EZRA COLLECTIVE
Mercury Prize winners and ‘open lovers’ at Strawberry Fields
NOVEMBER 2023 #1713
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1713
EDITORIAL NOTE Fresh off winning the Mercury Prize, Ezra Collective headline our magazine in November before they bring their increasingly dynamic live set to Strawberry Fields.
EDITOR Lucas Radbourne ASSISTANT EDITORS Sidonie Bird de la Coeur Talia Rinaldo STAFF WRITER Kaya Martin
Æ We’re right into festival season now so we also feature William Crighton (Marysville Music Weekend), Jem Cassar-Daley (Queenscliff Music Festival) and Luca Brasi (Good Things) within these hallowed pages, plus a bumper festival guide to go with the art, stage, audio and gig guides. We also feature Grinspoon, BIG WETT, Mick Harvey and WISER before they grace Naarm stages this month. Plus, extra-special chinwags with The Kills and Chai Chang about their latest releases.
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Riley McDonald GIG GUIDE Jacob Colliver CONTRIBUTORS Bryget Chrisfield, Jacob McCormack, Andrew Handley, Sose Fuamoli, Lesleigh Luiten, Tyler Jenke, Gabrielle Duykers, Kosa Monteith, Ewen Stewart, Luke Carlino, Sam Howard
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERS Our magazine is published on the lands of the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, and we wish to acknowledge them as Traditional Owners. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.
FOR ADVERTISING OR SPONSORED CONTENT ENQUIRIES advertise@furstmedia.com.au ACCOUNTS accounts@furstmedia.com.au DISTRIBUTION distribution@furstmedia.com.au PUBLISHER Furst Media Pty Ltd FOUNDER Rob Furst
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Beat Mag will be distributed free every month to hundreds of locations around metro Melbourne, to enquire about having it at your venue email distribution@furstmedia.com.au
Our November cover stars are Ezra Collective, photographed by Aliyah Otchere.
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CONTENTS NEWS COVER STORY
EZRA COLLECTIVE
10–14
STAGE GUIDE
33
16–17
HIGH FIDELITY
34, 35
ALBUM REVIEWS
36–37
“Techno lovers are open lovers”
THE KILLS
18
CHAI CHANG
20
A B C D E
Troye Sivan Diesel Angie McMahon Ryan Downey The Wreckery
GRINSPOON
22
VENUE GUIDE
BIG WETT
24–25
WILLIAM CRIGHTON
26
A B C D
LUCA BRASI
27
GIG GUIDE
JEM CASSAR-DALEY
28
ART GUIDE
29
MICK HARVEY
30
FESTIVAL GUIDE
31
WISER
32
Something To Give Each Other Bootleg Melancholy Light, Dark, Light Again Songs For Dreamers Fake Is Forever
Barton Fink The Bendigo Hotel Bird’s Basement Stay Gold
MAJAK with Vanessa and The Jealous Guys
12/02 DOORS DOOR 1PM // SHOW STARTS 2PM
THU 9 NOV
• DOORS 7PM HENRY WAGONS • KITCHEN OPEN • SHOW STARTS Presented by WeManage, Cheatin Hearts Records, 8PM Spunk Records & Select Music
17/02 // DOORS 6:30PM // SHOW STARTS 8PM
SWOOPING THU 23 NOV
LUCIE THORNE & HAMISH STUART • DOORS 7PM AND MATT WALKER & BEN • KITCHEN OPEN FRANZ PH: 03 9387 1347
40–43
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38–39
26/02 // DOORS •6PM // SHOW STARTS 7PM SHOW STARTS 8:30PM
XYLOURIS WHITE SAT 18 NOV • KITCHEN OPEN • EVENING 8PM • MATINEE 2PM
GENA ROSE BRUCE WED 29 NOV • DOORS 6:30PM • KITCHEN OPEN • SHOW STARTS 8PM
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BEAT 1713
NEWS
GOLDEN PLAINS REVEALS LINEUP The Streets, Yussef Dayes, King Stingray, Black Country New Road, Cymande, Wednesday and more are coming to the Supernatural Ampitheatre from March 8-11.
Ç MSO TO TRIBUTE OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN IN MARCH
Ç MELBOURNE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS MONTH The 33rd annual Melbourne Queer Film Festival (MQFF) runs from November 9-19 with 50 feature films and 17 documentaries, 11 short film packages, 3 world premieres, 26 Australian premieres and 19 Victorian premieres.
Joined by some of Australia’s brightest musical talents – David Campbell, Jess Hitchcock, Georgina Hopson and Christie Whelan Browne – the MSO will perform Olivia’s greatest hits from her films and record-breaking albums.
THE MSO ANNOUNCE THE LION KING IN CONCERT Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will perform Hans Zimmer’s Oscar-winning score live to screen twice on February 3 at The Plenary.
Ç BRING ME THE HORIZON ARE TOURING AUSTRALIA IN APRIL Bring Me The Horizon will be heading down under in April 2024 for their biggest Australian headline tour to date with an ultimate stacked lineup supported by Sleep Token, Make Them Suffer and Daine.
PITCH TEASES LINEUP, BALLOT SYSTEM
UKRAINE’S DAKHABRAKHA ANNOUNCE TOUR
Pitch Music & Arts - aka Pitch Festival - is heading back to the Grampians on March Labour Day weekend with X.Club and Daniel Avery teased already. The festival will also introduce a ballot system, with entries open now.
Next year, Melbourne audiences will have the chance to experience Ukrainian music quartet DakhaBrakha’s “ethno chaos” for one unforgettable night at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on 11 March 2024.
Ç SECTION 8 ANNOUNCES FREE HELLA QUEEN QUEER PARTY Running on the night of Monday, November 6 – public holiday eve for all of you party people – the event will feature a ton of supreme Aussie talent led by Sydney ballroom queen Jubahlee.
Ç THE MUSHROOM 50 LIVE LINEUP HAS BEEN REVEALED
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE ANNOUNCE TOUR
Jimmy Barnes, Amy Shark, Deborah Conway, DMA’S and more will play at Rod Laver Arena on November 26.
QOTSA are coming to Australia in 2024, playing Sidney Myer Music Bowl and headlining Lookout Festival in February.
Ç SUZI QUATRO LEADS RED HOT SUMMER TOUR 2024 Suzi Quatro, Cheap Trick, Jon Stevens, The Angels, Baby Animals, The Screaming Jets, and Chocolate Starfish are coming to Ballarat and the Yarra Valley in March.
COMING UP THIS NOVEMBER
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CHILDREN OF ZEUS (UK) WED 15 NOV
THESE NEW SOUTH WHALES
TOPS (CAN)
BLACK FLAG (USA)
G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE SUN 26 NOV
TODD RUNDGREN (USA)
SUN 10 DEC
THU 22 FEB
06/12 - IAN BOTHAM WITH JOHN EMBUREY
GIG GUIDE 02/11 - DRAGON SELLING FAST 04/11 - BABY ANIMALS 06/11 - JAMES REYNE SOLD OUT 07/11 - TEENAGE JOANS 10/11 - THE EXPLOTED (UK) SELLING FAST 11/11 - FELIPE BALDOMIR 14/11 - SUICIDAL TENDENCIES SOLD OUT 15/11 - CHILDREN OF ZEUS (UK) 16/11 - PARENTS BATTLE OF THE BANDS 17/11 - MAPLE GLIDER SELLING FAST 18/11 - HORRORSHOW SELLING FAST 19/11 - KERALA DUST (UK) 21/11 - JOY (ANONYMOUS) 23/11 - SOMETHING FOR KATE SOLD OUT 24/11 - THESE NEW SOUTH WHALES 25/11 - TOPS (CAN) 26/11 - G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE (USA) 29/11 - RICKY POINTING (Q&A) 02/12 - BEN ASKREN (UFC - Q&A) MATINEE 02/12 - SOUL TRAINS FT. LEE FIELDS & SURPRISE CHEF
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THE MOVING STILLS
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FRI 24 NOV
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HYPNIC JERK
DAVID KNIGHT
SUN 12 NOV
SAT 11 NOV
JL TRIO
PHONX
Trivia with Sparx every Wednesday 7:30pm BAND ROOM
FRONT BAR
Beyond the Bathroom Choir
Jungle Jim Smith
Sunday 5 November
Thursday 9 November
Toqui
THU 16 NOV
SAT 18 NOV
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DAVE COSMA
SUN 19 NOV
THU 23 NOV
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THE DISTANT SOUTH
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Friday 10 November
Basement Spaceman Tuesday 14 November
Friday 3 November
Saturday 4 November
Winfield Road Experiment
Thursday 9 November
Indu Mulligan Trio Saturday 11 November
Moulin Beige
Andrew Darling & Szara Fox
Thursday 16 November
Saturday 18 November
Friday 17 November
Saturday 25 November
Sunday 19 November
Thursday 30 November
Cate Taylor
Sam Buckingham Maggie Rigby
Luca Brading Trio RETRATOS Girl Friday
BEAT 1713 For a full gig list visit wesleyanne.com.au
RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL DROPS 2024 LINEUP Missy Higgins, Peter Garrett, Kasey Chambers and more will come to the leafy surrounds of Aquatic Reserve in EchucaMoama from February 16 – 18.
IRON MAIDEN CONFIRM 2024 AUSTRALIAN TOUR Iron Maiden will be bringing The Future Past Tour to Australia in September next year with Killswitch Engage.
Ç DIESEL ANNOUNCES FOREVER TOUR Ç BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IS COMING TO MELBOURNE
Ç GOOD THINGS SIDESHOWS ANNOUNCED Limp Bizkit, Devo, Sepultura, Pennywise and more are touring from late November through early December as part of Good Things’ sideshows.
PENINSULA SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL REVEALS 2024 LINEUP
Tony and Olivier Award-winning stage spectacle, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, will grace Her Majesty’s Theatre in June 2024.
PETER GARRETT, ULTRA NATÉ LEAD SOUNDBOX LINEUP From November 24 to December 3, SoundBox will see free live performances, artist interviews, showcases, songwriting sessions, unique broadcasts and more take over Melbourne’s Arts Centre forecourt.
His 16th studio album, Bootleg Melancholy is out and to celebrate Diesel has just announced the highly anticipated Forever tour, coming to Melbourne in March.
GROUNDHOG DAY MUSICAL COMING TO MELBOURNE Tim Minchin’s smash-hit musical Groundhog Day will make its Australian premiere at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre for an exclusive season in January.
Emily Granger, James Morrison Quartet, Jorge Jiminez and more will play venues across the Peninsula from January 1–8 next year.
Ç COSMIC PSYCHOS ANNOUNCE 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR It’s a milestone that few punk bands ever reach, but the legendary Cosmic Psychos are proudly celebrating their 40th anniversary with six dates across Victoria in January.
Ç RICKI-LEE JONES, TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND JOIN BLUESFEST
Ç CAROLS BY CANDLELIGHT RETURNS TO SIDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL
Grammy winning rock and blues legends Tedeschi Trucks Band and Rickie Lee Jones join Bluesfest and drop national tour dates in late March and early April.
Carols by Candlelight will take place at Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Sunday, 24 December with Casey Donovan, Denis Walter, Marina Prior and more.
THE JAMAICAN MUSIC & FOOD FESTIVAL IS COMING
PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL EXPANDS LINEUP
Jamaican music and food fans will come together to experience one glorious summertime day of reggae, dub, rocksteady and dancehall music at Williamstown’s Seaworks on December 2.
John Craigie, Ondara, Kate Miller-Heidke and more join the likes of Graham Nash at the seaside event over the March long weekend.
Ç WOMADELAIDE ANNOUNCES FIRST 28 ARTISTS ON 2024 LINEUP
Ç RILEY PEARCE ANNOUNCES TOUR
HIGH NOTE IS MELBOURNE’S NEWEST MUSIC VENUE High Note is the name of the brand new live music venue launching at the base of the Northcote Theatre on High Street. It will be a hybrid venue, bar, and creative space from Crown Ruler.
MARY LATTIMORE IS COMING TO MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE Harpist and composer Lattimore is coming to Melbourne Recital Centre on December 8, before performing at Meredith that weekend.
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WOMADelaide has announced the first 28 artists for the 2024 festival, from 8 to 11 March – featuring Ziggy Marley, Jose Gonzalez, The Budos Band, Arooj Aftab, Gilberto Gil and DakhaBrakha.
Indie singer-songwriter Riley Pearce dives into his next chapter of music with coming-of-age reflection How Will I Know? and a musical journey across Australia this November, enthralling audiences with his soul-stirring tunes.
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Ç CHARLEY CROCKETT IS HEADING TO AUSTRALIA
Ç SUNSET BOULEVARD IS COMING TO MELBOURNE
The acclaimed Texan troubadour will perform just three shows in Victoria, in Ballarat, Korumburra and Melbourne in February.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard will premiere in Melbourne in May 2024 at the Princess Theatre with recording superstar Sarah Brightman starring as Norma Desmond.
HELLO SUNSHINE UNVEILS LINEUP Scoresby’s Hello Sunshine festival has revealed its March lineup, with a stacked lineup featuring Grinspoon, The Veronicas, The Temper Trap, Pete Murray, Bliss N Eso, and Brad Cox.
Ç ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION HAS BEEN EXTENDED Elvis: A Musical Revolution receives a second extension, with new performances announced through to December at the Athenaeum Theatre.
Ç BALACLAVA BOOGIE ANNOUNCED FOR LATE NOVEMBER The aptly named Balaclava Boogie festival is bringing the likes of JAZZPARTY and Amos Roach to venues within the bustling Carlisle Street Precinct for free from November 24 - 26.
Ç TKAY MAIDZA ANNOUNCES MELBOURNE, SYDNEY SHOWS The acclaimed hip hop artist will perform live at Melbourne’s Forum as part of a twodate tour on November 23.
