Brag#707

MADE IN SYDNEY APRIL 5, 2017

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

MUSIC, FILM, COMEDY + MORE

AN INNER WEST BLOCK PARTY

Inside

HOW FOOD WILL SAVE THE WORLD As long as we change our habits to combat global warming.

NIKKI HILL

Gearing up for a massive set at Bluesfest 2017.

POLISH CLUB

Meet the most exciting two-piece band in Australia.

VINTAGE TROUBLE

"Rock'n'roll is sexy," they say, and they're here to prove it.

S T. PA UL A ND T HE BROK E N BONE S T HE NE W P OR NO G R A P HE R S T HE 5 0 BE S T C OF F E E S IN S Y DNE Y: PA R T ONE JER S E Y R D. BIS T RO A ND MUCH MOR E

TIPI FOREST • SPLENDOUR IN THE CRAFT • BOUTIQUE BARS • GLOBAL VILLAGE • THE FORUM • LITTLE SPLENDOUR • HEAPS MORE

THE XX • QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE • LCD SOUNDSYSTEM • ROYAL BLOOD • HAIM • SIGUR RÓS • SCHOOLBOY Q (ONLY AUS SHOW ) VANCE JOY • TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB • PEKING DUK • RL GRIME • BONOBO • FATHER JOHN MISTY • CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN TASH SULTANA • PAUL KELLY • STORMZY • KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD • GEORGE EZRA • FUTURE ISLANDS (ONLY AUS SHOW ) BANKS • BERNARD FANNING • DUNE RATS • CUT COPY • ÁSGIER • ALLDAY • MEG MAC • RAG‘N’BONE MAN • THUNDAMENTALS LIL YACHTY • SAN CISCO • CLIENT LIAISON • REAL ESTATE • DAN SULTAN • VALLIS ALPS • D.D DUMBO • MAGGIE ROGERS • TOVE LO POND • BIG SCARY • THE SMITH STREET BAND • OH WONDER • A.B. ORIGINAL • DOPE LEMON • THE KITE STRING TANGLE • YOUNG FRANCO JULIA JACKLIN • KINGSWOOD • AMY SHARK • LUCA BRASI • THE LEMON TWIGS • VERA BLUE • SLUMBERJACK • BAD//DREEMS BAG RAIDERS • TOPAZ JONES • MIDDLE KIDS • OCEAN GROVE • CONFIDENCE MAN • BISHOP BRIGGS • LATE NITE TUFF GUY JULIEN BAKER • KILTER • LANY • HOCKEY DAD • KIRIN J CALLINAN • AIRLING • COSMO’S MIDNIGHT • GRETTA RAY • MOONBASE THE PEEP TEMPEL • TORNADO WALLACE • THE MURLOCS • MALLRAT • LUKE MILLION • THE WILSON PICKERS • ROMARE JARROW • GOOD BOY • KUREN • ONEMAN • WINSTON SURFSHIRT • SET MO • HWLS • HARVEY SUTHERLAND & BERMUDA CC:DISCO! • ENSCHWAY • DJHMC • NITE FLEIT • ALICE IVY • WILLOW BEATS • WILLARIS. K • MOOKHI • TRIPLE J UNEARTHED WINNERS PLUS SWINDAIL • DENA AMY • ANDY GARVEY • PLANÈTE • SAM WESTON • SUPER CRUEL • CHRISTOPHER PORT • LEWIS CANCUT • KINDER

INSTAGRAM @SPLENDOURINTHEGRASS TWITTER @SITG #SITG2017 SPLENDOURINTHEGRASS.COM

TIX FROM MOSHTIX.COM.AU • 126 TWEED VALLEY WAY, WOOYUNG • 15 MINS NTH OF BYRON BAY thebrag.com

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in this issue

free stuff

what you’ll find inside…

head to: thebrag.com/freeshit

4

The Frontline

6

Back To Business

8-9

DMA’s and The Jezabels

10

Nikki Hill

18-19 Arts reviews, Game On

12-13 Jessie Lloyd, Vintage Trouble 14

14

The New Pornographers’ Carl Newman explains the workings of a long-distance band

15

St. Paul and The Broken Bones

16

Polish Club might be Australia’s most exciting twopiece band

17

Inside Jokes, Sex Object, Blondie: Parallel Lives

“We just have to be ready to give up every element of the world as we once knew it – our food included.” (20-22)

24-25

“I use the word ‘comfort zone’, but it’s pretty fuckin’ far from comfortable when we play it live.” (16)

21-23 How Changing Our Food Habits Can Save The World From Global Warming 24-25 The 50 Best Coffees In Sydney: Part One, Jersey Rd. reviewed, bar of the week 26

Album reviews, First Drafts

27

Dun Robin, Psycroptic, Young Dog New Tricks

28-29 Live reviews 30

Off The Record, Out & About

31

Gig guide

ONE MORE TIME WITH FEELING

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds’ latest documentary film, One More Time With Feeling, was one of the finest music features released in 2017. It took audiences behind the scenes of the toughest period in Cave’s life, following the accidental death of his son Arthur, and the creation of a new album in the masterful Skeleton Tree. Now, following The Bad Seeds’ 2017 Australian tour, One More Time With Feeling is available on DVD and Blu-ray.

We’ve got five DVDs to give away. Enter the draw by tagging the biggest Nick Cave fan you know on our Nick Cave video piece at facebook.com/thebragsydney.

the frontline with Chris Martin and Poppy Reid ISSUE 707: Wednesday April 5, 2017 PRINT & DIGITAL EDITOR: Chris Martin chris.martin@seventhstreet.media SUB-EDITOR: David Molloy STAFF WRITERS: Joseph Earp, Nathan Jolly, Adam Norris NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Tyler Jenke, Poppy Reid

Grinspoon

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHER: Ashley Mar COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Sam Brumby ADVERTISING: Tony Pecotic - 0425 237 974 tony.pecotic@seventhstreet.media

GIG GUIDE: gigguide@thebrag.com AWESOME INTERNS: Anna Rose, Ben Rochlin, Abbey Lenton

Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Carrie Huang - accounts@seventhstreet.vc (02) 9713 9269 Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046

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GRINSPOON REUNITE FOR ANNIVERSARY TOUR

The inaugural winners of triple j’s Unearthed competition will reunite for a 20th anniversary edition of debut LP Guide To Better Living and a 27-date national tour. Grinspoon, who formed in a pub in Lismore in the mid-’90s, announced their indefinite hiatus in 2013. Since then, frontman Phil Jamieson, guitarist Pat Davern, bassist Joe Hansen and drummer Kristian Hopes have lived relatively family focused lives. Jamieson has remained active in the music industry, performing solo shows and touring the Australian production of Green Day’s musical American Idiot. But now, it’s Grinspoon time, with an anniversary edition of Guide To Better Living out Friday June 23, the same day the national tour kicks off at Traralgon. They roll into the Enmore Theatre on Friday July 7.

Tickets go on sale Monday April 10.

TAKE COVER, IT’S GRENADIERS

South Australian rockers Grenadiers are about to drop some truth bombs on yo’ face.

‘Suburban Life’ is the new single and video from the high-volume trio, and an early taste of what to expect from the band’s forthcoming third album. In a nutshell: guitars, shouting and incessant rhythms. If you like your music pure, then check out Grenadiers at The Chippo Hotel on Friday May 12.

Subsonic, the three-day music, camping, arts and lifestyle festival held at the start of summer, is back for 2017. And in similarly exciting news, organisers have locked in a brand new theme for the event: “Where everything is everything, but not always as it seems.” Let’s face it, that sounds about right for a three-day odyssey of electronic music in rural New South Wales. The 2017 Subsonic lineup includes Andrew Weatherall & Sean Johnston (A Love From Outer Space), Tini, Madmotormiquel, Dirty Doering, Alexkid, Catz ‘N Dogz, Barac and more. The festival runs at Riverwood Downs, Barrington Tops from Friday December 1 – Sunday December 3. First release tickets are on sale now.

SAD BY SAD WEST

The Inner West-focused Sad By Sad West festival is back in Sydney this May. Sad By Sad West II follows the successful launch of the event last year, and the 2017 lineup features a bunch of great indie acts from Australia and overseas. And it’s not just about music, with a lineup of poets and visual artists being added to the program in the lead-up. The Sad By Sad West II lineup includes music from Carb On Carb, Pinch Hitter, Long Distance Runner, Zzzounds, Pinkbatts, McLovin, New Seddon Dads, Bilby, Sink Head, Lower Body and Subsumer. The event takes place over three days at three venues across the Inner West, including D.I.Wine & Dine at Cornersmith (Thursday May 4), Beatdisc Records (Friday May 5) and The Red Rattler (Saturday May 6).

KINGS CROSS GETS A NEW CLUB NIGHT

The Kings Cross Hotel has launched a brand new Saturday night party, taking place each week across three separate levels. Uptown is the name of the latest party from the enduring Kings Cross party people, and they’re not shy about providing a diverse range of music. The ground level features anthems, pop, rock, disco and early hip hop. On the balcony, you’ll get ‘mum rock’, ‘dad rock’, yacht rock and more. Boom! And lastly, head to the rooftop for electronic, hip hop, house and future pop.

Whitney: Can I Be Me

SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL FIRST LOOK

The 2017 Sydney Film Festival program is starting to take shape. Organisers this week revealed their teaser program of 28 features and documentaries, including 16 Australian premieres. In addition, the Randwick Ritz has joined the program as a new festival venue this year. Program highlights include Whitney: Can I Be Me, A Ghost Story, I Am Not Your Negro, Maudie, Winnie, The Opposition, Mountain and Spookers, plus a Skyline Drive-In screening of horror comedy classic An American Werewolf In London. This year’s Sydney Film Festival runs from Wednesday June 7 – Sunday June 18. Find out more at sff.org.au.

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Xxx Grinspoon photo by Sophie Howarth

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

One of the biggest buzz bands in the country, Skegss, are stepping out to prove their credentials with a national tour of seven cities this year. It’s all in celebration of Holiday Food, the Byron surf punks’ new EP due out this Friday April 7. These will be Skegss’ largest headline shows to date, and if their reception on the recent Dune Rats tour is anything to go by, you’ll want to move quickly to get your tickets. See Skegss at Oxford Art Factory on Friday June 16.

SUBSONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL LINEUP

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

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

SKEGSS HIT THE ROAD

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Back To Business Music Industry News with Lars Brandle

BREAKING BIZ

A new dawn, or just a ray of light? It’s too early to celebrate, but the recorded music industry does appear to be finally climbing out of the darkness. ARIA last week reported that the Australian record biz enjoyed growth of 5.5% in 2016, following a gain of 5% in 2015, with the budding streaming sector leading the way.

Total revenue climbed to $352.2 million with income from streaming products growing by 90% year-on-year to $135 million, or 38.5% of the big pie. But wait, there’s more. Just days later, the RIAA announced recorded music revenue in the US, the world’s biggest record market, topped US$7.65 billion in 2016, a rise of 11.4 percent – the first time double-digit growth had been reported this century. And the big star in all this? Streaming!

And what a stellar story it was: revenue from streaming grew by 68.5 percent to US$3.93 billion and the format is now the leading driver in the market Stateside. These are welcome figures for an industry that for so many years was stuck in a downward spiral. Consider these numbers: in 2000, the IFPI reported the global recorded music biz was worth US$36.9

departures

movers and shakers Jack Stephens is now creator partnerships manager at Spotify, where he’s expected to work on ‘fans first’ campaigns offering presales, merch offers, experiential opportunities and artist performances to fans identified via the streaming giant’s listener data. Stephens, who is based at the firm’s HQ in London, joins from ticketing platform Songkick,

where he served in business development. Also joining Spotify is Wilbert Mutsaers, who reportedly takes duties as head of shows and editorial for the company’s Netherlands activities. Mutsaers was briefly CEO of Mojo Concerts, but left in November 2015 over a difference of opinion with the Live Nation-owned company.

billion. In 2015, the comparative figure was $15 billion.

Ikutaro Kakehashi, a music pioneer whose Roland Corporation rolled out a range of drum machines and synthesizers that shaped the sound of so many cuttingedge bands and electronic artists from the ’70s through to today, has died at 87.

Several musicians and fellow engineers paid their respects, including Roland developer

Barry Manilow

DE-MYSTIFYING STREAMING

Independent music services company Kobalt has unveiled AWAL, a mobile app which promises to “de-mystify” streaming data for its 20,000-odd independent artist and label partners. The app will gather data from Spotify

Maribelle

MARIBELLE OVERTAKING THE PACK

Singer, songwriter and producer Maribelle has signed a global deal with Universal Music Publishing Australia. The 21-year-old artist caught the attention of radio tastemakers with her Overtake EP and caught the ears of Andrew Jenkins, president of Universal Music Publishing AU/NZ, and Arwen Curson, vice president, creative, who brought her into the UMPG family. “Maribelle is so good,” says Curson. “There is gifted, and then there’s Maribelle.”

Tommy Snyder, who declared Kakehashi the “father of the TR-909, TR-808, Godfather of MIDI”. Kakehashi’s instruments have been a staple for generations of bands across the musical spectrum, from Duran Duran to Kraftwerk, Kanye West to Depeche Mode, and many more.

MANILOW AN ICON

He writes the songs that make the whole world sing. And he’s about to be appointed an icon. Barry Manilow, the singer, songwriter and entertainer, will be bestowed the Icon Award at the 65th annual BMI Pop Awards, to be held on Tuesday May 9 in Beverly Hills. Manilow will join the ranks of previous honorees including Sting, Stevie Nicks, Paul Simon, Carole King, John Fogerty, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Brian Wilson and Dolly Parton.

and Apple Music, and will allow users to track sources of streaming, and get a better handle on who is listening to what, and where. Also, the app will show a running tally of what royalties are coming to the artist. The new app is all about putting “the power of data into the hands of independent artists to help them build a sustainable career from streaming”, says Kobalt founder Willard Ahdritz. Additional services are reportedly in the works.

LEE BRICE SIGNED

HOW TO BE A SNARKY PUPPY

CHART GEEK

Here’s an opportunity that will get musos sitting up and barking like a dog. Snarky Puppy, the three-time Grammy-winning modern jazz ensemble who melted minds with their viral performance video for ‘Lingus’, will share the secrets to their special sauce. Michael League, bandleader and songwriter, has committed to a one-off masterclass at the Bar Petite in Newcastle on Tuesday April 11, during which he will cover songwriting, arranging and musicianship. The landing page link for this exclusive session through the National Music Academy is nmaaustralia.com.au and the direct ticketing link is found.ee/snarky-ticket-confirm.

Snarky Puppy are in the country for a string of shows, including a set at Bluesfest.

Award-winning country artist and songwriter Lee Brice has signed with SESAC. The Nashville artist earned his first RIAA double platinum certification (for two million sales) for his 2014 single ‘I Don’t Dance’, which marked his seventh consecutive certification since ‘Love Like Crazy’ was certified gold in 2010.

Brice’s fourth studio album is expected to drop later in 2017 on Curb Records.

