Brag#703 by The Brag Magazine

MADE IN SYDNEY MARCH 8, 2017

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

MUSIC, FILM, COMEDY + MORE

INSIDE This Week

T HE SHINS

How James Mercer learned to stop worrying and love pop music.

DEVIN KINGSWOOD TOWNSEND

PROJECT

AUS SIE HORROR FILMS How the critics keep getting it wrong.

T W ELV E F OO T NIN JA

The fusion metal stars on hitting the road, winning big and getting Disturbed.

DAV ID L IEBE H A R T

Get ready: the bizarro comedian is coming Australia's way.

7/11 S A NDW ICHE S

Learn to love the world's grottiest foodstuffs.

Plus

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in this issue

free stuff

what you’ll find inside…

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

The Frontline

Industrial Strength

8-9

Devin Townsend on being spiritual without ever conforming to one religion

10-11 The Shins, Twelve Foot Ninja, City Safe

18-19

12-13 Broadcast Sydney 14-17 Aussie Horror Films: How The Critics Keep Getting It Wrong

24-25 Pyrmont Growers Market, 7/11 Sandwiches

ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER

Live reviews

Gig guide

Out & About, Off The Record

Mardi Gras photos, Sander van Doorn

20-21 Inside Jokes, arts reviews, Game On 22-23 What’s On The Bookshelf, 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche, First Drafts 24

14-17

Bar Of The Week

“I used to rely too much on allowing something to be extremely obscure. Like, ‘Whatever, man, it’s pop music.’” (10-11)

Melbourne alt-rock powerhouse Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever have been moving from strength to strength recently, and their creative energy shows absolutely no sign of showing down. In order to support their stellar new EP The French Press, due out Friday March 10, the band are hitting the road, bringing their anthemic brand of scuzz pop to venues across the country, including the Newtown Social Club on Saturday April 22. We have one double pass to give away to that show, and it’s sure to be one to remember, so you better skedaddle over to thebrag.com/freeshit and enter, hey?

Rolling Blackouts photo by Rubin Utama

18-19 Dave Liebe Hart, Australian Tattoo Expo

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, buddy: maybe people overall are like, ‘OK, this fucker’s not going away, let’s listen to it, see what happens.’” (8-9)

the frontline with Nathan Jolly, Joseph Earp and Chris Martin PRINT & DIGITAL EDITOR: Chris Martin chris.martin@seventhstreet.media SUB-EDITOR: Joseph Earp STAFF WRITERS: Nathan Jolly, Adam Norris, Augustus Welby NEWS: Abbey Lenton, Poppy Reid, Ben Rochlin

Boy & Bear

ADVERTISING: Tony Pecotic - 0425 237 974 tony.pecotic@seventhstreet.media PUBLISHER: Seventh Street Media CEO, SEVENTH STREET MEDIA: Luke Girgis - luke.girgis@seventhstreet.media MANAGING EDITOR: Poppy Reid poppy.reid@seventhstreet.media THE GODFATHER: BnJ GIG GUIDE: gigguide@thebrag.com AWESOME INTERNS: Anna Wilson, Ben Rochlin, Abbey Lenton

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Folk rock five-piece Fleet Foxes will play their first Australian show in five years at the Sydney Opera House for this year’s Vivid LIVE festival. Fleet Foxes are the first band to be announced for Vivid Sydney 2017 in late May, and will debut music from their upcoming third album. The band has built a solid fan base over the past decade. The Sydney-only dates for Fleet Foxes’ return are locked in for Friday May 26 to Monday May 29, and tickets are only available via a ballot, which is open now and closes Sunday March 5. Tickets to the show (if you are chosen) will set you back $89.

CARB YOURSELF FITTER

Burgapalooza, the festival dedicated to burgers, is returning to Sydney in 2017. After Burgapalooza’s 2016 debut saw it expand at the last minute to account for the enormous interest and ticket sales, this year’s follow-up will be even bigger, taking place across a weekend in Marrickville. The buns will be on hand from BL Burgers, Burger Head, Down ‘N’ Out, Mister Gee and Superior Burger, plus more TBA. Each ticket comes with a $10 Menulog voucher, in case you don’t get your fill on the day – but that seems unlikely. Burgapalooza 2017 takes place at Fraser Park, Marrickville on Saturday April 1 and Sunday April 2.

KING OF THE WAIFS

The Aussie charts have seen somewhat of a friendly rivalry in action, with both The Waifs and King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard fighting for the number one position on the Aussie music charts. The Waifs are celebrating the number

one chart debut of their eighth record Ironbark, while King Gizz have been relegated to a highly respectable number two with their ninth album Microtonal Banana. With Aussies on top of the albums charts for two weeks in a row, we can definitely be proud of our homegrown tunes.

PREPARE FOR PARRAMASALA

DEATH TO THE LADS

The Smith Street Band’s new record More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me is due in April, and now the hardest-working band in the land are embarking on a huge tour to support it. They won’t be sticking to the rivers and the lake that they’re used to, either, hitting a series of “big beautiful theatres” around the country. “For this tour we’re playing the venues that we have always dreamed of playing”, frontman Wil Wagner explains. “We chose big beautiful theatres because we want these to be big beautiful shows! We’ve also expanded our show in order to fully bring these songs to life.” The band hit the Enmore Theatre on Friday May 26.

Parramasala

Parramatta is emerging as a truly exciting hotbed of music and culture as of late, an upward trajectory that the upcoming Parramasala event is set to solidify and cement. The “spicy celebration of cultures” held at Prince Alfred Square in Parramatta will see a range of exciting food stalls set up shop, so you can munch on some international snacks while listening to the music provided by such luminaries as Curry Puff Daddy and Masala Divas. It all goes down from Friday March 10 to Sunday March 12 and entry is free, making this one a not-to-be-missed event.

Xxx Parramasala photo by Ali Mousawi

DEADLINES: Editorial: Friday 12pm (no extensions) Ad bookings: Friday 5pm (no extensions) Fishished art: No later than 2pm Monday Ad cancellations: Friday 4pm Deadlines are strictly adhered to. Published by Seventh Street Media Pty Ltd All content copyrighted to Seventh Street Media 2017

CLEVER LIKE A FOX

The Smith Street Band

The Smith Street Band photo by Kane Hibberd

The folks behind Party In The Park, Northern Sydney’s premier celebration of good times and great tunes, have just announced a killer lineup for their 2017 event. The jam-packed bill includes such luminaries as Boy & Bear, Dope Lemon, Nicole Millar, The Delta Riggs, Paces and so, so many more, meaning you’ll be able to catch a disgustingly huge number of bands over the course of the nine and a half hour event. Party In The Park hits Pittwater Park in North Narrabeen on Saturday March 18 from 1pm onwards, so make a note in your diaries, won’tcha?

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ashley Mar

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Arca Bayburt, Chelsea Deeley, Christie Eliezer, Matthew Galea, Emily Gibb, Jennifer Hoddinett, Emily Meller, David Molloy, Annie Murney, Adam Norris, George Nott, Daniel Prior, Natalie Rogers, Erin Rooney, Spencer Scott, Natalie Salvo, Leonardo Silvestrini, Jade Smith, Aaron Streatfeild, Jessica Westcott, Anna Wilson, Stephanie Yip, David James Young

PARTY ON!

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Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR • Which international singer was spotted vomiting out of her taxi – right outside a club where the photographers were waiting? • Will the Ronnie James Dio hologram world tour get staged at an Australian heavy rock festival next year? • Which singer is planning a solo record as his band can’t agree on a direction for their next album? • Sydney dance act Starley’s ‘Call On Me’ has cracked the US Top 100, racking up

SYDNEY OFFERS MORE INITIATIVES TO REVIVE LIVE MUSIC

In a bid to revive its live music scene, The City of Sydney is offering a series of grants and streamlined planning initiatives for venues. The idea is to encourage more venues to host live performances in order to give Sydneysiders more options on a night out. The grants will be dedicated to new and existing venues, venue safety initiatives and projects that increase the diversity of Sydney’s late night economy. Lord Mayor Clover Moore says, “Live music is hugely important to Sydney, with recent research commissioned by the City identifying its value to the community at $353 million during last year alone. We’re using every lever at our disposal to encourage more live music and performance, reduce unnecessary red tape and advocate for the regulatory reform needed for a strong and successful live music and performance sector.” Since the adoption of the City’s Live Music and Performance Action Plan, $2.77 million has been doled out in grants for live music projects, one-on-one support has been delivered to over 150 live music and performance businesses, free rehearsal spaces have been set up for students, access

Lifelines Ill: NY rapper Princess Noka has cancelled her Australian tour due to “extreme exhaustion and health concerns.” Dating: Selena Gomez and The Weeknd enjoyed a ‘romantic getaway’ in Paris. Sued: Cage The Elephant after guitarist Brad Shultz threw his guitar into the crowd in Nashville and hit a fan on his face. Arrested: a man impersonated Nickelback’s drummer to buy $25,000 worth of microphones and other music gear from an Austrian company. Sued: U2 by British songwriter Paul Rose who claims they stole their 1991 Achtung Baby track ‘The Fly’ from his song ‘Nae Slappin’. He says that after signing with Island Records in 1989, he provided a demo to the label. He wants US$5 million and a co-credit on ‘The Fly’. Arrested: One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson was led out of LA airport after an altercation at baggage claim with a photographer who he said came too close to him. He attacked the photographer and was put in a citizen’s arrest by other passengers who also turned on his girlfriend Eleanor Calder who he’s back with. Died: German-born British based “auto-destructive” artist Gustav Metzger, 90, who inspired one of his students, Pete Townshend of The Who, to smash his guitar onstage in the name of art. Died: Toshio Nakanishi, 61, from esophageal cancer. He was a seminal creator of Japanese artrock, with Plastics, Melon in New York and Major Force.

6 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

one million sales and 200 million global Spotify streams. • On this week ARIA album charts, The Waifs’ Ironbark entered at number one (making it the fourth Aussie number one album so far this year), King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s Flying Microtonal Banana came in at number two, Horrorshow’s Bardo State ranked at number four, and Holy Holy’s Paint hit number seven. • Glebe live music showcasing Toxteth Hotel has changed hands: Public House Management Group bought it for $21 million. • Buy of the week: the Suge Knight-owned 1996 BMW 750iL in which Tupac Shakur to affordable recording facilities at Redfern Community Centre has been assured and a busking review has been organised to allow more musicians playing on the streets.

AAM CALLS OUT GOVT ON ‘SAFE HARBOUR’ The Association of Artist Managers (AAM) is calling on the Federal Government to reconsider introducing the ‘safe harbour’ legislation as it will affect fair remuneration to copyright owners. ‘Safe harbour’ has been designed to protect internet providers like Telstra, Optus and iinet from being liable if someone uses their services to infringe on copyright. The Productivity Commission has advised the Government to extend this legislation to all digital services. The AAM says, “This proposed extension would apply to companies such as Youtube, allowing them to exploit music while avoiding normal commercial licensing negotiations.”

The proposed changes would be akin to those laid out by a 20-year-old US law that is now irrelevant and currently under review by US lawmakers. The AAM is asking the Government to drop Schedule 2 from the Copyright Amendment Bill of 2015, not introduce the 20-year-old US law, and to “engage with the music community to ensure that we end up with a safe harbour scheme which works for Australian creators as well as the global technology firms.”

GUNS N’ ROSES SOLD 350K DOWN UNDER

Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Not In This Lifetime’ Tour sold 353,000 tickets in Australia and New Zealand over eight shows, says promoter TEG Dainty. The band played to a full house of 74,000 at the MCG in Melbourne, making GNR the first international band to sell out the venue. There was an aggregate of 85,000 tickets sold for the two nights in Sydney.

was fatally shot in September 1996 in Las Vegas is up for auction at US $1.5 million. • While Aussie band Airbourne are paying tribute to Motorhead’s Lemmy with their new single ‘It’s All For Rock And Roll’, a controversy has erupted over the value of his estate. It was thought to be as much as £6.75 million (AU $10.92 million), but it now seems to only rank as high as £528,806 ($1.62 million). No one’s sure where the money went. Beneficiaries include his LA music producer son Paul Inder and another son who was adopted. • 15,000 people attended Neil Finn’s opening show at the Adelaide Festival.

ARCA REUNION ANNOUNCED

The Australian Road Crew Association (ARCA) is holding a crew reunion on Sunday April 30 at The Bald Faced Stag in Leichardt from midday to 10 pm. All ACRA members as well as road, rigging, lighting and sound crew members involved in hire companies can attend (see the ACRA website for full details.) Associate members, musicians, mentors and sponsors are also invited. “The idea is to acknowledge their service to the music industry, even if it is only to each other,” says association founder Ian Peel.

US DEAL FOR POLISH CLUB

Sydney rock/soul duo Polish Club have become the first act to sign to new US label 432 Records, set up by Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Paramore, Fleetwood Mac) who says they could make it big in America. Meanwhile, their debut album Alright Already, produced in eight days by Wolf & Cub’s Wade Keighran at Linear Studios in Sydney’s Inner West is set for Australian release on Friday March 31 on Double Double/Island Records.

DEAR SEATTLE AT 123 AGENCY

Dear Seattle, a band born in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, has just joined the 123 Agency roster, following on from three consecutive years spent touring the East Coast. ‘The Meadows’, the first single from their upcoming EP, is a follow up to their debut EP Words Are Often Useless.

• The father of an English Foo Fighters fan recycled their tickets to a secret Foo Fighters show, thinking it was junk mail. The fan turned up to the show and emailed the Foos’ Facebook page who immediately checked them in. • Midnight Oil sold 200,000 tickets around the world in the first few days of sale. • Rob Snarski (The Blackeyed Susans, The Triffids) is releasing his memoir You’re Not Rob Snarski: Crumbs From The Cake. • It had to happen after the Oscar snafu: a London cinema pranked a Moonlight audience by playing the start of La La Land.

WHO’S THE MOST IMPORTANT MEMBER IN A BAND?

Settling years (if not decades) of disputes, a recent scientific study claims that it’s the music of the bassist that is most essential to a song. The report on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the human brain finds it easier to find and understand rhythm when it is played at a lower tone, such as on a bass. People are more likely to dance and tap their feet to songs with more prominent bass than to higher-pitched instruments such as guitar and drums. Meanwhile, a study from Northwestern University found that bassheavy songs make the listener feel more powerful and confident.

NEW PRODUCER AT OPERA HOUSE

Alister Hill is set to join the Contemporary Music team at Sydney Opera House as Senior Producer, working under Ben Marshall, the head of Contemporary Music, to produce the year-round Contemporary Music program. Hill joined the venue five years ago and produced Vivid LIVE in 2015.

FAREWELL, GOODBYE AND AMEN

After 15 years, this will be my final Industrial Strength column for the BRAG. It’s been a great ride: thanks for all the positive vibes, death threats and everything else in between. From next week, a new music industry column will begin with my esteemed colleague and good friend Lars Brandle. Despite his appalling choice in sports teams, you’ll dig him.

Holy Holy

SPOTIFY HITS 50M SUBSCRIBERS

Spotify now has 50 million paid subscribers from around the world, the Swedish streaming service says. It has added 20 million in the last 12 months, meaning that the company now has twice the amount of payers as Apple Music. Helping its expansion are new features such as Discover, a service that suggests tracks based on user listening habits and New Music Friday, which collects together all the latest new music.

WARNER MUSIC AUSTRALIA’S NEW CHIEF

Warner Music Australia and New Zealand has announced a new president: Niko Nordström. Nordström was vice president of Warner Music Nordics and managing director of Warner Music Finland. He replaces Tony Harlow, who came from the UK and is now moving on to head WEA Corp, WMG’s global artist and label services arm. Nordström has a reputation for nurturing local talent and breaking international talents.

