The Brag #424 by The Brag

J U S T F O R L A U G H S AT SY D N E Y O P E R A H O U S E P R E S E N T S

T S E G G I B HE T HE T , S T R A T S UD E S L O HS, L AUGERFECT P E C T HE A L P

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This Census night, shed some light online. Tuesday August 9

This coming Census night, August 9 you have a choice… You can either fill out the Census form delivered to your home, or you can complete the eCensus online at census.gov.au. If you decide to complete it online, an SMS will notify the Collectors not to come back to your home. When you fill out your Census form, shed some light on who you are. What you say will light the way forward for health, education, transport, industry and the environment, making a brighter future for Australia. All information remains private and confidential. So shed some light on Census night with eCensus at census.gov.au

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

five things WITH

JAK ORION FROM THE PREACHERS is really good at stride piano, but he never really did anything with it. You always grow up rejecting what’s around you to later find you’ve already absorbed it and grown to reflect it. When I got serious about playing, I first wanted to be like Elvis. And then it was John Lennon, then Jimmy Page, and then Joe Strummer… I have heroes everywhere that I feel I take a little essence from, and I spit it all back out as me. When I started writing with Isabella and Gideon, I felt spoilt – I get to work with two really personal and individual songwriters who are both talented in different ways.

have memories attached to records my mother would play while I was growing up. Van Morrison and Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, The Beatles, Elvis. She had an

The Preachers are a fivesome of Isabella (lead vox and keys), Gideon (lead vox and guitar), Thomas (bass), Luke (drums) and me (lead guitar and occasional vox). I’ve known Tom since I was 12, we met Isabella at AIM – we formed a band and then met both Luke and Gideon at two separate shows a year apart and now here we are: a little over a year old and off to L.A. in September with producer Tony Buchen to make a record of it. It’s due out early next year… old classical guitar my dad had bought her, and I learned the songs by ear on it. My grandparents had old jazz and big band 78s like Artie Shaw and Miles Davis LPs. My uncle

We’re a rock & roll band, we’re dirty soul, blues, black country and folk. Our first EP was out in April last year, and then we did

The 66 Project – which was an indulgent six months where we made the music we wanted to make whenever it felt good, and involved local filmmakers and artists and a couple of fashion labels. It removed the guilt of making people pay for our music, which we felt overestimated our worth. It’s all still free on our website. Sydney has so many bands around who are taking risks – it’s exciting to see and to be a part of. Getting people to shows can be tough, especially when the currency of your band is new and untested. Putting on our own shows at Low Bar for The 66 Project was good, because we weren’t bending over for anyone. We went and saw WIM’s album launch recently, and that was a calling for us to lift our game – it was risky and musical and impressive. Ultimately as a band, it’s good to take risks, and you hedge them against your music; I like the risk, it keeps everything else honest. Who: The Preachers With: Renny Kodgers Quiz Hour, stories from Penguin Plays Rough and a bunch more odds and ends Where: Pot Luck @ FBi Social, Kings X Hotel When: Friday August 12, from 6pm

Yeezy, before Gotye came along). Just don’t ask him about Winehouse – it’s way too soon for all of that.

FALLS FESTIVAL MK IV

PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com

If you’d already written on that blog of yours all the wonderful bands announced for Falls, you totally have to update that archaic mess, because just announced are Alpine, Beirut, CANT (Chris Taylor from Grizzly Bear’s newest project), Regurgitator performing Unit (amazing), The Grates (great) and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (we assume they are either the best or the worst band ever). They join loads of acts, including Arctic Monkeys, Papa vs Pretty, The Jezabels, Pnau, Fleet Foxes, Missy Higgins, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Arj Barker. Tickets go on sale Wednesday August 17 unless you won the ballot, in which case you already know what you’ll be doing on New Years Eve.

EDITOR: Steph Harmon steph@thebrag.com 9552 6333 ARTS EDITOR & ASSOCIATE: Dee Jefferson dee@thebrag.com 9552 6333 STAFF WRITERS: Jonno Seidler, Caitlin Welsh NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Chris Honnery ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Cai Griffin, Ashley Mar, Daniel Munns, Vicky Nguyen, Thomas Peachy, Rosette Rouhanna COVER DESIGN: Sarah Bryant ADVERTISING: Matthew Cowley - 0431 917 359 / (02) 9552 6333 matthew@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9552 6333 les@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Meaghan Meredith - 0423 655 091 / (02) 9552 6333 meaghan@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Matt Banham - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance & parties) INTERNS: Sigourney Berndt, Louisa Bathgate, Greg Clennar REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Simon Binns, Joshua Blackman, Liz Brown, Bridie Connellan, Ben Cooper, Oliver Downes, Alasdair Duncan, Max Easton, Tony Edwards, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Max Easton, Mike Gee, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Alex Lindsay Jones, Peter Neathway, Hugh Robertson, Matt Roden, Romi Scodellaro, Rach Seneviratne, Luke Telford, Rick Warner Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8a Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Publisher, Editor or Staff of The Brag. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Art Work, Ad Bookings Thursday 12pm (no extensions) Ad Cancellations Tuesday 4pm Published by Cartrage P/L ACN 104026388 All content copyrighted to Cartrage 2003 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get The Brag? Email distribution@furstmedia. com.au or phone 03 9428 3600. PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 Win a giveaway? Mail us a stamped and addressed envelope, and we’ll send your prize on over...

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The Bedroom Philosopher

Roxette

JOIN THE JOYRIDE

“Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer / she’s a juvenile scam, never was a quitter / tasty like a raindrop, she’s got the look.” If Bob Dylan wrote these lyrics, Dylanologists would still be arguing over which woman he wrote it for, but because it’s Roxette we write it off as the kind of wonderful accidental poetry that only broken English can deliver. Anyway: Roxette will hit Sydney Entertainment Centre on February 17 to play this song (‘The Look’) and many of the other hits that saw them sell 75 million records (!!![!!]!!) over their career. The keychange in ‘Fading Like A Flower’ has been known to make blood vessels rupture, so proceed with caution... Tickets go on sale this Thursday August 11.

RADIANT IN YOUR MIND

FBi Social at the King’s Cross Hotel is kicking an inordinate amount of arse at the moment, and their winning streak continues with their next Radiant Live evening, set for Thursday August 25. The night will star a little band you may be aware of called Richard In Your Mind, who meld psychedelia with more psychedelia, to arrive at a heady psychedelic blend. In support will be Melbourne bands Hammocks & Honey and Oblako Lodka. $12 on the door.

RED FIRE RED

Red Fire Red are launching their debut video ‘Save The Day’ (we checked, it’s not a cover of The Living End song) this Thursday August 11 at Tone, with a screening of said video followed by an indepth discussion on the fleeting nature of… nah, they’ll just play a rad set, as will The Raids, Strike The Blonde and Lenox. The Nova Soul DJs will also be spinning tunes, so request that obscure Jesus and Mary Chain song you know they won’t have… That always endears you to people. (It doesn’t.)

DEAD LETTER CHORUS

Sydney’s Dead Letter Chorus (not to be confused with the Circus, or you’ll end up at A Very Different Gig Indeed) are finally about to launch their follow-up to the wonderful August Magnificent, and we’re pretty happy about it. Yearlings features ‘Run, Wild’, one of the happiest summer songs that ever happened, as well as ‘Covered By Snow’ (winter song) and ‘Yellow House’ (spring?). On top of that, the alt-country-indie-folky band features one of the most adorable couple of lead vocalists since Glen met Marketa. The album comes out on Friday August 26, and the gig happens on October 1 at FBi Social, King’s Cross Hotel.

MERRIWEATHER AT TONE

If you show up at Tone this Wednesday August 10, you’ll be treated to the dulcet sounds of Daniel Merriweather in a special one-off acoustic performance. Tickets are extremely limited (Moshtix will try and sort you out), so grab one and ask him about sharing stages with Justin Timberlake (of Lonely Island fame) and Kanye West (the artist formerly known as

HEAD SEX AND BED SOCKS

The Bedroom Philosopher is funny. We’ve all seen/heard ‘Northcote (So Hungover)’ – and some of you may have studied his ‘I’m So Postmodern’ track in the HSC, in one of the biggest triumphs of the education system since we got to watch Frontline and Clueless under the guise of ‘learning’. Well, now he’s heading out on his ‘Head Sex And Bed Socks’ tour, which hits Sydney (and more specifically, The Vanguard) on Saturday August 27. And it’s good to hear ‘socks’ and ‘sex’ in a sentence, without the words ‘do’ ‘not’ ‘wear’ and ‘during’ slammed it there. Winter is cold.

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rock music news

free stuff

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

five things WITH

CHICKS WHO LOVE GUNS

CASS NAVARRO FROM CHICKS WHO LOVE GUNS Mody - Guitar (has seen gnarlier movies than Cannibal Holocaust) Cass - Vocals (no comment) The Music You Make We are a punk/garage sort of band. We 4. like playing music to have fun to – usually people do have fun. We’re recording our new EP at Def Wolf at the end of the month – it should be totally radical!! Music, Right Here, Right Now There are some pretty dope bands out 5. there; to me, it feels like more bands are coming

Growing Up My mum tells me I used to just make up songs in my pram and stuff, but nobody in my family is a musician. I guess I was just attracted to music from pretty early on – I loved watching rage and Video Hits or whatever from like age five. Then I found some good music later on, probably not until high school, but when I did, I became the music nerd High Fidelity douchebag I am today.

Currently, we’ve been listening to lots of 2.Inspirations

late 80s/early 90s hardcore, or “post-hardcore” for those who care – Fugazi, Drive Like Jehu, Big Black etc… and UK bands Rolo Tomassi and Pulled Apart By Horses. Liars are my favourite band of the last decade though. Other things that inspire us include Mortal Kombat, and skateboard riding.

Your Crew Mitchell - Bass/Vocals (likes grindcore/ mathcore/noise) Jack - Guitar/Vocals (makes electronic music under the name bustlip) Xavier - Drums (drives the pussy wagon)

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

out who are playing good guitar music. It’s feeling nice and communal at the moment, and I hope that helps make those twee bullshit, like, three-guys-and-a-girl, synth-playing lame ass bands die out for at least a decade, because I’m so over that shit it’s not even funny. Sorry if that’s too brutal. But bands like Doc Holliday, Sweet Teeth, GRYB etc, and loads from interstate – Dune Rats, DZ etc are who I’m talking about in terms of the exciting stuff that is happening. What: Vomit On The Dance Floor EP is out now Where: Undisclosed Warehouse (7.30pm) / Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory (midnight) / Mum @ World Bar (2am)i When: August 12 - 13

With song titles like ‘Vomit On The Dance Floor’ and ‘Smash Fuck’, you get an idea of what might be going down after the gigs of Sydney-based rock’n’rollers Chicks Who Love Guns. Theirs is a manic, reallyfucking-love-to-party vibe that all comes together in this awesome, RATM-like clip of them covering Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Yonkers’, that you can and should check out online… They’ll be bringing the party to three spots on Friday August 12 – at 7.30pm they play a warehouse gig, whose venue will be announced via Facebook on August 9; at midnight they’ll be on stage at Gallery Bar @ Oxford Art Factory; and at 2am, they’ll be gracing MUM @ World Bar… Will they survive? BRAG has a monster freebie to giveaway: a double pass to the warehouse gig, a ‘God, Love And Satan’ tee and single, plus a copy of their EP, Vomit On The Dance Floor. Just send us their first names. The answer’s right there to your left.

ROXETTE

I’m just going to say it; Roxette are AMAZING. They’ve had more number one hits than ABBA, and are responsible for more bad drunken singalongs than ‘Khe Sanh’. Having sold over 75 million albums, you’d think these guys would be content to rest their lungs – but you’d be wrong. They’re hitting up Sydney Entertainment Centre on February 17 in support of their latest album, this year’s Charm School. We’ve got two double passes for some lucky BRAGsters to enjoy the live action of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. All you gotta do is tell us what your fave Roxette tune is, and why.

sixth album, I Am Very Far, and although the Australian edition of said release doesn’t include ‘Mermaid’, you should request they play it regardless. Trust us.

The Jezabels

GET POT LUCKY

Boy & Bear

BOY & BEAR

Last time I entered into anything called ‘Pot Luck’ it was at a county fete – and as I unwrapped my lucky-dip prize, eagerly awaiting whatever amazing trinket was now in my possession, I was met by the sight of a coat hanger with a woollen knitted jacket on it; the results of a sad old lady’s Tuesday crafternoon in an under-heated bedsit. I’m sure FBi Social’s new Friday night Pot Luck, launching August 12 at Kings Cross Hotel, will be a lot better. They have Renny Kodgers’ Quiz Hour, a set from The Preachers, stories from Penguin Plays Rough and a bunch of other goodies – which are secret, that’s kind of the point. Go along from 6pm and see what happens.

Next year, when Sydney’s Boy & Bear are collecting their ARIA for Best Debut Album or Best Folk Band or whatever they will win, don’t be surprised if BRAG gets a little thank you in their speech for reminding you all to get tickets on August 15 to the launch of their spectacular debut album, Moonfire. The gig hits the Enmore on November 5.

ex-Pocahaunted (Bethany Best Coast’s former band) member Amanda Beth Brown. She’s coming out here to play Goodgod Small Club on September 8 with support from Holy Balm, Kirin J Callinan and Guerre.

JEZZIES ARE BACK!

Sydney band The Jezabels attracted so much interest at Splendour that all pathways to the stage were shut down, like some amazing ‘60s street protest but with less peace and optimism and more gozleme and Sonic Youth tees. So we suggest you get in quick if you want to catch the band’s headline set on October 21 at the Enmore, where they’ll be launching their debut album Prisoner (released September 16). Canadian’s Hey Rosetta! will be flying over to play support, which is awfully nice of them. Tix on sale August 12.

RECKLESS VAJAYJAY

Reckless Vagina play a mixture of punk and blues and have smashed this unholy alliance into a new single ‘Dollarhyde,’ which they’ll be launching at Tone on Friday August 12. They’ll be supported by Melburnian pysch band The Priory Dolls (who are launching their debut album), lo-fi, hip-hop, blip-blop artist Big Dumb Kid, garage-sters Kill City, and alt-popstars Cabaret Callado.

AFFLICTION VS DEATH

NWA might have said ‘Fuck The Police’, but The

Amity Affliction have gone one step further, with their Fuck The Reaper tour, for which they are bringing Asking Alexandria and Skyway to fuck shit up… if you happen to be the reaper. The rest of you should rush in and get tickets; it went on sale last Friday, and happens at the Big Top on October 9.

LA VAMPIRES

LA Vampires should really be the name of some sad supergroup starring former members of Poison, Motley Crue, LA Guns and the like – but it turns out that instead it’s the glitchy, dancey, Casio-driven project of

DON’T PANIC

It’s about time people worked out that The Panics are not only one of Perth’s best bands, not only one of Australia’s best bands, but one of the best bands in the world. All the proof we need to support this wild claim lies in their latest record Rain On The Humming Wire – so get along to the album launch on September 24 at The Metro Theatre.

OKKERVIL RIVER TOUR

Speaking of wild claims, Okkervil River are responsible for one of the most beautiful moments in modern music: 4:32 of ‘A Stone’. (If you haven’t heard the track before, turn the lights off first and you’re welcome.) Helmed by the erudite Will Sheff and his warmly tortured pipes, the Texan band are coming back to play The Metro on October 18, and we at BRAG are extremely excited – mainly because it gives us another chance to ask him a bunch of geeky questions and berate him for leaving Shearwater. They’re touring in support of their

Super Wild Horses

SUPER STRAIGHT

Some things go together – rock & roll, Sonny & Cher, peanut butter & chilled vermouth. Another example is Melbourne’s clangin’, singin’, struttin’ ladies Super Wild Horses, and Sydney’s clangin’, bangin’, rockin’ gents Straight Arrows. They’ve finally realised how compatible they are, and will be playing at Goodgod August 19 to celebrate, with special guests The Gooch Palms. The following day, Super Wild Horses are doing an instore at Repressed Records in Newtown. Go to both of these events.

“No short-haired, yellow-bellied Son of Tricky Dick is gonna Mother Hubbard, soft soap me with just a pocketful of soap” - JOHN LENNON 16 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

- Wed 10th -

DANIEL MERRIWEATHER - supports Fantine, Tin Sparrow, Fanny Lumsden, World Champion, Vista Views, Neonhearts DJ’s.

- Thurs 11th -

RED FIRE RED:

SAVE THE DAY VIDEO LAUNCH PARTY - supports The Raids, Strike The Blonde and Lenox

- Fri 12th -

RECKLESS VAGINA

‘DOLLARHYDE’ SINGLE LAUNCH - Supports Priory Dolls (Melb), Big Dumb Kid, Kill City Creeps, Cabaret Callado

- Sat 13th -

U-TERN (Canada) - Mase Boogie (Paper Plane

Project), Jack Prest (Flatwound), Electric Avenue DJ’s (Gian Arpino and Downtown Brown), Frames and Frenzie.

- Sun 14th -

DOME HOME 4:

THE ALICE COOPER SHOW + CIRCLE PIT + “STONE”

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The Music Network

themusicnetwork.com

Industry Music News with Christie Eleizer

Lifelines Engaged: Human Nature’s Toby Allen was back in Sydney briefly from his Las Vegas home, to celebrate his March engagement to actor Darren Weller. Dating: Rihanna’s new squeeze is her first pre-fame boyfriend, Bajanborn Negus Sealy. They met up again at a Barbados festival. Marrying: Josh Cavaleri, entertainment lawyer at Tresscox, and his fiance Michelle marry this month. Best man is his brother, guitarist Nathan Calaveri. Married: At the end of Flaming Lips’ set at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival, where they played their 1999 album The Soft Bulletin, singer Wayne Coyne got two fans up onstage. The bride was dressed as Dorothy from Wizard Of Oz, the groom as the lion. While the band played a muzak rendition of ‘Do You Realise’, Coyne married them, declaring, “By the power of the Flaming Lips, the universe and LSD, I now pronounce you man and wife!” Recovering: Grinspoon singer Phil Jamieson spent two days at Port Macquarie Base Hospital, after needing surgery for appendicitis. Arrested: US DJ Samantha Ronson, for driving under the influence in L.A., after being pulled over for speeding in her black Porsche after a gig. In Court: Irish promoter Denis Desmond was awarded $2.95 million in damages, after Prince pulled out of a Croke Park show three years ago. Suing: A group of US jazz musicians filed a class-action suit against the Grammys organisers, demanding that they reinstate the jazz category — one of 31 categories axed for next year’s event.

PUSH FOR SPLENDOUR TO STAY IN QLD Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco are adamant that they want Splendour In The Grass to return to Byron Bay next year. They’re just drumming their fingers waiting for the NSW Department of Planning to move along and approve its North Byron Parklands site as a permanent cultural event venue. But Queensland folks have a different view. Steve Cooper, head of Sunshine Coast Destination, is talking to Queensland Tourism about keeping it in Woodfordia. And why not? The 30,000 who attended the festival pumped $20 million into the local economy. Local businesses reported a spike in business as a result: one motel was booked out for 12 months, by people working at the festival.

CAPTURED PAIRS BANDS WITH FILM MAKERS Captured is a project which pairs up filmmakers with bands to create music videos or five minute filmettes, to screen at venues during the Sydney Fringe. Director Matilda Brown is working with Lime Cordiale. Stefan Hunt and Campbell Brown of Good Cheer were teamed with Chicks Who Love Guns. Jens Hertzum is with Cameras. Oliver Heath of Institute of Excellent is teamed with Psychonanny and the Babyshakers. Jake Terrey is filming Bon Chat, Bon Rat. Jessica Lahoud of CineGear Productions is with Ghosts On Broadway.

DIGITAL MUSIC MARKET TO HIT $20B BY 2015 The revenue generated by the global digital music market will reach $20 billion by 2015 at an annual growth rate of 22% from $7 billion in 2010, says The Digital Music Market Outlook. Digital music subscriptions will explode, up 61% annually over this period. The growth is fuelled by ISPs, who have been pushed to join the battle against piracy following moves by record labels and governments. The report conducted by MarketResearch.com declared that the US, Japan, UK, France and Germany remain key digital markets (accounting for a 79.5% share), while India, China and Mexico showed strong growth.

GOTYE, DRAPHT GOES GOLD After Gotye and Kimbra marked a highlight at Splendour In The Grass performing it live, Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ has gone gold three weeks after its release. Last week it was at #2 on the Tunes singles chart, and the video has had 800,000 views online. Meantime, tickets for his Making Mirrors album launch tour in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide sold out in a day; and his audio-visual extravaganza launch at the Sydney Opera House (as part of Graphic Festival) has sold out both dates. Meantime, Sony Music announced that Perth MC Drapht’s The Life of Riley went gold too.

J AWARDS: ART VS SCIENCE, ARCHITECTURE, DRAPHT triple j has announced the first nominees for the Australian Album of the Year category in its J Awards, which is now in its seventh year. They are Architecture In Helsinki’s fourth album Moment Bends, Art Vs Science’s anticipated debut The Experiment, and Perth MC Drapht’s The Life of Riley. The awards also include Australian Music Video of the Year and Unearthed Artist of the Year.

COLD CHISEL SELL 155,000 TIX IN THREE HOURS… In sales that promoters claim to be a new record for an Australian-based band, Cold Chisel sold 155,000 tickets in the first three hours when their forthcoming reunion tour went on sale last Thursday. ‘Light The Nitro’ sold out in eight cities in an hour, with second shows added to the extended tour. These figures overshadow Chisel’s own farewell ‘Last Stand’ tour, as well as Powderfinger’s ‘Sunsets’ farewell trek (2010) and Powderfinger/Silverchair’s ‘Across The Great Divide’ (2007). In unprecedented sales, three winery shows on the East Coast also sold out by 10am. In Perth, the 4,500-capacity Belvoir Amphitheatre show went in 10 minutes, and over 10,000 tickets were sold in 20 minutes for the Sandalford Winery at Margaret River.

Sandalford Estate chief executive officer Grant Brinklow called this a record for a WA winery show. In Chisel’s birthplace Adelaide, two shows sold out in two hours, and a third was announced. And the first Newcastle show went in 90 seconds. As has been documented, nine of Chisel’s 12 albums which were issued digitally for the first time stormed back into the ARIA charts last week (the highest being East at #19), as did four singles: ‘Khe Sanh’ became a Top 40 hit for the first time, beating its 1978 peak of #41.

…AND CAUSE ANOTHER VENUE UPSET Hardly had Cold Chisel sorted out the problem with cops at their WA winery show, that another show has sprung a leak. This time it was in Rockhampton, where they’ll play the Showgrounds on October 27. The Rockhampton Bulletin reported that Cr Cherie Rutherford has asked why permission was given for an open-air concert at night in a residential area filled with old people, without the Council being consulted – regardless of the show’s 10.30pm curfew. She said the city’s Music Bowl was set up for these events. According to the Bulletin, the last time Jimmy Barnes played in the city, at the Great Western Hotel, some residents fled their homes and booked into motels because of the noise.

FEMALE SOLO ACTS BLITZ UK TOP 10 Nine of the Top 10 of the UK midweek charts last week were occupied by female solo artists. Granted, Amy Winehouse was at #2, #6 and #7 – but Adele was at #1, Beyonce at #4, Dutch jazz singer Caro Emerald at #5, and Lady Gaga at #8. This week, classical act Laura Wright’s folk album The Last Rose is set to enter the top 10 for the first time.

THINGS WE HEAR * Janet Jackson’s two Sydney shows sold out in ten minutes. * The grand finale of Australia’s Got Talent, at which 14-year old Jack Vidgen won the $250,000 prize, drew one of the biggest TV audiences of the year: 2.855 million. Right after the win, Vidgen was signed to Sony Music. * Doing the splits: Magda, Troy Pierce and Marc Houle left dance act Minus to concentrate on signing acts to their Items & Things label, and Breaking Benjamin’s singer Benjamin Burnley fired guitarist Aaron Fincke and bassist Mark Klepaski, over an unauthorised remix of the song ‘Blow Me Away’. * Things must have been tense over at Frontier Touring, what with Kings Of Leon having a meltdown and blowing out their US tour and Meat Loaf collapsing at two US shows. But Frontier emphasises that both tours are still on. Kings Of Leon are back on the road next month, and tweeted that they are not splitting. * Backstage at Splendour, Coldplay and Jane’s Addiction revealed they’re coming back to tour in 2012, and Mogwai will return in spring. Radiohead could be touring again too, Phil Selway revealed in London, while some Aussie sites have already suggested the band will be in Oz next year.

SYDNEY'S LANIE LANE WORKS WITH JACK WHITE Sydney's Lanie Lane has snared the interest of Jack White. Lane, who recently signed to Ivy League Records, has just returned from Nashville, Tennessee where she recorded two tracks with White. He’d emailed her after hearing a demo. The songs will be released on 7-inch on White’s Third Man Records, this August 23.

PPCA DEADLINE Each year, the PPCA collects royalties from the public performance of sound recordings and distributes them to artists and their labels. To ensure they are in line to collect, artists have to register (for free) with the PPCA’s distribution department. Artists who are already registered have to register new recordings, albums or videos. Record labels do not provide the PPCA with this information. The distribution department can be contacted via distribution. mail@ppca.com.au or on (02) 8569 1133.

HELPMANN WIN A BOON FOR HANGING ROCK VENUE The win by Leonard Cohen’s show at Victoria’s Hanging Rock in the Best International Contemporary Concert category at the Helpmanns was impressive enough, because it beat out U2, Metallica, Sufjan Stevens and Gorillaz. It was certainly a boost for Frontier Touring’s Michael Gudinski, who booked Cohen there as the picturesque area’s first major act and drew a crowd of 15,000. The local council was rapt too: Rod Stewart is booked there in February, and Gudinski told this column he’s working on another event there possibly before Christmas. In other Helpmann wins, Paul Piticco’s Secret Service and Jessica Ducrou’s Village Sounds also celebrated with Powderfinger’s ‘Sunsets’ farewell tour winning Best Australian Contemporary Concert, and Splendour In The Grass getting Best Contemporary Music Festival. * Miley Cyrus showed her support for the gay community by getting an equals sign tattooed on the inside of her ring finger, to represent marriage equality. * A generous donation of $4,500 from Wollongong’s Platform 3 nightclub owners Rebecca and Jim Stefan — its takings from a Saturday night — saw the inaugural Christmas in July Santa Claus Pub Crawl raise $7,000 for the city’s Roller Hawks wheelchair basketball team. * Two EMI Aussie acts, Empire of the Sun and Miami Horror, are playing four North American shows together next month. * Those whacky radio guys… His Romanian accent wasn’t the best, but Nova’s Merrick Watts managed to score interviews with More FM in NZ and Sea FM on the Sunshine Coast, when he rang posing as Mr Saxobeat from Alexandra Stan’s single of that name. Meantime, resident diplomat Kyle Sandilands, who mouthed off about India being “a shithole” and the Ganges “a junkyard”, did a U-turn and hit the sorry button after the Universal Society of Hinduism asked broadcasting authority ACMA to take “appropriate action”. * The Living End’s bassist Scott Owen moved to Byron Bay from Melbourne, after falling in love with the place when they were recording their new album there. Meantime, Chris Cheney dyed his hair blonde for their Splendour set.

behind 10 of your The incredible stories favourite Australian albums of all time ON SALE NOW at Newsagents, ABC Shops & Centres & www.subscribenow.com.au/triplejmag/6507

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ydney Opera House add yet another awesome festival to their menu this year, with Just For Laughs – an offshoot of Montreal's prestigious, long-running comedy mega-festival. The lineup, of course, is serious business: comedy veterans John Cleese (aka Basil Fawlty, aka Minister for Silly Walks) and Martin Short face off against bolshie next-gen comedians like Irish larrikin Dylan Moran, superstar cynic-savant Louis C.K., whimsical man-child Demetri Martin, highenergy British boy-wonder Russell Howard, and intrepid sasspot Margaret Cho. In the following pages we take a look at some of the program highlights; we also take a scan of the local comedy scene – coz, you know, no-one’s saying Cleese isn’t the boss, but Sydney’s also not too shabby in the talent department, either… Just For Laughs runs from September 1-4 at Sydney Opera House – find the full program at sydneyoperahouse.com/JFL

LOUIS C.K. Who's that guy? By Dylan Behan.

ouis C.K. has a reputation for being a “comic’s comic”. His takeno-prisoners, foul-mouthed and darkly absurdist style is favoured among a generation of younger, YouTube-era comics, who name-drop him alongside boundary-breaking legends like Bill Hicks and George Carlin. But most normal Aussies will be asking: who the hell is this bald, middle aged ranga with the goatee headlining Just For Laughs? 43-year-old Louis C.K. (original surname Szekely) is an American comedian who knows struggle and rejection. Having done stand up since he was twenty, he spent most of the ‘90s writing jokes for other comedians – including stints on Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and the short-lived Chris Rock and Dana Carvey shows. A brief foray into movies saw him collaborating with Rock on the screenplays for two of his mediocre vanity projects, as well as writing and directing the cult blaxploitation parody Pootie Tang. Moving back into TV in 2006 he landed his own traditional-style HBO sitcom, Lucky Louie, which was cancelled after just one season.

