33 minute read

Chapel Sessions, TAMS/N OTWAY Italo Disco 30, CLAMM 32, Album

from Beat 1700

by Furst Media

from Beat 1700, page 24

Arts Guide 18, Alter State 20,...

TAMS/N OTWAY

Words by Christine Lan

Melbourne indie/alt-pop singer-songwriter TAMS/N OTWAY is creating her own narrative.

It’s an impassioned and liberating narrative that flows through the creative outlets that helped her in the darkest of times. Those times when life’s most challenging experiences lead to the most significant revelations and self-discoveries.

“I had a mental breakdown,” says TAMS/N. “I didn’t know who I was – I’d been in a couple of really terrible situations and abusive relationships, which just led to a lot of self-worth issues. Somewhere along the way I’d lost my voice, when I realised it was always there, just in my songs. “I only ever wrote songs just for myself in my bedroom and they were never for anyone, and then I just chose to start doing it live and singing them at little cabaret places that I found – people really liked them and I felt like they were really genuine with their response. “Music helps me change my narrative, especially because it’s my art, my songwriting and my words. It just feels really authentic to me. It makes me feel very powerful.”

Sonically, TAMS/N’s music traverses alternative, retro, dream and cinematic pop spaces as she moves from playful, gleaming and anthemic to raw, vulnerable and haunting. Since the release of the single ‘So Sad’ in 2019, TAMS/N has released her 2020 EP Sin and a string of catchy and unique singles, including ‘Fallen Angel’ (2020), ‘You, I’m Alright’ (2021), ‘Audacity’ (2021), ‘Love Me Always’ (2022) and her new single ‘Lonely’.

The line ‘don’t you call me when you’re lonely’ in ‘Lonely’ refers to leaving a toxic situation and not allowing it to return, which she believes can be attributed to various scenarios. Bold and fearless, TAMS/N sings tales of struggle, heartbreak and toxicity with honesty, charisma and empowerment.

“The world can be difficult and life can be really hard, so we’re all just trying to find ways to connect and music’s such a great way to do that. Getting feedback from people who have listened to my music is probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced. If I connect with one person, it really means the world to me.”

‘Lonely’ is out now. This article was made in partnership with TAMS/N OTWAY.

Credit Marcus Coblyn

CHAPEL SESSIONS

Words by Sidonie Bird de la Coeur

With its stained glass windows and chapel facade, the unique and iconic Chapel Off Chapel is hosting a series of intimate and stripped-back gigs this October.

These Chapel Sessions present an array of exciting and diverse artists, with a lineup of killer gigs that includes acclaimed soul and R&B singer THNDO performing on October 6, and fast-rising indie singer-songwriter Graace on October 8.

A powerhouse of soul and R&B, THNDO will bring her signature powerful lyricism, rich vocals and smooth backing instrumentation to the stage at Chapel Off Chapel on October 6. Wowing audiences at numerous festival appearances across Bluesfest, WOMADelaide, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Groovin the Moo, the jazz and soul singer is known for her spellbinding stage persona as well as her powerful jazz and soul vocals.

With her latest record Life in Colour confronting complex social issues such as white supremacy, displacement and global perceptions of Blackness, her persona on stage is as bold and as powerful as the music that she makes. One of Australia’s fastest-rising indie pop artists Graace is appearing for an impassioned show on October 8. She’s known for bringing her vulnerable and passionate vocals to Hayden James’ beloved single ‘Numb’, which she co-wrote. With the single reaching certified-platinum status in Australia, the indie singer-songwriter from Sydney burst onto the Australian music scene and hasn’t looked back since.

Having joined the likes of Flight Facilities on their Return Flight tour of Australia and the United States, she’s no stranger to the Australian live performance scene. In the same year as her tour with the electronic music legends, she released her debut single ‘Kissing Boys’, followed up a few months later by ‘Last Night’. With her latest EP Self Preservation characterising some of her boldest work to date, she’s set to perform an incredible show at Chapel Off Chapel.

These stripped-back and uniquely intimate events are presented as a part of On The Road Again - a Victorian government initiative that aims to bring live music back across the state.

Catch THNDO on October 6 and Graace on October 8 at Chapel Off Chapel at 12 Little Chapel Street, Prahran. This article was made in partnership with Chapel Off Chapel.

