Brag#615 by Furst Media

ISSUE NO. 615 JUNE 03, 2015

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MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

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T HE VA C CINE S

The so-called saviours of guitar music say it’s time to move on.

B - GIR L

iOTA takes another turn in his identity-bending career.

R E MI

It’s hip hop with attitude when it comes to this fine gent.

A NDY BUL L

Ready to share his stories at the Feedback conference.

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rock music news

the BRAG presents

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Lauren Gill, Sarah Basford and Meggan Turner MOJO JUJU Newtown Social Club Saturday June 20

speed date WITH

BEC FROM BEC AND BEN

MARMOZETS

Best Gig Ever We played an all-ages show with 3. The Jungle Giants at the Metro. It was full of screaming teenagers exhausting their absolute ecstasy at being allowed out of the house on a school night. Screaming my name! Pulling my pants! Grabbing the setlist! Absolutely positive they had no idea who we were. Current Playlist Everything PJ Harvey. Crime. The 4. Waitresses. Sometimes I listen to my own voice memos from 2012-13 just to get a perspective of myself. Your Ultimate Rider Coconut water, coconut flakes, coconut 5. oil, coconut peanut butter, celery and a masseuse.

Your Profile As odd a couple as Miley Cyrus and Patrick Schwarzenegger. An obnoxious shriek echoing through the corridors of a conservatorium. A prudent librarian in a library of porn.

Keeping Busy Beside surveilling Vanuatu in a Black Hawk helicopter post-Cyclone Pam and running guitar workshops for the Ni-Van Pickaninnies? Preparing the new show/new

Where: Beach Road Hotel When: Friday June 5

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Keiron Costello, Christie Eliezer, Fergus Halliday, Cameron James, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, Kate Robertson, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Raf Seneviratne, Leonardo Silvestrini, Lucy Watson, 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 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished Art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Furst Media P/L ACN 1112480045 All content copyrighted to Cartrage P/L / Furst Media P/L 2003-2014

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WOLF ALICE Oxford Art Factory Friday July 24

YEARS & YEARS Oxford Art Factory Sunday July 26

Florence + The Machine have locked in a Sydney headline show this July. The announcement comes in celebration of Florence and friends’ recently released third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, and their already announced arrival for Splendour In The Grass. Fans can expect to hear a slew of new material including recent singles ‘What Kind Of Man’, ‘Delilah’, ‘Ship To Wreck’ and ‘St Jude’, alongside favourites from their previous two records, 2011’s Ceremonials and 2009’s Lungs. Catch them on Thursday July 23 at the State Theatre.

Jebediah

JEBEDIAH BIRTHDAY SHOWS

The anticipation for Jebediah’s 20th anniversary tour is growing to fever pitch ahead of the opening dates this week. In keeping with the ’90s rock feel, Adalita of Magic Dirt fame and the boys from Bodyjar have been added to various stops on the tour, alongside Sydney’s Front End Loader and Perth’s Beaverloop. The Friday June 5 show with Front End Loader is already sold out, but you can still catch Jebediah with Bodyjar on Thursday June 4 at the Metro Theatre.

COME SEE CERES

After the success of last year’s EP Selfish Prick, and announcing that they are indeed ‘for lovers’ with their surprise Valentine’s Day single ‘Ceres Is For Lovers’, Melbourne rockers Ceres have announced they’re teaming up with The Pretty Littles and Sincerely, Grizzly for a winter tour. The five-date schedule kicks off this July, with all three bands stopping off in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. Set to be a warm presence in the unpleasantly-cold-butnot-snowing-cold Aussie winter, make sure to catch the Sydney show at the Factory Floor on Friday July 10.

SNFU ARE COMING FOR YOU

Canadian punk legends SNFU will return to our shores for the first time in almost 20 years this August. As a seminal act of the early ’80s hardcore punk scene, SNFU are best known for their influential debut album And No One Else Wanted To Play. SNFU will celebrate the 30th anniversary of that LP on their upcoming tour by playing cuts from the classic release, as well as from their extensive catalogue. They’ll be joined by Melbourne thrash punk outfit Wolfpack, who are currently enjoying the success of their debut album, Seen Not Herd. See it all go down at the Newtown Social Club on Thursday August 13.

HELLO HELLOWEEN

German metal outfit Helloween have locked in an Australian tour – and fittingly, it’ll take place this October. They’ll be hitting our shores for just the second time in a 30-year career that

has seen them release 15 albums and sell over eight million copies worldwide. The five-date capital city tour will feature songs from their latest effort My God Given Right, released at the end of May. Helloween will hit the Metro Theatre on Friday October 16.

COLD CHISEL JOIN DENI UTE MUSTER

Earlier this year we announced a pretty solid lineup for the 2015 Deni Ute Muster, but now, one of Australia’s favourite bands has revealed it’ll be joining the bill. Cold Chisel will be playing alongside Aussie acts like Birds Of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

A STATE OF GRACE

The musical legacy left behind by the late Tim and Jeff Buckley will be celebrated in the world premiere of A State Of Grace, featuring tributes and reinterpretations from six contemporary artists. Martha Wainwright, Casper Clausen (Efterklang), Willy Mason, Camille O’Sullivan, Steve Kilbey (The Church) and Cold Specks will band together to perform songs from the pair’s critically acclaimed discographies. The retrospective concert is being overseen by musical director Gary Lucas, the guitarist and composer who co-wrote the seminal tracks ‘Grace’ and ‘Mojo Pin’ with Jeff Buckley. Jeff completed only one, widely influential studio album before his tragic death in the Mississippi River in 1997. His father, Tim, left behind an eclectic body of work, experimenting with boundaries of folk and jazz music. A State Of Grace will premiere at the Enmore Theatre on Sunday September 27.

JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION

Iconic US rock trio Jon Spencer Blues Explosion have announced an Australian tour this August in celebration of their latest album Freedom Tower – No Wave Dance Party 2015, released in March. The record itself was rehearsed in a bunch of secret or unannounced shows, often under assumed names. Combine that with the near quarter-century these guys have been around, and you know to expect a thoroughly entertaining and well-polished live act. Catch them at Sydney University’s Manning Bar on Friday August 7, tickets on sale Friday June 5.

thebrag.com

Jebediah photo by Matt Saville

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Metro Theatre Friday July 24

FLORENCE SIDESHOW NEWS

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: James Ambrose, Chris Butler, Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, Prudence Upton 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

AWESOME INTERNS: Meggan Turner, Sarah Basford

AZEALIA BANKS

Tokyo and Lee Kernaghan in an all-out ute and V8 spectacular that is bound to get your engines revving. The festival began mustering up utility vehicles in 1999 when it broke the Guinness World Record for the largest parade of (legally) registered utes. Fast-forward to 2015 and the rock’n’rolling two days now includes some impressive live acts (duh), as well as driving competitions, horses and plenty of leather boots. The Deni Ute Muster goes down in Deniliquin on Friday October 2 and Saturday October 3.

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Sam Caldwell, James Di Fabrizio, Lauren Gill, Meggan Turner

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATORS: Sarah Basford, Sarah Bryant, Ayla Dhyani, Meggan Turner - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@ thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties)

Newtown Social Club Thursday July 23

Years & Years photo by Mike Massaro / Wolf Alice photo by Jordan Hughes

lineup with our hot new band. Preparing for touring: aqua aerobics/ice hockey.

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live & local

free stuff

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

five things WITH

KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK

VIVIAN SESSOMS

Growing Up I was born and raised in Harlem, which 1. is one of the great music cities of the world.

who actually convinced me to start focusing more on recording my own music.

I lived six blocks from the Apollo Theater on 125th Street, and that was a thrill for me. My mother was a session/jingle singer, and my dad was a flautist/percussionist. We were surrounded by nightclubs and churches, and coming from a musical family, we would often have impromptu jam sessions at the house.

The Music You Make If you come to a Vivian Sessoms show, 4. you can expect to have a good time. I like to fly

Inspirations Some of my favourite classic artists 2. are Ella, Nina, Sarah, Billie and Carmen. I also listen to a lot of Nat Cole, Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hart and Chet Baker. Growing up, I loved Aretha Franklin, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Labelle, Natalie Cole and Barbra Streisand – still do. Right now some of my favourite artists are Hiatus Kaiyote, Laura Mvula, Somi, Ledisi and Robert Glasper.

Your Band At the moment, because I’ve been doing a lot of travelling, I’ve been using different bands in each city, although my hubby (Chris Parks) plays with me often, and we write and produce most of my music together. Before this I travelled for several years as a backing vocalist to several artists including Cher, Pink and Joe Cocker. It was my husband, though,

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

by the seat of my pants a bit, I always have a few tunes where we just cut loose and act up, but then I love a beautiful ballad as well, so you never know what to expect. My style, I would say at the moment, is more of a jazz hybrid. My first release was a soul/R&B set and I do think I’d like to do another in that genre, but there is something about jazz that I feel very drawn to. It’s been a thoughtful, reflective process putting this next record together. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. I think the music scene has changed the way we all think about music and how it affects us, how we buy it as consumers, how we sell it as artists. In many ways it’s opened so many doors for so many talented people. On the other hand, as an artist, you will definitely have your work cut out for you, so you’ve got to really want it.

The legend of Kurt Cobain lives on thanks to Brett Morgen’s vivid storytelling and Courtney Love’s catalogue of private home videos. The aptly titled new documentary about the former Nirvana frontman who left this world too soon, Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck, looks into the mental turmoil and rejection that Cobain experienced throughout his short life and how it was manifested into some of his generation’s most celebrated tunes. Montage Of Heck is out on Blu-ray and DVD from Thursday June 4. We have three copies of the acclaimed documentary to give away for those who wish to experience a celebration of musical nirvana. Come (as you are) to thebrag. com/freeshit for your chance to get on Kurt’s level. Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck

Where: Foundry616 When: Saturday June 6

xxx

JEFF MARTIN IN JUNE

Discovery

Australian fans of Canadian songwriter Jeff Martin have sure been spoiled of late. The Tea Party frontman and adopted Aussie returned to stages here and overseas on a reunion tour with the band in 2012, and did another lap in 2014 on the back of new album The Ocean At The End. Martin also stepped out with Sarah McLeod on a joint tour last year and solo acoustic dates earlier this year. But there’s no satisfying the appetite of his followers in this part of the world, and so he’s playing a rare free show – again in solo mode – at The Star’s Rock Lily venue on Thursday June 11.

BEACH ROAD’S LONG WEEKEND

Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel is warming into the long weekend (and beyond) with a choice lineup of live music and party beats this week. The weekly Sosueme night this Wednesday June 3 will host The Vanns, a contagious outfit from Kiama. Bec and Ben take over the stage with their boy-girl rock’n’roll on Friday June 5. Come Saturday June 6, Daft Punk fans will want to hit the dancefloor with the Australian-made tribute show, Discovery (and yes, they’ve got the helmets). A Start:Cue party keeps the good times going on Sunday June 7, while the public holiday Monday is all about rejuvenation, because you’ve earned it.

respectively. After 11 years of touring, and praised for exceptional interpretations of classics like ‘Black Dog’, ‘Immigrant Song’ and the omnipresent ‘Stairway To Heaven’, this year’s tribute is set to include a big lineup of names. Featuring the likes of Jeff Martin (The Tea Party) and Sarah McLeod (The Superjesus) as well as Simon Meli (The Widowbirds), Dallas Frasca and Frank Lakoudis (The Voice), the show is always full of passion and raw talent – just like the iconic band. The Led Zep spectacular will be showing at the Laycock Theatre in Gosford on Friday August 28 and Saturday August 29 and at the State Theatre on Saturday September 5.

Jeff Martin

CHRIS CAVILL AND THE PROSPECTORS

Melbourne folk rock outfit Chris Cavill and The Prospectors are taking the midnight train on tour this month. Not an inconvenient form of overnight transport, that is, but their latest single ‘Midnight Train’, lifted from the band’s debut album Know Your Destiny. The song is something of a tribute to Cavill’s hometown and the close friends who have guided him on a path into the music business. Cavill and co. launch it at Lazybones Lounge on Friday June 19 and Newcastle’s Stag & Hunter on Saturday June 20.

Mark Seymour and The Undertow

LIVE MUSIC ON THE WHARF

Cockle Bay Wharf, an oasis of food and drink in the otherwise hustling and bustling Darling Harbour area, is about to get a new live music venue. Italian restaurant Baia The Italian is launching live music every Wednesday and Friday night, featuring a range of resident musicians including bluesman Gareth Jay and Romi Ahmad. Restaurant manager Markus Stauder said in a statement, “We’re excited to be launching live music nights here at Baia The

Hockey Dad

Italian. We make great food, and we wanted to complement it with live music by local musicians. We think it’s important to support the music scene.” Sets will run from 6-9pm on Wednesdays and 5-8pm on Fridays.

A WHOLE LOTTA LOVIN’

Celebrating 40 years since the release of Physical Graffiti by Led Zeppelin, the Whole Lotta Love concert returns to the Central Coast and Sydney in August and September

HEY HOCKEY DAD

Former triple j Unearthed hot picks Hockey Dad are selling out show after show on their launch tour for new single ‘Can’t Have Them’. The fresh melodies come off the back of the duo’s support slots for DZ Deathrays and an earlier billing at Falls Festival over the New Year period. ‘Can’t Have Them’ follows the radio-friendly single ‘I Need A Woman’, produced by Tom Iansek, and its presence on the airwaves has already seen tickets sell out for Brighton Up Bar on Saturday June 6. Get in quick for tickets to the same venue on Sunday June 7, where Los Tones will support.

SEE MORE SEYMOUR

Mark Seymour has announced he will celebrate his brand new album with a small run of theatre shows this August. Starting out as the frontman of Hunters & Collectors, Seymour built his legacy as an ARIA Award-winning solo artist across eight albums, before releasing his first with his new band The Undertow in 2011. Mark Seymour and The Undertow will play at the Factory Theatre on Saturday August 1. xxx

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★★★★★ – THE AU REVIEW

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★★★★ – COURIER MAIL

“The most intimate rock doc ever” – ROLLING STONE

Strong coarse language and drug use

YOURS ON BLU-RAY & DVD FROM 4 JUNE ™

BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR * Which client turned up for a meeting at an entrepreneur’s office and, when told he was running late, punched the wall and scared his secretaries? * Are there plans by another publisher to start a music industry directory? * Muse have confirmed they’ll be back in Australia in 2016. Meantime, Dom Howard, when asked about the band’s mural in Devon, quipped, “I’m surprised no-one’s drawn a penis on it.” * Upcoming tourist Tyler, The Creator says Odd Future is finished. * So how come EDM act Flight Facilities have sponsored the

Byron Bay under-eight Panthers football team? Because Kurt Kristen’s son Leroy plays in it. “When I was a kid, my dad coached my soccer team,” Kurt explained. * According to the Daily Telegraph, the morning after his stunning debut at Vivid, an exhausted-looking Daniel Johns was spotted unsuccessfully trying to get into his Surry Hills apartment and finally taking a catnap on the stairs. * Doing media promotion from London for his Australasian dates in October, Russell Brand was babbling, “What I might do is bring my cat Morrissey to Australia with me.” Then the brain clicked in and he told the radio interviewer, “Oh wait, this is

GREENS PUSH TO BAN SNIFFER DOGS AT MUSIC EVENTS New South Wales Greens member for Newtown Jenny Leong last week announced a bill to ban the use of drug detection dogs without a warrant at festivals, public transport, bars and in Kings Cross. According to Leong, only two per cent of sniffer dog searches end in conviction, and they infringe personal liberties. “The evidence is in: the drug dogs program doesn’t work. The NSW police have better things to do than wrongly humiliating thousands of mainly young and marginalised people,” she said. The police claim the pooches have a 70 per cent success rate of drug detection.

ARE SYDNEY LOCKOUTS WORKING? The NSW Government says the controversial Sydney lockouts have led to a 39 per cent drop in violent incidents in those on its violent venues list. Incidents fell from 300 in 2013/14 to 182 in 2014/15, the lowest since the list

New Zealand, right?” * Thirsty Merc, chasing crowdfunding support for their fourth album, raised 38 per cent of their target in the first 24 hours. The campaign is up at pledgemusic.com/ projects/thirstymerc, with fi ve per cent of proceeds going to Bandaged Bear. * Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis has revealed she received death threats after booking Kanye West for the festival this year. “It was not a pleasant world we unwrapped,” she said. * Shihad frontman Jon Toogood has begun hosting the new weekly Planet Of Sound music show on Radio Hauraki in New Zealand. The one-hour Saturday show (5-6pm) sees him choose

was introduced in 2008. 11 venues statewide will be dropped from the list as a result. The Ivy is listed as the most violent venue, with 23 recorded incidents in the last year.

NEW SIGNINGS #1: PEKING DUK AT UNIVERSAL PUBLISHING Universal Music Publishing Australia (UMPA) has signed a deal with Peking Duk for Australia and New Zealand. “As Adam and Reuben move closer to their keenly anticipated debut album, we look forward to facilitating a range of creative collaborations,” said UMPA director of A&R Heath Johns. Canberra’s Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles won the Breakthrough Artist award at last October’s ARIAs, while ‘High’ went triple platinum and ‘Take Me Over’ went double platinum.

NEW SIGNINGS #2: TROY KEMP SOLO WITH SFR Troy Kemp, the tallest man in the Australian country music scene, has signed a deal with

SERIOUSLY GOOD LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL JAZZ THIS WINTER

6 1 6 H A R R I S S T U LT I M O THREE OF THE BEST REGGAE/HIP HOP ARTISTS ON THE SAME STAGE! TICKETS JUST

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the music personally and interview a Kiwi muso. * Kahl Wallis of The Medics has won the $20,000 Dreaming Award for artists aged 18 to 26 at the Australia Council’s National Indigenous Arts Awards. * Iggy Azalea has cancelled her entire US tour. Aside from people demanding her Best Rap win at the Billboard awards be withdrawn, LGBTQI activists want organisers of June 13’s Pittsburgh Pridefest to drop Azalea as headliner because of homophobic and racist comments she allegedly made online. Organisers argued she wouldn’t have agreed to play if she was homophobic or racist, nor would they have asked her.

Social Family Records for his solo album due in September. The signing also marks a new licensing agreement between SFR and Kemp’s management team, Oxygen Music Group. Kemp has received global acclaim as one half of songwriting duo McAlister Kemp. He’ll be in Nashville all through June writing songs.

NEW SIGNINGS #3: JOY. STRIKES UNIVERSAL PUBL DEAL Brisbane artist and producer Joy. has signed a global publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Australia. The 17-year-old classically trained multiinstrumentalist’s debut single ‘Captured’ received global interest, while a mini-EP Stone arrived this year. As the triple j Unearthed winner, she played the Brisbane Laneway Festival and Field Day, and joins The Kite String Tangle and Dustin Tebbutt on their June national tour.