MUSHROOM GROUP PROMOTES MAUND TO COO

The Mushroom Group has promoted Chris Maund to the newly created position of chief operating officer (COO) of its recording and publishing divisions. The idea is that all divisions will work closer together “to take every opportunity that the rapid changes in our industries present,” Maund said. Reporting to Michael and Matt Gudinski, Maund will drive the labels (including Liberation, Liberator, Ivy League, 100s + 1000s, I Oh You, Soothsayer) as well as its publishing arm, Mushroom Music. Maund joined Mushroom Group ten years ago and recently held the dual role of managing director of Ivy League Records (The Rubens, Cloud Control, Alpine) and director of Legal & Business Affairs.

UNIVERSAL PUBL. BOWS TO HOLY HOLY

Universal Music Publishing Australia has signed a global music publishing deal with Tim Carroll, Ryan Strathie and Matt Redlich of fast rising band Holy Holy. Their 2015 debut album When The Storms Would Come debuted at number 11 on the ARIA chart, all five singles were added to the triple j playlist and they sold out a 20-date national tour. They’ve just released their second album, Paint.

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on the record WITH CASII

WILLIAMS FROM DESERT DIVAS

The First Record I Bought 1. Going to high school and

listening to different sorts of music was great for me because I got the chance to be introduced to rock and heavy metal. My first album would be one from Evanescence. Amy Lee has an amazing voice. The Last Record I Bought 2. Travelling around with my

family when I was a kid, we’d listen to all sorts of music, but the one album that stuck to my mind then was Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds. Now I listen to it with my daughter.

The First Thing I Recorded 3. I recorded with my father

when I was about five years old. It was a song my father Baydon Williams wrote about young kids being left by their parents. It’s called ‘Kitji Unthaluma (Kids Looking)’.

The Last Thing I Recorded 4. ‘Fallin Down’ was written

when I was going through a bad break-up. I originally played guitar but have more recently been singing with piano played by Dave Crowe. I recently recorded this track and with Dave and so far it sounds amazing. Also, I recorded ‘How Can I Live’

for Desert Divas Volume II, a compilation from MusicNT’s premiere music development program featuring eight talented Aboriginal women. The Record That Changed My Life 5. My father’s album,

Baydon Williams. Growing up in a musical family I was always listening to my grandfather Gus Williams. My father,

however, has been the biggest influence for me in music. His album is the first one I ever appeared on, singing two songs with him. I listen to the album often as I love the lyrics and how Dad tells stories. Since its release, it’s been my aim to record my own album one day. What: Desert Divas Volume II out Friday March 17

songwriters’ secrets WITH JIMMY

DALEY FROM THE MORRISONS

The First Song I Wrote Songwriting Secrets I remember writing and recording Music almost always comes before 1. 3. a song on a 4-track tape recorder lyrics, but other than that I don’t have a when I was about 14 with a baglama (a Turkish guitar) and one of my Dad’s synths. I can’t remember the title or the words, but I do know it had an epic string synth part. It just kept going one note higher [each time] for about 20 minutes while I strummed some chords. [Laughs.] I thought it was the most profound thing ever: I wish I had a recording of it. It would sound utterly ridiculous, I’m sure.

The Last Song I Released The Morrisons just released 2. a single off our new album called

‘Emmeline’, about British Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst. We are really proud of this [track] as it’s been released on International Women’s Day in partnership with the UN Women’s Group of Australia. All money raised from sales will go towards UN initiatives in Pakistan and the Pacific to help disenfranchised women.

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special process or inspiration. I think the secret to writing good songs is to practice your instrument a lot and study how music works.

The Song That Makes Me Proud There is an a capella song on the 4. new The Morrisons album called ‘Long

Time Traveling’. It’s definitely my favorite song on the record and the one I’m most proud of writing.

The Song That Changed My Life It would have to be something by 5. The Beatles. I remember getting the White

Album for Christmas when I was about 14 and that definitely changed my life. In particular [songs like] ‘Dear Prudence’ and ‘Blackbird’ really knocked me off my feet. Where: Newtown Social Club When: Sunday March 12 And: The Morrisons out now independently

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COVER STORY 8 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

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Transcendence is seeing the kind of success rarely reserved for music in Townsend’s ‘genre’, whatever the hell that happens to be at the time. It’s already reached number ten in the ARIA charts locally, and soared as high as number two in Finland’s national charts, where Townsend is touring when he speaks with the BRAG.

A BARRAGE OF INCONSISTENCY

DEVIN TOWNSEND

or perhaps the first time in a career spanning over two decades, guitarist, singer and Canadian legend Devin ‘HevyDevy’ Townsend is on the verge of an epiphany. With his latest album from the Devin Townsend Project, the 44-year-old has grown closer than ever to both his bandmates and his audience, with the latter group rapidly expanding.

“I wonder if it has a significant amount to do with the way that it sounds,” he says, his voice heavy with all the sleep he’s not properly caught up on thanks to his intensive tour cycle. “I’ve honestly thought that if you wrap up the way you’re thinking or your aesthetic in a covering that is current, you can basically say whatever you want. Years ago with City, with Strapping [Young Lad], we had an engineer and mixer who was doing all this hip stuff at the time, Daniel [Bergstrand] – it was popular because of that, at least in part. “With this one, maybe it’s just the old adage [that] you just keep showing up and eventually they have a seat for you,” he laughs. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, buddy: maybe people overall are like, ‘OK, this fucker’s not going away, let’s listen to it, see what happens.’”

Since Townsend’s emergence in the music scene in 1993 – he toured with the legendary Steve Vai before forming metal overloaders Strapping Young Lad – his one reliable trait has been his unreliability. (That and a consistent output, given the 23 studio albums he’s released across his career.) As such, while he’s ready to admit the potential necessity of anniversary shows, there are parts of his discography he’s unlikely to revisit in a live space ever again. “I feel bad being so resistant towards Strapping, but it’s two things,” he says. “First off: Alien, The New Black, all that stuff was so important to me. It’s not something I resent or reject, [but] these records to me are of very little significance. They’re just the exhaust of a process. Strapping was something that I wrote about and solved, in a lot of ways.

BY DAVID MOLLOY

the back here, but I’m not trying to feed you a line. It’s almost clear to me that DTP is flirting with an expiry date, so as much as Transcendence has been a successful effort for us, it also took a tonne of effort for me to care about this direction still.” The focus of Transcendence is itself a duality – the artist transcending himself and his former processes, and humanity’s transcendence beyond religion. Generally, politics and religion are “shit” that Townsend doesn’t want to get into, focused as he is on entertaining, providing an escape and putting out positive energy. But, given Transcendence’s album cover – a mesh of diverse religious icons – it seems an unavoidable part of the conversation. “People have asked me for years, ‘Are you religious because you’re singing about all this stuff, the divine or the infinite or whatever?’, and I think it really loses what it is I’m trying to do if it adheres to anything,” he says.

“The different metaphors in all this stuff – even in the stuff that I’ve done – leads people to divisiveness. [There are] all these wars and all this shit based on something that’s just fundamentally awesome and beautiful: the universe or nature or death, birth … All these big things are the only things I’m interested in writing about, really. That and coffee drinking aliens, but even that is undoubtedly a metaphor for it in some way. It’s the only thing that interests me, or has interested me. Even before acid.” Naturally, he’s come up against resistance from the faithful – one particularly cruel example saw Townsend receiving hate mail from an anonymous Australian. “I was working on Epicloud and I had a gospel choir, and I was trying to make something beautiful and heavy and I had this random package come from Australia,” he says. “It was somebody who had printed out a tonne of stuff from the Bible and sent it to me, and they basically said that everything that I do is a sin, [that] anybody that I love is fucked. “I went back to the studio and I talked to the choir … and the guy who ran the choir had this great story. He said, ‘I’m a black man, I’m gay. I’ve spent all this time hiding my sexuality, but when I fi nally felt like it was important for me to let it out, I was just so hurt by [how] this congregation that I’d spent my entire life devoted to reacted.’

“I’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A LONG TIME, BUDDY: MAYBE PEOPLE OVERALL ARE LIKE, ‘OK, THIS FUCKER’S NOT GOING AWAY, LET’S LISTEN TO IT, SEE WHAT HAPPENS.’” “If I just go out and start doing reunion shows and that sort of thing, that’s what my life is gonna become again, and I’ve got no time for that, dude,” he laughs. “I would rather dig a ditch than impose that negative environment again, one that caused me a lot of fucking problems at the time.” As an artist, Townsend has two driving factors: honesty and impulsiveness. He has flirted with genres as diverse as extreme metal (SYL), country/folk (with Casualties Of Cool), ambient/new age (in solo album Ocean Machine: Biomech), and the epic, symphonic prog rock of DTP. “Two things have remained consistent amidst a barrage of inconsistency, and that is I do what I want to do, and if I’m compelled to do something, it’s coming from a place of authenticity,” he says. “As a result of that, even if it has a different face, it’s the same shit. “There’s not a lot of honest shit going on right now, and I’m not trying to pat myself on

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“So he said, ‘I didn’t know what to do, I just wanted to hurt in return. But this is where I learned about the concept of grace: you’ve gotta forgive people for their cruelty towards you or else all you’re gonna do is carry that energy.’ “So then we tracked the song ‘Grace’. It was a cool moment, because they knew that I wasn’t a religious guy necessarily, but it doesn’t matter. I think that’s what the concept of transcendence is. “I want people to be nice to each other ... I want to be conscious of things that I say and I do, and I want to help people: but it has nothing to do with religion.” Where: Enmore Theatre When: Monday May 22 With: Sleepmakeswaves And: Transcendence out now through InsideOut

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The Shins The Writer’s Room By Adam Norris

“I WANT TO BE A WELL-RESPECTED WRITER AND ARRANGER OF CHORDS, A RESPECTED LYRICIST. I THINK THAT IS THE THING I’D BE MOST PROUD OF.”

or a guy having to endure the repetitive rigmarole of talking to the press, James Mercer seems rather at ease. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that anticipation for The Shins’ fifth album, Heartworms, is running high, and the prospect of catching the New Mexican rockers live as they ramble about their world tour has got plenty of folks excited. But he also just seems like a laid-back kind of guy – comfortably reclining on a couch, enjoying unhurried conversation as he drops quips and one-liners like you’re old pals… Mercer is a man who has found a great deal of insight into writing over the years, and he ain’t afraid to share it. “The craft side [of writing] is important to me,” he says. “I want to be a well-respected writer and arranger of chords, a respected lyricist. I think that is the thing I’d be most proud of. I do my best, you know, in terms of musicianship and singing, to get the songs to be realised. I do feel like on this record, I’ve gotten better at writing. I feel braver. “I think working with Brian [Burton] in Broken Bells helped me to test the waters in different

“I USED TO RELY TOO MUCH ON ALLOWING SOMETHING TO BE EXTREMELY OBSCURE. LIKE, ‘WHATEVER, MAN, IT’S POP MUSIC.’”

styles, and now I feel pretty open about doing almost anything I want. I look at some of the lyrics for this record, and my standards have risen. As you keep going, you have those moments when you feel you’ve done something really good, and the bar gets raised that little bit higher. I think I used to rely too much on allowing something to be extremely obscure. Like, ‘Whatever, man, it’s pop music.’ But I find the songs that really impress me are songs that are poetic and interesting, and use great metaphors, but they’re vivid and accessible, too.” To that end, Heartworms is something of a throwback for The Shins. The songs remain vibrant and cohesive as ever – and once again, Mercer is the sole writer – but this time around, he is also the principal producer, a role he hasn’t played since 2001. While he has tried to serve each song as it comes – to treat them as succinct, complete entities – having an overseer’s perspective allowed Mercer to tease out a sense of story he has long hoped to achieve. “I wish sometimes I’d been a bit more strategic in trying to give some kind of narrative. I do pay attention when I’m working on a record where you do get into a certain mode, when you have an understanding of all the songs in your head. There are decisions you make like, ‘Well, I’ve already talked about something like that on the record, let’s look for something new.’ Try and keep it engaging. “And that’s a great stage to get into, when suddenly everything in your life relates to the record. You get a lot done in that period of time, when you start to get your head around

all the songs. I mean,” he laughs, “it takes a while to get to that stage, but I think that’s where you get to be the overseer.” A curious example of this comes across in lead single, ‘Name For You’. The song found its inspiration in Mercer’s daughters, and is a wonderful ode for feminine empowerment. The day we are chatting, though, is three days prior to the inauguration of Donald Trump, which in turn will see millions of women across the world take to the streets in protest of a figure who seems to thrive on misogyny and petulance. The rise of Trump came after the song was written, but it is the cultural climate of today that makes it seem all the more urgent. “It’s a song that’s in praise of femininity, and femininity in all ways that it arises – feminine men I want to feel comfortable and respected,” Mercer says. “I’m realising that one of the things I like about that song is, I think we worship masculinity right now. We’re getting more macho, it seems to me, with the culture and maybe the leadership in our country. We love macho, manly dudes, and that’s all well and good – I don’t mean to disrespect masculinity – but femininity is a critically important thing. It’s our mothers and our sisters, and sometimes our brothers and co-workers. “[Trump] seems like a douchebag sort of guy, who wouldn’t fucking give me or anyone in my family the time of day. But I wrote this when such a thing was impossible. You know what I think? Sometimes I think culture changes of its own accord, and its own pace. And thinking about politics, it’s almost like we’re

talking about the curtains in here, and how we want the chairs arranged. But other things, like cultural shifts, technological and scientific changes, that stuff is like the actual building is being moved. You don’t realise how much is actually shifting.

FEATURE

“THE SETLIST IS PUZZLED TOGETHER WITH THAT IN MIND: GET IN, BLOODY SMASH ’EM, GET OUT. DON’T FUCK SPIDERS!”

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City Safe

FEATURE

A Fresh Perspective By Joseph Earp

ince the introduction of Sydney’s lockout laws in February 2014, the resistance to Barry O’Farrell’s venue-crushing, live-music-destroying legislation has largely come from one place. Keep Sydney Open has remained the focal point for all criticism lobbed against the restrictive practices; the laws that have designated a ‘safe zone’ in the city and prevented venues from admitting new patrons after 1:30am, as well as required them to call last drinks by 3am. And yet, the lack of alternative forms of resistance has some feeling concerned. Keep Sydney Open, though an admirable institution in terms of organisational prowess and populist appeal, isn’t necessarily looking to compromise on the laws – its strategy has been to launch devastating campaigns against all aspects of the legislation, thereby pushing the government up against a wall and leaving politicians without any way to save face.

“One thing I feel I do always want to express is that convictions of any kind can be pretty dangerous. I think it’s easy for people to become convicted about certain ideas, and I’m wary of that, on any side. And it can be anything. It’s so fluid and strange, and there’s

so much deception it seems. It’s just so hard to get any convictions to settle.” What: Heartworms out Friday March 10 through Sony/Columbia

Twelve Foot Ninja Stealthy Songwriters By Joseph Earp

he members of Melburnian fusion metal giant Twelve Foot Ninja are a lot of things: adept, intelligent songwriters; crass geniuses behind some of the most confrontational and creative Australian music videos of recent memory; and in-yer-face cultural exports making serious waves overseas. But above everything else, they are also an uncompromising live act. Their raucous, rage-fi lled shows serve as the very bedrock of their reputation, and they have made their name largely through hitting the road, sometimes accompanied by giants like Disturbed – a band they supported to much critical acclaim last year – and sometimes striking out alone.

