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rock music news

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

He Said She Said SUZE FROM BABY ANIMALS

I

grew up with a musical mum and a tone-deaf dad, and a brother whose music collection consisted of Budgie, Hawkwind, Ten Years After, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and ABBA…! We lived in Perth, it was fantastic – I have really fond memories of those days, we listened to music constantly and I’m sure it shaped who and what I am today. When I was old enough, I headed over to London. Music’s always been in my blood.

I love bands like The Pretenders – Chrissie Hynde is an amazing vocalist and songwriter. And the Alison Krauss/ Robert Plant album Raising Sand was phenomenal – I love the work that T-Bone Burnett did on the production, it was so classy.

I like hanging with actors, primarily because they are more insecure than I am. I do love the boys in the band though; they’re heaps of fun, and they ‘keep it real’ – you could never get carried away with yourself with them around! Dave Leslie (Baby Animals guitarist) has been a great band-partner for many years, and man, the guy can play guitar! I still love getting up on stage with him. And then there’s the Squirrel Man – he is a bit of legend amongst our crew, he gets things done!

Jim Ward

PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com EDITOR: Steph Harmon steph@thebrag.com 02 9698 9645 ARTS & ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Dee Jefferson dee@thebrag.com 02 9690 2731 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, Jay Collier, Cai Griffin, Ashley Mar, Daniel Munns, Thomas Peachey, George Popov, Sam Whiteside

KEYSTONE FESTIVAL BAR

With the Sydney Festival 2012 lineup announcement imminent, the powers that be have already dropped a couple of huge names: PJ Harvey and Ira “Stayyyyyy with us” Glass amongst others. And we have it on very good authority that the incredible Tune-Yards will be playing on January 20 at the Keystone Festival Bar at Hyde Park Barracks – yep, the Beck’s Festival Bar has changed its naming sponsor, to celebrate the festival’s collaboration with Keystone (who bring you bars like Bungalow 8, The Loft, Cargo Bar, The Winery, Gazebo and Kit & Kaboodle). The full lineup for Sydney Festival gets dropped on Wednesday November 2, and we’re more than a little excited.

ADVERTISING: Matthew Cowley - 0431 917 359 / (02) 8394 9492 matthew@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 8394 9027 les@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Meaghan Meredith - 0423 655 091 / (02) 8394 9168 meaghan@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Conrad Richters - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance & parties) INTERNS: Sigourney Berndt, Greg Clennar, Julian de Lorenzo, Erin Holohan REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Simon Binns, Michael Brown, Liz Brown, Bridie Connell, Bridie Connellan, Ben Cooper, Oliver Downes, Alasdair Duncan, Max Easton, Tony Edwards, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Henry Florence, Mike Gee, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Alex Lindsay Jones, Robbie Miles, Peter Neathway, Hugh Robertson, Matt Roden, Emma Salkild, 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.

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Bar and declared ‘I Would Like To Party Every Friday Night With All The Best Australian Bands Until Some Godforsaken Hour Strikes And I’m More Than A Little Bit Tipsy, Thankyou’. Four years, 1092 bands, 2288 DJ sets and 270400 partiers, with alumni including Cloud Control, Muscles, The Grates and Bleeding Knees Club.

Yikes. They’re celebrating this Friday October 28 with (what else) a huge party, featuring Ballarat’s Hunting Grounds and Brisbane’s Oh Ye Denver Birds, alongside locals like Howler, The Money Smokers, Saloons, The Upskirts and Doc Holiday Takes The Shotgun – plus a whole bunch of DJs. Happy birthday, MUM!

Clearly I like rock, and good hair… I like cheesy pop too… It all started with my brother’s record collection.

Music is the job you have when you can’t do anything else. There is no place for politics in music; if you want to make money don’t be a musician; if you want to be cool, don’t go on American Idol. Joan Jett was the last concert I saw and I have yet to see anything that compares. As for Baby Animals, we have been really busy writing a bunch of new songs, which excites me creatively – I still love music as much as did when we started out. The industry is changing and evolving, which in itself is exciting; you just never know what’s out there for you!

I am inspired to see a bunch of new artists coming through. The Gotye album is amazing, and when I first heard ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, I was impressed by the simplicity and starkness… There will always be a role for music in people’s lives.

With: Baby Animals, Diesel, Jeff Lang, Ash Grunwald, Jeff Martin (Canada), Folk Uke (USA), Abby Dobson, The Break, The Snowdroppers, Kim Churchill, Watussi, Spooky Land and more Where: Sydney Blues & Roots Festival in Windsor, Hawkesbury Valley When: October 27 - 30

TRIAL KENNEDY

Melbourne rock act Trial Kennedy, named after the divorce proceedings between Susan and Karl Kennedy [citation pending], have had a hard time of it. Bass players leaving, business arrangements ending, cracked skulls, labels dropping them, heart operations; you name it, it happened to them. So having survived their sophomore slump before the recording of their second album (the quite wonderful Living Undesigned), they are back on the road to glory, which leads them to Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday October 28. They will bring some instruments, and play them well.

HAVE A LITTLE PATIENCE

“No Patience, No! Don’t dive into the audience!

You’re so little and precious and that dark, seething mass of hands will eat you alive, or at least grope you inappropriately and holy shit you’re still singing in your pitch-perfect wail while doing that, and wow you pretty much kicked that guy in the head and he still loves you, and now can you play ‘Trampoline’ please so we can go higher, higher?” This is how The Grates’ live show usually goes down, as you’ll see when they play The Metro Theatre on Saturday November 12. They’ve announced Last Dinosaurs and The Medics as the supports of the local leg of their Summer’s Breath tour.

PEATS RIDGE MK II

As if Gotye, Dum Dum Girls (USA), Passenger, Tijuana Cartel, Xavier Rudd, Graveyard Train, Thundamentals, The Crooked Fiddle Band, Husky, The Paper Scissors, Hermitude, Hanni El Khatib (USA) and Ellesquire weren’t enough to get you greedy gutses there, Peats Ridge Festival has just added another list of incredible names to their lineup. Jim Ward (USA), Canyons, Oh Mercy, Eagle & The Worm, Ball Park Music, King Cannons, Dubmarine, Pigeon, The Rescue Ships, Cameras, Sam Shinazzi and more will be joining you at Glenworth Valley from December 29-31 – and tickets are on sale now.

WHICH HATS?

Witch Hats and Lost Animal. Not the grizzly evidence that remained at the scene of a suicide cult, but the names of the two acts playing a brilliant double-header at the Gaelic Club on Saturday November 5, each launching albums (second record Pleasure Syndrome

by Witch Hats, and debut Ex Tropical by Lost Animal aka Jarrod Quarrell). Circle Pit and Kirin J Callinan are playing too, which makes me wanna do so many chair-swivels you can’t even imagine.

MUM TURNS FOUR

We can’t believe it’s been four whole years since MUM peeped her cute little face into The World

Bob Evans and Adalita

A VERY BOBALITA XMAS

Christmas plans already? Yes – and stop being such a Grinch all the time, with your silly nose and your weird long fingers... Hideous. Anyway. Bob Evans aka Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah) and Adalita (Magic Dirt) have announced a bit of a treat: ‘Good Evans, It’s Xmas!’ held at Notes in Newtown on Friday December 16, and at Lizotte’s in Dee Why on Sunday December 18. Featuring food, booze, and some incredible tunes for the festive season, they’ll be playing their own solo stuff, some new tracks, and some Xmas- and NotSo-Xmas-themed songs. Wear a Santa hat or something.

Baby Animals photo by Danni Nix

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

He Said She Said WITH

OMAR PEREIRA FROM FURIA We’re a 14-piece band, with a mixture of musical backgrounds. My family is very much involved – starting with my eldest daughter Vilma, who joined the band when she was just 15 years old. Since then I have had three of my children perform with me, and my son Kevin and daughter Paola are currently performing in the band. I love having my family involved – it makes for a lot of fun.

T

he biggest influence in Latin music for me was my Dad, who played guitar and sang to me when I was a child.

He formed a quartet called Santa Maria, which was very famous in Central America. He taught me to love music, and showed me the magical impact that music can have on an audience.

This has always been my goal; if I can translate my love and passion for music to other people, then I’m doing my job to the best of my ability.

My favourite musician and artist is Johnny Ventura. He’s famous in the

Dominican Republic for merengue music, and I believe he is the ultimate expression of what merengue music should be; he has an amazing voice, and his performances are flawless and exciting to watch. I always loved happy and contagious rhythms that made me dance – that’s why I decided to form a band that played that same contagious music!

Furia started in 1993, in Melbourne. I wanted a big, orchestra-type band, and I wanted to introduce the merengue rhythm to Australia, and share a bit of Latin culture.

The music industry in Australia generally, and the Latin music industry also, is growing – but we need people and organisations like Clave Contra Clave, to help promote the style. We need more opportunities to showcase our music on a local and national level – because once you know Latin music, you can understand how infectious it can be! People hear our music and feel like dancing. And because we’re a merengue show band, you can expect show-stopping dance choreography, great vocals and plenty of fun, with a mixture of all the Latin rhythms in our repertoire – including salsa, bolero, cumbia and merengue.

With: Former members of Buena Vista Social Club, Afro-Cuban All Stars’ Felix Baloy, ‘Polo’ Tamayo and Cuban singing legend Sixto ‘El Indio’ Llorente Where: Clave Contra Clave Final @ The Hordern Pavilion When: Saturday November 5

Channel [V] Ripe Clip Of The Week. They’re currently swaggering and posturing around the country, stopping in at The Beach Road Hotel on Wednesday October 26 and at The Standard on Friday October 28, as part of their album tour for Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs. Tickets are available from Moshtix, and snap them up quickly; this band is blowing up big time. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. (Or say it if you like, we’ll just pull our jumpers over our heads.)

SURFIN’ SAFARI

Jinja Safari are bringing their big-drum-beating, loin-clothy, tribal paint-wearing, Paul-Simonesque, dancing-like-an-Indian-brand-of-Afro-beat pop to the Metro Theatre on November 11, and they will sell it out because everybody likes them at the moment, as everybody should. Squelchmaestros Megastick Fanfare, Presets-y Pluto Jonze and Victorian-named Elizabeth Rose are supporting, which is four from four in my book.

Bright Eyes

TURN AROUND, BRIGHT EYES

Bright Eyes, or more specifically Conor Oberst (who are we kidding here), made BRAG’s Top Twenty People Ever To Have Ever Lived Ever list when it was launched just some moments ago. So the Harvest Festival sideshow that Bright Eyes has announced for Monday November 14 at the Enmore Theatre saw us emit all types of squeals and gasps, and forced us to play I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning over and over and over, and we love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very much. Tickets on sale now!

STEP BY STEP

Step-Panther sound like the best bits from Weezer and Pavement and Built To Spill and Superdrag and The Only Ones all mashed together. They have a song called ‘Superpowerz!’, and they have an EP called Surf.

They are everything that is good about scuzzy pop music, and now they have a self-titled album which they’ll be launching on November 17 at GoodGod Small Club, backed up by Pear Shape and Dune Rats. And if you like the sound of that, you may as well get along to the Red Eye in-store that’s happening this Thursday November 3, at 5pm.

WE DIDN’T START THE KATCHAFIRE

You know that moment in Gilmore Girls in which Paris says of the perennially adored On The Road, “I have one word for Jack Kerouac: Edit.”?

It’s funny and it’s true and luckily it doesn’t apply to roots reggae band Katchafire’s similarly titled fourth album On The Road Again, the tightly wound tunes from which you’ll be enjoying in surround sound at their live show launching the record on November 18 at Selina’s in the Coogee Bay Hotel. Jah bless!

PAPA VS VASCO

Have you heard the latest single from Papa vs Pretty’s quite excellent debut record United in Isolation? It’s called ‘Darkest Way’, and it’s an amazing pop song which will hopefully see the band cross over to commercial radio, go Platinum and record a bloated beast of a double album

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM Darren Middleton

EXPERIENCE HENDRIX

Alrighty kids, time to practice your playinga-flaming-guitarwith-your-teeth skills, because it’s time for the 2011 edition of the Experience Jimi Hendrix Concert. On Saturday October 29, some of Australia’s finest musicians will take to the Enmore Theatre to shred their way through some of Hendrix’s biggest hits. With the likes of Darren Middleton (Powderfinger), Jak Housden (The Whitlams), Peter Koppes (The Church) and Stuart Fraser (Noiseworks) signed up, you know this is going to be a bit of a good night. If you’d like a double pass just email BRAG with the name of your favourite Hendrix song.

THEY WILL HAVE THEIR WAY

They Will Have Their Way has launched a two pronged attack. Firstly, they’ve announced that some of Australia’s most talented boys and girls will hit the Sydney Opera House to perform the songs of Tim and Neil Finn. This part has been incredibly successful so far, with Sarah Blasko, Clare Bowditch, Holly Throsby, Sally Seltmann, Paul Dempsey, Lior and Alexander Gow (Oh Mercy) selling out two shows, with a third show on Friday November 18 quickly filling up. The second part involves the album, featuring even more of Australia’s talented peoples singing even more of the Finn Brothers’ tunes. It comes out on October 28, and we’ve got five copies to give away; just tell us which Finn is your fave, and why. follow-up because they are young and talented and should be embarking on such arrogant pursuits. They were just announced as the support for Incubus, and are playing Manning Bar this Friday October 28 with the excellent Vasco Era.

FLORENCE IN SYDNEY!

In 2011’s third and final installment of the Debit MasterCard Priceless Music Series, they’ve pulled a bit of a rabbit out of a hat: Florence and the Machine. (See: Red hair. Long legs. All of the lungs. All of the songs.) She’s celebrating Ceremonials, her brand new record which comes out this week (October 28), and will be showcasing how great it is (it is so great!) at the Seymour Centre on Tuesday November 15.

Tickets are just a tad over $40, but you’ve gotta pre-register before November 7, and book with your Debit MasterCard.

MERCY CHRISTMAS

On November 17, the Annandale host their annual Christmas party, which features Alexander ‘Oh Mercy’ Gow and, in a less laconic manner, the Smith Family Drive. Bring a small present, put it under the tree and feel like you are doing your bit to benefit all the underprivileged kids in Sydney. Because you will be. Give! Good cause, excellent band, Great Barrier Grief!

Good Charlotte

SING IT BACK

Café of the Gate of Salvation, the a cappella choir that formed in Sydney’s inner west 25 years ago, have ticked all the usual boxes: singing in Harlem on Easter Sunday, welcoming Nelson Mandela on the Opera House steps, performing in Alabama churches… You know, the usual band stuff. They celebrate their 25 years of amazingness with a transcendent show set for Saturday November 5 at the Factory. You know the choir in Sister Act and (to a lesser extent) Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit? Well, these guys are better.

THE DYNAMITES

The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker are making their funky, funky way to Australia again (following their amazing Blues Festival set last year) for the Burn It Down tour. They play the Basement on November 19 and 20; the first night with Boom Band Krewe and the holy-shitamazingly-named DJ Mr Chad, and the following night with Superheavyweights and DJ Hot Grits.

IN THE BALL PARK

Ball Park Music started an all out turf war when their recently-released track ‘It’s Good To Be Alive’ toppled Jay-Z and Kanye to snare the

GOOD CHARLOTTE FOR THE JD SET

I always wanted to hate the Madden twins, but every time I see them interviewed they seem so down to earth and funny and genuinely overwhelmed that they get to play music for a living that I end up just wanting to hang out with them and make them to play pranks on people, like the one where they swap shirts halfway through a party and everyone’s like, ‘Surely these dudes didn’t swap shirts – did they?’ …Good Charlotte have gone up even more in my eyes now that they are covering Weezer’s Blue Album in its entirety for the JD Set on November 11 at Selinas @ Coogee Bay Hotel (anyone wanting to explain that it’s actually a self-titled album can email us at youarewastingyourlife@thebrag.com). They’ll be supported by Amy Meredith, and tickets are on sale now.

“Let’s carve him as a dish fit for the gods, Not hew him as a carcass fit for hounds.” - JULIUS CAESAR 16 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

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The Music Network

themusicnetwork.com

Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

Lifelines Hospitalised: Rapper Rick Ross, after suffering seizures on two different flights within six hours, which caused the two planes to be diverted.

Arrested: Rapper Soulja Boy, after his car containing a 21-yearold and four roadies were pulled over near the Georgia/Alabama border, and found with marijuana and weapons.

Settled: Rihanna settled the ‘S&M’ lawsuit, in which fashion photographer David LaChapelle claimed that the Melina Matsoukas-directed video was plagiarised from his own shoots. He wanted $1 million in damages, but reportedly got less. The video is still subject to legal action from Paris-based photographer Philipp Paulus, who claims it used an image of his, in which a model in a billowy gown is trapped against a wall by a sheet of plastic, surrounded by large 'X' symbols.

Died: Joel “Taz” DiGregorio, 67, longtime keyboard player and vocalist for The Charlie Daniels Band, from injuries sustained from a car accident.

Died: Aussie rockabilly scene doyen Ross Waddington, who set up the Route 66 stores in Sydney and Melbourne, and promoted rockabilly acts.

SMART LAUNCH 1: BBM MUSIC BlackBerry launched its cloud-based social media experience BBM Music for its Australian smartphone users. Each user starts off with their own 50-song collection, and add 25 more a month from sharing with friends who are on BBM. There are millions of songs to choose from, from Universal, Sony, EMI and Warner. See blackberry.com/bbmmusic for details.

Meanwhile, a forum was held at Trackdown Studios to coincide with its launch last week, teaching label folks, media, tech execs and musicians how BBM works. The chat is posted on nobadseats.com/bbmmusic.

The new service will hopefully repair the tarnished BlackBerry brand after it was slow to respond to the previous week’s outages – although giving subscribers US$100 worth of new apps helped…

SMART LAUNCH 2: C-PUSH A new made-in-Australia smartphone app for indie musicians will hit the market at the end of this month. The C-Push app, which comes through software developer Calmon I.T., allows independent musicians and artists to reach out to their fanbase through instant updates of tours and news via their iPhone or Android mobiles. It will be integrated with the artist’s existing social networking sites, such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. More info at calmon.com.au/iphone-apps

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KEYSTONE GROUP JOIN SYDNEY FESTIVAL Sydney Festival has announced that venues, functions and events company The Keystone Group will join its stable of 80 partners and sponsors as the naming-rights sponsor for Keystone Festival Bar at Hyde Park Barracks, replacing Beck’s beer. The Festival Bar has been a fave with music lovers every January, with a large canopied dancefloor and space under the night sky to enjoy bands and DJs.

CHISEL AD GETS THE BIRD The new Wild Turkey TV advertisement starring Cold Chisel will be investigated by the Advertising Standards Board and the Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code Scheme after a single complaint; in the ad, one of a bunch of guys in a pub sees Jimmy Barnes and says he’s going to give him ‘the bird’, which turns out to be a bottle of Wild Turkey that the singer ends up drinking with them. The tie-up between Chisel and drinks maker Campari Australia is rumouredly worth $4 million. In the meantime, highlights of Chisel’s current show include an emotional ‘Ain’t Nobody Gonna Steal This Heart Away’ for Steve Prestwich, and 'Highway Blues', for which Tim Rogers of openers You Am I bounds back on stage to join them.

1000 ORIGAMI CRANES Ohad Rein aka Old Man River heads to Japan this weekend with 1,000 origami cranes, which he and friends spent months folding. He will present these after a show on Sunday October 30 to the Mayor of Minamisanriku, one of the hardest hit areas in the country’s earthquake and tsunami disaster this March. The cranes are symbolic of healing. OMR has strong ties with Japan: in 2008/9 he scored a #1 on both the Japanese and foreign music charts with his single ‘LA’, and he will release new single ‘In This World’ there soon. Those who helped him make the origami cranes included pals Lior, Josh Pyke, Washington and Adam Hill, as well as fans from as far away as Germany. See 1000cranesforjapan.net

AUSTRALIA COUNCIL GIVES $600,000 OF GRANTS The Australia Council has announced $600,000 worth of grants for tours, recording projects and international showcases.

Decisions were made by the Music Board and peers like Amanda Brown, John Foreman, Julia Kosky and Tyson Royle.

Funded projects include tours from Brisbane indie disco band Mitzi, and a Broken Stone Records showcase tour featuring Caitlin Park, The Maple Trail, Magnetic Heads and Sister Jane. Also supported were the chip music festival Blipfest and the premiere performance of Barefoot Divas - Walk A Mile In My Shoes, a music theatre show featuring Emma Donovan and Ursula Yovich. New Work grants went to Lucie Thorne to write with US songwriter Pieta Brown; Lady Strangelove to develop and record an album with US producer Sylvia Massey; Zulya Kamalova to compose and record 14 songs for a music theatre production; Andrew Ford to write for the Brodsky Quartet’s 40th anniversary season; Angela Boxall to co-write in Nashville; and jazz double bassist Jonathan Zwartz to write and record an album. Live On Stage grants provide travel support for artists and their managers who've been invited to showcase at key

international music trade fairs. Acts recently supported through this program include Boy and Bear and Seekae to showcase at CMJ, Henry Wagons’ showcase at Americana in Nashville, and Violent Soho, who played at the UK's All Tomorrow’s Parties.

PAYNTER GETS INSIDE THE ICEHOUSE Icehouse’s return to touring after 18 years has seen them joined by 25-year-old Melbournebased singer-songwriter Michael Paynter on keyboards, guitar and backing vocals. He will still be working on his own album, and will continue production work for his new company MSquared. Icehouse’s recent resurgence saw Iva Davies work with young talent, including choosing 16-year-old photographer Lucia Pang to shoot his first promo photos, producing Sydney band Lime Cordiale, and working onstage and in the studio with Art vs Science, Patience Hodgson, Tim Derricourt and Kate Miller-Heidke, who performed Icehouse covers at the recent JD Set shows in Sydney and Melbourne.

I OH YOU JOINS ILLUSIVE I Oh You Records – home of Gold Coast surf punks Bleeding Knees Club, Bundaberg thrash duo DZ Deathrays and Melbourne indie popsters Snakadaktal – is now an imprint of Illusive Records. Illusive is part of the Mushroom Group of Companies, and was founded in 2002 by Matt Gudinski and Adam Jankie. I Oh You started in 2009 when four Melbourne housemates ran a dance

THINGS WE HEAR * The first four AC/DC wines sold enough in Australia (70,000 in the first few weeks) that they’ve brought out Thunderstruck Chardonnay for the ladies. Australia is the first to get it. Hard rock bands including Whitesnake, Warrant and Queensrÿche also got into their own plonk, and Motörhead’s Lemmy has an Australian Shiraz available in Scandanavia, where they’ve sold 130,000 bottles. * While The Jezabels’ Dark Storm EP received heat in both the AIR and ARIA awards, the single has gone gold for sales of 35,000. * EMI signed Ricki-Lee Coulter with her single ‘Raining Diamonds’, which was cut with New York’s Billy Mann and BoyBlue.

The former Oz Idol contestant says the song is about not having to settle for second best. In recent years Coulter has lost her radio show, endorsements and record deal. * Tim Freedman of The Whitlams fame has received almost 90 letters of support from his neighbours and local businesses in his application to Byron Shire Council to hold up to 18 functions per year at his Pavilions estate property. Many of them will be wedding parties. His application had 87 submissions for, and 11 against. * Green Day’s Billy Jo Armstrong wants Twilight star Robert Pattinson to take the lead role in the movie adaption of American Idiot; Ron Howard wants to make a movie out of the life of Aerosmith’s Steve Tyer; Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst plays a high profile rocker who struggles with family life in new US sitcom Douchebag.

party to pay off a gas bill, going on to host raves and run a music blog.

HAIR TODAY… While the Brisbane music community held a benefit concert/auction on the weekend for singer-songwriter Danny Widdicombe, whose leukemia has returned, former Powderfinger guitarist Ian Haug (who MC'd the night) is making a further contribution — sacrificing his hair! The person who donated the most money had the honour of shaving his hair.

MOTT LAUNCHES AT CMJ As 22 Australian acts played CMJ in New York, Aussie rock photographer Tony Mott was launching his book Rock N Roll Photography Is The New Trainspotting. He had a Q&A session at which Cameras and Guineafowl played, and he’s running a two-week exhibition of his work. The event came courtesy of Sounds Australia (www. soundsaustralia.com.au), who worked with CMJ to promote our bands.

TOWNSHEND, REED, FOR SONGWRITERS HALL Nominated for the 2102 Songwriters Hall Of Fame are Pete Townshend, Bob Seger, Steve Miller, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, The Eurythmics’ Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, George Michael, Gordon Lightfoot, Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) and Dion DiMucci.

* AIR points out gleefully that 91 of 162 ARIA nominations were awarded to Aussie indie labels. In the meantime, the Daily Telegraph reckons that the ARIAs will be shown on Nine Network’s Go digital channel. * Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, a longtime wrestling fan who’s been involved in the backscene, has started his own pro wrestling promotion company, Resistance Pro, in his hometown of Chicago, to “bring the glory days back.” * Sony USA has admitted its ‘On Air On Sale’ policy of making singles available to buy the moment they’re played on radio hasn’t worked; they’ve abandoned it. * Cage The Elephant were in danger of missing their opening slot for Foo Fighters in Salt Lake City, after their drummer’s appendix burst. Luckily a pretty kickass drummer was there to step in for a few songs – Dave Grohl. * Jon and Dorothea Bon Jovi, who built 260 homes for low-income residents in New Jersey through their Soul Foundation, have set up a pay-as-youwant restaurant called The Soul Kitchen for those who volunteer for community projects. * Will UB 40 singer Ali Campbell and the rest of the band make up, now that the reason why he left in 2008 (he tried to tell the others that their management and record label DEP International was screwing up) has become a reality?

Four members of the band, who sold 70 million records in 33 years and owned their own island in the West Indies, were declared bankrupt with tax debts of £57,000 (AU$88,000), after DEP went belly-up.

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BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 19

THE FLAMING LIPS

Music Is Sound, And Anything Is Possible

By Oliver Downes

“I

t inevitably ends up looking like some woman’s vaginal parts... that’s what usually happens,” says Wayne Coyne, of the doodlings that are taking shape on his kitchen table in Oklahoma City. Chatting amiably ahead of The Flaming Lips’ upcoming appearance at Harvest Festival, their frontman’s thoughts on the creative process are revealing. “I usually just start with like, no idea,” he continues affably. “When our mind is not completely engaged it’s a little bit freer. It’s like these are not our thoughts, they’re just thoughts. If I dreamed that I killed my mother and fucked her corpse, [then] it’s a dream, get it over it. But if you think that in real life, you’re a horrible person. I think there’s probably something to that.”

Matricidal necrophilia aside (the picture he drew while we chat, later posted on his Twitter feed and pictured to the right, is a doozy), giving his right brain free reign has certainly served Coyne well. After two decades peddling off-the-wall, occasionally highconcept, psychedelic weirdness, the band reinvented themselves with the lushly orchestrated pop of 1999’s The Soft Bulletin, before erupting into the mainstream with the much-loved Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots in 2002. Acclaim and commercial success followed – Yoshimi’s ‘Do You Realize??’ was even voted in as the official Oklahoma state rock song in 2009 – which continued with 2006’s At War With The Mystics, though that record’s syrupy singles suggested a creative cul de sac had been reached.

“The worst thing that can happen to musicians is that they begin to believe that they’re songwriters,” Coyne says, of this impasse.

“Then they suddenly get thrown into the untouchable realm of The Beatles or the Bob Dylans and then sit there and think, ‘I’ll just sit

“I am this music. I really do not fear failing or looking like an idiot or drawing a stupid picture. I believe I have been given a license by our fans who’ve said, ‘Wayne, just fucking go for it.’” here and put together these little phrases and these little chords and they’ll become songs’... But a lot of times we’ll be working on a song... and quietly, while we’re doing this thing, something else starts to happen. If we’re smart or if we’re listening, we will drop what we were trying to do and go with what is actually happening.”

