Brag#674

ISSUE NO. 674 AUGUST 3, 2016

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

GROUPLOVE MAKING A MESS

Plus

JARRYD JAMES

SLEEPMAKESWAVES

WILD BE ASTS

AL ADDIN

He's a late bloomer on the scene, but that hasn't stopped him reaching high.

The Sydney purveyors of post-rock are on the road again.

How the UK four-piece has survived despite the chaos.

A Disney classic comes to the Sydney stage in a show for young and old.

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1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point

MELANIE MARTINEZ

PIERCE THE VEIL

DAN & PHIL

SUN 14 AUG

WED 17 AUG

22 & 23 AUG

SEVENTEEN

90’S MANIA

FARHAD DARYA

SUN 28 AUG

SAT 10 SEP

FRI 23 SEP

THE NEXT STEP

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE

THE DANDY WARHOLS

SAT 24 SEP

THUR 27 OCT

FRI 4 NOV

VENGABOYS

RUSSIAN BALLET SWAN LAKE

BASSHUNTER

WED 9 NOV

SAT 3 DEC

T U T O U D O L D O L SO S

T U T O U D O L D O L S SO 5 & 6 NOV

For more info and tickets visit bigtopsydney.com or contact our Box Office - 1300 BIGTOP // Luna Park Sydney

facebook.com/bigtopsydney thebrag.com

BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 5

rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with James Di Fabrizio, Tom Parker and Anna Wilson

speed date WITH

AC FROM THE DAPHNE RAWLING BAND Your Profi le We’re a good time band with many different personalities, but must 1. like pizza/tacos/beer. What do we look for in a fan? See above.

Keeping Busy We’ve just released our debut single ‘CBD Hotel’. We have a couple 2. of single launch shows too, which we are pumped about. We’ve just played our first shows in Melbourne and our Sydney single launch is at Oxford Circus on August 6. I am actually working on putting together a mini-festival in September, so been heaps busy with that too.

Best Gig Ever We’ve only played a handful of gigs so far, but I’d say our last 3.

Sydney gig was the best we’ve played. It was at the Newtown Social Club with Henry Wagons and Leah Senior. A great night.

Current Playlist Right now I’m listening to the latest Houndmouth record, I really like 4. the production on it. Great tones and vibe. And I’m digging the new Margo

Price and Luke Bell records. I’ve been into country for a while now and it’s good to see Margo Price and Luke Bell keeping it old-school honky-tonk.

Your Ultimate Rider Our ultimate rider would consist 5. of pizza and tacos, some whisky, tequila and some tasty ales, and then we’d be sittin’ gooood.

With: The Persian Drugs, Luke Watson Where: Oxford Circus When: Saturday August 6

xxx

Bell X1

Garbage

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ONLINE EDITOR: James Di Fabrizio SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Joseph Earp, Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: James Di Fabrizio, Natalia Morawski, Tom Parker, Anna Wilson ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Mitch Gilmore, Ashley Mar

ONE MAN’S TRASH

ADVERTISING: Tony Pecotic - (02) 9212 4322 tony@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Anna Wilson, Natalia Morawski REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, Anita Connors, Christie Eliezer, Emily Gibb, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Sarah Little, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Tegan Reeves, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, 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

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Genre-bending lrishmen Bell X1 have announced their return to Oz this summer in support of their latest record, Arms. Their seventh studio album, Arms is slated as something truly unique for the group – something that screams Bell X1 but sounds like nothing else in their back catalogue.

Now Aussie fans will have the chance to see the trio for the first time since 2014. In the meantime, Bell X1 have played to ever-growing numbers across the US and Europe, including a sold-out acoustic tour and a support slot for none other than Ed Sheeran. See Bell X1 at the Factory Theatre on Saturday December 3.

SPEARHEADING SOUL ROCK

Michael Franti will be heading our way along with his band Spearhead on a national tour.

Franti is touring off the back of his recent album, Soulrocker, marking his ninth studio record with the project. Soulrocker debuted at number one on the iTunes alternative albums chart, expanding his traditional roots sound with a taste of electronica. Catch Franti and Spearhead at the Metro Theatre on Thursday September 29.

FANNING THE FLAME

To celebrate the release of his third solo record, Bernard Fanning is hitting the road on a national tour. His third solo album, Civil Dusk, will be performed for the first time as he makes his way through some of the country’s most prestigious venues. Adding to the festivities, he’ll be joined by the likes of Dustin Tebbutt and Ainslie Wills. With his solo career having kicked off more than a decade ago, Fanning has carved out a position as one of Australia’s most revered songwriters both in his own right and with the

iconic Powderfinger. Catch Fanning at the State Theatre on Saturday October 22.

WILD WOODS

Port Macquarie’s Wildwood Music Festival is back for its third year with an even more impressive lineup than ever before. Celebrating the first day of daylight savings, the festival delivers a carefully handcrafted collective of the best homegrown talent amid the picturesque surroundings of the Mid North Coast. The all-ages event will feature Blue King Brown, Montaigne, Claude Hay, The Lyrical, Mar Haze, James Bennett and many more. Wildwood takes place Sunday October 2 at Cassegrains Winery.

his first LP in half a decade, produced by Joe Henry (Glen Hansard, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt). Carll’s Sydney show is at the Factory Theatre.

The Monkeywrench

MORRISSEY TO SKIP SYDNEY?

With the dates announced via a Morrissey fan zine, it looks like the legendary singersongwriter will be coming Down Under as part of his world tour. Despite enjoying the sails of the Sydney Opera House when he was last here for Vivid LIVE in 2015, the former Smiths frontman has only announced plans to play for our Novacastrian cousins, in Newcastle’s Civic Theatre. The news follows on from the announcement that he is indeed headlining Chicago’s Riot Fest this September (despite his earlier claims otherwise), and playing a show this month in Manchester (after he announced his 2015 UK shows would be the last in the country).

Here’s hoping he’s wrong again and will play Sydney – otherwise you can catch him in Newy on Monday October 31.

LOVE US AND LEAVE US

Grammy-nominated Texan Hayes Carll is heading to Australia, though not for long. The roots singer-songwriter is coming for a mere two dates: Melbourne on Friday October 14, and in Sydney two days later on Sunday October 16.

This will give Sydneysiders the chance to see Carll play new music from Lovers And Leavers,

DON’T WANNA BE

Seattle supergroup The Monkeywrench have announced their debut trip Down Under this November.

Founded in 1991 by Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and Steve Turner and Texas’ Tim Kerr, the band went on to record three LPs – debut Clean As A Broke-Dick Dog (1992), Electric Children (2000) and Gabriel’s Horn (2008). Following their reunion for the first time earlier this year to play ATP Fest in the UK, this is very potentially the first and last chance to see these legendary artists on the same stage in our faithful continent. The Monkeywrench are doing six dates, one of which is at Newtown Social Club on Friday November 25.

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Bell X1 photo by Johnny Savage

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THROW YOUR ARMS AROUND ME

Alt-rock legends Garbage are returning to Sydney, having locked in a national tour in support of their sixth studio album, Strange Little Birds, which dropped at the start of June.

Their new effort follows 2012’s Not Your Kind Of People, and sees the four-piece heading Down Under for the first time since 2013. All 11 tracks on Strange Little Birds were recorded and produced by the band members themselves and released via their own Stunvolume Records to both commercial and critical acclaim, debuting at number nine on the ARIA chart. Garbage play the Hordern Pavilion with support from Tiny Little Houses on Friday December 2. They’ll also headline A Day On The Green at Bimbadgen Winery on Saturday December 3 with The Temper Trap, The Preatures, Tash Sultana and Adalita.

E NFRE T RE Y

SATURDAY 13 AUGUST 3pm-8pm BAT BATHURST ST SOUTH CARPARK ((350-354 MACQUARIE ST)

M USIC | F OO D | ART | F U N

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Shaun Parker & Company Hot Potato Band Jamestown Collective Circaholics Anonymous Revolution Incorporated Mickey Sulit with accompaniment Market stalls | Food trucks | and more!

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Street Art by

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Featu ring

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live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Natalia Morawski, James Di Fabrizio and Anna Wilson

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

WITH

CRAIG EDMONDSON AND STEFANO COSENTINO FROM THE SNAKEMEN Your Band CE: We clicked five 3. years ago at a local jam

night and then cut our teeth at every open mic night in town, and then regular gigs and support slots started coming our way.

Inspirations CE: I like all kinds 2. of music, especially

SC: I was the only musician in the house – the black sheep. I grabbed whatever cassette or record I could listen to.

SC: B.B. King, Elmore James. The first time I heard them my hair stood up. They did more than just sing to me.

Good drummers inspire me.

Sinatra in a voice that can only be described as ‘basso profundo’.

songs with 12 bars.

The Music You Make CE: At a Snakemen 4.

Music, Right Here, show you’ll hear the blues, Right Now 5. plus songs from the gospel CE: We have side of bluegrass and the blue side of lonesome.

We also distribute pocket lagerphones at gigs because we don’t have a drummer.

concentrated on small bars and markets and have been fortunate to play regularly at some great venues such as Mr Falcon’s, the Wayward

Brewery and the Woolpack Hotel.

SC: With all the ebbs and flows, local musicians’ creativity shines through in Sydney. Recent bands that inspire me are Sydney-based Shanghai and Stellar Addiction and also Hey Lady! from Newcastle. They absolutely kill it.

Where: Wayward Brewing Co. / Mr Falcon’s When: Sunday August 14 / Thursday September 1 And: Also appearing at Chatswood Mall on Thursday August 11 and Surly’s on Wednesday August 24

BERNARD FANNING

Bernard Fanning’s solo career has reached the ten-year mark, and with the release of his third studio LP Civil Dusk, the former Powderfinger frontman is not slowing down just yet. On the back of the album, Fanning is also embarking on a national tour that will see him take to the stage at Sydney’s State Theatre on Saturday October 22, singing songs new and old alongside Dustin Tebbutt and Ainslie Wills. Civil Dusk is part one of a series of two new Fanning albums, with the second instalment Brutal Dawn to follow in early 2017.

Civil Dusk is out this Friday August 5, and we’ve got a CD copy to give away. Put yourself in the running at thebrag.com/ freeshit.

The Snakemen photo by Phillip L Bohle

Growing Up CE: I remember my 1. mum singing along to

SC: Craig and I are the odd couple of blues. We both share a different approach that mixes well. I work with numerous bands across Sydney – too many to list.

SC: My love for music styles varies from Tom Waits to Ne Obliviscaris.

They help inspire my tone and what I play. Our original EP was recorded using Sound Basement Studios in Sydney. Our style evolved, and our next EP will likely be recorded in the backyard next to the chicken pen.

That’s the kind of rawness you can expect from our shows. Two guitars, no laser beams.

Bernard Fanning photo by Cybele Malinowski

five things

xxx xxx

Roses For Jack

The Devil Rides Out

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME

Roses For Jack, the celebrated four-piece, are heading down the east coast for a set of shows in Sydney and Melbourne. The band will take to the stage with support from Gold Coast outfit Versus Fate this month, touring ahead of their debut album, which nods to both of Roses For Jack’s major influences in Divinyls and AC/DC. Check them out at Oxford Circus on Saturday August 20.

SPEAKING VOLUMES

A second pile of acts has been rounded up and added to Sydney’s Volumes Festival. Joining the all-Aussie lineup for the four-venue event

will be Buzz Kull, Corin, Felix Lush, Gussy, Jaala, Kato, Kimchi Princi, Low Ton, Makeda, Middle Kids, Morning TV, Privacy, Thhomas, Rebel Yell and Wax Witches. Already announced acts include Mossy, Koi Child, Christopher Port, Nicholas Allbrook and more.

The festival program also features visual artists, labels and collectives representing Australia’s creative community. Volumes will take place on Friday August 26 and Saturday August 27 across six stages at Oxford Art Factory, The Cliff Dive, The Burdekin Hotel and Brighton Up Bar.

BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

Perth rockers The Devil Rides Out are stepping out on tour in celebration of their tenth anniversary. The Sydney stop will mark their first since 2013, with an appearance at Brewtality Festival and a sideshow at Frankie’s Pizza. The band will perform a careerspanning set with support from Yanomamo and Hawkmoth for the Frankie’s sideshow.

Dance with the devil at Brewtality Festival on Saturday August 13 at the Factory Theatre, and at Frankie’s on Sunday August 14.

THE KING’S LANDING

Palace Of The King will be blasting their new album on a national tour. Having just toured internationally with their 2015 debut album White Bird/Burn The Sky, and soaring off

their recent single ‘Beyond The Valley’, Palace Of The King have just released their new record Valles Marineris, and the shows promise to burn with the same energy as they’re known for. They’ll be lifting the roof off Frankie’s Pizza on Thursday September 1.

PINING FOR IT

Serina Pech

PICK PECH

Serina Pech has announced a run of dates on her ‘Not Like Them’ national launch tour, bringing her world of experimental folk to audiences across the country. Following a standout performance at Barunga Festival 2016, the NT singer-songwriter is readying herself to hit the road in August. Joining Pech is Melbourne-based percussionist and composer Caitlin Thomas, who recently toured around China with the Australian International Opera Company. You can see the pair at The Newsagency this Friday August 5.

OUR TURN FOR ETERNITY

Sydney-based melodic metalcore band For All Eternity are bringing their delicate ferociousness to venues across Australia for the first time in three years. They’ll be supported by Of Divinity and another band to be determined by their very own fan voting competition. The headliners have asked would-be supports to submit information and music to a Facebook post, and they in turn will make a shortlist of bands. Then fans will then have the opportunity to choose the opening act. For All Eternity come to The Red Rattler on Friday September 9.

Dorsal Fins

SOMEFIN DIFFERENT

Throwing an epic one-two punch, Dorsal Fins have unleashed their brand new single and announced they’ll be hitting the road on an east coast tour. The single, ‘Sedated’, has already been gathering momentum, getting its first spin on triple j recently. “When the sun slinks way too low, and the stars forget to shine, and you need a cryogenic sleep chamber to knock you out and wake up somewhere 1,000 years in the future … You write a song like ‘Sedated’,” said Dorsal Fins’ Jake Brown. Their full-length album will be released towards the end of the year. In the meantime, catch them at Newtown Social Club on Thursday August 25. xxx

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Newcastle alt-country outfit Adeline Pines have announced Australian tour dates in support of their debut album. Forming in 2012, Adeline Pines centre on the songwriting talents of ex-Like...Alaska member Corey Price. Over the past few years, the Pines have released two EPs, toured up and down the east coast, and supported acts such as The Smith Street Band, Bomb The Music Industry!, The Bennies and The Hard Aches. They’ll be joined on tour by Adelaide’s Hyder Seek, fresh from releasing their debut EP. Put it in the diary: Vic On The Park, Thursday September 1.

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The facility includes two dedicated studios equipped with control and live tracking rooms, vocal booth, postproduction suite and a performance space for student rehearsals and live recordings.

Courses offered at RMI RMI offers a range of practical, industry focused Certificate through to Diploma and Advanced Diploma level qualifications in the following areas:

Upcoming fee-free* short courses • Skills for Crewing in events, venues and festivals

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Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR • Will it be early 2017 before the ‘original’ lineup of Guns N’ Roses makes it to Australia?

• Are two businesses heading to court? An exchange of emails suggests a claim of “nonpayment” and a counterclaim of “deceptive behaviour”.

• Is streaming service SoundCloud putting itself on the market for US$1 billion?

• Has Iggy Azalea had a bum implant?

• Was actor Tom Hiddleston banned from taking gal pal Taylor Swift to Comic-Con for official duties over fears her presence would turn it into a “circus”?

FLUME GOES PLATINUM IN US

Flume’s single ‘Never Be Like You’ feat. Kai has gone platinum in the US for sales of one million. It’s also platinum in Australia. When the 24-year-old closed last month’s Splendour In The Grass, he drew 20,000 to his set – the biggest for any act at the 2016 event, and arguably its history – bringing onstage a host of singers including Vera Blue, Jess Kent, Ngaiire, Remi, Baro and Kučka. Flume’s album Skin jumped 13 spots to number two after Splendour; it’s the album’s ninth straight week in the top 50 and sixth week in the top ten. Flume has launched his 70-date world tour in New Zealand and will go on to Europe and the US, where he’s sold 280,000 tickets.

FOXTEL SETS UP NEW ARTS AND MUSIC DIVISION

Foxtel has restructured its music channels group and created a new broadcast arts and music division. Foxtel’s arts and music channels – [V] Hits, Max, Foxtel Smooth and CMC – will now be managed as a combined team under newly appointed group channel manager Fraser Stark, previously head of Foxtel Arts. The new team begins on Monday August 29. Rebecca Batties, who headed the music channels for the last two years, has resigned to concentrate on business interests.

• What caused Corey Taylor to have a fan ejected from a US Slipknot show for “disrespect”? Was it for using a mobile phone?

The incident came a week after Slayer’s Tom Araya threw a punter out for spitting on him.

• While there have been official denials of UK’s Download festival coming to Australia, why has Live Nation bought its Australian domain name?

• Melbourne’s The Bennies are touring Europe in October with Less Than Jake.

• The 2016 Adelaide Live Music Census showed that in the past two years, there’s been a 14.4 per cent surge in live music gigs and a 32.4 per cent increase in venues

MGM TO DISTRIBUTE ABC IN NORTH AMERICA

Sydney indie powerhouse MGM’s North American operations will release Australian records by fellow Sydney-based indie ABC Music. Set up two years ago in Nashville under Michael Chase, the son of MGM founder Sebastian Chase, the US arm has released the likes of Twelve Foot Ninja, Gurrumul, The Church, The Drones, Citizen Kay, Closure In Moscow, Henry Wagons, The Vines, San Cisco, The Jezabels, Sticky Fingers and C.W. Stoneking.

COMMUNITY RADIO SYDNEY NOMINATIONS

Among the Sydney nominations for the CBAA (Community Broadcasting Association of Australia) Awards in Melbourne on Saturday November 12, 2SER and FBi Radio had multiple mentions. FBi Radio is nominated in categories for station production (Up For It), digital media (fbiradio.com) and technical services (Nick La Rosa). 2SER is nominated in music programming (The Phantom Dancer) and technical services (Richard Fleming).

PRINCE ITALIAN PLAGIARISM SUIT CONCLUDES…

The Italian judiciary system works slowly.

So it’s no surprise a case filed in 1995 has

offering live music (to 208).

• Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons is opening a live music venue in London. Meanwhile, Perth band Gyroscope’s Rob Nassif is launching the 100-capacity Hen House Live (an extension of the eponymous rehearsal studio next door) to showcase local acts on Fridays and Saturdays, as part of the new Badlands Bar. • A patron of Surfers Paradise nightclub The Bedroom was busted for counterfeit money.

Bar staff got suspicious because he kept paying for drinks with new $100 notes each time, instead of using change, and only bought one drink each time. finally concluded 20 years later. Writers Bruno Bergonzi and Michele Vicino claimed that Prince’s 1994 hit ‘The Most Beautiful Girl In The World’ was pinched from their 1983 track ‘Takin’ Me To Paradise’ featuring Raynard J. The ruling means that in Italy, ‘Beautiful Girl’ is credited to the duo and they’ll receive royalties from Italian sales. A copy of the verdict was to be delivered by their lawyer to the late Prince’s Paisley Park home, but no-one was there to receive it.

TIMBERLAKE, WILL.I.AM TRY TO DISMISS THEIRS…

Justin Timberlake and Will.i.am (Will Adams) are trying to get a lawsuit dismissed. They are being sued by a US publisher that claims ‘Damn Girl’ copies the hook, rhythm, harmony and melody of 1969’s ‘A New Day Is Here At Last’ by the late disco artist Perry Kibble. The pair contend in court that they already credited the sample on Timberlake’s album.

…AND EMPIRE WINS OVER GANGSTA PIMP

A California judge found that drama series Empire didn’t copy from ‘gangsta pimp’ Ron Newt’s life story Bigger Than Big. Newt sued for US$10 million. The judge said both were about an African-American dealing drugs and with two sons in the music industry, but the similarities were not enough.

WANNA PLAY EMCPLAY?

EMCPlay has opened applications until Sunday August 21 for its annual onenight showcase of 30 EDM acts across a number of Sydney venues on Wednesday November 30. It connects them with global EDM talent buyers who are in town to attend the Electronic Music Conference and hail from the likes of the North America, the UK, Europe, Asia and South America. Previous showcase acts included LDRU and Running Touch (who both made the Splendour 2016 bill), Nicole Millar, Safia, Mashd N Kutcher, KLP, Set Mo, Porsches and The Kite String Tangle.

MINISTRY OF SOUND’S TIM MCGEE JOINS PPCA BOARD

Ministry of Sound Australia CEO Tim McGee has joined the board of the PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia), which collects royalties for record labels and artists. McGee replaces Inertia Music CEO Colin Daniels as a licensor representative for a two-year term. The other board members are George Ash (Universal Music), Denis Handlin (Sony), Tony Harlow (Warner), Josh Pyke (artist), Lindy Morrison (artist), Bill Cullen (One Louder management) and David Vodicka (Media Arts Lawyers).

AUSSIE JOINS YOUTUBE MUSIC

Former Warner Music Australia and Australian Radio Network exec Chris Phillips has joined YouTube Music in San Francisco as product marketing manager. A big fan of basketball and hip hop, Phillips has been in the US since mid-2014 after leaving Warner, where he was head of the newly formed Digital and Consumer Insight division.

