Brag#588

ISSUE NO. 588 NOVEMBER 12, 2014

FREE Now picked up at over 1,600 places across Sydney and surrounds. thebrag.com

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

CRO W N T HE EMPIR E

The Texans are returning to Australia with a mature new sound.

SOHN OUT OF THE WOODS

T HE L M A P L UM

With her Monsters EP out of the closet, 2014 comes to a big close.

N A HKO A ND MEDICINE F OR T HE PEOPL E

Music, politics and precious water.

DOUG S TA NHOPE

The US comedy great is getting over being angry.

Plus

MAX RICHTER 28 DAYS TOM GLEESON

EAZY

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BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 3

rock music news welcome to the frontline: the latest touring and music news...with Chris Martin and Lauren Gill

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THE BRAG

five things WITH

DEL BARBER record collection. Wide-ranging and keen, I was constantly bombarded by songs and styles that didn’t exist on the radio.

Inspirations Music and songwriting, especially, has 2. always been an essential part of my life. I have vivid memories of listening to Dylan with my dad in his old Dodge truck, ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ blaring above the sound of truck tyres on gravel roads. Music was given to me as fragile gift, something almost sacred, something that could be broken.

just finished my first full band tour with my new outfit The Profiteers. It’s much more honky tonk, and gives me a chance to do a totally different type of show. Next up, before I get to Australia, I’ll be opening a few dates for Lee Ann Womack in the US, which feels like a wild dream.

Growing Up My dad worked as a millwright at a factory 1. in Winnipeg and my mum ran a drug treatment centre. I was surrounded by all kinds of people

growing up. With the breadth of people came a breadth of music. If you wanted to know something about my parents they would probably instruct you to judge them by their

BLUE MOUNTAINS MUSIC FESTIVAL

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray ONLINE COORDINATOR: Emily Meller SUB-EDITOR: Emily Meller STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Krissi Weiss, Augustus Welby NEWS: Gloria Brancatisano, Lauren Gill, Roger Ma, June Murtagh, Debbie Shankar

The Blue Mountains Music Festival of Folk, Roots And Blues is set to turn 20 in 2015, and the first round of artists has been revealed.

Running over three days in March, the event takes in artists from Australia and overseas, covering a range of genres. Among the names on next year’s bill are Steve Poltz, John Butler, Dan Sultan, All Our Exes Live In Texas and Himmerland. Blue Mountains Music Festival takes over Katoomba on Friday March 13 – Sunday March 15. For tickets and the full program, visit bmff.org.au.

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Amelia Troubridge PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Amath Magnan, Ashley Mar

ACO UNDERGROUND AND GUESTS

ADVERTISING: Georgina Pengelly - 0416 972 081 / (02) 9212 4322 georgina@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Emily Meller, Debbie Shankhar - gigguide@ thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Roger Ma, Debbie Shankar, Jacob Mills, June Murtagh REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Prudence Clark, Keiron Costello, Meg Crawford, Marissa Demetriou, Christie Eliezer, Blake Gallagher, Fergus Halliday, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Mina Kitsos, Emily Meller, Adam Norris, Kate Robertson, Erin Rooney, Raf Seneviratne, Leonardo Silvestrini, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young

The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s experimental spin-off ensemble, ACO Underground, will be joined by a couple of special guests at a Sydney show next month. Bass guitarist Brian Ritchie (Violent Femmes) and guitarist Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil) will share the stage with Satu Vänskä’s ACO Underground, which performs on acoustic and electric instruments (including Vänskä on her 1728 Stradivarius violin) and plays material from Bach to Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails. See ACO Underground at Goodgod Small Club on Wednesday December 17.

AN ANGEL COMES TO TOWN

Angel Olsen and her band will play an intimate headline show in Sydney alongside an appearance at next year’s Laneway Festival.

The St. Louis-based singer is touring in support of her sophomore LP, Burn Your Fire For No Witness, which was released in February to outstanding reviews. Olsen and co. will hit Oxford Art Factory on Tuesday February 3.

The Music You Make As a songwriter four albums into a career, 4. my foundation is as a storyteller. I long to hear

Music, Right Here, Right Now I’ve always tried to model my writing after 5.

American singer-songwriter John Prine – I love his ability to turn the most tragic aspects of society and make them palatable and at moments even comic. I love how he is able to walk the fine line between comedy and tragedy while also putting forward narratives that act as culture critique and are also historically relevant and keen. Like Prine, I hope I’m able to take up important subjects while keeping a lighthearted, not too serious or mopey tone.

What: Prairieography out now through Planet MGM With: Emma Swift, Fanny Lumsden Where: Brighton Up Bar When: Thursday November 20

Del Barber photo by Joey Senft

Your Band I’m usually a solo guy on the road – a 3. singer-songwriter through and through – but I

songs that tell a good story, true or made up.

I want to be transported by characters and scenes, I want to hear sonics that support the narrative. My approach is certainly story first, sound second.

J Mascis

Grace

J MASCIS

SAY IT WITH GRACE

Grace, AKA the singer formerly known as Grace Woodroofe, has announced a run of headline shows in celebration of her new single, ‘Pluto’. Since debuting last month, the single has racked up over 15,000 plays on SoundCloud and has been added to the triple j rotation.

Grace’s upcoming tour will give fans the first taste of her full live show with band and will see her play music from her upcoming EP, slated for release early next year. Grace plays Goodgod Small Club on Friday December 5.

Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis has followed up the release of his second solo record with the announcement of Australian tour dates. The alt-rock guitar hero dropped Tied To A Star in August, following up Several Shades Of Why and 2012’s Dinosaur Jr. record I Bet On Sky, and last played solo dates Down Under in early 2012. The latest release explores fresh sonic territory, feeding no doubt into a diverse setlist come Saturday February 21 at the Factory Theatre. Adalita will play in support.

DO THE SHIMABUKURO

Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro is coming to town for a Bluesfest sideshow next April. The national tour comes on the back of his latest album, Grand Ukulele, which features production

by Alan Parsons (Pink Floyd, The Beatles).

Shimabukuro first found fame with his YouTube rendition of George Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, leading to collaborations with the likes of Jimmy Buffet, Yo-Yo Ma, Cyndi Lauper, Ziggy Marley and many more. Shimabukuro will play The Basement on Thursday April 9.

Gary Clark Jr.

Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121

Paulo Nutini

PAOLO NUTINI

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4 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

WHEN HIS TRAIN PULLS IN

Finger lickin’ good guitar man Gary Clark Jr. will make his return to Australia next year for sideshows alongside his Bluesfest appearance. Clark already played a couple of shredding and soulful sets at Bluesfest’s 2014 edition, and his next tour follows the release of a live album. But nothing matches seeing the man up close and personal, which you can do at the Metro Theatre on Friday April 10.

Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini will perform a headline date in Sydney ahead of his Bluesfest appearance next year. It’ll be his first Australian show in six years since his sold-out 2009 dates, and follows his recording comeback with this year’s well-received Caustic Love album. The 27-year-old made his breakthrough with These Streets in 2006, and its single ‘Last Request’. The BRAG presents Nutini at the Enmore Theatre on Tuesday March 31. Tickets go on sale to Frontier members at midday Tuesday November 18 and to the general public at 10am Friday November 21.

thebrag.com

Gary Clark Jr photo by Frank Maddocks

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BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

five things WITH

Paul McCartney

JO LOEWENTHAL FROM TORA living in Melbourne – I didn’t like it or understand it at all, until a few weeks later when I fell in love.

Generally I am inspired to write music when I hear a good song, or when something affects my mood to the point that I have to express it.

3.

Growing Up When I was seven years 1. old, I spent six months in Brazil.

2.

Inspirations My favourite musician is James Blake – to put it simply, he’s a genius. I remember first hearing his music when I was

The Music You Make We make chillwave music – 4. when people ask that’s the only way I can describe it. We recorded, produced and mixed all of our releases ourselves in our own bedrooms. Our live show tends to have a lot more energy than the

The Dominos

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

Australia is producing some of the best music in the world at the moment, but the space between major cities is too vast, which makes it hard for smaller artists to tour. I think it’s great there are so many opportunities for independent artists in Australia, the biggest example being triple j Unearthed. Sticky Fingers took me by surprise. I remember just a few years ago, my old band supported them at the Great Northern in Byron and there were about 50 people in the room. I saw them at Splendour this year and it blew me away.

What: Eat The Sun out now independently With: La Mar, Atlas Bound Where: Newtown Social Club When: Friday November 14

SUMMER STARTS WITH WINTER’S END

Sibling duo Winters End have been flying back and forth from North America lately, having performed at the Indie Week Canada Music Festival in Toronto last month as well as this month’s Youbloom Music Festival in LA. The momentum has arisen from single release ‘Walls’, which has not only earned radio play in Australia but overseas as well. But Marissa and Christopher Pinto aren’t neglecting their roots, which is why they’re set to headline Oxford Art Factory on Thursday November 20.

SOFAR SO GOOD

MARBLE BAR RELAUNCHES

As Sydney live music venues go, there are plenty more desparate candidates for a facelift than the iconic Marble Bar underneath the Hilton on George Street, which has maintained its stunning looks for over 120 years now. Still, the warmer months mark the venue’s latest revival, with Marble Bar having relaunched with a new entertainment lineup alongside food and drink selections. Top of the bill are new Friday night residents The Dominos, promising to launch you into each and every weekend with their energetic jump jive sounds. Get on your dancing shoes.

Love Like Hate

The Sydney arm of the Sofar Sounds movement, which hosts secret shows once a month in locations from lounge rooms to city rooftops, has locked in Thursday November 20 for its next edition. The gigs are aimed at promoting unheralded musical talent, with the likes of Little May, The Preatures, Green Mohair Suits and All Our Exes Live In Texas having previously performed on Sofar’s intimate stage.

This month’s location is somewhere in the Inner West – email sydneysofar@gmail.com for a chance to be on the guestlist, and visit sofarsounds.com to register for future gigs.

THE ART OF MCCARTNEY

In case you hadn’t already heard, Paul McCartney is kind of a big deal. As a member of The Beatles, he was part of a movement that completely reshaped music. As a solo artist, he’s written some of the most all-round fantastic songs out there. Of course, it’s no secret that he’s been an inspiration to many throughout his time, and now some of those inspired are stepping forward and paying tribute in the release of The Art Of McCartney. Artists such as Bob Dylan, Billy Joel and The Cure have joined forces in covering some of McCartney’s best in this special new compilation, out Friday November 14.

We’ve got three copies of the CD to give away. For your chance to win one, head over to thebrag.com/freeshit and let us know who you’d most like to hear cover a McCartney classic, and which song you’d choose for them.

LIZ STRINGER

Powerful Australian singer-songwriter Liz Stringer is known for her live performances, and now the proof is in the pudding (as it were), with the release of her new album and DVD Live At The Yarra. The show was recorded in front of a hundred devoted fans at the Yarra Hotel in Abbotsford, Victoria, and while it does a darn good job of illustrating Stringer’s aptitude for performance, she’s doing the real thing around the country this month to back it up. Catch Stringer at Venue 505 on Wednesday November 19, The Junkyard in Maitland on Thursday November 27 and The Manly Fig on Friday November 28.

Liz Stringer

DRUNK MUMS ARE BACK

No matter what you do, you’ll never escape embarrassing relatives. And in that spirit,

Timothy Nelson & The Infidels

SUNDAE SESSIONS

LOVE LIKE HATE

6 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

TIMOTHY NELSON & THE INFIDELS

It’s not always a popular time to be an infidel, but when it comes to Timothy Nelson & The Infidels, well, the time is now. The Perth folksters scored five WA Music Awards (WAMi) gongs over the weekend from seven nominations, including Best Live Act and Best Album for Terror Terror, Hide It Hide It. The recognition comes on the eve of a national tour for the sextet, which kicks off at Brighton Up Bar next Wednesday November 19. As we know, no bad music ever comes out of WA – something in the water? – so it’s high time to get on board with these guys.

Bondi’s popular Ben & Jerry’s Openair Cinemas will return this summer, with the announcement of a bumper Sundae Sessions music lineup to accompany some blockbuster film screenings. The 2015 Sundae Sessions will launch on the eve of Australia Day with indiefolk groovers Husky, fresh from the release of their new record Ruckers Hill and performing before a charity screening of Pride. Also on the schedule this summer are All Our Exes Live In Texas, Lady Lyon, Ally & Hannah, Cole Velik and more. Husky open the 2015 Sundae Sessions outside Bondi Pavilion on Sunday January 25. For the full program and more info, visit openaircinemas.com.au. thebrag.com

Timothy Nelson & The Infidels photo by Alanna Kusin low res

Melbourne’s Drunk Mums are back in town once again this weekend to launch their ‘Nanganator’ single. It follows their last hit single ‘Plastic’ and a bunch of tours throughout 2014 in anticipation of a forthcoming record. The Mums bring the punk to Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar in Manly on Thursday November 13 and Spectrum on Saturday November 15.

Brisbane’s Love Like Hate are making waves at the moment, having earned a deal with Rough Trade Publishing during their recent European tour.

They’re hardly Unnoticed, but that’s the title of their new EP anyhow, launching with the single of the same name.

Love Like Hate’s dark pop has been brought to the fore by producer Lachlan Mitchell (The Jezabels, Hard-Ons), and they’ll be playing material new and old at Newtown’s Union Hotel on Friday November 28.

xxx

In this time I was lucky enough to experience Carnival in Bahia, which is basically five days of music and dance in the streets with over two million others. My father was a classically trained violinist and taught me to play when I was young. 90 per cent

of the music that was listened to in our household was Brazilian; this has definitely impacted on the music I make now, mainly rhythmically.

Your Band Tora is made up of me, Shaun, Jai, Thorne and Toby. We all met back at school, so we’ve known each other for a long time and we’re best mates. Funnily enough, my mother is married to Shaun’s father as a result of our friendship, and Toby’s father is with Shaun’s mother as well. We all have broad tastes, but Jai and Toby really like jazz-infused music; Toby loves hip hop; Thorne, Shaun and myself predominantly listen to more chilled stuff.

recordings – we’ve been told that we replicate the CD quite well, but our music is actually danceable when you can feel the subs.

BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * Which major Australian rapper takes out all the controversial tracks before playing an advance copy of his album to his parents? * Which label exec is living in fear that a post-liquid lunch email sent to a colleague describing one of their acts as “a bloody poofter� could go viral? * How true is media speculation that the Merrick and Rosso team will reunite for drive on Triple M next year? Absolutely not, says Merrick Watts, who’s doing the timeslot by himself. It’s not the time or place for a reunion, he reckons. * Will Insurgent actress Shailene Woodley be accompanying boyfriend, Hawaiian musician Nahko, when his band Nahko and

Medicine For The People play around Australia over the next few weeks? * The Church-headlined Mullum Music Festival this month reports record ticket sales, with the opening night Wild Party selling out within days and the Saturday looking to follow suit. * Taylor Swift’s 1989 album is the fastest-selling album of the year in Australia, shifting 43,428 copies in under four days. It beat Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, which moved 34,097 units in seven days. * Justice Crew’s ‘Que Sera’ is now certified five times platinum. * Queen’s Brian May paid AU$18,000 for a first class seat on a flight to America for his Red Special guitar so it wouldn’t have to be stored in cabin lockers. He built it in his father’s workshop in England 40 years ago.

AUSTRALIAN AND NZ CHARTS TO INTEGRATE AUDIO STREAMS Following the lead of the UK and some European countries, both the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and Recorded Music New Zealand will include audio streams in their official singles charts.

From Monday November 24, ARIA will include the data already compiled over the last two years with the ARIA Streaming Track Chart into the singles chart. “Over the past two years, audio streaming has grown at such a rapid rate,� said ARIA CEO Dan Rosen.

Audio streams will continue to be calculated from Deezer, JB Now, Rdio, Samsung Music Hub and Spotify. An estimated 510,000 Australians were using streaming services at the end of 2012, with an annual growth rate of 36% through to 2015. Recorded Music NZ said music streaming revenue has tripled in

* How come we haven’t seen Sydney nightclub king Justin Hemmes driving around in the very fast Ariel Atom he bought overseas and shipped over? It’s stuck at customs as it needs modifications before it is road legal in Australia. * Australian music service Guvera entered the Indian market last week. * Fergie and Delia Doyle, owners of Sydney live music venue the Cat and Fiddle, were celebrating the Melbourne Cup: they co-own winning horse, Protectionist. * Melbourne’s The Smith Street Band cancelled their US tour midway after singer Wil Wagner had to rush back to Australia to take care of a personal matter.

This week, their album Throw Me In The River entered the ARIA chart at number 18.

NZ since 2012. It now makes up nearly 10% of all revenues by format and close to 20% of digital revenue.

NORTH BYRON PARKLANDS ASKS FOR CHANGES After being fined $3,000 for exceeding noise levels during Splendour In The Grass, North Byron Parklands has filed for modifications to its restrictions. In April 2012, the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE)’s Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) granted a five-year trial.

But while the Parklands agreed with the DPE’s volume recommendations to the PAC, the latter imposed stricter conditions that Parklands GM Mat Morris calls “unworkable�. It wants a definite criteria on bass sounds, and the ability to host small-scale events by local schools, sporting clubs and community groups.