MARYSVILLE MUSIC WEEKEND DROPS FULL 2023 LINEUP Kate Ceberano, William Crighton, Frank Sultana, Cass Eager, and many more will play in Marysville from November 24 – 26 this year.
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ZACH BRYAN ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE MELBOURNE SHOW Chart-topping US country megastar Zach Bryan will head to our shores this December, with his first-ever Australian performance set to take place exclusively in Melbourne as part of Always Live.
Ç CHI WOW WAH TOWN ANNOUNCES 2024 LINEUP Stavroz, Robag Wruhme, Bushwacka! and more are coming to Winton Wetlands in February next year.
Ç BETH HART IS COMING TO AUSTRALIA Grammy-nominated and critically acclaimed California native Beth Hart has announced her highly anticipated return to Australia, with dates set to kick off in February.
WILD HORSES REVEALS FULL LINEUP The second round includes Dickster, Kindzadza and Green Nuns Of The Revolution. The festival will run from December 8–10 in Carapooee West.
Ç HOLY HOLY ANNOUNCE AUSTRALIAN TOUR Holy Holy have announced an Australian tour supported by Tasman Keith for April next year.
LOVE ACTUALLY IN CONCERT RETURNS This beloved romantic comedy, celebrating its 20th anniversary, is set to grace Hamer Hall on December 23 with a live orchestral score.
Ç CIRQUE DU SOLEIL IS BRINGING LUZIA TO AUSTRALIA Cirque du Soleil’s big top is returning to Australia, performing LUZIA at Flemington Racecourse from March to May.
BEAT 1713
Ç VICTORIA’S PRIDE ANNOUNCES LGBTQIA+ CELEBRATIONS Victoria’s Pride will showcase LGBTQIA+ celebrations across Victoria from October to February, culminating in Midsumma Festival from January 21 to February 11 and the Victoria’s Pride street party on February 11.
MUSHROOM GROUP MEMORABILIA COMES TO AUSTRALIAN MUSIC VAULT
Ç SYN FM IS APPEALING FOR DONATIONS SYN is facing down its last weeks on air due to severe financial constraints, with the youth station now appealing for public donations to stay on the air.
DINOSAUR JR, MOGWAI LEAD TENT POLE LINEUP Tent Pole: A Musical Jamboree returns to Mt Duneed Estate on Saturday 17 February, headlined by US alternative rock pioneers Dinosaur Jr, Mogwai, Calexico and more.
The free new display of rare memorabilia and one-of-a-kind Mushroom pieces at Arts Centre Melbourne is celebrating the Mushroom Group’s 50-year history.
FERG, FLIGHT FACILITIES AND MORE JOIN BEYOND THE VALLEY LINEUP The newly-expanded festival lineup will take over Barunah Plains from December 28 – January 1, with Peggy Gou ringing in the New Year.
LENKA TO LAUNCH NEW ALBUM AT THE GASO Ultra sweet and unforgettably catchy, Lenka’s music is a lighthearted delight. On November 17, she’s set to release her latest album, Instaspectal, with a launch show at The Gaso, before taking off to play dates across the East Coast.
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MELBOURNE MUSEUM SET TO HOST TITANIC EXHIBITION
Ç JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ ANNOUNCES AUSTRALIAN TOUR José González is returning to Australia in March on his Veneer 20th anniversary tour, including shows at WOMAD and the Forum.
DON’T LET DADDY KNOW (DLDK) IS COMING TO MELBOURNE
BILYANA FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS DECEMBER
Simple Plan, the iconic Canadian pop-punk rockers, are all set to make their triumphant return to the Land Down Under in April.
The producers of the Broadway blockbuster Wicked have announced that the musical phenomenon will fly into the Regent Theatre in March.
From December 16 to April 14, the Melbourne Museum will be home to TITANIC: The Artifact Exhibition. Freshly following a sold-out run in Paris, the exhibition features more than 200 original artifacts.
Born in Ibiza, you can catch this major EDM festival on its maiden voyage to Melbourne on January 13 next year, when it heads to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
Ç SIMPLE PLAN ARE COMING TO AUSTRALIA
Ç WICKED IS COMING TO MELBOURNE
The beloved folk, rhythm and life festival returns to the picturesque surrounds of the Bilyana Natural Ampitheatre near the Victorian town of Eldorado from December 1-3.
Ç AUSMUSIC T-SHIRT DAY IS BACK THIS MONTH Music charity, Support Act, has announced its annual fundraiser, Ausmusic T-Shirt Day, will return on Thursday 30 November.
BLAKTIVISM LINEUP EXPANDS Kaiit, Birdz & Fred Leone will join the powerhouse lineup of First Nations artists coming together for BLAKTIVISM on December 1 at Hamer Hall.
NOW & AGAIN DROPS 2024 LINEUP Now & Again is relocating from Werribee to the Melbourne Showgrounds for a twostage extravaganza with Metro Boomin, Milky Chance, Kolsch, Golden Features and more in February.
Ç THE BREEDERS ARE COMING TO AUSTRALIA Iconic alt-rockers The Breeders will return to Australia for a quick tour of the east coast in January
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BEAT 1713
EZRA COLLECTIVE It became instantly apparent that Femi Koleoso was generous but lacking in spare time as he joined the Zoom call from a double-decker bus weaving through London. WORDS BY
ANDREW HANDLEY
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Æ He was on his way to conduct another interview with a member of his youth group who was making a documentary on drummers. Koleoso is the perfect subject as the drummer and bandleader of this year’s Mercury Prize-winning London jazz quintet Ezra Collective. Amongst contemporaries like Kamaal Williams, Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd, the band is at the forefront of a flourishing modern jazz scene in the UK. At the age of 28, Koleoso says modern influences like Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly were pivotal to the band and in dawning a new age of jazz. “You had young kids that probably would have been listening to Blur and [would have] become an indie band, who are listening to Kamasi Washington and picked up a saxophone,” he explains. “I think at the same time some of the younger jazz musicians got a little bit of light shed on them.”
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Credit: Aliyah Otchere
“Techno lovers are quite open lovers…” Koleoso hopes his band can continue the cycle. “I think of when Ezra Collective did Boiler Room, those kids that were in their teenage angst about to pick up a guitar decided to jump on keys or bass or trumpet instead,” he says. Ezra Collective are unshackled to any specific rules or genres, which is on full display in their sophomore record Where I’m Meant to Be. The Mercury Prize-nominated album effortlessly tackles salsa, reggae, dub, hip-hop, soul and afrobeat. “I always like to say we’re like the shuffle generation,” explains Koleoso. “In the 90s you had one CD and you listened to the whole thing, then you fast forward to our age group, and I could easily be listening to some UK garage, and then straight up next comes some Beethoven that I was studying in school.” Koleoso says the new way of ingesting music has leaked into their sound. “Whatever we like we just end up playing, and I love that about us,” he says. “That’s the best thing about improvised music, whatever the vibe is you can do it.” This does not mean Ezra Collective have abandoned their jazz roots, with their new album closing with a modern interpretation of Sun Ra’s Love in Outer Space, and the front cover image a homage to Thelonious Monk’s famous Underground cover. “I feel like it’s the same language, it’s just ours is with a 90s Baby London accent,” says Koleoso. “Sun Ra was doing very similar things to what Shabaka [Hutchings of The Comet is Coming] is trying to do now, and Alice Coltrane is reading from the same hymn sheet as Thundercat.” “I’m still listening to that all the time, and still excited in record stores when I find a wicked bebop record,” says Koleoso. “It’s just such a beautiful place to learn from and continue to be inspired by.”
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Earlier this year the band played six shows in three days at the legendary Blue Note in New York. An even greater feat than selling out every show was getting the audience dancing at their tables at the notoriously sophisticated jazz club. “That’s what we’re trying to do, and people need that especially post-lockdown when everyone’s been locked in their house for two years,” says Koleoso. “It’s not just about playing a show and making money, it’s about so much more than that… I just want to make sure that I make people feel something real.” The band will be coming to Australia for Strawberry Fields in November along with a string of headline shows. They are no strangers to the country or great festivals, having played Golden Plains in March 2020, weeks before the country closed its borders. Koleoso is excited about the broad range of music at Strawberry Fields. “Techno is always a good one because techno lovers are quite open lovers,” he says. “If you’ve got a techno crowd you can definitely get them converted with a good drumbeat.” Having played at Coachella and the famed Hammersmith Apollo already this year, Koleoso says their live shows have evolved a lot. “I feel like we’re just a much better band than the band that played in Australia last time,” he says. “It’s far more intense. It’s far more rock and roll. We’re playing longer shows and we’re playing harder shows and were coming off stage with bruises and cuts now, as opposed to just drips of sweat.”
EZRA COLLECTIVE AT STRAWBERRY FIELDS TOCUMWAL CROXTON BANDROOM
17–19 NOV 16 NOV
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KILLS
Æ For just over two decades now, it’s a creative spirit that has driven his work with The Kills – the British-American rock project of Hince and Alison Mosshart. 2023 is a significant year for the band. On one hand, they celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Keep On Your Mean Side. And on the other, The Kills are embracing a brand new musical chapter, with the release of their sixth studio album, God Games. For newcomers to The Kills’ work, God Games is the perfect entry point for the duo’s catalogue. And for those fans who have been with Hince and Mosshart since the beginning, God Games can confidently sit as proof that this far into their journey, the duo’s chemistry is as strong as ever. “After this amount of time, it’s a simple thing; you’ve done this thing so many times, you just trust the other person,” Hince explains. “You trust that they’re going to do something, and they’re going to be great. That really helps us when it comes to coming up with new things. “A lot of it is almost psychic, by now. It’s a little bit instinctive. What I love about Alison is that we’re quite opposite. She has a small orbit of references that she’s always loved, from day one. I’ve always been wanting to change and find new things. In reality, those two things should probably bang heads. She’s so open to some of these new, stupid ideas. That sort of enthusiasm for it is really humbling.” Developing some of these “new, stupid ideas” in a then-newly built home studio, Hince reflects on the creative process behind God Games and how it brought him new excitement as a writer and musician. Inspired by different contemporaries, different genres, and different raw energies that some of the greats brought to their own oeuvres, Hince knew that God Games was an album he wanted to be representative of his passion for electric guitar-driven music, plain and simple. No overproduction, just direct ideas conceptualised and executed with fresh ambition. “I think there’ve been a lot of records and bands ruined by overproduction,” Hince admits.
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WORDS BY SOSEFINA FUAMOLI
Credit: Myles Hendrik
THE
The spirit of reinvention and exploring new sonic frontiers is one that has been at the core of Jamie Hince’s approach to music.
“We did a few shows last year around the No Wow reissue; we did it as a two-piece and I was quite surprised, blown away by the reaction from people that was like, ‘We haven’t seen anything like this!’, I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ It felt like maybe it is the time to be kicking against overproduction.” “It felt that this was really the first time I’d been able to make the sounds I had in my head, a thing. There are a lot of influences that people wouldn’t expect that I listen to, like MF DOOM… influences I think have a really fantastic place within rock and roll, or within electric guitar music. If you listen to someone like Mos Def or Nas, people like that, they’ve got a real rock and roll principle about what they’re doing. Especially Mos Def, who used a lot of sampled guitar in his work; there was so much of that in me, that I wanted to bring out. I’ve always been excited by those production ambitions. What if rock and roll had that kind of production ambition? Rock and roll, production-wise, gets a raw deal; I’ve been really excited more by almost lo-fi production.” God Games is a vibrant, potent collection of songs that serves as a reminder of the edge, the swag, the effortless cool that permeates rock and roll music delivered, unfiltered.
While the sound has shifted over the years - the influences diversifying and the kinetic dynamic between Hince and Mosshart becoming more seasoned and instinctual; the sonic and rhythmic foundation of The Kills has remained rock solid. “When you do it for this long, we are [just] better songwriters,” Hince laughs. “I think back to when we were putting Little Bastards (2020) together, some of those b-sides and rarities…they were b-sides because we couldn’t really work out how to make them proper songs. We were struggling with songwriting; we were all about attitude and riffs and power. This time around, it felt naturally easier to write songs. I hope that it’s going to continue!”
GOD GAMES IS OUT NOW.
Order the new album by scanning the code below.
This article was made in partnership with Domino.
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BEAT 1713
CHAI CHANG We speak to Chinese-Australian artist Chai Chang about changing careers, his inspiration and why the golden age is now. WORDS BY
LESLEIGH LUITEN
Æ Reality is an abstract way of describing everything there is and every that will be. Is social media a real world or is it just a fabrication of who you are? These are the themes tackled by Chang in his debut single, New Reality. There is a traditional way of thinking in Hong Kong which impacted how Chang grew up and discovered himself. He believed he had to study hard, achieve great results, graduate from university, work for a large organisation, and climb the corporate ladder. So, for 6 years that is exactly what he did. At the age of 29, in 2020 Chang was seeking a change so he moved to Melbourne to pursue further studies, however, we all know what happened in 2020; COVID-19. You know what they say, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’, ‘snatch victory from the jaws of defeat’ and so on. “During the lockdowns and restrictions, I spent most of the time hiding in my cave - which is more like my small apartment - and I started to lose confidence and communication skills,” Chang says.