TEG APPOINTS TIM MCGREGOR

Asia-Pacific ticketing agency and tour company TEG has appointed Tim McGregor as its chief commercial officer. He was previously group managing director of tour promoter Dainty Group, which TEG bought out recently to set up TEG-Dainty.

BUCHANAN TO HEAD UNIVERSAL A&R

Brent ‘Quincy’ Buchanan is Universal Music Australia’s new senior A&R manager.

He will sign acts for Universal labels Island, Casablanca, Lost Highway and Universal Music Australia itself. Buchanan was A&R manager for Warner Music Australasia

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between 2005 and 2008, during which his signings included Ladyhawke and Children Collide. He left Warner to set up video production company The Grindhouse.

MUSIC ROUNDTABLE IN SYDNEY

Music Australia will bring together 100 music professionals in Sydney on Wednesday August 3 and Thursday August 4 for the Contemporary Music Roundtable. The music policy and industry development conference is devoted entirely to driving growth in contemporary music. 50 speakers and panellists will share their wisdom, exchange ideas and shape recommendations for the future.

RACKETT SIGN BOOKINGS

Emerging Sydney band Rackett have signed their bookings with 123 Agency. They hit the road along the east coast behind debut single ‘Bats’, the lead track from a January 2017 EP. Their members were individually with bands such as Bec And Ben, She Rex, Baby Lips and The Silhouettes and Mylee and The Milkshakes.

FRANCIS COADY HEADS HAVAS S&E IN OZ

Former manager Francis Coady (Thirsty Merc, Hi-5) is heading the sports and entertainment division in Australia of global communications and marketing network Havas. It will provide consumer data and analytics to help corporations with sponsorship and branding decisions. One of these is Universal Music Australia, for research on consumers’ behaviour.

Lifelines Dating: rapper A$AP Rocky and model Kendall Jenner, apparently, after being spotted at fashion events in Paris.

Dating: ’80s singer and model Samantha Fox, now on Celebrity Big Brother, has hooked up with Norwegian Linda Birgitte Olsen.

Fox’s long-time partner and manager Myra Stratton lost her battle to cancer last year, aged 60.

Reconciled: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are “back on track again”, Ozzy said on Good Morning America after a well publicised split earlier this year.

Suing: Michael Jackson’s nephews filed a US$100 million libel suit on gossip site Radar Online over stories he abused them, photographed them in their underpants and gave them gifts like new cars to cover it up. The stories were purportedly based on documents from the infamous 2003 raid of Neverland Ranch.

Taj, TJ and Taryll Jackson are members of the band 3T. In Court: lawyers have appealed a jury decision that cleared Led Zeppelin of lifting from an obscure 1960s instrumental for the intro to ‘Stairway To Heaven’.

Jailed: a 20-year-old man for three months by the Supreme Court for selling ecstasy at clubs in Mackay, Queensland. He boasted that he’d sold 140 pills in five days.

Died: US producer Sandy Pearlman, 72, after a long struggle following a cerebral haemorrhage he suffered in December. He worked on nine Blue Öyster Cult albums (including the classic ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’), The Dictators’ Go Girl Crazy! and The Clash’s Give ’Em Enough Rope.

Died: US rock/gospel singer Gary S. Paxton, 77, of heart surgery complications and liver disease.

He produced classics such as ‘Alley-Oop’ and ‘Monster Mash’.

Died: Roye Albrighton, 67, in his sleep. He was the singer and guitarist with Germany-based UK prog rock band Nektar, with whom he made the classic 1973 album Remember The Future.

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#JFLSYDNEY BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 11

COVER STORY

GROUPLOVE THIS MESS THEY’RE IN

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

M

ulti-tasking is an important skill for any creative person to have – just ask Hannah Hooper, who sings and plays keyboards as one-fifth of happy-song heroes Grouplove.

All the while she was working on Big Mess, Grouplove’s third LP set for release this September, Hooper was also busy with another fairly significant project – her first-born child, Willa. Hooper recorded the entire album while pregnant, and is now looking down the barrel of both playing in a touring band and being a young mother. Not that it’s fazed her – she and partner Christian Zucconi, who fronts the band, are adamant about not only finding the right balance between work and family, but also letting them intersect.

“I really feel as though Willa has brought us all together in a lot of ways,” says Hooper from her home in Los Angeles ahead of the Big Mess tour.

“We really feel like a unit, and I didn’t know it was possible to feel more like that than we already did.

12 :: BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16

“There’s such a wonderful vibe when we have her backstage – she already loves everyone else in the band so much. The schedule ahead is definitely quite daunting, and it’s really going to pick up once the album is out. I think, though, that if we keep going about it in the way that we have, I just know that it’s going to be great.”

Grouplove began writing for Big Mess not too long after finishing an extensive run of dates in support of their previous album, 2013’s Spreading Rumours.

That record took them all across the world, including a slot on what ended up being the last-ever Big Day Out festival here in Australia – and yet, for all the frequent flyer points the band picked up along the way, nothing could prepare Hooper and Zucconi for what was brewing at home. Before picking up their instruments again, the Grouplove lovebirds had to come to terms with the life they’d left behind in their native California.

“We toured pretty heavily – it took up the better part of six years,” Hooper says. “Christian and I opened the door to our house out in East LA, and within 24 hours we realised that we had completely lost touch.

We had lost touch with our families, we had lost touch with our closest friends and our house looked

like we were hoarders. We’re reading the news, we’re seeing bombs going off and all this hatred … We said to ourselves, ‘Fuck, everything is a big mess right now.’ Somehow, through all of that, rather than reimmersing ourselves in society, we started writing again almost immediately. There was this immediate need to start working – we’d been playing the songs from our first two albums for so long, I think there was a real urge to make something new. By the time we had finished writing, we had 40 songs.”

The early sketches for what would become Big Mess were completed with assistance from the rest of the band – guitarist Andrew Wessen, bassist Daniel Gleason and drummer Ryan Rabin, who also co-produced the album. The prolific nature of Hooper and Zucconi’s writing style meant there was a lot for the quintet to work through, but it never even approached being a daunting construct. That’s the thing you learn about a band like Grouplove: they are the living embodiment of ‘que sera sera’, knowing when to let go and when to hold on.

“There were times that we’d been so excited about a song, we immediately sent it to the rest of the band at like three in the morning,” confesses Hooper with a laugh. “We’d wake up the next day, listen back and think to ourselves perhaps that wasn’t the best idea.

At the same time, we’d take songs into the rehearsal room and the rest of the band would just make it sound so much bigger and better than we could have imagined. The band were really able to help us separate what was simply just a good idea on paper and what was a great song.”

As much as the creative side of Grouplove is centred on Hooper and Zucconi, Hooper herself is quick to sing the praises of everyone in the band. She loves Wessen’s guitar playing (“His guitar solos are amazing!”) and she admires Rabin’s work ethic (“He’s a beast in the studio – if he’s not drumming, he’s producing, and he doesn’t stop.”) Hooper is also incredibly excited that Gleason, who replaced

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MARRICKVILLE SMALL BAR & LIVE MUSIC VENUE original bass player Sean Gadd at the end of 2013, has completely settled into his role within the band. Big Mess marks the first time he has played on a Grouplove record, and Hooper remains considerably impressed with his abilities.

“I actually didn’t even think about it until after the fact,” she says of his studio debut. “He’s been with us for over two years, so he’s very much a part of what we do now. He’s written with us on the road, he knows all the songs, he’s been completely exposed to the vulnerability of everyone in this band. It was so natural to work with him – and that can be a really rare thing, so we count ourselves as incredibly lucky.”

Grouplove’s tour in support of Big Mess begins roughly a month before the album drops, and Australia will be among the first countries to hear songs from the album live across a quick run of sold-out club shows.

“It’s going to be so exciting to have all of this new material to work with,” Hooper says.

“Of course, there are always songs that are going to be a part of our set. ‘Tongue Tied’, ‘Ways To Go’, ‘Colours’, ‘Itchin’ On A Photograph’ – those are songs that are with this band for life. I feel like it’s important to play the songs that helped us become the band that we are today. Having the ability to switch it up and not stick to one setlist is going to be so much fun.”

As well as sounding good, Hooper has also been working on looking good for Grouplove shows – her fashion style has been synonymous with the band’s image since its inception, and it’s even led to her own clothing line, Lady Grouplove, being distributed through Volcom. It’s something

“THERE WERE TIMES THAT WE’D BEEN SO EXCITED ABOUT A SONG, WE IMMEDIATELY SENT IT TO THE REST OF THE BAND AT LIKE THREE IN THE MORNING.” she’s passionate about, and something she loves having as a part of Grouplove’s identity.

“The onesies are so comfortable – and they capture all the moisture, too, so no-one can really see how much I’m sweating,” she says, again with that unmistakable laugh.

“Lately I’ve been drawing all over them. It’s an interesting way to incorporate my fine art with my wardrobe. It’s been making me feel like a superhero onstage. I think being an artist is about constantly pushing yourself and being original. There are times when I walk out onstage thinking, ‘What the fuck am I wearing?’ That goes away, though, when I realise how amazing I look and how amazing it makes me feel. No-one else will ever be wearing this!”

What: Big Mess out Friday September 9 through Canvasbank/Atlantic With: Lisa Mitchell Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Tuesday August 16 and Wednesday August 17

Friday 5 August (7pm) The Low Down Riders (Dixie New Orleans) Sunday 7 Auguust Th Dead D dM Marines: i Bow Campbellll (F (Frontt End E d (5 ) The (5pm) Loader), Brendan Gallagher (Karma County) and Berrnie Hayes (Thhe Shouties) Friday 12 August (7pm) The GlammaRays + Trish Young (ex-Clouds) Thursday 188 Auguustt (7pm) The Sousaphonics + Nadya Golski (brass!)

115 Marrickville Road, Marrickville Tue-Sat till 11.30pm, Sun to 9.30m.

www.gasolinepony.com thebrag.com

BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 13

“THE PEOPLE IN SYDNEY, THE PEOPLE IN LOS ANGELES, THE PEOPLE IN LONDON, THEY’RE ALL JUST DOING THEIR THING, WANTING TO HEAR MUSIC FROM A BAND THAT THEY LOVE.”

Wolfgang Muthspiel In The Moment By Joseph Earp

J

azz is a peculiarly blighted genre. Even though youthful game-changers like Kamasi Washington and Badbadnotgood are sneaking out of the shadows and into the popular consciousness, the form is still stereotyped. In the public eye, it continues to be regarded as an antiquated thing, a gas lamp in a sea of flashlights, performed by sad sacks in leather-patched corduroy jackets.

And yet if there’s any musician ready to definitively prove the genre’s cutting-edge credentials, it’s celebrated Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel. Not only does the man create urgent, elegant music – beautiful tunes with all the energy of fire alarms – he doesn’t talk about jazz as though it is a hobby, or a way to pay the bills. Simply put, Wolfgang Muthspiel talks about jazz the way priests talk about God. He’s also, perhaps more surprisingly, an extremely funny man. When asked to offer up a piece of information he’s never mentioned in an interview before, he doesn’t reveal some longlost nugget of jazz wisdom. Rather, he uses the opportunity to talk about his experiences with late-night shopping channels. “I once ordered a motivational video from the TV called Unleash Your Inner Dragon,” he laughs, before adding: “And I have 20 hats.”

The Dead Daisies A New Noise By Adam Norris

F

or a band that has only been active for around four years, The Dead Daises have managed to pull some fairly epic collaborators.

Perhaps it’s their Australian-American heritage, or the fact their name sounds like an unpublished Virginia Andrews novel. Maybe it’s that these guys are simply pros at what they do.

Whatever the reason, their rotating lineup has included members of bands like Cold Chisel, Nine Inch Nails, The Rolling Stones, and now guitarist Doug Aldrich of Whitesnake.

The musical life is a carousel Aldrich wouldn’t trade for anything, though with The Dead Daisies’ third album Make Some Noise arriving this month, it hasn’t always been an easy ride.

“There were some tours when I was with Whitesnake where…” Aldrich pauses, trying to capture the reality of life after 30 years on the road. “I was in something like a hundred different hotels one year, just always checking in and checking out. Maybe the whole tour itself was something like 120 shows, and between playing and your days off, you’re moving a hundred times. It gets pretty tedious, and everything starts to look the same. Even the people themselves are basically the same. The people in Sydney, the people in Los Angeles, the people in London, they’re all just doing their thing, wanting to hear music from a band that they love.

They’re just trying to have fun and to take care of their family and be able to work. It’s the same thing if you’re in Albania or Tokyo, wherever.

“So you’re doing all this moving, all this packing and unpacking, you go to the gym and try to stay healthy while having to gear yourself up every day for the show, and then wind down,” he says. “It’s tedious, man, and I tell you the honest truth – eventually, if you’ve got a relationship or a family … it’s very difficult to be away.”

14 :: BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16

It’s a sobering reflection, and speaks of a side of musicianship that is often glossed over. Touring can be a bitch, and it quickly takes its toll on the unprepared and starry-eyed. These days, Aldrich has found a way to make it work thanks to the wonders of Skype and a passion for musical experimentation that has never diminished. To hear him talk about guitars is to hear a man enthralled.

“For me, the guitar itself – and there are others who’d tell you totally differently – but I really love the vintage stuff. I love the wood from some old tree with wires stretched across it. The way that wood resonates just feels different, it sounds different. I really love the older instruments. I don’t know how much improvement you can really do on a guitar. But they are doing some interesting things with amplification.

Digital modelling, they call it, where you can basically buy an amplifier that will model maybe 70 kinds of amps, and that’s pretty cool.

“For example, I own a 1968 Plexi Super Bass 100-watt Marshall, an amazing amp – it’s really old, it’s hand-wired. All the parts were so well made at that time, all the capacitors and tubes. So that amp sounds amazing, but if you compare that to the new modelling amp of that same brand, the same year, you know, it sounds pretty darn good. It’s like 90 per cent there. If you’re recording, you’re going to go with the real thing.

But if you’re touring, you might figure to take the modelling amp. It’s more stable, it’s not a 50-year-old piece of equipment you’re worried is going to break.”

It has been less than a year since The Dead Daisies’ second album Revolución arrived, itself appearing soon after the band became the first Western rock act to play Cuba after the US embargo was lifted. Make

Some Noise marks Aldrich’s first time recording with the group, and although the Daisies have seen a variety of members in a relatively short lifespan, the impression you get is that this turnover doesn’t reflect personality clashes or the rigours of touring. Rather, this is an outfit that enlists the best possible musicians available to serve each new direction.

Aldrich is himself taking the reins from Richard Fortus after the latter signed on to tour with Guns N’ Roses.

“Richard and I [have] mutual respect, and I love what he’d done with the Daisies. David [Lowy, co-founder] and I had lots of conversations regarding what we were trying to accomplish and how we would do it. What actually went down was, when we went into a room, it wasn’t so much anything to do with where the Daisies had left off. It was kind of, ‘Let’s see what we can create right at this moment.’

“Revolución I think is just great.

I really love that record – there’s great songwriting and great playing.

Make Some Noise feels like another chapter, in kind of the way bands like Led Zeppelin worked. Led Zeppelin II to Led Zeppelin III, which was totally different, and then Led Zeppelin IV. So, Make Some Noise for me is a nice change of speed. It’s a little more riff rock, it’s a little more raw and stripped-back.

It’s got the elements of the Daisies that you heard from Revolución, but obviously there are going to be some differences between Richard and myself. But when you’re looking at the overall thing, there’s a theme that runs through it. I didn’t feel any pressure about trying to recreate anything.”

Fedoras, dragons and jazz aside, Muthspiel’s other big love is his family. Indeed, his passion for music is an inherited trait. “My father was an amateur choir conductor who burned for music, and made it very attractive for us,” Muthspiel says.

“We are four children and three of us became musicians. At 14, after having quit the violin, which I started at six, and having had some affinity for the guitar, I practised by myself and was accepted at university. That was [much] to my own surprise. From then on, music saved me from other troubles and became the centre of my life.”

Muthspiel’s family has also come to play a role in his creative practice – he frequently performs with his brother Christian, a celebrated trombonist and pianist. In 2003, the pair released the plainly titled and widely lauded Early Music, an album of striking beauty enhanced by the brothers’ deep bond. “Blind understanding helps [Christian and I] when we are playing, of course,” Muthspiel says. “Luckily we also find many other musical brothers and sisters on our way.”

These “brothers and sisters” Muthspiel mentions aren’t merely session musicians – they are outand-out legends in their own right.

The jazz guitarist has collaborated with the likes of double bassist Gary Peacock and saxophonist Bob Berg, and he is a member of a number of jazz supergroups, most notably the award-winning trio MGT. That said, there are certain musicians Muthspiel holds in particularly high regard. “Most of what I learned in music, I learned from playing with

masters like Paul Motian, Brian Blade and Gary Burton,” he says. “Apart from knowing the instrument, which one has to figure out alone, these people taught me without words about music, about time and about performing.”

The art of playing live is something that Muthspiel has had to truly work at, and the concentration required to perform the draining marathon sets that have become his trademark is an acquired skill and not a gift. After all, the average length of Muthspiel’s compositions is well over ten minutes, and sustaining any significant output of energy over that period of time is as much a question of physical endurance as it is anything more intellectualised.

“As a kid I loved playing live and was never nervous,” Muthspiel says.

“But later it became harder and now it is difficult, though [it’s a] healing experience. [You have] to aspire to be in the moment when you are playing.”

Despite the hardships associated with it, playing stages around the world has afforded Muthspiel the opportunity to note subtle differences in audience etiquette, and he remains fascinated by the ways in which people from different countries appreciate his fluid, finessed melodies.

“Australian audiences are very warm and eager to be entertained,” he says.

“They seem non-judgemental and open. A place like Poland [also] has a great audience, for example – the people are extremely knowledgeable and into the [parts] of the songs that the musicians like themselves.”

As far as Muthspiel is concerned, the main drawcard of jazz is its ability to rebel against structure. It is a function without a form, a genre that is at its best when the people playing it read, then disregard, the rule book. “I know that what a good jazz musician can bring to any music is a kind of spontaneous arranging of the music.

That’s not only of a certain song, but of each specific [element] of that one song. It’s a quality that cannot not be achieved by planning and thought, but only by intuition.”

Yet despite how important it might be for him personally, Muthspiel understands that there are some who still see the genre as difficult.

But naysayers need not worry – Muthspiel has a foolproof guide to loving jazz.

“I would say, open a good bottle of red wine and put on Bill Evans’ Sunday At The Village Vanguard.

Listen with good headphones or good speakers. [Play] it loud. Next time, next bottle, try a younger artist like Ambrose Akinmusire. Listen uninterrupted for some time. Don’t look for the [prettiness] – just listen.

And if you enjoy that… well, there’s a big universe waiting for you.”

Who: Wolfgang Muthspiel Trio Where: City Recital Hall When: Tuesday August 9

What: Make Some Noise out Friday August 5 through Spitfire/ SPV

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GUARDIAN G UARDIAN “...Nao, whose voice... affirms her place as the most emotionally textured of this modern-pop wave.”

THE LINE OF BEST FIT 8 / 10 ”...the album cements the East London singer as one of the freshest and most gifted artists in R&B today.”

CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND “The best pop stars have voices that are unmistakable, and NAO’s has the potential to be iconic.”

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BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 15

Wild Beasts Survival Of The Fittest By Zanda Wilson

U

K four-piece Wild Beasts have a style that is particularly hard to pin down.

Calling them simply ‘indie rockers’ is perhaps doing them a disservice after four albums that have taken them from one side of the spectrum of intense rock through to more restrained pop-rock and back again. Now they’re ready to release their fi fth studio album Boy King, a record that frontman Hayden Thorpe says has shocked the members of the band just as much as it will surprise audiences.

“If we’re doing our job right, we’ve got to shock ourselves,” he says.

“I didn’t think we had this kind of record in us, to be honest – it wasn’t something I envisaged doing. Once you took the leash off, it went crazy. We’ve played these songs once live and what was apparent was that they are such larger-than-life tracks, written to make us bigger than we are – to try and transcend ourselves.”

Thorpe sees Boy King as Wild Beasts’ most powerful work to date, and one that will take them a little while to get used to playing live. “The music is more powerful than we will ever be, so when it comes to playing our songs live we defi nitely have to own them and grow into them, otherwise they just don’t translate,” he says.

On first listen, the new record seems to have more raw emotion than their last couple of albums.

Thorpe says there was certainly an effort by the band to rediscover a freedom and emotion that had been present in the early years.

Since then, he says, the process had become too mathematical,

and Wild Beasts had reached a point where there was an imminent desire to bring back the rawness.

“Our music had become meticulous, it was like architecture in music. It was made with such microscopic detail that we felt that it was becoming more like maths in music, and we thought we could either continue down that path, or don the leather jackets and bring the chaos of rock’n’roll. Therefore we embraced the teenage us again, our teenage selves. When you do that, you really start to make music with the lightness and freedom of people who have nothing to lose. So that’s the backdrop to why the record is different, because it was made with the looseness and freedom of guys who have nothing to lose.”

