Brag#626

ISSUE NO. 626 AUGUST 19, 2015

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

INSIDE This Week

GHO S T

THE

A Nameless Ghoul takes us behind the ghostly curtain.

CALM BEFORE THE DAWN

T HE BOHIC A S

A buzz follows these busy bees wherever they go.

DE AT H A ND T HE M A IDEN Familiar faces make a triumphant theatre return.

A L I T HI A

Spinal Tap meets David Lynch in their new short fi lm.

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lorne

marion bay

byron

VICTORIA

TASMAN IA

NEW SOUTH WALES

dec 28 2015

dec 29 2015

dec 31 2015

Until

Until

Until

jan 01 2016

jan 03 2016

jan 01 2016

IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

ALPINE THE AVENER BIRDS OF TOKYO BLOC PARTY BØRNS COURTNEY BARNETT DISCLOSURE DJANGO DJANGO FOALS GANG OF YOUTHS GARY CLARK JR. HALSEY HIATUS KAIYOTE HILLTOP HOODS KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS LITTLE MAY THE MACCABEES MAC DEMARCO THE MERRI SOUL SESSIONS FEATURING CLAIRY BROWNE • DAN SULTAN • KIRA PURU • VIKA & LINDA BULL MEG MAC OH WONDER PAUL KELLY PRESENTS RÜFÜS SETH SENTRY TORO Y MOI YOUNG FATHERS BOOGIE NIGHTS ART VS SCIENCE EL VEZ FLEETMAC WOOD ‘WEIRD AL’ YANKOVIC PLUS PLENTY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED

fallsfestival.com general ticket sales starting 9am wednesday august 26 BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 3

rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Sam Caldwell, James Di Fabrizio and Lauren Gill

five things WITH

AIDAN MOORE FROM MOSES GUNN COLLECTIVE hard when I started liking girls and feeling feelings. Life was pretty good, growing up in a privileged country like Oz. Inspirations I really dig all the old2. timey stuff. Something about

Growing Up My pa was a musician 1. and was always off with

for them and got obsessed.

Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Lou Reed were on constant repeat and definitely hit me

Band Moses Gunn Collective 3. Your

The Music You Make Psychotropic-psych4. soul, tropicana, rock’n’roll – we blend them all, but at the core is a real weird Australiana sound that creeps in somehow. I think we’re just starting to really lock in now. We’ve also worked with producers Magoo and Konstantin Kersting heaps over the years, and they’ve helped us find our sound.

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: James Di Fabrizio, Lauren Gill, Bridget Lutherborrow, Vanessa Papastavros, Jade Smith

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, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Kate Robertson, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Lucy Watson, 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.

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THE BRAG

4 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

What: Mercy Mountain out now through Create/ Control Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Saturday August 22

BULLET FOR MY SOUNDWAVE

ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com Krystal Le - 0421 662 486 / (02) 9212 4322 krystal@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: Vanessa Papastavros, Elias Kwiet, Jade Smith, Bridget Lutherborrow

quiet in Brisbane but it’s also a damn good incubator – you can get good and develop your style without an overload of influence from an overloaded local scene. Moses is part of a small group of Brisbane musicians that play in bands such as The Belligerents, The Jungle Giants, The Furrs, Family Jordan… it’s really quite a nice little family. Money is always hard to come by, but I guess we just gotta sell some more records!

Bullet For My Valentine

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

GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties)

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The music scene is a little

Alpine

WHAT’S ON, FOTSUN?

Everyone’s favourite excuse to go to Port Macquarie, Festival Of The Sun (FOTSUN), has breached the decade milestone, kicking off its 11th year with an excellent first round lineup announcement. New to this year’s incarnation of the summer festival is an interactive art showcase called ‘Wabi Sabi’ – a Japanese term that roughly means ‘nothing lasts forever’ – at a pre-festival event for a few lucky punters. Highlights of the announced lineup include Alpine, British India, Delta Riggs, Illy, Jebediah and Thundamentals, among many more.

FOTSUN goes down on Friday December 11 – Saturday December 12 at Port Macquarie’s Sundowner Breakwall Tourist Park. Check out the full lineup announcement at thebrag.com.

JOHN FARNHAM FINALE

The iconic John Farnham has announced he will be performing at the Qantas Credit Union Arena for the last time. Not his last time, of course – that was in 2003, and look where that got us – no, it’s part of the final few dates at the venue, which include two shows from Cold Chisel and a final appearance from Elton John.

Farnham, who has become one of Australia’s most successful artists over his half-century career, has been gracing the venue formerly known as the Sydney Entertainment Centre for over 30 years, with such hits as ‘You’re The Voice’ and ‘That’s Freedom’. Farnham will be joined by Daryl Braithwaite and Ross Wilson and The Peaceniks in the fourth-last show at the arena before it’s knocked down and

Dustin Tebbutt

replaced with a new one as part of the Darling Harbour redevelopment project. See the show on Wednesday December 16.

SLEEPING WITH MADNESS

In celebration of their fourth album Madness, post-hardcore outfit Sleeping With Sirens are making their way to our shores for a hotly anticipated return. Last here more than two years ago, the group has been holed up in the studio working with producer John Feldmann (Good Charlotte, The Used, Panic! At The Disco) on new music. Currently finishing up tours through the US and Europe, Sleeping With Sirens are gearing up to unleash themselves on Sydney. They’ll do so at UNSW Roundhouse on Sunday September 20.

DUSTIN TIME (AGAIN)

Fresh from taking on Splendour In The Grass, Dustin Tebbutt has powered on, dropping new single and minialbum Home earlier this month before announcing a national tour. And Home is a fitting title, with all seven tracks recorded and produced at Tebbutt’s home. Since his debut EP The Breach breached the Aussie music scene, the singer-songwriter has been honing his live performance on the road with the likes of Missy Higgins, Hozier and The Kite String Tangle. You can see him when he takes on the Factory Theatre on Friday September 25.

Lock and load – Soundwave Festival has revealed one of the leading acts on its 2016 lineup. The BRAG’s cover stars from last week, Bullet For My Valentine, will hit the festival when it storms around Australia early next year.

Their new album, Venom, dropped last week via Sony. BFMV’s appearance comes with the return of the festival to a one-day format, after trying out a twoday one earlier this year. Soundwave 2016 will hit Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday January 24.

FORSTER ON THE ROAD

Australian music legend and founding member of The Go-Betweens, Robert Forster, has announced a tour in support of his upcoming album, Songs To Play. In the seven years since his last release, Forster has produced albums for The John Steel Singers and Halfway, alongside working as a music critic and publishing a book. He’ll play Oxford Art Factory on Thursday November 26.

JAMES BAY SAYS HEY

Fans who missed out on tickets to James Bay’s sold-out one-off show in Sydney last week have been thrown a lifeline. The UK singer-songwriter clearly had such a good time here that he’s announced that his return to Australia for a national tour this summer. The man behind such hits as ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Hold Back The River’ will hit five capital cities this January and February, showcasing tracks from his debut album, Chaos And The Calm. He’ll play Hordern Pavilion on Saturday February 6.

PARADISE FOUND

Lost Paradise, the New Year’s festival taking place in Glenworth Valley on the Central Coast, is returning this year for a second bite – and the lineup is massive. After making its debut in 2014 with a program headed by The Preatures and Boy & Bear, Lost Paradise has come on leaps and bounds with a return schedule including live and DJ performances from a range of locals and internationals. The live lineup will be headlined by Angus & Julia Stone, joined by the likes of Jon Hopkins and The Jungle Giants plus breakout rap star Tkay Maidza and experimental trio Seekae. Other featured artists include George Maple, Saskwatch and Northeast Party House. Meanwhile, the DJ list boasts a couple of huge names in Jamie xx and Four Tet, joined by Motor City Drum Ensemble, Âme and many more. Lost Paradise will take over Glenworth Valley from Tuesday December 29 – Thursday December 31.

Check out the full lineup at thebrag.com. thebrag.com

xxx

various bands getting up to no

good. He was super chilled, though, and I wasn’t really into all his guitars until I was 16, 17. Then I went mental

the songwriting and lo-fi production just really gets me going. Again, Bob Dylan hit me hard back in the day – I remember that clear as a bell and I still find new songs of his that blow my mind. Also Jimi Hendrix and The Doors.

Pretty much anything from that era I’m a sucker for. I still really dig the new shit, though, and can get down to pretty much anything if it’s got the vibe (Todd Terje, Caribou, et cetera).

is me on vox and guitar, Alex on bass, Bella on keys, Staggy on drums and Lois on lead gat. We’re all friends that have been hangin’ around for ages and just thought it’d be sweet starting a band.

We’re all into different stuff but there’s also a lot of overlap.

This makes for our weird multi-genre style, which is probably for the best.

BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 5

live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Vanessa Papastavros and Jade Smith

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit xxx

he said she said WITH

THE CONSOULS spin on some of the classic tunes heard from Mario, Final Fantasy, et cetera.

How much of a reception have you had from gaming and jazz fans? Is there a natural crossover?

It’s interesting having audiences from two different worlds come together, and it’s hard to really pinpoint our core demographic because it’s just all over the place. Whether it’s a jazz cat or a gamer, it’s humbling that we’re able to offer something to such a wide audience.

W

hat’s the idea behind your ‘video game jazz’ live show?

Our shows are a combination of video game music (drawn in part

from our childhood nostalgia) rearranged in the style of jazz.

It’s our way of paying tribute to the composers behind the soundtracks, by putting a fresh

his most beloved artists under the aegis of The Roots Of Hugo Race. Race, a former Bad Seed and figurehead of The Wreckery, will play with his band The True Spirit to explore the musical heritage of the delta blues along with the psych rock of the ’60s and classic ’70s. Joining him on the night is Ed Clayton-Jones with his new project ChordBlood. Catch The Roots Of Hugo Race on Friday September 4 at The Vanguard.

If you could choose just one game soundtrack to last you the rest of your career, what would it be?

This is a hard question.

Everyone in the band has different preferences, but I think overall any of the Final Fantasies have so much material that we could reimagine just about any track from the series.

Where: Play Bar When: Wednesday August 19

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

Welsh heavy metallers Bullet For My Valentine are back with Venom, their new album that critics have had very nice things to say about. Released just last week, the record is as intricate and melody-driven as the band’s usual fare, but still manages to step up to the plate to deliver a truly heavy collection of songs full of mayhem and fire-spitting. Having been the first band announced for Soundwave 2016, Bullet For My Valentine are full of good news for fans, and we’ve got a little more. Ten lucky winners will score a copy of Venom on us.

Enter at thebrag.com/freeshit.

The Daphne Rawling Band photo by Colin Lucas

Caitlin Park

How did you get into playing this music in the first place?

We all have a long history playing together and our piano player started off with his own channel (youtube.com/zorsy) posting solo video game arrangements. It was only a matter of time before the rest of us got on board, since we all had ideas on how to expand it to a band lineup.

Is there much improvisation involved in the set?

Most of our songs have a lot of improvisation. We arrange barebone lead sheets that leave plenty of room for each musician to put their spin on things.

Sometimes one of the members will create a simple idea that we all adapt to and follow, which keeps things really organic and spontaneous.

Evol Walks

KING STREET CRAWL

THE SLEEPER AWAKES

Captivating Sydney voice and production talent Caitlin Park is set to play her final local headline date of 2015 this week. Park’s latest tour dates bring to a close the lifespan of her second album, last year’s The Sleeper, before she heads back into the studio to complete a third full-length release. With a new live set-up boasting accompanists Joe Gould and Leroy Lee, now is the time to jump on the Park bandwagon – and you can do just that at Newtown Social Club on Sunday August 23.

RARE FINDS RETURNS

The fifth instalment of one of Sydney’s favourite free indie club nights has locked in its lineup.

Rare Finds is back next week to churn out some sick licks, with an all-local bill headlined by reggae rock band Ocean Alley, and featuring electropop duo Ginger And Drum and local indie-pop darlings March Of The Real Fly. This month’s edition of Rare Finds will also be a party with a purpose, supporting Oxjam, the national music festival that raises money to help fight world poverty. $1 from every Mountain Goat beer product sold will go towards the cause. Rare Finds #5 will be held at its new home, Oxford Art Factory’s Gallery Bar, on Friday August 28.

FIRST IN THE RACE

Hugo Race is returning to the Sydney stage with a new show paying tribute to the artists who influenced him. After emerging from the ’80s post-punk scene in Melbourne, Aussie rocker Race has spent the last 30 years connecting with people all over the globe, from Buenos Aires to Timbuktu. The internationally acclaimed producer and performer will return for a celebration of 6 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

The venues involved in the upcoming King Street Crawl have begun to announce their lineups for the festival that aims to celebrate the creative and cultural hub of Newtown.

The first to drop was a rad lineup at the Marlborough Hotel. The much-loved Marly Bar will be playing host to Richard In Your Mind, Australia, Bachelor Pad, Hedge Fund and Jack T Wotton. Also keeping Newtown weird will be The Midnight Special, featuring Melodie Nelson, Roadhouses and Terza Madre. Town Hall Hotel will be offering up TommyD, Swords, Phantastic Ferniture, Luke Escombe, Brian Campeau, Maxine Kauter Band, Leura, Midnight Tea Party and Fat Yahoozah. And last but not least, The Union Hotel will be keeping with its commitment to awesome Sydney and surrounds music with Crow, The Maladies, The Daphne Rawling Band, Oh Willy Dear, Caitlin Harnett, Andy Golledge and Holy Soul DJs. All this and a whole lot more will happen along King Street on Sunday September 6.

PHIL GETS COMFY

Phil Jamieson will be playing a special oneoff show in solo acoustic format at Café Del Mar this September. As part of the venue’s new season of intimate live music sessions, Jamieson will be performing alongside special

Hands Like Houses

THE GOOD SIDE OF EVOL

In the wake of a much-appraised stint at Woodstock Festival in Poland, unsigned Aussies Evol Walks have announced a soon-to-be-released debut EP and east coast launch tour.

Yes, Woodstock. And not only that, Evol Walks were also the first unsigned Australian band to play the main stage – to a reported 200,000-strong crowd, no less. Now, after touring around the Netherlands, Germany and Scandanavia, the rock’n’roll five-piece will be heading back home to launch and tour their debut EP, The Other Side. Catch Evol Walks at Frankie’s Pizza on Thursday October 8.

guest Tim Wheatley. As the prolific frontman for Grinspoon, and an excellent entertainer in his own right, Jamieson’s energetic live performance will feature reworked Grinspoon classics and a cover or two thrown in for

good measure. Also featured may be some new stuff road-tested for an upcoming solo recording. So front up, grab some tapas and take in the music and the view on Wednesday September 2.

MAKING A MARK

Part skills development opportunity for young people and part gig, the annual Indent Tour has announced its 2015 headliner – Canberra rock outfit Hands Like Houses. The Indent Tour initiative is entirely funded and facilitated by Indent, a project by MusicNSW, with young people actively involved in the event planning process.

The tour is the only one of its kind in Australia, and apart from being an allages, completely alcohol-free event, it also aids its teams of young people in gaining practical and transferable skills in event management and the music industry. Hands Like Houses are an Australian hard rock outfit who attracted international attention following their 2012 album Ground Dweller. Joining them for a night of hands-on learning and good music will be pop-punk group Columbus, with local supports yet to be announced.

The Indent Tour arrives at Giant Dwarf on Sunday October 4.

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BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 7

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

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* Which (non-music) awards were such a mess that one winner was told to return his trophy because the wrong name was sent to the engraver?

During the night, the wrong winnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; videos were shown and incorrect names tweeted from the official account. * Why are some music retailers getting anxious about a supplier and late payments? Once bitten, twice shy? * Drake has become the first artist to pass one million sales on a 2015 album with If Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Reading This Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Too Late. * At a NOFX gig in Nova Scotia,

singer Fat Mike spotted a hipster in the front row sporting a tie-dye shirt and beard and offered him $100 to leave, saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You have no business being here.â&#x20AC;? * Tame Impala are the ninth most played act globally on Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beats 1 station. The Weeknd got 180 plays, followed

by Drake (163), Disclosure (144), Fetty Wap (139), Jamie xx (139), A$AP Rocky (114), Years & Years (109), Kendrick Lamar (109), Tame Impala (102) and Major Lazer (100). * Sydneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s New Empire are calling time after ten years and three albums, with Jeremy Fowler explaining, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time to move onto the next adventure in life.â&#x20AC;? The Final Tour will take place nationally this October.

AUSSIES SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC, REPORT PROVES

DIGITAL RADIO LISTENERS INCREASE

Australians have proven to be avid supporters of live music, according to the Live Music Officeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic & Cultural Value Of Live Music report. The live music sector contributes a total of $15.7 billion to the nation in economic, social and cultural terms. Ticket sales, estimated at $958.1 million, account for just 19.2% of total live music expenditure. Food and drink make up 29.3%, followed by travel at 17.6% and accommodation at 12.4%. The report suggests that by adding all this up, individuals directly spend $5 billion on live music. New South Wales was the largest music market, followed by Victoria, then Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the territories. See the report at livemusicoffice.com.au.

In the first comprehensive figures since digital radio launched here in 2009, GfKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DAB+ Digital Radio Report has revealed the DAB+ audience has reached a high of 3.2 million Australians across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. The 45 extra DAB+-only stations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; including targeted formats such as sport, talk and news, childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programming, country, chillout, dance music and shortterm pop-up stations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have attracted 1.36 million listeners each week in the five capitals. This is in addition to the more than 2.2 million who listen to their favourite AM/ FM stations via DAB+. Overall, 24.1 per cent of the population in the metropolitan capitals is now listening to local radio via DAB+ digital radio broadcasts. Sales of DAB+ devices have reached more than 1.9 million. 27 vehicle manufacturers in Australia are now including DAB+ digital radio and 276,822 vehicles with DAB+ have been sold.

RDIO STRIKES HARVEY NORMAN DEAL

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As a way to bring streaming into the mainstream, Rdio Australia has struck a promotion deal with Harvey Norman. Anyone who buys a compatible connected home audio system from any of Harvey Normanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 186 stores will receive three monthsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; complimentary access to Rdioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Unlimited offering. Customers can access Harvey Normanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rdio profile, which houses playlists and stations curated by the retailer.

NEARLY HALF OF UK CLUBS CLOSE IN A DECADE

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Nearly half of the nightclubs in the United Kingdom have closed since 2005, says a new report. The Association Of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) claims the number of clubs has dropped from 3,144 to 1,733 in that time. ALMR CEO Kate Nicholls has put the blame on planning and licensing rules, and noise complaints from new residents.

Other considerations include the price of going out for what is a generally younger demographic, dance music being considered â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;too mainstreamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and smartphone apps like Tinder saving people the effort of going out to meet new partners.

SAE TAKES OVER STUDIOS 301 LEASE

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SAE Creative Media Institute has taken over the lease of the world-famous Studios 301 in Byron Bay, with students accessing its recording, mixing and mastering facilities from next month. Among those who have cut tracks at Studios 301 are Bruce Springsteen, Powderfinger, Birds Of Tokyo, Florence + The Machine, Grinspoon, The Whitlams, Screaming Jets, Eric Bibb and The Mars Volta.

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* After the cancellation of Tyler, The Creatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spring tour, activist group Collective Shout has announced that it will target other acts who objectify women.

Campaigns manager Caitlin Roper told the Sydney Morning Herald that Tyler â&#x20AC;&#x153;was not the first artist we targeted and he will not be the lastâ&#x20AC;?. * Meg Macâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expanded Never Be tour of Australia has sold out, with a final fourth show at Melbourneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Corner Hotel swiftly filled. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Never Beâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; single is being played on triple j and has entered the ARIA Top 40. In the US, where sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been for most of 2015 including for a recent tour with Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Angelo and The Vanguard, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Roll Up Your Sleevesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; cracked the Billboard Adult

A new app called Wake Up Rosie uses music and art to help young people, especially females, cope with mental illness. It regularly sets off an alarm that sends users music or art designs to give them feelings of courage and resilience.

One in four Australian teenage girls aged 16 to 17 years old have engaged in some form of self-harm in their life, and 128,000 Australians aged 12 to 17 have contemplated suicide. Wake Up Rosieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s creators are encouraging musicians and other creatives to share their work â&#x20AC;&#x201C; contact hello@ rosierespect.org.au. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, or you simply want to talk to someone, there is plenty of help available. Visit beyondblue. org.au or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

TROPSCORE APPLICATIONS OPEN Songwriters and composers are being urged to create a winning musical score or sync for a specially selected film entered in the latest edition of Tropfest, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest short film festival. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film is Michael Noonanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Remote â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a finalist from last year. With support from APRA AMCOS, the winner gets $5,000 cash and the chance to play their score live onstage (at Centennial Park on Sunday December 6). Applications close Thursday October 8, with finalists announced on Thursday November 12. Of more than 400 entries last year, 12 finalists were selected.