DEMETRI MARTIN Important Things By Peter Neathway

n his voicemail message, Demetri Martin calls himself “Demetri Martin: International Comedian.” It’s a succinct way to describe one of the comedy world’s most diverse and prolific talents, whose slate of work so far includes film roles (from 2002’s Analyze That to 2009’s Taking Woodstock, and a bit part in the upcoming Steven Soderbergh thriller, Contagion), his own Comedy Central show, and a burgeoning career as a writer for film, television and, most recently, books. “I guess my thinking and form is probably similar to the way I was as a child,” Demetri muses. “I think about things that I became passionate about as a child, and as a child, [I didn’t understand] the idea of being immersed in something – I was obsessed with break dancing, and then I loved skateboarding, and so on.” A Yale graduate who went on to study law and intern in Clinton’s White House, the 38-yearold Demetri is not actually as young as his appearance and his playful sets suggest (episodes of Important Things With Demetri Martin, for example, typically involve him creating absurdist line drawings and diagrams on his Large Pad, and self-accompaniment on guitar, piano, glockenspiel…). After dropping out of law school, he interned at The Daily Show in the days before Jon Stewart, and caught a break on a 2001 Comedy Central show, Premium Blend. But it was his aforementioned tendency to consistently immerse himself in new passions that really opened doors: Demetri discovered palindromes. If I, the central words of a 224 word palindromic poem penned by Demetri,

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became the title and inspiration for the 2003 show that won him Best Newcomer (the prestigious Perrier Award) at Edinburgh Fringe. This was followed by BBC and Comedy Central specials, an invitation to write on Conan O’Brien’s show, and eventually a role as Senior Youth Correspondent at The Daily Show (which was by this time helmed by Jon Stewart), in the segment ‘Trendspotting’ – reporting on hip trends like social networking and hookahs... Demetri puts a large part of his appeal down to being widely understood. “I try to keep it primary source. I think of it as just observing something that would be a very relatable, simple experience for anybody, so that you don’t have to have specific knowledge of who a certain celebrity is or what’s going on in a specific government or anything like that.” Demetri cites Gary Larson’s The Far Side as an inspiration for his style, as well as comic luminaries like Steven Wright and Steve Martin. While his own style of music and image melded with one-liners has started a new trend (or revived an old one), Demetri still sees words as the foundation. “They’re like little cells. You know, that’s really the crux of it, and then from there I think, ‘oh you know what, that might work well with a drawing or something.’” Given that Demetri’s writing process involves walking and daydreaming, I wonder if the change of scenery from New York (where he had lived and worked for 13 years) to L.A. two years ago has affected the end product? “I wondered the same thing when I moved

high-rating FX sitcom Louie (currently in its second season), over which he claims almost all creative control (even editing it himself on his laptop). I saw Louis C.K. do a midnight show in Toronto in December 2009 and I walked out thinking it was the funniest stand up show I’d ever seen in my life. His downto-earth, swear-filled, anti-American-idiot tirades are a big hit in Canada, where he plays to some of his largest crowds; no doubt he will find a similarly huge and devoted audience when he makes his Australian debut next month. Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Sunday September 4, 7pm More: sydneyoperahouse.com/JFL

But through all this failure, Louis kept doing what he loved – stand up – eventually landing a series of acclaimed HBO specials. His over-the-top, selfdeprecating rants about race, sex, parenthood and 21st century annoyances (see the YouTube clip 'Everything’s Amazing and Nobody’s Happy') strike a raw nerve with anyone who has ever been stuck on the tarmac of an airport or fanaticised about murdering a loudmouth in line at the post office. Strangely, it seems like it was his 2008 divorce that finally propelled Louis into the upper stratosphere of fame as a comedian. The experience of being a newly-single New York dad provided the misanthropic smartarse with a degree of pathos not previously seen, and also inspired the premise of his acclaimed,

– [but] as much as the setting is different, my routine isn’t so different, or how I come up with my jokes. I’ve spent more time really alone in California [compared to New York]. In New York when you go for a walk you’re surrounded by people; in the subway, you’re crammed next to people so you overhear more conversations and see things happening – stories, dramas, jokes, bits, just happening before your eyes. Whereas here [in L.A.], I think there is a little bit more of an imagination element to [my creative process]; it’s a little more of a disconnected daydream.” Firmly ensconced in L.A., Martin’s film plans continue to push forward, despite studio hold ups. “The one script that I wrote, called Will, I’ve rewritten maybe 15 times between 2005 and today. And the other one, The Moon People, they brought another writer in, who I think is really funny – Dana Gould

(of The Simpsons) – so [now] I have kind of a producer role on that. In the meantime I’m going to write a new movie [on spec] so that I can direct it, and I’ll own it – as opposed to a studio taking it and doing whatever they want.” Demetri’s upcoming show at Just For Laughs will be his first Sydney appearance, and his first Australian gig since Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2006, where he won the Barry Award for Best Show. “I’m really thrilled to come back out to Australia, because I was so pleasantly surprised by just how attentive and enthusiastic the comedy crowds were there. I felt like Oasis – it was really great.” Where: Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House When: Sunday September 4, 9.30pm More: sydneyoperahouse.com/JFL

MARGARET CHO Drop-Dead Hilarious By Alasdair Duncan

COMEDY GALA

Decisions, decisions. Luckily, like all good comedy festivals, Just For Laughs rolls its superstar lineup into one enticing evening spread: the International Comedy Gala. And as with all the best soirées, they’ve enlisted the perfect host – ex-Python, former Minister for Silly Walks, and certifiably bonkers hotel manager, Basil Fawlty (aka John Cleese). This comedy behemoth will be wrangling the rest of the JFL lineup into an evening of short sets – and hopefully throwing a spanner or two in their works, to keep things interesting! Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House / Saturday September 2 / 7pm and 9.30pm / sydneyoperahouse.com/JFL

MARTIN SHORT Not A Tough Crowd By Alasdair Duncan

anada’s Martin Short is a comedy legend – a star on big and small screens, his career stretches from SCTV and Saturday Night Live all the way through to an acclaimed guest spot in Arrested Development. This month, he brings his live show to Sydney for Sydney Opera House’s Just For Laughs festival. AD: Can you tell me a bit about your show – will you be doing stand-up comedy? MS: I do a bit of a variety show – it’s kind of like if you were to imagine me hosting Saturday Night Live, and also being all of the cast members. Stand-up comics are philosophers; I’m more of a clown, I guess. I’ll be playing characters from throughout my career. AD: Of all your characters, is there any one you like doing the most? MS: I certainly love doing interviews in character as Jiminy Glick – there will probably be a surprise celebrity guest for him to interview. There are elements of the show that are planned, but there are others that are totally unplanned and unscripted, and are improvised each night. For example, I might get some people up on stage and get them to be members of the Three Amigos. AD: I saw Lily Tomlin live a few months ago, and her she updates her classic Laugh-In characters for modern times – has Jiminy Glick moved up in the world? MS: No, he’s too shallow to ever move out of entertainment reporting; he’s a moron with talent. He could make a great member of Congress, though, I think.

rom her stand-up to her TV work, Margaret Cho has been celebrated far and wide for her take-no-prisoners approach to comedy. She’s brash, she’s ballsy, she’s foul-mouthed, and when she works up a righteous anger on a particular topic, she’s nigh-on unstoppable. Right now, however, Cho is in celebration mode – shortly before we speak, New York has legislated in favour of gay marriage, an historic change she hopes will soon sweep across the country. “There’s been a lot of build-up, in the same way there was a lot of build-up to the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’. Gay marriage has been a long time coming in America, and I feel like, from here, things will change very rapidly, and that’s an exciting thing.” I mention to Cho that, mere months ago, our own Prime Minister took a stance against gay marriage, saying that it was against Australian values – and a flicker of that infamous fury comes out: “In America, people come out and say similar things – they get really angry because they feel that gay marriage threatens the American way of life. It makes you want to ask – is discrimination part of the American way of life? Is legislating hatred the American way of life? It’s like, how can they justify homophobia? Because it’s traditional? It’s not. Just because a thing has happened in the past does not make it right.” So, I ask, does a lot of this stuff come up in her act? “Oh yeah,” she says. “I focus on the inequality of opposition to gay marriage, and the absurdity of it. You know, my major point was that to deny a gay man the right to bridal registry is inhumane. Why would you do that? Just let gay people get married. It’s so insane.” Cho was last in Australia several years back, to lead the Sydney Mardi Gras parade, and it seems that everywhere she goes, gay men and lesbians flock to her. When I ask why she thinks this is, she tells me that it may partly be because her ties with queer culture go all the way back to childhood.

“I come from San Francisco in the ‘70s, and I was raised by people who were very politically-active; in my family, I had gay and lesbian activists who worked with Harvey Milk. I learned all that I know from drag queens I saw, from Harvey, from all these icons of gay history. I feel like I’m a part of it.” Cho’s act also draws heavily on her KoreanAmerican heritage, and those who’ve caught her routines before will know that her impressions of her own mother are always among the highlights. The burning question, though, is whether Cho’s mum has actually seen her do said impressions? “Oh yeah, she comes a lot!” she laughs. “She’s a big fan of the act, and she’s seen my impression of her many times before, but she’s been seeing it since I was born, because I’ve been mimicking her from a very young age. She was the first person that I could mimic, so she’s always been there.”

AD: You’ve been awarded an Order of Canada medal, which is a pretty big deal, but I’d like to know, what do you personally consider to be your biggest accomplishment? MS: Well I guess I won a Tony award – that was an amazing achievement. Nobody’s editing when you’re on stage, it’s just you up there. I don’t know – I’m kind of amazed that

I’ve been able to do this comedy thing as long as I have and keep it as varied as I’ve been able to. That’s what amazes me the most. AD: I was also a really big fan of your cameo as Uncle Jack in Arrested Development – what was it like working with that cast? MS: Well you know, it was very reminiscent of a show I did a long time ago on NBC called SCTV – it was done in a very similar, very creative style in that you would do a take, then everyone would go over and look at it on the monitor and you could see what you’d done and work out straight away if there was a funnier approach. It was a very loose, creative set. I loved doing that show. [Writer] Mitch Hurwitz is an incredibly talented guy, as is Jason Bateman. AD: You’ve recently done dramatic work in television too, in Damages – I imagine being involved in that show was quite a heady experience? MS: Damages has a very smart and creative team of writers – you feel very safe there, even though everything is written at the last second so that you never really know where your character’s going or what’s going to happen to them. In terms of knowing who did what to whom, we never had a clue, so we really felt like a part of the mystery. It was fun. AD: Are there any younger comics out there at the moment who you think are really talented? MS: The current cast of Saturday Night Live is pretty spectacular. To be honest with you, though, I’m a pretty big fan of most things. Any time someone does something that makes me laugh, I love it, so I’m not a very tough crowd! Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Friday September 2, 7pm More: sydneyoperahouse.com/JFL

Fans of the gleefully campy Lifetime series Drop Dead Diva will recognise Cho from her role as the quirky legal assistant Teri Lee. Cho loves being a part of the show, which has just wrapped production on its third season, but accepting the part of Teri meant relocating to Georgia, where the show is filmed. The move proved to be something of a culture shock. “Living in a small town in Georgia and being queer is definitely not an ideal situation,” Cho tells me. “It was a kind of polite, weird terrorism that you came up against down there – you were constantly being reminded of where you were and that you didn’t belong there, but in a really polite way. There’s a little bar where if you call them and ask if it’s a gay bar, they’ll say no and hang up on you, but it’s where all the gays have agreed to go. It’s not a gay bar, it’s just a place where all the gay people in the area go because they feel they’ll be safe.” Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House When: Friday September 2, 9.30pm More: sydneyoperahouse.com/JFL

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Angry Boys

Chris Lilley takes his dangerously funny series overseas. By Nathan Jolly Nathan takes a moment...

seem completely real. It was also the first time we’d gone outside that suburban world, like the whole skatey ‘gay-style’ world and the rap thing, these characters had to be seen as famous people, so their whole surroundings are not your average suburban thing. So we had a graphic designer from Japan working on all that stuff. The wardrobe designer and production designer both told me this is the most challenging thing they’ve ever done.” This realism also prompted the rapid-fire use of the term “faggot” as an insult between the teenage characters, another tool Lilley defends as being born of realism. “That’s how kids speak,” he explains. “I went out to the country and hung out with teenagers and spoke to people out there, and they say it a lot. I’ve done a few gay magazines and stuff in the UK, and I got a little nervous that they might have an issue with that. They thought it was hilarious. It wasn’t really an issue.”

Angry Boys' Jen Okazaki, a softly spoken Japanese wife and mother of three.

ans of Chris Lilley’s previous two series - the hilarious and often poignant We Can Be Heroes and Summer Heights High – are well aware that he often skirts around the borders of taste and decency in search of a laugh. We Can Be Heroes saw Lilley – dressed as Asian wannabe-actor Ricky Wong – perform a rather tasteless (and borderline racist) Aboriginal musical, while an average episode of Summer Heights High dropped more f-bombs than the entire run of The Sopranos. The undeniable quality and unfettered sentimentality of these two shows has made Lilley and his creations somewhat impervious to criticism. These were fully realised worlds in which the offensive moments added to rather than subtracted from the overall impact. Angry Boys had the international stakes raised considerably when American cable channel HBO came on board as a broadcasting partner, with a pre-sale to BBC3 ensuring a walk-in audience of millions. Few doubted he would crack under the pressure; Lilley is a longtime auteur, notoriously guarded with his creations and a fierce protector of his own creative control. Few, however, could have predicted what

was to come. Rather than tone down for more puritanical palettes, the first episode of the show was by far the most offensive Lilley production to date; the usual string of expletives bumped up a notch by the very liberal use of the word “faggot.” This was small fry. Episode two saw Lilley adopt blackface for the character of failed rapper S’Mouse. Audible gasps were heard nationwide and soon the controversy overshadowed the quality of the show. And this is all before the series has gone to air in the US. “I hadn’t really thought about it,” says Lilley slowly down the phone. “I mean I obviously know that’s a confronting thing for people; I have two agents over in America who read the first treatment and said ‘you realise this is going to be a bit of an issue over here.’ I don’t know, I think once you see it, it all works within the context of the show. It’s screened over in the UK and the press haven’t even brought it up as an issue – it’s not an issue over there. In Australia there has been a lot of press about it. I think it’s about the character, it’s not purely a joke about being black; I think once you get into the world of the character you find it’s not about a man doing blackface.” Despite his perceived nonchalance regarding the topic, Lilley was still a little cautious about

his use of the word nigger, despite confessing an illicit thrill from its inclusion in the program. “I knew it was the language the character would use, and a part of me probably likes the idea that it pushed things a bit. Certainly, when I was on set it was a little odd for me to be yelling at this big, black American guy and calling him a nigger – this man is like a fifty-year-old guy who is from a different era – but he got it and thought it was hilarious, and we were both calling each other niggers. It did concern me, but I like stuff that’s a bit shocking, so it was worth it for the shock factor.” And therein lies the rub. It’s clear that the ‘shock factor,’ however pleasing, is far less important to Lilley than striving for realism. “It was a lot harder and took a lot longer,” he said about making Angry Boys seem realistic. “Summer Heights High was all in one location and about school, and I knew a lot about school. But there are certain details in the different worlds [in Angry Boys] that had to be right, so it took a lot longer. Even things like the wall of legends [twin brothers Nathan and Daniel’s wonderwall of heroes – mainly comprised of surfers, skaters and swimsuit models], all those posters had to

Still, this drive for realism never threatened to hamper the comedic elements of the show. “I got a group of Japanese mums together, and discovered that the character of Jen is nothing like a Japanese woman. But I didn’t care,” Lilley laughs. On the eve of the American release of the program, Lilley betrays no nerves about how the show will be received, citing prerelease leaks as testament to the fact it will be successful: “They loved Summer Heights High, so I think the same crowd, the HBO audience will be into it.” And he remains steadfast in his belief that the more racially sensitive sections won’t raise the same furore as they have in Australia. “I think they’ll get it, more than the Australian audiences. I think we are a little more nervous about stuff like that, whereas they are surrounded by that culture. I mean people in Australia don’t even know black people, we just don’t have them here. I think if you are surrounded by that culture, you are going to get it.” What: Angry Boys When: Out now on DVD

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AY W A

To get your hands on one of FIVE special comedy packs, featuring these three releases, email freestuff@thebrag.com with your postal address and the name of one other British comedian.

WIN!

t’s an Anglo-Celtic invasion this month, as Roadshow Entertainment and the BBC team up to release the best of British and Irish comedy. To celebrate – and because, as you may have noticed, this issue is comedy-centric – we've got some special comedy packs up for grabs, each of which include: the Blu-ray release of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s wickedly funny TV series An Idiot Abroad, in which they send their beleaguered radio playmate Karl Pilkington around the world, to get some kulcha in him; Steve Coogan: Live N Lewd & The Man Who Thinks He’s It – which features two classic ‘90s sets from the genius behind I’m Alan Partridge; and Andrew Maxwell: One Inch Punch, featuring the cheeky comedian on his home turf, at Dublin’s Vicar Street standup club, letting loose on the world at large – from animals to politicians and everything in between.

UK COMEDY! ON DVD!

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ALLEN TOUSSAINT

G N I S A C SHOW ORARY P M E T N CO P U D N STA S N A I D E COM

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JON CLEARY & MORE

Star of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, multi-award winning Andrew Maxwell presents his brand new stand-up show. Includes special feature Night of the Heckle.

Featuring two hilarious live shows and all the favourite Coogan characters, including Alan Partridge and Paul and Pauline Calf, with fresh, laugh-out-loud material.

Now available from

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AN IDIOT ABROAD

Roadshow Ent. Released August 18 Those who have followed Ricky Gervais’ career will know that his real masterstroke wasn’t The Offi Office, b butt rather Th th his single-minded propulsion of Karl Pilkington into the public eye. Pilkington first came to Gervais’ attention when he was enlisted as producer of the comedian's radio show on fledging London station XFM. Within a year the entire show had been retooled as an outlet for Pilkington’s singular world-view and idiotsavant grasp on reality. A series of extremely successful podcasts continued along this formula, and Gervais seemed to spend most of his time during promotional tours for his other film/TV projects discussing Pilkington. It is an interest bordering on obsession – and after five minutes listening to Pilkington, you understand why. Plus Pilkington hates all the attention – a clear bonus for Gervais. In An Idiot Abroad, the first television series focused around the bald-headed Manc, Gervais and offsider/writing partner/ straight-man Stephen Merchant try to inject Pilkington with some culture by sending him to the seven wonders of the world. A lofty premise, which mostly serves as a vehicle for putting Pilkington in a series of situations he will dislike, to hear his viewpoint on monuments that have long been considered the greatest landmarks on earth, and basically to annoy him. (Gervais called it the most expensive practical joke ever). Pilkington has no forewarning as to where he will end up, which adds another level of discomfort to his journey.

SHANE MAUSS (USA) @ THE COMEDY STORE

riginally from La Crosse, Wisconsin, Shane Mauss (pronounced ‘Moss’) broke out to the thriving Boston scene in 2004, and in his first three years had won Best Comedian at HBO Comedy Festival, and was invited onto Conan O’Brien. An expert in misdirection, you get one punchline and you think it’s over, then there’s another. Mauss returns to Australia after a storming debut at The Comedy Store in 2009. What made you want to get into comedy in the first place? When I was 8 a friend told me that I should be a stand-up comedian. As soon as he told me what that was, I agreed privately but enthusiastically. I’ve never thought of doing anything else since.

You have some really extreme (but funny) shock laughs. What does it feel like to push the envelope with people and still get laughs? I know that I push the envelope. It’s not a surprise when I push people too far. But I think that I’m silly. Above all else, everything I’m doing is very silly. I hope no one gets hurt and if they do, I hope I can write a silly joke about how someone got hurt over such a stupid, silly thing.

So it wasn’t because you knew that one day you’d end up, in a less conventional turn for a comedian, on Playboy TV. Also: How did that happen? I was in this HBO Festival that turned out to be my big break. It no longer exists. I have a talent for being on the last run of a thing that does not work out. I don’t blame myself (although I should). The Playboy people

You’ve said before that your influences are not specific – but who are some of the comedians you really like today? Louis CK, Doug Stanhope, Maria Bamford, Daniel Tosh, Steven Wright. You won HBO Comedy Festival’s Best Comedian the same year Tim Minchin won Best Alternative Comedian –what was that like? Tim Minchin and I are good

Playing a comedian in a theatre show, and moonlighting as a morning radio DJ, Tommy’s co-host and comic Randy Keagan invited Tommy to local club Finnybones, for some character research. “I started hanging out at the Monday night open mic night, then eventually I just kept being asked back to do other shows. It was never a choice, it was something I just did for fun.” Three years later, Tommy was in the Sutherland Shire, “on the factory floor shoving boxes of dog shampoo into boxes,” after moving to Australia with his first wife (who he met in a comedy club in Arizona). His comedy life stalled. After a few months, Tommy moved back into comedy after putting aside an initial misunderstanding about Sydney comedy club, the Harold Park Hotel. “They kept saying, ‘hey you should come down and do comedy in The Park.' I thought it was literally a park. I wasn’t in any hurry.” On a quiet night at The Park a fateful spot opened up for Tommy. "I just came off and somebody went, ‘Oh my god, you just held your own between Australia’s two greatest comics.’ And I went well, alright then, here we go.”

S STEVE COOGAN C

L Live N Lewd & The Man Who Thinks M He’s It H R Roadshow/BBC Released August 2 R

The documentary snippets interspersed throughout lift the veil on Coogan, in a rare and unguarded glimpse into what makes the man behind these many characters tick. Except of course, it’s all make-believe; Coogan portraying himself as an egofuelled and tyrannical drama-queen is by far his finest acting performance on the disc. The only issue with these live sets is that none of the characters he unleashes are a patch on Alan Partridge (or the absent Tommy Saxondale) – and this DVD just leaves you salivating for more. Nathan Jolly 24 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

What: Hope for Cambodian Children fundraiser feat. Shane Mauss (USA), Michael Hing, Genevieve Fricker, Dave Williams & more Where: The Comedy Store / 207 Driver Ave, Fox Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park When: Wednesday August 17, 8pm More: comedystore.com.au

@ HAPPY ENDINGS COMEDY CLUB

Nathan Jolly

Throughout both sets – 1994’s Live N Lewd and 1998’s The Man Who Thinks He’s It – Coogan brings out a multitude of well-drawn characters: Duncan Thickett, whose shtick is his inability to perform stand-up comedy, Paul Calf (Pauline’s much-funnier brother – a mouthy, knockabout Northerner) and Ernest Moss, an over-zealous fire safety chief. These pale in comparison, however, to Coogan’s masterwork: Alan Partridge. Suffice to say, if you haven’t seen any of the television shows involving Partridge, sort it out. If you have, then this is vintage Partridge, making this disc worth the asking price just for these snippets of brilliance.

friends now. He didn’t know that we both did the same festival and caught a break at the same time. I don’t know. I got on Conan before doing 3 years of stand up. It was a whirlwind that calmed but continues to grow. I don’t really know what I’m doing with my life. I just want to write my stupid, weird, crazy jokes on a stage and tell them to people. – Peter Neathway

TOMMY DEAN

Pilkington is so lovable; his wide-eyed wonder mixed with his close-mindedness makes for compelling viewing, and across the eight hour-long episodes he experiences a lot, but learns little. If this is your introduction to the mind of Karl Pilkington, then I envy you. There are hundreds of hours of entertainment awaiting you.

First things first: if the F only reference points o you have for Steve Coogan involve American films or Courtney Love’s ovaries, then this two-set collection isn’t an ideal starting point to the comedic genius that is Coogan in full-flight – this is more for fans. The pre-recorded introduction is suitably hilarious (as are all the faux-documentary segments throughout), however the live-setproper opens with Coogan’s least-developed and most broad character, the slutty Pauline Calf, who trades in lewd sexual innuendo and not much else.

saw me at this festival and wanted me on a stupid weird show that was not at all for stand ups. It was really dumb of them. Also, their last show. Most of the time that I’m on a thing, I play the Grim Reaper. I’ll maybe talk about it more in my live show.

“I

’m sitting in the Earlwood shops parking lot, so occasionally there’ll be forklifts, as the fruit market does its job,” says Tommy Dean. He's about 10,000 miles and 20 years from where he started out as a young actor pretending to be a comedian, in Phoenix, Arizona.

Now one of Australia’s greatest comics himself, Tommy has even opened for Tina Arena. “And I wasn’t actually listed on the ticket so nobody knew I was coming,” Dean laughs. “Five nights in a row: ‘Ladies and Gentlemen please welcome to the stage’ – crowd goes crazy –

‘Tommy Dean!’ And the crowd is like, ‘Huh? Who the fuck is that!?’ Once I got past why I was there, it went pretty well.” A board game enthusiast and strategist (he owns 300 games and is on the committee of Board Games Australia), Tommy chalks gigs like this up to experience: “My whole philosophy is sort of based on the idea of game theory; the idea that you are moving pieces. I’ve got a general strategy, and then how do I tactically adjust my material choices to make this particular night pay off the way we all want it to. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you don’t.” Explaining his style, Tommy puts it simply. “The way I think about things seriously, when worded the way I word things, makes people laugh. And over time I’ve come to recognise that, and therefore play up on it. I really don’t know what my style is outside of 'laidback observational weirdness. Or not.'” – Peter Neathway Who: Tommy Dean, Sam McCool, Paul Hancock Where: Happy Endings Comedy Club @ El Roco / 154 Brougham St, Kings Cross When: Saturday August 13, 8pm and 10pm More: happyendingscomedyclub.com.au

CHRIS WAINHOUSE @ CARGO LOUNGE COMEDY hris Wainhouse has been in constant motion since his first day on stage. Originally from New Zealand, Wainhouse shifted to Australia where his dry, sharp wit and joke-craft immediately turned heads. Conquering his adopted hometown as Brisbane’s king of comedy, and starting a family, Wainhouse recently made the move to Sydney.

come out of other people’s mouths for everything from The Glasshouse to Big Brother. What was your proudest writing moment for B.B.? Well it was the B.B. off shoot, Friday Night Games. I was just script writing as it was not actually a comedy show. I guess my proudest writing moment during that show was done at the Bank of Queensland every second Friday.

You’ve been a fixture on the Brisbane scene for a long time, how are you finding Sydney life, and the comedy scene here? I love Sydney life, it’s so peaceful and laid back compared to the hustle and bustle of suburban Brisbane. The scene here is the same as it is everywhere. Do I really have to answer these questions… Couldn’t you just tap my phone or something?

