Brag#656

ISSUE NO. 656 MARCH 30, 2016

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

MUSIC, FILM, THEATRE + MORE

THE FOUR WISE MEN COMETH Plus

JEF F L A NG W HI T E DENIM JA ME S MU T E M AT H

RO S S NOBL E

E L L IP H A N T

UR T HBOY

THE W EEPING W IL L O W S

A new album that proves their vital signs remain strong.

The most tangential man in comedy is back in Sydney this year.

It's the first time in years she's slowed down, but not for long.

The expansive concepts that informed his collaborative new record.

A ND MUCH MOR E

THE SOMEDAYS

QUITE LIKE PETE EKKO

AVA I L A B L E F RO M GOO D I N D I E S TO R E S & J B H I F I AU S T R A L I A W I D E

WED APRIL 6 TRANSIT BAR

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SYDNEY

ALL SHOWS WITH OFF WITH THEIR HEADS (USA) & HIGHTIME T I C K E T S F RO M T H E B E N N I E S. C O M . AU P O I S O N C I T Y R E C O R D S. C O M

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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Joseph Earp, Tom Parker and Zanda Wilson

songwriters’ secrets WITH

DONNA AMINI The First Song I Wrote I was seven years old when I wrote my 1. first song. I wrote words and a melody with my best friend at the time. It went like this: “Friends forever, make it never, that we’ll fight again / Sorrow truly, if I lose you / Then we’ll meet again / We don’t wanna lose each other forever / We don’t wanna lose each other now / All we wanna do is stay together / All we wanna do is stick around”. We thought it was genius at the time!

2.

The Last Song I Released My first solo album, Night Underground, will be launched at The Red Rattler on Friday April 1. I’ve been working on this record for the past three years, producing it myself and recording most of the parts at my studio at home. I’ve been crafting the songs over a long period of time, with ideas being considered and reconsidered. This album has been a long time coming, and I’m very proud of it.

Secrets I would never tell you my secrets, but I 3. Songwriting

Ariel Pink

will say that writing is simply drawing on the things that you’ve heard. To me, if there is a secret, it’s in listening to many things. As for my songwriting process, the initial idea either starts as an intense feeling that floods out as a song, or is fossicked out of meandering solo jam sessions.

The Song That Makes Me Proud To be honest, I’m pretty proud of all the 4. songs on the record. I only want to put out what I think is good. Like many of the artists I love, I’m all about no filler, all killer!

The Song That Changed My Life ‘I’m Not In Love’ by 10cc rocked my 5. world when I heard it as a child on the radio.

The melody, words and harmonies hit me in the heart. Beautiful song.

What: Night Underground out Friday April 1 independently Where: The Red Rattler When: Friday April 1

The Hard-Ons xx

MANAGING EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 DEPUTY EDITOR: Joseph Earp ONLINE EDITOR: Tyson Wray SUB-EDITOR: Sam Caldwell STAFF WRITERS: Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Gloria Brancatisano, James Di Fabrizio, Joseph Earp, Keiren Jolly, Zanda Wilson ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant COVER PHOTO: Ian Laidlaw PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, D.A. Carter ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com Tony Pecotic - (02) 9212 4322 tony@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Furst Media MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr - patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 / 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE COORDINATOR: Sarah Bryant - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock); clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Elias Kwiet, Joseph Earp, Zanda Wilson, Keiren Jolly REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Prudence Clark, Tom Clift, James Di Fabrizio, Christie Eliezer, Emily Gibb, Tegan Jones, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Tegan Reeves, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, Lucy Watson, Rod Whitfield, Harry Windsor, Tyson Wray, Stephanie Yip, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to.

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THE PINK HOUSE

Hey. You. Are you sick of only hearing from politicians who are either dyedin-the-wool insane or paid for by big corporations? Yeah. Us too. But don’t despair – outsider musician turned political machine Ariel Pink has just announced his decision to run for office.

He hasn’t specified which office yet, or any of his political platforms – but rest assured, the man would be a much better candidate than at least half of those currently being offered to the American population. “Our revelation is a revolution,” Pink’s Facebook page reads. We couldn’t agree more.

FOXY NEW FESTIVAL

Housefox Studios has announced the lineup for its new day-long festival, Housefox Fest.

The inaugural Housefox Fest will feature 15 Aussie bands playing throughout the day and into the evening at Narrabeen RSL. Presented by Northern Beaches recording studio Housefox Studios, the lineup features punk legends The Hard-Ons as the headlining act.

Also on the bill are local punk rockers R*U*S*T, metal group Black Rheno, Gutter Tactic, C.O.F.F.I.N, Keystone, Red Gazelle and a host of others. Tickets are on sale now, so get to them lickety split.

BOATS THAT ROCK

If being trapped on a boat with Boney M sounds like your version of fun, then this one’s for you. Lovers of ‘80s kitsch rejoice: next year’s Cruise N Groove lineup has been designed with you very much in mind. One of the world’s premiere cruise/music festival events, the voyage combines great tunes and the wide, wide open ocean. The headliners for this year’s instalment include the likes of Boney M, Marcia Hines, Cutting Crew and Nik Kershaw. Feel your nostalgia senses tingling? Then air out those nylon leggings and get yourself on tickets, stat. The Cruise N Groove voyage kicks off on Monday October 23 2017 and runs through till Tuesday October 31 2017.

GET GOOCHY

As if Violent Soho’s epic Waco launch tour couldn’t get any more well, epic, bizarro rockers The Gooch Palms have joined the bill. The troublemaking pair round out what has shaped up to be a massive lineup, one that also includes the likes of Dune Rats and DZ Deathrays. The evening is less a single stop on an album tour now, and more akin to a fully fledged celebration of Aussie talent – the kind of mini-festival than any self-respecting rock fan would be a fool to miss. The show hits the Enmore Theatre on Thursday May 26 and Friday May 27, though the Friday show has sold out.

The Beards

BYE TO THE BEARDS

After over a decade spent playing some sweet tunes and showing off some even sweeter facial hair, The Beards have decided to call it quits. No need to despair though – the band are taking the show on the road one more time. If you feel like sending off the bearded blokes in style, hit up their website (thebeards.com.au) for a full list of tour dates, and prepare to grow out your own chops in tribute. The Beards play Studio 6 on Wednesday April 6, the Peachtree Hotel on Saturday April 9 and The Metro on Saturday July 2.

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live & local

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Zanda Wilson and Joseph Earp

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

songwriters’ secrets WITH

DANIEL CHAMPAGNE

The First Song I Wrote It’s hard to remember. I used to 1. mess around with silly songs as a kid in our family band but the first serious one… I think it was a love song written to impress a girl in high school and never worked. So maybe my brain has just blocked that out.

The Last Song I Released It’s called ‘Heart Shaped Tattoo’ and 2. was written for a friend of mine living in LA. I was thinking about how as children, we get told to chase the stars et cetera, but in a city like Los Angeles there’s so many different types of stars and it’s easy to get caught chasing the wrong ones.

Songwriting Secrets ‘Heart Shaped Tattoo’ is also quite 3. different for me as it kind of slides in and out of time and fl ows from word to word rather than any guitar idea that I would usually base something on.

The Song That Makes Me Most Proud 4.

‘The Nightingale’ is one that’s been used at a few weddings and gets requested from

the crowd most nights. It’s a lot of fun to play and was probably the first thing I wrote that combined some cool percussive guitar work with a catchy groove and melody that seems to connect with people. Another song that comes to mind would be ‘I Grew Up Where I Could See The Stars’, which is a love note to the far South Coast of New South Wales, where I come from.

The Song That Changed My Life I’ve always chased artists who 5. combine great musicianship with beautiful songs and ‘London’ by Jeff Lang has always done this and more for me. I grew up thinking that I had to choose between being a guitar player or a songwriter, but watching Jeff do both so well when I first saw him play Narooma Blues Festival when I was 15 really changed my thinking there.

His slide guitar playing is out of this world on this track and the song is absolutely beautiful: one that could resonate with anybody I think.

What: The Heartland Hurricanes: A Live In Studio Recording out now through MGM

DISCOVER YOUR TALENT

Discovered is returning to the Hilton’s Marble Bar again in 2016, following the huge success of the competition over the past few years. Musicians and bands can enter the talent contest to get discovered and win a two-month residency at Marble Bar. Performers are encouraged to upload their demos to Marble Bar’s Facebook page. From there, the general public will go on to vote for their favourite act. The top fi ve musicians will perform at Marble Bar on Wednesday May 4 with the winner being decided on by the public’s vote in conjunction with the opinion of the judges. The best act will win a two month residency at Marble Bar, valued at $10,000, meaning the competition doesn't only provide the opportunity for some real exposure, but a fi nancial initiative too.

ASKING ALEXANDRIA

Metalcore devotees, this one’s for you.

Britain’s premier metalcore outfit, the rabble rousers and renegades collectively known as Asking Alexandria, are heading to Sydney for a single over 18 show. They’ll be ostensibly promoting their new album, The Black, which dropped last week, but you can be sure they’ll be blistering through their overstuffed back catalogue too.

Asking Alexandria play UNSW Roundhouse on Friday April 15 with support from Blessthefall and Buried In Verona, and we’ve got one double pass to give away – if you’re old enough, that is.

Head over to thebrag.com/freeshit to be in the running.

PRETTY SKETCHY

The Sound Sketches Acoustic Tour will feature three lead singers from distinctive Australian bands in an intimate, acoustic setting. Brigitte Handley of Sydney band Dark Sketches will join forces with fellow Sydneysider Sam Wickham from Newest July and Daniel Gavin from Melbourne group Broke Stone Eye. Together the three are set to bring their Sound Sketches Acoustic Tour to a slew of venues across the country including an intimate show at The Record Crate in Glebe. The show promises to be an evening of acoustic music and spoken word, all presented in a unique environment from three musicians thrown out of their own comfort zone. See it go down at The Record Crate on Sunday April 24.

Bin Juice

MUSIC AS ART

LIVING DANGEROUSLY

What is in a name? Quite a lot, apparently, given that it is practically against the law to ignore a band with a moniker like Rick Dangerous And The Silkie Bantams. The relentlessly lovable rag-tag group have just announced the date for their upcoming Sydney show, for which they will be supported by three equally great but less perfectly-monikered rising grunge talents: Red Gazelle, Daggerz and Kill Dirty Youth.

Rick Dangerous And The Silkie Bantams hit Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice on Sunday April 3.

Asking Alexandria

STILL RATTLING CAGES

Nothin’ like getting some Bin Juice up in ya...The Red Rattler, one of Sydney’s few remaining live music venues, is set to host a massive evening of local talent this May. The killer lineup will feature the likes of trash-punk darlings Bin Juice, Hunch and Matrick Jones. Nights like these don’t come along that often in the post-lockout law world in which we now live, so make sure you relish this one. Better still, it will cost you a mere $10, so you would be a veritable fool not to head along. Bin Juice et al hit The Red Rattler on Friday May 20.

Turns out some pretty special things happen at the crossroads between music and art. Art Of Music, a unique exhibition that will see ten leading Aussie artists composing works inspired by music from our fair land, is all set to return in 2016. Better still, the organisers of the event have unveiled their full lineup, with some of the big names involved this year to include Tim Maguire, Joan Ross, and Stan Dryden. And to top it all off? All of the proceeds go to charity, with the event designed in part to fund the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy program. What more could any art fan want? Art Of Music runs for one night on Saturday June 18 at the Art Gallery Of NSW. Save the date.

Melody Pool

Opera In The Pub

A DIP IN THE POOL

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EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY

You know what they say: it ain’t over till the fat lady sings...Though opera and a nice cold glass of VB might not seem like the most natural bedfellows in the world, the Dog Hotel in Randwick aims to combine the baroque pleasures of that classic musical art form with booze and bar snacks. For one afternoon only, punters will be able to enjoy fully costumed performers belting out classic opera arias, all in the confines of the ever charming Dog Hotel.

So, if you like your highbrow pleasures to take place in lowbrow venues, then rejoice: the Dog has your back. Opera In The Pub hits the Dog Hotel in Randwick on Sunday April 3.

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Xxxx photo by xxxx

Emerging alt-country songwriter Melody Pool has just announced the release of her second album, as well as the date for a Sydney show. Deep Dark Savage Heart will, as the name probably implies, take listeners to a deeper and darker place, all in order to unearth Melody Pool’s underlying perceptions on life. The announcement coincides with the release of the emotionally tender single ‘Love, She Loves Me’, a track that explores the ups and downs of the heart’s inner working. To support the new album, she will take to the Paddington Uniting Church stage on Friday May 20.

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

OLD SYDNEY BUILDINGS TO BE TURNED INTO MUSIC VENUES? A proposal by the City of Sydney, the Live Music Office, and the University of Sydney could see old buildings in the city turned into live music venues. Its New Ideas For Old Buildings discussion paper points out how venues are disappearing at rapid rates and need to be safeguarded.

It outlines six actions to support live music: 1.

Researching economic and other factors on changing these buildings and the impact it would have on live music; 2. Getting as many government, council and music groups to work together regularly to thrash out issues; 3. Promoting the participation of people with a disability as artists and audience members by working with access groups for guidelines for small to medium creative spaces; 4. Developing and implementing regulations within current laws to adapt old buildings for short and long term; 5. Providing detailed information resources that will help identify suitable buildings, risk management, enhancing access and ancillary-use provisions; and 6. Lobbying NSW and Federal governments for clearer ways to get the process done. “We need to develop smarter regulations that maintain high safety standards, but also provide clear and cost-effective ways to adapt older buildings to the needs of a contemporary creative city� said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. “The creative sector is vital to Sydney's future. NSW is home to 40 per cent of Australia's creative industries workforce, which contributes more than $1.4 billion to the state economy – and the bulk of this is in the City of Sydney area.�

SYDNEY TO HOST EUROVISION ASIA Sydney will be the first city to host the inaugural Eurovision Asia Song Competition next year. SBS, which has been screening it for 30 years and was allowed to enter Guy Sebastian in 2015 and Dami Im this year, was asked by organiser European Broadcasting Union to set it up through the Asia Pacific. Talks have begun with sponsors and broadcasters to suss out if the idea has wings. After 2017, the competition would be held in the other 20 Asian cities expected to be part of the enterprise. Eurovision is beamed to 200 million European viewers each year; the estimate is that the Asia-Pacific link would grow it to one billion.

CROWDDJ LETS YOU DECIDE CLUB MUSIC Want to decide the music at your local venue, or recreate last night's clubbing at home? A new Australian app, crowdDJ, lets you. It's been developed by Nightlife Music, which

Lifelines Injured: Carcass singer Jeff Walker broke two bones in his foot before a show in Seattle, but finished off two shows on their tour with Slayer and Testament.

In Court: Kesha has appealed a US judge’s finding that she must continue to record with Dr. Luke despite her claims he sexually abused her.

Sued: Ritchie Blackmore by Italian label Frontiers Records over the 2015 album All Our Yesterdays by his band Blackmore’s Night. Frontiers, which distributed the album worldwide, says it paid him an advance of $220,000 but had poor sales because the guitar hero refused to do any promotion for it.

Died: US outlaw country troubadour Steve Young, 73, best known for ‘Seven Bridges Road’.

His songs were covered by The Eagles and Waylon Jennings.

Died: Ted Mellencamp, 62, tour manager and brother to John Mellencamp. The trained electrician visited Australia numerous times with John.

Died: Phife Dawg (aka Malik Isaac Taylor) of the seminal A Tribe Called Quest, 45, after a battle with diabetes.

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THINGS WE HEAR • Which regional promoter was asked by the manager of a big band to return to their motel to get his cut of the night’s show? He arrived to find the band had checked out of the motel and returned to the city. • Are Guns N’ Roses doing a secret club show in LA this week? • Spotify now has 30 million subscribers, making it the largest streaming service. • BBC Worldwide has acquired music documentary Stories from Avicii but no screen date for Australia has been firmed. • Following Lorde’s tribute to David Bowie at the BRIT awards in London (which his filmmaker son Duncan Jones called “beautifulâ€?), his long-time pianist Mike Garson revealed that Bowie regarded Lorde as “the

future of music and they had a few wonderful moments togetherâ€?. • A contestant on Spain’s Got Talent started out with a flawless opera piece ‌ and then ripped off her dress to reveal torn jeans to do AC/ DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’. • Sydney band With Confidence are added to the bill of America’s Vans Warped tour in June, before which they head to the UK to play the Slam Dunk festival. • Jeff Martin of Canada’s Tea Party, now a Byron Bay resident, will pay royalties and a credit for his song ‘1916’ from The Ground Cries Out after US musician Stephen Bennett posted that it included a sample of his work ‘Perestroika’. Martin said it was an oversight and takes full responsibility to righting the wrong. • While many musicians are distancing themselves from Donald Trump it seems The

supplies curated playlists for almost 3,000 clubs, gyms and bars across Australia, and the local operations of Spotify. Fans use the free app on their mobile device or an in-venue kiosk as their remote control to choose a song or connect their Spotify to request their tunes from the venues' licensed library of tracks.

It allows customers to become its DJ by requesting their songs to play in-venue, in real time. They can save the playlist to their Spotify account to relive the experience at home.

At this point only 250 venues are set up for crowdDJ but 1,000 will come on within weeks.

CHAOS AT ULTRA FESTIVAL A 21-year-old college student died of heart failure, a public transport supervisor is accused of raping a drunk woman, and 67 were arrested on various charges at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. The festival finished with a reunion by Australia's Pendulum (first gig for four years) and Deadmau5.

US MUSIC INDUSTRY GENERATES $7B The US music industry generated US$7.016 billion through the calendar year of 2015 – an increase of 0.09% from the previous year's $6.951 billion. Streaming is now an important part of its revenue, for the first time accounting for 34.3%, compared to downloads (34%), CDs and vinyl (28.8%), and licensing tracks to movies, TV and ads (2.9%). Through 2015, there were 317.2 billion streams by Americans, compared to 164.5 billion the year before.

Overall digital revenue, including downloads and streams, increased 6.2% to $4.8 billion.

Ad-supported streaming revenue increased 30.6% to $385.1 million. Vinyl generated $423 million, with sales up 31.8% to 16.9 million albums and 500,000 singles.

SELECT MUSIC SIGNS ALEX LAHEY

Rolling Stones have hated him since 1989. A show in Atlantic City, was sponsored

by Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. The Stones weren’t happy and stipulated in their contract Trump was not to come anywhere near them. Ever the opportunist, Trump commandeered the room where the band were to hold an after-show press conference for a media call of his own! Promoter Mark Kohl says Keith Richards “pull[ed] out his knife and slam[med] it on the table and [said], ‘What the hell do I have you for? Do I have to go over there and fire him myself?’â€? • Method Man and Redman are investing in new app that finds legal weed outlets • Future funding for four years for Dubbo’s DREAM festival is bogged down because of amalgamation talks between Dubbo City and Wellington Councils.

lockouts (although host Marc Fennell noted he did speak to Triple M, Nova and 2GB). The debate at the Sugarmill in Kings Cross took in all sectors, offered the usual strategies (24hour public transport on weekends etc) but also agreed that one of the reasons that the anti-lockout protests took so long to intensify was the memory of Thomas Kelly and Daniel Christie, whose deaths led to the lock-outs.

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The number of new cars on Australia roads installed with DAB+ units has tripled to 307,500 in the past year. That helps lift digital radio uptake to 25 per cent of the population in metro areas. 27 per cent of new cars are now digital friendly (it's 80 per cent in the UK).