ITALO DISCO

Breezy rhythms, addictive beats, cheesy vocals…and a damn good time. Words by Alexia Petsinis

Italo-Disco – a broad genre fusing boogie, disco and jazz-funk sounds that defined Italian popular music in the 70s and 80s – is experiencing something of a renaissance in Melbourne, of all places. In the hands of a few creative masterminds who are putting their own fresh spin on the genre, these feel-good tunes are uniting crowds from all cultures across some of the city’s most-visited bars and nightspots. The best part? You don’t even need to be Italian to become completely intoxicated by the audible zest of these tunes. If you’ve never heard of Pino D’Angio – Okay Okay – no problemo. You only have to hear his songs once during a night out, and they’ll probably be stuck in your head for a lifetime. Luca Muscato, one of the creative directors of multicultural music community, DiscoMediterranea, says that Melbourne’s cultural diversity and long-standing fascination with records from all over the world explains why folks can’t get enough of Italo-Disco. “We have found very fertile ground in Melbourne, and we’ve seen great numbers at our events,” says Muscato. “When we fill up the room with a crowd who are all on their feet dancing, we are recreating a party atmosphere that has been going on for generations in our families. The essence of what we do is very simple: provide catchy beats that make people feel like they are part of something bigger, something that unites us all.” If the turnout at Disco Mediterranea’s recent events is anything to go by, these sounds are speaking to people from all walks of life in Melbourne. The group has scored residencies at Whitehart Bar, Section 8 and Runner Up Rooftop (Collingwood Yards), as well as collaborations with guest DJs including DJ NETT and Mike Gurrieri. George Hysteric, DJ and founder of Mothball Records, is another Melbournebased Italo-Disco guru who has observed the recent popularity of the music genre across the city. While Hysteric has been mixing tracks from the genre for years in his sets, he says a new and culturally intuitive generation of fans in Melbourne want to hear more, packing out the dancefloor well before midnight. In addition, Melbourne hospitality institutions like Italian wine bar Joanie’s Baretto in Thornbury continue to run Italo-Disco-themed evenings by popular demand, including their recent sell-out event Discoteca Grande, which people are still talking about around town. “When I first got into Italo-Disco music about 20 years ago, people I knew in Melbourne were quite dismissive of the genre,” Hysteric says. “They wrote it off as cheesy, as the kinds of sounds people shouldn’t be proud of. But now, these same songs get an entire room on their feet, particularly Funk-Italo tunes that have a familiar beat people can groove along to.”

As Muscato adds, the genre has a highly immersive quality, striking a chord in people’s imagination. Its distinct characteristics include lush, cinematic sounds that transport people to the Mediterranean coastline, a sultry palazzo party after dark, or a slow afternoon under a Sicilian lemon tree: “Dreamy sax and lazy guitars set the tone for a carefree mood. Of course, disco is at the core of this genre, and the origin of disco music is founded on freedom, inclusion, and happiness. It’s feel-good music,” he says. Italo-Disco – as both a music and visual cultural genre – has even inspired some of Melbourne’s most effervescent acts, working at the intersection of performance art and music. It seems to come down to one word: escapism. Performance artist DJ Tanzer’s latest album Disco Automatic draws on the genre’s inimitable sounds and production qualities, which are visually referenced in the scintillating costumes, styling, and dazzling effects of her recent music videos, transporting the viewer to a surreal, alternate reality of sequins and synthesisers. Performance art duo The Huxleys (who also star in several of Tanzer’s music videos, including ‘Destination Love’) also reference Italo-Disco as an ongoing source of cultural and stylistic inspiration for their escapist wizardry.

As Melburnians continue to discover, Italo-Disco has a remarkable ability to loosen up the neck and shoulders, to make a bad day evaporate, and even, to help you cryptically profess your love for someone in a foreign language on the dancefloor (grazie, Google Translate).

We’re talking about the kind of music that makes the spirit fly free, especially after a negroni or three. As Ornella Vanoni sings in her 80s hit ‘Ti Voglio’: Tu mi fai volare / Quando sto da te / So anch’io volare…

Follow @discomediterranea on Instagram for the latest Italo-Disco events happening in Melbourne.