One reviewer once said you had “more character than a Disney movie”…maybe a very adult Disney movie. What Disney character would Wainhouse be? Sid Phillips from the movie Toy Story (the kids who hurts his toys). FYI – he also made a guest appearance in Toy Story 3 as a garbage man. (I just Googled him) – Peter Neathway

You occasionally let your dark side out through alter ego Evil Wainhouse. Tell us about a day in the life of Evil Wainhouse? There is no ‘Day in the Life’ of Evil Wainhouse. It was just a Facebook profile I created for the purpose of roasting other comedians. If anything there might be a couple of drunken hours in the early a.m. Nothing of substance, just a lot of swearing. On the side of good, you did a Sydney Comedy Festival show this year – Saint

Wainhouse. What are some commandments that comedian Saint Wainhouse lives by? Oh yes… the show I did about living without commandments... I guess my answer is none. This was a rare festival appearance for you. For many comedians the annual festival circuit is a beacon, yet you’ve mostly stayed away. Why this choice? I do festivals. I’m too busy to follow the festival circuit for nine months a year but I’ll normally participate in at least one of the eleven major comedy festivals. This year I chose Sydney. You’ve been a writer of funny words to

Who: Chris Wainhouse, Tommy Dassalo, Sally Kimpton (MC) Where: Cargo Lounge When: Tuesday August 16 – doors open 6pm, show at 7.30pm More: Cargo Comedy runs every Tuesday see cargobar.com.au

- $25 0 2 $ hows y S l n m o p 0 m Fro 8pm & 1 SAT 6 AUG

RASH Aussie Comedy Icon over 100 TV appearancess MICHAEL CHAMBERLAIN SkitHOUSE, Rove SIMON KENNEDY Nova 969, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A World Class Comedianâ&#x20AC;? Concrete Playground

TOMMY DEAN TGIF Spicks & Specks, Good News ws Week W k â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tommy Dean is Awesomeâ&#x20AC;? Foxtel Magazine SAT 13 AUG SAM MCCOOL A Wizard of Accents PAUL HANCOCK Nova 969, Triple M, The Country Music Channel KAT DAVIDSON ABC Radio, â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the funniest chicks in OZâ&#x20AC;? SAT 20 AUG DANIEL TOWNES Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal CAM KNIGHT Comedy Ch, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Amiably Hilariousâ&#x20AC;? The Daily Telegraph

CHRIS WAINHOUSE & rapier delivery has audiences begging for mercyâ&#x20AC;? Brisbane News SAT 27 AUG MATT OKINE Can Of Worms, 2Day FM Comedy God DAVE SMIEDT â&#x20AC;&#x153;So Very Funnyâ&#x20AC;? Joan Rivers Buy tickets @ happyendingscomedyclub.com.au or at the door if not sold out.

154 BROUGHAM ST, CNR WILLIAM ST, KINGS CROSS BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 25

The Panda Band The Next Chapter By Nils Hay

s admirable as the ideology behind the independent music scene is, the reality remains that being both successful and independent is incredibly hard work. If Damian Crosbie had the power, The Panda Band’s forthcoming sophomore album, Charisma Weapon, would’ve been produced by Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Weezer, MGMT), recorded somewhere other than his home studio in Perth, and released over a year ago by a label that he wasn’t reluctantly running himself. “I don’t like running a label,” the frontman confesses. “It’s out of necessity. I’m not good at doing things like ringing people for interviews; I know I’m not a label manager.” It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the Perth quartet, and at one stage super-producer Fridmann was indeed on board to produce their followup to 2006’s This Vital Chapter. But despite this vote of confidence and their swag of WAMi awards, no record deal materialised, and the band’s own label Bam*Boo became the default choice. Compounding the difficulties, The Panda Band had to churn through several drummers, as time-frames blew out and money got tight. But regardless of the problems

they encountered, Crosbie doesn’t feel that there’s a great disadvantage to releasing independently in Australia. While he believes that the big independent labels in the United States might have something to offer, the same fails to hold true here. “It’s a bit weird,” he admits. “It’s not that hard to release it on your own.” And as it turns out, film clips can be done on a shoestring too. The band’s clips have been directed by friend Paul Komadina, who – despite plenty of experience behind the camera – was looking to add to his film clip portfolio, and was happy to work pro bono. But starring in your own music videos does come with an element of risk. In ‘The Fix’, for instance, Crosbie featured prominently, staggering wasted through Perth – and he describes to me some of the scenes which were cut… “There was lots of vomiting, but none of it made it in; we thought it was a bit too much.” (If you’re going around to Crosbie’s for dinner any time soon, you can be sure pea and ham soup won’t be on the menu.) The lack of label support has added some uncertainty to the band’s plans beyond their launch tour, which kicked off in late July. The Panda Band is hoping to get on the local festival circuit, but Crosbie is quick to point out the hurdles they’re expecting to encounter. “There’s just so many massive international bands playing those things now that it’s really

hard for the Australian acts – unless your label is putting on the festival and helps you get in there,” he says. “Hopefully the album goes massive; that helps your cause.” As for that new album, The Panda Band have taken their eclectic indie-pop leanings and added layers of synths and vocal harmonies to create some truly lush arrangements. They recorded it all themselves, but the draggedout process took its toll, leading to a twoweek stint with Brisbane producer Magoo while they mixed the record. “I knew for sure I didn’t just want to mix it myself,” Crosbie explains. “That would’ve just been suicidal.” Despite the layered sound on the album, Crosbie is envisaging a somewhat strippedback live show. “We don’t want to do backing tracks,” he says, before stressing the importance of having the vocals up higher in the mix. “I think a lot of bands you go to see live, all you hear is guitars and drums, and the vocals can’t be made out.” For someone who spends a lot of time working on both his voice and his lyrics, it’s an understandable decision. What: Charisma Weapon is out through Bam*Boo Where: The Brass Monkey, Cronulla / Northern Star, Newcastle / The Gaelic Club, Sydney When: August 10 / August 12 / August 13

Mark Seymour

Ash Grunwald

The Beatles Back2Back By Lindsey Cuthbertson ark Seymour cannot only trace his interest in pop music back to a certain time in his life, but he can link it to a particular musical group as well. Before Seymour rose up into the national consciousness as the frontman for Hunters & Collectors, before he even had aspirations of being a musician, he was just another country kid obsessed with the music of The Beatles. “I was living in country Victoria and I was in the second grade. Our family didn’t have much exposure to popular music at all, we were quite a conservative family, but The Beatles even got to us,” Seymour says. “Everybody was talking about them – there was just this conversation in the schoolyard. I don’t understand; they just took over! The interest in The Beatles was just organic, really – their time had arrived... And I do remember it quite vividly,” he continues. “I used to walk around the playground singing their songs. It was my first exposure to pop as a musical form, and I started listening to the radio after that.” Now, all these years later, Seymour will perform in The Beatles Back2Back, an

ambitious project that sees six Australian vocalists tackle Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road in their entirety. Standing alongside Seymour will be Jon Toogood from Shihad, Irwin Thomas (aka Jack Jones, formerly of Southern Sons fame), Dean McGrath from Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Tim Morrison of Trial Kennedy and Rai Thistlethwayte from Thirsty Merc – backed by a 17-piece band. And while the Back2Back performance is a method for Seymour to get in touch with his musical past, he also sees it as a way to progress as an artist. “It’s completely new for me,” he says. “That’s the reason why it’s so interesting, because it’s completely out of my comfort zone as a singer. It’s something completely fresh, and I have to learn a whole lot of new things. I think that that – especially at this stage of my life – is really critical: being immersed in new musical experiences that I don’t have any immediate answers for. “It’s very easy when you get older to just keep moving between the same towns, and using the same devices that you’ve accumulated over 25 to 30 years,” he continues. Seymour is particularly excited about stepping out on stage without a guitar strapped around his neck; it gives him the chance to display an aspect of himself as a performer that’s removed from his reputation as the singer-songwriter of ‘Holy Grail’. “It’s good for me to be exposed to an audience purely as a singer, because my voice has really changed over the last few years,” Seymour explains. “For me to continue to develop as an artist, I need to perform to people in ways that they don’t expect. I’ve obviously got a lot of baggage; no matter how much I go out and tour, people still have a preconceived idea of what kind of artist I am, and what my voice is meant to be like.” A show that has an ambitious and new concept, and an artist whose desire is to channel those elements into his own performance. Chances are you couldn’t get a more perfect match. What: The Beatles Back2Back: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road in their entirety With: Mark Seymour, Jack Jones, Jon Toogood (Shihad), Rai Thistlethwayte (Thirsty Merc), Dean McGrath (Hungry Kids Of Hungary) and Tim Morrison (Trial Kennedy), with a 17-piece band. Where: The State Theatre When: August 12 & August 13

An Old Dog’s New Tricks By Hugh Robertson t’s a common complaint among the ignorant that the blues is boring, existing only in a stagnant universe where authenticity is venerated and deviation frowned upon. Clearly, these people have never experienced Ash Grunwald. While his early output consisted of traditional blues standards (albeit reinterpreted by a wicked guitarist with a four-octave voice), Grunwald has since been bitten by the experimentation bug, and there’s no going back. “We’re just in these crazy times,” he tells me. “You’ve got these amazing tools for your creativity, and it’s hard to resist using them. And I’m questioning why I should bother resisting. [It’s] sort of tasty to be sparse, but you can just get a bit bored of it.” It does sound like he’s trying, but with so many creative tools available in this day and age it must be hard to limit yourself to the basics. Indeed, Grunwald mentions that he recently recorded ten or so blues standards in a very traditional way – but before he realised what was happening, he’d recorded another ten with every kind of tool you could imagine. “I get very excited by gadgets and things,” he continues, “and I ended up using my iPad a lot on the new album. And it’s just fascinating times – I used one [app] called the KORG iElectribe that costs $20 and sounds sick. And because it’s digital, it’s the exact same thing that I was looking at in the shop ten, fifteen years ago, that cost a grand. And it’s one of the hundred apps on my iPad.” All this technical wizardry is fine and dandy in the studio, but you’ve still got to bring it live. And Grunwald is one of the mainstays of the Australian circuit, touring constantly all over the country – indeed, on his current tour that will hit Sydney this Friday, he’s playing shows in 28 towns. And in another instalment of the Ash Grunwald Experiments series, he’s being accompanied by a film crew, documenting the experience for ‘The Road Dog Diaries’. “Benny – who plays the car door with me – said that we should have movies for a gig we were doing in Coolangatta,” Grunwald explains. “He thought we should get a few bands from the surf scene on the bill, and show the movies and have some photography and make it a bit more of an event.” It’s all spun from that one gig, but at this stage Grunwald and his team are looking at doing “a DVD, webisodes on my YouTube channel, and possibly syndicating with a few other web things – and maybe as a segment on a cable show.” Grunwald knows it could all end in disaster but, as he rightly points out, you never know until you try. “I feel very lucky in this climate,”

he explains, “because I am very excited by change. You’ve just got to be brave enough and you’ve just got to be happy to fail, because it’s a massive part of the process of succeeding. Opportunities are coming up all the time, and they often don’t stick around forever. You either jump on it and run with it and see what happens, or you sit around and think about it for twelve months – and things move on very quickly.” It would take another 600 words to go through all the ideas he has on every aspect of the process, from writing and recording all the way through to promotion and merchandising. But in the meantime, Grunwald is genuinely excited at the thought of spending the next month touring the country in a cramped van with five other people. And with just that, you feel like he can accomplish anything. What: Hot Mama Vibes is out now With: Beau Young, The Grains Where: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney / Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle When: Friday August 12 / Sunday August 14

“Temperature’s rising. Fever is high Can’t see no future. Can’t see no sky” - JOHN LENNON 26 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

Regurgitator Super Happy Funtimes Friends By Hugh Robertson

n paper, there’s no way that Regurgitator should have worked. When they were first signed to Warner none of the band members considered The ‘Gurge to be their main band, and every album has been a complete mish-mash of styles and sounds recorded on a shoestring budget (or no budget at all – more on that later...). On top of that there’s been side projects, children and some significant psychological trauma (see: the Band In A Bubble incident of 2004), and yet here they stand, poised to release their seventh album in fifteen years.

But perhaps that’s their secret – that the only thing you can predict about Regurgitator is that they are unpredictable. Bassist/co-songwriter Ben Ely isn’t sure if this has been a success or a hindrance, but he knows it’s been deliberate. “We like to keep challenging ourselves,” he explains, “and I think that’s why in the past we have attempted different genres – to try and keep it interesting. We may have shot ourselves in the foot trying to do whatever we wanted to, and we’ve pissed a lot of people off and probably pissed some fans off by changing styles and not sticking to one thing, but that’s what we want. That’s how we’ve wanted it to be.” Judging by the results of triple j’s Hottest 100 Australian Albums poll, they don’t seem to have pissed off that many people. The band’s debut, tu-plang, came in at #44, while Unit made it all the way to the rarefied air of #10. And perhaps even more tellingly, those two albums had the greatest correlation of any that featured on both the listener’s poll and the critics’ poll – Unit at #13, and tu-plang at #30 – proving that The Gurge are just as highly-regarded by their peers as by their fans. Ely laughs in disbelief when I tell him all these numbers, but laughs even louder when I ask if he expected such a strong showing. “Oh, I wasn’t expecting it at all! I was completely surprised, completely flattered. Flattened. Flattenedly flattered by the fact that people voted – and I was quite surprised. Being in a pop band, you get that sense sometimes that maybe people are a bit over it, and you’ve had your go. But I was really quite flattered that people thought of us in that way. “I hadn’t [listened to Unit] for a long time until people actually voted for it,” he tells me. “And obviously I feel like where we’re at now has a lot more experience [behind it], and the production is a lot better. But there is that naïve fun that we had with that record, and I guess I can kinda see why people would like it.” Astonishingly, the

“We didn’t spend any money making this record. We did it at home with our own gear... If you’ve got a good idea and a good song, you can record it anywhere.”

guys have found a way to spend even less money on recording these days – less than tu-plang, which they recorded in Thailand to cut costs, and less than Unit, which they recorded in a condemned building that didn’t attract rent. “We didn’t actually spend any money making this record,” Ely gloats of SuperHappyFuntimesFriends, which came out last week. “We did it at home with our own gear in our own spaces, and we mixed it ourselves. And we only had three weeks to do it, so each song was probably done more light-heartedly than if we had more time, and more money, and more resources. I think limitations sometimes – especially for our band – really work quite well. “And honestly,” he continues, “I believe there’s a lot of illusion in the industry that bands have to be signed to a label to be successful, or they have to record their music in a fancy studio. If you’ve got a good idea and a good song, you can record it anywhere. If you’ve got a good intention and a good idea then it doesn’t have to be brilliantly produced, especially if you don’t want it to be played on FM rock radio stations. I know bands who are desperate to get into a studio, and they’ve spent $300,000 recording an album when they could do it the same way for $8,000. And the songs are still going to be shit if they’re shit, you know what I mean? You can’t polish a turd.” Aside from self-imposed limitations, something else that paradoxically seems to be working for Regurgitator is their less-than-total focus on the band. Everything is approached with a laid-back attitude: releasing new music, touring, rehearsing and even their side projects. “This is actually the first big tour we’ve done since we did the last album three or four years ago,” Ely says. “And that’s how we keep the band going, I guess – we don’t do it as intensely. We’re not one of those bands that just practice all day every day, trying to write the biggest hit. We just get together every now and again and keep it a little more fun, so that we can keep doing it for longer than most other bands. “You get to feeling a little like a mouse on a wheel when you’re in a band,” he continues. ”You write the album, record the album, tour the album, and it’s this cycle that just keeps going round and round. So when you do step out of it, and do things like Akira or Somersault [Regurgitator composed and performed a live score for the former, and Ely has co-writing credits on the soundtrack of the latter], it’s really quite refreshing, a breath of fresh air – like visiting another country or something. And I think that’s probably why we’re still a band; because we have done those sorts of things,” he says. “It’s quite weird, the whole music world. You can’t predict what’s going to stick, and what isn’t.” What: SuperHappyFuntimesFriends is out now on Valve, through MGM With: Disasteradio, Step-Panther Where: Manning Bar, Sydney University When: Saturday August 13 BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 27

Jesus Jones On Surviving The 90s By Alasdair Duncan

t’s fair to say that the early ‘90s were a hedonistic time for UK music – rave culture had taken hold, and every weekend legions of kids were sweating it out in clubs, warehouses and fields, ingesting all manner of psychedelic substances and dancing as long as their little bodies would hold out. Jesus Jones were among the first wave of indie bands to take on the sound of rave music, and they experienced huge success with singles like ‘Zeroes And Ones’ and ‘Right Here,-== Right Now’, whose club-ready beats and futuristic outlook captured the spirit of the day. Many bands took to the hedonism of the early ‘90s a little too enthusiastically, and burned themselves out – have you seen Bez from The Happy Mondays lately? – but Jesus Jones somehow came out of it okay. Keyboard player Iain Jones – now a father, band manager and NME Radio DJ – is as warm and friendly a chap as you could meet, and most definitely still has his wits about him. So I have to ask: how did he survive?

“I think there’s a fairly simple answer for that,” Baker chuckles. “Just don’t go as mad as Bez did! As long as you follow that simple rule,

you’ll probably come out the other side okay.” Jesus Jones may have been young and brash and experiencing their first big dose of success in a culture awash with Class A drugs, but as Baker tells me, they never lost sight of their primary concern: playing music. “We definitely got right into rave culture,” he says, “but that was tempered by the fact that we were a working rock band with an awful lot of things to do – tours and gigs and places to be and interviews to do and what-have-you. You couldn’t possibly live your life in some kind of all-day drugged-out haze and still do that.” While they never looked at Jesus Jones as a job, Baker and his bandmates definitely saw it as a responsibility. “When people are paying good money to see you play they’re expecting a good gig, and I think you owe it to them to try and give them that,” he explains. “We always tried to make sure our heads were in the right place when we stepped onto the stage to play a show. If that meant leaving the rave a little early the night before, then so be it.” As for those who didn’t make it through the era with all of their marbles, Baker pauses for a bit of reflection. “You have people who come through unscathed, and people who fall off the radar,” he says with a sigh. “Sometimes it catches up with you. Sometimes, it’s about the way you live your life and sometimes, as far as I can see, it’s just about luck.”

“We definitely got right into rave culture, but we were a working rock band with an awful lot of things to do... You couldn’t possibly live your life in some kind of all-day drugged out haze and still do that.” Given the incredible level of success attained by Jesus Jones, I ask Baker if there’s an experience from the early days that he remembers the most fondly. I’m expecting to hear anecdotes about gold records, or playing to festival crowds of tens of thousands, but he thinks back even further than that... “The really exciting times are right at the beginning of a band’s career,” he says, “when you realise that your band is going to be bigger than you thought. [It’s not] when you walk out on stage at a big festival, because by then you already knew it was going to happen. Around 1989 we played a gig in central London, and there would have been no more than about a hundred people there, but there was something in the air. We felt the electricity coming off them, the anticipation, and we just knew that if those people were going that mental at that one gig, whatever we were doing was working. That is a very, very exciting thing to experience.” These days, a whole new wave of indie bands like Friendly Fires are looking back to the early ‘90s, and grafting loose-limbed dance beats onto their songs. As one of the progenitors of that sound, how does Baker feel about the current crop? “I do listen to a lot of new bands, and I can occasionally hear echoes of what we’ve done in the past, whether it’s direct or indirect,” he says. “For example, I love Friendly Fires – I think they’re great – but I wouldn’t know whether they’d even heard of Jesus Jones, or even whether they’d give a shit. But they’re drawing on music from back then, and we were a part of that. We helped make it acceptable for indie bands to go out there and mess with technology and dance music, and bring disparate elements of those things into indie rock. It’s nice to know that we’ve influenced people, even indirectly.” 1991 was the last time that Jesus Jones toured Australia, and twenty years later they’re heading back down under. “I keep a file of all the gigs we’ve ever done, and it says that we were last in Australia around June of that year,” Baker says. “We would have played our last show in Perth, then flown off and done two weeks in Japan. When that finished, we would have been right in the middle of the European festival season, so we would have been off to play every festival going. It was a very, very busy time for us. There’s a nice, karmic roundness to that, though,” he continues. “In 1991, we were leaving Australia for the last time, and now 20 years later, we’re preparing to come back.” With: The Wonder Stuff (UK), The Clouds Where: The Enmore Theatre When: Saturday August 20 28 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

KIMBRA VOWS

With Special Guests

HUSKY & FIRE! SANTA ROSA, FIRE!

Oxford Art Factory Friday 16 Sep On Sale Now!

Out 02 Sep on Warner Music

1300 438 849 or moshtix.com.au

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arts frontline

free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com

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

five minutes WITH

BEGINNERS! SNEAK PREVIEWS! WIN!

MATT TAYLOR Creatively speaking, what kind of ideas interest you most? I’ve usually got a “thing” – Vikings, zombies and pandas have been the most recent. Will be looking for new “things” once Lars is printed. Graphic novelist Pat Grant is opening your show – what’s the connection? Pat was with me at comics camp in Florida and has just finished his brilliant graphic novel, Blue, which will be published in North America later in the year, He’s currently writing a PhD on comics so will no doubt have some pearls to drop and is also a funny guy.

n line with the GRAPHIC festival's invasion of our arts section this week, we thought we’d take five with Matt Taylor – one of the co-founders and creative directors of boutique animation and design company Sixty40. In that capacity, Matt’s been creating playful ad campaigns, promos, video-clips and short films for the past 11 years; he’s also, we just discovered, a bit of a fetishist when it comes to comics. This month he’s launching his brandnew comic, Lars The Last Viking Goes To the End of the World, at China Heights. What is your training and background as an artist? I grew up drawing a lot and reading Batman and Tank Girl comics. While at art school in Canberra I co-published Ink comics. Last year I attended a graphic novel workshop at the Atlantic Centre for the Arts in Florida. Working alongside 24 other comic book ninjas

FBI SOCIAL: POT LUCK

Finally FBi Social has an arts weekly! Kicking off this Friday August 12, Pot Luck will shake a fist in the face of music by programming revolutionary items such as live readings, zine stalls, comedy, installations, screenings, performance – even astrology readings and bingo. And yes, music. This Friday night sees Nick Coyle (Me Pregnant!) hosting a lineup of short fiction readings from Penguin Plays Rough regulars, and a quiz hour hosted by the inimitable Renny Kodgers – and a live set from The Preachers. We like to think of this as hiding the chocolate of arts inside the broccoli of music. It’s FREE, kicks off from 6pm each Friday at King Cross Hotel, and has no known side-effects. fbiradio.com/events/pot-luck

JONATHAN FRANZEN

Pulitzer-winning novelist Jonathan Franzen is swinging by Sydney on his way to Melbourne Writers Festival, appearing at Sydney Opera House in conversation with The Australian’s chief literary critic, Geordie Williamson. Best known for The Corrections, Franzen kicked up some press dust with his divisive latest novel,

from around the world, and master artists Paul Pope, Craig Thompson and Svetlana Chmakova, totally reinforced my belief that comics are an incredible medium. Who are you currently crushing on? At the moment I’m reading comics by Chris Blain, McBess, Pete Bagge, Taiyo Matsumoto, Jed McGowan and anything NoBrow Press prints. What was the inspiration for Lars The Last Viking? I was inspired by reading about Vikings and how they burst out of a youth bulge – where there was too much pent-up male energy that exploded across the world. Then I started thinking about what if there was one last viking who still wanted to keep raiding whilst all his viking brothers had fallen into long term relationships? Because it’s an “epic”, it had to be written in rhyming couplets – of course.

Besides the book, what else are you doing for the show? Showing all the original pages, which I drew big and with ink and brush. I’ll also be doing a site-specific mural and a live reading of the comic on the night, which I will be repeating at Sydney Opera House’s upcoming GRAPHIC festival. What: Lars the Last Viking Goes to the End of the World – exhibition and launch Where: China Heights. When: Opens Thursday August 18 from 6pm (runs til August 20) More: Matt will also be doing a live reading from his comic at GRAPHIC on Saturday August 20 at 11am, as part of the panel Oz Comics Show & Tell (FREE!) Full lineup at graphic.sydneyoperahouse.com

Skater, graphic designer and filmmaker Mike Mills follows up his sweetly oddball 2005 teen-angst drama Thumbsucker with a film for almost-grownups: Beginners. Mills draws closely from personal experience to create his portrait of a 30-something graphic designer who is struggling to overcome commitment phobia with the help of his newly-out (and terminally ill) father, Hal. Starring Ewan MacGregor, Christopher Plummer, the impossibly charming Melanie Laurent, and a rather wonderful talking Jack Russell called Cosmo, Beginners is as funny as it is poignant. Beginners opens on August 25, and Hopscotch are previewing the film in selected cinemas on the weekend of August 19-21. We have 10 passes to check out an advance preview of Beginners; to get your hands on one, email us with your postal address and the name of one other film starring a talking animal.

Freedom, which turns his keen gaze on society to the post-911 and post-GFC world. According to the presser, the evening of conversation will “explore his writing’s engagement with American society today and delve into the rich literary influences that have informed his work.” Tuesday September 13 at 7pm in the Concert Hall – tickets on sale now from sydneyoperahouse.com

Sissy Spacek in Carrie

SYDNEY FRINGE

Sydney Fringe launched its program last week, and they’re clearly determined to make your September positively frenetic. The epicentre of the inner-west festival is the Fringe club – Five Eliza – hosted in Newtown’s gorgeous School Of Arts Ballroom (one-time home of The Gaiety Club). Five Eliza will be hosting open mic sessions, readings, free live music, and – most importantly – Sunday afternoon sessions from the Storytelling crew (behind the awesome true-story-readings at Imperial Panda, the Sydney Comedy Festival, and Performance Space). And, you know, a month of fringe arts events throughout September – including local heroes Applespiel, a showcase of the

FRIDAY CULT CLASSICS @ THE CHAUVEL

Oh Chauvel… we missed you! Our favourite indie cinema re-opened at the end of July – which means Cinematheque is back, with Aussie Surf classic Endless Summer screening on Monday August 15, and psychedelic Beatles animation Yellow Submarine on Monday August 22. More importantly: Friday Cult Classics return this month – $12 for a double feature that promises equal parts b-grade and classic. This Friday August 12 sees Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead and Heavy Metal go toe-to-toe; August 19 is a Brian De Palma special, featuring must-see horror classic Carrie, in which a teenage Sissy Spacek channels the revenge fantasies of every highschool misfit; and his earlier Hitchcock homage, Sisters. chauvelcinema.net.au

best of Underbelly Arts Festival, and oodles of comedy, visual arts, dance, burlesque… thesydneyfringe.com.au

HELPMANN AWARDS

Zizek!

FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS

In its third year, the Sydney Opera House’s Festival Of Dangerous Ideas has developed serious cerebral muscle, and is packing a massive lineup for this year’s program, which will take place at the House over the long weekend of October 1-2. The major coup, from a publicity perspective, is getting Julian Assange, but they’ve also acquired troublemaking Czech philosopher Slavoj Zizek, authors Jonathan SafranFoer and Alexander McCall Smith, investigative journalist/comedian Jon Ronson (The Psychopath Test), conservative political commentator (and former Bush/Rumsfeld speechwriter) Marc Thiessen, theatre-maker Mike Daisey, BBC journalist Kate Adie, euthanasia proponent Philip Nitschke, and a bunch more. We WILL SEE YOU THERE. Tickets on sale now from sydneyoperahouse.com/fodi

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If you subscribed to Belvoir Street’s 2011 main stage season, then felicitations! You have seen some award-winning theatre this year – Helpmann Award-winning, specifically; and only if you happened to see The Wild Duck and/or Diary Of A Madman. Simon Stone’s Wild Duck took out best play, Neil Armfield took out Best Director, and Geoffrey Rush took out best male lead (with the superb Anthony Phelan and Anita Hegh taking out the supporting categories, for their Wild Duck performances. Cate Blanchett, meanwhile, took out best female lead, for Uncle Vanya. We also hope you caught Hairspray. For the full list of winners, see helpmannawards.com.au

ART ON THE ISLAND

Cold weather aside, there’s a kind of winter magic to Cockatoo Island trips around this time of year – as anyone who made it to Underbelly Arts Festival last month can attest. The latest reason to catch a ferry is a new work by

renowned sculpture and installation artist Ken Unsworth, entitled As I Crossed the Bridge of Dreams. Unsworth’s last island foray, A Ringing Glass (2009), was an extravagant multimedia work that mixed exhibition, installation, performance art and dance – and Bridge Of Dreams once again sees him collaborating with the Australian Dance Artists and composer Jonathan Cooper. In other words, expect magic. Runs from August 13-28, and is FREE.