NEW SIGNINGS #1: KOBALT SIGNS SHEPPARD WORLDWIDE Global indie music publisher Kobalt Music has signed Sheppard to a worldwide deal, excluding Australia and New Zealand. It will manage all published works for the band including past, present and future titles.

Sheppard have gone gold, platinum or multiplatinum in 21 countries, and are currently wrapping up a three-month world tour at the Summer Sonic Festival in Japan.

NEW SIGNINGS #2: ONE LOVE FOR TORREN FOOT Melbourne G-house producer Torren Foot is now with the Onelove label. New single â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;1, 2 Stepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a club version of the Ciara feat.

Missy Elliott hit, and has been created for the upcoming Onelove Digital Love (Mixed

By Torren Foot) compilation. Foot is about to tour after recently signing to the Select Music agency for live bookings.

NEW SIGNINGS #3: PLINI HOPS ON NEW WORLD 23-year-old Sydney guitar virtuoso and composer Plini has signed with bookers New World Artists. Having already played the UK (and made a fan of Joe Satrianiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drummer Marco Minnemann), Plini is currently on a headlining tour, with his Sydney and Melbourne dates sold out, before heading to Japan.

EDM EMPIRE SFX LOOKS AT SELLING OUT The global dance music empire SFX â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whose 50 festivals include Stereosonic, Tomorrowland and Electric Zoo, as well as having a hand in the Beatport streaming

Alternative Top 30. * Delta Goodremâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stint as a judge on The Voice has helped her get a number one single with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; after an eight-year break.

It is her ninth chart-topping single. She previewed it rather dynamically on the show before 1.4 million viewers. * Former good buddies Skrillex and Deadmau5 have been trading insults on social media. * Leonardo DiCaprio has won a lawsuit against a French magazine that claimed Rihanna was having his baby. * Organisers of the Bangalow BBQ and Bluegrass Festival say 68 per cent of attendees came from outside the Northern Rivers region, including some from Perth and Adelaide.

services and pro DJ store â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is looking at the possibility of selling some or all of its assets. The company has been suffering from cash flow problems and the loss of key executives, and last week failed to make the company private due to financing problems and pessimistic investors.

Lifelines Expecting: Lady Antebellumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Charles Kelley and wife Cassie, due in February.

Born: daughter Della Rose to Billy Joel and wife Alexis.

Dating: Ariana Grande and her back-up dancer Ricky Alvarez have confirmed theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re together.

They were nabbed licking donuts at a store without buying them.

Divorcing: US country singer Jake Owen and Lacey Buchanan after three years.

Divorcing: Daryl Hall and Amanda Aspinall after six years.

The daughter of British zoo and gambling mogul John Aspinall, Amanda did the filing.

Ill: Meghan Trainor has cancelled more shows after she haemorrhaged her vocal chord for a second time.

Ill: Nickelback have axed their world tour, which was set to start on Wednesday September 30, as singer Chad Kroeger has failed to recover from surgery he had on his voice box in June.

Jailed: one of John Mellencampâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sons, Speck, for four days for his part in kicking a 19-year-old that he and brother Hud thought had hit Speck. But the judge said he could serve the sentence in 12-hour stints because the 20-year-old suffers from a panic disorder.

Arrested: two men for allegedly shooting and killing Brazilian radio DJ Gleydson Carvalho, a critic of the government, during a live broadcast.

In Court: Lisanne Beck and Simon Murphy of Swansea were convicted in a London court for indulging in oral sex at a Paloma Faith concert. Beck claimed she was merely trying to wake up Murphy, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d dozed off.

Died: influential New York rapper Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah, 43, in his sleep. Run The Jewels, DJ Premier and De La Soul were among those tweeting condolences.

Died: Tasmanian-born, US-based country singer Audrey AuldMezera, 51, in California, after a battle with cancer.

Died: John Gammon, one-time Katrina and The Waves and Kingmaker manager turned UK correspondent for Pollstar, from cancer.

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THE

PAPER KITES

I

n the wake of their debut LP, States, The Paper Kites achieved a level of success that perhaps no-one could’ve expected. Along with entering the ARIA Top 20, the 2013 release helped the Melbourne band sell out a run of giant theatre shows around Australia and jump on a North American tour in support of City And Colour.

Given the reception to States, it seemed imperative that its follow-up arrive in timely fashion.

However, The Paper Kites were never a quick-fix, pop-oriented act, and they were more concerned with delivering a new record of exceeding quality. That album is on its way at last, based around a fascinating concept by frontman Sam Bentley. Its title, Twelvefour, relates to the theory that there’s a creative peak between midnight and four in the morning – which is precisely when the entire record was written.

“There was like 30 songs we ended up with, all as a result of that experiment,” Bentley says. “I wrote for two or three months. I got a little unwell in the middle, I think because of messing with your body clock, so I did it in two batches. It was pretty interesting – wouldn’t do it again, but it was cool.”

Even people who aren’t engaged in artistic pursuits have probably witnessed their creative capacity expand in the wee hours. During that time of night, things come out of your mouth or cross your mind that are surprisingly imaginative.

Adhering to a strict songwriting regimen was a new experience for Bentley.

10 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY

just held up at a friend’s property writing there,” he says. “There wasn’t any, ‘This is the time that I’m writing within.’ But having heard about that idea, [it] really interested me. It was just an experiment to see whether there’s any truth in it.

Some of the stuff that came out was pretty unexpected, and often you would forget what you’d done the night before and then listen back to it and be like, ‘That sounds great,’ or ‘That sounds really unusual.’”

In line with its predecessor, Twelvefour is rooted in the folk rock singer-songwriter tradition, with the chief focus being Bentley’s melodies and emotive storytelling.

However, the record is a more exploratory release, harnessing a broader textural palette and giving a slight nod to ’80s pop music. Still, a lot of the weirder tracks Bentley came up with didn’t actually make it to the final product.

“I think the band felt like we shouldn’t be heading in that direction necessarily,” he says.

“Each song was so different from the last one, so if anything, that did answer the question that you do get some pretty weird things coming out [at that time]. Some of them were great and some of them I really liked but couldn’t get them across the line with the guys.

“You have your own ideas as a writer, but you’ve also got to get four other people on board with that. There were things in there that the guys felt wouldn’t work for us and I thought they would, but

ultimately it’s all in the best interest of making the best record we can, and we’re really proud of what we’ve done.”

Joined by keyboardist/backing vocalist Christina Lacy, drummer Josh Bentley, guitarist Dave Powys and bass player Sam Rasmussen, Sam Bentley has been leading The Paper Kites since 2010. During that time, the band’s loyal followers have also developed a strong attachment to the music. The frontman was attentive to this fact when working on Twelvefour.

“It always does come back to the five core members and what we believe is the best direction, but

“YOU HAVE TO PUSH FORWARD AS A WRITER AND YOU HAVE TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF. THAT’S REALLY WHAT I WAS TRYING TO DO – PUT MYSELF IN A BIT OF AN UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION.”

also you need to have respect for the people that like your music, because they’re the ones you’re releasing it to. You do have to take into consideration, ‘Is it going to be too big of a jump, or are we losing anything that people loved about us in the first place?’ You need to understand that the people that listen to your music have created their own idea of what your band is just as much as you have yourself.

“But at the same time, you have to push forward as a writer and you have to challenge yourself. That’s really what I was trying to do – put myself in a bit of an uncomfortable position. So I set aside any expectations. I tried to draw from every corner of my own influences, as I felt like I needed to. By the end of it, there was this drastic unevenness between the songs, but each one was authentic and true to what it wanted to be.

“Fortunately, we have the sort of fans that tend to go along with what we end up putting out,” Bentley adds. “They’re music lovers. I don’t think we’re a trending kind of band.

I don’t know if we consciously follow anything. You just need to stay clear of all that stuff. People respond to authenticity and to genuineness when it comes to songwriting. If you’re injecting real emotion and real feeling into your songs, and there’s depth in there, people can see that.”

As with The Paper Kites’ previous releases, the lyrics on Twelvefour don’t convey an image of emotional contentedness and

“There’s always that point where you think, ‘Am I revealing too much here?’ But that’s your job as a songwriter – you are the spokesman on behalf of all sorts of situations people have gone through. It’s just working out how to say that in a way someone hasn’t said it before. I think I kept them pretty true to how I was feeling.

The late-night mood does bring out feelings of old love and new love and things like that.

“I’m not a super political person – I find it hard to draw on anything else other than the things that I’ve been through. So I didn’t really sugar-coat them – I said it how it was. I’m very particular about my lyrics, and when people ask me what my songs are about, people have always told me, ‘Your songs are actually quite sad.’ Lyrically, they’re all pretty sad. I’ve always thought of this album as an open letter – it’s a confession and an apology and it’s endearing. It’s sort of mending. You can look back on it and go, ‘I’ve got all this out and now it feels mended.’”

What: Twelvefour out Friday August 28 through Wonderlick/ Sony With: Patrick James Where: Metro Theatre When: Friday November 6

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xxx

“I’ve always generally written at night, but the last record I was

FLYING BY NIGHT

feel-good recreation. Rather, the album explores the whims of romance and the ever-looming clash of individual feelings and perceptions. While Bentley has a penchant for writing lyrics of this nature, it’s also true that people are generally more melancholy in the early hours of the morning.

Either way, Bentley’s working hours led him into some rather vulnerable territory.

Tumbleweed Galactaphonic Resonance By Natalie Rogers

T

umbleweed frontman Richie Lewis is in a good mood about the band’s national tour to celebrate the re-release of classic album Galactaphonic (the 20th Anniversary SuperGalactaphonic Edition, to be precise). “We’ll have to dust off our old wah-wah pedals again,” Lewis says. “It’ll be a challenge recreating the sound of the record live, but it’s been 20 years in the making so we can’t wait.”

The highly anticipated reissue of the iconic 1995 album features Galactaphonic’s 13 original songs, nine B-sides and EP tracks, seven previously unreleased live recordings from triple j sessions, five cassette demos hand-picked by the band, and alternate versions of classic tracks ‘Hang Around’, ‘Gyroscope’ and ‘Round The Bend’ – alongside two never-beforereleased favourites of the band’s, ‘Salamander Sam’ and ‘Paddy The Pram Man’.

xxx

“It was amazing to rediscover Galactaphonic again, because honestly, since we recorded it all those years ago, we hadn’t listened to it much – so listening to it with fresh ears was fantastic,” says Lewis. “One thing I was surprised by was how much distortion was used on the vocals, but I love how short, sweet, vibrant, fast and punchy that album is.”

Not only does this release have Tumbleweed fans around the world reminiscing about the golden era of grunge, it’s allowed the New South Welshmen a welcome trip down memory lane, which, according to Lewis, ended in the rehearsal studio. “We’ve had to relearn a lot of the songs and spend time together rehearsing them. Of course, songs like ‘Hang Around’ and ‘Nothin’ To

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Do With The Weather’ have always been part of our set, but others like ‘This’ll Be The End Of Me’, ‘Medicine’, ‘Feed The River’ and ‘Jupiter’ we had to get together and learn again.”

Lewis says the process of unearthing old live recordings, demos, B-sides and rarities was a unique form of therapy in the wake of the unexpected passing of foundation bassist Jason ‘Jay’ Curley last August.

“While it was cool going through all the old tapes that Steve [O’Brien, drums] had collected over the years, it was something we had to ease into, because after Jay died we weren’t really sure what we wanted to do next, as far as the band goes. But it was something we’d talked about since the reissue of The Waterfront Years [a compilation album released in 2010], so we spoke to Universal Records about the possibility of putting something together and they were all for it – so from there the idea grew wings and started to fly.

“It was definitely a nice way to dip our toes back into the water, so now we’re really looking forward to getting out on the road again – and I think the fact that we aren’t simply doing a ‘best of’ Tumbleweed tour, like we’ve done before, we’re doing something that’s really direct, and it’ll be purely Galactaphonic from beginning to end.”

Although the announcement of Tumbleweed’s return to the stage has been met with overwhelming positivity, Lewis remains frank regarding the prospect of heading out on tour without Curley. “We’re all still quite reluctant about the whole idea of replacing Jay – it’s

not something we want to think about right now,” he says. “But as far as filling in on bass duties, Luke [Armstrong] is really the perfect candidate. He’s a solid bass player, he learns quickly, he knows the songs, and he’s part of the family.

“Luke grew up like myself, practising in the Curleys’ band room in Tarrawanna. He’s been in bands with Mick Curley, who is Lenny’s [backing vocals, guitar] and Jay’s little brother. Jay taught him a couple of tricks when he was a young whippersnapper as well [laughs], and Jay would have wanted us to plug ahead – so that’s what we’re doing.”

In the days following Curley’s death, with the resolve that something good should come from the tragedy, Tumbleweed released the single ‘Drop In The Ocean’ in his memory and chose to package their tribute with a clip to raise awareness of Sea Shepherd Australia.

“One thing that has been on my mind a lot since Jay died is that life is short,” says Lewis. “You’re on this planet for a finite amount of time and you’ve got the choice of how you’re going to spend your time, so together we made a conscious decision that if we’re going to do something, give it a

reason and use whatever platform we’ve built to do it.

“Sea Shepherd do great work in our oceans, protecting and conserving it – it’s for the future of the planet, the future of humanity, you know? I support everything they do. You’ve gotta do what you can to try and make the world a better place.”

What: Galactaphonic (20th Anniversary SuperGalactaphonic Edition) out now through Universal Where: Manning Bar When: Friday September 11

BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 11

The Bohicas

B

ohicas. To the unaware it sounds like the name of a Hawaiian-themed bar or a sickly sweet cocktail served with a tiny umbrella. Actually, it’s an acronym – BOHICA, which stands for ‘Bend Over, Here It Comes Again’.

Grab Your Ankles By George Nott

What’s coming again, according to the English fourpiece, is some gritty and immediate rock’n’roll, picking up where the early albums by The Strokes, Kings Of Leon and The White Stripes left off. Rock rejuvenated for a new generation.

“It’s a self-aware title for ourselves,” says McGuinness.

“It’s a world full of rock bands where there’s always new bands cropping up and getting this hype and build-up. All this stuff happens when the next favourite band comes along. Well, here it is again.

Here’s another rock band.”

A slew of singles over the past year has left those mourning the too-soon demise of indie rock bent over, metaphorically at least, in anticipation of The Bohicas’ debut album. ‘XXX’ has an ominous riff that never stops (“We wanted to write a song using just one chord. It’s actually two chords – we compromised!”).

‘Where You At’, ‘Swarm’ and ‘To Die For’ are similarly riff-driven.

“All the songs have that edginess, the gutsy guitar and gutsy drums,” says McGuinness. Indeed, these songs might have been pulled from a time capsule buried during the early-’00s guitar band revival era.

“We met when we were 12 or so, and that was the time of all those great albums, where there’s a dead solid identity of four or five guys just playing simple, down the line rock’n’roll. But they re-energised and reinvented the genre. It got kids picking up guitars again.”

Kids like McGuinness and his bandmates – drummer Brendan Heaney, guitarist Dom John and bassist Ady Acolatse – who met at school on the outskirts of East London. It’s a place where the city meets the suburbs of the neighbouring county of Essex, a culturally barren area (unless you count it being the location of TV show The Only Way Is Essex) with no ‘scene’ to speak of.

“When we started hanging out and playing together, there wasn’t any other bands or musicians at school.

If there were kids playing instruments, they were just going through the motions on the violin or something.

They weren’t enjoying it. It seemed like we were the only ones having fun with our instruments.”

The Bohicas’ debut, The Making Of – out this week – isn’t purely rock, however. There are more subtle moments too.

“What’s unexplored on the singles is the more kind of mid-tempo melodic thing,” says McGuinness.

“There’s a lot more vocal harmonies and softness than people might be anticipating. The way I write, I’ll do these guitar things, rock band stuff, but that’s only one part to it. There are other influences that we can’t deny ourselves. A lot of the writing and recording is centred around trusting instinct and going with your innate natural way rather than trying too hard to steer it in another direction.”

Nevertheless, in the true rock tradition, the songs centre around ‘the girl’, heartbreak and being bloody upset about it all. A mini-film made to promote ‘XXX’ and ‘Swarm’ depicts the protagonist having his heart literally pulled out of his chest and dragged through gravel.

“As far as I can tell, it’s all fiction,” McGuinness says, “but maybe a therapist in 50 years will tell me otherwise. I found that when writing these hard, fast, fizzy, electric songs, I naturally gravitated to singing about those things. I matched the rage or whatever.

It seemed to makes sense. Love and all that stuff, at the moment that’s the only thing that’s worth singing about. And if it ain’t broke…”

It isn’t. And the legions of fans they’re picking up wherever they go, which has been all over the world in recent months, seem to agree. So grab your ankles – The Bohicas are eager to return to these shores after playing two dates here last year. “It’s on the cards,” says McGuinness. “It would be amazing to. If this record connects with people there the same way the singles have, it should be a wonderful thing to do.”

Needless to say, they’re enjoying every moment – erm, really enjoying it. “This time right now in the band, our album’s coming out, the live reception is great. This is this time I’m most excited about. It’s very cock-teasing for me.”

What: The Making Of out Friday August 21 through Domino/EMI

Mustered Courage As Long As It Lies By Adam Norris

I

t’s almost hard to believe, but Mustered Courage’s Nick Keeling is actually a pretty happy guy.

The nu-bluegrass quartet has been sailing strength to strength since 2011’s debut LP, and the energetic abandon of the live shows has only increased as the years have gone by. With new single ‘Honesty’ out now and a third album on the way, the band has every reason to rejoice. Yet a chuckling Keeling is constantly apologising for his pessimistic answers.

“I’m really trying to come up with something positive every time you ask me a question,” he laughs. “I promise I’m usually more optimistic!”

We are talking of the hurricane touring schedule Mustered Courage have enjoyed over the last year, with a dizzying array of US performances compared to the reception they get here in Australia. While their fans at home are no less fervent, it must feel odd coming back to much more intimate local audiences.

“It’s not an interesting story, but it doesn’t feel great. The population is smaller here than Texas alone, and we just breezed through there.

Three shows and we were gone. In the US, every two hours you’ve got another million people. There’s a readymade market for our style of alt-bluegrass, prog-bluegrass, whatever you want to call it.

Seeing these 15,000-strong crowds absolutely raging – not quite moshing, but they’re going nuts for a band that has no drums.

12 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

“It’s like, fi ve people playing acoustic instruments and you can get crowds that big who just go crazy for it. Here it’s a bit… less.”

Keeling is a banjo man – an instrument that saw a huge renaissance on the heels of acts like Mumford & Sons, but whose presence, he suggests, has started to wane. It’s generally quite an exciting sound – indeed, Steve Martin has an entire sketch built around the impossibility of feeling sad when someone plays the banjo – yet one of the album’s highlights achieves just that. ‘The Flames Of You And I’ is a beautiful, heartbreaking song that, like the majority of the Mustered Courage catalogue, has roots deep in real life.

“Steve Martin plays a three-fi nger style, which is the kind that I play,” says Keeling. “It’s a lot happier.

But that song has clawhammer banjo, and I didn’t play the banjo part for that one. That song has been a point of major contention for me in the past weeks. It was inspired by an ex-girlfriend. I was back in my hometown the other week and I was thinking to myself, ‘Don’t show her the song, don’t show her the song.’ And of course then I showed her the song. I mean, we’re both married to different people now, but we’ve acknowledged that we still have these feelings towards each other that will probably never go away.

So it’s kind of heavy. Plus her husband got wind of it and was a bit jealous. But this is another

story that probably isn’t that interesting, but it’s a true one.”

I try to reassure Keeling that it is indeed interesting; the true stories almost always are, allowing some glimpse into the life behind a song, a taste of the spark that set each story into motion.

“It’s a dramatisation, and not every line there is strictly true, but it’s real.

It’s about real people and feelings. It’s not hard for me to get myself back in that frame of mind when performing it.

And it doesn’t make me feel weird, but if you’re a songwriter it helps if you’re a passionate person. It helps to be emotional.”

What: White Lies & Melodies out Friday August 28 through Lost Highway/Universal With: Cruisin’ Deuces, William Crighton Where: Newtown Social Club When: Thursday August 27 thebrag.com

The Bohicas photo by Gael Leberi

“It’s pretty plain,” says McGuinness. “It’s like any other suburban place I’ve been, full of families and pubs and high streets. It’s nothing remarkable.

There was no bubbling atmosphere of live music or anything.

