Brag#599

ISSUE NO. 599 FEBRUARY 11, 2015

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE

Also

This Week

COMEDY FEATURE PE T ER HOOK

The former Joy Division/New Order man isn’t backing down.

K IL L E R BE K IL L E D

Soundwave’s supergroup set to debut Down Under.

GR A EME MUR PH Y ’S S WA N L A K E

A reboot of the ballet classic.

C ONOR OBER S T

The prolific songwriter looks back on a long career.

Plus

MODESELEKTOR STEPHEN MALKMUS PUP

S TA ND UP A ND BE COUNTED

SATURDAY 28 & SUNDAY 1 MARCH OLYMPIC PARK BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15 :: 3

rock music news

the BRAG presents

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin, Lauren Gill and Gloria Brancatisano

Oxford Art Factory Wednesday March 11

speed date WITH

PAOLO NUTINI Enmore Theatre Tuesday March 31

ED WELLS Keeping Busy The past four months have 2. been pretty flat out! I recorded

It’s definitely the audience that makes a gig for me.

five tracks in September, including ‘Sparrow And Seed’ and ‘Young’. As soon as I finished that I left for London for three months to play shows over there and for some study on the side. It has been particularly busy organising and planning things for the release but I’ve enjoyed it. I am just about to start touring to Melbourne, Sydney and further north.

Current Playlist I found the new Alt-J album 4. a really interesting work to listen to. It’s one of those things which you appreciate more if you listen to it as a whole, but there are some great sounds and layers in there.

Another artist I have listened to a lot recently is Hozier. I remember finding him a year or two ago on YouTube and loved his music, so it’s nice to see he’s getting more and more recognition for it now.

Best Gig Ever The best gig I’ve played 3.

Your Ultimate Rider would most likely have been the I’m pretty relaxed when it 5. first show I played in London, comes to my rider. I do love my

1.

Your Profile I’d describe my sound as a mixture of alt-folk and soul. I grew up learning quite a bit of jazz music so I suppose elements of that creep into some songs, but I have a fairly wide musical taste in general so I hope that helps in giving my

music some good variety. Although I spend most of my time playing music, it’s nice to be able to do things to take you away from it from time to time. I’m lucky enough to live up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, so being in the surf’s really good for clearing your head!

supporting this incredible gypsy jazz trio. Everyone in the audience was absolutely silent while I was playing and just really appreciative in general, and for me that feels really good because you know you have earned their full attention.

food so just as long as there is a sizeable meal for me and a couple of drinks I’m pretty happy!

With: Imogen Clark Where: The Vanguard When: Thursday February 12

BELLINGEN’S NEW MUSIC FESTIVAL

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Tori Bedingfield, Nicholas Hartman, Emily Meller, Spencer Scott - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Tori Bedingfield, Lachlan Mackenzie, Spencer Scott, Nicholas Hartman REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Prudence Clark, Keiron Costello, Marissa Demetriou, Christie Eliezer, Fergus Halliday, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Mina Kitsos, Emily Meller, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, Kate Robertson, Erin Rooney, Raf Seneviratne, Leonardo Silvestrini, Krissi Weiss, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young 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

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THE BRAG

4 :: BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15

Enmore Theatre Wednesday April 1

DAVID GRAY State Theatre Wednesday April 1 and Tuesday April 2

JOHN MAYALL Factory Theatre Thursday April 2

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE The Basement Sunday April 5

THE GIPSY KINGS Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House Tuesday April 7 and Wednesday April 8

JIMMY CLIFF Metro Theatre Thursday April 9

Charli XCX

JUSTIN TIME

Jeff Martin

JEFF MARTIN ACOUSTIC TOUR

The Tea Party frontman and bona fide road warrior Jeff Martin has confirmed a new run of tour dates across the country.

Australia’s favourite adopted Canadian toured our shores twice last year – once with a reunited Tea Party and once with Sarah McLeod – but this time he’ll be doing the deed acoustic-style, playing all the favourites. Martin’s massive schedule includes gigs at Lizotte’s Newcastle on Monday March 23; Lizotte’s Kincumber on Tuesday March 24; The Basement on Wednesday March 25; The Brass Monkey on Tuesday March 31 and Wednesday April 1; and Newtown Social Club on Saturday April 4.

Even though he was only here last October, Justin Townes Earle has announced he will be returning to Australian stages for a run of shows this April. The American troubadour has had a jam-packed last 12 months, recording and releasing two albums’ worth of material and touring his way through North America, Australia, the UK, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. Marking his eighth Australian tour in as many years, Townes Earle will be kicking things off at Bluesfest before wrapping things up 11 stops later back in New South Wales. Supporting him on this tour will be South Dakota country singer Sam Outlaw. Townes Earle plays The Basement on Wednesday April 15 and Newtown Social Club on Thursday April 16.

CHARLI ON THE SPOT

Charli XCX has announced a string of east coast headline shows to coincide with her performances at this year’s Groovin The Moo festival. Since cowriting and featuring on Icona Pop’s ‘I Love It’ in 2012, the British popster has gone on to cowrite and feature on Iggy Azalea’s ‘Fancy’. Meanwhile, her solo work has seen her ascend the charts in Australia. XCX will be joined on tour by Adelaide hip hop artist Tkay Maidza.

Catch them at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday April 29.

Xxx

EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG.

GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC

Australia’s burgeoning music festival scene is getting a new event this year. Bello Winter Music, in the Northern New South Wales town of Bellingen, will be hosted by the same people behind Mullumbimby’s Mullum Music Festival. No artists have been announced as of yet, but festival director Glenn Wright says both festivals will share some acts. Musicians can apply now to be part of this new event in one of NSW’s most picturesque and counter-cultural hubs. Bello Winter Music will be on from Thursday July 2 – Sunday July 5. For more info, visit bellowintermusic.com.

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, Augustus Welby NEWS: Tori Bedingfield, Gloria Brancatisano, Lauren Gill, Nicholas Hartman, Spencer Scott

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

BALKAN BEAT BOX

CAMPFIRE’S RISING STARS

Ten Patron’s Choice winners have been announced as additions to Campfire Festival’s country and folk lineup this year. Tara Naysmith, Tommy Contor, Bryce Sainty, Lauren Wheatley, Ben Ransom, The Rough Diamonds, Aly Cook Band, Jade Holland, Neilly Rich and Rod Dowsett will have the opportunity to share the stage with the artists already featuring on Campfire’s bill. The big names headlining Campfire include John Butler Trio, Lee Kernaghan, Kasey Chambers, Ash Grunwald, Shannon Noll and Beccy Cole. Campfire Festival will take place at Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley from Friday March 13 – Sunday March 15.

HUNTER HAYES

American country wunderkind Hunter Hayes has announced a Sydney sideshow alongside his appearance at Bluesfest this April. At just 23 years of age, Hayes has racked up an impressive list of achievements – he’s played at the Grammys, won the CMA New Artist of the Year Award, performed for Barack Obama and most recently released his second fulllength, Storyline. Hayes arrives at the Metro Theatre on Wednesday April 8.

Of Mice & Men

SIDEWAVE TRIPLE BILL

Of Mice & Men, Atreyu and The Devil Wears Prada are teaming up for a huge triple-bill Soundwave sideshow later this month. Metalcore outfit Of Mice & Men will lead the charge, touring on the back of their highly praised new album, Restoring Force. They’ll be joined by California’s Atreyu and Christian melodic metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada. It all goes down on Wednesday February 25 at the Factory Theatre.

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15 :: 5

live & local welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Chris Martin, Spencer Scott and Tori Bedingfield

he said she said WITH

Supersuckers

JORDAN MCDONALD FROM FRANKIE’S PIZZA actually opening the forum to bands too, those who’ve pressed vinyl and give a fuck about it.

What is it about vinyl that keeps music lovers coming back?

It’s that warm crackle, man. I dunno; the nostalgia, the romance. There’s a definite camaraderie among collectors and of course a direct correlation to hipster culture too. I can’t really speak for others but it’s the sonic difference that does it for me, that audible warmth. It definitely elevates the situation.

F

rankie’s inaugural Vinyl Fair is on Sunday February 15. What inspired the idea?

Anton, one of the owners down here, has become a total vinyl nut. Trawling record stores, stalking the aisles and reporting back with newly acquired goodies. One of us joked we better bring a record store into the bar – of course he caught a whiff, smelt a winner and the rest is history. To be honest, we try some daring shit down here but this one we all agree is a no-brainer.

Who’ll be showing their wares on the day? What styles of music can we expect to find?

Being Frankie’s there’ll of course be a rock’n’roll focus but by no means will it be limited to just that. I think there’s a misconception that metalheads or rock dudes operate on that one basic level. The truth, of course, is that to appreciate the true might of metal, one must identify the worth of the many glorious gateway genres out there. You’re not likely to find any chamber music but there’ll be some obscure cuts on show for sure. Utopia Records, Mojo, Beatdisc, Revolve and a bunch of handpicked independent vendors will all bring their unique flavour. On top of this we’re

PRESENTS

Frankie’s is known as a live music venue – can we look forward to more events like this in future?

Yeah man, I can already say this’ll be a regular thing. Of course there’ll be some tweaking necessary but we wanna build this thing into a full-swing institution. We wanna be the artery connecting fans direct to supplier in a fun and inclusive environment.

We wanna get Frankie’s fans into vinyl and vinyl fans drunk.

If there were one record that everyone should have in their collection, what would it be?

Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction.

I know how clichéd that sounds, particularly from a Frankie’s guy, but shit, man, it’s just the whole fucking picture. The spectrum of emotions covered, lyrical content, honest tones, the grit, the polish, the whole fucking thing is just groundbreaking. All the elements, man, it’s so broad but so distinctly bound as one cohesive collective. You already know this though, right?

ON SALE NOW

DO IS GOOD, AND WE’DAN D ARS FOR A GIG THELI YE E’, N VE LIN SE IN D ‘TH ITE ’, TY WA WE KNEW’, ‘HIGH FID E ROUTINE AND CLOSE LY ON U YO ‘IF ...

AIN IT AG DANC W IN A FULL BAND’ AN YOU HAVE IS THE ‘FREEDOM’. THRO‘W T’S GOLDEN D WHAT HA TH WI HT NIG E TH EOUT PERFECT GIG. TIM

What: Frankie’s Vinyl Fair Where: Frankie’s Pizza When: Sunday February 15

SUPERSUCKERS + THE BELLRAYS

West Coast rockers Supersuckers and The BellRays are joining forces on a high voltage double bill coming to venues across Australia this May. Arizona’s Supersuckers have been plying their trade for 25 years, splitting plenty of eardrums along the way, while California’s The BellRays boast one of rock’s finest frontwomen in Lisa Kekaula. It’ll very much be a head-to-head affair at Manning Bar on Saturday May 23 and Newcastle’s Cambridge Hotel on Sunday May 24. Get amongst it.

MARBLE BAR BAND COMP

TICKETS & INFO AT BLUESFESTTOURING.COM.AU FULL BLUESFEST LINE-UP AT BLUESFEST.COM.AU

ALSO TOURING

- AS THE LIKES OF “CATTIMELESS STEVENS, VAN MORRISON AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN ” PETER VINCENT, SMH

WEDNESDAY 1ST NEARLY SOLD OUT!

6 :: BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15

: ALABAMA SHAKES : ANGELIQUE KIDJO : THE BEAT

...ENIGMATIC “SINGER, CAPTIVATING PERFORMANCE. ” LOCAL BOZO

“

”

Lanie Lane

Marble Bar has announced the return of its Battle of the Bands competition, Discovered, which allows bands and performers to compete for a residency spot in one of Sydney’s most famous venues. Now in its third year, Discovered sees bands and performers encouraged to upload demos to Marble Bar’s Facebook page (facebook. com/marblebarsydney). The general public will judge the contestants, selecting a top five from all the entries. These final five acts will battle it out live at a finale showcase to be held at Marble Bar in front of a team of expert judges. The victorious act will win a two-month residency playing every Wednesday night at Marble Bar from April, valued at $10,000. Marble Bar’s Discovered competition is open to entrants now and closes Wednesday March 4. The Grand Finale will be at Marble Bar on Wednesday March 25.

IS ONE THING YOU “DOIFINTHERE THIS LIFE: SEE MICHAEL FRANTI SCENESTR ”

“

HER SELL-OUT GIG WILL NOW BE MY MEASURING STICK FOR ALL MUSICAL PERFORMANCES THAT FOLLOW.

A MASTERFUL “PERFORMANCE. ” OXFORD AMERICAN

”

RHYTHMS 2014 TOUR REVIEW

thebrag.com

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

CONVERSE RUBBER TRACKS

THE SMITH STREET BAND

Them Bruins

Converse sneakers have had a long association with music – undoubtedly, they’re the footwear of choice for navigating sticky carpets and muddy festivals alike. Now, the Converse Rubber Tracks Sample Library sees those good ol’ Connies take a step even further into the digital domain, offering a massive (and still growing) collection of samples for use by musicians around the world, free of charge. Over 125 artists from a variety of genres have contributed to the library already, including Vernon Reid, James Poyser and Adam Blackstone. Hear the samples and get creative at converse.com/ samplelibrary.

Weooooaoooaoaooow! That’s the sound of a punk band’s guitar reverberating, and that’s what The Smith Street Band’s axes have been doing since the release of their uppercutting political charity single, ‘Wipe That Shit-Eating Grin Off Your Punchable Face’ and their 2014 album, Throw Me In The River.

The Melburnian punk rockers have just strummed the first chord of their 26-date national tour, and will bring their anarchist, cockle-of-the-heart-stirring anthems to Sydney very shortly for fans at the Metro Theatre on Friday February 13 and an all-ages show at The Lair on Saturday February 14.

SPIRIT OF BOB MARLEY

Just like punk does best, we’re spreading the love for Valentine’s Day, and offering a double pass to each show. To be in the running to win one, visit thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us, if you were to name your band after a thoroughfare, what would it be called?

In celebration of what would have been the late Bob Marley’s 70th birthday this month, the Spirit Of Bob Marley show is coming to The Basement. Starring Afro Moses and his ten-piece band, the gig will be jammin’-packed full of singalongs and colour. It’ll be one of the first chances for Sydney audiences to get a look at the newly

THEM BRUINS

Melbourne foursome Them Bruins are prepping to launch new single ‘Walk A Line’ on tour around the land. The rockers have already earned airplay on triple j and radio stations overseas for previous singles ‘Black Widow’ and ‘Outurn The Future’, and ‘Walk A Line’ is the first taste of their upcoming album. Them Bruins will play Spectrum on Friday April 24.

CHANGING LANES

In surprising news, Aussie artist Lanie Lane has announced her indefinite departure from touring and recording. In a post on her website, Lane explained her reasons for the decision, saying, “I have decided that pursuing a full-time career is no longer for me.” In the post she explains that the pressure of the full-time schedule and the stress of the rock’n’roll lifestyle was having an effect on her mental heath, encouraging her to make the decision to take a break. Lane confirmed she will be playing some final shows that she has already booked, and while this is a definite change, it isn’t a concrete end to her career. Catch her at The Hydro Majestic in Katoomba on Saturday April 11.

renovated Basement, one of the city’s most famous music rooms. Moses and co. play The Basement on Saturday February 21.

THIS IS WHY WE RUN

Why We Run, the Sydney four-piece formerly known as Cogul, have announced the release of their debut single ‘Comfortable Lie’ and launch show dates under their new name. Cogul first made their mark on the Aussie music scene in 2012, playing shows with Goyte and receiving the much-sought-after thumbs up from triple j. Now they’re returning under the new name to play on Thursday March 12 at Brighton Up Bar and Thursday April 9 at The Vanguard.

LET’S GET QUIZZICAL

The Nordoff-Robbins Music Quiz, now in its 17th year, will return to Luna Park this March.

Sydney’s biggest music quiz night pairs punters against legendary musicians, celebrities and the music industry elite in a battle to see who can take home the title of music knowledge champion (last year it was Universal Music).

With past contestants including Dave Faulkner, Jimmy Barnes and Iva Davies, it’s a not-tobe-missed night. The event raises funds for Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy, a non-profit organisation providing music therapy to people who struggle with a wide range of needs and disabilities. The 17th Annual Nordoff-Robbins Music Quiz comes to the Crystal Palace Ballroom at Luna Park on Thursday March 12.

CHARLES BRADLEY & HIS EXTRAORDINAIRES : DISPATCH : MAVIS STAPLES : SERENA RYDER : THE GIPSY KINGS FEAT NICOLAS REYES & TONINO BALIARDO GRAMMY NOMINEE

THE

SUPERSTAR “REGGAE’S 1ST GLOBAL ” ROLLING STONE

ROCK “VIBEA VINTAGE THAT’S AT ONCE

WITH GUESTS, FROM THE USA

US ROLLING STONE

REBELUTION

80 TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR HE’S A GENUINE “LIVING LEGEND ”

QUIRKY, TRIPPY, SOULFUL AND DOWNRIGHT MAGNETIC.

”

“

2015 A TALENTED PEOPLE’S SINGER AND CHOICE EVEN BETTER AWARD MUSICIAN WINNER MCALL

”

20TH ATOUR! NNIVERSARY

WWWWW

WAS ABOUT AS LIVE AND “ELECTRIFYING A PERFORMANCE

AS I HAVE EVER BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO WITNESS, A WILD AND JOYOUS GROOVE MIASMA THAT STILL SOUNDS LIKE A DISPATCH FROM THE FUTURE.

TELEGRAPH UK

T

ROMBONE

SHORTY

& ORLEANS AVENUE EVERY MUSICIAN ON “STAGE SHOWS OFF THEIR BRILLIANCE IN ALMOST EVERY SONG. ” THE AU REVIEW

D

AVE & PHIL

ALVIN THE GUILTY ONES

WITH

MANY RIVERS TO CROSS’ ‘‘YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT’ ‘THE HARDER THEY COME’

THE ORIGINAL LINE-UP RETURN FOR THEIR

TOURING SONGS BY THE BLASTERS & THEIR FIRST ALBUM TOGETHER AFTER 30 YEARS; COMMON GROUND - THE SONGS OF BIG BILL BROONZY.