The 2016/17 models of Porsche Cayenne, Toyota Prius i-Tech and Mitsubishi Pajero and Lancer are among those that'll have them. The radio industry is talking to brands including Mazda and Hyundai to include them. The total amount of digital radio receivers sold in Australia is 2.44 million.

ZEDD, DIPLO CLASH OVER M&M ADS EDM masters Zedd and Diplo clashed over Zedd doing a cover with Aloe Blacc of The Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory song 'The Candy Man' for M&Ms' 75th anniversary celebrations. Diplo accused him of ripping off Sydney-based Flume's sound for the ad. “wtf is this?.. fake flume drop ft m&ms? It's not OK do this man come on... It's not all about the $$,� he tweeted. Zedd flashed back, “Stop being a jealous little bitch and do us all a favor and just shut the f- up. Thank you. :-)�

Deadmau5 weighed in, dissing Diplo's work on Justin Bieber's new album.

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ARTS PARTY RELEASES PLATFORM The Arts Party has nine candidates for the upcoming Federal elections. It wants arts funding tripled and the Australia Council's fund budget increased by $124 million. It wants the arts to become a priority in education, and expand the Research and Development Tax Incentive to the arts. Its platform also covers public broadcasting, health care, disability support, marriage equality, climate change, immigration and refugees.

SURVEY: LOCKOUTS, CASINOS EXEMPTION “UNJUSTIFIED�

VIOLENT SOHO, PEACOCK, HITS AT QLD AWARDS

Meanwhile, Premier Mike Baird was a no-show at SBS current affairs The Feed's look at lockout-laws, saying he didn't want to affect the outcome of the review of the

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MORE DIGITAL RADIO INSTALLED IN CARS

Select Music signed Melbourne singer songwriter Alex Lahey. Says Select's Katie Rynne, “Totally relatable lyrics and infectious hooks, coupled with a great voice and killer band, what more could we want?� Single 'You Don't Think You Like People Like Me' was picked up by triple j and community radio and launches in Sydney on Friday April 1 at World Bar.

A survey by global events and entertainment network The Socialites revealed that 69 per cent of those surveyed declared there should be no lockout, 84% per cent were against new patrons refused entry after 1.30am and 24 per cent thought it should kick in later. Of this 24 per cent, the majority (54 per cent) reckoned that 3am was the best time and 26 per cent went for 5am. Most thought the lockouts were “unjustified", a majority thought it unfair that the Star and Barangaroo casinos should be exempt, and 74 per cent felt venues should apply for exemptions. See thesocialites.net/ sydneylockoutreport/ for full report.

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Violent Soho and singer songwriter Luke Daniel Peacock, were multi-winners at the Queensland Music Awards in Brisbane. Violent Soho took song of the year and the rock category for 'Like Soda', almost missing out on picking one of the trophies by arriving late.

Peacock took the Indigenous category and the $10,000 Billy Thorpe Scholarship. The Grant McLennan Lifetime Achievement went to Brisbane Courier entertainment journalist Noel Mengel for his long time support of Queensland artists. Blank Realm won Album of the Year (Illegals In Heaven), Sheppard took Export Achievement, Jarryd James' 'Do You Remember' was the Highest Selling Single by a Queenslander in 2015, while The Veronicas had Highest Selling Album.

See organiser QMusic's website for full list of winners.

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THE BENNIES

RECEIVED WISDOM

F

or Anty Horgan, Craig Selak, David ‘Bowie’ Beaumont and ‘King’ Jules Rozenbergs – collectively known as The Bennies – January 26 was just another day. They weren’t up for any Australia Day celebrations, nor were they gathered around the wireless to listen in to the national youth broadcaster.

“Anty was asleep, Jules was playing video games and I was out playing golf with my dad,” says Selak, the band’s bassist and one of its three vocalists. It was early afternoon when the news broke within their camp: ‘Party Machine’, the lead single from the band’s third studio album Wisdom Machine, had entered the triple j Hottest 100 at number 88.

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG – are honing in on what is easily their most ambitious LP to date.

“We’ve never worked as hard on anything as we have this record,” says Selak. “We wanted to try something really conceptual, which was a big deciding factor in what songs made it onto the record. I think that we wanted this to be a record of freedom – it’s an album where we took the liberty of doing everything that we’ve ever wanted to do on one of our albums. Nothing’s forced on this album – everything you hear is just us going about exploring what we’re able to do as a band. We were focused primarily on doing whatever came naturally to us.”

The Bennies were formed in 2009

by Selak, vocalist/keyboardist Horgan and drummer Beaumont, and originally came together under the name Madonna (yes, really).

Rozenbergs, a former axe-wielder in The Gun Runners, was enlisted on guitar and vocals a year later.

Now, the Melburnians – who flirtatiously skid between reggae, ska, punk, rock, pop and hair metal

“Even back when we were Madonna, we’d always had this idea of doing a song like Rage Against The Machine,” Selak explains. “Their songs are angry and punchy, but they’ve got so much groove to them. Though it’s a different groove, you can say the same thing about Black Sabbath, who I’ve always loved. That’s kind of where the idea behind that song

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came from – doing something really heavy, but then switching it up with kind of a reggae feel.”

If that wasn’t enough, Wisdom Machine also features both the shortest and the longest Bennies songs yet. ‘West Memphis Three Paper’ is all over in 21 seconds, while closer ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ clocks in at the tenminute mark. Selak is particularly emphatic about wanting people to hear the latter, which he also deems the song that means the most to the band.

“I honestly think it’s the best song we have ever recorded,” he says. “It’s a really personal one – especially for Anty, who wrote all of the lyrics himself about his brother. We were both kind of working on our separate things – we were formulating what would become the song itself, and Anty was working away on the story that he wanted to tell. The one thing we knew we couldn’t do was hold back – when it came together fi nally, it was such a huge moment for all of us.”

The album’s exquisite artwork is a collaboration between Geoffrey Horgan, Anty’s dad, and The Smith Street Band drummer Chris Cowburn. Horgan painted the psychedelic centrepiece of the cover, while Cowburn handled the design and typography.

“Our jaws just dropped when we saw that for the first time,” recalls Selak. “They just both completely went above and beyond for this album. Anty’s dad just paints as a hobby, and we loved the style that he paints in. It’s got that real Renaissance-period feel to it, but it doesn’t carry any real religious connotations. When we were putting together the concept behind Wisdom Machine, we realised that he would be the best guy for the job. He was with us every step of the way, and he really made the idea his own.”

Fans will get yet another chance to see The Bennies as they head out on a national tour in support of Wisdom Machine. The tour begins in their native Melbourne before the run wraps up in Maroochydore of all places, exactly two weeks later. The shows will be the first time many tracks from Wisdom Machine have been performed live, and will also see The Bennies play some of their biggest headlining shows yet. Joining them will be Adelaide punks and old friends Hightime – whose last album Mother Crab features Horgan on one of its tracks – as well as international visitors in the form of Minnesota’s premier punk exports Off With Their Heads, making a long-awaited return to Australia.

Selak explains with glee how The

Bennies and Off With Their Heads crossed paths.

“We were touring through America – it might have been the very first time we did, actually. We were playing in Long Beach about two years ago, and there was this guy … he was literally the only one in the entire venue that was paying any attention to us. If we’d have known we’d just be playing to one person, we’d have pulled out in an instant – we were so hungover and dusty. Still, we didn’t think too much of it – I mean, what can you do, really? – and just treated it like a bit of a jam session or rehearsal.

We were just laughing and having fun, like we always do. After we were done, this guy came up to us and had four beers waiting for us. He was like, ‘That was the best show I’ve seen in years. You guys are my new favourite band.’

We were all like, ‘Who the fuck are you, dude?’ It turned out to be Ryan Young, the lead singer of Off With Their Heads. We ended up having a bunch of beers with him and made sure to stay in contact.

A few years down the track, they wanted to come back to Australia – and here we are!”

The moral of the story? “Rock every show that you play!” says Selak with a laugh. “You never know who might be watching!”

What: Wisdom Machine out now through Poison City With: Off With Their Heads, Hightime Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday April 8 thebrag.com

The Bennies photo by Ian Laidlaw

“I think we were about to tee off on the second hole when suddenly my phone started ringing off the hook,” Selak laughs. “I don’t think we even thought we’d get into the Hottest 200! It was such a thrill, even just to know that the hard work that we had put in meant that people outside of our friends and families had been listening to us and were getting behind the band.”

Fans have already heard three singles from the record – the aforementioned ‘Party Machine’, ‘Legalise (But Don’t Tax)’ and the pun-slinging skate-punk of ‘Detroit Rock Ciggies’. There’s plenty more where that came from too, as Wisdom Machine ensures these stoners leave no stone unturned in their quest. ‘Corruption’, for instance, is one of the slowest and heaviest tracks the band has ever committed to wax, stemming from two quite different but notable musical infl uences.

“WE WANTED THIS TO BE A RECORD OF FREEDOM – IT’S AN ALBUM WHERE WE TOOK THE LIBERTY OF DOING EVERYTHING THAT WE’VE EVER WANTED TO DO”.

ON SA LE NOW

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Mutemath Vital Signs By Natalie Rogers

A

lmost two decades ago, Mutemath vocalist Paul Meany and drummer Darren King were sending each other rough cut demos up and down the Mississippi River. By 2002, King had joined Meany in New Orleans and together they got to work on an electro rock project simply called Math. However, after three albums with Warner Bros., the band that had become Mutemath fell on hard times.

“We were dropped from our record label, so we had to start our own label, Wojtek Records,” King explains. “We lost our long-time guitarist, Greg Hill, around that time too. Paul, Roy [Mitchell-Cárdenas, bass] and I really had to go back to basics and work on repairing the band from the ground up, and try to remember why we started the band in the first place.”

In the summer of 2011, Mutemath announced that guitarist Todd Gummerman would be joining the group, and soon after both King and Meany welcomed their own new additions into the world. “We became dads,” King says, “and then suddenly, a year and a half or two ago, the clouds parted and we started to see the fruits of our labour.

You could say it came to fruition. I’m sorry, that was a terrible dad joke!”

The Weeping Willows Into The Shadows By Tegan Reeves

L

ast year saw Melbourne alt-country duo The Weeping Willows head to the US to record their second album Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’ with Grammy-winning producer Ryan Freeland. The two-piece – made up of musical couple Andy Wrigglesworth and Laura Coates – tried to make the album significantly different from their debut, attempting to emit the darker tone hinted at by the record’s title. Coates shares her experience of the recording process.

“We’ve been going over to the States since 2013. In 2014 we attended the Americana Music Festival Awards ceremony where Jason Isbell got up onstage to accept an award and said, ‘Do the things that scare you – that’s the good stuff’, and that really resonated with us. We felt that the thing that scared us the most was recording in the US, and that was our biggest inspiration for going over and recording there,” says Coates.

“We recorded it in a little part of LA called Culver City with Ryan Freeland. He was absolutely amazing to work with – everything we could have asked for and more.

Initially it was bit daunting, having not met him before, but he comes with some amazing credentials including work with Bonnie Raitt and The Milk Carton Kids, both of [whom] are idols of ours.”

The story of how The Weeping Willows came to work with Freeland proves that sometimes the best way of realising your dreams is to go straight to the source.

“When we decided that we wanted to record in the States, we had a listen to some of our favourite albums and who engineered them, and we ended up looking at albums by Gillian Welch and The Milk Carton Kids. We really liked the sound of The Milk Carton Kids’ album The Ash & Clay and Ryan

Freeland engineered that release.

I ended up just contacting him through his website, and asking him if he would be interested in producing our next record, and we couldn’t believe it when he wrote back and said yes. It was totally unexpected.”

It’s not surprising that King is in such high spirits – he’s currently on a massive world tour for Mutemath’s incendiary fourth studio album, Vitals. When we speak, he’s having a night off.

“The tour so far has been amazing – we’re having a great time. We’re in Los Angeles on a night out, so right now I’m about to make that all-important decision of, ‘What do I eat?’ Do I go all out and treat myself, or am I just going to get something cheap, be fiscally smart and save up – or just splash the cash?” he laughs. “I can’t decide, but I’m learning towards ramen – there are some good ramen places here.”

All of a sudden I hear voices, and what sounds like a scuffle on the other end of the phone line. “Oh my God! I just got accosted by all my bandmates – they just tackled me, and they’re rude!” King laughs again. “They’re going on a hiking trip to the Griffith Observatory right now. They’re my buddies, and they’re my bandmates.”

With the release of Vitals, Mutemath sound bigger, brighter and more in tune with one another than ever. So what’s their secret?

King says it all boils down to their relationship away from the stage.

“You can’t be in a band for over a decade unless you have mutual respect, and we get along great.

They’re all really good guys. I have a lot of respect for them as musicians, as fathers, as friends – and they work hard. Paul in particular: he’s our leader, the lead singer, but he’s crazy. His work ethic is absurd, and his ambition is really something to see.”

Determined to push their limits and give Vitals a truly personal sound, Mutemath decided to produce the album by themselves, something they’d never done before. “Selfproducing is wonderful if all four of the guys in the band are up for it, and you have enough mutual respect – otherwise it can get really dangerous,” King says. “It can be frustrating even when things are going well. The frustrating part is that you have to do all the engineering, and sometimes the engineering is a day’s worth of work. By the time you’ve expended that energy you have nothing left to give, let alone be creative.”

Vitals is evidence that Mutemath aren’t afraid of hard work. Even with all the turmoil of the past few years, they’ve managed to visit Australia three times since they first met audiences Down Under in 2012. When I mention this fact to King, his response is no suprise.

“Yes, that’s right! And I’m looking forward to eating as much as I possibly can while I’m in Australia.

But the thing I’m even more excited about – and I certainly didn’t know until I got there – is how incredible you guys are at coffee. It’s better than here, and everywhere else. I was not expecting Australia to be the coffeesnobbiest country that I’ve ever been to – I love that!”

King adds that when Mutemath arrive here next month for Groovin The Moo and a string of sideshows, they’ve got something special in mind alongside their disco-tinged synths, thumping basslines and always-impressive light show. “The new thing we have is that I do a high-five electronic glove solo. It just occurred to me one day when we were in rehearsal. I put these things on – they’re called drum triggers, these little Presario microphonic triggers inside of a gardening glove – and then I plug them into my sampler.

Whenever someone puts the glove on and I give them a high five, it makes a snare drum sound. We also have other gloves that make the kick drum and a couple of other sounds.

“So there’s an addition in the set now – my new high-five solo. Then we took it one step further and we thought, ‘These gloves need to light up.’ So for the last two shows me and my buddies in Nashville who do all our lighting came up with a way to light them up. They built a circuit, so now the drums light up when the gloves light up, and that’s my highfive drum solo. It’s a very positive, affirming solo. I don’t know how many high fives you hope to get in a day on average, but you will certainly get your vital daily dose at our shows.”

What: Vitals out now through Wojtek Where: Metro Theatre When: Wednesday April 27 And: Also appearing at Groovin The Moo 2016, Maitland Showground, Saturday April 23

A little over a month ago, The Weeping Willows became the first Australian act to be signed directly to the North Carolina record label Redeye Worldwide.

Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’ has been labelled as a shift in the wind for The Weeping Willows, something that Coates attributes to the pair’s recording environment.

“It’s definitely a darker album than our first and I think it might be because we were spending so much time in the Southern states of the US, where the sound is a little bit darker and more gothic,” she says.

More of this influence may have come from the varied musical input of the numerous guests that appear on the record. They include Luke Moller (a Kasey Chambers collaborator), Kevin Breit (a session musician for Rosanne Cash), as well as guest vocals from Melbourne alternative folk duo Sweet Jean.

“Of all the guests, we spent the most amount of time with upright bass player David Piltch, and he was so enthusiastic and prepared – he would never do only one take and say, ‘Oh, that’s good enough.’

He really wanted to make sure that we were happy with the parts that he did and he was really open to trying new things, but most of all, he just got it and us.”

What: Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’ out now through Redeye/MGM With: Katie Brianna Where: Django Bar When: Saturday April 2 xx

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Kim Salmon

Going Off Script By Patrick Emery something else, which turned into ‘Sign Apps’. But I liked that funky rhythm and that became a guitar rhythm [for] which I eventually came up with a bassline, and that became ‘Its Sodistopic’.”

On ‘Client JGT683’, Salmon revisited the track he’d written originally with Aly for The Key Of Sea project. With the prodigiously talented Aly’s musical interests more inclined to Pink Floyd’s progressive rock era, Salmon knew he was going to be exploring new territory. “It’s got an almost AM radio sort of feel, and it’s not something I would normally have done. It’s slicker and tidier, but it’s still got a place on the record.”

“I

never really set out to start making a record,” says Kim Salmon about the creative process that led to his new album, My Script. It’s Salmon’s first album since Kim & Leanne’s 2014 release True West, and the first record Salmon considers to be a genuine solo album.

“I knew that I wanted to make another record, and I knew that I’d done a few collaborations – with Darling Downs, with Leanne [Chock] and with Spencer [P. Jones] – and they’d just happened the way that they’d happened. But with this record, it wasn’t the case that I decided that I wanted to do this, and I was going to do it this way.”

My Script came together in collusion with producer Myles Mumford. Salmon worked with Mumford as part of his

Salmon found the challenge of working with the cerebral Aly a positive experience – and not just because Aly taught Salmon about the Mixolydian scale, a tonal sequence that can be traced back to Ancient Greece. “I knew he was very erudite and what was I? A rock’n’roll buffoon,” Salmon laughs.

collaboration with Waleed Aly on the The Key Of Sea project in 2012. When Mumford approached him about doing another record, Salmon realised he had enough song ideas to create an album. “I knew I had probably half a dozen sketches on my phone that could be used, and Myles seemed like he had a lot that he could add as a producer,” Salmon says.

and work it. It had to push some boundaries and explore ideas so that I’d be in a different place after it, and it had to encompass things that were me.”

But while many of Salmon’s previous records have been built around a particular conceptual idea, here he was simply working on the basis of some vaguely formed song ideas. Once it became apparent he was embarking on a solo project, this had an impact on his artistic process. “I thought [the album] had to redefine me to people who know me,” he says.

“It had to be something that was current so that I could go out

“I tend to be very impatient and like to get things done quickly so I can move onto the next thing, but if it’s not right, it’s not right,” Salmon says. “Part of what I like about the album is that there are ideas that went down in a day, and there are ideas that took months. There’s a couple of songs that use this 808 drum app from my iPhone. I made a pattern with that, and I used that as a bed. The first thing I came up with was this funky beat, and I tried

Beyond exploring the disconcerting aspects of Australia’s immigration policies, Salmon says there’s an autobiographical aspect to some of the lyrics on My Script.

“It’s a pap line, but it definitely

Girl At The End of the World will be seeing exactly that – the band pushing its latest material to the front and giving it the lion’s share of the setlist. For an outfit that is primarily interested in looking forward, Davies says it’s only fair that James treat their new songs with respect.

the people that are coming to see us genuinely want to hear the new album. At our headlining shows, we tend to play for about two hours. That’s long enough to touch on everything, with a bit of extra emphasis on the new album – we’ll probably play around eight of the new songs.”

“We’re not a ‘greatest hits’ band,” says Davies, almost with an air of defiance in his tone. “We’re never going to be, and we never were. I doubt we’ll be playing ‘Sit Down’ on this tour. We probably won’t play ‘Laid’, either. We’ve reached a brilliant point in our career where

Davies goes on to explain the finer points of the setlist, deviating away from Girl At The End Of The World and balancing out with both the obscure and the not-so-obscure.