Part of the reason Thorpe and the band are so proud of this record is that they’re now in a place where they’re not worrying too much about the consequences of what they’re creating. “In my 20s I was always tearing my hair out worrying about my musical output, my legacy as it was, and they’re hard things to carry around,” Thorpe says.

“There is a peace with the chaos as you get older – you realise that you’re survivors. I feel like we’re survivors – we’re making our fi fth record. I guess you realise, ‘Maybe I am that guy who is just offering his music up to the universe and maybe I don’t have control.’ That was the main leap I had personally, knowing that I’m not in control of this and that’s OK. I think it takes a blind leap to make any record.

It takes an unfathomable amount

of superstition and belief to get it together.”

Despite being more than happy to once again be making music that’s imbued with freedom and emotion, Thorpe doesn’t have any regrets about any of the albums in the Wild Beasts discography. His main concern with his own and other people’s music is that the art and creativity must always come first, and not be ruled by the commercial side of the deal. “My belief is that good art makes a good business,” he says. “But it has to be that way around – good business makes terrible art.”

After an unanticipated writing session with Disclosure’s Guy and Howard Lawrence, Wild Beasts were taken aback by how passionate those artists were about making music that genuinely connects people. Thorpe and co. were initially contacted by the Surrey hitmakers, and they jumped at the chance to hang out.

“We had a meeting with them and what was very apparent is that they are very, very good at what they do, and what they do resonates with people very much,” says Thorpe. “When you have that combination you have a force of nature, and it was a pleasure to see those guys wielding that force with such ownership and prowess.”

Wild Beasts’ own career stretches back to the early 2000s, when making yourself known as an artist was about putting as much of yourself into the music as possible – despite the lures of creating for the pure sake of making money. “We have to be pretty malleable as a

musician nowadays,” Thorpe says.

“You have to forgo a lot of the moral standards you felt you wouldn’t have

“THERE IS A PEACE WITH THE CHAOS AS YOU GET OLDER – YOU REALISE THAT YOU’RE SURVIVORS.”

to cross when you were coming up.”

Thorpe wouldn’t trade their early years for anything, though, and their original mentality still guides what the band has become today. “We were listening to music pre-internet and

Sleepmakeswaves Written In The Stars By David James Young

I

t’s a quiet Friday morning when Alex Wilson – bassist, keyboardist and founding member of Sydney post-rock purveyors Sleepmakeswaves – takes the BRAG’s call from his Inner West home.

‘Quiet’ is probably a relative term, of course, given the overwhelming loudness that has fi lled up Wilson’s life recently. He and the rest of the band have just wrapped up a national run of completely sold-out shows with the freshly reunited Cog, and Wilson speaks of the tour with great fondness – especially considering they had never thought they would get to even see that band again, let alone share some tour dates.

“What was amazing was the energy on a tour like that,” he says. “A band that’s so loved like Cog coming back, every show sold out – there’s not all that much to worry over or stress about. There’s a lot of good vibes to enjoy from such a unique atmosphere.

Meeting all of the guys after being fanboys for so many years was so great, as well – especially because they’re all such great people and genuinely hilarious dudes. For me, rediscovering the music was a big part of it – those songs mean a lot to me. This is a band I was obsessed with from 17 onward, and their music still gives me gold-plated feels.”

“I LOVE THE CREATIVE SIDE OF BEING A MUSICIAN – THE TIME WHERE YOU’RE JUST MAKING MUSIC.” 16 :: BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16

“We talked to a lot of people after Kid left,

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Wild Beasts photo by Tom Andrew

The tour was also special for Sleepmakeswaves from a personnel standpoint. It marked the first full national run the band had undertaken with new guitarist Daniel Oreskovic, who replaced cofounder Jonathan ‘Kid’ Khor after a lengthy audition process. Many in the alternative music community will know Oreskovic from his time in fellow instrumental voyagers Meniscus, and the energy he brought from his time as part of that band was very much a deciding factor in his eventual inclusion within the Sleepmakeswaves fold.

made our first record pre-recession. So I guess we had that old-fashioned sense of what our jobs entailed, which is still in us. Having said that, the survival instinct and the need to make it work means you’ll do what you have to do. I think it’s a really interesting time for music at the moment. It doesn’t matter who the curator is, it

doesn’t matter who the philanthropist is signing the cheque. What matters is that the record has been made.”

and it was clear that Dan was the one for us,” says Wilson. “He’s done an amazing job fi tting in, and he’s got such an awesome energy onstage. He’s so kind and relaxed in everyday life, but when he plays live he’s an animal. That’s something that fi ts us to a T. He’s been a really great fi t – adapting to the schedule of Sleepmakeswaves can be a real challenge, but he’s really taken to it and we’re really stoked about it. I haven’t managed to convince him how obsessed Otto [Wicks-Green, guitar] and I were with Meniscus, though. Any time that we’ve brought it up, he basically tells us to get fucked.” Wilson can’t help but laugh at the thought, adding: “He’s very humble like that.”

love coordinating everyone’s ideas and discovering what the vibe of the record is even more.”

This month will see Sleepmakeswaves undertake a run of headlining shows in which they’re looking to bid a fond farewell to their second studio album, 2014’s Love Of Cartography. The tour is named after the fi nal single to be released from the album, ‘Traced In Constellations’, and following the conclusion of this run, the band will batten down the hatches to begin work on album number three. It’s a particularly exciting prospect for Wilson, who is vocal about how the writing process is the most satisfying and rewarding part of being a musician.

“We’ve been steadily writing, and we’re getting an idea of what we want to do with the next record. The next few months will be all hands on deck, getting things written and ready to go. If all goes to plan, we’ll be hitting the studio at the end of the year and releasing an album in the first part of 2017.

As it stands, we’ve got about half of the material that we think is going to make the next album in a pretty fruitful development process.

“I love the creative side of being a musician – the time where you’re just making music. As much as I love the touring, I

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What: Boy King out Friday August 5 through Domino

Joining Sleepmakeswaves on tour will be Perth’s Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving, who have a long history of friendship with the Sydneysiders and even put out a split EP with them back in 2009. If that wasn’t enough, the main support for all the dates will be American prog metal sextet The Contortionist, making their maiden voyage Down Under. It’s essentially a post-rock exchange program – after touring the States as headliners with Sleepmakeswaves as support, The Contortionist are coming to Australia with the roles reversed. Wilson is thrilled at the prospect of having both old friends and first-time visitors in the touring party.

“It’s a good system to have in place,” he says. “We’ve built a few relationships like that – we did the same thing with 65daysofstatic back in the day. We count ourselves really lucky that we’re in a position that we’re doing well enough here in Australia to have something to offer to our friends from overseas. We’ve had a great time with The Contortionist, and we’re looking forward to sharing our country with them. The shows are a secondary concern to those guys, though – they are hell-bent on coming here and hugging as many koalas as possible, and have made absolutely no bones about that fact. I’ve tried to warn them about the diseases and their ill tempers, but they’re having none of it.”

What: Love Of Cartography out now through Bird’s Robe/MGM With: The Contortionist, Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving, Dumbsaint Where: Metro Theatre When: Friday August 12

BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 17

My Echo Closer Than Ever By Sarah Little

I

t’s a busy year for Melbourne punk rockers My Echo. They’re back with a new single ‘Old & Grey’, an album entitled Brothers due out in early 2017, plus a string of tour dates including a show in Sydney this month.

“It’s been quite a long time between drinks,” explains lead singer Brenton Perry. He’s speaking to the BRAG from the car park of a Hungry Jack’s restaurant, hanging out “like a teenager”, he jokes. “We took so much time off to write and everything, [so] we’d only been really focused on playing locally with the occasional interstate show.”

Changes in the band’s lineup have inspired the latest material, and brought some welcome new energy to boot. “I’m the oldest one in the band,” says Perry. “Sometime before I started writing the album I thought that it was sort of the end for My Echo – not that I wanted to break up, I just wasn’t feeling it anymore, and a couple of my best friends had left the band and gone on to do other things, and we were wondering if we should pack it up.”

‘Old & Grey’ was actually written as an ode to their former bassist. Fittingly, the song tells a tale as old as time, paying tribute to those moments when you’re sitting at home thinking about old pals you haven’t seen in a while, but who are still very much on your mind. While My Echo themselves have a long history, they haven’t forgotten where they started: as a band full of mates who slept in bunk beds in a shared bedroom as they recorded for days at a time. In other words, they’ve always been a tight outfit. They’ve often chosen to drive instead of fly to gigs around the country, simply because they “really like hanging out with each other”.

studio band … I got really sick when we were recording the album, and I was worried about not being able to nail the vocal tracks – that side of recording really pisses you off, ’cause you’ve got the pressure of trying to record, but we sort of enjoy the pressure of having to get it right on the night with live shows. Once that 45 minutes is up, it’s all forgotten about anyway.”

“I think we play music to tour,” says Perry. “To play live shows. We’ve never been a really big

As can be expected when everyone is squished on top of one another in a

Winnebago, My Echo’s time on the road includes plenty of shenanigans. Perry tells a story of being on tour in Western Australia supporting Kingswood and Tired Lion, when the band slept in the van out the back of the venues. After the tour wrapped in Fremantle, an impromptu game of cricket began. “Some bastard lost the ball,” Perry explains, so he went back to the rolling mansion and crashed.

In the meantime, “the lads and some guys from

“WE SORT OF ENJOY THE PRESSURE OF HAVING TO GET IT RIGHT ON THE NIGHT WITH LIVE SHOWS. ONCE THAT 45 MINUTES IS UP, IT’S ALL FORGOTTEN ABOUT ANYWAY.”

the other crews went out to a tiny restaurant – the only place still open with a licence to serve alcohol. I couldn’t sleep, so I ended up tracking them down at this place. They’d taken over the music in this little sit-down tapas joint and everyone was moshing from wall to wall. I had a hard time getting inside it was so rammed.

God, it was a pisser!”

Heaven knows what My Echo’s next set of tour dates has in store, but one thing is clear: Australia had better be prepared.

Where: Botany View Hotel When: Saturday August 13

Mantis And The Prayer Summon The Demons By Gem Doow between our world and whatever the hell else is out there.

or fantasy themes. It’s a form of escapism.”

William Parmelee, AKA Mantis, is the band’s frontman and songwriter.

Parmelee is gently spoken and has long vowels – in his mouth, the word ‘year’ has two syllables. He’s also the nexus of the goth blues outfit.

Hailing from Long Island, New York, he has had incarnations of the band in the US, London and now here.

Wherever he goes, he summons a band shortly thereafter.

Parmelee’s got a low rumble of a voice, sitting somewhere in the register of Jack Ladder and Nick Cave. He’s often compared to the latter, although it turns out the likeness was unintentional. “Even when I first started writing songs, people were saying, ‘You sound like Nick Cave,’” he says. “I didn’t even know who Nick Cave was. I had no idea.”

“The Mantis and The Prayer – the essence of it – has always been my brainchild,” he says. “It’s always been something that I’ve taken with me, which has been evident in that I’ve been able to reassemble different versions of it, but I’m always the nucleus of it. I give the band its identity. God, that sounds narcissistic.”

At least consciously, Parmelee has drawn more influence from troubled troubadours like Jim Morrison, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and Syd Barrett. “Most of the stuff I listen to was being produced even before I was born,” he says.

“There’s something in me that’s drawn to these artists who are a bit tragic – all these people who have fought personal and psychological problems. I don’t know what that says about me that I’m drawn to that.”

Singing songs about transcendence, spirituality, magic, sex and death, Parmelee and co. weave sacred and profane themes into their tunes and stage shows. For instance, the shows debuting the band’s first full-length album, this year’s Butterfl ies & Demons, involved the kind of theatricality usually reserved for cock rock and metal – one of the singers burst through a chrysalis and grew wings, Hoops the drummer was horned, and Parmelee doused himself in fake blood. “Like the album, it’s a mix of blood and butterflies, light and dark,” Parmelee says.

E

ver since bluesman Robert Johnson struck a deal with the devil, there’s been a link between esoterica and rock’n’roll.

There was a revival of occultism in rock in the ’60s – take the arcana around The Beatles, for instance;

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rumour had it Paul McCartney was dead and you could make out John Lennon singing “I buried Paul” if you played ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ backwards. The ’70s had another crack: Bowie was at peak mysticism in his ‘Starman’ days

and Led Zeppelin took to quoting occultist Aleister Crowley. In 2013, Ben Lee took a trip and made a concept album about it (Ayahuasca: Welcome To The Work), and now we’ve got Mantis and The Prayer, a Melbourne band that’s lifting the veil

The frontman feels his band meets a need for quirk and eccentricity.

“There doesn’t seem to be a band around at the moment that exudes that sort of quality,” he says. “At essence that’s what we’re about – especially in the subject matter we sing about, with supernatural

The word Mantis means ‘prophet’ in Greek, and ancient societies revered the bug of the same name as a necromancer, a soothsayer and minor god that would ferry lost souls to the underworld. Parmelee doesn’t object to these associations – after all, it was a semi-mystical experience that led him to the name in the first place. “I was home, looking into the mirror a bit too long and it was like my face had changed into a praying mantis face,” he says. Um, was he high at the time? “I don’t think so – I don’t recall that being part of it, but I can’t totally discount it.”

What: Butterfl ies & Demons out independently on Monday August 15

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Regional Musical Institute Learning From The Best By Joseph Earp place – it’s just great.�

This combination of vintage and modern equipment means the freshly assembled studio will provide students with a rounded education, and a real insight into what an actual recording studio looks and feels like. “What we have now is international standard,� says Rolfe. “Our students can come in now and learn on this gear and then walk into any studio in the world and be comfortable. “In the entry-level course, they mostly just work on a computer, like a workstation that most of them could have at home. So they start out learning how to use the gear they have at home better, and then as they start stepping up to the diploma and the advanced diploma, then the gear steps up, and by the time they finish here they’re on international world-class gear.�

As it stands, Hunter TAFE provides an education based in the real world. The sound production courses are not about getting students mired in theory, or overloading them with a range of stiff facts that will have little relevance in practice – they’re about getting them work.

T

here’s been a bit of role reversal going on over at Hunter TAFE in Newcastle.

In preparation for the delivery of the Regional Music Institute’s brand new toy, a state of the art mixing desk, senior sound production teacher Lee Rolfe had to go back to school himself. “Before we got the new mixing desk, we all got given the instruction book for it,� Rolfe says. “I was reading it for a month, and I [thought], ‘I’m pretty much on this, I’ll be right.’ But when it rocked up, I sat down at it and I went, ‘Yeah, I’ve got no idea.’� He laughs. “You know what I mean? You can read all you

like. But you’ve got to just sit at the actual thing sometimes. People learn in different ways. I keep going back to the instruction book, but then I’ll sit down at the desk for a day as well. You gotta do both.�

One can’t blame Rolfe, an industry figure who has been playing in bands since the early ’90s, for trying to spend as much time as possible with this cutting-edge piece of equipment. The desk now represents the jewel in the Regional Music Institute’s crown, and Rolfe talks about it with a distinct tone of reverence. “It’s an SSL desk,� he explains. “It’s the SSL Duality. It’s a 48-channel

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analogue and digital desk, and it’s the centrepiece of the studio – the big mama of everything.�

Even more excitingly, it’s not the only new piece of equipment the TAFE has purchased recently for its audio and production students. “Over the last 18 months we’ve been buying classic pieces of gear,� Rolfe says. “Some of it might be 50 years old. You might find all these bits of equipment we’ve [been buying] at studios all over the world, but in most cases, you’re not going to be able to find all these bits in the one studio. We’ve rounded up a whole bunch of classic pieces and put them in one

“’Cause we’re a vocational education system ‌ we are about making people job-ready,â€? says Rolfe. “We really are about getting everybody hands-on. All the teachers work in the industry. We’re not just someone who’s learnt at university and only taught. To be a teacher here you’ve got to have experience and still constantly work in the industry.â€?

Ultimately, the last thing Rolfe wants is his students to feel lost the moment they step into the real world. “You wouldn’t want them walking into a studio, seeing a desk and going, ‘Oh shit, what am I going to do with that?’� he chuckles.

What: Hunter TAFE’s Regional Music Institute Where: RMI Studio, Hunter TAFE Newcastle Campus More: hunter.tafensw.edu.au

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arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Anna Wilson, Natalia Morawski and Chris Martin

five minutes WITH

SARAH ENRIGHT FROM BROKEN

was extremely supportive and open to our approach.

Can you introduce us to the character you’re playing?

I’m playing Mia, who is intensely affected by the theme of isolation.

She is compelled to make some

Have you ever faced any of your own traumatic situations for you to draw on in portraying Mia? I have to say that I don’t really work in this way. And while the act of creating can be considered therapeutic by artists (because it keeps us sane!) I don’t know that drawing on past trauma is a sustainable way to inhabit performance for theatre. It may be helpful for film acting, writing or visual arts, but reliving personal misery night after night is potentially damaging! I think all of a person’s observations and experiences unconsciously contribute to what ends up being presented.

How important is it to bring Australian writers’ stories to the local stage?

Employment of local artists is paramount as there are so many talented people here who deserve the opportunity to develop their work. I personally love stories from all over and believe that any good story has universal resonance, though audiences will often empathise and relate in a deeper way when they are given a more familiar context. It’s important that an awareness of the society we support and contribute to and its associated issues are being discussed.

The Shallows will this month bring to the screen every swimmer’s and surfer’s nightmare: the prospect of encountering a great white shark. The film, which was shot in Australia, tells the tale of Nancy (Blake Lively), a surfer who who finds herself in the feeding ground of a great white shark at a secluded beach. She is stranded less than 200 meters from shore, but must draw on ultimate survival skills, her will and resourcefulness if she’s to survive.

The Shallows opens in cinemas on Thursday August 18, and we have 15 in-season double passes to give away. Enter the draw at thebrag.com/ freeshit.

What: Broken Where: Eternity Playhouse When: Until Sunday August 28

ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Rhys Darby

MANLY ARTS FESTIVAL WANTS YOU

As part of the 2016 Manly Arts Festival, writers are being invited to submit original poetry on the subject ‘Spirit of the Collection’. Pertaining to the extensive collection at the Manly Art Gallery &

Museum, this exciting poetry event is a highlight of the gallery’s exhibition of paintings, photographs and more. 20 poems will be chosen by event curator and poet Les Wicks for live reading by the authors as part of the festival. Each of the selected authors will receive $50 for the trouble.

Submissions are due by Friday August 12. Manly Arts Festival takes place from Friday September 16 – Friday September 30. Find out more at manlyartsfestival.com.au.

COMEDY SO THEY CAN

Jackie Chan

JACKIE CHAN IN CONVERSATION

Master of kung fu comedy and film icon Jackie Chan is taking time out of filming his new feature Bleeding Steel to talk about his life, craft and career at the Sydney Opera House. This will be Chan’s first-ever public talk in Australia, taking the audience through his beginnings and prolific career until now. Australia has played an important role in Chan’s career – it’s where he was given the nickname ‘Jackie’ while working on a construction site during his time living in Canberra. His new movie Bleeding Steel is the largestbudget Chinese production to be shot mainly in Australia since Mr. Nice Guy was filmed in Melbourne 20 years ago.

Hear Chan speak at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House this Saturday August 6.

The Laugh Stand’s next comedy showcase is in support of the So They Can charity, empowering women and children in East Africa through education. Gags will come from locals Julia Wilson, Scott Dettrick, Matty B, Dane Hiser, Suren Jayemanne, Umit Bali, Michele Betts, Amanda Gray and Tony Abbott impersonator Jonas Holt, with the one and only Mikey Robins acting as MC for the night. All profits from the night will go to So They Can, founded in 2009

by Cassandra Treadwell, to assist children who live in the internally displaced persons’ camp in Nakuru, Kenya, and help give them an opportunity to get an education and have a prosperous future. The So They Can comedy showcase is on at the Harold Park Hotel this Friday August 5.

THEY CAN TAKE A TRICK

The magician trio Gentlemen Of Deceit are set to present new illusions alongside all-time favourites when they perform live later this year.

Having earned three standing ovations as 2016 grand finalists on Australia’s Got Talent, along with sharing ten national awards between them, the trio of Gentlemen – insurance salesman Luke Hocking, teacher Alex de la Rambelje and doctor Vyom Sharma – met at a magic society six years ago. Their love for creating original illusions and their dislike for cheesy stereotypes spurred them to form their own show. Gentlemen Of Deceit will be working their magic at the Playhouse, Sydney Opera House on Saturday October 15 and Sunday October 16.

MAKE SURE YOU GET OUT

Directed by Lucinda Vitek and choreographed

by Jennifer Poon, the new Sydney production of Before The Water Gets Cold will explore notions of love and intimacy through dance, poetry, music and monologue. Drawing on various disciplines including original music from Josephine Gibson and poetry from Charles O’Grady, the piece will tackle love and loneliness in the 21st century.

Before The Water Gets Cold runs from Tuesday August 23 – Saturday August 27 at the Sydney Theatre School.

xxx

The annual Italian Film Festival celebrates the language, culture and cinema of Italy, showcasing only the best Italian films to have come out of the country in the last 12 months.

