The Brag #457

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BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 3

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

five things WITH

JON GOMM Growing Up I started playing really young – my first 1. guitar at two, and lessons from four years old.

My dad was a music critic in Blackpool, in the north of England. Often when bands came to the town on tour they’d stay at my dad’s place, for free, but they had to give me a guitar lesson in the morning! So I got loads of great experience learning from guys like Walter Trout and Bob Brozman.

Inspirations I have studied and played a LOT of 2. styles, so I hope in different songs you can hear those elements, from blues to metal to jazz to Indian music. I’m inspired to write songs by anything that feels important to me, whether it’s personal intimate stuff, or a political situation that has me all riled up.

Your Crew I am a solo singer-songwriter guy, I have 3. many musical friends and I’m touring in Europe with my buds Andy McKee and Preston Reed, both awesome guitar players, later this year.

But I don’t often collaborate with anyone except with the uber-talented Natasha Koczy, who sings and plays sax with me sometimes. That might be changing though – since I had a bit of a YouTube hit, I’ve been asked to collaborate with all kinds of people. The most famous ones

Owl Eyes

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MISSY’S BACK

If you are planning to end a significant relationship soon, can we suggest you put it off until June 1, so that you will have the third Missy Higgins album to hug you to sleep? It’ll help. It’s her first for five years – she enrolled in university and moved into a share house and got all that Normal Person Stuff out of her system – and the first single ‘Unashamed Desire’ (about the prank she pulled on that pesky Dean) is out April 23. Best news is… the album is called The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle. YES!!!

If you have been to a Dappled Cities Fly show recently, you really haven’t, as they have been called just Dappled Cities for years now. If you have seen Dappled Cities live recently, you may recall the epic closing tune, during which you lost control of your bodily functions.

That opus is called ‘Run With The Wind’ and is the band’s latest single, being launched in offkilter-style at Oxford Art Factory on May 31.

Come along, and request ‘Peach’ – that song rules more than words.

With: Andy Sorenson Where: The Basement, Sydney When: Thursday April 19

HUSK-VANA

Husky recently signed to legendary grunge label Sub-Pop (and rocked their SXSW showcase, just quietly), which means they need help ripping holes in their jeans, shopping for flannelette shirts, and detuning their guitars; but before this tonal/sartorial transformation, they are performing their folksy, harmonydrenched goodness at two Oxford Art Factory shows: one on May 3 (which is basically, almost, not-yet-though sold out) and a second May 5 show, which was just announced and will also sell quickly.

My Disco spent 2011 playing places such as Serbia, Macedonia, and New Zealand (sometimes I swear they just make these placenames up) and plan to hit Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in the next few months. Which makes their April 13 GoodGod Small Club show sound decidedly ho-hum, unless you all come dressed in ridiculous garb, only drink things with umbrellas or primary colours in them, and basically make our best artists stop leaving our shores for the bright, rockin’ landlocked shores of Serbia. It’s too common a problem. Tickets $20 on the door, and don’t forget to hassle them about a new album; it’s been over a year, and we are impatient.

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I’m not there often these days, cos I’m always away on tour – I’m doing about 20 countries in 2012, but I love the place. There’s a jazz college there, and some awesome indie venues. My favourite bands over there right now are epic-anthem-creators Hope And Social, and noisy dirty punks Kleine Schweine.

EVERYONE’S DISCO

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Music, Right Here, Right Now I live in a city called Leeds, in England, 5. which is a buzzing hive of musical activity.

DAPPLED CITIES? FLY!

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guitar onstage, but I try to emulate different instruments or find a whole band sound inside the guitar. I tune really (really) low, ‘cos I’m completely addicted to bass. Also there’s a whole drum kit inside every guitar, waiting to be discovered. I’ll be demonstrating all that stuff.

Husky

OWL EYES

Muscles

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The Music You Make What I’m best known for is guitar 4. pyrotechnics – I just have an acoustic

Judging by her promo photos, the gorgeous Owl Eyes (Brooke, her mum calls her) spends most of her days affixing glitter and trinkets to her face and sitting up trees, so Christ knows how she finds the time for all this constant touring, and recording, and sitting-in-the-triple-j-Hottest-100-ing, but she clearly does. Her new single ‘Crystalised’ is already receiving triple j love, and she is off on another run of intimate shows, hitting Oxford Art Factory May 24.

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are probably Rod Stewart and Jon Anderson (the singer from Yes). I’m on tour here in Australia with Andy Sorenson and Translator Records, so here I have a crew!

MUSCLES

Remember when electro-punk-euro-trash-pop-DJ Muscles started mouthing off about his record label and his fanbase and other artists and basically acted like a petulant brat for a few months?? Well, we loved all that shit – especially his love/hate thing with Ben Lee – so we are excited about the release of his second album Manhood on June 15 for mainly musical reasons (new single ‘Ready For A Fight’ is an epic anthem) but kinda-also-mainly because of the stream-of-awesome that will be flowing from his mouth come interview time.

In the meantime, catch him at one of the Groovin’ The Moo shows.

CAIRO KNIFE FIGHT

Cairo Knife Fight spent the past 12 months doing the usual kinda stuff: playing alongside the Foo Fighters, hanging out with the Queens Of The Stone Age, wowing the usually un-wowable at SXSW and CMJ, and recording the amazingly unhinged new EP II (out now). The New Zealanders are now Mario-double-leaping the Tasman to play GoodGod Small Club April 27. Get along!(!!)

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rock music news

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

he said she said WITH

JAMES LEES FROM THE GOOD SHIP I’ve been working on three albums this year with three different bands – all very different. The Good Ship album is on the way, and we have all put a huge effort into it. We recorded it with the very affable Neil Coombe high on a mountain just outside Brisbane, and it’s great to have it finished at last. When The Good Ship are at their live peak, I like to think of us as a terrifying gestalt being, 16 arms, 16 legs and god knows what in between – you should be slightly frightened but also unable to look away… it may give you a certain stirring of the loin area too, we don’t mind if you feel that way.

I

grew up in the countryside with two rock’n’roll parents. Dad was a drummer (still is) and mum was a teacher (but isn’t anymore) who took all the young teachers under her wing and made sure there was always a noisy rock’n’roll costume party on the weekend… Being an only child, I was allowed to do pretty much whatever I wanted. The soundtrack was lots of very loud Roxy Music, Bowie, T-Rex, Eagles, Tina Turner (‘Nutbush’ 12”!) etc… Like a good son, I’ve learnt and replicated their training into my adult life – except for the teaching career and Eagles records.

David Bowie has always been a major inspiration for me – he should be for any musician, whether you like him or not.

He innovated, evolved, experimented and quested as an artist for most of the ‘70s and a lot of the ‘90s too. We will not mention the ‘80s though… That is when I bought ‘Let’s Dance’ and my mother insisted I listen to Ziggy Stardust instead (thanks mum). Other things that inspire me… Deep thinking (being a classic Gen Xer, I am quite good at this), being emotionally confused, sleepwalking, neural chemical imbalances, David Lynch films and playing the piano.

Step-Panther

Musos have many obstacles to overcome – poor taste, bad manners, weak organisational skills, alcoholism, suspicious fashion choices, sexual promiscuity with other band members, and too much guyliner. If you can survive all this, you might have a chance at creating something that could be of interest to someone other than yourself or your parents. My choice of venue for seeing music in Sydney? That’s easy, I would go to the Vanguard every time – they have one of the most beautiful bartenders in Australia.

With: The Green Mohair Suits, Sister Jane What: ‘Seven Seas’ – Single Launch Where: The Vanguard / King St, Newtown When: Friday April 13

is that it introduced millions of teens and mums to Angry Anderson through his soppy ballad ‘Suddenly’, instantly wiping the decade of inner-city bad-boy bikie cred he had built up.

The best thing about Scott and Charlene’s Wedding (the band) is they are back in Sydney after too long, touring in support of their split 12” with Peak Twins (best.name.evs). It happens April 19 at the Red Rattler (so many various shades of red in that place!) with the raspy, raspy Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Low Life and Camperdown & Out in support.

SPLIT SECONDS

Heard Split Seconds’ new single ‘Top Floor’ yet? It’s all handclaps and whistling and harmonies and slices of awesome. They are playing it and other songs (I assume they will play for more than four minutes) on two big nights, May 24 at GoodGod, then the

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BLUEJU!CE

The best thing about Bluejuice’s third album Company is that it is crammed with huge, bright, shiny, undeniable pop classics that sound like they were written by bearded rich men sailing around the Mediterranean in a yacht named Mary-Jane Starshine. Also this scenario is occurring in the cocaine-addled ‘70s. Then you listen to the lyrics, and the whole thing is so damn bleak you wanna hug Jake and Stav and tell them it’s all going to be OK. You may get the chance if you win a double pass to their show at the Metro Theatre this Friday April 13. To win, tell us who would be the company to see this show with. (Don’t write Hitler please, we don’t wanna have to forward this to authorities/your boss.)

KATIE NOONAN’S ELIXIR

If you were one of the quarter of a million people that bought a George album throughout their career, you will be well aware of the power that lurks deep within Katie Noonan’s vocal chords. There’s a note on their debut album that literally made my ears ring while blasting the record through headphones without the proper precautionary measures (i.e. volume control). It’s a voice that cannot be restricted by the pop/rock format, which is why Ms. Noonan has skipped over to jazz, where the lack of conventions means she can burst out bullshit dog-whistle notes with scant regard for OH&S. Her group Elixir are playing April 21 at The Basement; to win a double pass, plus a copy of Elixir’s album First Seed Ripening (which scooped up an ARIA last year) tell us one other 2011 ARIA winner. following night at The Beresford. Go to both: Sydney psych-pop-wonders Underlights will be supporting them, and we will be supporting them both with hugs and handclaps, each at appropriate junctures.

PRESS.PAUSE.PLAY

Not the bickering conversation between an eldery couple who cannot figure out their fangled new VCR, but the name of a film about the democratisation of creative culture brought by the digital era (Internet and that) – the first of a series of monthly screenings under the Cake Film Series banner (Cake Wine, Metro Screen and FBi Radio are behind this, BTW).

It happens April 19 in FBi Radio Station’s Carpark (Botany Rd, Alexandria, you raced for pink-slips there once, remember?). Tickets are $15 ($12.50 for FBi supporters) at cakefilms01. eventbrite.com.

STEP-PANTHER UK BOUND

Step-Panther are one of THE BRAG’s favourite Sydney bands: they play scrappy, punky, Only Ones-sounding pop. (Hi, other bands: We love you all equally, much like Jesus does.)

April 28 at FBi Social is your last chance to catch the trio before they head to the UK to play The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City and become the next Libertines. It’s going to happen so don’t miss this skuzzy, fuzzy, lovely show. Also, they have a song called ‘Superpowerz’ about superpowers… of the heart. Perfect!

AYA COMIN’ TO THIS?

Every generation has their own bald, manic frontman: In the ‘70s and early ‘80s they had Peter Garrett, then kids from the late ‘80s through to the mid ‘90s had Michael Stripe of REM to look to for shaven shenanigans.

Then Moby and pills took over and the whole thing ended on a sour note, but for Recoverywatching, triple j-listening kids of a certain age Aya Larkin from Aussie funk/pop/soul act Skunkhour will forever occupy this sweet spot. Now Aya has a debut solo album, the impressive Waking Dream, and he shall be playing tracks from it April 15 at The Brass Monkey in Cronulla, and April 18 at The Vanguard, with support from community radio fave Ollie Brown.

X MARKS THE SPOT

Legendary Aussie punk band X have been going strong since 1977, but with only one original member still alive (this band has seen more deaths than the final series of The Sopranos) vocalist Steve Lucas is putting X out to pasture, with two final Sydney shows: April 20 at Manly Fishos, and the following day at

The Square (behind the Yardhouse Hotel cnr of George and Hay Street. Googlemap it! Geez!)

It’s been a mighty run; get along and farewell them in style (read: don’t wear shorts; this can be taken as a general rule for guys).

BEN WELLS-YEAH

Indie pop purveyors Ben Wells & The Middle Names might be the best musical export to come out of Tasmania since the ill-advised collaboration between Warner Brothers’ Taz Devil and Jeff Buckley (‘The Devil’s In The Details’, 1994). The guys have clocked up many miles on the road, despite the metric system being in place in Australia. They are driving to Newcastle to play the Cambridge Hotel on May 16 (they scan your ID, ‘cos it’s the future) followed by GoodGod Small Club on May 17 – and are bringing along darling-faced Kate Martin, who will be playing from her crushinducing debut Hand Me My Bow And Arrow.

JASON AND KYLIE

The best thing about Scott and Charlene’s Wedding (the TV cultural event, not the band)

Patti Smith

NEW PATTI SMITH

‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine’ is definitely the coolest opening line of any album/career ever, and Patti Smith’s latest album announcement times out with the weekend that Jesus did the aforementioned dying. The single ‘April Fool’ is out now, with album Banga out June 1. The record features both Lenny Kaye (Smith’s longtime collaborator; he also compiled those Nuggets compilations that changed so many lives) and television’s Tom Verlaine, which means the guitars on this record will make your life sound like a ‘70s coming-of-age drama, which is the goal of anything, really.

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BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 7

The Music Network Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

* Fred Durst has threatened to fire (or has already fired, say some reports) Limp Bizkit drummer John Otto and DJ Lethal for their “partying ways.” Lethal said that to be thrown out after the band just signed a deal with Lil Wayne’s Cash Money label “isn’t cool. You can’t push away the people who helped you get there.” * Who’d have imagined that UK singer Rebecca Ferguson, who impressed with showcases in Sydney and Melbourne, was ill throughout her visit? At the Crosby Stills & Nash show in Melbourne, David Crosby made it onstage with bad flu despite doctor’s orders. Quipped Graham Nash, “They gave him some drugs — which he wasn’t unhappy about!” * Joe Jonas told us at the opening of the Marquee club in Sydney that the Jonas Bros will be back in Australia later this year. * BTW, which lady, while on the dancefloor at the opening of the Marquee, had a quick spew on the floor and kept on dancing? * “Australia in July!” New York rapper Azealia Banks tweeted.

LIVE NATION TAKES COPPEL

Live Nation has acquired Australian promoter Michael Coppel Presents. Live Nation’s existing business in Australia and New Zealand, led by Luke Hede and Roger Field, will be renamed Live Nation Australasia.

Michael Coppel will lead the business as president and CEO, with Hede and Field continuing as vice presidents — promotions.

MCP has been responsible for some of the biggest tours in Oz, including Pink, Dire Straits and U2. Live Nation’s president and CEO Michael Rapino said, “We have worked with Michael Coppel on a number of tours over the years and are now extremely pleased to be welcoming such a well respected and successful promoter into our international network. Australia is the 6th largest music market in the World and an increasingly important touring market for international artists. It represents a significant part of our opportunity for international growth.”

ATSI MUSIC OFFICE

The Australian Performing Right Association (APRA/AMCOS) has set up the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) Music Office, providing opportunities for ATSI songwriters and composers to develop their talents and build long-term sustainable careers. APRA partnered in this initiative with the Federal Government via its funding body the Australia Council. “APRA | AMCOS is very pleased to be involved with the formation of the new ATSI Music Office, and we would like to thank Federal Arts Minister Simon Crean for his support to get it up and running,” said APRA CEO Brett Cottle. “The ATSI Music Office is a stepping stone for ATSI songwriters and composers to get exposure, recognition and reward for their work,” added Paul Mason, director of music at the Arts Council. The

* A club DJ inspired the music that won the orchestral work of the year at last week’s Art Music Awards in Sydney, which covers classical, jazz and experimental. Sydney composer Nigel Westlake wrote the piece Missa Solis: Requiem for Eli for his DJ son, who was murdered in 2008. * Jimmy Little’s manager Buzz Bidstrup says that just before the great crooner died, he was planning to cut a new album.

He also intended to expand his work with the Jimmy Little Foundation. * Feist picked up three wins at Canada’s Juno awards — artist of the year, best adult alternative album of the year and best music DVD. * A Queensland boat operator was thunderstruck when the bearded man in dark glasses who rented her boat was Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran. She used to have his pix on her bedroom wall, she told him. * Jordi Davieson, teen singer with WA’s San Cisco, has officially entered the rock and roll pavilion: he had his first bra thrown at him at a rock festival.

ATSI Music Office will be run by APRA’s ATSI national rep Michael Hutchings, previously label and studio manager at Gadigal Music, Indigenous Music Manager for Music NSW and event and concert producer for ATSI cultural events including the Yabun and Survival concerts. Hutchings will also manage the Song Cycles project in partnership with Australia Council for the Arts, Skinnyfish and The Seed. In May 2010, the Song Cycles Report showed that attitudes, physical distance, training and education are among barriers keeping ATSI artists from wider audiences. In response to the report, APRA/ AMCOS prepared an action plan and over the past year has tackled many of these issues through programs and partnerships with peer and industry organisations. These include getting music industry professionals to festivals in Northern Territory, Song Cycles Live, which creates opportunities for ATSI performers on mainstream stages at major music and arts festivals, Song Cycles On Tour, which places an ATSI intern in the production office of a major Australian tour or touring festival to learn from its management, and Song Cycles Intern, which will place an ATSI intern into the production office of a major music festival (or has a large contemporary music program).

ABC MUSIC ADDS BAYLOU

ABC Music signed new country act Baylou, made up of sisters Victoria and Barb Baillie.

Victoria had four Top 10 hits on Country Music Channel and won best new talent in 2010’s Tamworth country awards. Barb is her guitarist, and also toured with Adam Harvey, Beccy Cole and Troy Cassar-Daley.

MUSOS LONG SERVICE LEAVE? Musicians and artists should be entitled to a portable long service leave scheme,

themusicnetwork.com Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten says. He has referred the issue for House of Representatives standing committee on education and employment to investigate the issue. Shorten’s vision is that people working in the music and arts industries are usually on short-term contracts. A portable long service leave scheme would accrue to the artist rather than an employer. Eligibility would take place after 15 years in the industry.

ISLAND PROMOTES KELETT

Island Records Australia promoted Josh Kellett to A&R Manager. Joining the company in 2009 as an intern, he made his way up the ranks after signing The Cairos and working as an assistant A&R on records

by Boy & Bear, Andy Bull, Redcoats, Marvin Priest and Havana Brown.

EMI PROMOTES HOLLAND

EMI Music Australia has promoted Mark Holland to manager of A&R. He has been with the company for five years, always working in A&R.

MADONNA'S OZ CHART TRIUMPH

Madonna last week became the most successful female in Australian chart history, when MDNA became her tenth charttopping album. The Beatles top the overall list with 14 #1 albums, followed by U2 (11).

Maddy beat Jimmy Barnes (9), and John Farnham and Bon Jovi (both 8). In the UK, the album’s #1 success gave La Ciccone her 12th chart topper — beating Elvis Presley (who had 11) to become most successful solo artist in British history.

LEG-UP FOR INDIGENOUS ACTS

In Court: Sam Aniello Castellano, 22, pleaded guilty to eight charges relating to setting off two homemade bombs at Melbourne’s St Kilda Festival last year attended by hundreds of thousands. Three people were injured.

Sued: Kanye West for using Persuaders singer Robert Poindexter’s ‘Trying Girls Out’ without permission on ‘Girls Girls Girls’, from his 2006 mixtape Freshman Adjustment 2.

Poindexter wants US$500,000.

Jailed: Sunshine Coast didgeridoo player Adrian Ross, 50, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, suspended after 16 months, after he pleaded guilty in Maroochydore District Court to maintaining a sexual relationship with a 14-year old schoolgirl in 2010.