“There will be a few tracks that we’ll play that people seem to still really love – there’s a song called ‘She’s

Salmon spent the first few months of the project working only with Mumford in the studio, keen to develop his fledgling musical sketches into properly formed songs.

Drawing upon Aly’s legal and political background, Salmon suggested they use the anomalies of Australian refugee and immigration law as a creative starting point. They spoke to a barrister friend of Aly’s, who explained the euphemistic discourse of refugee law – refugees as unnamed ‘clients’, electric fences as ‘energised courtesy curtains’ – and ‘Client JGT683’ took shape.

came up during this process – all autobiography is tainted with some fiction, and all fi ction has some aspect of autobiography. On this record, because it’s a solo record, it was always going to have an autobiographical element.”

As an example, when Jen Anderson (Weddings Parties Anything) approached Salmon to write a song promoting hepatitis C awareness, Salmon drew loosely on his own success in overcoming the disease a couple of years ago to pen ‘Making Me Better’.

While Salmon says there was nothing contrived about the songwriting process itself, he was adamant for the album to be more than a linear aggregation of songs.

“On one level it was all over the shop, and I don’t really like albums that are like that – I like them to have an idea. So the challenge was to come up with something that was cohesive. If it had an identity crisis, it was going to sound like that. I find myself thinking, ‘What would Scott Walker do? What would Todd Rundgren, David Bowie or Harry Nilsson do?’ Because I guess these are people who are very eclectic and iconoclastic – they completely disregarded any expectations.”

Salmon admits he needs more time to genuinely evaluate the final product, but he thinks he was successful in leaving his comfort zone. “There’s definitely things on there that I wouldn’t have done on any other record.”

What: My Script out now independently With: The Holy Soul Where: Union Hotel When: Saturday April 9

James The Beginning Of The End By David James Young

H

istory has an interesting place for a band like James.

In their native UK they’re as commonplace as their name, selling millions of albums and scoring several high-charting hits. Across the rest of the world they’re a little more obscure, accumulating only minor degrees of success here in Australia and in the United States.

Regardless, the band has soldiered on at times when others would have most certainly stumbled and fallen off the face of the Earth, even if there was a time James weren’t even entertaining the idea of playing together again.

“I think it was necessary that we took our time away from another,” says Saul Davies, who joined the group back in 1989 and contributes guitar, violin and backing vocals.

“By the time James ended in 2001, we were always at one another’s throats. It was very timely when it all came to a close. We had no inclination to get back together until maybe six years later – and, initially, that was purely just to make music together. That’s the thing, I think, that properly kept us going once we got back together. We weren’t interested in nostalgia. We weren’t even interested in playing live or releasing anything at that point. It was more about making something new, and rekindling the relationships between each of us in the band. Time had done its work, healing the tension, and we found ourselves in a good situation. It was a bit like starting again, in a lot of ways.”

12 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

“It’s funny – we’re in the 35th year of James being a band, and this is our 14th album,” says Davies. “With that being said, it all genuinely feels really fresh again. It’s certainly a time when a lot of bands in our position would just be going through the motions, but that’s not what this feels like at all. If you listen to any of the records that we’ve put out since we got back together, I think you’ll agree that we’re not a band that’s exactly devoid of ideas. We’re very much driven creatively to continue working together, which is certainly buck[ing] the trend. Everything we’re doing now is so gratifying – we get to play some amazing shows, we get to play music that we’re really proud of and we get to connect with a fanbase that has seen us through everything. That’s more than enough for us.”

James have a 14-date tour scheduled around the UK in May before they make a handful of appearances at various stops on the summer festival circuit. No plans are currently laid out for Australia – indeed, even in their heyday, James never once made it out here. “We have no idea what it’s like, to be honest,” says Davies.

“If we did book shows out there, we simply have no idea of who would come or if anyone would want to see us.” Still, those who will get to see the band live in support of

A Star’, which we’re going to do in a completely new way, and we’ll be doing our song ‘Sometimes’ as well.

Our shows are very much designed for people who have been long-time fans – occasionally, we’ll throw in a super-weird B-side or something like that, and see those few faces in the crowd light up because they never thought they’d hear us play it. We’re looking at songs to make moments like that, and not just the obvious big sing-along moments.”

What: Girl At The End Of The World out now through BMG/ Liberator

thebrag.com

xxx

We’re now eight years into James 2.0, which retained all of the members from its final lineup save for guitarist Michael Kulas. They’ve released four albums since their

return – 2008’s Hey Ma, 2010’s simultaneously released The Night Before and The Morning After, and last year’s Le Petite Mort. They’ve followed that up less than a year later with their 14th LP overall, displaying the kind of productivity that most veteran acts could barely comprehend in their prime, let alone on their second go-around.

Jeff Lang

Stay Surprised By Adam Norris

“In my own music, I find the songwriting side to be the most interesting part. Can you find something to say in a song that feels compelling, that feels like it’s worth saying? But then, I’m a player as well, so I like to have fun with that. Some songs have more room to expand. Something like ‘The House Carpenter’, which is a traditional Scottish folk song, I play my own way, but it doesn’t change a great deal night to night.

It’s more about delivering that story. I don’t need to do much in the way of improvising. It’s already all there.”

Lang has been plying his trade for almost 25 years now, and seems to be in a state of near-constant touring. He has become one of the most respected voices in national folk and blues, though when asked if he considers himself a particularly “Australian” musician, he is thoughtful. first fell in unhealthy, hidingoutside-his-kitchen-window-witha-lute love with Jeff Lang at the Woodford Folk Festival. The passion of his playing and the commitment to each song was a revelation, and though I’ve since had the fortune to catch him playing solo gigs in enclosed venues, I feel that witnessing the ‘disturbed folk’ muso in full festival mode is ideal. Lucky, then, that The Gum Ball Festival is fast approaching. After a year’s break, the Hunter Valley cavalcade returns, and Lang is ready to showcase that unique atmosphere only a festival can bring.

the main stage with thousands of people, but even still, it doesn’t feel [as though] someone playing one of the smaller stages … is treated any lesser. It feels like the event is its own draw. There are several festivals like that now. Woodford, Port Ferry, Gum Ball – you know it’s going to be quality. They have this real aura. They’re a world [unto] themselves. I think that’s a nice feeling to be part of as a performer, and something about that gets into the air. You know that everyone is there because they love hearing live performance. You’re not just distracting people from their drink,” he laughs.

“The general appeal of a festival like this is that the event itself is the headliner,” Lang says. “There isn’t that hierarchical feel. Obviously you’ll have certain artists playing

For those unfamiliar with Lang, it’s hard to point out an individual song that might represent what makes him just so compelling. He

I

comes from a tradition of writing which includes folks like Archie Roach and Paul Kelly – artists who are storytellers as much as they are musicians. An example might be ‘The House Carpenter’, a song that is not Lang’s own – as far as anyone can tell, its lineage stretches back over 400 years – but captures his blend of musicianship and story perfectly.

“I have been influenced by people like Richard Thompson: this stellar musician who could easily just be a guitar player in a band on his own, but is also this incredibly moving singer storyteller who is up there with anyone that you care to mention. It doesn’t necessarily feel to me that they have to be separate things, and there are a few of those musicians around.

“Well, sort of. Probably because there are people who have influenced me that are very Australian in their content.

Someone like Don Walker. He’s interesting to me, being in a band like Cold Chisel, who have all these hits that are part of the … landscape now. But people don’t necessarily know that Don wrote them – it’s just that iconic band.

‘Khe Sanh’ is like a modern folk song, and yet he can still be considered underrated. Then there are people like Paul Kelly, Matt Taylor from Chain, Gareth Liddiard.

[They’re] great writers and powerful performers who write from an Australian point of view in a very interesting way, without it being mawkish or forced. It’s not that Hallmark card-style of Australiana songwriting. So part of me does

feel like an Australian performer, because I do really admire the work of people like that.”

Most encouragingly, Lang remains a writer who is still happy to be honing his craft these many years later. Between his solo work, and collaborations with the likes of Indian-fusion act Maru Tarang, he is striving to stay fresh and doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to hang up his hat any time soon.

“I’d much rather stay surprised by writing. It’s not like a whole song will always arrive in your lap fully formed – though please, that would be great. But the more it comes close to that, [the more] it’s like you’re getting to hear it first. You’re [just] discovering the song: you can be surprised by it. It’s much more fun to just write as much as possible and find out later what it is.

“I generally find it kind of irritating to read back,” he goes on. “It’s too much being back inside my own head, and I’m already in there all the time. Whatever you’ve cobbled together from years of writing songs, you’ve got certain technical aspects you can always draw on to get something over the line.

Sometimes you’ve got to turn the tap on to get the brown water out of the way before the clear stuff comes through. I don’t mind writing a crap song if it clears the way for something decent.”

What: The Gum Ball Festival 2016 With: You Am I, Oka, Dan Sultan, Caitlin Park and more Where: Dashville, Lower Belford When: Friday April 22 – Sunday April 24

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Low The Numbers Game By David James Young

“C

an you name a few songs from that record?” Mimi Parker – drummer, vocalist and co-founder of minimalist miserablists Low alongside her husband, Alan Sparhawk – is asking after The Curtain Hits The Cast, Low’s third album, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It should be stressed, for context’s sake, that Parker is not posing the question to challenge the fan knowledge of her interviewer, but rather because songs from that album have completely slipped her mind. “I mean, it has been 20 years,” she justifies with a laugh.

Discussion turns toward ‘Do You Know How To Waltz?’, a 14-minute opus that was famously the entirety of a one-song, half-hour set the band performed at the Minneapolis music festival Rock The Garden back in 2013.

“People were so angry at us,” Parker recalls.

“We only had a short set due to some time cuts, so we figured if we were ever going to try and do it, it would be now. It honestly took us aback how many people complained to the festival organisers and even tried having us blacklisted. It definitely opened up a dialogue, though. I wanted to know what they were upset about – was it that we only played the one song? Was it that we didn’t play what they wanted to hear? Was it that the performance itself wasn’t any good? It was interesting to see so much discussion about bands playing live, and what one gets out of going to see a band that you love, not to mention what happens when something unexpected happens. What, if anything, do bands owe their audience?”

Talk turns to Duluth, the seaport city that Parker and Sparhawk call home in the state of Minnesota. It’s the birthplace of icons like Bob Dylan, R.E.M.’s Bill Berry and the world-famous ‘trailer voice guy’, the late Don LaFontaine. It isn’t, however, necessarily seen as a music hub in the same way one would view the bigger cities in the States. But Parker is quick to refute the notion that Low are one of the few success stories from the area.

“There’s always been a music scene here,” she says, “even before Alan and I lived here.

It’s grown a lot in the time that we’ve been here. There are a lot of great bands, a lot of great places to play – our dear friend Charlie Parr spends a lot of time playing shows in town. It might be small, but what we have here is thriving.”

Low are set to return to Australia in April for a run of headlining dates for the first time in six years. They were scheduled to do a run of dates in March 2012 around an appearance at Golden Plains in support of their album C’mon, but were unable to make it down for an undisclosed “international commitment”.

Now Sparkhawk, Parker and Garrington are officially locked in and excited to return.

“We really do love it there,” says Parker.

“We’ve only ever come across the kindest and most supportive of fans when we’re there. We’re doing a show right now that is more or less going half and half in terms of a split between the older material and the new songs. Everything is coming together really well, and we like doing this blend a lot.”

Joining the band for these shows will be Mike Noga, the former drummer of The Drones who has since ventured out into his own

solo material and is soon to release a Paul Dempsey-produced new album. “We’re all big fans of Mike,” says Parker. “We actually got to tour with him all the way through Europe, and we had such a wonderful time. He’s a good friend – one of your best countrymen, I have to say.”

What: Ones And Sixes out now through Sub Pop/Inertia With: Mike Noga Where: Factory Theatre When: Friday April 8

White Denim Stiff Upper Lip By Sarah Little were bolstered to a sextet with the addition of new members, all working in the capable hands of UK producer Ethan Johns (Laura Marling, Ray LaMontagne). Getting Johns to produce Stiff was a bold move for White Denim, as the only producer they’d ever worked with in the past was Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy – and that was only on two tracks from Corsicana Lemonade.

“Ethan really likes things to be representative of how the band sounds live,” Petralli says. “There’s no studio trickery or anything. He was kind of just letting us figure it out. In a couple of cases he was super involved, so his sensibility definitely shaped a couple of those tunes, for sure. It was super collaborative: there were no boundaries. Why have a guy in the studio if you’re gonna have a muzzle on him?”

Stylistically, White Denim’s influences are the same as ever, and still representative of the Texan musical landscape.

W

hite Denim’s seventh studio album Stiff arrived last week, three years after their previous record, the widely celebrated Corsicana Lemonade. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing since 2013, though – just keeping the band together and recording new

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work has been a daunting process for lead singer James Petralli and bassist Steven Terebecki, after two of their bandmates quit.

really used to that quartet thing.

To replace half of the group was definitely a shake-up. Creatively I think that it was OK.”

“I’m definitely a creature of habit for the most part,” Petralli says. “It was nerve-racking because we’d gotten

Suddenly, White Denim were no longer a quartet but a two-piece.

Not for long, however – soon they

“The music that we hear is a lot of blues, classic rock, soul, R&B and folk music, so I think that stuff makes its way into our music.

Y’know: Little Feat, Hendrix, Lee Hazlewood, that kind of thing. I don’t think that we’ll make a crazy left turn. I think the way that we thought that this album would work best is if we went back to the ethos that we had in the early days. I wasn’t going to try and make a huge statement

here or anything. It was just gonna be a straight ahead rock’n’roll record.

“You guys are probably over Kevin Parker and Tame Impala, but I really like their stuff. It’s funny.

With rock’n’roll I would typically say that American bands kind of just do the thing; there’s a lot more raw edges and it’s less refined.

Whereas a British or an Australian or Japanese band do it in such a studied way, like it’s almost perfect.

You could argue that the way The Beatles and The Rolling Stones did American music was even better – it’s just like there’s a little bit of distance there, maybe even a little bit more acting.”

The nine-track LP Stiff was recorded live in the studio over an 18-day period, so fans can expect the new material will translate to the stage even better than Corsicana Lemonade did. And we may well see White Denim back on these shores in the near future. The band made waves at the 2013/’14 Falls Festival, and Petralli’s enthusiasm suggests White Denim enjoyed being in Australia as much as we enjoyed having them.

“I hope that we can make the trip [to Australia] as soon as December.

We had a blast when we were over for the Falls Festival and can’t wait to return.”

What: Stiff out now through Create/Control thebrag.com

Low photo Zoran Orlic

Parker and Sparhawk have been trading under the Low moniker for 23 years, which has seen them go through 11 studio albums – most recently, last year’s Ones And Sixes – as well as four bass players (current bassist Steve Garrington joined in 2008). Their finely detailed and often heartbreaking take on indie rock has been stunning audiences since their inception – and, unlike many of their peers, they have continued to grow and progress as artists throughout their career. Rather than clutch onto nostalgia, Low are constantly finding ways to challenge their craft and still make albums as heartfelt and emotionally intense as classics like the aforementioned The Curtain Hits The Cast and their seminal 2001 LP, Things We Lost In The Fire. Ones And Sixes serves as testimony to this, and Parker has found that long-time fans have been especially responsive since its release this September past.

“When you’re preparing new material, you never know how people are going to react to it,” she says. “Especially if it’s being played directly in front of them. Honestly, though, we’ve gotten such a great reception. I even see people singing the new songs when we play them. It’s always great for us to be able to play new material. It brings something fresh to the table and it gives the show a sense of the unexpected. It throws caution to the wind, in its own way. It’s nice that people give it some respect and will pay attention to it. I think it’s great that we have fans that are always listening.”

arts in focus

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

arts news...what's goin' on around town... with Zanda Wilson and Joseph Earp

WHERE TO INVADE NEXT

five minutes WITH

Y

ou’re visiting Australia on your new standup tour. Do you have a favourite comedy club worldwide?

I don’t really have a favourite comedy club. I love them all! I do however prefer shows where the people know they are seeing a comedy show. I have performed at baby showers, birthday parties, even funerals, and the people had no clue there was going to be a comic. Those are always awkward!

What can you tell us about your childhood?

I was born and raised in New York by two wacky Brooklyn parents. As a child I wore leg braces like Forrest Gump, was illiterate to the age of 16 and at one point weighted 215 pounds – I was pretty much a

ROBYN SCHALL

walking sitcom. I use the word ‘walking’ lightly… more of a wobble. With all that, my family and I found humour to be our saving grace. The most common misconception about New Yorkers is that we are assholes. I mean, we have asshole qualities, but we aren’t total assholes.

Do you have any tips for new comedians who are dying onstage?

Just do it! There is no way to get good at stand-up except by doing it. The best advice I ever received was, “You have to fail to be great.” Also, “Hey Robyn, you should try comedy.”

Who inspired you to perform?

When I was young and in and out of hospitals (with a bone disease), I used to watch a lot of television and I loved sitcoms

with strong women. Ellen, Rosanne, The Nanny, I Love Lucy, Blossom. I knew from the age of six I wanted to grow up and make people laugh.

What are you looking forward to doing in Australia?

In the NYC comedy clubs there are always Australians in the audience. I have noticed that Australians can really take a joke and are out to have fun!

I am really looking forward to performing for a whole room of fun people. I would also like to see a kangaroo.

With: Steve Bedwell Where: Brass Monkey, Cronulla / Bridge Hotel, Rozelle When: Wednesday April 6 / Friday April 8

Michael Moore is the Vegemite of the cinematic world: a love-him-or-hate him creative force like few others. Whether you know him as the intelligent mastermind behind Bowling For Columbine, or the brash fattie parodied in Team America: World Police, either way you do know him. His new film Where To Invade Next, a documentary about how Americans can collectively improve their quality of life by sourcing solutions from other nations, has been heralded by some as his best yet.

Where To Invade Next opens in cinemas on Thursday April 7, and we’ve got ten in-season double passes to give away.

Head over to thebrag.com/freeshit to enter.

Michael Moore’s Where To Invade Next

Bard To The Bone

TO RIFF OR NOT TO RIFF

Now in their fifth year of entertaining audiences across the country, the Post-Haste Players will present an improvised night of Shakespearian delights titled Bard To The Bone. The Old Fitz will host the company’s latest production, directed by Oliver Burton, on two Monday nights in April. Trust us on this one: you’d be a bigger fool than Polonius if you missed this. (Sorry. That’s the best Shakespeare related gag we could come up with.)

Bard To The Bone will play on Monday April 4 and Monday April 25 at The Old Fitz Theatre. Tickets are on sale now.

Operantics Mansfield Park

Sydney Film Festival

AUSTEN AND OPERA

Operantics, the celebrated team behind 2015’s staging of Cosi Fan Tutte, have just announced they will be staging an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic Mansfield Park.

A study of intrigue, doomed romance and some very English traditions, the work will be well-known to the literary community at large, and those poor high school students forced to study it for the HSC. That said, given Operantics’ track record, Mansfield Park is sure to be an endlessly watchable, utterly engrossing reworking of the original text, so even if Austen isn’t your thing, you’d do well to head along. Mansfield Park will hit The Independent Theatre on Wednesday April 20, Saturday April 23, and Sunday April 24.

