILSON Palais Theatre April 3 LOW Melbourne Recital Centre April 4 SKYSCRAPER STAN AND THE COMMISSION FLATS Cherry Bar April 8 SASKWATCH The Corner Hotel April 8 CALIGULA’S HORSE Ding Dong Lounge April 8 CITY CALM DOWN The Corner April 9 CHRIS ISAAK Margaret Court Arena April 13 WEDNESDAY 13 Corner Hotel April 14 SONS OF ZION The Croxton April 16 BLACK SABBATH Rod Laver Arena April 19 GANG OF YOUTHS 170 Russell April 22 HILTOP HOODS + MSO Rod Laver Arena April 23 VANCE JOY Margaret Court Arena April 23 SARAH BLASKO The Forum April 23 JOSH GROBAN Palais Theatre April 25 SUPERSUCKERS Cherry Bar April 30 CHERRYROCK016 Cherry and AC/DC Lane May 1 OF MONSTERS AND MEN Palais Theatre May 4, 5 IRON MAIDEN Rod Laver Arena May 9 TINASHE The Forum May 25 THE BEARDS The Loft May 25, The Golden Vine May 26, Karova Lounge June 23, Barwon Club June 24, The Corner June 25 CHERIE CURRIE The Corner May 28 TOTALLY 80’S Palais Theatre July 15
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Fat White Family A N TA G O N I S TI C B Y D E F A U LT B Y PAT R I C K E M E R Y
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ias Saoudi and Saul Adamczewski, vocalist and guitarist respectively in English rock’n’roll band Fat White Family, are adamant there’s never been a single motivating concept or artistic idea behind the band. “There was never any plan or scheme when we first got together,” Saoudi says. Even the band’s live performances – which have seen Saoudi strip naked and taunt the audience – are simply an organic event. “The idea of doing premeditated confrontation is something I find strange,” Adamczewski says. “I think we’re antagonistic by default,” says Saoudi.
But scratch the surface, and there’s more to Fat White Family than meets the eye. The band are avowedly politically motivated, though more in the sense of countering the apathy they perceive in the world around them. When I mention an interview with Saoudi in which he’s quoted as saying he’s apathetic about politics, he’s bemused. “I wouldn’t say I was politically apathetic – I’d say I was the opposite of that,” he says. In fact, recalling Radio Birdman’s original rhetorical flourish, Fat White Family are pathologically averse to apathy. “One of the most important things to us when we formed the group was how apathetic everyone else was,” Saoudi says. Fat White Family’s political leaning isn’t a partisan or ideological construct. Just as their onstage behaviour is natural, so too is their political attitude. “As human beings we feel like we believe in the right sort of human beings – it’s not supposed to be intellectual, and not pretentious, it’s just a basic human instinct that we all seem to have,” Saoudi says. “The fact that it’s even a talking point I find bizarre – what the fuck is going on? If everyone is politically apathetic and we stand out because we’re not, then something must be wrong.” Adamczewski and Saoudi also believe the medium of rock’n’roll is an intrinsically political arena within which to operate. “Rock’n’roll can be used by proxy as anticapitalist, or other ways – it’s probably BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 22
been used in every political sphere over the years,” Adamczewski says. Fat White Family formed in 2012 in South London where the original six band members were living together and playing in other bands. They came to broader public attention with the release of the Champagne Holocaust LP in 2013. Taking its musical cues from The Cramps, The Gun Club, The Fall and The Birthday Party, and with lyrical content ranging from the sensual pleasures of oral sex to perverted carnal pleasures and the mysteries of the JFK assassination, Champagne Holocaust positioned Fat White Family as the new enfant terrible of the rock’n’roll scene. One reviewer dismissed the album as “tasteless”; Pitchfork described the band as “diseased, drug addled and utterly corrupt”. Scroll forward a couple of years and Fat White Family are gradually gaining respect from the music industry and media – not that they want it, mind you. “The reaction we got for a long time was very hostile, but I think that’s gradually changing because people are starting to see that there’s a buck to be made, or some sort of kudos to be usurped. As we’ve progressed, more and more creeps accept us,” Adamczewski says. “We haven’t been given a seat at the table yet – but I don’t think we really want one,” says Saoudi. “Fuck the tables.” Fat White Family’s forthcoming record, Songs For Our Mothers, departs from the B E AT.C O M . A U
sound and lyrical content of Champagne Holocaust. Gone are the jagged punk blues numbers and Fall-esque postpunk riffs of the band’s debut; replaced by a mixture of glam rock licks and a darker, more contemplative atmosphere. However, Saoudi and Adamczewski deny there was any pre-conceived plan to deviate. What appears on the record was simply what came out of the creative and recording process. “We didn’t want anything different on this record,” Adamczewski says. “The way that we are, and the way that we organise ourselves, we don’t really sit down and come up with a fundamental plan.” “You’ve just got to make this stuff up – you don’t really think about it,” adds Saoudi. With its glammish riffs, the album’s second track Satisfied (produced by Sean Lennon) is a nod to the early‘70s English glam rock scene. David Bowie’s the obvious poster boy for this movement; Fat White Family, perhaps not surprisingly, are looking in more deviant corners. “It’s a bit of Gary Glitter, and a little bit of Marc Bolan,” Saoudi says. “The pervert nature of glam music is something that appeals to me – kind of squelchy sound, I like that. It’s sexualised and over the top, and I like it.” But the clue to Songs For Our Mothers lies in the darkness of tracks such as Lebensraum, Duce, Love is the Crack, We Must Learn to Rise. With the band’s internal relationships buckling under the weight of touring, substance abuse and fractious personalities, the writing and recording of Songs For Our Mothers became – subconsciously at least – a cathartic event for the band, allowing the band members to explore those feelings they were unable to express outwardly. “One of the interesting parts of making an album is that the meaning behind songs becomes more clear when you look back on it,” Adamczewski says. “That’s one of the most rewarding aspects of doing an album, actually,” says Saoudi. Indeed, the promotional blurb accompanying Songs For Our Mothers says the album is “an invitation to dance to the beat of human hatred,” while Adamczewski says it’s “music that’s there for people to live, and also a reflection on the sour times in which we live.” If Champagne Holocaust took aim at the imperfections of the external world, Songs For Our Mothers was – in hindsight at least – about the hatred festering away within Fat White Family. “There was a breakdown in the relationships within the band, there was
a lot of substance abuse going on, things were generally dark,” Adamczewski says. “We didn’t expect to end up in that place – it all actually went quite dark,” Saoudi says, his voice faltering ever so slightly as he remembers the situation the band wound up in. “What came out is just what we were feeling at the time. Hopefully the next record will be more jolly – a barrel of laughs.” Saoudi says the creative process was essential in overcoming what was going on within the band. “The only time I really feel good about myself is when I’m creating music.” Adamczewski concurs: “I think it was the only way we could put things in a box, as it were.” “I think if you don’t know whether people are going to listen to it, you’ve got a bit more license to be more personalised – I certainly felt that way inclined,” Saoudi says. But clearly things weren’t completely right by the time Songs For Our Mothers was completed: midway through supporting Wolf Alice on their European tour late last year, Adamczewski left the band, leading to speculation that he would follow the lead of bass player Joseph Pancucci (with whom Adamczewski had played in The Metros) and sever ties with the band. Though, the fact that Adamczewski participates in this interview suggests reports of his impending departure have been greatly exaggerated. With the new album about to be released, Fat White Family will soon return to the road. Getting back on tour will allow them to refine the songs they’ve committed to record. “We didn’t know how to play any of the songs once we’d recorded the album,” Adamczewski says. “We’d never ever played the songs as a band, so it was a difficult process. We tried to play them as they were recorded, and it didn’t work, so we worked on them to play them live. So live they’ve got a more raw, rock’n’roll feel to them. We really like the energy of them, and we like it that you can do them two different ways – that makes it twice as interesting for us.” Finally, with an album titled Songs For Our Mothers, the obvious question must be asked: what do their mothers think of the album? “My mother’s only heard a few of the songs when we’ve played live,” Saoudi says. “And she was shocked and appalled.” FAT WHITE FAMILY’s second album Songs For Our Mothers is out on Friday January 22 via Without Consent/PIAS.
This Week: Comedian and bestselling author David Sedaris will hit Melbourne for the third time this week. The quick-witted American will be reading from a selection of new and unpublished diary entries and essays in what will be a rare and entertaining experience from the satirist known for such books as Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays On Ice and his most recent effort Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls. With his trademark sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, Sedaris has garnered a reputation for cutting through cultural euphemisms and political correctness in satirical ways, and his social commentary regularly features in The New Yorker and on the likes of BBC and ABC radio. Catch him at Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall on Thursday January 21 or Friday January 22. ACMI will be hosting limited screenings of Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer, a film that traces the renowned fashion designer’s trajectory from his small-town childhood to international success. After numerous knockbacks from fashion houses across Paris, Scott ventured out on his own. Combining the imagery of Middle America with a garish and identifiable aesthetic, the designer went on to become the creative director of Moschino, arriving as the first American designer to ever helm a major Italian brand. Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer will screen at ACMI from Friday January 22 – Sunday January 31. La Verità will come to Arts Centre Melbourne this week. From the creative minds behind Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo and Cirque Éloize’s Rain comes Compagnia Finzi Pasca’s La Verità – a dreamlike, acrobatic poem and surrealist circus extravaganza. It is a visually breathtaking circus work inspired by a backdrop created by surrealist painter Salvador Dali. Ideas and images collide in a decadent Vaudeville channelling of Dali’s vision, as 13 acrobats play instruments, sing, juggle, contort, clown and can-can amongst unfurling flowers, distorting shadows, ladders suspended in empty space, impossible balances, dismantled corpses, blindfolds, feathers and sequins. La Verità will come to Arts Centre Melbourne, State Theatre from Thursday January 21 until Saturday January 23.
PICK OF THE WEEK
Melbourne Theatre Company will open their 2016 season with the new musical Ladies In Black. The musical, adapted from the Madeleine St John novel, The Women in Black, and brought to life by director Simon Phillips with songs by Tim Finn, is a celebration of glamour, gowns and growing up in 1950s Australia. The production features over 25 original songs and a stunning range of over 30 custom-designed dresses and suits by international award winning designer Gabriela Tylesova. The musical follows young high school graduate Lesley after she takes a holiday job at Goodes, the most prestigious department store in the 1950s Sydney town. Ladies In Black will transform Southbank Theatre, The Sumner from Wednesday January 20 until Wednesday February 27.
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With Tyson Wray. Got thoughts, news, gossip, complaints or cat photos? Email tyson@beat.com.au or send by carrier pigeon before Friday 12pm.
The
Hateful Eight BY CHRIS MARTIN
Q
uentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight carries a couple of clues about itself in name alone. It’s the eighth film from the one-time cult director, set in a comparable post-Civil War universe to its predecessor, Django Unchained. It’s also one of Tarantino’s most violent films yet. Kurt Russell, a Tarantino veteran from 2007’s Death Proof, acknowledges that in a time when America’s problem with gun violence refuses to abate, Hollywood films must recognise their responsibilities. “I think that it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘What level of contribution do films, songs, paintings, stories, radio shows – anything you want in terms of entertainment – what level of contribution do they need to be held accountable for?’ And that, I think, was decided a long time ago for that country, for the concept of what America was to be, when they said, ‘There won’t be censorship here. You will be accountable for your own behaviour.’ “If you don’t understand the difference between real life and a movie, you need to. For me, as a libertarian, you need to conduct yourself and comport yourself in a manner, in a society, that is able to separate those two things.” Russell’s views on the boundary between fiction and reality are well considered, and it’s no surprise. He speaks thoughtfully and openly, a man whose sensibilities remain untainted by 40 years of celebrity. An A-list Hollywood heartthrob in the late ’70s and ’80s, Russell’s latest visit to Australia comes as part of The Hateful Eight promotional tour, with Melbourne one of 50 cities around the world where fans have been able to see the film in its original Ultra Panavision 70 format – one not used in motion picture since 1966, yet a quintessentially Tarantino indulgence. “We are getting the opportunity right now to do
something that we won’t have the opportunity to do again – for those of us who worked on it, we wanted to see it in 70mm. So I’ve seen it now seven times – I’ll see it eight times, I’ve decided obviously to make that little fun connection. But the thing about it is, every time you watch it with a different kind of an audience, it’s a different experience. The East Coast audience in the United States was very different from the West Coast; Australia is different from England; England’s different from Germany, Italy, Brazil, Japan. The audiences respond differently, and it’s really fun to watch how that dynamic plays out.” Despite a positive reception so far, The Hateful Eight was laced with its fair share of production issues along the way. Tarantino originally announced the film in November 2013, but in early 2014, his script leaked online. A live reading of the script in Los Angeles – featuring Russell and fellow Tarantino alumni Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth, among others – inspired the cast to persuade the director to revive his plans. Filming on the wintertime Western began in Colorado later that year. The film itself follows an eventful day in the life of bounty hunter John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth (played by Russell) and his prisoner Daisy Domergue (a revelatory Jennifer Jason Leigh), who encounter a mysterious yet
fast-talking Major Marquis Warren ( Jackson) on their way to Red Rock, Wyoming. They bunker down from an approaching blizzard in Minnie’s Haberdashery, joining an assortment of other travellers including Oswaldo Mobray (Roth) and Joe Gage (Madsen). As the various characters’ competing motivations gradually begin to materialise in their actions, a typically comic yet suspenseful Tarantino drama plays out. “[ John Ruth] was very bombastic; I never played a character as bombastic as John Ruth,” Russell says. “But the way he looks at his job is a strong representation of how he feels about the cornerstone of American justice, which is that no matter how bad a person you are, you have your day in court; you have your ability to present your case, as it were. For the very, very bad people that these bounty hunters go out and bring in, usually – as Sam’s character does – they shoot them in the back and they collect the bounty, they collect the money. John Ruth doesn’t do that, and he puts himself at risk because of it. That’s what allows this story to take place. “He’s been up for a week now with this feral cat that he has chained himself to, and there’s sort of a weird Stockholm syndrome that has now taken place between he and Daisy Domergue, and they get trapped in this environment where he suspects everybody in the room to some degree, and he’s trying to figure out who’s who, who may do what, and then things unfold.” The central plot points in The Hateful Eight revolve around the characters’ competing views on justice – and with many of the eponymous eight having had some exposure to violence in the past, the claustrophobic and wintry setting becomes a furnace waiting for its flames to ignite. “What’s fascinating about this movie is that when you see it, it’s one thing – when you see it again, everything changes,” Russell smiles. “Because once you know the story, now you can look at the behaviour of the people in a completely different way … it was a great opportunity for us all to get together and hopefully create memorable characters.” The Hateful Eight is in cinemas now.
Giveaway: The Martian at Shadow Electric Ridley Scott is back to his best. The Martian sees astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) stranded on a barren planet after a fierce storm wreaks havoc on his team’s interplanetary mission. With little to no supplies, Watney is forced to lean on his intellect and human spirit as he attempts to overcome the seemingly impossible situation. Meanwhile NASA
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technicians, scientists and managers feverishly race against the clock to bring their man home. An epic premise presented on a grand scale under the stars at Shadow Electric, it screens on Thursday January 28. We have some double passes to giveaway. Head to beat.com.au to win.
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For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au Miranda July
THE COMIC STRIP
Meow Meow’s Little Mermaid
DIRTY SECRETS COMEDY
Thursday January 28 - Sunday February 14 Malthouse Theatre
Tonight they have a super sweet lineup at Caz Reitop’s featuring Daniel Ryan Spaulding, Ben Lomas, Simon Taylor and heaps more for the crazy price of $5. Get in early for some great whiskey and beer. This show is set to go off. Dirty Secrets Comedy goes down every Wednesday at 8.30pm.
The Village Bike
Tuesday February 2 – Saturday March 5 Red Stitch Actors Theatre
200 Years of Australian Fashion Saturday March 5 - Sunday July 31 National Gallery of Victoria
THURSDAY COMEDY Claire Hooper headlines the comedy at the European Bier Café this Thursday night. You’ve seen her on Foxtel’s The Great Australian Bake Off, Good News Week and those Optus ads too. Now see her live on stage. Plus there’s Mike Goldstein, Demi Lardner, Daniel Connell and heaps more. It’s all happening this Thursday January 21 at 8.30pm, at the European Bier Café, 120 Exhibition St, CBD, all for only $12.
CLUB VOLTAIRE COMEDY This Sunday there’s a huge lineup, featuring Adam Knox as MC alongside Sonia Di Iorio, Nick Quon, Danielle Walker, Rose Callaghan, Luka Muller and more. It’s totally free (they’ll accept donations, however) and kicks off at 7.30pm.
COMEDY AT SPLEEN Mondays at Comedy at Spleen are always full, and this week will be no different. The only place to be on Mondays will be chockers full of laughs with guests and it’s the place where big names drop in. This Monday, there’s heaps of guests like Mike Goldstein, David Tulk, Xander Allan, Brett Blake, some special guests and more. It’s this Monday January 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 Tuesdays 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. Comedy at The Wilde all-time favourite Jack Druce joins Laura Dunemann, Jess Perkins and more this week for another big, fun night of comedy. It’s this Tuesday January 26 at 153 Gertrude St, Fitzroy at 8pm. And, it’s totally free.
Coming Up
Jurassic World: The Exhibition
Saturday March 19 - Sunday October 9 Melbourne Museum
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Wednesday March 23 - Sunday April 17 Various Venues
Degas: A New Vision
The Wheeler Centre Unveil 2016 Season One Program Now in their sixth year, The Wheeler Centre are kicking off 2016 by showcasing some of the finest and brightest writers and thinkers Australia and the world have to offer, including the likes of Miranda July, Richard Dawkins and David Suzuki. The program features keynote speeches, thoughts, discussions and arguments from David Walsh, Masha Gessen, David Suzuki, Etgar Keret, Anita Hiss, foreign correspondent Simon Winchester, Penny Arcade, Tim Flannery, Muriel Barbery, Mark Dapin, Martin McKenzie-Murray, Gideon Haigh, Sally Warhaft, Maxine Beneba Clarke, Hugo Race, Naomi Oreskes, David Astle, Tony Wilson, James Henry and more. Highlights from the extensive and diverse program include the annual Gala Night of Storytelling as Lee Lin Chin, Anna Funder, Tony Windsor and more discuss the books that shaped their thinking. Elsewhere, LA based artist and author Miranda July will host an evening detailing the creation of books, performances and personal protection devices while seminal thinker and author of The God Delusion Richard Dawkins will arrive for a discussion of atheism, pragmatism and his commitment to lifelong learning. Season one will run from Monday February 15 to Thursday March 31. For free bookings and full program details of over two dozen events, head to wheelercentre.com.
Stringybark Cinema Opens
Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer
Up For Summer The Stringybark Cinema is transforming the beautiful Emu Plains Reserve in Balnarring, unlike anything seen on the Mornington Peninsula before. Showing movies weekly, the giant six-metre blow up-screen is currently featuring family favourites such as Back To The Future, Stand By Me, Muriel’s Wedding, The Blues Brothers, The Sound Of Music and Dirty Dancing. On top of that, you can come early to experience some live and local entertainment, activities for kids, mouthwatering food and a bar stocked with the likes of Quealy Wines and Red Hill Brewery beers. Stringybark Cinema will run until Saturday February 13. Visit stringybarkcinema.com for more details.
Velvet Locked In For Melbourne Premiere Award-winning musical Velvet will make its Melbourne premiere after sell-out seasons at the Edinburgh Fringe, Brisbane Festival and the Sydney Opera House. Directed by Craig Ilott, VELVET is inspired by the sounds and events of the infamous Studio 54 nightclub – following one man’s journey as he slips past the velvet rope into an underbelly of disco and debauchery. Singer/songwriter Brendan Maclean and Australian R&B icon Marcia Hines reprise their roles for the Melbourne iteration, joined by an ensemble of international circus, cabaret and musical talent. Velvet will run at the Malthouse Theatre from Wednesday March 23 for a limited season.
Friday June 24 - Sunday September 18 National Gallery of Victoria
MTC’s Cybec Electric Series Returns Public and semi-staged play readings are returning with Melbourne Theatre Company’s Cybec Electric series with new works from five of Australia’s fastest rising playwrights. Plays from Rashma N. Kalsie, Justine Campbell and Sarah Hamilton, Bridget Mackey and Louris van de Geer all set in seemingly everyday Melbourne locations will come to life with readings from professional actors and the assistance of directors and dramaturgs. The series opens with Kalsie’s The Day I Left Home - Melbourne Talam, which details the story of three people at Flagstaff station who can’t find or follow the rhythm of the city. Campbell and Hamilton’s Untold explores the relationship between two sisters reunited by their mother’s death while Mackey’s The Exact Dimension’s of Hell arrives as a thrilling study of two companions desperate to stop a cult leader leaving prison. Closing it out is The Son – the story of a married couple who realise their cleaner wants something back from their house that she cannot have. Melbourne Theatre Company’s Cybec Electric runs from Thursday February 25 – Saturday March 5. Ellen van Neerven
Theatre Works Reveal 2016 Program Theatre Works will present an internationally curated season of work from the USA, Britain, Scotland, Germany and Holland as well as five world premieres and two remounts from MTC and Malthouse independent seasons in their largest program to date. In his fifth and final program for Theatre Works, Creative Producer Daniel Clarke has described the selection of 17 works as “queer, inclusive, culturally diverse, challenging, political, disruptive and hugely entertaining.” The 2016 season will open with the award-winning Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer followed by Volker Gerling’s Portraits in Motion - a show based on a collection of flip books he found while walking through Germany. Caroline Bowditch’s Herald Angel-winning Falling In Love With Frida takes an intimate look at the life and works of seminal artist Frida Kahlo, while French, Dutch and Australian collaboration Blind will see renowned puppeteer and dancer Duda Paiva draw on childhood illness that left him blistered and vision impaired. Elsewhere in the program, highlights include Anti-Hamlet by Mark Wilson that uses a Shakespearean blueprint to create a contemporary Australian tragicomedy-burlesque; Brechtian satire in the form of The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, and Earshot performed by Kate Hunter – a unique performance based on private conversations gathered from around the world made public. The 2016 program kicks off on Friday February 12 with Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer. For tickets and a full program rundown, head to theatreworks.org.au.
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Blak & Bright Indigenous Literary Festival To Make Debut Celebrating the world’s longest continuing culture comes the inaugural Blak & Bright Indigenous Literary Festival, set for four days of panels, performances, workshops and more from more than 60 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander novelists, oral storytellers, poets, songwriters, playwrights and comedians. With the majority of events being free to all, Blak & Bright aims to showcase Indigenous writing in all its forms and to help increase the profile and readership of all Indigenous writers and writing. Program highlights include an ‘industry insider’ afternoon, providing insight on how to get started in the literature industry alongside three workshops led by acclaimed novelist and non-fiction writer Anita Heiss, Stella-shortlisted novelist and poet Ellen van Neerven and Age Book of the Year winner Kate Howarth. Elsewhere in the program comes the premiere performance of Native Dignity, 6 Plays in 60 Minutes from ILBIJERRI theatre company and Blak Gala: Story Behind The Songs featuring James Henry, Monica Weightman and Kutcha Edwards with special guests. Blak & Bright will run from Thursday February 18 – Sunday February 21 at The Wheeler Centre. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 25
For more arts news, reviews and interviews visit beat.com.au
Jimmy Carr B y N i c k M a s on
It takes a lot to make Jimmy Carr sweat onstage. A few diehard fans may cast their minds back to an especially humid evening at Melbourne’s The Toff In Town, in which the typically dapper stand-up comic sweltered through a hilarious preview of his show Gagging Order. “I’d basically organised this whole tour so I could go and watch the tennis in Melbourne,” Carr jokes. “We saw women playing in 44-degree heat. I mean, it was just brutal.” Still, on the eve of his next visit to Australia – with his latest show, Funny Business – Carr sees the bright side. “You don’t understand how great it is for me: I’m doing this tour because I loved doing it two years ago, I loved coming out to Australia in January. You wonder why Poms are so whingy? I’ll tell you why we’re so whingy – have you ever been to Britain in January? It’s like, ‘How is the weather today?’ It is depressing. It’s just depressing every day. It’s cold and wet and windy and shit. Then you go to Australia and you go, ‘Oh, this is where it’s at.’ Everyone wants to come out as well. People just want to go out and have fun.”