NEW SIGNINGS #4: CAROLINE SNARE BIG WHITE Sydney band Big White have signed with Caroline Australia, but it’s a deal with a difference. Caroline has worked locally on an artist service basis, but Big White is its first direct label signing. Big White got together in an Italianate art deco share house in the Inner West of Sydney – previously a surgery, a brothel and a boarding house. They got a US deal first, after Burger Records co-founder Lee Rickard saw them at a Sydney gig. Their debut single ‘You Know I Love You’ is now out.

COMMERCIAL RADIO LISTENING FIGURES 10.2 million Australians listen to commercial radio each week and tune in for an average of almost 15 hours. Commercial Radio Australia says 7.5 million people listen to breakfast shows on weekdays and over 7 million tune in during drive (4-7pm) on weekdays.

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RAS R0NI, BLACKER C & LYKLE GEZUS

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SESSIONS

RETURNS TO

THE CLUB 11.30PM-2.00AM

FRIDAYS FROM JUNE 19

www.foundry616.com.au

Lifelines Born: a daughter to former Klaxons member James Righton and actor Keira Knightley in London. Engaged: Berlin-based Aussie songwriter Katrina Noorbergen (ex-Sydney band Cassette Kids), who co-wrote Russia’s 2015 Eurovision entry. Married: Melbourne rock band Dear Stalker’s singer Lisa Maxwell and drummer Alan Murphy not only joined their hands in marriage, but also in name. They are officially now known as The Murphwells. Recovering: Asia vocalist and bassist John Wetton after surgery. In Court: a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed Australianborn choreographer Wade Robson’s claim he had been molested as a child by Michael Jackson, on the grounds Wade waited too long to file it in court. In Court: 50 Cent filed a lawsuit claiming he was not responsible for leaking a sex tape in 2009 featuring the mother of Rick Ross’ child, but Ross himself. Suing: Russia’s Pussy Riot are taking action in the European Court of Human Rights against authorities for not investigating an incident last February when they were shooting a video in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi for the song ‘Putin Will Teach You How To Love Your Motherland’. They were attacked by a group of local Cossacks armed with horsewhips and pepper spray. In Court: Arian Berisha, 21, who threw a glass at Redfoo at the Golden Sheaf last August, escaped a jail sentence and copped a two-year good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to assault in the Downing Centre Local Court. Died: US jazz trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, 78. He played with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie and Joe Cocker. Died: UK pop singer Twinkle (Lynn Ripley). Her 1964 hit ‘Terry’ was written about a dead motorcyclist when she was just 16 and reached number four despite being banned by the BBC and ITV for its “dangerous drivel”. Died: U2’s long-time tour manager Dennis Sheehan, 68, was found dead in an LA hotel after the band finished the first of five shows in the city.

The free app WholeWorldBand allows users to play with stems uploaded by Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins and Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera. Fans can record their own music on top of the stems. Also contributing are The Police’s Stewart Copeland, The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood and Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, with the resulting fan-made tracks shared on social media.

creative programs. Its Sounds of the Street program, a 20-week TAFE-accredited music course, teaches students to learn an instrument, compose, perform and record their own music for release on a CD. Contact the CYI staff on 9356 8897 or email the Student Support Coordinator on mahoneyj@ missionaustralia.com.au.

STEVE LILLYWHITE JOINS SYDNEY’S SONGHUBS

TRIPLE J UNEARTHED NIMAS COMPETITION

Six-time Grammy-winning producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, The Rolling Stones) is in Australia this week to take part in APRA AMCOS’ global songwriting initiative, SongHubs. Lillywhite and fellow international guests – producer Cruickshank, songwriter Audra Mae and Hot Chelle Rae guitarist Nash Overstreet – will work at sessions from Wednesday June 3 with Aussie and NZ songwriters such as Megan Washington, Reece Mastin, Thomston and JP Fung.

CYI ENROLMENTS OPEN Mission Australia’s Creative Youth Initiative (CYI) is open for enrolments for semester two, which starts in July. CYI helps to develop the creativity of 16-to-25-yearolds at risk by providing a variety of free

Entries for the triple j Unearthed National Indigenous Music Awards competition are open until Sunday July 5, with the winner playing the NIMAs in Darwin. Past winners Thelma Plum and Robbie Miller have gone on to national recognition with hip hopper Philly just releasing a new single, ‘Dream Chaser’.

NEW APP FOR FESTIVALS Two Belgian entrepreneurs, Stef van Looveren and Kai De Sutter, have come up with a new app, Showbase 2.0, aimed at festival promoters around the world. It allows festival attendees with smartphones to get info on the event and its acts, share photos and videos on social media and provide feedback on the acts and festival facilities. Check it out at showbaseapp.com. thebrag.com

“Pulse-poundingly entertaining” - Time Out

Direct from London’s West End

Written by Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman Directed by Peter J Snee

Sydney Opera House, Drama Theatre. 8 July - 15 August Book Now at the Box Office 02 9250 7777 sydneyoperahouse.com/ghoststories BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 9

Seth Sentry

Stranger Days By David James Young

ou’ve probably read so much about sophomore slumps and second album syndrome by now that you’ve caught it by proxy. One might have suspected Seth Sentry would be no different when it came to following up his incredibly popular debut effort, 2012’s This Was Tomorrow – the album that brought him a top ten chart position, an ARIA nomination and a US television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! At least, that’s what you’d think. “If anything, I felt that pressure before the first album,” says the Aussie hip hop star, taking some time off in Melbourne before the new album’s release. “I had an EP [2008’s The Waiter Minute EP] that had ‘The Waitress Song’ on it, which did really well. It’s weird – that kind of expectation and the notion that you’re following up something really important is what I had when I was making This Was Tomorrow. For this album, it actually felt a lot more free. I wasn’t worried about overthinking it – I just let it come to me. That’s not to say I didn’t think about the lyrics, mind you. I put a lot of effort into that part of the music; it’s a huge part of what I do. When it came to the

subject matter, though, there wasn’t a looming idea of what I should or shouldn’t be doing, or what people would respond to.” The album in question, Strange New Past, sees the man born Seth Marton reflect on his upbringing, his immediate relationships and his own particular way of seeing the world. “This record’s creation is based a lot around following your instinct,” Sentry says. “Whatever came to mind when I first heard the beats that we were working on, that’s what I knew the song had to be about. I didn’t struggle for topics once.” From ‘The Waitress Song’ and ‘Float Away’ right up to recent single ‘Run’, which details growing up as an anti-authoritative youth, a lot of Sentry’s songs rely heavily on personal anecdote and deep levels of introspection. It’s a little surprising, therefore, that Sentry has been inundated with people writing to say they’ve been through the exact same situations as he raps about. He admits that, while it can be a peculiar thing to encounter, it makes him feel as though what he is doing with his music is making some kind of difference.

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It’s been said that you have your entire life to write your first album and a year to write your second. While that may be true to a certain extent when it comes to Sentry, he stresses that having Strange New Past formulate within a specifi c time period made it much more resemblant of an album in the traditional sense, as opposed to merely being a collection of songs. “I wrote a bunch while I was touring the first record, but I don’t think I ended up using any of those verses,” he says. “The bulk of the record was all written in an 18-month period, whereas the first record came together over the course of four years. I can actually hear it when I listen back to these songs – this feels a lot more connected.” When Sentry appeared on Jimmy Kimmel just over two years ago, it was considered a major step forward for the visibility of Australian hip hop on a global scale. Presently, the genre is getting more international exposure than ever before. Sentry offers his view on the current state of affairs. “I like where it’s at now,” he says. “I like that there are more people pushing the envelope. There was a period there where things were

quite stagnant – I don’t know if that was to do with a comfort zone or maybe it was to do with fear of breaking out of a certain mould. I think now people are doing whatever the fuck they want. That appeals a lot to me. I should say that I didn’t grow up listening to Australian hip hop – there’s still a lot of it that I don’t listen to now.” So does Sentry consider himself an outsider to hip hop culture in this country? “I’m not sure,” he replies after a pause. “Don’t get me wrong – I love a lot of crews over here, and I’ve made a lot of great friends. Horrorshow, Grey Ghost, the Hoods… I think I’ve been really lucky to get to know people like them. I think, for a while there, people in Australian hip hop were stuck just solely listening to one another. It was that whole ‘support Australian hip hop’ movement, with the stickers and stuff. Australian hip hop is definitely a grassroots movement, and I think supporting one another is an important aspect of it – I’m really excited to hear the new Drapht record for that very reason. I just feel as though we were too caught up in that whole thing for a while. It kind of held us back a bit.” The day after Strange New Past hits stores, Sentry will headline the first day of the revived Come Together festival, which also sports appearances from Horrorshow, Thundamentals and Remi. This will also kick off a tour in support of the album, but it’s not just a quick jaunt through the capital cities. Sentry’s Australasian tour will stop at not one, not two, not even ten, but 47 different places. To paraphrase

Talking Heads, you may ask yourself, how did we get here? “We do a lot of regional shows when the opportunities come up – more than most, I’d say,” says Sentry. “We’ve built up really strong audiences there over the years. We figured if we were going to go out and revisit them, we should do it all in the one hit. Of course, it built up into something way bigger than I could have ever anticipated.” From Noosa to Nowra, Thredbo to Townsville, it feels as though there is nowhere that will be left untouched on this exhaustive schedule. There’s even one stop on the tour around the middle of July that holds a particularly special place in Sentry’s heart. “There’s a show on the tour happening in Sorrento, which is in the Mornington Peninsula where I grew up. Not only did I used to work at the venue we’re playing, I also used to live there.” No way. “Way, man! There was staff accommodation, so you could stay upstairs above the place. I’m basically going to be playing at my old house, which is a total trip.” What: Come Together 2015 With: Thundamentals, Remi, Ball Park Music, The Jungle Giants, Horrorshow, Safia and more Where: Luna Park When: Saturday June 6 – Sunday June 7 And: Also appearing at Panthers, Newcastle on Saturday June 27 and The Entrance Leagues Club on Sunday June 28 More: Strange New Past out Friday June 5 through High Score/Inertia

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“For a while there, people in Australian hip hop were stuck just solely listening to one another … It kind of held us back a bit.”

“I think it’s validating, in a way. When you’re having a conversation with someone, you might bring up something that you’ve done or said in a certain situation. If that person responds by saying ‘me too’, you develop an affinity with that person. Just imagine being able to do that on a level of complete strangers. It’s a surreal experience.”

Cosmic Psychos Come And Get Some By Augustus Welby

ustralia’s premier farm punks, Cosmic Psychos, are back with their ninth album, Cum The Raw Prawn. It’s been four years since the band’s last effort, Glorious Barsteds, but in spite of the somewhat lengthy delay, Cum The Raw Prawn is by no means a departure. Led by Ross Knight’s Aussie brogue and bulky bass playing, the album is chock-full of the sort of lyrical vulgarity and instrumental ferocity the Psychos have been pumping out since 1982.

“It’s funny how it just happens that way, but I guess that’s the way I think and it’s the way I get a bit of shit off me liver,” says Knight. “There’s no real pre-planning involved. Especially this album, it just happened. I had a few ideas that’d been rolling around in me head for a couple of years, but most of it was written on the spot.” The album was recorded in Knight’s Victorian farmhouse earlier this year. The finished product flaunts a tough, ballsy sound, which belies the nature of the recording arrangement. “The drums were set up in the lounge room and me and Macca [John McKeering, guitar] stood there, off from the drums a little bit,” Knight explains. “We had the two amps in my sons’ rooms and the control room was in my bedroom, and we did the vocals in the laundry.”

probably not music critics anymore. But guess what? I still get to stay up after midnight and drink free beer.” There’s something strangely admirable about Knight’s unwavering approach to songwriting and performance. In a similar respect, his relish of a cold one has never come under serious doubt. “I’m a bit of a wuss now. I drink the low carb stuff, because I can drink more of it,” he says. “But look, I still love me European beers. The main reason we still head over to Europe at the drop of a hat is to get over there for the beer. Any beer’s a good beer really, as long as it’s cold.” What: Cum The Raw Prawn out Friday June 5 through Desperate With: Dune Rats Where: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle / Manning Bar / Mona Vale Hotel When: Thursday June 18 / Friday June 19 / Saturday June 20

When it comes to the nuts and bolts of this makeshift studio, Knight remains almost entirely ignorant. “I think it was into a computer,” he ponders. “All I know is that I sing into a microphone which has a lead on it that goes into a whiz-bang box with a few dials on it.” Interest in the Psychos resurged in recent years thanks to Matt Weston’s 2013 documentary film Blokes You Can Trust. However, as depicted in the film, the band’s irreverent and uniquely Australian punk rock has been an influential force for decades. In addition to making fans and friends out of grunge linchpins Eddie Vedder and Mark Arm, Cosmic Psychos continue to embark on regular European tours. However, such far-reaching respect won’t silence the band’s naysayers. “As long as we’re playing, there’s going to be people who just think we’re a bunch of pottymouthed pricks,” Knight says. “And you know what? That’s fine. There’s certainly a spot in there for a band every now and again to pull rock’n’roll out of its own arsehole. People just get carried away and take it all a bit too seriously.” You could argue that pissing people off is better than making no impact at all. Also, it’s quite healthy to let yourself simply enjoy something and not worry about whether it’s a meaningful use of time. Either way, Cosmic Psychos’ vocal opponents haven’t impinged upon the band’s fearless attitude. “We played in front of 45,000 people when Pearl Jam first came to Australia,” Knight says, “and there was 45,000 people booing us. We had a ball. They were cranky, it was great. We’re almost an anti-band. We just do it because it’s a bit of fun, and if it pisses people off, well, that’s fine. And if people like us, well that’s good too – come and have a beer with us.” To coincide with the release of Cum The Raw Prawn, the Psychos are heading out on a massive co-headline tour with Brisbane poppunk trio Dune Rats. Over the last couple of years, the Dunies have become a non-stop touring machine, subsequently amassing a considerable global fan base. In spite of the major age discrepancy, Knight feels a certain affinity with the Brissy lads. “Their attitude just seems like, ‘What the hell, we’re here to have a good time and we’ll drag a few people along with us,’” he says. “It’ll be quite funny. It’s going to be a collective age group of about 750 years with the Psychos and 75 years for the Dune Rats. But hopefully we all get along fine.” Thanks to a filth-ridden public image and lyrics that frequently glorify marijuana, Dune Rats have copped a hammering for being dumb, foulmouthed and un-intellectual. Essentially, it’s the same sort of abuse that’s been thrown at Knight and co. since the early ’80s. “We got shit-canned very early on,” he says. “Even pre-Psychos, when we morphed out of Spring Plains, people hated us. I thought, ‘Well, you can if you like, but this is all we know how to do.’ Since that point in time, as a musician I haven’t fucking changed either. I couldn’t do anything else except play one chord and one string. And I still can’t. “Most of the people that shit-can bands anyway are just people that don’t play themselves,” he adds. “Put it this way – there was people shitcanning the band 30 years ago. Well, they’re thebrag.com

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Pallbearer A Heavy Burden To Carry By Dan Watt

he music scene is doomed and the four horsemen of this sonic apocalypse are some beardy fellows from Little Rock, Arkansas. Brett Campbell (vocals/guitar), Devin Holt (guitar/backing vocals), Joseph D. Rowland (bass/ backing vocals) and Mark Lierly (drums) make up Pallbearer, a doom metal band that has found itself at the forefront of a subgenre that’s gone from the side stage at metal festivals to the main stage at indie rock festivals. After releasing two albums (2012’s Sorrow And Extinction and last year’s Foundations Of Burden), Pallbearer’s show this month at Hermann’s Bar will mark their first-ever Sydney date on their debut Australian tour. There is a lot of clichéd imagery associated with doom that tends to revolve around alternative universes where wizards built pyramids on other planets, and other such fantasies. This otherworldliness plays an important yet subtle part in Pallbearer’s fi lm clip for their song ‘Watcher In The Dark’. The video was shot in both the forest and the desert, and as the song builds from its ethereal intro into its crushing main section, the sonic shift is heralded by a seemingly naturally formed pyramid on a lake. “A lot of it was up to the director, but initially he gave us the treatment of what he wanted to do,” explains Rowland. “We had some discussion primarily between Brett and the director to take it in a different direction to what was initially intended and make it considerably more psychedelic. That’s how it ended up with those kaleidoscopic effects. We’re really, really excited with how psychedelic it ended up – it suits the song quite well.”

‘Watcher In The Dark’ was written in drop A tuning, which was used for the entirety of Sorrow And Extinction. “I think drop A ended up being sort of the natural progression for us because the band that Brett and I were in prior to Pallbearer was a totally improvised heavy psychedelic band, and we used drop A in that band,” says Rowland. Staying with the technical side of Pallbearer, Rowland now delves into what type of bass guitar he uses and why. “Over the last few years my main thing that I have been playing is a Fender Precision Bass, [but] last year, for most of that year, I have used a Guild B-301 bass from the ’70s that I like a lot. But I ended up switching recently to playing a Paul Reed Smith Kingfisher bass on this most recent tour, because I wanted to give the Guild bass a bit of a break ’cause it’s old and I probably don’t need to be so hard with it as much as I have been,” he chuckles. Rowland’s inventory of bass guitars pales in comparison to the array that the two guitarists Campbell and Holt have at their disposal during a show. “Devin’s got a Baritone Flying V that he just got recently plus a Les Paul as a backup, and Brett has a Paul Reed Smith Vela and a Gibson SG, plus they both have Stratocasters and a number of other guitars that they just swap in and out of depending on what they feel like playing.” What: Foundations Of Burden out now through Profound Lore With: Hawkmoth, Looking Glass Where: Hermann’s Bar When: Saturday June 20

Miguel Zenón The Language Barrier By Thomas Brand

ver the course of a 20-year career, Miguel Zenón has been renowned for his fusion of jazz and world music, drawn from the music he experienced as a young man. Hailing originally from Puerto Rico, his pursuit of jazz saw him head to the United States, graduating from both the Berklee and Manhattan colleges of music before settling in New York. Although Zenón was far from home, he explains there was always a part of Puerto Rico that stayed within his music. “The only reason I moved over there is to study jazz – there wasn’t an institution at Puerto Rico at the time that could teach me the basics about it. So I started studying jazz and immersing myself in the style, the history of the music, the tradition of it, et cetera, and in doing that I came to realise that I never studied that music formally, in the way that you know something by ear, but you don’t know it from a musician’s point of view, if you know what I mean. “I learnt a lot of the music from the Caribbean and Latin America, and eventually that research started finding its way into the kind of music I was writing and I was working on, and it all sort of came from these two worlds that I was living in musically – one was the jazz world, which was my second language, and then the Puerto Rican world, which was my first language.” Zenón has made the most of being a world class alto saxophonist, composer and bandleader by learning about the cultures of the places he’s travelled to and trying to incorporate elements of their music into his own. “I’ve travelled a lot, and that’s part of the job!” he chuckles. “I’ve been everywhere – every continent except for Australia – and the more I travel, the more I feel like I don’t know everything and I need to know more. [It’s] a positive and a negative, I guess.