“[When playing support] we generally do what we always do in less time,” explains the band’s guitarist Rohan Hayes. “You usually have about 30 to 40 minutes and you’re playing to people who’re waiting for the headliner. The setlist is puzzled together with that in mind: get in, bloody smash ’em, get out. Don’t fuck spiders!” Unsurprisingly, given that unfussy, powerfully focused attitude, the band has always wanted to make music, and for many of the members, heading out on tour is a way of fulfi lling a lifelong dream. That’s not to suggest that they don’t sometimes have to bat off nerves mind you, and they do occasionally have to tackle the spectre of stage fright. “We all get a bit serious if we haven’t played in a while. Shane ‘Russ’ [Russell, drummer] usually has no brain space for jokes or a chat in his pre-show anxiety. He’s defi nitely the most jittery before any show. We have a pre-show ritual to huddle up [and] have a bit

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Onstage, the band tend to appear like a multi-limbed, well-oiled machine, incapable of putting a foot wrong. But that level of slick professionalism isn’t something that just came to them naturally, and Hayes reveals that they often have to make careful, conscious decisions every time they hop up under those bright lights.

“Significant criticism has been directed at the lockouts due to the blanket standard approach the current system engenders,” explains Jason Thomas, one of the key players in the City Safe proposal. “The City Safe concept sees compliant, safe venues rewarded with an exemption to the lockout times, thus returning to their standard licensed trading hours. The simplicity of the system has a far greater chance of success as it rewards compliant safe venues, encouraging them to remain compliant and safe in order to maintain their lockout exemption. “The KSO program has called for the lockouts to be repealed or removed, giving the government no alternative options [and] leaving it to government

Thomas has been involved with the City Safe project since its very inception, and remains relentlessly dedicated to the burgeoning organisation. “City Safe was initially conceived by AusComply in September 2016 after several of [AusComply’s] existing clients had achieved success in using analytics and the ability to review, analyse and recall their information from our system to successfully defend themselves [against] regulators. “Although the City Safe concept was sound, it was important to ensure industry support for the framework was achieved before progressing. As a result, a plan was developed in consultation with select industry associates. A confidential meeting named ‘Phoenix Project’ was then held at a Sydney location with around 20 influential Sydney hoteliers and group owners. The City Safe concept and framework was then outlined to attendees followed by significant group discussion.” That level of inclusivity has also impressed fans of the City Safe proposal, as they believe a clear line of communication between protesters and venue owners is crucial. That’s not even to mention the freshness of the City Safe perspective, one that stresses positivity and real action. “City Safe works within the current legislation, intent and framework,” Thomas says. “It’s also based on a reward and positive encouragement concept that treats each venue on its merits, rather than a punitive, oppressive, blanket confronting approach.” Moving forward, AusComply now needs to gather enough signatures on a petition to bring debate to the State Parliament, something it is getting closer to achieving every day. “Response from the general public so far has been outstanding,” Thomas says. “We’ve even experienced supporters of the lockouts change their minds and sign our petition once the safety and compliance outcomes of the program are explained.” More: citysafe.com.au

“We always try to engage with the crowd. Some songs require more focus from different band members so we each come in and out of our ‘own zone’ at different times in the set. It’s a … moving beast, but the vibe of the crowd really impacts on our vibe onstage. The exchange of energy between audience and band is where the rubber hits the road for us.” They are also a group with a truly humble, respectful attitude towards their audience, and they consider the art of making music a form of communication between performer and punter. Indeed, it was that selfsame respect they have for their audience that infl uenced them to crowdfund the resources for their second record, Outlier. “We view crowdfunding as another route for fans to pre-order the album and [a way of] cutting fans in on the process,” Hayes says. “We used it as a direct feedback line a lot of the time and went from working in our own little bubble to sharing ideas.”

FEATURE

Given those live chops, it’s perhaps unsurprising that they have a democratic approach to touring, and approach support slots and headlining gigs with the same uncomplicated attitude. For the Ninjas, the size of the venue and placing on the bill doesn’t matter in the slightest: what they care about most is the energy they emit as musicians.

of a ‘quack’ about how nothing matters.”

That’s where City Safe comes in. An initiative spearheaded by the AusComply mobile security compliance company, this relatively new anti-lockout laws proposal takes what some have described as a more even-handed approach to O’Farrell’s legislation. City Safe has been designed to allow designated ‘safe venues’ – pubs and bars that can empirically prove proper measures have been put in place to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence – to apply for an easing of the lockout laws. This way, the onus of safety is on venues, and not on a sweeping, citywide legislation.

to come up with an alternate solution,” Thomas adds.

But it’s not just their audience that Twelve Foot Ninja feel connected to: they are just as indebted to Australia’s thriving fusion metal scene. “From my perspective, everyone’s cool,” Hayes says. “There’s a community feel. If there’s competition, it’s generally healthy. Musicians are struggling to make a buck. There’s no use being a dick to each other: let’s struggle together.” Where: Manning Bar When: Friday March 10 With: Troldhaugen, Hemina

“THE CITY SAFE CONCEPT SEES COMPLIANT, SAFE VENUES REWARDED WITH AN EXEMPTION TO THE LOCKOUT TIMES.” BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17 :: 11

FEATURE

“WE ALL REMEMBER THE TIME WE FIRST HAD OUR FACE MELTED AT A LIVE SHOW, AND THAT STAYS WITH YOU FOREVER.”

Two Of The Best Aussie Punk Bands Are Playing A Show Together – And It’s Free By Brandon John

here are plenty of things we already need to spend our precious little money on, so it’s nice when someone comes along and says, “Hey, you know what? Have a free gig on us!” It’s even better when that gig features a onetwo punch of the country’s must-see punk bands: Dumb Punts and Wash. This month, the bands will join forces for a free double-header at beloved Newtown haunt Leadbelly, courtesy of gig series Brixton Broadcast, and the pairing couldn’t be better – especially when we’re getting it for the bargain price of nothing. First up, we score Dumb Punts, who are quickly becoming one of the leading bands in a rejuvenated

Aussie punk scene, warping ’80s Aussie influences into vital slices of backyard rock. 2016 brought with it a breakthrough seven-inch released on Drunk Mums’ label Pissfart Records, a support slot with US champs Guantanamo Baywatch, and sold-out shows with none other than Dune Rats and Skegss.

Joining them will be the emerging Byron trio Wash, who impressed on arrival last year with their debut effort Point Of View, a sharp menace of an EP that channels the buzzsaw swamp punk of The Horrors in their earlier years, with the production force of The Pinheads’ Jez Player and Straight Arrows’ Owen Penglis behind it.

The Melburnians rounded out the year by scoring triple j feature artist honours and winning a slot at the Lorne leg of Falls Festival, with triple j honcho Richard Kingsmill proclaiming of their huge single ‘Space Waster’, “I’ve listened to this four times in a row now. It’s not often a song makes me do that.”

Honing their craft with a year of touring, they’ve kept busy since, dropping their dark and dirty sophomore EP Don’t Touch Me last month and joining forces with Dumb Punts to release a new split cassette This Could Be Good, out now through Pissfart Records. With the two bands fresh out of the studio, we can’t wait to see what’ll happen when they share the stage.

All up, it’ll be a damn good night of some of the finest noise Australia has to offer, and the latest in a global run of free shows thrown by lifestyle brand Brixton. Having already brought Brixton Broadcast to Melbourne last year with a lineup packing bands like Beaches, The UV Race and Ausmuteants, they’ve clearly had their eyes and ears on our local punk scene for a while. “I do think we are seeing a real resurgence of punk, and it’s showing its face in all sorts of places,” says Adam Warren, Brixton’s director of marketing. “But the scene in Australia has been strong for a long time – we seem to always find Aussie bands that we love and hope to get to work with down the road sometime.”

The series may be darting off to LA next, and then Berlin, but all signs point to ‘yes’ for more Aussie Broadcast gigs in the future – and they’ll be carrying on with the theme of hurting the eardrums rather than the hip pocket. “We all remember the time we first had our face melted at a live show, and that stays with you forever,” says Warren. “And if we can give that to people – great bands at great venues, for free, then we’re all better for it.” What: Brixton Broadcast Where: Leadbelly When: Friday March 17

five things WITH

RHYS DANIEL WEEKS FROM SEVSONS

Growing Up Growing up, music was definitely a 1. way to create my own kind of identity. Not much about my upbringing was musical, but I was unconsciously drawn to music. Communicating and sharing oneself with others via music always seemed very special to me.

Your Band The lineup consists of Christian Doyle, Harrison Zatschler, Hugh Blackall, Ethan

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The Music You Make Progressive rock. We’ve played 4. with some great bands – Caligula’s Horse,

Metanoia, Opia, Hemina, Circles, James Norbert Ivanyi, Orsome Welles, Mercury Sky, Aura Animi, et cetera. Our debut album Ad Infi nitum is out now, so we’ll be gigging that now. We pride ourselves on sounding as near to the same live as we sound on CD, whilst still delivering an energetic performance. Both elements need to be present. Music, Right Here, Right Now It’s barely living, it’s fi ckle. People don’t seem very responsive to new

sounds or change. But I think it’s up to the musician to bring people around to their sound. Anything that challenges people to get out of their comfort zones, even when it comes to the music they consume, is met with a bit of hostility at first, but in time, good bands get recognition – I mean, look at Caligula’s Horse now. Success comes to those who keep pushing for

something different. That’s what prog is all about, that fi ne line between accessible and challenging to the listener. It’s what makes prog interesting! With: Metanoia, Aura Animi, Johnathan Davis Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Friday March 24

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Sevsons photo by Hayden Nixon

Inspirations I’d have to say Karnivool are one of my favourite bands. I specifically remember hearing the album Themata and being blown away by it; Kenny’s vocals over those heavy riffs hooked me. I can’t go past Bowie though: his creation and delivery of various personas still amazes me. The ability to provide entertainment that also has a deeper level to be critiqued is what makes Bowie a singularity.

Mestroni and myself. We’re definitely trying to bring the genre to a greater audience by trying to make it a little more accessible. Most people view prog as the kinda stuff that people with long hair who live in Mum’s basement listen to, which is unfortunate, but I think we can help change that.

*6405. :665 4(9*/

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AUSSIE HORROR FILMS:

FEATURE

How The Critics Keep Getting It Wrong BY JOSEPH E A R P

“I think people and audiences, potential audiences, have to be warned about it.” – DAVID STRATTON ON WOLF CREEK

t was mid-2013, and Jennifer Kent was in a cramped, creaky house in South Australia, trying to make a movie. An expansion of a dark, emotionally draining short named Monster, which she had directed some time prior, the new production’s funds had been cobbled together ad hoc, and while some of the cash came from Kickstarter, a sizeable hunk had been sourced through an Australian arts funding grant. But even despite the varied nature of her backers, the money at Kent’s disposal was laughably slim: most of the $2 million she had set aside for the shoot was tied up in sets and production design, not to mention the complicated practical effects required by her stark, deliberately and artfully underwritten script. And there were other issues too, problems more ethical than financial. The film’s dark, melancholia-soaked narrative – a story of loss and the supernatural centred around a grieving mother named Amelia and her young son Samuel – required Kent to rely heavily on the acting chops of a six-year-old, a South Australian first-time actor named Noah Wiseman. Being no tyrant, Kent had to somehow wrangle the best possible performance from her juvenile lead without ever exposing him to the nastier elements of the plot, and constantly juggling his innocence with the heightened, snarling twists of the story became time-consuming. “We needed double the time we had,” Kent said later in an interview with Den Of Geek. The days were long, the heat was rising, and an ungodly series of anxieties – many of them self-inflicted by Kent – twisted and creaked behind the rookie director as she moved from set-up to set-up. But before too long, the crushingly brief production period was over, and Kent could delve deep into editing, in the process assembling a monster movie that wasn’t even really a monster movie; a horror film that used its central conceit to explore obsession and loss. And then, finally, it was done. In May 2014, Kent’s labour of love – a little movie named The Babadook – was unleashed to cinemas around Australia. It was met with near-deafening commercial and critical silence. 13 was the unlucky number of cinemas The Babadook screened at during its hometown run, and the relatively few notices it received came from outside the mainstream critical community; from horror bloggers and longstanding defenders of genre cinema. For the most part, the broader critical consensus was one defined by suspicion, and “visually distinctive” was about the highest praise that could be tugged out of Australia’s leading cinema reviewers. Just as pressingly, the film’s advertising budget was practically non-existent, and the cinemas it played in were those frequented by the art house crowd rather than the broader audience The Babadook desperately needed to attract in order to properly recoup its budget. By the time it was done screening in its home country, Kent’s debut had made a mere $258,000 – a fraction of its paltry price tag.

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xxx

The Babadook

“The Babadook’s demise was merely a set-up for one of the most striking resurrections in contemporary Australian cinema.”

BIASED AGAINST HORROR: THE PROBLEM WITH AUSTRALIAN FILM CRITICISM By all accounts, it seemed as though The Babadook was going to go the way of so many other films made in this country, gurgling out of sight to join under-heralded classics like Ted Kotcheff’s booze-soaked Wake In Fright, a masterpiece lost for decades, or Terry Bourke’s hard-to-find alt-classic, Inn Of The Damned. Like those discarded art pieces, The Babadook appeared too dark for mainstream critical institutions, too hard to find for audiences not properly prompted where to look, and too underfunded for significant ad campaigns. But like the fake-out deaths that characterise the final reel of slasher flicks, The Babadook’s demise was merely a set-up for one of the most striking resurrections in contemporary Australian cinema. Slowly but surely, as it crept into cinemas internationally, the film began to build up commercial speed. In France, it opened at number 11 at the box office. In England, helped along in no small part by critics like Mark Kermode – a long-time champion of genre film – the movie made more in its first weekend than in its entire Australian run. And then finally, prodded along by the praise of The Exorcist director William Friedkin, The Babadook lugged itself across America, raking up just shy of a million US dollars and

winning near-universal acclaim. By the time it left screens, this little Australian horror film that had seemed ready to disappear from the cultural map had returned its budget and then some, racking up US$7 million in revenue. It was then – and only then – that Australia’s mainstream circle of critics began to champion a film that no longer needed their help, perhaps suitably ashamed that they had ignored a classic lurking right under their noses. And that too was when Australian audiences returned to the movie so many had missed, alerted to a homegrown classic by the reception pouring in overseas. “The Babadook was championed internationally for being one of the best films of 2014,” says film writer Alexandra HellerNicholas. “But critics here on the whole were only comfortable even acknowledging its existence once they were told it was OK to call a horror film a masterpiece.”

deeper – something emblematic of the sniffy attitude consistently displayed by mainstream Australian critics, not to mention their habit of ignoring anything that doesn’t contain the slow, considered beats of a family drama like The Daughter or that prosaic, long-obsessed over Australian mainstay, Lantana? In any case, The Babadook laid bare a glaring problem that has long haunted Antipodean cinema, and shone light on a festering wound that manifests itself as a critical and symptomatic fear of anything outside the established norm. Kent’s film proved that Australian genre cinema, despite boasting a varied and rich history – not to mention a real and observable earning power – was still being ignored by the critical establishment, as writers and broadcasters shuffled into a corner to avoid the sight of a success they couldn’t stand to accept.

“Why did Australians need the approval of the outside world before they felt ready to embrace something of their own?”

The question, then, is why? Why did Australians need the approval of the outside world before they felt ready to embrace something of their own? Is it, as many have suggested, a case of the cultural cringe that has so dominated Australian attitudes towards their own art? Or is it something

“Australian genre films were a lot of fun because they were legitimate genre movies. They were real genre films and they dealt … with the excess of genre.” – QUENTIN TARANTINO

OUR HAUNTED HOME: THE STORIED HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN HORROR John Jarratt as Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek 2

Quentin Tarantino

most creatively compelling cinematic heroes – even as he went almost consistently ignored in his time. “Almost everything that Everett De Roche wrote is one of my favourite films,” Quentin Tarantino once said, dropping a platitude that Australian critics have long attempted to discredit and ignore. Indeed, the journalist Mark Juddery even went so far as using the quote as a way to smear Tarantino’s taste in De Roche’s obituary (of all places), in the process aiming to downplay the horror screenwriter’s varied achievements even as it proclaimed to champion them.

