The Brag #451

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WHAT WOULD YOU HIDE TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY?

Strong coarse language and violence

IN CINEMAS NOW

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LV L 3 , 3 8 3 B O U R K E S T S U R RY H I L L S

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

five things WITH

NAT FROM THE FABERGETTES Growing Up The Music You Make To be honest, I didn’t grow up in an overly We recently went in to record a track 1.

4. musical household. I do, however, remember with our mate and producer Jack Prest. my dad bringing home a promotional Verbatim CD from a computer trade fair. It was a compilation of ‘60s hits and I would dance and sing to it in the mirror every day after school.

Nothing much has changed since then – I still sing and dance into the mirror when no one’s around.

Inspirations I love music that is sincere. Recordings 2. with slight imperfections provide an honest performance, and give the sound that extra something special. Phil Spector is a producer I admire; his recordings of ‘60s girl bands capture something unique that you don’t hear much of today.

Your Band My musical buddies are Bec Allen, Cipi 3.

Morgan and Marty Cullity. We’ve been friends for years and somehow, serendipitously, have fallen into a band. Our drummer Marty is a disco fanatic, Cipi loves country, Bec is a punk rocker and I’m somewhere in between all of these genres, but we all fit together somehow.

It’s love.

A day later we came out with a four-track EP! Jack really captured the vintage sound we were after on some beautiful vintage recording equipment (complete with the same spring reverb Amy Winehouse used).

We’re thrilled to be throwing an EP launch party at GoodGod next week – we’re going to deck the place out with a cosmic-surf theme. Sure to be a wild night.

Music, Right Here, Right Now There are so many emerging artists 5. in Sydney that are ‘so hot right now’. Little Lovers, The Knits, Atom Bombs, The Dreamboats, Flatwound, Shakin’ Howls, Richie Cuthbert, Maples, Alyx Dennison.

Go out and support them – at a local venue near you!

What: The Fabergettes EP Launch With: Bang! Bang! Rock n Roll and The Dreamboats Where: GoodGod Small Club When: Friday March 9

MUTEMATH TOUR

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 WRITER: Caitlin Welsh NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Chris Honnery ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, Daniel Munns, Thomas Peachey, Rocket Weijers, Tim Whitney ADVERTISING: Ross Eldridge - 0422 659 425 / (02) 8394 9492 ross@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, Alex Christie, Antigone Anagnostellis, Verity Cox 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, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Luke Telford, Rick Warner

If Rubber Soul is both a punny shoe joke and a derisive nickname for white-boy soul (which it is – also, ‘The Beatles’ is a pun too), then Odd Soul can only be taken to mean ‘a mindbending blend of rhythm and blues, electronica, gospel, psychedelia and other great stuff’... New Orleans three-piece Mutemath’s latest record certainly lives up to this definition that we just made up – and if you don’t believe us, come watch the alchemy live on May 16 at the Hi-Fi. Tickets go on sale this Tuesday February 28.

James Vincent McMorrow

CALLING ALL CARS

Calling All Cars is the name of one of the best episodes of The Sopranos, and it also happens to be the name of one of the best live bands in our sea-girt country. Dave Grohl (ex-Nirvana) asked them personally to support Foo Fighters in Australia at the end of last year – and we all know how seriously Grohl takes his rock. Now on their ‘Delirium’ tour, Calling All Cars will wind up at the Annandale on May 4, with support from Strangers and Arts Martial (great name!) – catch them live, and tell the door guy that BRAG and Dave Grohl both told you to come along. Then compliment his shirt. It sometimes works.

PAJAMA CLUB AT OAF

Neil Finn and Sharon Finn are so cute that they named their band Pajama Club, because when you get married you tend to stay at home and do everything in pajamas

SECOND SHOW FOR MCMORROW

Wanna go to James Vincent McMorrow’s Vanguard show on April 11? Well, you can’t. It’s sold out. But not to worry, the Irishman just announced an April 9 show at the same venue – which is earlier, so it might even be better. He also plays Bluesfest, but this one is closer to Gould’s bookshop, which is the best place to play hide and seek. Why are we playing hide and seek? Find us and we’ll tell you… (Also: buy JVM’s excellent album Early In The Morning when it comes out this Friday March 2 – it takes the best bits of James Blake and Bon Iver, and cowboys them up a little.)

(which had better be as amazing as it sounds).

Wanna hear something even cuter? They are playing March 14 at Oxford Art Factory, and their kids Liam and Elroy will be joining them on stage for a four-Finn extravaganza. (Shhh, don’t tell Uncle Tim!)

Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8a Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227

CHOPFEST IV

American SoCal punk bands Dead To Me and Cobra Skulls are putting on a March 31 show at the Annandale: Chopfest IV. It starts at 4pm and they’ve invited Lamexcuse, Gay Paris, Totally Unicorn (YouTube them post haste!), The Gun Runners, Batfoot (a serious condition), Homeward Bound and Billy Demos. Buy a brick for the ‘Dale, too – and then toss it through a taxicab window ‘cos this is a punk rock show, dammit! (NB: Spelling provided by Blink 182. And don’t throw bricks at taxis.)

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) Artwork, 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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JACK LADDER

Bluejuice

BLUEJUICE ALBUM TOUR. FINALLY.

The new Bluejuice record Company is a giddy, relentless, sugar-fuelled ride through pop music’s corniest corners (Billy Joel, Steve Winwood, Cooleyhighharmony), until the moment you notice how bleak all the lyrics are, and your rave-face turns into your sad-face. Next thing you know you are in the moshpit on April 13 at the Metro (they’ll be touring the album with Loon Lake and The Cairos), grabbing strangers on the torso and yelling, “Listen to the lyrics, man! They aren’t a joke band – they just make funny clips!”

Jack Ladder is performing a one-(tall)-man show on Tuesday March 27 at The Brass Monkey with Tiny Ruins – partly because his wonderfully brooding third record Hurtsville (amazing album title) is shortlisted for this year’s Australian Music Prize, but mainly because touring musicians need to tour in order to fulfill the inherent promise in their job title. Remember when he supported Warpaint? Remember when he supported The Horrors? Remember his album launch?

He is awesome. Go to this show.

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rock music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS

he said she said WITH

CAMERON FROM THE DEAD LEAVES sure that’s the case for my bandmates as well; too few mentioned and one risks pigeonholing oneself. I will say this though: each time you meet someone new in the music world they’ve got an interesting album to offer you, which can form quite an eclectic taste. This is definitely the case with The Dead Leaves. We’re four guys (Matt Joe Gow, Andrew Pollock, Joel Witenberg and myself) with such varying tastes – we try to find common ground while pushing each other with the unfamiliar.

The Dead Leaves initially formed in 2009 to play and record Matt’s solo work. We evolved far beyond this though, and last year recorded our debut album Cities On The Sea at BJB Studios in Sydney with producers Scott Horscroft (The Presets, Birds of Tokyo, The Panics) and Eric J Dubowsky (Art vs Science, Weezer).

I

grew up in a working class family. I remember my mother listening to records on the weekends when I was very young, blasting out Cher or Barbara Streisand while she buzzed around keeping me out of trouble. My father, on the other hand, listened to a lot of Kenny Rodgers. After a while I worked out that most of the albums in their collection came from my father. A little more digging around and I discovered that before he settled into family life, he

played the drums. ...Why had he stopped?

With that question, my interest in music was ignited. Into the shelves of their collection I dug: John Lennon, The Beatles, Queen, CCR, Black Sabbath and – of course – Kenny Rodgers.

I guess my inspiration to keep playing as an adult is the fact that my father gave it up. Beyond that, musical inspirations are too many and varied to mention. I’m

Cities On The Sea came out last week. It’s been a little while coming and not without obstacles, but it’s well worth the hard work.

It can be a tough industry, but if you stay true to your creativity and love of music, you can (with any luck) come out of it with something really positive.

When Black Lips do something, they do it right. When they traded in their four-track cassette recorder for a producer, they didn’t get just any producer – they got Mark Ronson. When they released that album, it wasn’t just any album – it was Arabia Mountain. When they play a show, they don’t just play any show – they bring along Circle Pit and Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys and completely tear the house down. They’ll be doing just that when they hit The Standard on Sunday March 4, and if you want a double pass, send us an email telling us what you do right.

Black Lips

Where: GoodGod Small Club / Old Manly Boatshed When: Friday March 2 / Saturday March 3

Legendary UK band The Specials – the only ska band to not name their tours and albums ridiculous punny things like Ska Wars, Ska Trek or Ska Tissue (we made the last one up; stay away from it, Area 7!) – are returning to Australia to show us Aussies how to skank and enjoy upstrokes (not a sex move). Firstly they play Bluesfest on April 6, and then they finish their tour at the Enmore Theatre on April 7. Do it.

San Cisco

March 2-4 at Wiseman’s Ferry, just a fun-filled, salt’n’vinegar chip-swamped road trip out of Sydney). Sleepyhands, VEEN, Winter People and the babe’n Fabergettes will be joining Cameras, Boy And Bear, Lanie Lane, our cover model Neon Indian, Black Lips, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and many more. Did we mention it’s this weekend?

RAMPING UP

Aleks and The Ramps are a BRAG favourite; the off-kilter, loose pop they peddle around this country is second-to-none, and we strongly urge all readers to skip Neighbours and get out to watch them launch their new album FACTS at GoodGod this Saturday March 3…

INDENT OPEN DAY

SAM SPARRO

BLACK LIPS

With: Cities On The Sea is out now through Liberation

THE SPECIALS

Indent do an amazing job of keeping young people from experimenting with drugs and jazzfusion by funding a stream of incredible all-ages opportunities – like their Open Day which is being held on March 9 at the High Tide Room in Bondi Pavilion. There’ll be speakers from FBi radio, AMRAP, Bossy Music and more – people who know what they’re talking about. Want a foot in the door? Come to this, and bring your demos – FBi Radio are asking for them, and who knows, you may be the next Boy And Bear/Bonny Bear…

More info at indent.net.au

Thought you were all vampired out? You thought wrong... Australia’s rock’n’roll favourites The Fearless Vampire Killers are getting ready to shake you to your foundations with tracks from their impressive debut LP, Batmania – an album that J Mag have dubbed a “brilliant monster”. TFVK’s forthcoming single ‘I Won’t Stay Too Long’ infuses the haziness of the ‘70s surf movement with psychedelic riffs and casual flings, and they’re hitting the road to launch it at Spectrum on Friday March 2. Want a double pass? Let us know who your favourite vampire is.

Slow Club

SAN CISCO

In case you didn’t already know, San Cisco are pretty much the coolest kids on the block right now. Their EP Awkward went straight to Gold, and the title track got them into the top ten of triple j’s Hottest 100. As if that weren’t enough, the Freemantle four-piece are about to play a bunch of sideshows to coincide with their Groovin’ The Moo run. San Cisco’s Rocket Ship tour will land in Sydney on Wednesday May 9 at The Standard; Groovin’ The Moo happens in Maitland on Saturday May 12, and in Canberra on Sunday May 13.

What’s up with that Sam Sparro guy? He burst onto our dancefloors with ‘Black & Gold’ and ‘21st

Menzingers

MENZINGERS!

We here at BRAG love it when American punk bands get all Springsteen-y and storyteller-y, which is why we’re so excited about The Menzingers new record On The Impossible Past. It still has that searing raw energy but is dripping with melody, and super personal lyrics.

It’s great and we bet it is greater live...

S’pose we’ll find out at their Soundwave sideshow with Bad Religion, Strung Out and Street Dogs, which happens this Wednesday February 29 at Hi-Fi Sydney.

Wear black, and come when we call…

Century Life’ and then promptly disappeared, leaving us with nuthin’ to shake our booties to.

Thankfully, Sparro has returned in a blur of glittercovered activity, just in time for Mardi Gras: he’s signed to EMI, scheduled some tour dates and dropped the first single from his upcoming album.

The album is Return To Paradise, the single is ‘The Shallow End’, and the tour dates are Saturday March 3 at Mardigrasland, with a solo show on Friday March 2 at Oxford Art Factory.

Hoogenboom (excellent name) back into the country, and even allowed him to record and perform with his band. To celebrate, Set Sail are playing a whole bunch of shows on the east coast (and a sneaky one in Adelaide). Catch them at UNSW O Week on Thursday March 1, Oxford Art Factory on Thursday March 15, Secret Garden Festival in Camden the next day, Brass Monkey in Cronulla on March 18, and 34 Degree South in Bondi on March 25.

ZULU WINTER

JOSH PYKE

We don’t know much about African cultures, and lately we can’t even claim an understanding of the seasons, but we do know this – London rockers Zulu Winter are coming to Australia, and we are excited. The five-piece is headed down under in April and as a super-amazing bonus, if you buy a ticket you get to pre-order their album Languages for just $10.99 (you know those Londoners love a bargain). They’ll be at the Oxford Art Factory on Wednesday April 18. So will you. Coincidence?

WE THINK NOT.

SET SAIL

That awkward moment when your lead singer gets deported. Set Sail was nearly without a frontman after a VISA mishap – but luckily, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship allowed Brandon

Get ready to swoon, you guys: the soft-crooning, mop-headed, lightly-bearded Josh Pyke is headed out on tour. The pop-folk troubadour is going to four special theatres around Australia to play four special shows on his Love Lies tour, and we imagine he’ll be playing lots of songs from last year’s Only Sparrows – his third album to debut in the top five of the ARIA charts. If charts mean nothing to you, heed these words of wisdom: dude can write a song. Watch him prove it at The York Theatre in the Seymour Centre on Saturday March 19 – general public tickets go on sale March 5, after the March 2 fan presale.

PLAYGROUND WEEKENDER THIS WEEKEND(ER)

FBi Radio have found four bands to join the lineup at Playground Weekender (this weekend,

SLOW CLUB

Popfrenzy are hosting a party at Beach Road Hotel, Bondi this Wednesday (Feb 29; the leapiest of dates), and instead of French onion dip, salsa and Mountain Dew, they are instead bringing live sets from gorgeous, swoony UK two-piece Slow Club and the rattlesnake-in-thepeyote-warped-desert sounds of Songs; the only band harder to Google than Girls. If you can’t make it on Wednesday, never fear – Slow Club are hitting up GoodGod Small Club with Palms and Achoo! Bless You the next night.

“It’s funny how you can miss someone, even when they’re sitting next to you” - JOSH PYKE 12 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

Sydney

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BAD RELIGION*MOVED FROM BIG TOP!*

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MASTODON*SOLD OUT!* Thu 1 March w/ Gojira, Kvelertak

BEN KWELLER Fri 2 March MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA

09 MAR

PANAMA

Sun 4 March w/ Cabins

Just Announced

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SNEAKY SOUND SYSTEM

THE SLIPS

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SANDY RIVERA Sun 8 April

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MUTEMATH Wed 16 May Coming Soon

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Rock For Reclink

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BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 13

The Music Network

themusicnetwork.com

Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

* By last Thursday’s National SLAM Day, up to 130 venues had signed up. * Over 5.4 million US viewers watched Whitney Houston’s two-hour funeral on CNN. * Sleigh Bells told triple j they’ll be here twice this year. The Shins let slip they will be appearing at Splendour In The Grass. * Rather than write and rehearse new songs in a studio, Potbelleez booked out a floor of a hotel for a week, complete with room service. * Paul Kelly flew to Darwin to join the wake of former Sydney music journalist-turnedauthor Andrew McMillan. He performed his song ‘Nukkanya’ (rough translation: goodbye) accompanied by NT musicians Shellie Morris and Leah Flanagan. McMillan lost his battle with bowel cancer on January 28. * Queen have asked American Idol runnerup Adam Lambert to sing with them when they play the Sonisphere Festival UK with Faith No More and Kiss. * Adele applied for a helicopter landing licence for her new £7 million luxury pad in West Sussex. The car journey to London can take hours, and she wanted to fly in and out of the property. * Shannon Noll is leaving NSW and is looking for a country home in Victoria. His place in Sydney was sold for a bit over $1.25 million.

* About 78% of the $76,000 spent on putting on the inaugural Dubbo Regional Entertainment Arts and Music (DREAM) Festival went back to the Dubbo community, says its chairman John Walkom. The festival is courting sponsors and event partners to try and bump the budget up to $100,000 to make it better this year. Walkom says the first festival drew 4365 fans, and argues that a larger event on October 13 – with twilight art and an entertainment market – would draw a larger audience, which in turn would be beneficial to the local economy. The Dubbo jazz festival brings in almost $1 million. * Someone hacked into England’s Jazz FM’s live feed and fed a gay porn music soundtrack through it! * Newcastle musical instruments store Latham's Music, set up in 1968, has fallen victim to online stores. It called in liquidators, who will close the Kotara store but try and find a new owner for the one in Green Hills. The two employ 15 staffers between them. * Clare Bowditch, recording with Mick Harvey in her Melbourne home, got a sound effect she didn’t want: a woman lost control of her car and crashed through her front fence. No one was injured. * Peter Andre rushed back to Australia from London after hearing his elder brother Andrew has been diagnosed with aggressive stomach cancer.

it was broadcast by Capital FM... A furious Capital FM dropped an interview with the band, and their music hasn’t been played since... The Brit Awards pulled an average of 6.2 million viewers on ITV, its best viewing figures for seven years. Highlights included Coldplay – the winners of the Best British Group category – opening the night with ‘Charlie Brown’, and then performing with Rihanna on ‘Princess Of China’. Rih then did a saucy performance of ‘We Found Love’ with her dancers, which ended up in an onstage paint fight – a great effort, since she’d been up for 24 hours the day before celebrating her 24th birthday.

Noel Gallagher brought the house down with ‘AKA... What A Life!’.

AMP MOVES TO BASEMENT

The Australian Music Prize (AMP)’s winner’s announcement on Thursday March 8 is becoming a more open event.

The public can now buy tickets at $39 (including drinks) to join music execs in the lunch forum Amped Up In Conversation, hear USA music journalist David Fricke’s keynote address, and cheer on the winner as they pocket the PPCA’s cash prize of $30,000. AMP director Scott B Murphy said, “We’re always looking for ways for The Amp to directly ‘touch’ music-loving fans.” The event is moving from the Opera House to the Basement in Circular Quay.

Email info@australianmusicprize.com.au to register for public tickets.

INDENT HOLDS OPEN DAY TRIPLE J SURPRISES IN RATINGS, TRIPLE M UP

Triple j came out of the blue to post a 2.7% gain in Sydney in the latest ratings. The station stormed to 7.4% from 4.7%, making it the #3 music station after 2DAY and WSFM, and lording it over Triple M, Nova 96.9 and Mix 106.5. Triple j also shot up in Adelaide to 7.8% from 5.5%, and enjoyed a mild rise in Melbourne (4.9% from 4.3%) – but dropped in Brisbane and Perth. Triple M posted a 1.7% rise in Sydney too, with its Grill Team now the third most popular breakfast team on FM radio. 2DAY fell to 8.3% from 9.9%, losing its lead in the 18–24 age group to Nova, and the 25–39 demo to Triple M and triple j in the Sydney market. The Vile Kyle campaigners would have been pleased to see Kyle and Jackie O drop 1.1%. Triple M was up in all markets but Brisbane. Nova dropped to 5.6% from 6% in Sydney; the only market it didn’t drop in was Melbourne.

WARNER STILL CHASING EMI

Billboard magazine reported that Warner Music Group’s new owner Len Blavatnik is still keen on buying EMI Group, the recorded music unit of EMI. This comes at a time when US and European regulators are scrutinising its sale to Universal Music.

Various sectors, including indie labels, are lobbying to stop the US$1.9 billion sale from being approved. If regulators insist that Universal sell parts of EMI to agree to the sale, Warner is keen to step in.

SPUNK SWITCHES TO COOPERATIVE MUSIC

Aaron Curnow’s Sydney-based Spunk Records has signed a licensing deal with Tim Janes and Neil Robertson’s Cooperative Music Australia. Spunk started 12 years ago, and has a roster that includes My Morning Jacket, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Joanna Newsom and Sufjan Stevens. The attraction of the deal is that it gives Spunk the chance to use Cooperative’s international labels network.

The first releases through the deal include Andrew Bird and Lambchop.

STOP START ADDS YOUNG MAGIC

Stop Start’s latest addition to its roster is Young Magic, a New York-based act made up of two Australians, Isaac Emmanuel and Michael Italia, and Indonesian-born singer Melati Malay. The two Aussies were separately traveling the world making recordings when they met in Mexico. Their debut album Melt is due for release in Australia on March 30.

SECRET SERVICE EXPANDS

Secret Service Public Relations – set up five years ago by Paul Piticco and Dew Process publicity and promotions manager Megan Reeder Hope – is expanding due to the arrival of new clients and the addition of new label Create/Control. Reeder Hope is now promoted to head of publicity and promotions across Dew Process, Secret Service Public Relations and Create/ Control. Kathleen Hore steps up as publicity and promotions manager of Dew Process. Natalie Dodds joins the team on March 5 primarily to work across Create/ Control and Secret Service PR, as well as handling all commercial radio media for the three entities. Dodds was previously with Mucho Bravado, and spent the last six months as QLD Media Manager for EMI Music Australia, looking after all things radio. Bre Doyle’s duties have also been expanded; she'll be working across Create/ Control, continuing in radio/press duties at Dew Process, and expanding her Secret Service roster.

CLICKS ON THE BRITS

Last week’s Brit Awards copped a bit of flack when Adele had to shut up 49 seconds into her thank you speech, after winning Best British album for 21. This was in comparison to Blur’s 11-minute return to live action (they got Outstanding Achievement) – and singer Jarvis Cocker’s rambling speech ran on for 3:05. But the other ‘what were they thinking?’ moment came when One Direction got up to accept Best British Single for ‘What Makes You Beautiful’, and said a “massive thank you to Radio 1”. This was a slight problem, as

Yolanda Be Cool

Music NSW is holding an Indent Open Day for young people interested in entering the music industry. It is being held at the High Tide Room in the Bondi Pavilion at Bondi Beach on Friday March 9, between 11am and 4pm. Speaking on the theme of accessibility (read: getting a leg in the door) are Brooke Olsen (AMRAP), Jason Nonnis (Young Blood) and Ben Neilson (Collateral Management). There will also be breakout workshops including Danny Yau (AIM/Yau Am I Marketing) on DIY digital marketing and how to stand out, publicist Claire Collins of Bossy Music on how to pitch to radio, the role of community radio with Stephen Goodhew (FBi Radio), and an Indent/MusicNSW masterclass in writing the perfect funding application. The Indent Open Day is free to attend, and focused on people aged 12 to 25 – but places are limited and RSVPs essential. To reserve your spot or find out more information, email info@indent.net.au or phone Indent on 9281 1600. Bands are invited to bring their demos (four or five copies) with bios, to submit to FBi. See indent.net.au for the full program.

TWO MICHAEL JACKSON LAWSUITS LAND IN COURT

Michael Jackson’s estate is suing his former manager Tohme R. Tohme, alleging mismanagement and outright theft of Jackson’s money through “self-serving and unconscionable agreements”, and saying that he talked the singer into signing during January 2008 until March 2009 when he looked after his affairs. The estate alleges that he paid himself $100,000 a month as “producer” of the singer’s comeback This Is It concerts (which of course never happened), a $2.4 million “finder’s fee” for putting his client in touch with the suits who refinanced his Neverland Ranch, and got the singer to agree to pay him 15% of all catalogue sales — which have sold $300 million’s worth since the singer’s death three years ago. Meantime, another judge found that concert promoter AEG Live should not be included in a lawsuit filed by Michael’s father’s Joe. AEG argued that Joe was not mentioned in his son’s will, and that the two were not on talking terms when he died. That means that only the

Lifelines Expecting: Take That’s Gary Barlow and wife Dawn, their fourth child.

Split: A statement from Delta Goodrem said that she and Nick Jonas “have decided mutually to end their relationship” after nine months.

Hospitalised: Replacements guitarist Slim Dunlap, 60, who suffered a stroke after falling and hitting his head.

In Court: The US Supreme Court rejected US producer Phil Spector’s appeal against his conviction of killing actress Lana Clarkson three years ago.

He claimed he had not had a fair trial because the judge had based his opinion on an expert witness’ testimony.

Died: Robert Hendrix, cousin of guitar hero Jimi, and senior vice president and COO of the Experience Hendrix Foundation.

The Foundation was put together

by Jimi’s father Al and sister Janie, to stop the release of shoddy compilations released by other labels, and to ensure quality control of the guitarist’s output.

Died: Chris Reimer, guitarist for Canadian band Women, 26, in his sleep, probably from a heart ailment. singer’s doctor Conrad Murray (who’s now broke) and a Las Vegas pharmacy are left in Jackson Sr’s suit.