“As long as you record it and write in a way that’s still new and fresh, there’s no reason why it dies,” he says. “To keep it alive, you have to make sure you revamp. It’s easy to replicate an old sound. It’s about pushing rock as an influence rather than pulling from it. There’s no tricks here.”

xx

“I think it’s funny,” says The Bohicas frontman Dominic McGuinness, “and it’s kind of naughty. I like it. I think my favourite word in there is ‘again’.”

After developing their own brand of edgy indie rock over a number of years, The Bohicas were signed to Domino Records in 2013. It was their labelmate Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys who once proclaimed: “Rock’n’roll will never die.” McGuinness can’t help but agree.

Darren Middleton Songs And Splinters By Adam Norris

W

hile musicians are usually happy enough to be talking to the press, prising apart the meaning of their songs and peeling back the emotions that led to certain lyrics can often miss the point of why they started writing music in the first place.

But Darren Middleton is disarmingly different.

After finding phenomenal successful with Powderfinger, his musical aspirations have journeyed far and wide, and his urge to create has evolved greatly. He’s also tremendously open in recounting his experiences along the way, and just what we should next expect as this story keeps unfolding.

“Every time I tour I fi nd I’m telling different stories,” he says. “They’re all different adventures with different purposes behind them. I really didn’t do any gigging before my last record, and then I spent the next year and a half doing a lot as a two-piece with my violin player, Kelly Lane. That was kind of my ‘getting to the heart of the story again’ time, falling back into music because you love it, not for any other reason. Finding really small gigs, having very little up onstage. Just the guitar, my singing, Kelly. Excavating whatever I could of my heart and soul into those performances.”

Nor is that history at all static; part of Middleton’s growth as a performer has been his relish for performance, and within that is included a brace of Powderfi nger songs that still remain at his songwriting core.

“I was really hesitant when I first started playing them solo. I thought it was a little weird – ‘Should I be checking with the guys if it’s OK?’ But I started, people obviously love them, and you know, I really like them as well.

I’ve really only been playing the songs that I had a pretty big hand in anyway. I’m not all that interested in just playing a song because it was a big hit or something. I’m more interested in following myself back to the time I was writing, what I was feeling. And I think that’s important. Some people say it’s risky to do that, but I think that’s the point about what we do. You need to offer yourself up, almost like the crowd is an archaeologist. They can just dig away and see what they can fi nd.”

With: Sahara Beck Where: The Vanguard When: Friday August 28

In 2013, Middleton’s first solo release, Translations, marked him as a musician of distinction beyond the seminal strides of Powderfi nger. His follow-up, Splinters, is still something of a work in progress, but hearing the enthusiasm in his voice when he tries to conjure its fl edgling shape, you can’t help but get excited along with him. He is a much more secure, confi dent songwriter now, and even in the little that has been released so far – double A-side single ‘The Lines’/‘Our Road’ – the evidence of this is clear.

“I’m not interested in just playing a song because it was a big hit. I’m more interested in following myself back to the time I was writing.”

“My approach towards that first record was quite hesitant,” he admits. “I had a lot of guests involved, with the motivation of, ‘Guys, I’m a pretty average singer here, can you step in and help me out?’ Since then, I’m way more comfortable with who I am, which is really the result of just getting out there and doing it.

That’s the best way of fi nding out who the heck you are. I’m more confi dent, and now, regarding friends, guests, whoever I ask to be involved, it isn’t a matter of having them there to bail me out. It’s more just wanting us to all have fun together.

“I’m really happy with performing and making music now. I love it more than I have in so many years. But I’ve split the new record into two halves. I can step away from the forest for a little while, look at it and identify what I might need to fi nish it – what am I trying to say, how do I continue the thread into the next half? I haven’t actually moved into that second half yet. I really need to get off my arse and commit,” he laughs.

! E E C N A H C FINAL N AVAILABL

MAI O D E H T hows R TIX FO risbane s e&B Melbourn SOLD OUT

You imagine that every artist who develops a career outside of the act that first brought them to attention is going to have to labour with comparisons. Middleton, however, faces a rather unique challenge – not everyone fi nds themselves family to a household name.

The potential for Powderfi nger to cast a long shadow is an inescapable aspect of his career, but rather than begrudge this history, Middleton embraces it with enthusiasm.

“It defi nitely cast a long shadow, but for me, I came from being a backing vocalist and guitarist and songwriter for the ’Fingers, which is a very different role to where I am now. It’s a bit harder to compare me to my past, because nobody really knows my voice, and that’s the focus on my solo records – my songwriting and the sound of my voice.

People seem to be pleasantly surprised, for the most part. It’s very different to the way, say, Bernard [Fanning] would be on solo records, since his voice is such an identifi able factor. You can’t help but draw a pretty thick line between anything he does and the past.

But I certainly don’t feel too weighed down, and I don’t try to hide anything from the past. I mean, bloody hell, it’s allowed me to do a whole lot with my life, so if someone brings up any comparisons, I’m most likely going to be saying thanks!” thebrag.com

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Timberwolf A Life In Flux By Adam Norris playing ‘Georgia On My Mind’ by Ray Charles. It’s a beautiful song so I have no regrets about it, but I never realised before that it’s my go-to. I’m so drawn to those jazz chords, they’re just so pretty, and it has such beautiful lyrics.”

It’s a fine image – Timberwolf perched in a bustling kitchen, spilling wine and strumming tunes – and doesn’t seem all that dissimilar to the figure he presents onstage. He appears quite open, someone who confidently wears his heart on his sleeve, and while this version of Panousakis is a genuine figure, it is by no stretch the complete man.

enamoured by music that even touring has taken on properties beyond simply moving from place to place. His grappling with what it means to be a musician is a philosophical task as much as it is creative, and where the two intersect is where you’ll find him at his most sincere.

“Well, if I’ve had enough wine and if it’s late enough in the evening, my guilty pleasures come out,” he says. “I’ve definitely been guilty of playing more than a few Johnny Cash covers. I only realised this the other day, but whenever I’m a little tipsy, I’m at a party and somebody hands me a guitar, I’ll instantly start

Sincerity and striking an emotional, creative balance seem to be at the forefront of Panousakis’ mind these days. His

“Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of my personality that I keep to myself that won’t ever find their way into songwriting,” Panousakis says. “But what I do share, there’s no part of me that worries about what others are going to think. I don’t like the idea of painting a picture that … let’s say someone listened to a song and really connected to it. It took them on some emotional journey, or eased them out of a rough time, even if it just helped make a road trip that bit better. I like the idea that if they were to meet me in person, or if they ever read this interview, then there would be no gaps. No holes in the story.

“Of course, some songs allow you to express yourself more than others. But that’s the game. You’re trying to recreate something you felt quite honestly. That always has been and hopefully always will be the driving force behind what I do.”

What: Flux out now independently With: Stonefox, Bears With Guns Where: Newtown Social Club When: Friday August 21

Ghost The Spirits Of Rock By Peter Hodgson

I

a sort of an analogue, warm sound, but it was never our intention to make it sound too lo-fi. We always wanted a hi-fi thing.

“They’re fucking great,” he told us.

“They dress like evil priests, their singer is an evil Pope, and they sing about how much they love Satan. It’s great to have some good old-fashioned Satan worship back in metal.”

“So we thought going into this next record we might want to add a little more muscular DNA. Because we come from a riffing background, it wasn’t like we thought, ‘Oh shit, we have to go to rock’n’roll school to learn to play riffs,’ but we tended to over-emphasise that when we were writing the songs. Even though most of our songs are usually vocalbased, I think that on the previous record it might have been one step too much towards that, so we wanted it to be a little more riff-driven.”

f you’ll allow me a name-droppy wanky journalist story, a few years ago I was at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in LA with Aussie metal promoter/legend John Howarth, Fear Factory’s manager and a dude from Live Nation. The Live Nation guy was telling us about this new band, Ghost, whom he’d just booked to play the House Of Blues on the Sunset Strip.

Within about six months Ghost had completely blown up, and now they’re about to release album number three, Meliora – which, like its two predecessors, pays tribute to the occult rock and metal of the ’70s while maintaining an unmistakably ghostly sound. This album introduces Papa Emeritus III (really the same vocalist as on the previous two albums, but the story goes that this Papa is “the three-months-younger brother of Papa II”). The instrumentalists are referred to simply as Nameless Ghouls.

“Just for reference, I’m the main songwriter and instigator of the band,” a Nameless Ghoul says over the phone. “So you don’t have to worry about talking to some fucking henchman.”

Meliora has a heavier, more aggressive feel than its predecessor, with a few thrashinfl uenced rhythm guitar moments and an overall edgier sonic approach. “It was a plan to make the record this way,” says the Ghoul. “With the experience we had with the last album, there were a few decisions made in the production stage which made the album sound a little un-muscular, if you will. That was never the intention. We’ve always strived for 14 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

As analogue purists, Ghost use only old gear – “just because it adds not only to the sound but the feeling,” says the Ghoul. “It feels right doing that. This time we basically had museum pieces. We were using a mixture of four guitars right through the record. It was the same guitars and the same set-up.

That’s something we’ve always strived for: the songs should all be different but it should be the same sound across the board.

“So it was two Gibson SGs – one was ’62, one was maybe a ’79 or something. Then we had an old Les Paul Goldtop and apart from the Neve console it was the most valuable thing in the studio. That was fantastic. It was all cracked up like the Mona Lisa. It had gone green, like gold-green. And then we added a Telecaster in there. We are a Gibson band, but a Fender added into a Gibson world can be very effective. And we used a larger range of different speakers and heads to create a lot of depth in the guitar sound.”

Onstage, the Ghouls use Gibson RD models from the 1970s, which are modified a little to make them more roadworthy. “They’re slightly customised because the old ones from ’77 are extremely cool guitars, very cool-looking, but in order to

make them sound like a normal guitar as we know it, you need to rip the insides out and put in new ones,” says the Ghoul. “I’m sorry to say, but they weren’t really great guitars. They look cool, but you have to go through a little procedure.

But speaking of analogue gear, onstage, because we don’t have amps onstage – in the beginning we had a big heavy analogue backline, but as most bands nowadays, if you don’t have it onstage and you’re not depending on that muscle that you can lean your ass on, there’s really no need to have a big heavy backline – so we have simulated that through a rack of Fractal Audio AxeFx on the side of the stage.

“At the end of the day, you have to realise that as much as I love playing and as much as I want a big rig that is super loud and a lot of functional pedals and lots of cables, this is our job and we are working, and you have to have someone else take care of your shit, and it has to be quick and it has to work the same way night after night for 200 nights per album,” says the Ghoul.

“It’s very impractical to go out with a wall of Marshalls because it will kill you and kill your roadie. We did that for two years and it was horrible. Everything gets fucked up. Even though we had an Orange endorsement, you have to rely on what the local person has in terms

of Oranges, so all of a sudden they bring in two Oranges and one of them doesn’t work and one is on its last tube so you end up playing Marshall anyway.

“So it’s like, ‘Why are we breaking our crew’s back trying to fix this thing? We can do the Fractal thing, have it over and done with – everyone’s happy and we can pretend that we have a big wall of amplifiers behind us anyway. It’s all make-believe anyway, this rock’n’roll thing.”

What: Meliora out Friday August 21 through Spinefarm/Caroline

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veryone has their guilty pleasure. Music, literature, some terrifying bedroom perversion; having unconquerable peccadilloes is part of what makes us tick. But for Chris Panousakis, AKA Adelaide singer-songwriter Timberwolf, his pleasure really ain’t that guilty. He is a man so

“My friend was saying how different I seemed onstage to the guy he’d have coffee with, and, well, of course. The version of me that you see onstage would be the same guy who is having a heartfelt, emotional chat with his girlfriend. It’s the part that’s able to be refl ective and passionate and probably tiringly emotional,” he laughs. “I love to be relaxed with my friends and have strange philosophical conversations, to sit by the beach and drink an easy coffee. But it’s the heightened part of me that’s onstage, and it’s something that I just can’t be all the time. I’d be completely drained.”

love of touring has seen him careen across the country many times, and his latest EP, Flux, represents the unexpected journey of this sentiment and sound. While his style will inevitably continue to evolve, the Timberwolf you experience today is as close to the real thing as you can hope for.

The Laurels Turn Up The Volumes By George Nott

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ood things come to those who wait – or so the old adage goes. It’s something fans of The Laurels have had little choice but to believe, it being three years and counting since the Sydney band’s debut album Plains.

Things weren’t made any easier for them last year, when guitarist and co-frontman Luke O’Farrell told an interviewer the important thing was “not to rush anything”, before quipping a follow-up “could take a year, it could take ten”.

Well, good news folks. The wait is over – almost. The new album, which is yet to be named, is fast approaching completion.

“It does get frustrating watching all these bands putting out album after album,” says O’Farrell’s fellow guitarist and vocalist Piers Cornelius.

“I don’t enjoy it. But we’re getting there.”

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So why the delay? The follow-up was first conceived when the band was in the US relentlessly touring Plains, playing alongside the likes of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Angels and Deerhunter. The Laurels earned legions of fans Stateside with their trademark all-enveloping wall of guitars, but ended up running out of money.

“On that tour we realised we’d have to record this album ourselves. We always knew that,” says Cornelius.

“We started exploring a lot of hip hop producers and found their ideas really interesting.”

There was not as much interest, however, for drummer Kate Wilson, who departed towards the end of last year. “We’re still good mates,” says Cornelius. “Kate has always been big on doing it live, so it didn’t

really excite her so much recording an album to click tracks and cutting things up. That situation delayed us.”

No money, no drummer… “and we needed a bit of time to find a studio that we could start recording in and get the correct gear,” says Cornelius.

“And work out who is going to be in the band.”

Finally, though, things are back on track, with the band setting up a studio in Redfern. “I say studio, it’s more like a little room,” Cornelius adds. “And the sound from everyone else who has a little room there leaks in. It’s not that fantastic, but we’ve kept costs down and we’re there weeknights and at the weekend.”

They’ve also found a new drummer in Jasper Fenton, formerly of Decoder Ring. “We first met Jasper at his show six or seven years ago and we’ve always been good mates.

He guitar techs for our shows as well, tuning our guitars. Sometimes not so well, but it was a pretty easy decision on who it would be. He’s a great drummer.”

And they’ve got a new groove, too.

“It’s not all just guitars this time. It’s a bit fresher for us,” says Cornelius.

As a tantalising taste of things to come, the teaser single ‘Zodiac K’, which came out in June, combines spaced-out guitars, a pounding breakbeat and a vocal sample of the late Formula One driver Ayrton Senna.

Wait a minute – inspired by hip hop producers? Sampling? Feeling “fresh”? What’s happening here? Are The Laurels moving into rap?

“I guess it would help if any of us had any skill at rapping. But no, really just

wed

the music behind it,” says Cornelius.

“Someone said it sounded like DJ Premier or DJ Shadow or someone like that. That’s the drum sound we were going for, but I probably wouldn’t describe the music as that.”

So no longer – dare we say it – shoegaze? “I don’t know if you want to call it, er, shoegaze.” Psychedelic?

“It’s always a weird one. I guess that’s more of a feeling than a certain type of sound. Because so many things can be summed up using that word.” What about neo-psych, as one gushing website recently dubbed them? “Yeah, right?! I don’t know about that one.”

What then? “My dad asked me that when I sent him some songs recently – ‘What do you call this?’ I just don’t know!” says Cornelius. “I’d not know how to describe it properly. I guess we’re trying to make something

that is a studio album that isn’t just blasting guitars. What we’re doing now would probably be similar to The Stone Roses. They did their first album, then went all drum machine and made ‘Fools Gold’. Obviously none of our songs will ever be as good as ‘Fools Gold’, but that’s the stuff we’re more interested in now – plus Joy Division and the Happy Mondays.”

The Laurels’ second LP is slated for release early next year. In the meantime, with all that sampling going on, production has been a group effort.

“We don’t have to be all together as a band, rehearsing over and over again just to learn the songs for the complete, perfect take,” says Cornelius. “We can just come in, play something and sample it. One person will sit at the desk and work on it until

they get bored, then someone else will take over. Once you’re pretty satisfied with it, you can switch off and the other guys will switch on. I feel safe going with what they think.

“We’re in a situation now where even if we lose our studio we can set up somewhere else. In the future, that will help speed us up and we’ll be a bit more – OK, not prolific, but hopefully not as many delays between releases!”

What: Volumes 2015 With: Jack Ladder and The Dreamlanders, Blank Realm, Canyons, Lower Spectrum and many more Where: Oxford Square (Oxford Art Factory, Brighton Up Bar and The Cliff Dive) When: Saturday August 29

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Hellyeah Blood Is Thicker Than Water By Shaun Cowe

“We just got back from the European tour and we’re taking advantage of a little bit of downtime, getting my house back in order,” he says. “It was actually great. It was a good mix of headlining shows and opening up on a couple, and had several festivals. It wasn’t monotonous – there was nothing routine about it. It ended with the Download Festival in the UK, which was the biggest show we’ve done over there.”

Hellyeah have been on tour for well over a year now, and understandably there’s been little time to regroup in between.

Despite the seasoned nature of the musicians and the hectic touring schedule, Sanders insists the songs still feel fresh.

“Sick of the songs? No, thankfully not. When we play headline shows we get an hour and a half, so we get a lot of time to get a good mix of everything, but at festivals we only get 45 minutes, so we’ve been mixing up enough that it doesn’t get monotonous. We haven’t gotten sick of them – yet. Plus we’re coming to Australia for this new record cycle, so it’s kind of ignited this new fire, which keeps it fresh for us.”

Shortly after the release last year of Blood For Blood, the band underwent a pretty significant lineup change, with the exit of guitarist Greg Tribbett and bassist

Bob Kakaha – the latter creating the vacancy for Sanders.

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merican Southern rock supergroup Hellyeah are heading to Australia this month on the back of their latest studio album, Blood For Blood.

Featuring seminal metal alumni like Chad Gray of Mudvayne and Vinnie Paul of Pantera, Hellyeah have released four hard-hitting – if not enthusiastically received – studio albums. Despite this, the band is a tight-knit group with a love of performing. Bassist and relatively new addition to the lineup Kyle Sanders looks forward to the dates Down Under.

“They wanted me in the band because of my style and technique and the flavour that I bring,” Sanders says. “They didn’t say to play it note for note and don’t do anything different. They said, ‘Learn the songs and bring your own style to it.’ It was just like an open door, so I made it my own and comfortable for myself. I mean, I knew all these guys – they were like family anyway – so it was just comfortable. There was nothing weird or awkward about it.”

The addition of Sanders to the lineup heralded an inevitable change in the band’s sound.

Though he is yet to feature on any recordings, Sanders insists fans will pick the difference in live shows.

“There’s a different intensity – especially live. I mean, just the way the songs are written and the way I play them different. In a live setting [it feels] kind of like more energy in it now. Everyone’s been milling around with their own ideas, so after the Australian tour we’re really looking forward to getting in a room together and working on the next record. So, you know, the next record should just be an evolution of the band, really.”

With big names like Gray and Paul in the group, there are the obvious questions of ego and competitiveness. For Sanders, though, one of the biggest surprises was the sense of humble camaraderie in the band. He explains that Hellyeah also spend much of their downtime together, building strong familial bonds.

“There’s a lot of kids running around – I’ll tell you that much – but everyone’s strong in their own ways and serves their own purpose.

There’s obviously some names that are bigger than others, but everyone has an equal part; everyone kind of stands on their own.

“[Paul is] such an amazing drummer – the chemistry we have together and the way we lock in. I mean, I’m completely focused on playing with the drummer, because without that foundation we really have nothing.

We’ve really locked in, so some of the grooves and parts we’ve played, we’ve really made it tighter. It’s kind of a ‘meant to be’ situation.”

The band’s ethos around live performance, in particular, is something very personal to Sanders, and he’s eager to pass it on to younger musicians. Despite the critics, the tumultuous band dynamics and the gruelling touring

schedule, the most important thing is fostering a love of the music.

“I think the most beautiful thing about this band is no-one’s jaded about [it].

No-one’s sick of it, no-one expects rock star treatment. You know, we’re still playing massive festivals and tiny club shows in different areas, so the fact that everyone still realises that individually we’re no better than anybody else … It’s just the passion of music. You just don’t see it that much nowadays. Older bands get kinda jaded and if they don’t get exactly what they want there’s a lot of attitude and rock star ego going on.

“Anytime a younger band asks for advice, I would just say as long as you’re doing it for yourself and making yourself happy, it can be a lifetime career. But as soon as you start writing for somebody else or jump on a bandwagon, that’s where you lose track. You’re not going to make a career out of it. Be in it for yourself.”