Quentin Tarantino photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

“Tarantino has an eclectic love of film, but he is famously inspired by ‘trash’ cinema,” ran a particularly sniffy line in Juddery’s Sydney Morning Herald overview of De Roche’s life and work, published after the screenwriter succumbed to cancer in 2014. Not that De Roche would necessarily have been surprised by the tone of the piece. Since penning his first film – a Hitchcockian psychodrama named Patrick that followed the telekinetic exploits of a young man in a coma – De Roche’s career was characterised by the stony reception from his peers. Even when his movies became commercially successful, they were hits despite critics, not because of them, and the accolades he won largely came from overseas festivals and awards bodies.

“Welcome to Australia, cocksucker!” – MICK TAYLOR, WOLF CREEK 2

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he list of horror cinema’s masters is so often repeated that it has almost been tattooed upon the tongue. John Carpenter. Dario Argento. David Cronenberg. Guillermo del Toro. These are names that consistently crop up when genre film fans are prodded to list their heroes, and the bloodsplattered and visually compelling filmographies of these acclaimed

directors have been picked over endlessly by audiences and critics alike.

No matter that his scripts imbued conventional thriller tropes with a distinctly Antipodean feel, as in the brilliant Road Games, or that he displayed a distinct knack for making the humdrum and recognisable truly horrific, as in the Citizen Kane of killer pig films, 1984’s Razorback. Time and again, in the face of De Roche’s gauche output, the cinematic establishment turned a decidedly blind eye.

But there is one name that has never earned the distinction that it deserves. Everett De Roche, an American-born, Australian citizen and writer, carved out one of horror’s most distinctive bodies of work in the ’70s and ’80s, producing slimy, smeared classic after classic in the process. Across 16 vicious and inventive screenplays, he became one of this country’s

It was a critical dearth of which De Roche was all too aware. In a career-spanning interview with Spectacular Optical, he appeared bemused yet ever so slightly concerned by the delayed acceptance of his movies, in particular the resurgence of his surrealist ‘nature gone wrong’ masterpiece Long Weekend.

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FEATURE FEATURE

Romper Stomper

De Roche wasn’t alone in being ignored by Australian critics, either. The reaction of his adopted country’s critical establishment was emblematic of a broader trend of genre film refusal maintained by writers and broadcasters during the so-called Ozploitation boom of the ’70s and ’80s. As is lovingly charted in Mark Hartley’s brilliant 2008 documentary, Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story Of Ozploitation, even as a run of low-budget, endlessly inventive sex and horror films began to find their audiences via drive-in cinemas around the country, critics aimed to downplay the success of such exploits, considering them a national embarrassment. “[In the] 1970s … the huge popularity of things like [sex comedy] Alvin Purple and the Barry McKenzie films terrified politicians and funding bodies that this might actually be what white Australians are like,” says Heller-Nicholas. “More serious dramas like My Brilliant Career and Gallipoli spoke of a much more ‘sophisticated’ culture than these exploitation drive-in blockbusters, and [that] vision of Australia has consistently been one our government has been keen to keep pushing out into international markets over the more carnivalesque, fun stuff.” Ultimately, such conflicting attitudes were born from the complicated rifts in the country’s emerging identity. Since the ’60s, a long litany of academics and self-appointed ‘experts’ have measured Australian art against the highbrow pleasures of Europe’s canonised creatives, while the work of homegrown filmmakers trying to find a more authentic national style has been ignored. To that end, the questions being asked by creatives and critics alike in the ’70s were the same as those being asked now: what does a truly Australian film look like? What is an Australian story? And what is the dominant Australian style? Throughout, a chasm has become apparent between the answers provided by the majority of establishment critics and those proffered by audiences and filmmakers.

“David Stratton’s refusal to engage with anything provocative is emblematic of broader critical views.”

“Critics have been searching endlessly for movies that reflect a different vision of their country, one they can use to dismiss a largely self-created myth that Australia is without culture.” While genre-concerned creatives like De Roche use horror to hone a truly Australian voice, critics have been searching endlessly for movies that reflect a different vision of their country, one they can use to dismiss a largely self-created myth that Australia is without culture. And as the years have dragged on, these two warring opinions concerning our country’s national artistic identity have grown only more and more opposed, as nothing less than two versions of Australia have repeatedly come to collide.

he near-overriding majority of Australia’s now recognised and acclaimed cinematic names had their beginnings in genre film. Peter Weir, Richard Lowenstein, Phillip Noyce and Rolf de Heer – a handful of this country’s most prestigious living directors – all had their start making sci-fi and horror, with Weir’s The Cars That Ate Paris in particular remaining a darkly comedic genre masterpiece. But in almost every case, these filmmakers only managed to find critical acceptance after discarding most of their stranger inclinations. Both Weir and Noyce, the directors of classics such as Gallipoli and Rabbit-Proof Fence respectively, have now almost completely abandoned their early reputations as peddlers of scuzzy, smudged delights. And while De Heer still has a renegade, smirking attitude towards Australian values, he has never made another film as visibly indebted to horror as Bad Boy Bubby.

And that has long remained the impasse faced by filmmakers: if you want to achieve any real acclaim in this country, you have to avoid paying tribute to any style considered lowbrow. The movies that have been championed by Australian critics are those that have stuck largely to the formula of ‘tortured rural family dealing with dark underlying secrets’, with these slow-astreacle familial epics displaying what could generously be described as a prosaic approach to tone, and bluntly described as a comatose one. Filmmakers who stick closely to this established trend are consistently rewarded, and cookie-cutter exercises in banality and bloodless conflict – even interminable dreck like Fred Schepsi’s The Eye Of The Storm, winner of Best Australian Feature at the 2011 Melbourne International Film Festival – are blessed in a shower of posterready quotes. Flash-in-the-pan exercises in testing the patience of cinemagoers have earned the nods of the critical establishment, while anything more risky than the likes of, say, Animal Kingdom, earns widespread condemnation. The case in point remains Romper Stomper, a 1992 lo-fi serve of lunacy that drew as much on zombie classics like Night Of The Living Dead as it did from kitchen-sink dramas, and a work that was savaged by that disparager of Australian horror cinema, David Stratton. Indeed, Stratton’s opinions have long erred on the side of the stiff and soulless – in his virtual retirement from television screens,

Stratton has engaged in such activities as programming stiff-upper-lip statements like Brief Encounter for cruises favoured by octogenarians, a move that speaks volumes about the films he seeks out. In this way, Stratton’s refusal to engage with anything provocative is emblematic of broader critical views. It was no matter to Stratton and his peers that Romper Stomper launched the career of its star Russell Crowe, or that its brutal and bombastic central chase set piece has become the stuff of Australian cinematic legend – Stratton’s longestablished bias against genre cinema saw him flat out refusing to rate it, a move that he has echoed a number of times since (but only when presented with horror films or thrillers). Indeed, no measure of forgiveness is ever afforded to filmmakers who move outside the boundaries of what critics will accept. David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom was a genre film on the surface level alone, so it was accepted by Australia’s self-appointed doyens of good taste, but when his second feature The Rover drew more clearly on Ozploitation history, he was abandoned by those who had once championed him.

Animal Kingdom

16 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

And so the attitude maintained by Australia’s critical establishment remains unchanged, and a curious creative ultimatum has holds fast. The bottom line is this: adopt the standard Aussie film tropes and you will be acclaimed by critics. Work against the grain – no matter how successful you become in doing so – and you will work in darkness.

thebrag.com

Red Christmas photo by Douglas Burgdorf

“It’s ironic that it took a Quentin Tarantino, 30 years later, to draw the world’s attention to what he describes as ‘this little Aussie masterpiece’,” De Roche said. “It wasn’t even until the DVD was released just a few years ago that I realised – via the DVD extras – that the movie had done exceedingly well in Europe.”

THIS IS A KNIFE: THE STATE OF AUSTRALIAN CONTEMPORARY HORROR

Dee Wallace in Red Christmas

Phillipe Klaus and Shannon Ashlyn in Wolf Creek 2

“As online entertainment services make horror increasingly acceptable and easy to find, filmmakers can turn to such outlets in order to make the edgy works of art that some production companies might baulk at.” “I really champion Wolf Creek 2,” says HellerNicholas, a committed defender of the film. “I strongly believe it was a very clear attack on the kind of pervasive white Australian racism that has resulted in the real-life horror show unfolding even still in Nauru and Manus Island.” Behind the scenes on Skinford, Skinford, playing at Monster Fest Travelling Sideshow

Of course, the pain of the cold shoulder was not unusual to McLean – the first Wolf Creek film received the same widespread critical disapproval, and, as is now to be expected, only really achieved true overseas success after it had first been championed by American critics and mouthpieces such as Tarantino. After all, silence remains the most powerful tool the Australian critical establishment has at its disposal: if it wants to drown a film, it can merely ignore it, and many critics have displayed more of an interest in American and British indie strugglers than films made in their own country. Indifference has its own power, and an institutional turning of collective backs is one that a range of Australian genre filmmakers have felt the pangs of – chief among them director Craig Anderson. Anderson’s debut, Red Christmas, received barely a mention when it premiered at Sydney Film Festival last year, and despite the fact the Dee Wallace-starring film remains an intelligent and lovingly shot homage to ’80s slashers, it struggled to connect with Australian reviewers. “There was one review, by a blogger,” Anderson says of that initial frosty reception.

“Wolf Creek 2 [can] be considered one of the most unrelentingly political films produced in this country in recent years.” – ALEXANDRA HELLER-NICHOLAS, ‘HORRORS OF HISTORY: ON THE POLITICS OF WOLF CREEK 2’

“Many critics have displayed more of an interest in American and British indie strugglers than films made in their own country.” thebrag.com

n February 2014, Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton took to their long-running and acclaimed television show, At The Movies, to discuss Lone Survivor. Of course, this wasn’t unusual in itself: Lone Survivor had just hit cinemas, and it would ultimately be more surprising if they had chosen to avoid it.

But the move was hard to follow not because of the film they were discussing, but because of the film they had chosen to ignore. Off-camera, the pair had elected to sidestep Greg McLean’s Wolf Creek 2 entirely, despite the fact the film was a sequel to one of the highest-grossing Australian productions in recent memory and a political satire that had reached the number one spot at the national box office. According to Stratton and Pomeranz’s complicated moral code, the jingoistic and relentlessly brutal Lone Survivor was fine to review, whereas Wolf Creek 2, a local production that would have benefited from critical attention good or bad, was too ‘ugly’ to warrant a discussion. That spurious, sniffy reaction spoke volumes. That Stratton and Pomeranz were unwilling to even engage with Wolf Creek 2’s satirical bent – that they chose to judge the film without any understanding that it might be deeper than its surface layer of blood and gore – didn’t just reflect a vein of cultural superiority. Problematically, it revealed much more than that, making clear a stubborn and deliberate desire to misinterpret Australian genre films.

“When it screened at [American genre film festival] Fantasia the following month, there was a 700-seat auditorium, over 20 reviews, loads of talks with sales agents, two days of publicity, and it screened between a Marilyn Manson film and Kevin Smith film. People really liked it and I was reminded of why I made it. The horror community in Australia has embraced it, but internationally it has found a place. A US distributor is now releasing it theatrically in six US cities.” Sean Byrne, the director of The Devil’s Candy, received a similar reception when his film screened at SFF. The reviews he got, though strong, came mostly from smaller-scale outlets, and there was little in the way of the myth-making that gets drummed up in support of American indie darlings. Only now is his film receiving the anticipation it has long been due, thanks in no small part to the work of American outlets like Geek Magazine and the website Bloody Disgusting. And there are still more films that have been rejected critically and commercially – dozens more released over the last few years. Red Billabong, for example – a flawed but fascinating creature feature that tried to engage with Australia’s cultural and mythic past via the language of action horror films – received barely any reviews from major publications. “Dramas do so well for Australians,” that film’s star Tim Pocock told the BRAG while promoting the film. “You look at something like Animal Kingdom, which put so many Australian actors and creatives on the map. [So] that’s the thing that film bodies and investors feel confident in making. Whereas the bigger budget films … they are a bigger gamble, and they don’t necessarily pay off. So a lot of filmmakers are scared of making that gamble.” And yet despite those pressures, and despite the hundreds of genre films that have sunk without a trace, the Australian horror community remains

resilient. In the face of widespread refusal, Ozploitation fans and filmmakers have merely become hardened. “The horror community is very supportive,” Anderson explains. “They have a real passion for film. They share information, facts, figures, methodologies and fandom. They all want horror to do well. There are no pretences and no snobbery. The Australian film industry is still very traditional. It is far more tied onto archaic ideas of art, process and assumed audience expectations.” Such an attitude is echoed by the likes of Briony Kidd, filmmaker, theorist and mastermind behind the Stranger With My Face genre film festival. “Horror is not about big names or state-of-the-art production values, it’s about story and creativity,” Kidd explains. “Working in this area levels the playing field, perhaps. In my observation, horror fans don’t care where a film comes from or who made it, as long as there’s a new cool twist on the genre or something they haven’t seen before.” As far as Kidd is concerned, any issues that genre films face come from a small collection of naysayers. Audiences are not the problem, and finding people to fill cinemas will never be an issue. “I think audiences actually love horror,” says Kidd. “They always have and they always will … If you look at what’s dominating the international box office these days – Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter – it’s pretty ridiculous to claim that there’s a limited audience for genre. Happily there is a lot of energy in this area at the moment, the genre festival circuit is growing and there are new approaches and a new enthusiasm.” And there is evidence enough to suggest that such enthusiasm will result, however slowly, in a true acceptance of genre delights. Sparked by the success of Not Quite Hollywood and the endless work of Tarantino, Kermode and Heller-Nicholas – not to mention so many others – Ozploitation classics like Road Games and Night Of The Damned are rapidly being rediscovered. That’s not even to mention the power of streaming. As online entertainment services make horror increasingly acceptable and easy to find, filmmakers like McLean can turn to such outlets in order to make the edgy works of art that some production companies might baulk at. Wolf Creek’s second life as a popular streamable series available via Stan has horror fans hoping that large-scale entertainment companies will remember the market that exists for genre film, and that such blood-soaked delights will remain the norm rather than the exception. But even on the off chance that streaming services don’t back horror cinema the way some are hoping, there will always be companies like Monster, the creative powerhouse behind such celebrations of extremity as the Travelling Sideshow. That showcase of genre delights is heading to Sydney this month, bringing with it a raft of highly anticipated Australian horror films that will rub shoulders with acclaimed works like Jordan Peele’s Get Out. And, of course, there will always be horror film audiences. No matter how much work some critics might do to try and halt the expansion of genre delights, no matter how often they might turn a blind eye to mould-breaking movies lurching about their backyards, their work will mean nothing if people continue to spend money on what they love. “It comes down to Australian audiences demanding and backing Australian genre films,” Kidd says, simply. “Audiences have the power.” ■

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arts in focus FEATURE

“I HAVE A COUSIN WHO LOOKS JUST LIKE TRUMP. ON MY CAUCASIAN SIDE.”

