The Brag #415

8

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Secret Sounds presents

AUSTRALIA 2011 With Special Guests Pulp have decided to get together and play some concerts this year.

The shows will involve the original members of the band (Nick Banks, Jarvis Cocker, Candida Doyle, Steve Mackey & Mark Webber) & they will be playing songs from all periods of their career.

(Yes, that means they’ll be playing your favourites) If you wish to know any more then please visit www.pulppeople.com where you will be subjected to a barrage of cryptic questions.

In the meantime ask yourself this: “Do You Remember The First Time?”

Thank you for your attention.

Wed 27 July Hordern Pavilion Tickets from Ticketek, www.ticketek.com.au, Ph 132 849

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4 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS by arrangement with Michael Coppel

SONG BOOK VOLUME 1

PERFORMING SONGS FROM HIS ENTIRE CAREER - ACOUSTIC!

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Performing Soundgarden, Audioslave and solo material in intimate mode, this is a not-to-be missed special event from the Grammy winning rock icon who helped define the grunge sound.

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VMUSIC.COM.AU, FBi 94.5fm, THE BRAG MAGAZINE, ARTIST VOICE & HELLO PAVEMENT PRESENTS

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SATURDAY

JUNE 18 With Special Guests:

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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly

five things RADIO STAR

Growing Up Three of us grew up in a small 1. country town in northeast Victoria, where there really wasn’t a lot going on. If you were like us and didn’t play football or learn a trade, then really the only other thing to do was play music. Thankfully our parents had pretty good record collections, and were tolerant enough to let us jam out in the shed.

Inspirations We’re constantly finding new 2. sources of inspiration. All of us have a great love for older music - The Beatles, The Stones, Dylan, Bowie and that sort of stuff – but we also really like a lot of the bands coming out now, particularly from Australia. I’m always searching for new stuff that’s going to inspire me or make me feel something great - it’s a wonderful moment when you do.

3.

Your Band We were pretty young when we started, and I think all we wanted to

IS THERE LIFE ON MARS VOLTA?

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: Caitlin Welsh & Dee Jefferson dee@thebrag.com 9552 6333 STAFF WRITERS: Jonno Seidler EWS CO-ORDINATORS: Nathan Jolly, Chris Honnery ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Niki Bodle, Cai Griffin, Sarah Kukathas, Ashley Mar, Daniel Munns, Vicky Nguyen, Thomas Peachy, Rosette Rouhanna, Alicia Starr COVER DESIGN: Sarah Bryant

Don’t you just hate it when you’re listening to a song and it stays in the same boring time signature for the whole thing, and then after three minutes it ends, without any manic wailing and schizo mood shifts? Well, so do The Mars Volta, and they are coming down under to lay waste to the traditional idea of what a song should be. August 3 at the Enmore Theatre is when and where they will be doing this waste-laying (following Splendour In The Grass), and tickets go on sale this Thursday June 9. Wear your Mars Volta T-shirt - we all love it when you do that.

Really.

KATCHAFIRE

There’s a new album from NZ reggae kings Katchafire and Jah better believe it’s a good slice of ragamuffin. It’s called On The Road

do was be rock stars - we wanted to be the guys on the covers of our favourite albums who toured the world in jets playing in front of thousands of people. The dream is still to make this our lives, but I think we’ve become more dedicated to making really great music - the kind of music that has changed our lives. And we sacrifice everything for this band. We’ve all lost jobs or almost failed uni because we spend all of our time practising, touring or just hanging out and listening to music. It’s all we think about.

The Music You Make At our live shows we really just 4. want to make people dance and sing along, so a lot of the stuff we do live is really upbeat and catchy, sort of simple pop songs that are really fun to play and hopefully to listen to as well. We get a bit carried away sometimes, and we don’t always make it off stage with our instruments or ourselves intact. I’ve had to make numerous repairs to my kit after one of the guys has thrown themselves through it at the end of a gig. There

Again and to celebrate it the band are on the road again. That road will hopefully lead them Enmore Theatre on June 24, which is enough time to turn that beautiful hair of yours into some natty dreads. Also, did you know that you can turn those Fanta bottles into so many different things?

have also been a few trips to the emergency ward over the years…

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

A lot of the popular music around now is very disposable; it’s all about grabbing people’s attention as quick as possible before they get distracted by something else.

So for a lot of artists it becomes about having a gimmick or being outrageous and shocking, and I think that the quality of music suffers because of it. I just wonder if there are many acts around now that people will still be listening to in 10 or 20 years. We all went to see The Cure play in Sydney the other night. They are probably the biggest influence on our music at the moment and it was just an incredibly amazing and inspiring performance - we all came out of it in a bit of a daze What: Radio Star EP is out on June 17 Where: Mum @ The World Bar When: Friday June 10

Lanie Lane

KAISER VS PAPA VS PRETTY VS STONEFIELD

Kaiser Chiefs, the band that retroactively predicted the Los Angeles riots, have announced an August 6 show at the Enmore Theatre, and have asked Papa vs Pretty to come onstage before them and shred and flail about like the band of young Mick Jaggers that they are. Also joining them are Stonefield, who are a bunch of teenage girls that play psychedelic rock so vital they make The Flaming Lips look like a bunch of old acid casualties. Oh, wait…

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: Meaghan Meredith (02) 9552 6725 meaghan@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Matt Banham - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance & parties) INTERNS: Sigourney Berndt, Lenny Adam REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Simon Binns, Joshua Blackman, Oliver Downes, Max Easton, Tony Edwards, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Lucy Fokkema, Max Easton, Mike Gee, Thomas Gilmore, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Alex Lindsay Jones, Peter Neathway, Hugh Robertson, Romi Scodellaro, Rach Seneviratne, RK, Luke Telford, Rick Warner Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8 Malborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2011 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227

LANIE LANE, EVERYBODY WANTS ONE

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Sydney’s Lanie Lane has signed to Ivy League records, and to celebrate (although of course it’s possible this tour was booked months ago and now she is financially and emotionally invested in its success), Lanie and Clare Bowditch are teaming up for an explosion of sultry cool on July 1 at The Factory Theatre. It’s called the Winters Secrets tour, and I’ve already said too much.

SYDNEY SOUNDS LIKE…

Sydney sounds like: People asking for change. Rain. Buses running to their own timetables. Rain. Taxis overcharging me. Rain. But over two weekends Sydney will sound like aural joy, as Faker storm into the Factory on Saturday July 2 to answer the question “What the hell have you guys been doing for two years?”, as part of Choose Your Own Adventure (from 3pm, all ages) alongside Parades, Deep Sea Arcade, Matt Corby, Andy Bull and Wim. The second, potty-mouthed event - Party & Bullshit - will spill over four levels at the Kings Cross Hotel on Saturday July 9, and will feature Collarbones, Kirin J Callinan, Step Panther, Domeyko/Gonzalez, The Holy Balm and loads more bands, as well as a slew of DJs for those of you who hate guitars (you guys should flip to the back).

Both gigs make up the third annual Sydney Sounds Like, put on by our favvies at FBi Radio. Do it.

JANE BADLER

Jane Badler has been in more B-grade films and TV shows that you have heard of (I’ve watched them all, mind), and just to rub in her awesomeness, she’s launching her new album Tears Again at The Basement Thursday June 9. Paul Grabowsky will be there too, conducting himself some serious tunes. He is a genius, and she is a talented fox-lady with a penchant for melodrama.

There will also be costumes!

Radio Star photo by Jeremy Williams

WITH

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rock music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

he said she said WITH

HUSKY GAWENDA OF HUSKY My band is Gideon Preiss (my cousin) on keys and vocals, Evan Tweedie on bass and vocals, Luke Collins on drums and I play guitar and sing. We started playing together a couple of years ago, although Gideon and I have been kicking around together since we were kids. We have a ball together, whether it’s on stage or hanging out playing music or in a tour van.

The music we make probably falls under the folk umbrella; think something like Grizzly Bear, Paul Simon or Leonard Cohen. We recorded our upcoming album ourselves in our home studio and mixed it in LA with Noah Georgeson (Strokes, Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart). We love to play live, every show is different.

M

y mum and sister loved to sing, and I was encouraged very early to sing too. I starting learning piano at five and then guitar later on. My dad’s a journalist and novelist so the written word was important in my upbringing too. I guess I combined those things to become a songwriter.

My earliest memories of music are listening to my parents’ records. The Doors, Leonard Cohen, Fairport Convention, Bob Dylan, The Band. At the same time I was working my way through their book collection, and these records and books were my first and most powerful inspiration.

There are so many great bands in Melbourne, where we live, and in Australia in general. And don’t even get me started on the rest of the world. It’s really overwhelming and inspiring. We’ve met so many great local bands lately, artists we hope to collaborate and play with a lot in the coming years. We just came back from touring with the John Butler Trio - we’re feeling pretty inspired after that!

Melody Black

SHOWDOWN @ THE ANNANDALE

Melbourne’s Showdown Festival is coming to our fair city this weekend in the form of a massive gig at the Annandale Hotel. 11 bands are set to rock two stages this Saturday June 11, headlined by crowd-pleasin’, moshpit-fillin’, high-energy Sydneysiders Melody Black, fresh off the recent release of their debut single ‘Pretty Ugly’ - an electrifying in-your-face track which is sure to send the Dale into a frenzy.

Also on the bill are exhilarating showmen Self Is A Seed, Melbourne prog/alt-rockers Engine Three Seven, indie rock boys The Dead Love and more. Come, young rockers, hear the gospel of rock‘n’roll and repeat after me: “if it’s too loud, you’re too old”. To get your hands on a double pass to the action by telling us who you’d like to fight in a rock ‘n’ roll showdown…

What: The Falls, Tin Sparrow Where: FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel When: Saturday June 11

The Dead Love

WAGON YER TAIL

Shhh, nobody tell Wagons that they aren’t from the sprawling heartland of America and are actually a Melbourne band, because then they’ll stop writing their widescreen Americana country rock and will begin singing about Neighbours and trams and the like. So nobody mention it when they come to the Annandale June 25 with The Gin Club and Matt Banham.

We want these guys to keep doing all of that.

DANANANANANANANANANA

nananananananaykroyd, the band universally hated by sub-editors and those guys that write the names on CD dividers at JB, are back in Australia and are ready to play The Annandale Hotel. They are there now, with their amps plugged in, getting yelled at by a sound guy for being a month early. Hopefully they’ll still be there on July 29 as they play tunes from their forthcoming album, due out next month and hopefully not self-titled.

EAGLE AND THE WORM BRING GOOD TIMES

So I bought tickets for the latest Richard Scarry live-action play Eagle And The Worm, and instead of a wonderment of magic I got an eight-piece band who unleashed a mix

The Panics

THE PANICS

The Panics’ last album Cruel Guards went Gold in Australia, which according to a lot of other media outlets was a triumph for a hard working Australian band, but in actual fact was a disgrace.

The album should have gone Platinum, and the band knew it, and moved to bleak Manchester. Manchester! That’s how disappointed they were with it all.

But don’t worry, they’re back with a new album (Rain On The Humming Wire, out July 29), and we can fix this mistake.

Everyone buy two copies. Sorted. Now go to their gig on July 8 at Oxford Art Factory and spread the word.

Modest Mouse

Papa vs Pretty

100% ANNANDALE BIRTHDAY WEEK, OK!

The Annandale have turned 11, which means they are about to hit that petulant, swearing age where they wildly misunderstand sex, start getting an additional layer of Simpsons’ jokes and, most importantly, have booked an amazing array of acts to play across the ‘week’ (June 23 - July 3). The lineup includes Tim Rogers, Papa vs Pretty, Wagons, The Holy Soul, The Mess Hall, Snowdroppers, Area 7 and many, many more, most of which haven’t even been announced yet. We love the Annandale here at BRAG/Sydney/Australia – so stay tuned for more on this next week. Also, how exactly do you tune a magazine? Stay tuned for that info, too.

of ‘60s pop, ‘70s pop and good times. Good Times is also the name of their debut album, which works well with the previous sentence.

They’re launching this album at Oxford Art Factory because it has a large stage and room for all of you. Don’t disappoint them.

SYDNEY BLUES AND ROOTS FESTIVAL!

MODEST MOUSE UPGRADE

Taking their name a little too literally, Modest Mouse booked the too-small Metro Theatre only to have it sell out in a few minutes, while they were sitting around eating cheese (so I’m led to believe from cartoons). Well, they have seen (in black and white, so I’m led to believe) sense, and have upgraded their July 25 show to The Enmore Theatre. Those arrogant pricks. Tickets on sale now.

Full first announcement line-up for the Sydney Blues & Roots Festival (on October 28-30) has just been announced, so mark it in that Snoopy calendar you keep showing visitors.

Not surprisingly, it’s a belter (assuming you like these acts - if not don’t force your opinions on others, it’s not cool). Jeff Lang, Ash Grunwald, Jeff Martin (Dr. Deepvoice from The Tea Party), The Break, Chain, The Flood, Bondi Cigars, Chase The Sun, The Brewster Brothers, Ray Beadle Band, Steve Edmonds and more. The next round gets announced July 1. THE FUTURE!

LOOKING FOR DANCE NEWS?

BRAG’S got a whole new section!

Flip to the back for it, foo’.

“Watching the people get lairy, it’s not very pretty I tell thee,” – THE KAISER CHIEFS - Aug 6 Enmore Theatre 12 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

Jack Ladder & The Dreamlanders

HURTSVILLE

Includes the single ‘Cold Feet’

“HURTSVILLE promises to be Ladder’s moodiest, most atmospheric tome yet” THE VINE “Cathedral-like post-punk melancholy & Bad Seeds drama” THE AGE “Indubitably one of the finest Australian albums of 2011” TIME OUT SYDNEY

ALBUM LAUNCH SAT 18TH JUNE, KINGS CROSS HOTEL w/ BEARHUG & A CASUAL END MILE Tickets from oztix.com.au

ALSO AVAILABLE:

Wagons

My Morning Jacket

EMA

Explosions In The Sky

Sat June 25, Annandale Hotel

Includes ‘Black Metal’

Pitchfork Best New Music

First new album in 4 years

‘RUMBLE SHAKE & TUMBLE’

‘CIRCUITAL’

‘PAST LIFE MARTYRED SAINTS’

‘TAKE CARE, TAKE CARE..’

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The Music Network

themusicnetwork.com

Industry Music News with Christie Eliezer

Lifelines Marrying: DJ producer Mark Ronson and French model Josephine De La Baume, early September in France.

Hospitalised: Sean Kingston and a female passenger, after his watercraft hit a Miami Beach bridge Injured: Panic! At The Disco frontman Brendon Urie broke his ankle while climbing back onto the stage, after jumping into the crowd at a Florida gig.

Died: Faye Treadwell, 84, manager of ’50s act The Drifters (‘Under The Boardwalk’, ‘Save The Last Dance’), and one of the first African-American female managers in show business.

THE SEED FUNDS $95,700

The Seed Fund will offer $95,700 for the development of new artists and managers this year. 26 managers are invited to attend the lauded Seed Management Workshop; those from NSW are Brendon Boney, Nicole B-Z, Sam Buckingham, Byron Georgouras, Jon Owen and Steph Travaglia. The new ‘Publicise It’ category had a total funding of $18,200. Boy & Bear got $5000 to work with Kathleen Hore of Secret Service PR; Dallas Frasca got $4,200 to engage Steven Stavrakis of Shiny Entertainment; Mista Savona and manager Blair Stafford got $4,000 to work with publicist Alison Pearl, and Skipping Girl Vinegar got $5,000 to employ Chryss Carr from AUM. To be announced are recipients of the Indigenous community music initiative with Darwin’s Skinnyfish label, Art for the Public in partnership with Next Wave and mentors to Bush Bands Business. The Seed was set up as ‘JB Seed’ by John Butler and Danielle Caruana in 2003, and is funded by contributions from philanthropists within the arts community. It has distributed over $600,000 to over 250 recipients in the past six years.

NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR INDIGENOUS AWARDS

Nominations are open for music industry members to cast their votes for the National Indigenous Music Awards [NIMA] held in Darwin on Friday August 19. They can vote in the act, album, song and new talent categories; the deadline is Friday July 22. For the past seven years, the awards’ organisers Music NT only restricted it to NT talent, but with the national success of Gurrumul, Dan Sultan, The Medics and Jessica Mauboy, they’ve expanded it. See musicnt.com.au for more.

GAGA SELLS 1.1 MILLION FIRST WEEK IN USA

Lady Gaga’s Born This Way sold 1.11 million copies in its first week of sales in America,

almost double what her label expected. It’s the highest first week sales since 50 Cent’s The Massacre did 1,141,000 in March 2005.

Gaga is the fifth woman to have a millionplus week. Britney Spears’ Oops! I Did It Again (2000) leads the list with 1,319,000.

There’s also Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack (1,061,000 in 2000), Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home (1,022,000 in 2004) and Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (1,047.000 last year). Born This Way also set a new record — 662,000 in digital sales, representing 60% of her sales last week.

Among the Gaga radio stunts in Australia were the Sunshine Coast’s 91.9 Sea FM’s Sophie, Brad & Angus of the breakfast show, who took their cue from the Gaga track ‘Marry The Night’. Sophie married ‘The Night’ in a broadcast from a local music store, and gave out wedding cake.

NEW SIGNING #2: IVY LEAGUE ADDS LANIE LANE

VALE GREG CLARKE

EMI OFFERING SPACE

Greg Clark loved his music loud - very loud - which is why he gravitated towards loud bands. He was sound guy and tour manager for Rose Tattoo and earlier, Billy Thorpe, The Angels and Judge Mercy and produced records for young bands like Lawless Breed, Purveyors Of Pure Filth and The Damien Cripps Band. Fellow roadies applauded the way he made loud bands shine without being excruciating, and how he was so technically-adept he could fix any problems. Last week, the kind and gentle Clarke died of a heart attack, aged 50.

NEW SIGNING #1: ISLAND ADDS REDCOATS Island Records Australia has signed Melbourne’s Redcoats, with an EP out in the next few months, and an album to be recorded late this year. “Redcoats are the next big Aussie rock band,” Island GM and A&R head Michael Taylor told this column.

Redcoats are managed by Blue Max Music, who also have Hilltop Hoods.

THINGS WE HEAR

Sydney songstress Lanie Lane has joined the Ivy League Records stable, where she’ll sit alongside Cloud Control, Sparkadia, Josh Pyke and The Mess Hall. Lanie (pronounced “Lannie”) is just back from showcasing in New York, LA and London, and is about to join the Clare Bowditch tour, and play Splendour in the Grass for the first time.

NEW SIGNING #3: MUSHROOM ADDS THE LAURELS

Mushroom Music has signed Sydney band The Laurels for publishing. The act’s debut six-track EP Mesozoic is out next month through Other Tongues EMI is offering open space for up to eight staff to rent, at its offices on Hutchinson Street in Surry Hills, from July 4. It includes shared access to EMI facilities including the executive boardroom and kitchen, meeting rooms, the terrace area, internet, wireless, telephone, fax and 24hr secure access.

More information from sydney.officemove@ emimusic.com

DIGITAL RADIO LAUNCH

At the Sydney launch of digital community radio, CBAA GM Kath Letch told us that the eight new stations they were announcing included indie music for explorers, music covering indigenous, classical, ethnic and multicultural shows broadcast in 50 languages, and Christian and Muslim stations. The launch switched on FBi, Inspire Digital, Koori RadiOO, 2MBS Fine Music, 2MFM Muslim DR, 2000Languages, 2RPH Digital and 2SER Digital. Charles Barton recalled how the first community station 2MBS started in 1975 with borrowed equipment and an antenna sticking out the building, while NSW Governor Marie Bashir, who launched the stations, ‘fessed

Jessie J

* Music industry organisations, indies and majors are about to launch an educational campaign called Why Music Matters, based on the UK model. * Even grouchy misfits have their day! Metallica’s James Hetfield was inducted into the hall of fame at Downey High in Downey, California. He told the kids how music was his saviour, and how he spent more time practicing guitar at home than being at school.

Meantime, Slayer’s Tom Araya received the key to his birthtown Vina del Mar (Chile) from the mayor, after Slayer played there for the first time. * Jessie J was given a $70,000 top-of-the-range Merc from her record company as a thankyou for making money.

up: “Like 54% of the Australian population, I listen to community radio - sometimes in the morning to start my day and sometimes at night before bed.”

J’S GRENNAN ON MATERNITY

Ruby Grennan, marketing manager for triple j, is off on maternity leave this month.

A permanent replacement will be announced next month. Grennan returns next year to the ABC in a new radio marketing role, with a focus on digital.

CRAYOLA & SOLE ANNOUNCE LIVE VENTURE

Jason Sole’s Sydney-based Sole Entertainment, which presents modern children’s entertainment, has signed a licensing agreement with Crayola Australia to present Crayola live entertainment in Australia. Crayola products will be integrated with interactive technology at the shows.

ALLANS/HYDE’S KOLLIAS CLINIC

US metal band Nile’s speed drummer George Kollias will host a clinic for Allans Music and Billy Hyde on how to capture the brutality of hard rock at the Basement on Monday June 27 at 7pm. Bookings at allansbillyhyde.com.au, or in store. Dave Haley from Psycroptic is supporting.

MUSOS PROTEST GRAMMY CHANGES

Carlos Santana, Paul Simon and Herbie Hancock are among those who are threatening a boycott, and signed a letter of protest to the Grammy awards over its changes for next year. The Grammys have dropped 31 categories including contemporary blues, Native American, Hawaiian, and Latin jazz. Simon wrote his own letter to the head guy, saying it was a “disservice to many talented musicians by combining previously distinct and separate types of music into a catch-all of blurry larger categories.”

She gave her modest Ford Kia to her dad, but found the Merc too tech-y. “I can’t even turn on the radio!” she laments. * Scribe celebrated his 32nd birthday at Shooters club on the Gold Coast, drinking with two bottles of Jack Daniels upturned in a fishbowl. * As it turns six years old, YouTube says it gets over 3 billion views per day, and more than 48 hours of video are uploaded every minute. * Jimmy Barnes took time off from Cold Chisel recording sessions to tend to wife Jane, who spent a night in hospital with a bad bug. * Chris Joannou was refusing to discuss the Silverchair hiatus when he and galpal Laura Csortan joined the throng at the Vines’ Live At The Chapel taping.

“Let it never be said “the Romance is dead “ cause there’s so little else Occupying my head”– THE KAISER CHIEFS - Aug 6 Enmore Theatre

We has internets!

www.thebrag.com Extra bits and moving bits without the papercuts 14 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

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Arctic Monkeys Make It Last By Jonno Seidler

“W

e’re still young. If you keep writing songs and have these ideas that you want people to hear, there’s no point spending a year getting them together. You’d probably go mad trying to better yourself constantly.” Matt Helders has grown a lot more philosophical since I talked to him five years and four albums ago. The drumming, singing powerhouse behind Arctic Monkeys is no longer out to be the loudest, fastest man in the room. Instead, he and his band decided it was high time they made “a grower - whatever that means.” The result, Suck It And See, is perhaps the best indication of how the band have matured under a harsh industry spotlight: well-crafted, multilayered and effortlessly unravelling, it plays out “just like a good film.”

Suck It And See’s most discernible singles don’t really sound like singles at all; the swaggering cut ‘Brick By Brick’, on which Helders sings lead for the first time, favours riffs and repetition over quick changes and lyrical wisecracks. “I think this time we were trying to write poppier songs [but] maybe do it in a darker way,” Matt explains, in his endearing Sheffield brogue. “Not like on Humbug - but we kind of noticed different ways of doing heavy tunes without necessarily making it as loud or as fast as possible. You can almost get a bit of weight behind the rhythm of it, like Black Sabbath or something.” Those references aren’t for nothing; many of the stronger cuts on the album, like opener ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ and the bass-driven ‘Reckless Serenade,’ have a decidedly late-‘60s rock feel to them. And that’s just the way Helders likes it. “We tried to make it detailed, and think of it as an actual vinyl record - you know, two halves, Side A, Side B,” he says.

“Hoping that people will listen to it in that way, and knowing very few of them do.”

“Before, we’d have a few ideas [and] sort of mish-mash it all together. But this time we sat down and listened to other amazing songwriters and thought, ‘These songs are good for a reason.’”