On its opening night in Sydney, the festival will feature director Paolo Genovese’s drama Perfect Strangers – a film about seven friends at a dinner party who decide to share all their messages, emails and phone calls they receive over the night, unleashing more secrets than expected. The cast includes Alba Rohrwacher, Kasia Smutniak, Edoardo Leo, Giuseppe Battiston, Valerio Mastandrea and Marco Giallini. The 2016 festival program will also include the world premiere of Australian-Italian co-production The Space Between by Melbourne filmmaker Ruth Borgobello. Veteran director Marco Bellocchio’s Sweet Dreams will also arrive direct from Cannes. Other films on the bill include Solo, Daddy’s Girl, Arianna, Italian Race and Fiore. The 2016 Italian Film Festival is at Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona and Chauvel Cinema from Tuesday September 13 – Sunday October 9. See the full program at italianfilmfestival.com.au.

Perfect Strangers

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THE SHALLOWS

JUST FOR MORE LAUGHS

The lols just keep coming ahead of Just For Laughs Sydney 2016. The annual festival of comedy, which brings the world-famous Just For Laughs brand to Sydney’s biggest stages, has added three more names to its program for the year. New Zealand actor and comedian Rhys Darby (Flight Of The Conchords, What We Do In The Shadows), US stand-up and broadcaster Jim Norton and Australia’s own Tommy Little have been added to a bill that already includes the likes of Trevor Noah, Alan Carr, Margaret Cho, Julian Clary, Natasha Leggero, Charlie Pickering, Peter Helliar, Beardyman and more. In addition, a second show has been added to Carr’s Just For Laughs schedule, on Wednesday September 7 at the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House.

Just For Laughs 2016 takes place at the Opera House, Enmore Theatre and State Theatre from Tuesday September 6 – Sunday September 11. See the full program and book tickets at justforlaughssydney.com.

LATIN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL

Jules And Dolores

The Shallows © 2016 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.

Y

ou’re appearing in Broken at Darlinghurst Theatre Company this month. How have preparations been going so far?

Preparations are going great!

We have such a fantastic team on board for this production who are professional and enthusiastic about unique storytelling. We’ve also had the writer Mary Anne Butler with us early on and she

It’s the Sydney premiere of Butler’s text. What can audiences expect?

They can expect a production that is stripped back to the essence of storytelling. The sense of isolation within a vast landscape that the writing addresses has been approached in an abstract and aural way.

The audience will be given the opportunity to tune in and listen to Mary Anne’s beautifully detailed writing as time shifts and the world slows down around them.

very difficult choices on her own with consequences detrimental to others. Some things are devastatingly irreversible.

Dendy Opera Quays is set to host the 11th annual Sydney Latin American Film Festival this September. The festival lineup includes eight award-winning feature films and three documentaries, all screening over five days. The program will open with Brazilian film Jules And Dolores, and to celebrate, Cruise Bar will have music from Kriola Collective and DJ Don Juan. Other festival picks include Alejandro Alvarez’ debut Walking Distance and Your Parents Will Come Back – a documentary about the 1983 incident that saw 154 children of Uruguayan political exiles travel from Europe to Uruguay by themselves – plus The Dreamer, Jeremy and Beyond My Grandfather Allende. The festival will take place at Dendy Opera Quays from Thursday September 8 – Monday September 12. See the full program at sydneylatinofilmfestival.org.

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Cine Latino [FILM] Best Of The Fest By Alex Castro

T

he inaugural Cine Latino festival of Latin American cinema sambas its way onto screens this month. The program opens at the Palace Cinemas in Sydney before making its way to Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne, and boasts more than 30 films from across Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. It’s a lot to take in, so we asked program coordinator Alex Castro to talk us through the highlights.

1.

NERUDA

Multi-award-winning Chilean director Pablo Larraín’s latest film, Neruda is a lavishly mounted reimagining of Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda’s pursuit into political exile, and notably marks his reunion with No star Gael García Bernal. Set in 1948, the Chilean Government sends bumbling police prefect Peluchonneau (Bernal) to arrest Neruda. He tries to flee the country, but they are forced into hiding. Yet the poet is somehow inspired by the dramatic events of his new life as a fugitive, and uses this struggle as an opportunity to reinvent his work and life, leaving clues for his nemesis designed to make their game of cat and mouse more dangerous, more intimate.

4.

2.

2.

I PROMISE YOU ANARCHY

This vivid, pulsating vision of modernday Mexico calls to mind Oscarwinning director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2001 debut Amores Perros.

Miguel and Johnny are young lovers and skateboarders who ride with their friends through Mexico City’s labyrinth of streets. Miguel earns money selling human blood on the black market, with paramedics as his most dependable clients. One day Miguel gets a hot tip: some wounded drug traffickers are willing to pay big money for urgently needed blood. He enlists Johnny’s help, and the boys start working towards fulfilling the massive order, assembling family, friends and strangers – until their plan goes horrifyingly wrong.

3.

CLEVER

Still bitter from a recent divorce, martial arts instructor Clever (yes, that’s his name) is trying to get his life back together. His ex-wife thinks he’s a loser. His beloved car is a wreck. And his young son would rather eat junk food and play video games than share in his father’s passions. After a night out he comes across a car tricked out with flames and sets out on a single-minded quest: to find the artist who painted the flames and design his own car.

His journey leads him to a secluded village full of odd characters, and to an enigmatic personality (the artist) who isn’t quite what he expects.

4.

HOW TO WIN ENEMIES

Lucas, a young lawyer from an upright Jewish family who has a penchant for detective stories, is

1.

5. on the verge of moving into his own apartment. When he unexpectedly meets the stunning Bárbara, he thinks he has found the perfect woman. She is smart, has great taste in books, and she seems to like him, too. But after she goes home with Lucas, he wakes up to find the cash deposit for his new apartment missing, along with Bárbara. Determined to find her, and to solve this mystery, Lucas uses the detective skills gathered from his beloved books and finds himself in an intriguing, twisted plot that leads to an unexpected source.

5.

3 BEAUTIES

This pitch-black comedy is a razor sharp satire on that most Latin American of obsessions – beauty queens – from Venezuela, the land of beauty queens. Single mother Perla is determined to turn her young daughters Carolina and Estefanía into beauty queens. She drills them to practise the catwalk, parade swimwear and frilly gowns, and to diet endlessly. When Carolina fails to win her school’s fifth grade beauty pageant, Perla is outraged and the family turn to an evangelical Christian group as a form of solace. Years later, the now teenage girls try to win back their mother’s approval and enter themselves in the world of the adult pageants, complete with cosmetic surgery and other nasty surprises.

What: Cine Latino Film Festival 2016 Where: Palace Norton Street and Palace Verona When: Tuesday August 9 – Wednesday August 24 More: cinelatinofilmfestival.com.au

3.

Liverpool Street Art Festival [VISUAL ART] A South-West Activation By Sarah Little

S

ydney’s street artists and makers are set to get another platform for their works and wares thanks to Liverpool Council’s newly minted Street Art Festival. The free event is happening this month at the Bathurst Street South Car Park, adjacent to Liverpool’s Eat Street, AKA Macquarie Street (future plans aim to see its lower half turned into an eating and dining precinct, hence the name). The festival will feature a selection of street art, market stalls, food trucks, international cuisine and live performances. Program director Vi Girgis says Sydney’s arts and culture sponges will have plenty to enjoy. “[It’s] about bringing a high calibre of art and culture to the streets of Liverpool – where it really needs to be front and centre – and to bring people from the Inner West and CBD areas [out to Liverpool] and to make them realise that it isn’t that far to travel to see some really amazing art [and] have some amazing cultural experiences.

“People tend to only think as far as Parramatta when they think south-west,” Girgis says. “There are heaps of opportunities [in Liverpool]

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for artists and artisans to work and build a market.”

Five Sydney-based street artists including the likes of Mulga (whose works you may have seen in Newtown and Bondi), Alex Lehours, Skulk, Phibs and Chocolate Einstein (who also has a kids’ clothing line) have been commissioned to paint murals. The works will be in place for at least a year, says Girgis, but since several are on private property, heading down to the festival is the surest way to see them all together.

Both Mulga’s and Skulk’s artworks have been installed at the southern end of Macquarie Street. Mulga’s mural features two chill gorillas holding up slices of pepperoni and mushroom pizza amid some vividly coloured foliage, and is his largest work to date. The remaining three artworks are still to come, including the showstopper of the festival: a mural of Diego Rivera proportions clocking in at 30 metres and spanning two storeys.

Alongside the murals, contemporary dance group Shaun Parker &

Company will be performing their piece Trolleys (with actual shopping trolleys), and Amanda Parer’s largerthan-life inflatable bunnies from her popular work Intrude will be dotted about the place. The program also features musicians Mickey Sulit, Jamestown Collective, Revolution Incorporated and Hot Potato Band, as well as a fire-twirling collective from Western Sydney.

“It really is a great time to be in Liverpool and experiencing culture in Liverpool,” says Girgis, who is south-west born and bred. “I live in Liverpool, so this has been really close to my heart because I usually have to travel to these kinds of events. It’s been great to put together an event in my backyard that is on par, or even more unique, than what you would find elsewhere.

“The festival is about celebrating Sydney-based art and culture …

It’s really special to get artworks like Amanda Parer’s bunnies and Trolleys because they’ve been recognised internationally; you wouldn’t have associated artworks of that calibre with a place like Liverpool in the past. The

Vi Girgis

festival comes at a fortuitous time because it coincides with Casula Powerhouse Centre’s Refugees exhibition opening. The calibre of international artists showcased in that [exhibition] is mind-blowing.”

The major inspiration for Girgis’ program came from events like Chippendale’s Beams arts festival.

“I’ve travelled and seen the public and cultural activations that happen

around the world on a very ad hoc basis,” she says, “and just seeing the vibe that [Beams] creates is also really inspiring.”

What: Liverpool Street Art Festival Where: Bathurst Street South Car Park When: Wednesday August 13

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Celebrity Theatresports [COMEDY] Improv For A Cause By Adam Norris other comics would balk at: pay-perlaugh.

“When I first arrived here I was going to check out some comedy shows and I realised, ‘Well, I didn’t know any of these people.’ Should I pay $25 or $40 to see a comic when I don’t know if they’re funny, if they’re worth $40? Then I thought, ‘Well, if I’m having that experience, I’m going to have the same problem if I do a show, and people think, ‘I don’t know if he’s funny. He’s been on the telly, but what does that tell you?’’

“So we reverse it. We put the onus on the performer to deliver what he or she promises. If they promise laughter, and it bombs, instead of having some money-back guarantee, you just don’t pay. It’s kind of like Lentil As Anything right there on King Street, the same concept – pay for what you think the meal is worth. And those guys are sold out all the time, so it’s been working out great as a concept.”

D

ean Haglund sounds like a fairly chipper guy, and despite the role that brought him international, conspiratorial renown, it’s easy to see why. His casting as one of The X-Files’ Lone Gunmen turned out to be a sweet gig, but his long-standing passion has been for all things comedic.

You can see this in the flesh at Celebrity Theatresports, where Haglund and a host of others will be taking to the Enmore Theatre stage in the name of bringing free Theatresports events to rural indigenous communities. As the

Canadian comic and now Australian resident explains, the quality of local talent is second to none.

“There are some amazing improv people here in Australia, that’s for sure,” Haglund says. “I spent my uni years in Vancouver, and my early days of doing improv and stand-up, and I gotta say Sydney feels so much like the early Vancouver ’80s and ’90s, which was an exciting time to be there. I love it – even the weather, frankly. Rain, cold, then a little bit of warmth. It’s just like Vancouver. I guess there are

Aladdin [MUSICAL THEATRE] Being Your Own Villain By David Molloy

A

story as ancient and timeless as Aladdin carries a strange sense of simulacra as it comes to the Sydney stage. This mammoth production, itself an adaptation of Disney’s latest Broadway musical, finds its roots in both the animated film that enchanted a generation and the mythos of One Thousand And One Nights.

Naturally, finding one’s own voice within such a wealth of tradition and history is a daunting task, but especially when it requires making a character as iconic as the villainous vizier Jafar your own. It’s a role that Aussie performer Adam Murphy has taken to with delight.

“It was the laugh in the film – and me trying to find my [own] evil laugh – where the voice started coming,” he says. “It was actually a prerequisite in the breakdown of the character: ‘Must be able to have impressive evil laugh’.”

As with many elements of the production, Murphy’s scheming sorcerer takes cues from Jonathan Freeman’s vocal performance in the film without being beholden to imitation.

“Jonathan Freeman had all those levels of darkness, and the feigning to the sultan, his public face and his lair face – you know, his actual persona,” Murphy says. “You can hear that in [my] voice, and it’s not a copycat but it’s in the same land. If it was on a musical scale, it’s in the same few notes. So that was the starting point,

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and I also found that looking at the animated film, [I was] working out how I could do that physically – he’s so lean and angular, so that gives you ideas, but you can’t exactly copy that.”

Like Julie Taymor’s staging of The Lion King before it, the musical Aladdin is no mere duplicate. Under the direction of Broadway legend Casey Nicholaw (best known for co-directing The Book Of Mormon), it’s become an iridescent spectacle loaded with intricate choreography, and the primary cast members have been given considerable freedom.

“It’s not a cookie cutter sort of production where we’re doing exactly the same thing as Broadway,” says Murphy. “We’re being given the chance to inject our own personality and ideas into it as well, so it’s been a really great experience. I met [Nicholaw] in the audition process very briefly, and it was a little daunting. He knows what he wants straight away, so almost as you walk in the door, you’ve either got the job or you haven’t. Or it’s yours to lose.”

Murphy is of course humbled and honoured to have received the role, and jokes that Nicholaw may have cast him simply because he was “the tallest guy there”. “I’m six-foot-one, and with the heels in the shoes and the hat that I’m wearing, I’m gonna be like six-foot-six or something. And the staff is taller than me! So it’s very impressive and a little bit scary to move in. And with flowing capes and menacing, maniacal laughter and all

differences in improv from country to country, but they’re as slight as [what you hear] in jazz music.

There’s Dixieland, there’s Kansas City blues and all that, but if you’re not into the minutiae, it all just sounds like jazz and you’ll still enjoy it no matter what. So there is a certain feel to different games onstage and stuff like that, but it’s all great.”

Celebrity Theatresports is almost inevitably set to be the star of this season’s comedy circuit, and since it’s for a fine cause, you get to laugh and feel like you’ve ticked off your good deed of the day at the same time. It doesn’t hurt that you’re also guaranteed some of the freshest material you can hope for, with Haglund appearing alongside the likes of Alex Lee, Jay Laga’aia and Bjorn Stewart.

Haglund also isn’t afraid to put his money where his mouth is. At his own shows, he champions an approach to performance that many

“I really try to empty my mind in a Zen Buddhist kind of way and just be present,” says Haglund.

“You’re always listening to your

“IT WAS THE LAUGH IN THE FILM – AND ME TRYING TO FIND MY [OWN] EVIL LAUGH – WHERE THE VOICE STARTED COMING.”

Dean Haglund

“I REALLY TRY TO EMPTY MY MIND IN A ZEN BUDDHIST KIND OF WAY AND JUST BE PRESENT.” other performers, so there are a lot of moments that you’re going to make as real as possible. If you’ve got, say, a back pocket of gags and stuff, you’re not engaged in the scene. You’re looking for ways to jam pre-existing shit in, and I’ve seen groups do that, and it’s a bit sad. It’s not really improv, it’s more like playing pool on a tilted table.

Real improv is more risky, but the pay-offs are way larger. Just you and the audience going somewhere that nobody has predicted – there’s nothing like it.”

What: Celebrity Theatresports Where: Enmore Theatre When: Saturday August 6

Adam Murphy

that sort of thing, it’s a fun character to play.”

The height element does make it tricky for Murphy’s primary stage partner, his nefarious sidekick Iago, portrayed by Aljin Abella – who, contrary to the film’s representation, is human. “I’ll tell him to stop parroting – ‘Why must you parrot everything I say? Stop squawking!’ – so there’s references … the relationship is the same, the character is the same, it’s just not a parrot,” Murphy says.

“There’s not much they don’t do together, you know – they’re a duo. They’re a partnership. There’s obviously the hierarchy … and that’s where a lot of the comedy comes from – the way Jafar treats Iago, but without Iago, Jafar wouldn’t get to where he is because he goes nuts.

And Iago’s the one who’ll just pop over his shoulder and place a little nugget of information in his ear.”

As for Aladdin’s sidekick Abu, he’s been transformed into three human friends – Kazim, Babkak and Omar.

Murphy explains that the choice keeps the production uniform and distinct. “If [Abu] was a monkey, then you’re trying to create exactly the film, and this isn’t what this show is,” he says. “There’s new songs especially for the stage show. I think

there’s old songs that weren’t used for the film that have been put back in and used, and it just gives it more of a musical theatre experience than a pantomime.”

It’s a reminder that this version of Aladdin is designed for a broad audience, not just for kids. Part of the appeal is the elaborate stagecraft – including a legitimate flying carpet – and even primary actors like Murphy aren’t privy to the tricks. “There’s a few magical elements that I’ve not rehearsed in properly yet, and I’m really looking forward to it,” he says. “Apparently it’s knock-your-socks-off stuff.”

Murphy may be crafting his own take on the villain, but he already has two fans parroting his efforts: his two daughters, both Disney

fanatics who’ve been more than willing to help their dad rehearse.

“They’re more excited about Frozen: The Musical,” he laughs, nodding to Disney’s next major Broadway development. “But yeah, they’ve been very excited about Dad being a villain. They tell their teachers I’m Jafar and none of them believe it.”

It seems Murphy has made his own Faustian pact: sure, his daughters may have stopped singing ‘Let It Go’, but now they’re becoming their own little villains. “They’re both really good at the laugh,” he says, with more than a hint of mischievous pride. “That was a surprise.”

What: Aladdin Where: Capitol Theatre When: From Wednesday August 3

thebrag.com

film & theatre reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and bareboards around town

■ Film

resembles this level of sheen and splendour. Even the violence is operatic, grandiose – a man’s ignoble end is refracted endlessly in the labyrinthine coils of a kaleidoscope; another plummets in angelic slow-motion from a party turned to chaos. Dog lovers, beware. Class divisions, too, are realised with blatant visual motif, often so baroque as to be quietly laughable.

HIGH-RISE In cinemas Thursday August 18 J.G. Ballard’s brutishly prescient novel HighRise may have been penned in 1975, but this slick and glistening update shows that the author’s dissections of a society in decay are as frighteningly relevant now as they were when the book first hit the shelves.

A classic adaptation flaw rises when they press the point. Invoking Thatcher before the credits roll feels cheap, a quick and efficient way of distancing the filmmakers from their monstrous creations. The phantom of her politics haunts the high-rise long before her voice is heard; in her absence, the film would be all the more chilling for its proximity to the present.

Dr. Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) moves into a stylish new luxury apartment block, and all is well. But as social division begins to rankle between the wealthy elite on the upper floors and those below, and pitched battles lead to electricity failures, Laing’s microcosmic world shuts itself in and begins to disintegrate into an orgy of violence.

Husband/wife team Ben Wheatley (director) and Amy Jump (screenwriter) are no strangers to dark material, with shockers like Kill List and A Field In England gracing their portfolio. As such, they’re a natural fit for the harshness of Ballard’s prose. Jump deftly weaves in and out of reality, past and present, capturing Ballard’s distinctive dialogue with the clarity of academia.

Hiddleston, too, has precisely the kind of

cold, polished marble exterior that makes him foundational to the apartment block itself. It is an extension of him, and he moves through it effortlessly. The casting agent deserves a medal for Jeremy Irons’ fit to dual architect/social philosopher Royal, and outside bets that pay off, like James Purefoy’s despicable playboy Pangbourne.

Being that the original subject material is so dated, women inevitably get the short

end of the stick, though Sienna Miller and Elisabeth Moss play their dichotomous roles of mother/whore to perfection. Jump maintains Ballard’s treatment of the woman as product and belonging, staying true to the greater message, but lashes out with lategame violence that empowers her sex.

With a vicious streak a mile wide, Wheatley’s gleaming monstrosity places him comfortably in the realm of Nicolas Winding Refn, another master of discomfort enamoured with social surgery. Both directors, however, are far more focused on exposing scar tissue than seeing it heal.

Hope isn’t in your tenancy agreement.

Wheatley’s polish is the film’s greatest asset. Nothing in his oeuvre remotely

David Molloy

■ Theatre

THOSE WHO FALL IN LOVE LIKE ANCHORS DROPPED UPON THE OCEAN FLOOR

What's in our diary...

Arts Exposed

Playing at SBW Stables Theatre until Saturday August 6 out a rabbit hunt in the snow, a lonely monologue of unrequited love, and a disastrous first date.

The latter vignette is probably the most effective, and the funniest.

American, Russian and French accents are deployed as the actors weave between tales.

Sometimes the accompanying accents work, as with the pair of amateur American hunters.

But sometimes they feel strained and clichéd, as with the Russian naval officers who find themselves on the brink of nuclear catastrophe.

This long-titled play from Finegan Kruckemeyer is a light-hearted and meandering journey through love and time. Presented

by Griffin Independent, the Sydney production follows two seasons at Western Australia’s Blue Room Theatre and the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts. The play sweeps through a spectrum of different lives, gently prying open the alternatives bubbling underneath apparent realities.

thebrag.com

A single rotating structure stands in the middle of the stage, forming a circular window from one side and a porthole from the other. Performers Jo Morris, Ben Mortley and Renee Newman string five storylines across time and space, some of which converge.