Ed Sheeran is still king of the charts in the UK and Australia, but he’s been dethroned – as expected – on the US albums chart by Drake’s latest, More Life. Take That’s new set Wonderland couldn’t oust Sheeran’s Divide from the summit of the UK albums chart, where the English singer locks up a fourth winning week. Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ is number one on the market’s singles chart for a 12th week. It’s a similar story in Australia, where Sheeran cracks the chart double for a fourth week. In the US, Drizzy’s More Life started life with 505,000 equivalent album units, the strongest opening week for any LP since his last one, 2016’s Views. Sheeran can’t complain about his US story – ‘Shape Of You’ leads the Billboard Hot 100 for its ninth week.

CROSSING BORDERS A Perfect Circle

Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival posted a lineup that had something for everyone, but didn’t quite set pulses racing, with Calvin Harris, Ke$ha and 5 Seconds Of Summer among the acts. Enter the festival heroes, Foo Fighters, who will headline the Tokyo and Osaka legs on August 19 and 20 respectively.

There’s no confirmation if the Fooies will set out on a full Asian tour.

THE BIG STAGE

Get ready for the drop: Ultra Music Festival is coming to Australia. With mega touring fests Big Day Out and Future now history, and Stereosonic officially on hiatus, the Ultra brand is keen to get the party started Down Under.

Damian Pinto, the host of Ultra festivals worldwide, blurted out the news from the main stage at its flagship Miami event. “We’re moving to Australia. Give it up for our Aussie fans,” he said. Though details haven’t firmed up, it’s been reported the fest will set up Down Under in 2018. Ultra’s Australian leg marks the US brand’s fifth continent and 17th country in its 19-year history.

LIVE NATION JOINS MILE HIGH CLUB WITH VIRGIN COMING FULL CIRCLE

While Tool fans eagerly await news of their prog rock heroes’ next album, frontman Maynard James Keenan has been busy completing a deal for his other band, A Perfect Circle. The rockers have signed a worldwide recording deal with BMG ahead of the release of their first album in 13 years. A Perfect Circle have released three studio albums: Mer De Noms in 2000, 2003’s Thirteenth Step and 2004’s Emotive.

Live Nation Australasia is flying high thanks to a new partnership with Virgin Australia.

Through the new arrangement, Virgin becomes the official airline partner for LN’s affiliate in these parts, and the carrier will provide a range of “innovative marketing and brand experiences” at LN’s shows, according to a statement announcing the deal.

THE FINAL WORD

Those frat bro dudes the The Chainsmokers will hit the road in the US in the coming days with a distinctly Aussie touch. The EDM duo have enlisted the services of Brisbane drummer Matt McGuire for their tour after they were blown away by the solo performance clips he posted online. Further proof: if you’ve got a talent, don’t keep it a secret.

Xxx

6 :: BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17

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BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 7

BY

JOSEPH EARP

n first glance, there’s not a whole lot connecting The Jezabels with DMA’s – not much, that is, aside from the fact they’re both playing Bad Friday, a celebration of the diversity of Australia’s local music scene going down in Marrickville this month. After all, the former is a group of pop-rock mainstays, minor icons enjoying their tenth year playing as a band, while the latter is a ragtag collection of upstarts, Britpoppers still firmly in the first stage of what one can imagine will be a long and varied career.

However, spend any time talking to both bands, and one quickly realises that they have taken to

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music-making with similar aplomb, each bypassing the strange kind of setbacks you have to face when you turn your passion into your career. DMA’s and The Jezabels’ music might not sound even vaguely similar – and they may have a wholly different attitude to onstage theatrics – but both groups now know that to survive on the road, you’ve got to remain realistic.

“The love hasn’t disappeared, but it does definitely become harder to maintain that love [for music] when you’re doing the same thing day in, day out,” sighs The Jezabels’ long-standing guitarist Sam Lockwood. And he would know. Even though the quartet has eased off touring lately – partially so keyboardist Heather Shannon can receive chemotherapy to treat ovarian cancer – they have

certainly put in the time as a live outfit, travelling around the world over the course of a career that has seen them release acclaimed album after acclaimed album.

“We used to just do any show,” Lockwood says. “Any offer that we had, we would just take it up and do it, anywhere in the world. But now we’re just like, ‘I don’t want to do that because of jet lag,’ you know?

We’re taking it easy. We’re lucky now that we’re kind of in the situation where if we do want to go to Europe and do a bunch of shows that we can just do them. We’ve got good friends who are promoters, and there’s enough of an interest in our band.

But, I mean, you have to be aware that in order to maintain interest, you do have to keep going back there.”

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COVER STORY or shit, you’re in like little splitter vans. So you finish playing music, then you have to pack up straight after a gig, then drive another three hours so you can get to say, Austria, by the next day.”

That also means that bands frequently find themselves living on top of each other, and the life of a touring musician doesn’t offer much in the way of privacy. “We used to have these vans where you’d have to, you know, face each other, which actually wasn’t that sick,” Took laughs. “You know, you’re spending all this time playing with these blokes, then you just have to sit there staring at their heads. It’s a bit full on for ten-hour drives.”

Of course, this also has an impact on bands’ ability to write and record on the road. “I think I’m always thinking about material,” says Took. “But we do find that it’s a lot harder when you’re touring. You know, if you’ve just had a really long day that you’ve spent driving, you just want to get home and chill in your room. The last thing you want is just for some idiot to pull out a guitar or something. It’s just like, ‘Dude, shut up, I just want to chill out in my room and watch TV,’ you know?”

Again, that kind of frayed tension is something that Lockwood and The Jezabels understand all too well.

Indeed, this band has faced more internal tensions than most, with the four members frequently butting heads in their early days. “We got past the [internal issues] back in 2007 I think,” Lockwood says. “I think for a lot of bands, if they don’t last two years, then they won’t last.

The point of no return is that first intensive tour.

Bad Friday photo by Sam Brumby

Of course, even though The Jezabels are deliberately taking it easy, that doesn’t mean that all the anxieties and issues associated with making music just suddenly fade away. And when you do hit the road, even for relatively short spurts, it still definitely takes its toll.

“You do sometimes question what the hell that it is you’re doing with your life,” Lockwood laughs. “You’ve just got to try and stay productive. You’ve just got to keep telling yourself that you’re not a fraud. It’s a kind of extreme job. Touring is non-stop and then you get home and then you suddenly do not a whole lot of much. You just stay in and do writing. It’s quite extreme either way.”

That’s a sentiment one can imagine Johnny Took, guitarist for DMA’s, would wholly agree with – particularly given the year his band has just had. 2016

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saw the Sydneysiders finally release their debut record Hills End, a rollicking collection of riffs they extensively toured, racking up show after show over the course of a jam-packed 12 months.

“Touring was hectic for us last year,” Took says. “It’s so full on, man. There’s just never enough time to get a lease on a house or something like that, you know? Or to get truly settled down and do something. So it’s pretty hectic. So I’ve just hung out all summer, resting up.”

Fans sometimes imagine that these intense tours mean that bands get to see the world, drinking in sights and sounds as they hop from continent to continent. But often touring just turns the globe into a blurred kind of mess, as countries fade into each other and tensions become heightened.

“Sometimes you get enough time in a city to get a taste of a city, but you never really know what it’d actually be like to live there,” Took says. “When you’re in Europe

“I mean, we nutted out our issues. We had some pretty big falling outs. We were on tour in America, and we just had a sit down in a park and had a talk about it.

And after that, you kind of just work out that the touring dynamic is very extreme and you learn not to take anything too seriously.”

It seems like DMA’s have learnt much the same lesson as Lockwood from their days on the road. Luckily for their fans, Took and his mob are past what Lockwood describes as the point of no return, and seem tighter and more cohesive than ever. “We kinda chill pretty hard,” Took laughs in agreement.

So, with band dynamics mastered, and the rigours of touring overcome, all that remains is playing music: something that The Jezabels and DMA’s both still adore.

“I mean, it’s true that sometimes you play 26 shows in 30 days,” Took says. “It’s like, you’re doing a lot. But it’s good ’cause it’s like muscle memory. You can have fun with it. You don’t have to be thinking about playing a lot of the time.” He laughs again. “It is pretty great.”

What: Bad Friday 2017 With: Royal Headache, Sampa The Great, Shining Bird, Green Buzzard, Bec Sandridge and more Where: Railway Parade, Marrickville When: Friday April 14

BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 9

Nikki Hill Master Blaster By David James Young

FEATURE

I

t’s coming up on 18 months since North Carolina-born soul singersongwriter Nikki Hill dropped Heavy Hearts, Hard Fists, her second studio album. Since then, Hill has been sharing her unique blend of blues, rock and soul for audiences across the globe, showcasing her distinct and powerful voice along the way. As touring wraps up in support of Heavy Hearts, however, Hill is particularly excited to see what will come next as she begins to piece together album number three.

“I recorded Heavy Hearts at the start of 2015 with the full intention of making it my touring record just for that year,” she says. “What happened was I went through a lot of personnel changes in the band and a lot more time on the road than I’d anticipated, meaning that the record didn’t get released until

“I don’t like limiting myself to a certain sound or a vibe.”

the end of the year. I spent a lot of 2016 promoting the record, but by the same token I was already well under way with writing new songs. This year, I’m going to be road-testing a lot of stuff for the next record. At the same time, I’m also going to be playing a lot of stuff from the last record because it wasn’t out the last time I was in Australia. Basically, if you saw me last time, you’re in for a completely different show.”

Hill performed for years in and around America’s south before taking to the road and making her name on a global scale. One early fan of hers was Phil Alvin, the lead singer of famed roots rock veterans The Blasters. It was Hill’s chance encounter with Alvin that led to an onstage duet between the two – and a star, as they say, was born.

“I can already tell that the festival is just going to be killer set after killer set.”

“I’m a huge fan,” says Hill. “For me, if you’re a singer and you’re looking to kind of find your own identity and your own voice, Phil is the perfect person to study for that. When he sings, it’s him and nobody else. That’s something that I feel like I’m always working on as a singer. I have a lot to thank Phil for – I got up and sang with him a while back, and a video of us singing together went up on YouTube.

I’ve kind of been able to pursue everything that I’m doing now thanks to what started with me singing with

him. It was a real kick in the ass to give this whole singing thing a go. I’ve had the chance to sing with Phil a few more times, and it’s intimidating every single time. I do love being thrown in the deep end, though.”

The music of Hill is a curious beast, insofar as it’s partially indebted to a bygone era of soul and blues, and yet is pushed forth in a contemporary musical climate. It’s not something that is lost on Hill herself, who has seen her fair share of reactions from different generations of music listeners and critics to what she is doing with her music. As far as she’s concerned, it’s all about identity, rather than genre semantics.

“I always think that the ultimate importance is being true to yourself,” she says. “You have to be true to what makes music real for you, to what’s inspiring you to write in the first place. In my view, it’s all very contemporary. Because I listen to so much vintage music, I think I can directly hear how different it is. For the average listener, though, I think that the music I’ve been creating has been relying on a balance between two separate interests – people who listen to vintage music seeking out something contemporary, and people who listen to contemporary music seeking out something vintage.

“It’s all how people interpret it. For me, it’s way more about speaking my mind. I don’t like limiting myself to a certain sound or a vibe – even I don’t know what the music is going to sound like the next time I sit down to write a song. I want to keep it that way – I like confusing people.”

Hill and her backing band return to Australia this month as part of the absolutely gargantuan Bluesfest lineup. From Mavis Staples to Madness and back again, it’s easily one of the most diverse and allencompassing lineups the festival has ever assembled. Hill is just as excited to be an attendee as she is a performer – namely on account of a few key heroes and fellow touring acts.

“Patti Smith is so exciting for the 14-year-old punk rocker in me,” she says with a laugh. “I’m a huge Mavis Staples fan, too, so she’s always up the top of my list. I’m really excited to see Nas, Mary J Blige, Santana, Laura Mvula… the lineup is just throwing things in your face that you’d never expected to see.

“There’s also a whole bunch of acts on the bill – St. Paul and The Broken Bones, just for an example – where we’re always crossing paths on the road, playing the same city on consecutive nights or playing the day after one another at a festival.

It’s going to be great to reconnect with them. I can already tell that the festival is just going to be killer set after killer set.”

With: Frank Sultana Where: Newtown Social Club When: Monday April 17 And: Also appearing at Bluesfest 2017, Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17

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THE BRAG

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Photograph by Brett Boardman

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Jessie Lloyd A Musical Mission By Shaun Cowe

J

essie Lloyd is an indigenous songwriter and music industry all-rounder based in Queensland who has had a pivotal role in promoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, including co-producing the Chocolate Martini TV series shown on National Indigenous Television. Now, she’s launched a new initiative, the Mission Songs Project.

“I was inspired by songs my family would sing; songs that I grew up with,” she says ahead of her performance at the National Folk Festival this Easter. “I was curious about where those songs had come from and I wanted to find other songs from Aboriginal communities and missions around Australia.”

Mission Songs Project is an academic, but also deeply personal, look into Aboriginal mission and settlement life in the 20th century.

Lloyd’s family experienced moving around these settlements after her grandfather participated in a Palm Island indigenous rights strike in 1967. Lloyd’s family features extensively on the album and her grandfather was a huge influence.

“He died when I was eight, so I didn’t know him incredibly well, but I remember him being a strict man and very musical. He taught all my family to sing the old church hymns and he was a big influence on my family’s musicality.

That’s why, when you listen to the album, you’ll hear all those choral harmonies. That’s just how my family sings.

“The most recent song in the collection, ‘Our Native Land’, was actually written by my grandfather. I never knew he composed the song but my aunty saw the work I was doing

and told me. She’s the only person in my family that remembers the song since he passed away in the ’80s.”

The research behind the project saw Lloyd travel to various Aboriginal settlements and missions around Australia. Aboriginal people were placed at these sites – either run by the state or the church – during the era of the Aboriginal Protections Act, and they have a varied but often chequered history. However, speaking to the communities and musical elders of these places was vital for Lloyd’s compilation.

“The first stage of the project was going out to these communities. I visited a lot of elderly songmen and songwomen and asked them who taught them how to play and what music did they grow up with. I got a lot of material that way; lots of first-hand accounts and background about why the songs were. But there was a lot of library research as well.”

Lloyd also speaks about her family’s former settlement of Palm Island. Still a functioning Aboriginal settlement today, it was a popular destination for African-American soldiers from the American army base near Townsville during World War II. “The African-American soldiers based in Townsville couldn’t go into the pubs because they weren’t white, so they’d hang out with a lot of blackfellas,” Lloyd explains. “And so when the blackfellas were jamming they were being influenced by their music as well. It was this kind of cultural intersecting that was happening beneath the dominant styles of music at the time.”

Vintage Trouble

“It’s a very big continent and there are lots of industries and cultural influencers in different areas.”

Lloyd says she has tried to showcase indigenous Australia’s rich musical background across the project, trying to represent the ten decades and continent-spanning evolution of styles as best she can.

“Stylistically, there are various influences around Australia. It’s a very big continent and there are lots of industries and cultural influencers in different areas. In the south of Australia, country and Western music is huge because all the old fellas would work on the stockman routes. Whereas in Northern Australia, after World War II there was a huge interest in American music and South Pacific Hawaiian music because of all the American bases. Which is why ukulele music and slide guitar is in the album – those were the instruments that were popular at the time.

“Nothing is ever isolated. Everything always interlinks with something else.”

