MADE IN SYDNEY MAY 10, 2017
THEBRAG.COM
MUSIC, COMEDY, FILM + MORE
NORTHEAST
PARTY HOUSE IT'S THEIR BIGGEST YEAR YET
[
TAKE A PHOTO OF THIS COVER TO WIN NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE TICKETS DETAILS P7
ALSO INSIDE:
SKUNKHOUR
[
SMOKING MARTHA , THE SILENCIO, THE HAM FUNERAL , GEORGE SAUNDERS, EASTSIDE GRILL , SIX OF THE BEST ANTI-HANGOVER FOODS AND MORE!
DOES THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY HAVE A DRUG PROBLEM?
NORTHEAST P
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in this issue what you’ll find inside…
4
The Frontline
6-7
Back To Business
8-9
Northeast Party House were surprised at their big break, but they’re making the most of it
10
The Silencio
12-13 Skunkhour, Smoking Martha
14-18
14-18 Does The Australian Music Industry Have A Drug Problem? A Special Investigation 19
The Ham Funeral brings Patrick White back to the Sydney stage
20
George Saunders
“I cannot believe we got Unearthed with our song – it sounds ridiculous listening to the quality of it.” (8-9)
27
“I think people sometimes try to justify their drug use with their art, which is a bit shitty.” (14-18)
21
Arts reviews, Inside Jokes
22-23 Eastside Grill, Olio Kensington Street, The Six Best Foods To Fight A Hangover 24
Album reviews, First Drafts
25
Off The Record, Out & About
26
Jade Imagine, undergroundLOVERS, Kim Churchill
27
Test your knowledge: how many of these artists can you name?
19
28-29 Live reviews 30
Gig guide
the frontline
23 The Getaway Plan
with Chris Martin, Brandon John and David Molloy ISSUE 713: Wednesday May 17, 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, Brandon John ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant PHOTOGRAPHER: Ashley Mar ADVERTISING: Josh Burrows - 0411 025 674 josh.burrows@seventhstreet.media PUBLISHER: Seventh Street Media CEO, SEVENTH STREET MEDIA: Luke Girgis - luke.girgis@seventhstreet.media MANAGING EDITOR: Poppy Reid poppy.reid@seventhstreet.media THE GODFATHER: BnJ GIG GUIDE: gigguide@thebrag.com
ROCK’N’ROLL MARKET ON TOUR
SYDNEY FRINGE IS BACK
Sydney’s beloved Rock ‘N’ Roll & Alternative Market is hosting a special event this month as part of Vivid Sydney. A motza of the Inner West’s fi nest bands will perform at the Factory Theatre on Sunday May 28, alongside the famous stalls trading in music, retro and vintage fashion, plus food, bars and the Dr. Banks Guitar Clinic. The action will take place across four different stages, with appearances from Cruisin’ Deuces, The Drey Rollan Band, JD and The Hunger Men, The Hollerin’ Sluggers and more.
Sydney Fringe Festival has announced the first round of what it promises will be its “most ambitious program yet”. Highlights include the month-long Kensington Street Festival Village in Chippendale, which will launch on Saturday September 2 with Fringe Ignite, the official opening party. Two pop-up spaces will operate for the month: comedy venue The Glasshouse, and immersive theatre space The Cottage. There are also big plans to convert a space adjacent to Sydney Park into the new HPG Festival Hub – a hangar-sized area which will be “enlivened by Fringe with monthly events starting this May and continuing through the month of September with multiple performance spaces, a circus hub, exhibitions, creative offices, installations and immersive art experiences”. The festival runs throughout September, with the full program to be revealed in August.
GRIM RHYTHM HIT THE ROAD
Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046
One of the worst-kept secrets on the Melbourne live music scene, Grim Rhythm, are fi nally emerging from the shadows with their debut studio LP. The pub rockers have spent six years as strictly a live act, and their reputation even led them to shows in North America last year. But it’s about time they landed on our stereos as well as our stages, and so What Do You Know About Rock’N’Roll is due for release on Friday June 9. Naturally, Grim Rhythm will launch it at Frankie’s Pizza on Sunday June 18.
EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of the BRAG.
BIGSOUND’S FIRST LINEUP
AWESOME INTERN: Harriet Flitcroft 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, Augustus Welby, Jessica Westcott, Zanda Wilson, Stephanie Yip, David James Young
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Carrie Huang - accounts@seventhstreet.vc (02) 9713 9269 Level 2, 9-13 Bibby St, Chiswick NSW 2046 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 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get the BRAG? Email george.sleiman@ seventhstreet.vc PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 follow us:
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Australia’s BIGSOUND festival/industry conference is back for its 16th year, and once again it’s bringing some high-profi le guests to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley from Tuesday September 5 – Friday September 8, including local legends and big industry players. The festival has just announced its first speakers for 2017, and has named the iconic Archie Roach and Tina Arena as its first Australian artist keynotes, alongside a host of local and international speakers and guests including Andrew Jervis of Bandcamp, Eva Trionis of Ninja Tune, and Quentin Tarantino’s music supervisor Mary Ramos. This year will also mark the first appearance of the $100,000 Levi’s Music Prize, a prize pool judged by the festival’s delegates and awarded to BIGSOUND alumni to help foster them in the next stages of their careers, and encourage new bands to involve themselves in the showcases and be in the running for next year’s prize. Visit bigsound.org.au to apply for this year’s event.
GETAWAY GO BACK TO THE START The Getaway Plan are back to celebrate one of their career milestones. Other Voices, Other Rooms is now nine (nine!) years old, having landed in the top 20 of the ARIA charts upon its release in 2008. Following a successful return to their classic tracks at Unify Gathering, The Getaway Plan are now set to perform their debut record in full on a national tour this September. See where it all began at the Metro Theatre on Friday September 15.
Sydney Film Festival
SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM LANDS Sydney’s screens will light up yet again for the Sydney Film Festival’s 64th iteration, celebrating the best and brightest the industry has to offer from home and away. This year’s festivities foreground a renewed focus on documentary output, with indigenous director Warwick Thornton’s We Don’t Need A Map kicking off proceedings on Opening Night with an examination of Southern Cross mythology. It’s one of many films that focus on Australia’s Aboriginal history and cultural diversity, as well as the crises that face Australians (and prospective Australians) of today. Music fans are well served by a lineup of music-oriented docos that touch on the life of Whitney Houston (Whitney), the career of Johnny Rotten (The Public Image Is Rotten), and Iggy Pop interviewing French author Michel Houllebecq (To Stay Alive – A Method). Sydney Film Festival 2017 runs from Wednesday June 7 – Sunday June 18 across the city. Book your tickets at sff.org.au.
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From your first day at SAE, you’ll start creating in world-class facilities, on the latest software and equipment, all under the guidance of our expert lecturers – because at SAE, we believe to be job ready, you need to know the job.
ENROLMENTS FOR MAY CLOSE SOON sae.edu.au 1800 723 338 BRISBANE | BYRON BAY | SYDNEY | MELBOURNE | ADELAIDE I PERTH I ONLINE
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Back To Business Music Industry News with Lars Brandle
breaking biz
Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid
Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid is out at Epic Records. The prominent US executive had run the label for nearly six years as chairman/ CEO, and is widely credited with having turned the heat up on the careers of Meghan Trainor, Future, Travi$ Scott, DJ Khaled and many others. Reid is a household name in the US who got a discreet mention in Pink’s early career hit ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’, and enjoyed stints as chairman of Island Def Jam and as a judge on the US version of The X Factor. Reid made his reputation in the ’90s with LaFace Records and its roster of acts which included OutKast, Goodie Mob,
FIGHTING OVER ROYALTY Looking ahead, Universal will hope to improve its bottom line to the tune of US$31 million by disentangling itself from a deal with Prince’s estate. UMG is calling for the Carver County District Court in Minnesota to rescind a multi-year agreement struck in February which would give the company exclusive licensing rights to Prince’s post1996 catalogue and the US rights to “certain renowned albums” from his Warner Bros. era (1979-1996). The deal, much like the handling of many aspects of Prince’s estate, has turned into a mess, and UMG wants its money back. The company is blaming former estate entertainment advisor L. Londell McMillan for misleading them over the terms of the arrangement. McMillan has denied this and pointed out, “There are parties that are new to the Prince estate and unfamiliar with the music industry. They may need time to figure it all out.” UMG isn’t the only music major playing an upbeat note. Warner Music Group is also on a tear, posting its seventh consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth. WMG reported revenue of $825 million, up 10.7%, for its second quarter ending March 31, with digital revenue driving the gains. During the period, digital revenue rose 21.9% (or 23.3% in constant currency) and accounted for more than half of the company’s total revenue: 53.2%, up from 48.3% in same quarter in 2016. “Our streaming revenue is now double that of physical and triple that of downloads,” explained WMG CEO Steve Cooper, who declared it “another excellent quarter”. Cooper, who recently hammered out terms with YouTube, added, “An improved industry environment is helping, but we continue to outperform our competition due to fantastic new music and outstanding execution by our operators around the world.” Net income came in at US$20 million, against $12 million in the same period last year, and operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) was $141 million versus $127 million last year.
Toni Braxton and TLC (LaFace was later absorbed into Arista). His shock departure from Epic last Thursday came just hours after Columbia CEO Rob Stringer rose to CEO of Sony Music. Universal Music Group, the world’s biggest music company, has produced its sixth successive quarter of growth with a revenue of €1.284 billion (AU$1.897 billion), up 12.7% in the first quarter ending March 31, 2017. The music giant citied gains from streaming services (up nearly 50% to €467 million) and big-shifting records from The Weeknd, Drake and soundtracks for La La Land, Fifty Shades Darker and Disney’s Moana for a 12.2% spike in recorded music revenue to €1.016 billion. Also within its recorded music division, revenue from downloads fell to €155 million (from €197 million), and the business for physical soundcarriers eroded slightly to €226 million, while licensing was up slightly to €168 million. Universal’s music publishing (up 17.1% to €220 million) and merch operations (up 13.3% to €47 million) were solid. UMG’s execs are confident the company will continue on its growth trajectory thanks to a stacked lineup of album releases featuring Lana Del Ray, Feist, Imagine Dragons, Lorde, Pearl Jam, Katy Perry, Shania Twain and a 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
CROSSING BORDERS An EDM storm is brewing. China’s leading festival production firm A2LiVE has announced plans to roll out its Storm Music Festival into 11 cities, including events in Australia and Taiwan for the first time. The festival will come to Sydney and Taipei sometime in 2017, though precise dates and venues haven’t been announced. The tour will also visit nine Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, up from five last year. With Budweiser on board as headline sponsor, Storm launched in 2013, pulling an estimated 24,000 punters to a show in Shanghai featuring headliners Axwell, Zedd and others. A2LiVE’s self-assured growth strategy comes soon after rival brand Ultra unveiled its own move into China with a two-day fest in Shanghai from September 9-10, and announced plans to bring its Road To Ultra events to Australia and India. With the Big Day Out, Soundwave, Future Music Festival and Stereosonic all missing from the Aussie festivals calendar, expect to see more foreign players enter the market.
Robert Miles
THE BIG STAGE Life isn’t all a big party for Ultra Music Festival right now. The business is embroiled in a legal battle with Croatian promoter Adria MM Productions, which licenses the Ultra festival brand for the annual event in Split. According to the Miami New Times, Adria MM accused the Miami live music business of making outrageous demands and blocking them from social media, while Ultra hit back with a counter complaint claiming the Croatian promoter breached its contract, organised unauthorised events and shared trade secrets. The latest iteration of Ultra Europe is still scheduled to go ahead from July 14-16 in Split.
departures Robert Miles, the European DJ and producer who created one of mid-’90s clubland’s favourite works, ‘Children’, has died at 47. Miles’ signature tune was a hit with partygoers across both sides of the Atlantic and Down Under, reaching number two on the UK singles chart and number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Swissborn artist also won a Brit Award for Best International Breakthrough, and landed a top ten on the UK albums chart with Fable. Miles died in Ibiza on May 9 after a months-long battle with stage four metastatic cancer.
SINKS RISES TO THE HILLTOP
Melbourne MC and producer Sinks (real name Alex Sinclair) is the winner of the 2017 Hilltop Hoods Initiative. The spoils include legal advice from David Vodicka and Media Arts Lawyers, a Love Police ATM merchandise start-up kit and a $10,000 grant from Hilltop Hoods and APRA AMCOS for the manufacturing and promotion of an album. Sinks, who has already won a triple j Unearthed competition and supported the likes of Action Bronson and Mobb Deep, gave his thanks for the “epic moment”. Hilltop Hoods founded the initiative 12 years ago to give emerging hip hop artists and soul artists a leg-up. “Expect a lot more material soon,” he posted on Facebook. Sinks
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WMG’s execs aren’t sitting still. Max Lousada, the recently promoted chief for WMG’s recorded music activities worldwide, has hired Chris Bovill and John Allison from 4Creative, the in-house agency at UK TV network Channel 4, MBW reports. The pair will lead the UK company’s ‘Firepit’, a creative content division which incorporates a cutting-edge recording studio and innovation lab with a view to “incubate emerging technologies” for WMG’s affiliates.
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THE DOTTED LINE Spotify has tapped Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co to advise on a possible listing on the New York Stock Exchange. The market-leading music streaming service is expected to go public later this year or early next year, sources close to the situation told Reuters. A rare direct listing would give the Swedish company a means to operate on the NYSE without raising any new money or issuing new shares to public investors. Spotify, which now boasts more than 50 million paid subscribers, is reportedly valued at around $13 billion.
Jay Z
ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR LIVE NATION’S CUP RUNNETH OVER He might have 99 problems, but for Jay Z, cash flow ain’t one. The entrepreneur and hip hop great has entered into a ten-year touring deal with Live Nation worth US$200 million, sources tell Billboard. The arrangement covers worldwide touring, with Live Nation as producer and promoter, but not recorded music. “For the next ten years,” says Jay Z of his new pact with LN, “we will continue redefining the live event landscape.” In other news, LN’s Ticketmaster business has launched its white label festival ticketing solution Front Gate Tickets in the United Kingdom. Front Gate is seen as a big picture project for LN as it retools for the festivals space. The Texas-based company has powered almost 20 million ticket sales, processing more than $300 million in sales in a single year, and activated over six million RFID wristbands (in 2015 when it acquired a controlling stake in C3 from AEG and C3 Presents). Front Gate’s US clients include Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, Electric Daisy Carnival and Austin City Limits Music Festival.