Carr scores plenty of screen time in the UK as host of The Big Fat Quiz Of The Year, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and as a frequent guest on the beloved quiz show QI. But here, Carr remains somewhat of a novelty. “In Australia I’m not on TV all the time. I do a couple of QIs and people might know me from that, but people have to search me on YouTube. They have to go and find me. It’s quite a defining thing, a sense of humour, especially if you’ve had to go and sort of seek it out and go, ‘Oh, I like this guy, I like what he does.’ “I really like that quote about comedy, that laughter is the shortest distance between two people. And I like
the idea that you come halfway around the world and suddenly you’re in a room with friends because you’ve all got the same sense of humour.” If you have yet to come across Carr’s comedy before, you’ll quickly note his reputation for sparkling repartee. It’s a rare breed of comedian who relishes a heckle, but Carr seems to fit into that category. “You’ve got that 100 per cent right,” he says. “I know the jokes and I’ve rehearsed them, I know they’re funny and it’s going to work and we’re going to have a great time together. 20 per cent of the show has got to be me messing around with the audience. It’s got to be something that can only happen that night, in that room with those people. That’s the fun of it for me and also for the people in that room. “People might have heard the term ‘heckle’ and think it’s a drunk guy at a wedding interrupting speeches. At my shows, it’s someone shouting something really funny out. They’ve got to have a little bit of chutzpah before they shout out at one of my shows, because they
Maajid Nawaz B y A d am N orri s
In 2002, Maajid Nawaz was arrested in Egypt and served four years in the Mazra Tora Prison. As a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an extremist Islamist group intent on establishing a global caliphate, Nawaz had proved a model recruit: articulate and charismatic, he was adept at shepherding impressionable minds into the radical party. Yet while imprisoned, thanks to the auspices of Amnesty International, Nawaz came to renounce his extremist allegiance, committing himself to countering such groups and the narratives that give them strength. Even before this turnaround, however, the Essex-born activist knew that the road ahead would be a challenge. “Certainly a difficult and anguished road,” Nawaz recalls. “Our rhetoric was that violence would only be required after we’d established the caliphate, but we were fully aware that to get the caliphate in the first place would require a lot of sacrifice, and that sacrifice meant that in effect, we were prepared to give our lives. When I was faced with my imprisonment in Egypt, it was everything I had prepared for up until that point. “We would train our recruits exactly in what they were getting themselves involved in, and we would tell them straight up that our quest – especially back in those days, when the Arab dictators never looked more sturdy BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 26
and stolid in their position – that overthrowing these dictators would require a lot of sacrifice in the form of blood and guts. Indeed, the first martyr of Hizb utTahrir was in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. His name was Abdul Aziz Badri, killed in the ’60s. We were no strangers to stories that our older members would tell us of the torture and murder that these dictators would inflict.” It is difficult to imagine such environments when couched in the comparative freedoms and luxuries of Australia. The mainstream narratives we receive of Islam and the Middle East are often tinged with
fear, uncertainty, and a certain grim hopelessness; the resulting confusion has given rise to countless suspicions and little comprehension. With his direct experience of hard-line Islamist ideologies, Nawaz is in a unique position to speak of the black-and-white assumptions many Western communities have of Christian and Muslim faith, and how this conversation can be broadened. “One of my aims is to popularise what I call counternarratives. To empower everyday people so that they feel able and confident to have these conversations with others without having to have gone through the experience. I mean, now we can kind of articulate what’s wrong with Christianity-based theocracy without having had to have been a Christian fundamentalist. It’s embedded in the collective memory. “So my mission is to make sure now that Islam is native to Western society – and what I mean by the word ‘native’ is that Muslims are born and raised in the West, they are Western citizens and therefore their religion is also native to Western societies – now, these Western societies need to claim the same level of ownership over the Islam debate as they do the Christianity debate. When they feel empowered enough to do so, they’ll be
EVERYTHING MELBOURNE
know I’m going to say something incredibly unpleasant back. But it’s all in good fun and they know it’s got to be good, because they know the rest of the audience are not going to laugh unless it’s funny.” Carr bases his career on risk-taking; he’s a renowned purveyor of polarising gags. He’s no stranger to the press, which has scrutinised his various missteps over the years. Still, Carr is relaxed regarding the apparent ‘controversial comedian’ tag. “Anything following me around at all is great. I think the fact of the matter is, I’ve got quite a dark sense of humour and I tell those jokes and I think you’ve got to wear it, haven’t you? You can’t be surprised that people call you controversial when you joke about those things. But having said that, my aim is never to cause offence. The primary aim is never to cause offence, the primary aim is to get laughs, and ultimately it’s not my decision what I joke about – it’s the audience’s. If they don’t laugh, then it’s not in the show. “There’s a great Lenny Bruce quote: ‘The audience is a genius.’ They decide what is and what isn’t funny. They decide what is and isn’t acceptable through laughter. If an audience laugh, then it is acceptable and it’s funny. If they don’t, then it’s not in the show. They regulate comedy, the audience.” As a self-confessed “comedy nerd” and a veteran of the scene, Carr knows what it takes to make it in standup. “All you’ve got to do as a comedian is listen. You get immediate feedback from the audience. It’s such a great medium for that. You know, for people that make films, opening night is tremendously stressful because they’ve put three years of work into this thing and they’ve got to see if people like it. A comedian – you say one line, if they don’t like it, you say, ‘Right, we’ll do something else.’ It’s not a tough job – you’ll never find me complaining.” Nevertheless, it’s a job well done, and as Carr’s star continues to rise, the risks and the pressures of his profession faze him less. “When I started doing comedy, I left a very good job to join the circus of being a stand-up comedian. Now it feels like the stakes are a bit higher. You have to remind yourself, ‘Who cares?’ I make my living telling jokes, which is a lovely way to make a living.”
Catch Jimmy Carr at Hamer Hall from Monday January 25 - Wednesday January 27. able to discuss it rationally. What’s not happening at the moment, unfortunately, is a rational conversation. And that’s because both the Far Left and the Far Right don’t see it as a native thing. The Far Left fetishises the Islam debate, and thereby mollycoddle it, and the Far Right see it as The Other. The problem with both is that neither sees it as being native in their own culture. If they did, we’d be having a rational conversation about Islam, as we do with Christianity.” A significant blockade to this level of acceptance and debate may lie in the narratives espoused in extremist propaganda; from grainy videos of beheadings, to footage of explosions and mass demonstrations, the attempt to sew fear and provoke violent reactions from the West – thereby legitimising the notion of a religious war – can be found online with the push of a button. For many, it has laced the very words ‘Muslim’, ‘Islam’ and ‘Quran’ with hostile associations they do not at all deserve. “The solution to this is a whole society approach,” Nawaz says. “When that bomb goes off, it doesn’t just kill Muslims or Christians. Shrapnel is indiscriminate in who it targets. All of society is affected by this debate – the consequences of getting this wrong affect everyone. Key to that is talking about something that is indigenous to society and is not external. And yes, the Far Right, when they talk about Islam, they talk about it in terms synonymous with violence, with terrorism. The equally dangerous reaction is the Far Left then denies there is a problem at all. And of course there is a middle ground – we are able to sensibly distinguish Islam as a faith, from the theocratic project that is the Islamist ideology. From there we can say, ‘It’s not my concern how many times you pray, it’s not my concern whether you fast on Ramadan or not. What is my concern is your projection upon others that your version of Islam must be imposed.’ “I thought by distinguishing Islam as a religion from Islamist ideology, we’re able to safeguard Muslims who simply wish to be devout in their own personal lives from those who subscribe to a theocratic project. That’s the Achilles heel for the Far Right, because if we’re able to do that, we deny the Far Right the ammunition they require to stigmatise every single Muslim.”
Spend an evening with Maajid Nawaz on Friday January 29 at Deakin Edge, Federation Square.
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OUT OF THE CLOSET Queer happenings with Anna Whitelaw
After the sun shone on Midsumma Carnival and TDance, the annual gay festival is well underway. Between now and Sunday February 7 over the next three weeks, the festival will boast over 130 theatre productions, art exhibitions, performances, parties and more. This week, Gaytimes - the first queer camping music festival - drops its second huge lineup announcement. Joining Paul Mac, Oscar Key Sung and The Bamboos’ Kylie Auldist, Gaytimes will also feature live performances from ethereal R&B singer/producer Banoffee, fresh from playing Falls Festival and dreamy electro pop duo GL, who graced the stage of Meredith. Alongside them, Gaytimes will also feature an enormous DJ lineup over two nights and three days which will be fully unveiled this week but already features the likes of YO! MAFIA, CC:DISCO!, Mimi, Salvador Darling, DJ Sveta, Jason Conti and heaps more.
The festival will also feature visual art installations, film screenings, yoga, sexuality workshops, food trucks, glamping options and for those who like to be pampered even a nail spa and hair salon for getting your do did as well as a costume party. Early birds and cabin tickets are sold out, but first release camping tickets are on sale from $175 + booking fee. For further details and ticketing links, visit facebook.com/gaytimesfestival or sign up at gaytimes.com.au. Next Tuesday, CLOSET will host the second annual Australia Day outdoor day party, its Block Party. Last year, CLOSET threw its first day party at the Shadow Electric at the Abbotsford Convent over two stages, and hundreds of inner city hipsters turned out for one of the best party they’ve ever thrown. This time around, the annual Australia Day bash will take place just up
the road at Dr Morse, the Abbotsford bar and eatery with arguably the best beer garden in the city. With a retractable roof, a delicious menu and a full bar, as well as a host of Australia Day surprises (think oldfashioned BBQ offerings, ice creams and pop-up performers and more), there will be no better way to spend the dubious public holiday with hundreds of your fellow homosexuals having a boogie in the sunshine. From 2pm, YO! M.A.F.I.A., Salvador Darling, Mimi, JLAW, Luke Agius and Renee Delay will hit the decks bringing you disco, house, hip hop and more until late. Presale tickets are available through the Midsumma website, and are $17-22 + booking fee, with a donation from every ticket sold going to support the festival from midsumma.org.au or you can get entry on the door.
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The biggest Pride March after party the city has ever seen YASS PRIDE! will see the biggest queer parties in Melbourne and Sydney CLOSET, Thursgay, GiRTHING and POOF DOOF come together for a day party at Luna Park. Over three stages - both indoor and outdoor - YASS PRIDE! will take over Luna Park will a huge roster of DJs and performers from 3pm until11pm. From 8pm, YASS PRIDE! will even take over the theme park exclusively giving partygoers unlimited rides on some of the park’s most popular attractions, including the Scenic Railway (although bear in mind you may have to queue). Early birds and first release tickets are sold out.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 27
BEAT’S GUIDE TO
On Sunday January 17 thousands of families and partygoers flocked to Alexandra Gardens to revel in all the colours of Carnival; the official launch party of Victoria’s annual celebration of queer arts, culture and diverse gender and sexuality communities. The weekend’s Carnival celebration kicked off a colossal three weeks of Midsumma action that sees art venues, galleries, cinemas, libraries, performance spaces and even sporting centres across the city flooded by a program bursting with the very best queer culture the city has on offer. From now until Sunday February 7, over 130 Midsumma events will take over a collection of venues across Melbourne, and after poring over the huge program, the Beat team have pulled together just a few of our must-sees of Midsumma 2016.
LET’S GET METAPHYSICAL: THE GLITTA SUPERNOVA EXPERIENCE Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood
Nominated for Best Cabaret show at 2015 Fringeworld Perth, Let’s Get Metaphysical stars Australian queer royalty Glitta Supernova (of Gurlesque and Pretty Peepers Cabaret fame). As anyone familiar with Supernova’s work may suspect, it’s a strictly adults only event. Let’s Get Metaphysical adopts an overtly sexual tone, employing camp humour in a send-up of a crass porn film. While it’s already taken the country by storm, this is the Melbourne debut of the show that follows a small-town hippy who finds herself embroiled in the naughty, hedonistic post-punk underbelly of Sydney in the late-‘80s. It’s been described as a combination of The Mighty Boosh and Benny Hill staged on the set of Deep Throat with narration from The Young Ones. Hectic, right? Supernova’s character is a self-described sex clown who’s been trying to break out of the pecking order for 20 years. What goes on, well you’ll have to see for yourself, but the show comes with a firm “do not try this at home” warning. Let’s Get Metaphysical is on at the Melba Spiegeltent on Thursday January 29 and Friday January 30.
Midsumma at Gasworks Arts Park | 19 January to 7 February 2016 | Bookings www.gasworks.org.au PREMIER EVENT
Gender Spanner 19 to 23 January
ELEGY Beyond Priscilla: The Play Playtime Staged Readings
19 January to 6 February
20 to 30 January
Backyard Cinema
P.S. She Nurses!
Uncovered
The Measure of a Man
Wonder Women: Exhibit Elegy Photographic Exhibit
Peace Process: Exhibit
21 January
27 to 30 January
1 to 6 February
PREMIER EVENT
GONE
3 to 6 February
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 28
22 January and 5 February
5 to 6 February
19 January to 7 February
BEAT’S GUIDE TO MIDSUMMA
19 January to 7 February
19 January to 14 February
KONG’S MIXER LIXOR Hi! Who are we speaking to and what do you do? I’m BustHerr and I’m a drag king. I run and MC a night called Kong’s Kings; the only all drag king night in Melbourne. Fill us in on Kong’s Mixer Lixor. How have previous Kong’s Kings shows gone down? What can we expect from your Midsumma performance, and what makes these shows special to you? The Mixer Lixor is actually a very special event for us, as it’s our first official Midsumma gig. The Lixor Bros entered the So You Think You Can Drag competition last year and won an all-inclusive event from Midsumma. Rather than run the show as a duo, they thought this to be a great opportunity to make a massive event for Drag Kings in general,
so they ever so kindly donated the event to Kongs. Our other events have usually consisted of a maximum of six to eight performers, with two half sets of three to four shows. However this night has ten acts, 13 drag kings and one very special drag queen. All performers will be bringing all new acts to the stage, so no show has been seen on the Kong stage before. We also have some extremely awesome DJs that we’ve gone all out for. Not only do we have Catriona Constance, but also Yo Mafia, which is very exciting to have such a big name. Can you give us a backstory on some of the drag kings performing at the Mixer? We have Ziggy Discoballs, a king that kicked off his drag career at Kongs and is now taking the scene by storm - winning drag competitions and being sent all over the country to perform. Max Factor is one of the kings that was part of the first ever Melbourne drag revolution that helped Drag Kings to really become known. Jesse Dean is a sight that can only be seen and no words can explain. And new king to the Kong stage, Dusty Grey, is one of our rural brothers. Some Kong favourites, Cam Honour and Harden Long will offer intricate performances without their themes.
Lance DeBoyle is our drag veteran from Daylesford. Our very special drag queen Cleo Taurus is sure to win your hearts as she has ours with her stunning looks and entertaining acts to boot. Ryder Knightly is bringing his new drag king BF to Kongs, Leon Miface. This duo will surely bring the sleaze to the stage. You’re performing twice on the night as BustHerr and also in the Lixor Brothers. Tell us about what you’re bringing to both performances. I’ll be performing as BustHerr in both, but I will be featuring in the Lixor Bros show to represent the union of Kongs and the Lixor bros on the night. I will also be MCing with Lenny Lixor. Then I’ll be performing with my “brother” BangHerr to do one of our classic Herr shows, I guess you would say. What have some of your Midsumma highlights been in previous years? Kong’s kings has participated in a few Midsumma events in the past, such as pride march on the 40million degree day and performed the main stage at Carnival last year. This year will be our biggest participation yet, with the show, performing at Carnival and walking Pride March again. We’re really looking forward to hosting our biggest show to date.
Catch KONG’S MIXER LIXOR take down Laundry Bar on Friday January 29 as part of Midsumma.
GASWORKS ARTS PARK
Year upon year, Gasworks Arts Park has maintained a rock-solid reputation for delivering the best of Midsumma programming the city has to offer, and their 2016 season is no exception. Boasting captivating performing arts events, an outstanding collection of visual arts exhibitions, drama, comedy and outdoor cinema screenings, Gasworks Arts Park’s Midsumma season gleams a colossal rainbow across the southside and beyond, proving once again this multifaceted community arts precinct are front-runners in exceptional Midsumma programming. Highlights of the program include Playtime Staged Readings, which facilitates the debut readings of a bunch of queer focused theatre works; Uncovered, a play that sees the greatest dreams, fears and desires of one man become reality all within a curious bar; The Measure of a Man, the second instalment in critically acclaimed queer artist Gavin Roach’s Anxiety Trilogy; and the official Midsumma launch on Thursday January 21, which brings together music, performances, exhibitions and prizes – and it’s completely free.
All you need is love
Photographic works by Lisa White 22 January - 14 February Incinerator Gallery | 180 Holmes Road, Moonee Ponds Portraits of LGBTIQ families and their supporters in a quiet in-bed protest for equality.
CLOCKTOWER CABARET P.S. SHE NURSES!
Ford & Sly And Gasworks Arts Park Present
STARRING
The last two times Brendy Ford brought his Midsumma production P.S. I’m Fabulous! to Gasworks Arts Park, the entire season sold out. This time around, Ford will make another side-splitting entrance into Gasworks with the musical comedy, P.S. She Nurses! – a behindthe-curtains peek into the world of nursing, depicted through Ford’s own diary entries from his 2008 student nursing journal. In P.S. She Nurses! Ford will take the audience on a journey jam-packed with Hollywood ideals, harsh realities, and naturally, stories of his very first encounter with a vagina. The show will also contain a collection of ‘80s and ‘90s anthems, so there’s no doubt you’ll be shaking your thang across the aisles in no time. P.S. She Nurses! will see Ford joined onstage by a stellar cast of performers including Sarah Louise Younger, Seth Drury, Leigh J Booth, Jessica Prinzi and pianist Jane Matheson. Both performances of P.S. She Nurses! will support the 3181 Momentum project and raise funds for The Reach Foundation. These shows are bound to sell out, so act quickly. W W W. B E AT.C O M . A U
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 29
GONE
PEACE PROCESS
Gone is a piece of comedic theatre centred on the notso-funny themes of desire, loss and letting things go. The work revolves around erotic gay fiction writer Alex Riley who, on the morning of his 40th birthday, is shocked to discover his penis has simply disappeared. Understandably frightened, bewildered and somewhat horrified, Alex wonders whether he’s contracted an STI, or perhaps he’s losing his mind. Not stalled by the ineffable mystery, he heads out looking for help. Problem is, it’s not only an intensely serious, but also a very humiliating situation to be stuck in, so he’s not sure whom to confide in. Beyond the narrative’s grotesque core, Gone inquire into the impact of body image, ageing and social media on gay men. It’s an interrogation of contemporary gay culture and the identity and relationships therein. Losing your penis is obviously a major barrier to engaging in physical relationships, and Gone ponders how this affects a gay man’s sexual viability in a world dominated by dating apps and muscle worship. Starring Daniel Fischer, Walter Hanna and Michael Treloar, Gone will premiere at Gasworks Arts Park for five performances only, from Wednesday February 3 until Saturday February 6.
During Midsumma 2016, renowned visual artist Andrew J Pearson will transform Gasworks Arts Park’s Foyer Gallery into a glittering temple of love, light, colour and rainbows with his stunning body of works Peace Process. Pearson’s Midsumma offering is more than just a visual arts exhibition. By literally piecing together multiple fragments of compact disc and small laminated monochromatic tiles which, when viewed from a slight distance, form photographic images, Pearson has produced a magnificent collection of 20 portraits. Pearson has chosen subjects who have contributed to a furtherance of acceptance and empowerment of those who are misunderstood, threatened and marginalised based on gender, sexuality and race. This is a one-of-a-kind visual art experience that offers the viewer an opportunity to contemplate loving kindness and the human rights of all, while stepping into an immersive, rainbow filled gallery space that bursts with splendid colour spectrums in constant motion.
Gasworks Arts Park
Gasworks Arts Park
GOWEST
For the seventh year running, a collection of local organisations and artists in the western region of Melbourne unite for GoWest celebrations as part of Midsumma. Featuring a vast selection of events that not only support and represent the array of LGBTIQ communities in the west, but also lure people to the western suburbs, this year’s GoWest celebrations span visual art exhibitions, cabaret, performing arts, live music, ghost tours, author talks, storytelling, comedy, sports activities, film screenings, discussions and more.
ALIVE AND INTIMATE
ELEGY
The Clocktower, Moonee Ponds
Presented by Gasworks Arts Park and Lab Kelpie Interviews with gay refugees who face persecution based on their sexuality, coupled with the photographic work of award-winning photojournalist Bradley Secker, inspired the UK play Elegy. In this compelling Australian premiere, director John Kachoyan (MTC, Bell Shakespeare) and actor Nick Simpson-Deeks (Company, Winners & Losers) reinvents the UK play and brings it to life on the Gasworks Theatre stage. An enthralling and eye-opening blend of storytelling and visual poetry, Elegy invites audiences on a journey through perilous border crossings, bomb-blasted towns and a devastated world, while exploring the extraordinary true-life experiences of sexuality within asylum centres and the brutality that many queer refugees face. Bradley Secker’s original photographic exhibition that inspired Elegy will also be on display in the Gasworks Heritage Foyer, open daily from 9am - 4pm.
ME & MR. JONES
The Clocktower, Moonee Ponds The Clocktower Centre in Moonee Ponds is rolling out some preeminent works of cabaret for this year’s Midsumma. The red curtain will be lowered, turning the venue into an ambient den of cabaret for a special Midsumma re-jigging of Me & Mr. Jones. It’s a work helmed by Melissa Langton and Mark Jones, famously regarded as the Captain & Tennille of the Aussie cabaret scene. For Me & Mr. Jones, the pair pulls out all the stops in a tribute to the music and pop culture of that most excessive of decades, the 1970s. It’s a hilarious romp through the unforgettable – and not always for the right reason – hits of Bette Midler, Cher, Liza Minnelli and many more. Feel like throwing your inhibitions in the bin and indulging your guiltiest pleasures? Head along to Clocktower Centre on Saturday January 30 and Sunday January 31. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 30
PEACE PROCESS can be viewed from now until Sunday February 14 in the Foyer Gallery at Gasworks Arts Park.
On the final weekend of Midsumma 2016, one of the leading lights of the country’s cabaret ranks will present the premiere of her brand new show, Alive and Intimate. The woman in question is none other than Dolly Diamond. Born in the UK, Diamond has been living Down Under since 2009. She’s led a tremendously successful career performing in live cabaret, at festivals and for various charity’s around Australia, Europe and the UK. Alive and Intimate showcases Diamond at the peak of her powers, busting out disco hits and Dixieland tearjerkers alongside witty remarks and an incessant flow of genuine laughs. For this performance Mark Jones will accompany Diamond. It all happens on Saturday February 6 and Sunday February 7 at Clocktower Centre, Moonee Ponds.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE Incinerator Art Gallery, Moonee Ponds
Through the intimate documentation of families within the LGBTIQ community, Lisa White’s photographic exhibition All You Need Is Love challenges heteronormative perceptions of families, while showcasing the diversity that exists within our communities. By capturing families in everyday domestic settings – two men and their dog, a trans person with their children, a lesbian couple in bed or a woman living happily on her own – White’s imagery act as a powerful celebration of love and family. Through gaining access to and sharing the subject’s private space and presenting it in document form, the exhibition highlights the overarching power of love within families, regardless of whether you are gay, straight or something in between.
This is only just a taste of what is happening during Midsumma 2016. Visit www.midsumma.org.au for the full program.