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“So there was a moment where I realised I needed to step back from this situation, so I took an initiative to start a modelling course to build some self confidence. I also took a course to learn more about fashion and styling, which is an area that I always had interest in. So after taking these courses I started to do some modelling as a stepping stone towards my goal to become a solo dance singer.” Although he never had the opportunity to formally learn to sing or dance in his youth, Chang believes that everything he learned in his corporate life is crucial for facilitating the process of becoming an independent artist. “In my six years of full-time work life I just worked day and night and sometimes even on weekends. I would say my organisational skills and multitasking skills are quite strong. I believe this can help with my debut as an independent singer because I have to start everything from zero; concept creation and then looking for a suitable composer, looking for a dance crew, music production, and marketing.” Chang credits his dream to release his own song to singers from C pop, K pop and English-speaking countries; CoCo Lee, BTS and Nicole Scherzinger inspire Chang. However, his first experience with music began at the age of 12 before Spotify and YouTube. “There was a music television show at that time in Hong Kong that was called Jade Solid Gold, which broadcast new music and music videos each week. So each week, I always watched this TV show to learn about new music at that time. I always loved listening to strong beat dance music and strong beat electronic songs. Also I really admire the singers who can dance in music videos.” New Reality is described as an electro pop dance song, it has a strong beat and a dance break. The song marks a new milestone in Chang’s life by showcasing how he can integrate English and Chinese music so it can be enjoyed by audiences from the East and West. The song is fun and catchy, it also explores topics that are thought provoking and very much prevalent in today’s society. “Nowadays, I think people spend lots of time using and swiping their mobile phones. Sometimes I think it’s really hard to tell whether the information is actually valid or whether the information tells the full truth. So the concept of perfection on social media also changes how we think. We do everything to look good on social media. Then we can attract our peers, or even family or friends to like our photo and to follow us. Just like what the lyrics say ‘if I blurred my face until I’ve got no pores, maybe they can see that I’m beautiful.’ “And then there’s the line ‘You know that I would do anything it takes to get my five seconds of fame’. Sometimes it’s hard to decide what’s right and what’s wrong. So here I’m open to the audience to analyse the good and the bad times using mobile phones and I want to point out that this is the new reality.” New Reality was released on October 27 and Chang left us with some words of wisdom about changing your own reality - 30 is the new 20, it is never too late to follow your dreams. “I would say probably 10 years ago, I was still very timid and probably not mature enough to start something like this, but now I’m older and I’ve got more courage and life experiences to share, so I think it is very good timing for me. So, no matter if you are young or old, I think the best time to do something new is now, which is the present, the golden age is now”.
CHAI CHANG’S DEBUT SINGLE NEW REALITY IS OUT NOW. This article was made in partnership with Chai Chang.
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GRINSPOON As Grinspoon prepare to revisit their Easy and New Detention albums for an upcoming tour, frontman Phil Jamieson looks back on the albums that changed the band’s lives. WORDS BY
TYLER JENKE
Æ It’s been a few years between albums for Lismore rockers Grinspoon, so it’s only fitting that – almost three decades into their career – recent happenings have been focused around album retrospectives. While 2019 saw the release of their Chemical Hearts compilation album, the group first broke a few years of silence in 2017 when they looked back on their debut album, Guide To Better Living, for its 20th anniversary. “It was a big tour; we did a lot of dates,” Phil Jamieson remembers on a rare day off between solo shows. “That record worked well from start to finish as a piece of proto-punk energy, we had Hockey Dad on the road with us, and it was altogether a celebration. “A lot of people did have a lot of fond memories of that record, so it was well-received and it was quite a nice way to introduce ourselves back into the touring circuit,” he adds. “Whilst it may be a little bit nostalgic, those songs are pretty wild even to today’s standards, in my opinion.” Fast-forward a couple of years, and Grinspoon had missed the emerald anniversaries of their following recordings. While 1999’s Easy was overlooked in favour of their Chemical Hearts tour, last year the 20th birthday of 2002’s New Detention passed by with little fanfare.
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Now in 2023, the group are making up for lost time, not only reissuing the records on vinyl, but embarking on the fittingly-titled Easy Detention tour with Private Function and Cupid & The Stupids. Unlike their Guide To Better Living tour, these shows won’t see the albums played in full, but rather approached as a vehicle with which to revisit classic singles from the albums alongside deep cuts. As Jamieson recalls, the first of these records was born out of a time of great exhaustion following the band’s North American sojourns in the late ‘90s. “It was pretty wild and furious recording Easy,” he remembers, “It’s my favourite Grinners album because we were doing exactly what we wanted to do. “I think the theory was if you were to take the bull by the horns, you’d release a record that would be palatable for American audiences, and we kind of did exactly the opposite of that and it was never released in America after Guide. “We kind of fucked that up,” he laughs. “The American version of Guide didn’t have Just Ace on it, so I don’t think they really understood what we did. They were trying to put us into either altrock, which we were too heavy for, or metal, which we weren’t heavy enough for.”
Regardless of American responses, Easy performed well in Australia. It debuted at #4 on the charts, spawned singles like Ready 1, Secrets, and Rock Show, and was nominated for Best Rock Album at the ARIA Awards. While Jamieson does recall some slight flaws in the record’s production and performance, things were only getting started for Grinspoon, who would again enter the studio in late 2001 to begin work on their third album, New Detention. “There was a big shift in the paradigm of what we’d done by that stage,” Jamieson notes. “We’d done three EPs, two records and had toured constantly since 1997, so we weren’t going to be doing the same record again.” Indeed, New Detention was a new era for the group. Though Easy had provided songs like Signpost which – fittingly – served as a marker of how their songwriting would evolve and mature for album number three, few could have seen how it would be received. Debuting at #2 on the charts, generated four singles, including Lost Control, No Reason, 1000 Miles, and Chemical Heart – the latter reaching #2 in triple j’s Hottest 100 that year, and the other three appearing in the top 50. It also nabbed them five ARIA Award nominations, including Best Group, Best Rock Album, and Single Of The Year for Chemical Heart. Needless to say, it changed everything. “People were like, ‘You’ve obviously sold out,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, we’ve never been commercial’,” Jamieson remembers. “It hasn’t ever really defined us; it just happened. We were a bit bored with yelling and screaming at people at that point. “But it changed everything in relation to Chemical Heart becoming a very successful crossover single, which had eluded us to that stage, realistically. The likes of Powderfinger and Silverchair really led the charge in that realm. “I think we wrote 50 songs for that record, it was heavily demoed, and there were a lot of opinions about what should be on the record,” he recalls. “But it was wonderfully validating and we were able to tour more extensively and make more friends and fans along the way. So it was cute.”
GRINSPOON WHERE:
FORUM
WHEN:
6 NOV, 22 DEC
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23
BEAT 1713
BIG WETT Meet the neon pink, latex-clad, dildo-twirling artist seducing Australia’s dance scene. WORDS BY
GABRIELLE DUYKERS
Æ It’s my first time speaking with the bubbly, bona fide artist, and yet the conversation quickly feels like a chinwag with an old friend. She’s calling from a beachside hideaway in Byron Bay and tells me she’s still recovering from a three-day bender prompted by the festival she played the week prior. It’s the latest in a string of live performances and she’s having a ball. “With my kind of personality – and I don’t know how sustainable this is – but I’m out in the crowd, I’m dancing, I’m drinking a lot,” she says with a raspy voice. “I’m absolutely loving it.” The queer creative’s candid personality provoked a swift rise to fame after releasing her first single – EAT MY ASS – in late 2022. Her career has been on an upward trajectory ever since. In a world that revels in unfiltered self-expression, BIG WETT has emerged to deliver electroclash dance anthems that are equal parts provocative and empowering. The Naarm-based artist released her debut EP – PU$$Y – on September 22, continuing her unabashed celebration of sexuality. Unbridled confidence is a trait she has long considered intrinsic to her character. On the rare occasions such fearlessness fails to come naturally, she has a simple strategy up her sleeve. “Some days I’m not feeling like BIG WETT, but you know, fake it till you make it,” she says. “Then eventually you do make it and you don’t need to fake it anymore. That’s kind-of the secret. No one would ever know in my shows if I was feeling sad or going through something personally. If I’m sad, I just act hot and then I’m like, ‘Oh I’m not sad anymore’,” she laughs. Belting obscenities into a diamanté-encrusted microphone, holding a standing split in unyielding pink latex and twirling double-ended dildos with her teeth are just a handful of the stage theatrics in her arsenal. BIG WETT’s X-rated brand of 90s rave-inspired synth-pop has garnered an adoring fanbase, applauding her for giving a fresh voice to queer pride and self-empowerment. While her brash lyrics centre around sexual liberation, money, power and some of her absurd personal fantasies, she says these themes first emerged subconsciously. “My personality is quite loud – well, some would say obnoxious, I would say fun – so I think it all just came out like that,” she remarks.
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A filthily fun example is heard on NUMBER 1 PUSSY, where she owns her desirability like a braggadocious male artist. “Gold medal puss,” she sings over a thumping baseline, “she winning every race, my pussy is gourmet and you love love love the way it tastes” “It’s funny and it’s unexpected,” she says. “I think the more I played around with just being really vulgar and crass, the more people kind of enjoyed it.” Sex-positive feminism in music has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with BIG WETT often drawing parallels to the likes of Kim Petras, Peaches, and COBRAH. Despite what the bimbo-esque BIG WETT character may suggest, there is nothing vacuous about the act’s intent. At the core of this project is a beamingly positive artist who wants people to feel good through her music. “I want them to wake up in the morning and feel like they want to jump out of bed,” she says excitedly. “Like they want to dance in the mirror. I want them to feel hot and cool and confident. That they want to shoot their shot with someone and send them a text and ask them out for coffee.” Most importantly, she says physical attributes are inconsequential when it comes to adopting this attitude. “Being hot isn’t about what you look like, it’s about the vibe you bring,” she states fervently. “It’s about your personality. Being hot is being someone that you want to spend time with. They’re interesting and funny, they make you feel good about yourself and they feel good about themselves. It’s like a positive energy that’s addictive, and I think that’s kind of what I’m trying to convey.” However, being a sex-positive public figure is not without its challenges. BIG WETT’s online presence often attracts internet trolls who leave disparaging comments, mostly to the tune of ‘What happened to you to make you like this?’, and ‘Your mum must be so disappointed’. “Look, I’ve had my fair share of creeps and I’ve had my fair share of haters,” she sighs. “Honestly, I’d prefer the haters. All the creepy guys that send dick pics unannounced and send me fucked up messages…I’d honestly rather have someone tell me to go and get therapy.”
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There’s a sombreness in her tone as we discuss the subject, and when asked how she manages the backlash she confesses it’s an ongoing process. “I’ve kind of learned my lesson. I used to read every comment, but now I’m just like – ‘Don’t do that’.” The riotous BIG WETT project was initially born out of “boredom and alcohol” during Covid lockdown. “I was in Melbourne with my boyfriend and housemates and we were doing a lot of painting and sculpting and cooking and writing songs,” she says. “We wrote a bunch of serious songs, and then after like nine months of lockdown, things started to get a bit kooky, and that’s where the first BIG WETT song was written. It was called Fuck A Big Dick, and basically all I said was fuck and dick in it.” First attracting buzz after uploading a folder of demos to SoundCloud in 2021, it didn’t take long for tracks like EAT MY ASS, to catch the attention of radio stations and talent scouts across the country. Once promoters caught a glimpse of BIG WETT’s flamboyant on-stage performance, she was quickly billed on some of Australia’s biggest lineups. In the past six months, she has appeared at Dark Mofo, Meredith Music Festival and Splendour in the Grass among a host of others. In March, she signed with independent London-based label Play It Again Sam [PIAS]. Despite the somewhat dizzying nature of her ascent to fame, she says every show has been a blast and brought about new friendships with like-minded fans. “I honestly love tour life, and I really love meeting fans. I find that the people who really like my music are all kind of kooky and fun, and so oftentimes we really get on.” Teasing it as six tracks of “erotic bangers” exploring the joys of sex and life “in all its messy glory”, BIG WETT will release her debut EP on September 22. Those eager for a taste have been treated to the tantalising new single – Don’t You Want It All – a song she describes as an “unapologetically horny” portrayal of “sex on drugs”. A combination of pounding bass, fast-paced techno, contemporary sounds and raunchy lyrics designed to “empower and arouse”, PU$$Y will surely make for an invigorating listening experience. Continuing her fierce ascent to stardom, BIG WETT will bring her showmanship to all major Australian cities in November as she embarks on her first headline tour – one she plans to be the first of many. “I want to go everywhere, and I want to play everything,” she says. “I’m in it for the long haul.”
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“The freedom that comes with not really having anyone tell you what you can’t do is endless.”
BIG WETT WHERE:
MAX WATTS
WHEN:
1 DEC
PU$$Y is out now via PIAS.
BEAT 1713
While the latest album – Water and Dust – is raw and gritty, and plays obviously to the “bush psych” genre, his debut self-titled album, was more of a crisp and delicate folk album that served as a discovery project and acted successfully as an entry point to William Crighton’s sound. “You grow and evolve as an artist as you learn more and observe differently. Empire, my second album is a pretty considered bridge from [William Crighton], then to [Water and Dust]. There are definitely some of those elements on Empire that go pretty deep on [Water and Dust].”
“Prison’s not a nice place to be…”
WILLIAM CRIGHTON With music best described as ‘bush psych’, William Crighton is steadily making a name for himself as one of the country’s most exciting and innovative musicians and storytellers. WORDS BY EWEN STEWART
Æ As one of the headliners of Marysville Music Weekend – which is set to take over the town from November 24 to 26 – William Crighton’s brand of music is a unique sound that few have produced before, blending an Australiana soundscape with psychedelic elements to create the “bush psych” genre. We caught up with William to talk about his music, his experience and his story. “I wanted to create the sound that you hear in the bush, as well as the turmoil in your mind or the joy in your mind. That intersection between the inside of your mind and outside. I wanted to create that soundscape of place, where I’m from and try to get that across in the music.” A theme often associated with William Crighton’s music is a heavy focus on country and place. “There is a depth of relationship that you can have with this country regardless of your background,” he explains. “I remember sitting around the fire with a fella and he said to me, ‘we all bleed red’. That really stuck with me because we’re human and it’s the human story, we’re all here now. Connecting with this place is something that’s pretty important to me, staying in that mode and trying not to disconnect from the power of this country.”