CLAMM

Melbourne punk-rock trio CLAMM have just dropped their highly anticipated sophomore album Care. Words by Coco Veldkamp

Credit Gen Kay

The band’s debut album Beseech Me saw them gain a dedicated fanbase in the underground community and sign with UK record label Meat Machine (in Australia / USA, they’re with Chapter). Now, frontman and guitarist Jack Summers, drummer Miles Harding and bassist Maisie Everett return bigger, louder and stronger than ever. With a bigger production team than CLAMM has ever seen before, Care has an elevated edge. The 15-track LP delivers feedback-laden fiery riffs, driving basslines and a gritty relentlessness that underscores themes of discontent, antagonism and confusion.

“Care is a mix of a commentary on systems of power and politics and what it’s like to experience those things on a personal level. It’s about younger people who don’t necessarily fit into the mould of society and are not content with working standard jobs for their entire lives. I think a lot of people kind of share those sentiments,” Summers says.

“This album’s a bigger production. We have Anna Gordon playing sax on some of the songs. She came in for a session and belted some stuff out that really added to our music. We also ask Nao Anzai, who has recorded both of our albums, to add some noise on the synths which was awesome”. The success of their debut came as a surprise to CLAMM, with Beseech Me a Triple R and FBI Radio feature album, winning 2021 awards from Spin, Bandcamp, Daily and KEXP. Summers says it wasn’t what they were expecting. “Seeing our debut do so well has been wild. Hearing it being played on the radio so much is all we could ever have hoped for. It was so huge for us and we seriously didn’t expect it. “When people resonated with Beseech Me and we reflected on the songs and the lyrics and what we were doing it was kind of like ‘oh shit – people responded to it.’” Armed with newfound confidence, CLAMM got to work on their second album. However, like countless other underground acts, the effects of the Covid pandemic hit hard.

“The hardest thing has been the Covid situation. It upset the rhythm of how things might have progressed otherwise,” Summers continues. “Our recording sessions were drawn out and our UK/EU tour was pushed back. Staying positive and persistent was hard.” After the release of Care, the trio finally embarked on their EU/UK tour - their international debut - playing 12 gigs across the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France and Belgium.

“I am losing my mind I am so nervous and so excited,” Summers says. “It’s a cliché I know but I couldn’t have dreamed of this happening… it’s crazy. I’m nervous just thinking about it, to be honest.

“Just before Covid we were talking about a European tour and now it’s finally happening. It kind of feels like we have just pressed the play button again after two years”. Summers and Harding started CLAMM in 2019, but it could be said the foundations for the band were being laid years earlier, growing up in Melbourne’s southeast suburbs. “When I was a kid my mum was really into heavy rock music and metal, and in my late teens, I started listening to her CDs like Jack White and Soundgarden. Miles and I had known each other since we were kids. When we were in primary school for a project, we made a song about saving the squirrel monkeys. Miles’s dad is a musician, so we made it in his recording studio… so technically we have been recording music together since we were seven or eight.

“Miles’ brother started a band and we’d sneak into their gigs. When we saw this thriving live music scene, we kind of went ‘wow…maybe we could do this.’”

“Then my mum bought me a guitar when I was 15 or 16 – a Fender Stratocaster. It’s a crap one but I love it and I haven’t been able to swap it out for anything since”. Shortly after Beseech Me was released, Everett came into the picture. CLAMM’s previous bass player Luke Scott had left the group to go to school in Poland, and when Summers and Harding saw Everett’s other band, the Belair Lip Bombs, playing a local gig the trio got chatting. Before long Everett was crucial to CLAMM’s noise-rock sound. “With Maisie in the group, it just felt right,” Summers adds. “She learnt our songs so quickly and now she has played so many gigs with us. She’s an incredible musician and in this album, it’s been awesome to have her be a part of it and to get her voice.

Care is out now via Chapter Music. Catch them at the Corner Hotel on Saturday, October 15 and at Meredith Music Festival from December 9 - 11.