”

JSHIMABUKURO KEB’MO’ AKE

EVERYTHING “YOUFORGET KNOW ABOUT THE UKULELE ” TIME MAGAZINE

THREETIME GRAMMY WINNER

TIME OUT

BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * Which band has taken to calling its tough nut manager ‘Snake’ – behind his back, of course? * Which two individuals who worked together in the same agency are not on talking terms after an investment went bad? * Are there plans afoot for Ben Harper’s mum Ellen (who co-wrote and featured on his current record Childhood Home) to take to the stage with her son at his Bluesfest appearance with The Innocent Criminals? * Are some Hawaiians interested in putting together their own version of the award-winning Cairns Ukulele Festival? * Cold Chisel’s one-off warm up show at Canberra’s 2,500-capacity Royal Theatre on Thursday February 26 sold out in 30 minutes. It is their first Australian show in three years and their first gig in the ACT since 2011.

* With speculation rife over the Splendour In The Grass bill, Mark Ronson gave a ‘definite maybe’ when quizzed about it on triple j. * In her upcoming memoir Girl In A Band, Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon calls Courtney Love “mentally ill”, Billy Corgan a “crybaby”, and goes deep into her split with Thurston Moore. * The Lansdowne Hotel has delayed its renovations and hosed down speculation it will stop live music after them. * North Wollongong Hotel got itself in strife with the Advertising Standards Board following complaints of posters it whacked across the area advertising a show by Sydney club night Starfuckers. * 118.5 million viewers watched Katy Perry’s US Super Bowl performance last week, making it the most-watched half time show ever. It beat Bruno Mars’ 2014 show by 3.2 million viewers.

Perry’s 13-minute set included guests Missy Elliott and Lenny Kravitz. Comments that

CITY OF SYDNEY FUNDS GRANT FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES In another triumph for the City of Sydney Live Music and Performance Taskforce, the City has amended its cultural grants program to include live music in specified precincts in Kings Cross. Hotels, cafes, pubs and clubs are eligible for a matched grant of up to $5,000 for costs associated with acoustic audits – a move the City expects will increase the amount of venues hosting live music. Artists wanting to hold live events to promote their music, as well as others, are also eligible. See cityofsydney. nsw.gov.au/community/grants-andsponsorships.

NOVA QUITS RDIO PARTNERSHIP Nova Entertainment quietly sold out of its 50%

Elliott’s two-song performance overshadowed Perry were vindicated by the fact that her albums as a result had a 1,000% leap in sales, with 70,000 downloads. Perry’s sales went up by 75% from the week before, with sales of 100,000. * Similarly, the ARIA country chart the week after the Tamworth Country Music Festival was filled with over 50% Australian acts. The chart is normally dominated by overseas names. After Luke O’Shea’s triple win at the Golden Guitars, top of the chart was the O’Shea album. * UK freelance music and sports journalist Phil Weller and Australian photographer Natasha Weller have begun a Kickstarter campaign to fund a book called The Heavy Metal Travel Guide. * Former Powderfinger guitarist Darren Middleton, on tour with Guy Pearce, wants to become a hands-on volunteer and spokesperson for a number of Melbourne charities including FareShare, which helps provide

food for the homeless. * Regional airline JetGo planned to relaunch its Tamworth to Brisbane route in mid-January in time to cart people to the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Alas, due to protracted talks with Tamworth Regional Council about security services at the airport (JetGo refuses to pass on overtime costs of security to its customers) the launch was pushed back to February 2, and now March 2. * US police are investigating someone who got his or her hands on Chris Brown’s prison ID card and tried to sell it online for US$10,000. * A NZ band was playing in a Christchurch bar when the crowd suddenly disappeared.

Mystified, the band went out to find everyone was gawking at two office workers having sex in a glass-fronted building across the street. Naturally someone filmed it and posted it online – which came as a shock to the man’s wife, who was not the one on camera.

partnership with streaming service Rdio late last year, The Australian Financial Review reported. Nova CEO Cathy O’Connor said it was a case of Nova, which entered the partnership with Rdio’s San Francisco-based owners, reprioritising its investments. Rdio has moved out of Nova’s offices in Pyrmont to Surry Hills.

special projects (new work creation, one-off projects) and recognition (awards, special events). For more details, check out the APRA AMCOS website. Applications close Sunday May 31, with the grants to be announced in August.

APRA MUSIC GRANTS OPEN

The World Bar has announced that a new live music manager has come on board. 18-year-old Dom O’Connor hosted MusicNSW’s segment on FBi Radio, and has programmed for Oxford Art Factory and Laneway. The club showcases indie and EDM acts on Fridays, EDM on Saturdays, Latin and jazz on Mondays, and bass nights on Wednesdays.

APRA’s Music Grants program, open now, invests in projects, events and organisations that support, develop and invest in their members’ music. The grants cover skill development (mentoring, branded events, workshops), market development (showcases, touring, key events), industry/community partnerships (key organisations, small festivals),

NEW LIVE MUSIC MANAGER FOR WORLD BAR

DMA’S STRIKE TWO OVERSEAS DEALS

FACEBOOK/THEHIFI TWITTER.COM/HIFI_SYD

E HIFI 1300 THO M.AU

INSTAGRAM.COM/THEHIFI

THEHIFI.C

THIS WEEK

DMA’s have signed international deals with Mom + Pop Music for North America and Infectious Records for the rest of the world.

They will continue to be distributed in Australia and New Zealand with I Oh You, who signed them in late 2013, and dropped their self-titled EP in March last year. Johnny Took, Tommy O’Dell and Matt Mason have fans including Blur’s Dave Rowntree, BBC’s Zan Rowe and NME, which named them “buzz band of the week”.

2SER IS LOOKING FOR NEW SHOWS

COMING SOON

2SER is looking for someone who has the feel and knowledge to present a new show in the electronic, ambient, experimental or groove styles. Email newshows@2ser.com with your idea.

FRI 13 FEB

MODESELEKTOR

THU 05 MAR

SAT 14 FEB

INFECTED MUSHROOM

FRI 27 FEB

FALLING IN REVERSER + ESCAPE THE FATE

SAT 28 FEB

DELTRON 3030

THU 12 MAR

DJ SHADOW & ANDY BELL + PAUL RUTHERFORD (FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD) CUT CHEMIST (ERASURE)

FALCONA SIGNS MIAMI HORROR

BONOBO

SAT 18 APR

BLACKSTREET

WED 01 APR ALL AGES

SWITCHFOOT

THU 30 APR

B-BOY WORLD CHAMPIONS TOUR

Ill: Daevid Allen, founder of UK prog bands Gong and Soft Machine, revealed his cancer is terminal, after he found out it had spread to his lungs.

Recovering: INXS guitarist Tim Farriss is at home undergoing physiotherapy, due to last a year, after a boating accident that led to one of his fingers being severed and then reattached after two rounds of surgery.

Hospitalised: TV On The Radio drummer Jahphet Landis after a health emergency, leading them to axe a European tour. The band has reassured fans that Landis will be fine.

Died: influential ’60s US R&B singer and songwriter Don Covay, 76, after a 20-year battle with the effects of a massive stroke. Some of his songs were hits for others, including Aretha Franklin’s ‘See Saw’, The Rolling Stones’ ‘Mercy Mercy’, Steppenwolf’s ‘Sookie Sookie’ and Peter Wolf’s ‘Lights Out’.

Covay’s ‘Mercy Mercy’ original (1964) featured an unknown Jimi Hendrix on guitar.

Died: San Francisco rapper The Jacka (ex-Mob Figaz) in a shooting, aged 37.

Died: Dot-A-Rock of pioneering US hip hop group The Fantastic Five (1982 single ‘Can I Get A Soul Clap’ and the movie Wild Style).

out the number two spot, saw 91% growth in streaming the next day. 76% of the growth came from Australia, and 12% from the US. Chet Faker, who topped the countdown with ‘Talk Is Cheap’ and had two other tracks in the top ten, had a 32% increase compared to the previous day. The number three placing of Hilltop Hoods’ ‘Cosby Sweater’ helped increase their streams by 46% the day after the countdown. 66% of that growth came from Australia.

Other Aussie acts with significant streaming rises included Ball Park Music (up 160%, of which 78% came from Oz and 14% from the US) and Tkay Maidza, whose ‘Switch Lanes’ generated a 102% increase, of which 80% came from Australia and 10% from the US. Spotify label and artist relations manager Andy Vincent said, “It’s exciting to see just how terrestrial radio and Spotify can complement each other in this market,” noting how radio listeners could enjoy music through Spotify long after radio airplay finished.

ICEHOUSE LAUNCHES FOOTWEAR RANGE

Sydney-based agency Falcona – home of DMA’s, Hayden James, Alison Wonderland and Hot Dub Time Machine – have signed LA-based Melbourne indie electronica act Miami Horror for management in Australia and NZ. Falcona’s Chris Murray says there is some very exciting news coming for the band.

Icehouse have launched a range of handstitched leather runners with seven designs based on their albums and songs. They are produced by Melbourne company Nookiee, founded by longtime Icehouse fan Josh Pell after winning the Nescafé Big Break competition. More info and pre-orders are available from nookiee.com.

FOOD COURT GET 123 AGENCY DEAL

MILWAUKEE SAMPLER CALL

Sydney four-piece Food Court have joined Melbourne’s 123 Agency for national bookings. In the wake of triple j adding their new single ‘On The River’ (from their Big Weak EP) to its playlist, they are embarking on an east coast and Adelaide run through March and April.

SXSW MEET-UPS FRI 20 MAR

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SXSW traditionally holds meet-ups for newer delegates to meet with SXSW veterans and share secrets, tips and techniques on how to get the best from your visit and to network with each other. This year’s Sydney event will be held on Tuesday February 17 at Newtown Social Club. Four panellists will speak, and entry is free.

SPOTIFY STREAMS SURGE FOLLOWING HOTTEST 100 Spotify has reported that some artists who featured prominently in the triple j Hottest 100 enjoyed increased streams as a result. Peking Duk’s ‘High’, which took

Submissions are open until Tuesday March 31 for volume three of Milwaukee Music’s sampler Made By Milwaukee. Copies are sent to music industry and media globally, as well as to television supervisors for sync possibilities (a track on their last sampler got placed on Canadian TV series Lost Girl). Upload up to two tracks to soundcloud.com/groups/madeby-milwaukee-sampler-submissions.

#SCREENABILITY TO TACKLE DISABILITY STEREOTYPE #ScreenAbility is a new initiative by Metro Screen aimed at smashing stereotypes about disabilities. Four writer/director/producer teams will receive funding to produce two-tothree-minute films to be shared online and broadcast on TV, whether they be spoken word, hidden camera stories or sporting events. Personal experiences of disability by one or more members of the production team would be advantageous. The deadline for entry is Friday March 27. For more info contact David Opitz on (02) 9356 1818 or d.opitz@metroscreen.org.au.

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Amber Scott and Adam Bull • Photography Liz Ham

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Ash Grunwald LET THE MUSIC FLOW

BY ADAM NORRIS

I

t is the eve of his journey to Canada, and Ash Grunwald is walking along the sand, eyes to the ocean, in anticipation of having a last surf. The multi-ARIA-nominated artist’s public image would have you believe that he is a down-to-earth, relaxed kind of guy, whose passion for performance might only be matched by his commitment to drawing attention to the political and social quagmire surrounding CSG mining. It’s an easy myth to buy into because, well… it turns out he’s exactly that.

Grunwald talks with laughing, selfdeprecating ease, but underneath his carefree conversation runs a serious engagement with the purpose of his music, and the kind of songwriter he still hopes to become.

“I think over the years, especially in my back catalogue, I had more of an Australian troubadour, storytelling vibe,” he says.

“Lots of stories about particular places, things that don’t happen anywhere else outside of this country. But that’s been changing over time for me. The album I’ve just done probably doesn’t have that Australian sound, but my stories are still very personal and still based on the experiences I mostly have here in Australia. I guess I’ve found myself playing too long to have stayed with the same sound anyway. You

find yourself changing without realising.”

It has been 13 years since the release of his debut, Introducing Ash Grunwald, and over that much time change becomes inevitable.

There is never any guarantee this will be for the better, of course, and there are only a lucky few artists who are able to maintain an expanding, engaged audience as they grow musically. For Grunwald, the success of his evolution has been the drive to stay true to the direction each song wants to take, and not become waylaid by trying to force something that just isn’t ready.

“Some of the best songs I’ve written – and certainly the most successful ones – have been cases of writing a song just to write a good song. But I don’t think that’s the most noble way of writing,” he laughs. “I prefer to write because I feel moved to say something. For me, I fi nd when I get bogged down on the meaning of a song I focus on that too much, and I don’t want to make it too poetic. I’d like it to be poetic, but I don’t want to compromise the message at all. So I get stuck. I went through a little phase with a handful of songs, defi nitely the singles, where I said, ‘OK, let’s not get hung up on the meaning and just go with what feels right, what sounds right.’ I still think the best

way to write a really catchy song is to just let it come out, and what naturally should be heard will be heard.

“But that can take a lot of wrestling. A song like ‘Walking’ has been really good to me, but I didn’t even know what that was about. ‘Walking through the night…’ Why was I walking through the night? For a booty call, I guess,” he chuckles. “But that was only the inference. It was all subconscious to me. I tried to refi ne it, but it was pretty set.

Whereas other songs will be really direct, and specifi cally about a certain thing that can be taken no other way. And I like that literal songwriting. I think they all have a place. I like songs that are created every different way. There are so many good songs out there that all have different shapes.”

You don’t really need to look much further than Grunwald’s own catalogue to fi nd such variety.

His music has never been strictly blues, although that is more often than not how he is described.

His infl uences are hugely varied, and as 2013’s Gargantua demonstrated, even his own songs may be revised, reinterpreted – or as Grunwald explains, “made rockier”. While this is not borne of any desire to move away from the blues moniker, he still recognises that as a genre, it rarely has the

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that more of the population isn’t outraged.

“It’s usually a bit of a curse to call yourself a blues player, though my music is very much a hybrid, I don’t even know what you’d call it. But I was always very proud to call myself that, even though using that B-word…”

Grunwald falls silent for a time, and I am almost ready to move the conversation onto the next topic when he suddenly continues. “For a lot of people you hear ‘blues’ and it conjures up images of old dudes playing old music, and they wouldn’t see themselves as being a fan of that. So maybe I was stupid to ever be going on about being a blues musician in my press releases and interviews, but in truth, in my view, it’s the most soulful music. What I’ve tried to do across my whole career is to try and keep the soulful bit but also focus on the groove. Especially when it’s live, to try and turn it into a real party sound. I mean, people don’t want to sit around and listen to a slow blues number too often, so that’s what I’ve tried to focus on and breathe some fresh life into this amazing genre of music. But there are heaps of others now as well. I’m hearing a lot of bluesy stuff on the radio, and it’s really exciting. Especially with folk like The Black Keys, even Gary Clark, Jr. does well whenever he comes out here. It’s inspiring.”

“I’ve said a few things politically over the years, but in getting more involved with the CSG issue my indignation has [become] a lot stronger. I’m a lot older now as well, and I feel legitimately like something has to be done. It’s a conscious call for me to do as much as I can. The single, ‘The Last Stand’, was about standing up against the coal seam gas mines, and after that I spent another two years helping out wherever I could. The more you get involved, the more you are confronted with the truth firsthand, the more you start to realise, ‘My God, what’s fucking happening to this country?’ And I can’t believe nobody gives a shit!

In addition to his musical explorations, Grunwald has also been a passionate advocate against the injustices he sees in Australia’s current attitude towards coal seam gas mining. Though it is not unusual for artists to utilise their celebrity to foster social awareness, Grunwald has directly experienced the struggles faced by those opposing the corporate interests behind such drilling, and found himself bewildered

“I’ve seen a lot of things now, witnessed situations where farmers are kicked off their land, or prevented from blockading to stop themselves from being poisoned. Being kicked off by cops, who we’re employing, just to protect the rights of private companies! I just think we’re in an absurd situation at the moment, and that’s kind of what I’m working on for my current album. That, and the challenge of trying to keep booty-shaking while I’m doing it.”

What: Campfire Festival 2015 With: John Butler Trio, Mental As Anything, Kasey Chambers, Lee Kernaghan, The McClymonts and more Where: Hope Estate, Hunter Valley When: Friday March 13 – Sunday March 15 And: Also appearing at Coastal Blues, The Entertainment Grounds, Gosford Racecourse on Saturday March 21

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“Some of the best songs I’ve written – and certainly the most successful ones – have been cases of writing a song just to write a good song. But I don’t think that’s the most noble way of writing.”

mainstream support of most other genres.

Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks Keeping It Weird By Augustus Welby

P

avement fans rarely have just a casual interest in the band. Rather, the fervour of the group’s fan base verges on religious devotion. But it’s interesting to note that Pavement’s music can just as easily incite shrugs of indifference from certain listeners. The ’90s indie poster boys (a poster pulled from a limited edition zine, of course) made five LPs before calling it a day in 1999. It’s a damn fine catalogue, but their output can hardly be described as sensational.

What made Pavement so compelling was that, for a bunch of total oddballs, they sounded completely self-assured. The kernel of the band’s charm was frontman and chief songwriter Stephen Malkmus, who’s full of witticisms but shows no desire to put his intellect towards anything that mothers of the world would deem sensible. In the 15 years since Pavement split up, Malkmus has never stopped making music.

Following the release of an eponymous LP in 2001, he teamed up with The Jicks, with whom he’s now put out five albums. These days, Malkmus is a father of two in his 40s, but his worldview remains as crooked as ever.

if we switched our instruments around a couple of times.’ I could see that happening – ‘Why I don’t I drum on this one? You play bass.’ But that can also be a bad idea. Some people can probably do it, like Jonny Greenwood, he can do everything.

But there’s very few of those people that can actually do that. Stevie Wonder and Jonny Greenwood. I’d pay to see that.”