1300

THE HIFI

OM.AU THEHIFI.C

Just Announced

Thu 27 Nov

This Week

Fri 13 Feb

Triple J Showcase: Modeselektor Kingswood, Meg Mac, LFresh The Lion

Coming Soon

Fri 14 Nov

Tue 25 Nov

Ten Walls Live

Nahko & Medicine For The People

SPICE GIRLS’ ‘WANNABE’ CATCHIEST POP TUNE SINCE 1940S Research by the University of Amsterdam declared Spice Girls’ ‘Wannabe’ the catchiest song since the 1940s. Of 220 tunes, the 1997 track (the seven-million global seller topped charts in 22 countries) was recognised on an average of 2.3 seconds compared to five seconds for others. Second on the list was Lou Bega’s ‘Mambo No. 5’, followed by Survivor’s ‘Eye Of The Tiger’, Lady Gaga’s ‘Just Dance’, ABBA’s ‘SOS’, Roy Orbison’s ‘Pretty Woman’, Michael Jackson’s ‘Beat It’, Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’, The Human League’s ‘Don’t You Want Me’ and Aerosmith’s ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’.

TRIPLE J’S BEST OZ ALBUMS The first round of titles nominated for the J Award for Australian Album of the Year are #1 Dads’ About Face, Ball Park Music’s Puddinghead, Chet Faker’s Built On Glass, The Preatures’ Blue Planet Eyes, Remi’s Raw X Infinity, Total Control’s Typical System, Hilltop Hoods’ Walking Under Stars, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s I’m In Your Mind Fuzz, sleepmakeswaves’ Love Of Cartography, Thundamentals’ So We Can Remember, Seekae’s The Worry and Flight Facilities’ Down To Earth.

Meanwhile, up for the first Double J Artist of the Year award are Augie March, Kate Miller-Heidke, Steve Smyth, Caitlin Park, Mia Dyson and Blank Realm.

VENUES AGAINST NEW NSW BILL A new bill introduced in NSW’s Upper House – forcing restaurants to keep serving meals while they sell alcohol so they don’t “turn� into bars – has upset licensed venues. It means they have to pay for kitchen staff to be on standby despite knowing that their patrons won’t eat at that time of the night.

HEAT ON DANCE FESTIVALS WA Police are investigating links between bush doof parties and a Perth bust where $210,000 of cannabis and hallucinogenics were allegedly uncovered and two men arrested. In Sydney on the weekend, 78 people were busted at Harbourlife (attended by 5,000) and 19-year-old Georgina Bartter died from a suspected overdose or adverse reaction after taking one-and-a-half pills.

Harbourlife sent a message of sympathy to her family and pointed out she had medical attention from the onsite medical team a minute after she collapsed.

Sat 29 Nov

Fri 5 Dec

Fri 12 Dec

Halil Sezai

The Preatures

The Herbs (NZ) with Annie Crummer & Paua

Blackstreet

Wed 7 Jan

Fri 9 Jan

Cold War Kids

Joey Bada$$ & Run The Jewels

Glass Animals

Sat 10 Jan

Tycho Live

Wed 4 Feb

Sat 28 Feb

Thu 12 Mar

Marduk & Inquisition

Vic Mensa

Deltron 3030

DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist

15 MUSIC MANAGERS CHOSEN FOR CONTROL PROGRAM 15 music managers from Australia and NZ have been chosen for the six-month professional development program Control: The Business of Music Management. It is run by the Australian Music Industry Network (AMIN). Six are from NSW (Jess Beston, Stefan Emslie, Clara Iaccarino, Dave MacGregor, Monique Rothstein, Matty Woo); two each from Victoria (Alistair Burns, Nick Lynagh) and QLD (Jane Slingo, Josh Taylor Anderson); and one from SA (Daisy Brown) and WA (Bel Skinner). The first three from NZ are Cushla Aston, Scott Grafton and Ninakaye Taane-Tinorau. Mentors are Terry McBride (Canada), Paul McKessar (NZ) and Australia’s Correne Wilkie. Control incorporates two residential workshops. The first is in Terrigal near Sydney this month, the second at end of the program in 2015.

WAS AMERICAN IDOL RACIST? A US judge is hearing testimony in a case where a dozen African-American contestants are suing American Idol for racism and fraud.

It says that rather than be a fair judge of vocal talent, producers had stereotyped thinking, put up roadblocks to stop them from going to the next round and used background checks to see if they’d been in trouble with the law and then tipped off the media.

Lifelines

The Rolling Stones’ winery show at the Hunter Valley’s Hope Estate for 19,000 people this Saturday could make $5 million for the local region, says Visitor Economy Hunter director Roger Stephan.

The number is based on ticket margins, accommodation, food, wine and incidentals.

The Newcastle Herald reported coach service Zepher Tours has confirmed bookings from fans from the US, London, Japan, the Philippines, Sweden and Denmark, and local motels are at full capacity.

Expecting: US guitarist Gary Clark Jr. and Aussie model Nicole Trunfio.

Artist managers Katie Besgrove and Nick O’Byrne have set up Barely Dressed Records in partnership with Remote Control. Its first release is Beloved by New Gods, formed last year by former Little Red members Dominic Byrne and Adrian Beltrame. Besgrove and O’Byrne say their music will be treated with respect, enthusiasm and care. “It’s not a particularly original or complicated concept, but it’s the way that all good labels should be.�

The winner of the Mullum Music and Falls Festivals’ protest song competition was Brunswick Heads’ Dan Hannaford.

His song ‘Payday’ is a rally cry for musos to get what is owed financially and “an appreciation of their value to a community and its culture�. He plays Mullum (November 20-23) and Falls Byron (December 30 – January 2). ‘Payday’ is taken from his debut album I Cried Bullets, due next year.

NEW MUSIC LESSON APP Sat 17 Jan

Alberts and Sony Music are getting AC/DC to do a Daft Punk, by having a world premiere in a tiny NSW rural town. In this case, the 3,082 residents of The Rock (30kms from Wagga Wagga) will be first to hear Rock Or Bust on Sunday November 23. The rest of the world will wait until November 28. The band won’t be there – certainly not drummer Phil Rudd after his traumatic 48 hours last week.

Expecting: Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, their first child.

PROTEST SONG WINNER Tue 6 Jan

AC/DC DO A DAFT PUNK

STONES WINERY SHOW TO MAKE $5M FOR HUNTER?

BARELY DRESSED LAUNCHES

Sat 13 Dec

popular instruments and ages. Co-founder Gary Turner says the Netflix-style initiative is aimed at new students, established musos and educators. “There really is no other app or website in the world that will come close to matching ApolloM’s features and value,� he said. Being developed for the platform are a social network focused on learning, making and playing music, a suite of digital music tools, interactive gameplay learning tools, and a LiveTeacher streaming video system, connecting students and teachers.

An Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign is launched this month to build phase one. See apollom.com for more.

Adelaide’s Learn To Play Music is next June launching the ApolloM app to provide music lessons for $4.95 per month. It will have a library of 10,000 e-book, video and audio lessons covering all styles,

Dating: Brit singer Jessie J and US R&B songwriter Luke James are an item, she confirmed on Instagram after they were spotted together.

Split: Sydney singer Timomatic and dancer Talia Fowler after five years.

Hospitalised: ex-Drowning Pool singer (now Soil) Ryan McCombs, after a stroke.

Recovering: Def Leppard’s guitarist Viv Campbell could be home this month after a stem cell transplant for his ongoing battle with cancer.

Jailed: Mary J. Blige’s father’s ex-girlfriend Cheryl White for a year, after stabbing him during a domestic argument.

In Court: Chris Brown settled a lawsuit against a man whose nose he allegedly broke when he tried to get a pic with the singer in Washington, D.C. He reportedly paid him off for US$100,000; the man had wanted $3 million.

Died: English clarinet player Acker Bilk (‘Stranger On The Shore’), 85.

Died: long-time Neil Young bassist Rick ‘The Bass Player’ Rosas, 65. He also toured Australia with Joe Walsh.

ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY

8 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

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BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 9

T

wo years ago, the thenunknown Sohn emerged with an EP called The Wheel. Before long, the EP’s title track was making the rounds on the blog circuit, which led to radio play and praise from media outlets the world over. But the question loomed, who was behind this release of soul-dappled electronic pop? A bit of detective work revealed the mysterious moniker belonged to British tunemaker Christopher Taylor, who’d previously gone by the name Trouble Over Tokyo.

The strength of The Wheel nabbed Taylor a release deal with UK indie luminary 4AD (home to the likes of Bon Iver, Grimes and Ariel Pink). A few more singles followed, which boosted anticipation for Sohn’s debut long player. Titled Tremors, when the record landed in April it debuted at number 31 on the UK albums chart.

Taylor recorded Tremors while living in Vienna. In order to completely submerge himself in the process, he operated entirely alone. “I can work and not even think about eating for 24 hours,” he says. “I close every blind and every window.

It’s night at all times when I work, basically.”

“[Being alone] definitely was important in the making of the album,” he says. “One of the bad

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THE LONE RANGER • BY AUGUSTUS WELBY things about working alone is you can get too obsessed with things which actually don’t matter at all. Basically, I want to loosen up a bit creatively.

When making the next album I want to have more of a turnover of people coming in and out.”

festivals. There’s a round-the-clock social imperative tied up with being a touring musician, which means Taylor’s undergone a major lifestyle change. Here again, he’s reached a better understanding of what does and doesn’t suit his personality.

Tremors isn’t over-stuffed with production details, but it’s certainly an intricately constructed work.

The crafty layering and mutating of voices, synths and percussion indicates that Taylor’s in-studio seclusion leads to relentless tinkering. But perhaps he’s not as pedantic as you’d think.

“I don’t really like to go out to the crowds and stuff after [shows],” he says. “It just gets bizarre after a while.

You start to lose contact with actually being yourself. People want you to come out and say ‘hi’ or to take a picture, but it’s quite easy to lose yourself if you start doing that too much. I have to be mindful of that.

“I’ve met people who produce – particularly electronic music – who work on something for months and months before it will even get heard,” he says. “I’m quite good at making sure that I let go early. I’m really focused on what I’m doing and then every now and then I have a little wake up call and think, ‘No-one gives a shit if that snare drum needs to be one dB louder or not.’

“I’m quite aware of what’s going on with myself. I’m quite aware of the mistakes that I generally make anyway. It’s a bit like when you know that you’re a forgetful person, you have to get used to making a few routines to make sure you stop forgetting things.”

“I am actually at heart quite a meticulous perfectionist,” he admits, “and I don’t like that about myself particularly. So I quite often try to stop myself from doing that.”

Not long after he signed with 4AD, offers started coming in for Sohn to perform all over the world. As a result, Taylor has spent the majority of 2014 on the road – including a mini-Australian tour in June, as well as stacks of US and European

The opportunity for Taylor to travel around the globe to perform the music he’s created is an absolute privilege. However, the tour bus has basically become Taylor’s place of residence, which inevitably took some getting used to.

“I’m still loving getting to go to new places and I’m still loving discovering music and making music,” he says. “So there’s a hugely positive side to it, where basically what I get paid to do right now is to just be me. The one thing which is really gruelling is the fact that you don’t really have a home.

place where you can mean the words that you’re singing.”

“I try to keep slapping myself out of those thoughts,” he adds. “Every now and then when I think, ‘I’m so exhausted, but I don’t have a home,’ I’ll slap myself in the face and say, ‘Come on, get on with it.’”

Along with establishing a method for delivering songs convincingly, Taylor’s relentless touring schedule has brought home another insight, which will assist in his creative decision-making going forward.

Taylor’s acute self-awareness and ability to curb his own pessimism is reflected in the emotional range of Tremors. On the one hand, the record rumbles with downcast tones, accentuated by emotive vocal wailing, but it’s also dressed with its fair share of relatively sprightly moments. Given that several songs on Tremors are steeped in honest feeling, a successful live performance depends on how effectively Taylor can communicate these emotions with an audience.

“The tour has revealed which [songs] definitely are the strongest,” he says. “The ones which every single time will get some sort of reaction, and it’s not based on people knowing the songs. It’s based on the energy of the songs themselves when you play them. It’s normally quite heartening because it’s normally my favourite ones and I think, ‘That’s good, because that means I’m going in the right direction,’ in terms of when I’m trusting myself and letting myself do whatever comes into my mind.”

“The songs themselves sort of trigger a memory reaction when I’m singing them live,” he says. “In many ways, it’s the same thing as putting on a play or something. Of course, you can’t just switch on this same feeling that you got when you were alone and quite vulnerable.

But what you can do – in the same way that an actor does – is get your head into the space where the words that you’re singing mean the meaning to you in that exact moment.

Following up on his brief midyear visit, Taylor heads back our way for next year’s Laneway Festival.

Nestling into his own home might still be a distant prospect for the thoughtful Brit, but sometimes that’s not such a bad thing.

“You just have to find a place where you can mean it without having to feel it in exactly the same way. You basically have to remember that you’re a performer, but at the same time, get into a

“YOU HAVE TO FIND A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN MEAN [WHAT YOU’RE SINGING] WITHOUT HAVING TO FEEL IT IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY.”

“All of the other bands that I know who’ve been already, they get kind of glazed over, sugary eyes when they say, ‘Oh Laneway, I wish I was going back there,’” he says. “I loved the last time I came out to Australia, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

What: Tremors out now through 4AD/Remote Control Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Thursday January 29 And: Also appearing alongside Banks, FKA Twigs, Jungle, St. Vincent, Flying Lotus, Little Dragon, Mac DeMarco and more at Laneway Festival, Sydney College of the Arts, Sunday February 1

thebrag.com

Sohn photo by Amelia Troubridge

Making music can be an effective way to escape from everyday stresses. When working in intimate solitude, creative exploration is also likely to provide insight into one’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Thanks to some useful discoveries made during the recording of Tremors, Taylor is uncertain about persisting with the solitary studio approach in future.

SOHN

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Nahko And Medicine For The People Our Natural World By Augustus Welby which is something that we also know is reflective of the Australian community – with this huge push for the last decade or two decades of moving us off of fossil fuels into the use of natural gas.

“With so many different indigenous people of America being on the front lines of a lot of these contaminations and shortages of real clean water, and being the first ones to face the consequences of these decisions that have been made at the top, we wanted to dedicate a tour to a collective prayer at our shows for the longevity of having a clean water source. You can’t drink Nestlé water for the rest of your life.”

Even though Nahko is a conspicuous crusader for the reversal of environmental destruction and the eradication of civil imbalance, he realises that not everyone attending the band’s shows is interested in witnessing a politically motivated treatise.

“I don’t like to bore people,” he says. “You have to say just enough to remind people that this is going on. I touch on it a bit, but I don’t get too preachy. I don’t spend too much time talking about the details. I just say, ‘This is what’s happening, you guys either know or you don’t know about it, and this is the intention that we have for this tour.’”

Evidently, despite his proactive bent, Nahko’s not suggesting he’s an environmental saviour. At the end of the day, Nahko and Medicine For The People are a group of entertainers, whose most powerful resource is music.

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very now and then, an artist comes along who immediately burrows into the hearts of Australian audiences. As a result, their visits become more frequent and their tour itineraries grow in scope. A recent example of this phenomenon is the Hawaiian acoustic rock group Nahko and Medicine For The People. The band’s forthcoming tour is easily its biggest exploration of the country so far.

“[We’re] really feeling a lot of hype and a lot of really powerful stuff from everyone out there,” says songwriter and bandleader Nahko. “We’re getting a lot of feedback from people. It’s going to be great.”

It’s not unusual for visiting musicians to voice affection for Australia. However, due to the brevity of most international bands’ Australian tours, these appraisals generally refer to nothing more than their experiences in the major cities.

Nahko’s another musician who speaks adoringly of the land Down Under, but he’s actually managed to get a reasonably in-depth look at the country.

“It’s kind of part of our schedule to have time off, because your country is absolutely magical,” he says. “Our tour manager out there has been a great tour guide for us. Also, one of my close friends that I befriended within the first week of being in Australia my first time there was Xavier Rudd, so he also showed us some really beautiful places.

“I’ve scheduled in this tour coming up some time, after we’re done touring, to just hang out. Half of the band is surfers, so we’re all pretty keen to get in the ocean. Also, I always look forward to spending time with elders and being with a family.”

It’s certainly rare for a member of a touring party to make an effort to connect with the Australian land and the country’s original inhabitants. But Nahko isn’t your run-of-the-mill rock musician.

While traversing the stages of the world, Nahko makes a point of endorsing cross-cultural unity and respect for the planet we live on. The band’s forthcoming tour is titled Water Is Life, which is more than just a cute catchphrase.

“This tour is dedicated to a prayer for the awakening of the water within you,” Nahko explains. “As a human being you’re pretty much made of water. [We want to] help awaken people to an understanding of what’s important to the basic human condition.

“You only get one source of fresh water and you only get one clean ocean. Amongst so many other things right now on our planet, we’re facing serious shortages of uncontaminated water and clean resources. That has a lot to do with, of course, policies in different governments towards energy.”

Far from being a bratty rock singer, Nahko is well educated on the causes he advocates. Alongside the likes of The Herd and Tex Perkins, Nahko will perform solo at next weekend’s anti-fracking benefit Rock The Gate, being held at the Enmore Theatre. Fracking is an issue he feels especially strongly about.

“In America we’ve been facing so much destruction of our ecosystem due to fracking –

“There’s so much that goes into changing things for generations,” says Nahko. “You have artists, you have activists, you have all kinds of people that create change in the world, and I’m just doing my part.

“I certainly don’t have any solutions to any of these things that I’m speaking out about. There’s definitely a lot of push towards being able to create solutions. I don’t have those answers. I’m here to tell stories and to get at the heart of people in a way that’s unique. And I know that now. So, politics aside for the world that I’d prefer to live in, I know that I’ll probably travel and play songs and tell some stories for the better part of my life.”