MaY Sat 27 The Basement, Sydney, NSW Sun 28 Thirroul RAILWAY Hall, NSW Onstage @ 7:30pm NEW ALBUM OUT NOW! VISIT JEFFLANG.COM.AU FOR MORE INFO.
the final word Financing giant KKR is pumping US$150 million into Pandora as a strategic investment. But the cash injection comes as the internet radio firm posts first quarter revenues of $316 million with a quarterly net loss of $132.3 million. The New York Times and others are asking, is the writing on the wall for Pandora? Tune in to find out…
free stuff
win
MADE IN SYDNEY MAY 10, 2017
Northeast Party House are a band on the rise. Fresh from Groovin The Moo and Like A Version, they’re touring Australia on the back of their new single ‘Calypso Beach’. We’ve got a double pass to the sold-out Sydney show at the Factory Theatre on Friday May 26. For your chance to win:
1.
Take a photo of this week’s BRAG cover starring Northeast Party House
2.
Post it to Instagram with the hashtag #CalypsoBeachTour
3.
Follow @thebragmag to find out if you’ve won!
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NORTHEAST
MUSIC, COMEDY, FILM + MORE
PART Y HOUSE IT'S THEIR BIGGEST YEAR YET
[
TAKE A PHOTO OF THIS COVER TO WIN NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE TICKETS DETAILS P7
ALSO INSIDE:
SKUNKHOUR
[
SMOKING MARTHA , THE SILENCIO, THE HAM FUNERAL , GEORGE SAUNDERS, EASTSIDE GRILL , SIX OF THE BEST ANTI-HANGOVER FOODS AND MORE!
DOES THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY HAVE A DRUG PROBLEM?
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COVER STORY
NORTHEAST PARTY HOUSE Who Dares Wins BY ERIN ROONEY
O
ver the course of the seven years since Northeast Party House first came together, the band has undergone a change of identity. With a revolving door of old members leaving and new ones stepping in, the Melburnians have finally settled into the six-member lineup they
are today.
Singer Zach Hamilton-Reeves has been there since day one, and he’s experienced first-hand the shift in their sound from their debut album Any Given Weekend to its follow-up, Dare. “Changing people really changes the direction of the band,” Hamilton-Reeves says. “All of us write and we want to keep that ethos in the band and that vibe – it can change with each member.” It’s not difficult to hear this change in Dare. Northeast Party House have certainly matured since their triple j Unearthed days, and this album is more cohesive and challenging than their first release. Hamilton-Reeves puts this down to a different writing process – they tried to analyse what they’ve done in the past, improve their writing skills and set new goals.
“We have always written more indie rock or kind of Foals-y music, so it’s a departure from that. It’s the first song I’ve written that I would actually classify as a dance song for our band. I have some personal ties to it because of the beginnings of the song – it connected to a specific memory.” That specific memory, Hamilton-Reeves says, was having a “big fat comedown” on a Wet’n’Wild theme park ride that forced him to contemplate his life so far. It’s a heady theme, but Northeast Party House really are all about having a good time. Hamilton-Reeves stresses that people should interpret their lyrics at face value. “Writing lyrics, we’re not Leonard Cohen,” he laughs. “It’s something that people should be able to switch off to and enjoy. And I’m sure it will still resonate with people when it needs to or when they want to, but it’s about having fun.” The Northeast Party House lineup isn’t the only thing that’s changed over the last few years. Hamilton-Reeves says he’s constantly trying to improve himself; that “knowledge is power”, and he values learning from other singers and talking to as many people as possible from all over the music industry.
“We wanted it to be better, more polished, less of a focus on ‘boring’ rhythms. The whole of Any Given Weekend is just the same rhythm in every song, kind of the same BPM, so we tried to mix it up a bit from that.”
And there have definitely been some humbling moments for Hamilton-Reeves during his career so far, like working with Nkechi Anele from Saskwatch on a triple j Like A Version performance of Childish Gambino’s ‘Redbone’.
Northeast Party House have typically written grungy indie rock tracks, but in Dare they step into electro and dance, an attempt to include more variation. While ‘For You’ became an undeniable summer anthem, Hamilton-Reeves has a special connection with ‘Calypso Beach’ – an album track that might otherwise have slipped under the radar. The band is currently playing a string of shows around Australia to celebrate the new single, and the frontman says it represents a fresh approach to songwriting.
“It really highlighted to us that other people have different strengths within their voices, and how much a different sound can stretch what you’re doing, and her voice is so amazing. When we were practising, she came in to practise with us just before it, and I was just blown away. She’s much better than I am!”
“We wanted it to be better, more polished, less of a focus on ‘boring’ rhythms.” 8 :: BRAG :: 713 :: 17:05:17
If anything, though, Hamilton-Reeves has become too humble. Like many Australian bands that have risen to fame over the past two decades, Northeast Party House first received attention from triple j Unearthed. Their song ‘Dusk’ led them to radio play, and they even won the coveted triple j Unearthed slot at Pyramid Rock festival in 2010. But looking at the level of talent on the Aussie music scene today – artists like Tkay Maidza, Julia Jacklin and more – Hamilton-Reeves genuinely can’t believe his band even made it on the radio in the first place. “I cannot believe we got Unearthed with our song – it sounds ridiculous listening
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to the quality of it, and you listen to the quality of someone else from triple j Unearthed or anyone that can go on triple j Unearthed – it’s not even comparable. I think we got lucky!” Most recently, his personal growth, Hamilton-Reeves has started learning how to play the guitar. Though his parents are both musicians and he’s picked up an instrument or two over the years, nothing has really stuck, and he’s already found that learning guitar has been his biggest challenge over the past year. “I figured that I hadn’t withheld any knowledge about instruments, so that’s why I’m trying to learn guitar, which is pretty fucked. I’d say that’s probably the hardest thing I’ve dealt with. That and money.” When asked how he managed to become a musician without learning an instrument, he says it’s been pretty
organic. But it certainly hasn’t been easy. “I could sing anything on my voice or create any drum beat, and then just go to a computer and work that out. But it’s not a very natural process, and it’s not a very quick process I’ve found. It means you get the initial ideas out quickly, and that’s good because that’s how I write, but then you have to spend the time to make it sound good and what works for that, and that’s not an aspect of music that I particularly enjoy.” The live shows, on the other hand, are something he is definitely passionate about. Though Northeast Party House have just played Groovin The Moo, and they’ve been around the festival scene for many years, Hamilton-Reeves says there’s something about a more intimate show that can’t be beaten. “The big shows are definitely satisfying – to see so many people enjoying something that you’ve created is amazing – but you find sometimes that the small
shows surprise you and it’s a lot more intimate so it gives you lots of energy.” But next on the agenda, Hamilton-Reeves says it’s time for Northeast Party House to relax for a bit and focus on getting better before they hit the studio again. “It’s really easy to fall into a trap of trying to pump things out, but it’s also really important to just sit back and reflect on what you guys have done and think about what you’re going to do next, and how you’re going to do it better, then try to achieve that.”
“I cannot believe we got Unearthed with our song – it sounds ridiculous listening to the quality of it.”
Because at the end of the day, as he puts it, “We’re just a happy band having a good ol’ time.” What: Dare out now through Stop Start/ Inertia With: Mosquito Coast Where: Factory Theatre When: Friday May 26
“I’m sure it will still resonate with people when it needs to or when they want to, but it’s about having fun.”
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FEATURE
“We don’t need to rely on big pedal board set-ups but we can still manage to make each song sound unique and its own.”
The Silencio An Acoustic Approach To Prog By Brandon John
M
ost fans of progressive rock will argue that one of the best things about the genre is the heavy instrumentation that features on the tracks; the sheer weight and power of the effects-laden, often distorted guitars that make the genre what it is. Sometimes, though, an act can come by that turns this whole idea on its head by taking a very different approach.
Jan Nicholas Blom says their acoustic approach is no gimmick.
Such is the case with Gold Coast band The Silencio, a four-piece prog rock group whose two guitarists leave the standard kit at home and pack acoustic guitars instead. Already, purists of the genre may be screaming out in opposition, but the band’s intriguing approach provides a refreshing take on the genre, and opens up a whole new range of sonic possibilities.
“Everyone that now completes The Silencio lineup comes from heavy metal backgrounds. Personally, however, I have always enjoyed many varied styles of music, and early Silverchair and Vast were major influences on what I was writing in the beginning. From there the music has evolved into what you hear now.
The Silencio have just released their newest track ‘Been There All Along’, and with their debut album Anathema on the way later this year, guitarist/vocalist
“When we first started we weren’t sure how to label our genre, so we used the term ‘prog’.” 10 :: BRAG :: 713 :: 17:05:17
“Originally the band was a solo project, but because my acoustic songs relied heavily on rhythm, the idea was brought forward to include drums and bass,” he explains. “We then realised quickly we’d stumbled across something quite unique.
“We’ve all played in other bands along the way,” Blom adds. “With this band, though, we’ve maintained the sound you hear today. When we first started we weren’t sure how to label our genre, so we used the term ‘prog’, since some earlier tracks didn’t have standard song structure. We feel that implementing a more straightforward writing style to our songs has made our music more accessible.” The Silencio’s set-up is definitely unusual, and more of a hybrid between an acoustic and amplified approach – there’s no
acoustic bass or bongos to be found here. “We run our acoustic guitars and keyboards through custom DI units that we had made,” Blom explains, “but bass and drums are as normal as any other band.” With music as experimental as this, it took The Silencio a bit of trial and error to develop their sound – but Blom maintains that the process really isn’t that different from any other band. “We’ve always written our songs as though they’re being played on distorted guitars. We are, however, always careful to consider how drums, bass and keys will fill out the sound overall. Personally, I like that we don’t need to rely on big pedal board set-ups but we can still manage to make each song sound unique and its own, while essentially using the same guitar tones. “I wouldn’t say it was challenging as such, but we definitely tried a lot of different amp set-ups and guitars before we found the sound you hear now. Since working that element out, the only hurdle is now trying to explain to in-house sound engineers who have never heard us before what we need to sound like, as we don’t need to be mixed quite like usual bands.”
While acoustic guitars might conjure up images of a single player perched on a stool, The Silencio insist they pack as much of a punch on the live stage as their more amplified brethren. “We turn up as loud as the venue will allow and rock out the same way any other band would,” says Blom. “The biggest element to our live show was ensuring everyone in the band could sing the harmonies I recorded in a live setting, so as to not have to rely on backing tracks.” As the vocals shift from soft to searing, the rest of the band adjusts accordingly to ensure the acoustic elements never get drowned out. “I believe that is a part of what makes the band unique – we tend to play harder when the vocals are more intense,” Blom says. “The big thing with The Silencio is how we use our other instruments to keep the impact where it should be.” Having established a firm grip on their sound, The Silencio are focused on wrapping it around a series of personal stories, to bring a genuine emotional core to proceedings – and bring their unique brand of prog rock to a whole new set of ears. “For the most part we try to work around the general storytelling layout
“We turn up as loud as the venue will allow and rock out the same way any other band would.” – orientation, complication, conclusion – in order to offer positive resolves,” says Blom. “The songs on this forthcoming debut album have been a general reflection of personal interactions with many different personalities and the conflicts and compromises that come as a result of these encounters. “We really want to reach a large audience with a sound they might not be familiar with. On the back of the upcoming album release, touring and playing live will be the major focus for us for the remainder of the year.” One thing’s for sure: The Silencio are carving out a very unique niche for themselves, and giving an entire genre of music a serious shake-up in the process. What: ‘Been There All Along’ out now independently More: thesilencio.bandcamp. com
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Skunkhour
FEATURE
The Hour Is Nigh By Joseph Earp
“We really pride ourselves on delivering a fuck-off live show.”
L
et’s be totally honest with ourselves: that whole ‘let’s get the band back together’ shtick doesn’t always work. No matter how much punters might miss all those beloved bands that call it quits, their eventual returns so often feel like little more than lazy cash grabs – lacklustre tours and rushed albums designed to scoop up easy armfuls of nostalgia bucks.
Consider Skunkhour the exception to the rule. Although the Australian funk rock legends officially broke up in 2001, burnt out after a full decade of making music, their recent comeback shows have seen them working at the very top of their game, playing with more vigour, intelligence and warmth than ever before. Skunkhour aren’t a band that have simply gotten back together because their
“Most people we know who used to watch us back in the day and have come to any recent shows have told us that they think we are a better band these days.” 12 :: BRAG :: 713 :: 17:05:17
collective coffers were running low – the energetic five-piece, famous for their blend of altrock tropes and acid jazz formlessness, have got back together because they couldn’t bloody keep away. “The [2016 comeback] show went ballistic,” says the band’s vocalist-cum-rapper Del Larkin. “For me it was in the top three shows we’ve ever done. The whole place was singing along and getting their groove on, right up to the back of the Metro. We couldn’t wait to do it again. We just had to give it some space between the two [comeback] shows, otherwise they might lose their niche.” For their upcoming reunion tour, Skunkhour will be playing
their beloved hit record Feed in full, rewarding dedicated fans with a track-by-track walkthrough of that Australian classic. “Feed was our biggest album and went gold. It’s the album that helped us cross over into the triple j indie rock scene. I have a feeling this [tour] will be fully hectic too.” Of course, the comprehensive nature of the tour has forced the band to repeatedly revisit the 22-year-old Feed itself, an experience that hasn’t always been exactly pleasant. There aren’t many of us who would be entirely comfortable with digging up something so personal buried so deeply in our past – it’d be like poring over that diary you kept when you were a teenager.