We see a Parisian flirtation with a watchmaker, a pair of repressed lesbians on a Soviet submarine packed with nuclear warheads, a couple of hillbilly American youngsters staking

There are some satisfying moments of poignancy toward the end, but a number of stray plotlines leave a little wanting – it is as if the material has been spread too thinly. Consequently, many of the chapters take shape as geohistorical archetypes and shortcuts. There are both amusing and heartfelt moments, but ultimately, Those Who Fall In Love Like Anchors Dropped Upon The Ocean Floor is a light piece of theatre. Diluted between comedy and romantic drama, it’s a murky mix that isn’t particularly strong on either front.

Annie Murney

The Grove by Margarita Sampson

Sculpture At Barangaroo Barangaroo Reserve, Saturday August 6 – Sunday August 21 Bondi’s famous Sculpture By The Sea has inspired a new event at Barangaroo Reserve, showcasing works from 15 Australian artists including senior, established, emerging and Aboriginal artists. Sculpture At Barangaroo is free to the public and will transform the six-hectare reserve into an open-air sculpture park. Artists include Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy, Marley Dawson, Lucy Humphrey, Ron Robertson-Swann OAM, Margarita Sampson and more. There will also be free artist talks held for the duration of the exhibition.

For more information and artist talk schedules, visit barangaroo.sydney.

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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

(02) 9299 9699 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight Basement Bar Basement, 27-33 Goulburn St, Sydney CBD (02) 8970 5813 Mon – Thu 5pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight The Baxter Inn Basement 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-1am Bulletin Place First Floor, 10-14 Bulletin Place, Circular Quay Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thurs – Sat 4pm-1am; Sun 4-10pm

Burrow Bar De Mestre Place, Sydney 0450 466 674 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Captain’s Balcony 46 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 3526 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight deVine 32 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 6906 Mon – Fri 11.30am-11.30pm; Sat 5.30-11.30pm Easy Eight 152-156 Clarence St, Sydney (02) 9299 3769 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight

bar bar

OF

KINGSTON PUBLIC BAR & KITCHEN

ADDRESS: 62-64 KING ST, NEWTOWN PHONE NUMBER: (02) 8084 4140 WEBSITE: KINGSTONPUBLIC.COM.AU OPENING HOURS: MON – FRI 4PM-MIDNIGHT; SAT NOON-MIDNIGHT; SUN NOON-10PM

TH

EK

A Work In Progress 50 King St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri noon-2am; Sat 5pm-2am Ash St Cellar 1 Ash St, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Mon – Fri 8.30am-11pm The Attic 275 Pitt St, Sydney CBD (02) 9284 1200 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu 10am-1.30am; Fri 10am-3am; Sat noon1.30am

Assembly 488 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9283 8808 Mon – Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Australian Heritage Hotel 100 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 2229 Mon – Sun 10.30am-midnight Bar Eleven Lvl 11, 161 Sussex St, Sydney CBD (02) 9290 4712 Mon – Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat 4-11pm The Barber Shop 89 York St, Sydney CBD

El Camino Cantina 18 Argyle St, The Rocks Mon – Thu noonmidnight; Fri – Sat noon-3am; Sun 11.30am-midnight Frankie’s Pizza 50 Hunter St, Sydney CBD Sun – Thu 4pm-3am; Fri noon-3am Gilt Lounge 49 Market St, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 0000 Mon – Fri 5pm-2am; Sun 5pm-midnight The Glenmore 96 Cumberland St, The Rocks (02) 9247 4794 Mon – Thu, Sun 11am-midnight; Fri – Sat 11am-1am Grain Bar 199 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9250 3118 Sun – Fri noon-9pm Grandma’s Basement 275 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 3004 Mon – Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-1am

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is gin night, followed by Tequila Tuesday, Whisky Wednesdays, Rum Thursdays and Bloody Mary Sundays.

Tell us about your bar: Kingston Public is a cosy, chic oasis perfect for a light meal or relaxed session. Sample our curated menu of small-batch wines, boutique spirits and craft brews with tasty share plates from our kitchen, designed by our international senior chef Janice.

Local and international DJs serve up music you love alongside rare tunes you won’t hear on mainstream channels. Our whisky collection is the talking point among local Tasmanian distilleries and around Australia, while whisky connoisseurs visit the bar and take the opportunity to taste some of the finest and rarest Australian whisky. We are one of a few bars in Australia doing the first pour of Australian spirits, where available: Archie Rose vodka and whisky, Poltergeist Gin from Shene Distillery, and Old River Rum from Hoochery Distillery. We stock one of the most limited release and intriguing ranges

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of boutique Australian spirits, like the Seclusion Gin from Tasmania (only 140 bottles released) and the Truffle Gin from New South Wales (only 300 bottles released) together with a few bottles of tequila mezcal exclusive to Kingston Public.

What’s on the menu?

Senior chef Janice has teamed up with bar entrepreneur Gigi to develop an exciting new menu, focusing on great quality produce. We source the highest quality ingredients, such as Petuna ocean trout created by Tetsuya Wakuda, Wright’s fine meats, Grain organic bread and Tasmania’s Grandvewe cheese.

Care for a drink?

We have redefined the common ‘happy hour’ by creating our ‘liquid events’ with special all-night pricing on our featured spirits and special daily and weekly cocktails. Monday

Sounds: Resident DJ Julia Marie (thatgirlsgotrhythm.org) from NYC is a true to form vinyl DJ. With over 20 years of worldwide experience, she brings a wealth of musical knowledge to our team.

She curates our daily music, a mix of chilled electronic jams and funky underground bands catered to the mood of the crowd. You can find her live weekly as she mixes a unique set of danceable downtempo, trip hop, acid jazz, deep house and nu disco every Saturday night. On Fridays, you’ll find the newest addition to our musical family, DJ Tee Tilla, mixing a perfect blend of house, funk, hip hop and R&B. Check out our Facebook for special musical events.

Highlights: Our incredible friendly, talented staff and our spirit, cocktail and food selection create the perfect ambience for either an intimate dinner or an upbeat weekend night out where the music takes centre stage after 10pm on the weekends. Customers are greeted with a smile from the moment you walk in and when you leave as our friend.

The bill comes to: A main and a glass of boutique wine = $30.

The Fox Hole 68A Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 4369 Mon 7am-3pm; Tue – Fri 7am-late The Grasshopper 1 Temperance Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9947 9025 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri noon-1am; Sat 4pm-1am Harpoon Harry 40-44 Wentworth Ave, Sydney CBD (02) 8262 8800 Mon – Sat 11.30am-3am; Sun 11am-midnight Kittyhawk 16 Phillip Ln, Sydney CBD Mon – Thu 3pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 3pm-2am The Lobo Plantation Basement Lot 1, 209 Clarence St, Sydney CBD 0415 554 908 Mon – Thu, Sat 4pm-midnight; Fri 2pm-midnight The Local Bar 161 Castlereagh St, Sydney CBD (02) 9953 0027 Mon – Wed 7.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 7.30am-11pm The Loft (UTS) 15 Broadway, Sydney (behind 2SER) (02) 9514 1149 Mon – Fri 2-11pm Mojo Record Bar Basement 73 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 4999 Mon – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu 4pm-1am; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am The Morrison 225 George St, Sydney CBD (02) 9247 6744 Mon – Wed 7.30am-11pm; Thu 7.30am-midnight; Fri 7.30am-2am; Sat 11.30am-2am The Palisade 35 Bettington St, Millers Point 9018 0123 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat – Sun 11am-midnight Mr Tipply’s 347 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 4877 Mon – Thu 11.30am-10pm; Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat 10pm-4am Palmer & Co. Abercrombie Ln, Sydney CBD (02) 9240 3000 Sun – Weds 5pm-3am; Thu 3pm-3am; Fri noon-3am; Sat 4pm-3am Papa Gede’s Bar Laneway at the end of 348 Kent St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 5671 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Plan B Small Club 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney CBD Wed 5pm-11pm; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 5pm-3am; Sat 6pm-3am Ramblin’ Rascal Tavern 199 Elizabeth St, Sydney CBD Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Rockpool Bar & Grill 66 Hunter St, Sydney CBD (02) 8078 1900 Mon – Sat noon-3pm, 6-11pm The Rook Level 7, 56-58 York St, Sydney CBD (02) 9262 2505 Mon, Sat 4pm-midnight; Tue – Fri noon-midnight The SG 32 York St, Sydney CBD Tues – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight 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 4.30pm-midnight; Sat 6pm-midnight Small Bar 48 Erskine St, Sydney CBD (02) 9279 0782 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight The Smoking Panda 5-7 Park St, Sydney CBD (02) 9264 4618 Mon – 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 noon-11.30pm Uncle Ming’s 55 York St, Sydney CBD Mon – Fri noon-midnight; Sat 4pm-midnight York Lane 56 Clarence St, Sydney CBD (02) 9299 1676 Mon – Wed 6.30am-10pm; Thu – Fri 6am-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 Cleveland Cnr Bourke & Cleveland St, Redfern (02) 9698 1908 Mon – Thu 10am-2am; Fri – Sat 10am-4am Bar H 80 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 1980 Mon – Sat 6pm-11.30 Bellini Lounge 2 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 9331 0058 Thu – Sun 6pm-late The Bells Hotel 1 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9357 3765 Mon – Sun 10am-1am The Beresford 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 8313 5000 Mon – Sun noon-1am Big Poppa’s 96 Oxford St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 5pm-3am Black Penny 648 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9319 5061 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm 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 Central Tavern 42-50 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 Wed 6-11pm; Thu – Sat 6pm-1am; Sun 5-10pm The Cliff Dive 16-18 Oxford Square, Darlinghurst Fri – Sat 6pm-late The Commons 32 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9358 1487 Tue – Wed 6pm-midnight; Thu – Fri noon-late; Sat – Sun 8:30am-late Darlo Bar 306 Liverpool St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 3672 Mon – Sun 10am-midnight Darlo Country Club Level 1, 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 4279 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-2am Dead Ringer 413 Bourke St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3560 Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-midnight Della Hyde 34 Oxford St, Darlinghurst Thu – Sat 5pm-late Eau-De-Vie 229 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst 0422 263 226 Sun – Fri 6pm-1am; Sat 6pm-midnight The Forresters 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Mon – Wed noonmidnight; Thu – Sat noon1am; Sun noon-10pm Gardel’s Bar 358 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 8399 1440 Tue – Sat 6pm-midnight Gazebo 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay (02) 8070 2424 Tue – Sun noon-midnight Golden Age Cinema & Bar 80 Commonwealth St, Surry Hills (02) 9211 1556 Wed – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 2:30pm-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 Hinky Dinks 185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6379 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 2-11pm Hollywood Hotel 2 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9281 2765 Mon – Wed 10am-midnight; Thu – Sat 10am-3am The Horse 381 Crown St, Surry Hills 1300 976 683 Mon – Thu noon-midnight; Fri 11.30am-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon10pm Jangling Jack’s Bar & Grill 175 Victoria St, Potts Point Tue – Wed 4-11pm, Thu – thebrag.com

Sat 4-1am, Sun noon-11pm Hustle & Flow Bar 3/105 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8964 93932 Tue – Thu 6pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 2pm-midnight Li’l Darlin Darlinghurst 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst (02) 8084 6100 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight Li’l Darlin Surry Hills 420 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills (02) 9698 5488 Mon – Fri noon-11pm; Sat 4pm-midnight LL Wine and Dine 42 Llankelly Place Potts Point (02) 9356 8393 Mon – Thu 5pm-11pm; Fri – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 11am-10pm The Local Taphouse 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst (02) 9360 0088 Mon – Sun noon-9:30pm Love, Tilly Devine 91 Crown Ln, Darlinghurst (02) 9326 9297 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm Low 302 302 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1548 Mon – Sun 6pm-2am Mr Fox 557 Crown St, Surry Hills 0410 470 250 Tue – Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm The Norfolk 305 Cleveland St, Surry Hills (02) 9699 3177 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Old Growler 218 William St, Woolloomooloo 0458 627 266 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight The Oxford Circus 231 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 0457 353 384 Wed – Sat 7pm-3am The Owl House 97 Crown St, Darlinghurst 0401 273 080 Mon – Sat 5pm-late; Sun 5-10pm Peekaboo 120 Bourke St, Woolloomooloo 0403 747 788 Tue – Thu 4pm-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight Play Bar 72 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 0885 Tue – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight Pocket Bar 13 Burton St, Darlinghurst (02) 9380 7002 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Powder Keg 7 Kellett St, Potts Point (02) 8354 0980 Wed – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4:30pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-midnight The Print Room 11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Thu – Fri noon-midnight; Sun – Wed noon-10pm Queenie’s Upstairs 336 Riley St, Surry Hills (02) 9212 3035 Tue – Thu 6pm-late, Fri noon-3pm & 6pm-late; Sat 6pm-late Riley St Garage 55 Riley St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9326 9055 thebrag.com

Mon – Sat noon-midnight Roosevelt 32 Orwell St, Potts Point (02) 8696 1787 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Rosie Campbell’s 320 Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9356 4653 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sun 11am-midnight Shady Pines Saloon Shop 4, 256 Crown St, Darlinghurst Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight The Soda Factory 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills (02) 8096 9120 Mon – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu – Fri 5pm-3am; Sat – Sun 6pm-3am Surly’s 182 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 3705 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Sweethearts Rooftop 33/37 Darlinghurst Rd, Potts Point (02) 9368 7333 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sun noon-midnight This Must Be The Place 239 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (02) 9331 8063 Mon – Sun 3pm-midnight The Tilbury Hotel 12-18 Nicholson St, Woolloomooloo (02) 9368 1955 Mon 9am-10pm; Tue – Fri 9am-midnight; Sat 10am-midnight; Sun 10am-10pm Tio’s Cerveceria 4-14 Foster St, Surry Hills (02) 9368 1955 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight Vasco 421 Cleveland St, Redfern 0406 775 436 Mon – Sat 5pm-midnight The Village Inn 9-11 Glenmore Rd, Paddington (02) 9331 0911 Mon – Sun noon-late The Wild Rover 75 Campbell St, Surry Hills (02) 9280 2235 Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight The Winery 285A Crown St, Surry Hills (02) 9331 0833 Mon – Sun noon-midnight

Anchor Bar 8 Campbell Pde, Bondi (02) 8084 3145 Mon – Fri 5pm-late; Sat – Sun 12.30pm-late Bat Country 32 St Pauls St, Randwick (@ The Spot) (02) 9398 6694 Mon – Sat 7am-midnight; Sun 7am-10pm Beach Road Hotel 71 Beach Rd, Bondi Beach (02) 9130 7247 Mon – Fri 11am-1am; Sat 10am-1am; Sun 10am-10pm Bondi Hardware 39 Hall St, Bondi (02) 9365 7176 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri noon-midnight; Sat 9am-midnight; Sun 9am-8pm The Bucket List Shop 1, Bondi Pavilion, Queen Elizabeth Drive (02) 9365 4122 Mon – Tue 11am-5pm; Wed – Sun 11am-midnight The Corner House 281 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 8020 6698 Tue – Sat 5pm-midnight;

Sun 1pm-10pm Fat Ruperts 249 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 1033 Tue – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 2pm-midnight Jam Gallery 195 Oxford St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tue 4pm-midnight; Wed – Sat 4pm-3am The Phoenix Hotel 1 Moncur St, Woollahra (02) 9363 2608 Tue – Wed 4-11pm; Thu – Fri 11.30am-1am; Sat 8am-11pm; Sun 8am-10pm The Robin Hood Hotel 203 Bronte Rd, Waverley (02) 9389 3477 Mon-Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-10pm Speakeasy 83 Curlewis St, Bondi (02) 9130 2020 Mon – Sat 5pm-11pm; Sat – Sun 4pm-10pm Spring Street Social 110 Spring St, Bondi Junction (02) 9389 2485 Tue – Sat 5pm-3am Stuffed Beaver 271 Bondi Rd, Bondi (02) 9130 3002 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm

Bar-racuda 105 Enmore Rd, Newtown (02) 9519 1121 Mon – Sat 6pm-midnight Batch Brewing Company 44 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville (02) 9550 5432 Mon – Sun 10am-8pm Bauhaus West 163 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8068 9917 Wed – Thu 5-11pm; Fri 4-11pm; Sat 2-10pm; Sun midday-10pm The Bearded Tit 183 Regent St, Redfern (02) 8283 4082 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-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 – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Calaveras 324 King St, Newtown 0451 541 712 Wed – Sat 6pm-midnight Cornerstone Bar & Food 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh (02) 8571 9004 Sun – Wed 10am-5pm; Thu – Fri 10am-late; Sat 9am-late Corridor 153A King St, Newtown 0405 671 002 Mon 5pm-midnight; Tue 4pm-midnight; Wed – Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Cottage Bar & Kitchen 342 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8084 8185 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Different Drummer 185 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9552 3406 Mon 4.30-11pm; Tue – Wed 4.30pm-1am; Thu – Sat 4.30pm-2am; Sun 4.30am-midnight

Doris & Beryl’s Bridge Club and Tea House 530 King St, Newtown Mon – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat – Sun 3.30pm-midnight Earl’s Juke Joint King St, Newtown Mon – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Forest Lodge Hotel 117 Arundel St, Forest Lodge (02) 9660 1872 Mon – Sat 11am-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Freda’s 109 Regent St, Chippendale (02) 8971 7336 Tues – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm The Gasoline Pony 115 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville 0401 002 333 Tue – Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri – Sat 3-11.30pm; Sun 3-9.30pm The Grifter Brewing Co. 1/391-397 Enmore Rd, Marrickville (02) 9550 5742 Thu 4-9pm; Fri – Sat noon9pm; Sun noon-7pm The Hideaway Bar 156 Enmore Rd, Enmore (02) 8021 8451 Tue– Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat 4pm-1am Hive Bar 93 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville (02) 9519 1376 Mon – Fri noon-midnight; 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 Kingston Public Bar & Kitchen 62-64 King St, Newtown (02) 8084 4140 Mon – Fri 4pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm Knox Street Bar Cnr Knox & Shepherd St, Chippendale (02) 8970 6443 Tue – Thu 4-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 5-10pm 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) 8084 0758 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 Mr Falcon’s 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9029 6626 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri 3pm-midnight; Sat noon-midnight; Sun 4pm-10pm Newtown Social Club 387 King St, Newtown (02) 9550 3974 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri – Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-10pm

FRI AUG 12 METRO THEATRE w/Dumbsaint

BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 27

out & about Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

The Kills

L

ast week, I went to see The Kills at the Enmore Theatre. The last time I’d seen them was five years earlier at the Metro. That show was the fifth time I’d attended one of their gigs in the space of four months, and I’d basically been listening to their four albums on repeat for about a year.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. We’ve seen these kinds of screaming, hysterical fans since the days of The Beatles, and before.

Academic research tells us that fans create ‘parasocial’ relationships with those they idolise – they create relationships despite no personal interaction.

It seems that the people who often do this are those who are prevented from creating their own everyday social or sexual relationships and expressing the emotions that come with them. Teenage girls in the ’60s (as it is now) aren’t able to express sexual desire because of the way society expects young women to behave. Similarly, repressed queers such as my 21-year-old self aren’t able to express the sexuality we want to, and so we turn to invented relationships as an outlet.

Since the time in my life that was soundtracked by The Kills, I have come home, found my queer community, and found myself. I no longer need my invented relationships, because I have real ones.

So watching them perform last week, dancing up the back instead of obsessively craning my neck to see and take pictures, was a very surreal experience. It was like looking fondly on an old ex and realising I never really knew them. Which is kind of exactly what it was. I was grateful for what the band had given me, but more grateful

It’s interesting again, then, to consider the ways fandom interacts with community. I know that queer subcultural artists, like Mykki Blanco and Le1f, often meet fans on Grindr, or use their shows as a chance to interact with the queer community in cities they visit. I also have a friend who enjoys having sex to the tunes of Cash Savage – the musician who happens to be my boss’ wife, a good mate of mine, an excellent dog trainer and an even better Xbox partner.

My Kills fan status was in lieu of community, but others’ survives alongside it, and others’ exists within it. How we create parasocial relationships within the communities we inhabit in our daily lives is a fascinating thing, particularly when those invented relationships intersect with our day-to-day life (my Savage-obsessed friend, for example, is likely to meet Savage at some point in the very near future – this Saturday, even).

