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GROOVE ARMADA THE DANDY WARHOLS CUT COPY THE WOMBATS DARWIN DEEZ OU EST LE SWIMMING POOL WOLF GANG WASHINGTON
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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on, down and around town with Nathan Jolly
he said she said WITH TOM FROM TIN
G
rowing up I lived in a musical vacuum. With no real musical guidance or draw to anything in particular I just floated around. One of the first ever CDs I owned was a Hanson Christmas Album, given to me from my uncle. I quickly found out that I didn’t like that type of music, so from first discovering what I did NOT like, I eventually honed in on what music appealed to me personally. It was a rocky road (not the confectionary) of uncool.
I truly believe there is inspiration to be found in everything we encounter, whether it be from something simple and unexpected like your car windscreen wipers synching up with the radio or just from passing a morbidly obese lady with an eyepatch. Anything that breaks us from autopilot and makes you feel something; this is what life is about and is right use for songwriting fodder.
CAN RADIO
Tin Can Radio is made up of five guys with polar opposite musical tastes. Our guitarist produces glitch electronica under the pseudonym ‘Inspired Insomniac’, our synth player gigs in a straight-up funk band on sax, and our drummer gets hard over über ambient electronica. But we’re somehow connected through a love of making beautiful indie dance music and through our shared hatred of the monotony in life. Touring our releases has been a bonding experience to say the least. We’ve been driving around the east coast, offending locals at each stop in our colourful tour bus, la-cu-co-ra-cha horn firmly under palm. It’s been great. These guys feel like my brothers, bruu. Because we have such varied musical passions (and short attention spans) our music tends to cross genres fairly regularly. Our new release moves from dreamy indieelectro into disco-rock, from angular guitar driven melodies through momentous orchestral features into smooth electro. Lets just say we cover a few bases. We have a serious infatuation with warm melodies that make you feel good, juxtaposed with driving dance rhythms. We strive to create music that makes you dance and at the same time, touch you in places that no doctor has touched you before.
the other half is straight up misandry! At the moment she’s over in America eating chillidogs and watching baseball and possibly touring, but on July 23 she will return to launch it properly at Oxford Art Factory.
The worst kept secret in Sydney is officially out - The Scare have split up after five years, two records and one Silverchair vocalist producing their album. Apparently it was inevitable, which means in-fighting, which means that their final ever show at the Annandale on July 17 will be infused with the type of weird energy of a long-term couple fighting in a crowded but attentive room. And the room is a venue. And the couple have instruments and actually they are a band. And the band is The Scare. And The Scare has split up... /end
EDITOR: Steph Harmon steph@thebrag.com 9552 6333 ARTS EDITOR & ASSOCIATE: Dee Jefferson dee@thebrag.com 9552 6333 STAFF WRITER: Jake Stone jake@thebrag.com NEWS CO-ORDINATORS: Chris Murray, Chris Honnery ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Irina Belova SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Ashley Mar, Sofii McKenzie, Rosette Rouhana, Daniel Munns, Patrick Stevenson, Jeremy Bowring, Julian De Lorenzo, Renee Rushbrook Jacquie Manning COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Tim Levy
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Joshua Blackman, Mikey Carr, Bridie Connell, Oliver Downes, Tony Edwards, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Chris Familton, Lucy Fokkema, Mike Gee, Alice Hart, Kate Hennessy, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Amelia Schmidt, Xanthe Seacret, Jonno Seidler, RK, Luke Telford, Beth Wilson, Alex Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 153 Bridge Road, Glebe NSW 2037 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9552 6866 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Publisher, Editor or Staff of The Brag. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial Wednesday 12pm (no extentions) Art Work, Ad Bookings Thursday 12pm (no extensions) Ad Cancellations Tuesday 4pm Published by Cartrage P/L ACN 104026388 All content copyrighted to Cartrage 2003 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get The Brag? email distribution@furstmedia.com.au or ph 03 9428 3600. PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204
8 :: BRAG :: 367 : 21:06:10
Sydney is a melting pot for live/glitch/ electronica cross-overs. Shady Lane are so good it hurts me in the pants and listening to Seekae makes me unsure whether I’m awake or asleep. Just such amazing left-field ambientelectronica goodness. We’ve been inspired by these Sydney bands, you can hear it creeping into our music as we write more and discover technology. Our upcoming LP, due in January, is testament to this. It moves from track to track from pop-oriented indie-rock, through ambient electronica. We’re looking at it as a cohesive piece of art, not just twelve songs on a disk. Who: Tin Can Radio What: ‘From Moments to Memories’ single launch Where: Sosueme 3rd Birthday, Q-bar When: Friday June 25
Xiu Xiu
THE SCARE SPLIT UP
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Right now, it’s all about adapting to new technology. As musicians, it’s one of the biggest opportunities presented to us and one of the biggest obstacles we need to overcome. There are so many different tools constantly being created, new ways of making and manipulating sounds... it’s so exciting that I recently impulsebought a new Korg Kaoss pad.
VIGNETTES ON VINYL
Bird Automatic
BIRD AUTOMATIC
Think about everything you do in an average year. Not that good, is it? Now think about Bird Automatic. In 2008 they started a band, released an EP, got smashed on JJJ, and supported Shout Out Louds, Temper Trap, Dappled Cities and Art Brut. Now now, stop blaming Bird Automatic for your flaws - especially seeing as they’ve been nice enough to release a killer single, ‘Neon Dagger’, and are giving it away online for free. Feel bad now, huh? ...You can apologise in person at the single launch at Oxford Art Factory June 24.
The Beatles recorded their first record in a day; The Avalanches have spent ten years recording their follow up. The Vignettes chose The Beatles route, which is why they’re able to launch their latest vinyl release on Friday June 25 at The Gaelic. The press release states that mistakes were included, and the levels were in the red most of the time, which must have come as a blow to the band - but they’ve chosen to release it anyway. To us it sounds great; grab a copy on Friday. Tickets are ten dollars through moshtix, or at the door if you’re feeling lucky (punk).
POP FRENZIES
High Places and Xiu Xiu are both amazingly brilliant bands for infinity different reasons - although we’d never have placed them in the same sentence unless they were touring together. Which they are, in September. The uninitiated should hop on the web, listen to tracks by both bands, and then buy tickets to their September 2 show at Oxford Art Factory. Tickets are on sale now - unless you are reading this in a pub on the Sunday night when it actually get delivered. Did you open the bundle of Brags? Did you have permission? DID YOU?
LOLCAT STEVENS
Cat Stevens, or Yusef Islam as people insist on calling him, is coming downunder - and rather than getting The Testeagles or someone to support, he is bringing UK band Noxshi, who happen to have a lead singer called Yoriyos Adamos, who happens to be Yusef Islam’s son. They’ll be playing June 21 and 23 in support of ol’ Cat, and then twice on June 24 - once at the Annandale and again at Spectrum. Here’s hoping he’s a Sean, not a Julian…
SALLY CAN WAIT
If we were somewhat inexplicably forced to describe Sally Seltmann in two words, we would choose Buffalo and New, although not necessarily in alphabetical order. Her latest album (and her first under her real name), Heart That’s Pounding, was written after listening to ‘Eternal Flame’, ‘You’re So Vain’ and ‘Manic Monday’ - which to me sounds like two thirds of it is Bangles inspired, and
bluejuice
NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN
So I was thinking right, on Friday July 2 we borrow your older brother’s Royal Elastics and get him to buy us some beer, then we can get drunk at the skate park and try sneak into the Annandale, yeah? This hell funny punk band Frenzal Rhomb are playing there, and this other band I heard on triple j called Front End Loader are, too… Flashbacks, anyone? It’s been ten years since the Annandale was re-opened for live music by the legendary Rule Brothers - and over the next two weeks, pretty much every band in Australia (maybe) will be playing. We’re talking The Vines, bluejuice, John Steel Singers, Jimmy Barnes, Richard Clapton, Dallas Crane, Cloud Control, Kyu, We Say Bamboulee, Ozi Batla, The Tongue, The Last Kinection, Gareth Liddiard, Regurgitator, Holy Soul and holy shit, basically everyone else… It’s all running from Wednesday June 23 to Sunday July 4 – check out their website for all the details.
GIG OF THE WEEK Fri June 25
SOSUEME 3RD BIRTHDAY -Sat June 26 –
APRES – SKI A winter burlesque to keep you warm at night…
At 34b this winter we’re going down … all the way to the bottom of the mount. Yes, the ski season has only just begun, and already we’ve finished our snow workout and are in the Jacuzzi with a hot toddy and a few Swedish friends. Because at 34B we believe the best things about skiing begin once you’re done skiing! It’s called Apres–Ski (jeez those French - they’ve got a word for everything!), and it’s all about just clicking off the rails and slipping into someone… er, we mean something more comfortable. And what special friends we have with us in our own private Chalet:
Sarina del Fuego! Heidi Hoops The Ski Bunnies Baby Blue Bergman Danica Lee Briana Bluebell Melise Avion Herbie Strangelove With MC Renny Kodgers And DJ Goldfoot So look for the pine wood-panelling and skate on in – it’s sure to be one of our best shows yet and a cosy escape from the winter chill. Share a warming spirit as some bedazzling beauties and talented titillaters warm your soul!
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BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 9
rock music news
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on, down and around town with Nathan Jolly
five things WITH
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
LIQUID SKY @ CANDY’S
JON FROM THE HONEY PIES (SA) Your Band The Honey Pies are myself, Tony, Tom 3. and Marcus. Tom and I played together in Poly & the Statics, and I think we’ve known each other long enough by now to say he’s an “old friend”. Marcus is my younger, prettier brother - and unfortunately, for the sake of providing dramatic answers to questionnaires like this, we get along really well. The four of us enjoy a lot of the same music with enough disagreements to have something to argue about in the car.
If you’re eager for some epileptic, energetic entertainment from some eclectic emperors of electro, then you best be getting yo self some tickets to Liquid Sky, the new Friday shindig at Candys Apartment. The inaugural show will host LA duo LAZRtag and downright crazy bastards the Starfucker DJs. LAZRtag have been described as “¾ cups of distorted guitars, ½ a cup of funky basslines, a pinch of disco, garnished with some house” – a recipe for disaster; but the good kind of disaster, not the house-wrecking hurricane type. We have three double passes to give for the opening night on June 25 - to win, just name one of the Starfucker DJs. Disclaimer: The unusually high frequency of the letter ‘E’ at the start of this giveaway was in no way promoting the use of the drug of the same name.
The Music You Make If you’ve ever been to a club where a 4. DJ plays an old record like Johnny Cash, and it’s really loud and visceral and sounds completely different to the Johnny Cash you listen to at home, that’s ideally what we’re getting at - that feeling. We have a free demo available at our website (thehoneypies.com) and we’re heading into an Adelaide studio in July to record an album with Tom Barnes, who’s worked with Leader Cheetah, Empire of the Sun, Pnau and a lot of Adelaide stuff. Music, Right Here, Right Now Growing Up Inspirations it’s the Honey Pies first trip to Sydney, 5. My brother and sister are both very I’m wary of getting too Oedipal here, but 1. 2. but I’ve played a few shows here before in musical but neither of my parents are at all… while we’re on the topic of my dad, my favourite our milk-man growing up would whistle a lot now that I think about it, but that’s probably beside the point. My father tells me he was in his school’s choir and was so atonal that the conductor asked him to not sing, and just lip-synch instead. I wonder if he might have become a rather capable musician if that hadn’t ruined his confidence; maybe he’d have been in The Twilights or something. But then I’m a contrarian at heart, and if he’d been a musician I’d probably be studying medicine right now instead of answering this question.
BASEMENT BIRD, DO YOU READ ME?
So yeah, technology effects how music can be released – but MP3s will never wipe out the tangibility of a physical release. Despite releasing their album as some new fangled iTunes bundle, Basement Birds have realised this - which is why you can go to basementbirds.com.au and order a bundle that includes tickets to one of their shows, plus a copy of the album. If this isn’t enough for you, aside from having some issues with neediness that I can’t really delve into here, you can purchase one of only 50 VIP tickets per show - which include a soundcheck, some time with the lads, as well as a tour T-shirt. The shows are on August 18 at Newcastle Uni, August 19 at Wollongong Univeristy, August 20 at Enmore Theatre.
music is largely a mixture of the bands I fell in love with during high school, and the bands he first fell in love with around the same age. It was that age when I started buying my first CD’s -90’s stuff like Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Sonic Youth, Flaming Lips, Weezer, Pixies - and I also started sneaking into his record collection and discovering The Beatles, Elton John, David Bowie, The Beach Boys, Queen... Seinfeld does a bit about how old people spend their lives wearing the same style of clothes they wore when they first got laid - I think that’s pretty true of music taste too.
Poly & The Statics - and I’ve never played a venue here I didn’t like. Trust me, I can’t say that about every city I’ve been to... This trip is going to be my first time playing the Oxford Arts Factory and I’m pretty fucking chuffed to play there. Hopefully we’ll start making it down here more often. Who: The Honey Pies Where: Oxford Art Factory / The World Bar When: June 24 / June 25
LZRtag
METALLICA HAVE FANS!
Don’t you just love it when a band that’s been selling out massive stadiums for years announces new shows for a tour due to “overwhelming demand”? Metallica are the latest modest rock outfit to be shocked by the fact that a small percentage of the millions of people who buy their albums actually want to see them live... Anyways, if you haven’t yet gotten a ticket, then St. Anger has blessed you with this one final chance to see them at Acer Arena on September 18. Tickets go on sale Friday June 25.
Hell City Glamours
HELL CITY AWESOME! Metallica
UMLAUT VS DR EL SUAVO.
Mr Bungle fans tend to be odd types, so while I am confused and frightened by a press release stating that Umlaut (ex-Mr Bungle) has joined forces with magician and social commentator Dr El Suavo for a national tour, Bunglelophiles will no doubt be delighted. There’s talk of shimmering keyboards, quirky percussion, woodwind, and a cranky magician - but all you really need to know is that they play The Factory on Sat June 26, and The Croation Club in Newcastle on Sun June 27.
PETER HOOK TOURS
Basement Birds
Although you wouldn’t know it walking round Newtown on any given night, it has actually been thirty years (or thirty-one if you wanna get all calendary) since Joy Division released the seminal moan that is Unknown Pleasures. To commemorate this event, Joy
Division’s bass-guitarist Peter Hook will be performing the album in its entirely - with Hooky daring to take the lead vocals. They’ll also be performing earlier classic tracks, like ‘Transmission’, and ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart.’ You’ll have to wait until September 25 to see it all happen at the Enmore, but you can get tickets from July 2. Cue doomsday drums.
If you’ve never seen the Hell City Glamours before, then cancel whatever half-baked videogamerelated plans you had on Friday June 25 and head along to the figuratively and literally underground venue Oxford Art Factory, to watch your new favourite band. The Snowdroppers, The Rumjacks and Bittersweet Kicks are all providing support - so if you’ve been disappointed by the level of sleaze on Oxford Street of late, prepare to have your hope reinstated. The Snowdroppers
DRY IN JULY
You know how you’re always telling your partner, friends, parents, partner’s parents and work colleagues that you can quit drinking anytime you want? Well, now is the time to prove it, with Dry July gearing up for another mammoth year of fundraising. Last year, over $1.2 million was raised, directly benefitting both adult cancer patients AND your liver. Register at dryjuly.com and sort yourself out - you’re an embarrassment to everyone.
“Corrupted from memory, No longer the power. It’s creeping up slowly, that last fatal hour.” – JOY DIVISION 10 :: BRAG :: 367 : 21:06:10
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dance music news
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... With Chris Honnery onthefly.com.au
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
he said she said WITH
Ernest Ellis
MONK FLY crews - Void, Space Is The Place & Foreign Dub. Most recently I have also been attending the 104 Collective show n tell beat nights. I am finding a lot of those young beatsmiths very inspiring, and hope to help them with releases through The Frequency Lab in coming months. On top of DJ / Producing, I work for dollars doing PA / lighting installs for City Staging, and also work down at the wonderful Megaphon Studio as admin boy and studio assistant.
I
was born in Zambia, Africa. My folks were pretty isolated from the rest of the world - only hearing of the Beatles by chance when a fellow Zambian friend picked up a record whilst travelling through the UK - so the only music I heard growing up was local Zambian music. When we came to Australia I started to find new music through the radio, school yard and the local library, where I’d copy all their blues, gospel and jazz cassettes. I guess in a sense I started behind the 8 ball with regard to popular music, but with a very clean slate. Having a love of beats and jazz, I am very into my wonky beats at the moment... It’s hip hop, but with the swing that I’ve always loved
in jazz and other heavily syncopated music. It’s also generally instrumental, which suits me best. Beyond music, I find more visually creative folks inspirational. I often love chatting to non-musical creatives and reflecting over the similarities in creative processes across the art forms. I run the local beat orientated record label The Frequency Lab, so all the artists on that are my immediate family / crew. Earlier this year I spread me ol’ wings with a release on US label Daly City Records, so they are also family now. I co promote the Headroom future beat parties, with me boy Jonny Faith & also the Basic Thursday nights @ 202 with other family
Most of the music I make is steeped in instrumental, street-based, bass-heavy styles, such as Wonky, Future Beats & Dubstep. I guess the Jamaican idea of the bass-line being the melody is one feature of my music. I also have a love of the sound arts, so there are definitely elements of ‘found sounds’ and soundscapes setting the scene. I also love sonic texture, so my music often involves a bit of grit or distortion. Lastly, being a closet jazz head, I love swing - so a lot of the music I make has swung / syncopated beats. Beat-wise I prefer to hover at lower tempos so usually write chunky slow stuff at 70-100bpm. The local music community appears very healthy to my eyes at the moment. It’s still a question of infrastructure – we need more appropriate venues for various styles. Who: Monk Fly With: Kid Kenobi, Kato & Anna Lunoe, Ro Sham Bo, Hoops and more What: Cuddle Puddle @ Sydney Sounds Like (FBi Fundraiser) When: Friday July 9 Where: Oxford Art Factory
ERNEST ELLIS
Ernest Ellis’ debut release Hunting is a compelling listen from this audacious vagabond, who employed unheard recording methods to bring an unconventional, delicious album. Accompanied by producer Tim Carr, Ernie spent many hours in a cabin nestled in the Blue Mountains before setting up a recording den in Orange. Apparently some of the vocals were recorded whilst he was lying in a bath – perhaps a new take on singing in the shower. He must be doing something right because he’s playing at Splendour and supporting Florence on her sideshows. We have a pack containing the album and a double pass to his solo show at Oxford Art Factory on July 1, to win just tell us the name of a song on his MySpace!
party should reach fever pitch by October, so my advice is to grab your ticket early – they go on sale July 1.
DJ SEGA
After 2009’s sell-out tour, on the fly are bringing Philadelphia’s DJ Sega back down under for five Australian dates, including a spot at Chinese Laundry on Friday July 2. Sega’s father, DJ Brother Rob, raised him on classic soul, and his obsession with music grew from there. As one of the latest hype acts in the Mad Decent stable, Sega has a story that extends beyond the ideal of Diplo’s prodigy – an act whose release schedule, blog scatter and DJ skills have seen him transcend the hype and firmly ensconce himself in the club milieu of the present day. Still only in his early twenties, Sega trades in the triumvirate of Baltimore, Jersey and Philly club music, remixing the likes of Lil Jon, Crookers, Diplo, Sinden, M.I.A, Rye Rye - and is purportedly super tight in the mix.
JACK @ POLO LOUNGE
Delphic
DELPHIC RETURN
After a whirlwind tour a few months back, Manchester’s Delphic return to our shores as part of the gargantuan Splendour in the Grass lineup and will play a sideshow at The Gaelic on Tuesday August 3. Delphic hit the ground running with their debut LP Acolyte [meaning ‘one who assists the celebrant in the performance of liturgical rites’], a release that generated considerable hype and was produced by amicable tastemaker Ewan Pearson, who has applied his Midas touch to The Rapture and Sydney’s own Lost Valentinos in the past. Presale tickets for this Splendour sideshow go on sale Thursday June 24.
CIRCO LOCO LINEUP
The lineup for the eagerly anticipated Circo Loco party has now finally been revealed. Cool as funk UK tech house producer Jamie Jones (who thoroughly impressed when he was in Australia last summer), Italy’s Davide Squillace and Frankfurt’s Robert Dietz make up the tripartite pillars of a lineup that should have clubbers licking their chops and grinding their jaws in excitement – and rightfully so.
While Jones is well known to Aussie crowds thanks to his recent tour, when he played a great closing set at the inaugural Subsonic Festival, the lesser-known pair of Squillace and Dietz are “DJ’s DJs” of a very high calibre indeed. Indeed, all are regulars at the notorious Ibiza dayclub DC10 (originally an old airport hangar), out of which the Circo Loco brand has grown. With additional rooms by Wham! and Red Light, the hype for this
This Friday, Sydney icon Mark Murphy continues to show dem young sconies how it should be done with the next installment of monthly bash ‘Jack’ at the Polo Lounge, the Oxford Hotel. Jack is a soirée that celebrates house music in all its glory, traversing early Chicago house, deep house, disco house, tech house… you get the idea. With Murphy and Speakeasy’s MagdaB behind the decks all night long, Jack is an alluring option for the discerning clubber. Plus it’s free to get in, running from 9pm till late, so also caters for all of us reeling from the GFC – or Peer Group’s parsimonious pay rates…
NEW DRE & JAY-Z CUT?
A new track reportedly produced by Dr Dre and evidently featuring vocals from Jay-Z has emerged online. Entitled ‘Under Pressure’, it samples Kraftwerk and touches upon lyrical subjects including Tiger Woods, Gilbert Arenas and “living each day like it’s the weekend”. Dre did speak some time ago about having completed a track called ‘Under Pressure’, but given we’ve been waiting 11 years and counting for his long-mooted Detox LP you have to take everything he says with a few grams of salt. ‘Under Pressure’ is a combination of rugged, avowedly 90s-rooted beats and looped, tranced-out synths that has been described as “brutally simplistic” – stream it online and judge for yourself!
BOUNDARY BONDS WITH...
LER LIE MILSER NATATION VICE ARTISTS REVOLU
What does Revolution Artists Services do? We’re a band management company with a focus on development of new bands. What are the main responsibilities of your job? Developing long term strategies for each band, including recording and release schedules, and then working closely with the band’s agent to ensure the live shows support this plan. I’m also very hands-on with the online sites, as I believe that’s a key factor in developing and maintaining a fan base as well as creating the band’s ‘brand’. Best perks of the job? The opportunity to work with these creative and talented young bands is really inspiring. We also have really great friendships with all the members of our acts, which is great. And it’s pretty cool that it is somewhat acceptable to drink on the job! How did you score your role? Like many people in the music industry, I was an artist first. The Revolution is my partner’s company and when I decided to hang up my microphone he suggested I get involved. I just love music and I didn’t want to bow out of the industry entirely. Turns out it was a great suggestion, as I love what I do! Favourite artists of the moment? I’m loving that there are so many great local bands at the moment. Bands like Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Violent Soho and Regular John are setting a great standard for the Australian music scene!
“Oh, I’ve walked on water, run through fire, Can’t seem to feel it anymore.” – JOY DIVISION 12 :: BRAG :: 367 : 21:06:10
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BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 13
free stuff
dance music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... With Chris Honnery onthefly.com.au
five things WITH
THE LITTLE STEVIES
DAN FROM CHAINGANG music biz: “Real bands video blog. If you can video blog well, then the music doesn’t matter”. The Music You Make Tropical Island Riddims, punk (early 4. era, not Blink 182 era), indie, dance, stuff. We sound like us, but have been compared to bands like Blood Red Shoes, The Gossip - pretty much any band with a girl singing. Do we agree? No… But if you are reviewing, I guess starting with a girl-fronted band would be an easy option. We recorded our self-titled EP in Nashville TN in a place called The Lake House, and we had Snob Scrilla fly over to produce it. As for our live shows, I guess expect to be thrust into an energetic whirlpool of fingering and sexy body-grinding.
1.
Growing Up I don’t really have a key musical memory from my childhood other than really hassling my mum hard to get me piano lessons, and me being heaps into it. No one in my family likes music except for me, but in a way it was kind of good because mum was heaps keen, and pushed me pretty hard. I dunno if my childhood affected me as a musician now but I definitely still love music just as much as i did as a kid.
2.
Inspirations Devendra Banhart would be one of my
favourites, because he’s living on an entirely different planet than everyone else writing songs, and it comes out really good. He’s like Captain Beefheart but not shit. Sorry Beefheart... but you know I’m right. Your Crew We’re a four piece from Sydney - Mike 3. Jefferey, Hayley Foster, Chris Riley and yours truly. We love each other very much, but we don’t see eye to eye on anything - other than the some rare moments when we are all in a good mood. We live by a credo handed down to us by one of the wisest women in the
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
5.
Music, Right Here, Right Now It’s great, no obstacles really, great local bands, I personally really love The Protectors & White Bats, they inspire me because they are also really good looking also. Best place for live music would have to be DCM’s on Oxford Street for sure.
Who: Chaingang With: Operator Please Where: Metro Theatre When: Saturday June 26
Folky foursome The Little Stevies are blitzing the folk-pop world with their exquisite looks and even more exquisite three-part harmonies. They are lyrically diverse, the guitar hooks are catchy and sexy, and their delicate yet powerful vocal melodies would make even Alexander Downer smile. And what’s more, they look debonair in vests. A Little Stevies gig is like chilling out with a couple of dudes you’ve known for yonks, as they play a couple of chunes and then have a yarn between each number. You can’t fake the warmth and bona fide goodness that these childhood friends exude; to be a part of this warmth on June 23 at The Vanguard or at The Basement on June 25, tell us the name of their debut album. We have one double pass to give for each show!
THE SILENTS
Western Australia is fast becoming the home of ludicrously good music, and The Silents are adding fuel to this blazing Perth-based musical fire. They have just dropped their new full-length Sun A Buzz on the common folk, and their blissful, meditative recording retreat into the untouched natural wonderland of Western Australia has resulted in an magical and meandering, poignant and palpitating record with a pulse of its own. The guitars are hypnotic, the vocals are brooding and dissonant, the drums are effervescent the Silents are far beyond their roots of a garage rock band. To win one of only two copies of their new album, tell us the name of a band member.
the first instalment back in March, this gig is also a celebration of the rich heritage of bass, and the music will explore the early beginnings of rave and breakbeat through to jungle, DnB, garage and now dubstep. The lineup includes Canberra’s Crooked Sound System, Mark Pritchard and Farj of Garage Pressure fame, delivering an oldskool set of classic anthems. All of this for only $10 on the booming Hijack soundsystem…
is worth checking out on spec. This is a party aimed squarely at the underground community, so I urge those of you looking for something ‘outside of the square’ to pencil this event, which is slotted for Friday September 3 at The Civic Underground, into your undoubtedly packed Spring schedule.
BUG IN THE BASS
Quashing rumours that he was in rehab, CB re-emerged to cover the salacious Frenchthemed burlesque Apres–Ski showcase which will take place this Saturday at Q-Bar 34B. Most of what was written would have made Hunter S Thompson blush and can’t be published on this page, but with the likes of Briana Bluebell, Baby Blue Bergman and The Ski Bunnies all on display, you can forgive CB for getting a little overexcited. Tickets can be purchased for $20 through www.tenderloins.com.au, with curtains up at 8.30pm.
Bug In The Bass has announced its return in September with a double bill of two emerging techno producers: Vakant’s Dario Zenker and Bpitch Control’s Thomas Muller. Muller has been releasing on Ellen Allien’s esteemed imprint since ’07 and has completed remixes of producers such as Telefon Tel Aviv. Compatriot Dario Zenker has his own record label but it is his releases on Vakant that grabbed my attention – indeed the Vakant label is akin to a badge of quality, and anyone associated with it
APRES-SKI WINTER BURLESQUE
Matthew Dear Chromeo
MATTHEW DEAR
Prodigious American producer Matthew Dear will release his fourth album Black City in August on his own Ghostly International label. Dear has been known to don a range of different monikers, with his sound shifting from techno producer to experimental pop artist or bandleader depending on which of his four aliases he is working under; Audion, False, Jabberjaw or Matthew Dear. Black City has Dear in song-writing mode, merging his vocals with pop and electronic influences, returning to the sound of 2007’s Asa Breed album. Though the techno cognoscenti know Dear for barnstorming bombs such as ‘Mouth to Mouth’, his ability to successfully adapt to the pop sphere should not be overlooked. His single ‘Dog Days’ from his debut LP Leave Luck to Heaven was voted one of Pitchfork’s Top 100 Songs of the Decade, and he’s recently completed melodic remixes for The XX and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Black City will be available in Australia through Inertia.
WLS POLICE BUNGLE
In an official statement, the organisers of the We Love Sounds festival have “sincerely apologised” for the inability of patrons to enter the Hordern Pavilion after it reached capacity circa 5.30pm. Apparently from this time police, believing they were acting in the interests of public safety, did not permit re-entry into the venue. The release elucidates that, “to our dismay, NSW Police told patrons outside that the venue would be closed off for the remainder of the event... They were not in a position to disseminate this incorrect information. By 8pm, after the conclusion of Steve Aoki’s set, the Hordern Pavilion began to empty as anticipated, however the police would not allow a general re-entry into the arena. The venue, security, promoter and indeed Underworld band management lobbied the police to open up venue access, a process that took well
over an hour. Underworld, aware of the goings on, insisted they would not go on stage until all fans were permitted entry. Unfortunately many people missed the Underworld show, believing they would not be able to enter the Hordern Pavilion - when in fact the venue was not even full during their show and further, the performance commenced 45 minutes late to ensure everyone had opportunity to experience the entire Underworld spectacle. As the promoter of the event, We Love Sounds believe that NSW Police, albeit with best intention, misjudged the situation, to the direct detriment of our paying customers.” Give it up for the NSW Police then, everybody! Anybody?
