Brag #404

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BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 3

rock music news

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... With Nathan Jolly

he said she said

WITH

RICHIE FROM CUTHBERT (NEE CUTHBERT & THE NIGHT WALKERS)

M

y parents weren’t musical, save for dad’s mouth trumpet - which is very good. I don’t even know if I’m musical. I played recorder like everyone else in school, but didn’t get past the green book to the blue. I tried to learn guitar in year six, but played a calamitous debut gig in front of the whole year and I gave up till year eleven after meeting Brendan, who was into Regurgitator and Radiohead. Me and Brendan still play all our music together.

My favourite artists change all the time. I can’t stop listening to Jens Lekman’s Oh You’re So Silent Jens in the car at the moment. I feel like him at parties sometimes.

Plus Neil Young, Augie March’s first two albums, Paul Kelly, Deerhunter… I can’t remember having huge inspirational moments (except for when The White Stripes stopped me trying to become a house DJ), but the music that I love is more or less the type that grows on you slowly and then stays with

you forever. Being too swept up in something at the start is dangerous for longevity.

Cuthbert used to be Cuthbert & The Night Walkers, made up of a massive gang of all of our closest friends. We all lived together or a few houses apart, but maybe the band became more of an excuse to see each other and to hang out than to make music. I guess a lot of bands are like that.

People moved away and started doing other things, so Cuthbert in that incarnation doesn’t exist anymore. I am recording an album at the moment with just myself and an engineer and drummer called Nick Franklin. It’s a really simple, quick and creative set up that’s given me a lot of joy.

I make music in my bedroom, or the room behind my parent’s garage. All the songs start on guitar. The lyrics are just words, not poetry or literature. I don’t really edit or go back and re-work songs at the moment; they are all just

Dappled Cities

PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com EDITOR: Steph Harmon steph@thebrag.com 9552 6333 ARTS EDITOR & ASSOCIATE: Dee Jefferson dee@thebrag.com 9552 6333 STAFF WRITERS: Jonno Seidler, Caitlin Welsh NEWS CO-ORDINATORS: Nathan Jolly, Cool Thomas, Chris Honnery

EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Publisher, Editor or Staff of The Brag.

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4 :: BRAG :: 404 : 21:03:11

Who: Cuthbert With: Owl Eyes, Metals Where: Purple Sneakers presents Last Night @ The Gaelic When: Friday March 25

LIDDIARD & KELLY

Gareth Liddiard and Dan Kelly are playing The Factory Theatre on March 24, in a smug celebration of the fact that they are both much better songwriters than you (unless Paul Kelly is reading this. Hey Paul!). Liddiard’s latest album Strange Tourist is now available on double vinyl too, for those of who you like to pretend we aren’t living in the bleak dystopia of instant gratification that is the 21st Century.

Sparkadia have announced another Metro album launch show on April 2, as their April 1 gig sold out quicker than you can say “Hey, where did the other band members go?” Also, if you hop on the world wide web (which I call the www, despite the abbreviation taking longer to say then the actual words), and tweet or Facebook (now in verb form!) about the band, you can stream the new record The Great Impression in full. Visit hear. sparkadia.com for more...

SALES/MARKETING MANAGER: Blake Rayner 0404 304 929 / (02) 9552 6672 blake@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9552 6618 les@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Jessie Pink - (02) 9552 6747 jessie@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Conrad Richters - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance) INTERNS: Liz Brown, Rach Seneviratne

Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 153 Bridge Road, Glebe NSW 2037 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9552 6866

It’s hard to make money while trying to devote a lot of time to writing. I’m currently viewing the Sydney live music scene from my single bed in my parent’s house up in the north of Sydney, and it looks good. A lot of people are getting out and playing, and a lot of people are recording and getting their music heard, which is even better.

Find a group of friends who’ll love you and support you and stick to them and work together. Make sure you see the Fabergettes, Shakin Howls, Atom Bombs, and buy kyü’s next album when it comes out.

SPARKADIA SECOND SHOW

ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Dara Gill SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Michael Killalea, Mitchell Jay, Ashley Mar, Thomas Peachey, Rosette Rouhana, Patrick Stevenson, Tom Tramonte, Thomas Walk COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Mclean Stephenson.

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Simon Binns, Joshua Blackman, Mikey Carr, Benjamin Cooper, Oliver Downes, Max Easton, Tony Edwards, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Lucy Fokkema, Mike Gee, Andrew Geeves, Thomas Gilmore, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Alex Lindsay Jones, Amelia Schmidt, Romi Scodellaro, RK, Luke Telford

sketches that I record. Some of them are worthy to show to others and some aren’t, but they are all part of the process, right?

HRAFF FUNDRAISER

Human rights are almost as important as animal rights - which is why Hermann’s Bar is hosting a benefit gig on March 22 for the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival (which will be held in Sydney June 3-5), with art and live performances from Patrick James with Rargo, The Jones Rival, Catherine Traicos, James the Grey and Ziggy and the Wild Drums. Tickets are only $10 concession and $12.50 full-price, and there is a raffle! Tickets from hraff.org.au

FBI SOCIAL

FBi Radio has announced the programming for FBi Social (a series of nights held over 12 weeks at Kings Cross Hotel), and it is predictably boss. The Chaser, Guineafowl and Dappled Cities are among the acts locked in to represent, with the first night set for Friday March 25, featuring United Colours DJs, Death Strobe DJs, Frames, McInnes and Felix Lloyd (MUM DJS). The official launch (with Dappled Cities among others) is slated for April 8, and there are loads of acts still to be announced. Check fbiradio.com for more, and while you’re there you may as well subscribe...

YAH! YAH! YAH!

KALOLO AT NOTES

Bella Kalolo, the soul sensation who recently played with Mos Def in New Zealand (after which Mos Def may have said something along the lines of “Damn, that girl sure can wail”) is returning for a gig at Notes on April 7. In support will be Milan, as well as DJs JC, Ayesha and Graham Mandroules. Tickets are $20 from oztix.

Zeahorse

Laneous and The Family Yah are releasing their latest EP Scissors - the most dangerous record to run with or stick into a toaster. It’s the first in their ‘Found Things Collection’, three EPs full of ideas based around their last full-length, Found Things - Scissors will be followed up with Paper and Rock. The launch is happening at the Annandale (the one Jet used to play at) on March 26. Buy the EP!

QUAKE AID

The Christchurch Earthquake was obviously terrible, but instead of feeling all helpless, a number artists are putting on a benefit at Clovelly RSL and Airforce Club this Monday March 21 from 6pm - which is today, if you get here early enough. Jay “Water Rats” Laga’aia will MC, and ex-Kiwi artists Jon Stevens, Jenny Morris, Dragon, Jade Macrae, and Dog Trumpet are performing, alongside Aussies like Steve Kilbey (The Church), Damien Leith (Idol), Wes Carr (Idol) and Rai Thistlethwayte from Thirsty Merc. Tickets are $50 at moshtix. com - and also, there will be a 40-man Haka group, which could be the best part of all!

INNER WESTSIDE

Hard Ons, Sketch the Rhyme, Reverse Polarities, Zeahorse, Hailer, Tuka, True Vibenation, The Green Mohair Suits, Hyjack, Only The Sea Slugs. Not just a list of random band names strung together for no apparent reason (we don’t usually do that), but an assortment of some of the acts on the first announcement for the Inner West Festival, to be held on April 23 and 24 at the Sando. There’s also an act called Reckless Vagina, but we don’t like to work blue.

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 5

rock music news

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... With Nathan Jolly

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH

ELLIOTT FROM THE DELTA RIGGS Growing Up My father ran a painting crew 1. and would bring them back to our house on a Friday. They’d be in a fine mood due to just being paid and buying beer, tobacco, etc. If I could stay awake long enough that’s when it all got going, out the back. My Dad plays and collects guitars and peculiar amps and the place would be jumping, and they would all be jamming. On the record player there was The Band, Hendrix, Van Morrison, Dr John, Dylan and The Stones...

Inspiration I was sixteen when I first 2. heard James Brown. I was given Star Time, and that’s when I heard the message; the sense of positivity, community, urban culture, language… the whole deal. Musical culture is a beautiful foundation that is imperative to any style.

Your Band The Riggs is a rad band to 3. be in because we’re brothers and we all truly appreciate playing music with one another.

We are really trying to impress

each other every night on stage. We’ve experienced a lot of things together, good and bad, over a long time, so that will always create some kind of unity.

The Music You Make When we make music it is imperative 4. that we capture that pure moment we all feel when we play together. That’s why we always record live. Yes, there are mistakes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. We recently recorded a song with producer Scott Horscroft called ‘Pretty Wasting’. We tracked it live, I put some vocals on in two takes and he walked into the studio and gave me a big hug… and that was it. And the song is bitchin’!

5.

Music, Right Here, Right Now I was just reading an article on Cream bass player Jack Bruce, and he said that if Simon Cowell had existed in the ‘60s there may never have been a musical revolution.

There are some great bands I’ve seen recently – The Money Smokers and Jimmy The Saint And The Sinners.

With: Black Devil Yard Boss and special guests When: March 23 / March 25 / March 27 Where: Beach Road Hotel / Lansdowne Hotel / Old Manly Boatshed

Grace Woodroofe

MODULAR GETS INTIMATE

Modular is celebrating two recent additions to the family by hosting ‘An Intimate Night’ on Saturday April 2, featuring Grace Woodroofe and Sydney boys WIM, with London-born but Sydney-residing cutie Emma Davis in support. Both the pirate songsmiths WIM and the powerful yet vulnerable Woodroofe have huge releases under their belt and up their sleeves – so think of this night as a glimpse into the music of the future. We have just one double pass to the Basement show to donate to one lucky person - to win it, tell us which high-profile American musician and/or late, great Australian actor has lauded Woodroofe for her skillz.

NEIL DIAMOND!

Neil Diamond will be playing ‘Cracklin’ Rosie’ and other such songs at the Acer Arena on March 26, and tickets are still available. If you haven’t yet heard the work of Neil Diamond then you must have just arrived in the country from a remote African settlement, in which case good work on picking up BRAG! While you’re here, seek out Gilmore Girls. That show is great.

MAJOR LABEL

If you ever walked into a General Pants Co. and thought the cute boy/girl would have really good taste in music and would make a mean potato bake, then you are probably at least half right.

Major Label is a record label that releases singles based on the A&R skills and tastes of the General Pants staff, and they make good choices too – anyone heard of those Guineafowl guys?

The latest signings are Sydney’s quirky Camden and The Careless, Brisbane synth-wizards Misère and Ballarat’s lovely Tessa and the Typecast. Visit generalpants.com.au/majorlabel for more info.

WIM

WIM + EMMA DAVIS + GRACE WOODROOFE

Saturday April 2 at The Basement is going to be quite an interesting night. Dan and Sandy just broke up so it is going to be awkward in that particular friend group and, for those not in that friend group, Sydney buzz band Wim are playing with singer-songwriters Emma Davis and Grace Woodroofe (she was mentored by Heath Ledger, and Ben Harper has been bigging her up, too...). Get down there and hear some tunes, courtesy of Modular.

GROHL LOTTA LOVE

Dave Grohl loves Australia almost as much as he loves playing ‘Glycerine’ on Guitar Hero while using the Kurt Cobain character. He is bringing out Foo Fighters for a special, exclusive, awesome show on Sydney Harbour on March 24. It’s at a secret location, and tickets can only be won via Triple M and Channel [V] - so I suppose I’ll try to do that…

If I miss out, at least I can catch it on Channel [V] and MAX on April 2 at 8:30pm. I’ll be the one on your couch, borrowing your cable.

MARCH 26 = EARTH HOUR

Earth Hour is one of the few hours where everyone collectively turns off the five hairdryers they inexplicably have running, and kills the lights in order to save the planet and use some of those candles Aunty Joan keeps bringing round. There are two public events: the first ever WWF Earth Hour Awards on Saturday March 26 (entry is $60, and Jamie Durie is hosting, ladies… also, you will be saving the planet!), and a free community event in First Fleet Park (Circular Quay), which basically involves eating delicious food and watching as the city’s iconic buildings close their eyes for an hour. March 26, from

6 - 9:30pm. And don’t forget to turn off your lights at 8:30pm for an hour, or I will be forced to kill a baby seal. A cute one.

SIBERIA WELCOMES STRANGERS

On Friday March 25, arts collective Welcome Stranger presents WS010 at Lo-Fi Collective (Level three at Kinselas, Bourke Street in Darlinghurst), which is a retrospective/remix project of their last nine items. It will be combined with a performance by the folks at Siberia Records (run by Midnight Juggernauts, dontcha know) that involves a collective of drummers, loop pedals and digital and analogue manipulation. In other words, it’ll be the coolest-sounding thing since God yawned.

FROGFEST

Red Rattler is hosting a celebration on April 2 of progressive folk music. Frogfest costs $15 and for that money you are allowed to sit on a lovely red couch and watch The Crooked Fiddle Band, The String Contingent, Mr Fibby, Dave Carr’s Fabulous Contraption, Wyatt Moss-Wellington and GrandMasterMonk. If you love folk music, frogs or the colour red, check this out.

Leroy Lee

UNPLUGGED AND UNCOMPLICATED

Ok, instead of watching Antiques Roadshow on the last Saturday of every month, you should wander down to CarriageWorks from noon, for a free afternoon of acoustic music.

Saturday March 26 sees Lois Mares, Missing Children, Leroy Lee, Rosie Catalano and Melanie Horsnell entertain you while you sit around all blissed-out, but hoping the TiVo works. (Why do you love that show so much?)

“There’s evil in the air and there’s thunder in the sky And a killer’s on the bloodshot streets”- BAT OUT OF HELL 6 :: BRAG :: 404 : 21:03:11

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BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 7

dance music news

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... With Chris Honnery

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH

BIG SCARY

STEVE GRADY

Growing Up I was born in Papua New Guinea and 1. lived there ‘til I was five. My parents were

sounding record, with my favourite musos jamming it out.

missionaries, so from the very beginning I was brought up in the church, and only exposed to gospel/choral music. I think this gave me a great understanding of form, melody, repetition and lyrical content. My dad is completely tone deaf, but my mother was the church piano player; my very first memory was learning to sing standing next to her plonking on the piano.

The Music You Make Last year I recorded my new album 4.

Youth Skin with my favourite Australian

2.

Inspirations I guess I base a lot of my emphasis on lyrical content, which could be a result of my early years listening to hymns. It wasn’t until after high school I started to really form my own music taste, and finally became exposed to the great singer songwriters like Neil Young, Dylan and Cash. Probably the biggest inspiration was Ryan Adams, and his earlier stuff with Whiskeytown.

Your Band My first ‘working’ band was Inntown 3. an accidental band formed in uni. This was the first time I met Dan Parsons, who at the time was playing lead guitar. After the band broke up I went solo - deep down, I knew I always wanted to go solo. For the next album I really want to make a band-

singer-songwriter, Shane Nicholson.

Together we played all the instruments, and it was quite a quick process. It lies somewhere between folk, pop and country, but basically I describe myself as a singersongwriter. I don’t want to stick with one genre or tag for the rest of my life.

5.

Music, Right Here, Right Now I’ve been on the road for the past three months on the ‘50 First Dates Tour’ with Dan Parsons, so I’m not really sure what or where my local scene is anymore. The number one obstacle for musos is money - I haven’t been so lucky with record deals, so I primarily rely on grants and playing lots of shows. I rarely say no to a gig. Wherever you’re based, the local scene is the best place to start - just getting your name and face out there.

Who: 50 First Dates with Steve Grady and Dan Parsons Where: The Bald Faced Stag When: Tuesday March 22

BIG SCARY. Looks way more intimidating in capital letters, but I assure you that Big Scary are a collection of pleasant human creatures. 2010 saw Big Scary’s innovative Four Seasons project where they released a delicious EP every three months, each mirroring the atmosphere of the season into which it was born. Having rounded of 2010 with the release of Summer, the band is now embarking on a celebratory ‘Four Seasons’ tour, where they’ll play hits from Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer as well as treating us to their new single ‘All That You’ve Got’. To win one of two doubles to their gig at Spectrum on Friday March 25, name a track from Autumn.

TUKA

More familiar as a member of the likes of Thundamentals, Rumpunch and Sketch The Rhyme, MC Tuka has branched out on his own (but with more success than Joey of Friends), to distinguish himself as one of the country’s tip top hip hop talents with his debut album Will Rap For Tuka. Known for his collaborations, one would expect Tuka’s album to be filled with cameos and guest appearances a-plenty, but he’s chosen this album to really come into his own. Nevertheless, Tuka is touring the album with a little help from his friends – he’s joining Brisbane’s rudeboy punks, Laneous & The Family Yah on their EP launch at the Annandale this Saturday March 26. To win one of two double passes, name another member of the Thundamentals.

His Balance 14 mix was a commendable addition to the esteemed compilation series, while his Donna Summer/Giorgio Moroder homage ‘The Secret’ has been backed heavily by the Cocoon cognoscenti - lead by Papa Sven, who dropped it during his recent Sydney jaunt - and follows the 2009 ‘home run’ that was his Ibiza anthem ‘Sweep The Floor’. Support comes from locals Murat Kilic, Matttt & Tomass, Nic Scali and Sam Roberts, with first release tickets now on sale.

JUSTICE

The hugely-hyped French pair of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, collectively known as Justice, will release their sophomore album later in 2011 - but you can already preview new track ‘Civilisation’ on the soundtrack to a new Adidas advert, part of the sports brand’s biggest ever campaign. The ad, directed by Romain Gavras, features several extracts from ‘Civilisation’, which will be available as a digital single on April 4. In the meantime, diehard Justice fans can view the advertisement via Youtube.

Snoop Dogg

SNOOP + NELLY INTIMATE SHOW

Two of the biggest drawcards on the Supafest lineup, Snoop Dogg and Nelly, will play an intimate show at the Level 3 Ballroom at Star City Casino on Friday April 8. With a venue capacity of 750 people only, you will want to grab your ticket to this now, since they’ve already been on sale for several days! Snoop has remained a constant force in hip hop and pop culture since breaking through alongside famed producer Dr. Dre with the ’92 classic The Chronic. He’s since amassed an impressive discography consisting of ten solo albums, has scored acting roles in over 40 movies, featured in his own reality show and has endorsed numerous pop culture brands. (Coffee Boy was also at pains to mention Snoop’s work as a patron of the adult movie industry, which can be found under the ‘Doggystyle’ banner.) Nelly is a bona fide hit machine from a younger generation, and if you ain’t familiar with his hits ‘Country Grammar’, ‘Hot in Herre’ and ‘Dilemma’, chances are you’ve been living a desolate, Kaspar Hauser-like existence (Herzog reference), cut off from humanity for more than a decade. Tickets are available online for $179.

FAITHLESS SPLIT

After 15 years and six albums - insert an obligatory reference to their anthemic cut ‘Insomnia’ here - seminal UK dance act Faithless, comprised of Maxi Jazz, DJ Sister Bliss and producer Rollo, have announced their dissolution. “I think we’ve probably made our collective point by now… it’s time to close the book and return to the library,” they stated through their website. “We’ve had, with our fans, the most unbelievable, epic and moving experience, stretching over years and tens of thousands of miles. Joyful, exhilarating and empowering, we never for a moment thought an affair could last this long.” Australian crowds were fortunate to witness one of Faithless’ final performances at the recent Good Vibrations festival, with the group’s split set to take effect after their present tour’s dénouement on April 8 with a final show at London’s O2 Academy

Brixton. “Like when writing a song, you always just ‘know’ when it’s finished. This is and was the ‘Thank YOU And Goodbye’ tour and to be truthful, I really hope you just pick up the ball of your life.. And RUN WITH IT!! (sic),” the statement concluded optimistically.

JORIS VOORN AFLOAT

After hosting the February triumvirate of Butch, Vincenzo and Trus’Me, Spice Afloat returns with its third midnight cruise of the season on Saturday May 14. This time around, the international drawcards are Joris Voorn and Edwin Oosterwal from the Green and Rejected record labels, with Voorn in particular expected to arrive in Australia amid plenty of fanfare; having played some memorable sets at Lost Baggage and for Bread and Butter’s Easter boat cruise on past visits, Voorn has continued to grow in stature since he was last in Australia.

DANNY HOWELLS

Following on from their last Garden Party with the man they call PK, Chinese Laundry hosts club stalwart Danny Howells for their next al fresco fiesta. From championing prog to sporting eyeliner, Howells has been a vivacious presence in clubbing circles since his compilations for Global Underground and Renaissance hit shelves back in those amphetamine-fuelled days of the mid-90s. A regular visitor to Australia, Howells’ sound has diversified over the years - adapt or die as they say - and he’s going to have four hours to showcase his current sonic favourites come Saturday April 9. As per usual, the Garden Party will get underway in the early afternoon, with the music scheduled to go right through to 10pm, with the likes of PQM, Jeff Drake and Jamie Mattimore also spinning.

ADULT DISCO TURNS ONE

Chez Damier. Tensnake. The Revenge. Dixon.

Holy Ghost!. Joakim. These are just some of the artists that won’t be playing at Adult Disco’s first birthday next Saturday. But before you start kicking cans, remember that the only reason you’ve seen these artists over the past year has been because of Future Classic’s Adult Disco sub-brand, which has offered a quality Saturday night option on a weekly basis; a white whale swimming through a miasmic ocean of prosaic mediocrity. In light of this abstract appreciation, Adult Disco’s first birthday on Saturday April 2 should be approached as a chance to relish and enjoy another night of top-drawer house, disco and techno in the Civic Underground courtesy of the Future Classic DJs themselves, who’ll be spinning tunes all night long from 10pm.

Chris Clark

CLARK

Chris Clark signed to Warp Records when he was still at university and promptly released a debut album, Clarence Park, that drew comparisons to some of the label’s finest, namely Autechre and Aphex Twin. On the back of this auspicious entrance onto the chinstroker’s radar, Clark has carved out a niche on the periphery of the electronic canon courtesy of his ’08 album Turning Dragon, a release that showcased a forceful take on techno and minimalist soundscapes, and its follow-up Totems Flare, an LP that was staunchly supported by the likes of James Holden. Come Good Friday, April 22, it’s all about Clark first hand though, as he makes his Australian debut for Index at Tone.

Beginning at 2pm, it’s a day/night affair which also boasts a stellar support cast including Planet Mu’s Ikonika, Mark Pritchard performing under his Harmonic 313 guise, Sub Bass Snarl, Victim, Semper Fi and Portrait, with $25 first release tickets via residentadvisor.net.

“Smelling like a brewery, looking like a tramp, I ain’t got a quarter, got a postage stamp” - TOM WAITS 8 :: BRAG :: 404 : 21:03:11

WED 25 MAY // The Uni Bar // WOLLONGONG // 18+ THURS 26 MAY // Level One // NEWCASTLE // 18+

FRI 27 MAY // Metro Theatre // SYDNEY // LIC AA BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 9

free stuff

dance music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... With Chris Honnery

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

he said she said WITH

Radio Star

PAUL FROM TIJUANA CARTEL

M

y love of music definitely came from my mother. She took me to see a Beatles cover band on my tenth birthday, and by the end of the concert I’d made up my mind to be a musician. My first time getting stoned I brought a dozen mates home to my mother’s and she played Mike Oldfields’ Tubular Bells. We sat quietly for the entire album. After that I became immersed in electronic music, somewhere in the middle I had a little punk and grunge stage and embarrassingly, I took a day off school to mourn Kurt Cobain’s death.

Mike Patton on Faith No More’s The Real Thing was my first real love - the diversity and intensity of that album really took me somewhere new in my early teens. Chemical Brothers took me completely to the electronic side of things - and Jeff Martin from the Tea Party, for the melodramatic Middle Eastern sexiness.

Everything I’ve written since hearing him has been influenced by him.