What: Rock The Gate With: Pete Murray, The Herd, Ash Grunwald, Tex Perkins and The Dark Horses, Natalie Pa’apa’a Trio and more Where: Enmore Theatre When: Sunday November 23 And: Also appearing at The Hi-Fi on Tuesday November 25 and the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle on Wednesday November 26

Max Richter Vivaldi Off The Scale By Rod Whitfield

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erman-born, UK-based composer and musician Max Richter is just one of those people who gets on with achieving greatness in his chosen field with minimal fanfare. He may not be a household name, but you would certainly know his work, given his involvement in scoring the soundtracks of films directed by the likes of Clint Eastwood, Ridley Scott and Terrence Malick. He also records and releases his own music, and is involved in major ballet, opera and other stage works.

Up until now, however, his illustrious career has never brought him to Australia to perform. That all changes late this month, when Richter brings his Wordless Music Orchestra to our shores for two exclusive performances. Speaking on this occasion from Berlin, he could not be happier about it.

“I’m excited actually,” he says. “I’ve never been down in Australia before – have had a few near misses to try and make it, but the timing’s never worked out. It’s nice to be able to get these shows organised.”

The show Richter is bringing Down Under is entitled Vivaldi The Four Seasons Recomposed, and entails Richter and his backing orchestra reworking and reimagining one of the most famous classical pieces of all time.

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“It’s kind of a new trip through the landscape of The Four Seasons,” he says. “Vivaldi obviously wrote this piece, and it’s one of the great masterpieces of art and music. It’s probably one of the first pieces of orchestral music most of us ever get to know. That happened to me as a child; I fell in love with this beautiful material, it’s got wonderful melodies, it’s beautifully structured, it’s full of drama and stories and pictures. It’s a perfect piece of music, really, for a kid, but also for grown-up audiences and musicians.”

Richter feels that over the years, with Vivaldi’s work (or parts of it) being used in advertising and other less worthy settings, some of its wonder has been somewhat lost.

He wanted to bring it back to its original beauty.

“Having fallen in love with this material, I just started to become aware of it, growing up and studying music, that I wasn’t really hearing it in the way that I felt it deserved to be heard. I was hearing it mostly on adverts, on the TV and on jingles and in shopping malls, and it started to just kind of irritate me.

“I had this kind of dual schism in my head – I knew intellectually that it was beautiful music, but I just couldn’t love it anymore, and it started to bug me, like an annoying

jingle. So really, this whole project is me trying to reconnect with this landscape which Vivaldi’s made, and to take a new trip through it, to try and fall in love with it again, basically. That’s the plan, anyway.”

Numata playing fiddle, and they’re my favourite band on this piece.

I played it with them in New York one time and they just blew the roof off the venue. I just think they’re absolutely brilliant.

more power out of the band, in the way he’s writing it, and I’ve actually sort of taken that instinct on from him and gone, ‘OK, so I’m just going to turn it up.’ And these are the guys to do it.”

Another point of difference for Richter’s new take on the centuriesold classic is that he is able to up the ante a little on the delivery.

“We have a wonderful ensemble, which is the Wordless Orchestra from New York, as well as Yuki

“So I think it’s going to be a very exciting evening of music. They’re quite sort of ‘rock’n’roll’, as an orchestra, which is what this needs, actually. Because I always think with Vivaldi, you hear the original, and you can hear him trying to get

What: Vivaldi The Four Seasons Recomposed Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Sunday November 23

thebrag.com

Crown The Empire Rise Of The Runaways By Augustus Welby

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hances are, when you think of Dallas, Texas, there are a few things that come to mind: Cowboys, Mavericks and conservative politics, for instance. Rising Dallas six-piece Crown The Empire are doing their darndest to add metalcore to that list.

Off the back of their July release The Resistance: Rise Of The Runaways, Crown The Empire will head our way early next year. In contrast to the band’s 2012 debut The Fallout, The Resistance pushes everything to the extreme. The choruses hold TV commercial potential, the breakdowns smack like a keg of Guinness to the head and the quiet moments are decidedly melancholy.

“We don’t want to restrict ourselves to a specific type of song,” says one of the band’s two lead vocalists, Andrew Velasquez. “There’s so many bands who have a great song and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is kickass, let’s see what the rest of the record’s like,’ and it’s the same song over and over again. We didn’t want that at all.”

The Fallout was written when the band members were still in high school. Motored by the blessed spirit of youth, the record hinted at plenty of potential for Crown The Empire, but it wasn’t a fully realised product. When it came to The Resistance, they applied extra effort to make it a multi-faceted experience.

at a show. If I could be in the crowd, I would be in the crowd with everyone else.”

After visiting for last year’s Warped Tour, Crown The Empire are thrilled to be coming back Down Under, especially for such a prestigious event as Soundwave.

“I remember seeing all the rosters previously and just being like, ‘Wow, what an opportunity it would be to do that.’ They brought us over, maybe to test the waters to see how we did the first time, and luckily they’re bringing us back.

So we’re excited to be there.”

With: Soundwave Festival 2015 With: Slipknot, Faith No More, Soundgarden, Slash, Marilyn Manson, Incubus, Lamb Of God, Fall Out Boy, Judas Priest and many more Where: Sydney Olympic Park When: Saturday February 28 and Sunday March 1 And: The Resistance: Rise Of The Runaways out now through Rise/Warner

“With The Fallout we had, like, a month to do it all and with The Resistance we had three months to do everything,” Velasquez says. “Everybody has different musical influences in the band. Now that we had the time and the resources to do it, there’s so many different types of song on that album. It goes from one end of the spectrum to the other, where it’s down and heavy riffs and straight screaming to a piano ballad, a love song.”

Adopting a genre-snubbing attitude requires a certain amount of fearlessness. However, the creation of The Resistance wasn’t devoid of anxiety. “Going into it, we had the fear in us,” Velasquez says. “It’s the second record – everybody puts out a second record and the general consensus is that it’s hated by a lot of people. People will be like, ‘Oh, they changed their sound, they’re so mainstream now,’ or ‘I like their first record best.’”

Despite such imposing thoughts about how The Resistance would be received, the band was ultimately able to satisfy its own creative agenda.

“There was a fear and there was a stress, but we were able to use the stress in a constructive way to make our album the best we possibly could,” says Velasquez. “Once we got to that point where it was wrapped up, we were confident. We were like, ‘OK, this is the best thing we could’ve possibly put out and we know this.’

“Luckily, the reception was awesome,” he adds.

“We got to number seven on the Billboard Top 200, we got the number one rock album in the country. It was awesome. That was a weight off my shoulders.”

Speaking of difficult weights to bear, Crown The Empire are a widely collaborative venture.

Combining six creatively active personalities is basically a recipe for disaster. Add to this the fact Crown The Empire have a studio-only seventh digit, and you’ve got to wonder how the band keeps from imploding.

“At the end of the day we’re all working towards the same goal,” Velasquez explains. “We all want this band to be as successful as we can possibly make it. We want as many people to hear the record as we could. It’s not easy telling your best friend, ‘Yo, this part sucks,’ but we all have the same goal in mind, and we manage to fit a lot of everyone’s ideas into it. It’s the dynamic that makes us who we are.”

Scoring a deal with Rise Records not long after forming, touring has more or less been a full-time commitment for Velasquez and his bandmates since finishing school. Sending six excitable youngsters out on the touring circuit seemed fated to wind up in a haphazard mess. Unfazed, Velasquez says they’re actually fairly relaxed.

“We all manage to keep ourselves level-headed.

We’re strong with each other. We definitely do get down, but it hasn’t been an issue. Nobody is doing some crazy shit.”

Crown The Empire are headed our way next year for Soundwave, a festival that regularly juxtaposes a giant crop of rising acts with a bunch of accomplished elder statesmen. Rather than feeling competitive, Velasquez says being surrounded by stacks of crusading musicians is an impetus to better his own craft.

www. ci rcl e p a rk . c o

“When you’re playing a show and you watch the band that plays before you putting their heart and soul out on that stage and trying to appeal to everyone, it gets me pumped. I can’t sit still thebrag.com

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Thelma Plum My Beloved Monster By David James Young

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arely a year separates Rosie and Monsters, the respective first and second EPs by Melbourne-via-Brisbane performer Thelma Plum. The directional shift between the two, however, comes with such a confident swiftness that they practically sound as though they were released by different artists. While the former sways gently and relies heavily on acoustic instrumentation, the latter incorporates deep, electronic beats and a striking confidence. Both are excellent, and belie the years of experience under the belt of the artist herself.

“I was very young when I wrote my first EP,” says Plum. “I’m still very young now, but of course I was a lot younger when I was making Rosie. I guess I’ve always wanted to make music that’s a little bit bigger – more than just an acoustic guitar. I’ve never really known how to do that, so I guess after playing music and being around more people that do know how, it felt like a natural thing.”

Even though the release of Monsters is still fresh in the collective conscience, Plum has been working towards her next release – the all-important debut album, which will hopefully be released sometime in the second quarter of 2015, if all goes to plan. “I’m making sure that I’m writing every day,” she says. “How I find it depends on the day, really. I think it’s quite an easy thing to sit down and make myself write, but it’s not an easy thing to constantly be coming up with something good every time that you do. It’s like anything, I guess – if I were a sportsperson, I’d be practising every day. I might write anywhere between seven to ten songs a week. Maybe only half of one of them will be any good, but it all counts towards something.”

On the subject of writing words, it’s duly noted that Plum is incredibly open with hers. Whether she’s singing about her beloved family dog or some bastard heartbreaker, there’s no denying the conviction and the open-book honesty that

Phosphorescent Lighting The Way By Soph Goulopoulos

comes with her music.

“I absolutely think honesty is the best policy,” she affirms. “It’s the best way that I’ve found to write songs. When I write, I feel I’m at my best when I’m full of emotion – and that can be any kind of emotion, really. As long as I’m feeling strongly about something. I suppose songwriting is a very personal, a very selfish thing, but being honest is my best way of writing. I’m a total oversharer, anyway!”

That would explain the loud, joyful “Fuck you!” that emanates from what’s become Plum’s signature song, ‘Around Here’. “Yes, absolutely!” she laughs. “When I wrote that song, it was a massive ‘fuck you’ to an ex-boyfriend – and it just hit me that there was no better way of getting that across than by literally saying ‘fuck you’.”

Plum and her band are currently in the middle of an extensive national tour to support Monsters before heading to Falls to wrap up the year. The tour is taking in nearly every state and territory, marking the biggest undertaking of shows Plum has done to date, and it’s something that has gotten her excited. “Very, very excited,” she emphasises. “It’s been a really fun tour. I love my band, and the support acts [Left. and Dalli] are really good friends of mine, as well. I haven’t really toured these songs from Monsters as much just yet, and my band have put in a lot of work to really replicate the sound of it live.”

What: The Falls Music & Arts Festival With: Alt-J, SBTRKT, Julian Casablancas+The Voidz, Run The Jewels, Cold War Kids, Vance Joy and many more Where: Lorne, Marion Bay and Byron Bay When: Sunday December 28 – Saturday January 3 And: Monsters out now through Footstomp/Warner

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atthew Houck seems to be a pretty reserved guy, chuckling softly and giving a lot of short answers. Going by the stage name of Phosphorescent, it would appear the singer-songwriter’s gentle disposition is appropriate to his rather quiet but steady rise to fame – he’d released five albums and an EP before 2013’s critically acclaimed Muchacho, and we’re really only just talking about him now. Still, for those who’ve listened closely to this latest release, Houck’s reserved nature might appear contradictory, since so many of the tracks on the album are deeply personal.

The Alabama native is talking to the BRAG from his studio in Brooklyn. It’s a small room (“You know how New York is,” he says), and he’s surrounded by some working but mostly busted gear. Busted, he explains, from touring like an absolute madman. Houck has been on the road with very few breaks for nearly a decade. “I’d like to move around more, actually,” he says. “I’m lucky that I’ve been on the road so much the past eight years, so you do a lot of travelling, but I would like the opportunity to live in other places.”

Where would he move to? “I dunno yet, maybe Australia,” he says with an audible grin, looking forward to his visit here in December.

Phosphorescent’s latest album carries a noticeable shift in sound from Houck’s previous records – easier country drifts that could be attributed to his growing up in a tiny Alabama town, population 600 – to something a lot more sonically varied. “I’ve learned a lot about the possibilities of what you can do technically with records and recording,” he says. “Whereas I think early on, it was simply just hit ‘record’.”

As Houck’s lyrical catalogue is so personal, he says he’s always been a reasonably solitary songwriter. He’s even said in the past that there are songs on Muchacho so personal he’s “mortified [he’s] even singing them”.

“I’m very protective of the initial songs,” he says. “I’m not really comfortable sharing them right away. I’ve never been able to share an unfinished song to work on it with somebody else. What I try to do is hopefully take that kernel and make something that isn’t just about what I was initially thinking about, and turn it into something broader. That’s the whole reason this thing is called Phosphorescent.”

The technicalities of his name are probably worth explaining here, and the definition makes you realise how deep this guy really is. Phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence, but unlike others it doesn’t immediately re-emit the light it absorbs; rather, it emits light slowly over time and at a lower intensity. Glow-in-the-dark toys and clock dials are good examples. So Houck’s moniker is in itself a personal reflection.

Track two on Muchacho and the first single from the album is certainly one of the darker songs. Drawing on combined prompts from Bette Midler and Johnny Cash, ‘Song For Zula’ stands out also as one of the more personal tracks on the record, with the lyrics: “See, honey, I saw love / You see, it came to me / It put its face up to my face so I could see / Yeah, then I saw love disfigure me / Into something I am not recognising”. The identity of Zula, however, is something Houck’s keeping close to his chest – not only due to privacy, but also to ensure the lyrics stay open to interpretation.

“That’s been a really heart-warming surprise to see that song do what it’s done,” says Houck.

“If I were to be too specific about who Zula is, it kind of closes a lot of doors about what that song has become.”

What: Muchacho out now through Dead Oceans/Inertia With: Ali Barter Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Sunday December 14

A Winged Victory For The Sullen Ambient Astronomers By Tyson Wray “Before Wayne contacted us we actually had a lot of new music that we’d previously been working on,” adds Wiltzie. “After Wayne contacted us we completely dropped everything, we didn’t want to bring anything over to this project. We wanted to start totally fresh and create something completely new.”

“Before we had even begun writing, all four of the premiere shows had been booked. There was no greater fire under our arses,” laughs O’Halloran. “We had to come up with 70 minutes’ worth of music in four months. There was no going back.”

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ambient works of the past decade.

In early 2013, Wiltzie and O’Halloran were approached by contemporary dance choreographer Wayne McGregor and asked to create an original score for his latest work, Atomos. “We went into it really not knowing anything about the dance world,” says O’Halloran.

“Wayne was a really great collaborator – he gave us a lot of freedom. A few of our friends had also worked with him in the past so we had a lot of trust in him.”

Following this orchestral epiphany, Wiltzie and O’Halloran began the process of recording the

While Wiltzie was in Australia earlier this year for an Adelaide-exclusive performance with Stars Of The Lid at Unsound Festival, this weekend will mark the debut appearances Down Under by A Winged Victory For The Sullen, at which they’ll perform Atomos accompanied by a string quartet. “Performing the piece live comes very easily these days,” says O’Halloran. “We played it so often with the orchestra at the Wayne McGregor Random Dance Company. But as it’s the very first time we’ve ever performed together in Australia, alongside Atomos we’ll also be playing a few tracks from our first record.”

What: Atomos out now through Erased Tapes Where: The Basement When: Sunday November 16 thebrag.com

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n the niche world of ambient music, there are few names as illustrious as the duo that constitutes A Winged Victory For The Sullen.

Comprising Adam Wiltzie (founding member of other ambient acts like Stars Of The Lid, The Dead Texan, Aix Em Klemm and Sleepingdog) and Dustin O’Halloran (post-classical composer and pianist, best known for his original film scores in Marie Antoinette, Remember The Daze, The Other Dream Team and more), the pair met in 2007 in Bologna, Italy, and have gone on to pen some of the most seminal

Fast-forward to October 2013 and Atomos had its world premiere at London’s historic Sadler’s Wells Theatre. “At the premiere, we finally got to watch the piece come to life,” says Wiltzie. “It was then that we just stared at each other in the orchestra pit and realised that this should be our next album. It sounds cliché, but we had no idea that this was going to happen. When you’re working on something so intensely over four months you’re not really thinking to yourself that this is something that could stand alone by itself. We just wanted to create something that worked as a score for the dance – not something that was its own separate entity. We were really lucky that it turned out as well as it did.”

follow-up to their self-titled 2011 debut. The Atomos album was released last month on Kranky and Erased Tapes. “The process was pretty much a reverse of anything that we’ve done before,” says O’Halloran. “When we were working on the piece we were playing things almost immediately after we wrote them. That never happens. Generally you always write something, you record it, then you figure out the live process. Everything happened so fast. We didn’t even have anything recorded until after the premiere. It was a very interesting process, but it worked.”

28 Days The Way Of The Ninja By David James Young

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hen it was announced that Frankston’s finest sons 28 Days would be returning to Sydney as a part of Gingerfest, for many it revealed a bigger news story: 28 Days are still together. Yep, after splitting up in 2007, the band spent two years apart before reuniting – on its own terms, of course.

“We play maybe five shows a year – you might even call it semi-retirement,” says bassist Damian ‘Damo’ Gardiner with a laugh. “It’s good for us, though. We do it now just as a getaway with mates – if there’s a good place to play, we just go and we’ll hang out for the weekend. It’s always good to catch up, and playing is always a bonus. About eight years ago, we were playing something like two shows every single week. It definitely got a bit tedious after a while. This way makes you love it a lot more – for us, it’s the best way to do it.”