Although they came to prominence in the age of the quick musical fix, Arctic Monkeys now seem to be more interested in making music with a lifespan. Many of the hooks on the album really only sit well the third time around; the lyrics, while brilliant, aren’t as immediately snappy, and the sound is warmer, fuller almost, from Jamie Cook’s guitars right down to the kick of Helders’ bass drum. Much of that is down to producer James Ford (of Simian Mobile Disco fame), with whom the band are now incredibly close. Matt says he’s had a longstanding positive influence of the band. “He’s got great taste and can play a tonne of instruments really well,” he says. “It’s just really a very comfortable environment. He can do all the boring bits – like, when we’re tracking guitar parts, he can sit down at the drums and I can relax for a bit.”

Everything Arctic Monkeys have ever done has led up to this point. Like signing with Domino when there were so many lucrative deals on the table, because Domino-founder Laurence Bell “obviously thought ‘Good music, good songs’ not just, ‘Will it be a big seller?’ or whatever.” Or enlisting Ford as the sole producer – he’d been involved with the group before they’d even cut their first record, “when we were too fast and tried to rush it a bit”. Or taking a year off from playing live – their longest break ever – to write songs the old-fashioned way, in a cold London rehearsal room. “We had them to the point

where we could play them all the way through without changing things,” Helders says, “and that meant when we came to the studio we could just worry about the sound of it, and getting a good performance.”

This is what Arctic Monkeys have always dreamed of being: solid, hard-working songwriters. It’s why, for instance, frontman Alex Turner rarely strays near that upper register that used to define the band’s sound anymore, settling for consistency over histrionics. And it’s the reason you won’t hear a lot of Helders running his way around the toms anymore, like a kid who forgot his Ritalin. “For me, it’s always been about playing tastefully for the song,” he says. ”I think it’s a fine line, for a drummer, between just being there to keep time or going off. In a way it’s probably harder to stick to a beat without wanting to show off or go a bit mad.”

Sticking to the groove has also turned out to be a technical godsend for Helders, who is renowned for his ability to whip out complex, syncopated fills and sing at the same time – but he admits that it certainly isn’t easy. “I was quite eager to do it, actually,” he says of his star turn on ‘Brick By Brick’, “and doing it in the studio and knowing I could play it live was obviously quite reassuring as well. There have been points where we’ve written stuff that was really hard to back up on stage… ‘View From the Afternoon’

sort of stuff, which is alright for co-ordination but I’m just a bit out of breath by the end.“ It’s a good metaphor for the whole album; Suck It And See is all about breathing space for Arctic Monkeys. It’s an indulgence in sound, recorded at the legendary Sound City Studios in L.A. where Nirvana cut Nevermind (“It’s touted as the best drum room in the world,” Helders says proudly), and, more crucially, a studied exercise in combining musical elements that had previously been taken for granted as falling into place. “Before [on their debut] we’d have a few ideas that we’d put together; a riff, a drumbeat,” Matt says, “and we’d sort of mish-mash it all together into making a tune. But this time we sat down and listened to other amazing songwriters and thought, ‘These songs are good for a reason.’ So that’s why we’re happier with a more traditional or ‘classic’ approach.”

It may be a long way from betting that you look good on the dancefloor, but Arctic Monkeys are finally starting to feel comfortable in their own skin. “The songs from this record, a lot of them seem like they have bits from every record in them,” says Helders. “That’s all we wanted really.”

What: Suck It And See is out now on Domino, through EMI

“You work in a shirt with your name tag on it, drifting apart like a plate tectonic”– THE KAISER CHIEFS - Aug 6 Enmore Theatre 16 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

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Little Red Tour Diary WHERE: The Metro Theatre WHEN: Friday June 10 WHY: Because They Came Back Home

2 ADRIAN

Little Red In Paris 1 TOM

in GERMANY: As a self-styled linguist, I thought I could easily master the German language in the ten hour flight from Singapore, but even with the handy language learning program on the seat-back TV and a kooky German-Swiss woman next to me who tickled my toes when I fell asleep, I’d only mastered a few jumbled sentences when we touched down at dawn in Cologne. They were long forgotten by the time I got to the pub for my first taste of German beer.

Despite the early hour, there were already plenty of customers - and why not, when the beer is so copious and cheap? We were supporting an English band called The Crookes who we’d never heard, but the Germans seemed to like them - it was good to play to a full-house, both in Cologne and the next night in Munich. Even though the crowd didn’t know any of our songs they responded really well,

in LONDON: Adrian In Munich My favourite thing about London is the glorious public parks and gardens. There are more trees than there are people, and almost more drug dealers than there are squirrels. All you have to do is find yourself a nice cosy seat in the sun and pretend to read your book, and they come to you – it’s actually a good way to encounter some funny characters. While I was in Regents Park (my pick of the bunch), I was sat next to by a refugee from Lybia, a flamenco guitarist from Japan, and many a miserable Londoner, eager to get their shirts off and bake in the autumn sun. Regents Park is also home to London Zoo, the world’s oldest and the only place you’ll find both a bearded pig and a Malayan tapir. Hyde Park is even more populated. It was once the private hunting ground for Henry VIII, and while there are no deer left, you might spot Peter Pan if you’re lucky - or even the odd cavalry on horseback. On a final unrelated note, did you know Charles Dickens’ sister was named Fanny Dickens? and we made a few friends who taught us German swear words. Munich is a particularly beautiful city but we had to run off to London, so we snuck out the back door while The Crookes were still playing, taking most of their beer and leaving a little note thanking them for having us.

DOM in LIVERPOOL When we finally arrived in Liverpool after a nine-hour drive from Paris, I put ‘Please Please Me’ on the stereo and sang along with the city’s greatest natural export. We spent only about 12 hours total in 4

3 TAKA

in PARIS: We drove seven hours straight from London to Paris to play a half-hearted show in front of 20 people. I was so bitter about the whole thing that I spent the next hour yelling at the passing cars in front of the venue, ‘Paris sucks! You French, kiss my ass!’ While I was having my usual psycho fit, the rest of us (a psychologically stable bunch) made a plan to hire a bike each and ride around Paris till sunrise. That sounded good to me. We grabbed the rest of our rider out of the bandroom and bought more alcohol from a milk shop, including fine bottles of champagne, and pedaled into the dazzling Parisian night along Seine River until we stopped at Notre Dame. I popped the Taka In Paris champagne and passed it around, cheering to everybody around us, ‘Cheers to Paris! Cheers to your beautiful city!’ We rode around Paris drinking champagne ‘til sunrise.

People spoke French to me and I spoke Japanese to them. That didn’t bother nobody. I was feeling drunk and amazing.

5

Dom On Stage Liverpool, most of which we slept through because we had to drive back on the same day as our gig to play again in London, but I caught the train back up a couple of days later to meet my Dad and brother for a match at Goodison - Everton v Chelsea, last game of the season.

There was an incredible run and goal from Jermaine Beckford, some questionable decisions from the referee, and a couple of altercations on the field - so really everything you’d want from a game of soccer.

After the game, dad drove me around to the houses he grew up in; I didn’t realise that until he was 15 he lived about four doors up from Penny Lane. He was pointing out various places - a school where his sister taught, the oval they used to play football on, the road where Lennon’s auntie was run over - but we couldn’t find Strawberry Fields.

In my limited experience the people are really friendly and funny in Liverpool, but the place itself is quite grim. Dad was saying how he felt sad about the people that don’t get a lot of opportunities; the locals feel there’s something wrong with you if you want to get out, but actually there’s something wrong with you if you want to stay. Of course if you love a place you should live there, but I think he was talking about the people who are sort of trapped - and I knew what he meant.

Tom In Brighton

QUANG in SINGAPORE

The place looked like a shopping mall, except everything was open and it was 1AM. And instead of four floors of closed clothing and shoe stores, they had four floors of brothels and strip joints and waxed bikini bars and dancing Russian girl bars and Thai girl trick bars and bordellos dressed as nightclubs and pimps dressed as bouncers and pros dressed as flirtatious, in all of the turning colours of the rainbow - in miniskirts, in open-necked dresses, in boobtubes, in high heels - with make-up on all the eyelashes, on all the lips, on all the cheeks, with dark, black and blonde hair flowing long and winding, dancing free across their necks. The bell rang for the fourth floor and me and Taka, drunk, silly and excited, tumbled towards the first place we saw. We purchased a couple of quick beers and turned to witness the glory of the Russian female body. Dancing clear white skin, bending and curving waistlines, thighs sliding clasped around shiny metal poles on shiny metal tabletops.

Disco balls orbiting kaleidoscope stars around soft Russian legs; bended men kneeling on bar stools, praying to fantasies climbing up legs and spinning through hula-hoops. I picked my favourites and wandered around looking for closer vantage points under skirts, up umbrellas, through and around, under and over an endless pilgrimage of flesh...

Quang In Singapore

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Ratcat Some Kind Of Sensation By Nathan Jolly

W

hat began in 1990 as a friend’s challenge to write a song with a chorus that consisted solely of the words “I love you”, resulted in two number one singles, a number one album and the canonisation of Ratcat in Australian musical history. Twenty years after the release of the band’s second album Blind Love, Ratcat are reforming (with latterday addition Nic Dalton on bass) to perform the album in its entirety, at one special Sydney show.

The song that started it all was ‘That Ain’t Bad’; a sugar-rush of hooky pop driven by a fuzzy, overdriven guitar. It was palatable, energetic and impossibly catchy, a Jesus And Mary Chain 33 1/3 record played at 45rpm. The video clip which accompanied ‘That Ain’t Bad’ consisted almost solely of a close-up shot of frontman Simon Day, whose foppish fringe, good looks and indie cool helped push Ratcat into the mainstream, and opened a floodgate of Australian “alternative” music that changed the shape of the industry. All of this while Nirvana were still mucking about in Seattle with tuned-down guitars and guttural, tuneless songs…

“I think it was a combination of everything,” said

Day of his band’s meteoric rise. “We’d been working hard for five years, and we’d put out an album [the excellent but undercooked This Nightmare] and a bunch of EPs and singles.

Even though in many ways we hadn’t actually started - at least in terms of being a band that was successful in the way that we would become later, we had played quite a lot of gigs.

We had been to Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne a few times, we had definitely done the work, and on top of that, we had put out a few records that were getting interest. Enough interest for the band to get noticed. The fact that we’d done all of that, we’d had our name on a million posters and we had been played on triple j and a bunch of community stations definitely helped.”

Despite the five-year run up, Day estimates it took only “about six months, [from] having sold no records to having sold a lot” - and after that, the success took on a momentum of its own. “The commercial stations couldn’t play us until we had a larger distributor, and once that happened it all happened. The videos at the time were very important. Tingles itself (the EP that housed ‘That Ain’t Bad’) was an EP we released just to have a record out. We didn’t expect it to cross into the mainstream.”

But it wasn’t all blind luck. The band’s new label rooART had the distribution power of Polygram behind it, and this, coupled with a strategic advertising campaign which directed fans to buy the record at independent record stores (department store sales at the time didn’t count towards the ARIA chart) saw the Tingles EP enter the charts. Few predicted it would hit #1, or that the second single ‘Don’t Go Now’ (a litany of hooks affixed to a baggy beat jettisoned in from Madchester) would follow suit. When Blind Love hit #1, the band held pole position on both the national albums and singles chart at the same time. Mass hysteria had set in; the Metro Choir Mix of ‘That Ain’t Bad’ showcases a live band completely drowned out by squeals and exuberant vocals at a sold out Metro Theatre show. A year earlier, the band had struggled to fill the Lansdowne.

“Everything started to change, if it hadn’t already at that point,” reflects Day, on holding court at the top of the charts. “We were working harder, there were more people to talk to, just more stuff to do; more gigs, more interviews, more roadside lunches,” he laughs. “It was a really fun time, it was really exciting.”

“Everything started to change. We were working harder, there were more people to talk to, more gigs, more interviews, more roadside lunches. It was really exciting...”

The excitement is set to return when the band unleashes Blind Love live from start to finish, along with the Tingles EP and an assortment of earlier singles that were in the band’s set circa 1991. But despite the nostalgia trip, Day is hesitant to admit that this album changed the course of popular music in Australia. It is clear that such a blanket phrase doesn’t sit too well with him, despite stalwarts like triple j Music Director Richard Kingsmill having made the claim in the past. “Around the same time, there were lots of bands doing their thing,” Day begins, reluctantly. “In terms of local bands, I guess it did change things, because the majors started signing more alternative bands.” Indeed, rooART set up a division (ra) especially for these up-and-coming Australian acts, which led to the signing and chart success of You Am I and Augie March, among others. Nirvana’s parallel success overseas furthered the rush to sign any band that owned a distortion pedal, and soon the country was overrun with a gleeful mix of grunge acts and fuzzy pop bands.

It was an exciting time, as Day says, but he has no plans to return to the days of old, ruling out a return to the touring circuit. This show is being marketed as a once-off, and Day plans for things to remain that way. “I mean, at this point we are focusing on this one show,” he begins. “No, we won’t be taking the band out on tour. At this point we are focusing on making this one gig good - and it will be.”

Where: The Factory Theatre When: Saturday June 18 20 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 21

The Middle East Sixth Sense By Caitlin Welsh

R

ohin Jones isn’t a chatty fellow. As one of the chief singer-songwriters for Townsville sixpiece The Middle East, who are 1.5 albums into their career and already renowned for their quietly eloquent, cryptic folk, there was no way to know he’d be your typically laconic Queensland boy - albeit a more softly-spoken and thoughtful version. But apparently I got off easy chatting to Jones rather than his co-frontman, Jordan Ireland: “He’s the quiet one,” says Jones drily.

The Middle East have never been in a hurry to make noise. Formed in 2005, they broke up temporarily after releasing a near-full length album, Recordings of The Middle East, to little fanfare. The album was then trimmed to EP length and re-released by Spunk Records in 2008; the gossamer harmonies and evocative storytelling of singles ‘Blood’ and ‘The Darkest Side’ – both of which featured in the back end of the triple j Hottest 100 in 2009 – gained them leagues of fans, spots at the Big Day Out and Laneway, support gigs for Grizzly Bear and Doves, and a writeup on Pitchfork’s tastemaking Forkcast playlist. The band found themselves touring more and more both here and internationally, snatching scraps of recording time where they could, until this April,

when they finally released I Want That You Are Always Happy - a gently ambitious, epic ramble through Australian Gothic folk and faded family albums.

“It just took so long, it was such an intense labour - it’s nice to be moving on with my own personal life,” sighs Jones, when I ask if it’s a relief to have the album out in the world. “We were touring and stuff in between [recording sessions], so we never really got a break from touring [to] think about it...

We were just playing shows and touring around and all of a sudden it was like, ‘Oh, we need an album’. It never really clicked that we should stop touring and stuff and, you know, give [ourselves] enough time to do it. It’s a pretty vulnerable experience – we’re pretty apprehensive about even releasing it.” Both the delayed release and the apprehension, he admits, come down to the fact that he and Ireland are insatiable perfectionists. “It was probably finished in 2009, but we scrapped it a bunch of times.”

I Want That You Are Always Happy was recorded in various studios around the world, from Townsville to Texas. After SXSW last year, the band holed up in Midlake’s Denton studio for three weeks to do what they could. Denton, a college town not far from Austin, boasts a music community that’s beginning to rival the latter’s famously rich scene.

“Yeah, Denton was incredible,” Jones says. “There’s this big jazz school that’s pretty much half the town, incredible musicians. Yeah, it was good fun... all the musicians we met there were jazz musicians.” The result of that jaunt can be heard most clearly in the secret final track, a ‘Great Gig In The Sky’-style jam with a riotous, knobbly sax solo – a far cry from the hushed tones of Recordings. “I don’t think it was a real mental thing, it was pretty intuitive,” Jones says, when I ask if the more experimental aspects of the record were intended from the outset. “Most of our decisions are pretty intuitive.

But yeah, I dunno. I think we did want to challenge ourselves. We could have just written a nice little folk album but … it was [more] interesting trying to do something different.”

“We did want to challenge ourselves.

We could have just written a nice little folk album, but it was more interesting trying to do something different.”

There are still all the hallmarks that drew so many listeners to Recordings, though; the vulnerable, tremulous vocals, the impossibly intimate whispers about family and loss and trees and secrets, and the unobtrusive, homespun spirituality that drew the customary snarky mutters about ‘Christian Music’. “Personally I dig what Christ was about, dig the guy, get a lot out of what he did and who he was,” Jones admits, unperturbed, “but I probably wouldn’t affiliate with straight-up religion – or, what am I saying… I’m not sure I’m down with religion, but I’m down with Christ, I guess.” He’s not too bothered by the tendency in Australia’s indie circles to push back against religious overtones in any song not written by Nick Cave; nor does he think twice about including those overtones if they emerge in a song. “To be honest I’m not thinking about that kind of thing when I’m writing a song. I guess it’s a bit more intuitive than that. It spills out, I guess, or you coax it out somehow. I’m pretty happy for people to think whatever they want... I think the quality of an idea is what [Jordan and I] censor most, rather than its actual content or its connotations.”

This month sees the band launching a longoverdue, fully-fledged national headline tour in support of the album. Jones says his perfectionist impulses are more selective when it comes to performing the songs live. “I don’t try to manufacture an emotional mood, I tend to just roll with whatever the show is. Sometimes it’s an interesting experience, and sometimes it can be fairly run-of-the-mill.” But just being back out on the road after a short break seems to be enough to stoke the fires a little. “I’ve had a bit of time off now, so I’m a bit recuperated and I’m looking forward to hanging out with the band and playing some shows,” he muses. “I’d like to actually be good for once, live. Gonna get a bit of practice in and try and actually, you know, be good. I’m looking forward to that.”

What: I Want That You Are Always Happy is out now through Spunk Where: The Metro / The Factory Theatre When: June 17 (sold out) / June 23 (on sale) 22 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 23

The Moniters Dig Deeper By Birdie that - but from the creative point of view, he didn’t change too much of what we already had, because the songs were strong enough on their own. We pretty much ended up re-recording everything that we did on the demos in my lounge room, and he tidied it up and worked his magic. [But] the structures and the song arrangements stayed pretty much the same.”

W

e got our first taste of their dark electronica with their debut single ‘Exit The System’ back in 2010, and one year later, The Moniters have finally pumped out one of 2011’s stand out EPs, with the help of super-producer Forrester Savelle.

“Forrester probably played the role of the ‘director’ more than anything,” says vocalist Jimi Lucas. The award-winning producer has worked with Dead Letter Circus, The Butterfly Effect and Helmet. “In terms of the direction it was going to go, he played a large part in

Jane Badler

Getting one of Australia’s most in-demand producers to ‘work his magic’ on The Moniters’ first-ever EP was no small feat – and in fact, it was upon Savelle’s own request that the band pack up and fly down to Melbourne’s Sing Sing South studios to record Sex City Lovers. A saucily-titled EP, sure, but taken from true life. “To be totally honest, me being the solo lyricist in the band, this was all about a period that I was going through for a while. I was just going out every single weekend and getting really loose and meeting heaps of girls and just cruising around… Maybe you can read between the lines, there,” he laughs. “I was just having a good time, and many of the songs on the EP were written about different experiences I went through, from in the clubs to away from the clubs - about different vibes I felt from people, different circumstances. There are definitely interesting stories behind the songs!” The trick was to make the album as

catchy and uplifting as possible, while at the same time delving into the meaning behind many of Lucas’s encounters. As a result, Sex City Lovers is a record that sonically makes you wanna dance and party, but lyrically encourages you to dig a little deeper.

“Last time we were in Melbourne we supported The Ovals, which is this amazing psychedelic band of trippers,” Lucas tells me.

“The singer described our music as ‘rockstyle electronica with Elvis singing over the top’. I loved that, actually - it made me smile.

It was very flattering because it made us sound like we were doing something no-one else was doing, which is a massive bonus for a band just trying to get out there. I mean, we have lots of tracks that you can’t help dancing to, but even Forrester said my vocals are along the lines of deep baritone with the clashing guitars, a more minimalistic feel.”

Lucas says that the songs they’re writing these days are more akin to The National, with Americana elements in the mix. “Songs can be dark, I think, but still have that driving, upbeat sound.”

What: Sex City Lovers EP is out now Where: The Lansdowne Hotel When: Saturday June 11

Self Is A Seed Throwdown At Showdown By Alyssa Gilbert

From Screen To Stage By Heidi Leigh Axton

I

f you’ve ever been at a show waiting to catch Karnivool or The Butterfly Effect, chances are you’ve been caught up in Self Is A Seed’s live set before. The fourpiece from NorthWest Sydney are all about the quick beats, the fast guitars and the steady, clean vocals - and with their catchy rhythms and energetic performances, they’re a hard act to ignore.

The band got together as ‘Self’ in early 2002, and set about perfecting their sound before releasing their debut EP, Silent Parade To The Spine, in November 2004. With Dave Bleus on guitar and vocals, Craig Smith on guitar, Andrew Haszard on bass and Nathan Tuffin on drums, they’ve worked hard to achieve a name for themselves, touring relentlessly with Karnivool, Cog and Helmet. “We’ve been really fortunate in getting on some of those bigger shows,” Dave Bleus says. “A lot of the people that come to see us now would never have heard of us otherwise.”

A

ccording to Jane Badler, our pest population need not quake in fear at the news that she’s currently touring the country; although she’s best known as the rodent-snacking Diana on the hit ‘80s sci-fi series V, Badler’s cravings are, in reality, a lot less peculiar. “Well, let me think… I love everything. I love pizza, pasta, chicken salad.

What can I say? Hamsters are definitely not on the list!” she laughs.

Drawing on a wealth of memories and melodramas from her career in b-grade Hollywood films and TV soaps like One Life to Live and Fantasy Island during the ‘70s and ‘80s, for her second album Tears Again, Badler has put together a filmic collection of songs which perfectly depict the era. The album is her second collaboration with SIR (Jesse Shepherd), and fans attending shows can expect performances seasoned with a good dose of theatrics, coupled with props and costumes for that extra dash of pepper.

“It’s myself up there, but in an exaggerated state,” explains Badler. “The album has not just my band in it, but [some of] Australia’s most incredible musicians. Paul Grabowsky [acclaimed musician and composer] produced it, so it’s a very slick, luscious album of strings and horns. [It] recreates the swinging era, when people were into key parties.

“I lived in New York during that time,” she continues. “People liked to swing, and there was this air about Studio 54. There’s also a tale [through the album] about a soap actress star of a cult TV show… Things get a bit twisted in her life and now she can’t leave the house and she’s a drinker, you know what I mean? That kind of a story, but told with a bit of irony and

humour.” It all sounds a bit like a movie, set to music... “That’s exactly right,” she agrees. “It’s fun, but also - beautiful lyrics. Jesse Shepherd is an amazing lyricist. He’s channelled me – and the songs, as a listening experience, hold their own.”

Neighbours fans may have also caught Badler in her recent role as Paul Robinson’s nemesis Diana Marshall, which she says was a much tougher role than many would think.

“Neighbours is a hard job. People don’t realise it, but every day you’re learning a new script and there’s very little time. You do one take two at the most, in the studio - and it’s done.

You have to come up with the goods quickly.

That’s very stressful. Then when you go to something like V, where there’s more money and a lot more time, you’re really ready for it.

In a way it was a gift to get that job before the other one.”

After following up Silent Parade with 2006’s Perspective EP, Self Is A Seed are currently working on their debut full-length – and Dave tells me fans should expect something more aggressive than anything the band’s produced before. Halfway through recording, they’ve been lucky enough to work with Anton Hagop who engineered Diorama, the fourth LP from the sorely-missed Silverchair - and while their album hasn’t got a release date yet, the first single will be out soon enough. “We are really bloody excited!” Dave says. “It’s heaps of fun and the guitars are cranked right up! ... It’s a killer sound and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”

Getting kicked out of their house and having the original drummer leave the band in the middle of writing the album, Dave’s understating it when he describes Self Is A Seed’s journey as “dramafilled” - but he’s happy to report that Nathan, their new drummer, immediately became one of them.

“He’s like a long lost brother.”

The four are heading to The Annandale next weekend for the Sydney branch of Melbourne’s epic Showdown Festival, which they’re co-headlining with Melody Black. With eleven bands across two stages, it won’t just be fun for the punters; Self Is A Seed will be partying along with their friends in The Dead Love and The Wire, and The Annandale’s their favourite stage to play. Look forward to hearing some of those new tracks, too: “We really can’t wait to tour this album, the songs are very satisfying to play live.”