POWERFUL NEW DOCO TO SCREEN IN SYDNEY

ZOOM IN ON TALENT

The Sydney Film Festival today announced the 21 filmmakers that have been shortlisted as finalists for the Australian Short Film Fellowship by producers at The Weinstein Company. The finalists were chosen from over 355 entrants, and are now in the running for four fellowship grants worth $50,000 each. The winners will be decided by a jury made up of industry luminaries including actress Judy Davis, festival director Nashen Moodley, and producers Jan Chapman and Darren Dale. The successful candidates will be announced at the Sydney Film Festival which runs Wednesday June 8 through Sunday June 19.

thebrag.com

Tusculum House will host a highly anticipated show drawing attention to a contamination disaster on Sardinia. Combining the art of Australian painter Jason Benjamin and a documentary film by Lisa Camllio, Balentes: A Living Ancient Soul promises to be a powerful cultural event. Taking place at Tusculum House in Potts Point, Benjamin’s paintings will be on show to provide an emotional reflection on the contamination disaster, whilst Balentes, the documentary, aims to draw attention to the human impact on the island of Sardinia. The evening will also include a talk from Lisa Camilo about the making of the documentary itself. The opening night of Balentes: A Living Ancient Soul will take place on Thursday April 7 from 6pm.

SHAKESPEARE GALORE

How dost thou make gravy? Let me count the ways… Paul Kelly has just been unveiled as the headline act for the Shakespeare 400 celebrations, a tribute to one of history’s very

greatest talents set to take place at the State Library of NSW. Fittingly, Kelly will launch his brand new Shakespeare-centric album Seven Sonnets & A Song at the event, transforming the evening into an unmissable opportunity to see an Australian performer at the height of his powers. Don’t stall on saving the date as Hamlet would; channel your inner Othello and be overly hasty. Paul Kelly will play the State Library on Saturday April 23.

YOUNG TALENT

Prepare to be embarrassed by the superior artistic talents of teenagers once again! One of the premiere artistic events of the year, Artexpress, has just opened to the public. As an eye-opening look into the incredible talents of the nation’s youth, the event is an unbeatable date on Sydney’s cultural calendar. As ever, the pieces included in the exhibition range in content, genre and practice, making it about as varied an artistic experience as you could possibly find. Artexpress is open now at the Art Gallery Of NSW, and runs through till Sunday May 15.

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Replay [THEATRE] The Subjective Truth By Tegan Jones

“T

wo people could be at the same event but they’ll have a different memory of it,” says actor Jack Finsterer.

He’s speaking ahead of his starring role in Griffin Theatre’s latest production, Replay – a story of brotherhood and family that explores the notion of memory decades after the traumatic death of a sibling, asking audiences to decide if it is possible to truly recall an event objectively.

“There are two brothers. I play the eldest,” Finsterer explains. “You meet them when they’re about 14 and 16. You meet them again decades later, post some big events.”

Finsterer’s character, John, has repressed the death of his brother Michael for years and is only now beginning to remember it, whereas his other sibling Peter seems to recall the experience as well, but differently. “We look at my memory of it and his memory of it, and how that has impacted on our roles in the family and how it has changed the past and the future,” says Finsterer.

and change, our roles change, hange, we mature, events happen, and it deals with that milieu. It’s a rich h territory for an audience to really relate to and be entertained by.”

“Yes, definitely,” agrees the actor.

“Collective memory and the question of what is truth is all set in the context of a family, and families all have their own kind of rhythms, don’t they? Everybody has their own position and role within them. What happens when you reflect on that as a group, or a couple of brothers, and how does that affect your position within the family? Conceptually, it’s all about the family dynamic and how people remembering things together changes it. There’s a couple of big hooks in there that I can’t reveal.”

Memory, time, family, truth: th: these are all themes thatt will ensure audience members engage with their experience as it goes beyond the realms of mere entertainment. “I think they’ll come away with something to think about in terms of their own lives, because of the nature of the material,” says Finsterer. “I also think that they’ll also have a laugh. There’s some very funny bits in the play as well as some really poignant ones where they’ll be asking what’s going on. The play ay really toes between those e two things and can be quite bleak in some parts.”

In plays with such a strong and complex narrative, simplicity in terms of set design and costume is usually paramount to keep the focus on the characters and story.

Replay will follow suit.

“It’s at the Griffin so it’s always going to be pretty minimal,” Finsterer chuckles. “Plot is important in the play, and it is very character-driven. I think people have really strong reactions to it in some way because we’re delving into families, and whether you’re an only child or one of 20 kids, we all slot in there somehow. People shift

“With any decision we make, and how we approach anything in life, our emotions are always a part of that – it’s never just a cerebral exercise.”

In line with the direction of the play itself, audience memberss will be having a collective experience rience in a theatre, yet the plot is such that it could be interpreted in different ways. Finsterer ponders whether the truth of the past will be black and white by the end of the play, or if the shades of grey will leave audiences divided on what really happened.

“I think that will be really interesting, because we have an event and two characters talking about their versions of it and there’s nuance within that,” he says. “I’m absolutely

certain that audiences members will be able to walk away saying, ‘This is how I responded’.

“Of course, we bring our own feelings to it. With any decision we make, and how we approach anything in life, our emotions are always a part of that – it’s never just a cerebral exercise, no matter how much some people may argue that you can just make a logical decision.

“There’s whole fields of research that suggest that emotion is a part of any decision. So if you’re walking into the theatre, I think whatever you carry with you will inform how you respond to this play – how you feel about your family, how you feel about yourself on any given day.

All of that will inform how you feel when you walk out of the theatre.”

What: Replay Where: SBW Stables Theatre When: Saturday April 2 – Saturday May 7

Ross Noble [COMEDY] Car Bombs And Tigers By Adam Norris Sometimes I'll think of something and the audience will laugh right away, while sometimes there's a beat before they get it.

“Then sometimes – and this is one of my favourite things – you get to a joke where rather than saying the punchline, you give them the ingredients. Say you've been talking about a tiger hiding in a box. Or maybe a car bomb that's about to go off, right? Two minutes later, you're miming that you're in a car and pretend to turn the key – you look down and go, 'Ohhh no'. You're not explaining the joke, you're just doing it. All those elements that you've been leading up to come together.” Noble pauses. “Now people are going to be turning up to the show going, 'Do the car bomb bit! And what ever happened to that tiger?'”

T

he last time I saw Ross Noble, he very nearly killed us all.

Well, alright, so maybe not directly. Sydney had been lashed by weather so severe that the roof of the Enmore Theatre buckled under the strain, and the performance we were promised had to be postponed.

“An act of God!” I hear you cry.

“That's not Ross's fault at all!” But now, ahead of his 2016 Australian tour, I can reveal the grim truth: the Northumberland comic was quite content with the idea of luring us to our seats and certain death, like some smiling, murderous piper.

Lucky he's such a charming bugger.

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“Ohhh, I'd forgotten about that!” Noble cries in his inimitable brogue. “That was pretty full on though, that roof collapse. All of the water that had gathered up there burst through to the electrics, and the electrical board exploded. So the theatre people said, 'Well, you might want to not let people in?' like it was a question. But I thought, 'Well, as long as it's not on fire now, it should be alright?'”

He laughs at the memory. The show did eventually go on two days later and was downright hilarious at that, yet the theatre does still bear the scars of that sodden weekend when the

streets of Enmore were blanketed in ice. Noble's live shows are renowned for being unpredictable beasts, which is really the very nature of improvised comedy. Yet his audiences themselves can be just as mysterious, and over the years he has worked out subtle ways of gauging just what kind of a crowd he might expect.

“You can tell! When the lights go down, there's a noise that comes off the crowd. But it's also a feeling in the room – an anticipation. If you were there three nights running you might think the audience sounds exactly the same, but they're totally different.

With so many upcoming gigs scheduled for Brain Dump, it's safe to say that Australia has quite a sweet spot for Noble. He's been touring here for years, and even lived just outside of Melbourne for a while until a bushfire destroyed his family home and the Noble clan relocated to the UK. While his family were thankfully unhurt, it certainly put the comic's life and fortunes in perspective. Nowadays his surrealist skills are unsurpassed, largely due to an acceptance of simply being himself.

“The mistake that people make starting out is that they'll try and find a style. The trick is, let the style find you. The best comics are sort of themselves onstage. It's just an extension. That's just me in front of people showing off, but it's me. I might talk about topical stuff, but nobody would ever describe me as a political comedian. The political comedian is probably somebody who in real life [is] constantly banging on about party politics – about changing the system.

I have elements of that, but ultimately

I'm just there talking bollocks.

Yesterday some friends and I were talking about the EU referendum, but it wasn't about grinding out the topic.

Really it was taking the piss.”

At his core, Noble celebrates the idiosyncratic. Don't mimic the easy laughs we've heard a thousand times before. Don't replicate your idols. To thine own self be true, though perhaps with a nearby rubber chicken and 'Yo Mamma' gag just to be safe.

“You see these comics who desperately want to be Bill Hicks, and you just think, 'That's not who you are.' If you're true to yourself and go out there, you'll find out what kind of comedian you are. You get people who say, 'I don't want to be one of those comics who talks about their kids.'

But Louis CK gets up there and does stuff about his personal life that's so incredibly original that you don't think, 'Oh God, here's somebody banging on about his kids.' It's just part of who he is.

“You don't want to become a hack who's just doing the same thing that's been done before. I think it's important that the audience gets a sense of who you are, but equally, sometimes I hear comedians talking about themselves and it just does my head in. I think, 'I just don't care about this, I do not give a shit. I don't care about you, or your annoying mother.'” He laughs. “If I'm going to be annoyed by my relatives, I have my own thank you very much.”

What: Ross Noble: Brain Dump as part of Sydney Comedy Festival 2016 Where: Sydney Town Hall When: Saturday April 23 and Sunday April 24 And: Also appearing at Riverside Theatres on Thursday April 7

thebrag.com

Replay photo by Brett Boardman

Considering the thematic points of the piece, one has to assume that collective memory will also play a large part in the plot. After all, experience can so often be influenced by perspective, and

sharing such a life-changing moment with another would significantly affect the recollection of the event, altering each person's version of the truth.

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

DAVID STRASSMAN

■ Theatre

Reviewed at the Enmore Theatre on Saturday March 12

Reviewed at Blood Moon Theatre, The World Bar on Thursday March 10

“It’s about Chucking time that Strassman came back out,” I say to my mum as we enter the Enmore Theatre. She stares at me with mild judgement, and rightly so.

Fortunately, the rockstar ventriloquist we’re here to see is far funnier than I am.

One of David Strassman’s strengths is that each one of his shows manages to be simultaneously familiar and fresh. His latest show, iTedE, is no exception. Ted E. Bare is as cute and self-deprecating as ever, and Chuck Wood continues to permeate every segment with his potty mouth and penchant for telling Dave to "fuck off".

The theme of this show is social media and technology. As the ventriloquist attempts to prepare his unwieldy puppets for a Ted Talk (geddit?) on the importance of imagination, they obsess over the internet and their devices. Ever the polar opposites, Ted uses Dave’s credit card to buy Wiggles tickets whereas Chuck cruises the dank depths of RedTube.

Other old favourites such as Kevin The Alien and Grandpa Fred also roll up to represent the various iterations of Strassman’s personality and cause general havoc. My personal favourite is Buttons The (drunken) Clown, whose debauchery, extreme honesty and general slurring

BULLY BOY

David Strassman remind me of any given Saturday night in the Cross.

The most impressive part of the show comes during the Ted Talk itself, where Strassman controls all five puppets remotely and simultaneously something he has never attempted in previous shows.

Not only is it incredibly cool, it also proves there is still new life to be breathed into the art of ventriloquism.

Although the show does have some teething issues, Strassman never shies away from using the puppets to point out his mistakes or tell him if a joke doesn’t land. Considering the faux-workshop setting, this actually adds to the intimate and behind-the-scenes ambience. It feels like the audience isn’t so much watching a show as revelling in the hilarious antics of a man and his dolls.

Tegan Jones

■ Film

GRIMSBY In cinemas now Has it really been almost two decades since Sacha Baron Cohen first gave us Borat Sagdiyev – the mankini-clad Kazakh journalist and inspiration for a thousand ill-advised fancy dress costumes? The comedian returns to our screens this time as protagonist Carl Allen ‘Nobby’ Butcher in the James Bond spoof, Grimsby.

Nobby is your average lager-swilling football yob who lives on a council estate in the Northern English fishing town of Grimsby with his 11 children and loving girlfriend Dawn (Rebel Wilson). Long since separated from his brother – who is now sleek secret service agent Sebastian (Mark Strong) – Nobby reunites with his sibling at a World Health Organisation conference in London, where a terror attack is about to take place. When things go awry, it’s left to the hapless Nobby and his barmy army of mates to foil a sinister plot to rid an overpopulated world of the working classes.

Unfortunately Grimsby has little to say and unlike Cohen’s previous efforts never really deviates from a well-worn path. A fully-scripted narrative gives the comedian little opportunity to improvise and integrate real-life reactions – the same reactions that made previous characters like Borat, Ali G and Brüno so memorable. There’s no real conflict

Arts Exposed

Sandi Toksvig’s 2011 play Bully Boy is not what you might expect from the UK comedian. Written in a hot rage, the play explores the hypocrisies and psychological impact of contemporary warfare. Presented by independent theatre company A Night Of Play, which formed as a vehicle to develop “issue-driven” work, this intimate performance is being staged at Sydney’s newest theatre space, Blood Moon Theatre.

Private Eddie Clark (Patrick Cullen) is a working-class lad from Burnley, Lincolnshire and is one month shy of completing his second deployment in Afghanistan.

Sporting a broad Northern accent, he is brash and irreverent with drops of casual racism. He is separated by age, class and rank from the bookish Major Oscar Hadley (Jaymie Knight), who is ethically scrupulous and works with rigorous attention to protocol. Hadley has been disabled since serving in the Falklands War. Their lives collide when Eddie is accused of throwing an eightyear-old boy named Omar down a well.

Bridging across histories and generations, the dialogue between the two characters

Bully Boy illustrates the borderless nature of contemporary warfare, where there is no definitive front to fight on.

Eddie and Oscar are similarly locked within a struggle to rationally comprehend the loss of bodies, limbs and minds left in unresolved corners of the globe that have been torn apart by conflict. Under the careful directorial hand of Deborah Mulhall, Bully Boy generates an uneasy yet sympathetic sense of moral ambiguity.

As a minor drawback, it seems the death of Omar may serve more as a bone of ethical contention between the two characters rather than a point of entry into the issue of civilian casualties as collateral damage. This feels like a loose end, albeit a forgivable one as the scope of Toksvig’s text is clearly the experiences of post-war

trauma and the insufficient institutional responses to returned soldiers. The play paints a searing portrait of veterans conditioned for combat, unable to live civillian lives.

This is a sharp and compelling production featuring strong performances from Knight and Cullen. While Bully Boy may revisit familiar themes, Toksvig deploys snippets of wry humour that convey the sense of pain and futility following military interventions – for instance, the meagre gesture of plaques and medals to commemorate servicemen in need of genuine rehabilitation, or the fact that the number of veteran suicides dwarfs the number of deaths in combat.

Annie Murney

Grimsby here for Cohen to exploit and that vital edge to his satire is missing. While his previous characters rallied against racism and homophobia, Nobby feels dated and off-target, serving only as fodder for a number of memorable gross-out gags. Plenty of crude (albeit enjoyable) belly laughs and a series of chaotic action sequences prevent the story from flatlining.

Director Louis Leterrier (Transporter, The Incredible Hulk) does provide some distraction with a stream of car chases and plenty of explosions, but ultimately seems miscast guiding this comedy. This film is the first of Cohen’s recent work that hasn’t involved him collaborating with longtime Seinfeld writer Larry Charles as director and it feels as though his touch is missing.

By the end of the film, you do feel as though Cohen has exhausted every bodily function for laughs. While fun in patches, Grimsby is a disappointing end result for a comedian of this talent and depth.

Tim Armitage

What's in our diary...

Swan Lake Sydney Opera House, Friday April 1 – Wednesday April 20 Not many ballets become household names, but Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is one of the most universally renowned of the lot. The famous tale of love and beauty is as easy on the eye as it is difficult on its ballerinas’ knees, and the Australian Ballet’s production is one of the finest in the world. Stephen Baynes’ traditional interpretation of Swan Lake was commissioned in 2012 for the Australian Ballet’s 50th anniversary, and it’s still going strong today.

19 EVE STREET ERSKINEVILLE

WWW.THECOMMUNE.CO/LOCALLYMADE

xx

For more info and to book, visit australianballet.com.au.

SUNDAY 3RD APRIL | 10AM - 4PM

thebrag.com

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market corner

LOCALLY MADE BY COMMUNE

Speciality: A smaller, more unique market experience with just over 30 curated local Inner West makers that you won’t find at the usual weekend markets. There will be locally made crafts and design, food and drinks as well as performances by local bands.

As 2016 continues to chug along, video game studios start to become a little more confident in releasing some of their heaviest hitters. As a result, April definitely has a number of must-haves you should be saving your spare gold coins for.

before these guys become household names… trust us, they will.

What’s the fuel? We showcase local food vendors, brewers and beverage makers. Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or a meat lover, we’ve got you covered.

Stallholder info: We are a bi-monthly market, so always looking for fresh meat. Find out more via our website below.

Where: 9 Eve Street, Erskineville When: Sunday April 4 10am – 6pm More: commune.co/ locallymade

market corner WITH

DEAR PLUTO POP UP MARKET What’s the fuel?

There is a bar and café at the venue, with wines from Cake Wines, ice cold beers, coffee and snacks. There’ll also be a mobile sushi cart from Kyandi.

The crowd: Whilst our market-goers are typically in the 20-35 age bracket, there’s something for every age bracket, whether you’re 18 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

a tiny tot or silver fox. We always like to see lots of locals too; it’s great to see we have such support from our neighbours!

Find a bargain: One of the (many) fabulous things about emerging artists and designers is you can get those warm fuzzy ‘supporting local creatives’ feels for not much change at all. If we only had $10 to spend, we’d treat ourselves to a very cute and tonguein-cheek Not All Ramen patch from Crafts And Rec. Bec Sandridge

Stallholder info: Unfortunately applications for stalls have now closed, however we love hearing from local designers and makers – say hello to us at hello@dearpluto.co, and we’ll be in touch next time we’re doing something cool.

Where: 107 Projects, 107 Redfern Street, Redfern When: Our Pop Up Fall Market runs over two days on Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3. Stay in the loop about future markets by subscribing to the Dear Pluto mailing list on our website.

More: dearpluto.co and facebook.com/dearpluto

First up on Tuesday April 5 is Quantum Break – the Xbox One’s highly experimental third person shooter from the guys behind the Alan Wake series. Play through a section of the video game, then sit back and stream an episode of the interconnected live action television show – both of which influence the other.

Meanwhile, jump down the week a bit to Friday April 8 and you can put your pedal to the metal with Dirt Rally. Originally released for PC late last year, the exceptional racer is now thankfully being ported to both PS4 and Xbox One with an extra tune-up in hand.

Elite hardcore gamers, however, have been patiently waiting for Tuesday April 12.

Namely because that’s the day the tear-inducing Souls series gets itself a new sibling in the form of Dark Souls III (PS4, XBO, PC). For the uninitiated, expect a positively brutal game that pushes you forward by killing you. A lot. A word of warning: it’s definitely not for everybody.

Closing out the month on Wednesday April 20 is the PS4 iteration of Ratchet & Clank. Acting as more of a reboot than a complete remake of the PS2 classic, expect a bigger narrative, ridiculous new weapons and graphics that’ll make you drool.

GOOD GAME ANNIVERSARY

Taking place on Sunday April 24 at Sydney Town Hall, Good Game Live: The Anniversary Edition combines Steven ‘Bajo’ O’Donnell, Stephanie ‘Hex’ Bendixsen, Nich Richardson, Michael Hing and Gus ‘Goose’ Ronald as they test both their gaming credibility and improv skills to an audience.