As a group, we’re tight and a little loose around the edges, confused, passionate, talented and really quite nerdy - we’re most happy at the back of a bar or festival. It’s been getting a little blokey lately, I’m not used to it - I was raised in a household full of girls. All this testosterone is doing my head in a bit.

We started as a quasi world music band, but we’ve been slowly moving away from that in favour of tripping out on the beats, with a bit more of an electropop shoegaze sound. Our third album is due for release some time later this year - we’ve been working hard on getting the production just where we want it. For the last few tracks we used Chris Moore as the producer, he’s worked with TV On The Radio, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Midnight Juggernauts. It was quite an experience.

I like the kind of postmodern tinge on just about everything now. You can take a synth from the mid-1980s and mix it with a few sounds from a classic western film, and there’s instant beauty in that. We’re constantly hearing about how the music industry is dying and how alternative music gets no love in the mainstream, but it really doesn’t seem to relate to what we are doing. We tour, we make a living and even after pursuing this for the last decade or so and never earning much more than the dole, we still love doing it. Every second of it.

With: Kato, Bentley, Mike Who Where: Tone, Surry Hills When: Friday March 25

STANTON WARRIORS

I used to confuse the Stanton Warriors with the Stafford Brothers, but after their new release, I won’t be making that mistake any time soon. Their kinda self-titled debut The Warriors will see the UK breaks duo scale the musical ladder with frightening speed. With connections to everyone from Deadmau5 to The Streets to Amy Winehouse and everyone in between, The Stantons’ latest album is an umbrella for all global dance culture of the past decade.

We have five copies of The Warriors to give away - if you want one, tell us the name of the lead single from the album.

KIKI

BPitch Control’s Kiki plays The Vault Hotel on Pitt Street this Saturday March 26. The Finnish architect-turned-dance music producer is best known for his cut ‘Good Voodoo’, which lit up dancefloors back in ’09. Aside from this gem, and the LP from which it was lifted, Kaiku - the Finnish term for “echo” - Kiki has crafted a series of notable remixes for figures such as The Egg, Gaz Nevada and Francesco Tristano and Danton Eeprom. Kiki will be joined by Frenchman Pepperpot, a resident of the infamous Rex Club in Paris and a favourite of the club cognoscenti.

Support is headed by local Spice boys Murat Kilic and Yookoo, with presale tickets going for $15 through Resident Advisor.

MF DOOM TAKE II

Masked New York rapper Doom aka MF Doom (real name Daniel Dumile) will play a second show at Oxford Art Factory on Thursday March 31, in addition to his sold out performance this Wednesday at The Metro. As Zev Love X, Doom formed the group KMD in 1988 with his younger brother DJ Subroc and Onyx the Birthstone Kid, achieving considerable success before Subroc was tragically struck and killed by a car in 1993, causing Doom to retreat from the scene for a number of years. Upon his return he unleashed a series of successful his solo albums as Doom, Viktor Vaughn and King Geedorah, and a string of much-vaunted collaborations with Danger Mouse as Danger Doom and Madlib as Madvillain, not to mention Sniperlite alongside J Dilla and Ghostface Killah.

Surkin

CREAMFIELDS

After entering the Australian festival circuit for the first time last year with a lineup featuring the likes of Green Velvet, Ferry Corsten and The Bloody Beetroots, Creamfields returns in April this year – and tickets are still available. Deadmau5, Martin Solveig, Skrillex, Chuckie, Simon Patterson, Gabriel & Dresden, Surkin, Dada Life, Umek, Nadastrom and Tim Green will all represent, but Coffee Boy’s pick is definitely the delectable back-to-back pairing of auteurs Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, playing under their collective ‘Hi Tek Soul‘ moniker for a ‘25 years of Detroit’ techno anniversary/nostalgia set. Creamfields Sydney is slotted for Saturday April 30 at Moore Park head to creamfields.com.au

DUST TONES

Dust Tones is hosting an Obese Records showcase this Saturday March 26 at Tone.

Sydney duo Spit Syndicate headline the bash on the back of their refined 2010 sophomore album Exile, and will be joined by Obese labelmate Skryptcha, a nascent MC who has recently taken his first steps into the recording world with his debut EP, Left To Write. Dutch, Gabriel Clouston, Mike Who, Bentley and DJ Ability will all be joining the fray, with presales selling online for $18.

360, Pez and Maya Jupiter

THE ‘CHANGE IT FOR BETTER’ TOUR

Three of Australia’s more eminent hip-hop figures, Pez, Maya Jupiter and 360, will unite for the ‘Change It For The Better’ national tour in May/June. It ain’t no normal tour either – it’s a tour with a social conscience. It’s all part of The Line, an Australian Government anti-violence pro-respect initiative that specifically focuses on domestic violence against women, which was launched in June 2010 at the 2010 APRA Song Summit. Fresh from her tour with acclaimed soul singer Aloe Blacc, Maya Jupiter’s new single ‘Phenomenal’ is from her just-released self-titled album, and was written especially for The Line. “I want to be a part of the movement that promotes a culture of respectful relationships. No woman should live in fear, that’s why I support The Line,” she asserted. The tour rolls in to Sydney on Friday June 3 for an all ages gig at The Factory Theatre in Enmore. Further info and free tracks from the artists involved are available through theline.gov.au

JAPAN FUNDRAISER

THA DOGG POUND POSTPONE TOUR

In the aftermath of their close friend Nate Dogg’s passing last week, West coast rap duo Daz and Kurupt, collectively know as Tha Dogg Pound, have postponed their Australian tour.

Nate Dogg had been battling health issues for several years, having survived strokes in 2007 and 2008, and his death has prompted an outpouring of emotion in rap circles.

Tha Dogg Pound were slotted to perform at Space Nightclub this Thursday - details of a rescheduled tour will be printed as they come in.

Prize

Beats emporium Tone nightclub hosts a fundraiser for Japan on Sunday April 10, which boasts a veritable who’s who of Sydney DJs all spinning for a good cause. Mad Racket’s Simon Caldwell, Space is the Place’s Prize, DJ Silvio of the Loin Brothers, 2Ser’s Trevor Parkee, George Kristopher and Luke Le Mans are among those representing, with all proceeds from the night to be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.

Doors open at 5pm, and entry will be acquired through a $20 minimum entry donation, with greater amounts urged and appreciated.

“The box-office is drooling, and the bar stools are on fire and the newspapers were fooling, and the ash-trays have retired” - TOM WAITS 10 :: BRAG :: 404 : 21:03:11

ELY *BOY R B a k a ER ICK POW N R O T C DIREC ARTISTI

FEATURING RAHZEL (USA) / SUPERNATURAL (USA) / DJ JS-1 (USA) / B*BOY BLOND (KOREA) / B*BOY STORM (GERMANY) / POE1 (USA) / THE NARCICYST (USA) / KOOLISM (AUS) / RESIN DOGS (AUS) / Q BROTHERS (USA) / AND MORE…

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 11

The Music Network

themusicnetwork.com

Industry Music News with Christie Eliezer

EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING SIGNS DNA SONGS

EMI Music Publishing Australia signed songwriting duo DNA Music (aka David Musumeci and Anthony Egizii) to a worldwide deal. The two wrote gold singles for Amy Pearson and Brian McFadden, and penned for Jessica Mauboy, Shannon Noll and RickiLee. Their latest hit, ‘Own This Club’ by Marvin Priest has been picked up nationally by Nova and Austereo’s Today.

INDENT PROGRAM RECOGNISED BY TAFE

48 graduates of Indent’s ‘Getting into the Music and Entertainment Industries’ program were feted at Bondi Pavilion over breakfast to be presented with their certificates. Their units feeds into a certificate-level TAFE qualification.

Lifelines Expecting: Bryan Adams and his personal assistant Alicia Grimaldi, in May. Ill: Gerard Smith, bassist with TV On The Radio, diagnosed with lung cancer.

Charged: Former Social Distortion drummer Casey Royer, with child endangerment, after collapsing under the influence of heroin while watching TV with his 12-year-old boy.

?

Questioned: Pete Doherty, for being one of three men who stole from a record store in Regenburg in Germany.

In Court: US R&B singer D’Angelo pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after being accused of trying to pay an undercover police officer for sex.

Jailed: Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di’Anno, for nine months, because he was playing solo gigs worldwide while claiming £45,479 in dole handouts.

Died: Californian rapper Nate Dogg, 41, after suffering two strokes. He made his debut on Dr Dre’s The Chronic (1992), collaborated with Eminem, Ludacris, Tupac, Snoop and Warren G, and released three solo albums.

Died: Brit reggae singer Smiley Culture, 48, apparently stabbed himself after drugs cops raided his home in Surrey.

Died: Nashville-based songwriter, musician, singer and producer Todd Cerney, from melanoma cancer. He wrote songs for Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick, Brian May, Bryan Adams, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, and played mandolin with the Dixie Chicks.

AIR SIGNS ROYALTY DEAL WITH NIGHTLIFE

The Australian Independent Records Labels Association (AIR) struck a new deal with Nightlife Music. It will see reproduction and public performance royalties being paid to indie acts and labels, backdated to January 2011.

Nightlife Music provides background music to 2000 bars, hotels, clubs, gyms, bowling alleys, restaurants, cruise ships and retail outlets.

Indie acts/labels who want to be considered for inclusion with Nightlife should email links (audio and visual) to airsubmissions@nightlife.com.au.

UNIVERSAL PROMOTES DREDGE, ADAMS

Universal Music Australia promoted Paula Dredge to National Publicity Manager, replacing Mike Campbell who left the company. Dredge, who joined UMA in 2006 as Artist Relations Manager, was National Promotions Manager for ABC Contemporary. Lily Adams, from the UMA marketing team, now becomes National Promotions Manager for ABC Contemporary.

FITZGERALD EXITS SONY

THINGS WE HEAR * Channel 7 executives were spitting chips when the ever-modest Kyle Sandiland told listeners he was not returning to The X-Factor - and that Natalie Imbruglia and Ronan Keating told him that their negotiations with Seven stalled because they heard he wasn’t returning. Seven sniffed that The X-Factor would continue regardless of him, and are reportedly powwowing with Delta Goodrem to be in the judges panel next to Guy Sebastian. * Norway electros Röyksopp plan to be here in spring, while Duran Duran told Undercover that they expect to be playing shows in Oz in December. * Southern Cross Media has increased its stake in Austereo Group from 14.9% to 16.62%, ahead of its proposed takeover of the group. * Slayer guitarist Kerry King told Triple M that a Spanish fan wanted an autograph

Sony Music’s National Publicity Manager Anna Fitzgerald left the company last week. She heads to the US soon, returning to Oz in early May.

when it sold 235,000 on its day of release last November.

FOXX CASE CONTINUES

In its latest round of grants, the Australia Council’s Music Board handed out $807,000 for 66 projects. Through International Pathways, NSW acts Cloud Control, Deep Sea Arcade, PVT Music, Jerry Soer (Miami Horror), Washington and Goldner String Quartet got $20,000 each for tours abroad. Other recipients included Perry Keyes, Gian Slater, The Firekites, Blank Realm, Karoshi, Pikelet, Fabulous Diamonds and Dot.AY. Other recipients included The Cad Factory (concerts in regional NSW), New Weird Australia, and Cyclic Defrost. See http://www.australiacouncil. gov.au/the_arts/music.

US drummer Vik Foxx’s legal action - following his fall off a stage in Geelong in 2006 while touring in The Veronicas’ band - continued in the NSW District Court. Foxx, previously with Enuff Z’nuff and The Vince Neil Band, sued promoter Frontier Touring and Total Events, who constructed the stage. He’ll return to Australia for medical analysis (he says it’s affected his drumming career), and the case continues in July. Frontier has settled.

FIVE MORE INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME

The induction of five more into the Hall of Fame in New York had their share of moments. Alice Cooper performed in a theatrical fake bloodspattered shirt and eye makeup, thanking the crowd as a live snake writhed around his neck.

Neil Diamond, clearly jetlagged after a one-day flight from his Australian tour, rambled on and on. Tom Waits grumbled, “They say I have no hits and I’m difficult to work with -- and they say it like this is a bad thing.” While inducting R&B singer Darlene Love, Bette Midler admitted that hearing Love In The Crystals’ ‘He’s A Rebel’ “changed my view of the world.”

Also inducted was New Orleans voodoo chile Dr. John, while Leon Russell got Musical Excellence. Industry executives Jac Holzman of Elektra Records and Art Rupe of Specialty Records both received the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

ROBBIE HEADING FOR UNIVERSAL?

Robbie Williams is reportedly not staying with EMI Music (which signed him in 2002 for a record-breaking £80 million) – he’s heading to Universal Music, home to Take That. Interestingly, the whisper is that Williams won’t stay with Take That, but will leave after their world tour. Rob’s last two solo albums had lukewarm sales but Take That’s Progress became the fastest selling album of the century,

GRANTS GET AUSSIE ACTS ON THE ROAD

WARDLE TARGETS GOVERNMENT PROMISES

NSW jazz guitarist-turned-live music activist John Wardle has issued an open letter addressing the Federal Government’s election pledges to the music industry. These include more money for the Australian Council to fund new works, completing the National Cultural Policy and Strategic Contemporary Music Industry Plan, and creating a new model for major performing arts organisations that rewards success and excellence. Wardle also wants to know what happened to ideas that were sent to the Government, like music activities included as part of dole payments, tax rebates for music lessons, $10 million more for international tours through Playing Australia, community radio ratings, higher Aussie quotas in commercial radio and more Aussie supports for international tours. He urges fans to email Arts Minister Simon Crean at S.Crean.MP@ aph.gov.au, or call his office on (02) 6277 7380.

AUSSIES WIN AT DANCE AWARDS At the International Dance Awards in Miami, Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Disposition’ won Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track (beating Linkin Park, The xx and Vampire Weekend) and Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP’s ‘We Speak No Americano’ took out best Latin/Reggaetown Track.

on his body — providing a scalpel to carve it! King declined, saying he didn’t want the dude’s blood all over him. * The Newcastle Herald reported that three Novocastrians made the trek from Newcastle to Brisbane to catch Eddie Vedder’s first Brisbane show. One was his buddy, former world surfing champion Mark Richards.

The others were Rob Wilson and Mark Waddingham, two Pearl Jam fans who petitioned promoter Michael Coppel Presents to get the band to Newcastle in 2006. * Jon Bon Jovi accused Apple boss Steve Jobs of playing a big role in the collapse of the record industry. Digital downloads, he said, did not give music fans the excitement of saving up for a record, buying a record based on its cover, closing your eyes and getting lost in an album. * Not only is Eminem the first artist (or person) to get 30 million “likes” on Faceook, but his The Eminem Show has hit diamond for 10 million sales.

POSSE GETS MAJOR GRANT

Australian fan-orientated site posse.com received a $758,000 grant as part of the Federal government’s $13 million fund-out to 33 innovators. It’s through Commercialisation Australia which helps the commercialisation of innovative early-stage companies with high growth potential. Posse founder and CEO Rebekah Campbell said the grant would be used to develop its platform, and launch in the US and UK. A self-service version of the website will launch in May to enable artist managers, event promoters, venues and music marketers to set up and run their own team of people to promote their products. Since launching last August Posse has signed up over 8000 active fans; they transacted over $165,000 in ticket sales in February.

THE FORUM, RAVAL SHUT DOORS

While Sydney waits to see what happens to the Forum’s commitment to live music after changing bookers, Raval in the Macquarie Hotel has cancelled all gigs after March 25. It hasn’t been financially viable. The hotel itself is about to change its name to the Schwartz Brewery Hotel.

WARNER PARTNERS WITH FOOTSTOMP

Warner Music signed a partnership with Graham Ashton’s Footstomp Music Services.

The Brisbane-based firm specialises in artist, project and event management, and artist mentoring. It manages Babaganouj (ex-Yves Klein Blue), Glenn Richards of Augie March, The Honey Month, Inland Sea and King Cannons.

OZCO/ARTS NSW GRANTS INFO

Through March and April, reps from Arts NSW and the Australia Council will be travelling around NSW, to meet artists and arts practitioners about what grants they have to offer and how to apply for them. See their websites for the nine stops - the session in Sydney is on April 5 at the Art Gallery, Domain Theatre, Art Gallery Rd, 10am -noon. RSVP to rsvp2011afp@communities.nsw.gov.au.

is looking for an intern!

MUST LOVE WORDS We’re looking for someone to come into BRAG HQ every Friday, to help with basic copywriting and proofing. You must love words, worship music, and have an obsessive eye for detail.

You must be able to work quickly and accurately, with enough confidence to make the necessary corrections. If you want a career in the journalism, publishing or music industries, this is a great place to start.

Our most recent intern is leaving for paid work in the music industry, and interning at BRAG is how triple j’s Dom Alessio got started as well.

If you like awesome, and want this unpaid job, email dee@thebrag. com with INTERN in the subject header, your CV, and a brief cover letter explaining why you won’t suck.

“There’s evil in the air and there’s thunder in the sky And a killer’s on the bloodshot streets”- BAT OUT OF HELL 12 :: BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 13

Sharp Cuts

By Mikey Carr

That,s why we wanted to get the growling bass and the faster tempos; I think that ,s where most of the shift came from.

We just wanted more balls.” were all these ideas coming out of that. But as the process progressed and we started to write together more and incorporate drums and other live elements, we moved away from all that. [+DOME] changes direction quite a lot.

Having played extensively as a live band in the time between albums, Seekae found the limitations of having to reinterpret music made on a computer too constrictive.

Deciding they wanted to re-orient their approach to their recorded music around elements that would work well when played live, +DOME began to take on a more robust shape, favouring a more visceral, direct sound to the ambient quality of The Sound Of Trees.

“The way that our last record was received - and obviously it wasn’t on a large scale or anything - but from the people who were talking about it, what we often heard was ‘Oh, I just put it on and I go to sleep,’ or ‘I put it on when I’m studying.’ That’s kind of cool I guess,” Alex explains, half sarcastic and half dubious, “but for this album we wanted to have more balls, we wanted to have more attitude.” He tells me that when Seekae finally started playing live, they weren’t getting what they wanted out of the shows. “And that sort of shifted our music. That’s why we wanted to get the growling bass and the faster tempos; I think that’s where most of the shift came from. We just wanted more balls.”

“We wanted to create the album out of bounds of a computer,” John adds, “as much as it is a lot harder to do. We changed a lot in terms of how we approach songwriting, which some people may not like – but for us it was definitely the right thing to do.”

Progress is part of the process for Seekae.

In making +DOME, what they wanted to avoid more than anything else was repeating themselves; so while certain parts of the album borrow from contemporary trends within electronic music, the band consistently tread new ground on a personal level. “I can see why people might say it’s derivative or what have you,” says John, “but the songs sound a lot less like each other than the songs on The Sound Of Trees. Where one song might sound like one thing, the next song will sound like something else again.”

ow do you open this thing?”

Alex Cameron asks nobody in particular, as he attempts to extract a newly-purchased Playstation 3 controller from its seemingly impenetrable plastic packaging.

He has a butter knife jammed into the back of it and is trying - with little success - to prise it open. “Let me have a go,” John Hassell offers, his efforts proving no more successful.

Someone suggests trying to use a lighter to burn a hole in the side, but all that does is vulcanise the plastic and make it even harder and more durable. In desperation, Alex goes to borrow a pair of scissors from the guru next door, and soon their controller is free.

While it might seem irrelevant, this absurd exchange I’m witnessing encapsulates a few very important points about the Sydney outfit: that they’re normal guys, they’re willing to experiment, and they’re maybe a little too enthusiastic about video games.

In fact, if you look in the liner notes of their forthcoming sophomore album +DOME (due out this Friday), you’ll notice the band have

thanked Blizzard Entertainment for fuelling their bordering-on-unhealthy love of StarCraft.

Since releasing their debut album The Sound Of Trees Falling On People back in 2008 – which the band produced and released themselves, later signing with Rice Is Nice, who re-issued the album – Seekae’s popularity grew exponentially. Their debut was chosen as FBi album of the week (beating Madlib), and was flooded with critical adulation and a very unexpected surge in attention - so unexpected, in fact, that most of the band had decided to go travelling just after releasing the album, meaning they couldn’t capitalise on its success through live shows. “Yeah, we blew it,” Alex says with a laugh.

This easygoing attitude is ingrained in how Seekae approach not only the music but how they work together as well. It’s what fuels the band’s creative process and constant experimentation. “Half the reason we like playing music so much and being in a band together is that we just like to flip it up,” John

explains. “We don’t want to be like, ‘Oh, what’s the sound we’re after?’ – it’s just like, if it sounds good we’ll whack it on there. I think that spontaneity is why we enjoy working with one another.”

The new album certainly stays in line with this sensibility, ducking and weaving its way through various different influences within electronica as well as other genres, like hiphop and modern minimalist classical music.

With +DOME running at just over half the time of The Sound Of Trees, Alex maintains that Seekae “covered more ground in 40 minutes on this album than we did on 80 with the last.” He’s not wrong. Where The Sound Of Trees sounds like a complete album, with a degree of sonic consistency, +DOME sounds more like a collection of songs, the band showcasing new ideas and influences, and bending them into their own shapes and forms. “It was quite a transitional period for us in terms of what we were listening to,” John tells me. “When we finished The Sound Of Trees and started work on +DOME, we were really into wonky style music, so there

While many would have been happy with a sequel to The Sound Of Trees, Seekae were never interested in such a project. With almost three years between albums, they have come a long way as musicians, and are still growing and experimenting with their sound. “I think we’re starting to get more of an idea about where we want to head, the more we do,” John says. “We’re moving to England for a few months. We’re going to have a lot of time where we’re just going to be practising and doing nothing else, as well as trying to get some recordings done there and I think that will really fine tune where we want to head.”

It’s often said that a band’s second album is their most difficult, but talking to Seekae about +DOME you never once get the sense that they ever doubted themselves.

Just like their abortive attempts at retrieving a PS3 controller from its packaging, they are willing to try out any ideas with dogged determination. In this sense, we can look at +DOME not as an album in itself but as a document of a band in transit; a slice of where they’re at now and a signpost to where they may go.

Who: +DOME is out on March 25 through Rice Is Nice/Popfrenzy Where: Manning Bar, Sydney University When: Saturday April 16

“On a hot summer night would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?”- BAT OUT OF HELL 14 :: BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11

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Dead Kennedys Über Alles By Robbie Miles

“[Americans] aren’t very optimistic at all.

They’re kinda going crazy. I think America is much more farright than it was back in the day when we were playing.”

F

ew bands actually pull off the lead-singer switch - and when the singer in question is as idiosyncratic and distinctive as Jello Biafra, there’s bound to be audience resistance.

“He’s different, he doesn’t do the pantomime that Biafra does. It’s been going over really, really good.” Speaking from his home in San Francisco, Dead Kennedys guitarist and founder East Bay Ray is as laid back as his name suggests. Dead Kennedys are returning to Australia after nearly 30 years, with Skip McSkipster of The Wynona Riders on vocals.

Rather than a run-of-the mill, deliberately offensive punk band name, ‘Dead Kennedys’ is instead a comment on the death of American optimism, specifically via the assassination of John and Robert Kennedy, and also Martin Luther King. Considering the state of America today, the message of Dead Kennedys is more relevant now than ever. “It is, unfortunately it is,” Ray agrees. “[Americans] aren’t very optimistic at all. They’re kinda going crazy. I think America is much more far-right than it was back in the day when we were playing.”

Dead Kennedys formed in 1978 when Ray placed an ad in San Francisco newspaper The Recycler. “I wanted to have the best punk band in San Francisco, and then it turned into an international concern. I don’t know if we’re the best punk band in the world, but we’re definitely unique and different.” Startlingly intelligent lyrics combined with vicious satire and a punk attitude earned Dead Kennedys a fearsome reputation almost overnight. Their first single, the acerbic and witty ‘California Über Alles’, was an attack on then-Governor of California, Jerry Brown.