Marlon Williams

MY BOY

Album Reviews by Bryget Chrisfield

My Boy’s title track – Marlon Williams’ first new solo music since the release of his breakup album Make Way For Love (2018) – should come with a warning. Beware: this song’s joyous, wordless, “doo-doo-doo, doo, doo, doo” chorus will become permanently lodged in your internal jukebox after just one listen. Built from a Māori folk strum, ‘My Boy’ sounds like sun glitter and blissful abandon. Perfect in its simplicity and catchy AF, it’s our biggest song crush of the year to date – we’re officially obsessed! The world seems more vibrant with each repeat spin. Produced by Tiny Ruins guitarist Tom Healy at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios in Auckland, My Boy also features Finn’s son,

and Crowded House bandmate, Elroy on drums and percussion. The only member of Williams’ long-time backing band, The Yarra Benders, to grace Boy’s liner notes is Dave Kahn and the excitement of the new filters through his third solo record. Once Covid the fun sponge basically pressed pause on life, Williams found himself back home in New Zealand reconnecting with friends, family and his roots. Māori phrases are peppered throughout a couple of My Boy’s songs, including latest single ‘Easy Does It’ – resplendent with Delaney Davidson’s lap steel – which opens thusly: “Ngã mihi to your friends when they stop calling.”

In danceable standout track ‘Don’t Go Back’ (“…to the party everybody thinks they know you”) – which could be a companion piece for ‘Party Boy’ from his previous Make Way For Love set – Williams references the cry of New Zealand’s native owl, the ruru (“Tērā te tangi a te ruru!”).

‘Morning Crystals’ is a hoot, with its “Hey! Hey!” gang vocals evoking Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Then Williams is suddenly possessed by the spirit of Elvis (“Somebody help me”) during this song’s quirky bridge.

Elsewhere: ‘River Rival’ addresses the political divisiveness of vaccines; the ‘80s-referencing ‘Thinking Of Nina’, during which Williams channels Bryan Ferry, was inspired by the Cold War drama The Americans; and the descending vocal lines throughout penultimate track ‘Trips’ are crestfallen beyond belief. Show-stopping closer ‘Promises’ – a Barry Gibb-penned Barbra Streisand cover, resplendent with stately piano and Bee Gees-esque harmonies – is the perfect vehicle for showcasing Williams’ astonishing interpretative ability.

Williams has admitted he loves to “blindside people with upsetting mood shifts” during live performances and hoped to recreate some of this unpredictability on My Boy – success! It’s impossible to anticipate his next move, which is riveting from a fan’s perspective. But one thing’s for certain, Williams never disappoints.

Label: Virgin Music Australia Release date: 9 September

Big Scary Me And You

Tom Iansek and Jo Syme pressed pause on Big Scary to focus on other musical/record label projects for a while. Reconvening in 2019, they pondered, “What is Big Scary?” And Iansek proposed, “It is the music made by me and you.”

Me And You, their fifth LP, sees Big Scary bringing intimate recollections to life, sometimes charting the course of a burgeoning relationship – from heady infatuation to disillusionment then commitment – within a single song (‘Devotion’).

The intoxicating waltz rhythm of opener ‘F.A.’ evokes Kate Bush’s ‘Army Dreamers’. “I’m melting away as you rush through your morning/ Forget our sweet nothings/ Alone in your kitchen/ Denying me is your daily ritual/ Coffee and crumbs and a coating of lipstick...” – delivered in delicious, cooing unison by Iansek and Syme, enthralling lyrics give voice to innermost thoughts.

The melancholy, piano-led ‘In My View’ channels Coldplay’s ‘Trouble’: “Must be hard for you/ Living in my view.” For ‘Real Love’, instrumentation swells to incorporate a choir, strings and horns before a whistling refrain completes the hopeful picture: “This could feel like real love.” “Standing with my dick in my hand/ I’m let down/ Now I’m just alone” – ‘Goodbye Earle Street’, during which glockenspiel masterfully echoes the grand piano melody, navigates confusion and heartbreak.

Big Scary somehow capture the beauty, fragility and sorrow of humanity through their songwriting. An all-encompassing, sometimes-tearful listening experience. Headphones recommended.

Label: Pieater/Inertia Release date: 23 September

Sampa The Great As Above, So Below

As Above, So Below is the truest expression of her art to date, according to Sampa Tembo (aka The Great). Co-produced by Sampa alongside Zambian producer Mag44 – whose music she admired as a child – the album was recorded in Zambia during the pandemic.