‘THREE STRIKES’ WORKING

HILLTOPS INITIATIVE

France’s introduction of the ‘three strikes’ law for those who download illegally has had a positive impact. New data from HADOPI, the French governmental copyright protection body that introduced the law, found that it helped digital sales rise by 25% last year, while illegal file sharing fell by 43%. The report said that in this period, over 755,000 subscribers received at least one “stop that!” notice. 95% of those who got a first strike stopped, 92% of those getting a second, and 98% of those who got a third all refrained after that.

INERTIA OUTSOURCES DISTRO

From this week, Inertia’s products will be warehoused and distributed by SONY DADC. There are no changes to Inertia’s A&R, production, sales, marketing, publicity and client operations departments.

MOVES AT SHOCK/UMBRELLA

8 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

Hospitalised: Crazy Town singer Shifty Shellshock (and former Celebrity Rehab star) reportedly in a coma. He had been “extremely anxious” about his upcoming court appearance for possession of cocaine.

home of Narooma in October 2013. Festival founder Neil Mumme admits that moving to Batemans Bay had been a mistake. Promoter Michael Chugg, who took over its running last year (with Mumme retained as producer) and who was behind the decision to move to Batemans Bay, is no longer involved, and Mumme is in sole charge.

Kings Cross nightclub Hugos Lounge last week launched its monthly networking night Media Thursdays. It will be held on the first Thursday of each month, and open to those from the media, PR, advertising, digital, design, music and fashion industries.

Complimentary drinks and pizzas on offer!

Mel B, who is looking at becoming an Australian citizen after moving to Sydney due to her X Factor judging duties, has another reason to stay. She’s signed with EMI Music Australia for a world deal. EMI was her first label with The Spice Girls, who sold 80 million albums. Brown is making a new album. “I know I have mentioned doing music in the past but for legal reasons I was not in a position to release any new music. For my fans, I am happy and proud to say my music WILL be heard this year and that is for sure a promise.”

Expecting: Take That’s Mark Owen and wife Emma Ferguson, their third. Two others in the band are also in the family way: Gary Barlow (his fourth) and Robbie Williams (his first).

Three contemporary indigenous acts — soul singer, rapper and spoken word exponent Radical Son, B2M from the Tiwi Islands, and desert reggae outfit Sunshine Reggae Band from near Alice Springs — were given a boost to their careers by the Australian Government. Its Breakthrough: Emerging Indigenous Contemporary Musicians Recording Initiative provides $25,000 to emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians to produce high quality recordings of original tracks, suitable for broadcast and commercial release. Federal Arts Minister Simon Crean said, “Having a song played on the radio is a significant step in building a commercially successful music career, but getting radio airplay is often an obstacle for many Indigenous musicians. That is why we are continuing our investment in the Breakthrough program and supporting the work of emerging Indigenous artists.”

MEDIA THURSDAYS @ HUGOS

EMI SIGNS MEL B

Lifelines

After 16 years at Shock, Mishell Vreman began this week as marketing and media manager at Umbrella Entertainment. She managed Shock’s media and promotions in home entertainment, music and touring in Australia and New Zealand, most recently media manager for DVD. Her replacement, Charles Baylis, started last week as communications manager.

GREAT SOUTHERN BLUES

After last year’s event was cancelled due to low ticket sales, the Great Southern Blues Festival will return to its original

In Court: Former celeb drug dealer, ‘Freeway’ Rick Ross, lost a bid to keep rapper Rick Ross from using his name.

In Court: Three sons of the founders of hip hop label Sugar Hill Records pleaded guilty to tax evasion worth US$1.3 million.

Electronic hip hop soul ensemble Run For Your Life won this year’s Hilltop Hoods Initiative. “They make some great music and are very deserving recipients,” said MC Suffa. The initiative is run by the multiplatinum Adelaide hip hop trio with Australian Performing Right Association (APRA/ AMCOS). Run For Your Life get $10,000 towards the release and promotion of their debut album, legal advice from David Vodika and Media Arts Lawyers, and a Shure microphone prize pack.

RADIO RATINGS

In the Wollongong radio ratings, i98 remained the clear leader, with a 5.5% share rise and now over ten points in front of Wave FM while third place wert to ABC Local Radio 97.3. In the Canberra ratings, also released last week, 104.7 was at top spot with a 19.4% share, followed by MIX106.3 (15%), ABC666, 2JJJ, 2CC, ABC Classical, 2RN and 2CA.

CREATE/CONTROL SIGNINGS

Create/Control, the new label set up by the folks behind Secret Service and Dew Process, has launched with the signing of three acts. Brisbane’s The Jungle Giants have an EP coming shortly, Canada’s high selling DIY band Metric release their Synthetica album in June, and New Zealand’s Opossom (aka producer Kody Nielson) releases his debut album Electric Hawaii here in June. Create/Control sees that artists keep 100% of their copyright and receive much higher returns per sale, are distributed to digital retailers around the globe and physical retailers in Oz and NZ, and have access to a state-of-the-art online store so they can sell digital downloads, CDs and merch directly to their fans. The artists get marketing, publicity and promotion and sync and digital support from the Secret Service and Dew Process teams.

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DZ DEATHRAYS Killing It By Alasdair Duncan

A

lot of bands like to downplay their ambition, insisting that they never got into music to make it big, they only wanted to play some tunes and have some good times, man. But when it comes to DZ Deathrays, this sentiment seems pretty genuine. The raucous Brisbane two-piece started out with the modest aim of playing house parties with mates, nothing more than some fun on the weekend. Their tunes, though, were too big to be contained, and in what seemed like no time at all, they were touring the world and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Dave Grohl and Crystal Castles – and all this before their debut album was even out.

Drummer Simon Ridley’s head is still spinning when he thinks about it.

“I wouldn’t say nervous,” Ridley replies, when I ask how he’s feeling a week out from the release of Bloodstreams. “I’d say it’s more excited that we actually get to put out an album and have it released in Australia, let alone Europe and America. I really thought that if we got as far as putting out our first album, we’d do it on some tiny independent label, maybe play a show at The Zoo in Brisbane and then play a couple of shows down south if we could swing it.” After wrapping up a hugely successful residency in London several weeks ago, it’s fair to say DZ Deathrays won’t be fading into obscurity any time soon. “We never really anticipated that we’d get to do all these crazy tours and supports and everything like that,” Ridley says. “It’s been madness.”

The band’s tour with US rock legends Foo Fighters also stands out as a recent highlight.

“We played our first show with them in Melbourne,” Ridley says, “and walking off stage, Jack Black called me over and was just like, ‘Hey man, you guys were awesome! You were wailing!’ That was pretty surreal.” I ask if Grohl himself had any rock star wisdom to rub off on the lads, but Ridley tells me their meeting was only a brief one. “He has this big bodyguard, and you have to get vetted by that dude before you can even talk to Dave Grohl,” he says. “We finally got into his room on the second night – he and Jack were just sitting there listening to Led Zeppelin, and he jumped up and over the table and gave us all hugs. He was exactly what you would expect him to be like.”

Your typical DZ Deathrays song is short, sharp and to the point – a ferocious, fuzzed-out rocker that destroys everything in its path, like the Tasmanian Devil of cartoon fame. All the live playing the duo have done over the years has influenced this style, sometimes directly.

“You know, we have songs like ‘Teenage Kickstarts’,” Ridley explains, “we wrote that one as soon as we came back from touring with Cerebral Ballzy. We decided we needed to write harder songs, so we wrote that one.

I think that wanting to capture that live sound definitely influenced the recording process.”

Their debut isn’t exclusively balls-to-the-wall rockers though – Bloodstreams also includes several quieter tracks, showcasing a more urbane, sophisticated side to the band who once puked Jägermeister all over each other for the sake of rock’n’roll. “The thing with this was, we usually just write songs and then afterwards say, Oh yeah, that would be fun to play live,” Ridley says. “There are two or three songs we wrote that, when we finished them, we thought that they wouldn’t really be

“Walking off stage, Jack Black called me over and was just like, ‘Hey man, you guys were awesome! You were wailing!’

That was pretty surreal.” a good fit for the live show, because they’re a bit quieter than we like to be on stage; but we thought they would work really well on an album. They’re a lot more chilled than we would really put into a live set.”

and it turned out that they bred Saint Bernards there and had dozens just running around. It was Arj’s idea to get them involved in the clip and…you can pretty much see for yourself what happens.”

Bloodstreams was recorded last year with Richard Pike of experimental rock group PVT, and was as easy-going a process as the band could possibly have hoped for. “We had two weeks to record 14 tracks, including the intro and the secret track on there,” Ridley explains. “We pretty much recorded all the drums in the first week, then took some time off for Harvest Festival, because Richard was playing it with PVT. And then yeah, when we got back, we did all the guitar and bass and vocals, which was great, because I really didn’t have to do anything, I could just sit around and relax and watch movies. The sessions in general were great, but that was an especially fun week.”

It may have a high-profile guest star – well, high-profile depending on how big a Flight Of The Conchords fan you are – but ‘No Sleep’ still fits with the low-budget aesthetic DZ have cultivated since the aforementioned Jägervomiting in the clip for ‘The Mess Up’. “I think most of our video clips come from us just sitting around drinking beers,” Ridley laughs, “thinking about what would be fun, or what would be an amusing thing to do. I don’t think Arj really knew us beforehand, but he seemed to like the song, and he was pretty cool about being involved with the whole thing, so yeah, that was definitely a win. Our budgets are bigger now than they were in the old days, too. With that first clip for ‘The Mess Up,’ we had 50 bucks to spend but now we have... hundreds. So we’re asking, Hey, what can we do with that?”

The video for the new DZ Deathrays single ‘No Sleep’ is out now, and features an ingenious guest-star turn from none other than comedian Arj Barker. Their goofball style meshes pretty well with his, and the clip features a surprise ending which, while I won’t spoil it for you, involves a large number of Saint Bernard dogs.

“We did the shoot out on this farm,” Ridley says. “We were trying to think of something that would be funny to have in the background,

What: Bloodstreams out now through I Oh You Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Friday April 20 from 8pm And: Beach Road Hotel, Bondi, on April 18

“I left my heart to the sappers ‘round Khe Sahn and I sold my soul with my cigarettes, to a black market man” - COLD CHISEL 10 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

xxx

Ridley still remembers getting the news that they’d been picked to support Crystal Castles on a tour around Australia. “I used to work this office job, and I remember really clearly being there and getting the call to tell us that we’d booked this tour around the country,” he says.

“That was pretty huge. We played a headline show at The Zoo to a few hundred people on a Thursday night, and then the next show we did was in Melbourne, with Crystal Castles, to a sold-out crowd of over 1000. It was great. I

mean, we’re really big fans of those guys, so it was awesome just getting to talk to them and hang out with them backstage and stuff like that. That tour was pretty memorable.”

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Grimes

Django Django

O

V

Art Rock By Joshua Kloke

More Than Human By Lachlan Kanoniuk

incent Neff can finally spend some time reflecting. After four arduous years spent crafting Django Django’s remarkably assured self-titled debut in an East London bedroom with his old art school buddy, drummer David MacLean, Neff can look back on not only that process, but how their incredibly catchy and eclectic full-length relates to the expectations they had four years ago.

ver the past twelve months, Montrealborn synth-popster Claire Boucher – aka Grimes – has emerged as one of the most transfixing figures in contemporary music, via a handful of indie releases, a stand-out performance at SXSW 2011, and a support slot for Lykke Li’s North American tour last May. Having wooed American cognoscenti with her first two albums, Geidi Primes and Halfaxa, she broke through this February with the release of Visions – an album that consolidates the tantalising slingshot between steely robotics and the warmth of humanity embodied in her earlier works, while possessing undeniably danceable attributes.

In the middle of a nine-hour road trip from Toronto to Philadelphia, Boucher reflects on what has been a uniquely transformative start to the year. “Sometimes it’s really stressful, thinking that everything you’re doing is going to be evaluated,” she says of her new-found profile. “We played this one show at South-By [in March] that was really bad, and it turns out it was streaming online and 140,000 people were watching it. But it was definitely one of the worst shows I’ve ever played. It was one of those moments where you think, ‘Oh my god, what the fuck have I done?’ But you just have to let it go.”

Besides her music, Boucher’s performative prowess has quickly found her a cult following. The lead single from Visions, ‘Oblivion’, quickly went viral on account of its gender-bending film clip, in which Boucher places herself within the testosteronecharged environment of the sporting arena. “I think about gender stuff a lot, but I also don’t want to think about it a lot,” the singer admits.

“It’s a really male dominated scene, and one of the reasons why I make music is because it makes me feel really powerful. At the same time, some of my influences are artists like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey – really dolled-up, ‘girly’ music if you would call it that.

I don’t think music is ever inherently girly or masculine. I guess there’s that aspect of it vocally. Then production-wise I like to have a lot of huge drums because it feels so violent, physical and aggressive – mixing those things together.

“But [ultimately] I want to make music that’s genderless,” Boucher concludes. “[Gender] can be alienating when music is supposed to be inclusive. It’s where you can communicate in a way that isn’t super literal, you’re not saying anything except expressing pure emotions. Gender is about delineating roles, music is about not having roles and just

appealing to humanity. I feel that they’re the antithesis of each other.”

Similar to how Prince created his Camille alter-ego in the ‘80s via pitch-shifting, Grimes often delves into extreme registers – from Transformers-like baritone to chipmunk squeals. “There’s the whole biological thing – women have higher voices, men have lower voices. But voices are voices, they’re more tonally rich and evocative than any other instrument. I don’t want to think about it in terms of ‘I’m pitching down the vocals because it sounds masculine,’ or ‘I’m pitching up the vocals to sound feminine.’ It’s about how voices sound beautiful together,” Boucher reasons.

Juxtaposing these human vocals with heavy digital production has proved Boucher’s defining sound – and perhaps also a defining passion. “Well I feel like humanity is heading in this direction of cyborgism,” she explains.

“Everything digital that exists was created by humans. Computers are a natural thing, they’re a natural extension of the human brain. They couldn’t exist without humanity.

Digital sounds, to me, are very, very human.

They’re almost alienating because there is this human intelligence behind it, without human emotion. It’s a universal sound that anyone can make, because it isn’t reliant on a physical body. … I think that’s really interesting, combining this electronic music with layers and layers of rich vocals. It creates that weird, uncanny feeling that it shouldn’t be happening but it’s happening anyway. I think that’s really beautiful.”

Reached on the phone at his London home, digging into a plate of vegetarian spaghetti bolognese (at the behest of his vegetarian girlfriend) Neff recalls, “I moved down to London about seven years ago. About a year and a half later, I heard Dave was moving down. We’d kind of planned to do something together in Edinburgh, but we never really got around to it. We were just too busy in the pub – it’s very easy to fall into the pub culture in Scotland. We met up and we talked about what we were into; I had a bunch of songs, and he’d grown tired of doing that straight dance stuff. I’d grown tired of just having these songs sit there. We just said, ‘Well, let’s give this a crack.’” They went on to pull in fellow Scots and friends Jimmy Dixon, on bass, and Tommy Grace, on synths.

“It was around February 2010 when [we] went full tilt on the album. So up until that point it was still very sporadic in terms of the way we recorded,” says Neff. “We’d work on one song over a few weeks, do a bit of gigging – so we weren’t very focused. We were trying to get the live thing going and we also built our own studio a few times over; we kept getting moved from place to place. We were in construction while we were constructing the album,” he chuckles.

Django Django is a remarkably self-assured debut that defies standard classification. It would be easy to call it “Quirk-pop,” but that wouldn’t do

justice to the record’s density of sonic textures.

“There are layers of complexity to them,” Neff agrees. “What might start as something simple would require something added to it. What may appear as something very superficial at first, we were convinced there was something underneath it. Dave came from a more fine arts background and in terms of how he works and how he arranges things, it’s very spatial. He colour coats things; a lot of people have told me the album is very colourful – a lot of texture and colour. That’s the strength of it, I think.”

The process for recording the album was likewise influenced by Neff and MacLean’s art school backgrounds. “Going to art school you learn quite early on that no one’s going to give you a bunch of money to make a nice, luxurious product,” says Neff. “And art students don’t have a lot of money. We tried to achieve what we could with the means that we had. We never really thought about making demos and working with a certain producer; we just thought, ‘Here’s the songs, let’s just do them as well as we can.’”

After a wash of critical praise for their debut, the real work now begins for Django Django as they take it on the road – including a muchhyped set of shows at the taste-making South

By Southwest music festival, followed by a slew of European dates. “We find ourselves in a very different position from where we were a few months ago,” Neff says of their upcoming schedule of largely sold-out shows. “We’ve done our work in terms of playing lots of small gigs over the years. We’ve dissected the gigs and now I think we’re coming into our own. We’re starting to get it; we’re starting to really enjoy it.”

What: Django Django out now through Warner

What: Visions out now through 4AD/Remote Control

Dawes LA Men By Joshua Kloke Robbie Robertson – you know, of THE Band – in support of his recent release, How To Become Clairvoyant, that instilled in Dawes a sense of togetherness. “That definitely makes you rise to the occasion,” Goldsmith says. “[Robertson] is an example of someone doing things for the right reasons. He could’ve had any session players that he wanted, but instead he chose a band.

And it felt more cohesive than it would were it just a bunch of guys. It’s cool to know that he’s still familiar with it.”

G

riffin Goldsmith, drummer for the melodic, ‘60s-inspired rock outfit Dawes answers the phone from his Los Angeles home sounding affable and relaxed.

Despite a barrage of critical accolades, Dawes have kept level heads since the release of their lauded 2009 debut full-length, North Hills.

“We’ve been on tour for the better part of four

years,” Goldsmith says. “We’re extremely lucky.

I think last year we played something like 265 shows. But it really pays off; we’re a much better band because of it.”

It’s the notion of being a band in the purist sense that keeps the motor running. Perhaps it was an early opportunity to act as a backing band for

Dawes were similarly chuffed when psychrockers My Morning Jacket asked them to open for them on their recent run of Australian dates.

While Dawes are more radio-friendly revival than epic country-psych, Goldsmith says MMJ’s career is the one they’d most like to emulate.

“It’s ideal, especially for a band like us. It’s never going to be the way it is for a lot of other bands, especially here in Los Angeles, where they have that one breakout song and they’re playing to huge places. Instead, there are bands that’ve had a slow progression based on the quality of the music. And My Morning Jacket are one of those bands. They keep going back to the same cities, playing again and again, and they haven’t sacrificed any of their artistic integrity. They’re doing things for the right reasons, and I hope we are too.”

Calling Dawes ‘old school’ isn’t just appropriate because their sound is a retro one, but

because they are students of the school of thought that consistent touring is what moulds a band’s identity. “[The idea] with Nothing Is Wrong, which is also something we hope to do with this next batch of songs, is to play them live before recording them,” says Goldsmith.

“The songs don’t really have a chance to breathe until you’re out playing them live. They take on a whole new identity.”

It makes sense that they would prefer to keep that vibe in the recording studio, rather than opting for the sanitised perfection of separate tracking. “It’s actually the only thing that’s ever really worked for us,” Goldsmith says of recording live off the floor. “We’ve recorded in a separate booths, separated by these panes of glass. And it’s just not what we’re after. We get our best performances out when we’re doing things straight to tape. You know that you can’t overdub a drum part or a bass part. And it’s not to say that you can’t get a great sound out of Pro Tools, it’s just that you can end up using it as a crutch. The idea of being in a studio and gathering around the computer, it takes something away from the whole thing. You can’t visualise the record when you’re doing things with Pro Tools. Trying to make things perfect, you’re not always going to get the best sound.”