ARTSTART GRANT FOR ARTS GRADUATES

The ArtStart program was created to give financial assistance to recent arts graduates, helping them launch a professional career in the arts. It is eligible to anyone who completed an accredited Certificate IV arts course or higher in the past three years, or anyone who’s about to complete one. You could get up to $10,000 to use to create a portfolio of work, market yourself, set up a studio, pay for business advice, receive disability awareness training, and get some tools of your trade. The deadline application for Round 1 is March 2; artstartgrant.com.au

INDEPENDENT LOBBY

An independent lobby group for indie musos has been set up in Melbourne. The Musician’s Independent Collective (MIC) was set up by community TV producer, community radio presenter and musician Anita Monk, and initially will target two issues to increase royalty payments for local indie acts: maintain the 25% Australian quota on commercial radio, and get APRA to accept more data from community radio and TV. A petition can be found at their website, www.musicianscollective.com.au

OPTUS PARTNERS WITH MARDI GRAS

Optus is the official digital rights partner of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. It will show highlights from the new dedicated website MardiGrasTV.org.au, which goes live on parade night with interviews and behindthe-scenes content from this year’s event.

ANOTHER AUSSIE PLAGIARISM ROW

Just weeks after the allegation that a new US yoghurt advertisement sounded suspiciously like John Butler Trio’s ‘Zebra’, another row involving an Australian song has flared up. This one involves Yolanda Be Cool’s hit single ‘We No Speak Americano’.

Fans online have accused Bollywood music directors Sajid-Wajid of copying it for their track ‘Papa Toh Band Bajaye’ from the movie Housefull 2. Wajid Ali insists that their song is “100% original”. He added, “We admit that the rhythm structure of our song is similar to the other one. But rhythms, as you might know, are not copyrighted. Anyone can use any rhythm from any part of the world without being accused of copying.”

14 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

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BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 15

NEON

INDIAN Lost In Time

By Rachitha Sene eviirattne e

T

he bedroom project guy is far too common a guy these days, but what Neon Indian – or Alan Palomo, to his postman – has over the others is that he was the bedroom project guy that started it all.

That said, to label Palomo’s brilliant debut Psychic Chasms a ‘bedroom project’ would be like comparing a production on the West End to your local primary school’s floppy re-enactment of the nativity scene. Since his debut, Palomo has gone on to collaborate with The Flaming Lips and Miami Horror, create and release his own analogue synthesiser, and put out his second LP Era Extraña – not too bad for an otherwise regular 23-year-old dude who recently tweeted “Caffeine makes me sick. :(” With Laneway Festival having just passed, and the likes of Washed Out and Toro y Moi descending upon us in a tsunami’s worth of chillwave, our conversation inevitably meanders towards the tainted ‘genre’. The association between Neon Indian and chillwave is one that audibly affronts Palomo, who seems eager to distance himself from the label as he cryptically alludes to its commodification as an artform.

“There’s a very interesting relationship between creating art, processing it and consuming it,” he says. “In a strange way, I can almost see [this] analogy: if you create some kind of liquid and it becomes more about the packaging and the bottling of it and what stores you’re gonna put it in, as opposed to what it actually tastes like.”

Palomo seems to see the chillwave identity as a construct of hype, and a lazy attempt to find a blanket description for the last few years’ worth of electronic music. “The only thing I can possibly say about chillwave is something that can be very easily Googled and then copy/ pasted.”

From Psychic Chasms’ accessible, lo-fi nostalgia to the more personal, dreamy darkness of Era Extraña, you can see why Neon Indian doesn’t want his sound pigeonholed. “You start to want different things out of music. Everybody has their own two cents about what ‘growth’ means and

“There’s something incredibly futuristic about Boards Of Canada’s music, but it also has an incredibly degraded quality to it. That feeling is what I model a lot of my sounds after.” what direction you’re supposed to go in, as if we’re following some kind of time-honoured tradition or model,” he says. “I feel like with the internet now, that model evaporates.

There really isn’t a template to aspire to [for] what you’re trying to accomplish musically, which is why I try to just revisit days where ideas happen as naturally as possible.” This natural ideas flow gives his new album a cohesion that the debut lacked; Era Extraña demands the attention of a start-to-finish listen. “I’ve always been interested in a certain aspect of filmmaking,” he explains, “where the people who are telling a story will write out the transitions first. I like the idea of ‘this happens, and this changes the story’ … where the transitions are a gesture that allows the rest of the album or film’s story to trickle out.”

The album’s visual aesthetic, aided by the ‘Polish Girl’ video clip, is firmly planted in a metallic, robotic world awash with Neon Indian’s rainbow of synthesisers, but Palomo rejects the idea of it being a concept album per se; it’s simply a reflection of his presentday musings. “I wouldn’t try to be like, ‘This is an album – about robots!’,” he says. “There’s always going to be themes and things I think about, but I don’t have journals and I don’t take pictures. I mean yeah, I was watching a lot of Blade Runner and reading Snow Crash and a lot of cyberpunk stuff, but I think those fascinations were meant to be compared synonymously to what I imagine the present to be.”

The futuristic sheen of Era Extraña is subdued by Neon Indian’s layercake of analogue synths, which creates a sound that exists neither in the past nor the future

– but not really the present, either. “With Era Extraña I was more inspired by people like Boards of Canada, where their music kinda sounds like an anachronism; you know, you can’t really peg the time and place on it.

There’s something incredibly futuristic about their sound, but it also has an incredibly degraded quality to it, where it almost has this lost in time feel. That feeling is what I model a lot of my sounds after – something that’s almost anachronistic in nature.”

Recently, Palomo has emerged from his creative cocoon not just for his band but to dabble in some extra-curricular projects.

His disparate collaborations emphasise an inherent desire for adventurism – a trait which bleeds throughout Era Extraña. But while every sound, every analogue modulation, every carefully crafted layer of synth on the album is painstakingly deliberate, Palomo’s collaborations seem ad hoc and impulsive.

Jamming with The Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne gave fruition to an EP aptly titled The Flaming Lips With Neon Indian, which melded Coyne’s darker, experimental psychedelia with Palomo’s penchant for pop.

It was a four track record, with slightly snooty titles (‘Is David Bowie Dying?’; ‘Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth Pt 2’) and longer, slower songs than any Neon Indian record – and with it, Palomo’s hunger for experimentation showed us he wasn’t just a one-trick pony.

“Wayne had come out to a Neon show in Portland and it was a very spontaneous conversation… like, ‘Hey, we should do something’ and him being like, ‘Dude, that’d be fucking awesome!’” Palomo recalls. “We were just approaching it with the same spirit – we

had some overlapping studio dates and just thought, ‘Why don’t we come up early and fuck around with some instruments and see what happens?’ … I think the fact that there wasn’t really any sort of formality tied into it from the beginning was what made it what it was.”

The spreading of his musical wings didn’t stop there, with Palomo working on a few tracks with Australia’s disco devils Miami Horror on their debut Illumination. “I gain a lot of joy celebrating pop music I grew up listening to,” he says. “I like to look at it from a production standpoint, and it becomes a little more theatrical. You kind of suspend peoples’ disbelief ... and singing [on the Miami Horror track ‘Holidays’] is something that takes quite a bit of effort, but once you hear the finished product, it’s almost surprising – in a good way,” Palomo laughs.

It feels as if anything creative that Palomo is a part of, he immerses himself in completely – whether that be with Neon Indian, working on collaborations, or absorbing Neal Stephenson novels. “I think there was definitely a time, even until recently, when I was concerned with telling the story of the band. But I feel like that story essentially has mutated in my life – that’s who I am now. You can’t hide behind some album cover – you are what you put out, in that sense. You have to just put it out and make art that makes you excited to be alive; that reminds you why you do this.”

What: Era Extraña is out through Popfrenzy With: Chic (feat. Nile Rogers), Boy and Bear, Roots Manuva, Unkle Sounds, Shapeshifter, Black Lips, Hudson Mohawke, Bonobo (live), Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Seekae, Canyons and loads more Where: Playground Weekender @ Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry When: March 2-4 Sideshow: Friday March 2 @ The Standard, with Collarbones and Boatfriends

“Though all the streets are cleaned of streaks, and tarnished not by memories, It makes me sad to feel the need to live my life at such a great speed” - JOSH PYKE 16 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

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BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 17

Chic Feat. Nile Rodgers Freak Out By Bridie Connellan

“A

ll revolutionary movements are fuelled by a desire for change to an unsustainable status quo. This revolution’s warriors were engaged in a battle for recognition. ‘Sex, drugs, and disco’ was the new battle cry.” For Nile Rodgers, it still is.

Rodgers was and is the man behind Chic, the disco tour de force that defined New York disco in the 1970s and still keeps it swinging today.

The producer/guitarist/songwriter/Ultimate Dude published his autobiography Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, And Destiny late last year, a revealing and honest account of a tumultuous and incredible life.

Rodgers’ childhood in beat-generation Greenwich Village was speckled with bohemian drug parties, junkies sleeping standing up in his loungeroom, and Thelonious Monk buying his mum’s fur coat so they could get more smack. “It took me a long time to realise that the things my parents did were not exactly normal,” he writes. After learning classical music at school and moving from Sesame Street to the Apollo Theatre at age 19, Rodgers was forced to grow up fast. It was 1970s New York, where Studio 54 was “coke-carpeted

bathrooms, flat-blackpainted walls, elaborate neon disco lights that dropped from the ceiling, earassaulting speakers, and churning sex nooks,” and Rodgers met his life-long music partner Bernard Edwards. After small hits and opening for the likes of the Jackson 5, Rodgers was inspired when watching Roxy Music at a London club, enraptured

by Bryan Ferry’s suaveness. Back in NYC he grabbed Edwards, Tony Thompson, Rob Sabino and a singer named Bobby Cotter, and formed the soon-to-be renamed Big Apple Band.

But that was before ‘Le Freak’. As Rodgers explains in his book, one of the biggest dance floor smashes of the last 50 years stemmed from a drunken rage. Today on the phone line, he sounds like he’s never sick of telling this one. “We had our first album out and Grace Jones was a fan, and she was considering to have us produce her album at that time. She told us that in order for us to really understand her as an artist, we really needed to experience her live show, and she invited us down to see her perform at Studio 54 … We went to the door and told them that we were personal guests of Grace Jones. They slammed the door in our faces and told us to fuck off. Basically we went to my apartment and wrote a song called ‘Awww Fuck Off!’ That song ended up becoming ‘Awww Freak Out!’” The song became one of the tunes most associated with Studio 54, an anthem that not only assured their entry next time they faced surly bouncers at the door, but was the only tripleplatinum single in the history of Atlantic Records.

“It was Bowie and I out to sea in a rowboat with no oars – we had to paddle with our hands and guess the direction of the shore... We were good navigators. Let’s Dance was not a record that we lucked upon.”

“The Chic ‘mission statement’ if you will, is that we make music that makes people feel… It’s intellectual, interesting music that may come off as dance floor pop fluff, but there’s a lot of meaning behind every song we’ve ever constructed.” Having meaning implicit in every song is a prerequisite for Rodgers; every track he pens requires what he calls ‘DHM’ – Deep Hidden Meaning. “If you think of DHM as DNA, it is understanding a song’s core truth, whatever the essence of that song really is.”

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But for Rodgers, his biggest achievement happened in April 1983, when he found David Bowie sitting by himself in an after-hours club sipping an orange juice – and introduced himself.

The pair discovered mutual interests, and went on to record Let’s Dance in 17 days. “It was Bowie and I out to sea in a rowboat with no oars,” Rodgers says. “It was just us against the tide and the world, we had to paddle with our hands and guess the direction of the shore. We guessed correctly, but we were good navigators. Let’s Dance was not a record that we lucked upon; we actually did a huge amount of research, and David gave me the directive that he wanted a hit record. And that’s what we did. It was still a very artistic Bowie record – I wouldn’t have been able to do a record like Let’s Dance with any other artist in the world.”

With Chic on the road again, next up for Rodgers is an unexpected union with French electronic gods Daft Punk. The producer had to kick the pair out of his house so he could talk to some pesky Australian journalists – but Rodgers will be forgiven.

“We’re in love with each other,” he assures.

With: Neon Indian, Roots Manuva, Bonobo, Black Lips, Manchester Orchestra and loads more Where: Playground Weekender, Wisemans Ferry When: March 2-4

18 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

XXX

BASSJACKERS

But Rodgers’ DHM hardly stayed solely with Chic; the uber-producer went on to make some of the most successful sounds of modern pop. Take a long memo: in 1980, Rodgers produced Diana for Diana Ross, as well as the hits ‘Upside Down’ and ‘I’m Coming Out’, then Like A Virgin for Madonna and her two massive hits ‘Like A Virgin’ and ‘Material Girl’, a stack of albums for Duran Duran after 1984’s smash ‘The Reflex’, including the 1986 album Notorious, soundtracks for Coming To America, Thelma & Louise and Feeling Minnesota (with Bob Dylan), as well as albums for Sister Sledge, Jeff Beck, The Thompson Twins, Mick Jagger, Grace Jones and the B-52s – and ‘Original Sin’ by INXS, which Chic will be playing in Australia for the first time ever (ever, ever) since the day he laid it down in the studio. Four nominations for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are worth a mention – all while he’s winning a battle against prostate cancer.

MONDAY

Happy Hour 5.30-7.30pm $3 Glass Wines $5 pint of the week

TUESDAY

Snooker Club Night From 6pm

WEDNESDAY

Pool, Pinnies, Pilsner & Pie Free Pool & Pinnies, $6 Pints Bohemian Pilsner & $3 pie of the week. 6-10pm

THURSDAY TUNEDAY

Free Juke Box, $6 Buffalo Wings 6-9pm.

Keep an eye out for announcements on music, comedy & theatre events also happening… coming soon!!

FRIDAY

$10 cocktails $3 Wine & Bubbly $6 Pints of Dirty Granny Cider Enjoy Our After Work Happy Hour 6 – 8pm.

Plus DJ’s fill the speakers with the best of Pop vs Party from the 80’s, 90’s & 00’s & Now.

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BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 19

MEN No Compromises By Benjamin Cooper

P

laying the official after-party of Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is a big deal for New York’s JD Samson – so much so that it triggers a competition between the professional and the party animal within her. “When we go on tour, we tend to go pretty hard,” the frontwoman of art collective MEN admits. “Often we’re playing a show every day, so it’ll be extra fun – and odd – to be involved in such a huge party that’s outside of the band. I’ve been involved [with Sydney’s Mardi Gras] before, but this is just so exciting...

I think I’m starting to annoy everyone else by talking about it all the time!”

Samson would be most familiar to local audiences through the frustratingly catchy and ‘tudey tunes of her previous group, Le Tigre. In answer to the suggestion that she is personally responsible for the removal of the ram from ramalama-ding-dong, Samson maintains that she’s paid her dues: “The funny thing about that song [Le Tigre’s 1999 smash ‘Deceptacon’] is that I probably have three less fingers from smashing it out live!” she laughs. Le Tigre’s brand of snarly electro has brought Samson to Australia many times before, but she has still managed to miss out on one cultural spot that’s intrigued her for

some time. “I remember being in Australia just after they opened the MONA [Hobart’s Museum of New and Old Art], and reading a local’s response to it in the newspaper. I remember being so impressed, not so much with the writer’s language, but more by how they were obviously utterly blown away by it. I think it’s really interesting to take a place like Tasmania – which is obviously a bit harder to get to – and create this space for art that challenges the environment around it to such a huge extent. That’s a big move.”

Samson is passionate about pushing her own art – and with the radical performances and music of MEN, she’s been able to challenge expectations even further. “Concert-wise, MEN has been less self-referential about what would be considered ‘our [queer] community’,” she says.

“I think if anything, it has given us more freedom with what we do. We are certainly not going to lose the fact that we are queer, and that we are activists as well as artists in what we do. I just think this project has been less strategically queer, because I personally think it’s smarter to be sneaky about it all. If you can sneak in the references and still get the asses shaking, then everybody’s smiling.”

The group’s 2011 debut record, Talk About Body, was released through IAMSOUND Records, a Los Angeles-based label whose support Samson praises. “I know that you can’t create the type of art we do without potentially offending certain sentiments, and so I am exceedingly grateful to have the backing that we did. We are very, very lucky to have consistently been able to put our own creative influences first – and to be allowed the breadth of artistic freedom that we have is quite unusual. Then again, I really wouldn’t have it any other way, and I think it’s fairly clear to the people who know us and know what we do that compromising-out is not an option.”

“You can’t create the type of art we do without potentially offending certain sentiments... [but] compromising-out is not an option.”

But the band parted ways with IAMSOUND recently. “There was a pervasive feeling that it was just silly to be giving others money, when a huge amount of our focus is quite separate from the label anyway,” Samson explains. “When we broke it down, we found that most of what we did was initiated and then followed-up by the band, which is not the fault of the label – we just happen to be very active ourselves.” The group’s move towards greater autonomy was only natural given a shift in their recording process. “We’ve always been known as a DIY group, but recently we have made steps towards being even more DIY – and I think in the current climate, that’s important.”

The new recordings are “almost done, promise!”, and feature a gamut of collaborations including tracks with Baltimore super-producer XXXChange (Spankrock) and New York wunderkind Santigold.

One featured artist who Samson insisted on working with was Willy (formerly Molly) Siegel, frontwoman of Baltimore noisesters Ponytail. “That band is just something else. Every single time I see them live it is just the answer to everything.

They are the only band like that in America, and so it made perfect sense that she sing on our album. If we didn’t do something together, it’d feel like a total waste.”

For the 2012 Australian tour the group will be performing without member Tami Hart, from Brooklyn’s Making Friendz – but not for the most common of reasons. “She’s working really hard at the moment with her music and other stuff, but she’s also working at a butcher’s shop. It’s kind of fun, actually, to go down and watch her wielding big blades, slicing out chunks of meat. I feel a lot less like pressuring her to tour when she’s got a carver in one hand...” It’s a pressure that Samson herself is aware of – although it doesn’t hinder her.

“Like I was saying before, we do play a show every day, and this time we get to go all through Asia after Australia, which is going to be something else – but it doesn’t matter to me. I’m kind of a workaholic, but when your work is this much fun, who cares?”

With: Holy Balm, Stereogamous Where: The Red Rattler, Marrickville When: Friday March 2

XXX

More: Also playing Mardigrasland on Saturday March 3 at the Entertainment Quarter, with Sneaky Sound System, Chicane, Andy Butler (Hercules and Love Affair), Horse Meat Disco and more

20 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 21

Band of Skulls Sweet And Sour By Hugh Robertson

“[That diagnosis] goes against everything that’s happened to us, really,” Marsden says, sounding somewhat confused. “We went around England with The Black Keys on a sold-out arena tour, playing some big venues… [But] I think that rock music has stuck to traditional methods of getting to its audience – and I think nowadays you just have to move with the times, and maybe try new ways of surviving. So maybe the genre of ‘rock’ needs to update its way of getting to people, rather than the style of music. That’s what I think: change your ideas about how you get your music out there, rather than change your style of music.”

Band Of Skulls certainly haven’t changed their sound to capture a wider audience. If anything they’ve just turned it up more, adapting their enormous live sound – honed in increasingly larger venues, before bigger and bigger crowds – and learning how to push the boundaries of their songwriting. “The way we ended up playing the old songs [live] ... that really did inform how we recorded the [new] record,” Marsden reveals. “We really did learn from that, and we started processing those dynamics, and that space, and almost arranging the music

It’s not at all surprising to hear how important their live shows were in shaping the sound of the new record, considering that the band have spent the past couple of years touring almost constantly, from festival appearances and their own headline shows to supporting Muse in front of 70,000 people (“Off the scales amazing,” Marsden says, slightly awed). And they’re sticking to the same plan for this album cycle, with a full UK headline tour and a tour of North America culminating at Coachella all before mid-April, then diving headlong into the northern hemisphere’s festival season. And although Marsden won’t tell me exactly when, there are whispers that a repeat appearance at Splendour In The Grass is on the cards…

Whether they make it down for Splendour or not, expect to see Band of Skulls very, very soon. “[Australia is] really on the top of the list of excitement,” Marsden gushes. “I really enjoyed it [in 2010] – it was a brilliant atmosphere. And we were just bowled over by the reaction. And that’s always going to make a band play well, when they’re having a laugh, and having a good time, y’know? … So I’m really hoping we can come back to Aus. Literally, when that email comes through I will be cracking a beer and celebrating.”

What: Sweet Sour is out now on Liberator

The Fearless Vampire Killers Interview With A Vampire (Killer) By Roland Kay-Smith

M

elbourne’s The Fearless Vampire Killers seemingly came out of nowhere fully-formed last year, with songs that matched their old school rock‘n’roll swagger.

Radio jumped on early singles ‘For You And Me’ and ‘Tell Me What You’re Trying To Say’, while the band scored sought after supports slots for The Hives, Kasabian and The Mars Volta. Then, like all good Australians, they took the summer off.

Perhaps it was because of the shitty weather, or perhaps it was the irresistible call of rock‘n’roll, but The Fearless Vampire Killers are already back in the rehearsal room writing material for album number two, and preparing for their upcoming run of east coast shows promoting their new single. Calling from his home town, the band’s easygoing bass player Jacob McGuffie explains the appeal of writing new material. “We’ve been playing the same set for a while now, you can sort of do it on autopilot, so it’s nice to think about having something that’s fresh. You do get bored of playing the singles and stuff – but it’s what people want to hear, so we’re happy to do it.”

The band are about to add ‘I Won’t Stay Too Long’ to the list of songs people want to hear – a song celebrating one night stands, and the carefree pleasures of a hedonistic youth. “I guess so”, Jacob agrees. “It alludes pretty clearly to the idea of sleeping with someone and maybe not seeing them again. It’s no indication of us as people though.” So, The Fearless Vampire Killers aren’t out there slaying single ladies instead of pesky bloodsuckers? “No, not at all!” he says. “Fifty percent of the band are single, but don’t get the wrong idea – we’re not dirtbags or anything.”

Listening to their debut album, Batmania, it’s clear that the chemistry these guys possess is born from close friendships – something that no doubt comes in handy on those long drives up and down the east coast. “It keeps it pretty lighthearted,” McGuffie agrees, “although there are always times when you’re touring and stuff that things can get a little tense. People start getting tired and whatnot – but the good thing about everyone knowing each other really well is that everything cools down and everyone’s fine.

No one holds any grudges about not stopping at McDonalds, or that the service station doesn’t have the chicken sandwich they wanted...”

And it’s a friendship that comes across on stage, too. “There are always comments in live reviews about the dynamic between the band. People often say it looks like we’re having a lot of fun, and we are,” he explains. “We try and make our gigs like a house party.”

From the sound of things, this house party won’t be ending anytime soon: there’s talk of heading overseas, there’s a new album to write and record, a national tour to undertake, a new single to launch and a film clip to be made – which, according to McGuffie, will be “a bit of a laugh”.

Fair enough. When you’re in a band this good, hitting the road with your mates, jamming out killer rock‘n’roll songs about one night stands, and playing shows that are more like house parties, you’re bound to be having a bit of a laugh.

What: ‘I Won’t Stay Too Long’ is out now through Shock Where: Spectrum When: Friday March 2 / Saturday March 3

Urge Overkill The Reawakening By Alasdair Duncan

C

the end how bad it was. He’s kept his distance since then, I suppose. I’ve heard reports of Blackie living out in LA, and I think Nash ran into him, but you know, everybody’s trying to keep their nose clean and I would rather just move on with my life. There’s no need to try and open that chapter again until I know what’s going on with Blackie. It’s tenuous enough, me and Nash moving forward.”

hicago’s Urge Overkill were among the kings of alternative rock, with an appearance on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack helping to cement their ‘90s glory – but after a very bitter and very public flameout in 1995, it seemed like the band had been cut off in their prime. Founding members Nash Kato and Eddie Roeser spent the next decade or so licking their wounds and warily eyeing one-another off as Urge Overkill all-but disappeared from the public consciousness.

They both moved on to other musical projects – Kato tried his hand at a solo career, while Roeser tried to get a band of his own happening – but ultimately, the two realised that they were better together than they were apart. It was almost a decade after the break-up when Kato made his first tentative overtures to Roeser about starting over – and now, here we are.

“We both went through a pretty dark period of time,” Roeser says. “My new band was at the point of releasing a record on Matador when that got cancelled, and I needed something to raise my spirits – so when Nash approached me about Urge I figured I had nothing to lose.”

Although the two hadn’t played together for a while, once they ended up in a room with each other, they picked up almost exactly where they left off. “We had been playing music separately, but we realised right from that first rehearsal that what we have together is greater than what either of us has alone.” The final Urge

album before the break-up, Exit The D ragon, was a dark and moody affair, and neither Kato nor Roeser wanted it to be their final musical statement. “Ending it on that album would have been a tragic waste to what was once a hopeful, positive enterprise,” Roeser says, “so our new album, Rock & Roll Submarine, captures some of the fun back.”