VOID
Sydney’s pre-eminent dubstep brand Void bobbles on with the second episode of its ‘UK Bass’ series this Friday at Phoenix Bar. Like
CHROMEO
Bust out the vocoder and hit the dancefloor! Infectiously sleazy Montreal electro funk duo Chromeo will release their third album, Business Casual in August, their first since the 2007 release Fancy Footwork. As with its predecessor, the album was mixed by Cassius’ Philipe Zdar, who has also produced Phoenix, while Solange Knowles (the younger sister of Beyoncé) is a guest vocalist on the track ‘When the Night Falls’. Given the pair’s reputation, they would have had a hard time keeping their hands off her in the recording studio, but that’s half the charm I suppose…
“Violent, more violent, his hand cracks the chair, Moves on reaction, then slumps in despair” – JOY DIVISION 14 :: BRAG :: 367 : 21:06:10
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 15
Industrial Strength Industry Music News with Christie Eliezer
THINGS WE HEAR
Technology in Music Instruction and Managing Director of SoundTree in the US. It will soon call out for educators from the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors who are interested in presenting elective workshops focusing on the use of technology in music education. See www.mtec2011.com.
Ukelele world record breakers in London
* Melbourne’s Sensation dance party is axed for this year, but promoters are working to get it back in 2011. * How coincidental: Gurrumul Yunupingu’s Australian publicist is Byron Bay-based Chryss Carr. Yunupingu’s record label Skinnyfish has just appointed a British publicist for him in London — by the name of Chris Carr.
FAT AS BUTTER RETURNS
The Fat As Butter festival returns to Newcastle for the third time in October, promoter Brent Lean confirmed. Details will be locked in, in a few weeks. Last year it attracted 12,000 and pumped $2.5 million into the local economy.
* NSW police are blasting the granddad music of Andre Rieu, Bach, Mozart, Willie Nelson and Peter, Paul and Mary in the backstreets of Parramatta to drive away teenage pests
FAT BOTTOMED SHEILAS
With a total lack of taste, US label SplitScreen Entertainment is compiling a CD called “Whole Lotta Love: An All-Star Salute To Fat Chicks”. Metal and hard rock names will unearth Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls”, AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” and even Poison’s “Unskinny Bop” although it’s not about a large lady.
* The inaugural Cairns Ukulele Festival on July 3-4 plans to get enough players to break the world record of 851 ukulele players held by London. * In the wake of bassist Paul Grey’s death, there’s to be no Slipknot activity until 2012. * The Daily Telegraph reported that Nicole Richie’s US publicist threw a tantrum on the set of Today. Nic was there to plug the relaunch of MidCity fashion precinct, and the lackey was furious when the show introduced her star as a party girl, and talked about her split from Paris Hilton, her weight issues and arrest for drunk driving.
LIVE SCENE OVERTAKES FILM, SPORTS
The Australian live music sector generated $1.88 billion in revenue and contributed $1.1 billion to the economy in 2008 — says a study compiled by Ernst & Young. The turnover means that the live sector is larger than film/video production, sports, book publishing and horse and dog racing. Contemporary music is the largest, generating 40% of the profits and wages. (Despite what the public perception might be, the government only contributes 11% to its revenue). It was followed by musical theatre and classical music.
PUBLISHERS SUE LIMEWIRE
Publishers EMI Music, Sony/ATV, Universal Music, Warner/Chappell, Bug, MPL, Peermusic and The Richmond Organisation filed suit against popular online file-sharing service LimeWire. They want damages for the royalties songwriters and publishers missed out on, because Limewire didn’t license their music.
JIMMY LITTLE HONOURED AT APRAS
Jimmy Little received the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music at the APRA awards on
GLOBAL MUSIC SALES TO “TURN” AFTER 2013
June 21 at the Convention Centre. “To be recognised by industry peers who I’ve sat beside, wrote beside, performed beside, and lived beside is an absolute honour,” Little said. Others who have recieved the award included promoter Michael Chugg, country singer Slim Dusty, triple j, studio pioneer Bill Armstrong, jazz player Don Burrows, AC/DC’s Angus & Malcolm Young, manager Roger Davies and Sony Music’s Denis Handlin.
CHUGG GETS AWARD
Michael Chugg was presented with an International Award in Nashville last week by the Country Music Association. It was for his role in promoting country music outside the US — in this case, touring country acts Brooks & Dunn, Dixie Chicks, Willie Nelson, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban and Tim McGraw.
TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
Soundhouse Music Alliance is putting on mtec (Music Technology in Education Conference) again on 11-13 April 2011 at MLC School in Burwood, Sydney. Key presenters are UK’s David Price from Musical Futures, music director and TV personality John Foreman, and James Frankel, President of the Association for
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Things got hot at auditions in London for Simon Cowell’s The X-Factor, when Natalie Imbruglia filled in as a judge for pregnant Dannii Minogue. The London Sun says Cowell enraged the auditioning pair by telling them one was better than the other but both were pretty ratshit. Imbruglia pipped in that neither were good. The two wanna-be’s turned to her and yelped, “Sorry, who are you?” Imbruglia looked stunned, and producers quickly moved in.
Thirsty Merc were trying to set a world record last Friday (June 18) for visiting the most radio markets in a single day to promote a record. They were scheduled to start at 4.30 am in Cairns and then hit the airports in Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Central Coast, Wagga Wagga, Albury and end up in Bendigo at 7 pm. They fly in, do a quick acoustic set, sign autographs and then get back on the plane. This whole wacky idea began when the Merc were on the Southern Cross Network’s The Benchwarmers Drive show, who asked their listeners the best idea to launch the CD. The Benchwarmers (aka Adam Lavelle and Joe Gleeson) will be accompanying the band on their trek.
…AND OZZY SCREAMS INTO HISTORY
Ozzy Osbourne made the Guinness World Records for the longest and loudest scream. He stood before 52,000 fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on June 11 and got them to scream the word “SCREAM” for a full minute.
METALLICA TALLY RISES A10-0486
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NATALIE’S X FACTOR
THIRSTY MERC GO FOR WORLD RECORD…
R E T S PO TION I T E P WEEK
NAT
Global music sales will turn in 2013 and start rising as digital music overtakes physical sales, predicts PricewaterhouseCoopers’ “Entertainment and Media Outlook for 2010-2014”. By 2014, it suggests, fans will spend US$27.9 billion on recorded music around the world (it was $26.4 billion in 2009). By next year, digital sales will overtake physical as more governments push through anti-piracy initiatives. By 2014, global digital sales will rise to US$17 billion, from $8.1 billion in 2009 – but physical sales will fall to $10.9 billion that year, down 66% from 2005.
With promoter Michael Coppel Presents announcing two more Metallica shows last week, the band will now play 15 shows in Oz (and two in NZ). Total attendance is close to 260,000.
TOO MANY FESTIVALS? SEZ WHO?
Research by the University of Wollongong reveals that an incredible 2856 festivals were staged across regional NSW, Victoria and Tasmania two years ago. The report “Reinventing Rural Places: the extent and impact of
Festivals in rural and regional Australia” looked at how these events brought money into the local economies (a total of $10 billion, with visitors tending to spend something like $450 per person, per festival) and created a community spirit. Ballarat had the most, with 73 festivals. In NSW, Snowy River led the list with its 62, followed by Greater Taree, Lake Macquarie, Wollongong, Shoalhaven, Wagga Wagga, Great Lakes, Port Stephens, Coffs Harbour and Blue Mountains. Coffs Harbour, which had 25 events at the time of the research (March 2007 to March 2008), says it has since staged 25 more festivals, and is driving to become the festivals capital of Australia.
GUDINSKI ADDED TO BIG SOUND
Michael Gudinski will give a keynote speech at this year’s Big Sound in Brisbane (Sept 8 to 10). Another new speaker is former Violent Femmes member Brian Ritchie who is now in The Break and curator of Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art - Festival of Music and Art (MONA FOMA). Others include Joel Carriere from Canada’s Dine Alone Records and Bedlam Music Management, Senior A&R Manager for Sony Music Australia Courtney Hard, and Tak Furuichi A&R with one of Japan’s largest indie labels JVC Victor Entertainment.
Life lines Engaged: former MTV presenter Darren McMullen and girlfriend Rechelle Jenkins, after he proposed during a holiday in Venice. Married: Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies, 30, tied the knot to psychic-to-the-stars Jakica Ivancevic, 30, in their hometown of Newcastle. Best men were ‘Chair guitarist Daniel Johns and music biz exec Jake Denny. Ill: an unidentified illness forced Gurrumul Yunupingu to stay in the Northern Territory and reschedule his US tour. Hospitalised: producer Daniel Lanois ended with “a lot of broken bones” after crashing his Harley Davidson in LA. He’s been riding since he was 16. Hospitalised: Michael Jackson’s brother Randy with a suspected heart attack. Charged: Tim Bachman, 58, former guitarist of BachmanTurner Overdrive, with three counts of sexual interference with a person under the age of 14. In Court: Wet Wet Wet’s Neil Mitchell escaped jail and put under community work after punching his girlfriend in a drunken row. The couple are still together. Died: Warren ‘Wazza’ Atkinson, announcer and program director of 99.7FM Redcliffe, Brisbane, suspected heart attack. Died: US country singer Jimmy Dean, 81, whose ‘Big Bad John’ was a #1 in 1961. He later started his own sausage business. Died: Sydney fashion photographer Richard Bailey, 52, after a battle with cancer. His last shoot was the cover of Jimmy Barnes’ new album. Died: Addam Stobbs, long time presenter at Melbourne’s JOY 94.9 and former board member of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. Died: Brisbane New Age composer Tony O’Connor, whose relaxation CDs sold 3 million units, after an 18-month battle with brain tumour.
themusicnetwork.com
CYPRESS HILL
BIRDS OF TOKYO
BASEMENT BIRDS
SILVERSUN PICKUPS
ART vs SCIENCE CLOUD CONTROL BOY AND BEAR SPIT SYNDICATE THE HOLIDAYS THE CHEMIST
TRIPLE J UNEARTHED WINNER
BLUEJUICE
HUNGRY KIDS OF HUNGARY ILLY THE ASTON SHUFFLE SLOW DOWN HONEY CITY RIOTS and a whole lot more to come...
Tickets on Sale Wed 30th June members presale Thurs 24th June
www.coasterfestival .com.au BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 17
Photo by Tim Levy
By Amelia Schmidt
A
fter hanging out with Richard In Your Mind for morning coffees after the Brag’s lab-coat photoshoot, I can now safely say that not only are they one of the best bands in Sydney, but they have some of the best stories, too. The five piece have just disembarked from their magical mystery tour around the country with Sydney compadres Cloud Control, only to start getting excited about their own tour and album launch – for their second album My Volcano. But before that, we have some tales to tell… The story of Richard In Your Mind - part indie rock, part synth pop, part psychedelic distorted guitar, part white man hip hop begins with the young, eponymous Richard Cartwright. “I was probably 18 or something,” says the Richard, chilled-out front man for the band and raconteur extraordinaire, who punctuates most things with “cooool...” and bubbles over with a genuine, zenlike energy. “I was trying to get my email to be richardsmind@yahoo.com, but Yahoo said I couldn’t have that, so I found richardinyourmind@. The first show we ever had was a solo show at the Mandarin Club that Levins booked. He asked, ‘What’s your stage name?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know.’ - and because I’d been writing to him on email he said, ‘How about Richard In Your Mind?’ And I said that it sounded fine, so it was that!” Conrad Richters (bass) and Richard met at
the end of high school, but the music really started to happen when Conrad moved into Richard’s Annandale house nine years ago. “We used to have a thing called Magic Theatre, which was like an open mic night, only with no mic,” Richard explains. “People would come and do music, or show films. It was just this party, and it would be as small as twelve or as big as seventy people. The Magnetic Heads played there heaps – and that’s how we know Pat, our drummer, who is also our neighbour - and The Bedroom Philosopher played there…” I go to speak, but Richard continues; with every story just slightly more amazing than you thought it could be, I learn quickly to just try and let it flow. “There were some really crazy, experimental things like when a guy, Fabien, from Germany, came along and opened the garage door, drove a car into it and gaffer-taped himself to the front of the car, pouring water on himself, and then the car drove away. That was his artwork.” Born of an email, some tape and a magical garage, Richard In Your Mind released their first album The Future Prehistoric on Broken Stone Records in 2007. They were soon after joined by Jordy Lane (aka Shady Lane), and recorded their Summertime EP last year. It was when they began recording this newer stuff that the force-of-nature that is SPOD (Brent Griffin) was also added to the mix – originally to produce, but later to the actual band. “It really wasn’t until we decided that we were going to mix with Brent that it was
“I don’t think much of Iceland. That’s why Rice Is Nice paid a lot of money to explode it with a giant volcano. As long as nobody died too much, I think it’s been really good timing!”
suddenly, ‘Cool, we’re making the album!’” says Richard. But the band soon found they’d spent all their pocket money on tracks they weren’t satisfied with. “And that doesn’t equate, when you spend heaps of money and you’re not really happy, so Brent said, ‘Hey you guys can tie me up and use me as a slave for a year for next to nothing and come and drink my coffee.’” “I was thinking more like a month, and it kind of stretched into a year,” Brent interrupts. “Mainly because I think half the time we were meant to be doing stuff we just kind of went and had steaks and beers. It was a good year.” Joining the band was something Brent had wanted to do for a while. “I judge a good band by how jealous I am of them, and I was very jealous,” he says, remembering the first time he heard RIYM. “You hear a good band and think, ‘I want to make that music. I want to be involved with that.’” With all of these creative minds together, I wonder whether writing the music is a complicated process – but actually, the song writing has always been Richard’s responsibility. “I generally come up with what the song sort of is from beginning, but it’s quite different for lots of the songs,” he explains. Some tracks he’ll record straight onto the computer, but others he likes to test drive. “I like doing a solo show every now and then because Conrad comes along and watches it. So I always do new songs, and he’ll say, ‘We should do that song, but instead of strumming, we’ll go dupdupdupdupdup’ [guitar movements] - sorry, I don’t know how you’ll write that down,” Richard apologises to me, but Conrad supports him: “It would be more boring if you’d said ‘So instead of lengthy strummed barre chords we’ve decided to do simple staccato notes on the A string, like so.” I think this brings us roughly to My Volcano, a holiday of an album which spans genres and vibes, and transports you to far away places.
It’s as tight as a psychadelic album should be, contrasting the swirling guitar solos with strange, dream-like lyrics, all underscored by SPOD’s beats and synth-pop. With reference points like Beck, Ween, the Flaming Lips and the Eels, there’s a sense of humour and genuine personality that drives the music of Richard in Your Mind. “At some point, it started having this weird island-tribal-holiday-lounge-nightmare vibe,” says Richard. “I think it was quite early on that I thought maybe the first album was in space and this one was on an island. And the island is a holiday destination but it’s rugged there, with more mystery - Bermuda triangles and stuff.” And what about the album title, My Volcano? Are there volcanoes on this island? What does Richard think of Iceland? “I don’t think much of it. That’s why Rice Is Nice paid a lot of money to explode it with a giant volcano. As long as nobody died too much, I think it’s been really good timing!” The visual design of the album reflects this whole island-disaster-holiday concept, thanks to the lovely ladies at Greedy Hen – except for the inner booklet, which Richard tells me he photographed himself. “With my camera phone, but I did it through a crystal!” Probably no real surprises there; this is, after all, the same man who describes the forthcoming launch party thusly: “I was thinking I was going to wear some furry pants, some beads and maybe five painted lines on my chest, representing each one of us, and then in the middle of the tribal jam of ‘Flower of the Heart’ I’ll put on the lion’s head. And we’ll be like sho-ba-cho-ba-jo-ba-jah!” Who: Richard In Your Mind What: My Volcano is out June 26, through Rice Is Nice When: July 3 Where: Spectrum
“Y’all sleep on baby girl, I seldom frown. Spit the shank out my mouth, and bust you down” - LIL’ KIM 18 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 19
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions The Shy Chanteuse By Alasdair Duncan
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s the lead singer of dream-pop group Mazzy Star, Hope Sandoval – her voice sweetly warm, and her manner almost painfully shy both on and offstage – was one of the most enigmatic figures of ‘90s music. When Mazzy Star drifted into a seemingly indefinite hiatus, she formed another group with Colm Ó Ciosóig of Irish rockers My Bloody Valentine. The Warm Inventions released two spooky, folk-tinged albums - the second of which, Through The Devil Softly, appeared nearly ten years after the first. Given her reputation for being coy, it’s hard not to feel somewhat lucky to even be able to get Sandoval on the phone - to discuss her forthcoming Australian tour with The Warm Inventions. In conversation her manner is sweet and gracious, but she reveals next to no actual information, offering one-word answers and punctuating her sentences with giggles and long periods of silence. As we speak, I’m pretty sure I can hear Colm Ó Ciosóig’s voice in the background, offering her gentle words of advice and encouragement. First off, I ask about that ten year gap between albums – did Sandoval take a break from music to do other things? “I never take a break,” she says simply. “I’m always writing, always.” What, then, inspired her return to the studio? “Colm and I spend a lot of time together – we are always together, and we do a lot of recording and a lot of writing. I guess at some point we decided we should maybe put ten or eleven songs out that we’d been working on, and that’s what happened.”
So with so many songs on the table, I’m interested to know how the pair decided on the track listing? Did Sandoval and Ó Ciosóig select ones with a particular mood or theme to be included on the record? “We had loads of songs, and we just decided, y’know, to put them out,” Sandoval replies. “We matched them up together, and decided that the eleven songs we put out sounded good together, and that’s what we did.” What, then, is the significance of the title, Through The Devil Softly? “It doesn’t matter what it means to me,” Sandoval giggles, “it matters what it means to you.” A little intrigue goes a long way, I suppose. Sandoval seems to be one of those singers who inspire a very intense devotion from fans. Mazzy Star provoke emotion and attachment – so I wouldn’t be surprised if Hope often finds her followers coming up for a hug and talk after shows... “No,” she says. “No, never.” Is this, by any chance, because she sneaks out the back door shyly, as soon as the show is done? “No,” she laughs, “they just don’t do it. They like to keep to themselves, I think.” Over the last few years, Hope Sandoval has leant her distinctive vocals to several UK dance acts, appearing as a guest on tracks by The Chemical Brothers and Death In Vegas. The most recent of these was with the legendary Massive Attack, on their track ‘Paradise Circus’ from this year’s Heligoland. In typical Sandoval style, though, the process was a bit peculiar – she never even met the band, choosing instead to record her vocals at home in her studio, and she communicated with Massive Attack solely through her manager. The film clip, released several months ago, must be seen to be believed – the visuals accompanying Sandoval’s breathy vocals are clips from the 1973 pornographic film The Devil In Miss Jones, intercut with footage of an interview with the film’s star, Georgina Spelvin. Has Sandoval seen it? “I have,” she answers, “I had to approve it before they put it out.” What were her thoughts? “I’m just hoping that my father doesn’t see it,” she laughs nervously, “or any of my brothers and sisters! One of my brothers has seen it – he did say it’s racy, but it’s really good. That’s why I approved it; it’s pretty wild, but I thought it was really good.” Sandoval promises big things for her upcoming Australian shows. Supporting on the night will be Dirty Three’s Mick Turner, as well as Dirt Blue Gene (three of whom play in The Warm Inventions.) “They’re a band from Dublin, and they’re really amazing. Between us and them it can get pretty wild; pretty psychedelic.” And finally, as a long-time Mazzy Star fan, I’m obliged to ask after the rumours that Sandoval and Dave Roback have reunited. “Dave and I never stopped making music,” she says. Does that mean there’s a new Mazzy Star record on the way? “There’s definitely one coming out.” So, a release date? Song titles? Anything? “I’m not a hundred percent sure if it’s out this year or not, because I’m on tour for the next little while. As for the titles, I might keep those to myself. I mean, the songs do have names, but, y’know...” Another nervous laugh - and with that, Sandoval is gone. Who: Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions What: Through The Devil Softly is out now When: Friday June 25 Where: The Enmore Theatre 20 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
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Amy Meredith Growing Restless By Willie Newland
Faux Pas Makes Noise Work By Bridie Connellan
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or an engineer of moody electronics, Tim Shiel aka Faux Pas is an unexpectedly jolly sort. He finds himself quite happily nostalgic on a gloomy Thursday afternoon amidst a “violent” stretch of Melbournian weather, his thoughts turning as imaginative as his tunes. “I don’t know if you ever did this when you were a kid, tear up pieces of paper and run them down the drain, but it’s time to have a race,” he says. “We had a really long gutter at my high school and when we were bored in the country we’d make little planes or bits of origami and battle them down the gutters with sticks.”
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had to smash a large coffee just so I could deal with it all,” Amy Meredith guitarist Joel Chapman explains, as we discuss how the band have been handling their current media commitments. “But it’s not that bad talking about yourself all day.” “It certainly wakes you up,” drummer Kosta Theodosis chimes in. “I was half asleep before we started.” The Sydney band have found themselves in a brief period of calm amidst the maelstrom of touring, currently fulfilling promo commitments for the release of their debut LP Restless – and we’re all sitting together at the headquarter of their label, Sony. You’d think the boys would be grateful for the time off, but this isn’t the case at all; their relentless touring schedule has rather left them all a little bit dependent – and, yes, restless. “I’ve been having post-tour withdrawals,” Kosta explains to me in his raspy voice, a side-effect of some flu-recovery. “Like, when you’re on the road,” he begins with a slight snivel, “you start to get a bit tired after a while. But as soon as you get home you just wish you were playing again, you know? You really miss it so much.” Churning out synth-driven pop-rock with an immediate appeal, the Sydney band have been building themselves quite a reputation on the back of singles like ‘Lying’ and their naughtily raunchy ‘Pornstar’. Having toured around the country several times in the past year, both on their own and supporting others, they have a work ethic that seems to belong more to the frosty steppes of Eastern Europe than the sun-drenched shores of Sydney. “We’ve come off the back of touring for three months and we’ve been home for a few weeks - and I’m just bored,” Joel tells me.
After touring with he likes of Cobra Starship, The Stereophonics and Grinspoon, it’s easy to understand why the charms of life at home may have lost some of their shine. But while the band love playing the big shows with big bands, they’re quick to point out that it’s often the smaller shows in regional areas that really blow you away. “It was one of the smallest gigs we ever played, at this tiny little café in Toowoomba,” Joel tells me. “We were like ‘I don’t know about this place, it looks really dodgy and really small.’ But it packed out like crazy, it was so full and everyone was going insane, breaking glasses and shit - and it’s like sometimes those little gigs in the regional places can really blow you away, even more so than playing a massive theatre to hundreds of people.” “I think people are more willing to have a good time in some of the smaller places,” Kosta says. “I think they’d just love it even if we were shit,” he laughs, and Joel adds that it’s fun because it’s unpredictable as well. “We don’t know if we’re going to get a glass thrown at us, or a bra.” With their music working as a logical and more visceral extension of where a lot of the bigger, mainstream pop rock acts are going, Amy Meredith are standing in good stead to tackle the world market. With a killer album mixed by LA native Mark Needham (Killers, Hot Hot Heat) and a plan to tour it overseas, the future is set to hold many a treat. Who: Amy Meredith What: Restless is out on July 2, through Sony
If only time permitted. With a gunning new album Noiseworks out as a joint release between Sensory Projects/Inertia and Shiel’s own brand Heroics, this one-man tour de force is finding life as a multi-tasking music magnate just grand. When he’s not playing music, he’s talking about it - and as the newest breakfast presenter for community radio 3RRR, Shiel’s love of Melbourne creativity stems far beyond handfolded vessels in gutters. Shiel claims he feels moderately odd about his careers crossing paths, and believes distance maintains some sort of credibility. “When I’m on air, I’m never Faux Pas, it’s always just Tim,” he says. “I’m always going to great pains to keep them separate.” Shiel has cultivated a uniquely futuristic sound since his 2006 debut Entropy Begins At Home. But for a forward thinker, he finds musical apples hardly fall far from the tree. “I started making music when I found some instruments left over from my dad’s foray into music-making in the 80s. He had a band called Crystal Clear; they recorded in their bedroom and never played a gig.” Shiel’s ventures into musical fusion have thus carried on another stubborn family trait; he just wont play live. “I just haven’t figured it out,” he says. “I’ve never had a background in performance, I’ve never played in bands that have done gigs and I’ve never been a DJ. It’s not really something I think a lot about … except for the fact that I get asked about it a lot now.” He’s not playing live, he’s conjuring virtual instruments, and the solo operation comes from a personal computer... so who is Faux Pas actually making music for? “Always myself,” says Shiel. “It’s just a means to satisfy my internal logic. I’m never really thinking about how anyone else might enjoy it.” As an avid remixer of sorts, Shiel has shaken up a host of Australian acts including Paul Dempsey, Rat Vs. Possum, Aleks and The Ramps, Pikelet and Gotye. But this mash-up afficionado got creatively newsworthy recently with a remix of the 7:30 Report theme song, a cheeky number in the face of Pendulum’s ABC News mix that he claims was just for kicks. “It was the day after Kevin Rudd was on the 7:30
Report and he got his back up a little bit. He said something to Kerry along the lines of ‘You know mate, we’re not all sitting in 7:30 Report Land.’ The idea of there being this mystical place called 7:30 Report Land - I figured they needed some kind of national anthem.” With a thriving blog, regular Tweets and a determination to upload weekly demos, remixing Kerry’s auburn fuzz is but one illustration of Shiel’s creative humour... “The 7:30 Report was the week after I remixed the theme from Gilmore Girls,” he says. “I think I might have gotten myself into a TV Theme mode.” And thus, the challenge was placed; Full House? “Oh, the first line from that theme song, ‘Whatever happened to predictability?’ What a great line; it’s almost a philosophy. I think it’s a call to enforce some kind of normalcy that perhaps Full House is meant to represent. There’s a discussion here to be had...” Sure there is - but for now, to the gutter. We’ve got boats to race. Who: Faux Pas What: Noiseworks is out now on Sensory Projects
Karnivool
t’s a bit of a shock to the system when you’re plucked from 42-degree beach weather in Perth and jettisoned off to the freezing -12 degree depths of mainland Europe… But Karnivool guitarist Drew Goddard and his band survived, no matter how frost-bitten, and they’re ready for their first and last Australian tour of 2010.
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release Sound Awake, Goddard suggests it could have been for the novelty factor too. “It’s hard to tell for sure why there was so much excitement! We didn’t know if it was because people genuinely thought the music was great and the band did really well, or because they saw us as this exotic, exciting Australian band from so far away!”
“We did four of our own headline shows in Germany,” says Goddard. “A couple of them were sold out, which was surprising. We also traveled through Scandinavia and Stockholm and Helsinki. We also did the UK for the second time, but I really enjoyed our foray into mainland Europe!” He tells me that the best part was cruising on an icebreaker over the Baltic Sea, because it was just like being on the Love Boat. “There were heaps of these elderly couples obviously just taking a ride for the weekend, and we were just watching them have great fun, waltzing to this really strange band that was playing - and we were just cringing! I loved looking out the window when we were going past all these cute little villages. The scenery was amazing.”
Either way, Goddard maintains, Europe is definitely where it’s at for the kind of music that Karnivool play. “In Australia, especially in the early days, we were told there was no market for the kind of music we were doing at the time. Back then Cog were still young and unknown, and the progressive/ alternative/heavy thing was not really happening yet. People were telling us, ‘you’ve got to go to Germany, that’s where it’s at!’ - and they were definitely right.”