What: Nothing Is Wrong out now through Warner

“The horizon is wider than it used to be I ain’t the boy you knew But on a clear day, I can see All the way to you” - COLD CHISEL 12 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

Henry Wagons Having A (Gum) Ball By Benjamin Cooper

T

he Gum Ball Festival is unique when it comes to multi-day camping events on the local calendar. Returning for its seventh instalment, the convivial Hunter Valley fixture encourages families (plus everyone else) to attend, and features an enticing array of options including free camping and BYO food and drink. All of this hasn’t come about without significant struggle on the part of organiser Matt Johnston and his family against the machinations of council and local complainers.

Despite these distractions, the Johnstons have remained uncowed and flexible in their approach to making the festival a success. Previously they have moved the site from their farm in Belford to James Estate Vineyard, with its far more receptive local council. When the vineyard went up for sale a number of years later the festival intended to relocate to the gorgeous Wollombi Valley just down the road, but ten days before commencement The Gum Ball was closed by the bureaucrats. In spite of the constant barrage of negativity, some months later Matt decided to organise an event on his own property, called Sculpture In The Woods.

The positive reception to this one-off event by local council is regarded as the birthing point for the success of the current incarnation of The Gum Ball. Taking place back on the Johnstons’ farm, named Dashville in honour of the family patriarch, it features an eclectic lineup, ranging from blues to hip hop and everything in between.

music. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but what gets me through touring is having bacon and eggs in a different place every day. Life doesn’t get much better than that... I think I’ll probably be in a fatty foods coma by the time I get to the festival, which will be a good thing as I’ll be able to enjoy all the bands.”

Before Wagons can enjoy the delights of the Hunter, however, he’s got a special day-trip planned. “The girls from (Nashville band) Those Darlins have promised to take me on a trip to Dollywood this weekend,” he says. “I figure it’s only a few hours in the car, but then again last time we hung out they took me to a pretty wild karaoke bar. It was just two trailers kicked together out in the woods, and I don’t recall any karaoke, but there was a shitload of moonshine.”

With: Custard, Jinja Safari, Ash Grunwald, Front End Loader, Sietta, Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes, Kim Churchill, Fire! Santa Rosa, Fire!, The Delta Riggs, Silent Disco, The Tongue, Massy Ferguson and heaps more Where: Belford, The Hunter Valley When: April 27-28

BEAT BRAG RAVE TONEDEAF PRESENTS

Henry Wagons, frontman of Melbourne’s country hound-dogs Wagons, is pumped to be part of what he describes as a “beyond chilled festival”. As he speaks down the line from Nashville, Tennessee, he waxes poetic about the benefits of escaping the heat at the festival. He is particularly effusive in his praise of both the demon-drink and more familyfriendly fizz. “Sometimes you just need to kick back,” he advises, “and have a few sips under a tree in the shade. Today I’m enjoying a beer and a coke with Chad Mason, my bandmate, in a quiet bar. I know – it’s surprising, right? A musician engaged in the process of gentle alcoholism...”

It unfolds that the gentlemen’s liquid of choice today in the Red Door Saloon is not limited to just traditional beer and whiskey, but a less familiar yet equally delicious dish for Australians and Americans alike: cheese sauce. The service at the Red Door leaves something to be desired, but Wagons isn’t fussed. “The idea of molten cheese is ridiculous, but I welcome it,” he says. “It doesn’t matter that today it’s being delivered by some of Nashville’s finest, with grim faces; faces that definitely don’t reflect the passion and enthusiasm Chad and I are bringing to this peppery delight.

The simple truth is that as an Australian I simply don’t get enough cheese sauce in my life, and the real reason for me being in Nashville is always the food.”

“The simple truth is that as an Australian I simply don’t get enough cheese sauce in my life, and the real reason for me being in Nashville is always the food.”

Mason has another reason to be in Nashville, which Wagons describes as a country fairytale come true. “Over the years we’ve visited the States more times than I can remember,” he confides. “Nashville has always been a welcome destination because of the music we play and the reception that we get here. Chad has fallen in love with a local, and I’m getting the subsidiary benefit of that relationship – but not in any creepy way!”

Cold Chisel photo by Steve Baccon

On the other hand, Wagons is looking forward to returning home for The Gum Ball. “Nashville is great, but nothing beats a fry-up in the Aussie bush,” he says. “The Gum Ball is really where it’s at; I just have to concentrate really hard on not needing to cut any more notches into my belt before I get there. I’ve honestly consumed so much damn liquid cheese that I’m certain that my belt will be loosened a great deal by the time I get to Belford.

But it is a farm, so I’m sure they can just haul me in on the back of a tractor.”

The tractor in question is operated by Matt Johnston’s father, Dash, who frequently stops the large vehicle to offer directions to punters and complete the less savoury chores like cleaning out the loos. It’s this spirit of involvement, starting with the Johnston family and running down through the attendees and artists, that really distinguishes the event.

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But not for Wagons: “Sometimes,” he confides, “I get more excited about the food on offer than the BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 13

The Khanz Out Of Africa By Jenny Noyes

T

go ‘African’ with the sound, the lyrics just followed in that vein. I’m hoping it sets a bit of a scene in people’s heads when they listen to it.”

he morning I was supposed to interview The Khanz, they were having one of those bleary mornings that follows an all-nighter in the studio, when things go missing. The major thing missing was the band. After a short wait, the newest member of the Sydney four-piece, multiinstrumentalist Kat, arrives – but it’s not until an hour later that songwriter and frontman Themba turns up, wild-eyed and chewing gum like his life depended on it. He and lead guitarist Harrison have been working on final touches to their second EP, produced by former member of The Church, Tim Powles.

For Themba, the Afro-pop trend is more of a happy coincidence than deliberate ploy. “My family came here from South Africa with a lot of their friends,” he explains, “so I have a big South African community around me and I was brought up listening to that kind of music,” he says. “Artists like Baaba Maal, Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited – alongside a lot of reggae and other sorts of music, electronic, punk rock… the African influence has rubbed off on me since I was a kid, and it’s something I’m becoming more interested in exploring with the music I’m writing.”

Over the phone a few days later, a refreshed Themba gushes about Tim’s work ethic – in particular, his stamina. “Our last EP we were up all night finishing, and Tim was just really in the zone and concentrating on everything.

He’s excited about us, so it’s really fun to work with him too.”

Themba’s parents were involved in producing an anti-Apartheid newspaper in South Africa, but when their society was threatened, they fled to Zimbabwe, and from there to Australia in 1983 – “straight after Paul Simon’s monumental Graceland concert in Harare,” he recalls. Themba has been back there a few times with his parents and says even though things are improving, crime and poverty is still huge. “The gap between rich and poor is massive; you have Tuscan castles next door to shanty towns.”

Themba says his songwriting has “changed completely” since the first EP. With a tweaked lineup, the focus has shifted towards a more pop sound, and he’s been incorporating more African influences into it. “It’s a bit more of a fun record, there are some darker songs but we really wanted to give off a more danceable, energetic feeling than before. As soon as I started to

I mention an episode from Louis Theroux’ travelogue series, about Johannesburg’s hijacked apartment blocks. Turns out Themba’s a big Theroux fan too – and was even inspired by one of his episodes to write what will be the next single from the Natural Instincts EP, ‘Prescription Culture’ (with a video, featuring masses of Gummi bears, due out any day now).

“There is this one episode where Louis Theroux goes to America and he interviews parents who are prescribing their kids, like, 12-yearolds, these crazy drugs. From stuff like Ritalin to serious stuff like anti-depressants and antipsychotics… I think it’s just really scary.”

Despite the fairly serious subject behind its

lyrical inspiration, ‘Prescription Culture’ has a lightness and subtle irony about it that – in addition to its down-tempo, tropical vibe – ultimately feels a lot more ‘hakuna matata’ than ‘don’t take drugs, kids’. And the same goes for the rest of the EP, Themba tells me: “The idea was just to not be too caught up with genre – just make music we like to listen to. The songs aren’t meant to be too over-thought, we just let them find their own way.”

What: Natural Instincts EP With: The Nectars Where: The Lair @ Metro Theatre When: Friday April 13

The Cairos Keep Your Friends Close By Alasdair Duncan

B

risbane band The Cairos make breezy, danceable guitar rock of the kind that just makes you want to crack open a cider on a hot day. Their new EP Colours Like Features, featuring six new tracks of sweetly fuzzy goodness, is out this week – just as they embark on a national tour supporting Bluejuice. So it seems The Cairos are poised for the big time – and as such, I ask drummer Michael Bylund-Cloonan for a brief history lesson on the band.

“Well, the other guys all went to the same high school,” he explains, “and I met them just after. Basically, they were in need of a drummer on short notice, and I was available so I stepped in,” he laughs. “The whole thing just went from there. The Cairos have been through almost a full rotation of members since they were in high school – I think the guitarist Alfio is the only original member. But yeah, it’s been The Cairos in its current lineup for about four years, since Reuben joined us after our old bass player left to be in Last Dinosaurs.”

It’s easy to hear traces of bands like The Whitest Boy Alive and Two Door Cinema Club in The Cairos’ music, especially on songs like the ingratiating ‘Yeah No’. I ask BylundCloonan if he’s a fan of these, but he says not especially. “I listen to a lot of local music,” he tells me, “bands that my friends are in.

Millions and Last Dinosaurs and stuff like that.

‘Yeah No’ was inspired by The Protectors, a Sydney band,” he continues. “The vocals are in a high register, and it’s a bit of a dance track, both of which are elements of their sound.” There is, however, a great breadth of influence within The Cairos. “Reuben has a real love of straight-ahead rock, while Alf listens to a lot more of that dreamy, shoegaze stuff. The singer Ali used to work at Rocking

Horse in Brisbane, so he’d probably listen to anything and everything.”

The title Colours Like Features is oblique enough that you’d assume it has a special significance. “I’m pretty sure Alf came up with it. I’m not sure of the meaning behind it, but I think it sounds pretty good,” Bylund-Cloonan says sheepishly, laughing. “I mean, there are so many shit band names out there,” he continues. “Take Arctic Monkeys – they’re an awesome band, so nobody talks about how shit their band name is. I guess the goal is to make music that transcends the name.”

As for what the future holds for The Cairos, an album is definitely on the way, although Bylund-Cloonan tells me the band aren’t in any great hurry to get there. “We want to put one out, but not in the immediate future,” he says. “There are no dates pinned up on the calendar, put it that way. For now, we’re just focusing on touring the EP.” When it does come time for an album, however, the band will have no shortage of material to choose from. “We wrote maybe 30 or 40 songs for the EP, and I’d say we have hundreds more from before that,” he says.

“We’re writing new stuff all the time, we come up with something at almost every rehearsal.

So when it comes time for the album, the hardest thing won’t be choosing the single, it will be working out which songs to put on it from the huge pile!”

With: Bluejuice, Loon Lake Where: The Metro Theatre When: Friday April 13, More: Colours Like Features is out now on Island/Universal

Gin Wigmore No Tools Please By Hugh Robertson

W

hen I meet Gin Wigmore on a sticky Friday afternoon she has recently returned from a huge tour of New Zealand, and is flying to Europe the next day for a quick trip to introduce herself to the folks at Polydor (her European label) and establish a strategy to take the continent by storm. Then it’s back home to Oz for a tour in support of her new album, Gravel & Wine, out April 13.

This explosion of activity comes on the back of a couple of years spent jumping back and forth between Sydney and America, working with an extraordinary list of musicians and generally immersing herself in the lifestyle of the Deep South. And she’s especially excited about touring Australia, given the circumstances that convinced her to give up on us in the first place.

“I was trying for Australia big time,” she says, “but it wasn’t happening. I was playing these RSLs with only a toothless man and a toothless woman watching me, and it was just so depressing. And I was losing too much money, and I wasn’t getting where I needed to go. So that’s when I went to the States and did some really gritty touring on a bus for two months, and lost management, and money was embezzled, and all the crazy stories.

So I learned a lot about the music business.”

So many stories have ended here, dreams crushed by the reality of trying to make it in the biggest, baddest market in the world. But Wigmore dusted herself off and spent months travelling around the South, sleeping in motels where Bessie Smith died, and “licking the walls” of John Lee Hooker’s old room. She drank moonshine with two “old black dudes” in Mississippi and stomped around Atlanta, Georgia immersing herself in the cultural tradition of the region. And,

when it came time to make the record, she was able to enlist the likes of Butch Walker, Matthew Sweet, Keb’ Mo’ and Mark Lanegan.

“That made me feel really good,” she admits, “knowing that these guys wanted to spend time with me, and spend three or four days writing. And it made me wonder what the fuck I was doing.

But these guys are so cool – they are just hearts of gold; they could be put in a room with the President or Gin fucking Wigmore and it wouldn’t make any difference. So it’s so nice to see that – that they aren’t bitter, twisted fuckheads.”

Once she returns from Europe, Wigmore launches straight into a run of dates that include West Coast Blues & Roots. She’s bringing her band of Kiwis out for the ride – “They are probably going to come out and do the European shows as well,” she reveals. “They are just fucking cool, and I love working with Kiwis again. We just get each other, and the small-town shit that we talk is so hilarious.

And even though it’s a very costly exercise it is so worth it,” Wigmore insists. “Probably 70% of getting a musician to play with me is what they are like.

And if they are a dick, then I don’t want to play with them, no matter how good they are at guitar.

Because you can learn to play something – but you can’t learn how to not be a tool.”

Over the course of our conversation Wigmore tells me, many times, that music is what she wants to do with her life, and she wants to be around for a long, rather than a short time. You never quite know what will happen down the line, but a ‘No Tools’ policy has got to be a good start.

What: Gravel & Wine out April 13 through Universal

“Saturday night’s already old. Walking into Sunday and I find all desires are cold” - COLD CHISEL 14 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

Dig It Up! The Hoodoo Gurus The Hoodoo Gurus Reclaim The Inner West By Chris Martin

A

ccording to Brad Shepherd’s evergreen memory, the first few times the Hoodoo Gurus played Sydney’s Inner West, it felt like the 1940s. Talking Tables was the venue, close to the eastern end of King Street, and each table in the room had its own telephone. “If you liked the girl across the room you could see her number and phone her up,” he remembers, still amused at the thought. “It was this strange, very mid-20th century concept … it was really like a 1940s café or restaurant”.

Shepherd isn’t quite of the wartime vintage of course, but with 30 years’ recorded history behind them, the Hoodoo Gurus stretch back quite a way.

In late 1982 they put out ‘Leilani’ as Le Hoodoo Gurus; 18 months later, the band dropped the ‘Le’, added Shepherd on guitar and released their debut LP, Stoneage Romeos.

In the three decades of rock’n’roll since (minus a temporary break-up in 1998 – within a few years, the Gurus had even cut the corner on that, performing for a time as Persian Rugs with the full Gurus lineup) the Dave Faulkner-fronted group has become the reliable old faithful of Aussie music.

And like any senior member of the family, they’re entitled to celebrate a birthday with a civilised, no-nonsense affair – a brief greatest hits tour and an autobiography, perhaps. For Shepherd, Faulkner, Rick Grossman and Mark Kingsmill, that option was all too obvious.

cancerous lymph glands; before that, he survived melanoma.

Shepherd is now confident of his health but recalls serious thoughts about his own mortality at the time. Otherwise, the future of the Hoodoo Gurus remains as uncharted as ever. “I don’t know if we’ll ever make another record, I don’t know if we’ll ever tour again,” he says. “I’m really focusing on these [Dig It Up!] shows; we’re all getting along very well as individuals and we’re all extremely excited about doing these shows, and obviously what we feel like doing both collectively and individually once we get to the other end of that.”

What: Gold Watch: 20 Golden Greats out now through Sony With: The Sonics, Died Pretty, Redd Kross, the 5.6.7.8’s, The Fleshtones, Hard-Ons, Died Pretty, Royal Headache, Belles Will Ring and many more Where: Dig it Up! The Hoodoo Gurus Invitational @ Enmore Theatre, Notes Live, The Green Room and The Sly Fox When: Sunday April 22

“The Gurus had been looking to do some sort of an event to honour this 30th anniversary,” says Shepherd, “and actually we had a couple of concepts that fell over.” Then they were approached by Feel Presents promoter Tim Pittman with an idea for Dig it Up! The Hoodoo Gurus Invitational, in which the band would select some of their favourite acts to appear on a minifestival bill across multiple stages in Enmore. “I sat at my computer and just made a document of all the bands that I would love to see come out here, and I suspect the other blokes did the same thing, and there was a lot of common ground there, and we’re pretty lucky most of the bands at the top of our list said yes,” explains Shepherd. “The Sonics, I can’t believe it … Gerry Roslie’s voice is still like a flamethrower. Redd Kross are very dear friends of ours, they were at the top of the list, we’ve known them since 1986, [and] The Fleshtones were deeply influential in the original concept of the Hoodoo Gurus.”

“I just made a document of all the bands that I would love to see come out here, and we’re pretty lucky most of the bands at the top of our list said yes”.

All three of these American groups predate the Gurus, and with rabid fanbases to their names all over the rock community, the Gurus knew they couldn’t just settle on a conventional headline set.

Instead, they’ll do Stoneage Romeos in its entirety.

It’s a matter of honouring the past as much as keeping things fresh, says Shepherd. “If you like guitars or you like rock’n’roll you’ve had plenty of opportunity to see us – but [this time] we will be on the back foot a little bit. We love the concept on paper of this show that we’re doing, but we’re not foolish enough to ignore the fact that having Redd Kross there or having The Sonics there, for some people that’s where the money’s going to be… from a practical standpoint, we just want to do something unique.”

Cold Chisel photo by Steve Baccon

Thinking back to the Romeos era and his first months in the band after a stint in the louder and punkier Hitmen, Shepherd admits, “I did feel somewhat of an impostor, because people had a concept of what [the Gurus] was supposed to be when I joined, and when I joined, well, it wasn’t that, it was something else and we really had to grow into being a new band.

“I joined the Hoodoo Gurus because they liked a lot of the stuff that was influential to us in The Hitmen, but there was a deeper pool to draw from – there was ’50s rock’n’roll that was not evident in The Hitmen for me, there was glam rock, which was pretty much uncool across the board in 1982, no-one would admit to that [influence] except the Hoodoo Gurus, and I loved that stuff.”

For all gentle ribbing the Gurus copped for being so unfashionable in those early days, and for all the “you’re past it, move over” criticism that preceded their first break-up (“The idea of a use-by date is kind of preposterous, it’s like saying there are too many stars in the sky, we need to get rid of them,” Shepherd retorts), the Gurus guitarist knows all too clearly that life holds deeper challenges. Two and a half years ago, he underwent surgery to remove BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 15

Youth Week 2012 APRIL 13-22

five things WITH

RED FIRE RED

SHOREFEST It’s called: SHOREFEST It sounds like: 5000 kids getting their mosh on!

Who’s playing? Veil of Maya (USA), Heroes For Hire, Resist The Thought, The Bride, Feed Her To The Sharks, Endless Heights, Stories, Wake The Giants, Highways, Escapist, Divide And Conquer.

Sell it to us: It’s hands down the best Youth Week event for fans of heavy music. We’re showcasing the best young bands this country has to offer plus an international headliner. You could ask for more, but you’d be being well greedy.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: ALL OF IT, drug and alcohol free baby.

Crowd specs: We’re expecting anywhere between 3000 and 5000 kids, all sporting winning attitudes.

Wallet damage: ZERO. If you can find a better free gig anywhere on the planet let me know and we can go check it out.

Where: St Leonards Park, North Sydney When: Saturday April 14, 10am – 5pm. Do the right thing and get down early to check out all of the bands and support your scene.

party profile

Y

outh Week is one of our favourite times of year – a week-long flotilla of free gigs, mini-festivals, workshops and events designed to suit our eyes, ears and our hip-pockets. There’s actually no corner of Sydney that won’t be touched by this year’s Youth Week, but because we’re fettered by the page, we’ve assembled a little taster of what’s going on in your area. For the full program of what’s on in your hood, see youthweek.nsw.gov.au

backgrounds that vibe off each other. Mikey and Andy both dig heavy metal, Sean and Josh are both closet hippies and I’ve been brought up and trained in classical and jazz. So you can only imagine what the creative process is like!