What actually happened was Embryonic (2009), a sprawling high-concept double album in the mould of Bitches Brew or The Wall. Veering from implacable, crunching rock to maudlin ballads to hallucinatory apocalyptic hysteria, with the music ripped apart by spasmodic day-glo eruptions and at times eerily unsettling recordings, the record brought the group’s earlier densely psychedelic experimentalism to bear on their pop sensibilities, with mesmerising results. “I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a very good musician,” admits Coyne, “but this way of being free to play [with] wherever the dynamic of the room takes you – we know that there’s a real value in that because you [come up with things you] can never think of... We gave ourselves this self-indulgent license to do these jams, and I think that once we started to work on the jamming sections [of Embryonic], we never went back to anything that would require us to have any discipline – we just thought ‘Fuck, why don’t we just let ourselves go?!’ We were just trying to avoid the predictableness of our own stupid nature – it was a way of tricking our nature into listening to the music as opposed to being the people who were making it.”

Of course, ‘avoiding discipline’ is not the same thing as ‘kicking back’. Since birthing Embryonic, Coyne & Co. have been busy, with their 2009 cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety with Stardeath and the White Dwarf, signalling a renewed focus on collaborations and the experimental possibilities of music as a physical product. These tendencies have found full expression this year with a series of endearingly bizarre monthly releases, from ‘Two Blobs Fucking’ (envisaged as a Valentine’s Day musical orgy, the single was designed to be simultaneously played on twelve iPhones), to collaborations with Neon Indian and Lightning Bolt, to the extremely limited release Gummy Song Skull EP and Gummy Song Fetus EP, in which several originals were released on USBs embedded within specially moulded gummy body parts.

you or me; it’s here, enjoy it. Some people make a million dollars playing and some people don’t make any, that’s the way it is, but I think the idea that music is just sound and anything is possible – I love that.”

It’s an approach that the Lips have certainly brought to bear on their live shows; the extravaganzas involve animal-costumed back-up dancers, 50-foot-tall projections of naked dancing women and confetti cannons, not to mention Coyne’s penchant for surfing the crowd from the comfort of a giant bubble. Which begs the question: do The Flaming Lips feel some sort of ethical obligation to get people off? “For us it’s an opportunity to live in that other dimension which is just that thrill and enthusiasm,” says Coyne.

“That can be very addictive, when you’re in front of the audience and you see the potential for this great thing to happen. I think our best music requires that the audience have some emotional connection to it. If we’re singing about love and death [and] the audience just wants to get drunk and scream, it’s not as powerful for us. We want, for lack of a better word, to communicate these things.

“I want the audience to know that I am this music; I mean, all the fellas are, but [I am] as much as anybody can be this thing.

I wouldn’t have this life if they hadn’t let me do it and given me money and encouragement and all that, so I just fucking go for it. I really do not fear failing or looking like an idiot or drawing a stupid picture. I believe I have been given a license by our fans [who’ve] said, ‘Wayne, just fucking go for it. Better to screw up ten times and come back with one thing we haven’t heard before than play it safe.’ I think the reason why we’re worth listening to is because we’re kind of insane, y’know?”

With: Portishead, The National, Bright Eyes, TV On The Radio, Mogwai, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Holy Fuck, The Family Stone, Mercury Rev, The Walkmen, Dappled Cities, PVT, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and more Where: Harvest Festival @ Parramatta Park When: Sunday November 13

For sheer ballsiness though, even these are topped by ‘I Found This Star On The Ground’, a six-hour song written to soundtrack a lysergic journey on a slow night, and packaged in the ‘Strobo Trip: A Light and Audio Phase Illusions Toy’. Going to press, Coyne announced the release of an as-yet unnamed song with a 24-hour play time to be packaged within a real human skull... As you do.

“I know some musicians who simply wanna play the music and don’t even want to mix their own songs, while others want to do everything; they want to play the music, they want to do the interviews, they want to mix the songs, they want to do the album covers, they want to make the videos – I think it was Frank Zappa that said, ‘I do everything but take the records to the store’. I can [even] do that.”

Contradictions between the absurdly expensive limited releases mentioned above and professed musical altruism aside, Coyne is eloquent about the potential of music to connect people. “[When] music becomes something that people don’t leave up to musicians, I think that music is better for it. It doesn’t belong to

Above: Coyne freed his right brain during the interview. Chaos ensued.

“Set honour in one eye and death i’ the other, And I will look on both indifferently.” - JULIUS CAESAR 20 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

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Boy & Bear All Fired Up By Heidi Leigh Axton

T

hough last year’s With Emperor Antarctica EP was a huge success, the boys of Boy & Bear couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable by the premature branding of their band as “Indie Folk.” Determined not to be placed in a box, they’ve used their debut full-length Moonfire to show that while they may be a little bit folk, they’re a little bit rock’n’roll too.

“There’s nothing too rock or too folk about it,” explains vocalist and keyboardist Jon Hart.

“Where a song appeared to have a folk direction, we stripped it back and simplified it; there might not be three, four and five part harmonies in every chorus. And where a song had a rock or an edgier direction, we tried to push that harder this time. I think it’s a broader sounding record than the EP. That’s the freedom you have when making a full length record.” But weren’t they a little nervous about straying from a winning formula, after such a great reception for that first EP? “You go through different cycles when you’re putting out an album,” muses Hart. “When you listen to a recording, it’s hard not to hear the things you may have preferred to change. You make certain decisions at the time and then you think, ‘I should have done that differently’, but it

becomes a snapshot of where you were when you made the album. I think we’re feeling it does justice to how we felt at the time, so we’re happy with it.”

Moonfire certainly does offer a good balance of tunes, which have a wider scope than just folk.

The vocals, sweeping into effortless falsettos, are amazing – particularly those of lead singer Dave Hosking. “Dave is a unique character in the sense that he’s one of the least ego-driven singers I’ve met,” says Hart. “He’s a guy who was doing a solo project, but chose to turn it into a band. He wanted to be able to share the responsibility of the creative side with others, so we’d have a sound that’s really unique. It’s great to be part of something like that. A lot of bands might be mainly about one person, but they’re marketed as a band. We genuinely are a band.”

Every band has its ups and downs though, right?

“The best analogy is a family,” he explains. “It might annoy you that your sister chews with her mouth open at the dinner table, so you go sit in front of the TV or something. I think we’ve learned to stay off each other’s nerves as best we can. You spend a lot of time together, so it’s a bit about survival, really.”

Boy & Bear’s national album tour sold out quickly in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, with the band announcing a string of second shows to provide for their growing fanbase. “I’ve been playing in bands since high school,” Jon says, when I ask what it feels like to be in such high demand. “You go through stages where you have a show on in a local pub and get friends and family to come along. Then people are asking, ‘Where are you playing next?’ Finally you get to the point where people beg you to get them into the show, because they can’t get tickets. As a musician, it’s very nice when that happens. You always want to play to full rooms.”

And if Boy & Bear can help it, none of their followers will leave the show unhappy; the band have vowed not to disappoint. “We’re going to be doing our best to reproduce the sound of the record live; the live vocals, and also the different sounds that we were able to create over in Nashville,” Jon says – the band recorded in Tennessee with producer Joe Chiccarelli, who’s worked with The Strokes, The White Stripes and The Shins. “For us it’s always going to be about playing an honest show, and I think we want to make it a bit of a journey for people too. We don’t want to be just standing up there playing one song after another. We’ve got to make it worthwhile for people to come out of their living rooms for a night and pay the money to see us.

“We want to make it a bit of a journey for people. We don’t want to be just standing up there playing one song after another. We’ve got to make it worthwhile for people to come out of their living rooms.”

“We take it pretty seriously the way we put the bills together too,” he continues. “We’ve got bands with us this time that we really feel make the night an event as a whole.” The bands in question are Brisbane’s zany Ball Park Music, who’ve played with Boy & Bear before, and Melbourne tunesmiths The Paperkites. But fans should be warned not to dream off when standing in line for album signings. Two forward young ladies caused chaos at one concert when they asked the boys to sign their… ahem… voluptuous endowments, and Hosking got confused. “We thought, ‘Wow, that’s never happened before. What do we do?’” reflects Hart. Not wanting to be rude (or that’s their story and they’re sticking to it), Hart and most of the other band members rushed to find pens, “but Dave had his back turned doing something else.”

Ever helpful, Hart tapped him on the shoulder, and alerted him to his oversight – resulting in Hosking absentmindedly reaching for a melon from the wrong fruit basket... “He reached for a girl, but it wasn’t her – it was some girls to the side,” groans Hart. “You should have seen her eyes. She was horrified!”

What: Moonfire is out through Universal Music Where: The Enmore Theatre When: November 5 (sold out) & November 6 More: Also playing at Big Day Out, alongside Kanye West, Soundgarden, My Chemical Romance, Battles, The Jezabels, Best Coast and more on January 26 at Sydney Showground 22 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 23

Opeth Changing Their Tune By Rod Whitfield

T

here’s not much to say about the illustrious history of Opeth that hasn’t been said already; the Swedish band have been making truly unique, progressively orientated metal music for over two decades now, and their reputation truly precedes them. Opeth have just released their tenth full-length studio album, Heritage, and with it they’ve again pushed the boundaries of their sound – and of what heavy music can be – to almost breaking point. The album is as unexpected as it is controversial, especially for their long-term fans; it contains no death metal growling vocals, with nary a distorted guitar or a pounding drum. In fact, it can scarcely be called ‘metal’, instead harkening back to ‘70s progressive rock, with some jazz, folk and other influences thrown in.

“I love it,” main man Mikael Akerfeldt enthuses. “I listen a lot to our records when they’re done, and then I reach a point where I’m just done with that record – I won’t actually listen to it again until I need to learn how to play it. But right now I’m still listening to [Heritage] quite a lot – and, well, I’m loving it! I think it was the right time for us to do an album like this; it was basically the only choice for me. I was writing these songs and

it was a matter of this or nothing, to be honest.

“I wrote a couple of songs that were a continuation of the stuff we did on [previous album] Watershed, and it didn’t work,” he continues, “I didn’t feel those songs. So I started from scratch again. I wrote these songs and they’re different; we’ve never done anything like this album before. It’s special because of that.”

The lack of heaviness and the absence of death metal vocals on the album may be causing a little consternation amongst the band’s fans, but that seems to be weighing extremely lightly on Akerfeldt’s shoulders.

“We’ve had clean vocals from the very first album in ’94 – I mean, I don’t really know what the big deal is. People think it’s some type of statement, that we’re never gonna have those [death metal] type of vocals again, but I don’t know what’s gonna happen on the next record… That’s the beauty of this band: you never know.” Besides, he says, that death metal growl would have ruined Heritage.

“There’s no place for those types of vocals on these songs. It’s as simple as that.”

The album features ‘Slither’, an ode to the diminutive but mighty vocalist Ronnie James

Dio, who fronted classic acts like Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own band, Dio. He was a true inspiration to Akerfeldt, but was tragically taken from us in May last year. “I didn’t know him well, but I did meet him once,” Akerfeldt tells me. “I spent an evening with him, having drinks in Japan once. It was amazing; he was an amazing guy and I love him. We came into this bar in Tokyo, and it was completely empty next to Ronnie and his drummer Simon Wright. I came in there with Mendez, our bass player, and Peter, our guitar player. And he just stood up and said, ‘Guys! Come sit with us!’ – and I was like ‘Yeah, right, that’s a mirage or something’. But it was Ronnie sitting there, he was asking me to sit down with him! I was like, ‘Fuck, that’s crazy’ – but of course we sat down with them. I was so shy I had to down a few drinks, and then I just bombarded him!” he admits. “He was just very gentle, and very nice, very human – he didn’t have any of that type of ‘rock star’ thing... I love him like a family member. When he passed away it was a devastating blow for me, and that’s why we’re doing this song.”

What: Heritage is out now on Roadrunner Records Where: The Enmore Theatre When: Friday December 16

Trial Kennedy I

dentity is a strange concept. It can be a simple summary of your existence, but like with so many things, it is only a fragment of the complete picture – and there is always so much more which gets overlooked. Melbourne’s Trial Kennedy own their unique identity, and with the recent success that followed their sophomore record Living Undesigned, it seems to be working for them.

“We are not really a band that sounds like other bands – we don’t try to – and so we don’t really fit within a scene so to speak,” explains guitarist Stacey Gray. “You know, like the punk, or the rock, or the indie or the hardcore scenes; we kind of just skirted the edges of all those. It’s really cool, because it gets a range of people to like your band, but it’s also quite dangerous, and we do kind of skate a thin line. But at the end of the day, we are trying to be unique and ourselves, and not another version of another band.”

Gray tells me that the response to their new album so far has been great for the band.

“It’s still very Trial Kennedy, I think, and we are feeling pretty energised – all this has added a new spark. triple j just added ‘Living Undesigned’ which we didn’t actually do a film clip for, but it’s still great. We just did one for ‘Exology’ which wasn’t picked up – but they picked up another one, so it’s all really exciting.”

It hasn’t been an easy ride for the quartet, with surgeries, cracked skulls, label fall-outs and many more mishaps plaguing their career. The ten songs of the end result, however, are simply stunning. “This time around we had a very clear picture in our head of what we wanted

with this album, what sound we wanted – we were calling the shots with it, which was cool.

And, yeah, pretty expensive,” Gray says. “With the first album it was all a bit surreal, the whole thing, but this time around we knew what we wanted to achieve and how to go about it. Then we got a guy called Haydn Buxton, who is actually our bassist Richie Buxton’s brother – he mixed it up and finished the record off and did a fantastic job. It was pretty stealth in respect to the way we did it, but it was a really good experience, and we like the way the record reads,” he says. “Sometimes you’ve got to read a record like a book; it should be an experience so people want to buy the album, instead of a collection of singles.”

With plans for further writing and hopefully some festival appearances, Trial Kennedy are also hoping to take their music overseas at some point; a daring move, but if they manage it, also a dream come true. For now though, they are just thankful for being so well received in Australia. “We’re lucky because we’ve been doing this for years, and when we get back to places like Adelaide and Newcastle, they have always been really good to us. The crowds just really make it worth it,” Gray says. “We might have a rough week at work, but to go do a show, it’s just something so special. We are very privileged to do this.”

What: Living Undesigned is out now With: The Dead Love, Royal Chant, Strangers Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday October 28

The Killjoys photo by Tony Mott

Skirting The Edges By Will Oakeshott

The Killjoys The Band Most Likely By Bruce Laird

“I

t’s been an economy of invention,” laughs The Killjoys’ guitarist and co-songwriter Craig Pilkington. Pilkington is responding to my observation that The Killjoys, who were regarded as likely pop crossover’s during the early ‘90s, seem to have spent a large part of the early 21st century in a recording void. “It’s true we didn’t release a lot of new material, but there was never a time when we weren’t writing or playing,” Pilkington says. The Killjoys are currently celebrating the release of Pearl, their first record since 2007’s Stealing Horses.

“We’ve used all the past and present members of the band, so it’s come full circle in many respects.”

The Killjoys formed in the late 1980s from the splinters of Wild Science; while the other members went onto form the darker rock outfit Violet Town, Pilkington and vocalist Anna Burnley chose a more pop-oriented format.

By the early 1990s, they were a staple of the Melbourne pub rock scene, performing regularly in the venues of the day – and their debut record, 1991’s Ruby, was released to widespread acclaim. The Killjoys received an ARIA award for Best Independent Release, and it seemed as though the band was destined for great things.

Twenty years later, and Pilkington says it’s hard to decide if The Killjoys could have achieved greater commercial success if they’d managed their affairs differently. “It’s a tricky thing to look at in hindsight,” he says. “Over the years I’ve realised that the music industry is more a ship of fools than a rigid infrastructure. I suppose we seemed to elude the commercial success that the record company was looking for. We did get a lot of play on triple j, but maybe the music wasn’t right for the time.” The Killjoys did, however, find themselves beneficiaries of record company largesse, when they were flown across to the UK to record their second album with acclaimed producer Craig Leon.

“As far as production and recording goes, that

was an amazing education,” reflects Pilkington.

“We learnt so much from working with Craig Leon. That recording took place in the last era when the record company would ship you off overseas to record – and after having recorded Ruby on a tight budget, having the luxury of five weeks in the studio where you had to justify everything to the producer, having the time to do that, was really great.”

The Killjoys went on to release their second album, A Million Suns, in 1994, an EP [Love And Uncertainty] in 1995, and a third album, Sun Bright Deep, in 1998. But after that, save for the odd single and compilation, nothing substantial was heard from the band until 2007’s Stealing Horses. “We were still playing and writing,” Pilkington says, “so it never came to a point where it wasn’t practical to keep going. And we also never had the external pressure of [the industry] saying ‘What are you doing now?’ I think we’d spent so long between 1988 and 1995 when everything seemed so urgent that it was a relief not to be rushed.”

To coincide with the release of Pearl, The Killjoys will be re-releasing the band’s awardwinning debut album, Ruby, on a special double-disc format. “The original release hasn’t been available for 13 years – the only copy I’ve seen available was on Amazon for $250!”

Pilkington says. He’s taken the opportunity to revisit the original mixing, taking careful stock of any lingering ‘80s production aesthetic. “There’s a tiny bit of the ‘80s left in the mix, so I’ve tried to thicken it up a bit.”

What: Pearl is out now on Popboomerang Records; the 2-CD set includes a re-release of their ARIA winning debut album, Ruby With: The Glamma Rays (feat. Jodi Phillis) and The Bernie Hayes Quartet Where: Petersham Bowls Club When: Friday October 28

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.” - JULIUS CAESAR 24 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

The Cat Empire Tunes For Change By Nils Hay

I

n less than 24 hours, Harry James Angus and the rest of The Cat Empire will be on a plane bound for Europe and another tour. For now though, rather than pack, he’s talking to me about the band; now in their 10th year and with close to 900 shows under their belt, it’s hard to pick a highlight. “There’s a temptation to look to the biggest thing you’ve done or the most exotic thing you’ve done as being your highlight, but really I’ve discovered the highlights are these moments that just happen every now and again,” the vocalist/trumpeter explains. “It could be a big room, it could be a small room; they’re just musical moments where everything is working and the band’s cooking and everyone’s looking at each other, shaking their heads and smiling because they can’t believe how good it’s feeling.”

Spending that decade together and playing that many shows could seem monotonous – but for The Cat Empire, that’s far from the case. “The big thing about our band, which I believe is one of the reasons we were successful in the first place and is the thing that’s given us our life and the reason that we’re well known for our live shows, is that we have a penchant for improvising,” Harry says. “We have our songs that people know and might sing along to, but the real music, the really exciting stuff, is the improvised stuff that happens in between those songs – and that’s something that changes from night to night.”

In fact, he seems excited just talking about it. “It’s always developing, and depending on our moods and the feeling we’re getting from the crowd, it could go in totally different directions.

That’s what keeps the band alive; we’re as surprised as anyone else by what happens.”

Harry also attributes some of the group’s longevity to the modest expectations that the sextet held when they started out. “We didn’t really have these kinds of potentially unhealthy dreams of megastar-dom that people have when they join a rock band,” he says. “We were never a rock band, and we never had a blueprint of what we were supposed to be or have, whether it be the fashion or drugs or the stadium high-kicks. That was never really a part of what we saw when we were looking at the future.” He chuckles a little at the very idea of it: “When you’ve got a trumpet and keys and no guitars, and nobody really dresses that snappy, you kind of take things more casually…”

“We’re not particularly political, but it’s been really scary to see. These desperate people being treated so badly by us in so many ways – it just felt like something we had to throw our weight into...”

Despite this laid-back attitude, the group’s five records include one Gold, one Platinum and one double-Platinum release – and every single one of them has peaked between #15 and #1 in the ARIA charts. In recent years especially, The Cat Empire have started using their success to raise awareness and promote the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. “Some things feel right and some things don’t,” Harry begins, when I broach the topic. “When you’ve got six people in the band as well, it’s rare for something to resonate with everyone equally, but [the issue of asylum seekers] – for whatever reason – did.”

It began in 2010 with the band’s involvement in Key Of Sea, a record which saw a number of prominent Australian artists and bands recording music with musicians from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds. The Cat Empire were moved by the experience, and are now official ambassadors for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, an independent and non-Federal Governmentfunded human rights organisation, and the largest provider of aid, advocacy and health services for asylum seekers in Australia. “We’re not particularly political a lot of the time,” Harry confesses, when we discuss the treatment of asylum seekers in Australia, “but it’s been really scary to see. As a band, we talk about things like having a generous spirit, not being materialistic – that’s what our lyrics are about if you were to put them under a broad umbrella. This whole thing with these desperate people being treated so badly by us in so many ways – it just felt like something we had to throw our weight into.”

fans as well – and that’s why it’s going to work.”

BASIC EQUIPMENT

Their current project comes via Tunes For Change, a fundraising organisation that takes musical contributions from Australian artists and releases four albums annually in exchange for donations; in the past, the albums have featured tracks from artists like Nick Cave, Sarah Blasko and Gotye.

The next Tunes For Change release, Asylum, will be raising money for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre – and it comes courtesy of the various guises of The Cat Empire. “I’ve got a new Jackson Jackson song on there, and some from my solo record,” Harry reveals. “Ross Irwin [trumpet, flugelhorn, backing vocals] has got some stuff on there, Felix [Riebl, frontman] has got some stuff on there from his solo project, and The Genie – who’s the Cat Empire rhythm section – have got some tracks from their amazing and completely unknown record that they’ve spent the last ten years making, which is just so mind-blowing.” All this on top of some previously unreleased Cat Empire rarities. “Sometimes people just get pissed off when musicians try to tell them what to think,” Harry admits, “but I think this issue resonates with our What: Asylum comes out on October 28 through Tunes For Change; 100% of all album sales goes to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

Where: tunesforchange.org; the album will be available for three months only.

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The Crooked Fiddle Band Songs Gone Wild By James W Nicoli

W

hen it came time to choose an engineer for their debut record Overgrown Tales, the four members of The Crooked Fiddle Band knew it was a decision they couldn’t make lightly. One listen to their music, and you’ll understand why: a fusion of blasting punk-rock-style percussion, double bass, banjo and mandolin, with the furious sounds of fiddle solos thrown in over the top, their music – often described as ‘chainsaw folk’ – is truly unlike anything else. “We’d [tried] a couple of times [in the past] to get a recording that did justice to our live sound, and the raw sort of atmosphere of the band,” says drummer and percussionist Joe Gould. But it turns out it’s not so easy.

They needed someone who would be able to capture their unique sound accurately to tape without comprising any of their live energy, so the band settled on Steve Albini, the legendary Shellac and Big Black member, and an engineer who’s worked with the likes of Nirvana, The Pixies, PJ Harvey and Joanna Newsom. According to Gould, the band packed their bags, boarded a flight, and made their way over to chilly Chicago, to Albini’s Electric Audio recording studio – and immediately knew they had their man.

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In fact, Albini had been on their radar for some time: “He’s been an influence of mine since I fell in love with the raw impact of Nirvana’s In Utero,” explains Gould, “and we chose him because he has experience in that raw rock sound plus warm acoustics like Joanna Newsom’s Ys. Despite a reputation for being difficult to work with, we found it a great experience – Albini’s philosophy, and the studio, is focused around capturing exactly what the band sounds like. We had a strong vision for this album to be a balance of in-your-face live energy and rich acoustic sounds, and I think we got it. It was snowing outside, so much of our downtime was spent playing cards [Albini’s a poker fiend] or watching Blues Brothers, to soak up the Chicago heritage...”

Although the legendary engineer managed to capture the band’s sound better than anyone else had before, when it came to the music itself, he was more than happy to simply let the band do their thing. “The biggest impact he had was to not try to influence our decisions,” Gould admits.

“He’d offer opinions when pushed, but trusted our vision for the sound and the tunes, viewing his job as capturing accurately what we were playing.

Recording to tape, without computers, the way he does, also had an impact – it was much more about playing well and aiming for great takes than the old ‘fix it in the mix’ cliché.”

“Writing instrumental music can pose some problems. It can feel like the possibilities are endless – which is how the Overgrown Tales title fits in. They’re all tales of a sort, and overgrown, like a folk tale found wild that’s evolved of its own accord...”

Listening to The Crooked Fiddle Band, it’s often hard to figure out how they manage to write the way they do; with such a mixture of musical styles and a clash of unorthodox musical instruments, you could forgive them if they admitted to sometimes getting a little lost in the rehearsal studio. But according to Gould, their unique sound – which has been in development since 2006 – is now so organic and natural that it’s become almost effortless.

“To us, the multitude of styles isn’t a conscious thing – we’re just putting together influences that make musical sense to us, like accompanying a blistering violin melody with an equally intense, thrashy rhythm section.

“But writing instrumental music can pose some problems,” the drummer admits. “It can feel like the possibilities are endless – which is how the Overgrown Tales title fits in. Each tune has a scene set by the title: some are narrative, like the hillbillies-abducting-aliens storyline in ‘All These Pitchforks Make Me Nervous’; others are more setting the scene, like the epic closing track ‘What The Thunder Said’. The common thread is that they’re all tales of a sort, and overgrown, like a folk tale found wild that’s evolved of its own accord.”

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Returning home from their long recording and touring jaunt overseas, The Crooked Fiddle Band are now gearing up for their upcoming Australian tour, which will be rolling around the country until early November. Gould and his bandmates are certainly excited to get out there and play shows to their home crowd again – especially since their last national tour was way back in 2009. “You know, we’ve been recording overseas and touring overseas for the last twelve months,” says Gould, “so we haven’t really had a chance to do a proper run around Australia for a while now. So yeah, we’re really looking forward to showing off what we’ve been doing. “We’ll be having fun showing our new album off at these launch parties, and then playing some summer festivals,” he adds. “Then it’s time to dust off the whiteboards and write up the arrangements for the next album...”

What: Overgrown Tales is out through MGM With: Barons Of Tang, Kira Puru and The Bruise Where: The Factory Theatre, Marrickville When: Friday November 4 More: Also playing Peats Ridge Festival alongside Gotye, Dum Dum Girls, Jim Ward, Hanni El Khatib, The Graveyard Train, Ball Park Music, Cameras and heaps more, from December 29 – January 1 at Glenworth Valley.

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Tim Chaisson All In The Family By Rick Warner

I

n the Gulf of St. Lawrence, nestled amongst the bristling white-caps, a 5,600 square kilometre bank of lush green hills named Prince Edward Island sits isolated from mainland Canada. “It’s very rural based,” Tim Chaisson explains, as he describes his home province. “It’s got a city, but it’s not very big. I mean, I grew up in the woods basically, and you don’t really get out too much unless there’s a reason to travel outside.” Up until a few years ago, the island didn’t even have a bridge to the mainland. Ninety minute boat rides were standard – and it was this isolation that has shaped the Canadian singer-songwriter’s musical journey.

Immersed in music from birth courtesy of a far-reaching musical family, Chaisson spent his adolescence on stage and in recording studios, playing fiddle in a band with his brothers and cousins. But it was born more out of an expectation than any kind of child prodigy revelation; the Chaisson family have been the leading proponents of traditional Celtic music in Prince Edward Island for decades. “Everybody in my family played music, and it extends back a few generations,” he says. “Growing up in a small area like PEI, it carried over the years and influenced a lot of people to start playing that style of music too. There were so many members of my family that really wanted to get the music out there and to not let it die; to keep that tradition alive.”