Absent from the Urge reunion is drummer Johnny ‘Blackie Onassis’ Rowan, and when Roeser speaks about him, it’s with a certain sense of regret and sadness. “I’m not going to speak for him, but he probably feels bad about some of the stuff that went on,” Roeser says. “He was really very ill during the last days of the band, and did his best to keep it from us – we didn’t realise until

The ‘90s, it seems, were the last gilded age for record labels, when everyone had cash to splash around – and young bands like Urge Overkill were treated like princes. I ask Roeser if his memories of the era roughly line up with that summation, and he tells me that they do. “The industry had this windfall in the ‘90s,” he says, “because they could just print up a bunch of CDs for a dollar apiece and sell them for vastly more than that, and everybody bought whole new record collections. I mean in that era, people would spend $200,000 on an Urge Overkill video to get it on MTV, and that was considered a drop in the pond. It was a pretty ridiculous time, and when it was all done, it took us quite a few years to start feeling like life was normal again – but in hindsight, I feel pretty fortunate that we were able to live through it.”

What: Rock & Roll Submarine is out now Where: The Gaelic Theatre When: Saturday March 10

“I drink in bars and try my best but these mannequins are too well dressed” - JOSH PYKE 22 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 70:02:12

Xxxx

to our strengths. When Emma (Richardson, bass and vox) and I were singing harmonies we really did lean on those, and then when we were rocking out we explored how far we could push it. And sometimes we wanted to find out how hard we could rock out while singing in harmony, and we were trying to find the limit, and to see if we could find the place where it becomes too hard to do. Which, arguably, we found and went beyond – because some of the new stuff is quite hard.”

Xxxx

S

o, supposedly rock’n’roll is dying. They said so in The Guardian, and Radiohead, Coldplay, The Decemberists and Mumford & Sons all receiving nominations for ‘Best Rock Performance’ at The Grammys means that Marshall amps and feedback walls are poised on the brink of extinction. (It’s certainly nothing to do with The Grammys’ absurdly anachronistic judging process…) This must be a huge blow to Russell Marsden, whose Band Of Skulls play rock’n’roll in all its sweaty, bluesy glory. They’ve just released their second album, Sweet Sour, packed full of monstrous riffs, searing solos, pitch-perfect boy/girl harmonies and a tight, powerful rhythm section. But rock is dead, so what’s the point?

Penguin Café Same, Same, But Different By Jack Franklin

F

ollowing your dad into the family business is difficult; be it accounting or cobbling, it’s just begging people to make comparisons.

Especially if your father is a genre-defining musician. Wolfgang Van Halen now plays bass in Van Halen; everyone thought Julian Lennon was singing some unreleased songs of John’s; Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr) plays in The Who; Jakob Dylan had the Wallflowers for one hit, then ended up covering Bowie. Following dad can be a tough, heart-breaking thing to do.

But not, apparently, for Arthur Jeffes. He’s taken up his father’s legacy as the founder of pioneering experimental music collective Penguin Café Orchestra, a classical/folk/modern-jazz fusion group that came out of Britain in the early ‘70s and toured extensively until the death of Simon Jeffes in the late ‘90s. They played the kind of music that’s often compared to Phillip Glass and praised by Eno-philes – which shouldn’t be taken to mean that their music is all high-minded intellectualism without a heart. Listen to Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s ‘Telephone And Rubber Band’ or ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ (you’ve already heard these in countless films and commercials, I guarantee) and you hear something that is at once eccentric, cerebrally technical and yet – most importantly – enjoyable. Asymmetrical rhythms and minimalist riffs are given playful twists and overlaid with instrumental flourishes, throbbing with an irresistible energy and sense of joy.

to allow the musicians to try things out and come up with new stuff – not saying yes to everything, but having a give and take.”

Dropping the ‘Orchestra’ from their name, Penguin Café have recorded their own material, which retains the spirit of Simon Jeffes and incorporates it into a new entity that helps to make his work relevant and fresh again. “It was a funny old time,” Arthur says of recording those new songs. “It was like having the courage of your own convictions to say, ‘Well, I think this is good, it makes sense and is worth doing, so let’s record it.’ It was nerveracking, but very nice how everyone seemed to get the point and understand why we did it. It was an enormous relief.”

Having walked a tightrope and somehow found a new path, rather than following the prescribed straight line, Arthur Jeffes’ new Penguin Café is both faithful to the old while being fresh and new.

It’s a lovely thing.

Where: City Recital Hall, Angel Place When: Wednesday March 7

In 2009, Simon Jeffes’ son, Arthur, decided to revive Penguin Café Orchestra and record new material – a dangerous proposition for a band with such a specific sound and fan base. “It could have gone horribly, horribly wrong,” Jeffes admits. “It was always a risk; the last thing I wanted to do was in any way dilute or muddy the waters of what my dad had managed to do and invent. The whole point of doing it is to celebrate my dad’s music – it’s a lovely thing. It is a uniquely odd position we now find ourselves in; on paper it didn’t make sense in terms of taste and decency, but on the ground, when it happened, it proved impossible not to do.”

Talking to Jeffes, it’s clear that reviving the

“Everything was so silent for ten years after my dad died, so when I first did some concerts with my dad’s old band, to hear it live again was like an old friend coming home...”

PCO is not an ego-driven project, but driven by his love and loss of his father. “Growing up, if I wanted to avoid doing homework or tidying my room I was always allowed to just play the piano – that was always a morally ‘good’ thing to do, according to my parents,” Arthur says of his start in music. “Often for me and my dad, we would spend time together on the [way home from school]… we would find albums that we both thought were brilliant – so I have still got a very strong soft spot for New Orleans RnB like Professor Longhair, Dr John; we listened to a lot of Phillip Glass.” Besides getting a musical education via crate digging, Arthur grew up listening to the Penguin Café Orchestra. “As a small child there was something incredibly amazing to see an audience beyond counting, and them all clapping. During the concert I would be really excited at the beginning, but then towards the end of the first half I would almost certainly fall asleep – but in a nice and comforting way.”

In some ways, reforming the PCO is a way for Jeffes to recapture that childhood joy. “Now when we play the music in a live concert once again, it’s like going back to my childhood and being terribly, terribly content. This remains the real treat for me. Everything was so silent for ten years after my dad died, so when I first did some concerts with my dad’s old band, to hear it live again was such a treat – like an old friend coming home.”

As touching as it is to hear the younger Jeffes talk with such passion about his father’s work, life is not Tim Burton’s Big Fish, and reforming a band can’t be purely an exercise in selfindulgence – something that Arthur recognises.

Rather than reuniting previous PCO members for some kind of tribute, Jeffes has formed an entirely new group of ten – spanning ukuleles and strings, percussion, electric bass and piano – who are adept at covering the intricacies of the older stuff, but are also making music of their own. “I didn’t want it to be a museum,” he explains. “We wanted a freedom and openness,

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BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 23

arts frontline

free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com

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

five minutes

What are your own memories and experiences of playing Harold Park, back in the day? One of the best things about the Harold Park was that it had a little theatre at the back, so while we were in a pub we were performing in a theatre – which was fantastic. And at that stage, Peter Berner was living upstairs, which was very cool, for a number of reasons.

Although I was from Melbourne (and at that time there was a very big Melbourne versus Sydney thing going on) the HP was without doubt the best comedy room in the country – quite possibly in the world – and I mean that.

GREG FLEET (AKA FLEETY) Heroes is your first solo stand-up hour in three years – what have you been doing with yourself? I wrote an eight-part television series called Die On Your Feet that stars me, Adam Hills, Gatsey from Tripod, Alan Brough and Corrine Grant. It’s about what comedians do, what they talk about, who they bitch about – and at points it’s a little bit tragic. The producers are calling it a drama about comedians.

I can tell you that there is a suicide in it, but comedians tend to deal with these things in their own way. So it isn’t morbid. I have never been so proud of anything as I am of this show (and I’ve been very proud of myself in the past). So that will go to air later this year hopefully on the ABC. I also did a live show called Big Love with Michael Moriarty from the Gadflies – we took it to Edinburgh, Adelaide and Melbourne. And I got my daughter a really cool little puppy – so I’ve been flat out.

What can we expect from Heroes? To be honest I haven’t finished writing… But it will be

similar to some of my shows in that it will be thematic, and a little bit theatrical. It deals with the concept of heroics – what is a hero, etcetera – and at various points in the show I play a retired jaded superhero. So it’s clearly autobiographical.

In the 25-or-so years since you started in stand-up, how do you think you’ve changed? I don’t think that I’ve changed that much; essentially I believe at my core I am the same performer that I was when I started. If anything I’m probably more confident – and therefore a little bit more lazy (if that makes sense). I certainly still love comedy as much as I ever did.

And what’s the hardest? Perhaps the hardest thing to deal with is the jealousy you feel at the success of others – including your friends. I also find it hard to get motivated sometimes. So I have no right to be jealous of people that work hard, when I’m so lazy.

What: Jeff Green – Father Of Men / Greg Fleet – Heroes When: Thursday March 1 @ 8pm / 9.15pm Where: Harold Park Hotel / Cnr Wigram Rd & Ross St, Glebe Tickets: From $20 at trybooking.com/BFCF

who spend one confusing day in the same city, without ever quite meeting… London’s Daily Mail describes it as “wall-to-wall joy” (yes please), and it’s snagged itself more fourand five-star reviews than you can poke your djembe at. Most importantly, at $25 it’s still at least ten times cheaper than Economy fares to the UK… Sunday March 18 at 5pm at Sydney Theatre, Walsh Bay. Tickets and such from sydneytheatre.org.au

PARALLAX

Kim Hunter and Marlon Brando

AUTUMN ALLURE: FILM CLASSICS @ DENDY

Dendy Opera Quays is busting out yet another seasonal selection of classic films this month – starting next Monday March 5 with Breakfast At Tiffany’s and rounding up on Monday May 28 with David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen. In between you’ve got Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain) and South Pacific, Marilyn channeling Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Streisand in Gene Kelly’s Hello, Dolly!, Gregory Peck being The Best Dad In The World in To Kill A Mockingbird, the anachronistic and Technicolor wonders of The King and I, a brooding Brando in Streetcar (pictured) – and at the top of our list, Top Hat, with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Films screen at 10.30am and 6pm on Mondays, and cost you just $9. dendy.com.au

MUSECOLOGY #2

The second instalment of the four-part Musecology series is upcoming at Sydney University’s Macleay Museum – a repository of rare specimens and relics which will probably get a bit sweaty when Daniel Stricker (Siberia Records) and Jack Jeweller (Black & Blue Gallery) invite their pals to perform live scores to ‘60s cult classic The Eyes Of Hell (aka The Mask – sans Jim Carrey), which was partially shot in anaglyphic 3D (yes, you get to wear the red/ blue glasses). Stepping up to the plate are Naked On The Vague, Jaimie Leonarder (of Mu-Meson) with Not Applicable, DCM (Chris Ross ex-Wolfmother and Daniel ‘Midnight Juggernauts’ Stricker) – and some very hushhush special guests. It's called Mnemonic Museum, and it's happning Saturday March 10 from 8.30pm. musecology.tumblr.com

AUSTRALIAN FILM FEST

Everyone has an opinion on Australian film; but you can’t really pile into that debate until 24 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

you’ve surveyed the field. The Australian Film Festival, like the Dungog Film Festival, celebrates purely Oz content from no-budget b-grade flicks to independent and ‘blockbuster’ films (aka Red Dog), plus a heavy industry focus that involves discussion panels. It’s a chance to see Red Dog and Burning Man on the big screen if you missed them; or indie features Hail and LBF (if you missed ‘em at Sydney Film Festival last June); and brandnew genre flicks starring top notch talent like Vince Colosimo, Emma Booth and Nicolas Hope. The AFF runs from March 7-11 at Randwick Ritz and various other venues. australianfilmfestival.com.au

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

STC Cinema are presenting a special one-off screening of the National Theatre (London) production of The Comedy Of Errors, starring consummate comedian Lenworth Henry – aka Lenny Henry. Think Big Business, but with less Bette and Lily, and more Lenny; it’s about two sets of twins, separated at birth,

Coriolanus opens in cinemas on March 8.

Thanks to Icon Films, we have ten in-season double passes; to get your hands on one, tell us one other film Fiennes has starred in (apart from Harry Potter – cmon!).

What’s the easiest thing about stand-up?

The relaxation that I feel when I’m on stage; I find it easier to deal with life on stage than I do with life offstage.

Expat Berliner Heidrun Löhr has been making theatre look good for over 25 years now, working behind the scenes at Belvoir and Sydney Theatre Company, among others, to shoot the production shots that make you need to see that play. Her upcoming solo show, Parallax: the Performance Paradigm Of Photography, embraces the unpredictability of shooting live performance, where each frame captures a moment that will never be seen in quite the same way again.

Runs March 3 - April 15 at the Australian Centre for Photography (257 Oxford St, Paddington) acp.org.au

WORLD OF WOMEN

In anticipation of International Women’s Day on March 8, the World Of Women Film Festival kicks off on Tuesday March 6, with a program of screenings and talks spanning

ten days, across Dendy Opera Quays, Surry Hills Library and UTS. Highlights include Moth, written and directed by acclaimed choreographer Meryl Tankard and starring Sophie Lowe (The Slap); Crystal Jam, featuring rising star Sarah Snook (Packed to the Rafters); UMOJA: No Men Allowed, directed by the award-winning Elizabeth Tadic; and Maddie Palmer’s much-buzzed documentary Murder Mouth. The festival closes on March 16 with a showcase of animation called Tricky Women, curated by SIAF programmer Deborah Szapiro. For all the session details, see wift.org/wow

WINDOWS ON EUROPE

This year’s Windows On Europe film festival opens on Thursday March 1, with a preview screening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (which, however much you resist, is destined to overpower you with a double dose of Judi Dench and Maggie Smith), ahead of its March 22 release date. Other films on the lineup include Ken Wardrop’s Sundance awardwinning documentary His & Hers, the critically lauded Spanish spy documentary Garbo: The Man Who Changed The World (2009) and André Téchiné’s The Girl On the Train (2009)... It’s a fairly random selection of films from the last few years, but definitely taking a look at for the gems. WOE runs from March 2-8, full lineup and tickets at dendy.com.au

The Beatles in the Abbey Road Studios

MAGNUM CONTACT SHEETS

When it comes to photography, Magnum is pretty much the bee's knees: a top tier cooperative agency with offices in New York, London, Toyko and Paris, which counts among its alumni greats like Henri Cartier-Bresson (who described Magnum as “a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually”). This month Stills Gallery is offering a sneak peak behind the Magnum scenes with its exhibition Magnum Contact Sheets – a showcase of the contact sheets from which the world’s best photographers select that special single print-worthy image. Runs February 29 – March 24 at Stills Gallery (36 Gosbell St, Paddington). stillsgallery.com.au

A Streetcar Named Desire – image © 1951 Warner Bros Entertainment Inc.

G

reg Fleet is a stand-up pro, having worked the stage and small screen for over 25 years. His signature style is narrative-based and thematic – like his acclaimed mid-‘90s show Thai Die, which he re-mounted for Sydney Comedy Festival last year. This month he’s previewing a brand-new show, Heroes, at the revamped and re-opened Harold Park Hotel – a bastion of Sydney’s stand-up scene until its closure in 1998.

Ralph Fiennes stars and makes his directorial debut in this screen adaptation n of Shakespeare’s least-known play, re-imagining it as a political thriller set in a modern warfare zone that calls to mind '90s-era Balkans.

And Voldemort has nothing on Fiennes’ ruthless general Martius, who would destroy his own state rather than compromise his ideals. With a powerhouse cast that includes Gerard Butler, Jessica Chastain, Vanessa Redgrave, and Brian Cox this is Shakespeare at its brutal best.

Magnum – image © David Hurn/Magnum Photos

WITH

CORIOLANUS S

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BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 25

Alli Sebastian Wolf [THEATRE] Messing With The Classics By Alasdair Duncan

P

Hardcore Star Wars fan Danny Choo

The People Vs George Lucas

[DVD] Hell hath not fury like a geek scorned… By Tim Milfull

A

t first glance, Alexandre O. Philippe’s documentary looks like it might just be an extended George Lucas-bashing session; but as the people’s case against Lucas unfolds, it becomes obvious that Philippe’s film is actually a fairly objective examination of how fans have reacted to the evolution of one of the most powerful filmmakers on Earth. In the interests of transparency and fair play, however, it’s only prudent to ask Philippe where he sits in the geek spectrum. He chuckles before answering, “I think those days are over.”

“I’m very much a geek in the sense that I know a lot more about Star Wars or the Star Wars universe than the typical guy,” Philippe admits. “I can probably do fairly well in Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. Strangely enough, I had a really huge Star Wars collection, but I sold most of it six months ago – I just couldn’t look at it anymore. It’s a thing of the past – I still have a tremendous interest in the topic; I will always love those movies and respect and admire George.”

Given this respect and admiration for Lucas, where did the idea for the film come from?

“Those movies had a huge impact on me as a kid, and I’ve always kept my finger on the pulse of Star Wars culture. The love-hate relationship between George Lucas and his fans has been going on for a while, and it’s always really intrigued me. One day, the title came to me – The People vs George Lucas – and everything unfolded naturally after that.”

There’s a good balance between Lucasbashers and Lucas-lovers in the doco – is there really a case for the Star Wars director to answer, then? “Absolutely. I wanted to make an objective look at this functional

relationship. I really wanted to try and look at it from both sides, and I think there’s definitely an argument to be made. As far as the fans go, I think ‘prosecuting’ George Lucas primarily has to do with his refusal to restore and release the original versions of the Star Wars trilogies. Now you’re entering a realm that goes far beyond just fandom.

Film history, film preservation obviously, and cultural heritage are huge, much larger themes. There’s no excuse that I can think of for George Lucas to not do that.

“No fan out there is trying to tell George that he doesn’t have the right to make various versions of the film,” Philippe clarifies.

“George is entitled, absolutely – it’s his film.

But when the film becomes embraced by culture – and is inducted into the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress – to deliberately make sure that those versions disappear is very questionable. Legally, he can do it; morally and ethically? That’s a larger question. So yes, I think that’s a case against George Lucas.”

At the centre of Philippe’s documentary is the issue of ownership. “There’s something to be said about copyright; there’s something to be said about an author’s rights. It’s not something that can be settled in court, but it’s something that George Lucas could very easily settle by giving the fans what they want. But you know what—that version that he supposedly hates is a film that has been embraced by millions of people, and regardless of whether he likes it or not, I think he owes us that much.”

What: The People vs George Lucas When: Out now on Hopscotch Entertainment

laywright Alli Sebastian Wolf refuses to be held in by the confines of a stage – for her, theatre is something that happens in any setting that’s available, from living rooms and kitchens to warehouses and car parks. It’s a philosophy she calls junkyard theatre, and it drives all of the work she does. “It’s all about making the set out of milk crates and bits of cardboard and things you found on the side of the road,” she explains.

“It’s being rough and ready, using whatever you can find and sometimes even letting that influence the direction of the play. It’s about playing with culture just as much as playing with objects. Junkyard theatre is basically just that – a big junkyard that you can play around in.”

Tim Crew as Dante

Wolf’s latest production, The Importance Of Being Earnest Dragons And Other Tales, is all about the unexpected. The show draws on various classic stories, from Oscar Wilde all the way back to Greek tragedies, adding musical numbers, dance sequences and elements of the surreal. It’s actually three plays for the price of one, and as a bonus, it’s narrated by a pipe-smoking octopus.

“The octopus was conceived as a framing device to tie all the stories together,” Wolf says with a laugh. “The piece actually started out as one short play, and to extend it, because I’m not very good at writing long things, I decided to write two other short plays and have a narrator connect them and turn them into the one! Thanks to that, the piece is a whole mixture of different styles and genres – it’s basically the theatrical version of a mixed bag of lollies!”

The Greek tragedy portion of the play is a re-interpretation of Euripides’ Hippolytus, which, thanks to Wolf and company, is now transformed into Hip-Hoppolytus. “It’s a love story about the goddesses Artemis and Aphrodite, about their twisted, messed-up love tale, where mortals get killed and people seduce their stepsons and all that fun stuff,” she explains. “We get into the motivations behind their actions, but also, we put them in parachute pants.” Then there’s Dante’s Glam Rock Inferno, which takes the character of Dante from Kevin Smith’s Clerks and places him in Glam Rock Hell. “There’s still Virgil,” Wolf tells me, “but now he’s a beautiful drag queen.”

Many young creative types despair at how difficult it is breaking into their chosen field, but when I ask Wolf if this has been the case for her, she shrugs it off – if you’re willing to make your own fun, there’s always a junkyard to play in. “There are a lot of people out there who want real productions, who want to get paid, but that kind of luxury is frivolous to me,” she says. “I’ve assembled a really great team of performers and visual artists and people like that around me, a little collective of people who are in a similar position, and who all want to try new work out together.”

The Dave Carter Show

Ultimately, Wolf says, she writes because she wants to have a good time with a bunch of musician and actor friends. “It would be nice, one day, to be in a position where I don’t have to have a job and can get by on being a writer, but nobody’s getting paid at my level, so really, it’s just a good excuse to get to the park and have a beer!”

What: The Importance Of Being Earnest Dragons, And Other Classic Tales, As Told To An Octopus – Dir. Scarlet McGlynn Where: Old Fitzroy Theatre, Wooloomooloo When: February 28 – March 24 More: rocksurfers.org

The Dave Carter Show: a family portrait

[COMEDY] The future of stop-motion animation By Dee Jefferson

I

first encountered Dave’s short films when I was covering the Sydney International Animation Festival in 2010; he had a short film called How To Lose Weight In 60 Seconds in one of their showcase sessions. But – full disclosure – I’d known him before then, through my friend, who lived with him for a while and recounted hours spent listening to feline yowls emanating from his bedroom, where he was animating a cat. And then in August 2010, his animation series The Catts was a finalist In Sydney Opera House’s GRAPHIC competition.

Dave studied animation at the University of Western Sydney, but he started when he was just a kid, when his profound hearing impairment forced him to communicate via a pad and pencil.

At the age of 7, addicted to Warner Bros cartoons, he decided he wanted to be an animator – “but it was unspeakable horrible ‘80s cartoons that inspired me to kick their arse,” he says.

It wasn’t until he started churning out stopmotion films (with titles like How And Why I Produced My Submachine Gun) about six years ago, however, that Dave really cut his teeth. He created a YouTube channel dedicated to his output – you can see his Psychotown series there, which was commissioned by Mike Judge (Beavis & Butthead), who said, “It’s only a matter of time until Dave Carter is a household name…He has timing that most film-makers would kill for” – and entered every animation26 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

related competition and festival he came across.

“Getting commissioned by Mike Judge was an awesome honour,” says Dave. “Coming from him, it really validated the path I’d taken. Going to the US on tour with the Animation Show [an animation festival that Judge co-founded and curates with fellow animator Don Hertzfeldt] was a bonus; it gave me a door to meet some great contacts. Even my latest project [Billy and the Bitch] came through the same door.”

Dave’s upcoming screening at The Standard will showcase 21 stop-motion shorts ranging from 60 seconds to 3 minutes, and spanning styles as disparate as cut-out, drawing and claymation. About half the show will consist of one-off shorts, the rest will comprise his series Psychotown and Billy and the Bitch.

Remarkably, most of the shorts have been made specifically for this show; others are vintage Dave. Spanning six years and various styles of stop-motion, the one unifying factor is a dark, twisted and often gross-out sense of humour that will appeal to fans of South Park, Beavis and Butt-head, and Adult Swim generally.

As with all animators, one has to suspect that Dave’s slightly mad – either as a result of or as a prerequisite for spending hours upon hours of painstaking labour to achieve just a couple of minutes of footage – or perhaps

just preternaturally dedicated to comedy. An anecdote he recounts, about seeing a Terry Gilliam retrospective, provides a clue: “It was an eye-opener that somebody had laboured to extremes to make shorts that were seemingly spontaneous, just to make people laugh. I laughed so hard, I got internal bleeding.”

It’s roughly this kind of effect that Dave’s hoping to achieve in his upcoming show. “Like seeing stand-up comedy live versus watching

the same thing online, the two are really incomparable,” he tells me. “The show is like an alternative to Laughing Yoga; it’s a little less weird.”