4.

2.

Inspirations Sean: Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue. It changed my life.

Josh: Creedence made me want to pick up the guitar, Metallica made me continue, and whatever happened in the ‘90s is gold.

3.

Your Crew Tom: We’ve been really fortunate to find each other. I have never had the opportunity to work creatively with a group of people coming from diverse musical

5.

With: Sketchhead, Antisocial Society Club and the judge’s choice from The Break band comp Where: Watch Your Head @ Jarvie Park Youth Facility When: Friday April 27, 6-10pm More: redfirered.com

party profile

Wallet damage: Freesies.

Where: Campbelltown Arts Centre When: Friday April 13 / 5-9pm

more stuff

What: Local bands and musos battle it out in the M-Factor; plus local shuffle crew HSI are performing live (and giving quick workshops to show you the steps).

It sounds like: Hip hop, RnB, pop, alt-rock, dance – diverse and loud!

Crowd specs: 12-24 yrs – strictly no drugs or alcohol.

Wallet damage: Free, including food and drink.

Where: The Mondo, near Westfield Penrith When: Thursday April 19, 5-9pm

THE VALLEY What: An afternoon gig with live music, a massive scooter jam, free food and drink.

16 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

Crowd specs: 12-24 yrs – strictly no drugs or alcohol.

Wallet damage: Zero!

Where: Jamison Skate Park / York Road, Penrith When: Friday April 20, 3-7pm [CHIPPENDALE]

smartARTS LAUNCH PARTY What: This party kicks off the two-week-long youth art exhibition Open Interpretation, with art installation tents, a live art battle, liquid light projections from Punk Monk Propaganda, and experimental electronic music by Interstellar Starfish.

Crowd specs: 15-26 yrs – drug and alcohol free.

Wallet damage: Free!

Where: Pine Street Arts

1.

Growing Up We all grew up in different musical households (except for the twins) and met in 2008 at the Australian Institute of Music, Sydney.

2.

It’s called: Hermitude (live) It sounds like: The dancefloor will explode!

Who’s playing? Hermitude, Lipstick, Immortal, parkour team 9Lives, plus so much more…

Sell it to us: Fresh off the back of their jaw-dropping headlining gig at Oxford Art Factory, and with brand-new album HyperParadise under their belts, acclaimed beatmakers (and recent BRAG cover-stars) Hermitude are performing live and free, at an event that promises to spill out of the Arts Centre, transforming the urban landscape into a wonderland of projections, art and killer hip hop.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: You will remember it ALL. It’s all-ages, drug and alcohol free.

Crowd specs: Limited – so get there early to avoid disappointment!

M-FACTOR @ MONDO

WITH TAKADIMI

Music, Right Here, Right Now Josh: It’s tough out there in Sydney at the moment for up and coming bands.

Lots of good live music venues are closing and good bands are finding it hard to grow.

There are a lot of disorganised promoters, dodgy venues and flakey bands that make it harder. Tough as it is there are some great new venues opening, The Square in Hay Market and the Roxbury in Glebe are worth checking out. There are some great local bands out there; The Bedlams, The Howling Tongues, The Raids and South Devine are a few of many young bands making great music and keeping the scene alive.

HERMITUDE

[PENRITH]

five things

Inspirations Shakti, Edgar Meyer, James Muller, Miles Davis, Bela Flek, Philip Glass, Dirty Three, and numerous contemporary artists from the new ECM label such as Polish trumpeter/composer Tomasz Stanko.

3.

Your Crew Takadimi are Curtis and Jeffrey Argent, Brianne Curran, James McKendry and Kieran Ryan-Colton. In terms of our crew, it’s family, friends, Dax (who recorded, mixed and mastered our album), Rachel Wells who does our artwork. John Galea who made our website. Oliver Downes who writes our press releases. Also, we are privileged to have Kerry FitzGerald, previously from Festival Records, helping us to stay in line and focused.

4.

Centre / 64 Pine St, Chippendale When: Friday April 13, 6.30-9pm

SmartARTS WORKSHOPS What: Register for a free smartARTS workshop where you can learn how to make sustainable jewellery and book binding (April 16 & 23), how to kick start your career in the creative industries (April 19), or how to make films with your mobile phone (April 25 & 26).

Crowd specs: 15-26 yrs Wallet damage: Free; register at whatson. cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au Where: Pine Street Arts Centre / 64 Pine St, Chippendale When: April 13-27

The Music You Make Dax Liniere from Puzzle Factory Sound Studios recorded our debut album, in a bush-retreat-come-recording studio in Wingello, NSW. The album was recorded using mostly live takes over the course of three days. I guess our musical style is ‘world/contemporary’. Sometimes roots. Our live shows always differ from our recordings as we are into creation not regurgitation, with a strong focus on music over dance moves.

5.

Music, Right Here, Right Now There are amazing artists in Sydney alone, and live music venues too, such as Venue 505, The Macquarie Hotel, The Sound Lounge, Marrickville’s very own Camelot and The Red Rattler. If Australia were to be completely honest with itself about its history, its people, its younger generations, and its guests, then this would allow – through proper learning systems, understanding and acknowledgement – the act of moving forward into a zone where we are able to settle into our own unique identity as Australians, which I feel would have a particular effect on helping to nurture and encourage great artists produced in this country, aside from other things.

Other than ourselves, money and time are the greatest obstacles as a musician. It is difficult to make money from music, which is a great shame as that is more time put into working some job somewhere for some money, as opposed to practise, creativity, living and education.

Best local venue? Venue 505. (P.s. Pokies are bad).

With: Dreamer’s Crime, Death Mattel, Rocket Head Where: The Break Band Competition @ Tillman Park, Tempe (free!)

When: Sunday April 15 from 3pm More: New Common Sense out through The Planet Company/MGM. takadimi.com.au

THE MIX YOUTH FEST party profile

1.

Growing Up Josh: My key childhood music memory is dancing around the house in drag like Freddy Mercury from ‘I Want to Break Free’ and loving every minute of it! Growing up in the Blue Mountains surrounded by some very talented, creative people allowed me to travel the world, play on some of Europe’s biggest festivals and share the stage with some of my childhood idols.

Sean: I come from a long line of carnival folk, so there was always singing and dancing when I was growing up! There’s always an excuse for people to party and perform.

The Music You Make Sean: Red Fire Red is a wild, primal and electric monster! We’ve been compared to bands such as Muse, Audio Slave and strangely enough INXS. We recorded our current album with Ian Pritchett (Angus and Julia Stone, Cog, Beautiful Girls) in his garage. We play every live show with the same intention, to play out of our skins and leave the audience changed by the experience.

It’s called: The Mix Youth Fest It sounds like: Epic-alt-rock heaven!

Who’s playing? New Empire, Built On Secrets, Sound Of Seasons, Paratopia.

Sell it to us: After a huge 2011 supporting the likes of Good Charlotte and Simple Plan, New Empire, will be playing a special local show supported

by Melbourne’s Built On Secrets and up and coming local heroes Sound Of Seasons and Paratopia.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The amazing hair (oh and the music).

Crowd specs: Up-for-it babes and rockers without attitude.

Wallet damage: $10 from moshtix Where: Hurstville Entertainment Centre / 16 MacMahon St, Hurstville When: Friday April 13 from 6pm

BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 17

arts frontline

free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com

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

five minutes MICHAEL BROWN FROM CAMPFIRE COLLECTIVE Where did the Never Not Funny name come from? I stole it, twice, by accident. I thought it came in a moment of inspiration, but later I realised it’s something my friend Zak used to say, which I subconsciously picked up. It was used cynically, usually to do with some overused comedic device e.g. ‘Blacktown.

Never not funny.’ Just after we launched this show, someone pointed out a podcast of the same name by American comic Jimmy Pardo.

I asked Zak, and I asked Jimmy if we could use it, and everyone’s cool with it.

C

ampfire Collective is to the Inner West what butter is to bread: an understated necessity that just makes everything better. Co-founder Michael Brown tells us about their latest endeavour, a partnership with The Standard to present Never Not Funny, a monthly alternative comedy night. Dishing up comedy favourites like Applespiel, Ben Jenkins, Gen Fricker, Raw Comedy finalists Brent Thorpe and Cameron James and many more, Never Not Funny is gearing up to be the toast of the town.

Tell us about your new partnership with The Standard. It started off like a good date when we met: mutual friends introduced us and we had similar tastes in comedy. So we decided to take things a step further, and now we’re presenting Never Not Funny with them.

CABINET

What’s the difference between alternative comedy and mainstream comedy? The structure, for one. There’s a pretty clearly expected gag for buck ratio in a mainstream comedy room. Instead, we’re building a space for audiences to tune in and have a more unique experience with styles and ideas that are off-centre.

Who will be presenting comedy at the launch? It’s a really mixed bunch: Wollongong performance collective Applespiel, former farmer Nick Capper, Ben Ellwood, Ben Jenkins, James Kerley (who rips up TV from around the world), Gen Fricker, Dave Jory, Cam Knight and Raw comedy competition finalists Brent Thorpe and Cameron James.

What else should audiences expect? The unexpected. Just kidding. Expect variety – we

Claire Nakazawa

If my kitchen cabinet was even a trillionth as exciting as this, and contained less breakables, I would try to live in it. Luckily another Cabinet is being delivered, straight to the Red Rattler (6 Faversham St, Marrickville) on Saturday April 14. Head down to witness a display of top-shelf talent, including Smalltown – a performance duo like The Mighty Boosh (with glowsticks!), Dan Mackinlay – with an interactive digital performance that uses sounds from his kitchen, and Godfrey Uke And His Orchestra, who will mark their debut, playing a slew of 1920s hits twinged with comedy and nostalgia.

Bark Lanterns will swing their first ever gig with a set of good time pop riffs to get the dance floor jumping like craaazzzy. Also in the Cabinet is the return of Craft Singles – so if you haven’t found your better half, snag a spot on one of those famous Red Rattler couches and impress someone with your lantern making skillz. Finally, to cap it all of, DJ Uncle Jam will play everyone’s favourite tunes of days gone by so you can swing, jive, rumble and boogie on the Rattler dance floor all night long. All this for $7 on the door. underbelly.com.au

BACK TO COOL

Art installations, experimental electronic music and a live, interactive claymation project will herald the launch of the City of Sydney’s 11th annual smart ARTS Festival on Friday April 13, to coincide with Youth Week. The launch event kicks off from 6.30pm at Pine Street Creative Arts Centre (64 Pine St Chippendale) and will feature experimental electronic performer Interstellar Starfish, animation projections and art installation tents; as well as the opening of the festival’s signature art exhibition, Open Interpretation. Keep an eye out for arts collective Punk Monk Propaganda, who will film a series of stop-motion animations across the two-week festival with the help of the city’s youth, and their final ‘crowd-sourced animations’ will screen at the smart ARTS closing night party on April 27. The program also includes workshops in bookbinding, mobile phone filmmaking and sustainable jewellery making, as well as a street art tour of Chippendale and a careers seminar with tips and advice on breaking into the creative arts industry. And amazingly, it’s all free. cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

SYDNEY WRITERS FEST

This year, Australia’s largest literary celebration will explore the line between public and private, and has just unleashed a colossal program of local and internationally acclaimed wordsmiths.

Among the top international guests are Jeffrey Eugenides (The Virgin Suicides, Middlesex) 18 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

wanted lots of different types of funny, so there’s theatre, storytelling, stand up, media and music. We may let someone smash a guitar.

What inspired you to start an alternative comedy night? At least two things. A while ago, someone once told me that they went to a comedy night and it felt like being trapped. I thought that was awful, and wanted to create a fun show without a regimented structure. More recently, reading UK alternative comedian Stewart Lee’s book was inspiring, plus seeing lots of funny ideas across performance art, music, storytelling, and stand up, and wanting to bring those together under one banner.

What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen lately? I just got back from the States, where we caught Nick Thune’s talk show at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Aubrey Plaza (from Parks And Recreation and Portlandia) was meant to be there, but cancelled. So Zach Galifianakis filled in, and did Aubrey’s interview, as Aubrey. It was great.

What: Never Not Funny When: Launches Wednesday April 11 from 7pm Where: The Standard Hotel / Level 3, 383 Bourke St Surry Hills More: campfirecollective.com.au objects on my desk. OR ARE THEY? The other answer is that they all exist in the world. OR DO THEY? It seems that things aren’t quite as they seem. Or at least that’s what Richard Dawkins would have us believe. He’s a famous atheist, scientist and bestselling author and in his latest philosophical treatise, The Magic of Reality, he argues that reality has more to offer us than fairy tales. He’ll talk more about it OR WILL HE? in his lecture as part of Ideas At The House on April 16. sydneyoperahouse.com

CONFESSION BOOTH

Is your heart heavy with guilt from that time you borrowed your parents’ car and tried to drive under a boom gate without paying the toll and then the gate slammed down on the roof and cracked the windscreen and you lied and said a crazy pedestrian attacked you (the car) when you were on your way to a charity event for people without iPods? Or is that just me? A.H. Cayley will host a night of local mischief-makers including Brendan Maclean (triple j), Richard Cartwright (Richard In Your Mind), Flutter Lyon (View Of Courage Studios), Caitlin Welsh

THIS MUST BE THE PLACE TO WIN! WIN! WIN! Here is a new cult classic in the making.

This Must Be the Place follows Cheyenne (Sean Penn), a punked-up fifty-year-old who dresses like an American goth rock star, from his enormous Dublin mansion all the way across America. He’s doing some soul searching following news of the death of his estranged father. This is a weird and whacky adventure from Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, full of warmth, humour, profundity and lots of eyeliner. Sean Penn is at his enigmatic best, alongside the ever-delightful Frances McDormand as his wife. Critics and fans alike have described This Must be The Place as simply… indescribable. We can help you find your place watching it at the movies, as we have FIVE DOUBLE PASSES to give away. You also get a poster! Just tell us what your fave road trip movie is (other than Crossroads) and why.

(The Brag, The Music Network) and Andrew P. Street (ABC 702). They’ll spill their deepest, darkest and drunkest secrets this Wednesday at The Wall, World Bar (24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross) from 7.30pm. theworldbar.com

GERMAN FILM FEST

Ze Germans will invade Sydney cinemas over the next few months, with the announcement of Audi German Film Festival’s 2012 lineup following hard on the heels of Sydney Film Festival’s program teaser. Featuring the latest from German arthouse maven Christian Petzold, this year’s festival also highlgihts new work from Petzold’s prolific peer Andreas Dresen, whose senior-citizen romance Cloud 9 was one of the highlights of the 2009 lineup. Another obvious highlight is Ulrich Köhler’s Berlinale Silver Bear winner, Sleeping Sickness. For lighter fare, checkout the whimsical Gondry-esque comedy The Fräulein And The Sandman, and doco and art heads should check out Gerhard Richter – Painting, for the artist's frank appraisal of his own work and creative practice. The German Film Festival runs April 18-30. goethe.de/ozfilmfest

First Position

and Masha Gessen (The Man Without A Face). Australian literary veterans include George Megalogenis, Annabel Crabb, Peter Hartcher, Virginia Trioli and David Marr. From further afield, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Bilson and Michael Kirby will also spark debate. www.swf.org.au

PROJECT PARLOUR

Sydney’s currently got a preoccupation with late-night art events, and the CTA Building downtown is tapping the zeitgeist. On Thursday nights throughout April, Kaldor Public Art Projects will transform the CTA Building into Parlour, something of a high-brow late-night art soiree. This Thursday, Parlour has teamed up with Kino Sydney, The Festivalists and FBi Radio to screen new crowd-sourced videos, present a talk by Professor Colin Griffiths and Sydney architect Stephen Collier – reflecting upon the legacy of renowned Australian architect Harry Seidler. FBi DJs will spin tunes in the cocktail lounge and while you’re there you can also check out Thomas Demand’s new artwork The Dailies. Entry is from 5.30pm beneath the MLC building food court (Martin Place entrance). kaldorartprojects.org

RICHARD DAWKINS

What do a water bottle, a computer, a current copy of The Brag, a telephone from the 1980s with a spirally cord, a jar of Vegemite, a promotional condom and a dying fern all have in common? The answer is that they are all

SYD FILM FEST

The full Sydney Film Festival program won’t be out until May 9, but they’ve just released a 25 film teaser to get our eye-buds watering. We’re defs going to check out Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts Of The Southern Wild, which won the US Narrative Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. So far, we know it’s a fantastical tale set in ‘The Bathtub’. Brazilian drama Neighbouring Sounds by Kleber Mendonça Filho reflects on class, architecture, violence and noise when a private security firm moves into town and makes everyone feel safer and more anxious at the same time. Faust is Alexander Sokurov’s radical reinterpretation of Goethe’s play and won the Golden Lion in Venice. On the doco front, The Law In These Parts by Ra’anan Alexandrowicz won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and explores the legal framework for Israel’s long-term military ‘rule of law’ in the Occupied Territories. Bess Kargman’s multi-award winning First Position follows six talented young performers at the Youth America Grand Prix, the most prestigious children’s ballet competition in the world. And we can’t not mention Woody Allen: A Documentary that brings us the life and times of the man who made romcoms cool again, (and also made Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz make out). Packed with clips and interviews with a plethora of stars (including Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson and Owen Wilson), his mother and, of course, the man himself, this one’s going to sell out before you can say ‘take the money and run’. sff.org.au Xxxx

WITH

Getting The Gang Back Together By Alasdair Duncan

American Reunion S creen writing duo Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg were in college when American Pie came out, and seeing it for the first time was a bittersweet experience. While they loved the movie, with its bawdy tone, and frank, open talk about teen sexuality, they couldn’t help but feel a little envious – this was exactly the movie they wanted to make themselves, saying everything they wanted to say.

“We were big fans of American Pie,” Hurwitz tells me. “We’d already been influenced by a lot of movies before it came out, but it was definitely important to us, because we saw how well a movie like that could perform. It gave us the motivation to continue with the scripts we were writing.”

The success of American Pie, Hurwitz says, was a watermark moment for comedy. “A lot of the movies that have been popular since, whether Bridesmaids or The Hangover, all have outrageous, fun moments with memorable characters.” He continues, “That emphasis on character is something that started to really come back into comedy around the first American Pie.” In the wake of this, Hurwitz and Schlossberg managed to sell a script of their own, the goodnatured stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle. They would go on to write several more Harold & Kumar films, but American Pie remained a constant source of inspiration for the pair, and when they were offered the chance to put their own stamp on the series, they knew they had to get it right.

American Pie: Reunion, written and directed by Hurwitz and Schlossberg, revisits the teens from the first film, now in their 30s, as they gather in their old home town for a weekend of partying and reminiscing. The first challenge was to assemble the original cast again, because for the film to be taken seriously, it was this or nothing at all. “Our job was to write a script that gave everybody something to do, and that was worth everyone’s time,” Hurwitz explains.

“Much like the first American Pie, we wanted a movie that was a real ensemble piece, where everyone had their own story line, and also that gave the opportunity for the minor characters to pop up and have some fun moments of their own.

Once we got the script together, the studio started engaging with everyone, and it came together really easily.”

G IV EA W AY S

In terms of the cast, everyone really does mean everyone, from the core group of friends right on through to incidental characters like John Cho’s MILF Guy #2. “John Cho is one of our best friends,” Hurwitz tells

me. “We always joked around with him that the only reason we did the Harold & Kumar movies with him was in the hopes that one day, we’d get to direct him as that character.”