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On the evolution from his self-titled debut to Water and Dust, William says, “I love the quieter stuff just sitting there with a guitar but I also love a full band sound and nothing quite gets me going like the full band.” For him, writing with a full band is like “the tapestry of sound working together to create an emotion that lets its story travel. “I had more people involved on the latest album but more of a vision for what I wanted. [My wife] Jules was a big part of everything we do.” William states how he doesn’t like to stylise his music. “I like to mix everything up and see what the most interesting sound is that we can make.” Outside of his own music career, William and Jules have been working in the prison system for over five years, teaching music to the inmates. Recently, they’ve begun to collaborate on this project with other artists. “This latest project that Jules and I started, we want to incorporate different artists who can really contribute to the fellas’ journey and help them grow as people.” William describes how “when you’re on the inside you’re expected to get better so you can come out but there’s not a lot of room to grow in there. A lot of people get worse when they go into prison. Through music we’re trying to give people confidence to tell their story and then through that, be self-aware of their story and try to become better people.” They’ve managed to collaborate with many talented artists like Redgum’s John Schumann, with William stating how “they had such respect for him (because they knew his music). His way with them was so matter-of-fact and they got a lot out of him coming in.” They’ve also worked with singer/songwriter Henry Wagons and have UK-based Beans On Toast lined up for a workshop later this year. “Prisons’ not a nice place to be…if you can allow an outlet, like songwriting or recording, it gives you that room to grow where hopefully when you get out you can start to change things.” William states how this prison project has obviously come with its challenges but that “it’s one of the most rewarding things we do,” emphasising the power that music holds in effecting change. “When you see a fella writing his own story or song and he’s reading it back to himself, having this epiphany almost – it’s quite humbling to see…they learn a song (by RedGum or Uncle Archie Roach), they learn history and they’re singing history, and by that way they’re becoming a part of history.” Having recently played Glastonbury, he’s coming back to Victoria to headline Marysville Music Weekend this November. “I’m honoured to be a part of it. We’re bringing the full band down there which is always a fun time. It’s a good festival, a lot of people have told me that it’s got a wonderful energy and that it’s a real music lovers festival so I’m really pumped to reel into it.”
WILLIAM CRIGHTON WHERE:
MARYSVILLE MUSIC WEEKEND
WHEN:
24–26 NOV
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LUCA BRASI Everyone’s favourite Tasmanians, Luca Brasi, celebrate the release of their new album, The World Don’t Owe You Anything. WORDS BY
LUKE CARLINO
Æ
“We discovered a few years ago that we perform much better if we just make fun of each other and have a really good time rather than stressing about it too much. We thought afterwards, ‘we hope that wasn’t too loose,’ but everybody said they had a really good time.” That’s Patrick Marshall, guitarist and one-quarter of Tasmanian rockers Luca Brasi, describing the acoustic performance the band played in Melbourne on the release day of their new record. Whilst the show was, in fact, pretty loose (everyone lost track of the number of impromptu covers played), the boys were celebrating for a good reason. Their sixth album, The World Don’t Owe You Anything, was two years in the making and is now out.
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“Judging from people I’ve spoken to (about the album), they’ve liked it, so that’s a relief,” explains Marshall, who claims TWDOYA is his favourite Luca record. “I think we’ve leaned into every song as an individual track. In the past, we’ve tried to make a cohesive vibe for the whole record, which perhaps lacked a bit of variety? For this one, with a faster song like Habits, we really tried to step that up and turn it into the song it is, and for The World Don’t Owe You Anything, we tried to make it heavy and counteract it with the quieter moments. I think it’s a more interesting listen.” Luca Brasi have a penchant for plucking Melbourne darlings to produce their records. Previously working with Darren Cordeux from Kisschasy on their last few releases, the group pivoted to Ben Stewart of Slowly Slowly for album number six. “We wanted someone who could be heavy-handed with the song structures, and Tyler (Richardson, Luca’s singer) had been working with Ben on his solo record and was really into what he was doing.” Marshall explains that the album’s first single, Party Scene, was sent to Stewart as a trial, “we were really into what he did with it, so from there it was like, yep, just do the whole record.” Stewart’s touch took Luca’s 80% finished demos, drastically changing them in some cases to create the versions that appear on the record today. A good example is the second single and title track, says Marshall. “That was a song that Tom had written, and it was a great song as it was, but the main riff was actually the bridge, and Ben turned it into the chorus you hear today.”
Luca Brasi will join the massive Good Things Festival lineup alongside Fall Out Boy, Limp Bizkit, and Devo later this year. “We constantly still pinch ourselves when we are on some of these lineups, and we get to meet our heroes,” explains Marshall. “If you had told me when I was in Year 10 that I’d be playing a festival with Fall Out Boy and Taking Back Sunday, I would have said, ‘what are you talking about?’ It’s insane to think about.” Marshall catches his disbelieving laugh to mention that the key is not taking it all for granted. “We really try to appreciate it for what it is. We also have to cut out all the fat and nonsense on stage and try to keep the energy up.” Marshall mentions that fans can look forward to an album tour from Luca Brasi early in 2024 as the band continue their consistent and impressively long career. “We’re very conscious that we have been a band for this long, and we’re not going to be a band forever, so you never know which record is going to be your last. So we put everything into everything we do. That’s why we got Benny on to do the record, to make the absolute best record we can.” WHERE:
GOOD THINGS
WHEN:
1 DEC
The World Don’t Owe You Anything is out now.
BEAT 1713
JEM CASSARDALEY Jem Cassar-Daley grew up surrounded by song. WORDS BY
KOSA MONTEITH
Æ It’s part of her family, from the music played on the radio in her home to songs sung around the kitchen table with her brother, mother and father (Troy Cassar-Daley, if you hadn’t guessed). “I have a lot of influences from many different genres,” Jem says. “Dad loves country music, Mum’s into pop, and we listen to 70s every weekend. I’m a huge Carol King fan, and I’ve loved Missy Higgins since I was three years old, she’s such an idol of mine. I have thought about setting my influences into different projects, but at the moment I love exploring and experimenting. I feel like what’s truly me is becoming more and more clear.”
QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL LINEUP Aloe Blacc • Something For Kate Boy & Bear • G. Love & Special Sauce Ian Moss • Foy Vance • Illy Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls Dan Sultan • Liz Stringer The Dreggs • Alice Ivy • Jem Cassar-Daley Katy Steele & More
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Jem released her sensational debut EP I Don’t Know Who to Call in 2022, and her upcoming set at Queenscliff Music Festival is just the latest in a long list of tour dates and festival appearances. The writing of Jem’s soulful, intensely personal songs starts solo, with her own ideas, sparks, lyrics or hooks, but when she goes into the studio it becomes a shared thing, coming to life in jamming sessions where Jem and her collaborators can play off the ideas and influences of everyone in the room, learning the shape of it as they go. I Don’t Know Who to Call was defined by this mix of genres and influences. You can hear her love of Carol King in the soul sound of Changes, the retro country energy of the slide guitar in Like it More, the acoustic pop delicacy of Standing Still, the Missy Higgins storytelling style of By The Sea. She clearly hasn’t put songwriting on the backburner despite her busy touring schedule, and has released an incredible seven singles (including a cover of Gwen Stefani’s The Sweet Escape for triple j) in 2023 so far. “It’s always fun to meet new people and collaborate,” she explains. “I do enjoy writing alone, and I think that was a common thing with Covid. I’ll go into a session with a strong idea but I’m open to the creative process. Keeping it open and really seeing where the day takes us. I like seeing how much we can get done in one day. Depending on who I’m writing with and the vibe we go in with on the day can influence it. Stylistically, I like seeing where it takes us. Indie pop song, country pop, sitting in a mellow jazz groove – wherever.”
JEM CASSAR-DALEY WHERE:
QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL
WHEN:
25–26 NOV
BEAT.COM.AU
ART GUIDE
SURREALIST
Art exhibitions to experience this month
In a special exhibition showcasing the compelling work of photographer Lee Miller, Heide has curated the more important works this ground-breaking woman artist has come to be known for. A surrealist in essence and process, Lee Miller’s authenticity and unconventionality rings true in this comprehensive exhibition of her photographic work. HEIDE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Anne Zahalka’s work Kunstkammer, with all finalists work being on show at the Museum of Australian Photography. MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY
UNTIL 12 NOV
4 NOV
WORDS BY
JACOB MCCORMACK
HANNAH GARTSIDE – THE BODY IS EXPERIENCING PLEASURE
PHOTOGRAPHY: REAL AND IMAGINED Photography: Real and Imagined explores the duality of photography. Both a means of documentation and a source of imaginative storytelling, the NGV collection of major photographic works unearths the overlap and contradiction of these aspects omnipresent in photography. NGV
THROUGHOUT NOV
Extending on from her major installation work included at NGV Australia, Hannah Gartside has returned with a new exhibition entitled The Body is Experiencing Pleasure. Featuring 11 wall-based works, all of which have come to be through collecting and repurposing second-hand sequinned dresses, skirts and tops. Hannah has established a surrealistic narrative that follows a young woman who is transformed into a moth after making herself a cocoon-like cloak. The used nature of the clothes substitute for the absence of bodies, evoking their own sense of narrative. TOLARNO GALLERIES
UNTIL 15 NOV
MELODY WOODNUTT – VELVET GLOVES In an ode to the tactile nature of analogue art-making, Velvet Gloves by Melody Woodnutt is a 16mm film documenting the pleasure that can be enjoyed at Melbournebased Hedon House. Voyeuristic and striking in its suspension of physical intimacy, Velvet Gloves utilises the modality of analogue film for its innate resistance to an ever-growing digital preference, resulting in a hedonistic desire for grain over pixels. MARS GALLERY
GERTRUDE GLASSHOUSE
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UNTIL 11 NOV
Analysing select defining moments through history where the patriarchal systems of accusation and authority have determined a woman’s character, Sharon Monagle’s paintings present the system of oppression that seems rooted in the Australian psyche. Of Dingoes and Witch-Hunts is inspired by Australian women’s pursuit of equality through facing suppression, persecution and the ongoing struggle that speaks to Australia’s history, culture and values. FORTYFIVE DOWNSTAIRS
UNTIL 11 NOV
MIKE PARR – SUNSET CLAWS Mike Parr has out together a three-part exhibition entitled Sunset Claws. The segmented exhibition will showcase video works, performance painting, silkscreen prints and a range of other artworks. Spread across one and a half months, the separation of the sections will allow for audiences and artist alike to see multiple projects cycle along in the transient bubble that life and art exist in. ANNA SCHWARTZ GALLERY
THROUGHOUT NOV
2 NOV
FRANCIS CARMODY – A RELIC REMAINS Francis Carmody illuminates the strong correlation between mundane human events and cosmic revelations throughout history. Provoking an analysis of the prevalence and importance of story within society, and more contemporarily how that has wavered and been lost, Carmody fills the space with narrative focused sculpture. Mythmaking will return to life in the epic scene Francis Carmody has created.
SHARON MONAGLE – OF DINGOES AND WITCH HUNTS
CANDICE BRODERICK – OXIDE WILLIAM AND WINIFRED BOWNESS PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE EXHIBITION One of the most important, annual photographic prizes in Australia, The Bowness Photography prize illuminates the importance of photography within the world of art. Featuring the works of over 50 finalists, a grand prize of $30,000 was awarded to
In her first solo show in Naarm/Melbourne, Tasmanian based artist Candice Broderick will showcase her collection of paintings from the series Oxide. Disregarding the notion of temporality Oxide exists as the meridian between the past, present and future. Inciting reflection, Candice Broderick invites audiences to be liberated and move forward with fluidity. BRUNSWICK STREET GALLERY UNTIL 12 NOV
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MICK HARVEY Mick Harvey isn’t really into entertainment. WORDS BY
KOSA MONTEITH
Æ For all his decades of live performances and international tours, including as a former member of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, he prefers roles out of the spotlight where he can drive the music itself rather than whip up the excitement of a crowd. “I’ve never really been the entertainer,” Mick said. “I leave that up to other people. I like to concentrate on the music. It’s where my strength lies. I have an uneasy relationship with ‘entertainment’, but it can be enjoyable if you stay true to the music you’re playing.” Far from a background role, the drive Mick puts behind the music has made him something of a prolific overachiever even among multi-instrumentalists. His work spans everything from the dark alt-rock of Bad Seeds to film soundtracks, multi-volume collections of Serge Gainsbourg songs, solo originals and an upcoming collaboration of duets with Mexican singer Amanda Acevedo – not to mention his impressive discography as a producer.
Credit: L.J.Spruyt Photography
“I usually play difficult, slower material, in smaller theatres…”
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“I tend to avoid playing to large crowds and those situations,” Mick said. “I usually play difficult, slower material, in smaller theatres or venues that accommodate that kind of music, where people can concentrate. Even when I’ve played festivals, I get invited to play boutique-type festivals, either with a fairly large entourage, or solo with a guitar. With a lot of festivals, the event becomes more important than the artists at the event, which is at odds with trying to make your music significant and meaningful to them. When I play a festival, I get up there and present my music and let people enjoy it.” “A lot of my songs are complex and rambling, so it can be difficult to get that concept across to a festival audience. Even in the Bad Seeds, sometimes the festival shows would work, other times there was too much subtlety in the songs. But there’s enough material across my different albums.” As a multi-instrumentalist, Mick has always been adaptable to the needs of an ensemble or live performance. “Historically that’s been kind of strange,” Mick said. “With the Bad Seeds, I kind of moved around. I started as a drummer, then we found a drummer, so I moved to guitar for one tour, then we needed a bass player, so I moved to bass. I was very often playing the part of the jigsaw we were missing. I’ve usually felt more comfortable in the rhythm section, with keyboard or guitar. It’s quite funny, I was playing bass in Bad Seeds for quite a few years, and people were saying “you’re wasted playing the bass”, and I didn’t agree at all. It’s about being in the team and working. Now when I’m actually singing the song, I’m usually playing rhythm guitar or keyboard. So, I can make that musical contribution.” Unsurprisingly for a musician with such a varied skillset and flexible approach to the demands of music, Mick’s output is varied, even eclectic. But it wasn’t necessarily by intent or design. “All the variety just happened kind of organically,” Mick said. “I’m not searching for a big variety, it’s what came around. Working with different people creates that variation, too. You get to do different things. I got involved in film soundtracks back in the late 80s, and Gainsbourg is a different zone again. Aside from the Gainsbourg work, most of what I do has a common feel or atmosphere around it. I feel like I’m working on the same thing.”