On Saturday August 6, my friend is likely to meet Cash Savage and The Last Drinks at

28 :: BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16

Crooked Tailor 250 Old Northern Road, Castle Hill (02) 9899 3167 Mon – Sun 4pm-midnight Daniel San 55 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9977 6963 Mon – Thu 4pm-midnight; Friday – Saturday

noon–2am; Sunday noonmidnight Firefly 24 Young St, Neutral Bay (02) 9909 0193 Mon – Wed 5-11pm; Thu 5-11.30pm; Fri noon11.30pm; Sat noon-11pm; Sun noon-10pm The Foxtrot 28 Falcon St, Crows Nest Tue – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Fri 4pm-2am; Sat 5pm-2am; Sun 4-10pm The Hayberry Bar & Diner 97 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest (02) 8084 0816 Tue – Thu 4pm-midnight; Fri & Sat noon-midnight Sun noon-10pm Hemingway’s 48 North Steyne, Manly (02) 9976 3030 Mon – Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 8am-10pm The Hold Shop 4, Sydney Rd Plaza, Manly (02) 9977 2009 Tue – Fri 5pm-midnight; Sat 3pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm Honey Rider 230 Military Rd, Neutral 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

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

Jah Bar Shop 9, 9-15 Central Ave, Manly (02) 9977 4449 Tue 5pm-midnight; Wed-Fri noon-midnight; Sat 8am-midnight; Sun 9am-midnight Manly Wine 8-13 South Steyne, Manly (02) 8966 9000 Mon – Sun 6.30am-late Miami Cuba 47 North Steyne, Manly 0487 713 350 Mon – Sun 8am-4pm Moonshine Lvl 2, Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly (02) 9977 4977 Mon – Thu 9am-3pm; Fri – Sat 9am-2am; Sun 9am-midnight 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 – Wed 5pm-midnight; Thu 5pm-1am; Sat noon-2am; Sun noon-midnight The Stoned Crow 39 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest (02) 9439 5477 Mon – Sat noon-late; Sun 11.30am-10pm The Treehouse Hotel 60 Miller St, North Sydney (02) 8458 8980 Mon – Fri 7am-midnight; Sat 2pm-midnight

We often belittle ‘screaming’, ‘hysterical’ fans as people who need to get a life, as people who don’t have functioning social relationships. But we forget the societal circumstances that lead people to become fans in the first place, that force them to seek invented relationships because society itself mocks their right and ability to form real ones.

We often cast these super fans to the margins of society, and that causes them to stay there. We exile queer people to the margins of society, imposing nationwide votes on their rights, and thereby ensure they too, remain on the margins. It’s little wonder that fandom and queerness intersect in particular ways, but more than that, it’s probably about time we stop critiquing people’s individual choices in how and who they form relationships with.

Whether they know them personally or not.

this week…

This Wednesday August 3 at Newtown Hotel, HomoLoco is hosting a doggy pageant for all of Newtown’s best pups and their queers. There’ll be drink specials, prizes and a cake raffle to raise funds for the Duke of Stanmore (a cute local doggie who’s been through the mill lately – the cake is made by his owner).

(02) 9571 7005 Tue – Thu 4-10pm; Fri 4-11pm; Sat 3pm-11pm; Sun 4pm-8pm Wayward Brewing Co. 1 Gehrig Ln, Annandale (02) 7903 2445 Thu – Sat 2-10pm; Sun noon-8pm Websters Bar 323 King St, Newtown (02) 9519 1511 Mon – Sat 10am-4am; Sun 10am-midnight Wilhelmina’s 332 Darling St, Balmain (02) 8068 8762 Wed – Fri 5-11pm; Sat – Sun 8am-11pm The Workers Lvl 1, 292 Darling St, Balmain (02) 9555 8410 Fri – Sat 5pm-3am; Sun 2pm-midnight Young Henrys D & E, 76 Wilford St, Newtown (02) 9519 0048 Mon – Sat 10am-7pm; Sun noon-7pm Zigi’s Wine And Cheese Bar 86 Abercrombie St, Chippendale (02) 9699 4222 Tue 4pm-10pm; Wed 4pm-midnight; Thu – Sat 3pm-midnight

Cash Savage

Newtown Social Club when she launches her new album, One Of Us. It’ll be an interesting meeting, but the gig itself will be even better, as the new album is incredible.

Then on Sunday August 7, head to Young Henrys for some readings from the current issue of Archer Magazine. There’ll be appearances from authors Alison Whittaker and Carly Lorente.

thebrag.com

The Kills photo by Ashley Mar

I was a fan, a hardcore fan. Absolutely obsessed. But a lot has changed for me in five years. Five years ago, at the height of my Kills fandom, I was living overseas without my close support network and coming to terms with my sexuality. With no-one to lean on, I turned to music, and invented relationships with people I didn’t know.

that I no longer needed it. As I watched the show, dancing with one of my queer mates, saying hello to another queer I know only by recognising their face from other events, I realised that my intense fandom has passed, and community has taken its place.

The Oxford Tavern 1 New Canterbury Rd, Petersham (02) 8019 9351 Mon – Thu noonmidnight; Fri – Sat noon3am; Sun noon-10pm Lord Raglan 12 Henderson Rd, Alexandria (02) 9699 4767 Mon – Sat noon-midnight; Sun noon-10pm The Record Crate 34 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 9660 1075 Mon – Thu 5pm-midnight; Sat 2pm-midnight; Sun 3-10pm The Royal 156 Norton St, Leichhardt (02) 9569 2638 Mon – Thu 10am-1am; Fri – Sat 10am-3am; Sun 10am-midnight Secret Garden Bar 134a Enmore Rd, Enmore 0403 621 585 Mon – Tue 7am-5pm; Wed – Fri 7am-11pm; Sat 7am-10pm; Sun 7am-11pm Staves Brewery 4-8 Grose Street, Glebe (02) 9280 4555 Thu 4-10pm; Fri – Sat 4pm-midnight; Sun 4-10pm Temperance Society 122 Smith St, Summer Hill (02) 8068 5680 Mon – Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri – Sat: noon-midnight; Sun: noon-10pm Thievery 91 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe (02) 8283 1329 Mon – Thu 6pm-11pm; Fri 6pm-midnight; Sat noon3pm & 6pm-midnight Timbah 375 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK MONTAIGNE Glorious Heights Wonderlick/Sony

Montaigne springs forth in this ambitious debut album with confidence and zest, and brings the pop world something it desperately needed: innovation.

Jessica Cerro has announced her arrival as the pop voice Australia has been waiting for.

BEAR’S DEN

Red Earth & Pouring Rain Communion/Caroline Credit where credit is due: Bear’s Den are great musicians who make a terrific sound as a collective, demonstrating poise and craft in their musicianship – but their latest offering Red Earth & Pouring Rain is, quite frankly, not that great.

Sure, the Brits’ alternative rock sound is pleasant enough, but it’s been overproduced and drowned in synthesizers that echo ’80s romance movies, and feel the same way: cheesy. This is particularly true of the title track – lead singer Andrew Davie demonstrates a lovely mellow tone in his vocals, but the heavy presence of the retro leaves the song lacking as an opener.

The album’s 12 tracks are laid out across an hour that lasts an eternity, with lyrics often lacking any imagination and originality. The saving grace is ‘Roses On A Breeze’, which boasts a rich echoey tone from Davie and a percussive build that swells to envelop the song.

While at times you can certainly hear the influence of artists like Megan Washington (see the playful keyboard riff in ‘Because I Love You’), and even traces of Regina Spektor (the percussive vocals in ‘Clip My Wings’), Montaigne brings something insightful to this genre with her abrasive vibrato and sheer personality.

THE BAKERSFIELD GLEE CLUB Where My Heart Broke Independent

Where My Heart Broke is the third release from honky-tonk aficionados The Bakersfield Glee Club, and while they stay close to their roots, they do travel some more Aussie-inflected country roads.

‘Sweet Bird Of Youth’, the raucous, Southern-rock-washed ‘Drinks Are On The House’ and the waltzy ‘Thank You’ are all standout tracks.

True to their hard country/West Nashville sound, it’s enjoyable listening whether in close vicinity to an actual bar or stuck behind the wheel. ‘Sit Here And Drink’, meanwhile, forays into a more Tamworth-sounding country style, with a stronger melody, keys and an emphasis on strings.

The only moment of shock or surprise is the one swear word deployed in ‘Napoleon’, which is just about the only element of the record that makes your ears prick up with attention.

The album also includes a bold cover of Hank Mills’ classic ‘Little Ole Wine Drinker Me’, though it may take a few moments to recognise the song, a cracking deviation from the standard Dean Martin version. It all ends on a high note, a melancholy instrumental titled ‘Clementine’, taking listeners back to Ry Cooder’s work on the Paris, Texas soundtrack, or Marco Beltrami’s score for The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada.

It’s OK on the overall, but the album needed something to shake it up rather than becoming an endless ballad of loves lost and won.

All you need is a frosted pint, a pair of good boots, a Stetson and a bar to lean on and you’ve got yourself a perfect Sunday afternoon.

Anna Wilson

Jack Latimore

Jessica Cerro has a voice that could intimidate armies, but the triumph of Glorious Heights is her versatility, as she slips between forceful tunes like the title track and the vulnerability and tenderness she displays in songs like ‘Consolation Prize’ and ‘Lie To Myself’.

The album is a collection of undeniable hits – just try to keep the infectious beat of ‘Because I Love You’ out of your head. But it is also an unafraid and bold work that lays Montaigne’s soul bare: you will feel her heartbreak, her analysis of weaknesses in herself, relationships and others, and ultimately, her terrific defiance against all odds. Glorious Heights is a work Montaigne should take great pride in – it is as moving as it is delightful to listen to.

Erin Rooney

RIFLEBIRDS

OMAR RODRÍGUEZ-LÓPEZ

WHITECHAPEL

On their second album, World Feels Wide, Riflebirds continue to showcase their impressive blend of genres and instrumental formations, helped by the fact they’ve got six talented musicians in the group.

Omar Rodríguez-López’s Sworn Virgins is less an album and more a garage sale. It’s the first of 12 solo records Rodríguez-López is releasing this year. Yup, 12. The 40-year-old Puerto Rican of The Mars Volta and At The Drive-In fame has sifted through his personal works from 2008 to 2013 and laid them on the lawn.

On the songwriting front, Whitechapel’s Mark Of The Blade is back to mid-tempo basics and brutal simplicity, anchored by Phil Bozeman’s low growl. The album isn’t without its surprises, however, with much discussion already surrounding Bozeman’s decision to use clean vocals. ‘Bring Me Home’ sees the Tennessee rockers try their hand at the largely unexplored concept of the deathcore ballad, beginning with a tenebrous overture and featuring sombre clean vocals in the verses.

These aren’t cleans for cleans’ sake – they have their place, adding some variety to an album where Bozeman keeps things nice and guttural.

World Feels Wide Independent

Opening track ‘Last Train’ immediately puts your mind at ease with a sweeping country melody and vocals from Rowan Roebig, while the instrumental intro of ‘Dark Highway’ builds to an Americana-inspired anthem. The title track is the strongest on the album, incorporating a bluesy organ riff and some impressive guitar.

‘They’re Out To Get You’ starts with some handy guitar work, before adding impressive saxophone from band member John Crocker.

Apart from having the lengthiest title on the album, ‘The Lamentable Curse Of Mrs. Smith And The 74 Flood’ is also one of its catchiest thanks to the uptempo drumming from Bon Krunic. ‘The Mess’ kicks off with a very catchy harmonica intro, before unleashing Damien Toussaint’s impressive work on the keys. The record ends strongly, with instrumental ‘Jaisalmer’ treading into the realm of psychedelia before ‘Goodnight All’, a slow ballad that’s simple but effective.

THE SCHOENBERG AUTOMATON Apus Rocket

thebrag.com

Initial impressions are that of an absolutely brutal, visceral experience. The music relentlessly bludgeons the listener around the head with its intensity and the vocals howl like a thousand demons on satanic steroids. However, delve a little deeper and some nuance starts to make itself clear, hiding in plain sight among the blast. The dynamics, although subtle, become apparent.

The Schoenberg Automaton know how to take their foot off the accelerator and add sweet moments

If it wasn’t for the label Ipecac’s mission to be “a place where bands we admire have the freedom to release music they might not be able to, or want to, release on other labels”, Sworn Virgins would probably never have seen the light of day.

It’s experimental and raw – the recordings are live one-take cuts, bar a few rerecorded vocals. It sounds like an entire prog rock band, but it’s not. It’s just Rodríguez-López and Deantoni Parks, also formerly of The Mars Volta, whacking away on the drums. A critical component to this illusion is the use of a sample pedal, but it’s a little undercooked – generally, practice makes better.

It’s only the first of a dozen releases, yet this album alone comes across as overly self-indulgent. Why not offer us the gold, rather than making us wade knee-deep through sewers of jam sessions?

Mark Of The Blade Metal Blade

As frontrunners of deathcore, Whitechapel often end up under the magnifying glass of the genre’s conservatives. Bozeman blasts open the ever-present problem of elitism in ‘Elitist Ones’. Furthermore, Whitechapel have been criticised for their use of three guitars, perceived to be a bit overkill and ornate, but it’s this melting pot that paves the way for the band’s gravid, unmistakable attack.

The title track’s bruising steamroller riffs and crushing breakdowns serve as a prominent example of this technique’s effectiveness.

If you don’t mind a little country twang, this is the ideal music to accompany a boozy Sunday session.

If you’re into Omar RodríguezLópez, this is a way to intimately get to know him. But so is sifting through his trash.

This isn’t a particularly groundbreaking album, it’s just Whitechapel doing what they do best – pounding you into submission from start to finish.

Chris Bright

Lee Spencer-Michaelsen

Dimitri Zrazhevski

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK It’s been a fabulous year for progressive death metal, with magnificent releases from Fallujah, Black Crown Initiate and now Aussies (and adopted Canadians) The Schoenberg Automaton.

Sworn Virgins Ipecac

of something resembling melody or ambience, albeit fleetingly, and the arrangements are cohesively chaotic.

This is definitely a progressive metal album, not just a mind-numbing barrage of brutality. To play music of this type, the musicians need to be ultra-precise, powerful masters of their craft, and the instrumentalists in this band have honed themselves to elite levels of development.

The best bands in heavy music are those that can be blisteringly brutal but do so in an interesting and imaginative manner, and The Schoenberg Automaton definitely achieve that. Apus is enormous.

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

TEETH & TONGUE - Grids TOTALLY UNICORN - Dream Life WHITE DENIM - Corsicana Lemonade

DINOSAUR JR. - I Bet On Sky THE CURE - Faith

Rod Whitfi eld BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 29

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

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2016 North Byron Parklands Friday July 22 – Sunday July 24

Whether it was the unseasonably warm (and sunny) weather, campground security greeting revellers with high fives, quantities of glitter to rival the dirt, or perhaps just the most modern and diverse lineup Splendour In The Grass has hosted in some time, this year’s festival was one of the biggest Australia has ever seen.

The mammoth three-day lineup saw a diverse array of people join their moonshine-swilling ’Strayan neighbours in celebrating the joys of live music under absurdly clear skies, but the real winners of the festival might surprise you: the older crowd, queer women and live R&B. Kicking off the weekend as we’d be finishing – with young Aussie talent, of course – Alex Lahey was a worthy opener, banging out tracks and getting the crowd moving to her own disbelief. Sampa The Great proved herself Lady Kendrick, the grooviest and most heartfelt voice in Aussie hip hop, with a band so tight they had everyone in love. Add the effortless neo-soul cool of The Internet’s Syd, main stage appearances from Canadian electropop duo Tegan And Sara (despite subdued energy) and local legend Courtney Barnett (far from pedestrian), and you had some serious girl power across the three days.

Elsewhere, day one saw DMA’s tear up the Amphitheatre with an afternoon attendance to rival Inner West mates Sticky Fingers’ record from 2014. The first of the bigger dance acts, Hayden James, had the Mix Up Tent throbbing, while Peter Bjorn And John’s modern classic ‘Young Folks’ lit a spark after they played some newer material.

Violent Soho were at their violent best, kicking off a trio of huge acts taking to the Amphitheatre for Friday night. Then there were The Avalanches – who knew what to expect? A remix of ‘Frontier Psychiatrist’ with live vox from Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ received a mixed response, as did ‘Frankie Sinatra’, performed in tone-deaf fashion with rapper Spank Rock doing a Danny Brown impersonation while reading the lyrics off a phone. The wait did not reward for those who stuck out the first night for The Strokes – Julian Casablancas’ disaffected airs did not gel well with the hyped-up crowd, particularly after they started late and ground out a setlist of dull latter-day tracks. You’d forgive this same crowd for being near-homicidal when the bus system failed to get the exhausted day one crowd back to Byron until 4am.

A stellar start to a dusty (and very warm) Saturday, Ngaiire coolly bounced around performing vocal acrobatics and inducing goosebumps for her standout set. Later, James Vincent McMorrow melted hearts and got tears flowing with his faultless voice, belting out the falsetto despite plenty of chatter among the quiet over at the GW McLennan Tent.

The Amphitheatre was victim to contrarian scheduling on the Saturday in particular, with Gen X attendees made to endure a firebrand set from the reinvigorated At The Drive-In just to get decent floorspace for The Cure; the next day, young Flume devotees looked totally bewildered as they held place during James Blake’s decidedly anti-dance set. The young’uns were swayed by Blake’s technical difficulties, which forced him and his drummer to improvise a tasty set of beats that satisfied the ravers.

The patience did pay off enormously with a three-hour set from The Cure, covering every colour of tapestry they’ve weaved in their 40 years. The incomparable Robert Smith was, as his band’s name implies, the perfect antidote to the machismo expelled in powerhouse performances from King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard and Violent Soho. Still – three hours and no ‘Lovecats’?

With a cooler bite to the breeze and a diverse lineup of acts, Sunday delivered plenty to hold punters’ attention. Låpsley and her distinct and distorted vocals were a refreshing start, while it was a night of return and farewell sets for Jagwar Ma and The Preatures respectively. The Preatures’ swansong for guitarist Gideon Benson was lacking their usual dazzling spirit, and meant that being torn away to see Blake wasn’t nearly as hard as expected.

Before too long, it was time for ADM and Splendour’s poster boy Flume to grace the stage. As Harley Streten mentioned himself, his career trajectory has paralleled his Splendour attendances over the past six years, with Sunday night’s certainly a zenith. There was impressive lighting and visuals galore, the smoothest of mixing, an uber-enthusiastic crowd, non-stop cameos from Aussie up-and-comers Remi, Vera Blue, Ngaiire, Kučka, Jess Kent and Baro, and general incredulity from Streten himself. Set to a sea of lighters and the more luminous modern-day equivalent, smartphone lights, the final surprise was the choice of his remix of Disclosure’s ‘You & Me’ to close. Did it ruin the magic at all? Not one bit – instead, it meant the curveballs kept coming for Splendour 2016, right to the very end.

Indeed, a festival is all about the moments. There was the bizarre scenario in which DJ Paces introduced guest vocalist Guy Sebastian to the stage, only for him to come face-to-face with a punter brandishing a Shannon Noll flag. At The Drive-In’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala destroying a light that dared to get in his way, telling the sickeningly on-trend Splendour-goers, “Don’t be a lookbook in life.” The rocked-up boy band stylings of The 1975 getting everyone into that nostalgia-goggled adolescent headspace. Blatant disco-creepers Total Giovanni greeting fans wearing mirroring costumes. Urthboy’s live-streamed “Fuck Pauline Hanson” speech. Gang Of Youths’ David Le’aupepe and Ball Park Music’s Sam Cromack rocking up to pay tribute to the dearly departed Szymon. The earth-shattering, emotional manner in which post-rock giants Sigur Rós closed the Mix-Up Stage, with Jónsi holding the highest note in ‘Festival’ for an eternity.

There will be as many stories as there were festivalgoers in the days to come, be they from folks as unshakably cool as The Kills or as lovably daggy as DMA’s, but a defining moment of unity came during Gang Of Youths’ otherwise hit-and-miss set, as Le’aupepe spoke from the heart: “I’m frightened, and that’s OK.” As achingly honest as ever, he spoke to our fears, our aspirations, our existential doubts, and assuaged them with his own.

We’re all in this mess together, and his words should be made festival lore: “Drink lots, kiss each other, and don’t be a fucking c*nt.”

Emily Gibb and David Molloy INA CLARKE :: OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: KATR

30 :: BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16

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

BAND OF HORSES, GARETH LIDDIARD’S MK-ULTRA Sydney Opera House Monday July 25

There were a lot of takeaways from Band Of Horses’ ill-fated Opera House debut, but this is perhaps the most applicable: if it pertains to your job, never miss a vocal warm-up. Ben Bridwell’s shot voice and palpable frustration emanating from the stage split the audience into two camps: those loyal followers who could feel all of his determination and pain to still put on a show despite obvious setbacks, and those who grew tired of Bridwell’s petulance and wondered why the show wasn’t cancelled in the first place.

Beforehand, Gareth Liddiard’s newly birthed MKUltra opened the show as a special request of the main act. Featuring Liddiard on guitar and vocals, while fellow Drones Dan Luscombe and Steve Hesketh backed him with a drum machine and synth noise, their set comprised a range of Liddiard material done in an electroclash style, including the lesserheard Havilah song ‘Oh My’ and a cover of ‘Lose The Baby’ by Melbourne’s Lost Animal. The only way the band could have been further from Band Of Horses on the musical spectrum is if it dabbled in fusion jazz. However, for Liddiard fans or just those with an open mind and open ears – judging by the amount of people waiting at the bar outside, there weren’t too many – MK-Ultra were a delightful curio.

When Bridwell and company walked onstage, the singer appeared in high spirits, chatting to the crowd about being the biggest Drones fans in the world and wondering aloud whether he was the first person to ever get a tattoo in the Opera House. But as soon as he started singing opener ‘The Great Salt Lake’, problems were evident. Every big note – those swoon-worthy notes that are the band’s trademark – was strained, followed by Bridwell moving away from the mic, heavily shaking his head and chastising himself. This continued for the rest of the show, with a last-ditch backup plan of guitarist Tyler Ramsey singing one of his compositions (the charming ‘Country Teen’) surfacing as the last song of the main set.