What: National Folk Festival 2017 With: Martha Tilston, Fanny Lumsden, Aoife Scott, Heath Cullen and many more Where: Exhibition Park, Canberra When: Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17

FEATURE

A Rebellious State Of Mind By Anna Rose

T

he charismatically witty and endearingly cheeky Vintage Trouble possess a unique dynamic. Their old-school rhythm and blues vibes have seen the Hollywood outfit make a splash in a big way, and with a résumé that boasts support slots for the likes of Queen’s Brian May and Bon Jovi, it’s no surprise they’re on the up and up.

The quartet’s soulful approach to fulfilling the dream they’ve shared since their youth has created something of a domino effect, and frontman Ty Taylor speaks just as passionately as he performs.

“From the time you’re kids you imagine and dream, and we are fortunate,” he says.

“We look at the audiences and the dream becomes a bigger dream – you’re so thrilled for the honour [of supporting big names], but then as the new kids, [we] start thinking, ‘How do we make this happen for us?’

“It’s interesting that that’s the way life and dreams work. As exciting as it is to be there, you start stepping up to the new challenges, to think about what we can do to get to the levels that are megaphones and the things we want to say to reach people without the support of someone else. It’s an interesting balance of what that moment feels like, because when you feel it, you want it all the time. We’re usually pretty good at stepping up to the plate and making the dream a reality.”

“We look at the audiences and the dream becomes a bigger dream.”

“Sometimes things like radio haven’t been able to place us in a certain genre,” adds guitarist Rick Barrio Dill, “but it’s been kinda cool to seep into all different kinds of music. I mean, how cool is it to be on one tour with Joss Stone then suddenly on tour with AC/DC the next year, you know? It’s all coming from a soul and blues style of music that we’ve all been in love with from the beginning.”

And at their very core are their fans,

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FEATURE

playing a pivotal role in everything they do. Dubbing themselves ‘Trouble Makers’, Vintage Trouble’s following started out small but grew at an exponential rate, arms stretched out across the globe in mutual love for the band.

“We started out in a little blues club in Santa Monica,” says drummer Richard Danielson, “and people came out every week and started calling themselves that.

It’s not always about having a party and creating havoc, it’s also about creating trouble for the good in the world – this group got together and just did good things.

“It expanded – all over the world they support each other, sleep on each other’s couches. To create trouble for the positive is sort of a moniker for us. It’s a state of mind. [The Trouble Makers were] something that came about above us, and they do it all themselves.

“The cliché is, and I don’t feel silly saying it, they really have been the wind under our wings. Our Trouble Makers in LA really pushed us out to the world and gave us confidence. To find that all over the world now, in every city that we play, we’ll find pockets of Trouble Makers… we don’t call them fans, we call them friends.”

There’ll soon be an opportunity for the Trouble Makers to grow in Australian numbers again. Such is Vintage Trouble’s renown, the band returns to Bluesfest this Easter for a second year running.

“Just coming back to Australia is amazing, but also to be coming back to Bluesfest, I mean, wow!” says Danielson. “We played there last year, and it’s funny – in the festival circuit, everyone knows about it, so it’s an honour not only to be invited the first time, but to come back? It’s kind of like a second date.

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“To create trouble for the positive is sort of a moniker for us. It’s a state of mind.”

“Really good things can happen on a second date and we’re excited in that sort of way – the crowds are amazing, very giving, very festive and very alert. It seems like at blues festivals, people are there to throw themselves into the music.”

The next question is met with a good deal of laughter, hushing and giggling: what else can be expected on a second date with Vintage Trouble? “Lots of hands,” jokes Taylor. “We get really handsy,” he laughs.

“Everything you can expect from a second date and maybe even pushing for a third date – we’re gonna show up and just try to feel the way that we love to feel onstage.

Rock’n’roll is sexy, it really is!

“It’s really hard right here in America right now,” he continues. “For us it’s gonna be nice to go somewhere and represent America, remind people there are many good things about our country – and also, we’re a band that’s full of love. You guys are one of the warmest cultures, so it’s gonna be great for us to be in a place that smiles and gives and loves and understands, and for us to be able to remind ourselves about what that feels [like]. It will be nice to get to a place like Byron Bay where we can rekindle our spirit.”

With: Hamish Anderson Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Wednesday April 12 And: Also appearing at Bluesfest 2017, Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17

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FEATURE

The New Pornographers The Conditions Of Release By Sarah Little

I

t’s been three years since Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers released their sixth album, Brill Bruisers. This Friday, they unveil their seventh, Whiteout Conditions, ahead of tour dates in North America and Europe.

Australia isn’t on the schedule just yet, but bandleader Carl Newman is keen to make it happen: “Anytime we can, I’m all for it!” he says cheerfully.

“It always takes us a while to do things – maybe because there are a lot of things that have to be done long-distance and I have a fi ve-yearold son, which absorbs a lot of my time,” Newman says.

Still, that hasn’t prevented the band from trialling its new material for the road. “We just did some practice where we spent fi ve days working on songs, and then we just did a radio session in Canada with CBC where we had to play a bunch of ’em in front of an audience,” Newman says.

“That was great. It was sort of a trial by fire. It’s maddening but it’s good to get practice.

“I don’t live in Vancouver any more,” he adds. “So I don’t see my bandmates except when we play or rehearse. Kathryn [Calder] lives

outside Vancouver and Neko [Case] lives in America and our drummer [Joe Seiders] lives in LA. Even the members that do live in Vancouver, they don’t see each other when we’re not playing. It means that when we do see each other we’re still friends, and it helps that we don’t tour an insane amount. When you’re touring for a few months at a time, that’s when you start feeling like, ‘Ugggh,’ and going out to dinner by yourself.”

Living and working in different cities hasn’t taken anything away from The New Pornographers’ creative process, as Newman insists.

“Kathryn has a studio in her house because her husband’s a producer – he recorded the first couple of Black Mountain records. I can just say to her, ‘Hey, record some stuff,’ or, ‘I don’t really know what to do with the harmony here, can you think of something cool?’ And she’ll record something and send it back to me the next day.

“It’s kind of like, why do either of us have to travel when we have the technology to do it long-distance?

And it also helps that I trust them.”

Still, nothing really beats time in the studio together. “Sometimes I want

to get the band together just to get a cool skeletal arrangement,” Newman says. “We’ll play the songs like that and take them to the studio and start disassembling them and fi guring out different things that we can do.”

One particularly new influence came from Seiders, who replaced The New Pornographers’ drummer of 15 years, Kurt Dahle, in 2014.

“Now that we have Joe, it’s the first time that we’ve felt the freedom to completely dismantle the drums,” Newman says. “The old drummer, I think, felt a sense of ownership about the drums, so now we thought, ‘OK, all bets are off – we can do anything we want with the drums.’

That was fun.”

Earlier this year, Newman told Noisey that the band had looked towards Krautrock as a major influence on the sound of the new record. However, on the eve of the album’s release, he isn’t quite so sure.

“Sometimes when people ask me, ‘What does this mean?’… I feel like, when you start talking too in-depth about what something means, it just sounds dumb,” he says. “[I was referring to] more the idea of

Krautrock. It wasn’t like we stopped and studied it and listened to Neu! or Amon Düül II or Can. I just thought, ‘There’s a vibe,’ and I thought, ‘Let’s try and chase that vibe more.’ I couldn’t think of a record that had a Krautrock feel but still had lots of harmonies in it, so I thought, ‘Let’s try that.’”

The idea that The New Pornographers’ sound has become somehow more cohesive has been a talking point in recent press around Whiteout Conditions, and Newman for one is pleased about the feedback.

“That’s how I wanted it to be so it would be nice to think that I succeeded,” he says. “There was a sort of beat that I liked that a few of the songs have, and one way for me that this record is a bit different is that, going back to the idea of Krautrock, there’s a lot of repetition in those songs and we wanted to use more drones. Before, I think we just did whatever.”

What: Whiteout Conditions out Friday April 7 through Concord/Caroline

“When you start talking too in-depth about what something means, it just sounds dumb.”

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FEATURE

St. Paul and The Broken Bones The Southern Sound By Adam Norris

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St Pau and The Broken Bones photo by David McClister

his is the second time I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with Paul Janeway, frontman of St. Paul and The Broken Bones, and while I knew it was unlikely he’d remember me, with the phone operator repeatedly introducing me as “Mr. The Brag”, well, the odds rather quickly dropped to zero. The band is back again just in time for Bluesfest with sophomore album Sea Of Noise, and Janeway proves just as funny and forthright as I remembered. To these Antipodean ears, his Southern accent is almost as colourful as the music itself, and while the band now has the good fortune to travel the world, the world of Birmingham, Alabama is never very far away.

“I think that’s the thing with travel,” Janeway says. “You continue to expand the palette. To me, that’s liberating, but kind of exhausting, too. There are so many avenues you can go down. My own basis is, don’t lose yourself there. Don’t try to do something you’re not, be something you’re not. I think as long as you do that, the music will find its way. So you find what gets you, and go from there.

“I should be happy, but there’s always a little chip that says I should do better.” thebrag.com

“Of course, some of this stuff is mind-boggling. Like the Oscars thing. ‘How did I get here?’”

“I get more inspired going to see physical art then I actually do by hearing other songs.

Seeing a good piece of art, something you attach yourself to, is like going to an amazing concert or an amazing film. It’s the same trigger in your brain. I’ve had moments like that. I just start thinking about songs, following some interesting idea. It inspires me more than anything, bizarrely. Me and my wife went to Rome. I love Caravaggio. When I see those paintings… I don’t know. It’s not something I’d thought I’d ever see, coming from Nowhere, Alabama.”

Hailing from Nowhere, New South Wales myself, I appreciate the sentiment. While you can’t really say The Broken Bones were ever large fish in a small pond – after all, Alabama is the same state that gave us Hank Williams, and still has folk who played with Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin walking the streets – they have certainly found success in a very expansive way. Everything about their sound is big, and Janeway’s voice perhaps chief amongst that. Today, their music is being championed across the world, which is incredible – and something Janeway is conscious of keeping in check.

“Of course, some of this stuff is mindboggling. Like the Oscars thing. ‘How did I get here?’ But I think for me, it’s a situation where I have people in my life who would love me even if I was a janitor. I keep those people close to me. If you surround yourself with people who don’t know who you are

at your essence, who don’t have your best interests at heart… I think that’s how you lose your way. I feel like I have those people.

I dunno, maybe I’m unaware,” he says, and bursts into laughter.

you’re talking with him, you think afterwards, ‘Holy shit, that’s Elton John!’ But during, it’s just like talking with anyone. He does have a presence, but he wants you to feel calm, and I like that.”

“To be fair, there’s this competitive chip on my shoulder. Coming from Alabama, not being rich by any stretch, feeling like you’ve got to constantly prove yourself. No matter what. I should be happy, but there’s always a little chip that says I should do better. I feel like I haven’t lost that, or the essence of who I am.

And I’m OK with that. I’m OK with who I am.”

Beyond Bluesfest, the soul six-piece will tour the country, undoubtedly winning over even more musical acolytes. Sea Of Noise is certainly a progression in their sound – what many critics have described as ‘serious’ – but at heart, it’s as Janeway says; it’s all about soul.

The “Oscars thing” Janeway mentions is really the combination of two peculiar and enviable worlds. For the 2017 Academy Awards – you know, those awards – the band was invited by Elton John to perform at his lavish viewing party.

“It was really bizarre for me. I didn’t grow up around money, and I thought I knew rich people. But I’ve never seen something like that before! I felt like a fish out of water a bit, but everyone is so nice of course. Elton has been a fan for a while, and he’s been unbelievably kind and generous with us, and so when he asked if we’d play his Oscar party, which is part of the charity for his AIDS foundation, I said, ‘Absolutely.’ It was a bizarre night, and something I’ll never forget.

He got onstage to sing a song with us, our song ‘I’ll Be Your Woman’. It was something I’ll never forget. He’s very disarming. When

“There are some serious tones in it,” he says thoughtfully. “The only idea I’ve ever thought is expansive. It expanded us, lyrically, vocally, musically. I do think this time it was a little more topical, which people understand as being serious. But there’s still playful stuff in there. The one thing I know is that I was really happy with the end result. The lesson you learn is to make something that you’re happy with. If you let other bullshit get in the way, it won’t matter if it’s successful or not. It will eat at you. That’s the biggest lesson.”

What: Sea Of Noise out now through Records, LLC With: All Our Exes Live In Texas Where: Metro Theatre When: Wednesday April 19 And: Also appearing at Bluesfest 2017, Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm, Thursday April 13 – Monday April 17

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FEATURE

Polish Club The Non-Comfort Zone By Zanda Wilson

A

unique a nd unstoppable twoman outfi t, Sydney’s Polish Club have been absolutely tearing up the Aussie gig scene over the past 12 months. Coming together just a couple of years ago, singer and guitarist David Novak and drummer John-Henry Pajak have really settled into their fun, fast rock niche, unveiling their massive single ‘Beat Up’ late last year and more recently releasing their latest effort ‘Come Party’, all in the leadup to their debut album Alright Already and a national launch tour.

One of the truly special things about Polish Club is that what you see is what you get – just two guys absolutely shredding and having the greatest time doing it. “There are some things on the record that we don’t do live, but everything that’s recorded is either me or John playing it,” says Novak. “If I need to do another guitar line I’ll just overdub it myself. We’ve got a general rule where we don’t want to add anything that people are going to miss live, so there are no extra melodies that you would be missing if you went to see us live.”

Both ‘Come Party’ and ‘Beat Up’ are pretty fast, even by Polish Club standards. But the album itself isn’t made up exclusively of tracks played at speed. “All of the singles we’ve released have been pretty breakneck in terms of tempo,” Novak says. “We’ve got these two gears, which are super fast and loud, and the other one is relatively slower but

still loud. There are a few, for lack of a better term, ‘slow jams’ on the album, and we had a couple on our EP and we’ve been playing them live.

“So if anyone has seen us live or listened to the stuff that’s not played on the radio, they’ll know that we have that extra gear that allows us to hold back a bit in terms of speed.

I think the album is more varied than people will expect.

“You want to use a fun song for a single and I’m always in two minds because I want all of our music that we release as singles to refl ect what we can do as a band, so I guess the challenge for us as a two-piece is we’re always limited with what we can do. But that’s also the fun part because we have to work within our restrictions.”

Another remarkable characteristic of Polish Club’s music is that most of their singles so far have barely broken the two-and-a-half minute mark. Novak explains that at least part of the reason is related to their lack of stamina as a band, but with the experience of the past two years under their belts, Alright Already features some longer cuts.

“I use the word ‘comfort zone’, but it’s pretty fuckin’ far from comfortable when we play it live,” he laughs. “Look, John and I aren’t the fi ttest specimens in the world and before this band we hadn’t played live shows this often.

“If you watch us live you’ll see that we normally play them a lot faster than they are on the record, and that’s all we really know how to do.”

“I had hardly played live shows at all, so by virtue of that we’ve ended up with super short songs that are super loud and to-the-point, and if you watch us live you’ll see that we normally play them a lot faster than they are on the record, and that’s all we really know how to do.

Having said that, there are a couple of songs that do break the threeminute mark – they are more midtempo and slow tempo.”

Polish Club’s music, and Alright Already in particular, harks back to a time when rock was dominated by references to funk and soul.

Interestingly enough, the band never really intended to pay homage.

“I don’t really think about where this style of music is coming from,” Novak says. “I know John sometimes comes in with a set idea of the type of song he wants us to write, but I only know what we can do well and the kind of song we can write where it sounds believable.