“I do go out of my way when I travel to seek out new music, because I sort of feel in the way of folklore and the way of music, that it’s the purest form of music that you can find. It’s music that isn’t part of a conservatory or part of a book, music that comes from the people – it’s like speaking. Like language. “There’s something so powerful about those kinds of music, and I’ve experienced it myself – when you hear it, it’s obvious that it’s something folkloric and rooted, something powerful about the music that dwells in the core of what we are as human beings. I most definitely will be checking out indigenous music while I’m in Australia. Even if what I get out of it isn’t obvious, I’ll get something out of it.” Zenón will be employing the talents of Sydney’s Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra on his Australian tour to help him perform his boisterous repertoire as an ensemble. “Part of the whole idea was to not have to bring the whole big band over there – we bring the quartet, the core rhythm section and myself – and then use an ensemble based in Australia. I asked a few friends from Australia who were based in New York and they spoke so highly of the band, so it seemed like a great fit.” Previous experiences working with outside bands have made Zenón and his crew wiser. “In cases where, for example, we worked with student bands, the music was a little challenging from what their band was used to playing. In this case, though, the Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra are experienced musicians and I get the feeling it’s going to go great.” Who: Miguel Zenón Quartet with Jazzgroove Mothership Orchestra as part of Vivid Sydney 2015 Where: The Basement When: Thursday June 4

The Black Dahlia Murder Feeling The Heat By Jessica Willoughby

ressure is something all musicians feel at one time or another in their career. Whether it’s from record labels or fans, feeling the heat is not the most pleasant thing in the world. But what if this stress is self-imposed?

With internal tensions mounting, the Michigan metallers decided to make the writing and recording process for their upcoming seventh full-length as relaxed as possible, taking an extended break from touring and laying down sessions in Strnad’s very own home. 12 :: BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15

With the title of the album and its contents kept under tight lock

and key these last few months throughout the development process, Strnad believes it is important for bands to retain the mystery when it comes to new releases. “Some bands kind of walk you through the whole thing,” he says. “I think by now our fans have sort of figured it out because we are always sticking to the same album cycle. Touring for two years, then an album. So far, our albums have always come out on odd years too. So it’s about time for a new one. “Our last album did better than I had imagined. Coming from Ritual [2011], which was such a big success for us at the time, it seemed really intimidating to put another one out after that. For fans to really grab onto two albums like that was awesome. It made us happy. Ritual was a door opening for us; incorporating samples into the music and different kinds of instruments, and being able to recreate that stuff live. We took what we learned from that and Everblack and [we’re]

applying it to this new one.” Finally hitting the road again this June, The Black Dahlia Murder will be kicking off the dust with a headline tour of Australia. Strnad can’t confirm if any new tracks will be played from the soon-to-bereleased album. “I’m not sure yet if we’ll play any new tracks on this tour,” he says. “I would like to debut something. We still need to hash it out. We’ll

definitely be playing a good chunk of the Everblack stuff and our longest sets ever. Especially since the last two times we came was with Soundwave. So I feel like we owe the fans a nice, long set in a nice, personal environment.” Where: Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle / Factory Theatre When: Thursday June 25 / Saturday June 27

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The Black Dahlia Murder photo by Casey Carlton

“I think I feel it more and more with each album and as the band achieves more success,” says The Black Dahlia Murder frontman Trevor Strnad. “I just feel there’s more eyes on me to come up with more scary lyrics that’ll make your skin crawl. We have almost 100 songs now, I think, and that’s a lot of songs about chopping people up. You have to be creative within the world of the macabre. I do enjoy the challenge, but there are times where the whole thing gets to me.”

“I did vocals in my closet and it was the first time I got to record at home, so I was pretty stoked,” he says. “It’s nice to be comfortable when you have to do that kind of thing because it’s a pretty stressful time. It was recorded with the same studio we always record with, but we had them come here this time. We were also working with our old bass player Bart [Williams], and he helped record a lot of the album. He was also involved in [2013 album] Everblack and he was a good force to have because he’s an engineer himself. Having him still be around and putting in his two cents about things is really an asset to the band. He worked with Mark Lewis from Audio Hammer in Florida. We’ve known these guys for a long, long time now, so we just had a really good time. Before, we normally worked with Mark and Jason [Suecof] together. But when we heard the latest Cannibal Corpse record and it just sounded so awesome, we thought we would just try Mark and see what he’d do.”

The Vaccines Give A Synth, Take A Mile By Augustus Welby

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t seems strange to say, but every time some new UK band gets touted as the future of rock music, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reason enough to turn away. The superlative-happy UK music press has a history of nominating ultimately inadequate rock music saviours, who tend to fade from view within six months. Back in 2011, London outfit The Vaccines were subjected to this sort of aggrandising treatment. Pounding into view with a brash indie rock sound, The Vaccines mightnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been the second coming of Oasis, but their savvy songwriting prevented them from drowning in the whirlwind of hype. In fact, the bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s debut, What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, pulled off the remarkable double act of charting in the UK top ten and gaining positive critical feedback. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a testament to The Vaccinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; career ambitions that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just returned with their third album, English Graffiti. Looking back on the build-up to What Did You Expect, co-frontman Freddie Cowan has no lingering misgivings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I was aware of it to the level it was going on,â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In hindsight, it was massively hyped. The speed at which we grew in the UK was insane. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve touted a couple of bands since, but I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen anyone do it and ride that wave like we rode it. We were so lucky for that, really.â&#x20AC;? Cowanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grateful attitude is somewhat surprising. See, while embracing such lofty praise might seem natural, the motives behind this acclaim warrant scepticism. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impossible to ignore the nostalgic bent to a statement like â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;saviours of guitar musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and in this respect, Cowan is less compliant. â&#x20AC;&#x153;â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Saviours of guitar musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x201C; what does that even mean? Does guitar need to be saved in that way? I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think so. It seems like everyone wants it to be the â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s again â&#x20AC;&#x201C; people who talk like that, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Go back to the good old days when people who played guitars made more money.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to go back to that. I love where pop music is at and I really understand why guitar has taken a back seat.â&#x20AC;? With this in mind, on English Graffiti, The Vaccines break away from the formula that birthed their first two guitar-loaded records. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we were touring [second album] Come Of Age we thought, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t represent us at all or what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re listening to,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Cowan says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were really hungry to get out of what we were doing. The whole Ethan Johns, plug in and play, totally live, raw â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we just said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Why are we doing this to ourselves? Why are we making it so hard for ourselves?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; At that time it was 2012 and we were recording a record like it was 1971.â&#x20AC;? The consequences of this realisation are stamped all over English Graffiti. Encompassing added diversity and dynamic scope, the synth-heavy album recalls thebrag.com

everyone from TV On The Radio to Simple Minds and The Strokes. The bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s penchant for high-speed pop numbers is still in effect, but with help from producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Sleater-Kinney), the CBGBs grime has made way for neo-Spector gloss. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really set ourselves any rules with it,â&#x20AC;? Cowan says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the ADD generation and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re like the worst culprits of that, so we just followed what was of interest at the time. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dangerous to have too much of a mission. If you over-conceptualise before you walk the path, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not natural. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We listened to a lot of pop radio making this record. But also someone would just come in and be like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oh, have you heard this song?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Deerhoof put out their new album and there was a song called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Big House Waltzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and we went, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is fucking really inspiring music.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Everything about it was just so right-on. Then there was an older song from this [Billy Cox album] called Nitro Function, with this girl on guitar called Char Vinnedge and this song called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Powerhouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s insanely musical, insanely brilliant, wild-sounding.â&#x20AC;? One of the primary flaws in the nostalgiadrenched â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bring back the guitarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; argument is the fact the guitar itself is simply a tool. With English Graffiti, Cowan and co. set out to demonstrate that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more important to communicate something forceful and exciting, regardless of your chosen tools. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When Kanye West put out â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;All Dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, it was like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What the fuck?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; It sounds like someone did it in five minutes, but it sounds like that person was genius. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re raw sounds and raw hooks and so throwaway but so catchy, and these stupid little vocal noises that become huge hooks people will sing at stadiums. It ties your head in knots. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is the rockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;roll. This is what people mustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve heard when they heard Link Wray.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; When jazz was big, this guyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s playing three chords through a busted amp, but it worked. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The pop world is living on the edge and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dangerous and heavily referential and so fast-moving. I love that. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great just to experience that. So when it comes to bringing the guitars back, I have no interest in going back to that era. I still think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a place for guitar music, but I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a place that requires a bit more thought.â&#x20AC;?

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What: Splendour In The Grass 2015 With: Blur, Florence + The Machine, Mark Ronson, The Wombats and many more Where: North Byron Parklands When: Friday July 24 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sunday July 26 And: Also appearing with Palma Violets at the Metro Theatre on Tuesday July 28 More: English Graffiti out now through Columbia/Sony BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 13

Andy Bull Positive Feedback By David James Young

s he sits watching the world go by in Hyde Park, Andy Bull is in remarkably good spirits. He’s nearly at the end of a national tour in support of ‘Talk Too Much’, the third single from his very successful second album from last year, Sea Of Approval. “It’s been really great,” he reports happily. “We just did a leg of Western Australia, and those shows were especially great. We haven’t been over there in a while, and it’s always nice when you make the effort to get over there and people are really responsive. The whole tour has had a really nice atmosphere. Once we had a few shows under our belt, we really started to kick into gear. This is our first tour with our new bass player, Eric [Hodgson], who is not only an exceptional player but a wonderful guy as well.”

“There’s a few people who are speaking at this thing – I know that The Presets are doing a talk, and I know that [The Preatures’ lead singer] Isabella Manfredi is as well,” says Bull. “I’m in pretty excellent company, actually. I think what Jake wants to do with our one-on-one is essentially paint a bit of a picture of how I started playing music, recording my own album, touring, that sort of thing. People coming to the talk might be on a similar path, starting out a journey of their own. It’s to give people a sense of what it can look like.”

“It’s really nice to be able to reflect on what you’ve done and make sense of it,” he says. “You can then communicate with others what went right and what went wrong – as well as expanding and elaborating on both of them. I feel as though I would have really appreciated something like that when I was starting out. I’m not presenting myself as any kind of expert, just as someone who’s had a few more years’ experience than most. Everyone’s got their own process, but you can always learn from others. I feel like something like this might be able to help people in different situations figure out where they are and what it is that they want out of what they’re doing.” Of course, discussing something as widely spanning as one’s career leads to talk of retrospect – and, in turn, the regret that can come with it. When looking back on where he has come from, Bull can think of a few things he wishes he knew then that he knows now: chiefly, the value of understanding your mistakes, as well as accepting them. “There’s so many things, on the one hand,” he begins. “If I could go back and advise myself on one particular thing, it would be to make more time for yourself. Move slowly. Make up your own mind. Don’t

always base your decisions based on what other people think. Maybe there’s a certain style happening at the time, or there’s a done way of doing things. If you get a sense that it doesn’t feel right for you, trust that instinct – even if you fear being totally out of the loop because of that. It’s important to learn to trust your beliefs.” Bull is open about some of the errors he has made over the years – he has practically disowned his debut album, 2009’s We’re Too Young, and feels as though he was not being true to what he wanted out of music until he started work

on his second EP, Phantom Pains, in 2010. “The thing is, if I feel bad about mistakes I’ve made in the past, I try and soften the regret by reminding myself that I didn’t know any better,” he says. “For lack of a better term, I was a kid. I had no point of reference. When you have no experience, it’s rational to look to other people and trust their opinions. You’ve got to learn to be a bit irrational sometimes – making up your own opinions, finding your own motivation for whatever it is that you’re doing. When you’ve just left school, you’re really used to

people telling you what life’s all about. It’s so important to cultivate your own instincts – that’s the power of creativity. It leads to accepting who you are.”

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Bull is at a stage where he is a respected, commended songwriter and performer. He’s had four of his songs appear in the triple j Hottest 100 and has sold out rooms across the country. With over a decade of experience, he’s now turning his attention to sharing what he’s learned along the way in a one-onone conversation with former Bluejuice frontman Jake Stone as part of Vivid Sydney’s music conference, Feedback.

The talk, titled Keep On Running after one of Bull’s own hits, is intended to be an in-depth conversation regarding his career thus far. Not only will it give younger and aspiring musicians in attendance an idea of what awaits them should they pursue their career further, it’s a first for Bull, who is looking forward to sharing his story with an audience that may be seeking to follow – at least some of the way – in his proverbial footsteps.

What: Feedback: A Music Conference For Young People as part of Vivid Sydney 2015 Where: Museum of Contemporary Art When: Monday June 8 And: Also appearing with Cub Sport at Oxford Art Factory on Saturday June 13

The Appointment Group The Road To Success By Adam Norris laptop sitting at home with a mobile phone. But with us, you can call either the Sydney or Melbourne number and you’ll be chatting with someone sitting at their desk in London.

“The consultants that we employ tend to be very focused on the music scene, and really have a strong interest in it,” Barr explains

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in his pleasant Northern Irish brogue. “Not just from a travel perspective, but the whole picture. They love the music, and enjoy being part of the machine that is the entertainment industry, making it all happen. We obviously look after some big global acts, where there could be up to 120 people in the touring party, you know? But what we really credit ourselves on is giving the same level of service, whether it’s an Australian artist just starting out or whether it’s a global tour that’s selling out stadiums.” This is true as much from a financial perspective as it logistical; even a cursory examination of TAG’s business operations spots a level of what you might style creative competency that is second to none. No matter where in the world an artist wishes to tour, these guys have the mechanisms in

place to hit the ground running. This is not simply a matter of transplanting one itinerary on top of another, though; each country will present its own idiosyncrasies, each tour its own distinctions. Here in Australia it is no different. “The Australian market is very different to most of the other markets that we operate in,” says Barr. “Everywhere else in the world, we have a relationship directly with the artist, but whenever it comes to Australia, the market here is very much governed by promoters. So it’s a matter of trying to bring that all together. You know, artists want to use us globally, and part of that is comfort. [Everyone gets] the same attention to details. Our 24-hour service, for instance, is wholly in-house. In Australia the 24/7 approach tended to be something like someone with a

What seems most impressive about TAG’s operations is how personable they appear. Tours are treated individually, and great care goes into ensuring the artist’s needs are fulfilled. As Barr affirms, “It’s knowing the client. Knowing what their expectations are and knowing that we can deliver.” From wrangling with airlines to wrangling riders, TAG can have a hand in every aspect of the itinerary – although gone are the days of outrageous artists requests, of trashed hotel rooms and televisions hurled from balconies. “To be totally honest, that sort of behaviour from artists is becoming few and far between,” laughs Barr. “The requests now tend to be for things like mineral water and a yoga room, rather than wanting to

Given Barr himself is ideally placed to offer advice to the aspiring musician, manager or booking agent, before we release him back into the wild we ply the MD for his insight into how to make those uneven first steps in the industry truly count. “My number one piece of advice for young musicians starting out is to remember that if you’re wanting to have a career in the music industry, don’t burn anybody early on. You never know whenever you’re going to need someone who you’ve dealt with in the past when some sticky situation comes along. So remember that when you’re starting out, it’s all about building relationships rather than destroying them. And also, plan everything as early as possible. Align yourself with professionals who are doing this all the time, day in and day out, and have transparency there. Try and form relationships very early with key people you’re going to be using an awful lot, and really, just treat people like you’d like to be treated.” What: The Appointment Group More: appointmentgroup.com

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hane Barr is a lucky man. While you might not know his name, he is one of the driving forces behind a revitalisation of touring the likes of which has never been seen in this country before. He is the Australian managing director of The Appointment Group, a company that began in earnest in a one-bedroom London apartment 26 years ago and now has offices stretching across four continents. TAG is a travel and event management group, and while that might not sound immediately glamorous, the people of TAG are not your usual brand of dry professionals; they are, first and foremost, passionate fans of the music.

“Because the market has been stagnant here for the last 20 years – it’s been the same players – we have a very different approach. The guys who have been here before us are very domestic and very much focused just on Australia, whereas we see that from a travel perspective Australia is being sucked into the rest of the world. It used to be a bit of an outpost just because of its location, but now all the deals that we’re doing are scaling it as a regular global fixture.”

have cases of vodka and copious amounts of drugs delivered to their rooms. That seems to be very much on the out. A lot of the artists who you might have a bit of a wild perception of, a lot of the time it’s a public persona to attract rebel fans, but when it actually comes down to it, there’s not much of that going on.”

BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to film, theatre, comedy and art about town

arts in focus

anh do

Hugo Weaving photo by ???

service with a smile

also inside:

B-GIRL / ENTOURAGE / LAST CAB TO DARWIN / 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, Sarah Basford and Meggan Turner

Results

five minutes WITH

STEPHAN GYORY FROM DODARLO speak. We really want DoDarlo to be a month of really positive energy on the streets of Darlo.

Late starts, late finishes and lots of wonderfully unique people. Night and day. Day and night!

Who are the organisers behind it, and how did it come together? With the help provided by a City of Sydney Business Support Grant, The Darlinghurst Business Partnership was tasked with coming up with a new and exciting way to engage our beloved area. In the past I had had huge success with teaming up my business, The Record Store, with Café Lounge across the street – giving punters a chance to eat, drink, be merry, sort through crates of records and generally have a blast. The rest of the DBP board thought it a great idea to expand to the rest of Darlo, and so DoDarlo was born. Prouder parents we could not be!

How important is Darlinghurst’s creative and social side to its identity as a suburb? That is its identity. Oh, you forgot “individual” – we all gots our own form of crazy going on.

Darlinghurst is many different things to many different people – what does it mean to you?