David Liebe Hart [COMEDY] Everyone’s A Puppet By Cameron James

“D

avid’s disappeared.” This is the voice of Jonah, the manager of musician, puppeteer, devout Christian and unlikely comedy star David Liebe Hart. Our interview was supposed to start ten minutes ago, but the main man is nowhere to be found.

free stuff head to: thebrag.com/freeshit Dracula

DRACULA

The strictly limited runs for a mere four days, from Saturday April 1 – Tuesday April 4 and we’ve got two double passes to give away. Enter at thebrag.com/freeshit. 18 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

“OK, he’s in a restaurant,” Jonah updates me. “They won’t let him stay in there without eating something, so he’s just ordering a sandwich. Then he’ll call you.” These spontaneous journeys are par for the course Hart’s life, as I’ll learn when he eventually calls back (in about 20 minutes). Here is a man whom adventure seeks out – or so it seems. He has been taken aboard an alien spaceship and visited distant planets. He has had experiences with the occult. A long-time LA fixture, he has appeared in classic sitcoms such as The Golden Girls, and his regular busking gig outside the Hollywood Bowl resulted in his casting as a cult figure on the coolest comedy network, Adult Swim. In April this year, he’ll be adventuring to Sydney as part of an Australian tour. The puppets are coming too. When Hart finally calls, he has one thing on his mind. “What’s the time in Australia right now?” I tell him. “That’s a 19-hour time difference. I put my phone number on my website and I get calls from

Australian fans at three, four, five AM some nights. You gotta tell them to look at the time difference!”

All my puppets are coming out. Jason the Cat will be there. Chip the Black Boy’s coming.”

I don’t know if he’s being rhetorical, or literally asking me to tell these people. Either way, I say I will. Interviewing Hart is like talking to a hurricane. He’s quick, passionate about everything, and definitely hilarious – only you’re never entirely sure how much of it is for real, and how much is just hot air.

Google them. Seriously.

“I love Australia,” begins one excited run. “I love the people. I love your trains. I love Olivia Newton-John, I’ve always wanted to sing with her. I love Samantha Armytage on Sunrise. Ever since I first saw her I knew she was an outstandingly talented woman. She reminded me of my ex-wife.” On his first tour here in 2015, Hart stumbled upon a unique format for his shows. By using different local bands as his backing group, alongside video projections, his stream-ofconsciousness monologues and (yes) the puppets, a Hart show feels like some sort of punk children’s entertainment – like if Sesame Street were set in a worse neighbourhood. “I want to have a kangaroo puppet and a koala puppet for the kids,” he says. “I want to start doing TV shows and movies in Australia. I’d like to work with Crocodile Dundee and Samantha Armytage. You need to tell the Australian industry I’m ready.” Again, I don’t know if he means me personally, but again, I agree to help. And I mean it! I’m a fan, and I’m keen to see what he’s bringing to our shores in a couple of months. “I got new songs I’m very excited for you to hear. ‘I’m Not A Hoarder’, ‘Space Ranger’. I’ve got one about eating fruit.

And as excited as Hart is to perform for us, he seems just as happy to get away from the craziness of the US for a few weeks. “Things are scary over here. People are upset. I got into an argument with a Trump voter at church. I’m not mad at her, I try to see the good in everybody, even in bad people. Plus I have a cousin who looks just like Trump. On my Caucasian side.” The hurricane is whipping up again. I have no idea what’s real, and what’s for laughs. Hart segues from his cousin/ Trump-doppelgänger to the level of UFO activity in the Blue Mountains to an altercation he had with a Hillsong member during his last Sydney visit, before spiralling his way back to his original point. “I try to see the good in everybody, and that’s why I can’t wait to meet you all at the shows!” Hart is open to adventures. He hopes to spend time with his fans, explain the time difference to them, and would love to be shown the sights of Sydney by the locals. “And if you can drive me to church on Sunday, that’d be great too.” I don’t know if he’s talking to me. He might be talking to you. With: Skull And Dagger, Heavy Lids, Bura Bura Where: The Red Rattler When: Saturday April 8

“I’D LIKE TO WORK WITH CROCODILE DUNDEE AND SAMANTHA ARMYTAGE. YOU NEED TO TELL THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY I’M READY.” thebrag.com

Dracula photo by Dylan Evans

Acclaimed horror classic Dracula, a blood-drenched narrative shot straight from the vicious mind of Bram Stoker, tells the story of… Ahh, who are we kidding? You know the story of Dracula, not to mention its legendary titular antagonist. So you should consider well and truly prepared for Riverside Theatre’s upcoming production of the tale, one spearheaded by endlessly inventive theatre company Shake & Stir Co.

Like a lot of weirdos of my generation, I first discovered Hart’s work through Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, the psycho sketch comedy horror series on Adult Swim that kicked down the doors for a new wave of alternative comedy. Without Tim And Eric there’d be no Portlandia, no Zach Galifianakis, no BoJack Horseman, and of course, no David Liebe Hart. Hart’s regular segments came across like children’s TV by way of David Lynch – long, bizarre, public-service-announcementtype songs informing people about email or alien races. Hart was always a highlight, always hilariously offbeat, and always accompanied by one or more large puppets.

arts in focus FEATURE

Blacktown Tattoo

Australian Tattoo Expo [CONVENTION] Hearts On Their Sleeves By Anna Rose

ast year, the Australian Tattoo Expo landed in Sydney with new management and a new direction. The feedback from the industry and the general public was so positive that this year’s Expo has exploded. Making the move to a larger venue – the ICC at Darling Harbour – to host more than 300 national and international tattoo artists and more alternative pageant girls than you can shake a stick at, the Sydney chapter of the 2017 Australian Tattoo Expo is not an occasion you’re going to want to miss. “Over the last two years we’ve changed most things about the Expo,” says director Kevin Mack. “We’ve increased the attending artists – a lot more time is given to the artists in accommodating them – and this year we’ve introduced the Australian Tattoo Series, which kicks off at Sydney: artists enter the awards then go in for best overall in the series. “The artist with the most awards overall wins $10,000 and a feature with Inked Magazine, amongst other things.” Historically, the Australian Tattoo Expo has been a great platform for both local and international artists to

showcase their work and meet their peers. Arlo DiCristina of Colorado is one visiting artist who Mack is particularly enamoured with (“He’s one of the best – it’ll be his first time attending the show,” says Mack). There are also homegrown names to check out. “Matt Curzon is the best in the world – he pretty much travels the world attending most of the big conventions. His particular style is unlike anyone else’s; it’s fl awless. “We have a lot of the young kids that are coming up now – Jackson May is a young Aussie artist specialising in realism, definitely one to look out for. We have some big returns to the show too: Ben Laukis, Troy Slack, Brendan Boz; these guys are some of the country’s best artists.” It’s good to know industry heavyweights will be taken care of, but what’s in it for the attending public? “The live entertainment,” Mack replies. “We’ve grown the pageants from ten girls to 50 or 60 wanting to do it, and there’s a lot more stage presence – always a fun show. We have a live Red Bull DJ in a Red Bull van, plus freebies and promotions.

Little Tokyo

“We’ve also got the Australian tattoo talk. Rhys Gordon has been tattooing for over 20 years and he gets the guys who’ve been tattooing for over 40 years up to talk – it’s kind of mind-blowing how hard it was to introduce tattooing here. So in between talks, girls, DJs and tattooing, I don’t know that the public will be lost for anything to do!” The expo is bringing together body art lovers and artists alike, but there’s still an historical stigma

associated with the practice. In the past, tattoos have often been associated with the rotten underbelly of society – but Mack believes we’ve moved on.

old stigma on the industry because it’s just not relevant.

“I believe that stigma is gone from society today; the only remaining thing is the public who don’t know any better.

“I think it’s important to touch upon the perception in the industry – we promote fairly well, we get the patrons in fine, but it’s more important to me to get that message to the public as often as we can about stigma in the industry.”

“The days when tattoos were associated with criminals, that was 20 years ago, they’re gone now. These artists are just great artists and society needs to let go of this

What: Australian Tattoo Expo 2017 Where: ICC Sydney When: Friday March 10 – Sunday March 12

“IN BETWEEN TALKS, GIRLS, DJS AND TATTOOING, I DON’T KNOW THAT THE PUBLIC WILL BE LOST FOR ANYTHING TO DO!”

Australian International Tattoo Expo thebrag.com

BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17 :: 19

arts in focus

arts reviews

inside jokes

■ Film

ALONE IN BERLIN

Comedy, Life and Bullshit with Cameron James

In cinemas now Softly spoken and frequently auspicious (given our present global circumstances), Alone In Berlin is a quiet cat-andmouse thriller that paints a moving portrait of the small acts of heroism that shake the foundations of fascism. Otto (Brendan Gleeson) and Anna Quangel (Emma Thompson) live simple, bluecollar lives in Berlin, 1940. Somewhat reluctantly, they contribute like good citizens to the ruling Nazi Party, until their soldiering son is killed in battle. Galvanised by their loss, they begin circulating anti-Nazi propaganda, raising the attention of a local police inspector, Escherich (Daniel Brühl).

Another Uber ride. What could possibly go wrong?

was in an Uber this morning – sorry for bragging – and the driver asked me what I do for work. I was too embarrassed to admit I do comedy, so I lied and said I was a vet. Then he gushed about how amazing I am for helping animals, and I just sat there and accepted compliments for things I’ve never done and will never do. It was embarrassing, but honestly, I’ve never felt more important in my life.

hen he started asking me specific questions about my ‘job’, and I had to bluff my way along with phrases like ‘medicinal well-being’ and ‘chemical castration’. Finally, he told me that Uber is a side gig, but his real passion is stand-up comedy. And I – a humble vet who has never done stand-up – listened eagerly, and privately realised how delusional the job of comedian is. Most comedians try to hide the fact that they’re a comedian, partly because on some level they’re ashamed to admit they think they’re funny. And mostly because they’re afraid they’ll have to prove it. Some days you can avoid revealing it, because most people our age don’t care what other people do at all. But every time I’m in an Uber, it’s a countdown till the driver pops the question. I just Googled this, but you might have already known it: Uber is actually a German word which means “awkward conversation in a freak’s car”. Why do those drivers feel the need to make small talk all the time? And why hasn’t the company made a ‘silent ride’ function available on the app yet? I mean, I get it, the whole selling point of Uber originally was that it’s a more pleasant ride than a taxi. More personable. And sometimes it can be.

And anyway, a ‘silent ride’ option could never work, because the people who become drivers are as much in it for the chats as the cash. Becoming an Uber driver is like having a hostage who has to listen to your thoughts on Trump. The closest we’ll get to that is when they finally introduce the robot cars they’ve been promising. But knowing Uber, even the robot drivers would make boring small talk and offer us Minties. I just Googled this too (I don’t know anything), but Uber is currently being sued by Google for stealing the technology used in its driverless vehicles. What kind of Terminator 2: Judgment Day war would that be? The Googlecars versus the Uberbots. The most passiveaggressive AI fight of all time. The Uber Army would give out bad ratings, and the Google Troops would ask, “Did you mean...?” In fact, a quick search for Uber reveals these guys have had a bad few weeks. Lawsuit. Sexual harassment allegations. Siding with Trump. #deleteuber. It’s almost enough to make you want to go back to taxis. Almost. Maybe we should just start walking again. That’s the most silent ride of them all.

“I was in an Uber this morning – sorry for bragging – and the driver asked me what I do for work. I was too embarrassed to admit I do comedy, so I lied and said I was a vet.”

what’s funny this week?

Friday March 10 Giant Dwarf’s Third Birthday. Giant Dwarf is the comedy theatre owned by The Chaser, and home to some of the best comedy in the city. And it just turned three! This birthday event will have a great mix of standup, storytelling, music and improv. You gotta go!

As far as character actors go, Gleeson and Thompson may well be the cream of the crop. Both display a stoicism, nuance and subtlety rarely seen in such emotionally charged fare. Much of the credit, naturally, must go to director Vincent Pérez for his meditative approach to what could otherwise be a sonorous anti-fascist affair. The film has received significant critique for its conservative approach to its source material – Hans

Fallada’s novel Every Man Dies Alone – but Pérez’s caution and sensitivity so perfectly match the actions and character of the Quangels that it’s hard to believe a more dramatic take on the tale could possibly be more effective. Alexandre Desplat’s score rarely draws attention, while the camera work is effective and intimate, through not outstanding, except in the film’s tragic opening. Each technical aspect serves as a reminder of the film’s humble figures, their small but very real act of heroism seemingly dwarfed in a sea of swastika flags. Criticisms of the film’s tragic subplots seem to overlook their contribution, as they serve not to reinforce the evils of the Nazis, but the sustaining of the ruling party’s agenda by selfish, opportunistic individuals. Pérez’s style could (perhaps generously) be termed ‘humanist’, focused on the minutiae of human interaction rather than grand gesture. Escherich, as an example, has a fairly predictable plot path to follow, but Brühl’s performance lends the character a pathos that sustains investment in him as the narrative unfolds.

Certainly, Alone In Berlin is no feel-good romp, nor a chest-thumping war film, but a peaceful protest against the rise of terror. In that sense, its release is well-timed. The actions of the fictional Quangels – and by extension the real-life Hampels on

■ Film

LOGAN In cinemas now The impact of the extended comic book universe-building engineered by Marvel and Fox has increasingly become one to be measured in economic rather than critical success. The companies aren’t making movies for the sake of making movies any more – they are propping up an empire, and their “one for the widest possible audience, one for the critics” approach has become strikingly dull. In that way, James Mangold’s Logan is a cookie-cutter exercise in fulfilling superhero convention dressed up as an artsy revenge flick. The narrowly drawn plot focuses on a suicidal Logan (Hugh Jackman, trotting out for one last go-around as the character that made him famous) who now lives in an abandoned warehouse, trying hard to dodge the responsibility of caring for both a dementia-addled Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and eventually a supremely powerful young mutant named Laura (Dafne Keen), who resembles him in a range of increasingly predictable ways. The film structurally resembles a road movie, as Logan travels cross-country to get Laura to safety, pursued by a metal-handed monster named Pierce (Boyd Holbrook, working admirably hard with an underwritten character) and a laughably pointless master antagonist named Dr. Rice (Richard E. Grant, woefully underused). Logan wants desperately to be a Western,

and even makes the mistake of paying unsubtle homage to a much better film, the classic Shane, in attempt to legitimise its own graphic exploration of a bitter, violent man. Ostensibly to serve its central character, Logan is unremittingly bloody. A particularly lengthy scene of Logan stabbing a range of soldiers in the head and mouth pushes the boundaries of good taste for no discernible reason other than to prove the film’s own extremity, and the constant misinterpretation of what makes a movie difficult means that Logan often feels like a Michael Bay remake of The Road. And underneath all that gore, Logan still sticks to the trademark superhero plot so familiar to audiences that they should be able to recite the narrative beats as they happen on screen. By its end, the film descends into a stretch of rambling about magic serums, superhuman clones and weaponised mutants, and Dr. Rice’s rushed villainous speech is so uninteresting to Mangold that he can’t even help cutting away from it, rendering the character’s motivations impossible to understand. In that way, Logan is nothing more than a sheep in wolf’s clothing: a pointless, poorly drawn exercise in grimness that leaves one hell of a bad taste in its wake. Joseph Earp

Sunday March 12 The John Conway Tonight Show at Cafe Lounge, Surry Hills. Conway is Australia’s funniest, weirdest late-night host who doesn’t have a TV show. Yet. This show has great guests, music, sketches and lots of insanity.