Gingerfest is an all-day event bringing together a slab of punk, hardcore, rock and folk acts across two stages in Sydney. It’s being held in memory of Nicholas Sofer-Schreiber, a Canberra native known to all and sundry as the Ginger Ninja. An eccentric and enthusiastic music fan, the Ninja was seen as the heart and soul of Canberra punk rock – all without even picking up an instrument. He was horrifically murdered at his home in the suburb of Lyneham on Boxing Day 2013, and Gardiner recalls hearing the news with shock and disgust.

Above everything else, Gingerfest is about friendship – the bond between musician and fan that can never be broken. It’s still something that means the world to 28 Days, however infrequent their appearances may be these days.

“Over the years, we’ve been able to create such a closely knit network of really good friends,” says Gardiner. “It’s one of the main reasons that we’re still doing it to this day. When we go out and play shows now, half of it’s just catching up with all the old mates. If you don’t make those friendships while you’re in a band, you’re just wasting your time. It’s such a great way to meet really interesting and really creative people.

You’re throwing it away if you’re just getting wasted and being a rock star. You’re in it for totally the wrong reason.”

What: Gingerfest: The First Annual Ginger Ninja Punk Rock Festival With: The Snowdroppers, Bagster, Totally Unicorn, Anchors, Born Lion, Clowns and more Where: Factory Theatre When: Saturday December 6

“We all knew him fairly well,” he says. “He came to all the shows we’d play back in the day, he’d always end up backstage, he’d always be up for going out after the shows. He was just an awesome dude. He was the kind of guy who would do whatever he could to help a guy out.

He was just mad for music. It was his love – be it punk rock or whatever else, Ginger was there for it. That’s the kind of person that I like to surround myself with. We were shocked when we heard about it. It didn’t make any sense. It was just terrible news for us – we had no idea why such a thing would happen. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. It just shouldn’t have happened.”

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“It’s crazy when you play those songs that people still really connect with and love hearing. We always get people coming up to us these days and saying our old shit reminds them of Year 12.”

Gardiner insists that in spite of the circumstances that have brought these bands together, they don’t want Gingerfest to be a sombre day. This is, for all intents and purposes, a day to celebrate the life of a great friend and a supporter to the end of every band he loved.

Although a lot of the lineup features new names to Gardiner, he’s excited to see what’s on offer throughout the day.

“There’s a lot of Sydney bands on the bill, and we sadly don’t get to play Sydney much,” he confesses. “I’ve heard of a lot of the bands, though, and I’m really looking forward to seeing them for the first time. I’m sure we’ll all gel. After all, we’re all there for a really good cause. We love the guys from Bagster – it’ll be great to catch up with them.”

The 28 Days you’ll see onstage at Gingerfest will more than likely be a slightly rejigged version of the one you saw last – long-serving turntablist ‘Jedi Master’ Jay Howard has left the fold, and drummer Dan Kerby is the band’s most recent recruit, having joined in 2011. To paraphrase Led Zeppelin, however, the songs do indeed remain the same. If you’re fanging for some old-school hits from the band’s early days – the 1998 self-titled debut, 2000’s Upstyledown or even 2002’s Stealing Chairs – then you’re in luck.

“We just like to get up there and play all of our so-called hits,” says Gardiner, practically throwing quote marks in the air with his fingers as he snickers at the idea. “We’re lucky in that the songs that have been the most successful for us are the songs that we still really like to play.” Even ‘Rip It Up’? “Even ‘Rip It Up!’” he laughs. “I’ve played it a million times, and it’s still awesome to play. People still get into it. It’s crazy when you play those songs that people still really connect with and love hearing. We always get people coming up to us these days and saying our old shit reminds them of Year 12.

It’s an incredible feeling.” thebrag.com

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Philadelphia Grand Jury Tafelmusik: House of Dreams

The Verdict Is In By Augustus Welby

Goldner String Quartet Steven Isserlis with Connie Shih I Fagiolini Paul Lewis Modigliani Quartet Eggner Trio

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early three years after breaking up, in late 2013 Sydney’s Philadelphia Grand Jury sprung back to life. The original trio’s ensuing Australian tour was a reminder of how much fun things were in 2009. And now, guess what? This month the Philly Jays are heading out on the road again, and they’ve also promised to make a new record.

“We did that tour last year and then we were like, ‘Why don’t we make an album?’” says bass player Joel Beeson. “And none of us could think of a good reason why not.”

NOVEMBER 2014 MONDAYS FROM 9PM

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The atmosphere at the Philly Jays’ December reunion shows was completely devoid of nostalgia. Enthralling a packed room at The Standard with equal parts clever songcraft and sweaty chaos, the three-piece proved they weren’t past their peak.

“We all felt that tour was the best shows we’d played,” Beeson says. “It was bizarre because we hadn’t played together for three years and had done two rehearsals or something. For some reason it just worked really well.”

With the release of their debut record Hope Is For Hopers five years ago, Philadelphia Grand Jury became key players in Australia’s buzzing music scene. But after a frivolous few years travelling around the country and parts of the globe, the guys announced they were done.

Frontman Simon Berckelman (AKA Berkfinger) relocated to Berlin and ignited a solo project, Feelings. Original Philly Jays drummer Dan Williams exited the band in 2009 to focus on playing with Art vs Science, but on Feelings’ 2012 Australian tour he was back behind the kit. Naturally, Beeson was curious to see his former comrades playing together again.

“It was definitely weird to see that happening,” he says of Feelings’ first Sydney show. “They played a couple of Philadelphia Grand Jury songs and I’d never, obviously, stood in the crowd and seen those songs be played before.

That was a really bizarre experience, actually.”

At this stage, Dave Rennick from Dappled Cities was Feelings’ third live member. However, Rennick couldn’t commit to the next run of shows, which is when Beeson stepped up to the plate. “I got this email, fairly out of the blue, saying, ‘No pressure, just thought that this might be kind of cool,’” he explains. “I will admit I was nervous coming back into a band with Dan and Simon, because we broke up because we weren’t getting along all that well.

But stepping into that rehearsal room it was just like nothing had ever happened. There was an instant chemistry and it just felt right.”

It wasn’t a spectacular burnout, but the Philly Jays’ dissolution was rather unceremonious.

Like so many who’d gone before, the strains of being a full-time touring band started outweighing the passion for making music.

“You’re spending all of your time living together and trying to book tours and organise hire vans in countries that you’ve never lived in before,” Beeson says. “Doing all that while trying to record a new album, it really wasn’t conducive to being creative.”

Now, having had a few years to move past those stultifying pressures, the Philly Jays are eager to crack on with album number two. After a string of fundraising shows along the east coast, they’ve allotted themselves two weeks in Berkfinger’s Berlin studio to get it done.

“We just thought, ‘How do we do this and make it fun again and go back to being a group of friends that love being in a room playing music and writing songs?’” Beeson says. “I think it was more a case of, ‘Let’s find some way that we can do that without the stress of trying to tour the world or release the biggest single that we’ve released so far.’ It’s trying to be a creative, interesting, fun vibe for us. If other people dig on that, that’s cool, but that’s not our main interest.”

Two weeks seems like a brief working period, particularly considering the songs still need to be written. Producer Tim Whitten will be on board for a good chunk of the recording process, which will lighten the load. Moreover, Beeson is confident the trio’s prosperous collaborative chemistry – which birthed songs such as ‘The Good News’ and ‘Going To The Casino (Tomorrow Night)’ – makes this a more than manageable timeframe.

“We tried writing some stuff and sending it online across the world to each other, but it was a really tough way to work. We wrote our best songs when we were all together, getting a basic idea and it germinating for a couple of hours, and then when the lightning strikes, just hitting ‘record’ and that being the take.

“We used to record after midnight in the studio where Simon was working. We’d just sneak in after midnight and record for three hours – write a song and record it. I think two weeks is a bit of a luxury, to be honest. What are we going to do with all this time? That’s what I’m worried about.”

As for long-term plans, climbing a ladder to the stars isn’t high on the agenda. But never say never. “There’s plans for it to continue, but certainly in a different direction in terms of what we’re focusing our time and energy on,” Beeson says. “It’s not going to be [focused] on conquering the world. It’s going to be on making cool records and playing awesome shows that people remember ten years down the track.”

Where: Beach Road Hotel / Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle When: Wednesday November 12 / Thursday November 13 thebrag.com

BRAG’s guide to film, theatre, comedy and art about town

arts in focus

tom gleeson settling the score

also inside:

C I N D E R E L L A / D O U G S TA N H O P E / A R T S N E W S / A R T S G I V E AWAY / R E V I E W S thebrag.com

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arts frontline

free stuff

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Roger Ma, Debbie Shankar and June Murtagh

five minutes WITH

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit Still Point Turning

KELLY MCJANNETT, PRODUCER OF 1790: A TALE NOT OFTEN TOLD positive stories that are not a part of our Australian rhetoric.

of empathy and common unity that Governor Phillip, played by Andrew Steel, and Bennelong, played by Lasarus Ratuere, recognised in one another.

Why do you think this tale isn’t told as often as it should be?

By and large, I think it is because parts of our Australian history are dark. There is a tendency to shy away from that which is difficult. Our intention with the play has been to explore some positive aspects, some

DIVORCE, THE MUSICAL

How important is it that this conversation of race relations is continued in the present context?

It is critically important. We must always question and explore how we address race. In my opinion we have a long way to go before we are anywhere close to being as inclusive or open-minded as we should be. While Australia is considered a young country, we

Do you think politicians and society today can learn from the relationship between Governor Phillip and Bennelong?

Certainly. Phillip was by no means perfect, and nor was Bennelong. But the curious thing about this story is that there was a warmth and intention that was positive from each toward the other. We have to remember these two men were from opposite ends of the earth separated by vast waters and polar theologies, but they recognised a common unity in each other, and that is remarkable.

What: 1790: A Tale Not Often Told Where: Lend Lease Theatre, Darling Quarter When: Thursday November 13 – Saturday November 15

Sport For Jove’s outdoor theatre is returning for its sixth season with two acclaimed works. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, directed by Susanna Dowling, and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, directed by Damien Ryan, will be performed at the lush Everglades Gardens in Leura and the historic Bella Vista Farm in Baulkham Hills. Sport For Jove’s outdoor theatre season is on Friday December 5 – Sunday January 25. For tickets and session dates visit sportforjove.com.au.

TARANTINO GETS SHAKESPEARED

Quentin Tarantino meets William Shakespeare in this modern day mash-up.

Written for the stage by Steven Hopley, William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs is the Bards Bastards’ parody production of Tarantino’s masterpiece Reservoir Dogs in Shakespearean style. Six knights are hired to rob a case of precious jewels from a coach on its way to the King, and after their robbery is thwarted, the brigands realise that one of

Mission Australia’s Surry Hills-based Creative Youth Initiatives program offers a six-month art course, Artworks!, for the youth of Sydney. The budding artists’ works of the past six months are now set for display at Sydney University’s Verge Gallery. On show will be diverse and highly original artworks, ranging from ceramic plates and terracotta dragons to experimental drawing and a replica wooden Katana sword. All work will be up for sale. The exhibit is on Wednesday November 26.

The Balnaves Foundation and the Sydney Opera House have announced a new partnership to help make the iconic venue accessible to disadvantaged Australians. Over three years, the Balnaves Foundation Open House program will assist up to 12,000 socially and economically disadvantaged people to attend performances over three years.

Customers will pay $5 per ticket to attend selected performances. The program begins in December – for more info, visit sydneyoperahouse. com/balnaves.

them must secretly be an officer in disguise.

But which one? William Shakespeare’s Reservoir Dogs is on at The Vanguard from Tuesday November 18 – Friday November 21.

LANE AT THE ATRIUM

Renowned artist Keith Lane brings his Chinese-inspired artworks to Sydney this month. With a background in painting, sculpture and architecture, Lane is no stranger to art followers. Having been selected as a finalist for the Art Gallery of NSW Sulman Prize (2008 and 2009) and having won the Macarthur Art Award, Camden (2005), his works have been critically acclaimed worldwide. Lane’s exhibition runs until Saturday November 22 at the Art Atrium in Bondi Junction.

THE ACCIDENTAL PRIMATE

Art, science and humanity collide in Helen Pynor’s avant-garde exhibition, The Accidental Primate. Pynor, who has had her work showcased in the likes of the Powerhouse Museum, Dublin’s Science Gallery and Russia’s National Centre for Contemporary Arts, has created a stunning series of artworks that explore the relationship between evolution and survival. The Accidental Primate is on show at the Dominik Mersch Gallery from Friday November 21 – Wednesday December 17.

Dust Bowl by Max Berry

BERRY HITS THE HEIGHTS

Surry Hills’ China Heights Gallery will exhibit a new major body of work by 2014 Wynne fi nalist Max Berry to launch its new gallery space. The Inwardness Of Place is a series of works that explore the question of what place is. Berry’s work is heavily inspired by his journeys to various locations in Australia, and The Inwardness Of Place continues on from 2013’s Which Way Home. The exhibition runs this Friday November 14 – Sunday November 16.

thebrag.com

A Midsummer Night’s Dream photo by Seiya Taguchi

YOUTH ARTWORKS EXHIBIT

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Still Point Turning will run from Thursday November 27 – Saturday November 29 at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres, and we’ve got two double passes to give away to the closing night. To be in the running, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us what you would be doing today if time weren’t an issue.

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE OFFERS $5 TICKETS

SPORT FOR JOVE

Plants Are Friends by Amy Bills

If you’re sick of routine, schedules, and are an avid fan of the snooze button (let’s face it, you probably are), then this production might just be for you. Form Dance Projects is bringing the multidimensional and multimodal Still Point Turning to Sydney.

Performed by De Quincey Company’s Linda Luke, the work explores our obsession with time, schedules and structure, all juxtaposed against an existential backdrop and exploring the nature of ‘cosmic time’.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Everyone writes musicals about falling in love, but what about the tales of when love falls apart? Multitalented comedian and performer Em Rusciano is here to save the day, with her show Divorce, The Musical! on its way to Sydney. Expect a combination of awkward stories, hearty laughs and stunning vocals, as Divorce comes to town after soldout Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Adelaide Fringe runs.

Divorce, The Musical! is on at The Comedy Store on Friday November 21 and Saturday December 13.

Em Rusciano in Divorce, The Musical

STILL POINT TURNING

Still Point Turning photo by Mayu Kanamori

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ell us about the concept behind 1790: A Tale Not Often Told.

1790: A Tale Not Often Told is a midscale theatrical production that explores the remarkable relationship shared between Bennelong and Sydney’s first Governor, Arthur Phillip, on the bicentenary of his death. The play breathes life into the events of 1790, and is the first and only work of playwright Robert Thomson. As the producer I have wanted to bring to a contemporary audience a story

Your company is called Founding Modern Australia.

How clearly can we see the impacts of the events in 1790 on Australia today?

So much has influenced us and our identity in Australia. I would like to think that individuals in this country relate to their own histories and influences freely.

That said, the Australia we live in today has been hugely affected by events we look at in the play and it is hoped audiences not only learn but consider how we might do things better in the future.

have had to grow up quickly and we need to mature further still if we are to reach due respect to our indigenous forefathers, the oldest living civilisation on earth.

SWANS, MARDUK, FAUX MO, ZAMMUTO, LI BINYUAN, THE CLEAN, AMIR FARID, BEN FROST, TIM HECKER, JIM MOGINIE, NEIL GAIMAN, DAN DEACON, AVA MENDOZA, ALVIN CURRAN, SHONEN KNIFE, XYLOURIS WHITE, GENEVIEVE LACEY, GABRIELLA SMART, OMAR SOULEYMAN, PHILLIP JOHNSTON, ROBYN HITCHCOCK, ARCHITECTS OF AIR, ATTICUS J. BASTOW, SPEAK PERCUSSION, ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF, MICHAEL KIERAN HARVEY, SENYAWA + LUCAS ABELA, DEBASHISH BHATTACHARYA, JOHANNES S. SISTERMANNS, ALLAN HALYK & ADAM WOJCINSKI, MOFO SIDESHOW: VIOLENT FEMMES, PAUL KELLY PRESENTS THE MERRI SOUL SESSIONS - FEAT. DAN SULTAN, CLAIRY BROWNE, KIRA PURU & VIKA AND LINDA BULL, YOUNG WAGILAK GROUP & AUSTRALIAN ART ORCHESTRA, AMANDA PALMER & THE TASMANIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA + MORE

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MAINTAINING THE TRUE ART OF COCKTAIL CULTURE Have you heard?

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Cinderella

Doug Stanhope [COMEDY] Apathetic Anarchy By Cameron James

[THEATRE] Everyday Magic By Tegan Jones

B

etween Once Upon A Time, Grimm and even the wildly successful Wicked, adaptations and reimaginings of traditional fairytales are incredibly in vogue at the moment. Enter renowned Australian actor Mandy McElhinney in Belvoir Street Theatre’s new production of Cinderella. If you think it’s going to be drenched in glass slippers and fairy godmothers, you’re very much mistaken.

“Part of the delight will be fi nding the thread of the story that we know, or that we think we know,” McElhinney explains.

“Cinderella has many, many different incarnations in all cultures, but basically, the same story has been told. There are some key elements that are hidden quite delightfully within the play. On the surface, it won’t look like it’s a play about Cinderella, but it is absolutely inspired by the story.”