As for the future for Self Is A Seed, they’re planning on more regional tours and bigger shows in the major cities, all the while writing as much as they can. “We’ve never been ones to paint by numbers or try to be something we’re not,” Dave says. “All we are is four people expressing our thoughts and feelings in the only way we know how - with bloody loud rock music!”

What: Showdown At The Annandale With: Melody Black, Engine Three Seven, Geminine, The Dead Love, Red Remedy, Marlow, Dumbsaint, Beggars Orchestra, Kaleeko, The Wire Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Saturday June 11

For Badler, then, her music career represents time to relax, and have a bit of fun. “Yeah, I think it does,” Badler begins, “but I’m working really hard to create a good show. I’ve noticed artists who have been performing at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre for some time. I’m more of a new person on the scene.

I mean, I’ve been singing forever, but this is a new show that I’ve been developing. So it’s not quite sitting back and enjoying yet,” she says.

“So far it’s been very well received, so that’s exciting!”

Who: Jane Badler & SIR, featuring Paul Grabowsky What: Tears Again is out now through Inertia Where: The Basement When: Thursday June 9

“From the ones who have been there my brain is not damaged but in need of some repair. Hold on to the basics”– THE KAISER CHIEFS - Aug 6 Enmore Theatre 24 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

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BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 25

Last week we shared some of our top picks for the festival; this week, we’re going behind the scenes. Below, we chat to two pioneering female directors whose films will play in the Festival’s Official Competition: Miranda July and Athina Rachel Tsangari. Both come from performance backgrounds, and

sff.org.au

have known each other for over a decade, since Tsangari programmed July’s short The Amateurist for CinemaTexas. Across the page, we pick the brains of an indie horror filmmaker, two Australians, and a Sundance winner. For daily coverage of the Festival, see thebrag.com and twitter.com/thebrag

The Future

(DIR. MIRANDA JULY) The day before we speak, Miranda July sends me an email. “You’ve spent far too much time holding things together that don’t belong together. Today they come undone and you let them. Good luck.” Whether her prediction was correct is between her and however many others received it – July has set up an ‘oracle’ service to promote her second film, The Future, and if you sign up she’ll send you your future twice a week. From anyone else, this kind of whimsy would be completely unacceptable.

From July - the writer, director and star of the film - it’s all just par for the course.

You’d be familiar with Miranda July from any number of vantage points. You might own her acclaimed book of short stories, No One Belongs Here More Than You. Or perhaps you’ve submitted an assignment for her online arts community project, ‘Learning To Love You More’, or bought a pair of pillowcases she scrawled on for Melbourne’s Third Drawer Down boutique (‘Here you will dream of endless kissing’; ‘Here you will dream of people you admire exposing your fraudulence’). If you’re a real die-hard fan, you’ll have copies of the girlzine she published in college, Snarla - or Joanie4Jackie, the filmzine she went on to make. But for the purpose of this article, Miranda July is a filmmaker; and following 2005’s Me And You And Everyone We Know, The Future is her second feature.

Miranda July

“The first time, every single thing seems like a huge deal - because it’s The First Time,” July says tentatively, down the line from her hometown of Los Angeles. “So the second film was easier in the sense that everything felt quite familiar and less scary… [On the other hand], I was looking for money for The Future in the heart of the recession while, frankly, my first movie came out kind of at the very end of a golden era for indie film making.” It’s undeniable that the buzz of the first helped the reception of the second; The Future premiered to a full 1200seat room at Sundance in January.

The Future is the story of Sophie (July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater), a couple of 35-yearolds who decide to adopt a sick cat. With 30 days until Paw Paw arrives in their home, they’re struck with a pretty relatable Gen X realisation: they haven’t become the grownups they intended to be, and won’t get a second chance. So they quit their jobs, turn off the internet, and give themselves a month to get it right. For Jason that means taking each opportunity that comes his way and each coincidence as a sign, while Sophie, who wants to dance for a living, promises herself she’ll upload a dance per day to YouTube. In a nod to the kind of creative block July admits to being terrified of, Sophie is paralysed and can’t complete the first dance. Failing, she runs away from both Jason and herself – and the 30 days tick past in a very unusual way...

Attenberg

longstanding fascination with strangers. Her ‘Eleven Heavy Things’ sculptures at the 2009 Venice Biennale included a white podium just big enough for two people to stand on, with scrawled text: ‘We don’t know each other.

We’re just hugging for the picture. When we’re done I’ll walk away quickly. It’s almost over.’

For ‘Learning To Love You More’, the online crowd-sourcing project she began in 2002, she would post regular assignments for anyone who stumbled upon it, like ‘Draw a picture of your friend’s friend’ and ‘Take a picture of strangers holding hands’. In Me And You And Everyone We Know, July plays Christine, an artist whose work involves narrating the lives of strangers in photos, and in The Future, Jason goes door to door to meet them.

“Performance is much looser,” she explains.

“Plus, you have to be very careful about which surreal things really carry a weight of important emotions – and which ones are just super cool.”

This, for July, is what it’s all about. For her, the fantastical, the dreamlike, the unreal concepts and characters are a way to embody an emotion, rather than just portray it. Hearing a character say, ‘Stop the clock, I can’t stand to hear this’ is one thing; actually watching him stuck in time while his partner moves on is another.

“I fear that if I get too lost in my own version of life, then I’m going to miss something - like, something pretty big,” July explains, when I ask what it is about strangers she finds so inspiring.

“And it’s so easy [not to]. All you have to do is talk to someone you don’t know - ideally out of your world - and suddenly you’re faced with, ‘Oh right, this life I’m living? This is just one story that I tell myself again and again, but it’s surrounded by all of these simultaneous stories.’ And that’s kind of the best feeling. I mean, it’s hard to hold that in your head for very long at a time, but it’s worth trying. Again and again.” – Steph Harmon

With The Future, July also holds tight to her

The Future screens: Sat Jun 11 / Sun Jun 12

(DIR. ATHINA RACHEL TSANGARI)

Given the offbeat but emotionally honest timbre of her latest film, my conversation with director Athina Rachel Tsangari starts and ends in a suitably off-kilter fashion. We begin by sitting in silence for a minute, each waiting for the call to be connected – until a sneaking suspicion makes me say ‘hello?’ and we burst into laughter; it ends with her asking what kind of weather she should pack for. Somewhere in there, I admit to galloping around my local grocery store like a horse – and she talks about how her film Attenberg allowed her, in a sense, to have the kind of frank conversations with her father that she wanted to.

Attenberg is a portrait of three lonely people living in a small, quasi-industrial town in Greece. Tsangari drops us feet first into a scene in which 23-year-old ingénue Marina (Ariane Labed) is taking a lesson in French kissing from her more experienced friend Bella. For the next 90 minutes we are invited to observe Marina’s sexual awakening, which occurs in tandem with preparations for her father Spyros’ death. Raised by Spyros in relative isolation, on a heavy diet of David Attenborough, Marina expresses her emotions through dances and silly walks, and communicates in short, blunt thrusts.

In other interviews, Tsangari has seemed slightly impatient about the comparisons 26 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

The Future differs from Me And You And Everyone We Know, not only in tone (where the former is funny, romantic and hopeful, the latter, while no less funny, is dark and filled with existential angst), but in how it plays with the surreal. By now you’ve already heard that it involves a talking cat, but the film also features a personified moon, a crawling t-shirt and an extremely difficult relationship with Time. The idea for the movie can be tracked back to a performance piece July wrote in 2006, ‘Things We Don’t Understand And Are Definitely Not Going To Talk About’ (she has an Eggers-esque knack for titles). But because performance offers a lot more freedom and fluidity than film, one of the challenges for July was finding a way to translate the surrealism of the piece into a movie – and knowing when to hold herself back when it didn’t quite work.

commonly made between Attenberg and Giorgos Lanthimos’ 2009 Cannes-awarded Dogtooth (for which she was a co-producer), about three teens who are sequestered from the ordinary world by their controlling parents. And yet – to an outside eye – there are obvious connections between the two films: emotionally autistic children, ideological parents, and the sense that all this might just be an allegory for Greece’s current sociopolitical state.

Tsangari moved from small-town Greece (the same town in the film) to America as a child, and went on to study Performing Arts at the University of Texas, in Austin. It was there that her love of cinema blossomed, thanks to a job as a projectionist, and a chance meeting with Richard Linklater that saw her play an extra in Slacker. Her first narrative feature, The Slow Business Of Going (2000), was a hit with film critics around the globe; Attenberg (her second) debuted at Venice Film Festival a decade later. In the intervening time, Tsangari continued her practice in video installation and documentary. But it was her studies in Greek tragedy and anthropology that chiefly informed her approach to Attenberg’s subject matter, through an emphasis on human movement and behaviour. “I was interested in looking at human action in more archetypal ways,” she explains.

In terms of content, the father-daughter dynamic was a focus from the beginning.

Attenberg’s characters and narrative evolved out of a small scene that came into Tsangari’s head one day: a young woman asking her father if he had thought of her naked. “I was really interested to talk about this very complex, intense relationship between fathers and daughters,” says Tsangari, “and how would it be if these two people tried to speak as though they were friends, buddies. And basically, have a series of confessions, [with each person] knowing very well that that was their last chance.”

The relationship between Marina and Spyros

is also representative of a Greece that is in transition. “It’s very melancholic right now in Greece,” Tsangari explains. “It’s the first time that all of us feel this loss of…ideology.

Sort of like the end of politics. We’ve had a couple of really intense, historically-charged centuries; and then the last 100 years, of basically going from an agrarian society – people living in villages and being farmers and shepherds – to suddenly being a First World country and member of the European Union, and trying to be industrialised and trying to be Westernised. So there is this shock – a social, economic and political shock, that I think for the first time we are fully experiencing.” – Dee Jefferson

Stake Land (DIR. JIM MICKLE)

How To Die In Oregon (DIR. PETER D. RICHARDSON) Winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, How to Die in Oregon tackles a difficult issue with confronting frankness so much so that in its latter stages you might find yourself wanting to run from the theatre.

Its portrait of a remarkable woman with terminal liver cancer is so intimate, you’ll feel like you’ve just met a beautiful friend you’ll inevitably lose a mere two hours later.

Like the other terminally ill patients in this intense documentary, Cody Curtis, 54, was facing the tough decision of whether to end her life prematurely via physician-assisted dying. The practice – which essentially involves an overdose of an orally-ingested anaesthetic branded as Seconal – is legal in only a few other countries (including Belgium and Switzerland, but not Australia). Oregon passed the Death With Dignity Act in 1994, becoming the first US state to do so; there have since been related acts and decisions in Montana, Texas and Washington state.

The buzz about Stake Land started last September, when it won the Audience Award at Toronto International Film Festival’s prestigious Midnight Madness showcase (sort of like the ‘Cannes’ of genre cinema). It was an unequivocal stamp of approval from connoisseurs of the horror genre. Co-written and directed by NYU film graduate Jim Mickle, Stake Land is produced by indie horror maverick Larry Fessenden (Habit; The Last Winter) who has made a reputation out of subverting genre film conventions in order to tackle social, philosophical and even environmental issues. If Fessenden is involved in a film, you know it’s going to have brains to match its balls.

Best described as a post-apocalyptic vampire road movie, Stake Land stands out from the rest of the blood-soaked market chiefly because it is just as interested in the ‘post-apocalyptic’ and ‘road movie’ parts of that equation as the horror. It’s set in a post-financial, post-political North America that has been almost entirely reduced to a savage state of nature by vampirism and cannibalism. All that remains are pockets of determined humanity, trying to rebuild some semblance of normality. Into this landscape wander teenaged orphan Martin (Connor Paolo, AKA Eric from Gossip Girl) and his grizzled warrior-mentor Mister (Nick D’Amici).

They’re on their way to the fabled safe haven of ‘New Eden’ in the north, killing any vampires or evil neo-Christian cultists that get in their way. Along the road, they pick up

other travellers. The relationships between these characters sustain the film as much as the adrenaline shots of action and gore.

A genre nut who grew up on a diet of Evil Dead and Dario Argento films, and inspired by the DIY ethos of Robert Rodriguez, Mickle debuted with lo-fi zombie flick Mulberry Street, which was inspired by Australia’s Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers), and their credit card-funded debut, Undead.

“I saw that at the Locarno Film Festival [in 2003],” Mickle recalls, “and I just loved their attitude and their energy, the fact that they’d just made a little backyard movie.”

Mulberry Street took inspiration from the films of Jane Campion, among other unexpected places – and Stake Land is equally as eclectic. Mickle says he and lead actor/co-writer Nick D’Amici originally conceived it as a modern-day western, embedded in a coming-of-age story. In terms of creating atmosphere within their predominantly daylight scenes, they turned to Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven for photography inspiration; and to John Ford’s Depression-era dustbowl drama The Grapes of Wrath, when they were conceptualising their portrait of socio-economic collapse. “I like when you make a horror film that doesn’t look or feel like a horror movie,” Mickle adds “ – because then it kind of sneaks up on you when something happens!” – Dee Jefferson Stake Land screens: Sun Jun 12 / Sun Jun 19

LBF (DIR. ALEX MUNT) There are a lot of things about Alex Munt’s directorial debut LBF that draw attention: Toby Schmitz’s dead-eyed littleboy-lost expression on the poster; the impressive list of Sydney bands featured on the soundtrack; the unexpected starkness of the full title... And then there’s the declaration that it’s “A Pop-Art Film”.

“That got a lot of attention from the American [media] at SXSW,” says Munt.

“On one hand, I think it prepares the audience for LBF (a title that doesn’t give much away). But for me, as a filmmaker, Pop-Art was the guiding aesthetic for LBF. It’s loaded with pop music performances and soundtrack, but the mise en scène, colours, locations are all pop-inspired. The ‘art’ factor marks LBF as playing with the tropes of art cinema; in the film there is a lot of narration, direct camera address, chapter intertitles, narrative digressions and musical interludes – all borrowed forms of art cinema.”

LBF (aka Living Between Fucks) is based on Cry Bloxsome’s cult novel of the same name; Munt, a film academic at Macquarie University by day, picked up the book by chance on the shelf at Ariel Books in Paddington. “It captured I think a generational experience of easy travel, of dislocation, of ‘adult-lescence’, taking a bit longer to find your way in the world,” he says of the book. “It seemed to take more inspiration from Brat Pack US novels than anything domestic.”

The ‘story’ follows Paris-based writer Goodchild (Schmitz), who returns to a sweltering Sydney for the funeral of his ex-girlfriend, The Dead Girl (Gracie Otto), and spends the subsequent days getting wrecked, getting laid, and seeing bands.

Taking its cues from the immediacy of

the novel’s unique narration, Munt’s film is languorous, sweatily picaresque, and punctuated by unexpected stylistic shifts and long sequences, featuring live performances from acts like Teenagers in Tokyo and Fergus Brown. “LBF is driven by tone, mood and emotion over a more conventional narrative shape. Its themes are ‘love, loss and desperation’,” Munt explains, adding that the effect of the film should be similar to a good pop song, working on “reflection, memory and melancholy”.

The film is hard to watch, not so much because of the subject matter’s dangerous political reputation, but because filmmaker Peter D. Richardson tells a series of personal stories that forces audiences to confront their own mortality. “What carried me through the making of the film was the desire to tell that human story, and the personal side of a very political issue,” says the Oregon native,

who worked consistently on the project since 2007. “This issue has been spoken about and theorised about ad nauseam in the theoretical realm – philosophically, morally, ethically – and what I really felt was that everyone was trying to lay their claim to the truth, and I felt that the real truth is the story that hasn’t been told.”

By telling the story humanely and honestly, Richardson’s advocacy of the law becomes self-evident, though the film does give some voice to the opposition – mainly though the plight of the blue-collar citizen Randy Stroup, who was denied state-funded treatment and offered the “death with dignity” option instead. The focus, however, is on Cody and her family. Discovered two years into filming, she became the primary subject after her doctor, Dr. Katherine Morris, became the first practitioner willing to be named and interviewed.

Richardson says Cody saw her participation in the film as a comfort to those in a similar situation, and “kind of a letter to her family and loved ones.” The film shows her to have been an extraordinary woman of phenomenal grace and strength, the kind of person anyone would be lucky to know; the great achievement of How to Die is that you feel like you did. – Joshua Blackman Screens: Sat Jun 11 / Wed Jun 15

Hail (DIR. AMIEL COURTIN-WILSON) In the past few years of Australian cinema, we’ve seen some truly remarkable features come from documentarians and filmmakers using documentary techniques: Warwick Thornton’s Samson and Delilah, Glendyn Ivin’s Last Ride, and more recently, Justin Kurzel’s Snowtown. The latest proponent of this documentary/narrative fusion is Melbournebased filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson – and if you talk to his peers in the industry, he is consistently referenced as a prodigious talent to watch. Having made his name with Bastardy, documenting the criminal life and rehabilitation of legendary Indigenous musician and actor Jack Charles, Courtin-Wilson now has his first narrative feature under his belt – Hail.

Based on the life experiences of ex-con Daniel P. Jones (who was the subject of CourtinWilson’s Cannes-selected short Cicada), Hail is an exquisitely photographed, irrepressible beast: in its tamer moments, it reads like a piece of social realism set in the same milieu as Animal Kingdom; in its headiest moments, it’s like a drug trip through the eyes of a wild animal. The story starts with Danny (played

by Jones) released from prison, and reuniting with his long-term partner Leanne (Jones’ real life partner, Leanne Letch). What begins as a joyous homecoming, depicted with considerable warmth and humour by Courtin-Wilson, begins to sour as Danny finds re-integration to the workforce both difficult and humiliating. The film takes a sharp left turn about halfway through, after an incident throws Danny’s headspace

into a primal, vengeful gear, which is reflected in an increasingly hallucinatory audiovisual experience.

Courtin-Wilson developed an interest in the criminal milieu while making Chasing Buddha (1998), in which the 18-year-old followed his aunt, a Buddhist nun, on her daily work with death-row inmates in US prisons. “There was just something very, very unique and kind of pure in terms of the way in which these guys chose to relate to you on a very basic level,” he recalls. “There was a great sense of integrity, and purity in terms of their ability to not only read you, but also to eschew all the usual social protocols – for example, asking what it is you do. … They really do just take the person in front of them at face value – and because of that there’s a great sincerity and honesty in the relationships that can form. It’s kind of what’s drawn me again and again to that subject matter – my interest in those more engaging and honest human interactions, I suppose.”

Courtin-Wilson is a self-trained filmmaker who was making Super-8 backyard films by the age of 8, under the instruction of his father, a social worker and artist. “My dad had a real philosophy of empowering people – I was never aware of the possible pitfalls of those transactions, be they social worker and client or documentarymaker and subject; it was kind of all about trying to erode those usual barriers.” – Dee Jefferson Hail screens: Sun Jun 12 / Mon Jun 13

The film was shot on a shoestring budget and skeleton crew on location in Sydney’s bars, pubs and parks – “And lots of bathrooms, which was kind of strange and always cramped,” says Munt.

“But these spaces all make up a city and LBF is a very Sydney film for me, but not the typical portrait of a city… A colleague of mine watched an early cut and described it as ‘Un-Australian’, which was interesting. Often when I’m watching an Australian film set in the city it kind of has a retro feel, even though it’s going for contemporary [whereas] LBF captures the city, with immediacy.” – Caitlin Welsh LBF screens: Fri Jun 10 / Sun Jun 12 BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 27

arts frontline

free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com

arts, theatre and film news... what's goin' on around town and more...

brushstrokes WITH HOLLY

J’ADOLL OF 34B BURLESQUE

they they’ve decided to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday long weekend - and prolong the entire world’s fascination with all things royal with a monarchy-themed evening. 34B stalwart Holly J’aDoll gives us an update on her antics ahead of The Crown Jewels: A Right Royal Burlesque.

Be honest: did you watch The Wedding?

OK, I’ll admit it - I watched it. I had no intention of doing so but ended up at my best friend’s house, both of us laying in bed with pizza and gin, tut-tutting the outfit selections of wedding guests and trying to figure out when it was exactly that Harry became hotter than Wills... The highlight for me was calling it on Kate’s McQueen gown - should’ve put money on it!

What mischief are you getting up to for 34B Burlesque’s Crown Jewels? I’ll be performing my Rule Britannia-punk princessLady Westwood-Blondie vs. The Pistols act.

Err - there’s a lot going on in that description, huh? So you’ll just have to come along on the night to make sense of it, won’t you? I can tell you that it’s quite manic and I shout a lot. So, a typical Saturday night for me, really!

Can you describe your costume? I have a crown. And a cloak. Some anarchy symbols on my boobs. And lots of attitude. ow in its 6th glorious year, 34B Burlesque is the undisputed Queen of Sydney’s burlesque clubs. Fitting, then,

N

NEW SYDNEY FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

In case you missed it: last week saw the announcement of who will succeed Lindy Hume as Sydney Festival director after next year. Belgian-born Lieven Bertels, currently the Artistic Coordinator for the Holland Festival, will take the reins for the 2013-2015 Festivals.

Bertels comes to Sydney after reinvigorating Holland Festival – most notably bringing in opera, visual art, contemporary music and 35% more profits. He bears a stamp of approval from previous collaborators such as Mike Patton and VIVID 2009 co-curator Laurie Anderson.

“My mission is to bring the best and the boldest projects to Sydney’s streets and stages and I’m grateful for this wonderful opportunity to add exciting new pages to the Festival’s rich history,” said Bertels.

KIT DENTON DISFELLOWSHIP

The competition formerly known as the Kit

VIVID: CREATIVE SYDNEY: MCA

You’re a 34B Burlesque regular - what are your highlights so far? I love performing at 34B, it’s a killer night and it’s always served with a twist... Personal highlights include

watching Francois Bublé fly over the crowd in a silver spacesuit, and post-show photo booth shenanigans with Lauren LaRouge... Ooo-lala.

Last time we talked to you, you were rocking a pretty fierce routine to Pharoahe Monch’s ‘Simon Says’. What’s your routine of choice at the moment? My Disco Ho routine has been getting a workout of late; I performed it earlier this year on the Burlesque Royale tour, at Adelaide Fringe, and The Australian Burlesque Festival. My costume consists of a dress constructed entirely out of records paired with a platinum afro the size of a small child. I throw myself around onstage to The Hustle, the theme from Shaft and 'Sex Machine' and yes, I have a giant revolving turntable prop.

As part of the epic orgy of creative people, things, ideas, tunes, images and words that is known as Creative Sydney, there is a weekend packed full of extra events at the Museum of Contemporary Art. From the exclusive Australian premiere of the new feature film LBF, plus live and DJ sets from Kids at Risk, Fergus Brown and Tortoiseshell; to the timely “Debate: Is Sydney pricing creativity out of the picture?”; from the Portfolio Masterclass to the FBi Open Day, it’s three days of interactive and fun ways to explore Sydney’s creative opportunities. Check out vividsydney.com/events/ideas/mca for full details and times – in the meantime, if you’d like to win a double pass to attend every event in the CS:MCA program, just email freestuff@thebrag.com with your details and tell us the Sydney actor who stars in LBF.

Where do you look for routine inspiration?

Music is always a massive inspiration for me I always perform to music I love.

What other pies have you got your fingers in at the moment? The Peel is on a brief hiatus, but will be back and bigger than ever when we hit Sydney Harbour on a luxury vessel in November - stay tuned for that one!

It’s been a massive 2011 for me so far and I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve... Just wait and see!

What: The Crown Jewels: A Right Royal Burlesque Where: 34B, 44 Oxford St Darlinghurst When: Saturday June 11, 8.30pm

Denton Fellowship is rebranding this year, to underline its mission of finding a winner whose ideas are so out-there that “your nan disowns you, your neighbours shun you and the shock jocks call for you to be locked up”. The $30,000 grant, presented by the Australian Writer’s Foundation and Zapruder’s Other Films, is to help a writer with “strong, exciting, subversive ideas” get their ideas onto screens around the country. Entries open Monday June 6; for more info, hit up www.awg.com.au.

LBF

Illustration by Ken Taylor

BATT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Mad Men star Bryan Batt – AKA Sterling Cooper’s closeted, deliciously dry Art Director Salvatore Romano – is bringing his one-man cabaret show Batt On A Hot Tin Roof to Sydney later this month. Batt, who’s also starred on Broadway in shows like La Cage aux Folles, Beauty and the Beast and Cats, weaves Cole Porter and modern pop in with stories about his childhood in New Orleans and his career in showbiz. The acclaimed show hits the Basement on June 30, July 1 and July 2.