Supergroup fantasies aside, Malkmus and The Jicks head back to Australia later this month. Their Newtown Social Club and Goodgod dates will be rather more straightforward than their show at the family-friendly Melbourne Zoo. “You’re welcome to bring your family to see us, that’s fine,” he says. “We have nice songs and stuff, but we’re also kind of unruly at times and there’s profanity. I don’t need to cuss, but I might.

So watch out.”

What: Wig Out At Jagbags out now through Spunk Where: Newtown Social Club / Goodgod Small Club When: Tuesday March 3 / Wednesday March 4

“The most ‘dad’ songs I made were like Major Leagues, with Pavement,” he says. “That was fine though, it was what it was. But my heart is in the weird and I can’t do those kind of lyrics with a straight face, so it always comes out this way.”

Malkmus and The Jicks’ latest release, Wig Out At Jagbags, celebrated its first birthday last month. The 12-song album finds Malkmus in fine form, chortling amusing refrains such as, “I’ve been tripping my face off since breakfast / Taking in this windswept afternoon … Onward ye Christian sailors / You smooth-talking jack-off jailers,” atop beds of unhurried instrumentation.

Wig Out At Jagbags and its predecessor, Mirror Traffic, feature the most contained compositions Malkmus has delivered in over a decade.

However, there’s a bit more going on than meets the eye, as Malkmus explains.

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“[Those songs] have untraditional song structures, but I try to make it so you don’t notice. It’s kind of secretly weird. I just try to make it flow smoothly, to make it seem sort of effortless, and the band is great at that. I’m worried – I like those two albums a lot, but sometimes they’re smooth or they just glide past you.”

Given that he’s a lifelong weirdo, it makes sense for Malkmus to be concerned about slipping into convention. Even if his recent output is relatively relaxed, however, he’s still seeking ways to fuck with the form.

“My band, and most bands, they want to get loud and tear the roof off things. Sometimes I’m a little more restrained.”

“At this point, there’s certain kinds of rock songs or moves that are a little tired-feeling to me, even if they’re loud and they rock,” he says. “I mean, sometimes I’ll want to hit that feeling because some of those things, they’re not necessarily tired, they’re universal. I’m just trying to think, ‘How can I still hold a guitar and not feel like it’s kind of quaint?’ So I try to make my way around it and mix it up with the balance of the instruments and voices.”

Since the release of 2003’s Pig Lib, the Jicks lineup has undergone a couple of alterations.

Despite this, it’s not a revolving door situation.

Malkmus is certainly the creative leader, but he values his relationship with the band.

“I think that’s better for me, to work with people,” he says. “It’s too alone to be by yourself, and it’s not that fun. Everyone’s collaborating, even when they’re solo. Like Panda Bear released a cool new record, but he’s got Sonic Boom on it and whoever engineered it. It’s probably basically a band, in a certain way.”

Everything Malkmus has done since Pavement carries forward the distinct strain of artistry he gave birth to in the early ’90s. The first trio of Jicks records – Pig Lib, Face The Truth and Real Emotional Trash – feature some meandering and occasionally explosive instrumentation, but his curious perspective still conducts the action. This continuous thread suggests Malkmus dictates how The Jicks behave. However, that’s not quite true.

“My band, and most bands, they want to get loud and tear the roof off things,” he says. “Sometimes I’m a little more restrained. It’s good for me to play it to them and see if it’s too restrained or to see, ‘Am I like an old man or something? Is this dad music? Is it weird enough? It might be interesting thebrag.com

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Peter Hook Renew The Order By Augustus Welby that saw him perform Joy Division’s debut album Unknown Pleasures in full. This move provoked expressions of cynicism, not least of all from his ex-bandmates. However, Hook claims his intentions were neither malicious nor mercenary.

“2010 was the 30th anniversary of the very sad demise of Ian and I felt that I wanted to celebrate his life,” he says.

“I didn’t want to play a greatest hits set, because you felt that you were emulating the band. I am not Joy Division and I am not New Order. I’m just a member celebrating the music.”

While it’s fair to say that nostalgia helped out with ticket sales, what the tour (which visited Sydney’s Enmore Theatre in late 2010) made clear was that Hook and his band The Light had adeptly recaptured the spirit of the original songs. Inevitably, Hook’s success dismayed his erstwhile comrades, who soon rebooted New Order without him.

“I started celebrating Joy Division,” says Hook, “which Bernard [Sumner, vocals] said was the reason that he reformed New Order – because I’d stolen Joy Division from him. Which isn’t true, because they’d already played Joy Division numbers in Bad Lieutenant.

O

ver the last half-decade, Peter Hook has been the subject of much scrutiny. To be sure, the former New Order and Joy Division bass player never postured as an innocuous character, but in recent years it’s his actions with the bass in hand that have stirred controversy.

First, a bit of background: after Joy

Division frontman Ian Curtis took his own life in 1980, the quartet’s remaining members ended the band and re-emerged as New Order. Then, after two-and-a-half decades spent pushing the boundaries of new wave, synthpop and dance rock, New Order called it a day in 2006. Four years later, Hook kicked off a global tour

“The thing is, when they reformed as New Order without asking me, without telling me, without my permission – and put all the business ramifications in place – it was like being thrown out the marital home.

They aren’t New Order, in my opinion.

They’re masquerading as New Order and I think it’s a lie they’re living and it’s an insult to the fans.”

with the retro-activating world tours.

After the success of the Unknown Pleasures retrospective, Hook moved along to Joy Division’s second and final album Closer. By 2013, he’d built enough momentum that he saw fit to grab hold of New Order’s first two LPs, Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies. This month, Hook returns to Australia, this time to showcase New Order’s third and fourth records, LowLife and Brotherhood.

“It was wonderful to get the New Order songs back again and treat them with the respect that they deserved,” he says. “It was interesting, because a lot of the songs you’ve not played for years, and I get these songs back and all of them are wonderful.”

For the entirety of the band’s initial 13-year run (from 1980 until 1993), New Order didn’t touch anything from the Joy Division catalogue.

Given its massively influential stature, this might’ve seemed an imprudent move. The centrepieces of Hook’s forthcoming tour – Low Life and Brotherhood – prove it wasn’t a detrimental decision, but one does wonder why such legendary material was left alone.

“We had a meeting as Joy Division,” says Hook, “where, in true musketeer fashion, we said, ‘All for one, one for all; if any of us leave, we’ll split the band,’ which is what we did as Joy Division. We actually did make that same promise as New Order [laughs], but we seem to have forgotten that one.

The battle is ongoing. In fact, if you ask Hook, they “literally are at war”. Still, this hasn’t convinced him to cease

“Actually, that 100 per cent focus on the new material, on the new group, made New Order a huge international success,” he adds. “If we’d have been flirting with Joy

than simply throwing together a bunch of musicians. No matter the level of individual merit, there’s no guarantee they’ll establish a harmonious bond. Aside from Puciato’s contribution to Soulfly’s ‘Rise Of The Fallen’ (from 2010’s Omen), the foursome hadn’t previously collaborated. But as the record shows, this wasn’t an issue.

guy for a long time in his band, because if you walk out of the room for 20 minutes, Max will write the whole damn record,” says Puciato. “It’s incredible how much creative energy he still has. He just does not stop writing. We nicknamed him the riff-pisser because he just pisses out riffs like there’s nothing to it.”

“When we would get together we would know that we only have four or five days, so we would just work from noon to midnight for those days and bring everything that we had to the table.”

“There was something really cool about knowing that the whole band was completely open-ended,” Puciato says. “I’ve known Troy for 12 years but I had no idea what writing with Troy was like. You think of Mastodon and you think of riffs and crazy drumming and three people singing, but I never really knew that Troy is actually an amazing bass player. He’s really good.”

Enacting a creatively successful partnership is more complicated

The same goes for Cavalera. “You can tell that he’s been the main

As well as being a powerful force throughout the record, Cavalera’s abundant creative energy gave Puciato a positive look at what the future might hold. “A lot of people do their best work when they’re young,” he says, “and then there’s other people, like Nick Cave, who keep doing good stuff until they’re really old. You have to keep yourself creatively minded. You can’t start to think too much as a careerist, because then you start operating defensively. You have to do what you’re going to do and try to live as

Division it would’ve confused it. It wouldn’t have worked. “[But] when New Order split in 2006, and I was on the outside looking in, I thought, ‘Hang on a minute, why did we never celebrate anything to do with Joy Division?’ Joy Division’s legacy and heritage was even more important in 2006 than when the band split up in 1980. It was still a huge, influential band and we weren’t doing anything to celebrate it.”

Live performance isn’t the only medium through which Hook has been revisiting the past. In 2009 he released a written account of his time co-owning Manchester’s legendary Haçienda venue, called How Not To Run A Club. Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division followed in 2013, and at present he’s working on a book covering his time in New Order. A release date is yet to be named, but Hook guarantees the book will illuminate the band’s uglier side.

“I can tell the truth, because I’m not with them,” he says. “If you look at Bernard’s book – although I wouldn’t recommend it – he can’t really call anything on Stephen [Morris, drums] and Gillian [Gilbert, synthesisers] because he’s still working with them. The best way to write a book about a group is when you’re no longer in the group.

“Justice in this world is very hard to come by,” he adds. “We see bullies and we see powerful people taking advantage of nicer people all the way through. I’m just not going to have it. I’m not standing down; no chance, mate.”

Where: Metro Theatre When: Thursday February 19

Killer Be Killed Maiden Voyage By Augustus Welby

T

hanks to a history of monster lineups, Soundwave has become a globally revered event. By virtue of this, playing at the festival is a feat that sits well on any artist’s CV. But there are not many bands that can say their firstever gig was at Soundwave. Then again, there aren’t many bands that boast as much star power as Killer Be Killed.

Evolving from a collaborative experiment between Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato and thrash legend Max Cavalera (Soulfly, ex-Sepultura), by the time they knuckled down to make last year’s self-titled LP, the band’s lineup had grown to include Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders and The Mars Volta/Antemasque drummer Dave Elitch. These guys are no strangers to our shores, and according to Puciato, it makes perfect sense that their live debut will be at Soundwave.

This might read as exaggerated banter, but a closer look reveals just how busy the band’s four members are. For starters, Mastodon are in the midst of an unprecedented global boom, while Dillinger have only just wrapped up the touring campaign behind 2013’s One Of Us Is The Killer. Elitch won’t actually join Killer Be Killed at Soundwave, 12 :: BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15

Verily, it’s a miracle that the group’s debut album came together at all. “One of the first times we got together, we had written a bunch of stuff that I thought was really cool,” Puciato says. “Once you realise that it’s working, then it’s like, ‘Oh shit, we have to do this!’ Then it becomes more frustrating than anything, because you know it might take another year and a half to get to the point where you can record the record, because you’re only able to get together for a week at a time every three or four months.”

The restrictions on the band’s working hours aren’t reflected in the recorded output. Sure, Killer Be Killed contains frequent outbreaks of breakneck thrash and hardcore, but it doesn’t sound borne of a hurried recording procedure. Oddly enough, Puciato prefers working against the clock.

“A lot of the creative process is kind of winging it a bit and not overthinking,” he says. “You can’t overthink too much when you have such a strict deadline. The more time you give me, the more I’ll overthink my ideas. There’s something to be said for short bursts of creativity.

a 15-year-old and be excited about music and writing.

“Max is still exactly that person.

Writing with Max felt the way writing did when I was 15, writing music with my friend in his parents’ basement and we were just trying to write thrash songs. He’s somehow preserved that vitality that so many people lose.”

What: Soundwave Festival 2015 With: Faith No More, Soundgarden, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Slash and many more Where: Sydney Olympic Park When: Saturday February 28 and Sunday March 1 And: Also supporting Lamb Of God at the Metro Theatre on Thursday February 26 More: Killer Be Killed out now through Nuclear Blast/Universal

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Peter Hook photo by William Ellis

“Troy and I were there last year in separate bands,” he says. “The very last day of the festival we were in Perth, standing outside of our hotel getting ready to leave, and he was like, ‘Well Greg, maybe I’ll see you next year here. Maybe we’ll play together.’ It was said in a way like, ‘There’s no way in fucking hell we’re ever going to find time to play.’ That was last March and we had already looked ahead up until September and couldn’t even find a couple of weeks to play.”

due to his commitments with Antemasque, who are also on the bill. Then there’s Cavalera: now in his mid-40s, the Arizona-based Brazilian hard rock guru currently fronts both Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy.

Conor Oberst Mountains And Valleys By Tyson Wray

“T

his happened on December 30, 2003. That may seem a while ago but it won’t when it happens to you. And it will happen to you.” That’s the opening line of the theatrical adaptation of Joan Didion’s The Year Of Magical Thinking, discussing the death of her husband after a cardiac arrest.

Less than a decade old, the text has already ascended to classic status when it comes to exploring the theme(s) of what it is to mourn.

Mourning, whether it be for the loss of a lover, the lack of a lover, opportunities lost or opportunities never pursued, is what swells within many when they listen to Conor Oberst. His music traverses the more sombre spectrums of the human psyche.

Since self-releasing his debut album Water on cassette in 1993 at the age of 13, through his work with his many bands such as Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, Arab Strap and Monsters Of Folk, Oberst has carved his own niche within the indie-folk world, with a penchant for ballads that appeal to lovelorn ears.

“Everything I’ve learned as a musician, whether it be as a guitar player, a piano player, a singer, a writer or as a quote-unquote ‘producer’, it’s all been through trial and error,” Oberst reflects. “If you were to listen to my records from the mid-’90s and compare them to the records that I’m bringing out now, I’d like to think that I’m technically a much better musician.

“As for the way I write lyrical content for my songs? That’s a little dicey.”

While the influence of ’60s folk revivalists Neil Young and Leonard Cohen in his musicianship is unmistakable, Oberst’s poignant lyricism and delivery evokes a tender

and sorrowful sentimentality akin to that of the late Elliott Smith and fellow folk luminary Daniel Johnston.

“I suppose some people will wonder, ‘What does a 13-year-old write about compared to a 30-year-old?’

In my experience, the processes are very similar. Of course, you’re writing about your perspective and what’s happening in your life. You observe what’s happening around you, whether it be from conversation, books you’ve read, movies you saw, your friends’ experiences, et cetera.

You collect these thoughts in the back of your mind and let them blend together and come out through song like they’re a daydream.

“That’s the miracle of creativity.

That’s what keeps me coming back. I could tell you how I think it happens, but I don’t really know. I don’t have a great deal of control over it. I’m now 34, but compared to when I was a teenager, the way I write songs still seems eerily similar, for better or worse.”

2014 saw the release of Upside Down Mountain, Oberst’s sixth solo studio record, following 2009’s Outer South. Recorded in various locations in California, Tennessee and his native Omaha in Nebraska, the album highlighted Oberst in an everevolving sense of maturation, with an emphasis on focused reflection and emotional sincerity.

“The record came out back in May, and then I spent about four months on the road,” he says. “I went on two tours and one European tour. For the first two tours I went on the road with a band called Dawes from LA … they opened for me but also played as my backing band. That was a great experience – they were really generous to let me into their inner circle. They’re fantastic musicians.

“For the last US tour I switched things up and got to be onstage with Jonathan Wilson, who produced the record with me,” he adds. “We were really able to recreate what we did in the studio in a live environment. I only got back from my last trip three days ago. It feels so good to sleep in my own bed and just relax. But that said, as we speak I’m getting ready to head back to Omaha to finish a record that I’ve been working on with Desaparecidos. That’ll be released sometime in 2015, but I’m not sure when. We just signed with Epitaph, which is this great punk label from California.”

THE

Following the cancellation of Desaparecidos’ appearance on the 2014 Soundwave bill, Oberst will return to Australian shores later this month for an extensive tour, including a run of intimate theatre shows, twilight zoo performances and an appearance at Golden Plains.

want to play some stuff from my new record, some stuff from my older records, a bunch of Bright Eyes stuff, who knows – maybe even some covers. I’ll try and craft a setlist that spans my many years and projects because I really don’t get down there enough.”

“I’m going to be coming to Australia with one of my absolute favourite bands in the world, The Felice Brothers,” he says. “For the Australian tour they’re going to play as my backing band in a similar way that Dawes did.

What: Upside Down Mountain out now through Nonesuch/Warner With: The Felice Brothers Where: Metro Theatre When: Wednesday March 4 And: Also appearing at Taronga Zoo on Friday March 6

“I plan to do a bit of everything. I

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BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15 :: 13

Pup Barking Mad By Augustus Welby

W

e really are a long way away down here in Australia.

That is, if you consider North America and Western Europe the centre of the world.

That mightn’t be the case, but it is where the majority of our favourite international musicians come from.

Despite the vast distance between our continents, there’s never a lack of bands from these locales on tour in Australia. Still, while artists from the other side of the globe keep trekking Down Under, it’d be foolish to think everyone who comes here has a darn good time and leaves with pockets full of cash.

Right now, Toronto punk rockers Pup are in Oz for the very first time, joining labelmates The Smith Street Band (on the US-based SideOneDummy Records) for a run of dates around the country.

According to Pup vocalist Stefan Babcock, making the trip across the Pacific was the right move.

“Honestly, from the first few shows, it feels like it’s a little overdue,” he says. “Maybe we could have come

here earlier. The crowds have been great and the shows have been really fun.”

Pup’s self-titled debut was released locally last April. In their homeland, it actually came out in October 2013, and from that time on the four-piece has been gigging nonstop all over Canada, USA, the UK and Europe. It’s an exhausting itinerary, but Babcock can’t find much to complain about.

“We did over 200 shows in 2014, which was pretty insane,” he says.

“We were on the road for over 250 days. Sometimes it starts to feel like a blur, but at the same time we’re making a lot of pretty interesting and unique memories.

“We’ve all played in bands before but we’ve never played in bands that have toured this heavily. It feels new and exciting for us. New experiences, like our first-ever trip to Australia, keep it really fresh and exciting. And it feels like we’re making progress and having new adventures.”

Pup have been making a racket for over three years now. On their debut LP, producer Dave Schiffman (The Bronx, Anti-Flag) helped to capture 34 minutes of Pup’s fiercely energetic and highly melodic punk rock. However, the album was made when the band was still a fairly young entity, and Babcock believes they’ve since made a leap forward.