Cameron James is a stand-up comedian. You can follow him on Twitter at @iamcameronjames, or in the streets. 20 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

thebrag.com

arts in focus

game on Gaming news and reviews with Adam Guetti

2017

Prey (PS4, XBO, PC)

PREVIEW

MAR

What’s On PIXEL SOUNDS

Returning for its fifth year, Pixel Sounds is making its way back to Campbelltown Arts Centre as part of its Contemporary Music Festival. Kicking off on Saturday March 11, the event will showcase some of the finest chiptune creators not only within Australia, but the world over. Outside of the performances, there will also be a number of workshops hosted by Pixel Sounds’ performers, each aiming to teach you basic tricks of the trade. Tickets to the performance start from only $5, so if you have a growing passion for chiptunes, or want to see a show with a difference, head to campbelltownartscentre.com.au for more information.

ZOMBIE DASH

whom they are based – serve to inspire those overwhelmed by the chaos around them. Their actions, however small, aided in the defeat of their unconscionable foe. But of course, even small acts of resistance have dire consequences under tyrannical rule.

In Berlin does not succumb to the dourness of so-called ‘arthouse’ cinema, but presents a gentle voice of protest in an age of hatred – a cry of rebellion as discreet as a postcard left on a staircase.

Contrary to popular opinion, Alone

David Molloy

Love to run but need some new motivation? Well, how about a bunch of friendly zombies on your tail to urge you onward? Such is the set-up for Zombie Dash, a unique five-kilometre fun run in the Central Coast’s Mount Penang Parklands. Taking place on Saturday April 8, each runner must make their way through the parklands with a headlight to help guide them from one safe zone to the next. On the way, zombie volunteers permeate the path, hoping to add some fun, laughter and maybe even a shriek or two into the mix. Tickets start at $50, but to hear more about the event, visit zombiedash. com.au.

rey, the game many thought to be dead after completely dropping off the radar, feels like a fascinating amalgamation of various sources of inspiration. Part BioShock, part Dishonored and part Alien: Isolation, it places you in a world where nothing is as it seems and danger lurks around every corner.

As we were thrust into the shooter’s early hours, uncertainty and suspicion filled the air. You play as Morgan Yu (you can also choose to play as a male lead), who wakes to find herself in her apartment in the year 2032. A brief phone call and helicopter ride later and you’ve led the woman into a lab to conduct simple yet strange experiments for reasons unknown. Needless to say, things don’t exactly go according to plan – leaving behind a whole lot of questions that you’ll undoubtedly want answers to. As Morgan, you’re vulnerable in Prey’s world (at least in the early stages), going up against a stronger, more agile and adaptive foe – Mimics. Your primary foe in the early stages, Mimics are not only a worthy adversary, but a refreshing one to boot. Capable of masking themselves into any surrounding object, they can (and will) surprise you when you least expect it and are capable of dealing out hefty amounts of damage before you know it. In fact, there were numerous stages throughout the demo that had us literally jumping at the shock of their arrival, and they’re unlikely to be the last. Add to that some creative weaponry within your arsenal and you’re all set for a fun sci-fi adventure. Considering the turmoil that Prey has suffered over the last few years, there’s no doubt that developer Arkane Studios has gotten things back on track. Hopefully the team is able to nail the home stretch.

Review: Sniper Elite 4 (PS4, XBO, PC)

reviewroundup

he Sniper Elite series might fly under most people’s radar, but its fan base is strong and loyal, helping it become successful enough to bring us Sniper Elite 4. Once again you’re in control of Karl Fairburne, master marksman. Each of the game’s eight missions places you in the middle of a sandbox area with nothing more than your loadout and objectives, and from there it’s up to you to decide how you go about completing them. Sniping, naturally, is often the best solution, so fans should rest easy in the knowledge that the infamous X-ray kill cam remains firmly in place, showcasing one exploding body part after another. Sniper Elite 4 is an unflinchingly brutal game, but often gleefully so.

■ Theatre

Sure, this entry could be seen as more of an iteration than a true evolution, but it’s hard to complain when the end product remains this polished.

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY Reviewed at the Seymour Centre on Saturday February 18 Set in 1920s Sydney, The Trouble With Harry is based on the true story of Harry Crawford. Born a woman, Eugenia Falleni, she fled Italy to live in Sydney, carrying on with life as a man and marrying twice. Harry’s daughter Josephine (Bobbie-Jean Henning) – a product of a rape – has arrived following the death of her adopted mother. Harry’s wife Annie (Jane Phegan) is suspicious of the teenager following her previous visits to her ‘father’. As Annie’s son – also Harry (Jonas Thompson) – begins to have questions of his own, Josephine’s arrival lays the groundwork for the family to unravel. It’s interesting that the play, written by Lachlan Philpott, frames the story around the events leading up to Crawford’s famed murder trial as opposed to the trial itself, in which he was tried as a woman. However, in doing so we get a strong sense of the bonds of this family unit, and the stakes at play that keep it together yet also lead to its demise. A duo of narrators in Thomas Campbell and Niki Owen bring a poetic nature to the presentation, not only as a Greek chorus reacting and engaging with the characters, but also serving as the watching eyes of neighbours, workmates, passers-by and other gossip mongers, whispering and making assumptions of their own. Jodie le Vesconte is stoic as the lead, playing Harry with a strong inner world and sense of identity, with Henning also stealing the show as the perfect mix of mischief, rebellion and teenage vulnerability. Set design by Alice Morgan also supports the poetry of the language in its simplicity. In an era where queer stories are finally becoming more mainstream, it’s great to see one told from a historical Australian framework. As this is Sydney’s premiere as part of the Mardi Gras festival, we can only hope that next time it comes around, it’s produced by a mainstage.

Review: For Honor (PS4, XBO, PC)

rom the outset, For Honor oozes style, setting up a reality historians could only ever dream of by mashing the worlds of knights, samurai and Vikings into one. It’s a world where one must duel the other for ultimate glory.

Thankfully, said duels are very well done, operating more in the vein of a fighting game like Street Fighter than a hack-and-slasher like the Dynasty Warriors series. Button mashing will only get you so far. A surprisingly enjoyable campaign and tense online environment round out what is an impressive first outing.

Review: Yakuza 0 (PS4)

hether you’re a long-time fan or total newcomer, Yakuza 0 is an absolute riot. A prequel set in 1988 starring the series’ mainstays, it’s a perfect jumping off point for those unacquainted with the series while simultaneously telling a mature and engaging story. Surprisingly though, the real splendour of the game is not its main quest, but its distractions. From darts, to batting cages, karaoke, UFO catchers and disco dancing, it’s impressively and dauntingly varied. Along with a wealth of side quests, you have an adventure begging for your time, and more than deserving of it, too.

Julian Ramundi thebrag.com

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arts in focus

five minutes WITH

CATHERINE ALCORN AND NATHANAEL COOPER FROM 5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE

“In uncertain times one is forced to look inward and identify what is important.”

Lesbians Eating A Quiche opens in Sydney this month. What’s the play about?

Catherine Alcorn: It’s 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein are having their annual quiche breakfast. The society have gathered to honour and celebrate their most sacred of dishes: quiche. Shortly after the event commences, a nuclear bomb drops and the widows realise the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein may be the only surviving members of the human race. Panic sets in and society secrets are revealed. I describe it as a CWA meeting on crack. How does the play deal with society’s values in its 1950s setting, particularly around LGBTQI people? CA: Hysterically.

It’s set at a time when war threatened to destroy the world. Are there contemporary parallels? CA: I believe that in uncertain times one is forced to look inward and identify what is truly important. That pressure allows you to let go

NC: I think even today there are parts of the world where oppressive regimens or archaic belief systems and laws force people to hide who they truly are and disguise their feelings. They can probably relate to the plight the characters face when we are first introduced to them. But it is a comedy, it isn’t trying to make a political statement or offer a particular insight into the struggles people face. Tell us about the character you play. CA: I play the committee’s President Lulie Stanwyck. Lulie is a boss. She’s no fuss, traditional and doesn’t suffer fools. There is no one more passionate about quiche than Lulie. To her, the egg is the cornerstone of what makes a quiche magical, as she clearly explains in the forward of her best selling textbook Women Can Yes: The History of the Egg. What’s the secret ingredient for a great quiche? CA: No meat! Where: Glen Street Theatre When: Tuesday March 21 – Sunday March 26

on the bookshelf The latest additions to your libary...

Scoundrel Days UQP, $29.95 By Brentley Frazer

Australian author, poet and academic Brentley Frazer has released a memoir that’s been in the planning for more than 20 years – and it’s more than worth the wait. Scoundrel Days follows the story of Frazer’s youth, wading through a gritty mess of the sex, drugs and alcohol that defined his anti-authoritarian younger years, and those of the people around him. It’s an adventurous tale, as well: in Frazer’s own words, “If no adventures happen to you, make your own.” From outback Queensland to urban Australia, you can bet Frazer has done just that.

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thebrag.com

5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche photo by Dylan Evans

NC: When we first meet the sisters they are the very picture of perfect 1950s housewives, widowed of course, but still upholding those values. But as claustrophobia sets in, secrets come out.

of societal expectations. All caution and care is thrown to the wind and you simply follow your heart. That is universal and applicable to any decade, [and] we’re experiencing right now just as folks did in the ’50s.

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK KINGSWOOD

After Hours, Close To Dawn Dew Process

If you expected Kingswood to return with an album reminiscent of their 2014 debut, Microscopic Wars, then you may be initially disappointed by what you’ll find on its follow-up. However, fear not: After Hours, Close To Dawn forges a completely new road for the band, and despite being an eclectic mix of genres, instruments and styles, it works. Beautifully.

And although they haven’t completely abandoned their old

sound, with tracks like ‘Creepin’ and ‘Library Books’ serving a reminder of just how good frontman Fergus Linacre’s voice can be, the rest of the album offers plenty of surprises.

thumping beats straight from the US circa 1969 – if this track doesn’t get you on the dancefloor gyrating your hips, then God knows what will.

There are standout tracks aplenty: ‘Belle’ sounds like Fleetwood Mac dating The Doors, ‘Big City’ weaves a sad-sounding, almost folky tale and ‘Like Your Mother’ rocks out

After Hours, Close To Dawn is full of fresh, exciting sounds that’ll keep you up all night.

xxx

The opener ‘Looking For Love’ sets the tone early, capturing more of a heartfelt blues sound in contrast to the usual thrashing drums and heavy guitars these Melburnians are so fondly known for.

Prudence Clark

“After Hours, Close To Dawn forges a completely new road for the band [and] it works.”

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK THE WAIFS Ironbark Jarrah/MGM

The Waifs’ latest release is perhaps their best yet. In an album written as a ‘thank you’ to fans, Ironbark celebrates the band’s 25-year career with a collection of songs that aim to make you feel more Zen than you ever have before. Each track on this bumper release pulses with crisp beats and vocal harmonies that harness all the beauty of a lullaby. The album’s title track sets a trend for the whole collection, with its delightful folk aesthetics to match those in ‘I Won’t Go Down’, a moving song that generates peaceful imagery and stirs up something deep inside you. Here is a band that time and time again has proven its musical ideas are in abundance, continually

creating new material without growing stale. Ironbark covers every subject from lost love to world tragedy, and the pen remains ever-sharp. With each quivering bend of the harmonica, every harmonised vocal line, Ironbark is an album of reflection and development.

As a reflection on The Waifs’ stellar career and evidence of their ongoing development, there’s never been a more perfect way for a band to commemorate a milestone. Anna Rose

“With each quivering bend of the harmonica, every harmonised vocal line, Ironbark is an album of reflection and development.”

FIRST DRAFTS Unearthed demos and unfinished hits, as heard by Nathan Jolly OASIS – ‘SOME MIGHT SAY’

ears ago, I interviewed Andy Bell, who joined Oasis in 1999 after the original lineup fell apart in a mess of cocaine, lager, and indecipherable insults. He said that on the day Oasis’ debut album Defi nitely Maybe was released, Noel Gallagher sat down in their label’s office with an acoustic guitar and played Bell – who was in shoegaze favourites Ride at the time – all the songs, in order, for what would become the band’s second album, the mammoth (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?. The Gallagher brothers may give off an air of uncontrolled chaos, but it is clear that Noel thoughtfully crafted each of his albums: the fact that he had such a remarkable collection of songs ready to unleash on the world certainly explains his confi dence levels around that time. I’d be telling people I was the greatest songwriter since Jesus too, if I knew I had the likes of ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, ‘Champagne Supernova’, ‘Cast No Shadow’ and ‘Some Might Say’ in my back pocket.

The demo of ‘Some Might Say’ shares an identical arrangement to the album version, but is notably slower; it feels like wading through waist-high water with jeans on. It’s rather hypnotic too: the fact Noel recorded this demo in Wales using The Verve’s gear no doubt accounts for the laconic feel. Those lads were well into psychedelics, and I can’t imagine Noel abstained during these sessions. The most interesting thing about Oasis demos – aside from falling into a parallel universe where Noel is the lead singer of the band – is how fully-formed they are. Gallagher is a master craftsman, with each chord change, melody line, and lead part carefully considered. Of course the lyrics are pure gibberish, as is often his way: “The sink is full of fi shes, she’s got dirty dishes on the brain” follows the tradition of psychotropic nonsense set by Lennon in ‘I Am The Walrus’. Noel may speak his mind more than most, but, strangely enough, he rarely reveals his heart

in lyrical form. For that reason, when songs like ‘Wonderwall’ quietly declare, “I don’t believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now”, it seems like a stark revelation from a man who learned to suppress his softer emotions on the rough council estates of his youth.

More than any other band, Oasis are all about capturing a feeling – and even in demo form, this shiiiiiiines through clearly. Listen to the original ‘Some Might Say’ demo at thebrag.com.

“Gallagher is a master craftsman, with each chord change, melody line, and lead part carefully considered.” thebrag.com

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FOOD + DRINK

ENDEAVOUR TAP ROOMS bar OF

ADDRESS: 39-43 ARGYLE STREET, THE ROCKS PHONE NUMBER: 02 9241 6517 WEBSITE: TAPROOMS.COM.AU OPENING HOURS: 11:00AM – MIDNIGHT MONDAY – SATURDAY, 11:00AM – 10PM SUNDAY

E E W

7/11 Sandwi Deserve Your On Defending The Indefensible BY JOSEPH EARP

We live in truly divisive times. These days, contemporary culture consistently finds itself torn between the opinions of critics and the tastes of audiences at large, and judgement from both sides seems unceasing – not to mention bilious. By which I mean to say, I am sick of being shat on for loving 7/11 sandwiches, those explosions of readilyavailable pleasure purchasable at any local 7/11 branded service station/one stop shop. There is no shame in seeking out less than refined pleasures, and to deny a foodstuff that has been chemically engineered to please you is nothing less than an act of self-hatred.

What’s on the menu? The restaurant menu lends itself to the exceptional beers on tap. Head Chef Sam Tingle has created a menu focusing on a range of smoked produce, and all the meats are smoked in a Yoder YS1500. The on-tap beers and ferments play a key role in the kitchen, and there are a large array of fresh and lively greens, vibrant salads, homemade sauces and interesting sides.

brand’s unique philosophy of using all-Australian, seasonally harvested ingredients with no preservatives. Newly opened this month, the venue boasts an innovative Australian designed double-stacked 600litre brew house. The team is planning meet-the-brewer dinners and tours, as well as producing distinctive, interesting and craft beers that won’t be found anywhere else.

Care for a drink? Endeavour is the first ever location for Endeavour Vintage Beer Co.’s own brewery, and follows the

Sounds? Old school classics, pop music… A mix of everything!

7/11 sandwiches might not be pretty; they might not always aim for Vivaldi-like symphonies of satiation, and I might have once found a little white worm in one, but that won’t stop me from eating and loving them. To that end, here is a run down of the finest 7/11 sandwiches available to you; a paean dedicated to the eternal Shannon Nolls of the gas station cuisine scene.