FLICKERFEST ENTRIES

Flickerfest International Short Film Festival are cranking up the engine for their 21st year presenting the best Australian and international short films. Having consistently presented the early short film works of Australia’s next-bigthings (from David Michod, Luke Doolan and the Edgerton brothers, to Warwick Thornton, Cate Shortland and Glendyn Ivin – not to mention providing the best capsule of international award-winners each year – Flickerfest is really somewhere you want to screen your film. Entries are open now, for any film in any genre under 35 minutes, and entries close Friday September 16. Flickerfest 2012 runs January 6-15 at Bondi Pavilion. More at flickerfest.com.au

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Tekkon Kinkreet

Michael Arias’ cult anime is given the live score treatment By Alex Parker

KAPOW! From August 19-21 Sydney Opera House is turning itself BAM! over to everything GRAPHIC, from veteran artists Robert Crumb and Jim Woodring to master storytellers Grant Morrison and Shaun Tan,

theorist Scott McCloud, videogame designer Masaya Matsuura, plus screenings, workshops and panel discussions. Music-wise, there’s the highly-anticipated animated album preview from Gotye, Robert Crumb’s Old Time Jukebox featuring Captain Matchbox (Mic and Jim Conway), and a screening of cult anime classic Tekkon Kinkreet with a live soundtrack by UK electronica duo Plaid (WARP), and locals FourPlay and Synergy. Below are some of our pics for the program – for the full lineup head to graphic.sydneyoperahouse.com

Robert Crumb Mr Unnatural By Alasdair Duncan doses of LSD), Crumb became a chronicler of the period. His women were Amazons with voluptuous buttocks and tree-trunk legs, his men perverts who were prone to breaking out in flop sweats. His Fritz The Cat character was a smooth-talking egomaniac whose film debut was the first animated feature to receive an X rating, while his Mr Natural was a savage parody of the hippie movement.

obert Crumb deals in gleeful grotesques, his work taking on the seamier side of American life and popular culture, exploding it to incredible proportions and then daring you to look away. In the early ‘60s, his work appeared in underground magazines with names like Snatch Comix, but these days, it hangs on the walls of European galleries, and he has his own line of plastic toys in Japan. He’s a prankster with a deranged and dirty mind, whose best-known character, Fritz The Cat, is an anthropomorphic feline with insatiable sexual desires. He has collaborated with counter-culture figures like Charles Bukowski, and yet Robert Hughes, that most establishment of art critics, once declared him a genius, claiming him as ‘the Brueghel of the 20th century’. Above all, however, Robert Crumb is a sick fuck. From the ‘30s until the early ‘50s, American comics were in their Golden Age, the exclusive preserve of caped crusaders and squarejawed do-gooders. But as the wholesomeness of the ‘50s slid into the free-for-all of the ‘60s, a new wave of comic book artists emerged, recognising the potential for anarchy and subversion within the genre. Inspired by the changing social landscape (as well as by hefty

PANEL: Oz Comics Show & Tell Studio / Saturday August 20 at 11am – FREE! GRAPHIC have assembled a punchy lineup of local graphic artists, including Matt Taylor (Sixty40), Matt Huynh (Chinatown Comics), Leigh Rigozzi (Blood & Thunder), and Pat Grant (Blue) – sharing their work, and presenting YOU with a survey of the state of Australian comics.

SCOTT MCCLOUD: Understanding Comics – the Art of Visual Communication Drama Theatre / Sunday August 21 at 3pm – $29 With almost three decades experience writing comics, Scott McCloud is also one of the international comic scene's leading theorists; his 1993 text Understanding Comics is a must-read among students and anyone wanting to understand the history, context and art of comics!

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In the ‘70s, Crumb befriended one Harvey Pekar, and went on to illustrate many issues of Pekar’s pitiless everyman comic American Splendour. In the mid ‘90s, he was the subject of a Terry Zwigoff documentary which, though snubbed by the Oscars at the time, now enjoys the status of a cult classic. These days, Crumb lives with his muse and partner Aline in the south of France, and is still as batshit crazy as ever. This month, Crumb makes his first trip to Australia as a part of the second annual GRAPHIC festival, in a series of appearances that’s generous enough to sate the hunger of even the most hardcore devotees. First of all, he will discuss his life and work with Gary Groth, co-founder of Fantagraphics Books, the legendary American comic publishing house that’s put out the likes of Daniel Clowes, Joe Sacco and Crumb himself. An avid hoarder of vintage 78s, he will also spend a night playing some of his collection of early American music alongside Captain Matchbox’s Mic and Jim Conway. If you’d like to head a little further out on the fringes, you can also see him in conversation with comic book author and toy designer Jim Woodring and Mambo’s Reg Bombassa, discussing the ways in which ‘altered states’ affect the work of the artist.

ased on the manga series by Taiyo Matsumoto, Michael Arias’ full-length debut feature Tekkon Kinkreet follows the tribulations of two street kids, Black and White. The boys are joined at the hip, for survival purposes. Black is like Batman, stoic and broody, while White is younger, snotty and giggly, prototypically innocent, with a penchant for silly hats. Black and White are known to the city infamously as ‘The Cats’, dominating the Treasure Town turf warfare and dishing out their own special brand of violence (think parkour with a dash of Ultimate Fighting) as they all but fly from rooftop to rooftop. Tekkon Kinkreet has slowly and surely gathered cult anime status since its release in 2006. While its heroes are children, the story’s epic staging of themes like love, loss, fear, pain and good versus evil has a lyricism that brings its legions of adult fans to tears. This is largely due to the vision of Arias; with a background in visual effects, his prodigious rendering of Treasure Town, and his unusual translation of realistic hand-held camera

techniques to the animated world, brings the characters and their plight to life in a manner not often seen outside Pixar’s high-budget, 3D-rendered Hollywood fare. The other hero of Tekkon Kinkreet is the soundtrack, by UK electronic duo Plaid, which weaves all the action-packed acts of the film together, seamlessly moving from almost classical string, piano and chimebased arrangements to stark exclamations of electronic dissonance. For the GRAPHIC screening, Plaid will take the Opera Theatre stage with local heroes FourPlay on strings, and Synergy on percussion, to recreate their soundtrack live. For gurus and noobs alike, this is THE way to experience one of the best anime films ever made. What: Tekkon Kinkreet, with live soundtrack by Plaid (UK), FourPlay and Synergy Where: Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House When: Sunday August 21, 11am

Robert Crumb’s Old Time Jukebox: Studio / Fri Aug 19, 8.30pm Panel: Altered States: Drama Theatre / Sun Aug 21, 1pm Robert Crumb in conversation: Concert Hall / Sun Aug 21, 8pm

Grant Morrison Gods and Supermen By Matt Roden

quick glance at this season’s run of blockbustered explos-tainments shows just how far comics have infiltrated the main stream pop culture experience: a nonstop barrage of super soldiers, thunder gods or intergalactic talisman-enhanced space cops, biffing and powing their way through your cinemas. But despite their ongoing popularity on the big screen, the source of these stories – the comics themselves – still remain ghetto-ised. You can go see X-Men: First Class and bitch out Betty Draper’s acting over drinks at the bar afterwards; chat comfortably about Brannagh’s Shakespearean cred and Hemsworth’s statuesque pecs as you flick through boutique winter sales racks, and pick apart Thor – but fail to hide that copy of Justice League as you approach a cutie at the book store, and you’re screwed – not even Christian Bale would stand a chance. As much as geeks have inherited the entertainment business, and message boards flood with online over-enthusiasts, your everyday punter couldn’t tell you what a comic book costs, how often they get released, or who it was that invented the really cool idea of Samuel L. Jackson playing shady super mega spy Nick Fury (writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, for the record). The comics industry – and, most notably, the creatives

behind these multi-million dollar characters – is still a mystery to the Average Joe. Grant Morrison is a well-known writer in this underground kingdom – from the extroversion of ‘90s subculture anarchy and perversions in The Invisibles, to the arguably definitive and profoundly human take on the ur-hero in All Star Superman. Readers will claim he has subverted and reverted, smashed and rebuilt, challenged and strengthened every idea in comics, and what we think about comics, throughout his career. And if all this Kubrickian praise seems like a lot to lump on some droog who’s been describing action-figure scuffles for decades, the number of talking heads in the new documentary Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods will testify otherwise. From his nuclear-holocaust-fearing childhood, through his shamanistic questing days to his current contented hermitude, Talking With Gods is the story of a man who was always interested in everything left of centre, made a packet in the ‘90s on a well-timed Batman graphic novel, and set about exploring the full spectrum of experience. It’s fascinating to find out that almost all of the “imagination” splashed throughout his work comes from real life experiences with the odd, the occult and the extraterrestrial. And though the über-

charismatic Scotsman – a 6-foot, bald, silversuited and -tongued consummate monologist – can occasionally come across as a little hippydippy, his thoughts on the whys and hows of storytelling are something special. There’s got to be a reason why we’re suddenly being bombarded with these most bombastic of pop culture creations, and a reason why we invented them in the first place. Hearing Morrison argue his case for superheroics, as an antidote to the chronologically-linked atom bomb, provides a great rebuttal to those who may scoff at funny books. Screening: Talking With Gods: A Grant Morrison Documentary Where: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House When: Saturday August 20, 9pm

Arts Snap

Film & Theatre Reviews

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

Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Released August 4 Despite a mouthful of a title, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a bold reinvention of a 40-year old franchise. The seventh movie in the series (if you include Tim Burton’s questionable remake from 2001), Rise features cutting-edge CGI, Andy Serkis and a dashing scientist played by James Franco, with no sign of oldschool makeup effects, Charlton Heston or Roddy McDowell. It’s not a patch on the classic 1968 original, but they almost defy comparison. Rise is clearly a product of the 21st Century, a more grounded, realistic take on an essentially absurd sci-fi premise. This Apes may also be the first live action film to feature a convincing, photorealistic CGI protagonist. It’s a daring move to cast Franco and Slumdog Millionare’s Freida Pinto as supporting players in their own movie, but it works. Serkis’ Caesar is, for all intents and purposes, a real, super-intelligent chimp, raised in secret by Franco’s Will Rodman after his research toward an Alzheimer vaccine is aborted prematurely. Caesar is the offspring of one of the test subjects and starts to demonstrate unusually sophisticated abilities. It starts with sign language and perfect scores on intelligence tests. He later develops more uniquely human traits that will be obvious to anyone who’s seen any of the other Apes movies. This transformation from cutesy baby chimp to intimidating leader is deftly crafted, and the inevitable progression of the story has an insistent momentum to it. Director Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist) also lets the narrative breathe with warmth and compassion as it churns towards the inevitable action showdown. Franco, Pinto and John Lithgow do enough with their slim roles, though Tom Felton is still in Malfoy-mode as a comically evil animal handler at the local ape shelter, where Caesar begins to devise plans for an uprising. Caesar’s significant arc is reminiscent of AMC’s Breaking Bad, and by the half-way point you’re rooting for the apes instead of the humans – a ballsy and admirable route to take the story. This wouldn’t work at all were it not for WETA’s outstanding effects (Lord of the Rings/Avatar) and Andy Serkis, who apparently is the only mo-cap artist working in Hollywood. The ending, satisfying though it is, sets it up tantalizingly for sequels. If they’re anywhere near as complex and assured as this, for once, it’s hard to complain.

it’s glorious. Watching Neighbourhood Watch at Belvoir, I couldn’t help but feel that this play had in part been written and produced for me. What’s even more amazing is that the rest of the audience, very few of whom were 22-year-old arts writers, seemed to feel the same thing. Set in the period between Kevin Rudd’s successful election campaign in 2007 and Obama’s victory the following year, playwright Lally Katz has captured the period's sense of hope for the future and slammed it together with a startling image of the hard-fought past.

where&what

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Catherine (Megan Holloway) is an optimistic young actor, who by chance meets her neighbour Ana (Robyn Nevin) in the street one day. Ana is an 80-yearold Hungarian who has lived through war and life as a refugee, and inherited some paranoia as a result. The pair form a tight bond that takes Catherine on a journey back to Ana’s war-torn past; in return, Catherine takes Ana on a journey to Westfield to watch Mamma Mia. Katz has managed to tread the tight rope of sentimentality and create an inspiring tale of friendship overcoming grief. The acting is superb. Charlie Garber proves once again that there’s much more to him than the comedic timing that got him noticed, as he deftly plays Catherine’s doting housemate Ken and a multitude of other (often Hungarian) roles. Ian Meadows unleashes one of the warmest stage presences you’ll ever see, whilst Kris McQuade elicits palpable audience sympathy as the perennially spurned Milova. Composer and sound designer Stefan Gregory offers not only delightful piano melodies but also a charming acting turn in a variety of small roles (with the policeman a real highlight). However, the show belongs to Nevin, who has brought to life in startling detail a strong, funny but most of all determined woman who knows all and concedes nothing. Her journey is both heartbreaking and life-affirming at the same time and I am sure this performance will add a few more titles to her already impressive bevy of awards.

acp gallery exhibitions

28:07:11 :: Australian Centre for Photography :: 257 Oxford St Paddington

Heartfelt in the very best sense of the term, this is a theatrical triumph for Katz and Nevin that will not be quickly forgotten.

Arts Exposed

Henry Florence

What's in our diary...

34B Burlesque presents

Robyn Nevin & Megan Holloway

GOOD GIRLS GONE BAD Saturday August 13 / doors at 8.30pm 34B / 44 Oxford St Darlinghurst (The Exchange Hotel)

■ Theatre

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH There are beautiful moments that happen in the theatre when you feel like a play is speaking directly to you. It doesn’t happen all that often but when it does,

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Lulu Photo by Kellie La Franchi

Neighbourhood Watch phto by Brett Boardman

Joshua Blackman

Until August 28 / Belvoir St Theatre

PICS :: TL

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES

PICS :: TL

■ Film

xpect bad-ass burlesque babes aplenty at the upcoming 34B Burlesque extravaganza: Good Girls Gone Bad. Leading the posse of wicked wenches is Lauren La Rouge – fresh off the back of her US tour, and channeling a mix of 18th Century French aristocrat and modernday Aussie bogan. Keeping her company are Lola the Vamp, Danica Lee, Lulu, Betty Grumble, Ember Flame, Memphis Maie, MC Renny Kodgers and DJ Goldfoot on the decks. Presale tickets are $20 (general admission) or $30 reserved table, from moshtix.com.au BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 35

BRAG EATS

FEAST YOUR EYES

On Wednesday August 17, The World Bar’s weekly arts night The Wall are throwing BRAG a party, to help us celebrate the launch of this here new food section. We’ve spent the past few weeks nabbing original bar snack recipes from some of our favourites – people like SPOD, We Buy Your Kids, Jake Stone (bluejuice), Lev Dawg (The Dip), Alana Skyring (Pyjama Club, ex-The Grates) and Josh Pyke – which will be collated in a little recipe pack, illustrated by artists Tanya Cooper, Simon Greiner and Matt Roden, soundtracked by Camden and DJ Lee Tran Lam (from FBi, and the Sydney food blog The Unbearable Lightness Of Being Hungry), and sampled – at least some of them – by YOU. Art. Food. Music. Fun. And it’s all free. Come party with us! Head to artonthewall.tumblr.com, or find all the info on the Facebooks.

LUCKY PEACH

The newest addition to the McSweeney’s family is foodie quarterly Lucky Peach – created by superstar New York chef David Chang and food

writer Peter Meehan, in the interests of busting open the current state of food writing. Previously only available from their American site, we’re please to hear that issue #1 – the Ramen issue – has now landed at mag nation, featuring Anthony Bourdain’s appraisal of the cinema classic Ramen Girl, and food writer John T. Edge on New Orleans’ version of the Japanese noodle dish – and heaps more. Check it out at magnation.com, or offline, at 155 King Street, Newtown

WORLD CHEF SHOWCASE

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TIME OUT SYDNEY BAR AWARDS

Hot on the heels of announcing their Peoples Choice ‘Best Restaurants’ Awards, Time Out Sydney are kicking off their hunt for Sydney’s best drinking holes. As the name suggests, your vote counts – so head to au.timeout.com/sydney/ bars to nominate your favourite bar for the shortlist.

FOOD NEWZ!

Hold the drool: Sydney International Food Festival will release their full program on August 27 - but tickets

ns. cal musicia emerging lo Supporting

are on sale now for the World Chef Showcase (October 1-2), featuring the crème of international cuisine (including the aforementioned David Chang, and South American superstars Gaston Acurio and Alex Atala) sharing their expert knowledge and experience though talks, tastings and cooking demos. Serious foodies with serious cash will be splashing out for the full weekend package ($510), but the rest of us will be making a beeline for the halfday programs ($185). For the full lineup head to cravesydney.com

If you have food news – like a food-related happening or a new local food/drink joint – send it to food@thebrag. com, okay? Okay.

Corridor Fresh New Bar. FRESH COCKTAILS. SPIRITS. WINE. IMPORTED & LOCAL BEERS, LEAFY DECK. LIVE MUSIC. COMFY COUCHES. LUSCIOUS FOOD.

LAID BACK

Visit our website for event details starting in November.

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Sydney’s Best Late-Night Eats By Caitlin Welsh

ate night dining tends towards the trashy/ fried. Nobody wants to grow you a fresh green salad at 2am – and quite frankly how often do you crave healthy, wholesome sustenance at 2am anyway? No, when you stumble out of the Metro with your ears ringing, or you realise you’ve been drinking since you knocked off work at 6pm and not stopped for dinner, you want something that’s been submerged in boiling oil or slowly charred until it’s crispy and squirts greasy juices all over your smoke-scented going-out shirt. But if you’re after something slightly more nourishing than Istanbul’s finest, there are options aplenty if you know where to look.

The CBD is a haven for nocturnal noms – George Street might be a shitfight after 9pm, but the bustling enigma that is Chinatown and the erstwhile “Latin Quarter” (200m of Liverpool Street) are full of best-kept-secrets. There are iconic places in Chinatown especially, peopled by hospitality staff and late-night lushes alike getting their fill. Golden Century Seafood Restaurant on Sussex Street does a special menu after midnight, serving food until 4am. And you can’t go past BBQ King on Goulburn, where you can kick on with $6 Heinekens, purge with apparently bottomless pots of tea and soak it all up with caramelised, ruby-skinned slices of barbeque pork that almost single-handedly cured me of my lingering adolescent fling with vegetarianism after a Ben Folds show at the Metro in 2005. (True story.) It’s open super late, and when it’s quiet it’s a haven of unfussy décor and whip-quick (if indifferent) service. Also on Goulburn St there’s the Malaysian cuisine of Mamak, which is open until 2.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. Order more of the soft, fresh roti than you think you’ll need and sop them in pools of rich curry – and the chicken satay skewers prove that all food tastes better when you eat it off a stick. BRAG fave The Dip are helping to bulk up the post-gig CBD options too – but make sure you get to GoodGod before the clock strikes twelve. After a recent late session at the George

stay classy DINNER 7 NIGHTS corridorbar.com.au. 153A King st. Newtown

Street cinemas, we barrelled down there for their already-famous fried chicken, only to find that at 12:03 they had just turned off the fryer. The dozens of diners in the surrounding booths taunted us as they luxuriated amongst their stacks of grease-stained cardboard and aromatic wafts of chicken; but we demolished a grilled corn cob (served with creamy lime mayo and chipotle ‘salt’ that packs a solid, smoky kick) and the avocado ice-cream with minty strawberry salsa without feeling as though we missed out. For something a little more glam, try The Victoria Room, who serve a special supper menu between 11pm and 2am. The emphasis is on selections of nibbly things – mezze, antipasto, desserts and fondue both sweet (bitter chocolate with Turkish delight and tempura banana, among other things) and savoury (four cheeses with such delights as fennel sausage and crispy roast spuds). Be warned – everything is served for twos and foursomes, so this is not the place for those nights where you head out solo just to escape the crushing loneliness of your empty bedsit. Crown Street hidey-hole Low 302 also do a killer bar menu, with a nice balance between tapasstyle nibbles and actual substance – charcuterie meats and bite-size seafood are offset with fresh produce and pantry staples. Short ribs with chilli cocoa sauce and pickles nail the authenticMexican-meets-diner-food aesthetic that’s so hot right now; they also have a twist on the toastie you crave but can never be bothered to make after a night on the tiles, with broad beans and eggplant and cheesy toast fingers. And you can scoff and jeer all you want at this, but I’m still a fan of City Extra at Circular Quay. Whether you want ice-cream at 11am on Christmas Eve, a steak for breakfast, or restorative post-theatre nachos after four hours of Barrie Kosky’s grimmest, it’s always there, always exactly the same, and always has one of the best views in the city. After a long night, sometimes you just need to gaze at the moonlight shimmering on the harbour, and stuff your face with chips.

Is The Kitchen Still Open? Our Fave Nocturnal Noms Golden Century Speciality: The freshest seafood there is, you can choose your dinner from the fish tank – but don’t forget the duck pancakes. Address: 393-399 Sussex St, Chinatown Web: goldencentury.com.au Bookings: 9212 3901 How late? Open til 4am

Tone

Curl up with a book and a glass of wine Stop by for a cocktail and a dinner to share

413 Crown St Surry Hills 9318 1116

Midnight Snack

Speciality: Delicious cheesy pizza, very reasonably priced – and always with an awesome soundtrack. Address: 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills Web: tone.net.au Contact: 9267 6440 How late? Kitchen open til around 3am on weekends

The Dip Speciality: Lev Dawgs, fried chicken buckets

Address: 55 Liverpool St, Chinatown Web: thedip.com.au Contact: 9283 8792 How late? Open till 11pm on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and midnight Fridays and Saturdays

The Victoria Room Speciality: Late-night cheese boards and bite-size mezze plates. Address: 235 Victoria St, Darlinghurst Web: thevictoriaroom.com Contact: 9357 4488 How late? Supper is served Friday and Saturday nights, from 11pm – 2am

Harry's Cafe De Wheels Speciality: Pies, hot dogs, pies, pasties, burgers & pies Address: Woolloomooloo, Haymarket, Ultimo, Tempe and more

Web: harryscafedewheels. com.au Contact: 9211 2506 How late? Open until 4am on Saturdays and Sundays at the inner city locations

Low 302 Speciality: Tapas, seafood and short ribs Address: 302 Crown St, Surry Hills Web: low302.com.au Contact: 9368 1548 How late? Food available until 2am

City Extra Speciality: Burgers, fish and chips, seafood baskets, chicken schnitzels, crepes, pasta, all-day (and night) breakfast Address: East Podium, Circular Quay Web: cityextra.com.au Bookings: 9241 1422 How late? 24hrs!

Feature photo: Low 302

News Bites

BRAG'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO FOOD

BRAG EATS free stuff

▼

THE DIP! WIN!

food review

Ampersand Cafe & Bookstore [SURRY HILLS]

e’ve made no secret of how much we love that underground wonder out the back of GoodGod, The Dip. How can we not love any place that puts such care and effort and delicious ingredients into what’s basically stoner food done really reeaally well? Burgers and hot dogs and corn, oh my… And now they’re giving us a $30 dinner-for-two voucher for one hungry reader – we recommend the Lev’s Dawg, some grilled corn and sweet avo ice cream to quench the fires, washed down with a Pipsqueak. Golden. To win this party in your mouth, email freestuff@thebrag.com with your postal address, and tell us what’s the best thing you’ve ever eaten with dip.

Bars and cafes come and go on Crown Street like the ebbing of the tide, and the newest addition to Surry Hill’s infamous stretch is Ampersand Cafe. Originally based in Paddington, Ampersand's second cafe/ bookstore has situated itself nicely in between two rare patches of greenery, lending itself a modern yet rustic feel – with garden views. Drenched in sunlight, I recline in one of their majestic leather chairs upstairs, sipping my chai tea as I pour over the menu. The focus is on seasonal foods executed in a classic style and cooked with expertise. My Ampersandean gluten-free breakfast ($14) consists of two poached eggs, firm on the outside and served with a crispy hashbrown to soak up the golden molten egg-lava. The perfectly-seasoned portobello mushrooms, baked tomato and asparagus, drizzled with hollandaise sauce, are a fantastic addition. My date opts for a delicate winter salad ($14.5) with slivers of fennel, capsicum, juicy cherry tomatoes,

pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and a generous serving of warm haloumi, all mixed together on a bed of arugula with a light and tasty lemon-based vinaigrette dressing. Recently I’ve become a little obsessed with brownies. My sweet tooth has taken me on a diabetic rampage through the suburbs of Sydney and happily, I can testify that Ampersand delivers one ($5.50) that is right at the top of my list. Served like a warm mountain of chocolate amongst a melting moat of ice cream, I couldn’t be happier. It’s quite a sizable conquest, but somehow I manage. Books are to Ampersand what brownies are to my everyday existence: I don’t really need them to get by, but damn do they help! Ampersand is like stepping into the familiar and comfortable; sitting in your grandfather’s study, surrounded by that elegant gravitas that only books can hold. Many great novelists have become synonymous with alcohol, and something about that seems to work

THIRSTY?

here. Sipping a glass of wine amongst such respectful authors makes me feel inspired to become the next Bukowski or Hemmingway... All I have to do is attend a few of their cocktail happy hours and book clubs, and I’ll be halfway there, right? After a late night, I’ll be sure to come back to try their 'Morning-After Breakfast', complete with an optional Berocca. I could easily spend hours here: reading the morning paper with my coffee alfresco, people-watching from the upstairs terrace with a glass of wine, or getting cosy on the couch in the library with a cocktail. I feel extremely OK about wasting away my day at Ampersand; after all, it’s all in the name of literature. – Meredith Merriweather Where: 413 Crown Street, Surry Hills Hours: Mon-Fri from 7.30am – 5.30pm; Sat 8am – 5.30pm; Sunday 9am – 5pm Contact: 9318 1116 Web: cafebookstore.com.au / @ampersandpaddo

BR BR BRAG EA ATS TS present nttss nts nt

MODERN MIDDLE EASTERN CUISINE

579 Crown Street Surry Hills

MAPLE OLDFASHIONED

Monday 7am - 3pm Tuesday to Saturday 7am – 3pm 6pm - 10pm

MR FOX 557 CROWN STREET, SURRY HILLS

Sunday 9am - 3pm

Ingredients: 10-15ml maple syrup Orange bitters 30ml Buffalo Trace bourbon Method: Stir maple syrup and two icecubes until partially diluted. Add bourbon and more ice, give another stir. Repeat previous step (!) until ice levels meet the liquid in the glass. Strain onto fresh ice in a rocks glass. Rub the orange zest around the rim. Bottoms up! Glass: Rocks Garnish: Orange zest Best drunk with: Like-minded booze enthusiasts during: a boozy lunch that rolls into dinner while wearing: suspenders of any description and listening to: 'Oh, Sweet Nothin' by The Velvet Underground.

Josh Pyke * Lev Dawg * Spod Alana Skyring * Donny Benet Jake Stone * webuyyourkids and more music from Camden gourmet dj Lee Tran Lam art work by Simon Greiner Tanya Cooper * Matt Roden

artonthewall.tumblr.com theworldbar.com

02 9319 0848

cafemint.com.au BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 37

gear guide a beginner's guide to...