“I don’t think it’s as apparent to the average listener, but when we listen back to it, it’s so obvious which songs were written early and which songs came later,” he says. “The earlier stuff on the record, listening back to it, I realise that we hadn’t quite found our footing yet. We always had the idea of this band to be a live thing and not a studio project, so I think playing the songs we wrote for that record live has made us realise what kind of songs are fun for us to play live and what kind of songs that we’re good at playing live. That has informed what the next record will sound like.”

Indeed, even before the record’s release, Pup’s energy-fuelled

and audience-engaging live shows were attracting plenty of attention. Although the band’s demanding gig schedule makes it difficult to tell one day from the next, Pup endeavour to rise to the significance of each and every performance.

“So much of what people are able to connect to with our band is just seeing how passionate we are when we play live,” Babcock says. “As soon as you become complacent with your live set, your shows start

losing power and getting boring.

We’re not bored of what we’re doing.

We’re still really excited and every night is fun for us.”

What: Pup out now through Royal Mountain Where: Supporting The Smith Street Band at the Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle / Metro Theatre / The Lair When: Thursday February 12 / Friday February 13 / Saturday February 14

Shameem Songs From A City By Christine Lan

S

hameem’s new album, The Second City, is an uplifting and contemplative soul-pop record brimming with rich vocals, infectious R&B rhythms, jazzinfused melodies and spiritual undertones. It’s also filled with beautiful messages. For instance, her new single ‘Under One Sun’ is a heartfelt cry for unity between people of different races, ethnicities and religions.

“Being a person of mixed backgrounds, people do want to treat you as the ‘other’, but they’re not sure which ‘other’ to treat you as,” says Shameem, who was born in Perth to an Iranian mother and Chinese-Malaysian father.

“They look at you and they don’t know where you come from. So in a way, I was a little immune from being stereotyped or boxed, but at the same time people would ask,

‘Where do you come from?’ as if I don’t come from Australia. I thought about this more when thinking about my school friends who came from different Asian countries and also towards Aboriginal people who I was friends with.

The title of Shameem’s second album, The Second City, comes from a Persian book, The Seven Valleys, by Bahá’u’lláh – the founder of the Bahá’í faith – which talks about the seven stages that a seeker of God journeys through.

“It was nothing ever overt, and I think that’s what prejudice is in Australia – it’s not overt, it’s not that people go out of their way to be unkind to somebody, but it doesn’t occur to them to be kind to them in the same way that they would with someone who they’re more familiar with.”

“It’s such a beautiful book and it really uses imagery – poetic imagery – to describe the journey of the soul,” Shameem explains. “I guess being an artistic person, I find the imagery really moving and really stirring and evocative. And it makes me think of my own spiritual journey, and the ups and downs that you go through in life when you’re trying to reach your goals. I really love that book for that reason.”

A deeply spiritual person, Shameem’s Bahá’í faith is at the core of who she is. “It’s basically the thing that gives me a sense of a moral compass in my life and a purpose, and that purpose it gives me is to try and improve not only myself every day and become a better person, but also to try and contribute to making the world a better place.

Everyone can do that; if everyone did their own small, little thing, then it would really transform the world. So I think it’s given me a lot of sense of purpose in that way and I guess that comes through in all the music that I write as well.”

Bahá’í music is, of course, markedly different to the pop music that a young Shameem and her mother also enjoyed. “I remember that the music I listened to was either Bahá’í music, which is all about trying to perfect one’s inner spiritual condition and it was all about beautiful things like the unity of mankind, and then you listen to pop music, which was infectious, and I love the music

of Michael Jackson myself, but it didn’t necessarily lyrically speak of anything very meaningful. I remember every now and then I would discover an artist who would be able to beautifully marry the two and I thought, ‘I want to become that kind of artist who can marry meaningful lyrics with really infectious, amazing music.’”

Inspired by soulful singers and great storytellers, Shameem has been greatly influenced by songwriters such as Sting, Alicia Keys and Jewel. “I’ve been working on my songwriting and how to write more well-structured songs, and how to really get a message across in the short space of time that you have in a song,” she says. “I feel that the songs I’ve written on this album are stronger songs in terms of my songwriting.”

What: The Second City out now independently Where: The Oxford Hotel / Lass O’Gowrie, Newcastle When: Saturday February 21 / Sunday February 22

He Is Legend The Fruits Of Their Labour By Natalie Rogers

S

chuylar Croom, frontman of North Carolina’s sludge metal five-piece He Is Legend, enjoys the simple things in life. “I can’t wait to get back to the sunny shores of Australia – and it’s going to be hot, right? I think I’ll pack light,” he says with a slight Southern twang. “I have the most vivid memories of sitting on the beach at sunset with only my acoustic guitar playing the Tom Waits song ‘Make It Rain’. I love Tom Waits – that’s one of my favourite tour memories for sure.”

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2014’s Heavy Fruit is the band’s first album since returning from hiatus in 2011. With a new lease on life and a few changes to the lineup, Heavy Fruit is arguably the best 13 songs He Is Legend have ever released.

“With the inclusion of Sam [Huff, drums] and Denny [Desloge, rhythm guitar and backing vocals], we were on a path of speaking into existence where we wanted to be as a band, and I think we’ve accomplished it on Heavy Fruit,” says Croom. “Denny and Sam have been close since grade school and that shows in the way they play together – even when they’re just jamming they sound incredible! Sam is an amazing drummer and Denny’s willingness to try the harmonies I’d written is something I’ve never had before.

I feel like everything we set our minds to happened. It’s been pretty magical.

“Even when it’s cold out and we’re sick, especially like now in the winter of North Carolina – and even though all I wanna do is be at home on the couch – I can’t deny that part of me wants to be up onstage. Right now we’re livin’ the dream – I can feel the sunshine calling me,” he jokes.

“When I think about it, these last six months on the road have been some of the best we’ve had as a band.

We’ve had our setlist locked down for a while, which includes songs from Suck Out The Poison and It Hates You, so we hope to play for as long as we can. Then we’ll get out in the crowd, hang with friends and listen to the tunes. I could do that all day!

“Playing a festival like Soundwave is like winning a radio contest and the prize is free tickets to all your favourite bands,” Croom adds.

“It’s like [sings], ‘Two tickets to paradise’. That’s why we’re so excited – the only catch is we have to play a show first, but that’s

OK. I’m waiting to see Marilyn Manson, The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Faith No More – the list goes on. I can’t believe they’re playing the same festival we are.

We’ll feel just like kids in a candy shop; so lucky. If 2015 is as good as the last couple of years, we’re on to a good thing, and we’d jump at the chance to get back in the studio, but I promise we won’t be strangers.”

What: Soundwave Festival 2015 With: Faith No More, Soundgarden, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Slash and many more Where: Sydney Olympic Park When: Saturday February 28 and Sunday March 1 And: Heavy Fruit out now through Tragic Hero

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Xxxx

It’s been a long time between beach trips. He Is Legend’s last visit Down Under was a national tour back in 2007. “We met the guys from The Amity Affliction and I Killed The Prom Queen – it was a lot of fun.

They showed us all these amazing places to eat. I told you we were pretty simple dudes!” Croom laughs.

“Seriously though, Australia is a beautiful country and we can’t wait to see all the friends we made last

time. Also the response for the new record has been overwhelming, so we’re itching to play it live.”

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

arts in focus

swan lake graeme murphy’s

affairs of the heart

also inside:

FUNNY BUSINESS: COMEDY SPECIAL / W YRMWOOD / ARTS NEWS / ARTS GIVEAWAY / REVIEWS thebrag.com

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arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Chris Martin and Spencer Scott

five minutes WITH

SUZIE MILLER, WRITER OF CARESS/ACHE

touch. Of all the senses, why did you find touch the most powerful?

The sensory system of touch is the one that is most connected to communication. I wanted to explore the way human beings can say something so complex with the simplest of somatic gestures. That the body can be used to ‘speak’ to one another using its own language is something quite beautiful. Touch encompasses the embrace of a mother, the tender touch of a lover, a comforting hug in times of crisis, the sexual expression of desire – and yet it can be a form of violence, betrayal and terror.

All of this without words. When we are stripped of language, money, security and much more, it is where our humanity can still be expressed.

P

olitical concerns aside, Caress/Ache deals with the physical and emotional power of the human

The play was inspired by an Australian’s execution for drug trafficking overseas, an

issue very much in the news at the moment. Do you hope your audience will empathise with these people?

It is quite devastating to me that governments persist in using state-sanctioned murder as a means of punishment. The killing of another human being is never justified if we are ever to be a decent society. In 2005 the government of Singapore put to death a young Australian man, Van Tuong Nguyen, for his role in drug smuggling. Before he was hanged it was revealed that his mother was not allowed to touch him before he was executed. That she was barred from hugging her child and that he would die without such a gesture felt so specifically cruel.

At the time I was working as a human rights lawyer – and I was working specifically with young people – so I was very involved in the campaign to keep this young man from the death penalty.

When he was ultimately hanged, I felt such anger not only over his untimely and barbaric death, but also in watching the despair of his mother.

What made you turn to a career in theatre?

While I was a lawyer I attended NIDA and wrote plays, and slowly this work became more central to my working life so that I found myself having to choose. I was lucky to have a residency at the National Theatre in London and at other theatres in the UK and North America, which made me realise that I couldn’t maintain both jobs, because now I wasn’t even in the same city most of the time, and my passion for writing won out.

What: Caress/Ache Where: SBW Stables Theatre When: Friday February 27 – Saturday April 11

ESCOBAR: PARADISE LOST

Love is dangerous. Young Canadian surfer Nick Brady (The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson) learns this lesson the hard way in Escobar: Paradise Lost. Travelling in Colombia, Nick falls in love with local lass Maria (Claudia Traisac) and is invited to meet her family. Romantic, si? Until it turns out Maria’s uncle is the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, played by the inimitable Benicio Del Toro. Oh dear.

Soon, Nick is caught up in criminal activity and forced to reassess his priorities.

Paradise Lost is the debut feature

by Andrea Di Stefano, and plays at Moonlight Cinema in Centennial Park on Thursday February 19. We’ve got two double passes to give away – to be in the running, head to thebrag.com/freeshit and tell us your favourite Benicio Del Toro film. xxx

HIVE BAHA COMEDY

Looking for a Thursday night laugh? Make Erskineville’s Hive Bar your destination, where the weekly Hive Baha event guarantees a good time. The night is hosted by local heroes Sam Kissajukian and Sean Michaels, with this Thursday February 12 featuring headliner Daniel Townes. The Aussie funnyman has hosted and headlined in comedy clubs from the UK to South Africa and even the UAE, ensuring his place as a regular on the festival circuit around the world.

Support comes from Mike Chan, Brock Henry, Sallie Don and Ruven Govender.

Tafelmusik

Lucy Maunder

ARTEXPRESS 2015

HOUSE OF DREAMS

Helpmann Award-winning Canadian performance group Tafelmusik is returning to Australia this month with a new multimedia concert, House Of Dreams. It’s pitched as a journey through five European houses where art interacts with baroque music – London, Venice, Delft, Paris and Leipzig – all without leaving your seat. Spectacularly, the group performs all the music from memory. House Of Dreams plays at City Recital Hall Angel Place on Monday February 23 and Sunday March 1.

ART & ABOUT SUBMISSIONS OPEN

The City of Sydney is seeking new contributions from artists, curators and other creatives for one of Australia’s best temporary art festivals. Art & About is a Sydney festival that celebrates temporary art installations and performances in public and unusual

spaces. It looks to cover all manner of arts disciplines from visual arts to music and theatre. Expressions of interest are now open for this year’s festival. The City of Sydney can provide financial support ranging up to $80,000 for selected projects. Art & About comes to Sydney on Friday September 18 – Sunday October 11. Visit artandabout.com.au for more information.

Artexpress will return again this year to showcase the most outstanding major works from the 2014 HSC Visual Arts exams at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This year the exhibition will feature 37 student artists, chosen from 10,000 who completed the exam. Artexpress allows students to present their work in a professional space to a diverse audience and offers an insight for the rest of us into the artistic prowess of young Australians. Works draw from a range of media including painting, drawing, photomedia, printmaking, textiles, ceramics, graphic design, time-based forms and sculpture. For the first time, the Art Gallery is collaborating with Google to publish 360-degree imagery of this year’s exhibition online, as well as commentary from the artists, allowing global audiences to explore the exhibition. Artexpress 2015 will show for two months from Thursday February 12 – Sunday April 19.

ATLAS SERIES AT HINKY DINKS

Darlinghurst cocktail venue Hinky Dinks continues its odyssey through the cultures of the world with a New Zealand-themed edition

TASTE OF SYDNEY 2015

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Lucy Maunder’s new show Irving Berlin: Songs In The Key Of Black will be coming to Hayes Theatre Co in April. Maunder is one of the leading ladies in Australian musical theatre. She scored Helpmann, Glugs and STA nominations for her performance as Rizzo in Grease, as well as playing Janet in a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Berlin, meanwhile, was a Russian-born composer who rose to fame in New York for his amazing songs and unrelenting work ethic. It’s estimated he wrote over 1,500 songs in his 60-year career, with 25 of those going to number one. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards for songs such as ‘White Christmas’ and ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’. Songs In The Key Of Black will play at Hayes Theatre Co from Tuesday April 7 – Sunday April 12.

of its popular Atlas Series next week. The land of the long white cloud is geographically and culturally unique for its intersection of influences from Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Mediterranean and beyond, and it has a growing craft brewing culture, so this one’s sure to be a feast for the senses. It’s on Wednesday February 18; email info@hinkydinks.com.au to book. thebrag.com

Tafelmusik photo by Glenn Davidson

Taste Of Sydney

Food and drink lovers will descend upon Centennial Park next month for the return of Taste Of Sydney.

The festival has announced the first ten exhibitors for this year’s edition, featuring some of Sydney’s most exclusive and hatted restaurants like MoVida, Bentley, Monople, Yellow, Biota Dining, Porteño, Four In Hand, 4Fourteen, Popolo and Otto Ristorante. The restaurants’ finest chefs are said to be working on creations exclusive to Taste Of Sydney 2015, but it’s not just for the foodies – there’ll also be live music and exciting drinks. The festival takes over Centennial Park from Thursday March 12 – Sunday March 15.

SONGS IN THE KEY OF BLACK

Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead [FILM] Zombies In Oz By David O’Connell

F

our years ago, the RoacheTurner brothers, Tristan and Kiah, set out to make a film similar to the action and horror movies that had dominated their youth. Now, after countless hours of work, the complete transformation of a yellow Toyota Hilux into a zombie-fuelled death machine, and the setting of a man’s head on fire (in strictly controlled stunt conditions), Guerilla Films is about to release the high-octane zombiefest set in the Australian bush, Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead. The BRAG caught up with one half of the team: producer, production designer, co-writer and occasional zombie extra, Tristan Roache-Turner.

With Wyrmwood displaying such a love of Ozploitation and horror, it is easy to identify the filmic touchstones that the brothers hold dear. Mad Max is the obvious comparison, but there are strong horror influences. “It has to be Evil Dead II and Bad Taste,” says Tristan. “I watched both those movies as a young fella. Evil Dead II was really scary, but had mad production values. It had that maniacal sense of humour that I really appreciated. Bad Taste from Peter Jackson – I just fell in love with that movie. That was what really gave myself and [director] Kiah the self-belief that you can make a movie off your own back and find a following for it.”

Hence, with a minuscule budget, the brothers set out to make the film they wanted to see. “It was difficult but it was so much fun. That made it easier,”

Wyrmwood: Road Of The Dead

says Tristan. “Looking back, I’m amazed we got it done in four years.

There were definitely times it was very hard. We had a cast and a crew that – well, none of them were getting paid upfront, everyone was there for the love of filmmaking. It just gave us the team we needed to get everything done.”

he says. “I did a lot of crew work on set, production managing and making sure everyone was on time, and organised – but by the end of the day I’d have a tool belt on, running around repairing things in between shots … I was a zombie multiple times, I performed a lot of small-scale stunts, and I was safety as well.”

Of course, with a shoestring budget, Tristan found himself wearing multiple hats on Wyrmwood. “[I] produced it, wrote it with my brother, designed and built a lot of the props and costumes,”

Due to his background as an electrician, Tristan was indeed highly safety-orientated on set. So when it came time to actually light a man’s head on fire as part of the

climactic end battle, Tristan was part of the stunt team. He was also responsible for bringing many of the distinctive visuals of the film into reality, including the zombie-mobile.

After buying an appropriate base from eBay, it just required some salvaged scrap metal, a few trips to Bunnings and the help of a couple of tradie mates to “transform it from an average yellow Hilux to the beast it is today”.

As for what’s next for the RoacheTurner brothers, as much as they

would love to do a sequel for Wyrmwood, they have other priorities in mind.

“Any plans for [a sequel] are on the backburner as we have a kick-arse ghost story planned,” Tristan reveals. “Sort of an R-rated Ghostbusters.”

What: Wrymwood: Road Of The Dead (dir. Kiah Roache-Turner) Where: In cinemas Friday February 13

Swan Lake [DANCE] A Royal Affair By Tegan Jones

I

f you’re heading to the Capitol Theatre to see the Australian Ballet’s Swan Lake this month, it will be nothing like what your nan or the 1994 Swan Princess cartoon prepared you for. Graeme Murphy’s reimagining subverts Tchaikovsky’s 1875 canonical classic in every conceivable way. Neither the plot, score nor costumes have escaped unscathed, which is incredibly refreshing. And you have to respect anyone who has the gall to overtly imply an orgasm on a ballet stage.

The BRAG chatted to principal ballerina Amber Scott about the show and what makes it so unique.

Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake photo by Jeff Busby

This version of Swan Lake has already been around for 12 years and its return to Australia is almost a tradition in itself. Despite this, new audiences may find the characters and plot somewhat reminiscent of real people. “The inspiration that Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon had initially was the love triangle between Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Charles and Diana,” Scott explains. “Because that was in a royal court situation, it fitted perfectly with the ballet story. It starts off with the wedding, and Odette is the Diana character; she’s very innocent and young. Charles is the prince getting married for the right reasons but his heart is with Camilla, who is of course the Baroness von Rothbart.”

The differentiation between the traditional and modern will be immediately evident to audiences, particularly as this new Swan Lake begins where the old ended – at least in the happier versions where the characters don’t commit suicide, anyway.

“Act One is a big one for all the characters,” says Scott. “It’s where Odette, at her own wedding, discovers the prince’s infidelity. She’s already a fairly fragile and delicate person so it sends her literally mad.

She’s sent off to a sanitarium, which is very convenient because it means that the prince and the baroness

thebrag.com

Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake

have all the time they want to continue their affair.”

This is certainly one of the most significant changes in Murphy’s appropriation. One could argue that perhaps poor Prince Siegfried is getting somewhat of a character assassination. In the original he is merely tricked, whereas here he is knowingly committing an act of betrayal. Scott has a fascinating perspective on this.

“I think there’s a few ways that Siegfried can be portrayed in this version, and it’s always interesting when I watch different performances,” she says. “I know that my partner Ad [Adam Bull] doesn’t think of him so much as a villain. I think that by the end of the ballet he feels like he truly made a mistake. He’s at a loss and he loses everything.

“Other people who I’ve seen play it are more caddish and quite aware of

what they’re doing. I think that in the end Siegfried is just a human and he’s succumbed to temptation. He’s a prince but he makes mistakes that people in everyday life make.”

In this way, Murphy’s Swan Lake is dismantling the traditional fairy story. I wonder out loud whether this version is more realistic and perhaps made all the more important by the affair.

“It’s clever really, because everyone is aware of it at the court, but it’s just not talked about,” says Scott. “I think in that way Graeme has created a very different, and quite human situation in Act One, as opposed to a traditional, classical ballet where there is a lot of pomp and ceremony but not a lot of emotion.”

Despite the vast changes to the story, audiences will still be able to recognise elements of the traditional Swan Lake in Murphy’s adaptation. “In Act Two, Odette is in an institution and

she’s looked after by nuns who are all dressed in white and are very Swiss,” Scott explains. “They have enormous hats, and she thinks they are like swans, so she suddenly imagines that she’s become one. The whole second act is an ode to the traditional; there are the signets and the big swans and a beautiful pas de deux solo. There are a lot of elements that are taken from the traditional and are paying homage to that.”

It’s well-known throughout the dancing world that the role of Odette is one of the most tiring and all-consuming in all of ballet, and Scott can certainly confirm that.

“We know Graeme’s choreography inside out now, but there’s a level of getting your body strong enough to do it, because it is one of the most demanding roles I’ve done,” she says. “It’s about doing the hours in the studio and working with your partner. A lot of the ballet is really heavy partnering, and the men are amazing with what they do with the

girls. I still don’t know how they do it.

I look in the mirror sometimes and I’m like, ‘What?!’” she laughs.

Scott has had a great deal of experience dancing both the traditional and the modern versions of Swan Lake, so she’s in a good position to compare. “I find that both versions help each other. I’ve been able to bring physicality from one to the other and it’s been quite interesting. They’re not completely dissimilar characters; Odette is fragile and tragic in both versions. But I think ultimately it’s not so much the dancing, but the depth of the story that I love. It’s been an honour to be able to perform something like that where you can just let everything out; I think that’s what gets you through.”

What: Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake Where: Capitol Theatre When: Friday February 20 – Saturday February 28

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COMEDY SPECIAL

THE LAUGH STAND WHERE: Harold Park Hotel, 70A Ross Street, Glebe The talent: We have a good mix of new, rising and big-name comedy talent, every Tuesday at the original home of Sydney comedy, Harold Park Hotel, Glebe. The room is not open mic and all acts are hand-selected to ensure the best quality and diversity of style and experience.

Some might say stand-up comedy is a forgotten art, but not us here at the BRAG. All across Sydney, comics are treading the boards, baring their souls and making us laugh. We asked some of Sydney’s best comedy venues to tell us what funnies they’ve got in store.

The first three Tuesdays of the month are Up and Comer Showcases with new and emerging talent and a pro emcee, and as a special treat for February, a worldclass headliner each week. Then the last Tuesday of the month is a Comedy Gala where we showcase the best of all levels of comedy.

Stellar pros we have on through February include Joel Ozborn, Andrew Barnett, Dan Rath, Michele Betts, Ray Badran and The Stevenson Experience, plus loads more!

Bevvy of choice: We are very lucky to have Coopers Brewery as a supporter, so there will be delicious $5 Coopers schooners all night at the bar in the comedy room.

Tell us a joke: Q: What is it called when fans of a pop music star try to rig the triple j Hottest 100?

A: Pulling a Swifty.

Cost: The Up and Comer Showcase on Tuesday February 17 is just $10 on the door, and the Comedy Gala on Tuesday February 24 is just $15 online (plus bf) through Eventfinda or $20 at the door. Plus there are super tasty two-for-one meals all night, and don’t forget those $5 schooners of Coopers!

When: Every Tuesday at 8pm More: thelaughstand.tumblr.com

The Stevenson Experience

ROCK WITH LAUGHTER! WHERE: Rock Lily, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont

Rhys Nicholson

The talent: Headline act Rhys Nicholson. Support acts Andrew Barnett and Corey White. Host Tommy Dean.

Bevvy of choice: Anything tequila! We’ve got one of the largest tequila selections in Sydney.

Tell us a joke: A screwdriver walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Hey, we have a drink named after you!”

The screwdriver responds, “You have a drink named Murray?”

Cost: Free entry! $5 local beers, house spirits and house wines from 5pm-midnight every Thursday.

When: 7:30pm Thursday February 26 and the last Thursday of every month.

More: star.com.au

HAPPY ENDINGS COMEDY CLUB WHERE: The Unicorn, 106 Oxford Street, Paddington The talent: Next Wednesday February 18, it’s Cam Knight – one of the most on fire comics in the country. Plus Peter Meisel – if you haven’t heard Pete yet, give it time. He is from New York. You will hear him! And Nikki Britton – a regular at Sydney’s Comedy Store who has recently toured with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow and the Sydney Comedy Festival Showcase across Australia.

Cam Knight Bevvy of choice: Comedy is for the working class, and there’s nothing more working class than a Boiler Maker – Brooklyn Lager and a shot of Bulleit bourbon.

THE WORKERS BAR & KITCHEN WHERE: The Workers Bar & Kitchen, L1/292 Darling Street, Balmain The talent: Matt Okine (with support from Gen Fricker) Bevvy of choice: $5 beers, mate. Failing that, we have a cracker of a new cocktail menu that you’ll be dying to get into.

Tell us a joke: Two nuns are driving through Transylvania when Dracula

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jumps out onto the bonnet.

“Quickly!” says the first, “Show him your cross!”

The other winds down the window, leans out and yells, “Get off our fecking car, you bloody bastard!”

Cost: Tickets $20+bf from Eventbrite – book now as this event will sell out!

We’ll assume that Matt Okine will be funnier than we are…

More: theworkersbalmain. com.au

When: Wednesday February 18. Doors from 5pm, show starts at 8pm.

Tell us a joke: A man walks into a bar with a giraffe and sits at the bar.

The giraffe has too many drinks and falls off his stool. The man gets up to walk out and the bartender says, “You can’t leave that lyin’ there!”

The man replies, “It’s not a lion, it’s a giraffe.”

Cost: $15 entry. Our beliefs rest upon serving quality food at a fair price.

300g rump steaks with your choice of two sides for $10 is the comedy night special. A Boiler Maker is $10, house wine $6.50. Lots of people drop in early for happy hour from 5-7pm to take advantage of our $4 house draft beer and wine.

When: 8pm every Wednesday More: theunicornhotel.com. Book a table at 02 9360 7994

thebrag.com

Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town

■ Theatre

The Credeaux Canvas

THE CREDEAUX CANVAS

WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY

Playing at the Seymour Centre until Saturday February 14

xxx

The Credeaux Canvas, written by American playwright Keith Bunin and produced in Australia by Les Solomon and Bryce Hallett, is a profound play that explores the intricate relationships, fears and dreams of three young people, whom despite living together, teeter on the edge of becoming either friends or enemies.

Set in the uterus-sized, paint-splattered New York apartment of budding art student Winston (James Wright), The Credeaux Canvas gives you an insight into the neurotic and at times frantic mind of youth, as well as the fears of failure and desperation for love and success.

When a farfetched and outrageously deceitful money-making scheme is set in place under what could be described as the ‘reign’ of Jamie (Felix Johnson) – whose imposing presence reeks of arrogance and narcissism – both Winston and Amelia (Emilie Cocquerel) are reluctantly drawn into his plan. In a nutshell, the scheme involves a great deal of forgery, artwork and deceit at the expense of an old family friend, Tess (Carmen Duncan). As the plan unfolds, the associated guilt and tension between the three housemates sets off a shift in allegiances, and as sexual desire between Amelia and Winston rises, it places

In cinemas Thursday February 12

an increased strain on already tense relationships.

Despite strong performances from the tight-knit cast, the play only really comes to life after the interval. Unlike in the first half, where the dialogue seems stilted and a little forced, the explosive second act is what we have all been waiting for from director Ross McGregor. A combination of clever twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end – as well as a strong sense of obsession, desire and grief that reaches out and smacks you in the face – truly brings the production to an entirely new level.

Be warned, The Credeaux Canvas does feature a great deal of nudity; however, skin exposure aside, it is a fantastic reminder of those bleak, poverty stricken, ‘I wish I had a real job’ moments we’ve all experienced in life, and the vast measures one will take to avoid failure. It also brings to life the fact that, to many, beauty – be it in a person or an artwork – is most definitely in the eye of the beholder.

Prudence Clark

■ Theatre

ABSENT FRIENDS Played at Glen Street Theatre from Wednesday January 28 – Sunday February 1 Set in the 1970s, Absent Friends is a throwback to a different time; a time when marriage was not on equal terms, boredom was an inevitability to be lived through and bell-bottoms were sexy.

Played out over one Saturday afternoon, Absent Friends sees Diana invite a few friends for tea to reconnect with Colin, an old friend who’s been recently widowed.

As they await his arrival, she’s convinced her husband Paul is having an affair with his friend John’s wife, Evelyn. When Colin finally arrives, his grieving gives the group of friends pause to consider.

What We Did On Our Holiday is one of those particular, rare fi lms that inspires genuine laughter and draws tears in almost equal measure – and often simultaneously. This stellar offering from writer/ directors Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin is a gloriously irreverent and heartbreakingly honest middle fi nger at death. In the wry, unpolished way of British fi lms, it plots a dysfunctional family’s encounter with the grim spectre as they struggle with the complicated business of living.

Gordie (Billy Connolly) is dying. His son Doug (David Tennant), with his wife Abi (Rosamund Pike) and their three idiosyncratic children – Lottie (Emilia Jones), Micky (Bobby Smalldridge) and Jess (Harriet Turnbull) – pack their car and drive north to celebrate Gordie’s 75th birthday with his other son Gavin (Ben Miller), who is carefully ignoring the unhappiness of his own stifl ed family. Everyone is keeping secrets from everyone else, and they must all come out by the end.

What We Did On Our Holiday

As a fl ippant and fair man who has gracefully come to terms with his impending death, Gordie is the rudder of the fi lm – his live-andlet-live approach to life teaches the family what is important in life, and what is, as he puts it, ridiculous.

The whole cast is absolutely perfect, but the fi lm is owned by the children, who are frustrated by their parents’ immature behaviour: neurotic Lottie, caught up in a tangle of ethical questions; Micky, who is obsessed with Vikings; and Jess, who

steals keys, loves big rocks and holds her breath as a form of protest. Hamilton and Jenkin rely on a semiimprov technique when working with children, so most of the children’s lines are ad-libbed. They are startling and funny, and so beautifully honest.

This fi lm doesn’t give easy solutions and happily-everafters, but it does offer a refreshing look at family, death, and what matters in life.

Hannah Warren

Absent Friends perfect friend desperate to connect after his tragedy.

As the play was written in 1974, this isn’t a period comedy, but rather a solid snapshot of a time of teething, when sexual liberation was bubbling under the surface though divorce was yet to be a commonplace solution to failing marriages.

As this is an English play, the use of Australian accents doesn’t quite match the set design or some of the cultural references, so a more Australiana update of the set and costumes would help drive the humour. Overall, the performances from the full ensemble cast are king here.

Julian Ramundi

xxx

While this might sound like a heavy drama, the laughs are think and fast in the play, with excellent performances throughout. Diana’s old-school homely charm and insecurities are played out excellently by Michelle Doake, as is her ineffectual husband played by Richard Sydenham. Queenie van de Zandt subtly steals the show, however, as the quirky friend Marge, herself battling marital issues with a hypochondriac husband who exists only via frequent phone calls to the party. Darren Gilshenan lights up the stage on entry as Colin, who’s a pure and

■ Film

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed

presents

MATT OKINE "SIDE-SPLITTINGLY FUNNY" - The Australian TImes

What's in our diary...

Art After Hours: Oz Synthpop Art Gallery of NSW, Wednesday February 11, 18 and 25 For the rest of this month, the Art Gallery of NSW will continue to host a lineup of great young Australian musicians as part of its Art After Hours Oz Synthpop schedule.

This Wednesday February 11, ’80s revivalists Client Liaison light up the stage in the gallery’s Entrance Court. Then on Wednesday February 18, Donny Benet will make you groove with his sophisticated combination of drum machine, synths and slightly unbuttoned shirt. Finally, Wednesday February 25 features a double bill of Holiday Sidewinder and Tees. Sydneysiders are invited down to enjoy the tunes alongside current exhibits including the spectacular Pop To Popism.

"OUTSTANDING...RISING STAR" - The Australian TImes

FEB 18 BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL TICKETS $20 +BF

For more info on Art After Hours, visit artgallery.nsw.gov.au/art-after-hours. thebrag.com

BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15 :: 19

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK DORSAL FINS

in ‘Sun & Stars’ could be lifted directly from a Japanese video game.

xxx

Mind Renovation Gripless/Remote Control

Liam McGorry, of Saskwatch fame, has gathered together a 15-piece ensemble for his new band Dorsal Fins. Eschewing soul in favour of an indie rock palette, the group has captured the energy of psychedelic rock while not being bound to its tropes. Mind Renovation is the gratifying result of a side project gone right.

Hidden away amongst the psychedelia are songs that are as exciting as they are anomalous. The poppy synths of ‘Heart On The Floor’ make you want to stamp your feet, while the guitar riffs

Consistent throughout is Dorsal Fins’ dynamic horn section, which ties the album together when it might otherwise feel disjointed. McGorry’s influence as a trumpeter comes through strongly to complement rather than clutter. It elevates the good songs and makes the great ones even better.

This fusion is what makes Mind Renovation work.

The band trusts each other’s skills enough to experiment with a vast array of genres, and trusts the audience enough to appreciate it.

James Ross xxx

The Saskwatch side project heads in an indie rock direction on its impressive debut effort.

As they shift between psych rock and a range of eclectic genres, from the powerful spoken word of ‘Jacqueline’ to the ethereal balladry of ‘Fell’, it feels like we’re discovering secret tracks rather than following a simple progression through the album.

POND

THE APRIL MAZE

PERRY KEYES

DEATH GRIPS

PERIPHERY

Man It Feels Like Space Again EMI

Sleeping Storm MGM

Sunnyholt Laughing Outlaw

Fashion Week Independent

Juggernaut Roadrunner/Warner

This is Pond’s umpteenth album.

The tag ‘Tame Impala side project’ has never been apt, and by now Pond have grabbed a fan base of their very own. However, the Perthcum-Melbourne collective have thus far failed to deliver an album that fully demonstrates their brilliance.

I’ve only ever listened to one folk album, and it’s also the only album my mum has ever bought for me: Cat Stevens’ Tea For The Tillerman (thanks Mum!). The April Maze’s Sleeping Storm is now my second.

So I don’t know much about folk, but I can report that it’s not as good as Tea For The Tillerman. Sorry.

There should be more songs about Australia, for no other reason than that it would make me happy. Perry Keyes has been very good to me: Sunnyholt is a ten-song symposium on gentrification, and specifically, the forced relocation of inner-city working class dwellers to Sydney’s west.

Fashion Week is the first Death Grips album not to feature MC Ride’s bitter howls cutting through the music, and is instead pure electronic instrumental hip hop.

Periphery are one of the most important bands in metal today.

They’ve consistently experimented while maintaining their core sound; a fine balance that’s often difficult to find. With Juggernaut, they’ve set the bar higher for themselves yet again – and not just by sheer weight of numbers, either. An 80-minute concept album split over two parts (Alpha and Omega) is impressive enough, but it’s in a compositional sense that this album really shines.

It remains to be seen whether Man It Feels Like Space Again is the one, but it persuasively displays that peddling a throwback sound needn’t be compromising. What we get here is a lot of theatrical glam with a heap of dreamy meandering thrown in for good measure. Hearing busty, sillier tunes like ‘Elvis’ Flaming Star’ balanced out by exercises in tripadelic excellence, such as ‘Holding Out For You’, evokes thoughts of Mercury Rev taking on T-Rex, with sprinkles of Ariel Pink’s humour.

You know that feeling when everything in your head starts moving really fast and you haven’t the power to stop it? As a consequence, whatever enters your perceptive field appears exceedingly slow, which creates a dizzying sensation? This is basically what listening to Man It Feels Like Space Again feels like.

Pond’s tunes never reach frenetic pace, but when the treadmill motion of ‘Zond’ weaves into the joint-passing lethargy of ‘Heroic Shart’, one’s perceptions are thrown way out of whack.

Augustus Welby

But I am a fan of bands of fewer than four members. The April Maze are made of Sivan Agam and Todd Mayhew – between them they share vocals and split cello, guitar and banjo duties. This range of instruments alone lets their folk wander into bluegrass, country and beyond, ensuring a nice variety amongst the album’s 13 songs.