“There’s about four songs off of Feed that we have not played in a very, very long time,” Larkin says. “Songs like ‘Part Of The Solution’ and ‘Stay Close’. That makes the show quite scary. But it’s [also] exciting at the same time. Actually, I think that’s the best part of this gig for us and the fans. We are both in for some new treats. “Most people we know who used to watch us back in the day and have come to any recent shows have told us that they think we are a better band these days. We used to play most of our stuff far too fast and too loud. I think that happens when you play a lot of rock venues and maybe tour too much. Now we really made the effort to listen to the
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“We used to play most of our stuff far too fast and too loud.” original recordings again and to make sure that we are true to the dynamics and feel of the original. That also makes the set more engaging for the crowd, because there’s more contrast and variety in the material.” Of course, the band also had that other major difficulty to traverse: each other. Not that Skunkhour’s split back in 2001 was any more acrimonious than most – there have been a whole host of Australian bands whose fallings out have been significantly more messy – but there is always at least a degree of awkwardness involved when a group of musicians who actively decided to leave each other be for a while are forced back into each other’s company. Yet as far as Larkin is concerned, the harmoniousness of Skunkhour’s post-reformation relationship can be attributed entirely to how easy they’re all now taking things. The pressure is off these days – they’re not writing or playing in order to score bigger, better record deals, nor to keep a roof over their head. They’ve done all that shit; paid all those dues. Instead, they’re playing the shows because they want to.
Smoking Martha
FEATURE
Holding All The Aces By Anna Rose
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ultry, smoky, chunky and honest, Smoking Martha’s forthcoming album In Deep has everything you’d want from a rock band in 2017. However, as the band’s frontwoman Tasha Doherty contends, being a woman in the music industry isn’t without its challenges. “It’s a hard one because sometimes [having a female singer] helps us, but other times it doesn’t,” says Doherty. “I think it can defi nitely make us stand out from the rest, but it can be harder because there’ll be bands that just don’t want a female singer to support them. “Another problem is, you can get stereotyped as being a typical female-fronted band that everybody knows, like Evanescence, Paramore … People will say, ‘Oh, it’s like that,’ and I say, ‘Oh, I don’t think it is!’ They automatically do it, but if it was a guy singing, you wouldn’t get that.” However, that doesn’t mean Smoking Martha shy away from
“I stay away from that kind of cheesy-style lyrics. I look for real emotion.” addressing the same issues in their music as their peers. Rock music is typically upfront about matters of sex and romance, and Doherty has no problem asserting her femininity in her lyrics – even if she risks being judged for it. “It’s defi nitely riskier being a female [singer],” she says. “Some people understand it and others don’t. I defi nitely think it’s happening more and more – women are singing sexy and being more risqué with your lyrics – but it’s hard because you don’t want it to come across a certain way. It’s got to be very true and very raw. “Lyrics, for me – I don’t come out with something if it’s going to be cheesy. I stay away from
that kind of cheesy-style lyrics. I look for real emotion. It’s gotta be coming from somewhere. It’s important for me to be true to what I believe in, and I get inspiration from everyone, whether it be girlfriends I know or myself, what I’m feeling or thinking. Those topics do come up, like in [the song] ‘What’s Her Name?’. I mean, how many people think their partners are cheating or how many times are you obsessive in relationships? These are feelings that I can definitely magnify in songs.” Although rock’n’roll is still in its relative youth – humans have been making music for millennia, after all – bands like Smoking Martha can find their melodic conversations risk becoming repetitive. Doherty, however, is
happy to let each song decide on its own direction. “We write a song and I go with whatever comes to me – it’s more about keeping it fun and interesting enough for me to want to keep singing it,” she says. “I don’t think about what other people think of the songs. It might be a bit selfi sh, but I’m not going to sing a song I don’t believe in. “The topics go over and over, but it is hard to pick a thing no one has sung about – but there’s got to be something going on in life that people can relate to. Sometimes singing about heartbreak and soppy love songs is the easiest way. ‘Stranger Things’ is about the fight it takes to be in a band, the fight for anything really that you’re not getting. Hopefully the songs you can take in your own way.” What: In Deep out independently on Friday May 19 Where: Frankie’s Pizza When: Thursday May 18
“There’ll be bands that just don’t want a female singer to support them.”
“It’s really difficult to have business that’s in the creative arts and that also relies on five people having to constantly tour, promote, strategize, rehearse, negotiate deals and keep it creative and fun,” says Larkin. “It’s like a five-way marriage. Now we all have jobs, partners and most of us have kids and all the responsibilities that come along with it. It’s fun now. There’s no pressure any more. It’s like ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’, baby. Yew!” Of course, just as Skunkhour have changed, so too have their audiences. The years have affected the crowds who come to the shows just as much they have affected the band cranking out the songs. Most importantly, Larkin stresses, the audiences seem almost more appreciative; happier to be there; more chuffed to drink in every chord. Oh, and they also don’t mosh as much – whether that’s because they’re so totally focused or because their bodies don’t quite let them in the same way is up to you. “I think if [people] are still coming to see us after all these years, then they know that we really pride ourselves on delivering a fuck-off live show,” Larkin says. “There’s no moshing and stage-diving now, which I’m very pleased about as moshes tend to distract and divide the audience. [Now] every single person in the crowd is there for [a] purpose.” Where: Metro Theatre When: Saturday May 27
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FEATURE
DOES THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY HAVE A
DRUG PROBLEM? BY JOSEPH E ARP
The Drugs Don’t Work: A History Of Drugs In Music “Man what’s the matter with that cat there? / Must be full of reefer!”
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here are certain images that have become seared onto the pop culture consciousness. Images of tortured musicians slumped over their guitars, needles sticking out from their track-mark-studded arms. Images of great rock’n’roll doyens hoovering up blow in a jacuzzi. Images of performers searching for a quick pick-me-up before they head out under the bright lights of the stage. These are images that we now know intimately, that belong almost entirely to the realm of cliché.
After all, drugs and rock’n’roll are so deeply intertwined with one another that we often talk about both when only specifically mentioning one. They mean the same things to us. They mean excess, privilege, self-destruction and wealth. They mean all the things that maybe we don’t often admit to ourselves that we want, and all the things that we know might ultimately kill us. Many of rock’n’roll’s most mythic, legendary tales concern the imbibing of titanic amounts of illicit substances. We are obsessed with these stories; we tell them to ourselves over and over across different mediums. They’re stories about musicians succumbing to the allure of drugs and then slowly, defiantly rising back up to the top. Indeed, we like our heroes to come pretty fucked up. That’s why we are obsessed with the chemical fortitude of Motörhead’s Lemmy, a man who once claimed years of abuse had turned his blood into a treacly, narcotic-laced sludge. That’s why we love The Beatles’ experimental years, that short period where the once fresh-faced Fab Four transformed into a semi-mystic troupe of Jodorowsky-esque astral pioneers. And that’s why we love the punky detachment of Lou Reed, that arch junkie whose work was so often composed to be enjoyed with the help of hallucinogens.
– Cab Calloway, ‘Reefer Man’ Indeed, as far back as 1938, hysterical muckrackers like Radio Stars journalist Jack Hanley were writing articles topped with fearmongering headlines such as ‘Exposing The Marijuana Drug Evil In Swing Bands’. “One leader told me of a young man in his band who was a crackerjack musician, but who used the weed so consistently that he was quite undependable,” wrote Hanley, the moral outrage shimmering just beneath the surface of his words. “The fits of deep depression reefers so often produce would seize him until he had to be restrained from suicide.” That’s not even to mention the fact a host of songs now considered rock’n’roll standards were initially written as paeans dedicated to the losing of one’s mind. Songs about pot defined the ’30s, a decade in which immensely popular performer Stuff Smith released the weed smoke-smothered ‘If You’re A Viper’, and the ’40s weren’t much cleaner – think boppy, seemingly bright and family-friendly tunes bursting with references to getting high and getting down. Even ‘La Cucaracha’, that most seemingly innocent of songs (you know the one: that gleeful, leery tune we associate equally with sports chants and with Mexico) is actually about pot-smoking. “‘La Cucaracha’ crackled with life, a swaying Spanish-tune-turnedMexican corrido quickly picked up by jazz bands and danced into popular music,” writes Margaret Moser in ‘If You’re A Viper’, her brilliant article penned for The Austin Chronicle about the history of drugs in music.
This isn’t a contemporary endemic either, or one that began with the boomers. Lemmy, Reed and The Beatles might be the first people we think of when we think of coked-up creatives, and yet they are but children compared to the performers of the ’30s and ’40s, the whacked-out weirdos who regularly pumped themselves full of a range of illicit substances. “Drugs have long provided popular music with one of its more ambivalent subjects,” noted the writer Andy Gill in an article for The Independent. “The image of the jolly ‘reeferman’ is a recurring figure in jazz lore, and Ella Fitzgerald’s jocular ‘Wacky Dust’ [testifies] to the properties of cocaine.”
“Music is fulfilling. The next day you feel better. Drugs, the next day you feel terrible – unless you have more drugs.” – NE IL YOUNG 14 :: BRAG :: 713 :: 17:05:17
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“A host of songs now considered rock’n’roll standards were initially written as paeans dedicated to the losing of one’s mind.”
FEATURE
Writing High: Drugs And Creativity “Once I’d tried it, I found it initially very agreeable, and very creative.” – Damon Albarn
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Albarn’s working ‘method’ was to stick to five days on heroin and then take two days off, in the process developing the kind of formalised, rigid schedule he assumed would stop him from spiralling into an all-out addiction. And it really worked – or at least, so he said. As far as Albarn was concerned, the heroin freed him up: it allowed him to think of chords and lyrics that would usually be barred from him; it pushed and it challenged him. Heroin was his muse. As one might be able to imagine, Albarn got himself into a lot of trouble over the interview – detractors from all walks of life argued he was romanticising drug use, leading his potentially young, vulnerable fans down a fraught path. ▲
“Drugs and rock’n’roll are so deeply intertwined with one another that we often talk about both when only specifically mentioning one.”
n 2014, Blur and Gorillaz bandleader Damon Albarn sat down with an interviewer from Q magazine and in his gentle, lilting Essex accent, methodically extolled the benefits of heroin use. “I hate talking about this because of my daughter, my family,” Albarn said. “But, for me, [heroin] was incredibly creative … A combination of [heroin] and playing really simple, beautiful, repetitive shit in Africa changed me completely as a musician. I found a sense of rhythm. I somehow managed to break out of something with my voice.”
“Those stories are impressive, ’cause they kinda make us think our heroes are even more heroic.” – A MUSICIAN INTERVIEWED BY THE BRAG
“No song better evoked the languorous image of life south of the border in vintage films, newsreels, and radio programs of the day. Yet few people realized the lyrics bespoke a cockroach’s yearning to stay high: ‘La cucaracha ya no puede caminar … por que no tiene marihuana por fumar,’ basically translates as, ‘The cockroach can no longer walk because he doesn’t have any marijuana to smoke.’” By the time the ’50s and ’60s rolled around and the American counterculture movement strengthened and solidified, the theme of drug use took hold over pop music and rock’n’roll. Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On set the tone for all pot-laced pop epics that followed it; Charlie Parker’s An Evening At Home With Charlie Parker Sextet was a scatty, frenetic ode to heroin use; and Frankie Lymon’s The Teenagers Featuring Frankie Lymon was indebted to the drugs that would eventually claim Lymon’s life. And from then till now, drugs and music have only become further entrenched in one another. They have only grown closer; each more indebted to the other as the years roll on. “I think in many ways, it seems more odd now to encounter a band that doesn’t have at least one mention of drugs than it does to encounter a band that has lots of references to drugs,” one anonymous writer tells the BRAG. “It’s almost what we expect from music now.” So, one has to ask: what has all that drug talk done to the popular consciousness? The question, for the record, is not designed to be framed in a puritanical way. It’s not a question about whether or not songs concerned with drugs have turned our children to the devil, or fried their brains, or corrupted them and their youth. It’s more a question about whether or not we can even talk about drugs in music effectively in 2017. When you can no longer separate myth, lies, fiction and reality, can you say anything with any real authority? At this stage, given all the stories that we have told ourselves, is it possible that we have lost sight of reality, confused by larger-than-life figures and their drug habits? Have the grand characters of rock’n’roll’s history become overly mythologised, now as true to life as the characters in children’s fairy tales? And, perhaps most pressingly of all – do we even know how to talk about drugs in the music industry any more?
“Do we even know how to talk about drugs in the music industry any more?” thebrag.com
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FEATURE
“I always follow the golden rule: write high, edit sober.”
– BRENDAN MACLEAN
“They were taking around a hat so people could pool in and all buy a little bit of coke together. That stuff is pretty normal, actually.” – A MUSIC INDUSTRY SOURCE INTERVIEWED BY THE BRAG I used to take Xanax but that made me too sleepy. I suppose what I’m looking for is to get out of my daily routine. Otherwise it’s to stay awake, twist the song or just because I like being stoned. And I mean, I always follow the golden rule: write high, edit sober.” It’s not just downers either: there are a range of drugs musicians use to help shape and sculpt their work. There are those who drop acid while writing; those, like Albarn, who come out punching from heroin’s corner; and those who use stimulants like coke and ecstasy to keep them writing fast and for hours, looking for a way to keep their limbs moving as quickly as their brains. “I used to do coke pretty regularly,” another musician explains to the BRAG. “Just because I could do it and then I wouldn’t really have to worry about sleeping so much. It would just mean that I could churn out a lot of work over the space of a single night. Some of it was a little shitty, but also, a lot of it wasn’t. It just made everything move a lot faster.” “Coke is good for rehearsals,” another musician reveals anonymously. “We would sometimes have a little bit when it was just the three of us, jamming around in a garage. It just means you can get through a lot more, and a lot faster. I suppose it is a bit dangerous, because it can mean you drink more, or maybe lose focus a little bit. But we always found that if we kept on top of it [and] didn’t get too fucked up, it never once was a problem.”