The question is, who are the two main characters going to be if not Cinderella and Prince Charming? “The two characters are middle aged and approaching that feeling of thinking, ‘Am I always going to be on the shelf? Am I going to meet someone?’” says McElhinney. “A lot of people do that by going online and hooking up with people. But they have to meet to fi nd out if they actually have a spark. These are two people who are quite uncomfortable in the world and fi nd

it very hard to connect and fi nd people who are like them. There’s nothing hip or cool about these characters. They’re quite vulnerable.

buddies when we’re drunk,” he says. “I start out not caring about the subject, but by the end I fi nd an angle I’m passionate about. Or maybe I still don’t care that much, but at least I got a good bit out of it.”

“The character I’m playing is a woman who is wanting to meet someone. She’s terrifi ed of becoming a crazy cat lady and always being alone. At the same time, she does feel quite comfortable being alone.

There’s a comfort in that, rather than taking the risk of putting herself out there and meeting someone.

With a career built on vitriol, you have to wonder what a 20-odd-year veteran of stand-up comedy still cares about. “Quitting,” he says, and bursts into laughter.

“Quitting is all I think about now. Everything I care about, I’ve cared about before, and I’ve spoken about before. A million times.”

“But she wants to be rescued, in a way.

I think that from those fairy stories there is very much a theme about the women being rescued, and I guess it’s a journey of her trying to fi nd her own courage. Matt [Whittet]’s just written the character so beautifully that really, it’s going to take the same amount of courage to just be honest and expose myself in the same way that the character does.”

Watch a Stanhope comedy special. Take a look at some of his clips online; the oftshared ‘This Generation Sucks’ rant, for example. It’s hard to imagine the comedians’ comedian not caring. In fact, it’s hard to imagine him not running a cult. “At my heart, I’m lazy,” he says. “The only reason I’ve ever been an anarchist is because we don’t do anything.”

Although this is a modern reimagining of Cinderella, you’ll still be able to spot little throwbacks to the original story.

“There’s the idea of going to the ball, but in our world it’s a pub. There’s the idea of the shoes and the fairy stories. Fairy stories are put into the play, but they’re stories from the characters’ own lives. The element of time, midnight, is also very strong.

“It’s about the infl uence that the story has had on all of us.

It’s about true love and fi nding ‘the one’. It resonates very strongly throughout the play.

But if people come expecting a woman in a frock, pumpkins and mice and things like that, they might not fi nd them.”

Another aspect of the story that hasn’t changed is the idea of true love. “It’s about how we want someone who is going to take us, warts and all,” says McElhinney. “A lot of us go through a lot of pains to cover up what we think are our fl aws, but they’re actually what make us interesting. It’s through revealing the hidden parts of ourselves that we achieve real intimacy. I guess it’s watching these two people who aren’t cool fi nding acceptance in each other.

What: Cinderella Where: Belvoir Street Theatre When: Thursday November 13 – Sunday December 7

Mandy McElhinney in Cinderella

From the razor-tongued US comedian famed for his takedowns of religious right wing bully politicians, this is surprising.

You see, Stanhope has completely earned his cult comedian status. This is a guy whose opinions are as important as his jokes. You go to Stanhope because you want to see him angry; you want to see him sweat and seethe and let loose his verbal dogs of war. With that in mind, you’d think that Tony Abbott would be a wonderful addition to his shit list. But it seems a lot about Stanhope has changed in recent years.

“I’m 47,” he begins. “I was angry for a long time.” A montage of vein-popping rants about society’s decay or over-population or the war in Iraq comes to mind. “But at a certain point, you can’t recreate that anger forever. You just have to let it go.”

This new quasi-Zen attitude doesn’t mean he won’t still say whatever he wants onstage – his most recent special, Beer Hall Putsch, has a personal tale of euthanasia as its centrepiece. The guy still shocks, but the difference is, he’s not trying to shock us. He’s trying to be honest. And as it happens, the most shocking thing of all is the truth. “I usually write [my material] just by arguing with

I call bullshit. Quitting has been something Stanhope has discussed (or threatened) many times before. If he was truly serious about giving the game away, why hasn’t he done it yet? “I tried, and I can’t. Any time I get a few days alone, I go crazy and book a tour to Australia,” he laughs. “I guess I enjoy my misery. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.”

And the guy is not alone there. In fact, all his fans seem to love his misery, too. Don’t get me wrong; they celebrate his success.

His emotional turn in hit show Louie had everyone buzzing, but even then audiences were revelling in his character’s potential suicide. With a fan base that he proudly describes as “everybody from the prosecutors to the accused”, they are on his team. But they do like to see him with something to rally against.

If Stanhope’s increasing critical acclaim and currently raised profi le have you worrying that he’ll soften, don’t. “I feel good for about a week,” he says in regards to success. “I get a few compliments, and that’s nice. I might get some emails, some offers, and sure, it’s great. Then I remember I’ll probably get cancer.”

He laughs. “My fans’d love that.”

Where: UNSW Roundhouse When: Friday November 14 and Saturday November 15

Cinderella photo by Gary Heery

“I think what Matt has done so beautifully is that he’s created the fairytale, the myth and the magic of everyday things. It’s possible to have a fairy story in the real world.”

“I

don’t give a shit about Australian politics,” Doug Stanhope cackles. “I don’t even care about politics in my own country.”

Tom Gleeson [COMEDY] Quality And Quantity By Meg Crawford

F

unnyman Tom Gleeson is returning to Sydney this week for a reprise of Quality, his comedy festival show from this year that focuses on the trials and tribulations of fatherhood, booze, and last but not least, the shitful state of the Federal Government.

“Yeah, there’s a fair portion of the show that’s quite critical of Tony Abbott,” he says. “But I feel like I got on the ground fl oor with that. At first, it was pretty lonely. The first gig I did this year was in Mandurah, which is on the outskirts of Perth, and I suspect that the majority of the audience had voted for Tony Abbott and they were not as open to my views as people have become as time has worn on.

I feel like a bit of consensus has been built now.”

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Gleeson says that as a comedian, he fl ies the fl ag for angry guys. Has fatherhood knocked off any of his edge? “It has taught me a lot more empathy,” he refl ects. “It’s easy when you see people to think straight out, ‘Oh, they’re an idiot,’ but when you become a father you realise that people have come from somewhere and have been shaped. There are reasons they are the way that they are. Even Tony Abbott. So I’ve either got a little more empathy, or I’m more critical in far more detail.”

Although we disagree on his next point, Gleeson also claims to be unlikeable. “A lot of stand-up comedians tap dance around

onstage, wanting people to like them, and it’s really quite overt,” he says. “Even if they’re going to talk about politics, it’s like, ‘I’m not very happy with Tony Abbott, I know some of you voted for him, but I’m just saying that I’m not quite happy,’ and they feel like they need to start backtracking and get everyone on board, whereas I prefer to throw out opinions and let the audience cope.

“Also, there’s a desperation in trying to be liked, and I realise that I’m a bit of a prickly person anyway. I’m better off just being and letting people who are interested in that form of deep, deep cynicism gravitate towards me, and the people who don’t like it will just move on. I just know that I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. Not everyone’s as cynical as me. I’m hard-wired that way – I just can’t pretend that everything’s OK.” What: Quality Where: The Comedy Store When: Saturday November 15 and Sunday November 16 thebrag.com

xxxx xxx

Rallying against Abbott onstage we understand, and we know that Gleeson’s the dad of a two-year-old, which is no walk in the park, but where does the booze fi t into his set? “A lot of new parents seem

to drink a lot, although people don’t talk about it,” he says. “I’ve noticed it from talking to my friends who are new parents – once the child’s in bed, there’s about a two-hour party before the adults go to bed too. I feel like I spent a lot of that last year doing that: putting my two-year-old to bed, cracking open a bottle of wine, drinking a little bit too much and yelling at the TV because Tony Abbott was on it.”

Film Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen around town

Film

FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

Two Days, One Night

In cinemas now Seven years ago, while in the pursuit of images for his book, historian and filmmaker John Maloof came across a box of negatives. Initially he assumed they were the run-of-the-mill happy snaps he’d so often seen during a childhood spent at flea markets and auction houses. But when he started scanning the negatives, he realised they were actually the work of a very gifted photographer – Vivian Maier.

The documentary Finding Vivian Maier traces Maloof’s steps as he discovers who this woman was and why the public had never before seen her sizable collection of extraordinary photos.

Maier worked as a nanny for many wealthy families in Chicago from 1956 onwards.

Through interviews with her former employers and their children, we learn that Maier was an intensely private person who presented herself in various ways with multiple different accents and names while also revealing conflicting details of her past. Her wards also tell us that her lengthy career as a nanny afforded her the freedom to pursue her love of photography without the boundaries of a more conventional occupation.

Not surprisingly, this is not the first documentary using Maier as a subject.

Finding Vivian Maier The BBC made its own version of her story, Who Took Nanny’s Pictures?, in 2013. Several books and articles have also investigated this intriguing figure and prints of her photographs have sold for as much as US$8,000.

The groundswell of interest around Maier and her photographs, combined with the fact she only has distant living relatives, gives rise to a number of issues around the posthumous rights of artists – issues from which this film shies away. Since Maloof is only one of three people to own photographs by Maier, one could be forgiven for questioning his motivations behind making this documentary.

Regardless of these muddy moral issues and despite the film posing more questions than it answers, this documentary succeeds in making the captivating tale that is Maier’s life even more intriguing.

Lee Hutchison

■ Film

My Old Lady

MY OLD LADY In cinemas Thursday November 13 Written and directed by acclaimed playwright Israel Horovitz, My Old Lady follows the fortunes of Mathias Gold, played by Kevin Kline, who inherits an apartment in Paris on the death of his estranged father. After travelling to France on his last dime, however, Mathias discovers that the apartment still holds a tenant, and that under the ‘viager’ law, he will be unable to take ownership of the property until this tenant dies. Maggie Smith plays Gold’s tenant, 92-year-old Mathilde, while Kristin Scott Thomas fills the role of Chloe, Mathilde’s daughter.

Both the cast and the plot of the film contain a whole bunch of confusing elements. Firstly, the combination of Kline, ever the incorrigible ham, with the likes of Smith and Scott Thomas is a little jarring.

Neither Smith nor Scott Thomas seems able to keep up with Kline’s tendency to deliver every line like he’s playing the part of King Lear’s fool. Consequently, a lot of the ‘quirky humour’ that is attempted between the characters just doesn’t come off. The plot is equally confusing.

The concept of the viager law is poorly explained and never seems to make

■ Film

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT In cinemas now The films by Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Rosetta, The Child, The Kid With A Bike) superficially fit into a very conventional mode of cinematic realism – location shooting, natural lighting, handheld camera, no music score, et cetera – and yet, the ends of their means can rarely be reduced to something as humdrum as an unvarnished portrait of a specific time and place. Their latest film, Two Days, One Night, stars Marion Cotillard as Sandra, a mother who discovers her co-workers have opted for a bonus even as it means her dismissal;

enough sense for the whole narrative to hinge on this device. The film also swings quite constantly between comedy and tragedy, without doing either very satisfactorily.

the title refers to the weekend she spends trying to convince them, one by one, to reject the bonus so she can get her job back.

The stakes are initially very clear-cut, and the structure inherently repetitive, as Sandra visits each of her 16 colleagues individually to try to make them reconsider their decision. What’s masterful about the film is how these stakes shift over its course: Sandra’s economic desperation is initially tied to her sense of dignity and self-worth, but with each visit this relationship becomes increasingly tenuous, and the yes/no outcome feels less important than what these interactions contribute to the film’s cross-section portrait of the human condition. It’s also the second film this year

– after James Gray’s unfairly neglected The Immigrant – in which a large chunk of its success rests in the emotional transparency and mystery that Cotillard so expertly conveys with even the simplest gestures and body language.

Two Days, One Night certainly has topical resonance in its depiction of working class unemployment woes, but as ever, the Dardennes are hardly opportunists.

What they accomplish here is the very tough task of making human decency and altruism – rendered in a rigorously plainspoken visual style – akin to a major great dramatic spectacle, confirming their status as filmmaking alchemists of the highest order.

Ian Barr

The State Library of NSW presents

The cinematography is quite beautiful at times, which at least makes the movie a little more watchable, aesthetically speaking. Dominique Pinon, in the role of real estate agent Monsieur Lefebvre, also offers brief moments of relief from the frustrating plot, simply by being generally charming as he always is.

My Old Lady is a gamble that just doesn’t pay off, and by the end of the film it’s hard to even really care what becomes of the three main characters.

Louisa Bulley

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed

EMMA-LEE COURT, THE MAKEUP WARDROBE, 7/333 KING STREET, 2013, NIC BEZZINA, a8817 ONLINE NO. 37

What's in our diary...

A free exhibition until 10 May 2015 Galleries open daily – 8 pm on Thursdays From rubber-wear designers to cookie makers, photographer Nic Bezzina captures the colourful characters behind some of the most iconic businesses in this vibrant inner city suburb.

Glebe Street Fair For the 31st time, Glebe Point Road will be taken over again this weekend with colour, food, markets, music and arts. That’s right, it’s time for the Glebe Street Fair once again, and over 200 stallholders have signed on to peddle their wares in the biggest and best street festival around.

30 entertainers will perform across three stages, but really it’ll be a feast for the senses – think gourmet food, distinctive coffee, stunning fashion and (here’s hoping) a wonderful sunny afternoon.

The event runs from 10am-5pm. For more info, visit glebestreetfair.com.

P&D-4311-11/2014

Glebe Point Road, Sunday November 16

Nic Bezzina’s Newtown N Shopkeepers, S Sh along with w wi an extensive range of photography ra books, prints and gifts, b i available from the is Library L Shop.

Macquarie Street Sydney (next to Parliament House) (02) 9273 1414 www.sl.nsw.gov.au Find us on

BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 21

BARS SMALL

A Work In Progress 50 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-late; Sat 5pm-2am The Attic L1, 347 Kent St, CBD (02) 9299 4811 Mon – Fri 11am- am Ash St Cellar 1 Ash St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri 8.30am-11pm

Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808 Mon – Tue 5-11pm; Wed – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight Balcony Bar 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD

(02) 9299 3526 Tue – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight BAR100 100 George St, The Rocks (02) 8070 9311 Mon – Thu noon-late; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-midnight Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4712 Thu 4-10pm; Fri 4-11pm; Sat 3-11pm

The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Fri 2pm-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am Bondy’s L1, 16 Philip Ln, CBD Wed – Thu & Sat 5pm-late; Fri 3pm-late Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14

BANTER SURRY HILLS

Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sun 4pm-4am Gilt Lounge 49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Tue – Wed 6pm-midnight; Thu & Sat 6pm-2am; Fri 5pm-2am The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun

bar

OF

425 BOURKE ST, SURRY HILLS PHONE: 02 8354 0954 OPENING HOURS: 6PM-MIDNIGHT, WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY

deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm

TH

EK

B R A G ’ S G U I D E T O S Y D N E Y ’ S B E S T W AT E R I N G H O L E S

Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

E E W

11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am Goodgod Small Club 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD (02) 8084 0587 Wed 5pm-1am; Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 5pm-5am; Sat 6pm-5am Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Mon – Fri 4pm-1am; Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-midnight

The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight

The Spice Cellar Basement 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD (02) 9223 5585 Mon – Sun 4pm-late

The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Wed & Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Fri noon-late

Stitch Bar 61 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0380 Mon –Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-2am; Sat 4pm-2am

The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight

Tapavino 6 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay (02) 9247 3221 Mon – Fri 11am-11.30pm

Mr Tipply’s 347 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 4877 Mon – Sun 10am-late Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3172 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Fri noon-late; Sat – Sun 5pm-late

Sounds?

Ambient house and lounge tunes complement the dual level space perfectly, setting the perfect tone for your relaxed dining experience at Banter Surry Hills.

Highlights: Banter Surry Hills is unlike any establishment in Sydney. Guests can enjoy world-class modern French dishes from chef Opel Kahn at a price which allows them to enjoy the menu night after night. Set over two levels with an array of indoor and outdoor spaces, lounges, and balcony and courtyard spaces, Banter Surry Hills is the perfect location for all bookings – large groups, romantic dinners for two or a quick bite to eat on the way home from the office.

The bill comes to: Under $30 per person on average for a main and a cocktail.

Website: banterbar.com.au

22 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

Since I Left You 338 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4986 Mon – Wed 5pm-10pm; Thu – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Small Bar 48 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0782 Mon – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 7.30am-midnight; Thu 7.30-1am; Fri 7.302am; Sat 11.30-2am; Sun11.30am-10pm

Care for a drink?

We’re all about the Pastèque d’été 17 – Beefeater gin, Suze, watermelon, thyme, citrus, Burlesque Bitters.

Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222 Mon –Wed 8am-6pm; Thu – Fri 8am-10pm

Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 5pm-late

Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

What’s on the menu?

Created by chef Opel Khan (Lifestyle Channel), our menu is French with a modern twist – dishes made delicious in their simplicity, focused on local produce and taste trends. Our personal favourite is the crispy chicken with buttermilk potato and mango salad.