What: The Dave Carter Show When: Thursday March 8 from 6pm – FREE! Where: The Standard, 383 Bourke St, Taylor Sq More: thedavecartershow.com

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS

THE COMPOSERS

‘OUR GREATEST LIVING COMPOSER’ THE NEW YORK TIMES

A:

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STEVE REICH IN CONVERSATION

IMAGE BY SILVIA MOGNI

REICH DISCUSSES THE TECHNIQUES, INFLUENCES, AND IMPLICATIONS OF HIS WORKS 26 APRIL 6.30PM UTZON ROOM

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK ‘MUSIC AT THE HOUSE’ FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN 1 OF 3 DOUBLE PASSES TO BON IVER

BOOK NOW SYDNEYOPERAHOUSE.COM/MUSIC BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 27

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.

■ Film

LIKE CRAZY Opens March 1

PICS :: TL

bizarre bazaar

Written and directed by 28 year-old Californian Drake Doremus, Like Crazy won Best Picture at Sundance last year. So if you want to keep your finger on the pulse of the indie zeitgeist, go see it! Alternatively, create the same effect by catching up with your friend who talks incessantly about their on-again-off-again relationship that they should have ended years ago but haven’t.

Bonus points for stamina if the relationship is long distance – “And then he came back to Sydney and we got back together and I thought he might have cheated on me but I’m not sure and things got weird and then his visa ran out and...” And you’re reaching for the propoxyphene.

And so it is with Like Crazy – more Like Being Stuck in an Escher Drawing – there’s no development, and all escape attempts bring you back to where you started. Los Angelan college student Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and English exchange student Anna (Felicity Jones) meet on campus in LA, fall in love, go back and forth across the pond a few times trying to “make it work”, have issues with her visa, deal with infidelity, stupidly get married, and then deal with the same issues all over again.

Doremus apparently based the plot on some relationship he had with an Austrian girl – which explains the film’s mundanity and lazy storytelling, and proves yet again that real life is HELLA BORING.

16:02:12 :: Bizarre Bazzar Fashion Market :: Sussex Lane nr Erskine St Sydney

PICS :: TL

love me

Stylistically, the film is 50% saccharine closeups of Yelchin and Jones, and 50% wide shots where one of them is obscured by a craftily-positioned object. Symbolism, y’all.

Plotting is constructed around an A-to-Z of ball-less behaviour by Jacob (hey, it’s like an Australian film!) who allows himself to be pulled around by Anna’s every whim like a chihuahua on a choke chain. There are also some awesomely cringe-worthy representations of what Americans think the English are like.

14:02:12 :: The Standard :: L3 383 Bourke St Sydney

Only one scene in the film has actual dramatic tension: a ham-fisted marriage proposal by Anna’s rebound boyfriend Simon (Charlie Bewley). The proposal speech, made in front of Anna’s parents, has a Gervais-esque awkwardness and Bewley milks it for all it’s worth. But Jack Nicholson said he’d do a film if it had at least three good scenes, and that’s a good enough yardstick for me.

Nikos Andronicos ■ Film

david homer: 23rd & oxford

PICS :: TL

CARNAGE

16:02:12 :: MART Gallery :: 156 Commonwealth St Surry Hills

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

ART MONTH 2012 March 1- 25

High Tea by Benja Harney 28 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

The third annual Art Month kicks off this week, splattering Sydney with talks, tours, performances, art bars and latenight gallery openings. Thursday and Friday nights will see galleries in selected precincts across Sydney open their doors til 8pm, at which point they’ll shove you gently in the direction of the nearest Art Bar, for a spot of avant-garde drinking/ dancing. If you like your art hands-on, NG Gallery in Chippendale are holding a paper-cutting workshop with the delightful Benja Harney (with a two-course meal option for afters) on March 24, and Gaffa are holding a ‘found object’ jewellerymaking workshop this Saturday March 4 at 2pm. Exhibition-wise, we’re rather excited about Redgate in Redfern, a showcase of modern Chinese art from Beijing’s Red Gate Gallery, showing at Damien Minton Gallery from March 12. For the full feast of events see artmonthsydney.com.au

Opens March 1 Child rearing is a perennial cause of anxiety, but judging by the talking-point entertainments of the past few years, the configuration of these anxieties is changing.

As texts like The Slap and We Need to Talk About Kevin suggest, parents are no longer simply fretting about the wellbeing of their kids; now they’re agonising over their own perceived aptitude for parenthood ("How does the way I choose to raise my children reflect upon me?").

Carnage, based on Yasmina Reza’s much-vaunted play God of Carnage, is the latest film to engage this unambiguously #firstworldproblem. Set (almost) entirely in a New York City apartment, the action involves

a meeting between two sets of parents: Nancy and Alan Cowan (Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz) and Penelope and Michael Longstreet (Jodie Foster and John C. Reilly). The business at hand involves debriefing about an act of schoolyard violence in which the Cowan’s boy has injured the Longstreet’s after he insulted him. Neither party believes their own child to be solely at fault. As careful conversation turns into heated argument, the veil of civility swiftly tumbles, and discussion devolves into a free-form marathon of shit-slinging, with allegiances shifting from one moment to the next.

Coming from an inveterate polemicist like Roman Polanski, you’d expect a trenchant decimation of middle-class mores; indeed, the film intends to air the chaos-lust that supposedly lurks within us all. Yet strangely for the Polish firebrand, the film is so calculatedly democratic with its vitriol as to feel positively polite. While it’s often very funny, with the cast relishing the chance to bare their fangs, the basic material is lowest-common-denominator middle-brow stuff. A telling moment finds Winslet projectile vomiting over a tastefully arranged table.

Basically, this is ‘sophisticates behaving badly’ – cheap belly-laughs for people who eat their pizza with a knife and fork.

Polanski has previously excelled at making cinema out of these enjoyably gimmicky ‘limited setting’ films (Repulsion remains a twitchy, suffocating masterpiece), but here he seems enervated, even absent; Carnage could have been directed by anyone.

Maybe decades of living in fugitive status has siphoned the fire—both creative and ideological—from his belly. Sadly, Carnage feels like the work of a tired cynic so fed-up with society as to believe himself above it; its strained strikes against civility could only seem penetrating to someone who’s lost touch with the culture he means to condemn.

Gerard Elson ■ Theatre

PYGMALION Until March 3 / Sydney Theatre Pygmalion (later remade for the screen as My Fair Lady – and, arguably, Pretty Woman) is about a grubby, uneducated flower girl called Eliza Doolittle who finagles her way into the house and tutelage of conceited phonetics professor Henry Higgins, with the aim of bettering herself (she wants her own flower shop), but finds her designs being subverted by the professor’s own project (a bet he has made with a colleague: that under his superior influence, Eliza will pass for a duchess within a month).

In its ideal form, George Bernard Shaw’s play might be a tale of class mobility, sexual politics and the power of language (and language of power). But unfortunately – and rather like Ovid’s mythical sculptor, after whom the play is named – I felt a little like I was chipping away at a shapeless block of ‘production’ (the blocking, the performances, the production design) to get to the good stuff.

Director Peter Evans eschews traditional staging and set design in favour of a modern, stripped-back arrangement that incorporates video screens and a live-feed of hand-held camera footage. Some scenes work brilliantly (none of them involve video screens), most notably the drawing room scene in which Eliza makes her ‘social debut’ with exactly the right accent, but all the wrong words. Many scenes feel overlong and

Carnage

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.

repetitive – for which the text itself must bear some of the responsibility, but which is also compounded by the paucity of set design with which to interact, and the relatively static blocking of the actors. And then there are the performances: in the case of Marco Chiappi (as Professor Higgins) too much blustery shouting, and an incredibly distracting gait; in the case of Andrea Demetriades (as Eliza), too many moments that felt over-done.

I think we also need to acknowledge the play’s limitations as a 21st century production (as opposed to a work of literature): its main intellectual thrust, towards equal rights, can never be as interesting now as it was even 50 years ago; those ideas that Shaw puts in Eliza’s mouth in the latter scenes lose a lot of their potency. And personally I found it really hard (which again has most to do with the text) to empathise with either of the protagonists: a boorish, arrogant, sexist and snobbish arsehole, and a girl who is, til the very last moment, prepared to fetch his slippers and beg him for a kind word.

I believe those wiser and more knowledgeable than me when they say this is one of the great works of the dramatic canon; this production, however, left me really cold.

Dee Jefferson ■ Film

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE Released February 23 Whether you like this film or not will depend largely on whether you can bear its precocious nine-year-old protagonist; when I first tried to read Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (from which this film is adapted) I couldn’t get past the first fifty-or-so pages, because I found the narratorial voice of the mildly autistic

Oskar intensely irritating (in contrast to, say, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time).

On screen, however, newcomer Thomas Horn makes Oskar less incessant, and surprisingly appealing; a Max Fischer-type, who takes his hobbies extremely seriously, and carries a tambourine everywhere; who has plenty of knowledge and smarts, but underdeveloped social skills – and no sense of tact or tone. Oskar is on a mission, to find the right lock for a mysterious key that belonged to his recently-deceased father – a mission that will take him across New York’s five burroughs and into the lives of various other troubled souls. Interwoven with his excursions are other narrative threads: the unfolding relationship with ‘the renter’ who lives with his Grandmother; the unfolding relationship with his grieving Mum; and various mental excursions, backwards in time, into his relationship with his Dad. Director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Eric Roth have had to forsake some of the novel’s layers and historical excursions; the biggest difference from the book, however, is the tone. While Daldry is a skilled director of emotional material, as per The Hours, Billy Elliot and The Reader, this latest film is very different: the scenes are polished within an inch of their lives, and the content and execution is far more sentimental.

Performances are similarly polished, for better or worse, ranging from Max von Sydow’s silent, rheumy schtick to Tom Hanks in ‘best dad in the world’ mode, and Sandra Bullock enjoying a post-Academy Award indulgence in a ‘serious role’.

Whatever you think of the veneer, however, this film has real heart – especially in the execution of scenes that operate like microcosms of how we create meaning in our lives: the stories we tell ourselves to make things bearable and the details we connect in order to form this story.

Dee Jefferson

Street Level With La Viola Vixen

T

his Brisbane babe is bringing her impeccable performance pedigree and years of cross-disciplinary training to Sydney next week for the first 2012 instalment of Black Cherry, where she’ll be sharing the stage with local lasses Lauren LaRouge, Holly J’aDoll and Tasia, and a host of bands, live rock’n’roll karaoke and DJs… What is your background as a performer?

My family has always been a madhouse of artists (my mother is a Playboy covergirlturned-performance poet, and my father is a former music promoter and nightclub owner turned vintage dealer) and we led a pretty gypsy lifestyle during my childhood, mostly based in Byron Bay and Sydney. I dabbled in circus, music, dance, modelling, acting, theatre and art before burlesque fell into my lap, in 2006. I then studied with Lola the Vamp, touring and teaching for her company in Brisbane.

Xxxxx

What’s your signature routine? My signature act these days is ‘Cruella de Vil’: I find little puppies in all sorts of places and make them into a pretty puppy coat. I don’t want to give too much away but it’s pretty fun! I’m also excited to be debuting a brand-new act at this Black Cherry – you will have to come see for yourself what it’s all about!

What are some of your costume inspirations? Mostly vintage burlesque, although inspiration comes from everywhere!

Sometimes I see an animal, flower, music, film,

image etc. that I fall in love with and create a costume around that. I don’t believe in limitations when it comes to burlesque – but I do prefer to keep my privates private.

Which performers inspire you? I love the old stars of burlesque like Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr, Gypsy Rose Lee, Bettie Page, Dixie Evans, Lily St Cyr etc. There are many modern performers who inspire me too. I like seeing what other people do with burlesque – but at the same time I try very hard to remain original, putting my own stamp on my acts and not being too influenced by other people’s work.

Any interesting fetishes? These days I love a thing called c-strings, merkins or pussy pasties – a crotch cover that you can decorate with pretty crystals: risqué without giving it all away!

Black Cherry virgin, or pro? My Black Cherry debut was at a Christmas special back in the Hermanns Bar days; it was a hot, packed, super-fun night and I’m glad to say they’ve had me back several times since. It’s such a fun night out – the music, performers and crowd are always top quality and in the mood to party!

What: Black Cherry When: Saturday March 10 from 8pm Where: Factory Theatre, Marrickville More: blackcherrypresents.com.au BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 29

Album Reviews

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK BAND OF SKULLS Sweet Sour Liberator

In the two years since Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, their wonderful debut record, Band Of Skulls have barely stopped touring; they’ve supported Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Keys and Muse, and headlined their own shows all over the world. Out of that comes Sweet Sour, a terrifically tight record that sees the band doubling down on their epic, unapologetic rock’n’roll.

Band Of Skulls are here to save rock'n'roll. Turn it up to 11.

On this record their walls of guitar are even more immense, Matt Hayward’s drumming seems more prominent – a punch in the face rather than a rumble in your chest – and Emma Richardson’s bass is more and more an attacking weapon rather than a background concern. But by far the greatest

COMMON

AIR

The Dreamer, The Believer Warner Music In his lengthy career as one of rap’s most bizarrely untouchable key players, Common has created only one album that you’d take from a house in a fire. That was Like Water For Chocolate, now over ten years old, and he’s been trying to replicate it ever since.

He got close on 2005’s Be, primarily because his producer Kanye West was at his creative peak, but it couldn’t disguise the fact – patently obvious from this and his last few records – that Common is a relatively pedestrian rapper. On The Dreamer/The Believer, he alternates between trying to be a sexual conquistador and a political loudspeaker, succeeding at neither and only getting away with it because the actual tone of his voice is so likeable. Seriously, the ‘chocolate’ comparison isn’t a joke; Common is as mellifluous as they come, which, given that we have rappers who sound like Ja Rule and Mystikal, is not something to be sniffed at.

Their new album, Le Voyage Dans La Lune was created as a score to accompany Georges Méliès’ surreal 1902 silent film about space travel.

Like many film scores, it’s probably best appreciated in its original context, but the best songs hark back to the fun and playfulness of the Moon Safari era. Clocking in at just over half an hour, the album comprises several key tracks connected by a number of shorter interludes, and has a dreamy, spaced-out feel that befits its inspiration.

But at a time when most of his peers are producing high-concept, artistic hip hop that borrows from other genres freely and changes up the prevailing trends, Common’s endless verses and regular production comes off as anachronistic. The samples are largely unimaginative and the aim of the dialogue vague; Nas completely outshines his host on ‘Ghetto Dreams’ and so does John Legend later on, and he’s only there to sing the hook.

Meanwhile Common floats in the middle, providing nothing memorable as he goes through the motions verse after verse, song after song. Perhaps he should stick with acting; at least that shows off his versatility.

Opener ‘Astronomic Club’ is an everything-but-the-kitchen sink kind of track, combining a loping snare drum beat with timpani, ominous choral sounds, brass stabs and a twisted synth melody – and it works, simply because it’s so bizarre.

‘Seven Stars’ is typical of Air’s recent output, built around slow, stately pianos and skittering beats; it’s more elegant than the opener, but nowhere near as fun. The album is definitely at its best when it cuts loose – ‘Sonic Armada’ is a loopy space-funk track that sounds like it could have been lifted directly from Moon Safari, while ‘Cosmic Trip’, with its swelling strings and twinkling tuned percussion, is both odd and evocative.

There’s nothing wrong with the classic two-turntables-and-amicrophone mentality, but it just doesn’t hold up when the tracks are so dull.

It’s probably time to accept that the Air who made ‘Sexy Boy’ will never be coming back, but at its best, Le Voyage Dans La Lune is a pretty compelling listen.

Jonno Seidler

Alasdair Duncan

Nothing makes a band better more effectively than constant touring, and you can hear just how well they know each other now. When the three of them lock into a groove they cease to be individuals, and instead become this swaggering behemoth; rock’n’roll’s enormous, unstoppable avatar. The title track is badass, as is the aforementioned ‘Bruises’ – and ‘Lies’ sounds like nothing less than Zeppelin.

Hugh Robertson

VAN HALEN

Le Voyage Dans La Lune Virgin/EMI Air are the kind of band it’s easy to appreciate, if difficult to really love. Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin are wizards behind the boards, and with each new album comes a new set of studio tricks – but the music itself always seems to keep you at a distance.

development is the harmonisation between Emma and Russell Marsden. ‘Lay My Head Down’ is perfect sweet sadness before devolving into a mess of sludgy noise, while ‘Bruises’ sees Emma gloriously soaring above Russell’s forlorn melody, interrupted occasionally by huge guitars crunching down on the chorus. And closer ‘Close To Nowhere’ is simply exquisite – a final note of calm after the rampage of the previous 35 minutes.

SHEARWATER

A Different Kind Of Truth Universal

With their first studio album in 14 years, Van Halen make none of the misfired attempts at contemporary relevance that mar most comeback albums. The synthesisers that underpinned their mid-to-late ‘80s sound are gone, and in fact there are no concessions at all to anything that's happened since 1984 – which was the last time that frontman David Lee Roth was in the band – and that makes for a comeback album that is basically as good as it could be.

It’s probably unfair to attribute so much of what’s good about this album to Roth’s return, but I will anyway.

Diamond Dave’s sense of humour and relentless grandstanding complement Eddie van Halen’s ridiculous speedtapping in ways that his successors simply couldn’t. His voice is older and gravellier but he’s still a sensational dick – panting, whooping, casting out asides like “level with me baby!” and “sing it!” – and that’s what matters.

What also matters is that he’s writing hooks. When these cohere with the glorious untidiness of the rest of the band you get something stupidly catchy, as on ‘She’s The Woman’, the relatively ambitious rave-up ‘Stay Frosty’, and the closer ‘Beats Workin’.

Elsewhere the songs become a little too cluttered to really compare with anything like 1984’s sing-alongs ‘Panama’ and ‘Jump’, but the fact that the weaker songs here are even up for comparison with Van Halen’s glory days is a huge achievement. Even those familiar with Eddie Van Halen’s sometimes exhausting riffing will be impressed by his histrionics on this album, matched by a rhythm section that sounds more alive than ever. This is a welcome return to the formula that made Van Halen famous.

You’ve heard this before, but if you liked it in 1984 you’ll like it now.

Party on!

Laurence Rosier Staines

On this record, Shearwater demonstrate the extent to which guitar pop can lean on artifice and arrangement to disguise the tiniest of musical ideas as sweeping, boldly realised statements. But this poses a problem. If the grandiloquent, galloping optimism of opener ‘Animal Life’ feels familiar and comfortingly exultant, it’s because you’ve heard that chord progression and those epic guitar glissandi hundreds of times before.

Animal Joy is easy to love, but perhaps for the wrong reasons.

It exhumes the faux exultance of ‘80s and ‘90s radio rock as fodder – think Live’s Throwing Copper, Peter Gabriel, or Pearl Jam at their most ruminative – with such consummate and baffling artfulness that it feels pithy to mention its faults.

It’s meticulously arranged and often devastatingly beautiful, but at the same time, it feels like a lie to say this deft technical facade and measured melodrama passes for an honest record. The songs feel engineered to appeal not on their own strengths, but on the skilled patchwork of their influences and allusions.

Throughout, Jonathan Meiburg’s articulate, poetic lyrics prove to be delicate and rousing, but the ostentatious musical twists and turns of a track like ‘Insolence’ – eery intervals and labyrinthine melodies yielding to panoramic ‘90s riffage – do little to dispel the impression that the band knows they don’t have a perfect album, and are trying to hide it from us. It feels as though Shearwater, sick of being pegged as Talk Talk acolytes or Okkervil River’s sister band, are trying to wrest a profoundly good album from little more than the laboured husk of their arranging chops.

Past the treacly surface, Meiburg’s ruminations are subtle and moving.

Let them pull the wool over your eyes, if you like.

Luke Telford

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK EMMA RUSSACK Sounds Of Our City Spunk

Lurching back to stonecold reality after a long stint of travel can suck. It seems to have hit Emma Russack particularly hard – after a year of travelling through South America, the Narooma-born singer settles into what must’ve been a particularly bitter Melbourne winter.

It has been a couple of years since Russack shed her Lola Flash moniker,

30 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

a change which almost always suggests a move toward a more personal sound – and her first solo fulllength album gets under her skin on a considerably deeper level.

Whether it’s a symptom of her dislocation or not, there’s a deep sense of loss at the core of Sounds Of Our City. Opening song ‘Tonight’ doesn’t waste any time setting the tone: “Tonight I’m going to go out and get drunk, and find someone to take me home/No great expectations, anyone will do.” It’s far from an up-tempo ‘hey single ladies!’ defiance, but nor is Russack playing the victim – her delivery is too direct and forceful for that. Instead, the song is a stoic march

to independence that falls into, and sometimes even relishes, a sense of sadness.

The theme of enforced loneliness carries through the album. ‘Friends Not Lovers’ is a deceptively content view of a hopeless situation, with a dual male vocal offering support for the chorus.

Later, in ‘No Pets’, she doesn’t even want furry animals to get close...

Despite Emma Russack's attempts to hold us at arm's length, there’s a warmness to the music and a disarming honesty to the lyrics that you can’t help but embrace.

Chris Girdler

SKRILLEX

Animal Joy Sub Pop

Bangarang EP Neon Records When any phenomenon gets big enough, nothing you say is going to change the minds of its devotees.

It doesn’t matter how many times the world makes fun of him or his followers, because the little punk kid with a jacked-up computer called Skrillex just won a swag of Grammys and he’s nowhere near finished. As an experiment, this reviewer played this entire CD from start to finish really fucking loud while driving, and tried to enjoy himself. And the worrying part was that it wasn’t that hard. While he’s renowned for taking bass frequencies and dropping them out the bottom of a plane, or turning notes into the aural equivalent of pneumatic drills, Skrillex is a party starter at heart and really does know what he’s doing – even if he has the precision of a serial killer with a blunt knife.

Real dubstep doesn’t sound anything like Skrillex, so it’s pointless to label him as such; he’s an electronic artist who’s advancing down the same path as Trent Reznor did decades ago, except he’s shooting for the dancefloor instead of the bedroom. ‘Kyoto’ has some terrific Dirty South hip hop production to it, while some of the quieter parts of ‘Banagarang’ are also Not Entirely Terrible. Of course he goes and shoots himself in the foot when he massacres a Doors classic, and the really insistent machineprocessed distortion does explode one’s synapses after a while.

But for all his faults (and by god there are a few), Skrillex is neither predictable nor boring. This EP is a stopgap between conquering the world and whichever planet he decides to womp-womp over next, and it advances a formula rather than sticking to it. Also, it really annoys my neighbours, which is wonderful.

Worse things have happened that were less entertaining. See: Flo Rida.

Jonno Seidler

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

GRIMES - Visions SLEIGH BELLS - Reign Of Terror RYAN ADAMS - Cold Roses

LAST DINOSAURS - In A Million Years BURIAL - Kindred EP

Remedy

More than The Cure since 1989 with Murray Engleheart

f r i 2 nd TACO BELL ARENA

Van Halen kicked off their world tour with David Lee Roth in Louisville, Kentucky last week with a classic set of, well, classics. But that’s not what we wanted to talk about. The venue they played was called the KFC Yum! Center, the Yum Group being the home of the mighty and much locally missed Taco Bell... Surely simply naming the joint the Taco Bell Arena would have been way cooler and more to the point?

DRILL

Sydney abrasionistas Drill, who date back to 1992, have reformed. They played a show at the Sandringham last week. More soon, we hope.

MICHAEL DAVIS RIP

MC5 bassist Michael Davis has died from liver disease, aged 68. He once helped The Hard-Ons lug their gear out of a venue in Arizona simply because he could see that they needed a hand, and only quietly introduced himself to the stunned trio when they asked his name. Ted Nugent had this to say at the Billboard website: “The MC5 were such a powerful musical/spirit force to reckon with, and so very influential to all who witnessed their might... it is a sad day when half of their incredible rhythm section is gone.” The passing of Davis leaves only two men standing from the original five: guitarist Wayne Kramer and drummer Dennis “Machinegun” Thompson.

Also passing recently was Sherbet’s Clive Shakespeare, who had been ill for some time. He was 62.

MYSTERY DOCO?

Expect a TV documentary later in the year on the troubled life and times of one this country’s greatest musical talents. The individual’s trajectory – and by association that of their colleagues – was cut tragically short by illness, but a near miracle cure replaced tragedy with glowing triumph...

IRON MAIDEN

Iron Maiden, the band that’s always doing something (and writing the planet’s biggest media releases to tell everyone about it), are, hardly surprisingly, hitting the road for yet another major tour. This time it’s the Maiden England World Tour, which kicks off with Alice Cooper in June in North America and then Coheed and Cambria after July 21, with world dates in 2013. The third in a ‘History Of 'Maiden’-type live affair, the tour will “closely mirror, in terms of production and content, the original 1988 concert video of the same name, shot on the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Tour.”