“Who did music/ Made that shit language/ African branded/ We did (never forget)…” – ‘Never Forget’ (feat. Chef 187, Sampa’s cousin Tio Nason and lil’ sis Mwanjé) pays tribute to Zamrock, a genre with ‘70s origins that combined traditional African music with psychedelic rock, and showcases Sampa’s gruff timbre and trademark percussive flow to perfection. Inventive rhyming elevates ‘Lane’ (feat. Denzel Curry) – “Thinkin’ you’re Geppetto/ Pullin’ strings, you ain’t get the memo/ You know that I’m walkin’ through the meadow…” – a song about giving yourself permission to show your full range as a human being.

After clocking Sampa’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert, Angélique Kidjo reached out to request a collab: Sampa features on Kidjo’s ‘Free & Equal’ and now the fivetime Grammy Award-winning Beninese trailblazer returns the feat. favour on this album’s ebullient, brass-infused closer, ‘Let Me Be Great’.

Sampa envisioned ‘An Afro Future’ (“seeing people who look like me on stage”). Then she assembled a history-making, 15-piece all-Zambian backing band for touring purposes – bringing her vision to life and empowering others.

“You will remember the name/ Sampa The Great is the greatest” – ‘Never Forget’

Label: Lorna Vista Recordings Release date: 9 September

Ruby Gill I’m gonna die with this frown on my face

You can’t help but smile while looking at the adorbs photo of baby Ruby that graces the cover of her debut album, perfectly illustrating its title.

Johannesburg-born, Melbournebased songwriter Ruby Gill has said that Mary Oliver and Leonard Cohen “taught [her] about words” and the opening title track’s opening lines immediately demonstrate her knack for verbalising internal conflict: “I’ve got one request, it’s simple/ Please don’t let the people in/ I am nursing an intolerance for social interaction.” Striking standout track ‘Anchor’ – with its syncopated drum beats, feedback squall, foreboding guitar lines and intensifying vocal harmonies – tunes into Radiohead’s frequency.

“I just wanna know/ When I can hug my mum/ My stepfather is getting old/ And someone’s bullying his son/ And I can’t help…” – ouch, my heart! Gill wrote ‘Borderlines’ – an ode to the Australian government’s “bureaucratic nonsense” – while here on a temporary bridging visa.

Whether she’s singing about ‘public panic attacks’, arguing about driving directions (‘In time with the engine turning over’) or pondering “Why are you making me dinner?/ Why am I still here?” following a trip to an ex-boyfriend’s house to collect her things (‘All the birds under the Westgate’), Gill’s delivery switches from sweet-sounding to cracking with raw emotion on a dime.

A classically trained pianist and self-confessed Missy Higgins tragic, Gill’s vocal tone and devastatingly beautiful, wistful melodies are testament to her fandom. The Baudelaires TiLT

Layered, fuzz-drenched guitars, distortion aplenty, powerful-but-measured drumming and distant vocals, which act more like an additional instrument than deliverer of messages – The Baudelaires are psychedelic, man! And we can certainly imagine tripped-out punters at their gigs, in the zone and quite possibly decoding secret communication while immersed in these hypnotic, sprawling arrangements.

The Baudelaires’ ‘Roller Vaseline’ was born from an attempt at writing a song in the style of their former tourmates, Italy’s New Candys – band bromance alert! But the Melbourne-based quartet’s latest single soon morphed into an entirely different beast, according to The Baudelaires frontman Grischa Zahren-Bergner, especially the“Hawaiian-esque bridge” inspired by New Candys lead vocalist Fernando Nuti “nailing his first ever surf at Bermagui beach” during their Australian tour.

Built from a stop-starty riff that channels Silverchair’s ‘Freak’, lead single ‘Parasol’ shimmies with tambourine accents. “If I could keep it turning, ‘til I feel nothing” – The Baudelaires wrote this one about some post-show hijinks in Belgium, including that time they latched onto a gambling addict who was hogging a roulette table.

Closing track ‘Solid Rock’ struts along nonchalantly until an instrumental freakout invades around the three-minute mark. The song then exponentially quickens in pace – the lunatics taking over the asylum – there’s a brief pause, then The Baudelaires lock back into their original groove (show-offs!) to close.