Opener and title track ‘Sleeping Storm’ is a sorrowful get-up, which is immediately contrasted by the determined, upbeat nature of ‘I’ve Seen The Rain’. After that, ‘Scout Hall’ pops on with its banjo-driven melody. However, Sleeping Storm never seems to stick out – there’s no catchy or easily memorable song. The near exception to this is ‘The Bishop Who Ate His Boots’; it is upbeat and sounds distinct from the other tracks, but the liner notes also do announce this song rather loudly.

As is to be expected, Keyes plays up the rock’n’roll – in fact, Sunnyholt sounds like a stripped-back John Farnham or Jimmy Barnes. Keyes lists his influences as “Elvis Presley, The Velvet Underground and the Parramatta Speedway”.

Combining local identity and pub rock, Sunnyholt comes across as a very Australian album. It’s straightforward, honest, and unlike many bands mimicking long-gone genres, it’s legit.

The music and the lyrical content are one and the same for Keyes when it comes to authenticity.

However, the pinpoint focus of the album’s lyrics – Sydney suburbs are constantly namechecked – greatly restricts its accessibility. While dislocation and poverty, for example, may be common experiences, knowledge of Sunnyholt, Botany Bay or Glebe isn’t. Also, the fact that all but three of the songs on this album are glum affairs doesn’t help either.

Not a bad album. Probably one for the Radio National audience, though.

Good on Keyes for singing about Australia, but otherwise it’s an unremarkable album.

Nicholas Hartman

Nicholas Hartman

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK As Ibeyi (“ee-bey-ee”), 19-year-old French-Cuban twins Naomi and LisaKaindé Diaz were responsible for one of 2014’s most arresting singles, ‘River’. Set against a hypnotising, stripped-back beat, the duo deliver the refrain of “Come to your river / Wash my soul” before ending in an old prayer, sung in Yoruba, a language that was taken to Cuba by West African slaves in the 18th century.

IBEYI Ibeyi XL/Remote Control

The sisters sing in both English and Yoruba on this album, connecting themselves with their cultural history and adding another layer of emotional depth. The poignant chant at the end of ‘Behind The Curtin’ – all fragile whispers of death and grief – lifts the song to ethereal heights.

with the new: gospel chants and glitch elements, elegant piano lines and minimal beats. The result is striking and acutely affecting – 13 tracks of minimal soul, framing the Diaz sisters’ beautiful, clear voices. Ibeyi is reminiscent of the skewed R&B of Seattle duo Theesatisfaction, with both acts sharing a focus on dual vocals, minimal beats, and favouring the lower keys on the piano. Highlights here include the smooth ‘Stranger/Lover’ and the slow ‘Weatherman’, with its crackly backbone and wobbly synth.

Both bewitching and unsettling in its sparseness, Ibeyi is an unexpected album and powerful debut.

Featuring an assortment of tunes with individual tracks drawing from differing styles and moods, riddled with intense drumming on Zach Hill’s part, the album does well to remain unique from track to track while still effecting a high level of electronic prowess not dissimilar from the band’s first studio album, The Money Store. However, the unfortunate issue with Fashion Week is that the release itself suffers from being a safer, less experimental effort than previous albums and therefore seems to betray the group’s past work.

The tracks dance between sounds from the alien to electric screams and even through to grunge in places. While all these songs are interesting in their variation, it all still feels like something you’d hear at a DJ set rather than on a Death Grips album.

Fashion Week has all the hallmarks of a decent electronic album in that the tracks still evoke enough to make a person want to move, but unfortunately there’s nothing that challenges the listener.

Thomas Brand

Concept or not, as a start-to-finish listening experience, Juggernaut fairly blows your mind. It’s a true musical odyssey, with intense use of dynamics, peaks and falls, and emotional call-and-response. This band already had an absolute grasp of the soaring to brutal to ambient and everything in between aesthetic, but here it takes on a whole new effect. It could be overwhelming, but it never comes across as such – it always stays just on the enjoyable side of a complete mindfuck.

The narrow-minded who default to hating on any trend that comes along in heavy music that doesn’t sound exactly like Slayer will probably dismiss Periphery as a djent band, but they’re way beyond that. They’re a highly adventurous, melodic modern progressive metal act who write complex, dense, intense songs and never stand still.

Rod Whitfi eld

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

KING CREOSOTE & JON HOPKINS - Diamond Mine CERRONE - The Best Of Cerrone Productions COLD CHISEL - Cold Chisel

HUSKY - Ruckers Hill RODRIGUEZ - Cold Fact

Chiara Grassia Ibeyi effortlessly juxtapose the old 20 :: BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15

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snap sn ap up all night out all week . . .

live reviews What we've been out to see...

ST. JEROME’S LANEWAY FESTIVAL Sydney College of the Arts Sunday February 1 Ah, Laneway Festival – or as it might otherwise be known, the Festival of Pretty Young Things in Perpetual Motion. It seems everyone at Laneway is on their way somewhere else, even when the artists are playing – which is understandable, given the short distance from one stage to the next and the sheer volume of great acts on offer throughout the day.

But does all this rushing around defeat the purpose of being here in the first place?

Well, Garden Stage headliner St. Vincent will later pose the question a different way, her overtly choreographed (and overall superb) performance making the point that live music is just that: a big, stylised show, packed with gestures that replace meaning.

It’s not 1969 anymore, and attending a music festival won’t change the world. Just set yourself up to go with the flow, enjoy it, and it’s hard to go wrong.

Actually, it’s nigh on impossible to go wrong with a lineup this consistent from first to last. Andy Bull, Highasakite, Peter Bibby and Connan Mockasin have the early crowds talking, while Sohn fills a lunchtime slot on the always well-programmed and popular Future Classic Stage. The UK producer’s sweet voice gradually becomes enveloped with bass just as some welcome clouds envelop the afternoon sun.

Courtney Barnett and band launch into their set with ‘History Eraser’, but after that it’s mainly material from her debut album, set for release in March. These songs are unfamiliar to the audience for now, but

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they’re sounding wittier than ever. Agnes DeMarco certainly thinks so – the festival’s guest MC demands an ovation for her new Melburnian friend before directing the crowds toward the adjacent Park Stage for a set by her son, Mac. Now, what was that we said about empty gestures? Hands in the air, clap your hands, make some noise. Raury gives out all the cues, yet you can’t help but forgive him – his overwhelming brashness aside, he’s actually thoroughly interesting and almost impossible to categorise, jumping around from MJ-era pop and funk to hip hop and classic rock. If he makes it big, he’ll be the death of music journalists everywhere.

Over on the Mistletone Stage, an elegantly wasted Pond follow an even more elegantly wasted Dune Rats. It’s nice to see someone still keeping the ’60s dream alive. Meanwhile, the dancing kicks off with Little Dragon and continues courtesy the unstoppable groove of Jungle, who play pretty much the same thing for 45 minutes – but by the time they get to the winner they call ‘Busy Earnin’’, nobody’s keeping score anyhow.

Vic Mensa cameos for a verse on this one, and the rapper will later return for a nighttime bombardment of beats that also includes Caribou, Park Stage headliners Flight Facilities and high-profile internationals Jon Hopkins and Flying Lotus. It’s perpetual motion, alright – Future Islands frontman Samuel T. Herring probably still hasn’t stopped dancing – but for a generation of music fans on the move, Laneway seems to match every step.

Chris Martin

:: ASHLEY MAR ::

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PAUL KELLY PRESENTS THE MERRI SOUL SESSIONS, HIATUS KAIYOTE Taronga Zoo Thursday February 5 Wander past the drowsy monkeys, frustrated elephant and boxing kangaroos – mind the roving brush turkeys as you do – and you’ll stumble upon what has to be the most gorgeous venue in Sydney.

Sure, the State Theatre is wonderfully opulent, and even Hibernian House has its beguiling, labyrinthine charm. But Taronga Zoo wins the location game without ever breaking a sweat. Sprawling lawns, the distant peaks of the CBD, of the iron clamshell bridge. Add to this a dash of soul, some folk rock/blues and a maroonclad Paul Kelly, and you have yourself one impressive evening.

When support act Hiatus Kaiyote took the stage the sun was still out, which may have led to their set not gaining the reception it deserved. Nai Palm has a voice that can kick arse and take no prisoners, and the band gave a tight set with some tremendous beats. But the audience didn’t engage, which had less to do with Kaiyote’s quality and more that this was a family gig at dinnertime. If Palm seemed to hold back somewhat, it was likely because the sea of tartan picnic blankets, Tupperware containers and

YOU AM I, JACK LADDER AND THE DREAMLANDERS Taronga Zoo Saturday February 7 “We’re middle-aged cult icons,” smirks Tim Rogers in between windmills and audience banter. But even considering alternative rock legends You Am I’s lofty standing in Aussie music, Taronga Zoo’s harbourside amphitheatre is a pretty special venue.

Framed by lush greenery, the sunset over the city skyline is simply stunning. “We’re more suited to bars in St Kilda,” laughs Rogers.

The lawn is dotted with picnic rugs, so this is not the sticky-floored gig you might be used to; it seems Gen-X has ditched the grunge for a white-collar career. In fact, the vibe is more Carols By Candlelight than pub rock, but as the ’90s nostalgia sets in, the energy picks up.

Setting a new standard for indie rock, Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders perform into the dying daylight. The group weaves synthetic sounds into pulsing rhythms, putting a sultry and melancholic spin on ’80s rock. With his baritone drawl and broody lyricism, frontman Jack

straw hats gave only token notice to each song.

When Paul Kelly and co emerged, the sun was setting and the crowd was primed. The setlist was a strong fusion of old favourites – ‘How To Make Gravy’ is as poignant as ever, while ‘Dumb Things’ had folk howling along beneath an appropriately full moon – and tracks from the titular Merri Soul Sessions album. Kelly’s lyrical prowess is still strong, and though it’s inevitable that a touch of shakiness has entered his vocals these days, he was supported by a crew whose own voices left you rooted to the spot. Clairy Browne was exceptional (with an unexpected kookaburra chorus as accompaniment), while Kira Puru’s cover duet with Kelly of ‘The Dark End Of The Street’ was a certain standout.

It was very nearly the Dan Sultan Sessions by the end of the night, as the Melbourne muso owned the stage each time he stepped up to the mic. His voice during ‘Look So Fine, Feel So Low’ inspired goosebumps, and had the entire audience singing back.

This is a great ensemble to catch, and the incomparable scenery must be seen to be believed. Check out one of these Twilight At Taronga concerts while you can.

Adam Norris

Ladder probably tires of the Nick Cave comparisons. However, The Dreamlanders are a solid set of musicians in their own right, comprising Kirin J Callinan, Donny Benet and Lawrence Pike (of PVT).

You Am I have been a firm fixture on the Australian music scene for two decades now. Taking the stage in characteristically flamboyant fashion, Rogers swaggers about channelling Mick Jagger and even breaks into a crooning rendition of ‘Miss You’ by The Rolling Stones. Otherwise, there’s nothing particularly fancy about these songs. Loaded up with alcoholic energy and optimism, You Am I are about simple ingredients and deft songwriting. In spite of self-deprecating jokes about old age, the band seems to have retained its youthful kick, sliding with ease into bouncy classics like ‘Cathy’s Clown’ and ‘Good Mornin’’.

The show ends on a high note as You Am I belt out a resounding (if predictable) finale of ‘Berlin Chair’. It’s nice to reconnect with a band that fills you with fond memories and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Annie Murney

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BEARS WITH GUNS, EDEMA RUH, DIREWOLF The Gaelic Club Saturday February 7 Upstairs at The Gaelic Club, change is a’brewing.

First on the recently refurbished stage tonight was perennial favourite Direwolf. A barefoot, bearded troubadour, before he had even opened his mouth you were left impressed at the gravity-defying angle of his hat. The moment he did start to croon, however, the audience was transported. His evocative, searching lyrics hark back decades, and it is easy to imagine in another life he would have made an exceptional gospel musician, ruing the mortal trappings of the waning day.

Before a captivated audience, back-to-back numbers ‘Come Hell Or High Water’ and ‘Roaring Winds’ were his set’s highlight.

This was my first introduction to Edema Ruh, and let me tell you, these guys are not your ordinary band. A six-piece gypsy swing act, peppered with buckshot, bravado and brass, their music is infectious and their stagecraft hilarious. It makes you want to dance silhouetted by a raging bonfire while garishly costumed strangers pass around flagons of indecipherable wine. The violinist and trumpeter were particularly animated, dancing like bewitched marionettes in a

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fairytale. Their lead singer is a curious cross between Mike Patton and Isaac Brock, with the songs themselves charting the perplexing waters between Gogol Bordello and The Decemberists. Highlights were ‘Big Daddy’ and ‘Love Of The Misshapen’, and I can’t catch them again soon enough.

Having not witnessed Bears With Guns before I was keen to see if their live hype is justified, and man, these guys sure know how to get a room on its feet. Their sound is reminiscent of a more soulful, upbeat Boy & Bear, but having witnessed both bands live now I can happily assure that these guys win the gig game. It was impossible not to be smitten by their undeniable enthusiasm for performing (well, with the exception of the most dour ukulelist you’ll find this side of Appalachia). With ‘Winter Tree’ they hit their stride, moving effortlessly into highlight ‘Terms And Conditions’. Though their strongest songs are all uniquely so, certain numbers did tend to blur into one soundscape. Epic, yes, and you can sure as hell dance to it, but somewhat homogeneous. Still, I defy you to leave one of their gigs underwhelmed (the keyboardist even managed a bit of crowdsurfing – what more do you want?).

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A memorable night’s music at an evening that, if the fates are kind, will continue to grow throughout the year.

Adam Norris

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

pick of the week Sarah Blasko

Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. Free.

The Idea Of North Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $45.20.

The Late Night Soda Social Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. Free.

The Smith Street Band + Pup + Great Cynics + Apart From This Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle.

8:30pm. $33.80.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Cass Eager And The Velvet Rope The Annandale Hotel, Annandale. 8:30pm. Free.

Jazz Hip Hop Freestyle Sessions Foundry616, Ultimo.

11:30pm. $5.

The Kinetic Jazz Orchestra + Riley Lee + Roger Dean Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $20.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13 Taronga Zoo

Sarah Blasko + Luluc 7pm. $70.95.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Songwriting Society Of Australia Showcase - feat: John Chesher + Pete Scully + Gavin Fitzgerald + Paul McGowan + Veronica Wagner + Russell Neal Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 6:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

AM 2 PM Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. Free.

Basenji + Oscar Key Sung + Michael Ozone Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

Daniel Rossen + Jasia Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $43.

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

5pm. Free.

Happy Hippies Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill. 6:30pm. Free.

The Squeezebox Trio Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Vibrations At Valve - feat: Band Competition Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $15.

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Benn Gunn Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

7pm. Free.

Ed Wells + Imogen Clark The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $17.

Glenn Esmond Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 7:30pm. Free.

Lime And Steel - feat: Julia Jacklin + Colin Jones Petersham Bowling Club, Petersham. 7pm. $10.

Songsonstage - feat: Brad The Blues Guy + Ryan & Fi + Bogart & Butley + Tommy D + Oliver Goss + Samantha Johnson + David Mark Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Anthems Of Oz Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9pm. Free.

Bec Laughton Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

Bernie Hayes + John E. & Elmo The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

Black Diamond Hearts Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

10pm. Free.

Bonney Read + Stellar Addiction + Soul Kitchen Spectrum, Darlinghurst.

7:30pm. $12.50.

Brad Johns Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 8pm. Free.

Bumpercar Fighterpilots Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free.

Daniel Rossen + Jasia Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $43.

Dave White Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Empra Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

10pm. Free.

Flaccid Mowhawk + Horegeous + The Otherwise Men + Mojo Mutants Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $5.

Greg Agar Duo Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

Hey Geronimo + Betty And Oswald Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay. 9pm. Free.

James Reyne Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $37.

Mandi Jarry Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 7pm. Free.

Matt Price Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

7pm. Free.

Ollie Brown Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $37.

Scotdrakula + The Mighty Boys Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $10.

Steve Tonge

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Bill Kacir Rose Bay Hotel, Rose Bay. 8pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond Cronulla RSL, Cronulla.

6pm. Free.

John Vella Chatswood RSL, Chatswood.

5pm. Free.

Pat O’Grady Kareela Golf Club, Kareela.

6:30pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

4 Kings Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $20.70.

2Thorns Windsor Leagues Club, Windsor South. 10pm. Free.

AJ Dyce Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. Free.

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

Andy Mammers Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

8:30pm. Free.

Benn Gunn Mill Hill Hotel, Bondi Junction. 7:30pm. Free.

Big Rich Vineyard Hotel, Vineyard.

9:30pm. Free.

Black Diamond Hearts Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

8:15pm. Free.

Brad Johns Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

6pm. Free.

Chet Faker + Roland Tings + GL Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $63.31.

Clayton Vetter Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. Free.

Courtyard Sessions - Feat: Vigilantes Seymour Centre, Chippendale. 6pm. Free.

Darren Percival Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $35.

Dave Phillips Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 8pm. Free.

Dave White Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

David Agius Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

9pm. Free.

DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm.

Free.

Gig Buddies Sydney Launch Party - feat: Seek The Silence + Rudely Interrupted UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 8pm. $25.

Greg Agar Duo Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point.

8pm. Free.

Greg Byrne Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill.

3:45pm. Free.

Greg Lines Coogee Legion Ex-services Club, 7:30pm. Free.

High-Tails + The Polish Club + Zerolikes DJs + Rebecca Victoria Waywards, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

Jackson Holt Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale.

6pm. Free.

James Reyne + Ollie Brown The Juniors, Kingsford. 7pm. $50.

Jess Dunbar PJ Gallagher’s Whisky Bar, Jacksons On George, Sydney. 5:30pm. Free.

Josh McIvor PJ Gallagher’s, Enfield. 9pm.

Free.

Krishna Jones Parramatta RSL, Parramatta.

5pm. Free.

Leanne Paris Band Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $22.70.

Left.

Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free.