“[Taking drugs] really becomes something that you sort of feel like you have to do after days and days on the road.” – A MUSICIAN INTERVIEWED BY THE BRAG
▲
Nonetheless, although Albarn’s comments could indeed be read as dangerous, they also represent a rare example of a musician talking matter-of-factly about drugs. The one-time poster boy of Britpop wasn’t rambling about sticking a needle into his arm during a raging party, or getting fucked up in order to survive another night on a godawful tour. He was talking about drugs in the language of medication – as though there was something intrinsically casual about them, something that meant they were a mere part of his life, rather than the whole of it. It was, in some ways, a striking change from the usual deluge of toe-curling tales about druggy extremity that have oversaturated the news cycle for years. Albarn’s heroin chat seemed more realistic; more akin to the stories of middling drug use that define the industry for so many of those who work in it. His experience was so much like the experience of those low-level musicians who enjoy lighting up a joint while writing their new record, or those who do a line or two of coke just before hitting the studio. “Illicit drug use in Australia is often rendered as a black-and-white battleground: you’re either a drug user and thus looked down upon as a loser and a criminal, or you’re an anti-drugs totem of purity,” wrote the author Andrew McMillen in a 2014 article for The Guardian. McMillen was also behind the conversation-defining work Talking Smack: Honest Conversations About Drugs, which featured a series of interviews with prominent artists about drug use in the music industry. “Usually the discussion is dominated by politicians, police and sensationalist media outlets who stand together in condemnation of anyone who would dare consume a drug that isn’t alcohol, caffeine, nicotine or a prescribed medication,” McMillen explained. “While working on Talking Smack I found an important distinction to be made: that despite the noisy negatives often associated with drugs at all levels of society, many of my interviewees had positive experiences. This is a rarely-acknowledged truth for many Australians, regardless of whether or not they’re employed in the creative industries.” “I think people really love these big hotel-wrecking stories,” an anonymous musician tells the BRAG, agreeing with McMillen’s assessment. “And you can see why. Those are the stories that people make movies out of. I think that those stories are impressive, ’cause they kinda make us think our heroes are even more heroic. It’s like, ‘Shit, [Jimi] Hendrix was just fucking constantly high, how the fuck did he manage to make all that amazing music when he was so consistently messed up?’ It makes musical heroes harder to understand in a weird way, and that makes them [people] to look up to. “But that means we don’t always talk about what I kinda think [about] as drug use in the music industry, which isn’t usually like that. I mean, it is when addiction gets too much and people start to get out of control and all that. But usually when I’m writing, I will take something – maybe a few caps, maybe smoke a joint – and then write on that. That’s more what I think of when I think about drugs.” Certainly there are a whole host of musicians out there who seek the aid of substances in order to spark their creative fires; those who use drugs to spur on their work.
“The most obvious example of the way a drug can help creativity is that most of us are, for the most part, inhibited in many ways,” Dagher said. “Many drugs, especially in small doses, can relieve that inhibition. Part of creativity is being original. So drugs like cocaine, and perhaps heroin, have that ability to make you have original thoughts.” “What [drugs do] is lower your judgement,” said Harvard neurologist Dr. Alice Flaherty in 2014. “You [just] think what you’re writing is more creative. It reminds me a little of William Stafford, who said that all you have to do to get rid of writer’s block is just lower your standards.” Of course, relying on drugs in order to write has an array of sometimes life-threatening downsides, and remains a dangerously unsustainable long-term method. For a start, believing that simply maintaining a heroin habit will transform you into the next Damon Albarn or Kurt Cobain is the kind of broken reasoning that accounts for a lot of bad bands – and a lot of even worse drug problems. As Dagher himself pointed out, drugs aren’t the creative be-all and end-all, no matter how seductive they might be. “The other thing about creativity is that it’s not just about being disinhibited,” he said. “And it’s not just forming associations – you have to have a certain amount of talent. You need to not just have ideas, but know what are the good ideas and what are the bad ideas.” And that is the common criticism raised by those who see drugs as little more than an expensive, time-consuming crutch; a prodding of creative talents rather than a guaranteed artistic kick up the bum. “I don’t think it’s very helpful to adopt this attitude that is like, ‘Oh, the only way I can write is on drugs,’” says an unnamed artist. “Maybe just like, occasionally using it to flip things on their heads a bit is cool, but to be honest, most of the time ‘drug writing’ is the kind of stuff you could have just done when you are sober anyway. I think people sometimes try to justify their drug use with their art, which is a bit shitty.” Elefant Traks label manager and rapper Urthboy agrees. “I’ve never really had any clear proof [that drug use helps creativity],” he told McMillen for The Guardian. “You can’t say that’s a fact when you write really good stuff without smoking. To ever suggest that weed is an essential ingredient in that process is almost to give up on your own abilities.” One industry player the BRAG spoke to put it even more simply. “It’s kinda fucked to assume that The Who were only The Who because of drugs, or that Pink Floyd was only Pink Floyd because they liked to get fucked up. Then you’re saying that it all it takes to make great music is a lot of money and a good drug dealer. In which case, there’d be a lot more great music out there, that’s for sure.” ▲
“I just [take] the good [drugs],” Australian musician Brendan Maclean jokes. “Weed, dexies…
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uch creative experiences are actually backed up – at least in part – by science. The creative urge can indeed be influenced and altered by a range of drugs, with the neurologist Dr. Alain Dagher noting in an interview with Vice that drugs can “mak[e] conceptual links in your brain between things that you may not normally link”.
“For some musicians, uppers are as important to the touring life as downers and hallucinogens are to the writing of their music.” 16 :: BRAG :: 713 :: 17:05:17
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FEATURE
Performance Enhancing: The Effect Of Drugs On The Live Show ▲
“A drug is not bad. A drug is a chemical compound. The problem comes in when people who take drugs treat them like a licence to behave like an asshole.” – Frank Zappa
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n 1976, iconic American group The Band took to the stage for the very last time. The five-piece went all out for their farewell concert, providing the entire audience with an extravagant turkey dinner to chow down on before the show started, recruiting beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti to get the fans warmed up with some rhymes, roping in a bunch of guest stars to join them onstage for some of their classic songs and hiring a young cinematic maverick named Martin Scorsese to film the proceedings. They called the bonanza The Last Waltz, and did everything they could to make sure it went ahead without a hitch. Which, credit to them, it pretty much did. Notwithstanding the typically snotty stage presence of one Bob Dylan, and a little bit of drunken, boorish behaviour from a few members of the audience before the show started, The Last Waltz was a famously brilliant gig marred only by a large lump of cocaine hanging out of guest performer Neil Young’s nose. See, the ‘Helpless’ singer had treated himself to a little bit of a backstage energy boost, ploughing snout deep into some blow to help him power through his brief appearance onstage. Only thing is, he’d forgotten to wipe his nose afterwards, and the dangling nugget of coke was plainly obvious to everyone in the front row – and, perhaps more disastrously, to the watchful lenses of Scorsese’s cameramen. In fact, Scorsese was later strong-armed into editing the now-infamous cocaine booger out of Young’s nose for the cinematic release of the film. Needless to say, Young was not the first musician to use a chemical aid in order to get through a performance, and he won’t be the last. For some musicians, uppers are as important to the touring life as downers and hallucinogens are to the writing of their music. “I think that really is the biggest way that I personally use drugs,” says one artist. “[Taking drugs] really becomes something that you sort of feel like you have to do after days and days on the road. When you’re touring for really long stretches of time, it becomes harder and harder to play shows – you get over alcohol, you get over your friends, you get a little bit over yourself… drugs help with all that.” Cocaine, caps and heroin tend to be the most common stimulants that accompany performers on the road in Australia. The triumvirate of intoxicants all share endurancestrengthening properties, at least in small doses: they help you push yourself further, play faster, be more present. “You see things that you wouldn’t ordinarily see if you have taken something before a show,” one musician explains to the BRAG. “The whole experience is different for you. Maybe it is what the audience sees when they look at you – they get that buzz and that high that you get when you do drugs.” So alluring are drugs for touring musicians that one artist interviewed for this article says the local Australian punk scene has a widespread heroin problem. He describes hard drug use as being more common than people might think – rather than being
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the kind of substance people only dabble in when pressured by friends, or after a few too many drinks, he suggests that heroin is integral to the scene and the touring capabilities of its members. “It really becomes the kind of thing that people rely on,” he says. “For some musicians, they really can’t perform without it.” It is hard to ascertain whether such a bold claim is exaggerated – for obvious reasons, it is difficult to find knowledgeable sources who are actually willing to be named, or speak on the record in any level of detail – but there are others willing to back up the same story. Indeed, another anonymous industry member reveals that such a severe level of drug use is often facilitated by labels, event managers and those who run festivals. “I was at a reasonably big Australian festival and all these minders came around and offered drugs,” the BRAG is told. “They were coming around with all these hash brownies being like, ‘Who wants some?’ Then, a little later they were taking around a hat so people could pool in and all buy a little bit of coke together. That stuff is pretty normal, actually. There are people who are paid to keep musicians happy. And sometimes what keeps musicians happy is drugs.”
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n the aftermath of digging up such drug stories, one is left feeling a little bit hopeless. People are not keen to talk about chemical abuse when they are even peripherally associated with the public eye – most of the musicians quoted anonymously in this article had to have their arms very much twisted, and even then they sometimes succumbed to vague clichés and half-baked details so as to ensure their tales would not incriminate them. “Pretty much whatever I tell you, someone is going to be able to recognise me from it,” one of the sources says. “And that would majorly suck.” What are we left with, then, but a collection of rumours that people already may well have guessed at – anonymously confirmed stories that indicate yes, the life of a musician is filled with substance abuse and wild parties and all sorts of illicit pickme-ups designed to get them through the rigours of the tour? And what good does learning that kind of stuff do? The answer, though not immediately apparent, is that such stories, no matter how vague, do help get us incrementally closer not only to the truth, but also to a place where the truth might be more openly discussed. Every time we try to talk about drugs the way we would talk about any other consumable – the way we talk about food, the way we talk about clothes – we get a little bit nearer to a kind of acceptance. And this is the only thing that will help us understand drugs; the thing that will help us either work to eliminate the ravages inflicted by its addiction, or to help people use illicit substances in beneficial rather than damaging ways. “Drugs aren’t one way,” a final musician tells the BRAG when asked to contribute to this article. “You shouldn’t write about them in a way that makes them seem like they are.” And they are right. As much as we might like to pigeonhole substances as inherently good or brutal, they are inherently neither. Drugs in the music industry are multifaceted and multi-dimensional; ever-changing beasts that mean a thousand different things to a thousand different people. But they’re definitely there, and probably closer than you think. ■ thebrag.com
arts in focus
The Ham Funeral
FEATURE
[THEATRE] A Conversation Across Generations By Adam Norris
D
espite him holding the title of Australia’s sole Nobel Prize-winning author, it’s doubtful many people read Patrick White for pleasure these days. He’s so very… literary, and significant to Australian letters though he may be, it’s hard to imagine anyone lying about in a patch of sunny parkland reading The Vivisector with glee abandon. Mind you, glee abandon sounds rather unwholesome in the first place. No, the bulk of people will be exposed to White on a university reading list – or in the comic grotesquerie of The Ham Funeral. Director Kate Gaul talks us through this perennially engaging theatre classic. “I think what surprises me is how humorous the play is,” Gaul says, stepping out from rehearsal. “It does come with a slight literary pretension, perhaps, or it feels like it might be quite difficult to understand. All of those things certainly were in my mind at the beginning, but the amount of humour here!
“It’s also really clear to me that Patrick White loves his characters. It’s very clear that he has a great fondness for people of all strata of society here, even when they’re quite fantastic. That has been quite a nice discovery. I think I always had it in my mind that he was a little hard on less-educated people, but it’s quite the reverse. The characters are given such insights into life, which of course is very apt given that the primary story is a young man’s search for his lust for life. “The other thing that surprised me is how flexible it is stylistically. I knew that it wasn’t a tragedy or comedy or naturalism, it wasn’t one thing or the other. It has a very confident hand in the way that it switches styles, which suggests someone who was much more in command of his theatrical instrument, even though he wasn’t really a playwright at that stage. It’s very challenging for us, but we’re loving the chance to rise to it.”
“He’s not written as a perfect character, and I think that’s part of White’s genius.” The Ham Funeral conjures a rather seedy scene. A story of lust and squalor, death and art, it tracks a young poet who finds himself in a boarding house run by the greasy Mr. and Mrs. Lusty. Something of a comedy, something of a grim and gothic tragedy, it depicts a world few of us would willingly seek out – and yet as audiences, we seemingly can’t get enough of loathsome characters and festering grandeur. Clearly, we’re all not-so-closeted degenerates at heart. “It’s because it seems romantic!” Gaul laughs. “It feels like you have licence to be more brutal, more passionate than perhaps
“I knew that it wasn’t a tragedy or comedy or naturalism, it wasn’t one thing or the other.”
our everyday existence is. It’s the allure of the other, and even when characters are from a more seedy background, there’s something enticing for the majority of us who are middle-class and probably very safe. It’s a world we might have brushed against in our university days. “The central character is a young poet trying to find his voice, and he reminds me of a lot of people I knew at university. And that’s kind of funny! He’s not written as a perfect character, and I think that’s part of White’s genius. He sees this young man’s flaws, and quite clearly this young man is a version of himself. It’s quite a fascinating and brave portrayal in lots of ways, because he’s quite an ugly and brutal character in his artistic quest. He’s a real dickhead.” Nor should this genius be at all off-putting. Certainly, White’s novels aren’t for everyone – they don’t exactly make for light afternoon reading – but his tone and themes are universal.