This, combined with Jello’s inspired prank of running for Mayor of San Francisco in 1979 (he came in fourth!), garnered the attention of many far-right groups in the US, resulting in a highly visible police presence at many of their gigs.

This reached boiling point when the band was charged with “distribution of harmful material to minors” following the release of 1985’s Frankenchrist, in which they included an H.R Geiger print known as ‘Penis Landscape’. The trial resulted in a hung jury but the damage was done; after completing their final album Bedtime

It’s all about me posting my status. One of the problems is it gives these racist, homophobic nutbags who don’t ever get out of the house a soapbox, and it can make the dialogue very primitive. There’s a difference between information and knowledge. The internet has a lot of information, but very little knowledge at this point.”

For Democracy, DK disbanded in 1986.

Talking to Ray, it’s clear that while the politics are important to him, he is first and foremost a musician. “My dad was a big fan of the Delta blues, and he actually took my brother and I out to see Lightning Hopkins back when we were really young. At the time I didn’t really understand what I was seeing, and he was really into Duke Ellington and Count Basie. I liked people who had soul and were real, not like the current bubblegum stuff. I never really listened to surf music but I was born and raised in California so I heard it on car radios all the time, so it kinda seeped into me. I’m a bit of a sponge, musically speaking.”

One of the many things that set DK apart is their musicianship. Despite the speed thrash of certain songs, there is an underlying complexity, unlike Ramones/Sex Pistols-flavoured punk.

Ray’s syncopated swing rhythms, most noticeable on debut album Fresh Fruit for

Rotting Vegetables, enhance the humour and sarcasm of Biafra’s lyrics. “One of my favourite songs to play is ‘Moon Over Marin’. That’s really my style and my sound. Also, I like ‘Holiday in Cambodia’, that kind of Arabian guitar riff.” I tell him that for my money, it’s the most menacing song ever written. There’s just something about it – and laughing conspiratorially, Ray informs me that “in music, we call that a ‘flatted fifth’. Back in the Middle Ages it was called ‘The Devil’s Interval’ and musicians were banned from playing it, and threatened with excommunication from the church.”

In their blistering, anthemic ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’, the point is made that “punk means thinking for yourself”. Now that we’re in the era of social networking, and even a hardcore punk icon like Ray has a Facebook, it begs the question: is it easier for people to think for themselves today? “It’s a two-edged sword.

People can communicate with each other more, but they’re not listening to each other as much.

For those interested, the lengthy legal battle between Biafra and his former bandmates is well documented elsewhere. The other three original members - East Bay Ray, Klaus Fluoride and D.H. Peligro - have been playing together again as Dead Kennedys since 2001, with several people filling in for the rubber-faced frontman. “What’s been happening in a lot of places is people coming to shows with their children. Usually the audience is the same age as the band, but we definitely have a mix. It’s really an honour as a band to have different generations at your show.” Whether or not you think Jello was the most important element in making Dead Kennedys, well, Dead Kennedys, I’m inclined to believe Ray when he says “If it wasn’t working, I wouldn’t be doing it. I guess I have high musical standards.”

With: Rust Where: The Manning Bar, Sydney University When: Saturday April 9

Indigo Girls Back On The Bus By Romi Scodellaro

O

nce, as an excitable seventeen-year-old, I purchased tickets to see my favourite band on the three consecutive nights they played in Sydney. I saw the exact same show from three marginally different angles and I was rapt. But man, I wish I’d been into Indigo Girls back then. “Every time [we play in Australia] is different, because we have so much to catch up on,” explains Emily Saliers, who along with Amy Ray makes up Indigo Girls. Speaking to me from her home in Atlanta, Georgia, she and the band are heading to Australia for the fourth time in their long career.

“We make a new setlist every night, a fresh one.

And we leave room for requests, so hopefully we’ll get to play the songs that people are there to hear.”

In the slightly stale world of the replicable gig and the recycled set-list, this is a breath of fresh air – and how simultaneously fitting and odd that this fresh air should come from an outfit that has been recording and performing together for over two-and-a-half decades.

Emily and Amy have known each other since elementary school, and recorded together since they were in college. Since then, Indigo Girls have released twelve studio records and four live albums to critical acclaim, amassing fans and achieving sales over twelve million units – no small feat for a folk-rock duo that started out playing small bars in Georgia.

But while they’ve obviously come a long way, they haven’t distanced themselves from their beginnings – the girls delight in retrospectives, playing from their extensive back catalogue.

“We love playing old songs,” Emily says.

“We were both raised in families where we were taught our paradigm for life: we are part of a community, we are not isolated, there’s a lot of work to be done in the world.”

“Basically they’re the same as they were when we recorded them, but they’re so seasoned now. We play them all live and we only play what we want. Because we write a new set list every night, they’re all new to us, and we’re excited about them.” With each show being different, the ladies really have to bring their all to their gigs – and it shows in their live releases. The most recent of these, Staring Down the Brilliant Dream, contains the best moments from shows recorded between 2006 and 2009. While live albums tend to be pretty hit and miss, this one really is comprised of highlights; a super-careful selection from a massive amount of live recordings. The selection process was as lengthy and complex for Emily and Amy as the creation of new studio albums from scratch, with the pair getting into passionate discussions about, say, song order – one barracking for a link between two songs based on complementary keys and content, while the other insists the tempos don’t quite match up…

It’s a process the girls will repeat soon; they’re working on an as-yet-unnamed studio album that will be recorded later this year (of which Aussie audiences can expect a few previews.)

“It’s a very inspiring process,” says Emily, of working with Amy. “She brings things to the group that I can’t, and vice versa. It’s good to work together - because after thirty years, it still happens ... that feeling of, ‘That’s fucking awesome!’”

Emily tells me that the vibe of the new album (“We’re very vibe-y girls!”) will be a return to something natural, organic and rootsy. Words like these seem to typify the sort of music the girls are best at – and they’re inspirations that stretch far beyond their songwriting, too. As part of their trip to Australia, Indigo Girls will be doing some research into local issues like uranium mining, green power and struggling Aboriginal communities - not exactly a Lonely Planet checklist of Aussie tourist highlights.

“Wherever we go we make an effort to suss out

what’s going on locally in the communities, and we’ll make that part of the show,” says Emily.

“We’re all part of the same world.”

The girls have always found a synthesis between what they believe in and their musical careers. Both Amy and Emily are involved with Honour the Earth (an organisation they helped establish which raises awareness and funds for Native American environmental groups), and have been vocal in their support and advocacy for various social and political causes throughout the years. It’s a conscience that somehow comes across as far more natural and less preachy than it does from other musicians. “[It’s] because of our histories and our background. We were both raised in families where we were taught our paradigm for life: we are part of a community, we are not isolated, there’s a lot of work to be done in the world,” Emily explains. “It became very easy early on to incorporate that into our music, whether by incorporating it into our song content, or playing benefits. Even when we were playing in bars, we had this notion not to stagnate, to remain creative, and to do it for the love and the spirit. And for me and Amy, that hasn’t changed over all these years.”

Time has seen Indigo Girls remain true to themselves, recording and touring successfully and trying to make the world a better place – all the while navigating the edges of the music world’s consciousness, flying just under the radar while avoiding scandals, break-ups and reformations. The music world would be in a good place if we could somehow guarantee another few decades of the Indigo Girls.

What: Holly Happy Days is out now Where: The State Theatre When: Thursday April 28

“The clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky My tears are salt water And the moon’s full and high” - TOM WAITS 16 :: BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11

Sparkadia x By x Catch-Up By Denis Semchenko Playing

F

or Sparkadia’s Alex Burnett, staying in one place for too long doesn’t seem to be an option anymore. After the success of singles ‘Animals’ and ‘Morning Light’, the formerly Sydneybased act’s 2008 debut Postcards took them to the top, and the be-quiffed tunesmith soon announced he was bidding his old bandmates adieu and moving overseas.

Having already ticked Berlin off his residential to-do list, these days the singer/guitarist calls London home. Over the phone from the chilly capital, he professes his desire to feel the home crowd’s love once more when he comes back down this week, to show off Sparkadia’s second full-length album, The Great Impression. He’s also looking forward to enjoying the warmer climes in good company. “It’s going to be incredible – I can’t wait! I love Operator Please’s second record and they’re a great band, so it’s going to be fantastic,” Burnett enthuses. Sparkadia will be bringing the excitable Gold Coast pop band to support them, as well as Melbourne indie-popsters Alpine. “Alpine are amazing as well - and coming back to Australia after being in this cold is a very exciting prospect.

I’m taking four dashing English lads across and they’re very excited about going to the Land of Plenty - which I tell them not to say, because it’s kind of embarrassing,” he laughs. “But yeah, it’s going to be good!”

Last in Australia in October of last year on a joint tour with Little Red, Burnett has plenty of reasons to head back home. “[Touring with Little Red] was an incredible experience - they had that song ‘Rock It’, which was just becoming an enormous hit, and we hadn’t been in Australia for a while,” he recalls. “To come back and have the reception that we received - and the success of ‘Talking Like I’m Falling Down Stairs’ - it was amazing; it was a really special time.

We partied pretty hard and we had enormous fun.

Now it feels like that again - except it’s our own tour, where you get to play longer and people essentially come for you.”

“There’s an overall feeling of big delusions, some nostalgia and a sense of a new era as well... With this record, we were trying to make a bold pop album.”

Did Burnett expect ‘Talking Like I’m Falling Down Stairs’ to take off like it did, I wonder? “No, definitely not,” he replies. “I didn’t see it as the kind of song that could be a single, but the record label said they really liked it and it felt unique to them.

For me, that was enough to go ‘Yep, okay! Let’s release it as a single and good luck, guys! I trust you – go with it!’”

A highlight of The Great Impression, it’s surprising to hear that the melancholy tune with its arresting keyboard hook wasn’t even initially considered for inclusion. “I guess it’s a song that never seemed to disappear; it reminds of me of a long-lost school friend,” Burnett muses. “It’s like, ‘Oh, we should catch up for drinks!’ and you think ‘Oh, I’m pretty busy...’ – and a week later, they’re like ‘We should catch up for drinks!’ and you’re like ‘Ah, look, I’ve got to mow the lawn.’ Eventually, you go, ‘Yeah, okay, let’s catch up for drinks’ - and you go out with them and you have an amazing night where you really bond. For me, ‘Talking...’ is a long-lost friend that never seemed to disappear; it kept on being played on the radio, and people kept on digging it. It’s great that it stuck around. Going away from it for that little bit gave it that comeback [vibe], from the song’s point of view.”

Largely abandoning the jangly guitar-pop template perfected on the Ben Hillier-produced Postcards LP, The Great Impression bristles with stadiumsized synths, strings and electronic drums - all immediately noticeable on the grandiose, ‘80s-arena-pop-redolent title track that opens the album. “I think I was listening to a lot of film scores, actually - I don’t think I was listening much to the ‘80s pop,” Alex tells me. “I was listening to more film soundtracks, like Chinatown... I love the big, swirling orchestras, but I didn’t have the money to pay a real orchestra, so I found an orchestra preset with ‘Hollywood strings,’ and that sounded kind of exotic to me.” Another exotic element was a beat from an Indonesian song, which Burnett heard when he was in Darwin. “That beat going on in my head and the ‘Hollywood strings’ combined to create the sound for the opening track – which was the right song to start the record with. There’s an overall feeling of big delusions, some nostalgia and a sense of a new era as well.”

Not one to forgo the fan-loved chestnuts, Alex assures me Sparkadia will play an even mix of new and old. “We’re doing a different set than in England and Europe on this tour. When we play in Australia, it’ll be a mix of the first and second records - probably an equal amount, because a lot of people in Australia really love the first record and I’m still proud of what happened. We’ll just play a collection of the best songs off both; we’re travelling with an extra member who does strings and other weird and wonderful noises, too.

“With this record, we were trying to make to make a bold pop album,” he continues, “whereas Postcards was a ‘live’, indie band record. In some ways, it almost feels like a natural progression to me - but we’re also going to honour the past and play a big, inspiring, emotional set. It’s a show, as opposed to a band playing a couple songs.”

What: The Great Impression is out now on Ivy League With: Operator Please, Alpine Where: Metro Theatre When: Friday April 1

BE HEARD ON 26 MARCH. UR SATURDAY, 26 MARCH IS ELECTION DAY. IT’S YOUR CHANCE TO BE HEARD ON HOW YOUR STATE IS RUN. RU UN. Polling places are open from 8am to 6pm.

On Saturday you should vote at a polling place nearest your home.

If you are away from home you can vote at any polling place in the state. For locations of polling places visit our website, www.votensw.info, or call us.

You need to be enrolled to vote.

To check your enrolment details visit our website or call us. If you are e not on the roll in NSW you may be be eligible to enrol and vote on election day when you bring your NSW photo driver licence or RTA photo ID card showing your current address, and Australian citizenship details if you were born overseas.

VOTE CORRECTLY TO BE HEARD. YOU WILL NEED TO FILL IN TWO BALLOT PAPERS CORRECTLY. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

For the Legislative Assembly, Write the number 1 in the square next to the candidate of your choice.

For the Legislative Council you can vote above or below the line.

You can show more choices, if you want to, by writing numbers in the other squares, starting with the number 2.

If you vote ABOVE the LINE: • Write the number 1 in the square for the group of your choice.

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YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE. BE HEARD. Authorised by Colin Barry, Electoral Commisioner, Level 25, 201 Kent Street Sydney, NSW, 2000.

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 17

Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Consider Yourself Warned By Caitlin Welsh moment: if there’s any major label involved, and they promise this, that and the other, just tell them to fuck off and do it yourself, basically.

Or find an independent label that will really push you. Because EMI and all these other labels are just looking to make their money back, and the only way they can do that is with Lady Gaga, or some other shit pop star.”

I

t may be a mouthful, but as a band name, Does It Offend You, Yeah? suits them to a T. The answer to the question is irrelevant as far as they’re concerned; if it does in fact offend you, they’re just going to keep doing it anyway. And while their thrashing space-punkrave-pop isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, they’re not going to tone that down, either. Not even for their label.

“We’re not Boyzone, we’re not Westlife, we’re not the fucking Spice Girls,” synth player Dan Coop informs me, quite unnecessarily. We’re talking about the band’s split with Virgin, the

label who released their debut in 2008. “They had our new album and said that, ‘Er, there are no middle-of-the-road indie pop songs maybe you could put a couple in. Y’know, write something like The Kooks, something a little more radio-friendly.’ And we were like, ‘You know what? Go fuck yourselves. We want to write our own songs, not what you want us to.

You employed us to write the music that we want to write.’ So we kinda did that.”

“It’s definitely a lot better,” Coop says, referring to their current UK label Cooking Vinyl. “And I say to any band that’s getting signed at the

Luka Bloom Guided By Songs By Mike Gee

Coop freely admits that the band are much happier with their new album, which carries on the tradition of mildly threatening titles with Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You. (Their first record was called You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into; I predict the next LP will simply be titled AAAAGHHH!) Both records feature face-melting juggernauts of guitars and synths that make the Prodigy sound like toddlers throwing a hissy fit in the supermarket, as well as surprisingly earnest, even sweet, pop songs; but there’s a cohesiveness to DSWDWY that’s not quite there in its predecessor.

“That first album was very schizophrenic because we were getting shouted at from all sides,” explains Coops with a sigh. “So if you listen to it, it’s kind of like a mixtape. We were quite naive at the time, and people were giving us a lot of advice, saying that we needed to write this track or that track, or use this mix or that mix. And do you know what? It’s just... It was lucky that that album did all right.”

DSWDWY features some unexpected sonic elements – from the YouTube-sourced crackparanoia rants that pepper lead single ‘The Monkeys Are Coming’ to the profanity-laden monologues in ‘Wrestler’ (taken from wrestling documentary Beyond The Mat), to one of the most recognisable samples ever: the James Brown break commonly known as “Woo! Yeah!”, which was most famously used in ‘It Takes Two’ by MC Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock. “We wanted something a little tongue-in-cheek, something that might freak people out a bit,” chuckles Coop.

The band will make it out here some time this year to tour the new material; Coop insists that Australia is “one of [his] top two places to play,” despite an apparent curse that plagues them every visit. “James [Rushent, the frontman] broke his leg the first time we went out,” Coop begins, checking off the list. “Then the second time we went out James had glandular fever, so he didn’t play. Actually, it was glandular fever and swine flu. And then the third time we came out, three gigs got rained out because of these massive storms where we were playing. Every night. So that was pretty bad.”

He pauses, before adding cheerfully, “But hopefully next time it’ll be better.”

What: Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You is out now on Cooking Vinyl, through Shock

Laneous & The Family Yah Cut It Up By Bridie Connellan

“I

’m a big fan of fiction, of creating some kind of alternate reality. I think we could go there even more and envelop the lifestyle. Either that or just start lying in interviews.”

K

evin Barry Moore first entered my consciousness some time in 1992, standing on stage at the intimate Fly By Night club in Fremantle, WA; an Irish man, the younger brother of folk singer Christy Moore, belting a version of LL Cool J’s ‘I Need Love’.

He was quite mesmerising that night - he was 37 by then, and he’d already been playing for 23 years. “The first time I did a gig I was paid for was 1972. I was the opening act on the first big national tour for the Irish folk band Planxty [started by his brother Christy, and including Irish greats like Donal Lunny, Paul Brady and Liam O’Flynn]. I got 20 pounds a night,” he tells me. “More importantly, it was the first time I got a sense of the possibility music offered. That was the turning point. Up until then, I’d been a 17-year-old who strummed a guitar with friends.

On that tour I could see a way to never have to work for a living.”

It’s 40 years later now, and Luka Bloom (a pseudonym he adopted after relocating to the States in 1987) is on the eve of his umpteenth Australian tour - and he’s still one of the most approachable blokes around. He has genuine unforced charm, and talks honestly and openly without any sense of grandiose. He’s still that funny little Irish guy that he was in ’92, singing a rap song folk-style. “I remember that tour,” Bloom says. “It was the only time I made the mistake of going to Australia in January. The temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and I ended up on stage in shorts and nothing else - not even shoes.”

Looking back on this remarkable career, he says the best thing is that he’s still making new friends. On a recent Dutch tour, for instance,

he met quite a few people who said it was the first time they had seen him. It’s that ether of the unknown that keeps Luka going. “I like to go with the flow of the music, let the music decide the way I’m going. If my working life is guided by songs, that’s all the ambition I need,” he says. “And I still aspire to write a good song; if I had to say I’m ambitious about anything, it is about trying to create a song that moves people - and to be a better singer.”

After 20 years of touring mostly as a solo artist, Luka admits to getting tired from time to time - but he still loves every tour. “There is literally a moment on every tour when I know how blessed I am to have this incredible job.”

And although he’s released a solo album of new material each year for the past five, this year he’ll be doing something different, and celebrating the back-catalogue. Luka is finally completing a project he’s been putting off for three years - a songbook that will contain a selection of his songs, lyrics, poems and photographs, which will be accompanied by “a musical offering that is going to be very different.”

“I’m really enjoying singing some of these songs that I haven’t performed for a long time,” he says. “Songs you’ve written 15 years ago tend to get lost, and it’s good reconnecting. It’s terrible how you forget about those songs you really like. [And] there’s a lot of great songs that are returning to me.”

With: Dreams In America is out now Where: Enmore Theatre When: Saturday March 26

Luckily for Brisbane local Jamie Lane, life as the inimitable frontman Laneous need not rely on fables to impress. Out now, their Scissors EP is the first of ‘The Found Things Collection’, an innovative trilogy of genre-spanning EPs over which Laneous & The Family Yah will be exploring ideas they presented on their last full-length, Found Things. “I guess we just like playing music, we can’t stop ourselves, so we thought we may as well keep churning things out,” says Lane, of the collections’ Scissors, Paper and Rock EPs that will trickle out this year. “We were trying to think of a trilogy of interesting things to put together; we also had Hook, Line and Sinker. There were a couple that we could never have had though - they were just too silly…”

Opening with a gunningly crunchy guitar riff on ‘Haunting (Me)’, Scissors fuses a soulful breed of backing vocals, upbeat bangs and danceable breakdowns that express the dynamic versatility of Laneous and his Family Yah. “So the first EP [in the trilogy] was supposed to be more of a

soulful, down-tempo, melodic sort of thing, but we got a bit sidetracked, and there’s a couple of weird songs on there…” he says, trailing off in a moment of introspection/vaguing out. “Sorry Paper is kind of like a quirky rock sort of album, like a poppy weird rock album. And we were thinking the third EP might be a funk-slash-hip hop kind of one.”

The rigorous, ever-changing sound of Laneous and Co. has swiftly become an Aussie favourite for the past two years; their previous albums St Ill Regal and Found Things delighted with cheeky metaphors, howling stage bravado, and electrically energising performances. “I don’t think it’s necessary to pigeonhole an artist in any respect,” he says, agreeing with my suggestion that their genre may forthwith be known simply as ‘fun’. “[In the eyes of journalists], bands are either up-tempo or down-tempo - but I just like taking a style and a feel. It’s just about passion and enthusiasm for the music you’re making. That’s pretty much the reason we do what we do.”

Trying to knuckle down a description of this mishmash of sound is like describing what would happen if you put confetti, wolf hats, Nutella and guitar picks in a blender - and it’s a task Laneous leaves to the wordsmiths. “We keep up to date with some reviews, because a lot of the time other people are better at describing our music than we are,” he says. “I guess [writers] have an outside view or whatever, and we’ve seen some pretty cool ones describing our sound as the lovechild of X and X. I always like those ones. There was one that was like a review for an EP that went something along the lines of: ‘Eleven hippies from Brisbane attempt to make a funk song and come out with a big fat turkey.’ I really liked that one.”

With difficulty pinning down any kind of ‘favourite’, Laneous admits his own influences are plentiful and far-reaching, producing something of a schizophrenic breed of musical dexterity and general awesomeness. “I was most recently into a whole lot of lounge music from the 60s – also, a lot of Nirvana, all that hip hop you listen to when you’re hanging around your skatey friends, and then a bit of jazz,” he says, tossing out genres haphazardly. “My tastes change all the time, but genre names don’t really matter. When we’re on the front line, we all just jump around like idiots.”

What: Scissors EP is out now With: Tuka (Thundamentals) Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Saturday March 26

“You took the words right out of my mouth Oh it must have been while you were kissing me”- BAT OUT OF HELL 18 :: BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11

The Strokes x By A Different x Angle By Alasdair Duncan

T

he Strokes are the greatest rock band in the world. Wait, no. The Strokes are a gaggle of effete Swiss finishing school boys who should leave the business of rock and roll to the real men.

The Strokes brought guitar music back to life and their musical genius puts them in a direct line with The Ramones and The Velvet Underground. No, that’s not right. The Strokes are a bunch of Drew Barrymore-dating hipsters who are all hype and no substance, and have thus far never lived up to the promise of their debut. The Strokes are all of these things and none of them, and if you’ve read a music blog or picked up a magazine in the last ten years, you’ll know the media never get tired of debating it. No wonder The Strokes themselves are so wary of us at this point.

Take bass player Nikolai Fraiture. We’ve barely been introduced when, already, he seems to be on the defensive. I try to break the ice by asking a not-very-serious question about sunglasses.

Julian has taken to wearing them on stage, but none of the other Strokes do – has he expressly forbidden them from doing so? “Erm,” Fraiture says uneasily, “we definitely don’t confer with each other about how we’re going to be presenting ourselves.”

A short time later, a relatively straightforward question about the presence of synths on the band’s new album Angles yields a lengthy (and weirdly-evasive) response concerning their relationship with producer Joe Cicarelli. “So...” I say, mildly taken aback when Fraiture is finally done, “the album does have synths on it though, right?”

There is a second of silence. “Yes,” he laughs, finally. “Yes it does!”

For all his wariness, Fraiture might also be a little out of practice when it comes to interviews.