Bridwell didn’t mention any apparent illness – all he offered the crowd were apologies and mentions of how he was going to keep trying. Though Bridwell’s vocals obviously weren’t at their usual standard, they didn’t hurt the songs too much, especially with the other Horses sounding so locked in. But every missed note seemed to physically and mentally hurt Bridwell, and his frustration soon devolved into throwing stands around.

This is where the schism in the crowd began.

Depending on your perspective, it was either a testament to how much Bridwell respected his fans to try to still play a concert, or a childish tantrum that showed a lack of professionalism. Both arguments are valid, but the former is closer to the truth; it was tragic watching Bridwell’s determination get constantly squandered by a natural human limitation. But apart from the few winning moments – a stripped-back ‘No One’s Gonna Love You’ with the crowd taking the vocal reins and a cathartic finale of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Effigy’ with MK-Ultra in tow – the night will only be remembered with a mixture of sadness and disappointment, the band likely wishing to forget it as soon as possible.

Leonardo Silvestrini

THE CURE

Qudos Bank Arena Monday July 25 There aren’t many bands who can perform three-hour sets as a matter of course. The stamina required to do so is one thing, but having the quality and quantity of material to keep the show moving is what proves elusive to most. The Cure are an elusive band themselves – sometimes disappearing from the circuit for years at a time, and returning with new lineups to little or no explanation – but when they play live, they make it count.

“I won’t bother waffling because nobody understands me anyway,” says Robert Smith by way of introduction, and from the three-part Disintegration opening of ‘Plainsong’, ‘Pictures Of You’ and ‘Closedown’, an extraordinary pace is set. The current five-piece iteration of The Cure go on to cram 36 songs into the next 200 minutes, spanning 1980’s Seventeen Seconds (‘A Forest’) to 2008’s 4:13 Dream (‘The Hungry Ghost’, ‘Sleep When I’m Dead’) and even newer material (a return to their darker disposition called ‘It Can Never Be The Same’).

As arena acts go, The Cure’s set-up is relatively simple – Smith is the only vocalist, and any effects are triggered live

32 :: BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16

JAKE BUGG, BLOSSOMS

TEGAN AND SARA, LUPA J

As Jake Bugg brought his unique brand of country-emo to the State Theatre stage for his Splendour sideshow, the Brits were out in such force in the stalls and onstage that you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d taken a wrong turn home and ended up in Manly.

Lupa J is the moniker of one Imogen Jones, a teenage multi-instrumentalist who would only just be scraping in were she attempting to gain entry to this 18+ show via the front door. Jones is an intriguing musical prospect, drawing a substantial crowd of early arrivals that visibly shocks her when the house lights illuminate the dark.

State Theatre Tuesday July 26

Donning the kind of black pleat jeans that could belong to a praying mantis, indie rockers Blossoms set the scene with a pulsating beat akin to early Muse, with lead singer Tom Ogden demonstrating a gentle feminine tone that harmonised beautifully with the backing vocals of bassist Charlie Salt. There was no chit-chat, just straight into the music with knee-bouncing rhythms carried by synth and keyboards. On ‘Charlemagne’ the band offered subtle reggae beats atop some appealing ’80s synthpop, the shaggy manes ever flopping. The standout song was ‘Deep Grass’, a reggae/indie fusion, crisp and low and making for a great show of control as they manipulated the melody with interesting rhythms and a nice little drum and synth run. Blossoms – their hair is better than yours.

As Jake Bugg took to the stage, he showed all the personality of a wet cloth: only animated once dipped in alcohol. Beige personality aside, his music holds strange voodoo qualities – without having previously heard his songs, your body involuntarily moves to his entrancing sound, the persona of Johnny Cash channelled through a voice like Brian Molko’s.

Throughout his set, Bugg touted an impressive number of cutesy melancholic licks on his guitar. ‘Old Man’, performed live in Australia for the first time, is a song as quiet as Bugg himself: a gorgeously crafted ballad, and without the frills of his backing band, it was an uncompromising chance to hear the clarity of his amazing voice.

Much of Bugg’s music draws on elements from across pop history – ‘Never Wanna Dance’ had a great ’90s indie feel with a funky solo, whilst ‘Taste It’ was a rendition of ’50s surf pop that met the Oriental, making for a delicious feast of guitars and original sounds. He veered away from the setlist to deliver fan favourite ‘Broken’, and met with a gentle lull of audience voices, the powerful story behind this song made for a stunning closer, bringing the entire crowd to its feet for a standing ovation. The whole performance took a trip through time, grabbing at musical elements from each of the last several decades to deliver a sweet fusion of genres blended with a dark country influence. And at the foundation of it all, a once-in-a-lifetime voice.

Anna Wilson

Metro Theatre Tuesday July 26

Essentially, Lupa J’s music sits at the centre of a Venn diagram comprising baroque-flavoured chamber indie (think Owen Pallett, Townhouses et al.) on one side and murky, minimal beats flickering and thumping below the surface on the other. Actualised in trio format, Jones confidently leads the fray through each bubbling and building soundscape. A faithful and fairly precise cover of Radiohead’s ‘Idioteque’ is telling (what artsy 18-year-old hasn’t proclaimed Radiohead their favourite band?), while a showing of fresh material is indicative of some seriously big potential. It’s a stretch at 45 minutes, but at such an early stage in proceedings, it’s very easy to forgive drawbacks like these. Jones has presented herself as one to watch – and, with a new EP recently released out into the wild, it would be foolhardy to not get in on the ground floor.

If it gives you any indication of the kind of pull Tegan And Sara still have, consider this: there have been people lining up for this show since early in the day, and said line had stretched all the way up the street by the time it came to doors opening. It’s a fervent fan base – one that fills the room with singing regardless of a song’s vintage – and one that has seen the duo through every stage of their career: indie darlings, folk hopefuls and now pop stars.

We’re down to a remarkably minimal live version of the band now – just the Quin sisters, a keyboardist and a drummer, with the twins primarily shifting their focus to singing rather than playing any instruments.

They transform classic singles like ‘Walking With A Ghost’ and ‘Back In Your Head’ into shuffling dance tunes, while recent cuts like ‘Boyfriend’ and ‘U-Turn’ allow the dancefloor to be put to use.

There’s talk in between, of course – chatter about Pokémon Go, hotel coffee and marriage equality, among other things – but it says a great deal that these songs speak for themselves. Tegan And Sara adapt and evolve – and, as a result, everybody wins.

David James Young

THE KILLS

Enmore Theatre Tuesday July 26 Somewhere in the middle of ‘Heart Of A Dog’, the second single from their new album Ash & Ice, The Kills reach peak cool. Alison Mosshart bares her teeth something animalistic in between lyrics, while Jamie Hince shreds away on his six-string. And for a fl eeting moment, the coolest duo in modern music steps up to another level entirely.

– yet they retain a vital power. The presence of Smith’s iconic voice and flanged guitar has not waned, nor has Simon Gallup’s insistent bass. And it’s these sounds, simply layered, that build the atmosphere behind ‘Primary’, refashioned here as a downtempo Black Sabbath chug, and the eight-minute epic ‘From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea’.

This is no mere recital of old classics: the reinterpretation of lyrics and melodies turns ‘Lovesong’ from romance into a plea, and ‘Disintegration’ from a plea into an embracement of defeat. Images of 20th century warfare and human suffering, projected behind the band on ‘One Hundred Years’, take The Cure to a place of politics they’ve rarely ventured.

The crowd is ready to embrace the moroseness for which Smith is (perhaps unfairly) known, but the setlist itself is clearly divided into parts, as the band leaves and returns four times armed with a slightly different arsenal of masterful pop tunes. As the third and fourth encores come around, the fans are dancing in the aisles to ‘Let’s Go To Bed’, ‘Friday I’m In Love’, ‘The Lovecats’ and ‘Boys Don’t Cry’. The storm clouds have given way to sunshine, and if there’s anything in this world more endearingly joyful than Robert Smith dancing a modest jig to one of his many earwormy hooks, this arena’s stage is yet to see it.

Chris Martin

This performance of ‘Heart Of A Dog’ arrives early in The Kills’ Sydney sideshow following their triumphant set at Splendour In The Grass over the weekend, and the audience appears to be split between diehard fans and newcomers who’ve decided to check out what the fuss is about. Save for the pocket of long-termers at the front, Mosshart and Hince have to work bloody hard to get this Tuesday night crowd onside. And boy, do they work hard.

They’re backed by a drummer and bassist/keys man tonight, where previously they’ve relied on Hince’s drum machine to do the heavy lifting. It’s a more traditional rock band set-up, and it makes for a newly fluid sound, but there’s really nowhere else to look except for the leading pair. The lithe frontwoman Mosshart and the all-about-attitude Hince are the modern-day Jagger and Richards; no pose is spared, no posture neglected.

It may seem like pure showbiz – all these moves are straight out of the rock star playbook, to be sure – but there’s something so infectious about it all. Mosshart and Hince seem entirely possessed by the music they churn out of a guitar or two, some pedals and their muscular voices. The atmosphere carries throughout the theatre – the floor is positively throbbing through songs like ‘DNA’ – but nobody in the audience really lets themselves go like the performers do.

‘Baby Says’ is a highlight in a setlist otherwise tipped a little too heavily in favour of new material, though the older encores ‘Fried My Little Brains’ and ‘Sour Cherry’ are enough to satisfy the quota of classics. And just like that, they’re off; Hince and Mosshart strut their way offstage, and the fans pop their collars on their way out of the theatre, all feeling that little bit cooler than when they walked in.

Chris Martin

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ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 3 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Inflatable Indie Night Jungle - feat: DJ Dez Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm.

Free.

Lennox Lust Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Melancholy Flowers Cafe Lounge Bar, Surry Hills. 7:30pm.

Free.

Muso’s Club Jam Night Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. Free.

Sugar Jam Open Mic Night Sugarmill, Kings Cross. 8pm. Free.

The Ramblers Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

8pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Guantanamera - feat: DJs Av El Cubano + Don Rivera + Guest DJs + Monthly Live Bands Barrio Cellar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Hammerhead Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

Fallon Cush + The Forresters + Peasant Moon The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm.

Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 4 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Ginger’s Jam - feat: Various Bands Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst.

7:30pm. Free.

Live At The Sly 1st Birthday feat: Project Collective Ska + New Venusians + Samuel Dobson + Colourfi elds Slyfox, Enmore.

8pm. Free.

Mark Lucas + Steph Miller + Andy Gordon The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.

Shake The Shackles The Little Guy, Glebe. 8pm. Free.

Sunset Sessions The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 6pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK,

POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Dave Anthony The Bourbon, Potts Point. 5:30pm. Free.

Emma Russack Golden Age Cinema, Surry Hills. 9:30pm.

Free.

Ex-Cassette Union Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

Gypsy Dave Smith The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills. 8pm. $15.

Harbourview Hulabaloo - feat: Zack Martin + Kenneth D’Aran + Ruby Run + M!Nh Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm.

Free.

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $46.80.

Live & Original @ The Merc - feat: Michael Dimarco + Josh Needs + Bandditts The Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks.

7:30pm. $10.

Live Band Karaoke Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 9pm. Free.

Maxine Kauter Band Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

Muso’s Club Jam Night Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm.

Free.

Slide McBride Orient Hotel, The

Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Thrashed Again Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Low Down Riders The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.

Sunset Sessions The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 6pm.

Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Femina Australis Foundry616, Ultimo.

7pm. $21.50.

Fraudband Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Battle Of The Bands Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 8pm.

Free.

Breaking Point The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt.

8pm. $15.

Blues and Country from the Other Side of Lonesome

Two Guitars . No Lasers .

11 Snakes in Chatswood 14 Snakes at Wayward

THU

SUN

6 PM - 8 PM

Chatswood Mall Market

Wayward Brewing Co.

3 PM - 6 PM

Unit 1-3 Gehrig Ln, Annandale

WED

Sept

24 Snakes at Surly’s

THU

Surly’s American BBQ, Burgers & Beer 182 Campbell St, Darlinghurst

1

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7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Snakes at Mr. Falcon’s Mr. Falcon’s Bar 92 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe

Project Collective Ska

FRIDAY AUGUST 5

The Snakemen

Aug

pick of the week

8:30 PM - 10:30 PM

f www.facebook.com/thesnakemen

Slyfox

THURSDAY AUGUST 4

Live At The Sly 1st Birthday

Project Collective Ska + New Venusians + Samuel Dobson + Colourfields 8pm. Free.

Dav Debs Lord Raglan Hotel, Alexandria. 7pm.

Free.

Geoff Davies The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

Glen Esmond Duo Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 11:55pm.

Free.

Hammer - feat: The Dead Rats + Substance Abuse + The Grounds + Legal Aliens Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Hardcore Party - feat: Mack Da Ripper + Epidemic + Hawk & Napz + The Saint + Lihan + Catseyez + Relentl3ss Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 10pm.

Free.

JP Project 99 On York, Sydney.

5:30pm. Free.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. $5.

Steve Crocker Clovelly Hotel, Clovelly. 4:30pm.

Free.

The Pinheads + Amyl And The Sniffers Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

SATURDAY AUGUST 6 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY,

BLUES & FOLK

Angelena Locke Rocks Brewing Co, Alexandria. 2pm.

Free.

International Blues Music Day - feat: Backsliders + Lachy Doley Group + PJ O’Brien Band The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $29.50.

Los Romeos Oxidados The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 3pm. $5.

Satellite V Trio The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 8pm. $7.

The Daphne Rawling Band + The Persian Drugs + Luke Watson Oxford Circus, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $6.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alfredo Malabello The Push Bar, The Rocks. 7:30pm.

Free.

Angelena Locke Panania Diggers, Panania. 8pm. Free.

Backsliders The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm.

Free.

Black Tusk Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

8pm. $39.

Cash Savage And The Last Drinks + Jep And Dep + Brett

Marshall Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $18.

Cave Night - feat: Sour Cream + Dead Radio + Dead Brian + All My Alien Sex Friends + Fraudband Secret Location, Sydney. 8pm. $10.

Dave Anthony The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney. 7:30pm.

Free.

DNA Rock Band Carousel Inn Hotel, Rooty Hill. 8pm.

Free.

Elevate Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 10pm. $5.

Ethan Conway Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm. Free.

Get Rocked The Bunker, Coogee.

8pm. Free.

JP Project Duo Panania Hotel, Panania. 8:30pm.

Free.

Rehashed + Who’s Your Daddy?

The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills. 8pm. $12.

The Dirty Earth + Second Nation The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt.

8pm. Free.

The Low Down Riders Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

10pm. Free.

Urban Stone Tokio Hotel, Sydney.

7pm. Free.

Whelan & Gover Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee. 11:55pm.

Free.

SUNDAY AUGUST 7 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Heath Burdell Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 3pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Dan Barnett Big Band Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. 4pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Angelena Locke Crown Hotel, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Craig Calhoun Tokio Hotel, Sydney.

7pm. Free.

Flyying Colours Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12.

From Street To Stage Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Glenn Esmond The Push Bar, The Rocks. 4pm. Free.

Lonesome Train Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 3:30pm.

Free.

Mal Eastick Band + Gypsy Dave Smith The Gaelic Club,

BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 33

g g guide gig g

gig picks up all night out all week...

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

& WORLD MUSIC

Louis Stapleton And Co Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8:30pm. $10.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Little Sundays feat: Local Talent The Little Guy, Glebe. 6pm. Free.

Flyying Colours Surry Hills. 8pm.

Free.

Michael Gorham Duo Rocks Brewing Co, Alexandria. 2pm.

Free.

The Dead Marines The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $7.

The Phosphorous Bombs + 51 Percent + Skinpin + III Capone + Colytons Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10.

Wildcatz Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm.

Free.

MONDAY AUGUST 8

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Live & Original @ The Corridor Corridor Bar, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Latin & Jazz Open Mic Night The World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Frankie’s World Famous House

Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. Free.

John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Marty R Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Miranda Carey Tokio Hotel, Sydney.

7pm. Free.

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Kenneth D’Aran + Steve V Kelly’s On King, Newtown. 7:30pm.

Free.

TUESDAY AUGUST 9 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Co-Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm.

Free.

Live & Original @ Mr Falcon’s - feat: Chris Carrapetta + Glenn Hoppa + Cala Burke Mr Falcon’s, Glebe.

7:30pm. Free.

Live Rock & Roll Karaoke Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 4pm. Free.

Natasha Stuart & Joseph Calderazzo Tokio Hotel, Sydney.

7pm. Free.

Selena Gomez Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 8pm. $99.90.

Songsonstage Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill.

7:30pm. Free.

Fallon Cush

Black Tusk

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 3

SATURDAY AUGUST 6

Fallon Cush + The Forresters + Peasant Moon The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm.

Free.

Black Tusk Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8pm. $39.

The Ramblers Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

8pm. Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 4 Gypsy Dave Smith The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills. 8pm. $15.

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $46.80.

wed

thu

03 Aug

Mark Lucas + Steph Miller + Andy Gordon The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.

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

Aug

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Fraudband Waywards, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

fri

05 Aug

Low Down Riders The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.

(10:00PM - 1:40AM)

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

5:45PM  8:45PM

sat

The Pinheads + Amyl And The Sniffers Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $15.

Rehashed + Who’s Your Daddy?

The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills. 8pm. $12.

Satellite V Trio The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 8pm. $7.

The Daphne Rawling Band + The Persian Drugs + Luke Watson Oxford Circus, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $6.

The Dirty Earth + Second Nation The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt. 8pm.

Free.

The Low Down Riders Mr Falcon’s, Glebe. 10pm. Free.

SUNDAY AUGUST 7 Flyying Colours Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12.

The Dead Marines The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $7.

TUESDAY AUGUST 9 Selena Gomez Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park.

8pm. $99.90.

sun

06

07

Aug

3:30PM  6:30PM

Aug

(10:00PM - 1:15AM)

mon

08 Aug

FRIDAY AUGUST 5

Cash Savage And The Last Drinks + Jep And Dep + Brett Marshall Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $18.

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

tue

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

09 Aug

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

The Daphne Rawling Band

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thebrag.com

brag beats

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

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

speed date WITH

NONNE

Surveillance Party Your Profile Best Gig Ever I am a massive fan of My best gig ever would be 1.

3. tattoos, horror films and all things opening for Bam Margera. I was hip hop. I try to write and produce music that I would listen to myself.

I am also heavily influenced

by Earl Sweatshirt, MF Doom and Wu-Tang Clan, so I like to think my music resembles some characteristics of all those artists.

Most of my beats are primarily sample-based, so you may hear that odd yet somehow soothing vinyl crackle layered on my sample chops. I try to keep my sound in the veins of downtempo boom bap. I like to think my lyrics are introspective pieces of my personality. I’m also not afraid to point out my own flaws in a witty way, so I think people can relate to that.

2.

Keeping Busy I have been working relentlessly on my new album for the past year or so. It’s mostly in the mix and mastering stages so I am looking forward to start rocking some shows with Ripened Records. I’m also waiting on a collaboration track with one of my favourite rappers of all time, Speak! I’m honestly still amazed he likes my music and agreed to be on my album. Just emailing him back and forth is the most surreal experience. I’ve also just finished filming my music video for my single ‘My Own’ featuring Judd English from Little Coyote.

It was filmed and directed by Beyond Reason Agency – they were amazing to work with and I’m looking forward to more music video projects with them. The single is on SoundCloud and available for free download now.

Surveillance Party photo by Four Minutes To Midnight

CRAZE AND COLOR

There are DJs, and then there are DJs. You know the ones we mean; those jockeys who’ve proven themselves extraordinarily talented behind the decks, and aren’t just famous for their Instagram account or their massive drops. Two world champion DJs, Craze and Four Color Zack, are once again joining forces for an Australian tour next month, and dancers around the country are sure to be impressed. Three-time DMC World Championship winner Craze, who’s toured the world as part of the Kanye West live show, collaborates on the Two Cents mixtape series with Four Color Zack, a Seattle talent who’s earned prizes of his own at the Red Bull Thre3style World thebrag.com

a skater kid in high school so I’ve always looked up to him and I’ve always been a fan of Jackass, ever since I stumbled across the series on MTV. I gave the crew a bunch of merch. In exchange, I was able to raid their esky. I even got the man himself to slap me towards the end of the night, which I was kind of disappointed by – Tyler, The Creator slapped me way harder! My worst gig experience was one of my first shows at my local venue. I took a couple of valium in preparation as I was nervous. Needless to say, the beer and the valium caught up to each other and before you knew it I was naked for a whole song.

Current Playlist I only recently discovered 4.

Sampa The Great and I’ve fallen

in love with her music. I went to see her at the Opera House opening for Hiatus Kaiyote. I have been listening to a lot of Erykah Badu, Portishead, Alicia Keys and Tokimonsta. After writing my album for a year it’s always good to have a bit of a break and jam out to something a bit more easy listening.