Just as amazing were the lengths that Karnivool’s European fans went to in order to make it to the band’s shows – some punters travelling from as far as Poland, Hungary, Greece and Tampa just to catch the boys from Oz. And while most would agree the incredible turn out was due to the success of debut album Themata as much as new
Still, it’s not like Karnivool haven’t dominated on their own turf. Following the success of 2005’s Themata, their sophomore release has already gone on to achieve gold status in Australia and is well on its way towards platinum sales - as it should be, considering the blood, sweat and tears that Goddard claims went into the process. “It makes me sleepy just thinking about the details, details and more details that went into this album,” he laughs. “It’s been a true labour of love from the start. We focused so much on the intricate details that it turned out to be a very slow process, and ultimately a very hard
Karnivool photo by Kane Hibberd
Wide Awake By Birdie
one to put to an end. When do you stop? In the end we realised if we didn’t set a deadline we’d never finish it – and believe me, we could have kept going for ages!” Which is one part of the reason Sound Awake is being described as ‘epic’, in all senses of the word. Whereas Themata was Goddard and vocalist Ian Kenny’s baby more than anyone else’s, Sound Awake is a joint effort, which included all five members of the band. “This album was a result of many jams and lots of improvisation,” says Goddard. “It
came from everybody’s opinions, and the communication that happened between all of us in the room. We were working well together as a band – and this is what is sounded like.” Who: Karnivool What: Sound Awake is out now When: June 30 (sold out) / July 1 (all ages) / July 2 Where: The Metro Theatre
“I’ve lost the will to want more, I’m not afraid, not at all, I watch them all as they fall, But I remember when we were young”- JOY DIVISION 22 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
Mark Lanegan Confronting The Solo Silence By Alexi Sebastian
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t’s easy to forget that Mark Lanegan, the former Screaming Trees’ frontman turned Queens Of The Stone Ager turned arch-collaborator, has racked up such a huge solo history. Six albums in fact, dating back to 1990’s rustic Sub Pop debut The Winding Sheet - on which he sparred with a young Kurt Cobain. “He was a wonderful guy, and a person whose company I really enjoyed,” says a laidback Lanegan on the phone from his L.A home. “He was an amazing talent, a great singer and songwriter. I was a big fan of what he did musically.” Two decades on, the troubadour Lanegan has continued to share his sonic vision with members of American alt-rock royalty; J Mascis, Duff McKagan, PJ Harvey and Josh Homme among others. He’s earned additional kudos more recently on co-operative projects with UK duo Soulsavers, The Gutter Twins (with former Afghan Whig Greg Dulli) and on a Mercury Prize-nominated album with Belle & Sebastian singer Isobel Campbell. “The last ten years or so I’ve just been blessed with an opportunity to play with people whose music I’m into, and people who are friends of mine,” says Lanegan. “I guess I’m a magnet for it.” As of April this year, the 45-year-old American singer-songwriter’s collaborative urges gave way to a re-examination of his own rootsy solo catalogue, first on a run of European dates in May and now with Australia scheduled in for next month. These will be Lanegan’s first intimate solo shows here since 2004’s Bubblegum album tour. “I’ve been enjoying the collaborations and the touring and the records, but I’ve always got a group of songs I’m working on for a solo record,” he says. “I’ve never really been in a hurry to make a solo record, I’ve sort of just waited until it happened.
case when I was younger. Although I probably still look really uncomfortable (on stage), I’m not anymore.” Isobell Campbell, who collaborated with Lanegan on her breakthrough 2006 album Ballad Of The Broken Seas and its follow up Sunday At Devil Dirt, has mentioned that his voice sounds effortless. If performing live isn’t natural, is singing at least? “It is now, but it wasn’t when I started, really,” he answers. “It was not something I did very effortlessly or really well. But I’ve done it enough now and for long enough that it’s pretty easy.” And with a deep vocal timbre affected by a 25-year non-filter Camel cigarette addiction, Lanegan says he really only quit to help a friend give up. “I didn’t want him to be the only one,” he says with a shrug. “I haven’t smoked for almost two years, but I’m sure it’s changed my voice. Then again my dad’s voice sounds a lot like mine.. although he smoked as well. Ha!” Who: Mark Lanegan Where: Metro Theatre When: Thursday July 8
“Until something’s recorded, it’s liable to get messed with in some way or another. But that said, it’s great when a song comes out fully formed and you know it and you’re pleased with it, and it happens in a hurry,” he tells me. But he admits that for every one of those, there are twenty that take two or three whole years to perfect. “The solo albums are usually done over a period of years and I’m constantly coming up with new songs - that’s what usually prevents them from coming out quicker.”
“ Cobain was a wonderful guy, and a person whose company I really enjoyed. He was an amazing talent, a great singer and songwriter. I was a big fan of what he did musically.” Lanegan has assembled almost enough tracks for a new album, which he expects will arrive some time next year. He admits that a decade of working with other people has broadened his creative palette. “For me it’s just natural that from a little bit of everything I work on, there’s something hopefully I’m learning from it,” he surmises. “And it almost always comes out in something else maybe in something I’m doing for another person, or just for myself. I’m always naturally absorbing stuff and spittin’ it back out.” Aside from his 1998 covers-only disc I’ll Take Care Of You, acoustic riffs usually form the genesis of - and open the gates into - Lanegan’s dark post-midnight introspection. “It might start with a melody that comes without guitar, but that’s really rare,” he explains. “Usually it’s just me with an acoustic guitar in my hand and occasionally an electric; with me just making sounds with my voice. That’s how it starts.” He seems like an easy come easy go kind of guy, not precious with guitars - or cars, for that matter. “If it happens to be my girlfriend’s Yamaha which is in the house right now, then I’ll use that. And the car I’m driving was given to me by her brother. Ha! It’s a ’93 Ford Explorer, an SUV.” With a solo set that now comprises “a little bit of everything” - Screaming Trees, QOTSA, assorted covers plus new and old solo selections - Lanegan will again be forced “to confront the silence” of the public glare on this tour. For him, playing live is an inherently awkward but ultimately rewarding experience. “Yeah, it’s the most challenging because getting up in front of people and doing something is really not natural for me, even after all this time,” he admits. “Because there’s no sound to hide behind. It’s pretty naked. It’s a pretty barebones experience. “I mean I enjoy singing and as time goes on and I get a little older I do enjoy playing for people as well,” he continues, “but that wasn’t always the BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 23
Suckers Dance Magic Dance By Willie Newland
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lending the synth-pop sensibility of TV On The Radio with a gritty, almost lo-fi edge in the execution, Brooklyn based four-piece Suckers aren’t ones to tread a well worn path. Having first set global media tongues wagging with their 2009 self titled debut EP (produced by Yeasayer’s Anand Wilder), Suckers have since dug in and come up with a gem in the shape of their debut LP, Wild Smile. Floating in an ephemeral space, rife with airy synths, triumphant vocal harmonies and singa-long choruses, the band’s sound has been likened to everything from David Bowie to David Byrne (well, not exactly a massive leap, but impressive all the same.) Making use of pop conventions and subverting them through strange bouts of aural experimentalism, Suckers have marked themselves as a band with the vision and resolution to take risks that pay off in a way that doesn’t quite make sense, but is all the better for it. Produced by Chris Zane (The National, The Walkman), Wild Smile has also been described as Labyrinth-pop, a reference to the 1986 Jim Henson film - in which David Bowie starred
and wrote the music. But while the band’s press release may spend half a paragraph explaining the connection, according to multi-instrumentalist Quin Walker, the tie is actually kind of tenuous. “It’s funny that that ended up in our press release, actually,” Quin tells me, talking on his mobile from a van as the band drive to the next stop on their tour of the US. “The story is that we were in the middle of recording the album and there was this one song we were working on when we were like ‘WOAH! This song sounds like Labyrinth, this album is like Labyrinth-pop.’ There were a couple of songs that had really 80s synths and were kind of sounding Bowie-ish and we thought, yeah, here are some other Labyrinth songs - but in the end all those songs didn’t end up on the album,” he explains with a soft laugh of self deprecation, before adding, “but we still like to call it Labyrinthpop anyway...” The real connection between Labyrinth and Wild Smile is probably just in the sheer weirdness of it all. Determined to always try and find something new in their music, Suckers have a tendency to push the limits of cohesion with their experimentation. While for some bands this would mean all that you’re left with is garbled indulgent nonsense, Suckers make sure they have a clear idea of what they’re doing before they get near the studio. “We definitely self-produce the music before we get to the studio. It happens all very organically, and then when we go into the studio we just add some different layers and textures.” Rather than waste time and money screwing around in the studio trying to get just the right snare sound or whatever, Suckers tend to leave the experimenting at home. “Sometimes I’ll just sit at my house and come up with some weird noises or textures or something. Then I’ll take that to the rest of the band and say ‘hey, here’s this weird thing I’ve made, let’s build on this!’ But yeah, experimenting is the most fun for me, and the easiest I think - or what just comes most naturally at least.”
“We all drink out of this one big pool we bathe in! ...Nah, I don’t really know what it is. I think the thing between all of our bands is that we’re likeminded songwriters. If you live in the same place, you just end up being inspired by the same things.” This sort of ‘leave it and see’ mentality runs straight through the band’s entire writing process; Suckers often record ideas they found jamming, to go back to at a later date. “That’s how a lot of the songs will come about. We just start jamming it out and if we come upon something we think is pretty cool, we’ll record it. Then we’ll start from scratch again and work on another song, before we go back and revisit the recording to see if we can build on it.” The result of all these experiments are songs that sound startlingly original and exciting, without being too in your face or challenging. It’s a recipe that a few bands seem to have been succeeding with of late. Like MGMT. Like Yeasayer. Like Chairlift. Like Here We Go Magic. Like Neon Indi- Wait, hang on, they all come from Brooklyn? Wow, has anyone noticed that yet? There are some bands coming out of the same small place! Newsflash! (Sarcasm!) “Well, we all drink out of this one big pool we bathe in!” Quin laughs. “Nah, I don’t really know what it is. I think the thing between all of our bands is that we’re like-minded songwriters. I’m sure there’s probably some degree of influencing each other that goes on - but it’s never a case of us watching someone else play and trying to mimic it or anything. I think if you just live in the same place as certain people, you end up being inspired by the same things.” While they may be inspired by the same things, compared to some of their contemporaries, Suckers manage to maintain a level or earnestness and guts that others lack. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but while the album definitely has its strong and weak points, it never has a fake point and it never feels contrived. And that’s a valuable commodity these days. Who: Suckers What: Wild Smile is out now on Spunk 24 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
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Sosueme Presents: The Sosuemeter ...Brought To You By Their Third Birthday
Ok, thank you for taking our test, please add your score to have your true identity revealed: 1. a) 3 b) 6 c) 0 2. a) 0 b) 3 c) 7 3. a) 3 b) 0 c) 7 4. a) 0 b) 6 c) 3 5. a) 3 b) 0 c) 6
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hree years in, and SOSUEME parties are already legendary - a united front of bands, DJs, artists, producers and hedonists, all joined by the power of 99% genre-free music loving, atmosphere-indulging, and dance-floor hip-thrusting. As the club night readies up for its birthday, The Brag asked the fathers of SOSUEME - Chris Murray, Garth Crane and Gus Magee – to let us all know what their party has in store. But instead of talking up the bands, DJs, jelly shots, the dance-off and the cash grab machine (?), they sent us this Myers-Briggstype personality test, to help you decide if you ha ve what it takes to attend. Without actually checking, we imagine this is a first for Australian street press.
Welcome to THE SOSUEMETER Sosueme’s tailor-made personality test. Answer the following questions by circling the option that most relates to you: 1. What best describes the kinds of threads you might sport for a night out on the town? a) a shirt, pants and shoes b) nothing but denim shorts, fake tan, bicep wax, Dolce sunnies and diamond earing c) three quarter cargo pants, crocs, a skivvy and a North Face hiking jacket 2. So, you’ve harnessed your strides up with a leather strap, and are ready to enter the party times at a city venue. What set of tunes make you happy as you walk in? a) Andre Rieu, Kenny G, Il Divo, Susan Boyle, Shannon Noll and NOTHING ELSE, OKAY? b) Miike Snow, The Fresh Prince & Jazzy Jeff, Notorious B.I.G, Arrested Development, Prince, anything from the golden age of disco
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c) Akon, Black Eyed Peas, T-Pain, Shwayze, Armin van Something 3. Unlike Mel and Kochie (who stole our idea), we will have far-less money in our “cash grab machine”. To create the illusion of wealth we will be using smaller denominations, free drink cards, and a signed steam room photo of Stav from Bluejuice. What would you do to get yours in the $4, 657 (all the money the promoters had) Mighty Cash Grab? a) You go into a cash-induced fit of excitement at the thought of truck loads of bling and a steamy photo of Stav, and do whatever you can to rig the ballot to ensure you make it in the box! b) Nothing. You’re shit scared of a $2 note (oldskool) slicing your eye-ball, and deflect your fears by muttering things like “that is acres of lame.” c) $4,657? My bumbag/puce European carry-all has more than that in it right now!
4. When do you feel your best? a) at home unwinding after a tough week at the Post-Office, enjoying some alone-time with a glass of red and your good friend Mother (she’s a top notch gal). b) driving around town on a Saturday night with a bunch of your best buddies, listening to great choons and occasionally stopping to talk at some smokin babes on the sidewalk. b) after winning Super NES Street Fighter Competitions (with awesome combos of ‘Hadukkens’ and ‘Wharnukens’) and DanceOff competitions, stuffing my pants full of $5 notes like it’s ANZAC day, and doing Zorba’s dance with Costa before calling it a night with a chilled-out 12 person orgy. 5. Scenario: It’s mid evening, you’ve had a few So-Punch-Me buckets, Costa approaches and suggestively whispers in your ear sweet nefarious nothings about mother nature’s cycles & seasons, and her secrets of sustainable abundance. You... a) Return the witty banter, but quickly become disinterested and tenderly nibble the free popcorn out of his beard like a baby penguin receiving its first meal b) Walk away, who the hell is Costa? c) Embrace the bearded host’s obvious advances, and escort him to the cloak room - you don’t care what he looks like as long as he’s (semi) famous.
0-5 Personality Type ‘melancholic’: Colonel Cardigan and/or Aunty Ugg-boots Why don’t you just sit this one out? Seems our soiree may be a little too risqué for you. Might we suggest jumping on Chatroulette, setting up two webcams, and waiting in giddy anticipation for six hours until you get a chance to flash yourself... to... yourself. 5-25 Personality Type ‘choleric’: Lieutenant Legend! See you at Q Bar this Friday for aforementioned Super Nintendo battle, dance-off, orgies, popcorn, jelly shots, buckets, Costa’s beard, good tunes and great times. 25+ Personality Type ‘sanguine’: Wing Commander Wanker SOSUEME’s motto is 99% Genre Free. It promotes unity, openmindedness, acceptance and musical eclecticness. You won’t believe your bad fortune, but you seem to have fallen in the 1% that they do not let in their club. What are the chances, right?! What: Sosueme’s Third Birthday! When: Friday June 25 Where: Q Bar, Kings Cross With: Sosueme All-Stars, We Go Bang Bang!, Tin Can Radio and HEAPS of bands DJ-ing
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FREE ENTERTAINMENT INCLUDING
KEVIN BORICH GALAPAGOS DUCK BRIDIE KING JACK EVANS & THE SPYDERS SWAMPHOUSE JIRI’S HARLEM SWING DAN GRANERO BAND YUKI KUMAGAI / JOHN MACKIE JAZZ BAND HIP SISTER JENNY MARIE LANG CENTRAL COAST CONSERVATORIUM LITTLE BIG BAND INDIANA PHOENIX MUMA JANE’S BLUES BAND AOTEA COMBO SHIRAZ MAL GATT LATIN JAZZ TRIO GLENN CARDIER & THE SIDESHOW STRICTLY DIXIE PLUS MANY MORE, SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR FULL LINE UP FIREWORKS 7.00 PM
Proudly P dl supported t d by: b For more information contact The Entrance Town Centre Management on 1800 335 377 or visit www.theentrance.org
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our stories as it encompasses other media including live events, photography, e-books etc.
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he terms ‘transmedia’ and ‘multiplatform’ are hot buzzwords popping up around new frenzy-inducing technology such as the iPad or Google TV. For the uninitiated these terms spell bewilderment but for Marcus Gillezeau, the award-winning producer/director from Firelight Productions, they mean a new age for the storytellers amongst us. Marcus is part of Metro Screen’s new Transmedia program of seminars and masterclasses, which kicks off this Friday – The Brag's Alex Parker caught up with him to find out what it’s all about. So what exactly is transmedia, or multiplatform? My understanding of [transmedia or] multi-platform is it describes the various platforms that are available to deliver content, services, applications and tools. TV, Film, Mobile, print and Internet are the main platforms. However, I tend to use the term ‘All-Media’ to describe how we deliver
Why the buzz? Is it considered ‘the future’? It isn’t the future; it is the now and the last ten years. Whilst some commentators and decision makers are just coming around to embracing multi-platform production and delivery, about half the audience are already converts who have been consuming their media and entertainment on platforms other than TV, film and print for years. The power [now] lies with storytellers. This includes journalists, filmmakers, authors, artists, and musicians. Anyone who is able to produce ‘Creative Content’ will be the new precious metal of the all-media universe. You won an International Digital Emmy Award for your work on Channel Nine's Scorched. What, in your mind, made it such a success? With Scorched, we had a really strong story and premise. “What would happen if it didn’t rain in Australia for 200 days?” We knew we wanted to make a telemovie, but we also wanted to give the audience the opportunity to engage with the story before, during and after the telemovie went to air. What we didn’t do was restrict where the audience could engage with the story - TV, online, mobile, and print - as long as they could find the story, we knew we had succeeded. We also aimed to make it so no matter which platform or media you engaged with, the story worked on its own, or as part of an integrated story. I think this is what
impressed the judges of the International Digital Emmy Awards most. What would you consider three admirable examples of multi-platform production currently live on the web? Britton from Above, that won the International Digital Emmy award for Best Factual is a great example of a truly integrated, interactive documentary. In Australia, there have been a number of really interesting multi-platform projects including First Australians. Whilst it is at the more commercial end of things, Biggest Loser and Master Chef have done a very good job of commercialising their properties across platforms which is a good thing as what they have achieved helps grow our audience in the mobile and internet space. What’s next for you? Currently I am working on the second episode of Storm Surfers - New Zealand for Discovery Channel Asia. It has a rich media online and mobile all-media wrap around with a 20 x 2-minute micro-documentary series. Soon, we’ll begin development on Storm Surfers the Movie in 3D and a massive multi-player game version of it. That will be a load of fun. What: Transmedia Production Seminar / Masterclass When: June 25, 10am-5pm / 5 Fridays, starts July 2 Where: Metro Screen, Paddington Town Hall More: Seminar tickets are $25. Applications for the Masterclass close June 28. www.metroscreen.org.au
WIL ANDERSON TIX
Australia’s hardest-working comedian is returning from 3 months overseas, where he has been honing his stand-up in basement comedy clubs – the result is something a little dirtier, a little bit old school. Wil is headlining at the Comedy Store throughout July, and we have a double pass to the opening night, July 1. To get your mits on it, tell us the name of the show (hint: read our feature on p.32)
DAYBREAKERS DVD
One of our favourite films this year, this Aussie addition to the vampire canon is an irresistible mix of splatterfest and politics, set in a future where most of the world is populated with vampires, and society is on the verge of sucking its most precious resource – humans – dry. What happens when the last drop of human blood is gone? We have ten copies of the Daybreakers DVD up for grabs; to get your hands on one, tell us the name of the Spierig Brothers’ first film (hint: read our feature on p.32)
SONGS ARE FOR SAD
But paintings are for happy. Craig Dermody’s upcoming show at Somedays Gallery includes his whimsical mash-up of album cover art, and collages. His band, Scott & Charlene’s Wedding (if you don’t get the reference, then you missed the 80s) will play on opening night as well. Craig says, “I write music when I’m sad. My paintings are childlike carefree and generally lighter in mood so you could say paintings are for happy. If I’m depressed I have to write a song and it relieves my anxiety and then I can move onto painting, one relies on the other.
ACADEMY TWIN CLOSES
Epic fail. Apparently the landlords (the Greek Orthodox Community of Sydney) and tenants (Palace Cinemas) weren’t able to come to
Keg customised by Amber B.
KEG ART X 12
Continuing its run of alcohol-related art shows, aMBUSH Gallery is hosting an exhibition called The Keg Show, in collaboration with Byron Bay’s Stone & Wood Brewery. These things only really fly if you have good art – let’s be real, there’s nothing inherently interesting about art on a beer keg. In this case, however, the line-up speaks for itself: Beci Orpin, Ben Brown, Catherine Campbell, Beastman, Numskull, Sara Hingle, Claudio Kirac, Nick Chalmers, Milly Loveknuckles, Terezka Beck, Amber B and Phibs. All sale proceeds go to the artist’s charity of choice. Damn you, aMBUSH, you win! Opens July 1 at aMBUSH, 4a James Street, Waterloo.
PAN MAGAZINE
Supporting independent media and artistrun-venues at the same time? Why not. PAN magazine is Sydney’s newest ‘literary mag’, with a twist of arts, culture, fashion, literature and music. They’ve made the intriguing decision to eschew features on eyebrow plucking, in favour of things like ‘transhumanism, heteroflexibility, artists, producers and musicians’. Hmmm. Their launch/fundraiser will feature an art display and auction, and a line-up that includes Psychonanny & the Babyshakers, and The Holy Soul. Issue #1 will, of course, be on sale also. Saturday June 26 from 6pm at Red Rattler, 6 Faversham St, Marrickville - $15 entry. panmagazine.com
APRES-SKI @ 34B
This month 34B Burlesque is celebrating the best bits of the ski season. Picture yourself sliding off the snowy slopes and into a skivvy, grab a hot toddy, jack-up the Jacuzzi and relax – entertaining you in Swedish style are Spanish snowflake Sarina del Fuego, Heidi Hoops, 28 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
BIENNALE: REVIEWED
The Ski Bunnies, blonde bombshell Baby Blue Bergman, Danica Lee, powder princess Briana Bluebell, and of course MC Renny Kodgers – the abominable snowman of country music. The party kicks off Saturday June 26 at 34B, with tix available through tenderloins.com.au
GRAPHIC FESTIVAL: BAM!
KAPOW! From August 7-8, GRAPHIC will take over Sydney Opera House, with a lovefest of graphic storytelling, comics, animation and illustration. The weekend includes talks, workshops (storyboarding, comicmaking), screenings (Akira with a score by Regurgitator!), performances – Neil Gaiman reading from his as-yet-unpublished story The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains, livescored by Aussie string quartet FourPlay, and illustrated by Eddie Campbell (From Hell), is sure to be the highlight; we’ll also be lining up to spend an evening with indie filmmaker Kevin Smith. Meanwhile, Shaun Tan's graphic novel The Arrival will sreen with a live score by Ben Walsh & the Orkestra of the Underground. sydneyoperahouse.com/graphic
an agreement about renewing the lease, so the Academy Twin cinema on Oxford Street will close its doors on Sunday June 27. This means that quality cinema will have to fight for even fewer exhibition slots, and fellas like the Mardi Gras, French, German and Spanish film festivals will have to cut back their programs. Which in turn means that all of us get lumped with more mainstream, less choice, and a whole lot less cinema pleasure. We suggest you take a moment and get along to the incredible Argentinian thriller The Secret In Their Eyes this week – while you still can. palacecinemas.com.au
Untitled #2, 2010 (detail) by Mark Kimber
ALL THAT GLISTERS
The photographs in Mark Kimber’s All That Glisters present hermetically sealed mini dioramas that ‘speak of our need to place value upon, control, and create memorabilia within our lives.’ We don’t know, that’s not for us to say. But we do love Mark’s dioramas – so check ‘em out before the exhibition closes on July 3 – at Stills Gallery, 36 Gosbell St Paddington. stillsgallery.com.au
Been along to the Biennale and seen some art? Don’t really get it? This month’s Sydney Review Panel at Chalk Horse will pore over the 17th Biennale – the hits and misses, and what it all means. Panelists for this session will include Dr Susan Best, art historian and writer; Senior Lecturer at College of Fine Art, University of NSW as well as Ruark Lewis, artist, writer and art activist and Aaron Seeto, curator, artist, director 4a Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. Tuesday June 29 from 6-8pm at Chalk Horse. Seating is limited, so attendance is strictly by RSVP to vkabov@gmail.com
UNDERBELLY ARTS / LAB
See, we told you so: Underbelly Arts: Public Lab + Festival is back in 2010 with a new home. From July 8 – 17, in various spaces next to the site of the old Carlton United Brewery on Broadway in Chippendale, over 100 of Sydney’s most exciting, experimental and emerging artists, will develop works and performances that will be presented on Saturday July 17, in a festive, beer-laden atmosphere. To find out what’s on the menu this year (Applespiel! Mr Percival! Reef Knot!) and get involved in the Public Lab side of things, head to underbellyarts.com.au
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 29
SUPERCOOL
Get Him to the Greek’s Jonah Hill on Judd Apatow, improv and anal cams By Joshua Blackman “All the directors I’ve worked with have been very welcoming towards improvisation, and not because I’m some great writer who’s better than the script [but] you want all the best ideas in there even if they weren’t in the script. Nic Stoller wrote a great script, but you get there and you find things he never thought of, or Russell might, and then you riff on that and explore where that could possibly go.” At one point in Greek, Aldous has the bright idea of smuggling heroin up Aaron’s butt. Aaron was none too pleased. Hill, on the other hand, saw an opportunity. “Nic [Stoller] was very inventive with the tongue camera he invented for this movie, so I got the idea for when Russell takes the heroin out of my ass to have a POV shot though my anus, and Russell reaching up and grabbing it.” I chuckle, and asked if this would have been with a prosthetic? “Well the idea was to build a tube, put it over the camera lens and try and then have a hand reaching into the tube towards the camera. But we never got around to it. I pushed it, but I think we wouldn’t have gotten our R-rating [the equivalent of our MA15+].” In addition to his sympathetic on-screen persona, behind the scenes Hill has worked as a writer on Brüno, and also aspires to direct. Currently he’s working on two projects. The first is The Adventurer’s Handbook, an adaptation of Mick Conefry’s 'how-to' book littered with anecdotes about famous feats of exploration.
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hank Dustin Hoffman. It was he who got the 20-year-old Jonah Hill his first movie role in David O. Russell’s wacky existential comedy, I Heart Huckabees. That was in 2004, and it was not long afterwards that the aspiring comic actor was introduced to Judd Apatow, the producer/writer/ director of such gross-out comedies as The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. This moment, Hill says, "was like coming home".
screened as part of the Sydney Film Festival; and the more mainstream Get Him to the Greek, in which he co-stars with the irreverent U.K. comedian Russell Brand. Get Him to the Greek is the latest production from the Apatow stable, and only the second to showcase Hill in a lead role. He got his big break as the foulmouthed, dick-drawing high-school student Seth, in Superbad.
“I just feel there’s a real humanity to Judd’s storytelling,” he says of his mentor. “I think he approached [these stories] from a very honest and authentic place. And sometimes that isn’t a fun place to go, but it’s still there and it’s real.”
“Most people know me from Superbad," Hill acknowledges. "I think it’s clear that people confuse the character you played in a popular movie with who the person actually is. Socially I’m not really like that. But you would have to take the time to get to know me to know that I wasn’t.”
Hill is in Australia to promote the indie drama Cyrus, which recently
In person, the 26-year-old comedian is polite and affable. When I meet
him at a swish Sydney-harbourside hotel, he looks content behind his scraggily beard, bulging glasses, and glass-bottled diet coke. Although one feels he would much rather be busting loose with comedy improv than doing interviews, his answers are clear and succinct, and he seems untouched by his unexpected fame and fortune. After the success of Superbad, Hill memorably played an ineffectual waiter in Nicholas Stoller’s goodnatured 2008 comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, a film full of memorable small roles from comic regulars Bill Hader, Paul Rudd and 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer. It starred Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and an hilarious Brand as old-school rocker Aldous Snow. A mere week after its theatrical release, the Get Him to
the Greek spinoff was announced. That film focuses on Snow, now regressed to his drug-addled state, and Aaron Green (Hill), a well-todo music executive assigned to shepherd the unpredictable musician from London to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Like most Apatow productions, Greek was created with a mixture of scripting and improvisation, a process that comes naturally to Hill. “I think it’s something that some people instinctually have,” he says, “It comes from a love of movies, just watching so many films, so that you understand how scenes are shaped, how jokes get into a scene or how moments have to be driven by story and character. For me I think that came from more of a place of just adoration for films [than formal training].”
The second is Pure Imagination, a script he’s writing about a man who suffers a nervous breakdown and turns to his friend for solace, unaware that he’s a figment of his imagination. It sounds like a cross between Drop Dead Fred (does anyone still remember that farcical slice of illadvised early '90s comedy?) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and he describes it as a mix of Apatow’s humanistic touches and the off-the-wall creativity of Charlie Kaufman. When that film – or Hill’s stillunannounced directorial debut – will see the light of day has not been confirmed. “I really want to be a director but I don’t want to say what my first thing’s going to be because it could be totally different to [Pure Imagination]. But I’m going to be very cautious about choosing what the first thing is that I direct. I just don’t want to make bullshit movies.” So far, so good. What: Get Him to the Greek, Dir. Nicholas Stoller When: Released June 17
GIVEAWAY
Double passes to be won Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love is proving to be a cinephile’s wet-dream, trailing breathless praise behind it as it passes through international festivals. The story follows the sexual awakening of a middle-aged woman (played by Tilda Swinton), who, after years playing the perfect wife, embarks on an affair with a young chef. Sumptuous visuals move between the intimidating exterior architecture of Milan, the plush interiors of the aristocracy, and the breathtaking landscapes of countryside Sanremo. Add dd d mouthwatering food, clothes by Jil Sanders and Fendi, and a soundtrack by American avant-garde composer John Adams s– and you have an incredible feast for the senses. I Am Love opens June 24. Thanks to Rialto, we have five in-season double passes up for grabs – to get your hands on n one, one e, tell us the name of one other film Tilda Swinton has starred in. in n. Email: freestuff@thebrag.com 30 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
W I N MOV IE
TICKETS
Come work with us! The Brag is seeking a new Advertising Sales Executive to add to our energetic and youthful team.