However strong the Chaisson family’s Celtic fiddle influence was through his younger years, the guitar-pop sound that he creates today was shaped by a lot of other artists that could be heard on the local radio station as he grew up. “There are a lot of Canadian bands and east coast bands that I grew up with and loved – The Rankin Family and Stan Rogers. I always listened to my parents [music] like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and all that kind of stuff, too.” But it was local folk hero Stan Rogers that seems to have had the most profound effect on his formative songwriting years.

A man who penned rustic songs about the rich maritime history of Canada’s east coast, Rogers wrote in a narrative that Chaisson has emulated. “I think as a songwriter, you have to be aware that you’re telling a story. I think it’d be selfish to write songs about you all the time.”

For his debut Australian tour, Chaisson has hitched a ride with Australian Idol contestant, Shannon Noll. The two tour-mates’ musical journey seems completely juxtaposed; whereas Noll secured a record contract through a star-making TV contest format, Chaisson has worked from the ground up, releasing albums independently for years, and building a fan-base in the tried and true method of non-stop touring. When asked how he felt about made-for-TV music programs, he was unquestionably diplomatic about the talents of his touring buddy Noll; “I was really blown away when I heard him sing.” He did, however, express some doubts about the Idol phenomenon in his home country of Canada.

“Back home, [Canadian Idol] kind of hurt [the winners] a little bit, but that’s just the way it goes. Another show comes along, and then another singer comes along. People tend to forget.”

On tour without his regular band Morning Fold, Chaisson will give a stripped-back acoustic show consisting of only guitar, mandolin and fiddle. When asked about what people should expect to hear in his music, he responds a little obliquely. “I spent a lot of time outside and listening to a lot of music.

That pretty much sums it up right there.”

With: Baby Animals, Diesel, Jeff Lang, Ash Grunwald, Jeff Martin (Canada), Folk Uke (USA), Abby Dobson, The Break, The Snowdroppers, Kim Churchill, Watussi, Spooky Land, The Snowdroppers and more Where: Sydney Blues & Roots Festival in Windsor, Hawksbury Valley When: October 27 - 30 More: Also playing at The Brass Monkey in Cronulla on October 25, and Kit & Kaboodle in King’s Cross on Wednesday October 26

Pluto Jonze In It For The Song By Jake Stone

“I

’m a jack of all trades, which allows me to see the forest for the trees. The number one thing in music is the song.”

Sometimes it takes a single song or performance for my understanding of an artist to tumble into focus. For producer/songwriter Pluto Jonze, it took the morbid creep of ‘Hand Of Man’ live at the Oxford Arts Factory to set my skin crawling at the right rhythm. Suddenly I could appreciate the spare down-tempo melodies on ‘Meet You Under Neon’ and the pop rock jangle on his current single, ‘Plastic Bag In A Hurricane’.

A one-man-band in studio, the 24-year-old Sydney singer splits his time between upbeat pop, ‘90s indie rock guitar and moody electro.

And it turns out it’s a family tradition. “My dad was a producer in the 80s, a one-and-a-half hit wonder. He co-wrote the Melissa Tkautz single ‘Read My Lips’ in 1991, and there was always an ARIA sitting on the mantelpiece and a Yamaha keyboard never that far from reach.”

Although trained and enthusiastic, Jonze was initially reticent to work as a professional musician. “I went to Sydney Grammer, and the emphasis wasn’t on popular music,” he explains.

“A few years ago, I cringed at following my dad’s lead, but his advice has made me the artist that I am today.”

In the last 12 months, Jonze has played tour support for a wide variety of artists, from The Jezabels to Dappled Cities and Andy Bull – and some of those varied styles are reflected in the wide range of instrumentation and production techniques employed in his own music. “The supports have been a varied roster, and my music is pretty eclectic,” he agrees. “The DIY music revolution is all about choices. You are

only bound by your imagination, and sometimes that’s harder.”

Self-produced artists like Gotye resonate with Jonze, who only recently began adding live elements to his previously production-intensive show. “I definitely look up to him. He started as a one-man-band, and people liked it. I started out the same way, and built onto it with a drummer, then a guitarist, and the visuals as well… Other than Gotye, there’s not much in Australia that I’d list as an influence.” As a studio musician earning his stripes live, Jonze is enthusiastically discovering what does and doesn’t work for audiences. “We’ve certainly played shows that didn’t work,” he laughs. “It’s a very visual show, and sometimes I’ve worried that we’re interrupting people’s dinner… Early on it was too weak for a late night crowd, who’re more drunk than during your early support slots, but now it’s a banging live show.”

With single ‘Plastic Bag In A Hurricane’ picked as Channel V’s ‘Ripe Clip Of The Week’, Jonze anticipates a national audience and a foothold in international touring. “This is the biggest nationwide exposure I’ve had, and I want it to work so I can tour profitably. Even more so, I want to get overseas... There’s nothing particularly Australian about my music, and I can’t find many contemporaries in Sydney. I’ve always felt like a lone wolf,” he admits. “but I’ve decided to ignore the voice that worries about whether anyone will be into it… I’ve been in it from day one for the song.”

What: ‘Plastic Band In A Hurricane’ is out now Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Thursday October 27

Mojo Juju

And The Jitterbug Club By Benjamin Cooper

I

t’s foolish to think that Mojo Juju’s band The Snake Oil Merchants would be getting a little bored while she entertains as a solo artist throughout October and November. “I know they’re all keeping pretty busy,” Juju tells me.

“Being busy is definitely part of who we are, when touring happens so much.” It’s not just touring, either; there’s just as much action to be had by the Merchants in the studio as on stage. “We have so much fun when we get together – there are just so many people in the room, and so many different forms being arranged... There’s a lot that goes into the process, a lot of trust, with Snake Oil – so it’s full-on to [now] be working with other people.”

Working with new drummer Damien Fitzgerald, plus the oh-so-dreamy addition of an upright bass with Tim Murphy, has involved equal elements of excitement and challenge. “Touring away from Snake Oil isn’t necessarily easy, but it is much easier to be accountable only to myself. But similarly, I gotta work harder ‘cause I’ve got no one else to bounce the energy off,” she reflects. Adapting her show to fit the particularities of an evening seems to be one of Juju’s strengths: “Depending on the gig, you can really feel the absence [of other musicians]. But I’m enjoying the challenge. After all, they’re all my songs, they all have my characters.”

Juju’s characters can seem of an older world as they fade in and out of the songs, riding on a voice that is both rich and gentle. The next two months sees these villains, dreamers and dames appear at a Tuesday residency at Gardel’s Bar, up the stairs from Porteño, in addition to showings at the Sydney return of The Jitterbug Club. The latest version of the themed party, which lands at The Vanguard over three nights at the end of the month, takes place on a late 1950s cruise ship. When pressed as to the severity of the dress code (‘60s cocktail lounge), Mojo Juju – whose collective The Hoodoo Emporium is responsible for the night – explains, “It’s so that people can have a chance to walk into the club of another era. There’s music and dance up on stage, and there’s a cohesion of the two that makes for an atmosphere... I think it’s probably pretty obvious I’m influenced by growing up with Hitchcock films, that idea of Prohibition, and hedonism.”

That particular form of Juju’s live show will be led by Azzy Trew, of Melbourne’s country angels Graveyard Train, as he conducts the evening’s house band. Juju also promises the return of the chorus line, plus burlesque – “but not just stripper burlesque,” she adds. With obvious roots in 1950s lounge music, is it

possible that the evening might clash with The Vanguard’s stately adornments? “Oh no, it will all look awesome,” she assures. “We’ve put a lot of work in. It’ll be very dark, and a lot of fun; it will definitely be a spectacle.”

With a show every few days in different parts of NSW throughout the coming months, Juju occasionally craves a return to her own place in Melbourne. “I’m pretty much a nomad as it is, so I miss people at home, but we also have toured a lot. I guess that kind of forced us to be [friendly], and we’ve befriended lots of people along the way. So I always get to see someone familiar,” she says. “I have this great romance with truck-stops. I spend so much time travelling up and down the Hume, that these little places become more familiar than my living room. Strange how you become more aware of that.”

Where: Gardel’s Bar @ Porteño, Surry Hills / Brass Monkey, Cronulla When: October 25 & November 1 / Wednesday November 2 More: Jitterbug Club is being held from October 27 – 29 @ The Vanguard in Newtown, featuring The Jitterbeetles, Kira Puru, Goldie Feather and Azzy Trew.

“When beggars die, there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”- JULIUS CAESAR 28 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

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arts frontline

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

five minutes WITH COLIN

MOODY

W

most sought after and wise and loving human in the room. This can be very tedious to have to cater for. With Peter however this constant issue was alleviated by group exercises conducted every morning for two and a half hours that biomechanically removed all egocentric fluff.

What’s your background and training as a performer? There was no encouragement or affinity from anyone within my nuclear and extended family in regard to art of any kind.

I was born in London to Irish parents who had an innate fear of attention of any kind being drawn upon them. My mother also possessed an obsessive and compulsive fear of gypsies, tramps and thieves, so when I was press-ganged into playing Alex from A Clockwork Orange in a school production, the die was cast and the sheep was blacked.

Some ten years later I found myself at NIDA in Oz, for my sins, and the rest is...on the record.

Where and when were you when you first encountered Julius Caesar, and what were your first impressions? I was in Melbourne in a show and went to see an amateur production and funnily enough Cassius was being played by a girl who I promptly wrote my one and only fan letter to. She was hot.

What does this production do to Shakespeare’s original text? This production removes much of the battle scene at the end and inserts Plutarch’s original history into the ending. This was Shakespeare’s main source material for the play, so Plutarch is right at home in this production.

JC virgin or pro? Never been in Julius Caesar before. Or since I suspect.

Tell us about Brutus: Marcus Brutus was rumoured to be Julius Caesar’s illegitimate son and a man of great integrity and high moral virtue. Rumoured to be. I love irony and enigma and it is said that every man must kill his father. So for me the therapeutic bonus of killing dad every night for seven months was impossibly attractive.

Can you tell us a little about working with Peter Evans? Most directors are extremely odd creatures with a deep need to be the

FUNNY HA HA

WISH YOU WERE HERE

This Wednesday, head over to The Wall to see talented (and probably, let’s face it, impoverished) writers weaving elaborate fantasies from other people's (read: really hip photographers) holiday snaps. We’re particularly curious to see what they’ll come up with for this photo (pictured) taken by local rockphotography hero Cybele Malinowski; basically looks like the apocalypse is coming, and someone turned up at the basketball court instead of the bomb shelter...but who are we to say?

One of the following writers will do a better job: Pip Smith, Sam Twyford Moore, Zoe Norton Lodge, Jason Childs, Harry Wynter, Bethany Small, Lee Tran Lam, Angela Bennetts, Steph Harmon, Amelia Schmidt and Rosanna Stevens. On the photography team: Cybele, Pat Stevenson, Maja Baska, Nat Connolly, Jacquie Manning, Will Reichelt, Lucy Rimmer, Sarah Gleeson, Lydia Dowman, James Robinson, Annette Geneva. All the good peeps. Wednesday October 26 from 7.30pm at The World Bar.

OUTPOST PROJECT

We’ve been quietly ramping up for this – the inaugural Outpost Street Art Festival, which will give international giants of the scene – like Brazilian artist Ethos and Belgian artist ROA – and local heroes like Lister, EARS and Shannon Crees, the creative license to turn Cockatoo Island into a playground for your soul. Expect inflatable graf installations; expect giant surrealist murals; expect massive koalas and cockatoos; expect the prettiest buses, walls and roofs you’ve ever seen. Expect Iron Lak to run out of stock.

Over five weeks (November 4 – December 11) artworks will come and go, punters will be able to see murals and graf pieces created in real time, and check out never-before-seen works from Banksy and Brazilian street art godfathers Os Gemeos, as part of the Oi You! private street art collection. So, just quietly, you might wanna get along. outpost.cockatooisland.gov.au 30 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

Melbourne International Comedy Festival (aka ‘MICF’) opened registrations last week for their 2012 festival (March 28 – April 22) so if you have a brilliant (idea for a) show, this is your chance to get out of your living room and onto the stage. Firstly, some numbers (because they don’t lie) – the 2011 MICF lasted 26 days, featured over 350 shows, by 950-or-so funny people, to roughly 600,000 audience people. That’s an excellent ratio of audience-to-you, which suggests you’ll definitely be playing to more than just your mates. It’s not just stand up – anything involving performance and comedy is valid; to get the hot tips on how to get your application accepted, MICF are holding an info session this Wednesday October 26 from 6.30pm at The Shannon Hotel (87-91 Abercrombie St, Chippendale) – RSVP to lee@comedyfestival.com.au. Registrations for MICF close November 23. For all the info see comedyfestival.com.au

HARVEST: ARTS X MUSIC

As previously documented, music and arts go together like pasta and sauce (music is the pasta part that you’re trying to give up because you’re gaining weight, but you can’t because it’s really addictive; arts is the stuff that makes it really interesting) – so Harvest are just doing the sensible thing: putting a layer of crazy arts funtimez on their program of essential music. Now it’s your turn to be sensible: don’t starve yourself.

Harvest have a yummy arts program for their November 13 gathering at Parramatta Park: gothic Lolita extraordinaire Emilie Autumn will be taking over Le Boudoir, with a little help from New York diva Our Lady J, and our own Wau Wau Sisters; Le Snuff Box is hosting Vaudevillage, featuring Applespiel, Zoe Coombs Marr, Randy and Smart Casual; and the Secret Garden is where comedian Michael Workman, erstwhile triple j presenter and novelist Craig Schuftan, and the Caravan Slam troupe, will all be sharpening their intimidating wits. Do it! Tickets on sale now through harvestfestival.com.au

There’s some guff about Australian politics on the press release – is that a reflection of the production? In regard to Australian politics I can only refer you to the BBC correspondent who retired last week with these words: “Don’t judge Australia by its politicians.”

What else is coming up for you, theatrewise? In January I shall be in Buried City at Belvoir St Theatre for the Sydney Festival, and then later in the year will be playing Mark Rothko in Red at the Ensemble theatre.

What: Julius Caesar by Will Shakespeare When: October 25 – November 26 Where: Playhouse, Sydney Opera House More: sydneyoperahouse.com

CREEPSHOW SIDESHOW

If you like a little grind with your bump, Creepshow Sideshow is bringing the sexy back to Halloween this Friday with a haunted horrorhouse that takes over two levels of the Oxford Hotel (134 Oxford St) featuring bellydancing troupe The Body Serpentine, boylesque by Defy; the unpredictable stylings of cabarettist Herbie Strangelove; Aaron Manhattan; gorey ghoulesque Venus Vamp; Kerryx; Slu Taris, and pageant scream queen Betty Grumble.

Apparently it pays to get into the spirit, as there are prizes for best and scariest outfits – not to mention toxic cocktail specials that will help numb your self-consciousness, and possibly even propel you onto the dancefloor, to the sounds of DJs Ivan Silva and Miss Pink. Friday October 28, 8.30pm.

MOBILE SCREENFEST

We kinda wish we’d heard about this way back when, coz this amazing thing we did with our phone, involving a cat and a praying mantis… like Dances With Wolves, but without the wolves – is totally made for the big screen (or the small, mobile-sized screen)… Anyhow, we weren’t the only ones who thought the iPhone 4 camera app was the bee's knees, and the Mobile Screenfest International Awards will showcase the best of the brave attempts to be cinematic on a smartphone, as judged by People Who Know.

Wednesday October 26 from 7.15pm at Event Cinemas, George St. mobilescreenfest.com

TOMORROW'S NOSTALGIA

King Of Nothing are launching their summer collection this week, with a sartorial art party at aMBUSH (4 James St, Waterloo). Titled ‘Tomorrow’s Nostalgia’, this latest collection embodies KON’s ongoing commitment to clean, crisp and attractive clothing that you can work, play, paint, skate, date and create in. The launch party, this Thursday October 27, will encompass everything King Of Nothing love – sets from their recent collaborators and mates Thundamentals (DJ set), Sandstorm Dynasty and Paper Plane Project; an exhibition of artworks from 16 KON artists; and the return of the KON skate jam session (featuring quarters, kickers and ledges that you probably definitely shouldn’t try at home).

To celebrate the launch of Tomorrow’s Nostalgia, we have $250-worth of KONawesome up for grabs, including a tee, a singlet, a pair of ‘Chilling’ drawstring shorts, and a New Era ‘Overgrown’ cap. To get your hands on it, tell us one member of the KON 'Family'. Hint: kingofnothing.com.au

SCRIPT GURUS @ AFTRS

If you’re game to try your hand at screenwriting, you might want to get some advice from the top; AFTRS are hosting a session with John Collee, the writer of Happy Feet (heart-warming penguiney take on the ugly-duckling tale), Master and Commander (naval novel adaptation!) and Creation (biopic!) – no doubt on the secrets of writing different kinds of Hollywood-ready scripts. See? You don’t have to go to film school to go to film school… Sunday October 30 from 10am-5pm, AFTRS Main Theatre, Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park. openprogram.aftrs.edu.au

FRASERSTUDIOS OPEN DAY

Once every three months, FraserStudios throw open their Chippendale-based doors, to give you the chance to explore their artists’ studios – and basically just suss out what their visual and performing arts residents are up to. They throw a barbeque, set up some decks, and have a drink or two on a casual Sunday afternoon… It’s really quite delightful, and it’s also the last chance for one of these, as the FraserStudios project finally comes to an end. Sad Face. So this Sunday October 30, head along to FraserStudios to see what these cool kids have been up to: Team MESS, Michaela Gleave, Charles Dennington, Craig Waddell, Alexander Jackson Wyatt, Tammie Castles, Stephanie Quirk and Mark Titmarsh. queenstreetstudio. com

SYDNEY ARCHITECTURE

Sydney Architecture Festival kicked off last week, putting a nix, once and for all, on any notion that we would have been better off in the caves. Everyone’s getting in on it – the Goethe Institute (Sydney ambassadors of German culture) are presenting an exhibition of photographs documenting the Bauhaus architecture of Bruno Taut – one of the most eminent architects of German Modernism (ends this Friday October 28 – go!); Tusculum gallery in Potts Point is showing a selection of never-before-seen photographs

by Max Dupain, and CarriageWorks is hosting the Expanded Architecture exhibition, which pairs ten 10 local architects with ten local artists in order to project imagery on the floors, walls, ceilings and floors. The festival runs until this Sunday October 30. For the full program of tours, talks, workshops, events and exhibitions, see sydneyarchitecturefestival.org

SYDNEY ZOMBIE WALK

Zombies may not pay tax or do the shopping, but they do enjoy a walk – and they love company. To see what that looks like, head along to Hyde Park this Saturday October 29, at around 3.30pm, for Sydney Zombie Walk. Running (or possibly shuffling) since about 2008, it definitely bleeds all over the City2Surf. If you’d like to get more hands on (hands off?), head to sydneyzombiewalk.com to register for the walk, and/or the Zombie Tea Party taking place afterwards. If you’re worried your face is too pretty (it may not be), we have it on good authority (i.e. SZW convener Michael Berman) that there’s a killer make-up artist called Dave SFX who attends every walk, and charges a pretty reasonable fee for fantastic stuff (see above).

Obviously Michael knows zombies, so if you’re looking for some pre-walk inspiration, you might wanna check out his current fave, The Walking Dead. We’re just trying to help.

The supremely sexy Lucille Spielfuchs and Baby Blue Bergman

Zombies! As photographed by Zombie Expert Michael Berman

ith a slate of work that encompasses everything from Sydney Theatre Company (The City; The Season at Sarsaparilla) and Belvoir (Measure For Measure; Love Me Tender) to Griffin Theatre (The Modern International Dead), Colin Moody is no slouch when it comes to the stage. Earlier this year he took the lead in Peter Evans’ Melbourne Theatre Company production of A Behanding in Spokane, to much acclaim; this month, he rejoins Evans in Bell Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar – in which he plays Brutus.

were coming from; he wanted so many questions answered about the history of characters – because so much of this film exposits and resolves things that stretch back over 15 years and further: the abuse of their father towards their mother, when they were kids; the severance between Tommy and Brendan when they’re 15-16; him escaping with the mother – it all happens way before the film starts, so we’re just drip-feeding it to the audience, in pieces. So it was important for us to have an understanding of all that history.

And I imagine important for that beach scene, in order for you and Tom to achieve a real breakdown…

Yeah (laughs) the beach scene was always hard; because Tommy and I were trying to do a dramatic scene while also sliding a lot of exposition under the door; and there’s nothing worse than... (he pauses) Well, it’s the great challenge, sometimes, of being an actor: how do you deliver information that the audience needs, while making it seem effortless, and not ‘convenient’.

Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton face off in Warrior

THE FIGHTER Joel Edgerton Steps Up in Warrior By Dee Jefferson

I

t’s an overcast morning at Fox Studios, and Joel Edgerton has stepped away from Baz Luhrmann’s Great Gatsby shoot, happening elsewhere on the lot, to do interviews for Warrior – his first ‘Hollywood’ leading role. He’s sporting a neat, thin moustache, and a pomadelacquered 30s ‘do. The only reminder of his fighting physique is a handshake that could crush ice.

Over the 15 years since he graduated from Theatre Nepean, Edgerton has become such a fixture on Australian screens – from his first notable film role, in John Curran’s Praise (1998) to his extensive run in The Secret Life Of Us, and a slate of criminal indies that most recently included Animal Kingdom – that it’s almost surreal to see him on Warrior’s big budget advertising campaign, alongside British Oscarbait Tom Hardy. It’s not his first Hollywood role – as any Star Wars fan can tell you – but it’s definitely his entrance as leading man material.

But now I’ve travelled to watch a couple of UFC fights, and whenever it’s on TV, I try and stay up with it. So I’m a bit of a convert.

Obviously you did a lot of intensive physical training for this role – but what about the non-physical preparation?

I was s’posed to learn a little bit about physics, but funnily enough, I felt more comfortable in the cage than I did in front of a class of kids, teaching ‘Newton’s third law’ (smiles). We did a lot of accent stuff – there was a real emphasis [by Gavin] on taking me and Tommy to this whole different level of trickery, that we were ‘working class Americans’ – from the fighting component, to the accent, which I felt was very important

to get right. You know, quite often directors will get you to improvise certain moments, or will throw new dialogue at you – and if your accent is limited to the words written in your script, it’s a problem; because then the character only lives within the frame of the movie – and I think it needs to live beyond the frame of the movie, as well. It’s hard to convey the true sense of the character when you’re spending so much energy just thinking about how you sound, and monitoring yourself.

How prescriptive was Gavin about how you formed your character? He definitely wanted to have a clear understanding, with each actor, that both he and they knew where their characters

Edgerton on set

What have been the particularly formative experiences for you, in terms of your craft and career?

You know, I describe an actor’s career as a bit of a pinball game: you’re rolling along in one direction, and then one experience is a collision that sends you into a new space. You bounce off certain things, people and experiences. There was a guy I worked with at drama school – Terry Crawford – who directed me in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours Lost. He saw something in me that made him encourage the Sydney Theatre Company to take me on board, for Blackrock [in 1995]. And that changed a lot of things for me, and it started a long relationship with STC, which also lead to other experiences.

On a career level, getting the role [of Anakin’s step-brother] in Star Wars really positioned me to open up doors in the States. And Warrior’s definitely shifted the ground for me. So there’s been a number of those experiences – and a number of people along the way who have inspired me, and taught me different things.

Also, there’s been a certain amount of gambling and risk-taking on my behalf, in terms of ‘cutting off the lifeline’: I was working a lot in the theatre, but then I realised I couldn’t really work on film if I was always working in theatre – so I had to cut that lifeline off. It was like stepping into a dark room, you don’t know what’s going to happen.

And then that gamble paid off – so I took a gamble again, stepping out of television and quitting a job I loved [on The Secret Life Of Us] – but knowing I also wanted more variety. And then deciding to go to America, another gamble.

I think it’s always worth it – it’s hard to make changes, but you’ve kinda got of force yourself to do it, to go to the next level.

Warrior is an old-fashioned Cain-and-Abel tale set in the world of professional Mixed Martial Arts. Hardy and Edgerton play estranged brothers Tommy and Brendan Conlon, former fighters who are both drawn back into the ring out of different kinds of desperation – and both have their hearts set on winning.

BRAG: Is UFC – or Mixed Martial Arts – the kind of sport that you would watch, in your spare time?

JOEL: I watch it now – I never used to. I mean, I’ve been to Vegas to watch a couple of boxing matches, you know – because I was always curious, and I’m not squeamish about fighting.

But I never felt like that was ‘my sport’, you know?

G IV EA W AY S

You and Tom both have a background in theatre; did that give you any common ground, in terms of your craft?

I find all actors have their own secret approach to what they’re doing – you catch glimpses of what they’re doing, but you can only suspect what goes on in their heads. It’s a lot of cerebral process combined with a lot of instinct, and impulse. And you don’t find that actors tend to ask each other a lot of questions! I don’t know how similar our approaches are – but I definitely had a lot of fun doing this film together with him.

I was really glad that he was going to be playing the other brother; I guess its like if you’re playing tennis, and you find out that you’re playing against someone who you admire and respect – because it lifts your game. And you know you’re gonna have a good match.

What: Warrior When: Opens October 27

IT TIME! TICKETS! F

WIN!

ans of Gattaca will be happy to know that director/ screenwriter Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show; Lord Of War) is back with another sci-fi thriller. In Time is set in a future where humans are genetically engineered to stop aging at 25 years, and die at 26 – unless they have the money to buy themselves an extension. Will (Justin Timberlake) is one of the poor working class who want more time, while Sylvia (Amanda Seyfried) belongs to the ultrarich class who have all the time they need. They meet after Will unexpectedly comes into a ‘fortune’ of time – and is on the run from the ‘Time Keepers’, and together they begin to formulate a way to change the face of society forever…

In Time opens on October 27. Thanks to 20th Century Fox, we have ten in-season double passes up for grabs; to get your hands on one, email freestuff@ thebrag.com with the name of another Niccol film (not mentioned above) AND your postal address.

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Autoluminescent [FILM] A Guitar God Comes to Earth By Nick Taras & Dee Jefferson

David Strassman [COMEDY] Puppet Master By Roslyn Helper

O

pening in cinemas this week, just two years after his untimely death, Autoluminescent chronicles the turbulent life of Rowland S. Howard, the pioneering, iconoclastic guitarist who is perhaps best remembered for his work alongside Nick Cave, in The Birthday Party.

Although his name wasn’t as familiar as Cave’s, Howard’s death brought scores of musicians here and overseas out of the woodwork, to pay tribute to his searing talent.

Even though Autoluminescent was completed after his death, its genesis was far earlier; producer Lynn-Maree Milburn and director Richard Lowenstein (Dogs In Space), approached the guitarist with the notion of a feature documentary after his appearance in We’re Living On Dog Food (2009), Lowenstein’s tribute to Melbourne’s post-punk scene of the late ’70s-early ’80s.

“I’d always felt he would be someone who would be wonderful in a film, like an actual actor,” says Milburn. “We wanted to make a documentary about him but not necessarily from a music point of view. He came in and did the interview and it was fantastic.”

Milburn and Lowenstein are the perfect people to tackle a documentary on Howard, being not only fans but also his contemporaries in the Melbourne punk scene. Their first encounters Roland S. Howard

with the fledgling guitar legend were at the tender ages of 17 and 19 respectively, when he was playing with The Boys Next Door (later to mutate into The Birthday Party). “Both of us have been in the orbit of that scene,” says Lowenstein. “We all grew up together, really, with that music and everything.”

Bear, and even had a television talk show on Channel Nine in 2002, titled Strassman, where Chuck interviewed celebrities like Billie Piper and Tim Finn.

“I loved the sound of his guitar,” Milburn recalls of those first encounters. “I loved the way he played; it was transcendent and expressive.

It always expressed things beyond this world.

Even though it could be quite jarring and hypnotic, it just had this ability to capture something but also be transcendent.