“It’s a real mixture of styles, but it certainly isn’t oldfashioned.” “He does seem like academic property now, he hasn’t really made it into the mainstream,” says Gaul. “I think it’s because we think it’s too proper, we might not understand it. Or we’re fearful that we don’t know enough to get it. I must say, I thought that too. But The Ham Funeral is a piece of theatre, and at the end of the day it’s a bunch of people onstage sweating, telling a story about something that’s important. I don’t think people should be frightened of this.” I happen to have caught a production of The Ham Funeral some years ago, and although that particular instance was a rather uneven show, what certainly stood out to me was how well the language has managed to retain its allure. For a play written in 1948 (that was famously and somewhat controversially rejected by the Adelaide Festival), no real cracks have appeared across the dialogue; nor is it a piece we can only charitably appreciate as being ‘of its time’. “I’m surprised it’s not done more often,” Gaul says. “Some of it is done in heightened language, so that is unusual in a contemporary play. Obviously you have to have a facility for heightened language, or at least understand that it’s different to normal chit-chat. It’s a real mixture of styles, but it certainly isn’t old-fashioned. He writes in an Australian vernacular, and I think on the page, people might think, ‘Well, nobody talks like that now.’ But actually, it’s not too far from the way we talk! At its best, it expresses sentiments that are still very much held. “I think audiences will totally connect with these characters, even when they are heightened, when they are very theatrical. I think at the core, he expresses something quintessentially Australian. He’s made from the same dust we are.” What: The Ham Funeral Where: SBW Stables Theatre When: Until Saturday June 10 thebrag.com
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arts in focus FEATURE
George Saunders [LITERATURE] Radical Empathy By Joseph Earp
A
t the beginning of George Saunders’ short story ‘Victory Lap’, a young woman named Alison Pope pauses at the top of a staircase. She is in many ways a typical teenager – she refers to one of her potential suitors as ‘Mr. Small Package’, for instance, and seems almost wholly consumed by thoughts of boys and prom – so initially, very briefly, she seems like a character propped up for some easy satirical jabbing. But before long, something transformative happens. Within a few short paragraphs, it’s almost like she reappears – seemingly out of nowhere, Alison no longer comes across as stuckup or shallow. Suddenly she’s compassionate, defiant; maybe even a little bit scared. She hasn’t changed, of course. She’s still talking about dates, still thinking about a thousand different words that all mean sex. But we the readers have changed – we have simply started to see her how she always was.
This is the trademark of Saunders’ work. Between his celebrated short stories, his powerful new novel Lincoln In The Bardo, and his work as an essayist, the Texas-born Saunders is defined by a crackling, electric kind of empathy; by the kind of humbling understanding that simply comes from trying to look further, understand more, know deeper. “For me, that empathy has a lot to do with the sentence rhythm, the sounds and the jokes,” he says. “So as you improve those things, out of the corner of your eye you notice that empathetic effect. Which I suppose makes sense, because what are you doing? You’re coming back to the [characters] again and again and saying, ‘Is there anything else I should know about you?’ “But that empathy isn’t the kind of thing that comes because I’m just such an empathetic guy,” Saunders laughs. “There is an empathetic guy inside me. If I keep coming to the writing table every day, he will sort of participate.”
“There is an empathetic guy inside me. If I keep coming to the writing table every day, he will sort of participate.” That is the key for Saunders: working on his fiction is a way of honing the skills that he uses in the complicated, valuable, and sometimes maybe even a little bit tedious business of attempting to become a better person. “[Writing] helps me change myself. You make a piece of writing and you feel like it’s you, and you feel like it’s everything that you are. Then the next day you come back and you see that it’s not great, and so you fix it. “And that’s a pretty big thing. Because what that means is it wasn’t you the first time: it was a product of you, and you could adjust and improve it. So that right there to me is just invaluable. And not just in writing – in anything you can say, ‘Oh, that was me
today. Hm. How did I like that? Maybe I didn’t like it so much.’ And then that produces the sort of infinitely hopeful idea that maybe you can fix yourself – maybe you can examine and adjust and be creative in the construction of your person too. It’s a powerful habit.” Of course, that’s not to imply Saunders’ work is one long catalogue of characters occupied solely with the exhibition of empathy. His heroes can be mean too. Often not on purpose – indeed, often accidentally, as in the case of the father in ‘The Semplica-Girl Diaries’, a man who works hard to fulfil his youngest child’s wishes and fill his lawn with a chain of living, third-world migrants strung up by fibre wire inserted through their heads.
“You make a piece of writing and you feel like it’s you, and you feel like it’s everything that you are.”
“I do have a lot of dread and darkness in me,” the author explains. “When I was younger, I would have a sudden sadness come over me, and a dread of mortality … So I think the [empathy] in the writing makes me like the person who is always sleepy so they drink Coke and jump around the room and keep themselves awake. I think awareness of darkness makes you want to fight it off. “I think too that it always forces you to take yourself off autopilot. I sometimes go into that mode where I’m like, ‘I’m a great guy, and a good writer, and a good teacher. And now I can just stop worrying about all that.’ But that’s not a good way to be. You always want to be a little worried about it. You never want to just think of yourself as one thing.” Certainly, Saunders’ fiction itself never seems like one specific thing: like the souls let loose from bodies that narrate Lincoln In The Bardo, his work is always changing, re-establishing itself and always, always rising up. “I think truth actually is a dynamic system of contradictions,” he says. “So, for example, if someone asks me something I know about – like, say, teaching – my system of truth [about teaching] is a bunch of contradictions. They don’t overwhelm each other. They just co-exist … So the truthful way to act morally is to be fully invested in all of those contradictions. But that’s difficult – it takes a real lot of concentration. “When you’re reading a Chekhov story, for example, there’s all these contradictory notions about human beings in there, sometimes even on the same page. And he just lets them sit there. And you enjoy that. You as a reader go, ‘That’s true, that’s true, that’s true.’ That’s probably the deepest truth you’ll ever know in your life.”
“I think awareness of darkness makes you want to fight it off.” What: The Singular George Saunders as part of Sydney Writers’ Festival 2017 Where: City Recital Hall When: Saturday May 27 And: Also appearing at SWF Opening Night, Roslyn Packer Theatre, Tuesday May 23; This Won’t End Well: Secrets Of Great Storytelling, Friday May 26, Pier 2/3 Main Stage; and American Carnage, Sydney Town Hall, Friday May 26 More: Lincoln In The Bardo out now through Bloomsbury
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thebrag.com
arts reviews ■ Comedy
Demi Lardner’s Five-Star Sydney Comedy Festival Show Sees Her Launched To New Heights By David James Young orget everything you know about Demi Lardner. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been following along with the self-described “toddler with a tough life” since her breakout as a star of Raw Comedy, or if you’re only recently converted to Lardner’s oft-absurd and invariably entertaining approach to the medium of stand-up.
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Hell, even if you don’t know anything about Lardner at all, it might be even better for you going into Look What You Made Me Do. Whatever the case, it’s an entirely clean slate as Lardner heads into her most conceptual, theatrical and ambitious show to date. As a matter of fact, the slate has been wiped so thoroughly that Lardner herself doesn’t even feature in the show. In her place, meet Gavin, a 46-yearold stepfather who lives in deadbeat suburban nowhere with a house that just happens to have a spooky basement. Among other problems, he’s got a surveyor on the phone and a short memory – and it’s anyone’s guess how he’s gonna get himself out of his predicament. Lardner is an endlessly captivating performer. Even in momentary lapses of character on account of some minor technical glitches, you never lose focus of the private universe that has been built up – no matter how silly, how dark or how completely off-track it goes. Although the absurdist approach takes a while to settle in for some attendees
inside jokes Comedy, Life and Bullshit with Cameron James
– as Lardner is clearly all too aware of, noting several times out of character how “fucked” the show is – her energy is simply too great to deny, her conviction and dedication to what she’s set up serving as more than enough to get her across the line. It’s also pertinent to note outside influences on the show – namely its director, Aunty Donna’s Mark Bonanno, and stagehand/voiceover artist/second fiddle Michelle Brasier. The former, no stranger to comedy getting a little weird, has evidently added a sense of flair to Lardner’s usual approach, while the latter often threatens to steal the show on account of her killer one-liners and an absolutely hilarious scene involving a misunderstanding of catastrophic proportions between herself and Lardner. At the end of the day, however, Look What You Made Me Do isn’t Brasier’s show, nor Bonanno’s or even Gavin’s. It’s Lardner’s crowning achievement thus far in an already illustrious career, and it’s poised her for even greater things. Make Lardner do more – and soon, too.
Demi Lardner was reviewed at the Enmore Theatre on Saturday May 6 as part of Sydney Comedy Festival 2017.
“It’s Lardner’s crowning achievement thus far in an already illustrious career.”
■ Film
John Wick: Chapter 2 Is An Audacious And Exciting Sequel
We’re All Selfish Idiots
T
he Sydney Comedy Festival is on right now, and I don’t think I’ve said anything that isn’t somehow a plug for my stand-up show in the last two weeks. Every tweet is a plug. Every Facebook post has a show link. We just had Mother’s Day and I bought my mum a ticket (just one, Dad can buy his own).
Amid all this self centred-ness, I’ve got to try and remember to be a good and normal person. I asked myself the other day, “Have you done any good deeds lately?” And I couldn’t think of one. So this week, I set out to do a good deed for a stranger. Which made me wonder something else... Do you ever do a good deed when nobody’s around to see it, and you kinda think – that was a waste of a good deed? If I’m on the street and a charity guy asks me for $2 for the Childrens’ Hospital, and I’m with a friend, I’ll give $2. I might even make it $5. And my friend will say, “That was a good deed you just did, Cameron,” and I’ll say, “Children are the future.” And we’ll all agree I’m great.
By Joseph Earp
A
lazy sequel settles for walking its audience through the obstacle course of the first film, refusing to change pace or scenery. An alright sequel does the same, but faster. A great sequel abandons the obstacle course altogether and drags its audience over ten miles of bad road, whooping and yelling as it does so. Case in point: Aliens, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, The Godfather: Part II, and, yes, John Wick: Chapter 2. An eminently lovable follow-up to the 2014 surprise hit John Wick, this unholy actioner is equal parts Godardian postmodernism and the batshit insanity of John Woo. It’s a Looney Tunes cartoon that has stayed up all night doing nangs and reading Derrida, and somehow manages to craftily subvert a whole host of action movie clichés without ever seeming academic. The plot is your standard high-octane revenge fare – despite his best efforts to stay retired, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is drawn back into the hitman game to pay back a debt he incurred years before. So yeah, it’s not exactly groundbreaking stuff – but the beauty is in the telling rather than the story. Indeed, the narrative is largely treated as an afterthought. It’s little more than a structure designed to hold up the film’s striking seam of magic realism, and a way of keeping things chugging along so that director Chad Stahelski can build his cinematic world. And what a world. John Wick: Chapter 2 further develops the alternate
universe manned by hitmen that was so colourfully drawn in the original; a universe in which taking out a contract involves making a call to a retro typing pool of tattooed, bored women, and in which guns are sold by a smarmy armourer-cum-waiter (Peter Serafinowicz in a film-stealing cameo). Due credit must go to the supporting players, of which there are many: Ruby Rose does fine work as a charismatic mute hitman who communicates via sign language, Common is a huffy, arrogant bodyguard, and the ever-brilliant Ian McShane exudes dark, compelling charm. Sure, the ending might be a little irritatingly franchise-building, and there might be a few moments that feel excessively on the nose – the villain’s ultimate plan, when revealed, feels a little bit too diabolical, for example. But even with these minor quibbles, John Wick: Chapter 2 is an audacious, endlessly exciting film – an oddity to be cherished and admired. John Wick: Chapter 2 opens in cinemas on Thursday May 18.
“It’s not exactly groundbreaking stuff – but the beauty is in the telling rather than the story.” thebrag.com
If that same guy approaches me when I’m alone? He’ll get a very different response from me. Usually it’s eyes straight ahead, pretending I can’t hear him. Sometimes I hiss like a cobra, and scare him off. On one occasion I started my own charity that raises money to give kids diseases. And he said, “But children are the future,” and I said, “Let’s make them history!” And I lit up a cigarette and skateboarded away from him.
what’s funny this week? We are deep into Sydney Comedy Festival, and this week I’ve picked out some of the best shows you can see:
Cameron James – ’88
Factory Theatre, Thursday May 18 and Saturday May 20 – Sunday May 21, 9:30pm (8:30pm Sunday) Yes, this is shameless. I’m owning that. I’ve toured this show all around the country, and I’m bringing it home for three nights only. Come
I had no audience for this week’s good deed. I found a man’s wallet in the back of a taxi. It was one of those ones with a money clip in the middle so you can show off the full extent of your cash every time you buy a Coke. It was actually a really cool wallet. And it was full of money! So I took the wallet. I didn’t steal it, I just took it before someone else could steal it. Then I contacted the guy whose wallet it was on Facebook, and he came and picked it up from my house. How’s that for a good deed?!
“Do you ever do a good deed when nobody’s around to see it, and you kinda think – that was a waste of a good deed?”
hang with me.
Becky Lucas – Little Bitch Enmore Theatre, Wednesday May 17 – Sunday May 21, 8:15pm (7:15pm Sunday) Becky is my favourite comedian in the country. She’s an absolute natural onstage, with the hardest hitting jokes and an unparalleled point of view. This show will sell out.
Tom Cashman – Good
Factory Theatre, Wednesday May 17 – Sunday May 21, 8:15pm (7:15pm Sunday) Tom is one of Sydney’s great up-and-coming
He was so grateful that I hadn’t just stolen his money. He even offered me a $50 reward for doing the right thing, which of course, I turned down. Because I realised something important: the real reward is bragging to all of you reading this that I turned down a reward. That’s worth way more than a measly 50 bucks. I hiss at 50 bucks. What I want is the creative elite of Sydney to think of me as a martyr. Also, I gave him a flyer for my Comedy Festival show. Everyone’s a potential customer! Never stop hustling! Only the selfish survive!
comedians. This is his first ever show, and after doing a month in Melbourne as part of the Comedy Festival’s hand-picked Comedy Zone showcase, he’s match fit.
Guy Montgomery – Let’s All Get In A Room Together
Factory Theatre, Wednesday May 17 – Sunday May 21, 8:15pm (7:15pm Sunday) Guy has a podcast called The Worst Idea Of All Time, where he and his co-host Tim Batt watch the same film every week for a year, and review it. If an unflagging commitment to silliness and effortless charm is your thing, you’ll love Guy.
Cameron James is a stand-up comedian. You can follow him on Twitter at @iamcameronjames, or in the streets.