LOCKED AND LOADED

The Sydney-based trendsetting record label Surveillance Party is set to take over Oxford Art Factory for a second time with an event appropriately titled Lockout. Organised in response to the ongoing lockout laws that have hamstrung Sydney’s nightlife and entertainment industry, Lockout will see both rooms at the mighty OAF filled with live music and forward-thinking dance beats, alongside stunning visual projections, live performance art and some 500 futuristic multichannel remote headphones, shipped in especially so Surveillance Party attendees can dance their way into the wee hours. Artists on the bill include DnB star Royalston, Nam Shub Of Enki, Sam Joole, No Illuminati and many more local up-and-comers. The venue owner Mark Gerber said, “After my first encounter with Surveillance Party using the OAF, I was immediately struck by the creative diversity and multimedia they presented to the public … Their flair for putting on multi-tiered, multi-functional events resonates perfectly with the foundation and driving force behind the OAF concept.” Lockout lands on Saturday November 12.

WHAM BAM, THANK YOU MA’AM

A bunch of Play Bar regulars are combining their myriad talents at the venue this weekend for a night’s worth of high-energy soul, funk, boogie, breaks and hip hop.

If you’ve spent any time at all on the club circuit in this city, you’ll have heard C’Man, a DJ who’s been at it for more than a decade and played just about every venue in town along the way. He’ll share the decks this Saturday August 6

with Caratgold, Dave Cowan and Benny Hinn. No frills, no spills, just good music.

SAY YES TO YAHTZEL

One half of Carmada, and a triedand-tested hitmaker in his own right, Yahtzel is back behind the decks this week for a DJ set at Oxford Art Factory. With a little help from his friends – namely Bad Decisions, Bengal and Nocturnal Tapes – Yahtzel will bring the vibes to Darlinghurst on Friday August 5.

He’s reportedly working on a bunch of new music, aiming to recapture the glory of his 2013 singles ‘Girls’ and ‘High With Me’. Show him some love and start your weekend on the right note.

The Plot

Your Ultimate Rider My ultimate rider would be 5. buffalo wings and VB tins. I’m a simple man.

Miss Nine

What: ‘My Own’ (feat. Judd English) More: soundcloud.com/nonnemc

BELVEDERE WINTER BALL

Championships. See them together at Chinese Laundry on Friday September 2.

MINISTRY OF SOUND CLASSICS

Remember the glory days of the Ministry Of Sound compilations?

For many of us, those CDs were the defining releases of each season in dance and electronic music. The independent label is still going strong today, and to prove it, Bungalow 8 is hosting a party dedicated to Ministry Of Sound classics this weekend.

Tom Piper and Goodwill will be spinning the OG favourites and the latter-day hits, so if house music anthems are your jam, get along this Saturday August 6.

THE PLOT THICKENS

Save the date for the return of The Plot. Coming back to Sydney this year to present some of the most exciting emerging musical acts from around the country, The Plot will take over Parramatta Park again on the eve of summer. Last year’s festival featured a lineup to impress the most cynical of dance and hip hop fans, with the likes of Art vs Science, Safia, Tkay Maidza, Tuka and Urthboy joined by emerging stars like Ngaiire, Basenji, UV Boi and L-Fresh The Lion. As well as music, The Plot will welcome local food producers, brewers, craft and clothing creators from Sydney’s Greater West.

The festival will reveal its lineup and ticketing info in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to thebrag.com for info as it happens. And hit up The Plot on Saturday November 19 at Old Government House, Parramatta Park.

The third annual Belvedere Winter Ball is on its way to Marquee this Saturday August 6. It’s a good job the weather is still chilly, because partygoers are invited to attend in their best après ski fashion and dance the winter blues away. Miss Nine will headline the music lineup on the night, with the German DJ and model having appeared at clubs from Ibiza and London to Los Angeles and Miami.

Plus, Marquee has booked a mystery celebrity host to appear on the night. Is it Karl Stefanovic? Probably not.

BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 35

Jarryd James High On Life By Anna Wilson

T

here’s a lot of discussion around the fact that at the ripe old age of 31, Brisbane electrosoul singer Jarryd James has only just achieved success. The fact is, 31 is hardly old – and as reflected in his releases to date, having a few extra years of wisdom over his 20-something contemporaries gives James an edge.

The sum of his maturity and experiences is hauntingly developed in his music, and has allowed him opportunities to work with industry heavyweights early on in his career.

Since the release last September of his album Thirty One, James has written five additional songs to attach to that album for a US release under the title High, collaborating in the production room with mutually mature connoisseurs Mikky Ekko (Rihanna, David Guetta) and Tobias Jesso Jr. (Adele, Sia).

Although High will be James’ fulllength American debut, he promises these new songs aren’t exclusive to American audiences. “All the new songs that weren’t on the original album will be released as an EP in Australia [also called High], so it’s only a matter of time that everyone has all the music,” he says.

James’ new producers have an understanding of how his music will make American audiences twitch, but that might leave fans wondering if the Australian High EP will have a different edge to the original release. James’ approach to what he wanted for High was relatively straightforward.

“I don’t think the album I put out in September has any definitive sound to it, which I kind of like and wanted to do on purpose,” he says. “Whenever I work with a producer, I have my own

himself as a performer. Thanks to the encouragement and energy of Ekko, James moves away from his trademark sound to execute new soul styles in the likes of ‘Claim My Love’.

strong opinions on the textures and tones I like, because at the end of the day, I’m going to be performing this stuff live. I’m never going to have production in a song that doesn’t feel right to myself. I don’t think High feels any different, it just feels like a continuous work to me.”

“When I sing, I can’t really say it’s a conscious thing,” he says. “It feels good when I sing, feels nicer, more natural to sing falsetto – [it] suits my tone better. That song in particular I wrote with Mikky Ekko. He’s a really interesting guy. We got in the studio and it was the first time we had a session and he got it in his head to challenge me a bit. Mikky sings a lot of strong, powerful vocal stuff at the moment, so I think it’s a combo of him challenging me and what he’s up to.”

James has been working with Ekko and Jesso on the material he originally wrote with his first team, and the element of life experience is evident on the resulting five songs. ‘1000x’ was the first track James had penned with producer Joel Little, and though it didn’t make the original album, it makes better sense contextually on High.

The emotive exchange that comes with experimenting with a different vocal style has worked well for James, and ‘1000x’ conveys a lot of emotion – it’s a sensual track oozing evidence of the singer’s simplistic and unconscious approach to songwriting and collaboration. “‘1000x’ was the first song I ever wrote with Joel. To be honest, it was a bit of an experiment to see if we clicked as people, musicians and music-makers. I just wanted to write a love song at the time. We had half a day in Auckland and came out with whatever was in our heads at the time.

“I think I write a lot of tragic, bittersweet songs. I think it’s because I spent a lot of my childhood as a loner, wrote a lot of music, read a lot of books. In your early 20s, that’s when most people make a lot of mistakes in relationships and I guess I had that stored up in my subconscious.”

This additional release has given James a great opportunity to push

James’ career is now a continuous stream of writing and playing, and he is remarkably humble about the entire experience. There’s not a hint of exhaustion in his voice, only humility and an air of shyness about him when discussing his writing process, success and his remarkable voice.

“I see this whole ride I’m on as being something I’m so fortunate to have,” he says. “What got me here is what I’m doing naturally, and I’m going to keep doing that until it gets to a point where I feel I want to do something different.”

With no definitive awareness of the process that goes in to how he puts together his music, James seems content to go with the flow and pick up what he can from the artists he works with.

“I’m surrounded by great musicians and I’m inclined to incorporate what they’re doing. I don’t want to veer

off the path and reinvent myself, not quite yet. I just want to keep doing what I do and get better.”

Off The Record

RECOMMENDED SATURDAY AUGUST 6

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray

S

weet merciful Jesus – praise the house, techno and disco gods. Resident Advisor has outdone itself with the 530th incarnation of its podcast series, serving up nine freakin’ hours of Motor City Drum Ensemble going back-toback with Jeremy Underground, recorded live from Offenbach’s seminal club Robert Johnson.

It’s 638MB of pure bliss. If you thought the recording of the two sparring at Dimensions was great, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Head to the website to download before it’s archived – it’s ‘mix of the decade’ worthy.

A whole host of new local and international heavyweights have been revealed for the 2016 Subsonic Music Festival. My picks? It’s hard to go past the Dial and Smallville co-founder Lawrence, Detroit’s DJ Bone and Canada’s The Mole. Pretty

A name that is rising mighty quickly, Randomer, has locked in an Australian tour. With his releases already finding homes on the likes of Hessle Audio, Hemlock, L.I.E.S. and Clone, the UK native boasts Aphex Twin, Ben UFO, Surgeon and Len Faki in his fan base. He’s also one heck of a DJ. Case in point: his 2014 Boiler Room set is still a classic.

He’s coming our way on Saturday

Lawrence

FunkinEven Club 77

Randomer

Rebekah Burdekin Hotel

SATURDAY AUGUST 13

SUNDAY OCTOBER 2

SATURDAY AUGUST 20

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11 – SUNDAY NOVEMBER 13

Return To Rio Launch Party: M.A.N.D.Y. Manning Bar Gunnar Haslam Jam Gallery The Belfast-born, London-based, blogger/production/DJ duo Matt McBriar and Andy Ferguson AKA Bicep have locked in their return to our shores. Having first positioned themselves as global tastemakers via their Feel My Bicep blog (and now label), they’ve gone onto release their own productions on the likes of Throne Of Blood, Traveller Records, Mystery Meat and Love Fever. Expect a night of curveball Chicago house, Detroit techno, yesteryear Italo and rarely heard disco when they come to the University of Technology on Sunday October 2.

Tour rumours: Dubfire, Pig & Dan, Radioslave and Green Velvet are all coming our way over the next few months. Lock it in.

Best releases this week: is there anyone on the planet better with an MPC than Andrés?

Doubtful. His latest Mighty Tribe (on La Vida) is so on point it hurts. I’ve also been spending a lot of time spinning Trevino’s Casino (Aus Music), Pan Sonic’s Atomin Paluu (Blast First Petite), NHK yx Koyxen’s Doom Steppy Reverb (Diagonal), Hieroglyphic Being and The Configurative Or Modular Me Trio’s Cosmic Bebop (Mathematics US), and Keita Sano’s Explosion (Mister Saturday Night). Oh, and, errrr, ummm. Just listened to the collaborative single ‘Sweetz’ by Burial and Zomby. Pretttttttty fucking trash. Not a good foreboder of things to come for Zomby’s forthcoming third album Ultra (Hyperdub).

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24

Greg Beato Secret Location

Damiano Von Erckert Club 77

November 26, venue TBA.

more Various venues

Edd Fisher, Otologic Club 77

SATURDAY AUGUST 27

Darshan Jesrani Club 77

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 8 – SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 11

Red Bull Music Academy Weekender: Mr. Fingers, Bok Bok, Peanut Butter Wolf +

Bicep UTS

Return To Rio: Carl Cox, De La Soul, Eric Powell, DJ EZ + more Del Rio, Wisemans Ferry

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26 Randomer TBA

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2 – SUNDAY DECEMBER 4

Subsonic Music Festival: Lee Scratch Perry, Mad Professor, Josh Wink, Ben UFO + more Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort

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

36 :: BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16

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Lawrence photo © Christian Werner

Motor City Drum Ensemble

keen on checking out Sonja Moonear, Dana Ruh, Honey Dijon and Madmotormiquel, too. Seth Troxler is obviously a big name on the bill, too – not my thing though. They join the likes of Lee Scratch Perry, Mad Professor, Josh Wink and Ben UFO, who were all revealed in the first announcement. It’s going down from Friday December 2 – Sunday December 4 at the Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort.

What: High out now through Universal

club guide g

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

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week SATURDAY AUGUST 6

Young Franco

Chinese Laundry

Young Franco + Kry Wolf

SUNDAY AUGUST 7

9pm. $28.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 3 CLUB NIGHTS After Party - feat: Roslyn Helper + Spoonty B2B Apollo Roman Freda’s, Chippendale. 8pm.

Free.

Birdcage - feat: Various DJs Slyfox, Enmore.

9pm. Free.

Queerbourhood feat: Seymour Butz + Friends The Bearded Tit, Redfern. 7:30pm.

Free.

SBW - feat: Jonski Babysham + Resident DJs Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

The Wall The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm.

Free.

Yellow Wednesdays Secret Garden Bar, Enmore. 7pm. Free.

THURSDAY AUGUST 4 CLUB NIGHTS

xxx

Femme Fetale The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

House Keeping - feat: DJ Conor Boylan + Guests Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Mansion Lane The World Bar, thebrag.com

Kings Cross. 9pm.

Free.

Thursday Mix Up feat: DJs + Bands Hermann’s Bar, Darlington. 4pm.

Free.

FRIDAY AUGUST 5 CLUB NIGHTS Argyle Fridays The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Bassic - feat: Ape Drums + Bodega Collective + A-Tonez + Bluegrass + Netfl eek + Rack A Mack Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90.

Blvd Fridays - feat: K-Note Marquee, Pyrmont.

9pm. $12.30.

Drum’N’Bass Jungle Party - feat: Myrne + Hatch + Luude + Holly Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 4pm. $10.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm.

Free.

Feel Good Fridays Bar100, The Rocks.

5pm. Free.

Foxlife 1st Birthday - feat: Le Loup + Rabbit Taxi + Mesan + Kerry Wallace Slyfox, Enmore.

10pm. $15.

Friday Frothers feat: DJ Babysham + Guests Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Loco Friday - feat: DJs On Rotation The Slip Inn, Sydney. 5pm. Free.

Memo Fridays feat: Resident DJs Cargo Lounge, Sydney. 5pm. Free.

Scubar Fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Welove - feat: Various DJs Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm.

Free.

SATURDAY AUGUST 6 HIP HOP & R&B

Bow Wow + Jrdn Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $25.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 8pm. $99.90.

Wham Bam - feat: Cman + Caratgold + DJ Dave Cowan + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills.

6pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Argyle Saturdays - feat: Tass + TapTap + Minx + Crazy Caz The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Chippendale. 6pm.

Free.

My Place Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Bar100, The Rocks.

8pm. Free.

Pacha - feat: Party Thieves + A-Tonez Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 - feat: Kim Chi + Naomi Smalls Arq Nightclub, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $28.50.

Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs + Special Guests Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross. 10pm. $10.

Scubar Saturdays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Semi/Detached feat: Anne Chovy + Hiphophoe + DJ Gemma + Lorna Clarkson + Annabelle Gaspar The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills. 4pm. $21.50.

Something Else feat: Robbie Lowe + Garth Linton + Philip Kanis + Alex Low + Murray Elliot + Highbeam Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $15.

CLUB NIGHTS Bacardi Feugo Revolutions - feat: Funkineven + Ben Fester B2B Babicka 77, Darlinghurst.

9pm. Free.

Cakes The World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm.

Free.

Cleopold Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst.

11:30pm. $11.60.

El Loco Later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm.

Free.

Frat Saturdays feat: Danny Simms + Jayowens Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Japanese Wallpaper + E^st + Stay At Home Son Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10.

Kick On Saturdays feat: Guest DJs Cargo Lounge, Sydney. 6pm. Free.

Kings Cross Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 5pm.

Free.

Lndry - feat: Young Franco + Kry Wolf + Friendless + Elijah Scadden + Sanger Goonz + Levi Stubbs + King Lee + SMS + DJ Just 1 + Balor + Offtapia Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $28.

Magic Number feat: Kato + TGMN + Jon Watts Freda’s,

Beresford Sundays - feat: DJs On Rotation The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills. 12pm.

Free.

Nova’s Red Room feat: Macklemore + Ryan Lewis Marquee, Pyrmont.

6pm.

S.A.S.H By Day feat: Gabby Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 2pm. $15.

S.A.S.H By Night feat: Secret Guest Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

9pm. $15.

Sin Sundays The Argyle, The Rocks. 7pm. Free.

Robbie Lowe

Ape Drums

FRIDAY AUGUST 5 Bassic - Feat: Ape Drums + Bodega Collective + A-Tonez + Bluegrass + Netfl eek + Rack A Mack Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $22.90.

Foxlife 1st Birthday - Feat: Le Loup + Rabbit Taxi + Mesan + Kerry Wallace Slyfox, Enmore. 10pm. $15.

SATURDAY AUGUST 6 Bacardi Feugo Revolutions - Feat: Funkineven + Ben Fester B2B Babicka 77, Darlinghurst. 9pm. Free.

Bow Wow + Jrdn Marquee, Pyrmont. 10pm. $25.

Cleopold Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 11:30pm. $11.60.

Japanese Wallpaper + E^st + Stay At Home Son Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $23.10.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 8pm. $99.90.

Magic Number - Feat: Kato + TGMN + Jon Watts Freda’s, Chippendale. 6pm.

Free.

Pacha - Feat: Party Thieves + A-Tonez Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

6:30pm. $38.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 8 - Feat: Kim Chi + Naomi Smalls Arq Nightclub, Darlinghurst.

8pm. $28.50.

Something Else - Feat: Robbie Lowe + Garth Linton + Philip Kanis + Alex Low + Murray Elliot + Highbeam Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $15.

Wham Bam - Feat: Cman + Caratgold + DJ Dave Cowan + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

SUNDAY AUGUST 7 S.A.S.H By Day - Feat: Gabby Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. 2pm. $15.

Cleopold

MONDAY AUGUST 8 CLUB NIGHTS I Love Mondays Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

TUESDAY AUGUST 9

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

Side Bar Tuesdays - feat: Black Diamond Hearts Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free.

Terrible Tuesdays Slyfox, Enmore.

5pm. Free.

BRAG :: 674 :: 03:08:16 :: 37

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31:07:16 :: The White Horse :: 381 Crown St Surry Hills

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up all night out all week . . .

30:07:16 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

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

JAMES BLAKE, MARK PRITCHARD

LÅPSLEY, BUOY

James Blake’s albums always sound like he’s showing you what he’s capable of while exercising a certain restraint, so I was very much looking forward to seeing him live.

If his records are a frustrated Ferrari driver in Sydney traffic letting it be known just how much of a growl the engine can produce, then this concert was that driver being unleashed on the Autobahn with the roof down.

The fact that the Oxford Art Factory is positively buzzing at least 30 minutes before Buoy’s support set is due to start is testament to the pull of tonight’s headliner. An evening of all-female Splendour In The Grass alumni is what this sold-out show has in store, and Sydney resident Buoy begins with ominous underwater-like electronic pulses and earthy vocals.

After Mark Pritchard warmed the woofers with an eclectic voyage of mysterious, enchanting and briefly cosmic sounds, Blake opened his set with ‘Life Round Here’ from the album Overgrown, and the large Hordern Pavilion crowd was hooked. Wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and supported by his trusty drummer and guitarist, he greeted the crowd with an understated British gentlemanly “hello”. ‘Radio Silence’ allowed him to poignantly demonstrate his beautiful falsetto capabilities, underlined by sounds of such depth that have seen him go from the Factory Theatre in 2011 to packing out the Hordern. With the voice of an angel and the beats of a demon, it’s no surprise he’s appealing to the masses and making such a name for himself.

The rest of her set seems to float off into a world of obscurity. It’s no more obvious than during a song like ‘Took Me Up’, which competes with the increasing volume of conversation among many of the patrons. But Buoy’s closing song ‘One Day’ simmers down the chatter with a rumbling bassline. It’s a fairly ambiguous yet beautiful sound, but the feeling remains in the air that this artist might not have been an ideal match for tonight’s gig.

The stunning ‘Limit To Your Love’ and ‘Lindisfarne I’ and ‘II’ slowed things down and had the audience captivated. The latter tracks were particularly tender and created a feeling of an intimate venue, before ‘Voyeur’ reminded everyone where they were with some seriously meaty beats.

Her old-time soul-tinged vocals mix nicely with the minimalist electronic instrumentation behind her, particularly on ‘Operator (He Doesn’t Call Me)’ and single ‘Cliff’. But it’s just after the latter that the real gem in tonight’s set is revealed: Låpsley’s personality.

As the final note rings out, she says, “I’m usually slut-dropping by this point, but I’m wearing a dress today.” Other highlights include the explanation of how she learned the Aussie term “cooked as” at Splendour In The Grass this past weekend, and also her declaration: “It’s my first time in Australia. I really like it, the food’s really nice and everyone’s really fit.”

Hordern Pavilion Tuesday July 26

There are few artists with such range as Blake, and the way he worked his way though the set was exceptional. It was like being taken on a journey where you don’t know where you’re going or what’s coming next, but you don’t care because you know it will be amazing.

Oxford Art Factory Wednesday July 27

Half an hour later and Yorkshire’s own Låpsley takes the stage with a short “hello” and a small observation: “It’s sold out tonight, fuckin’ mad one.”

A piano solo took the set into the well-known ‘Retrograde’, and as it beautifully faded out it seemed like the perfect ending to an incredible performance. After leaving the stage to rapturous applause, Blake returned, gave credit to Ben Assiter (drums) and Rob McAndrews (guitar) for helping deliver a set without any pre-recordings, before closing the night out with an encore of ‘The Wilhelm Scream’ – a song written by Blakes’ father, and a fittingly sentimental note on which to finish.

Aside from reacting to Låpsley’s humorous observations, the audience members are relatively subdued, but you can tell they’re drinking in everything from her stage performance. With the likes of ‘Falling Short’ and ‘Station’ encouraging sing-alongs, nothing can crown her Australian trip better than an encore of hit song ‘Hurt Me’ and a stripped-back cover of the Kate Bush classic ‘This Woman’s Work’, originally recorded to mark International Women’s Day. All in all, Låpsley gave Sydney the ideal reprieve from the post-Splendour blues.

Duncan Lamont

Chelsea Deeley

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