BLACK SABBATH

Has the Black Sabbath reunion been put in the too hard basket, due to the shitfight and massive public backlash over Bill Ward’s non-inclusion? Or have Ward’s people issued an injunction against the band appearing as Black Sabbath without him? We’ve got absolutely no idea – but virtually all of their European reunion tour has been cancelled, with guitarist Tony Iommi’s cancer fight given as the reason (although a statement says that he “continues to make excellent progress.”).

At this point all that’s happening is one show on June 10 as part of the UK’s Download Festival. In a shithouse act of consolation, Ozzy Osbourne is hitting the road to fill in most of the cancelled Sab dates in a teaming titled Ozzy and Friends, which will include Sabbath’s Geezer Butler along with Zakk Wylde and Slash. But work on a new Sabbaff album is still going ahead. Maybe with Ward.

Maybe... Still with us? “I have not declined to participate in the Sabbath album and tour,” Ward said in a recent clarifying statement. “At the earliest opportunity, I am prepared to go to the UK and record, and later tour with the band.” But it’s all in the hands of the lawyers now. Rock’n’roll, eh? Interestingly, at the end of his rave Ward added, “Keep in mind that Tony, Ozzy and Geezer are still my lifetime friends, and I cannot support comments with an objectifying or derogatory theme toward them or their various representatives.” The sound of bridges being built.

ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is Earth’s Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light: II, which, as the name kinda implies, is the promised second half of the album of the same name – although buggered if we know why it had to be in two parts. It’s still a funeral march in the desert in terms of feel and ambience, with the notion that ‘it’s not the chords that matter but the spacing between them’ taken to a near ridiculous level. But it works very powerfully. Themes go on and on but you’re never left feeling that they should have been resolved more quickly than they actually are, which really is the great craft of it all. It’s very, very slow-dance music for that special dark mood and justas-special someone.

TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS One of this country’s greatest ever bands, Brisbane’s Giants of Science, are back in action again for some shows and a spot of recording that will hopefully lead to studio album number three. In the meantime: on March 9 they’re at The Patch in Wollongong with Shifter, Bruce! and Handlebar, and then on March 10 at the The Square in Sydney, with Lomera, The Turps and Skinpin.

It’s true, the term “legend” does get thrown around way too much, but in this case you could probably use it ten times and not

overdo it. We speak of Roky Erickson, of 13th Floor Elevators infamy, who’s playing at the Factory Theatre on March 14.

Special guests are The Treatment.

The Cool Charmers, featuring members of The Huxton Creepers, Psychotic Turnbuckles and The Johnnys, are playing a free gig on Sunday March 4 at the Sando’s downstairs bar in Newtown.

Special guests are The Escapes (ex-The Moffs and Planet of the Apes). It’s an early 4pm start, with several sets from each band.

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

Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock

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

ROXETTE

Sydney Entertainment Centre Friday February 17 It is very difficult to make the Entertainment Centre seem like anything other than a cavernous dome. Most acts who perform there have no control over whether or not snippets of melody fade out somewhere past the floor, leaving the nosebleeds with naught but the distant hint of the band on the giant screens side of stage… But then, most acts are not Roxette.

Per Gessle’s guitar strap decoration was part playful joke and part marching orders, but it certainly told no lies: ‘F.U.N.’ is the only way to describe the live magic that is Swedish pop heroes Roxette. Of course, it helped that the letters rose up off the frontman’s chest with all the gaudy haughtiness that comes from wearing innumerable silver press-studs.

If you are still wearing press-studs on all your clothing and accessories at 53, it’s probably a given that there’ll be hip gyrations and foot-stompings everywhere you go – and the Darling Harbour crowd provided bountiful amounts of both, with every section of the crowd rising to dance in their seats at Gessle and frontwoman Marie Fredriksson's command.

Look’ and ‘Fading Like A Flower’ among them. Fredriksson's voice may not have its previous ease of transition through the range, but she still has the power and thrust to silence more than 11,000 people.

Late in the show the two friends stood, sans band, in the middle of the stage and Gessle cheekily confessed that “This song is really old, 25 years old in fact, so you might not know it” – and the true value of the Roxette legacy shone. With only the barest chords strummed, the entire room erupted, enveloping the delighted duo with verse, chorus, verse of ‘It Must Have Been Love’. The band entered the stage again, and simply could not be heard above the din of the sing-along as the audience refused to let go of something that they’d wanted for so long.

Benjamin Cooper

Fredriksson was something to behold: having been diagnosed in 2002 with a brain tumour that left her unable to write or count, here she was strutting around, resplendent in shiny black jeans and belting out the hits. In fact, most of the set list focused not on last year’s comeback album, Charm School, but on their 1995 greatest hits compilation, Don’t Bore Us – Get To The Chorus, ‘Joyride’, ‘Listen To Your Heart’, ‘Dressed For Success’, ‘The

OUR PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY

MAR

ERYKAH BADU

Sydney Opera House Monday February 20 Erykah Badu was the only good thing about Blues Brothers 2000. This was just one of the points duly noted while discussing the Texan-born singer’s body of work, during the close-to-an-hour she allowed her audience before taking the stage at Sydney Opera House. Time well spent, you cheeky little jazz fusion minx.

Time. Well. Spent.

Within moments of gliding on stage to join her ten-piece band, Badu shed her punky leather hoodie to reveal a luscious puff dress of mint green, and quite frankly the most babein’ black and gold stilettos.

An exquisite little green fairy, the rhythm and/or blues were bangin’ tonight, and with the support of Cleon Edwards on drums, resident guru Burton Smith on the decks, music director R.C. Williams on keys, Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner on the bass, and four Brand New Heaviesworthy backup singers (including Badu’s younger sister Koryan Wright), this was a full-blown family affair.

INA CLARKE

OUR PHOTOGRAPHER : KATR

CASS MCCOMBS, SINGING SKIES The Standard Saturday February 18

The Standard seems like the sort of place that Mr Hawke and Ms Ryder of Reality Bites wouldn’t’ve minded going to to just, like, hang. Though the anticipated Songs were sadly absent, their replacements Singing Skies would certainly have cut through any '90s-ironic posturings, with a dose of existential angst (oh the angst!) delivered in a suitably angelic quaver.

Even so, it was impossible not to wish that the cellist would ramp things up (some carelessly impassioned sawing à la Bridezilla would’ve been nice). As it was, this was a performance best listened to with one's head tilted to one side and a vague expression of wistful reflection adorning one’s features (which the few gathered 20-somethings willingly did).

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With no second support, the following hour was filled by Fleet Foxes over the PA, forcing a retreat down into the refreshing night air, and contemplation of the metaphorical significance of the fountain in Taylor Square (whatever it is, it sure ain’t subtle). Come 10.15pm, however, upstairs was packed-out with excited clusters, from which hushed discussions of ‘so, like, who IS Cass McCombs?’ could be heard. Suddenly, five blokes in nondescript checked shirts and jeans converge on stage, pounce upon their instruments and kick into ‘Love Thine Enemy’ from last year’s Humor Risk. Neat.

Last time Mr McCombs was witnessed doin’ his thang (one chilly night in London back in ‘08), it was as part of an acoustic trio. Things have evolved since then, with McCombs’ guitar joined by drums, bass, keyboard and a rather tasty pedal steel for a generous career-trotting set, delivered in

near total darkness (McCombs succeeding in convincing the venue that yes, when he says “turn the lights down,” he really means “turn the damn things off”).

It certainly suited the music, highlights (or rather, lowlights) including the superbly constructed pop of ‘Equinox’ (off debut A), the uncannily ponderous ‘Buried Alive’, wrist-slash-inducing ‘County Line’, as well as the autobiographical ‘Lionkiller’, its grinding riff pounded out in thundering synchronicity. Even better, the man saw fit to share some previously unreleased material, including ‘Angel Blood’ and the marathon ‘Home On The Range’. Cass McCombs is never going to win points for style (his guitar stance amounting to an anti-pose) but for songcraft, the man knows where it’s at.

Oliver Downes

The set was a blur of musical colour, quick wit and seat-swaying crowds, with friendly ad-libs (“People up the back, what the fuck ‘chu lookin’ at? Ha!”) pervading the delectable ‘On And On’. A confident little dynamo, she regularly and defiantly resumed her ‘reach for the stars’ stage pose for effect, and live favourites ‘Other Side Of The Game’ and ‘Apple Tree’ saw middle-aged audience soulsters finally rise from their seats. Awkwardly, but finally. And singing badly. Into Badu’s microphone.

Like the world leader the lady could probably be if she weren’t so terribly busy being the Duchess of Neo-Soul, the encore is where this confident showstopper really brings the moxie, encouraged by a chant of ‘Ba-Du! Ba-Du! Ba-Du!’ prompted by Williams. Addressing her faithful and adoring subjects with words of political wisdom halfway through a glorious rendition of ‘Soldier’, Badu’s defiant calls of “It’s bigger than the government!” were deliciously close to the heart and Kirribilli House. From there it was ‘Bag Lady’, bear hugs for the audience, a casual wave, and a 'See ya later'. For the second sold-out show in a first-ever headline tour, the femme fatale fusion of Aretha with the gritty street of J Dilla propped the pillows of this soul goddess in her groovy little Sydney bed.

Ah, to hell with complicated metaphors: she was just… heavenly.

Bridie Connellan

snap sn ap

up all night out all week . . .

pussy love party profile

It’s called: Bertie Page Clinic presents Pussy Love It sounds like: Cats mating with guitars in a back alley on a hot night.

Who’s playing/performing? Bertie Page Clinic, Doc Holliday Takes The Shotgun and The Prehistorics, plus burlesque and circus from Lena Marlene, Coppelia Jane (Miss Burlesque QLD), Julz Divine, Adell Rose-Leigh and Miss Cello.

Sell it to us: Bertie Page returns to the Vanguard once more with feathers, fur and a whole lotta meow! Raucous caterwauling from the bands, plus a litter of Brisbane’s best burlesque kitties leaping down south, with more slink, circus and sexiness than you can throw a shoe at!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Furballs!

Crowd specs: We set a high bar for our audience and expect to see some incredible costumes if past shows are anything to go by. Your choice which direction you want to take the theme…

Wallet damage: A low, low $15 for this premium night of double entendres.

Where: The Vanguard / 42 King St, Newtown

mum

PICS :: TP

When: Friday March 2, 8pm

richard in your mind

PICS :: AM

17:02:12 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd 9357 7700

san cisco

PICS :: KC

15:02:12 :: The Loft@UTS :: 15 Broadway Ultimo 9514 2345

colin hay

PICS :: TL

18:02:12 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93601375

14:02:12 :: Allphones Arena :: Sydney Olympic Park 8765 4321 :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER WEIJERS :: TIM WHITNEY KET ROC :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: MAR

KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

beach road hotel: i am giant

PICS :: RW

roger waters: the wall

PICS :: AM

16:02:12 :: The Basement :: 29 Reiby Pl Sydney 9251 2797

15:02:12 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247 BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 33

snap sn ap

17/18:02:12 :: Manly Beach ::

sleepmakeswaves

the ray mann three

PICS :: TL

17:02:12 :: Gaelic Club :: 64 Devonshire St Surry Hills 9211 1687

16:02:12 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 92673787

the do party profile

It’s called: The Do (Fridays) and The Do Dinner Show (first Friday of each month).

It sounds like: Fresh live music from the inner-west, with acapella doowop, soul, funk, prog-rock and alt-country, plus killa beats and beat-boxing on the terrace.

Who’s playing? Sophie Von, Four Visions, Ray Huss, Stone And The Sky, Gas Wylde, Geoffro & Bones, The Erskinevillains and more.

Sell it to us: The ultimate all-ages inner-west community event, to raise awareness and support for Father Dave’s good work with street kids at his boxing gym at the Holy Trinity Youth Centre, Dulwich Hill.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: You’ll wake up remembering a great night out supporting a good cause, with the remnants of catchy beats still stuck in your head – and possible bruises from kickboxing.

Crowd specs: Local lovelies of all kinds.

Wallet damage: Concession $5 / general admission $10 / dinner + show $25 / executive dinner + show $50 – all tix from thedo.com.au Where: Marrickville Bowling Club / 91 Sydenham Rd, Marrickville

LEY

:: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASH S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER WEIJERS :: TIM WHITNEY MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: ROCKET

34 :: BRAG :: 451: 27:02:12

aa & unity floors 14:02:12 :: Hibernian House :: 342 Elizabeth St Surry Hills

PICS :: TL

When: Friday March 2 / 7pm 'til late

PICS :: AM

australian open of surfing

19:02:12 :: Concert Hall :: Sydney Opera House 92471666

PICS :: TL

erykah badu

PICS :: AM

up all night out all week . . .

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 35

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

Neon Indian

MARCH 2 – MARCH 4

Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry

Playground Weekender:

Chic feat. Nile Rogers (USA), Manchester Orchestra (USA), Neon Indian (USA), Black Lips (USA), Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (USA), The Orb (UK), Bomb The Bass (UK), UNKLE Sounds (UK), Roots Manuva (UK), Shapeshifter (NZ), Bonobo (UK), Rustie (USA), Hudson Mohawke (UK), LTJ Bukem (UK), Boy & Bear, Lanie Lane, Seekae, Canyons, Toucan, Elizabeth Rose, Rufus, Set Sail, North East Party House, Nantes, Millions, Greg Wilson, Steve Bug, Pluto Jonze, Guerre, Cameras and loads more $119 (day pass) – $239 (+ bf)

ROCK & POP

Angels & Airwaves (USA), Madina Lake, Framing Hanley (USA) Roundhouse, Kensington $62.70 (+ bf) 8pm Bush (UK), Staind (USA), Cherribomb Enmore Theatre $62.70 (+ bf) 8pm Craig Thommo Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm Dashboard Confessional (USA), Jack’s Mannequin, Relient K (USA) Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $50.50 (+ bf) 8pm sold out The Pretty Reckless (USA), Heroes For Hire Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt 8pm all-ages Rockin’ With Rah Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Slipknot (USA), Trivium (USA) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $88.40 (+ bf) 7.30pm Switchfoot (USA), Holland The Factory Theatre, Enmore $54.90 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Thursday (USA), Saves The Day (USA), Circa Survive (USA) Metro Theatre, Sydney $61.10 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages

JAZZ

Carl Morgan Quintet feat.

Ben Vanderwal 505 Venue, Surry Hills $10$15 8.30pm Monday Jam: Danny G Felix, Djay Kohinga The Lansdowne, Broadway free 9pm Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Blue Beat Bar & Grill, Double Bay $10 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Adam Kiss, Clay & Kelly, Russell Neal Kelly’s On King, Newtown free 7pm Matt Corby, Winter People, Emma Davis Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $15 (+ bf) 8pm sold out

Roundhouse, Kensington $64.90 (+ bf) 8pm Devin Townsend Project (Canada), Meshuggah (Sweden), Dredg (USA) The Factory Theatre, Enmore $47.30 (+ bf 8pm all-ages sold out Lost Prophets (UK), Kids In Glass Houses, Versaemerge (USA) Metro Theatre, Sydney $49.80 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages A Rocket To The Moon, The Ready Set, Summer Set, The Dangerous Summer (USA) Annandale Hotel $34.10 (+ bf) 8pm Ryan Adams (USA), Jason Isbell (USA) Sydney Opera House $97.20 (+ bf) 8pm sold out Side Effect, Camazotz Sword, Hivemind, Become the Catalyst, Rattlensake, Mango Stone The Valve, Tempe 8pm Songwriter Sessions Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm System of a Down (USA) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $86.20 (+ bf) 8pm

JAZZ

Five Coffees Jurassic Lounge @ The Australian Museum, Sydney $15 5.30pm Jazzgroove: Mike Nock Trio, The Ben Panucci Trio 505 Club, Surry Hills $8 (conc)–$15 8pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Ben Osmo, Boris Sladakovic, Oliver Goss, P&A, Russell Neal Dee Why RSL free 6.30pm Roots Caravan feat. Dan Hopkins, Carl Stewart, Iniciate, Bryce Cohen, Carl Stewart Band The Basement, Circular Quay $15 (+ bf)–$20 8pm The Songwriter Sessions Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 29 ROCK & POP

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28 ROCK & POP

Adam Pringle and Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Alterbridge (USA), Steel Panther (USA) Enmore Theatre $62.70 (+ bf) 8pm sold out Black Veil Brides (USA) Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt $28.70 (+ bf) 8pm Bondi Jam Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Cobra Starship (USA), Forever the Sickest Kids (USA), These Kids Wear Crowns (Canada), Kill Hannah The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $45.10 (+ bf) 8pm Dave White Experience Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm A Day To Remember (USA), The Used (USA), You Me At Six (UK)

Apocastrip Wow!!: Julie Atlas Muz (USA), Mat Fraser (UK) The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills $28.60 8pm Attack! Attack! (UK), The Cab, River City Extension Annandale Hotel $34.10 (+ bf) 8pm Bad Religion (USA), Strung Out (USA), Street Dogs (USA), The Menzingers

The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $63.30 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Cathedral (UK), Paradise Lost (UK), Turisas (Finland) The Factory Theatre, Enmore $45.50 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Dan Spillane Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm Dirty Dezire, Rattlesnake, Smokin’ Mirrors, Dreamer’s Crime, Sylvain Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm The Donovans The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Enter Shikari (UK), Letlive, Your Demise Metro Theatre, Sydney $49.80 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Fushia Rock Lily, Pyrmont free 8pm Ikaros Trial, Vices, Holy Your Own, Dishonoured, Transitions The Valve, Tempe 4pm Johnny Casino Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Last Dinosaurs, Toucan Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 (+ bf)–$22.99 (incl CD) 7.30pm sold out Live and Local: Anna Weatherup, Bad Feeling Woman, Jasmine Beth, Blackbird Hum Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $15 8pm London In Terror, Sinnister Valley, Omina, The Flatliners, Clipped Wings The Valve, Tempe 12pm Machine Head (USA), Chimaira (USA), Shadows Fall (USA), Times Of Grace Roundhouse, Kensington $62.35 (+ bf) 8pm Marilyn Manson (USA), Coal Chamber (USA), Wednesday 13 (USA), Motionless In White Enmore Theatre $74.20 7pm all-ages Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt free 8pm Oceanics, The Trouble With Templeton, Evan & The Brave, Packwood FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Richard In Your Mind FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 1pm Samba Mundi Macquarie Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Slow Club (UK), Songs Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach 8pm Ungus Ungus Ungus, Will And The People (UK), M.S.D, earth2audio Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $12 8pm

JAZZ

Bernie McGann Quartet 505 Venue, Surry Hills $10$15 8.30pm Jimmy Vargas and Liliana Scarlatta

Bad Religion

“I drink in bars and try my best but these mannequins are too well dressed” - JOSH PYKE 36 :: BRAG :: 451 : 27:02:12

Marilyn Manson photo by PEROU

pick of the week

MONDAY FEBRUARY 27

g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Blue Beat Bar & Grill, Double Bay $15 9pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Daniel Hopkins Taren Point Hotel free 7pm David White, Emad Younan, Greg Sita Cookies Lounge and Bar, Bakehouse Quarter, North Strathfield free 8pm Gavin Fitzgerald, TAOS Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm Miss Gray, Callum Wylie, The Wildbloods, Vincent Pham, Olivia Jean, Helmut Uhlmann The Loft, UTS, Broadway free 6pm Senani, Rhubee Neale & Ken Smith, Russell Neal Evening Star Hotel, Surry Hills Simon Li, Black Diamond, Laura Wendling, Darren Bennett Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 6.30pm

COUNTRY Oh Willy Dear Town & Country Hotel, St Peters free 7.30pm

THURSDAY MARCH 1 ROCK & POP Apocastrip Wow!!: Julie Atlas Muz (USA), Mat Fraser (UK) The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills $28.60 8pm Darren Paul The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Eric Bibb (USA), Staffan Astner (Sweden), Suzy Connolly Sutherland Entertainment Centre $49 (+ bf) 8pm Family Friendly Karaoke Town & Country Hotel, St Peters free 7pm Fanny Lumsden, Hello Vera, Lilyso Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Four Year Strong (USA), I Am The Avalanche, Fireworks (USA), Conditions Manning Bar, Sydney University, Camperdown $50.50 (+ bf) 8pm The Headliners Bradbury Inn free 8.30pm Kirin J Callinan, The Gooch Palms, Ghastly Spats FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 8pm Lapis Sky, The Blindfolds, Mavis and Her China Pigs, Sam Jones Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free Mastodon (USA), Gojira (France), Kvelertak The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $45.10 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Musos Club Jam Night Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill free 8pm Oddisee, Katalyst, M-Phases Civic Hotel, Sydney $25 (+ bf) 8pm Olivia Newton-John (UK), Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Alfie Boe Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House 8pm Open Mic Night: Various Artists Excelsior Hotel, Glebe free 7pm The Rebel Souljahz, V-Tribe, Budspells Selinaz, Coogee Bay Hotel $50 (+ bf) 8pm

Rick Price The Vault, Windsor 8pm Skinpin, C.O.F.F.I.N., Doctor Fungi, Boxing With Ghosts Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $7 8pm Slow Club (UK) GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $25 (+ bf) 8pm Speakeasy The Whitehouse Hotel, Petersham 8pm Underoath (USA), Dream On Dreamer, The Smoking Hearts The Factory Theatre, Enmore $34.10 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages West Tigers Home Heroes Band Competition Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society (USA), HELLYEAH (USA), Black Tide, Holy Grail (USA) Metro Theatre, Sydney $57.80 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages

JAZZ Elixir Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith $45 8pm Mark Wilkinson, Lissa The Basement, Circular Quay $15.20 (+ bf)–$20 7.30pm Monique Dimattina 505 Venue, Surry Hills $10$15 8.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel 8pm Sam McNally and Jo Elms, Tracey Campbell Trio Blue Beat, Double Bay $15 9pm Sax In The City: Jeremy Rose & friends The Spice Cellar, Sydney free 6pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Jen Cloher, The Trouble With Templeton, Tigertown The Vanguard, Newtown $16 (+ bf) 8pm Matt Corby, Tin Sparrow, Emma Davis Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $15 (+ bf) 8pm sold out Stuart Young, Carolyn Woodorth Kogarah Hotel free 7pm Tommy Tsonis Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $20 8pm Tom Trelawny The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 8.30pm

FRIDAY MARCH 2 ROCK & POP Aphex Twin (UK), Mark Pritchard, Harmonic Enmore Theatre $61.60 8pm Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (USA), Richard In Your Mind, Erik Omen, Geneva Jacuzzi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $45 (+ bf) 8pm Averice, Trust and Fall, 10 Paces, Cloud 4, Los Capitanes The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills $15.30 8pm The Band Finale: The Grates, New Navy, Cameras Manning Bar, The University of Sydney, Camperdown $20$25 (+ bf) 7pm Ben Gunn Panthers, Glenbrook free 8pm Ben Kweller (USA) The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $39.99 (+ bf) 8pm Bertie Page Clinic Presents: Pussy Love, Doc Holliday Takes The Shotgun, The Prehistorics The Vanguard, Newtown $15 (+ bf) 8pm

Blind Valley, Fushia, The Oceanics Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Bonobo (UK), Guerre, Oliver Tank Metro Theatre, Sydney $44 8pm Collins Class, PIxie Kills, Dinkie Bike, The Gunn Show, The Ivory Drips Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Courtyard Sessions: MA Seymour Theatre Centre, Chippendale free 6pm allages Dead Leaves, Enola Fall, Boats of Berlin GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $8 (+ bf) 8pm Dream Delay Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Elevation U2 Show Engadine Tavern free 9.30pm Endless Summer Beach Party Trio Level 1, East Leagues Club, Bondi free 8.30pm The Fearless Vampire Killers Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 8pm Flamin’ Beauties Crown Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Gang of Brothers Blue Beat, Double Bay $10 10pm Girls Talk Kingswood Sports Club free 7.30pm Kirk Burgess Chatswood RSL free 5pm Kurt Williams Panthers North Richmond free 8pm Late Shift The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Little & Sanders Vineyard Hotel free 9pm MEN (USA), Stereogamous, Holy Balm, DJ Gemma The Red Rattler, Marrickville $35 (+ bf) 8.30pm MUM: Deathsquare, The Ottomans, The Griswolds, Lyyar, Julia Why?, The Venusians, Hearth Attack Machine, MUM DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm Neon Indian (USA), Collarbones, Boatfriends The Standard, Darlinghurst $32 (+ bf) 8pm Next Best Thing Sutherland United Services Club free 7.30pm Night of the Living Guitars: Peter Northcote, Tim McMillan, Dave Carr’s Fabulous Contraption, Grand Master Monk Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $15 8pm Olivia Newton-John (UK), Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Alfie Boe Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House 8pm Playground Weekender: Boy & Bear, Lanie Lane, Seekae, Canyons, Toucan, The Orb (UK), Bomb The Bass (UK), Hudson Mohawke (UK), Rustie, Wordlife, Morgda, Brenton Catt, Paper Scissors, March of the Real Fly, Fait Accompli, Lunars, Will Styles Dubrave Sound System, Cardinal Sin vs The Right Honourable Reverend Dr Grooveshoes, Dark Horse, Tokoloshe, Gabriel Clouston, Pitty The Kid, Henry Von Achten, Patrick Curda, Ying Yang, Craig Tariq Wilson, Juzzlikedat, Benji Booth, Murat Kilic, Robbie Lowe, Jimmy 2 Sox, Matt Weir vs YokoO,