Translation, or interpretation, are the terms Mick uses for his four albums of Gainsbourg songs’ – emphatically not covers. “First of all, the Gainsbourg songs are translations from French, and you can’t call a translation a cover,” Mick said. “What I do is change the song. I’ll change words, chords, structure and arrangement. In Europe, there’s a way of referring to this kind of musician as an ‘interpreter’. For me, interpretations are just as important on an album as original songs. I’m not really a writer, so it’s kind of important for me to find something valuable in that interpretive work.” Mick’s recent album Phantasmagoria in Blue comprises original songs, duets in collaboration with Mexico-based singer Acevedo. “It just started by exchanging ideas,” Mick told us earlier this year, of how they first began working together. “I was in contact with Amanda, she was a friend and a fan, and she wanted to do a song together. She did the demo with a friend and sent it over, and then I really enjoyed working on this song with her. By the end of the year I had three songs and we continued working together and we wrote 19 or 20 songs. There wasn’t a master plan, it just happened naturally and evolved by itself.” “She does sing in Spanish on a few songs,” Mick adds. “And in one of them I do a running translation like at the United Nations – it’s a fun, silly idea. She came out from Mexico late last year and we did shows together, presenting mostly our unreleased duets. I hope she’ll come out here after the September dates. She really wants to, and it just sounds so nice when we sing together.”
MICK HARVEY WHERE:
HOWLER
WHEN:
16 NOV
BEAT.COM.AU
FESTIVAL GUIDE
QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL Aloe Blacc, Something For Kate and Boy & Bear lead the lineup for the festival’s return to the Bellarine.
Festivals to attend this month
QUEENSCLIFF
23–26 NOV
WORDS BY JACOB MCCORMACK
STRAWBERRY FIELDS DJ Seinfeld, Moodymann, Todd Terje, Roza Terenzi b2b D Tiffany, Pretty Girl, and STÜM are just a few of the renowned artists who will be joining Glaswegian sensation Denis Sulta on the Murray River this November. TOCUMWAL
17–19 NOV
MELBOURNE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL Melbourne Queer Film Festival is Australia’s oldest and largest queer film festival. Acting as one of the most significant platforms for Queer Cinema globally, the festival plays an integral role in establishing a forum for celebration, advocacy and visibility for queer communities. With over 140 feature films, shorts, and documentaries set to take to a range of screens throughout the city, queerness in cinema from around the world will absolutely be on show. MULTIPLE VENUES
9–19 NOV
ALWAYS LIVE From Christina Aguilera to Cosmic Psychos and everything in between at this major live music program. Expect all you’ve come to know about the essence of live music in Victoria and beyond.
MELBOURNE FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL: VILLAGE FEAST Are you in search of decadence wrapped up in a getaway from the city? Melbourne Food and Wine Festival have you covered with their Village Feast. It’s 2023 iteration will be taking over the eastern Victorian town of Inverloch for the day on November 18. THE GLADE INVERLOCH
18 NOV
VICTORIA
24 NOV–10 DEC
MARYSVILLE MUSIC WEEKEND Kate Ceberano, William Crighton, Frank Sultana, Cass Eager and many more come to the picturesque mountain town of Marysville. MARYSVILLE
24–26 NOV
FRIDAYZ LIVE In its sixth run, Fridayz Live returns to Rod Laver Arena on November 10 with two handfuls of the most famous names in old school and contemporary R&B and hip hop. In 2023 the festival will feature Jason Derulo, Flo Rida, Kelly Rowland, Fatman Scoop and more. Get dancing. ROD LAVER ARENA
10 NOV
LULIEPALOOZA
GOOD THINGS This year will see Limp Bizkit, Fall Out Boy, Devo Spiderbait and Pennywise take the stage alongside an abundance of other international and domestic talent.
AFRICAN MUSIC AND CULTURAL FESTIVAL Music, food, fashion, film, dance, art, and culture, all of which are being showcased at Federation Square. Punters can expect spoken word performances, an outdoor cinema and innumerable stalls selling food and wares.
FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE
Taking over a massive chunk of Lulie Street and Victoria Park Oval in Abbotsford, LuliePalooza will deliver big block party vibes and a music line-up that rock dreams are made of. LULIE STREET
FEDERATION SQUARE
ST KILDA MARINA
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11 NOV
17–19 NOV
1 DEC
SUMMER CAMP FESTIVAL Summer Camp is returning to Naarm with Jessie Ware, DJ Trixie Mattel, Brooke Candy, Rebecca Black and many more. 2 DEC
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Credit: Ray Rolla
WISER It’s impossible to properly describe the ethereal yet down-to-earth essence that is Stephanie, aka WISER. WORDS BY
SAM HOWARD
Æ While the tattoos and piercings that accompany her darker sound may make WISER initially intimidating, Stephanie is actually a softie at heart, whose motto is to spread kindness and “be good – if not, don’t get caught.” She’s her own unique breed of human, using her magical powers to create endless projects and musical endeavours, while producing some of the most delicate, energetic and tear-jerking tunes being released in the world, not just Down Under. She’s played festivals and parties up and down the East Coast, with releases on some of the industry’s finest labels, including Ugenious, Mavic Music, Oxytech Records, Higher Recordings, Bubblejam and Revolver Upstairs Records, with many more in the pipeline. She’s inspired by the raw energy and emotion of harder music genres, while infusing her trademark warmth. Her intricately and meticulously curated style has seen her billed alongside Pleasurekraft, Kolsch, Patrice Baumel, Township Rebellion, Spektre, Pig&Dan, Rebuke and many more. “We need hard music for hard times,” she told Beat a little while back. “I think having an intention when I set a party makes a difference to how people react in that space. It’s important to have a space where you can dance however you like…it’s amazing to walk out and then hear about how much people needed it. I’ve had a few people come who were over the age of 50 and they were dancing so hard – I don’t know how they found out about the party but the accessibility of this party shows how special it can be.”
Outside of the music world, WISER studied community services, has ran or helped launch multiple tattoo studios, and has helped run sessions as part of Yarra Youth Services’ DJ Skills program – an empowering program for female and gender non-conforming artists to learn skills and how to market themselves. She has a remarkable aesthetic, as shown in her first music video through Growing Pains, a beautiful, lighter production, featuring (rather unsurprisingly) her love for clowns. “It’s a strange one,” she explains. “I’m not into like, horror clowns or anything. I’m more interested in the history behind the circus. I collect taxidermy and other oddities or curiosities. So circus sideshows and things like that have always been interesting to me.” In her early festival days, WISER would make and pack a daily costume, one of them being a little tutu around her neck. “I just felt more myself – I ended up only bringing clown outfits, I’d have speed dealers and fishnet gloves and a different colour theme each day. Then I ended up wearing the neck ruff to a gig and I felt great. I’m trying my hardest not to collect clown memorabilia. “It’s funny because I’m naturally a big softie and I just want to do everything with kindness. But on the outside, I look quite hectic, particularly with my head tattoos. And clowns for me are just a funny way of changing people’s perceptions of what it is to be a human, or what is considered silly or fun. I don’t really act any different when I’m dressed like a clown.” Her preparation for sets is just as creative – she always tries to give people goosebumps and has been told many times that her sets have made people cry. “There’s so much planned variety in my sets – people might be like, ‘I’m bored, I need to go to the bathroom.’ I’ve put that track in on purpose because people need to get a drink or go to the toilet and come back. And then I might drop six bangers in a row. Sometimes two tracks mixed together might give me goosebumps – or I’ll tease eight seconds of Eminem at Revs when people wouldn’t expect it.”
WISER even has a history of creating unique scents for each party – it might be velvet, orange and cinnamon for example. Something warm and citrusy is provided with the intention for people to get flashbacks of that moment in time. “It gives people an out of body dance experience. You know, six weeks later, you’re in a bakery or something, and you smell and it transports you back to that moment or that place. So each party I create a different smell and spritz it around. I’ve had people say, ‘this smells like your party’ and that’s great.” While she acknowledges that there are incredible multi-sensory experiences and art installations around the city creating those special feelings, she reminds us that her parties, when it comes down to it, are first and foremost a rave.
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Credit: Max Watts
“I’d have speed dealers and fishnet gloves and a different colour theme each day.”
WISER WHERE:
NEW GUERNICA, DAHA BAR
WHEN:
25, 28 NOV
BEAT.COM.AU
STAGE GUIDE Shows to go and see this month WORDS BY
JACOB MCCORMACK
DOGFIGHT
ABBA and their musical legacy will never get old, and Mamma Mia: The Musical honours that. Featuring countless hits from their discography the production is a true epitome of that. The musical is a celebration of love, laughter and friendship, Mamma Mia: The Musical is a spectacle suitable for all ages.
Based on the 1991 film, Dogfight invites the audience to follow the journey of a romantic and heartbreaking narrative. Based on true events that unfolded in 1963, amidst the war in Vietnam, the play follows the story of Eddie Birdlace and how a night of planned debauchery transformed into a lesson in compassion and love. It’s a rollercoaster, but it’s worth seeing.
PRINCESS THEATRE
CHAPEL OFF CHAPEL
MAMMA MIA: THE MUSICAL
THROUGHOUT NOV
9–26 NOV
MISS SAIGON The new production by Cameron Mackintosh is an adaptation of Alain Boublil and ClaudeMichel Schonberg’s award-winning musical Miss Saigon. Having captivated audiences in New York City’s Broadway and in London’s West End this romantic tragedy is coming to Melbourne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre throughout November. It’s been heralded as epic and complex, and it is sure to thrill. HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE
THROUGHOUT NOV
A CHRISTMAS CAROL A Christmas Carol is a seasonal classic and this iteration has been directed by renowned English director and dramaturg Matthew Warchus (Matilda the Musical). It’ll be showing at the Comedy Theatre from November 12, and much like the novel it is based upon and previous adaptations the bildungsroman narrative will leave you hopeful and joyous leading into the holiday period. COMEDY THEATRE
WHOSE GONNA LOVE ‘EM? I AM THAT I AM Kamarra Bell-Wykes’ Whose Gonna Love ‘Em? I am that i AM won the 2021 Patrick White Playwriting Award and now it is coming to the Malthouse Theatre in November. The play stars First Nations actors Maggie Church-Kopp, Corey Saylor-Brunskill, and Maurial Spearim, and follows the unfolding of an absurd group therapy session held somewhere in the deepest cells of the collective mind and the colonised heart. It will be accompanied by a live improvised musical score composed Smallsound. THE MALTHOUSE THEATRE
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Celebrating its 40th Anniversary at the Arts Centre Melbourne La Cage Aux Folles’ story has no bounds. Journey to the South of France with the cast as they bring the tale of commitment and family to the Playhouse stage. Expect copious amounts of singing, dancing and laughing. THE PLAYHOUSE
9–19 NOV
22 NOV
FROM 12 NOV
ELVIS: A MUSICAL REVOLUTION
LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL
FLINDERS QUARTET WITH DONG MA
Elvis revolutionised music and performance. From gyrating hips to his famous bass-baritone crooning vocals and all that came with his legacy it’s hard to deny the impact he had on music and culture. Elvis: A Musical Revolution celebrates his extraordinary life spanning from his childhood through to his ultimate demise. Featuring over 40 of the legend’s hits this show will get you rocking in your seat.
Flinders Quartet have come to be one of the most distinguishable chamber music ensembles in Australia. As they emerge into their third decade of performance their skillset, maturity and drive continue to showcase 21st Century Australia string music. With special guest Dong Ma on the Erhu this performance will marry multiple cultures and music styles in effortless beauty.
Zahra Newman stars as the musical legend Billie Holiday in an exceptional performance of musical theatre mastery. Featuring many of Holiday’s most renowned and venerated songs the production weaves its way through a personal presentation of the revered jazz artists life. Equal parts intimate and captivating, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill is one of the remarkable plays touring this spring.
ATHENAEUM THEATRE
ALEXANDER THEATRE
FAIRFAX STUDIO
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THROUGHOUT NOV
10 NOV
THROUGHOUT NOV
BEAT 1713
HIGH FIDELITY
IN FOCUS
TECHNICS SL-1200GR2 AND SL-1210GR2 TURNTABLES WORDS BY
JASON FULLER
Æ The Technics SL1200 turntable is a bonafide icon in the phono space, having been held in the highest esteem by vinyl enthusiasts since its inception in the early 70s, while also playing a crucial role in the rise of hip hop, techno, and various other music genres. For decades it has been the undisputed industry standard turntable used in clubs and radio stations around the world, due in no small part to many features that ushered in a whole new language as it pertained to vinyl manipulation. Things like the pitch control slider, stroboscopic platter speed indicator and a high torque direct drive motor which allowed the platter to reach its full speed almost instantly, all proved crucial for the kinds of cueing and scratching that have come to define the modern DJ workflow. Additionally, when the platter was manipulated by scratching, it could return to its original speed very quickly. Without this feature the evolution of hip hop may have been quite different. Since its 2014 re-launch, Technics have continued to produce their iconic SL1200 line, albeit while simultaneously casting their sights further afield, taking the longstanding goodwill and reputation for bomb-proof build quality in the DJ market and translating it into the ever growing world of audiophile Hi-Fi, concentrating their efforts on increasingly high-grade audiophile turntables with the aptly titled and regarded GR Grand Class. Technics has now revealed the fourth iteration of this classic by introducing the SL-1200GR2 and SL-1210GR2, the latest versions that build on the classic design, looks and feel of the original SL1200 we all know and love, with the enhanced sound quality and feature set demanded by modern vinyl enthusiasts. Compared to a lot of the new crop of turntables using a simple “belt drive hanging off the motor” design, the SL-1200GR2 and SL-1210GR models are not such a simple offering, opting instead to innovate in a saturated market that often relies on some very vintage technologies. The new SL-1200GR2 and 1210GR2 models make use of a low-noise, low-voltage variation power circuit through the combination of a switching power supply – using the expertise developed from Technics Grand Class amps and players – and a proprietary noise cancelling circuit giving the listener an exceptional signalto-noise ratio. The new Delta-Sigma-Drive combines the highly reliable Technics coreless direct-drive motor with a new motor drive system. High-precision Motor Control uses Sine waves stored in the ROM keeping the control waveforms at constant speed, and this achieves smoother and more stable rotation compared with using the simple sine wave generation with an external coil as in the conventional SL-1200MK5. All the materials from which a turntable are constructed can impact the resonance characteristics, and sometimes heavier materials are chosen for their beneficial acoustic properties, in the case of these new models a rock-solid two-layered bottom chassis made of aluminium and BMC (Bulk Moulding Compound) has been employed and this combination goes some way to insure resistance against vibrations. A two-layered turntable platter consisting of a top layer of diecast aluminium and a bottom layer incorporating deadened rubber covering its entire rear surface to eliminate unwanted resonance.