A fantastic opportunity exists for the right person to join one of Australia’s leading music titles. A knowledge of all things Sydney- its bars, clubs, pubs, boutiques and restaurants is essential. This is a flexible role, with the option of P/T or F/T working hours. A retainer and generous incentives are offered, commensurate with experience. A mobile phone and car allowance adds to a great package with all the usual benefits. Plus, you get to work in a cool, inner city location with one of Australia’s foremost youth marketing companies and publishing teams.
The Brag is part of Peer Group, Australia’s foremost youth marketing company and Furst Media, Australia’s biggest streetpress company
This is an excellent opportunity for the right, self motivated and hard working person to break into the music industry!
Please send your resume with a cover letter through to: Rob Furst, robfurst@beat.com.au
PRESENTED BY THE RABBLE IN ASSOCIATION WITH CARRIAGEWORKS
A NEW VISUAL THEATRE WORK INSPIRED BY LORCA’S CLASSIC TEXT THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA. ‘STRANGE, POETIC, EROTIC, DISTURBING’ - ALISON CROGGON, THEATRENOTES BOOK NOW: CARRIAGEWORKS.COM.AU | 1300 723 038 TICKETS $30 / 22 + BF 25 JUNE – 3 JULY CARRIAGEWORKS 245 WILSON STREET EVELEIGH
WWW.THERABBLE.COM.AU
Photographer : Daisy Noyes
LIVE MUSIC THURS, FRI & SAT NIGHTS THROUGHOUT JULY, 6 - 10.30PM
INDOOR ICE SKATING 45 min session $12.50 – 16.50 Open in all weather Book now at winterland.com.au or 1300 723 038
Free entry - no cover charge 8th - Alt country with Wil Massey and the Ghost Trio, The Lurkers, The Preachers, Charlie Trindall
ART & DESIGN MARKETS Curated by The Finders Keepers
9th - Disco on Ice with Arithmatix (Future Classic)
LIVE MUSIC 18 live music events featuring over 100 local & emerging musicians & bands
10th - Feral Media Showcase with Vorad Fils, Gentleforce, AFXJIM, Textile Audio. Underlapper.
BAR & CAFÉ WINTER TREATS
15th - Acoustic Folk with Leroy Lee, Kate Duff y, Quiet Titans, Rosie Catalano, Frontiers in Photography
FREE ENTRY (only pay for ice skating)
16th - Disco on Ice with Spruce Lee (Future Classic)
CarriageWorks , 245 Wilson St Eveleigh CarriageWorks, Train: Redfern or Macdonaldtown
17th - Music for Trees with The Slowdowns, The Delroys, Raymann, The Stiff Gins, The Anon Anons
WINTERLAND.COM.AU
Winterland is supported by
CarriageWorks is supported by
AND SO MUCH MORE THROUGHOUT JULY!
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 31
Daybreakers
Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe star in Daybreakers, out now on DVD.
[DVD] The Spierig Brothers: from backyard Brisbane to big budget Hollywood. By Dee Jefferson
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t’s tough getting past your first feature in Australia, so it’s particularly impressive when two genre geeks from Brisbane follow up their no-budget debut with a US$20million blockbuster about vampires, starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe. Their next film is the prequel to Dark Crystal. And they’re just 34 years old… Twins Michael and Peter Spierig were born in Germany, grew up in suburban Brisbane, and fell in love with films when they saw Star Wars. They started making short films in their backyard as teens, and while Peter went on to study film production, Michael studied graphic design (both at the Queensland College of Art). During his design degree, Michael started building sets for his brother’s films – and by the time he graduated, he was co-directing. “[The course] was largely film-based,” Peter explains, “so we shot on Super-16, and edited on film. I made lots of films when I was at uni – not just the uni projects; because you could get the gear out whenever you wanted and it was free, I would take the cameras out almost every weekend and shoot something. I made probably about 15 films when I was going through uni – and I did animations as well.” It was during this time that the brothers met Steven Boyle, who has been their make-up and effects wrangler ever since (and who speaks on the audio commentary for the Daybreakers DVD). After they graduated, they
started working for a commercials company called The Australian Film Company. At the age of 26, they decided to pool their money (and credit cards) to make Undead – a fabulously b-grade zombie film set in a small Australian fishing town, with buckets of gore. Peter Jackson saw it and loved it – as expected from the director of Braindead – and they got themselves a picture deal with Lionsgate in the US. Four years after Undead released in Australia, the Spierigs were shooting Daybreakers in Queensland. It’s a breathtaking journey; even more so when you realise that they shot their second feature in just 40 days – which by Hollywood standards, especially for a big budget action film, is insane. On the two-disc Special Edition of Daybreakers there’s a feature length 'making-of' documentary where the Brothers go through the whole process of how they managed to make the film within a strict budget and shooting schedule. “The only way you do it, is you plan things out really really carefully,” Michael explains – “we storyboarded the entire film; and we also had this extensive process of making sure that everybody understood everything we were doing before we went out and shot. A couple of people have asked us why there aren’t any deleted scenes on the disc – and the answer is because there were none, because we only ever shot what was absolutely necessary. I think it’s also a low-budget thing,” he adds.
with symbols, and the power of symbolism related to certain objects. Whilst creating Cageling, we tried to convey these meanings, as well as exploring the different relationships the characters have with each other.” The play is coming to Sydney on the back of a Melbourne season, in which it seems to have captivated audiences, including tastemaking theatre critic Alison Croggon, who described it as “a theatre of dream and nightmare”, and marked The Rabble as “one of the most interesting young companies around town.”
Inspired by Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba and Charles Perrault’s Bluebeard, Cageling is about five daughters that are kept imprisoned by their newly-widowed mother in a fire-ravaged village. As the story unravels, a bitter, savage portrayal of the internalisation by women of the chains of patriarchy is revealed, and the power of particular symbols is unveiled. Cageling is the product of an intense collaborative process between Davis and Valente, whose creative relationship spans ten years. “In this industry, it can be really difficult to find a person who you not only connect with at an emotional level, but also a professional one; and as a result, I have been so lucky to have worked with Emma,” says Davis. The co-directors like to describe Cageling as a ‘new breed of visual theatre’. “In fact, it’s almost like watching a silent film, with a entourage of artwork, images, stories, texts and sounds incorporated into the story,” Davis explains. “Emma and I are obsessed
32 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
What: Daybreakers, DVD & Blu-ray When: Available from June 15 through Sony.
[COMEDY] Willful workaholic. By Dylan Behan
[THEATRE] A new breed of visual theatre. By Prue Clark
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Michael remembers watching a ‘making of’ featurette for Star Wars, when he was very young, where he first grasped the idea of storyboarding. “We spent a lot of time doing shorts [throughout school],” says Peter, “and did different genres - it was a great way of learning; and we’d do everything; Michael even acted in some of them – very very badly" (laughs).
Sadly, only one of their shorts (The Big Picture) made it onto the single-disc, Special Edition and Blu-ray releases of Daybreakers; but the Brothers say they’d like to include more on future releases. “I mean they’re so bad, but they’re bad in a fun kinda way,” Michael smiles, “and it’s fun to show people how you start, making terrible movies in the backyard, with friends who are equally as bad as you” (laughs).
Wil Anderson
Cageling
espite the bleak, damp and cold weather in Sydney, the minute Kate Davis’ infectiously friendly voice resounds down the phone, I’m instantly warmed by the director’s enthusiasm about her latest project. Cageling is the latest production by The Rabble, a loose, crossdisciplinary theatre collective formed in 2006 by Davis and fellow Artistic Directors Emma Valente and Syd Brisbane.
“For Undead there was no money – if you don’t plan things out carefully, you just waste so much; and we’ve never had the luxury of waste.”
“It was almost like watching a private performance of ours being made public,” Davis says of the Melbourne season, “and it was interesting to gauge the audience reactions and emotions to the heavy themes we address in the play.” The performances and set design of Cageling are designed to draw the audience into the story, making them feel as though they themselves are flies on the wall, witnessing the events first-hand. “This performance is all about space, both its’ confinement and boundlessness, so we are really excited to be showing it at Carriageworks - the set space at that venue is perfectly suited to Cageling's themes of isolation,” Davis enthuses. “Although Cageling is a predominantly heavy-themed play, with dark undertones and a sense of human entrapment, there is also a sense of lightness that exudes from the characters, particularly in the way they deal with the situations they are faced with," the director argues. "We want audiences to leave the performance inspired to explore their own insecurities, fears and hopes, as well as introducing them to the new breed of visual theatre, which takes traditional theatre performances to an all-new level.” What: Cageling, by The Rabble When: 24 June – Sat July 3 Where: CarriageWorks, Eveleigh More: carriageworks.com.au therabble.com.au
W
il Anderson is the 'Grateful Dead' of Australian comedy: a tireless road warrior, seemingly on a never-ending tour, he delivers without fail a brand new oneman show every year - full of his trademark rants about media, politics, sport and society. In fact, Wil's a perfectionist workaholic with a self-depreciating streak; anyone else might well use the excuse of a cushie ABC television gig (The Gruen Transfer) as an excuse to slow down on standup and ease into middle age. Not Wil. He’s touring more than ever, still playing the world’s top comedy fests like Montreal and Edinburgh, as well headlining dates in Australasia and the U.K. Home in Sydney to present a month-long run of his Wilful Misconduct show at the Comedy Store (and tape season three of Gruen), July offers Anderson a very rare indulgence: domesticity. “I’ve been on the road for five and half months, overseas and here around Australia, and the great thing about doing it in Sydney is I do the show and then I just go home... I can be home in the tracksuit pants and moccasins on the couch with the cats by 9pm.” Knowing Wil, couch dates with the cats won’t last long. After a recent three month stint scouting out work opportunities and gigging in Los Angeles, the comedian has his sights set on bringing his self-described ‘topical dick jokes’ to the American heartland. But he admits he might have to change his script a bit. “There’s even clubs in the middle of America where you’re not allowed to swear, so my 70-minute set will be about 17-minutes.”
Having written most of Wilful Misconduct while doing late night gigs in typical basement comedy clubs overseas, Wil says the material has developed a dirtier, old school comedy vibe, more suited to the club environment of the Comedy Store than his usual digs at the Enmore Theatre or the Opera House. “It’s certainly edgier,” he says - “even though I hate that word.” The intimate vibe will also provide Wil with an opportunity to indulge in one of his strengths: off-the-cuff audience interaction. “There’s fun to be had when you can see your audience and smell your audience... Talking about masturbation or whatever, I can talk to the kid who’s there with his mum. It just feels more like standup to me.” Recently in the headlines for Tweeting rude jokes ripping into his fellow celebs while seated at the Logies, Anderson has a warning for anyone who may have found his John Mayer/herpes jibe offensive. “If you’re offended by that then here’s a tip: don’t come see my live show. Because that shit is tame compared to what I say on stage.” By my count (and Wiki’s), this is something like Wil’s fourteenth oneman show, beginning with I am the Wilrus in 1998 and continuing with names like Wil
Communication (2006), Jagged Little Wil (2003) and Wil of Fortune (2001). So realistically, Wil Anderson’s standup career looks set to continue for as long as he’s got Wil-based puns for names of shows left. “I would say that my legs will give out and I won’t be able to stand up in front of people well before the puns run out sadly. People just keep giving them to me. I honestly probably have a list of thirty or forty.” What: Wilful Misconduct When: July 1-26 / Thurs – Sun at 7.00pm Where: Comedy Store (Fox EQ) More: comedystore.com.au
all new show!
T HE SAMURAI OF T HE DRUM 15-17 July : State Theatre Sydney 1300 136 166 www.ticketmaster.com.au
“undoubtedly one of the worlds nest shows ” Herald
20 July : Newcastle Civic Theatre 13 28 49 www.ticketek.com
www.drum-tao.com BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 33
Arts Snap
Film & Theatre Reviews
At the heart of the arts Where you went last week.
RUSSELL BRAND Reviewed June 10 at Sydney Entertainment Centre
PICS :: TL
hijacked 2
The opening act, Brand’s own BBC Radio poet laureate, Mister Gee, disappointed the Aussie crowd the minute he walked on stage simply by not being Chris Lilley’s Summer Heights High alter ego, as everyone expected. Gee - black, bald and self-depreciating - oozed a different kind of cool to Brand, but was just as nimble with the English language and had obviously spent the weeks before his trip reading Aussie newspapers, as he managed to name drop more topical references into his 20-minute set than in an average 90-minute Good News Week episode.
10:06:10 :: ACP :: 257 Oxford St Paddington 9332 1455
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russell brand
I saw Brand six months ago in London, where his show played like a public apology tour over the Andrew Sachs prank call that got him fired from the BBC. Amazingly, despite still being on the Scandalous tour, Russell delivered an almost entirely new show to the one I saw at the Albert Hall, riffing on Australia's convict heritage, the Sydney/Melbourne rivalry and of course (being Brand), a large dose of anal sex and threesome gags. His strong persona - part self-infatuated Cockney sex god, part reformed hedonist and part eloquent smarty-pants - meant a lot of the highlights came from his unscripted interactions with audience members, including one bit where (obviously not learning from past mistakes) he stole a phone from a guy in the front row and prank-called his family.
10:06:10 :: Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour Street, Darling Harbour 9320 4200
Russell is undoubtedly one of the world’s top stand-ups and he effortlessly entertained all seven thousand fans in the cavernous Entertainment Centre for over an hour. However, tickets were a hefty $90, putting this one man standup almost on par with giant rock acts like AC/DC. If you’re a Brand fan it was worth every cent, but the crowd still didn’t appreciate having to sit through the Get Him To The Greek trailer and music video, played twice loudly during the pre-show wait. Dylan Behan ■ Theatre
creative sydney scratching the surface
PICS :: TL
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
10:06:10 :: Foundation Hall / MCA :: 140 George Street Sydney 92452400
Arts Exposed What's on our calendar...
PICK ME UP
(an exhibition by Karl Maier & Craig Redman) July 2-16 Monster Children Gallery 20 Burton St Darlinghurst Cute art with a cute story to boot: Pick Me Up is the result of a year-long visual conversation between Karl Maier in Sydney and Craig Redman in New York. Weekly, they traded artwork via email that served as both an update on each other’s lives and a commentary on the different, yet similar, worlds around them. The 14 resulting works are showing at Monster Children Gallery from next week, so check ‘em out. Maier and Redman met in Brisbane, lived together in Sydney and now reside on opposite sides of the world. They are part of a design collective called Rinzen, working across the mediums of illustration, sculpture, typography, print and textile design. www.rinzen.com
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Until July 25 at Belvoir St Theatre Densely populated with characters, subplots and politics, Measure for Measure is at risk of losing an audience - particularly those of us who haven’t studied or read the play, for whom unlocking Shakespeare’s compressed ‘language bombs’ can feel like mental gymnastics. While director Benedict Andrews put language front and centre in his STC production of War of the Roses (keeping sets static and sparse, and action to a minimum) in Measure for Measure he creates a rich webbing of visual stimuli, which help trigger those word bombs into cognitive explosion. Andrews’ key staging apparatus is a revolving hotel room, with a network of cameras (both fixed and handheld) projecting live footage of the action onto screens at either side of the stage. There’s also a flat-screen television in the room, which alternates between the weather channel, news bulletins, softcore porn, and Ren & Stimpy cartoons. The cumulative effect is an ever-shifting visual terrain – like watching a film on your laptop, in front of the TV, while your flatmate is telling you about their love life. Besides being a cleverly choreographed technical feat, this staging device provides a few functions: it’s a clear visual metaphor
for the play’s discussion about ‘production of truth’; a way of keeping the audience constantly engaged, and alert; and a practical solution to involving the audience more intimately in the performances, by allowing controlled close-ups. Of course, the constant multi-streaming of visuals also risks distracting your audience from the main game (what if your audience finds Ren & Stimpy more interesting than the actors?) And the end of the day, it’s the cast of twelve that capture and keep their audience, and anchor Andrews’ superstructure of ideas to all the mess, sex, emotions and fun of life on Earth. Helen Thompson (wonderfully bawdy and boozy as an ageing ‘Madam’) and Toby Schmitz (as a sexed-up, nitwit troublemaker) were clear audience favourites, for comic value; but Damon Gameau (Balibo) and Robin McLeavy (A Streetcar Named Desire; The Loved Ones) have to take most of the credit for turning in the kind of charismatic performances that make you care about what happens on stage. It’s a riveting three hours at the theatre – and that’s no mean feat. Dee Jefferson ■ Theatre
WAITING FOR GODOT
Until July 11 @ Drama Theatre, SOH Samuel Beckett is so much part of the Western canon, and this is so much his most influential play, that it’s almost strange it isn’t performed more often – and having studied it at school intensively, it struck me how ridiculous it was that I’d never seen it actually performed. All that time studying Godot as text, when it was written explicitly as theatre. While familiarity with the text pays certain dividends – the layers of analogy, the biblical, historical and philosophical references, the double-entendres are laid bare – I couldn’t help wishing I was experiencing Godot for the first time. When in premiered in London in 1955, Waiting for Godot caused a critical uproar – a two act play in which nothing really happens. Beckett’s anti-heroes, Vladimir and Estragon, spend the whole play stuck in some kind of loop: they know they are waiting for Godot; they don’t know who he is, when he’s coming, what he looks like, or why they are waiting for him. And yet they wait. To while away the time, they chat with each other, talk about hanging themselves on the nearby tree, and hope for passers-by, to provide distractions. Eventually, a buffoon named Pozzo and his man-donkey Lucky happen past; and after that, a small boy, who informs them that Mr. Godot won’t be coming today – but definitely tomorrow. Surely. Sir Ian McKellen ('Gandalf') plays Estragon (‘Gogo’) and Roger Rees (Lord John Marbury in The West Wing) plays Vladimir (‘Didi’) – and their performances are nothing less than you’d expect from these veterans of the English stage. They deliver the text as a kind of music hall routine of absurdity and slapstick – laced with a fair whack of existentialism, delivered in the wheezying, complaining tone of an ailing old man (Gogo) and the cheerful-doubtful aplomb of another old man who considers himself the captain of this ship. There was a lot of laughter throughout the performance – which was something I had forgotten about Godot: it’s funny. But it’s also the kind of incredibly dark, cosmic joke about human existence that, once you’re in on the punchline, makes you wince as much as smile. Dee Jefferson
See thebrag.wordpress.com for more reviews
Measure By Measure image by Heidrun Lohr
■ Comedy
Waiting For Godot image by Dave Goudie
What's hot on the silver screen and the bare-boards around town.
DVD Reviews What's been on our TV screens this week Two Academy Award-winners out this month...
PRECIOUS
THE HURT LOCKER
Icon Home Entertainment Released June 9 The thing I love most about Precious is the unrelenting optimism of Precious herself; it’s what sets this film apart from other films about teens struggling out of poverty and neglect. In fact, Precious has several hallmarks of the ‘Dangerous Minds’ genre: a older mentor who is an outsider in Precious’ world, but somehow manages to reach out to her, and instill in her the kind of self-belief that her parents should have; the classroom in which Precious learns that education is the greatest form of empowerment; a ragtag bunch of misfits who accompany our heroine on her educational odyssey. What stands out most is Precious's attitude; for someone who has faced fearsome abuse and neglect, and been told she was fat, stupid and worth nothing for as long as she can remember, Claireece ‘Precious’ Jones has a helluva lot of spunk. She’s created a vivid imaginary world, with which she sustains herself in even her darkest moments: visions of her as a pop starlet, as a stage diva, a blonde, blue-eyed rockabilly chick. The fact that she can get up every morning, take herself off to an ‘alternative school’ (after being kicked out of her old one for being pregnant) and remain both determined and kind to others is completely inspiring – and Gabourey Sidibe’s performance makes it completely believable. It’s even more remarkable when you see her out of character on the extras, and realise what a complete transformation she managed. This disc is stuffed full of extras, including a featurette covering the adaptation from book to screen, an interview with director Lee Daniels, and Sidibe’s screen test.
Roadshow Entertainment Released June 25 Kathryn Bigelow is not the first person to make a film about modern warfare, or even the Iraq war – Jarhead and Redacted, Rendition, Stop-Loss and In the Valley of Elah, preceded her Oscar-winning film. But watching the ‘making of’ featurette on this release suggests that Bigelow had a very specific mission in mind, that sets The Hurt Locker apart from its genre-mates. The Hurt Locker is based on an article by journalist Mark Boal (who co-produced the film), based on his time spent embedded within a US Army bomb squad in Iraq. This experience opened his eyes to a less-reported aspect of the war on the ground, which was the “sheer onslaught” of bombs that the US Army had to deal with. It’s great fodder for a film: you have an incredibly dangerous life-and-death situation; even better, it’s based on first hand experience; most importantly, these men have volunteered to be in these roles. Begging the question: why? Bigelow’s simple thesis is that the rush of battle is an addiction, and war is a drug – an idea taken from American journalist and war correspondent Chris Hedges. The Hurt Locker is more interested in that human experience, than coming down on any side of the Iraq debate – or even pushing a pacifist line. The features on this DVD release, while pretty basic (let’s remember, this was a completely independently-financed film, so they never expected it to make money) are as fascinating as they are revealing. All Bigelow’s efforts, in drawing together the performances and visual style, were designed to put you inside the ‘suit’ of a bomb tech, and see the war from their perspective. She succeeds, and goes further by presenting a riveting story.
Dee Jefferson Dee Jefferson
Street Level With photographer Kent Mathews (kentmathews.com)
dead rabbit; in fact, I must drag that album out again... Can you tell us a bit about the upcoming Bacardi Express exhibition at Doctor Pong? Some of the images are set up shots of the bands on the train; there is some reportage from the jamming carriage and 'caught moments' from both front and back of stage. I also set up a backstage studio and shot portraits of the artists as they came off stage and also of the crew and all the people behind the tour that make it happen. My favourite piece in the show would have to be the studio portraits - I love the power of a portrait shot on location, but when the sitter has been removed from the usual environments. What is your current camera of choice? Its really horses for courses. This show was mostly shot on a Canon 5D mk2, which is great for fast reportage, low-light work; but for my book projects and detail work I shoot on a Hasselblad H2 with a medium format P30 back - the quality is just outstanding.
K
ent managed to scoop one of the coveted spots on this year’s Bacardi Express, where he had the job of documenting what happens when you put La Roux, Art vs Science, Yves Klein Blue, Miami Horror, Cassette Kids, and a bunch of rabid music fans on a train for 48 hours. Besides having exhibitions of his dreamy landscapes in New York and Paris within the last year, Kent’s pedigree in the music industry is demonstrated by portrait work for Lily Allen, Florence and the Machine, and Groove Armada; on the arts side of the fence, he’s recently snapped Archibald winner Guy Maestri, and actress Rose Byrne. What’s your background/training? I did a degree in Photographic Art in London at the University of Westminster, then I worked as a freelance photo assistant for 5 years in the UK and USA. Do you remember your first camera? My first ever camera was a 110 film camera. They were small, like little rectangular boxes with tiny negatives and blurry pictures. I was given it by my parents at about probably age 10 and I filled a photo album full of shots of a girl I fancied from a day out on the beach, polar bears jumping into water at London zoo and my
Which photographers inspire you? To name a few: Richard Avedon for portraiture, Murray Fredericks for landscape, Camilla Akrans for fashion and Gregory Crewdson for gallery work. What else is going on for you in 2010? I am working on two book projects at the moment: firstly a portrait book documenting the crazy antics of the artists and party people at Bestival in the UK, which is now the biggest fancy dress party in the world. The second book project involves travelling round Australia photographing surfers straight from the water. I am documenting the face of Australian surfing at this poignant time in history when the first generation of surfers are still out on the water surfing alongside the new blood. What: Bacardi Express Exhibition When: Opens July 1, for the month. Where: Doctor Pong (1a Burton St, Darlinghurst) More: bacardiexpress.com.au
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CD Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
CD OF THE WEEK SIA
for a crossover artist like Sia - and the pros far outweigh the cons on her fourth album.
We Are Born Inertia According to the golden-voiced Adeladian herself, We Are Born is the album Sia Furler always wanted to make but couldn't, being too stifled by the pigeon-hole of a downtempo artist. Finally let loose and able to embrace her inner pop demon, Sia seems intent on almost entirely abolishing her Zero 7 trip-hop past, and showcasing the sunnier, shinier elements of those amazing set of pipes. Sia isn’t selling out; she's figuring out how she wants to sell herself. And I’m buying shares.
There are benefits and drawbacks to this shift; the latter mainly being that the dizzyingly emotive vocal runs that branded songs like ‘Breathe Me’ are practically non-existent here, supplemented for melodies that even your tone-deaf uncle can sing along to. But that’s not such a bad thing, especially
JACK JOHNSON
SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS
To The Sea Brushfire Records/ Universal
The last time Jack Johnson played in Sydney, I fell asleep. Literally, I lay down on a rug at his Centennial Park love-fest and promptly dozed off - and when I woke up, it seemed like I was still listening to the same song. In my line of work, it's really easy to hate on this guy. He’s too nice, too easy, too relaxed and just too chilled to be considered a legitimate musician, right? Well after listening to To The Sea, I’m going to go against the grain and disagree with my own prejudices. Sure, Jack’s music is never going to stretch your ears. It’s also never going to vary dramatically from album to album – indeed the plugged-in moments like ‘From The Clouds’ are a quantum leap in this respect. But there’s something I realised listening to this record; Jack Johnson is very pleasant to listen to. No matter how many post-ironic types tell you otherwise, it’s not a crime to make music that regular people might actually like. It’s really more of a skill. So that’s where we’re at. I wouldn’t buy Jack Johnson by choice, but I can easily see the merit in what he does. This totally would have saved me countless arguments with about three different ex-girlfriends. If Jack Johnson is mundane, repetitive, uninspiring etc, it’s because he’s carved himself a nice little niche, and has no intention of leaving it. With album sales like his, I can’t say I blame him. This record is more funky (‘Red Wine, Mistakes, Mythology’) and adventurous (‘Upsetter’ rocks out in 6/8 time), but it’s still Jack, through and through. It didn’t put me to sleep, but damn do I feel relaxed. J.J, you've done it again. By Jonno Seidler
Disconnect from Desire Speak N Spell Euphoric and fluorescent, School of Seven Bells immerse you in effervescent synth textures and elegiac major-key melodies. They manage to sound wistful and melancholic, optimistic and nostalgic, forward-looking and inspired all at once. The sound of Disconnect From Desire is much more paired down than last year’s Alpinisms; it’s less dense, but still gloriously textural. It’s very considerate of them to “step out of their sometimes-insular creative process” as the press release puts it, because unlike before, you can now choose to wallow in the fluorescent electro whirl. Or alternatively, you’re free to take a couple of steps back from the synthetic glare and trace the towering contours of individual instruments. The guitars are huge, courtesy of Claudia Dejeza and Benjamin Curtis - and Alejandra’s synths sound like they want to give you a Thai massage. The songs are much more to the point, also; no token twelve minute freakout here this time, which is a perfectly canny business move. Besides their musical talent, the Deheza sisters are terribly... er... marketable, and have the potential to reach much further than the cliquey world of P4k devotees. While there was something awfully romantic about the indistinct haze of their previous work, and there are no melodies here quite sweet enough to make you weep when you’re tired, these are small details that only the most dedicated of fanboys will miss. It’s a functional, honest, steppingstone album. Let’s hope they don’t sell all the way out with the next one.
Hype producer of the moment Greg Kurstin (Lily Allen, Bird & Bee) turns Furler’s unique vocal talent into something funky, memorable and ultimately fun. Sia’s always embraced the chance to goof off and act like a kid, but where previously this was resigned to video clips like ‘Buttons’, it now takes pole-position in handclap-laden shakedowns like ‘Bring Night’ and the skanking guitar disco of ‘You’ve Changed.’ The change of instrumentation really does compliment the idea that We Are Born is the first real taste of Sia unshackled. She’s never really had a suite of songs with a heavy backbeat or radio-ready groove, and her unique lyrics get more of a chance for public consumption when they’re not drowning in warm synth pads and long-held notes. By Jonno Seidler
OH NO ONO Eggs etcetc Brimming with lofty compositional aspirations, the Copenhagen-viaAalborg quintet Oh No Ono have caused quite a stir back home with their debut full-length Eggs - ranking up audacious Breakthrough Of The Year and Fifth Best Danish Album of the Decade nods, among others. Like fellow harmony-merchants/ critics’ darlings Efterklang, this collective aims to nail the Brian Wilson-style “love vibe” by blending complex vocal harmonies, string arrangements and oft-esoteric band instrumentation. The opening treble of songs – ‘Eleanor Speaks’, first single ‘Swim’ and ‘Internet Warrior’ (featuring a rather gorgeous doublestop chorus) – is undoubtedly striking, singers/guitarists Aske Zidore and Malthe Fischer’s voices leading the Smile-like baroque assault. Full points scored there, yet in line with the longrunning Scandinavian pop tradition, the rest of the LP mixes together chunks of breathtaking majesty (such as the symphonic pop of ‘Icicles’ and ‘Eve’) and barely-palatable whimsy (‘Helplessly Young’). The warped psych-pop of ‘The Tea Party’ and ‘Miss Miss Moss’ is mostly fun, while the multi-part, ten-minute closer ‘Beelitz’ – with idiosyncratic lyrics concerning a long-disused WWII military hospital in Germany – contains both the album’s strongest and weakest moments (the latter being the pretty grating, sped-down backwards outro.) As a record, Eggs takes a while to get fully accustomed to, but I’m safe to suggest it has the potential to make both cheery indie-pop fans and Dirty Projectors-digging hipsters drool with excitement. Denis Semchenko
Luke Telford
VARIOUS ARTISTS
CHEMICAL BROTHERS
Twilight Saga Eclipse OST Chop Shop/Atlantic
Further Parlophone
Say what you like about the Twilight series, but they’re definitely a musical force to be reckoned with. People forget now that most movie soundtracks are culled from pre-existing bodies of artists’ work - the Twilight peeps do one better by actually commissioning brand new tracks by the hottest kids on the block at any given time. This is admirable even when it fails, which on this soundtrack happens far more than previously. Metric are weak, Muse are even worse and given her propensity for hits, Florence Welch doesn’t do herself any favours either. In fact, every hype band here (with some notable exceptions) fall into the same trap of having to write a one-off when they really had no intention of recording at all, because they were on tour, sabbatical, etc. Here’s who’s good; The Black Keys, Dead Weather (who really should have written the whole damn thing) and Band of Horses. The reason? They actually pen music that can be used atmospherically or to set a scene. Which, you know, is supposed to be the point of putting music in a movie in the first place. Vampire Weekend step outside their oeuvre but still sound a bit too happy for Bella and Edward, and Beck meets Natasha Khan (Bats for Lashes) somewhere in the INXS back catalogue - and does a relatively decent job of it. The bonus tracks are actually some of the best, with a killer inclusion from Battles as well as a Foals-esque Bombay Bicycle Club joint. But it still seems more destined for nightclubs rather than teenage fantasies. Just sayin’. For star power, you can’t go past Twilight. For consistently solid tunes, you most certainly can.