Side-Chain Compression If you’ve ever rocked out to progressive house by Deadmau5, dubstep by Skrillex, disco house from Alan Braxe or a house breakdown by The Freemasons, you’ve likely been unknowingly bopping your head to the space created by side-chain compression. Side-chain technique has been the workhorse behind slick production since the 1980s, but to use it you’ll first need to know a little about what a compressor does. A compressor can be a software application or an analogue box unit and, in the simplest sense, it's a tool which a) reduces the maximum volume of loud sounds and/or b) increases the volume of soft sounds – squeezing (i.e. compressing) sounds into being a roughly constant volume. Typically, a compressor is used to level out recordings and control the dynamics of performances. But side-chaining puts it to another effective use – clearing space! At the end of the day, a track can only be so loud before it distorts, and if you start turning up all your favourite parts you will end up with a gross iPod-destroying mess of unclear sounds. Side-chaining your compressor allows you to choose a sound (normally your kick drum or a big percussion track) that will rhythmically turn

Alan Braxe

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WITH it on and off. If you use your volume-reducing controls on the other parts of the track (normally melody/instruments), the melody will start to duck out of the way of the drum sounds (when the compressor is on), but will get loud again to fill up the little spaces between drum sounds (when the compressor is off). Used sparingly, the effect ‘tricks’ your ears into thinking that the kit (or chosen on/off signal) has gotten louder – it hasn’t, it’s just that everything else is softer when the kit signal plays! Used heavily, you will start to get that whooshing pulsing effect typical of our Mau5-y friend and his colleagues, as the change in volume starts to become so obvious it adds rhythm to the track. Try muting the drum signal track triggering the compressor, and you will hear a new rhythm in your melody as the volume changes – welcome to that Freemasons breakdown, people. While side-chaining obviously enjoys heavy use in the dance world, don’t think that they have all the fun. Long-swirling guitar and vocal reverbs sound great with a touch of side-chain to add clarity and rhythm – and in the heavy world, have you ever wondered how blast beats cut through to be so punchy? – Mark Crowley

MARSHALL CULLEN

OWNER+MANAGING DIRECTOR OF DAMIEN GERARD STUDIOS Getting Started I began mixing live bands while in 1. school in Tasmania. Moving into studio engineering and finally record producing was a natural progression. I still do some live front-of-house mixing with major acts like Paul Kelly, Hoodoo Gurus and Clare Bowditch. Inspirations Ernie Rose was my earliest 2. Australian mentor – and I have always looked to Tchad Blake, Geoff Emerick, Butch Vig and many others for inspiration. The Music You Make Damien Gerard has been established 3. for over 25 years. It has recording facilities for both tape and Pro-Tools, we keep a lot of classic analogue gear around, and the space includes a separate mastering and vocal suite as well. We now have four engineers and try to cater for all styles and all competencies. Literally thousands of new bands do their first EP or album recordings with us. Similarly we have hosted the cream of Australian bands, like The Hoodoo Gurus, Divinyls, The Church, Died Pretty, Noiseworks (who were in again recently) and countless more. We couldn’t live without our classic microphones and pre amps, our live spaces, our MCI 2-inch 24 track analog tape machine, and of course Pro Tools. Your Studio Working in a commercial studio I’ve 4. covered pretty much every style of music over the years. This year alone we’ve done vocals for RnB act Marvin Priest (Universal), a metal album for Hazmat, tracking for folk duo Nick and Liesl’s acclaimed album Feather, pre-production for Noiseworks, an EP for Harmonic Generator (France), The Aeriel Maps’ album (produced by Simon Holmes, and receiving rave reviews) and Daxton Monaghan’s stomp box blues album.

Music, Right Here, Right Now The music business is in a major 5. state of transition. The huge movement from traditional business models to online distribution means that no-one is certain where the industry will go – downloading, streaming, Spotify, clouds etc. Nor do we know how rights/revenues will be able to keep reflecting true authorship, with fair renumeration. Yet the recording business is still healthy – plenty of artists still recognise the need for a professional, or mixing/mastering. Regardless of what format the end user wants, it’s still totally essential to have it mastered to the best quality format currently available, from which to derive lower quality files. Whether the general public understand that or not is another question, but they would certainly prefer to be listening to clear audio rather than distortion. What: Damien Gerard Sound Studios Where: 174 Mullens St, Balmain Contact: damiengerard.net / 9331 0666

gear reviews

Tips From The Top

we test out some brand new toys

WITH

ASHTON UMK49 MIDI CONTROLLER KEYBOARD The Australian-designed Ashton brand has given us any number of goodies over the years, manufacturing a wide range of instruments – and with the UMK49 MIDI controller keyboard, Ashton step into the world of computer recording and MIDI programming.

EASY AND AFFORDABLE The UMK 49 keeps it simple for budding music producers wanting control of their computer recording setups, without a hefty price tag. It’s really easy to set up – being a USB keyboard, it’s simply a matter of plugging it in and allowing the machine to recognise it, and it’s bus-powered through the USB connection so there’s no need for another power supply. A traditional five-pin output is included for interfacing with external hardware and, being a plug-and-play device, there are no drivers required. It supports Mac OS X and standard

Windows machines.

WHAT’S THE CONTROL? The UMK49 is a 49-note keyboard. Range can be shifted up or down by a number of octaves, so you won’t miss anything you’d get with an 88-note keyboard. The standard pitch bend and modulation wheel live to the left of the keys, as does the fader and three control buttons. There are four rotary encoders that can be quickly switched between two banks for added control of your software applications, and with use of the full MIDI implementation chart and function keys, you have access to all the standard MIDI control messages that you would expect.

IS IT FOR ME? If you have a home studio where space is an issue, or if you want a MIDI control keyboard

U-MIX CONTROL PRO

The U-MIC Control Pro has connectivity to cater for either external CD players or turntables, with use of the supplied Cross DJ software; the device connects via USB to your laptop, and can act as an audio interface for your external sound devices. You can easily record your sets mixed from vinyl direct to your PC through the mixer, and add the microphone input on the front panel and you have an extremely versatile recording or live performance tool, all in a neat little package.

PLENTY OF CONTROLS Both channels on the U-MIX Control Pro

Price: RRP $149 Distributor: Australis Music Phone: 02 9698 4444 Website: australismusic.com.au

mode at the press of a button, so you can go from mixing your streaming sounds on the computer to mixing your vinyl with two turntables connected.

In an increasingly crowded digital DJ market, I was pleasantly surprised by the way that the MixVibes U-MIX Control Pro was able to fit all the features expected of modern day DJ equipment into such a compact design – it’s a perfect unit for travelling, and for squeezing into all of those hard-to-reach DJ spaces...

INTEGRATED IDEAS

for stage use (where size and weight is of importance), the UMK49 could be well worth taking a look at. It's extremely portable, sets up in a matter of moments and gives you quick and easy control of your favourite software without being overly demanding of the user’s knowledge. For the beginner looking to take the plunge into the world of computer music, Ashton’s UMK49 makes it all too easy, at a very affordable price. – Rob Gee

PLENTY OF USES

feature a jog wheel with a really nice action and a quick, accurate response to your touch. There are the standard cue, play and sync buttons, a three-band EQ, gain control and volume faders. Between the two channels, a slick cross fader with an adjustable curve setting allows you to blend between the two or cut them up at whatever pace you like. A loop function and FX send are included for both channels, as well as headphone source selection, a number of control buttons and a pitch adjustment, fader and bend feature. Each of these channels can be switched to vinyl

As a DJ controller, the U-MIX Control Pro is great. It’s compact, easy to setup and the layout is very intuitively mapped to the software. As a mixer for turntables or CD players, it gives you most of the options you would find on a dedicated DJ audio mixer. It’s a comprehensive four-channel audio interface, giving you four input and four output channels, which allows you to record and offers a full range of audio sources. A handy addition to the home studio and a versatile tool for live performance – and it’s sleek and slender, too. – Rob Gee Price: RRP $599 Distributor: Industry Gear Phone: 02 -9718 4900 Website: industrygear.com.au

Steve Vai Interviewed by Peter Hodgson Steve Vai has been at the forefront of guitar since his recorded debut with Frank Zappa in 1981. Since then, he’s innovated in a multitude of areas: guitar design, recording technology, amp and pedal design and more. Vai is heading to Australia to present his Alien Guitar Secrets masterclasses, and shared some thoughts on his craft… A part of me thinks about real practical stuff when I’m improvising… but it’s a very small part. The thing that I try to capture is a particular frame of mind. It can be elusive, but there’s this focus that you go to, this little place that exists between your brain and the tips of your fingers and your ears. It’s this process of listening to your environment, processing it with your creative element, then letting that creative element take control. Improvising, most of it is listening – responding to what’s coming into your ears and letting your fingers move in an unobstructed way. And here’s the trick with being in the moment: you almost have to be a little bit ahead of the moment. So you’re almost not even a part of the playing. It becomes a cathartic process of selfdiscovery. It’s about letting go of your hang-ups, about not being afraid of what’s going to happen... “I don’t have the cool gear,” or whatever – you’ve really gotta let go of all of that shit and be in the moment of the note. We’re always thinking about what we’re gonna do, or what we did, or what happened yesterday, or what’s going to happen tomorrow. But when you bring your focus of attention to what you’re doing at hand, you’re not thinking about the future and the past, so time is actually slowing down. It’s just a perception, really. What: Alien Guitar Secrets Australian Masterclass Where: Wesley Mission Centre, Pitt Street, Sydney When: Saturday October 15, midday Tickets: $80, available at thumpmusic.com.au

www.studios301.com facebook.com/studios301 02 9698 5888 adam@studios301.com Leon Zervos Mastering clients include: Beastie Boys, Robyn, Muse, Jonathan Boulet, Phrase and The Living End Mastering from $150 per song.

BRAG :: 423 :: 01:08:11 :: 39

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK SBTRKT

SBTRKT Young Turks / Inertia It’s been a big couple of years for dance/pop crossovers. After a few years of a much heavier brand of electronic music dominating airwaves and festival bills – Justice, MSTRKRFT, the whole Ed Banger cartel – we now seem to be cycling back in favour of subtlety, nuance, and music that'll get you through the wee small hours. With James Blake, Jamie Woon, The xx and Mount Kimbie, we are already well-off for late night grooves, but SBTRKT is a record that compels repeat listens – and the rewards are greater with every spin.

As SBTRKT, London DJ/producer Aaron Jerome takes the down-tempo, intricate electronica of a group like Booka Shade and couples it with vocals influenced by years of listening to R&B. Jerome’s voice is terrifically versatile, by turns warm and emotive and fragile and defeated, with an occasional echo of Kele Okereke’s plaintive, desperate, yearning cries.

The vocals provide a perfect counterpoint to the instrumentals, Jerome’s emoting belying the detached cool of his music. Most of these songs are discreet, unassuming numbers, and it’s only once you’ve listened to them a few times that you begin to really pick apart the layers and hear the delicacy with which it has been put together. Beats are unpredictable and deeply textured, while small instrumental flourishes and computery glitches flitter and dance around in the background like electronica’s own woodland animals. It’s a tremendous combination, grounded and strong while simultaneously light and vibrant. Importantly, the album seems to have been crafted as a whole, rather than merely a collection of songs. It eases you in to the SBTRKT universe, gently building over the course of the first few tracks to a dancier, more up-tempo second half. Hugh Robertson

OWL EYES

TODDLA T

MEMORY TAPES

Raiders EP Wunderkind / Warner

Watch Me Dance Ninja Tune

Player Piano Inertia

Owl Eyes has two levels of hype to live up to. One, that she is one of the best looking women living and breathing in Australia today and two, that her ethereal electro pop is groundbreaking stuff and well beyond her years. I’ve seen the press shots, so can vouch for the first – but after listening to Raiders, I’m unfortunately not as sure about the second. Don’t get me wrong – it's a very good EP. From the beginning of the opening title track, it’s clear that we are in for an electro indie-pop ride. The opening title track is very Washington-esque, and delivers no less than you’d expect – it's just that it delivers no more, either. The second song ‘Wait’ thumps in with a much heavier beat and breathier vocals, but keeps to the same basic principles: standard lyrics, standard beats, and not too much to get excited about. ‘Closer’, is more of the same; through the EP, Owl Eyes doesn’t show a lot of movement outside her comfort zone. The closing track ‘Pieces’ is probably the best on the EP, with more interesting synth work and lyrics that run a little deeper than the other songs, but it still fails to offer something fresh. From start to finish, the 19-year-old Sydney songstress has presented an adequate debut EP. She’s just starting out, and has already scored a support slot for The Wombats’ tour later this year; more time and a bit of touring with more experienced acts will surely give her a chance to learn some new tricks. Owl Eyes is good at what she does – and if she flexes her creative muscles, her next release will be nothing short of amazing. Sigourney Berndt

It’s been an adventure for the once-fronted ‘UK Digi-Dancehall Revival’ wonder kid, Toddla T. He was discovered DJing in clubs at the age of 14, but honing his skills hasn’t just been a club affair; he's remixed the likes of Hot Chip, Jack Penate, Roisin Murphy and Ladyhawke, and earned himself a spot on the well credited BBC Radio 1 program ‘In New DJs We Trust’ (the home to girlfriend and radio presenter, Annie Mac). Almost nothing has hindered the release of his anticipated second album Watch Me Dance, and an early and public leak of the album tethered some additional hype around the eleven track LP, which features UK heavies Roots Manuva on ‘Watch Me Dance’ and late '90s RnB soulstress Shola Ama on the housey ‘Take It Back’. Fans of his first record, 2009’s Skanky Skanky, will find plenty to enjoy here; a variety of sounds have aided the resonance of the album, be it jittery and warm basslines across ‘Cruise Control’, ‘Streets So Warm’ and ‘Fly’, or laidback soul numbers like ‘Lovely Girl’ and ‘Do It Your Way’, which round off the edges of what’s otherwise a stern release. The only drawback to the sometimes ‘all great’ soundscape is the lack of ‘hits’ that would help push this album from obscurity to popularity – although a number of continued single releases with remixes should sort that, as already illustrated with SebastiAn’s take on the title track, ‘Watch Me Dance’. Watch Me Dance is an impressive release, which injects the once underground grime/dancehall sounds with commercial viability, while showcasing Toddla T’s much sought-after production skills. Yet another leap forward for the dancehall revival kid. Andrew Cotman

That annoyingly-vague genre label ‘chillwave’ may be all the rage, but just barely ahead of the curve before the whole scene crested was one New Jerseybased Dayve Hawk. After releasing a variety of material under the mysterious monikers Memory Cassette and Weird Tapes, Hawk unwittingly found himself at the centre of a zeitgeist when he combined his two alter-egos for 2009’s Seek Magic. Its modest eight tracks struck the tricky balance between the homespun charm of the bedroom arranger and the polish of deftly-produced electronica, not least in the subtle Madchester vibe of the minor summer hit ‘Bicycle’. So where does one find Hawk two years later, with his inevitable ‘difficult second album’? Well, with a fullyfledged live band for one, which in turn has broadened the scope of his arrangements and the ‘one-man band’ tag; it would be harder to anchor the guitar workouts demonstrated on ‘Today Is Our Life’ or the perky pop band hum of ‘Sunhits’ to the confines of the bedroom. Yet for the most part, this record still manages to retain that same warm, hazy charisma that cemented Memory Tapes’ popularity. Already hard at work on a third LP, Hawk is either keen to shake loose any sagging tags (chillwave or otherwise), or is simply displaying a restlessly creative spirit. On the strength of Player Piano, it would suggest the answer is both. If Toro Y Moi or the shimmering Washed Out are the blissed-out comedown, then Player Piano is the sunny high that precedes it. Al Newstead

YOUNG THE GIANT

Charisma Weapon Bam*Boo Whatever happened to The Panda Band? Breaking through in 2004 with the single ‘Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town,’ the Perth five-piece swept the WAMi awards, slipped into the Hottest 100 and were showered with praise and expectation by Rolling Stone, who named them the band to watch for 2005. Sometime after that, with debut record This Vital Chapter finding quiet acclaim, they fell silent. With their follow-up Charisma Weapon, The Panda Band aren’t likely to duplicate the high rotation success of that hallmark

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single of theirs, but they’ve returned with an impressive statement of intent. Produced and released entirely off their own bat, Charisma Weapon is about as independent a release as you’re likely hear, the closed loop of input allowing The Panda Band to toy with quirk and peculiarity alongside the indie-rock spine of their arrangements. Many of these tracks are bizarrely torn tapestries; ‘A Fragment Of The Head Of A Pharoah’s Bride’ twists and tears with the addition of each leftfield instrumental run, ‘The Fix’ fucks with its own tempo ad nauseum, and ‘Alligators’ is so stilted and confusing

Ready Big Village Records

Young The Giant Roadrunner Records It’s always been hard to stand out in the field of indie rock; its open-ended nature means that dedicated prodigy and hopeless slacker alike can make it, but for many it’s also the first point of call for ‘the next big thing.’ Enter Young The Giant: another indie rock band clamouring for your attention. It’s hard to avoid cynicism in describing their music. Their sensitive side is borrowed from Coldplay (in turn borrowing from U2) and combined with a Kings of Leon ‘Sex On Fire’-version of rugged – and they cite Radiohead as their biggest influence. And so it goes that cuts like opener ‘Apartment’, the morose ‘God Made Man’ and the weepy ‘Strings’ are either easily dismissed, or frustratingly remind you of a host of other bands who spent their debuts desperately trying to shrug off their influences (Editors and Interpol shaking off the ghost of Ian Curtis springs to mind). Young The Giant’s strongest weapon is in vocalist Sameer Gadhia, a competent singer whose subtle vibrato lends some personality to otherwise placeholder lyrics – particularly when he lets his throat rattle on the fist-pumping ‘My Body’, or cruises the slipstream on the breezy ‘I Got’. Unfortunately, words like ‘breezy’ and ‘cruise’ end up defining the album, which is brought down in particular by a dull mid-section that strictly adheres to mid-tempo rock at four minutes long as if by religious dogma. Their attempts to cover every generic song style – slow-burn ballad, militaristic march, some slide guitar – ends up hurting them with an overly-long serve of too-same material. Are Young The Giant worth your time? Yes, but not fifty minutes of it. Stick to the singles and check back when they’ve developed.

After spending years honing his songwriting and skills, working on projects like Loose Change with Rapaport and Ready’s producer P Major, Sydney's MC Ellesquire has decided that he's ready to bare all – and his aptly-titled debut album was certainly worth the wait. Ellesquire has poured his heart and soul into this album, and it shows. Whether he flows about his reflections on the world, being a slave to the dollar ('Chasing The Pay' shows Ellesquire step out of rapping to sing, and he airs some decent vocal cords), or heartbreak, the ballads that pepper the album are so vivid in their storytelling that they become heartfelt and even a little sexy, rather than contrived or cheesy. Ellesquire's wicked sense of selfdeprecating humour shines through the record. Stand out track ‘On The Prowl’ is laugh-out-loud funny; far from the usual hip hop braggadocio that boasts of women dripping off arms, Ellesquire goes out on the prowl – “my pick up line is, 'So, do you like stuff?'” – but doesn't pull anyone at all, and ends up getting thrown out of the club or “dancing to Akon’s new song”. ‘What's With All The Questions’ features P. Smurf of Daily Meds, and adds a gruffness to the mix, as does the battle rap style of ‘Ferociousness (ft Tenth Dan)’, which has a brilliant old school soul/R&B refrain cutting through the “ferociousness” of the flow. And the title track is pure chin-up, chest-out attitude. Ready as he’ll ever be, Ellesquire is a natural storyteller, and his knack for catchy hooks and melodies means his debut album is destined to get the airplay it deserves. Marissa Demetriou

Al Newstead

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK THE PANDA BAND

ELLESQUIRE

that it’s almost entertaining just feeling yourself miss each rhythmic shift. Charisma Weapon is a record that sees The Panda Band become their own entity, and while it occasionally sounds like frontman Damian Crosbie has been obsessing over The Arcade Fire while the rest of the band pumps The Flaming Lips, the result is wonderfully unique. Whatever the reason for The Panda Band’s four year silence, their second release proves that the wait was worth the lost momentum. A tapestry of peculiar ideas splitting at the seams, Charisma Weapon will not just mess with your head, but leave you desperate for more. Max Easton

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

RECLOOSE - Saturday Night Manifesto LAWRENCE ARABIA - Chant Darling WOODEN SHJIPS - Dos

TAME IMPALA - Innerspeaker THE SMITHS - S/T

splendour in the grass ...were you there?

SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS July 29 – August 1 Woodfordia, Queensland

Little did we know when we boarded our flights to the Sunshine Coast that we would be stumbling out into the beautiful and effervescent blackhole timewarp that was Splendour 2011. Having reconciled the traffic problems from the past year, we sped through the entrance hassle-free, to find ourselves nestled amongst the long yellowing grass of the campsite. Like the seasoned festival-goers we are, we opted to first make a beeline for the bar. With the sun at our backs, we stepped out with our beers and were immediately met by a river of bodies: girls with feathers in their hair and denim shorts, boys with face paint and colourful shirts. The Kills battled on into the afternoon with the sun in their eyes as it set over the beautiful ridge of the natural amphitheatre, descending us all into darkness. Warpaint delivered their ethereal hypnotic voices out to an overflowing tent, while Kato gave his fans a striptease in the Mix Up Tent. Like Splendours past, the daytime bliss is harshly juxtaposed by the bleak and frigid nights, so we schlepped back to the campsite to don our woollies and gumboots. Kanye drew in a boisterous crowd with his theatrical production that included fireworks, choppers, excessive smoke machines, fifteen or so professional ballerinas, costume changes and enough gold to feed Africa for a year. With an entire hillside pumping their fists to his huge tunes he certainly wowed the audience – but his music just wasn’t quite up to scratch for the money many had spent to see him in his only Australian show. (Even DJ Shadow couldn’t compete with Kanye; he barely filled his tent to half.) The emotional void left by Kanye’s over-produced performance was filled with the pure and rough Scottish passion that was Mogwai. Intense, euphoric and pretty much mind-blowing, there were only a few hundred in attendance, and we wondered to ourselves what many have wondered before us: is Splendour really about the music anymore? Our next day was like a repeat of the last, spent in a blissful dusty haze as we drifted through the sea of beautiful young things, meandering through Woodfordia’s labyrinth of pathways. Nestled along the tree-line were various culinary delights offering depleted dancers and grumbling bellies a plethora of mid-range meals, from satay noodles served in a cardboard cone to breakfast burritos and dim sim. A huge collection of outlandish vintage clothing dotted the narrow and shaded pathways, and the ‘mini mall’ wasn’t as affronting

as we suspected it would be. It was so well hidden down an offshoot of the main walkway that we didn’t even find it until the festival’s final day! Saturday afternoon’s highlights included New Zealand’s Cut Off Your Hands with a new album in tow, Cassian, and festival favourite Foster The People, who drew a crowd that overflowed the Mix Up Tent. That evening, Patience of The Grates mesmerised the crowd with her infectious cute rock-child energy; this chick oozes a playful kind of sexiness that has men and women hanging off her every move and word. She wasn’t shy about getting close to her admirers either, leaping into the crowd later in the set to be engulfed by her adoring revellers. After being stunned by our revived girl crush (where has she been all these years?), we were wooed by the vivacious energy of Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, all the way from El Paso, Texas. Little man. Immense energy. That tiny little bum shook with fervour and intensity all over the stage, as he climbed onto the drumset and donned the head of a horse, all the while managing to belt out tunes that had the whole crowd absolutely pumping. Once we gathered our minds from the exquisite chaos of Mars Volta, we were in no way, shape or form ready for what awaited us: Jane’s Addiction. Competing with the likes of Aussie favourite PNAU, the crowd was small but devoted. Just as it should be. Opening the set with chicks adorned in dominatrix leather gear hanging from the ceilings, frontman Perry Farrell happily received some unbidden affection from the lovely burlesque ladies on stage. Sunday’s exhausted masses enjoyed chilled-out sets from British rockers The Vaccines, Cloud Control, The Middle East (who announced their split on stage), Cut Copy, and old favourites Pulp. Jarvis Cocker maintained his boyish charm as he awkwardly danced around the stage throwing out witticisms to his hungry fans, and Coldplay managed to deliver an intimate and relatable performance, appeasing a hillside of swayers with tried and true favourites from Parachute and A Rush Of Blood To The Head. In true Splendour fashion, we all became lost in the magical world of Woodfordia. Mobiles and memories were forgotten, cameras and egos broken, loves and obsessions discovered, hearts and sunglasses trodden on. Another year, another vast bank of experiences to tuck away and thrive off until Splendour 2012.

By Lucy McPherson and Meaghan Meredith

ED BY: TIM LEVY

TASTY OCULAR TREATS DELIVER

BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 41

live reviews splendour sideshow special

GOMEZ, LEADER CHEETAH The Metro Theatre Monday August 1

For a band trying to shake off comparisons to Neil Young’s early years, Adelaide’s Leader Cheetah sure do send out conflicting messages, taking to the stage tonight in all manner of flannel, tan leather and brown calfskin pants, a style straight out of the early-'70s West Coast Americana of The Eagles, Jackson Browne et al. That their music sits comfortably alongside much of that laid-back canon is doubly confusing, and it makes it difficult to gauge the reaction to their set. A decentsized crowd struggles to get into it during the songs, but the end of each is met with enthusiastic, if somewhat reserved, applause. The band do a good job of recreating the lush, open sounds of recent release Lotus Skies in order to showcase Dan Crannitch’s lyrics, but it’s Dan Pash’s incisive, well-weighted guitar flourishes that are the real standout. Sadly there’s something lacking tonight, and nothing really demands your attention. By contrast, Gomez take the stage to a rapturous response and commence to rock the fuck out. It seems strange to say, but this band from the sleepy Merseyside town of Southport has far more in common with the bar bands of the American south than many of their countrymen. They are a great rock band, based on nothing more complicated than writing good songs and bashing them out with all the enthusiasm and energy they can muster. The set is a cross-section of their seven albums, weighted towards this year’s Whatever’s On Your Mind. Fan favourites ‘How We Operate’, ‘Get Myself Arrested’ and ‘Waster’ are met with raucous singalongs, but there are that many hardcore fans here that even the deepest cut is greeted with a roar of approval. The whole show is full of energy, never flagging even during slower numbers like ‘Sweet Virginia’ or ‘Whatever’s On Your Mind’, and all credit for that goes to Gomez’s three singers. Ben Ottewell’s signature growl is the showstopper, but Ian Ball’s quiet wryness is a perfect counterpoint. And Tom Gray is full of energy on his tracks, even if he is the least exciting of the three. Mention should also be made of drummer Olly Peacock and bassist Paul Blackburn, both working overtime to provide the band’s rock solid core. Tonight turned out to be a band with great songs but limited presence supporting a band with really good songs and endless presence and energy. Live, the showmen trump the songwriters. And thus it always was.