Steven Sullivan & Christian Verlaan, Frames, Nic Scali Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry $119-$239 (+ bf) 12pm Steve Tonge Great Southern Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm Ted Nash Collingwood Hotel, Liverpool free 4.30pm Young Doctuers, The Turps Town & Country Hotel, St Peters free 7.30pm

Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges

JAZZ Bridie King, Foreday Riders Notes Live, Enmore $30 (+ bf) 8pm Five Eliza at 505 505 Venue, Surry Hills $15$20 8.30pm James Morrison The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf)-$30 7.30pm Marialy Pacheo Trio (Cuba) The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $20-$25 8.30pm Reggae Sessions: Addison Road, Frieda’s Boss, Alotta Presha Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Black Diamond, Russell Neal Bowral Hotel free 7.30pm

COUNTRY Troy Cassar-Daley, Harmony James Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $46–$88 (dinner & show) 8pm

wed

29 Feb thu

01 Mar fri

02 Mar sat

SATURDAY MARCH 3 ROCK & POP Afxjim, F’Tang, Hope, Broken Chip Jura Books, Petersham $10 Aleks and The Ramps, Megastick Fanfare, Shanna Watson GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm Back To The ‘80s Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm

The Bland, Jake McDougal & Band Valve Bar, Tempe 12pm Cover Notes Duo Kingswood Sports Club free 8.30pm Dave Tice, Mark Evans Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Dirty Deeds - AC/DC Show Beaches Hotel, Thirroul free Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges (USA) Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $34–$76 (with dinner) 8pm

The Donovans

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Darren Paul Duo

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

Jonathon Jones Reckless (5:00PM - 8:00PM)

(9:30PM - 1:30AM)

03 Mar

Jimmy Bear

sun

Lonesome Train Outlier Trio

04 Mar

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

2 Fold

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

St Patrick’s Day Festival Upstairs Level 1 from 7am!

sat

17 Mar

Irish Breakfast

Eggs, Bacon, Black & White Pudding, Mushrooms, Tomatoes & Soda Bread

Bottomless Irish coffee & Guinness Plus

The Killarney Trio Live

Stringy Bark ....................................... 7:00AM U2 Elevation ..................................... 11:00AM The Blarney Boys............................. 1:30PM The Moonshiners ............................ 4:30PM Dublin Up............................................. 7:00PM 3 Way Split......................................... 11:00PM + PARTY TUNES AND TOP 40

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 37

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

Fairchild Republic Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst 8pm Finn Edgeworth Tavern 8.30pm JConnexion Carousel Inn, Rooty Hill free 8.30pm Kirk Burgess Duo Engadine Tavern free 9.30pm Lies N Destruction- Guns N Roses Tribute Colyton Hotel free 8pm LJ Manly Leagues Club free 8pm Lo Five, Professor Groove & The Booty Affair Blue Beat, Double Bay $10 The Dead Leaves Old Manly Boatshed 8pm Mesa Groove Level 1, Easy Leagues Club,

Bondi free 9pm My City Screams, Elite Element, Never See Tomorrow, I The Hunter The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills $13.30 8pm Oi!!! Monster Gras: Glory Hole, Koro Vacui, Toecutter, La Donna Rama, Gaff E, Eats Roots Shoots & Leaves The Red Rattler, Marrickville $20-$25 (+ bf) 9pm Playground Weekender: Chic feat. Nile Rogers (USA), Manchester Orchestra (USA), Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Neon Indian (USA), Black Lips (USA), Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (USA), Elizabeth Rose, Rufus, Set Sail, Damian Lazaraus, Art Department, Lee Burridge, Danny Daze, Amirali, Brohn, Mia Lucci, Le Brond, Samron, T-Boy, Catcall, The Bennies, Bitrok, The Walking Who, Bomb The Music Industry (USA), The Smith Street Band, Cuban Brothers, Kirk Degiorgio, Danny La Ru, Diskoid Manouvres, Stephen Ferris, Johnny Croft, Adam Lyndsay, Big Tiny, Eric Oblivious, Benji Booth, Greg Wilson, DJ Tricky and Lick Law, Mando, Trent Rackus, Get Milk Or Die DJs Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry $119-$239 (+ bf) 12pm Rick Fensom Newport Arms free 8pm SFX: Drawcard!, We Built Atlantis, The Cavalcade, Uncorrected St James Hotel, Sydney $12$15 9pm Southern Preachers Caringbah Bizzo’s 8pm

Southland Jannali Inn free 8pm Stamp Out Disco Town & Country Hotel, St Peters free 4pm Sunset Riot Notes Live, Enmore 8pm Ted Nash Hollywood Bar & Cafe, Hoyts Broadway free 6pm This Sanctuary, Cosmis King, The Eagle & Child, Alberta Brown Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Tim Hart, Patrick James, Luke Thompson (NZ) FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel, Darlinghurst $15 8pm Trapped Under Ice, Relentless Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt $28.60 (+ bf) 8pm Twelve Foot Ninja, Jericco, Circles Annandale Hotel $15 (+ bf) 8pm Velvet Hammer: Gay Paris, Totally Unicorn, Kira Puru & The Bruise, Cherry 2000, Ben Drayton, Annabelle Gaspar, Steve Sonius, Avra Cybele, Lovertits, Chris Lego, Simon Hunt, Hip Hop Hoe Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $27.50 (+ bf) 10pm Wes Carr, Peregrine The Basement, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf)-$25 7.30pm

JAZZ

Blue Moon Quartet Supper Club, Fairfield RSL free 7pm Chric McNulty 505 Club, Surry Hills $15–$20 8.30pm Marialy Pacheo Trio (Cuba) The Sound Lounge, Seymour

Centre, Chippendale $20-$25 8.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel 5pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie Well Co. Cafe / Wine Bar, Leichhardt free 7.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Acoustic Relief Riverwood Inn free 8pm The Deep The Belvedere Hotel free 9pm Massimo Presti, Esther Lamb, Mysterious Prince Cowboi, Emily Wong, Sally Penny, Andrew Denniston Royal Exchange Hotel, Marrickville free 7.30pm Men With Day Jobs, Russell Neal Terrey Hills Tavern free 7.30pm VIP The Marlborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm

SUNDAY MARCH 4 ROCK & POP

Benn Gunn Level 1, East Leagues Club, Bondi free 6pm Black Lips (USA), Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Circle Pit Annandale Hotel $45 (+ bf) 8pm Blue Sunday Blue Beat, Double Bay 9pm Cool Charmers, The Escapes Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel free 4pm Hue Williams Grange Hotel, Wyoming free 1.30pm

Kurt Williams Waverley Bowling Club free 3pm Manchester Orchestra (USA), Cabins The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $39.99 (+ bf) 8pm Pete Hunt Collaroy Beach Hotel free 2pm Playground Weekender: UNKLE Sounds (UK), Roots Manuva (UK), Shapeshifter (NZ), Bonobo, North East Party House, Nantes, Millions, Greg Wilson, Steve Bug, LTJ Bukem (UK), Russ Yallop, Simon Caldwell, Canyons, Sam Roberts, Jono Ma, Inner West Soul, Softwar, Slow Blow, Pluto Jonze, Gurre, Cameras, The Fighting League, Milhouse, Nicc Johnson, Lachlan Cuthbert, Cool Hand Luke, Frenzie, Jimi Polar, Somatik, Mark Tarrant, Omegamann, Mr Chombee, Ben Peterson, DJ Koolaid, Phil Toke, Danny Bass, Unkle Ru, Richie Edwards, Tom Brereton & Ryan Simpson, Kerry Wallace, DJ Shane Sos Del Rio Riverside Resort, Wisemans Ferry $119-$239 (+ bf) 12pm Robin Lee Sinclair Band Marrickville Bowling Club 4.30pm Satellite V Botany View Hotel, Newtown free 7pm Sattwa Fitzroy Hotel, Windsor free 12pm all-ages Trapped Under Ice, Relentless Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt $28.60 (+ bf) 8pm Vibrations at Valve Band Competition: Where’s Rachel,

L2 Kings Cross Hotel

Wednesday February 29

Thursday March 1

9pm // FREE

1pm // FREE

JURASSIC LOUNGE AFTER PARTY:

LUNCH BREAK PRESENTED BY ALBERTS:

OCEANICS DJ’S + FBI’S JOHNNY LIEU

38 :: BRAG :: 451 : 27:02:12

& broadcast live on FBi Radio 94.5FM!

JAZZ

Cora James, John Hill, Jim Finn North Ryde RSL 2pm The Peter Head Trio The Harbour View Hotel 4pm River Rhythms: Sally Street Armory Wharf, Sydney Olympic Park free 1pm The Subterraneans Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 7pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie, Tony Burkys, Lee Hutching, Alan Gilbert Cronulla RSL Club free 12.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Big Ben The Belvedere Hotel free 4pm Chippo Days Town & Country Hotel, St Peters free 4pm Laura Wendling, Russell Neal Avalon Beach RSL Club free 6.30pm Matt Corby, Tin Sparrow, Emma Davis Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $15 (+ bf) 8pm sold out Pete Hunt Oatley Hotel free 2pm Russell Neal Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm Shane MacKenzie Cohibar, Darling Harbour free 3pm

www.fbisocial.com

Tuesday February 28

RICHARD IN YOUR MIND

Portland, Nothing Is Sacred, Beneath The Shore, April Falls, Limited Headspace Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm

Xxxx

Nile Rogers

Friday March 2

Saturday March 3

8pm // FREE

8pm // $12

8pm // $15

VICE PRESENTS:

OFF WITH YOUR HEAD

TIM HART

KIRIN J CALLINAN +THE GOOCH PALMS +GHASTLY SPATS

8pm // $10

5pm-8pm // FREE

OCEANICS + THE TROUBLE WITH TEMPLETON + EVAN & THE BRAVE + PACKWOOD

SUNSET LIVE BROADCAST w/ ANNA LUNOE & KATO

`

PAPA PIKO & THE BIN RATS +HAILER +RARGO +IN MEASURES +RABBIT HOLE DJ’S

‘ARCHITECTS TOUR’

+PATRICK JAMES +LUKE THOMPSON MIDNIGHT - 3am // FREE

LATE NIGHT SOCIAL MOONCHILD +3HUNDREDS +MAX SMART & broadcast live on FBi Radio 94.5FM!

gig picks

up all night out all week...

MONDAY FEBRUARY 27 Slipknot (USA), Trivium (USA) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $88.40 (+ bf) 7.30pm Thursday (USA), Saves The Day (USA), Circa Survive (USA) Metro Theatre, Sydney $61.10 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages

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

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28 Alterbridge (USA), Steel Panther (USA) Enmore Theatre $62.70 (+ bf) 8pm sold out

YDNE LIZOTTE’SReS ” staurant in Sydney

tertainment “Awarded Best En

02 9984 9933

ts Live and Lizotte’s presen 29 Local MAR Cassar-Daley 2 Troy Bridges MAR gene Hideaway 3 Eu ts Live and MAR Lizotte’s presen 7 Local MAR p Honeymoon 8 Trucksto MAR The People 9 Will And MAR es Reyne 10 Jam FEB

Devin Townsend Project (Canada), Meshuggah (Sweden), Dredg (USA) The Factory Theatre, Enmore $47.30 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages sold out Ryan Adams (USA), Jason Isbell (USA) Sydney Opera House $97.20 (+ bf) 8pm sold out System Of A Down (USA) Sydney Entertainment Centre, Darling Harbour $86.20 (+ bf) 8pm

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 29

Ben Kweller

FRIDAY MARCH 2 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (USA), Richard In Your Mind, Erik Omen, Geneva Jacuzzi Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $45 (+ bf) 8pm Ben Kweller (USA) The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $39.99 (+ bf) 8pm

Apocastrip Wow!!: Julie Atlas Muz (USA), Mat Fraser (UK) The Gaelic Club, Surry Hills $28.60 8pm

The Dead Leaves, Enola Fall, Boats of Berlin GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $8 (+ bf) 8pm

Bad Religion (USA), Strung Out (USA), Street Dogs (USA), The Menzingers The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $56.10 (+ bf) 7pm all-ages

The Fearless Vampire Killers Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 8pm

Cathedral (UK), Paradise Lost (UK), Turisas (Finland) The Factory Theatre, Enmore $45.50 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages

MEN (USA), Stereogamous, Holy Balm, DJ Gemma The Red Rattler, Marrickville $35 (+ bf) 8.30pm

Last Dinosaurs, Toucan Spectrum, Darlinghurst $12 (+ bf)– $22.99 (incl CD) 8pm sold out

Neon Indian (USA), Collarbones, Boatfriends The Standard, Darlinghurst $32 (+ bf) 8pm

Machine Head (USA), Chimaira (USA), Shadows Fall (USA), Times Of Grace Roundhouse, Kensington $61.50 (+ bf) 8pm

SATURDAY MARCH 3

Marilyn Manson (USA), Coal Chamber (USA), Wednesday 13 (USA), Motionless In White Enmore Theatre $74.20 7pm all-ages

THURSDAY MARCH 1 Kirin J Callinan, The Gooch Palms, Ghastly Spats FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 8pm Mastodon (USA), Gojira (France), Kvelertak The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $45.10 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Slow Club (UK) + guests GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $25 (+ bf) 8pm

Aleks and The Ramps, Megastick Fanfare, Shanna Watson GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm Velvet Hammer: Gay Paris, Totally Unicorn, Kira Puru & The Bruise, Cherry 2000, Ben Drayton, Annabelle Gaspar, Steve Sonius, Avra Cybele, Lovertits, Chris Lego, Simon Hunt, Hip Hop Hoe Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $27.50 (+ bf) 10pm

SUNDAY MARCH 4

COAST L A R T N E C ’S E T LIZOT 02 4368 2017 FEB ison Violet 29 Mad s MAR Hideaway Bridge 2 Eugene yle MAR in It Up Greek St 3 Cook nday Lunch MAR Lazy Su 4 with Troy Cassar-Daley Collins -USA MAR Legendary Judy e Th 6 zotte’s presents MAR Li 7 Live and Local MAR MAR mes Reyne 8 9 Ja MAR s Byrne 10 Chri Bad Seeds) MAR ick Harvey (The M 14

STLE A C W E N ’S E T T O LIZ ralia” Restaurant in Aust

02 4956 2066

Black Lips (USA), Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Circle Pit Annandale Hotel $45 (+ bf) 8pm Manchester Orchestra (USA), Cabins The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $39.99 (+ bf) 8pm

tertainment “Awarded Best En

FEB ark Wilkinson 29 M od Trivia MAR Think Rock n Fo 1 yle MAR in It Up Greek St ok Co 2 MAR Cassar-Daley 3 Troy Bridges MAR gene Hideaway Eu 4 Collins-USA MAR e Legendary Judy Th 7 MAR And The People 8 Will MAR es Morrison 9 Jam MAR igh Grace 10 Ashle

yne 11 James Re eds) MAR arvey (The Bad Se H k ic M 11

MAR

Manchester Orchestra

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 :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 39

40 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

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

brag beats

inside also: + club guide + club snaps + columns

oddisee

+ alphamama + horse meat disco + more

tinieno pass tempah outs

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 41

dance music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH

Skrillex

CALSKI Growing Up The Music You Make I grew up with music all Hip hop. I have a broad 1.

4. around me. My mum’s side were palette for music, so it contains all dancers, my dad’s side were musicians in the army. I started learning music when I was eight years old. Older people in my life always introduced me to new music, and influenced me in my appreciation for different sounds.

Inspirations Jimi Hendrix. I learnt guitar 2. for six years, and he is a hero to me. He was never afraid of being himself and going for something original. My first memory of hip hop was my neighbour playing me Run DMC’s Tougher Than Leather album. I just sat on his bed and listened to the whole thing, mesmerised.

Your Crew LookUP Records, out of 3.

Sydney, is one of the most talented hip hop crews in Australia. I produce beats solo at the moment, and MC as well.

For this album, I’ve recruited the talents of Dialectrix, DJ 2Buck, Tommy Illfigga, Rinse and a few more to bless the beats. I’m still holding down a day job – my employers are very flexible and understanding! I’m lucky.

DFA AFTERPARTY Jacques Greene

DFA records will host an official Future Music Festival afterparty at The Metro Theatre, directly after FMF next Saturday March 10.

Continuing the revelry well into the night, the LCD Soundsystem pairing of James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, Juan MacLean and Benoit & Sergio will all be performing encore sets. And I daresay that’s all you need to know – this one pretty much sells itself. $39 tickets are available via metrotheatre.com.au

RICK WILHITE

HOLD TIGHT!

Niche Productions’ Hold Tight! subbrand will host a bash at Oxford Art Factory on Easter Saturday, April 7, that will feature Cananda’s Jacques Greene, Africa Hitech, Machinedrum, Dibiase and Albatross. Greene has enjoyed a breakout last 18 months, highlighted by the release of his sophomore single ‘Another Girl (Lucky Me)’ and his contribution to Radiohead’s TKOL RMX1 collection.

Machinedrum, one half of future garage supergroup Sepalcure, will also be making his debut Australian tour, as will Los Angeles-based producer Diabiase, while Africa Hitech return Down Under following a North American tour.

Albatross heads up the local lineup with their new live incarnation, performing off the back of their 7-inch single ‘Murder/ Casper’s Theme’. Tickets go on sale this Thursday March 1.

42 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

Detroit artist Rick ‘The Godson’ Wilhite will play One22 on Easter Saturday, April 7, for the staunchly underground Boom Boom brand. Wilhite has been a pivotal figure in Detroit house music for two decades, as a solo producer, as part of the supergroup Three Chairs with Theo Parrish, Marcellus Pittman and Kenny Dixon Jr (aka Moodymann), and as owner of the Vibes New & Rare Music record store. Yet up until recently he’s remained under the radar, especially compared to his more illustrious counterparts in Three Chairs. In fact, it was not until last year that Wilhite finally released his debut solo album, Analog Aquarium, which collected nine new Wilhite productions plus the 2005 track ‘Cosmic Jungle’ from the In the Dark (The Soul Of Detroit) compilation, and included guest appearances from Parrish, Pittman and Osunlade. Analog Aquarium was met with a strong critical response from ‘the heads’, with one reviewer gushing, “There’s an enthralling painterliness about Wilhite’s methods, as he dabs smears of melody and little pops of rhythm into huge, sprawling abstractions.” In other words, the man’s an artist, dude. Wilhite will be playing an extended set, with presale tickets now on sale through Resident Advisor.

flecks of other styles and sounds; a bit of rock, soul, funk, along the lines of The Herd, Hermitude and TZU. Punters can expect live beats on the MPC, myself and Rainman on the mic, and a taste of my new album Love Drive Commission.

(Rainman may even give you a sample of his new tracks, as well!)

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

Australia has embraced hip hop culture – we are now hearing different genres of the style coming out of different regions of the country. It’s been a long road, producing a solo album; I have great respect for guys like Katalyst who’ve done several.

Locally in Brisbane, Elements Collective and the Born Fresh crew are holding it down.

Bankrupt Billionaires have got it poppin’ too. The Brisbane scene is really healthy right now.

What: Love Drive Commission is out now through Obese With: Joelistics and Diafrix Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Friday March 9

horrendous trance that gyms are so fond of bombarding us with…

PICNIC TURNS 4

Picnic will celebrate its fourth birthday with a warehouse bash on Saturday March 17, headlined by Horse Meat Disco playing a three-hour set. The main room will also feature sets from local talent Stephen Allkins, Matt Vaughan and Tamas Jones of Hey Convict!, while Picnic favourites Matt Trousdale, Mirror Mirror, Marcus King, Perfect Snatch, Steele Bonus and Andy Webb will throw down in a second room. Doors open at 9pm, and just like any good birthday party, this will be a BYO affair. $40 presales are available online.

SMIRNOFF VS DFA AT FMF

Those crazy kids at Smirnoff have done it again. Not content with giving us The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project, now they’ve even got their party-making fingers in our festival pies... Smirnoff will be hosting the DFA Stage at Future Music Festival at Randwick Racecourse on Saturday March 10, a stage that’ll play host to a bunch of local DJs, as well as big names like Horse Meat Disco, Holy Ghost! and James Murphy and Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem). To celebrate, they’ve given us a double pass for FMF – featuring New Order, Swedish House Mafia, Die Antwoord, Fatboy Slim, The Wombats, Friendly Fires, Skrillex and more. Wanna get your hands on it? Tell us the next genre that you think will be the future of music…

MARDI GRAS @ CHEMISTRY

Chemistry is hosting the fourth instalment of its annual Mardi Gras fi esta on Saturday March 3 across two levels of One22. The formula of the Chemistry Mardi Gras parties of years past remains intact for 2012, with a handpicked selection of Sydney’s fi nest club impresarios spinning over the two levels. The lineup oozes with experience and diversity, with the likes of Australian Burning Seed founder Phil Smart, Future Classic’s Jamie Lloyd, Subsonic’s Marcotix, Glitch DJs, Trinity, Dylan Griffin and Dave Stuart representing. Doors open at 9pm, and the party runs until well past your bedtime – with $10 presale tickets currently available online.

JAMES MURPHY + GORILLAZ + ANDRE 3000

The latest contribution to Converse’s ‘Three Artists, One Song’ scheme sees Gorillaz team up with James Murphy and Andre 3000. The collaboration with former LCD Soundsystem band leader Murphy and Outkast’s Andre 3000 is titled ‘DoYaThing’, and is available for free download through Converse’s website. Gorillaz have been embroiled in a partnership with Converse for a little while, as one glimpse at the company’s website will show you, and Jamie Hewlett – who created the group with Damon Albarn – has designed four different trainers for the brand. It’s not the first time that Murphy has gotten into bed with a major brand either; you’ll recall LCD’s underrated 45:33 release was commissioned by Nike under the premise of creating a workout soundtrack. There’s no doubting that many will also find ‘DoYaThing’ workout friendly – anything to blot out the

Ian Pooley

MARCH @ LAUNDRY

Chinese Laundry has unveiled its March program, which features some serious internationals headlining over the course of the month. Kicking off proceedings on Saturday March 3 is Pokerflat head honcho Steve Bug, who will be playing a four-hour set. The following Saturday, Ian Pooley will be on headline duties, along with other yetto-be-announced acts as part of an official Future Music Festival afterparty (but with Ian Pooley spinning, do you really need any further excuse?). UK’s Aphrodite is the main attraction on Saturday March 17, before the triumvirate of Fairmont, Luke Abbott and Avus will share top billing on Saturday March 24 as part of a showcase for James Holden’s Border Community label. The month rounds off with DJ Fresh and MC Messy entertaining the troops on Saturday March 31.

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 43

dance music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

APHEX TWIN

he said she said WITH YOKOO FROM THE

I

grew up listening to all sorts of music, mostly electronic-based though.

Being a teenager, I was a huge fan of all things trip hop, ambient and abstract electronica, and only slowly drifted towards more upbeat stuff such as drum‘n’bass, house, tech house and techno as I got closer to majority.

Guys like Portishead, Massive Attack and Björk have always rocked my boat. Miss Kittin, Laurent Garnier, Richie Hawtin and Sven Väth have also played a crucial part in my musical education – but when it comes to artists who currently inspire me, it’s really hard not to cite 100 names! There are so many guys out there doing an amazing job.

Artists like Nicolas Jaar, DJ T, Kollektiv Turmstrasse, Clockwork, Tale Of Us and Daniel Bortz first come to mind.

I discovered the clubbing world ten years ago, when I

SPICE CELLAR

was 17, back in France. My love of house music grew, as I went from being a DJ to becoming a professional full-time DJ/producer.

I’ve been involved with Reckless Republic/Spice for the past two years, helping with the events organisation as well as the touring side of things, marketing and PR. The recently-opened Spice Cellar has been keeping us busier than ever. Additionally, I recently started teaching music production to some friend as well as ghost writing for some artist. This all keeps my financial situation healthy and enables me to keep the dream alive.

Deep and relatively slow house and techno is what I write these days. I have been extremely busy on the remixing front since the beginning of the year and the requests keep coming through. Besides that, I’ve finalised a few original tracks, which are now waiting to be signed for release. I spend a fair

bit of time working on a second alias, Life Less Ordinary, a collaboration with Mike Witcombe – he’s a friend and an up-andcoming artist whose talent is not negligible! This has to be the most exciting project I have ever worked on, and I can’t wait to share it with the world!