Chemical Brothers are big, man. They’ve been big since they said ‘Hey’ to their respective boys and girls over a decade ago, and unlike their contemporaries, who’ve sort of faded or gone off to do bizarre side projects (read: Fatboy Slim) they still believe they’ve ‘got it’. Further is eight tracks and a hell of a lot of ideas. The problem is, after you listen to a few of these tracks in a row, you can see how obvious many of those ideas are. Dance music writers are very big on the idea of vamping, which is essentially a rip-off of the jazz term and involves building tension towards a climax of sound. In jazz, they do this for a few phrases, tastefully. Chemical Brothers do it for a few minutes. And not only do they prolong the inevitable for such a long time that you think this horrible suspension is going to be The Whole Bloody Song, but they also make it their business to make this as noisy and alienating as possible. Perhaps this is considered ‘arty’ in the dance music circles, but goddamn, put this up against LCD Soundsystem (who also vamp, to far greater effect) or even bloody Pendulum and they don’t stand a chance. The eventual songs that develop after this clutter are nice enough. They’re actually so sedate by comparison that you’d think Chemical Brothers are going for a reverse-grunge principle, whereby the loud precedes the quiet. The drums are tight, the synth lines are taut, but really it all just seems like a tremendous waste of time when the only decent whole track is ‘Swoon’ which everyone’s already heard on triple j for the last umpteen years. It’s pushing me Further, alright... Further away. Jonno Seidler
By Jonno Seidler
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK
OFFICE MIXTAPE
THE SILENTS
Wondering what the 'experts' listen to? Here's the music that drives The Brag... for this week, anyway.
Sun A Buzz Independent
It must be a somewhat frustrating sensation being tipped as ‘ones to watch’ since 2002 - but for Perth locals The Silents, eight years worth of anticipation has only increased their volume, amplification and ability to get trippy. Recorded and produced in a cushy cabana on the coast of South-Western Australia, Sun A Buzz is a record that values prolonged substance over standout singles.
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In the face of previous EPs, this recording is clean, mature and developed; garage with polish and reverb - the kind of brooding cascade that only comes with trial and error. Admittedly, leading track ‘The Snail’, stands in jarring opposition to the tone of the other eight parcels of musical drama, but the three-minute blast is a punchy opener and a crowd-pleaser live, too. The mesmerising trance induced by droning guitars and echoing vocals invite the 3am listener to turn off the mind, relax, and float downstream. The intriguingly entitled ‘Kingdom, Abhor, Sea’ and ‘Serpents Tprch’ exude an almost a Doors-esque quality to
the swaggering verses and vocal licks, until gunning rock choruses thrust more force than a Morrison pout. The trip meanders, but nicely avoids virtuosic spiralling. Sun A Buzz is a self-determining sound from a band staking out their niche in a scene dominated by catchy motifs and danceable ditties. With a freedom to experiment, the artistic prowess of this longserving group has not only brought their sound to a new level of professionalism, but has made the foursome, well, a whole lot braver. Trippy and trance-inducing, this Perth export is best delivered pensively to the ears around 2:55am. Avec candle. Bridie Connellan
FANFARLO - Reservoir TRENTEMOLLER - Into The Great Wide Yonder ERNEST ELLIS - Hunting
FABULOUS DIAMONDS - Fabulous Diamonds LUPE FIASCO - The Cool
Single Reviews
Vinyl
Record Review
By Jacob Stone
STEFFEN BASHOJUNGHANS
UNKLE
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
Follow Me Down feat. Sleepy Sun
IS LP [200g vinyl] Architects of Harmonic Rooms
An electro-psyche double bill bringing a sensual, dark quality not out of step with DJ/producer James Lavelle’s previous UNKLE incarnations. In fact the trip hop elements at play here suggest Shadow and Massive Attack weighed in on the track, but the truth is it was Californian psych band Sleepy Sun with vocalist Rachel Fannan. This is a throwback sound, but with moments of futurism in the broken time signature, blown-out production and Eastern vocal melody that make it the best UNKLE single in a long time.
THE MORNING BENDERS
FREE ENERGY
ROBYN
LITTLE RED
HOT CHIP
This Philadelphia poprock crew are enjoying a lot of hype (thanks to the DFA signing and James Murphy production), so when I switched this on I was expecting it to be... cooler. This could be any summer frat boy anthem, though a bit less rapey. The mild distortion, lazy, buzzy guitar work and sloppily classic backbeat gives it a Weezer quality, and the simple construction makes it pop from the speakers but there’s still shades of Californian one hit wonders like Smashmouth in there. Sure, this is really catchy, very American radio music. But sometimes ‘classic’ just means ‘done before’.
Robyn’s got a grip on electro-breakbeat production, and her blank Euro-sounding vocal matches the cold electronic backing perfectly - the way she layers her vocals is compelling and slick. While the verse is bleepy and minimal, the hooky, melodic chorus pushes this toward an interesting junction of RnB and dance. Without it, it would just be ‘Cobrastyle’ V 2.0... But maybe this is only enough to keep Robyn treading water? It’s no ‘Konichiwa Bitches’, basically.
This is sweet pop rock music from a Melbourne band we’ve expect to make sweet pop rock music - but this time there are some subtle changes and a bit more depth than the charts would probably like to allow. The disco backbeat is a modern touch, with the vocal sounding plaintive and serious, taking the phrase ‘Rock It’ and ascribing an almost devotional, timeless quality to it. After the clean, open sound of the verse, the chorus suddenly expands out into a cloud of electronic elements, and the melody sticks nicely too. The band have gotten better and more serious at what they do, but this won’t be a hit.
An edited recording of a live drumkit and electric piano starts us off oddly, a classic backbeat underpinning Alexis Taylor’s yearning voice. The verse is not well-constructed, and there’s not enough going on beyond the ravereferencing piano hook. As always, the arrangement is subtle and excellent, but I don’t feel like there are enough melodies and hooks at work here. The chorus boasts a nicely melancholic chord progression but it's boring music. This once highachieving band seem to be either resting on their laurels, or barking up the wrong tree.
Bang Pop
Fembot
Rock It
Hand Me Down Your Love
Excuses
This dreamy, piano-assisted slice of Californian psych is melodically satisfying - but there’s something not-quite-hooky-enough about the melody. A simple and heartfelt song about friendship and love, it’s got that ‘real’ feeling in construction. The vocal harmonies are winning, as is the light string orchestration, but there’s just something uninteresting about it. It’s not as exciting as anything else on this page, despite it being perfectly in tune and well produced. I don’t know... Not convinced.
It begins with a lonesome, trembling metallic slide on a heavily strung acoustic guitar, recalling a crackly 78 blues recording. But by the time the first low tonic note is struck, it’s pretty clear that this is more than that. SBJ riffs contemplatively around a simple neutral blues progression, before the piece dissolves into lofty, clear-eyed arpeggios - and all of the things that wore you down that day are stripped away cleanly by the time the track teases itself into a pregnant silence. Tightly wound harmonic textures spin you right out into the ether and back down into the ditch, before the whole sublime nine-minute cycle begins a second time. Steffen Basho-Junghans was once a disciple of Tahoma folk demigod Robbie Basho, and while his technique does draw on that old master, his spirit is infinitely more reserved and measured. On the cheekily titled ‘Changes’, SBJ plays a single chord fervently for almost 11 minutes. Infuriating, until you realise that the title refers to the gradual movement of his plucking hand up and down the length of the fret-board, freeing dense, lambent, kaleidoscopic harmonic clusters from their taut prisons. It’s folk, if you need a label. Minimal, glorious folk, pressed onto reassuringly heavy 200-gram vinyl, with mp3’s if you need ‘em. Order it from the label site if you feel like losing yourself in some heavenly, earthy minimalism… Luke Telford
dominorecordco.com myspace.com/villagers
Robert Wyatt His Greatest Misses
17 of the biggest, rarest and most diverse tunes from Robert Wyatt’s astounding near 50year career traversing folk, experimental pop, postprog psychedelia and jazz. Features ‘Shipbuilding’, ‘Sea Song’, ‘Solar Flares’ and ‘I’m A Believer’.
VILLAGER S Becoming A Jackal Absolutely essential debut album from singer/songwriter Conor O’Brien, aka Villagers. One of the best of the year.
nger r as standard bearers for a looser, stra Ive Bon and e Ric n mie Da s join “O’Brien H (UK) riting.” ★★★★★ THE TELEGRAP 21st-century for m of singer-songw songs you’re “The most beautiful collection of S.COM likely to hear this year.” 9/10 CLUA “One to watch.” ★★★★ J MAG
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The Minor Chord
The All Ages rant bought to you by Indent.net.au. By Melody Forghani
Dropsaw
SCREAMING SUNDAY PLAY NOW, ACT NOW
Visual indulgence is the best way to describe Sydney this past month. With the 17th Biennale of Sydney, Vivid Sydney & Creative Sydney and the Sydney Film Festival just passed, it’s safe to say that we Sydneysiders are spatial learners. And it certainly doesn’t end there; the indulgence continues with Play Now, Act Now - a NSW government initiative for youth to get creative. Now I know what you’re thinking, not another government project, but hear us out – this is simply an opportunity for all you creative cats out there to expose your talents through the medium of Short Film, Digital Design or Micro-fiction in an online competition, with the very possible chance to win a share of $15000 in cash and prizes. Your creative piece must address a chosen theme every month, and every month two winners are selected from two categories - popular vote and official selection. The monthly winners will win some fast cash and a place in the grand final in October. This month’s theme is Crime Story and the next deadline is June 25. To read more about the entry guidelines and submission details, go and visit www.playnowactnow. com.au. Iotah
iOTA
Sundays are good days. Sure, it might be the last day of the weekend, and admittedly most Sunday nights are spent dreading the next day ahead, but if you look at the glass half full - and TMC certainly does - Sunday DAY is the one day of the week where you are obligation free, with the pleasure to choose what you will. This weekend, spice up your Sunday June 27 with an early gig at The Annandale Hotel for the latest edition of ‘Screaming Sunday’. For your musical pleasure, For Our Hero, Perfect Revolution, Max Wilkinson, The Polaroid People, Delamare, Futures In Black And White and The Wire will be gracing the stage, and will no doubt make your Sunday a very happy Sunday indeed. From pop, to punk, to indie to rock, the day will be one for all! Tickets available at the door.
HARDCORE 2010
Like a shepherd herding his finest sheep, The Factory Theatre has rounded up the country’s best hardcore acts - along with a few international breeds - for an all ages shindig that might just tip you over with excitement. Meet ‘Hardcore 2010’, your answer to holiday boredom this winter break. Starting off at the friendly time of 2pm Saturday 3 July, you can immerse yourselves in some not-sofriendly screeching yet melodic sounds of: Mindsnare, Extortion, 50 Lions, Blkout, Dropsaw, Hand Of Mercy, I Exist, Ghost Town, Persist, and Phantoms. This isn’t just a list of bands, but a carefully handpicked selection of some seriously talented individuals. Take Dropsaw for example. Like so many of Australia’s favourite bands, Dropsaw blossomed out of Newcastle, NSW. They make for a fivepiece heavy hardcore metal band keepin’ it real by staying away from the latest trends. Recently the band spent a month in the studio and have now mastered their third album Hard Justice, for the likes of you. Straight from the horse’s mouth: “insanely fast thrash and destructive breakdowns”... We could go on about the brilliance of each and every one of the aforementioned bands, but we recommend you head down to the show to see it all first hand…
THE AMITY AFFLICTION
IOTAH TO CHANGE NAME
In a bit of music gossip that comes with a handy hint, newly crowned Unearthed High queens Iotah have been kindly asked to change their name, ‘cause, as the girls put it “there’s already some dude named iOTA”.. iOTA - a local, well-known and very talented guy - has been cranking around for a few years now, released a bunch of tunes and has even tried his hand at the odd musical… The girls, who TMC will for now refer to as triple j Unearthed High 2010 Winners, will take some time while recording to think up a new name – hopefully this won’t make an iota of a difference to the recording process. A lesson in here: when thinking of a name for your new band, spend some more time working out if it already exists!
Brisbane’s The Amity Affliction is teaming up with Misery Signals, Confession and Flood of Red to bring you a night of hard rock madness at Kensington’s UNSW Roundhouse Friday July 9. Whilst The Amity Affliction’s members may have changed since their inception, their quality certainly hasn’t. This is one band that knows how to put on a good show, and what’s more, they know how to reach their audiences – they recently created an iPhone app for all you modern day communicators. Download their app to hear their latest record, or alternatively get yourself and some friends down to the Roundhouse to watch it happen live. Recently started a band? Know someone in one? Send us a link to their tunes - we love to hear new music! To hear more from The Minor Chord be sure to tune in to FBi 94.5 every Wednesday from 5pm.
Send pics, listings and any info to minorchords@thebrag.com 38 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
Remedy
SAT 26
More than The Cure since 1989 with Murray Engleheart
SILVER MACHINE
Primal Scream’s Bobbie Gillespie has long been a card-carrying member of the Secret Rock Society - or simply SSS as we at Remedy refer to that fine sect – and his latest move has confirmed as much. The singer has put together a once only covers project called Silver Machine, in no small honour to Hawkwind no doubt, which will take the stage at London’s 1234 Festival on July 24. The band includes Sex Pistol’s Glen Matlock, Zak Starkey from The (modern day) Who as well as Primal Scream’s Andrew Innes and Barrie Cadogan on guitars. They’ll be doing stuff by The MC5, The Troggs and The Flamin’ Groovies.
OLD BLUES
There was an interesting piece on the blues in The Australian newspaper last week, basically about the fact that there’s no new blues scene - which suits us fine, as most of the “new” blues we’ve ever heard is so clean it might as well be on one of those Idol TV shows. Anyways our point was that the story mentioned how old of some of the remaining greats are these days. Pinetop Perkins for example, is 96 and even the relatively spritely Buddy Guy is 73. Once they go, then what?
EBAY WATCH: THE THOUGHT CRIMINALS
From the Remedy eBay watch comes this latest little gem: a copy of The Thought Criminals’ Hilton Bomber 7” EP in the original sleeve, which went for more than $3,500.
VELVET UNDERGROUND VINYL BOX
We’re not sure how different it is from The Velvet Underground’s live box Bootleg Series Volume 1 – The Quine Tapes that came out about ten years back, but there’s a vinyl box of VU stuff on the way called The Quine Tapes. It was recorded by
alternative room
the late Robert Quine, who was a huge Velvet Underground fan - and later master skewed guitarist for Richard Hell and The Voidoids and then ironically Lou Reed, in his masterful Blue Mask era. We’re talking six slabs of the other great VU lineup here, people, the first of course being with John Cale - with posters and handbills from back in the day. Sounds way bigger and thus better than the CD-sized box aforementioned, so it’s a no brainer really.
n o i ss i Motion M the in
JOEN JETT COMEBACK
With that red hot Runaways’ movie on the way, ageless Godess guitarist Joan Jett has leapt outta the blocks. She sold out last week’s London show at the legendary punk pit The One Hundred Club in just five minutes.
KILL CITY RE-MIX
Hard on the heels of their Raw Power-era reunion touring, Iggy Pop and guitarist James Williamson have re-mixed the excellent post-Stooge proper slab Kill City, for release later this year. (Good thing we reckon. We always thought it was way too muddy.) They’re also looking to finally officially record from-the-vault songs like ‘Cock in My Pocket’ and ‘Head On’.
KARNIVOOL KARN KAR NIVO NIV VOO O O L PRE TOUR PRE RE TOU OUR UR PARTY PAR ARTY TY
TICKET TICK KET ET GIVEAWAYS GIV VE EAW EAW AW WAYS AYS YS
TEXAS FLASHBACKS
If you didn’t get the original slabs the first time around, this is great news - and even if you did it’s still damn cool. Back in the days when sixties' punk compilations like Pebbles (and the more obscure Boulders and Off The Wall sets) walked the earth, there was a series called Texas Flashbacks. As the name implies, it drew from the place where everything is bigger than everything else. The series came out in six volumes over time and now you can get all six – that’s 95 tracks – in a single, very great boxed set. If you thought that The Moving Sidewalks and 13th Floor Elevators were all that the Lone Star state had to offer in terms of howling punk rawk... You’d be wrong.
ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is Dead Meadow’s Three Kings, which we of course love but are a tad concerned about with regard to the sense of finality it has... We actually reckon that these guys should do something like that official bootleg series thing that The Grateful Dead and for some really weird reason Pearl Jam felt the need to do. Anyways, also spinning is The Melvins’ Bride Screamed Murder which is all we want from a Melvins’ album but, like most things in life, not what we really need from them… if you know what we mean...
special specialguests: guests:
THE SALVAGES GHOSTS ON BROADWAY SPACE: 127 Liverpool St, Sydney
2 CLUBS, 1 VENUE, 1 ADMISSION: $12 send your email address to andrew@tarantulamusic.com.au to join the SFX PARTY CREW and get FREE ENTRY and FREE DRINKS for you and your friends
G E T L OW PA R T Y ! ! XI Z \ a ZWW U
SAT 26 JUNE
Dead Meadow
JUN E
OPERATOR PLEASE
AFTER PARTY free entry with stamp
+P
TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS OK, so we never got the mighty Sleep to rumble across this country, but we are for the first time getting the very different offshoot that is OM. Lead originally by Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius, they’ve been doing the minimus is the maximus thing in a metal-vein of sorts, which is hugely refreshing what with half the damn planet using a next to nothing duo-format to do garage punk... On July 17 they’ll be at the Factory with Naked on the Vague, Lichens (NYC) and Blarke Bayer/Black Widow. Local thrashers, Dark Order launch their third slab Cold War Of The Condor at The Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt on July 17 with Random Order (Tas), Rampant
and Rock N Roll Weapon. http://www. darkorder.com.au As Our Last Enemy gear up to release their debut album Fallen Empires, which was produced by Christian Olde Wolbers (Fear Factory etc), they’ve also nabbed themselves two new members; Bizz from legendary Florida industrial metal mob The Genitortures on guitar, and a new keyboardist Craig. A big national tour is planned for mid-year, followed by a run through New Zealand and Japan.
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Bay Area thrash legends Exodus are coming to town. They’ll be at The Manning Bar on October 2.
Send stuff for this column to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to The Brag please. www.myspace.com/remedy4rock
SPACE: 127 Liverpool St, Sydney BRAG :: 367:: 21:06:10 :: 39
live reviews What we've been out to see this week...
VIVID LIVE: EMILY HAINES & STRINGS Sydney Opera Theatre Tuesday June 1 Emily Haines’ voice is a lot lower than I remember it. Like, an octave lower. Hearing her sing without the benefit of a rocking Canadian band behind her, it’s obvious that being husky and low suits Haines far more than the incarnation many of us heard with the release of Metric’s Fantasies. Not that she doesn’t go for the high notes - but unplugged and intimate, Haines is more concerned with the melodies than the theatrics. This partly works, and partly doesn’t. When you get someone to arrange your songs for a string quartet at short notice, the understanding is that something quite special is going to happen. And while tonight’s performance does have a few of those moments, they’re trapped in between very regular arpeggios that really could have been covered just by Haines’ two hands on the piano. To be fair, listening to these songs laid out, they don’t have a lot of chords to them anyway. It’s all in the delivery and Haines, bedazzled and bedazzling, still manages to wow almost 90% of the crowd, despite only playing songs from Metric’s latest album and wrapping the show up in under an hour. When they’re good, Haine’s adopted Australian quintet are achingly good; soaring through ‘Gold Guns Girls’ and the fantastic ‘Collect Call.’ And there’s a very good reason why people are still going mental over ‘Help, I’m Alive’; it’s a brilliant, brilliant song. It’s also one of the few that actually benefits from the stripped-back, stringed-out treatment rather than being held back by it.
30pt Univers 57 Condensed
Haines plays to her strengths, but there isn’t enough versatility here to justify the entire process. It’s undeniably ambitious – most indie stars sound awful when they’re not hiding behind feedback and kick drum – but not enough to really blow my mind. Lou Reed was sitting behind us though, and I swear I saw him start to smile. That’s got to count for something.
By Jonno Seidler
BOY AND BEAR, OH YE DENVER BIRDS The Annandale Hotel Saturday June 12 I suppose a lot of different types of people listen to alternative music these days, but by god if I had to tell another moron to shut up so I could actually hear the music I was going to do it a whole lot less politely than the first time. I mean seriously, people. And you know who I’m talking about, right? RIGHT? Anyway. Okay. So Oh Ye Denver Birds are great. They started off sounding something like the Dirty Projectors and moved through all kinds of complex pop folk dream stylings, coming out not really sounding at all like Dirty Projectors, but certainly having somewhat confused and astounded my ears. By the end of their set, their largehaired bassist had grabbed a microphone and was singing and dancing behind their meek lady violinist, whose warbling harmonies seemed to surprise even her. If anything, their vocals sound looser than on their recordings, and the sound seems to need a bit more cohesion generally to create the beautiful effect that ‘Walls’ does. But their kind of crazy jungle party vibe is pretty fascinating, regardless. Boy and Bear played an almost-too-tight set over a low hum of impolite chatter to a single-loving crowd. This is a band who are clearly riding that folk-pop wave, with Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes and Midlake all so much their influences that I’m tempted to call them derivative. But a set as tight as this one is the result of six months of pretty much constant touring, including supporting Laura Marling overseas, and those six months came almost immediately after the band launched – or exploded – into the scene here in hometown Sydney. There were no small gigs at intimate venues, no struggling through the rounds of band comps – Boy and Bear were born into the spotlight. So here’s hoping that a bit of time at home might allow Boy and Bear to really find
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their feet and their own unique take on this whole folky thing that the kids are loving so much. I don’t understand how bears and banjos became so popular but girls are going crazy for them, and you know, the music is good. It’s really good. Boy and Bear are good, like Fleet Foxes good, and even if it’s good like someone else, it’s still beautiful songwriting, honest and convincing performances and a charming image. If only everyone else would have just shut up for one goddamn second so we could hear it, I mean SERIOUSLY.
Amelia Schmdt
SHAPESHIFTER Metro Theatre Sunday June 13 Before Shapeshifter, fellow Kiwis Electric Wire Hustle Soundsystem did their best to win over the audience with their electro soul tracks. But I expected their full band show would engage more; they struggled to gain and maintain the attention of the growing crowd with their soulful house and electronic grooves. DJs Jonny Faith and Monkfly met the crowd between acts with a mix of dub, electronic and hip hop styles - sufficiently warming up the subwoofers in preparation for the main performance. Kicking off with the epic ‘Dutchies’ from the new album The System is a Vampire, Shapeshifter embraced the room with a soulful and teasing intro before the anthemic, swelling electronics lifted the music into space and the crowed erupted in unison with arms aloft. Frontman PDiggsss imploring the writhing masses to “Hold on to the vibe, welcome to the ride.” From that point on they had the crowd in the palm of their hand. They spent the rest of the evening showcasing the new album, dipping into their back-catalogue and taking the night from ecstatic rave buildups to bouncy squelching boogie, from chilled acid jazz breaks to monstrous rock and rumbling drum & bass workouts. The experience of years of touring and recording has seen Shapeshifter develop into an exceptionally sharp and tight band. They know how to pace a show, inject some humour and slay your ears and feet just as you’re getting comfortable. With Tiki Taane controlling the sound desk, there was some serious rattling of fillings with the sub bass detonations that meant this was a night that was as listenable as it was danceable. Shapeshifter know how to seduce you physically and intellectually, and the Metro witnessed a devastating mastery of a particular strain of electronica built on soul, energy and sonic exploration.
By Chris Familton
VIVID LIVE: BARDO POND Sydney Opera House June 1 No one really knows about Bardo Pond. Or at least it feels that way in the Studio tonight: there are sizable gaps in the crowd. Their set a couple of nights ago at the impeccably curated Noise Night left a lot of people underwhelmed, due in no small part to decidedly muddy, ad hoc sound. There’s no support act. and Bardo Pond mope on looking like a bunch of dazed, substance-dependent hippies. The first riff is a haze of Marshall distortion, eventually drawing the rest of the band into its fugged-out fold; the second guitar fires up like the clapped-out engine of a rickety Oldsmobile; the drums clamber in, drunk and apologetic after a night on the turps. And Isobel Sollenberger’s voice, unadorned and unreverbed, mumbles its first syllables. Everything is disjointed, frighteningly close, nearing chaos. It takes about 20 minutes for this band to hit their stride, and once they do, the crowd — lulled by their various indulgences, uncertain from such a loose start — begin to sway and nod in time with the gathering storm. It sets in. Bardo Pond specialise in psychedelic sludgery, and as their signature sound clots and takes hold, the thickening crowd surrender to the dirge, knees quaking, our balance lost as distortion envelops and drags us all down into the hole. Again and again, and a-fucking-gain. Bliss. Her voice. It’s mixed so dryly that it sounds alien at first, amidst the sonically turgid proceedings. As wits are gathered, it’s
live reviews
THE ANNANDALE HOTEL & JAGERMEISTER
What we've been out to see this week...
presents
almost as though she’s standing right next to you, a good friend, inebriated, outlining the precise redemptions and deficiencies of your very soul. She won’t leave, and you don’t want her to - slim wrists, lank hair, narcotic gaze, brandished flute and all. And slowly, incrementally, the mood lifts. The audience are devotees now, acolytes; Bardo Pond can do no wrong. And as the opening strains of ‘Amen’ wash us of our sins, the entire room begins to spin in an endless kaleidoscope of exultant, deafening harmony. The inviolate colours revolving throughout the room mirror the glorious and endless two-chord cycle of their closing song. Spinning in infinity, the audience never wants to be drawn back to earth. But as the chaos fades, and the band thanks us, and we wander out into the luminescent night, it’s clear we’ve all witnessed a finite thing — something that shouldn’t be indulged in too often, memories of which should be treasured.
and showed those Mumford kids sure know how to source the ones to watch. But if only more people would show up to confession on a frosty Wednesday eve in a dubious back alley of the Cross… Amen.
Luke Telford
The day actually got off to a good start. I woke up at about 1pm, it was sunny and I had some really killer English muffins. But the fun ended there.