Following the lengthy tour for the First Impressions Of Earth album, The Strokes took a lengthy, almost three-year hiatus before regrouping to make Angles, which was released here on Friday. The process dragged on for longer than any of them expected and I’m curious to know about the conditions that inspired the release, and what made the band realise it was time to get back together. “We didn’t plan to take a break,” Fraiture tells me of the period, “but we’d been touring so much, we needed to take a little one - and that just extended itself. We tried every few months to go back into the studio, but eventually realised that we couldn’t until everyone was completely focussed.”

“We’ve all developed and changed, and we’re all adapting... That’s been misconstrued in the press as us hating one another, but that’s definitely not true.”

There were several false starts after that.

Sessions with producer Cicarelli were started and abandoned, and eventually the band decamped to upstate New York to record the instrumental parts separately from singer Julian. The process was documented in a series of behind-the-scenes videos that were released periodically on the band’s website - and it didn’t seem like very much fun. “With Joe, it was one of those situations where I think we had a conflict of vision,” Fraiture tells me of the early Angles sessions. “We wanted a much more eclectic feel to the album, and he was more into this idea of making the album one whole thing, with a very unified sound. We wanted to really experiment with things, and it was clear after a while of working with him that we were going in different directions. We kept some stuff, because what we were doing with him was good, but we didn’t want the whole album to sound like that.

That’s when we decided to go upstate and finish the album there.”

Leaving the city proved the best thing for the band - or at least for Nick, Nikolai, Albert and Fab. “It felt liberating to be working in the woods upstate where Albert [Hammond, Jr.] has a studio, especially after working in a big studio in New York with a producer,” Fraiture says. “We didn’t have to think about studio time, how much everything was costing ... it was very liberating. We all found a new place as friends, and it was really fun.” Of course, Julian famously avoided the sessions, showing up when the rest of the band weren’t around. I ask if that made the experience less enjoyable, but all Fraiture says is, “um, we definitely enjoyed being in the woods. We’d see deer and bears running around.”

The album they eventually made is short and sweet, full of bright, ever-so-slightly syntheticsounding tracks that echo the new wave pop of ‘80s bands like The Cars. It’s also the first time the band have allowed the aforementioned synths into their recorded output. “In the past, we were

very strict with ourselves,” he says, “and we’d always say that we only wanted to put something on the album if we could play it live. Over time, we realised the limits of that approach, and working with Joe was particularly good in terms of us exploring a more textured sound. We’re less afraid now of things sounding different on stage from how they do on the album. When we play these songs live, we know they’ll still hold the essence of what they are.”

Before my time with Fraiture runs out, I decide to address the near-constant chatter about the band. So many people write so much about them, I’m really curious to know – in his view, what’s the most common misconception about The Strokes?

He ponders this for a while. “The most common thing at the moment is that we hate each other.

I think we’ve all developed and changed in our own ways, and we’re all adapting to everybody’s lives and the ways that life changes. That’s been misconstrued in the press as us hating oneanother, but that’s definitely not true.”

What: Angles is out now on RCA/Sony Music

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BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 19

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brushstrokes WITH WITH

DEAN BERTRAM, A NIGHT OF HORROR FESTIVAL DIRECTOR original script, strong performances, tight direction, and a foreboding atmosphere of dread that builds throughout. Plus plenty of jump-inyour-seat scares make this monster movie a horror aficionado’s wet dream. Also, Dead Hooker In A Trunk.

Eli Roth wasn’t exaggerating when he said “It’s fucking awesome!” I’m also enthused about Skew – it’s a 'found footage' film - imagine Paranormal Activity on steroids. We’re hosting the world premiere screening of this film as part of the fest’s special warmup double feature at The Mu-Meson Archives, this Saturday March 26. The director, Sevé Schelenz, is the fest’s special international guest, and he will be at the screening for a Q&A.

W

hen did your love affair with horror begin?

It traces to the first time I saw John Carpenter’s Halloween. I was 10, and it left me unable to sleep for days. I just wanted to keep chasing that fear, so I cut through every horror film I could find. Directors like George Romero, Dario Argento, Don Coscarelli and Sam Raimi had an impact on me from an early age. My brother Grant and I started making short horror films on our dad’s Super 8 camera at the same time. They were bad! Really just poor rip-offs of the video nasties that we were constantly consuming.

What is your background and training in film? (Including any lurking PhDs on 'UFO Cinema'...)

(Laughs) Yes I have a PhD in American history, and spent a considerable part of my thesis (about flying saucer culture) looking at the history of science fiction cinema. So, I have an academic background in film theory/ history, but I’m really a self-taught filmmaker.

What’s the story behind ANOH Festival?

My brother and I, along with festival co-director Lisa Mitchell, had made a short horror film that screened at a number of genre-specific festivals overseas. We realised that there wasn’t a similar festival here. The plan was to host a one-night screening of local horror shorts – hence the name we are still stuck with: “A Night of Horror”. It rapidly grew from there to the current nine-day event that screens features and shorts from all around the world.

Top five horror films of all time?

Halloween, The Beyond, Dawn Of The Dead, Cannibal Holocaust, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

What’s one/some of the biggest coups for you over the last few years in terms of securing a film/director for the festival?

The Australian premiere of Zombieland was a standout. But the film I’m proudest of having screened is Kerry Prior’s The Revenant. It’s the best horror comedy of the last decade, and one of my favourite horror films period.

Kerry was a guest of the festival, and I’ve never seen an audience respond so favourably to a screening or as eagerly to a Q&A. What are you particularly excited about in this year’s program?

Everything! But to name a few films: Our closing night film Absentia is one of the best horror films I’ve seen in years. Clever

Top five Aussie horror films of all time?

Wolf Creek, The Horseman, Thirst, Patrick, Black Water.

What: A Night Of Horror Film Festival When: March 31 – April 8 Where: Dendy Newtown / anightofhorror.com More: Special pre-festival screening of Skew (CAN) (in a double-bill with Ludlow) at Mu-Meson Archives (Cnr Parramatta Rd & Trafalgar St, Annandale) this Saturday March 26, 8pm PLUS a post-screening Q&A with director Sevé Schelenz. Tix $10 on the door.

GREGG ARAKI

Queer cinema icon Gregg Araki returns to screens this month, with what he describes as his most personal film yet: Kaboom – a hallucinatory, hedonistic trip through sexually liberated campus life (via some mind-altering cookies).

It’s Araki’s 11th film, and it won him the first ever Queer Palm (totally unfortunate name) at Cannes 2010.

To celebrate Araki’s return (and thanks to Hopscotch Entertainment, who release Kaboom to DVD in July) we have three copies of one of our favourite Araki films up for grabs: 2004’s Mysterious Skin. Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, and based on Scott Heim’s novel, it’s a poignant, shocking and at times hilarious R-rated film about two young men who were molested as children.

To get a copy, tell us what iconic surrealist filmmaker inspired Kaboom (hint: read our feature on the opposite page...)

RIZZERIA CREW

There’s a co-op of people in St Peters who own a mystical machine called the RISO RP3700. It’s okay, you don’t need to worry about them – unless of course you have a ‘printed material’ fetish… In which case you should try to make friends. The RISO is super efficient, affordable, single-colour, stencil-based printing press that uses paints instead of toxic toners and inks, and produces no dangerous fumes. Hard to argue with that. And the Rizzeria crew want to introduce you to their little friend. So say hello: get along to The Paper Mill in Angel Place during April and May, for one of the Rizzeria printing workshops – kicking off on Saturday April 9 with poster-making (you also get to take home a set of 20 two-coloured posters!) rizzeria.com / thepapermill.org.au

PLATFORM FILMS

OKAY YEAH COOL GREAT

Next up at Somedays is an exhibition of new explorations by Okay Yeah Cool Great (aka Anna McMahon and Kate Beckingham). Everyday explores “the effect of aesthetic interruption on the everyday and banal.” Come again? The ladies take photos of the quotidian and superimpose design treatments and 3D flourishes to disrupt the photographic aesthetic and meaning… We think. We’re not experts, we’re just ‘aesthetics enthusiasts’.

We like your upside-down mountains, ladies. Everday opens (with a lil help from Little Creatures) at Somedays in Slurry Hills on March 30 from 6-8pm. okyeahcoolgreat.com

NEXT WAVE

Did you enjoy Imperial Panda? That’s the kind of thing you can see at Melbourne’s Next Wave Festival. In fact, several of the Panda shows had their debut at Next Wave last year: Rhubarb Rhubarb's Some Film Museums I Have Known, Zoe Coombs Marr’s And That Was The Summer That Changed My Life, and Brown Council’s A Comedy. Which all goes to say: Next Wave 2012? You might as well book your flights to Melbourne right now. And if you’re a performance-MAKER (ooo-ahhh) Next Wave are currently calling for submissions. The theme of next year’s festival will be The space between us wants to sing, and the focus is on art in the public realm… So mosey over to nextwave.org.au, and pencil the deadline of April 15 into your diary.

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FRANKENSTEIN: LIVE

If Danny Boyle (127 Hours) did theatre, you’d hardly expect him to do The Cherry Orchard, would you? He’d do something larger than life, slightly twisted, disturbing – like Frankenstein.

You can see what that would look like in April, when the National Theatre Live series brings two performances of Boyle’s Frankenstein to a cinema near you, starring Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch, with music by Underworld, and a set by BAFTA-winning production designer Mark Tildesley (who has done almost all Michael Winterbottom and Boyle’s films). National Theatre Live will broadcast two performances into Sydney cinemas on the weekends of April 9-10, and April 16-17: one where Miller plays Frankenstein and Cumberbatch plays ‘the Monster’, and the other with the roles reversed. Aces. For more info see www.ntlive.info

Platform Hip Hop Festival is officially awn, with every day bringing us one step closer to The Magnificents… To get Rahzel Ready, you might wanna brush up on your krumping skills, so you can non-violently battle your way front and centre. Dario is leading the free krump class this Saturday March 26 at Carriageworks, 11am.

Matching tracksuit optional, but comfy sneakers and sense of humour mandatory. If you prefer the energy-lite brand of cool, head along to the Platform Films night on Friday April 1, for an evening of short films made by and about hip hop heroes at home and abroad – from Australia’s growing tribe of female MCs, to Morganics’ feature Survival Tactics, based on his critically acclaimed theatre production of the same name. platformhiphop.com.au

SPLENDID ARTS

Splendour In The Grass’s arts component, Splendid, is currently seeking young and emerging artists (under 30 or in the first 5 years of practice) across visual arts, theatre, dance, design, installation, architecture, digital media, sound, text and other creative pursuits to dream up ideas and create work for the Splendour festival. Successful applicants will be invited to take part in the 2011 Splendid Arts Lab, where they will be mentored by leading local and international artists – including Fernando Llanos (Mexico - video art), David Clarkson (innovative physical theatre), Natalie Jeremijenko (USA - environmental art & design), Craig Walsh (sitespecific projections), and Técha Noble, of The Kingpins. splendid.org.au

OLD FITZ THEATRE: 2011

Hot off the press: Tamarama Rock Surfers have just released the details of their 2011 Old Fitz season! First up is Me Pregnant! by Nick Coyle (Pig Island) opening April 5 - and the rest of the program plus tickets are at rocksurfers.org

WIM WENDERS

Very Exciting News: Wim Wenders actually in Australia, speaking on stage at the Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre? About his film tribute to dance legend Pina Bausch?

It’s part of the Audi German Film Festival (April 6-18), and will be the only Australian screening of Pina.

Described by Sight & Sound editor Nick James as ‘thrilling and revelatory’, Wenders’ film uses 3D technology to place the audience on stage with, and amongst, the dancers of Bausch’s Wuppertal dance troupe; elsewhere, he takes the dancers to the streets of her hometown, to juxtaposing her choreography – by turns haunting, beautiful, raw and terrifying – against the urban landscape and surrounding countryside. Tickets on sale NOW, for the Sunday April 17 event, from sydneyoperahouse.com. Meanwhile, the full program for the Audi German Film Festival has just launched, and can be seen at goethe.de

JAM & TOAST

This Sunday March 27, we'll see you at 5pm in the SBW Stables foyer for the semi-regular Jam & Toast session. Bring an instrument (for jamming), and an appetite ($5 toasties /$6 VB longnecks).

Free before 7pm /$5 after. griffintheatre.com.au

Missing the Bus to David Jones

Thomas Dekker and Juno Temple in Kaboom

[THEATRE] First stop: humanity By Liz Schaffer

A

long haul flight from London and hefty dose of jet lag can’t stop Kym Vercoe from chatting about Theatre Kantanka’s latest work – an artistic exploration of life in Sydney’s nursing homes.

“I guess the thing about nursing homes is that we totally acknowledge that they’re necessary but we tend to feel a little ashamed of them,” Vercoes suggests. “What we wanted to really focus on was the people who lived in nursing homes, and the fact that they’re still people with a whole rich history.”

Debuting in 2009, Missing the Bus to David Jones fuses new media, text, image and performance to create a highly physical sweep of vignettes that unfold in and around a nursing home’s 'activities room'. The residents’ frailty, isolation and charm is revealed in an almost dream-like manner, the cumulative effect feeling like a labour of absolute love.

Treating nursing homes as a hidden universe, the cast spent months visiting six aged care facilities across Sydney, creating their characters, mood and story from what they encountered. “We didn’t want to invent old people and then play old people. What we really sought to do was embody what we saw.”

Vercoe is no stranger to the practice of ‘devised theatre’: a graduate of UWS/Theatre Nepean, she has consistently worked with experimental performance companies such as Company Katia Molino

Theatre Physical, ERTH, and version 1.0 (in whose recent show at Belvoir, A Distressing Scenario, she starred).

Even so, Vercoe admits she found Missing the Bus particularly challenging. “It’s funny because quite a few [of the cast] have a background in physical theatre, and then we are making a show about very old people and it’s the hardest show we’ve ever done. It’s a show that’s incredibly physically demanding the more you want to try and really get into the characters' bodies.”

It’s a measure of Vercoe’s talent that her physical transformation for the 2009 season had one couple in the audience convinced that even her skin looked older on stage – an observation she justifiably took as a compliment.

Missing the Bus is directed and designed

by Carlos Gomes, who co-founded Theatre Kantanka in 1995 as a company dedicated to producing site-specific, interdisciplinary and devised theatre pieces. Having looked over a video recording of one of the 2009 performances, Vercoe credits Gomes’ visual sensibilities with creating the sensation of watching a painting spring to life.

Rehearsals, direction and physicality aside, however, Vercoe puts a lot of the show’s success down to the source material. “You see a lot of very funny stuff happen in nursing homes because people are so liberated from the idea of rules or how the should behave …

We really embraced that idea of how eccentric people are, and how individual people are, and how beautiful people are when they are that old, and they have a whole life behind them.”

As for what has changed between the premiere season and this 2011 remount, Vercoe says not much – apart from the expansion of the original five-performance run into a solid two weeks.

“In Sydney we tend to have such short performance seasons,” Vercoe laments, “and when you’re working devised theatre you spend such a long time developing a show…

What’s really good about this [remount] is we get to develop the piece a bit more and inhabit the characters and find new things to do; I certainly feel like there is so much room for the piece to grow.”

What: Missing the Bus to David Jones When: March 22 – April 2 Where: Seymour Centre Tickets: seymourcentre.com

Kaboom [FILM] A beautiful, bent fantasy from Gregg Araki By Matthew Pejkovic regg Araki has been a pivotal player in the New Queer Cinema movement since his 1992 film The Living End was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Almost 20 years on, Araki continues to create provocative independent cinema. His latest film, Kaboom, is a mish-mash of genre, sass and visual spectacle that won the first ever Queer Palm at Cannes Film Festival last year.

G

kind of a smaller movie, and I really wanted it to be limitless and let my imagination go all in, and not worry about if this is getting too weird, or if these sex scenes are going too far, and just let the characters and the story get wild, crazy, and free spirited as they would, without deluding or keeping it down in terms of what people’s expectations might be. Just have fun with it, which is what I first set out to have with this movie.”

Kaboom stars Thomas Dekker (My Sister’s Keeper) as Smith, an 18-year-old film student whose sexual awakening contrasts with a bizarre set of circumstances involving a mysterious cult with aspirations of world domination. While the film often retreats to the fantastical, with a whole lot of loony sci-fi interwoven throughout, Araki says Kaboom may be his most personal work yet.

Araki also lets fly with Kaboom’s trip-induced science fiction and supernatural elements, finding inspiration from cinematic master of the surreal, David Lynch. “All of my movies have always had that influence [from Lynch], but this is the movie that most relates to his films, particularly the TV series Twin Peaks. I was in college when that show came out, and it had a really profound effect on me.”

“It sounds crazy to say it, because the movie is so wacky and insane, but it’s kind of my most autobiographical movie ever made, in the sense that a lot of it is kind of my recollection of being an undergraduate film student in Santa Barbara,” Araki explains.

In Smith, Araki has created a cinematic alter-ego. Yet while the director was not as adventurous as his character, his time as a film student in university still holds a powerful influence on his life and work.

“I’ve been wanting for years to do a dark, sort of David-Lynch-inspired kind of mystery; a paranoid thriller involving cults, and all of that. So it was a combination of both of those inspirations – putting them together and coming up with a story that was a sprawling, kind of apocalyptic epic, but also gels with that time in your life when everything was sort of, ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen.’”

“There’s obviously a lot of fictionalising. I was not involved with the occult, and I certainly didn’t have as much sex as Smith has in the movie,” Araki laughs. “But there are elements of that time in my life, heaps of moments that are very, very personal for me. The scene where Smith is in the club listening to music, and the look on his face as the music is taking him to this other place – all that is very personal and profound to me”.

With his last two features (Mysterious Skin and Smiley Face) based on existing texts, Araki saw Kaboom as an opportunity to tap into his creative juices and create a whole new kind of original story. “I was really interested in doing something that was really outside the expected genre. To me Kaboom is

What: Kaboom, Dir. Gregg Araki When: Opens March 24 Where: Chauvel Cinema More: chauvelcinema.net.au

The Brothers Size

[THEATRE] Imara Savage throws down the gauntlet at Griffin By Dee Jefferson

W

hen she was 17, Imara Savage graduated from Newtown High School of Performing Arts, co-founded a theatre company, and started a five-year degree in Communications and International Marcus Johnson in The Brothers Size

Studies at UTS – during which time she was a Youth Ambassador for Development in Sri Lanka, and after which she spent a year at university in Mexico, and a year studying an esoteric branch of dance in Brazil. So it’s safe to say that concepts like ‘safe’ and ‘easy’ aren’t a regular part of her M.O. In her 2008 graduation statement for NIDA's directors’ program, she wrote: “Theatre should be an experiment. Always. As directors we should be constantly striving to work in ways that are unfamiliar to us, with collaborators who extend our knowledge and skills… Theatre should never be safe.”

When I arrive at the rehearsal studio in Sydney university to interview her, Savage is on the phone with her Dad, discussing replacement strings, while marshalling arriving actors and instrumentalists into the rehearsal room with a spare hand, and a slightly furrowed brow. She’s got one day off from Bell Shakespeare, where she is the 2011 Director In Residence – one day to integrate the sound, lighting, dance and music components of her upcoming Griffin production: The Brothers Size.

Savage tuned into the international hype around The Brothers Size and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney during her stint as Affiliate Director for Griffin Theatre Company last year. An actor and a graduate of Yale School of Drama’s playwriting program, McCraney

is just 31, has eight plays to his name, and has been inducted into Chicago’s prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The Brothers Size, the first in his Brothers/Sisters trilogy, was produced by New York’s Public Theater in 2007, while McCraney was still studying, followed by a season at London’s prestigious Young Vic in 2008, and Steppenwolf’s production of the full trilogy last year.

“It’s an incredible piece of writing,” says Savage – “and when I say it’s a new voice – it really is a new voice.” Infused with the West African ‘Yoruba’ religion, and set within the Louisiana bayou, The Brothers Size explores brotherhood and storytelling through the relationship between hardworking mechanic Ogun Size, and his younger brother Oshoosi, a happily unemployed ex-con. When Oshoosi’s former cellmate Elegba (named for the Yoruba spirit of mischief) appears unexpectedly, it throws a spanner in the already creaking works of the brothers Size.

McCraney wrote The Brothers Size to drum rhythms. “I’ve been approaching it like a score, to be honest,” Savage tells me. “When you’re up on the floor rehearsing it, you can see that there’s real rhythms in place.” Although movement and soundtrack aren’t explicitly written into the script, there’s a definite musicality to the language, and references to songs throughout. Choreographer Tina

Landau, who directed the Steppenwolf season, described the trilogy as a “choreo-poem”.

“This play fed a lot of my interests,” Savage observes. “It draws on the mythology of the Orishas – the gods that were brought through the Yoruba tradition, via the slave trade, from Africa to the Americas. And I actually studied the dances of the Orishas, for a year, in North East Brazil. I mean, how odd to get a play that’s text-based – and I really love text – that also has all these other elements that have been a part of my life journey.”

The Brothers Size will be an exhilarating challenge for Savage, whose ambitious, critically lauded Belvoir production of Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love (2010) pales by comparison. Besides being a formally challenging piece, the play is also thematically challenging in Sydney’s predominantly AngloSaxon theatre culture. “[This play] doesn’t make things easy for anybody,” Savage agrees.

“And I think that’s a good thing. I don’t think we should do things that are easy.”

What: The Brothers Size, Dir. Imara Savage When: March 23 – April 16 Where: SBW Stables / Nimrod St, Kings Cross More: griffintheatre.com.au BRAG :: 404:: 21:03:11 :: 21

Arts Snap

Film & Theatre Reviews

At the heart of the arts Where you went last week.

What's playing on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.

■ Film

BIUTIFUL Opens March 24 Starting with his powerful debut film, Amores Perros (2000), Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu has been telling weighty tales of crossing narratives. 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006) saw the director working in English with high-profile American and Australian actors. But none of his subsequent efforts have lived up to the raw emotion or the blistering energy of his first feature; and, disappointingly, Biutiful, a film exploring mortality and immigration in Barcelona’s poorest communities – and Iñárritu’s return to the Spanish language – also falls short.

Biutiful is the story of a man, Uxbal (Javier Bardem in an Oscar-nominated performance), who wants to provide for his children (Hanaa Bouchiab and Guillermo Estrella) but does so by arranging work for undocumented Chinese and African immigrants. With a manic depressive wife (a sparkling performance from Argentinean newcomer Maricel Alvarez) and a terminal illness, time is running out for Uxbal, as the afterlife beckons.

3rd sydney tattoo expo

PICS :: TL

Bardem’s performance IS the reason to see this film. His portrayal of a man caught between life and death is beautifully nuanced. Showing in equal measures desperation, strength and vulnerability, Bardem gives us a sympathetic character who is trying to do right whilst being involved in a very wrong situation.

11:03:11 :: 3rd Sydney Tattoo & VaVoomFest :: Sydney Olympic Showgrounds

Sadly, there is often an unpleasant selfimportance to Iñárritu’s work, and Biutiful highlights many of his less desirable traits as a filmmaker. Lacking any of the subtlety shown in Bardem’s performance, the film is bogged down by the director’s heavyhanded approach to theme. Globalisation and immigration are big issues to explore, but frustratingly Iñárritu sidelines the characters he is trying to make visible. The Chinese factory workers and the Senegalese woman (Diaryatou Daff) whose lives cross with Uxbal’s seem to be there to represent theme, as opposed to being characters with their own motivations.

Without a glimmer of hope in its 148-minute running time, the film’s plot is predictable in its overly depressing telling. And Iñárritu seems to be revelling in the gloom. As a viewer, watching Biutiful is numbing, and not even the film’s strong central performances can save it from being a very long pity party.

Beth Wilson ■ Film

LIMITLESS PICS :: TL

does: i love letters

Released March 17

10:03:11 :: LO-FI Collective :: Floor 3, 383 Bourke St Surry Hills

Arts Exposed What's on our calendar...