Highlights: Award-winning Australian brewer Endeavour Vintage Beer Co, and seasoned hospitality professionals Applejack Hospitality have opened an exciting collaboration in The Rocks within a building that once housed Sydney’s longest-running colonial hotel, Seaman’s. Inspired by the building’s long history of publican life, the team have opened Endeavour Tap Rooms, an onsite brewery, bar and restaurant. The job of transforming the venue into a contemporary space, whilst simultaneously paying homage and respect to the building’s classic history, was entrusted to Welsh + Major, an architectural firm well-known for transforming heritage and historical sites. The result is understated and modern interiors, all boasting art deco references. The renovation of the venue coincided with the $15 million NSW Government initiative to renew and revitalise heritage retail tenancies in The Rocks, inspired by successful strategies in heritage retail precincts around the world, including SoHo in New York City and Le Marais in Paris. Overall the Endeavour Tap Rooms team wanted to create a venue with the heart of Endeavour and soul of Applejack. Endeavour is an Australian brand, rich with integrity and focussed on using the finest ingredients, while Applejack delivers consistent fun and friendly service with a focus on epic food.

7/11 Egg Salad Sandwich Of all 7/11 sandwiches, the egg salad variety is the most bare bones, featuring nothing but two slices of pale bread, some freeze-dried lettuce, and a mush of salty, eggy paste. It is also decidedly hit and miss: sometimes if the sandwich has been left to sit for too long, the bread will become soggy, and the egg paste will turn startlingly liquid-like in its consistency. But if consumed at the precise moment, egg salad sandwiches are a perfect mix of minimalist presentation and maximalist pleasures, not to mention a finely-wrought wedding between beauty and economy.

The bill comes to: The Brewers Plate is $28 per person, and features two meats from the smoker, potato salad, cabbage slaw and a bread roll. It goes great with an Endeavour tasting paddle, $15 per person, which features four Endeavour beer samples from our taps.

7/11 Mystery Breakfast Sandwich A limited edition snack, this sandwich presents itself as “bacon and egg” flavoured – but to be perfectly honest it resembles neither bacon nor eggs. Instead, it hits the palate rather like a chemical paste designed by a scientist whose only knowledge of bacon and eggs comes described to him via committee, and the mysterious foodstuff has strangely nutty, disarmingly sweet notes. It also doubles as a real pick me up, given your endless guesses as to what you’re actually eating will wake you up as abruptly as any cup of coffee.

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thebrag.com

FOOD + DRINK

REVIEW

ches Do Not r Contempt Pyrmont Growers Market PY R M O N T

BY JESSICA WESTCOTT

f you want to see the peak of human resistance, go to the markets in the rain. Given many had driven over three hours to attend the most recent Pyrmont Growers Market, there was a real sense of disappointment amongst the stallholders as they watched their trade disappear with the appearance of storm clouds.

However, that didn’t get them down: at the newly re-opened market, traders from as far as Bungendore and the Southern Tablelands offered their fare. For those of us braving the rain, it proved well worth soggy boots. Joining with other top foodstagrammers in Sydney, your resident foodie was taken on a private tour of the market to meet the people and hear the stories behind the beautiful, lovingly displayed produce. There was Pino of Kogarah’s Pino’s Dolce Vita Fine Foods, who put on a brave smile when telling the story of his beloved premises going up in flames on Christmas morning. Two months later, grinning and offering out a stunning tray of porchetta baguettes, he told his captive audience that he was “so happy to have my uniform back on again.” Priceless.

7/11 Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich The hulking monstrosity known as the chicken schnitzel sandwich is best worked up to slowly, and is not suggested as an entry point for beginners. It is, after all, the size of a house brick, and often just about as easy to digest. It can also unfortunately fall victim to disassembly between the moment it is picked up and the moment it reaches its intended maw, a problem all overzealous foodstuffs fall victim to. But each of these failings is also its own kind of success, and what the schnitzel lacks in precision it more than makes up for in sheer bombastic excess. Failure is the hallmark of ambition, after all.

We moved on to meet Lucaciano, born and raised in Italy and a fond user of “bloody” as a term of endearment. A chef for 25 years, he took his Italian roots and his knowledge of sourcing products and started his own line of pasta sauces. Featuring blends such as caramelised onion and fresh thyme (stunning with gnocchi or ravioli), he made clear his intent to only create products if there was a clear invention gap in the marketplace. Although there hasn’t been a huge orange season this year – sourcing the fruit has become a full time job over the past few months – the crew at Parker’s Juice Co seemed optimistic when we met with them at the market. Deciding instead to invent a range of cold press juices including a watermelon and mint

“ 7/11 Ham And Cheese Sandwich Some might argue that 7/11’s ham and cheese sandwiches are distinctly run-of-the-mill, and taste like just about any other easily-purchasable ham and cheese sandwiches. But some people are idiots, fools with no sense when it comes to the ins and outs of low quality, highly salted service station foodstuffs. The ham and cheese sandwiches available at 7/11 mix up an only just detectable whorl of stringy, meaty textures with the reliability of that weird plasticky yellow cheese, combining the adventurous with the accessible, and creating a balanced testimony to the power of invention in the process.

thebrag.com

The sense of gratitude vendors felt towards the chamber of commerce for bringing back the markets was palpable.

blend and a green antioxidant, the hard-workers have managed to carry this great Aussie start-up through the citrus drought unscathed. Parker’s juices are found right across Sydney and are instantly recognisable, but the crew revealed that it all started for them at small markets like Pyrmont Growers. Indeed, this proved to be a common theme throughout the day: the sense of gratitude vendors felt towards the chamber of commerce for bringing back the markets was palpable. Perhaps one of the greatest success stories of the Sydney market scene is Pat and Stick’s ice cream sandwich kingdom. Standing out the front of his stall clutching his ten-month-old daughter (which, by the way, ranks as the best marketing technique I’ve ever seen), Stick told us how he started selling his ice cream sandwiches at smaller marketplaces around Sydney 11 years ago, in the process proving what a farmers market can do for a small business. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without the markets in Sydney,” he said. “We started with our first market in Balmain, testing our products and we ended up selling out every week … We’ve moved from a small factory in the back of an old pizza shop to a much bigger premises, and from making 100 items per week to over 30,000.” Clearly then the grassroots evangelism that has always followed the products at a farmers markets is making a real difference in the lives of small business owners. Pyrmont Growers Market was sorely missed in its absence, and is an awesome way to spend a Saturday morning – even with the ever-present drizzle. Where: Pyrmont Bay Park, Pyrmont When: The next market takes place on Saturday March 25, from 7:30am – 12pm

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up all night out all week . . .

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

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

BIG THIEF

Newtown Social Club Wednesday March 1 Big Thief’s music is the music of eruption. Choruses break underfoot like bracken, silence is carefully weighted and measured out, and lyrical surprises appear out of nowhere, like a silver filling flashing in someone’s mouth as they laugh. And so it was at their Newtown Social Club show, a gig defined by left turns and surprises carefully and stunningly engineered. The majority of the set was comprised of cuts from Big Thief’s debut album, a viciously overstuffed serving of lo-fi guitar work and arch pleasures called Masterpiece. Indeed, one of band’s greatest assets was quickly proved to be its ability to transform the tricky production present on that near-perfect record into real-life power, as scuzzy drum beats became sustained, staccato solos and tinfoil guitar lines swelled up into jazzy freak-outs. Things were deliberately torn; fuzzed and thrown out of shape. Lead singer Adrianne Lenker, so quiet and assured on record, broke time and time again into fitful screams, as melody lines snagged like so much barbed wire catching on clothing. “I can’t say that I’ll miss my human form”, that scorching line from Masterpiece’s closer ‘Parallels’, hit out across the audience like the tail of some frantic creature, and the gasp uttered after it was dropped was audible even amongst the hubbub of the song’s second half. There were new songs presented too, including an ode to Australia that sagged with Lenker’s rich and weighty poetry, boasting lines equal parts Adrienne Rich and Robert Pollard. The audience was even treated to a devastating a capella solo from guitarist and all-round contemporary freak folk genius Buck Meek, a song ripped so unceremoniously from his throat that it initially prompted shocked laughter from the crowd. About us, actually – the audience. We emitted all the warmth of a tarmac road on a January day, and an encore was not so much requested as it was demanded. For their part, Big Thief graciously received the praise, proving from beginning to end an eminently, almost aggressively loveable collection of musicians. “It means so much to us,” Meek said at one point, suggesting that the band might try to return to these shores in November. “Being so far from home.”

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FALLUJAH Enmore Theatre Friday March 3

Last Friday, Sydney’s Enmore Theatre bore witness to one of the most sensational, vicious live performances this humble reviewer has ever experienced, a sweaty mess of a set provided by none other than Killswitch Engage. On tour to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the seminal Alive Or Just Breathing, these masters of metalcore took to the stage to play the album in its entirety, along with a few fan favourites plucked from the band’s extensive discography. Getting the stage nice and warm, support band Fallujah reminded us of how far San Francisco metal has come since its underground days, playing an interesting blend of melodic and progressive numbers. Though many of their songs lacked coherence and it was sometimes hard to follow their direction, they showed massive potential and proved themselves great entertainers.

to hold motivational discussions with the audience without cocking up his vocals, moving from guttural growls to softer melodies without faltering. Combine this showmanship with the unbelievable double pedals of drummer Andrew Baird and you have the makings of a riotous band. Then, finally, the time was nigh: Killswitch Engage entered, and the crowd went wild. As is their nature, Engage pummelled through their set with barely any audience interaction, though they did however interject the second half of the set with profound thanks, while unleashing lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz onto the crowd, the musician throwing out trademark odd utterances and comical profanity. Though Jesse Leach has reclaimed his position as the band’s frontman, it’s a shame that the ghost of the band’s former frontman Howard Jones still lingers. Leach at times seemed to come into contact with Jones’ tone, and the two often clashed. Nonetheless, the current lineup is held in high esteem.

Indeed, it’s not hard to imagine that Fallujah must have figured out the way to slow down time: guitarists Scott Carstairs, Brian James and bassist Robert Morey were windmilling in tight, fluid motion, their long and luscious locks flailing about the place, stirring jealousy amongst the crowd.

After timeless closer ‘Rose Of Sharyn’, fans detached themselves from the claws of Killswitch Engage saturated with sweat, voices hoarse from screaming and jaws sore from excessive grinning. To that end, I believe there are many fellow fans from the night who will now join me as I say with crazed joy, “Ouch! My goddamn neck still hurts!”

Just as impressive was frontman Alex Hofmann, a musician with the rare ability

Anna Rose

26 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

And Lenker. The hair on her head shorn short, her movement on stage slow, and full of grace, she proved as powerful a performer as she is a lyricist and musician, exuding a sonic kindness so strong it felt as though it could be reached out and touched. “I feel very cared for right now,” she said at one point, dipping her head shyly. So did we. Joseph Earp

DEAD LETTER CIRCUS, STRANGERS Factory Theatre Friday March 3

As the city readied itself for a rowdy weekend of Mardi Gras partying, US alt-rock tragics retreated to the Factory Theatre for an unexpectedly quiet Friday night affair. Ben Britton of opening act Strangers clearly felt out of place on an acoustic tour. “We’re used to being quite loud,” he opined, as the band slid into another familiar and tightly composed track. Being seated made Britton’s occasionally impressive vocals inconsistent, but the harmonies lent by bassist Tristan Griffiths and guitarist Mark Barnes made up for the shortfall. They weren’t the only friends Dead Letter Circus brought along with them, padding out their lineup with former Sleep Parade bassist Matt Delaney and a string duo of cello and violin. Rather than simply lowering the volume, DLC took pains to recompose their songs for the format, giving their audiences the flavour of the original material amplified by a stimulating sense of freshness.

Interestingly, the approach shed an unflattering light on DLC’s more recent discography – while material from their selftitled EP was polished to a high sheen, cuts from 2015’s Aesthesis (including ‘While You Wait’ and ‘Silence’) were significantly more matte. Kim Benzie’s window-shattering vocal range meant his habit of holding the mic back led to a few lost lyrics, but he proved as always to be one the country’s most potent alt-rock voices, amply supported by his bandmates. Drummer Luke Williams often found himself without a reason to hit things, and so brought his baritone to bear, providing a fitting companion to Benzie’s tenor. As the strings swelled under ‘Here We Divide’ from breakout album This Is The Warning, it didn’t feel like simple nostalgic navel-gazing, but rediscovery and reinvention. Warmth aside, one hopes that this softening of the scene is an exception to the rule rather than a pilot fish for the quieting of Friday night concert crowds. This reviewer is not one to rail against acoustic sets, covers or guitars without distortion, but given the power and energy of DLC’s full-volume shows and the quality of Australian rock, it would be a shame to see another stalwart Sydney venue succumb to the plague of noise complaints. That future often feels one step away, but for now, we can celebrate our artists’ gentle reappropriation of their own textures, and think wistfully of reaching out, grasping their amp’s volume knob and winding it up to 11. David Molloy

KURT VILE, MICK TURNER Taronga Zoo Friday March 3

On my nearly two-hour trip from Thirroul to Mosman, I was anxiously preparing for news that the Kurt Vile show I was on my way to might be washed away in torrential rainfall, making me the idiot who dragged his plus one to Sydney for no reason whatsoever. Thankfully we received no such news and found a soggy spot on the hill just as Mick Turner was getting started. He proved an interesting player to watch, noodling through soft guitar melodies somewhat reminiscent of Yo La Tengo’s ‘Return To Hot Chicken’ set to clumsy drum loops, if you can imagine Mick Turner doing such a thing. Although not intentional, his dysfunctional drum programming added some degree of charm to the performance. Dirty Three play loose, and what we were seeing was essentially digitised interpretation of that. As soon as Turner wrapped up, the rain really picked up. By the time Vile started playing he was barely audible over the sound of the pouring rain and the rustling of 500 ponchos, so we headed down the front just in time to hear the last couple of minutes of ‘Feel My Pain’. A nice, neutral opening song; not from the new album, but not especially old material either. He followed this with two from B’lieve I’m Goin Down, belting out the impressive ‘Pretty Pimpin’. Not long after that, Vile started taking requests. I don’t know whether the calls for ‘Ocean City’ and ‘Ghost Town’ informed the rest of his set, but I was surprised to find there were at least three songs from 2008’s Constant Hitmaker that made the cut that evening. Sadly there was no ‘Space Forklift’, but the marriage of Vile’s new material and the old meant we got to witness a rich tapestry of his songwriting in its most base and stripped back form. This was Vile in his element. You could tell – he stopped at one point to thanks us all for letting him jerk off on stage for a bit. After what was possibly the shortest encore break I’ve ever seen, he was back on to bash out ‘Peeping Tomboy’. Admittedly, seeing him without a band was a first for me – but a lot of his material features acoustic guitar and simple drum loops anyway. Seeing him strip his music down to its barest elements, therefore, was magical. Nicholas Johnson

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Taronga Zoo Saturday March 4

“Let’s give thanks to the weather gods for making the rain stop,” cracked The Living End’s frontman Chris Cheney partway through his Taronga Zoo set. Indeed, an outdoors show in the middle of one the wettest weeks of the young year was never going to be the live experience the band’s fans are used to. But it wasn’t just the weather that was altered: everything was different, from the venue to the audience demographic to the altered, family-friendly setlist. And yet did all that change serve a good show? Smoke drowned the stage as the group kicked things off with ‘Moment In The Sun’, an ambient opener accompanied by a string quartet. But things soon got heavier as ‘Lookin’ Out My Back Door’ merged into ‘Raise The Alarm’. That said, Taronga Zoo quickly proved to be the wrong venue for a group of The Living End’s ilk. Only the most diehard of the band’s fans squashed themselves against the perimeter of the stage, forming an impromptu moshpit, while the rest of the audience remained huddled on picnic blankets.