People think we’re ’60s and ’70s soul music connoisseurs and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know all the standards. I think I just resonate

“I use the word ‘comfort zone’, but it’s pretty fuckin’ far from comfortable when we play it live.”

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with that general vibe.”

One of the big challenges about heading back on the road after the album release will be to remake their live set, which is something they’ve gotten down to a fi ne art over the past year.

“It’s funny because the album is a mish-mash of songs we’ve been playing for a while and it’s also got a few songs that are pretty fresh, songs that we wrote the chorus for recently,” says Novak. “We haven’t played a few of them live before, and it’s interesting now because we’ve played so many shows in the past year that we got our set to a stage where it was just on autopilot, and we could just turn it into a show and get really silly with it – just go mental and not have to worry. And now we’re in a place where there’s so many songs to choose from, we have to try to make a whole new set.

“So we’ll be changing a lot of the set for this upcoming tour, and most of that will be from the album.”

What: Alright Already out now through Double Double/Universal Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Thursday May 4 and Friday May 5

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arts in focus

inside jokes

fiveminutes with

Comedy, Life and Bullshit with Cameron James

T

he internet has spoiled us. I’ve had UberEATS four times this week, because I’ll take a slightly lukewarm burrito over getting slightly wet in this rain any day of the week. I’m not complaining about the internet, or about being spoiled – I actually love it. Thanks to ‘on demand’ culture we can all live like royal babies all the time.

The latest spoon-feeding comes from Airbnb Trips, which just launched in Sydney. We all know Airbnb; it’s the best app in the world for giving you permission to snoop around people’s houses. And with its new Trips app, you can book an ‘experience’ with a local in the city you’re staying in. No, an experience can’t be rooting. I’ve checked.

So far the Sydney experiences are limited to “Dining with Neil Perry” and “Surfing at Bondi” among a couple of others. Pretty boring. And not at all a true Sydney experience. That’s why I’ve put together a list of authentic Sydney experiences that I’m willing to share with tourists.

Five Authentic Sydney Experiences We’d Like To See On Airbnb Trips

“There’s not much that screams Sydney more than getting an email from your real estate agency informing you that your rent is going up $180.”

1.

Your Rent Going Up There’s not much that screams Sydney more than getting an email from your real estate agency informing you that your rent is going up $180 at the next lease lapse. $180! A week?! But they haven’t even addressed the water damage on the roof of the living room! And the toilet seat has been loose since day one! I’ve emailed them about it. I even took photos, they’re on my phone... damn, I must’ve deleted them. Book now as this one will fill up. Price: $180.

Bitching About Simon Let’s face it, Simon is a dick. Have you seen his Instagram? He’s always showing off his abs and hashtagging #beachlyfe. Urgh. Literally no one cares, Simon. We get it, your parents are rich; that doesn’t make you interesting. Your little goatee makes you look like a magician, but the only trick you’ve ever pulled is making your personality disappear.

2.

If this type of bitching about Simon is something you’d enjoy, book now to join my group chat during your time in Sydney. He really is the worst.

Lining Up For Gelato Messina Everyone who comes through our Harbour City has got to try Messina! The custom dairy flavours are made daily.

The fruity gelato choices are delicious. But more exciting than munching down a salted caramel and doughnut chunk cone is lining up for 40 minutes on the street for an ice cream.

You’ll be jostled by passing strangers. You’ll overhear racist conversations. You’ll question whether it’s worth having one of your legs go to sleep just to get some goddamn ice cream. Is it worth it? Book now and find out with me!

3.

Complaining About WestConnex The best part about complaining about WestConnex is that you’re always right. Even when you don’t know much about it. Just choose a few key phrases and repeat them. “It’s killing the Inner West!” “Fucking Baird!” Or if you want to get creative, “WestConnex? More like WorstConnex!” This experience always books out, so get in quick.

4.

Clicking ‘Attending’ On A Friend’s Gig Then Staying In On The Night Look, we all want the nightlife to be thriving. We all support the arts. We love that you’re following your dreams, and can’t wait till your band is famous! But at the same time, the entire series of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air is on Stan. So, you know.

Book now to make your friend think their gig will be banging, and then back out without telling him.

Gelato Messina photo courtesy Jason Tong/Flickr

5.

what’s funny this week?

Thursday April 6 A Mic In Hand at The Friend In Hand, Glebe. This room is an institution. I’ve seen

Wil Anderson, Sarah Silverman and Todd Barry all get up here and try new jokes.

Monday April 10 The Comedy Lounge at Cafe Lounge, Surry Hills. Absolutely one of the coolest comedy rooms in town. You get a free Jäger bomb if you count all the knick

knacks on the walls (not true).

Also, if you have any mates in Melbourne, send them along to my Comedy Festival show.

I’m on at 7:30 at Trades Hall every night from Thursday March 30 – Sunday April 23. Tix on the website. Please don’t just click ‘attending’.

Cameron James is a stand-up comedian.

You can follow him on Twitter at @iamcameronjames, or in the streets. thebrag.com

Charlie Falkner, writer of Sex Object

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our new work Sex Object is set to open at The Depot Theatre.

What’s the play about?

Fundamentally it’s about relationships, and different kinds of relationships.

The two lead characters are brother and sister, so there’s the different interactions between themselves, their partners, and then their partners with each other. I was aiming to look into the way people may change depending on who they’re around and why. So there’s that, up against the background of porn, sex objects and a woman named Lou. But I won’t ruin it too much.

Are sexual and romantic relationships more difficult to navigate in 2017 than ever?

Well, I don’t know. I don’t know if it would have been as hard as, like, having one during a war, or the depression. But who knows… maybe that was easy? I think what people believe has changed is the ‘right’ way to go about relationships. Which should be liberating, in the way that there’s no longer such a regimented direction through sex and romance and life. But lots of people find that distressing, because they don’t want to make their own minds up. Porn and iPhones might have thrown in some confusion as well.

Is there a particular Sydney-centric angle to the story, or can it translate universally?

There’s possibly one or two Sydneycentric digs. But the play is more about a generation of people than it is a geographic setting. That being said, much of the vernacular in the writing could be seen as ‘Australian-specific’, possibly not translating elsewhere.

Did you always plan to appear in the production yourself?

I was an actor before I was ever a writer, and while I wanted to try and leave most of the casting up to Michael Abercromby, I finished the play and realised there was a bit of Ben in myself that I really wanted to show onstage. Couldn’t help myself.

How creative is the JackRabbit Theatre environment for a young artist?

JackRabbit Theatre has really hit its stride in the last year or so, producing a lot of great new, relevant work.

JackRabbit is made up of only young artists, which doesn’t mean it’s tailored solely towards a young audience, just that it gives room for younger writers, directors and actors to put their hands up. We’ve had a focus on telling stories about youth in a modern era, with phones, short attention spans and a dictionary of abbreviations, and hope to continue to tell stories of youth of all different circumstances.

What: Sex Object Where: The Depot Theatre When: Wednesday April 19 – Saturday April 29

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

Blondie: Parallel Lives Omnibus Press, RRP $44.95 Parallel Lives is the definitive biography of Blondie, the iconic New York band led by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. It is based on original and revealing interviews with Harry and Stein and the third founding member, drummer Clem Burke, and an ongoing friendship between co-author Kris Needs and the band which was established during their first UK tour in 1977. Blondie have influenced everyone from Madonna and Lady Gaga to a wave of female-led rock bands – but behind the scenes they were plagued by personal issues and financial problems. That they have survived into the 21st century is a testament to their extraordinary spirit. This is their story.

BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 17

arts reviews ■ Film

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE In cinemas now After 80 years in the public eye – and immediately following the abysmal gauntlet of 2016’s gritty comic reboots – who would have thought that the definitive movie about Gotham’s caped crusader would come from the folks behind The Lego Movie?

The super cool Batman (Will Arnett) has saved Gotham yet again from the villainy of the Joker (Zach Galifianakis), but with police commissioner Jim Gordon retiring and making way for successor Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson), it seems Gotham may not need vigilantism anymore… at least, until the Joker’s newest plan takes form.

Director Chris McKay admitted his deep love for the Batman mythos at the film’s premiere, but he hardly needed to: it’s there in every frame of his joyous ode to every iteration of the Bat in existence. Somewhat miraculously, McKay and the five screenwriters involved have tied the scowling Nolan-era antihero grit together with

Adam West-level camp, and still managed to make their version of the vigilante stand out. Arnett’s Batman is a beatboxing, selfmythologising ‘cool guy’, whose crime-fighting urges and flair for drama stem from crippling loneliness.

The Lego folks don’t tiptoe around the elephant in the room, either. The market saturation of Batman is directly addressed time and again, but always as another opportunity for McKay and co. to wink at their audience, sling another in-house reference at you and blast off to the next sequence.

To its great credit, it’s also surprisingly canon – the only piece of significant comic history omitted is missing for good reason, as a) it’s from Batman’s most adult outing The Killing Joke, which even Alan Moore has his regrets over, and b) “platonic co-worker” Barbara Gordon needs functioning legs to kick as much arse as she does here.

Naturally, the voice work is all gravy – Michael

Cera is unrecognisable as the adorably fey Robin, an orphan Bruce Wayne accidentally adopts while trying to ignore him; Ralph Fiennes’ Alfred is perfectly classy; and Galifianakis’ initially off-putting Joker makes perfect sense when McKay reveals the far-toofunny relationship strains between the Clown Prince of Crime and the man he thought was his nemesis.

■ Theatre

THE HOMOSEXUALS, OR ‘FAGGOTS’ Playing at SBW Stables Theatre until Saturday April 29

LEONARD COHEN everybody knows

BY HARVEY KUBERBIK

AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSTORES APRIL 2017

BLONDIE

PARALLEL LIVES DICK PORTER & KRIS NEEDS

AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSTORES APRIL 2017

Whereas satire aims to hold a mirror up to the flaws of our society, this wildly un-PC farce does away with subtleties and goes straight for the throat, like a javelin hurled straight at Darlinghurst.

surprisingly despicable path, which he pulls off with aplomb. And as both the trans protester Bae Bae and meth-addicted burglar Pam, Mama Alto brings an uncompromising energy that could only fit in this kind of high farce.

Warren (Simon Burke) and Kim (Simon Corfield) have it all – a well-located apartment, financial comfort, and each other. But when Kim is publicly shamed for offending a transsexual academic, whom Warren must interview for his website, the stage is set for an epic farce involving a slew of tasteless costumes, several unwanted house guests, and a meatball meal with a problematic title.

The heart of the play is Diana (Genevieve Lemon), a trans woman determined to offend, whose speech during the maelstrom of the third act grounds every insult preceding it. Lemon is a treasure, bombastic and unapologetic, arriving onstage in one disgusting costume only to exchange it for another, equally grotesque facade. Designer Marg Horwell has done a superb job of the costume design – she should be ashamed of herself.

Writer Declan Greene has kept his fingers to the pulse of his community just long enough to find the vein and press a razor to it. This may be the single most politically incorrect play to have ever been staged at Griffin, but its strength is in knowing who its real targets are.

Barbed missives are fired off at trans people, people of colour, and the whole spectrum of LGBTQI+ identities, but the true butt of the joke is Greene’s own community: white, rich, cisgendered gay men, too comfortable to fight with integrity for their brothers and sisters.

As the married couple at the centre of events, the two Simons shine. Burke’s Warren is tremendously entertaining, dry and vicious but incredibly responsive; even boyish, when teased with the prospect of a tryst with Lucacz (Lincoln Younes), a handsome young model Warren has lured into a faux photo shoot.

Corfield’s vapid mincing leads him down a

Director Lee Lewis lets Greene’s web of lies and deceit pile up until it all collapses into chaos. How the five-strong cast manages to survive the mash-and-gravy-strewn storm that is the ending – not to mention the cleverly concealed stage hydraulics – is beyond this critic, save to say that the actors have impeccable control.

It’s harder to dismiss as ‘problematic’ a play that indulges in its issues so gleefully, one which revels in the dangers of unbridled free speech and the flaws of language and discourse. The Homosexuals takes old form and makes it so new it hurts to look at it. It’s hugely offensive, and certainly a farce, but at least you don’t have to pay $120 to see it.

David Molloy

The Homosexuals photo by Brett Boardman

STEVIE NICKS VISIONS, DREAMS & RUMOURS

BY ZOЁ HOWE

AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSTORES APRIL 2017 18 :: BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17

thebrag.com

arts in focus

game on Gaming news and reviews with Adam Guetti

2017

GX Australia 2017

After an incredibly successful first year in 2016, GX Australia is returning once more to Sydney. For those who are still unaware, GX prides itself on being the most inclusive convention for gamers and geeks of all types. No matter what your identity, hobby choice or interest, the convention aims to provide a safe and inclusive space for everyone.

Taking place from Saturday April 29 – Sunday April 30, the event will be bigger and better with a more impressive venue (this time at the iconic Sydney Showgrounds), expanded tabletop and card game selections, cosplay tournaments and more. Plus, special guests for the event include Fallout creator Tim Cain, lead designer of Monument Valley Ken Wong, and ex-Good Game host Stephanie ‘Hex’ Bendixsen. Tickets start from $47.55. For more information, visit gxaustralia.com.

Library After Dark: Tabletop Games That’s not to mention the roles played by Conan O’Brien, Jenny Slate, Eddie Izzard, Seth Green, Jemaine Clement, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Mariah Carey… the list goes on, and the less you know about their respective characters, the better.

Add to that the Lego team’s astonishing grasp of action cinematography, their ability to craft action sequences that put their liveaction contemporaries to shame,

and you have arguably the best Batman movie ever made. And this coming from a Dark Knight megafan.

Darkly hilarious, slick as plastic and firing on all cylinders, The Lego Batman Movie is the comic book adaptation Gotham needs and deserves. IRON MAN SUCKS. Nananananananana BATMAAAAN. David Molloy

If you’re aged 16 or over and love gaming, why not check out Randwick City Library’s Library After Dark? On Wednesday April 5 from 6pm, the whole building will be transformed into a nerd haven with a wide assortment of games to play. The best part about it? All are welcome, no matter your skill level, and it’s completely free to enter! To register for the event, visit eventbrite.com. Should you be too late, don’t fear, as it takes place on the first Wednesday of each month. For more updates, stay locked to Randwick City Library’s Facebook page.

reviewroundup

Re-Crafting

NEWS

APR

What’s On

Fans of the 1998 strategy game classic, StarCraft, should get excited with Blizzard confirming that a remaster is now on its way. StarCraft Remastered is set to include a full graphical overhaul, with widescreen UHD support for up to 4K resolution. The game’s soundtrack and dialogue has also been updated, while cloud saves, custom maps and replays should help round out the package.

“While these improvements will bring StarCraft to the modern era, gameplay and balance have been precisely preserved, for an experience that will feel identical to veteran players,” Blizzard said in its announcement. An exact release date is yet to be confirmed.

Outlast At Last

In slightly confusing news, Red Barrels’ horror sequel Outlast 2 was initially denied classification (and therefore banned) in Australia, due to a scene involving implied sexual violence, only for the board to then seemingly reverse that decision and classify it as R18+.

Much confusion followed soon after, with Kotaku reporting a censor claiming that “the original version of the game that was refused classification has been modified to allow the game to be classified”.