COMMUNION: SEABELLIES, CAMERAS & MORE Melt Bar, Kings Cross Wednesday June 9
Rather than being a 1976 horror film starring Brooke Shields, ‘Communion’ at Melt is a UK night instigated by Ben Lovett and Kevin Jones (Mumford & Sons), which washed up on Australian shores in January with an ambition to fuss over new Oz acts. With stomping ground GoodGod Small Club taking a ‘momentary hiatus’, the June chapter of Communion was set to get all A&R on y’all, in new digs at Melt. And in true Brit fashion, it was freezing. For early arrivers, Wade Jackson provided one jolly intro spree, blending an untreated Dylan-esque honesty with a raw upbeat twang-pop. Glamour gal Lanie Lane subsequently expressed a quirky 1957 storytelling panache that was nothing short of transfixing, seductive and anachronistic, swiftly warming the frozen feet and hearts of onlookers. But for those with more moody thoughts on which to dwell, Sydney local Pluto Jonze provided ponderous material for sundown. This tall, TropScore-winning, intriguing figure brought a more mellow psychedelic Gotyeesque turn for the frosty Wednesday. Despite sound glitches and feedback agony, spirits were high and scotch rocks a-chinkin’. Cue Cameras; the local fourpiece no one quite knows how to watch live, yet. Darlings of Sydney’s darkened corners and major stages, the progressive group haunted with vaudevillian militaristic beats and an alt-rock edge delicately described nearby as the ‘colourful vomit of Sonic Youth’. Split personality garage sound, Cameras claim a duo-vox between blunt-fringed belle Eleanor Dunlop and her 2iC Fraser Harvey - a dimension providing both a unique schtick and a conflicting element. Exciting, remarkable, captivating music; or to paraphrase the philosopher Craig David, Cameras were slicker than your average. The problem with holding a night in a venue lined with well-loved leather couches is the temptation for attendees to remain veged, and as such the headlining sound was received by four loners across the floorboards. But with limp fairy lights in toe, Newcastle headliners the Seabellies alleviated the final wait with a wink, a Sweet Child O’ Mine riff and a ‘thanks for staying’. With a sound bigger than the venue, these award-nabbing, cusp-riding Novocastrians are continuously awarded Arcade Fire comparisons, a resemblance hard to avoid when there’s more epicry onstage than in a Spike Jonze soundtrack. Finally harbouring debut album By Limbo Lake, everything about this well-oiled machine is bright, rousing and potential-laden, from frontman Kyle Grenell’s vocal lines of gritty anguish, to multi-instrumentalist Stephanie Setz’s golden notes of metallophone, melodica, keys, and sax. Cramped yet content, the sextet’s textured tautness in new single ‘Young Cubs’ proved their sound has matured like a fig since triple j-fuelled beginnings in 2006. They have meandered to something tighter, catchier, crispier. If the object of the game was to celebrate and discover, Communion sure nailed the June stars of Sydney’s stages,
Bridie Connellan
WE LOVE SOUNDS Entertainment Quarter Saturday June 12
It seems like We Love Sounds just couldn’t catch a break this year. Low ticket sales meant they had to cancel the Perth leg of the tour, a relatively unimpressive line up of recycled artists, $130 a ticket, 4 weeks of non stop rain, dealing with bad press from the Aoki beef between The Music People and Trashbags, misspelling Markus Schulz name on the set times and then giving the trance fans a carpark rather than a tent.
Kicking of the festival was the always colourful and batty Seth Troxler, an artist I’d been looking forward to seeing since I heard all the great reports from his last visit here. The Royal Hall of Industries was feeling pretty empty but it didn’t really matter, the tunes were great and there was space to move. By then it was time for a beer. What I wasn’t expecting was to learn a new phrase - 'festival strength'. That’s a beer that Tooheys Extra Dry make that’s less that one standard drink (3.5% alcohol) and costs $6.50. Ouch. I spent the majority of the day at the Resident Advisor stage in The Forum, which was a pretty safe bet - great sets from The Revenge, who pumped out some great house, the hyper tastes of the Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team and spanking booty tech from M.A.N.D.Y. Walking around outside I saw hundreds and hundreds of kids massing around The Hordern for Laidback Luke, Crookers, Steve Aoki and Underworld. It was around 5:30pm and it turns out The Horden had already reached full capacity (5000 people), and no one else was allowed in. Police were forming human barriers and the security staff were getting shitty with everyone. So, let’s conduct an experiment: take several hundred people who’ve paid $130 to come and see an act, remove their shirts, feed them weak beer so they have to spend and drink twice as much to get drunk, throw some drugs in the mix, get them to line up for a few hours and then tell them that they can’t come in. You now have a lot of angry people – and a completely different tone to the day. The day after, We Love Sounds sent out a press release apologising for the closure - it seems it was the police getting worried about having too many people in the venue, even though it was only just over half full: "NSW Police, albeit with the best intention, misudged the situation, to the detriment of our paying customers." But was it the police being unreasonable, or We Love Sounds being unorganised? Honourable mention goes to Steve Aoki for starting 45 minutes late, opening with a YouTube rip of Pendulum’s ABC News edit, then getting on the mic and dropping Warp 1.9. And Underworld who by all reports played a great set. I wouldn’t know - I couldn’t get in.
GRAND FINAL
JUNE 30 WEDNESDAY
FREE ENTRY SEVEN BANDS OVER TWO STAGES FIGHT IT OUT FOR A $10,000 PRIZE PACKAGE
STATIC SILHOUETTES BAYONETS FOR LEGS VIDEO 8 THE CADRES SPOOKYLAND GHOST BOY STRANGERS
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17-19 Parramatta Rd, Annandale Ph 9550 1078
WWW.ANNANDALEHOTEL.COM BRAG :: 366 :: 21:06:10 :: 41
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:: The Gaelic Theatre :: 64 Devonshire St Surry Hills 92111687
boy & bear
PICS :: RR
gaelic relaunch
PICS :: TL
up all night out all week . . .
12:06:10 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 95501078
34b It looks and sounds like: Pine wood panelling, a bubbling Jacuzzi and hot toddy! a scalding Performers/ DJs: Sarina del Fueg o, Heidi Hoops, The Ski Bunnies, Baby Blue Bergman, Danica Lee, Briana Blue bell, Melise Avion, Herbie Strangelo ve, MC Renny Kodgers, DJ Goldfoot Sell it to us: ‘Apres-Ski’ is all abou t saunas, Swedish rub downs, ski bunn brandy, schnapps, hot toddy’s and slipping into someone… er we mea ies, n som more comfortable. So pull on a soft woolen jumper over, well, not too muc ething, and enjoy the fact that you’re safe h at all, off the slopes with a fine company of performers dazzling you with their smooth man oeuvres. We’ll keep you warm! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: You will remember feats of formation flying aerial stunt ladies, snow beas skiing, ts apparel) and some of the most perfe with a fetish for ski bunnies (and their ct snowflakes in the business of burle short - you’ll have quite the full and sque. In happy memory. Crowd specs: Ski instructors, snow bunnies, James Bond ski-scene villai snowmen and yetis! ns, Wallet damage: $20 general adm issio people) Tickets through tenderloins.co n / reserved table tickets $30 (min 4 – max 7 m.au Where: 34B Burlesque, 44 Oxford St Darlinghurst – Q bar entry. When: Sat June 26
big whoop
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09:06:10 :: Melt :: 12 Kellett St, Kings Cross 93806060
party profile
champions league
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It’s called: 34B’s Apres-Ski (a Fren ch term meaning the good stuff you do after skiing!)
hot damn
PICS :: AM
11:06:10 :: Melt :: 12 Kellett St, Kings Cross 93806060
10:06:10 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93316245 42 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
ASHLEY MAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) ENSON :: RENEE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: DANIEL MUNNS :: PATRICK STEV :: ANDREW VIDLER RING BOW MY JERE :: NA HAN NEL WES :: ROSETTE ROU LIER COL JAY :: KA ENZO :: MAJA BAS RUSHBROOK :: JULIAN DE LOR
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 43
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the basics
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up all night out all week . . .
one flew east
PICS :: RR
10:06:10 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93323711
09:06:10 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93316245
Who’s spinning? Umlaut, Dr El Suavo, Darth Vegas & Toy Death. Sell it to us: this will be the first club date for Umlaut in Sydney after debuting at the Enmore Theatre open of history! Darth Vegas and Toy Dea ing for Les Claypool - so be a part th Australia’s hardest working magician will warm you up, topped off by /social commentator! Three records that’ll rock the fl oor: Joe-E, Lalo Schifrin, Tony Mas on-Cox The bit we’ll remember in the AM: you may reme mbe r how the Dr. did his tricks; you may not remember how you came to be wearing his shirt . Crowd specs: open minded, over -18 & not easily offended. Wallet damage: $15
black cherry
Where: The Factory, Enmore When: Saturday June 26
12:06:10 :: Luna Park :: 1 Olympic Drive Milsons Point 99226644 44 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
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come together festival
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It’s called: The Prize Fight Tour: Dr El Suavo vs Umlaut!! It sounds like: left-of-centre carn ival/jazz/experimental music - and of course, some antique parlour mag ic & insightful social insights from your hero Dr El Suavo
PICS :: RH
party profile
dr el suavo
:: The Factory :: 105 Victoria Road Enmore 95503666
ASHLEY MAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) ON :: RENEE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER IEL MUNNS :: PATRICK STEVENS REW VIDLER DAN :: RING BOW MY JERE :: NA AND :: NEL WES :: ROSETTE ROUHAN LIER COL JAY :: ENZO :: MAJA BASKA RUSHBROOK :: JULIAN DE LOR
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up all night out all week . . .
UTOPIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 30TH
BIRTHDAY METALFEST
trash
PICS :: RR
FEAT. MORTAL SIN + THE AMENTA + DAYSEND + SWITCHBLADE + KILLRAZER + DARKER HALF + ANNO DOMINI + NORSE + HELLBRINGER & MORE
12:06:10 :: Agincourt Hotel :: 871 George St City 92814566
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send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com
pick of the week
COUNTRY
Camden Valley Country Music Club Hope Christian School, Narellan free 7pm
TUESDAY JUNE 22 ROCK & POP
WEDNESDAY JUNE 23
bluejuice
Annandale Hotel 10th Birthday Week:
The Vines, bluejuice, The John Steel Singers Annandale Hotel $25 (+ bf) 8pm MONDAY JUNE 21 ROCK & POP
Bernie The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Carribean Soul Paddy Maguires, Haymarket free 8.30pm Fiddler Footy Monday: Remote Nightlife Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm Peter Northcote The Basement, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf)–$68.80 (dinner & show) 9.30pm Singer Songwriter Night Vic on the Park Hotel, Marrickville $5 8pm Song Summit: Audius, Basement Birds, Brendan Gallagher, Byron Jones, Catherine Britt, Charles Jenkins, Clare Bowditch, Dave Faulkner, Feargal Sharkey, Jenny Morris, John Foreman, Josh Pyke, Julian Hamilton, Kav Temperley, Kevin Mitchell, Lior, Peter Northcote, Rai Thistlethwayte,
Robert Forster, Snob Scrilla, Urthboy, Wally De Backer Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre $180 (day ticket)–$420 (whole event) 12pm Songwriter Sessions@Excelsior Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills free 7.30pm Train (USA) Enmore Theatre $69.90 (+ bf) 8pm Yusuf (Cat Stevens) (UK) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $119 (silver)–$199 (premium) 7.30pm
JAZZ
Tim Rollinson, Matt McMahon, Phil Slater 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 8pm
ACOUSTIC/FOLK
Songsalive!: Kirsty Bolton, April Sky, Mai-Anh, Helmut Uhlmann and guests Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm Songwriter Sessions Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills free 7.30pm
Benji Pasek & Justin Paul Raval, Surry Hills $30 (+ bf) 8pm Chemical Transport, Town Hall Steps, A Broken Silence Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills $8 8pm Guy Sebastian Mounties, Mount Pritchard $45 7pm Ilythian Slide, Darlinghurst $20 (show only)– $60 (dinner & show) 7pm Mandi Jarry Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel free 6pm Mark Kristian Guildford Leagues Club free 12.30pm Mick & Josh Front Bar, Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton free 8pm Mick Vawdon The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Steve Tonge O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm The Little Stevies, The My Ty’s, Lunar Calm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm Troubadour Tuesday Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm Ultimo Tafe Diploma in Performance Showcase: Little Wren The Vanguard, Newtown $10 (+ bf)–$39 (dinner & show) 6.30pm
JAZZ
Club Jazz Open Mic Night The Manhattan Lounge, Sydney free 6.30pm Emma Pask Quintet, The Ben Panucci Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $8–$10 8.30pm James Valentine Quartet Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay free 7pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm
ACOUSTIC/FOLK
The Ukastle Ukestra Croatian Wickham Sports Club $10 7.30pm
COUNTRY
Blacktown Country Music Club The Lucky Australian, North St Marys free 7pm Steel City Country Music Club Club Macquarie, Argenton free (member) 7.30pm
WEDNESDAY JUNE 23 ROCK & POP
Abbalanche Slide, Darlinghurst $20 (show only)– $60 (dinner & show) 7pm Andy Mammers Duo Ettamogah Pub, Rouse Hill free 5.30pm Annandale Hotel 10th Birthday Week: The Vines, bluejuice, The John Steel Singers Annandale Hotel $25 (+ bf) 8pm Carra, Ant Beard, Petesot Brass Monkey, Cronulla $15.30 (presale) 7pm DC Brooklyn Hotel, Sydney free 6.30pm Delta Riggs Sandringham Hotel, Newtown 8pm Emma Dean, Leroy Lee, Sam Buckingham, Ben Stewart Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills free 7pm
Bird Automatic Fur Burka Sandringham Hotel – street level bar, Newtown free 8pm JP O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm Lizotte’s 100 to 1 Birthday Celebration: James Chadburn, Ray Beadle Band, Short Back & Sides, Daryl Aberhart Lizotte’s Restaurant, Lambton $55 (+ bf) 8pm Mark Henderson Front Bar, Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton free 8pm Mark Seymour Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba $40 (+ bf)–$78 (dinner & show) 8pm Matt Purcell And Band, Courtney Robb The View Factory, Newcastle Free 7pm Mike Bennett The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Open Mic Fubah on Copa, Copacabana free 7pm Pugsley Buzzard Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Sideshow Wednesday: Midnight Youth, Meow Kapow Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Free 8pm The Devil Rides Out, The Watt Riot, Immolate Harp Hotel, Wollongong $5 (at door) 8pm The Little Stevies The Vanguard, Newtown $12 (+ bf) 6.30pm Uni Night Wednesday Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm YourSpace Muso Showcase Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 7pm Yusuf (UK) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $119 (silver)–$199 (premium) 7.30pm
JAZZ
Aston The Basement, Circular Quay $10.20 (+ bf)–$59 (dinner & show) 9.30pm Darryl Beaton Band Civic Underground, Sydney free 10pm John Redmond Trio The Manhattan Lounge, Sydney free 6.45pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm Remco Keijzer Quartet 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 7.30pm
ACOUSTIC/FOLK
Ali Towers Old Manly Boatshed 8pm Illawarra Folk Club Bush Dance: Wongawilli Band Wongawilli Community Hall free (member) 8pm Songsalive!: Russell Neal and guests Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm
SSA Concert: Massimo Presti, TAOS, Adrian O’Shea and guests Newtown RSL free 7pm
COUNTRY
Corrina Steel, Jeremy Edwards & the Dust Radio Band, Brett Winterford Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills $12 8pm South Coast Country Music Club Mount Kembla Heights Hall free 7pm
THURSDAY JUNE 24 ROCK & POP
Annandale Hotel 10th Birthday Week: Dallas Crane, Dan Brodie & the Grieving Widows, Noxshi Annandale Hotel $18 (+ bf) 8pm Benj Axwell Front Bar, Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton free 8pm Bird Automatic, The Honey Pies, Brown Bear Black Bear Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Blu FM Band Competition: The Keep Secrets, Egg Malts First Word, Humpback Hotel Gearin, Katoomba free 8pm Chris Connolly Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm Crushed Ice Bankstown Trotting Club free 7.30pm Custom Kings Harp Hotel, Wollongong 8pm DC Bligh Hotel, Sydney free 5.30pm Dead Letter Chorus, Two Hours Traffic Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle 8pm Donna McKechnie The Factory Theatre, Enmore $59 (+ bf) 8pm G3 Marble Bar, Sydney free 8.30pm Heart Attack & Vine, The Dirty Pint Blues Review Wickham Park Hotel, Islington free 8pm Hitseekers Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Hot Damn!: The Initiation, Le Venge, Sixes & Sevens, Finabah, Hot Damn DJs Spectrum, Darlinghurst $10–$12 8pm Ian McCrae Big Band, Donnie Sutherland Smithfield RSL free 8pm Jefferson Groove The Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction free 6pm Jimeoin Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Nowra free 8pm Jo Vill Windang Bowling Club free 6pm Keith Armitage Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Mark Seymour
“I am a diamond cluster hustler Queen bitch, supreme bitch”- LIL’ KIM 46 :: BRAG :: 367: 21:06:10
gig guide
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba $40 (+ bf)–$78 (dinner & show) 8pm Medicine For Robots, The Author, Drop Tank, My Idle King Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills free 7pm Open Mic Jamberoo Pub free 8pm Paki & Kelly & Marsh Illawarra Yacht Club, Warrawong free 8.30pm Peabody, Dead Farmers Petersham Bowling Club $5 7.30pm Residents: Mojada Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm Rockabilly Frenzy: Laurie Rix & His Side Kix Cat & Fiddle Hotel, Balmain $10 8pm Ross Ward (Solo) GJ’s Coffee Lounge, Cronulla Mall free 6pm Ross Wilson Brass Monkey, Cronulla $48 (presale) 7pm Rumpunch Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Sense Of Betrayal, Modern Error, Majoring in Minors, Ghosts On Broadway Live at the Wall, Leichhardt $10 8pm Steve Edmonds Amber Ale Hotel, Annandale free 7pm Tara Simmons, Ainslie Wells, Emma Davis Raval, Surry Hills $10 (presale)–$12 8pm The Devil Rides Out, Buzzard, Blackloop, Immolate Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 (at door) 8pm The Sex Panthers Beaches Hotel, Thirroul free 8pm Shakin Howls Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm The Universal Thump Notes Live, Enmore $28.60 (show only)–$53.10 (dinner & show) 8pm
The Wil Maisey Band, The Never Ever, Finabah Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills free 8pm White Bros New Brighton Hotel, Manly free 10pm - late Zoltan The Mill, Milperra free 8pm
JAZZ
Colbourne Ave: Bri Cowlishaw Cafe Church, Glebe $10 (conc)–$20 8pm Espirito 505 Club, Surry Hills $10–$15 8.30pm Hit the Road Jack: Jeff Duff, Evelyn Duprai, Natasha Stuart, Juanita Tippins, Tim Jenkins The Basement, Circular Quay $25 9.30pm Jazz Factory The View Factory, Newcastle free 7pm Jazz: Cool For School: Carl Dewhurst Trio, Elana Stone Band The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $17.50 12pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Phil Stack Trio, Lucy Hall The Vanguard, Newtown $10 (+ bf) 6.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Bacon & Cabbage, TeeJay Cock ‘n’ Bull Tavern, Bondi Junction free 9pm Dennis Aubrey’s Songwriters Night @Newtown RSL free 7pm Open Mic Nite: Kent Daniels Shenanigans, Maitland free 7pm Songsalive!: April Sky, Mai-Anh, Helmut Uhlmann and guests Red Lion Hotel, Rozelle free 7.30pm Songsalive!: Under the Purple Tree, Snez, Andrew Denniston and
guests Henry Lawson Club, Werrington County free 7.30pm
COUNTRY
Jonah’s Road Rooty Hill RSL Club free 8pm
FRIDAY JUNE 25 ROCK & POP
2 Of Hearts Padstow RSL Club free 7.30pm Akinga Fred Chubb Lounge, Rooty Hill RSL Club free 8pm Allstar Belmont Hotel free 9pm Annandale Hotel 10th Birthday Week: Cloud Control, Kyu, We Say Bamboulee, Jinja Safari Annandale Hotel $18 (+ bf) 8pm Ash Grunwald, Custom Kings Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle West $20 (+ bf) 8pm Back 2 Back Sydney Rowing Club, Abbotsford free 7.30pm Back to the 80s Long Jetty Hotel free 7.30pm BhangLassi, Theodore Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Brown Sugar Marble Bar, Sydney free 9.30pm Carmen Townsend And Band, Jason Walker And Band, Danny Sullivan The View Factory, Newcastle Free 7pm Chris Connolly Club Menai free 8.30pm Club Blink: Graf Orlock (USA), Dangers, Beyond Terror Beyond Grace
TUE 22 JUN
wed
23 June
(9:15PM - 12:15AM)
thu
24 June
WED 23 JUN
(9:15PM - 12:15AM)
Agincourt Hotel. Ultimo $12 Deja Vu, Tsar Bomber, Ataxia, Picture Perfect, Dirty Little Immigrants, Dusky Moorhen Revesby Heights Ex-Servicemen’s Memorial Club $10 8pm Desperado Auditorium, South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford $10 (member)–$15 8.30pm Double Trouble Ingleburn RSL Club free 9pm Empire Rising, Machines of Me Caringbah Bizzos $12 8pm Endless Summer Beach Party Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Guy Sebastian Revesby Workers Club $45 8pm Hell City Glamours, Snowdroppers, The Rumjacks, Bittersweet Kicks Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $16 (+ bf) 8pm Hell Crab City, Spencer P Jones, Life Adjustment Disorder, Lobster Prophet Sandringham Hotel, Newtown 8pm Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions (USA), Mick Turner, Jeffrey Wegener, Dirt Blue Gene Enmore Theatre $77.10 5pm In Pieces RG McGees Hotel, Richmond free 9.30pm Jason Hicks Docks Hotel, Darling Harbour free 7.30pm Jayne Denham Hawkesbury Hotel, Windsor free 8pm Jon English Brass Monkey, Cronulla $31.70 (presale) 7pm Kindred, Ink, Kindred, Mz Ann Thropik, Devilution Newcastle Leagues Club, Newcastle West 8pm Lee Safar Piano Room, Potts Point $15 7pm Mandy Shamin
ROCK-STEIN TRIVIA MC - JAKE GRIGG (SWN)
EMMA DEAN + LEROY LEE + SAM BUCKINGHAM + BEN STEWART
fri
25
THU 24 JUN
June
(9:15PM - 1:00AM)
(5:00PM - 8:00PM)
FRI 25 JUN
sat
SATURDAY NIGHT sun
June
June
26
27
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
MEDICINE FOR ROBOTS + THE AUTHOR + DROP TANK + MY IDLE KINGS
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
TUE 26 JUN
SUNDAY NIGHT
Front Bar, Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton free 8pm Mark Seymour The Vanguard, Newtown $25 (presale)–$30 (at door) 6.30pm Mick Hanratty The Nag’s Head Hotel, Glebe free 8pm Midnight Youth, The Lazy Flies, Dark Bells Ivanhoe of Manly free 8pm Midnyt Sun Smithfield RSL free 7pm Millennium Bug Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, Bondi Junction free 9pm Mr Percival, The Little Stevies The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf)–$28 (at door) 9.30pm MUM The World Bar, Kings Cross $10– $15 8pm Nearly Neil - Neil Diamond Tribute Bankstown Sports Club $10 (member)–$15 7.30pm Next Best Thing Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club free 5pm Of Consequence, Decadence of Cain @Newtown free 7pm Overload Kent Hotel, Hamilton free 10.30pm Phil McKnight Tall Timbers Hotel, Ourimbah free 6pm Phil Tweed Level One, Kent Hotel, Hamilton free 10pm Pop Fiction, Zoltan After Dark Bar, Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL free 10pm Purple Sneakers: Richard In Your Mind DJs, Toki Doki, Chicks Who Love Guns DJs, Kill The Landlord, Kitty Munroe, Praline & Dick Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale free–$12 7pm Rear View Mirror Oriental Hotel, Springwood free 9pm Rob Henry Duo
THE VIGNETTES + ONLY THE SEA SLUGS + THE OWLS + KLEPTICS
JUST ANNOUNCED
WHERE HAUS PARTY
(8:30PM - 12:00AM)
COMING SOON SAT 03 JUL
AIRPORT
FRI 09 JUL
BRITISH INDIA
FRI 16 JUL
Fbi’s STOLEN RECORDS
WWW.THEGAELIC.COM EVENT EVENT &&FUNCTION FUNCTIONBOOKINGS: BOOKINGS: clayton@selectmusic.com.au danielle@thegaelic.com BAND BANDBOOKINGS: BOOKINGS:clayton@selectmusic.com.au clayton@selectmusic.com.au
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 47
gig guide send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Ross Wilson Coogee Diggers $42 (+ bf) 8pm Sam & Jamie Show Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel free 7pm Sosueme: Sosueme Allstars, We Go Bang Bang!, Tin Can Radio, Sosueme DJs, DJ Stav, Bridezilla DJs, The Holidays DJs, Howling Bells DJs, The Vines DJs, The Protectors DJs, Murray Lake, Guus & Garth, Lost in the Kross DJs Q Bar, Darlinghurst $10–$15 8pm Stone Cold Sober Warilla Bowling Club, Barrack Heights free 8pm Stormcellar The Avalon RSL, Avalon free 8.30pm Super Jam Warners Bay Hotel free 9pm Talk It Up Campbelltown Catholic Club free 9pm The Bad & The Ugly Mattara Hotel, Newcastle free 8pm The Covers Brothers Iron Horse Inn, Cardiff free 6.30pm The Luke Escombe Band, Extension Chord, The Tavistocracy, Sawmill Stiffies Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills 8pm The Rebel Rousers Mingara Recreation Club, Tumbi Umbi free 7.30pm The Unexpected Celebrity Room, Blacktown RSL Club free 8pm The Vignettes Vinyl Launch, Only The Sea Slugs, The Owls and Kleptics The Gaelic, Surry Hills $10 Tim Pringle Duke of Wellington Hotel, New Lambton free 8pm To The Next Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Tony Williams Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm Underlights, Radio National, Sound Casino, Stickyfingers Melt Bar, Kings Cross free–$10 9pm What U Need INXS Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 10pm
JAZZ
Bridge City Jazz Band Club Ashfield free 7.30pm SIMA: Steve Hunter’s Nine Lives The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $20 (member)–$25 8.30pm The Felas 505 Club, Surry Hills $10–$15 8.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Adam Roycroft, DJ Black Jade Tavern, Haymarket free 7pm Cafe Carnivale: Fiesta, Juan Carlos Rios, Giorgio Rojas, Anatoli Torjinsky, Larissa Burak,
Ash Grunwald
Ednaldo Ignacio, Jose Barosso, Bukhu Eastside Arts, Paddington $22 (member)–$28 8pm John Spillane (Ireland) The Harp, Tempe $25 8pm Octive Revesby Workers Club free 9.30pm
COUNTRY
Fisher King, Jane Walker, Leeroy & Samson Notes Live, Enmore $18.40 (presale) 7pm Lonesome Train UTS Haberfield Rowers Club free 8pm Macarthur Country Music Club Wests Campbelltown Tennis Club, Leumeah free 7pm
HIP-HOP
Dust Tones: The Nomad (New Zealand), Oakley Grenell (New Zealand), Rayjah45, Ability, Gabriel Clouston Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm
SATURDAY JUNE 26 ROCK & POP
747 After Dark Bar, Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL free 10pm 2 Of Hearts Revesby Workers Club free 9.30pm 2 Shot Jolly Frog Hotel, Windsor free 8pm 2days Hits RG McGees Hotel, Richmond free 9.30pm Ace Club Menai free 8.30pm Alphamama Club: Alphamama Tokio Hotel, Darling Harbour free 8pm Amy Meredith, Tonight Alive Caringbah Bizzos 8pm Ash Grunwald The Entrance Leagues Club, Bateau Bay $20 (+ bf) 8pm Betty Airs, The Jewel & the Falcon Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Brel: John Waters Lizotte’s Restaurant, Lambton $59.90 (show only)–$114.50 (dinner & show) 7pm Chartbusters Paddy Maguires, Haymarket free 9.30pm Chasing Bailey The View Factory, Newcastle free 7pm Custom Kings Notes Live, Enmore 8pm Di Solomon Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel free 4pm Dirty Deeds – The AC/DC Show, No Secrets – The Angels Show Blacktown RSL Club free Dj Danc Iron Horse Inn, Cardiff free 8pm Don Hopkins & Rob Grosser The Vault 146, Windsor free 7pm Full Circle Kent Hotel, Hamilton free 10.30pm Funkstar Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Highway To Hell Dundas Sports & Recreation Club free 9pm Illusion of Despair, Miramar, Red Remedy Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor free 8pm Jaaw Fubah on Copa, Copacabana $6.50 8pm Jam Jar Front Bar, Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton free 8pm Jason Hicks Lake Macquarie Tavern, Mount Hutton free 7.30pm Jon English Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba $40 (+ bf)–$78 (dinner & show) 8pm Karnivool, MM9, Cairo Knife Fight (New Zealand) Newcastle Panthers, Newcastle West $40 (+ bf) 8pm
Lisa Crouch, Dig This Fred Chubb Lounge, Rooty Hill RSL Club free 8.30pm Mark Seymour The Vanguard, Newtown $25 (presale)–$30 (at door) 6.30pm Matt Jones Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Midnight Horizon, Paradox Park, Dave Leon Hornsby Inn free 9pm Miles Away, Break Even, Hopeless, The Broderick Live at the Wall, Leichhardt $15 (presale)–$20 (at door) 8pm Nearly Neil - Neil Diamond Tribute Auditorium, South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford $10 (member)–$15 7pm Nearly Neil - Neil Diamond Tribute Auditorium, South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford $10 (member)–$15 9.30pm No Secrets, Dirty Deeds AC/DC Show Celebrity Room, Blacktown RSL Club free 10pm Operator Please, Tim & Jean, Chaingang Metro Theatre, Sydney $25 (+ bf) 7pm Pan Magazine Fundraiser and Launch Party: Psychonanny & the Babyshakers, The Holy Soul, The Model School, Walk On By, Bosom, Kate Brown, Quaoub, River Dear, Madam Squeeze The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $15 6pm Phil Tweed Level One, Kent Hotel, Hamilton free 10pm Pop Fiction Castle Hill RSL Club free 10pm Radio Bandits Mingara Recreation Club, Tumbi Umbi free 7.30pm Radio City Cats Marble Bar, Sydney free 10.30pm Rip it Up Bald Rock Hotel, Rozelle free 7.30pm Rockin Red Sox Smithfield RSL free 8pm Ron Ashton Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm Shade Of Red Miranda RSL Club free 9pm Snowdroppers Oxford Tavern, Wollongong 8pm Solid Gold Shenanigans, Maitland free 8pm Soundproofed Oatley Hotel free 8pm Stars of the Eisteddfod Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre, Nowra $10–$20 7pm Steve Edmonds Band Bull & Bush Hotel Baulkham Hills free 9pm Stone Cold Sober Regents Park Sporting & Community Club free 7.30pm Stormcellar The Wallacia Hotel, Wallacia free 9.30pm T.H.U.G, The Cool Charmers, The Baddies, Egar 13 Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm The Australian Red Hot Chili Peppers Show Belmont Hotel free 9pm The Corps, Roadside Burial, Deathcage, Rampage Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 8pm The Junes Marrickville Bowling and Recreation Club $10 8pm The Little Stevies, Ashleigh Mannix The Junkyard, Maitland 8pm The Rat Pack From Vegas (USA) Campbelltown RSL $30 8pm The Rebel Rousers Club Liverpool free 7.30pm The Supreme Motown Show Wentworthville Leagues Club $8–$10 7pm The V Dubs Hotel Delany, Newcastle free 9pm Thread Catherine Hill Bay Hotel free 7pm Trash: Anchor Nowhere, Never Content, One Time Menace, Renegade Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo $10 (guestlist)–$12 9pm Umlaut, Dr El Suavo, Darth Vegas, Toydeath
Ozi Batla The Factory Theatre, Enmore 8pm Veora, Spirit Level, A State of Flux, The Tells Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills $12 8pm
JAZZ
Dale Barlow 505 Club, Surry Hills $10–$15 8.30pm Jive Bombers East Cessnock Bowling Club 7.30pm Michael McGlynn Sydney Rowing Club, Abbotsford free 3pm SIMA: The Mark Isaacs Resurgence Band The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $12 (member)–$20 8.30pm Timba Oz, DJ Dwight ‘Chocolate’ Escobar, Al El Cubano The Basement, Circular Quay 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Gospel Live: Geoff Bullock, Zoe Elliot, Rachel Cheadle The Manly Fig $7–$10 7pm Scottish Ceilidh Dance: Fiddle Tunes Band Wesley Hall, Hamilton free (child)– $14 (adult) 7.30pm Skorba, Wheelers & Dealers Blackheath Community Hall $30 (dinner & show) 7pm Songsalive!: She The Wolf, July Morning, Tash Lee, Dyan Tai, Kyle Horsley, Simon Cant, Andrew Denniston Grumpy’s Inn, Hurlstone Park free 8pm The Troubadour Folk & Acoustic Music Club CWA Hall, Woy Woy $7 (conc)–$10 7pm
HIP-HOP
Annandale Hotel 10th Birthday Week: Ozi Batla, The Last Kinection, The Tongue Annandale Hotel $20 (+ bf)–$25 (at door) 8pm
SUNDAY JUNE 27 ROCK & POP Anthony Hughes
Oatley Hotel Free 1pm Ash Grunwald Lizotte’s Restaurant, Kincumber 6pm Blues Sunday Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly 7.30pm Cash Only Marrickville Bowling and Recreation Club free 3pm Chris Mawer (Solo) The Vault 146, Windsor free 1pm Colin O’Donnell, Paddy, Anthony K, Gary Honor The Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction free 5pm Custom Kings Brass Monkey, Cronulla $18.40 (presale) 7pm Cyber Crystals Catherine Hill Bay Hotel free 1.30pm Drive: Peter Northcote Bridge Hotel, Rozelle $10 3.30pm Hitseekers Harbord Beach Hotel free 6pm Jefferson Groove Circa Lounge Bar, Bondi Junction free 2pm Jessica Cain Docks Hotel, Darling Harbour free 5pm Jimmy Barnes Annandale Hotel $40 (+ bf) 8pm Jonny Gretsch’s Wasted Ones Riverston Sportsmans Hotel free 2.30pm Katrina Gateshead Tavern free 2pm Miles Away, Break Even, Hopeless, The Broderick Live at the Wall, Leichhardt $15 (presale)–$20 Muma Janes Chicago Blues Band Premier Hotel, Broadmeadow free 4.30pm Murray Ferguson Smithfield RSL free 6.30pm Radio Social World Bar, Kings Cross $5 5pm Romney Watts Fubah on Copa, Copacabana 2pm Ross Ward Long Jetty Hotel free 2pm Screaming Sunday: For Our Hero, Perfect Revolution, Max Wilkinson, The Polaroid People, Delamare, Futures In Black And White, The Wire Annandale Hotel $12 (presale)–$15 (at door) 11am Shoshana Bean The Factory Theatre, Enmore $53.50 7pm Songwriters @ The Factory
“Ladies and gents … your dopest host presents extravagance” - LIL’ KIM 48 :: BRAG :: 367: 21:06:10
gig guide
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com The View Factory, Newcastle free 7pm Steve Edmonds Band Kent Hotel, Hamilton free 8pm Steve Tonge Mount Annan Hotel free 8pm Sun Sets: Billy McCarthy, Lucy Hall Fringe Bar, Paddington $8 5pm The Dennis Boys Band Sandringham Hotel – street level bar, Newtown free 4pm The Dexter Morph Band The Entrance Sails Stage free 11am The Rat Pack From Vegas (USA) North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray $30 7pm Tim Pringle Tall Timbers Hotel, Ourimbah free 3.30pm Tribute to Bob Dylan: Highway 61 The Vanguard, Newtown 8pm Two Minds Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel free 3pm Umlaut, Dr El Suavo Croatian Wickham Sports Club 8pm Vindan & The Zion Band The Hive Bar, Erskineville free 3pm Wards Xpress Tudor Hall Hotel, Redfern free 4pm
JAZZ
Cabaret Jazz Adamstown RSL free 2.30pm Janet Seidel Trio Rocksalt, Menai free 12pm Jive Bombers Cronulla RSL free 12pm Shawnuff Quartette Oatley Hotel free 2pm
gig picks up all night out all week...