Dingo

COLOUR BY NUMBERS

There’s a new pop-up gallery in town, and it’s called Colour By Numbers. Kicking off this week, CBN will hold fortnightly exhibitions in different locations around Sydney and Melbourne, showcasing local and international lowbrow, street art, film, photography, installation and illustration – anything awesome, in other words. Colour By Numbers will launch this week with Up Close, an eclectic exhibition of new works from the likes of Ben Frost, Bennett, Chris Cunningham (UK) (!!!), EARS, Georg Whelan, HAHA, Sean Morris, Two-One, Ken Taylor and heaps more… Thursday June 16 from 6pm at LO-FI Collective (Lvl 3, 383 Bourke St, Taylor Sq). You can view the works – and donate to the CBN start-up fund by visiting their online gallery at colourbynumbersgallery.com

SHUTTERBUGGIN’

DINGO AT THE AGNSW

Before you check out Part 2 of our Sydney Film Festival coverage on page 26, make a note of this. The National Film and Sound Archive, as part of the Deluxe/Kodak film preservation project, is presenting a new print of Dingo – Rolf de Heer’s AFI Awardwinning 1991 feature starring Colin Friels and (in his only film role ever) jazz icon Miles Davis. Davis also co-wrote the score, with the intention of rediscovering “the ambience of [his] cool period”. Rolf de Heer himself will introduce the film at this premier screening, taking place at the Art Gallery of NSW on June 18 at 2pm. Tickets from the SFF website.

28 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

Hey you, flicking to the party snaps at the back!

This is relevant to your interests. Weekly arts shindig The Wall is putting on an exhibition of some of the best images by Sydney social photographers. Featuring work by Daniel Havas, Natalie Connolly, and Pat Stevenson and Tom Walk of the Hobo Gestapo, there will be free drinks for early arrivals and many a late-night memory to be recovered. The World Bar, 24 Bayswater Rd, King’s Cross, from 7.30pm.

VISUAL RESPONSE

Project space and art and design launch pad Australian INfront are once again running their Visual Response competition – an opportunity to have fun, get creative and produce a visual work loosely based around a single stimulus idea.

Visual Response #5 is based broadly, as it were, around the idea of “woman”. Selected works will

be exhibited in Melbourne on July 8. Check the website for more info on prizes and how to enter: www.australianinfront.com.au/involved

OH REALLY BYE BYE

Sad face: Oh Really Gallery are closing their doors this month, and moving onwards to greener pastures and different projects.

Founded by Daniel O’Toole (aka EARS), Jamie Nimmo and Max Berry, the Oh Really gallery, website and zine have all been core proponents of local lowbrow and street artists, nurturing fresh talent, and exposing Sydneysiders to curious new work from interstate and overseas.

Jamie, Dan and Max are throwing a Oh Really farewell party this Thursday June 9 from 6pm, with live music from Ungus Ungus Ungus, among others, and a wall to wall install of mural work featuring some of Sydney’s finest street artists. Bring your cuddles, tissues, and beer goggles…

You’ve seen the shows, now meet the stars!*

s Sci-fi s Movies s Anime s Games s Comics s Wrestling s Comps s Fun! s

AMY ACKER Dollhouse/Angel

TOM FELTON Harry Potter

JAMES MARSTERS Buffy/Smallville

Also featuring...

Sydney Olympic Park, June 18 & 19

www.supanova.com.au Harry Potter © Warner Bros, Pictures 2007. Publishing Rights © J K Rowling *All guests confirmed commitments pending. †Must be accompanied by a paying adult.

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The Bonfire [THEATRE] A new production gets big results from small stories By Barlow Redfearn

Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper [THEATRE] A deeply personal one-man show... with bees By Emma Salkild

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loyd Beckmann’s penchant for bees started when he was a small boy and saw one for the first time in the lemon tree at the front of his house. He would take trips into the bush with his brother, where they would gather wild honey from eucalyptus trees. By the age of 16 he was beekeeping, and continued to do so right through to the end of his life. Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper tells his story through the eyes of his grandson, the Green Room Award-winning actor Tim Stitz.

“I’d been playing with an older character, like a caricature, and I thought Granddad’s story coupled with that would be a really good vehicle for a show,” Stitz explains. The resulting oneman show is a funny and intimate look at the unique relationship between a grandfather and his grandson, and the inter-generational issues surrounding it such as nostalgia, inheritance and grief. The Old Fitzroy will undertake a drastic transformation to recreate the beekeeper’s granny flat, and simulate a visit to an elderly relative. With the audience capacity limited to just forty people, Stitz and the production team (with an aroma designer to boot) have created a sort of interactive art installation; Lloyd even offers audiences snacks, a XXXX beer, a glass of riesling, and tea or coffee.

Stitz began interviewing Lloyd, who was from Queensland, five years ago; it was then he realised how his grandfather was ageing. He explains now that this forced him to confront his own mortality. “In my childhood and teenage years both my grandparents were these strong stalwarts in my life and now I see that incremental slippage and that they are downsizing,” he says. “My memory of Lloyd is as a beekeeper so I wanted to chart that throughout his life. He became a beekeeper at sixteen but he only did it commercially in his sixties after a few failed business ventures and investments.” Lloyd and

his wife grew wealthy, Stitz says, and then “lost everything” and had to move from middle-class Ipswich to a caravan on a family member’s property.

“Lloyd was always very close to the land and this affinity with the land seems to make it an Aussie battler story,” Stitz explains. “You toil to get it working and running and sometimes it goes well and sometimes it goes belly-up. Granddad was like, ‘If it all goes shit then stiff upper lip, you carry on and don’t drop your bundle.’ The drama of the piece is about getting on and picking up your pieces and to make of life what you can. Or as Lloyd used to say, ‘such is life’.”

The show has been lauded by the press in both Melbourne and Canberra and was nominated for a Green Room Award. After Sydney it will go on to Brisbane, where some of Stitz’s family will see it for the first time. “It’s very autobiographical and raw and initially I had concerns about whether I should be exposing it all in the show,” he admits.

“When it comes to my family, it would be hard to see your personal story being told in the general public but if I get too involved in the fact it is personal, it can stop the need to tell the story or play the piece of theatre as it is.

“In this play you learn about bees and beekeeping from a lovely old chap, but it’s also about ageing and what we inherit from generation to generation,” Stitz goes on. “What scars? What skeletons in the closet? Things we are scared of but actually end up moulding who we are.”

What: Lloyd Beckmann, Beekeeper Where: Old Fitzroy Theatre, Woolloomooloo When: June 7 – 25

W

ith such a wide assortment of artistic media open to contemporary artists, it’s become increasingly difficult to categorise artworks into the confines of the traditional disciplines. The Deconverters production team, along with director Jane Grimley, have created one such work: their latest play, The Bonfire, is a unique production where theatre, film, and music converge.

Having trained at the PACT centre for emerging artists – an institution that produces and supports artists whose works push the boundaries of traditional and single artform practices – it’s little wonder Grimley’s career to date has seen her work across a range of artistic media.

“My favourite projects tend to be collaborative and experimental,” says Grimley. “And as a director and producer I’ve thrown myself into some amazing projects, including travelling to Germany with a physical theatre work entitled The Speech Givers, and blending theatrical languages with the Australian Theatre of the Deaf and Power House Youth Theatre for their production, Mobile Messenger.”

Grimley’s latest foray into the world of interdisciplinary and experimental art, The Bonfire is a uniquely Australian text written by Sydney based playwright Sime Knezevic. Set in a caravan park in southern New South Wales, the play explores the personal identities of three teenagers as they see in the dawning of a new year on the coast.

Combining both physical and cinematic imagery, The Bonfire is a production that’s sure to cut close to the bone for many Australians. “I love big ideas in little stories,” Grimley admits. “I grew up in a coastal town, and am still excited and a little bit frightened by a piss-up on the beach. Adolescence, cars, grog and sex are explosive memories to dig up and explore. I think people love and despise these memories in equal parts, and I think people will secretly enjoy having the chance to revisit them.”

Although Sime Knezevic’s script at first appears painfully archetypal, in the sense that it speaks of such a uniquely Australian experience, Grimley is quick to dispel any suggestion that the show is designed to inform its audiences of what it is to be Australian.

“I don’t want people to think this is a show about Australian identity, but rather about exploring personal identities in an authentic way,” she says. “Yes, we’re Australians, we grew up in Australia, and are now making theatre about that. We’re certainly not, however, trying to make grand statements about our national identity. We haven’t had the Daily Telegraph chasing our company for tales of mateship inside a troop of artistic Aussie battlers, and we’re very grateful for that.”

At the heart of this production, rather than a patriotic evocation of national identity, rests a celebratory sense of artistic collaboration and experimentation. Working as part of the Deconverters production team and in close collaboration with filmmakers Kate Vinen and Simon Koloadin, as well as sound designer Vanessa Black, the production team behind The Bonfire has embarked upon a project designed to expand the boundaries of theatrical language.

“This show doesn’t look like any other theatre I’ve ever seen before,” says Grimley. “I’m excited, and I think audiences will be too, by what a rich and unique theatrical language we’ve created. It’s an immersive form of storytelling that gets at the heart of an experience we’ve all been through. And the show challenges people to relive this in a way they haven’t done so before.”

What: The Bonfire Where: Newtown Theatre When: June 8 – 18 More: www.newtowntheatre.com.au

The White Guard [THEATRE] Andrew Upton helms a classic family drama with modern resonance By Simon Binns

I

f you judge a theatre company purely on its profitability then Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton’s tenure as artistic directors at the Sydney Theatre Company has been an unquestionable success. It was recently declared that profits from 2010 were up 52% on the previous year. The pair is also undoubtedly getting more people out to the theatre, with Uncle Vanya, the centrepiece of last year’s season, selling almost 45,000 tickets. The position has also given the couple a chance to expand themselves artistically, with Blanchett sinking her teeth into great acting roles, while Upton has been able to bring his writing to new audiences and also experiment as a director.

His latest project combines both these skills, as he directs his own adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s 1926 novel The White Guard at the Sydney Theatre this month.

Set in Kiev in 1918, the story pairs the political chaos of the post-Russian Revolution era with the domestic chaos of the Turbin family who eat, sing and drink vodka while waiting for a war. “It’s a sweeping epic,” Upton explains.

“It takes place in one day and predominantly in one household.” As the saying goes, great theatre will make you laugh and then make you cry, and The White Guard seems to be a textbook example. “Really sharp emotional corners are turned,” says Upton.

“It’s quite absurdist in many ways, verging on

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Pythonesque, and yet it’s also Chekhovian at times. It’s a remarkable concoction and in lesser hands it would be a mess… but it ends up being this incredibly grand picture of a country on the brink of radical change.”

Bulgakov wrote the novel in 1926, when Stalin’s censorship rules were well and truly in place; but despite this inherently historical setting, Upton has worked hard to bring the play into our century. “When I do adaptation… I think it’s really important to quite deliberately resonate the language into the present,” he says. “Partly to make it sit in an audience’s ear more immediately so that it doesn’t have a kind of difference, because I think that difference tends to nostalgia and a sense of ‘weren’t they funny back then’ type of thing.” However, it’s not just about making the language feel more ‘normal’ to an audience. “It’s also a way of making the themes resonant into the present. Obviously there’s no point in doing the play unless it speaks to our time, it’s just a piece of museum programming otherwise.” So no ridiculous accents and furry hats? “This production has a sense of period because it’s quite clearly about the Russian Revolution,” he clarifies. “But that period is smeared and history is allowed to be much more fluid or porous so the relatively contemporary language can sit in that world comfortably as well as sit in the audience’s ear, giving it a slightly more modern flavour.”

The show also brings back to the STC one of Australia’s most well-known actresses, Miranda Otto. As far as Upton was concerned, she was always the first choice for the play’s central character Lena. “One of the things we tried to do with this year’s programme was find great roles for women… we really wanted to ask Miranda… so we sent it to her and she liked it, thank God!” laughs Upton, adding, “She still seems to – thank God!” Upton's adaptation was originally commissioned by London’s National Theatre, and the director is very excited to bring the play to our shores. “I am very proud of this adaptation,” he says. “As far as Cate and I are concerned as artistic directors, one of our important briefs is to get unique and interesting theatrical forms out to our audience and it is a unique theatrical voice – Bulgakov is quite amazing.”

What: The White Guard by Mikhail Bulgakov; adapt. & dir. Andrew Upton Where: Sydney Theatre When: Previews from June 7; season runs June 11 – July 10 More: www.sydneytheatre.com.au

Film & Theatre Reviews What's hot on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.

Friday 27 May / State Theatre Much like using the word American in a movie title, using the words Buena Vista in a show title is bound to attract an audience. Ever since the (re)emergence of the Buena Vista Social Club juggernaut, the ‘40s and ‘50s era of Cuban music has almost become fetishised in Western culture.

The Bar At Buena Vista was equal parts concert, dance showcase and cultural history lesson, as well as a tribute to brightly-shining Cuban personalities and the golden era in which they worked their magic. The show’s affable narrator, host and co-creator Carlos Bustamante, gave brief introductions contextualising each cast member as they emerged to demonstrate their specialty.

The set consisted of a replica bar (laden with rum, naturally) and dance floor, every inch of which was utilised by the team of four dancers, with a band of Cuban congas, trumpet, percussion and keys setting the pace. Male lead Eric Turro – or the ‘Whirlwind Of The Caribbean,’ as he’s affectionately known – is truly a Cuban national treasure, who’s apparently singlehandedly keeping classic Cuban dance styles alive in a rapidly changing world.

The guy, in adult speak, is extraordinary; or maybe better described in street speak as off-the-freakin’-chain.

Also stitched into the Buena Vista legend was the original barman from Havana’s BV Social Club, Arturo Lucas, who also doubled as storyteller (and eventually jazz vocalist in his own right) to help build the charm of the show’s narrative. Songstress Somiara Valdez commanded attention as the diva of the evening; her passion, grace and style were applauded loudly. But stealing the show for most was Reynaldo Creagh – still touring internationally on the verge of his 94th birthday – who sings, and holds incredibly long notes, like a complete powerhouse, his vocal strength outliving that of his frail body. Creagh also injected healthy doses of cheeky Cuban-style, ladies’-man charm, which added a lot to the fun of the evening.

Cuban artistic royalty continued to roll across the stage scene by scene – most of them old friends reunited – all blanketed in a good amount of humour and charm, teary-eyed nostalgia, and authentic Cuban cigar smoke. And if you’ll excuse the following cliché The Bar at… was, in fact, a hugely entertaining cultural celebration.

It was also mountains of fun – the smile remained on my face long after I left the theatre.

Tony Edwards ■ Dance

THE YARD May 26-28 / Seymour Centre Take an award-winning choreographer and 30 Western Sydney teens with diverse cultural backgrounds, give them three years together to workshop ideas, and you end up with Shaun Parker’s latest dance creation – a series of vignettes set in a schoolyard, replete with school uniforms, a slippery slide and a noisy bell, where essential themes of exclusion, friendship, bullying and games play out.

The beauty of The Yard is in the way it showcases niche street dance styles that are only now gaining traction with a wider audience. The choreography flips effortlessly between styles as diverse as breakdancing, modern contemporary and popping. In one memorable sequence, three boys perform a combination of liquid and digits, tutting, and strobing – street styles born from the 1990s electro-rave scene, involving intricate flowing and halting movements focused on the hands and arms.

The Yard doesn’t pretend to be a showcase for technical perfection or classical training – in a post-show speech, Parker was quick

to point out that most of the students learnt to dance by watching YouTube videos. But the payoff is an abundance of rawness and spontaneity – and of male dancers, who are often conspicuously absent from teen dance ensembles.

Parker also made a savvy choice in recruiting Nick Wales from the ARIA award-winning group CODA to compose the soundtrack: those familiar with the group will appreciate the synergy between their electro-minimalist sound and Parker's street choreography. It’s a testament to Wales’ skill that I left wishing I could buy the soundtrack.

Yasmin Parry ■ Film

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Released June 2 This half-prequel to, half-reboot of the X-Men series is a slick, intensely-crafted triumph. With few signs of its rushed production and with a healthy reverence for '60s Sean Connery Bond flicks, First Class is as much a good spy caper and character study as it is a superhero origin story. Featuring a bright bunch of actors under the no-nonsense reins of Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughan, it just might just be the best X-Men movie yet.

It works so well, in part, because it avoids over-explaining things: it’s just a given that “mutants” – who can read minds, fly, shape shift, or get hairy and blue thanks to their genetic abnormalities – exist in the same universe as JFK, the Cuban Missile crisis and Nazi Germany. It’s to the film’s credit that one hardly raises an eyebrow when January Jones turns into an ice-block as the steely henchwoman, Emma Frost, or a young Magneto tries to rip open a gate at Auschwitz using his magnetic powers (in a scene recreated from Bryan Singer’s original X-Men back in 2000).

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First Class sticks to the established mythos of Singer’s excellent first two films, but not too much, and Vaughan infuses proceedings with his by-now-trademark energy. He is, however, also smart enough to keep James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, who play the younger versions of Professor X and Magneto respectively, in the spotlight. Even though the superpowered action is thrilling, it’s this tense but respectful dynamic between the privileged, smooth Charles Xavier and the troubled Erik Lehnsherr, that forms the film’s emotional throughline.

The '60s setting allows for splendid production design (including a delicious nod to Dr. Strangelove’s War Room), and a predilection for sexy women in lingerie (even Rose Byrne inexplicably gets in on the act as a helpful CIA agent). Underlining the McAvoy-Fassbender show are the younger members of the soon-to-benamed X-Men. The only two to leave a lasting impression are Jennifer Lawrence, as Raven, and Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy. Kevin Bacon is also appropriately devilish as the villain, Dr. Shaw.

First Class occasionally lapses into questionable dialogue, and it curiously recodes Singer’s homosexuality metaphor as something broader, but the spiffy special effects and Vaughan’s bold direction keeps things moving. It’s up there with Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man as the best of the Marvel movies, and after the dismal X-Men Origins: Wolverine, just the kick in the pants the series needed.

Joshua Blackman

X-Men: First Class

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

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THE BAR AT BUENA VISTA

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

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Arts Snap

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Arts Exposed What's on our calendar...

TOOTH OF CRIME, ATYP Dir. Dave Harmon / Wharf 1, Hickson Road / Until June 25 From the mischievous mind of the director who brought Sydney a Shakespearean adaptation of The Big Lebowski and a musical adaptation of Dr. Strangelove, comes a stage show that’s “part rock concert, part poetry slam, part death match”, and all unlike anything you’ve seen on stage in recent years. One of iconic American playwright Sam Shepard’s earliest works, Tooth of Crime is set in a futuristic American wasteland where rock’n’roll and violence have become the dominant currency. The ATYP’s production brings the 1972 script up to date with a brand new score by Basil Hogios, while still keeping close to the ferocious spirit that made the New York Times describe it as “perhaps the best American drama on the cancerous nature of fame”. The show opened last week at Wharf 1, and runs until June 25

Tooth of Crime

– and we can’t tell you enough to go and see it already. Tickets and details from www.atyp. com.au.

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK of Evil Urges, it stands as their benchmark coming into Circuital - a release that sees the band step back from Evil Urges' quirky psych-outs, to ball up the sum of their sounds into one of the most complete and accomplished records of the year.

MY MORNING JACKET Circuital Spunk There couldn't possibly be a better band on the planet right now than My Morning Jacket - if there were, there'd be minds expanding and heads exploding everywhere. And with the release of Circuital, MMJ's sixth and most anticipated record, they've outdone themselves again.

Deliciously paced and cohesive amongst its battling alt-country, indie and psych ideas, Circuital stands not only as MMJ's most assured release, but as one of the highlights of 2011.

Evolving from the country-cum-indie sounds of 1999 debut The Tennessee Fire to the increasinglystatured It Still Moves and Z, MMJ eventually arrived at the 2008 epic, Evil Urges; a remarkably diverse record featuring Jim James’ most adventurous songwriting, and bizarrely-recorded vocals, to date. While the fervent MMJ fanbase tends to denigrate the sonic evolution at the core

Circuital hinges on its artful pacing. The heartracing tension of album opener ‘Victory Dance’ rises into a frenzy before the album’s ethereal early highlight, ‘Circuital’. The ensuing two-track lull leads to the spacey ‘Out Of My System’, before one of the album’s only functioning stand-alones, the Bond-esque (and brilliantly titled) ‘Holdin’ On To Black Metal’. The superbly placed guitar fuzz on ‘You Wanna Freak Out’ is a grippingly unexpected interruption, before the album pulls itself into its undertow with two lethargic album closers, finishing triumphant and serenely beautiful.

Max Easton

JAMIE WOON

WILD BEASTS

BEAR HANDS

JAMES PANTS

ATMOSPHERE

Mirrorwriting Polydor / UMA

Smother Domino / EMI

Burning Bush Supper Club Other Tongues

James Pants Stones Throw

The Family Sign Rhymesayers / WMA

People are already accusing (they’re quick to do that this these days) Jamie Woon of capitalising on the success of his fellow, wobbly-beatinclined countrymen like Burial to shift units. The criticism is probably based on the fact that the infamous, faceless dubstep producer penned the opening track and that's all well and good, but what Woon has that all this other meta-processed, filtered paeans to longing lack is a stunning voice. It’s so unabashedly smooth, pop-driven and innately aware of its potential that it would sound good stuck next to the sound of a smoothie being blended.

While white kids have had a field day lately with soul revivalists like Mayer Hawthorne and Eli Reed, this sort of oozing honey veers more towards the Thicke end of the spectrum, and could well be an entire album inspired

by Justin Timberlake’s darkest hit, ‘Cry Me A River.’

So while Woon does crib from the cool cats, he’s cooler than all of them because he’s not a sample. ‘Lady Luck’ is an R&B earworm that never lets up, all pop-and-lock beats and highly optimised harmonies. Even when he gets all shoe-gazey, like on the more acoustic ‘Spiral’, Woon knows exactly how to place his vocals in such a way that questioning him seems out of the question.

While it sags somewhat under the weight of expectation set up by the brilliant trifecta with which it opens, Mirrorwriting is nonetheless a continually revealing and rewarding record. As a songwriter and producer, this may not even be the best we’ll hear from Woon, and that’s exciting enough in itself.

This is what D’Angelo would sound like if he still made records and was white .

Jonno Seidler

Sometimes it’s difficult to take Wild Beasts seriously. Hayden Thorpe’s classically trained tenor may be stunning, but his vocal lines are so perfectly illustrated that they overshoot the warbling melodrama of, say, David Bowie, and land him somewhere closer to Ian Gillan circa Jesus Christ Superstar. The delivery is distinctly theatrical, and without even a hint of irony. What’s to be so serious about?

Peel away the layers of impeccable production and you’re left with ambling/skipping/leprechaun-like folk songs, a far cry from the baroque vicissitudes of ‘Heaven On Their Minds’.

What is it, then, that makes Smother, the follow up to 2009’s exceptional Two Dancers, so beguiling? Other than the eerily lilting intervals of opener ‘Lion’s Share’, there aren’t any immediately apparent hooks.

The arrangements are sleek and measured, folding electronics seamlessly into the group’s heart-onsleeve indie posturing – but this fresh shimmer isn’t the thing that will keep you coming back. It’s the commitment that Thorpe and co-songwriter Tom Fleming bequeath to their exquisitely wrought little creations that makes Smother such a charming record.

They’re going out on a limb by investing so much into music that could so easily be dismissed as contrived or overly-romantic (“I have to know how it feels/and I am not afraid”, sings Fleming on ‘Deeper’.)

But if you take a moment to listen past the slick arrangements and stern romanticism, the heady eroticism of ‘Plaything’, the susurrus, meditative zithers of ‘Burning’, or the celtic swoon of ‘Loop The Loop’ open up lush worlds to wallow in.

Suspend disbelief in the goofy indie theatricality, and this record will repay your efforts in spades.

Luke Telford

Bear Hands may have channelled the neo-psychedelic trend slightly past its prime, but they blend it all with sugary-sweet indie pop.

Hailing from the same Connecticut uni as Victor Vazquez of Das Racist and MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden, the Brooklyn-based fourpiece spent five years releasing a plethora of underground demos and b-sides before committing to a full-length.

And with Burning Bush Supper Club, they've crafted a dynamic and high-powered (albeit occasionally inconsistent) record, executed with impressive ease and sentiment.