Strassman is quick to point out that whilst Careful What You Wish For is “90 percent traditional hand-up-the-bum puppetry,” it isn’t your average run-of-the-mill show. In an age where puppetry and ventriloquism are considered archaic and even outdated art forms, it’s clear that Strassman is making the effort to break the mould, and re-imagine what ventriloquism can achieve on-stage.

Autoluminescent features interviews with music icons such as Mick Harvey, Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Nick Cave and Henry Rollins, discussing their experiences with Howard. “Because it was about Rowland, people really wanted to talk about him… Even if they didn’t know him, there was something about Rowland that touched the heart, touched the mind and the imagination of a lot of people.”

However, the most interesting interviews come from the women whom Howard loved, which reveal him as a person tormented by the seduction of drugs and combating the firm strangle of depression. “Everybody has their own version of what happened, what went wrong,” says Milburn. “It was sort of our role to play a bit of adjudicators between all the versions.”

“He’s obviously well known [as a guitarist and composer],” says Lowenstein, “but what we discovered…was that he was quite a unique and intriguing human being. He was an eclectic eccentric, and there are far too few on the planet, especially in the current age. He helped define that era, I think he’ll go down as [having lived] an extraordinary life – a tragic and sad life, but an extraordinary one.”

What: Autoluminescent When: Opens October 27 (with special screening + filmmaker Q&A at 6.45pm) Where: Chauvel Cinema, Paddington More: autoluminescent.com

David Strassman and Chuck

C

huck Wood is a witty, charming and sarcastic 12-year-old; he has his own Facebook page and Twitter account – but he’s a dummy. David Strassman, American comedy veteran and master ventriloquist is the man behind the mask, and in his latest show, Careful What You Wish For, he makes the mistake of wishing Chuck Wood and all his puppet friends never existed.

“A granted wish will always create unforeseen consequences,” explains Strassman. “In the show, Chuck has heard that I’m retiring, and he’s afraid he’ll end up in a museum – so he bribes the other puppets to cross over to the dark side, to prevent me from giving up my profession.

And when I find this out I feel betrayed and I say I wish these puppets never existed in the first place.” Unhappily for Strassman, another one of his creations, A.N.G.E.L., is a robot secretary femme fatale with the ability to grant wishes – and thus an adventure of wormholes, alternate universes and stringy bark forests ensues.

Strassman has travelled to Australia frequently since the early 1990s, making his Down Under debut at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in 1991. Since then, he’s toured here numerous times with his puppet characters Chuck Wood and Ted E.

The show includes a six-ton truck, 138 lighting devices and his own specially developed puppetronics equipment, which allows him to control his puppets remotely, whilst still performing ventriloquism.

“In the second half of the show I do a seven-puppet rapid-fire conversation where seven puppets are talking to me at once…

After you see it you walk away thinking that there was a guy on stage with seven or eight other people and then your realise I’m really up there alone the whole time.

Because the puppets’ characters are so real you forget that they’re not.”

When talking about contemporary ventriloquism he is disappointed with what’s on offer. “Unfortunately my ventriloquial peers are pretty lame if you ask me. They use their puppets to sing daggy songs and talk fast back and forth and there’s no substance. My puppets have hopes, dreams and fears… it’s twisted, it’s hilarious, it’s a laugh every ten seconds.”

What: David Strassman – Careful What You Wish For Where: The Enmore Theatre When: Fri November 11 & Sat November 12 More: Greater Sydney tour starts at Penrith Panthers on Friday October 28 – for full list of dates and venues, see chuckwood.com

Bargain Garden

[THEATRE] Theatre Kantanka and Ensemble Offspring kick off the new season at Performance Space By Pierce Wilcox

I

t’s almost impossible to know what Carlos Gomes will do next. For the past 15 years, since co-founding Theatre Kantanka in 1996, he’s forged the company a reputation for staging innovative performances in nontheatrical spaces. Earlier this year you could find him in the director’s chair for Missing the Bus to David Jones, shaping a poignant story from a series of interviews with the elderly inhabitants of our city’s nursing homes. When I meet him, he’s in the middle of rehearsing Bargain Garden, an eclectic fusion of performance, sculpture, music and media that takes a plastic scalpel to our consumptionobsessed culture.

Kym Vercoe in Bargain Garden

Plastic is a dominant element of the show’s design, crafted mainly from recyclables and discarded scrap. The lo-fi look turns Bargain Garden into what Gomes calls “a celebration of human creativity. It’s a fascinating thing; we can get all these colourful plastics, it’s so toxic!

So you want to get rid of it, but you can make something interesting out of it.”

The range of Kantanka’s work owes much to Gomes’ theatrical wanderlust. “Sometimes you can get in a little jam in your form – you get sucked into it,” he explains. “I get bored!

So [this time] there’s not so much of a linear narrative, it’s very fragmented. The whole process is a lot of making, listening to ideas, weaving-in music. It’s not like you have a piece of writing and then you perform it, but more like, ‘Okay, we want to have a gigantic dead teddy bear… that would be fun.’”

There’s a message under the chaos, though Gomes admits that “at the moment, if you look [in the rehearsal room], it looks out of control! But it’s nice to leave it out of control sometimes. I let them free, and then my job is to somehow conduct them towards the concept of the show – which is why do we need things? What is stuff? Why do I have to wear this jacket? What is this emotional, 32 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

that. There are some people who say, we’ve had the Stone Age, the Iron Age, now we’re in the Plastic Age. When we’re discovered, there’ll be a layer of plastic.”

psychological feeling that I have to go and buy it?”

And there’s no better embodiment of our consumer culture than the two-dollar shop.

“From here to my house, there’s about ten,” says Gomes, “so I can stop anywhere.

[There’s] that lure, that desire that we have, and at the same time that disgusting feeling of, ‘My god, did I buy that?’ – but at the same

time, it’s just two dollars, right?”

Bargain Garden is more than a straight sociopolitical tract; imagine No Logo as staged by Lewis Carroll. “The show has that playfulness about it, because it’s quite depressing really, to see what’s happening to our planet. I think it’ll be a humorous journey, but it’s also meant to make us think about where we’re going and if we’re on the right track. We’re not, we know

This impulse is shared by Kantanka’s collaborators on Bargain Garden, the new music group Ensemble Offspring. Gomes admires them for “trying to transform some of the most old, lost, cheap stuff into music. Even a barcode – they can get a barcode and use some software to turn the barcode into music.”

It’s an eloquent demonstration of how much can come from what we normally discard without a thought, and it’s the product of what Gomes calls “quite a special collaboration. It is great to have live musicians, and musicians without a boundary of ‘what is music’. Music can be anything.”

What: Bargain Garden, as part of Performance Space’s EXCHANGE season When: November 1 - 5 Where: Performance Space @ CarriageWorks, Eveleigh More: performancespace.com.au

Autoluminescent - Photo of Roland S. Howard by Peter Milne

In December 2009, midway through the documentary, Howard passed away due to liver complications. He was just 50 years of age. “It was very hard because we didn’t have Rowland for long. We would’ve loved to really have started years before so that there was a bit more unfolding of his life, and so it wasn’t so retrospective.” Subsequently, the film became far more about portraying Howard’s legacy.

“I could just be a ventriloquist with a mic in front of a curtain telling stupid jokes, but I don’t [do that],” he says. Instead, his work is heavily influenced by musical theatre, high production values, and the rides he experienced as a child at Disneyland.

“I love the magic of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and all that stuff, where they completely engulf you in another reality, in another world.”

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W O N K O BO

JULIUS CAESAR

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE DIRECTED BY PETER EVANS

DESIGNER ANNA CORDINGLEY LIGHTING DESIGNER PAUL JACKSON COMPOSER/SOUND DESIGNER KELLY RYALL MOVEMENT/FIGHT DIRECTOR NIGEL POULTON WITH KEITH AGIUS, REBECCA BOWER, DANIEL FREDERIKSEN, BENEDICT HARDIE, KATIE-JEAN HARDING, ALEX MENGLET, COLIN MOODY, KATE MULVANY, GARETH REEVES, JAMES WARDLAW

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE PLAYHOUSE 25 OCTOBER – 26 NOVEMBER BOOKINGS SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM 02 9250 7777 TICKETMASTER.COM.AU 1300 723 038

OPTUS UNDER 30 TICKETS FROM $30* *Seats limited. Transaction fee of up to $8.50 applies.

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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.

beautiful minds

PICS :: GP

Jude Law suits up in Contagion

11:10:11 :: Index Gallery :: 60 Hutchinson St St Peters 9590 7704

■ Film

■ Film

Released October 20

Released October 27

It’s not often that an Academy Award-winning actress dies in the first ten minutes of a film – and even less so that you get to see the fleshy under-flap of her scalp. But Steven Soderbergh has a whole pantheon of Oscar-winners and nominees to potentially kill-off in Contagion, his effective take on the epidemic genre. And while celebrity-studded casts often engage (rather than suspend) your sense of disbelief, Soderbergh’s finetuning of tone and atmosphere is such that you are absorbed into what seems to be a very real, very terrifying scenario.

Americans, apparently, will sue you for anything. That’s what’s confronting the distributors of Drive, who are being sued by a short-sighted Michigan woman who claims that the film’s highoctane trailer promised a Fast and the Furious-style thriller. As ludicrous as this is, the trailer for Drive did play up the third act violence at the expense of the crisp and brooding atmosphere of much of the runtime. Critics have been fawning over the finished film, and are eager to gush their praises of its dreamy star, but audiences have struggled to reconcile their expectations with what is essentially a taught genre piece, aimed at film-literate fans of sleazy '80s action thrillers.

bi: group show

PICS :: TL

CONTAGION

how do you want me?

PICS :: TL

13:10:11 :: Somedays Gallery :: 72B Fitzroy St Surry Hills 9331 6637

15:10:11 :: FraserStudios :: 10 Kensington St Chippendale

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

DR BLOOD’S NIGHT OF TERROR Saturday October 29 from 8pm The Standard Lvl 3, 383 Bourke St, Surry Hills

Pika-chew by Esjay 34 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

Ma.gallery, LO-FI Collective and The Standard are forming an unholy trinity this weekend, to throw the most badass Halloween party eva. To start with, it’s called Dr Blood’s Night Of Terror (so right there, you think, ‘I probably shouldn’t bring my nephew to this'); it’s featuring art by a terrifying assembly of artists, including Esjay, John Hynd, Bennett, Pigeon Boy, Steven Nuttall and tattoo lords Stevie Edge and Heath Nock; and finally, the horrifying sounds of Tombstone, The Walk On By and Glitter Canyon. Attendance mandatory, costumes recommended, screaming optional. wearethestandard.com.au

The film opens on ‘Day 2’ of the infection, with a very sick Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow) en route home to the States, from Hong Kong, and leads us through a montage of various people in different places and stations of life succumbing to the same symptoms – sweats, coughing, impaired vision. By Day 4, they’ve started dying. Over the next 150-orso days – and 106 minutes – you’re privy to the global unfolding of the best thing since the Spanish influenza.

Several narrative strands are interwoven to show how the crisis is handled at different layers of society: Beth’s husband (Matt Damon) finds he will do anything to protect his daughter from the disease and violence sweeping his suburb; a field expert (Kate Winslet) and a scientist (Jennifer Ehle) risk their lives to save others; the head of the Centre for Disease Control (Laurence Fishburne) struggles with the morality of withholding top-secret government information at the expense of people he cares about; a French epidemiologist (Marion Cotillard) sent to Macau by the World Health Organisation, to evaluate the origins of the disease, sees first-hand how health is a privilege of the Western middle classes; an indie journalist (Jude Law) teeters on the edge of the manipulation and corruption he claims to expose.

The visual and sound design of Contagion works to move the audience from unease, through anxiety, up to heart-thumping adrenaline. To this end, Soderbergh uses the key creatives from his multi-Oscarwinning Traffic: composer Cliff Martinez (who also brings his brand of pulsing, darkly atmospheric electro energy to Drive this month); Academy Award-winning editor Stephen Mirrione, who has turned the interweaving of multiple storylines and the manufacture of anxiety into an art form, in films like 21 Grams and Babel, but who also did Soderbergh’s super-slick Oceans series; and Soderbergh himself, acting as cinematographer.

Contagion is less interesting than many of Soderbergh’s previous films, and much slicker than recent efforts like The Informant! and The Girlfriend Experience; essentially, it’s an out-and-out thriller. But by marrying a top-notch cast, creative and technical credentials with one of humanity’s strongest fears, he hits the ball straight out of the park.

DRIVE

On its own terms, Drive is one of the most exhilaratingly cinematic outings of the year, with Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn exercising superb control over every frame. The craft pulsates off the screen, from the stunning opening sequence, where Ryan Gosling, known only as the ‘Driver’, makes a calculated getaway from the cops. Gosling plays a borderline-mute Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as a wheelman for mid-level criminals. His wanderingsamurai level of cool does him well until he meets his angelic neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan), who has a son, Benicio, and a husband, Standard Gabriel (Oscar Isaac) who’s just about to get out of prison. The two hit it off in the most subdued and intoxicating way, and because Gosling and Mulligan are such nuanced actors, their tentative, emotionally-charged flirtation sparkles.

Complications and ultra-violence ensue when Standard returns with some outstanding debts, and local gangsters, played menacingly by Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman, become involved.

Refn, not unlike Tarantino, elevates pulp material to an A-level with an unapologetic love of his source material.

From the opening pink title font and ethereal synth ballad soundtrack, Refn announces up front his stylistic intentions. As an LA crime thriller it’s up there with Heat and Collateral in terms of a refreshingly-stylised depiction of the Hollywood metropolis. The plot, predictable in its arc but less so in its execution, is at times warmingly sentimental, a stark contrast to the grisly violence that ultimately engulfs the Driver’s world. The cast is outstanding; even Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston gets solid airtime as the closest thing Driver has to a friend. I’m cautious to award Drive masterpiece status without repeat viewings, but as a visceral cinematic experience that’s too cool for school, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Joshua Blackman

Dee Jefferson

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Street Level

Film & Theatre Reviews

With Vashti Hughes

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

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD Released October 20 From Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese comes this epic, superbly crafted documentary exploring the personal and professional life, times and musical legacy of former Beatle George Harrison, who died in 2001. The youngest of the Beatles, Harrison’s own talents as a guitarist and songwriter (Frank Sinatra once called Harrison’s ‘Something’ one of the greatest love songs written) were often overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney. It was only after the band split that his abilities were recognised.

As with No Direction Home, his epic 208-minute 2005 documentary about Bob Dylan, Scorsese’s Living In The Material World is a revealing, comprehensive portrait of Harrison. It’s also clearly a labour of love, and sprinkled with many of the wonderful songs that we often forget Harrison wrote.

The film has been painstakingly researched, and draws on a wealth of photographs, rarely-seen archival footage, home videos and diary entries, which reveal Harrison as a gentle, humble, artistic man eternally searching for inner peace. Rather than relying on voice over, intimate biographical details are teased out through a series of extensive, intimate interviews with Harrison himself, his wife of 30 years, Olivia, and his son Dhani.

There are also wonderful anecdotes from the likes of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, and famed record producer Phil Spector (recorded before his arrest and well publicised murder trial). From these observers, we get a sense of Harrison as a self-effacing

man and a consummate professional, who approached everything he did with passion.

During the first part, there's plenty of information about the Beatles – from their formative years in the red light district of early-'60s Berlin, to their overwhelming success, and the creative tensions that eventually led to the split. The second part of the film looks in detail at Harrison’s fascination with Indian mysticism, and the religious and spiritual transformation that would consume him in later years, and shape much of his musical direction.

There is plenty of detail about his postBeatles solo career, his reclusive nature, his collaborations with Ravi Shankar, and the Concert for Bangladesh (the first celebrityorganised, star-studded benefit concert).

The film even looks at Harrison's involvement in the film industry through Handmade Films, the production company he set up to make films that he wanted to see – including some of the classics of British cinema, such as Life Of Brian, cult favourite Withnail And I, and The Long Good Friday.

Despite being extremely comprehensive, Scorsese curiously chooses to brush over Harrison’s drug use and womanising (although the romantic triangle between himself, his first wife Patti and Eric Clapton is touched upon). It is also a little surprising that there is not even a brief mention of the protracted legal proceedings over his song 'My Sweet Lord'.

Like all good documentaries, Living In The Material World transcends its subject matter and has broad appeal, even to those who are not fans of (or just unfamiliar with) Harrison and his music. Don’t be daunted by the 208-minute run-time, either – this is too insightful to be anything but engrossing.

Greg King

Mum's in - Photo of Vashti Hughes by Munir Kotadia

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ashti (who, incidentally, is part of the famous Hughes family that includes sister Christa and father Dick) has been kicking around Sydney’s performance scene since she graduated from the University of Western Sydney 15-or-so years ago – and she’s a bit of a veteran of the alt-cabaret scene, thanks to characters like Mavis Brown, and the ongoing Six Quick Chicks series. Her latest project is Mum’s In – a one-woman (plus music-man) show in which she takes on Sydney’s razorgang heritage, one louche character at a time.

What was the genesis of Mum’s In? Being a Kings Cross local, I wanted to find out the history of the underworld of my area in the '20s and '30s. And once I started reading about the colourful characters, they screamed out off the page to be portrayed in a theatrical setting.

How does the show work? I play Tilly Devine, brothel madam and entrepreneur; Kate Leigh, who monopolised the sly-grog trade; and Nellie Cameron, the most glamorous (and expensive) prostitute of the time. I also play Frank ‘the Little Gunman’ Green and Guido Caletti – criminal enemies who fought over Nellie constantly (she’d end up with whichever one wasn’t in gaol). The show is a rollercoaster ride through their chaotic, power-hungry energy – with original music/sound design by Ross Johnston.

How do the Underbelly: Razor versions of Kate & Tilly & Co. compare to the real deal?

The real deal was, from many accounts (not to mention the photos), plug ugly! They were hard women who lived hard lives – and this showed in their faces. Sydney wasn’t gym-obsessed and leading the clean-living, health-conscious lifestyle we live now. They were both scary people: coarse, almost grotesque, screaming, swearing – and not shy to throw a punch. They

definitely weren’t as glamorous as Channel 9 would lead us to believe.

You debuted this show back in May – what has changed between the first run and this upcoming run?

A major change is the setting: the first run was in a community hall, which we transformed into a sly-grog shop. This time round it’s in an opulent, luxurious setting – a rococo room with chandeliers, baroque furniture, red velvet, gold, and Italian frescoes on the walls of naked men and devils. Besides that, we go deeper into the characters – their darkness and motives – and we've added some new material and songs.

Tell us about your venue! Well, it was a landmark then just as it is now (although of course the Coke sign opposite is a bigger landmark now!), and they all would have drunk in it (as I do); Guido Caletti got killed in the street behind the Kings Cross Hotel, and Nellie Cameron used to operate as a prostitute on William Street. And the next corner across is Kellett Street, where the infamous gang war happened (and where Tilly had brothels).

Did you find a little bit of ‘Razor’ in you?

There’s a little bit of all of them in me: Tilly Devine is a loudmouth showoff; Kate Leigh is a crafty old toad; Nellie Cameron is a party gal; Frank Green is obsessive/addictive – and Guido Caletti wants it all. I don’t know those are particularly attractive qualities, but I must admit I do relate. The difference is, I don’t kill for it!

Plus I NEVER know where the drugs are!

What: Mum’s In by Vashti Hughes When: October 24 – November 16 Where: Kings Cross Hotel / Cnr William St & Darlinghurst Rd More: mumsin.com.au

AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ART Bachelor of Performance Unique Education for the Actor / Creator / Producer

AUDITION NOW FOR 2012 Apply Online: www.aada.edu.au

INFORMATION EVENING

Cricos Code 00665C

Tuesday 8 November, 6:30pm – 8:30pm Pilgrim Theatre, 262 Pitt Street, Sydney (02) 9219 5444 enquiries@aada.edu.au

The Australian Academy of Dramatic Art is a department of the Australian Institute of Music

AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF DRAMATIC ART

BRAG :: 432 :: 03:10:11 :: 35

BRAG EATS Fish On Fire

News Bites

SUMMER AT THE CARRO

The Carrington Hotel, our local purveyor of delicious, is casting off its heavier winter menu in favour of lighter, fresh summer food, with lashings of salad and seafood (and a handful of salads with seafood); if you’re dining with James Wirth (co-owner of Carrington, Duke and the Abercrombie) he’d probably force you to try the fried shark and romesco (a capsicum based, Spanish-y sauce) – it’s his favourite. If you’re not dining with James (altogether more likely, don’t you think?) then you need to make up your own mind. The newies include the braised red bean and morcilla, the fresh tuna el scorchio, steamed clams (or as we like to say, vongoles a vapore), prawn & chorizo sangas, salt cod fritters (pictured) – and those salads we alluded to earlier. For relaxing summer dining times, make it Carrington times. 563 Bourke St, Surry Hills / the-carrington.com.au

BEST OF BRITISH

If you’re feeling a bit posh this week, pop along to the Snag Stand to tonguetest their new haute dog – the Best Of British. No surprises in the condiments department, with Colman’s English Mustard taking the honours, but it’s what's inside that counts: the freshly grilled Cumberland sausage – a coarse-ground blend of beef, pork and herbs, courtesy of local boutique butchery Black Forest Smokehouse (Marrickville) – topped with sautéed onions… The Poms aren’t much chop in the rugby department, but they sure know their way around a dog. Find the Snag Stand at Westfield Sydney’s Level 5 Food Court, 188 Pitt Street. facebook.com/snagstand

MOONSHINE

This sounds almost too good to be true: a seaside shanty shack specialising in cider and rum, with no dress code… Hotel Steyne: we raise our thong to you. Opening last week at Manly’s Hotel Steyne, the Moonshine Cider & Rum Bar has 16 ciders on tap, a bar with rum, and live music from Thursday to Sunday.

Upstairs at Hotel Steyne (75 the Corso, Manly) – for more info, head to hotelsteyne.com.au

GOT SOMETHING FOR BRAG EATS? Email us news tips or story ideas to food@thebrag.com

CRUELTY FREE FESTIVAL

You don’t have to be a hippy, or even a vegetarian, to care about animal welfare, and the crew at the Sydney Cruelty Free Festival are back again to show us some easy ways to help save the kittens. Punters will be able to learn how they can reduce animal cruelty in their everyday lives, without sacrificing their Sunday morning bacon and egg roll.

Funny-man Tom Ballard, of triple j Breaky fame, will be hosting proceedings, and some live music from local artists will hopefully get the compassion-juices flowing – maybe even enough for you to sign up to volunteer with an animal rescue group, or adopt an abandoned pooch. Sunday October 30 at Belmore Park near Central Station, or visit crueltyfreefestival.org.au

BRUNCH, DARLIE Darlie Laundromatic, our favourite boozy laundromat experience, is now serving up brunch from 10am on Fridays and weekends – so grab the paper and head towards the courtyard for a bacon & egg roll or a little homemade cannelli baked beans with leek, washed down with a flat white courtesy of super-boutique Golden Cobra Coffee – roasted locally by real snake people! (Untrue.) 304 Palmer Street, Darlinghurst / darlielaundromatic.com

DINE-IN OR TAKEAWAY

Our food is honest, pure and real.

uth-wateraning Authentic lmo ls and le vegan fa adfeme grille ats Fresh, wholesome, additive free ingredients Blending street food with ar t and music is what keeps people coming back time after time.

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10pm; Open Mon-Wed 11am-1am; 7am Fri ; am Thu 7am-12 Weekends 10am-12am

is a ful y licensed venue.

www.facebook.com/sabbaba www.sabbaba.com.au Sabbaba Newtown 146 King St Newtown Tel: 95198084 Sabbaba Bondi Beach 82 Hall St Bondi Beach

Sabbaba Bondi Junction Shop 1/71-91 Spring St Bondi Junction

36 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

Sabbaba Westfield Sydney Shop 5010/77 Castlereagh St Sydney

FRESH & DELICIOUS SEAFOOD MADE TO ORDER 25 YEARS EXPERIENCE AND FAMILY OWNED

OPEN MONDAY – THURSDAY LUNCH: 11AM – 3PM DINNER: 5PM-10PM FRIDAY – SUNDAY LUNCH & DINNER: 11AM – 10PM

BYO 202 DEVONSHIRE ST SURRY HILLS

Batter Up

We Survey Sydney's Best Fish'n'Chips By Meaghan Meredith

T

he consumption of fish’n’chips marks the unmistakable onset of Australian summer; the hot sun beating down on our backs, the crash of the ocean and the crispness of a beer battered chip, paired with its inextricable soulmate – the lightly battered fish – is part of the quintessential Sydney summer experience.

So much so, that it’s hard to believe fish’n’chips was invented in London, in the 1860s…

Fast forward several oceans and 150 years, and Sydney has no shortage of fish shops – but your oral pleasure depends on sorting the bland from the badass; it’s the difference between settling for a soggy and grease-saturated piece of hake, and that divine fillet of flathead or joint of John Dory, cooked to crispy, batterlicious perfection (and completely and utterly justifying the million calories and/or 5km run you promise yourself you’ll do, right after you finish that last chip…).

Being my 'hood, I can’t go past Mohr Fish in Surry Hills, who have over 25 years' experience in creating perfect fish’n’chips. It’s one of Sydney’s few affordable AND delicious options, and the broad menu encompasses everything from the traditional and plentiful serving of beautifully crisp, melt in your mouth fish with chips ($8.50, takeaway), to fish and prawn dumplings, inundated with a tasty soy and chilli sauce (and plenty of Asian greens, to make you feel virtuous). For me, however, the most 'mohrish' summertime treat is their incomparable fish burger; a mere $7.50 (takeaway) gets you a mountain of coleslaw and salad, drizzled with a tangy creamy sauce nestled atop a heaping portion of seasoned grilled fish which overflows outside of the dangerously soft bun that holds it all together. Drool.

If you’re Glebe way, Fish On Fire on Glebe Point Road serve up their seafood in a no-nonsense kind of way that focuses on freshness (they’re a mere 500m from the Fish Markets, yo) and delivering deliciousness straight to your table, for around $8-12 – whether you like your fish battered or grilled, served with your choice of salad, rice or perfectly golden, beer-battered chips. Order the mixed seafood platter with chips for a sample of everything, or choose a panseared salmon with salad for a healthier option – then pop up the road to the AB bottle shop for a clear-skin of cool white, and watch the world go by…

If it’s the beach you’ve got your heart set on, grab a towel and some beers and head down to Manly Fish Café’s takeaway shop (adjacent to the café proper) – and don’t be intimidated by the queue, which on your average day extends far out the door. A local favourite, the high demand assures you that the fish here are as fresh as they come.

Pick up their specialty – the salt-and-pepper squid with sweet chilli sauce ($8.50) or their catch-of-the-day, with hand-cut chips (approx. $12) and hop, skip or jump across the road to the beach, where you can park yourself at one of the many picnic benches and enjoy the view.

If you can’t quite gather the energy to battle with traffic (only to discover there’s not a single park within a 3km radius) then the Sydney Fish Market in Pyrmont is your best option. It’s the essence of the beach’n’batter experience, minus the sand. Don’t be intimidated by the terrifying seagull-to-human ratio, or the awkward hordes of tourists – consider it an incentive to escort your fresh fare as fast as you can, dodging seagull droppings, to the shady safety of the park across the road. The food here is worth

your trouble: being the largest fish market in the Southern Hemisphere, it boasts up to a hundred different species provided fresh each day – including freshly shucked oysters, sashimi sliced before your eyes, crab claws and Balmain bugs…(not to mention a bottle shop inside the premises).

So Sydney, you’ve been told: summer is here, and fish’n’chips are compulsory; all you need to do is decide where, when, how you want it served – and of course, who’s bringing the wet-ones.