ILLUMINATE OXFORD

THAT’S NOT A KNIFE, THAT’S A SPOON

Nancy Cartwright, the unmistakable voice behind Bart Simpson, will visit fans in Sydney this month for the Supanova Pop Culture Expo. Although Bart himself has a troubled history with Australia – remember that time he played a prank on a farmer’s boy, was brought Down Under to apologise, played some knifey-spoony and mooned the Prime Minister? – fans of The Simpsons will no doubt be beside themselves at the chance to meet Cartwright, whose voice

NEWTOWN FESTIVAL 2015

What are some of the highlights on the DoDarlo program? Seriously? You’d have me choose favourites? With events happening between shops, bars, restaurants, galleries and creative venues, with all sorts of local creatives involved too, there really is something for everyone. Where: DoDarlo Where: Darlinghurst When: Until Tuesday June 30 More: dbp.org.au

Just in case you haven’t heard, the 2015 edition of Sydney Film Festival is getting underway this week, and we’ve got some more tickets on offer to some of the neatest fi lms on the program. First up is The Goob, a coming-of-age fi lm starring a 16-year-old boy who fi ghts a sleazy supremo for his mother’s affection. If that’s not your cup of tea, then maybe an indie rom-com like Results is – this one follows the life of a miserable rich guy (Kevin Corrigan) who becomes involved in a love triangle with a fi tness guru (Guy Pearce) and a trainer (Cobie Smulders) after a trip to the gym. The Goob will be showing at Event Cinemas George Street on Saturday June 13, while you can catch Results at Hayden Orpheum Cremorne on Sunday June 14. Mosey on over to thebrag.com/freeshit for your chance to win one of fi ve double passes to either fi lm.

Stephan Gyory photo by Warren Rivas Photography

hat inspired the June program of events you’ve called DoDarlo? The Darlinghurst Business Partnership is all about local Darlo businesses, so basically #DoDarlo is all about showing local shops how easy, inexpensive and positive collaborative events with their neighbours can be. Plus it’s something special for their customers to boot! We hope that the idea will spread and things like this will start to happen between businesses everywhere. Because big, oneday festivals are disruptive, expensive and often compete with the local economy that is trading every day, we thought it would be a refreshing change to create an opportunity for local businesses to do lots of diverse, little events together and within their capacities – leveraging their synergies, to put it in wanker-

In conjunction with the Darlinghurst Business Partnership’s DoDarlo program of events through June, the food, fashion and design tour company The Sydney Connection is presenting a special walking (and tasting) tour of the Oxford Quarter. Illuminate Oxford, taking place this Thursday June 4, will guide walkers through a feast of arts and crafts, food and cocktails. The local guide will invite you to begin with a beverage at a small bar or restaurant in the precinct, before exploring the galleries, retailers and restaurants of the Darlinghurst locale. Book at thesydneyconnection.com.au, and bring your walking shoes and an appetite.

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL

Newtown Festival

Newtown Festival has confirmed that it will return for 2015, celebrating all things ‘Newtopia’. The festival prides itself on championing the values of the residents of Newtown; a community of “visionaries, innovators, and luminaries”. Set to include 300 stalls and five stages, old favourites such as the Writers’ Tent, Dog Show, Live Art Hub and many others will be making a return. In accordance with keeping things local, a near-exclusive selection of local foods and brews will be on offer to showcase the town’s talent. Head down for the festivities at Camperdown Memorial Rest Park on Sunday November 8.

raised a generation on phrases like ‘ay, carumba!’ and ‘eat my shorts’. Cartwright leads the latest announcement of ‘Supa-Star’ guests for this year’s Supanova expo. She’s also voiced Simpsons characters Nelson, Ralph and Todd, plus Chuckie from Rugrats and Rufus from Kim Possible. Other new

Bondi Winter Magic

additions to the convention bill include Billy West, the voice of Fry in Futurama, and Bob Morley, Rekha Sharma and Gary Jones. They join a lineup that already includes Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Camren Bicondova, Elizabeth Henstridge and many more. Supanova 2015 takes place from Friday June 19 – Sunday June 21 at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.

Tessa Waters

SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL

July is shaping up to be a cinema-filled month with the announcement of the Scandinavian Film Festival at Palace Verona and Palace Norton St. The festival is set to include some of the most promising films to come out of the European region in recent times, such as the festival opener, Here Is Harold, and the Icelandic drama, Life In A Fishbowl. The former follows the story of an older man who decides to kidnap to the founder of IKEA after one of their superstores opens next to his beloved shop, while the latter focuses on the intertwining experiences of three characters. Head to the Palace Verona between Wednesday July 8 – Sunday July 26 for the festival. For the full schedule, visit scandinavianfilmfestival.com.

LEAVE YOUR FOOTPRINT BONDI ON ICE

While it’s usually best to avoid large bodies of water in the colder months, Bondi is the place to be this winter. In addition to the cafés, restaurants, art, markets, coastal walks and whale watching, Bondi is about to create arguably one of the best ice rinks in the world – at least its view will definitely be incomparable. The ice is returning to the shoreline of Bondi Beach, with ice skating lessons even available to anyone who feels more comfortable in the surf. The gorgeous ice rink will be open day and night from Saturday June 20 – Sunday July 12 as part of Bondi Winter Magic, giving you every opportunity to master this wintery skill.

Acclaimed Melbourne comedian Tessa Waters is bringing her physical, gender-stereotypebreaking performance to Sydney for the first time. Waters has been busy doing fringe festivals all around Australia, even taking out three awards including the Most Outstanding Comedy award at the Melbourne Fringe. Bringing a mixture of dance, physical theatre and costumes, laced with hilarity, WOMANz is a show about body appreciation and dancing away gender stereotypes. Catch all the booty-working action at Giant Dwarf in Redfern from Wednesday July 8 – Friday July 10. xx

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Leichhardt Council has put out the call for the city’s fi nest fi lmmakers to share an important message as part of this year’s Footprints Film Festival. Part of the Footprints Ecofestival, the fi lm program will feature a series of shorts up to seven minutes long, screened in a bicyclepowered cinema tent. Entries need to focus on the theme of the local environment or sustainability, and can be submitted online or by DVD or USB by Friday July 31. The Footprints Ecofestival will be held at Whites Creek Valley Park in Annandale on Sunday August 23. Visit leichhardt.nsw.gov.au for details.

A WHOLE LOTTA WOMANZ

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five minutes WITH

ANNA HOUSTON FROM VENUS IN FUR It must be an especially exciting role for you to play, as the lead actress? It’s enormous fun. The technical demands of playing comedy are huge, and I’m loving the challenge. It’s rare to play a character like this – a woman with agency. Vanda is funny, intelligent and dangerous. She’s a terrific character to spend time with. How important is the play’s representation of sexual politics to its overall message? Hugely important. The playwright David Ives has written a beautifully complex piece that skips along like the lightest of comedies. Dig into it a little and these fantastic insights into gender, power and sexuality start to blossom. I reckon it’s a play that reveals more and more each time you see it. Buy multiple tickets, is what I’m trying to say.

enus In Fur is ostensibly a play within a play. Tell us about the concept behind it. The set-up is seemingly straightforward: clueless actress Vanda Jordan walks into an audition room at the end of a long and fruitless day for director/adaptor Thomas Novachek. She convinces him to let her audition and a brilliantly nuanced power play emerges as they leap in and out of

scenes from Thomas’ play. Classic play within a play. Could you ever see yourself working under a director like Thomas? Yes! But in Thomas’ defence, he ain’t so bad. He has his good points. I’ve certainly been in volatile rehearsal rooms, although not as sexually heated as this one. Whips and leather boots aren’t part of my usual work attire.

SEAN WOODLAND THURSDAY 25 JUNE FROM 7:30PM

SUPPORT: UMIT BALI

You’ve been a presence on the Sydney scene for many years. Where will the theatre business take you next? I’m workshopping a play that I’ve written, which is damn exciting. It’ll be my first time sitting on the sidelines in a rehearsal room, tucked away behind a laptop. What: Venus In Fur Where: Eternity Playhouse When: Wednesday June 3 – Sunday July 5

SUPPORT: JONAS HOLT

HOST: MIKEY ROBINS

Enjoy $5 Tooheys New and Hahn Super Dry, house wines and selected spirits. 5pm – midnight. Food till late.

LEVEL 1, 80 PYRMONT STREET, PYRMONT STAR.COM.AU/ROCKLILY

/ROCKLILY.LIVE

The Star practises the responsible service of alcohol. Guests must be over 18. Think! About your choices. Call Gambling Help 1800 858 858 www.gamblinghelp.nsw.gov.au

B-Girl [THEATRE] The Reinvention Of iOTA By Adam Norris

einvention in the arts industry is nothing uncommon. People do it all the time, and for a myriad of reasons; the changing tastes of the audience, the suffocation of a pigeonholed image, boredom. But for Helpmann Award winner iOTA, there is little there to reinvent. From his earliest days, the wildly talented performer has enjoyed a protean career, shifting through interests, characters and genres with the relish of a Mascareri. Yet such fluidity can be quite a gamble, and there is a fine line between celebration and commiseration. Or, as his own press material tells us, “iOTA has enjoyed relative failure since the release of Hip Bone Connection…” “Who writes these things?!” he laughs. It is indeed an amusing observation, since iOTA’s successes far outshine those occasions things did not go entirely to plan. “In my Hip Bone Connection days, it was just a dream to be making a record at all and to be shown interest, to sell records. But I quickly realised that I wasn’t going to be able to make art through music. When I released my second album it was more arty, and it just didn’t get played. I had a little taste of fame, and I wasn’t sure I liked it. I didn’t like the feeling of being watched. So I tried to get away from it, I suppose, but on the same hand I still tried to scrape some sort of success back with my third and fourth albums, and that didn’t really happen. I felt like I’d had my go, and then this offer came along to do theatre just as I was seriously considering packing up and going home. But theatre took off, and I felt like I finally found somewhere where I belonged.” While the stage may well be the saviour that has kept his career in

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motion, it certainly hasn’t trapped iOTA in one place. He appeared on the big screen in that little-known indie gem, The Great Gatsby, and can currently be seen shredding a fire-spouting guitar in Mad Max: Fury Road. On top of this, he has a new album due soon and is days away from the opening of B-Girl, a vaudevillian rock musical developed by the same team behind the exceptional Smoke & Mirrors. “Smoke & Mirrors was created for the Spiegeltent, but we didn’t want to do another tent show,” he says. “At least not yet. We didn’t want to do Smoke & Mirrors Part Two, which would have been very easy. I’d rather we did something more challenging and see where that took us. I’ve always wanted to do something more theatrical, and [director/co-writer] Craig Ilott wanted to create a concert, so we were both heading in each other’s direction anyway, and met in the middle somewhere. It worked on Smoke & Mirrors, and it definitely works again for B-Girl. It feels really exciting, and sounds unique.” After the beautiful heartbreak of Smoke & Mirrors, the promise of B-Girl is an exciting one. The story of a woman whose reality is so despairing she fashions a glam-rock alter ego, Clifford North (iOTA), in order to escape it, there are several parallels with the performer’s own history. Growing up in an environment where being gay was an invitation to ridicule and violence, iOTA learnt to hide his true self behind a mask and create an easier fiction. “Performing is a way of escaping real life, a way of exploring your confidence. Whenever I walk onstage, I know exactly what I’m going to do for an hour and a half, which is

something I don’t feel in my normal life. I have great anxiety about a lot of things, but I walk onstage and I know what’s going to happen and who I’m going to be. I think my career has developed the way that it has through luck and I guess through talent. At 46, I think I’ve finally found where I feel comfortable. I can do theatre, make music, I’ve done a bit of film, I paint. I think I’ve always been looking for it, but haven’t ever known what I’ve been looking for. When I walk onstage now, I’m surrounded by lights; there might be smoke, music. I’ve kind of created a rock character that comes alive through theatre, but it’s not actually at all my real life. I think there’s a lot of freedom in that.” While he no longer needs to hide his true self, the shape-shifter in iOTA remains strong. From the lovelost rabbit of Smoke & Mirrors, to Frank N. Furter and Clifford North, iOTA is a vivid, archetypical chameleon, and a happier man for it. “Free. That’s how I see myself. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I’ve never wanted to be pigeonholed; I find it so limiting. Back in the Hip Bone days I found myself in a kind of blues and roots pigeonhole, which I really didn’t like. It didn’t feel true. So I think today I’m a lucky artist. Self-motivated. That’s what I’ve always strived for. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t want to be here.” He laughs. “It would just be too boring.” What: B-Girl Where: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House When: Wednesday June 3 – Sunday June 21

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Anh Do [COMEDY] Refuge In Luck And Laughter By David Molloy

“Y

ou’re recording this on the dictaphone, right? My jokes don’t really work when people paraphrase, you know what I mean?”

know you’re soaring near the edge of your capacity.’”

The eternally honest Anh Do, as always, cuts straight to the point with trademark candour. Even over the phone, there’s a warmth to his voice, a comfort, as if we’ve been mates for some time.

Do’s parents come up regularly in conversation – the core subjects of his acclaimed memoir The Happiest Refugee, they are clearly an inspirational force in his life. Nominated for the Archibald Prize in 2014 for his portrait of his father, Do is sure to acknowledge their influence.

It’s this friendliness, along with an undying devotion to the model of try/ fail/repeat, that has seen Do become a beloved Australian figure, and a success in the worlds of literature, television, art and comedy. Naturally, it seems necessary to humanise the man and ascertain whether or not there’s anything he sucks at – take him down a peg, so to speak.

“When I pick people to paint, I pick people who’ve had a really interesting life,” he says. “I’ve got mates who have had a good life and I’ve painted them and it doesn’t come out so good, but I’ve got other mates who’ve had a really up and down life and I paint them and for some reason it comes out a stronger painting.

“Actually, I probably suck at most of those things you’ve just mentioned,” he laughs. “But you just keep going … My dad said, ‘Anh, you know what? If you give it a red hot crack, son, and you fail, you oughta celebrate that because at least you

“I started a bunch of self-portraits but I never finish – get sick of looking at myself in the mirror. I don’t have the best head around.” Now taking to the stage with the story of his arrival in Australia as

a refugee, Do has gained a lot of perspective on life. “I had an interesting childhood – it had ups and downs, and some of the downs were due to us being very poor and stuff, and I used to look at that and think, ‘This sucks,’ you know? But now that I’m older and I’m a comedian, I get to mine all of the experience for comedy, so I kind of have a larger well of material than if I had’ve had a really easy upbringing.” His is a true rags-to-riches tale – decades after arriving in a leaking boat stripped of valuables (and engines) by pirates, he’s now able to recount his rather different travels of late to Italy, as part of his upcoming TV special, Anh Does Italy. During that trip, he and a mate roasted a chicken in volcanically heated sand. “It’s the kind of thing that would go off in Australia, y’know? All you’d need is for the other end of the beach to have a glacier next to it, and then you can dig a bit in and keep your stubbies cold. That’d be awesome.”

Do’s life has a dual focus: luck and laughter. These traits, and his humility, keep his staged version of The Happiest Refugee buoyant, even through its darkest passages. As soon as the show is brought up, Do credits fellow comic Dave Hughes with the idea of making it a reality. “He goes, ‘Make ’em laugh and cry.’ I’ve got Hughesy to thank for the fact that this show is so much richer and

deeper than my stand-up used to be. “I painted Hughesy! He’s got a great head.” What: The Happiest Refugee Live! Where: The Star Event Centre / The Concourse, Chatswood When: Friday June 19 / Saturday June 20

Last Cab To Darwin [FILM] The Long Road Home By Annie Murney Cribb, it took seven drafts and fi ve years to bring the fi lm to life. “It was a far more surreal stage production – it was a heightened reality rather than naturalism,” says Sims. “It was almost like a dream memory of a dead man, whereas the fi lm is a much more visceral event taking place in the life of Rex Macrae. I have to stress that the fi lm script was inspired by the play, it wasn’t a blueprint.”

ast Cab To Darwin is the second major Australian road movie to be released this year. Unlike Mad Max: Fury Road, where the world hinges on the instinct to survive, this drive through the desert is a subtle portrait of a man trying to die with dignity.

to Darwin in order to end his life on his own terms. Leaving behind an occasional lover and long-term companion, Polly (Ningali LawfordWolf), Rex steps out of his small world and gains a few youthful companions who impart some belated life lessons.

Michael Caton plays Rex Macrae, a blue-collar cab driver who has never left Broken Hill. Shortly after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he catches wind of a Northern Territory doctor (Jackie Weaver) campaigning to legalise euthanasia. He resolves to journey

“We had two weeks in Broken Hill and then travelled up to Darwin,” says director Jeremy Sims. “We shot the fi lm in order, which is a real luxury in fi lmmaking. But it really does help the actors.” Based on a play written by Reg

Having rallied together an allstar cast of indigenous and nonindigenous actors, this is Sims’ third feature fi lm. “I came to the business of directing fi lms quite late,” he says. “It’s taking me a while to learn but I take it quite seriously. That’s what’s different about Last Cab To Darwin – it’s very highly structured. The engine within it is a tightly wound, threeact structure. I wanted to make something really creative and disciplined at the same time.” Reciprocal love is one idea the fi lm handles sensitively throughout.

“Rex’s journey becomes one of being taught love and acceptance by other people late in his life,” says Sims. “The great thing about discovering he’s dying is that it opens up that window for him. That was a very profound thing I wanted to capture.” The fi lm broaches the topic of Aussie mateship; that bandiedabout term often inserted into advertising or hijacked for jingoistic purposes. “When a political party tells you they’re going to bring in a whole raft of changes and blanket them under the phrase ‘have a go’, that kind of dumb anti-intellectual codswallop makes me furious,” Sims says. “And although there are good examples of mateship, I think Australian mateship is guilty when it turns human and nuanced issues into blokey slogans. “In the fi lm, Rex’s friends are more concerned about how his illness is going to disturb their drinking circle. They don’t want to muse on whether they’ve led good lives

or not. Mateship at its worst is avoiding talking about things.” Although the film doesn’t revolve around the issue of euthanasia, Sims aims to break down the simplistic nature of the debate. “For people who have been loved and have been happy, it seems like a no-brainer and I’m fully supportive of that,” he says. “However, in looking at the actual act of euthanasia and how it operates. You see that there are people who don’t know what they want. Most peoples’ lives are messy. We wanted to show that it’s a complicated subject, but we didn’t want to lecture anyone.” What: Last Cab To Darwin (dir. Jeremy Sims) as part of Sydney Film Festival 2015 Where: State Theatre When: Saturday June 6 and Sunday June 7 And: Also showing at Hayden Orpheum Cremorne on Sunday June 14

Entourage [FILM] The Heights Of Hollywood By Tegan Jones AKA Turtle. “It defi nitely felt a little bigger, as opposed to the show,” he says. “But I don’t think we set out to do anything different, because the show lends itself to being a movie. We always shot like we were making a short fi lm every week. “The show would also always play really well in theatres when we would do our season premieres and stuff, so I think that was some of the genesis of us thinking, ‘Hey, maybe we could do this as a movie.’ We really didn’t have to change much, other than have more toys – bigger houses, faster cars and more helicopter shots.”

o quote Entourage’s infamous Ari Gold, “It’s game day, baby. Wake the fuck up!” One of the most successful bro shows to grace television is about to do a swag, slow-motion entrance onto the big screen. After eight wildly successful seasons and a four-year break, the boys are fi nally back in town. 18 :: BRAG :: 613 :: 20:05:15

The Entourage fi lm is like a homecoming: it feels like an extralong episode of the show, albeit with a bigger budget. “We hoped that the audience wondered what happened to these guys. I think the movie does a g ood job of picking up where the show left off,” says Jerry Ferrara,

that were taken, especially with the Vincent character,” says Ferrara. “It’s so hard to fi nd new challenges for him, and the show is called Entourage, not Movie Star. I don’t mean that as a knock towards the Vince, but I think there was a lot more to be done with characters like Johnny Drama and Turtle. Everyone has had their eight-year arc and it’s all been equally important. But I think in those fi nal scenes, Turtle had the most room to grow, because he was so far back.”