BEAT’S GUIDE TO MIDSUMMA
snaps khokolat koated
club guide wednesday january 20 • COQ ROQ WEDNESDAY - FEAT: JENS BEAMIN + AGENT 86 + MR THOM + JOYBOT + BLABERUNNER Lucky Coq, Windsor. 8:30pm. • CURIOUS TALES - FEAT: DJ WHO + TIGERFUNK + TOM SHOWTIME + FLAGRANT Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. • ESSENTIAL MISC - FEAT: MAXWELL S + RIVER YARRA Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. • REVOLVER WEDNESDAYS FEAT: DANIELSAN Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00pm.
thursday january 21 • DISCO VOLANTE - FEAT: FABRIS + TIM KOREN + SAMMY SWAYN + ALEX CRAM + JACK NELSON + PETER FOTOP + RYAN KEARY + MITCH BAIN + MANNY BUBOS + DAN BENTLEY + YASKI + RHYS BYNON + KHANH ONG + GEORGE KARA Onesixone, Prahran. 8:00pm. • DJ GUNS & ROSÉ Catfish, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. • LOCAL MOTION - FEAT: BILLUS MOON + NELSON + DAN FABRIS + SENPOLO Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. • UPTOWN Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 10:00pm. • VARSITY - FEAT: PAZ + MATT RAD + PYZ Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. • WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS Carlton Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.
frisday january 22
faktory
• #MASHTAG - FEAT: NU-GEN + MALPRACTICE + FLAGRANT Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. • BATTS + CANARY + ZLANTA The Shadow Electric, Abbotsford. 7:00pm. $10.00. • CAN’T SAY La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. • CIROQ FRIDAYS Cq, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. • CLUK EPIK - FEAT: DJ DEAN The Croxton, Thornbury. 9:00pm. $5.00. • DJ MERMAID Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 11:30pm. • ELBOW GREASE - FEAT: GORDY ZOLA + CHRIS BONATO Ferdydurke, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. • ERICK MORILLO Brown Alley, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $40.00. • FABULOUS FRIDAYS - FEAT: VARIOUS DJS Co., Southbank. 9:30pm. $20.00. • FAKE TITS - FEAT: BOOGS + SPACEY SPACE + SUNSHINE
+ SAMMY LA MARCA + BUTTERS + ADAM BARTAS + JUNGLE JIM Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $15.00. • GOOD MANNERS - FEAT: COLLARBONES Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. • LUCK TRUCK FRIDAY DOWNSTAIRS - FEAT: 99 PRBLMZ + CONGO TARDIS #1 + LITTLE LEAGUE BOUNCE CLUB Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. • NAZ + LEEMAN + HIJACK Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:00pm. • PANORAMA FRIDAYS UPSTAIRS - FEAT: PHATO A MANO + MR.GEORGE + MATT RADD + ASH-LEE Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. • PHIL GOOD FRIDAYS FEAT: PHIL K Railway Hotel, Brunswick. 6:00pm. • POPROCKS - FEAT: DR PHIL SMITH Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. • REVOLVER FRIDAYS & MI CASA - FEAT: KATIE DROVER + LEWIE DAY + TOM HORNSBY + MORE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 10:00pm. • SKREAM + ARTWORK Railway Hotel, Brunswick. 8:00pm. $15.00. • TEMPLE TECHNO - FEAT: SHUNJI + KANZO + KAZUMA ONISHI + MORE Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. • THE DISCO - FEAT: GREG SARA + LUKE MCD + JEN TUTTY + MORE Onesixone, Prahran. 8:00pm. • THE EMERSON CLUB FRIDAYS The Emerson, South Yarra. 3:00pm.
saturday january 23 • ANDY PADULA Railway Hotel, Brunswick. 10:00pm. • ANYWAY - FEAT: VARIOUS ARTISTS Bottom End, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $25.00. • AUDIOPORN SATURDAYS - FEAT: LE ZOK + JAMES WARE + GREG SARA + JACOB MALMO + TOM EVANS + ROWIE Onesixone, Prahran. 9:00pm. $15.00. • CHAMPAGNE INTERNET Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 10:30pm. • CQ SATURDAYS Cq, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. • CUSHION SATURDAYS FEAT: COURTNEY MILLS + JESSE JAMES + J HEASY + MITCH COEN + BIG MAC + TOP DECK + MORE Cushion, St Kilda. 9:00pm. • DAVEYS SATURDAYS - FEAT: HURLEY + CRAIG MOORE + ASTERIX Daveys Bar & Restaurant, Frankston. 9:00pm. • DEFINITION - FEAT: BOSCO + MCNULTY + KENNIE + STEF
PETROVIC + PACKARD + BUCKO Loop, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. • DJ BALL + WATERFALL PERSON + WET KISS + J Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm. $5.00. • DJ JEFF LEPPARD Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 11:30pm. • DNM SATURDAYS - FEAT: LUCIE M + BEC & SEBASTIAN + KIARA & KELLY + MORE Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 10:00pm. • ELECTRIC DREAMS - FEAT: VARIOUS DJS Co., Southbank. 9:00pm. $20.00. • HIJACK + D’FRO + NO NAME NATH Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:00pm. • HOT STEP - FEAT: 99 PROBLEMS + TIGER FUNK + SILVER FOX + ASKEW Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. • IN THE CARRIAGE - FEAT: DJ JNETT Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm. • JANK FACQUES Carlton Club, Melbourne Cbd. 12:05am. • LOST WEEKEND - FEAT: LUIS CL + CUTTING SHAPES POCOCK + MORE Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. • PLATFORM ONE SATURDAY NIGHTS Platform One, Melbourne. 9:00pm. • PONY SATURDAYS La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. • SEVEN SATURDAY DISCOTHEQUE Seven Nightclub, South Melbourne. 10:00pm. $20.00. • TEXTILE SATURDAYS - FEAT: KODIAK KID + D’FRO + JENS BEAMIN Lucky Coq, Windsor. 9:00pm. • THE EMERSON CLUB SATURDAYS - FEAT: FAMILIAR STRANGERS + KIN + ANDY MURPHY The Emerson, South Yarra. 9:00pm. • THE HOUSE DEFROST FEAT: ANDEE FROST Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. • THE LATE SHOW - FEAT: REX + DANIELSAN + RANSOM + DAVID SPACE + MORE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 10:00pm. • TOMMY’S CLUB - FEAT: SCAT Matthew Flinders Hotel, Chadstone. 8:00pm. $10.00. • TRAMP SATURDAYS Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.
sunday january 24
• GOOD TIMES - FEAT: MATT RADOVICH Railway Hotel, Brunswick. 3:00pm. • JUNGLE - FEAT: HANDS DOWN + ZAC DEPETRO + PETE LASKIS + TRAVLOS + JOHN DOE Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00am. $15.00. • PENNY’S HOUSE Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:00pm. • PIKNIC ELECTRONIC #2 FEAT: DUBFIRE + FRANK MOSS + JACK LOVE + MORE Federation Square, Melbourne Cbd. 1:00pm. • REVOLVER SUNDAYS - FEAT: BOOGS + SPACEY SPACE + T-REK + MORE Revolver Upstairs, Prahran. 7:00am. • ROOFTOP SUNDAYS - FEAT: KHANH + KEN WALKER + JESUS The Emerson, South Yarra. 12:00pm. • SPITROAST SUNDAYS Cushion, St Kilda. 10:00pm. • THE SUNDAY SET - FEAT: DJ ANDYBLACK + SHAGGIS Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 4:00pm. • WAX ON WAX OFF Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm.
monday january 25 • BAGSVDK Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 9:00pm. $7.00. • CALL IT IN - FEAT: INSTANT PETERSON + DYLAN MICHAEL + ROBYN TREASURE Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. • EFDENIM + STM + SHEDBUG + PAURIC FREEMAN Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 6:00pm. $25.00. • MONDAY STRUGGLE - FEAT: TIGER FUNK Lucky Coq, Windsor. 6:00pm. • THE DISCO STOLE MY BABY - FEAT: JACK DANZEY + ELDERADO + DREAM CABIN + JOSH KEYS + BARRY SUNSET Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 11:00pm. • THE MONDAY BONE MACHINE - FEAT: T-REK Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm.
off the record with
tyson
wray
New Traumprinz/DJ Metatron LP on the way oh dear lord hold me.
rainbow serpent after party Missed out on tickets to the sold out Rainbow Serpent? Or just want to kick-on? You’re in luck. Held on the Saturday after the festival, Rainbow Serpent will host their official Afterglow party. Held outdoors, the event will feature a selection of international and local talent, including James Monro, Jossie Telch, Be Svendsen, Cello Joe, Mista Savona, Griff and Mortisville. Have a shave, have a shower, and get down with the RS crew for a final time. It’s happening on Saturday January 30 at Ceres Environment Park.
tuesday january 26 • OASIS TUESDAYS Tramp, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. • SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:00pm.
• ANDY C Brown Alley, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm. $33.00. • BOP ART - FEAT: HAWAII + WHO + TIGERFUNK + MATT RADOVICH + LEWIS CANCUT Bimbo Deluxe, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. • DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE FEAT: DJ NIGEL LAST Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.
efdemin EFDEMIN IS COMING BACK. Sorry for yelling (not sorry). The man is one of the best deep house and techno selectors in the game. If you don’t know, you don’t deserve to go. Simple as that. It’s going to be a schooling. It’s happening on Monday January 25 at The Gasometer.
urban club guide • MELLOWDÍASTHUMP - FEAT: SENSIBLE J + GEEZY + CAZEAUX O.S.L.O + SKOMES Boney, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm.
• GLOBAL FLOW - FEAT: JONNY FREESH + DDASH RED + EMERALD + MORE Bar Oussou, Brunswick. 9:00pm. • PARTY & BULLSHIT - FEAT: ADAM PURSKI + SONIC VIBES + LARRIE Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 9:00pm.
Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00. • SPACEPORT 2 - FEAT: COOKING WITH CAUSTIC + SPECTACLES + DEEPSEA LIGHTS + MORE 303, Northcote. 8:00pm.
thursday january 21
saturday january 23
• HOUSE OF BEIGE - FEAT: MIZRIZK Railway Hotel, Brunswick. 6:00pm.
• BIG DANCING - FEAT: KODJOWILD + BOOTY QUEST + TALI + MORE Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. • JAKUBI Barwon Heads Hotel, Barwon Heads. 7:00pm. • KHOKOLAT KOATED SATURDAYS FEAT: DAMION DE SILVA + K DEE + DURMY + TIMOS Khokolat Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. • MANTRA + KRYPTIC Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $20.00. • RHYTHM NATION SATURDAYS - FEAT: DJ TIMOS + DJ KAHLUA + DJ ANGE M & ANDY PALA Chaise Lounge, Melbourne
• 45 SESSIONS BLOCK PARTY - FEAT: J.RED + OBLIVEUS + MORE Belleville, Melbourne. 6:00pm. • BIG DANCING - FEAT: LARRIE + BOOTY QUEST + PAIGE PLAY Laundry Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. • BRIGHT LIGHTS BIG CITY VS RHYTHM NATION - FEAT: DJ KAHLUA + DJ NATHANIEL + DJ ANDY PALA + DJ SHOOK + DJ C-RAM Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. • FAT JOE + MORE Trak Lounge Bar, Toorak. 9:00pm. $40.00. • SETH SENTRY + MANTRA + IVAN OOZE Chelsea Heights Hotel, Chelsea Heights. 8:00pm. $35.00.
wednesday january 20
friday january 22 • BRIGHT LIGHTS BIG CITY - FEAT: DJ RCEE + KAHLUA + DJ SHOOK + DJ ANGEL JAY Chaise Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. • DJ KRUSH + DEXTER X KUYA + TOM SHOWTIME Max Watt’s, Melbourne. 8:00pm. $50.00. • FAKTORY FRIDAYS - FEAT: DAMION DE SILVA + K DEE + DURMY Khokolat Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm.
electronic - urban - club life
monday january 25
ian pooley After 20 years in the game Ian Pooley is still kicking, and he’s coming back to Melbourne. The don runs two labels out of Berlin – Pooled Music and Montage – but his cuts are being reintroduced to the young’uns by the recent mixes from Ostgut Ton. Catch him on Friday February 12 at OneSixOne.
31
PUBLIC HOLIDAY Special
Who gives a flying fuckstickle if we’ve just partied for days over the Christmas and New Year break? Work kinda sucks anyway, and there’s a public holiday floating just around the corner, so now is the time to let your hair down and celebrate like it’s 2015 again. Grab yourself a tinny or ten, pull together your mates, and get a load of the mountain of events happening in Melbourne over the public holiday long weekend.
BOWLED OVER
FATBOY SLIM
The Hottest 100 is upon us again, and Bowled Over is taking over the St Kilda Bowls Club to bring you a ripping day of heat, meat and beats. They’re boasting a kickarse lineup of bands outside of their Hottest 100 coverage, with your boy Harts headlining the show, Adelaide’s Grenadiers in tow, plus IV League and Bareback Titty Squad who are revved up and good to go. There’s a bloody sausage sizzle with veggie options aplenty, several pop up bars and a spot of lawn bowls or bingo if you want to bring your nanna down. Bowled Over 2016 kicks off on Tuesday January 26 from 11am until 10pm. Log on to the Bowled Over website and grab your tickets for a sweet $25 while you still can.
It’s been a three long years since Fatboy Slim worked the decks in Melbourne, and even longer since he’s performed a headliner in our fair city. Now, he’s bringing his weapon of choice down to St. Kilda beach for a long weekend party to rule them all. There’s a reason why he manages to score sets with over 250,000 attendees, rip out shows on the top of the Great Wall Of China, do round trips of the world from Ibiza to Vegas, Rio to London and everywhere in between – the man’s got a style loved by millions. Fatboy Slim performs at St. Kilda Beach on Tuesday January 26. Ask your mama if she’ll let you go, and then get down there and praise the guy like you should. Tickets through Dashtickets.
EVEN
SETH SENTRY
WHITE SUMMER
DAN KELLY
After a great summer full of Boxing Day tests, the Australian Open tennis and Falls sideshows out the wazoo, Even are going one better and announcing a final show before their drummer Matt Cotter heads back to central Australia. With a lineup featuring The Demon Parade, dream pop stunners Dead Parties and newcomers Wild Meadows, shoot on down to Ding Dong for a big night of even bigger music. Catch Even and friends at Ding Dong Lounge this Monday January 25. Doors open at 7.30pm, entry is $24.
Ain’t nothing better than some hot beats to round off a hot day. Urban Spread gets this – that’s why they’re dragging lyrical larrikin and seminal spit stylist Seth Sentry down to The Heights for a pre-public holiday night of face-melting glory. This next round of Urban Spread’s Summer Series sees Sentry along with Mantra and Ivan Ooze taking over the venue for a night showcasing the cream of the Australian hip hop crop. You’ve got nothing to do the next day, so grab those tickets while they’re hot. Seth Sentry, Mantra and Ivan Ooze all perform at Chelsea Heights Hotel on Monday January 25 for Urban Spread’s Summer Series. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $39.
After spending a good part of their career hanging out in the picturesque hinterland of Phillip Island, White Summer bunkered down and started writing the songs they wanted to write – blues heavy rock music with more grit than you’d find under your fingers. Fast forward to 2016, they’ve got new singles on the horizon, new clips in the works, and a new reason to head out on Monday January 25 with a show at The Worker’s Club. Strap yourself in for some killer burly rock from the boys when the doors open at 8pm. Entry is $10.
After pleasing a few ears with last year’s release of Leisure Panic!, Dan Kelly is kicking off 2016 with a very special holiday show as part of the Richmond Theatrette Summer Series. Kelly and his Dream Band will be launching the video for Everything’s Amazing, the second single off the album, alongside a stocked bar full of Mountain Goat varieties to slake that hard earned holiday thirst. The seated event comes with a strict limit of 150 tickets available for sale, so get on to this one as soon as you can. Dan Kelly performs at the Richmond Theatrette on Monday January 25. Doors open at 7.30pm, entry is $22.
DING DONG LOUNGE
DJ SEAN SIMMONS THE B.EAST
The B.East are holding a long weekend party featuring a deadly combination of tinny specials, gin fantagronis and Australian grub specials done B.East style. DJ Sean Simmons will be spinning the decks with some of your favourite old time Australian rock’n’roll from 7pm onwards just to keep things in theme, rounding out on what’s to be a good holiday night of partying, boogying and pigging out. The party kicks off on Monday January 25 from 7pm onwards. Entry is free.
URBAN SPREAD AT CHELSEA HEIGHTS HOTEL
ST. KILDA BOWLS CLUB
THE WORKERS CLUB
JOSH CASHMAN
TIGERFUNK
Josh Cashman is kicking off 2016 with a bang, headlining a huge free show at The Penny Black with pals Anna – O and Daniel Luhrs. With guitar faithfully in hand, Cashman has been dominating the streets and venues of Melbourne through his memorable brand of alternative folk-pop tunes. It’s a public holiday, it’s free, what other excuse do you need? Josh Cashman performs at The Penny Black on Monday January 25. Doors open at 9pm.
The team at Lucky Coq are throwing on a long weekend party almost as supreme as the pizza of the same name. Hit up the venue and keep your silly season rolling as they host two parties in the one venue. Upstairs will feature the talents of Clancey, Pakatak and Tigerfunk, whilst downstairs holds Malpractice, Jens Beamin and Matt Radd. Stacks of DJs, oceans of beer, endless good times. Catch Lucky Coq’s long weekend party on Monday January 25. Doors open at 7pm, entry is free.
PENNY BLACK
LUCKY COQ
DOAKES
MOJO JUJU
DJ FRANKIE G-SPOT
Fitzroy’s favourite cheap pizza joint is hosting a party on the long weekend with some weirdly tantalising specials with a homegrown twist. Besides chucking a rarely held rooftop party once the night rolls in, the team at Bimbo Deluxe are serving up Vegemite and Cheese pizzas all day for $4. Will Vegemite on pizza be better than Vegemite with chocolate? Only one way to find out. Head over to Bimbo Deluxe from 12pm onwards on Monday January 25. Stick around later in the evening to catch Doakes, Luke Vecchio, Donny and Pete Large in action.
Mojo Juju takes over The Curtin this public holiday eve to drop some of her distinctive mix of blues, soul and R&B upon revellers ears. After kicking 2015 square in its arse with the launch of her new album at Sydney Opera House, two epic national tours, sound-tracking a German film, releasing a back catalogue in Europe and nabbing a handful of awards, she’s not ready to stop the party just yet. That said this will be the last show Mojo Juju performs before running to an undisclosed tropical location. Catch Mojo Juju at The Curtin this Monday January 25. Doors open at 8pm, entry is $25.
You’ve got the day off. Good for you. Why not reward yourself by slinking down to The Brunny and getting a few $6 Coopers schooners down your old drink hole? While you pre-occupy yourself with the curiosity of performing your Friday night ritual on a Tuesday day, The Brunny will have vinyl spinning in the beer garden from 1pm with DJ Frankie G-Spot and DJBJ along with six whopping bands tearing the stage up from 4pm in the front bar. Carn mates – get down to The Brunny on Tuesday January 26 and have a bloody ripper. Doors open at 12pm.
BIMBO DELUXE
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THE CURTIN
BRUNSWICK HOTEL
beat . c o m . a u
ST. KILDA BEACH
RICHMOND THEATRETTE
BEECHWORTH MUSIC FESTIVAL MADMAN’S GULLY
One of the most cherished things you can do as a music fan is hit a day festival without worrying that you’ll get fired for taking the day off. Beechworth Music Festival is good for that, bringing a ripper of a lineup to pump some energy into what could be an otherwise empty Saturday. Featuring a day and night of camping, a swathe of brilliant alternative music acts and a bit of gourmet food and drink to shut your stomach up, catch the likes of Briggs, King Of The North, The Sugarcanes, My Left Boot, Mutton and many more when Beechworth Music Festival hits Madman’s Gully Amphitheatre on Saturday January 23. Tickets are $79, and kids under 14 enter free – so slap that bloody tablet computer out of your nerd brother’s hand and drag him along for the ride. Struth.
MUNDANE MONDAYS THE OLD BAR
Holy goddamn YES. Mundane Monday has fallen on the same date as a public holiday, meaning you can do your damn hardest to max out your blood alcohol levels with a guilt free Tuesday morning hangover. Pop your head in, grab the first round of $15 Mountain Goat and watch Clinkerfield romp around on the recently updated Old Bar stage. Catch this very special holiday edition of Mundane Mondays at Old Bar this Monday January 25. Doors open at 7pm, entry is $5.
See the best of Melbourne with public transport. Now running all night on weekends.
ptv.vic.gov.au
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EXIT CEREMONIES M A K I N G
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Helmed by the Australian Art Orchestra and Ensemble Offspring, sound and colour will collide in Exit Ceremonies, featuring new compositions and showcasing the majesty of the Melbourne Town Hall Grand Organ – one of the largest of its kind in the world. Equal parts multi-sensory experience and house party, chances are you’ve never envisaged an organ being used quite like this.
PBS DRIVE LIVE T H E
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BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
For one week every summer, PBS FM presents a series of excellent live-to-air performances between 5pm and 7pm, Monday through Friday. The Drive Live event regularly boasts a great lineup of local artists, and this year’s roster is even more dazzling than what we’ve seen in the past. The Drones are the major headliners, with names such as Batpiss, Terrible Truths and Little Desert also standing out. There are simultaneously a number of acts that might surprise more casual supporters of Melbourne music – such as Mollusc, Wet Lips, Waterfall Person and Grotto. Speaking to Drive Live project manager and producer Cam Durnsford, the aim is to spotlight widely respected artists alongside those that are still on the rise. “It’s always been the idea that there’s a couple of relatively well known, big names that get the attention of people,” he says. “But it’s also an opportunity to showcase some of the more emerging talent.” Durnsford works with the station’s five drive time announcers to pull the Drive Live lineup together. “They kind of hit me with a wish list and I put a light touch of curation on the top of that or occasionally suggest things I think would be great for their programs,” he says. The event kicks off on Monday afternoon’s Zen Arcade with Taipan Tiger Girls, friendships and Mollusc. On Tuesday afternoon, Mixing Up The Medicine welcomes in The Drones, who’re due to release a new album any day now. Without overshadowing the other acts involved, getting them on board is a hell of a coup. “This is my second year running Drive Live and as a big personal fan of the band it was something that I’d always wanted to see happen here,” Durnsford says. “They have done live to airs at PBS in the past and Gareth [Liddiard] did a solo set at Drive Live about four or five years ago. But it’s always been one that we’ve had on our wish list so were pretty happy when that came together.” For those living in the music-centric bubble that is Melbourne, The Drones are seriously big news. But even so, they’re not taking over the entire Tuesday instalment. Local punk bands Deaf Wish and Deep Heat will join them. “They’re both great bands as well,” says Durnsford. “They’re not bands that those in the know are the only ones into – Deaf Wish have got a record out on Sub Pop for Christ’s sake. So they’re kind of a big deal in their own right. Certainly within the punk scene I’d say that Deep Heat are probably one of the best bands in Melbourne. So that day in particular is going to be huge. Already the response has been massive. Really, really looking forward to that one.” There are plenty of highlights throughout the remainder of the program. On Wednesday, The Afterglow plays host to Terrible Truths, Sui Zhen and Jess Ribeiro BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 36
– three acts that had an especially busy 2015 and seem on the cusp of a broader explosion. “That’s not necessarily a bill that you’d see at a venue,” Durnsford says. “You can say that for any of the days – there’s a little bit of a tendency towards a style of music or a couple of styles of music, but there’s not a conventional three-band bill.” Fang It! turns up the volume on Thursday with Batpiss, Wet Lips and Grotto; and on Friday’s Stone Love, Little Desert, Waterfall Person and Drug Sweat are bringing it home. “A big part of what it’s about is representing our local scene,” says Durnsford. “And capturing what we and our announcers consider to be the best bands in Melbourne at that particular time.” Many of the participating artists have benefitted from the support of PBS throughout their existence. The station’s constant support for local and independent music means it’s not too difficult to get the artists on board. “For a lot of the bands we get in for Drive Live they’re familiar with the station. It’s a cliché but it’s true: for a lot of local artists community radio is their first foray into things like interviews and live to airs and airplay. Because we’re at the grassroots and because a fairly substantial part of our membership base is performers, people want to do it for us. I think this is the sixth year we’ve run Drive Live, so it’s become an event that people also are aware of and it’s on the calendar in the Melbourne music scene.” All five days of Drive Live are free to enter and open to anyone (though an email is required to secure your place). The nature of the event provides a novel experience for both performers and punters. “It’s always a good time because it’s weird, the way the performances happen in the studios behind glass but then there’s a crowd in watching it. It’s an unusual scenario for people to take part in.” PBS DRIVE LIVE runs from Monday February 1 – Friday February 5. Anyone can head along; just email events@pbsfm. org.au with your name and preferred night. Members get a free beer, so why not join up?
“It is a really interesting project. It’s challenging, but I think it’s going to be great fun,” says AAO artistic director and musician Peter Knight. “It’s such an amazing instrument, that organ, that it’s always a really exciting thing to be able to work with it.” The Grand Organ is undeniably the centrepiece of Exit Ceremonies, acting as the common thread between bespoke compositions from Simon James Phillip, Austin Buckett and iconic American composer Alvin Lucier. “The underpinning thing is to create new works that respond to the organ; contemporary works,” says Knight. “The organ is associated with centuries of tradition, and it’s not that often that you hear organs used for anything other than those traditional purposes. So it was always the aim to propose the organ as a contemporary instrument.” It’s not an exaggeration to say Exit Ceremonies completely reimagines the pipe organ. Perhaps nowhere more so than on Lucier’s composition, Swings, which physically deconstructs the instrument to explore the edges of auditory perception. In other words, Lucier uses the organ to create sonic illusions that quite literally play tricks on the listener’s brain. “It’s really amazing,” says Knight. “Alvin Lucier wanted us to actually take some of the pipes out of the organ. We’re building a set of brackets to have those pipes rest in. Those pipes are going to be sitting out the front, on the stage. They’re going to be
LOUISE LOVE
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connected to the organ, and to the airing mechanism of the organ by rubber hoses. It’s like he’s taking apart the organ and putting it out on the stage, in front of the audience.” The piece also involves performers cupping the organ pipes with their hands, manually modulating the frequencies on a microtonal level and generating otherworldly overtones. “Often Lucier’s work has been described as ‘aural hallucination’,” says Knight. “You think you’re listening to one thing, but all of a sudden you’re not – you’re listening to something completely other. It’s like a vision, except it’s a vision that happens in your ear.” Swings doesn’t just deconstruct the traditions and physicality of the organ, but also the very manner in which we perceive music is being pulled apart and reassembled. Though, don’t get put off if it all sounds too much.
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BY ROD WHITFIELD
Recent advances in recording technology have allowed countless musicians to put together high quality releases from the comfort of their own homes, circumventing the cost of professional recording studios. Perth export, Melbourne-based electropop artist Louise Love has just released her new EP Tantric Shuffle, and she’s certainly taken advantage of the prevailing technology. “I compose electronically from home,” Love says. “Mainly using software. I don’t use loops or anything like that. I basically write everything from scratch on my own. I started as a singer and about five years ago I began electronic composition. Before that I played keys and sang, in and out of bands, but it wasn’t until I started doing electronic composition that I feel like I’ve really found my own sound.” The title of the EP evokes a number of different meanings and connotations, and the release has a loose concept to it. “It’s got a few double meanings,” says Love. B E AT.C O M . A U
“If you see the artwork, it’s kind of like a card deck, so that’s where the shuffle idea comes in. Tantra is like the idea of the meta in the micro, so it’s a bit of a metaphysical reference. But the idea of a shuffle, I originally saw it as the idea of shuffling along, trying to live in this more enlightened way, but shuffling along day to day and doing my best. That’s what the songs are about, different expressions of that. It’s all a bit abstract.” Love is soon to embark on a four-date tour across the nation in support of the EP, which includes a show at the Grace
As well as serving a conceptual purpose, the compositions in Exit Ceremonies are designed to be enjoyed – to immerse the audience in an ever-changing ocean of sound. “One of the things that I love about Lucier’s work is that even though it’s experimental and conceptual, it’s always incredibly beautiful,” says Knight. “It’s always a really sensual experience, but you can just enjoy it as well. You don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to know what’s going on. You can sit yourself on a chair and say, ‘OK I’m going to just sit and listen,’ and it’s amazing. I love that. I love when that pure enjoyment of sound meets up with all the conceptual stuff as well.” Elsewhere on the Exit Ceremonies program is Austin Buckett’s Aisles. A new work that combines influences from minimalism to hip hop, Aisles features looped conversations between the pipe organ, turntables and strings, plus the ethereal voice of Sonya Holowell and the lilting trumpet of Knight himself. Elsewhere, Simon James Phillips’ Flaw brings electronic and acoustic elements together for an open piece that explores mechanical sounds and improvisation. Ultimately, it’s a diverse group of compositions, each with its own unique musicality, but all unified by their willingness to experiment and play with convention. “It gives each of the players room to bring their voice,” says Knight. Australian Art Orchestra and Ensemble Offspring present EXIT CEREMONIES at Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday February 6.