SOMETHING FISHY Wrap you lips around these salty treats.

FISH ON FIRE Specialty: Grilled or battered fish burgers Address: 217A Glebe Point Rd, Glebe Web: fishonfire.com.au Contact: 9660 4212

MOHR FISH Specialty: Szechuan pepper prawns Address: 202 Devonshire St, Surry Hills Contact: 9318 1326

MANLY FISH CAFÉ Specialty: Grilled saltwater barramundi Address: 461 The Esplanade, Manly Web: fishcafe.com.au Contact: 9976 3777

SYDNEY FISH MARKET Specialty: Doyles’ battered fish’n’chips Address: Bank St, Pyrmont Web: sydneyfishmarket.com.au

FISHMONGERS Specialty: Salt-and-pepper calamari w/ chips Address: 42 Hall St, Bondi Web: mongers.com.au Contact: 9365 2205

OLD FASHIONED FISH N CHIPS Specialty: Seafood BBQ platter Address: 286-288 Willoughby Rd, Naremburn Web: oldfashionedfishnchips.com.au Contact: 9438 4260

FISH FACE Specialty: Roasted Kingfish with olives and berry puree Address: 132 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst Web: fishfaceaustralia.com.au

Mohr Fish

Photos by Meaghan Meredith

The Carrrington Hotel

BRAG EATS food review

BARRIO CHINO

THIRSTY?

[KINGS CROSS]

Photos by: Grant Barnes

B

arrio Chino: it’s a romantic little Spanish phrase meaning both ‘Chinatown’ and ‘Red Light District,’ so there’s no points for guessing what sort of fare the Kings Cross restaurant of the same name peddles. Sitting happily at the avant garde of Bayswater Road’s burgeoning restaurant and bar scene, Barrio Chino offers Mexican cuisine bubbling over with a Chinese influence, lovely people, and enough top-end tequilas to slay a drove of donkeys.

The place is buzzing when we arrive – dim and happily noisy. Simple décor evokes a ‘70s Latin American vibe; whitewash walls with hints of sky blue and blonde are broken up by caged, opaque bulbs. Our charming host Eddie directs us through the bustle towards a low-lit communal table, disarming herself of four squeeze-bottles filled with different brightly-coloured spicy sauces. To start off, she recommends a couple of Barrio Chino’s signature margaritas: the Stealth Margarita ($17, her favourite), a genuinely soothing potion, green with agave and lime, doing for your tastebuds what a cool damp cloth does for a fevered brow; and the Breakfast

Margarita ($17), a sweeter treat laced with marmalade and grapefruit. (Both are rimmed with crunchy sea salt).

My vegan compadre, although never one to make a fuss, is relieved by the extensive menu options. Eddie brings us bite-sized tostadas ($4): sweet corn and avocado (minus the chipotle mayo) for old pal, and a couple of pulled-pork, burnt orange and jicama ones for me. A fragrant quinoa salad with beets,

poblano chilli, queso, and walnuts ($14) is a cool break, before we tackle a selection of tasty tacos: the Frijoles ($5), with black beans, Mexican salsa, vinaigrette and feta; the chicken borracho ($6), with Chipotle-beerbraised chicken, crema, avocado and iceberg lettuce; and my favourite, the camarones taco ($7) – this bad boy combines grilled market prawns, chilli jam, and a kiwi fruit salsa that I’m looking forward to telling a lot of people about.

You can barely cross the street in this town these days without accidentally eating five tacos of fairly average quality, but Barrio Chino is a cut above the current Mexican food-wave in Sydney, thanks to the thoughtful and delicate variations on standard Mexican fare, and the slivers of Asian influence that run through the menu.

– Grant Barnes Where: 28-30 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 6pm 'til late Web: barriochino.com.au Phone: 02 8021 9750

FEAST YOUR EYES: BRAG'S GUEST RECIPES

Quinoa & Tofu Rice Paper Rock N Rolls

THE KIWI LOVE CHAIR @ CAFÉ LOUNGE / 277 GOULBURN ST, SURRY HILLS Ingredients: Kiwi goodness, hint of elderflower, apple juice, gin juice, mint.

Method: Muddle kiwi, slap the mint in, add the gin, dash of elderflower and the apple juice. Shake with luuuuuurve.

Glass: Tall Garnish: Mint sprig Best drunk with: someone as drunk as you are during: a fun summertime frolic through the meadows while wearing: nothing but your birthday suit and listening to: ‘Summer Breeze’ by Seals & Crofts.

PERFORMING

LIVE:

BY MONIQUE SHAFTER (HUNGRY BEAST PRESENTER, SSO COLUMNIST) Tell us about it? This is the ultimate in tasty, vegan, hipster-friendly, finger-lickin’ finger food.

INGREDIENTS 1½ cups of quinoa, 2 cups water, 1 red capsicum (chopped), ½ cup fresh Vietnamese mint leaves (ripped up), ½ cup fresh coriander (ripped up), 1 cup shredded lettuce, 1 fresh red chilli (chopped), ½ carrot (grated), 15-20 rice paper sheets, 1 lime, 150g marinated or smoked tofu (sliced), 1 jar of hoisin sauce, chopped cashews, salt water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the 1.Bring

free stuff

boil. Add quinoa and return to boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the water has been absorbed – around 15 mins.

Place two tablespoons of the 4. mixture into the centre of the

chilli, carrot and tofu, with the lime juice and a tablespoon of soy sauce.

sheet. Sprinkle with cashews.

Fold in the edges and then roll up firmly so it seals. Repeat until the mixture runs out. Dip into hoisin sauce and eat.

DELISH!!

Soak one rice paper sheet at a time in warm 3. water until just soft. Pat dry.

Illustration by Matt Roden Curated by BRAG and The World Bar / theworldbar.com

In a large bowl combine the quinoa, lettuce, 2. coriander, mint, capsicum,

email: freestuff@thebrag.com

▼

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY Bondi has undergone dramatic gentrification over the past couple of decades, with an excess of fast-food chains popping up to satisfy the insatiable hunger of British backpackers and 13-year-old surfer kids. But really, fish’n’chips are still the only respectable option for a Sunday afternoon post-beach feed, and The One That Got Away know how to do it well. They’ve been providing Sydney’s eastern suburbs with quality seafood since 1996, and they’re still going strong. Plus, the shop’s conveniently located up the hill on Bondi Road, away from the main drag... To get your sandy paws on a $50 voucher for hot food from TOTGA, tell us the most exotic fish you’ve ever eaten. theonethatgotaway.com.au

BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 37

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK WASHINGTON Insomnia Universal

It may be tiring her out, but Megan Washington is growing into her skin – and it's exciting to watch.

That this collection of songs is one that Megan Washington says she never really wants to engage with again should give a particularly keen insight into how good a musician she actually is. Insomnia, intended as a companion to Washo’s spectacularly well-received debut I Believe You, Liar, is full of the kinds of material you know the young performer has always wanted to write, but which took a backseat to the addictive, smart-ass indie pop that made her a household name.

It smoulders with pain, regret and minor keys, slow tempos and solo performances darker than ever before, but also increasingly honest. Focusing on haunting piano and vocals, the two things Megan can do in her sleep (even though she doesn’t seem to be getting much of it lately...), Insomnia’s perceived inaccessibility is precisely what makes it so accessible.

RAT VS POSSUM

Let Music & Bodies Unite Sensory Projects Four years on the scene has been long enough for RvP to rid themselves of a few extraneous influences, and as a result, their second effort is a much more cohesive whole than 2009 debut Daughter Of Sunshine. All those late night gigs have helped recalibrate their sound, and Let Music & Bodies Unite is testament to the gradual toggle of the switch from melody to party. The mess of intertwined, naked limbs on the cover do a pretty bangup job of capturing the tenor of the album, and the tracks catch a much more sensual edge than their first record. Perhaps all the pheromones hovering about in the ether of those confined, sweaty spaces of assorted Brunswick warehouses are a little bit contagious.

Fans of Daughter Of Sunshine might be a little nonplussed at the sonic departure, and the more refined sound feels at times like too self-conscious an appeal for a wider audience. Parts of the record are a little grating, and the autotune in Never Die will upset anyone who has T-Pain night terrors.

RvP’s steel drum cover of My Disco’s ‘You Came To Me…’ – a digital download with the vinyl release – feels incongruous for a song which is, after all, one of Liam Andrews’ reflections on surviving cancer, and a treatment which verges on Weird Al polka schtick doesn’t add much.

That’s not to say this is a bad release, by any stretch. Like any good dance album, this is a great, relatively minimalist template on which RvP build their live performances.

Having seen some of these numbers in the flesh, I recommend going to watch them get freaky on stage before you tackle Let Music & Bodies Unite.

CAMILLE

For my money, I’ve always been desperate to hear more of the Camille that floored me with 2005’s Le Fil, an album that pedalled around one bass note and created entire worlds out of voices. An accomplished jazz singer, an alternative baroque darling, a beatboxing champion, she came from seemingly nowhere and changed everything. Since then, she’s been edging back towards the regular with alarming frequency, and this record mostly floats by without pricking up your ears until she drops into spoken word interludes like ‘Aujourd’hui.’

The conceptual framework is still there, whether it be the bouncing human bass on ‘Bubble Lady’ or the solo voce on ‘Pleasure’, but intrinsically the songs themselves just aren’t that interesting. It would be unfair to expect sonic drama from most other acts – we don’t expect Katy Perry to do anything other than holler and look good – but given that Camille set the bar so high, wanting anything less would be stupid. The most exciting song is the single ‘Mars Is No Fun’, mainly because it harks back to her days as a guest for Nouvelle Vague. But stuck between lounge swank and ethereal weirdness is a musical no man’s land, and Camille just can’t seem to get herself out of it.

Some artists only produce one great album. Unfortunately for Camille, she did it six years ago.

Jonno Seidler

Sean Gleeson

Jonno Seidler

COLDPLAY

Ilo Veyou Virgin/EMI

How you approach Camille Dalmais’ latest record entirely depends on how strange you think the French artist is. If she struck you as a sort of Björk-lite on previous outings, with her penchant for odd vocal phrasing, then you’re in for a treat – but if, like fans, you know what she’s capable of, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

After an album which seemed to fall out of its unlaced shoes in excitement, it’s nice to hear her shift to a lower gear, as on the early highlight ‘Skeleton Key’, which marries a pedalling keys figure with accordion. The shaded nuance is not new to the Conservatorium-trained ARIA winner, but it’s been a while since we’ve heard it expressed in this way. ‘Plastic Bag’, reminiscent of some of Laura Marling’s most successful melancholia, revolves around the kind of feeling you get when you give someone cement shoes and ask them to swim. The biggest stunner is the beautiful ‘Public Pool’, which has the drama of Rufus Wainwright and his ilk stamped all over it.

THE JUAN MACLEAN

Mylo Xyloto EMI

Coldplay are at a similar point, career-wise, to U2 in the early ‘90s – established stadium rockers with a decade of hits behind them, and the clout to scratch any creative itch they damn well please. U2 dealt with their pangs of introspection by embracing electronic music, and on Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay do the same – its neon bright cover art even echoes that of Achtung Baby and Zooropa. There is, however, one crucial difference.

For U2, going electronic meant pushing the songwriting to vital and unexpected new places, but for Coldplay, it means foregrounding their music’s existing synth elements, and buffing the production to an even higher sheen than before.

For all the flashy touches, like the glistening keyboards of ‘Hurts Like Heaven’ or the multi-tracked vocals that burst out during the chorus of ‘Paradise’, it’s business as usual.

The ballads are suitably swooninducing, while the rockers, as ever, are simultaneously rousing and soothing. The shimmering ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ is the album’s moment of joy and abandon, while the aforementioned ‘Paradise’, with its dramatic strings and stick-in-yourhead chorus, is the kind of song that will doubtless go down a treat with festival crowds. As nice as these both are, the truly compelling songs on the album are the ones that stray from the formula. Take Rihanna collaboration ‘Princess Of China’ for instance; built around a droning, almost shoegaze-y synth line, it’s one of only a few tracks that feel truly unique.

Song-for-song, Mylo Xyloto is far from Coldplay’s best – there’s nothing as punchy as ‘Politik’, or as graceful as ‘Talk’ – but thanks to Brian Eno’s studio skills, at least it never sounds any less than ravishing.

Alasdair Duncan

M1 MGM

As it turns out, world music is not just for people who wear Birkenstock sandals to formal weddings.

Tijuana Cartel’s second album, M1, is living proof. All that globe-trotting has clearly inspired the Gold Coast foursome, and with M1 they have delivered a highly polished world music/ indie-electronica hybrid that's deserving of commercial success.

38 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

You can often tell when an album has been banged out in the studio with minimal effort, and M1 is the opposite of that. It has been nurtured and carefully crafted, taking you on a journey through deserts, Latin cities and blue water beaches before dropping you smack in the middle of an East London warehouse rave. This is predominately a percussion-heavy dance album with touches of slide and world thrown into the eclectic mix. Paul George’s vocals add grit, and thanks to the gifted mixing of Chris Moore, it never feel overproduced.

More synthesised and heavier on the vocals than their previous work, the advantage Tijuana Cartel has is that no matter what foreign elements they apply

The Juan Maclean could probably have called it a day after ‘Happy House’, confident in the knowledge that they had made the perfect glittering twelve-minute house track about shooting off into space.

But happily, they have begun work on a third album. In the meantime, to tide fans over, there’s Everybody Get Close, a compilation of rarities and remixes from the last couple of years.

The title of the set is actually quite apt for a Juan Maclean release – although his music, which exists on the weirder fringe of disco and house, has more than a little archness to it, there’s an undercurrent of longing there, a sense that we'd have a better world if we could all just sweat it out on the dancefloor together. The set collects the five tracks previously available on the Find A Way EP, and they’re a diverse bunch – ‘Find A Way’ itself is a relatively bouncy electro pop track, featuring a call-and-response vocal from Maclean and Nancy Whang, while ‘Let’s Talk About Me’ is an old-school acid house freak-out and ‘Deviant Device’ is a lengthy, sinister dub experiment. The release also includes ‘Feel So Good’, which is built around a vintage keyboard loop and a typically-insouciant Whang vocal, and also features one of the last recordings of the late, brilliant drummer Jerry Fuchs. The only letdown on this album is the Cut Copy remix of ‘Happy House’, but that’s only because the original is so brilliant that it’s basically un-fuck-with-able.

For all that they bickered – and there are some classic examples on YouTube – Maclean and Fuchs were a tight unit. One can only imagine that recording the next album will be difficult without him.

At some point in her public life, Zola Jesus once confessed to loving the music of Alicia Keys. That may seem like a strange admission, coming from the indie world’s newly crowned queen of alternative-electronica-bansheerock three albums into her career, but listening to Conatus it also seems to make quite a lot of sense. Just like Keys, Jesus (or Nika Roza Danilova, to the theologically offended) pushes her performances beyond the barriers of normal emotion. You can hear a thousand things in any of the warm tremolo notes that she lays on thick across the record, which ring out starkly against the processed electronic backing. If Florence Welch were Russian and her band were Nine Inch Nails circa The Downward Spiral, it’d be a very good blueprint for this album.

The one thing holding Zola Jesus back is the repetitive thematics of her arrangements. While utterly engrossing on second track ‘Avalanche’, by the time you’re half an hour in and they’re still droning on the same sort of synth figures and the drums don’t seem to have moved beyond marching floor toms or bouncing digital metronomes, there’s a strong tendency to switch off.

Of course thanks to Nika’s voice, that’s never really going to be an option; she rescues even the drollest of backings like ‘Ixode’, which goes nowhere harmonically.

There are real flourishes of real imagination, though; ‘In Your Nature’ is the best song Cyndi Lauper never wrote and ‘Skin’, with its rolling Adele-esque keys, has ‘Season Finale Of Tearjerker Drama’ written all over it. They shine out amongst the minimalism and show what Zola Jesus is really capable of – and that’s the most exciting bit of all.

Until whatever Maclean does next, this is a good stop-gap.

Jesus Wants Her For A Sunbeam.

Alasdair Duncan

Jonno Seidler

to their music, it is never inaccessible.

‘White Dove’ and ‘Run Away’ are damn catchy (think The Presets, but with an international feel), and ‘For The People’ is a techno beat mash of flamenco guitar and Middle Eastern rhythms. This is a truly multicultural offering and barely an instrument has been spared. In addition to the above there are sitars, African drums, reggae, and even an impressive trumpet solo by Josh Sinclair at the end of ‘Tempest’, which I would love to see performed live.

Like the actual M1 highway, this album is an escape route to lost roads and faraway lands. It’s a trip worth taking.

Juliette Gillies

Conatus Pod/Inertia

Everybody Get Close DFA/Co-op

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK TIJUANA CARTEL

ZOLA JESUS

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

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE - Bee Hives UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA - S/T HOWLING BELLS - The Loudest Engine

RATATAT - Classics HUSKY - Forever So

tOtElAbEx

ToNeLaBeX

$329! $449.99 rRp

Vt80+

$449! $549.99 RrP

Vt80+

Ac30C2

Ac30C2

$1099! $1499.00 RrP

ElEcTrIcS YaMaHa PaCiFiCa 012 YaMaHa PaCiFiCa 112 PaCk

$279! $399.99 RrP $449! $599.99 RrP

AcOuStIcS Ac30Hw2X

.00 RrP

$2349! $2799

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

meatloaf

It sounds like: They might need to add another chapter in the bible just to pay homage to the amazingness of this album!

Who’s playing? Ball Park Music, Northeast Party House, The Jungle Giants Sell it to us: We’re celebrating our recently released debut album – Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs – by throwing the best gig you will go to this year! Seriously. Expect a mix of pre-released singles you might be familiar with (‘iFly’, ‘Sad Rude Future Dude’, ‘Rich People Are Stupid’, ‘It’s Nice To Be Alive’) – plus a lot of stuff you won’t see coming!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: That skinny crowd-surfer that narrowly missed your head.

Wallet damage: $12 pre-sale / $15 at the door Where: The Standard / LVL 3, 383 Bourke St, Surry Hills When: Friday October 28

:: Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour Street Darling Harbour 9320 4200

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PICS :: TP

12:10:11

It’s called: Ball Park Music – Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs album launch

PICS :: AM

party profile

ball park music

15:10:11

:: The Factory :: 105 Victoria Road Enmore 95503666

KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER THOMAS PEACHY :: :: SON VEN STE ICK PATR :: OV :: DANIEL MUNNS :: GEORGE POP

40 :: BRAG :: 435: 24:10:11

oh mercy

PICS :: KC

black cherry

PICS :: GP

14:10:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

14:10:11 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93323711

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BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 41

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

def wish cast

the wombats

Who’s playing? Def Wish Cast, Bingethinkers, Blades of Hades, Herb, DJ ASK and more…

Sell it to us: Def Wish Cast are celebrating the release of their latest single, ‘Dun Proppa’. This show marks the return of DWC to the stage, a place where their energetic live performances have helped build and maintain an incredible 20-year career. We’re also filming on the night for the upcoming DWC documentary and video clip, so get down early and be a part of Aussie hip hop history!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Calling in to work sick with a ‘stomach bug’.

Crowd specs: B-boys, B-girls, and a variety of hip hop lovers.

Wallet damage: $15 presale / $20 on door Where: The Annandale Hotel / Parramatta Road When: Thursday October 27 / doors open 8pm

:: Hordern Pavilion :: 1 Driver Ave Moore Park 93834000

double dragon

PICS :: KC

14:10:11

It sounds like: Futuristic B-boy funk

PICS :: AM

party profile

It’s called: Def Wish Cast – ‘Dun Proppa’ single launch

propaganda

PICS :: DM

14:10:11 :: The Exchange Hotel :: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93601375

cosmo jarvis

:: Goodgod :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 9267 3787

KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER THOMAS PEACHY :: :: SON VEN STE ICK PATR :: OV :: DANIEL MUNNS :: GEORGE POP

42 :: BRAG :: 435: 24:10:11

the upskirts 15:10:11

PICS :: GP

13:10:11

PICS :: GP

13:10:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

:: Upstairs Beresford :: 352 Bourke St Surry Hills 9357 1111

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

OKKERVIL RIVER The Metro Theatre Tuesday October 18

KIMYA DAWSON & AESOP ROCK

Manning Bar, Sydney University Friday October 14 Apparently, folk-hop is a thing. A quick google revealed that I hadn’t, as previously thought, invented the term – but it’s certainly the best way to describe last Friday night at the Manning Bar. The crowd seemed very small to start with, quietly lounging on couches around the moshpit, but when Kimya Dawson and Aesop Rock slipped on stage and said a very polite hello, the floor filled up lickety-split. Initially, the audience seemed divided between people who came to see a hip hop act and were wondering who the weird folkie was, and people who came to see an intimate acoustic show. Their opening track, ‘Delicate Cycle’, cleverly won over both sides of the room. Aesop rapped over Kimya’s chorus with only her guitar to accompany, and rather than the mess it could have been, the styles enhanced and complimented one another.

Happily for us, Okkervil’s setlist was dominated by a back-catalogue which is undeniably stronger than the record they’re touring. From the breakthrough Black Sheep Boy we were offered highlights like the heartbreaking ‘So Come Back I Am Waiting’, the wrenching ‘For Real’, and the playful ‘Song Of Our So-Called Friends’. After an impassioned ‘Valley’ – the groundshaking stomp that opens I Am Very Far, and a highlight of tonight’s set – most of the band left the stage as Sheff and bassist/vocalist Pat Pestorius swapped their instruments for acoustics. Their stripped-back version of ‘No Key, No Plan’ from Black Sheep Boy Appendix lent the song a sadness and its lyrics a depth that was obscured on the record. And that’s what happens at an Okkervil show; you discover something new in each song.

“This is a lower-lit song,” Sheff declared, as the lights dimmed for The Stage Names’ ‘Girl In Port’, and guitarist Lauren Gurgiolo swapped her electric for a lap steel; it was only in the slow songs like this that we could actually hear the lyrics. Gurgiolo was incredible from beginning to end, her dark curls like curtains drawn across her face, which was bent over her body for every single track regardless of its mood; rocking out to ‘Unless It’s Kicks’, picking up a lap steel for ‘Girl In Port’, or hoe-ing down on banjo with her forehead on Sheff’s shoulder (and his on hers) during ‘Our Life Is Not A Movie But Maybe’.

The band were brought back on stage for ‘The Rise’, an energised ‘Westfall’ from their 2002 debut, and ‘Unless It’s Kicks’ – and by the time the last chords were stretching across the stage in a distorted mess, Sheff’s dramatics had reached such a fevered pitch that he’d lost his glasses, broken a guitar string, and couldn’t decide whether to pick up his dropped mic to keep singing, or kick it out of the way to keep jamming. Music vs Lyrics? When Okkervil play, you’ll be happy with either.

Steph Harmon

Next up was Aesop Rock, accompanied

by Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz. The crowd was considerably more pumped up for these guys, understandable seeing as it’s kinda hard to “put your hands in the air” for a folk song. They put on a hell of a show and definitely won over the folkies with their inspired lyrics and stage presence; Rob Sonic is a big guy, but he knows how to move. I was amongst those here to see Kimya, but was blown away by the tracks they did together; Aesop’s lyrics share DNA with Kimya’s, in that his wordplay is intelligent and personal. The highlight for me was when Kimya returned to the stage and they performed a new track, ‘Aquarium’, from their upcoming album together; a repeated chorus of “please don’t tap on the glass” perfectly sums-up their collective fragility.

Aesop closed with an obvious crowd favourite, ‘None Shall Pass’, and then emerged with Kimya and Rob to meet the crowd and pose for pictures. A jolly nice bunch indeed – and every bit the “nerd army” they call themselves.

kimya dawson & aesop rock

Robbie Miles

14:10:11 :: Manning Bar :: Sydney University City Rd Chippendale 95636107

hot damn

PICS :: SW

Every Okkervil release has been notable for how it diverges from its predecessor; Black Sheep Boy was dominated by heartbreaking folk; The Stage Names was full of pop-rock celebrating the bruised survivors of showbusiness (and ‘John Allyn Smith Sails’ live is still the best thing that’s happened to the John B. since The Beach Boys); I Am Very Far skitters between waltzes, rock songs, folk and pop with clattering, jarring rhythms and raucous round-robins (‘We Need A Myth’ was a swirling, building sweep on stage). Okkervil managed to work all this into one cohesive show through a commitment to chaos, with most songs ending in cacophonic jam-outs as the fivepiece battled it out for domination between the spiralling distortion, the clobbering drums, and the visceral shout-singing of the frontman.

After two songs together, Kimya began her solo set. Her self-effacing humour and easy smile inspired a lot of love, and most of the crowd were singing along with her more famous songs, ‘Tyre Swing’, ‘Loose Lips’ and ‘I Like Giants’. After one of her darkest songs, ‘The Beer’, she

admitted that while she was playing all she could think about was starting a Phil Collins cover band. (Please do this, Kimya. Seriously.)

In between songs, Kimya speaks with disarming honesty about her almost thirteen years of sobriety, and begs the audience to never be afraid to ask for help.

It’s hard not to be swept up by her warmth and candour, and it doesn’t hurt that her lyrics will make you cry, then laugh, then hug someone.

PICS :: TL

Will Sheff and his pieced-together posse appeared before a packedout Metro with the heady, thumping waltz of ‘Wake And Be Fine’, one of the best tracks from this year’s shambling Okkervil River release, I Am Very Far. What the bespectacled frontman does live can only loosely be described as singing; to wary newcomers it probably comes across as an incomprehensible yelp, as he carelessly approximates notes and buries his erudite lyrics in favour of force and volume, with from-thegut feeling that sends him galloping across the stage when he should be at the mic – but for long-time fans it is passionate, exhilarating, and completely magnetic. I fall into the latter camp. This was a great show.

13:10:11 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93316245

We has internets!

www.thebrag.com Extra bits and moving bits without the papercuts BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 43

The Minor Chord

The all-ages rant brought to you by Indent.net.au and Janette Chen

ALL-AGES GIG PICKS

The UNSW Roundhouse are inviting American Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada to bring their round walls down. The band’s latest album Dead Throne was unleashed last month to praise from fans and critics alike, and the fellas will be making their way across Australia this month, before heading back to the States for the US leg of their tour. Hitting the road with TDWP are post-hardcore act We Came As Romans, with their newie Understanding What We’ve Grown To Be, and Melbourne post-hardcore six-piece Dream On, Dreamer, who are just back from a twomonth Rise Records label tour of Europe, off the back of their debut album, Heartbound.

Sharing the bill on the Sydney stage will be local metal band For All Eternity.

If you’ve ever been accused of being too young to feel nostalgia for a past era in music, then here’s your chance to answer back by violently indulging in it some more. This Friday, October 28, The Petersham Bowling Club is helping wellrespected Melbourne indie pop band The Killjoys launch their new album, Pearl.

20 years after winning an ARIA award for Best Independent Release for their debut full-length album Ruby, the band have had it re-mastered to re-release for its anniversary, alongside their brand new album Pearl. Opening the night will be a-capella girl-group The Glamma Rays, featuring Jodi Phillis of ‘90s indie rock band Clouds. The Bernie Hayes Quartet will also be performing. Live music at a bowling club – why not?

It’s been a big year for local pop-rockers New Empire, touring with the likes of Good Charlotte and Owl City – and now, with the release of their new album

MONDAY OCTOBER 24

The Devil Wears Prada, We Came As Romans, Dream On Dreamer, For All Eternity UNSW Roundhouse

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28 The Killjoys, The Glamma Rays, The Bernie Hayes Quartet Petersham Bowling Club

The Killjoys

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29

New Empire, For Our Hero Factory Theatre

SUNDAY OCTOBER 30 Screaming Sundays Annandale Hotel

Symmetry, the time has come to headline a national tour of their own. They’ll be playing to a home crowd at The Factory Theatre on Saturday October 29, with a little help from support act For Our Hero.