What: Blood For Blood out now through Eleven Seven/Sony With: Bellusira, Carbon Black Where: Metro Theatre When: Thursday August 27

AlithiA Make The Sacrifice By Rod Whitfield The process of recording in far-flung places, immersing oneself in the local culture and music, can help inspire creativity.

“There’s a few things behind it,” says Gede. “The first one just kinda happened because I was living in Budapest at the time. I was away from the band for quite a while and the guys said, ‘Can we come over and do some gigs?’ and I said, ‘Sure, I’ll organise a tour.’ And we thought we might as well do the album while we’re there. So the whole band was there for two months, living in my apartment!

“A lot of people, what they say about AlithiA is that we’re prog in a way, but we don’t sound like an Aussie prog band – we are kind of European-sounding, we do stand out in a different way, and I think being over there is inspiring for us.

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well received To The Edge Of Time, was recorded in Budapest, Hungary, and they have plans to record their next effort on the other side of the world as well, as bassist Tibor Gede explains.

“I’m putting in a funding application

to do our new record, because the Labor government brought back in the music grants which the Liberal government took away. So that’s really good, hopefully we’ll get to do that, because if we get it, we’ll go over to Istanbul, Turkey and do our next record there.”

AlithiA also recently went out on a limb and made a short film to go along with their weird, wild

“Basically, I think the best way to describe it is that it’s a dark comedy, mockumentary, social commentary,” laughs Gede. “It takes Spinal Tap and puts it with David Lynch, and we had cameras following us around for 48 hours, and we’re playing kind of heightened versions of ourselves. It’s not a documentary, it’s a mockumentary, so we’ve put ourselves in a fictional context. The context is that we’re a local band, we’ve hired a publicist to help us get some more likes, more reach on social media, try to get us out there desperately, sell more tickets and so on. We’re in that kind of ‘pay to play’ process of selling tickets to our friends and family, but the gimmick of the show is that it’s the singer’s last-ever show, because after the show he will be dead!

“It puts a spotlight on the fact that unless people have a deep interest in supporting the local culture, most people don’t – they’re not even aware of it, they don’t even know what venues and bands exist.”

What: To The Edge Of Time out now independently With: Chaos Divine, Hemina, The Winter Effect Where: Factory Floor When: Friday August 28

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elbourne ‘astral space-core’ five-piece AlithiA are a band that likes to do things a little differently to most. Not only is their music several large steps to the left of centre, they like to go to far away, exotic places to record it.

Their last album, 2014’s extremely

“Plus we’ve got guest artists,” he adds. “We’ve got a Bulgarian gaida player, the gaida being an ancient, traditional Bulgarian instrument. We also have another couple of Hungarian guest artists, a violin player and a guy that does really deadly, deathly screams, a couple of other vocalists and a New York rapper. So I think it really transformed and impacted our sound.”

and wonderful music. That film, Sacrifi ce, will screen as part of a Sydney gig at the end of this month.

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

arts in focus

death and the maiden Xxxx

voices from the past

also inside:

JOE M A NDE / TTHE HE DA NCERS COMPA N Y / A R T S NE W S / FFILM IL M & TTHE HE ATRE AT R E RE R E V IE W S thebrag.com

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arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

AL MURRAY

five minutes WITH

CRAIG BALDWIN, DIRECTOR OF THE ALIENS

in small town Vermont, USA, two 30-something slackers, KJ and Jasper, talk about the women they’ve lost, their rock band that never was, and the novel they’ll never fi nish. And also shrooms. In walks 17-yearold Evan Shelmerdine, working a summer job between his days at Jewish Music Camp, and somehow they accidentally teach him everything they know.

America’s most celebrated new playwright, Annie Baker, has written an extraordinarily detailed hypernaturalistic exploration of the profound awkwardness of friendship, rock’n’roll, and the road less travelled.

The Aliens

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ell us about the premise behind The Aliens.

Out back of a coffee shop

Is the influence of the two lead characters on their younger disciple a positive or negative one?

No mentor is perfect! And I

guess these guys are probably the furthest from perfect you could imagine. But if you think about the person that first introduced you to your favourite rock band, or to clips of that hilarious bad-taste comic, or in this case the profane poems of Charles Bukowski, they might have been a somewhat unsavoury character… but didn’t they enrich your life anyway?

What makes the setting of the play relevant to a Sydney audience today?

This little forgotten corner of America could just as easily be a forgotten corner of Sydney.

In a culture where one’s worth can often be measured by the number of zeros on the end of your salary, or the suburb you live in, or the car you drive, The Aliens shines its light onto the characters that have fallen

through the cracks of that culture. They hold alternative things dear. They have other ideas about how to measure a person’s worth.

How intensive were the cast’s preparations for the production?

The cast have been spending many weeks now drinking beer, playing guitar and spouting philosophy out the back of the Old Fitz. I think they’re ready.

Do you reckon the aliens are out there somewhere?

Yes. And I’ll tell you exactly where they are, right after I take this shroom…

What: The Aliens Where: Old Fitz Theatre When: Tuesday August 25 – Saturday September 19

Everything Al Murray does sounds as British as you can get – from live DVDs like My Gaff, My Rules and A Glass Of White Wine For The Lady, to hosting TV shows like Compete For The Meat, where contestants battle it out for the chance to win a frozen chicken. His new live show One Man, One Guvnor is no exception, acting as yet another vessel for his infamous Pub Landlord character. Like any good Englishman on holiday, Murray is bringing this new show to Aussie soil, performing as part of Just For Laughs 2015 in the most Australian venue you can think of – the Sydney Opera House – from Monday October 19 – Wednesday October 21.

To celebrate this turn of events, we’ve got one double pass to give away to the Monday October 19 show. To enter the draw, head to thebrag. com/ freeshit.

Havin’ a laugh, innit?

Freeheld

QUEER SCREEN FILM FEST

Queer Screen has announced nine new films for the Queer Screen Film Fest 2015 program. The schedule includes several Australian premiere screenings, an Australian showcase presentation of a new LGBTQI film by Tony Ayres, some massive starstudded Hollywood dramas and the best queer docos from around the world. The opening night will see the Australian premiere of Robin Williams’ final performance in Boulevard, and the festival will close with the much-anticipated Freeheld, starring Ellen Page and Julianne Moore. These two films bookend a great lineup, including Lily Tomlin’s stunning performance in Grandma, and Tab Hunter Confi dential, memoirs from the man who dated Anthony Perkins from Psycho. The festival will run at Event Cinemas George Street from Tuesday September 22 – Sunday September 27.

Check out the full program at queerscreen.org.au.

BIRTHDAY ON THE WHARF Sylvie Guillem

WHAT SYLVIE SAYS

There ain’t no party like a Wharf Revue party.

Australia’s favourite lampoonists return in October for a special birthday edition of Sydney Theatre Company’s The Wharf Revue as they celebrate 15 years of irreverent, anarchic political satire. Jonathan Biggins, Drew Forsythe and Phillip Scott will be joined by Amanda Bishop for an all-singing, all-dancing,

hilarious birthday bash. This year, The Wharf Revue will be a parade of past and present indignitaries – a who’s who of 21st century embarrassments, from politicians to celebrities, all skewered on the stake of seriously sidesplitting satirical silliness and musical mayhem.

The season will run from Wednesday October 21 – Saturday December 19 at Wharf 1 Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company.

The acclaimed Sylvie Guillem is set to give a free talk to Sydney fans before she retires from the world of dance. At Sylvie Guillem – In Conversation With Caroline Baum, A Life In Progress, the world-renowned Parisian dancer Guillem will be discussing her unparalleled 35 years in ballet and contemporary dance, as well as her impending retirement and farewell program, Life In Progress.

This production includes two brand new works from Akram Khan and Russell Maliphant, and will consist of a run of just six shows, before Guillem takes her final leave of the Australian stage. Guillem will perform as part of Life In Progress at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House from Wednesday August 19 – Tuesday August 25, with her talk and Q&A taking place in the Drama Theatre on Sunday August 23.

Tim And Eric

A DEADLY DUO

Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker, better known as Tim And Eric, will return to Australian shores later this year. Masters of the twisted and peculiar, the duo first rose to fame with the animated series Tom Goes To The Mayor. Since then, they have gone on to unleash five seasons of the deeply and profoundly odd television sketch comedy series for Adult Swim, Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! Most recently they released their first book, Tim And Eric’s Zone Theory: 7 Easy Steps To Achieve A Perfect Life. Catch them at the Enmore Theatre on Friday December 11.

MEET THE DANCENDENTS

Two sides of the city are set to ignite for Dancendents, a new dance program of performances, masterclasses and events.

Dancendents is a ReadyMade Works and PACT-curated program that’ll give you a reason to move. Bold and not one bit conventional, it will host the Sydney premiere of two remarkable dance works – Rhiannon Newton’s Assemblies For One Body and Leah Landau’s Summer Bone – alongside performance installation Drawn To Move by Flatline. ReadyMade Works will launch the program with Dance Social before visitors can get their sweat on at one of the masterclasses led by some of Sydney’s best dance artists.

Check out the full program at pact.net.au before it opens Wednesday August 26 – Saturday August 29 at the PACT Centre For Emerging Artists.

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David Sedaris

BONDING WITH WAX SEDARIS IN THE HOUSE

Comedian and bestselling author David Sedaris has announced his third tour to Oz in January 2016. The quick-witted American will be reading from a selection of new and unpublished diary entries and essays in what will be a rare and entertaining experience from the satirist known for such books as Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays On Ice and his most recent effort, Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls. With his trademark sardonic wit and incisive social critique, Sedaris has garnered a reputation for cutting through cultural euphemisms and political correctness, and his social commentary regularly features in The New Yorker and on the likes of BBC and ABC Radio. Catch Sedaris for an evening of hilarious insight at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Monday January 18 and Tuesday January 19.

This September, Madame Tussauds will be transformed for Casino Royale, the party that celebrates all things secret agents and supervillains. Featuring interactive activities and live performances by local up-and-coming artists, The Festivalists’ latest Hijinks event is set to turn Madame Tussauds into a web of intrigue, seduction, and of course, cocktails.

As well as the iconic waxworks, there will be five pop-up bars onsite, chocolate roulette, burlesque performances, trivia, craft, costumes and prizes. So throw on your best tux or pair of killer heels and step into the villain’s lair on Friday September 25. thebrag.com

The Aliens photo by John Marmaras

arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Jade Smith and Vanessa Papastavros

Death And The Maiden [THEATRE] A Familiar Voice By Myf Clark

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ritten in the aftermath of the Pinochet regime in Chile, Ariel Dorfman’s captivating psychological thriller Death And The Maiden was performed by the Sydney Theatre Company in 1992. Now, 23 years later, it’s making its return to the STC stage in a new production starring Susie Porter, Eugene Gilfedder and Steve Mouzakis, and directed by Leticia Càceres.

The play is set in a time where military rule is over and the new democracy looks towards a brighter future. But for victims of the old regime, such as Paulina Salas (Porter), memories are a prison. Through months of pain and degradation she never saw her tormentor’s face, but she heard his voice, calm yet menacing in her ear.

When her husband Gerardo (Mouzakis) invites a stranger back to their isolated beach house, she hears that voice again.

“There are a couple of different aspects to the show,” explains Mouzakis.

“Notably there’s the political aspect of it, in that it’s a play about reconciliation and how we reconcile with the past as a society and as people. The personal comes into the story wherein I play Gerardo Escobar, who’s been appointed to a commission to investigate crimes [and] human rights violations against my wife, Paulina. The show takes place in one night at our beach house with a guest who may or may not be a person that was involved with some crimes of the past against my wife.”

For Mouzakis, Death And The Maiden has quite a complex, yet deceptively simple premise, in which the political, the psychological and the emotional all come together. “It’s basically about the

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past coming back, the inescapable past that we must deal with as a country and as people,” he says.

Mouzakis was introduced to Càceres when working on The Cherry Orchard, and when the opportunity came along to work with her, he wasn’t about to pass it up. “I got a call about Death And The Maiden and I was like, ‘Wow.’ Leticia is originally from Argentina, which is a country that also dealt with a military dictatorship, so she had first-hand, in terms of her family, experienced a lot of that stuff and it was very personal for her.

“I just couldn’t think of a director better suited to take this play on, so I feel very grateful and honoured and privileged that I’ve been invited along. You feel a lot of debt and responsibility, not just to the play but to the fact that we want to do this justice because we’re representing real people.”

Despite the dark nature of the show, Mouzakis has had a great time working with the cast and crew in its Melbourne Theatre Company season. “The play deals with some really gruelling, gruesome stuff – well, gruesome events definitely – so some of it is quite harrowing in terms of rehearsal. But at the same time, as a company of people, we’ve had a great time, one of the best I’ve ever had.

We’ve been having a really enjoyable time as artists, even though the work has been so really full on. There’ve been a lot of laughs and quite a bit of tears as well.”

For a show that was written over 20 years ago, the stories told

in Death And The Maiden are still unfortunately relevant today.

Dorfman himself said in 2011, “It happened yesterday but it could well be today … I can’t help but ask if 20 years from now I will be writing this phrase all over again: this story happened yesterday, but it could well be today.”

Mouzakis also believes the play is as relevant as ever, especially as there is nothing in the story to limit it to a certain time or place. For him, the play asks: “‘What is justice, what is appropriate, what is the difference between justice and revenge? How do we let go and forgive and move on as people and as a collective?

How does that happen in the face of horror?’

“Outside of that, the real great challenge of this play is that it’s got a real visceral, happening-inthe-moment thing about it,” says Mouzakis. “We wonder, ‘Did he do it? Didn’t he do it? What are they going to do now? What’s right, what’s wrong, what’s the right or wrong thing to do?’ The hope is that it places the audience in a place where they think not just, ‘Oh God, what’s going to happen next?’ but ‘What would I do?’ I think it’s a very exciting play and it gets to the point and it punches really hard, really quickly.”

What: Death And The Maiden Where: Wharf 1 Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company When: Friday August 28 – Saturday October 17

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Joe Mande [COMEDY] Take A Good Look By Ian Barr

I

f you’re familiar with American comedian Joe Mande, it’s most likely because of his work as part of the writing team behind TV’s Parks And Recreation, or for the website Look At This Fucking Hipster, which was later published as a book. If you’re familiar with his actual name, however, there’s a good chance it’s because of his Twitter account. This isn’t a slight against Mande’s stand-up work; that’s just how the world works these days, and he really is that good at Twitter, even (or rather, especially) if he’s just retweeting a particularly noxious tweet.

The Dancers Company [DANCE] Three Times Lucky By Tegan Jones

D

espite popular misconception, ballet is a diverse art form that traverses multiple genres. This fact can sometimes be lost on modern audiences, which is something The Australian Ballet aims to rectify with its latest show, The Dancers Company, at the Riverside Theatres in Parramatta.

One of the most unique aspects of the show is that it’s made up of three different ballets – Swan Lake (Act III), Paquita and Rimbombo. In addition to exhibiting how unique ballet can be, there may be another reason behind this decision. “The places we’re travelling to don’t get The Australian Ballet coming to them very often,” says dancer Valerie Tereshchenko. “I guess the bigger variety you can give them, the more likely they’ll fi nd something that they’ll enjoy.”

Being only a recent convert to ballet, I wonder whether these three acts will tie together in some way, or be left as separate entities.

“They’re defi nitely three separate ballets, which is good because they’re so different that I don’t think you can really weave them together,” Tereshchenko explains.

One of the greatest hurdles of a production such as this is the juggling of multiple roles from

incredibly different ballets. This is particularly pertinent when Act III of Swan Lake and its famous pas de deux is thrown into the mix.

“In Paquita, Brodie [James] and myself will be playing solos,” says Tereshchenko. “It’s an abstract ballet in the sense that it doesn’t have a storyline, but it defi nitely has a certain fl avour and style. It’s got a bit of a Spanish feel in the music and the movements, and it’s kind of a bit more showy and exciting, whereas in Swan Lake, you get a lot of acting.”

But the question is, does the ballerina have a favourite character in this production?

“My favourite would have to be Odile, who is the black swan.

The dancing itself is technically harder, but I think what I really enjoy is the story of her character. It’s really nice to be able to really lose yourself and be something that you’re not. Act III is basically me casting a spell and weaving my magic on the prince and making him do the wrong thing,” she laughs.

Another interesting element of the production is that it showcases the fresh talent that’s emerging from the Australian ballet world. “Almost all of the dancers are from The Australian Ballet School’s graduating class. Some of them you might see next year in the company,

because they take on a lot of talented students from the school,” says Tereshchenko.

“Also, Brodie and myself are not principals. We’re quite fresh and haven’t had the chance to do these kinds of roles yet. It’s a challenge for us to step up and do these big roles, but will also be a progression to doing bigger things with the main company in the future.”

With so many dancers and audience members still being drawn to the art, it’s interesting to theorise on what continues to make ballet so special.

“Ballet was created in the court of King Louis XIV, so why it’s lasted until today is a mystery, but it’s also proof that there’s something in it that people must love. It’s escapism, art, physicality, acting, characters and beauty.

“When you fi nd a really purely idiotic tweet, it speaks for itself, and that’s my favourite thing – you don’t have to add commentary to it,” Mande says, fresh from singling out especially cringey 140-character emissions from Adrian Grenier and Rob Schneider. “I spend so much of day just reading garbage, trying to fi nd stuff that’s funny, and now I’ve been blocked by so many people, it just gets harder and harder.”

Gracious though Mande is when told of his social media prowess, he simultaneously recoils at the idea of it defi ning him. “I agree with you, ‘internet personality’ is a terrible thing,” he says.

“The other night, I was trying to get people to delete ‘internet persona’ from my Wikipedia page. That was a bad idea, because it just got people to deface my Wikipedia page for 12 hours … there was a part that said ‘prolifi c Twitter user’ and someone changed it to ‘pro-life Twitter user’.”

Long before publicly trolling everyone from Frankie Muniz to NBA player Gilbert Arenas, Mande got his start as part of a high school improv team in Minnesota, then officially began doing stand-up during his time

at Boston University, before relocating to New York City.

“New York is a tough place, just inherently, but you just have to fi nd your people,” he says. “I was kinda aimless, and didn’t know where to perform or what my scene was, and then you end up with people you fi nd funny and you just kinda roll with them. For me, it was Nick Kroll and John Mulaney and Jenny Slate – we all found each other pretty early on.”

Mande is now based in LA as part of the writing team behind Parks And Recreation, for which he was recruited two years ago.

As for Look At This Fucking Hipster? “I’m not super proud of it,” he admits, possibly due to how exhausted a subject it’s since become (though he is proud of it being referenced in an Aussie Honda advertisement).

For his first visit Down Under – fresh off the release of his first album, the hip hop mixtapeinspired Bitchface – he’s similarly wary of well-worn, culturally specifi c material.

“I’ve been told by a couple of people who performed there not to dwell too long on Australian accents, because it’s alienating and not interesting to people in Australia [laughs] … I should probably sit down and learn the name of your Prime Minister or whatever, the basics.”

Neither should one expect material akin to Mande’s Twitter account. “My stand-up is mostly kinda longer-form, often stories … I would think that if people are coming to hear me shit on Ryan Seacrest, they’re gonna be disappointed.”

Where: Giant Dwarf When: Friday September 4 and Saturday September 5

“But I also think that what The Australian Ballet is doing in its upcoming program is really trying, and hopefully succeeding, in using things that are current to modern culture and bringing it into ballet. It’s keeping it quite current with architecture and amazing new music work as well.”

What: The Dancers Company Where: Riverside Theatres When: Friday August 21 and Saturday August 22

The Dancers Company photo by Jim McFarlane

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

Southpaw

■ Theatre

SEVENTEEN Playing at Belvoir St Theatre until Sunday September 13 Dence), whose bestie Lizzie (Genevieve Lemon) is a bit of a goodie two-shoes.

School outcast Ronny (Barry Otto) tags along much to Mike’s chagrin, as does his 14-year-old sister Edwina (Anna Volska).

The first half of the play sees the gang play on teenage tropes, and it’s hard not to feel like we’re going to be ladled with corny gags at the expense of a group of seniors while they wear skinny jeans and sink beers. There’s also a noticeable lack of technology for 2015 teens. Aside from one selfie, there’s no Instagram or Snapchat – not even a lazy text sent – and after a while it’s hard to get past the perfect diction of these seasoned performers to really believe they’re teens.

Seventeen

Anne-Louise Sarks took to Twitter; TayTay herself granted permission in an 11th-hour reply. It’s the stuff marketers dream of.