Label: Cheersquad Records Release date: 2 September

Section 8

LIVE MUSIC every night of the week, thanks to some of Melbourne’s most eclectic DJs and some choice underground acts from around the world. Better yet, entry is always free. FAMOUS FORits rather unorthodox nature. Who converts some old freight containers into a makeshift bar and parks them down a side street? There’s a good reason they call it Section 8, after all. INFAMOUS FOR the huge laneway parties that turn Tattersalls Lane into the heaving heart of the CBD. Always a highlight for Melbourne Music Week’s Live Music Safari. Section 8 is the term used by the US military to describe the discharge of a soldier on mental health grounds. If you remember the classic TV show M.A.S.H, you’ll know that Klinger was constantly trying to get out of Korea on a Section 8 clause.

It’s a perfect title for the venue, which sums up the best of modern Melbourne in a neat little package down one of our popular laneways. Entirely outdoors (with appropriate covering for those afternoon showers), it’s a mix of re-conditioned freight containers, wooden crates to sit on, DJs and tropical gardens around the periphery.

While the setting is all very casual and relaxed, Section 8 offer a proper cocktail menu. Sure, you can get yourself a frosty cold one (they stock boutique beers from around the world), but if you’re after something more elaborate they also offer mulled wine, rum and gin sours, a modern flip on the classic old fashioned and more. Don’t let the outdoor setting fool you, the staff know their cocktails and appreciate that even a simple vodka, lime and soda benefits from a little attention to detail. Already a Melbourne icon, Section 8 is the perfect example of why Melbourne has the best nightlife in Australia. It hasn’t come easy – their founder told us years back he’d spent over $50,000 defending noise complaints – but as any punter can tell you, it’s worth every cent.

Support the crazy yet loveable Section 8 by heading along to 27-29 Tattersalls Lane in Melbourne.

Northcote Social Club

LIVE MUSIC on High Street is at home at Northcote Social Club, which boasts some of the best local lineups in Melbourne. FAMOUS FORthe huge heated beer garden with a view, definitely one of the nicest watering holes in Northcote. INFAMOUS FOR the occasional epic secret gig (Pixies come to mind) or surprise party (Lady Gaga’s 4th of July bash) that take place at the old Social Club from time to time. The Northcote Social Club has been a pillar of live music in the north since 2005. The original venue, previously known as The Commercial Hotel, dated all the way back to 1854, supposedly born as a rough and ready refuge for teamsters and bullock drivers. That couldn’t be further from its modern iteration - sister venue to the iconic Corner Hotel, the bandroom hosts a diverse mix of genres, local talent as well as national and international touring artists of all genres. The venue’s ethos is centred on inclusion and community, focusing on providing a safe place for people from all backgrounds to enjoy music and socialise in a comfortable environment. In September, they’ll be hosting ex-Alpine singer Sappho, Peking Duk’s Keli Holiday, Kiwi roots-pop act Muroki, Melbourne’s avant-garde experimentalists Eggy, and Adelaide’s punk-pop indie darlings Teenage Joans, just to name a smattering.

In the leafy-green and natural-light filled beer garden, you can also tuck into their food menu, previously boasting Michelintrained chefs in their kitchen turning the dial up on traditional pub fare. A cursory glance reveals marinated olives, edamame and cheese croquettes and smoky miso baba ghanoush. If you work nearby, there’s also the express lunch deals (roast pork belly tonnato, sandwiches or soups) for a tidy $18.

Catch a gig at NSC this month by heading to 301 High Street in Northcote.

Yorkshire Stingo

The Night Cat

LIVE MUSIC is what The Night Cat is famous for, or should we say The Night Cat’s live music is what Fitzroy is famous for. The Night Cat is, without doubt, one of the best live music venues in Melbourne. FAMOUS FORthe central stage with a 360-degree viewing angle, allowing lucky punters to witness some of the best emerging and left-field acts from around the world, up close and personal. INFAMOUS FOR the eclectic lineups and even more diverse crowds. Don’t be surprised if a single weekend contains psychedelic trash-jazz, dark tech-house, post-Soviet hip hop, and a bachata and salsa dance class. What can this publication say about The Night Cat that we haven’t already said since it first opened back in 1996. It’s an institution that’s occupied a special place in our heart and often the last port of call on any successful night out northside.