With a bunch of celebrities on board as well, this is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the show’s tenth anniversary. Tickets range from $39.90 – $49.90 via Ticketek.

BONUS STAGE

A part of this year’s Sydney Comedy Festival, Bonus Stage is a live talk show made specifically for all the gamers out there. Set to take over Redfern’s Giant Dwarf on Wednesday April 27, hosts Carlo Ritchie (The Bear Pack), Ben O’Brien (Big Head Mode) and Rae Johnston (Gizmodo Australia) will be joined onstage by a variety of special guests from the world of comedy, television and games. You’ll be able to sit back and enjoy sketches, cosplaying, gaming, the odd appearance from real video game characters and smooth tunes from the musically inclined Benny Davis and The Triforce. The best part, however, is once the show is over there will be a bunch of classic Nintendo games, board games and cards for you to enjoy while you down a couple of drinks. Tickets start at $15.29 via Ticketek.

WIN A FAMILY ADVENTURE

Anyone who’s into social gaming will be more than familiar with Timezone. The gaming venue’s many locations are a hub for families and friends of all ages, and now Timezone is giving visitors the chance to win a Family Theme Park Adventure in Orlando, Florida. You and your closest kin can score a trip to the United States, just by spending $30 at your local Timezone (and they’ll throw in a bonus $10 on top of that). There’s also the chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab, free games and tickets. Visit timezone. com.au for details and T&Cs.

Review: The Division (PS4, XBO, PC)

I

t’s amazing how quickly the world can fall.

One moment we’re deciding which flat screen television works better in the living room, the next a designer virus set loose on Black Friday brings New York citizens to their knees. Such is the world of Ubisoft’s The Division: society has been thrust into an environment without food, water or any kind of human self-control. Thankfully, surviving it is a whole lot more entertaining.

To do so, you take the roll of a covert government agent trained specifically for doomsday scenarios. Your mission: help piece the city back together, save lives and find out what in the hell happened. Each mission you complete will help make New York that little bit better – whether it’s stopping a robbery in progress or rescuing a member of society crucial to upgrading your home base’s main wings. The more missions you complete, the faster your character level builds – allowing you to improve both their attributes and their abilities.

Operating as a blend between third-person shooter and RPG, there are naturally a lot of menus that contain a wealth of information for you to look into. As a result, getting accustomed to all of The Division’s various systems and rules can be quite intense. In fact, one of the game’s largest criticisms is that it can feel overwhelming in the opening hours. Skills, weapon attributes, upgrades and various statistics are thrown at you with such reckless abandon that it’s difficult to keep track of everything so that you can properly manage your inventory and quickly work out what’s worth keeping.

Eventually all the pieces come together, but regardless The Division is a game that wants you to be working it out with your friends. Enemy AI is surprisingly resilient and constantly working to flank you from whichever position you find yourself in. Sure, you can still go at it alone, but missions can start to feel a tad repetitive when you’re not working on new strategies as a team.

Meanwhile, the Dark Zone acts as a hybrid of the main game and a competitive mode against other players. It’s available to explore at any point, and is incredibly tense, but this is The Division’s most dangerous and treacherous area, so if you’re a low level, enter at your own risk.

The Division is far from perfect, but there’s a lot of room to build, and with such a large uptake already, it’s definitely worth jumping into and lending a post-pandemic New York a helping hand.

Adam Guetti

thebrag.com

Molly Coombs Marr's Bubble O' Bill earrings photo courtesy Dear Pluto

Speciality: Following the huge success of our inaugural event last December, we’re happy as punch to be putting on another Pop Up Market showcasing a varied but finely curated spectrum of emerging makers and designers. Across the two days, you’ll see over 20 stalls with tonnes of handmade items on offer including apparel, cards, ceramics, homewares, jewellery and prints. Some of our favourite stalls include Above The Canopy’s quirky knitted necklaces, the sweet as punch jewellery from Little Dirty Dish, Molly Coombs Marr’s Australianathemed accessories and Parva’s all natural and locally made skincare range.

Additionally, we’ve got some of Sydney’s finest DJs on the ones and twos all day on Saturday, and the fantastic Bec Sandridge doing a live set in the performance room on Sunday. We’re utilising the entire space this time round – if you were lucky enough to nab a ticket before we sold out, we may even see you on the rooftop for our floral and clay workshops.

APR

New Releases

2016

The crowd: A melting pot of market lovers (and like-minded makers and creators) from locals to suburb travellers, where all family members are invited (even your pets).

Find a bargain: Locally Made is a chance to buy direct from the makers and nab a one-off, unique, hand-crafted ware

Gaming news and reviews with Adam Guetti

WHAT’S ON

WITH

game on

out & about

five minutes

Queer(ish) matters with Lucy Watson

WITH ASH

A

fter caving in to his conservative mates in parliament last week, Malcolm Turnbull “gutted” the safe schools program and cut off funding entirely from June 2017.

From this spawned the “I Need Safe Schools” campaign. It’s almost guaranteed that a queer person can tell you a heartfelt, personal story about why they need (or needed) safe schools.

I’m no different, and this is my soapbox, so here is why I needed safe schools.

I grew up in regional Australia. By all accounts I managed to be a relatively successful human while in high school – school captain, academically profi cient, captain of the soccer team, blah blah blah. It’s a textbook case.

I escaped the clutches of my small town, moved to Sydney and went to University.

A successful story, except my mother complains that I’m still at uni, eight years after I started.

It sounds as though I had a fi ne time in high school, and truth be told, I probably did. But I wasn’t myself. And I didn’t learn who that was until I was well into my university years.

Growing up in a regional area, I never met anyone gay. And if I did, it wasn’t even something I had any level of understanding of. There were two kids in my school who had two mums, and all I knew was that they both looked like men and were therefore ugly and worthy of ridicule, and their lesbianism explained their kids’ hippy names, because lesbians were clearly crazy weirdos.

This was the vocabulary I learned around homosexuality. Kids in my school would bully me by calling me a lesbian, and I felt hurt by that. I recall the day rumours went around that Missy Higgins was a lesbian, and I was hurt on her behalf. “Who could say such a thing about Missy?!” I was outraged, and probably – unbeknownst to me at the time, though abundantly clear now – a little too in love with a lesbian-esque singer I’d never met.

Shamefully, I bullied a gay kid. Not to his face, but there was a boy a few years below me who was incredibly camp, and we used to say his name with a lisp and a limp wrist, and laugh. It sickens me to think of that now.

But that’s how I knew about homosexuality: the women were ugly, the men were feminine. I wanted short hair, but was so afraid people would

think I was *shock, horror* gay. The idea of being gay was something that repulsed and terrifi ed me. Yet I still spent my days pining after Missy Higgins and some of my peers. I was so ignorant to homosexuality both in general and to my own developing teenage sexuality that I failed to properly understand what these feelings were.

If I’d had a program like safe schools, the stigma around homosexuality would’ve been reduced. I would’ve realised that queer people are people too, and in fact that queer people are people like me. I would’ve been so much more comfortable in my own skin – more attuned to my own feelings and identity.

But, more importantly, if I’d had a program like safe schools, I would’ve known that bullying that camp boy a few years below me was fundamentally wrong, and maybe I would’ve done more to stop it, rather than join the throngs of others, because it was easy.

If I’d had safe schools, my high school years would have been far less homophobic. Less homophobic in the way treated others and myself. And maybe I would’ve cut my hair short about three years sooner.

this week…

This Wednesday March 30 sees the return of Yellow Wednesdays at Secret Garden Bar. Also at Secret Garden on Friday April 1 is the next weekly instalment of Homosocial.

Salvador Dali Llama

BRENNAN, PRODUCER/DIRECTOR OF PUNKS FOR WEST PAPUA

P

unks For West Papua deals with the ongoing West Papuan genocide. Can you give a brief rundown of the conflict for those who might not be aware of the tragedy?

After WWII, Indonesia and Papua, or the Dutch East Indies as it was known, was still a colony of the Netherlands.

Indonesia officially claimed independence in 1949 after declaring war on the Dutch colonisers. President Sukarno had his eyes firmly set on West Papua as it’s full of resources, including the world’s largest gold and silver deposits. Over the last 50 years, it is estimated that over half a million West Papuans have been murdered.

Waving a West Papuan flag, or any act of nationalism, is punishable by 15 years’ prison. The genocide is ongoing, as the Indonesian government forbids journalists or human aid workers into West Papua.

The documentary focuses on Jody Bartolo and his attempts to raise money and awareness for the Free West Papua cause. How did you become involved with him?

Neil Kellington, bass player for the Diggers With Attitude, is a long-time friend of mine.

It was Neil that first contacted me regarding the first Punks for West Papua (P4WP) gig that the band had set up. He just asked me if I would be interested in shooting DWA perform at P4WP in June at the Town & Country Hotel in

St Peters. Two weeks after that phone call, Jody called me to say Free West Papua campaign leader Benny Wenda was in town and offered us an interview to promo the P4WP gigs. Within that 30-minute interview, my life was turned on its head.

Benny told us things that I didn’t think were possible in this part of the world. That one gig at the Town & Country Hotel grew to 51 bands in seven cities around the country. In 2016, P4WP is now a global event.

Given its content, was the documentary difficult to make?

I never thought about making a documentary until after I spoke to Benny Wenda. Even then I had no real plan. I have worked in television for over 25 years and am quite handy with a camera and edit software, as well as producing.

So I figured it would just come together. The main issue I had was footage from West Papua.

I obviously wasn’t going there, but I needed the rights for footage to tell my story. West Papua media and local West Papuan filmmakers helped me out with some great footage and it saved the day. Despite what most people may think, I did go easy on using footage that was too horrific. The pictures and video coming out of the place are just horrific.

Do you remain optimistic about the future of the West Papuan cause?

Indigenous West Papuans make up less than 50 per cent of the population. The

Indonesian government opened up all the land for Indonesian citizens as free settlers. Even if another ‘act of free choice’ was held, the population on numbers would ensure Indonesia would continue its rule.

Indonesia is an associate member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group. As an associate member, it has the power to vote down West Papua’s observer status, so their voices will never be heard. Thirdly, for West Papua to have any chance of self-determination, it needs the support of Australia.

Unfortunately, successive governments on both sides of politics have publicly supported Indonesia’s sovereignty over West Papua.

What: Punks For West Papua (dir. Ash Brennan) Where: Wayward Brewing Co. When: Wednesday April 6 And: Also available to rent at punks4westpapua. com and screening nationally

WE’RE ON THE HUNT FOR SYDNEY’S HOTTEST MAN!

4 MEN THROUGH EACH WEEK JOEL & THE QUEEN WILL PUT TO A SERIES OF CHALLENGES FOR THE CHANCE RS. WIN $200 AND PRIZES FROM OUR SPONSO EACH WEEKLY WINNER WILL BE SENT TO COMPETE IN THE GRAND FINAL. THE GRAND FINAL WIINER WILL WIN $1000 COLD HARD CASH AND FEATURED IN DNA MAGAZINE.

School crossing photo: Flickr/Rafael Sato

TO ENTER EMAIL YOUR DETAILS TO: INFO@SHIFTENTERTAINMENT.COM.AU

This Friday April 1 and Saturday April 2, Salvador Dali Llama are hosting at Tokyo Sing Song, alongside Sloom, The Cosmic Hollow, Bad Valley and Rackett.

Also on Saturday April 2, Keep it Disco are hosting a party at the Oxford Hotel with Ben Fester and Preacha.

Then on Sunday April 3, The Shift Club is launching its Rocky Horror Drag Show with all of Sydney’s best drag queens in the leading roles.

thebrag.com

E L A M DNA DEL MO CH SEAR16 20 BOUGHT TO YOU BY

HEY HEY IT’S WEDNESDAY WITH QUEEN MISS LEFT TITTER & JOEL TACON

STARTS WEDNESDAY MARCH 30 FROM 8PM BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16 :: 19

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK Everything You’ve Come To Expect Domino/EMI

The band may not have ‘matured’ per se, but there has definitely been an evolution since the debut of the Alex Turner and Miles Kane-led supergroup The Last Shadow Puppets. In retrospect, their debut album The Age of Understatement now sounds like four English kids bashing around in the studio, Alex Turner’s voice only a ghost of the lush baritone drawl he has since grown into.

Alex Turner and Miles Kane reinvent their own wheel with this oversaturated retro-pop delight.

FILTHY APES Luna Solar Dreamer Independent/Bandcamp

Fremantle’s Filthy Apes play it safe with their latest EP, Luna Solar Dreamer, never straying far from psychedelic rock clichés. Maybe that’s just the nature of an EP – after all, it’s only a morsel of what’s on offer, a quick glimpse with barely enough time to settle into a flow.

Then again, maybe this reviewer’s low capacity for paint-by-numbers psychedelic rock is the problem.

But even after a few spins, little is left lingering, even if it’s obvious these pungent primates can jam, man. Pounding out a packed rhythm, the title track ‘Luna Solar Dreamer’ is a neat construction of guitar and vocal layers, while a chorus of swirling vocal harmonies proves both eerie and trippy.

This six-track player dwells primarily in a Valium-induced daydream, going through the motions with few fucks given. ‘I’m Nowhere’ is one of few surprises that manages to break free of this stupor. Head and shoulders above its kin, this track’s monster chorus and howling harmonies jerk you from the dreariness back to consciousness.

Despite its glaring faults, if dazed and confused psychedelic rock songs mixed with a little grunge are your poison, you’re likely to find some cool tricks in this release.

Aaron Streatfeild

This latest album truly speaks for itself. In these 11 tracks are soaring, emphatic stringed sections, often passed off as exacerbated film sound effects, while

the vocal harmony between Turner and Kane has improved tenfold.

Standout songs include ‘Miracle Aligner’, with its glacial strumming and catchy hook and ‘Bad Habits’, another stabbing, punkish gem and one of the more upbeat moments on the record. But none of this compares to the compelling vocals on ‘Sweet Dreams, TN’, a stunted ballad full of motive and grandeur. You’ve never heard Alex Turner like this, no matter how many Arctic Monkeys tracks you flash through.

Everything you’ve come to expect? In some ways, but even with a slight formula in place there are enough twists and turns to send its predecessor out of business.

Chelsea Deeley

FLATBUSH ZOMBIES

WHITE DENIM

ALLEN STONE

BRIAN FALLON

3001: A Laced Odyssey Ada/Warner

Stiff Create/Control

Radius ATO/[PIAS]

Painkillers Island/Universal

Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick Arc Elliot have always been in a lane of their own, desperate to challenge the traditional New York hip-hop sound. This rebellious trend is particularly evident on their debut record, 3001: A Laced Odyssey, on which the psychedelic trio vent their dreams and nightmares through 12 tracks of LSD-fuelled lyricism. The collective change flows as often as one would change clothes and build spectacularly on their previous mixtapes, some of which date all the way back to 2010.

White Denim are the band a stoned 14-year-old who has just finished rummaging through his dad’s seven inches dreams of joining. They’re delightfully adolescent in the best possible sense of the word: raucous and horny, they search for surfacelevel pleasures, like a lothario passing a pair of nylon stockings from one hand to the other.

Allen Stone’s rise has had a steady and somewhat inevitable sense to it, but with Radius his sound has a resounding authenticity that all but cements him as a devotee and purveyor of soulful music with a message.

For over a decade Brian Fallon has served as the frontman for The Gaslight Anthem, a band that was heralded both as a spiritual successor to Bruce Springsteen and the next truly great punk rock outfit.

Painkillers is his debut following the band’s hiatus, and he seems more interested in following the Springsteen path than any other option.

The album relays the raw, zany innerworkings of the Jamaican-born group, an assemblage of rappers who are now a household name on the East Coast of America. Few tracks are as fit for an opener as ‘The Odyssey’, anchored as it is with resounding drums and haunting keys.

The mood shifts between the heavyhitting and the hypnotic on ‘A Spike Lee Joint’, with smooth, ethereal jazz notes to slow things down. ‘Good Grief’ and ‘New Phone, Who Dis?’ are both rife with thick basslines and vocal echoes that highlight the warped, twisted nature of each individual.

Stiff, their new album, keeps things basic yet cluttered; simple yet swollen. It’s a deliberately jumbled collection, a junk yard of copperwire choruses and rusted verses about love and lust. The gloriously titled ‘Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah)’ stitches together soul, blues and rock, creating a slick amalgamation that reeks of bodily fluid. Its influences are held together with spit and sweat.

Though James Brown and The Rolling Stones provide the two most obvious touchstones, Stiff is a veritable roll-call of classic ’60s and ’70s acts, with a song like ‘Real Deal Momma’ invoking the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks, The Zombies, The Four Tops, and Tim Hardin all across a mere four minutes.

That said, any song on Painkillers could also find a home on a Gaslight Anthem album, with songs like ‘Steve McQueen’ particularly impressing..

Fallon’s acoustic guitar is the fulcrum of Painkillers, switching between tender ballads (‘Honey Magnolia’) and folk-rock numbers (‘Red Lights’).

With Butch Walker behind the desk, the record is predictably wellproduced.

Flatbush Zombies have gone above and beyond, managing to harness their tortured innerfantasies.

Despite its connection to artists of the past, Painkillers is a refreshing release; a tender, ecstatic foot forward from an artist with one of the most sterling track records around.

Ben Pearce

Joseph Earp

Iain McKelvey

Spencer Scott

Embracing synthesizer soundscapes was a fitting move: the lush guitar wash of ‘Swimming Pool’ is just the tip of the iceberg, and the crystalline production frequently enhances Moss’ emotional songwriting. ‘Hyperlink’ is where her lyrical prowess truly proves itself – it seems at first to be a tired lament about cafes where everyone stares at their phones, until she offers the solution: “Take me walking through the streets/Tell me all your broken dreams”.

As the title suggests, there’s a warmth and maturity to the songwriting –

20 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

Where Stone truly excels is in the juxtaposition of his optimism with the vicious tone of his more biting tracks.

He acknowledges white privilege and materialism on ‘American Privilege’, a track that stings with its opening line, “It doesn’t seem right/That I was born white,” before he opens the piece up with the positivity of ‘Love’. It’s this duelling nature that makes the album feel all the more real.

Indeed, it’s hard to avoid comparisons with The Boss. It’s not only in Fallon’s voice and the fact that he was born and raised in New Jersey – it’s in songs like album opener ‘A Wonderful Life’, a track that wouldn’t be out of place on a new Springsteen album.

Radius is an all-encompassing statement from an artist who feels the same pain as we do, but delivers his take sprinkled with optimism, making it easier for us to chew on.

British indie darling Emma-Lee Moss, AKA Emmy The Great, shines in her newest release, something of a spiritual successor to the album that first began her journey, First Love.

Second Love Bella Union

‘Perfect World’ opens the affair with a gospel vibe, complete with handclaps and group harmonies. Stone favours that vintage soul feel, pushing his powerful vocals to the very front.

While there are production flourishes across ‘Guardian Angel’ and the poppiest cut on the album, ‘Freedom’, the piece works best when Stone marries medium and message, as on the humble slow jam of ‘Circle’ or the funk slap of ‘Upside’.

Nevertheless, though it has its gaze fixed firmly upon the past, Stiff never sounds like anything but the future. No one record has the right to be this much fun.

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK

EMMY THE GREAT

The Last Shadow Puppets photo by Zackery Michael

THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS

Moss’ second love is formed by experience, and it sounds more confident, if always ever so slightly wary.