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FOOD + DRINK
REVIEW
FEATURE
The Six Best Foods To Fight A Hangover BY JOSEPH EARP
Eastside Grill CHIPPENDALE
BY DANIEL HERBORN
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lending Manhattan style with an upmarket steakhouse look, Eastside Grill is a nicely rough-around-the-edges space in Chippendale. There are some industrial touches, like the metal shelves behind the bar, alongside striking features like a star-shaped light fixture hanging over a group table. On one wall, there’s an abstract portrait by Belgiumborn (and Hong Kong-based) street artist Caratoes, an eye-catching piece that nods to the time executive chef Stanley Wong and head chef Angie Ford spent in that fabled food city. Exposed brick walls and greenery round out a smart, not overly sanitised design.
Similarly left of centre is a special of white asparagus ($24), which is a refined, slightly unusual treat, with the subtler taste of the white variety sitting underneath tender pink slices of duck breast, a hen’s egg, microherbs and shaved parmesan. The mains make the most of Eastside Grill’s main point of difference: the Japanese binchotan grill. Prized by chefs worldwide, this grill uses white charcoal from ubame oak and imparts a distinctive flavour to the meat while not releasing smoke or aroma like other cooking methods. It makes for supremely tender smoked meats, and you can
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Eastside Grill is probably more known for its smoked seafood and steaks than sweets, but you don’t want to sleep on the Dessert Extravaganza.
Here are six of the greatest anti-hangover foods, snacks and delights that will have you fighting fit within the blink of one crusted, bloodshot eye. choose from a range of steaks, like a Black Angus NY striploin ($52). Alternatively, you could go for a mixed grill ($48), which allows you to sample an assortment of king prawns, meltingly soft hanger steak, octopus, lamb sweetbread and a moist, almost sweet piece of red snapper. The tiger prawns, from the Northern Territory’s Skull Island (available separately), are especially good; they’re light, succulent and ideally cooked with a little garlic. It all comes with a small pot of sharp chimichurri sauce – always a simple but reliable way of elevating grilled meats. Fitting for a restaurant with a strong international flavour, the wine list crosses continents, including the likes of a pleasingly smooth Argentinian red (2015 Pulenta ‘La Flor’ Malbec, $14/$70). For something closer to home, the 2014 Chard Farm River Run ($17/$81) is a New Zealand Pinot Noir with berry and intense fruit flavours robust enough to go with any of the meat options. Eastside Grill is probably more known for its smoked seafood and steaks than sweets, but you don’t want to sleep on the Dessert Extravaganza ($42), a visually explosive mini-feast that lives up to its lavish name, arriving at the table with flaming crème brûlées, potted chocolate mousses and the delicate green tea tiramisu. Demolish those and you’re only halfway through this sugary cavalcade, with fluffy brownies, chunks of thick New York-style cheesecake, wisps of pastel green fairy floss and slices of sweet dehydrated orange sitting amongst a scattering of moreish sugared raspberries and dabs of colourful coulis. It makes for a satisfying (and potentially sugar comainducing) end to a classy meal. Where: 2-10 Kensington St, Chippendale When: Mon – Wed 5:30-10pm; Thu – Sat noon-2:30pm and 5:30-10:30pm
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Indeed, if you search “what can I eat to stop myself from feeling like I am dying?” on Google after a night of debauchery, you are more likely to encounter a lecture on inhibition and addiction than anything that could actually assist you. Even though the world is full of scientists – literally swarming with them – all they can do to help us poor saps dying from whatever you call the sickness that sits exactly one step below straight-up alcohol poisoning is suggest that we don’t drink so much next time. But screw those guys. Who needs ’em? We can make up our own anti-hangover food list; a bona fide survival guide for all those who need sustenance but also need to not violently throw up all over their work desk and/or attentive partner.
The food treads a nice line in slightly rustic meat and seafood dishes, sourcing high-end produce from around Australia and successfully bringing influences from modern Japanese cuisine into the mix. It’s an upmarket menu, but not overly fussy or formal, with a group of “sharing noshes” that range from bone marrow to diver scallops doused in tiger’s milk. Eastside’s bill of fare includes a twist on even the most familiar standards; the chips include seaweed and truffle aioli, while the Caesar salad spices things up with a flame-roasted jalapeño dressing.
I’m not arguing with the track record of the world’s scientists: I will admit they have worked out a bunch of pretty impressive things. They can figure out how to take us to the moon, how to cure a range of infectious diseases, and how to make grape food flavouring that somehow tastes like no grape anyone has ever eaten in their lives. But there’s one very glaring thing they can’t do, which is to figure out how to effectively use food to reduce the effects of a hangover.
1. A Filet-O-Fish burger
Filling your guts at a McDonald’s after a night on the town is a dangerously alluring proposition. Everything looks so appetising, and goes down so easily – but be warned, such first impressions can be deceiving. Launch your gaping mouth into a Big Mac (or God forbid a McFlurry) before your guts are properly settled and you will run into all sorts of vomit-laden, pants-ruining trouble sooner than you might expect. Instead, go for the Filet-O-Fish burger. Sure, it might taste to fish as grape Starbursts taste to grapes (seriously, what is up with that?), but the sweet, salty delight goes down a treat. Not only is this option safe for pescatarians (i.e. fishocrites like me), the Filet-O-Fish meal is less rich and therefore gentler on the stomach: it fills you up, but not so much that you start to (literally) overflow.
2. Pho
One of the worst things about eating while hungover is that furry, bitter taste you get all through your mouth – you know, the one that makes it feel like you’ve just chowed down on six oil-slick-saturated baby birds. A good way to combat that awful feeling is just a touch of mint and coriander – the kind of herbs you can often find swirling about the bottom of a bowl of pho. Just a few swigs of the stuff will clear your head and mind, and, fingers crossed, start to settle your stomach to boot. Just try to go vego: too much beef or chicken will upset your sensitive system, and may well have you crawling back to the safety of your darkened room.
thebrag.com
FOOD + DRINK
REVIEW
3. Roasted sweet potato salad
OK, I am aware this one sounds a bit hoity-toity, but trust me – sweet potato is your carby, supportive friend when you’re hungover. It’ll settle your stomach like you wouldn’t believe, and isn’t so overwhelming in flavour that it’ll have you rushing to hug your toilet bowl.
“Trust me – sweet potato is your carby, supportive friend when you’re hungover.”
Olio Kensington Street CHIPPENDALE
Roast some salted sweet potato chunks till they’re browned and chuck them into a bowl with kale, chopped tomatoes and a little smidgen of olive oil. Then, ta-da: you have yourself a simple, nourishing meal that will help you get to your feet in no time.
4.
BY JESSICA WESTCOTT
S
icilian is the new Italian, and Olio Kensington Street is here to prove it. Featured as one of the opals of the new Kensington Street complex, Olio looks out over its comrades Bistrot Gavroche and the suitably named Holy Duck next door.
(A little bit of) mac and cheese
This one’s tricky – a fine art, one could almost say. Even a spoonful too much mac and cheese and you will immediately regret it, and of all the things to throw up, the worst is most definitely dairy. Trust me: about six years ago I went mad on a block of Camembert while battling a tequila hangover and my favourite carpet still bears the stains.
Lino – the owner, creator, and nicest bloke in an apron you’ll ever meet – comes to meet us as we are seated. He tells us that his inspirations for the menu derive from his hometown in Palermo, and so (incidentally) does his olive oil. As if he had magically conjured it from thin air, an enormous basket of homemade sourdough lands in front of us, to be lathered with Lino’s fruity, fragrant oil.
Nonetheless, pour yourself out only a soupçon of mac and cheese – say about half the contents of a single box – and your salt cravings will be deftly satisfied.
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My mumma always said that good seafood should taste like the sea smells, and the portions here are testament to that.”
The menu is an homage to the Sicilian sunset and the Mediterranean ocean. Gorgeous char-grilled octopus is brought out, swept with a sundried tomato aioli. A single ostrich oyster shell, decorated with cucumber gel and an orange and balsamic vinigrette, is an explosion of sweetness. My mumma always said that good seafood should taste like the sea smells, and the portions here are testament to that.
Pears
This is the only foodstuff on this list that scientists (sort of) endorse. According to them, munching down on some pears after a night on the town will help you slowly but surely begin to recover – although they cover themselves with the claim that it won’t necessarily work for everyone, particularly, to take an abstract case, if you are so far gone that you are vomiting Camembert and tequila all over your favourite carpet.
The dishes keep coming, including an egg tagliolini with creamy sea urchin sauce, boasting a subtle, salty texture that coats the palate and complements the chewy pasta. The Sicilians sure know how to make a pasta dish that can hold its own.
But surely a few pears can’t hurt: hell, you could even chuck them in your mum’s Nutribullet and drink the stuff down so fast that it doesn’t even have to touch the sides.
6. Zucchini pasta
I should mention here the wine selections; first a Venetian Prosecco – a subtle, sedated beauty with a fi ner bubble and a herbal edge. Then a Garganega Tamellini DOC from the same region: fresh, fruity, and an ideal accompaniment to the best dish of the night, a Sicilian caponata. This round of eggplant, raisins and tomato is so mouthwatering that I’ve been Googling recipes ever since. The ricotta on top melts in the mouth and the pine nuts are a fresh surprise.
As much as you might be drawn to straight-up wheat pasta when you are trying to restore yourself to life, be warned: the stuff will go through you like water. It’s much better to take the healthier yet undeniably delicious option of making your own zucchini pasta. Just finely slice a good sized zucchini into spaghettiesque strips, and then fry the whole lot in a pan of oil. Add bolognaise and a tiny bit of cheese, and voila – you’ve got yourself a stomach-soothing wonder.
For dessert we enjoy a light and tart blood peach sorbet, and a 70 per cent dark chocolate mille-feuille that is offset nicely by a roasted vanilla bean gelato.
“About six years ago I went mad on a block of Camembert while battling a tequila hangover and my favourite carpet still bears the stains.”
Where: 2-10 Kensington St, Chippendale When: Mon – Sat 6-10pm and Thu – Sat noon3pm; terrace hours Mon – Sat 5-10pm
Olio photos by Lauren Commons
Olio (Italian for ‘oil’) is set to be a fi xture in the inner city’s newest dining precinct. If you’re after a beautiful spot for a birthday dinner or a
proposal, try Sicilian. This tiny island has a lot to say.
thebrag.com
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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK PAUL WELLER A Kind Revolution Parlophone/Warner
It’s hard to believe that 40 years have passed since Paul Weller first arrived on the scene with The Jam’s debut LP In The City. The precocious, angry frontman
would go on to pen a number of timeless British anthems before his 21st birthday, built upon an unnerving social commentary of working class life. Now four decades on, Weller has found himself confronting similar political upheaval in the UK. Instead of trudging up and down the nostalgia circuit, Weller is in the midst of a creative resurgence that began with 2008’s tangential 22 Dreams and shows little sign of abating. A Kind Revolution is an album that pokes around the fringes, drawing a number of disparate influences through the Weller prism, from Motown soul to
straight-out psychedelia. From the sci-fi glam rock of ‘Nova’, to the seductive shuffle of ‘She Moves With The Fayre’ and the heartfelt ballad ‘The Cranes Are Back’, Weller traverses soul, rock and jazz experimentations to create both cosmic soundscapes and, at times, genre-bending strangeness. Here he delivers the beautiful, rather than the agitated. Angus Young once described his own music as being “like baking a cake – if you’ve got a really good recipe, you stick at it”. But as Weller illustrates, going against the grain can deliver something extraordinary too. Tim Armitage
“Instead of trudging up and down the nostalgia circuit, Weller is in the midst of a creative resurgence.”
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK THE AFGHAN WHIGS In Spades Sub Pop/Inertia
The Afghan Whigs have always made music that sounds like something very beautiful breaking apart – their songs are a plague outbreak at a bougee wedding, all glitz, glamour and pestilence. In that way, In Spades is hardly a break from the Whigs formula – string arrangements are doled out like whip lashes across the back of a prisoner, and the lyrics are a mix of voodoo utterings and demonic rock’n’roll come ons. Instead, In Spades is an accumulation, a reinstatement of everything that the band does best.
Frontman Greg Dulli is his usual astonishing self, crooning through album highlight ‘Light As A Feather’ like some swaggering, syphilitic Elvis impersonator, and showing off the full heft of his range on bloodied ballad ‘Demon In Profi le’. Fucked up and pissed off, he Jekyll and Hydes between slick ladies’ man and murderous philistine, offsetting flushes of poetry with guttural yells and whoops. Although there are brief moments of calm in this particular storm – ‘Into The Floor’ is one slow, ragged exhale – they do not last long, and the album is most interested in the place where lust and loathing intersect.
From beginning to end, In Spades throbs and aches with sickness and with desire. It is ugly, and it is sleazy, and it hurts. But it’s also a masterpiece. Joseph Earp
“String arrangements are doled out like whip lashes across the back of a prisoner.”
FIRST DRAFTS Unearthed demos and unfinished hits, as heard by Nathan Jolly BLINK-182 – ‘What’s My Age Again?’
B
link-182’s Enema Of The State was a triumph in every conceivable way.
After the three-piece scored their first radio hit in 1997 with break-up anthem ‘Dammit’, the Californians canned their drummer, brought in jazz maestro Travis Barker, and recorded their most pop-friendly set of songs to date.
Before that song hit MTV, radio and beyond, Blink-182 released another startling clip/song combo, ‘What’s
Enema Of The State was tight and produced. The main criticism Enema Of The State received from longtime fans was that the recordings were too slick – a fair call, although Blink surely weren’t regretting their decision as the millions rolled in.
The track started life as ‘Peter Pan Complex’, a song Mark Hoppus wrote to make his friends laugh. I assume this is the way most Blink songs begin. Earlier, filthier lyrics were siphoned out by the time the band demoed the track – alongside a number of other songs which would end up on the album – and the demo is basically a rougher, slightly more downbeat version of the finished track.
During the recording of the Enema demos, the band’s celebrity began to rise. Don Lithgow, the owner of DML Studios, where they bashed through the demos, recalled it “was different than their other sessions – girls hanging around outside, calling their friends on cell phones. All the kids wanted autographs. They’d unlock the doors and let kids into the studio, which most bands would never do.”