0402 813 035 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight

Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri 11am-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight York Lane York Lane, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6.30pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

The Angry Pirate 125 Redfern St Redfern (02) 9698 9140 Tue – Thur 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun – 5pm-10pm Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6-midnight

Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 5pm-12am

Blacksheep 256 King St, Newtown (02) 8033 3455 Mon – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat midday-midnight; Sun midday-10pm

Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern 199 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm

Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Mon, Wed –Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun noon10pm

Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Sat lunch & dinner

Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Sat 10am-late

The Rook Level 7, 56-58 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 2505 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 4pm-late The SG 32 York St, Sydney CBD

Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0422 873 879 Tue – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185

Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon – Sat 4.30pm-late Earl’s Juke Joint 407 King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Freda’s 107-109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm The Green Room Lounge 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Wed 5pm-late; Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-1am; Sun 5-10pm Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 9911 Mon – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm Kelly’s On King 285 King St, Newtown (02) 9565 2288 Mon – Fri 10am-3am; Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-midnight Knox Street Bar 21 Shepherd St, Chippendale Tue – Thu 4pm-l0pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-9pm Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Wed 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am; Sun 4pm-midnight The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9200 0000 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown (02) 4995 9550 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Miss Peaches 201 Missenden Rd, Newtown (02) 9557 7280 Wed – Sun 5pm-midnight The Moose Newtown 530 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 0072 Wed – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight; Sun 2-10pm

thebrag.com

Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu middaymidnight; Fri – Sat midday-3am; Sun midday-10pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Tue – Wed 11am-10pm; Thu – Fri 11am-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0409 284 928 Wed – Sun 5pm-11pm Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4-9pm; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 2pm-midnight; Sun 2-8pm The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2-10pm ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Thu 10am-4am; Fri 10am-6am; Sat 10am-5am; Sun 10am-12am Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 42221 Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 2pm-midnight; Sun 2pm-9pm

121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Thu 5-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight Absinthe Salon 87 Albion St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6632 Wed – Sat 4-10pm Banter Surry Hills 425 Bourke St Surry Hills Sydney (02) 8354 0954 Tue noon-midnight; Wed – Sun 6pm-12am Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Tue – Sat 6pm-late The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat midday - midnight; Sun midday - 10pm The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am thebrag.com

Black Penny 648 Bourke St, Redfern (02) 9319 5061 Tue – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon11pm Brooklyn Social 14 Randle St, Surry Hills 0451 972 057 Mon – Sun 12pm-2am Button Bar 65 Foveaux St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1544 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Café Lounge 277 Goulburn St, Surry Hills (02) 9016 3951 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sunday 4-10pm Casoni Italian Bar & Eatery 371-373 Bourke St, Darlinghurst Wed – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm The Carlisle 2 Kellett St, Kings Cross (02) 9331 0065 Thu – Sun 6pm-late The Carrington 565 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9360 4714 Mon – Sun noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm Ching-a-Lings 1/133 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 3333 Tue – Wed 6pm-11pm; Thu 6pm-midnight; Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Wed – Sun 6pm-4am The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Sun noon-late Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight Darlie Laundromatic 304 Palmer St, Darlinghurst (02) 8095 0129 Wed – Sun 5-11pm Eau De Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Mon – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 6pm-midnight The Flinders 63-65 Flinders St, Surry Hills (02) 9356 3622 Tue – Thu 5pm-3am; Fri – Sat 5pm-5am The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6:pm - 12am Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 9357 5333 Mon – Thu

3pm-midnight; Fri – Sun noon-midnight

noon-1am; Sun noon10pm

The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Tue 3-11pm; Wed – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm

The Passage 231A Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 6116 Mon – Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sun noon-late

Hello Sailor 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9332 2442 Tue – Sun 5pm-1am The Hills 42 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3814 Mon – Sun midday-2am Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Jekyll & Hyde 332 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 5568 Wed – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 8.30am-late; Sun 8.30am-evening Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sat 5pmmidnight Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Thu noon-3pm & 5-11pm; Fri – Sun noon-11pm LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Tue – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri 5pm-late; Sat 11am-late; Sun 11am-10pm The Local Tap House 122 Flinders St, Surry Hills (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noon-2am; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon-11pm Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Low 302 302 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1548 Tue – Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 6pm-2am Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0414 691 811 Mon –Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Norfolk 305 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 3177 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat

Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Wed – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4pm-midnight The Print Room 1 Glenmore Rd, Paddington 0424 034 020 Wed – Fri: 3pm-late; Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm Queenie’s Upstairs Forresters Cnr Foveaux and Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Santa Barbara 1 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross (02) 9357 7882 Wed 6pm-1am; Thu & Sat 6pm-2am; Fri noon2am Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (0 2) 8096 9120 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu 5pm-2am; Fri – Sat 5pm-5am Sweethearts Rooftop 33/37Darlinghurst Rd, Potts Point (02) 9368 7333 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sun noon-midnight Tio’s Cerveceria 4/14 Foster St, Surry Hills Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Unicorn Cellar Basement, 106 Oxford St, Paddington (02) 9360 7994 Tue – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm The Victoria Room Lvl 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 4488 Tue – Fri 6pm-midnight; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noonmidnight

COCKTAIL OF THE WEEK Pour it in your mouth-hole... (responsibly).

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Tue – Fri 4.30pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Wed 5-11pm; Thu 5pm-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Sun 11am-late The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Mon – Fri 6pm-late; Sat 4pm-late; Sun 4-10pm The Rum Diaries 288 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9300 0440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight; Sun 6-10pm Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Fri 3pm-late; Sat – Sun noon-late Spring Street Social (and Jam Gallery) Underground 110 Spring St Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tues – Sat 4pm-3am Tues-Sat 4pm 3am. Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

The Bay Jam Bar 2A Waters Rd, Neutral Bay 0407 454 0815 Tue – Fri 11am-midnight; Sat – Sun 7am-midnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Wed 5-10pm; Thu 4-11pm; Fri – Sat noon11pm; Sun noon-9.30pm The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 5-10pm Harlem On Central Shop 4,9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9976 6737 Tue – Sun 5pm-midnight Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm

KAMPALA DANDY @ HINKY DINKS 185 DARLINGHURST ROAD, DARLINGHURST Origins: This cocktail has been designed especially for a charity named School For Life. This charity is run by two young Aussies who are transforming communities in rural Uganda through the provision of high-quality primary and vocational education, healthcare, clean water, farming and agriculture, employment and infrastructure.

100 per cent of the profits from this cocktail will go to the School For Life. The money will be used to build their second primary and vocational school. This silly season, this is one hangover you can feel good about!

Ingredients: Belvedere Red, grapefruit marmalade, fresh lemon, sugar, plum bitters, egg whites.

Method: Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake for your life. Then double strain into a stylish coupette and garnish with some orange zest.

Glass: Coupette.

Garnish: Mint leaf and orange zest.

Best drunk with: A clean conscience.

During: These long summer evenings.

While wearing: Something colourful and ethically produced.

And listening to: Soulful African beats.

More: hinkydinks.com.au

In Situ 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Mon 9am-6pm; Wed – Sun 9am-midnight The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jah Ba Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Local Bar 8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Mon 5-10pm; Tue – Wed 8am-10pm; Thu – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 7am-late

The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060 Tue – Fri 10am-late; Sat 8am-late; Sun 8am-10pm Miss Marley’s Tequila Bar 32 Belgrave St, Manly (02) 8065 4805 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3-11pm The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Tue 4pm-midnight: Wed –

Thu midday-1am; Fri – Sat midday- 2am; Sun midday-midnight The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sun noon-late White Hart 19-21 Grosvenor St, Neutral Bay (02) 8021 2115 Tue – Thu 5pm-late; Fri 4pm-late; Sat 2pm-late; Sun noon-8pm Wilcox Cammeray 463 Miller St, Cammeray (02) 9460 0807 Tue – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri - Sat 11am-11pm; Sun 11am-10pm

Your bar’s not here? Email: chris@thebrag. com

BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 23

Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...

ALBUM OF THE WEEK HOOKWORMS

xxx

The Hum Domino/EMI

Fame Xxxx is destined to find Hookworms, whether they like it or not.

After last year’s excellent debut Pearl Mystic made its way onto several 2013 best-of lists, Hookworms have returned with a worthy follow-up. The fameshy Leeds five-piece (the band members go by their initials rather than full names) crafted a superb proggy psych-rock monster on that debut, but The Hum finds Hookworms embracing their punk side.

Nowhere is this more evident than on opener ‘The Impasse’, a furious twoand-a-half minutes of wailing vocals and pounding drums that bleeds into the pulsating ‘On Leaving’, an album highlight. ‘On Leaving’ shows that psych rock is still Hookworms’ chief trade, and by trimming the excess they’ve found an energy that only makes their music more visceral without sacrificing the trippy aesthetic.

Like on Pearl Mystic, a trio of instrumentals blend in and out of their neighbouring tracks to give the album a sense of flow, as if it is one whole piece of music. That’s not to discount the quality of individual songs, as the

two openers and ‘Radio Tokyo’ and ‘Retreat’ leave a powerful impression with their sheer vigour and ferocity.

The members of Hookworms might shy away from the spotlight, but

if they keep releasing albums as good as this one, that spotlight is going to get harder and harder to avoid.

Keiron Costello

TV ON THE RADIO

ARIEL PINK

THE VOYEURS

2:54

MACHINE HEAD

Seeds EMI

Pom Pom 4AD/Remote Control

Rhubarb Rhubarb Heavenly/[PIAS]

The Other I Bella Union/[PIAS]

Bloodstone & Diamonds Nuclear Blast

TV On The Radio simply don’t make bad albums. With an eclectic, genre-hopping style that can be difficult to pin down, they’ve been making excellent records since 2004’s Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes.

Dropping the Haunted Graffiti moniker that accompanied his previous albums, Los Angelesbased experimental/lo-fi/ avant-garde artist Ariel Pink has delivered his first ‘solo’ record, Pom Pom.

When I dove into Rhubarb Rhubarb, the second full-length offering from East Londonian garage rockers The Voyeurs, I heard a plateful of sounds, from Coxon to Bland, which the band must have listened to at least once while recording this album.

Seeds starts strong as the raw earnestness of opener ‘Quartz’ is followed by ‘Careful You’, a gentle, multi-lingual plea that explodes into an electro freak-out in its latter stages. ‘Could You’ is about as straightforward as TV On The Radio get and yet still manages to be catchy as hell, and is followed by the deliriously infectious pop of ‘Happy Idiot’ at track four.

Taking inspiration and sounds from ’80s synthpop, ’60s surf rock and lo-fi guitar rock of the ’90s and then mixing them up in a blender, Pink’s latest is a forceful journey.

At a lengthy 69-minute runtime – half of which is spent on absurdist tunes that border on the parody yet aren’t that funny, and none of which holds particular interest after their initial attention-grabbing bizarreness – it isn’t for everyone.

2:54’s self-titled debut in 2012 was an assured slice of alt-rock that suffered slightly from a lack of variety from song to song. It was as if they wrote songs to a precise template: equal parts ghostly vocals, ominous atmospherics and a creeping sense of serious dread. Two years have passed and 2:54’s Thurlow sisters (Colette and Hannah) are still plagued by the same problem, stuck on the same template.

It’s interesting to trace the journey and development of long-running bands, tracking the quality of their output over the years. In the case of the now-legendary Californian metallers Machine Head, they started with all guns blazing: their first two albums being all-time metal classics. They then had a slight dip, before exploding back to form. That form continues with the release of their eighth album, Bloodstone & Diamonds.

After this, it’s no surprise the album takes it down a notch through its middle section, as a string of slower tracks brings the mood back down a bit. The only real misstep of the album is the saccharine ‘Right Now’, which is reminiscent of early Phoenix and contains none of TV On The Radio’s distinctive off-kilter energy. But thankfully this lull is immediately wiped out by ‘Winter’, a thumping album highlight that finds the band at its heaviest.

While it may not be quite at the level of 2008’s brilliant Dear Science, Seeds is a seriously good effort that extends the band’s unblemished streak to five albums long.

That’s not to say there aren’t any good songs on the album, just that they’re too few and far between.

‘Put Your Number In My Phone’ and ‘Dayzed Inn Daydreams’ stand out as the two that showcase what could have been. Pink’s potential in songwriting and vocal ability shine in these; it’s just a shame that there aren’t more.

If you’re already a fan of Ariel Pink then you already know what you’re in for. But for everyone else, there’s better out there.

Roger Ma

To put it in its shortest form, The Voyeurs are just another lo-fi British rock outfit. You’ll hear essences of the Stones (especially on the opening track, ‘Train To Minsk’) and you’ll grin to yourself a little when you inevitably think, “Gee, these guys certainly sound like The Who,” but that’s just about where the novelty ends.

That being said, it’s one of those albums that will fit into your Spotify ‘Britpop/rock’ playlist (don’t act like we don’t all have one), and every time a song finishes you’ll simply forget about it until it pops up again on the next rotation.

A serious question to ask is: after how many albums is it no longer OK to have that rustic eight-track sound in the age of easy track mastering?

Is the sound nostalgic? Yeah.

Is it palatable? Absolutely. Will you remember this album a few months from now? Fairly unlikely. This is a safety album.

The Other I is another collection of perfectly acceptable songs without anything approaching a departure from their trademark style, let alone a standout single. After listening to the album, the overwhelming sense is one of uniformity. And this uniformity extends across both of 2:54’s efforts; tracks from one album could be dropped into the other without anyone noticing.

To be fair, the songs themselves are all good in their own right, with lead single ‘Orion’ and closer ‘Raptor’ going as close to highlights as the album gets. Colette’s vocals are impressive and a perfect match for their particular brand of murky, ethereal rock. It would just be nice to hear them shake things up a bit.

It appears Robb Flynn and co. have truly decided what their signature sound and style is. Take the nuclearstrength groove and balls-out aggression of the first two records, infuse an epic vibe and a little more light and shade, and you have latterday Machine Head. And after four albums pursuing that sound, they’re arguably doing it better than ever.

There’s a fabulous sense of ebb and flow and variation across the album’s almost 70-minute length. There’s plenty of mid-paced stomp and grind, thrashy moments, gothic elements, a quiet but dark ballad (‘Damage Inside’), an instrumental (‘Imaginal Cells’) and plenty more.

It’s still a decent album, but one on which every song sounds exactly like the one that came before. A little variety would go a long, long way.

Bloodstone and Diamonds is probably Machine Head’s most complete and varied album. It’ll truly satiate existing fans, and could very well gain them a bunch of new ones.

Keiron Costello

Rod Whitfi eld

Jacob Mills Keiron Costello

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK King Gizzard’s last LP Oddments copped criticism for being inconsistent. Sure, it felt like a collection of slightly disparate tracks, but even though the Melburnians never fail to conjure to an air of excitement, Oddments showed they’re also in possession of serious songwriting chops. I’m In Your Mind Fuzz emphasises this facet, while also being the band’s most consistent set of songs.

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD I’m In Your Mind Fuzz Flightless/Remote Control

24 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

There’s a central groove and melodic range introduced by the record’s interconnected four-track opening sequence, which recurs as the album progresses. Instead of becoming tiring, this ploy successfully wipes away any established notions of time and pours hyperactive colour swirls into your mental picture.

In addition to a permanent harmonica player, previous Gizzard records have featured theremin and sitar. The latest addition to the instrument pile is a flute. Taking the lead on tracks like ‘Hot Water’, the flute slots in so intrinsically well that it’s a wonder they ever coped without it.

Mind Fuzz is rammed full of clever songcraft spliced with certified mania, but the best is saved for last. Album closer ‘Her And I (Slow Jam 2)’ starts off as a heart-on-sleeve/Girls-style ditty, only to morph into a seriously sexy eight-minute desert funk jam.

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week...

FACTORY FLOOR - Factory Floor TIM MINCHIN & HIS ORCHESTRA - Live At The O2 ELBOW - The Take Off And Landing Of Everything

DONNY BENET - Weekend At Donny’s THE DRONES - I See Seaweed

Augustus Welby

thebrag.com

snap sn ap

live reviews

up all night out all week . . .

What we've been out to see...

Newtown Social Club Sunday November 9 On the walls behind the Newtown Social Club stage the blurred instruction to “Put On Your 3D Glasses Now” is being displayed. The soundcheck is long – too long, in fact, given 50 minutes pass between supports and the Jinja Safari co-frontman Pepa Knight launching into his first song. Onstage, alongside guitar and drums, we have a zither, a tabla, an instrument I believe is a swara mandala, and a metal frame supporting a halfdozen dangling bananas on strings. The pre-gig soundtrack is equally bizarre.

Greenskeepers’ ‘Lotion’ segues into America’s ‘A Horse With No Name’ – both fine songs, sure, but you imagine they’d have a hard time making small talk if they met at a party.

It is an intimate audience, but this is also the evening of the Newtown Festival and most of the day’s weary revellers have long since retired. Given there is a charge for the 3D glasses, only around half the crowd has bothered with them, and beyond the novelty value they aren’t really necessary. The projections behind the band are a kaleidoscopic blend of Sgt. Pepper meets Jodorowsky, and give the night a pleasantly cinematic atmosphere. The set itself, though, is

something of a disappointment. Knight’s vocals are almost entirely unintelligible over the drums and synth, and there is as much energy to his performance as a broken espresso machine. Things seem a little more promising with second song (and early audience favourite) ‘Clams’, but even then the enjoyment is marred by harsh, discordant blares of static that are difficult to distinguish between deliberate effect and sound glitch. It might be the bananas.

Knight is an endearing and affable performer, and his band is strong (points to the synth player/flautist, and to the tabla player who has to repeatedly stop what he is doing because his robes are getting tangled). But looking around the subdued crowd, more bemused than entertained, you can’t help but feel a lot more work needed to go into this gig. The psychedelic droning and lounge-room-relaxed vibes would have gone down great if everyone were stoned, but as it is the night is sadly flat, with only occasional moments of real interest.

It’s great that music of such a, frankly, niche genre here in Australia is being sustained and explored. With time, here’s hoping Knight is able to develop his live act into something more engaging.