Hugh Robertson

JAMES BLAKE

The Factory Theatre Thursday July 30 At the start of this year, James Blake existed as a personal sound escape, a late night headphone rendezvous as I walked the streets home in the dark and gauzy fading summer air. His slow builds, repeated lyrical loops and sparse arrangements allowed a perfect midnight landscape in which to think, with a lack of sounds within each composition that only served to highlight what was there: heart-aching earworms and a looming, dominating presence built of consistent tone and structure. When there was only one set of footprints in the sand, I was just out taking a stroll in the company of James. Fast forward some months and now, housed in The Factory (a perfect case of accidental nomenclature for tonight’s concert of construction), Blake and co. look petite and waft-like as they stand before those assembled. Three nice young men with a keyboard; it could be a recital, and there are indeed people of gasp advancing age in attendance, probably speaking much more of the wistful balladry of his album than the encroaching popularity of dubstep. The setup of Blake’s songs is often the same – a repeated element, a beat or a lyric, that sets a framework within which sounds and notes and riffs can warble and jangle and vibrate back and forth. This can

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be as simple as a pair of electronic loops of his own voice, with the live Blake battling harmony and accuracy as he bends between the two, vocally bumper-bowling, with each bounce offering the satisfying and exhilarating buzz of watching another play Operation. Blake’s basket of glitched tweaks and reverb-washed samples may be novel to much of his audience, but it’s his voice which sets him apart. It humanises this exchange to hear its gosling squawk reach hard for notes. As the trio constructs sand castles of sound, spearing their own efforts with lumbar-shifting bass and sinus-snapping ticks and taps that seem to play outward and toward like a 3D effect, they throw in novel arrangments – a guitar echoes and duets with Blake in one song, and strums blithely beneath another, sounding like the '80s-tinged crooning pop of this year’s other boy wonder, Bon Iver. The crowd whoops with delight at the start of Fiest cover ‘Limit To Your Love’, and become part of the track themselves as errant applause is sampled beneath vocals, looped and weaved into the mix. For a quiet album this is a loud audience, but maybe they’re just trying to help fill in the gaps.

Matt Roden

MODEST MOUSE, DEEP SEA ARCADE The Enmore Theatre Monday July 25

The night’s headliners were a long time away from hitting the stage and the Enmore was already packed – I’d never seen the venue so full for a support act. Sydney locals Deep Sea Arcade must have been busy little bees of late, because getting that many people to show up early is a pretty massive accomplishment – particularly as the five-piece have only just got their first album to their name. They delivered a beautiful little set, although the song selection seemed a bit haphazard, skipping from dreamy to heavy and back again. Modest Mouse roared onto the stage with a particularly vitriolic rendition of ‘Satin In A Coffin’ – and we were off. Originally slated to perform at the Metro, it came as no surprise when these guys sold that venue out in no time flat and were forced to upsize. They have a super strong support base in Australia, illustrated by the audience singing along tonight to each and every song the band picked from their extensive back catalogue (‘Poison The Well’ was the only new song we got a glimpse of). Modest Mouse aren’t touring a new album, and have been very evasive in interviews as to when one will be released – which made for a real feel-good, familiar sort of show. I’m often amazed when I stop to think about Isaac Brock’s voice; the frontman can’t really sing, or at least chooses not to most of the time, and there are few bands for which that matters less. In a brief and out-of-character moment of chattiness, he told us a little story about winter in Sydney being better than summer in Portland, where the band is based… but he gave up on it before it was done, and got back to playing music. It felt like the set had ended far too soon when they closed with ‘Float On’, and it was a little disappointing that the encore only had two songs – one of which was ‘Bukowski’, which was a highlight. Audience members had been calling out for ‘Ocean Breathes Salty’ throughout the show, and it was a pity they didn’t close on it – but an awesome show nonetheless. These guys have been playing together for a long time, and they really know their shit.

Romi Scodellaro

DEVENDRA BANHART, HUSKY The Metro Theatre Wednesday July 27

A sparse constellation of starry-eyed lasses and beardy-faced lads arrived right on time, to sit cross-legged and stare wanly up at Brunswick-ites Husky. With a sound that seems to encapsulate perfectly the nostalgic rural folk in vogue thanks to the likes of Fleet Foxes (which allowed them to get away with a rather nice cover of America’s ‘A Horse With No Name’),

live reviews splendour sideshow special

it’s unsurprising that their warm vocal harmonies and solid, albeit workmanlike, songwriting was well received – though the Matt Bellamy-channelling keyboard solo that at one point spontaneously erupted seemed rather unnecessary.

it’s fair or not to compare them – whether it’s comparing apples to oranges, Royal Gala to Granny Smith or wax fruit to the real thing – seeing The Kills and Pulp over two consecutive nights threw some things into sharp relief.

Earlier fears of the venue being strewn with naught but tumbleweed courtesy of the competition over at OAF (Wild Beasts) proved unfounded by the time Devendra Banhart (Patron Saint of Jesus Beards, Journeys-To-Find-Oneself and Hacky Sack) took the stage. A group of acolytes as diverse as they were enthusiastic managed to generate the kind of comingtogether-love-fest vibe not normally seen outside of American teen dramas. Looking considerably more clean-cut these days than indie mythology might have one believe, Banhart didn’t really hit his stride tonight until backing band The Grogs left him to it for a bit, his quavering solo croon setting hearts (and ovaries) trembling. Make no mistake: Banhart is the real deal, a consummate performer and patchouliscented heart throb, whose at times patchy songwriting is more than compensated for by a live presence both inimitable and utterly magnetic.

Both bands get by a little bit on a cult of personality. Jarvis Cocker’s voice – both the one that comes out of his mouth, and his narrative voice as a songwriter – is wry and literate, like Morrissey without that peculiar mix of self-pity and selfaggrandisement that makes him such a hero for bookish loners with rockstar pinings everywhere. Cocker’s nerdy, flailing sexuality and drily authoritative narration work together perfectly for some reason; he’s a joy to watch and listen to, whether he’s discussing the weather or quoting Baudrillard. His changeability means he can carry off the adolescent pine of ‘Disco 2000’ or ‘Babies’, the arch satire of ‘This Is Hardcore’ and sneering class-rage venting of ‘Common People’ with aplomb, and you never question each persona because they're all Jarvis. He’s the Jagger of the terminally uncool.

Oliver Downes

ELBOW, MATT CORBY The Enmore Theatre Friday July 29

Arriving at the Enmore on this cold Sydney night, I was taken aback, as I always am, at the intimate size of the theatre. As a Pom, I can’t wait to write home and gloat about having seen Elbow in such a small venue, while my UK friends crowd into 20,000 capacity arenas to catch a glimpse. Opener Matt Corby began his set with a barren, almost whispered song that caught the small smattering of an audience by surprise. As the rest of his band joined him the tempo became more upbeat, as the enthusiastic drummer thrashed the daylights out of his kit. Corby’s vocals, reminiscent of the late Jeff Buckley, soared through the venue, bringing more and more people closer in until they packed the front of the stage by the end of his set. There was a bit of everything here, from folk to rock, but no hint whatsoever of Corby’s Idol past. When Elbow appeared on stage the Enmore erupted, welcoming the boys back like long lost friends. They opened with ‘The Birds’, the first track from their fifth album Build A Rocket Boys (2011), which built from a slow burning melody to a full-on synthesised, bass-heavy ground stomper. The extended bass intro of ‘Neat Little Rows’ threatened to rattle fillings out of teeth and loosen infirm bowels, while the hauntingly brilliant ‘The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver’ brought the audience swiftly back down to earth. And only a heart of stone would not have been moved by ‘Great Expectations’ or the sparse beauty of ‘Puncture Repair’. The good-humoured frontman Guy Garvey had the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout – and after the audience sang an impromptu ‘Happy Birthday’ to celebrate the band’s 20 years together, Elbow launched into ‘Weather To Fly’. And while I’m not a big fan of their anthemic song ‘Open Arms’, it brought the set to a rousing climax. ‘Starlings’ from Elbow’s fourth album The Seldom Seen Kid brought the band back for an encore, all toting trumpets for the impressive horn section of the song. My only criticism was the setlist’s lack of early material, but with ‘One Day Like This’ ending a fantastic evening, the almost deafening audience chant of “One day like this a year would see me right” was enough to make me think they were probably spot-on.

Phil Grove

THE KILLS VS PULP

Hordern Pavilion / Metro Theatre Tuesday July 26 / Wednesday July 27 At this time of year, when there are nineteen festival sideshows a week, it’s hard not to constantly hold one bands’ live performance up against the next. Whether

And the main disadvantage of The Kills is that they are nothing but cool – Alison Mosshart’s femme fatale strut and sweaty black mane, Jamie Hince with his perfectly artless sideways quiff and fresh-minted marriage to a fashion icon. They are sexy as fuck. On record and in magazine photos, they bowl you over with smoky sheen and crackling rock’n’roll id – but live, a moving, breathing human right there in the room with you can never quite live up to the crystallised promise of an image. Hince bucks against his guitar, tearing deep, loin-stirring strips of distortion off it but whether he’s actually enjoying himself, it’s hard to tell. He’s got a fascinating face – shadowed and sallow, ugly-handsome in a way usually reserved for grizzled Gallic leading men – but all the personality is in the guitar, none in his demeanour. Mosshart’s famous man-eater swagger is too often belied by her girlish dimples and a beaming sweetness that she can’t quite suppress, as the crowd screams its delight just because she looks at them. And The Kills’ use of a drum machine, while a longtime trademark of their recordings and shows, stops the shows from having the animal spontaneity of the albums – that feeling they’ve always excelled at in the studio, of two people just having an idle conversation in the language of sex, drugs and you-know-what, throwing grimy noises at the wall and seeing what sticks. Cocker, meanwhile, recycled his stage patter and speaker-climbing antics almost verbatim at Splendour several days later, and both the band and the set were watertight. Their songs are mannered and economical in their storytelling, precisely calibrated in their casualness like a Philip Larkin poem – and yet it never felt rehearsed. Particularly with a reunion tour like this one, it would be so easy for Pulp to fart out warmed-over facsimiles of their hits and go home without breaking a sweat. (The Strokes did exactly that in the same venue a year ago, and nobody seemed to mind.) But there’s a sense of joy and release here; every instrument precisely where it needs to be, creating something more than the sum of its parts with every song. (It doesn’t hurt that the sound at the Hordern was the best I’ve ever heard it, a perception later backed by several others who were scattered around the room.) Pulp’s nine-foot-high pink neon band logo and sophisticated lighting are offset wittily by a tiny fireplace DVD on a tiny screen – and as Cocker “warms” his hands over it, chatting about the inhospitable cold, it’s a reminder that they can never take themselves too seriously as rock stars. On the other hand, the strip-club sass of the Kills’ stage show – the leopardprint backdrop and pink & vermilion mood lighting – screams of semi-ironic Rock’n’roll Decadence. The Kills aren’t lacking in self-awareness, but watching Mosshart prowl the bare stage and mash her locks into her sweaty scalp while Hince spits his pick into the front row, it verges on caricature, and it doesn’t quite feel like they’ve earned it yet. Pulp, on the other hand, have spent a decade and a half wisely letting the substance lead the style, rather than the other way around.

Caitlin Welsh

BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 43

snap sn ap up all night out all week . . .

party profile

red fire red

It’s called: Red Fire Red – ‘Save the Day’ video launch It sounds like: Rock’n’roll! Who’s playin’? Red Fire Red, The Raids, Strike The Blonde, Lenox and Nova Soul DJs Sell it to us: Underground rockers Red Fire Red are launching their debut video ‘Save the Day’ at Sydney’s hottest little club, TONE. Directed by actor, director and soul surfer Yure Covich (Red Dog), the video will premiere at the launch followed by a live and wild set by Red Fire Red – plus Sydney’s best new bands, and reggae grooves from Nova Soul DJs The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Having way too much fun on a Thursday night and loving every moment of it. Crowd specs: People looking for great new live music. Wallet damage: Tickets $15 from redfirered.com/video; $5.00 Carter Premiums ALL NIGHT… Where: TONE / 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills

danananananackroyd

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When: Thursday August 11, music from 7pm ‘til late

avenged sevenfold

PICS :: RR

29:07:11 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 95501078

fitz & the tantrums

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30:07:11 :: Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour Street, Darling Harbour 9320 4200

modest mouse

:: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown 9550 3666

:: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) :: THOMAS PEACHY :: ROSETTE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER YN NGU Y VICK :: NS :: DANIEL MUN :: CAI GRIFFIN :: ASHLEY MAR ROUHANNA

44 :: BRAG :: 424: 08:08:11

devendra banhart

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25:07:11

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27:07:11 :: The Basement :: 29 Relby Place Circular Quay 92512797

27:07:11 :: The Metro Theatre :: 624 George St City 95503666

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wild beasts

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up all night out all week . . .

the hives 28:07:11

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27:07:11 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93323711

:: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Road, Newtown 9550 3666

good girls gone bad It sounds like: A night devoted to girls who escaped finishing school for a life of debauchery! Performers: Lola the Vamp, Danica Lee, Lulu, Lauren La Rouge, Briana Bluebell, Betty Grumble, Ember Flame, Memphis Mae – with MC Renny Kodgers and DJ Goldfoot Sell it to us: Never before has 34B assembled a cast of such chaste, innocent and well-mannered young ladies – to act in such a wanton, wild and generally wicked manner! When they are good they are very, very good – but when they are bad they are better! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Why bad girls really do have much more fun. Crowd specs: Sexy librarians, disgraced former beauty pageant stars, naughty newsreaders, fallen Catholic school girls, diabolical debutantes, scheming showgirls, the vicar’s vixen wife – and gentlemen, you know a bad girl just wants a well-dressed fella to play with! Wallet damage: $20 general admission pre-sale / $25 on the night; reserved tables $30pp (min 3pp) through moshtix.com.au

velvet hammer

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party profile

It’s called: 34B Burlesque’s Good Girls Gone Bad

30:07:11 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93323711

Where: 34B Burlesque at The Exchange Hotel / 44 Oxford St Darlinghurst

magnetic heads 27:07:11

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pulp The Exchange Hotel :: 34-44 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93601375

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When: Saturday August 13 from 8:30pm

27:07:11 :: Hordern Pavilion :: 1 Driver Ave Moore Park 9921 5333 :: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) CHY :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: VICKY NGUYEN :: THOMAS PEA NS MUN IEL DAN :: MAR LEY :: CAI GRIFFIN :: ASH ROSETTE ROUHANNA

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g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

SATURDAY AUGUST 13

pick of the week Regurgitator

Matt Jones Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10pm Phoebe Carden Dee Why RSL Club free 6:30pm Rob Henry The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8:30pm Steve Tonge O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9:30pm The Drifting, Drew Harris, Jordan Lesser, NatashaEloise, Russell Neal The Basement, Circular Quay $20 8pm The Trip Mounties, Mount Pritchard 8pm They Call Me Bruce Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9:30pm Zoltan Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm

JAZZ

Carl Morgan Quintet, The MFW 505 Club, Surry Hills $8 (member)–$10 8:30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown

Regurgitator, Disasteradio, Step-Panther $28.60 (presale) 8pm

MONDAY AUGUST 8 ROCK & POP

Hollie Andrew, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Shaun Rennie, Matthew Robinson Sidetrack Studio Theatre, Marrickville $28 (conc)–$35 7:30pm

Tin Sparrow

Ladies & Gentlemen, I Am Villain, Wake The Giants, Call the Shots, We Built Atlantis, Stand for the Fallen, Soapbox Summer, City Falls, Takedown, Your Weight In Gold Annandale Hotel $15 11am Matt Jones The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8:30pm Nick Atkins Riverside Theatres, Parramatta $25 6:30pm

O’Malley’s Got Talent O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 8pm Steve Tonge Coogee Bay Hotel, Beach Bar free 9pm

Della Putta The World Bar, Kings Cross free 7pm Snap, The Drip Hards 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 8:30pm

JAZZ

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

Jim Gannon Dee Why RSL Club free 6:30pm Rinske Geerlings, Daniel Falero, Philip Taig, Pierre

Massimo Presti, Matthew James, Carolyn Crysdale Kogarah Hotel free 7pm

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10 ROCK & POP

Adam Scicluna Cronulla RSL free 11am Afro Nomads Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9:30pm Ben Finn Duo Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm Brad Johns Dee Why RSL Club free 6:30pm Daniel Merriweather, Fantine, Tin Sparrow, Fanny Lumsden, World Champion, Vista Views Tone, Surry Hills free 8pm DJ Moussa Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 11pm

Hk 47 O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9:30pm Hollie Andrew, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Shaun Rennie, Matthew Robinson Sidetrack Studio Theatre, Marrickville $28 (conc)–$35 7:30pm Jamie Lindsay Northies, Cronulla free 7:30pm Jim Ward (USA), Isaac Graham Annandale Hotel $22 (+ bf) 8pm Let Me Down Jungleman, Hira Hira, Sweet Teeth GoodGod SmallClub $10 8pm Mike Bennett The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8:30pm Missing Children Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7:30pm Nicky Kurta Summer Hill Hotel free 7:30pm Silver Cinder, Michael Pigott The Vanguard, Newtown 8pm Superheavyweights Sandringham Hotel free 8pm The Gene Fehlberg Band, The Sam Newton Band The Basement, Circular Quay 8pm The Panda Band, The Bungalows, Montpelier Brass Monkey, Cronulla $12.25 (presale) 7pm The Ten Tenors Penrith Panthers, Evans Theatre $60 7:30pm

JAZZ

The Idea of North The Basement, Circular Quay $30 – $74.80 (w/ dinner) 8pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm Shuffle Demons 505 Club, Surry Hills $15–$20 8:30pm

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

Sam Newton Band, Gene Fehlberg Band, Hayley Legg, Nikki Thorburn The Basement $15 8pm Ken Stewart, Lila Swain, Shining Whits, Linda Wood, Greg Cade, Brad Ogden, Christina Parie, Jennifer Hardy, Edward Kent, Russell Neal Cat & Fiddle Hotel free 6:30pm

The Belle Havens, Lucky Luke, Alex Hughes, Gene Fehlberg, Aimee Francis, Monii, Zelda Smyth, Helmut Uhlmann Kellys On King free 7pm

TUESDAY AUGUST 9 ROCK & POP

Adam Pringle Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Albatross The Flinders Hotel free 8pm Drifting, Drew Harris The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf)–$20 (at door) 9pm Hollie Andrew, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Shaun Rennie, Matthew Robinson Sidetrack Studio Theatre, Marrickville $28 (conc)–$35 7:30pm

The Bungalows

“Your teeth are clean but your mind is capped You leave your smell like an alley cat” - JOHN LENNON 46 :: BRAG :: 424 : 08:08:11

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

THURSDAY AUGUST 11 ROCK & POP

Blue Mountains Singer Songwriter Challenge Hotel Gearin, Katoomba free 8pm Crooked Saint Low 302, Darlinghurst free 9pm

Danger Dannys, Whiskey Indian November, Tigertown, The Shooters Party Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst 8pm Forget The Stereo Forest Inn, Bexley $15 7pm Greg Byrne Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Hidden Highway, Hiding from the Gallows, Skyepoint, Forget the Stereo, The Paris Club, Room 13, The Reprize Monique Brumby

Forest Inn Hotel, Bexley $15 7pm Holland, Nova & the Experience Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Hollie Andrew, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Shaun Rennie, Matthew Robinson Sidetrack Studio Theatre, Marrickville $28 (conc)–$35 7:30pm I Am Apollo El Rocco Jazz Cellar, Woolloomooloo $15 8:30pm Justin Derrico (USA) Annandale Hotel $35 (+ bf) 8pm Mandi Jarry Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8:30pm Matt Corby, Sam Stephenson, Merrity Murphy, Bob Stamper Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Monique Brumby Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $22 8pm Musos club jam night Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill free 8pm Polyminor, Cody Dillon, Isac Cole The Vanguard, Newtown 8pm Red Fire Red, The Raids, Strike The Blonde, Lenox, Nova Soul DJs Tone $15 7pm Rex Havoc, The Faults, Josh Shipton Union Hotel free 8pm Sharron Bowman Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm Shinola Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm The Panda Band The Vault, Windsor $17 (presale)–$20 (at door) 8pm

wed (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

thu

11 Aug

JAZZ

Aug

(9:15PM - 1:00AM)

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sat

13 Aug

sun

SATURDAY NIGHT

14 Aug

ROCK & POP

3 Skins Orange Grove Hotel, Leichhardt free 8pm Alps Band (Mach II), The Nugs, Unity Floors

Danny Ross Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7:30pm

fri

12 SATURDAY AFTERNOON

FRIDAY AUGUST 12

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

TUE 09 AUG

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(5:00PM - 8:00PM)

Lawson Idle Open Mic Night The Blue Mountain Hotel, Lawson free 8pm Polyminor, Isac Cole, Cody Dillon The Vanguard $12 8pm

Carl Orr, Arabesk The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf)–$73.80 (dinner & show) 9pm Chaika 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 (member)–$15 8:30pm Lionel Robinson Dee Why RSL free 6:30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

STRIP TUESDAYS! UNI/BACKPACKER NIGHT

10 Aug

Ash Grunwald

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

WED 10 AUG

RIOT HOUSE COMEDY WEDNESDAY’S

ROCK-STEIN

STRIP TUESDAYS

MOVIE & MUSIC TRIVIA

CHEAP DRINKS CHEAP WOMEN,HAHA

THE STUDY feat

KACHING

FREE ENTRY

THE BUBBLE WRAP SENSATION + ROBOT HOUSE

CROSSROADS

THU 11 AUG FRI 12

Black Wire Records $10 7pm Ash Grunwald, Beau Young, The Grains Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $22 (+ bf) 8pm Big Shots Club Five Dock, Five Dock RSL free 8pm Brackets & Jam Kincumber Mountain Kiosk free 7:30pm Brett Every, Maeve Marsden, Girl Most Likely, Brendan MacLean, Maxine Kauter Band Camelot, Marrickville $20 (conc)–$25 7:30pm Chicks Who Love Guns Gallery Bar, Oxford Art

WITH YOUR HOST RONNIE SIMMONS

$5 MILLERS $5 JIM BEAM $10 JIM BEAM BLACKS

PURPLE SNEAKERS PRESENT LAST NIGHT

AUG (LIVE)

THE CAIROS + TALES IN SPACE

THE SHINY BRIGHTS + RADIO STAR + WE MIX YOU DANCE

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

SAT

13 AUG

PANDA BAND EP LAUNCH

FT: ABSOLUTE POWER DJ’S + DEVINE ELECTRIC + SPECIAL GUEST

v 16/08 ROCK-STEIN TRIVIA/STRIP TUESDAYS!

17/08 THE STUDY/RIOT HOUSE COMEDY 19/08 PS/LAST NIGHT 20/08 NOWHERE, BALANCE & COMPOSURE 21/08 UNEARTHLY 27/08 ELECTRIC ZOO 01/09 CROSSROADS--FINALS 10/09 NORTHERN SOUL

COMING SOON BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 47

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Donny Benét

Factory, Darlinghurst free 9pm Children Collide, DZ Deathrays, Damn Terran Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $29.10 (presale) 8pm Dave White Experience Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10:30pm Devola, Frames, Julian Sparrow, Isbjorn, Kristy Lee Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross $10 8pm Donny Benet, Kirin J. Callinan, Collarbones Goodgod, Sydney $10 8pm

Duncan Woods Breakers Country Club, Wamberal free 6pm Gerry Allen Richmond Inn free 8pm Hollie Andrew, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Shaun Rennie, Matthew Robinson Sidetrack Studio Theatre, Marrickville $28 (conc)–$35 7:30pm Hue Williams Avalon Beach RSL Club free 9pm

Ian Moss, Jordan Millar Lizotte’s Restaurant, Kincumber $104 (dinner & show)–$130 (dinner & show) 8pm Jericco Annandale Hotel $12 (+ bf) 8pm John Field Duo Harbord Beach Hotel free Jus’ Gordon Tall Timbers Hotel, Ourimbah free 6pm Kate Vigo Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba $20 (show only)– $62 (dinner & show) 7pm Beatles Back2Back: Mark Seymour, Irwin Thomas, Rai Thistlethwayte, Dean McGrath, Tim Morrison, Jon Toogood State Theatre, Sydney $119 (B Res)–$139 (premium) 8pm Night Owl Down Under Bar & Bistro, Kings Cross free 8pm Rapture Club Rivers, Riverwood free 8:30pm Reckless Vagina, Priory Dolls, Big Dumb Kid, Kill City Creeps, Cabaret Callado Tone $10 8pm Retro Rewind Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford free 9:30pm Ross Ward Kincumber Hotel free 5pm Shane Nicholson Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $41–$83 (dinner & show) 8pm Spurs For Jesus Rose of Australia Hotel, Erskineville 9pm Stealing O’Neal, They Call Me Casper, Evacuate the Fallen St James Hotel, Sydney 8pm

Taylor King Lewisham Hotel $10 9pm The Australian Pink Show Engadine Tavern free 9:30pm The Conscious Pilots, The Soul Predators, Uncle Jed Notes Live, Enmore 8pm The Fitz Band Comp Fitz Cafe, St Ives free 7pm The Graveyard Train The Vanguard, Newtown 8pm The Ivys Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm The Nickelback Show Heathcote Hotel free 8:30pm Tim Kendell Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm

JAZZ

Judy Bailey Trio The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (member)–$20 8:30pm Maestro The Basement, Circular Quay $22 (+ bf)–$25 (at door) 9pm Ray Beadle Band Brass Monkey, Cronulla $18.90 (presale) 7pm The Strides 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 (member)–$20 8:30pm

SATURDAY AUGUST 13 ROCK & POP

Alvin ‘Youngblood’ Hart (USA) The Vault, Windsor $37.75 7pm Angelas Dish, The Black Heist, The Initiation, Asteroids Hermann’s Bar, Sydney University $10 8pm Back To Front Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm Bears With Guns, Daxton & The Sweet Lips, Bell Trees, Perpetual Motion Lewisham Hotel $10 6pm Brian Gillette Guildford Leagues Club free 10pm Brothers Grim, Blue Murders The Vanguard, Newtown 8pm Cliff & Dusty North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray $35 8pm Crows Feet, Lewis Club,

Distorted Sound Theory Coogee Diggers $10 8pm Dirt Farmers, Myth & Tropics Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 9pm Double Whammy Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm Fiona Leigh Jones Duo Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Go/No Go, Bayonets For Legs, Death Mattel, Michel Michel Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Harmony Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 9pm Hollie Andrew, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Shaun Rennie, Matthew Robinson Sidetrack Studio Theatre, Marrickville $28 (conc)–$35 7:30pm Hue Williams Ettalong Hotel, Ettalong Beach free 8pm James Taylor Tribute Brass Monkey, Cronulla $19.40 (presale) 7pm Jeff Duff The Basement, Circular Quay

ACOUSTIC/FOLK

Nikki Thornburn Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7:30pm

COUNTRY

Johnny Cash Tribute Show Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford $12 (member)–$15 6:30pm The Flood The Vault, Windsor $20 8pm Chicks Who Love Guns

WEDNESDAY 10TH AUGUST

FRIDAY 12TH AUGUST

TUESDAY 16TH AUGUST

FRIDAY 19TH AUGUST

THURSDAY 25TH AUGUST

FRIDAY 26TH AUGUST

48 :: BRAG :: 424 : 08:08:11

Wed 31/08 The Amazing Rhythm Aces (US) Thur 1/9 The Lucky Wonders CD launch Fri 2/09 Fred Smith Album launch Sat 3/9 Girlaxy presents – Coyote Ugly Fri 9/09 Otis Redding 70th Birthday Celebration w/ Johnny G & The E Types Sat 10/09 Little Scout Thur 15/09 Beauty & the Beast Maxine Kauter & James Edgar Francis Perform the songs of Disney Fri 16/09 Arabesk Sat 17/09 The Trews (Canada) Sun 18/09 Margot Smith Tribute Thur 22/09 Indie Redux with Bhagavad Guitars Sat 24/09 King Tide + Dog Trumpet Tues 25/09 Luna Tart (US) Wed 26 & Thur 27 Baecastuff present Mutiny Music Fri 28/09 Glenn Richards