Welcome Stranger & Siberia Records present

WS010 Friday March 25, 6pm / LO-FI Collective (Lvl 3, 383 Bourke St, Taylor Sq.) Welcome Stranger describes itself as ‘a catalogue of ideas based on the exploration of themes, history, aesthetics and people.’ What does this mean, in practise? They are a publishing house for ideas-based objet d’art – so far this includes limited-edition tee-shirts, zines, and even the odd tote. The project was started early last year by Vissukamma Ratsaphong (aka Radge) and Jeremy Wolf, and there have been nine WS instalments so far. The upcoming and 10th instalment is WS010, an exhibition that remixes the last nine chapters, and mashes them up in an display of installation works, photographs and prints, and a performance by pals Siberia Records. What can we say… Don’t be a stranger? welcomestranger.ws / wearelofi.com.au

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In the first frames, the streets of New York zip by like you’re being sucked into a vortex. It’s an elegant, snappy effect, and the popping visual splendour in the first act suggests that Limitless will be an exercise in style. It is, for a while. Too bad it then exchanges wit and thematic ideas for dull business dealings and plot contrivances.

In the world of Limitless, humans only use 20% of their brain (widely regarded by neurologists as a myth, but never mind), but there’s an experimental, off-market drug called NZT that can grant you full access.

This causes you to develop a Sherlock Holmesian intuition, become more productive and exude an unflappable confidence – something Bradley Cooper’s struggling, scruffy novelist Eddie (“my excuse for looking like this – I’m a writer!”) discovers first hand when he acquires one of the translucent, button-like pills from his ex-brother-in-law.

When not momentarily distracted by his landlord’s attractive daughter, it gives Eddie the inspiration to finish his languishing book, which he does in a mere four days to his publisher ‘s considerable astonishment.

It all seems too good to be true, and it is.

He soon starts experiencing weird temporal aberrations. His health starts to deteriorate.

He gets on the wrong side of a trashy thug, and he impresses and then makes enemies of Robert De Niro’s smooth-suit executive, Carl Van Loon, who’s about to close a deal on the largest merger in corporate history.

Boasting a great, simple premise Limitless works as an engaging thriller for about an hour, and then the more perilous possibilities are jettisoned for Eddie’s rather uninteresting toils with De Niro’s sleep-inducing mogul.

The direction by Neil Burger (The Illusionist) is sprightly, and he comes up with some neat effects to represent Eddie’s illuminated state of mind.

What’s surprising is just how effective Cooper is in the title role; he’s believable both as the slovenly writer and, as per his more traditional image, clean-cut businessman.

Abbie Cornish, too, is warm and womanly as his on-again-off-again girlfriend.

There is some commentary here about how natural talent and intuition can be dulled by ego, anxiety and emotional neediness – all of which to some degree afflicts Cooper’s writer in the beginning – but the screenplay, based on Alan Glynn’s presumably more insightful novel, The Dark Fields, trades in the expected cautionary message for something less conventional but ultimately vapid.

Joshua Blackman ■ Theatre

ZEBRA! Runs until April 30 The opportunity to see Bryan Brown and Colin Friels, face off on stage, proved so irresistible that ZEBRA! sold out its season before opening night. The fact that it was a premiere from Ross Mueller, one of our best playwrights, and directed by Lee Lewis, who has been steadily amassing successful main stage productions for the last three years (That Face at Belvoir, Honour at STC, Twelfth Night for Bell Shakespeare) is not, it’s safe to say, the reason why people rushed to buy tickets. Ultimately, however, the lead performances are both this production’s greatest strength and its greatest weakness.

Set entirely in a Manhattan bar in Winter 2009, ZEBRA! is an encounter between two alpha males – a father and his prospective son-in-law – backgrounded by the fallout of the Wall Street crash. An Australian real-estate maverick in his mid50s, Jimmy (Brown) arrives first, his head bleeding, and nervous about meeting his prospective father in law; followed by Larry (Friels), a self-educated ‘New Joisey’ native turned millionaire entrepreneur. Hoping and expecting to meet an earnest young suitor, he fails to recognise Jimmy as his daughter’s fiancée. Their encounter is presided over by cagey bar owner ‘Jill’ (Nadine Garner), who is in the process of filing for bankruptcy.

There’s an air of desperation: picking over the carcass of her livelihood, Jill begins hocking off pieces of the bar to the highest bidder; faced with his own imminent financial demise at the hands of the subprime mortgage crash, and seeking to hitch his wagon to his father-in-law’s fortune, Jimmy furiously markets himself to Larry as an ‘attractive investment’. Meanwhile, Larry attempts to control the situation (and win Jill’s affections) with the application of liberal doses of charm and cash. In the background, the TV flips between news, NASCAR and nature shows – leading to a somewhat on-the-nose allegory involving male zebras.

With Mueller’s gift for dialogue, an exquisitely detailed set, and the charismatic cast, it’s easy to get absorbed. Nevertheless: ZEBRA! is less clever than Mueller’s Concussion, and less moving than his Construction of the Human Heart; the production suffers from some excessively ‘stagey’ physical exercises – too much conspicuous movement, and an embarrassingly stiff fight scene; and at the end of the day, Bryan Brown looks to be playing Bryan Brown. Friels stretches himself more to play Larry, but settles on a two-note composition of overblown charm and blustery anger. Garner, meanwhile, has neither the lines nor the depth of performance that she’s capable of.

The cumulative effect is a very enjoyable but slightly frustrating evening at the theatre, in which you leave feeling that everyone could have worked a bit harder.

Dee Jefferson

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

DVD Reviews The all-talk all-action crime film VS. the no talk, no action crime film...

THE TOWN

THE AMERICAN

Warner Home Video Released March 9 I used to think Ben Affleck was a bit lightweight – but anyone who can direct smart, stylish and emotionally compelling pictures like Gone Baby Gone and The Town (both set in the heavily Irish, criminal badlands of Boston) has serious talent.

Affleck's sophomore feature ups the commercial ante from Gone Baby Gone (2007) with a mainstream-friendly premise and marketable cast. Four childhood friends-turned-professional bank robbers begin to attract serious FBI heat after they hit the Charlestown Bank, taking young bank manager Claire (Rebecca Hall) temporarily hostage. The gang’s leader and ‘brains’, Doug (Affleck), wants to lay low, but his best friend, redneck wildcard Jim (Jeremy Renner of The Hurt Locker) persuades him to up the ante with a second job. Meanwhile, Doug falls for Claire (who doesn’t realise who she’s bedding).

This story could be so boring and predictable, but at every step of the way, Affleck and his team make original, considered, choices: the dialogue has the same snappy wit he and Matt Damon displayed in their Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting script; Robert Elswitt’s (There Will Be Blood) lensing is as elegant and inventive as you’d expect; the structure and editing of the narrative keep it moving along at a cracking pace, while hitting those emotional notes that show a character developing; and the calibre of the performances is outstanding – from established talent like Pete Postlethwaite to the more risky choices, like Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively.

The special features on this Blu-ray/DVD combopack are outstanding. Besides an extended cut and charmingly self-deprecating director’s commentary, there’s a set of mini featurettes, covering the incredible depth of research Affleck did on the crime elements of the story, and the people of Charlestown – to more technical details, like how the chase scenes were shot.

Dee Jefferson

Universal Home Ent. Released March 10

When Ebert called this the ‘best crime film' of 2010 in his review of The Town, I wondered who gave him the tripstasy, and how much.

Nevertheless: since I couldn’t entirely remember why I didn’t like The American, I decided to rewatch it, giving Anton Corbijn (Control) the benefit of the doubt. About 30 minutes in, my memory had caught up.

After a botched job in Sweden, professional assassin and gunsmith ‘Jack’ (George Clooney) is sent by his minder to a small town in rural Italy, to hide-out until things blow over.

He is given an assignment: a very unusual gun for a lady assassin (Thekla Reuten). He sets about his work methodically, while also passing the time with the local padré, Father Benedetto (Paulo Bonacelli, in the most clichéd, ‘rheumyeyed, heavy-jowled’ version of an Italian priest you can imagine), and a local prostitute, Clara (Violante Placido). But when his past comes to town, Jack has to decide whether his life, as it is, is worth fighting for.

The American is as understated in its characterisation as it is heavy-handed in its dialogue (Father Benedetto’s line "You are American; you think you can escape history.

You live for the present" – is particularly on the nose) and symbolism (the most flagrant involving endangered butterflies).

It’s a shame, because the performances are good, and the lensing is about as beautiful as you’d expect from someone with Corbijn’s photography credentials – wide landscapes and vertiginous, spiralling aerial shots of the mazelike town. I was also really enamoured of the film’s opening scene, which tells you everything you need to know about Jack, in very elegant, simple strokes. If only the rest of this film were as succinct and understated.

Dee Jefferson

Street Level With Leland Kean (Tamarama Rock Surfers theatre company)

O

n March 7, the Tamarama Rock Surfers theatre company – the fellas responsible for programming the Old Fitzroy Hotel’s theatre, in Woolloomooloo) took a big step up, launching a brand new theatre space and season of works within the historical Bondi Pavilion. Taking the helm is TRS Artistic Director Leland Kean, whose love affair with the Fitz began in 2000, when he directed Brendan Cowell’s debut play, Men. He became Artistic Director of TRS in 2006, and has, we assume, had barely a moment’s rest since.

LIVE MUSIC

CARRIAGEWORKS

The first two cabs off the 2011 rank are Fools Island, written by and starring veteran Shakespearean and consummate comedian Darren Gilshenan; and a production of Patrick Hamilton’s Hitchcock-inspired comedy-thriller Rope's End, directed by Iain Sinclair (Our Town – STC 2010).

So: you’re now the Artistic Director of two theatres – what do you do? Not sleep much.

It’s pretty organic, the work and the artists tend to find it’s their stage. I’m just trying to direct them to the right place.

From an outside perspective, this takeover of the Bondi Pavilion theatre comes out of the blue! How long has it been in the pipeline? It started just over three years ago, so for TRS this has been in the pipeline for a while but we kept it really quiet until we were totally sure it was across the line.

How do the two venues differ? It’s an interesting thing that while they differ in size (Bondi is 230 seats compared to the Fitz, which is 55-odd) they share some similar qualities.

Both are really intimate, both have classic Rocksurfers challenges for designers. The Pavilion is like a small proscenium, compared to the Fitz’s mezzanine. And obviously the view from the balcony at the Pavilion is a little different to the back deck of the Old Fitz!

How will what you program be different for each venue? The Old Fitz is totally ‘new Australian’, I’m very committed to that. It’s about new artists and new art forms. The Pavilion program will be a lot more diverse, some step-up work from the Fitz and new Oz, but

also incorporating some new international and classical, in the style of the old B Sharp program. Also a kids program, community, music, cabaret, stand up – everything, really; it’s a whole new canvas for the Rocksurfers.

Are you getting your own directorial fingers dirty this year? Yep I am. I’m directing Toby Schmitz’s new play, I Want To Sleep with Tom Stoppard. Can’t wait!

Tell us the story about how TRS got its name? By accident really, Jeremy Cumpston, the original artistic director, hadn’t put a company name on a application form for a festival, so they rang him and asked. He was living above Tamarama at the time and looked out his window and said the first three things he saw: Tamarama. Rock. Surfers.

ROSIE CATALANO

+ MISSING CHILDREN + LEEROY LEE + LOIS MARES + MELANIE HORSNELL

SAT 26 MAR F R E E ! NOON-5PM (ARTIST TIPPING WELCOME)

What: Tamara Rock Surfers 2011 Season When: Bondi season kicks off on March 31, with Fools Island Where: Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi Beach More: rocksurfers.org/tickets/purchase

CARRIAGEWORKS’ CAFÉ & BAR OPEN CARRIAGEWORKS 245 WILSON STREET EVELEIGH MAIN ENTRANCE: CNR CODRINGTON STREET | TRAIN: REDFERN OR MACDONALDTOWN

CARRIAGEWORKS.COM.AU | FACEBOOK.COM/CARRIAGEWORKS | TWITTER.COM/CARRIAGEWORKS

UNPLUGGED + UNCOMPLICATED IS PRODUCED BY CARRIAGEWORKS + OCCURS ON THE LAST SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 23

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK PETER BJORN & JOHN Gimme Some Cooking Vinyl / Shock

Streaked with a defiant energy, and marrying pop fundamentals with a constant need to tweak and deconstruct formulas, Gimme Some just keeps on giving.

PB&J may still be best known for their 2006 anthem and unstoppable earworm ‘Young Folks’, and secondarily for Bjorn Yttling’s writing and production for Sarah Blasko and Lykke Li. But there’s far more to them than fey Scando-pop waifs and whistling. Their last studio album, 2009’s Living Thing, was a complex, patchy beast, as weird and ill-at-ease as their breakthrough record Writer’s Block was airy, eclectic and perfectly-formed. But on Gimme Some, their sixth full-length, they’ve stopped trying to shuck off the pop-genius mantle laid on them by ‘Young Folks’ - and by mushing their weirdness and diverse influences up with their spectacular gift for retro-pop, they’ve create their most inventive, listenable and fun album yet.

Drawing on mussed-up garage-punk, alt-rock and new-wave riffs, shiny Paul Simon jangles and Krautrock beats, and dipping

THE STROKES Angles Sony Did you like Julian Casablancas’ ‘80s-inspired solo record, Phrazes For The Young? Then you’ll be really into Angles - right down to the discernible lack of real drum sounds throughout most, and the bunch of overbearing synths, which would drown the guitars if they weren’t so shiny.

As much as Angles was supposedly a group project, with each member contributing equally, The Strokes will always be The Casablancas Show. His voice, even more prominent and taking more chances than on anything in their back catalogue, doesn’t sit back at all anymore. It’s in your face, all the time - which means it takes a bit longer to hear the band, like the subtly gorgeous riffing of Valensi and Hammond on closer ‘Life Is Simple In The Moonlight’.

What Angles is, really, is a mishmash of Strokes past and present.

There’s stuff that sounds a lot like Room On Fire (‘You’re So Right’), First Impressions Of Earth (‘Metabolism’ is the first cousin of ‘Heart In A Cage’) and then a classic rock shuffle, ‘Gratisfaction,’ which is as Billy Joel as they come. Unlike every other album in their back catalogue, there’s no definitive theme or direction here, which may be a by-product of the scattered recording sessions - or the group reportedly not liking each other. Some of these songs will end up sitting very nicely on a Strokes Greatest Hits when they next decide to tour the world and make sacks full of cash; notably ‘Macchu Pichu’ (which everyone spent so much time stealing from blogs that they forgot to actually listen to it) and ‘Games’, which utilises icy keyboards as an opening for a brilliantly elastic groove.

Even when Casablancas is off on another planet, the band are still tighter than Tupperware. And that’s what The Strokes are really about.

Jonno Seidler

only occasionally into the shadowy discordance of Living Thing, Gimme Some also features some of PB&J’s best melodies.

The clever, strutting verses of ‘Second Chance’ and the ‘Call Me Al’-jauntiness of ‘Dig A Little Deeper’ demand repeat listens for the sheer joy of hearing the tunes – effortlessly delivered, but carefully crafted. Special mention should be made of John’s drumming, which imbues every track with its own character and mood, from the breezy Bo Diddley swagger of ‘Eyes’ to the motorik ticking that drives the epic, Neu!-ish closer ‘I Know You Don’t Love Me’ and the fill-happy double-time smash of ‘Breaker Breaker’.

Not to be outdone, Yttling makes a neat bass groove shimmer on ‘May Seem Macabre’, and there’s standout guitar work on every single track. ‘Black Book’, the apparent partner to ‘Breaker’ (both are 1.5 minute garage-punk kiss-offs – the latter to critics, the former to fellow musos), hurls itself into a spiral of squealing solos and noise towards the end.

Caitlin Welsh

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS

MIND OVER MATTER

All Eternals Deck Merge/Remote Control

Just Like Fireworks I Forget, Sorry / Other Tongues

John Darnielle is without a doubt one of the finest songwriters working right now - a true American novelist in a self-imposed prison of concise meter, eschewing self-pity and echoing Dave Eggers’ gift for converting despair and desperation into wryly poetical proclamations about redemption and resilience. While his creative output makes James Franco look lazy, I’m yet to find anyone who minds that he’s averaging an album a year these days.

There are more elaborate arrangements and production here than we’re perhaps used to on Goats albums – lots of strings (often sounding strangely detached from the guitars), including the mariachi flourishes of ‘Age of Kings’. The roadroughened backing vocals on ‘High Hawk Season’, halfway between monastic chant and ‘Rawhide’-aping Americana rumble, add a thematic dimension to a song already soaked in Darnielle’s trademark gravitas, adding more voices, both literally and figuratively, to his relentlessly personal narrative.

Darnielle’s pathological aversion to cliché feels slightly dulled here, in favour of a more cohesive thematic arc within each song. That said, there’s a distinctive country tinge to some of the tracks - the spaghetti-Western sounds on ‘Kings’ and ‘High Hawk Season’, or an unobtrusive slide guitar on ‘Never Quite Free’ - that suggests the band are finally experimenting a little with genre. “If you want to conjure up a ghost / Cultivate a space for the things that hurt you most,” Darnielle suggests on piano ballad ‘Outer Scorpion Squadron’ - one of many couplets forming an uncharacteristic running commentary on his own muse.

Hip hop is Outsider Music. It evolved out of earlier African-American art forms, and just like jazz or the blues it reflects social and cultural disenfranchisement that you or I will hopefully never be able to comprehend, as well as the everyday exposure to poverty, drugs and violence caused by being disconnected from your own society. It's always difficult for middleclass white Australian kids to share in this particular cultural experience, and as a result the vast majority of Aussie hip hop is ephemeral, dominated by self-perpetuating party anthems and self-mythologising ‘hard road’ narratives. It’s not always the fault of the artist – the local scene has been subsumed into the broader musical landscape, and has to compete with all the other acts playing wall-to-wall festival anthems.

Mind Over Matter’s second album has its fair share of these moments, but on the whole it's a strong effort.

Willow and Smiles Again are very capable MCs, although their excellent flow is let down by their tendency to go for the obvious rhyme and their penchant for toilet humour. That’s not a unique flaw, many MCs do the same, but it always pisses me off.

The strongest parts of this album are the instrumentals, and it’s clear that MOM’s experience hosting mixtapes holds them in good stead. ‘This Wonderful Life’ sounds uncannily like ‘Shipping Up To Boston’ by The Dropkick Murphys and allows the MCs to showcase their strong sense of rhythm, while ‘Rappers In Wonderland’ may well be The Crystal Method remixing the Mission: Impossible theme. And it’s awesome.

All Eternals Deck piles glory on top of glory. Comforting, stirring and life-affirming – as usual.

There are excellent moments here, and then some less excellent ones.

Either way, remember the name Mind Over Matter - I'd say they're ones to watch.

Caitlin Welsh

Hugh Robertson

Self-Titled EP Independent With a band name like that, lyrical preoccupations with poorlydentured voodoo freaks are a given; and with Eddy Current Suppression Ring’s Mikey Young on mixing duties, it’s guaranteed that this band’s presentation will be t’riffic and taut.

After that, it falls to the craftsmen themselves to serve up a slab that lives within these bounds, yet flashes us something more. And with their debut

24 :: BRAG :: 404 :: 21:02:11

EP, The Go Roll Your Bones have done just that.

‘Kingdom’ screams open this release, with the repeated phrasing somehow sustaining the intense breathlessness of the track. But frustratingly, the freak-out moments throughout the record are overplayed. Delivered selectively they hit you square in the gut, forcing a step back – but all the power starts to softly sleep amongst derivative mentions of “The son of gin, whisky, rum and bourbon,” and yet another mad demon woman.

Full gratitude that this isn’t yet another Australian act excising the memory of dance music, though; this is a band that clearly takes their craft seriously

Fabric 55 I Like The Noise It Makes

This is, instead, a quiet and meditative acoustic album, mostly Mascis and an acoustic guitar with some friends (Kurt Vile, Kevin Drew of Broken Social Scene, Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell) roped in for some decorative overdubs. As such, the only sonic connection between this and Dinosaur Jr. is Mascis’ distinctive husky voice, which is paired with ten taut, well-constructed country-tinged folk songs (importantly, there are no drums here, which lends it a back-porch vibe).

The highlights are, of course, very good – ‘Is It Done’ and ‘Not Enough’ have memorable melodies and enough extra instrumentation to keep things interesting (including some grungey feedback and a very Mascis-y solo on ‘Is It Done’ – perhaps a nod to the Dinosaur Jr. fans who will likely be this album’s primary audience). The problem is that Several Shades Of Why varies little and, aside from the dark closing pair of ‘Can I’ and ‘What Happened’, most of the songs blend into each other.

In his latest left turn, the Dinosaur Jr. frontman has turned down the volume - and there's a great deal of riches to be found.

Chad Parkhill

and can throw down some solid licks live. Still, it’s possible to pursue such a particular bent and make it throb, rather than chug along.

Closing number ‘Bones’ possesses a hustle and fearless shredding that nails the vision of The Go Roll Your Bones.

Insistent shouting never stumbles into vaudeville, while it reaches for the raggedly grand. Staggering up for one last thrust, it’s a damn shame that it takes until last drinks for the boys to show us what kind of power they’re really packing. But it’s worth the wait.

See them live, and buy ‘em a damn drink. They’ve earned it.

Benjamin Cooper

SHACKLETON

Several Shades Of Why Sub Pop/Inertia The cover of J Mascis’s debut solo record is deceptive. In its goofy sub-Grateful Dead style, it hearkens back to the equally goofy cover of Dinosaur Jr.’s latest record, Farm (you know, the one with the stoned-looking anthropomorphic trees carrying the equally stoned-looking hot babes out of the polluted city). You might be forgiven for thinking that you know how this album might play out, but Several Shades Of Why is far removed from the genre-defining indie-rock Mascis is known for.

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK THE GO ROLL YOUR BONES

J MASCIS

Sam Shackleton can't be neatly packaged within the confines of any particular genre.

Though he’s been an integral figure in the rise of the dubstep scene - see his work running the now defunct Skull Disco label alongside Appleblim - Shackleton has recently released on Berlin minimal techno bastion Perlon - and then there’s also Villalobos’ unforgettable 18-minute remix of his post 9/11 (anti)anthem, ‘Blood On My Hands’, to consider. Helming his own Fabric mix - a clubbing brand normally associated with house and techno oeuvres - Shackleton follows the lead of Villalobos and Omar-S by crafting a compilation comprised entirely of his own material, some of which is previously unreleased. And like the aforementioned mixes, the result is a masterwork that is far more indelible than your ‘typical mix CD’. 22 tracks are seamlessly suffused into 80 minutes of haunting, skeletal soundscapes where percussive interludes, truncated samples and narcoleptic basslines coalesce and refract in polyrhythmic tremors, the track markings almost incidental, since no specific moments seem more or less vital than others.

This is an immersive sonic encounter, which affirms just why Villalobos possesses such a fondness for Shackleton. He showcases frequencies that transfix and hypnotise rather than impose or dominate, cultivating a listening experience that is both opiate and ethereal and, ultimately, distinctive and memorable. Fabric 55 can and should be approached as both an artist album and a mix CD, but though it challenges conventional sonic taxonomy - Dubstep? Minimalist?

Techno?! - appreciating its brilliance is a far more simple task.

An essential purchase for Shackleton neophytes, ardent dubstep fans and electronic aficionados alike.

Chris Honnery

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

NATE DOGG - Music & Me DESTROYER - Destroyer's Rubies DIANA ROSS - Diana

JEBEDIAH - Slightly Odway BEIRUT - The Flying Club Cup

snap sn ap Remedy

up all night out all week . . .