Adam Norris

king of the north

PICS :: AM

PEPA KNIGHT

the living end

PICS :: AM

09:11:14 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney

06:11:14 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666 thebrag.com

BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 25

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katchafire

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

nofx

PICS :: AM

07:11:14 :: The Hi-Fi :: 122 Lang Rd Moore Park 1300THEHIFI

08:11:14 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711 26 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

anvil

PICS :: AM

the art single launch

PICS :: AM

07:11:14 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666

09:11:14 :: The Hi-Fi :: 122 Lang Rd Moore Park 1300THEHIFI OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

MAR :: S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

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BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 27

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week Husky

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13 Oxford Art Factory

Husky ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Mitch Anderson & His Organic Orchestra Coopers Hotel, Newtown.

8:45pm. free.

Rodriguez State Theatre, Sydney.

7:30pm. $100.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Lionel Cole Imperial Hotel, Paddington.

8pm. free.

Tori Amos Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

7pm. $89.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

28 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Cath & Him Pendle Inn, Pendle Hill.

7:30pm. free.

Gareth Rowan + The Crazy Fools The Wild Rover, Surry Hills.

7pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

10 O’Clock Rock Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

10pm. free.

A Team Duo Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 9pm. free.

Alex Bowen + Jep & Dep + Michael Zagrodis The Vanguard, Newtown.

7pm. $20.

Ben Fox Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free.

David Agius Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 7pm. free.

Drunk Mums + Hattie Carroll Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 9pm. free.

Evie Dean Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

Armchair Travellers Duo Dooleys, Silverwater. 6pm. free.

Ben Gunn Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

9pm. free.

Craig Thommo Duo Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

12am. free.

DJ Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

7:30pm. free.

Glenn Esmond Trio Marlborough Hotel, Newtown.

11pm. free.

Harbour Master Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

8pm. free.

Hat Fitz & Cara + Shelly Fitzpatrick Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $23.

LJ Mill Hill Hotel, Bondi Junction.

7:30pm. free.

Riley Beech Kareela Golf Club, Kareela.

1:30am. free.

Sam Newton Chatswood RSL, Chatswood.

5pm. free.

Sarah Paton Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

4:30pm. free.

7pm. free.

Greg Agar Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. free.

Husky Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.60.

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders + Geoffrey O’Connor Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $20.

James Johnston + Jaymie Deboucherville & Chloe Pappandrea Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $25.

JJ Duo Brighton RSL, Brighton Le Sands. 7:30pm. free.

Miners + King Tears Mortuary + Deep Space Super Group Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 8pm. free.

Sete Star Sept - feat: Michael Crafter + Frame 313 + Dispolar + Canine + The Holiday Project + Hacked To Chunks Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Singles Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

10pm. free.

The Late Night Soda Social Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Bin Juice Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 8pm. free.

Funkified Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard.

9:30pm. free.

Jazz Hip Hop Freestyle

Accept Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

8pm. $66.60.

Alex Hopkins Wenty Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free.

AM 2 PM Windsor Leagues Club, Windsor South. 9pm. free.

Ange Hills District Bowling Club, Baulkham Hills. 8:30pm. free.

Angela Ayers Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 10:30am. $15.

Backlash Penrith Gaels, Kingswood.

8pm. free.

Ben Finn Greystanes Inn, Greystanes Inn. 5:30pm. free.

Black Diamond Hearts Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. free.

C.W. Stoneking + Fraser A Gorman Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $43.90.

Cath & Him North Ryde RSL, Ryde North.

8pm. free.

Clay Vetter The Grand Hotel, Rockdale.

5:30pm. free.

Darren Johnstone The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm. free.

David Agius Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

9:30pm. free.

Dollshay Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill.

8pm. free.

Endless Summer Beach Party Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly. 10pm. free.

Evie Dean Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

Happy Hippies Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. free.

Ian Moss The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $43.

Jaymes Reyne Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. $50.

Jeff Buckley Tribute Show feat: Avivaa + Nick Cassey + Forster Anderson +

Jack Peacock + James Blackwood + Lou Millar + Cam Raeburn Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

Jess Dunbar Duo Emu Sports Club, Leonay.

7:30pm. free.

JJ Duo Vikings Sports Club, Dundas Valley. 7pm. free.

Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt.

9:30pm. free.

Macson Overlander Hotel, Cambridge Park. 7pm. free.

Matt Jones Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. free.

Matt Price Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 8pm. free.

Metallica Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 10pm. free.

Michael And Lucas Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point.

8pm. free.

Morning Harvey + The Tambourine Girls Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst.

7pm. $12.25.

Noel McDonald Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

6:30pm. free.

Panorama Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. free.

Peppermint Jam Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. free.

Radio Birdman Manning Bar, Camperdown.

8pm. $50.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Ryan Thomas Western Suburbs Leagues Club, Leumeah. 6:30pm. free.

Seattle Sound Colonial Hotel, Werrington.

8:30pm. free.

Spit Roasting Bibbers Crown Hotel, Camden. 8pm. free.

Stage Hire Colonial Hotel, Werrington.

9pm. free.

Stompies Birthday With Rukus - feat: Playground Of Hate + The Fuck Outs + Hostile Objects + Swine + Everything I Own Is Broken Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Sugar Reef Horsley Park Tavern, Horsley Park. 7pm. free.

Super Best Friends Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 8pm. free.

Swim Club - feat: Tullett + Josh Kelly + Nickles + PhDJ Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $5.

The Happy Hippies Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. free.

The Rockaholics Duo Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci.

7:30pm. free.

The Venusians + Beaten Bodies + Anatole + DJ Huwston Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 8pm. free.

Tom Freeman Wentworth Hotel, Homebush West. 9pm. free.

Tora + La Mar + Atlas Bound Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $10.

Tori Darke Cronulla Leagues Club Sharkies, Woolooware. 7pm. free.

Unforgiven - Metallica Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 10pm. free.

Victoria Avenue Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

8pm. free.

Wildcatz Sportsmans Hotel, Blacktown.

8:30pm. free.

Yuki Kumagai + John Mackie Winston Gardens Chinese Restaurant, Winston Hills.

7:30pm. free.

Zoltan PJ Gallagher’s Whisky Bar, Jacksons On George, Sydney.

5:30pm. free.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Greg Poppleton’s Bakelite Dance Band Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

DJ Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

8pm. free.

Felicity Robinson Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst.

9pm. free.

Harbour Masters Duo Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

12am. free.

Hat Fitz & Cara Katoomba RSL, Katoomba.

7:30pm. $20.

Paul Hayward And Friends Town & Country Hotel, St Peters. 4pm. free.

Riley Beech Panania Diggers, Panania.

8pm. free.

Rob Henry Henry Lawson Club, Werrington. 7:30pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

2Thorns The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney.

8:15pm. free.

Armchair Travellers Duo Northmead Bowling Club, Northmead. 8pm. free.

Big Way Out Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst. 9:30pm. free.

Blake Tailor Plough & Harrow, Camden.

8pm. free.

Brad Johns Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. free.

Brown Sugar Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown. 9:30pm. free.

Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

5:30pm. free.

Cath & Him Hornsby RSL, Hornsby. 8pm. free.

Club Legend - feat: Huggz + Cbfruits + Bad Jackson Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $5.

Corrosion - feat: DJs Xerstorkitte + She + Banshee Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Craig Thommo Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

Crust Almighty - Almighty Crust - feat: Dark Horse + Inebrious Bastard + Debacle + Common Enemy + Resist Control + Culture Of Ignorance + Dead Architect + Concrete Lung Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.

Darren Johnstone Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

9pm. free.

David Agius Cronulla Leagues Club Sharkies, Woolooware. 7pm. free.

Dragon Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi. 7pm. $25.

Drunk Mums Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $14.

Endless Summer Beach Party Westmead Tavern, Westmead. xxx

Axe Girl + Hey Lady!

Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 8pm. free.

Captain Cook Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. free.

Colour Therapy + Village Echoes + Monte + Tall Hearts Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $10.

Elana Stone + Katie Wighton Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 8pm. free.

Fat Bubba’s Chicken Wednesdays Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free.

Philadelphia Grand Jury

Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

Scattered Remains - feat: Edenfall + The Abyss Collective + Tormentus + Oculatus + Inferus Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

The Rolling Stones Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7pm. $198.20.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

8pm. $23.60.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12

Sessions Foundry616, Ultimo. 11:30pm. $5.

On The Stoop Venue 505, Surry Hills.

8:30pm. $15.

thebrag.com

g g guide gig g

SARAH MCLEOD

Xxx

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com 8pm. free.

Evie Dean Panthers, Penrith. 5:30pm. free.

Funkstar Penrith RSL, Penrith.

5:30pm. free.

Get The Party Started - The Pink Show Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 10pm. free.

Gorguts Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $50.

Hits & Pieces Duo Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm. free.

Hooray For Everything Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham. 8pm. free.

Ian Moss The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $43.

Iron Lion Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 9:30pm. free.

James Englund New Brighton Hotel, Manly.

10pm. free.

James Reyne Cronulla Leagues Club Sharkies, Woolooware. 8pm. $50.

JJ Duo Kelly’s On King, Newtown.

9:30pm. free.

Long Way To The Top - The AC/DC Spectacular Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8pm. $25.

Macson Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. free.

Manchester Orchestra + Apes + Kevin Devine Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $50.90.

Marty Stewart Wentworth Hotel, Homebush West. 9pm. free.

Matt Jones Duo Albion Hotel, Parramatta.

9pm. free.

Melody Rhymes Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. free.

Michael Saracino Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

4pm. free.

One Hit Wonders Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 8:30pm. free.

Palms Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 9pm. free.

Pop Fiction Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

10:30pm. free.

Pre Goreguts Party - feat: The Inducer + Infernal Outcry + As Flesh Decays + Cunt Butcher Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 12pm. $10.

Replika Greystanes Inn, Greystanes Inn. 8pm. free.

Ryan Thomas Brewhouse Marayong, Kings Park. 8pm. free.

Sea Legs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $15.30.

Soft Kitty Crown Hotel, Camden. 9pm. free.

Sound City Horse & Jockey Hotel, Homebush. 7:30pm. free.

Soundproofed Oatley Hotel, Oatley. 8pm. free.

Stephen Kiely Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

6:30pm. free.

Talk It Up Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 8pm. free.

That Other Band Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. free.

The Bandits Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci.

7:30pm. free.

The Beatels Ettamogah Hotel, Kelly Ridge. 9pm. free.

The Daily Vibe Kareela Golf Club, Kareela.

8pm. free.

The Elton Jack Show

thebrag.com

Club Central Menai, Menai.

8pm. free.

The Lonely Boys R.G. McGees, Richmond.

9pm. free.

Thrash’Em All 2: The Melbourne Invasion Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 7pm. $15.

Tim Conlon Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 8pm. free.

Tom Freeman Hunters Hill Hotel, Hunters Hill. 9pm. free.

Unfun Festival ’14 - feat: Kisschasy + Sierra + Dear Seattle + Oslow UTS Underground, Ultimo.

12pm. $42.

Van The Man - Van Morrison Show Kingsgrove RSL Club, Kingsgrove. 8pm. free.

Wildcatz Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Yuki Kumagai + John Mackie Winston Gardens Chinese Restaurant, Winston Hills.

7:30pm. free.

Yum Penrith Gaels, Kingswood.

7pm. free.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Armchair Travellers Henry Lawson Club, Werrington. 12pm. free.

Armchair Travellers Duo Henry Lawson Club, Werrington. 12pm. free.

Ben Gunn Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn.

3pm. free.

Charlie Camilleri Ramsgate RSL, Sans Souci.

2pm. free.

Craig Thommo Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm. free.

Curtis Finch The Wild Rover, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

Darren Johnstone St Marys Rugby Leagues Club, St Marys. 1pm. free.

Drew Old Fitzroy Hotel, 1pm. free.

Glenn Esmond Riverstone Sportsmans Hotel, Riverstone. 12pm. free.

Glenn Esmond Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

6pm. free.

Hat Fitz & Cara + Cilla Jane The Vanguard, Newtown.

7pm. $28.80.

Kevin Devine Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $26.

Pat O’Grady Moorebank Hotel, Moorebank. 2pm. free.

Riley Beech Oatley Hotel, Oatley. 1pm. free.

Sam Newton The Mill Hotel, Milperra.

12pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

A Winged Victory For The Sullen The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $43.

Sparky’s Reggae Bar Opening Night The Studio, Marrickville.

12pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS 2Thorns Windsor Leagues Club, Windsor South. 4:30pm. free.

& MICK SKELTON

Alex Hopkins Woolwich Pier Hotel, Woolwich. 2pm. free.

Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

6pm. free.

Feral Swing Katz Penrith RSL, Penrith. 2pm. free.

Free Variety Show feat: Cosmic King + Strangerous Collective + Zounis + Lion Calamity + Dirty H Allstars + Carl Stewart Band + The Low Tees + Society Of 5 Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 3pm. free.

Gary Johns Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

Hardcore Sausagefest - feat: Those Things! + Saints Alight + Grizzly Adams + Get Threw + Castles + Deadweights Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

7pm. free.

Husky + Ali Barter Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $25.

Jonny Gretsch’s Wasted Ones Botany View Hotel, Newtown.

7pm. free.

Mandi Jarry Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown. 6:30pm. free.

Marty Stewart Wallacia Hotel, Wallacia.

2pm. free.

Matt Jones Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

6:30pm. free.

Rebecca Johnson Band Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 2pm. free.

Russell Nelson Waverley Bowling Club, Waverley. 3pm. free.

Stephanie Jansen Cronulla Leagues Club - Sharkies, Woolooware.

2:30pm. free.

The Spit Roasting Bibbers Overlander Hotel, Cambridge Park. 3pm. free.

Tom Freeman Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst.

2pm. free.

Trophy Eyes Metro Theatre, Sydney.

4:45pm. $20.

U2 Elevation Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 17

26 NOV | 8PM | FREE ENTRY

wed

thu

12

13

Nov

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Latin & Jazz Jam Open Mic Night World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. free.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 18

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

14 Nov

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Bernie Segedin Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

7:30pm. free.

Countdown To Recovery - feat: John Paul Young + Angry Anderson + Russell Morris + Glenn Shorrock + Ignatius Jones + Dynamic Hepnotics + Mark Gabie + Shanon Watkins Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

7:30pm. $66.60.

Nov

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sat

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sun

15

16

Nov

Nov

(9:30PM - 1:15AM)

mon

tue

17 Nov

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

18 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Nov

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Swingtime Tuesdays The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $9.

BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 29

Off The Record

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Gemma Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

7:30pm. free.

Greg Agar Cock & Bull, Bondi. 7pm. free.

Live & Originals - feat: Declan Kelly + Blak Douglas + Nic Cassey + Zana Rose

Bar 34 Bondi, Bondi Beach.

8pm. free.

Triumphant Tuesdays - feat: Dave Eastgate Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

8:30pm. free.

Dance And Electronica With Tyson Wray 7:30pm. free.

Blues Tuesdays With That Redhead Spring Street Social, Bondi.

7:30pm. free.

Modeselektor

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Blues Tuesdays Spring Street Social, Bondi.

gig picks up all night out all week...

I

t may have taken them almost two decades, but German electronic production duo Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary AKA Modeselektor are finally coming to Sydney. Over the course of their career they’ve released seminal records such as Hello Mom!, Happy Birthday! and 2011’s Monkeytown, alongside their two collaborative records with Apparat under their Moderat moniker. They’ll be playing completely live on Friday February 13 at The Hi-Fi.

Rodriguez

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12 Rodriguez State Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $100.

Tori Amos Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 7pm. $89.

The Rolling Stones Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

7pm. $198.20.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13 Alex Bowen + Jep & Dep + Michael Zagrodis The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $20.

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders + Geoffrey O’Connor Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $20.

+ Debacle + Common Enemy + Resist Control + Culture Of Ignorance + Dead Architect + Concrete Lung Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo.

7pm. $10.

Drunk Mums Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $14.

Hat Fitz & Cara + Cilla Jane The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $28.80.

Jeff Buckley Tribute Show - Feat: Avivaa + Nick Cassey + Forster Anderson + Jack Peacock + James Blackwood + Lou Millar + Cam Raeburn Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15 Crust Almighty - Almighty Crust Feat: Dark Horse + Inebrious Bastard

Flying Lotus

A Winged Victory For The Sullen The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $43.

Accept Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $66.60.

Hardcore Sausagefest - Feat: Those Things! + Saints Alight + Grizzly Adams + Get Threw + Castles + Deadweights Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Trophy Eyes Metro Theatre, Sydney. 4:45pm. $20

MONDAY NOVEMBER 17 Countdown To Recovery - Feat: John Paul Young + Angry Anderson + Russell Morris + Glenn Shorrock + Ignatius Jones + Dynamic Hepnotics + Mark Gabie + Shanon Watkins Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $66.60.

Tour rumours: keep an eye out for the debut visit Down Under by Chicago’s legendary Sadar Bahar this New Year period, and over the summer I’ve been told to expect visits from the likes of Tom Trago, Florian Kupfer and Tama Sumo.

Releases to look forward to: there’s only a month and a half of the year left but there are some killer late 2014 records still to come out. Keep an eye out for Ryo Murakami’s Spectrum, Lawrence’s A Day In The Life, Marco Shuttle’s Visione, Theo Parrish’s American Intelligence, Juju & Jordash’s Clean Cut and Low Jack’s Imaginary Boogie.

Unfun Festival ’14 - Feat: Kisschasy + Sierra + Dear Seattle + Oslow UTS Underground, Ultimo. 12pm. $42.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16

Sad news: following the cancellation of Robyn’s tour of Australia over the New Year period “due to a personal family matter”, tour buddies Röyksopp have also pulled the pin on their visit. “We are currently working on alternatives to come later next year with our own Röyksopp show,” they told fans in a statement.

Best releases this week: Rrose, Perc, Pfirter and Lakker all bring it home on Five Years Of Artefacts – Chapter One (on Stroboscopic Artefacts), while other highlights include Moodcut’s Tame Cats (Nous), John Barera & Will Martin’s Graceless (Dolly) and Burnt Friedman & Daniel Dodd-Ellis’ Cease To Matter (Nonplace).