Sometimes to escape a creepy dude at a pub, we’ll give them a fake name – usually something exotic like ‘Tallulah’ – but we ain’t got nothing on Aphex Twin: he’s used 14 different monikers throughout his career (that’s a lot of creepy dudes). The spotlightshunning mastermind is infamous for tracks like ‘Windowlicker’ and ‘Come To Daddy’, as well as just being an all-round electronic genius. He’ll be performing a very special show at The Enmore Theatre on Friday March 2 with funkmaster Mark Pritchard.

We have one double pass to give away – if you want it, send us a photo of the best disguise you’ve ever seen.

Sydney’s music scene keeps on getting better. The sound that used to be so underground is becoming more accessible to the general public. I trust we have been doing a great job at The Spice Cellar by consistently bringing quality artists to the Sydney punters. With artists like Silicon Soul, Acid Mondays, Moodymann, Gorge, KiNK and Niko Schwind, you’ll have no excuse for not going out over the next couple of months!

With: Claire Morgan Where: The Spice Cellar When: Saturday March 3

JAMIE JONES + SVEN VATH + DUBFIRE SIDESHOW

Andy Butler

The Future Music Festival sideshows continue with the announcement that the triple bill of Hot Natured’s Jamie Jones, Cocoon mainman Sven Väth and Deep Dish’s Dubfire will play The Metro Theatre on Friday March 9. Since his breakthrough cut ‘Amazon’ in 2006, Jones’ sonic CV has rapidly grown in stature, collaborating with Matthew Styles to create a memorable remix of Fuckpony’s ‘Lady Judy’ and Simon Baker on last year’s Beatport smash ‘Kaskazi’, but it was the single ‘Summertime’ that saw the JJ juggernaut shift into top gear. Jones has subsequently broadened his audience by releasing a spate of disco and house re-edits, while also mixing a fabric compilation. Väth and Dubfire have shared the stage at the Metro in years gone by, so you should know what to expect from them by now: boom, boom and more boom. First release tickets are available through the Metro website for $44.

Aphex Twin

A THOUGHT ON THE GRAMMYS...

For all lovers of dance music who are embarrassed at the perverted pantomime of the genre in mainstream circles, I’d advise reading the article from respected electronic music figure Philip Sherburne. The awkward face-off between Guetta, Foo Fighters, and Deadmau5 at the recent Grammys ceremony (with negligible vocal contributions from Lil Wayne) was described as follows: “There was David Guetta, flopping about like a Muppet behind the mixer, jabbing away at the controls in a pantomime of performance. What was all that flicking of the faders and tweaking of the knobs about? Why was he wearing his headphones over one ear, as though he were cueing up the next record? During the French superstar’s time on stage, only one song was played. Simply put, there were absolutely no services required of him that a DJ would traditionally provide.”

Moodymann

Catcall

2012 SYDNEY MARDI GRAS

CATCALL TOUR

Sydney’s Catherine ‘Catcall’ Kelleher will, as they say in music industry speak, “hit the road” in May in support of her current single ‘Satellites’, and also to preview songs from her forthcoming debut album The Warmest Place. Kelleher first cut her musical teeth in DIY punk outfit Kiosk before morphing into Catcall, where she gained the attention of the Aussie public with performances at festivals like Big Day Out, Homebake and Parklife. Catcall will be touring with a band that includes Al Grigg of Red Riders, the man otherwise known as Toni Toni Lee, Bec Allen of newcomers The Fabergettes and Simon Parker of Lost Valentinos.

‘Satellites’ is currently available as a digital package through iTunes that includes remixes from Beni, Magic Silver White and Forces.

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One of the party events of the year, the 2012 Sydney Mardi Gras Festival has announced a resplendent program leading up to the main event on Saturday March 3, which will be held at assorted venues around the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park. Performing will be MEN (featuring Le Tigre’s JD Samson), Hercules & Love Affair’s Andy Butler, Chicane, RuPaul, Sneaky Sound System, D.E. Experience, Horse Meat Disco, J.D. Samson, Le Gateau Chocolat, Dan Murphy, DJ Feisty, Kitty Glitter, Lady Miss Kier (of Deee-lite), Lee Dagger of Bimbo Jones, Mike Kelly, Ruby, Sveta, and Wayne G among many of others. Whatever your sexual persuasion, chances are there should be something that tickles your fancy in that list – and even if there isn’t, you know it’ll be one hell of a party. As the great Denis Rodman once uttered, “To hang out in a gay bar or put on a sequined halter top makes me feel like a total person.” For further information and tickets, head to mardigras.org.au/party

FUNKOARS TOUR

The Funkoars are embarking on a national tour that, most importantly for the notoriously parochial BRAG readership, will include a show at the Annandale on Saturday May 5.

The Funkoars will be covering material from their recently-released fourth album, The Quickening, which hit shelves at the back-end of last year and debuted at the coveted #1 slot on the Urban Charts, while also coming in at #11 on the national ARIA charts. The Quickening features guest performances from Hilltop Hoods, Vents, Ad-Fu and K21, with production from Large Professor, Dazastah, Simplex and Debate, and is available through Golden Era Records.

LANCELOT

Lancelot is jousting through a number of Sydney venues next month, playing shows at the World Bar on Saturday March 24 and Chinese Laundry the following Saturday, in addition to his Friday residency at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi.

Lancelot is the new project from 22-year-old Sydney producer Lance Gurisik, who’s co-written with Russ Chimes, Dappled Cities and Hot Hot Heat and produced official remixes as AEONS for Grafton Primary, Lisa Mitchell, Ellie Goulding, Kids of 88 and Amy Meredith over the course of his nascent musical career. Described by Jackplug as “one of our disco heroes of the moment,” Lancelot’s We Can Dance EP is set for release worldwide on LA-based label Binary, and is out now on Beatport.

MOODYMANN @ SPICE

Inimitable Detroit producer Kenny Dixon Jr, aka Moodymann, will return to Australia in April, and will play a show at the Spice Cellar on Easter Thursday. Challenging and upending the album format since 1997 with landmark releases such as Mahogany Brown and its sequel Black Mahogoni, Moodymann is an auteur of the underground electronic scene who conflates his at times radical views on race – often encapsulated in samples lifted from blaxpoitation cult films – with soulful, jazz-inspired house soundscapes. Moodymann has a reputation for shunning fame and not playing the PR game, but he recently released a typically idiosyncratic video online, which is apparently a harbinger for a new LP to hit shelves in May, his first since 2009’s Anotha Black Sunday.

Tinie Tempah Unstoppable By Miki McLay

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hether you’re a fan of the underground or the mainstream charts, if you haven’t heard Tinie Tempah’s name mentioned over the past few years, you haven’t been paying attention. The South London rapper might only have released his debut single in early 2010, but that hasn’t stopped him from shredding through the industry to find his way at the top of British and American charts with his debut album Disc-Overy – a record which also snagged an impressive array of awards, including best hip hop act at the Urban Music Awards, Best Single at the Brit Awards and a nomination for the Mercury Prize. Not bad for a guy who’s only recently turned 23.

It’s ungodly early in the morning when I get on the phone to Tinie, and I’m asked if I mind being called back in five minutes – he’s just finishing up things in the studio. It’s a perfect example of Tinie’s unrelenting work ethic, and the voice that comes onto the line afterwards is cool and friendly, and as professional as it is self-assured.

Tinie grew up in South London, a hotbed of musical culture and a notoriously curious juxtaposition of middle and upper-class lifestyles, which provided him with plenty of material to kick-start his career. “It was definitely a very multicultural hub for a lot of different styles of music,” he tells me. “Bhangra from your neighbour’s house or the corner shop, or rock from some of the more edgier kids, or hip hop and garage that was very distinctively British; it definitely had an influence on me. I was from an alright part of South London where you had a bit of the rough and a bit of the smooth, so you could hear everything that was cool and exciting, but at the same time you had access to what was out there already – what was popular, what was selling. I guess I was inspired to try and combine the two to make my own sort of sound: something that was edgy, but had that pop appeal. And that was the beginning of Tinie Tempah!”

starting the second one, so I have tons of stuff to talk about, which is always a good thing. Keep your eyes open and your ears peeled, it’s gonna be there before you know it.”

Last seen in Australia back in 2011, Tinie’s upcoming slots for Future Music Festival are more than overdue for Australian fans – and apparently the feeling’s mutual: “That enthusiasm of being back in Australia – somewhere that’s still relatively new to me – [means that] there’s definitely gonna be a lot of excitement on the stage; you know, weird sounds, that weird outlook and perspective on how music should be performed and showcased. And just an allout fun time, lots of high-energy. It’s going to be good – seriously, a lot of fun.”

With: New Order, Swedish House Mafia, Aphex Twin, Die Antwoord and more Where: Future Music Festival @ Royal Randwick Racecourse When: Saturday March 10 Sideshow: Hordern Pavilion on Tuesday March 6, with Chase & Status and Zane Lowe

He’s come a long way since then. Besides his debut record, he co-founded the Disturbing London label with his cousin and manager Dumi Oburota, with the aim of nurturing and developing the talents of like-minded artists.

(As Oburota recently explained in an interview, “there wasn’t any Def Jam or Roc-A-Fella label equivalent in England”.) “Hopefully, we’ve set up something that will be around for many years to come and is going to help artists like myself who [had] that major ambition but [needed] indie support,” Tinie says.

“I was from an alright part of South London where you had a bit of the rough and a bit of the smooth... I guess I was inspired to try and combine the two to make my own sort of sound.”

Tinie’s breakout LP Disc-Overy featured an insane roster of guest artists, including Kelly Rowland, Ellie Goulding, Labrinth, Swedish House Mafia and Wiz Khalifa. It’s hard to imagine how a dude with only one proper single to his name could have recruited such a stellar support cast – but it all comes down to charm, it seems. “It was mostly just bumping into people at festivals, events, TV shows, whatever – where you were on the same bill or something – and expressing your love for a similar thing, or having something in common,” he explains modestly.

“Everybody that I worked with on that album – and this is something I plan to continue – I developed personal relationships with. Whether it was hanging out having a great time with Swedish House Mafia, or chilling with Kelly Rowland or Ellie Goulding whenever they come to London. They were all friends before we got into the studio together and I always prefer that, because that’s when you get the most honesty out of the music, and it’s not something that’s forced or contrived. A lot of these people, they were around before I came out, and so obviously they’re a lot more experienced and have different techniques and methods – so I just watch and learn in the studio, getting inspired.”

News of a new album has been floating around for a while, and although Tinie is reticent to discuss it in too much detail, he’s sounding pretty positive. “I’m working on it right now, and it’s sounding really good and progressive. … So many things have happened between the point where I was finishing up the first record and BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 45

Horse Meat Disco Disco Dogs By Tony Edwards

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s is the norm in the lightning-quick cycle of underground dance music, the disco re-edit scene has already risen, peaked, and then been quickly replaced by the next sound. But like all phases, the cream tends to establish a name for itself and stick around for a lot longer. The Horse Meat Disco squadron are that cream. The four UK DJs have revived the music of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s disco scene with a respectful dedication that has won them the nod from the people that know: the London underground, Strut Records, and the global disco massive. We spoke with founder James Hillard.

Paint us a picture of a typical HMD night at The Eagle in London?

Let’s start the night with a couple of pints of Guinness and then have a mild panic – even after nine years of weekly parties – that it’s not going to be busy. Start with some nice slow jams and rare grooves, and watch the regulars come in. Then, as 11pm approaches, things start to pick up and some of the more salubrious regulars come down. Maybe the naked guy, maybe the East London trannies... in any case, these are the ones that bring the party! It’s about time to take the music up a bit, some floor fillers and classics – I always like to play things like Candi Staton and Ashford & Simpson at this point. The beauty of the night is that in addition to the music, it’s a very eclectic mix of people – and that’s what makes any party fun. At the end of the night we take things down a bit, play some exquisite records and send the crowd home with love, after hopefully having given them a quasi-religious experience!

How did resident DJs James Hillard, Jim Stanton, Severino and Filthy Luka meet?

I met Severino while living in Italy, and we vowed to meet up when I returned to London.

Now that every DJ with a laptop can punch out edits of dubious creativity and quality, where do you think the re-edit scene is at?

I’m definitely of the opinion that many of the records edited really don’t need to be. I mean, I think people like Ashford & Simpson knew how to write a great song, and people like Giorgio Moroder knew how to produce a great record – so what makes someone with a laptop think he can do any better? But there are some great people out there doing edits, and as with any genre, there is a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat. I think edits have brought disco to 21st century dance floors and have made the grooves more accessible for younger people. But I sincerely believe that the original records still have the power to make dance floors go off!

When making your own re-edits, are you reaching out for vintage hardware in order to re-create the sounds?

No, not really. We just don’t have access to that stuff. And you can get very close to those sounds with computer programmes and very talented engineers!

What are your top three favourite records from all your many years of collecting?

Jean Carn – ‘Was That All It Was’; Black Gold – ‘C’Mon Stop’; Nicolette Larson – ‘Lotta Love’.

With: RuPaul, D.E. Experience, Sneaky Sound System, Chicane, MEN and more Where: Mardigrasland @ The Entertainment Quarter

Oddisee photo by Carter Barron

When I got back I started to work at Nuphonic records, and I arranged to go with Severino to a Rooty party in Brixton.

That was Basement Jaxx’s night at the time, and it was the night I met Jim Stanton. We hit it off right away. As for Luke Howard (Filthy Luka), he was a resident at my favourite night at the time, Queer Nation, and I knew that he was very well-versed in all manner of black music, so when me and Jim first started doing parties we knew he would become one of the residents.

Oddisee The Nomad By Hugh Robertson ashington DC’s Amir Mohamed, better known as Oddisee, has been one of those Best Kept Secrets for a while now.

As both an MC and a producer, he follows in the footsteps of quieter, more nuanced acts like Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul – something you can hear on his excellent 2011 release, Rock Creek Park. He’ll be in Sydney next week for a show, and to judge a battle between four rising producers in the itsofficial.com.au Beat Battle.

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Of course – I’ve always done my part musically to offer another point of view of life in DC. As well as showing up-and-coming artists that there are tangible ways to make a living from the arts, I do some hands on work too – when I was living in DC, I volunteered often at government-sponsored studio programs and music departments within public schools. I do my best to participate in panels and discussions on issues in the DC metro area as well.

You spend a lot of time travelling around – do you feel as though you ‘belong’ anywhere?

I’ll always feel as though DC is my home. It goes with me where I go. I’ve travelled from a young age, and seeing a large portion of the world early on is what shaped my view of it. The world’s a big place, but when you travel you realise how small it is too. There’s not much romance left in my travels, unless I’m going somewhere I’ve never been and it’s very different.

You are equally renowned as a producer and as an MC. Which do you prefer? And do you find it easier to rap over a beat you’ve already written, or to write a beat for a rhyme?

I honestly can’t choose. When I make a good instrumental, it makes me want to write a song.

When I come up with lyrics, it makes me want to hit the studio and produce. I do my best to write in layers: a layer for the listener who craves lyrical complexity and manipulation of words; a layer for my home town to understand, full of local slang and terms; the last layer for the listener who just lightly listens to hip hop and is not submerged in the culture – I want them to be able to enjoy it as well. I don’t see the writing of lyrics and of beats as the same thing. I like to leave my beats open to a much wider range of interpretations.

Do you feel like your music is informed by ‘place’?

Definitely – I’m really big on drawing inspiration from my travels. The feel of a city and the memories I gather find their way into my production.

Speaking of DC, what is the local scene like at the moment? Do you feel as though it is poised for a breakout?

DC is an amazing place to make music, but it hasn’t always been easy to get it out. The current generation of artists understand that and have become very good at thinking globally – I’m sure you’ll hear from more and more artists from the DC metro area soon.

When: Saturday March 3 More: Also playing Future Music Festival on Saturday March 10 at Royal Randwick Racecourse

Although it’s not as bad as it was, DC is still a hugely disadvantaged area, particularly for the black population. Do you feel any pressure to be a positive role model, or to use your position to call attention to the situation?

You’re judging a ‘beats battle’ while you are out here. What are your criteria for a successful beat?

In my opinion, a good beat should grab you within the first 30 seconds. You should be able to admire its complexity and appreciate its simplicity.

With: Katalyst, M-Phazes, Ellesquire (Big Village), DJ Frenzie, DJ Ology – plus a beat battle!

Where: Civic Underground When: Thursday March 1 More: itsofficial.com.au

Alphamama Truth, Trips & Revelations By Rick Warner

A

fter just hopping off a plane from Adelaide, Anita Meiruntu (aka Alphamama) seems surprisingly spritely.

She’d been singing back-up for Jessica Mauboy the night previous, and in one of those not uncommon industry horror stories, there were a couple of technical hitches. “I hadn’t done a gig with her for ages and I didn’t get the set list until half an hour before, so it was like, ‘Sweet. I’ve never done these songs.

Let’s learn them!’” she laughs. Ahh, the life of a professional performer…

Having grown up in the north-west suburbs of Sydney, Alphamama has been honing a craft that she broadly describes as soul-funk-reggaehip hop for a while now. From playing keyboards in her father’s church as a kid, to rocking out with a hairbrush in front of the mirror to Mariah and Whitney records, it seemed like a pretty regular musical life for a girl in the ‘90s. But with a heritage spanning both Indonesia and Africa, it wasn’t just pop radio that coloured her musical palette. “Growing up, [mum] always had Paul Simon on. My parents listened to Bob Marley a lot, so that would have been an early influence,” she reflects. “My mum’s from South Africa so she always had some kind of mad African music on too. My dad? Well, he loved Cliff Richard, so I don’t really know if that’s influenced me... I hope not.”

After the release of her debut EP last year, Alphamama’s on the verge on releasing her

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first full length, Truth, Trips And Revelations.

It’s been a long process, across which she’s meticulously overseen every aspect – from writing and co-producing (with her friends West Labz), to marketing and organising the launch party, she admits it’s been a labour-intensive project. “The process from conception to now is such a long time. I think people forget that the work is not the writing of the songs, the recording of the songs. That’s the easy bit. It’s the whole product, especially as a self-managed indie artist – there’s a lot of work that goes into it,” she explains. “The album has been done for quite a while. It took me probably a year to record, produce, mix and edit, but then I sat on it for a while. Initially, I just wanted an album, something I can put my name on and say, ‘Yep, that’s what I do. That’s my product.’

Then when I finished it, I figured that it’d be good to build a bit of a following first, so I did that and then released the EP just to test the waters...”

Live shows have been Alphamama’s main focus; her soul sound is a commodity that Australian commercial radio is yet to deem viable. Unable to find her niche in the programming format, she has struggled to gain much airplay. “Unfortunately my sound is a little bit too pop for triple j but not polished enough for Nova, so it kind of sits in the middle – which is really fucking annoying. There’s no soul programming, and

if they do play soul or whatever, it’s usually American. It’s not really local stuff.”

But from adversity comes strength, and Alphamama seems chock-full of that. She’s got some big plans for her album launch party at Oxford Art Factory. In an all-female lineup, including KillaQueenz, Indonesian and African dancers, a classical pianist and a DJ, it’ll be a salute to empowerment as well as a straight-up party. “Through my performances, I noticed that the women were the ones that really connected

to my music and I just thought, ‘Why not show everyone that we’re in this scene... and we’re smashing it.’”

What: Truth,Trips And Revelations is out March 7 With: KillaQueenz, Saea Banyana, Mirrah, FemmeFatales, DJ Flygirl Tee, Suara Indonesian Dancers and more Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Wednesday March 7

Soul Sedation

Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

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

Efdemin

Soul Sedation goes live every Wednesday night on Bondi FM (88.0 or bondifm. com.au). Tune in 10pm 'til midnight to hear a deep and soulful selection of the tunes covered here, and plenty more that I don't have room for.

ON THE ROAD DJ Krush

S

oul Sedation recommends you check out new music from Shortcircles, aka Matt Tammariello. A producer from San Diego, he started off rapping but progressed to making experimental hip hop in the garage on his MPC 1000. Inspired by names this column loves, like Four Tet, Floating Points and DJ Shadow, there’s some cool future jazz to be found here.

Look out for his early self-titled EP through MAPZZZ, and you can track his newer stuff down through the Plug Research label.

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evered German producer Phillip Sollmann, aka Efdemin, will make his Australian debut on Friday March 30 when he will play an extended set in the intimate confines of One22, in a special event presented by Shrug and Techno Tuesday. Efdemin immediately established himself in the club canon back in ‘07 with the release of his maiden LP, an effort that explored what Resident Advisor described as “that lovely place between dancing and dreaming”. The following year Efdemin released his first commercial mix, Carry On, Pretend We’re Not In The Room, a compilation that captured the effortless sense of panorama that oozes from an Efdemin DJ set by showcasing his wideranging taste over fourteen immaculate cuts from the likes of Brothers’ Vibe, Surgeon, Minilogue and Photek. In 2010 Efdemin released his second LP, Chicago, an intricately constructed concept album that appropriated urban blues through a refined, electronic lens, and set Efdemin further apart from his peers – it was lauded as one of the best electronic LPs of the year, and spawned remixes from the likes of Fred P, Deadbeat and DJ Koze, who brilliantly utilised a sample from the cult film Basquiat in his rework. (“What is it about art anyway, that we give it so much importance?” etc.)

Efdemin’s output is open to headphone honchos, but equally at home on the dance floor. As always, it’s most apt to throw to the man himself to describe his music: “It’s hard to describe my own style, especially because my music covers quite a broad range from deeper techno to melancholic house and more abstract minimal textures,” Efdemin elucidates. “Most of my dancebased tracks contain a narrative element and a kind of yearning inside. My music isn’t too much focused on functionality but on creating a unique mood.” Presale tickets are available from residentadvisor.net.

If ever there were a soundtrack for sensual late-night lovin’, then Public Lover’s recent LP A Broken Shape Of You is surely it.

Public Lover is the duo of Seattle’s Bruno Pronsato alongside French singer and producer Nina Leece, who have previously released the EPs Musique D’Hiver Pour L’Été (on Pronsato’s label thesongsays), and Naked Figures, a more upbeat but equally elegant effort for Telegraph. Heavy on atmosphere and jazz influences, surreal vocal lines and piano/keyboard effects are suffused within Pronsato’s trademark intricate basslines to make A Broken Shape Of You the ultimate late-night cocktail (phallic connotations entirely accidental and, indeed, regrettable). In short, and steering away from the gutter, the album is a “chill out” album for those who hate chill out compilations – and don’t get me started on

LOOKING DEEPER FRIDAY MARCH 30 Efdemin One 22

THURSDAY APRIL 5 Moodymann The Spice Cellar

SATURDAY APRIL 7 Rick ‘The Godson’ Wilhite One 22

MONDAY APRIL 9 Stimming The Abercrombie

them, please. A Broken Shape Of You was released on February 24 through Balance Music in Australia.

Nick Curly, purveyor of quality micro house sounds, will finally release his debut album, Between The Lines, in March. The Manheim producer’s considerable influence on the underground club scene can be established by the two labels that Curly co-founded, 8bit and Cécille Records – the latter of which will release Between The Lines. In support of the release, Curly is touring Australia, and will play the Goldfish Bowl in King’s Cross on Saturday March 24.

Hamburg producer Stimming, a linchpin of the Diynamic Music label, will headline the next in Subsonic’s End Of The Line long weekend sub-brand, a marathon 12-hour affair on Easter Monday at The Abercrombie. Stimming shot to prominence through releases on Buzzin’ Fly and Liebe Detail before the release of his debut album, Reflections, back in the acid-washed summer of ’09. He has subsequently remixed the likes of Luomo, Sascha Funke and Russian vixen Nina Kraviz (whose debut LP drops any day now, incidentally), while steadily releasing EPs that have garnered dance floor accolades for offering spiky tech-house hybrids and top-drawer house grooves (though his sophomore album Liquorice, which dropped last year, was decidedly more brooding than anything else he’s done). In addition to Stimming, a strong local lineup will also be representing across two areas inside and outside of the Abercrombie, with the likes of Jimi Polar, Defined By Rythm, Simon Caldwell, myself and the Glitch DJs among those who will be throwing down between the hours of midday and midnight.

London producer Rustie, who’s just done a show in Sydney and is also on the Playground Weekender bill for this coming weekend, has been awarded the Guardian’s First Album award for his debut Glass Swords. They loved it this much: “Rustie constantly chases the next thrill, with rhythmic switch-ups and vivid synths firing in all directions as the album twists, turns and veers off at tangents.” Names like James Blake, Katy B, and SBTRKT were all up for the award as well, so he’s beat some incredible artists to the finishing line.