More than The Cure since 1989 with Murray Engleheart

RIP STANLEY

book, tour programs, ticket stubs, a vinyl version of the St Louis Killer show, and a 7” of Alice’s early band The Nazz’s ‘Wonder Who’s Lovin’ Her Now’ and ‘Lay Down & Die, Goodbye’. No huge cigar - the classic albums by the original band who, for us at least, rivalled or even eclipsed the New York Dolls for greatness, would be very cool at some point - but it still beats the pants off Iggy and The Stooges’ Raw Power deluxe set, don’t it?

garden music

PICS :: RR

MANOWAR

13:03:11 :: Goverment House :: Mrs Macquaries Rd 99315222

Owsley “Bear” Stanley, who virtually invented the global acid culture in the ‘60s, has been killed in car accident in North Queensland, where he had been living for the past 20 years or so. Stanley was an integral part of the Grateful Dead family and it was his chemistry skills that took the band from a garage RnB unit to a fire-breathing, free-wheeling LSD-charged beast. He was a sound technology genius too, and designed the Dead’s legendary late ‘70s wall of sound PA. His influence stretched past Haight Ashbury, however.

According to legend, the chemicals he produced were so magical that, besides fuelling The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, Jimi Hendrix wrote ‘Purple Haze’ in honour of them while Blue Cheer took their name from Stanley’s lab product. Oh, and Stanley ate nothing but meat. What a man. We actually met Stanley about six years ago in Utopia Records in Sydney.

Standing at the counter we overheard a nugget of a guy talking in an American accent about The Allman Brothers and Janis Joplin. Intrigued, we went over and introduced ourselves. We nearly fell over when the gentleman greeted us warmly and introduced himself. How often do you stumble across a one-man historychanging counterculture during your lunch break? He was making jewellery in North Queensland including beautiful but hardly inexpensive Grateful Dead items, and gave us one of his business cards, and later happily fielded various queries by email. A truly extraordinary moment in our lives.

OLD SCHOOL

There’s been an Alice Cooper box set previously, namely 1999’s The Life and Crimes Of; but in June comes a much prettier (if way more curious) effort, with the limited edition (of course) Old School box set, packaged in a kinda three-dimensional version of the cover of the School’s Out album. Included are four discs from 19641974. That is: 1) demos, rarities, live stuff and ads; 2) demos from the Muscle Of Love and School’s Out albums and a live track from Madison Square Garden in 1973, plus more ads; 3) Spoken word from 2010/2011 (which is kinda weird, but anyway…); and 4) a live show from the 1971 Killer tour in St. Louis. There’s also a two-hour DVD, a 64-page hardcover

MAIDEN OVERKILL

Iron Maiden are doing yet another Best Of? Really? Um… Why? How many does one need?

DAVE BROCK X BRUBECK

Brother Michael Keating had a chat with Dave Brock after the Hawkwind show the other night and The Brockster he said he’s shortly going to be recording with Eric Clapton, Lemmy and lightweight jazzbo legend Dave Brubeck. As one does.

CHARLIE SHEEN

Charlie Sheen, the man who seems intent on becoming Hollywood’s latest GG Allin, has been providing some great news copy lately, and we’d like to thank him for this little nugget although we’re not sure how recent it is. “Slash sat me down at his house and said, ‘You’ve got to clean up your act.’ You know you’ve gone too far when Slash is saying, ‘Look, you’ve got to get into rehab.’”

SMILE SESSIONS

The Beach Boys’ Smile Sessions is being released as a twin-disc set, a digital album and a deluxe, limited-edition box set that’s pumped up to include ‘early song drafts, alternate takes, instrumental and vocalsonly mixes, and studio chatter.’ The late Dennis Wilson said of the album, back in 1966, “In my opinion [Smile] makes Pet Sounds stink – that’s how good it is.”

ON THE TURNTABLE

PICS :: OK

karoshi

We seem to recall that Motörhead once blew out the power for an entire suburb in Wales – and now Manowar have done something similar in Cleveland, where they melted one of the city’s power grids during a recent soundcheck.

12:03:11 :: Tone :: 116 Wentworth Ave Surry Hills

On the Remedy turntable is Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffitti, which despite its power has always sounded very muddy to our lugs – certainly nowhere near as crisp as Led Zep 4. We still reckon Robert Plant over-sings to hell too, with about ten thousand too many ‘baby baby babies’ for our liking – which, to be honest, is the reason we don’t play as much Zep as we otherwise would or should. A mighty album this, though. Also going round and round is Motörhead’s most satisfying but very rarely spoken of Rock and Roll album. Good stuff.

henry rollins 09:03:11

PICS :: TL

TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS

:: The Gaelic Theatre :: 64 Devonshire St Surry Hills 92111687

:: ASHLEY MAR :: PATRICK S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) TRAMONTE :: DANIEL MUNNS :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER TOM :: NA HAN ROU ETTE Y :: ROU STEVENSON :: THOMAS PEACHE K WAL MICHAEL KILLALEA :: THOMAS

To mark the release of 3 Toed Sloth’s Against The Odds double-7”, which has laid dormant and unreleased since it was recorded in the early ‘90s, the Sydney trio (which features Tom from feedtime) play a one-off show on April 23 at Clovelly Bowling Club. It’ll be their first gig in over 17 years. Fans include the doyen of the global underground, Byron Coley, and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. Melbourne’s hypnotic synth and percussion duo Fabulous Diamonds are also on the bill, as are Bits Of Shit, Brisbane’s Meat Thump, Exiles from Clowntown and Rock Boycott. Get in quick for the Sloth release though - only 295 copies were pressed. Repressed Records at Newtown have it, though.

Deniz Tek, Leadfinger and a new outfit, the magnificently named Shit Creek, are at the Sando in Newtown on March 31.

Portland’s fuzzed-up popsters Eat Skull and Brisbane’s Slug Guts are hitting local roads in April with a show at the Sando on April 17, with Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys. It’ll be the album launch for Slug Guts’ newie, Howlin’ Gang.

That Pete Wells memorial gig is on at the Sando on March 27 from 4-8pm, with Wellsy’s friends, band mates and special guests.

Send stuff to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to art@thebrag www.myspace.com/remedy4rock BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 25

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jamie lidell 11:03:11

:: The Factory :: 105 Victoria Road Enmore 95503666

Benefit Gig for HRAFF party profile

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hot damn

10:03:11 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93316245

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10:03:11 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown 9550 3666

ill bill 10:03:11

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mgmt

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up all night out all week . . .

:: The Gaelic Theatre :: 64 Devonshire St Surry Hills 92111687

It’s called: Benefit Gig for Human Rights It sounds like: Mumford and Sons-esque indie folk, mixed with lo fi rock and a dash of fierce drums.

Who’s playing? Patrick James with Rargo, The Jones Rival, Catherine Traicos, James the Grey, Ziggy and Wild Drums.

Sell it to us: The Annual Human Rights Arts and Film Festival is bringing you a little treat early this year – a benefit gig to raise awareness for the festival. With live music from a host of up-and-coming acts, as well as art for sale, HRAFF is bringing you all the things we love about the festival on a single Tuesday evening!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Winning some awesome raffle prizes including festival tickets, wine and Belvoir Theatre passes.

Crowd specs: People who like art, tunes, and humans.

Wallet damage: $10 concession, $12.50 adult, Groups (5 people) $45.

Where: Hermann’s Bar / Cnr City Rd and Butlin Ave, Darlington

:: ASHLEY MAR :: PATRICK S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) TE :: DANIEL MUNNS :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MON TRA TOM :: NA HAN ETTE ROU STEVENSON :: SUSAN BUI :: ROU K WAL MICHAEL KILLELEA :: THOMAS

26 :: BRAG :: 404: 21:03:11

void ft. cyrus

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When: March 22, 6.45pm til late

11:03:11 :: Hermann’s :: Cnr City Rd & Butlin Ave Darlington 95636102

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:: The Metro Theatre :: 624 George St City 92642666

hawkwind

10:03:11

:: Manning Bar :: Sydney Uni City Rd Chippendale 95636107

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the besnard lakes

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belle & sebastian

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up all night out all week . . .

11:03:11 :: Manning Bar :: @ Sydney Uni City Rd Chippendale 95636107

party profile

Teleprompter, Hey Fever & Where’s Jerome It’s called: Teleprompter, Hey Fever & Where’s Jerome - FREE!

It sounds like: Indie-pop rock that'll make you nod your head, clap your hands and maybe even have a little boogie on the dance floor.

Who’s playing? Teleprompter, Hey Fever, and Where’s Jerome Sell it to us: It’s a free gig on a Thursday night! What else are you going to do?

Sit around at home and watch re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond? Carpe diem, man! Let’s party!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: You’ll be whistling the catchy melodies of your new favourite songs.

Crowd specs: Cool dudes that like to high-five other cool dudes while drinking a cheeky pre-weekend brew.

Wallet damage: None! It’s freer than walking around without underpants on a windy day.

Where: Oxford Art Factory, Gallery Bar / 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst

:: ASHLEY MAR :: PATRICK S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) TE :: DANIEL MUNNS :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MON TRA TOM :: NA HAN ETTE ROU STEVENSON :: SUSAN BUI :: ROU K WAL MICHAEL KILLELEA :: THOMAS

black cab

PICS :: TL

When: Thursday March 24, 8pm

10:03:11 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93323711 BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 27

live reviews What we've been to see...

The Factory Theatre Wednesday March 9

The early Scottish settlers of the South Island would never have foreseen that their descendents would be antipodean originators of drone-pop with a post-punk DIY ethic. But then, the blossoming of New Zealand’s underground music scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s would have been difficult to predict, even if you were there at the beginning. Brothers David and Hamish Kilgour (guitar and drums in The Clean, respectively), and bassist Robert Scott were there when it all started; they’ve been active in various projects since The Clean began in Dunners in 1979, and Scott is a prolific and capable solo artist in his own right. All of that may explain why last week’s Factory gig - part of The Clean’s first Australian tour since 1989 - lacked the grim, retirementfundraising atmosphere of recent postpunk reunion tours (are your ears burning, Frank Black et al?)

Sonny and the Sunsets (US) put on a very pleasant opening set with their twangy guitars, folksy tambourine and old-timey handclaps. Mid-set, I was surprised to recognise the jangly ‘Too Young to Burn’, which sounded a bit like Jared Swilley singing Spinal Tap’s ‘Listen to the Flower People’ and was just as good as that would be. Hamish Kilgour wandered out in a cowboy hat disguise to take a gander, and it’s not surprising.

If second support acts are normally this good I’ve been doing gigs wrong.

Next up was Smudge, an on-again offagain Sydney institution. There was a nice cover of ‘The Outdoor Type’, a nod to the band’s eternal association with Evan Dando and The Lemonheads – but otherwise their set this evening needed what a Frenchwoman might call a certain something or other‌

(UK)

The Clean opened with ‘Fish’, a short, droney, surf-rock instrumental, while at the back of the stage a large screen showed fluorescent images of somebody stumbling around a rocky beachhead, which seemed appropriate somehow.

Early on there were a lot of calls for ‘Tally Ho!’ and ‘Beatnik!’, but the cymbalsmash-smash beginning ‘Point That Thing Somewhere Else’ seemed like a cue for the crowd to settle down and take what we were given. And we were given a dreamy set of drone-psychedelia. The band even got around to ‘Tally Ho!’ in an encore – cut short, from the looks of things, by a faulty guitar lead. And then The Clean were gone. No surprises, just a joyous, thoughtful performance from a solid garage band still getting a kick out of it, 30 years on.

(USA)

Zoe Roberts

WAVVES, MAGIC KIDS

Manning Bar, Sydney University Wednesday March 9

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Up against Belle & Sebastian and Joanna Newsom in an event-filled Sydney night, the Wavves show at Manning seemed like an easy choice for anyone looking for music that didn’t require the wearing of decorative scarves and nodding sympathetically over Murakami novels. But when I got to the door, there was a distinct lack of expectant ‘fuck-you’ in the air.

Where were the kids? Mere smatterings of punters hovered around the floor, standing in closed circles or sparsely lining the front barrier. Magic Kids jangled through their set regardless, though their conceptually grand indie-pop ideas rarely came to fruition - especially since every single member sang out of key for the most part.

That said, towards the end of the set when the band took a step back and played some simpler music, it showed the strong pop sensibilities that were lost in their earlier ramblings.

But as soon as NWA’s ‘Fuck The Police’ came through the speakers, people flocked from everywhere and Wavves strolled on stage – and by the second song, crowdsurfers were already kicking unsuspecting punters in the head. ‘Take On The World’ and ‘King Of The Beach’ set the tone early with simple, infectious riffs causing turbulent happiness in the crowd - and it wasn’t long before some of the more adventurous began storming the stage and

flinging themselves back into the arms of the welcoming pit.

Ducking a kiss from a female fan and dodging the constant throng of stagedivers, Nathan Willams and the band tore through the mid-set with ‘To The Dregs’ from his self-titled 2009 effort and ‘Idiot’ from his most recent LP, before launching himself into the crowd during ‘Super Soaker’. This got the attention of the security staff, with one over-zealous bloke setting himself a personal mission to kick the hell out of the next kid who strayed too near. Unfortunately this occurred during the finale of ‘Green Eyes’ and ‘Post-Acid’, and the band stopped in amazement as the Securilla wrestled with a skinny teen.

Beaten back by a barrage of bottles, security eventually (and wisely) relented, and let Wavves play on.

Forget all the terms like ‘surf-rock revival’ and ‘slacker stoner rock’ tossed around to describe Wavves. This was a night of pure garage punk.

Rick Warner

GARDEN MUSIC Government House Sunday March 13

With sprawled-out, hungover twentysomethings littered between chilled-out families and Dora the Explorer lookalikes, this sundrenched midday at Government House screamed Rancho Relaxo. A twee bubble of Sunday delight, 2011’s festival saw a distinctly younger, trendier indie line-up compared to 2009’s family-friendly roots, blues and folk. There, I said it; Garden Music got cool.

Around midday, the croon of the costumed chanteuse Ngaiire alerted wanderers to an inimitable sound, charming early onlookers up the lawns, over the hill, and through the croquet hoops. Sydney-based eight-piece hip hop outfit First Flight Crew aptly suited up with Aussie B-boy Morganics, and were followed by the sweetened condensed milk of Sydney songbird Lanie Lane. A dash of Pimms and the singalong sounds of ‘What Do I Do’ were shaping up the perfect Sunday clichĂŠ, despite Lane’s dig - “We may as well call this a mini-festival, because that’s what it is.â€?

Sydney five-piece Deep Sea Arcade admirably managed to lure dedicated fools into the searing sunshine, with their charming brand of Magical Mystery Touresque hazey pop. Speckling unreleased tracks between the jaunty twang of ‘Don’t Be Sorry’ and ‘Lonely In Your Arms’, the sweat-drenched crew toted a cuter-thanhedgehogs array of colourful pedals, with frontman Nic McKenzie reminding himself not to “keep swearing in front of the children�.

After a wander through Government House, Jinja Safari saw an avalanche brave the blaze and gather for a loved-up melange of beats, coordinated audience dancing and general hullabaloo. With hit ‘Peter Pan’ causing Marcus Azon to monkey it up and climb the scaffolding, start a conga line, and cause screams of “My eyes are stinging with dance!�, not a frown besmirched the scene. But whether the decision to place jungle beats as the prequel to Jonathan Boulet’s headlining slot was an error in programming or a simple mistake of too much fun too soon, the energy was going to be difficult to top.

Still, the Sydney multitasker Boulet and his friends managed to hold onto the latestayers, and as tangerine rays of sunshine ripped open the 7pm daylight savings, picnics were packed and smiles pocketed as families and friends went home in blissful exhaustion.

Bridie Connellan

Garden Music photo by Tim Levy

THE CLEAN, SMUDGE, SONNY & THE SUNSETS

live reviews What we've been to see...

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE

OS MUTANTES/BEST COAST/RICHARD IN YOUR MIND

The Annandale Sunday March 6

Sporting short denim shorts, a pale complexion and black ringlets under a short-brimmed ranch hat, a smiling Lanie Lane looks every bit the tasteful Vargas cowgirl. With powerful vocals that lie between Janis Martin and Amy Winehouse, and jazz-and-blues-tinged country tunes, the sense of nostalgia permeating her impressive performance sits well with her look, as it entertains an increasingly expanding audience.

As the son of country music legend Steve Earle, Justin Townes Earle, the rakethin Tennessean bad boy of Americana, has something of a reputation to uphold.

Proceedings begin cautiously. For someone nominated by GQ magazine as one of the top 25 most stylish men in the world, JTE can have a disconcertingly awkward onstage manner. When his stooped gait combines with particular facial grimaces evoked by efficient guitar soloing, an almost dyspraxic stage presence evokes empathic discomfort amongst the audience – and at no time is this felt more acutely than at the beginning of the show.

Thankfully, as the performance progresses through slower renditions of favourites like ‘I Don’t Care’, ‘Mama’s Eyes’ and ‘One More Night in Brooklyn’, JTE loosens up. The performance reaches peak momentum when Earle showcases his blues capabilities in a remarkable cover of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ ‘Automobile Blues’. The energetic renditions of ‘South Georgia Sugar Babe’ and ‘Halfway to Jackson’ that follow confirm that JTE is in his element – and show off just how fortunate he is to be accompanied by fiddle player Josh Hedley. Hedley’s subtle support enlivens JTE’s well-constructed songs, the sensitivity of his amazingly attuned finger picking and staccato fiddle jabs a highlight of the show.

Despite – or maybe on account of – producing endearing music, Earle (like Ryan Adams) comes across as distinctly unlikable. Throughout the performance, he carefully adheres to his rebel-without-acause schtick, with tales of incarceration, substance use and infidelity flowing thick and fast. But JTE also has a fragility that begs compassion. The honesty with which he describes the labile nature of his relationships with his father, women, heroin, cocaine and alcohol reveals a little-boylost vulnerability of character that evokes pity. Earle possesses an authenticity that makes his music both sad, relatable and enjoyable, in a ‘you’re just as flawed as me’ kind of way. “Yeah, I know the troubles that plague a troubled mind / But they can’t catch me I’m a wanderin’” he pines in ‘Wanderin’; and, as an audience, we well and truly believe him.

Enmore Theatre Wednesday March 9

MARK RONSON & THE BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL, ZOWIE Enmore Theatre Friday March 11

The vivacious synth-punk of Auckland native Zoe “Zowie” Fleury accompanies the masses as they file into a sold-out Enmore.

Channelling the black leather-clad style of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O, Zowie’s clipped, rapid-fire vocals land somewhere between Toni Basil, Lykke Li, Alison Mosshart and Sleigh Bells’ Alexis Krauss, whilst her electro beats and pop melodies are reminiscent of how the eighties thought the future would sound. A miniscule powerhouse, Fleury’s enthusiastic presence fills the stage and encourages audience members to limber up.

Mark Ronson and the core of his Business International take the stage in a spaceship-like configuration that would make Captain Kirk jealous. Sophie Ellis Bextor doppelganger Rose Elinor Dougall and MNDR, in her trademark thick, whiteframed glasses, both man a station of electrowizardry at either side of front of stage.

Meanwhile, Alex Greenwald (of Phantom Planet fame) is adjacent to the blondtipped, blue-suited Commander Ronson, who oversees the entire operation from his vantage point behind the main control desk.

The cheery synths of instrumental 'Circuit Breaker' peal out, and with bass decibels reverberating through plasma, the crowd’s quivering excitement is palpable. Then: surprise, it’s Spank Rock! Emerging from

Andrew Geeves

OMAR SOULEYMAN, JAMES LOCKSMITH, ALPS The Annandale Hotel Saturday March 12

It’s hardly necessary to know who Omar Souleyman is to dance yourself into a state of euphoric exhaustion, but it probably helps. Coming off the back of a turbocharged appearance at

The show has the structure, excitement and unpredictability of a variety hour. Covers, including highlights 'Just' (Radiohead) and 'Oh My God' (Kaiser Chiefs), take their place alongside album-faithful renditions of the majority of Record Collection. A mini live DJ set by Ronson in the middle of proceedings temporarily transforms the venue into a pulsating superclub, before Miike Snow frontman Andrew Wyatt springs out of nowhere to guest on tracks including ‘Animal,’ and The Supremes’ ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’.

The only weak link in tonight’s chain is a consistently out-of-time and out-of-tune MNDR. Her onstage flailing rapidly kills the vibe that Team Ronson has worked so hard to establish and highlights just how indebted Ronson’s production is to the mixed bag of guests with whom he collaborates. Fortunately, MNDR’s lacklustre effort is overshadowed by the collective talent gathered on stage, ensuring the Ronson Enterprise charters its course to a resoundingly successful performance.

Andrew Geeves

Best Coast’s performance generates a curious ripple effect. Embodiment-ofcool frontwoman Bethany Cosentino & Co. are giving it their all but the crowd is determinedly ambivalent. Panning the room, there is a distinct shift in punters’ facial expressions from intense delight up the front to intense boredom down the back. It’s not a bad set – hits ‘Boyfriend’, ‘Crazy For You’ and ‘When I’m With You’ are received particularly well – but it is certainly divisive. Whether it’s their particular style of music, the mono-dimensional nature of their sound this evening, or a combination of both, audience enjoyment seems to be in direct proportion to level of dedicated fandom. Hardy enthusiasts are revelling and rewarded whilst those only vaguely familiar with the LA trio seem untouched and unimpressed.

A Star Wars-worthy fanfare sounds, and the silhouettes of Os Mutantes emerge against a swirling background of red and blue lights. Lit up, a youthful, seven-piece reconfiguration of the colourful Brazilian supergroup - led by the group’s original founder and phoenix of the Tropicalia movement, Sergio Dias Baptista – resemble what you might see if you ran into half of The Polyphonic Spree after ingesting very strong acid. Resplendently multicoloured robes, a menagerie of instruments (including what appears to be a horn made out of a hose), oompah-pah cross-rhythms and dissonant harmonies all combine to completely and utterly saturate the senses. Particularly in his guitar solos, Baptista displays the vitality of a man half his age, and his band and audience delight in feeding off it. Undoubtedly, the highlight of the evening is the instant time travel resulting from numbers from the band’s first incarnation, such as ‘Panis et Circenses’ and ‘A Minha Menina’. ‘Neurociência do Amor’ and ‘Querida Querida’, both from 2009’s Haih Or Amortecedor, seem bland and generic in comparison. Os Mutantes demonstrate that there is a distinct advantage to liking their old stuff better than their new stuff. Luckily, there’s a lot of their old stuff to go around.

Andrew Geeves

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: Ashley Mar

WOMADELAIDE the night before, the number one pop star of his native Syria (selfproclaimed – not that you’d want to argue) was snubbed

by Sydney audiences tonight, the Annandale’s normally grindingly claustrophobic main bar being criminally under capacity.

Whether this was due to Souleyman’s late booking (possible), lack of publicity (probable) or simple lack of interest amongst punters remains open to debate.

OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: Michael Killalea

the wings to guest on a relentlessly bass-driven 'Lose It,' the Philadelphian MC receives a warm welcome. Greenwald takes the lead for 'Bike Song' before handing over to Dougall for 'Hey Boy.' Both have slightly pitchy vocals but the crowd is too busy dancing to care.

Whoever decided these three bands should appear on the same bill deserves canonisation.

Phwoar! What a line-up. And given the consistent quality of their highly entertaining sets, I’m choosing to believe Richard In Your Mind rocking the fuck out with their unique blend of nouveau-psychedelic wackiness caused the power outage on the Inner West train line that made me miss their set.

The sparse attendance aside, proceedings weren’t helped much tonight by some rickety support.

DJ James Locksmith spent much of his first hour spinning various Middle Eastern flavoured dance and ambient tracks to a few early birds. Not exactly a drawcard, but it did provide the soundtrack to a gratifying hour’s lounge. Less so was Alps, whose guitar work may well have been fine ‘n dandy were it not for the fact that the instrument was painfully out of tune – a shame, considering the vigour of his loop-based keyboard tracks.

Whether because of technical difficulties or the vain hope that the venue might fill up at the last minute, it wasn’t until forty minutes after his scheduled start time that Souleyman finally took the stage, Locksmith’s interim efforts at the laptop unable to prevent the natives from getting pretty restless.