Sea Legs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $15.30.

Kevin Devine Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $26

Ian Moss The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $43.

It seems that each passing year the St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival lineup gets

Manchester Orchestra + Apes + Kevin Devine Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $50.90.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14

C.W. Stoneking + Fraser A Gorman Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $43.90.

Argentina’s foremost techno titan Jonas Kopp will hit Sydney later this month. Held in the same light as luminaries Levon Vincent, Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann, over the course of his career he’s worked with the likes of Matthew Dear’s Spectral Sound label and underground imprint Stroboscopic Artefacts. He’s also got a full-length record Beyond The Hypnosis set to drop on Tresor later this month. He’ll perform at the Burdekin Hotel on Friday November 21.

filled with more and more electronic talent.

2015 is no different, and the sideshows have been flooding in this week. My picks: Rustie on Wednesday January 28 at Oxford Art Factory, Flying Lotus at the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday February 3, Caribou at the Sydney Opera House on Wednesday February 4, and Sohn on Thursday January 29 at Oxford Art Factory. All we’re left waiting on now is Jon Hopkins. Carn.

RECOMMENDED FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14 Ten Walls The Hi-Fi

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14 – SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16

Return To Rio: Ten Walls, Lake People, Laura Jones, Gavin Herlihy Del Rio Resort

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 22

Lost Disco: Seth Troxler, Âme, Pachanga Boys, Optimo Greenwood Hotel

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 23 Stimming The Spice Cellar

Laura Jones, Gavin Herlihy S.A.S.H

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 28 Powell The Imperial Hotel

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 29

OutsideIn: Pantha Du Prince, Seekae, Client Liaison Manning House, Sydney University

FRIDAY DECEMBER 5 Move D The Spice Cellar

SATURDAY DECEMBER 13 Robag Wruhme The Spice Cellar

SUNDAY DECEMBER 14 Vakula Sydney’s National Art School

SATURDAY DECEMBER 20

Lido, Sophie, Nadus, QT Metro Theatre

SUNDAY DECEMBER 21 House Shoes Sydney’s National Art School

THURSDAY JANUARY 1

Spice Afloat: Space Dimension Controller, Trus’Me, Oliver Koletzki, Niko Schwind Sydney Harbour

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos?

Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon.

30 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

thebrag.com

brag beats

BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

dance music news Royksopp & Robyn photo by Kacper Kasprzyk

club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin, Roger Ma and June Murtagh

he said she said WITH

KLEVAKUTZ FROM WAX WARS

Will Sparks

NYE WITH WILL SPARKS

Australia’s most in-demand DJ, Will Sparks, will headline Marquee’s New Year’s Eve celebrations this year. The architect of the Melbourne Bounce will be joined by DJ/vocalist Havana Brown for an epic party to welcome 2015 at Marquee’s Boom Box. Sparks is only in his early twenties, but has drawn attention around the globe for his distinct sound, with David Guetta even dropping Sparks’ ‘Ah Yeah!’ into his sets. Sparks headlines Marquee on Wednesday December 31.

What’s the concept behind the Wax Wars turntablist battles? How do they work?

The concept centres around turntable battles with a difference: two contestants compete on two separate DJ rigs, each with two Technics 1200 turntables and a Rane 62 mixer. A GoPro camera and projector screen the footage of their routines live on the wall behind the DJs giving the whole crowd a front row view of the turntablist styles, juggling, wordplay, dissing and scratching techniques up close and personal.

The event runs over seven weeks – six heats and two finals, running weekly until the finals on Friday December 19, with each heat consisting of three rounds of two minutes per DJ, with a total of eight DJs entering the comp. Wax Wars will be hosted by MCs Nick Knowledge and FBi Radio’s Stolen Records host, Shantan Wantan Ichiban. The MCs introduce each competitor and hype the crowd after each round to decide the winner.

What makes a champion turntablist – is it more about selection or skills?

Razor-sharp juggles, clean cuts, precise wordplay, quick mixing, body tricks and dope tune and sample selection make a turntablist stand out from the standard disc jockey – but it’s playing the turntable like it is an instrument that sets them apart.

With the spread of DJing technology, has the art of spinning wax been left behind?

Not at all. With Serato and Traktor and especially the Rane 62 and DJM-T1 mixer and a good set of Technics turntables, if anything it has allowed for more freedom

and expression, and this is why the art form is making a huge comeback. You will see turntablists in the comp using Serato on wax and also just straight-up, good old black gold vinyl.

You’ve been directly involved in the record industry for years. What is it about wax that turns you on?

Working at the record store for nine years and amassing a wax collection of over 5,000 records, you can imagine I am a huge vinyl addict. Wax is so tactile and it’s much more precise for cutting and doesn’t have any digital lag, plus it’s also much better sound quality as it’s recorded as a continuous wave, giving you many more frequencies and a heavier bottom end – and it’s just plain louder!

How strong is the Sydney scene at the moment? Where will it be in five years’ time?

The turntablist community in Sydney is thriving and there is a bunch of the next crop talent coming up through the ranks.

Sydney and the Blue Mountains have a strong beatmaking community and the two things tend to go hand-in-hand, with a lot of the beatmakers generally also talented turntablists.

What: Wax Wars With: MCs Nick Knowledge and Shantan Wantan Ichiban Where: Play Bar When: Every Friday until December 19

thebrag.com

The hip hop, dancehall and world music fusion threesome Balkan Beat Box have locked in a headline date in Sydney next March. The Brooklyn-via-Tel-Aviv gents were recently announced on the WOMADelaide and WOMAD NZ lineups, and their tour to our parts comes on the back of their most recently album, 2012’s Give, which was inspired by protest movements across the globe.

Tamir Muskat, Ori Kaplan and Tomer Yosef play Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday March 11 with support from Dubmarine. Tickets go on sale 9am Wednesday November 19.

SWEAT IT OUT XMAS Feenixpawl

FEENIXPAWL

Aden Forte and Josh Soon, AKA Feenixpawl, continue their rise with a set in Sydney this week. The pair has already won an ARIA Award for a hand in the 2012 single ‘In My Mind’ alongside Ivan Gough and Georgi Kay – later remixed by Axwell – and taken a fresh run at Kaskade’s ‘Room For Happiness’. And my, would you look at that impeccable hair. No doubt it’ll be looking sharp as ever at Marquee this Saturday November 15.

Festivity will be in the air come Tuesday December 23 as the Ivy Pool Club fills with a huge lineup of DJs and party people. Following the success of the sold-out A Very Sweaty Xmas last year, Sweat It Out Music is back to present yet another day and night of insanity. The event will host a killer lineup of DJs and a tribute set to Ajax, with all proceeds going to Ajax’s charity of choice, St Vincent de Paul. On the bill are Benson, Cassian, Crooked Colours (DJ set), Danny T, Dcup, Frames, Go Freek, Harris Robotis, Indian Summer, Juan Du Sol, Mickey Kojak, Motez, Playmode, Silversix, Terace, Wongo, Yolanda Be Cool and Bang Gang.

ILLMATIC LIVE

Iconic rapper Nas will mark the 20th anniversary of his seminal album Illmatic with an Australian tour. After the announcement of a headline slot at Sugar Mountain festival in Victoria, Nas has added standalone shows around the country.

1994’s Illmatic defined a generation of hip hop, drawing on samples from eras past while speaking to a new audience. The 2015 tour will be Australian audiences’ first chance to see the album performed start to finish and in full by the New York MC. Nas plays Illmatic at the Enmore Theatre on Friday January 23. Tickets go on sale 9am Friday November 14.

COSMA TRIBUTE

ESP and Wizardy Of Oz have announced a special edition of their Return To The Source goa/psytrance night, featuring Basic performing a Cosma tribute set. This event has been a long time coming, as Cosma’s music has a very special place in the hearts of a lot of trancers in Sydney. Avihen Livne (AKA Cosma) passed away in 2003, but he left behind two timeless albums, Simplicity and Nonstop. To honour his legacy, Basic (a one-time music production partner of Cosma’s) will perform a special two-hour set comprising of unreleased, remixed and allround special tracks by Cosma. The event will take place at Erskineville’s Imperial Hotel on Saturday November 22.

BONDI NYD JAM

Funkdafied, Article One Events and DJ Fasmwa have announced the Bondi NYD Jam, full of sunshine and good vibes. Bringing the freshest soul, disco, funk, Latin and old-school hip hop

TOKYO SING SONG TURNS ONE

It’s hard to believe that one of Newtown’s quirkiest venues opened only a year ago. Tokyo Sing Song is celebrating one year of operations this Thursday November 13 with some of Sydney’s most interesting party people. DJing on the night will be Levins, Dickie and Stereogamous, along with a surprise special guest. It all goes down under the stairs in the basement of the Marlborough Hotel.

BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14 :: 31

xxx

Sohn photo by Amelia Troubridge

BALKAN BEAT BOX

Balkan Beat Box

will be the headlining DJ and producer John Morales from New York City. Promoting his recent Club Motown mix series, you can expect an eclectic, dancefloor-friendly set. In support will be local DJs Adverse, Juzzlikedat and JC, alongside Fasmwa, Kizito Marley and Nick Toth in the Tropical Terrace. The party’s set for Thursday January 1 at Bondi Diggers.

club guide g send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Yacht Club DJs

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15

Side Bar, Sydney. 6pm. free.

Homemade - feat: Royaal + Venuto + Rees Hellmers + DJ Iko + DJ Seiz + MVP + J Reyes + Nick Arbor + Simon Lovell + Mc Suga Shane + MC Bones Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 9pm. free.

Infamous Saturdays - feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. free.

John Digweed Garden Party - feat: Luke Chable + Robbie Lowe + Garth Linton + Nine Lives Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

12pm. $68.60.

Lndry - feat: Dusky + Destroy The Machines + Acaddamy + Set Mo + Avon Stringer + Kyro + Samrai + Fingers + DJ Just 1 + Tau Tau & Truman + Ethan Boyd Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $32.90.

Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm. $25.

Pacha Sydney - feat: Hot Moth + Chardy + A-Tonez + Acaddamy + Jesabel + Samrai + Chris Arnott + Fingers + Danny Lang + Jace Disgrace + Keyes + News + Just 1 + U-Khan + Eko + Pro/Gram + A-Game Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $35.

Sienna Saturdays - feat:

Resident DJs The Establishment, Sydney.

9pm. free.

Soda Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Playing Disco And Funk Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

Something Else At The Burdekin - feat: Red Rack’Em & Simon Caldwell + Ian Pooley + Mr. C + Set Mo + Max Graef Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst.

4pm. $20.

Spice 15.11 - feat: Robbie Lowe + Michelle Owen + Mike Witcombe + Benji + Statz The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

10pm. $25.

Yacht Club DJs Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.60.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16

Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 2pm. $10.

Sunday Sessions - feat: Cadell + Tom Kelly + Ocky Goldfish, Kings Cross. 4pm. free.

Sunday Spice - feat: Spice Residents + Valerie Yum + Kato + U-Khan The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

9pm. $10.

Sundays In The City - feat: Various DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 12pm. free.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 17 CLUB NIGHTS

Crab Racing Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. free.

Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs Side Bar, Sydney. 8pm. free.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 18

CLUB NIGHTS

La Fiesta - feat: Samantha Fox + Agee Ortiz + Av El Cubano + Resident DJ Willie Sabor The Establishment, Sydney.

8pm. free.

S.A.S.H Sundays

CLUB NIGHTS

Chu World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

Oxford O f d Art Factory

Yacht Club DJs 8pm. $23.60.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 12 CLUB NIGHTS

DJ Tom Kelly Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

The Wall - feat: Various Local And International Acts World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $5.

Whip It Wednesdays - feat: Various DJs Whaat Club, Kings Cross.

9pm. free.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13 HIP HOP & R&B

Joyride Lo-Fi, Darlinghurst. 6pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Fear Of Dawn Goldfish, Kings Cross. 8pm. free.

Goldfish And Friends - feat: Regular Rotating Residents Goldfish, Kings Cross. 10pm. free.

Hot Damn Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $10.

Kaleidoscope - feat: Go Freek + Gee Baby + Made In Paris Thomas Anthony + Shibbi Lo-Fi, Darlinghurst. 7pm. free.

Locus Cadre - feat: Cav Smith + Taylor Ferney + Hendrik + Bazil The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

7pm. free.

Pool Club Thursdays - feat:

32 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

Resident DJs Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 5pm. free.

The World Bar Thursdays World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

Tokyo Sing Song’s First Birthday Party - feat: Levins + Dickie (Divy Pool Club) + Stereogamous + PHD + Jack Shit + Betty Grumble Marlborough Hotel, Newtown.

11pm. free.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14 HIP HOP & R&B

Hustler Fridays - feat: MC Shaba Hustle & Flow, Redfern. 7pm. free.

Wax Wars Round 2 - feat: Zero Vs Steak N Kidnie + Kuya Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm. $10.

CLUB NIGHTS

Bassic - feat: Dirtyphonics + Spenda C + A-Tonez + Samrai + Blackmale + Nemo + Blackjack + Arcade Theory Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. free.

Courtney Mills Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.40.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills.

10pm. free.

Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13

John Digweed

Locus Cadre - Feat: Cav Smith + Taylor Ferney + Hendrik + Bazil The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 7pm. free.

Frisky Fridays Scubar, Sydney. 5pm. free.

Loco Friday - feat: Various Live Bands And DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. free.

Soul Control - feat: Ben Fester + Preacha The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

10pm. $15.

Thank Funk It’s Friday The Ranch, Eastwood.

9:30pm. free.

Voodoo - feat: Neelix Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 10pm. $25.

Tokyo Sing Song’s First Birthday Party - Feat: Levins + Dickie (Divy Pool Club) + Stereogamous + Phd + Jack Shit + Betty Grumble Marlborough Hotel, Newtown. 11pm.

Free.

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14 Bassic - Feat: Dirtyphonics + Spenda C + A-Tonez + Samrai + Blackmale + Nemo + Blackjack + Arcade Theory Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. free.

Courtney Mills Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.40.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15 HIP HOP & R&B

I’m Not An Addict Listening Party And Open Mic Hustle & Flow, Redfern. 8pm. free.

Skratch Saturdays - feat: Zac Hendrix + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Cakes - feat: 4 Rooms Of Live Music + DJs And International Guests World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills.

10pm. free.

El’ Circo - feat: Resident Circus Act Performers Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst.

7pm. $109.

Fennixpawl Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.60.

Frat Saturdays - feat: DJ Jonski

Soul Control - Feat: Ben Fester + Preacha The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $15.

Wax Wars Round 2 - Feat: Zero Vs Steak N Kidnie + Kuya Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm. $10.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15 Fennixpawl Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.60.

Frat Saturdays - Feat: DJ Jonski Side Bar, Sydney. 6pm. free.

Homemade - Feat: Royaal + Venuto + Rees Hellmers + DJ Iko + DJ Seiz + MVP + J Reyes + Nick Arbor + Simon Lovell + MC Suga Shane + Mc Bones Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 9pm. $20.

I’m Not An Addict Listening Party And Open Mic Hustle & Flow, Redfern. 8pm. free.

John Digweed Garden Party - Feat:

Luke Chable + Robbie Lowe + Garth Linton + Nine Lives Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 12pm. $68.60.

Lndry - Feat: Dusky + Destroy The Machines + Acaddamy + Set Mo + Avon Stringer + Kyro + Samrai + Fingers + DJ Just 1 + Tau Tau & Truman + Ethan Boyd Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $32.90.

Something Else At The Burdekin Feat: Red Rack’em & Simon Caldwell + Ian Pooley + Mr. C + Set Mo + Max Graef Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 4pm. $20.

Spice 15.11 - Feat: Robbie Lowe + Michelle Owen + Mike Witcombe + Benji + Statz The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $25.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16 S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 2pm. $10.

Sunday Spice - Feat: Spice Residents + Valerie Yum + Kato + U-Khan The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 9pm. $10.

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snap

harbourlife 2014

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

08:11:14 Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquarie’s Point thebrag.com

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soul control ft. nelson

PICS :: KC

up all night out all week . . .

wax wars

PICS :: KC

07:11:14 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney 9223 5585

PICS :: AMT

the potbelleez

s.a.s.h sundays

08:11:14 :: Marquee :: The Star Sydney Pyrmont 9657 7737 34 :: BRAG :: 588 :: 12:11:14

PICS :: AM

07:11:14 :: Play Bar :: 72 Campbell St Surry Hills 9280 0885

09:11:14 :: Home :: 101/1-5 Wheat Rd Darling Harbour 9266 0600 MAG NAN :: ASH LEY MAR S :: KATR INA CLA RKE :: AMATH OUR LOV ELY PHO TOG RAP HER

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140608_BRAG-26Nov-275x385mm.indd 1

10/11/2014 11:24:15 AM

Free Live Shows in New South Wales Saturday November 15 Hotel Brunswick (Brunswick Heads) 3.30pm Saturday November 15 Beach Hotel (Byron Bay) 7.30pm Sunday November 16 Park Beach Hotel (Coffs Harbour) 5pm Thursday November 20 UNSW Roundhouse (Kensington) 7pm Friday November 21 Towradgi Hotel (Towradgi) 7.30pm Saturday November 22 The Bucket List (Bondi Beach) 2pm Saturday November 22 Newport Arms (Newport) 5.30pm Saturday November 22 Manly Wharf Bar (Manly) 10pm Sunday November 23 Watsons Bay Hotel (Watsons Bay) 3.30pm Sunday November 23 Coogee Bay Hotel (Coogee) 7.30pm

for more information www.coronaextra.com.au/livemusic National Tour Partners

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