Darling Hotel in Melbourne. She’s especially looking forward to hawking her wares back on home turf. “I’m going back to my home town Fremantle for a Perth show” she says. “Then coming back to Melbourne, plus Brisbane and Sydney. I’m very excited.” Throughout the tour, Love will be backed up by an excellent selection of support acts. “I’ve managed to get some really cool artists to join me on the tour, which I’m very excited about,” she says. “The Melbourne show I’ve got Simona Castricum, Astral Skulls and a new outfit called InfraGhosts. They’re all just really amazing electronic artists. It’s fun when I organise shows and I’m there and I just think, ‘I would go to this show even if I wasn’t playing myself ’.” Love’s live show is a unique blend of quirky behaviour and smooth electronic stylings. “I’ve been told that I have an engaging stage presence,” she says. “Great beats, lots of textural synths, a little bit of awkward conversation, and maybe some random robot dancing.” Like so many of us, Love was saddened by the death of David Bowie, who’s been a major influence on her songwriting. “I was shocked. I had no idea [he was sick]. It just came out of the blue considering everything he’d done in the last year, like that exhibition, the new album… I think he ended on a classy note, as he did with everything. But yeah, it was just a shock. I love David Bowie, he was amazing. And especially being a synth-pop artist, he’s a huge influence as he’s often fused electronic music with his stuff. He’s such a great songwriter and pop icon.” After launching Tantric Shuffle around the country, Love will knuckle down on her next release. “I’ll be looking to start writing again. I’ve been doing so much promotional work I feel like I haven’t had any time to write. So I’ll get some new material and look towards a new release.” LOUISE LOVE is playing at the Grace Darling Hotel on Friday January 29 with Simona Castricum, Astral Skulls and InfraGhosts. Tantric Shuffle is out now via Bandcamp.
SAVAGES I N C A N T I N G
A D O R AT I O N
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
When Savages released their debut LP Silence Yourself in mid-2013, they were immediately placed under the international spotlight. The album combined musical aggression with a lyrical address of gender relations, sexual ambiguity, non-conformity and authentic living in the contemporary world. Even before its release, the UK band had reached a certain level of renown, but they remained tenaciously committed to bold artistic expression.
“Originally I think we were doing it for ourselves first and foremost – expressing things that we needed to express at that point that were essential to carry on,” says frontwoman Jehnny Beth. “This first record was more of a statement. It was a way to set the rules for ourselves – to find our own place, our own voice, establish ourselves.” It’s been a couple of years since Silence Yourself announced them as a forceful, challenging 21st century rock band and Savages are now ready to unleash their second long player, Adore Life. The anticipation is rife, especially in the wake of the pre-release singles, The Answer, T.I.W.Y.G. and Adore. However, by virtue of their identity-stamping debut, the pressures commonly associated with a second album haven’t affected Beth and co. “The first step is the hardest I think, to make sure you don’t take a step that someone else has taken or at least [do it] in your own terms,” says Beth. “People don’t suspect artists to come out that way or to start that way. There’s always this thing about, ‘You can do that once you’re established.’ Which is something that Savages never really accepted, because we really thought it was the opposite – you have to do that when
you start otherwise you’ll never do it even when you’re established.” Art of any kind, be it music, poetry, painting, textile or video installations, can serve a utilitarian purpose of bringing people together or articulating feelings others aren’t able to. From an internal perspective, meanwhile, creativity can be a coping mechanism, a way of escaping from the pressures of society. Savages’ second LP, ticks both boxes. While the record contains a lot of intensely personal qualities – the urgency in Beth’s vocal delivery and her reflections on love, subjective flexibility and the speed of existence – it’s designed to be shared. The arrangements are very physical and the songs touch on several universal topics. Despite it’s communicable character, however, the songs generally stem from internal necessity. “It’s something that starts within ourselves, then between ourselves,” Beth says. “It’s almost like each song is a new chapter or is a new common knowledge we’re going to share together – a new rule, establishing a new reality, another stone in the big wall of reality that we’re building together. What life is, what we think of life, what judgements we make, what choices we
make, what kind of people we are, and each song has a message.” Despite Beth’s emphasis on broadcasting a message, throughout both of their records Savages enact a persuasive union between thematic and musical substance. “There is the idea of music and message being closely connected,” Beth says. “Especially with the use of mantras, repetition, it’s a way to convince yourself of something and it’s leading up to change. I think we’re using songs and words in a way as a healing process for things that need to be changed. I have the firm conviction that if you repeat some things enough times then they become real. If you say I love you to someone enough times – I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you – it becomes real. With music it’s even more effective.” Adore Life pays credence to Beth’s firm conviction. In the semi-title track Adore,
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she gradually breaks down uncertainty before reassuring us of her belief in life; while The Answer is a declaration of love’s healing power, supported by a barrage of insistent heavy-riffing. “I think if I write it in a song I have to live by it. If I say, ‘Love is the answer,’ I have to remind myself that I wrote that. It’s a way for me to make progress quicker. I think in life sometimes you can have epiphanies and you can make discoveries about yourself, but to actually apply them is taking ages. I like to take shortcuts, sometimes a bit too much, but I like to take shortcuts with myself and with people. If I see there’s a change to be made I will try to change it soon as possible even if it seems impossible. It can be quite intense. So music and writing words for Savages has been helping me in that way. I can’t shy away from these feelings – they’re out there.”
Adore Life isn’t exactly happy listening – there aren’t any brilliantly decorative exclamations of life’s beauty. Though, despite giving attention to the cruel side of romantic love and the oppressive impositions of society, it comes across as an affirmation of life. “On this record I have also tried to not be hiding these feelings that are transitionary feelings – which are feelings of jealousy, abandon, fear. All these feelings are necessary transitions towards a better feeling, a greater feeling. But you need to go through all these by-products of love in order to love and to digest them. In a way the record had to include these kinds of things in order to be true.” SAVAGES will release Adore Life on Friday January 22 via Matador/Remote Control Records.
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GUILTY SIMPSON L I F E
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BY LIZA DEZFOULI
US rapper Guilty Simpson is grounded in place. His work is all about living his life in the city of Detroit. As far as the words and music of a stranger giving you a sense of a city you don’t live in, Guilty Simpson runs the game. Beat asks the rapper about his latest album, Detroit’s Son, which he’ll be promoting on his upcoming Australian tour. It’d be fair to describe it as a love letter to the Motor City. “That is correct,” he says. “People don’t really have an experience of Detroit. They just don’t get a feel for the place. Not a lot of good things are said about Detroit.”
SETH SENTRY PA S T,
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Seth Sentry is a man on a mission. In 2008, The Waiter Minute EP introduced the Melbourne hip hopper to the world. He followed up with 2012’s debut LP This Was Tomorrow, showing off his love for hoverboards and all things sci-fi. Now four years on, and with last year’s Strange New Past tucked neatly under his arm, Sentry’s quest for total domination continues as he heads to Melbourne’s outer suburbs as part of Urban Spread’s Summer Series. With good buddies Mantra and Ivan Ooze in tow, Sentry will have the Chelsea Heights Hotel packed to the rafters. “Me and Ivan just met on the last tour – it was a long tour so we’re bros now,” he says. “And Mantra’s the kind of dude that, as a fellow MC, I love him and I hate him. He just makes me screw up my face like ‘Damn it. That’s so good.’ So I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off my Australia Day celebrations.” Although Sentry’s clearly enthusiastic about the forthcoming show, he needs a hit of caffeine first. “Give me one second while I make a terrible coffee,” he laughs while grinding the coffee and heating the milk, as only a seasoned barista knows how. Sentry has never hidden his hospitality roots – he embraces them. “If this whole hip hop thing didn’t work out, honestly I’d probably be a bartender right now. But I’d be the most disgruntled bartender. I’d be an angry bartender. I’d get no tips – not when I’d start the order with, ‘What the fuck do you want?’” Fans of Sentry’s unique hip hop style will be familiar with his quirky sense of humour, which permeates all facets of his public persona. However, on Strange New Past, he showcased a more mature sound and lyrics borne of introspective exploration. “Every time I perform a song for the first time, and I hear people singing the words back to me, it’s really surreal and strange – and it can feel invasive sometimes,” he says. “Even though I love it, it can feel like ‘Fuck. Get out of my head’, you know? It’s a weird feeling. I do love it though, I absolutely love it. “When The Waitress Song [2008] first came out, that was the first time I felt like that. But even before that I remember, backin-the-day, rapping to people and citing verses at parties. That was my gig back then, rapping into drunk peoples’ ears. Then I’d see those drunk people a couple of weeks later and they’d be like, ‘Oh man, that lyric,’ and they’d remember certain lines, and I always thought that was kind of cool. I could put my thoughts into someone else’s head.” Sentry’s meteoric rise, from the peripheries of the Melbourne hip hop scene to receiving national attention from triple BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 38
j and Channel V, came as no surprise to those around him. However, when the news broke that he’d be making history as the first Australian rapper to perform live on a US talk show – on Jimmy Kimmel Live! no less – suddenly all eyes were on the boy from small-town Victoria. “It was amazing because I never had any mega lofty goals when it came to music – I just legitimately enjoy rap music. It just always felt like a hobby to me. But a real milestone for me was being able to quit my job, because that was the thing I was looking forward to the most. Since quitting my day job everything else has been a bonus, because I get to rap full time.” Gone are the days of writing rhymes on serviettes and reciting lyrics to intoxicated houseguests, and the future looks bright for Sentry. “I’ve got a couple more tours in me off this album and I’ve got some cool ideas for some new music this year. “Maybe I’ll do a collaboration one of these days. I haven’t really had any features on my albums. I mean, I’ve never had another rapper do a full verse on a song I wrote, so that’s something I’d like to do. But I don’t know about a full album. I take a long time to write music, so I just want to get back into the studio and get back to having fun, which is what it’s all about for me.” While most of us drank, danced and dozed over the New Year’s period, Sentry was hard at work playing the three Falls Festivals. Apparently he was too busy to make any resolutions for the year ahead. “I never make them, but if I was going to make a resolution I’d try not to swear as much – I do tend to swear a lot. I start sentences with a swear word and then I say ‘fucking’ and then there’s another swear word within the first three words of that sentence. I guess it’s good for filling up space but I try not to swear too much in my music. I mean, I always end up swearing, but sometimes it can be a bit of a crutch for people, right? It’s very easy to rhyme fuckin’ with fuckin’.” Urban Spread presents SETH SENTRY at the Chelsea Heights Hotel on Monday January 25 with support from Mantra and Ivan Ooze. Strange New Past is out now via High Score Records/Inertia.
Located in the Midwestern US state of Michigan, Detroit is a city that famously went bankrupt and whose image in the mainstream media is almost entirely negative. However, perhaps akin to Newcastle in New South Wales, Detroit has lately been undergoing a communitydriven transformation. Artists and activists of all genres are recasting the old image of Detroit as a decaying and violent city into a place that’s inclusive, dynamic and hopeful. This is something Guilty Simpson is very proud of. “I want to represent Detroit in a positive way,” he says. “I want to embrace it. People in Detroit, sometimes they don’t feel like they have a voice. People don’t hear about Detroit other than crime. You hear about Detroit being bankrupt, you hear about crime and violence. I want to champion this city, I want people to hear my music and think, ‘That’s a cool guy. He’s not got disrespect, he’s not an angry guy’, and dispel those false associations people have with Detroit. I want to share that with the world, give it to the world.” There’s a long way to go, however, and his new work tells it like it is – the positive and the negative, “We got caught at the rock bottom. Detroit’s Son, it’s personal in that I talk about certain topics, like police brutality. But a lot of people have invested
a lot in Detroit – a lot of different people. There is a lot of diverse gentrification by all different people.” Produced by Sydney beat maker Katalyst, Simpson wanted to highlight the city’s current revitalisation via art, street art, music, and the reclamation of public space and housing for art projects and environmental projects such as community gardens. “A lot of people are coming here, living
COOKIN’ ON 3 BURNERS B R I N G I N G
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Led by the unmistakable sounds of the Hammond organ, Cookin’ on 3 Burners join the dots between deep funk, raw soul, dirty organ jazz and boogaloo. Over the next three weeks they’ll be taking over Soul Sundays at The Retreat. Beat speaks to the band’s guitar twanging, funk slinging third Dan West to find out what’s in store. Cookin’ On 3 Burners’ is essentially an instrumental Hammond trio, and as a result you tend to collaborate with a variety of artists. Who have you been working with lately? We wound up an awesome 2015 with an amazing Cookin’ tour with two of our favourite vocalists – raucous raconteur Tex Perkins and smokin’ soulstress Stella Angelico. It was a great live collab culminating in a cracking Saturday night show on the main stage at Queenscliff Music Festival. B E AT.C O M . A U
After cleaning the heads on our eight-track tape machine, we are back in the studio currently tracking our new album, which is bringing it back to all-live trio format. It is set to be a combination of dirty dance floor funk and a couple of guests we are really excited about. You’ve had a busy couple of years – first of all releasing the Blind Bet LP in late 2014, and following up in October 2015 with The Writing’s On The Wall 7”. Can you tell us about these two releases? Blind Bet was released on our UK based
here,” he says. “I’m looking out my window and I can see the green projects, there are a lot of great things here. This city now is on the up and up. We have been able to show people how you can get a bad situation and change it.” The projects are creating a definite sense of community, says Simpson. “A lot of different people all in one place are doing it together, everybody in one place, different people side by side. What’s important is that they’re doing it together. They share the same places, the same stories. They’re going through the bumps and bruises together and they stay determined. What’s very important is getting this through to people.” Detroit’s Son also offers details of what Simpson gets up to on a day-to-day basis. “In Power Outage, I talk about how after the music is done I spend an intimate time with my wife. Quite a few different topics. [Bonus track] Liquor is about being intoxicated, about how much I enjoy that. Smoking... You put a bit of yourself in rap. It’s personal to me, the people around me – important for them and for me to make the music I do. I want to share it with the world. Rap can be all about fantasy and now I want to take time to be more socially conscious, more content driven.” GUILTY SIMPSON and Katalyst are playing at Laundry Bar on Sunday January 31. Detroit’s Son is available now via Stones Throw Records.
label Freestyle and can best be described as classic soul sounds with a modern cinematic twist. We were lucky enough to pick up a 2014 Music Victoria award for Best Soul/R&B Album for that record, which was awesome. Tex Perkins was one of the guest vocalists on that record and he was up for working together again so we got back in the soul kitchen to cook up a new 7” single The Writing’s On The Wall. It was a great opportunity for us to pay homage to The Cruel Sea with an instrumental breakbeat version of their classic tune Black Stick for the B-side of the release. Cookin’ on 3 Burners have solidified themselves as one of Australia’s leading soul and funk acts. What makes you guys stand out from the crowd? The screaming B3 Hammond organ. This is an amazing instrument and our organ player Jake Mason plays left hand bass and rips solos and accompaniment with his right hand. It’s pretty killer to watch actually. As we are a three piece, we can focus on interplay and fun. We also are just as happy playing behind a sweet soul vocalist as we are busting out instrumental tunes for breakers and MCs at a block party. You’ll be hitting up The Retreat for the next three weeks for their Soul Sunday sessions. Who have you enlisted to perform with you, and what should audiences expect from these shows? Good times and two fiery sets that joins the dots between deep funk, raw soul, dirty organ jazz and boogaloo. We are excited to stretch out instrumentally as well as feature the awesome vocal stylings of The Wolfgramm Sisters, Stella Angelico and Mantra over the course of our three week residency. Big Up and see you down there. COOKIN’ ON 3 BURNERS are playing at The Retreat Hotel on Sunday January 24 (with The Wolfgramm Sisters), Sunday January 31 (with Stella Angelico) and Sunday February 7 (with Mantra).
Fatboy Slim S P R E A D I N G
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Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim, has played literally hundreds of venues and festivals in his 25-year career as a professional DJ. From dingy basements at 3am, to picturesque beachside locations in the bright afternoon sunshine – Cook has done it all. But of all the exotic locations he’s played in, the opportunity to play a set at England’s esteemed House of Commons in 2013 presented him with his most challenging and surreal experience. Cook was invited to play the austere venue located on the banks of the River Thames by the Last Night a DJ Saved My Life Foundation, an initiative that encourages youth participation in local community activities. “That was probably the opposite to playing a pumped up crowd in Australia that have had a few drinks,” Cook laughs. “It was like playing a wedding where no-one really knew each other and aren’t drunk enough. It wasn’t a classic set, and it wasn’t a classic crowd, but it was the fact that I was there – especially because 19 years previously the Commons had been trying to ban what we did, through the Criminal Justice Bill. It was deliciously surreal from start to finish.” Many years before he set up his decks in the English parliamentary chamber, Cook was playing drums in a band called Disque Attack (“it’s the first thing that comes up on Wikipedia, but it’s the least important thing about my career,” he laughs). Even as he had his first brush with fame as bass player in the Christian-Marxist rock band The Housemartins, Cook had a sideline hobby playing as a DJ in local clubs. By the late 1980s Cook had become a professional DJ and recording artist in his own right, an occupation that not long before would have been unfathomable. “When I started out I didn’t expect to be taken seriously as a DJ, because no one did in those days,” Cook says. As the notional leader of electronica band Beats International, Cook found himself at the vanguard of the dub scene. But, as a result of sampling other artists in his own compositions, Cook found himself the subject of the occasional testy legal letter. “With the hits came the writs,” he says. “In England people were very excited by it, but the lawyers and some of the artists who were sampled didn’t have the same [view]. It was like a frontier spirit – no one really knew what the rules were. And you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Now it’s recognised as a legitimate way of creating records, but you still have to be very careful. And you’ve got the whole Robin Thicke case setting new precedents about what you can get away with, and you’ve got Uptown Funk which has about seven lawsuits going.” Cook’s reinvention as Fatboy Slim, and the release of Better Living Through Chemistry in 1996 and You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby in 1998, catapulted him into popular view. The title of the former album was a nod to Cook’s
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indulgence in amphetamines, hallucinogens and other sundry recreational drugs that initially helped him through a difficult period in his personal life, and subsequently became part of his professional existence. “Absolutely drugs helped my creativity,” he says. “But one piece of advice is: kids, don’t take drugs while you’re making records – take drugs the day before and try and remember that feeling, and not while you’re making records. If you’re off your nut, the sound of the fridge can sound amazing.” Having checked himself into rehab around ten years ago to curb his booze habit, Cook now lives a comparatively abstemious existence, punctuating his life as a married father of two with periodic festival shows. Cook’s recent performances have included the creation of a human smiley face at the Creamfields dance festival in England last year. While the smiley face is typically associated with acid house culture, it was the iconic graphic’s appearance on the 12” of Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer in 1977 that first drew Cook’s attention. “The smiley works on so many more levels than acid house. For me it’s this eternal icon of unconditional, goofy happiness. It’s been assimilated by counter culture and fashion, and it’s subversive without being offensive to anyone.”
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Cook also concedes that the smiley face reflects his own positive attitude to life – a perspective that’s even more resolute at the age of 51. “Whether I’m drinking or not, I’m generally a positive person. And I was brought up as a pacifist and a smile is a very welcoming and disarming way of communicating.” Next week Cook flies out to Australia to play DJ sets in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. With temperatures currently below zero in England, Cook is looking forward to a climatic reprieve. In an interview last year, Cook referred to the “five Fs” that influence his choice of shows each year – a first, a favour for a friend, fun, finance and food. For each gig, three of the five Fs must be met. Cook’s trip to Australia is partly a favour for a friend – a promoter who supported him early in his DJ career – and he’s also looking forward to the food, the fun of the Australian crowds and the finance is taken care of. “So the only ‘F’ that’s not taken care of is that it’s a first – and I can’t do much about that.” FATBOY SLIM is playing at the Australia Day Beach BBQ, which takes place at St Kilda Beach on Tuesday January 26.
Q&A
1. The First Record I Bought: The first record I bought was Public Enemy’s Yo Bum Rush The Show when I was about seven. It started my love affair with hip hop music and art as social commentary. Which is all very cool, but I’m pretty sure the next album I bought was the Sound of Music soundtrack so, you know. 2. The Last Record I Bought: The best album I’ve copped lately is Hau’s new record The No End Theory. Super soulful, original, conscious music. It’s awesome to see a veteran like Hau come back with something so fresh and relevant. 3. The First Thing I Recorded: My old man got a little digital recording set up when I was about 15 and I started messing around with it and making beats. I think it was supposed to kick start his music career but instead it kick started mine.
4. The Last Thing I Recorded: My new EP Scenefour came out at the end of last year. We also did a limited edition vinyl single and the response to both has been amazing. The EP is available digitally and I think there’s still a few copies of the vinyl left, which you can order online. It feels great having some new music out there and I’m loving performing the new tracks. 5. The Record That Changed My Life: Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi-
Tek): Train of Thought. This record changed the way I thought about rap, hip hop, the entire world. It’s pretty much my favourite album of any genre and has been for over ten years now. I still play it all the time and don’t think I’ll ever stop. MANTRA is playing The Workers Club on Saturday January 23 with Kryptic and Kwasi and will play Urban Spread with Seth Sentry on Monday January 25 at Chelsea Heights Hotel. Scenefour is out now via Ten To Two Records. W W W. B E AT.C O M . A U
VIET CONG T H E
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2015 was a year of highs and lows for Canadian postpunk band Viet Cong. The highs can be attributed to a stellar performance at SXSW (despite drummer Mike Wallace suffering a broken wrist) and the release of their self-titled debut album, deemed by critics and fans alike to be one of the most original and progressive albums of the year. But that attention also brought about the lows for Viet Cong, with their controversial name attracting groups of protesters to their gigs. Some venues even cancelled shows due to the mounting public pressure. In three short years, the four self-confessed “mostly private people” from Calgary have survived the scandal and success of a band double their age. In a Facebook post late last year, they admitted the band name had been a rushed decision and they never meant to cause people pain. Nearly four months later, with no name change as yet and their first Australian tour due to kick off in a couple of weeks, Beat speaks to guitarist Scott ‘Monty’ Munro to set the record straight. “We’ve got a bunch of names picked out already – we just haven’t narrowed the list down entirely yet,” Munro says. “It’s hard to pick a band name, you know? Especially the second time around.” Despite the naming dramas, Munro is in good spirits and excited for the year ahead. “Honestly, we’ve been tossing around ideas for the name change since the beginning of last year,” he says. “We’ve been billing ourselves as Formerly Known As, and we’re going to finish the Australian tour under that name. But once we all agree on something, then we’ll make an announcement. “It will give us the opportunity to make a different-sounding record too,” he adds. “We’ve been working this project on and off for two years – even before our selftitled album was released. So with the name change and a new record, it’s almost like getting born again.” Those paying close attention to Viet Cong’s recent social media posts will have seen photographic evidence that from now on they plan to do things differently – and that includes their choice of recording studio. Opting to lay down tracks in a huge converted barn, Munro says the time away from worldly chaos was just what they needed to get their creative juices flowing. “We’ve mostly finished now, although we need to do a little bit of tweaking, then we have to mix everything – but it will probably be wrapped up around February and then the record will come out in the fall, around September or October.” While they were busy working on new material, the band members traded records and immersed themselves in the classics. “We listened to a lot of The Cure and the Iggy Pop records that David Bowie produced in the 1970s, like The Idiot or Lust
For Life, which are still always on rotation,” Munro says. “I play The Idiot at least once a week still. It’s now to the point of disintegration but I don’t care – that record gets played a lot. “Another personal favourite of all of us is a band called This Heat. They put out a couple of great records in ’79 and ’81. They weren’t a band for super long but they were fantastic, and we’ve been getting into all the bands around that time. The singer/ drummer had a band called Camberwell Now and the guitar player had a band called the Lifetones – they’re a little more dubbed out but they’re also really good. All the stuff that came from that scene was pretty cool, and the new stuff we’ve written is heavily influenced by it.” There’s still a while to wait before the new record, but we could be in for a preview at the band’s upcoming shows. “We will hopefully be playing a bunch of new tracks,” Munro says. “Although I’m not totally sure – we might just play our normal set, which has never been played live in Australia before, so I hope that won’t be too disappointing.” As first-time visitors to our shores, Viet Cong remain curious about what to expect. When it’s mentioned that they’re playing in Wollongong on Australia Day, Munro seems intrigued. “I have no idea what you guys do, but we have Canada Day – is it like that? We’d love to catch up with Courtney Barnett and her band that we met at SXSW. I assume it’ll be just one big outside party? We’d love to get some sun.” Embracing the great outdoors seems to be a high priority for the Canadian foursome. “We had some time off recently, so we went back to the little town in rural British Columbia where our friends have a barn,” says Munro. “We played Black Sabbath covers, watched a bunch of movies and hung out in the wilderness, which was pretty nice. After the Australian shows are done I think we’re going to get some beer and go camping – we’re all pretty mellow.” Viet Cong is out now through Jagjaguwar/ Inertia. VIET CONG are playing at Sugar Mountain on Saturday January 23, which goes down at the Victorian College of the Arts + Melbourne Arts Precinct. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 39
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PUNK, SKA, HARDCORE NEWS, REVIEWS & GOSSIP with EMILY KELLY ek1984@gmail.com
Californian punks Total Chaos are bringing their 25 year old catalogue to Australia this March. Melbourne thrashers Wolfpack will join them on all dates as they promote their new EP Benefit Four. The Melbourne show goes down at the Reverence Hotel on Sunday March 13. Ceres are doing their biggest headline show to date before they retire to the studio to nail their second full length album. It’ll follow up the fantastic Hobbledehoy release I Don’t Want To Be Anywhere But Here and boy am I looking forward to it. See them at Northcote Social Club on Friday February
CRUNCH
19. Tickets are available now with supports to be announced soon. Supersuckers were supposed to head out here last year but they’ve made good on their promise to reschedule and booked an April tour in support of their 2015 release Holdin the Bag. Tickets are moving really quickly for their Cherry Bar show on April 30. Hurry. Caligula’s Horse are stoked about last year’s Bloom album and its impressive debut at #16 on the ARIA charts. They’re wasting no time in returning to the road this year and have announced a run of dates throughout March and April. They’ll play Ding Dong Lounge on April 8 and also be one of the main attractions at the much publicised, crowdfunded music festival Legion over Easter. Tickets are available now. Adelaide’s Paper Arms have decided to call it quits after eight years of hooky punk rock. “We’re just at a point in our lives where we’re ready for something new,” the band said in a statement last week. Paper Arms have one Theatre in Brunswick. Their debut EP Soulcatcher is nearly sold out, so grab one at the show.