Bear Hands produce dexterously animated high-tempo melodies, like opening tracks ‘Crime Pays’ and ‘Belongings’, complimented by pulsating bass-lines, Dylan Rau’s painstakingly high-pitched nasal vocals, and chewy, funkinspired riffs. Although their sound can be paralleled to acts like Tokyo Police Club and Young The Giant, Bear Hands are their lyrical antithesis; these songs are quirky and nonsensical, revolving around Jurassic Park, “donkey boys” and “dreaming of god-damn long nails”.

But the musical vivacity is a little short lived; faux-sentimental tracks ‘Wicksey Boxing’ and ‘Cant Stick ‘Em’ offer exhausted, echoed vocals layered with inconsistent percussion and repetitive synth melodies. The erratic drums and cringe-worthy romanticised vocals in ‘Wicksey Boxing’ make it sound like a forgettable MGMT re-imagination, spoiling the album's wired and energetic ambience.

Peanut Butter Wolf’s protégé James Pants has gone from a Stones Throw intern to an enigmatic instrument aficionado, and his self-titled third album is a tutorial in adventurous lo-fi production. But his eclecticism comes at a cost – it’s not an easy listen. The sudden outbursts of psychedelia, the choppy use of different vocalists and the sometimes bizarre soundscapes make for a truly beguiling record, but it feels like a pastiche of worn styles; the wheel has come full circle and Pants is giving it all one last spin. It’s only after the waves of disco, electro boogie, pop and multi-instrument experimentation rinse your brain that the innovative technique Pants is using to convey atmosphere becomes apparent.

It’s as if he’s pushing raw sound through various filters that obstruct and alter our senses, our reactions.

Sonorous bass taps and looping, hypnotic string plucks are found sploshing calmly in a body of water on ‘Clouds Over The Pacific’, while ‘Dreamboat’ rises and falls with spacey synthesiser flangers in a floating, futuristic mist.

But for all its dabbling in the intangible sonic ether, the album flits through decades of styles, becoming an anachronistic hybrid of the past 50 years of music. Odd Future’s Tyler, The Creator puts it succinctly: “[James Pants] is awesome, he’s white and he makes real-ass nigga music” - and as Pants audibly jumps from grainy RnB leanings to 80s soul music and back to primeval hip-hop, Tyler has a point.

Regardless of its occasional capriciousness, Bear Hands’ ambitious debut delicately fuses conflicting genres to produce sporadic moments of indie-pop excellence.

If this album were a candy, it would be liquorice allsorts from some quaint boutique confectionary store in a cool part of town. But either you like liquorice, or you can’t even comprehend those who do.

Ava Nirui

Rach Seneviratne

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK ROYAL CHANT Raise Your Glass And Collapse Independent / MGM Royal Chant don’t do a lot of things that are expected of modern rock bands, because they’re too busy focusing on what they do well. Ballsy, heartfelt tunes without a trace of pomp or ceremony, the collected sounds of Raise Your Glass And Collapse takes the best of working man’s ballads and trim production, with singer Mark Spence at the fore. Tales of male disillusionment and frustration (‘Coughing Fits’ is a real

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highlight) rarely come off this earnest without being wanky - and God knows a lot of bigger groups with a lot more money have tried and failed to do the very same thing. When Spence howls “I wanna break something, I’ll break myself instead” on the raucous ‘Syndrome’, you can tell he means it, and the propulsive riffing beneath him is at once familiar and ragged-as-fuck.

The real shame is that this isn’t a direct live recording, because the kind of songs that Royal Chant write would be a far more exciting proposition on stage than in your car. Opener ‘Hey Hey’, with its

machine-gun snare hook and nod to every song your parents used to rebel against their parents with, would tear the roof off live.

I imagine that this is what a lot of people think they heard when The Gaslight Anthem were propped up as the best thing ever last year, but all those descriptors seem to apply a lot better to Royal Chant. They can romanticise even the most unromantic drudgery, with an old drumkit and a rusty effects pedal.

Exactly what I expected from a band who listed ‘A Broken Harmonica You Found In A Public Toilet’ as one of their influences.

Jonno Seidler

For just over twenty years, Atmosphere have been making music that gives me almost everything I want from hip hop. They play with a live band.

They find their samples in soul and jazz records. And MC Slug is a tremendous lyricist, spinning nuanced short stories full of anger, heartache, desperation and loss in a voice that is immediately compelling and affecting.

This is the group’s sixth album but their sixteenth release, and not much has changed over the journey.

Slug’s tales of loose women, fateful decisions and deadbeat dads would not be out of place on any of their earlier releases, and DJ Ant is mining the same territory for his samples.

What is noteworthy is the complete absence of any guest stars, a shame considering the wealth of talent on their label, Rhymesayers (including Brother Ali and Blueprint). But several songs seem to reference Eyedea, a tremendously talented Rhymesayers MC and close friend of the band who passed away in his sleep late last year. ‘Became’, in particular, is heartbreaking and beautifully constructed, and worth the price of admission alone.

We’ve heard it all before, but what marks each new Atmosphere release as unique is Slug’s writing. He is a genuine poet, and as a result has forged a profound connection with many fans who find themselves in his narratives, his flawed protagonists and his noble villains. Every song is full of light and shade, and Slug inhabits the universes he has created as an actor, reflecting our own lives as he peers out from behind yet another mask - a 21st Century Olivier in a hoodie.

Compelling narratives expertly spun, and a must-hear for anyone who values craft over hype.

Hugh Robertson

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

TELEVISION - Marquee Moon JENNY AND JOHNNY - I'm Having Fun Now RATATAT - LP2

LAURA VEIRS - July Flame SLEEPY SUN - Fever

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

Towards the end, Taylor-Taylor introduced to the stage his ‘friends for the past decade’ who turned out to be members of The Vines who, judging by the excitement in the room, have been missed by many. (Although to be fair, the stamps and cheers could also be explained by the crowd-pleaser they picked for the collab: ‘It’s A Fast Driving Rave-Up With The Dandy Warhols Sixteen Minutes’.)

Sure the Dandys can be a bit wanky, but that should come as no surprise to anyone who’s heard more than a couple of singles - and it doesn’t detract from how awesome they are.

Romi Scodellaro

MEGASTICK FANFARE, SEALION, THE PARKING LOT EXPERIMENT FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Thursday May 26

Sydney crew Sealion’s mournful tunes and drum-driven nice-indie, or ‘nindie’, saw Ravi Gupta (known more commonly for vocals/ guitar in Jonathan Boulet’s band) grab a mic and create his own gang of five. With Boulet himself taking in the show, and various members of WIM filtering in after their own launch downstairs, Megastick Fanfare’s debut album launch in the turret of FBi Radio’s castle was a celebration of Sydney bands that we’ve been rubbing our hands about for a while now.

But it wasn’t all Sydney. After Sealion, Melburnian four-piece The Parking Lot Experiment fronted a lovely breed of bouncy electro-leaping, alongside a percussive set of musical trigonometry. Stealing the Fanfare thunder just a smidge with their instrumentswapping, Dave Connor’s flailing vocals rambled on a youthful path of enthusiastic ups-and-downs, with his band filling the tiny stage completely.

It was quite the coup for Vivid Live to score an internationally exclusive gig like this. The flags on display in the best seats indicated that people had trekked from New Zealand, England and The States to watch The Cure play their first three albums in their entirety, in one of the most auspicious buildings in the world. eBay scalpers were trying to sell two front row seats for $12,000, and hordes of desperate Gen Xers crowded the Opera House stairs, desperately trying to score a ticket /revisit their youth. You could have done a mean trade as a Guyliner salesman‌ Inside, the Opera House was buzzing with a genuinely happy “oh shit, I can’t believe I’m hereâ€? kind of vibe. People talked excitedly in hushed whispers, and squeals of delight could be heard emanating from groups of Macquarie Bank Bros who unashamedly busted out their old Converse and left their pretensions at home for the night, along with the wife and kids. The most wonderful thing about the enduring popularity of The Cure is surely their fans, who come from many walks of life, all joined by the love of a sweet melody and a gloomy, romantic pop sensibility.

Performing just three albums from their extensive 13 album catalogue was always going to have its pros and cons, as key Cure tracks were sidelined. But what was so brilliant about the concept was hearing the transition from pop post-punk to gothic darkness, ending up in a kind of industrial German pop whirlwind, as the band took us through three sonically distinct points in their career. A Cure song is almost immediately recognisable – there is something about the dark tone paired with bright melodies (not to mention Robert Smith’s inimitable voice) that makes their music so distinctive, and hearing the steps it took for them to reach such an assured sound was exhilarating.

(USA)

(USA) + JACK LADDER + DONNY BENET

Along the way, the three albums delivered their own classic Cure moments. From their simplistic and sassy 1979 debut Three Imaginary Boys, ‘Fire In Cairo’ and the title track had everyone up and out of their seats, dancing raucously in what is normally quite a conservative venue. Second album Seventeen Seconds was in my opinion the best performed album of the night, buoyed by their seminal track ‘A Forest’ which was a deep, darkly sexual moment that turned the Opera House into an underground Berlin nightclub for six minutes. Faith was the weakest link of the evening, and I think I would have preferred to have this album included in what’s known as their “Dark Trilogy� – Seventeen Seconds, Faith and Pornography. But ‘Primary’ and ‘All Cats Are Grey’ were beautifully rendered live and the somber tone of this record did not affect the jubilant audience, eager for anything from their legendary alt-hero.

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Robert Smith has enviable stamina. Several years ago when they played an incredible greatest hits set at the Entertainment Centre, the show went for nearly 3.5 hours. On this wonderful occasion, Smith and co. squeezed three albums and three encores out of the night (you can’t complain that this wasn’t value for money, even if you did pay $12K), finishing up just shy of 4 hours. The encores allowed The Cure to dig out old classics like ‘The Hanging Garden’, ‘Let’s Go To Bed’, ‘Love Cats’ and ‘The Walk’, and everyone danced like they had never left the '80s behind. It was exhausting, but in the best possible way - like going several rounds in the bedroom with someone and finishing up a sweaty, satisfied mess with great hair and smeared lipstick. Just like Robert Smith!

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Boulet produced the album, and watched its live translation with an endearing head nod; the recording process clearly matured their sound, with more structure and space added to the usually overenergetic singles like ‘June Strangelets’. Megastick Fanfare’s live love is in the layers, and with a packed-out house to cheer them on, the tribal textures and experimental fabrics of sound kept their

Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall Tuesday May 31

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In true Fanfare form, the opening number for the headliners spread an improvised melange over the noisy crowd, shushing rowdy conversations and assuring that all eyes and ears were on the soundgasm happening front and centre. Swapping instruments, and utilising more innovative sound manipulation than a Monome in a submarine, Megastick Fanfare were captivating; watching the dynamic between the fivesome is like watching a whirpool inside a bottle of Powerade shaken in a jungle hut made out of crystals.

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The long and meandering set dipped into slower numbers in the middle, capped by Taylor-Taylor playing ‘Every Day Should Be A Holiday’ solo, and inviting the crowd to sing along. When the band came back, the energy in the room was renewed before another highlight, ‘The New Country’, with keyboardist Zia McCabe on harmonica, and guitarist Peter HolmstrĂśm drawing a violin bow across his guitar.

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On came the Dandy Warhols. I wish more bands would tour when they don’t have an album to plug; they played a delightfully erratic selection from their discography, and indulged a crowd request for ‘Cool As Kim Deal’. Courtney Taylor-Taylor was true to form, beaming benevolently at the crowd as he took a photo of us, and exclaiming in response to the recognisable scent wafting through the Enmore, “Man, I love the smell of marijuana.� No surprises there. It’s hard to believe he’s in his mid-forties.

As one of the most anticipated albums on the Sydney indie calendar this year, the launch of Grit Aglow earned a sigh of blissful relief. The band-everyone-believedin reminded all and sundry of why they create some serious fanfare, and proved themselves to be aglow indeed.

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As soon as Los Huevos started, there was a buzz from the crowd; who are these guys, and why haven’t we already heard of them? They’re pretty amazing – a Brisbane four-piece who play dirty instrumentals that’d sound at home on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, with bonus points for the theremin. I’d say run out and get their album, but they have yet to even record an EP, and in fact later sold out of the disc they put together for this tour’s merch desk.

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The Enmore Theatre Sunday May 29

weight in a giant Black Moth Super Rainbowensemble of sonics. This is ambition without being earnest, this is palatable without being pure pop, this is electronica without elitism.

Punters toasted their mitts to loved tracks ‘Teething’, ‘Brain Tooth’ and ‘Good Brier’, with front-rowers flailing their arms like the ride would never end.

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THE DANDY WARHOLS, LOS HUEVOS

BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 33

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PICS :: AM

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party profile

absolute power It’s called: Absolute Power It sounds like: Power ballads, anthems & rock classics all night long.

Acts: The Absolute Power DJs, Wicked Stixxx (The Vines DJ set), DJ Skar (Hot Damn), Ronnie Simmons (LUST), Mo Mayhem (Hell City Glamours), Space Kitten, The Jerks.

Sell it to us: Fully themed venue with some seriously over-the-top production (including confetti cannons and inflatable objects) coupled with top-notch DJs blasting out some of the greatest power ballads and rock anthems ever written. Put your hair up and let your ears bleed with the return of the glory days.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The taste of Jack Daniels & hairspray!

But not the name of the person next to you in bed...

Crowd specs: Dress-up silliness, spandex and closet rock stars.

Wallet damage: $20 on thw door and cheap, cheap drinks, or $15 with the POWER password.

Where: The Gaelic Theatre / Devonshire St, Surry Hills When: Saturday June 18

27:05:11 :: The Factory :: 105 Victoria Road Enmore 95503666

spiritualized

PICS :: TL

27:05:11 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 95501078

jebediah

PICS :: RR

front end loader

PICS :: NB

26:05:11 :: The Vanguard :: 42 King St Newtown 95577992

violent soho

PICS :: AS

27:05:11 :: VIVID Live:: Sydney Opera House 92471666

dandy warhols

PICS :: RR

25:05:11 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Road Bondi 91307247

:: NIKI BODLE :: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) NS :: THOMAS PEACHY :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MUN IEL DAN :: S :: ASHLEY MAR :: CAI GRIFFIN:: SARAH KUK ATHA STARR ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: ALICIA

34 :: BRAG :: 415: 06:06:11

sailor jerry 100th anniversary 25:05:11 :: LO-FI :: 3/383 Bourke Street Surry Hills 9331 6200

PICS :: DB :: TV

29:05:11 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown 9550 3666

RES EATEST PLEASU O OF LIFE’S GR MARRYING TW

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Calling ts all artisand e iv L r fo Locals!

Contact: es. ott events@liz com.au

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JUNE

Lizotte’s Sydney 629 Pittwater Rd Dee Why

Lizotte’s Central Coast Lot 3 Avoca Dr Kincumber

Lizotte’s Newcastle 31 Morehead St Lambton

WWW. LIZOT TES.COM.AU BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 35

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PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

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PICS :: NB

26:05:11 :: Live @ The Chapel:: St Stephens Church, Newtown

29:05:11 :: Vivid LIVE :: Sydney Opera House 92471666

PICS :: AM

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party profile

Showdown @ The Annandale It sounds like: A smorgasbord of ROCK.

Acts: Melody Black, Self Is A Seed, Engine Three Seven, Geminine, The Dead Love, Red Remedy, Marlow, Dumbsaint, Beggars Orchestra, Kaleeko and The Wire.

Sell it to us: Sydney’s best live rock acts go head to head at The Annandale. Add Melbourne’s most exciting live band Engine Three Seven into the mix, and you have a blistering eleven-band, two-stage music extravaganza.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: AM? You probably won’t arise til 2pm after this one.

Wallet damage: $21 (+ bf) via annadalehotel.com, or $25 on the door Where: Annandale Hotel When: Saturday June 11, 3pm - midnight

jingle jangle

PICS :: TL

29:05:11 :: Vivid LIVE :: Sydney Opera House 92471666

27:05:11 :: Vivid LIVE :: Sydney Opera House 92471666 36 :: BRAG :: 415: 06:06:11

megastick fanfare

PICS :: AM

leave them all behind IV

PICS :: AM

20:05:11 :: GoodGod :: 55 Liverpool St, Sydney 92673787

26:05:11 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel :: 248 William St Darlinghurst 9331 9900

:: NIKI BODLE :: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) NS :: THOMAS PEACHY :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MUN IEL DAN :: S :: ASHLEY MAR :: CAI GRIFFIN:: SARAH KUK ATHA STARR ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: ALICIA

Come work with us!

The Brag is seeking a new Advertising Sales Junior to add to our energetic and youthful team!

A fantastic opportunity exists for the right person to join one of Australia’s leading music titles.

A mobile phone and car allowance adds to a great package with all the usual benefits.

A knowledge of all things Sydney- its bars, clubs, pubs, boutiques and restaurants is essential.

Plus, you get to work in a cool, inner city location with one of Australia’s foremost youth marketing companies and publishing teams.

This is a flexible role, with the option of P/T or F/T working hours. A retainer and generous incentives are offered, commensurate with experience.

This is an excellent opportunity for the right, self motivated and hard working person to break into the music industry!

Please send your resume with a cover letter through to robfurst@beat.com.au The Brag is part of Peer Group, Australia’s foremost youth marketing company and Furst Media, Australia’s biggest streetpress company BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 37

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week Joan As Police Woman

THURSDAY JUNE 9

JAZZ

The Factory Theatre, Marrickville

Joan As Police Woman (USA)

Leroy Lee $73.10 (+ bf) 7pm MONDAY JUNE 6 ROCK & POP

Mandi Jarry Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm Matt Jones The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8:30pm Nicky Kurta Opera Bar, Sydney free 8:30pm Tim Bowen The Basement, Circular Quay $15–$63 (dinner & show) 8pm

Anthony Hughes Brass Monkey, Cronulla $14.30 (presale) 7pm Bernie Segedin Dee Why RSL Club free 6:30pm Bondi Community Choir Bondi Pavilion Community Cultural Centre, Bondi Beach free 7pm Brendan MacLean, Tigertown The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf)–$63.80 (dinner & show) 8pm Camden Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach 8pm Havana Rakatan Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House $59–$109 7pm Kylie Minogue, Gypsy & The Cat Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $100–$150 (gold) 8pm Rob Henry The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8:30pm Sons of Mercury Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney 11pm Steve Tonge O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9:30pm They Call Me Bruce Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9:30pm

JAZZ

Jim Gannon Dee Why RSL Club free 6:30pm Tim Neal 505 Club, Surry Hills $10–$15 8:30pm

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

Dave Seaside, Bec O’Brien, Renae Kearney, Simon Li, Edward Kent, Spike Thomson, the Broken Wings, Carolyn Crysdale Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm Lyrebird, Blind Lemon Chicken, Max Farrell, Graham Healy

Mark Gordon The Manhattan Lounge, Sydney free 6:30pm Norma Winstone, Klaus Gesing, Glauco Venier City Recital Hall, Sydney $60 (conc)–$65 8pm Paul Sun, Monique Lysiak Jazushi, Surry Hills free 7pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm Soweto Gospel Choir (South Africa) The Cube, Campbelltown $49 7:15pm The Renaissance Players The Great Hall, University of Sydney, Camperdown $35 7pm The Subterraneans, Jeremy Sawkins Band 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 8:30pm

COUNTRY

Whip Crackin’ Country Music Club Penrith Gaels Club free 7pm

WEDNESDAY JUNE 8 ROCK & POP

Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9:30pm Bones Atlas The Valve, Tempe free 7pm Dave White Duo Ettamogah Pub, Kellyville free 6:30pm

Brendan MacLean

Dominique Frissard, Matt Tonks, Bridie O’Brien Notes Live, Enmore $17.85– $40.30 (dinner & show) 7pm Gemma The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8:30pm Goodnight Dynamite O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9:30pm Havana Rakatan Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House $59–$109 7pm Jamie Lindsay Northies, Cronulla free 7:30pm JD Mo, Griever, Pleasure Overload, Ugly Little Secrets Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills free 7pm Joel Leffler Brass Monkey, Cronulla $14.30 (presale) 7pm Kylie Minogue, Gypsy & The Cat Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $100–$150 (gold) 8pm Live and Local Lizotte $15 6pm Mandi Jarry Summer Hill Hotel free 7:30pm Mavis & Her China Pigs Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Michelle Martinez Marble Bar, Sydney free 8:30pm Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel. free 8pm New Navy Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach 8pm Open Mic Night Coach and Horses Hotel, Randwick free 8pm Open Mic Night Down Under Bar & Bistro, Kings Cross free 7:30pm Replika Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm

Sophie Hanlon, Professor Malakai, Dylan Wright, Rachael & Derek Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $13.50 6pm Zoltan Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm

JAZZ Alison Penney Dee Why RSL Club free 6:30pm Darryl Beaton Civic Underground, Sydney free 9pm Mary Halvorson Trio (USA) The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $22 (member)–$27 8:30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm Robert Susz & the Continental Blues Party The Rose Hotel, Chippendale free 7pm The GAPProject The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf)–$63.80 (dinner & show) 9pm The Spirit of Moses Quartet Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8:30pm Tim Bruer Trio, Kate Swadling & Tim Bruer 505 Club, Surry Hills $10–$15 8:30pm

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

Alan Watters, Zelda Smyth, Sway, Daniel Hopkins Taren Point Hotel-Motel free Anita Lenzo, Carolyn Crysdale Kogarah Hotel free 7pm Men with Day Jobs, Ken Stewart, Gavin Fitzgerald", Ken Mclean, TAOS Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm Gypsy & The Cat

The Hive Bar, Erskineville free

COUNTRY

Camden Valley Country Music Club Hope Christian School, Narellan free 7pm

TUESDAY JUNE 7 ROCK & POP

Adam Pringle Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm

“From the ones who have been there my brain is not damaged but in need of some repair. Hold on to the basics”– THE KAISER CHIEFS - Aug 6 Enmore Theatre 38 :: BRAG :: 415 : 06:06:11

g g guide g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Russell Neal Blaxland Tavern free 6:30pm The Renaissance Players The Great Hall, University of Sydney, Camperdown $35 7pm

THURSDAY JUNE 9 ROCK & POP

031 Rockshow Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Anna Lawley Band Woollahra Hotel free 7:45pm Aok, Lange Theory Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills 8pm Between The Devil & The Deep, Hira Hira, Michael Crafter, Battle Pope Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 (guestlist)–$15 8pm Brad Johns Dee Why RSL Club free 7pm Broken Toys, Tranzphat, Arrowead Live at the Wall, Leichhardt $10 7:30pm Bryen Willems Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL free 8pm Capitol, Edens March, Hello Vera Annandale Hotel $10 (at door) 8pm Chris Drummond Club Bondi Junction free 5:30pm Dean Stafford Excelsior Hotel free 7:30pm Fisher King The Vanguard, Newtown 8pm G4 Marble Bar, Sydney free 8:30pm

Guerre, Albatross, Fox, Sui Serial Space, Surry Hills free Havana Rakatan Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House $59–$109 7pm Joan As Police Woman (USA), Leeroy Lee The Factory Theatre, Enmore $73.10 (+ bf) 8pm Johnathon Devoy Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Magnetic Heads, The Preachers, Rufus, Captain Kickarse & the Awesomes FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $10 (at door) 8pm Mandi Jarry Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8:30pm Musos club jam night Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill free 8pm Project Mayhem Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Royal Chant, Enola Fall Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Strangers V Strangers, The Walk On By, Dora Maar, Yes I’m Leaving Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Teleprompter, Rapids, Conics, Mesculin Feminin Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (at door) 8:30pm The Delta Riggs Old Manly Boatshed free 8pm The Moderns Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor free 8pm Tony Mazell & the Four Tunes, Jacinta Giulsano, Lucky Starr South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford free 8pm

Jun

JAZZ

First Ladies of Soul Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $25 6pm Jane Badler, Paul Grabowsky, Sir, Tina Harrod The Basement, Circular Quay $30 (+ bf)–$78.80 (dinner & show) 9pm Jim Black’s Alasnoaxis 505 Club, Surry Hills $35 (conc)–$45 7:30pm Jo Elms, Lisa Ohlbach, Louise Perrymen, Brenden St Ledger, Deny Mason, Paul Berton, Kimi Tupaea Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $25 (show only) 7pm Jo Fabro, Samba Mundi Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8:30pm Little Egypt’s Burlesque, Mr Percival, Lily Dior, Jingle Jangle DJs, DJ Burn-Hard Tone, Surry Hills $10 7:30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

FRIDAY JUNE 10 ROCK & POP

After Party Band Mounties, Mount Pritchard free 10pm Australian Pink Show Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Backlight Bleeding Penshurst RSL $10 7pm Barry Leef Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain free 9:30pm Beaufields, Me, Aural Window, Mercury Sky, The Stellar Affect, Cordelia Dead Tone, Surry Hills $10 8pm Bondi Cigars Coogee Diggers 8pm

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

09 Jun

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

Finbar Furey (Ireland), Brendan Grace (Ireland) Castle Hill RSL Club $45 (member)–$48 8pm Mandi Jarry Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8:30pm Rachel Eldon, Sanity’s Collision, Helmut Uhlmann Lone Pine Hotel, Rooty Hill free 7pm

HIP HOP

Biz Markie Oxford Art Factory $56 8pm

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

7%$

*5.%

(9:15PM - 1:00AM)

(5:00PM - 8:00PM)

LONG-WEEKEND SUNDAY LONG-WEEKEND SATURDAY AFTERNOON

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Jun

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THE STUDY feat

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BETTY AIRS (USA) *5.% (LIVE) PLUS THE RESIDENT PURPLE SNEAKERS DJ’S THEM JEANS (USA DJS)

KISSES

SUNDAY NIGHT

3!4

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

*5.%

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Greg Cade, Tim McCartney, Leroy Lee, Simon Bruce, Simon Paparo, Kate Gogarty, Alex Gibson El Rocco Jazz Cellar, Woolloomooloo $15 (at door) 8:30pm Gypsy & The Cat The Apple Store, Bondi Junction free 9pm Havana Rakatan Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House $59–$109 7pm Hip Fidelity Bambu, Western Suburbs Leagues Club Campbelltown, Leumeah free 9pm Hooray For Everything Club Rivers, Riverwood free 8:30pm Ill Starred Captain Lewisham Live House $10 8pm Jesse Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm King Tide Brass Monkey, Cronulla 7pm Last Night: Kisses (United States), Them Jeans (USA), Betty Airs, Randall Stagg, M.I.T Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills $15 8pm Little Red, World’s End Press Metro Theatre, Sydney $37.70 (+ bf) 7:30pm Matt Jones Customs House Bar, Sydney free 7pm Night Owl Down Under Bar & Bistro, Kings Cross free 8pm Oscar & Martin Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 8pm Pets With Pets Dirty Shirlows, Marrickville 8pm Random Soul The Argyle Centre 9pm

NEW CHEF NEW MENU $12 SPECIALS

fri

10 Jun

Brown Sugar Marble Bar, Sydney free 9:30pm Cherry 2000 The Valve, Tempe free 7pm Craig McLauglan, Mullet Rose of Australia Hotel, Erskineville 9pm Craig Pesco Cronulla Sharks 8pm MUM: Curses, Bang Bang Rock N Roll, Radio National, Radio Star The World Bar, Kings Cross $15 10pm Elevation U2 Tribute Engadine Tavern free 9pm Falcons The Vanguard, Newtown $30 (+ bf)–$65 (dinner & show) 6:30pm Freshmix Kro Bar, East Leagues Club free 8:30pm

World's End Press

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Tony Williams Guildford Leagues Club free

35.