The play itself is basic end-of-school stuff: Tom (Peter Carroll) is moving to Melbourne after exams, his best mate Mike (John Gaden) is dating Sue (Maggie

Julian Ramundi

■ Theatre

The Bleeding Tree

THE BLEEDING TREE

Griffin Theatre cares about new writing – so much so it’ll charge a little extra for the program, and instead of getting a cast list and a few words on the play, you get the whole darn play. It’s long been one of Griffin’s best features, and never better value than with Angus Cerini’s The Bleeding Tree, a seething and poetic text that is perfectly attuned to modern Australia.

In cinemas Thursday August 20 I’m going to invest about as much effort into writing this review as Southpaw’s creators invested into making an original film.

Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a man who punches other men for a living. He’s the best puncher around, the lightweight champion of the world. But after losing his temper and witnessing his wife murdered, he discovers that being the world’s greatest puncher doesn’t make him the world’s greatest papa. Hope has to fight to win back his daughter and his will to live.

Hero berated by mentor: first ten minutes.

Wife dead: 12-minute catalyst. The expected routine of Hope’s loss, betrayal and the road to redemption follows, along the way picking up a wizened new mentor who “doesn’t train pros no more”, learning how to dad, meeting a pointless villain and undergoing no fewer than three training montages. THREE.

Three women – a mother and her daughters – greet the man of the house home one night with a shotgun blast to the neck. Having rid themselves of the abusive monster, they must quickly work out how to rid themselves of both the body and the intrusive questioning of their neighbours.

And then there’s the text. While the play feels uniquely Australian in the hands of this cast and crew, the language feels like it could take place almost anywhere. Unforgiving,

unrelenting and profoundly lyrical, Cerini has crafted an extraordinarily black comedy that could not be more relevant to our times.

Considering the domestic violence statistics in this country – with 55 women killed this year alone – this tale of just vengeance is like a salve over an open wound that stings with its healing power.

A play of blistering intensity, brutal humour and Grand Guignol levels of catharsis, realised with crystalline clarity – this is the kind of show all Australian stages should strive to emulate.

David Molloy

The Tempest

What's in our diary...

Sydney Opera House, Wednesday August 19 – Friday September 18 “We are such stuff. As dreams are made on; and our little life. Is rounded with a sleep.”

Perhaps Shakespeare’s darkest comedy, The Tempest is brewing up a storm in the Sydney Opera House. John Bell is celebrating Bell Shakespeare’s 25th anniversary, and his final production with the company, by undertaking the enchanting and famous tale.

Prospero, a duke in exile, rules his new court with an iron fist. Having shipwrecked his usurper brother, he finds himself conflicted as to whether he should pursue forgiveness or revenge. With characters like the wide-eyed Miranda, the flighty Ariel and the brutish Caliban, The Tempest is a must for modern audiences. Expect cavorting spirits, music and merriment, love and loss.

Tickets start at $65, visit sydneyoperahouse.com for more details and to book.

It doesn’t matter that Gyllenhaal put in the hard yards to tank up for the part: it is, after all, his job. (Putting on a Stalloneesque slur and getting a good make-up artist is not ‘transformative’.) It doesn’t matter that both Forest Whitaker and Rachel McAdams are excellent actors. It doesn’t matter that 14 years ago, director Antoine Fuqua helmed Training Day, one of the best thrillers of its time.

What matters is nothing this film can offer. In this pathetically clichéd tripe, the hero winning back his championship belt won’t bring his wife back, nor make him a competent father. Learning how not to get hit in the face does not make one a role model. Each of his selfish actions is motivated by nothing more than a desire to progress the plot forward to another pianoladen, overemotional sequence of slo-mo sadness cued to pad out the runtime.

There’s no reason for Tick (Whitaker) to give up training. There’s no reason to leave the murder unsolved (there were witnesses everywhere and even the subplot of a false accusation is left hanging). There is no reason for 50 Cent, who is not an actor, to be in this film, nor the three Eminem songs that accompany him. There’s no reason to care about anyone or anything in this movie, and there’s no reason to ever call your main character Hope. Ever.

Southpaw left me no more interested in boxing than before, but it certainly did make me want to punch someone.

David Molloy

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The Tempest photo by Brian Lipson The Bleeding Tree photo by Brett Boardman

Lewis, a fan of the incline stage since 2011’s Silent Disco (if not before), has employed Renée Mulder’s intriguing design to full effect without making the set feel gimmicky. Milo tin light fixtures on the floor and subtle shifts in Verity Hampson’s clean lighting design keep the focus on the faces of Lewis’ cast, who maintain their stress levels with the kind of commitment last seen from Robyn Nevin in Barrie Kosky’s Women Of Troy. With its sandpaper texture, it must be a thrilling set to walk barefoot.

Arts Exposed

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SOUTHPAW

This is a classic example of the current trend in Hollywood production – here, fresh from the mould, is yet another screenplay lifted straight from the pages of Save The Cat!, and it follows the formula to the letter. So much so, in fact, that it feels like watching a pantomime wherein audience members can call out the next plot point five minutes before it hits the screen.

Playing at SBW Stables Theatre until Saturday September 5

Artistic director Lee Lewis has gathered three leading ladies to tread the Griffin boards and each is as powerful as the last. The most experienced of the three, the mother (Paula Arundell), is one of the fiercest actors I’ve seen on a Sydney stage, taking to the visceral wordplay of Cerini’s text like a dancer to new steps. Airlie Dodds’ naivety and Shari Sebbens’ brutish insistence make for excellent play between the two daughters, emphasised by their perfectly recreated sibling rivalry. The trio make for a very believable family, and stretch to including three additional characters, clearly defined, without adding new bodies to the stage; each new arrival brings with them a wave of tangible tension.

■ Film

Seventeen photo by Brett Boardman

A thick amount of hype preceded the opening of Seventeen. The play’s premise – teens on their last day of school to be played by actors in their 70s – pricked a few ears, but the publicity the production garnered just a day before opening had the theatre foyer in overdrive. In a nutshell, it hadn’t got permission to use Taylor Swift’s hit single ‘Shake It Off’ in the play; director

But about halfway through, something happens. The actors slip into their new skins, the story reveals itself, and suddenly we’re presented with real characters and real problems. In opting for more truthful presentations rather than caricatures, we’re able see these teens for who they are and engage with it altruistically. It’s powerful to watch performers with a huge depth of experience play these kids with such sensitivity and warmth, and bring a timeless essence to the awkwardness of adolescence.

It’s definitely one to experience before it’s gone forever.

Game On Gaming news with Adam Guetti

Releases AUG New Just because 2015

it’s the end of the month doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands on a couple of triple-A titles to distract you until the September hot season. First up on Tuesday August 25 is Gears Of War: Ultimate Edition for Xbox One. It brings back the 2006 classic with improved 1080p visuals and 60fps gameplay.

Jump forward a day and PlayStation 4 owners will be able to scare themselves silly with Until Dawn. Originally pitched as a PS3 game, this choose-your-own-adventure-style game places eight friends on a mountain retreat with a killer on the loose and only you to save them. You call the shots and decide who dies and who makes it… until dawn.

■ Film

■ Film

HOLDING THE MAN

IRRATIONAL MAN

In cinemas Thursday August 27

In cinemas Thursday August 20

Director Neil Armfi eld has been away from the silver screen for too long – last gracing us with the hard-hitting Candy in 2006 – which makes his return with this adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s beloved memoir all the more splendid.

Holding The Man is a simple yet deeply moving account of a great romance, told with genuine warmth, humour and astonishing intimacy.

From its high-profi le cast (Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone) and its high dialogue-to-action ratio, right down to its tortured, however brilliant protagonist, Woody Allen’s silver screen offering for 2015 has all the markings of his signature fi lms. Like we would have expected anything less.

17-year-old aspiring actor Tim (Ryan Corr) can’t take his eyes off John Caleo (Craig Stott), a star football player at his all-boys Jesuit Catholic high school. So begins a relationship that for 15 years defies every attempt to tear it apart, from social pressures to familial politics to sexual liberation and the deterioration of the body itself.

While Holding The Man’s greatest strengths surely come from its source material, praise must be lavished upon the star-crossed lovers of this tale. Corr is a magnetic force that attracts and repulses in equal measure; though he makes for an unconvincing teenager, he is an endearing lead and foil to Stott’s complex, vulnerable and genuinely transformative performance. The support cast is also excellent, with particular reverence owed to Camilla Ah Kin’s mother in a house divided, and a very amusing cameo from Geoffrey Rush.

Both the actors and screenwriter Tommy Murphy may take credit for the subtlety with which currents of guilt, desire and rage fl ow through the fi lm without ever breaking the surface.

What sets Holding The Man apart from its soft-focus peers is its ever-present physicality and a lmost painful intimacy.

We are constantly exposed to the body, in frequently graphic scenes of open sexuality that are shot in both a frank and tasteful fashion. Later, this carnality takes a darker turn as the AIDS epidemic of the ’80s rears its head, and the aching tenderness of a forbidden kiss through a fl yscreen gives way to the horror of gloved fi ngers probing open wounds.

It’s also a profoundly Australian story, and Armfield has managed to tell it without any of the clumsy ockerisms or sentimental pandering that its contemporaries bandy about. He is unafraid of showing us at our best and our worst with little in the way of affect.

There’s an absolute mastery of his craft on display, evidenced by a single extended shot near the film’s end, which is undoubtedly one of the most excruciatingly emotional moments you’ll witness this year.

In typical Allen fashion, the cast is short and sweet. It encompasses the starcrossed oddball couple, Abe and Jill, and their attached family and friends.

Jill (Stone) is a philosophy major who quickly befriends her professor, Abe (Phoenix), after he compliments her on her forward-thinking paper. A ravenous fascination with him ensues. It’s built on his sorrow, his alcohol abuse, his history, his knowledge, and fi nally, the possibility that she can ‘fi x him’. But despite her advances, Abe is determined to keep their relationship plutonic, reiterating friendship at every twist and turn.

Inevitably, it isn’t Jill who turns Abe’s frown upside down, but the possibility of redemption through an existential criminal act. Entertaining a Strangers On A Train scenario, Abe secretly devises a plan to commit a murder, which in turn would relieve the suffering of another tortured soul. It’s his newfound ravenous fascination in the ability to pull off this perfect crime that gives him a new lease of life; a will to live, as he would have it.

But the question is: does taking a life to save another truly make for redemption?

Phoenix plays Abe remarkably. He is subtle, understated and quietly likeable.

His relentless refusal against Jill’s persistence is admirable as he allows Abe to stay true and honest to himself.

All commendation must be made to Stone as well, who captures the energy of Jill and throws it back into the mix with effortless ease. While there are times where it feels as though her character is childish and insipid, it’s never long until she throws another thought-provoking or feminist wile our way and we are taken.

Cleverly written and executed with just enough raw humour to dampen the philosophical blow that Allen loves to deploy, Irrational Man is as enjoyable as it is thought-provoking.

Also on the 27th is the stealth superstar Dishonored: Definitive Edition. Like on Gears Of War, expect remastered graphics and all previously released DLC packs that’ll have you ready for next year’s sequel.

Love yourself the odd video game soundtrack but feel as though it needs a little more saxophone?

Well look no further than The Consouls – a six-piece group of gamers who have made it their task to put down their gamepads and focus on creating jazz arrangements of popular video game tunes. Now, after a fantastic first show, the ensemble returns to Play Bar in Surry Hills this Wednesday August 19 for another night of smooth tunes, covering titles ranging from Super Mario Bros. to Zelda, Pokémon and more.

Good Game Live

Following a hugely successful show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, ABC 2’s video game culture and review show, Good Game, is taking to the Enmore Theatre for a night of video game-inspired trivia madness on Saturday September 5. See series hosts Steven ‘Bajo’ O’Donnell, Stephanie ‘Hex’ Bendixsen and Gus ‘Goose’ Ronald in the flesh as two teams of well-known geeks put their brain to the test in order to challenge their gaming credibility and improv skills. That’s not all, though, because special guests will include Andrew Hansen (The Chaser), Michael Hing (Good Game Well Played), Nich Richardson (The Roast, Good Game Pocket) and local musical comedy trio Tripod.

Wrapping things up on Saturday August 29 is something for the Wii U owners – Devil’s Third.

Taking a more mature approach than most titles on the system, this third-person action shooter combines modern military weaponry with ninjastyle swordplay and melee combat. Sounds promising, but this is your chance to find out for yourself.

Review: Rare Replay (Xbox One) Rare Replay: Banjo-Kazooie

Once upon a time, the name Rare created hope and joy in the hearts and minds of video game fans the world over. After all, this was the development team behind some of your all-time favourites like Perfect Dark, Conker’s Bad Fur Day y and the forever-memorable GoldenEye on the Nintendo 64. Then in 2002, the beloved company was bought by Microsoft and the studio’s output quality took a rather sizeable and noticeable nosedive, focusing on Xbox Avatars and Kinect titles.

Still, in order to celebrate its 30th anniversary in the industry, the team at Rare has decided to take a look back at what made it successful in the first place, and created one of the best value deals you will ever find on a single Xbox One disc.

Pick up Rare Replay y and you’ll nab a whopping 30 games, including classics like Battletoads, Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark, Viva Piñata, Banjo-Kazooie and a whole lot more. Sadly GoldenEye is the one glaring omission from the pack (as its rights, along with Donkey Kong, are tied up with mega-corp Nintendo), but the collection is an incredible package regardless.

Stephanie Yip It’s worth noting that not every title successfully stands the test of time as well as you might hope, but most are thankfully presented just as you remember and do well to inject you with a solid dose of nostalgia. Banjo-Kazooie (which has been copied from its more recent highdefinition upgrade), for example, remains one of the most charming 3D platformers of all time, while Perfect Dark Zero is still the uninspiring disappointment that it was back in 2002.

Each game also offers challenges that reward you with stamps – a currency that can be used to unlock a wealth of documentaries about the studio’s history, its games and its music. The harder the content is to unlock, the meatier it is – like a look into games that never came to fruition such as Kameo 2. Many won’t bother to spend the time, but they’re fascinating insights for hardcore fans.

Holding The Man is a triumph, as a reflection of our culture, how far we’ve come and how far we have to go; as an honest and powerful portrayal of modern life, love and sexuality; and as a simple, heartbreaking and enduring romantic tale.

Ci vedremo lassù, angeli.

David Molloy

If you’re looking for something a little sportier instead, maybe hold out until Thursday August 27 for Madden NFL 16. The annual franchise that allows you to ram American footballers into one another spends this year focusing on improved passing and expanded receiver/defender controls. It’s out on PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360.

The Consouls: Video Game Jazz Live

WHAT’S ON

Holding The Man

All in all, though, Rare Replayy remains an incredibly tight package filled with some of the greatest games to come out of the industry. With so many titles to choose from, there’s a little something for everyone, each helping to serve as a smile-inducing reminder of what Rare was once capable of. Here’s hoping its glory days re-emerge once more.

Irrational Man Adam Guetti

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 23

the grub

the pub

THE SHAKESPEARE HOTEL 200 DEVONSHIRE ST, SURRY HILLS

For all the things we love about Sydney culture in 2015 – great coffee, more dessert choices than you can poke a marshmallowencrusted stick at, and a diverse music and arts scene – sometimes we all just need to kick back with a classic.

When it comes to a hearty winter feed, nothing beats the local pub – so we caught up with some of our favourite locals to find out what’s new on the menu, and what familiar dishes still rule the roast.

Chowing down: Cheap and delicious pub food. Most of the menu is priced at $12.50. Burgers, pork ribs, steaks, lamb shanks, schnitzels, parmis.

Staff pick: Our most popular is our 280g rump steak with crinkle cut chips and salad ($12.50), then our slowcooked lamb shanks with creamy mash and salad ($15.50) and our flame-grilled cheeseburger with crinkle cut chips ($12.50).

Do us a deal: Monday – $10 burgers; Tuesday – $10 rump steaks; Wednesday – $10 chicken schnitzels; Thursday – $10 fish and chips.

Care for a drink? On tap we have Young Henry’s Real Ale, Coopers Pale, Lazy Yak, Reschs, Peroni, Guinness, VB and Carlton. There are plenty of craft

beers in the fridge, constantly rotating through different varieties. The wine list is all Australian with Simon Gilbert, Tim Adams, David Franz, Well Mannered the majority. House wine starts from $6.50/ glass and $24.90/bottle.

What to see and do: We have a Monday night trivia which always fills up, members’ badge draw on Wednesday night, and Sunday roasts.

The crowd: We host some of the most eclectic crowd in Sydney. Famous with skaters (after being on the front of Skaters Journal mag), Surry Hills hipsters, media types, film students, families for dinner and some locals who have been coming here for 40 years.

Happy Hour: Mon – Fri 4-6pm on all house beers, wines and spirits.

LORD ROBERTS HOTEL 64 STANLEY ST, DARLINGHURST

Chowing down: Gastro food is the order of the day at the Lord Roberts.

Staff pick: The Portuguese chicken burger and the pork belly are definitively high up there. They cost $17 and $19, respectively.

the pub

the grub

Do us a deal: We have specials every day, covering food and drinks. Visit lordrobertshotel.com.au for full details.

What to see and do: We have great live jazz and funk music playing every Thursday evening in the main bar, sports all through the pub at all times.

There’s also a pool table and cocktail bar.

The crowd: Darlinghurst is such an eclectic neighbourhood and our clientele certainly reflect the local vibe.

Happy hour: Monday to Friday 4-6pm 24 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

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NEWTOWN SOCIAL CLUB 387 KING ST, NEWTOWN

the grub

Chowing down: Newtown Social Club has been given a fresh facelift. The newly renamed Ground Floor at Newtown Social Club has been unveiled with a charming new look and completely new food and drink offering. Our all-day food offering has had a complete shake-up, with a number of weekly specials and a new signature meatballfocused menu that allows diners to choose their own adventure in three easy steps – meatballs, sauce and side for just $19.

Staff pick (with Emily): My personal favourite is the vegan balls with kale tabouleh, spicy roma tomato and basil sauce.

It’s healthy and real tasty! I recommend the platters as well, as they are great value for money and go really well with a glass of wine or two.

Do us a deal: Monday night – $10 parma subs.

Tuesday and Wednesday night – wine and dine (any three-step ball combination served with a glass of house Shiraz or Semillon Sauvignon Blanc for $20).

Endless Sundays – vegan or meaty platter with a bottle of endless Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio for $45.

the pub

Care for a drink? We have a variety of taps including Alpha Pale Ale, Coopers and Young Henry’s. The drinks menu has been given a complete overhaul, with a solid new wine list featuring a number of organic and biodynamic wines and locally produced spirits such as Archie Rose’s Signature Gin and Stone Pine Dead Man’s Drop Black Spiced Rum. For those who like something a bit fancier, the new cocktail list boasts a range of flavours from the refreshing Blood Orange Margarita to the tart Fireball Sour and classic Old Fashioned with Tassie Lark Whisky.

What to see and do: One of the best live music rooms in Sydney! Music up to seven nights a week including Swerve Society, which is a free showcase of live, local acts on Monday nights.

The crowd: Expect a very diverse crowd. We welcome all kinds of folk through our doors here.

Happy hour: Monday – Friday 4-6pm. A selection of beers, schooners at middy prices.

the grub

DOVE & OLIVE

156 DEVONSHIRE ST, SURRY HILLS

Chowing down: At the Dove & Olive we serve classic pub dishes. We draw our influences from Italian and American-style cooking.

Staff pick: The Jambalaya. It’s a delicious Louisiana-style creole rice dish (similar to a paella) with sausage, shrimp, chicken, cilantro and cajun spices. It’ll cost you $18.

Do us a deal: Have we got deals for you!

Every Monday – Thursday we offer a $9.90 meal, available all day. Mondays it’s schnitzels, Tuesday is po’boy day, Wednesday is steak day and on Thursday it’s burgers. On Saturdays our 330g Monster Parmagiana with fries and slaw is only $12.50. We also do a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings for $15.

Care for a drink? At the Dove & Olive, we’re all about beer. With 28 individual taps pouring over 20 craft beers and cider, you’ll find a great selection of local craft beers. As our selection is always rotating to bring you the most interesting beers available, you’ll find something new to try each time. A tasting paddle for $10 is a great way to sample them!

What to see and do: Craft Beer Fight Club is a monthly event that brings two craft breweries (and their beers) to taste and vote on whose beer is best. It’s a great night of banter and rowdiness. The next one is being held on Sunday August 23, with special guest host Christina Batista, who will be cooking up some special Aussie and New Zealand beer-inspired dishes to give out. Tickets are still available but get in quick!

The crowd: We see a bit of a mix of people at the Dove & Olive, from local office workers enjoying an after-work beer to the die-hard beer nerd.