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The idea of a heavier platter is known to provide more rotational inertia, this is another way manufacturers ensure a turntable has a more consistent rotational speed. This and having the whole system dampened by heavy-weight rubber, and extremely effective insulator feet makes this “sit and spin” the way a really well designed turntable should. Everything about these new models has been carefully considered, right down to the point of keeping the packaging free of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS). Instead, the packing materials are made of smart-shaped cardboard and, according to their marketing, Technics is currently working to expand this new packaging to other line-ups and to integrate more recyclable content in the future. That can only be a good thing. These new models really seem to take into consideration the needs of the DJ and the more demanding audiophile. While the original SL-1200 models were often associated with DJing, the new series is designed to cater to both DJs and audiophiles. The construction and features make these models more than suitable for a high-fidelity listening environment. These continual upgrades to a classic design are welcome and are what keep the SL1200 series relevant in an increasingly competitive turntable market. In all honesty Technics could have simply re-released the 70s version with a new colour scheme to great acclaim and been done with it, as some other manufacturers have been doing recently, but simply reading over the specifications and upgrades documentation assures the buyer that they are indeed investing in something special. These high-end upgrades to motor stability, power supply, and construction while keeping the aesthetics of classic SL1200 design makes a really tasty argument for a turntable upgrade.
Technics is distributed by Panasonic Australia, for more information, don’t hesitate to drop them a line. This article was made in partnership with Panasonic Australia.
BEAT.COM.AU
HIGH FIDELITY
REVIEWS
MARSHALL MOTIF II A.N.C. EARBUDS For the music or content inclined one of the most important daily companions has got to be a quality pair of wireless A.N.C. earbuds. Given the rate at which we consume content in the current zeitgeist, it’s something of a necessity. WORDS BY
ANDY LLOYD-RUSSELL
Æ With this in mind, it’s been truly remarkable to see the kind of massive strides being taken in this corner of the market-with manufacturers making continual advancements to the sound, comfort and the design nous of their in-ear offerings. Suffice to say, the accessibility (let alone affordability) of high output, high quality wireless earbuds is kind of crazy and is only bounding forward with each subsequent release- a fact that makes Marshall headphones such an intriguing prospect from the get-go. For those even remotely familiar, the name Marshall should instantly evoke wall to wall, tolex covered guitar amp stacks, that iconic script logo and a bold gold face plate. The revered British guitar amp manufacturer pioneered guitar amplifier design back in the 1960’s, and inevitably became responsible for some of the most legendary rock guitar tones of all time. Guitar deities from Jimi Hendrix to Eric Clapton, Slash to Jimmy Page, Angus Young to Noel Gallagher, have all sported walls of Marshall amps at some point in their respective careers and for good reason. More recently Marshall have ventured into the realm of headphones, wireless speakers and earbuds, producing some cutting edge products each embedded with the signature Marshall sound and aesthetic. The latest offering from Marshall headphones are the new Motif II A.N.C. earbuds. Bringing some significant improvements from its predecessor, and for the same price is a refreshing statement that Marshall haven’t simply slapped on the same badge, tweaked the exterior and afforded themselves a price hike. These are well and truly a cut above their predecessor and many other headphones at this price point, for that matter. From a performance perspective the Motif IIs have an impressive battery life of 30 hours with the case (A.N.C. enabled) affording the earbuds 6 hours of playtime on their own. This is increased to 43 hours total and 9 hours playtime for the earbuds when A.N.C. is disabled. Quick charging also adds the convenience of a 15 minute burst of charging producing 1 hour of playtime, which is awesome for commuters or anybody who struggles to remember to charge their devices (that’s me). The Motif II’s run on Bluetooth 5.3 LE, providing superior audio quality, stronger connectivity, improved video sync and longer playing time and connection over the 10 metres range is solid as a rock. The active noise cancelling (A.N.C.) provides an impressive amount of cancellation and is easily enabled/disabled via touch sensitive control. This feature has seen improvements from the original model with an increase in wind noise performance which will no doubt be
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welcomed by users when taking the Motif II outside or when making phone calls via the inbuilt microphone. The transparency mode is also clear and defined and conveniently selectable via touch sensitive controls. I’ve personally become a big fan of this feature in earbuds whilst using them in an interactive environment, alleviating the need to constantly remove earbuds. Both the case and earbuds are water resistant, with a IPX rating of 4 and 5 respectively - fantastic for extensive outdoor use. The overall performance of the Motif II headphones is indeed impressive. Their 6mm drivers boast a frequency response of 20Hz - 20kHz, in turn providing a detailed and crisp sound in the top end with plenty of clarity and extension in the lows. The driver sensitivity of 108dB with a 16-Ohm impedance allows for the Motif IIs to be driven pretty hard if required, whilst retaining nice and precise performance when listening at lower volumes. The customisable sound is a particularly nice feature to have, allowing users to sculpt the response of the Motif IIs to their personal taste, with plenty of control available via the Marshall Bluetooth app. The expected codecs such as SBC, MPEG-2, AAC and LC3 are all supported, so users can enjoy all matter of streaming platforms without any issues. Being made of 70% post consumer recycled plastics, Marshall have shown a substantial commitment to a more sustainable product, which is a breath of fresh air. This sustainable initiative doesn’t come at the expense of build quality though, with the Motif IIs oozing the same quality construction one would expect from a brand who made their name manufacturing some of the largest touring amplifier rigs ever built. A new release that is sure to draw plenty of fresh interest from those intrigued to see what the legendary amplifier brand can do in the in-ear headphone market, Marshall’s new Motif II’s are another impressive drop from a company that is fast becoming as well known for its consumer audio products as its guitar amps.
For more information on Marshall Headphones, contact Aqipa Australia This article was made in partnership with Aqipa Australia.
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ALBUM REVIEWS
WORDS BY
BRYGET CHRISFIELD
ANGIE MCMAHON
Light, Dark, Light Again TROYE SIVAN
Something To Give Each Other Æ “I feel the rush/ Addicted to your touch” – anyone else visualise a macho, ripped cheerleading squad performing Rush’s choruses? Just us? O-kay, then… Given that Rush – and its accompanying film clip, featuring glory holes and orgiastic chorey that even manages to incorporate the swigging of bevvies to the beat! – is this scribe’s second-fave song of the year (maybe even decade), behind Kylie’s Padam Padam, just imagine my extreme delight upon discovering Troye Sivan’s entire third album is *chef’s kiss*!? The fact that it clocks in at just over 30 minutes is our only criticism – talk about coitus interruptus! He came out on YouTube ten years ago, aged 18, and no one courts parasocial intimacy quite like this unapologetic global superstar and queer icon. After Troye did an Insta callout to source multilingual voice notes of people saying, “Last night was fucking crazy”, the chosen snippets were scattered throughout What’s The Time Where You Are? (he then had to slide into their respective DMs to obtain proper permission). This jetsetting, luv’d-up highlight also contains the record’s most brazenly suggestive lyrics: “I’m right on top of this groove/ But, God, I wish it was you.” Troye has said that the sultry, slowly gyrating One Of Your Girls was written about experiences he’s had “with guys who had not previously been with guys, and were showing [him] interest”. “Everybody loves you, baby/ You should trademark your face,” he sings – over vocalisations that evoke a choir of angels – before adopting his self-described “sad robot voice” for the choruses. From its title, you could be forgiven for thinking Still Got It – which is built from funereal keys, no drums – is a braggy song, but just add “...bad” and it becomes something else entirely. “You touch me in the back seat of the party bus on Tenth Street/ Kinda confused me…” – obsessive ex disorder sure is a drag, huh? Samples are used, back to back, to great effect as well: Can’t Go Back, Baby’s titular chorus parts – lifted directly from Jessica Pratt’s Back, Baby – issue repeated reminders, like Troye’s niggling inner-voice insisting it’s time to move on, and the stylophone hook from Bag Raiders’ Shooting Stars elevates subsequent track Got Me Started. There’s propulsive club bangers, slow bops and moments for reflecting on past dalliances, and Something To Give Each Other also reminds listeners that surrendering to desire, no matter how fleeting, can be super-fun. We sure hope Troye’s time spent cutting sick in Smith Street’s gay clubs between lockdowns inspired the playful, horny pop songs on here. Fun fact: During an interview, Troye admitted he took a hit of poppers during the Rush cover shoot to authentically recreate that specific flushed look – how’s that for dedication?
LABEL: RELEASE:
36
EMI OUT NOW
Æ Angie McMahon’s voice – rich in tone with just the right amount of vibrato – veers from vulnerable to boss-like in a heartbeat and her delivery feels unrestrained, like a wild bird. The sound of a flowing river opens Saturn Returning, this record’s opening lead single, with its dramatic piano parts fluttering like a super-anxious heartbeat. Fireball Whiskey kicks off with lively birdsong: “This morning/ I didn’t want to get out of the shower/ But hot water runs out/ And you have to carry on, don’t you?” During the Springsteen-esque Letting Go, McMahon repeatedly sings, “It’s okay, it’s okay/ Make mistakes, make mistakes,” as if bookmarking this pick-me-up for future reference. Then a totally unselfconscious cathartic release recurs in Exploding, with McMahon belting, “I hope that I’m always exploding!” ad infinitum like she’s spinning ‘round in circles on a mountaintop. I Am Already Enough’s title alone works as a mantra and reminders to breathe/exhale abound throughout McMahon’s second set (see: Serotonin’s “ha-ha” percussion). With its piano chords evoking John Hiatt’s Have A Little Faith In Me, closer Making It Through arrives at an epiphany: “Just making it through is okay.” Light, Dark, Light Again – this album’s title alone suggests McMahon’s been through the wringer, yet she embodies self-assuredness throughout. Here we find an artist who has reevaluated life’s priorities to discover that music-making and Mother Nature are equally important to her overall wellbeing.
LABEL: RELEASE:
AWAL OUT NOW
BEAT.COM.AU
DIESEL
RYAN DOWNEY
THE WRECKERY
Bootleg Melancholy Songs For Dreamers Fake Is Forever Æ “I’m not like anybody else,” Diesel sings on his 16th album and true dat! Diesel (aka Mark Lizotte) is not only an undisputed guitar virtuoso, but also boasts distinctive, enviable pipes: his smoked-honey timbre lingers, dripping with bluesy soul. Aside from saxophonist Bernie Bremond (previously of Johnny Diesel & The Injectors) parping brilliantly on two album tracks and Lee Moloney – Lizotte’s drummer of choice for two decades – pummeling the skins like a boss throughout, Diesel plays absolutely everything else on this multifaceted masterpiece. “A space/ A time/ An arc/ A line…” – the pre -chorus in Forever, Bootleg Melancholy’s opening lead single, is giving Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap vibes. With its fuzzed-out guitars, standout track Backpedal – which personifies anxiety (“Late at night you stand there, darkening my door/ Just like a shitty rom-com flick from 1994”) – channels legendary ‘90s bands such as Dinosaur Jr., Pixies and The Breeders. Elsewhere: Like A Dove, a Prince homage, reflects on the trappings of fame; the title track, a hat tip to Elliott Smith, references a mural Diesel’s regularly clocked during time spent in Silver Lake (“... with Elliott there up on the wall”); it’s impossible not to pull a stank face during the Corduroy And Crumbs guitar breakdown; and Starts With One features his very first beatboxing attempt (sounds like an actual kick drum, though!). As for this scribe’s personal fave, Never Giving Up – it’s so goddamn sweet I could just about weep! Can. Not. Stop. Listening.
Æ This sublime five-song collection taps into “that secret world of the heart”, according to Ryan Downey, who looks as debonair as a young Bryan Ferry and possesses a voice to match; even when singing f-bombs he sounds dreamy AF and that velvety, beseeching timbre could convince us to do (almost) anything. Opening lead single Tonight, with its gently strummed waltz rhythm and elongated strings, explores love as the many-splendoured thing it is: “I got lost in your arms tonight/ Thinking crazy thoughts/ About crazier nothings…” Downey’s a self-confessed “hopeless romantic”, which comes as no surprise: check out this declaration of love during the closing When In Love: “All roads lead to love… Ain’t no satellite, just somethin’ glows in the dark/ When I can make it out, it looks just like you.” The softly strummed “adult lullaby” Big Zero, which Downey has hilariously described as “a meditation app that doesn’t want your data”, puts listeners in the best kind of trance. Thanks to this song’s cooed, repeated mantras (“How you gonna climb out if you don’t remember climbing in?... How you gonna slow down if you don’t remember speeding up?”), we’re elevated to stratospheres approaching hypnosis. Solace for overactive minds, Songs For Dreamers is an airborne listening experience and Downey plus the Budapest Art Orchestra’s string section are a match made in heaven. We thoroughly recommend full immersion in this relaxing sonic brain bath; it’ll soothe all that ails you.