A promising pop rock band with the added force of the occasional big brass sound, For Our Hero has built its faithful following through canny use of social media in support of their debut album, Afterglow, and has since shared stages with the likes of Gyroscope and The Getaway Plan.

If the new single ‘Don’t You Dare’ is any indication, the band’s sophomore album, due later this year, will be worth the wait.

The Sunday afternoon all-ages series at the Annandale Hotel, Screaming Sundays, is back this weekend. The lineup has yet to be announced, but keep your ear to the ground, or just drop in at midday to uncover some local treasure.

To keep The Minor Chord ringing in your ears throughout the week, tune in to FBi 94.5 on Wednesday at 5pm to hear all that is happening on the all-ages scene.

The Devil Wears Prada

Send all-ages listings & info to theminorchordradio@gmail.com 44 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

The Killjoys photo by Tony Mott

T

here’s a little something for everyone in this week’s Minor Chord. To kick things off, a heads up on the UPROCK Hip Hop Summit – four days of networking, conferences, workshops and live performances running from Friday November 11 through to Monday November 14, in Sydney’s south-west suburb of Belmore. If four days is too much, our advice is to make time for the Friday and Saturday: there’s the promise of daytime workshops about navigating the industry, DJing, breaking, emceeing, and aerosol art – followed by live music and performance from a lineup of local and international acts. Solo and Samson of Justice Crew, the winners of the 2010 season of Australia’s Got Talent, will be making an appearance – no doubt featuring their singles ‘Dance With Me’ and ‘Sexy and You Know It’. They’ll be joined

by Don Napalan, from the third Australian season of So You Think You Can Dance, as well as B-boy Dyzee (Korea), Braille (USA), Urban (USA), and TMD Crew (NZ).

A ticket to the full summit will set you back $150, but day passes of $80 are available.

For more info, check out facebook.com/ krosswerdz, or email Kristy: kristy@krosswerdz.com

Remedy More than The Cure since 1989 with Murray Engleheart

LULU LIVE DATES

Metallica’s James Hetfield has broadly mentioned the possibility of some live dates on the back of the release of the Lulu project with Lou Reed, a prospect that would be guitar tone heaven given Mr Reed has been cranking it out in a near-metal manner for almost 50 years.

Hetfield is also keen to make the point to diehard Metallica fans that the venture was an exciting challenge that the band had to grasp with all their appendages, but is not a new Metallica album as such. Shame about that. He should be talking it up and telling fans that this is the new age baby, and to suck it up and hold on. We reckon it’ll easily be the best thing they’ve done singularly or collectively this century.

LORD OF IDIOTS

From the Lord of the Idiots’ directory: last week, we were offered a mono test-pressing of demos from Captain Beefheart’s Strictly Personal album, for a mere $100. Nah, we shrugged – it’s worth way more than that!

HALL OF FAME: 2012

We love to keep up with each year’s nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, just to see how right or wrong they get it – and for 2012, like most years, they don’t do too bad a job. Among those up for a gong are Joan Jett, Guns N’ Roses (now there’ll be an interesting gathering on the podium after a few drinks on the big night in March), The Cure, The Small Faces/The Faces and, in a very pleasant surprise, the great Freddie King, who was easily the most intimidating of his blues “family” and always made B.B. King look and sound like Ben Lee.

NEW YORK DOLLS

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This will hopefully be of increased interest to more folks than usual after their recent tour: in late November, a new DVD of archival footage of the New York Dolls will be out. Titled Lookin’ Fine On Television, it's comprised of footage taken by master rock photographer Bob Gruen and wife Nadya Beck, who filmed over a total of 40 hours with the band – some of which was previously released in the 2006 documentary All Dolled Up. This is kinda the companion piece, drawn from early shows, TV appearances, and even ‘home video’ footage of the band hanging around at swimming pools, no doubt tottering around the edge, desperate not to topple in from atop their high-heeled boots and ruin their hair and makeup. No, seriously.

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THE FINGER

Many years back, someone tried wildly unsuccessfully to tell us that, for his money, Powderfinger were Australia’s answer to The Clash. How we laughed! Sure they had the same name as a Neil Young and Crazy Horse tune, but for us the fun pretty much stopped right there. Powderfinger, to us, were always Oz rock’s answer to Foreigner. True, they could write a fair song, but we always felt that they were too clean to really rock, and far too ordinary to be really interesting. All that’s wrong with Oz rock in this day and age, basically.

But hey, they’re apparently good people – and what do we know? Anyways, their story has made it to print in a big way, in an admittedly classy-looking book called Footprints – The Inside Story of Australia’s Best-Loved Band, by Powderfinger with Dino Scatena. It’s due out on November 8, and will sell by the shipping container-load.

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6*;6),9 ;/ NICHE PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS Guns 'N' Roses

ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable are a couple of inter-related items: The Melvins’ Stoner Witch and Sunn O)))’s Monoliths and Dimensions. The Melvins are the sharplyskewed acid metal Stones from another cosmos, while Sunn O))) take what Earth and The Melvins began and forcibly ship it to a place with far greater depth and breadth than either envisaged. A new (as opposed to “nu”) metal, if you will, where the only rules are the new ones that they made themselves.

TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS On November 5, there’s a big show at Canberra’s ANU Bar called Canberra Punk and Beyond. It’s a celebration as much as it is a spiritual homecoming, with veterans from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, the Young Docteurs (who were once pursued by Runaways’ manager Kim Fowley), top of the bill. Also appearing are a reunited Hell Yes, who appeared in 1983 and were named after The Visitors’ tune, and feature Bad Billy Gibson, later of The Eastern Dark. Street punkers, YMGP – two Canberra lads teaming with former members of Rose Tattoo and Mortin Sin – are also on the bill, and opening things up are late-‘80s old school punks, Bladderspasms.

The Cool Charmers, who include members of The Johnnys, Huxton Creepers and The Psychotic Turnbuckles, have long wanted to get back to the days of the Strawberry Hills Hotel and Hoey in the ‘80s and ‘90s and do a free multi-set gig. On October 30, in the

downstairs bar at the Sando in Newtown, from 3.30pm until 7pm, they’re doing just that. Special guests are Melbourne gutbucket power duo The Patron Saints, featuring Kim Volkman of X and Ian Rilen & the Love Addicts infamy, and Billy Pommer Jnr from The Johnnys.

The second ballot for tickets for Golden Plains 2012 has just closed, and if you were smart you’d have been in it somewhere (if you weren’t already). The bill is studded with amazing acts – most notably, for us, the really truly legendary Roky Erickson in his first ever trip (pardon the pun) to our shores, along with Remedy faves Endless Boogie. Also appearing are Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy feat. The Cairo Gang, The Black Lips, Charles Bradley, Wild Flag (ex-Sleater Kinney), Low and The Celibate Rifles – among many others.

Golden Plains takes place at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre in Victoria from March 10-12; for more info, visit goldenplains.com.au

AN EVENING OF DISCO/HOUSE, DUBSTEP, HIP HOP, LEF TFIELD ELECTRONICA & FUTURE SOUL

ASTRONOMY CLASS

28 OCT ALL LIVE EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT 8PM TIL MIDNIGHT

Send stuff to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays.

Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 45

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

pick of the week Ball Park Music

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28

The Standard, Darlinghurst

Ball Park Music, Northeast Party House, The Jungle Giants $12 (+ bf) 8pm

Ball Park Music, Northeast Party House, The Jungle Giants Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm Ben Finn Duo Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm Blackie Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Bushwalla The Vanguard, Newtown $18 6.30pm David Agius Northies, Cronulla free 7.30pm Dead Johnny & The Memphis Gun, Mugger, Mankoos, Georgia V The Valve, Tempe free 7pm Friends of Mine, Bright Young Things, Leanne Russo Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 5pm Goodnight Dynamite O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm Hue Williams Jack’s Bar & Grill, Erina free 6.30pm Jagermeister Presents: H Bomb, Toy, The Icebergs, LHA Annandale Hotel $8 7.30pm Jeff Martin (Canada), Colin Moore Brass Monkey, Cronulla $39.80 (+ bf) 8pm Live and Local: Arthur Vidaboa, Luke Vassella, Pocket of Stones, Stick Figure Opera Lizotte’s Sydney, Dee Why $15 8pm Maria Venuti Slide, Darlinghurst $30–$70 (dinner & show) 7pm Mark Hopper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Mike Bennett The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm The Study: Lissa, Thayne, Joe Arnold Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills free 7pm Tom Stone & The Soldiers of Fortune Tailors at Central 7.30pm

JAZZ

MONDAY OCTOBER 24 ROCK & POP

The Devil Wears Prada (USA), We Came As Romans (USA), Dream On Dreamer, For All Eternity Roundhouse, Kensington $51.60 (+ bf) 8pm Matt Jones The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm Peter Northcote’s 51st Birthday The Basement, Circular Quay $30 (+ bf) 9pm

JAZZ

Walter Lampe Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $10–$15 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Russell Neal Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm

TUESDAY OCTOBER 25 ROCK & POP

Adam Pringle and Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm

All Star Trio Bankstown Sports Club free 6pm Killers Show World Bar, Kings Cross free 10pm The Listening Room - Open Mic The Vault, Windsor free 7pm Mojo Juju Gardel’s Bar @ Porteno, Surry Hills free 8pm OMG Scruffy Murphys, Sydney free 10pm Rob Henry The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm Songs on Stage Performers Competition Dee Why RSL Club free 6.30pm The Songwriter Sessions The Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm Steely Dan (USA), Steve Winwood (UK) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $108.20– $152.40 7pm Steve Tonge O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9.30pm They Call Me Bruce Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 8.30pm Tim Chaisson Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Wolf Mail (USA) The Basement, Circular Quay $33 9pm

JAZZ

Jazzgroove: The Music of Bernie McGann, The Midnight Tea Party 505 Club, Surry Hills $8 (conc)–$10 8pm The Music of Bernie McGann, The Midnight Tea Party The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale 8pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Renate Nguyen, Gene Fehlberg, Alan Watters, Rooney West, Noel Davies, Angela McLaren, the Julees, Carolyn Crysdale Kogarah Hotel free 7pm

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26 ROCK & POP

Alice Quiddington, DJ Georgia The Argyle, The Rocks free 6pm Andy Golledge, Little Bastard, Achoo Bless You, Jack Carty Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 8pm Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free

Lindah Oh Quartet 505 Club, Surry Hills $15–$20 Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald!, TAOS Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick Noel Davies, Daniel Hopkins Taren Point Hotel free 7pm Russell Neal Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 6.30pm

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27 ROCK & POP

Altitude Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney free 11pm Anatta, Edema Ruh, The Needs, Mugger The Valve, Tempe free 7pm Andy Mammers Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Anonymeye, Jacqui O’Reilly, Rainbow Chan The Silent Hour, Woolloomooloo $10 8pm Ball Park Music, Northeast Party House, The Jungle Giants Caringbah Bizzo’s $15 8pm The Bowers Sandringham Hotel, Newtown 8pm

The Business, Rust, Topnovil Lewisham Hotel 7.30pm Chain, Phil Manning Notes Live, Enmore 8pm Chris Stretton Toxteth Hotel, Glebe free 8pm Covaire, Elizabeth Rose, Conics, Jen N Erik DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 (+ bf) 8pm The Drey Rollan Band, The Flaming Stars Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 5pm Elevate Stacks Taverna, Darling Harbour free 6pm Elly K, La Vida The Argyle, The Rocks free 6pm Hat Fitz, Cara Robinson Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Hawkmoth, The Darkened, Neighbour Hood Noise, Chris Rose & The Thorns Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt $8 8pm Hot Damn!: Phantoms, In Trenches, The Hollow, Fixtures, Speed Lab Spectrum, Darlinghurst $15– $20 8pm Indie Warhol: The Ruminaters, The Ivys, DJ Skar The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm The Jitterbug Club Exotica!: The Jitterbeetles, Kira Puru, Goldie Feather, Azzy Trew The Vanguard, Newtown $25 (+ bf) 8pm Jonathan Devoy Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Juzzie Smith, Nick Saxon Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $21 8pm Kate Ceberano The Basement, Circular Quay $40 (+ bf) 9.30pm The Liberators, Soul Of Sydney DJs Red Rattler, Marrickville $10 7pm The Living Chair Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 9.30pm Lj Edinburgh Castle Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Pluto Jonze, Toucan, Tim Fitz Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 (+ bf) 8pm Proper Music Social: Jay Whalley & Jazz Freedom, The Glimmer, Jeff Faraday Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Pseudo Echo, Die For You Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills $25 8pm Simon Li Excelsior Hotel, Glebe free 7.30pm Speakeasy The Whitehouse Hotel, Petersham 8pm The Subterraneans Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 9pm Tim Rollinson Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Voltaire Twins, Swimwear FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst 8pm Wade Jackson, Radio National Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm

JAZZ

Fabian Almazan 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 (conc)–$20 8pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Marty from Reckless The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8.30pm Noel Davies, Starr Witness,

Russell Neal Red Lion Hotel, Rozele free 7.30pm Songwriters & Open Mic: Emad Younan, Helmut Uhlmann Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta free 8pm

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28 ROCK & POP

A-Live Stacks Taverna, Darling Harbour free 6pm Amodus, Flaming Wreckage, Naberus, Diprosus, Tensions Arise, Thundasteel The Valve, Tempe free 7pm Australian Powderfinger Show Engadine Tavern free 9.30pm Ball Park Music, Northeast Party House, The Jungle Giants The Standard, Darlinghurst $15 8pm Ben Gunn Chatswood RSL free 5pm Capitol, Hotcakes, Machine Machine, Kolonel Bizarre The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 8pm Ceara Fox Panthers, Wallacia free 7pm Celebration Mix Manly Fisho’s 8pm Chain Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Craig McLachlan, Mullet Rose of Australia Hotel, Erskineville 9pm Crow, Peg, Lobster Man Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $15 8pm Daniel Champagne, Dr. Goodvibes, Anna Salleh Band The Manly Fig 8pm Dead China Doll, Unity Foors, Dreamtime, Anonymeye, The Fighting League Dirty Shirlows, Marrickville 8pm Dusker, Ranger Spacey, Mushu Spectrum $10 8pm Evil Nine Chinese Laundry, Sydney 8pm Exit Strategy Customs House Bar, Circular Quay free 7pm Eye Of The Tiger Vineyard Hotel free 9pm Flux, Tarot Card Reader Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 5pm Glitterus Band Rock Lily, Pyrmont free 8pm Harbour Masters Kings Cross Hotel free 10.30pm Hit Seekers The Marlborough Hotel free 10.30pm Hue Williams Elanora Hotel, East Gosford free 9pm Jeff Martin (Canada), Colin Moore Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $47–$89 (dinner & show) 8pm The Jitterbug Club Exotica!: The Jitterbeetles, Kira Puru, Goldie Feather, Azzy Trew The Vanguard, Newtown $25 (+ bf) 8pm John Devecchis, Beth Yen, CadellMark Matthews, Natalie Conway The Argyle, The Rocks free Keystone, Sexy On Fridays, Giggly Rose, Kyla Frank The Square, Capitol Square Hotel, Haymarket $10 8pm The Killjoys, The Glamma Rays, Bernie Hayes Quartet Petersham Bowling Club $15 8pm Mad Season Towradgi Beach Hotel free 9pm

“Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.”- JULIUS CAESAR 46 :: BRAG :: 435 : 24:10:11

g g guide g New York Dolls by Anna Victoria Best

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Muddy Feet Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8p MUM’s 4th Birthday: Hunting Grounds, Oh Ye Denver Birds, Saloons, The Rubens, The Monkey Smokers, Doc Holliday Takes The Shotgun, The Upskirts, The Otchkies, Howler, MUM DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm Nigel Wearne Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Parvo & Wilco Duo Richmond Inn free 8pm The Planet Smashers (Canada), I Can’t Believe It’s Not The Porkers, Los Capitanes, The Resignators, Chris Duke & the Royals Annandale Hotel $37.50 9pm Playa Del Carmen, Huckleberry Hastings Excelsior Hotel, Glebe free 7.30pm Rob Henry Duo Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Rockets, Sky Squadron Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Ron Ashton Guildford Leagues Club free 8pm Rufus, Camden, Martin Sampson, DJ Jamie Vale Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 5.30pm Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel ABC Centre, Ultimo 8pm Sons of Mercury Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney free 10.30pm Sydney Blues & Roots Festival: Jeff Lang, Diesel, Folk Uke (USA), Abby Dobson, Kim Churchill, Tim Chaisson, Baby Animals,

Jeff Martin (Canada), Ash Grunwald, The Break, Chain, The Flood, Bondi Cigars, Chase The Sun, Brewster Brothers, Ray Beadle Band, Steve Edmonds, Paul Greene, Bridie King, Claude Hay, Spooky Land, The Blues Preachers, Ashleigh Mannix, Sam Shinazzi, Johnny G & the E-Types, The Mick Hart Experience Various Venues, Windsor $69–$149 5pm Tiger & The Rogues, Audiophonics, Decoy Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt $10 (presale)–$15 8pm Tim Pringle Great Southern Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm Tone Rangers Kingswood Sports Club free 7pm Trial Kennedy, Strangers, The Dead Love, Royal Chant Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $17 (+ bf) 8pm Twos Co. & Co Kro Bar, East Leagues Club free 8.30pm The Vasco Era, Papa Vs Pretty, Glass Towers Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $21.95 (+ bf) 8pm Vaudeville Smash, Clarity Goodgod Small Club $15 8pm

JAZZ

Ladies of Jazz: Christine Anu, Paulini, Grace Knight, Emma Hamilton The Basement, Circular Quay $35 (+ bf) 9.30pm I.S.B.Y. Steve Clisby & Bill Risby Band The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10-$20 8.30pm

Urban Gypsies Quartet 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 (conc)–$20 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Ask the Axis Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta $10 8pm Benwardi, Emma Waugh, Russell Neal Everglades Country Club, Woy Woy free 7pm Folk Uke (USA), 49 Goodbyes Notes Live, Enmore $26.55– $51 (dinner & show) 7pm Marty Stewart The Belvedere Hotel free 8pm The Mike Whitney Band The Marlborough Hotel free 10.30pm

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29 ROCK & POP

031 Rockshow Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney free 10.30pm Alice Quiddington, HUW Longsman, Phil Hudson, Mark Matthews The Argyle, The Rocks free 8pm A-Live Riverwood Inn free 8pm Anne McCue Notes Live, Enmore 8pm Anthems of Oz Relay for Life, Rooty Hill free 8pm Ate His Rock Excelsior Hotel, Glebe free 7.30pm Aussie Foo Fighters Show Peachtree Hotel, Penrith free 9pm

Blue Venom Cariousel Inn, Rooty Hill free 9pm The Break Coogee Diggers $20–$25 8pm Californication Red Hot Chilli Peppers Tribute Kingswood Sports Club free 9pm Cherribomb Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm Dirty Deeds - The AC/DC Show South Hurstville RSL Club free 8.30pm The Drones, Adalita Metro Theatre, Sydney $35 (+ bf) 8pm Experience: The Jimi Hendrix Tribute – Darren Middleton (Powderfinger), Stuart Fraser (Noiseworks), Peter Koppes (The Church), John and Rick Brewster (The Angels), Jak Housden (The Whitlams), Kevin Borich Steve Edmonds, Grant Walmsely (Screaming Jets), Peter Northcote Enmore Theatre $69-$89 8pm Global Battle Of The Bands – Sydney Heat Valve Bar, Tempe 1pm Golden Boys of Aussie Rock & Roll: Lucky Starr, Bryan Davies, Roland Storm Guildford Leagues Club $7 (member)–$12 8pm The Grand Idea, Flight, Monks of Mellonwah Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Hit Machine Penrith RSL free 9pm Hit Seekers Beach Palace Hotel, Coogee free 10pm Jack Colwell & The Owls, Brendan MacLean, Post Paint

Brendan Maclean

Anarchist, Dave Carter The Square, Capitol Square Hotel, Haymarket $10 8pm New Empire, For Our Hero The Factory Theatre, Enmore $20 (+ bf) 8pm all ages Nowhere: Horsell Common, After The Fall, Siren Lines Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst 8pm The Rebel Rousers Club Cronulla free 8.30pm Replika Rock Duo Engadine Tavern free 9.30pm Rewind 80’s Festival: Kim Wilde (UK), Ross Wilson, Midge Ure, Pseudo Echo, Cutting Crew, Tapau, The Real Thing, Nick Kersaw Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park $115–$217 11am Rumble and Run, Mark De Costa and the Blacklist, Tarot Card Reader Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 5pm Sal Kimber & The Rollin’ Wheel, The Rescue Ships Camelot Lounge, Marrickville 8pm Samhain Hollows IV: Infektion, Hell Itself, Infernal

FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $13.30 8pm The Jacks Caringbah Bizzo’s 8pm The Jitterbug Club Exotica!: The Jitterbeetles, Kira Puru, Goldie Feather, Azzy Trew The Vanguard, Newtown $25 (+ bf) 8pm Keith Armitage Harbord Beach Hotel free 8pm Kitch Hollywood Bar, Broadway free 6pm LJ Kro Bar, East Leagues Club free 8.30pm Lior, Gerald Masters Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $53–$111 (dinner & show) 8pm Movers & Seconders, Lacey Cole Mars Hill Cafe, Parramatta $10 8.30pm Mr Percival, James Valentine Quartet Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm M.S.D., Feicks Device, Hen Fraser, KD, Steph the

ALBUM LAUNCH wed

26 Oct

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

thu

27 Oct

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri

28 Oct (5:00PM - 8:00PM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM))

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

sat

29 Oct

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SATURDAY NIGHT

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

sun

30 Oct

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

SATURDAY 5TH NOVEMBER THE GAE LIC CLUB

with LOST AN (‘EX TROPICAL’ AL IMAL BUM LAUNCH) + CIRCLE PIT + KIRI PRESALES VIA WW

N J. CALLINAN

W.MOSHTIX.COM.AU

Pleasure Syndrome OUT NOW www.longtimelistener.com.au

BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 47

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Icon of Coil (Norway), Komor Kommando (Norway), Northborne (Norway) The Basement, Circular Quay $50 (+ bf) 9.30pm Jive Bombers Club Five Dock, Five Dock RSL free 8pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 5pm Sibo Bangoura 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 (conc)–$20 8pm Steve Hunter Band The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10-$20 8.30pm

Ash Grunwald

Reign, Havoc, Herratik, Unholy Vendetta, Chud, Frostbite, Tensions Arise, Age of Menace Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $15 1pm The Sweet Jelly Rolls Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Sweet Teeth, The Ganaschz, The Bloods, New Brutalists Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt $10 (presale)–$12 8pm Sydney Blues & Roots Festival: Ash Grunwald, Diesel, Folk Uke (USA), Abby Dobson, Kim Churchill, Tim Chaisson, Baby Animals, Jeff Martin (Canada), Ash Grunwald, The Break, Chain, The Flood, Bondi Cigars, Chase The Sun, Brewster Brothers, Ray Beadle Band, Steve Edmonds, Paul Greene, Bridie King, Claude Hay, Spooky Land, The Blues Preachers, Ashleigh Mannix, Sam Shinazzi, Johnny G & the E-Types and more Various Venues, Windsor $69–$149 10am

Tattie Jam Empire Hotel, Annandale $20 (conc)–$25 8pm Tessa & the Typecast, Tigertown, Radio INK, Bad Wives DJs Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Totally Ga Ga Mounties, Mount Pritchard free 8pm Toucan Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm A World Less Cruel, Green Ra Shid, Eye Maze, Under the 8 Ball, N.A.S.J.U.F., Amodus The Valve, Tempe free 6pm We Are The Champions Queen Tribute Level 1, East Leagues Club 8pm Xtra Hot Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm

JAZZ

Blue Moon Quartet Supper Club, Fairfield RSL Club free 7pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Krishna Jones The Belvedere Hotel free 9pm Russell Neil Terrey Hills Tavern free 7.30pm

SUNDAY OCTOBER 30 ROCK & POP

Ace Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 7pm Allay The Sea, Blessed Are None, Cry Wolf Bald Rock Hotel, Rozelle $7 (presale)–$10 5pm Amplifire (Germany), One Way, Bang Bang Guns, Gundo, Kraas Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills 8pm Benn Gunn Duo Albion Hotel, Parramatta free 4pm Bourbon and Blues Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont

Cash Only Marrickville Bowling and Recreation Club free 4.30pm Cool Charmers, Patron Saints Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Cougar Riverstone Sports Hotel free 2pm Crooked Saint Rock Lily, Pyrmont free 8pm Ghosts Wear Clothes, White Knuckle Fever, Helpful Kitchen Ghosts, Eager 13, Boxing With Ghosts, Dirty Youth Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale free 5pm Halloween Spectacular: 77 Sunset Strippers, Screaming Bobkats, True Gentlemen Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 7pm Heavy Metal Halloween: Hazmat, Kinoath, The Vaine The Valve Bar, Tempe $10 1pm James Reyne Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Jeff Martin (Canada), Colin Moore The Vanguard, Newtown $40 6.30pm Jezebel Kro Bar, Bondi Junction free 8pm John Vella Kro Bar, East Leagues Club free 6pm Kim Sanders & Friends Empire Hotel, Annandale $20 7pm LJ Waverley Bowling Club free 3pm Lucy Desoto Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt free 2pm Matt Jones Harbord Beach Hotel free

Mojo Juju Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $20 8pm Random Soul The Argyle, The Rocks free 6pm Robert Susz & the Continental Blues Party Bondi Icebergs Club, Bondi Beach free 4.30pm Rewind 80’s Festival: Bananarama (UK), Tony Hadley, Go West (England), John Paul Young (Scotland), Candi Staton, Right Said Fred, ABC (UK), Mental As Anything Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park $115–$217 11am Screaming Sunday: Insizer, Milwaukee, Pointless Suffering, The Accidents, Meza, Bowen & the Lucky Dutchmen, Monannlisa Wilde Annandale Hotel 12pm all ages Sydney Blues & Roots Festival: Jeff Martin (Canada), Diesel, Folk Uke (USA), Abby Dobson, Kim Churchill, Tim Chaisson, Baby Animals, Jeff Martin (Canada), Ash Grunwald, The Break, Chain, The Flood, Bondi Cigars, Chase The Sun, Brewster Brothers, Ray Beadle Band, Steve Edmonds, Paul Greene, Bridie King, Claude Hay, Spooky Land, The Blues Preachers, Ashleigh Mannix, Sam Shinazzi, Johnny G & the E-Types, The Mick Hart Experience Various Venues, Windsor $69–$149 10am Sydney Blues Society Botany View Hotel, Newtown free 7pm

Sydney Rock ‘n Roll & Alternative Market: Roland K Smith & The Sinners, Twilight Rhythm Boys, Dave Rumbler & The Matadors Jets Sports Club, Tempe $1 11am all ages Taylor Dayne North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray $56 7.30pm Tessa & the Typecast, Pear Shape Low 302, Darlinghurst free 8pm Tim Pringle Great Southern Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm Tonight Alive Notes Live, Enmore 8pm Tortured Willow, Bryan Estepa, Katy Wren Annandale Hotel $15 6pm

JAZZ

Jimmy Shaw & Shaw’n’Uff Big Band, Peter Power, Paige Delancey Randwick Labour Club $8 (conc)–$10 3pm Jive Bombers Berry Island Reserve, Wollstonecraft free 2pm The Peter Head Trio Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Anthony Hughes Oatley Hotel free 2pm Joyce Collins The Belvedere Hotel free 5pm Paul B Wilde, Sammy H, Laurie McGinness, Starr Witness, Russell Neal Avalon Beach RSL Club free 6.30pm Shane MacKenzie Cohibar free 2pm

L2 Kings Cross Hotel www.fbisocial.com

Thursday October 27

Friday October 28

VOLTAIRE TWINS

Potluck JACK COLWELL HALLOWEEN PARTY & THE OWLS

(Perth)

Saturday October 29

(‘Hopechest’ Single Launch)

+BIRD AUTOMATIC +SWIMWEAR (Tim from Dappled Cities)

+FLWRGN

BOO! FBi is programming an evening of halloween activities, scaaary attractions and spooooky games with free drink prizes!