From the chilled laptop beats of ‘Dance W Me’ to the heartbreaking quietus of ‘Lost In You’, Moss shows an endearing honesty and willingness to experiment with texture. Consistency does mean that there’s little that’s truly groundbreaking in the album, but the pleasant sincerity is enough of a draw even for casual listeners.

Emmy The Great’s third album shows that we’re better for painful lessons learned, and provides evidence for growth beyond the hurt.

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

MOTÖRHEAD - Bad Magic THE DRONES - I See Seaweed BRETT SMILEY - Breathlessly Brett

TAME IMPALA - Currents JOEY BADASS - 1999

David Molloy thebrag.com

live reviews

What we've been out to see...

MODEST MOUSE Enmore Theatre Monday March 21

“The only thing that would make this moment more perfect is if two of you got in a fist fight,” mutters Isaac Brock, probably not providing the best advertisement for live music in a city that is contending with the perception that its nightlife is some kind of violent underbelly.

But Brock isn’t meant to be a poster boy: he’s just enjoying playing the show. “I’m not one for violence myself,” he continues, “but I sure do enjoy watching it.”

Which probably sums up the crowd at tonight’s show. We are, for the most part, mild-mannered folk who would much rather watch the violence – in a musical sense – play out onstage than become a part of it ourselves. As always with Modest Mouse, Brock is the chief protagonist, an eccentric, self-deprecating, slightly deranged sea captain whose ship endlessly threatens to capsize.

The setlist naturally leans towards last year’s Strangers To Ourselves. Whether it’s due to the lack of nostalgic value or not, the new material doesn’t quite resonate with the crowd as much as the old favorites – ‘Lampshades On Fire’ being a notable exception. ‘Never Ending Math Equation’ and ‘Out Of Gas’ serve up a healthy dose of softly spoken nostalgia, while the slow build of ‘Bukowski’ is probably the highlight of the night.

Outside of these refl ective interludes, Modest Mouse hammer home their credentials as an all-out rock band. There is no doubt that they have a welloiled engine room, a considerable achievement considering they often have three percussionists and two bassists all playing in tandem.

However, many of the subtleties of the interplay between instruments are lost in the bass-heavy mix.

The wait for both encores is drawn out, with the audience eventually being rewarded with a particularly passionate version of ‘The Good Times Are Killing Me’ that almost descends into total chaos before pulling itself back from the brink.

TEDESCHI TRUCKS BAND Enmore Theatre Tuesday March 22

With The Allman Brothers Band now retired, it feels like Tedeschi Trucks Band are well placed to become the new standard-bearers of Southern rock.

An old-school jam band for the ages, they straddle blues, rock, jazz, soul and gospel in a performance that showcases a group at the top of its game – a throwback to the likes of Delaney & Bonnie.

The ambitious 12-piece blues rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, led by husband-and-wife team Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, return tonight for their third Australian tour alongside Bluesfest. Their recently released third studio album, Let Me Get By, was selfproduced and recorded in their own studio, but it is soon apparent that it’s on the road where this band really thrives.

Opening with a number of cuts from their new album, Tedeschi Trucks Band settle in for a long and satisfying set that incorporates a rich vein of influences.

The dynamics of a jam band are fraught with danger. 12 performers and countless styles on the one stage would make most record labels quiver. Yet the interplay between these guys sets them apart.

thebrag.com

TWEEDY, THOSE PRETTY WRONGS The Factory Theatre Tuesday March 22

The Factory Theatre appearance by Tweedy – the family band of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer – was a godsend to devout fans, with one set focussed on Sukierae, delivered by a full touring band, and the second set representing the Australian debut of one of Jeff Tweedy’s much vaunted solo sets.

Those Pretty Wrongs, a band comprised of sole surviving Big Star member Jody Stephens and The Freewheelers’ Luther Russell, opened the show with a set of charming folk-pop tunes. Yet to release their debut, it’s uncanny how much Stephens’ voice instantly harks back to the sounds of #1 Record and Radio City, and Russell’s

ST. PAUL & THE BROKEN BONES Metro Theatre Monday March 21

Let me be the first to say, “Holy shit biscuits, Batman” – St. Paul and The Broken Bones are freakin’ incredible.

Playing the Metro for their first ever Australian performance, the Alabama soulsters tore the goddamn roof off the joint, and I’m not sure how any of us were walking straight as we stumbled stunned into the night afterwards. It’s rare to find an act that is so passionately old school yet somehow able to spin such an incredible contemporary show, one replete with vaudeville theatrics and revival-tent exuberance. Hell, I’m still dancing 12 hours later.

melodic, versatile 12-string was like a nonstop harmony. Any Big Star fan who hasn’t heard of them – or folk-pop fans in general – should seek them out.

In their full, six-person iteration, Tweedy live are like the alt-country band that Uncle Tupelo diehards wish Wilco would be. Their introspective, elegantly restrained material is a pure expression of Jeff Tweedy’s art, and a reminder that he made his name reinventing country music (although alt-country fans still might rankle at the duelling solos of ‘World Away’ and the feedback coda of ‘Diamond Light’).

Though it was hinted at in the show announcement, the Jeff Tweedy solo set was still something of a surprise. He touched on everything: Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, and a few covers. He was even open to requests, but the crowd was too respectful to let the night devolve into a shouting match.

After a rousing instrumental opening (featuring a three-piece horn section, Hammond organ, drum, electric, and bass) St. Paul himself appeared, working the stage with a fervour few others can match. Having recently interviewed the Birmingham native, I’d learnt that Tom Waits and Nick Cave were both strong inspirations. It shows – the man seduced the crowd with mock-lascivious winks and a broad Cheshire Cat smile, beckoning us closer like acolytes before a glaring new messiah. His religious upbringing shone through, echoing that particularly American blend of worship and showmanship.

The Broken Bones are a damned tight act – with particular props to their saxophonist, whose early solo blew me away – but it is St. Paul who demands your attention.

Sukierae was meditative and relaxed by design, and a whole show dedicated to that album would have been satisfying enough.

But it was with Wilco that Tweedy became known as one of the best songwriters of all time. Hearing reinterpretations of various classics, including a solo harmonica version of ‘Via Chicago’, a bluesy ‘I’m The Man Who Loves You’ and the live rarity ‘Either Way’ was nothing but a reassertion of his great talents.

As has become customary for any respectful band in 2016, the night ended with covers of Bowie’s ‘Five Years’ and ‘Queen Bitch’, as goodwill permeated throughout the venue. “I feel like we’ve made a true connection here,” Tweedy said, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who disagreed.

Leonardo Silvestrini

As he himself admitted, there may have been many in the audience unfamiliar with their songs – they were, after all, a fresh presence. But the energy with which they delivered songs like ‘Sugar Dyed’, ‘Broken Bones & Pocket Change’ and ‘I’m Torn Up’ had the crowd hypnotised.

With the addition of some core covers, this turned out to be one hell of a gig.

Tom Waits’ ‘Make It Rain’ was a highlight, and there was great fun to be had in The Beatles’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’. The set culminated in a refrain of ‘Try A Little Tenderness’, and I can conceive of a no more appropriate finish for a band poised to take Bluesfest by storm. Goddamn, gentlemen. That was one hell of a show.

Adam Norris

Though a feedback-spattered ‘Ocean Breathes Salty’ is less impressive, the night is rounded out nicely with an almost tender ‘Strangers To Ourselves’. It’s hard to fault the band’s precision, or indeed Brock’s energetic performance.

The only regret for the night is that an imbalanced mix has made what should have been a glorious two-hour display feel quite laboured at times.

Joshua Manning

The critic Robert Palmer once said of Duane Allman that he was the only guitarist who could solo on a one-chord vamp for half an hour or more, not only without boring an audience but keeping it absolutely riveted. The same might be said of Trucks tonight. A player with a deft touch, his jazz-inflected style honours his Southern roots and interest in traditional Indian music in equal parts. Tedeschi, meanwhile, plays with real fire on her Strat, her rich vocals and assertive presence complementing her partner’s more restrained approach.

The engine room of Oteil Burbridge on keys, Mike Mattinson on backing vocals and David Bowie collaborator Tim Lefebvre on bass provides a powerful nucleus that maintains the driving momentum as the gig enters its third hour.

Later, the Derek and The Dominos classic ‘Anyday’ really allows Trucks to stretch out on guitar. The night concludes with a stomping rendition of old favourite ‘Bound For Glory’ but not before an impressive cover of The Beatles’ ‘Something’.

It’s nice to think that in the midst of the digital download era, a group as distinctive and unconventional as this can carve its own niche.

Tim Armitage

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

D’ANGELO Sydney Opera House Monday March 21 For a man allegedly uncomfortable with his sex symbol status, D’Angelo is doing everything right to earn it. Crooning the opening lines to the slow jam ‘Devil’s Pie’, he takes to the stage clad in black feathers and do-rag while his band The Vanguard back him in equally stylish attire. Since returning from his 14-year hiatus, D’Angelo has tightened up his act.

He now echoes the hard-working ethos of James Brown, albeit tinged with his own touching vulnerability.

Indeed, it’s his vulnerability that makes the show both great and a bit difficult to connect with. A massive Prince fan, D’Angelo’s roots come through in the crunching rock covers of Roberta Flack’s ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ and Prince’s ‘She’s Always In My Hair’. With strobe lights flaring and the band powering through the chords, it’s admirable that they’re paying tribute to D’Angelo’s influences, but the effect is as jarring as it is spectacular.

melissa etheridge

The neo-soul singer seems to have shrugged off any damage that his extended struggle with drugs and alcohol might have been expected to wreak on his voice. He screams into the mic, and incites the crowd to sing along on the more soulful tracks. “Used to get real high/Now I’m just getting a buzz,” he sings, dancing to the smooth groove of ‘Back To The Future (Part II)’. However, if his voice has escaped unscathed, it’s clear that his performances have been touched, as though they are a part of D’Angelo’s catharsis and he has transformed his pain into this high-energy show.

Suddenly the band shudders to a halt, and the hall is plunged into darkness.

There’s an uneasy silence for a while, and then the band slams back into gear for a rock-funk fusion encore. D’Angelo finishes by flinging his mic stand to the floor in true James Brown fashion, a fitting end for a show too focused on D’Angelo’s idols but saved by incredible performances.

James Ross

PICS :: AM

At other times we get exactly what we came for. The strings of ‘Really Love’ resonate through the Opera House as a beautiful flamenco guitar trickles over the chorus, D’Angelo singing, “I’m really

in love with you”. He makes his first costume change of the night, and we’re treated to a funk extravaganza, complete with scatting, simultaneous guitar solos and synchronized dance moves.

23:03:16 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

EY MAR :: OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHL

party profile

mansion lane funk thursdays

22 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

It’s called: Mansion Lane Funk Thursdays It sounds like: A house party at Prince’s mans ion with ParliamentFunkadelic playing on the tennis court and Mark Ronson dropping vinyl live in the ballroom.

Acts: Mike Who, Kato, Groovescooter, Luen, Meem, Lyre Byrdland (live), Daigo, Higher Ground and the ever-mischie vous Mansion Lane DJs… Sell it to us: It’s basically the party that we would want to attend. No bravado. Just live music and funky-as-hell DJs. Plus a whole heap of dancing like nobody’s watching and a no regret s next day. Mansion Lane. Funk Thursdays. F*%k reason to sleep in the Fridays.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Seeing (or possibly being…) that person on the dancefloor whose rug-cutting ability is completely fuelled by the funkability of the house band.

Crowd specs: After workers, funk and disco lovers, tropical print wearers, cocktail drinkers and inhibition-free dancers.

Wallet damage: Free!

Where: The World Bar, 24 Bayswater Rd, Potts Point When: Every damn Thursday night from 7pm

thebrag.com

artist profiles up close and personal with a gaggle of rising stars...

speed date

five things WITH JAKE

WITH SARAH

ROBERTSON FROM HIEROPHANTS Growing Up My dad turns off 1.

Christmas carols and puts on The Kink Kontroversy and Died Pretty – Doughboy Hollow every Christmas morning. He did it then, he does it now. I can’t hear Died Pretty without thinking about Christmas anymore.

Inspirations Devo, who taught me 2. that you can turn everything upside down and still dance the Poot. Brian Eno, who taught me to never save anything, just reinvent it.

Brett Smiley, who taught me that the most popular person in the genre doesn’t always have the best songs.

BEDAK FROM LOLO LOVINA

Your Profile Lolo Lovina play inside a spotty red 1. vintage caravan and sound like a cross

beautiful happy crazy dancing Newtownians in Newtopia – just divine!

between a small Roma (Gypsy) village in Serbia and swing jazz club in Paris 1920.

Current Playlist We are loving Besh O Drom from 4.

Budapest, Taraf de Haïdouks from Romania,

Keeping Busy We will be in Europe for their summer 2. this year! We look forward to playing in

Birelli on Gipsy swing guitar and The Rosenberg Trio.

Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Brussels and Belgrade. We have been playing, recording and practising a lot so we are sounding oh so super hot right now.

Your Ultimate Rider Lamb on a spit, boiled potatoes and 5. home brewed rakija (usually we just end up

Best Gig Ever Shows at the Opera House are always 3. super exciting. Apart from that, really our favourite shows are from Lolo the Gypsy Caravan Stage in front of the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. Imagine 300-plus

with a few beers!)

What: Lolo Lovina play from Lolo the Gypsy Caravan Stage at Friday Night Vibes Where: Newtown Square When: Friday April 1

Your Band Zak, Paris, Daff and 3.

Jake. We all have a similar sense of how music works.

If it ain’t broke, break it, then fix it.

The Music You Make Hierophants are not 4. genre-specific. We make music for ourselves, our friends and family.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

I thought the music scene What: Moving Parts out now through Anti Fade Where: Moonshine Bar, Hotel Steyne / Vic On The Park When: Friday April 1 / Saturday April 2

in Australia was really poor until I travelled th0e world.

Australia has great bands and not too much shit to wade through to find them.

speed date WITH THE

IRON HORSES

Your Profile Imagine The Rolling Stones covering The Clash? That’s us. We like late nights on the 1. piss, midgets in fancy dress and playing loud rock’n’roll music.

Keeping Busy We’ve been playing gigs all over New South Wales over the last year. We finished our 2. debut EP earlier this year, which will be released May 6. We will be back in the studio in May to record our first album, which will be funded mainly by sperm donations.

3.

Best Gig Ever Our best gig so far was our first appearance at Frankie’s. It turned into a wild affair with a couple of stage invasions and an impromptu version of ‘Wonderwall’ from some guy in the crowd. Nobody really remembers that night…

4.

Current Playlist We’re currently listening to the likes of Catfish and The Bottlemen, Rosewood Thieves, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Scorpions, Rodriguez, Circa Waves, Gary Moore and The Libertines.

What: Stop To Start out independently on Your Ultimate Rider Friday May 6 Pamela Anderson (circa ’96), tea and Where: Town Hall Hotel, Newtown biscuits, loads of bourbon and some midgets When: Friday April 22 going ‘round offering cocaine.

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(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

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(10:00PM - 1:40AM)

5.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

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5:45PM  8:45PM

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

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(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

(10:00PM - 1:15AM)

thebrag.com

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

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

pick of the week Brian Wilson

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

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Phil Marino + David Levell + Anthony Goodridge + Shawn Lidster + Pete Scully Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

7:30pm. Free.

The Decemberists Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

8pm. $79.20.

THURSDAY MARCH 31 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Harbourview Hullabaloo - feat: Zack Martin + Guests Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm.

Free.

Kirsty Bolton Mr Falcon's, Glebe.

8:30pm. Free.

Manouche Wednesday - feat: The Squeezebox Trio Mr Falcon's, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Shakey Graves The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $60.10.

THURSDAY MARCH 31 Sydney Opera House

Brian Wilson

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

8pm. $99

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Fusion Fire Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $16.50.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Fantastic Negrito Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $35.

Live Music @ Manning Manning Bar, Camperdown. 3pm.

Free.

Mark Travers

Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Nahko & Medicine For The People Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $50.87.

Oliver Goss Band + Rufflefeather + Sabrina Soares Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Simon Meli + Joseph Calderazzo + Jak Housden

Rock Lily, Pyrmont.

7:30pm. Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Allen Stone Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $62.80.

Dana Hassall + Amber Rae Slade

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Big Daddy Wilson Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $30.

Dereb The Ambassador Foundry616, Ultimo.

8:30pm. $16.50.

FRIDAY APRIL 1 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK Riley Pearce The Newsagency, Marrickville. 8pm.

Shakey Graves

Allen Stone $15.

Root Notes - feat: Camille And Stuie + Mc Luke Escombe The Music Lounge, Brookvale. 7pm. $25.

Taj Mahal Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $66.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Blake Tailor Club Liverpool, Liverpool. 5:30pm.

Free.

Cath & Him Quakers Inn, Quakers Hill. 8pm.

Free.

City Calm Down Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $20.

Clever Little Secretaries Penrith RSL, Penrith.

9pm. Free.

Jellybean Jam Revesby Workers Club, Revesby.

8:30pm. Free.

Kang + 51 Percent + Possibility Of Two + Hack The Mainframe + Special Guests Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. $10.

Kirsty Lee Akers Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 7:30pm. $20.

Live Music @ Manning Manning Bar, Camperdown. 3pm.

Free.

Mi-Sex Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. 8pm. $30.75.

Oliver Thorpe Mr Falcon's, Glebe.

five things WITH

ZACH ODGERS Growing Up I grew up in a family where music was 1. appreciated but no-one played anything. I started out in the school band on a clarinet at age six and started the guitar at age 15. Mum and Dad always had pretty good music taste and I feel like some of the records I remember listening to growing up may have put me on the right track.

Inspirations My main influences would be people 2. like Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan and Paul Kelly, the guys who write stories rather than chasing a catchy hook. Modern inspiration includes guys like Langhorne Slim, Conor Oberst and Jake Bugg. They’re the kind of songwriters who make me want to write and tell my story.

Your Band The band met at Macquarie Uni – we 3. were all studying Arts/Music and always jammed. We’ve got two bands, The East Coast Low and The Florins with the same members on different instruments. The East Coast Low is Jon Keen on bass, Bradley Owens on guitar and Ramon Echevarria on the drums.

The Music You Make It’s raucous Americana that tells stories 4. from my life and the lives of people I’ve met.

We take that Johnny Cash country style, add a

24 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

bit of Black Keys, mix it with some Dylan-esque folk and maybe a touch of a few other things on the way and that’ll land you somewhere close to the music we make. You can check it out on Facebook, iTunes and Spotify and all those.

Our record is called A Thousand Shipwrecked Shores, and we recorded it with one of the best producers in Sydney, Wade Keighran, who you’ll normally find playing bass in Wolf & Cub and Steve Smyth and The Outlaws.

Music, Right Here, Right Now I was worried there for a while, but live 5. music and all music has started to re-emerge from little nooks and crannies all around Sydney. There are tonnes of smaller venues opening up bringing all kinds of music to the masses, it’s cool. You’ll normally find me hanging around Moonshine in Manly as they are pretty consistent at booking killer bands.

Who: Zach Odgers and The East Coast Low What: Housefox Fest With: Hard-Ons, Rust, Black Rheno, Gutter Tactic and more Where: Narrabeen RSL When: Saturday April 16 And: A Thousand Shipwrecked Shores out now independently

thebrag.com

Shakey Graves photo by Kirk Stewart

WEDNESDAY MARCH 30

Brian Wilson Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

8pm. $99.

City Calm Down Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $20.

Donna Campbell Penrith RSL, Penrith.

11am. Free.