RIP DAVID BOWIE
I can’t even deal with this. What the fuck kind of world doesn’t have David Bowie in METAL, HEAVY ROCK. CLASSIC ROCK LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL it? This is bullshit. Just wanted to get that off my chest. GOOD SHIT with PETER HODGSON crunchcolumn@gmail.com
NAMM WEEK
I’m writing this from my hotel in LA after a quick nap to ward off jetlag. I’ll be at the NAMM Show later in the week checking out the latest from the world’s musical instrument companies. I’m especially excited to see Aussie-made Ormsby Guitars making their first showing at the event. Expect to hear a lot of big things from those guys this year. Keep an eye on our sister mag Mixdown for NAMM news.
KILL TV’S FIRST SHOW OF THE YEAR
Kill TV’s first gig for the year is Saturday January 22 at Dane Certificate’s Magic
BUCKCHERRY LOCAL SUPPORTS ANNOUNCED
One of rock’s great bands, Buckcherry will return to Australia and New Zealand this March. Led by Josh Todd – a man who personifies rock’n’roll – and anchored by guitarists Keith Nelson and Stevie D, drummer Xavier Muriel and bassist Kelly Lemieux, Buckcherry will deliver a night of straight up good time rock’n’roll. Adding even more awesome to this tour are a carefully selected bunch of hard rocking local acts that have proven themselves time and again for delivering the goods and getting everyone’s juices flowing. In Melbourne the bluesy swagger and riff-fuelled rock of Palace Of The King will be complemented by Electric Dynamite, a band whose debut release was titled Hair.Denim.Sex.Metal. Catch them at 170 Russell on Monday March 14. Presented by Killrockstar and Soundworks.
last Melbourne gig on the cards: Saturday January 30 at The Reverence Hotel with the support of Totally Unicorn, The Sinking Teeth and Laura Palmer.
in support of their new full length titled Monster Of the Universe: Come Out and Plague. Tickets to their April 14 Corner Hotel show are available now.
As the dust settles on the Soundwave debacle, all the bands that were scheduled to play the 2016 dates have been reaching out to fans to share their touring plans. Frank Iero announced a Eureka Rebellion in-store performance last week and now Bring Me The Horizon have promised Australia they will return. “We will make an announcement on the rearranged dates ASAP”, the band said.
Local prog rock act Toehider will release a new EP Mainly Songs About Robots (the band’s sixteenth EP release since 2008) and celebrate with a launch at Ding Dong Lounge on Friday February 12 with Orsome Welles and A Lonely Crowd.
Atlanta straight edge outfit Foundation will tour Australia for the last time this March, accompanied by Melbourne’s Rebirth. Reverence Hotel will host when they arrive here on Friday March 18. There’ll be an all ages show at underage venue Blue Stone Church on Sunday March 20.
Senses Fail have canned their upcoming March tour of Australia with Trophy Eyes. The New Jersey band posted on Facebook that “due to unforeseen family circumstances we will unfortunately have to cancel our planned Australia tour. We hope to make it up to all of our fans in the near future”.
How’s this for an amazing chunk of news: Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi and former Sabbath singer Tony Martin are considering some sort of musical collaboration. They hadn’t spoken in years but were both present at the unveiling of a memorial to late Sabbath drummer Cozy Powell. Martin wrote on Facebook, “Well, what a great day. I attended the unveiling of Cozy Powell’s memorial plaque in his hometown of Cirencester. And, to my surprise, was greeted by Tony Iommi very warmly. It’s the first conversation of any length I have had with him in 15 years. And it turns out we may well be working together soon.” If you haven’t heard the Martin-era of Sabbath, check it out.
TOTALLY 80S AUSTRALIAN TOUR ANNOUNCED
Totally 80s stars seven international ‘80s superstars – Martika, Berlin, Limahl of Kajagoogoo, Paul Lekakis, Katrina (exKatrina & The Waves), Men Without Hats and Stacey Q – together live in concert to perform all of their classic hits. Sharing the stage with them will be two of Australia’s own Countdown favourites, Wa Wa Nee and Real Life. Totally 80s comes to the Palais Theatre
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TURNSTILE, BORN FREE, WARBRAIN, OUTSIDERS CODE at Northcote Social Club THEE OH SEES at Howler MARICOPA WELLS, JOE GUITON, PETE AKHURST, LEWIS NIXON at The Old Bar MAKE THEM SUFFER, THE PLOT IN YOU, ATHENA’S WAKE, NEMSIUM at Barwon Club
THURSDAY JANUARY 21:
TURNSTILE, BORN FREE, OUTRIGHT, FREE WORLD at Arrow on Swanston LUCA BRASI, ENDLESS HEIGHTS, BRAWLERS AND SELF TALK at Northcote Social Club THEE OH SEES at Howler FIGURES, AMARONIX, WARS at The Bendigo MARICOPA WELLS, AZIM ZAIN AND HIS LOVELY BONES, JESS LOCKE BAND at The Reverence
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Destroy All Lines have announced they’re bringing Wednesday 13 to Australia this March to play a run of east coast shows
IOMMI AND MARTIN MAY WORK TOGETHER AGAIN
GIGS
on Friday July 15. Tickets on sale now from metropolistouring.com/totally80s
TWO FROM BLUESFEST TOURING
The final Bluesfest artists are being announced, including breakthrough artist Elle King who will be here in March for her debut Australian tour. The sassy musician loves both banjos and hobos and was recently nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance for her hit Ex’s & Oh’s. She’ll be performing at the Corner Hotel on Tuesday March 22. In other Bluesfest touring news, bluesman Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton will be joining the Grammy winning Tedeschi Trucks Band as the special guest on their national tour. Only in his 20s, this multi-instrumentalist blues musician and vocalist is inspired by the likes of Fats Waller and “Blind” Lemon Jefferson and sings and plays banjo, guitar, piano, fiddle, harmonica, Cajun accordion, and the bones (percussion). They’ll be at the Forum Theatre on Saturday March 19.
COURTNEY BARNETT, CLOUD CONTROL, WIL WAGNER at The Palais THEE OH SEES at Howler BOB LOG III, LOOK WHO’S TOXIC, TANKERVILLE, SAUSAGE EATING COMPETITION at The Old Bar THE APPROACH, DRIVETIME COMMUTE, STONE GRAVE, THE EVERCOLD, COSMIC KAHUNA at The Bendigo MAKE THE SUFFER, THE PLOT IN YOU, THE ASCENDED, AGAINST OUR PRIDE at The Loft, Warrnambool
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GAY PARIS, MY ECHO, JACKSON FIREBIRD, THEM BRUINS, TEN THOUSAND, THE CHARGE, GREENTHIEF at Corner Hotel JESS LOCKE, EXTREME WHEEZE at The Old Bar FEED HER TO THE SHARKS, AMETHUST CLOSE, ACHERON at Bang SWIGDEN, BROOZER, BRAT FARRAR, TIGER at The Reverence MAKE THEM SUFFER, THE PLOT IN YOU, EARTH ENDER, DESPISED, ARKIVE at The Evelyn Hotel THE NIGHT TERRORS at Bar Babushka, Ballarat
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MAKE THEM SUFFER, THE PLOT IN YOU, ADVOCATES, ATMOSFEAR, CUT TO THE CHASE at Masonic Hall, Wodonga CAMP COPE, JESS LOCKE BAND, CHORES at The Old Bar LINCOLN LE FEVRE, GEORGIA MAQ at The Reverence
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FOUR WORDS TO CHOKE UPON, ALL STORY GLORY, LATE NIGHTS at Plastic
PANIC! AT THE DISCO ECLIPSING YOUTH B Y DAV I D J A M E S YO U N G
It says a lot that there hasn’t been two Panic! at the Disco albums with the same lineup. Since starting out in their parents’ garages as teenagers, the band has radically and drastically changed. Only vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Brendon Urie remains from the group that raced into view with 2005’s A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. In fact, on the project’s fifth LP Death of a Bachelor, Urie is the sole official member. Although he was originally writing in an openended manner – meaning the songs could potentially have wound up on a solo album – he ultimately knew where these songs belonged. “I never fully questioned it,” Urie says. “For me, Panic! at the Disco has always been carte blanche. I can do whatever I want. There are no rules. Being in this band has been the most exciting part of my life. I never want to leave. Members of this band have come and gone, just because they wanted to do something different. For me though, Panic! was always so unique and so different that I didn’t need to explore any other avenue. I never needed to make an excuse to break off and do something else.” The previous Panic! LP, Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!, was the band’s first as a trio – Urie, founding drummer Spencer Smith and bassist Dallon Weekes. Both have since left the band in different ways – Smith was sidelined after the album’s release on account of his drug addiction
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and went on to officially leave the band last April. “Spencer and I are still great friends,” says Urie. “People come, people go and people change. I don’t want to seem like I’m speaking on behalf of anyone, but it’s just been a matter of other people losing interest in what this band is.” Weekes, on the other hand, is a slightly more curious case. Although he is no longer in the creative fold, he decided to stay on as a touring member of the group. “Dallon has been playing with us for a long time, and I’m so grateful for that,” says Urie. “Sometimes you try working creatively with people, and it doesn’t always work out the way you think it will. In this case, it ended up just being better to have someone to tour with. It’s an oversight sometimes, but you have to have
people that you connect with and get along with. Touring can be long and it can be intense – you need people that will see you through that. Dallon has been that for me.” Death of a Bachelor continues to explore the outer reaches of what Panic! at the Disco can sound like, implementing Queen-like harmonies, king size choruses and fizzy pop production. There’s even a sample of Rock Lobster in the mix. “I wanted to write a party anthem – it was the perfect fit,” says Urie. With Urie serving as master and commander, he’s more than comfortable building up songs and jamming them out entirely on his own. “Before I ever had a band – or ever even thought about it – that’s kind of what I did,” he says. “I had a little karaoke machine and I would play everything myself. I had to go over to friends’ houses and use their four-track recorder so I could finish the song. A karaoke machine doesn’t have many tracks, as you can imagine. That’s how I taught
myself how to play and how I taught myself to record. I was always alone and I had a lot of passion for music. I wanted to showcase that – running to the piano, running to the drums, doing different bits of backing vocals. “With this album, it began with me just writing songs. I didn’t know if I was working toward an album or not, but I knew I had to get these songs out of my head, through my system. I was ready to go wherever they ended up – I was so content with knowing that.” Interestingly enough, the end of the Death at a Bachelor recording sessions coincided with the ten year anniversary of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. The album’s sold over one million copies and contains some of the band’s most beloved songs – many of which are still played to this day. The accomplishments of the LP are even more impressive considering the average age of the band was 17. “We didn’t even know what kind of band
IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU ARE TOO CLOSE
we wanted to be,” says Urie. “There’s no precognition on Fever. There were no preconceived notions about who we were. We just sort of figured it out as we went. That was exciting. That album started me off on my journey. It helped this band find a voice and not only did people like it, they responded to it. I remember when those early shows were getting bigger and bigger. I’d look out and see people singing every word to our songs. Even after ten years, people are still finding their own voice through that record – it’s almost spiritual to me.”
PANIC! AT THE DISCO’s fifth studio album Death of a Bachelor is out now via Fuelled By Ramen Records.
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CORNER HOTEL
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Boy, the guys at Sureshaker sure know how to throw a party. The ultimate summer bash, Shake ‘N’ Bake saw three of the country’s hottest acts play at Melbourne’s iconic Corner Hotel. The free-for-all, collaborative sets saw a number of tracks get reworked, producing a collection of one-off remixes for all of those that scored a ticket to the sold out show. First up was one-man band, Lyall Moloney. With nothing more than two microphones, an electric guitar and a loop pedal, the interstate talent created a sound that far exceeded expectations. Demonstrating his newly found electronic hip hop/reggae sound, Moloney began with an almost unrecognisable cover of Play With Fire from his debut EP, Dublin. Swiftly moving over to his more recent releases, the young talent belted out Running For You, Do It Again, Party Don’t Stop, Go That Low and Pot Of Gold with incredible force. Before long, Bootleg Rascal and Boo Seeka joined for an extended performance of Hands and Black Dog. The energy in the room as Bootleg Rascal
WOMINJEKA FESTIVAL: TERRAIN
FOOTSCRAY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE SUNDAY JANUARY 17
As an inner North resident it can be hard to admit, but when it comes to arts and culture in Melbourne, the West side really is the best side. Maribyrnong Council, and Footscray Community Arts Centre in particular, are the city’s leading lights when it comes to supporting artistic ventures with a community bent, and the sixth edition of the Wominjeka Festival celebrating indigenous culture is a prime example. Day three of the festival program included Terrain, featuring music from three rising indigenous acts Brett Lee, Tigerlilly, and Briggs. Brett Lee kick started the sunny afternoon with just under an hour of acoustic folk tunes. Honestly, I am not sure if anyone knew what to expect from Lee. If you’re searching for his work online, you’re more likely to come across the assault to the senses that is his cricketing namesake’s Photos by Ian Laidlaw
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FORUM MELBOURNE SUNDAY JANUARY 10
reappeared was electric. As the mellow bass and drumbeat of Oh I Know soaked in, so did the crowd’s need to dance. Head In The Clouds saw Moloney back on stage joining Carlos Lara on the microphone to spit out a killer rap verse. In a momentary change of pace, Kings and Queens had the crowd “Dancing with shadows”. Lead guitarist Jimmy Young showcased his shredding skills as Asleep In The Machine unfolded onto the audience. Afterwards it was time to slow it down for the older track, Overflow. In a true display of vocal range, Lara’s soothing sound was met with utter admiration. Fitting in Holding On and Drop The Gun before closing their set with Coming Home and a bottle of Jose Cuervo tequila, Bootleg Rascal proved they are true performers. Last but certainly not least was electronic duo, Boo Seeka. With their sizzling synths, daring drumbeats and euphoric vocals, the Sydney sensations had the crowd moving in no time. As people began climbing up onto their friends’ shoulders, the unfamiliar sound of Boo Seeka’s new material began
to swell. Met with nothing but enthusiasm, the high-energy tracks are sure to impress awaiting fans. Moving into their latest single, Deception Bay, the pair’s production style began to shine. An unexpected rendition of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams was up next and the iconic electronic beat could not have been better received. As the boys spoke about their fast-tracked journey to stardom over the last 12 months, they encouraged everyone to lose themselves in the song that began it all, Kingdom Leader. As planned, the entire room was stuck in a tranquil dance trip like no other. The whole gang were soon on stage to finish the night off with an epic rendition of fan favourite, Fool.
attempt to break into Bollywood. However, I’d advise you to battle through until you find some of his work. This guy is a treat to watch and a rare songwriting talent. Every song is loaded with personal stories from the past and present, giving his music a real depth. With the crowd now starting to grow, it was time for Queensland folk act Tigerlilly to bring their wistful harmonies to the stage. Lydia Fairhall and Kali Blunt complement one another perfectly, and their relaxed, positive folk songs were a great addition to the Terrain program. Perhaps the most noticeable thing about their set was the spontaneous junior fan club that formed in front of them, with hordes of new young fans jumping around in front of the lazing adult crowd on the hill. The final act on the bill was one of Australia’s strongest hip hop talents, Yorta Yorta man Briggs. Fresh from recent sets at Meredith and Woodford Folk Festival, Briggs took the stage with a band including the musical talents of Darwin’s Sietta and Frenzal Rhomb guitarist Lindsay ‘The Doctor’ McDougall. The full band backing added to the energy and power of the lyrics, and although this was far from your typical hip hop crowd, the words in each track clearly resonated. Bookending the set with his two Gurrumul collaborations (The Hunt and the reimagining of Archie Roach’s The
Children Came Back) was a nice touch. The latter track in particular was very moving, bringing festival MC Pauline Whyman, a member of the stolen generation, almost to tears as she told her own story of being taken from her family and just what songs like this mean to her. Wominjeka is a Yorta Yorta word meaning welcome, and there was certainly a very welcoming, family friendly vibe at FCAC on Sunday. Being a community festival, the musicians had a few technical issues to contend with, and the patter between sets from the MC was pretty daggy at times. But this is all part and parcel of events such as these. Wominjeka is an incredibly important feature of Melbourne’s cultural landscape, and the fact they were able to assemble such a high calibre lineup for Terrain is another reason why you should mark down the dates for the 2017 festival in your diary now.
Photos by Ian Laidlaw
BY PHOEBE ROBERTSON LOVED: Watching my gal pal Kaitlyn fan girling, hard. HATED: Absolutely nothing. DRANK: A bit of everything.
BY EBEN ROJTER LOVED: The mosh pit of under-10s that formed during Briggs’ set. HATED: Forgetting sunscreen to an outdoor gig. DRANK: The sauce surrounding my vegie burger from Jerry’s.
Walking into the Forum to see Jamie xx, my chest puffed with the anticipatory pride of a year 12 student on graduation day. 2015 was a mind-blowing year for new music. Multiple sub-genres had crossed and coalesced to create a new normal; cool kids and casual listeners alike embraced artists that adhered to classic pop structures while utilising elements of specialised genres. While the likes of The Weeknd and local boy Chet Faker slayed audiences from all walks of life, the real champion of 2015 was the remarkable, yet unremarkably named Jamie Smith. In Colour, his debut album as Jamie xx, is nothing short of genius in terms of production and stylistic variation. An ecstatic buzz emanated from the audience at his third and final sold-out Melbourne show. Due to being a DJ set, there was no awkward pause between primary support act Tornado Wallace and W W W. B E AT.C O M . A U
THE TOOT TOOT TOOTS THE OLD BAR
FRIDAY JANUARY 15
For three quarters of their existence Twin Beasts were known as The Toot Toot Toots. Whichever you view as the stronger or more suitable name, it’s under the earlier designation that much of the band’s avid fanbase first became besotted. Following last weekend’s sold-out send off at The Tote, tonight the Melbourne fivesome reassumed The Toot Toot Toots moniker for an encore final show. Practically speaking, names no longer counted for much, but in a crammed-full Old Bar sentiment was able to make one last howl of adoration. The glory days of the Melbourne quintet are difficult to pin down. As The Toot Toot Toots they released the Curse the Crow EP and the debut long player Outlaws. However, the band’s most evolved outing is the Twin Beasts-introducing Badlove LP – the clearest display of their sometimes deranged, sometimes grandiose psyche. Either way, in spite of the obvious air of finitude, there was little time for reflection. Sure, this is a band of songwriters, proficient Jamie xx taking the stage. Smith came to the desk and began arranging his records and CDs as Lewie Day (Wallace) played his last song. Amid swirling smoke and golden spotlights, the dulcet phase of Sleep Sound washed in. Once the beat dropped, the audience started dancing and didn’t stop until a little over an hour later when Smith spun Loud Places for the second time as the encore. Though, to say it was the second time he played Loud Places isn’t 100% accurate, because the first time it was a whacked out swing version of the song, which bobbed up about a quarter of a way into his set. In front of a predominantly late-20s, alternative mainstream crowd, Smith began in welcoming fashion. But at just over the halfway point, off the back of his demented reggae masterpiece Obvs, he took the audience into the dark world of garage,
and canny musicians, guys who’ve developed a tasteful approach to re-instating formerly successful musical advents. But more boldly, what The Toot Toot Toots guarantee is a damn good time. Led by the outward eccentricity of dual frontmen Giuliano Ferla and Dan Hawkins, right from the entry music of brassy melodrama, The Old Bar withstood a messy union of enthralled devotees. Eccentricity could be read as gimmickry – an obvious ploy to paint yourselves as zany characters. But in this case it’s an expressive tool. The Toot Toot Toots align themselves with narrative songcraft, projecting tales of unusual individuals committing acts of transgression, backed by crunching country rock grit and a keen grasp of a drunken sing-along. It was fitting, then, for them to go out like this, in a room of over-boozed and eccentrically charged up friends and fans. As the end drew nearer, the pirate-jawed choruses became louder and louder. To say it’ll be sad to see them go would be missing the point. What matters is that while they were here, they made every step worth it. BY AUGUSTUS WELBY LOVED: Crazy eyes Ferla. HATED: Claustrophobia DRANK: Off the floor. grime and dub with the fucking amazing Autechre remix of The Bug’s Skeng – seriously, Google it. The set reached a major peak with a 1500 person sing-along to I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times). Then, after applause filled the high ceilinged theatre for a good two minutes, Jamie xx returned to drop the classiest pop song of 2015, Loud Places, and it was amazing. BY DAN WATT LOVED: The set. HATED: The uptight fuckwit who elbowed me in the ribs when I turned to take a photo of three girls who asked me to take their picture. Maybe, I don’t know, wait two seconds before physically assaulting me for impinging upon your spot. DRANK: The zeitgeist. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 41
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Top Tens HEARTLAND RECORDS TOP TEN
1. Music Complete LP BOX NEW ORDER 2. Amorica LP THE BLACK CROWES 3. Down Home Music LP TOWNES VAN ZANDT 4. Angels & Ghosts LP SOULSAVERS 5. Live In Hyde Park 4LP THE WHO 6. Transience 2LP STEVEN WILSON 7. Columbia Albums BOX SIMON & GARFUNKEL 8. Complete Studio Albums LP BOX PANTERA 9. Barbed Wire Kisses 2LP JESUS & MARY CHAIN 10. Tokyo Tapes 2LP/2CD SCORPIONS
OFF THE HIP TOP TEN
1. Suitcase 4 LP GUIDED BY VOICES 2. Teenage Crash LP LAST SONS OF KRYPTON 3. What A Girl Can’t Do 7” HANGMEN 4. Cubist Blues 2xLP CHILTON/VEGA 5. High LP ROYAL HEADACHE 6. In Triangle Time LP KELLEY STOLTZ 7. Big Beat From Badsville LP THE CRAMPS 8. Manipulator 2xLP TY SEGALL 9. Bad Moon Rising LP SONIC YOUTH 10. Single Life LP MARVELOUS DARLINGS
FAT WHITE FAMILY Songs For Our Mothers (Without Consent/PIAS)
Back in the 1950s, conservative commentators greeted the nascent rock’n’roll movement with apocalyptic narratives of social breakdown and perpetual juvenile delinquency. But with having long ago been co-opted into mainstream culture, rock’n’roll’s original jagged edge has been blunted into a plastic party knife, its provocative rhetoric corrupted by corporate interests and derivative egotists. And then there’s Fat White Family. Fat White Family are a rock’n’roll band with a don’t give a flying fuck, blow it out your square hairy arse attitude. But whereas Fat White Family pushed the envelope of taste on their first album, Songs For Our Mothers takes a different tact. Sure, there is some seriously sharp rock’n’roll in the mix: Whitest Boy on the Beach rams Duane Eddy through an electronic filter and flies off on a Krautrock carpet ride, while Satisfied writhes seductively on a bed of glittering T. Rex riffs. But it’s the darker moments that provide a clue to Fat White Family’s complex state of existence. Love is the Crack is Pink Floyd lost in a fog of narcotics and
emotional torment, Duce is Tusk played by Gregorian monks and Lebensraum is a drugged out lament for personal space and psychological freedom. On Hits, Hits, Hits, Fat White Family take us down a psychedelic route, part Moon Duo minimalism, part Brian Eno enigmatic exploration, part Jerry Garcia opiated indulgence. On Tinfoil Deathstar, the Family are back on a Bolan trip, and it’s weird and fucking wonderful. When Shipman Decides is just plain weird, like the house band on a Pacific cruise ship possessed by Sonny Bono demons and Ricky Nelson zombies; and the seven-minute We Must Learn to Rise is The Stooges’ We Will Fall wrapped in a gothic Black Angels cloak. Finally, there’s Goodbye Goebbels, an acoustic trip that strips away the self-indulgent political propaganda that hides the brutal, cannibalistic reality of our modern world. Fat White Family knows that, and you should too. PATRICK EMERY
SINGLE REVIEWS WITH LACHLAN
Zooper Doopers are like brie: you should leave them out for a bit before you tuck in. And that’s a foodie life hack you can take to the bank.
FUTURE Inside The Mattress (Independent) Releasing his fifth full-length in the space of a year (including album Dirty Sprite 2 and joint Drake mixtape What A Time To Be Alive), Future gifted Purple Reign to the world over the weekend. Inside The Mattress possesses an introspection and levity, similar to March Madness, with bursts of anxious triumph through glitchy production. To call Purple Reign a victory lap would be ignoring Future’s non-stop victory laps since Beast Mode. JUSTIN BIEBER Love Yourself (Universal) This is the best song ever written. COURTNEY BARNETT Three Packs A Day (Milk! / Remote Control Records) Court delivers the plot twist punchline one line in, and it’s a fuckin’ ripper. It’s hard to write funny, but Three Packs A Day nails
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it with deadpan brilliance – the joke never overplayed, sprinkled with a sachet of social commentary without spoiling the broth. It’s offhand – taken from a brief Milk! Records compilation – and the tone suits, but doesn’t compromise in any sense of craft. FLUME FEAT. KAI Never Be Like You (Future Classic) There was incredible excitement in my household this weekend as I gathered my good Christian sons (who love this new genre called “EDM”) around the home stereo and pressed play on my “iPad” to stream Flume’s new song. What happened next was absolutely disgusting. Within the first 20 seconds of the song, Flume (who I used to regard as one of the best singers in the country) sings a line containing a swear word. Not just any swear word, mind you – one of the big ones. In my haste to shut off this absolute filth, I snapped
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my “iPad” in half, then proceeded to assist my two sons in deleting every Flume song off the Zune I got them for Christmas. This track is an absolute disgrace. Flume needs to issue an apology to his young fanbase for using the “devil’s dictionary”, most notably to my sons (aged 36 and 34 respectively). WOLFMOTHER Gypsy Caravan (Universal) In a twisted experiment of fucked up proportions, Andrew Stockdale is hooked up foie gras style to consume his most fetid riff and lyrical clichés, his liver harvested after years of refinement to extract Gypsy Caravan. It reeks, but there’s something to admire within its perfect mediocrity. It’s below self-parody, something beyond shame and death of ego. It’s nihilism, a soundtrack to the abyss. What’s the point of releasing new Wolfmother? What’s the point of listening? What’s the point of anything at all?