+BRENDAN MACLEAN +DAISEY TULLEY +COLLARBONES DJs

+DJ Tom Loud

8pm $10 door

(2 hours of DJ/VJ mash-ups)

LATE NIGHT DJs GENERIC DJs + WEDDING RING FINGERS + FRAMES

8pm $10 door 48 :: BRAG :: 435 : 24:10:11

6pm FREE, 6-7 Happy Hour!

Midnight - 3am FREE

gig picks

up all night out all week...

RES EATEST PLEASU O OF LIFE’S GR MARRYING TW

ND MUSIC GREAT FOOD A Y

Calling ts all artisand e iv L r fo Locals!

Contact: es. ott events@liz com.au

NE LIZOTTesEen’Sts SYD 3 9933 84 99 84 98 99 2 99 02 Lizotte’s pr

OCT

26 Live & Local

OCT Juzzie Smith 27 OCT

28 Jeff Martin

OCT – By Request 29 Lior OCT

30 Mojo Juju

ve & Local

NO s presents Li 02 Lizotte’ V

The Vasco Era

TUESDAY OCTOBER 25 Tim Chaisson Brass Monkey, Cronulla 8pm Mojo Juju Gardel’s Bar @ Porteno, Surry Hills free 8pm

Trial Kennedy, Strangers, The Dead Love, Royal Chant Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $17 (+ bf) 8pm

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27

The Vasco Era, Papa Vs Pretty, Glass Towers Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $21.95 (+ bf) 8pm

The Jitterbug Club Exotica!: The Jitterbeetles, Kira Puru, Goldie Feather, Azzy Trew The Vanguard, Newtown $25 (+ bf) 8pm

Vaudeville Smash, Clarity GoodGod Small Club $15 8pm

Pluto Jonze, Toucan, Tim Fitz Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 (+ bf) 8pm

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28 Dead China Doll, Unity Foors, Dreamtime, Anonymeye, The Fighting League Dirty Shirlows, Marrickville 8pm The Killjoys, The Glamma Rays, Bernie Hayes Quartet Petersham Bowling Club $15 8pm MUM’s 4th Birthday: Hunting Grounds, Oh Ye Denver Birds, Saloons, The Rubens, The Monkey Smokers, Doc Holliday Takes The Shotgun, The Upskirts, The Otchkies, Howler, MUM DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm

NOV Morris 03 Julia

Break, Chain, The Flood, Bondi Cigars, Chase The Sun, Claude Hay, Spooky Land, The Blues Preachers, Ashleigh Mannix, Sam Shinazzi and more Various Venues, Windsor $69–$149 5pm

NOV hlback 04 Liza O

pty Foundation Humpty DumEv 05 Fundraising ent NOV Morph CD Launch 06 Dexter NOV

OAST C L A R T N E C ’S E LIZOTT 02 4368 2017 OCT artin 25 Jeff M OCT o Juju 26 Moj OCT

27 Folk Uke

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29 The Drones, Adalita Metro Theatre, Sydney $35 (+ bf) 8pm Experience: The Jimi Hendrix Tribute – Darren Middleton (Powderfinger), Stuart Fraser (Noiseworks), Peter Koppes (The Church), John and Rick Brewster (The Angels), Jak Housden (The Whitlams), Kevin Borich Steve Edmonds, Grant Walmsely (Screaming Jets), Peter Northcote Enmore Theatre $69-$89 8pm Pluto Jonze

OCT Smith 28 Juzzie OCT

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29 & Chilli Crab Night

nday Lunch Lazy French Suilt on m Ha a 30 w/ Emm nch w/ Lu p Melbourne Cu NOV & Dan King Duo n ea 01 The Andy McL NOV Vocal Group 02 Salt NOV Bob Corbett 03 & The Roo Grass Band OCT iday LIVE 04 SeaFM Fr OCT orph CD Launch 05 Dexter M OCT

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OC 26 Folk Uke

Sydney Blues & Roots Festival (until Sunday October 30; daily tickets available): Jeff Lang, Diesel, Folk Uke (USA), Abby Dobson, Kim Churchill, Tim Chaisson, Baby Animals, Jeff Martin (Canada), Ash Grunwald, The

OCT

27 Jeff Martin

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n (Grin 28 Phil Jamieso OCT

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NOV

06 Mojo Juju Lizotte’s Sydney 629 Pittwater Rd Dee Why

Lizotte’s Central Coast Lot 3 Avoca Dr Kincumber

Lizotte’s Newcastle 31 Morehead St Lambton

WWW. LIZOT TES.COM.AU BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 49

50 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

brag beats

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

dance music news

Philip Bader

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

five things WITH

RAKAA FROM DILATED PEOPLES

Growing Up I grew up in a multi1. cultural household with a preacher for a father. Church was every Sunday, and it was the loud, colourful, intense kind that most will only see on television.

That is the basis of blues, which morphed into jazz on one branch and rock on another. I was never a big gospel music fan, but I grew up around its energy and influence before falling in love with all types of music on my own journeys.

Veteran Perth hip hop outfit Def Wish Cast are celebrating the release of their latest single ‘Dun Proppa’ with a handful of shows around Australia, including a spot at The Annandale Hotel on Thursday October 27. The veterans of the Aussie scene have brazenly boasted that they are the founders of Australian hip hop, “having created something localised that was revered and is now mythologised.” But while never gaining the commercial success of any of the hip hop acts that followed – such as Hilltop Hoods, for instance – Def Wish Cast certainly deserve credit for their contribution to the scene they helped cultivate. Support will be provided on the night by the Bingethinkers, Blades of Hades and Herb.

Marley, Coltrane, Run DMC, BDP/KRS-ONE, Fishbone, Bad Brains, Beastie Boys, NWA, Freestyle Fellowship, Gang Starr, Soul Assassins, Likwit Crew, Astrud Gilberto, Portishead, Mantronix...

Your Crew Dilated Peoples is in full 3. effect; we’re dropping our

4.

The Music You Make My show is a pure

Following last week’s announcement that Scotland’s Graeme Clark, known for his output as The Revenge, will be playing Reckless Republic’s New Year’s Eve morning cruise Spice Afloat, news has now come to hand that there is another international headliner on the bill. I refer to Detroit dance music aficionado and accomplished sonic craftsman Danilo Plessow, aka Motor City Drum Ensemble, who released a compilation in the DJ-Kicks series only a few months back that featured cuts from the likes of Mr. Fingers, Robert Hood, Aphex Twin, Loose Joints and Isolee’s ripper of a remix of Recloose’s ‘Cardiology’. If he continues to draw from this caliber of tracks on Spice Afloat, it should make for a delectable way to celebrate the first sunrise of the year. Murat Kilic, Carlos Zarate and YokoO will also be spinning. The boat will depart from the Star City Casino wharf, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont at 3:30am, with presale tickets now on sale.

DEF WISH CAST

Inspirations There are too many 2. to mention. Hendrix, Bob

Directors Of Photography album next year. Technically, the group is Evidence (who just dropped Cats & Dogs on Rhymesayers Ent.), DJ Babu, and me. Anyone that knows us knows we roll much deeper than that, though. Our unofficial fourth member is The Alchemist; Sid Roams has been down since the beginning; Beat Junkies are connected directly through Babu; Defari and Fashawn both roll with us; and I’m connected with the Jungle Ent. family in Korea, Overstayer in NZ, C2D crew, and Gracie Jiu Jitsu. I also rep Rock Steady Crew and Universal Zulu Nation. We move worldwide.

MCDE AFLOAT

CRYSTAL CASTLES FOR FIELD DAY energy set based on my Crown Of Thorns album.

Rhettmatic is rocking with me, and I’m bringing out King Kapisi (NZ), Tassho Pearce (Hawaii) – and supporting the Aussie hip hop scene by bringing out Dialect & Despair too. Just rest up and get ready. No excuses. Let’s go!

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The music scene at the moment has its good points and its bad points; I think that there are more examples of both than ever. Some new stuff I’d

recommend would be The Jealous Guys, The Crux, The Pricks, Fashawn, Tassho Pearce, BIGRYZN, Annimeans, Dumbfoundead, Hopie Spitshard, Roscoe Umali, Styliztik Jones, The Seed, Dynasty, and Scheme.

What: Crown Of Thorns is out now With: Rhettmatic (Beat Junkies/Visionaries), King Kapisi, Tassho Pearce, Dialect & Despair Where: The Gaelic Theatre When: Saturday October 29

Purveyors of cool or talentless, over-hyped brats?

No, I’m not talking about the BRAG editorial team [ :( - ed.], but rather the Toronto-based duo Crystal Castles, who experienced a rapid ascension to fame and notoriety on the back of their self-titled debut LP in 2008. And as their PR unashamedly declares, “when it came to Crystal Castles, you were either for them or against them, with few people caught in between”. Crucially for Crystal Castles, they had friends in all the right places – namely NME and Pitchfork – and remixes for Bloc Party, Uffie and Klaxons surely didn’t hurt either. The ‘Castles return to Australia at the very start of next year as part of the Field Day lineup, on the back of their (also) self-titled second album from last year. They’ll be joining an extensive cast of internationals celebrating New Year’s Day, like Moby, Gotye, Busy P, Metronomy, Spank Rock and the inimitable Turbo Recordings main man, Tiga Sontag, who once mused: “I’m all about inclusion, as long as it doesn’t involve me in any way”. Tickets are on sale through www.fielddaynyd.com.au

CHINESE LAUNDRY NYE & JANUARY GARDEN PARTY

LTJ Bukem

Chinese Laundry has unveiled its NYE lineup, which will be headed by none other than DnB stalwart LTJ Bukem. Bukem will be performing a three-hour set ahead of an elaborate support cast that includes Dutch duo Mighty Fools, who are known for what their press release describes as an “ear-splitting, slap-in-the-face sound”. The Immigrant, Jeff Drake, Linken & Vertigo, Spenda C, Reload, Slice and Andrew Wowk will also be throwing down, with first release tickets on sale for $35.

The following weekend, on Saturday January 7, Laundry will be hosting a bass music garden party comprising a quartet of international drawcards: Borgore, Danny Byrd, Netsky and Skism. You can get in early and grab your presales for this online too.

PHILIP BADER

Following last year’s memorable Halloween boat party featuring Superpitcher, the Subsonic crew will celebrate All Hallows’ Eve this Saturday with a themed boat party headlined by German producer Philip Bader, and the much vaunted Australian DJ Phil Smart.

A resident at the hugely popular – and now unfortunately defunct – Berlin clubbing destination Bar25, Bader has been involved in fruitful sonic partnerships with Heinrich & Hertinfellner’s Sascha Braemer, a union which spawned the anthemic single ‘Thankyou’. Together with compatriot producer Nicone, Bramer and Bader have also just released ‘Dantze, Boy’, a catchy cut released on Bader’s fledgling Dantze label that will certainly do the business on Sydney dancefloors over summer.

Those planning on attending are advised to embrace the ‘Zombie Geeks and Circus Freaks’ theme; Subsonic’s Halloween cruise is traditionally an occasion upon which to don outlandish clubbing accoutrement. The boat party is slotted to be an afternoon-‘til-evening affair, running from 1.30pm until 10pm on Saturday October 29, giving you the opportunity to ‘kick on’ at one of the many excellent parties that will occur on Saturday night (cast your eye over these pages for an idea of your options). $50 presale tickets are still on sale through Resident Advisor.

SHRUG

The name may infer nonplussed indifference, but this event is anything but. (Apologies Dave, I’ll stick to the script.) After a lengthy sojourn, Shrug returns to the Civic Underground on Saturday November 19 with a double-bill of Dutch tech courtesy of Matthew Dekay and SQL. Dekay’s collaboration with Lee Burridge on the Cecille imprint, ‘Wongel’, was one of the bigger/better club cuts to hit floors at the back end of last year, while SQL has an impressive sonic CV for a 23-year-old.

Known to his nearest and dearest as Pim van Horseen, SQL has already released on the Trapez, Traum and Tribal Vision labels, and has had his productions supported by minimal bon vivant and notorious sake sipper, Richie Hawtin. While the internationals throw down in the underground, Robbie Lowe, Magda Bytnerowicz, Dave Stuart and Mesan will be pushing a selection of tunes upstairs on the ground floor. First release $15 tickets are currently available via RA.

“As a child I knew, that the stars could only get brighter, And we would get closer” – HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 51

dance music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

He Said She Said WITH

JON CONVEX OF INSTRA:MENTAL (UK)

M

y Dad was really into his music. He had a Hi-Fi Room, where he had these huge speakers that looked like old radiators, a rack of hi-fi gear, a record deck and a big sofa in the middle. He loved music and would go in there and absorb artists like Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, Fleetwood Mac etc... And I would go in and join him.

Listening to the likes of Vangelis, Alan Parsons and Pink Floyd still has an effect on me to this day. I’ve always wanted to combine electronic with organic. The Jon Convex album will reflect this; I’ve got out the guitar and the vocals for it.

Back in the day I grew up listening to hip hop and ordering in tapes from the US with Alex Green (aka Boddika).

From there we went on to write tunes together as Instra:mental, and then stuff under Autonomic with dBridge. These days I’m solely focusing on my Jon Convex solo career. I’m also working with dBridge on another project.

PETE ROCK

New York producer and DJ Pete Rock, the self-proclaimed “Soul Brother #1”, is touring Australia in January, and will perform a set at Upstairs Beresford on Thursday January 5.

Pete Rock first rose to prominence as part of the influential duo Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, before embarking on a solo career that has spanned two decades and seen him produce records for Run DMC, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Ghostface Killah and Redman. Rock is credited as playing a major role in merging elements of jazz and funk into hip hop music, and has most recently been brought back into rap’s consciousness with his production ‘The Joy’ on Jay-Z & Kanye West’s Watch The Throne album.

The music I make is electronica. With Instra:mental I never liked to be pigeonholed, but the stuff I’ve written this year and released has definitely had a more dancefloor sound. I think I’ll write more dancefloor-friendly beats for single releases, but the LP will be more of a listening affair that will still work in a live environment. It’s just about finding the balance. From a Convex DJ set, expect a electro, house, techno, garage and DnB all in a mixing pot, at around 126132bpm.

I think the music scene is really healthy right now. People are experimenting and trying different things. There’s a fine line between styles, so for me it’s about a tempo rather than a genre, and this creates so much more music to play in my sets.

Who: Silkie (Deep Medi) and Jon Convex (Instra:mental), plus special guests Where: Hold Tight! @ Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday October 29

MOVE D @ THE SPICE CELLAR

You ain’t heard proper deep grooves until you’ve heard David Moufang, aka Move D, in action. Moufang has always been a prodigious talent, combining jazz, funk, techno and house influences in his releases on labels such as Running Back, Warp and Smallville over the past fifteen years. With a vast catalogue of eclectic records at his disposal, Moufgang will be sure to extract the most from the sound system at the Spice Cellar when he spins there on Saturday November 25. As McInnes slurred after one too many at the Civic Underground when Move D last visited our shores, “The ‘D’ is for deep, and the music... that’s for moving to!” Trinity and Murat Kilic will also be playing tunes, with presales going for 20 crabs a pop.

Recloose

MAD RACKET’S 13TH B’DAY

Started in 1998 by four Sydney-based DJs including Jimmi James and Simon Caldwell, the legendary Mad Racket has always been dedicated to delivering the finest in local and international electronica – and a killer party to boot. In the past they’ve hosted names like Claude Von Stroke, Jamie Liddel and Moodyman, and to celebrate the end of their adolescence and the beginning of their teens, they’re throwing a 13th birthday shindig at Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday October 29. Mad Racket regular Recloose will be joining the Racketeers – who he referred to as “party prophets” in last week’s BRAG. If you and your soon-to-be best mate wanna get down there for free, we’ve got a double pass. Just tell us your best Mad Racket memory.

SPRING MUSIC

On Saturday November 12, the Showring at Moore Park will be flooded with flowers and outdoor furniture, and transformed into an Ibiza-like paradise. “Why?” you ask. “Mind your own business,” we say. …OK, fine: DJs Ernesto Ferreyra and Fabrizio Maurizi will be there for Spring Music, an awesome oneoff event put together by Seasoned Music, who do one of these every three months.

Two of Europe’s hottest DJs, an Ibiza-styled paradise… and did we mention the gourmet BBQ? There’s a gourmet BBQ. Want a double pass? Tell us your favourite thing about Spring.

Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir

Bombs Away

ANTHONY ‘SHAKE’ SHAKIR

Seminal Detroit techno pioneer Anthony ‘Shake’ Shakir will perform his first shown in Sydney this Saturday at the newly opened venue the Spice Cellar, located on Elizabeth Street near Martin Place. Sometimes forgotten amid the likes of Derrick May, Carl Craig and Kenny Larkin et al, Shakir comes across as an elusive and enigmatic figure. The self-described “invisible man of techno” has refused to promote his work in European markets, and has released most of his own material on his own Frictional label. He has frequently referred to himself as the janitor of Juan Atkins’ Metroplex Records, though he now admits that much of his invisibility is his own doing... As for his music? Shakir’s tracks prefigured plenty of contemporary electronic music trends, from wonky to the modern disco edit, and showcase a live ‘hip hop-ish’ approach to crafting electronica. He also recorded on Mo Wax as part of the first Urban Tribe project alongside Kenny Dixon Jr (aka Moodymann), Carl Craig and Sherard Ingram. For those unaware of Shakir, your first stop should be the triple CD release Frictionalism 1994-2009, a collection of his productions that was released last year on Dutch label Rush Hour. Shakir is notoriously unafraid of playing hip hop and pop music in his DJ sets, and he once sampled the B-52’s – but you can also expect a serious dose of straight-up Detroit techno this weekend. Whatever he drops, it should be an experience not to miss.

FUTURE CLASSIC ON FBI

BOMBS AWAY

Western Australian duo Bombs Away, who announced themselves as a new player in the commercial dance scene with their single ‘Big Booty Bitches’ back in late October 2010, have just released a new single, ‘Supersoaker’, which has been available on iTunes since last week. Official hosts of this year’s Schoolies Main Stage on the Gold Coast, there’s no doubting Bombs Away know how to sniff out a party. Expect to see the boys’ debut album hit shelves at some point in 2012; those interested as to the pair’s sonic leanings should seek out the Bombs Away remixes of Stanton Warriors and Coolio in the interim.

Just when you thought it was safe to turn on the radio, it’s been announced that the Future Classic DJs have a new weekly radio show on independent Sydney radio station FBi 94.5FM. The trio of McLay, McInnes and Gillard, who you may have encountered previously at Adult Disco at the Civic Underground, will be digging through their favourite house, disco, bass, soul and of course minimal techno as they host Saturday Sunsets from 6–8pm, to give your Saturday night a much-needed [metaphorical] shot in the arm.

STEREOSONIC ADDITION: GARY GO

Popular vocalist Gary Go, the writer and vocalist behind Benny Benassi’s #1 Billboard U.S Chart and Australian Platinum selling hit ‘Cinema’, has been added to the lineup of Stereosonic 2011

to perform live on stage with Benassi. “Benny has told me so many great things about the atmosphere and people at Stereosonic, so I’m really looking forward to being a part of this festival,” Go gushed animatedly. “It will be my debut Australia visit too,” he continued, pausing momentarily for what seemed to be a brief moment of reflection, before looking me square in the eye and, with an ever so subtle lick of the lips, adding, “which makes it extra special.” The Stereosonic artist lineup also comprises Dutch trance figurehead Armin Van Buuren – a chap who has a law degree under his belt – compatriot Ferry Corsten (performing live), French enigma Mr Oizo, the Dirty Bird Claude VonStroke, Carl Cox, Deetron, The Bloody Beetroots and Empire of the Sun among others. Tickets for the Stereosonic Festival, slotted for November 26 at Sydney Showgrounds, Homebush, are available through stereosonic.com.au

“The lights they call me, call me to your side, The lights they blind me, they take my sight” – HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR 52 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 53

Bombs Away Every Day They’re Super Soaking By Alasdair Duncan

H

yper-kinetic Perth duo Bombs Away are at the forefront of the movement bringing dubstep from YouTube to the screaming masses. The brothers Tom and Sketch have stormed festivals and partied in Miami – and this month they launch their new single, ‘Super Soaker’.

It’s been a huge year for you guys – what have been some of the highlights?

Sketch: We played a show in Bundaberg earlier this year, which was awesome fun.

Tom: We were in the car on the way to the airport, and I looked out the window and saw a shark on the back of the car next to us. That was definitely exciting for me. The shark was dead, too, and it was huge – it was like 20 metres long, the biggest shark I’d ever seen.

S: He was all like ‘Aaaargh’, and I was all like ‘Aaaaargh!’ It was crazy.

Have you met any new friends or collaborators in your travels?

T: We’ve got some new songs coming out with some really well-established Australian artists, as well as some from the States. We have an album ready to go, and there are some massive artists on there. We can’t talk about it just yet, but there’s some really exciting stuff set to come out after ‘Super Soaker’.

“I’m gonna get you wet with my Super Soaker” – what’s that all about?

S: We got the idea for the song at one of the festivals we played last year.

There was a Super Soaker backstage, so we filled it up with vodka and then shot it into each other’s mouths.

So there’s no other possible meaning that could be inferred there?

T: We’re not going to give away anything specific – we’re happy to let people decide for themselves.

Sounds legit. So people describe you guys as “electro dubstep” – and it seems those two terms are becoming almost interchangeable…

S: We’ve been playing dubstep since before it took off, but we’ve always been really big fans of electro, too. I’d say they just go hand-inhand; they suit each other really well.

If you go onto YouTube, there’s a dubstep remix of everything from the Pokemon theme to Nyan Cat. Where do you stand on that?

T: We like it. I mean, because we’ve been doing this for a while, we’ve actually been experimenting a lot with moombahton lately – so the next couple of tracks we do are going to include a bit of that. I think it’s going to be the next big thing.

S: We went to a moombahton party in Miami and it was great. It’s similar to dubstep, but it’s got a bit more funk to it.

You guys post a lot of remixes you’ve done of pop artists like Katy Perry and Rihanna, artists a lot of dance nerds would be scared of…

S: We just like music. We find that especially amongst the crowd you referred to as dance nerds, people shy away from pop just because people like it.

T: If there’s a song that has a good melody or a good vocal and we think it might sit well with one of our dubstep remixes, then we’ll just do it.

S: Don’t get us wrong, there are some terrible songs out there, but there are some great tracks out there that are under-rated by certain sections of the dance community. To an extent, that’s happened to us with ‘Super Soaker’ – it’s been weird to watch some people’s attitudes to it change as it becomes more successful.

What: ‘Super Soaker’ is out now on Central Station Records

Philip Bader Just Make Tracks By Jeremy Williams

“I

t’s like a painting,” Berliner Philip Bader explains, of his creative process. “You start with a stroke of a brush.”

Having taken a slightly longwinded route into the music industry, Bader is a perfect example of what sheer determination can lead to. While he concedes that he is more than a little lucky to be in the position he finds himself, he notes that, just like anyone who’s chased a dream, he’s had to put in the time and effort to make it work. “It was a process to come to this point. I didn’t really decide it. Music is just what I like, what I feel...”

Philip Bader fell in love with all things electronic back in 1998, and made his DJ debut at the old Tresor Club just a year later. Soon after that, though, he realised that simply spinning others’ tracks couldn’t satisfy him – so he stepped into production. “I bought myself a 303 Machine and some other hardware, and in the year 2005, I finished my first song.”

With a good seven years between his DJ debut and his first fully-fledged song, Bader has learnt that the only way to make headway is by putting in the hard yards and spending time experimenting. But when it comes to deciding between the two halves of a successful music career – that of innovator and that of performer – he proves himself to be aligned with the majority of his contemporaries: “Both are very interesting for me... I love to be on stage, and I love the studio work a lot.”

Philip Bader hits Sydney at the end of this month for the epic, eight-hour Subsonic Halloween Harbour Cruise. Themed ‘Zombie Geeks & Circus Freaks’, he promises to provide “fucking good music” and “a nice man behind the decks!” – surely enough of an enticement.

“I play what I really like and what I feel in the moment,” he continues – and although he’s unable to pinpoint what it is that defines a good audience for him, he’s more than able to select one event in particular whose crowd left more than a small mark in his memory. With a real gusto of enthusiasm, he almost shouts out his recollection: “Oh! The best crowd I remember was at the Bar 25 [in Hamburg]! It was very face-to-face – the people were dancing with you. A lot of people were around me, behind the DJ desk. We were a saltation bulk.” Clearly a fan of intimacy, Bader likes to feel the response and reaction of a crowd – so if you plan to head along to the cruise, prepare to get up close and personal.

“I really love and remember one [other] set,” Bader continues, reveling in the highlights of his career. “I was playing in the Panorama Bar. In the end I was totally in my music… I was dancing and at one point it was like I was playing only for myself at that moment. I was so lost in the music.”

When I ask if he has any advice for anyone wishing to pursue their own career in production, Bader replies quite simply: “Just make tracks… and send them to the right people.” And in order to stand out in an overcrowded industry, he recommends that you “make what you want...

Not what you think the people will like.”

Who: Philip Bader (Highgrade/GetPhysical/ Bar25, Berlin), Phil Smart, Jimi Polar, Matt Weir, Jordan Deck and more What: Subsonic Halloween Harbour Cruise – Zombie Geeks & Circus Freaks Where: 1.30pm pickup @ Rosebay Wharf; 2pm pickup at Campbell’s Cover; 4pm pickup at Rosebay Wharf When: Saturday October 29, from 1:30pm; check Resident Advisor for details

New Navy Tropical Flavour By Rach Seneviratne

R

obert Mugabe’s politically tragic country may not be the perfect place to visit right now, but New Navy’s song of the same name certainly is. ‘Zimbabwe’ was an anthem of escapism during winter; a tropical cocktail of a track that sounded like Whitest Boy Alive in Hawaiian shirts, or Jimmy Cliff on Ritalin. Guitarist and percussionist Jamie Corson explains that their originally darker sound transformed to summery happy music in a pretty organic way. “Well, the first few songs we recorded were written in winter, in our separate bedrooms in different cities,” he says.

“If you compare that to Uluwatu, which was all written in Uluwatu in Bali – it’s a summer thing.

I dunno, it’s amazing what different music you’re into in different seasons.”

The four guys who make up New Navy all hail from the tiny south coast beach town of Ulladulla; they got together to make music a few years after leaving their hometown. Since the release of their brooding three-track demo last year, the band have somewhat reinvented themselves, with a brighter take on the guitar tomfoolery that bands like Foals and Two Door Cinema Club have made extremely popular.

Their EP Uluwatu is a percussion-littered affair with spritely guitars and deliberate bass lines, and the tropical feel is something Corson says they wanted to achieve from the get-go.

“It wasn’t just the surroundings [in Uluwatu] – it was something we consciously did. We wanted to make it a bit brighter and more fun. With [the demo track] ‘Animals’, we didn’t intend it to come out as dark as it did. After that, we wanted to lighten things up a little and have a bit more fun. It’s definitely the angle we prefer.”

To help achieve the sound they wanted, the band enlisted the help of Jono Ma of Lost Valentinos, who’d been engineering a lot of Foals’ new material for their new album.