It was also fun, Schlossberg adds, because Cho often plays the straight man, and American Reunion gave him the chance to be a little more playful. “John’s a funny guy, he’s a weird guy, so it’s great to see him doing stuff that’s a bit more out there,” he says. “You know the other characters well, but because the MILF Guy #2 character was so undefined, we were able to do some really strange, cool stuff with him.”

Veteran comics Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge also return, as Jim’s Dad and Stifler’s ‘Mom’ respectively. “One of the great things about this movie was that we were able to pair those two together,” Schlossberg tells me.

“Eugene and Jennifer are both great improvisers, great actors who have worked together before, but they had never been in a scene together in American Pie. Their characters are called Jim’s Dad and Stifler’s Mom, and we had great fun with that – in the movie, they refer to themselves by those names. It was great to have them together, and also great to be able to bring Stifler and Jim’s Dad together, because they’re two great and very different comic forces.”

The film has gross-out gags aplenty, but also an undercurrent of sadness, and Seann William Scott’s Stifler proves, surprisingly, to be the emotional heart of the film. “The first movie was appealing to teenagers because when you’re that age, the main thing on your mind is sex,” Hurwitz explains, “and it explored the prospect of a group of kids losing their virginity in a very real and believable way. When you get to be in your 30s, your lives go in different directions. We wanted to keep the reality but expand it.”

Stifler proved the key to this. “When we first took on the movie, one of the things we really wanted to do was expand his character,” Hurwitz continues. “He was the king of the school in the first movie, but now he’s in his 30s, he’s an underdog, he’s the guy who gets dressed down at work, he’s the guy who isn’t being invited to the party anymore. By the time the movie gets to the 20-minute mark, you feel bad for Stifler, and you want to him to recapture some of the fun he had in high school.

It gave Seann a lot to do in the film, and allowed us to stretch his character in a lot of unexpected ways”.

What: American Pie: Reunion When: In cinemas Thursday April 5

CAT ON A WIN! HOT TIN ROOF C

at On A Hot Tin Roof is the saucy family drama, penned by Tennessee Williams and made famous by the irresistible pairing of Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman in Richard Brooks’ 1958 screen adaptation. Now, Roz Riley and a cast of local stars including Nick Hunter (of Packed to the Rafters and Home and Away fame) are gearing up to set the house on fire with their production of the Pulitzer Prize winning script. It runs from April 13-28 at the Star of the Sea Theatre in Manly.

We have TWO DOUBLE PASSES to give away to the show on Saturday April 14 at 7.30pm, just email freestuff@thebrag.com and tell us the names of the two lead characters!

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Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Life In Movement [FILM] Moving On By Justin Wolfers

in interviews in the film clearly shows that while there is grief there among her friends and colleagues, they have understood the importance of moving forward, which is essentially the core theme of the film. Mason explains, “It was really hard for [the dancers] to take the show on tour… it was difficult to direct themselves when she was the one who brought them together”.

[THEATRE] Cruel Intentions By Emma McManus

S

candal, manipulation, lust, love, sordid secret affairs, destruction of innocence, human cruelty, sexual politics and a delectably devilish pair at the centre of it all… Have I caught your attention? Written in 1782 by Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liaisons Dangereuses’ central themes still resonate today. The story was turned into a play by Christopher Hampton for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985, and has since been adapted into Academy Award winning film Dangerous Liaisons and the massive teen hit Cruel Intentions, which transports the story to an American high school.

The play centres around two rivals, Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, who will take to Sydney’s Wharf Theatre, brought to life by two of Australia’s finest actors Pamela Rabe and Hugo Weaving. Playing alongside them is an outstanding supporting cast including Justine Clarke and Heather Mitchell, under the direction of Sam Strong (Griffin Theatre), whose recent Sydney Festival production of The Boys was widely acclaimed.

James Mackay, who plays Le Chavalier Danceny (the music tutor who has an elicit affair with his student, the young Cécile de Volanges), tells me that the Sydney Theatre Company rendition has been “unhinged from its original context”. Rather than moving into a specific contemporary setting, the play has been carefully released from any confinements that the original setting created. MacKay explains, “It’s an incredibly specific world but [the story] could be happening anywhere at any time, and I think it’s really exciting because this production takes away a layer of distance

between the audience and the play. There’s nowhere to hide with it, there’s no way that you can try to distance yourself from it by going, ‘Oh well they’re in corsets and wigs this is clearly 18th Century France so I don’t have to be affected by this, it’s irrelevant’. All of that has just been paired back, but without losing any of the elegance and beauty of the world. It’s a very clever trick actually, and it’s been done incredibly successfully”.

MacKay places the negotiation between the universal and the specific in the play as one of the productions biggest achievements.

Explaining that “even though [the play] is pulled towards contemporary surroundings, all of those things about the Parisian world of the 18th Century, that set of manners and the importance of virtue, reputation and sin, and all of that stuff, which maybe isn’t as powerful a motivator socially in a contemporary setting, has been carried into this world”.

MacKay is no stranger to the play, having previously played Valmont – a devious schemer – at drama school (WAAPA). He speaks of the difficulty of ‘unlearning’ the play in relation to his new character, Danceny, who he sees as an innocent, in the truest sense of the word.

“Because he’s so blind to a lot of it, you’ve got to find a way to express his ignorance of the schemes and the plans that are going on around him, without just simply appearing dumb. It’s a bit of a balancing act.”

What: Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Sam Strong When: April 5 - June 9 Where: Sydney Theatre Company / Wharf 1 Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay More: sydneytheatre.com.au

Mason and Hyde were granted access to over 150 hours of Liedtke’s personal archive, and along with the footage they had already shot of The Twelfth Floor and Construct, it was more than enough to get on with and begin editing. Some of the most haunting moments in the film are moments of quiet intimacy, where her obvious passion for dance is coupled with later footage of her friends and collaborators performing the work she had devised. Mason describes Liedtke’s passion: “She’d put so much of herself into it that it’d be like she was still there… that moment when she’s pulling herself together, just shows how passionate she was about it”.

Indeed, whenever Liedtke had a week off, she would rent out a studio by herself to gather ideas, just her and a video camera, plotting choreography. In interviews, her colleagues also describe Liedtke’s devotion to her work.

For them, her movement and her energy seem to be a part of the performance.

It is important to note the film’s lightness though, and the absence of sentimentality that can be distracting in a biopic. In discussion with Solon Ulbrich, Liedtke’s partner and close collaborator, Mason says, “[Hyde and I] definitely decided that we didn’t want to make a sentimental film, because Tanja just wasn’t like that. She was just really driven and engaged with what she was doing”. Ulbrich’s presence

Though the choreography is incredible, and visually commanding, the film is not targeted specifically at a dance audience. “I think anyone with a creative background, or interest in creativity, will get something out of it,” says Mason. His statement is somewhat general, but rings true. Liedtke’s huge energy, and the extent to which she thrust herself into her work, undoubtedly shows the spark that made her so sought-after as a choreographer; and that spark is far from exclusive to dance.

The recurring motif of dancers beginning a movement and then freezing midway, and the film's delicate pacing, suggests a dance all the way through. Mason approached Adelaide’s DJ Trip, a collaborator on Liedtke’s earlier productions, and the score/soundtrack that accompanies Twelfth Floor and Construction creates a nocturnal but fluid tone that pushes the narrative forward.

Life In Movement is biographical, in that it explores Liedtke’s upbringing in Germany and Spain, as well as her years in Sydney and London, but it is not simply the story of her life. More accurately, it is a film about the inevitability of movement, and moving forward, and how Tanja inspired this in others.

What: Life In Movement When: In cinemas April 12

Lord Of The Flies [THEATRE] Brutal Blows By Roslyn Helper

and provocative one,” and one he says reminds him of his own childhood. “The bullying and emotional manipulation that drive the play is familiar from my own schooling – not to the same extent as in the play, certainly, but it was there,” he says.

Lord Of The Flies

T

he Lord Of The Flies plot may sound like Survivor for teenagers meets Lost overdosing on hallucinogens, and, well, according to director Anthony Skuse, that’s basically what it is. “It is a vision of a dystopia,” he begins. “A group of school boys stranded on a deserted island have to find a way to live together, and because they are children, they don’t mask their power struggles with politeness.

Before long, they fall back on the vicious structures and values they have absorbed from the adult world. Pitted against the rest are Ralph and Piggy who both struggle to hold onto

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the hope of rescue”, and as each kid becomes psyched-out by nightmarish visions of ‘The Beast’, some pretty brutal bullying ensues.

When the New Theatre approached Skuse to direct Nigel Williams’ stage adaptation of the William Golding classic, Skuse accepted without hesitation. “What draws me to [Lord Of The Flies] is the contrast between the brutality and the moments of intimacy; between the violence of the action and the poetry of the images. There is a strong undercurrent of loss and grief. The image of the child lost in the bush is a strong

The story is set at the time the book was first published, around 1954, and suggests the world is in the midst of nuclear war – an apocalyptic preoccupation that burdened society at the time.

But Skuse insists that the relevance of the work comes from the play’s emotional life, not from its clothes. “The culture of bullying and humiliation that arises in the play is still with us”, he says, “[though] I imagine if the novel was written now there would be no last-minute salvation, Ralph would be killed and his head placed on a spike along those of the pigs. I don’t believe you have to update every work to make it relevant or contemporary – that these boys are the product of a particular time and place doesn’t make them any less recognisable.” As such, Skuse hasn’t tried anything too fancy by way of updating the original script.

He has, however, selected an older cast than described in the text. He explains, “On a practical level the actors that presented at the auditions were all older. I was still imagining the play as I was casting it and I was looking for clues from the actors as to a way forward. Once I had a sense of who I wanted to cast as Jack and Ralph, the others fell into place around them.”

Skuse suggests a more adult cast will also allow deeper critical engagement with the text from a performance point of view and hopes the audience is willing to suspend disbelief and go with the story telling.

There is one fourteen-year-old cast member, “He’s playing a five year old – and he is terrific in the group,” gushes Skuse. “He comes along with his mum Gretel and she is now as much a part of the rehearsal room as everyone else.

But we wouldn’t have been able to rehearse as intensely as we are if all the cast members were in school – it would make for a lot of mothers in the rehearsal room.”

Skuse says that charting the transition from playfulness to violence, so that it is gradual rather than abrupt, has been his hardest directorial challenge. “I suspect it is similar for the actors too. The violence is also confronting.

I can see them pull back from it, and afterwards they want to go up to Sam (who’s playing Piggy) to apologise. Knowing that the actor is ok gives them the permission to be darker. More ugly.”

What: Lord Of The Flies When: April 10 - May 12 Where: The New Theatre / 542 King St Newtown More: newtheatre.org.au

Life in Movement SelfPortrait1 byTanja Liedtke

MacKay’s enthusiasm is catching and when I ask him what he is most excited about coming up to opening night he immediately says, “It’s sold out! People are going to see it!” This is a genuinely exciting moment for any actor, especially after working in independent theatre, where “It’s a real battle to get people to come and see your show”. MacKay’s final musings turn to the show as a whole and the impending excitement of having an audience. “I’m excited to see what the final product is going to be because I think it’s going to be really thrilling, and I think it’s going to feel really dangerous, and I think it’s going to be a visceral trip for the audience... it’s an incredible cast and it’s a cast of people that I grew up seeing. I’ve seen all of these actors many times and it’s been an incredible treat to play with them in rehearsals.

The thought of now getting on stage and doing it properly is, selfishly speaking, really exciting.”

G

orgeous, understated and carefully layered, Life In Movement is a tribute to the life and career of dancer and choreographer Tanja Liedtke. Awarded artistic directorship at the Sydney Dance Company in 2007, Liedtke’s life was tragically cut short before she could begin, at age 29. This film, directed by Bryan Mason and Sophie Hyde, follows Liedtke’s collaborators as they take her final work Construct on a world tour after her death; and explores the inspiration behind the pieces she gained recognition for.

There is the question of retracing Liedtke’s steps, as the cast goes to Stuttgart where she was born, and Ulbrich describes “whole new layers of grief” associated with that transgression. But as griefstricken as the cast is, the choreography within the film is dynamic, and affirms a perpetual movement – a line of chalk being drawn along a revolving door, then continuing along a stationary wall, for example – where those involved understand the importance of moving forward, of taking this inspiration and carrying on with it.

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BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 21

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.

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

■ Film

SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN Released April 5

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jurassic lounge

Judged by the title alone, you could be forgiven for thinking Salmon Fishing In The Yemen is an instructional documentary that has somehow found its way into the cinema to compete with The Hunger Games. But leave your rod and reel at home, for it’s actually a book club favourite turned big screen romantic dramedy, produced by the BBC, not by your local BCF.

27:03:12 :: Australian Museum :: 6 College St Sydney

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immanent landscapes

They say with enough money, nothing is impossible and Sheikh Muhammad (Amr Waked) just so happens to have enough money. A keen fly fisherman, the Sheikh dreams of catching salmon at home in the Yemen and his assistant, a young lawyer named Harriet (Emily Blunt) and Alfred (Ewan McGregor), a straight-laced man working in the government’s fisheries department, are thrown together to make an unlikely dream a wild reality. Alfred believes the climate in the Yemen can’t sustain the salmon and he butts heads with Harriet, who is keen to see the project completed. Patricia (Kristin Scott Thomas), a press secretary for the Prime Minister, is equally keen and commits Alfred to the assignment, desperate for a positive story in the Middle East after a series of disasters for the British government.

the canvas cooler project 29:03:12 :: Lo Fi Collective :: L3 383 Bourke St Surry Hills

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29:03:12 :: Japan Foundation Gallery :: L1 Chifley Plaza 2 Chifley Sq Sydney

Arts Exposed

■ Theatre

THE WHARF SESSIONS FEAT. FAKER Friday April 13, 10pm The Bar At The End Of The Wharf @ STC / Pier 4, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay You can’t fake cool, but luckily you won’t have to this Friday night if you head down to the Sydney Theatre Company to see Faker play at the newly opened Bar At The End Of The Wharf. Sort of like The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe but easier to get to, this return series of free post-show parties is another reason to hit up a Friday night STC show then head down the boardwalk for a drink and some rockin’ tunes in one of the best settings that side of the harbour.

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Hallström has directed some great adaptations in his long career (The Cider House Rules, The Shipping News), but in Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, he gives buoyancy to another gentle love story, while the much funnier story that might’ve been, is left to sleep with the fish.

Peter Taggart

What's in our diary...

Faker

The film is based on the novel that won author Paul Torday the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic writing in 2007.

But instead of biting satire, director Lasse Hallström mostly presents a will they/won’t they love story, with quite a delicate sense of humour. Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy previously won an Oscar for his adaptation of the novel Q&A (Slumdog Millionaire) but his work here too quickly descends into schmaltz. A terrorism subplot attempts to ground the story from floating into pure fantasy territory, but is so underdone it really only serves as a set-up for one of the film’s more ludicrous moments. McGregor is a pretty likeable caricature, but Blunt can’t flex much comedy brawn, lugging most of the film’s dramatic weight. The real star is Scott Thomas, whose character could’ve walked straight off the set of the cult political comedy The Thick Of It, with her abrasive style and cutting one-liners. It’s a damn shame we don’t see more of her.

LYREBIRD Until April 21 / The Old Fitz Lyrebird explores the story of a group of people in the midst of a deep struggle to rediscover a sense of normality three months after the tragic disaster of the Black Saturday Fires. Written by Amelia Evans, whose work has been attracting industry attention, the play is less about the situation in which it unfolds than with relationships pushed to their limits; family dynamics, friendships and repressed insecurities that are inevitably forced to the surface, fire or no.

A family does not pick its component parts, it is marched down the aisle of life and gradually born, faced with any number of variables ready and waiting in the shadows

to jump out and disturb the equilibrium. In the meantime its members have become so used to themselves and so dependant on their collective whole, that the individuals of this unit find it increasingly difficult to have any emotions unrelated to the other members and thus, find their place within the world.

This thematic exploration, as well as the two female leads Lucy Miller and Sara Zwangobani, are the strengths of the production. There are genuine moments of sensitivity, humour and emotional depth, carried through the language of the script as well as in the delivery of its performers.

Yet, I couldn’t help but feel at times that I was watching television without the close ups. The relevance of the charred landscape as primer for the unravelling drama could have been stronger, and there seemed to be too much pressure on the actors to convey, through what was essentially a good script, what might have more successfully been enhanced in the direction and visual language of the production.

Evan’s characters do give vent to their emotions, leaving a message suspended in the frictions that flesh out the dialogue.

Their denial and fear of sharing the deeper characteristics of the trauma more directly with each other, threatens the stability of any surviving resemblances of life before the fires. It is here, at this intersection, that the production might have realised its potential to conjure up a more complex experience for the audience who (I would hope) were yearning for the kind of story that provides alternatives to parochial Australia.

Nevertheless, it was refreshing to feel involved in an Australian story, especially through the theatre medium. Though perhaps the style was not to my taste, I walked away from the night having enjoyed it anyway, and the audience around me gave off an energy that would certainly agree.

Saha Jones ■ Film

REBELLION Opens April 12 Caveat – If you’re not French, or an expert in French politics, this film will be a primarily educational experience. That doesn’t mean it’s not an emotional narrative journey or anything, but the ‘art’ of the film – the nuance of the performances, the cinematography, the storytelling techniques, the emotional connection – may not have much of an impact as you devote your concentration to following the plot.

Rebellion, written and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, tells the true story of the 1988 hostage crisis on Ouvéa Island, New Caledonia, in which a small group of Kanakan separatists, demanding independence from France, took 27 French gendarmes and GIGN (counterterrorist operatives) hostage in the jungle.

After a week of attempted negotiations, the separatists were attacked, defeated, and brutally executed by French forces, instructed by a right-wing French government that ‘refused to negotiate with terrorists’.

In a way, it’s the moment the colonists jumped the shark: the Kanak quest for sovereignty was given a major boost by the disastrous incident, triggering an agreement for a 20-year transition to independence that’s due to culminate in a referendum on the issue in 2014.

Kassovitz, who also takes the lead role of the GIGN negotiator Phillippe Legorjus, is

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

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

best known as the love interest in Amelie, but he’s also the auteur behind 1995’s excellent La Haine, which examined the rift between the Paris bourgeoisie (i.e. the cops) and the poor teenagers of the banlieue (project houses). Clearly he’s got a thing for self-determination – and who can argue with him? Of course the Kanaks should have their independence. Of course the French are only there for the nickel mines. Of course it’s all political.

The moment where Legorjus lectures his fellow troops about ‘not dehumanising the enemy’ is a bit too Clooney to take fully seriously, but any hint of sanctimony is forgivable in the end, because Legorjus was a real guy, and the film is based on his memoirs.

As director, Kassovitz – a proven master stylist – only lets it rip twice, with an amazing re-enactment of the initial hostage-taking, and an edge-of-your-seat final showdown in the jungle. Otherwise, his coverage is pure television drama. Perhaps the ‘cinematic’ highlight is Iabe Lapacas’ performance as separatist leader Alphonse Dianou. Quietly determined, barely suppressing his fury at the colonial strongarming, he’s magnetic to watch.

Nikos Andronicos ■ Theatre

THE GREAT LIE OF THE WESTERN WORLD Until April 29 / Tap Gallery This understated play digs deep to produce a remarkably honest, cogent and compelling theatre experience. The premise sees Simon and Fiona (Alistair Powning and Kate Skinner), a long-term couple, slowly coming unstuck as adult stresses – their pursuit of ‘great (middle-class) expectations’ – force them to question what they really believe in,

who they really are and how they really want to live their lives.

Their angst and ultimate unravelling is spurred along by the free-spirited Emerson (Michael Booth), an old friend of Simon’s who’s quit his job and spent the last three months travelling around, ‘walking the streets’, feeling the sunshine on his face and catching up with old friends. He’s staying on their couch for a few nights, over which we come to learn he hasn’t just arrived on a whim, but is fulfilling a promise he made to Simon ten years earlier.