*5.%

(7:00PM - 10:30PM)

+

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JUMPING JACK + ARBOR VS SCOTTY G + NATHAN CRYPTIC VS VLN

ONYX (USA)

THE HAVKNOTS + FORTAY & UBD + DJ TIKELZ + DJ LOPEZ + SWR

16/07 DRUNK MUM 17/07 PS- CUT OFF HANDS 18/05 ABSOLUTE POWER 19/07 SPARROWS + BABY ROLL! 22/07 GOLDEN FANG/COMEDY 23/07 THE MEDICS 25/07NOWHERE LAUNCH NIGHT 26/07 LOS SKELETONE BLUES

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COMING SOON BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 39

g g guide g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

Airbourne Singled Out Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10:30pm Sons of Rico Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 (+ bf)–$15 (at door) 8pm Stormcellar Kurnell Recreation Club free 8pm The Art, Creo, Stone Parade, Jack Nasty Face Annandale Hotel $15 (+ bf) 8pm The Australian Pink Show Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm The Borderline Club Bondi Junction free 5:30pm The Coincidents, Sleepyhands Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm The Delta Riggs Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm The Falling Joys, The Momos, Nic Dalton & The Gloomchasers Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $25 (+ bf) 8pm The Franky Valentyn Allstars

South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford free 8:30pm The Glimmer, Jessamine, Raprager, Sex In Mexico Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm The Grigoryan Brothers Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $38–$78 (dinner & show) 7pm Top Secret Music Showcase Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney free 8pm Two’s Company Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm Van Dyke Parks (USA), Kinky Friedman The Basement, Circular Quay $55 (+ bf)–$103.80 (dinner & show) 8pm

JAZZ

Arabesk 505 Club, Surry Hills $15–$20 8:30pm Dal’or Open Mic Cafe Dal’or, Dulwich Hill free 7:30pm Evie Williams Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta $15 8pm

Finbar Furey (Ireland), Brendan Grace (Ireland) Penrith Gaels Club 8pm Frankie Wants Out, The Leisure Bandits Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8:30pm Freddie White (Ireland) Vault 146, Windsor $30.60 –$56.10 (dinner & show) 7pm James Morrison Sextet, Sirens Big Band Darling Harbour Precinct free 4:30pm Jo Elms, Liza Olbach, Louise Perryman, Brendan St Ledger, Deny Mason, Paul Berton, Kimi Tupaea, Victor Rounds Notes Live, Enmore $26.85 –$49.30 (dinner & show) 7pm Not Quite Cabaret Paddington Arms $24 7pm Satoko Fujii ma-do, To-Kichi Projects The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $22 (member)–$27 8:30pm The Grigoryan Brothers Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $38 6pm Wards Express Club Cronulla free 8:30pm

Airbourne, The Casanovas, Tonk Metro Theatre $33.70 8pm Chartbusters Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL free 10pm Chick Boom Band Comp Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Diesel Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $53 –$118 (dinner & show) 7pm Diva Fever South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford free 8pm Final Frontier, Courage Is Violence, Never Lose Sight, Hell Needs A Hero, Tear Down the Skies, I Escape The Lucky Australian, North St Marys $10 (at door) 1pm Finn Pendle Inn free 11pm Havana Rakatan Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House $59–$109 1pm Highway To Hell Dundas Sports & Recreation Club free 9pm

Hit Selection Duo Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm Holland, The Faults Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Husky, Tin Sparrow, The Falls Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $12 (presale)–$16 (at door) 8pm Ill Starred Captain Terrigal Hotel 6pm Jenny Marie Lang Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm Kevin Bennett, Paul Berton, Mal Eastick, Rex Goh, Jak Housden, Dave Leslie, Kirk Lorange, Phil Manning, Eric McCusker Band, Peter Northcote, Colin Coorie, Dario Bortolin, Mick Skelton Enmore Theatre $89 8pm Kylie Minogue, Gypsy & The Cat Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $100–$150 (gold) 8pm

Tin Sparrow

COUNTRY

Amber Lawrence, Paul Costa Rooty Hill RSL Club $12 (child)–$52 8pm

SATURDAY JUNE 11 ROCK & POP

Adam Katz, Benny Vibes Beach Palace Hotel, Coogee free 8:30pm

Showdown At The Annandale: Melody Black, Self Is A Seed, Engine Three Seven, Geminine, The Dead Love, Red Remedy, Marlow, Dumbsaint, Beggars Orchestra, Kaleeko, The Wire Annandale Hotel $21 (+ bf) 3pm Milkmaids The Valve, Tempe free 8pm Millennium Bug Penrith RSL free 9pm The Moniters, Young Griffo, Phonicair, The Electric Vogues Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Perry Keyes Notes Live, Enmore $23.50 –$45.9 (dinner & show) 7pm Radio City Cats Marble Bar, Sydney free 10:30pm Rock Monster Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 9pm Ruins-alone (Japan), Umlaut, Darth Vegas, Slimey Things, Shanghai, Captain Kickarse & the Awesomes, Godswounds, Serious Beak, The Bznzz, Three Wise Monkeys Tone, Surry Hills $25 2pm Sarah McLeod The Vanguard, Newtown $25 (presale)–$60 (dinner & show) 8pm Shade Of Red Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm Sister Jane, Magnetic Heads, Caitlin Park, The Maple Trail Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney free 7pm Smoking Ponies Beach Rd Hotel Bondi Beach $10 8pm

TUESDAY 7TH JUNE

ANTHONY HUGHES AND THE

INTERNATIONAL LOVE EXPERIMENT + Dean Michael Smith + Hayley Legg

WEDNESDAY 8TH JUNE

JOEL LEFFLER + Nikita and Desiree

THURSDAY 9TH JUNE

I AM APOLLO (RECORD LAUNCH)

+ Greg Attwells + Places, people

FRIDAY 10TH JUNE

KING TIDE SATURDAY 11TH JUNE

BONDI CIGARS

SUNDAY 12TH JUNE

SARAH MCLEOD + The Firetree

WEDNESDAY 15TH JUNE

BIANCA MEIER

& THE YOUNG LOVE + Laura Hill (SA)

40 :: BRAG :: 415 : 06:06:11

Friday 17 June Georgia Fair Saturday 18 June Steve Flack Monday 20 June Kinky Friedman Tuesday 21 June Kinky Friedman Wednesday 22 June Alloway Thursday 23 June English And The Doc Friday 24 June The Gin Club Sunday 26 June Natalie Gauci Wednesday 29 June Tin Sparrow Thursday 30 June Caravãna Sun Friday 1 July Micah P Hinson Saturday 2 July Rose Of York Wednesday 6 July James Blundell Saturday 8 July Dragon Saturday 9 July Johnny Cash Tribute Thursday 14 July Martinez Akustica Friday 15 July Dan Sultan & Alexander Gow Saturday 16 July The Paper Scissors Sunday 17 July Mark Seymour Saturday 23 July Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute Thursday 4 August Diesel Wednesday 17 August Bob Log III Thursday 18 August Wendy Matthews Sunday 21 August Jace Everett Wednesday 24 August Alvin Youngblood Hart Friday 9 September Ian Moss

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com South of the Big Smoke Excelsior Hotel, Glebe free 7:30pm The Bandits Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain free 9:30pm The Miami Relatives Club Cronulla free 8:30pm The Mike Whitney Band Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10:30pm The Presence Celebrity Room, Blacktown RSL Club free 8pm The Robbie Williams Show Rudebox Colyton Hotel free 9pm The Silvertops Kro Bar, East Leagues Club free 8:30pm Tice & Evans, Kaki Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Two’s Company Bambu, Western Suburbs Leagues Club Campbelltown, Leumeah free 9pm Van Dyke Parks (USA), Kinky Friedman The Basement, Circular Quay $55–$103.80 (dinner) 8pm Wildcatz Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Wonderbrass Oatley Hotel free 8:30pm

JAZZ

Bandaluzia Flamenco The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $20 (member)–$25 8:30pm Ben Carey, Chi-Uro Recital Hall East, Sydney Conservatorium of Music $12 (conc)–$20 8pm Bondi Cigars Brass Monkey, Cronulla 7pm Chris Botti (USA) City Recital Hall, Sydney $80.50 8pm

Dan Tepfer Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $20–$30 8:30pm Darling Harbour Jazz & Blues Festival: Jim Pennell Duo Darling Harbour, Chinese Gardens, Sydney $40 (dinner & show) 11am Gadjo Guitars Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta $10 8pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 5pm Saxophony Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour, Sydney free 11am Sirens Big Band North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray $25 7:30pm The Arrebato Ensemble The Studio, Sydney Opera House $40 (B Res)–$65 (A Res) 8:15pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Doc Halliday The Belvedere Hotel free 8pm Finbar Furey (Ireland), Brendan Grace (Ireland) The Cube, Campbelltown $44 (member)–$49 7:15pm Green Mohair Suits Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8:30pm Helmut Uhlmann Terrey Hills Tavern free 7pm

HIP HOP

Come Together Festival: Drapht, Urthboy, Illy, M-phazes, Muph & Plutonic, The Tongue, Mantra Big Top, Luna Park $59 4:30pm Dutch Beach Road Hotel $10 7pm Fatman Scoop Brooklyn Hotel $34 9pm

SUNDAY JUNE 12 ROCK & POP

After The Fall, Caulfield, Hot Damn DJs Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst $20 (+ bf) 8pm Brothers Grim & The Blue Murders The Vanguard, Newtown $15 (+ bf)–$50 (dinner & show) 8pm Craig Pesco Bankstown Sports Club $33– $37 (non-member) 8pm Emmure (U.S.A), Shinto Katana, Hand Of Mercy, Renegade, Pledge This!

Live at the Wall, Leichhardt $27 (+ bf) 6pm G4 Marble Bar, Sydney free 8:30pm Havana Rakatan Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House $59–$109 7pm Hit The Jackpot, Bitch Prefect, Richard Linklater’s Slacker, Kate Beasel, Alex Griggs, kramerkrew Tone, Surry Hills $5 5:30pm Hue Wiliams Ocean Beach Hotel free 5pm J Boog, Detour Posse, DSS, The Swiss, Peter Gunz, Johnny Beretta, Kid Coco, Jamrock Sound The Factory Theatre, Enmore $60 8pm Lost Valentinos DJs, Devola The Sugarmill, Kings Cross 10pm Outlier Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 3pm Paul Fisher Hurstville RSL Memorial Club free 2pm

Peter Northcote Bridge Hotel, Rozelle $10 3pm Remixes Kro Bar, East Leagues Club free 6:30pm Rumble In The Quad Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Sarah McLeod Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Screaming Sunday Annandale Hotel $15 (at door) 12pm Simone Dee Trio Woollahra Hotel free 6:30pm Skies Below The Lucky Australian, North St Marys $10 1pm Stormcellar Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor free 5:30pm The Australian Pink Show Penrith Panthers free 9:30pm The Baddies Botany View Hotel free 6:30pm The Moll King Device The Valve, Tempe free 4pm

The Slowdowns Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Triple Imagen South Sydney Juniors, Kingsford free 8pm Van Dyke Parks (USA), Kinky Friedman Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $53 8pm White Woods, The Holy Soul Blackwire Records, Annandale 5pm

JAZZ

Jim Pennell Duo Darling Harbour, Chinese Gardens, Sydney $40 (dinner & show) 11am John Leigh Calder, Di Bird Hotel Clarendon, Surry Hills free 3:30pm John Morrison’s Swing City Big Band, Tuba Skinny, Gail Page Band, Geoff Bull’s New Orleans Jazz Band, Topsy Chapman, Monica Trapaga, Carl Riseley, Jeff

White Woods

Duff, Simon Bartlett, Ed Wilson, Frank Bennett, Evelyn Duprai, Vince Jones, Wanderlust, Healthy, Gerard Masters, George Golla Trio, Marty Mooney Quartet, Robert Susz & the Continental Blues Party, Let the Cat Out, Baecastuff, Guy Strazz World Jazz Quartet Darling Harbour Precinct free 11am Mark Hopper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 3pm Ron Carter Trio, Elixir The Basement, Circular Quay $60 (+ bf)–$108.80 (dinner & show) 8pm The Champagne Sundaes The Belvedere Hotel free 5pm Unity Hall Jazz Band Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain free 4pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Efrat Gosh, Gary Robuck, Yiddish Klezmer Quartet University of New South Wales, Kensington free 12:45pm Pete Hunt Oatley Hotel free 2pm Shane MacKenzie Cohibar free 5pm

COUNTRY

Dwayne Elix & the Engineers Marrickville Bowling and Recreation Club $10 4:30pm Stuart French, Daniel Thompson Vault 146, Windsor $17.85 (show only)–$43.35 7pm Violet Sunset Royal Cricketers Arms, Prospect free 3:30pm

COOGE E WEDNESDAY 8TH JUNE

FRIDAY 10TH JUNE

SATURDAY 11TH JUNE

TUESDAY 14TH JUNE

THURSDAY 16TH JUNE

Fri 17/06 Lachlan Doley’s Organ In Rock Thur 23/06 Carus Thompson Request Show Fri 24/06 D.I.G. 20th Anniversary Fri 1/07 Skipping Girl Vinegar (album launch) Thur 7/07 Steve Kilby (The Church) & Ricky Maymi (Brian Jonestown Massacre) + Jill & Alsy (The Triffids) + Richard Lane (The Stems) Fri 15/07 For The Love Of Purple Deep Purple Tribute Sat 16/07 Hendrix & Heroes Thur 21/07 Tiny Ruins (NZ) Fri 22/07 The Strides + Uncle Jed Sat 23/07 The Sins Single Launch + The Glamma Rays Thur 28/07 Jeffry Slier CD launch Sat 8/08 Café Of The Gate Of Salvation With guest Paul Capsis Tue 16/08 Kevin ‘Bloody’ Wilson Fri 9/09 Otis Redding 70th Birthday Celebration w/ Johnny G & The E Types

FRI JUNE 10

BONDI CIGARS

SAT JUNE 25

NATALIE GAUCI SAT JULY 16

SARAH MCLEOD SAT JULY 30

THE SNOWDROPPERS Band Bookings

info@codeone.net.au - www.codeone.net.au

Tickets & info from www.coogeediggers.com.au

COOGEE DIGGERS 9665 4466 CORNER BYRON & CARR STREETS

USE ME.

BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 41

gig picks

up all night out all week...

The Delta Riggs

TUESDAY JUNE 7 Brendan MacLean, Tigertown The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf)–$63.80 (dinner & show) 9pm

WEDNESDAY JUNE 8 Kylie Minogue, Gypsy & The Cat Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $100–$400 (gold) 8pm

THURSDAY JUNE 9 Joan As Police Woman (USA), Leeroy Lee The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $73.10 (+ bf) 8pm Royal Chant, Enola Fall Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Jane Badler, Paul Grabowsky, Sir, Tina Harrod The Basement, Circular Quay $30 (+ bf)–$78.80 (dinner & show) 9pm

FRIDAY JUNE 10 MUM: Curses, Bang Bang Rock N Roll, Radio National, Radio Star The World Bar, Kings Cross $15 10pm Gypsy & The Cat The Apple Store, Bondi Junction free 9pm Last Night: Kisses (United States), Them Jeans (USA), Betty Airs,

WATUSSI – Friday, June 17 THE VELVET SET – Saturday, June 18 THE MAGNETS (UK) – Sunday, June 19 THE WORLD IN THE BASEMENT – Tuesday, June 21 JIMMY WEBB (US) -- Wednesday, June 22 AUSTEN TAYSHUS – Thursday, June 23 Tickets online at

www.thebasement.com.au

42 :: BRAG :: 415 : 06:06:11

Little Red

The Moniters Randall Stagg, M.I.T, PhDJ Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills $10 8pm Little Red, World’s End Press Metro Theatre, Sydney $33.70 (+ bf) 7:30pm Oscar + Martin Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 9pm The Delta Riggs Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm

SATURDAY JUNE 11 Husky, Tin Sparrow, The Falls Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $12 (+ bf)– $16 (at door) 8pm Showdown At The Annandale: Melody

Black, Self Is A Seed, Engine Three Seven, Geminine, The Dead Love, Red Remedy, Marlow, Dumbsaint, Beggars Orchestra, Kaleeko, The Wire Annandale Hotel $21 (+ bf) 5pm The Moniters, Young Griffo, Phonicair, The Electric Vogues Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Sister Jane, Magnetic Heads, Caitlin Park, The Maple Trail Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney free 7pm

SUNDAY JUNE 12 White Woods, The Holy Soul Blackwire Records, Annandale 5pm

INSIDE! BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

brag beats Bag Raiders The Fun Punchers

also:

plus: biz markie / lyrics born / fluent form

club guide, club snaps, columns and more...

Tasty new section coming 13.06.11!

For advertising rates please call Meaghan on (02) 9552 6333 BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 43

dance music news

free stuff

club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

he said she said WITH

ELLESQUIRE

The Music You Make I make honest, soulful hip hop. The 4. lyrics are heartfelt, the flows are buttery, and the beats are infectious and sample-heavy, with a definite laid-back vibe. I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my debut solo LP, which will be out in late July and is produced entirely by P Major. My live show strips away all the ego that seems to surround rap gigs. I don’t yell, I don’t scream - I just tell my stories, sing my songs and hope people listen.

Music, Right Here, Right Now As far as hip hop in Australia goes, I think 5. it’s moving in interesting directions - some Growing Up I think Paul Simon was the first artist I 1. really got into. My parents had the Graceland album on vinyl - me and my sister used to thrash that record. My last name is Simmons, and I remember liking Paul so much I changed his name on the cover to read ‘Paul Simmons’, using a biro. I was about five. My mum didn’t find it all that creative.

Inspirations I get inspired by a lot of different hip hop 2. music, from Kweli and Mos Def to Slug and Sage Francis. I draw from all sorts of sources.

I’m a massive sucker for old soul music so I find this style creeping its way into my tunes

a bit. Rap greats like Slick Rick have always made me wanna push the boundaries of songwriting, and Blu is probably my latest inspiration when it comes to lyricism.

Your Crew I’m with a crew called Loose Change, with 3. me and Rapaport handling all the raps, P Major making all the beats and Sam Z on the cuts. I’m taking a time out from the group at the moment to finish my solo record, but LC is probably what I’m best known for. I’m also part of the Big Village Records fam, which is made up of several Sydney-based rap crews including Daily Meds, Loose Change, True Vibenation and Tuka & Jeswon (Thundamentals).

good, some bad. We’re not afraid to stray from the conventional ways hip hop is created, which is great. We’ve definitely found our sound. What I don’t like is this whole “yeah Ozi hip hop fuck all that other shit” that seems to be on kids’ lips these days. This is music we have taken from the creators and put our spin on. Cats need to realise we owe it all to those that came before us and stop this over-patriotic ugliness that’s starting to circle around. ...Other than that, it’s all lovely!

With: Biz Markie, DJ Cool V, DJ Sheep, DJ Arks Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Thursday June 9

DJ JAZZY JAY

Founding member of hip hop’s foundational Zulu Nation, the Bronx’s very own DJ Jazzy Jay, will be playing a two-hour throw-back boogie, hip hop & b-boy breaks set at GoodGod Small Club this Saturday. It will be Jazzy Jay’s first ever Sydney show, and the tour is part of the 27th Anniversary of the Beat Street movie - the quintessential ‘80s hip hop movement flick, in which Jazzy plays himself. Following his celluloid debut, Jay co-produced Afrika Bambaataa’s anthemic ‘Planet Rock’ and recorded the single ‘Jazzy Sensation’ as part of the Jazzy 5. He assisted in founding Def Jam and Strong City Records and later collaborated with the crème de la crème of the hip hop world, including Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Fat Joe and Brand Nubian. Jazzy’s experimentation with turntable trickery later saw him inducted into the DMC DJ Hall of Fame and featured in the DJ documentary, Scratch: All The Way Live. Support comes from DJ Mathmatics, DJ MK-1 and Mike Who?, with $15 early-bird presale tickets available online.

Wu-Tang

MARCELLUS PITTMAN

Social butterfly on the house music scene Marcellus Pittman has collaborated with an all-star cast of producers – from Kenny Dixon Jr to Omar-S to Theo Parrish and more – but outside of this smorgasbord of talent he’s forged his own distinct sonic identity, which he’ll showcase in Sydney this weekend. It’s distinctly Chicago house, but expect to hear more raw and minimal sounds too - on a dancefloor filled with thinking punters with a penchant for quality house music. Support comes from local mainstays Andee Frost, Daniel Lupica and Simon Caldwell, and it all goes down at Tone on Sunday June 12. To win a double pass, give us the name of the member of Pittman’s Three Chairs production team not mentioned here...

Dream Kit, who will be launching his debut EP Future Tense, which is purportedly influenced by a range of ‘bass music’, techno and the machine soul of Detroit, and is the first of a two-part series of EPs. Future Tense is out now via Two Bright Lakes / Remote Control.

PARKLIFE! SAVE THE DATE!

Fuzzy have announced the date for their annual Parklife festival, which this year is set to take place on Sunday October 2 at the usual venue of Kippax Lake, Moore Park. The lineup will be announced on triple j’s morning show on Thursday June 16, with tickets on sale Thursday June 30. You’ll get a full lineup postmortem in BRAG, replete with verbose commentary and snappy asides.