Happy hour: Craft Beer Happy Hour ($4 select craft beer and cider): Mon – Sat 5-7pm Happy Hour ($4 house wine, spirits, house beer): Mon – Sat 5-7pm Beer of the Week ($6.50 schooners): all day every day Tinnie Tuesday ($5 Young Henrys tinnies): all day Tuesdays

i

the pub

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 25

BARS BRAG

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

A Work In Progress 50 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-2am The Attic 275 Pitt St, Sydney CBD (02) 9284 1200 Mon – Fri 11am-1am; Saturday 5pm-1am Ash St Cellar 1 Ash St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri 8.30am-11pm Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808

The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight Balcony Bar 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon 5pm - late; Tue – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight BAR100 100 George St, The Rocks (02) 8070 9311 Mon – Thu noon-late;

Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun noon-midnight Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4712 Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat 4-11pm The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 9699 Mon – Wed, Sat 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Fri 3pm-midnight The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am Bondy’s L1, 16 Philip Ln,

Sydney CBD (02) 9251 2347 Thu – Fri 5pm-late; Sat 5pm-late Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-3am; Sat – Sun 4pm-3am

MIDDLEBAR

Goodgod Small Club 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD (02) 8084 0587 Wed 5pm-11pm; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 6pm-3am Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Mon – Sun noon-late Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-late; Sat 5pm-late The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney

bar

OF

ADDRESS: LEVEL 2, 383 BOURKE ST, TAYLOR SQ, DARLINGHURST PHONE: (02) 9331 3100 WEBSITE: MIDDLEBAR.SYDNEY OPENING HOURS: WEDNESDAY – SUNDAY 5PM-3AM

The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am

TH

EK

Mon – Tue 5-11pm; Wed – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight

Gilt Lounge 49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Wed 6pm-midnight; Thu & Sat 6pm-2am; Fri 5pm-2am

E E W

CBD (02) 9279 4369 Mon 7am-3pm; Tue – Fri 7am-evening The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thurs & Sat 4pm-late; Fri noon-late Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sun 11:30am-3am The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight The Loft UTS 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER) (02) 9514 1149 Mon – Wed 2pm-10pm; Thurs – Fri 2pm-late Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu, Sat 4pm-1am; Fri 3pm-1am The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 11.30am-midnight; Thu 11.30am-1am; Fri – Sat 11.30am-2am; Sun 11.30am-10pm 11.30am-10pm The Palisade 35 Bettington St, Millers Point (02) 9247 2040 Tue – Fri noon-2.30pm & 6pm-9.30pm; Sat 6pm-9.30pm Mr Tipply’s 347 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 4877 Mon – Sat 10am-late Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3172 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Fri 3pm-late; Sat – Sun 5pm-late Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 5pm-12am

Tell us about your bar: The venue has had a couple of facelifts over the past 15 years. The original Middlebar was a place that was known for great drinks and great music, without the pretention. When I came on board and was asked what to change the name to, I thought Middlebar would help bring back that ethos – and it has. When you come up, you’ll expect to find a chilled out,

relaxed atmosphere and staff that want to make sure you leave having had an amazing experience.

What’s on the menu?

Middlebar is right next to Johnny Wong’s Dumpling Bar. Care for a drink?

Our gintonic menu gives you a selection of 50 gins, and an

assortment of tonic waters and garnishes. Daiquiris also have their own separate menu, our wine list offers a selection of interesting varietals from across the Spanishspeaking world, and the beer list has a little something for everyone.

Cristal is a Cuban favorite, but then lots of local craft beers from brewers like Young Henry’s, Wayward and Mountain Goat and some old favourites like Coopers Green and Reschs.

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

Sounds: Besides Bamboo Boogie Wednesdays, we will soon have DJs playing every night of the week. Our new Sunday session will kick off with hip hop legends DJ Hudge, Cool Hand Luke and Mark Walton.

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

Highlights: We pride ourselves on catering to anyone that wants to have a fun night out. Any night of the week you might see business people, students, Tinder dates, hipsters and hospo crowds all hanging out on the balcony together.

The SG 32 York St, Sydney CBD 0402 813 035 Tues – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

The bill comes to: Prawn gow gee + El Floridita Daiquiri = $27.50

26 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern 199 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 6pm-10pm

Shirt Bar 7 Sussex Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 8068 8222

Mon –Wed 8am-8pm; Thu – Fri 8am-10pm Since I Left You 338 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4986 Mon – Wed 5pm-10pm; Thu – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Small Bar 48 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0782 Mon – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Smoking Panda 5-7 Park St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 4618 Wed – Sat 4pm-late Stitch Bar 61 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0380 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-2am; Sat 4pm-2am The Swinging Cat 44 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 3696 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Tapa Vino 6 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay (02) 9247 3221 Mon – Fri noon11.30pm Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 5pm-midnight York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6.30pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight

121BC 4/50 Holt St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 1582 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Absinthe Salon 87 Albion St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 6632 Wed – Sat 4-10pm Arcadia Liquors 7 Cope St, Redfern (02) 8068 4470 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Mon – Sat 6pm-late; Sun 11am-3pm Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 9331 0065 Thu – Sun 6pm-late The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am Black Penny 648 Bourke St, Redfern (02) 9319 5061 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Brooklyn Social 17 Randle St, Surry Hills 0451 972 057

Tue – Sat noon-2am Button Bar 65 Foveaux St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1544 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Café Lounge 277 Goulburn St, Surry Hills (02) 9016 3951 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sunday 4-10pm Casoni Italian Bar & Eatery 371-373 Bourke St, Darlinghurst Tue – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Central Tavern 42 Chalmers St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3814 Mon – Sat 10am-2am; Sun 10am-10pm Ching-a-Lings 1/133 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 3333 Tue – Wed 6pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 5pm-10pm The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Wed – Sat 6pm-4am The Chalet Lvl 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst 0449 998 005 Thu – Sat 5pm--2am The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-late; Thu – Fri 12pm-late; Sat – Sun 6pm-late The Darlie Laundromatic 304 Palmer St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight Eau De Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Mon – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 6pm-midnight The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 9357 5333 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun noon-midnight Goros 84-86 Mary St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 0214 Mon – Wed 11:30am-midnight; Thu 11:30am-1am: Fri 11:30am-3am; Sat 4pm-3am The Hazy Rose 1/83 Stanley St, Darlinghurst (02) 9357 5036 Wed – Thu

thebrag.com

COCKTAIL OF THE WEEK

ROSEBERY RYE JULEP

Pour it in your mouth-hole... (responsibly).

The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight

@ ARCHIE ROSE DISTILLING CO., 85 DUNNING AVE, ROSEBERY Origins: It’s a twist on a Southern classic Ingredients: • A generous serve (60ml) of Archie Rose Distilling Co. White Rye • A big handful of fresh mint • A teaspoon or two of sugar • Crushed ice

Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0409 284 928 Mon – Sun 1am-11pm

Method: Press mint gently into the bottom of the glass, add remaining ingredients, and churn baby churn till ice crystals form on the outside of the glass.

Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: middaymidnight; Sun: midday10pm

Glass: Glass tinnie Garnish: A sprig of fresh mint Best drunk with: Fried chicken During: A warm afternoon While wearing: A straw hat and a smile And listening to: Bluegrass

5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm

Mon – Sun 6pm-2am

Hello Sailor 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9332 2442 Tue – Sun 5pm-3am

Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0414 691 811 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm

Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 1-10pm

The Norfolk 305 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 3177 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am

The Passage 231A Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 6116 Mon – Sat 5pm-late

Hustle & Flow Bar 105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 9310 5593 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight Jekyll & Hyde 332 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 5568 Wed – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 8.30am-late; Sun 8.30am-evening Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-late Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-late; Sat 4pm-late LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Mon – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat noon-late; Sun 11am-10pm The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-11pm Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Low 302 302 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1548 thebrag.com

Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4pm-midnight The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington 0424 034 020 Wed – Fri: 3pm-late; Sat 12pm-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Sat 6pm-late & Fri noon-3pm Peekaboo 120 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Mon – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm – 12am Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point 0423 203 119 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 8356 9120 Mon 5pm-midnight: Tue – Sun 4pm-midnight Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory

The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Tue – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

More: archierose.com.au • @archierosesyd • facebook.com/archierosedistillingco.com 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun 6pm-3am Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705 Tue – Sun middaymidnight Sweethearts Rooftop 33/37 Darlinghurst Rd, Potts Point (02) 8070 2424 Mon – Thu 2pm-11.30pm; Fri – Sun noon-11.30pm This Must Be The Place 239 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 8063 Mon – Sun 3pm-midnight Tio’s Cerveceria 4/14 Foster St, Surry Hills Mon – Sun 5pm-midnight Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight The Village Inn 9-11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Mon – Sun 12pm-late The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noonmidnight

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Tue – Fri 4.30pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Wed 5pm-late; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive

(02) 9365 4122 Mon – Tue 11am-5pm; Wed – Sun 11am-late The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm

noon-late; Sun noon10pm The Chip Off The Old Block 3 Little Queen Street, Chippendale (02) 9318 0815 Tue – Sat 4pm-11pm

Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 6pm-late; Sat – Sun 2pm-late

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

Mr Moustache 61-79 Hall St, Bondi Beach (02) 9300 8892 Mon – Fri 5pm-11pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm

Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0422 873 879 Tue – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 1pm-10pm

Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm; Sat – Sun 4pm-10pm

Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

Spring Street Social (and Jam Gallery) Underground 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tues – Sat 4pm-3am Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noonmidnight; Sun noon10pm

The Angry Pirate 125 Redfern St Redfern (02) 9698 9140 Tue – Thur 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-midnight Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6pm-midnight The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon - midnight; Sun midday - 10pm Blacksheep 256 King St, Newtown (02) 8033 3455 Mon – Fri 4pm-11pm; Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm Bloodwood 416 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 7699 Mon, Wed – Thu 5pm-late; Fri – Sat

Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon – Sat 4.30pm-late Doris & Beryl’s Bridge Club and Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 5.30pm-midnight Earl’s Juke Joint 407 King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Freda’s 107-109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Tues – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-1am; Sun noon10pm Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 9911 Mon – Fri noonmidnight; Sat 11am-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm Kelly’s On King 285 King St, Newtown (02) 9565 2288

Mon – Fri 10am-2.30am; Sat 10am-3.30am; Sun 11am-11.30pm Knox Street Bar 21 Shepherd St, Chippendale Tue – Thu 4pm-l0pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-11pm Kuleto’s 157 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 6369 Mon – Sat 4pm-late; Thu – Sat 4pm-3am The Little Guy 87 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9200 0000 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 1pm-midnight; Sun 3pm-10pm Mary’s 6 Mary St, Newtown (02) 4995 9550 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Midnight Special 44 Enmore Road, Newtown (02) 9516 2345 Tues – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5pm-10pm Miss Peaches 201 Missenden Rd, Newtown (02) 9557 7280 Wed – Sun 5pm-midnight The Moose Newtown 530 King St, Newtown (02) 9557 0072 Wed – Sat 6pm-midnight Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 2pm-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon 9am-6pm; Tues – Fri 9am-8pm; Sat 10am-8pm The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu midday10pm; Fri – Sat midday11pm; Sun midday-9pm

Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Tue – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight.

Sat 11pm-3pm & 6pm-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri noon-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Thu – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-late ZanziBar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-12am Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed – Sat 2pm-late

Alberts Bar 100 Mount St, North Sydney (02) 9955 9097 Mon – Wed 11.30am-10pm; Thu 11.30am-11pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri 4-11.30pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon10pm The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 4pm-10pm The Hayberry Bar & Diner 97 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest (02) 8084 0816 Tue – Thu 4pm-12am; Fri & Sat noonmidnight Sun noon-10pm Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral

Your bar’s not here? Email: chris@thebrag. com Bay (02) 9953 8880 Tue – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm InSitu 1/18 Sydney Rd, Manly (02) 9977 0669 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-10pm The Hunter 5 Myahgah Rd, Mosman 0409 100 339 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Jah Bar Shop 7, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Mon – Fri 4pm-late; Sat 9am-late; Sun 9am-10pm The Local Bar 8 Young Ln, Neutral Bay (02) 9953 0027 Tue – Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Los Vida 419 Pacific Hwy, Crows Nest (02) 9439 8323 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 11.30am-midnight; Sun 11.30am-10pm Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late The Mayor 400 Military Rd, Cremorne (02) 8969 6060 Tue – Wed 5pm-late; Thu – Sat noon-late; Sun noon-10pm Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly (02 99775186 Tue – Thu 8am-10pm; Fri – Sat 8am-1am; Sunday 8am-4pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Thu 5pm-2am; Fri 1pm-2am; Sat noon2am; Sun noonmidnight The Pickled Possum 254 Military Rd, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 2091 Thu – Sat 9pm-1am SoCal 1 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9904 5691 Mon – Tue 4pm-late: Wed – Thu midday-1am; Fri – Sat midday- 2am; Sun midday-midnight The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sun noon-late The Treehouse Hotel 60 Miller St, North Sydney (02) 8458 8980 Mon – Fri 7am-late; Sat 2pm-late Wilcox Cammeray 463 Miller St, Cammeray (02) 9460 0807 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 2pm-11pm; Sun 2pm-10pm BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 27

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK MAC DEMARCO

Brooklyn house for coffee. That’s right – he’s put his address on the end of the collection. The single is the kind of track that supports DeMarco’s oeuvre and makes his brand of genius publicly accessible.

xxx

Another One Spunk/Caroline

Mac DeMarco’s latest offering is exactly what you would expect from the wistful Canadian. Another One has picked up where Salad Days left off, with the same jangly guitar, tight riffs, whack synths and lazy lyrics lamenting about issues of the heart – in fact, the whole ‘mini-LP’ is themed with love and hearts. But that’s OK. It’s more of the same on a ‘fill the gaps’ release from Canada’s favourite slacker poet.

HEALTH Death Magic Fiction/Caroline

Health scare the shit out of me.

Their music elicits the kind of pensive anticipation of dread that I got the first time I saw Wolf Creek, and on their third album, Death Magic, they have in no way mediated the disconcerting sway of their sound. However, like the arc of a great story, with the dark comes the reprieve – the light – and for the Los Angeles-based four-piece, this manifests in the monotone falsetto of Jake Duzsik.

The album opens with ‘Victim’, a moody, atmospheric twominute piece that sounds like the opening to a modern sci-fi fi lm.

‘Stonefi st’ starts with a facesheering effected guitar sound, syncopated with BJ Miller’s classic post-punk fast-but-slow drumming technique.

Despite the ostensible simplicity of Health’s music, it is their ability to impart a myriad of powerful emotions that has seen the band evolve to become one of the few survivors of LA’s DIY punk scene of the late ’00s. That said, ‘New Coke’ sounds like a track from a remix album. This song is best listened to very, very, very loud.

The entire release smacks of Beach House, and the title track and first single ‘Another One’ is no exception.

Loosely arranged and very easy listening, it’s no wonder so many people are turning up to DeMarco’s

‘Without Me’ is something a touch different, and sounds like something you might waltz to at a scifi reimagining of an ’80s wedding, with plodding synths and an unruly ethereality.

DeMarco said in a recent interview he can’t understand why other artists take so long between releases. In the new vein of beat poetry/slacker rock stylised by the likes of Kurt Vile and DeMarco, these mini-releases that fill the gaps between albums are the perfect aside.

Navarone Farrell

THE BOHICAS

ORPHEUS OMEGA

GLASFROSCH

FERLA

The Making Of Domino/EMI

Partum Vita Mortem Kolony/Rocket

Nocturnes Independent

Guilt Pop Independent

Early last year, you may have seen the bright yellow Bohicas partbee part-wasp plastered around Sydney – the garish and angry beast of an insect staring you down in anticipation for the East London fourpiece’s debut Australian shows.

This type of melodic death metal has been kicking around for at least a decade and a half. In fact, it’s been done to death. But if you dug what In Flames were doing in the early 2000s, then this album is for you.

From the outset, Melbourne band Glasfrosch have been travelling down their own unique path, completely and utterly oblivious to commercial concerns. Their music is niche, to say the very least – they’re unlikely to get much radio play, they’re not rock stars, and they simply don’t care. Glasfrosch’s debut album was wildly left of centre, and the 2013 follow-up Aubades even more so.

Nocturnes is actually the second part of a two-album suite that began with Aubades, and it’s truly a mindbending experience.

The title of Ferla’s debut EP is a telling synopsis, indicating the Melbourne songwriter has indulged in some of his daggier influences. Across the four tracks, there are hints of everything from Randy Newman to Scott Walker, Bryan Ferry and Echo and The Bunnymen.

Marketing tactics aside, the logo is The Bohicas’ sound incarnate – it is seriously uncanny just how waspy this album sounds. There is so much going on in their debut, The Making Of, that the record takes on a buzzing, careening quality; a swarm of bees to the face during some of their more fevered moments and sharp-edged with stinging guitar licks even on their more reserved, thoughtful tracks.

While The Making Of is chockfull of crunching breakdowns, sexy basslines and bloodthirsty percussion, album closer ‘Rewind Replay’ proves The Bohicas really shine brighter when they pare down their sound. The track is busy and hard-hitting, but feels much more focused than its counterparts, and the result is some full-blooded and raucous rock’n’roll.

Health are doing something truly contemporary, and it’s refreshing, considering the current era of hat-tips and throwbacks.

The Bohicas’ infectious pop is incredibly eager and shows a band that has plenty to say. But with a little extra time and patience, we’re bound to have something much more well-rounded and exciting on our hands.

Dan Watt

Jade Smith

Let’s be honest – garden-variety metalheads aren’t the most forwardthinking and open-minded individuals out there. They generally sit around telling themselves, “Metal is just not as good now as it was in the old days.” But they’ll be pleased to know Melbourne’s Orpheus Omega do the style ridiculously well. Partum Vita Mortem is world-class quality, providing fans of Soilwork, Dark Tranquility and the aforementioned In Flames with much to love.

OK, Partum Vita Mortem is formulaic, and it’s certainly not breaking any new ground in this somewhat tired subgenre.

There are no real words to describe the musical journey this album takes you on. Likewise, conventional genre tags do nothing to give the uninitiated an idea of where Glasfrosch dwell.

In a roundabout way, they make pop music, although it’s almost indistinguishable as such. That’s because they infuse it with elements of jazz, rock, avant-garde, ambient and world music, as well as just about everything else their wild and fertile imaginations can come up with. Presiding over proceedings is the strange but sensuous croon of frontman Justin Ashworth. Well, in between the lengthy, emotional and sometimes downright bizarre instrumental passages, anyway.

But that’s not really the point – this is melodic death metal, and here’s an Aussie band that’s more than doing it justice.

Nocturnes is an album that must be experienced to be believed.

Prepare to have your mind opened as wide as it can possibly go.

It’s a melancholic conclusion, which suggests the EP title could in fact relate to its thematic focus, rather than stylistic decisions.

Rod Whitfi eld

Rod Whitfield

Augustus Welby

This album is heavy and melodic, and Orpheus Omega get the balance just about right. It’s mainly groove-based, but there are some faster, thrashy moments in there providing colour and dynamics. The subtle use of piano and keyboards softens things slightly and adds an orchestral wash to fill things out.

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Is there anything better than a good power-pop record? Well, there probably is, but that’s beside the point. The fact is, you can listen to an album like Calling and realise that, whatever the mind-numbingly boring, tedious and annoying crap that suffocates your day, a dose of sparkling power-pop can take you to a different place where everything sparkles and shimmers.

THE ON AND ONS Calling Citadel

28 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

The On and Ons have elements of the supergroup: Glenn Morris played with the latter-era Screaming Tribesmen, Clyde Bramley was the Hoodoo Gurus’ original bass player and Richard Lane cut his teeth with The Stems. And when the opening riff of ‘All Over Heavenly (You’re

It begins with ‘Breakups Are Hard For Everybody’; an exercise in pop pathos narrated by someone in a crumbling relationship. It’s also an infectious introduction to the EP’s kitschy production aesthetic – rudimentary drum programming and processed guitar convey a somewhat glossy, yet very homemade touch. On ‘I’m Nobody’s Baby Now’, Ferla attempts to play the stern tough guy, backed by a robust new wave beat. Then his sentimental side gets exposed on the splendid, near-baroque epic, ‘In The Night’. The erstwhile guardedness prevents us from experiencing the full extent of Ferla’s vocal range, but he uses it here to depict a fantasy sequence of unresolved longing. The EP closes with ‘You’re There’, which speaks openly of infatuation over a organ-led, downbeat arrangement.