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Spirit Beat (Chapter) Melbourne collective No Zu project a loosely constructed, tightly wound groove on Spirit Beat, its movement unpredictable by standards of conventional arrangement, yet easy for the body to follow. The all-in approach means there’s a lot to take in, but it’s easy when you intellectualise with your hips. Not to be missed at Golden Plains.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 42
HOW SICK IS MUSIC? HEAPS WICKED
RECORD PARADISE TOP TEN
1. Tyrannamen TYRANNAMEN 2. High ROYAL HEADACHE 3. Art Angels GRIMES 4. Elaenia FLOATING POINTS 5. Paper Mache Dream Balloon KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD 6. Migration 7” ORB 7. Mutilator Defeated At Last THEE OH SEES 8. The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us BEACH SLANG 9. It’s You GOLD CLASS 10. Half Free US GIRLS
COLLECTOR’S CORNER MISSING LINK TOP TEN
1. Split 7” INTERNAL ROT / MELLOW HARSHER 2. Shape Shift CD ZOMBI 3. Lightless Walk LP CULT LEADER 4. Dying Surfer Meets His Maker LP/CD ALL THEM WITCHES 5. America Must Be Destroyed LP GWAR 6. Polaroid Noise cassette INFORMATICS 7. Broken 7” BROKEN 8. Dawn Of War Nights Of Chaos LP/CD HORDES OF THE BLACK CROSS 9. Sue 10” DAVID BOWIE 10. Vol 1. 10” THE ARCS vs. THE INVENTORS
BEAT’S TOP TEN DAVID BOWIE DEEP CUTS 1. It’s No Game (Part 1) 2. A New Career In A New Town 3. Moonage Daydream 4. A New Career In A New Town 5. Stay 6. After All 7. I’d Rather Be High 8. Underground 9. Little Wonder 10. Panic In Detroit
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SAVAGES
TRULY HOLY
ADORE LIFE (Matador / Remote Control Records)
When Savages initially arrived, they asserted themselves as leaders, not followers. Defiant, dark and uncompromising, their debut Silence Yourself was one of the most intriguing and worthwhile rock albums of 2013. They’ve not rested on their laurels since – delivering a ten-minute single, Fuckers, and a perfectly-noisy collaborative effort with Bo Ningen – and Adore Life looks to further propel the post-punk outfit’s momentum. It charges out of the gate with one of Savages’ heaviest songs to date, The Answer, sporting a down-tuned riff worthy of the most blazed-out stoner metal band. Perhaps The Answer’s most exciting aspect is its thirst to venture into new territory, keeping Savages’ sound one that’s fearlessly dark and rooted in knife-edge intensity. This is where Adore Life thrives. Whether it’s the slow-dance turned scorched earth balladry of Adore or the steely slither of T.I.W.Y.G., Savages are at their best when they’re innovating and exploring. The album is tripped up by cuts that miss the mark, such as the plodding Slowing Down the World and the by-numbers Surrender; but this thankfully doesn’t demerit the record as a whole. There are a lot of positives to Adore Life – ironic, maybe, given its bleak overtones, but the point stands. BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG
There is something charmingly crude about Truly Holy’s latest EP, beatrix83. Not in the sense of being crass, mind, but more that it has edges yet to be shaved off. Handprints have been deliberately left all over the clay; strange misshapes that are yet to be filed down. Each song seems designed to negate itself. Lush guitar work sits at odds to the neutered, almost bored vocal work; icy instrumentals turn into grating, nightmarish bouts of industrial rhythm; and lyrics deal primarily with contrasts, fluctuating between images of great beauty and muttered demands. Of course, this contrarian brand of roughness means the record is slightly one-note, and the tone established by lead track The Pond remains largely untouched throughout. Truly Holy pick a single point on the horizon and run towards it, but their dogged determination could also be interpreted as a kind of artistic bravery. Certainly, they are nothing if not original. The EP’s sprawling, eight minute title track has a searing, sloppy energy entirely of its own, while the similarly lengthy closer There Is A Rhythm combines touches of sun-blasted Australian gothic with jazzy solos. Unique and colossal, beatrix83 is a lurching, bow-legged giant of a record; one that practically demands witnesses. BY JOSEPH EARP
THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT
VICTORIOUS (Universal)
You can never quite know how to feel about Wolfmother. The nostalgic memories you might have about when they first exploded across the world is at odds with the disappointment of their subsequent implosion and feeble attempts to recapture the original magic. Following up 2009’s miserable Cosmic Egg and 2014’s so-so New Crown comes their latest attempt, Victorious. Once more, though, the spark of their self-titled debut album eludes the band. Again, we have a grand, selfconsuming creation from frontman Andrew Stockdale. Does that mean it’s bad? Apart from the awful attempt at a rock ballad, Pretty Peggy, this is not a bad album at all. If you like unapologetic rock’n’roll, then you’ll get along with Victorious just fine. But if you are hoping for a little of that original Wolfmother magic, you won’t find it here. Wolfmother have simply become a Weekend At Bernie’s-style attempt to keep something alive that should be laid to rest. The tragedy is that Stockdale won’t give up, releasing music that neither succeeds or fails. It isn’t great. It isn’t awful. It isn’t as good as it should be. And it just isn’t Wolfmother. Or, at least, not the one we once loved. BY DANIEL PRIOR
FLOWERTRUCK
PANIC! AT THE DISCO
DIRT (Spunk)
WHITE BEAR (Earache Records)
You’ll find deep satisfaction listening to White Bear, the sophomore release from British blues rockers The Temperance Movement. But you’ll also find a sliver of melancholy if you’re aware of the band’s recent history. Guitarist Luke Potashnick announced he was quitting the quintet in September to further pursue his solo career, bringing an end to his partnership with fellow six-stringer Paul Sayer. The two revealed their ability to complement each other’s playing on the band’s 2013 eponymous debut. Their chemistry develops further on White Bear, and you appreciate the guitarists’ combined efforts all the more knowing these ten tracks may be the last time they work together. How Potashnick and Sayer choose to combine their instruments often dictates how the songs sound. Tight twin-rhythms make opener Three Bullets a volatile boogie; Oh Lorraine could be a forgotten bluegrass tune for Potashnick’s furious mandolin-style pull-offs; while the echoing guitar workout at the start of Battle Lines – where the two join vocalist Phil Campbell in the main melody – reintroduces the sleazy, funky hard rock that TTM have made their own. Although one chapter of TTM seems to end with White Bear, you can already hear another one beginning. Campbell’s raspy vocals are built to rock, but he finds a softer, more earnest voice on the ballads White Bear and Pleasant Place I Feel. Meanwhile Australian-born drummer Damon Wilson proves he is just as integral to the band’s sound as the guitarists with tight bursts of noise on Get Yourself Free and Modern Massacre. TTM test their capabilities on White Bear, and the result is thoroughly complete rock music. Ultimately you’re left hopeful they will continue to develop as musicians despite Potashnick’s departure.
WOLFMOTHER
BEATRIX83 (Independent)
Flowertruck aren’t a band on the rise – they have already risen, and Dirt is their mini-masterpiece. Like a bruise turning technicolour, Flowertruck’s Dirt is a stunning example of the way the everyday can be made extraordinary. Distinctly, determinedly Australian, yet never exclusive or niche, it is the most impressive debut EP in Lord knows how long: a fully formed, stupendously original record, rather than a nervous run-up. There’s a staggeringly large amount to like here, from Will Blackburn’s pinprecise drumming on Nailgun, to the singularly compelling combination of Sarah Sykes’ backing vocals and her nourishing keyboard playing, to Hamish Dobinson’s warped, weather-worn harmonies. Sunshower, for example, is a messy, glorious oxymoron – a perfect example of the band’s essential cross-purposes and contrasts. Somehow reaching crystal clear perfection by way of utter anarchy, Flowertruck repeatedly prove to be as considered as they are chaotic, drawing on a whole host of influences and genre touchstones. Rubbed raw choruses rule the day, and there’s a jangly, utterly endearing nervous energy to the piece. The shaky sweetness of a song like Bad Dreams is more impressive upon every listen, and the vocal performance of lead singer Charles Rushforth careens from that of a marble-mouthed lounge singer to a rock’n’roll master’s soulful tremor in a way that is uniquely exciting. BY JOSEPH EARP
BY ALEXANDER DARLING
DEATH OF A BACHELOR (Fuelled By Ramen)
After ten years as a band, Panic! At The Disco has been reinvented by frontman Brendon Urie for their fifth studio album, Death Of A Bachelor. Leaving his former band members behind, Urie created the album alongside co-songwriter and producer Jake Sinclair (Fall Out Boy, Weezer). Incorporating modern production, classic rock, pop, jazz and hip hop, the record showcases Urie’s many musical preferences and the result of his complete creative freedom. After the vocally powerful but slightly painful opener, Victorious, comes Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time. Sampling The B-52’s’ Rock Lobster, the track is an instant radio hit. The obvious familiarity immediately draws you in, but you stay for the hip hop beat between choruses and the line “Champagne, cocaine, gasoline”. Hallelujah, an exercise in rock gospel that packs a positive punch, sits in contrast to the distorted fairy-tale darkness of Emperor’s New Clothes. The title track is a sweet farewell to Urie’s bachelordom, recorded just before his marriage. Perfect for a wedding dance, the slow introduction highlights Urie’s ability to create an old-school blues sound while celebrating his upcoming “lifetime of laughter.” Taking it up a notch, Impossible Year is a romantic nod to Frank Sinatra in which the American singer/ songwriter transforms into a classic jazz vocalist. On the horn and drum driven swing tune, Crazy=Genius, Urie was clearly seeking a live sound. Enjoyable but uneventful, LA Devotee and Golden Days are fine additions to the track listing but could be easily overlooked in comparison to other tracks. On the other hand, The Good, The Bad And The Dirty and House Of Memories are obvious highpoints. From Urie’s vocal style to their simplistic nature, the instantly catchy tunes are reminiscent of the group’s previous work. Ultimately, Death Of A Bachelor is a dynamic record and true Panic! fans are sure to fall in love.However,newcomers may be deterred by the rather shapeless song sequence. Either way, it’s just good to hear the epic vocals of Brendon Urie again. BY PHOEBE ROBERTSON
ALBUM REVIEWS - BECAUSE YOU CARE WHAT WE THINK
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 43
GIG GUIDE WEDNESDAY JAN 20 THEE OH SEES
HOWLER Widely regarded as one of the most influential, exciting and prolific garage rock bands of the past decade, California rockers Thee Oh Sees were only planning on staying at Howler for one night when they booked in a gig for Friday January 22. When that sold like hotcakes, the band went ahead and announced another gig on the Thursday. That sold out too. Well now there’s one more chance to grab tickets, with the band confirming a third and final show for tonight, Wednesday January 20. Tyrannamen and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will join in on the action. Catch Thee Oh Sees at Howler from 8pm, tickets are $40+BF.
c.l. pleasure + jimmy chang + brixton chuck
kellie santin Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $25.00.
local call - feat: rintrah Railway Hotel , Brunswick. 6:00pm.
sonic expedition - feat: tom showtime & tim wigg djs Belleville, Melbourne. 6:00pm. anna & jordan Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm.
Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm.
going swimming + dicey’s pizza house band + the democratic people’s republic of surf Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm.
make them suffer + the plot in you Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong. 8:00pm. $23.50.
mannequin death squad + smashing faces + cracked tapes + thrasher jynx Bar Open, Fitzroy.
T H E P O S T O F F I C E H OT EL Newcastle heartthrobs Nick Connors and Dan Southward took the big leap in 2015 and moved to Australia’s music capital, bringing with them a swag of songs to soothe and swoon you. Treat yourself to a pint or two over two free entry sets at The Post Office Hotel from 8:30pm every Thursday in January.
$5.00.
mezz live Chelsea Heights Hotel, Chelsea Heights.
collingwood open - feat: nai palm + jaala
5:30pm.
Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $25.00.
okmalumkoolkat Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne
cotton club Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 7:30pm. jesse valach + muddy’s house band Catfish, Fitzroy.
Cbd. 9:00pm. $25.00.
past present + the hidden venture + elusive Old
BATTS
SHADOW ELECTRIC The ever beloved BATTS, project of Melbourne vocalist Tanya Batt and UK producer Ficci, are playing a double debut and farewell show at Shadow Electric. After dropping a certified banger with their cover of Haddaway’s What Is Love, the electronic duo are ready to make waves and break the UK market in style, but not before giving us locals a sweet taster of things to come. It’s set to be a smoker of a set. Catch BATTS at Shadow Electric this Friday January 22. Doors open at 7pm, entry is $10.
8:00pm.
Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $8.00.
matthew colin + tim moore + rough river Grace
pikachunes + lanks + zone out Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy.
Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 7:00pm.
8:30pm. $9.00.
open mic Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 7:00pm. open mic night Purple Emerald, Northcote. 8:00pm. summer songwriters - feat: beautiful savages + de faith Tago Mago, Thornbury. 8:00pm.
showcase nights Purple Emerald, Northcote. 8:00pm. the cairos + swim season + miniatures Shebeen,
disks + texture like son Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd.
Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $15.00.
7:30pm. $9.00.
the elliotts + ur boy bangz + diamonds of neptune + more Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd.
einsteins toyboys + ratlincane Musicland, Fawkner.
Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $6.00.
fantastic voyage (a celebration of david bowie) - feat: dj kiti + dj nathan jones Toff In Town,
NICK CONNORS & DAN SOUTHWARD
the instincts + mannequin death squad + smashing faces + hong dang Brunswick Hotel,
eye of the enemy + decimatus + overproof groove + lung Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 6:00pm. $13.00. finishing school Bella Union Bar, Carlton. 9:30pm.
Brunswick. 7:00pm.
$10.00.
8:00pm. $10.00.
THURSDAY JAN 21 THAT GOLD STREET BAND
C H E R RY B A R Melburnian Motown funk, rock and soul band That Gold Street Band are ready to put you in a rare sort of mood this Thursday night at Cherry. With heavenly vocals that will make you swoon, and funk that’ll pick you right back up, this is Motown with a twist. Who doesn’t love soul with a bit of a rock’n’roll edge? That Gold Street Band take on Cherry this Thursday January 21, with DJs Vince Peach and Pierre Baroni on the decks afterwards. Entry is $10 from 8pm.
7:30pm. $10.00.
thee oh sees + uv race + terrible truths Howler,
hey hey it’s friday - feat: astro boys Royal Hotel
Brunswick. 8:00pm. $40.00.
(essendon), Essendon. 10:00pm.
william singe Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm. barney mcall Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd.
jaded cats Inkerman Hotel, Balaclava. 8:00pm. la danse macabre + brunswick massive resident djs Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. lisa crawley trio Dog’s Bar, St Kilda. 9:00pm. make them suffer + the plot in you The Loft, Warrnambool. 7:00pm.
8:30pm. $25.00.
8:00pm. $5.00.
amber isles Workers Club (geelong), Geelong. 8:00pm.
dubarray Belleville, Melbourne. 7:00pm. emily williams Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd.
maricopa wells + joe guiton + pete akhurst + lewis nixon Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $8.00. open mic Hidden Garden, Ascot Vale. 6:30pm. open mic night Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm. peter bibby + gabriella cohen + avoid Tote Hotel,
$12.25.
8:00pm. $20.00.
barry tones + i know the chief + james moloney & the mad dog harrisons + planète Workers Club,
melbourne blue Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm.
mark lang + the king of things Richmond Theatrette,
$10.00.
Richmond. 8:00pm. $15.30.
Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10.00.
midnight express - feat: prequel + edd fisher Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 10:00pm.
TIM MCMILLAN
Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8.00.
beloved elk + chelsea bleach + shiny coin + hi-tec emotions Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm.
rubix radio on kissfm Rubix Warehouse, Brunswick.
$5.00.
8:30pm.
scoot molly + trouserforce + semi fiction Public Bar, North Melbourne. 7:30pm. $7.00.
the 1975 + the japanese house Festival Hall, West Melbourne. 6:30pm.
the black alleys + fifth friend + junkyard + mosey jokers Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $5.00.
the gooses + hurlin’ up limbs + the dull joys + crossfire hurricane Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm.
turnstile + warbrain + born free + outsiders code Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 7:30pm. $32.00. we tigers + daniel baulch + facades Workers Club, Fitzroy. 7:30pm. $8.00.
wine whiskey women - feat: lucy travis + essie thomas Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:00pm. yossarian Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 7:00pm. big easy soul sessions Carlton Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm.
bohjass 303, Northcote. 8:30pm. dizzy’s big band with peter hearne + andie dowell Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 8:00pm. $10.00.
OPEN MIC BOWIE TRIBUTE
WHOLE LOT TA LOVE Yup, it’s a good ole’ Bowie tribute night where you have full liberty to dress up, bring your guitar and scream Rebel Rebel with no judgement at all. Actually, maybe not that song. We heard it’s best to choose something obscure from the Bowie repertoire so everyone doesn’t have to hear the same song fifty times on the night. Contact Mark Gardner at showusyourloveopenmic@ gmail.com to nab a spot on stage. Venue opens at 5pm with free entry. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 44
DAVY SIMONY
T H E WE S L E Y A N N E Alternative folk-roots singer/songwriter Davy Simony is making his trek from Kuranda in Far North Queensland to the Wesley Anne for a special twohour show. Citing influences like Jack Johnson, Angus & Julia Stone and The Beautiful Girls, Simony’s work boasts the energy of a one-man-band, making use of his guitar, foot percussion and live loops in a live setting. Davy Simony takes to the Wesley Anne stage on Thursday January 21 from 6pm.
stoney end (the songs of laura nyro) - feat: hilary watts + aubrey flood + katie swann + ashton koroneos Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $17.50.
the good egg thursdays - feat: henry who + tigerfunk + lewis cancut Lucky Coq, Windsor. 7:00pm.
the jawa pitu band Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. timbalero thursday La Di Da, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm. $10.00.
DING DONG LOUNGE Singer/songwriter Tim McMillan is heading back from Europe for his annual Ding Dong summer shindig. Having spent the last ten months touring with various acts including ‘90s grime surf heartthrobs Ugly Kid Joe, German angry boys Emil Bulls and his own solo project featuring Rachel Snow, Professor Morson and Igor Chrvst II, this time around the foursome will be performing a mix of acoustic folk yarns for their only Australian show of 2016. Tim McMillan and his band play Ding Dong Lounge this Friday January 22. Doors open 9pm, tickets are $20.
music to a tee 2016 - feat: backsliders + stephen cummings + the band who knew too much + tim mccallum 13th Beach Golf Club, Barwon Heads.
ash grunwald Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 8:00pm. featya + bighouse Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford.
5:00pm. $35.00.
dukes veda + masters of the flying guillotine + overdoze Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 7:00pm. fierce mild + dada ono The B.east, Brunswick East.
7:00pm.
ocean alley + the ruminaters Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy.
jake savona 303, Northcote. 8:00pm. open mic night Drunken Poet, West Melbourne.
8:30pm. $18.00.
9:00pm.
7:00pm.
guy parkman band + king puppy & the carnivore + sweet whirl Public Bar, North Melbourne. 7:30pm.
open mic nite Inkerman Hotel, Balaclava. 7:30pm. pierce brothers Karova Lounge, Ballarat. 8:30pm.
$7.00.
$25.00.
library siesta + popolice + team vom + jurassic nark Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 6:00pm. luca brasi + endless heights + brawlers Northcote
pugsley buzzard trio Retreat Hotel, Brunswick.
rokk fokkers Black Hatt, Geelong. 9:30pm. smash bros + kill dirty youth + sierra leone Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. $2.00.
8:30pm.
sarah rzek Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 8:30pm.
Social Club, Northcote. 7:30pm. $25.00.
maricopa wells + azim zain & his lovely bones + jess locke band Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 8:00pm. $5.00.
FRIDAY JAN 22
GOLDENTONE THURSDAY’S
better than the wizards boat party #2 + noti + dave gillan + jehan + dj benny cam Victoria Star,
YA H YA H’ S If you fancy yourself some Americana, folk and roots vibes this Thursday night, Yah Yah’s has you sorted with Goldentone Thursdays. Grab a drink and head downstairs for some of the best live and local acts around town playing from 8.30pm. The Meet Wagon will be open all night for those feeling peckish, and the Yah Yah’s DJs are taking over afterwards if you wanna kick it till morning. Goldentone Thursdays, doors open 7pm with free entry.
Docklands. 7:30pm. $30.00.
captain spalding Customs House Hotel, Williamstown. 9:30pm.
courtney barnett Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 7:00pm. $45.65. dirty lixx Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 9:30pm.
B E AT.C O M . A U
DJ KRUSH
MAX WAT T’S Japanese producer and hip hop pioneer DJ Krush comes to Australia off the back of his Butterfly Effect LP, his first album in eleven years. From his Ronnie Jordan remixes to his wild collaborations with DJ Shadow, Krush is one of the most prolific identities in instrumental hip hop today. His live shows are the stuff of legend as he builds on layer upon layer of samples, captivating, enthralling and immersing his audience in his dark, downright genius world of smoked out soundscapes. DJ Krush plays Max Watt’s on Friday January 22. Doors open 8pm, tickets are $50+BF.
GIG GUIDE
FLAMIN’ GROOVY!
COSMIC KAHUNA
T H E YA RRA HOTEL The Yarra Hotel continues their weekly throw in with Popboomerang Records with another instalment of Flamin’ Groovy goodness. Featuring the epic stylings of The Cheats, who will be celebrating their tenth anniversary on the night, and the psychedelic grooves of the excellent Electric Wallpaper, it’ll quickly become another night full of jangle pop genius. Catch the party this Friday January 22 from 8.30pm at The Yarra Hotel. Entry is free.
T H E B E ND I G O H OT E L The Bendigo Hotel have stacked their Friday night bill with five of the hardest punk rock acts around town, with surfer stoners Cosmic Kahuna leading the pack. Stone Grave, Disasters, DriveTime Commune and The Approach fill out the lineup, leaving us with a mixed bag of metal, hardcore and screamo sounds. What a way to bring in the weekend. Catch them all from 8pm at The Bendigo this Friday January 22. $8 entry.
THE CASANOVAS + SUN GOD REPLICA
THE APPROACH + DRIVETIME COMMUTE + STONE GRAVE + THE EVERCOLD + COSMIC KAHUNA Bendigo Hotel,
TIM GUY + SOUND MOUNTAIN + GOLDENTONE The
TH E WORK E R S C LU B The Casanova’s play a rare double headliner show at The Workers Club this Friday January 22 to kick-start the long weekend, playing alongside psychedelic fourpiece Sun God Replica. The Casanovas have been on a tear ever since dropping their Terra Casanova album last year to rave reviews. Sun God Replica have been on a similar warpath, touring nationally and internationally off the back of 2014’s The Devil and the Deep, and doing the whole thing again after Pleased To Meet You’s release in December. Find out what happens when The Casanovas and Sun God Replica play The Worker’s Club this Friday January 22. Doors open 9pm, tickets are $15 on the door.
Collingwood. 8:00pm. $8.00.
THE GRUBS AND THE DAVIDSON BROTHERS
T H E SPOT TED MAL L ARD With a big focus on collective improvisation, syncopated dance rhythms and general rowdiness, The Grubs have been bringing their high energy performances to Melbourne for around a year now. Having just celebrated the release of their first EP, Matter Of Fact I Got It Now, The Davidson Brothers have built a reputation as one of Australia’s hottest bluegrass acts with seven albums under their belt. Don’t miss this one; The Grubs play The Spotted Mallard this Friday January 22 from 9.30pm. Free entry.
THE TWOKS Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 9:00pm. THE VIBRAJETS + HOT WINGS + TRAUMABOYS The
THE CHANTOOZIES + 64 FALCON Flying Saucer Club,
Luwow, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $5.00.
Elsternwick. 8:40pm. $30.00.
THEE OH SEES + POWER + ORB Howler, Brunswick.
THE FLEETING MINDS + BIG VOLCANO + LOOKS LIKE RAIN + FRANKSTON LADIES CHOIR Brunswick Hotel,
8:00pm.
THE DAN LETHBRIDGE 3
T H E PO ST OFFICE HOTEL ‘Handsome’ Dan Lethbridge will bring his finely tailored country-folk songs to The Post Office Hotel every Friday in January. His band, The DL3, are a stripped back rhythm and blues trio featuring Stewart Taylor and Adam Coad. They play two free sets this Friday January 22 from 9.30pm.
TINY GIANTS + GONZO + FLOYD COX Tote Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $10.00.
WATT’S ON PRESENTS Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 8:30pm.
BOSSA NIGHTS - FEAT: DARIUS & NOEL MENDOZA + DJ JUAN + DJ NAS Osti, Prahran. 7:00pm. CAREER ADVICE Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $20.00.
DEREB THE AMBASSADOR + THE PUBLIC OPINION SIX + MISTA SAVONA Corner Hotel, Richmond. 8:00pm.
WH OL E LOT TA LOV E Smash Bros are back from smashing up New Zealand and are keen to cause some ruckus right here in Melbourne. Booked in for Whole Lotta Love on Friday January 22, the hardcore hell raisers have hit up thrash poppers Sierra Leone and Kill Dirty Youth, ensuring they’ll bring down fuzzed-out guitar work, smother it with feedback, then drown it all out with sonic drums. Just another night for Smash Bros. $2 entry from 8pm, this Friday at Whole Lotta Love.