“We just wanted his touch. It was a good combination of him doing what we wanted and also what he thought it needed. Adding percussion to sections and tweaking guitar tones,” Corson says. “It’s just good to have another set of ears there.”

New Navy recently signed to Future Classic, a label that deals predominantly with electronicbased acts. It was a move that Corson feels very confident about. “We had to think about it when the offer was there. But it individualises us… It separates us. If we’re an indie band on an indie label full of other indie bands, then we’re just one in the mix.” Their association to the Future Classic label has entrenched them into the indie-dance-crossover scene that’s making waves in Sydney right now, epitomised by their addition to the recent

Musica festival alongside the likes of SBTRKT, Simon Caldwell and Future Classic labelmates Mitzi. “People dance at our concerts,” Corson explains, “and although our songs have actual drums as opposed to samples, they’re still dance beats essentially.”

The success of ‘Zimbabwe’ locally on FBi and triple j has grabbed the attention of French taste-making label Kitsune, who’ve added the single to their next Kitsune Maison Compilation. “It’s amazing; I used to buy those albums to find out what music was cool,” Corson says disbelievingly. But it’s the local radio support that’s been the most rewarding achievement yet. “The triple j Unearthed party was a realisation of sorts. I remember at one

point we were playing ‘Zimbabwe’, the house lights were on and I looked up during the chorus, saw most of the room with their hands in the air singing the chorus, and had a bit of a moment where I was like, ‘What the fuck?’,” he laughs. And with New Navy on the cusp of something big, Corson is audibly excited about what the future holds. “It’s suddenly come to a realisation, [that there’s a] possibility of doing this for real – and I hope so. I really hope so.”

What: Uluwatu is out through Future Classic Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday November 5 More: Also playing Peats Ridge Festival from December 29 - January 1 at Glenworth Valley.

“Athene, She’s the woman of war, She gives us the reasons, Reasons worth fighting for” – HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR 54 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

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450 PARAMATTA RD PETERSHAM 9560-1488 BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 55

Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

I

was beginning to fear the worst. While Donato Dozzy’s presence in Australia next month for Melbourne’s Strawberry Fields festival has been confirmed for some time, there had been a palpable delay in the announcement of a Sydney show. In this time, the usual industry rumours had begun to circulate, the majority of which quickly degenerated into your typical ‘can’t believe he’s playing Melbourne and not Sydney’ tirades, the likes of which had not been heard since Carl Craig, Parrish and Moodymann were joined by Diatribe at The Forum, while Kenny Larkin joined the trio down south.

[Insert lengthy pause and a wink to knowing readers.] Thankfully, our Melbournian ‘friends’ have been denied bragging rights with the announcement that Dozzy will perform at the new White House venue in Petersham on Saturday November 25. The Italian producer is renowned for using his DJ sets to showcase his extensive record collection and deep knowledge of electronic music, which can result in temporary deviations into Krautrock/Kosmische territories, in addition to the staple focus on techno. Dozzy’s K LP from last year – at this point, let’s forego the obligatory reference to club culture’s love affair with horse tranquilliser – was hailed by Little White Earbuds as “Donato’s best work to date, but also one of the most engaging and memorable techno LPs this [last] year.”

(See how I’m veiling my own endorsement of the chap behind another’s superlatives, thus retaining my ‘ice cool’ persona – ingenious, no?) Another online fanboy lauds, “Dozzy’s releases are good, his DJ sets better, but what is it about him that invokes such awe?”

We’ll find out first hand in a month’s time. It is also good to see one of Sydney’s finest, Dave Choe of Glitch fame, on the support bill. Having been away for a couple of years, followed by a further sabbatical at Burning Man recently – lifestyles of the rich and famous, right? – the Sydney scene is better for having Chopsticks back in our midst.

Presale tickets are available through Resident Advisor.

The quintessential tastemaker Tim ‘Sweendog’ Sweeney, the man behind the online radio show Beatsinspace, is playing a Sydney show for Haha at Marrickville Bowling Club on Friday December 16. Also known for his close ties with NYC’s ‘hipperthan-thou’ DFA label, Sweeney’s sets traverse a broad range of quality electronic music, spanning disco, house and techno, and always throw up a few peachy tunes that you will never have heard before, and in all likelihood will never hear again.

One can measure Sweeney’s stature in the electronic music community by the number

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

LOOKING DEEPER SATURDAY OCTOBER 29

Phillip Bader Subsonic Halloween Boat Cruise

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5 Pier Bucci The Pumphouse

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27 Donato Dozzy The White House

SUNDAY JANUARY 1

Spice Afloat ft MCDE The Bella Vista of quality guests that have dropped by his studio over the years – for Sweendog, having the likes of Michael Mayer or Cosmo Vitelli stop in for a guest mix is a fairly standard affair. Long John Saliva and residents Dean Dixon and Dave Fernandes will also be performing on the night, with tickets available online.

The eighth and final mix in the esteemed Live At Robert Johnson series, mixed

by Innervisions boss Dixon (who was of course the surprise headliner of Resident Advisor’s RA X bash last month), has been available to purchase for a few weeks now. My question to you, dear reader, is why haven’t you bought it yet? The mix is apparently Dixon’s last commercial mix, following his much lauded efforts Temporary Secretary, The Grandfather Paradox and my personal favourite, Body Language Vol 4. As anyone who enjoyed Temporary Secretary would expect, Live At Robert Johnson Vol. 8 contains plenty of Dixon edits, with tweaks of P. Éladan, Barnt and Mark E all featuring in what is a restrained and melodic mix that slowly builds towards more dancefloor-friendly terrain by its conclusion, via cuts from Roman Flügel and Todd Terje. The compilation also showcases a few exclusive Dixon edits of other people’s remixes, such as a rework of Axel Boman’s remix of Kenton Slash Demon and the Âme rework of Osunlade.

In regards to everyone suddenly ‘washing their hands’ of the mix release format, a press release elucidates that both Dixon and the team behind Live At Robert Johnson are ad idem in their view that the format has run its course. From here on out, LARJ will only release EPs and unmixed compilations, “free of the rules that tempo, blending and arrangements dictate,” a move that won’t surprise anyone who heard club founder Ata’s unmixed Robert Johnson compilation, which was more in the mould of an old fashioned Italo disco mixtape in working through some esoteric almostguilty pleasures. Dixon meanwhile is purportedly set to concentrate solely on his club sets, productions and his label, Innervisions, which is a bit of shame as he has been one of the few people who has consistently approached the mix-CD format with flair and originality.

But in the digital era, you’ll still be able to grab live recordings of the man through soundcloud and the like, so I guess it’s just a question of moving with the times…

Dixon

Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com 56 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

Soul Sedation

Diplo 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.

F

or the very first time, you can get a good haul of Mad Decent singles/12inches on CD. Mad Decent Vol 1: The Best Of Mad Decent takes in the diverse range of sounds that Diplo has immersed himself in over the years: dubstep, Baltimore, dancehall, cumbia, and tropical bass. You’ll hear from the best of the stable, including Bosco Delray, Maluca, Boy 8-Bit, Dillon Francis, Rusko and Horsey – as well as Diplo himself. There are 18 tracks in all, and they’ve snuck in some new material too, just to balance out the release.

The LA-based MC Blu has dropped the Jesus LP, a follow-up to his unmissable albums Below The Heavens and Her Favorite Colo(u)r. This one’s purportedly a little bit weirder than his previous releases, and takes in a psychedelic downbeat flavour. Madlib and Alchemist both guest on production, and you’ll catch Planet Asia and Killer Ben taking turns on the mic. You can track that one down through the Fat Beats label.

Emerging Londoner/vocalist Michael Kiwanuka has just put out an EP on the Communion label. This guy makes some amazing folky, retro soul – put ‘Tell Me A Tale’ into your search engine right now.

Fans of voices like Fink, Winehouse and Stephanie McKay will really get into this stuff. Soul Sedation feels that Kiwanuka is one to watch.

A new instalment of the DJ Kicks series has been set free, with Gold Panda at the helm. The Peckham-born producer is yet another electronic wizard who made big waves with his Lucky Shiner EP. This mix takes in artists like Drexciya, Christopher Rau, Nao Tokui as well as London based techno producer Sigha. 22 tracks in all, of deep and diverse sonic bliss.

It’s recommended you get across some freshness from local hip hop outfit True Vibenation. The crew are about to drop their debut album The Sunshower Phenomenon (on Big Village), which has an early November release date, but in the meantime you need to check their clip for new single ‘Work Work Work ft Alphamama'. It’s a quality hip hop and funk fusion, just hooky enough without cheesing you off. The group is made up of MCs Verbaleyes and Native Wit, with DJ Gabriel Clouston bringing up the support on the ones and two. Brass fans will get into this stuff big time, as all three members are horn players as well, which infiltrates the single quite heavily.

In big hip hop news, Young MC comes to Australia for the first time in December, with the Bust A Move Australian tour.

He’s playing Falls Fest in both Lorne and Tasmania, Southbound in WA, and taking in shows in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Sydneysiders, however, will be able to catch him at New Year's Day staple Field Day. Do

ON THE ROAD THURSDAY OCTOBER 27 Def Wish Cast Annandale Hotel

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29 Silkie, Jon Convex Oxford Art Factory London Elektricity Arthouse

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 3 Onra Oxford Art Factory

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5 Shapeshifter Metro Theatre

FRIDAY DECEMBER 2 Mulatu Astatke Factory Theatre

Hold Tight! Ft. Gaslamp Killer, Levins, JPS, Prize Oxford Art Factory

FRIDAY DECEMBER 9 Hermitude The Standard

yourself a favour and track down his brilliant debut album Stone Cold Rhythm from way back in ’89; it’s the dopeness, seriously.

Reggae fans will be stoked to learn that Katchafire are coming back through town.

They’ll rock the Coogee Bay Hotel on Friday November 18 with NZ’s Maisey Rika on support.

The Annandale explodes this Thursday night as Def Wish Cast bring their new Dun Proppa album through Sydney – their first release since 2006’s The Legacy Continues. The Australian hip hop originators will be towing the Bingethinkers, Blades of Hades and Herb with them on support duties. And you can pick up the new Dun Proppa record through Creative Vibes.

And once the weekend is truly underway, two studio wizards will be taking us on excursions into deep electronica, through dubstep, techno, minimal DnB and all sorts of futuristic variants. South-Londoner and Rinse FM resident Silkie is one of them, with a full album on the way on Mala’s Deep Medi label. Jon Convex – one half of Instra:mental – is the other. Convex has released on labels like 3024, NonPlus and Naked Lunch, and also releases music under the Boddika title. Get involved – it all goes down this Saturday October 29 at the Oxford Art Factory.

Send stuff for this column to tonyedwards001@gmail.com by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to art@thebrag.com

BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 57

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

club pick of the week Recloose

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29

Marrickville Bowling Club

Mad Racket’s 13th Birthday Recloose,

Jimmi James,

Ken Cloud, Zootie, Simon Caldwell $30 (+ bf) – $35 (on door) 10pm MONDAY OCTOBER 24 The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Monday Jam Danny G Felix, Djay Kohina free 9pm Scubar. Sydney Crab Racing 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Jazz DJs free 7pm

TUESDAY OCTOBER 25 Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel DJ Willie Sabor free 6pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Frat House free Scubar, Sydney Backpacker Karaoke 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic DJ Chappers, Ping Pong Tiddly, The Killers Tribute Band free 8pm

58 :: BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26 The Argyle, The Rocks DJ Georgia, Alice Quiddington free 6pm Bank Hotel, Newtown Girls’ Night DJ Heartattack free Beach Palace Hotel, Coogee Palace Uni Night DJs free 9pm Cargo Lounge, Sydney Menage a Trois 5pm Home The Venue, Darling Harbour Embrace Wednesdays free 8.30pm Kong’s Jungle Lounge, Bondi Junction Voodoo free 9pm The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Frat House Dtrain Disco, Hacky Sack, Friend DJ free 8pm

The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown Student Nights DJ Moussa The Ranch Hotel, Eastwood Night of the Living Dead Matt Nukewood, Steve Frank Scubar, Sydney Schoonerversity 3pm Seymour Theatre Centre, Chippendale TaikOz, DJ M-Royce $27 8pm all ages Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney Sincopa free 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Glovecats, Rubio, Ella Locha, D*Funk, Lights Out free 7.30pm

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27 Annandale Hotel Def Wish Cast, Bingethinkers, Blades of Hades, Herb $15 (+ bf) 8pm ARQ, Sydney Drag for Dollars free 9pm

Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Drop Joelistics, Adi B, Bentley free 8pm Cargo Bar, Sydney Thursdays I’m in Love 5pm The Cool Room, Australian Hotel and Brewery, Rouse Hill Halloween Theme Party Hook N Sling, John Glover The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills Klub Koori Hip Hop Night Whitehouse, Duke Bailey, Yung Nooky $15 (+ bf) 8pm Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney Tenzin, Cadell, Zannon, DJ K-Note free 8pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Bad Apple FT Mode, Project Deep, Linda Jensen, Merry Jaguar, White Cat 8pm Ivy, Sydney Ivy Live 5pm The Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale Indie Warhol DJ Skar, The Ivys, The Ruminaters free 8pm Low 302, Darlinghurst Actual Russian Brides Bleepin’ Jay Squawkins, Rabbit Taxi, Anita Douche free 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Pluto Jonze, Toucan, Tim Fitz $10 (+ bf) 8pm Red Rattler, Marrickville Music is the Weapon The Liberators, Soul Of Sydney DJs $10 7pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Flaunt $15 8pm The Sly Fox, Enmore Inhale Foreigndub DJs free 9pm Soho, Potts Point Ladies Night Down & Out DJs 9pm Theloft, Sydney Thursdays at theloft Nad, Stu Turner, Mr Belvedere The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Urby, Conrad Greenleaf free (student)–$5 9pm

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28 ARQ, Sydney It’s Britney, Bitch! Elle O’Ell, Cory, Eli, Vanity, Jake Kilby, Justin Scott free 9pm The Arthouse Hotel, Sydney RnB Superclub $20 9.30pm Bank Hotel, Newtown Friendly Fridays DJ Jeremy Kirschner free Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Movement free 8pm The Burdekin, Darlinghurst DJs 9pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Liquid Sky Halloween Special Kyro & Bomber, MooWho vs LA Tech, DUI, Threesixteen, Bass Thiefs, Leanzy vs Fawkes, Dirty Cash, Whatis, Lady K $10$15 8pm Cargo Bar, Sydney On The Harbour Adam Bozetto, Jace 5pm The Cellar, Sydney Voidsound DJs $10 10pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Evil Nine (UK), A-Tonez, Tony Why & Toddy Trix ft. O-Tech MC, Adam Zae, Blog Wars DJs, Victims $15-$25 10pm Civic Underground, Sydney Volar 10pm Cohibar Guest DJ, DJ Jeddy Rowlands, DJ Anders Hitchcock free Fake Club, Kings Cross Sounds Of Trance Coopa. I & S Project, Digital Mouth, Rodskeez $15 10pm Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito DJs free 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney

Low Motion Kato, Tape 2 Tape, Max Gosford, Preacha $10 11pm Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney DJ Cadell free 5pm Gypsy Lounge, Darlinghurst Warp Speed Various DJs Home Nightclub, Sydney Sublime 9pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Rat Pack 8pm Jackson’s On George, Sydney Ultimate Party Venue Resident DJs free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays Devola, Hobophonics, Boonie, Bernie Dingo $10 8pm Kong’s Jungle Lounge, Bondi Junction Wild Live $10 9pm The Marlborough Hotel – Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 9pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hellfire DJ Jay, Sveta, Jack Shit, DJ Tokoloshe $25 9.30pm Ruby Rabbit, Darlinghurst Bitch Boutique DJ Sista P, Cunningpants, GI Jode, Hot Rod 7pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Club Onyx DJs free-$15 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Frisky Friday DJs free 6pm Settlement Bar, Sydney Spoilt Dave Stuart 6pm Shark Hotel, Sydney Pulse8 Jono free Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney Mixtape free 6pm Soho, Potts Point Soho Fridays DJs free Space, Sydney Zaia Savvy, Edo, D’Kutz, Em-Tee, Ming, Ace, Flipz, DJ Sefu, MC Suga Shane, Arbee, Suae, Pulsar, Askitz, Jinkang vs Tezzr vs Rhe3, MC D 9.45pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Eve 9pm Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills Rufus, Camden, Martin Simpson, DJ Jamie Vale free 5.30pm The Watershed Hotel Bring On The Weekend! DJ Matty Roberts free The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM’s 4th Birthday Hunting Grounds, Oh Ye Denver Birds, Saloons, The Rubens, The Monkey Smokers, Doc Holliday Takes The Shotgun, The Upskirts, The Otchkies, Howler, MUM DJs $10-$15 8pm

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29 Annandale Hotel Mantra, Tommy Illfigga, Dutch $15 (+ bf) 8pm ARQ, Sydney Dance Jake Kilby, Jayson Forbes, Johan Khoury, Rob Davis, Jimmy Dee, Justin Scott $15-$25 9pm The Arthouse Hotel, Sydney Bass Drop London Elektricity feat. MC Wrek, Blok4ead, Icicle, Royalston, Low Society, Linken & Vertigo, Bass Drop DJ, Hydrophonics, The Abyss, Kieran Hellmore & Beans, Actuator, Gilsun, Distemper, Paul Fraser $65$70 9pm Bank Hotel, Newtown DJ Miss Match free The Basement, Circular Quay Icon of Coil (Norway), Komor Kommando (Norway), Northbone (Norway) $54.80 9.30pm

Rakaa

Big Top Luna Park, Milson’s Point Magique Halloween Circus $54.90 6.30pm The Burdekin, Darlinghurst DJs 9pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Candys Halloween 2 Busy 2 Kiss, Disco Volante, Nightmare, Durty Mindz, Leanzy, Brusman, Zim City, Donald Crump, C. Rain $15$20 8pm Cargo Bar, Sydney The Institute of Music DJs Chinese Laundry, Sydney Halloween Hernan Cattaneo, Jus Haus?, Philly Blunt, Club Junque, A-Tonez, Mike Hyper, King Lee, Mr Belvedere, Krisiano Carroll $15-$25 8pm Civic Hotel, Sydney Sweet Taboo 8pm Cohibar DJ Brynstar, DJ Mike Silver The Cool Room, Australian Hotel and Brewery, Rouse Hill Resident DJs 9pm Dee Why Hotel Kiss & Fly DJs 8.30pm Establishment, Sydney Sienna G-Wizard, Troy T, Def Rok, Eko, Lilo 9pm Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills Rakaa, Rhettmatic, King Kapisi (NZ), Tassho Pearce, Dialect & Despair $25 (+ bf) 8pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Jingle Jangle’s Halloween Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney Circoloco Matthias Tanzmann, Dyed Soundroom, Robbie Lowe, T-Boy, Defined By Rhythm, FT Mode, Nick McMartin, Jamie Mattimore $40 12pm Home The Venue, Sydney Homemade Saturday Emily Scott $20-$25 9pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Dolso 8pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Pool Club Saturday Nights DJs 6pm Ivy, Sydney Pure Ivy Luciana (UK) Jackson’s On George, Sydney Ultimate Party Venue Resident DJs free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Miss T, Gabby, Cassette, Alison Wonderland 8pm The Marlborough Hotel – Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free Marrickville Bowling Club Lucky For Some Recloose, Jimmi James, Ken Cloud, Zootie, Simon Caldwell $30$35 10pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Hold Tight! Silkie, Jon Convex $23.50-$28.70 8pm Sandringham Hotel Street Level Bar, Newtown DJ Kaki free 8pm

club guide

club picks

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite DJs free-$20 8pm Shark Hotel, Sydney Pulse8 Jono free Soho, Sydney Usual Suspects Halloween Party Sidney Samson, Digit & Jumes, Oakes & Lennox, Matt Nukewood $25 8.30pm Space Nightclub Masif Saturdays Yoji, Organ Donors, ZK (Japan), Steve Hill, Suae, Pulsar, Kid Finley, Matrix, Halu Suzuki, MC D, Alterior Motivz, Khemist, The Strangers, Mute, Kadet, Hardstyle Hustlerz, DillytEk, A Skitz, Rhee, TEZZR, Back to Basics $25-$35 10pm Spice Cellar, Martin Place Boom Boom Anthony Shake Shakir (US), Joe Stanley, Daniel Lupica $25 10pm Star Bar, Sydney Situation free 10pm St James Hotel, Sydney SFX 9pm Theloft, Sydney Late at theloft Mike Who, Disc Jockey Hansom, Devola, Murray Lake free Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Voyeur Discokid, Robbie Santiago, Jo Funk, Phil Lake 9pm Verge Bar, Arthouse Hotel, Sydney After Dark DJs free Water Bar, Blue Hotel Saturday Night Deluxe Tikki Tembo free The Watershed Hotel Watershed Presents…

Skybar

The World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! Soft War, James Taylor, Kato, Adam Bozzetto, Nukewood, Ben Morris, Miss Gabby, Mitch Crosher, Philly Blunt, D*Funk, Shamozzle, Bermuda P, Daigo $15-$20 8pm

SUNDAY OCTOBER 30 Bank Hotel, Newtown Kitty Glitter free Basement Level, 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney Spice Jamie Lloyd, Murat Kilic $20 4am Brickworks, Sydney Park Reel Dave Slade, Jimi Polar, Ben Walton free 12pm all ages Cargo Bar, Sydney Stick It In 3pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Sneaky Sundays Resident and Guest DJs 8pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Marco Polo Goodwill,

up all night out all week...

Alison Wonderland, Ember, Danny Lang, Digit, Bart, Tigerlily, 15 Grams, Goodfella 1pm Jackson’s On George, Sydney Aphrodisiac Resident DJs free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Stu Turner, NAD, Mr Belvedere, Murray Lake, Pat Ward 6pm Martini Club Goldfish, Kings Cross free 6pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sessions DJ Tone free 7pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Sapphire Sundays free-$10 8pm Scubar, Sydney Sundays at Scubar 3pm The Watershed Hotel Afternoon DJs DJ Brynstar free The World Bar, Kings Cross Dust James Taylor, Alley Oop free 7pm

Mr Belvedere, Krisiano Carroll $15-$25 8pm

Hook N Sling

Gaelic Theatre, Surry Hills Rakaa, Rhettmatic, King Kapisi (NZ), Tassho Pearce, Dialect & Despair $25 (+ bf) 8pm

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26

Kong’s Jungle Lounge, Bondi Junction W!ld Live $10 9pm

Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney Circoloco Matthias Tanzmann, Dyed Soundorom, Robbie Lowe, T-Boy, Defined By Rhythm, FT Mode, Nick McMartin and more $55 (+ bf) 12pm

The Ranch Hotel, Eastwood Night of the Living Dead Matt Nukewood, Steve Frank

SATURDAY OCTOBER 29

Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Hold Tight! Silkie, Jon Convex $23.50 8pm

Chinese Laundry, Sydney Hernan Cattaneo, Jus Haus?, Philly Blunt, Club Junque, A-Tonez, Mike Hyper, King Lee,

Spice Cellar, Martin Place Boom Boom Anthony Shake Shakir (US), Joe Stanley, Daniel Lupica $25 10pm

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27 The Cool Room, Australian Hotel and Brewery, Rouse Hill Halloween Theme Party Hook N Sling, John Glover

Hernan Cattaneo

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28

Alison Wonderland

Chinese Laundry, Sydney Evil Nine (UK), A-Tonez, Tony Why & Toddy Trix ft.

O-Tech MC, Adam Zae, Blog Wars DJs, Victims $15-$25 10pm

BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 59

snap snap

15:10:11 :: The Metro Theatre :: 624 George St City 92642666

love monkey

PICS :: KC

bloc party djs

PICS :: AM

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

14:10:11 :: GoodGod :: 55 Liverpool St Sydney 9267 3787

party profile

night of the living dead

the cool room

It’s called: Night Of The Living Dead: Hallow een Party!

It sounds like: Electro, house, hip hop, a bit of dub and non-stop, rockthe-house party jams.

Who’s spinning? Matt Nukewood (inthemix Aus #8), Steve Frank (inthemix Aus #16), Joey Kaz Sell it to us: BOO! We’re going all-out for this one, transforming the entire club into Sydney’s one and only HOUS E OF HORRORS. We have enough ghouls, gremlins, witches and zomb ies to send you crying back to mummy. With all the boys and girls out to get some candy, you don’t want to miss this, as we ALL get our freaks on!

Three records that’ll rock the floor: LMFA O ft. Lil Jon – ‘Shots (Skeet Skeet’s Ignorant Dance Music Mix)’; Ou Est Le Swimming Pool – ‘Jacksons Last Stand (Hook N Sling Mix)’; Klaxo ns – ‘Gravity’s Rainbow (Kavinsky Remix)’ The bit we’ll remember in the AM: None of it. It’s a f*cking student party.

Crowd specs: Gremlins who want to get loose, rock out and have some killer fun.

Wallet damage: FREE entry, $4 spirits and $6 Vodka Mother from 9pm – 11pm, and $4.50 schooners, $5 cocktails and $5 Tooheys 5 Seeds stubbies all night!

Where: HUMP @ The Ranch Hotel / Cnr of Epping & Herring Rds, Eastwood.

When: Wednesday October 26 from 9pm

wham!

PICS :: DM

strike

15:10:11 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

60 :: BRAG :: 435: 24:10:11

PICS :: AM

13:10:11 :: The Australian Brewery :: 350 Annangrove Rd Rouse Hill 9679 4555

15:10:11 :: Strike Bowling :: 122 Lang Road Moore Park 1300 787 453 KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER THOMAS PEACHY :: :: SON OV :: PATRICK STEVEN :: DANIEL MUNNS :: GEORGE POP

THE STRIKE

RETOX PACKAGE $30 FOOD & BOOZE DEAL BOOK ONLINE ONLY. CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS. B S S.

Get party ďŹ t for Summer with this amazing $30pp deal!

For just $30 each, you and your mates get: A 2 hour beverage package, mixed pizzas to share plus a great party atmosphere. Minimum 10 people.

FIND US ON

BRAG :: 435 :: 24:10:11 :: 61

snap snap

spice

PICS :: AM

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

falcona fridays

PICS :: PS

15:10:11 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Martin Place

w!ldlive It’s called: W!LDLIVE

party profile

14:10:11 :: Kit & Kaboodle :: 33/37 Darlinghurst Rd Kings Cross 9368 0300

It sounds like: European summer!

Who’s spinning? Javi Sampol (Spain), YokoO (France), Franchi Brothers (Italy) and Likewise DJs (Sweden).

Three songs you’ll hear on the night: ‘Ice Cream and Bonus Miles’ – Solomun & DJ Phono; ‘Big Bad City’ – Scope ; ‘Stop Your Hate’ – Maceo Plex.

And one you definitely won’t: ‘Bye Bye Bye’ – *NSYNC Sell it to us: Bondi's newest nightclub. No wank. Great underground house music. Awesome venue and sunkissed crowds. Bondi Junction has been crying out for a decent night, and it’s coming this summer.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The hango ver, the music, and the new girlfriend.

Crowd specs: The place fits 400, and gets filled with international crowds, Bondi locals, Surry Hills soundies and many more.

Wallet damage: 10 clams (or maybe free, if you're nice to us on the door) Where: Shop 8, 195 Oxford Mall, Bondi Juncti on (downstairs, around the corner)

girl thing

PICS :: AM

When: Every Friday; 9pm till 3am

garden party

PICS :: AM

15:10:11 :: Q-Bar :: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93601375

phrase

PICS :: GP

27:08:11 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 82959958

15:10:11 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93323711 62 :: BRAG :: 435: 24:10:11

KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY MAR S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER SON :: THOMAS PEACHY :: VEN STE ICK PATR :: OV POP :: DANIEL MUNNS :: GEORGE