During its run on TV, Entourage always focused on all the characters, as opposed to just its ‘star’, Vincent Chase. Although Vince was the glue that held them all together and a catalyst for their LA lives, the fi lm seems to take this concept to the next level.

In the time between the end of the TV series and the fi lm, Turtle’s character growth has certainly been prominent. From his humble beginnings as Vince’s driver, he is now a vodka mogul who is courting the kick-arse Ronda Rousey. Throughout the movie, there are multiple references to how much money Turtle has actually made, and I’m still wondering too.

“There were 96 episodes and there were so many directions

“You know, that’s part of the joke! There’s an ongoing bit because

he won’t tell the guys and it drives them mad. I may have had off-theset talks as ‘character research’ to fi nd out how much he had, and there is a number… but I was told not to say,” he laughs. The feeling of continuity that’s woven throughout the Entourage fi lm continues right through to the conclusion. Again, it just feels like the end of another great episode. Perhaps a sequel is on the horizon? “If we could get a second movie, then when you total it up we would have been doing this for 15 years,” Ferrara says. “Some people might fi nd that scary, playing the same role for long. But the older I get, and the more work outside of Entourage that I’ve done has just made me realise how special it is. I would do it in a second.” What: Entourage (dir. Doug Ellin) Where: In cinemas Thursday June 4

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Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the bareboards around town

■ Theatre

SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL Played at Glen St Theatre until Sunday May 24 This production of Summer Of The Seventeenth Doll marked the play’s 60th anniversary, and honoured the play as an integral part of the Australian canon. Brought to the Glen St Theatre by South Australia’s State Theatre Company, the production went for a realistic take on a classic work. Olive is awaiting the arrival of her beau Roo and his buddy Barney, sugar cutters who stay at her Melbourne home each year during the cane season layover. After 16 years of endless summers and frivolity, Barney’s flame Nancy has moved on to marry another man, with Olive’s uptight workmate Pearl looking to take her place. Pearl isn’t looking for a party, however, but more of a man who can take care of her. As the summer drags on, Roo laments his temper causing him to walk off the job last season, and the memories of past parties fade into oblivion. Set design by Pip Runciman gave the stage a contemporary feel with period furniture, almost as a dialogue between two eras – the one in which the play was set, and another that framed it. White transparent chiffon draped the setting, ■ Theatre

THE HOUSE OF RAMON IGLESIA Playing at the Old Fitz Theatre until Saturday June 6 The House Of Ramon Iglesia is the first play written by José Rivera, whose work is seldom performed in Australia. Director Anthony Skuse sensitively untangles the financial and emotional problems affecting a migrant Puerto Rican family living in Long Island. This MopHead production staged at the Old Fitz Theatre – which seems to be putting on an unofficial season of early ’80s American plays – is a tight ensemble piece and full of solid performances. On a raised platform, the stage is furnished with a sparse kitchen, a toosmall table crowded with chairs and a small religious shrine in the corner. Carefully tending to the latter is mother Delores (Deborah Galanos), who speaks limited English. She is full of Catholic superstition and craves her homeland. Her husband Ramon (Nicholas Papademetriou) is a high school janitor, crippled by debt and alcoholism. As anguished and somewhat naive parents, Galanos and Papademetriou bind the play together. Much of the family friction stems from the college-educated son Javier (Stephen Multari), who is sifting

and with a large amount of dialogue spoken offstage, the audience could still see the characters beyond the curtain and watch their interactions. Benches on either side of stage housing actors waiting in the wings may have been a little too stylised as a device, but didn’t cause any distractions throughout. The staging and direction was a little wooden, perhaps due to the large touring set placed into the small stage of the Glen St Theatre stilting the actors’ movements, and the stiffness did affect the overall flow of the play. The wordy script, full of old-world Australian slang, seemed cumbersome to many of the cast. Stylised scene transitions also bogged the play down further in some parts, pushing the drama a little too far. Memorable performances came from Annabel Matheson as Bubba, Tim Overton as Roo’s young nemesis Dowd and Jacqy Phillips as Olive’s staunch live-in mother Leach, all of whom brought a lightness and lovable quality to their respective roles. However, for a play that’s been performed in countless productions, less earnest direction may have brought some freshness to the messages. As the characters learn to let go of the past and quit stoking the fire of their dwindling youth, there could be a lesson here for theatremakers also. Julian Ramundi between obligation and loyalty. Having outgrown his brazen blue-collar girlfriend, Caroline (Eloise Snape), he is a political science graduate eager to bury his ethnic heritage and climb to further intellectual heights. Second son Julio or ‘The Beast’ (Christian Charisiou) is macho, self-assured and about to join the Marines. And the youngest son, Charlie (David Soncin) – or Carlos, as he insists on being called – is seduced by his parents’ nostalgic accounts of Puerto Rico.

Out & About Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

arriage equality is the hot topic of the week. With Ireland’s recent referendum resoundingly passing, and Australian politicians from all parties coming out in support and putting forward private member’s bills, it’s well and truly on the agenda (and about time). I couldn’t be happier that we’re finally gathering momentum around marriage equality. As a notorious anti-marriage cynic who lives in the queer-friendly (even queerloving) Inner West of Sydney, the passing of marriage equality won’t tangibly change all that much for me. But ten years ago, it would have. Growing up in a country New South Wales town where I knew no other gay people, it would have been helpful to know that we did in fact exist, and our government was happy to recognise us as equal citizens. Instead, that government was busy actively excluding us from existing institutions that it previously hadn’t – as with Howard’s 2004 amendment to the Marriage Act. It’s important, then, to make sure we’re mindful of everyone when we talk about marriage equality. Which is why I have problems with the term ‘same sex marriage’. ‘Sex’ has generally been used to refer to someone’s biological make-up: their chromosomes, genitals, hormones. Your ‘gender’ is not purely determined by biological factors, but is much more socially determined. ‘Same sex’ tends to erase the idea that your gender is anything more than your genitals, because it appears to apply the idea that a lesbian or gay couple is a couple where both people (always) have the same biological traits.

If we want true marriage equality, it’s important to recognise that erasing the differences between sex and gender erases the experiences of transgender people, whose biological sex is often different from their gender. A lesbian couple, for example, may have two vaginas, two penises, or one of each. Ultimately, the biological sex of the people in the couple matters to no-one other than those people. While the proposed changes to marriage legislation would not discriminate against couples such as this (the changes generally say ‘irrespective of sex’ making it as irrelevant as it should be), the term is still quite erasing of people who have spent their lives trying to convince those around them that a penis does not maketh a man. I like the term ‘marriage equality’, because that’s what we’re fi ghting for: equality. It’s not just a fi ght for lesbian or gay couples to be able to marry, but a fi ght for their relationships to be recognised as legitimate, and as equivalent, as heterosexual relationships. And just so we’re clear, sex with my lady partners isn’t the same; it’s actually pretty different, every time. Boom.

this week… Black Vanilla

In order to sell the house and move back to Puerto Rico, the Iglesia family must prove they own it. Negotiating with a prickly Italian neighbour (Ronny Jon Paul Mouawad), whether they will leave or remain living in the deteriorating house is uncertain. The set design by Georgia Hopkins is restrained. Occasional flecks of snow rain down, a reminder of poverty in the midst of a New York winter. Although the kitchen is stripped back, it is functional. The actors actually brew coffee and the like. The audience, like the characters, becomes immersed in domestic ritual as complexities unfold outside and around it. Although there are no real surprises, this is a tender portrait of a family picking up the pieces of a shattered American dream. Annie Murney

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

Winter Wonderland O’Neill’s Adventureland, Edmondson Park, Saturday June 6 There’s something slightly unsettling about a location that used to be soundtracked with children’s laughter only to be abandoned and is now filled with overgrown foliage and rusted structures. Such is the bane of SouthWest Sydney’s O’Neill Adventureland, which shut its gates nearly 20 years ago. Now, the gates will be opened one last time for the Winter Wonderland event curated by UNSW Art and Design. Featuring performances from Heath Franco and Rosie Deacon as well as appearances by a collection of other artists and performers, the deserted theme park will be transformed into an immersive, psychedelic world. And yes, there will be fairy floss, snow cones and rides.

This is a big weekend for queer Sydney. Friday June 5 sees the next instalment of one of my faves, Homosocial, at The Sly Fox. This time, the party is cheekily Uranus-themed, so expect intergalactic goodness from a bunch of babes: Bad Ezzy, Cunningpants, L’Oasis, and others. There will also be art and performances from Claude, ACON’s adventurous women project.

Sunday June 7 had seen what would have been the hardest decision of my life so far to date. Vivid had subjected us all to a woeful amount of cruelty by organising Heaps Gay x Vivid Sydney and Modulations: A Kooky Motorik Pelvis Party for the exact same time. Unfortunately, now Kooky has been cancelled. Ticketholders have been offered refunds and a shoulder to cry on. Bad Ezzy

Heaps Gay x Vivid Sydney has a huge lineup, with Kim from The Presets, queer Sydney faves Black Vanilla, TEES, Sveta and heaps more. There’ll be performance, art and spectacle from the likes of The Glitter Militia, Bubble Rave, No Lights No Lycra and Torrie Torrie. It’s a hugely overwhelming lineup, but the Factory Theatre should be big enough to handle it. Heaps Gay also happens to be sold out, so unless you have friends in higher places… sorry ’bout it. Heaps Gay is also doing an afterparty from 10pm at the Oxford Hotel. But for some deeper loving, Loose Ends is back, down the road at Phoenix Bar, also from 10pm on Sunday June 7, with favourites Matt Vaughan and Annabelle Gaspar, as well as the hottest boys in town, L’Oasis. On the Queen’s Birthday, treat your inner queen and spend the day recovering from your hangovers, please.

For more details, visit artdesign.unsw.edu.au. thebrag.com

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THE BRAG’S ROYAL GUIDE TO THE:

LONG

WEEKEND 3.

THE LANSDOWNE

BEACH ROAD HOTEL wind down from the epic weekend.

It’s called: Queen’s Birthday at Beach Road Hotel

Bevvy of choice: We have plenty of choice with your spirits and a large selection of local, international and craft beers… so, my friend, name your drink.

What to see and do: It’s time to get amongst the good times, good vibes and good music whilst celebrating the Queen’s Birthday over this long weekend. For our ears: Friday night will see local high-energy act Bec & Ben onstage with resident DJ Richie Ryan on the decks to close the night. Saturday night is sorted with the Discovery Daft Punk tribute on the ones and twos; if their last shows are anything to go by, you don’t want to miss this one. On Sunday, Start:Cue DJs are throwing a party going back to back with some special guests (shhh, we can’t tell you who). Monday has your recovery session locked in with DJs in the sunny backyard to

A right royal time – what’s the highlight? With three separate parties over each night of the weekend, who can choose? Best you play each day.

Cost: Always free, always fun! Where: 71 Beach Rd, Bondi When: Friday June 5 – Sunday June 7, upstairs and free from 8pm. Monday is in the backyard from 12pm to wind down.

THE COLLAROY It’s called: Sunday Long Day What to see and do: A Sunday Session of epic proportions! We’ve got two different offerings for people to choose from: nab a general admission ticket for $20, or purchase a VIP ticket for $150. The VIP ticket includes a five-hour beverage pack, canapés, and of course, access to the VIP area. For our ears: Our stellar lineup is headed by nationally famed DJs KLP and Ember, who are supported by a bunch of awesome local Northern Beaches DJs.

The Maj’s Fizz cocktail – a tantalising mix of VSOP cognac, house-made chamomile tea syrup, fig jam, Peychaud’s Bitters and soda. Chandon, vodka cocktails, as well as beer and wine will be roaming the VIP area for all VIP ticketholders from 12-5pm.

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What to see and do: Live acts all day by some of the best. Our mates from King Street Tattoo will be hanging around, there will be stalls all day, and of course the famous $5 cheeseburger will keep you smiling and satisfied. For our ears: It promises to be loud! The Snowdroppers are headliners and will be joined by some of the best young acts in Oz at the moment, including The Rumjacks, The Art, Born Lion, The Stiffys, The Ruckus, Lepers And Crooks, She Rex, The Owls, The Mountains, The Cherry Dolls, Persian Drugs and more. We

A right royal time – what’s the highlight? The Snowdroppers! Queen Lizzy herself will be telling the great-grandkids about this one. Cost: Tickets are $25+bf from Moshtix Where: 2-6 City Rd, Chippendale

When: Sunday June 7 – all day, and into the night of course!

CHINESE LAUNDRY It’s called: BASSIC ft. Squad pres. Boombox Cartel (Friday June 5) and LNDRY ft. Anna Lunoe and Sharam Jey (Saturday June 6). What to see and do: One of Sydney’s most iconic nightclubs, Chinese Laundry, hosts the hottest names in electronic music every Friday and Saturday night.

Cost: $20 for a general admission ticket, $150 for VIP.

For our ears: The USA’s Boombox Cartel are bringing the freshest bass beats to BASSIC on Friday with the Squad crew supporting. Aussie homegirl Anna Lunoe returns to Sydney for LNDRY on Saturday June 6 with German house favourite Sharam Jey in The Cave.

When: Sunday June 7, 12pm-late

Bevvy of choice: We will be smashing back a few too many Heinekens. There is nothing better to drink than a cold beer when you’re deep in the moshpit.

A right royal time – what’s the highlight? The sweeping views over Collaroy Beach are spectacular and set the best backdrop for a day session of killer tunes and good times!

Where: 1064 Pittwater Rd, Collaroy Beach Bevvy of choice: Toast to her royal highness (it’s her birthday after all) with our special

are pretty pumped for it!

It’s called: God Save The Queen at The Lansdowne

Bevvy of choice: $5 spirits and beers between 9-11pm.

A right royal time – what’s the highlight? Dancing to some of the world’s best DJs until 4am. Cost: Friday – tickets from $17.50 online; Saturday – tickets from $22.60.

Where: 1 Slip St (Under Slip Inn, 111 Sussex St) When: Friday June 5 from 9pm and Saturday June 6 from 9pm

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If there’s one thing that unites Sydneysiders when it comes to the monarchy, it’s the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. A three-day weekend to enjoy the sights and sounds of our wonderful city before we bunker down for the winter? Now that’s a cause we can all get behind. Some of Sydney’s coolest weekend spots are getting behind it too, so we asked them to tell us all about their plans for 72 hours of fun (and why your hangover will last until Wednesday).

MARRICKVILLE BOWLO What to see and do: Sunday June 7 – Mark Lucas & The Dead Setters (live and free entry from 4:30pm). Monday June 8 – the Brewhaha kicks on with The Shout Brothers and Mick Daley & The Corporate Raiders (live and free entry from 1pm). Barefoot bowls all weekend for $10. For our ears: Monday’s the big Brewhaha and the Queen couldn’t ask for a more convivial birthday. At 1pm Mick Daily’s Corporate Raiders will be giving a regal bashing to tracks from Daley’s new record, Courage And Shuffle The Cards. At around 3pm the royal family of irreverent rock’n’roll tribute bands, The Shout Brothers, hit the stage. Like the Queen, they’ll be propping up the aristocratic bloodline of rock’n’roll

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in Sydney. There’ll be the usual Bowlo treats – raffles, cheapish beer and barefoot bowls plus exciting cuisine just tumbling out of the royal kitchens at a great price. Bevvy of choice: Beer tastings by Willie The Boatman on Monday June 8.

A right royal time – what’s the highlight? A right royal gig! Cost: Free entry to all gigs, barefoot bowls $10, meals from $10.

Where: 91 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville When: Sunday June 7 from 3pm, Monday June 8 from 1pm

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK JAMIE XX

In Colour Young Turks/Remote Control

Underground sensibilities and mainstream pop combine on an impressive scale.

DANIEL JOHNS

‘Sleep Sound’ sees Smith cherry-pick the best parts of the underground club world and distil them into four minutes. It’s a deeply tonal song, featuring marimba and kettledrum, as well as heavily phased vocals. While ‘Sleep Sound’ is essentially underground, lead single ‘Loud

Jamie xx photo by Laura Coulson

In Colour is an amazing album. This speckled musical jewel finds the sweet spot between Jamie Smith’s work as arguably the world’s coolest DJ and his day job as a member and producer of The xx.

Places’ (featuring xx vocalist Romy Madley-Croft) is a stunning celebration of pop sensibilities. A cheeky cowbell (or is it a half-full jar of water?) tinkers over the top of deep piano chords as Croft’s breathy voice intones the phrases of the verse. The melancholy aesthetic then gives way to a seriously uplifting chorus. The xx’s other vocalist, the richly casual Oliver Sim, makes an appearance on the brooding electro ballad ‘Stranger In A Room’, which is almost completely driven by the ebbs and flow of his vocal line. There’s little to fault on In Colour. The musicality is so strong that this record could well evade the tendency for exceedingly trendy albums to date within two to three years of their release. Dan Watt

DARTS

HOT CHIP

MOJO JUJU

Peace Is The Mission Mad Decent/Warner

Below Empty & Westward Bound Rice Is Nice

Why Make Sense? Domino/EMI

Seeing Red / Feeling Blue ABC/Universal

So, you’ve probably heard by now that ex-Silverchair darling Daniel Johns is back. Starting with the painfully obvious, this is not a Silverchair record. It is about as far from the ’90s grunge scene as Seattle is from Sydney (it’s pretty far). The drone of fuzzed guitars is instead replaced with glitchy keys and pulsating beats. This was never a surprise, though, as Johns has publicly distanced himself from his former project for quite some time.

While Diplo has been out cavorting with the who’s who of music and Hollywood and causing a general ruckus over social media, Peace Is The Mission has been fashioned together somewhere along the way. We’ve certainly come some distance from the brash stylings of Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do, and there is a marked lean towards the pop market here (‘mainstream’ is such a dirty word, isn’t it?).

The thunderous sound of local five-piece Darts harks back to ’90s post-punk and slacker rock. On the band’s latest album, Below Empty & Westward Bound, the hoarse yelp of singer and guitarist Angus Ayres vividly conjures up memories of early Modest Mouse, particularly on ‘Push Me Thru’ and ‘Westward Bound’.