Its major strength is the ability to attract uber-cool international acts and balance them with excellent Melbourne talent. In the space of a couple of weeks this month, The Night Cat will host the dancefloor-angled jazz of English multiinstrumentalist Emma-Jean Thackray, the alt-pop stylings of Kiwi group Yumi Zouma, Melbourne industrial group My Disco, and local psych-jazz fusion band Proto Moro.

It’s no surprise then, that the venue has played a major role in the formation of some of our best talent. The Cat Empire, The Bamboos, 30/70 all cut their teeth on the classic Meyer sound system.

The Night Cat host their popular late night Better Late sessions every Friday and Saturday from 11pm ‘til late, featuring the best DJs, as well as international and local headliners. Keeping us all on our toes, they’re also particularly famous for their salsa and bachata classes with live Latin bands every Sunday.

Check it all out for yourself, head to The Night Cat on 137-141 Johnston Street in Fitzroy. LIVE MUSIC every weekend, courtesy of Stingo Saturdays - dishing out some fine acoustic sets - and Stingo Blues on a Sunday, an afternoon of soulful bluesy goodness best paired with a Sunday roast, which all takes place in the venue’s fabulous beer garden. FAMOUS FOR the aforementioned roast, among other culinary delights. The Stingo is famed for its affordable, unpretentious menu with fantastic attention to detail. With nightly specials, you can take your pick. INFAMOUS FOR the Stingo’s famous Shit Pub Trivia, without doubt the shittest pub trivia in Melbourne. The trivia experts grace many Melbourne venues, but Monday night’s the perfect night for shit trivia and that’s when then they’re at the Stingo. Wednesday nights are for Stingo Bingo – self described “absolute madness” – which, if you’re lucky, features dance karate. You’ve been warned. 140 years young, The Yorkshire Stingo is an Abbotsford icon. A beautifully renovated example of the best of Melbourne pub architecture, the Yorkshire Stingo has been a northside pillar for as long as anyone can remember – it’s everything a great pub should be, and more. The Yorkshire Stingo takes its name, like many Melbourne pubs, from an English forefather built in the 18th century. The ‘Stingo’ aspect is antiquated slang for a strong ale that would literally sting the tongue. You’ll be happy to note it lives up to that namesake with a superb drinks menu; dark beers, porter, stout, Talisker single-malt scotch and a comprehensive wines list.

The real standout is still the food here though. There’s a really exciting mix of bona-fide classics, fresh takes on popular dishes, and entirely new and unusual creations. You’d be forgiven for being suspicious of nasi goreng or a Nepalese goat curry on a pub menu – at the Yorkshire Stingo, you’d be forgiven for ordering both.

With an old-school front bar, a casual dining room, a dog-friendly beer garden with a wall-length mural, arcade machines out the back, rave-reviewed musical bingo, expert trivia, and live music every Saturday and Sunday, this Abbotsford favourite has just about everything for everyone.

Credit Richard Clifford

CASH SAVAGE

Speaking over the phone from her Northcote home, Cash Savage warns there might be some noise from an ill-timed roof cleaner organised by body corporate. Savage has returned to the inner-city after moving to her hometown of Port Albert during the pandemic.

Words by Andrew Handley

“It was good for the first part,” she recalls of the experience at the coastal town three hours out of Melbourne, with a population of under 300 people. “It was like having a retirement in the middle of my life. I got to do a lot of fishing, tinkered in my shed and turned into a real old bloke.” As the leader of the seven-piece alt-country/post-punk group Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, it seems that Savage isn’t quite ready for retirement yet. “Eventually I got really fucking bored with that,” she says. “It was good when we naively thought [lockdown] was going to be a short period of time, but as the time went on it just got harder and harder.”

“They’d spent two days setting up, and we basically came in like Krusty the Clown [and] did one song to get the levels, and then we smashed it out for 40 minutes,” she laughs. “They were like ‘great, can you do that one more time?’ and we were like ‘nope, that’s the one.’

Not only did the lockdowns affect Savage’s mental health, but the trajectory of the band. “I guess when I was in it I hoped that it wouldn’t slow us down, given that everyone was in the same boat, but it has had an effect on momentum,” she explains. “It’s a very heavy object to get moving, and when it’s moving it’s easy to keep moving.