Æ Having stalked this band back in the ‘80s when I was an underage teenage rager – at venues such as The Club in Collingwood and St Kilda’s legendary Crystal Ballroom – news that The Wreckery had reunited (for the first time in 35 years!) to record in Melbourne’s Soundpark studios was music to my ears. Some described them as The Birthday Party-adjacent back then, but The Wreckery – who imploded after just four years – were sneering musical outliers and their live shows felt spontaneous and dangerous. They also earned the nickname ‘The Smackery’, so the fact that our first taste of Fake Is Forever is titled Smack Me Down feels like a knowing wink. “Deep in my spleen, I knew what they were seein’…” – one of the most magnetic and criminally underrated performers this country has ever produced, Hugo Race’s effortless baritone cuts through the unhinged – oft discordant – sonic chaos while Charles Todd’s distinctive baritone sax adds urgency. There’s mentions of braving blizzards, fleeing accident scenes, setting cars alight, “Vatican exorcists” and “kids… off their heads on chemicals and smiley meds”. Ghoulish, atmospheric drone haunts Evil Eye and Garbage Juice – with its freakshow riffs; sing-songy, taunting vocal melodies; wailing sax; and foreboding chimes – needs syncing to a horror movie. “But we’ll all be dead soon anyway, says I…” – Race really does have a spectacular turn of phrase. We’re ever so glad The Wreckery spent four days “in a dimly lit studio” spewing forth intriguing, inventive, sinister, fiercely original songs in between bouts of “complaining and reminiscing”.
LABEL:
LABEL:
LABEL:
RELEASE:
37
BLOODLINES OUT NOW
RELEASE:
INDEPENDENT 3 NOV
RELEASE:
GOLDEN ROBOT RECORDS 3 NOV
BEAT 1713
VENUE GUIDE
WORDS BY
KAYA MARTIN & JACK O’SHEA AYRES
BARTON FINK
BENDIGO HOTEL
LIVE MUSIC: is intimate and inclusive at Barton Fink. It’s an ideal space for singer-songwriters and emerging indie bands who are looking to find their footing. FAMOUS FOR: the impressive cocktails. While the menu may leave a lot up to the imagination, with simple descriptors like “herbs” (how mysterious), the end result will not disappoint. INFAMOUS FOR: the quirky text-based posters plastered on almost every surface, reminiscent of some of the jokes your uncle might post on Facebook. See: “My wife ran off with my best mate. I really miss him.” Hate when that happens. Æ A quick synopsis of the Coen Brothers’ Barton Fink for those who haven’t seen it: an aloof screenwriter moves to Los Angeles to work on the movies. He struggles with writer’s block. He gets laid. There’s a murder. It’s a good flick so I’m not going to spoil the rest. Honestly, you should probably put down the magazine and go watch it. The Thornbury Bar pays tribute to its namesake movie just about everywhere you look. Hanging above the bar, there’s a blue neon sign reading “We all have the Barton Fink feeling”. The 1940s furnishings nod to the time period of the movie and there’s even a typewriter for when moments of brilliance strike. With moody lighting, an Americana-themed food menu and warm, inviting staff, the bar exudes a vibe of cosy nostalgia making it all too easy to waste away the hours. One of the highlights of Barton Fink is its versatility. With a beer garden out back, lots of indoor hang-out spots and a smoker’s patio in the front, it can accommodate almost any need. While any bar can be a good time when you’re out with friends, we’re always on the hunt for a place to sink a few whiskeys while working on your latest manuscript. Barton Fink more than fits the bill, catering to a creative crowd and offering lots of seats up at the bar with plenty of room for your Moleskine. Who knows? You might even bump elbows with your next muse.
WHERE: OPEN:
38
816 HIGH ST, THORNBURY WED–THU 4PM–LATE FRI & SAT 3PM–1AM
LIVE MUSIC: takes place in not one but three beautiful bandrooms at the Bendigo Hotel. How spoiled are they? FAMOUS FOR: the over a century old, castlesque building. It literally has turrets – seriously mediaeval vibes. It’ll have you feeling like a little bard downing pints of ale. INFAMOUS FOR: being a longstanding hot spot for the goths, the emos, the punks, the metalheads and the like. It’s a great place to mix and mingle with like minded music enjoyers. Æ Let’s make one thing clear. You’re not going to get a parma at the Bendi. You’ll maybe get a packet of chips if you’re lucky. Its focus is purely on the music, and, of course, the vibes. And the drinks, which are essential to keeping the vibes right. It’s a delicate balance. Located in the core of Collingwood, the sprawling, heritage-listed venue features three intimate chill-out areas, a front bar with a not-too-shappy pool table, a private function room and a bustling covered beer garden decked out with TVs for screening all the big games. The Bendi kind of feels like your cool older mate from highschool’s first share house – it’s the type of place where rules are off the table and anything can happen. It’s all too easy to spend the whole day milling around, sinking ice cold pints and chatting up the friendly regulars and bar staff. Even though the venue caters to a more alternative crowd, the team is so lovely and welcoming that just about anyone could have a good time there. Whether you’re on the stage or in the crowd, the Bendi bandrooms are an absolute highlight. Deliciously loud, packed in tight and just the right level of stickiness, they’re a top choice for local legends and touring bands alike. There’s usually someone playing, so if you’re keen to discover some new heavy music, it’s worth swinging by and taking a peek. Also, word on the street is it’s now doing a free sausage sizzle with stand up comedy on Sunday arvos. Better than Bunnings if you ask me.
WHERE: OPEN:
125 JOHNSTON ST, COLLINGWOOD WED–SAT 5PM–3AM SUN 5PM–1AM
BEAT.COM.AU
BIRD’S BASEMENT LIVE MUSIC: Melbourne’s jazz scene lives and thrives at Bird’s Basement. Local, national, and international acts alike perform for adoring fans brought in by some of the coolest cats in the business. FAMOUS FOR: The Bird’s list of extravagant and elegant cocktails. The menu is filled with 11 expertly crafted cocktails paying homage to legendary musicians and their unforgettable tunes. The Basement’s team of skilled mixologists create a symphony of over 100 unique cocktails every night to ensure every guest can find their perfect melody in a glass. INFAMOUS FOR: it’s music-inspired dessert menu. Seriously, what other jazz club has its own Chef Pâtissière? If you’ve got any kind of sweet tooth it’ll be hard to limit yourself to just one. Æ Nestled in the heart of the city’s thriving cultural scene, Bird’s Basement is a testament to Melbourne’s enduring love affair with live music. With an inviting ambiance, world-class talent, and a menu that caters to both the soul and the palate, this venue has become a mecca for jazz enthusiasts and music connoisseurs alike. Launched in 2016 by music entrepreneur and artistic director Albare Dadon, the venue was created as a counterpart to New York’s iconic Birdland. When you come to Bird’s Basement, you just know you’re going to be looked after with first-rate service and performances. Aside from all that jazz, Bird’s Basement has also delivered some of the most adored bebop, swing and blues shows the city has ever seen. Head down the stairs and you’ll be embraced by the gentle glow of the neon lights, making you feel right at home. Upon entering the nest, you’re greeted by smooth licks of music and the scent of fresh drinks being mixed behind a classic-styled bar, where new faces and basement veterans mingle. And don’t forget about dinner – luckily, the menu is chock-full of classics like steak, pasta and calamari, so you definitely won’t go hungry. With killer cocktails and the most outstanding acoustics this side of the state, Bird’s Basement is a must-visit for any Melbourne music fan.
WHERE: OPEN:
39
11 SINGERS LANE, MELBOURNE WED–SAT 6PM–12AM
STAY GOLD LIVE MUSIC: is Stay Gold’s bread and butter. Mostly, it’s the heavy stuff – punk, metal, hardcore and alternative – but they’re also known to rock with a DJ from time to time. FAMOUS FOR: the superior music venue munch. Post up on the patio, catch your breath and grab a slice from Ollie’s pizza to power up between sets. INFAMOUS FOR: the nice, but no nonsense security guards. Act like a bozo and you’ll be treated like one. Sorry, not sorry! Æ From live bands to tribute nights, Stay Gold has everything you could need in a music venue. A killer soundsystem, plastic cups (AKA no glass shards lodged into your feet at the end of the night) and a big-but-not-too-big crowd area where you can mosh to your heart’s content. That being said, when you’re seeing bands that skew towards the more aggressive end of the spectrum, things tend to get a bit rowdy. By that, I mean there’s a chance you might (accidentally) get kicked in the head. We’ve all been there. Thankfully, the extremely friendly Stay Gold are dedicated to making sure everyone feels safe and has a good time. This means checking out for people in the pit, making sure any creeps and weirdos get kicked to the curb, and yes, even putting you on waters if you’re looking a little stumbly. That bartender has definitely single-handedly prevented many a mind-splitting hangover, and for that, we’ll always be grateful. Another thing Stay Gold can brag about is its commitment to being fully accessible. No matter what level of ability you’re rocking, if you give the team a shout, they’ll make sure you’re comfortable. Also, do you really think we’d forget to mention those crunchychewy pizza pies from Ollie’s? No ma’am. I honestly can’t think of a better gig food. If you pull up on a Tuesday night, they even have a bottomless option: $49 to eat as much pizza as your hedonistic body can handle, plus unlimited beer and wine. As a wise man once said, “Club going up on a Tuesday.”
WHERE: OPEN:
133 SYDNEY RD, BRUNSWICK TUE–THU 5–11PM FRI–SAT 5PM–3AM
BEAT 1713
GIG GUIDE
C.W. STONEKING & HIS PRIMITIVE HORN ORCHESTRA Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $64.87.
NOVEMBER 2023
THU 2 NOV CRUCIBLE. ZERO CITY, ECHOIC, INDENTED HEADS Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $10. CHARLIE & THE ENABLERS. OCEANS, KITE VENDOR Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $15. VORSEN. THE GORDONS, BAILTER SPACE The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7.30pm. $16.35. DYNASTY + MONROE Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 8pm. DRAGON Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $45. ONE DAY KINGS. DANGER DEN, TUDOR CLUB The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 7pm. $13. JESSICA LUXX. BENNETT & CO. The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8pm. $15. ROCKABILLY VS COUNTRY
FT: The Rock’A’dees, Ricki Wood, The Pourshots
Old Bar. Fitzroy. 7pm. $10. ANCIENT ANIMAL ORCHESTRA Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. DALLAS FRASCA. GEORGIA RODGERS Gem Bar. Collingwood. 7.30pm. Free.
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WILD GLORIOSA. IMMY OWUSU Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $15. JAZZ NIGHT Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm. EAMONN CONOR. IZZY, BETH DUKE The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $11.75. PSI PHI Bar 303. Northcote. 8.30pm. $20. THE BOMB Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. B.Y.O VINYL THURSDAY’S Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 7pm. DAVID KNIGHT Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 6pm. RUNNIN’ HOT WITH THE 6V6S Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 10pm. Free. BLOW The Horn. Collingwood. 7.30pm. DEEP FRIED COMEDY The Beast. Brunswick East. 8pm. Free.
FRI 3 NOV ROCK & PUNK ANARCHY FT: Sledgehammer Honey, 7 Pound Halo, Spill Kit, Human Crayon
Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $15. THE VANNS. SHAG ROCK Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $59.90. SILURIAN. THRESHOLD, POST HEAVEN, RESENTER The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $22.95. GLORYHAMMER. RUMAHOY, LIVEWIRE Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 8pm. $72.45. THE RADIATORS Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $30 - 35. REDFEST
FT: Spawn, Zombeaches, Shannon Bourne, Matt Black, Dave Larkin, Two Headed Dog, Watty Thompson, more
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 7pm. $22.59. GREAT GABLE. DANGER DEN, TUDOR CLUB The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $33.40. MI-SEX Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $35–50. EMILY DAYE. ALCOMA, CAMMI KOL The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $16.85.
CAITLIN HARNETT & THE PONY BOYS. BONES & JONES Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $35.30. JUNGLE JIM SMITH Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. HONKY TONK TOWN #5 Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free. MICHAEL MEEKING The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm. Free. MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA. AUSECUMA BEATS Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $66.30. CALCIO SUNDAY. THE VALIANTS, THE KIDS NEXT DOOR The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8pm. BINGO & DISCO Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free. SEAMUS MCCORRY & THE TELEVISED MIND. THE EXILES The Beast. Brunswick East. 9pm. Free.
SAT 4 NOV SMITH & COHEN. BENNETT & CO. The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8pm. $25. JENNY DON’T & THE SPURS. SIN CITY, JESS PARKER Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $25. LOWER PLENTY. SWEET WHIRL Gem Bar. Collingwood. 4pm. Free. AARON POLLOCK Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. GRANT HAUA. OSCAR LADELL Pistol Pete’s Food n Blues. Geelong. 9pm. $20. MIRUSIA: LIVE IN CONCERT Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $40–55. SNOWY BAND. QUALITY USED CARS, MOUSEATOUILLE, GAVIN! Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free. PORPOISE SPIT. THE EMPTY THREATS, ZIG ZAG, DJ SHORTY The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $22.85. RAMONA SKY’S ‘SAVE SYN’ FUNDRAISER SHOW. FT: Pretty Moi, Munchy Dolphin, Barefoot Spacemen
The Tote Hotel. Collingwood. 8pm. $22.45. BARE BONES. DEADWEIGHT 80, AS A RIVAL The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7pm. $16.35. C.O.F.F.I.N. SPUNK, RUB Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $38.86.
BEAT.COM.AU
BABY ANIMALS. THE HOLLYWOOD WALTZ Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $49. TWIN SERPENTS. GOUTS, GARDENIA Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $15 - 20. DRIFT. GARAGE SALE, GUSH Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $17.48. MELLOWTONIC. VERMANTICS, TUDOR CLUB, HARRIET WRAITH The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $18.10. BONEZ ALTERNATIVE QUEER PARTY
My Safe Word Is Murder, Witch Spit, Kai Cult, more FT:
The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8pm. $20. SEX ON TOAST. BAILEY JUDD Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $15 - 20. PINKO COLLECTIVE Bar 303. Northcote. 3pm. Free. THE WINFIELD ROAD EXPERIMENT Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. SIONNACH RUA’S GREAT IRISH SONGBOOK Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $25. TAYLOR SWIFT: 1989 PARTY Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 8pm. $29.90. THE ENCHANTED GARDEN PARTY 2023: 5TH BIRTHDAY
RILEY PEARCE Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 8pm. $33.70.