The zoot-suit-wearing monster of soul Mojo Juju is back for a second record that takes the raw blues of her debut and fuses it with contemporary pop and R&B. With one foot in the past and another in the present, Seeing Red / Feeling Blue brings together powerful hooks with modern production. The result is an album that’s beating with the heart of classic American music, but brings it into a sound of her own definition, where old-school vibes coexist with hip hop beats.

The 15-track album is full of selfanalysing lyrics that offer insights into Johns’ predisposition. ‘Preach’ sees Johns boldly declaring that “I dance to my own beat”, but it’s only partially true. Talk revels in the sounds of quality releases from R&B contemporaries like D’Angelo and James Blake, and yet this is its ultimate downfall. Where these musicians were lauded for their innovative flair, Talk is, simply put, a collection of other artists’ styles. Still, despite its familiarity, the vocals are a standout, and complemented by the sleek production, reach great heights. Leaping from his signature timbre to Prince-esque falsetto, Johns commands elaborate soundscapes with his best asset: his voice.

The guest appearances are occasionally inspired – Ellie Goulding injects some sweetness into ‘Powerful’, while ‘Night Riders’, which brings together an ensemble cast of Travi$ Scott, 2 Chainz, Pusha T and Mad Cobra, is easily a standout. Elsewhere, charttopper ‘Lean On’ delivers exactly what it says it will on the label, complete with vocal appearance from ‘it’ girl MØ, and opener ‘Be Together’ (featuring Wild Belle) is a pop-oriented dark horse.

A common factor in the output of Hot Chip (who’ve now been making music together for 15 years) is the upbeat, domineering singles that precede their albums. Just look at The Warning’s prologue ‘Over And Over’, the classic title track from 2009’s One Night Stand, and ‘Night And Day’ from the band’s last record, In Our Heads (2012). The albums have always been solid, but tend to quake in the shadow of the shiniest pop moments. Like Blur, Hot Chip are something of a singles band.

Talk EMI

MAJOR LAZER

In amongst the hyperactive trills and screeches – perhaps an influence from Diplo’s friend and Jack Ü collaborator Skrillex – there are plenty of moments here to be savoured.

Comparisons aside, Darts’ bristling energy and ability to keep the good tunes flowing makes them a pretty awesome force in their own right. There’s hardly a moment to gasp for air during the neck-break trio of songs that starts off the album, before a well-judged drop in tempo arrives, along with the contrasting vocals of Ally Campbell-Smith, on the woozy, nostalgia-clouded ‘Aeroplane’. The strange conjoining of two midalbum songs (‘Below Empty’ and ‘Westward Bound’) to form the album title makes a lot of sense when you listen to the record in full. The name matches the songs’ disorientating rush, which sees the band shaking off feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt by submitting to the cathartic force of choppy, charging guitars.

Talk gets quite a few things right, but there’s an equal amount of things it doesn’t. For a finely tuned, chic pop album, it is worthy of at least a few spins.

Major Lazer might be heading in a more chart-friendly direction, but there is still loads of raucous fun to be had here.

Darts invite you to join them in this act and let the music take you into the darkness of the unknown. There isn’t a specific destination to get to, but it’s one hell of a ride.

Sarah Basford

Marissa Demetriou

Chris Girdler

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK You know how they say there’s something in the water in Perth? Something that continues to reveal these amazing bands and unheard melodies on the other side of our wide brown land? Well, three-piece Methyl Ethel are no exception, and their debut album Oh Inhuman Spectacle is, for want of something eloquent, bloody awesome.

METHYL ETHEL Oh Inhuman Spectacle Dot Dash/Remote Control

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Lead single ‘Rogues’, the third track on the album, has the wonderfully familiar twang of a band like Twerps, but also something more solemn, reminiscent of The War On Drugs. The vocals are delicate, and tell an intriguing, image-heavy story. As lead singer and lyricist Jake Webb continues, you realise you’ve already leant forward, hanging desperately onto the words,

awaiting the next line. This is also true of the second single ‘Twilight Driving’, one of the best tracks on the album. ‘Unbalancing Act’ is a little destabilising, but its initial freefloating beats and melodies unite and loop beautifully for the song’s duration, fading out peacefully with what sounds like bird calls and crickets. As a whole, Oh Inhuman Spectacle is a living, breathing thing. There’s a connective tissue between all songs, be it a lyrical theme, a fleeting sound, or the sentiment. Methyl Ethel’s debut is truly addictive.

Why Make Sense? differs in that there’s no show-stopping lead single, just eight consistently great party tracks and a couple of soulful slow jams thrown in for good measure. At one point, a double album was proposed, but the recordings were eventually culled to form a single 45-minute album. This ensures there’s no filler to detract from the killer, though the four-track companion EP continues the high quality of the album’s ten tracks. This aspect of valuing quality over quantity extends to the songs themselves. The uncluttered, clean production by the band and co-producer Mark Ralph sharpens the focus on the direct, hook-heavy compositions. It all goes to show you don’t need extra layers of cheese on top of what Hot Chip already deliver to get the best out of them.

Producer Ptero Stylus (Diafrix, Mantra) has helped glue it all together, nailing a vibe that echoes Mark Ronson’s collaborations with Amy Winehouse. He’s dipped into the wealth of talent over at HopeStreet Recordings, with members of The Cactus Channel and The PutBacks laying down a slab of infectiously gritty horn lines throughout. Tracks like ‘A Heart Is Not A Yo-Yo’ and ‘Sugarcoated’ are taken to the next level when the brass chimes in to bring Juju’s choruses home. Mojo Juju has crafted a great collection of songs that will arguably make her music more accessible than ever before. She may have cleaned up the edges a little, but the core of her music still runs hot with fiery soul. James Di Fabrizio

Chris Girdler

OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... JEREMY NEALE - In Stranger Times GATEWAY DRUGS - Magick Spells COLDPLAY - Parachutes

CROWDED HOUSE - Woodface BON IVER - Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Izzy Tolhurst thebrag.com

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

MORRISSEY Sydney Opera House Tuesday May 26 Why do you come here? Why do you hang around? These are the questions that open Morrissey’s run of shows at the Sydney Opera House for Vivid LIVE. They’re posed in the form of the lyrics to ‘Suedehead’, but could well be a challenge from the famously evasive performer to his audience and back again. The 56-year-old Mopechester icon is carrying a cough tonight (not to mention his recently reported treatment for more serious illness), but that’s not the reason An Evening With Morrissey underwhelms. It’s not just the setlist, either, though ‘Kiss Me A Lot’ and ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’ are hardly fair substitutes for ‘I Know It’s Over’ and ‘November Spawned A Monster’. Morrissey is no nostalgia act – he’s been out of The Smiths for more than 25 years now, and besides, nobody gets nostalgic for melancholy. There’s something altogether more important missing from tonight’s show, and it’s cause for alarm for those fans who’d gladly see the Moz train roll on forever. The unpredictability, irony and sweaty-breast masculinity of Morrissey at his peak is nowhere to be seen. The penchant for vitriol remains, to an extent; his first target tonight is police brutality, and some alarmingly violent footage

plays on the big screen as he spits through ‘Ganglord’. But then ‘Istanbul’ dawdles into view, and the impetus is gone. A sympathetic ear might consider this Morrissey’s most experimental setlist yet, if only for the relative lack of Smiths or solo classics – except even he doesn’t seem convinced. At least there’s a jarring energy in the room when ‘Meat Is Murder’ plays over another series of blood-and-gore clips, this time of animals’ throats being slashed. For the finale, ‘Everyday Is Like Sunday’, Morrissey’s minders are even more attentive than they’ve been in the past, hurling themselves at a series of stage invaders (they only ever want a hug, anyway) and forcefully returning them to their place in the audience. Morrissey himself abhors violence, clearly, but it’s telling that the most engaging parts of this performance involve it in some form or another. Otherwise, the sense of disappointment reigns. What should have been a triumphant occasion at an iconic venue during its brightest season instead feels flat. A few days earlier, at a book signing event in Sydney, one fan was heard telling Morrissey that this gig “will be great”. Moz corrected him: “It will be interesting.” By the time the final bow comes around, it’s barely even that. Chris Martin

D AND PRUDENCE UPTON :: PHOTOGRAPHERS :: DANIEL BOU

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grace jones

What we've been out to see...

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

live reviews

31:05:15 :: Carriageworks:: 245 Wilson St Eveleigh 8571 9099

NEIL FINN City Recital Hall Angel Place Sunday May 31 A saxophonist is playing ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ on the footpath while thousands of people stroll the trafficemptied lanes of George Street, ogling the distant reflections of the Vivid festival lights in skyscraper windows. Buskers are tipped like it’s Christmastime; Angel Place festoons in warm lights and empty birdcages. No better atmosphere to revisit one of the great songwriters in the middle age of a career that has spanned Split Enz, Finn Brothers and Crowded House; the latter to such enduring acclaim it’s very difficult to imagine a world without them. When Neil Finn wanders onto the stage, he looks just like everyone’s favourite daggy uncle. Hair unkempt, shirt ruffled. He has just turned 57, but from the moment Finn launches into ‘When You Come’, you’re hearing a voice that age has somehow overlooked. The man can bloom from a whisper to a wail with the same confidence and clarity as on any recording from his early days, and while this is showcased across the breadth of his performance, there are nevertheless instances when tonight’s orchestral arrangements do not quite hit the mark. At the evening’s peak, the stage is shared with 13 other musicians – a guest appearance from members of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. On the whole, they instil a sense of wonder and expectancy to the set, most evident in the riveting highlight, ‘Private Universe’, where as the strings fade, you find yourself stunned out from a trance. ‘One Step Ahead’ is similarly splendid. Yet there are occasions where it seems the arrangement and the song are running on parallel tracks, crossing paths only by chance and never complementary. ‘In My Blood’ is one such instance, as is the falsetto ‘Divebomber’, sung in higher register almost as though Finn is trying to recapture the small frightened boy who gave the song its genesis. I’m not certain it works, though even when the night does tarry, you cannot help but be impressed at the scale of his aspirations. It is hard, too, not to be swept away in the communal nostalgia that Finn’s voice seems to conjure – and frankly, why would you want to resist? There are two instances when he encourages the audience to join in song – ‘Catherine Wheel’ and ‘Gentle Hum’ – and stirring as these moments are, most people have been singing all evening anyhow. Performed solo, ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ has the hall enraptured, but the true treat comes at the encore: ‘Distant Sun’, ‘Better Be Home Soon’, and almost as an afterthought, stopping at the Steinway as he goes to leave the stage, ‘Fall At Your Feet’.

SAN CISCO, CROOKED COLOURS, METHYL ETHEL Enmore Theatre Saturday May 30 It was a case of the east coast meets the west coast at the Enmore Theatre in the heart of Newtown’s vibrant live music scene. Unlike the bloody war that raged between hip hop’s finest from opposing sides of the US in the ’90s, Western Australia’s musical exports were welcomed with open arms at a completely sold-out gig. The headliners, indie-pop whiz kids San Cisco, made the inspired move to invite two of Perth’s most exciting up-and-coming bands to tour the country with them. Experimental pop-rockers Methyl Ethel warmed up the crowd like any respectable opening act should, resulting in many enthusiastic crowd members choosing to ditch their winter coats and jumpers in favour of singlets and some serious dance moves. Their latest single ‘Twilight Driving’ was a highlight, and their debut album Oh Inhuman Spectacle, due for release this week, should garner them the attention they deserve. Three-piece electronic outfit Crooked Colours took us on a weird and wonderful journey throughout their 45-minute set. Seductive beats, resonating vocals and intimate lighting set the mood, as their charismatic frontman Phillip Slabber asked the crowd to dance with him. If you haven’t heard their new single ‘Another Way’, you’re missing out. Following a long interval, the crowd began to get restless and a fevered chant for San Cisco ensued. After waiting more than long enough to build suspense, the four friends took to the stage among deafening squeals of delight, and launched straight into fan favourite ‘Golden Revolver’.

BILL CALLAHAN Sydney Opera House Thursday May 28 As his career’s gone on, Bill Callahan has reduced the expressive tone of his vocals. On his most recent effort (and the centrepoint of tonight’s setlist), 2013’s Dream River, Callahan adopts a reticent tone akin to spoken word. Yet in spite of straining the accentuating colour out of his baritone, Dream River contains some of this era’s most stirring lyrical songwriting. This was on display right from tonight’s opening number, ‘The Sing’, where lines such as “Strangers unknowingly keep me company” immediately brought the audience into Callahan’s world, albeit as said strangers. Playing Dream River at a party is likely to garner scowls equivalent to elbowing a fellow commuter in the eye during rush hour. This is music designed for lone contemplation – a night in, nursing a bottle of wine, or sat still in the comfortable surrounds of the Sydney Opera House. Several acts on this year’s Vivid lineup are very giving performers. The likes of Sufjan Stevens, The Preatures, TV On The Radio and even Morrissey offer something rich and immediate. Whereas to become absorbed in the Bill Callahan experience, our full attention was required. It wasn’t essential to take score of absolutely every word uttered or jazzy chord sequence sent out from his nylon string guitar. But the communicable emotions of Callahan’s songs tend to spring forth from little gaps in the unadorned exteriors.

There’s no doubt that some people had trouble connecting. A number of restless patrons frequently ducked out to the bar for a breather. And even those who stayed still could easily have been led astray by an evocative lyric, only to tune back in to the onstage noise, which now seemed a little bit mild. That said, it wasn’t all minimalist subtleties. Everyone perked up during the Australia-referencing polka ‘America!’ and the ironic humour of Smog’s ‘Dress Sexy At My Funeral’ was a real treat. Throughout the show, Callahan and his three backing musicians were supported by the impressionist landscapes of painter Paul Ryan. For the most part, Ryan’s work featured a fairly muted palette. But occasionally a mountain rising through a misty dawn was juxtaposed with a squiggle of fluorescent yellow; or a skeletal kookaburra gained more character and bulk as one song progressed. These sorts of idiosyncrasies perfectly matched Callahan’s songs. Once you’re committed to hearing them, major impact stems from the smallest, yet most significant alterations. Callahan’s lyrics have often been said to disclose human truths. But a line from one of tonight’s final songs, ‘Ride My Arrow’, offered a different point of view. “Life ain’t confidential,” he crooned, “No, no, no it’s not / It isn’t and it ain’t confidential.” It’s that simple. What Callahan gave us was feelings we couldn’t deny. And when enveloped in feeling – feeling alive, in touch with mortality, united by it – the objective truth was no longer of much concern. Augustus Welby

The setlist was a healthy mix of old and new tunes, with Gracetown songs and older single ‘Beach’ inciting a singalong. But the real highlight of the first half was when the opening chords of their super catchy mega hit ‘Awkward’ rang out – that it sparked mass hysteria might be an understatement. The happy vibes continued as they delved into the crowd-pleasing ‘Too Much Time Together’, followed by ‘Bitter Winter’ and ‘Snow’. A hush fell over the audience when Scarlett Stevens descended from her drum kit to perform a sensual version of ‘Super Slow’, alongside frontman Jordi Davieson.

A soaring, spellbinding performance by one of the greats. And then once more into the night, into the lanes of linked arms and wide eyes, drawn back towards the colours and the sea.

The night came to a happy end with an all-out party onstage, after Davieson encouraged the guys from Methyl Ethel and Crooked Colours out from the wings to join San Cisco for the chorus of ‘Fred Astaire’. In an impromptu move, bass guitarist Nick Gardner swept Stevens up in his arms to pose for a band photo, using the packed theatre as a backdrop – a fitting way to end the final show on this tour.

Adam Norris

Natalie Rogers D AND PRUDENCE UPTON :: PHOTOGRAPHERS :: DANIEL BOU

24 :: BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15

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

Metro Theatre Saturday May 30 It’s been a little over two years since Against Me! last visited Australian shores, coinciding with a period of rejuvenation for the band. Their most recent album is a welcome return to form, and fans were chomping at the bit to hear it live. Sydney’s own Mere Women opened up the show with a series of hypnotic post-punk tunes. The aggressive female vocals were complemented with rhythmic drumming and some angular guitar. The crowd seemed largely unfamiliar, but warmed up towards the end of the set. Joyce Manor were up next, and with a handful of devoted followers up the front they launched straight into a set of short and fast pop-punk tunes. Fans had fun climbing on top of each other, pointing their fingers to every lyric they knew. The set featured their latest album heavily, as well as some deep cuts, and a B-side Weezer cover for good measure. From the opening chord of the title

track from Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Against Me! had the entire Metro Theatre in the palm of their hand, and spent the next hour or so blazing through song after song, only taking the smallest of breaks before launching into the next one. The set covered the entirety of the band’s career, with songs like ‘I Was A Teenage Anarchist’ and ‘Pints Of Guinness Make You Strong’ getting thrown in next to each other without losing a beat. The mixing wasn’t ideal, with everything Laura Jane Grace said in between songs coming out as a mumble, but the fans were more than happy to make up for a lack of vocals with their own. The encore featured a song by The Replacements that Against Me! recently covered with Miley Cyrus, and closed with their sing-along classic ‘We Laugh At Danger And Break All The Rules’. Against Me! are a band that are just as firey, intense and passionate as they were back when they started over a decade ago. They’re as tight as they have ever been, despite major lineup changes, and are still the same powerhouse that everyone on this side of the world originally fell in love with. Spencer Scott

mad charlie

PICS :: AM

AGAINST ME!, JOYCE MANOR, MERE WOMEN

31:05:15 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney

party profile

artefact @ leichhardt town hall

29:05:15 :: The Vanguard :: 42 King St Newtown 9557 9409

It’s called: Artefact @ Leichhardt Town Hall

It sounds like: A ‘magic carpet ride’ of sound . An uncategorisable mix of late period Talk Talk, Pet Sounds-era Beach Boys, baroque pop and subtle electronica. Acts: Artefact as well as Stu Hunter’s new electronic trio project. Sell it to us: Six multi-instrumentalists will switch keyboards, bass, piano, guitar and a wide range between electronics, of percussion instruments while performing debut album No Safe Place ’s hefty vocal arrangements. An original digital projection mapping visual accom paniment will complement the tunes, which will be projected onto a custom -designed series of 3D surfaces and the beautiful interiors of Leichhardt Town Hall. Also with top quality booze provided by Venue 505, it’s set to be a smas hing night out. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Jim Flana gan’s haunting vocals, custom-made spectacular multimedia live projec tions and the transformation of Leichhardt Town Hall.

Where: Leichhardt Town Hall, 107 Norton St, Leichhardt When: Doors open 7pm, Friday June 5

S :: JAMES AMBROSE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MAR :: PRUDENCE UPTON ::

Advertising Sales Representative, The BRAG. A fantastic opportunity exists for a self-motivated salesperson to join the BRAG, one of Sydney’s leading music and arts titles, plus to work with and across the Furst Media stable of titles. A knowledge of and passion for all things Sydney – venues, bars, clubs, pubs, music, the arts, eateries and entertainment – is essential. Applicants with outbound sales experience and/ or an existing contact base who can hit the ground running are preferred.