“People are reluctant to buy tickets, and I absolutely get that. It seems to be back to a walk-up crowd, which is nerve-wracking because it’s much more comfortable going to a show knowing how the tickets are selling. It seems to be across the board, so it’s hard to know if it’s a momentum shift or there’s a change in the way people interact with music.”

While having seven members in the band creates a powerful live sound, it can lead to complications. The band’s Melbourne Recital Centre show for October last year was moved once due to capacity restrictions, and then again as the band had unknowingly rehearsed with a band member with Covid days before the show. Another member caught Covid before the third date but was able to be replaced and the show went ahead. “You want to move forward you know,” explains Savage. “These gigs to me are like zombies. “We did a show a month ago that was originally booked for June 2020, but the actual negotiation for the deal happened in December 2019, so how long do you want to talk about the same gig?”

The band hasn’t released a studio album since 2018’s politically charged Good Citizens, however, they recorded a live album at Hamer Hall albeit without an audience. “It was pretty intense,” says Savage. “It was just before Melbourne went into that really long lockdown, and the [daily] cases were 20 or 25, and we all got the vibe we were going into a lockdown.” The band recorded the album in a single, continuous take. “We decided to arrange it so there was never going to be any dead air, and I didn’t want to be in there waiting for the song to start in an empty room,” says Savage. “They’d spent two days setting up, and we basically came in like Krusty the Clown [and] did one song to get the levels, and then we smashed it out for 40 minutes,” she laughs. “They were like ‘great, can you do that one more time?’ and we were like ‘nope, that’s the one.’

“Our drummer’s snare broke in the third song, and if you watch any of the clips he’s holding the snare together in his hand while playing. He knew the vibe was too good… so he plays through the whole thing with a broken snare, which our sound engineer had to fix in post.” Fortunately, Cash Savage and The Last Drinks are performing in front of live audiences again. Known for their emotive performances, Savage says she likes to feel the songs when writing them. “I can sort of tell if the song is good because it hits me in the feels, so it’s not something that I’m necessarily going for, but it’s definitely something that I lean into.”

As bandleader, Savage writes the songs before bringing them to the band. “I usually write the bare bones of them myself, and then take them to the band at some point,” she says. “Some of them are more finished than others… it might just be a verse with a little cool idea and I take it to see what happens with that.”

When performing live, you’ll mostly see Savage striding across the stage with only a microphone in hand, though she writes the music with her guitar. “I have written a couple of songs on the piano before because I’ve been learning piano slowly over my life, but my main instrument is guitar,” she says. “I actually really love playing guitar on stage, but I know it’s a better show when I don’t, not because of my guitar playing, but it’s much easier for me to engage with the audience. Instead of thinking about the guitar and the vocals, I’m thinking about the crowd and the vocals, and I think it’s a better show.”

Adding to her repertoire, Savage has recently picked up DJing alongside the enigmatic Our Carlson as one of his rotating DJs. “It’s pretty loose when I DJ with Carlson,” she says. “I jumped on doing that because I really vibe what he’s doing, and since then I’ve sort of started to learn how to DJ, which is a bit of a win.”

“Everything I’ve learnt DJing has been in front of people. It’s a funny way to learn a trade… where you don’t want to fuck it up, but also it gets a bit loose so it gets fucked up, and then you just have to roll with it. It’s definitely my style of learning, it’s not something I was actively pursuing, but here I am, I’m a DJ. I told Carlson he should get shirts that say ‘Cash Daddy is a real DJ.’”

The band has already recorded their next studio album, though it won’t be released until early next year due to vinyl shortages. Savage is reluctant to describe the album as she is “too close to it” but says “it’s definitely different to Good Citizens.” “It’s a little less outwardly political, a little more introspective of my own life the last couple of years. Not that it’s a downer, fucking lockdown album. Maybe it is, I have no fucking idea. The first song ‘Push’ is written from being locked in a fucking apartment, and my entire world turning to shit.”

Cash Savage and The Last Drinks will play at the newly refurbished Northcote Theatre on Saturday, September 3 before heading back to Europe for the second time this year. “I’ve realised there are more venues on High Street than there are in Adelaide, Sydney and Perth combined,” jokes Savage. “There’s like nine venues on that strip now – it’s amazing. I live just near it, so I’m all for venues on High Street, they’re walking distance from my house.”

Cash Savage is playing The Northcote Theatre on September 3.