The mess was finally cleared up with a final comment from the game’s publisher. “The original submission of Outlast 2 sent to the Australian Classification Branch contained the final game code and a video file for reference taken from an Alpha version of the game,” a statement read. “This video file should not have been sent along with the game code, as its content was not representative of the final game.”

Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Switch, Wii U) ■ Theatre

CRIMES OF THE HEART Playing at the Old Fitz Theatre until Saturday April 8 Quality aside, there comes a time when no great actor, director or production team can justify the mounting of a particular play – and that time is now.

No longer satisfied with dominating Sydney’s main stages, the values of ’70s Middle America have made their way onto the independent scene for little discernible reason.

Lenny (Laura Pike) isn’t using to having her sisters together in the same room. But when youngest sibling Babe (Renae Small) is arrested for shooting her husband, and wild child Meg (Amanda McGregor) returns, the bonds between the siblings become their only hope.

It should be said first off that the quality of performers on display is of a high standard across the board. Our three sisters (sorry) make for a believable family – the play’s grandest moments are when the trio are around the table with each other, laughing at inappropriate jokes and pushing each other’s buttons. Small, in particular, has an infectious laugh and great conviction.

So, too, have director Janine Watson and designer Jonathan Hindmarsh taken pains to recreate the cosy confines of a 1970s household. They’re going for the same realist model one expects from the majors these days, harking back to the days of Strindberg where authenticity was everything, and they do a fine job. The cakes and cookies used are real, and as Babe squeezes lemon after lemon to make lemonade, the smell permeates the theatre – a nice touch, if an overuse of fruit.

The issue lies in the material. In her director’s notes, Watson refers to Beth Henley’s play as a “Southern Gothic tragicomedy”. She goes on to espouse the values of the play and its relevance to its specifi c time and place in Mississippi of 1974.

But there’s no explanation behind why this distinctly American play, with its distinctly American themes and issues pertinent to its period, is being put up with signifi cant backing on a Darlinghurst stage in 2017.

Its characters, well-crafted as they are, face issues that are a far cry from those experienced by women of today. Henley’s dialogue contains some whip-smart exchanges between the sisters and their neighbours – especially with Amy Usherwood’s nosy cousin Chick – but relies enormously on exposition, leaving the stage bereft of action across an overlong runtime.

As the majors have proven in the last few years, all the money in the world can’t make up for an irrelevant story. Crimes Of The Heart can have its cake – a whole new cake every night, in fact – but it’s a hard one to swallow. Layers of topping don’t mask the staleness.

A

lot of fuss has been made over The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild thus far, but for good reason. It takes much of what we know about the Zelda formula and then twists it right on its head.

Its structure, for instance, is unlike any entry in the series before it. Once exiting the main hub, Link is right down to business and must find/free the four ‘divine beasts’ – magical creations that are central to defeating regular series villain Ganon and saving Princess Zelda.

These beats act as the game’s traditional dungeons (placed near each corner of the map) but can be tackled in any order should you feel confident. Each of these battles, like the puzzles that come before them, are smart, well-thought-out and spectacular.

In amongst that, Breath Of The Wild is brimming with side quests and additional content. Each is just as polished and enjoyable as the last, enriching the whole experience. Make no doubt about it, this isn’t just the best Zelda game of all time, but bound to become one of the best games of the decade. Even if you’re not a hardcore fan, you owe it to yourself to at least try it.

Review: Ghost Recon: Wildlands (PS4, XBO, PC)

A

fter the US embassy is attacked in the Bolivian capital and a DEA agent taken hostage, the United States green lights a covert unit whose sole design is to disrupt the area’s drug cartel operations and take out its leader, El Sueño. Such is the set-up for Ghost Recon: Wildlands, the first game in the series to truly adopt Ubisoft’s online open-world style.

Without any kind of assistance like supply drops or air support, the Ghosts are on their own, which is a refreshing change of pace that grants you a great deal of control over your Bolivian vacation. Slowly gathering intelligence to launch discrete missions that break down the various branches of the Santa Blanca cartel is a lot of fun, even though the missions themselves feel a little samey.

It’s worth noting, however, that this is a game designed to be played with friends in your corner. Ordering around your AI team is entirely serviceable, but you’ll still feel as though you’re missing out on a core component of the game… because you kind of are.

David Molloy thebrag.com

BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 19

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20 :: BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17

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thebrag.com

FEATURE

Things Are About To Get Much, Much Worse “Humans on Earth behave in some ways like a pathogenic organism … The human species is now so numerous as to constitute a serious planetary malady.”

– JAMES LOVELOCK

W

e are living in a new age. Some have called it the Anthropocene: an epoch in which temporary human gains result in ecological disasters; a period defi ned by extinctions and tragedies as defi nitively placed as boundary markers on a football fi eld. Occasional environmental horrors are the new norm, and once ‘safe’ animals like the giraffe are hurtling towards an inglorious end.

“We are currently witnessing the start of a mass extinction event the likes of which have not been seen on Earth for at least 65 million years,” writes James Dyke1.

Yet the Anthropocene could also be feasibly labelled the era of the “I Told You So”.

Decades of climate-related scientifi c studies – many of which were categorically ignored, tackled only by the intellectually masochistic – have fi nally become reality, as the restrained, concerned tone of academics has been swapped for hysteria about our warming world. thebrag.com

Indeed, it should be surprising to no one that climate scientists are suffering from nothing less than clinical pre-traumatic stress. “Nearly all climate scientists harbor serious doubts about the industrialized (and industrializing) world’s willingness to meet the challenges we face, which of course compounds their trauma,” Jack Holmes says2.

And those fears are grounded. 2016 was the hottest year on record; 2017 is already hotter.

According to NASA, levels of Arctic ice were at the lowest ever recorded this past March3, while the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is at its very highest. Just last year, scientists working away at the suitably named Cape Grim in Tasmania measured 400 parts per million of Co2 in the atmosphere, a symbolic marker that stands as testament to the seemingly unshakeable prevalence of fossil fuels. “It’s a bit sooner than we expected,” the scientist Paul Krummel told Fairfax at the time4.

These could well be the words chiselled into humanity’s gravestone. The horrors of climate change are accumulating faster than most projections, and even calm ecologists now believe the human race is locked in a cycle of knock-on effects, with the ongoing acidification of the ocean, the mass dying off of trees and vegetation and the widespread devastation of endemic species all ensuring further warming.

That’s not even to mention the more abrupt shifts waiting ahead of us. As the author Naomi Klein notes in her terrifying, anxiety-addled premonition This Changes Everything: “Once we allow temperatures to climb past a certain point, where the mercury stops is not in our control.” Climate change is not some gentle bell curve – it is a self-fulfilling cycle, one that will quite soon speed up to a point of horrifying, frenetic destruction.

“We are now closer to the risk of crossing thresholds or tipping points, which are large features of [a] climate system prone to abrupt, irreversible change when a critical threshold level of temperature rise is reached,” Dr. Martin Rice, head of research for the Climate Council, tells the BRAG. “Examples include loss of the Greenland ice sheet, the partial conversion of the Amazon rainforest to a savannah or grassland, and the large-scale emission of carbon dioxide and

methane from thawing permafrost. Each of these examples would cause very significant disruptions to the climate system, with knockon effects for human societies.

“For example, the melting of the Greenland ice sheet would eventually raise sea level by approximately seven metres. [That would] commit humanity to continuously rising sea levels for centuries or millennia, devastating major coastal cities worldwide.”

Y

et the rising sea level is only one of a litany of horrors that await us, with each atrocity proving more unexpected and unusual than the next. For example, there are concerns that the melting of sea ice will unleash centuriesold diseases; that ancient illnesses will wreak havoc on an unprepared global populace.

As John Gray points out in his prescient philosophical treatise Straw Dogs, “Our bodies are bacterial communities, linked indissolubly with a largely bacterial biosphere,” meaning any widespread alteration to global temperature levels will have a direct, potentially terminal, biological impact.

“We’re physiologically evolved to manage within a particular climatic zone,” epidemiologist Alistair Woodward told Mashable this year5.

“But if climate changes quickly, whether temperature goes up or down, we’re stressed.

And one of the expressions of that stress is a greater vulnerability to disease, injury and illhealth.”

Then there’s the vulnerability of our food sources. Boom and bust farming patterns are precarious enough as it is, and will be directly threatened by rising temperatures.

“Even a modest shift in climate could have massive consequences on yields and revenues,” writes Paul Roberts in The End Of Food. “Higher temperatures boost pest populations and allow insects, fungi, weeds and other pests to migrate into farming regions that were previously uninfested …

Higher temperatures also stimulate soil bacteria [which] accelerates the decay of soil organic matter and thus reduces the soil’s capacity to store and transport nutrients and water.”

Australia is not safe from such threats, either.

“Australia’s food supply chain is highly exposed to disruption from increasing extreme weather events driven by climate change, with farmers already struggling to cope with more frequent and intense droughts and changing weather patterns,” says Dr. Rice.

“Water scarcity, heat stress and increased climatic variability in our most productive agricultural regions, such as the Murray-Darling Basin, are key risks for our food security, economy, and dependent industries and communities.”

Of course, such issues will be further compounded if global warming renders large sections of the planet inhospitable – and there is evidence enough to suggest that the Middle East and North Africa will become uninhabitable over the course of the next 50 years, meaning “more than 500 million people” will be displaced6.

The world’s contemporary refugee crisis will be but a taste of what is to come. Amplify the current situation tenfold and add both a strained food production system and the possibility of widespread plagues, and it is not hard to see why many predict that the endpoint of these numerous stresses on the climate is war.

“Climate change will exacerbate regional and local tensions in ‘hot zones’ around the world,” reads an article on the American Security Project website7. “In these regions, the impacts of a changing climate will act as an accelerant of instability.”

Ultimately, it is not hard to see why the likes of Gray believe full-scale global civilizational

“The horrors of climate change are accumulating faster than most projections.”

BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 21

“Boom and bust farming patterns are precarious enough as it is, and will be directly threatened by rising temperatures.” collapse is imminent. “Humans are like any other plague animal,” he writes with his trademark detached cynicism. “They cannot destroy the Earth, but they can easily wreck the environment that sustains them. [It is] likely [that] disseminated primatemaia [a plague of people] will be cured by a largescale decline in human numbers.”

This is not all paranoid speculation, though it might sound it. Even the most extreme of effects listed above is supported by a plethora of evidence. After all, about a hundred years ago, scientists were asking questions about the existence of climate change. About 50 years ago they were arguing if it could be avoided. Today the argument is not whether it exists, or if we can bypass it, but if the human race can survive it. That is the bottom line.

The Impact Of A Meat-Heavy Diet “Meat’s increasing cheapness has not only allowed more people to eat it more often but has also effectively embedded meat deeply in the food economy.”

“Our meat-heavy diet isn’t only affecting our health – it’s affecting the health of the planet.” the number of meat and milk animals is roughly 25 billion9. Accordingly, a near-ruling share of the planet’s surface is farmland, with the journalist Bryan Walsh noting that “some 40 per cent of the world’s land surface is used for the purposes of keeping [all] of us fed,”10 with about 30 per cent of that used for livestock rearing.

Though anecdotally one might believe that vegetarian and vegan diets are rapidly taking hold, the facts simply do not support such a view. Meat is becoming an ever more important foundation of the global diet, with beef consumption in particular set to climb by 25 per cent over the next 15 years11.

– PAUL ROBERTS, THE END OF FOOD

It seems we cannot shake our carnivorous habits, even as meat increases our cancer risk, contributes to global obesity rates – and, crucially, leads to the widespread destruction of the environment. Our meat-heavy diet isn’t only affecting our health – it’s affecting the health of the planet.

Even as humans lay waste to a staggering 75 per cent of the endemic species on Earth8, there are other creatures that we enact crueller, more unusual punishments upon. In contrast to the range of dwindling, under-pressure animal populations around the world, the global number of meat and dairy animals is rising, as the creatures we breed for consumption are forced into increasingly cramped, inhumane conditions.

According to a controversial study published in 2006 by the Food and Agriculture Organization, meat production accounts for about 18 per cent of human-caused greenhouse gases – a figure that has even been criticised by some for being too low. Indeed, a report from 2009 went so far as to argue that food production is responsible for a startling 51 per cent of carbon emissions12, with beef production in particular posing a significant strain on an already at-risk global resource pool.

The human race is outnumbered. There are three livestock animals to every person on the planet, meaning that at any given moment,

Whatever the exact figure, the takeaway is largely the same: our reliance on cattle is killing us. For instance, cows not only produce more carbon than cars13, they also contribute directly to deforestation. “Deforestation has huge implications for climate change,” Dr. Rice says. “Forests store large amounts of carbon … When forests are cleared or burnt, stored carbon is released into the atmosphere, mainly as carbon dioxide.

Deforestation accounts for roughly 15 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.”

That’s not even to mention the incredible pressure that cattle put on humanity’s water supplies. A single pound of beef reared in the US requires 1,800 gallons of water14, with food production in general taking up a staggering two-thirds of our total global water footprint.

Then there are cow burps. Cattle don’t just drain resources, they actively pump methane into the environment, their unnaturally corn-rich diets helping disrupt their regular digestive processes and leading to an excess of gas. “According to a Danish study, the average cow produces enough methane per year to do the same greenhouse damage as four tons of carbon dioxide,” reports Matt Blitz15.

Scarier still is the surprisingly minimal energy conversion involved in beef production. As Roberts notes, 60 per cent of a cow is considered waste, disposed of before it even reaches your plate.

“The modern cow needs at least seven pounds ds of feed to put on a pound of live weight – nearly rly twice that of pigs and more than triple that of chickens,” Roberts writes in The End Of Food. “Worse, because so much more of a cow’s weight is inedible – 60 per cent is bone, organ, and hide … beef’s true conversion rate is actually far lower.”

Beef isn’t just a means of damaging the environment – it’s a strikingly inefficient way to harvest and redistribute food energy. And what with the effects of climate change beginning to accumulate and multiply, efficiency is soon going to become more important than ever. As our water supplies become strained, as land must be abandoned, and as droughts and storms ravage age the corn we grow to feed our livestock, our already ready unsustainable cattle production industry is sett to fall into tatters.

Ultimately, we are relying on a system that cannot nnot be sustained. And consider that ‘we’ very localised lised – Australia is the “meat eating capital of the world”16, and beef production accounts for exactly actly half of all agricultural farmland in this country17.

Although it might be true that we use less water than Americans in our means of production – beef lobbies are very keen to distance themselves from a range of Stateside methods, for obvious reasons – all other issues remain the same.

We are setting ourselves up to fail, leaning into a coming catastrophe our politicians won’t even acknowledge. And every day that we do, we dwindle down our alternatives, leaving us relying on a system as outdated and destructive as fossil fuel production. Roberts says it best: “The meat-rich diets of the West simply don’t work on a global level.”

U

nsurprisingly, the beef industry is working hard to wash its hands of all this. Anti-cattle studies play hard and loose with the facts, lobbyists say. The carbon imprint of cattle production has been exaggerated, they say. Beef is no worse for the environment than any other meat, they say. We don’t deserve to lose our jobs, they say.

And, for what it’s worth, beef lobbyists in Australia are certainly making a lot of noise about their attempts to offset the industry’s impact. Target 100, a local initiative, is attempting to educate both farmers and the population at large about the ability to grow and distribute ethical meat. Its website – one long pat on the back – stresses that emissions associated with cattle production have been in decline since the ’90s, thanks to insidious developments such as “increased survival rates” and “heavier finishing weights”.