Drapht

SUBLIME RACKET WU-TANG TOUR

Legendary NY rap troupe the Wu-Tang Clan are touring Australia, and play the Enmore Theatre on Friday August 5. ‘The clan’ is near full strength, with Wu-Tang mainstays Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, GZA, U-God, Masta Killa, DJ Allah Mathematics, DJ Street Life and the son of the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Young Dirty, all heading our way to represent. Supporting the Wu-Tang clan on their Sydney leg is Phaze One, the duo of Australia’s M-Phazes and Emilio Rojas, whose self-titled LP is out at the end of the month. Tickets for the Wu-Tang Clan’s performance at the Enmore Theatre go on sale this Thursday, June 9.

TEVO HOWARD

Chicago’s Tevo Howard will play a live set at Adult Disco at the Civic Underground on Saturday July 9. Howard made his production debut on his own label, Beautiful Granville Records, in ’08, and his deep roots in analogue gear and musicianship have since seen him carve out a niche in the house milieu. Howard’s biggest release thus far, ‘Age of Compassion’, was released earlier this year on Ben Watt’s Buzzin’ Fly imprint, and followed cuts on Rebirth, Permanent Vacation, Rush Hour and Aus Music. An online review stated “Tevo Howard, much like his contemporaries Jus-Ed or Omar-S, often does whatever the hell he wants within his own self-contained ideological bubble” – a remark I’d contort into a selling point, despite its somewhat cynical overtones; the man plays by his own rules, and plays well.

Howard will be ably supported by a stellar cast of Thug Records’ Carlos Zarate, James Fazzolari and Future Classic DJs.

Kato

Amsterdam’s Kid Sublime headlines Mad Racket this Saturday at Marrickville Bowling Club. The moniker of Jacob Otten, Kid Sublime was originally part of Rednose Distrikt before leaving the group in late ’03 to concentrate on his solo career, and has since built up a reputation as a fellow who creates “soulful house music with a b-boy attitude”. At present, the inside word has it that Sublime is apparently working on new projects that include more sample-based soul and house cuts along with a Dutch rap record - an anomaly in anyone’s book. The night will also feature a performance from Melbourne-based artist Declan Kelly, aka

NICHE PRESENTS MOVEMENT

Niche Productions, the promoter behind Days Like This! Festival, has announced its first weekly event, Movement, every Friday at Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel. Movement is dedicated to pushing dubstep, future soul, UK funky/garage sounds along with low slung, leftfield house, hip hop and beats, providing attendees with a chance to hear the latest emerging music on a massive soundsystem. Resident DJs on rotation include Kato, Victim, Huwston, Mason & Bennett (Paper Plane Project) and Preacha, who will be spinning regularly along with special guests, with at least three DJs featuring at every party.

Movement runs from 8pm until midnight every Friday, and is a free event.

COME TOGETHER THIS SATURDAY

There are a limited number of tickets still remaining for this year’s all-Aussiehip hop Come Together Festival at Luna Park, which goes down this Saturday June 11. Come Together will be headliner Drapht’s only Sydney appearance as the Perth artist showcases cuts off his Life Of Riley album as part of a re-jigged live show.

The likes of Urthboy, Illy, M-phazes, Muph & Plutonic, The Tongue, Mantra and triple j unearthed winners Daily Meds are also slotted to perform, and park rides are included in the $59 ticket price. The revelry commences at 4:30pm and runs until 11pm.

“Rain pours down over a city / Night has fallen like a stone / Are you gone or are you with me?” - BAG RAIDERS 44 :: BRAG :: 415 : 06:06:11

Available June 10th featuring also available now from crate cartel CRATE CARTEL RADIO

GEKO

lazy grey, jise one (arsonists) dialectrix, maundz, raven, geko aetcix, fatty phew, tornts, bigfoot jake biz, kid selzy & ciecmate

FEATURING:

BIAS B, CIECMATE, FLUENT FORM RAVEN, MAUNDZ, FATTY PHEW, LUKE MAC, AETCIX, KINGS KONEKTED BIGFOOT & JAKE BIZ

www.cratecartel.com // www.twitter.com/fluentform www.facebook.com/f luentform F LU E N T

F ORM THE FURNACE Featuring:

Brad Strut, Ciecmate

Mata, Must, 1/6, Maundz Fatty Phew, Raven & Geko Production from:

Geko, Ciecmate, Must, K21 Doc Felix, Discourse & WIK

D I S T R I B U T I O N

OUT NOW available on itunes

www.soundcloud.com/triky_entertainment

www.myspace.com/trikyentertainment

www.twitter.com/trikyentertain

www.ilike.com/artist/triky Search for triky on Facebook BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 45

free stuff

dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

he said she said WITH

ALI MC

FROM NEW

BIZ MARKIE

DUB CITY SOUND

M

in Perth a few years ago and have stayed close mates for a long time.

y first musical experience was as a twelve year old, when I played drums in my dad’s country and western band.

We would play in community halls for Aboriginal people – old Johnny Cash songs – getting people out of the parks and off the grog for the night. That’s when I began to see the difference between the haves and the have-nots in this country.

We’ve just released a 7 inch single that we’re currently touring. I describe it as a mix of beats, dub and solid songwriting delivered in our signature style.

Production-wise we kept it as analogue as possible, using tape and valve gear – but for live performances we look to digital technology such as Ableton (a loop-based music sequencer) in order to pump out our bass heavy dubstyles.

My favourite band is The Clash – I first heard them when I was around 16 years old. I dug their intelligent approach to lyrics, their passion and their ability to play a wide range of musical styles while keeping their punk attitude intact.

An old rocker once told me punk wasn’t a style of music but an attitude towards music, and I think The Clash summed that up brilliantly.

There’s some great music coming out of Australia and New Zealand, especially in the dub, reggae and dancehall styles. Lotek is a recent favourite of mine - we’ve played with him a few times - and also a Haitian producer based in Melbourne called Voodoo Dred.

We’ve got a few people in the New Dub City crew. Mikal is a UK drum and bass producer on the Metalheadz label who assists with production; Pauly Fatlace controls the dubs live onstage – we call him the ‘Computer General’; Missile helps out with vocals and vibes. We all met

Who: New Dub City Sound With: The Botanics Where: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi When: Thursday June 2

GUY J

Israeli producer Guy J spins at Chinese Laundry this Saturday June 11. Guy J’s Sydney appearance comes in support of his recent album 1000 Words, which was released on John Digweed’s Bedrock imprint. 1000 Words is a triple CD that is both mixed and unmixed: the first two discs play out continuously, while the third showcases unmixed club versions of tracks from the first two. The discs vary in mood, with tracks ranging from ambient and experimental electronica, to more vivacious progressive house and techno sounds. As always with Chinese Laundry events, entry is cheaper before 10pm, so you are encouraged to arrive early.

Cassian

PICNIC WAREHOUSE

Picnic has announced the launch of its warehouse party series, which kicks off on Saturday June 25 with a performance from Mister Tamas Jones of Hey Convict!.

Champions of the disco rock sound, Hey Convict! got their start with their ‘anything goes’ Sunday afternoon Melbourne rooftop parties

How to make a Biz Markie: one cup juvenile humour, stir in equal parts tuneless choruses and freestyle rhymes.

Sprinkle liberally with hip hop street cred.

Bake for approx 30 years, adding hit song ‘Just A Friend’ when necessary. There you have it, your very own Biz Markie. ...Ok, so maybe you can’t bake one, but we can certainly help you see one. We have a double pass for Biz Markie’s show at Oxford Art Factory on Saturday June 9 to give away. If you’d like to be the one that gets it, send us an email telling us who Biz Markie appeared with as part of Vivid LIVE 2011. HINT: It’s in the feature a few pages to your right...

DJ JAZZY JAY

Who introduced Rick Rubin to Russell Simmons? Who performed on the first ever official Def Jam single? Who appeared in iconic films about hip hop culture like Beat Street and Scratch?

Who’s hosted a show on KISS FM, battled Grandmaster Flash, been a member of Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation, and collected 400,000 records? The answer to all these questions: DJ Jazzy Jay. This hip hop pioneer is making his first ever trip to Sydney as part of the 27th anniversary of Beat Street, and is playing a two-hour set at GoodGod this Saturday June 11, supported by Zulu Nation DJs Mathmatics & MK-1. To get your paws on one of two double passes, tell us one more thing about Jazzy Jay that we forgot to mention.

back in that acid-fuelled summer of ’06. They’ve guest DJ’d on Tim Sweeney’s hugely popular Beats In Space webcast, and shared turntables with the likes of DJ Spun, Thomas Bullock, Munk, Pilooski and Cut Copy. After their debut 12” release on Golf Channel Recordings a couple of years ago, they’re teaming up with the legendary Dominik Van Senger for a follow-up release that will also be a collaboration with Justin Vandervolgen and Thomas Bullock. The Picnic party details will be available through www.picnicstuff.com.au closer to the date, but we can tell you that it’s a BYO affair, so stockpile your booze in advance.

J00F

Veteran English trance producer John ‘00’ Fleming is embarking on an Australia tour for Future Entertainment that will include a date at Sydney’s Chinese Laundry on Saturday August 6 (no doubt there’ll be plenty Fleming diehards backing up after the Wu-Tang Clan gig). Fleming’s tour aligns with the release of his new artist album Nine Lives, a fourteen-track LP which will be available for your listening consumption from August 16.

The Last Kinection

FREE MODULAR APPLE SHOW

Modular Records DJs Bag Raiders, Cassian and Softwar will play a free party at the Apple Store on George St this Thursday from 7.30 – 9pm. Having written about all of these acts 47 times so far this year, I decided to repurpose BRAG’s own enfant terrible, Jonno Seidler’s gushing review of Bag Raiders’ ‘Sunlight’. After comparing the pair to the likes of Basement Jaxx and Miami Horror, Seidler concluded that the “Sydney boys are not the Rain Man of dance music. They know exactly what they’re doing. And they’re doing it so well that earlier this year, Armand Van Helden offered to remix them.” Check them out this Thursday to see whether Jonno was on point. And for anyone wondering, Rain Man is a film starring Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman and some babe who plays Cruise’s wife – it is available at all good video stores. [What’s a video? – Ed.]

HUDSON MOHAWKE EP

Warp Records have announced a new five-track EP from Hudson Mohawke, Satin Panthers, which will be released in August. Satin Panthers is HudMo’s first major offering since his 2009 debut album, Butter - a fusion-inspired R&B fantasia which had many critics fumbling for superlatives, not least of all Brag’s own beats aficionado and mother superior Tony E. One of the EP’s five tracks, ‘Thunder Bay’, is available to buy now from Bleep and iTunes, and is an encouraging harbinger of impending Mohawkisms; it’s a walloping club track with big, bashy horn sounds, lurid synths, hard-snapping drums and – in its closing seconds – some nicely deployed Mentasm bass.

MARCELLUS PITTMAN

This Sunday, the much-vaunted Marcellus Pittman – a member of the Three Chairs production team that also comprises Rick

Wilhite, the inimitable Kenny Dixon Jr. (aka Moodymann) and a certain Theo Parrish – plays a set at Tone nightclub on Wentworth Avenue. The Detroit producer first rose to prominence with a handful of co-productions with Parrish that were released across two 12”s on Parrish’s Sound Signature label in ’99 and ’02.

Pittman unveiled his own distinct sonic identity with the M. Pittman EP for Omar-S‘s FXHE label, an unapologetically soulful release that homaged the Chicago house tradition and fused it with a raw and minimal edge. While his solo release schedule has been relatively relaxed (and the quality high), Pittman has plenty of other ventures on the go; he’s collaborated with Parrish and Omar-S as the T.O.M. Project, is part of the sprawling Rotating Assembly collective, and his Midwestern Advocates EP Part One remains a favourite among those who know their sh*t – but neophytes and chin-strokers alike ought to make a beeline for Tone on Sunday. Presale tickets are available online.

3THINGS GIVEAWAY

To celebrate 3things, an initiative of Oxfam taking place on Thursday 30 June at the Oxford Art Factory, Oxfam are offering hip hop aficionados the chance to win an all-Aussie hip hop pack valued at $300, with prizes donated by Elefant Traks, Obese Records and Big Village Records. Details are available at 3things.org.au/competitions. 3things aims to get Aussie hip hop acts talking about global poverty and injustice, and this year will be hosted by Kween G of KillaQueenz, and feature visual jams by VJ Spook (VJ for the likes of Bliss N Eso and Snob Scrilla). Representing on the night will be Ozi Batla, Dialectrix with Joe New and Plutonic Lab, Tuka, The Last Kinection, DJ Gabriel Clouston, plus beatboxers Rivals and LC Beats – all for a $5 entry price. Not bad.

“Give my love to a shooting star / But she moves so fast / That I can’t keep up / I’m chasing”- BAG RAIDERS 46 :: BRAG :: 415 : 06:06:11

Bag Raiders From Berlin To Ballarat By Rach Seneviratne

I

t’s a gloomy, windy, rainy afternoon when I call Chris Stracey, one half of Sydney’s Bag Raiders, but his mood suggests we’re still in summer. “Hey man, how’re you going? I just need to park my scooter, so give me a call back in two minutes!”

It’s apt, really; the idea of persevering with something so enjoyable regardless of the circumstances is a motif that the dance pop duo carry through their music. Uplifting, stargazing, neon and pulsating, Bag Raiders have defined a plush, aphrodisiacal hybrid that flirts along the line between nightclub bangers and weekend hammock chill-outs. After signing to Bang Gang 12”s in the late 2000s with jubilant, looping, cluboriented electro tracks ‘Fun Punch’ and ‘Turbo Love’, the pair decided to take it to the next level.

Their self-titled debut album dropped at the end of 2010, and since then Bag Raiders have been living ebulliently off the fruits of their labour. And they’ve worked for it, too.

When we talk, Stracey is on his way to the airport with significant Bag Raiding other Jack Glass, heading to Ballarat for an in-and-out DJ set. I ask where in Ballarat they’re playing, and he laughs wearily. “Ahh, I’m not sure dude… We’ve been so busy of late, touring. We just got back about a week ago from Europe, before that we were doing shows in Australia, a month before that we were doing shows in America and South America, and right now we’re racing around doing gigs at home again.”

in early for soundcheck, we just have to get down there, get into the club and spin some tunes we really like.”

The relentless touring is something that the boys relish, but Stracey admits that by around October this year, they’ll be spent. “I’m actually pretty keen to get into the studio again,” he says. “It’s been a while on the road and I’m missing playing with all of our toys.” A YouTube video of the duo after what seems like a long night cooped up in the studio with wine and synthesisers features Bag Raiders blasting out an ad hoc cover of Sudanese rapper Bangs’ track ‘Take U To Da Movies’. I ask Stracey if this is just another part of the Bag Raiders songwriting process and he laughs, before a cryptic offering: “There’s method to our madness, but we don’t really follow the method. It’s more madness.”

What: Bag Raiders is out now Who: Bag Raiders DJs, DCUP, Kato, Ember, Three Fingers, Mattrad and more Where: Dance Club @ Soho, Potts Point When: Sunday June 12, from 10pm

It’s unsurprising that the Bag Raiders project would have turned into something of an international workhorse, especially after all the blog hype. The album’s first single ‘Way Back Home’ was even made the soundtrack to a recent Vodafone advertisement in Germany and after Empire Of The Sun’s success with the same company in the same country, Stracey suggests that Deutschland could be the secret to musical success for Aussie acts. “On our [recent] European tour, six dates were in Germany, and every other country got one date.

Yeah - Germany - pretty cool. And they make really good beer.” Stracey maintains a definite patriotism when reflecting on live shows, though.

“There’s nothing like the home crowd. It’s always really fun to play at home.”

“I’m actually pretty keen to get into the studio again. It’s been a while on the road and I’m missing playing with all of our toys...”

Bag Raiders didn’t plan it this way. “The idea was just to work on a couple of club tracks and get them pressed up on vinyl, and release them [as singles],” Stracey explains. “At that stage, we never thought we were gonna do an album. But when we did sit down and decide to do one, it meant that we were able to do more than club stuff.” Their departure from club stuff is evident in the diverse debut, an album which dabbles in nostalgic pop, sexed-up Chromeo funk and cascading synth flourishes. “There are a couple of tracks on the album with that club feel,” Stracey acknowledges, “but having just written ‘Shooting Stars’, the songwriting aspect and the lyrical aspect was something new for us, something we wanted to explore.” The best dance music producers seem to be the ones with a rich sonic palette that exists outside of the dance music world, and Stracey is no exception.

“Unless I’m trying to find tracks to DJ with, I don’t really listen to dance music in my spare time. I listen to all kinds of stuff - sometimes old funk, soul, R&B, contemporary pop, hip hop and all that junk,” he says. “Having an album is the perfect outlet to diversify: write some pop tunes, write some club tracks, write some funk tracks, and then do some things like a nice piano loop that goes for three minutes with no big drums,” he laughs. “We love music, all kinds of music.”

The transition from being resident DJs at Australian clubs to internationally touring singers and performers has been an eye-opening one for the duo, but Stracey is amiable to both sides of the performing coin – Bag Raiders still DJ as well as play live. “[The live shows] are definitely a lot more effort, because both of us have to sing and hit drums and play synthesisers. But yeah, it is all our music. When people come to the show it’s because they want to hear you play your music, live – and that’s really cool.” He pauses momentarily, as if playing out the scene in his mind. “But also, it’s really fun [to DJ]. Like tonight, it’s just the two of us on the way to the airport with a backpack each. We don’t have ten pieces of luggage, we don’t have to worry about going BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 47

Lyrics Born Interpreting The Classics By J. Barbasch

On a professional level within the music industry, changing direction can often be damaging to your career. But although Shimura acknowledges a conscious new music style exhibited on his third studio album, he feels that as an artist, progression is inevitable as opposed to extraordinary. “As I grew, and as I expanded my repertoire, and as I became more exposed to things as an artist, I think I changed. My tastes broadened and I was just exposed to more. That’s what has brought me to the place I am at now, [a place where I] want to explore new directions and incorporate that into my music.

“W

hen I first started, what I really cared about was advancing. One of the things that I really cared about was taking hip hop in new directions, you know?

And I think now, at this stage in my career, I care more about just making music in [new]

directions.” I’m talking to Tsutomu Shimura on the eve of his Australian tour; while he’s known by his pals as Tom, you’d be more familiar with his pseudonym Lyrics Born or, at one stage in his career, Asia Born. As one half of nineties duo Latryx, Shimura demonstrated his ability to take

Fluent Form A New Direction By Andrew ‘Hazard’ Hickey

on me. I sit down with the intention of maintaining the high quality product me and Crate Cartel are known for.” Since releasing his debut back in 2008, around two years after this writer first met him, Fluent has carved a sizable niche in the Aussie hip hop scene with the Crate Cartel crew, which also includes producer/rapper Geko, veteran MC Raven, and rising star Maundz. “People tend to think it’s just this Crate-Cartel-killingeveryone-on-the-mic thing, but it’s nothing really like that,” Fluent says, of his crew’s perceived negativity. He says that what may come across to some as anger is just a by-product of the crew’s determination and ambition.

“T

here are a lot more people to look up to, for artists. It works and it doesn’t at the same time, because there’s a constant influx. Like, everyone’s an MC. I could go on about how I hate all that stuff, but I was that person five or six years ago.” After years of fighting for legitimacy, Australia’s hip hop scene has finally mapped out a blueprint for locallyproduced music, from which a whole new generation is drawing. One artist writing a substantial chapter in the scene’s evolution is Melbourne’s Fluent Form, who’s pushing forward in the lead up to his third studio album, The Word Merchant.

Hailed by fans and fellow artists as the future of Aussie hip hop, Fluent isn’t stopping for any pats on the back. “Is it nice to hear your name brought up? Yeah it is, but I don’t ever sit down and write with that pressure

With the exception of some well-selected guests dropping by (Lazy Grey, Dialectrix and others), The Word Merchant is very much a family affair; Geko handles production on all 15 of the album’s cuts. “We’ve been talking about doing a one MC, one producer type record for a while,” he says, of the old school approach taken for his third LP. “It was different [this time] in a sense, because we put more effort into the overall sound of it all. When you go back and forth with one producer you can do a lot more stuff with the beats, and switch it up to match what I was talking about.” While Fluent and Geko opted for a Gang Starr-type synergy, the norm for many artists has been to pack as many guests as possible onto the lineup - an idea that Fluent doesn’t necessarily oppose himself. “In this day and age there are so many people making music, and everyone’s trying to get their name out,” he says. “There’s a lot of competition, so sometimes people are opting to try and get as many producers as possible to reach as many heads as possible by affiliation. There’s nothing wrong with that, we all start out like that. I just think that it would be good to hear some more crews really keeping it in-house, and keeping it with one producer a bit more.”

As the youthful aggression of Fluent Form comes out with all guns blazing on The Word Merchant (which he calls a thematic sequel to debut album Chapters Of Substance), his next project is already taking shape. “I’m a different person now, and my music is going to evolve with how I’m evolving as a person, and how my life is changing,” says the rapper and father. He won’t be changing his persona though, just his direction. “Expect some surprises on the new one.”

What: Word Merchant is out June 10, through Obese Records Where: The Sandringham Hotel When: Saturday July 16

“I definitely wanted to hit ‘refresh’ on my browser, and go in a different direction,” he continues - and it shows. As U Were is a genre-fusing record, featuring a smorgasbord of guest appearances including Francis & The Lights, Sam Sparro and The Gift Of Gab, with a sound that verges on the synth-dance of the 1980s. “[The new album] paid homage to a sound that was really influential to me. I had kind of paid lip service and dabbled with it in the past, but never pursued it wholeheartedly. I

just decided I was going to take that approach on this album.” Having always been a keen music fan, Shimura’s mental back-catalogue is immense, and he turned to it to see what sounds he wanted to explore. “When I was doing this album, I was inspired by everything from David Bowie to Grace Jones to early 80s dance music to Depeche Mode to INXS or Michael Jackson and Teena Marie, Rick James,” he explains. “There was just so much going on, but it was generally from that time period.”

Shimura admits that it took time to tune in to some of his musical icons. Was he ever afraid that his inspirations would become too obvious?

“Sure,” comes the initial response, before a slight change of tack. “I would think - again, I listen to a lot of different music, a lot of different styles and genres - and I think there are certain things that other artists are doing that I don’t do. Artists in general are impressionable people on the one hand, but on the other hand we are also very stubborn. So I think if I’m inspired by something a certain artist is doing, I will reinterpret it in my own way.”

What: As U Were is out now through Shock With: FDEL and DJ Frenzie Where: The Metro Theatre When: Saturday June 18

Biz Markie The Gift Of The Gab By Hugh Robertson

E

ven if you’ve never actually heard it, you probably know the tune to ‘Just A Friend’, Biz Markie’s timeless tale of a young man who is played for a sap by every girl he ever loved. Released in 1989, it’s remained one of the all-time classic hip hop tracks, earning a spot on every self-respecting retrospective mixtape, perfect for summer, singalongs and miscellaneous good times. It’s had a resurgence in the last year or so, too: Kanye sampled the hook on one of his G.O.O.D. Friday tracks; it featured prominently in The Wackness, an excellent coming-of-age film about a teenage pot dealer in New York during the Golden Age of hip hop; and Biz joined Jeff Goldblum when he sung it on Jimmy Kimmel a couple of months ago. And yes, that was probably the best thing that ever happened. Ever.

That one track has defined Biz Markie, and remains his only real hit despite his being more or less continually active for twenty years. But it doesn’t seem as though he’s spending his time ruing what might have been. “I’m happy, because everybody said it wouldn’t be what it was,” he tells me, his phone dropping in and out of reception as he drives to New York to see his family. “It’s one of those records that you just can’t get out of your mind. I knew it was going to be a good record when I made it, but I didn’t know it was going to be this.”

last weekend. Begun as a reaction to the dearth of interesting children’s programs in the US, by two new dads who’d never had anything to do with TV, Yo Gabba Gabba! has rapidly become the favourite show of awesome pre-schoolers/ post-ironic hipsters the world over. There’s a whisper of a rumour that Biz himself actually created the show and sold it to Nickelodeon, although he “promised not to speak about it” so we don’t go any further. What is for certain, though, is that he created his role in the show, as the host of ‘Biz’s Beat Of The Day’. The idea is simple enough: “I teach the kids about beatboxing,” Biz explains, “and teach them how to beatbox.”

“The thing I like about YGG! is that it’s just different to any other show that’s ever been out there. It’s like Sesame Street on steroids - but different,” he says. “It’s for any age.”

Remarkably, Biz is still a working musician, managing to sustain a career despite being bestowed with the tag of ‘one hit wonder’ right from the outset. Part of this must be attributed to his DJ sets, which are legendary for the sheer range of tracks on offer.