My Everything)’ kicks in, you hear this is an outfit that knows its Raspberries from its Orange Humble Band. ‘Goodbye My Love’ is The Church via Big Star and ‘Long Ride’ is that coastal ride you always wanted to take with The Someloves blaring on the radio.

‘Not A Friend in Sight’ is testament to John Lennon’s observation that the saddest events can make the best pop songs. ‘Stupid Girl’ is a tonguein-cheek misogynist garage rocker in the best tradition; ‘Hard To Say Goodbye’ is a fitting finale to an album that you hope never ends.

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

TIGERTOWN - Before The Morning THE SMITH STREET BAND - Throw Me In The River THE VACCINES - English Graffiti

THE LIVING END - State Of Emergency FUZZ - Fuzz

Patrick Emery thebrag.com

out & about

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

Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

A

ustralians are still reeling at the certain defeat of marriage equality in this term of parliament. Any hope was crushed under the brutal hand of Tony Abbott and the rest of the Coalition, to the dismay of some 30 Coalition MPs, many other Labor and Greens MPs, and 72 per cent of the Australian public.

Stonewall

THE GRATES, STRAIGHT ARROWS, PLEASURE SYMBOLS Oxford Art Factory Friday August 14 Brisbane duo Pleasure Symbols share at least a degree of common ground with South Park’s Kyle Broflovski – they both think Disintegration by The Cure is the best album ever. This is electronically tinged post-punk that’s often shrouded in reverb and harsh distorted fuzz, letting the repetitive structure build up to a boiling point before withdrawing back into its shell. It’s an intriguing choice for opener – both in terms of energy and stylistic approach – yet it works in its own way and in the duo’s favour. Music for those who like ‘Pictures Of You’ on repeat.

This speaks to possibly the biggest concern faced by LGBT activism: at some point, we have to hand over the reigns. As a minority of the population, in order to effect change, we have to rely on our allies to do some of the work for us. We’ll never have an LGBT majority in parliament, so at some stage we have to surrender any agency to the straight (probably white, probably male) politicians in order to get the last bit of legwork done.

It’s frightening, knowing that you can’t be in total control of your own movement. But just because sometimes we can’t doesn’t mean we should forget when we were, or erase that history.

This is my (and a lot of people’s) problem with the new movie, Stonewall. With trailers recently released, this iconic moment in LGBT history appears to have been whiteand cis-washed by the movie, as the story largely follows a fictional white guy from rural America.

If you know LGBT history, you’ll know the Stonewall riots were largely initiated by the black, transgender and drag queen communities within New York City. Since the film’s trailers have come out, there has been outrage over the fact that it appears to demonstrate the film’s protagonist, Danny, throwing the first brick, when in actual fact, it was a black transgender woman named Martha P. Johnson.

Some have defended the film, including its lead actor Jeremy Irvine, saying that the trailer doesn’t adequately represent the role women of colour play in the full-length movie.

this week…

This is irrelevant, because it speaks to my broader point. That the trailer (we’ll judge the film when it’s released) appears to replace the role of trans women of colour with white men is an erasure of our history, and a muting of the power these people have.

Straight Arrows, at this point, are an institution. Even when they’re down a member (in this case, bassist Angie Garrick), they still put on one of the most electric, loose live shows in the country. Owen Penglis is on double duty, also stepping in as bassist for the headliners. Don’t think for a second, however, that it means he is at all reserved – at any point of proceedings, he is found bounding about his side of the stage and rattling his guitar into a fit of pure feedback ecstasy. Is it too much

of a stretch to deem them a national treasure?

For The Grates to open with a song as ubiquitous as ‘19-20-20’ means one thing: much like the vampire costumes suggest, they are out for blood. There are two notable firsts for the band this evening – it’s their first show here since the release of their fourth album, Dream Team, as well as their first show here as a five-piece. The latter is on account of guitarist John Patterson’s broken hand, moving him to keyboards and percussion. It thankfully doesn’t stunt his own enthusiasm, and fill-in guitarist Jack Richardson is a very capable equal to Patterson’s jangly, scratchy style.

The newer material blends in considerably well, holding its own against staples like ‘Trampoline’, ‘Rock Boys’ and ‘Burn Bridges’. In particular, the slithering ‘Back To Back’ provides a smartly timed change of pace, while ‘Holiday Home’ stands proudly as one of the band’s greatest power-pop moments.

For many in attendance, The Grates are an act they (for lack of a better phrase, and not to make them seem old) grew up with. As such, a Grates show in 2015 feels like recapturing the more joyous side of those years. Party on.

David James Young

When our story is made appropriate for Hollywood, the true minorities are silenced.

Why? Because cisgender white men are more palatable for a mainstream audience.

When marriage equality is passed in Australia, it’ll be passed in large part at the hands of a bunch of cisgender white men in parliament.

The erasure of our past and the demolishing of our future (for now) are both emblematic of the influence the patriarchy still has on LGBT movements. We rely on white men, both gay and their allies, in order to make our movements visible in the mainstream.

The film Milk is a perfect demonstration of this. While reasonably historically accurate (though still no doubt participating in a little bit of cis-white-washing), the film is full of men – because in the ’70s, women were still struggling for equality as a whole. When all women were still treated unequally, it made it almost impossible for women of minorities (both racial and sexual) to stand up and fight for their own individual rights.

White men had the luxury to fight for minority rights, while women and people of colour were largely still invisible. When we erase a major moment in history in which trans women of colour had a voice, we’re silencing them again, once more relying on white men to tell our story and to fight our battles. And this is letting the patriarchy win. Again.

Aaron Manhattan

From Wednesday August 19 – Sunday August 23, an original play by playwright Charlie O’Grady is running at the M2 Gallery in Surry Hills. Kaleidoscope tells the story of transgender man Gabe, and his daily experience of being read as someone he is not. Alongside the play is an exhibition of artworks by a variety of trans and genderqueer artists.

Former Wednesday night Newtown favourite, Care?-E?-Okay! at Tokyo Sing Song, has recently moved to Thursdays. Head there this Thursday August 20 for some love song serenading by both you and your friends and the ever-charismatic host, Aaron Manhattan.

On Sunday August 23, Heaps Gay and the Rhythm Of The Night parties are teaming up to bring you Footwork, a daytime party to save the Alexandria Hotel. It’ll feature Levins, Ariane and a bunch more of the Heaps Gay regulars.

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

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frankie’s vinyl fair 3 - ft. los tones + the swamps

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12:08:15 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

14:08:15 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

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16:08:15 :: Frankie’s Pizza :: 50 Hunter St Sydney

14:08:15 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

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INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Mike Noga

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Video Game Jazz Live - feat: The Consouls Play Bar, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Australian Institue Of Music Band Ensembles Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

Boukabou Old Manly Boatshed, Manly. 8pm. Free.

Chelsea Grin + Boris The Blade Small Ballroom, Newcastle. 7:30pm. $45.

Cock Rock With Caosarea + Cittigazze + Frame 313 + Hangman Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.

Daniel Romeo Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Destrends Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Jamie Lawson + Harry Hookey The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $44.

Live Music (Faces From The Crowd) feat: Mike Noga Art Gallery Of

New South Wales, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 20 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

David Ryan Harris + Ollie Brown Venue 505, Surry Hills. 6pm. $25.

Hiatus Kaiyote Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $39.05.

Thursdays In Jam - feat: El Moro + DJ Av El Cubano Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Big Blind Ray Duo Black Penny, Redfern. 8pm. Free.

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

Free.

James Thomson The Annandale Hotel, Annandale.

7pm. Free.

Music Sessions feat: Zack Martin + David Levell + Spotlight Pony Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

7pm. Free.

Songsonstage feat: Stuart Jammin + Chris Brookes + Blonde Baggage Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. Free.

Asta + Montaigne + Suiix Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $29.10.

Australian Institue Of Music Band Ensembles Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6pm.

Free.

John Vella Duo Mr Tipply’s, Sydney.

4pm. Free.

Kira Puru Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $13.

Live At The Sly - feat: Lord St. Collective + Spectacle + Jugular Cuts Slyfox, Enmore.

7:30pm. Free.

Messily Dressed + Harlin Firmin + Zane Thompson Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Northeast Party House Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.70.

Steve Crocker Fortune Of War, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

The Beatvilles Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Timberwolf + Sons Of The East + Sweet Jelly Rolls Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar, Manly.

9pm. Free.

Transvaal Diamond Syndicate Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 10pm. Free.

Hiatus Kaiyote Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $39.05.

James Morrison The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $34.50.

Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.

60 Years Of Johnny Cash - feat: Daniel Thompsons & Stuie French The Concourse, Chatswood. 6pm. $66.

Songsonstage Variety Show - feat: D’Arcy Madison + Davey Higgins + Spiro Gogos + Peter Yannakis + Perikles + CJ Fairleight + Pete Scully + Tracey Chamberlain + Cassie Judychair + Russell Neal Ashbury Bowling Panarcadian Federation Club, Ashbury. 7pm. Free.

Spirit Of The Anzacs Tour - feat: Jack Thompson + Lisa McCune + Lee Kernaghan + John Schumann + Jack Jones + Harrison Craig + Fred Smith Newcastle Panthers, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Free.

The Ride Ons + Bandintexas + The Smart Folk Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 9pm. $15.

The Hard Aches + Hannahband Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $10.

Banquet - feat: Flip The Script + Cheviot + Orlando Wolf + DJ Yeah Nah The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Dave Goodman Quartet The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $20.

THURSDAY AUGUST 20

FRIDAY AUGUST 21

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

FRIDAY AUGUST 21

pick of the week

Hiatus Kaiyote

Metro Theatre

Hiatus Kaiyote 8pm. $39.05.

Benefit For Free West Papua Presented By Midi In The City - feat: Drox & Illbot + Advanced Human + Anomie + Luke Killen + Simon P & Mick Antonevich + Andosound & Shahin Basdemir + Simon Mann 7 Matt Lush Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Bill Kacir Chatswood RSL, Chatswood. 5pm.

Free.

Chelsea Grin + Boris The Blade Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $39.60.

Gatherer + Guards Of May + Ten Thousand + Enter Reality Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

8pm. $15.

Heavy Daze + Blackbird + Shatterbrain + Richard In Your Mind DJs Waywards, Newtown.

8pm. Free.

James Reyne Panthers, Penrith.

7:30pm. $60.

Nathan Cole 99 On York, Sydney.

5:30pm. Free.

Pelvis Cars + Low Ton + Victoria Kim + Lady Shave

Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $15.

Pete Hunt Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

Pimento Grove The Annandale Hotel, Annandale.

8pm. Free.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free.

Roxfam - feat: The Ruckus + Eddie Boyd And The Phatapillars

five things WITH

ANDY DAVIES FROM KIM KILLSPEED

Growing Up My first music memories 1. are from my early high school years. I was into vintage bands like Zeppelin, The Who, Ramones. I remember spending hours drawing the Zeppelin symbols on my school bag. I was learning piano and guitar – I soon gave up the piano but luckily stuck with guitar.

2.

Inspirations I am a tragic Pete Townshend fan. I’m influenced by Brit rock from the generation before me.

Being a rhythm guitarist, I related more to that music and to other rhythm guys like Johnny Marr. But the best show I have ever seen was The Wombats at Splendour a few weeks ago. The more they put out, the more the

crowd reacted and the harder it all went. An amazing sound for a three-piece. I’ve been talking to the guys about adding some Wombats-style grooves to our new songs.

Stay tuned to see if that happens!

Your Band Kim Killspeed is a 3. new band for all of us. We released our EP, Ultrasound, in May and have been stoked by the response. Amrap has been wonderful and we have been played on 30 radio stations here and in the US and UK. We just started working with a manager and a PR agent (it’s cool to say we have representation now, ha). We are also collaborating with other musicians, like the all-girl Bandintexas.

We are playing together in

Wollongong this weekend and that’s gonna be major for both bands.

4.

The Music You Make Our music is kinda folkpop. Candy writes melodic folk songs and Bruce is a blues guy. I’m into upbeat messy guitars. When we come together it works itself out and we get our sound.

But truthfully it’s a bit more complicated than that. We recorded with Ben Worsey at Everland Studios and we drove him crazy getting the right guitar sounds. I remember laying down a track and Ben interrupted me from the control room to point out we had nine amps!

Our current live set-up blends a few different sounds as I’m through British gear and Bruce is through US gear. We

put a lot of thinking into our live sounds.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

Lots of musicians complain about the state of the industry. But our music was played in Alaska, Florida and Manchester within a few weeks of releasing our EP. Before digital music, that would never have happened.

What: Ultrasound out now independently Where: Dicey Riley’s, Wollongong and Victoria Hotel, Orange When: Saturday August 22 and Saturday September 5 And: Supporting RY at Ruby L’otel on Saturday October 10 Xxx

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Brian Campeau

up all night out all week...

Dumbsaint Yob

+ Brother Funk + Angel Awake + A Troubled Paradise Red Rattler, Marrickville. 7pm. $15.

Ruby Tuesday Band The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 10pm. Free.

The Bravados The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

The Demon Parade Old Manly Boatshed, Manly. 8pm. Free.

The Filth - feat: Thief Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

Timberwolf + Stonefox + Bears With Guns Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

Topnovil And T.H.U.G. + Sin 4 Me + Ambulare Lewisham Hotel, Lewisham. 8pm. $11.25.

Troyboi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80.

Vanessa Heinitz Kings Park Tavern, Kings Park. 7pm.

Free.

SATURDAY AUGUST 22 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Phil Slater & Matt McMahon + Jackson Harrison Trio The Sound Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $25.

Sexy Sunday Jam Bellini Lounge, Potts Point. 7pm. Free.

Steve Clisby + Martha Marlow Brass Monkey, Cronulla. 7pm. $54.10.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Adam Pringle & Friends The Annandale Hotel, Annandale.

8pm. Free.

Bec Sandridge Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

Isaiah B Brunt & Band + Simon Leamon Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $15.

Mojo House Band feat: Jesse & James Mojo Record Bar, Sydney. 7pm. Free.

Paul Carey & Julian Scheffer The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $5.

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

7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Lager Than Lions The Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 9pm. Free.

Andrew McMahon Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $49.

Elvis Meets The Beatles State Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $80.

James Reyne + Pseudo Echo Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $65.

Jonathan Jones Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

Kid Radio Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm.

Free.

Moses Gunn Collective Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $10.

Nicefest 2015 - feat: We Lost The Sea + The Crooked Fiddle Band + Serious Beak + Dumbsaint + Chordophones + Captain Kickarse And The Awesomes + Brian Campeau + Facemeat + Hinterlandt Ensemble + Instrumental ADJ + Hashshashin Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 3pm. $25.

The Chosen Few Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9:30pm. Free.

Vanishing Shapes + The Squeezebox Trio + Baltic Bar Mitzvah The Record Crate, Glebe. 8pm. $10.

Venom Clubnight feat: Witchgrinder + Noveaux + Tensions Arise + Shatter The Crown + The Abyss Collective Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $15.

Witchgrinder Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm.

Free.

Yob Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $49.

32 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

SUNDAY AUGUST 23 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Judy Bailey’s Jazz Connection Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6:30pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Caitlin Park Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

3:30pm. $18.

Frank Sultana The Annandale Hotel, Annandale.

3pm. Free.

From Street To Stage - feat: Curtis Finch + Tim Wheatley + Yhan Leal + Oliver Proudfoot Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6:30pm. $5.

Songsonstage feat: Stuart Jammin Harlequin Inn, Pyrmont. 3pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Altiyan Childs Revesby Workers Club, Revesby. 3pm. $72.

Cassandra Braslin + Jake Berry The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $15.80.

Fifties Fair - feat: The Hi-Boys + That Red Head + Limpin’ Jimmy + Swingin’ Kitten Rose Seidler House, Wahroonga. 10am. $39.

Mercury Sky + Amber Lies + Psycho Smiley + Ipso Factopus Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 5pm. $10.

Outlier Trio Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Ron Sexsmith The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $56.95.

Satellite V Shady Pines, Darlinghurst. 6pm.

Free.

Sex On Toast + Lyre Byrdland The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $21.20.

Sidebar Sundays feat: Dave White Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

The Blarney Boys Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 4:30pm. Free.

The Demon Parade Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

MONDAY AUGUST 24 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

TUESDAY AUGUST 25 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Nikki Steinfield + Declan Kelly + Razor Fairies Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7:30pm. Free.

Razor Fairies + Cuzn + Black River Bell + Make Like A Tree Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Rock’N’Roll Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19 Live Music (Faces From The Crowd) - Feat: Mike Noga Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Video Game Jazz Live Feat: The Consouls Play Bar, Surry Hills. 8pm.

Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 20

May + Ten Thousand + Enter Reality Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $15.

Heavy Daze + Blackbird + Shatterbrain + Richard In Your Mind DJs Waywards, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

The Filth - Feat: Thief Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

Timberwolf + Stonefox + Bears With Guns Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

Asta + Montaigne + Suiix Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $29.10.

Troyboi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80.

David Ryan Harris + Ollie Brown Venue 505, Surry Hills.

6pm. $25.

Pelvis Cars + Low Ton + Victoria Kim + Lady Shave Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $15.

James Morrison The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $34.50.

Northeast Party House Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.70.

Transvaal Diamond Syndicate Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

10pm. Free.

SATURDAY AUGUST 22 Andrew McMahon Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $49.

Bec Sandridge Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $15.

FRIDAY AUGUST 21

Kid Radio Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7:30pm. Free.

Chelsea Grin + Boris The Blade Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $39.60.

James Reyne + Pseudo Echo Enmore Theatre, Newtown.

8pm. $65.

Gatherer + Guards Of

Moses Gunn Collective

Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $10.

Nicefest 2015 - Feat: We Lost The Sea + The Crooked Fiddle Band + Serious Beak + Dumbsaint + Chordophones + Captain Kickarse And The Awesomes + Brian Campeau + Facemeat + Hinterlandt Ensemble + Instrumental ADJ + Hashshashin Hermann’s Bar, Darlington.

3pm. $25.

Yob Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $49.

SUNDAY AUGUST 23 Caitlin Park Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 3:30pm. $18.

Fifties Fair - Feat: The Hi-Boys + That Red Head + Limpin’ Jimmy + Swingin’ Kitten Rose Seidler House, Wahroonga. 10am. $39.

From Street To Stage Feat: Curtis Finch + Tim Wheatley + Yhan Leal + Oliver Proudfoot Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

6:30pm. $5.

Sex On Toast + Lyre Byrdland The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $21.20.

The Demon Parade Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

4pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Alma Music Presents Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm.

Free.

Sunset Jazz - feat: Jazz Society Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 6pm.

Free.

The Demon Parade

thebrag.com

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

brag beats

paces inside:

walks the walk

plus:

off the record also:

club guide + club snaps + live review

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BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 33

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Bridget Lutherborrow, Chris Martin and Jade Smith

five things WITH

Remi

ERROL H. RENAUD

Growing Up I grew up around music and 1. entertainment. My grandfather was a musician, one generation was skipped, and most of my brothers in the family all became entertainers and musicians.

Inspirations I have many favourite 2. musicians – Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder, Mighty Sparrow, Third World, and the list goes on. I like lyrics that say something. We grew with the music of these brothers.

3.

Your Band This band has been going for many, many years. It’s my product and lots of different musicians have played with the band over the years. We have on drums Lisa, bass Jarrol, keys Al, guitar Jake, percussion Sammila.

We also have a few MCs sitting in sometimes, like Gzeus, Blacker, Little Hunta and DovyDovy. The love of playing Caribbean music is the connection. The band’s style, type of music and direction is set, so there are no differences at all.

The musicians we work with, all they have to do is to come and play their part and give musical love and respect.

The Music You Make The band’s main music is 4. original songs. Our preference is to be an original music band, but

TYLER NO MORE

After previously declaring he had been “banned” from Australia, Tyler, The Creator has officially cancelled his national tour. “We would much rather come to Australia when it isn’t surrounded in controversy,” said Tyler in a statement. “I love my fans there and hopefully I’ll be back soon.

we also do covers that we like.

The music we play is reggae, soca and a fusion of styles – a little funky, sometimes old-school rootsy calypso, and we got the steelpan too, so our sound is unique. We’re recording another album at the moment to present for the summer, have done some tracks at REC Studios and hope to have a CD out soon. Our live show is all energy – potent skanks, wicked soca licks and a happy dancing vibe.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The music scene in Sydney is getting worse. Years ago there were more live music venues and people liked listening to live music more.

The government has to provide more opportunities for full-time live musicians and treat musos with more respect. This is a profession too. The best thing about the local scene is I have been able to share my music with many people and make a full-time living. There are some good up-and-coming artists around that I like to listen to and give support.