There are other widely circulated beef ‘breakthroughs’ being bandied around the place too, as the industry promises change rather

than face total obsolescence. One of the more interesting developments, for instance, involves substituting cattle’s usual corn-dominated diet for seaweed. Seaweed is more prevalent than one might think – 25 million tonnes of the stuff is farmed each year18 – and results in significantly less methane produced by cattle.

As a food source, seaweed is also considerably more environmentally friendly than corn: it’s easier to grow, easier to distribute, and richer in nutrients.

There are numerous other solutions making the rounds too, some of them government-directed.

Emission Reduction Funds are available, designed to support farmers in “increasing the fat content of a milking cow’s diet”19 by introducing additives such as canola meal. Such a move, the fund’s proponents say, will see methane emissions reduced by the introduction of fat, meaning carbon production will be dramatically offset.

Yet such attempts are ultimately about as useful as rewording a problem without answering it.

Climate change is no longer avoidable, its early symptoms are inescapable, and direct action is needed to halt the very worst of what is coming.

Remaining reliant on the beef industry – a $17 billion behemoth – is a threat no amount of surface-level change is going to fix.

And anything less than a total reimagining should be considered a surface-level change: the above listed alterations, for example, are largely cosmetic, and deliberately underplay a range of other issues associated with cattle production. Even if the industry curbs its still sizeable carbon problem – which seems unlikely, given its habit of drowning out cattle critics rather than effectively communicating with them – that won’t alter the issues of pollution or deforestation, twin threats embedded deep in beef production. “Demand management has to be part of the solution as well,” says CSIRO scientist Mario Herrero20.

“Remaining reliant on the beef industry – a $17 billion behemoth – is a threat no amount of surface-level change is going to fix.”

22 :: BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17

thebrag.com

FEATURE

REFERENCES 1. Dyke, James, ‘One In Six Species Faces Extinction As A Result Of Climate Change’, The Conversation 2. Holmes, Jack, ‘Climate Scientists Are Dealing With Psychological Problems’, Science Of Us 3. ‘Sea Ice Hits Record Lows’, National Snow And Ice Data Centre 4. Hannam, Peter, ‘Confirmed: Southern Hemisphere CO2 Level Rises Above Symbolic 400 Ppm Milestone’, The Sydney Morning Herald 5. Bogle, Ariel, ‘There’s Another Reason To Worry About Climate Change: Your Health’, Mashable 6. Eleftheriou-Smith, Loulla-Mae, ‘Climate Change Could Make Parts Of The Middle East And North Africa ‘Uninhabitable’’ The Independent 7. ‘Climate Security: Building National Security’, American Security Project 8. Neuhauser, Alan, ‘75 Percent Of Animal Species To Be Wiped Out In ‘Sixth Mass Extinction’’, US News 9. Boyle, Eleanor, High Steaks: Why And How To Eat Less Meat 10. Walsh, Bryan, ‘The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact Of Global Meat Production’, Time 11. Roberts, Paul, The End Of Food 12. Goodland, Robert and Anhang, Jeff, ‘Livestock And Climate Change’, World Watch 13. Lean, Geoffrey, ‘Cow Emissions More Damaging To Planet Than CO2 From Cars’, The Independent 14. ‘The Water Footprint Of Food’, Grace Communications Foundation 15. Blitz, Matt, ‘Do Cow Farts Significantly Contribute To Global Warming?’, Today I Found Out 16. Ting, Inga, ‘Australia Is The Meat-Eating Capital Of The World’, The Sydney Morning Herald 17. ‘Major Commodities: Beef’, National Farmers’ Federation 18. Battaglia, Michael, ‘Seaweed Shows Promise In Cutting Cattle Methane Emissions’, Beef Central 19. ‘Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions By Feeding Dietary Additives To Milking Cows’, Clean Energy Regulator 20. Walsh, Bryan, ‘The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact Of Global Meat Production’, Time 21. ‘Psychological Factors Help Explain Slow Reaction To Global Warming, Says APA Task Force’, American Psychological Association 22. ‘Printed Meat Is On The Way And It Will Be Disruptive Say American Specialists’, Global Meat News 23. ‘Red Meat: The Next Product To Be Revolutionised By 3D Printing’, Good Mag 24. Gray, John, Straw Dogs

What Can Be Done To Help?

“Nothing is inevitable. Nothing except that climate change changes everything. And for a very brief time, the nature of that change is up to us.”

– NAOMI KLEIN, THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

Humans are not good at change – particularly not when it has to be speedy. Alterations to global attitudes happen slowly, over decades, as ideas once considered fringe are gradually adopted into the mainstream. So although a majority of global citizens now agree that climate change is real, they are yet to accept that it is an “immediate threat”. As a result, “Getting people to ‘go green’ requires policymakers, scientists and marketers to look at psychological barriers to change and what leads people to action,” reads a report produced by the American Psychological Association21.

Of course, analysing such psychological barriers takes time – and time, again, is something we are significantly lacking. In order to stop the knock-on cycle of climate change’s worst effects, we must curtail our emissions almost immediately. Otherwise, it will not matter if the beginnings of a warmed world’s catastrophes scare us into cleaning up our act – when we get past a certain point, there is no turning back.

“Pushing global temperatures past certain thresholds could trigger … potentially irreversible changes,” reads a report by the American Association For The Advancement Of Science, cited in This Changes Everything. “At that point, even if we do not add any additional CO2 to the atmosphere, potentially unstoppable processes are set in motion. We can think of this as sudden climate brake and steering failure where the problem and its consequences are no longer something we can control.”

So what can we do to avoid such a fate?

Should we uniformly reject a meat diet, turning our collective backs on the entire international livestock industry? The answer is, of course, no. Even if this were possible – which is hard to imagine – it could not be achieved nearly fast enough. And even if meat were to be rejected tomorrow, perhaps thanks to some international ban, we are yet to prepare an alternative.

That is part of the problem. Capitalism is a self-perpetuating system. Growth is everything, regression is death. Suddenly altering an organic cycle of supply and demand would be akin to thrusting a stick into the spokes of the bicycle you’re riding – global systems, particularly ones as widespread and ingrained as the meat industry, cannot simply disappear.

Clearly, they must be slowly phased out to avoid mass unemployment and catastrophic food wastage.

The hope, then, is not mass veganism – though certainly going two days out of the week without meat, an option pushed by Arnold Schwarzenegger of all people, would be the most sensible course of action for those seeking to offset their carbon footprint in the short term. But in the long term, what the human race needs now more than ever is not for its meat-heavy diet to be totally abandoned, but for the source of meat itself to be altered.

And in that arena, two clear options have arisen.

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he first is the widespread consumption of insects. No doubt to many, few concepts could claim to be as repulsive. After all, though a range of Eastern diets feature crickets and grubs, for Westerners, eating insects is an idea so outlandish as to fall well outside the window of what the public is willing to consider culturally acceptable.

Yet the benefi ts of such a move are almost innumerable. Unlike the ineffective energy redistribution brought about by a side of beef, insects are exceedingly nutritious.

For example, 44 per cent of the matter ingested from a cockroach will be absorbed into the body, and the energy required to rear it stands as signifi cantly less than that required to rear a cow. For very little cost and very little resource consumption, insects can become a truly sustainable source of food.

Of course, convincing the public at large to chow down on grubs, crickets and roaches is a problem in itself. But as the already precarious livestock industry begins to break down, and as huge sections of our already crowded Earth begin to refuse us, there remains the chance that a foodstuff as easy to grow and distribute as insects could suddenly seem appetising indeed.

Then there is option two: artificial meat production. It sounds like fiction, and for good reason. Not long before it was seriously touted as a scientific possibility, genetically modified foodstuffs featured heavily in Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, a grim glimpse into humanity’s future that painted lab-grown meat as a kind of abomination.

“Even if meat were to be rejected tomorrow, perhaps thanks to some international ban, we are yet to prepare an alternative.” thebrag.com

“We just have to be ready to give up every element of the world as we once knew it – our food included.”

What Atwood failed to consider at the time was the huge ecological benefi ts of entirely artifi cial meat. Growing a leg of beef in a factory would neatly sidestep the barbarity of the slaughterhouse, but it would also phase out the more destructive impact of livestock rearing. No animal to cull would mean no water or grain needed to raise it.

Again, though such a future might feel distant and alien, revolution is closer than one might think. Even two years ago, while admitting more research was needed, American food academics were projecting that “3D printed meat production will become technically feasible”22 , while breakthroughs in production mean some already foresee the development of ‘meat ink’, a kind of edible animal glue that will allow food scientists to create “high protein and nutritious meals”23 .

Naturally, there are ethical issues involved with the synthesising of fl esh – not to mention a widespread academic disdain towards further human intervention fi xing a problem caused by human intervention.

John Gray, for one, argues that any belief in scientifi c progress is misguided. “Humans cannot save the world,” he writes. “But this is no reason for despair. It does not need saving. Happily, humans will never live in a world of their own making.”24 Yet such cynicism underwrites the potential for human growth and change – or, more accurately, it dismisses such a force entirely.

Climate change is a burden of humankind’s own making, and though it is folly to assume we can divert it, we are not yet decisively doomed.

The pressures of a warming world will alter our lives in every conceivable manner.

Maybe right now, that alteration seems inconceivable – like death; like the very end of the species at large. But, as Klein says in This Changes Everything, if we can alter step by step with our planet, changing as it changes, maybe we can weather this thing.

We just have to be ready to give up every element of the world as we once knew it – our food included. That is not the ‘rig ht’ or ‘green’ thing to do. It is the only option we have left. ■ BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 23

FOOD + DRINK

bar

OF

ADDRESS: BASEMENT, 73 YORK ST, SYDNEY PHONE NUMBER: (02) 9262 4999 WEBSITE: MOJORECORDBAR.COM OPENING HOURS: MON – WED 4PM-MIDNIGHT; THU – SAT 4PM-1AM (RECORD STORE MON – WED NOON-6PM; THU-FRI NOON-9PM)

TH

EK

MOJO RECORD BAR

E E W

THE 50 BEST COFFEES IN SYDNEY Part One: CBD & Inner City

BY JESSICA WESTCOTT

Coffee aficionados rejoice. Too often we sit through listicles about the ‘Best Cafes In Sydney’ or the ‘Top Ten Brunch Places That Are Nowhere Near Me’ – but times are changing.

Starting in the CBD and spiralling outward, here is the definitive list of the best joe in each Sydney suburb. For context, my preferred cup is a flat white, with a double piccolo on especially heady days.

(NB: we’re not including franchises, or secondary cafés; there are a couple of Coffee Alchemys, but I’ve just included the original.) This list should keep you well-caffeinated for at least a month – because coffee helps you ‘person’.

Tell us about your bar: Mojo is a record store during the day and a cosy speakeasy by night. We pride ourself in representing all types of music from The Beatles and Elvis to Drake and Wu-Tang Clan. Mojo is a great place where you can travel through time and lose yourself flicking through our racks of vinyl while enjoying an Old Fashioned or ice cold schooner of fresh craft beer.

SYDNEY CBD

Marlowe’s Way Tank Stream Lane

Tucked away in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it laneway, Marlowe’s is a haven for the office-dwellers in the vicinity.

What’s on the menu?

The food selection is a small selection of freshly baked pizzas that you can’t miss the smell of as you walk into the bar. We offer tropicana, salami, meatlovers, margherita and vegetarian. Gluten-free bases available.

Care for a drink?

Our signature cocktail would definitely be the Snoop Grogg. It’s a blend of three different types of rum mixed with fresh passion fruit, house honey syrup and all of that is cut through with fresh lime juice and mysterious house smoke. There’s also a constantly rotating craft beer selection on the taps.

Sounds: As the name suggests, our music is rooted in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s with a mix of new tunes thrown in for good measure. Everything from your old

BARANGAROO

Shortstop Coffee & Doughnuts 3/23 Barangaroo Ave crooners to laid-back ’90s hip hop and everything in between.

Highlights: Great atmosphere created by amazing tunes, vintage speakeasy looks and always positive staff! There is nothing better than sipping on Jack to Frank Sinatra.

Come and check us out!

The bill comes to: Snoop Grogg + meatlovers pizza = $38.

Nutty, delicious lattes and a gorgeous array of glazed doughnutty goodness – what more do you need?

WOOLLOOMOOLOO

Flour And Stone 53 Riley St

One look at their array of baked goods and you’d be sold anyway, but the coffee is the best around. Rich and consistent.

POTTS POINT

Gypsy Espresso Shop 6/81 MacLeay St With a tiny entrance on MacLeay Street, Gypsy delivers a bold roasted cup with a lingering taste of chocolate. It also offers barista training.

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thebrag.com

REVIEW

FOOD + DRINK

ELIZABETH/RUSHCUTTERS BAY

Heart Of Glass Espresso Bar 1 Ithaca Rd

Enjoy this sun-drenched spot on the waterfront while you sip. Try the dukkah with poached eggs if you have a bit more time.

DARLINGHURST

The Bunker 399 Liverpool St

A cheesy hole-in-the-wall with a thrown-together feel that proffers extraordinary coffee. One of the best lattes in Sydney. Try with almond milk.

SURRY HILLS

Single O 60-64 Reservoir St

The original and certainly one of the best. The boys here are always up for a great chat, even though you wait on the side of the street. The queues down the road from 7am are testament to this Sydney institution. Nutty coffee… super nutty.

HAYMARKET

Knight’s Coffee & Tea Co. 827-839 George St

A little bit of a wait, but a reliably good cup. Friendly faces every time I’ve gone.

ULTIMO

Soma 2/646 Harris St

This specialty coffee importer is located just underneath the TAFE on Harris Street. It’s a haven for students and tourists, and the strong lattes are the law of the land here.

Antidote 80 Pyrmont St

PYRMONT

Look, it’s almost worth braving the casino crowds at The Star to come here – Antidote makes a killer cup. The espresso is light and fruity, and the milk is creamy and to die for every time. There’s nothing quite like knowing that a cafe has trained all its baristas to perfection so you don’t have to gamble. There’s plenty of other places for that around here.

Next Week: Lower North Shore & Balmain Area Single O

Jersey Rd. Bistro H A RO L D PA R K

BY JOSEPH EARP

KEY:

$: $0-10 $$: $10-20 $$$: $20-35 $$$$: $35-50 $$$$$: $50+

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ver-complexity is the blight affecting Sydney’s restaurant scene like a curse. Too often chefs confuse an abundance of flavours, textures and ingredients with mastery, and many have a distinctly arrogant attitude towards both their dishes and the customers they are served to. They disturb and detract simply for the sake of disturbing and detracting, never once stopping to ask whether or not the extra steps they add to classic recipes actually enhance the final experience.

Consider Jersey Rd. Bistro the exception to that particular rule. Head chef Jason Dean understands better than most that a truly fulfilling dining experience is not achieved by vogueish, flashy gimmicks, but by a reliance on good quality ingredients combined in understated, satisfying ways.

He is also a profoundly textural chef. The tasting menu that the BRAG is served achieves brilliance by contrasting serves of delicious breads, crackers and fried potatoes with softer meats and garden vegetables. Most modern chefs pay little attention to how food actually feels in your mouth – what melts and what cracks, for example – but the kitchen staff at Jersey Road are evidently not like most, and they aim to provide a varied, deeply satisfying dining experience by masterfully mixing up textures.