The cast’s naturalistic acting brings an intimacy that works well on the small stage, and frankly, it’s hugely refreshing to see what appear to be real people living real, relatable lives. Working without a director, Cathode Ray Tube have developed a true ensemble piece, and the timing, tone and emotional affect they create is on the mark.

Thematically, Powning and Booth's script shines a direct critical focus on our own lives: “Everybody is a whore in some way,” muses Emerson’s somewhat mysterious girlfriend Paige (Jessica Donoghue).

Where this commentary might usually serve better in an unpublished philosophical essay or a late-night rant at The Courty; where it could have hammered us over the head with a political agenda and where the characters could have been crass stereotypes, The Great Lie somehow misses all that and jumps straight to the heart of the matter: what does it mean to be free in contemporary Western civilisation?

The ensemble work is brilliant, the relationships are constructed delicately and the no-frills script is sharp, tight and absorbing. Cathode Ray Tube have produced the type of masterpiece that doesn’t hit you until you’re trying to pick out the moments you liked and realise you just liked the whole thing.

Roslyn Helper

Street Level

Factory Space Theatre Presents

With Kelly Ann Doll

S

ydney in the 1960s may have been a place where imported glamour mixed with local intrigue, artists mixed with criminals and where city folk and out-of-towners alike came to indulge in the heady, seductive city bathing in the wicked and bohemian. But Australia’s 'pinup pocket rocket' Kelly Ann Doll reckons that Sydney’s current burlesque scene is as good as ever. And judging by the lineup of 34B Burlesque’s Sin City, happening next Friday April 13, she may well be right.

Emceed by Bobby Goldsworthy, the night will feature Holly J’aDoll, Lauren La Rouge, Kelly Ann Doll, Lulu, Baby Blue Bergman, Cherry Lush, and many more.

DJ Goldfoot will also keep you up 'til late with a set of swingin’ show tunes.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

What does Sydney 2012 have that Sydney circa 1960 was missing? This lineup!! Isn’t it obvious? We’ve got the best movers and shakers all together on one stage... 1960 is rolling over in its poppy field over this one. I think what Sydney lacked back in the day compared to now, was the undeniable endless variety of talent and skill that performers can offer! It ain’t just about the naked body anymore (although that is still the fun part); burlesque is a journey now-adays, not just a perve.

Sin City photo by Angela McConnell.

What is burlesque for you – glamour or gruel? It must have an element of both, or else it’s just not the real thing. To dazzle and disgrace is what most quality artists live their lives by.

What’s your performance background?

I’m trained in 1940s swing dance, with circus, Latin and fancy footwork up my sleeve. Throw in a bit of tease and what do you get? Well, you will have to see for yourself...

What burlesque artists are you inspired by? Anyone with high energy. I love hard and fast burlesque, such as Perle Noire, Dakota Ferreiro, Indigo Blue and Aussie starlets Holly J’aDoll, Tasia and Evie Red! Gotta love girls who make you sweat just watching them!

By Tennessee Williams Directed by Roz Riley

Describe the act you will be performing on the night. Not even God knows what I will do. But my plan (if I stick to it) is to take my audience back to the Golden Age; a love story with a not so expected ending... a duo act with a twist. Watch out in the front row, it could get a bit rough! But like I said, with me, anything is possible… so look out!

What: 34B Burlesque presents Sin City When: Friday April 13 from 8.30pm Where: 34B @ 44 Oxford St (entry through QBar) More: exchangehotel.biz

13th to 28th April 2012 Star of the Sea Theatre Cnr Collingwood & Iluka MANLY

BoxOffice/ 94391906 BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 23

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK ORBITAL

on Wonky they recapture everything that made them so great two decades ago.

Wonky Liberator

If the light tunnels at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey were meant to invoke awe instead of terror, this would be a superb accompaniment.

Orbital at their best have always resembled the soundtrack to some excellent post-apocalyptic film, but with the sort of unshakeable optimism that's usually missing from those affairs. Or maybe they’re more like an epic version of the music in an early '90s computer game, with a tiny triangular spaceship navigating icy and colourful 8-bit landscapes at high speed. Or perhaps it just seems like that to anyone who didn’t frequent the Dartford clubs of this duo’s early days.

Regardless, it’s music for things to happen to.

The melodies have the gorgeous simplicity of their earlier output. The brothers Hartnoll never totally push the tempo here, resulting in a sequence of songs that lull you in rather than grabbing you via sheer adrenalin (a la ‘Chime’), but while the rawest bursts of energy are missed, it’s still immediately beautiful; ‘One Big Moment’ and ‘Never’ ring with yearning and nostalgia, ‘Straight Sun’ and ‘Stringy Acid’ play the maxiKraftwerk vibe to great effect, and the guest spot from Zola Jesus on ‘New France’ is very cool – as is the left-field rhyme-spittin’ from Lady Leshurr on the title track.

This hinting at something more makes Orbital’s rave stylings seem a little more profound and ecstatic. And after some time in the wilderness,

But these analogue synths just sound timeless; the only thing suggesting that it’s 2012 is the dubstep parody, ‘Beelzedub’. Masterful and

measured, Wonky sounds like people from the past looking into the future with awe, or vice versa.

Laurence Rosier Staines

BEAR IN HEAVEN

CHARGE GROUP

THE MARS VOLTA

SUPER BEST FRIENDS

I Love You, It’s Cool Inertia

Charge Group Microphone & Loudspeaker

Noctourniquet Warner

Handshake EP Independent

One of the most beguiling things about Bear In Heaven’s second album, Beast, Rest, Forth, Mouth, was its sobering dryness. The band’s music is essentially synth-based pop, a genre often enamoured of sonic (if not necessarily stylistic) maximalism.

But that record was mostly void of massive reverb and audial bombast, a move that drew you unsettlingly close to its seething arrangements and startling songs. Trapped in the tiny, shimmering rooms of its songs, Jon Philpott’s voice seemed prescient in its agility, deftly weaving juxtaposing keys into elusive, compulsive melodies.

That intimate, muted psychedelia has dispersed on I Love You, It’s Cool.

It’s been cashed in for a glistening panorama of fluorescing trance-y wash – at once immersive and fickly depthless. For the first few spins, it feels like an emptily dazzling piece of insipid cash-in pop. Bear In Heaven are wilier than that, though. Although it’s not all stunning, much of the songwriting stands up particularly well beneath the pulsing, radiant surface of the arrangements. ‘The World Of Freakout’ has some cunning melodic shifts, each of which reveal new colour in an otherwise simple vocal melody.

‘Warm Water’ is similarly deceitful, its tensely circuitous progressions yielding to prickly synthetics before an inspired harmonic spike elevates it to a defiant coda. The end of ‘Space Remains’ is also striking, an unresolved vocal harmony anxiously repeating the track’s title over a viscous 8-bit vamp.

Other tracks are less affable. The lilting melancholia of ‘The Reflection of You’ is only just potent enough to gloss over goofy lyrics, while ‘Kiss Me Crazy’ is superficially alluring, but paper-thin and vapid.

A handful of nifty songs hiding in a record that seems obsessed with its own intensely synthetic visage.

Sydney’s Charge Group might not have released anything since their 2008 debut, Escaping Mankind, but their follow-up proves the wait has been worth it. The self-titled release is a rarity, successfully marrying pop tweaks with experimental leanings whilst finding a sound that is distinctly its own. For the listener, there’s no off-puttingly saccharine moments or inaccessible clamours; instead, it can be completely absorbed on first listen – which is part of what makes the record such an unequivocal success.

Charge Group crosses from the anthemic war-cry of a falling empire on ‘The Gold is Gone’ to wordless jams on ‘Search Party’, without ever losing its flow; it's just as happy exploring sparse tangents as epic soundscapes. Meanwhile, Matt Blackman’s vocal ranges from fist-inthe-air roars to feathery whispers, all amongst bolstered, violin-flavoured arrangements.

Lyrically, the album has a far more centred view. The introspective observations of ‘The Leaves Falling Off Their Branches’ seem at odds with the societal overthrow hinted at on ‘Volcano’ and ‘Dominoes,’ but they all wrap around visions of some kind of post-apocalyptic collapse. Even the understated beauty of ‘Hearth of Your Home’ seems to come at the expense of a kingdom, finding pleasantries only when the sun has been dragged home kicking and screaming.

This is the perfect marriage of Charge Group’s potentially battling sounds, laying a lyrical concept of rebellion against the exploratory realms of their music for one of the most powerful local releases of the year.

Max Easton

Luke Telford

I remember staring blankly at my ham and salad one Christmas as my Uncle Malcolm explained his theory on abstract art: “So, I’m looking at a set of keys jammed into a block of cheddar set on a barstool, and when I mention to someone that I don’t get it, I’m the asshole?” At the time, I was thinking he was an asshole – but I’ve heard similar statements uttered when discussing The Mars Volta.

Through five previous albums, Omar Rodríguez-López and his cohorts have pushed and pulled their listeners through crawlspaces of psychedelica, jazz, latin and rock, lashed together with a thread of experimentalism.

When they’re on, they are one of the most captivating and creative bands on the planet, but sometimes, when you’re sitting through the eighth minute of some droning minimalist soundscape, you may ask yourself whether your time could be spent doing something else – anything else.

Fortunately, that self-indulgence has been curtailed in this latest record, and what is left is a concise cut of what TMV can sound like in a four-minuteper-song format. Album opener ‘The Whip Hand’ sets the tone; drummer Deantoni Parks is frenetic, ricocheting patterns off Rodríguez-López’ crunching guitar work and bombastic synths. ‘Dyslexicon’ and ‘Molochwalker’ are immediately identifiable TMV fodder, with vocalist Cedric BixlerZavala at his esoteric finest. Complex and inventive, they temper the softer song-structures of ‘Imago’ and the beautiful ‘Empty Vessels Make The Loudest Sound.’ But it’s the band’s departure into twangy noir-esque territory in ‘The Malkin Jewel’ that shows them at their white-knuckle best.

This is a simplified version of TMV, less focused on pushing boundaries and more focused on writing good songs.

Contrary to whatever you may have witnessed once on South Park, Super Best Friends are not a gang of your favourite interfaith religious idols hanging out and beating up evil cult-masters together.

But I think it’s fair to say these noisy Canberrans do use the power of rock for good.

Debut EP Handshake is a loud, terse rant against a bunch of things that probably deserve the solid beating they receive here from a few rounds of staccato drumsticks, electrified guitar strings, dirty buzzing synths and smashing cymbals. Starting with that consistent foil for left-leaning punk rockers, consumerism (‘No Logo Is A Joke’), they end with something a little more location-specific: bogans.

The sound is very much aligned with the likes of McLusky – with a broad Australian accent and a cranky social agenda. I’d also throw in QOTSA, Children Collide and Frenzal Rhomb as musical coordinates. It’s loud, brash, and pretty darn fun. They manage to inject social and political commentary into the songs without getting too preachy – although at times the lyrical content gets distinctly uncomfortable.

Case in point: ‘Bleachers’. It’s a brilliantly off-putting piece of musical satire – a snotty, anthemic character sketch of gross, racist Aussie blokehood that’s almost too convincing. It’s a song to jump up and down and shout along to – or at least it would be, if that didn’t mean having to screech such racist vitriol as “people in boats keep me up at night, ‘cause all that I know is how to be white”.

Political angst aside, Handshake is a super fun debut offering from a band who might just become some of your loudest – if not best – new musical buddies.

Jenny Noyes

Rick Warner

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK CHET FAKER Thinking in Textures Inertia/Opulent Chet Faker – the pseudonym or ‘bedroom project’ of Melbourne one-time audio engineering student Nick Murphy – tore up the interwebs last year with his understated take on an RnB classic, and found himself booked for SXSW long before this first release dropped. Bloody right, too. Thinking In Textures is half an hour of understated everyman songwriting, lovelorn sensuality and incredibly deft trip hop-adjacent production. It has that same breathy, oblique quality as The Weeknd, but Abel Tesfaye’s schtick is contrasting

24 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

angelic vocals with tales of manipulation and debauchery; Murphy drags a lightlygravelled, barely-there croon out of bed to express his fascination with bodies and feelings, in songs that are alive with voices and organic noise. All seven could just as easily soundtrack the before, the during and the after of whatever ‘bedroom projects’ you happen to have going.

He nails the patient, slurring decadence of breakout track ‘No Diggity’; few Australian singers could sell the line ‘Shorty get down, good Lord’ with the particular leering reverence it requires. But then Murphy’s voice is a deceptively malleable animal – hinting at and occasionally drawing on a more powerful range (‘I’m Into You’), he rides a line between earnest,

masculine intensity and insouciance.

As addictive as the vocals are, the best song is technically an instrumental – ‘Cigarettes And Chocolate’. A snippet of falsetto that’s probably Murphy but could be lifted from a Marvin Gaye vocal; drowned, muffled, plaintive and wordless croons; all braided with acoustic guitar and crisp beats to create a gorgeous ebb that rises and recedes in a way that feels both precisely calculated and entirely natural.

It’s carnal, but not quite dirty; it’s romantic, but it never feels cheesy.

(This also happens to be the formula for the perfect slow jam.)

Caitlin Welsh

POOR MOON Illusion EP Sub-Pop/Inertia Fleet Foxes really struck a chord in 2008 with the combo of their self-titled record and the Sun Giant EP. The subject matter and materials of those records made a lot of sense, harking back to simpler airier arrangements of the likes of Simon and Garfunkel or CSNY, with unshowy and glowing songcraft to match. The marketing strategy also made sense; the EP was recorded after the album was finished, but was released first, apparently engineered as something of a strategic pre-cursor – a taster for the lush, oak-hued palette of what would follow.

With this in mind, listening to Illusion conjures a certain deja vu. Just as with the Foxes’ primer, its five tracks are carefully sequenced and recorded so as to sound almost calculatedly beautiful in a timber-and-steel kind of way. Comparing this band to the other is a little unfair, however, as the two share members. Much of what feels familiar about this EP, apart from the tastefully folky feel, is Casey Wargo’s dry, softly textured voice – one that can easily be picked out of the treacly five-part harmonies that wallpapered last year’s Helplessness Blues.

‘Illusion’ opens promisingly, with purposefully plucked classical guitar and gentle washes of tape delay.

Wargo waxes about trusting his instincts. His melodies are immediately, easily hummable. It sounds beautiful; you find yourself earmarking details that are sure to become treasured landmarks on future listens.

'Anyplace’ and ‘Once Before’ conjure the moody arcs of Stephen Stills’ solo work, and ‘People In Her Mind’ is a spirited and exactingly-orchestrated stab at The Zombies-esque ‘60s psych pop. ‘Widow’ bookends the record with more burbling nylon-string and comely harmonies.

It’s pleasant, even if it seems purposefully so, but it leaves you with no residual treasures.

Admirable but unremarkable.

Luke Telford

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

MAZZY STAR - So Tonight That I Might See RINGO DEATHSTARR - Colour Trip DE LA SOUL'S PLUG 1 & PLUG 2 - First Serve

EARTH WIND & FIRE - Best Of BLUEJUICE - Company

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

BALL PARK MUSIC, NANTES The Factory Theatre Friday March 30 As we walk into the Factory behind a gaggle of chipper under-18s, a guy behind us sighs, “Crap, I didn’t realise this was all-ages.” But as soon as Sydney locals Nantes come onstage, all the young’uns who have been wedged up against the barrier guarding their spots all night start rocking out. It draws in the too-cool older crowd loitering by the bar, and the four-piece get a great reception.

They’ve got a very UK-inspired sound, replete with often-depressing vocals (albeit with a reasonable amount of chanting). They close with the song ‘Fly’, and while it doesn’t quite deliver its anthemic, singalong promise, its upbeat energy and cheerful xylophone are the perfect palate-cleanser for tonight’s headliners.

Ball Park Music were a support act down the road at the Enmore last year, and it’s great to see them headlining tonight, their first of two sold-out shows, thanks to their super-catchy, clever indie pop and great live performances. These guys are a lot of fun. We don’t get a lot of banter from lead singer Sam Cromack, who seems a little more subdued than usual, but this doesn’t prevent the band from delivering hit after irreverent hit. Nearly every song from their debut album, Happiness And Surrounding Suburbs, seems like a crowd favourite – including ones that haven’t received any radio airplay. They're obviously playing to a crowd of converts. The biggest receptions are reserved for the infectious ‘Rich People Are Stupid’ and the low-key, yearning ‘All I Want Is You’.

Contributing almost as much to the cheerful energy in the room as the band are the young ones at the front. The pit they’ve started – not a mosh pit by any means, but a happy-bopping-singalong pit of cheerfulness – has drawn the room in. The set ends with a couple of BPM’s strongest hits – ‘iFly’ and ‘It’s Nice To Be Alive’. They really give it their all, and are rewarded with huge cheers from a crowd that can sense the end of the show approaching. They close with a beautiful cover of the Kinks’ ‘All Day And All of the Night’ – which is pretty much how long everybody would have been happy to see these guys play.

Romi Scodellaro

NICK LOWE, GERAINT WATKINS Sydney Opera House Thursday March 29 Geraint Watkins stumbled onto the stage without really explaining who he was, even though he promised to. Sitting down between two keyboards, the slightly drunk Welshman treated the audience to an unaccompanied romp through his delightful solo material, and it didn’t matter a jot that no one had heard of him before. As it turns out, Watkins – on top of his many session accomplishments – is the keyboardist in Nick Lowe’s band (“We couldn’t afford a real opener,” he muttered), and his songwriting was equal parts amusing and deeply affecting. He played ‘Go West’ like a grizzled cowboy Dean Martin, sang bar-room paeans to lost loves, and did a spoken word/Cajun boogie version of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ that I challenge you to imagine. Watkins has a lived-in croon and his easygoing, completely unbothered performance was a gem.

When punk progenitor/pop maverick Nick Lowe stepped into view it was clear that we were dealing with the latest incarnation of a Bowie-esque musical chameleon. In horn-rimmed glasses and with a lineup that matched the early Elvis Presley band instrument-for-instrument (with the exception of Watkins’ keyboards), he was as far as he could comfortably have been from the late ‘70s model Nick Lowe. In his opening speech he dutifully plugged his latest album The Old Magic but managed to pre-empt all concerns that that was all we would hear, memorably claiming, “If you drilled a hole in me, written all through me like rock would be the words ‘quality entertainment’.”

This excellent remark set the standard high, though the night didn’t quite live up to it. His set was straightforward, charming, inoffensive Tin Pan Alley fare, and almost all songs were about being both lonely and literate (‘Lately I’ve Let Things Slide’, ‘I Read A Lot’, ‘Sensitive Man’). He is undeniably still a fine craftsman; but somehow that’s not enough from the

Remedy More than The Cure since 1989 with Murray Engleheart

man behind Jesus Of Cool. The savvy sense of humour and biting cynicism that seemed to power the first half of his career didn’t get a look-in, replaced by gentle, subdued and impossible-to-hate songsmithery. Perhaps the mark of middle-age and beyond. The crowd didn’t mind. If they were there for his softer material he didn’t disappoint. In fact, fire or no fire, he was a gracious performer and just downright charming. That’s more than you can say about Bob Dylan.

Mudhoney

Laurence Rosier Staines

ANGELIQUE KIDJO, KEB' MO' Sydney Opera House Monday April 2 Resplendent in Chuck Taylors, perched atop the longest legs on earth, Keb' Mo' sidled up to the mic, fixed the array of pedals gathered at his feet (with a concerned stare) and smiled warmly but quickly at the crowd. The Compton-raised, Nashville-based bluesman is something to behold live. For starters, his band members only come up to about his chest height. And although they ably support his particular brand of laconic country, the real feature is Mo's restraint. Where lesser musicians might rush into noodling a bar or four, Mo clutches his Gibson to his sternum until the audience cannot bear to wait any longer for some sweet fingerpicking and deep baritone vocals.