Greg Hooper Plus Dee Donavon Penrith RSL, Penrith.

11am. Free.

Leftöver Crack Factory Floor,

Marrickville. 8pm. $38.

Live & Original @ The Merc - feat: Men With Day Jobs + Dominique Morgan + Invona Budys + Oliver Downes The Mercantile Hotel, The Rocks.

7:30pm. Free.

Live Music @ Manning Manning Bar, Camperdown. 3pm.

Free.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $56.40.

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

The Runaway Houses + Easy Street + Dream Cities Slyfox, Enmore.

7:30pm. Free.

Vintage Trouble Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $62.80.

We May Fall + Liberties + Drowning Atlantis + Like Royals + Pillager Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

7:30pm. $9.80.

g g guide gig g

g g picks gig p

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com 9pm. Free.

Rebecca Johnson Band Colonial Hotel, Werrington. 8:30pm.

Free.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

Rock Show Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi.

9:30pm. Free.

Stephanie Lea The Oriental Hotel, Springwood. 8pm.

Free.

Stiff Little Fingers Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $59.99.

Suite Az + DJ Troy T The Arthouse, Sydney. 5pm. Free.

The Gentle Enemies + Daddy Long Legs + The Swamp Donkeys Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

8pm. $11.80.

The Last Waltz feat: Tim Rogers + Paul Dempsey + Richard Clapton + Kevin Borich Olympia + Vika & Linda Bull + The Rockwiz Orkestra Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

8pm. $89.

Tigertown Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

8pm. $18.

SATURDAY APRIL 2 ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

The Shack - feat: Cap In Hand + Niq & Yetzka + Akova The Music Lounge, Brookvale. 7:30pm. $25.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Blind Boys Of Alabama Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $86.60.

City and Colour photo by Alysse Gafkjen

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Australia Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $10.

Clever Little Secretaries Rock Lily, Pyrmont.

9:30pm. Free.

DJ Matt Ellis AKA Matty O Rooty Hill RSL Club, Rooty Hill. 9pm.

Free.

Evie Dean Novotel, Rooty Hill.

6:30pm. Free.

Fenrir Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt.

6pm. $11.80.

Greg Poppleton's Bakelite Dance Band Penrith RSL, Penrith.

2pm. Free.

Groovology Oatley Hotel, Oatley.

8pm. Free.

Ian Moss thebrag.com

Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $61.17.

Jonathan Lee Jones Mr Falcon's, Glebe.

9:30pm. Free.

Lets Groove Tonight Revesby Workers Club, Revesby.

8:30pm. Free.

Mark Travers Plough & Harrow, Camden. 8pm. Free.

Raise The Crazy + Eight Ball Junkies + Release The Hounds + The Backwoods Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

Ryan Enright Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 5:45pm.

Free.

She Cries Wolf + Stepson + Ratking + Life's Ill Red Rattler, Marrickville. 8pm. $10.

Soul Tattoo Brighton RSL, Brighton Le Sands.

8pm. Free.

Stormcellar + Hairpin Culvert Town Hall Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

The Chosen Few Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8pm. Free.

The Goon Sax Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

8pm. $12.

The Last Waltz feat: Tim Rogers + Paul Dempsey + Richard Clapton + Kevin Borich Olympia + Vika & Linda Bull + The Rockwiz Orkestra Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

8pm. $89.

The New Christs + Hoss + The Undermines Factory Floor, Marrickville. 8pm. $25.

The Radiators + Spy Vs Spy + Urban Guerillas Dee Why RSL, Dee Why. 7:30pm. $30.

Urban Stone Penrith RSL, Penrith.

9pm. Free.

Venom Clubnight Superhero Party - feat: Live Performances + Special Guests Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $15.

Zeahorse + Den + Smoked Salmon The Record Crate, Glebe. 1pm. $10.

SUNDAY APRIL 3 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Jazz & Shiraz Sundays Northies Cronulla Hotel, Sydney. 1pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS Clive Hay Penrith Panthers, Penrith. 3:30pm.

Free.

Cover Note

Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm.

Free.

Daniel Champagne Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

6:30pm. $23.

Jason Isbell Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:45pm. $77.40.

Jed Zarb Jamison Hotel, Penrith. 1pm. Free.

Lonesome Train Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 8:30pm.

Free.

Magnus + Shady Nasty + Delphine Geoff Record Crate, Glebe. 7pm. $5.

Mr Falcon’s Presents Burlesque Mr Falcon's, Glebe.

7:30pm. Free.

Rick Dangerous And The Silkie Bantams Frankie's Pizza, Sydney. 8pm. Free.

Rock Shots + Kill Your Heroes Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 5pm. $5.

Steve Edmonds Band Towradgi Beach Hotel, Towradgi.

3pm. Free.

Sunday Sundown - feat: Gypsy & The Cat + East + Porsches DJs The Newport, Newport. 3:30pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Ben Abraham The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $23.

Live Music Sundays - feat: Sydney Blues Society Botany View Hotel, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

The Sydney Rock ‘n’ Roll & Alternative Market - feat: The Satellites + West Texas Crude Manning Bar, Camperdown.

10:30am. $6.

MONDAY APRIL 4 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

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

Free.

Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm.

Free.

The Monday Jam The Basement, Circular Quay. 8pm. $5.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

John Maddox Duo Mr Falcon's, Glebe.

7pm. Free.

Live & Original @ The Corridor - feat: Peter Miller-Robinson +

up all night out all week...

Dominique Morgan + Lucas Hendriks Corridor Bar, Newtown. 7pm. Free.

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Guests Kelly's On King, Newtown. 7:30pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

City And Colour Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $75.

Co Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Greg Byrne Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. Free.

Live Music @ Manning Manning Bar, Camperdown. 3pm.

Free.

The Monday Jam The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills. 6pm.

Free.

TUESDAY APRIL 5 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Sunset Jazz Hermann's Bar, Darlington. 6pm.

Free.

ACOUSTIC, COUNTRY, BLUES & FOLK

Songsonstage feat: Russell Neal + Guests Gladstone Hotel, Dulwich Hill. 7:30pm.

Free.

Songsonstage feat: Stuart Jammin + Guests Kelly's On King, Newtown. 8pm.

Free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Bandquest - feat: Andrew Denniston + Gabriel Levin + Causeway Connect + Three Blind Venetians + The Black Turtles Ruby L’otel, Rozelle.

7pm. Free.

City And Colour Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $75.

Live & Original @ Mr Falcon's - feat: Dan O'Connell + Elaine Crombie + Lance Aligannis + Jon Cage Mr Falcon's, Glebe.

7:30pm. Free.

Live Music @ Manning Manning Bar, Camperdown. 3pm.

Free.

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

Nataha Stuart + Joseph Calderazzo Tokio Hotel, Sydney.

7:30pm. Free.

City Calm Down

WEDNESDAY MARCH 30 Nahko & Medicine For The People Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $50.87.

Allen Stone Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $62.80.

The Decemberists Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $79.20.

Mi-Sex Bridge Hotel, Rozelle. 8pm. $30.75.

Stiff Little Fingers Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $59.99.

The Last Waltz – Feat: Tim Rogers + Paul Dempsey + Richard Clapton + Kevin Borich Olympia + Vika & Linda Bull + The Rockwiz Orkestra Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8pm. $89.

SATURDAY APRIL 2

THURSDAY MARCH 31

Blind Boys Of Alabama Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $86.60

Shakey Graves The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $60.10

Ian Moss Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $61.17.

City Calm Down Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $20.

The Goon Sax Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $12.

Leftöver Crack Factory Floor, Marrickville. 8pm. $38.

The New Christs, Hoss, The Undermines Factory Floor, Marrickville. 8pm. $25.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $56.40.

Zeahorse + Den + Smoked Salmon The Record Crate, Glebe. 1pm. $10.

Vintage Trouble Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $62.80

SUNDAY APRIL 3

Big Daddy Wilson Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $30.

FRIDAY APRIL 1 Taj Mahal Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $66

The Sydney Rock ‘n’ Roll & Alternative Market – feat: The Satellites + West Texas Crude Manning Bar, Camperdown. 10:30am. $6.

MONDAY APRIL 4 City And Colour Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:30pm. $75.

City And Colour

BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16 :: 25

brag beats

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

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with James DiFabrizio and Joseph Earp

five things WITH

OPIUO

DISCO INFERNO

Electronica geeks rejoice: acclaimed DJ and self-styled ‘conductor’ Francis Inferno Orchestra is returning to Something Else at the Burdekin. FIO’s sets are practically legendary, jampacked as they are with staggeringly diverse electro bangers drawn from every single techno sub-genre you can imagine. The sets have even been described by some as a kind of history lesson – a full-throttle trip through the genre’s past.

What more could you possibly want? Francis Inferno Orchestra hits the Burdekin Hotel on Saturday April 2.

Simon Caldwell

RAISE THE ROOF

Growing Up My [childhood was] a 1. fun one. I was surrounded

Your Crew I’m lucky to be 3. surrounded by legendary

by festivals on my parents’ land – wild parties, all in the early days of New Zealand … electronic music.

It shaped my appreciation and understanding of how important music is in this seriously fruity planet we live on.

musicians, producers, painters, and artists of all kinds. We don’t have a ‘crew’ so to speak, but there’s a giant collaborative scene in Melbourne which I fucking love. I’m also incredibly fortunate to be in the position of living solely off of my art, through touring the globe and playing my creations to a whole bunch of pretty awesome humans.

Inspirations My favourite inspiring 2. musicians are the ones who’re individual, leading the pack – not following the trends. I honestly have too many to mention. I’m also immensely inspired by the freaky people I meet, the fun parties I attend, and the crazy places I visit.

The Music You Make And Play 4.

I love music that makes you move. Any types or subgenres can go here. I’ll be playing a lot of brand new and unreleased Opiuo tunes,

loads off of my soon-to-bereleased album Omniversal, plus some fully sick beastly beats from other producers.

Expect high-energy, bassheavy, funkadelic, sensory overloads, with a dope-arse light show in tow!

5.

Music, Right Here, Right Now Music scenes are constantly evolving animals that never stay still, and [that is what] I love about them. Currently I think people are challenging themselves to find new styles and vibes within certain [preexisting] genres and that is always pretty awesome to see.

Given the success of Blueprint’s last rooftop party, it was perhaps inevitable that the jam-packed day of beats was going to return once more to The Bristol Arms.

That said, the lineup is even more impressive this time around, featuring as it does the likes of Simon Caldwell, Ben Nott, Alan Thomas and Melbourne-based powerhouse Uone. But even if none of those names ring a bell, the venue itself should serve as enough of a draw card. Save the date, folks.

Blueprint Rooftop Party hits The Bristol Hotel on Saturday April 2.

HE’S A MACHINE

Purple Disco Machine AKA the inventor of the ‘deep funk’ sound, AKA the DJ with the best moniker in the entire world, is finally hitting up Sydney. The genre-defying mastermind is ready to spin

GOOD OLE GOODGOD

The Goodgod is dead – long live the Goodgod!

The closure of the Goodgod Small Club carved a very deep wound into Sydney’s nightlife, particularly affecting its burgeoning dance scene. All credit to those responsible for Vivid Live then – they must have realised the cultural significance of the venue, and have resurrected it as part of their 2016 music lineup. The Goodgod Super Club will be set up in the Sydney Opera House’s basement for four nights, and will host sets from the likes of Bradley Zero, Oneman, Simon Caldwell and Kyle Hall. Tickets are on sale at the Sydney Opera House website (www.sydneyoperahouse. com/vividlive) so get on them asap. Goodgod Super Club runs at The Sydney Opera House from Friday May 27 till Saturday June 4.

some tunes and save your life (as DJs are wont to do).

Given the man is Germanybased these days, catching him in the flesh is a rare

opportunity indeed, so hop on it as quick as you can.

Purple Disco Machine plays Pacha at the Ivy on Saturday April 16.

Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday April 22

Lee Gamble

GET GAMBLING

Left-of-centre electronica hero Lee Gamble is finally returning to Australia. The UK based legend is revered for both his organic DJ sets and for the work he does as the mastermind behind the UIQ label. His one-off Sydney show will be supported by Melbourne eccentric Moopie, Jon Watts, and Sydneysider Asger Jorn, making the entire evening a very exciting proposition Lee Gamble plays the Slyfox on Friday April 1.

26 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

COMMON DENOMINATOR

The two giants of hip hop, Common and Talib Kweli, have joined forces for a joint tour across the country, dropping in to Sydney along the way. Common will be playing his first Australian headline shows since his 2014 album, Nobody’s Smiling. Joining the heavyweight rapper comes Talib Kweli, bringing to the stage his critically acclaimed discography, including tracks from Gutter Rainbows and Prisoner Of Conscious. They’ll play the Enmore Theatre on Monday May 9.

thebrag.com

Lee Gamble photo by Oliver Clasper

Common

SAT 2 APRIL SPECIAL GUESTS

RESIDENTS

RABBIT TAXI

1 0 P M T I L L L AT E

$10 BEFORE 12AM / $15 AFTER 1 9 9 E N M O R E R O A D W W W . S LY F O X . S Y D N E Y

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BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16 :: 27

Elliphant All That Glitters Is Gold By Emily Gibb

E

lliphant, AKA Ellinor Olovsdotter, is feeling a little under the weather. It’s probably the first time in a few years that she’s slowed down, and it seems that all her running about has finally caught up with her.

It’s been more than two years in the making for Elliphant, but she’s at last released her debut studio album, Living Life Golden.

Literally made while on the road, the record’s list of collaborators and producers is suitably impressive, with guests including Major Lazer, Joel Little, Skrillex and Azealia Banks.

“It’s been kind of finished for almost two years. This is … a good collection of songs and I like [them all]. I’ve been selecting stuff for EPs and so probably 70 per cent of the album is actually made up of two-year-old songs; it’s just a couple of songs that have popped up in the last year. To make this album, I actually just collected the whole experience of doing Elliphant while I’ve been going from Sweden to America, and all these people that I met. Everything that’s been happening – it’s a whole new life touring the whole world and [it] has to do with that album.”

“It is very changeable and it is all over the place – it’s like a, you know, shuffle generation album,” she laughs. “I think if you don’t have an idea of what you want to do, then you’re open to everything and you’re going to have a lot to do because there’s so much out there.

I understand that some artists don’t want to do that but I don’t know what I want.”

Lyrics, however, are something she has complete consciousness of. “I talk very stupidly but I’ve always had a really good way of writing. I just really love writing. Right now I’m writing an amazing, realistic children’s book that I’m so excited about.”

Whenever she explains her lyrics, one gets not only a sense of her intellect, but also that she was obviously hurt by the recent chatter over the simplicity of the suggestive lyrics on ‘Spoon Me’. “Because Elliphant became something very easy-going, very strong, also kind of political, very feminist but still not so uptight, I just felt that I needed to find a language in Elliphant that was universal, that everybody could understand. I’d rather have a lot of people understanding the music then have a couple of people. I

use a very simple language when I write. I just hope it’s clear and that it gives people some positive strength and emotions. Good feelings, you know?”

The 2015 leg of Splendour In The Grass resulted in a few more collaborations for Elliphant, with Azealia Banks popping up as one of the more surprising guests on the banging track ‘Everybody’. Their joint effort was the kind of project only someone like Olovsdotter could have brought about during a particularly contentious time for Banks.

“I made the song and I sent this to her already, so when I saw her go to the bathroom before her show, I was just like ‘Azealia! Ey!’ and she was like, ‘Oh fuck! Elliphant! Come to my place after the show.’ I went

to see her and we had a really good time. She said, ‘Oh, when I go back from this, I’m going to record it.’

And she just did. She just put in a really tight fucking verse on the end of the song and I think [it] really needed her.

“That was a really great festival.

So fun! Peking Duk, they reached out when they heard I was doing the festival and asked if I would do one song with them and since then we’ve been really close. They’re amazing guys. We’ve been doing some stuff but they’ve been touring and we need to just have some time and space to sit down – [to] get like a good moment.”

Unsurprisingly, upcoming work with Peking Duk isn’t all that’s on the cards, with European and American tours, a Red Bull mentor project

and festival season all approaching.

Although her stay at home is brief, Olovsdotter says she’s taking some time to reflect on what’s ahead.

“I want to see what songs people feel they’ve connected to. I feel like I need to just stand chill after this big rush and just really reconnect with all these amazing musicians, people and contacts that I haven’t really been able to nurture yet, you know?

I need to just take some control back and really try to make an amazing third album and, you know, that’s all! I just want to hang out with cool people and make cool songs and live the life, you know? So I just… that’s what I do. And then it just happens! I could talk for hours.”

What: Living Life Golden out now through Sony

Urthboy Heart To Heart By David James Young “The record started in this really grandiose, hugely conceptual sort of way,” he says. “The original idea I had wasn’t even an album – it was going to be a string of fi ve EPs, with each one covering the course of a decade. On each EP, I was going to sample and utilise the sounds of each decade. I explored it. I did a copious amount of research and I had an endless pile of notes about things that happened in each decade. At the same time, I was struggling. I was suddenly trying to deal with newfound pressure on my time – my daughter, my work, my managing of other artists. As much time as I put into it, I felt like I was sinking into a quagmire of detail.

Everything that I had compiled felt strictly academic. It lacked heart.

It bored me.”

A

fter two shows opening for The Roots at the end of 2013, Urthboy fell off the map. The same cannot be said for Tim Levinson though, the man behind the moniker, who kept up appearances as one of the heads of Elefant Traks and as a dutiful

28 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

father. But even while he was scheduling record releases and changing nappies, Levinson was planning big things for the next Urthboy release – so big, in fact, that he began to worry that he had bitten off more than he could chew.

How then did Levinson turn himself around and write his fi fth solo LP, The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat?

“Basically, I opened up,” he says. It was a new willingness to transgress the guidelines of the initial concept that set Levinson onto the right path. “I started writing freely, rather than [writing] academic or historically accurate songs. I was writing about the people in my life, I was writing about my family ... the dam broke after that. I reached a point where I was fi nally able to compromise between what I had originally set out to do and where my writing had taken me. I wasn’t limiting myself anymore.”

The Past Beats, which takes its title from The Sea, a novel

by Irish writer John Banville, is a substantive and diverse album – one that ranges from the sombre tone of ‘Long Loud

Hours’ and ‘Hey Juanita’ to the defi ant, energetic ‘Running Into The Flames’. This wide palette is complemented by the subject matter and the collaborators that worked with Levinson on the record, many of whom are women he admires and has learned a great deal from.

“I learn so much from a woman’s perspective,” he says. “My mother and my sister always held a huge infl uence over [me] growing up, and I like to bring that to raising my daughter, as well. It’s the same when it came to people I wanted to work with – I knew I had to have people on board that would help this record stand the test of time.

Sampa is pretty clearly one of the best MCs in Australia at the moment. Okenyo is at the very start of what’s going to be a very exciting career. Jane Tyrrell is someone that I’ve always worked with.

“Bertie Blackman is someone who I have such a great affection for – you can only speak in superlatives about her any chance that you get. Caitlin Park makes these incredible records full of interesting pop music. Kira Puru is a diamond in the rough of Australian music. What more can you say about these women?

They’re doing incredible things.

They’re brilliant talents.”

Levinson also notes that working with people younger than him – such as Montaigne and upstart MC B Wise, who appears on the aforementioned ‘Running Into The Flames’ – allows him to get a new, fresh perspective on his own creative process. “They’re really great artists, and they’re really open to working towards

making the song the best that it can be,” he says. “I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are. It’s about coming to a track as equals. If you don’t treat young people with the respect that they deserve, then you’re missing out. There’s no simpler way to say it. You need to have people that reject previous generations in favour of their own evolution of ideas.”