The gig was uniformly too reserved, and the mood wasn’t exactly helped by a guest appearance from Josh Pyke. Joining The Living End for a couple of numbers, his music brought the tone of the show down immediately: only a few members of the crowd seemed to appreciate his presence, as smatterings of polite applause floated around as each song ended. Though the nifty little bluegrass jam midset was impressive, it was one of the few moments in the evening where the band really felt like themselves. Indeed, the energy only hit significant levels at the gig’s conclusion, when the End blasted through a Cold Chisel cover, ‘Rising Sun’, before closing with ‘Prisoner Of Society’. It was for those two songs that the middle-aged couples and their families shook off their hesitations to cheer and sing along, camping chairs be damned. The Living End are a punk rock band, but at their Taronga Zoo show they seemed to brush closer to pop, meandering through a tame performance defined by a lack of the usual profanities and energy. Nonetheless, it was eventually an enjoyable show – but only by the final few songs. Anna Rose

harts

PICS :: AM

THE LIVING END

up all night out all week . . .

03:03:17 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

08 Mar

THURSDAY FROM 6PM

thu

09 (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Mar

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

10 Mar (5:00PM - 8:00PM)

(10:00PM - 1:45AM)

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

sat

sun

5:45PM  8:45PM

12 Mar

EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT

Party DJs in the

PICS :: AM

Marine bar sat

thebrag.com

mon

13 Mar

in the Atrium

Ground Floor

DJ Podgee

11:30PM  3:00AM

10:00PM  2:00AM

JAY

11 Mar

3:30PM  6:30PM

(7:30PM - 10:30PM)

(10:00PM - 1:45AM)

27:02:17 :: Sydney Opera House :: Bennelong Point Sydney 9250 7111

in the Atrium

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

11 Mar

connor oberst

TRIVIA in the Atrium

wed

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

tue

14 Mar

(8:30PM - 11:30PM)

BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17 :: 27

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@seventhstreet.media

pick of the week

For our full gig and club listings, head to thebrag.com/gig-guide.

Twelve Foot Ninja

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth

Metro Theatre, Sydney. Thursday March 9. 8pm. $76.60.

FRIDAY MARCH 10

In their first ever Australian tour, hip hop collaborators Rock and Smooth take to the stage with selections from all three of their albums in a night of soul, funk and rap fusion.

Diplo

Manning Bar

Twelve Foot Ninja

Diplo + Anna Lunoe + Nina Las Vegas + Post Malone

+ Hemina + Troldhaugen

Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park. Saturday March 11. 7pm. $118.80. His biggest Australian headline tour to date, Diplo – AKA Thomas Wesley Pentz – brings his unique mesh of electronica to the Hordern Pavilion accompanied by some pretty big names.

8pm. $35. WEDNESDAY MARCH 8

8pm. $66.20.

+ Goon Sax Taronga Zoo, Mosman. 6pm. $81.

Teenage Fanclub

THURSDAY MARCH 9

Blackstone Record Farewells Newtown Social Club – feat: Richard Cuthbert, Magnetic Heads, Evan Lock, Maple Trail, Alon Ilsar Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $14.59. Manu Delago + Abby Dobson Camelot Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $25. Tinie Tempah + Thandi Pheonix Metro Theatre, Sydney.

Martha Wainwright

Frightened Rabbit Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $56.90.

Sublime With Rome Big Top, Luna Park, Sydney. 7:30pm. $81. The Specials Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8:15pm. $99.90.

The Damned Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $73.30.

Tori Y Moi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $50.

SATURDAY MARCH 11

FRIDAY MARCH 10 Adele ANZ Stadium, Sydney

Olympic Park. 7:30pm. $103.95. Crooked Colours Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 8pm. $22.99.

Don Henley + Jewel ICC Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $123. Twilight At Taronga – feat: Teenage Fanclub

Burger Revolution Worldwide V – feat: Ted Danson With Wolves + Dead Radio + Sachet

Twilight At Taronga – feat: Martha Wainwright + Oh Pep!

Taronga Zoo, Mosman. Saturday March 11. 6pm. $74.95. Closing the 2017 Twilight at Taronga series, Canada’s own folk singersongwriter Martha Wainwright will present timeless hits from a discography that spans two decades, ready to dazzle audiences beneath the night sky.

Black Wire Records, Annandale. 7pm. $10. Glenn Shorrock & Brian Cadd State Theatre, Sydney. 7pm. $89.

Lonely Empire – feat: As We Fall + The Ravens + Amber + Architect + Sarahkills Valve Bar, Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 5pm. $10.

SUNDAY MARCH 12

Meshuggah Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $83.

Alfredo Rodriguez The Basement, Circular Quay. 5:30pm. $60.50.

The Morrisons Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 6:30pm. $17.74.

Chrome Sparks & Cyril Hahn + Dom Dolla + Nyxen + Set Mo Metro Theatre, Sydney. 6:30pm. $64.40.

MONDAY MARCH 13 Nicolas Jaar Metro Theatre, Sydney. 8pm. $83. xxx

the BRAG presents

TURIN BRAKES

Newtown Social Club Monday April 10

TREVOR HALL

Newtown Social Club Wednesday April 12

28 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

MILES ELECTRIC BAND

Enmore Theatre Thursday April 13

NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL 2017 Exhibition Park, Canberra Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17

CORINNE BAILEY RAE Metro Theatre Sunday April 16

NIKKI HILL Newtown Social Club Monday April 17

THE STRUMBELLAS Oxford Art Factory Monday April 17

ST PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES Metro Theatre Wednesday April 19

thebrag.com

brag beats

out & about

Off The Record

Queer(ish) matters with Arca Bayburt

The Painful Exclusion Of Trans Women – And The Lesbians Who Won’t Fuck Them

read a Buzzfeed article last week entitled, ‘Can Lesbian Identity Survive the Gender Revolution?’ There was a particular assertion in it that I disagreed with, and it’s been a topic of discussion among my friends and peers lately. The specific line was: “Some lesbians who don’t go full-out TERF [Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist] are still all too eager to write off dating trans people because of ‘genital preferences’, which means they have incredibly reductive ideas about gender and bodies.” Lesbianism seems to be the only sexuality that can be openly vilified whilst simultaneously being held to a standard higher than that of other queer people. Saying that lesbians who don’t want to have sex with trans women are transphobic is ridiculous. Genital preference is reasonable. Making assumptions about people’s genitals is unreasonable. Yes, people who exclude trans women and are adamant that they aren’t real women are wrong and regressive – but trying to shoehorn somebody’s sexuality into a political identity is also wrong and regressive. If somebody does not want a penis near their

bodies, that’s their prerogative. If somebody doesn’t want a vagina near their bodies, that’s their prerogative. It doesn’t make them oppressive, backwards arseholes and it’s absurd to suggest as much. All this talk in the article about inclusion not equalling erasure is questionable. Boundaries and definitions exist for a reason. That reason is to make distinctions between different things. This is really basic on a conceptual level. The assertion that lesbian sexuality must be politically policed is silly. It’s all about trying to stuff square pegs into round holes in the name of progressivism. It’s trying to make lesbians responsible for things they ought not to be responsible for. It’s doing the same old shit the straight world has been doing for so long – forcing lesbians to be a certain way and attacking them for failing at it, and failing at taking up the role of a woman, which is to say, somebody who is bound to social servitude to the point where they erase themselves completely. I am not somebody who believes a trans woman is not a woman. However, a person’s physical characteristics will determine whether or not I will be sexually attracted

to them. This does not mean I have a reductive understanding of gender and bodies – it means I’m not deluding myself by trying to change reality to suit my world view. Turning my nose up at a certain type of sex should not be interpreted as me perpetrating an act of oppression. Anybody who yucks any kind of genitalia are usually reacting to the junk, not to the context of the junk – and I don’t think there’s any problem with that.

On Thursday March 9, head on down to Knox Street Bar in Chippendale for Glamdrogynous Freakshow hosted by The Oyster Club. This is a non-genre specific variety show and the audience is encouraged to dress glam. Here’s what you can expect to find at the show: The Giant Clitoris, One Or More Goddesses, Drag Magic, Vülvås Deî, Dark Fire, Siren Songstress

and Her Echoes and A Dapper Dandy. Tickets are available now. On Saturday March 11, Troppo Galaktika presents Head Femme at The Red Rattler in Marrickville. It’s dance party for the resistance featuring DJs Gemma, Xiaoran Shi and Ebony Boadu, plus performances by KoCo Carey, SistaNative feat. Lady Tabu, Latai Taumoepeau, Iya Ware and Stelly

In tracing the development of electronic genres, we inevitably end up at the same roots, more or less, with a lot of secondary influences or offshoots bubbling under the surface. This sense of influence is felt in a tangible sense; one can trace the evolution of a sound, a riff, a progression, an effect. But it’s also an abstract and ethereal sensibility too; a mood and a feeling.

he great thing about the genre known as “dance and electronica” is that it affords an incredible scope. It’s suitable then – not to mention timely – that we’re slowly but surely catching on to that ambition. Do we want to catch on? Do we want to shatter the glorious artifice of labels like “electronic music” into their necessary, idiosyncratic and distinct pieces – pieces that can then be called anything from “dark ambient” to “electro acoustic DIY tape music” to “EBM” to “minimal synth” to “vapor wave” to “deep house”? Personally, I would suggest that yes, we absolutely do need to imbue electronic music with its individual personalities and its lineage. Say no to hero worship, say yes to greater respect for true diversity.

Take synth pop, for example. The plastics, New Romantics, New Wavers, polished heads and mannequins are all part of the sub-genre’s history, as is the image of pasty-white, immovable silhouettes tapping away at a keyboard. But although that is part of the genre’s foundation, it’s not the be all and end all. To that, here’s some alternatives to the likes of Visage.

“We absolutely do need to imbue electronic music with its individual personalities and its lineage. Say no to hero worship, say yes to greater respect for true diversity.”

I think there is a kinder or more tactful way to express those sentiments (I really hate people screaming that dicks and vaginas are gross, it’s so infantile) but overall I think the point is that we should not be telling people who they should and should not be having sex with. A person’s genital preference should not be used by other people as a weapon with which they flagellate themselves in the name of their cause and their suffering. You can’t make an ant into a horse, as they say. So yeah, not all women have vaginas, but if you like vaginas, it doesn’t mean that you’re a transphobic piece of shit because of your preference for a certain kind of pussy.

“SAYING THAT LESBIANS WHO DON’T WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH TRANS WOMEN ARE TRANSPHOBIC IS RIDICULOUS.” This Week…

Dance and Electronica with Alex Chetverikov

Gappasauress. Tickets are available now. And on Tuesday March 14, the much-anticipated film King Cobra will be playing as part of the Mardi Gras Film Festival at Event Cinemas George Street. The film is about one of the biggest gay porn scandals ever. The cast is absolutely star-studded with James Franco, Alicia Silverstone and Molly Ringwald all featuring. Tickets will sell fast, so grab them now.

Severed Heads Formed in Sydney, Severed Heads clearly enjoyed subverting audience expectations with their gory name. “Severed Heads?! They’d fit comfortably alongside other industry shock stalwarts such as Dying Fetus, surely?” Well, no, actually the name is just part of their inimitable charm. Though most publicly recognized for 1984 single ‘Dead Eyes Opened’, a shimmering instrumental pop tune carried on a bouncy synth line, the band’s creative mastermind Tom Ellard famously refuses to be characterized and frequently bucks expectation. To that end, Severed Heads remain one of Australia’s most important bands in the broad realm of electronic music.

The Associates 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of The Associates lead singer Billy MacKenzie’s death. Mercurial, androgynous and marvellously morbid, MacKenzie switched from miserable low croons to falsetto shrieks in an instant, and his unforgettable, unique singing stripped and stretched every sinew of his sombre lyric. At times bordering on sordid camp melancholy, The Associates’ third album Sulk is the ultimate expression of the band’s macabre merry-go-round, underpinned by multi-instrumentalist Alan Rankine’s throbbing, ever-divergent synth soundscapes, moody piano fills and the muscular basslines provided by one-time The Cure associate Michael Dempsey. It’s slightly jagged, bleak, and spectacularly dreary pop with an insistent pulse. And, after all that, one listen to ‘Party Fears Two’ will make them seem remarkably upbeat!

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST

Floating Points’ Elaenia is back on repeat. It’s a record rich with simmering progressive electronic landscapes informed by jazz, flavoured with analogue hardware, and betrays a compositional skill present in few other albums. Also worth checking out is Tom Middleton’s The Sound Of The Cosmos mix, one of the most remarkable and comprehensive musical journeys I’ve ever heard, covering acid/future jazz, house, electro and breaks. Not only is Middleton’s selection outstanding but he throws a few little mixing tricks in for good measure.

RECOMMENDED SATURDAY MARCH 11 King Cobra

thebrag.com

SATURDAY MARCH 18

Michael Mayer Trevino, Leif TBA Mueller TBA

FRIDAY MARCH 24

SATURDAY MARCH 25

Pelvis Picnic 9th Sydney Portugal Birthday Community Jam Gallery Club

TUESDAY APRIL 11

Underworld Sydney Opera House

BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17 :: 29

snap sn ap

VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

sydney gay and lesbian mardi gras festival 2017

PICS :: AM

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up all night out all week . . .

04:03:17 :: Taylor Square, Oxford Street :: Darlinghurst

five things WITH

SANDER VAN DOORN

Growing Up My father used to listen to 1. all kinds of music: I think the very

first real electronic based music I heard was through him. When I was little I remember hearing these records with all sorts of interesting and experimental sounds I’d never heard before in my life. My father was quite ahead of his time when it came to his musical preference. Unfortunately he isn’t with us anymore, so I can’t ask him what these tracks were … I think it’s because of him I started out experimenting with music when I got older.

Inspirations Sigur Rós is my all-time favourite band. You should really take the time to listen to this Icelandic band: it’s something special. It’s hard to describe the style but it’s very deep, dreamy and experimental. It’s music that really touches me. I first heard [the band] six years ago and was super impressed and since then I pretty much listen to them every day.

30 :: BRAG :: 703 :: 08:03:17

Your Crew It’s hard to say who got me 3. into music in the first place. Of

course, like we all do, I had a couple of friends in high school [and] we used to share lots of music with each other. When I was an 18-yearold, I really started to feel the urge to create my own music and I became more interested in music production. That turned out very well so now I have the luxury of having a great and dedicated team around me. The Music You Make And Play 4. At the moment, I’m at a very

interesting point in my musical life. I [have] found a new sense of freedom, which feels rejuvenating and fuels me as an artist. This past year I really started to experiment more with musical styles and freed myself from all the obstacles I had created for myself. I tried to make music without any boundaries, which resulted in letting out my darker side. It was such a liberating feeling. I can’t wait for all my fans to hear this sharper, darker and deeper sound.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. Music right now is like being a kid

in a candy store: there is so much of everything, including so many colours and so many flavours. That’s what I like about today’s music: there are so many different … creative musicians and styles that all seem to find their own place and listeners. Music can be spread so fast and easily, [and the internet] can really bring new styles to light you might have otherwise missed. I love it. I myself found it so liberating to just create music without thinking in the boxes or worrying if it might fit the style I’m known for. I can really recommend it to anybody: just try to have an open mind and enjoy making and listening to music. What: Istoria Sydney With: Andrew Bayer, Ben Nicky, Khoma, Marlo, Pure NRG Where: Exhibition Halls, Sydney Showground When: Saturday March 18

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IVY & THE BIG APPLES LIVE SAT 18 MAR

ENMORE THEATRE WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

THE MEANIES Screamfeeder

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