Who: Errol Renaud Trio What: The Roots & Riddim Club With: DJ Dizar Where: Play Bar When: Wednesday August 26

Don’t do drugs.” While it is unclear whether the cancellation is related to his visa application, the announcement comes after a longterm campaign from women’s rights group Collective Shout petitioned to have the rapper denied entry to the country. The controversial musician has previously been banned by the New Zealand Government in a similar instance

REMI AT THE VALLEY

Remi is set to hit The Valley stage, upstairs at Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel, for his final show of the year. Headlining the weekly Sosueme event this week, Remi is a rising star of the Aussie hip hop scene. His recent album Raw X Infi nity is just the kind of stuff that attracts all sorts of awards and international critical acclaim, but thankfully, it’s also the kind of thing that can get a crowd really going. Wednesday August 19 is the last chance to see 23-year-old Remi and collaborator Sensible J in a headline slot for the remainder of 2015. But with a track record sharing stages with the likes of Danny Brown, Vic Mensa, De La Soul, Joey Bada$$ and performing Gorillaz tracks with Damon Albarn on each of his Australian tour dates – well, Remi is sure to show up somewhere amazing next.

for reportedly posing “a threat or risk to public order or the public interest”. Tyler, The Creator was to play The Big Top, Luna Park on Saturday September 5.

IT’S ALL YOURS

Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel is going off with an epic house party shindig series kicking off this Saturday August 22, and every weekend after. An impressive launch night lineup for the Yours event will feature entertainment from GRMM (live), Danny T, Olympic Ayres, Renz and Yours Resident DJs. Down the road, the conveners are even planning monthly day parties, so brace yourself, Bondi – things are heating up. Not just literally.

SUMMER DAY CLUB LAUNCH

Café Del Mar has announced that its Summer Day Club Launch Party on Sunday October 4 will be headlined by the talented Paul Mac in DJ mode. Throwing its bash over the October long weekend, Café Del Mar will play host to Mac

TAKING THE FIELD

The Field

34 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

and a bunch of special guests on the picturesque deck overlooking Cockle Bay. From collaborating with artists including Sia, Daniel Johns and LCD Soundsystem, to writing and recording his latest album Holiday From Me across three continents, Mac is a leading fi gure in the Australian electronic music scene and is set to bring the good vibes to Café Del Mar’s party – as well as a few surprises.

Dego

WATERS BREAKS THE DROUGHT

Where’s the next young superstar on the Aussie dance music scene, you ask? He may well be at Ivy this Saturday August 22 for Pacha Sydney. Zac Waters is his name, a 19-year-old EDM prodigy who incorporates Melbourne Bounce and trance influences into his confluence of sound. Waters grew up listening to the likes of Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin, but he’s spotted where the bright lights lead, so he’ll headline a bill that also includes Glover, Jesabel, Dave Winnel, Natnoiz and many more.

The Field, otherwise known as the Swedish electronic producer and DJ Axel Willner, will be returning to our shores later this year to play a special Sydney set. The Stockholm-born, Berlin-based Willner has been making waves for a good few years with his minimal soundscapes, from the 2007 release of his debut album From Here We Go Sublime to his latest offering, 2013’s Cupid’s Head and beyond. Now bringing his complex and layered sound back to Sydney for an ‘all-hardware’ live set, Willner’s playful and pop-infl ected tunes are sure to be the perfect match for Goodgod’s Danceteria, with DJ sets from special guest Barker and local dance luminaries Noise In My Head joining him on the night. Catch The Field at Goodgod Small Club on Thursday October 22.

LET’S GO DEGO

The latest edition of the monthly Red Bull Music Academy Club Night series will bring Dego to Australia for a national tour.

Hailing from the northwest of London, Dego was a founding member of 4hero, the ’90s jungle, DnB and techno/jazz pioneers responsible for 1998’s Mercury Prize-nominated Two Pages. Dego’s own label, 2000Black, put out his debut solo album A Wha’ Him Deh Pon? in 2011, followed up this year by the suitably titled The More Things Stay The Same. The genre-bending Dego will arrive at Goodgod Small Club on Friday September 25 with support from Simon Caldwell and Ed Seven.

thebrag.com

Paces Steps To Success By Augustus Welby

T

William Basinski photo by Peter J. Kierzkowski

he job requirements of an established musician usually extend beyond simply creating music and getting onstage to perform it. To illustrate, when the BRAG speaks with Mike Perry – AKA Paces – he’s just come from the Australian Institute of Music, where he’s been offering practical assistance to a couple of competition-winning producers.

“The prize was that they’d get to have a four-hour session with me in the studio and I’d help them finish their tracks,” he says. “I picked out the winners and we got to work. It was so hard to pick two winners.

I spent hours and hours making a shortlist and then I slept on it and then the next day I spent hours trying to narrow it down even further.

It was agony because there were so many good entrants.”

In the past few years, Paces has established himself as a chartpervading original producer, a savvy remixer, and a sought-out collaborator (his most notable production being Tkay Maidza’s acclaimed breakthrough single ‘Switch Lanes’). Hearing of his involvement in the AIM competition gives us the perfect segue to explore his own background in electronic production.

“I learnt sometimes through YouTube tutorials, sometimes just a friend showing me a thing or two,” he says.

“But then a lot of my friends who did a music production course, they got good really quick. I feel like doing something like that, you can shave three years off the learning curve.

If I could’ve done it differently, I definitely would’ve done a course or something.”

Although Perry laments not enrolling in study, it hasn’t proved

thebrag.com

a hindrance. He’s just jumped on the road in support of his latest single ‘Hold It Down’, which features vocals from Perth’s Reija Lee. It’s a fairly accessible electronic pop song, though it’s composed of a number of volatile elements – various synth sounds, from conventional keyboards to bass synths, as well as alternating percussion elements, come in and out of play throughout the track.

“I don’t own any actual synths,” Perry says. “I just have a MIDI keyboard and I do everything within my laptop. I always start with the chords. I usually will just get a plain piano sound and figure out a nice chord progression. Sometimes I’ll spend half a day or a whole day trying to get the right chord progression. Then I’ll hang onto the ones that work, and that’s where all my songs start these days. If the chords aren’t right, I don’t bother going onto the next step.”

Perry’s quest for the right chord progression leads to the question, ‘right’ in relation to what?

Exploration into the unknown can lead to some stunning discoveries, but it can also be a dizzying task if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Paces’ tracks are generally triggered by something in particular.

“I might have heard some songs that have inspired me and I might like a certain thing about it – like how the chords do a certain thing,” he says. “You never want to just rip something off like that, but you can be inspired by something and that can unlock a whole bunch of other ideas that you never would’ve thought of. I always like to start writing music when I’m inspired and wherever your own ideas are

going to flow from, they flow a lot easier.”

In line with this attitude, Perry actively seeks out tracks and artists that could push him onto an unexpected tangent. “I’m always trying to listen to as much music as I can. Sometimes I’ll deliberately listen to genres I don’t really like just to see if anything strikes me as good ideas within it. [Inspiration] can come from anywhere, so you’ve got to be constantly on the lookout.

“It’s so easy to get into a rut if you’re only listening to the same things forever. You end up doing the same thing forever. You really have to make an effort to look outside of those familiar places.”

While he’s now committed to hunting for new influences in order to diversify his productions, there were a few prominent artists that triggered Perry’s initial experiments with electronic music.

“When I was first fi guring things out, like everyone did, I was probably trying to sound like Flume and trying to sound like Mount Kimbie and those type of acts. But I quickly realised I would have to put my own spin on things if there was going to be any point to it. I’ve always loved the tropical sounds like steel drums and kalimbas, so I fi gured out fairly early in the piece that it’s going to have to revolve around that if I’m going to have any chance of having my own sound.

“If there’s a sound that’s saturated at the moment, some sound that’s really genre-specifi c, I’ll often make a rule where I’m not going to use that sound ever, even if I normally have been. I think you can really easily fall into the trap of making genre music, where it’s going to be great within that genre but it’ll never go past that.

The only way to escape that is to use other sounds. Even though it can be difficult, you have to force yourself to step away from those familiar things.”

With: Leon Osborn, Moonbase Commander Where: Newtown Social Club When: Friday August 28

BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 35

g guide

club picks p up all night out all week...

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

Remi

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19 Beach Road Hotel

Remi Xxx

8pm. Free.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19 CLUB NIGHTS Salsa Wednesdays - feat: DJ Miro + Special Guests The Argyle, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Side Bar Wednesdays - feat: Bangers & Mash Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

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

HIP HOP & R&B

Sosueme - feat: Remi Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 20 CLUB NIGHTS

Baio Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $42.

Five Dollar Thursdays - feat: DJs Steve Zappa + Skinny Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Hiatus Kaiyote After Party - feat: Swooping Duck + Silentjay & Jace Xl Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11:30pm. $15.

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

Mixed Tape - feat: DJs Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 5pm. Free.

The Midnight Swim Sessions - feat:

Thomas Studdy Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

Vinyl @ Cornerstone - feat: DJ Dusty Fingers Cornerstone Bar And Food, Eveleigh.

6:30pm. Free.

FRIDAY AUGUST 21 HIP HOP & R&B

Coda Conduct + S.Kape + Dawn Laird Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.30.

CLUB NIGHTS Afrobrasiliana VI - feat: Trevor ‘El Chino’ Parkee + Thomas Studdy + Raphael Ramires Brasil + Jon McCulloch + Paris Groovescooter + Walking Fish Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

Bassic - feat: Shockone + Spenda C + Kyohosis + Daschwood + Rowdy One + Steve Zappa + Gradz + Bassline + Elbow Squad Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $27.70.

Blvd Fridays - feat: G-Wizard Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $13.40.

Derriere - feat: Rotating DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

DJ Somatik Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 8pm. Free.

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

36 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

Hills. 10pm. Free.

Feel Good Fridays feat: DJs Bar100, The Rocks.

5pm. Free.

Florida Blanca Supper Club + Bar Publico - feat: DJs Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Frankie’s Pizza Fridays - feat: Rock’N’Roll DJs Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Fridays Frothers feat: Babysham + Jesse Sewell Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Jam Fridays Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9:30pm.

Free.

Kali + Sam Franciso + Valeria Yum + Cassette - feat: Undefined Da Orazio Pizza + Porchetta, Bondi.

8pm. Free.

Muscles Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $17.

Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney. 8pm.

Free.

Student DJs Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 5pm. Free.

Truth + 3rdeye + Prowler Dub Sound System + Ncrypt B2B Scatterbrain + Hitori + Mantis B2B Twilight Girl Civic Underground, Sydney. 9pm. $30.

UK Hardcore Party Presented By Oneseventy - feat: Ektomorph + Haze + JTS + Jozzi + Zander + Ravers MVP + Comrade + MC Riddle + MC Whiskey Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $25.

Voodoo Presents

- feat: Menno De Jong Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

10pm. $20.

SATURDAY AUGUST 22 HIP HOP & R&B

Caratgold + C’Man + Juzzlikedat + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Compound - feat: Zeus + Subaske Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $10.

Disco Inferno - feat: Brenny B Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 9pm. Free.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 10pm. Free.

Florida Blanca Supper Club + Bar Publico - feat: DJs Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Frankie’s Pizza Saturdays - feat: DJs Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

Frat Saturdays - feat: Jonksi + Guests Side Bar, Sydney.

7:30pm. Free.

Le Fruit DJs Goros, Surry Hills.

8pm. Free.

Lndry - feat: Crooked Colours DJs + Elizabeth Rose + Stephane 1993 + Daggers + Monday Morning + Jac Frier + Oh! + Goonz + Persian Rug + King Lee + Samrai + Just 1

SUNDAY AUGUST 23 CLUB NIGHTS

Nad And Ketami Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 5pm. Free.

Picnic Social Harpoon Harry, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

S.A.S.H Sundays feat: Secret Guest + Steve Ward + Ant J + Steep + James Cripps + Benj + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Gareth Psaltis + Hannah Lockwood Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 6pm. $10.

MONDAY AUGUST 24 CLUB NIGHTS Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + Otg + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

TUESDAY AUGUST 25

Coda Conduct photo by Cole Bennetts

club pick of the week

Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $17.50.

Norman Doray Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $23.70.

Pacha - feat: Zac Waters + Glover + Jesabel + Dave Winnel + Natnoiz + Matt Nugent + Losty + Dylan Sanders + E-Cats + Detektives + Just 1 + Kristiano + Moto + Trent Rackus + Nad + Nanna Does + Jeff Drake + Chris Arnott Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38.

Paradise Lost (10 Years In Paradise) feat: Harry Sounds + Manky + Mr Webster + Silvio + James Bucknell + Long John Saliva + Eagleman + Mama Disquo + JMS & Mr And Mrs Brut 33 Secret Location, Sydney. 9pm. $22.

Pure Trance Feat: Solarstone + Guiseppe + Ottaviani Metro Theatre, Sydney. 9pm. $59.95.

RuPaul’s Drag Race - feat: Miss Fame Arq Nightclub, Sydney. 8pm. $62.

Scubar Saturdays feat: Live DJs Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Yours - feat: GRMM + Danny T + Olympic Ayres + Acaddamy + Renz Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

Coda Conduct

THURSDAY AUGUST 20 Baio Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $42.

Hiatus Kaiyote After Party - Feat: Swooping Duck + Silentjay & Jace Xl Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11:30pm. $15.

The Midnight Swim Sessions - Feat: Thomas Studdy Goros, Surry Hills. 8pm. Free.

FRIDAY AUGUST 21 Afrobrasiliana VI - Feat: Trevor ‘El Chino’ Parkee + Thomas Studdy + Raphael Ramires Brasil + Jon McCulloch + Paris Groovescooter + Walking Fish Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

Bassic - Feat: Shockone + Spenda C + Kyohosis + Daschwood + Rowdy One + Steve Zappa + Gradz + Bassline + Elbow Squad Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $27.70.

Coda Conduct + S.Kape + Dawn Laird Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $13.30.

Muscles Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $17.

SATURDAY AUGUST 22 Caratgold + C’Man + Juzzlikedat + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

Compound - Feat: Zeus + Subaske Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 11pm. $10.

Lndry - Feat: Crooked Colours DJs + Elizabeth Rose + Stephane 1993

Matt Weir + Daggers + Monday Morning + Jac Frier + Oh! + Goonz + Persian Rug + King Lee + Samrai + Just 1 Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $17.50.

Norman Doray Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $23.70.

Pacha - Feat: Zac Waters + Glover + Jesabel + Dave Winnel + Natnoiz + Matt Nugent + Losty + Dylan Sanders + E-Cats + Detektives + Just 1 + Kristiano + Moto + Trent Rackus + Nad + Nanna Does + Jeff Drake + Chris Arnott Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

Pure Trance - Feat: Solarstone + Guiseppe + Ottaviani Metro Theatre, Sydney. 9pm. $59.95.

Yours - Feat: GRMM + Danny T + Olympic Ayres + Acaddamy + Renz Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

SUNDAY AUGUST 23 S.A.S.H Sundays - Feat: Secret Guest + Steve Ward + Ant J + Steep + James Cripps + Benj + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace + Gareth Psaltis + Hannah Lockwood Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 6pm. $10.

Caratgold, C’Man & Juzzlikedat

CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

Terrible Tuesdays feat: Jordan Deck & Trinity Au Slyfox, Enmore. 4pm.

Free.

thebrag.com

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

MIAMI HORROR, YOUNG FRANCO, JOY., CLEOPOLD Metro Theatre Friday August 14 If you take five years to release a sophomore album, you run the risk of stagnating the growth of your fan base. This may be the case with Miami Horror. The indie-electro outfit’s 2011 album Illuminations was a phenomenon, but while the new record All Possible Futures has undoubtedly furthered their musical prowess, their live show at the Metro felt slightly stilted and unevolved, unable to remove the patina of their original success.

But with a plump bill including Cleopold, Joy. and Young Franco, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It seemed a large retinue of fans in their early 30s were there with the extant purpose of reliving the glory days. Franco certainly facilitated the throwback vibes, pumping out a slew of Daft Punk, Stardust and other millennial hits. The cavernous Metro can have the propensity to dwarf its performers, but the energetic Brisbanite managed to shrink the space down to funsized proportions.

Miami Horror’s five-piece live set is a well-oiled machine, and it’s always a kick to see Josh Moriarty and Aaron Shanahan throw themselves around the stage.

Extravagant guitar flourishes and mountain-climbing the Metro’s mezzanine made up for notoriously mediocre vocals. The band graciously compiled an array of tracks from both albums, pleasing the crowd with ‘I Look To You’, ‘Sometimes’ and the jubilant ‘Holiday’. The new tracks slotted in seamlessly, the exception being ‘Love Like Mine’, for which Cleopold came onstage only to butcher violently.

The level of musicality displayed was impressive, at times taking on a house-like complexity of rhythms and tonalities for which keys guru Daniel Whitechurch can take credit. It may have felt like Miami Horror were catering to an audience that remembered them for who they used to be, but when the quality of performance is as high as this, it seems prudent to stretch the illusion as far as possible.

Nic Liney OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

Off The Record

RECOMMENDED SATURDAY AUGUST 22

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray The next instalment of Something Else is set to feature Berlin-based UK house and techno head Mark Henning. Both a revered DJ and producer, in the past Henning has released on labels such as Soma, Hypercolour and Poker Flat, and also runs his own imprint, Swing.

He’s performed at basically every damn club on the planet, including Fabric, Panorama Bar, Watergate, Rex, Space, Lux and The Arches.

You can catch him on Saturday September 12 at the Burdekin Hotel.

Motor City Drum Ensemble

Some solid reading material: legendary local party purveyors Astral People sat down with GQ Australia to chat about the state of dance music in Australia, how lockout laws are affecting Sydney, our finest international exports and more. Head to gq.com.au to have a squiz.

Tour rumours: rising New York deep house torchbearers Frank And Tony will be visiting our shores next month. Another duo, Italy’s Tale Of Us (who were voted the second best DJs in the world by Resident Advisor in 2014), also have eyes set on Australia. And it’s not really my cup of tea, but Boys Noize will be here over the NYE period.

W

Âme, Ben UFO, Finnebassen and Prosumer won’t go astray. Lost Paradise takes over Glenworth Valley from Tuesday December 29 – Thursday December 31.

Speaking of festivals – holy shit, the Lost Paradise lineup has some fierce electronic talent. My highlights? You cannot miss the highly anticipated return of Motor City Drum Ensemble. I repeat, cannot. Plus a healthy dose of the likes of Jon Hopkins, Four Tet,

Red Bull Music Academy has announced the next headliner of its monthly club night series will be none other than Dego. One of the biggest broken-beat talents in the world, the 4hero founding member and 2000Black label head will be bringing over his signature concoctions of soul, reggae, hip hop, techno and jazz for a national tour. The Sydney leg is set to go down on Friday September 25 at Goodgod Small Club with support from Simon Caldwell and Ed Seven. As always, it’s completely free with RSVP.

ell, well, well. The 2015 Meredith Music Festival lineup dropped last week, and it’s safe to say that two of the electronic headliners will also be making the trip to Sydney this December – those being Glasgow stalwarts Optimo and the always on-point Floating Points. That said, it might be worth road tripping on down just to see our very own Levins command the Sup late one night. That’ll be special.

:: ASHLEY MAR

Best releases this week: putting forward a really big tip on Roustam’s The Shape Of Deep To Come (on All Inn). Highly recommended. Other highlights include Karen Gwyer’s Bouloman (Nous), Dynamo Dreesen, SVN & A Made Up Sound’s Acido 20 (Acido), Mr. G’s Sweatbox (Dungeon Meat) and Diego Krause’s Unison Wax 03 (Unison Wax). In more ridiculous release news, Matthew Herbert has announced that his next album The Music will come in the format of a book: “For my next record, I will write a description of the record rather than make the music itself. It will be divided into chapters in the same way that an album is separated into tracks. This is that book.” Sorry dude, I can’t take that shit seriously.

Borrowed Identity Bridge Hotel Ripperton Burdekin Hotel

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12 Pan-Pot The ArtHouse

Mark Henning Burdekin Hotel

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19 Kangding Ray Bridge Hotel

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25 Dego Goodgod Small Club

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31 Baauer Oxford Art Factory

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 20 Lapalux Chinese Laundry

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27 Eric Cloutier Marrickville Bowling Club

FRIDAY DECEMBER 4 – SUNDAY DECEMBER 6 Roman Flügel

Subsonic Music Festival: KiNK, Dop, Rick Wade, Roman Flügel + more Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort, Barrington Tops

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

BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15 :: 37

snap

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

thebrag.com/snaps

s.a.s.h sundays

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

sosueme - ft. remi + shantan wantan ichban + hau

PICS :: JA

16:08:15 :: Home Nightclub :: 101/1-5 Wheat Rd Darling Harbour 9266 0600

12:08:15 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247 OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER

38 :: BRAG :: 626 :: 19:08:15

S :: JAMES AMBROSE :: KATRINA

CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR

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