Crowd specs: Music-loving types. Wallet damage: $25/$29

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the ruckus

PICS :: CB

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

Got what it takes?

A retainer and generous incentives are offered, commensurate with experience.

KE :: ASHLEY

:: CHRIS BUTLER :: KATRINA CLAR

Mobile phone and car allowance adds to a great package with all the usual benefits. Email your resume and cover letter to jobs@furstmedia.com.au BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 25

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

TV On The Radio

MONDAY JUNE 8 TUESDAY JUNE 9 Sydney S d Opera House

TV On The Radio 9pm. $64. WEDNESDAY JUNE 3 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Muso’s Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. Free. SongsOnStage - feat: Mick Hambly + Two-Up + Michael Kerr + Darkraven + Argyrakis + The Goat Herders Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 7pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Duo Ras Deshen Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $40. Hammerhead Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free.

Xxx

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Davey Craddock Midnight Special, Newtown. 7pm. Free. Defeater + Bane Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 6pm. $43. Draw The Lass O’Gowrie Hotel, Wickham. 8pm. Free. Into The Wild - feat: The Know Goods + We Take The Night + Coastal Edge Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10. Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Oh Reach - feat: Terry Serio’s Ministry Of Truth + The Tambourine Girls + Spookyland Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $18.70. The Songs Of Linda Ronstadt - feat: Angela Ayers + The Stoned

26 :: BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15

Brumbies The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $26.80.

THURSDAY JUNE 4 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Ina Maka + Little Big Wolf Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $10. Muso’s Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm. Free. Scott & Sean’s Happy Bacon Thursday - feat: Two Screws Loose The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5. Songsonstage - feat: Mick Hambly + Chris Brookes + Guests Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Gazele + Daniel March Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $21.50. Miguel Zenón Quartet The Basement, Circular Quay. 8:30pm. $45. Personal Best Records Present - feat: Tear Council + Mlhlnd + Physique + Pretty Mess And Personal Best Orchestra Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.80.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Andy Mammers Duo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Cherry Dolls Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly. 8:30pm. Free. Cherry Dolls The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8:30pm. Free.

Creo Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 8pm. Free. Defeater + Bane Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $43. Rock Shots Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. Free. Rock The World (Bar) Semi Finals - feat: Various Artists The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $15. Ryan Daley Honeysuckle Hotel, Newcastle. 6:30pm. Free. The Fumes Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free. World Wild Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 8pm. Free.

FRIDAY JUNE 5 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Artefact Leichhardt Town Hall, Leichhardt. 7pm. $29. BandsOnStage - feat: The Coastal Edge + The Moorhens + Insanity Proof Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 8pm. Free. Bloods Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $10. Breaking Point - feat: Sweet Velvet Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Caravãna Sun Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $18.70. Cherry Dolls Tattersalls Hotel Penrith, Penrith. 8:30pm. Free. Dane Fitzsimmons Central Charlestown Leagues Club, Charlestown. 7pm. Free. Deez Nuts + Antagonist A.D + Relentless + Earth Caller Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $28.60. Dr. Zoom Trio

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Afro Pamoja Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $20. Artur Dutkiewicz Trio (Poland) Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $37.50. John & Yuki Winston Gardens Chinese Restaurant, Winston Hills. 7:30pm. Free. Near East Quartet The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $30. Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free. Stefano Bollani + Hamilton De Holanda City Recital Hall, Sydney. 7:30pm. $89.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

3bpm Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $15. Flamin Beauties Crown Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Mark Lucas + Brielle Davis + Davey Craddock The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5. Pete Hibbert Cessnock Leagues Club, Cessnock. 8pm. Free. The Company Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 6pm. $24.

SATURDAY JUNE 6 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Daniel Arvidson Central Charlestown Leagues Club, Charlestown. 7pm. Free. Flamin Beauties Royal Hotel, Bondi. 9:15pm. Free. Mojo House Band - feat: Jesse & James Mojo Record Bar, Sydney. 7pm. Free. Paul Hayward Town & Country Hotel, St Peters. 4pm. Free. The Big Bang Cessnock Leagues Club,

Jane Tyrrell photo by Wilk

pick of the week

Honeysuckle Hotel, Newcastle. 8pm. Free. Fox & Fowl + Polish Club + Swords Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10. Frenzal Rhomb + Hostile Objects Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $30. Here Comes The Sun - feat: Wes Carr Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $25. Jane Tyrrell The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $15. Jebediah + Front End Loader Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $44.05. Mark Wells Trio The Sydney Junction Hotel, Hamilton. 9pm. Free. Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free. Rob Henry Manly Leagues Club, Brookvale. 9:30pm. Free. Spod Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15. Steve Edmunds The Orana Hotel, Blacksmiths. 8pm. Free. The Shuffle Boys Cessnock Leagues Club, Cessnock. 9pm. Free.

Jane Tyrrell

Cessnock. 8pm. Free. Welcome Stranger & Fenton The Dog The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm. $5.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Cookin’ On 3 Burners - feat: Jason Heerah + Kylie Auldist + DJs Stephen Ferris + Graham Mandroules & JC + Nick Toth + DJ Fasmwa The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $29.20. Dee Dee Bridgewater + Irvin Mayfield + The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra City Recital Hall, Sydney. 8pm. $109. Near East Quartet The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $30. Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free. Vivian Sessoms Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $37.50. Yevu X Freda’s African World Tour - feat: Karifi Ensemble + Malik Diop + DJs Smokey La Beef + Sam Z AKA Masamba N’Dour Freda’s, Chippendale. 6pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

AJ Pittwater RSL, Mona Vale. 5:30pm. Free. AJ Hotel Pennant Hills, Pennant Hills. 10pm. Free. Art Of Sleeping Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $20.70. Bad Manners + The Allniters Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $60. Ben Lee Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $40. Bounce PJ’s Irish Pub, Parramatta. 9:30pm. Free. Cherry Dolls Standard Bowl, Surry Hills. 8:30pm. Free. Daley Holliday The Belmore Hotel, Maitland. 9pm. Free. Deez Nuts + Antagonist A.D + Relentless + Earth Caller Red Rattler, Marrickville. 6pm. $28.60. DJ Ricky Bonomini The Sydney Junction Hotel, Hamilton. 11pm. Free. Endless Summer Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free. Family Fold + Dusty Ravens + Bree De Rome Lazybones Lounge,

Marrickville. 9pm. $15. Gen-X Belmont 16s, Belmont. 8:30pm. Free. Hockey Dad Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.95. Lotsa Synth, Lotsa Beats, Lotsa Boys, Lotsa Noise - feat: Skyboxes + Doctor Abernathy + Hurtsville Record Crate, Glebe. 9pm. $5. Monster Fest - feat: Mandala + Surrender The Sun + Harbour + Lion Calamity + Simple Stone + Sin4me + Flaccid Mohawk + The Sweetlips + More Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 12pm. $15. Paradise City Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 9pm. $10. Rob Henry Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 3pm. Free. Steve Edmunds Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor. 8:30pm. Free. Stormcellar Town Hall Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Tre Soul + The Hummingbirds Honeysuckle Hotel, Newcastle. 8:30pm. Free. Tres Hombres The Belmore Hotel, Maitland. 9pm. Free. Wildcatz Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

SUNDAY JUNE 7 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Weekly Live Music @ The Dock The Dock, Redfern. 5pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

From Street To Stage - feat: Joe Moore + Various Other Artists Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. John Kennedy’s 68 Comeback Special The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $5. Peach’s Sunday Jam - feat: Peach Montgomery + Guests Garry Owen Hotel, Rozelle. 3pm. Free. SongsOnStage - feat: Stuart Jammin + Guests Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. Free.

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Birds Of Tokyo + Ecca Vandal Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $49.90. Born Joy Dead The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free. Cherry Dolls Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 1pm. Free. Come Together - feat: Ball Park Music + The Jungle Giants + Safia + Elizabeth Rose + Montaigne + Ecca Vandal Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point. 5pm. $60. Cool Change Belmont 16s, Belmont. 3:30pm. Free. DC Bellamy - feat: Stormcellar + Catfish Soup + Juke Joint + Bigtime Operators + Volky Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 6pm. Free. Dirty Deeds - The AC/DC Show Cronulla Leagues Club, Woolooware. 6:30pm. Free. Finger Joints - feat: Gl + Broadway Sounds + Dusty Fingers. Loose Joints + Noise In My Head + Steele Bonus + Jimmy Sing + Marcus King + Lady Shave DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15. Frenzal Rhomb Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 6:30pm. $30. Gary Johns Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free. Hockey Dad Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Human Movement The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. $30. Loko The Sydney Junction Hotel, Hamilton. 7pm. Free. Lonesome Train Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 3pm. Free. The Coconut Trio Honeysuckle Hotel, Newcastle. 4pm. Free. The Rumjacks + The Snowdroppers + The Stiffys Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 9pm. $25. Ramshackle Army + Black Aces + The Dirty Earth + Colytons Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Free. The Shouties Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 1pm. Free. TV On The Radio Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 9pm. $64.

TUESDAY JUNE 9 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK SongsOnStage - feat: Mick Hambly + Chris Brookes + Guests Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Anton Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 3pm.

Co Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free. Live & Originals - feat: Jesse Witney + Lola Sola + ScotFree + Katherine Vavahea Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 7:30pm. Free. TV On The Radio Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 9pm. $64.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

thu

03 June

04 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

June

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

05 June

Swing It Tuesdays - feat: The Basement Big Band The Basement, Circular Quay. 6pm. $8.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

MONDAY JUNE 8

wed

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON (3:00PM - 6:00PM)

(3:00PM - 6:00PM)

sat

sun

06 June

07 June (8:30PM - 12:00AM)

(9:30PM - 1:15AM)

mon

LONG-WEEKEND

08 June

tue

09 (3:00PM - 6:00PM)

(8:30PM - 11:30AM)

June

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Acronym Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. Free. Jazzgroove Presents - feat: Jeremy Rose & Mike Nock Duo + Matt Keegan Band Foundry616, Ultimo. 7pm. $16.50.

I M A G I N E B E I N G M A D E TO

FE EL L IKE CRAP JU ST FOR

BEING

LEFT

H A N D E D.

Okay, that’s hard to imagine? But being gay, lesbian, bi, trans or intersex is no different to being born left handed, it’s just who you are. So stop and think because the things we say are likely to cause depression and anxiety. And that really is pretty crap. GO TO LEFTHAND.ORG.AU TO WATCH THE VIDEO

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STOP t THINK t RESPECT

BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 27

g g picks gig p

up all night out all week... Xxx

WEDNESDAY JUNE 3 Defeater + Bane Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 6pm. $43.

THURSDAY JUNE 4 Miguel Zenón Quartet The Basement, Circular Quay. 8:30pm. $45. The Fumes Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

FRIDAY JUNE 5 Artefact Leichhardt Town Hall, Leichhardt.

Frenzal Rhomb

7pm. $29.

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Deez Nuts + Antagonist A.D + Relentless + Earth Caller Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $28.60.

City Recital Hall, Sydney. 8pm. $109. Hockey Dad Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $11.95.

Frenzal Rhomb Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $30.

SUNDAY JUNE 7

Jane Tyrrell The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $15.

Birds Of Tokyo + Ecca Vandal Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $49.90.

Jebediah + Front End Loader Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $44.05.

Come Together - Feat: Ball Park Music + The Jungle Giants + Safia + Elizabeth Rose + Montaigne + Ecca Vandal Big Top Sydney, Milsons Point. 5pm. $60.

Near East Quartet The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $30. Spod Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15.

Ben Lee

Ramshackle Army + Black Aces + The Dirty Earth + Colytons

Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free. The Rumjacks + The Snowdroppers + The Stiffys Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale. 9pm. $25.

SATURDAY JUNE 6 Art Of Sleeping Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $20.70. Bad Manners + The Allniters Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $60. Ben Lee Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $40. Cherry Dolls Standard Bowl, Surry Hills. 8:30pm. Free. Dee Dee Bridgewater + Irvin Mayfield + The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

Birds Of Tokyo Xxx

28 :: BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15

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BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

brag beats

off the record:

nice7

remi

plus: + club news + club snaps + club guide + review

fighting back

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BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 29

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Meggan Turner, Chris Martin and Sarah Basford

five things WITH

Kilter

ZAC HENDRIX

LOCAL LIVE AT FBI

Growing Up I’m an only child. 1. My father was the best accordion player in the state when he was young. I grew up watching my step dad play trumpet and I played for a few years. He didn’t pursue it professionally, but could have. Discovering his records sparked my interest in digging in the early ’90s. Inspirations Gil Scott-Heron 2. and Brian Jackson. Their combination of music and message is most effective on me. I found Bridges and Refl ections at the Midway Swap Meet when I was

young and I was really moved. I was the opening act at one of Gil’s shows in the late ’90s and I worked with Brian Jackson when I filled in as DJ for Digable Planets years back, so my bucket list is that much shorter now.

Your Crew My crew since ’96 is Insult2Injury. Leland Jones is the other member. I’ve DJed for Del The Funky Homosapien since 2002.

The Music You Make And Play 4. My background is late ’80s/ early ’90s hip hop, which led me to play funk, soul, jazz,

rock, reggae, disco, and whatever else I could find that I liked. I dig the sparse, funky parts and I leave out a lot of the rest. I do a lot of mixing and scratching (well). I improvise nearly everything. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. I’ve never had a day job, but I’m a record dealer. I’ll be playing alongside Shan Franzie and Benny Hinn at Play Bar this Friday. What: Shan Frenzie, Benny Hinn Where: Play Bar When: Friday June 5

Jason Lema

The current series of Local Live at FBi is coming to its close, and throwing one hell of a party to celebrate. The party will be headlined by percussive whiz kid Kilter and modular synth master Roland Tings. Kilter’s tropically infused beats and Roland Tings’ contemporary club music will create the perfect vibe for the end of a great series. Local Live at FBi has shed light on some fantastic Australian artists and allowed listeners to get to know them a little more intimately. Kilter will also be working with Jack Daniels’ Future Legends at the etcetc x Vivid Music show this weekend, joined by Paces, KLP, Nicole Millar, Set Mo and more. The closing party for Local Live at FBi will take place on Wednesday June 3 at FBi Live, and the etcetc x Vivid Music show will be at The Basement on Sunday June 7.

RBMA SPLENDOUR LINEUP

For the third consecutive year the Red Bull Music Academy stage will again feature at Splendour In The Grass, and the organisers have dropped their lineup of groundbreaking international talent. Friday night will see the likes of Los Angeles-based hip hop DJ and producer Nosaj Thing, supported by Future Classic’s Charles Murdoch, Catlips, upcoming Sydney singer/songwriter/producer Deutsch Duke and RBMA alumni Mark Maxwell, with the day being closed out by Adelaide house producer Motez. Saturday night will be headlined by New Orleans hip hop artist Jay Electronica, joined by Baro, Lucianblomkamp, Kirkis, Sampology and Frank Booker. Sunday night will feature a lineup including JMSM and Melbourne’s Total Giovanni, and the festival-closing DJ set by Shlohmo. Splendour In The Grass takes over North Byron Parklands from Friday July 24 – Sunday July 26.

GET SOME CASH MONEY

’80s DJ superstar and DJ Hall of Famer (the first to be inducted, in fact) DJ Cash Money will be performing at the Soda Factory over the June long weekend. The legendary US selector will be celebrating the long weekend with a special ’80s set of jams. It’s certain to be just another manic Sunday at the Soda, especially since you don’t have to go to work on Monday. After winning the DMC World Championships in 1988, DJ Cash Money has produced and remixed tracks for the likes of Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Mantronix, P.M. Dawn and Public Enemy. The party is set down for Sunday June 7.

Black Sun Empire

ELECTRO CIRCUS TO LAUNCH IN 2015

Electro Circus, a brand new indoor dance festival, will debut this September in Western Sydney. The news is the first hint of a turnaround in fortune for dance music festivals, with the highest-profile announcement that Future Music Festival will not return next year striking a blow to Sydney dance fans. The organisers of Electro Circus have promised a lineup of more than 25 international and local acts across three stages, with a big-budget audiovisual show including dancers and acrobats. For more details about the festival as they emerge, including the lineup, keep an eye on thebrag. com. Electro Circus will debut at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday September 5.

PICNIC JUNE LINEUP

JASON LEMA’S WINTER BALL

One of Las Vegas’ hottest DJs will be warming up Marquee at the Belvedere Winter Ball this month. Jason Lema is returning for Marquee’s third annual winter ball and is set to blow away the dancefloor with his killer beats. The venue will be transformed into a winter wonderland for the night with sets from Johnny Gleeson, I Am Sam and a range of other beatslayers. Dust off your fluffy earmuffs and woollen leg warmers on Saturday June 27.

Hailing all the way from Utrecht in the Netherlands, the party-loving talents behind Black Sun Empire are getting ready to ut-wreck your minds (sorry) at their debut Blackout label nights Down Under. The Blackout brand has been cavorting its way across Europe for more than a decade, and the Australian tour sees Black Sun Empire joined by State Of Mind, Neonlight and Trei. It’ll be a night of tech-fuelled DnB at Max Watt’s (formerly The Hi-Fi) on Saturday June 6. xxx

30 :: BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15

Picnic has grouped together some of Australia’s biggest homegrown successes to play a show together in Sydney this month. Headliners Cut Copy DJs will be joined by Melburnians Sleep D, with their heavy grooves and tasteful blends to get you dancing, and Babicka, a founder of Adelaide’s Untzz label, delivering a deep and soulful, dancefloor-focused set. Lastly, one half of Jagwar Ma, Juno Mars’ energetic electronic production will make you feel warm inside. It all goes down at The Spice Cellar on Saturday June 13.