The star of the evening appeared with diva-like lateness, knowing that the crowd would bear her no ill will as she wooed us in French, English, Hindi, Swahili and probably other languages. Opening solo, she began with the very first song she ever performed live. Explaining that her career is due to her mother pushing her up onto the stage at age six, she intoned: “I hated that microphone. I was scared, but I was not ever going to put it down.” For the entire two-plus hours of the show she refused to relinquish control. As she sang classics such as ‘Kelele’ the band whipped the crowd into a beaming ball of excitement and joy. It may sound simplistic, but the power of ’joy’ pervaded the room. It didn’t matter that we rarely knew the actual words or the occasional didactic political speech dragged. This was an evening that ended with a stage filled with audience members goofily dancing as a firebrand quinquagenarian from Benin impossibly leapt her own body height and challenged those in the seats to feel and love more.

Benjamin Cooper

MY MORNING JACKET, DAWES Enmore Theatre Tuesday April 3 “We’re Dawes! That’s D-A-W-E-S” said the front-man of the LA alt-country outfit, affirming the fact that supporting My Morning Jacket on their Bluesfestsupported Australian tour was obviously a big opportunity. Initially coming across as a strangely earnest tribute to the ‘80s Americana of Rush or Jeff Tweedy, they eventually settled into a sound that was more their own – the ‘Google us’ attitude quickly forgiven as they proved themselves to be crowd pleasers.

But beginning their two-and-a-half hour set with the eerie build of ‘Victory Dance’ (the opening track to 2011’s brilliant Circuital), My Morning Jacket proved that there was no need for their crowd to be warmed.

Received rapturously, they artfully navigated their six-album discography, granting time for their serene chill-outs amongst their playful rock-outs. It was tantalisingly close to the perfect setlist – leaning heavily on their latest record for sure, but littered with gems from their 14-year career. From the nigh-on-disco beats of ‘Touch Me I’m Going To Scream Part 2” to the blockbuster ‘Holdin' On To Black Metal’ and back through the chilled romance of ‘Golden,’ you got the impression MMJ can do anything. The hard rock opening of set closer ‘One Big Holiday’ elicited a short-lived mosh, before relaxing to a stagger for the unmistakable croon of Jim James. While it has been their willingness to pursue whatever sound touched them that’s made them so interesting to follow over the last decade, it was this marathon, careerspanning live show that gave credence to the love they were showered with on the night. This was a band who were missed the moment they walked off stage.

Max Easton

FEEDTIME

With their boxed set The Aberrant Years under their belt, feedtime are currently storming through dates in the US including several shows with Mudhoney. They’re receiving the sort of acclaim and pulling crowds that dwarf anything they were handed in this country, with the sole exception of their reunion show at the Sando last September. Jon Spencer went to see them in New York City and Penelope from The Avengers dropped by to say hi at their first show in San Francisco.

Some have been driving for up to six hours to see the trio, while others boast feedtime tattoos. One dude had a leather jacket onto which he painted ‘feedtime’ and the frog logo back in 1986. He was mighty chuffed about finally being able to wear it to an actual gig at Maxwell’s New Jersey.

A DECADE OF HARD-ONS

Citadel Records are doing those Hard-Ons reissues we mentioned in a five part series called The Hard-Ons – A Decade Of Rock.

This definitive effort will present the entire official recorded output of The Hard-Ons’ first ten years of existence, with each new release staggered three to four months apart. First off the rank is Smell My Finger, which spans 1984-1987 and contains all of the band’s early 7-inch releases and the two 12-inch albums, Smell My Finger and Hot For Your Love, Baby. Every officially released HardOns tune from the period can be found in this package, even the most obscure compilation tracks. Release date is April 27.

OFF! ALBUM ON

Expect a full album from OFF! in May. Not that anything is really going capture the full wallop of them at the Annandale back in December.

ROD AND ROLL

Yep, Rod Stewart and The Faces will reunite for a three song set – which we’re betting will include ‘Stay With Me’ – as part of their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on April 14. We reckon they’ll lock in together as if their historic 1972 show at Wembley Stadium was just last week. Kicking soccer balls out into the seated crowd at the Cleveland ceremony might be a step too far though. A great pity that the late Ronnie ‘Plonk’ Lane and his unique bass playing won’t be part of it all.

ONLY 300 VICTIMS

Fuse has released an exclusive Japanese reissue of material by Perth’s Oz punk legends, The Victims called Sleeping Dogs Lie. Featuring modern day Hoodoo Gurus’ Dave Faulkner – or Dave Flick as he was known back then – on guitar and vocals and early Gurus and Beasts of Bourbon drummer James Baker, The Victims gave us the classic 7-inch, ‘Television Addict’. Limited to just 300 copies the album brings together all their recordings from the period including nine previously unreleased demos, as well as flyers, liner notes, lyrics, etc.

CAN DO MORE

On the heels of the reissue of their classic album Tago Mago, in June, German Krautrock meisters, Can, will release a box of other goodies called The Lost Tapes. The 3CD set will be from the period 1968-1977 and it’s coming to the world courtesy of a treasure trove of material found in cupboards that were discovered while their studio was being relocated to be part of the German Rock And Pop Museum. It includes live material as well as alternate studio versions and out-takes.

ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is Wreck, the new effort from the stayers of the NYC urban noise rock scene, Unsane. No one is in a more hallowed position to blow speakers than these guys. As ugly and unrelenting as they were two decades ago and with grooves to keep a lifer’s attenton for the duration of their stay, we’d really like to experience them stretching out on longer pieces than those on show here. Still in the Big Apple, we’ve also been spinning Sonic Youth’s Evol, which for us best captured their uniquely tuned guitar noise with an emerging pop element, which later got a bit too outta hand for our liking.

TOUR AND INDUSTRY NEWS In addition to performing on April 22 as part of the Sydney Dig It Up! The Hoodoo Gurus Invitational, US rock‘n’roll lords Redd Kross will perform their classic, Born Innocent album and Posh Boy EP on April 24 at Oxford Art Factory with the Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys and Bloods. Released in 1980 and clocking in at less than seven minutes, the Posh Boy effort featured the teenaged McDonald brothers Steve (12) and Jeff (16) alongside future Black Flag singer Ron Reyes (drums) and future Circle Jerk and Bad Religion guitarist Greg Hetson. It had a sound and character that belied the ages of the golden arched brothers. Born Innocent took the trash punk formula a step further, but only slightly.

Indie supergroup, Loose Pills will return for a second engagement at the I-94 Bar at the Sando on April 15. Composed of former and current members of The Scruffs, Orange Humble Band, The Lemonheads, The New Christs and The Eastern Dark, Loose Pills blew more than a few minds on their first outing. Rounding out the bill will be Newtown’s garage wunderkinds, Hislop, Wipey and Rissole aka The Escapes and The Nature Strip, a new project for Pete Marley (ex-Swordfish/The Flies)

and Shaggin’ Wagon’s John E. The fun starts at 7pm.

Steve Lucas is taking his final bows with X after heartily keeping the flame alive since the Ian Rilen’s passing, a situation about which we’ve had mixed feelings.

“Since the release of X-Spurts I have been feeling as though I have fulfilled all my obligations or duties towards X and the memory of some of the key figures in X’s history. I will always love the music and will always continue to play it in one format or another... I don’t wish to bear the cross any more,” he said. It’ll be a tough goodbye at two final Sydney shows.

The first is on April 20 at Stones at Manly Fishos with special guests Chickenstones and Young Docteurs and then the send off party is on April 21 at The Square (cnr of George and Hay St, Haymarket) with a debut performance by Queen Of Swords alongside Bunt, 77 Sunset Strippers and Stamp Out Disco DJs. Queen Of Swords is the brand new project for singer Lizzie Mack best know for her work in Deniz Tek’s Soul Movers. Behind her in Queens is guitarist Dean Coulter (Decline Of The Reptiles), Andy Newman (bass - Decline Of The Reptiles, Soul Movers, Klondike’s North 40) and Gerard Presland (drums - Deniz Tek Group, Klondike’s North 40, The Hitmen).

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

Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 25

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

tiger & the rogues party profile

It’s called: Tiger & The Rogues It sounds like: Sexy blues-rock sweetened with a pinch of delectable vocal hooks and foot tapping rhythmic riffs. It’s alright baby.

Who’s playing? Tiger & The Rogues, The Eagle & Child and Spaceticket.

Sell it to us: It’s time to get rid of those angsty indie songs and fill your ears with some good ol’ fashioned rock’n’roll. Tiger & The Rogues will be there to get your heart pounding in time to the kick drum, your mind spinning with unbelievable two-in-one solos and your eyes popping, with two sexy chicks on stage playing their guitars like there’s no tomorrow.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Why you won’t bother with the ‘indie’ section of JB Hi-Fi anymore. Oh, and those two sexy chicks.

Crowd specs: Awesome peeps who get happy (not sad) when drinking, cool cats who want rock’n’roll, and lovers who love good music.

Wallet damage: $10 Where: The Annandale / 17-19 Parramatta Rd

elbow

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When: Thursday April 12 from 8pm

evanescence

29:03:12 :: Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour St Sydney 9320 4200

duran duran

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bombay bicycle club 27:03:12 :: Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour St Sydney 9320 4200 26 :: BRAG :: 457: 09:04:12

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30:03:12 :: Manning Bar ::University of Sydney 95636000

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the herd

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26:03:12 :: Hordern Pavilion :: 122 Lang Rd Moore Park 8117 6700

28:03:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711 :: RASA JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER ERIA :: TIM WHITNEY TEIX O DIEG :: ETTE ROUHANNA MAR :: THOMAS PEACHY :: ROS

snap sn ap

sleepmakeswaves

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28:03:12 :: Beach Road Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247

chopfest iv

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30:03:12 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 9267 3787

rabbit hole masquerade ball

31:03:12 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 95501078

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chicks who love guns

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up all night out all week . . .

30:03:12 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel 248 Williams St Kings Cross 9331 9900

royal chant party profile

It’s called: ‘Hesitation Kills’ single launch It sounds like: A fuzzbox blender of sorts.

Who’s playing? Royal Chant, The Shake Up, Senza Sole.

Sell it to us: Come out, sing at the top of your lungs and spill your beer.

The night kicks off with garage/psych upstarts Senza Sole, followed by our friends The Shake Up. Cheap drinks and DJs ‘til late. It’s the way of the whirlwind.

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: A catchy ringing in your ears and smashed guitars. We can’t vouch for what you get up to after the show, but if it’s legal you’re doing it wrong.

Crowd specs: Lifetime members of the ‘chip on the shoulder club’, outcasts, incasts, hipsters, & haters. Music lovers of all stripes are also welcome. Glow sticks strictly prohibited.

Wallet damage: It’s free entry so the damage to your wallet is in the hands of you and your liver.

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

:: RASA JUSKEVICIUTE :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) Y OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER DIEGO TEIXERIA :: TIM WHITNE :: NA HAN ROU ETTE ROS :: MAR :: THOMAS PEACHY

ASHLEY

mum

PICS :: TP

When: Saturday April 14 from 8pm

30:03:12 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 9357 7700 BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 27

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

pick of the week

Bluejuice

The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 9.30pm Mute Oblivion, Lancaster Bomber, The Riff, Kit Complete Annandale Hotel $8 7.30pm Phillip Ricketson Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel free 8pm The Pogues (IRE), Barons of Tang Hordern Pavilion, Moore Park $84.30 (+ bf) 8pm sold out Vusi Mahlasela (South Africa), Victor Martinez The Basement, Circular Quay $44 (+ bf) 8pm

JAZZ

Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm Slater/Dewhurst/Hunter/ Undy/Barker 505 Club, Surry Hills $10 (conc)–$15 8.30pm

FRIDAY APRIL 13

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Metro Theatre, Sydney

Bluejuice, Loon Lake, The Cairos

$28.70 8pm all-ages MONDAY APRIL 9

TUESDAY APRIL 10

WEDNESDAY APRIL 11

ROCK & POP

ROCK & POP

ROCK & POP

David Bromberg Quartet (USA), Victor Martinez The Basement, Circular Quay 8pm James Vincent McMorrow (IRE), Caitlin Park The Factory Theatre, Enmore $33–$43.99 (incl CD) 8pm Juke Cartel, The Perfect Revolution Notes, Enmore $23.50 7pm The Pinks, King Tide, Declan Kelly, Andy Golledge Rock Lily, Pyrmont free 2pm Safari Suits, The Donovans The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 2pm Sonic Mayhem Orchestra Blue Beat Bar & Grill, Double Bay 8pm Steve Earle (USA) The Concourse, Chatswood $59–$89 8pm Steve Tonge, Bernie The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm Unherd Open Mic Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Zoltan Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill Free 12pm

JAZZ

Monday Jam: Danny G Felix The Lansdowne, Broadway free 9pm

28 :: BRAG :: 457 : 09:04:12

Adam Pringle & Friends Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Bondi Jam Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Mary & The Banks, Taylor & The Makers The Basement, Circular Quay $10 (+ bf) 8.30pm OMG Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10pm Rob Henry The Observer Hotel, The Rocks free 8.30pm The Songwriter Sessions Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm They Call Me Bruce Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 8.30pm

JAZZ

Jazzgroove: The Sandy Evans Trio, Kristin Berardi, James Sherlock 505 Club, Surry Hills $8 (conc)–$15 8.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Seth Lakeman (UK), Carus Thompson The Vanguard, Newtown $26.80 8pm

Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney free 9pm April Verch Band (CAN), Nathan Rogers (CAN), Dry Bones (CAN) Notes, Enmore $39.80 7pm Ben Finn Duo Mean Fiddler, Rouse Hill free 6pm Bleeding Knees Club, Dune Rats, March of the Real Fly Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm Hey Baby, Sixplane, Picture Perfect Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm James Vincent McMorrow (IRE) The Vanguard, Newtown $36.80 8pm sold out Jamie Lindsay Northies, Cronulla free 7.30pm JP Duo O’Malley’s Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9pm Live & Local: Aaron Lyon, Matt Dewar, Kym Campbell, Overpass Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $15 8pm Lonley Boys Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 11pm Luke Dixon Summer Hill Hotel free 7.30pm MA, Joel Sarakula, Lily So and Co, Dyan Tai FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Mike Bennett

Andrew Denniston Evening Star Hotel, Surry Hills free 7pm Daniel Hopkins Taren Point Hotel free 7pm Darren Bennett, Linda Wood, Starr Witness, Don Christopher, Mirrors in Iceland, Black Diamond Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 6.30pm Greg Sita, Chelsea Gibson, Evoker Cookies Lounge and Bar, North Strathfield free 8pm Helmut Uhlmann, Benwardi, Kyle Dessent The Loft, UTS, Broadway, Ultimo free 6pm Russell Neal, John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald, Paul McGowan, Ken Mclean, Alan Watters, Sasha & George Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm

THURSDAY APRIL 12 ROCK & POP

031 Rockshow Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10pm Anthems Of Oz The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Bonic, John Vella, The Makeup Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $8 8pm Bryen Willems, Alby Pool, Melody Pool, Luke Austen, Hillbilly Heaven Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL free 8pm Chain Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $36 8pm Faktory Blak, Broken Riot, Georgia Juliette, Caddy Thomo Valve Bar, Tempe $8 (presale)–$10 7pm Far Away Stables, The Reprize, War of Attrition Sydney Livehouse, Lewisham Hotel 8pm Hot Damn: Heroes For Hire, Built On Secrets, Wake The Giants, Twisted Affection, Break Away Spectrum, Darlinghurst $15$20 8pm The Inheritance: Sammy J & Randy Metro Theatre, Sydney $28.90 (+ bf) 8pm Johnathon Devoy Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 8pm John Spillane (IRE) Notes, Enmore $34.70 7pm Mark Wilkinson, Alana-Lee, Alloway Brass Monkey, Cronulla $15.30 7pm Myth & Tropics, Damp Vamp, Drake The Fake, These New South Whales

FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Neighbourhood Watch: Colours, The Bachelor Pad, Day Ravies The Standard, Darlinghurst $5 8pm NFA Jones, Tom Showtime The Factory Theatre, Enmore $12 (+ bf) 7.30pm O Brother Where Art Thou?

– A Tribute: Bellyache Ben & The Steamgrass Boys, Felicity Urquhart, Christina Hughes, Elana Stone, Brian Campeau, George Washingmachine The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 8pm Sambossa Blue Beat Bar & Grill, Double Bay 8pm Seasick Steve (USA), Claude Hay Metro Theatre, Sydney $64.40 8pm Strip The Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney free 10.30pm Tiger & The Rogues, The Eagle & The Child, Spaceticket Annandale Hotel $10 8pm The Verlaines (NZ), Peter Fenton, Jason Walker, Simon Comber The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $20 (+ bf) 8pm Vultures: Rockets, Finlay, Fuisha, Skar Landsdowne Hotel, Darlington free 8pm

JAZZ

Java Quartet, Morganics, Bobby Singh 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 7.30pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 8pm Sax in the City: Jeremy Rose & Friends The Spice Cellar, Sydney free 6pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Andrew Denniston, Linda Wood Narrabeen Sands free 7pm Dave Wilkins The Marlborough Hotel free 8.30pm Russell Neal Kogarah Hotel free 7pm

FRIDAY APRIL 13 ROCK & POP

78 Saab, Ghost Hotel, Matt Banham Sandringham Hotel, Newtown 8pm Adaptors, Eternal Orbit, Cold Man Browne Sydney Livehouse, Lewisham Hotel 8pm Bleeding Knees Club, Dune Rats Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $12 (+ bf) 8pm Blonde 182 Customs House Bar, Sydney free 7pm Bluejuice, Loon Lake, The Cairos Metro Theatre, Sydney $28.70 8pm all-ages Bondi Cigars

Brass Monkey, Cronulla $25.50 7pm Chain, Phil Manning Vault 146, Windsor $25 8.30pm The Darker Half, Metal, Silent Knight, Rampage, Thundasteel Bald Faced Stag, Leichhardt $15 7pm Elevation: U2 Tribute Wentworthville Leagues Club free 10pm Emmy Bryce, Kate Vigo Bar Me, Potts Point $15 (+ bf) 8pm Family, Housewives Dirty Shirlow’s, Marrickville 8pm The Good Ship, Green Mohair Suits, Sister Jane The Vanguard, Newtown $18.80 8pm Greg Bryce Great Southern Hotel, Sydney free 9.30pm Harmonic Generator (FRA), Bonney Read, Forever The Optimist, Dirty Utility Hermann’s, Darlington $10 (+ bf) 8pm Hitseekers Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10.30pm Homeward Bound, Easy Company, The Cavalcade, Strathmore The Roxbury Hotel, Glebe 8pm Hotcakes, Roymackonkey, Dork & Ben, Tantrum Fantasy, DJ Alley Cats Lansdowne Hotel, Chippendale free 7pm The Khanz, The Nectars The Lair, Metro Theatre, Sydney $9 (+ bf) 8pm Lime Cordiale, Tim Fitz, Gunface FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Lucy Desoto Rose of Australia Hotel, Erskineville free 9pm Machinemachine, The Holy Soul, Melodie Nelson The Red Rattler, Marrickville $10 8pm Mad Season Matchbox 20 Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 10pm The Mick Jagger & Tina Turner Experience Penshurst RSL $15 8pm Mike McClellan Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $39–$81 (dinner & show) 7pm Millennium Bug The Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney free 10.30pm The Mix Youth Fest: New Empire, Sounds Of Seasons, Ladies & Gentlemen, Paratopia Hurstville Entertainment Centre $10 (+ bf) 6pm allages Movement: Haitus Kaiyote Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm MUM: Those Crooks, Deadbeat & Hazy, Big Dumb Kid, Old Men of Mountain, Black Vanilla, Nakagin, Ghost, Simo Soo, Catkings, Finlay, Seabas, Dimes, Wet Lungs, Peace & Hazy, Swim Team DJs, Dave Hume The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm My Disco, Guerre GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $20 8pm One Direction (UK), Justice My Disco