SIMA’s 25th Anniversary: Mike Nock, Bernie McGann, Steve Hunter, Dale Barlow, James Muller, Sandy Evans, James Greening, Phil Slater, George Smilovic The Basement, Circular Quay $50 6.30pm The House of Blues: The Subterraneans Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 6pm Tux Deluxe Sydney Rowing Club, Abbotsford free 3pm
Shakin Howls Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm
FRIDAY JUNE 25
Annandale Hotel 10th Birthday Week: Cloud Control, Kyu, We Say Bamboulee, Jinja Safari Annandale Hotel $18 (+ bf) 8pm Hell City Glamours, Snowdroppers, The Rumjacks, Bittersweet Kicks Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $16 (+ bf) 8pm Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions (USA), Mick Turner, Jeffrey Wegener, Dirt Blue Gene Enmore Theatre $77.10 5pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Kelly’s Heroes P.J. O’Brien’s, Sydney free 7pm Masha’s Legacy, Eddie Bronson Trio, Hathor Dance Theatre Notes Live, Enmore $20 7pm Songsalive!: Russell Neal and guests Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 2pm
COUNTRY
Bacon & Cabbage, Mark Oats, Dan Lising Cock ‘n’ Bull Tavern, Bondi Junction free 5pm Belrose Country Music Club Belrose Bowling Club free 2pm Craig Giles, Kaylah Anne, McCauley’s Raiders Smithfield RSL free 2.30pm Lonesome Train The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm Victoria Baillie Royal Cricketers Arms, Prospect free 12.30pm
The Vignettes Vinyl Launch, Only The Sea Slugs, The Owls and Kleptics The Gaelic, Surry Hills $10
SATURDAY JUNE 26
Operator Please, Tim & Jean, Chaingang Metro Theatre, Sydney $25 (+ bf) 7pm Pan Magazine Fundraiser and Launch Party: Psychonanny & the Babyshakers, The Holy Soul, The Model School, Walk On By, Bosom, Kate Brown, Quaoub, River Dear, Madam Squeeze The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $15 6pm
Yusuf and cat
MONDAY JUNE 21
Yusuf (Cat Stevens) (UK) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $119 (silver)–$199 (premium) 7.30pm
TUESDAY JUNE 22
The Little Stevies, The My Ty’s, Lunar Calm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm
THURSDAY JUNE 24
Bird Automatic, The Honey Pies, Brown Bear Black Bear Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Dead Letter Chorus, Two Hours Traffic Great Northern Hotel, Newcastle 8pm
Hope Sandoval
JUNE
25 FRIDAY
CLOUD CONTROL AFTER PARTY 1 July – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney with special guest
3 July – Transit Bar, ACT 23 July – The Grand Hotel, Wollongong
RICHARD IN YOUR MIND DJS RICHARD IN YOUR MIND .
TOKI DOKI KILL THE LANDLORD CHICK WHO LOVE GUNS
KITTY MUNROE . PRALINE & DICK
MY VOLCANO
GIVEAWAYS COURTESY OF POPFRENZY
w w w.myspace.com/ernest ellis
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 49
club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week Tin Can Radio
FRIDAY JUNE 25
MONDAY JUNE 21 202 Broadway, Chippendale Hospitality Crew free Empire Hotel, Potts Point Bazaar HBK, I Low free One World Sport, Parramatta Ricky Ro free Soho, Kings Cross Comedown free The Sugarmill, Kings Cross Mondays James Rawson (live), Kavi-R free V Bar, Sydney Monday Mambo Mambo G $5–$10
TUESDAY JUNE 22 Xxx
Q Bar, Darlinghurst
Sosueme’s 3rd Birthday Sosueme Allstars, We Go Bang Bang, Tin Can Radio, Sosueme DJs, Falcona DJs, Murray Lake, DJ sets from; bluejuice, The Holidays, Bridezilla, The Protectors, The Vines, Howling Bells, LITK $10 early $15 Late/on the door Sosueme DJs
The Nomad
Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel DJs Willie Sabor and Guests free Martin Place Bar, Sydney Louis M, Sammy free Oatley Hotel Suburban Alternative DJ Mini Mullet Free Opera Bar, Circular Quay DJ Jack Shit free The Gaff, Darlinghurst Coyote Tuesday Kid Finley, Pee Wee Pete free–$5 World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic Karaoke, Daigo, Shipwreck, M.I.T free
WEDNESDAY JUNE 23 Bank Hotel, Newtown Girl’s Night DJ Beth Yen free Cruise Bar, Circular Quay Rockstar free Establishment, Sydney Mid Week Hurdle Nic Phillips, Craig Patterson free Fringe Bar, Paddington F.R.I.E.N.D/s $5 VIP/$10 door Gasworks Nightclub, Albion Hotel, Parramatta DJ Fresh free Goldfish, Kings Cross The Salsa Lounge Latin Mafia Sound System free Scary Canary, Sydney Wet Wednesdays DJ Lews Lewi, Ahshit, Ryzie-Ry, Down & Out free Sly Fox, Enmore Queer Central Sveta, DJ Beth, DJ Bel free The Argyle Hotel, Rocks SWAT DJs free The Eastern, Bondi Junction John Glover, Tenzin, Here’s Trouble, Cassian, U-Go-B, Steve Frank, Mistah Cee, Kavi-R free The Gaff, Darlinghurst New Generation Franny, Alex, Triky, Electroholics, Con-x-ion, Psygnosis, Calico, Kermy, Deceptikon free The Lincoln, Kings Cross Kareem the DJ free (guestlist) The Sugarmill, Kings Cross Battery Operated DJ Matt Hoare free World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall/SUGD free
Gasworks Nightclub, Albion Hotel, Parramatta Da Bomb with DJ Fresh free Goldfish, Kings Cross The Funk Quarter Phil Hudson, Phil Toke, Dave 54, Michael Wheatley free Home Terrace, Darling Harbour Unipackers Rnb, Top 40, Electro $5 Hotel Chambers, Sydney Timewarp Retro DJs free Judgement Bar, Taylor Square Judgement Night. Sex Worker & Ymerej, weekly guests free Kinselas Hotel, Darlinghurst Simon Alexander free Lady Lux, Kings Cross Notorious Thursdays Die Pritti, Jimmy 2 Sox, Stick Man free Mansions, Kings Cross Van Sereno and Cavan Te live on rotation free Martin Place Bar, Martin Place Thursday’s at MPB Louis M free Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hot Damn! DJ Sarah Spandex, Mark C, Heart Attack $10–$12 Sapphire Suite, Kings Cross Flaunt Nacho Pop, Diaz, Eko, Tom Piper, R-Son, Zero Cool free Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney The Social Club Beth Yen free The Argyle Hotel, Rocks Random Soul free The Eastern Hotel, Bondi Junction Sneaker Husky, Ant Best Shy, Travis Hale, Dave Rizzle, Yogi free The Rouge, Darlinghurst Surprise Surprise Astrix, Sms, Ember, Lights Out, Tom Piper Uni Bar, Wollongong University, Gwynneville End of Exams Toga Party Space Invadas $5 (student)–$10 World Bar, Kings Cross Teenage Kicks free
FRIDAY JUNE 25 202, Broadway Everyone Boot, Ryzer, McBean, Andosound, Oliver Gurney, Dane Austin, Tiny Tim, Catalyst $5
Allawah Hotel Lan Party Pablo Calamari, R!M!E, Jackpop, Whitecat Bank Hotel, Newtown Ben Kelly, Jeremy Kirschner free Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Dustones The Nomad (New Zealand), Oakley Grenell (New Zealand), Rayjah45, Ability, Gabriel Clouston free Bungalow 8, Darling Harbour Bungalow Nights free Cargo Bar, King St Wharf On The Harbour free Chinese Laundry, Sydney T-Rek $20 after 1am Civic Undergound, Sydney Good Sorts Sam Watkins, Matttt, Dave Stuart, Jamie Mattimore, Rollin Connection $10 before midnight, $15 after Collector Hotel, Parramatta Corner Shop Tikelz, DJ Browski, J Lyrikz, Naughty, Gunz free Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool Fuego DJ Mac, Don Juan, K-Note, Asado, Dennis Tha Menace, The Empress MC, MC Seba Cruise Bar, Circular Quay Johnny Vinyl, Strike free Establishment Hotel Carnival La Fiesta Sound System and special guest DJs all night free Fanny’s of Newcastle Gangster Party Fuel, DJ TK $15 (presale)–$20 (at door) Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor Pawno Winter Party Loco Pops, Joel Granger, L3go, Ryno, Stumpy $5 Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale Purple Sneakers Richard In Your Mind DJs, Toki Doki, Chicks Who Love Guns DJs, Kill The Landlord, Kitty Munroe, Praline & Dick $12 Goldfish, Kings Cross Sugar & Soul Phil Hudson, Paul Hatz, Agey, Danny De Sousa, Matt Cahill, Tom Kelly free Home The Venue, Darling Harbour Delicious Flite, IKO, DJ Seiz, Uncle Abe $35 (+ bf) Kinselas, Taylor Square Toby Wilson free Kit & Kaboodle, Darlinghurst Gameboy Fridays The Gameboys, Free Swedes, NAD $10 after 10pm Live House, Lewisham
Tenzin
THURSDAY JUNE 24 202 Broadway, Chippendale Basic Foreign Dub, Headroom, Space is the Place, Void free Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool After School Detention DJ Rangi, Mac, K-Note MC Buddy Love free Cruise Bar, Circular Quay DJ Dwight ‘Chocolate’ Escobar free Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown Brett Hunt free Dug Out Bar, Burdekin Hotel Speakeasy Magda, Dave Fernandes Empire Hotel, Potts Point Episodes DJ Schoder, Wanted, Zahra, Jason K, Johar free
“Enter the world of the Playboy pin up girl Butt naked dressed in nothin’ but pearls” - LIL’ KIM 50 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com Abduction $5–$10 Mansions, Kings Cross Nick Polly, Little Rich, Nick T, Stevie S, Adrian Allen free Middle Bar, Kinselas, Darlinghurst Flavours on Friday MC Q-Bizzi, C-Bu, Trey, Mike Champion, Naiki, Tekkaman $20 Mounties, Mount Pritchard One Night Stand Timmy Trumpet Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Friday’s DJ Tone Free Omega Lounge, Sydney Unwind Greg Summerfield, Matt Brunton free Opera Bar, Circular Quay Gian Arpino free Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Void UK Bass Special Crooked Sound System, Farj, Mark Pritchard, Swindle, Preecha, James Daak $10 Plantation Bar, Kings Cross Blurred! Hey Now, Circumstances, Rip-Lee, Detektives, Audiokrunk, Calling In Sick, Disco $10 before 11pm, $15 after Polo Lounge, Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Jack Mark Murpy (Spank!), MagdaB (Speakeasy, HAHA) Q Bar, Darlinghurst Sosueme’s 3rd Birthday Sosueme Allstars, We Go Bang Bang, Tin Can Radio, Sosueme DJs, Falcona DJs, Murray Lake, DJ sets from;Bluejuice, The Holidays, Bridezilla, The Protectors, The vines, Howling Bells, LITK $10 early/$15 Late/ on the door Raval, Surry Hills Listen Hear Huwston, Micah, James De La Cruz, Chris Coucouvinis free Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Sapphire Fridays Miss Match, Rob Morrish, Dave 54, Kate Monroe, Chiller $10 guestlist Sly Fox, Enmore Sly Fridays Neil Hume free Soda Bar, Golden Sheaf, Double Bay Mike Who, Mr Glass, Brynstar free Spectrum, Darlinghurst Silent Alarm Silent DJs $5 St James Hotel, Sydney One Night in Cuba Mani, Yemaya, Nandez, Av El Cubano $15 Tank Nightclub, Sydney RnB Superclub Def Rok, Eko, G Wizard, Lilo, Troy T, MC Jayson Tao, Sydney Yin Yang - House & Garage Karl Prinzen III, Alex Almeida, Dante Rivera, Arthur K $10 The Argyle Hotel, Rocks John Devechis, Kate Monroe, Cadell free The Eastern, Bondi Junction Circus Mistah Cee, John Glover, Steve Frank, Bondi House DJs free before 11pm, $10 after The Lincoln, Kings Cross The Scene Charlie Brown, Samari The Loft, King Street Wharf Late at The Loft free The Rouge, Kings Cross Shock Horror Beni free on guestlist before 11pm The Sugarmill, Kings Cross The Gameboys, Calling In Sick, Joyride $10 after 10pm Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Warped free World Bar, Kings Cross MUM $10
SATURDAY JUNE 26 202 Broadway, Chippendale Jamrock Nick Toth, Joe
Phil Smart (USA), Lukie D, Shotta Paul, Admiral Kilosh $15 Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo Trash DJ M!Veg, DJ Absynth $12 BB’s, Bondi Beach Wildlife DJs Mesan, James Roberts, Adriano Giorgi, Dinseh Sundar, Matt Singmin, Chris Kyle free Chinese Laundry, Sydney Kraymer, Erphun $20 Clarence Hotel, Petersham Caesars Sandy Bottom, Justin Scott, DJ Chip free Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool Pop Fiction, Zoltan free Cricketer’s Arms, Surry Hills Pod War free Cronulla RSL Divmania The Last Stand free Cruise Bar, Circular Quay DJ Simon Neal, Ben Vickers free Docks Hotel, Darling Harbour Fabulous Nino Brown, Don Juan, Samrai, Tikelz, Solz, Lil B, Robbie Knotts, Broski, Shruggz, MC Q-Bizzi, MC Mike Celekt, Aga, Akay, Dimi K, Yanni-B $20 Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown Kaki $20 Eastern Hotel, Bondi Junction I Love Saturdays Zannon, Tony Shock, Matt Ferreira, Tass, Akay, Don Juan, Dante Rivera, Dennis Agee, Willie Sabor, Oscar Cadena free Gasworks Nightclub, Albion Hotel, Parramatta DJs Matt Hoare and Andy Marc $10 Goldfish, Kings Cross Abel, Tom Kelly, Phil Hudson, Ross Middleton on sax free Home The Venue, Sydney Homemade Saturdays The 808s, Aladdin Royaal, James “Saxman” Spy, Matt Ferreria, Hannah Gibbs, Tony Venuto, Dave Austin, Flite, LKO, Seiz, Uncle Abe $20 VIP/$25 door Ivy, Sydney Pure Ivy Ivy Bar: Minx, Tass, Robbie Santiago, Beth Yen / The Den & Lounge: Alley Oop, Danny De Sousa, Yogi $20 Jacksons On George, Sydney Leno, Aladdin Royaal free Kinselas, Taylor Square Brynstar, Shaun Keble, Yin Yang, Beth Yen and Matt Hoare free Mansions, Kings Cross Reckless, Little Rich, Shaun Keeble, Nick Polly free Martin Place Bar, Sydney Bamboo Eko, Nude-E, Mirage, Shorty, Ace, Moto, Qrius, IllDJ $5
Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill Fiddler Bar DJ Bobby Dazzler free Opera Bar, Circular Quay Krishna Jones free Plantation Bar, Kings Cross Robert Hood, Defined By Rhythm, Ben Dunlop, Dopamine Sackville Hotel, Rozelle Maike free Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney Shipwreck, Daniel Nall, Leon Pirello $10 after 10pm Space Nightclub, Sydney SFX DJs Bzurk, Absynth, Snowflake $10 Spectrum, Darlinghurst P*A*S*H Goldfoot, DJ Knife $7 Stonewall Hotel, Darlinghurst Greg Boladian, Nick J free Tao Ultra Lounge, Sydney Satisfaction Satisfaction DJs The Argyle Hotel, Rocks Husky, Dante, Phil Hudson The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross Sin City Don Juan, DJ Willie, Mista Kay, MC Q-Bizzi The Dolphin Hotel, Surry Hills DJ Chris Skinner, DJ Carl O’Brien free The Forum Theatre, Moore Park Boogie Wonderland - A Journey Back To The 80s Con Andrews, Darcy, Steve K $55.20 (+ bf) The Gaff, Darlinghurst Perfect Day Resident house DJs Mark Alsop, DJ Chip, DJ Murray Hood, DJ Miss Match, DJ Brett Austin, DJ Scotty Tanner, DJ James Tobin, DJ Man and DJ Dirty Dan free The Manhattan Lounge, Martin Place Hushhh... DJs Stunna, Sonny, Special K $10 after 9pm The Rouge, Kings Cross Le Rouge Christian Luke $10 before 11pm The Venue, Double Bay Pure House Ben Morris, Illya, Robbie Lowe, Matt Mandell, Ollie Brooke, Matt Roberts, Simon Caldwell, Kato, James Taylor, Lummy, Mitch Crosher, Phil Smart Tonic Lounge, Kings Cross Tonic Saturdays Tan Cracker’s Soul Club $15 Verandah Bar, Sydney The Booty Bar George B, Nasser T, Lenno, K Sera Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Paul Moussa free World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! $15 before 10pm, $20 after
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 51
club guide
Deep Impressions
clubguide@thebrag.com
SUNDAY JUNE 27 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Bondi Cultura Samba Groove free Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool Michael Peter Cruise Bar, Circular Quay Sassy Sundays free Docks Hotel, Darling Harbour Salsa Caliente Sabroson, DJ Vico free Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown DJ Metal Matt, Louis Tillett free Gasworks Nightclub, Albion Hotel, Parramatta Sundayze Goldfish, Kings Cross Martini Club Live DJs Illya, Johnny Gleeson, Miss Match, Jack McCord and Tom Kelly free Home Terrace, Sydney Spice After Hour Simon Caldwell, Sweatshop Boys, Murat Kilic, YokoO $20/$10 Hotel Chambers, Sydney La Chambre Rouge X-Tof, DJ XL, Trey, Twinz $20 Ice Bar, Sydney Kitsch Sound System, Phil Hudson, Chloe West, Mark Matthews free Kings Cross Hotel Jammin Sundays free Kinselas Hotel, Darlinghurst The Fifth Dimension free Madam De Biers, Kings Cross Soul on Sunday Nino Brown, Don Juan free Oatley Hotel Sunday Sessions DJ Tone & Friends free Phoenix Bar, Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Loose Ends Resident DJ Matt Vaughan & Regular Guests Including Seymour Butz, Mark Murphy, Stephen Allkins, Avra-Cybele, Ben
Underground Dance and Electronica with Chris Honnery
This Week’s Episode: The Pussy Shepherd
The Loin Brothers
Gabriel Coutu Dumont
LOOKING DEEPER SATURDAY JULY 2 Stephan Bodzin The Arthouse
FRIDAY JULY 9
Chemistry Feat. Ant Steep The Civic Underground
SATURDAY JULY 17 Alexkid Plantation
SATURDAY JULY 24 James Holden Chinese Laundry
I Drayton, Sveta, The Loin Brothers Free Entry From 10pm Sapphire Suite, Kings Cross Random Sundays Mike Rukus, Tom Piper, James Taylor, Matt Nukewood, Goodfella, Adam Lance, RobKAY free (guestlist)–$15 The Argyle Hotel, Rocks Danny de Souza, DJ BBG free The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross Soul On Sunday Nino Brown, Don Juan free The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills B Side free The Bunker Bar, Kings
Cross Marco Resmann free The Gaff, Darlinghurst Drama free The Rouge, Kings Cross Cartel Barfly, Tom Piper, Tenzin, Matt Nukewood free The Roxy, Parramatta Sunday Social $10, free for members The Sugarmill, Kings Cross Neighbourhood Kate Munroe free Trademark Hotel, Darlinghurst Soul on Sunday Nino Brown, Don Juan Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Miss Gabby free
club picks up all night out all week...
WEDNESDAY JUNE 23 Fringe Bar, Paddington F.R.I.E.N.D/s $5 VIP/$10 door
THURSDAY JUNE 24 202 Broadway, Chippendale Basic Foreign Dub, Headroom, Space is the Place, Void free Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hot Damn! DJ Sarah Spandex, Mark C, Heart Attack $10–$12
FRIDAY JUNE 25 Civic Undergound, Sydney Good Sorts Sam Watkins, Matttt,
Dave Stuart, Jamie Mattimore, Rollin Connection $10 before midnight, $15 after
SATURDAY JUNE 26 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Kraymer, Erphun $20 World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! $15 before 10pm, $20 after
t was but four years ago that Montreal’s Guillaume Coutu Dumont – better known as Guillaume & the Coutu Dumonts – was struggling to get labels to release his music. “Please man, it’s, like, totally acidic polyrhythmic house music,” he’d say in language far less clumsy than that, while industry fat cats nodded vacantly and busied themselves filing their nails. A move to Berlin sparked a change in fortune for our persistent protagonist, and over the past few years Guillaume has branched out from the Montreal labels Mutek and Musique Risquée to release EPs on Hartchef, Oslo, Karat and Circus Company - while the likes of Crosstown Rebels, Mothership, and Get Physical have lined up for remixes. It was only last month that Guillaume released his debut album Breaking The Fourth Wall, a collection of dubby psychedelic soundscapes that includes collaborations with Dave Aju and dOP and is a must for anyone after music on a slightly more ‘intelligent’, but still highly danceable, tip. Part Villalobos and part Future Sound of London, be sure to add this to your Amazon shopping trolley, and look forward to listening to it in 14 – 17 working days. The suave man of techno, DJ Hell, has unveiled the next installment in the longrunning Gigolo Records compilation series, the twelfth of its kind, which should’ve hit shelves last Tuesday (though there really aren’t enough CD stores in town that pride themselves on having a decent range of electronic music outside of the naff dross clogging the mainstream market). Those of you willing to seek the release out will get considerable bang – or rather boom – for your buck, as a whopping thirty-one tracks are spread over three CDs, with seventeen of them previously unreleased. Among the artists featured are new Vienna-based talent such as Makossa, Megablast, Skwerl and Crazy Sonic – don’t worry, I haven’t heard of them either! – along with a
Soulwax re-edit of Walter Murphy’s ‘A Fifth of Beethoven’(!). Another cut included on the compilation, the driving, Italotinged Skateboard remix of Diskokaine’s ‘Shame’, is already being hailed as one of the tracks of the European summer. It’s been heavily supported by the likes of Miss Kittin overseas, but when I played it to a renowned stalwart of the Sydney scene he was nonplussed. So, perhaps it will sink without a trace… Who knows? I interviewed Paolo Alberto Lodde in late 2007 when he was in the process of reinventing himself as Dusty Kid, following the apparent dissolution of Duoteque, Paolo’s production project with Andrea Ferlin. I asked Paolo about the future of Duoteque, who were responsible for some delicious – sorry – tech house cuts such as ‘Drug Queen’ back in the mid-noughties. “Duoteque is finished, ‘kaput’, over,” came the reply in broken English. Fast forward a few years and the flamboyant Italian has [thankfully] gone back on his word, as Duoteque are set to release a self-titled debut LP that collects many of the pair’s favourite tracks from their early oeuvre along with Gotcha, their comeback 12-inch from earlier this year. Disc 1 is mixed by Paolo himself under his Dusty Kid moniker, while the second disc is unmixed and DJ-friendly and features a few previously unreleased tracks such as ‘Neon’, and The Dolphins remix of ‘Lola’. German producer Ellen Allien, who from all reports was one of the standouts at the We Love Sounds festival a few weeks back, has been around for a fair few years now. She has provided us with several compilations – including my litmus test, a mix for Fabric – and some very well produced artist albums, namely the collaborative LP with Apparat. The amicable German has just brought out a new record, Dust, a release that is notable for Ellen trying her hand at singing her own vocals and again comes with my weighty recommendation. I know for a fact you should be able to obtain this album fairly easily courtesy of Melbourne distributors Stomp, so add it to this week’s listening list and, until we meet again, play safe.