PANDA BAND + The Bungalows + Montpelier

THURSDAY 11TH AUGUST

MATT CORBY, SAM STEPHENSON, MERRITY MURPHY, BOB STAMPER FRIDAY 12TH AUGUST

RAY BEADLE + Steve Flack

SATURDAY 13TH AUGUST

JAMES TAYLOR A TRIBUTE

SUNDAY 14TH AUGUST

THE LOUDS + Mount Glorious + Steve Cullen

TUESDAY 16TH AUGUST

BOATS OF BERLIN + Holland + Autumn For Kings

Wednesday 17th August Bob Log III Thursday 18 August Wendy Matthews Friday 19 August Rock Box Saturday 20 August FisherKing Sunday 21 August Jace Everett Wednesday 24 August Alvin Youngblood Hart Thursday 25 August Craig Woodward Friday 26 August King Tide Saturday 27 August Andy Bull Wednesday 31 August Jeff Martin Thursday 1 September Jeff Martin Friday 2 September Owl Eyes Saturday 3 September A Tribute to Bob Dylan Sunday 4 September Bonjah Wednesday 7 September Hayley Warner Thursday 8 September ElvisThe Hillbilly Cat Show Friday 9 September Ian Moss Saturday 10 September Ian Moss Sunday 11 September Max Wednesday 14 September Alloway Thursday 15 September The Trews Friday 16 September The Flood Saturday 17 September Johnny G & The E Types Friday 23 September Classic Rock Show Saturday 24 September Spy Vs Spy Sunday 25 September The Ghali Groove Band Thursday 29 September Glenn Richards Saturday 1 October The Trews Tuesday 4 October The Temptations Thursday 6 October Jack Ladder Friday 7 October Dusty- The Concert Sunday 9 October Sarah McLeod

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

Wolf & Cub $25 (+ bf)–$73.80 (dinner & show) 9:30pm Jellyfish Blacktown RSL Club free 10pm Jive Bombers Penrith RSL free 2pm Like Food For The Soul The Sandringham $12 8pm Beatles Back2Back: Mark Seymour, Irwin Thomas, Rai Thistlethwayte, Dean McGrath, Tim Morrison State Theatre, Sydney $119 (B Res)–$139 (premium) 8pm

Matt Scullion The Empire Bay Tavern free 7:30pm Merilyn Steele Maroubra RSL free 8:30pm Millennium Bug RG McGees Hotel, Richmond free 9:30pm Peachy Oatley Hotel free 8:30pm Pink Chevys Club Five Dock, Five Dock RSL free 8pm Ray Beadle Empire Hotel, Annandale $20 8pm

Regurgitator, Disasteradio, Step Panther Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $28.60 (presale) 8pm Shane Nicholson, Tenielle Neda Lizotte’s Restaurant, Kincumber $76 (dinner & show)–$86 (dinner & show) 8pm Shawn Lidster Breakers Country Club, Wamberal free 7pm Steve Edmonds Band Horsnby Inn free 9pm Stormcellar Bald Rock Hotel, Rozelle free 7:30pm Tall Pop Syndrome Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10:30pm The Elton Jack Show, Bigshot Campbelltown RSL $30 7:30pm The Founds, Tin Sparrow, Boats of Berlin Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $8 8pm The Panda Band Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills $10 (+ bf) 8pm Too Many Guitars Cronulla RSL free 7pm Wolf & Cub, Kill City Creeps Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free (early bird)–$15 8pm

JAZZ

Andrew Russell Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7:30pm Emma Pask 505 Club, Surry Hills $20–$25 8:30pm Leonie Cohen Trio The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (member)–$20 8:30pm

Brass Monkey, Cronulla $28.60 (+ bf) 7pm

HIP HOP

Halfway Crooks Phoenix $10 10pm

JAZZ

SUNDAY AUGUST 14 ROCK & POP

Ace Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 7pm Alvin Youngblood Hart, Paul Greene Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $41 7pm Angelas Dish Bateau Bay Hotel free 12pm Circle Pit, The Alice Cooper Show Tone $5 7pm David Angus Harbord Beach Hotel free 6:30pm Hollie Andrew, Kate Maree Hoolihan, Shaun Rennie, Matthew Robinson Sidetrack Studio Theatre, Marrickville $28 (conc)–$35 5pm Jamin, DJ Jamin & The Live Collective Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 5pm Monique Brumby Lizotte’s Restaurant, Kincumber $22 8pm Paul Watters Kincumber Hotel free 2pm Peter Northcote Bridge Hotel, Rozelle $10 3pm Soul Agents Club Five Dock, Five Dock RSL free 4pm The Cartwrights Marrickville Bowling and Recreation Club 4:30pm The Louds, Mount Glorious, Steve Cullen

Al Daveys MonStars Band Scenic Lounge, Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford 2pm Finn Bald Rock Hotel, Rozelle free 6pm Jive Bombers Cronulla RSL free 12pm Mark Hopper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 3pm

Paul Sun Trio Addison Road Community Centre, Marrickville free 9:30am The Peter Head Trio Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm The Subterraneans Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 7pm

ACOUSTIC/FOLK Anthony Hughes Oatley Hotel free 2pm

Myth & Tropics

COOGE E SAT AUG 13

TRIPLE SHOT OF ORIGINAL ROCK

3 LOCAL ORIGINAL BANDS FOR $10 @ DOOR

CROWS FEAT, LEWIS CLUB & DISTORTED SOUND THEORY COMING

SOON!

9TH OCT – MICK THOMAS SOLO + SHACKLETON + VAN WALKER & LIZ STRINGER – ONLY SYDNEY SHOW! 14TH OCT – JEFF MARTIN 777 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 :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 49

gig picks

up all night out all week...

Children Collide

(US (USA)

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10

The Panda Band

Daniel Merriweather, Fantine, Tin Sparrow, Fanny Lumsden, World Champion, Vista Views Tone, Surry Hills free 8pm Jim Ward (USA), Isaac Graham Annandale Hotel $22 (+ bf) 8pm

THURSDAY AUGUST 11 Matt Corby, Sam Stephenson, Merrity Murphy, Bob Stamper Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm $18.40 (+ bf) Red Fire Red, The Raids, Strike The Blonde, Lenox, Nova Soul DJs Tone $15 7pm Matt Corby

FRIDAY AUGUST 12 Alps Band (Mach II), The Nugs, Unity Floors Black Wire Records $10 7pm Chicks Who Love Guns Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 9pm

Children Collide, DZ Deathrays, Damn Terran Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $29.10 (presale) 8pm Reckless Vagina, Priory Dolls, Big Dumb Kid, Kill City Creeps, Cabaret Callado Tone $10 8pm The Graveyard Train The Vanguard, Newtown 8pm

SATURDAY AUGUST 13 Dirt Farmers, Myth & Tropics Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 9pm The Panda Band Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills $10 (+ bf) 8pm Wolf & Cub, Kill City Creeps Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free (early bird)â&#x20AC;&#x201C;$15 8pm

Daniel Merriweather

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BRAGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture

brag beats

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

Turn It On

Albatross + Simian Mobile Disco + Alex Smoke and more

BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 51

dance music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH

ANDY ZOOTIE FROM MAD RACKET Growing Up The Music You Make Grown up? …Who? ...But memories I love Detroit/deep sounds, whether it’s 1. 4. of my mother singing opera (well) in house or dubbed-out deep techno, but I also the mornings will always stick in my mind. Outside of that, hitting some of the Hordern dance parties and raves in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s really carved out my passion for music and parties, of course.

Inspirations So many. I’m always being inspired (to buy more music!) Some of my inspirations came from a long spell flat on my back in hospital as a teenager, with a reliable Sony walkman. I would just scan the airwaves listening to anything different; there’s only so much commercial radio that one can handle (0%).

Your Crew I am a quarter of Mad Racket, with Simon Caldwell, Ken Cloud and Jimmi James. We all have a passion for music and a good system to play on – we like it to sound good, and know how to have fun with it all!

love my electronica and beats. I’ve been collecting for a little while now, so whatever works for me I usually just buy – and if the chance arises, I’ll try and play it. Music, Right Here, Right Now Questions about obstacles are always 5. loaded, but for me it’s about you as an individual and making the most of your situation. There are plenty of good promoters (HAHA, the Highspirits crew, Picnic) out there willing to take a chance and putting on small underground parties, or touring an international so that people can hear something they normally wouldn’t. You have to respect that. With: Zootie (Mad Racket), Prize (Space Is The Place, Dave Fernandes (HAHA), Dean Dixon (HAHA) What: HAHA Under The Radar #12: Bermuda Where: Venue to be announced on the day When: Friday August 12, tix available from hahaindustries.com

DRAPHT SINGLE, TOUR

Perth hip hop lad Drapht, whose recent album The Life of Riley debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts, is about to embark on a national tour; he’ll headline an all-ages show at the Enmore theatre on Friday September 16 with support from special guests Muph and Plutonic, Thundamentals and Layla and Dazastah. The Life of Riley is Drapht’s fourth album, but the first release on Drapht’s own label The Ayems, and the theme of independence was an underlying motif throughout. Tickets are on sale now.

Mr Oizo

MAD RACKET

Mad Racket returns to the hallowed turf of Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday August 20, with a headline set from stalwart Sydneysider Stephen Alkins. Alkins is Australia’s longest serving dance DJ, and a more than handy producer too; he’s released LPs such as 1999’s History of Disco and is

MICKY FINN & MC SHABBA D

Need your ‘90s sweat-drippin’ rave fix? Keen to party with the professed ‘Godfather Of Jungle Music’? DnB Dynamo Micky Finn is heading down under for a tour that’s sure to lift the lid off Chinese Laundry this Friday August 12. DnB junkies will best know Finn as one of the innovators of the late ‘80s rave scene, where he was widely revered for his jungle beats and his monstrous tune ‘Bad Ass’ – which has become a pre-requisite on any DnB night. And what better way to strutt his party stuff than by bringing MC Shabba D along with him? We’re giving away five double passes so you and a friend can party like you’re at the Hacienda... All you have to do is tell us how he got the name ‘Mickey Finn’.

known for his output as the driving force behind [love] tattoo, who were responsible for one of the most recognisable club cuts of the past decade, 2001’s ‘The Bass Has Got Me Movin’. As ever, support will be provided by resident racketeers Ken Cloud, Simon Caldwell and Zootie, with tickets available for $20 on the door only.

PICNIC DJ AGENCY WAREHOUSE BASH

Picnic is starting up a DJ agency, and will celebrate by throwing a warehouse bash on Saturday September 3 that will feature DJ sets from local impresarios plucked from the Picnic roster. Hey Convict’s Tamas Jones, The Loin Brothers, Matt Trousdale, Andy Webb, Kali and Perfect Snatch will all be representing from 10pm till damn late. As usual it’s a BYO affair, and you can grab tickets through Resident Advisor. Stay up to date with all things Picnic through www.picnicstuff.com.au

Goldie

STEREOSONIC

Tickets for this year’s Stereosonic Festival, slotted for Saturday November 26 at Sydney Showgrounds in Homebush, went on sale last week and are available through stereosonic.com.au. The Stereosonic artist lineup comprises Dutch trance figurehead Armin Van Buuren – a chap who also has a law degree under his belt – compatriot Ferry Corsten (performing live), French enigma Mr Oizo, the Dirty Bird Claude VonStroke, Carl Cox, Benny Benassi, The Bloody Beetroots, Empire Of The Sun, Afrojack, Dirty South, Caspa + MC Rod Azlan, Zombie Nation, Kaskade, Guy Gerber, BT, The Gaslamp Killer, Deetron and The Two Bears (the collaboration between Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard and Greco-Roman’s Raf Daddy), along with a host of locals.

MARK REEDER 5.1 REMIXES

Mark Reeder, the founder of The Frantic Elevators and MFS Records and the man credited with transforming Paul van Dyk into a megastar DJ, will release a double CD entitled Mark Reeder 5.1 Remixes, which collates his remixes of The Pet Shop Boys, Anne Clark, Bad Lieutenant, Die Toten Hosen, Blank & Jones and John Foxx, along with the unreleased ‘Sweetest Perfection (Mark Reeder’s Sweetest Conception Remix)’, which was commissioned by Mute earlier in the year for the recent Depeche Mode remix album. “Many of the remixes have never before been released, and one of the nice things about the album is that these big names are balanced alongside newer artists such as Echoes, Vanessa Daou, May68, Electrobelle, Spartak and Fidelity Kastrow,” Reeder told Skrufff in a recent interview, before adding that “all tracks are in

glorious 5.1 wrap-around sound”. Mark Reeder 5.1 Remixes is set for release next month.

DAFT PUNK TRACK UNCOVERED

Soma Records is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a host of new releases and re-issues, the most exciting of which is a previously unreleased Daft Punk track. Found on a DAT tape called ‘Daft Drive’, the song was submitted to Soma along with ‘Rollin and Scratchin’, but in the end ‘Da Funk’ was released by the label with ‘Daft Drive’ being put on the back burner for a later release which never happened... until now. According to Soma’s Chris Lamb, the music is “live Daft Punk, the freaky vocals, pounding Roland drums & synths and that distinctive DP compression”. ‘Daft Drive’ will be released digitally on September 19, on Soma Records - 20 Years.

GOLDIE’S GARDEN PARTY AT CHINESE LAUNDRY

Chinese Laundry’s first garden party of the spring will be headlined by DnB don Goldie, responsible for the jungle/drum’n’bass classic LP Timeless. The leader of the iconic Metalheadz label is also something of an actor, having appeared in James Bond films along with Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, and he’s mixed the latest installment in the Fabriclive series (out now through fabric/Balance Music). Goldie was typically forthright when discussing the release, asserting, “I’m not claiming to be the best technical DJ, I never have done. For me, I try to get the alchemy right, which I’ve done on this mix: each of these are standalone tunes… When I think of the DnB tunes on this mix, I think of them as spiritual euphoria, like I’ve been lifted out of something.” Support for Goldie at Laundry on Saturday September 17 comes from Reload, Rollers Music and King Lee, with doors open from 3pm. $25 first release tickets are currently available online.

“I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it. I’m about to lose control and I think I like it” - THE POINTER SISTERS 52 :: BRAG :: 424 : 08:08:11

BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 53

dance music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH

DJ SMITHERS

taste were the family road trips to visit cousins an hour away. We had only two cassettes that would be played, both sides, one after the other and then over again – Nirvana’s Nevermind and Girls Greatest Hits Volume II. I think that really sums up my music taste in general and what I stubbornly play at all clubs. Inspirations Although I’ve had sudden revelations 2. that redirect my music taste for a few years at a time, Nirvana are really the strongest musical influence overall. Even though these days I don’t exclusively listen to rock’n’roll like I used to, Nirvana was enough of the good shit to actually pull me into music and to define me as a music head, even as a kid. It’s really all I’ve ever known about myself. Ha, maybe as an 8-year-old I found myself a music scene to help me find my place in the world – the Lillicot Family grunge scene. Your Crew I play a lot of indie clubs, a lot of shit at 3. Q-Bar, and my favourite place is the Clare

Growing Up I come from a big family, so I think the times that were most formative on my music

Hotel. My friend Kolet, the bar manager, asked me if me and my friend Bernadette (of Smithers & Berns) would bring my laptop along. Playing there was the funnest shit ever coz we get to play whatever we want; there’s no wankery to a set there. You play all the requests at the Clare coz they’re only ever

good requests from people who know music. The Music You Make I play a lot of heavily themed clubs like 4. Purple Sneakers, Teen Spirit, Propaganda and different hip hop nights. But when it comes down to it, nothing gets people off at the moment like a good RnB track from around the early 2000s – just old enough to be cool again. It’s kind of funny to see hardcore kids lose it to ‘Touch It’ by Monifah. Music, Right Here, Right Now At the moment I think pop and genre5. free parties are getting bigger for most alternative scenes. Maybe it’s that The Strokes ruled our Friday and Saturday nights so exclusively for so long that we’re looking for a little more balance, and maybe it’s the nostalgia that hipsterism is so obsessed with, but nights like Teen Spirit, Propaganda and Ice Cream Social (shameless plug for my own party right there) are mixing the two. Who: Smithers, Sveta, Tristan Hamilton, Sex Azza Weapon and more What: Hot Rod’s 2nd Birthday - Day Of The Dead Where: The Oxford Hotel / 134 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst (Taylor Square) When: Saturday August 13, from 10pm

recent album, Lux, was released last year and offers another accomplished assortment of experimental ‘wonky’ techno to his celebrated back catalogue. As usual, it’s cheaper for you to arrive at Laundry before 10pm, as from this point onwards the crowd and the cover charge both escalate.

The Last Kinection

LATE NIGHT TALES: MGMT

American duo MGMT have compiled the next in the Late Night Tales compilation series. Formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, MGMT consists of multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, both alumni of Wesleyan University. Their 2008 debut album Oracular Spectacular spawned the hits ‘Kids’ and ‘Electric Feel’, before 2010’s follow up Congratulations saw them embrace more of a progressive, guitar-driven sound. MGMT’s Late Night Tales features tracks from Suicide,

SEEKAE

When Sydney’s favourites Seekae played Manning Bar earlier this year, they exploded like some type of beautiful glitchyelectronica firework, covering the crowd below in a beautiful sonic orchestral glow. Since then, they’ve toured the states while you’ve sat at home listening religiously to +Dome, waiting desperately for a chance to catch them again. Wait no more, friends! BRAG’s got a couple of double passes up for grabs, to see Seekae play The Metro Theatre on Saturday August 20. If you want to get your hands on one, just send us the names of their first two releases. Spacemen 3, Julian Cope and The Durutti Column, along with MGMT’s own cover of ‘All We Ever Wanted Was Everything’ by Bauhaus. It will be released on October 7 through Late Night Tales/Balance Music.

PINKSILVER COMPILATION LAUNCH

Sydney techno label Pinksilver has announced the release of a new EP, ‘Downunder Dub’, from Berlin’s Nadja Lind and studio partner Helmut Ebritsch, which has been described as a release “for connoisseurs of avant-garde house and techno”. The title track ‘Downunder Dub’ is driven by dubby synths, while ‘India’ is a 17-minute epic that well and truly brings the aforementioned avant-garde. The EP also includes remixes from Pinksilver’s Markojux and Trinity & Beyond. Hit pinksilver.net to peruse the Pinksilver digital catalogue.

Jacques Renault

Art vs Science

ART VS SCIENCE GO REGIONAL

Fresh from receiving a nomination for triple j’s Australian Album of the Year for their debut album The Experiment, Sydney trio Art vs Science return to Australia in September for a series of regional gigs that will apparently be their last headline shows for a while… Art vs Science will perform at Panthers in Newcastle on Friday September 30, Bateau Bay Hotel on the Central Coast on Saturday October 1, and Waves in Wollongong on Sunday October 2. The tour announcement coincides with the release of new single, the melodic pop number ‘With Thoughts’.

THEOPHILUS HEADLINE

Brooklyn rapper Theophilus London has just dropped his debut album, Timez Are Weird These Days, and is heading down under for an album tour. Theophilus was already set to perform at the Enmore Theatre on Saturday August 27 in support of Big Boi, who is of course one half of Outkast, on a night that will also include a performance from Thundamentals – but it’s now been announced that Theophilus will also perform his own headline show at Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday August 31. Support will come courtesy of Polo Club, who will be performing off the back of their critically acclaimed debut album, The 13.

ALEX SMOKE AT LAUNDRY

Glaswegian proponent of dark and druggy minimal and experimental electronica, Alex Smoke returns to Sydney to play Chinese Laundry this Saturday August 13. Smoke is responsible for a number of critically acclaimed artist albums on the seminal Soma imprint, namely Incommunicado and Paradolia, to go with a varied collection of remixes for outfits like Depeche Mode, Junior Boys, Mylo and Andre Kraml. The classically trained musician released his debut mix compilation back in 2006 with Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi Vol. 3, following on from the efforts of Ewan Pearson and Luciano with a brooding voyage through dub techno, classic Detroit and new-wave minimalism. His most

JACQUES RENAULT

Jacques Renault, a man widely recognised around New York as a leading purveyor of underground disco and a key figure in the resurgence of the genre over the past few years, returns to Australia to play a set for Future Classic at Adult Disco at the Civic Underground, on Saturday August 27. First catching the eye through his output on the Wurst Edits and RVNG Of The Nerd imprints, it was the release of the anthemic ‘Brooklyn Club Jam’ – which Renault made with his friend Marcos Cabral under the pair’s Runaway moniker – on both DFA and Radioslave’s Rekids label that propelled Renault to that next level of fame; we’re talkin’ coke, money, sex, and glamour (maybe). He has since remixed the likes of Moby, LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost!, Chairlift and Sydney’s own Lost Valentinos, and released on Permanent Vacation, Italians Do It Better and Cosmo Vitelli’s I’m A Cliché imprint. Grab tickets through Moshtix.

“I want somebody who will spend some time. Not come and go in a heated rush” - THE POINTER SISTERS 54 :: BRAG :: 424 : 08:08:11

U-Tern Hot Disco And Classic Jams By Alasdair Duncan

anadian disco and house producer U-Tern, known to his friends as Vaughn Oliver, has remixed everyone from Holy Ghost! and Chromeo to Mark Ronson and Britney Spears, and makes addictive, retroflavoured tracks of his own with his band Oliver. This month sees him heading to Australia on a DJ tour, so we sent him a couple of questions about where he’s been, where he’s going, and what we can expect from his live shows... AD: Can you tell me a little bit about how you got into making music, and some of the artists who inspire you? VO: I got started as a hip hop DJ when I was young; I used to be really into scratching/ turntablism and DJ battles back then. From there my interests shifted into the production/ beat-making side of things – but it was a gradual progression. There are thousands of artists I love, but I’d say my biggest influences are DJ Premier, Daft Punk and Prince. AD: Is Los Angeles a good place to be a dance producer? VO: There’s really a lot going on here in terms of the record business side of things; a lot of top pop producers and labels are here, as well as some amazing up-and-coming dance artists, labels and parties, like Plastic Plates, Classixx, Cosmic Kids, Mad Decent, Hard Fest, Club Called Rhonda and so on… I’ve only been here for a couple months now and I’ve basically been in the studio everyday like a hermit, so I’m not totally aware of everything going on. AD: I really love the artwork you do for the Oliver singles – what are some of your main inspirations there? VO: I’ve been doing all my own designs and artwork for a while now, basically out of necessity. Before I got into music, back when I was still in high school, I was planning on being an illustrator or designer. I still really love visual arts, so I’m happy I could apply it in some way. I don’t really follow the art and design world, so I mostly get inspiration out of things I see around me daily, like street art, record sleeves and things online. When I lived in Vancouver I did a lot of flyer designs too, which kind of gave me a feel for proper layout design. I was never trained,

so I kind of had to teach myself the basics. AD: Can you tell me a bit about the gear that you use? VO: Up until recently I’d only been using software synths and samples. My partner in crime Oligee, who I share a studio with, has a really amazing collection of vintage instruments though: Mini-Moog, Prophet 5, Juno-60 and SH-5, just to name a few. It’s been really fun working with them, and they sound incredible. We really try and strike a balance between the old and new – most of our songs have both digital and analog elements. AD: A lot of artists say that they’ll be playing with a synth, and when something unexpected comes out, that forms the basis for a track. Does that hold true for you? VO: It really does happen that way sometimes – I think that’s why many producers are so into analog gear. The best instruments are the ones that have that “random” element where you can play around and it creates an interesting sound, something that you normally wouldn’t have come up with [on your own]. AD: Your tracks remind me a bit of Azari & III who, funnily enough, also happen to be Canadian. Are you a big fan of theirs? I’m a fan for sure – it’s really great to see that they’re getting some attention internationally now. I remember when we were going to book them for a club night a few years back but it didn’t work out – they didn’t really have a fan base yet, and the club couldn’t afford to bring them in. Bummer! I’m excited to hear their album when it drops. AD: When you’re given a track to remix, how do you approach that versus how you might approach an original of your own? VO: With most remixes I try and keep the original vocal intact, so it’s really about trying to get the best out of it musically. We try to do a version of what we would have liked the original track to sound like, and just take it in a different direction. You’re sometimes limited with what works melodically, so you don’t have as many options as you do when you’re making an original song.

“I’m a bigger fan of Australian music than music from anywhere else in the world at the moment... Probably half of my sets are made up of Australian tracks.” AD: What are you working on currently? VO: We have a bunch of remixes coming out very soon for Sneaky Sound System, Penguin Prison and Housse De Racket. We’re also currently working on an Oliver EP for Kitsuné, but it’s still in the early stages. After that, we plan on putting together an album. AD: We have a vibrant electro community down here in Australia, and Modular (who are touring you) are a very big part of it. Are you a fan of the music that’s coming from this part of the world? VO: I’m a bigger fan of Australian music than music from anywhere else in the world at the

moment – there are so many amazing artists, it’s really something to be proud of. Probably half of my sets are made up of Australian tracks. AD: What can we expect from your set? VO: If you’ve heard any of my ‘One Day Later’ mixes, that’s pretty much what you can expect musically: hot disco, house, techno and classic jams. Anything that grooves. What: DJ U-Tern Where: Tone, Sydney When: Saturday August 13

BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 55

Albatross High Flyers By Digby Woods ydney’s electro scene has experienced a boom in the last couple of years, thanks in part to the popular embrace of experimental electronica across the globe. In Australia, the forerunners of this renaissance have (arguably) been acts like Seekae and PVT. But now a new contender is biting at their heels – Albatross.

songwriting, and at the end of the day, that’s our main focus: making good tracks. We never really set out to make a certain kind of music, and those first Albatross tracks just came to fruition by accident, really. Since then we’ve been trying to take it further into what we really want, rather than keeping it as something we came up with by accident.

The Sydney duo, comprised of Sam Weston and Thomas McAlister (both ex-Chambers), have been crafting slinky downbeat electronica for a little over a year now; the kind of mellow, head-nodding beats that would be a perfect soundtrack for floating in zero-gravity. Having recently signed to Life Aquatic and a new agency, Astral People, the two high school friends are set to release their debut EP later this year, both in digital and on vinyl. We caught up with the prodigious pair to talk about their origins, their songwriting and Sydney electronica.

What kind of equipment do you use, both in the studio and on stage? SW: It’s kind of a big mix of everything. Where we get our sounds from – it could be something we get from Logic, or something done with a machine or samplers, MPCs, or going down to the park and recording ourselves jumping in the rain [laughs]. Really, it’s just anything and everything. TM: We’ve spent days in the studio that Sam works at, playing pianos and guitars, or we could be sitting on the bus with our laptop using purely VSTs – whatever the track calls for. But we don’t sample other music, just our own stuff.

So how did the two of you meet? Sam Weston: We’ve known each other since the start of high school, and have been working together musically since then. Thomas McAlister: Previously we were in Chambers, playing guitar and bass. But it’s fun now to finally have a name for the weird shit we’ve done as Albatross. Did you find it difficult to try your hand at such a different type of music? TM: We’ve always been really comfortable with

Do you find beat-based electronica is underappreciated in Australia, compared to the indie rock/garage acts that seem to thrive? SW: Not anymore. It seems like the consciousness is shifting [towards our type of music] now. A couple of years ago I would’ve agreed, but these days everyone is really getting into it. There’s been a good resurgence in Sydney, as far as electronica goes.

What do you attribute that to? TM: A couple of really good international artists. On a global scale, [this music is] just getting more popular. People seem to be catching on to these incredible acts and realising that [the genre] has a ‘cool’ vibe… People are just finally opening their minds up to things that are left of centre, which is extremely refreshing.

last few months, that we’re happy with calling Albatross. SW: There are too many tracks lying around at the moment to ignore. We’ve got enough together now that if we put in the last little bit of work, we’ll have something that we’re really pleased with.

What are you working on at the moment? SW: We’re working on something, although we’re not exactly sure what to call it. It could be an EP, it could be an album, it could be anything in between – but we’re definitely working on something... TM: We’ve only just found a sound, in the

With: Jonti, Bon Chat Bon Rat, Wintercoats and Dro Carey Where: Astral People launch party @ Tone, Surry Hills When: Saturday August 27 More: facebook.com/astralpeople

Simian Mobile Disco Alex Smoke Music For The Future By Rick Warner

Sounds More Human By Miki McLay photos of their little studio, crowded with charming pieces of decaying analogue synthesisers and old-school outbound gear. Their material is rehearsed, played out between them and recorded straight into Pro Tools with little editing in between. It’s a technique not often employed in electronic dance music, and one you wouldn’t necessarily pin them to when listening to their riotous brand of acid-tinged electro – but it sounds perfect on record. Jas explains their aversion to relying on sequencers and editing in digital audio workstations as a purely creative thing. “Most producers spend so much time in front of a computer pushing pixels around, and I think it’s easy to get caught up in that and forget what’s important. We rehearse and record things in one take – it gives our sound a lot more personality, and makes it sound more human.”