Even in the world of hip hop, where crate-digging, research and exploration are the unofficial secret ingredients (after MCing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti), Biz has an enormous record collection. He tells me his house is full of records, and it’s not a figure of speech – Biz hardly ever buys records anymore, simply because he doesn’t have anywhere to put them. He still won’t tell me anything about what he has planned for his Oxford Art Factory show, other than to say that he’s just going to try and have some fun.

But he can tell me a little about Yo Gabba Gabba!, which is the main reason he is gracing our shores for the first time ever – he was booked to join their shows at Vivid LIVE

With: DJ Cool V (USA), DJ Sheep, Ellesquire, DJ Arks Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Thursday June 9

“As I tread through crowds of people / Trying to keep from looking back / Got your sense on something passing / And it sends me off my track” - BAG RAIDERS 48 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

Lyrics Born photo by Dylan Maddux

a sound and redefine it, but his latest release As U Were shows an eclectic Shimura shimmering in a whole new, and much broader, light. “I don’t look at the music as being so hip hop specific anymore,” he says.

Deep Impressions Underground Dance and Electronica with Chris Honnery

Mathew Jonson

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

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.

T i.

‘The EP’

Wagon Repair main man Mathew Jonson – a standout at the Beck’s Bar at Sydney Festival back in January – has prepped a new EP, Learning To Fly, which will be released on Richie Hawtin’s Minus imprint in a few weeks time. It will be his second EP release on Minus, following the classic cut ‘Decompression’ from way back in ’04. Jonson said of the project, “Richie Hawtin is someone who has always inspired me to take my work to new levels, so it’s fitting that Learning To Fly will be released on Minus.” What an imaginative press team you have behind you, Mathew. The title track of the EP is a 12-minute long “sci-fi techno affair,” while the B-side offers a dub version of the title track, a piece its composer says “reflects clarity and harmony”. That is probably the first and only time you will hear a release on Minus described as reflecting “clarity and harmony” – the phrase doesn’t seem pertinent to the warped psychedelic feel of Jonson’s trademark sprawling, analogue-synth driven acid-tinged minimal productions. [Phew!] But if that’s how Jonson is describing his work, then who am I to correct the master?

LOOKING DEEPER SATURDAY JUNE 11 Kid Sublime Marrickville Bowling Club

SUNDAY JUNE 12 Marcellus Pittman Tone

SATURDAY JULY 2 Co-Op Feat. Harri Secret Inner-City Venue

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19 Hot Natured AGWA Boat Cruise

Craig Richards

Deep Impressions favourite Sasu Ripatti is set to release another LP under his Luomo alias. Ripatti is a prolific talent who releases under a host of different monikers, including Vladislav Delay and his recentlyrevived Sistol alias, while also being part of the Moritz Von Oswald Trio. His forthcoming release as Luomo is entitled PLUS, and will be available on the Moodmusic label in September. Apparently the release features guest vocals from Chicago Boys, who are purportedly two genuinely Chicago-based artists named Kyle Schneider and Justin Moskovitz. The inside word on PLUS is divided, with some people labelling it a great pop album, and others saying it is somewhat ‘dull’ (and that’s the sanitised version).

You can stream previews of album tracks online and see if you consider any of these descriptions to be accurate. No doubt Sasu himself will give us an honest appraisal of his work if his candidness in previous interviews is anything to go by – the man once told The Wire magazine that his first release was “a joke on too much drugs.” But Ripatti has come a long way since those drug-fuelled nascent forays in electronic production, and I’ll be very interested to hear where he is at sonically these days when I procure my copy of PLUS.

Sasu Ripatti

iii.

‘The Mix’

The Fabric compilation series comes full circle with its next release, Fabric 58: The Nothing Special, which is compiled and mixed by ‘DJ’s DJ’ and Fabric resident Craig Richards, who crafted the inaugural Fabric compilation which was released many moons ago.

As music director and the main resident DJ for the club’s Saturday night parties, Richards has a reputation as an incredibly versatile figure behind the decks – as all the best jocks inevitably are. The Nothing Special will reflect the eponymous ‘Nothing Special’ event at Fabric nightclub, where Richards warms up for an array of experimental live acts such as Pole and Shackleton. In each case Richards is tasked with, as he puts it, “setting the scene... Playing a gentle deep warm-up for Moritz Von Oswald, or a twitchy electro set before Dopplereffekt, or a disco set before Emperor Machine, all of which I am capable of because of the variety within my residency.” Accordingly, Fabric 58 is laced with plenty of esoteric material, with familiar names like Two Lone Swordsmen, Melchior Productions, Maurice Fulton and Joel Mull standing out in a sea of lesser-known signifiers that includes an unknown cut from early Chicago legend Gemini, whose work is infamously thorny to license. Undoubtedly a release for DJs and more discerning clubbers, I’m backing Fabric 58 to atone for Agoria’s slightly disappointing recent addition to the Fabric canon. I relistened to the very first Fabric mix by Craig Richards recently and must say it well and truly stands the test of time – seek it out if you haven’t heard it already, as you wait for Craig Richards’ Nothing Special Fabric mix to be released on Monday June 20; I’d be very surprised if this mix doesn’t belie its overly modest subtitle.

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

Sietta The Vanguard

THURSDAY JUNE 9

A local outfit making waves on the hip hop and dub reggae front are Botanics.

Running hot off the back of The Fabric EP, you’ll be able to pay your respects at the four-piece’s Thursday night June residency at the Beach Road Hotel, Bondi. Punch their lead single ‘What The Deal Is’ into your browser, and go from there.

SATURDAY JUNE 24

In more Beach Road news, Sydney based promotions and artist management agency Niche Productions announce that they’re taking over Beach Road Fridays. Under the Movement banner you’ll be able to catch residents Kato, Victim, Huwston, Mason & Bennet (of Paper Plane Project) and Preacha. That collective mob are promising “dubstep, future soul, UK funky/garage and sprinkling of low slung, leftfield house, hiphop and beats”.

SATURDAY AUGUST 27

In a blow to Sydney vinyl retail, Spank Records announces it’s pulling the plug on the shop – the owners are reportedly searching for fresh pastures. Spank’s closing down sale finishes this Saturday, June 11, so drop in any time this week for clearance prices on everything they’ve got.

For those who like the sounds of modern neo-style jazz, Wah Wah 45s have announced a self-titled Colman Brothers album. Think beats, jazz breaks and rare groove, some of which is aimed at dancefloors. The brothers themselves (both trumpet players and producers) are influenced by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.

ii.‘The Album’

WEDNESDAY JUNE 8

righton label Tru Thoughts fire a massive salvo over dancefloors with the release of Omar & Zed Bias’ ‘Dancing’. It’s a garage/2 step/UK funky monster all rolled into one. That end of the scene has been revitalised in this new ‘zero-rules-post-dubstep’ environment, and this track is a prime example of UK bass music, with a healthy dose of nostalgia for eras gone by. Check it out now, it’s one of those tunes that makes you want to uproot and then submerge yourself in the LDN music scene as soon as humanly possible.

B his week we preview three quality releases that are essential listening for technophiles this winter. There’s an EP, a mix and an album to anticipate, so without further ado…

ON THE ROAD

Elefant Traks’ newest signing Sietta, a duo from the Northern Territory, make their first Sydney appearance at the Vanguard this Wednesday night. Look up their big single ‘What Am I Supposed To Do?’. I’m sure you’ll find it reasonably removed from what you know about ET already – it's something of a departure for the independent label.

Sietta

Biz Markie Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY JUNE 11 DJ Jazzy Jay Goodgod Small Club

SATURDAY JUNE 18 Lyrics Born The Metro Theatre

Katchafire + This Version The Enmore Theatre

THURSDAY JULY 28 James Blake The Factory Theatre

Big Boi The Enmore Theatre

Sydney’s Saturday nights get an injection of drum’n’bass and the style’s derivatives as Rollers Music crew, Ritual and ALF, step back in to take over the 2SER airwaves from midnight to 2am. The pair have promised to push the “heaviest bass music possible”.

Spanish label Lovemonk Records are pushing the sounds of French producer Makala. His album Swinging The Afro Mambo is a wicked fusion of hip hop beats with all sorts of world styles, reggae, swing, rumba, salsa and more. Soul Sedation is excited about this one - it’s diverse dancefloor jazz of all colours and flavours.

On the reggae tip, keep your ears peeled for Katchafire’s new album, On The Road Again, their fourth album since 2003’s debut Revival. The NZ-based band play the Enmore this month with local reggae heroes This Version in support - check the calendar for details. The record is out through Lion House Music.

It’s a massive week for US hip hop in Sydney this week. One of the all-time greats Biz Markie lands on our shores this week, for a Thursday night appearance at the Oxford Art Factory. He’ll be joined by DJ Cool V (US), DJ Sheep, Ellesquire and DJ Arks.

And this long weekend we’re also joined

by DJ Jazzy Jay - one of the Zulu Nation’s original founders alongside Afrika Bambaataa, as well as having a Beat Street casting credit. All the way from the Bronx, NY, Jay will be bringing back the original ‘80s b-boy, hip hop and funk flavours, and no doubt take us on a journey of how it used to be. In town for his first solo Sydney appearance, he’ll be joined by DJ Mathmatics, DJ MK-1 and Mike Who? this Saturday night at Goodgod Small Club.

Jazzy Jay

Send stuff for this column to tonyedwards001@gmail.com by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to art@thebrag.com BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 49

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

club pick of the week SATURDAY JUNE 11

World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic Karaoke, DJs Pablo Calamari, Nickles, Power Ballads free 8pm

WEDNESDAY JUNE 8 Bank Hotel, Newtown DJ Heartattack free 9pm Exhibition Hall, Sydney Opera House Tom Kuntz, Lucky Dragons (USA) free 11am Marlborough Hotel, Newtown DJ Moussa 11pm The Hive Bar, Erskineville Vinyl Club free 8pm The Vanguard, Newtown Sietta, Unkle Ho, El Gusto $8 (+ bf)–$12 (at door) 6:30pm World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Creeptown free 8pm

Drapht

The Big Top at Luna Park, Milsons Point

Come Together Drapht, Urthboy, Illy, Muph & Plutonic, M-Phazes, The Tongue, Mantra $59 4:30pm MONDAY JUNE 6 Apple Store, George Street Modular DJs Bag Raiders, Cassian, Softwar free 7:30pm Exhibition Hall, Sydney Opera House Tom Kuntz, Lucky Dragons (USA) free 11am free World Bar, Kings Cross Mondays at World Bar 16 Tacos, Pipemix free 8pm

TUESDAY JUNE 7

Tom Kuntz

Exhibition Hall, Sydney Opera House Tom Kuntz, Lucky Dragons (USA) 11am The Gaff, Darlinghurst Kid Finley, Johnny B 9pm The Valve, Tempe DJ’s Myme, Ato, Gee Wiz 6pm

THURSDAY JUNE 9 11a Oxford St Paddington Inhale Bass Beans, Preacha, Mars Sunset, Foreigndub free 8pm Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill Stafford Brothers free 9pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Botanics, Mista Savona, Bentley, Antibody free 8pm Exhibition Hall, Sydney Opera House Vivid Live Tom Kuntz, Lucky Dragons (USA) free 11am Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Biz Markie (USA), Cool V, Sheep, Ellesquire, Arks $56 (presale) 8pm The Gaff, Darlinghurst The College Party Kid Finley, Pee Wee Pete free 9pm The White Horse, Surry Hills Let Loose free 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Urby & Finlay free (student)–$5 (at door) 9pm Tone Little Egypt’s Burlesque Mr Percival, Lili Dior $10 7:30pm

FRIDAY JUNE 10 ARQ Nightclub, Darlinghurst United Colours of Trance Robbie Lowe, Raptor, Duress, Taras Huntely, Scott Richardson, Trancetribe DJs $20 9:30pm Bank Hotel, Newtown Friendly Fridays Jeremy Kirschner, Paul Master free Blue Hotel, Woolloomooloo Sarah J Hyland free 7pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Greg packer (Perth), Will Styles , MC Shureshock , Hayley boa , Gabriel Closuton, Gilsun , Mark Walton , Temnien $15-$20 9pm Cohibar DJ Jeddy Rowland, DJ Mike Silver free Darling Harbour, Chinese Gardens, Sydney Greg Packer, MC Shureshock, Will Styles, Hayley Boa, Gabirel Clousten, Mark Walton, Temnien, Gilsun $15 (early bird)–$20 10pm Exhibition Hall, Sydney Opera House Vivid Live Tom Kuntz, Lucky Dragons (USA) free 11am Goldfish, Darlinghurst Funktank Mike OConnor, Fabz, Drop Dead Ed 9pm

Gyptian Jacksons on George Ultimate Party Venue over 4 Floors Lenno, Aladdin Royale free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays Alison Wonderland, Devola, Starjumps, Julian Sparro, Boonie $10 8pm Melt Bar, Kings Cross Pinksilver Jamie Stevens, Craig McWhinney, Nic Scali, Trinity, Nick McMartin, Dave Stuart, Claire Morgan, Magda Bytnerowicz, Kate Doherty $20 (at door) 8pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 9pm Tao Ultra Lounge, Sydney Wicked Fridays Suae, Ar-bee, Steve Hill, Pulsar, Nik Fish, Nomad, ASkitz $10 10pm Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Bring on the Weekend! DJ Matty Roberts free 9pm

SATURDAY JUNE 11 ARQ Nightclub, Darlinghurst Jake Kilby, Jayson Forbes, Johan Khoury, Rob Davis, Jimmy Dee, Justin Scott $15–$25 9pm Bank Hotel, Newtown Slynk free 9pm Brooklyn Hotel, Sydney CBD Fatman Scoop $34 9pm Bungalow 8, Darling Harbour Bungalow Nights free 9pm Cargo Bar, Darling Harbour The Institute of Music 9pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Guy J (Israel), Sasha Le Monnier (UK), Neon Stereo, Athson, Matt Nugent, Mind Gutter, Rodskeez, Mike Hyper, King Lee, Marky Mark $15-$25 9pm Coach and Horses Hotel, Randwick Retro Night free 8pm Cohibar DJ Brynstar, DJ Anders Hitchcock free Dee Why Hotel Kiss & Fly Ben Morris, Kaiser, Olsen 8pm Empire Hotel, Darlinghurst Empire Saturdays Empire DJs free 9pm Exhibition Hall, Sydney Opera House Vivid Live Tom Kuntz, Lucky Dragons (USA) free 11am Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills Sied van Riel Rielism $20 (+ bf) 10pm Gladstone Hotel Reload! The Abyss $10 8pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Jazzy Jay, Mathematics, Mk1, Mike Who, Mirrah, Mrethen, Juse Crew, All

Kid Sublime Consciousness Crew $15 9pm Hotel Chambers, Sydney Red Room Trey, Naiki, C-Major, Troy T 8pm Ivy, George St, Sydney John Course $20 6pm Jacksons On George, Sydney Ultimate Party Venue DJ Michael Stewart free 9pm Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown Gyptian (Jamaica) $56.10 (presale) 8pm Marlborough Hotel, Newtown Mike Whitney Band free 10:30pm Marrickville Bowling Club Mad Racket Dream Kit, Kid Sublime $30-$35 10pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Danger, Bad Channel, Redial, Nadisko, Smackdown, DJ Obey, RA $25 (+ bf) 9pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Love Muscle Jonathan Agassi, Rogan Richards, Adam Watts, Kelly Lynch, DJ Chip, Mark Alsop, Gavyn Vinzce $25 (+ bf) 10pm Sly Fox Hotel Solid Gold Hell DJ Lady Kingsley, DJ Kenny Lee, Cosmic Slop DJs, Danger Coolidge, Demonika, Cutthroat, Sel Bells, Fist E. Kuffs free Sydney Tower Girl On Top DJ Ish, Cunningpants, Virginia Le $38.50 8pm The Big Top at Luna Park, Milsons Point Come Together Drapht, Urthboy, Illy, Muph & Plutonic, M-Phazes, The Tongue, Mantra $59 4:30pm The Factory Theatre, Enmore Club Arak, Chadi Club Arak, Chadi $30 (+ bf) 8pm The Forbes Hotel, Sydney We Love Indie $10 9pm The Gaff, Darlinghurst Johnny B free 9pm The Polo Lounge and Supper Club, Darlinghurst Robopop $10 10pm The Roxy SUBZERO SOUNDS $28.60 3pm

“Hold tight / At midnight / Am I dreaming or are you beaming out? / Are you beaming out?” - BAG RAIDERS 50 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

club guide

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com The Sugarmill, Kings Cross Shagadelic Saturday Sugarmill DJs free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Wax Motif, Wongo, Rob Kay $15-$20 8pm Watershed Hoted The Watershed Presents...

Skybar

SUNDAY JUNE 12 Alexandria Hotel Sunhaze Future Classic DJs free 2pm ARQ Nightclub, Darlinghurst Greg Boladian, Sandi Hotrod, Jimmy Dee, Dan Murphy, Jack McCord (UK), Feminen free 9pm Bank Hotel, Newtown Jack McCord, Scott Pullen free Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Picnic Sundays DJ Jamin 6pm Cargo Bar, Darling Harbour Cannonball Run Softwar, Beni, Sosueme DJs, Sampology, Hey Now!, Starjumps, Devola, Lancelot, Hoodlmz $15 8pm Civic Hotel House Your Soul Josh Milan $25 10pm Exhibition Hall, Sydney Opera House Vivid Live Tom Kuntz, Lucky Dragons (USA) free 11am Fake Club, Kings Cross Spice James Taylor, Jaded $20 4am Fakeclub Carlos Zarate $20 4am

Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills Onyx (USA), WDBM $49 (+ bf) 8pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney K-Note, Judgement, Altafari, Trini Gladiata, DJ Fasmwa, Emperor Chin $15 9pm Home The Venue, Sydney SuperMartXé Bateau Gaultier: Juanjo Martin, Johan Khoury, Alex Taylor, Adam Love, Eddie Coulter, Kitty Glitter, Murray Hood, Dan Murphy $51–$61 10pm Jacksons on George Aphrodisiac Industry Night free 8pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Aether Party Agnelli & Nelson $99 (1st release) 10pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Session DJ Tone free 7pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Adult Disco Classixx (America), Death Strobe DJs, Disco Punx $20 (+ bf)–$30 (at door) 10pm St James Hotel, Sydney Sensual Ball Sveta, DJ Kieran Houghs, MC Polly Fila $120 (early bird)–$150 (at door) 8pm Sweeney’s Rooftop Sundaes Hanna Gibb, Ty $10 12pm The Hive Bar, Erskineville Revolve Records DJs free The Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction Anthony K, Demolition, Gee, Gary Honor free 4pm Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Club Parada $25 World Bar, Kings Cross Disco Punx free 6pm

club picks up all night out all week...

MONDAY JUNE 6

Classixx

Apple Store, George St Bag Raiders, Cassian, Softwar free 7:30pm

THURSDAY JUNE 9 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Botanics, Mista Savona, Bentley, Antibody free 8pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Biz Markie (USA), Cool V, Sheep, Ellesquire, Arks $56 (presale) 8pm Tone Swingin' Soul Little Egypt’s Burlesque, Mr Percival, Lili Dior $10 7:30pm

FRIDAY JUNE 10 Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays Alison Wonderland, Devola, Starjumps, Julian Sparro, Boonie $10 8pm Melt Bar, Kings Cross Pinksilver Jamie Stevens, Craig McWhinney, Nic Scali, Trinity, Nick McMartin, Dave Stuart, Claire Morgan, Magda Bytnerowicz, Kate Doherty $20 (at door) 10pm

SATURDAY JUNE 11 Brooklyn Hotel, Sydney Fatman Scoop $34 (+ bf) 9pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Guy J (Israel), Sasha Le Monnier (UK), Neon Stereo, Athson, Matt Nugent, Mind Gutter, Rodskeez, Mike Hyper, King Lee, Marky Mark $15-$25 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Jazzy Jay, Mathematics, Mk1, Mike Who, Mirrah, Brethen, Juse Crew, All

Consciousness Crew $15 9pm Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown Gyptian (Jamaica) $56.10 (presale) 8pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Danger, Bad Channel, Redial, Nadisko, Smackdown, DJ Obey, Ra $35 (+ bf) 9pm

SUNDAY JUNE 12 Home The Venue, Sydney SuperMartXé Bateau Gaultier: Juanjo Martin,

Johan Khoury, Alex Taylor, Adam Love, Eddie Coulter, Kitty Glitter, Murray Hood, Dan Murphy $51 (early bird)–$61 10pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Aether Party Agnelli & Nelson, Ric Dreski, Matt Bachl, Kate Munro, Adam Cox $99 (1st release) 10pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Adult Disco Classixx (USA), Death Strobe DJs, Disco Punx $20–$30 10pm Tone, Surry Hills Marcellus Pittman, Daniel Lupica, Andee Frost, Simon Caldwell $20 (+ bf) 10pm

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BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 51

snap sn ap

last night 27:05:11

PICS :: CG

up all night out all week . . .

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

Three records you’ll hear on the night: Along with his repertoire of killer original electro jams, Danger could bust out any number of amazing remixes featuring artists like Kanye, Midnight Juggernauts, Empire of the Sun, La Roux & more.

And one you definitely won’t: Britney Spear s’ discography.

Sell it to us: Danger needs no introduction s, no Danger, live, brought to you by Trashbags, Dead background checks. eye Tours and Oxford Art Factory. Let the mayhem begin, let the music fall from the skies like piercing rain…

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The crowd surfing.

Crowd specs: All the Trashbags regulars.

Wallet damage: $35 (presales from Moshtix) Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday June 11

sosueme's 4th b'day!

PICS :: PS

It’s called: Danger @ Oxford Art Factory, prese nted by Trashbags.

It sounds like: Electronic Heaven in 04h30 DJs: Danger (France), Bad Channel, Redia l, Nadisko, Smacktown, Obey, Ra

28:05:11 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93323711

wham!

PICS :: DM

party profile

danger @ oaf

mum

PICS :: TP

28:05:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

27:05:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700 52 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

:: NIKI BODLE :: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) NS :: THOMAS PEACHY :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MUN IEL DAN :: MAR S :: ASHLEY :: CAI GRIFFIN:: SARAH KUK ATHA STARR ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: ALICIA

+ GENERIK

FREE ENTRY JUNE 23, 8PM. STRIKE KING ST WHARF. BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11 :: 53

kurtis blow

PICS :: TL

up all night out all week . . .

hot damn

PICS :: TL

26:05:11 :: Tone :: 116 Wentworth Ave Surry Hills, 9267 6440

26:05:11 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93316245

mum It sounds like: A house party thrown by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, headlined by Johnny Cash with Jeff Spicoli on the decks.

Acts: Curses, Radio National, Bang Bang Rock n’ Roll, Radio Star, Little Lovers, Mere Women and The Young Prettie s.

Sell it to us: Heaps of the best local bands anyone can offer, crammed into two rooms in a terrace house-style bar, with our house party-style DJs playing whatever they want until the break of day.

paddle emporium

PICS :: TL

It’s called: MUM

party profile

27:05:11 :: LO-FI :: 3/383 Bourke Street Surry Hills. 9331 6200

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: You were going to leave in the PM because you wanted to be up early but you are still partying and it’s Saturday in the AM. 5AM. But hey, at least you’re up, right? Did the DJ just drop ‘Dreams’ by Fleetwood Mac? Crowd specs: People looking for the ultima te terrace house party.

Wallet damage: $15 / students free before 10pm, $10 after.

Where: The World Bar, 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross

propaganda strike bowling

27:05:11 :: Strike Bowling :: 122 Lang Road Moore Park 1300 787 453

54 :: BRAG :: 415 :: 06:06:11

PICS :: AM

When: Friday June 10

PICS :: RR

0

snap sn ap

26:05:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700 :: NIKI BODLE :: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) NS :: THOMAS PEACHY :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MUN IEL DAN :: MAR S :: ASHLEY :: CAI GRIFFIN:: SARAH KUK ATHA STARR ROSETTE ROUHANNA :: ALICIA

SECRET SOUNDS PRESENTS

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Wed 27 July Hordern Pavilion

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29.07.11 Metro Theatre

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AUGUST 3 METRO THEATRE

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YOUNG THE GIANT

AUGUST 3 OXFORD ART FACTORY

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Tuesday August 2 The Factory

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TUESDAY AUGUST 2 METRO THEATRE WITH SPECIAL GUESTS

THURSDAY JULY 28 ANNANDALE HOTEL

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