WESL EY AN N E 11-piece indie-folk outfit The Northern Folk have been riding a wave of momentum since the release of their self-titled debut album back in October. Hailing from Albury, the like-minded pals have been hitting the Australian highways to spread their sound, getting ready to stop in at The Gasometer this Friday January 22 with good friends This Way North. Perfect for boppers and tail-waggers alike, The Northern Folk mix warm harmonies with big horn sections, and top it off with groovy bass lines that’ll have you footstomping and humming for days. The Northern Folk play Wesley Anne this Friday from 8pm with free entry.
MANNY FOX Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. MASHAKA Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $16.00. SLEAZY LISTENING - FEAT: ARKS + RICHARD KELLY + HYSTERIC + K HOOP Toff In Town, Melbourne Cbd. 5:00pm.
STONEY END (THE SONGS OF LAURA NYRO) - FEAT: HILARY WATTS + AUBREY FLOOD + KATIE SWANN + ASHTON KORONEOS Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $17.50.
$12.00.
SUKARO GYPSY JAZZ BAND Paris Cat Jazz Club,
DJ SOUL LOCO Littlefoot Bar, Footscray. 8:00pm. EAT THE BEAT - FEAT: DJS EDDIE MAC + AYNA + MONDO LOCO Belleville, Melbourne. 6:00pm.
Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $20.00.
HEYMUS
SMASH BROS
Brunswick. 8:00pm.
Eastern, Ballarat East. 8:00pm. $10.00.
THE NORTHERN FOLK
T H E D R U NK E N P O E T Heymus plays heartbreak folk with upbeat alt-country blues, all garnished with a healthy portion of pop. You’ll hear songs that speak of love, the suburbs and nights with no end, folk songs spliced with blues and pop riffs for a unique flavour. Created on a farm and matured in the city, Heymus has rhythms to make your butter churn. 2015 also saw the launch of his poetry book, A la Carte my Heart, so prepare for a little spoken word on the side. Heymus plays two free entry sets from 8.30pm this Friday January 22 at The Drunken Poet.
THE GRUBS + THE DAVIDSON BROTHERS Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:30pm.
THE MORELAND CITY SOUL REVUE Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 8:30pm. $25.00.
SHADOWS OF HYENAS
YAH YAH’S Glam rockers Shadows of Hyenas have nabbed a slot at Yah Yah’s this Friday January 22, sharing the big stage with metal warriors The Dukes of Deliciousness, Them High Spirits and Abolición. Just $10 gets you upstairs with $5 tinnies specials running all night long, and the Meet Wagon kitchen will be serving up hot food throughout. A sick night at Yah Yah’s planned, come on down from 7pm.
COMING UP MONDAY 25TH JAN
THE AUDREYS
+ HARRY HOOKEY
(KASEY CHAMBERS’ BAND)
TUESDAYS IN JANUARY
FACT HUNT TRIVIA
CHEAP TACOS + $16 JUGS OF THUNDER RD
Hosted by RRR’s Tristen Harris, this is a comfortably dumb trivia for music fans and couch potatoes, no sport, no politics and no book-learnin’. QUIZ FROM 8PM - RESERVATIONS - samanda@spottedmallard.com NO COVER
WEDNESDAY 20TH JANUARY
COTTON CLUB
FT. GEOFF ACHISON
BLUES SWING DANCING LESSONS FROM 7:30PM $15 p/p SHOW TIME 8:30PM, NO COVER CHARGE
DOORS/DINNER 6PM SHOW TIME 8:30PM PRE SALE $30 + BF WEDNESDAY 27TH JAN
GERRY O’BEIRNE + KAVISHA MAZELLA
DOORS/DINNER 6PM, SHOW TIME 8PM
THURSDAY 21ST JANUARY
SARAH RZEK
NO COVER CHARGE, SHOW TIME 8:30PM
FRIDAY 22ND JANUARY
THE GRUBS + THE DAVIDSON BROTHERS NO COVER CHARGE, SHOWTIME 9PM
THURSDAY 28TH JAN
THE LOW RENT
+ THE GUNBARREL STRAIGHTS
DOORS/DINNER 6PM, SHOW TIME 8PM
SATURDAY 23RD JANUARY
THE ELECTRIC GUITARS + THE ETHER + CAROLINE NO $5 ENTRY FROM 8:30PM, SHOW TIME 9PM
sunDAY 24TH JANUARY MATINEE SESSION
FUNK BUDDIES
PERFORMING 2 X SETS FROM 5:30PM NO COVER CHARGE
$8 Pints Craft Beer
4pm-6pm Daily but Fridays 4pm-7pm KITCHEN HOURS Tues-Fri open 4pm Sat & Sun open 2pm
TICKETS
For ticket sales visit www.spottedmallard.com 314 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
B E AT.C O M . A U
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 45
GIG GUIDE PIERCE BROTHERS
PRINCE BANDROOM Pierce Brothers have taken their music from busking on the streets of Melbourne to the world. Their irresistible energy and world-class live show has generated a word of mouth buzz, with the acclaimed live act shaking dance floors and selling out rooms across UK, Europe, Canada, USA as well as their home of Australia. After spending the majority of 2015 touring the world, playing over 50 dates across 15 different countries, the Pierce Brothers have returned to Australia to to launch their latest EP, Into The Dirt. They play the Prince Bandroom this Friday January 22 from 8pm. Tickets are $28+BF through the venue.
chairman meow Gem Bar, Collingwood. 7:00pm. child + redro rodriguez & his inner demons Baha Tacos & Tapas Bar, Rye. 7:30pm.
chris wilson Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 5:30pm. cobra 45s Club Kilsyth, Bayswater North. 8:30pm. collingwood open - feat: steve smyth + melody pool + emily ulman Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 8:00pm. $15.00.
daveys fridays - feat: rob & tarquin + superfly djs Daveys Bar & Restaurant, Frankston. 8:00pm. dukes of deliciousness + high spirits Yah Yah’s,
DIE! DIE! DIE!
D I N G D O N G LO U N G E New Zealand noise punk three-piece Die! Die! Die! are shredding into Ding Dong Lounge this Saturday January 23, bringing along material from the band’s latest EP, What Did You Expect, to spice up the Australian tour. Not only does the EP see Die! Die! Die! further establish themselves as seasoned authorities on noise-rock, it also reiterates the band’s impressive ability to instil solid melodies over, under and within all the chaos. Die! Die! Die! go on from 9pm this Saturday at Ding Dong. Tickets are $14+BF through the venue.
boy & bear + art of sleeping + montaigne Festival
thecrave The B.east, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. traditional irish music session Drunken Poet,
Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10.00.
Hall, West Melbourne. 7:30pm. $66.40.
flying engine trio Testing Grounds, Melbourne.
West Melbourne. 6:00pm.
6:00pm.
claws & organs Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 10:30pm. dave graney Richmond Theatrette, Richmond. 8:00pm.
what the funk fridays Purple Emerald, Northcote.
heymus Drunken Poet, West Melbourne. 8:30pm. icecream hands John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm.
$17.30.
bob log iii - feat: look who’s toxic + sausage eating comp + tankerville Old Bar, Fitzroy. 8:30pm.
$25.00.
indelible murtcepts Basement Discs, Melbourne
destruct metal show Black Hatt, Geelong. 8:00pm. didirri + jordan clay & the skeleton band + the bean project + jackson mclaren Toff In Town,
$12.00.
Cbd. 12:45pm.
Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $10.00.
jade alice Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:30pm. jules boult Catfish, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. meg baird + lower plenty Northcote Social Club,
MILLAR JUKES
9:00pm.
THE GRACE DARLING After spending the past five years in Europe, Dead Parties have come back to Australia to launch their fresh single, Last Romance, at the Grace Darling. Dead Parties is the project of Etienne Mamo, who previously performed as the singer/songwriter for The New Black. Last Romance has already launched the band to success on national Spanish radio, and it should go down a treat over here too. Catch Mamo as he draws his shoegaze, indie and psychedelia tunes across The Grace Darling on Saturday January 23. Doors open at 9pm, entry is $10.
WE S L E Y A N N E Originally hailing from “a wee town outside of Glasgow, Scotland” Millar Jukes moved to Australia three years ago and quickly immersed himself in the local scene. Coming from a highly competitive musical family (his brothers play in popular Scottish band Vigo Thieves), which he says fuelled his musical ambitions, Millar Jukes continues to gain momentum. This week, he continues his solo acoustic residency at Wesley Anne, taking on the centre stage every Saturday in January from 6pm.
smashing faces + crossed + rotten cheek + the orchies The Eastern, Ballarat East. 8:00pm. $10.00. the electric guitars + the ether + caroline no
8:00pm.
krunchy om-let + paul conroy + stinky girl dale
steve lucas Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 5:00pm. tank dilemma Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East.
Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 5:00pm.
wetfest ii - feat: terrible truths + the pink tiles + sugar fed leopards + loose tooth + more Tote
live flesh #2 - feat: bj morriszonkle Bella Union
Hotel, Collingwood. 3:00pm. $16.35.
9:30pm.
Bar, Carlton. 8:00pm. $8.00.
alanna eileen Shebeen, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm.
the new savages + mississippi hill country blues
make them suffer + the plot in you Evelyn Hotel,
$10.00.
Reverence Hotel, Footscray. 9:00pm.
Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $20.00.
zerafina zara & alleged associates Smokehouse
micks annual birthday party - feat: jimmy cupples + neale johns + lee rose + more Musicland, Fawkner. 7:30pm.
amarillo Union Hotel , Brunswick. 5:00pm. bossa Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:30pm. catfish voodoo Catfish, Fitzroy. 9:00pm. collingwood casanovas The B.east, Brunswick East.
ocean alley + the ruminaters Baha Tacos & Tapas
9:30pm.
Bar, Rye. 7:30pm.
TWO HEADED DOG
Northcote. 8:30pm. $32.00.
mustang Pascoe Vale Rsl, Pascoe Vale. 8:00pm. $8.00. plum green + jennifer kingwell Grace Darling Hotel, Collingwood. 8:30pm. $10.00.
shaun kirk Torquay Hotel, Torquay. 8:00pm. $12.25. sheltered + turn south + maybe 303, Northcote.
101, Maidstone. 7:00pm.
SATURDAY JAN 23 PHIL PARA PR I N C E P U B L I C B A R
After spending a whopping 30 years performing at The Espy, Phil Para has packed up his bags and set up shop at Prince Public Bar, proving you can take the artist out of The Espy, but you can’t take him out of St Kilda. Para continues to deliver his classic Hendrix, Santana, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, and ZZ Top, plus his own originals to fans that have been make the trek to St Kilda every Saturday evening. Treat yourself to a night of high energy blues rock when Phil Para takes over Prince Public Bar this Saturday January 23. Doors open at 6pm, entry is free.
david cotter & the jazznix Paris Cat Jazz Club,
DAVE GRANEY TRIO
R I C H M O N D T H E AT R E T TE The mysterious venue upstairs at Richmond Library is back with another stellar run of shows, and on Saturday January 23, local legends the Dave Graney Trio will take centre stage. Located above the Richmond Library on Church Street, Richmond Theatrette emerged during last year’s Leaps and Bounds music festival. The venue is a unique punter experience with a very limited capacity, so you’re advised to get tickets now. Catch the Dave Graney Trio at The Richmond Theatrette on Saturday January 23. Music starts at 8pm.
Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 9:00pm. $5.00.
the shot glasses Inkerman Hotel, Balaclava. 8:00pm. this is a tribute - feat: made in purple + ablaze + 180 proof Whole Lotta Love, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. $12.00.
CHERRY BAR Three-piece psychedelic hard blues dudes Two Headed Dog head to their ‘home away from home’ at Cherry Bar this Saturday January 23, taking out the headlining slot. Drawing comparisons to classic rock icons The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Creedence Clearwater Revival, anyone looking to relive that raw live sound won’t be leaving Cherry disappointed. Glass Skies, The Dukes of Deliciousness and The Devourers will fill in the support slots on the night. Two Headed Dog play Cherry, this Saturday night from 8pm. Entry is $13.
craig woodward + warren rough & friends
dj steven cliffhanger Littlefoot Bar, Footscray.
one night in fitzroy - feat: the go set + cameron holmes & the blues dudes + more The Luwow,
8:00pm.
Fitzroy. 6:00pm.
drunken poachers Union Hotel , Brunswick. 9:00pm. jess locke + extreme wheeze Old Bar, Fitzroy.
mayfield Sooki Lounge, Belgrave. 9:00pm. remco keijzer quartet (plays eddie harris) Paris
radfest ii - feat: cosmic kahuna + inedia + tankerville + hightime + more Public Bar, North
karaoke with zoe Customs House Hotel,
Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd. 9:30pm. $20.00.
Melbourne. 1:00pm. $10.00.
Williamstown. 9:00pm.
reverse swing Paris Cat Jazz Club, Melbourne Cbd.
Melbourne Cbd. 7:00pm. $25.00.
Victoria Hotel , Brunswick. 5:00pm.
3:00pm.
8:30pm. $20.00.
rock n load festival - feat: gay paris + my echo + jackson firebird + massive + more Corner Hotel,
sarah maclaine + roger clark quartet Dizzy’s Jazz
Richmond. 6:00pm. $15.00.
kookaburra festival - feat: alleged associates + more Kookaburra Festival Site, Werribee. 12:15pm. mark campbell & the ravens Drunken Poet, West
Club, Richmond. 9:00pm. $16.00.
saturdays r covered - feat: radio star Royal Hotel
Melbourne. 9:00pm.
stoney end (the songs of laura nyro) - feat: hilary watts + aubrey flood + katie swann + ashton koroneos Ruby’s Music Room, Melbourne
(essendon), Essendon. 10:00pm.
matt dwyer Dog’s Bar, St Kilda. 9:00pm. michael hurley + joel silbersher + dj downpat
Cbd. 7:00pm. $17.50.
the wikimen Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm. bang - feat: feed her to the sharks + amethyst close + acheron Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $20.00.
bowie celebration Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 6:00pm. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 46
DEAD PARTIES
MESA COSA
YA H YA H’ S Mesa Cosa continue their January residency at Yah Yah’s this week, setting up shop on the upstairs stage every Saturday night from 2am. The venue will be changing things up this week, with Yah Yah’s DJs spinning the classics downstairs from 6pm as part of their Bowie celebration tribute night. Pound some beers to Bowie, then head upstairs for some of the best garage punk Melbourne has to offer with Mesa Cosa. $7 entry from midnight.
B E AT.C O M . A U
Northcote Social Club, Northcote. 8:00pm.
monique brumby band + steve saxton & the gentlemen Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 9:30pm. moonee valley drifters Victoria Hotel , Brunswick. 8:00pm.
morth + shewolf Mr Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 5:00pm.
GIG GUIDE Q&A
pique + saint henry + asthmatics 303, Northcote. 7:30pm. $5.00.
roesy Dog’s Bar, St Kilda. 7:30pm. steve smyth Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong. 8:00pm. $13.30.
sunday session - feat: brunsy Ferntree Gully Hotel, Ferntree Gully. 2:00pm.
BATTS Hi. Who are you and what do you do in Batts? My name’s Tanya. I’m the singer and I write all the melodies and lyrics and help Alisdair (the other half ) with all the arrangements and ideas. Can I get an insight into how you and Alisdair work together? We normally start with him sending me some basic chords and maybe a beat that’s normally about 30 seconds, and I’ll extend it to over three minutes and lay down the vocals, writing all the melodies and structure with them, and then we build from there. Then it goes back and forth for a while. What music have you guys released recently and what can you tell me about it? We actually just dropped a cover of the iconic ‘90s banger What Is Love by Haddaway on our Soundcloud. It’s one of the best songs ever so it was a lot of fun to cover, but to make our own. We have this amazing saxophone solo in it by my friend Luke from Brisbane band Scholar, and I’m vibing on that heaps. Have you got anything big in the works for 2016? I’m moving to the UK to live with Alisdair, which is insane because we met on Soundcloud and live on opposite sides of the world, and now I’m moving there to live in the same house as him to focus fully on Batts. I think we will just be working on getting the best music we can possibly create into your ears and getting the live set together in England to tour. Who knows what’s going to happen, I’m just going to go with the flow and enjoy a new city and adventure. How’s the fan response been to Batts? I’m hearing some of your listeners are eager to help out in unexpected ways. We have been insanely lucky; the response has been overwhelming. We have been getting the coolest things happen, I got a custom made Batts jacket, which was sick. It’s like my favourite item of clothing now. People have made their own music videos of our songs. That is always super cool to see. Humans can be so awesome. BATTS are playing at the Shadow Electric at Abbotsford Convent on Friday January 22 with Canary and Zlatna.
Q&A
EUPHORIAN DREAMS – A TRANSGENDER CELEBRATION
T H E WO R K E R S C LU B Euphorian Dreams will be a transgender celebration; a party for transgender or intersex people, friends of transgender and intersex people and for anyone else who’s down for a good old fashioned party. The day is all about acceptance, celebration and tolerance, so expect high spirits and celebratory vibes. Expect some chill performances too, coming from the likes of Dear Plastic, Geoffrey O’Connor, Zen Robotic, Asian Envy, Card Houses, DeeDee Francis, Red Candy and Violet O’Hara throughout the day. Euphorian Dreams – A Transgender Celebration opens from 2.30pm this Sunday January 24 at The Workers Club. Tickets are $10+BF online, $15 on the door if still available.
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 48
the bellows Open Studio, Northcote. 5:00pm. the travis winters blues band The Water Rat Hotel, South Melbourne. 5:00pm. $5.00.
travis winters blues band Catfish, Fitzroy. 5:00pm.
MONDAY JAN 25
WHOLE LOT TA LOVE Black Aces are hosting an exclusive listening party for their debut album Shot In The Dark this Australia Day Eve, Monday January 25 at Whole Lotta Love. Be among the first few lucky people to hear the album in its entirety with the lads themselves, and drink like it’s a public holiday the next day. There’ll be Aussie rock flowing and Black Aces merch giveaways all night long. Whole Lotta Love opens at 5pm, things get cracking at 8pm. Entry is free.
walk the moon Forum Theatre, Melbourne Cbd. 8:00pm. $59.00.
white summer + iv league + pink harvest Workers Club, Fitzroy. 8:00pm. $10.00.
Boogie Man Bar, Abbottsford. 5:00pm.
mojo juju + james grim woodcutters John Curtin Hotel, Carlton. 8:00pm. $20.00.
4:00pm.
clare bowditch St Kilda Memo, St Kilda. 8:00pm.
jules boult & the redeemers Big Huey’s Diner,
$42.00.
South Melbourne. 4:00pm.
COOKIN ON 3 BURNERS
T H E R E T R E AT Australia’s hardest hitting Hammond organ trio Cookin On 3 Burners are heading to The Retreat this weekend, ready to join to dots between deep funk, raw soul, organ jazz and boogaloo. Six albums in and they show no signs of slowing, their latest album Blind Bet featuring beautiful string and horn arrangements that pushed the envelope on what the band is trying to achieve. If you haven’t seen Cookin’ On 3 Burners live, you’re in for a treat. Catch them at The Retreat this Sunday January 24. Doors open 7.30pm with free entry.
la bastard Post Office Hotel, Coburg. 4:30pm. lincoln le fevre + georgia maq Reverence Hotel,
HARRY JAKAMARRA
THE NATIONAL EVENING EXPRESS are playing at The Brunswick Hotel on Saturday January 23.
Elsternwick. 3:30pm. $28.00.
BLACK ACES
geoff achison Royal Oak Hotel, Fitzroy North.
Footscray. 3:00pm.
How did you all meet? What was it that brought the band together? Our love affair with rock music and Gumtree. A match made in rock heaven Would you continue to play music if there was absolutely no money in it? Money? What, you’re telling us you can make money doing this? If you had to play a completely different genre of music to what you do now, what would it be? Why? Reggae rocks. Rastafarians are so cool mon. If you could have anyone review your record or gig, who would it be and why? Nicole Tadpole from RRR radio. She knows how to rock out. What do you think it is that sets you apart from the rest of the Melbourne music scene right now? Our rock songs. Get away from the Trivago soundtrack going around and let your rock out.
Windsor. 4:00pm.
the audreys + harry hookey Flying Saucer Club,
fallen star + limelight + cielo drive + hotrats Mr
lost ragas Union Hotel , Brunswick. 7:00pm.
THE NATIONAL EVENING EXPRESS
sunday sessions - feat: various artists Lucky Coq,
THE DRUNKEN POET Take West African desert blues, old Appalachian stomp, grungy folk rock and a few wild stories, throw in a rusty campfire pot, stir with a banjo, and you might end up with something reminiscent of Harry Jakamarra’s folk stylings. Throughout his relatively young musical career, Harry has supported acts such as John Butler, Missy Higgins and Paul Kelly, to name a few. Harry’s songs are a mix of poetic mastery combined with raw and rhythmic playing, drawing on a wealth of life experience uncharacteristic of his age he creates a dark and complex lyrical world. Let Harry Jakamarra take you on a musical journey this Sunday January 24 at The Drunken Poet. He performs two free entry sets from 6.30pm.
max savage Yarra Hotel, Abbotsford. 4:00pm. michelle gardiner Customs House Hotel,
CHILD
C H E R RY B A R Child bring the heavy psychedelic blues to Cherry Bar this Australia Day Eve. Drawing influence from an ever growing, ever evolving sonic palette, you’ll find Child’s roots entwined in blues whilst taking a heavier and more visceral approach. The group take pride in upholding the strong tradition of Australian rock that preceded them, which gave birth to likes of AC/DC, The Easybeats, Rose Tattoo, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and Masters Apprentices to name a few. Catch Child at Cherry this Monday January 25. Doors open 6pm, entry is $13 from 8pm and comes with a free can of VB or MB on arrival.
adam lambert + melanie martinez Palais Theatre, St Kilda. 7:30pm. $99.00.
australia day eve @ tommy’s - feat: kings of oz Matthew Flinders Hotel, Chadstone. 9:00pm.
australia daze eve 2016 - feat: sunbeam sound machine + breve + crimsonettes + spaceman Evelyn Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $11.00.
bang (aus day eve) - feat: four words to choke upon + all story glory + late nights Royal Melbourne Hotel, Melbourne Cbd. 9:00pm.
THE DRUNKEN POACHERS
THE RETREAT Gear on up for another raucous Australia Day Eve party at The Retreat with The Three Kings, The Drunken Poachers, and DJ Kezbot. How could you say no to the best dirty blues trio goin’ round, the rowdiest bunch of whiskey drinkers this side of Tennessee and the queen of the late night party, especially when they’re all at one big party and it’s all free. Get your party on at The Retreat this Monday January 25 from 9pm.
daisy west + saturn3 + ultravibralux + the crooks Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 10:30am. dan kelly Richmond Theatrette, Richmond. 8:00pm.
double trouble - feat: kim salmon & the surrealists + harry howard & the nde Tote Hotel,
$17.30.
jimi hocking & geoff achison (guitar showdown)
even Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm.
Flying Saucer Club, Elsternwick. 6:00pm. $18.00.
Collingwood. 8:00pm. $19.40.
$20.00.
ELWOOD BLUES CLUB
PR I N C E P U B L I C B A R Elwood Blues Club aren’t done bringing in the new year just yet, with one more session down at Prince Public Bar this week. For one very special night of the week, you can catch both local and international talent performing at the blues club, supported by the in house Elwood Blues Club All Star band. Catch a fine night of blues at Prince Public Bar with the Elwood Blues Club this Sunday January 24. Doors open at 5.30pm with free entry.
Williamstown. 3:00pm.
monday night mass - feat: exhaustion + parading + miniatures + vhs dream Northcote Social Club,
mike elrington + dj max crawdaddy Cherry Bar,
Northcote. 8:00pm.
Melbourne Cbd. 2:00pm.
ryley walker + palm springs Toff In Town,
moses leigh jones Littlefoot Bar, Footscray. 7:00pm. open mike sunday Yah Yah’s, Fitzroy. 6:30pm. peter baylor & the roadhouse romeos Gem Bar,
Melbourne Cbd. 7:30pm. $30.00.
Collingwood. 7:00pm.
triple j hottest 100 party Barwon Heads Hotel,
pheasant pluckers Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 4:00pm.
Barwon Heads. 12:00pm.
the audreys + harry hookey Spotted Mallard, Brunswick. 6:00pm. $30.00.
B E AT.C O M . A U
BURIED FEATHER
THE GRACE DARLING After a year out in the wilderness, Melbourne psychrock outfit Buried Feather are returning to the stage. Preparing for their new record on the way in 2016, the band will be performing heaps of new material live over the next few months, with Melbourne audiences getting their turn this Monday January 25 at the Grace Darling.
W W W. B E AT.C O M . A U
BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 49
GIG GUIDE Q&A
josh cashman + anno o + daniel luhrs Penny Black, Brunswick. 9:00pm.
matthew roche trio 303, Northcote. 8:30pm. paul williamson’s hammond combo Rainbow Hotel, Fitzroy. 9:30pm. $10.00.
DEAD PARTIES
the drunken poachers + the three kings + dj kezbot Retreat Hotel, Brunswick. 8:30pm. the willie wag tails Open Studio, Northcote. 8:30pm.
TUESDAY 26 JAN DUO TRIO NIGHT
PRINCE PUBLIC BAR It’s going to be a huge Duo Trio Night this Australia Day at St Kilda’s Prince Public Bar. This week on stage, the Taste of Indie Collective presents the cool sounds of Acoustic Foxx, Oktober Skies and My Band taking on the big stage. Whatever your taste, they’ve got it covered, all at the Prince Public Bar this Tuesday January 26 from 7.30pm. Entry is free.