Lights Of Berlin + Kiss Me + The Bitter Sweethearts + Via Alchemy Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Linda Marigliano + Kali Adi + Toohey Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 7pm. Free.

Little Bastard Deus Ex Machina, Camperdown. 7pm. $15.

Luke Dixon Greystanes Inn, Greystanes Inn. 8pm. Free.

Marty Stewart Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9:30pm. Free.

Matt Jones Band Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10:30pm. Free.

Matt Price And Jess Dunbar PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt.

10pm. Free.

Mum - feat: Ribongia + Rattraps + Swim Season + Bad Pony The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. $10.

One Hit Wonders - feat: Marty Stewart Club Cronulla, Cronulla.

8:30pm. Free.

Powderfinger Show + Anthems Of Oz Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 10pm. Free.

Richard In Your Mind Union Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. free.

Rob Eastwood Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

6:30pm. Free.

Rob Henry Family Inn Hotel, Rydalmere.

7:30pm. Free.

Royal Chant + The Water Board + Love Parade + The Nobody Spectrum, Darlinghurst.

8:30pm. $10.

Sarah Blasko + Luluc Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $70.95.

Sting & Paul Simon Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 7pm. $99.90.

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

The Antlers + Hayden Calnin Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $49.20.

The McClymonts Dee Why RSL, Dee Why. 7pm. $35.

The Moon Hounds + Betty The Shark + Doug Williams And The Mix Old Manly Boatshed, Manly.

8pm. Free.

The Ninjas Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $15.

The Remixes Penrith Gaels, Kingswood.

8pm. Free.

The Smith Street Band Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $34.51.

The Sphinxes Crown Hotel, Camden. 8pm.

Free.

The Television Addicts + Bruce Thorax Newtown Hotel, Newtown.

8pm. $38.

Tim Conlon Duo Time & Tide Hotel, Dee Why. 7:30pm. Free.

Tom & Dave Show Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

8pm. Free.

Tori Darke Duo Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill.

7pm. Free.

Victoria Avenue The Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill. 6:30pm. Free.

Zoltan Pittwater RSL, Mona Vale.

7:30pm. Free.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC James Morrison Big Band Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $70.95.

Souled Out Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Angelena Locke Panania Diggers, Panania.

8pm. Free.

Peace Train (A Tribute To Cat Stevens) - Feat: Darren Coggan State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $61.05.

Rob Eastwood Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

8pm. Free.

Shivon Coelho The Commons, Darlinghurst.

9pm. Free.

Steve Crocker Epping Club, Epping. 7pm.

Free.

Vanessa Heinitz Rose Bay Hotel, Rose Bay. 8pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

After Party Band Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

9pm. Free.

Anthony Callea Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 7pm. $70.95.

Armchair Travellers Duo Courthouse Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. Free.

Ben Finn Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

9pm. Free.

Black Diamond Hearts The Star Event Centre, Pyrmont. 9:30pm. Free.

Blow Kareela Golf Club, Kareela.

8pm. Free.

Counterfeit Tribute Night: Valentine’s Day Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

9pm. Free.

Darren Percival The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $30.50.

Dave White Experience Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. Free.

Dirty Deeds - The AC/DC

thebrag.com

g g guide gig g

Spoon photo by Tom Hines

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Show Riverstone Bowling Club, Riverstone. 8:30pm. $10.

DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm.

Free.

Endless Summer Beach Party Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. Free.

Gareth Jay The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 8:45pm. Free.

Geoff Rana Le Pub, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

I Know Leopard Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $13.

I’d Rather Be Giggin’ Tour - feat: Break Even + Hopeless + Endless Heights + Postblue The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 8:30pm. $22.50.

Ignition R.G. McGees, Richmond.

9pm. Free.

Iron Lion The Bradbury, Bradbury.

8pm. Free.

Jackson Holt Brewhouse Marayong, Kings Park. 8pm. Free.

Jamie Lindsay Stacks Taverna, Sydney.

6pm. Free.

JJ Duo Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

9:30pm. Free.

Keith Armitage Greystanes Inn, Greystanes Inn. 8pm. Free.

Kill Cupid Carnival feat: Halcyan + Shatter The Crown + Enfi eld + Rainbow Death Ray + Facing Zero + The Abyss Collective + Enter Reality + Ascendence Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10.

Krishna Jones Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 7pm. Free.

Lo Roberts Huskisson Hotel, Huskisson.

8pm. Free.

Loco Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free.

Macson Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9pm. Free.

Mandi Jarry Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown.

6:30pm. Free.

Marty Stewart Padstow RSL Club, Padstow. 6:30pm. Free.

Matt Price Buena Vista Hotel, Mosman.

2pm. Free.

Matt Price Duo St George Rowing Club, Wolli Creek. 7:30pm. Free.

Max Power Duo Crown Hotel, Camden. 9pm.

Free.

Mikelangelo Performs Cave, Waits And Cohen The Vanguard, Newtown.

7pm. $28.80.

Muddy Feet Mittagong RSL, Mittagong.

8pm. Free.

Noel Macdonald Castle Hill RSL, Castle Hill.

6:30pm. Free.

Panorama Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly. 10pm.

Free.

Peace Train (A Tribute To Cat Stevens) - Feat: Darren Coggan State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $61.05.

Rapture Penrith Gaels, Kingswood.

7pm. Free.

Road Crew Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 8pm. Free.

Rob Henry Duo Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill. 7pm. Free.

Slates + Bare Bones + Corpus Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Soils - Feat: Culture Of

thebrag.com

Ignorance + Dead Weight + Home Burial + Dead Architect Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Spoon + Deep Sea + Arcade + Hockey Dad Metro Theatre, Sydney.

8pm. $60.

Sugar Reef Kelly’s On King, Newtown.

9:30pm. Free.

Suzi Quatro Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

8pm. $100.93.

The Chosen Few + Live Tribute Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 9:30pm.

Free.

The Smith Street Band + Pup + Great Cynics + Apart From This Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 6pm. $30.

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

Under Wraps South Hurstville RSL Club, South Hurstville. 9pm. Free.

Wildcatz Epping Hotel, Epping. 10pm.

Free.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Bobby Alu Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 8pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Angelena Locke The Mill Hotel, Milperra.

12pm. Free.

Benn Gunn Ingleburn Hotel, Ingleburn.

3pm. Free.

Bill Kacir Riverstone Sportsmans Hotel, Riverstone. 1pm.

Free.

Elevation U2 Acoustic Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. Free.

Ted Nash Fortune Of War, The Rocks.

6pm. Free.

Vanessa Heinitz Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown. 2pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Hopkins St George Rowing Club, Wolli Creek. 1pm. Free.

Andy Mammers Summer Hills Hotel, Summer Hill. 3pm. Free.

Ange Waverley Bowling Club, Waverley. 3pm. Free.

Backsliders The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $25.80.

Cambo Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

6pm. Free.

Clayton Vetter Harbord Beach Hotel, Harbord. 4pm. Free.

Dave White Duo Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

3pm. Free.

Double Barrel Northmead Bowling Club, Northmead. 1pm. Free.

Greg Byrne Duo New Brighton Hotel, Manly.

5pm. Free.

I’d Rather Be Giggin’ Tour - Feat: Break Even + Hopeless + Endless Heights + Postblue Red Rattler, Marrickville.

8pm. $22.50.

Jess Dunbar Woolwich Pier Hotel,

gig picks

up all night out all week...

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12

The Antlers + Hayden Calnin Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $49.20.

Bec Laughton Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

The Smith Street Band Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $34.51.

Daniel Rossen + Jasia Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $43.

Ed Wells + Imogen Clark The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $17.

Hey Geronimo + Betty And Oswald Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay. 9pm.

Free.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13 Chet Faker + Roland Tings + GL Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. 7:30pm. $63.31.

Gig Buddies Sydney Launch Party - Feat: Seek The Silence + Rudely Interrupted UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington. 8pm. $25.

High-Tails + The Polish Club + Zerolikes DJs + Rebecca Victoria Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

Little Bastard Deus Ex Machina, Camperdown. 7pm. $15.

Spoon

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14 I Know Leopard Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $13.

Kill Cupid Carnival - Feat: Halcyan + Shatter The Crown + Enfield + Rainbow Death Ray + Facing Zero + The Abyss Collective + Enter Reality + Ascendence Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10.

Suzi Quatro

Mikelangelo Performs Cave, Waits And Cohen The Vanguard, Newtown. 7pm. $28.80.

Peace Train (A Tribute To Cat Stevens) - Feat: Darren Coggan State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $61.05.

Spoon + Deep Sea + Arcade + Hockey Dad Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $60.

Suzi Quatro Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $100.93.

Royal Chant + The Water Board + Love Parade + The Nobody Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 8:30pm. $10.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15

Sting & Paul Simon Qantas Credit Union Arena, Darling Harbour. 7pm. $99.90.

Kasey Chambers + Harry Hookey Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7pm. $61.60.

Woolwich. 2pm. Free.

Kasey Chambers + Harry Hookey Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

7pm. $61.60.

Little Coyote + Crossing Red Lines + Capital Colours + Oculus + Sleeper + Holy Shakers Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. Free.

Mark Travers Ettamogah Hotel, Rouse Hill.

1pm. Free.

Matt Price Le Pub, Sydney. 3pm. Free.

Ryan Thomas Vikings Sports Club, Dundas Valley. 6:30pm. Free.

Sarah McLeod + Hannah Robinson Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $20.

Silent Partners The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $5.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Live And Originals - feat: Lucy Burke + Anthony Ousback + Luke Panic + Katherine Vavahea Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7:30pm.

Free.

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

8:30pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Dominic Miller + Jeremy Sawkins The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $30.

Shivon Coelho Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 8pm. Free.

BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15 :: 25

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Martin

five things WITH

OC

Growing Up I grew up in the 1. ’70s, so that’s the music I heard around the house.

My parents were average working class people.

Music I picked up on my own.

Inspirations It’s too many to name, 2. but James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Earth, Wind & Fire are some of my faves that inspired me. Other than that, just everyday life keeps me inspired.

Your Crew My foundation is 3.

D.I.T.C. and Organized

Will Sparks

Konfusion. I also have a new group with Apathy called Perestroika.

The Music You Make And Play 4.

Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick. My releases are a timeline to my career.

You’re going to have to see the show for yourself. Expect a classic performance in the form of two turntables and a mic.

SPARKS WILL FLY

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The game is in a transition right now. I listen mostly to R&B music. You have to study the past to be current and be different. I don’t go out too much. Haven’t seen

TYDI UP

Queensland producer, DJ and songwriter Tydi is coming to Sydney to tour his fourth album, Redefined. The record dropped in September and shot to number four on the US iTunes dance chart (and number five in Australia), no doubt pushed along by the hype behind an artist signed to Armin van Buuren’s Armada label when he was just 17 years old. Tydi’s the real deal, though, and he’ll be redefining the dancefloor at Marquee on Friday February 13.

any new artists as of late that have inspired me.

With: Rodney P, Brad Strut Where: Civic Underground When: Friday February 20

HANDS UP FOR DETROIT

Amsterdam’s Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets, together known as Detroit Swindle, are loving the electronic life at the moment. Their 2014 debut, Boxed Out, included the massive collaboration with Mayer Hawthorne, ‘64 Ways’, and launched them into tours around the world. Stony-faced selection isn’t their bag; Detroit Swindle’s parties come with plenty of self-deprecating humour and occasionally a costume or two. Find out what they’ve got

Will Sparks, architect of the famed Melbourne Bounce and arguably the biggest thing going on in Australian dance at the moment, is returning to the Sydney decks this weekend. After dominating the Beatport charts and remixing the likes of Robin Thicke and The Chainsmokers, Sparks is looking forward to a mammoth 2015 – and putting the Aussie sound on the world stage can’t be a bad thing, whichever way you look at it.

Sparks plays Marquee this Saturday February 14, and if you don’t mention to a soul that it’s Valentine’s Day, you’ll be doing just fine.

in store at Chinese Laundry on Saturday February 21.

ROOFTOP SETS

The revitalised music program at Kings Cross Hotel kicks on this week – for those of us who’ve recovered from the Bob Marley 70th birthday party, anyhow. This Friday February 13, the rooftop will be taken over

by High Highs and GL, each playing DJ sets that’ll surely launch you into an eventful weekend. High Highs, AKA Jack Milas, returns to town after setting himself up in New York, while GL’s triple j-approved grooves sidle through boogie, funk and disco.

PACHA SYDNEY

The action continues at Ivy for Pacha Sydney this weekend, with a bumper lineup of DJs sure to keep the party going well into Sunday morning. 3Lau, who made his name in the mash-up game, is working on the big room thing nowadays, so the Pacha gig couldn’t come at a better time. Meanwhile, the always adventurous Kryder will be on deck too. Joining the fun is a sprawling list including A-Tonez, Acaddamy, Dave Winnel, Spenda C, Kyro, Samrai, Fingers, Deckhead, Keyes, Jace Disgrace, Danny Lang, Wheeler, Skoob, Jade Le Flay, Pro/ Gram and Stu Turner.

Carmada

Perplex

GROOVE CARMADA

Patrons of Splendour In The Grass’ mystical tepee forest will be acquainted with Carmada, the duo comprising Drew Carmody and Max Armata (see what they did there?). After turning heads at Australia’s favourite winter festival, the pair won fans on the Listen Out and Stereosonic tours before landing in the triple j Hottest 100 with debut single ‘Maybe’. Realise is the name of Carmada’s maiden EP, with launch dates now planned around the country, including Oxford Art Factory on Friday May 29. Kilter will play in support.

26 :: BRAG :: 599 :: 11:02:15

PERPLEX AT PLAY BAR

Three-time Australian DMC Championship DJ Perplex makes tracks back to Surry Hills this weekend. The speedy spinner otherwise known as Ollie Winter is one of the country’s finest exponents of the art of wax, with a trip to London in 2008 yielding him sixth spot in the world finals of the DMC comp, before he set himself up as an institution on the Melbourne clubbing scene. Taking a break from working on his debut record, Perplex will be at Play Bar on Friday February 13, supported by DJ Dizar and Benny Hinn. Expect hip hop, breaks, funk, soul, boogie and more.

Off The Record Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray

T

he very gifted Suzanne Kraft is returning to Sydney. At only 23 years of age, the LA-based DJ is already as prolifi c as they come, releasing hit after hit under his alias Dude Energy alongside his band Pharaohs. He’s also behind collaborative studio projects Odd Numbers and Blasé. He’ll be joined by some secret internationals soon to be announced on Saturday March 7 at the Imperial Hotel. Recommended.

Those Underground Resistance lads can’t seem to get enough of Australia at the moment. After smashing it with their Timeline show last November, the dons at Picnic are bringing over another member of the legendary Detroit collective, DJ John Collins, later this month. A resident at the renowned club Cheeks all the way back in ’86, Collins is one of the biggest names to come from Motor City, and has worked as a producer, DJ, label executive, manager, promoter and booking agent. To sweeten the deal, he’ll be joined by one of Melbourne’s fi nest exports, Francis Inferno Orchestra. It goes down on Saturday February 21 at the Imperial Hotel. It’s gonna rule, dudes.

John Collins

Modeselektor Art Imitates Life By Jacob Mills

F

itting the extent of Modeselektor producer Sebastian Szary’s experience as an electronic musician into a single conversation is an impossible feat. He talks with energy and vigour as our interview bounces from the origins of techno to his children to the relationship between electronic music and gardening. Unable to compress his career down into a 20-minute phone call, Szary reels off the highlights with me as we take a trip through the 20-year career of a German techno icon.

“Back in the ’90s, we were certain that techno was just a phase,” says Szary. “Techno itself wasn’t really a genre back then. We made techno beats with a wild array of different influences from swing, funk and hip hop to things like Russian folk music. Me and Gernot started making music right around the time that grunge really started happening, so Nirvana was pretty much our number one influence.”

“It’s so interesting the way that it’s changed over time. I’d say the biggest thing that I’ve noticed about modern techno crowds is that their attention span is so much shorter now that everything is so immediately available online. I remember when that Jamie xx track ‘NY Is Killing Me’ dropped before the album and people went absolutely crazy for it, but four weeks later it was yesterday’s news.”

“Techno is a constant recycling effort. It never ceases to amaze me how many ways a simple four-four beat can be interpreted. Sometimes it bores me, hearing music remixed over again, but then other times I hear a new take on a song and it perks me up. I’m waiting for the day that six-eight becomes the new four-four and we have to break new ground.”

There is an air of incredulity from Szary as he speaks about Modeselektor’s origins, as if he can’t believe they’ve been in the game this long. “We feel like observers for the genre,” he says. “There are different markers for us that have really shown the progression of techno from its origin. The biggest is technology – the first gear we used was a Roland 808 drum machine and a 303 synth, the bare basics of acid techno four-four beats.

Szary admits a soft spot for Australia, having worked with Richard Pike of PVT on ‘Green Light Go’ for Modeselektor’s 2011 album Monkeytown. “Australia is so far away from us, it’s a completely different crowd,” he says.

“Richard introduced me to flat white coffees while we were recording together and now that’s all I drink in the Monkeytown Records office.”

The mark of distinction between a DJ and an electronic musician is their ability to play a live show. Szary admits that he and Bronsert were press-play DJs up until they really started to grasp the art of live shows, inspired by the musicianship of Sascha Ring, more commonly known as Apparat.

“We wanted to start playing live shows as real musicians,” he says. “Apparat played live with a computer and had programmed an eighttrack looper that you could use in Cubase and perform using a MIDI controller. That was the first live device we used onstage.”

Modeselektor were using two computers onstage in an era before you could sync devices together, so audio cues were done by hand. “It made the music sound erratic and nothing like our EPs,” he says, “but it probably became our sound signature pretty quickly.” thebrag.com

With an upcoming tour schedule that reads more like a holiday through Australasia and South America, Szary is looking forward to Modeselektor’s return Down Under. “Australia has always been great to us. The food is amazing. The last time we were in Australia, me and Gernot had an idea to write a cookbook based on recipes we learn in all the countries we go to – but that’s probably too much work.”

When asked to reminisce at last on where his creative infl uence comes from, Szary breathes deep and replies with whimsy.