Duoteque
SUNDAY JUNE 27 Home Terrace, Sydney Spice After Hour Simon Caldwell, Sweatshop Boys, Murat Kilic, YokoO $20/$10
Wham
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com. 52 :: BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10
Soul Sedation Soul, Dub, Hip Hop & Bottom Heavy Beats with Tony Edwards
snap sn ap up all night out all week . . .
up all night out all week . . .
A Tribe Called Quest
Cee-Lo Green is also about to drop an album, The Lady Killer, which will be his third solo record. It’s always a pleasure to hear the sound of his soulful tones of The Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley – he’s maintained a strong fan base for himself by working on some amazingly diverse projects. The new record features collaborations and co-productions with Salaam Remi, Jack Splash, and Fraser T. Smith. Digi-dub experts Jahtari have released a mix entitled Asteroid Dub. Compiled by E-Jime, a Japanese record store, it features tunes from Jahtari label boss Disrupt, as well as Soom T, El Fatah, and many, many more. We’re a huge fan of the label, who put out deep, deep smoking tunes with plenty of electronic sub bass and loads of that joyous echo effect. It’s mostly a vinyl-based label, so for some of these tracks it’s the first time on CD. If you don’t know much about digi-dub, a Jahtari label comp like this is a pretty good place to start. UK label Harmless are seriously pimping the disco re-issue bandwagon with a series of no less than four double albums(!) under the subtitles: Diggin Deeper, European Disco, Disco Boogie and the homo-disco focused Pink Pounders. Sounds like value for money! The release comes with extensive sleeve notes from Alan Jones the co-author of 1995’s ‘Saturday Night Forever: The Story Of Disco’ – a volume dealing with the history of the disco movement. London-based label First Word Records are releasing an album from The Simonsound – Reverse Engineering. This
Void – UK Bass Special Phoenix
SATURDAY JUNE 26 Ozi Batla Annandale Hotel
Tan Crackers Soul Club Tonic
FRIDAY JULY 23 Scuba Civic Underground
mum
11:06:10 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700
SATURDAY JULY 24 Funkdafied Warehouse Party TBC
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 11
A Tribe Called Quest The Hordern quote from DJ Spinna perked up our ears: “Reverse Engineering is a refreshing mesh of the past, present and the future. It’s like Mort Garson rocking shell toe Adidas with fat laces blasting into the galaxy in a funky space ship. This record will remain in the crates forever. Don’t sleep!” Kind words from Spinna indeed; Soul Sedation is keen to have a listen. Have a good dig around the label while you’re there - First Word have crafted one of the most forward thinking and coherent rosters to emerge from the UK in recent years.
sly fridays
PICS :: RR
In more hip hop news Aloe Blacc is set to release his new album Good Things later this year. Rapping and singing in both English and Spanish, the soulful producer garnered some tabloid fame recently with his hit ‘I Need A Dollar’. What the new fans might not yet realise is that his back catalogue runs deep with beautifully written soul music. Blacc remains one of this column’s favourite artists, so here’s hoping for another big album.
FRIDAY JUNE 25
11:06:10 :: Sly Fox :: 199 Enmore Rd Enmore 2042 95571016
Daptone fans will want to know all about The Budos Band’s III, the US outfit’s first record since 2007. One for the muso heads out there, Budos features members of Antibalas and The Dap Kings. Pushing the sounds of afro rock and afro soul, the album’s first single is titled ‘Unbroken, Unshaven’. Producer Paul White returns on his futurebeat/psych tip with an album called And The Purple Brain. It reportedly features Eastern influences, ie sitar work, as well as beats and rap. The record’s out on Now Again/Stone’s Throw, but you should also check out the One Handed Music website for further news on White and his homeboys Fulgeance and Bullion. The Void juggernaut rolls on this Friday night with their UK Bass Special, take 2. They’ll be pounding ears and internal organs with the sounds of rave and breakbeat, jungle, drum’n’bass, garage, grime and dubstep. Canberra’s Crooked Sound System will be joining the fray, and selectors Farj, Swindle, Preech, Mark Pritchard and James Daak will all be spinning genre-specialist sets. It’s more than worth the mere $10 cover to get some bass in your face. Peace.
Send stuff for this column to tonyedwards001@gmail.com by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to The Brag (art@thebrag.com).
f.r.i.e.n.d.s.
PICS :: RR
S
oul Sedation hopes you got your Tribe tickets? It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most of us. Lets hope that Tip, Phife and Ali Shaheed are on point live, outshine all of their touring contemporaries and further cement their place in the history of our hearts and minds. Was there any group more universally loved and appreciated during the ‘90s? Probably not. Counting down the days until August 11…
ON THE ROAD
PICS :: JD
Soul Sedation goes live every Wednesday night on Bondi FM (88.0 or bondifm.com.au). Tune in 10pm 'til midnight to hear a deep and soulful selection of the tunes covered here, and plenty more that I don't have room for.
09:06:10 :: Fringe Bar :: 106 Oxford Street Paddington 93605443 ASHLEY MAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) EE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER NS :: PATRICK STEVENSON :: REN MUN IEL DAN :: RING BOW MY VIDLER ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: JERE COLLIER :: WES NEL :: ANDREW JAY :: KA BAS A MAJ :: O ENZ RUSHBROOK :: JULIAN DE LOR
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 53
the wall
PICS :: AM
up all night out all week . . .
AND AM
we love sounds
PICS :: TL
09:06:10 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700
12:06:10 :: Hordern Pavilion/Fox Studios :: 1 Driver Ave Moore Park 93834000
candy's apartment It’s called: Liquid Sky @ Candy’s Apar tment, feat. LAZRtag
DJs/live acts playing: LAZRtag (L.A Itchy & Scratchy, Lights Out!, SMS .) Starfucker DJs, Vengeance, Moonchild, , SlipperyWhenWet, Tongue in Che Us It, The Multipliers, and live band ek, Show s early – Three Stripe Avenue, A Message From The Sun, Emerald Street.
PICS :: RRU
It sounds like: What it would be like if you took ¾ cups of distorted guitars, ½ a cup of funky bass lines, a pinch of disco & garnished with some hous e.
new world order
13:06:10 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700
Sell it to us: Candy’s is freshly rede corated and ready to relaunch, with Friday night party known as Liqu a new id Sky! L.A.-based duo LAZRtag are over for their debut Sydney perfo rmance, and who better to lose their heading Cross virginity with than Sydney’s Kings filthiest party-rocking, disc-slanging the Starfuckers DJs! slutbags The bit we’ll remember in the AM: good, be careful. Crowd specs: 50%Try to remember rule no. 5: if you can’t be female 30% male, 20% other. Wallet damage: $10/$15
0
cannonball run
AND WN
Where: Candy’s Apar tment, 22 Bays water Rd. Kings Cross When: Friday June 25
PICS :: AM
party profile
3
snap sn ap
chinese laundry
PICS :: AM
13:06:10 :: Cargo Lounge :: 52 - 60 The Promenade King Street Wharf 92621777
11:06:10 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex Street Sydney 82959999 54 :: BRAG :: 367:: 21:06:10
ASHLEY MAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: PATRICK STEVENSON :: RENEE NS MUN IEL DAN :: RING BOW ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: JEREMY O :: MAJA BASKA :: JAY COLLIER :: WES NEL :: ANDREW VIDLER ENZ RUSHBROOK :: JULIAN DE LOR
snap
purple sneakers
12:06:10 :: The Palace :: 169 Dolphin St Coogee 96642900
the rumble in the bungle
PICS :: AM
11:06:10 :: The Gladstone Hotel :: 115 Regent St Chippendale 96993522
PICS :: TL
gay bash 4th birthday
PICS :: MB
the palace
PICS :: MB
up all night out all week . . .
13:06:10 :: Bungalow 8 :: 8 The Promenade Kings Street Wharf 92994440
candy’s apartment
PICS :: JB
13:06:10 :: Oxford Hotel :: 134 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93313467
teenage kicks
PICS :: AM
12:06:10 :: Candy’s Apartment :: 22 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93805600 ASHLEY MAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PATRICK STEVENSON :: RENEE :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: RING BOW ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: JEREMY O :: MAJA BASKA :: JAY COLLIER :: WES NEL :: ANDREW VIDLER ENZ RUSHBROOK :: JULIAN DE LOR
10:06:10 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700 BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 55
snap sn ap
sosueme
PICS :: PS
up all night out all week . . .
twist and shout #3
wham
party profile
It’s called: Twist and Shout #3
It sounds like: Otis Redding sma shin Factory... while Aretha Franklin eats g Jimi Hendrix’s guitar in Andy Warhol’s some soul food.
PICS :: DM
11:06:10 :: Q-Bar :: 34-44 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93601375
12:06:10 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700
DJs/live acts playing: Milli Von Ill, Twist and Shout DJs. Sell it to us: Your favourite 60s danc extravaganza (on Friday, July 9th). e party is back with a belated Four th of July Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair as we celebrate all things 60s, Ame rican and danceable: from Motown and to Monterey Pop and Woodstock; from the Summer of Love and Andy Stax Factory to The Stones at Altamont; Warhol’s from doo wop to bubblegum pop to psych rock, you’ll be shaking your tail-feath ers and dancing in the streets, all night long. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: remember it, you weren’t really there Like they say about the 60s: if you . Crowd specs: Mods, Mad Men, Mop Tops and Motowners welcome . Squares, phoneys and wallflowers stay hom e. Hippies use side entrance. Wallet damage: $6 on the door.
renaissance man
PICS :: PS
Where: Brighton Up Bar (cnr Oxfo rd & Riley Sts, Surry Hills) When: Friday July 9, 9pm to 3am
candy’s apartment
PICS :: AV
11:06:10 :: The Civic Hotel :: 388 Pitt St City 80807000
11:06:10 :: Candy’s Apartment :: 22 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93805600 56 :: BRAG :: 367:: 21:06:10
ASHLEY MAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER PATRICK STEVENSON :: RENEE :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: RING BOW ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: JEREMY O :: MAJA BASKA :: JAY COLLIER :: WES NEL :: ANDREW VIDLER ENZ RUSHBROOK :: JULIAN DE LOR
Part of the Annandaleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10th Birthday Celebrations!
Tickets on sale from elefanttraks.oztix.com.au or phonecharge 1300 762 545 and from the Annandale â&#x20AC;&#x201C; phonecharge 9550 1078 or www.annandalehotel.com
BRAG :: 367 :: 21:06:10 :: 57
snap sn ap
we love clowns
PICS :: PS
up all night out all week . . .
12:06:10 :: Ghettodisco @ Q-Bar :: 34-44 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93601375
bad wives
13:06:10 :: Q-Bar :: 34-44 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93601375
the ultimate football party
PICS :: AM
dj profile
PICS :: PS
PICS :: RRU
come together after party
Yr moniker – what’s the deal? It took Finally, we ‘stumbled’ on a dodgy soft us about a month to decide on Bad Wives. porn sight and the title of the first VHS purchase was titled ‘Bad Wives’. available for What’s yr sound? Pretty much what ever play everything from lo-fi indie, to party we feel like at the time – we’ve been know to hip-hop to rave… When/why did you decide to take on the decks and start DJing: We’ve both been playing individua lly for around 5 years now, as DJ Cran Kingswood respectively. We played e and Vivienne a few gigs together for fun, realised we had great chemistry, and decided to get marr ied. Five records that define you: Anyt hing with big beats and a mad groo ve: ‘Samo Ti’ – Faggot Faries; ‘Freek’ – Hudson Mohawke; ‘Lovesick’ – Friendly Fires ; ‘Number One’ – Playgroup; ‘Return Of The Mack’ – Mark Morrison. Best gig you’ve ever played? Sple ndou year. That whole weekend was a blur… r In The Grass Jager tent and after party last If your music was a soundtrack for a film, what would it be abou t? Someone with schizophrenia, who gets arou nd wearing too much costume jewe llery and has permanently red-wine-stained teeth no doubt. Outside of DJing, what pushes your flicking through a fashion mag or two. buttons? Plotting to conquer the world while What was the last thing you wrot e on your hand: I have a genuine hatred of that – I would NEVER write on my hand! And we can see you: We’ve got a week 10pm – 12am – or stream it from bond ly show on Bondi.FM 88.0 every Friday from ifm.com.au; we also play weekly gigs Bar but the gig we are gearing up at World for is Adventure’ party at The Factory Thea the FBi Sydney Sounds Like ‘Choose Your Own tre, July 10.
dubrave vs funktrust 13:06:10 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93323711 58 :: BRAG :: 367:: 21:06:10
PICS :: RRU
11:06:10 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93323711 ASHLEY MAR :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) ON :: RENEE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER IEL MUNNS :: PATRICK STEVENS REW VIDLER DAN :: RING BOW MY JERE :: NA AND :: NEL WES :: ROSETTE ROUHAN LIER COL JAY :: ENZO :: MAJA BASKA RUSHBROOK :: JULIAN DE LOR
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ACER ARENA
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 18 ON SALE THIS FRIDAY TICKETEK.COM.AU OR 132 849
Presented by Michael Coppel, MAX & Channel [V] I www.metallica.com I www.coppel.com.au
MEET THE MYTHMAKERS OF THE MODERN WORLD MEET THE MYTHMAKERS OF THE MODERN WORLD
AA WEEKEND WEEKEND OF OF GRAPHIC GRAPHIC STORYTELLING, STORYTELLING, ANIMATION ANIMATION && MUSIC MUSIC
NEIL NEIL GAIMAN GAIMAN ILLUSTRATIONS: EDDIE CAMPBELL ILLUSTRATIONS: CAMPBELL MUSIC: FOURPLAYEDDIE STRING QUARTET MUSIC: FOURPLAY STRING QUARTET
AN EVENING WITH AN EVENING WITH
KEVIN KEVIN SMITH SMITH GARY GARY GROTH GROTH AKIRA AKIRA THE ARRIVAL THE ARRIVAL BY SHAUN TAN BY SHAUN TAN FOCUS ON FANTAGRAPHICS WITH FOCUS ON FANTAGRAPHICS WITH
WITH LIVE SCORE BY REGURGITATOR WITH LIVE SCORE BY REGURGITATOR
LIVE SCORE BY BEN WALSH’S ORKESTRA OF THE UNDERGROUND LIVE SCORE BY BEN WALSH’S ORKESTRA OF THE UNDERGROUND
MADMAN MADMAN
FILM SCREENINGS FILM SCREENINGS
TO BOOK 02 9250 7777 TO BOOK 02 9250 7777 SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM/GRAPHIC SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM/GRAPHIC
GRAPHIC IS CO-CURATED BY SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE GRAPHIC IS CO-CURATED AND JORDAN VERZAR BY HOUSE (TOPSYDNEY SHELFOPERA PRODUCTIONS) AND JORDAN VERZAR (TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS)
INDUSTRY PARTNER INDUSTRY PARTNER
AUG AUG 77 && 88
FILM SCREENINGS
PANEL DISCUSSIONS FREE WORKSHOPS THE STUDIO / ALL TICKETS $25.
UTZON ROOM /FREE.
MARVEL THEN AND NOW
STORYBOARDING FOR FILM
COMIC MAKING
DRAMA THEATRE / SUNDAY, 8 AUG / $15 OR $10 CONCESSION.
(1PM) Golden and Silver Age meets present day when Marvel icon Stan Lee sits down for a chat with Marvel Chief Creative officer and editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. Hosted by uber-geek Kevin Smith, this roundtable discussion leaves no corner of the Marvel universe unexposed. The past, the future, the fun and the biz are all discussed with startling honesty in this film which was recorded at a live benefit for the Hero Initiative, a not-for-profit charity that provides financial assistance for comic creators in need.
AUSTRALIAN ANIMATION
A specially curated showcase of some of the best animation from our own backyard. Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing;The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello by Anthony Lucas; The Goat That Ate Time, a short film by Lucinda Schreiber; Potapych: The Bear Who Loved Vodka by Darren Price – a stunning selection of big-screen delights!
(5.15PM)
From Hayao Miyazaki, one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of animated cinema, comes the Academy Award winning masterpiece, Spirited Away. A wondrous fantasy about a young girl named Chihiro who discovers a secret world of strange spirits, creatures and sorcery. When her parents are mysteriously transformed, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and return her family to the outside world.
TOKYO EXPRESS
SAT 7 AUG 11.30AM
One of the critical tools in turning a great idea into a great film is the storyboard. Seldom seen, few people recognise or understand the role they play in the filmmaking process. Some directors swear by them while some producers don’t think they need them. But every filmmaker agrees that when storyboards are great, they don’t just inform, they inspire. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to gain serious insights into a critical aspect of the contemporary film industry in both its animated and live-action forms.
(3.35PM)
A SPECIALLY CURATED SELECTION OF THE BEST IN AUSTRALIAN ANIMATION
SPIRITED AWAY
WITH W. CHEW CHAN, MARK SEXTON, CHRIS GEORGIOU & JAMES HACKETT
FOCUS ON FANTAGRAPHICS W/GARY GROTH
Four of the freshest anime out of Japan – the titles will be so new we cannot announce them until just before the screening!
FEAR(S) OF THE DARK
A crack team of comic professionals will lead you in creating comics. Led by Bernard Caleo (Cardigan Comics) with Matt Huynh (CAB), Andrew Weldon (The Age), Pat Grant (Lumpen) and Leigh Rigozzi (Blood & Thunder).
PUBLISHING YOUR WORK SAT 7 AUG, 5.30PM
How do you get your work out of the bedroom and across the world? Seek advice from three people who know how to get the job done: Eddie Campbell, Gary Groth (Fantagraphics), Erica Wagner (Allen & Unwin) and Jeremy Wortsman (The Jacky Winter Group).
SUN 8 AUG 11AM
Fantagraphics is the leading publisher in the realm of alternative comics. Gary Groth and his partner Kim Thompson established the company in 1981, publishing graphic novels well before the trend. They have continued to publish some of the most influential cartoonists of our time, such as Robert Crumb, Chris Ware, Charles Burns, Daniel Clowes, Joe Sacco and Jim Woodring. Groth’s dedication to comics has seen him remain publisher and editor-in-chief since 1976 of The Comics Journal, which was the first regular publication that brought a level of serious criticism tothe medium.
THE EVOLUTION OF AN IDEA:
NEIL GAIMAN, SHAUN TAN AND EDDIE CAMPBELL ON CREATIVITY AND THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS SUN 8 AUG 2PM
(8PM)
UTZON ROOM / SAT 7 AUG, 1PM
Three well known artists will shine a light on the inner workings of some very famous and infamous partnerships and the trials, tribulations and joys of the collaborative process.
(10PM)
A wildly inventive and visually dazzling collection of fearful tales by six of the world’s most renowned comic and graphic artists - Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard McGuire. From a besotted student whose girlfriend is weirdly ardent in her affections, to a Japanese schoolgirl menaced by a long-dead samurai, and a pack of hounds on a bloodthirsty rampage, “Fear(s)” has a story strand to trouble every sleep - not to mention a stunning range of animation styles. Shot in shimmering black and white, the six intertwined tales create an unprecedented epic where phobias and nightmares come to life and reveal Fear at its most naked and intense.
FREE EXHIBITION
BEST OF THE INDEPENDENT GAMES FESTIVAL 09 WESTERN FOYERS / 7 & 8 AUG / FREE
Play brilliant new games for free, as ACMI’s wildly popular Best of the Independent Games Festival exhibition makes it’s Sydney debut. Dubbed the ‘Sundance of the game world’, the IGF has previously featured the groundbreaking games Braid, Everyday Shooter, Drawinia and Cloud, and premiered smash hits De Blob and Portal. Established in 1998 in San Francisco, the annual festival encourages innovation in game development and recognises the best work of indie designers. Games featured in this year’s exhibition include Blueberry Garden, Machinarium, PixelJunk Eden and Eufloria. PRESENTED BY THE AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR THE MOVING IMAGE (ACMI)
BUY 2 EVENTS & GET A 10% DISCOUNT | 3 EVENTS, 15% DISCOUNT | 4+ EVENTS, 20% DISCOUNT
THE ART OF AUSTRALIAN ILLUSTRATION UTZON ROOM / SUN 8 AUG, 11AM
Come see exactly what is Australian illustration now, where its going and where its been. Led by Dave Ladd (Mirrorball) in conversation with Jeremy Wortsman (The Jacky Winter Group), Biddy Maroney & Sonny Day (We Buy Your Kids) and Rocco Fazzari (Sydney Morning Herald).
BUY 2 EVENTS & GET A 10% DISCOUNT | 3 EVENTS, 15% DISCOUNT | 4+ EVENTS, 20% DISCOUNT
COMICS, ILLUSTRATION, ANIMATION AND MUSIC HAVE CHANGED THE FACE OF OUR POPULAR CULTURE AND ARE NOW DEFINING IT. GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMIC ART ARE NOW A LEADING SOURCE OF INSPIRATION FOR FILMS, TELEVISION, CLOTHING, DESIGNERS, MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS THE WORLD OVER. GRAPHIC CELEBRATES THIS BRAVE NEW WORLD IN A WEEKEND OF SPECIALLY COMMISSIONED PRODUCTIONS – WITH MUSICAL RESPONSES TO GRAPHIC ART & STORIES, WORKSHOPS, PANELS, A FILM PROGRAM, A GAMES EXHIBITION AND AN ANIMATION COMPETITION. EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE
ONLY AUSTRALIAN APPREARANCE.
NEIL GAIMAN:
AN EVENING WITH
KEVIN SMITH:
THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS
ILLUSTRATIONS: EDDIE CAMPBELL . MUSIC: FOURPLAY STRING QUARTET
OPERA THEATRE SUN 8 AUG 8PM Kevin Smith is the legendary indie filmmaker of the cult classic Clerks, as well as successful features including Dogma, Chasing Amy and Zack & Miri Make a Porno. He also served as a producer on the multiple-Academy Award-winning film Good Will Hunting. A celebrated writer for both the DC & Marvel Comics empires, Smith has handled such legendary characters as Batman, Daredevil, SpiderMan and Green Arrow. Well known for his long and often hilarious talks and Q&A sessions, Smith is so entertaining that three talks have been released on DVD while his weekly podcasts have made him a star in cyberspace too… plus he even has his own iPhone app.
CONCERT HALL SAT 7 AUG 8PM Neil Gaiman is one of the most celebrated writers of our times. Having achieved legendary status with his Sandman series, his stories cross all boundaries, from comics to award-winning novels, screenplays, scripts, short stories and songs. A number of his works have been turned into major motion pictures including Stardust and Coraline. Exciting future projects in the works include the films Death: the High Cost of Living and a forthcoming episode of Dr Who. In a world first, Gaiman will read aloud his latest story The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains, in the spectacular surrounds of the Concert Hall. Sydney Opera House has commissioned the renowned artist Eddie Campbell to illustrate the story and FourPlay String Quartet to create an entirely new underscore to the story.
EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE.
THE ARRIVAL BY SHAUN TAN WITH LIVE SCORE BY BEN WALSH’S ORKESTRA OF THE UNDERGROUND
PLAYHOUSE SAT 7 AUG 7.30PM Ben Walsh’s 10-Piece Orkestra of the Underground perform a live score to a projected images from Shaun Tan’s book The Arrival. The Arrival is a masterpiece of visual storytelling devoid of text, straddling the line between graphic novel and picture book. Ben Walsh randomly discovered The Arrival in a bookshop and fell in love with the work immediately. For three years the respected percussionist has dreamed of breathing musical life into Tan’s beautiful illustrations. A musical chameleon who straddles genres, styles and performance mediu ms effortlessly and with aplomb, Walsh has an innate talent for bringing talented individuals together around musical projects. As a composer he has scored Rene Laloux’s classic animated science fiction film Fantastic Planet for the Sydney Festival, created numerous scores for major dance and physical theatre companies and scored three award-winning short films. His Orkestra of The Underground pools the diverse and creative talent of Sydney’s local music scene towards composition projects.
EXCLUSIVE WORLD PREMIERE.
AKIRA
WITH LIVE MUSIC BY
REGURGITATOR
OPERA THEATRE SUN 8 AUG 3PM Akira is the benchmark film by which all other anime are judged, spawning countless imitators and defining many of the themes, concerns and style of the genre. Set in 2019 in post-World War Three “Neo-Tokyo”, this animated classic introduced the western world to adult-oriented Japanese animation and has been lauded worldwide as the movie that “started it all”. Akira started life as Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic 2,000+ page manga before being adapted into an animated film in 1988. The film will be shown in the original Japanese language version with English subtitles and rescored live by Regurgitator. As Australia’s most renowned and successful experimental art-rockers, Regurgitator have achieved triple-platinum status, an astonishing feat for such an uncompromising band – who never shy away from the unusual, the untried, or indeed any genre that attracts their creative sensibility.
FEATURE ARTISTS ININ THE MAIN THEATRES FEATURE ARTISTS THE MAIN THEATRES THE ARRIVAL BY SHAUN TAN THE ARRIVAL WITH LIVE SCORE BYBYBENSHAUN WALSH’STAN ORKESTRA OF THE UNDERGROUND PLAYHOUSE SAT 7 AUG, 7.30PM $25* WITH LIVE SCORE BY BEN WALSH’S ORKESTRA/OFFROM THE UNDERGROUND
NEIL GAIMAN NEIL GAIMANEDDIE CAMPBELL MUSIC: FOURPLAY STRING QUARTET ILLUSTRATIONS: PLAYHOUSE SAT 7 AUG, 7.30PM / FROM $25*
CONCERT 7 AUG, 8PM. FROMSTRING $49*QUARTET ILLUSTRATIONS:HALL EDDIESAT CAMPBELL MUSIC: FOURPLAY CONCERT HALL SAT 7 AUG, 8PM. FROM $49*
AKIRA AKIRA WITH LIVE SCORE BY REGURGITATOR
OPERA / SUN 8 AUG, 3PM / FROM $45* WITH LIVE THEATRE SCORE BY REGURGITATOR OPERA THEATRE / SUN 8 AUG, 3PM / FROM $45*
AN EVENING WITH KEVIN SMITH OPERA THEATRE AN EVENING WITH/ SUN KEVIN8 AUG, SMITH7PM / FROM $55* OPERA THEATRE / SUN 8 AUG, 7PM / FROM $55*
PANEL DISCUSSIONS IN THE STUDIO PANEL DISCUSSIONS IN THE STUDIO STORYBOARDING FOR FILM STORYBOARDING FEATURING W. CHEW CHAN,FOR MARKFILM SEXTON, CHRIS GEORGIOU & JAMES HACKETT SAT 7 AUG /11.30AM / $25* FEATURING W. CHEW CHAN, MARK SEXTON, CHRIS GEORGIOU & JAMES HACKETT SAT 7 AUG /11.30AM / $25*
FOCUS ON FANTAGRAPHICS WITH GARY GROTH SUN 11AM / $25* FOCUS8 AUG, ON FANTAGRAPHICS WITH GARY GROTH SUN 8 AUG, 11AM / $25* THE EVOLUTION OF AN IDEA: THEGAIMAN, EVOLUTION IDEA:CAMPBELL ON CREATIVITY NEIL SHAUN TANOFANDANEDDIE NEIL SHAUN TAN AND EDDIE CAMPBELL ON CREATIVITY AND GAIMAN, THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS SUN 8 AUG, 2PM / $25* AND THE COLLABORATIVE PROCESS SUN 8 AUG, 2PM / $25*
FILM FILM SCREENINGS SCREENINGS ININ THE THE DRAMA DRAMA THEATRE THEATRE SUNDAY, AUGUST 8 / FROM $15* SUNDAY, AUGUST 8 / FROM $15*
MARVEL THEN AND NOW (1PM) MARVEL THENANIMATION AND NOW (3.35PM) (1PM) AUSTRALIAN AUSTRALIAN (3.35PM) SPIRITED AWAYANIMATION (5.15PM) SPIRITED AWAY (5.15PM) TOKYO EXPRESS (8PM) TOKYO EXPRESS (8PM) FEAR(S) OF THE DARK (10PM) FEAR(S) OF THE DARK (10PM)
BEST BEST OF OF THE THE INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT GAMES GAMES FESTIVAL FESTIVAL 2009 2009 WESTERN FOYERS / 7 & 8 AUG / FREE EVENT WESTERN FOYERS / 7 & 8 AUG / FREE EVENT
FREE WORKSHOPS IN THE UTZON ROOM FREE WORKSHOPS IN THE UTZON ROOM COMIC MAKING COMIC MAKING PUBLISHING YOUR WORK SAT 7 AUG, 5.30PM PUBLISHING YOUR WORK SAT 7 AUG, 5.30PM THE ART OF AUSTRALIAN ILLUSTRATION SUN 8 AUG, THE ART OF 11AM AUSTRALIAN ILLUSTRATION SAT 7 AUG, 1PM SAT 7 AUG, 1PM
SUN 8 AUG,PLACES 11AM ARE LIMITED. WORKSHOP EMAIL GRAPHIC@SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST. WORKSHOP PLACES ARE LIMITED. EMAIL GRAPHIC@SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST.
TO 7777 SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM/GRAPHIC TO BOOK BOOK 0202 9250 9250 7777 SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM/GRAPHIC
BUY BUY 22 EVENTS EVENTS && GET GET AA 10% 10% DISCOUNT DISCOUNT 33 EVENTS EVENTS 15% 15% DISCOUNT DISCOUNT 4+4+ EVENTS EVENTS 20% 20% DISCOUNT DISCOUNT