You can track that album down in Australia through Inertia.

Wonderwheel, Nickodemus’s label, is back with some new music from Malik Work & The Upstagers. Malik is a dope MC who takes his cues from the golden age of hip hop, with heaps of fun and humour in his style. Together with his partner Stimulus, they’re a quality party hip hop band, and the album brings production from Nickodemus himself, as well as Akel Nivo and many more. ‘Let Me See Some ID’ is the lead single off the forthcoming album, which drops later in the year.

Now if you don’t wanna get your tent up early at Wiseman’s Ferry this Friday, and you like your underground hip hop, then you’re going to want to get along to the Civic Underground to see Washington-based MC/producer Oddisee. He’s put out an incredible amount of music over the years, not least of all his recent output through the Mello Music Group.

On the mic and in the studio, this guy is a quality proponent of quality hip hop. Katalyst will be on support, alongside M-Phazes with Ellesquire, Frenzie and Ology. All in all, that’s a pretty serious lineup. It goes down this Thursday March 1.

This next slice of news is out of this world: Geoff Barrow of Portishead has put together a 35-member hip hop collective called Quakers. The beats are produced

by Barrow, 7-Stu-7 (Invada Records’ inhouse producer/engineer), and our very own Invada man, Katalyst. Check this out for a list of contributors: Prince Po, Booty Brown (The Pharcyde), Dead Prez, Phat Kat, Buff-1, Aloe Blacc, Guilty Simpson, MED, Coin Locker Kid, Lyric Jones, plus new Stone’s Throw signings Jonwayne and Dave Dub. Trainspotters will know about the Quakers project from its involvement in Banksy’s film Exit Through The Gift Shop.

The album contains over 40 tracks, and is released in Australia on March 27.

THURSDAY MARCH 1 DJ Krush Upstairs Beresford

FRIDAY 2 MARCH Bonobo Metro Theatre

MARCH 2-4

Playground Weekender Wiseman’s Ferry

MONDAY MARCH 5 Chic ft. Nile Rodgers Metro Theatre

FRIDAY MARCH 16 Hermitude Oxford Art Factory

FRIDAY MARCH 23 Watussi, True Vibenation, Alphamama Metro Theatre

Looking forward in Sydney, there’s a massive night of bass music coming up on April 7 at OAF, with Jacques Greene, Africa Hitech, Machinedrum, Dibiase and Albatross (live). Headliner Greene is out of Montreal, making waves for himself with his track ‘Another Girl’, as well as popping up in the ballin’ Azaelia Banks video for ‘212’. Check out Greene’s new album Concealer as well, out through his own label Vase. Regular readers should know what’s up with Africa Hitech by now, and Machinedrum is one half of Sepalcure, known for their underground garage stylings. Diabise is out of LA, and Albatross are our very own local champions. Tickets go on sale Thursday this week.

There’s a badass Thursday night on the cards this week, as Japan’s DJ Krush takes the stage at Upstairs Beresford – he’s in town celebrating the 20th anniversary of when he began killing it on the ones and twos. And don’t forget, Bonobo is performing his full live show with the truly incredible vocalist Andreya Triana at the Metro this Friday night.

Further still, perhaps you fancy a big Monday night next week (March 5), when Chic ft Nile Rodgers blow up the very same stage, vintage disco style. Stop back next week for a full Playground Weekender #6 run down! See you on the riverbank!

Nina Kraviz

Katalyst

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

Send stuff for this column to tonyedwards001@gmail.com by 6pm Wednesdays. All pics to art@thebrag.com BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 47

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

club pick of the week Horse Meat Disco

Scubar, Sydney Backpacker Karaoke 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday DJ Johnny B, DJ Shipwreck, MC Fro, Dr Rhythm $10 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Tuesdays Mike J, Ping Pong Tiddly free 8pm

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 29

SATURDAY MARCH 3

Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park

Mardigrasland Party

Chicane (UK), D.E. Experience, RuPaul (USA), Horse Meat Disco (UK), JD Samson (USA), Le Gateau Chocolat, Andy Almighty, Andy Butler (Hercules & Love Affair, USA), Mr INTL. (USA), Dan Murphy, Feisty, Kitty Glitter, Lady Miss Kier, Lee Dagger, MEN (USA), Mike Kelly, Ruby, Sneaky Sound System, Sveta, Wayne G, Starfuckers DJs, Cunningpants, Kam Shafaati, Kate Monroe, Kelly Lynch, Matt Vaughan

$136.30 (+ bf) 10pm MONDAY FEBRUARY 27 Candy’s Apartment, Kings Cross Hyro Da Hero (USA), A Broken Silence, The Havknots, DJ Victor Lopez $20 8pm Goldfish, Kings Cross We Owe You One 6pm Scubar, Sydney

48 :: BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12

Crab Racing 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Open Mic Jazz DJs free 7pm

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 28 Australian Museum, Sydney Jurassic Lounge Five Coffees $15 5.30pm Beach Palace Hotel, Coogee

Redbull Silent Disco Calling Sick, Spoon-Gheddi, Alex Mac, Brizz, Shy Guys free 8pm Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel DJ Willie Sabor 8pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Jurassic Lounge After Party Oceanics DJs, Johhny Lieu free 9pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Frat House free

Bank Hotel, Newtown Wednesdays With Lady L Jimmy D, Sandi Hotrod Burdekin Bar, Darlinghurst Ras G 9pm Epping Hotel DTF Resident DJs free 8pm The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Hip Hop DJs free 8pm Kit & Kaboodle Supper Club, Kings Cross Resident DJs 8pm Landsdowne Hotel, Broadway Frat House Wolf & The Gang free 9pm The Marlborough Hotel - The Cellar, Newtown Student Night DJ Pauly free Ruby Rabbit, Darlinghurst Resident DJs 9pm Scubar, Sydney Schoonerversity 3pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Truth (NZ), Hydraulix, Farj & Paul Fraser, Pablo Calamari, Clockwerk, Ella Loca, Lights Out, SMS vs Hypa $5 9pm

THURSDAY MARCH 1 The Arthouse Hotel, Sydney Lounge DJs 8pm Bar 100, The Rocks The Powder Room 5pm The Burdekin, Darlinghurst Tremor Luke Warren, Billy Green 9pm Cabana Bar & Lounge, St Leonards Cabana Bar 7th Birthday Hey Now DJs, Roger’s Room, Steve Frank Free 7pm Cargo Lounge, Kings St Wharf Dance The Way You Feel 6pm Civic Underground, Sydney Oddisee (USA), Katalyst, M-Phrazes, Ellesquire, DJ Frenzie, DJ Ology $25 8pm The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Hippies from Hell DJs free 8pm Goldfish, Kings Cross We Owe You One 6pm Greenwood Hotel, North Sydney Resident DJs free 8pm Hunk Dory Social Club, Darlinghurst Beat Skool The Dark Horse 6pm Ivy, Sydney Ivy Live DJs free 6pm The Lansdowne, Broadway Vultures DJs free 8pm Low 302, Darlinghurst Thursday Switch DJs free 9pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hot Damn Hot Damn DJs $15$20 8pm Ruby Rabbit, Darlinghurst Resident DJs 9pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Flaunt Dim SLM, DJ Task free$20 8pm Selinas, Coogee Bay Hotel The Rebel Souljahz, V-Tribe, Budspells $50 (+ bf) 8pm The Sly Fox, Enmore Inhale Icicle (UK), Kakhand, Sam The Chemist, Foreigndub $18 8pm Soho, Potts Point Femme Fatale Resident & Guest DJs 8pm Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills

DJ Krush (JAP), Tigermoth, Bentley, DJ Ability $25 (+ bf) 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Chris Moody (UK), Urby, M.I.T., Dan Bombings free (student)–$5 8pm

FRIDAY MARCH 2 34 Degrees South, Bondi Get Down Get Down DJs free 8pm Arthouse Hotel, Sydney After Dark Resident DJ 9pm Bar 100, The Rocks Shut Up & Strut Cissy Strut 8pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Movement Dream Delay free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Button Down Disco Hoodlmz, Kyro & Bomber, Pretty Young Thing, Bass Thiefs, Donald Crump 8pm Cargo Lounge, Kings St Wharf Kick On DJs Chinese Laundry, Sydney Spenda C, Smokin’ Joe Mekhael, Tony Why & Toddy Trix, J-Trick, Victims, Buenos Diaz, Blue Red Army $15-$20 10pm City Hotel, Sydney One Night in Cuba Mani, Nandez, DJ Yamaya, Av El Cubano, DJ Coco $15 8pm Civic Underground, Sydney Volar Resident DJs 10pm Cockatoo Island, Sydney Cockatoo Harry K, DJ Booth, Kitty Glitter, Power Puma 2pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour DJ Mike Silver, Special Guest DJ free Enmore Theatre Aphex Twin (UK), Mark Pritchard, Harmonic 313, Victim $61.60 (+ bf) 8pm Epping Hotel Flirt Resident DJs 9pm GoodGod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito! DJs free 9pm Home The Venue, Sydney Delicous & Sublime Fridays Resident & Guest DJs 9pm Hotel Chambers, Martin Place F**k Me I’m Famous Resident DJs $15 9pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Rat Pack DJs Hunk Dory Social Club, Darlinghurst Get Milk or Die DJs 7pm Jackson’s On George, Sydney Ultimate Party Venue Resident DJs free Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays The Holidays.

Hansom, Devola, Bernie Dingo, Maia free-$10 8pm Kong’s Jungle Lounge, Bondi Junction W!ldlive Fridays Resident DJs $10 10pm The Marlborough Hotel Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free Metro Theatre, Sydney Bonobo, Guerre, Oliver Tank $48.70 8pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 8pm Omega Lounge, Level 2 City Tattersalls Club, Sydney Unwind Fridays Blended Beats DJs, Greg Summerfield free The Roxy, Parramatta Fridaze DJ Willi, DJ A-Stylez, DJ Nems, DJ Billy B, DJ Troy T, DJ Joy Kaz, DJ Master Jay, DJ Daniel Berti 4pm Ruby Rabbit, Darlinghurst Bitch Bar 8pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Pay Day Fridays Dim SLM, Troy T $20 8pm Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney Friday MixTape James FitzG free 6pm

Soho, Potts Point Soho Fridays Resident & Guest DJs free 8pm Space, Sydney Zaia Resident DJs 9.45pm Sydney Tower Top Tony Moran (USA), DJ Booth, Alex Taylor, Kitty Glitter $90-$110 (+ bf) 7pm Tunnel Nightclub, Kings Cross Why Sleep? DJs $10-$15 10pm The Watershed Hotel Bring on the Weekend! DJ Matty Roberts free The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM MUM DJs $10-$15 8pm

SATURDAY MARCH 3 4143, Alexandria Sonunda T n A, Oblongmonster, Jordan Zed free 4pm Arq Sydney, Taylor Square Fomo – The Foam Party Justing Scott, Brett Austin Jimmy Dee, Kitty Glitter $20 9pm Bar 100, The Rocks My Place Omega Soundsystem Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Shake Shake Shake Zomg!

Kittens, Moowho, Sohda, Victims, Brosman, Crysist, The Dutchies, Axlsm, Crux 8pm Cargo Lounge, Kings St Wharf Kick On DJs Chinese Laundry, Sydney Steve Bug (GER), MYNC (UK), A Tonez, The Immigrant, Chris Arnott, Bella Sarris, Murray Lake, Athson, Joe Barrs $20-$25 9pm Civic Underground, Sydney Transitions Mark Craven, Coopa, Robbie, Cordukes, Alex Caminer, Tall Timba free$20 10pm Club 77, Woolloomooloo Starfuckers Starfuckers DJs 9pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour DJ Mike Silver free Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park Mardigrasland Party 2012 Chicane (UK), D.E. Experience, Horse Meat Disco (UK), JD Samson (USA), Le Gateau Chocolat, Andy Almighty, Andy Butler (Hercules & Love Affair), Mr INTL., Dan Murphy, Feisty, Kitty Glitter, Lady Miss Kier, Lee Dagger, M.E.N., Mike Kelly, Ruby, Ru Paul, Sneaky Sound System, Sveta, Wayne G, Starfuckers DJs, Cunningpants, Kam Shafaati, Kate Monroe, Kelly Lynch, Matt Vaughan $136.30–$186.40 10pm Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Girl Thing Mardi Gras After Party Vandalism, Snatch & Grab 6pm Epping Hotel Back Traxx Back Traxx DJs 9pm Establishment, Sydney Sienna Valentine’s Special G-Wizard, Troy T, Lilo, Def Rok 9pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Late Night Social Moonchild, 3hundreds, Max Smart free 11.59pm The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Horne Dogg free 8pm Home The Venue, Sydney Homemade Saturdays Resident DJs $20 9pm Hotel Sweeneys Rooftop, Sydney KillPop Kuriosity Killz $10 2pm Hunk Dory Social Club, Darlinghurst Ghetto Boogie DJs 6pm Ivy, Sydney Pure Ivy Minx, Ember, Oh

club guide send your listings to: clubguide@thebrag.com Glam, Taras, Jon De Beers, Dark Star $20 Jackson’s On George, Sydney Ultimate Party Venue Resident DJs free Kit & Kaboodle Supper Club, Kings Cross Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Resident DJs 8pm The Marlborough Hotel Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free One22, Sydney Chemistry Mardi Gras Extravaganza Phil Smart, Jamie Lloyd, Trinity, Marcotix, Jordan Deck, Glitch DJs, Dylan Griffin, Chris Honnery, Dave Stuart, Nick Belshaw $10-$15 9pm The Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Swagger - Mardi Gras Edition 2012 DJ Booth, Gay-Z, SmileyM, Boyonce, Faggy By Nature $30-$40 11pm Ruby Rabbit, Darlinghurst Resident DJs 9p Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Adamo, Charlie Brown, Dim SLM, Klimax, Stevie J, Jo Funk, Dsico Kid, Joey Kaz $20 8pm Selina’s Nightclub, Coogee Bay Hotel Resident DJs 8pm Shelbourne Hotel, Sydney Club Troppo MJM, Drew Mercer free–$10 9pm Soho, Potts Point Usual Suspects Bassjackers (HOL), John Glover, Oakes & Lennox, Here’s Trouble, Lights Out, Bounce Crew DJs, Skinny $20 9pm

Spectrum, Darlinghurst Kittens Kittens DJs $5-$10 11.30pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney YokoO (FRA), Claire Morgan, Amy Fairweather, Tom Brereton 10pm Sydney Showground, Homebush Bay Godspeed Angerfist, The Prophet (Netherlands), Negative A, Scott Brown (UK), Dutch Master, A-Lusion, S Dee, Weaver, Suae, X Dream (GER), MC Losty, MCD, Erase MC $69 (early bird)–$99 1pm Tunnel Nightclub, Kings Cross ONE Saturdays DJs $10-$20 10pm The Watershed Hotel Watershed Presents... Skybar The World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! Pow Pow, Nic Johnson (Ibiza), Hannah Gibbs, E-Cats, Pipemix, John Glover, Joyride, Astrix, Ben Morris, Zwelli, Beach PArty, Temnien, Deckhead, Olibur $15-$20 10pm

SUNDAY MARCH 4 Bank Hotel, Newtown Sundays Kitty Glitter free 4pm Bar 100, The Rocks Funkdafied Sundays DJs 5pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 5pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Martini Club free 6pm

Gypsey Nightclub, Darlinghurst Sensation 169 Resident DJs $10-$15 11am Home Superclub, Darling Harbour Homesexual Mardi Gras Peter Rauhofer, Tony Moran, Jayson Forbes, Kitty Glitter, Alex Taylor, Chip, Harry K, Dan Slater, DJ Booth & Gay-Z $55 10pm Hunk Dory Social Club Rooftop, Darlinghurst Death Strobe 3pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Glamazon Ru Paul (USA), The Margaritas, Wild Spirit Aerialists, Jimmy Dee, Dan Murphy, Kitty Glitter $85.30 (+ bf) 8pm Name This Bar, Darlinghurst Sunday Sets DJ Competition Flight Deck free 6pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sets DJ Tone 7pm Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Loose Ends Matty Vaughn free 10pm Ruby Rabbit, Darlinghurst Wonderland Neroli (UK), Kate Monroe, Sista P, Sandi Hotrod, DJ Dejour, Sveta, Miss Phloss (NZ), Sexy Galexy $25 (+ bf) 5pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Bobby Digital, Teknix, Dim SLM, Troy T, Tony Shock free$20 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice After Hours Kimba, Murat Kilic $20 4am The Watershed Hotel Afternoon DJs DJ Brynstar free The World Bar, Kings Cross Dust James Taylor, Alley Oop free 7pm

club picks up all night out all week...

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 29 The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Hip Hop DJs free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Truth (NZ), Hydraulix, Farj & Paul Fraser, Pablo Calamari, Clockwerk, Ella Loca, Lights Out, SMS vs Hypa $5 9pm

THURSDAY MARCH 1 Cabana Bar & Lounge, St Leonards Cabana Bar 7th Birthday Hey Now DJs, Roger’s Room, Steve Frank free 7pm Civic Underground, Sydney Oddisee (USA), Katalyst, M-Phrazes, Ellesquire, DJ Frenzie, DJ Ology $25 8pm The Sly Fox, Enmore Inhale Icicle (UK), Kakhand, Sam The Chemist, Foreigndub $18 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Chris Moody (UK), Urby, M.I.T., Dan Bombings free (student)–$5 8pm

FRIDAY MARCH 2

SATURDAY MARCH 3 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Steve Bug (GER), MYNC (UK), A Tonez, The Immigrant, Chris Arnott, Bella Sarris, Murray Lake, Athson, Joe Barrs \$20-$25 9pm One22, Sydney Chemistry Mardi Gras Extravaganza Phil Smart, Jamie Lloyd, Trinity, Marcotix, Jordan Deck, Glitch DJs, Dylan Griffin, Chris Honnery, Dave Stuart, Nick Belshaw $10-$15 9pm The Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Swagger - Mardi Gras Edition 2012 DJ Booth, Gay-Z, SmileyM, Boyonce, Faggy

By Nature $30-$40 11pm Soho, Potts Point Smirnoff Nightlife + Usual Suspects Presents: Bassjackers (HOL), John Glover, Oakes & Lennox, Here’s Trouble, Lights Out, Bounce Crew DJs, Skinny $20 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney YokoO (FRA), Claire Morgan, Amy Fairweather, Tom Brereton 10pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Wham! Pow Pow, Nic Johnson (Ibiza), Hannah Gibbs, E-Cats, Pipemix, John Glover, Joyride, Astrix, Ben Morris, Zwelli, Beach PArty, Temnien, Deckhead, Olibur $15-$20 10pm

Chinese Laundry, Sydney Spenda C, Smokin’ Joe Mekhael, Tony Why & Toddy Trix, J-Trick, Victims, Buenos Diaz, Blue Red Army $15-$20 10pm Enmore Theatre Aphex Twin (UK), Mark Pritchard, Harmonic 313, Victim $61.60 (+ bf) 8pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Bonobo, Guerre, Oliver Tank $48.70 8pm YokoO

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 49

snap

PICS :: AM

trus'me

cut chemist

PICS :: TL

up all night out all week . . .

17:02:12 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

hot damn

16:02:12 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93601375 PICS :: AM

wolfgang

PICS :: TL

18:02:12 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney

LEY

17:02:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 82959958

:: KATRINA CLARKE :: ASH S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER Y TNE WHI TIM :: KET WEIJERS MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: ROC

INHALE FOREIGNDUB PRESENTS

ICICLE

THURSDAY MARCH 1 $17.50

2INTERNATIONALS IN A ROW

DRUM N BASS & DUBSTEP HEAVY TICK TI CKET ETSS AV AVAI AILA LABL BLEE FR FROM OM WW WWW W.FO FORE REIG IGND NDUB UB.COM COM OR MOR MOREE ON THE THE DOO DOOR R. SLY FOX HOTEL 199 ENMORE RD ENMORE 8PM-3AM

50 :: BRAG :: 451: 27:02:12

LI CA MITE PA D CIT Y

A-SIDES THURSDAY MARCH 8 $12.50

&

Keep It Movin’ presents

Oddisee

[Mello Music Group/Low Budget/Diamond District]

INVITATIONAL PRODUCER BEAT BATTLE / SHOWCASE FOR MORE DETAILS GO TO ITSOFFICIAL.COM.AU/BEATBATTLE

>ĂŒ>Â?ĂžĂƒĂŒ [

Exclusive DJ set previewing his Quakers album out on Stones Throw in March

]

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DESIGN: APRIL77.COM

THURSDAY

GRINDIN.NET

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 51

snap up all night out all week . . .

party profile

cabana bar's 7th b'day It’s called: Cabana Bar’s 7th Birthday It sounds like: Na-na na-na na-na na-na Batma n!

Who’s spinning? Hey Now, Rogers Room, Steve Frank and Sam Resch Three songs you’ll hear on the night: ‘Battle For Middle You’ – Julio Bashmore; ‘Summertime Girls’ – Neighbour; ‘Happy Birthday’ – Anonymous.

And one you definitely won’t: ‘Friday’ – Rebec ca Black.

Sell it to us: It’s Cabana’s 7th birthday and the Hey Now boys are coming in to help us celebrate. Rogers Room and resident DJ Sam Resch will also be here to get the dance floor pump ing, and Steve Frank will man the decks into the early hours – ‘cause we’ll be staying up well past our bedtime on our birthday! We’ll even have FREE CAKE and presents to give away, so all this party is missing is you...

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The inevita ble cake fight.

Crowd specs: Party people and lovers of baked goods.

Wallet damage: Zero entry, and $4 house spirits before 10pm.

Where: Cabana Bar / 80 Christie St, St Leona rds

the cool room

PICS :: TW

When: Thursday March 1 / 7pm ‘til late

falcona fridays

PICS :: AM

16:02:12 :: Australian Brewery :: 350 Annangrove Rd Rouse Hill 9679 4555

the wall

PICS :: TL

17:02:12 :: Kit & Kaboodle :: 33/37 Darlinghurst Rd Potts Point 9368 0300

gappy ranks

PICS :: TL

15:02:12 :: The World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

16:02:12 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700 :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER KET WEIJERS :: TIM WHITNEY ROC :: NS MUN IEL DAN :: MAR

52 :: BRAG :: 451: 27:02:12

KATRINA CLARKE :: ASHLEY

the glimmers

PICS :: TL

propaganda

PICS :: DM

17:02:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 92673787

18:02:12 :: The Civic Hotel :: 388 Pitt St 80807000

YOKOO PLASTIC CITY | FRA

CLAIRE MORGAN HAUL MUSIC | AUS

SAT 3 MAR SILICONE SOUL DARKROOM DUBS | UK

SAT 10 MAR CHILD DARIUS BASSIRAY TRAPEZ | AUS

TEXTBOOK MUSIC | AUS

SAT 17 MAR

b a s e m e n t

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i n f o @ t h e s p i c e c e l l a r . c o m . a u t h e s p i c e c e l l a r . c o m . a u

BRAG :: 451 :: 27:02:12 :: 53

snap up all night out all week . . .

oddisee + katalyst party profile

It sounds like: Good hip hop.

Who’s playing: Oddisee, Katalyst, M-Phazes, Ellesquire, DJ Frenzie, DJ Ology and the itsofficial.com.au beat battle.

Sell it to us: Oddisee is one of the best produ cers/MCs in the game, Katalyst is previewing his new collaboration album with Geoff Barrow from Portishead (out on Stone’s Throw in March), M-Phazes is a man who you don’t want to sleep on – plus the itsoffic ial.com.au beat battle: four of Sydney’s best producers battling for a $1000 swag. Way too much hip hop talent for a Thursday night.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: A great night of local and international hip hop.

Crowd specs: Leave the attitudes at home .

Wallet damage: $25+bf through Moshtix, or more on the door.

Where: Civic Underground / 388 Pitt St, CBD

anthony pappa

PICS :: AM

When: Thursday March 1 / Doors open 9pm

oaf gallery bar

PICS :: KC

18:02:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 82959958

infected mushroom

PICS :: KC

18:02:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 93323711

balam acab

PICS :: KC

18:02:12 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

18:02:12 :: The Goldfish :: 111 Darlinghurst Rd Potts Point 8354 6630 D HONCHO) :: KATRINA CLARKE

S : TIM LEVY (HEA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER KET WEIJERS MAR :: DANIEL MUNNS :: ROC

54 :: BRAG :: 451: 27:02:12

:: ASHLEY

loose kaboose 18:02:12 :: One22 :: 122 Pitt St Sydney

PICS :: AM

musik matters

PICS :: KC

18:02:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 92673787

Strong sexual references, drug use and coarse language

IN CINEMAS MARCH 1