IT’S A BLACKOUT

thebrag.com

Remi Come Together Right Now By Natalie Rogers

“I

’m fucking great!” announces a very cheery Remi Kolawole, better known as Remi, when he phones in for a chat. To hear him sounding so chipper on an early morning call from London is a pleasant surprise, considering not even 24 hours ago, Remi and his long-time collaborator/producer Sensible J (Justin Smith) were proudly flying the flag at the city’s annual Aussie BBQ. “I’m loving it over here with my mate J,” Remi says. “Unfortunately Dutch [the third member of Remi’s crew] is at home.” “We spent the night hanging with some very rowdy people,” Smith chimes in. Other acts on the bill included Tkay Maidza, Bad//Dreems, Safia and Melbourne funk/soul outfit Saskwatch. “They’ve been named the Mötley Crüe of Australia,” jokes Smith. “They were a very rowdy bunch but it’s been so good to catch up with everyone because we do tend to see a lot of these acts around the traps.” “DMA’s have been over here as well,” Remi adds. “They’re killing it!” In conversation, Remi and Sensible J are everything you’d expect – fun, friendly, and sharing a brotherly rapport. They feed off each other constantly. “These shows have been incredible,” Remi says. “We’ve played a lot of showcases that will hopefully open up new possibilities for us.” “Can I tell the death metal story?” Smith asks Remi.

awesome live music venue, but it’s used predominately for death metal bands. So when we rocked up there we were incredibly nervous. We had visions of being lynched by this death metal crowd.” Smith and Remi both laugh. “But when we got there everyone was so cool. We were the supporting act for Dälek. He’s amazing – he does industrial, almost Nine Inch Nails-sounding hip hop. Obviously it was very different from home, you know? Normally if we supported a death metal hip hop act we would probably get killed! So it was very refreshing.” Remi and Smith agree that life on the road can be enlightening and very inspirational. “I’m always working on new music,” says Smith, “but it’s tricky on tour because I don’t have many of my little machines to actually make beats. So I’ll just beatbox something or sing a melody into my phone.” “Yeah, I’m always writing ideas down,” agrees Remi. “It’s kind of the same for me as it is for J, though. My USB mic looks too much like a bomb to take it overseas, so I just rap into my phone. I try to take in as much as possible and make little notes on my iPhone.” “Didn’t Eminem write lyrics on napkins?” Smith offers. “I think he did,” Remi answers. “He’d write lyrics everywhere – but he was a bit all over the shop.”

“Sure man, go for it,” he replies.

“The shop where they’d sell the napkins?” Smith counters, to laughs all round.

Smith launches into an anecdote about a show they played in Vienna before heading to the UK. “We played at a venue that used to be a slaughterhouse back in the day. They’d tricked it out and now it’s an

It’s resoundingly clear that Remi and Smith don’t take themselves too seriously, but with a slew of awards (including triple j’s coveted Unearthed title, and more recently a $30,000 prize as the recipients of the Coopers

AMP) – hell, they must be doing something right. “Remi does get asked for advice a lot,” Smith says. “I always say, ‘Write pop shit and you’ll make heaps of money!’” begins Remi. “Nah, to be honest the most important thing is to make sure you’re having fun. I know that sounds like some wanker shit but it’s the absolute truth. You’ve just got to reality check yourself as to why you’re actually doing what you’re doing, and the answer should be ‘fun’! “The second thing is to always listen to and compare yourself with your favourite acts,” Remi continues. “That’s what we do – no-one is going to teach you how to do this job and it’s best to listen and learn as much as you can.” “Read books and listen to old records,” Smith adds, before admitting: “Oh, I actually don’t really know how to give advice. I just try to impress Remi with

my beats and he tries to impress me with his raps.” “Also, don’t try to be too competitive with other people because that’s fucking stupid!” Remi insists. When it comes to those artists who inspire them, both Remi and Smith are happy to name some names. “I like people like Jai Paul,” Remi answers first, “because he can just put a song online and make a million dollars. He doesn’t have to do any press – I actually don’t know how he does it. He just came out of nowhere – that’s pretty incredible. Other than that I’m not really envious of anybody else’s career…” “Except for Radiohead,” Smith adds. “It’s pretty rare for a band to go more alternative and keep getting bigger. Hopefully one day we can do that – release something totally wild and keep growing.”

Off The Record

There’s a Radiohead connection on Remi’s latest mixtape, Call It What You Want. Vocals from the band’s frontman Thom Yorke are used on the track ‘Weirdos (From Planet HOB)’. Remi says the mixtape is a taste of what’s to come as he plans the followup to 2014’s Raw X Infinity. “I will be releasing plenty of music before I drop a full album, but I wanna take my time with it and make sure the next record is the shit!” What: Come Together 2015 With: Seth Sentry, Thundamentals, Ball Park Music, The Jungle Giants, Horrorshow, Safia and more Where: Luna Park When: Saturday June 6 – Sunday June 7 And: Call It What You Want out now through UNFD

RECOMMENDED Andras Fox

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray Pepperpot

Pepperpot photo by Ivanna Oksenyuk

eads up: Moomin is going to be back in town this weekend. Last in Australia back in 2013, the German producer has been at the forefront of deep house ever since the release of his debut record The Story About You back in 2011 on Smallville Records. A regular at clubs of the ilk of Panorama Bar, Robert Johnson, Watergate and Club der Visionäre, recently he’s been busy running his own label, Closer, which is now five releases deep. Catch him at a Ghostly day party on Saturday June 6, venue TBA. Another two high-quality parties taking place this weekend: Nicola Daniele and Cesare Marocco AKA NiCe7 are coming to town for a double dose of tech house. The Italian duo first formed back in 2005, but it was after their 2011 record Point was named the Best Tech House Record at the Beatport Music Awards that their profile began to skyrocket. Over the course of their career they’ve released on Noir Music, Gruuv, Suara and Great Stuff, received acclaim from Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler, Luciano, Richie Hawtin, Marco Carola and Carl Cox, and since 2013 they’ve been running their own label D-Floor. Catch them at Daniel San (evening show) or at Barrio Cellar (night show) on Sunday June 7.

If you’re looking for somewhere to keep the party raging this long weekend, the legends over as S.A.S.H are cooking up a breakfast session that’ll have you kicking on way past sunrise. Set to be headlined by Pepperpot, Telefunken and Nick McMartin, alongside S.A.S.H residents Jake Hough, Matt Weir and Kerry Wallace, the party kicks off at 5am this Monday June 8 and will rage on until 12pm at Home Nightclub. Make sure you have some Weet-Bix beforehand. In sadder news, Max Magrini AKA Max_M has passed away after a battle with cancer following three weeks of treatment. The news was confirmed over the weekend in a Facebook post by Magrini’s best friend, Freddy K. Magrini was the founder and manager of seminal imprints M_REC LTD and M_REC, which have released music from the likes of Shifted, Ascion, Jeroen Search, Bas Mooy and Samuli Kemppi, and was widely regarded as NiCe7

a prominent techno DJ and producer, with his Dissertation EP from March receiving global critical acclaim. Rest in peace. Tour rumours: You can 100 per cent expect a return visit from Detroit’s Jay Daniel at the end of the month. Oh, and Nancy Whang (of The Juan MacLean and LCD Soundsystem) is performing a headline show in Sydney in July. Best releases this week: The new Paxton Fettel record Everything Stays The Same (on Greta Cottage Workshop) is incredibly lush, while other records I can’t stop spinning this week include J. Albert’s Emergency Cosmetics (Hesperian Sound Division), 45ACP’s Change Of Tone (L.I.E.S.), Image Strategy’s Seeds Of Paradise (Idle Hands), Varg’s Ursviken (Northern Electronics) and Seaside Houz Boyz’s Surfing On Ice Cream (Hot Haus Recs).

SATURDAY JUNE 6 Andras Fox The Spice Cellar

Kolsch Chinese Laundry

FRIDAY JUNE 26

Moomin TBA

Kobosil Bridge Hotel

Frank Booker Marrickville Bowling Club

SATURDAY JUNE 27 Stephan Bodzin Chinese Laundry

SUNDAY JUNE 7

Recloose The Spice Cellar

Toddla T Spectrum

SATURDAY JULY 11

NiCe7 Daniel San (evening) / Barrio Cellar (night)

Iron Curtis The Spice Cellar

SATURDAY JULY 25

Tin Man TBA TOKiMONSTA Oxford Art Factory

Tiefschwarz The Spice Cellar

SATURDAY SATURDAY AUGUST 22 JUNE 13 Borrowed Identity Cut Copy DJs The Spice Cellar

Bridge Hotel

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos? Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon. thebrag.com

BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 31

club guide g

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Thundamentals

SATURDAY JUNE 6

Big Top Sydney

Come Together Seth Sentry + Thundamentals + Horrorshow + Remi + more 5pm. $65. WEDNESDAY JUNE 3 CLUB NIGHTS

The Roots & Riddim Club feat: The Errol Renaud Trio + DJ Dizar Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free. The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $5.

THURSDAY JUNE 4 CLUB NIGHTS

Yard Illuminations - feat: Lordz Of The Fly + Mogz & Kye + Basslines + 101 Doll Squadron + Kween G & Josie Styles Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Pool Club Thursdays - feat: Resident DJs Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 5pm. Free. The World Bar Thursdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

FRIDAY JUNE 5 HIP HOP & R&B

Friday Lite - feat: Cache One + Baby Face Thrilla + Victoria Kim Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10pm. Free. Hustler Fridays - feat: MC Shaba Hustle & Flow, Redfern. 7pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Aaron Manhattan + Amanda Louise + Guests The Spice Cellar, Erskineville. 32 :: BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15

7pm. Free. Argyle Fridays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free. Bassic - feat: Boombox Cartel + Deckhead + Gradz + Gomu + Beatslingerz + Tyson Bruun + Jimmi Walker + Persian Rug + Tech No More Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $17.50. Blvd Fridays - feat: Rob Pix Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $18.60. DJ Benny B 5 Sawyers, Newcastle. 9pm. Free. DJ Miss Menace The Sydney Junction Hotel, Hamilton. 11pm. Free. 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. Kucka The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10. Loco Friday - feat: Various Live Bands And DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. Free. Tim Boffa Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 9pm. Free. Zac Hendrix + Shan Frenzie + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 4pm. Free.

SATURDAY JUNE 6 HIP HOP & R&B

Come Together - feat: Seth Sentry + Thundamentals + Remi + Horrorshow + Coin Banks + Ivan Ooze

Big Top Sydney (Luna Park), Milsons Point. 5pm. $65. R.A. The Rugged Man Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $39.80.

Simon Caldwell Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 10pm. $38.90. Mantra Collective Presents Mcw007 - feat: Antoine Vice + Space Junk + Whitecat + Aboutjack + Rascal + Jake Small Secret Location, Sydney. 4pm. $38.50. My Place Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 8pm. Free. Pacha - feat: Firebeatz + Glover + A-Tonez + Acaddamy + Jesabel + Matt Nugent + Danny Lang + Bronx + Samrai + Just 1 + Here’s Trouble + Dylan Sanders + Jonathon Terrific + Lavida + DJ C-Bu + Nad + King Lee Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38. Resident DJ The Kent Bar & Grill, Hamilton. 9:30pm. Free. Sienna Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Establishment, Sydney. 9pm. Free. Skyboxes + Doctor Abernathy +Hurstville Record Crate, Glebe. 9pm. $5. The Rooftop + Persian Rug + Tech No More + Tyson Bruun + Jaffa + Costan Toumazos + Nick Johnson Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 4pm. Free. Yolk - feat: Adam Strömstedt + Amp Rose + Benj + Benny G + Hamish Radford + Subaske + T. Hanks + Tim Gollan Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale. 1pm. Free.

SUNDAY JUNE 7 HIP HOP & R&B

It’s A Winter Block Party

- feat: DJ Cash Money + Brenny B Side + Mo Funk + Tim Boffa Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 3pm. $22.90. Reign Sundays - feat: Def Rok + DJ Delicious + Sefu + Fingers + Here’s Trouble + Regz + DJ Ziggy + Mike Champion Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.60.

CLUB NIGHTS

Allison Wonderland + Motez + Slumberjack + Awe Secret Location, Sydney. 7pm. $45. Bear Ops #4 - feat: Tokimonsta + Joy. + Zuri Akoko + Gg Magree Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $44.20. DJ Benny B 5 Sawyers, Newcastle. 9pm. Free. Etcetc - feat: Kilter + Paces + Set Mo + Klp + Porches + Nicole Millar + Deutsch Duke + Tim Lockwood + Madeline Vida The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $29.20. Ever After - feat: Crookers + Pegboard Nerds + Yahtzel + Jackal + Tomsize + More Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 1pm. $68.70. Finer Tings - feat: Ben Fester + Preacha + Max Gosford + Champain Lyf Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free. Havana Brown Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.60. Heaps Gay - Feat: Kim + Black Vanilla + Tees + Catlips + Divine Knights + The Magda Szubanskis + Sveta + Levins + Estee Louder + Hiphophoe + Victoria Kim + Del Lumanta + The Smuts + Cunningpants + Astrix Little + Tessellate + Glamma

Chav + Heaps Gay DJs + Homosocial DJs Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 3pm. $35. La Fiesta - feat: Samantha Fox + Agee Ortiz + Av El Cubano + Resident DJ Willie Sabor The Establishment, Sydney. 8pm. Free. Lancelot Civic Underground, Sydney. 7:25pm. Free. Picnic Presents Fun - feat: Tin Man + Phile + Kali Secret Location, Sydney. 3:25pm. $33. S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 2pm. $10. Sapporo Snow In - feat: Nice7 + Fear Of Dawn + Robbie Lowe + Garth Linton + Persian Rug + Tyson Bruun + Mike O’Conner + Fabz + Walker Bros Daniel San, Manly. 7pm. Free. Sundays In The City - feat: Various DJs The Slip Inn, Sydney. 12pm. Free. Toddla T Spectrum, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free.

MONDAY JUNE 8 CLUB NIGHTS

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

TUESDAY JUNE 9 CLUB NIGHTS

Chu The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Aden Mullens + Sam Wall Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 6pm. Free. Allison Wonderland + Motez + Slumberjack + Awe Secret Location, Sydney. 7pm. $45. Andras Fox + Harvey Mckay + Ben Fester + Andy Webb + Adi Toohey + Adam Proctor + Al Hearnshaw The Spice Cellar, Erskineville. 9pm. $30. Black Sun Empire + State Of Mind + Neonlight + Trei + Vltrn + Dauntless + Ncrypt + MC Ten6 Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 8pm. $39.70. Boombap Sessions Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free. Cakes - feat: 4 Rooms Of Live Music + DJs And International Guests The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10. DJ Sean Andrews 5 Sawyers, Newcastle. 9pm. Free. El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. Free. Infamous Saturdays - feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney. 7pm. Free. Katt Niall Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $28.60. Lndry - feat: Anna Lunoe + Sharam Jey + Set Mo + Acaddamy + Skin & Bones + Offtapia + Crux Propaganda + DJ Just 1 + King Lee + DJ Eko Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.60. Mad Racket Presents Frank Booker - feat: Zootie + Jimmi James + Ken Cloud +

up all night out all week...

THURSDAY JUNE 4

Hearnshaw The Spice Cellar, Erskineville. 9pm. $30.

Yard Illuminations Feat: Lordz Of The Fly + Mogz & Kye + Basslines + 101 Doll Squadron + Kween G & Josie Styles Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Black Sun Empire + State Of Mind + Neonlight + Trei + Vltrn + Dauntless + Ncrypt + MC Ten6 Max Watt’s, Moore Park. 8pm. $39.70.

FRIDAY JUNE 5 Bassic - Feat: Boombox Cartel + Deckhead + Gradz + Gomu + Beatslingerz + Tyson Bruun + Jimmi Walker + Persian Rug + Tech No More Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $17.50. Kucka The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10. Zac Hendrix + Shan Frenzie + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 4pm. Free.

Mad Racket Presents Frank Booker - Feat: Zootie + Jimmi James + Ken Cloud + Simon Caldwell Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 10pm. $38.90. R.A. The Rugged Man Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $39.80.

SUNDAY JUNE 7 Bear Ops #4 - Feat: Tokimonsta + Joy. + Zuri Akoko + Gg Magree Oxford Art Factory,

Darlinghurst. 9pm. $44.20. Ever After - Feat: Crookers + Pegboard Nerds + Yahtzel + Jackal + Tomsize + More Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 1pm. $68.70. Finer Tings - Feat: Ben Fester + Preacha + Max Gosford + Champain Lyf Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free. Heaps Gay - Feat: Kim + Black Vanilla + Tees + Catlips + Divine Knights + The Magda Szubanskis + Sveta + Levins + Estee Louder + Hiphophoe + Victoria Kim + Del Lumanta + The Smuts + Cunningpants + Astrix Little + Tessellate + Glamma Chav + Heaps Gay DJs + Homosocial DJs Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 3pm. $35. S.A.S.H Sundays Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 2pm. $10.

SATURDAY JUNE 6 Andras Fox + Harvey Mckay + Ben Fester + Andy Webb + Adi Toohey + Adam Proctor + Al

Frank Booker

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

FCX – 10 YEARS OF FUTURE CLASSIC Sydney Opera House Friday May 29 Flume’s remix of Hermitude rang out below the majestic sails of the Sydney Opera House, a cool wind rolled in off the harbour beyond, the lights of ferries getting into the Vivid spirit illuminated the waves, and I thought to myself, “This is truly the best city in the world.” At ten years old, most kids are precocious, slightly irritating and very loud. Celebrating a decade of producing class acts for the Australian music scene, Future Classic was definitely the latter, but otherwise professional and impressive. With a backdrop like that gifted to it by the Opera House, the Sydney-based record label might have had a running start, but that didn’t stop it from putting together one of the best nights of electronic music in recent memory. Fresh off the back of dropping his first new material in a while, Flume returned to the venue showcased in the ‘Some Minds’ video for what was nothing short of a glorious homecoming. Always a big-ticket item in Australia, Flume has cracked the big leagues in the States and beyond in the meantime. Overseas jaunts and time on the festival circuit have transformed him into a veritable international superstar with a show to

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match. Superb sound (especially given the outdoor environs) breathed new life into classics like ‘On Top’ and ‘Holdin On’, while an extraordinarily receptive audience reacted appropriately to the appearance of Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt, singing on the new, excellent single, and Collarbones’ pipes lent to a fresh remix. As much as Flume has now achieved living legend status among the Future Classic stable, his roster-mates are nothing to sneeze at, either. The Sydney theme extended to impressive performances from Hayden James, Seekae and Flight Facilities. Without the hooks that punctuate Flume’s or Flight Facilities’ work to capture the imagination, Seekae played a solid set, more free-flowing when the vocals were forfeited for instrumental experimentation. Bringing out Owl Eyes and The Presets’ Julian Hamilton on keys for a particularly rousing ‘Heart Attack’, Flight Facilities proved how well they’ve learned to translate a generally mellow debut into an eminently danceable live show. The Opera House rarely plays host to concerts this loud or sees punters like this, but FCX was a masterclass in mini-festival management as we bounced in unison to Flume in the shadow of the Harbour Bridge. Hyperparadise indeed. David Seidler

D PHOTOGRAPHER :: DANIEL BOU

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BRAG :: 615 :: 03:06:15 :: 33

snap

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just a gent

PICS :: JA

up all night out all week . . .

red bull music academy presents: onra

PICS :: JB

27:05:15 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247

s.a.s.h sundays

PICS :: AM

23:05:15 :: Sydney Opera House :: Bennelong Point 9250 7111

31:05:15 :: Home :: 101/1-5 Wheat Rd Darling Harbour 9266 0600 BOUD :: KATRINA S: :: JAMES AMBROSE :: DANIEL OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER ETT [LIFE WITHOUT ANDY] BARR JACK :: N UPTO CE DEN MAR :: PRU

34 :: BRAG :: 614 :: 27:05:15

CLARKE :: ASHLEY

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