While the changes in the demo version were very minor, and more about tightening the arrangement and fixing a few stray lines, the recording itself sounds a lot like the previous album, Dude Ranch, which was as loose and sloppy as
Listening to the original demos of the album – which are all over YouTube – one can construct a Sliding Doors type scenario where this album was too sloppy for commercial radio, but embraced by the underground. Blink-182
could have avoided the in-fighting and pressure, recorded a dozen more albums and been seen as a successful career punk band, in the vein of NOFX or Descendents.
“Rather than toning down the qualities that made their first two records such silly, thrilling listens, they doubled down on the juvenile humour.” 24 :: BRAG :: 713 :: 17:05:17
Instead they saw their chance, aimed straight for the zeitgeist, and streaked their way to fame. Listen to the original ‘What’s My Age Again?’ demo at thebrag. com.
thebrag.com
The Afghan Whigs phtoo by Chris Cuffaro
But rather than toning down the qualities that made their first two records such silly, thrilling listens, they doubled down on the juvenile humour, creating the perfect soundtrack for a generation awash in American Pie-style raunch. The album sold over 15 million copies worldwide, turning them into the pop stars they parodied in the video for ‘All The Small Things’.
My Age Again?’, which saw them running naked through the streets of LA causing chaos and generally setting themselves up as the antidote to polished pop – despite being quite a polished pop song.
out & about Queer(ish) matters with Arca Bayburt
Where Does Sexual Racism Come From? ou know when your friends say some rubbish that makes you question their entire moral character and subsequently your judgement?
Y
like that to me. Maybe she didn’t know. Or realise. How stupid was she not to realise? I realised my food was getting cold. I asked her, “Don’t you think what you just said is racist?”
A friend and I were having lunch recently and she said, “I’ve never been into Asian girls, I just don’t get the appeal.”
She said no and went on to explain why. I didn’t listen to the explanation, because as far as I was concerned, this friendship had taken a bullet in the cheek.
This sentence continued but I didn’t hear the rest. I was mesmerised by the thin, glossy string of saliva stretching between her lips and her fork as she ate her salad and treated me to some of the most ignorant English I’d ever heard. “It’s just my personal preference.” I’ve seen many a Grindr user swinging that platitude around like a righteous machete, ruthlessly cutting down people of colour or otherwise non-white persons as if they’re immune to criticisms of racism. This is fundamentally a racist thing to say. It is a racist practice to treat somebody differently because of their race. You’re a racist. Overcome it by pulling your head out of your arse. As my friend flapped her big stupid racist lips, I wondered why she felt it was safe to say something
My friend’s reluctance to get sexy with Asian chicks isn’t so much about an innate lack of desire as it is a conditioned response to whatever she’s absorbed as “this is attractive”. Our concepts of beauty, race and the meanings we attach to sex or gender characteristics are not created by some magical internal provenance that constructs a randomised list of things that turn you on. We can’t ignore that there is a biological government at work here. Things like sexual orientation can be biologically determined but the rest of it is just window dressing tacked on by whatever society you’ve experienced your enculturation in. You can’t explain this to racists because they think like insects.
brag beats
“AS MY FRIEND FLAPPED HER BIG STUPID RACIST LIPS, I WONDERED WHY SHE FELT IT WAS SAFE TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO ME.” Take a look at what your society or culture values, what it deems attractive. Compare those with your own. I’m not suggesting we’re a cabal of racists, just that racism is what we’re subjected to from birth. We’re pickled in it. It’s what we know, it’s what we absorb, it’s what we project. The kind of person who makes statements like “I’m only into x race” or “I’m not into y race” assumes that their preferences are actually personal. Your preferences are not personal, but everybody likes to think they’re resistant to cultural programming. Warren Ellis said it best: “If you believe that your thoughts originate inside your brain – do you also believe that television shows are made inside your television set?”
Off The Record Dance and Electronica with Alex Chetverikov
O
ne of the most significant and pervasive cultural markers is the way in which technology has affected the shaping of our individual identities. The medium of social media is a powerful yet awkward mode of expression. It represents a shift away from nature, from the essential and intrinsic chaos of expression in the flesh; where one builds a character from fragments, and often a dysfunctional narrative. And yet, it has gradually and insidiously integrated itself into our lexicon, into our social structures and daily routines. While it’s a wonderful tool for keeping tabs, for staying in touch, it is a series of constant distractions. This a noisy fabric in which the clickbait or off-hand remarks are readily consumed. It’s a murky old world out there, especially
for anyone passionate about making their mark in music-writing. Electronic music specifi cally has yet to break into the pantheon of popular culture, save the gentrifying brand and influence of EDM.
“MUSIC IS ULTIMATELY ABOUT SHARING IDEAS, SHARING OPINIONS, AND SHARING LOVE BETWEEN ARTISTS.”
I absolutely encourage anyone interested in making their mark to get out there and engage with the community, to reestablish a meaningful connection and dialogue with the bubbling undercurrents that add so much fl avour to urban nightlife. Music is ultimately about sharing ideas, sharing opinions, and sharing love between artists. We need more coverage, more opinions, more discussion, and a wider, more colourful narrative when it comes to exploring this everevolving berth of music. It could all start with an ethnographic scribble on a notepad in a nightclub.
THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Call Super’s Fabric mix teasing out the lesser-explored elements in the Fabric series – this is off-peak-time. Expect post-peak pleasure with one of the most interesting tracklists in Fabric’s long history, cycling from Jan Jelinek to a capella country blues and Marco Bernardi. It’s a collection of moods woven into an imperfect tapestry, and made all the better for it. Call Super
Mowgli May
Keeping in line with the off-kilter, DJ Koze’s XLR8R 324 from 2013 warrants a mention. Buttressed by a backdrop of ethereal house and techno, it’s interspersed with typical Koze character; Marvin Gaye outtakes and conscious hip hop sit comfortably alongside the playful drift of his own productions. In a world constantly bombarded with mixes, this is essentially idiosyncratic.
RECOMMENDED FRIDAY MAY 19
Mowgli May photo by Ivy Erlinger
Moodmachine Slyfox
this week…
for the diary
On Wednesday May 17, get down to Slyfox in Enmore for Birdcage, a debaucherously dirty night with your favourite chicks, featuring Mowgli May, CKDJ, Ashleigh Mckenzie and Nicholas Birdcage. This party will be a big one and go late. Admission is free.
On Thursday June 1 – Friday June 2, head on down to the City Recital Hall for DJ Dan Murphy’s Vivid Sydney event, Ignite: Symphonic Dance Anthems. Over two nights, a collection of over 60 hand-picked performers including a full symphony orchestra, choir and international vocalists will breathe new life into some of the world’s favourite dance tracks, in a fully immersive visual and acoustic spectacular. Expect lights, lasers and visuals, along with those timeless dance anthems.
On Saturday May 20, The Shift Club hosts Space Invade-Hers, starring Pomara Fifth, Crystal Ball and Kara Divine with Johnny Blue Boy. Your hostess for the evening is the illustrious, fabulous Maxi Shield. The theme of the night is future sex. Go get some.
thebrag.com
Remi
SATURDAY MAY 20
Murat Kilic Goodbar
SATURDAY JUNE 3 Nathan Barato Burdekin Hotel
FRIDAY JUNE 9
Andras + Instant Peterson Freda’s Remi x Sampa The Great Oxford Art Factory
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five things WITH
JADE IMAGINE
2.
Inspirations For me The Church and their albums are synonymous with my Brisbane and Sunshine Coast childhood, and whenever I hear their music I feel like I’m back there. There’s something about those old Brisbane houses. The wooden floorboards with draughts coming up, the wide front and back verandahs, the warm summer nights, a quick drive to the beach in the evening, feeling sandy and sticky from the heat and salt water – I’m particularly sentimental this evening, it seems…
3. 1.
Growing Up Dad was a drummer and I learnt to play guitar around age eight on his 40-year-old Maton semiacoustic. He’s still got it and now it’s getting rusty – he lives on the coast.
One of my key childhood musical memories is getting swung onto the shoulders of my uncle Andrew, who played in a Brisbane band in the ’80s called The Water Rats’ Picnic, and saddling down
to the local bottle shop to pick up some more beer for the family dinner. Poppy used to get out the accordion or the old lap steel to play old country songs about currawongs and mountains.
Your Band I first met Tim Harvey and we bonded over our dairy allergy. He played a big part in the production of the EP and eventually became the Jade Imagine guitarist. Jen Sholakis I met backstage at a Courtney Barnett show when I was playing a national tour
with them (I was in the supporting band, Teeth & Tongue). She eventually joined to play drums. Liam Halliwell – or Snowy, as we call him – I had seen around the Melbourne stages for years playing in numerous bands, namely The Ocean Party (one of my faves). 4. The Music You Make Right before our show last week for the Milk! Records/ Bedroom Suck Split Singles record launch, Jen Cloher pulled me aside and said, “Look Jade, if you don’t bring it tonight, you’re dropped from the label. I want rock moves, I want a transformative experience. I want to be moved!” So that’s what we try to bring to the live show from here on in. (Pretty sure she was joking about the being dropped from the label thing… I hope.) The recordings for the EP were made at Dave Mudie’s studio in Northcote and also in my bedroom
and hallway with Tim Harvey.
5.
Music, Right Here, Right Now Here in Melbourne, the biggest obstacle I think that musicians have to overcome right now is being selffunded, juggling work whilst really giving music a real good shot – it’s hard, both are full-time jobs. Everybody I know who are musicians are pretty tired, fairly broke and quite underslept, but the best thing about the local scene is that everyone is really supportive of each other, collaborations are rife and every single night of the week you can go out and see a solid world-class show. What: What The Fuck Was I Thinking out now through Milk! With: Noire Where: Golden Age Cinema When: Saturday May 27
songwriters’ secrets WITH
KIM CHURCHILL It involved my girlfriend at the time too. In hindsight it was so lame. But it was honest, and I remember feeling early on that honesty is the strongest thing a song can have.
2.
The Last Song I Released My latest release is ‘Breakneck Speed’. It’s the first single off my next album which will be out in August. I wrote it whilst touring through the multicolour fantasy world that is Quebec in the autumn. I found calm, even though the touring was relentless and stressful. It’s a celebration of finding that calm in life when it was moving at such a high speed.
1.
The First Song I Wrote The first song I ever wrote was a song called ‘Blue
Pyjamas And Raisin Toast’. I wrote it when I was about 15. I used to surf in the mornings before school
and would cruise around in my blue PJs and get really excited to eat that cool, new-at-the-time raisin toast.
3.
Songwriting Secrets I think the best ideas happen quickly, calmly
and won’t be forced. Neil Young said, “You just gotta keep showin’ up.” That’s the secret: sit down, 20 times a day if you like, and have a play. If nothing comes, bail and do something else. Then show up again.
4.
The Song That Makes Me Proud Probably a song dedicated to my grandmother called ‘Rosemary’. It’s on the new album. It’s from the perspective of an old man who was in the opposite ward to my grandma in the few weeks before they both passed away. His mind was beginning to shut down and he, for some reason, decided my grandmother was the love of his life. She went along with it and they actually spent a good amount of time together in the final two weeks of their
life. It makes me love the mysteries of the human mind and I think she would have liked it.
5.
The Song That Changed My Life Probably ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay. I was ten. The album had just dropped and I fell for it really hard. I went through like four copies of that album. It just connected me with melody like nothing I had ever experienced. It made me realise I wanted to move people like it had moved me. I wanted to write music that could be the soundtrack and the support and the motivation to life. Where: Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music When: Saturday May 20
five things WITH
VINCENT GIARRUSSO FROM UNDERGROUNDLOVERS
1.
the name. There is an Italian futurist play about lovers that meet in the underground in Rome called L’amati Sotto Terra, which roughly translates to ‘underground lovers’. We met Richard, Pip, Maurice and now Emma, and that’s our band.
2.
4.
Inspirations I like almost all music and musicians. Music is pure and helps you live longer.
3.
Your Band Glenn and I met at high school. We started the band in the early ’90s. Glenn came up with 26 :: BRAG :: 713 :: 17:05:17
The Music You Make We started recording Staring At You Staring At Me at Richard’s studio in Clifton Hill. Richard’s studio lends itself to a raw rock’n’roll vibe which we captured for the rhythm section and some of the guitar sounds. We then did further recordings
in Sydney with Wayne Connolly. Wayne is smart, funny and has some of the best ears in the business. And we mixed in Sydney with the very sexy Tim Whitten.
5.
Music, Right Here, Right Now Music is always surprising and exciting, although we tend to avoid corporate music and music that sounds like advertising. What: Staring At You Staring At Me out now through Rubber Records Where: Leadbelly When: Thursday May 18 and Friday May 19
thebrag.com
Kim Churchill photo by Lester Jones
Growing Up I remember my mum ironing and dancing to Elvis while smoking a fag, all at the same time. Also, my parents doing a mean twist to the latest rock’n’roll music, then discovering the alternative music scene when I was 15 years old.
name the artists How many musical legends can you find in this picture?
Share your answers at facebook.com/thebragsydney.
ART BY KEIREN JOLLY
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live reviews & snaps What we’ve been out to see...
Loyle Carner Announced His Arrival At His Sydney Show, But Next Time He’ll Be In A Stadium By David Molloy May you never know the hardship of being a support at a hip hop gig. Ryland Rose had his game face on for his Oxford Art Factory supporting set, but his energy wasn’t returned by the rapidly fi lling room. All the more credit to the young rapper, then, for rising
to the challenge and bringing his A-game. Despite little movement at the station, Rose leapt about the stage to tasty, bass-heavy beats conjured by his lip-syncing DJ partner. His appeal relies on his humility – his rhymes are sufficient when he’s repping himself, but on ‘Almost Famous & Broke’, his more selfdeprecating lines truly shone. The Coburg rapper took after the main act in that respect. Conversely, humility is not something Loyle Carner could be expected to adopt right now, given the skyrocketing state of his career. Fellow Groovin The
Moo artist L-Fresh The Lion was in attendance, and was surely not the only hip hopper punting for the night – Loyle’s got everyone’s heads turning. Just like at GTM, Carner strode onstage to a wild rise of applause, one which seemingly took him by surprise. The spotlight doesn’t faze him but the devotion of his fans constantly astounds him, and it’s clear on his face every time he lowers the mic. In his free hand, he gripped a football jersey tightly, but this time he gave it an explanation. “I carry my father’s jersey with me always,” he said, “and he’s a fucking Man U fan.”