SUMMER TONES
Kilda. 7:30pm. $99.00.
S H A D OW E L E C T R I C Local indie label and touring company Mistletone are bringing their big old Summer Tones event to the Shadow Electric venue this Tuesday. Headlined by Kurt Vile, this year’s incarnation is also set to feature Vic Simms, Michael Hurley, Meg Baird, Ryley Walker, Montero, Totally Mild, The Orbweavers, Terry and Wintercoats, plus courtyard DJs Jonny (HTRK) and Kate Reid. Summer Tones kicks off this Tuesday January 26 at Shadow Electric. Tickets are $55 through the venue.
AUSTRALIA DAY PARTY
hottest 100 australia day bonanza Inkerman Hotel,
the western stars + them high spirits + plebs
T H E R E T R E AT The Australia Day celebrations get started early at The Retreat this Tuesday January 26, with Horns of Leroy taking to the stage from 4pm. Abbie Cardwell and The Texicans spice things up with some Mexican inspired Americana afterwards, setting the stage for singer/ songwriter Suzannah Espie to wow the Retreat crowd. The In The Out bring their rock’n’roll wares to close out the night, and DJ Fee keeps the party going on in the beer garden. Free entry too. Old school glam rock, New Orleans jazz, and alt-country Australiana; the Retreat’s got it all this Australia Day.
Balaclava. 10:00am.
Cherry Bar, Melbourne Cbd. 6:30pm.
taste of indie tuesday - feat: duo / trio night
no exit + the mason boys + lamb boulevard
triple j hottest 100 party Northcote Social Club,
Prince Public Bar, St Kilda . 8:00pm.
Musicland, Fawkner. 2:00pm. $10.00.
Northcote. 12:00pm.
open mic Tago Mago, Thornbury. 7:00pm. shitfest 3 - feat: bits of shit + the vacant lot + the living eyes + chook race + more Tote Hotel,
triple j hottest 100 rooftop party Corner Hotel,
the tins Open Studio, Northcote. 8:00pm. three kings Labour In Vain, Fitzroy. 5:00pm.
Collingwood. 3:00pm. $16.35.
Hotel, Fitzroy. 8:30pm. $5.00.
summer tones - feat: kurt vile + vic simms + michael hurley + meg baird + more The Shadow
collingwood open - feat: raised by eagles + lost ragas Gasometer Hotel, Collingwood. 5:00pm. $18.00. irish session Lomond Hotel, Brunswick East. 8:00pm. loonee tunes The Luwow, Fitzroy. 7:00pm. $10.00. chris russell’s chicken walk + king wolf Evelyn
adam lambert + melanie martinez Palais Theatre, St
Electric, Abbotsford. 1:00pm. $55.00.
survival day 2016 - feat: kutcha edwards + the deans + gnarnayarrahe waitiarie + mullum mullum choir + more Borthwick Park, Belgrave.
Richmond. 12:00pm.
black molasses + mondegreen + hills hoist Evelyn
Hotel, Fitzroy. 2:00pm. $15.00.
12:00pm.
dead dingo + morning maniacs + brad pot + more
the go set The Loft, Warrnambool. 7:00pm.
Brunswick Hotel, Brunswick. 10:30am.
The Push PRESENTS
Access All Ages With grace kindellan Looking for a head-start and some good advice in the music industry? Keep reading! The 2016 FReeZA Mentoring Program matches up enthusiastic young people with established music industry professionals who provide one-on-one mentoring and support in areas as diverse as event management, performance, technical production, publicity, and music business. Mentees also have the chance to develop their skills by working on festivals and events and participating in intensive master classes hosted by a range of experts in different fields. This Victorian Government-funded program is open to people between the ages of 18-25 who live in Victoria and have an interest in working in the music industry. Applications close on Sunday January 31 and are available here: www.surveymonkey. com/r/Freezamentoring16.
WANT YOUR GIG IN GIG GUIDE? EMAIL A SHORT BLURB AND PIC TO MUSICNEWS@BEAT.COM.AU
We have also added to our music industry mentoring opportunities with a new program for women performers in 2016. It’s called SQUAD and it will provide women performers aged 18 – 25 with the chance to be teamed up with industry professionals, attend special master-classes and an exclusive development weekend where participants will work on craft and career with a range of experts. There are ten places available for SQUAD with more details and applications available at www.thepush.com.au/squad/. Fed Square Live is here to ease you into the summer music season with a series of free, outdoor performances every Thursday from 5.30pm at, you guessed it, Fed Square. Relax into a deckchair and unwind as the sun sets over some of Melbourne’s most talented acts. Come along this week to see Melbourne-based singer/ songwriter Mcrobin charm the audience with tender vocal harmonies before Delsinki Records take the stage to perform their earthy ballads and twin brothers Amistat close out the night with a charismatic acoustic set. Head to www.fedsquare.com for more details. Tonight, and every Wednesday night until the end of March, you can check out music across three stages at the Queen Victoria Night Market from 5pm till 10pm. This week you can hear classic salsa from the Quarter Street Orchestra, brassy bluegrass from the Davidson Brothers and everything from sophisticated swing to retro, rock’n’roll party starters from the Orlando Jazz
Hello. Who am I speaking with, and what do you do with Dead Parties? Etienne here, singer, songwriter and chimney sweeper at Dead Parties. You’re returning after a four year absence. What has Dead Parties been doing in the meantime? I relocated to Europe four years ago and have been based in Barcelona ever since. We’ve been playing heaps with bands such as The Raveonettes, Jacco Gardner and Inspiral Carpets, as well as releasing records and getting some radio love. We also played a number of festivals and London as part of Northern Star Records’ Psych Fest. Most recently we played live on Spanish TV, though I’m not sure they understood me despite the polite nodding. Tell us a bit about your recent European tour supporting The Drones. How did it all go, and how is the European market responding to your music? The Drones are one of the best live bands around so we were at the back scribbling notes as they played. As for the European market it’s taken really well to Dead Parties – we’ve been played a lot on radio and we get lots of support via the Internet – it’s pretty darn good. After being the singer and songwriter in the well respected band The New Black, you decided to do something more shoegaze and indie-influenced with Dead Parties. Why is that? The New Black got as far as we could at the time. We were on a label that went bust and so our album just dropped off the radar. I’d just bought a Mac and was tinkering with GarageBand and it opened up a whole new world to me. I could play God and record all the parts. I’d always loved shoegaze, dream pop et cetera and so I dived in. Have you got any big plans for 2016? Releasing an album has become the focus. The songs are there, but the cash seems to be hiding under the bed somewhere. We’re also about to hit the road in March and tour Spain, with a return to the UK in the works. DEAD PARTIES are playing at the Grace Darling Hotel on Saturday January 23 with The Crimsonettes and Chips Rafferty.
Combo. For more information and details of upcoming lineups, check out www.qvm.com.au/entertainment-2/. There’s plenty more free music in and around the city with MPavillion’s Friday night series of diverse and in-demand DJs heating up the Queen Victoria Gardens every Friday night. This week’s event features artists from Melbourne’s trans community and will be taking place from 6pm to 9pm. Songwriter, producer and DJ Simona Castricum will be performing her set of visceral, electronic avant-pop with support from Geryon’s ethereal beat-driven soundscapes, Two Steps on the Water’s raw, feelings-heavy folk-punk and DJ Narcissique’s mix of house, techno and old-skool hiphop breaks. Head to www.mpavilion.org for more details. If you’re on the south side, check out the City of Stonnington’s Sunset Sounds, a series of live music on Sunday nights across the area’s beautiful parks and gardens. The three events are free and will combine some of Australia’s most-loved musical talent with some of Melbourne’s best food trucks in a lush, natural setting. This week ARIA award-winning Melbourne musician Dave Graney brings his latest collaboration The MistLY to Malvern Gardens, Malvern, on Sunday January 24. Check out www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/ Discover/Arts-and-Culture/Sunset-Sounds-2016 for more information. /libraries.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au for more details.
All Ages Gig Guide W ednesda y J anuar y 2 0
Music on the Deck- Midsumma Expression Session, w/ Jess Locke, Duke of Paris, Open Mic, Williamstown Library Deck, 104 Ferguson Street, Williamstown, 4.00pm - 7.00pm, Free, libraries.hobsonsbay.vic.gov. au, AA
F rida y J anuar y 2 2
FReeZA Summer Market Series w/ Cooper Lower, Chloe and Nicola, Angela and Mitch, Louis Chilton, Paddy Brady, Ditto, Warrnambool Civic Green and Lake Pertobe, 4.30pm - 8.30pm, Free, www. warrnambool.vic.gov.au, AA
CLASSIFIEDS 33c per word per week (inc GST) Send your classified listing to classifieds@beat.com.au. Payment options include VISA/Mastercard or EFT (1.5% surcharge for credit card payment). Deadline is Monday 11am, prior to Wednesday’s publication. Minimum $5 charge per week. We do not accept classifieds over the phone - sorry. BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 50
Acts wanted for Sunday rock shows Contact: mark@gunnmusic.com.au Bands/Duos/Solo acts wanted for Acoustic/Indie Fest Contact: mark@gunnmusic.com.au
MODELING. We’re looking for confident women of all styles (aged 18+) for our pro-feminist photographic projects with an emphasis on style and creativity. Nude/undies, paying $100 to $500 per shoot. Don’t overlook this until you’ve found out more about it. Rebecca ph.9495 6555
Rock/Metal acts wanted for local rock shows Contact: mark@gunnmusic.com.au B E AT.C O M . A U
MISSING: Where am I?
Thursday 21st @ 7.30pm
THE WRITERS BLOCK #11
Craig Horne, Little Foot, Monica Weightman, David Holmes,Helen Begley, Frank Jones, Matthew Arnold Friday 22nd @ 9.30pm
TANK DILEMMA (Chunky funky) Saturday 23rd @ 9.30pm
MONIQUE BRUMBY BAND + STEVE SAXTON & THE GENTLEMEN (Urban roots) Sunday 24th @ 5.00pm
‘THAI ELEPHANT BENEFIT’
The Apparitions, Wolf Parker Project, Brunswick Old-Timey Orchestra, The Black Kites ($15/$10)
Sunday 24th @ 9.00pm
THE STEVE MARTINS (Soul-surfers) Tuesday 26th @ 8.00pm
IRISH SESSION (Fancy fiddlin’)
ALL GIGS ARE FREE EXCELLENT RESTAURANT & BAR MEALS
225 NICHOLSON STREET, BRUNSWICK EAST. PH 9380 1752
WEDNESDAY 20TH 7PM
ESSENTIAL MISC WITH MAXWELL & GUESTS
THURSDAY 21ST 7PM
JUNGLE FUNK
RESIDENT MANCHILD WITH SPECIALS GUEST AFROBEAT, CUMBIA, FUNK, SAMBA & LIVE PERCUSSIONS
FRIDAY 22ND 7PM
ELBOW GREASE
LEFT EAR RECORDS CHRIS BONATO & GORDY ZOLA
SATURDAY 23RD 7PM
GENTLE PERSUASION WUSH & WINTERS SUNDAY 24TH 12PM
ETHIOPIAN POP-UP W ESESE LIVE JAM BAND EASTERN EUROPEAN STREET FOOD NOON UNTIL 9PM SUN - THUR. A LITTLE LATER FRI & SAT
Wed 20th January
W i n e , W h i s k e y, W o m e n
Essie Thomas 9pm: Lucy Travis Thurs 21st January 7PM: Open Mic Night 8pm:
Fri 22nd January
6pm:
Traditional Irish Session
Heymus Sat 23rd January 9pm: Mark Campbell & The Ravens Sun 24th January 4pm: Alex Burns 8:30pm:
6:30pm:
Harry Jakamarra Tuesdays
weekly trivia The Drunken Poet, 65 Peel Street (directly opposite Queen Vic Market), Phone: 03 9348 9797. www.thedrunkenpoet.com.au
POSITION VACANT:
SENIOR SALES PERSON Eastgate Music is a leading retailer of acoustic and electric guitars and the latest musical equipment. We are seeking a highly motivated guitarist to work as a senior sales person in our new agship store in Kew. Essential requirements include a happy, happ bright personality, exceptional people skills. Proven abilities as a guitarist are mandatory, as is previous sales experience. A remuneration package commensurate with experience and ability will be offered to the successful candidates. Full time position including weekend work. Please send your application and CV to careers@eastgatemusic.com
REHEARSAL STUDIOS
threephasemusic.com Weeknight rates from $65
8 Tinning St, Brunswick
PA HIRE Mastering for CD, Vinyl & Online Releases
thecabinmastering.com Ph-0408 565 121
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
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LEGION PARTNERS WITH GIGGEDIN The inaugural national hard rock Legion festival has partnered with crowdsourcing platform GiggedIn to give more Aussie acts a chance to get on the bill. Legion founder John Sankey said, “We made a commitment to support local bands and the local industry and we meant it.” Bands submit a song, a music video link, a short bio and a photo to www.giggedin.com/ legion-music-fest by Thursday March 3. A judging panel made up of Sankey, Legion organisers, record label execs, producers and music media choose the final six in each state. Public vote decides the winners. “We turn to the fans for all major decision making, so why should this be any different?” declared Sankey. Pledges at: www.pozible.com/legionmusicfest. More info at www. legionmusicfest.com
INERTIA CALLS OUT MELBOURNE’S BEN ABRAHAM Inertia Music inked Melbourne folk singer Ben Abraham and will re-release his impressive 2014 album Sirens on Friday March 4. The record includes Gotye (who says, “When Ben sings, I listen”), Gossling, Tim Shiel, Ryan Meeking, Lawrence Folvig, and Grammy-winning Sara Bareilles with whom he toured. The son of Indonesian ‘70s pop stars, Abraham left school wanting to be a filmmaker and at 22 picked up the guitar.
OTHER NEW SIGNINGS On the eve of dropping their second album Bloom and a US tour, Rüfüs scored a US record deal with Foreign Family Collective. The label only issues singles but decided on the whole album as “It’s one of the best albums we’ve come across in the last decade.” Rüfüs are known as Rüfüs Du Sol in America. Ministry of Sound Australia imprint Hussle Recordings struck a deal with Universal Music Sweden to expand its music through Europe. In the past two years, Hussle sold three quarters of a BEAT MAGAZINE PAGE 54
Hopeless/Unified signed Sydney alt-rock band With Confidence, who are touring with Neck Deep and State Champs and have a new single We’ll Be Okay.
THINGS WE HEAR Which drummer confessed to this column that he didn’t really enjoy his band’s biggest gig to date? Two songs in, he hit his eye with a drum stick and spent the rest of the show trying to focus while his eye swelled. Which festival worker ended up in hospital with burns on their face? Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers got a David Bowie tattoo in tribute. In the wake of the Starman’s return to space, there were 100 million Facebook interactions by 35 million people in the first 12 hours, his plays on Spotify spiked 2,700%, and 14 albums rushed back into the UK charts and 19 into the Australia Top 150. Sarah Blasko did a stunning version of Life On Mars for triple j’s Like A Version segment, tweeting “Really thrilled to be doing this in Bowie’s honour”. SXSW founder Roland Swenson and a friend sneaked out with paint to Bowie Street in Austin, Texas, and changed it to David Bowie Street. Metallica blubbered apologies to Canadian tribute band Sandman who got a cease and desist letter from them for infringing their copyright. The band say it was sent out without their knowledge by an “overzealous attorney.” Out next month is George Matzkov’s book Way Out West, which looks at Perth’s alt-rock scene between 1976-1989. It comes with a CD of tracks from that era. The Ghost Inside’s drummer Andrew Tkaczyk has revealed he lost his right leg in the fatal bus crash in El Paso, Texas, in which both drivers died, and which also sent singer Jonathan Vigil and guitarist Zach Johnson to hospital. Latest Aussie certifications: the Molly soundtrack from the tele-series about Molly Meldrum has gone gold while The 12th Man’s The Very Best of Richie hit platinum. ( Just for the record, Adele’s 25 has now hit 8x platinum in Oz). On the singles front, Troye Sivan’s Wild is platinum and both Guy Sebastian’s Black & Blue and Hilltop Hoods feat. James Chatburn’s Higher are both gold. The 18th Red Bull Music Academy will be held in autumn in Montreal, Canada for 70 participants. Applications can be downloaded from the Academy website and mailed in by Monday March 7 with a CD of recorded material. Food and Beverage Magazine “officially” renamed Jack Daniels and Coke “The Lemmy” in tribute to the late Motorhead leader. The renaming came after a Change. org petition got 40,000 signatures. Blues rocker Dallas Frasca plans to spend more time in the desert hanging with communities to learn more about
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The Josh Pyke Partnership, set up with APRA, is back for a third year. It offers $7500 for an emerging musician to kickstart their career, a business plan, mentorship by Pyke, and a meeting with manager Gregg Donovan (Wonderlick Entertainment) and booking agent Stephen Wade (Select Music). “There’s so much great music being made and it’s always a challenging thing when you’re starting out, so it’s great to know that with APRA’s help we are making a small difference,” said Pyke. Apply by March 31 at www.joshpyke.com/ projects/jp-partnership. Last year’s winner Gordi went on to great things.
Inertia signed Sydney’s Tigertown (new EP Lonely Cities out on February 5, includes new single Bullet From The Gun) and Perth’s Fait (Elise Higgins) whose 2014 debut EP Atmosphere got one million Spotify plays.
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JOSH PYKE PARTNERSHIP BACK FOR THIRD YEAR
Sydney folktronica singer/songwriter Gordi is now represented in the UK and Europe by Coda Agency and in the US by Billions.
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A University of WA study found that being engaged in the arts – including going to concerts and listening to music – for at least two hours a week is good for mental well being. “Arts engagement increases happiness, confidence, self-esteem and reduces stress and social isolation,” said Dr Christina Davies who led the study as part of her Healthy Arts PhD. “It results in the creation of good memories and has an impact on a person’s knowledge and skills. People need to give themselves permission to be creative and to make time for the arts activities and events that they enjoy.” The study was published in BMC Public Health.
million singles in Australia. These included Timmy Trumpet and Savage’s Freaks (5x platinum), Joel Fletcher and Savage’s Swing (4x platinum) and Will Sparks’ Ah Yeah So What (platinum).
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MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP WA STUDY: ARTS, MUSIC, GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH
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indigenous culture. She also plans to build on 2015 during which she toured Europe and Australia, the Love Army album expanded her following, Success Is The Best Revenge got played on reality TV show Bondi Ink, the You Are Beautiful video got 250,000 YouTube views, and she cracked her skull crowd surfing at the Big Pineapple festival in Queensland. BATTS, the electronic duo which was formed via SoundCloud by Australianbased Tanya Batt and UK based producer/ instrumentalist Alisdair Mason, make their live debut and their Australian farewell at the Shadow Electric Bandroom this Friday January 22. Batt is relocating to the UK.
VENUES #1: BIRD’S BASEMENT Melbourne gets a version of New York’s Birdland jazz club on March 1. Called Bird’s Basement, it is at 11 Singers Lane in the City and was set up by jazz musician and festival director Albert Dadon AM. Opening act is Ravi Coltrane (son of the US jazz pioneer) who plays there from Tuesday March 1 to Sunday March 6. Serviced by a full scale Italian restaurant headed by chef Luigi Buono, Bird’s Basement offers dinner and a show experience with Dinner concerts from 6pm and Supper concerts from 9.30pm.
VENUES #2: GRANDVIEW The Grandview Hotel on Heidelberg Rd in Fairfield launched live music on the weekend. It’s booking acts like Andy White, Caroline No, Kerri Simpson, Suzannah Espie, Barb Waters, Allison Ferrier, Neil Murray and Charles Jenkins. More info at thegrandview.com.au.
BOOMERANG GETS MORE SUPPORT Byron Shire’s mayor Simon Richardson joined Archie Roach, Paul Kelly and Troy Brady as a Friend of Boomerang, doing a video of support. The fest, which celebrates indigenous culture with all Australians at the Bluesfest site, is crowd funding with a week to go. Check it at www.indiegogo. com/projects/boomerang-indigenous-artsculture-festival/x/12646133#/.
BARNETT, IMPALA, UP FOR BRIT AWARDS Courtney Barnett and Tame Impala, already nominated for the Grammys, are among nominees for the prestigious BRIT awards, held in London on February 24. Barnett is up for International Female Solo Artist against Björk, Ariana Grande, Meghan Trainor and Lana Del Rey. Impala are in the International Group category against U2, Eagles of Death Metal, Major Lazer and Alabama Shakes. Leading the noms (four each) are Adele, James Bay and Years & Years.
DEADLINE FOR ARTS AND DISABILITY FUNDING The Australia Council for the Arts is calling for application for funding for artists with disability by February 2. It provides up to $25,000 for development and up to $50,000 for projects involving individuals and groups. This is the second of a three year initiative after a successful trial in 2014. Last year 15 projects shared $300,000. Go to www.australiacouncil.gov. au.
DONATE TO ROADIES FUND Since 2012, the Australian Road Crew Association (ARCA) has been working to MUSIC INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
S tu f f f or this co l umn to be emai l ed to ce l iezer @ netspace . net . au by Friday 5 pm
help roadies in crisis. The work is physically hard, hours are lonely, pay rate low, income sporadic, and few have provision for ill health or retirement. No wonder roadies have nine times more suicidal thoughts than the rest of the community. Support Act Ltd has stepped in and will deliver a crisis relief service through its infrastructure. It will also provide a tax deductible receipt for anyone donating $2 or more to the Roadies Fund. Donations can be made online at www.supportact.org.au/givehelp and by writing “ROADIE” in the donation field.
20 MORE AUSSIES SHOWCASING AT SXSW 20 more Aussies are set to showcase at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas, in March. Of 550 artists named in its third round, from Victoria were Stonefield, Harts, Mr. Rogers, Pretty City, WILSN and D.D. Dumbo. From Sydney were DMA’s, Gang of Youths, Wave Racer, Big White, Spookyland, Tigertown, Cosmo’s Midnight, Vallis Alps, Kita Alexander and Julia Jacklin. From Brisbane are DZ Deathrays, 8 Ball Aitken and Scraps, with Matt Gresham from Fremantle.
NEW APPOINTMENTS The Australasian Music Publishers’ Association (AMPAL)’s new GM is Sydney lawyer Matthew O’Sullivan. Unified hired Blunt magazine editor Amy Simmons as its new full time publicist. Former Sony Music and Nine Sydney publicist Cathrine Mahoney has joined Nova 96.9 as senior publicist.
APPLE MUSIC GAINS ON SPOTIFY, HITS 10M SUBS Apple Music is gaining on Spotify. It signed ten million paid subscribers globally in its first six months, a figure which main rival Spotify reached after six years. At its current growth, Apple Music has “the potential to be the leading music subscription service sometime in 2017,” analyst Mark Mulligan told The Financial Times. Spotify hit 20 million last June and probably 25 million now.
JACOB BOEHME JOINS INDIGENOUS FESTIVAL Melbourne-based dancer, choreographer, puppeteer and playwright Jacob Boehme is the new Creative Director of the 2017 Melbourne Indigenous Arts Festival. “I look forward to working with our communities to showcase Victorian Koori culture and to share a thriving, vibrant and diverse artistic community with the people and streets of Melbourne,” said the descendant of SA’s Narangga and Kaurna nations who has worked with remote and rural Aboriginal communities for over 20 years. He is an associate producer at ILBIJERRI Theatre Company and artistic director of Melbourne Festival’s Opening Ceremony, Tanderrum.
MELBOURNE CAMPUS EXPANSION UNVEILED SAE Creative Media Institute unveils its $5 million Melbourne campus expansion at a public open day on Saturday Jan 30 at 235 Normanby Road, South Melbourne between 10am – 2pm. Aspiring audio engineers, filmmakers, animators, gamers, designers, photographers and other creatives are invited to tour the campus, meet staff, see student demonstrations, attend master classes with industry experts and be entertained by DJs. See www.sae. edu.au/events for more info. Lee Aitken, GM of SAE Australia, said the facility had recording studios, a 360 square feet
Lifelines Born: Son Bowie to Take That’s Howard Donald and wife Katie, who gave birth two days after David Bowie’s death. Hospitalised: Colin Vearncombe, the voice behind Black, in a coma with a serious head injury after a car accident in Ireland. Injured: WAU Management Sydney manager Julian Marshall was bringing some ARIA trophies for its Melbourne acts like Northlane. While awaiting a cab at Tulla airport, the box broke, the pointy-headed ARIAs fell on his feet and one pierced his leg. Ill: NSW singer/songwriter Timothy Bowen, 25, is battling lymphoma. Injured: Sydney keyboardist and fiddle player Clare O’Meara broke her ankle after falling down the stairs at home when sleepwalking. She’s still performing with Beccy Cole and The Bushwackers at the Tamworth country music festival. Charged: A 31-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, with accessory to the fact, over the murder of former Sydney DJ Donovan Mileham at a Kent Street hotel on November 17. Fairfax reported that another man, Hasan Fazliliar, 30, was arrested and charged late last year in relation to the murder. Jailed: a Lana Del Rey stalker after breaking into her home and posting pictures on social media. In Court: Californian band Avenged Sevenfold are suing Warner Bros Records to get out of their sixalbum contract after four albums. They say that after changes at the label, they are hardly in a “nodding relationship” with staff. Warner has counter-sued, saying it already invested money into their future recordings. Died: Giorgio Gomelsky, 81, blues enthusiast who booked The Rolling Stones’ first gigs (at his London club the Crawdaddy, the first before three people) and managed The Yardbirds, before moving to New York, where he opened up his home as a performance space for experimental musicians. Died: Celine Dion’s husband and manager René Angélil, 73, from throat cancer two days before her elder brother Daniel also died of the disease.
sound stage “where students can build fullsize film sets”, post-production studios, Wacom tablets for design and animation and Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets for 3D gaming.