B.Y.O VINYL THURSDAY’S Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 7pm.
SUPERSTAR DJ’S: DJ BISCOTTI Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 9pm.
RUNNIN’ HOT WITH THE 6V6S Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 10pm. Free.
WESLEY FULLER. SKERZO The Beast. Brunswick East. 9pm. Free.
BLOW The Horn. Collingwood. 7.30pm.
The Tote Hotel. Collingwood. 7pm. $33.70.
ROB BURKE & SIMON STARR’S JAZZ GATHERING Classic Southside. Elsternwick. 8pm.
THE LAST MARTYR. THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE, EVERGREENER The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95.
BENDY RAINBOW
DJ Alicia, Jack Popper, The D Word FT:
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 11pm. $10–15.
THU 9 NOV DOM BRINKLEY. KOTLAS BEGEMOT, KELSEY & THE BAD HEALTH Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $15. JAZZ NIGHT Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm. TOQUI Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. XANI + LIFE IS BETTER BLONDE. YOU ARE THE EAGLE The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95. MAJAK DOOR. NONNAS KITCHEN, THE MIRRORS Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $28.15. DOWN & OUT + TWO TIMES SHY. TUDOR CLUB The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 7pm. $13.
FT:
ALEX RAINERI Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 6pm. $25.
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 2pm. $111.27.
DALLAS FRASCA. BEN SMITH Gem Bar. Collingwood. 7.30pm. Free.
Patrice Baumel, Nick Warren, Amonita, Kasey Taylor
41
DEEP FRIED COMEDY The Beast. Brunswick East. 8pm. Free.
FRI 10 NOV FT623. EZRA ALEXIS, RAY PELKA, RAAZ38, SETHO, JYSON STANLEY, ZACH BYRNE Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8.30pm. $15. ARAMINTA: THE ANGEL RISES. YARA, AVA The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $20. JAH PRAYZAH & BABA HARARE Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 8pm. $118.35. CHILLINIT. BABYFACE MAL, MORE Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $55.90. ROB SNARSKI. ‘EVIL’ GRAHAM LEE The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8pm. $34.70. CHARLIE DEBRINCAT Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 7pm. Free. DEVIN TOWNSEND Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm.
CHARGING STALLION: FINAL SHOW EVER.
Smooch, Fuzzsucker & The Canberra Raiders, The Vovos, Billiam & The Split Bills, You Legends FT:
JEBEDIAH Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $54.60. THE EXPLOITED. THE CLINCH, THREAT Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $69.90. LONESOME DOVE + EMOTION PICTURE Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. Free. PRIMAL. PRETTY BLEAK, KAI CULT, MABEL PINK The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $23.20. MARLA BROWN: DENNIS BROWN TRIBUTE Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $48.96. THE GOLDEN AGE OF CUMBIA WITH LA DESCARGA Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $38.86. KELLOCK LEFEVRE QUINTET The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm. Free. RUDI SOUND #3 Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. Free. BERNARD ALEXANDER TRIO Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
THE BOITE: QUEEN OF HEARTS Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $37. BASEMENT SPACEMAN. KATANKIN Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. MANE. TUSHAR, JACQUI LUMSDEN The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8pm. BINGO & DISCO Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
SAT 11 NOV VIRGIN MARY DISCO. WORKER & PARASITE, LICKLASH Cactus Room. Thornbury. 8pm. $15. FUR BLOSSOM. SAPHRA MORE, PET THERAPY The Tote Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $11.25. LOUDFEST Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 6pm. $52.05. ELLA HOOPER. VAN WALKER Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $35. FANGZ. SORDID ORDEAL, THE REFUGE Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $17.48. CHAZÉVO. NEBULAM, ABSENTIA The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 1pm. $11.89. MOANING LISA. NAT VAZER, ROMANIE The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $25. MOTOR CITY SOUNDS: SOUL MUSIC REVUE Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $20 - 40.
BEAT 1713
WENDY RULE Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $25 - 30. ANDREW DARLING + SZARA FOX Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. THE CARLOS FARRELL JAZZ & BLUES ENSEMBLE Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 8pm. Free. FIELD DAY
Georgia Fields, Kerryn Fields, Hannah Acfield FT:
Shotkickers. Thornbury. 2pm. $20. DAVID M WESTERN. TAMARA & THE DREAMS Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $18.40. LOWER PLENTY. WOOLLEN KITS Gem Bar. Collingwood. 4pm. Free. GEORGIA STATE LINE: A VERY SPECIAL SHOW WITH LUCY G RASH Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $25 - 30. ROB SNARSKI. SHANE O’MARA The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8pm. $34.70. DJ LUKE Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 9pm. SUPERSTAR DJ’S Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 9pm. LULIEPALOOZA 2023
The Murlocs, C.O.F.F.I.N, Full Flower Moon Band, ENOLA, Split System, Sunfruits, Leroy Macqueen, Emilee South, Ruby & Loretta, Heavy Amber, Hogwash, The Riff Raff (A Tribute To AC/DC) FT:
Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 12pm. $30 - 120.
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BOB SEDERGREEN & FRIENDS WITH MAL SEDERGREEN & PAUL COYLE Classic Southside. Elsternwick. 8pm. $25 - 30.
MOSTLY MOZART: LEGACY Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 11am. $49.
OUR CARLSON: A BIT2MUCH RECORD LAUNCH Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $24.
B.Y.O VINYL THURSDAY’S Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 7pm.
JAMES HARVEY The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm. Free.
COERCE + BYPOLA. LUCIEN BLACK Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $20.
MORE STYLES, ABLE8, CALCULON, CAMPBELL, KASSIE + MORE Section 8. CBD. 6pm
RUNNIN’ HOT WITH THE 6V6S Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 10pm. Free.
THE JACKSON COMBO BLUES QUARTET The Moldy Fig. Brunswick East. 6.30pm.
BEYONCÉ RENAISSANCE PARTY - MELBOURNE Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 9pm. $20.95.
JON COLLINS Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 7pm. Free.
ISHAN. UMBRA MOON, KAIYAH MERCEDES The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95.
THU 16 NOV THE HIDDEN CHARMS. PARADISE VALLEY, TRIXIE LAH DAIS Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $15.
BLOW The Horn. Collingwood. 7.30pm. ROB BURKE & SIMON STARR’S JAZZ GATHERING Classic Southside. Elsternwick. 8pm. DEEP FRIED COMEDY The Beast. Brunswick East. 8pm. Free.
THE 2023 REAL SONGWRITERS OF MELBOURNE AWARDS The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 7pm. $28.05.
100 PHAT
DALLAS FRASCA. ANNA SCIONTI Gem Bar. Collingwood. 7.30pm. Free.
FRI 17 NOV
HER. TITRATION Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $17.48. PARENTS BATTLE OF THE BANDS: NORTHSIDE V SOUTHSIDE
AB/CD, Double Denim, Westgarth Idol, The Last Port, The Ripoffs FT:
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $35.30. JAZZ NIGHT Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm. BRUNSWICK BRASS & BEATS WITH JEMMA CHER Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $23.05. JAMATAR The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 7pm. $18.10.
FT: Forth & Back, Mrs Wallace, Naoto, Naru + more
Section 8. CBD. 6pm
VELVET TRIP. THE MIFFS, PRIVATE MOUNTAIN Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $20. PRESS CLUB. MAC THE KNIFE, PLACEMENT Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $35. SUNK LOTO Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $77.55. THE DELTA RIGGS Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 8pm. $45.10. ASHLEY NAYLOR Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $38.86. THE BRONX: 20TH ANNIVERSARY. CIVIC, ‘68 Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $84.90.
OUR CARLSON. TAMARA & THE DREAMS Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $24.
SAT 18 NOV
OPA! BATO Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $25 - 30.
HORRORSHOW: “KING AMONGST MANY” 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR. GRIEVES, MARI Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $56.80.
THE SNIPPERS Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
JOSH PYKE Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $60 - 70.
BINGO & DISCO Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
LOWER PLENTY. CLS Gem Bar. Collingwood. 4pm. Free.
INFRAGHOSTS Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7.30pm. $15 - 25.
DEATH BY CARROT The Beast. Brunswick East. 10pm. Free. THE LAST SOCIAL DISCO FT:
Bec Bartlett, more
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 11pm. $15. THE OPERATIVES: NAM, JPS + GUESTS Section 8. CBD. 6pm
THE CORONAS. ROISON O, JONNY REID Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7pm. $78.54. SAFIA Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $64.80. EGGY. PARSNIP, ZELKOVA The Curtin. Carlton. 8.30pm. $25.40. CATHOLIC GUILT. TRAUMA TIES, MORE The Tote Hotel. Collingwood. 7pm. $11.25. APES OF THE STATE + PIGEON PIT. THE PEANUT BUTTER CRACK BABIES, EAGLEMONT Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $34.70.
BEAT.COM.AU
ABLAZE. WICKED THINGS, THEY MIGHT BE DEAD FROGS Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $17.48. XYLOURIS WHITE Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $43.96. THE CLUNK ORCHESTRA Bar 303. Northcote. 3.30pm. LUCA BRADING Trio Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. DJ LUKE Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 9pm. SUPERSTAR DJ’S Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 9pm. LA MAUVAISE RÉPUTATION Classic Southside. Elsternwick. 8pm. $30.
THU 23 NOV RHATH. DAMN FINE CHAI, SHYNIN ARMOUR Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $15. JAZZ NIGHT Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm. ALICE NIGHT & CLARE DEA Bar 303. Northcote. 7pm. $25 - 70. BROCK ALEXANDER TRIO Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. TKAY MAIDZA Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 8pm. $69.90. CAUTION:THIEVES The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $18.90. MAYHEMTOM + EDDY ST Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 8pm. SOMETHING FOR KATE Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm.
43
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. LAURA JEAN TRIO PLAYS AMATEURS Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $29.10. REKINDLED SYSTEMS Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 6pm. $40. DALLAS FRASCA. MR BLACK & BLUES Gem Bar. Collingwood. 7.30pm. Free.
TAYLOR MADE: A CELEBRATION OF TAYLOR SWIFT
Alex the Astronaut, Charley, Clare Bowditch, Em Rusciano, Emily Wurramara, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lisa Mitchell, Sophia J. Smith FT:
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. NIGHT OF POWER 4: POWER BALLADS ALL NIGHT FT:
DJ Thin Lindsay
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
B.Y.O VINYL THURSDAY’S Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 7pm.
GUT HEALTH. JAZZ, IT THING The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $25.40.
RUNNIN’ HOT WITH THE 6V6S Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 10pm. Free.
GRYTT. THE DALLAS TERRORS, BOXTHORN The Tote Hotel. Collingwood. 7pm. $17.35.
BLOW The Horn. Collingwood. 7.30pm. ROB BURKE & SIMON STARR’S JAZZ GATHERING Classic Southside. Elsternwick. 8pm. DEEP FRIED COMEDY The Beast. Brunswick East. 8pm. Free.
FRI 24 NOV WAYSIDE. COLOURBLIND, BLUE VEDDER, ASHA RYDER WEST Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $22.59. THE NU WAVE
FT: Somber Hills, Kai Cult, Velenosa, Veshawn
Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 7pm. $15. ON REPEAT: ABBA Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 9pm. $10.75.
THE VALIANTS. MAIZIE, KOIROI, GREVILLEA The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $16.85. TREEBEARD. SOLKYRI, HUBRIS., MYRIAD DRONE Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 7.30pm. $29.10. THESE NEW SOUTH WHALES. DRUNK MUMS, SPUNK Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $40.40. MID CITY The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $20. AVALANCHE. THE STRIPP The Beast. Brunswick East. 9pm. Free. HUSKY Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $43.96. WOLF ARROW RAIN The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
DARREN D.C. CROSS Archies Creek Hotel. Archies Creek. 7.30pm. Free. THE BUSHWACKERS Mantra Studio. Yarraville. 8pm. $40. MICAWBER CELEBRATES 100 YEARS Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 6pm. Free. CLAIRE PATTI TRIO WITH TONY GOULD Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $37.
CHERRYFEST 2023
FT: Neptune Power Federation, ISUA, Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows, The Miffs, The Mercy Kills, Arabella & The Heist, Persecution Blues, more
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 2pm. $33.80 - 55.50. INTERPLANETARY CRIMINAL. CLUB ANGEL, C00KIE & ISGWAN, CRYBABY Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 9.30pm.
BINGO & DISCO Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
STEPPERS Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $15.85.
SAT 25 NOV
RETRATOS Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
EPIC + DJ RELLIK. CIECMATE, VILIANI, POETSONE, OUTPOST31, DOLPHIN JONES, UKNOW, DJ BAERK Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $25.
NOMADS LIKE US Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $36.
FOLKLORE, EVERMORE & MORE: THE OEUVRE OF TAYLOR SWIFT. NEVENA The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 1pm. $20.15.
LOWER PLENTY. VIPP Gem Bar. Collingwood. 4pm. Free.
FRANKIE & THE WITCH FINGERS The Curtin. Carlton. 8.30pm. $49.90.
MAST GULLY FELLERS Micawber Tavern. Belgrave. 8.30pm. Free.
MY SAFE WORD IS MURDER. VICIOUS BLONDE, HOT MACHINE, OUTTA SPITE The Tote Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $14.30.
DJ LUKE Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 9pm.
EVAN CARYDAKIS: THE CHERRY POPS TOUR Classic Southside. Elsternwick. 8pm. $30.
DARREN D.C. CROSS Rocksteady Records. Melbourne. 3pm. Free.
SUPERSTAR DJ’S Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 9pm.
LOOSE END. VERMONT, AGAPANTHER The Bergy Seltzer. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95. CRUMBE The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm.
BEAT 1713