Carner’s sense of pride in his family takes the average hip hop fan off-guard – Loyle admits more vulnerability than Kendrick would ever display, more melancholy than Drake, but couches it in such clever, effortlessly flowing turns of phrase and such chilled beats that one cannot help but be captivated. He’s a sad boy on the other side of the world from his dear old mum, and yet you can’t help but hang on his every word. When Carner freestyles, you begin to understand why he’s picked up the support he has. He dropped in references to Sydney without missing a step,
Against Me! Brought Their Inclusivity To The Heavy Crowd At Manning Bar There have been a number of festivals copping (well deserved) flack for programming entire lineups that omit one half of the gender spectrum. Those organisers would do well to attend a night like this: a full set of female-identifying musos at the height of their powers. Even more exciting was the strength of our local representatives. Mere Women showcased their post-punk prowess with a set aspiring to Savages, stronger than ever with bassist Trisch Roberts in place. Unquestionably the most structurally experimental band of the night, their abrasive, tempo-shifting grooves proved equally danceable.
The audience for Against Me! has changed dramatically over the years, but the full spectrum was present for Thursday’s gig – the anarchists, the queers, and the trans punters finally finding somewhere they could feel safe, liberated and proud. Firebrand frontwoman Laura Jane Grace is a beacon to all of them; despite years of shifting loyalties, she inspires the teenage anarchists and the true trans soul rebels alike. Against Me! are conscious of their changes, too, and serve some love to the fans of yesteryear in the shape of Eternal Cowboy and Reinventing Axl Rose cuts that still stand up as powerful punk adrenaline boosts. ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’, the perennial anthem, had a more roiling mosh than usual, but the fans were mostly loving – they shoved, they crowd-surfed and they roared, but there was little of the hostility drunken punters often bring to a heavy gig. Security contributed with uncanny docility; props to them for facilitating such a joyous environment.
This is a new voice in the hip hop community – one versed in grime’s linguistic gymnastics but sidestepping its bombast in favour of appeals to the soul. If you’ve missed Carner on this trip Down Under, keep in mind the next time you’ll see him, it won’t be underground on Oxford Street. It’ll be in a stadium. Loyle Carner played Oxford Art Factory on Monday May 8.
“The Wombats came onstage wearing suits and backlit by three glowing rings, and immediately forced the comfortably seated crowd to stand up.”
By David Molloy
They had an attentive audience, certainly, but there was a palpable shift in the room when Melbourne’s Camp Cope took to the stage. Georgia ‘Maq’ McDonald still can’t quite believe it when her audience knows every single one of her lyrics; after each song, she could only giggle at the rapturous applause. Bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich distinguished herself as the melodic backbone of the band, but as always, it’s Maq’s emotional delivery that carries them. Camp Cope are a generational phenomenon, and their fans are already doing everything they can to lift them up.
rapping off the cuff in the same emotionally open fashion. Ever the polite young man, he’d ask his audience for permission before new tracks or – for his closer – a heartfelt poem without any backing track.
The Wombats Revisited Their Ten-Year-Old Hits At Their Sydney Opera House Show By Emily Meller Never underestimate the power of the love you had for a band at 14. Even if the intervening decade has made you bitter, cold, and devoid of any emotion, know this: the second that your former favourite indie rock anthem about killing a director is on, you will dance, and you will remember and belt out every single word, and you might want to cry (a little). At least, that was one writer’s unexpected experience at The Wombats’ Sydney show marking ten years since A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation. Let’s slide right over the “holy fuck, TEN years?” part and talk about how nice it is to attend a
show in which the band plays all its hits and doesn’t get upset at the dead silence when it introduces “a song from our new album”. The Wombats came onstage wearing suits and backlit by three glowing rings, and immediately forced the comfortably seated crowd to stand up. “Imagine there are no chairs in here at all,” said drummer Dan Haggis. And the fans were already dancing by the time Matthew Murphy sung, “I’ve met someone that makes me feel seasick”. From there the audience got treated to hits like ‘Moving To New York’, ‘Backfire At The Disco’ and ‘Lost In The Post’. Just as impressive as the setlist
was the amount of energy the band maintained throughout the entire show – still dressed in suits, and coming off the back of Groovin The Moo. There wasn’t a chance to rest until the end of the gig. But of course, as Murphy pointed out, it was “not really the end yet”. They’d saved their most danceworthy song, ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’, for the encore, and were joined by audience members dressed in giant wombat costumes. Suddenly there was coloured confetti everywhere, and the sound of a thousand 14-year-old hearts beating in simultaneous upbeat angst. The Wombats played the Sydney Opera House on Monday May 8.
Unexpectedly, the band pulled a few covers out of nowhere, with Grace covering The Mountain Goats’ ‘Best Ever Death Metal In Denton’ as a solo encore (perfectly mimicking John Darnielle) and Camp Cope’s Maq joining in on The Replacements’ ‘Androgynous’. As she sang with Grace, Maq’s face shone – in the abandon of her dancing, we could glimpse this young woman’s dreams becoming reality in front of us. Whatever your history with Against Me!, now is the time to seek them out. They are powerfully connected to every moment of their past and future, and have surrounded themselves with the finest female-identifying musicians in the industry. God bless their transsexual heart. Against Me! played Manning Bar on Thursday May 11.
“Whatever your history with Against Me!, now is the time to seek them out.”
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PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR
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VIEW FULL GALLERIES AT
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“The stage was an elaborate circus of pyrotechnics, streaming lights and water cannons.” PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR
Green Day’s Arena Spectacular Put The Finishing Touches On Top Of Their Already Classic Songs By Anna Rose Green Day came to Sydney to proclaim the revolution, and their music commanded the
crowd like gospel. It’s a fact that the enduring Bay Area rockers don’t need any help to draw an audience – their discography is enough to do that alone. They’re the epitome of Californian punk rock, and a sold-out arena is testament to as much. So at what point in their career did Green Day decide they could no longer get by on their music alone? The stage was an elaborate
circus of pyrotechnics, streaming lights and water cannons, all framing a six-piece band that ran through several costume changes, the additional musicians necessary to bulk out what would otherwise be a hollow-sounding setlist for such a venue. The core Green Day trio threw themselves across the stage at regular intervals, shooting their eyes over as many fans as possible with cries of “Sydney, Australia!” regularly shrieked by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong.
Truth be told, anything less than a bombastic arena show would have been a disappointment. At least four fans were pulled onstage to join the band’s antics, a weird rendition of ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’ was interjected with the “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant, and the set even included some rock’n’roll classics, including the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ intro.
‘Basket Case’ and ‘Holiday’, not to mention the encore double of ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Jesus Of Suburbia’, and a second encore consisting of ‘Ordinary World’ and the timeless ‘Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)’, Armstrong and co. didn’t need the bells and whistles to carry the show – not when they’ve got such a proven history of songwriting genius to boast about.
Yet with all-time triumphs of their own like ‘Letterbomb’, ‘St. Jimmy’,
Green Day played Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday April 10.
Alex Lahey’s Sold-Out Sydney Show Was A Sign Of Things To Come By David James Young Nikki Thorburn is Iluka, a chanteuse of the bell-bottomed, hippydippy variety. She leans wholeheartedly into this aesthetic with songs like ‘Blue Jean Baby’, simultaneously recalling both the dearly missed Lanie Lane and the myriad of ’40s/’50s influences she inherited herself.
all time low
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It’s admittedly nothing new – every band on every corner is testament to time as a flat circle – but what gets Thorburn’s music across the line is her voice and the capabilities it holds. As she takes off on any number of high-end runs, one can’t help but be impressed by the control and resonance of her vocals.
13:05:17 :: Hordern Pavilion:: 1 Driver Ave Moore Park 9921 5333
She’s followed by what Monty Python may describe as something completely different: The Football Club, tonight making their Sydney debut. Although friends from their home state have tagged along for the ride – gently heckling from the first few rows – it’s worth noting the group has amassed a small but dedicated following already. Songs such as ‘You And Your Friends’ and closing number ‘Ivy’, in particular, showcase the versatility and duality of the Club’s sound. They’re emotional, vulnerable songs, but they’re also unafraid to show their proverbial teeth – as well as sink them in when the moment calls. It was just around this time last year that the name Alex Lahey was being bandied about as one to remember by anyone worth their salt within Australian music. Let the record show that all who invested at that point have had it pay off in spades. Put it this way: Lahey’s debut EP, B-Grade University, had four of its five songs released as singles – and the one leftover (‘L-L-L-Leave Me Alone’) totally could have been.
the darkness
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As a performer, Lahey is inherently relatable to her audience of primarily millennial uni students – perhaps the biggest cheer of the night goes up when she dedicates ‘Ivy League’ to them. She also has the talent and the vivacity to go pound-for-pound with any other rock band doing the circuit right now – newer songs like the hilariously titled ‘Perth Traumatic Stress Disorder’ and ‘Love You Like A Brother’ rollick along with frenetic energy and show great promise for the impending debut LP. Lahey’s truly feels like an underdog story, which is what makes the final sing-alongs to ‘You Don’t Think You Like People Like Me’ and ‘Let’s Go Out’ all the sweeter. Here’s to many more sold-out nights out, mate. Alex Lahey played Hudson Ballroom on Friday May 12.
10:05:17 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666 thebrag.com
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send your listings to : gigguide@seventhstreet.media
pick of the week
For our full gig and club listings, head to thebrag.com/gig-guide.
Devin Townsend Project
Bleeding Knees Club
MONDAY MAY 22
Bleeding Knees Club + The Pinheads + White Blanks Hudson Ballroom, Sydney. Friday May 19. 8pm. $13.80.
Enmore Theatre
The so-called “bad boys” of Australian garage pop, Bleeding Knees Club, have come roaring back with ‘Chew The Gum’, and they’ll launch it in Sydney this week.
Devin Townsend Project
Sneaky Sound System
Ministry Of Sound Reunion Tour 20052008
+ Sleepmakeswaves
Allah-Las Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $33.80. The Daily Specials + Sasanqua The Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7.
THURSDAY MAY 18 Dr Taos’ Medicine Show + Kris Schubert + Sharlene Rainford Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 7pm. $15.
Joseph Banks Annandale Hotel, Annandale. 8pm. Free. Matt J Ward + Harvey Russell + Sasha March Gasoline Pony,
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Prism + Cosy Bosom + El Papa’s Salsa Boys Valve Bar, Ultimo. 8pm. Free. Slumberhaze + Selahphonic Hotel Steyne, Manly. 9pm. Free. The Sycamores + On The Brink + Baker’s Man Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 9pm. Free.
FRIDAY MAY 19 Ay Pachanga! feat: Gonzarlo Porta + Merenia Marin + Tropicante SoundSistema The Basement, Circular Quay. 7:30pm. $27. Common Kings Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $49.90. Disparo! Presents Speedcore Night – feat: Masochist
+ Two Faced + The Phosphorous Bombs + Durry Valve Bar, Ultimo. 8pm. $10. Gostwyck Imperial Hotel, Erskineville. 8pm. $13.30. Jess Locke + Clean Shirt + Imperial Broads + Unity Floors Beatdisc Records, Parramatta. 7pm. $10. Queen Porter Stomp + John Flanagan Trio Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. SASASAS: The Sydney Takeover – feat: DJ Phantasy + Harry Shotta + Macky Gee + Shabba D + Skibadee + Stormin Manning Bar, Camperdown. 9pm. $25. Tim Smyth & Holy Trash + Hello Bones + The Quarters Captain Cook Hotel, Paddington. 9pm. $10.
Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. Thursday May 18. 10pm. Free. The Tasha D-fronted Brisbane alt-rockers arrive in Sydney on the eve of their big new album, In Deep.
Sneaky Sound System, Bang Gang DJs, Goodwill and more celebrate the glory days of Ministry Of Sound.
SATURDAY MAY 20 The Blackeyed Susans Leadbelly, Newtown. 6pm. $34.70. The Brutal Poodles + The Remnants Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 7pm. $7. The Daily Chase + Drowning Atlantis + Ghosts Of Pandora + Isotopes + Ten Years Too Late Bald Faced Stag,
Leichardt. 6pm. $16.90. Emma Pask Foundry616, Ultimo. 8:30pm. $26.50. Morning Harvey Hudson Ballroom, Sydney. 8pm. $13.80. Rockabilly Night of Mayhem - feat: That Red Hair + Drey Rollan Band + The Bonnevillains + Wes Pudsey and The Sonic Aces Lazybones Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. $20.
Surveillance Party #4 - feat: Animatic + Clulow Forester + Andrew Wowk + Dot Micro + Schmick + Xan Müller The World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $15.
- feat: Chaos + The Stukas + Overtones + Rukus Valve Bar, Ultimo. 5pm. $10.
SUNDAY MAY 21
Tim Solly + The Wayward Henrys Gasoline Pony, Marrickville. 5pm. $7
Harrison Craig Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point. 5pm. $65. Punk @ The Valve
Satellite V Marrickville Bowling Club, Marrickville. 4:30pm. Free.
Zucchero Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point. 8pm. $100.
the BRAG presents
SMOKING MARTHA Frankie’s Pizza Thursday May 18
SAN CISCO
Enmore Theatre Friday June 2
San Cisco photo by Ebony Talijancich
Fuzzface – feat: Vauxhall Outlaws + Goodnight Japan + Taylor King Hideaway Bar, Enmore. 8pm. Free.
Marrickville. 7pm. $7.
Smoking Martha
Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney. Saturday May 20. 2pm. $70.
8:15pm. $88. WEDNESDAY MAY 17
Smoking Martha
DAPPLED CITIES City Recital Hall Sunday June 4
thebrag.com
PARTY HOUSE ‘Calypso Beach’ is out now. Playing the Factory Theatre on Friday May 26.