Fortunately they all had ample opportunity to burn away the twitches within the first five minutes of Omar Souleyman’s frenetic and at times glitteringly discordant music.

Planting himself in the middle of stage, Omar calmly watched the mayhem developing below him as regal as any monarch surveying his realm, with his static presence resplendently attired in a checkered keffiyeh (a Yasser Arafat-style head scarf), dark round eye-glasses, with a slight paunch nudging

against his djellaba (ankle to neck length robe). Souleyman was joined on stage only by composer and synth player Rizan Sa’id, an impassive-faced dynamo, whose approach to the traditional dabke involves injecting it with steroids and setting it loose with a machinegun beat, as the sounds of the village are transmogrified into dancefloor crack. It’s impossible to simply stand and listen to Omar; the urge to throw oneself around like a lunatic is far too great. Those lucky enough to attend this curiously bungled evening did so with glee.

Oliver Downes

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 29

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

pick of the week Oh Mercy

TUESDAY MARCH 22 ROCK & POP

Adam Pringle and Friends Downstairs Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Chris Isaak (USA), Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows State Theatre, Sydney $107.27 (silver)–$137.96 (gold) 7pm Franky Valentyn Novotel Homebush, Homebush Bay free 4.30pm Lionel Richie (USA), Guy Sebastian Sydney Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park $108.15 (silver)–$251.70 (premium) 7pm Matt Jones The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm New Navy, Boats of Berlin, Wolves At The Door Brass Monkey, Cronulla 7pm Ruby Wilde, Larykan, John Vella Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Songsalive Dee Why Hotel free 6.30pm Steve Tonge O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm They Call Me Bruce Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm

JAZZ

Fiona Joy Hawkins, Bill Risby, Steve Clisby The Basement, Circular Quay $37.50 (+ bf) 9.30pm A Little Lunch Music: Kathryn Selby, Niki Vasilakis, Julian Smiles City Recital Hall, Sydney $12 12.30pm all ages The MFW, The Adam Ensemble 505 Club, Surry Hills 8pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

FRIDAY MARCH 25

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst

Oh Mercy, Gossling $17 (+ bf) 8pm

MONDAY MARCH 21 ROCK & POP

3 Way Split Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10pm Bernie The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm QUAKE AID: Jon Stevens, Jenny Morris, Dragon, Jade MacRae, Dog Trumpet, Steve Kilbey, Damien Leith, Wes Carr, Rai Thistlethwayte Clovelly RSL Club $50 (+ bf) 6pm

Jim Gannon Dee Why Hotel free 6.30pm Open Mic Night Macquarie Arms Hotel, Windsor free 7pm Stone Temple Pilots (USA), Redcoats Metro Theatre, Sydney $89.60–$200 (+ bf) 7.30pm Unherd Open Mic: Derkajam Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm

JAZZ

Jazz @ The Wall Live at the Wall, Leichhardt free 6pm New Orleans Rebirth Brass Band

State Theatre, Sydney $85 (B Res)–$120 (A Res) 7.30pm Open Mic & Jazz/Latin Jam Session: Daniel Falero, Pierre Della Putta, Phil Taig, Rinske Geerlings, Ed Rapo El Rocco Jazz Cellar, Woolloomooloo free 7pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Songsalive! Nick Coady, Hugo Yap, Chris Brookes, Russell Neal Kellys on King, Newtown free 7pm Songwriter Sessions Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills free 7.30pm

50 First Dates: Dan Parsons, Steve Grady Live At The Wall, Leichhardt free

WEDNESDAY MARCH 23 ROCK & POP

2days Hits O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm Andy Mammers Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm Ben Finn Duo Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free A Benefit For Christchurch: The Bodacious Cowboys The Basement, Circular Quay $20 9.30pm Bernie Segedin Dee Why Hotel free 6.30pm Black Devil Yard Boss, The Delta Riggs Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm Bones Atlas, Faint Hearts Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Chris Isaak (USA), Joe Camilleri & The Black Sorrows State Theatre, Sydney $107.27 (silver)–$137.96 (gold) 7pm David Agius Novotel Homebush, Homebush Bay free 4.30pm The Frank Bennett Affair Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Gemma The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm

Lionel Richie Inner City Crepes, Gawk, Shady May, Toy Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills $10 8pm Inner West Fest Band Comp: The Ravenous Rabbits, Jugu, The Deltores, Ramshackle Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $5 8pm Jo Elms Duo Ettamogah Pub, Kellyville free 6.30pm The Lincoln Davis Trio The Vanguard, Newtown $8 (+ bf)–$37 (dinner & show) 6.30pm Mandi Jarry Northies, Cronulla free 7.30pm Matt Jones Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Nag Champa Marble Bar, Sydney free 9.30pm Orca! Straight Ahead, Big Dumb Kid, Simo Soo, Operation Stackhat Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Royal Australian Navy Chamber Ensemble St James’ Church, Sydney free 1.15pm The Study: The Dirty Grotto, I Junk, Sodomiser, Remo Street, Ghostgun Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills free 6pm The Trews (Canada), Chase The Sun, Sunset Riot Annandale Hotel $13.30 (presale)–$18.40 (incl CD) 7.30pm YourSpace Muso Showcase Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 7pm

JAZZ

Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm Rootbeet featuring Frank Bennett Downstairs Sanringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Sunset Jazz: Sydney Uni Jazz Society Hermann’s, Darlington free 6pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Open Mic Night Coach and Horses Hotel, Randwick free 8pm Pave Leclair El Rocco Jazz Cellar, Woolloomooloo free 8pm Tim Walker Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 7.15pm Vassilis Lekkas, Yiannis Lardis, Georgia Lambri, Orchestra of the

Municipality of Nea Ionia, Stefanos Psaradakos Enmore Theatre $50 (+ bf) 8pm

THURSDAY MARCH 24 ROCK & POP

24 Reasons to Rock: Red Fire Red, Bedlam In Belgium, Miramar, Wil Maisey Band Annandale Hotel $10 8pm Andy Mammers Northies, Cronulla free 9.15pm Bonjah Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 (+ bf) 8pm Cambo The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Cloud Control, Jinja Safari, Fishing Metro Theatre, Sydney $30.70 8pm David Agius Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Gareth Liddiard, Dan Kelly The Factory Theatre, Enmore $25 (+ bf) 8pm Gary Johns Novotel Homebush, Homebush Bay free 4.30pm Gregory Page Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Hit Machine Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Hot Damn!: Hopeless Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 (with pass)–$15 8pm Johnathan Devoy Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm The Liks, Virginia Killstyxx Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Mandi Jarry Green Park Hotel, Darlinghurst free 7pm Michael McGlynn Greengate Hotel, Killara free 8pm Moto, The Young Docteurs, Eager 13 Sandringham Hotel, Newtown 8pm Nicky Kurta Duo Dee Why Hotel free 8.30pm Nobody Knew They Were Robots, Decision Was His, Thoughts Under Fire, Toy Temple Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills $10 8pm The Nuts Camden Valley Golf Resort, Catherine Field free 6.30pm

“It’s a tired bus station and an old pair of shoes This ain’t nothing but an invitation to the blue” - TOM WAITS 30 :: BRAG :: 404 : 21:03:11

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Pianoman The Loft, Darling Harbour free 6pm President Roots The Vanguard, Newtown $12 (+ bf)–$41 (dinner & show) 6.30pm Sam & Jamie Trio Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm Sarah Paton O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm Sharon Bowman Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm The Suspects Marble Bar, Sydney free 8.30pm Teleprompter, Hayfever, Where’s Jerome?

Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm

JAZZ

Abuka Trio, DJ Beth Yen Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross free 8pm Jazz Connection Lizotte’s Sydney $11-$21 6pm Lionel Robinson Dee Why Hotel free 7pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Bluehouse, Catherine Britt The Basement, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf) 8pm Tony McManus, Victor Monasterio Notes Live, Enmore $37.75– $60.20 (dinner & show) 7pm We Are the Bird Cage Raval, Surry Hills $10 (+ bf) 7.30pm

FRIDAY MARCH 25 ROCK & POP

2 Of Hearts Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm American Graffiti Ramsgate RSL, Ramsgate Beach free 8pm Andy Mammers Trio Opera Bar, Sydney Opera House free 5.30pm Angie Dean Greengate Hotel, Killara free 5pm Anton Korytnyj Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club, West Ryde free 8.30pm Ben Finn Castle Hill RSL Club free 9.30pm Big Radio Dynamite Bankstown Sports Club free 9pm Big Scary, The Honey Month, Step-Panther Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 (presale)–$15 (at door) 8pm Black Devil Yard Boss, The Delta Riggs Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Black Diamond Heart Club Crows Nest Hotel free 11.15pm Brown Sugar Marble Bar, Sydney free 9.30pm Cambo O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 8pm The Capitols Club Five Dock, Five Dock RSL free 8pm Chris Duke & The Royals, Major Keg, Ebolagoldfish Annandale Hotel $10 (+ bf) 7.30pm

Christchurch Fundraiser: Handasyd Williams & the Brother’s Primitive, Daddy Long Legs & The Swamp Donkeys, Chickenstones, Casey Fenton Manly Fisho’s 8pm Dan Lawrence Macquarie Hotel, Liverpool free 4.30pm FBi Social presents Dance to the Radio: Underlights, Sister Jane, Tin Sparrow, Brown Bear Black Bear, I Know Leopard, Glass Vaults Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst 8pm Daniel Lissings Crows Nest Hotel free 6pm Dave Cooke RG McGees Hotel, Richmond free 9pm Dave White Duo Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel free 7pm David Agius PJ Gallagher’s Drummoyne free10pm Deep Duo Pioneer Tavern, Penrith South free 8pm Delta Riggs Lansdowne Hotel free 8pm The Doobie Brothers (USA) Enmore Theatre $129.90 7pm Doug Williams Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8.30pm Dynamic Rock Rockdale RSL Club free 7.30pm Electric Horse, Adrift For Days, Beggars Orhestra, Mercury Sky Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills $15 8pm Electrical Storm & Today Wonder: Ed Kuepper, Mark Dawson The Basement, Circular Quay $30 (+ bf) 9.30pm

Endless Summer Commercial Hotel, Parramatta free 8pm Fran Workers Blacktown free 8pm Gary Johns Trio Kirribilli Hotel free 9.15pm GTS Club Rivers, Riverwood free 9pm Hat Trick Northies, Cronulla free 5.30pm House Vs Hurricane, Your Demise, Nazarite Vow Metro Theatre, Sydney $19 (+ bf) 8pm licensed all ages James Scott Hawkesbury Hotel, Windsor free 7.45pm Josh McIvor Parramatta RSL free 5pm K.P. Novotel Homebush, Homebush Bay free 4.30pm King Tide Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm La Vista Petersham RSL Club free 8.30pm Last Night: Cuthbert, Owl Eyes, Metals, Kill The Landlord, M.I.T., Minou, Wacks, Josh Kelly Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills $10 8pm Lawrence Baker Northies, Cronulla free 9pm The Lazys Caringbah Bizzo’s 8pm Lonnie Lee and The Leemen Lizotte’s Sydney $41 6pm Looking Through A Glass Onion: John Waters Campbelltown RSL $45 8pm Luke And Ben Duo Adams Tavern, Blacktown free 8.15pm Luke Dixon The Grand Hotel, Rockdale free 5.30pm

Brown Bear Black Bear

The Manly Fig: Kevin Bennett, Bella Hemming, Kinetic Method The Manly Fig $13 7.30pm all ages Matt Jones Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill free 8pm Matt Price Penrith Panthers free 6pm Mitchell Fingers Trio Rose of Australia Hotel, Erskineville 8pm MUM: Teleprompter, Hey Fever, The Cool Calm Collective, Doc Holliday Take The Shotgun, Rockets, Lovers Jump Creek, Violet Pulp, Claire The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm New Navy, Wolves At The Door, Spooky Land Raval, Surry Hills $10 (+ bf) 7.30pm Nicky Kurta Harbord Diggers Club free 3.30pm Nightshift Regents Park Sporting & Community Club free 7.30pm The Ninth Chapter 505 Club, Surry Hills free 8pm

Oh Mercy, Gossling Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $17 (+ bf) 8pm Paul Collins, The Zeros, Carrie Phyllis, The Downtown 3 Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $25 (+ bf)–$30 (at door) 8pm Phebe Starr, The Shooters Party, Whiskey Indian November, Face Down In The Fax Machine Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Rapture Brewhouse At St Mary’s, St Marys free 9.30pm Santana (USA), Watussi Sydney Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park $104–$164 7.30pm Sarah Paton, Rob Henry The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm Take Two Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club free 8.30pm They Call Me Bruce Ettamogah Pub, Kellyville free 6pm Tim Kendell Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm

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BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 31

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com The Tom & Dave Show Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 9pm Twilight at Taronga: Tribute To Fleetwood Mac Taronga Zoo, Mosman $56.50 (child)–$68.50 (adult) 7pm all ages We Are The Champions Queen Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 10pm Williams Brothers Duo PJ Gallagher’s Parramatta free 8.30pm

JAZZ

Jazz at 77: Rebekka Neville Trio Grace Hotel, Sydney free 6pm SIMA: The Richard Maegraith Band The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (member)–$20 8.30pm Soul Nights Tokio Hotel, Darling Harbour free 9pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Crooked Still (USA), Christof Notes Live, Enmore $39.80 (show only)–$62.25 (dinner & show) 7pm Martyn Wyndham-Read (UK), Iris Bishop Humph Hall, Allambie Heights $15–$25 (donation) 7pm

COUNTRY

John Williamson The Cube, Campbelltown $14 (member)–$37 7.15pm

SATURDAY MARCH 26 ROCK & POP

2 Fold Duo Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 7.30pm 2 Of Hearts Earlwood-Bardwell Park RSL Bowling Club free 8.30pm The 3 B’s Show Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club, West Ryde $15 (member)–$18 8pm Absolute Divas Blacktown RSL Club free 8pm Alphamama Tokio Hotel, Darling Harbour free 8pm The Amenta The Valve, Tempe 8pm Andy Mammers And Crash Avenue Crows Nest Hotel free 10.45pm Angie Dean Castle Hill RSL Club free 6.30pm At The Hop Rockdale RSL Club free 7.30pm Barnstorming Narrabeen RSL, North Narrabeen free Be Bop A Lula Ramsgate RSL, Ramsgate Beach free 8pm Ben Finn Brewhouse Marayong, Kings Park free 7.30pm Black Diamond Heart Club Golden Sheaf Hotel, Double Bay free 9pm Boy Meets Girl Petersham RSL Club free 8.30pm British Invasion: Dragon Auditorium, Workers Blacktown $40 7.30pm The Buddys Campbelltown RSL free 8.30pm Imperial Panda presents Cabinet: Claudia O’Doherty, La Tarantula, Uncle Jam The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $7 8pm Cambo PJ Gallagher’s Drummoyne free 10pm

32 :: BRAG :: 404 : 21:03:11

Caramel Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 10pm Come Back to Earth Caringbah Bizzo’s 8pm Creedence & Beyond Dundas Sports & Recreation Club free 9pm Dave Stevens, Dan Lawrence The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm David Agius Duo Penrith Panthers free 6pm Dead Letter Circus, Floating Me, Me, Self Is A Seed Metro Theatre, Sydney $27 (+ bf)–$33 (at door) 8pm Dirty Deeds – The AC/DC Show Ettalong Bowling Club $10 8pm The Dirty Love (Tas), Neon Heart, Mad Charlie, The Lazys Lucky Oz Tavern, St Marys $10 8pm Dora D Band Northies, Cronulla free 5.30pm Eclypse Workers Blacktown free 9pm Feral Swing Katz Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Finntroll (Finland), Claim the Throne, Bane of Isildur Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $45 (student)–$53 8pm Heath Burdell Northies, Cronulla free 8.45pm Inner City Warehouse Space DJ Rahaan (USA), People Must Jam DJs $25 (+bf) John Hill Penrith Panthers free 8.30pm Josh Mcivor Duo Mounties, Mount Pritchard free 8.30pm Keith Armitage Castle Hill RSL Club free 8pm Laneous & The Family Yah, Tuka Annandale Hotel $15 (+ bf) 8pm The Last Cavalry, Yardvark, Sons of Alamo, Stone Monks Excelsior Hotel, Surry Hills $12 8pm Latin Power Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club free 8.30pm Lawrence Baker Sir Joseph Banks Hotel, Botany free 7pm The Lazys The Lucky Australian, North St Marys 8pm Looking Through A Glass Onion: John Waters Castle Hill RSL Club $45 8pm Los Capitanes, Seek the Silence, The Dead Electric, Four Litre Friday Manly Fisho’s $10 8pm Lungs, Grim Fandango, Let Me Down Jungleman, Brave the Burrito Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Mandi Jarry Kirribilli Hotel free 9.15pm Millennium Bug Penrith RSL free 9pm Mr James Bankstown Sports Club free Musica in Extremis: Pivixki Campbelltown Arts Centre $18–$25 8pm New Empire, Luke & Joel, John Day Trio The Factory Theatre, Enmore $20 (+ bf) 8pm Nicky Kurta Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel free 4pm Nite Shift Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 9.30pm Only The Sea Slugs, The Jones Revival, The White Goods Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm

Pod Brothers Ettamogah Pub, Kellyville free 6.30pm Radio City Cats Marble Bar, Sydney free 10.30pm Rob Henry Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Rockin’ For Rights: Angry Anderson & The Junkyard Dogs, Peter Northcote & Odyssey Coogee Diggers $10 8pm Room 6, Hey Big Aki, Gaps at Sea, Our Monk The Lair, Metro Theatre, Sydney $10 (+ bf) 7.30pm Sam Ferraro, At The Hop Guildford Leagues Club free 8.30pm Shade Of Red Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm Sons of Mercury Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Super Florence Jam, The Salvagers, Where’s Jerome, Junk Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills $15 8pm Tall Pop Syndrome Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 10pm They Call Me Bruce PJ Gallagher’s Parramatta free 8pm Tice & Evans, Kaki Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Twilight at Taronga: Tribute To Fleetwood Mac Taronga Zoo, Mosman $56.50 (child)–$68.50 (adult) 7pm all ages Whiplash Festival: A World Less Cruel, Foundry Road, Ilcontent, Berserkerfox, Havoc, Infektion, Witchgrinder, Viral Millenium, Our Last Enemy, The Amenta Valve Bar, Tempe 2pm

Andy Mammers Duo The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm Antoine O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 4pm Black Devil Yard Boss, The Delta Riggs Old Manly Boatshed free 6pm Brett Every, The Catbirds Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 7pm Cambo Harbord Beach Hotel free 6pm Cryin’ Skies Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Dan Spillane Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 1pm Dave White Duo Northies, Cronulla free 2.30pm David Agius Crows Nest Hotel free 4pm Dead Letter Circus, Floating Me Caringbah Bizzo’s $18.40 (presale) 8pm The Detonators Petersham Bowling Club $15 6pm Dr Johnson, Wake The Giants, Zero Degrees, Alice VS Everything Valve Bar, Tempe 3pm Live Love Laugh St Laurence House Fundraiser The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $20–$25 6pm Los Skeletone Blues Lansdowne Hotel free 5pm

Mandi Jarry Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel free 4pm Matt Jones Novotel Homebush, Homebush Bay free 4pm Matt Price,White Brothers Ettamogah Pub, Kellyville free 1pm Mick Aquilina Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club free 4pm Mike Bennett, Rob Henry, Carl Fidler The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm Mineral Turbentine, Distract, Exit Row, Whiskey Smile, Carni Meat Luky Oz Tavern, St Marys $10 1pm all ages Nat Col & the Kings Annandale Hotel 12pm all ages Peter Morgan Band Woollahra Hotel free 6.30pm Pete Wells Memorial Concert: Lucy De Soto and Friends Downstairs Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Ron Ashton Ramsgate RSL, Ramsgate Beach free 2pm School Of Rock Showcase Valve Bar, Tempe 12pm Screaming Sunday Annandale Hotel $12 12pm all ages The Tom & Dave Show Northies, Cronulla free 6pm Tomcat Miller Trio Marrickville Bowling and Recreation Club free 8pm Unforgettable Campbelltown RSL free 5pm

JAZZ Blues Sunday: Mark Hooper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 6pm Jaded Vanities: Kira Puru & The Bruise, Drew Fairly The Vanguard, Newtown $20 6.30pm Jive Bombers Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, Bondi Junction free 6.30pm Ku-ring-gai Garden Festival: Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie, Tony Burkys St Ives Show Ground free-$8 10am all ages Shawnuff Swing Band Ryde Eastwood Leagues Club, West Ryde $10 (member)–$15 3pm The Subterraneans Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 6pm Unity Hall Jazz Band Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain free 4pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK 50 First Dates: Dan Parsons, Steve Grady Live at the Wall, Leichhardt free 8pm Cafe Carnivale: Sydney Balalaika Orchestra Barrenjoey Music Room, Avalon Beach $10 (child)– $20 6pm Christof Cat & Fiddle Hotel, Balmain $15–$20 6pm

gig picks up all night out all week...