“Life,” he says. “I remember when I was in the room as my first child was being born and they had her heart rate up on the monitor. I glanced up just before she was born and saw that her heart was beating at 130bpm, and all I could think was, ‘My God, that’s a four-four techno beat.’”

With: Tuff Sherm, Cassius Select, Dual Point, Ben Ashton Where: The Hi-Fi When: Friday February 13

Calling all techno heads – the lords over at Trench have a goddamn treat for you. For the first time ever, Developer is set to hit Australian shores. The LA artist has some serious credentials.

He’s the label owner of Modularz, and has released on other seminal imprints such as Pole Group, Mote Evolver and Semantica. He’ll hit The Sly Fox on Saturday April 21 and will be joined

by Gabriel Fernandes, Matt Lush and XXX. Tour rumour: inside word is that we will fi nally be seeing a return from Bicep later this year. Oh, and a visit from Azizi Gibson at the end of the month is defi nitely on the cards. Stay tuned.

Producers, listen up: in an unlikely turn of events, Converse (yeah, the shoe brand) have created a gold mine for you. They’ve just launched a library of over 10,000 high-quality audio samples available to musicians, royalty-free.

They’ve also joined forces with over 20 artists including RJD2, Com Truise, Body Language, Obey City, Nitemoves and Shigeto to create new songs utilising samples from the library. It’s legit. Head over to converse.com/ samplelibrary and spy for yourself.

Developer

Far from sounding like a crusty old coot shouting about modern music and kids on his lawn, Szary speaks with a profound understanding and embracement of the way techno has changed over time.

The relationship between Szary and Gernot Bronsert – the other half of the techno duo – stretches back into the ’80s, when they met in school. “Gernot and I were both heavily into hip hop. I think it was him who first got into techno … and started trying to mix the coolness of hip hop beats into the techno sphere.”

“We were still recording on tape when the first hard disk recording systems came out and I remember thinking, ‘This won’t last.’ I worked for ages recording and mixing on my old Atari computer.”

Modeselektor photo by Jakob Hoff

It’s a signature that has carried across the world. Szary and Bronsert have released a combined 17 EPs and albums both as Modeselektor and Moderat, their collaborative effort with Apparat. Szary is not shy about discussing the changes he’s witnessed in the genre during his time in the industry.

Suzanne Kraft

Best releases this week: ol’ mate Todd Terje has enlisted Justin van der Volgen to remix a few of his tracks and, oh my Lord, the rinse of 2012’s ‘Inspector Norse’ is ridiculously good.

Other highlights include the compilation Dance Mania: Ghetto Madness (on Strut), Omar-S’ I Wanna Know (FXHE), Brame & Hamo’s Clockwerk (Splendor & Squalour) and Samuel Kerridge’s new album Always Offended Never Ashamed (Contort Records).

RECOMMENDED FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13

DJ John Collins Imperial Hotel

Genius Of Time Civic Hotel

Moodymann National Art School

Modeselektor The Hi-Fi

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14

Steffi Marrickville Bowling Club Danny Howells Chinese Laundry

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 21 Detroit Swindle Chinese Laundry DJ Tennis TBA

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 22

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28 wAFF Pontoon

Joachim Spieth, Dave Mayer Burdekin Hotel Tornado Wallace Oxford Art Factory

SUNDAY MARCH 1

Marcellus Pittman, Giles Smith, James Priestley

The Bristol Arms

FRIDAY MARCH 6

Theo Parrish Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY MARCH 7 Carl Cox Greenwood Hotel Suzanne Kraft Imperial Hotel

SATURDAY MARCH 21

Dixon, Âme AGWA Yacht Club

SATURDAY APRIL 21 Developer The Sly Fox

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up all night out all week...

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club pick of the week Infected Mushroom

Sydney. 8pm. free.

The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. $5.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12 HIP HOP & R&B

Lamb Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

8pm. $79.90.

CLUB NIGHTS

Pool Club Thursdays feat: Resident DJs Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

5pm. free.

The World Bar Thursdays The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. free.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13

The Hi-Fi

Infected Mushroom WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11

DJ Tom Kelly Goldfi sh, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

Janet Jackson Dance

Lamb Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $79.90.

Pacha Sydney - feat: 3LAU + Kryder + A-Tonez + Acaddamy + Dave Winnel + Spenda C + Kyro + Samrai + Fingers + Deckhead + Keyes + Jace Disgrace + Danny Lang + Wheeler + Skoob + Jade Le Flay + Pro/Gram + Stu Turner Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13 Modeselektor + Tuff Sherm + Cassius Select + Dual Point + Ben Ashton The Hi-Fi, Moore Park.

8pm. $50.

Phat Play Friday - Feat: DJ Perplex + DJ Dizar + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. free.

Spice 14.02 - Feat: Mike Witcombe + Murat Kilic + Steven Sullivan The Spice Cellar, Sydney. 10pm. $25.

Tydi Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $18.40.

Will Sparks Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $33.90.

HIP HOP & R&B

Friday 13th Hip Hop Jam feat: DJ Maniak And Izzy + Local Sydney Artists Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

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

7pm. free.

Classes Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8:30pm. $10.

Shag & Al’s Music Trivia Goodgod Small Club,

Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks.

6pm. free.

Bassic - feat: Aphrodite + Akouo + Doctor Werewolf + The Bassix + Reload + Ncrypt + Daschwood + Blackjack + Sippy Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

8pm. $22.60.

Brown Cardigan Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. $10.

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

10pm. free.

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

7pm. free.

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

Genius Of Time - feat: Ben Fester + Andy Webb + Preacha + Kali The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

10pm. $22.

High Highs (DJ Set) + Gl (DJ Set) Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

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

Modeselektor + Tuff Sherm + Cassius Select + Dual Point + Ben Ashton The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 8pm. $50.

Phat Play Friday - feat: DJ Perplex + DJ Dizar + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. free.

Ruben De Ronde + Nick Arbor + Simon Lovell + Tonto + Jay T + Kevin Hucker + Stoive + Romeo Fabio + Sass + Matt Roberts Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 10pm. $18.

Tydi Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.40.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14 CLUB NIGHTS

Cakes - feat: 4 Rooms Of Live Music + DJs And

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Hydraulix + Deckhead Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 1pm. $38.

SUNDAY SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14 FEBRUARY 15 Chinese Laundry Garden Party - feat: Lunice + Stanton Warriors + Hatch + DJ Set + Spenda C +

CLUB NIGHTS

9pm. $84.50.

CLUB NIGHTS

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12

International Guests The World Bar, Kings Cross.

8pm. $10.

Chinese Laundry Garden Party - feat: Lunice + Stanton Warriors + Hatch + DJ Set + Spenda C + Hydraulix + Deckhead Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

1pm. $38.

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

10pm. free.

G-Eazy Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $42.90.

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

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

Infected Mushroom The Hi-Fi, Moore Park. 9pm. $84.50.

Juno Mars (Jagwar Ma) + Csmnt61 + World Champion DJ’s Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 9pm. free.

Lndry - feat: Danny Howells + Robbie Lowe + A-Tonez + Adam Zae + Ben Nott + Ramske + Gradz + DJ Just 1 + King Lee + Beat Slingerz Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

8pm. $22.60.

Pacha Sydney - feat: 3LAU + Kryder + A-Tonez + Acaddamy + Dave Winnel + Spenda C + Kyro + Samrai + Fingers + Deckhead + Keyes + Jace Disgrace + Danny Lang + Wheeler + Skoob + Jade Le Flay + Pro/ Gram + Stu Turner Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

Player Haters Ball - feat: Alphamama + Shantan Wantan Ichiban + Joyride Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

4:50pm. $15.

Scubar Singles Party Scubar, Sydney. 9pm. free.

Sienna Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Establishment, Sydney.

9pm. free.

Something Else Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst.

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

9pm. $20.

Spice 14.02 - feat: Mike Witcombe + Murat Kilic + Steven Sullivan The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

10pm. $25.

The House Of Who - feat: Rotating DJs + Levins + The House Of Who + Nacho Pop + Kato’s Wig Shop Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. free.

Will Sparks Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $33.90.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15 CLUB NIGHTS

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

8pm. free.

Reggae Sundays Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 5pm. free.

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

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

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

MONDAY FEBRUARY 16 CLUB NIGHTS

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

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17 CLUB NIGHTS

Chu The World Bar, Kings Cross.

9pm. free.

thebrag.com

live reviews What we've been out to see...

RAURY, MILWAUKEE BANKS Oxford Art Factory Monday February 2 “Better sharpen your weapons tonight / Cause not even the strong will survive”.

It was a fitting opener for Atlanta’s Raury Tullis, who spat out the cautionary lyrics to ‘Chariots Of Fire’ with a fierce credence that is rarely found in the expression of someone who’s only 18.

But the ambitious genre-surfer is a veteran of sorts, having penned (he claims) his first song at age three. The past year has seen the baby-faced rapper riding a wave of international hype after garnering the attention of industry bigwigs. And the results? A collaboration with SBTRKT, meeting with Kanye, and playing with OutKast. No big deal.

Headlining Oxford Art Factory a day after his thunderous slot at Laneway Festival, it’s clear Raury has steadily cultivated a following locally. The audience, jittery after Melbourne cloud-rappers Milwaukee Banks warmed up with their brand of gauzy, electronic rap, was just about packed out by the time Raury took to the stage. Even good ol’ Timomatic had carved out a path to the centre of the mosh pit.

Grinning beneath his wide hat, Raury launched into his eclectic set, growling his way through rock-underscored numbers before melting seamlessly into rap turf for ‘Higher’ and lulling back into soft

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acoustic on ‘Superfly’. Raury’s raspy vocals faltered at times, the backing track compensating with close harmonies, and his band forming a conduit of sorts with tight movements and flashy exchanges – a drum solo and stadium-appropriate guitar shredding made the cut. Despite a few technical glitches early on, the crowd wasn’t deterred from emphatic nodalongs, throwing its hands up at Raury’s command.

And there came the problem. Instead of having the fans lap up his hits with content sways and occasional cheers of support, it appeared Raury wanted a hyped-up beast of an audience. He instructed patrons to lift their lighters, sing along, raise their pinkies, yell out the title of his album and clap their hands up over their heads, while he himself jumped into the middle of the crowd during his encore (which, rather questionably, was a repeat of his chart-crusher ‘God’s Whisper’). Interspersing songs with didactic spiels about love, happiness and the ignorance of today’s youth saw the audience grow tiresome, and came across more Hannah Montana than Kanye West.

Raury is talented, without a doubt, but his idyllic rants made him lose rather than gain maturity points. His confidence, however, is admirable – and a sure springboard to success for a performer who doesn’t need a hype man to be heard.

Mina Kitsos

FKA TWIGS Metro Theatre Wednesday February 4

up all night out all week . . .

It’s rare for an artist to embody their work so fully that their persona becomes inseparable from their music. For all the talk about the ‘enigma’ that is FKA Twigs (AKA Tahliah Barnett), it’s hard to think of a contemporary who lays their cards so openly on the table. Is she really all that mysterious?

FKA Twigs’ songs centre on raw emotion, dealing with sex in a way that is both intelligent and experimental. Labelling it as ‘exotic’ or ‘mysterious’ or even ‘trip hop’ is reductive, and ignores its sharper, starker edges. The truth is, FKA Twigs doesn’t really sound like anyone else, and her live performance is similarly distinct.

Sure, the stage was shrouded in mist from the start, obscuring the band until the first, scraping beats of ‘Preface’ kicked in with abrasive strobes. The thing that is most striking about FKA Twigs is her raw vulnerability. Not just through her lyrics, but the huge spaces she leaves between beats or any semblance of a hook. She is unafraid of silence, of slow builds, of making you work for the payoff.

That level of emotional intensity could have easily devolved into parody – too intense and moody – but the energy bordered on playful. This was in large part because of the former dancer Twigs’ ability to move onstage. ‘Two Weeks’ and ‘Pendulum’ were punctuated with her angular turns and impressive manoeuvres. Instead of feeling like a long, confessional performance, it made it clear that FKA Twigs is a performer, that this was a dramatised version of reality, and we had permission to indulge. So even with strobe lights, a packed-out venue, screaming fans and wild movements, a sense of intimacy was left intact.

Tracks like ‘Water Me’, performed live, lacked the detached quality they have on record. But the three-strong backing band kept things tight – no easy feat with multitude layers and syncopated rhythms.

They made it look easy – well, at least through the layer of fog.

The only time the dramatised image of FKA Twigs – intense, effortless, unfiltered – was in doubt was when she took a moment to thank her band and the crowd. She was soft-spoken, exceedingly humble and grateful. But then maybe the label of ‘dramatised’ is as wrong as calling her a sensuous althip hop ‘enigma’. Actually, it seems like FKA Twigs, on record and in person, is – above all else – genuine.

Emily Meller KE PHOTOGRAPHER :: KATRINA CLAR

CARIBOU Sydney Opera House Tuesday February 3 Upon entry to the Concert Hall for Caribou’s biggest headlining show in Australia to date, there were signs explicitly warning all who dared to venture further that tonight’s performance would contain – quote – “very loud music”. It didn’t take long at all to prove that the signs in question were not merely for decoration: Dan Snaith, the mastermind behind the moniker, emerged onstage alongside his three-piece band to the sound of thunderous, seat-rattling sub-bass that set the mood for what was to follow.

Translating such detailed, pinpoint arrangements as those of Caribou’s into a live context would seem problematic from a theoretical standpoint. Live, Snaith provides the majority of the vocals, as well as keyboards, sequencing and even some extra drums from time to time. The introduction of live instrumentation into the environment bolsters and expands the songs. It’s tampering with a proven formula, yes, but it’s an enhancement rather than a hindrance. The drums effortlessly transform from locked-in replications of the processed beat found on the original recordings into rollicking, free-form fills, particularly when Snaith sits in for some duelling percussive action in the lengthier jam sessions.

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

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The use of guitar and bass, too, adds a deeper layer of dynamics to tracks already rich in them. What could potentially feel superfluous instead becomes one of the more important elements of the Caribou live experience.

Being that it was such rhythmically propulsive music on offer in an all-seated venue, it was clear that it was not a matter of if the masses would come to stand as one, but when – during ‘Bowls’, one of the ravier moments from 2010 LP Swim. At first, a handful of people rose out of their allocated spots in the first few rows. Their neighbouring rows followed suit one by one, like some sort of one-way Mexican wave. It happened again for breakthrough single ‘Odessa’ and, of course, recent Hottest 100 position-holder ‘Can’t Do Without You’, here delivered both as a joyous celebration of love and of Caribou’s achievements in the calendar year just past.

Before the finale of ‘Sun’, Snaith pointed out that the drummer’s father and brother have both travelled from their native Canada just to see the show. It was a wondrously sentimental note to go out on.

As a live group, Caribou have hit the next level, and they’ve done it on one of the grandest stages of them all.

David James Young

S :: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

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love cacao ft. desert dwellers djs

07:02:15 :: Paddington Uniting Church :: 395 Oxford St Paddington 9331 2646

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channel [V] island party ft. mark ronson

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up all night out all week . . .

03:02:15 :: The Island :: Sydney Harbour

live reviews What we've been out to see...

Sydney Opera House Tuesday February 3 “I’m very honoured to be a vessel in this conversation that’s been happening for a very long time.” This particular musing came from Steven Ellison, better known within the musical realm under the moniker of Flying Lotus, while staring out at the confines of the Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall for the second time within a year. Ellison dressed up for the occasion, donning a traditional tuxedo, although it was offset by the glow-in-the-dark mask that appeared to replicate a human skull with tassels dangling from it. Perhaps this attire summed up the evening better than words could: sharp and stylish, yet with an edge of impending doom and a touch of horror.

A pause followed Ellison’s ascension to his mixing desk, before he loudly announced, “Alright, fuck it. You’re dead.” So began one of the more intense performances one is likely to see in the history of this venue – an often blunt assault on the senses that was both intimidating and arresting. The music of Flying Lotus has been known to incorporate a love of experimental music, proto-jazz and futuristic hip hop. This clash of styles was also evident within the visual

trickery and jaw-dropping imagery that plays such a huge part in the FlyLo live set.

The stage set-up was unique in that there was a projection screen both behind and in front of Ellison’s work area, allowing for contrasting visuals to blend in brilliantly radiant style. It was at times difficult to take both the audio and the visuals in at the same time, but it truly felt as though one could not exist without the other.

Disappointingly, the show petered out rather than exploding in a blaze of glory – upon realising his time was nearly up, Ellison hurriedly ran through some of his Captain Murphy material, awkwardly rapping over the top of his beats after both unmasking and taking off his jacket, as well as putting together a seemingly slap-dash finale upon returning to his booth. The moment was saved, however, when FlyLo handed the reigns over to his warm-up DJ. In front of both his hero and a room full of people, the DJ proposed to his girlfriend. The crowd, naturally, went wild. It was a contrast from the gritty, harsh display of electronica we’d just witnessed, sure, but it just goes to show that the unexpected is always to be expected at a Flying Lotus show. Ain’t love grand.

David James Young

the genius of j dilla 07:02:15 :: Play Bar :: 72 Campbell St Surry Hills 9280 0885 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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FLYING LOTUS

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presents

Lineup includes: Rufus Wainwright CANADA đ Sinead O’Connor IRELAND đ Toumani & Sidiki Diabate MALI đ Abdullah Ibrahim Quartet SOUTH AFRICA đ Neneh Cherry with RocketNumberNine+ UK/SWEDEN đ Bombino NIGER đ First Aid Kit SWEDEN đ Charlie Musselwhite USA đ Jupiter & Okwess International DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO đ Lake Street Dive USA đ The Gloaming IRELAND đ Youssou N’Dour SENEGAL đ Criolo BRAZIL đƫEmma Donovan and The Putbacks AUSTRALIA đƫCanzoniere Grecanico Salentino ITALY đƫPublic Service Broadcasting UK đƫLuzmila Carpio BOLIVIA đ Nick Waterhouse USA đ Malawi Mouse Boys MALAWI and many more!

Plus: Taste the World, The Planet Talks, a Global Village, KidZone, visual arts, street theatre and much more.

SEE WEBSITE FOR FULL L I N E -U P Presenting Partner

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