Levinson has already launched the album at an intimate, strippedback gig at Newtown Social Club, but the touring machine hasn’t slowed down for the man yet.

Come mid-June he’ll be taking the show on the road again, a prospect he relishes.

“It’s been a while since I [have performed],” he says, a rush of nerves fl uttering around his usually calm and controlled voice.

“I feel like I’ve been backstage and side of stage for so long, just watching from the wings as acts like Hermitude and Horrorshow have just shined so brightly.

There’s an undeniable element of performing your songs live that makes the process feel whole, in a way. You can write songs and get a great buzz from doing something you haven’t achieved before, but if you don’t perform those songs it feels like a real missing piece.

It’s like you’re incomplete. I’m so excited about getting out there and performing songs that mean something to people.”

What: The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat out now through Elefant Traks/Inertia Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday June 17

thebrag.com

Elliphant photo by Dan Monick

Elliphant’s career has moved from one high to the next since she began life as a professional musician only fi ve years ago at the tender age of 25. The young Swede has an impressive ability to attract high-calibre musicians and producers – a talent that presumably owes a lot to her effortlessly cool nature, confi dence and that decidedly husky voice.

The diversity of those involved means there are bursts of reggae, EDM, dub and pop littered throughout the record.

The combination may seem pretty frantic initially, but the result is a strong mix of warm, catchy, anthemic tracks. The fact Olovsdotter didn’t have any idea about what she wanted to do from the outset merely adds energy to the piece.

club guide g

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

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week Hilltop Hoods

SATURDAY APRIL 2 Allphones Arena

Hilltop Hoods 7:00pm. $81.46.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 30 CLUB NIGHTS Cool~Tide Vapour Party - feat: High Tide DJs + guests Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm.

Free.

Salsa Wednesdays - feat: DJ Miro + special guests The Argyle, The Rocks. 8:30pm. Free.

Snapback - feat: various artists Newtown Hotel, Newtown. 8pm. Free.

Sosueme - feat: Aeroplane + Kato + Tash + Vibieria + Bobby Gray Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

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

THURSDAY MARCH 31 CLUB NIGHTS Cool~Tide Vapour Party - feat: Max Fricker + Canvas + Sekwensa + Order 66 + Heavy Hands Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 8pm. thebrag.com

$10.

Ears Have Ears Live #1 - feat: Marcus Whale + Pia Van Gelder (Q&A) FBi Live, Alexandria.

9pm. Free.

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

Mixed Tape - feat: DJs Hermann's Bar, Darlington. 4pm.

Free.

The Thursday Jive - feat: Nukewood + And Friends Taylor's Social, Sydney. 5pm. Free.

XO Thursdays Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 9pm.

Free.

FRIDAY APRIL 1 HIP HOP & R&B Downtown Funk feat: Phil Toke + Meem + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills.

4pm. Free.

CLUB NIGHTS Acid Tannins Dance - feat: Mike Who + Anno Cake Wines Cellardoor, Redfern.

5pm. Free.

friday frothers - feat: DJ Babysham + DJ Jesse Sewell Side Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free. friday's At Zeta Zeta Bar, Sydney.

9pm. Free. harbour club - feat: Resident DJs The Watershed Hotel, Sydney. 6pm.

Free. jam fridays Jam Gallery, Bondi Junction. 9:30pm.

Free. loco friday - feat: DJs On Rotation The Slip Inn, Sydney.

5pm. Free. scubar fridays - feat: DJs On Rotation Scubar, Sydney.

8pm. Free. sidechains - feat: Fresh Hex + Oh Boy + Laxe + Kritty + Flexmami Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $11. student DJs Hermann's Bar, Darlington. 5pm.

Free. the city knock off - feat: DJ Just1 + King Lee + Samrai Taylor's Social, Sydney. 5pm. Free. the sex tags experience - feat: DJ Fett Burger + DJ Sotofett + Brian Not Brian Secret Location, Sydney. 10pm. $33. v movement & undr ctrl presents the island live - feat: Yolanda Be Cool + Porsches + Danny T + Set Mo The Island Bar, Cockatoo Island.

5pm. $58.65.

SATURDAY APRIL 2 HIP HOP & R&B

Argyle Fridays The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. Free.

Bassic - feat: Hydraulix + Autoclaws + Chenzo + Bassriot + Blackjack + Stalker + Lennon Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90.

Blvd Fridays - feat: Tenzin Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $13.40.

Bondax & Friends feat: Bondax + Tcts Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $39.70. deep seeded feat: Lee Gamble + Asger Jorn + Moopie + Jon Watts Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $22.

DJ Sam Wall Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 11am. Free. el loco later - feat: DJs On Rotation Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills. 9pm.

Free. feel good fridays Bar100, The Rocks.

5pm. Free. fool's Gold - feat: A.L.F. + Lupr + Anomie + Letabruthaknow + Macadam + Slice + DtechMC Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. $10.

Boathouse Saturdays - feat: resident DJs The Watershed Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. $20.

Hilltop Hoods Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7:30pm. $81.46.

Mo Kolours + Kid Fiction + Mike Who + Edseven + Tom Studdy + Diola Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $17.90.

R&B DJs By The Greens Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

4pm. Free.

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

Blueprint Afterparty - feat: Uone + Benn Nott + Aaiste + Monkey Tennis + Sampson Civic Underground, Sydney. 10pm. $21.89.

Blueprint Rooftop Party - feat: Uone + Simon Caldwell + Alan Thomas + Benn Nott + B_a + Jac Frier + Zankee Gulati + Trinity + Louis Coste + Shepz

The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 1pm. $42.79.

Dave Seaman + Pepperpot + Le Brond + Summit DJs + Digital Therapy DJs + Jay Doyle + Louis Coste + Jimmy Brus + Jaykay Unicorn + Mark Cutajar + Raul Lycan + Stick Life Zoo Project, Potts Point. 9pm. $27.50.

DJ Horizon Marquee, Pyrmont.

10pm. $26.70.

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

Free.

Flight Club - feat: Lauren Hansom Vs Mirã Bõru + Kali + Anno + Mr Friendly + Tessellate Lord Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale.

10pm. Free.

Foxlife - feat: Marley Sherman + Jackson Winter + Rabbit Taxi Slyfox, Enmore.

10pm. $10.

Frat Saturdays feat: DJ Jonski Side Bar, Sydney.

7:30pm. Free.

Halfway Crooks 7th Birthday - feat: Levins + Captain Franco + Joyride + Jayteehazard + Liz Bird + Flexmami + Ellie Sass Plan B Small Club, Sydney. 9pm. $15.

Jackal Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $30.

Lndry - feat: Dom Dolla + Baytek + Jesabel + Sarkozy + King Lee + DJ Moto + DJ Just 1 + Aaron Smith + Oscar De Lima + Hamish Velvet + Circa87 Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 9pm. $22.90.

Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney.

10pm. $25.

Mona Saturdays feat: local DJs Mona Vale Hotel, Mona Vale. 9pm.

Free.

My Place Saturdays - feat: DJs on rotation Bar100, The Rocks.

8pm. Free.

Okra V + Trinity + Mannheim + Rocket + Gav Whalan + Oligark + Alec Sander + Bloom + Testprint Secret Location, Sydney. 9pm. $33.

Pacha - feat: Elk Road Ivy Bar/lounge, Sydney. 6:30pm. $38.

Scubar Saturdays - feat: DJs on rotation Scubar, Sydney.

8:30pm. Free.

Soda Saturdays Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 6pm. Free.

Something Else feat: Dreems + Dave Stuart + Charades + Oscillate Darkly + Sheeeen + Josh Verdi + Francis Inferno Orchestra Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $16.50.

The Sweet Escape feat: Stereogamous Imperial Hotel, Erskineville. 9pm.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 30 Sosueme – feat: Aeroplane + Kato + Tash + Viberia + Bobby Gray Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. Free.

THURSDAY MARCH 31 Ears Have Ears Live #1 – feat: Marcus Whale + Pia Van Gelder (Q & A) FBi Live, Alexandria. 9pm.

Free.

FRIDAY APRIL 1 Downtown Funk – feat: Phil Toke + Meem + Benny Hinn Play Bar, Surry Hills. 4pm.

Free.

Bassic – feat: Hydraulix + Autoclaws + Chenzo + Bassriot + Blackjack + Stalker + Lennon Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $22.90 Deep Seeded – feat: Lee Gamble + Asger Jorn + Moopie + Jon watts Slyfox, Enmore. 9pm. $22 V Movement & Undr Ctrl Presents The Island Live – feat: Yolanda Be Cool + Porsches + Danny T + Set Mo The Island Bar, Cockatoo Island. 5pm. $58.65.

SATURDAY APRIL 2 Hilltop Hoods Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park. 7:30pm. $81.46 Blueprint Rooftop Party – feat: Uone + Simon Caldwell + Alan Thomas + Ben Nott + B_a + Jac Frier + Zankee Gulati + Trinity + Louis Coste + Shepz The Bristol Arms Hotel, Sydney. 1pm. $42.79 Dave Seaman + Pepperpot + Le Brond + Summit DJs + Digital Therapy DJs + Jay Doyle + Louis Coste

Free.

Tim Boffa And Ketami Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 11am. Free.

Wafia + guests Cake Wines Cellardoor, Redfern.

1:30pm. $27.12.

Yours - feat: Strange Talk Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 6pm.

Free.

SUNDAY APRIL 3 HIP HOP & R&B Art Captures Art @ The Corridor - feat: Bella Fiorentino + Dawn Laird + Rox Sea Corridor Bar, Newtown. 4:30pm.

Free.

One Day Sundays - feat: Joyride + Raph + Nick Lupi + Nacho Pop + Hau

Aeroplane + Jimmy Brus + Jaykay Unicorn + Mark Cutajar + Raul Lycan + Stick Life Zoo Project, Potts Point. 9pm. $27.50 Foxlife – feat: Marley Sherman + Jackson Winter + Rabbit Taxi Slyfox, Enmore. 10pm. $10.

Halfway Crooks 7th Birthday – feat: Levins + Captain Franco + Joyride + Jayteehazard + Liz Bird + Flexmami + Ellie Sass Plan B Small Club, Sydney.

9pm. $15.

Lndry – feat: Dom Dolla + Baytek + Jesabel + Sarkozy + King Lee + DJ Moto + DJ Just 1 + Aaron Smith + Oscar De Lima + Hamish Velvet + Circa87 Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

9pm. $22.90 Okra V + Trinity + Mannheim + Rocket + Gav Whalan + Oligark + Alec Sander + Bloom + Testprint Secret Location, Sydney. 9pm. $33 Something Else – feat: Dreems + Dave Stuart + Charades + Oscillate Darkly + Sheeeen + Josh Verdi + Francis Inferno Orchestra Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst.

10pm. $16.50

SUNDAY APRIL 3 S.A.S.H Sundays By Night – feat: Radio Slave Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 8pm. $15

+ Shantan Wantan Ichiban Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 1pm. $15.

Rocks. 7pm. Free.

Sydney Party Sunday - feat: Luen Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 4pm.

Free.

CLUB NIGHTS S.A.S.H Sundays By Day - feat: Radio Slave Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

1pm. $15.

Beresford Sundays - feat: DJs on rotation Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 3pm.

Free.

Graham M And Husky Manly Wharf Hotel, Manly. 11am. Free.

S.A.S.H Sundays By Night - feat: Radio Slave Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour.

8pm. $15.

Shady Sundays Imperial Hotel, Erskineville. 5pm.

Free.

Sin Sundays The Argyle, The

MONDAY APRIL 4 CLUB NIGHTS Mashup Monday - feat: Resident DJs + DJ Thieves + Recess + OTG + Chivalry + More Side Bar, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

TUESDAY APRIL 5 CLUB NIGHTS Coyote Tuesdays The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16 :: 29

live review

Off The Record

What we’ve been out to see...

KENDRICK LAMAR Allphones Arena Wednesday March 23

Kendrick Lamar is a significant artist.

That’s not an understatement: that’s merely how you find yourself speaking after you’ve spent any time in the man’s presence. Things simplify themselves.

“I was there,” you say afterwards. “I saw that.”

His show began in silence – or onstage silence at least. The crowd went berserk, heaping their screams upon the 28-year-old rapper the way audiences heap actors with roses at a premiere. He didn’t say a thing. He paced a little; regarded us all. It was almost intimidating, an odd kind of judgement.

But the key to Lamar’s music is a lack of judgement, and as soon as his ridiculously tight backing band kicked into gear, nothing but understanding emanated from the stage. No matter that the man rapped about the hardships facing African-Americans to a predominantly Caucasian audience.

“This music don’t just represent me,” he said at one point. “This music if for y’all.”

It wasn’t just an empty statement either. The beaming gang of teenage boys who howled

Dance and Electronica with Tyson Wray

“complexion don’t mean a thing” as the plainly attired rapper barked out the same words from the stage – these boys became complicit, Lamar’s associates rather than his audience.

Everything about the show was unforced. Even when Lamar ordered the lights to be dimmed and the audience to pull out their phones – surely one of the most gimmicky of all modern performer demands – the act took on an air of contemporary spirituality. “This one’s for Phife Dawg,” Lamar insisted, encouraging the audience to chant the name of A Tribe Called Quest’s very recently departed rapper before diving into a bare-knuckle version of ‘Alright’.

It wasn’t just a flashy spectacle. It was a vigil.

And yet the gig’s true highlight occurred within the hours after it had wrapped up, as the audience trudged home.

Despite the tremendous differences in age, and attire, and attitude, there was true unity between the disseminated crowd.

A spontaneous rap battle filled a train.

People were unafraid to make eye contact with strangers, searching deeply into each other’s eyes.

And mumbled cries of “we gon’ be alright” broke out like spot fires.

That’s the thing: Kendrick Lamar’s songs are so powerful, sometimes they sing themselves.

L

et’s start this week off with a tasty double bill, shall we? The teams behind Charades and Something Else are joining forces to bring you two of the leading names from Berlin: San Soda and Prizms. San Soda has been causing a stir in recent years with a string of killer soulful house 12-inches (alongside releases via his FCL moniker with the leader of imprint We Play House, Red D), while Prizms will be bringing his highly regarded live set of menacing techno. Get down on Saturday April 9 at the Burdekin Hotel – support comes from The Completely Boys, Matt Weir, Mira Boru, Lauren Hansom, U-Khan and Dave Stuart. Double the headliners, double the fun.

A veteran from the German scene, Marcel Vogel will return to Sydney this weekend.

For those unfamiliar, Vogel runs the labels Lumberjacks In Hell and Intimate Friends, and has fostered releases from the likes of NY*AK, Roman Rauch and Borrowed. These days

San Soda he’s usually found holding down residencies in his second home, Amsterdam, so don’t sleep on this one. Expect a smattering of disco, Chicago house and bulbous techno when he stops by on Saturday April 2 at Barrio Cellar, with support coming from Ben Ashton, Andy Donaldson, Tony Garcia, Pisani and Gonzo.

Another show going down this weekend: it’s been three years since he last touched down on Sydney, but this Saturday April 2 will see the return of Dave Seaman to our shores. The co-owner

Joseph Earp

of Selador Recordings (with long-time friend Steve Parry), the label’s roster is a testament to the man’s taste in music, including the likes of Cristoph, Nicolas Masseyeff, Kiko, Kevin Over, Gorge and Robert Babicz. He’ll be joined by Frenchman Pepperpot who is playing his 86th gig in Sydney in the past month or something, and Le Brond, Summit DJs, Digital Therapy DJs, Jay Doyle, Louis Coste, Stick Life, Norti Vikings, Jimmy Brus and JayKay Unicorn. It’s going down at Zoo Project.

Two other recommended gigs: Melburnian Planète will be bringing his live electronic stylings to the Oxford Hotel this Friday April 1 with support from Adi Toohey, Noise In My Head and Donnotella, while on Saturday April 2 the cats behind Blueprint are throwing a daytime rooftop party at the Bristol Arms Hotel headlined by Melbourne’s Uone and local legend Simon Caldwell.

Tour rumours: It’s been a good four years since he last returned, but Australian tour plans are locked and loaded for Spain’s techno kingpin Oscar Mulero.

Announcement imminent.

Oh, and speaking of techno, Mary Velo is 99 per cent confirmed for an upcoming tour.

Best releases this week: haven’t been able to stop spinning Ruf Dug’s long-player Treatment 32 (on Dream Catalogue) all week, while other highlights include Djrum vs. Struction’s Struktur (on Ilian Tape), Solpara’s Vestibule (on Booma Collective) and Pris’ This Heavy Heart (on Avian).

Marcel Vogel

RECOMMENDED FRIDAY APRIL 1 Lee Gamble Slyfox

DJ Fett Burger, DJ Sotofett, Brian Not Brian TBA Planète Oxford Hotel Francis Inferno Orchestra Burdekin Hotel Uone, Simon Caldwell

Dave Seaman

Marcel Vogel Barrio Cellar Dave Seaman Zoo Project Mo Kolours Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY APRIL 9 San Soda, Prizms Burdekin Hotel

SUNDAY APRIL 24 Danny Krivit TBA

Got any tip-offs, hate mail, praise or cat photos?

Email hey@tysonwray.com or contact me via carrier pigeon.

30 :: BRAG :: 656 :: 30:03:16

thebrag.com

Marcel Vogel © Yvonne Schmedemann

SATURDAY APRIL 2

Bristol Arms Hotel

JESABEL

BASSIK

MAIN ROOM

THE BACKROOM

FRIDAY APRIL 1

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PEAVEY CLASSIC 50 4X10 COMBO GUITAR AMP PEAVEY 430B 412 STRAIGHT CABINET PEAVEY 430A 412 SLANT CABINET PEAVEY VB 115 BASS CABINET PEAVEY TOUR700 BASS HEAD PEAVEY TOUR TKO 115 400W BASS COMBO PEAVEY AT-200 GUITAR CAR PEAVEY AT-200 GUITAR BLK PEAVEY ECOUSTIC 110 100W COMBO PEAVEY MILLENNIUM 4 TGE PE P PE PEAVEY HEADLINER 600W HEAD PEAVEY VALVEKING 412 SLANT CABINET PE PEAVEY BANDIT 112 100W COMBO PE PEAVEY VYPYR VIP 3 100W COMBO PE PEAVEY MAX112 200W BASS COMBO V2 PE PEAVEY MAX110 100W BASS AMP V2 PE PEAVEY SANPERA II FOOT CONTROLLER BLK PE PEAVEY ECOUSTIC E110 FOOT CONTROLLER PE PEAVEY RAGE 258 25W COMBO PE PEAVEY SANPERA I FOOT CONTROLLER BLK PE PEAVEY RAGE 158 15W COMBO PE

$2399 $1999 $1999 $1599 $1299 $1229 $1199 $1199 $999 $924 $799 $799 $759 $729 $669 $569 $499 $329 $319 $259 $249

$1899 $999 $999 $799 $999 $959 $599 $599 $799 $599 $449 $599 $599 $799 $519 $439 $389 $259 $239 $199 $179

21% OFF 50% OFF 50% OFF 50% OFF 23% OFF 22% OFF 50% OFF 50% OFF 20% OFF 35% OFF 44% OFF 25% OFF 21% OFF 32% OFF 22% OFF 23% OFF 22% OFF 21% OFF 25% OFF 23% OFF 28% OFF

ANNANDALE 55 Parramatta Rd 9517 1901 Parram www.gallinsmps.com.au

UNTIL SO LD OUT! !

The RRP is the recommended retail price as set by the Australian distributor of the product. While stocks last. Products pictured are for illustration purpose only.