JAZZ

French Cabaret Extravaganza Notes Live, Enmore 8pm The Idea of North Lizotte’s Sydney $39-$79 (dinner & show) 6pm Jive Bombers Ashfield RSL Club free 8pm Masterpiece Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain free 8pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 5pm SIMA: Ten Part Invention The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $15 (member)–$25 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Cool Room Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill free 9pm The Fagans Cat & Fiddle Hotel, Balmain $20–$25 7pm Leah Flanagan, Emma Donovan Camelot, Marrickville 8pm Luka Bloom (Ireland) Enmore Theatre $79.90 6.30pm

COUNTRY

John Williamson The Cube, Campbelltown $14 (member)–$37 7.15pm The McClymonts Penrith Panthers, Evans Theatre $36.50 7.30pm

SUNDAY MARCH 27 ROCK & POP

3 O’Clock Sunset Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Ace Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 7pm

Big Scary

MONDAY MARCH 21

THURSDAY MARCH 24

QUAKE AID (Christchurch fundraiser): Jon Stevens, Jenny Morris, Dragon, Jade MacRae, Dog Trumpet, Steve Kilbey, Damien Leith, Wes Carr, Rai Thistlethwayte Clovelly RSL Club $50 (+ bf) 6pm

Cloud Control, Jinja Safari, Fishing Metro Theatre, Sydney $30.70 (+ bf) 8pm

Stone Temple Pilots (USA), Redcoats Metro Theatre, Sydney $89.60–$200 (+ bf) 7.30pm

WEDNESDAY MARCH 23 50 First Dates: Dan Parsons, Steve Grady Live At The Wall, Leichhardt free

Gareth Liddiard, Dan Kelly The Factory Theatre, Enmore $25 (+ bf) 8pm

FRIDAY MARCH 25 Big Scary, The Honey Month, Step-Panther Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 (presale)–$15 (at door) 8pm The Doobie Brothers (USA) Enmore Theatre $129.90 7pm Last Night: Cuthbert, Owl Eyes, Metals, Kill The Landlord, M.I.T., Minou, Wacks, Josh Kelly

Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills $10 8pm

SATURDAY MARCH 26 Dead Letter Circus, Floating Me, [ME], Self Is A Seed Metro Theatre, Sydney $27 (+ bf)–$33 (at door) 8pm FBi Social presents Dance To The Radio: Underlights, Sister Jane, Tin Sparrow, Brown Bear Black Bear, I Know Leopard, Glass Vaults Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst 8pm Laneous & The Family Yah, Tuka Annandale Hotel $15 (+ bf) 8pm Luka Bloom (Ireland) Enmore Theatre $73.90 (+ bf) 8pm

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 33

club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

club pick of the week

The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Mush, Urby, El Mariachi free (student)–$5

FRIDAY MARCH 25

SATURDAY MARCH 26 Peanut Butter Wolf

The Basement, Circular Quay

Peanut Butter Wolf, James Pants, edseven, Sir Robbo, Prize, Sofie Loizou $20 (+ bf) 9.30pm MONDAY MARCH 21 Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Thank God It’s Monday Ajax, Nina Las Vegas, Alison Wonderland free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Mondays Mista Killa free

TUESDAY MARCH 22 Australian Museum Jurassic Lounge $15 5.30pm Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel Willie Sabor free 7.30pm The Gaff, Darlinghurst Coyote Tuesday Johnny B, Kid Finley 6pm The Valve, Tempe Underground Tables DJ Ato, Myme free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic Karaoke, DJs Cris Angel, Daigo, The Cosmic Explorer free

WEDNESDAY MARCH 23 Bank Hotel, Newtown Girls’ Night DJ Emme Jay free

The Gaff, Darlinghurst R&B 6pm Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst FBi Supporters Night Moriarty, Bad Ezzy, Kato, Boonie 8pm Marlborough Hotel, Newtown Student Nights DJ Moussa free 11pm Metro Theatre, Sydney MF Doom (USA), DJ MK, Simplex $65.70 8pm Sirens Nightclub, Terrigal Medusa DJ HypnotixX $5 9pm Sydney Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park Usher (USA), Trey Songz, The Potbelleez $99.90 (silver)–$150.50 (gold) 8pm sold out The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall free

THURSDAY MARCH 24 11a Oxford St, Paddington Inhale Sweet Az Soundsystem, Jonny Faith, Typhonic free 6pm Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill DJ Big Will, Bold Bongos free 9pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi The Camera Club free 8pm

The Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Hot Damn Hopeless, I Exist, Phantoms, Funeral For a Friend Album Launch 9pm $10/12 Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor Top 40 Fitzroy DJs free 9pm The Gaff, Darlinghurst The College Party 6pm Home Terrace, Sydney Unipackers John Young $5–$10 10pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Abuka Trio, DJ Beth Yen free 8pm Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst Socially Acceptable United Colours DJs, Death Strobe DJs, Frames, McInnes, Felix Lloyd 8pm The Lansdowne, Broadway Indie Warhol DJ Nic Yorke 8pm Melt Bar, Kings Cross Peter Comes From Neverland, Jai Payne, Loopsnake $12.80 9pm Space Nightclub, Sydney Tha Dogg Pound $54 8.30pm Sydney Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park Usher (USA), Trey Songz, The Potbelleez $99.90 (silver)–$150.50 (gold) 8pm sold out Woollahra Hotel DJ Rock Fan free 7.45pm

Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill DJ Retro free 9pm Bank Hotel, Newtown DJ Beth Yen free Bristol Arms Retro Hotel, Sydney Club Retro Club Retro DJs $10–$15 9pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Liquid Sky Gigi Brocco & Blatta & Inesha, DJs Vengeance, Kyro & Bomber, MooWho, Knocked Up Noise $10-$15 8pm Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL The Next Step $25 (presale)–$30 7pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Dubrave DJ MK, Will Styles, MC Shureshock, Grimace, Rubio & Pop The Hatch, Temnein, Dani Quade $15$20 10pm Club 77, Kings Cross Dusted Shitmat (UK), Passenger of Shit, Paul Blackout, B.I.N.T., Victim, James Daak $15 10pm Cohibar DJ Jeddy Rowland, DJ Anders Hitchcok free Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills Last Night Cuthbert, Owl Eyes, Metals, Kill The Landlord, M.I.T., Minou, Wacks, John Kelly $10 8pm The Gaff, Darlinghurst Fridays 6pm Goldfish, Darlinghurst Funk Tank Mike O’Connor free 9pm Home The Venue, Sydney Filo & Peri, Beatfix Lounge, Matt Nukewood, Ben Morris & MC Losty, Oakes & Lennox $25 10.30pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Ratpack DJ Tricky (UK) Le Panic, Kings Cross Box Social MYD, 3Hundreds, Sotiris, Jamie What, 14th Minute, Jordan F $10 9pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Michael Stewart free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays Falcona DJs $10 10pm The Loft, Darling Harbour Late at the Loft Somatik, Noel Boogie, Noodles, DJ Huwston, Meem, The Swat DJs, Lippo free 10pm Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown DJ Michael free 8pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Friday I’m In Love 11.30pm Phoenix Bar, Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst P*A*S*H $5 10pm Phriction Nightclub, Penrith Taboo Fridays Victor Lopez, Rome, Malfunction, Triple P, Dan Absent, Karamel 9pm The Rouge, Kings Cross Shock Horror Skinny, Chris La Sek, Bounce Crew DJs, Matt Ferreira $5 10pm The Roxy Theatre, Parramatta Good Times Society Aladdin Royal, DJ Seiz $10 8pm Settlement Bar, Sydney Spoilt Broken Stylus, Andy Wright (UK), Brendan Clay $10 6pm Sting Bar, Cronulla Electro Sessions free 8pm

Tone, Surry Hills Dust Tones Tijuana Cartel, Kato, Bentley, Mike Who, James Locksmith, Mashy P $18 9pm V Bar, Sydney Tom Yum free 11pm Valve Bar, Tempe Triage (USA), Chewie (Melb), The Abyss, Fernatik, Kinahmi, Skiver, pHybian $21.30 8.30pm Vegas Bar, Darlinghurst Chick Magnet $5 11.30pm Watershed Hotel Bring On The Weekend! Club DJs free The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Teleprompter, Hey Fever, The Cool Calm Collective, Doc Holliday Take The Shotgun, Rockets, Lovers Jump Creek, Violet Pulp, Claire $10-$15 8pm

SATURDAY MARCH 26 The Basement, Circular Quay Peanut Butter Wolf (USA), James Pants, edseven, Sir Robbo, Prize, Sofie Loizou $20 (+ bf) 9.30pm Bristol Arms Retro Hotel, Sydney Club Retro Club Retro DJs $20–$25 9pm Candys Apartment Ritual Teez, Sms, The Kid, Disco Volante, Zomg!

Kittens!, Boogie Monster $10-$20 8pm Caringbah Bizzos White Trash $10 8pm Civic Underground, Sydney Xhin, Ben Dunlop, Defined

By Rhythm, Dopamine $20$25 10pm The Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Ben Lucid presents Balls Danny Clayton (Channel V), Lonewolf, Skarlett, &Dimes DJs + more $10 10pm Establishment, Sydney Sienna G Wizard, Troy T, Def Rok, Eko, Lilo free 9pm Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor Metals free 8pm The Forbes Hotel, Sydney We Love Indie We Love Indie DJs $10 8pm The Gaff, Darlinghurst Secret Saturdays 6pm Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks Soul on the Rocks $15 8pm Hotel Chambers, Sydney DJ Casey Nash, C-Bu, K-Note, DJ Mac 8pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Dolso Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Michael Stewart free 9pm The Lady Rose Catamaran, Darling Harbour Aqua Groove Glovecats, Dylan Sanders Ember, Matt Nukewood, Wolfpack, Chris Lawrence, Matty Gecs, Harrison, Skowy, Jake Mexon, Juzzy Raver $45 11am The Loft, Darling Harbour Late at the Loft Somatik, Noel Boogie, Noodles, DJ Huwston, Meem, The Swat DJs, Lippo free 10pm Macarthur Tavern, Campbelltown George B free 8pm Man O War Steps, Sydney Opera House High Flyers Day Cruise Karl Prinzen, Simon Caldwell, Terry A, JC, Richie Edwards, Tazman, Grant Foley $59.10 12pm Melt Bar, Kings Cross Format B (Germany), Robbie Lowe, Dave Stuart, T-Boy,

Co-Op DJs, Bella Sarris, Jay Smalls $15 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst The Aston Shuffle, Kato, Wax Motif $20 9pm Phoenix Bar, Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Phoenix Rising Dan Murphy, Johan Khoury, Mark Alsop $10 4am Phriction Nightclub, Penrith Pajama Party Jagged Beats, Wycliff, Triple P, Karamel, Rome, Jay Austin 9pm The Polo Lounge and Supper Club, Darlinghurst Robopop Robopop DJs $10 10pm The Rouge, Kings Cross Le Rouge Dejan Sem, Guy Tarento, Chris Fraser, Sanderman & Vans $10 Sweeney’s Rooftop, Sydney Sundaes Hanna Gibbs, Ty, Josh Verdi, G-Banga $5-$10 12pm Tone, Surry Hills Dust Tones Spit Syndicate, Dutch, Gabriel Clouston, Mike Who, Bentley, Ability 9pm The Vault Hotel, Sydney Spice & House Inspection Kiki, Murat Kilic, YokoO, Nic Scali, Bella Sarris $15-$25 10pm The Watershed Hotel Greek Night The World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! Ajax, James Taylor, Murat, Levins, Wax Motif, Adam Bozzetto, Discopunx, Foundation, Boonie, T-Bo, Matt Formosa, The Jackal, Bermuda P $15-$20 8pm Zeta Bar, Sydney DJ Franck Roger, DJ Antonio Zambarelli $25 10pm

SUNDAY MARCH 27 Bank Hotel, Newtown Scott Pullen free Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Softwar free Fakeclub, Kings Cross Spice Pepperpot, Reno & Foundation, YokoO, Nic Scali $20 4am The Forbes Hotel, Sydney Church Of Techno Mitch Crosher, Kerry Wallace, Joey Kaz, Jey Tuppaea, Jaded, Shepz $5 9pm The Hive Bar, Erskineville Revolve Records DJs free 5pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Sneaky Sundays 8pm The Gaff, Darlinghurst Quiz Day 6pm Jacksons On George, Sydney Aphrodisiac House DJs free 9pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sessions DJ Tone & Undie Sundie DJs free 7pm Petersham Bowling Club Shades On The Green DJ Chris Frape free 3pm Phoenix Bar, Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Loose Ends Matt Vaughan free 10pm The Rouge, Kings Cross Cheap Thrill$ Matt Nukewood, J Smoove, Barfly free Sub Bar, Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill Bobby Dazzler free 5pm Tone, Surry Hills Red Bull Music Academy Info Session with James Pants The Watershed Hotel Greek Night The World Bar, Kings Cross Fortune Disco Punx free 6pm

“The clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky My tears are salt water And the moon’s full and high” - TOM WAITS 34 :: BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11

club picks

Soul Sedation

Soul, Dub, Hip Hop & Bottom-heavy Beats with Tony Edwards

up all night out all week...

MONDAY MARCH 21

SATURDAY MARCH 26

WEDNESDAY MARCH 23

Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst The Aston Shuffle, Kato, Wax Motif $20 (+ bf) 9pm

Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Thank God It’s Monday Ajax, Nina Las Vegas, Alison Wonderland free 8pm

Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst FBi Supporters Night Moriarty, Bad Ezzy, Kato, Boonie 7:30pm Metro Theatre, Sydney MF Doom (USA), DJ MK, Simplex sold out 8pm Sydney Acer Arena, Sydney Olympic Park Usher (USA), Trey Songz, The Potbelleez $99.90 (silver)–$150.50 (gold) 8pm

The Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Ben Lucid presents Balls Danny Clayton (Channel V), Lonewolf, Skarlett, &Dimes DJs + more $10 10pm

MF Doom Tone, Surry Hills Dust Tones Tijuana Cartel, Kato, Bentley, Mike Who, James Locksmith, Mashy P $18 9pm

The World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! Ajax, James Taylor, Murat, Levins, Wax Motif, Adam Bozzetto, Disco Punx, Foundation, Boonie, T-Bo, Matt Formosa, The Jackal, Bermuda P $15$20 8pm

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.

FRIDAY MARCH 25

Chinese Laundry, Sydney Dubrave DJ MK, Will Styles, MC Shureshock, Grimace, Rubio & Pop The Hatch, Temnein, Dani Quade $15-$20 10pm Club 77, Kings Cross Dusted Shitmat (UK), Passenger of Shit, Paul Blackout, B.I.N.T., Victim, James Daak $15 10pm

J*Davey

S

oul Sedation was lucky enough to be in the US last week, and my schedule lined up with a J*Davey appearance at the Key Club in Los Angeles. The duo - based around the vocals of Jack Davey (AKA Briana Cartwright) and the music of producer Brook D’Leau - create a powerful fusion of alternative hip hop, blues, neo soul, electronica and more. A true artiste, Davey wields her microphone with equal parts integrity as intensity; a rare breed of natural entertainer, and more than a little bit nuts as well. The act haven’t been out to Australia yet but this column hears murmurings that a tour could be on the cards very soon... MC Blu of Blu & Exile fame was on support at this gig, but unfortunately he didn’t make much of an impact on the packed house - his abstract approach seemed a little unpolished, and the experimental, trippy beats accompanying him didn’t really have any grunt to them. It was a strange show. None-the-less, you won’t want to miss the J*Davey gig when she comes out; the band’s clever approach to modern sound will only see them get bigger and bigger in our genre-hopping climate. Currently there’s four J*Davey EPs for you to track down, with a full-length album due out on Warner Brothers this year.

James Pants

On the nu disco front, Mr Leftside Wobble is at it again with his rework of Liz Torres’ ‘What You Make Me Feel’. Torres recorded from ‘88 through to 2000 on a handful of early US house labels, and the extended re-edit magic of 'The Wobble' brings her vocal stylings back to life. His is certainly one SoundCloud channel you should be tuned to.

- Thurs 24th -

- Sat 26th -

TV Party Live filmed event!

Spit Syndicate & Skryptcha

- Fri 25th -

- Sun 27th -

Tijuana Cartel

James Pants

feat. Peabody, Cogel and TFT

www.tone.net.au facebook.com/tonesydney twitter.com/tonevenue

Red Bull Music Academy

16 Wentworh Avenue, Surry Hills NSW 2010 (02) 9287 6440

US hip hop phenomenon Doom sold out his Metro show on his first Australian tour, but if you missed out there’s been a second one scheduled for the OAF on March 31. Soul Sedation wouldn’t recommend you sleep on that second chance - while those of you holding tickets to the Metro show can feel smug in the knowledge.

If you haven't already, Soul Sedation urges you to get your head around emerging LA hip hop act Odd Future. With ages ranging from 17 to 23 years old, they’re taking a fairly hard, modern, Wu Tang-esque – even Eminemstyle – approach to hip hop. Sections of the press have labelled them horrorhop, but the group have been vocally pushing against that tag. One thing’s for sure, golden age soul hop it ain’t. From watching the various videos online, I see the genre-blending taking off with the youthful half of the hip hop fan spectrum.

The group have been fairly prolific individually at this young stage of their career, all penning solo albums, and have enjoyed a number of US TV appearances. There’s big future predictions coming from various areas of the music industry... Do you believe the hype?

ON THE ROAD SAT MARCH 26

Peanut Butter Wolf, James Pants The Basement

SAT APRIL 2 Calibre, DRS Manning Bar

FRI APRIL 8 DMZ Oxford Art Factory

SAT APRIL 9 The Herd Factory Theatre

THU MAY 5 Murs & 9th Wonder Gaelic Theatre

SAT MAY 28

Bliss n Eso, Horrorshow Hordern Pavilion The recent instalment of Dublin label All City’s LA Series will keep beat heads happy with productions from both Coleman and Ta’Raach. The release features some deep, soulful, golden age production, as well as a tribute to Gangstarr founder Guru. This column is a massive fan of Ta’Raach’s tune ‘Baby’ - look it up now.

The Beastie Boys have set a May release date for their new album, taking their discography to a total of eight LPs. The record was put on hold after MCA’s cancer diagnosis, but the disease is now thankfully in remission and they’ve recently been able to advance the cause. Entitled Hot Sauce Committee Part 2, it will be the first Beastie Boys records since 2004’s To The 5 Boroughs.

Soul heads listen up: Charles Bradley has a new record out on Daptone subsidiary Dunham Records. Backed by the Menahan Street band, this is raw ‘60s and ‘70s soul/ funk music at its finest. Bradley has been around the traps for a long time, warming up for the James Browns of the world throughout his lengthy career. The album is titled No Time For Dreaming - look out for the fantastic clip for the LP’s lead single, ‘The World (Is Going Up In Flames)’, which catches Bradley exhorting on the tough times that we’re living in.

This Friday March 25, Sydney based Latin rock purveyors Watussi are supporting Santana out at Acer Arena. On the off chance that you’re not going to the Santana gig... you can catch Watussi at the Dust Tones afterparty, with the band appearing at Tone nightclub for a late night jam session.

You should also be keeping your ears peeled for Watussi’s new EP, 1000% Handsome.

Send stuff for this column to tonyedwards001@gmail.com by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to art@thebrag.com BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 35

Deep Impressions Underground Dance and Electronica with Chris Honnery

snap

up all night out all week . . .

Agoria

Subsonic returns from its post-festival slumber to host Englishman Max Cooper with the aid of the Shrug crew at GoodGod Small Club on Saturday April 9. Cooper is a producer who has attracted plenty of praise from crusty industry types of late; he’s a figure who’s on the cusp of ‘breaking through’ (that’s if he hasn’t already) and hence his debut tour of Australia couldn’t have come at a better time. Forget the jaded geriatrics going through the motions behind the decks in sad self-parody; Cooper should arrive Down Under full of exuberance and rearing to go since he is, as I alluded to last sentence, ‘on the verge’. For all you Max Cooper neophytes, the man was a genetics research student before he was lured into the hypnotic vortex that is electronic music. ‘Above ground’ remixes of Portishead and Hot Chip’s ‘I Feel Better’ have introduced him to a wider audience in recent times, and it may come as a surprise to many of you to find out that he’s actually been plying his trade for a decade, and has released on over 20 different labels, including the hallowed Traum imprint. Support on the night will come courtesy of Marcotix, Trinity, MSG and Dave Stuart, as Subsonic returns to the intimate confines of GoodGod after the memorable affair that was last year’s ‘No Frills Techno’.

LOOKING DEEPER SATURDAY APRIL 2 Kenny Larkin Marrickville Bowling Club

SATURDAY APRIL 9 Max Cooper GoodGod Small Club

FRIDAY APRIL 22 Clark Tone

SUNDAY APRIL 24 Omar-S Tone

Minimal techno titan Jeff Mills will release a new album entitled The Power next month. It comes with a press release that should resonate with sci-fi fans, and one that I couldn’t improve upon with any clumsy embellishment; maybe just visualise it in a manner akin to the scrolling text at the beginning of the Star Wars movies for maximum impact.

Ready? A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… “Traveling four years throughout the Universe in search of discoveries has taken its mental toll, and the price of an intervention is high.

This album demonstrates the process of a person who gradually loses their sense of belonging. Obscure illusions brought on by an unique ability to control Electricity contracted in The Occurrence chapter creates an unwarranted threat to the world’s International Security. Severe detachments evolve that pushes the mind beyond acceptable limits.” To all you sycophants working at major labels and regurgitating the same ol’ platitudes as you flood our inboxes, that is how you write a press release! Respect, as always, Millsy. The Power will be available through Mills’ own Axis label.

Max Cooper

Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com.

36 :: BRAG :: 404: 21:03:11

future music

PICS :: AM

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resh from releasing his third artist album, French producer Sebastian Devaud, aka Agoria, has mixed Fabric 57. His recent LP, Impermanence, was an erratic release both in terms of its eclecticism and the varying degrees of success attained by the individual tracks themselves, and confirmed my view that Devaud is a superior DJ to producer. While his occasionally excellent productions are marred by a proclivity for self-indulgence and perhaps a deeper creative confusion as to what he’s actually trying to achieve, as a DJ he delivers far more consistently. Furthermore, Devaud is one of those rare DJs who is capable of crafting mix compilations that translate to the home-listening/nonnightclub environ – in fact, I genuinely believe the studio mix is his strongest medium. Past efforts Cute & Cult, At The Controls and last year’s Balance 016 were all releases that avoided the standard pitfall of throwing together an assortment of ‘flavour of the month’ tracks, and instead melded an impressive array of contrasting, challenging and most importantly engaging cuts from disparate genres in adventurous fashion. “Mixes like this enable me to blend various genres that normally wouldn’t match,” Agoria said, when discussing this latest compilation. “Even if I’m playing a lot of techno in my DJ set I always manage to try to mix tracks that are not supposed to fit together… Here I was happy to create a remix live of Ella Fitzgerald mixed with four other tracks, for example,” he remarked. Fabric 57 is a twenty track-strong effort that also incorporates material from the likes of Moritz von Oswald, Clara Moto and Carl Craig alongside less-likely entries from Tony Allen, José James and Canyons. If this is anywhere near as good as Agoria’s other mixes, then it will be well worth a listen upon its release in mid-April.

12:03:11 Future Music Festival :: Randwick Racecourse

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up up all all night night out out all all week week .. .. ..

teenage kicks

10:03:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

robopop

It’s called: Propaganda It sounds like: New and classic indie.

DJs/live acts playing: Urby, Mush, Monkey Genius, Teen Spirit DJs. Sell it to us: Propaganda is the global indie night that draws 20,000 punters every week across 17 different cities.

It’s a right proper indie institution and a one-stop-shop for teapots, rock’n’roll and Britpop singalongs. It’s the only place in town you’ll hear the latest tunes from The Vaccines, Bombay Bicycle Club, Beady Eye, TV On The Radio and The Strokes - and you’ll find Pop–agenda in the second room playing pop, party and dance, courtesy of the lovely Teen Spirit DJs. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: A haze of teapots, sweaty dance floors and indie bangers!

Crowd specs: Loads of indie mofos having a good run at our cheap drinks.

Wallet damage: $5 after 10pm, free with a student card; schooners of Coopers Pale Ale = $5.50 / house spirits = $6 / plus student specials.

Where: The World Bar / 24 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross When: Every Thursday.

PICS :: AM

11:03:11 :: The Gaelic Theatre :: 64 Devonshire St Surry Hills 92111687

party profile

Propaganda

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last night

wamp wamp

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halfway crooks 11:03:11 :: GOODGOD :: 55 Liverpool St. Sydney 92673787

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12:03:11 :: The Supper Club :: 134 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 93313467

12:03:11 :: 34b :: 34b Oxford St Darlinghurst 93601375 :: ASHLEY MAR :: PATRICK S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) NS :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: TOM TRAMONTE :: DANIEL MUN NA HAN ROU ETTE ROU :: Y STEVENSON :: THOMAS PEACHE K WAL MICHAEL KILLALEA :: THOMAS

BRAG :: 404 :: 21:03:11 :: 37

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11:03:11

:: The Metro Theatre :: 624 George St City 92642666

AND :: TW

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smirnoff nightlife exchange dim mak stage

sven vath

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upall allnight nightout outall allweek week...... up

the chemical brothers

PICS :: TL

12:03:11 Future Music Festival :: Randwick Racecourse

10:03:11 :: Entertainment Quater :: Moore Park Sydney

It’s called: Neon Nights It sounds like: Tropical disco meets electro pop.

Who’s playing? Softwar (Modular)

Sell it to us: Sydney DJ/producer/remix-duo Myles Du Chateau and Jeremy Lloyd are Softwar. Coming together in 2005 the boys’ sound is best described as glittery disco house, spiked with funk and soul galactic, and dash of Chicago techno. Besides killer remixes with Two Door Cinema Club, Groove Armada, The Temper Trap and Goldh played some of the best festivals and club nights awks, these boys have in Australia – and now they’re bringing their live act to Bondi, with all the necessary ingredients for us to party and dance all night.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Not having paid a cent to enjoy the goodness that is Softwar, in the fine, laidba ck environs that is the Beach Road.

Crowd specs: Non-pretentious, music savvy and beachside crew Wallet damage: FREE!!!!

Where: Beach Road Hotel / Bondi When: Sunday March 27, 6-10pm

38 :: BRAG :: 404: 21:03:11

mum

PICS :: TP

party profile

Neon Nights

11:03:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700 :: ASHLEY MAR :: PATRICK S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) IEL MUNNS :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER HANNA :: TOM TRAMONTE :: DAN ROU ETTE ROU :: Y CHE PEA STEVENSON :: THOMAS WALK MICHAEL KILLALEA :: THOMAS