“W

e’ve never tried to do what people expect of us, I suppose.” Therein lies the philosophy of Simian Mobile Disco – the shy knob-fiddling duo behind dancefloor-destroying tunes like ‘Tits and Acid’, ‘Hustler’ and that infamous mashup with Justice, ‘We Are Your Friends’. Their CV includes collaborative works with Alexis Taylor from Hot Chip, Beth Ditto of The Gossip, and Chris Keating from Yeasayer, commandeering production for Florence And The Machine, Peaches, and The Klaxons, and a swag of remixes including for The Presets, CSS, Ladytron, Björk and Muse. Jas Shaw and James Ford met at Manchester University, studying philosophy and biology respectively – and while both enjoyed their studies, they were motivated by something more. “The Manchester scene is big, but not too big,” Jas says. “London can be so big you get lost in all these different scenes, but in Manchester it’s small enough that you eventually meet everybody – and we were there to meet other people.” From there they joined their first band, an indie quartet named Simian, who broke up after an extensive and tiring tour of the United States. By that point, Simian Mobile Disco had already been established, but almost as a joke, the latter half of their moniker referring to the mobile discos native to their home of the UK, and recalling images of balding sweaty dudes playing bad 90s dance music at bad 50th birthdays. Thankfully, SMD are a cut above all that. Their background in an indie band provides context for their current incarnation. Their production set-up, for instance, differs vastly from that of most dance music producers – Google it, and you’ll find some fabulous

Given that they’re headed down here in just over a month for Parklife, it seemed natural to spend most of our time discussing their live performance. Jas cites everybody from Autechre and The Chemical Brothers to Deerhunter and Underworld as some of the best acts they’ve checked out in a live setting – all of which are known for their eclecticism, melodicism and propensity to tear up the rulebook. We get distracted briefly talking about their 2007 shows at Underworld’s ‘Oblivion Ball’ in Tokyo, and Jas is more than happy to reminisce. “Their setup is ridiculous,” he says. “They’ve got all these laminated strips over their mixer, labels telling them what’s what, just because of how much they’ve got going on! And some of the things they do…” Jas tells me that at the core of things, SMD’s own live setup is similar to their in-studio shenanigans. “It’s the same equipment – we’ve got doubles of most of our gear, because of how much they’re used both in the studio and on the road.” One would assume that this means their live gigs are carefully rehearsed and pre-planned, but I’m surprised to hear that it’s almost the opposite. “Some of the setlist is planned and we’ll come up with a few songs that we want to play, and often the setlist will include sections where it just says ‘jam’! We can’t do that the whole time, though, otherwise it just sounds like a weird improv session – which most festival crowds aren’t there to see.” With: The Gossip, Lykke Li, Santigold, Death From Above 1979, Duck Sauce, Katy B, Crystal Fighters, Digitalism, The Streets, SebastiAn, MSTRKRFT and loads more Where: Parklife 2011 @ Kippax Lake, Moore Park When: Sunday October 2

t’s 10.30am and Alex Menzies (aka Alex Smoke) is full of candour. In the twenty minutes that I chat with him from his London flat, the topics swing from his disgust for laptop DJs to how his book collection makes him seem like a “pretentious cock”. Completely honest, though never vitriolic, Alex Smoke interviews much like how he makes his music: without compromise. He’s currently preparing for a month-long sojourn to Australia and New Zealand; either his fourth or fifth time down under (he couldn’t remember), but he tells me that a trip to our shores is always something he looks forward to. “Well, my dad’s a Kiwi…” he says in a thick Scottish brogue, “so I’ve got loads of family over there. So yeah, it’s a real kind of holiday destination for me.” Originally from Glasgow but now living in London (a city which he was once quoted as saying had “too many wankers”), Alex Smoke got his start on famed techno label Soma Records in the mid 2000s – but as traditional techno became a more mainstream commodity, he started to drift left-field. Finding solace in the borderless creativity offered by the broad ‘electronica’ genre, Alex Smoke now mourns what techno has become. “I cannot listen with a straight face to so much techno and house,” he says. “I mean, I really love techno, but there’s so much that is simply looking backwards, and that’s really not enough for me. I want to be hearing progress. The whole point of techno is that it’s music for the future. I think it needs to recapture a bit of that, to be honest.” While techno has lost favour with Smoke, his comments are kinder regarding electronica and dubstep; the meteoric ascent of that particular sound doesn’t bother him all that much. “I love it – the creativity at the moment. There are so many people just not giving a fuck about genre, like – just making music that you couldn’t actually even put in a pigeonhole,” he says. “It’s just stuff which [has] a myriad of influences, and that’s the stuff I like to listen to. I hate to hear people just copying the same old shit.” To separate himself from this glut of likeminded DJs, Alex Smoke is purely a live act. When asked about how he puts together a set, he insists he keeps it pure. “Plenty of hardware. I used to do a laptop-only set back when I started, but to be honest, my heart sinks when I see someone playing with just a laptop. Just really boring to watch.” But being a live act, there are sacrifices to make. The much-maligned ‘laptop DJs’ have become the standard in clubbing, and Smoke’s stance against the trend has affected his playing schedule. “When you’re in the hype machine – when I had the albums on Soma during the minimal house rush – you get offered endless

gigs. I had to turn down loads, whereas nowadays I’ve drifted left-field and I’ve been a bit more circumspect – and I don’t get asked to play Ibiza Mansion parties anymore,” he laughs. “That’s all fine with me. You just have to crack on and do what you think is creatively important to you. I’m still busy enough to make a living, which is what counts.” Upon his return to Australia this month, Alex Smoke assures me that with all this talk about going left-field, he’ll still bring his definition of techno to the party: “Techno is dance floor. The whole point of it is for dancing. It’s dancing music. It’s about getting sweaty in a club. That’s what it’s all about.” With: Andosound, D-Cup, Dr Don Don, Matt Nugent, Matttt, Athson, Foniko, King Lee and Mike Hyper Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday August 13

“I’m so happy doin’ the neutron dance. I’m just burning doin’ the neutron dance” - THE POINTER SISTERS 56 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

Soul Sedation

Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

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

Wareika

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.

ON THE ROAD DJ Maestro

isten up – all you soul heads will want to know about the late announcement of a Daniel Merriweather show at Tone this Wednesday August 10. Not the most underground of artists, but the Australian expat has impressed a broad spectrum of music lovers with his diverse and high calibre catalogue. I expect this show will sell out – Tone can’t take hundreds of people (yet) – so you might want to get your hands on a ticket as-soon-as-you-read-this-ish.

give a nod to the old school by mixing completely off vinyl, but the twist is that both mixes use the exact same set of tracks, though each is sequenced and mixed differently. Johannsen’s mix is apparently more of an off-the-cuff affair, done in one take – the complete antithesis to the anemic Ableton mixes of today – while Goldmann has been a bit more meticulous in his mix of the same pool of tracks. It will be interesting to see whether this is at the expense of immediacy – you often create a magic when mixing live that is not as easily cultivated through a carefully-planned studio mix. I guess that’s an underlying issue that this release will address.

Portable

lan Abrahams, aka Portable, will release his fifth artist album, Into Infinity, on hallowed techno bastion Perlon Records next month. An itinerant who has lived in several countries after growing up in Capetown, Abrahams has released on labels like Spectral Sound, and crafts druggy, pop-infused house and techno, such as last year’s trippy spokenword number ‘Life Magically Is’, a track that was picked up and heavily supported by Seth Troxler. Into Infinity will be Abrahams’ debut LP on Perlon, and features guest appearances from Lakuti, Efdemin and Johannes Schön. In my quasi-discerning opinion, this is one oddball release worth checking out. In news that should pique the interest of readers who don’t own turntables (but wish they did), Theo Parrish’s Ugly Edits are being compiled for a CD release. No selfrespecting record collection is complete without the odd bootleg 12-inch, but few people are fortunate enough to own any original pressings of the eight Ugly Edits platters, which were hand-spraypainted by Parrish and issued in tiny quantities over the course of 2002-4, with only a handful of copies making it out of the USA. Artists subjected to Theo’s scalpel include Jill Scott, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, Freddie Hubbard, Sylvester, Roger Troutman and Eta James. Most of the bootleg versions have offered inferior sound-quality, as I’ll attest – I've found some of them online as digital files over the years, but the sound was so murky I didn’t even bother giving them the proper listen they deserve. No doubt the quality will be far superior on this limited edition official CD issued by Theo himself. No release date has been set, but rest assured that when the CD does emerge, it will sell out fast, so keep your eyes, and ears, peeled. On the subject of turntables, those with a penchant for the wax format should be well aware of the Macro label, which will release its very first compilation – aptly named Macrospective – next month. The release will feature two discs, mixed by Finn Johannsen and Stefan Goldmann respectively, each comprised of many of the memorable cuts that can be found in the Macro back catalogue, including productions from Raudive, Ricardo Villalobos and even the now-deceased disco pioneer Patrick Cowley. Both guys

Hamburg trio Wareika will release a remix compilation, Per Aspera Ad Astra, through the Connaisseur imprint in a few months time. The album title translates as “through hardships to the stars”, a fitting maxim for a hardworking group of musicians with humble origins (it’s a variation on your standard triumph-through-adversity theme). Only last year, Wareika released two consecutive albums: Formation on the Danish boutique label Tartelet Records, and Harmony Park on the aforementioned Perlon Records. The forthcoming compilation collects ten of Wareika’s reworks of other artists, such as Gus Gus, Kasper Bjorke and Mathias Kaden, along with original intro and outro tracks and an unreleased remix of Kollektiv Turmstrasse’s ‘Tristesse’. And for anyone after a Wareika gem that’s not offered on this compilation, seek out the Villalobos rework of their track ‘King’s Child’. Despite me not discussing forthcoming events in this week’s column, there’s plenty to look forward to over the next few weeks. This Friday offers the next instalment in HaHa’s Under The Radar warehouse party series, which will comprise sets from Space Is The Place’s Prize, Zootie and residents Dave Fernandes and Dean Dixon. Also, it’s been confirmed that German minimal proponent Robag Wruhme, one half of the now defunct Wighnomy Brothers, and the man responsible for one of the best electronic albums of the year in Thora Vukk, is touring Australia this September. But at this stage, details of his Sydney gig are shrouded in mystery…

LOOKING DEEPER FRIDAY AUGUST 12 HaHa Under The Radar Warehouse venue TBC

FRIDAY AUGUST 12 DJ Maestro The Basement

Digital downloads have just become cheaper, with Trackitdown announcing a ten pound (around $15.50) monthly subscription deal than allows unlimited downloads. Readers of this column might be interested in the breaks, DnB and dubstep sections of the site. Producers and labels will receive the same download fees as before, and the website will shoulder the cost of the reductions. The question is, will we see a roll-on effect through to the prices on Juno, Beatport et al?

SATURDAY AUGUST 13

Those of you who read the interesting article by Saffron Howden on the topic of the Kings Cross Licensing Accord (the Kings X venueowner cartel) in the SMH last week might have picked up on the announcement of the impending implementation of ID scanners to the area. If you're looking for another reason to stay home, this might be it. Who really needs a hotel owner group (and potentially police) gathering info on your partying habits? Hopefully these scanners aren’t applied uniformly to all licensed premises in the Cross. Small clubs like Tonic, for example, shouldn’t need to bother with this extra layer of regulation...

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17

To new music, and J Boogie’s Dubtronic Science has a new record out through Om Records this October. The lead single is entitled ‘Undercover,’ and features vocals from Chrys Anthony. There’s also a new Spank Rock album on the cards, Everything Is Boring And Everyone Is A Fucking Liar. Since Yoyoyoyoyo came out to devastating effect in 2006, MC Spank Rock has been fairly quiet. The new single ‘Energy’ has a decidedly non-hip hop feel, and the second, ‘DFT DADT’, I don’t like so much either; the track needs a little more hip hop and a little less hipster. I suppose it’s no surprise that an artist whose debut was as lavishly praised as this would start going up his own arse on the sophomore album. There you are, panned it. The record is due out September 27. Look out for the new Jembe Music mixtape from local DJ James Locksmith. I’ve only gotten half way through it at the time of writing but there’s some dope tracks on here. The mix weaves through rare groove, funk, hip hop and, of course, Jembe’s staple dancefloor Afro vibe. For the fix up, head to soundcloud.com/jembemusic Finally a release date for the new Katalyst album emerges. September 16 will see Australia’s finest hip hop producer drop his third full-length album, Deep Impressions (the title of which makes one wonder if he’s been quietly reading BRAG in between studio sessions and picking up subtle subconscious cues). If the first taste of this album – ‘Day Into Night (ft. Stephanie McKay)’ – is anything

U-Tern Tone

SATURDAY AUGUST 27

Big Boi, Theophilus London Enmore Theatre

The Herd, Sietta Metro Theatre

Public Opinion Afro Orchestra Oxford Art Factory to go on, the Sydney musician is once again going to blow all the competition out of the water. You can expect guest appearances from the Pharcyde’s Bootie Brown, Mr Clean and Coin Locker Kid, as well as some of the usual suspects. It’s out through Invada Records. In more Invada news, Ru CL’s second album Brimstone & Fire is also out this week. The record features production from Katalyst, Sandro, Peak Hour, Lance Wilson, 7stu7 and Luke Pierre. Neo-soul heads should track down the new single release from the Hawthorne Headhunters, ‘If You Were My Baby’. The “smoothness” of this US trio’s approach will put some people off, but anyone into SaRa, PPP etcetera will get into the soul/beat fusion here. I’m a massive fan of their debut EP, in particular the track ‘She Wanna'. A full Headhunters album is due out on Plug Research next year. Outkast fans unite as the Big Boi tour approaches. He’ll be supported at the Enmore on August 27 by breakthrough Brooklyn emcee Theophilus London – who’s just released his debut Timez Are Weird These Days. And a Theophilus side show has popped up as well for fans: Wednesday August 31 at the Oxford Art Factory. And last but not least, this column recommends you head to Tone this Saturday night to catch Canadian DJ U-Tern on the wheels of steel (aka Macbook). Get there early to catch local supports Mase Boogie (Paper Plane Project), Jack Prest (Flatwound) Gian Arpino, Downtown Brown and Shan Frenzie, who'll be throwing down some ish on the night as well.

SATURDAY AUGUST 20 No Frills Techno GoodGod Small Club

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 10 Disconnected ft Lucy Civic Underground

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17 Resident Advisor X Civic Underground

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

Theophilus London

Send stuff for this column to tonyedwards001@gmail.com by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to art@thebrag.com BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 57

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

club pick of the week Alex Smoke

SATURDAY AUGUST 13

Chinese Laundry, Sydney

Alex Smoke (UK),

D-Cup, Dr Don Don, Matt Nugent, Foniko, Matttt, Andosound, Mike Hyper $15 (early bird)–$25 9pm MONDAY AUGUST 8 Club 77, Kings Cross Sideways Fridays 10pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Balls Ben Lucid, Nat Noize, Dimes DJ, Girls Gone Wrong, Skarlett, Lone Wolf, Cunningpants $12 9pm World Bar, Kings Cross Mondays at World Bar 16 Tacos, Pipemix free 8pm

TUESDAY AUGUST 9 The Gaff, Darlinghurst Coyote Tuesday Kid Finley, Johnny B free 9pm The Valve, Tempe Underground Tables Myme, Ato, Gee Wiz, Benji, BC, One Am, Allstars 6pm World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic free 8pm

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10 Bank Hotel, Newtown Girl’s Night Heart Attack free 9pm Beach Road Bondi Juggernaut DJs

58 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

Marlborough Hotel, Newtown DJ Moussa 11pm Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney Wednesday Night Live 7pm The Hive Bar, Erskineville Vinyl Club 8pm The Station Resort, Sydney PotBelleez $23.30 9pm Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain Swing Patrol $14 7pm World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall free 8pm

THURSDAY AUGUST 11 Front Bar, Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Club Al Levins, McInnes, Joe Gadget free 8pm Home The Venue, Sydney I Love Unipackers Steve Frank, John Young $5 8pm Jacksons On George Ultimate Party Venue Resident DJ’s free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Retail Therapy Nad, Mr Belvedere, Kristy Lee 8pm The Cube Potbellez 8pm The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill The Cool Room feat. AJAX 9pm The White Horse, Surry Hills Let Loose 7pm

The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Propaganda DJs free (student)–$5 9pm UTS Main Campus, Ultimo The Hollywood Anthem Tour The Only 8pm

FRIDAY AUGUST 12 Bank Hotel, Newtown Friendly Fridays DJs Beth Yen & Jeremy Kirschner free 9pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach Movement Kato, Victim, DJ Huwston, Mason & Bennett, Preacha free 8pm Blue Hotel, Woolloomooloo Friday Shines The Groove Academy feat. Sarah Hyland (live) free 6pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Micky Finn, Shabba D, Rollers Music, Linken & Vertigo, Mark Bionic, Rubber Dub Step, Scoops $15 (early bird)–$25 10pm Civic Underground We Belong Muray (Reckless Republic), James Taylor, Taras (Miami Digital & Ho-Ju Records), Murray Lake $10 9pm Club 77, Kings Cross We.MONSTA, Jitter & Dither, Scoops, Rubio $15/20 10pm Cohi Bar DJ Shamus & DJ Anders Hitchcock

Cronulla RSL DJ Michael Stewart free 8pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Slowblow feat Slowblow, Softwar and Gay Bash DJs 11pm Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale Mark Bionic 9pm Goldfish, Darlinghurst Funktank Mike OConnor, Fabz, Drop Dead Ed 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Donny Benet, Kirin J. Callinan, Collarbones $10 8pm Home The Venue, Sydney Digital Therapy Adam Byrne, Big J, Likewise DJs $10 9pm HAHA Industries HAHA present Bermuda feat. Zoote, Prize, Dave & Dean Jackson on George Ultimate Party Venue Resident DJ’s free King Street Hotel, Newcastle inthemix Awards Tom Piper 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays Devola, Frames, Julian Sparrow, Isbjorn. Kristy Lee, 8pm Mounties Potbellez 8pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 9pm Oxford Art Factory Friday I’m In Love free 12am Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Wolfden Wolfden DJs $10 9pm Settlement Bar, Sydney Spoilt J Smalls free 6pm Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney MixTape 6pm Supper Club Fairfield RSL Club Intimate Lounge Music 7pm The Basement DJ Maestro $22 8pm The Marlborough Hotel Resident DJ’s free The Roxy Pleasure P $59 7:30pm Upstairs Beresford Pluto Jonze 5pm Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Club Parada CP Banda free 9pm

SATURDAY AUGUST 13 Bank Hotel, Newtown Alex Almeida, Meem free 9pm Baroque Nightclub Apocalypse Vman & Cruz, Scatterbrain, DDC DJs, Deadbead DJs, VJ Manik $10 9pm Blue Hotel, Woolloomooloo Saturday Night Deluxe Daniel Rowntree free 8pm Cargo Bar, Darling Harbour The Institute of Music 9pm Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford Red Nightclub free 9:30pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Alex Smoke (UK), D-Cup, Dr Don Don, Matt Nugent,

Foniko, Mattt, Andosound, Mike Hyper $15 (early bird)– $25 9pm Coach and Horses Hotel, Randwick Retro Night free 8pm Cohi Bar DJ Mike Silver & DJ Anders Hitchcock Dee Why Hotel Kiss & Fly Ben Morris, Kaiser, Olsen 8pm Empire Hotel, Darlinghurst Empire Saturdays Empire DJs free 9pm Forbes Hotel Cube Kerry Wallace, Edoardo Perlo, Tom Brereton, Amy Fairweather, Kimba $15 10pm Goldfish Housexy Jack Mccord, Matt Cahill, Johnny Gleeson, Tom Kelly $20 9pm GoodGod SmallClub La Mancha Negra $10 10pm Hollywood Hotel Dean Dixon (HAHA), Dave Fernandes (HAHA), BurnHard, Northern Soul Poster Boy $5 Jacksons On George, Sydney Ultimate Party Venue Resident DJ’s free 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst TRASHBAGS present DJ Attention, Trashbag DJs 8pm Penrith Panthers Potbellez The Basement Funkdafied & Double Lucky Industries Presents DJ Maestro & Omegaman Sound System The Eastern Sick Vibez Oz Launch Party Ruby Lounge Scruby, TheGoodTimeKid, Raissa, Werner, Elixar, Mike Blades The Gaff, Darlinghurst Johnny B free 9pm The Mansion, Darlinghurst Let Them Play Simon Bell, Sam Roberts, Skin, Paulo Marques, Tezzel, Felipe Cintra $10 9pm The Marlborough Hotel Resident DJ’s free

DJ Antention

The Polo Lounge and Supper Club, Darlinghurst Robopop $10 10pm The Station Resort Obese Records Illy, Thundamentals, Dialectrix, Spit Syndicate $28 9pm The Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction Tim Whitney free 9pm The Valve, Tempe Underground Tables Myme, Ato, Gee Wiz, MC Benji, BC, One Am, Allstars free 6pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! James Taylor, Kato, Ben Morris, Illya, Telefunken, Ro Sham Bo, Discopunx, Ben Korbel, Adam Bozzetto, Pablo Calamari, foundation, Boonie, Andy Webb $15/20 9pm Tone, Surry Hills U-Tern, Gian Arpino, Shan Frenzie, Downtown Brown, Jack Prest, Mase Boogie $10 (+ bf) 8pm Tonic Lounge Funkdafied Mr Thing $18 9pm Vegas Lounge, Darlinghurst The Egyptian Egyptian DJs free 11pm Watershed Hoted The Watershed Presents... Skybar

SUNDAY AUGUST 14 Alexandria Hotel Sunhaze Future Classic DJs free 2pm Bank Hotel, Newtown Glitter Sundays DJ Kitty Glitter free 4pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Picnic Sundays Mirror Mirror, Kali 6pm Fake Club, Kings Cross Spice Adam Swain, Robbie Lowe, Murat Kilic 4am Jacksons on George Aphrodisiac Industry Night Resident DJ’s free 8pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Session DJ Tone free 7pm Phoenix Bar DEFEKT 5pm Sweeney’s Rooftop Sundaes Hanna Gibb, Ty $10 12pm The Hive Bar, Erskineville Revolve Records DJs free 5pm The White Horse Hotel SASH Sundays feat. Robbie Lowe, Jay Smalls, Mattt, Sam Roberts, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace 12pm $10 The Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction Anthony K, Demolition, Gee, Gary Honor free 4pm Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Afternoon DJ’s DJ Brynstar World Bar, Kings Cross Disco Punx free 6pm

club picks up all night out all week...

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10 Beach Road Hotel Midnight Juggernauts DJs, Butcher Blades / free 8pm World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall free 8pm

THURSDAY AUGUST 11 Darlie Laundromatic, Surry Hills D & Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beat Kitchen Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Retail Therapy Nad, Mr Belvedere, Kristy Lee 8pm The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill The Cool Room AJAX 9pm

FRIDAY AUGUST 12 Civic Underground We Belong Murat (Reckless Republic), James Taylor, Taras (Miami Digital & Ho-Ju Records), Murray Lake $10 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Slow Blow DJs Slow Blow, Softwar, Gay Blow 11pm Venue TBA HAHA present Bermuda feat. Zoote, Prize, Dave & Dean $20 10pm

Softwar

SATURDAY AUGUST 13

Lowe, Jay Smalls, Matttt, Sam Roberts, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace 12pm $10

Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst TRASHBAGS present DJ Antention, Trashbag DJs 8pm

U-Tern

Tone, Surry Hills U-Tern, Gian Arpino, Shan Frenzie, Downtown Brown, Jack Prest, Mase Boogie $10 (+ bf) 8pm

SUNDAY AUGUST 14 Fake Club, Kings Cross Spice Adam Swain, Robbie Lowe, Murat Kilic 4am The White Horse Hotel SASH Sundays Robbie

Day Ravies Crooked Saint Dirt Farmers No Art Ghostwood Unity Floors Rayon Moon Chopper and the Honeyboy James Domeyko 302 Crown Street Darlinghurst 02 9368 1548 Wednesday through to Saturday from 5pm to 2am Sunday 6pm to 2am

BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 59

snap sn ap

opiuo

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up all night out all week . . .

club toxic

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29:07:11 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 93323711

steppin' out

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30:07:11 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93316245

29:07:11 :: Tone:: 116 Wentworth Ave Surry Hills 9267 6440

It’s called: Slow Blow ‘Hot’n’Sexy Party’ It sounds like: Disco, house and techno – in that order. Who’s spinning? Slow Blow, Softwar and Gay Blow DJs Three songs you’ll hear on the night: John Paul Young – ‘Love Is in The Air’; Lil Louis – ‘French Kiss’; Farley Jackm aster Funk – ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’ And one you definitely won’t: LMFAO – you will definitely not hear anything like that.

mum

29:07:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

last night

PICS :: VN

Sell it to us: Hot’n’Sexy fun from Sydney’s least ironic DJs The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The Smok e Machine. The Lasers. But mostly you’ll remember the smoke mach ine. Crowd specs: Chilled out good time hot’n’s exy music lovers plus five chin strokers in the corner trainspotting every tune. Wallet damage: $10 ‘All night long, baby.’ Where: GoodGod Small Club When: Friday August 12

PICS :: TP

party profile

hot'n'sexy party

propaganda

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29:07:11 :: The Gaelic Theatre :: 64 Devonshire St Surry Hills 92111687

28:07:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700 60 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

:: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) :: THOMAS PEACHY :: ROSETTE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER YN NGU Y VICK :: NS :: DANIEL MUN :: CAI GRIFFIN :: ASHLEY MAR ROUHANNA

BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11 :: 61

snap

foster the people

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wham!

28:07:11

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up all night out all week . . .

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

goodgod

PICS :: DM

30:07:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

It’s called: S.A.S.H It sounds like: Sundays Are Shit Hot Who’s spinning? Robbie Lowe, Jay Smalls, Mattt, Sam Rober ts, Matt Weir and6 Kerry Wallace Three songs you’ll hear on the night: ‘Base ment feat. Daniel Wilde (Matthias Tanzmann Remix); ‘City Life feat. Cari Golden (Maceo Plex Remix)’; ‘Next to You (Maya Jane Coles Remix )’. And one you definitely won’t: Anything that reeks of commercial rubbish!

q-bar

29:07:11 :: Q-Bar :: 34-44 Oxford st, Darlinghurst 93601375

Sell it to us: Every second and fourth Sunda y of the month, $10 all day, 9 hours of REAL music through Funktion 1 sound, the best of local and international DJs and a crowd that knows how to party. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Sunda ys are back…! Crowd specs: Music heads and industry peeps letting fly on Sunday and kissing goodbye Monday! Wallet damage: $10 all day Where: The White Horse / Crown Street, Surry Hills When: Sunday August 14/ midday – 9pm

hot damn

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golden era 28:07:11 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93316245 62 :: BRAG :: 424 :: 08:08:11

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party profile

s.a.s.h

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30:07:11 :: GOODGOD :: 55 Liverpool St. Sydney 92673787

30:07:11 :: Tone:: 116 Wentworth Ave Surry Hills 9267 6440 :: KATRINA CLARKE S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) :: THOMAS PEACHY :: ROSETTE OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER YN NGU Y VICK :: NS :: DANIEL MUN :: CAI GRIFFIN :: ASHLEY MAR ROUHANNA

NEW AUSSIE DRAMA

TUESDAYS 7.30 STARTS AUGUST 16

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