Happily, the menu is defined by a range of delicious, rich surprises. Tart yet smooth parmesan custard served on red cabbage crackers is a unique flavour combination that works so much better than one would assume, fluctuating between Western styles and the Eastern notes provided by the crackers. And the soft, cheesy ravioli – introduced as Jersey Rd.’s most famous dish – matches extraordinarily well with the bowl of rich consommé it is served in, topped off by restaurantgrown peas.

Even the smaller sides are prepared and presented with all the attention usually afforded to a main, with the kipfler potatoes in particular impressing.

It is a rare experience indeed to encounter a fried potato that doesn’t feel greasy or overloaded, and the accompanying sauces and pesto provide enough contrast to stop the dish from becoming a carby mess.

And again, most importantly, even the renegade, experimental items on the menu – a wagyu beef tartare for example, served cold and with thick sourdough – achieve greatness through their simplicity rather than anything more maximalist or complex. The tartare, slick and sauce-heavy as it is, doesn’t impress because it’s overwhelming or unreal, but rather because it is startlingly easy to disseminate and digest. Dean has faith in his ingredients; that much is obvious. It stands to reason. Perhaps anyone would if they had access to duck and beef of the quality that Jersey Rd. Bistro serves.

The wine list, carefully selected, is full of fruity Spanish reds and tart whites. Even those who know little about wines should quickly glean that Dean and his crew have paid as much attention to the pairing of alcohol and food as they have to their menu’s textural twists and turns, meaning Jersey Rd. Bistro is one of those few restaurants where you can fully hand yourself over to the skill of the staff, outsourcing the decision-making process with confidence.

And about them, actually: the staff. Attentive, informative and engaging to a tee, they are one of the most dedicated teams this critic has encountered in Sydney, eager to assist wherever possible without feeling like a distraction or an imposing force.

thebrag.com

“

Jersey Rd. Bistro is one of those few restaurants where you can fully hand yourself over to the skill of the staff.

Add to that a comfortable, spacious dining area, good lighting, non-invasive musical choices, and a near-perfect dessert – an apple, kiwi and crème fraîche meringue mess – and Jersey Rd. Bistro is evidently one of Sydney’s most exciting new dining spots. Miss booking a table at your own peril.

Where: 3 Jersey Rd, Woollahra When: Tue – Sat 5-11:45pm; Sun 10am-3pm More: jerseyrdbistro.com.au

BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 25

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK THE SMITH STREET BAND More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me Pool House/Remote Control

“This is not work ethic / It’s survival technique,” confesses Smith Street Band frontman Wil Wagner on ‘Song For You’, the fourth song on More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me, the group’s fourth studio album. It’s hard to shake the feeling that this is the

most vital album the band has ever released – if not for its career, then for Wagner himself.

Using the loose narrative arc of the rise and fall of a relationship, The Smith Street Band serve up all the hallmarks of their sound, touching on the topics of mental health, technology and touring through Wagner’s hyper-literal songwriting.

But it’s the production on More Scared Of You that separates it from the pack. Ex-Bomb The Music Industry! frontman Jeff Rosenstock has slaved with the band to take everything to the next level, from the bells ringing out in ‘Birthdays’ to the sneaky appearance from Tim Rogers in ‘Run Into The World’.

xxx

The band is also firing on every cylinder, as Wagner serves up his most intense vocal take to date on ‘Suffer’. Meanwhile, the rest of the group explores elements of emo and post-rock to create a more layered sound than on previous releases.

When all is said and done, More Scared Of You Than You Are Of Me might be the definitive release from The Smith Street Band.

Spencer Scott

“This is the most vital album the band has ever released – if not for its career, then for Wagner himself.”

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK ARCA

Arca XL/Remote Control

To say that the music of Arca is hard to define would be a gross understatement. His compositions and collaborations with artists like Björk have exposed an artist of true originality and boundary-pushing ambition. Now arriving at his third album (self-titled for more poignant reasons than lack of imagination), Arca continues to explore the possibilities of electronic music with a deep concentration on the self.

Despite their inability (or desire) to be pigeonholed, the songs here possess a certain warmth that makes them surprisingly accessible. I admit my own apprehension going into this record,

but ultimately could not ignore the sheer amount of personality that has made it. Every song is huge, pulsing and pulverising, with little regard for convention, creating a dystopic soundscape of unhinged future noises and operatic vocal experiments.

‘Piel’ is the first track we hear to feature Arca’s own singing voice; a strikingly stark piece accompanied by little more than minor hums and buzzes. ‘Urchin’ is a frightening, all-out attack on the senses. And as if we needed further evidence of Arca’s sordid approach to music, he gives us the song ‘Whip’ – one minute and 20 seconds of, well, whipping.

In his own words, “You want gore? Here’s gore.” It’s a rewarding listen for adventurous ears. Too disquieting to be

euphoric, too pleasurable to be disturbing.

Edward Acheson

“Every song is huge, pulsing and pulverising, with little regard for convention.”

FIRST DRAFTS Unearthed demos and unfinished hits, as heard by Nathan Jolly SILVERCHAIR – ‘TOMORROW’ Of course, there is also the time they hit number one on the national charts with a slow-building rock anthem, a pocket epic pieced together by a teenage rock scientist with an innate ear for melody, a love of unconventional song structures, and two school friends who had instruments and dads who listened to Zeppelin and Cold Chisel.

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rowing up in the Newcastle region, you collect Silverchair stories. It cannot be helped, as every second person has one they wish to share: the time they saw Daniel Johns walking down the street with a bone-crushingly beautiful model; the time they saw Ben Gillies on the roof of the Great Northern filming a video; the time the (footy) Johns brothers woke a sleeping Daniel up after the ’97 Grand Final and got him drunk and hating footy even more; the time they performed a weird rap song at a school assembly under the name ‘Fat Elvis’; and the time one of them hit my friend Timmy in the face with a ball, and the other two laughed.

26 :: BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17

‘Tomorrow’ was the band’s debut single, and a surprise success story. It was recorded three different times: once in 1995 for the album Frogstomp, another time as part of a band comp prize in 1994 – this version would be the one released as a single – and earlier still, as a six-and-a-half-minute demo recorded at Platinum Sound Studios in Newcastle.

The song was bashed out with four others in an hour at the studio.

Johns has since estimated that “it cost about $75” to record the tracks, an investment which paid off as this recording of the song saw them win a national band comp co-hosted

by SBS and triple j, discovered by Sony, and propelled onto the charts.

The six-and-a-half-minute recording meanders, as a lot of demos do.

Many instrumental breaks and stray verses were chopped or tightened by the time Silverchair re-recorded the track as part of their prize pack – and these changes were clearly successful.

The song hit number one in October 1994, staying there for six weeks and becoming the highestselling Australian song of the year, as well as the most-played song on American rock radio in 1995.

And for those diving for depths in the oblique lyrics, Johns explains the inspiration came from a documentary “about a poor guy that takes a rich guy to a poor persons’ hotel to experience what it’s like being a poor person. The rich guy is complaining to get out, and he has to wait till tomorrow to get out of the hotel.”

So there.

Listen to the full ‘Tomorrow’ demo at thebrag.com.

“The song was bashed out with four others in an hour at the studio. Johns has since estimated that ‘it cost about $75’ to record the tracks.” thebrag.com

five things WITH

YOUNG DOG NEW TRICKS

Growing Up My best memory so far with 1. music is actually getting started

The Music You Make And Play 4.

My favourite music genres to play at

home and out are electro, bass house, future house, bounce, hardstyle and psy. When I play music, my dad has always been really strict on not letting me prep my sets. So I just start my sets off with something that fits the environment I’m playing in. From there, I just keep playing and switching genres to please whoever is listening to me play. I really love playing to crowds and watching their reactions to my track selections.

with DJing. I always watched my dad and his friends playing on the decks. My dad would always show me videos on his phone of him and his friends playing in clubs and watching the people in the videos having a great time.

Inspirations My favourite DJ/producer is 2.

Martin Garrix. Dad and his friends

have so much music, but when they play Martin’s, it’s a sound that I recognise and connect with. I watch everything he does on YouTube, Facebook and SoundCloud and he inspires me to progress my career through his actions with his fans.

The first time I heard his music, I felt he had a real energy and I connected with his music. Other inspirations in my music life would definitely be my dad. He has shown me how to play and how to perform and just have fun with what I do.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The best thing I’ve found about the

music scene is how helpful people are. Everyone is willing to help you achieve and that seems to be across all age groups. My favourite act to watch is definitely Bonka. I only get to watch them on videos because I’m too young to go and see them play.

But the energy they bring to the decks always makes me want to succeed and do what they do. The boys are great people and friendly as well.

Your Crew Dad got me started with 3.

DJing and my passion for music. His friends who are DJs often come and spend time with me on the decks to teach me different ways of mixing.

Dad’s friends that I have spent a lot of time with and love working with

are Valo, Makes Spence, Risqué, Bonka and Lukas Logik. They all produce music and support me

through their own careers. They are now starting to help me with production as well. I wish I didn’t

have to go to school so that I could play and make music every day, but my parents won’t let me.

What: Bondi Blitz 2017 With: Arbourview, Geenie, Alexandra Younes and more Where: Dolphin Park When: Sunday April 9

five things WITH

DAVE HALEY FROM PSYCROPTIC Growing Up Travelling one hour once a 1. week to get drum lessons is etched

into my brain. My parents didn’t play instruments, but were very, very supportive of my brother and me.

This support is the reason I’m still playing music.

Inspirations This changes every week, so I don’t really have an answer. If I see/hear someone doing something that I can’t, I’m inspired and motivated to learn. Spotify is a great tool for finding new and exciting music.

2.

Your Band Facebook.com/psycroptic is 3. the quickest and easiest way for

people to find out about us – we’ve been around for about 17 years, so it’s hard to remember everything!

We are pretty DIY and handle most things ‘in-house’ so to speak, as

Joe our guitarist is an engineer/ producer.

The Music You Make Fast riffs, catchy riffs, head4. banging music. It’s unapologetically metal.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The scene in general is excellent

in Australia, with a lot of great bands getting out and getting it done. Sydney is often a tough one, as there aren’t too many venues available these days. I’m sure it will get better, as it’s something the market is in need of.

What: Housefox Fest 2017 With: Toe To Toe, Black Rheno, Na Maza and more Where: Narrabeen RSL When: Saturday April 22

on the record WITH Growing Up My earliest memories of music are 1. sneaking into my older brother’s room to

listen to his albums. He was really into grunge bands like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam, et cetera. From there I progressed into butchering all those songs on his guitar when he was out.

Infl uences My main infl uences are bands that 2. create huge energy through their music

and live shows. I’m a ’90s music kid, so I grew up on a staple diet of surf videos and Tony Hawk soundtracks. I like artists like Radio Birdman, The Hives, At The DriveIn. I remember the first time I listened to Relationship Of Command by At The DriveIn – it completely blew me away.

Your Band 3.

We’re a three-piece band who grew up playing shows together in different

bands. We’ve always got along like a house on fire so it was a pretty easy transition into writing music with the fellas. Me and [Dave] Edwards started hanging out and recording music at my house about a year ago. After writing a few tracks we took them to Dave thebrag.com

CLINT GEELANDER FROM DUN ROBIN

[Gorman] in hope that he’d play drums for us. Thankfully he said yes as we didn’t know any other drummers.

The Music You Make I guess the genre would be a mix of 4. garage and surf rock. We’ve all been mates

for a long time so we have a laugh and talk a fair bit of rubbish while we’re writing and usually just aim to make upbeat music that’s fun to play live. We went DIY on the EP and recorded it ourselves, which was fun – a stress-free process.

Music, Right Here, Right Now We’re from Newcastle and there are 5. a lot of good local bands coming through.

However, there’s a real lack of venues that will play original acts. That’s why we love coming to Sydney venues like the Oxford Art Factory and my favourite venue on the planet, Frankies Pizza. Lately I’ve been listening to local bands like Trophy Eyes, Paper Thin and Safe Hands.

What: Dun Robin out now independently Where: Frankies Pizza When: Wednesday April 12

BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17 :: 27

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

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

CLIENT LIAISON, LUKE MILLION Enmore Theatre Friday March 31

It’s easy to get swept up in the buzz surrounding a venue before a gig. Well, it is when punters are dressed in their best ’80s and fluoro aerobic gear; when a pristine vintage off-white limousine is dropping off its share of the sold-out crowd out the front of the Enmore Theatre; and when Client Liaison are set to take the stage.

All things considered, there wasn’t really a better choice of support than Luke Million, the producer and keytar, synth and novelty

song enthusiast, with his fun, retro dance delights maintaining the buzz and oiling up an already loose crowd. While his take on the Stranger Things theme song is his latest popular earworm, old favourite ‘Arnold’ was the right slice to the end his set with the floor bobbing up and down to its respective commands.

Oversized water coolers, indoor plants and computer monitors were unveiled onstage as Parliament House flashed up on the screen.

The wattle-coloured, Australiana-themed suits belonging to Monte Morgan and Harvey Miller emerged, and the strains of ‘Canberra Won’t Be Calling Tonight’ filled the Enmore.

Already, Client Liaison had the crowd eating

out of the palms of their hands, even before Morgan proved his chops on the didgeridoo.

It was an evening full of coordinated posing, sing-alongs, seduction and self-indulgence.

In other words, entertainment the only way Client Liaison know how, with as much to see as to hear. Older tracks ‘Pretty Lovers’ and ‘Feeling’ sat alongside Diplomatic Immunity’s ‘Hotel Stay’ and ‘Wild Life’, and the cheese factor was turned up midway through the set when the ATO ‘called’. Could they have done without the gag? Sure, but it was all part of the world Morgan and Miller have created for themselves and their fans.

As the air cannon went into overdrive, shirts

were removed and the disco vibes reached deluxe levels, ‘Feed The Rhythm’ and ‘Off White Limousine’ smoothly surrounded Armand Van Helden’s 1999 classic ‘You Don’t Know Me’ and Savage Garden’s ‘I Want You’. It was good, clean fun in all its nostalgic musical glory.

As Morgan handed out flowers and confetti pumped its way across the theatre, it was hard to imagine Client Liaison ever having graced a smaller stage with their larger-thanlife presence, show and adoring crowd. Who knows what’s in store next, but one thing’s for sure: it’ll be the height of entertainment.

Emily Gibb

PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

TASH SULTANA, OCEAN ALLEY Metro Theatre Saturday April 1

Tash Sultana’s meteoric rise over the last year was best represented by the packedout Metro Theatre full of fans greeting her as she came onstage. As she said, with an air of self-deprecation, she easily could have been supporting Ocean Alley, rather than the other way around. But it was the other way around, and Sultana proved exactly why.

That’s not a stab at Ocean Alley, either.

They had a very solid set and ‘Holiday’ went off like a treat. Their brand of psychedelic reggae only continues to get more interesting as they continue to develop.

But it was Sultana’s night in the end.

She mentioned that almost exactly one year ago she’d played a gig in Sydney at Brighton Up Bar, a significantly smaller (though also excellent) venue. If the crowd full of people whispering “She’s such a babe!” is anything to go by, it’s clear she’s managed to find a solid fan base.

Watching the sheer skill of this multiinstrumentalist live was an engrossing experience. Whether creating mesmerising loops, plucking insanely at an acoustic guitar or playing the trumpet, she was always incredible to watch. Her energy was also enough to make an onlooker feel exhausted. It was as if there was no barrier between the music and her – they were feeding into each other over every rise and depression.

Sultana also didn’t shy away from her political views, making a point of saying “fuck you” to Pauline Hanson (apparently there has been some kind of beef between them for a while). The crowd at the Metro mostly seemed to agree. Maybe this was that echo chamber everyone keeps talking about.

‘Blackbird’ was a highlight, and saw Sultana take to an acoustic guitar to show off her considerable skill. Even though she joked about being sick of it, ‘Jungle’ was another feature of the set. Live, like many of her songs, it takes on new and unexpected dimensions. That could be said for the entire evening – and it is no wonder this is an artist who has built her reputation on her live shows and dizzying musical talent.

Emily Meller

28 :: BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17

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VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT

thebrag.com/snaps PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR

DIXIE CHICKS, AVALANCHE CITY Qudos Bank Arena Wednesday March 29

It’s been a few years since Auckland folkpop hopefuls Avalanche City were last playing shows in Australia. The brainchild of singer-songwriter Dave Baxter, it’s a project that trades in bright, hopeful and inherently charming songs of love, life and adventure. Admittedly, there’s nothing particularly revolutionary about what Baxter and co. do. Still, it’s served them well for the past eight years and two studio albums, the most recent of which was 2015’s We Are For The Wild Places.

Tonight’s set is a mix of both LPs, with Baxter stripping his usual fullband arrangements back to a trio that move between a stomp box, a zither and keyboards. It works well, bringing a small degree of intimacy to what is unquestionably the biggest audience Baxter has performed for. While his songs are routinely ignored by the usual one-show-a-year crowd who are solely there for the name on the ticket, Baxter is pleased to see a few among the early arrivals that know his music and dance along with it in the front few rows. He even befriends a bridal party out on their hen’s night along the way – such is the charm of this lovable Kiwi.

The Dixie Chicks have lived and died by their live show, from humble barroom beginnings to arenas such as these. They’re immaculate players and exceptional singers, backed by a strong live band and performing a broad, entertaining show for a surprisingly diverse audience, ranging from little kids to grandparents. The Chicks are back out on the road for the first time in years, but there’s no rust to be seen.

The harmonies come through in pristine clarity, the hits arriving thick and fast – ‘Long Time Gone’ kicks up dirt, ‘Goodbye Earl’ is still seeking revenge after all these years and their chart-topping cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’ still hits home in all the right places.

Strangely, they end the show not with their own song, but a cover of Ben Harper’s ‘Better Way’. The message is nice, but it’s odd for what is otherwise a classic country barnstormer. ‘Wide Open Spaces’, which closes the main set and scores the biggest sing-along of the night, would have worked far better in its place.

Nonetheless, it’s a solitary con that comes in the wake of countless pros.

There’s just too much fun to be had when the Chicks are in town.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! ALL BLUESFEST TOURING ARTISTS

David James Young

ALSO APPEAR AT

BLUESFEST “A sweaty, brassfueled rave-up.”

THE HURST REVIEW

THE MON METRO APR

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METRO THU THEATRE APR

tickets & info from 02 6685 8310 or go to

www.bluesfesttouring.com.au

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OXFORD ARTS FACTORY WED 12 APR

THE MANNING THU BAR APR

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TURIN BRAKES NIKKI HILL LAURA MVULA GALLANT MUD MORGANFIELD ROY AYERS SNARKY PUPPY THE RECORD COMPANY TREVOR HALL ALSO TOURING

THE HIT OF BLUESFEST 2016 !!

THE WED METRO APR thebrag.com

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out & about

Off The Record

Queer(ish) matters with Arca Bayburt

Why A Non-Monogamous Relationship Must Be Handled With Care

Dance and Electronica with Alex Chetverikov

Brian Eno

I

’ve noticed a trend in the queer community over the last few years that has been hard to ignore: the proliferation of non-monogamy as a ‘cool’ state of being.

Non-monogamous relationships have been on the uptick in mainstream mentions, so it would follow that they’re being more widely discussed and practised throughout queer circles than ever before.

I

recall listening to composer Brian Eno speak at a Red Bull Music Academy lecture one afternoon. Not unlike his pragmatic and practical approach to composition, Eno was resolutely calm in his convictions. This was a thoughtful and considered musician with a forthright approach to ideas and modes of creation. In an industry where most seemingly still avoid lending their voice or honest opinion, his is especially refreshing.

No longer satisfied or interested in discussing the history of his work, nor its distinguished place in popular culture (for good reason), he engaged in discussion on how we might use music in a more deliberate capacity; on its multifaceted application within society.

He was considering a valuable and powerful concept: how music affects mood, output and productivity in an active sense.

Having previously ‘updated’ the muzak of NYC’s LaGuardia Airport with an ambient soundtrack (he also created the Windows 95 start-up sound), Eno had gone on to unveil stunning new therapeutic installations at Sussex’s Montefiore Hospital. These ambient healing environments aimed to create a “three-dimensional, all-embracing means of treating patients”, exploring

the potential for music to affect therapy and the hospital’s overall atmosphere.

It was an immensely interesting and successful idea, and I highly recommend listening to the full, freely available lecture on Red Bull Music Academy’s lecture page.

Ambient, classical and electronic music (among countless other genres) present such wonderful opportunities in our ability to improve, recover, and progress. The Australian Music Therapy Association, for example, advocates research-based practice in supporting improvement of health and well-being through music therapy.

Sydney’s The Indigo Project, a boutique mindfulness, psychology and yoga studio, recently discussed its creative approach to psychological practice, supplementing therapy with music and creative avenues. Similarly, Randwick’s Royal Children’s Hospital approaches music as a key part of coping with pain following surgery, among other applications. In our daily lives, we might engage it in meditation.

We engage with music in any number of contexts, and it in turn activates our neural networks like nothing else.

Whether playing, dancing or listening, there will always be something special about that.

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST

Tangerine Dream’s Risky Business soundtrack is pretty golden, if only for the inclusion of the magical ‘Love On A Real Train’ (which has since seen a very good 2008 re-recording). I’ve also returned to Erlend Øye’s DJ-Kicks, considered one of the best by many and a genuine insight into the artist’s mind. Consistently fun and upbeat, he lays down a whole lot of unexpected a cappellas, which, awkward as they may seem to some, distinctly flavor the mix. And check out what is without a doubt one of the most special musical experiences committed to tape: ParliamentFunkadelic’s full three-hour show at New Jersey’s Capitol Theatre in 1978, which you can appreciate on YouTube in all its glorious, otherworldly funkiness.

RECOMMENDED SATURDAY APRIL 8

Damiano Von Erckert & Oskar Offermann Club 77 Karizma

THURSDAY APRIL 13 Jayda G Civic Underground

Dusty Fingers 7th Birthday Feat. Andras, Tyson Koh Cake Wines

FRIDAY APRIL 21

Cake Wines Presents Keep It Disco Cake Wines

FRIDAY MAY 26

Karizma, Ben Fester Sydney Opera House

SATURDAY JUNE 3

Close – Spontaniety & Synchronicity (AudioVisual Show) Sydney Opera House

30 :: BRAG :: 707 :: 05:04:17

It’s easy to dismiss non-monogamy based on a thousand different moral arguments – but realistically, if consenting adults enter an arrangement that hurts nobody, there’s not much you can say against it that holds up.

But non-monogamy as a concept isn’t so much what I want to discuss this week. I’m more curious about all the new cultural capital that non-monogamy has gained, and how that has manifested as social pressure.

Since monogamy is seen as traditionalist and therefore stuffy and repressive, there have been countless ways to rail against it.

Non-monogamists might be feeling smug having been finally validated for their sexual and romantic world view and practices, but where does this leave the monogamists? Are we brushing them off as relics of a heteronormative past we want nothing to do with?

Lesbians are stereotyped to be looking for commitment; increasingly I’m meeting plenty of them who are either into or up for exploring nonmonogamous relationships.

Something that would have drawn audible gasps from my circle of friends eight years ago is now just another way to be – it’s on its way to normalisation.

On the one hand, it’s great not having to defend or explain that my own nonmonogamous relationship is just as committed and full of love as a monogamous one (though I’d say that communication about serious stuff is executed with much more finesse and frequency, by

this week…

On Wednesday April 5, get on down to Slyfox in Enmore for Birdcage: Starstruck. A night of glamorous fi lth awaits, hosted by The Magda Szubanskis and featuring DJs Pineapple Pineapple, Cunningpants, Nicholas Birdcage and more. Entry is free.

necessity). The other hand has a death grip on what it means to be committed, wholly and with restriction, to one person forever – how does this fit into our changing culture of what’s normal?

thoughts of their partner’s tenderness and playtime with others, something is wrong. This isn’t about compromise – unlike most things it’s black and white, and it should be a simple concept to grasp.

More interestingly, it’s clear that no camp has it ‘right’.

There are trials and pains and successes for both monogamists and nonmonogamists. All in all, the developments of this cultural phenomenon have been positive – it seeks to understand the nature of relationships and asks what can be improved, and points out that no one way is the correct way. It’s pretty cool.

Non-monogamy cannot be forced. Both partners must agree to it for it to work and both should desire it. There’s no point in sacrificing your heart and soul so your partner can happily and innocently eat ten different pussies while you grit your teeth and pretend you’re fine with it. You’re not one of those stuffy, uncool monogamists, you’re progressive and forwardminded, you can deal with it!

Speaking of cool though, I do think that the new ‘coolness’ of non-monogamy can be damaging. You’ve got irresponsible, narcissistic fuckwits treating people like garbage under the guise of polyamory or nonmonogamy or whatever feeble excuse they use to justify any conduct that lacks integrity. It’s manipulative and makes my skin crawl.

Both parties need to agree for non-monogamy to work.

If your partner wants to be open and you know in your heart of hearts you’re not like that, prepare for a fire stream of a thousand slow deaths.

If one partner slowly withers away emotionally, battered by painful

Except you can’t.

You’ll tolerate it until you hit self-destruct on the relationship and blow it all to hell – that is, of course, unless your pain has hardened and calcified into total paralysis and entropy. Then you’ll just be dead inside and your partner will continue to do things that brutalise your soul, without necessarily knowing it.

Forcing yourself to be non-monogamous to avoid being perceived as closeminded makes about as much sense as forcing yourself to be straight to avoid being perceived as a pervert. Don’t do things that make you unhappy, it ain’t cool.

“WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE THE MONOGAMISTS? ARE WE BRUSHING THEM OFF AS RELICS OF A HETERONORMATIVE PAST WE WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH?” On Friday April 7, Better Read Than Dead in Newtown is hosting a launch for the queer magazine Butch Is Not A Dirty Word. The publication celebrates butch identity and culture, and this issue focuses on the family with a series of essays and images exploring the topic.

Speakers and performers include Michelle Ring, Sam King, Esther Godoy, Madelaine Imber, Kait Fenwick and Phoebe

Adams. This event requires registration – tickets are $5 on the door.

On Saturday April 8, make your way to the Imperial Hotel in Erskineville for Girlthing featuring Sveta, HipHopHoe, Girlthing DJs, Fox Force II, Cunningpants, Evie va Voom, Porcelain Alice and more to be announced. Tickets are available now.

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g g guide gig g Patti Smith photo by Edward Mapplethorpe

send your listings to : gigguide@seventhstreet.media

pick of the week Patti Smith

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

11 11 Nation

11 11 Nation

Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. Thursday April 6. 7pm. $15.

Sydney’s own 11 11 Nation are launching their debut record Electric Circus at an all-star show including carnival performances and a touch of burlesque.

Windhand

Grün

– SUNDAY APRIL 9 11 TUESDAY APRIL

State Theatre

Patti Smith 7:30pm. $97.75.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 5 Apache + Gene Fehlberg Trio The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.

Guy Sebastian + Caiti Baker Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $60.

Marguerite Montes Sappho Books, Café & Bar, Glebe. 7pm. Free.

THURSDAY APRIL 6 Gostwyck + Paravelle + All Day Breakfast +

Bryen Willems The Old Growler, Woolloomooloo. 8pm.

Free.

Irish Mythen Leadbelly, Newtown.

6pm. $35.

Chase City Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 7pm. $15.

Peasant Moon + Arna George + Sam Shinazzi The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.

Dinosaur City Records Mixtape #2 Launch – feat: Body Type + Cody Munro Moore + Gauci + Glitter Graphixx + Greenwave Beth + more Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. Free.

FRIDAY APRIL 7 Baddies + Whopping Big Naughty + Golden Fang + Duncan Graham and His Co-Accused + Anti Bodies Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville.

8pm. Free.

Newtown Social Club, Newtown.

Wednesday April 5. 7pm. $59.20.

The Factory Floor, Marrickville.

Saturday April 8. 8:30pm. $10.

It’s a double billing of epic American doom metal, as Virginian labelmates Windhand and Cough join forces for a sludgy and steely show in Sydney.

Instrumental rockers Grün bring their new album Manyana to the Sydney stage for the first time, after comparisons to the likes of Mogwai, Pink Floyd and The Cure.

Newtown. 7pm. $55.

Jessica Mauboy ICC Sydney Theatre, Darling Harbour. 7:30pm. $81.40.

The Vanns Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $12.

SATURDAY APRIL 8 Iluka Hudson Ballroom, Sydney. 8pm. $13.80.

Hari Mata Hari + Valentino Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7:30pm. $85.

JPY and The Allstar Band Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 8pm. $80.55.

Illy + Paces + Maribelle + Spit Syndicate Enmore Theatre,

Rhiannon Giddens Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7:30pm. $44.

Sammi Constantine + Airports + Nelipot + Taka Perry Metro Theatre, Sydney.

4:45pm. $20.

Shapeshifter Manning Bar, Camperdown. 8pm. $60.

Shining Bird + Australia + Sunscreen + The Ocean Party Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 9pm. $13.60.

Vallis Alps + Baro Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7pm. $29.70.

SUNDAY APRIL 9 Greenthief Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney.

8pm. Free.

Jason Ayres Red Rattler, Marrickville.

6pm. $25.

New Fridge + Ben Briedis + Babylon 2017 Hive Bar, Erskineville.

5pm. Free.

Niq Reefman + Ren Stone Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 6:30pm. $10.

The Mountain Goats Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 7pm. $49.

MONDAY APRIL 10 Army Of Bones + Janey Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $25.

Mary J. Blige Sydney Opera House,

Sydney. 8:30pm. $109.

Snarky Puppy Enmore Theatre, Newtown. 7:15pm. $75.95.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue Metro Theatre, Sydney.

7:30pm. $73.30.

Turin Brakes + This Way North Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7:30pm. $44.

TUESDAY APRIL 11 Lupa J Newtown Social Club, Newtown. 7pm. $12.49.

Roy Ayers The Basement, Circular Quay. 7pm. $73.50.

the BRAG presents

TURIN BRAKES

Newtown Social Club Monday April 10

TREVOR HALL Newtown Social Club Wednesday April 12

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

DAPPLED CITIES

City Recital Hall Sunday June 4

xxx

11 11 Nation photo by Tony Mott

I Prevail + Void Of Vision + Belle Haven Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $51.70.

Zoe O’Sullivan Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 9pm.

Free.

Windhand + Cough

Grün + Hashshashin + Adrift For Days