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Crew, Johnny Ruffo Hordern Pavillion, Moore Park $72 2.30pm, 7.30pm all-ages Pape Mbaye & Chosen Afrique, Keyim Ba Notes Live, Enmore $23.50 7pm Party Central The Marlborough Hotel free 10.30pm Rapids, Sea Legs, Seabourne, PhDJ Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Sativa Sun, The Oceanics Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm The Sidetracked Fiasco Town Hall Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Talk It Up Penrith RSL free 9pm Two’s Company Engadine RSL & Citizens Club free 8pm Underlights, Sticky Fingers, Battleships The Standard, Darlinghurst 8pm Unknown to God, Deathcage, Thorax, Spoonfed Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm The Verlaines (NZ), Crow, Simon Comber Spectrum, Darlinghurst $25 (+ bf) 8pm The Wedding Present, Nic Dalton & His Gloomchasers, Last Leaves Annandale Hotel $35 (+ bf) 8pm Yes (UK) State Theatre, Sydney $99– $149 8pm

JAZZ

The Dyno-Mics 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 (conc)–$20 8.30pm Maceo Parker (USA), Martinez Akustica The Basement, Circular Quay $79.75 (+ bf)–$129.75 (dinner & show) 8.30pm, 11.59pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK Kyle Dessent, Pauly Vella, Benja William Mars Hill Café, Parramatta 8pm

SATURDAY APRIL 14 ROCK & POP

After Party Band The Marborough Hotel, Newtown free 10.30pm Amon Amarth (SWE), Orpheus, Eye Of The Enemy The Hi-Fi, Moore Park $67.50 (+ bf) 8pm all-ages Bleeding Knees Club, Dune Rats, Sures The Factory Floor, Factory Tumbleweed

Theatre, Enmore $12 2pm all-ages Darren Jack Empire Hotel, Annandale $23.50 8pm Dave Tice & Mark Evans Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm Dead Noise, Trauma Victim, Wolfkahn, Festering Drippage, Whisky Smile, Alpha Degenerate Valve Bar, Tempe 12pm Dee Minor & the Dischords, Hell Crab City, Paradox Park Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $15-$20 8pm Dying To Be Alive, Oakbridge, Bayside Wreckers The Roxbury Hotel, Glebe 8pm The Flood Notes Live, Enmore $20.40 7pm Greenthief, Rockethead, Paper Champion The Square, Haymarket $10 8pm Hang Dai Ad, 400KW, The Dirty Earth Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Hiatus Kaiyote, Ninja The Bungee GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $15 8.30pm Jubilants, March Of The Real Fly, Reubix FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm King Tide, Sticky Fingers Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach $15 (+ bf) 8pm Mama Kin, Microwave Jenny Camelot, Marrickville $20 7.30pm Mem Davis & Co, Empra, Lot 8, Stellar Addiction, Carni Meat Lucky Australian Tavern St Mary $10 4pm all-ages Messrs, Saloons, Tokyo Denmark Sweden, F.R.I.E.N.D/s DJs Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm The Nuts Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 8pm Origin of Janken, Darkc311, Celebrity Morgue Sydney Livehouse, Lewisham Hotel 8pm The Radiators, Girls Are Gods Brass Monkey, Cronulla $31.65 7pm Royal Chant, The Shake Up Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm The Tango Saloon, Miss Little, Brian Campeau The Factory Floor, Factory Theatre, Enmore $15 (+ bf) 8pm Totally Gaga - The Australian Lady Gaga Show Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney free 10.30pm Tumbleweed, Cabins, The Treatment Annandale Hotel $20 (+ bf)

8pm Vika & Linda Bull, Nicki Gillis Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $59–$117 (dinner & show) 8pm

JAZZ

Doug Williams & the Mix Blue Beat Bar & Grill, Double Bay $15 8pm Maceo Parker (USA), Martinez Akustica The Basement, Circular Quay $79.75 (+ bf)–$129.75 (dinner & show) 7.30pm, 11.59pm Peter Head The Harbour View Hotel free 5pm Zoahars Nigun 505 Club, Surry Hills $15 (conc)–$20 8.30pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

Darren Bennett, Black Diamond Ettalong Beach Hotel free 8pm Nova Tone The Belvedere Hotel free 9pm Russell Neal, Starr Witness Terrey Hills Tavern free 7.30pm Shane MacKenzie Cohibar, Darling Harbour free 3pm

SUNDAY APRIL 15 ROCK & POP

Ace Brighton RSL Club, BrightonLe-Sands free 7pm Aya Larkin, Sam Bennett, Ollie Brown Brass Monkey, Cronulla $18.40 7pm Broken Hands, Clear Skins, Pharoahs of Farout, Stewart Jammin, Class 1C, Blacksea, The Make Up, Hoo Hars Jets Sports Club, Tempe free 12pm Loose Pills, The Escapes, The Nature Strip Sandringham Hotel, Newtown $10 7pm Mark Hopper Artichoke Gallery Cafe, Manly free 7.30pm Peter Head Trio & Friends The Harbour View Hotel free 4pm The Righteous Prannies Downstairs, Sandringham Hotel, Newtown free 4pm The Road Crew The Three Wise Monkeys, Sydney free 10pm The Road Runners Marrickville Bowling Club free 4.30pm Scream Infamy, Forever A Dreamer, She’s Taken Empires, London In Terror, That Brad Guy, Final Frontier, Your Weight In Gold, Brutal Savage Violent Lucky Australian Tavern St Marys $10 1pm all-ages Screaming Sunday: State of Integrity, To The Grave, Justice for the Damned, Ivory Shore, The Dark Gift, Tenpenny Towers, Omina, Uncover the Mask Annandale Hotel $10 (+ bf) 10am all-ages Screaming Sunday – Evening Show Annandale Hotel $15 4.45pm

ACOUSTIC & FOLK

wed mon

25 09 Jan Apr

(9:00PM - 12:00AM) (2:00PM - 5:30PM)

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

thu

wed

12 Apr

11 Apr

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

fri fri

13 27 Apr Jan

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

(9:30PM (9:30PM– -1:30PM) 1:30AM)

SATURDAY NIGHT

sat

14 Apr (4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

sun

15 Apr

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

Russell Neal, Anita Lenzo, Starr Witness, Don Christopher Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm Tom Trelawny The Belvedere Hotel free 4pm

BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 29

gig picks

up all night out all week...

WEDNESDAY APRIL 11

James Vincent McMorrow

Bleeding Knees Club, Dune Rats, March Of The Real Fly Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach free 8pm

FRIDAY APRIL 13 Bleeding Knees Club, Dune Rats Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $12 (+ bf) 8pm Maceo Parker

THURSDAY APRIL 12

MONDAY APRIL 9

TUESDAY APRIL 10

James Vincent McMorrow (IRE), Caitlin Park The Factory Theatre, Enmore $33–$43.99 (incl CD) 8pm

Seth Lakeman (UK), Carus Thompson The Vanguard, Newtown $26.80 8pm

Myth & Tropics, Damp Vamp, Drake The Fake, These New South Whales FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Neighbourhood Watch: Colours, The Bachelor Pad, Day Ravies The Standard, Darlinghurst $5 8pm O Brother Where Art Thou? – A Tribute: Bellyache Ben & The Steamgrass Boys, Felicity Urquhart, Christina Hughes, Elana Stone, Brian Campeau, George Washingmachine The Vanguard, Newtown $23.80 8pm

MUM: Those Crooks, Deadbeat & Hazy, Big Dumb Kid, Old Men of Mountain, Black Vanilla, Nakagin, Ghost, Simo Soo, Catkings, Finlay, Seabas, Dimes, Wet Lungs, Peace & Hazy, Swim Team DJs, Dave Hume The World Bar, Kings Cross $10$15 8pm My Disco, Guerre GoodGod Small Club, Sydney $20 8pm Underlights, Sticky Fingers, Battleships The Standard, Darlinghurst 8pm The Wedding Present, Nic Dalton & His Gloomchasers, Last Leaves Annandale Hotel $35 (+ bf) 8pm

SATURDAY APRIL 14

Seth Lakeman Bleeding Knees Club

Jubilants, March Of The Real Fly, Reubix FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Royal Chant, The Shake Up Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Tumbleweed, Cabins, The Treatment Annandale Hotel $20 (+ bf) 8pm Maceo Parker (USA), Martinez Akustica The Basement, Circular Quay $79.75 (+ bf)–$129.75 (dinner & show) 7.30pm, 11.59pm

SUNDAY APRIL 15

Xxxx

Aya Larkin, Sam Bennett, Ollie Brown Brass Monkey, Cronulla $17.85 (+ bf) 7pm

WEDNESDAY 11TH APRIL

FRIDAY 13TH APRIL

SATURDAY 14TH APRIL

~MA~

~LIME CORDIAL~

~JUBILANTS~

+ Joel Sarakula + + Lily So & Co + + Dyan Tai +

~ EP Launch ~

~ Single Launch ~

+ Tim Fitz + + Gunface +

+ March of The Real Fly + + Reubix +

8pm, $10

8pm, $10

THURSDAY 12TH APRIL

8pm, $10

+++++++++

~LATE NIGHT SOCIAL DJs~

LOW FREQUENCEY FRIDAY

Rüfüs + Polographia + Frames +

(dub night)

~ ROPES END ~ ~ presents ~

~Myth & Tropics~ + Damp Vamp + + Drake the Fake + + These New South Whales + 8pm, $10 30 :: BRAG :: 457 : 09:04:12

+++++++++

~

Zwelli + Peace & Hazy + + Creature +

~ Broadcast live on FBi Radio ~

11:30pm, Free

~

L2 Kings Cross Hotel

12 midnight, $10

www.fbisocial.com

ADRIAN BOHM PRESENTS

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DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND SECOND SHOW ON SALE NOW! ABPRESENTS.COM.AU CHARLIEMURPHYCOMEDY.COM

I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE DVD AVAILABLE NOW AT ALL GOOD RETAILERS

AGNRA R G L | AL | A FIN FIN D AN ND R G A L| R A |G FIN L A N I F D AN

MISS BURLESQUE AUSTRALIA GRAND FINAL Saturday 21st April | 7pm - Enmore Theatre 130 Enmore Road, Newtown SYD 2024 ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄ ΄

HE SEE T T S R I F ...

EVER

Mr.Boylesque Australia 5 contestants will battle it out for the Australian title

For more information and tickets go to: missburlesquecompetition.com BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 31

“MOVING, FUNNY, TRANSCENDENTLY BEAUTIFUL AND ORIGINAL” PAUL BYRNES, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

“PENN’S PERFORMANCE IS FLAWLESS.” VARIETY

FR A N C ES M cD O R M A N D

N O W S H O W ING

PALACE VERONA, PALACE NORTON ST, HOYTS BROADWAY AND HOYTS CINEMA PARIS 32 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

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

brag beats free stuff

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

five things WITH

SURECUT KIDS

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

TORNADO WALLACE

Mad Racket returns to the hallowed turf of Marrickville Bowling Club on Saturday April 28 with a headline set from Melbourne’s Tornado Wallace, aka Lewie Day, a young DJ and producer who has already attracted support amongst deep house and disco aficionados worldwide. Day’s releases on distinguished labels like Delusions Of Grandeur and Instruments Of Rapture tread the line between house, Detroit techno and disco, and have gained props and plays from heavy hitters such as Andrew Weatherall, The Revenge, Matthew Dear, Tim Sweeney and many more. Indeed Day’s increasing profile on the world stage has led to gigs at some of Europe’s most prestigious venues, including Plastic People in London, Berlin’s Watergate, Space Ibiza and of course now, the mother of them all: Marrickville Bowlo. As ever, the Racketeers Four of Ken Cloud, Jimmi James, Zootie and Simon Caldwell will also be throwing down. $30 tickets are available online.

CHANCE WATERS

In the wake of the release of his new single ‘Infinity’, the title track from his forthcoming sophomore album, Sydney hip hop artist Chance Waters will headline FBi Social on Saturday May 19. After more than five years actively touring the country – sometimes in support of international heavyweights such as Method Man and De La Soul – and releasing music under the moniker Phatchance, Waters has dropped the alias and returned to his given name. And with the cosmetic alterations out of the way, he’s now getting down to serious sonic business, with ‘Infinity’ being lauded by former BRAG coffee boy turned triple j golden boy presenter Dom Alessio as cementing Chance’s standing as a “bourgeoning hip hop star”. More recently, Chance released the mixtape ‘Approaching Infinite’, which featured his remix of Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, which has apparently been picked up by radio stations around Europe.

Angus Gruzman

ANGUS GRUZMAN

Iconic Sydney DJ Angus Gruzman, best known as Gus Da Hoodrat among a host of other monikers, will play a ‘Villalobosian’ six hour set at GoodGod Small Club this Saturday April 14. Anyone who is only familiar with his Bang Gang persona should know that there is plenty more to the man’s warped sonic sensibility – as this Saturday will demonstrate. The presser elucidates, the imminent “personal pilgrimage through all things brown, broken, bold, beautiful, bassy, banter, bi-lateral, bi-sexual and bi-polar will demonstrate how one man can lose his sanity and re-discover it with-in one short night out… let this peripatetic wayfaring alien help you transcend the bi-zones into a new dimension of freak and funk and safari through all the genres in his personal collection. Deep horse hits from the vault, classic clonk donk, hypno haus, tough man techno, safari disco, cosmic cookie cutter kraut and their counterparts will be present for the role call.” To get your hands on a free double pass to this hedonistic soiree, tell us the name of one Hindu god.

Soul Clap

Growing Up Mikey: The biggest musical influence 1. in my childhood was my dad – when I was a young kid he would take my friends and I surfing and play NWA tapes in the car. It had swearing in it and when you’re 12 years old that sort of thing is like striking gold!

Benji: Growing up I didn’t have a musical family or anything like that. Just the usual teenage stuff – sitting in my room listening to music non-stop.

Inspirations Mikey: Jamie XX is at the top of the pile 2. right now. The way he uses space in his tunes just blows my mind. He gets the maximum bang out of every song with the most subtle arrangements.

Benji: The awesome local nice guys out the doing their thang! Sampology, The Mane Thing, Karton etc etc and The BWOSS Kid Kenobi.

Your Crew Mikey: We have lots of mates that we 3. like to do shows with – Sampology, Rhythm & Cutloose, Kid Kenobi, M.I.T, the Purple Sneakers guys, Nice & Ego, Bradley Rodgers, Cory Fletcher, Yacht Club DJs, all these peeps have different styles but there’s enough crossover that it all fits. It’s great to have buddies in different cities – it makes travelling for gigs that much more fun!

The Music You Make Benji: The music we make is always 4. diverse; while we’ve been making our debut album we’ve really had to be conscious of

having some continuity in the tracks we are making. Usually the thing that brings it all together is that it revolves round some kind of bass music. Our latest single ‘Night Games’ is a bit more of a slower deeper song for us and we let the remixes take it to dancefloors.

We’ve been so fortunate to be taken under the wing of the label Klub Kids. They have been so supportive and nurturing it’s really been a blessing.

Mikey: In our live show we run either four or two turntables (depending on how much room there is) plus an MPC. We have a handful of routines with the MPC where we chop up a tune and flip it into something else. Also it’s good for drumming along with the music or firing off a million lazer noises!

Music, Right Here, Right Now Mikey: The music scene at the moment 5. is awesome! I’m so glad to be a part of it during this transitional time. I know that there’s been a lot of chaos since nobody makes money off record sales anymore, but I love how everything is so instant now. We can put a song out online and then a week later someone in the UK is playing it… The reach is just so enormous and I think that gives a lot of opportunities to artists that didn’t exist before. As for music in Sydney: Chinese Laundry has got that shit on lock!!

With: Blaze Tripp, Garage Pressure (Farj Fader & Paul Fraser), Kyro & Bomber and more Where: Chinese Laundry When: Friday April 13

SOUL CLAP

Boston DJing and production duo Soul Clap will release their debut album, EFUNK, through the Future Classic label in Australia. Longtime advocates of hip hop culture, Soul Clap have made their name in recent years on both their original productions and their renowned vinylonly edits, as well as their DJ sets. Last year, they joined forces with Wolf & Lamb for a fourman contribution to K7’s DJ-Kicks series of mix CDs. In terms of the flavour of their debut, EFUNK goes heavy on the collaborations with vocalists, including Lazarus Man who keeneared house fans will recognise from his work with German producer Stimming (how good was he on Easter Monday at The Abercrombie?). Future Classic will be releasing EFUNK: The Album on iTunes Australia on the 20th day of this month.

BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 33

dance music news

free stuff

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

FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM

five things WITH TRINITY VS

DAVE STUART producers coming out of the colder European spaces). My biggest inspiration (and my biggest critic) is my wonder gf Trinity; she’s a great producer and amazing DJ; she’s really going to push me when we play back-to-back at Spl_it!

Your Crew Trinity: I’ve been playing for 3. ten years now and running events

Growing Up Trinity: I used to listen to 2RDJ 1.

FM when I was in my early teens, record the overdrive programs hosted by Mark Dynamix and listen to them all week. This was my only source of electronic music back then.

Dave: I grew up in a typically average English family, who listened to typically average ‘70s and ‘80s stuff (Fleetwood Mac, Queen, The Cars etc). But I’ve always had an inkling for music that was slightly left field; I spent my teenage years listening to altrock stuff like Henry Rollins, Alice in Chains and TMOC... Then in

the ‘00s I discovered progressive house, which I fell deeply in love with.

Inspirations Trinity: Deepchild, James 2.

Holden and XDB! I remember the first time I heard Deepchild’s Chocolate Dubs; I still think this album is a masterpiece.

Dave: DJs/producers like Luke Hess, Brendon Moeller, Petar Dundov, Estroe, Conforce, the Haul Music and Pinksilver labels from Melbourne, and lesser-known guys such as Brickman, G-Day, Examine (there seems to be a wealth of amazing dub techno

Kali

KALI @ SPICE CELLAR

Renowned Sydney selector Kali (aka Carly Roberts), the driving force behind the esteemed Picnic brand, will headline the Spice Cellar’s new Friday sub-brand, Sugar (which as the name suggests offers a counterpoint to the music normally pushed at the venue) on Friday April 13. Kali has played alongside disco and house deity such as Lovefingers, The Revenge, Derrick May, Horse Meat Disco, Greg Wilson, Rub N Tug and Aeroplane among many others, while also ‘crossing over’ on occasion to offer adept support at parties such as Deep Fu*k and Subsonic. Support will come from Space Ibiza resident Ben Korbel, Morgan and James Taylor.

Entry is free with guest list before midnight, $10 after.

for five years; there’s a lot of friends I’ve made on dance floors in that time. Most of them feel like a big family to me.

Dave: There’s a lot of people in the Sydney scene that I call friends.

I love working with other people to try and benefit our little scene as a whole. I think that the more good parties, good venues and good DJs that are regularly doing things around town the better for everyone. I never like hearing that parties are quiet, no matter who they are.

The Music You Make Trinity: I am one half of 4. production duo Trinity & Beyond and also partner of Melbournebased record label Pinksilver Music. Trinity & Beyond have released on labels such as Beef, Haul, Manual Music and resident

Seasoned Music daytime bash, ‘Autumn Music’, which is slotted to run from midday till 10pm on Saturday May 5 at The Entertainment Quarter, Fox Studios. The presser notes the attention to detail and effort being invested in the production side of the event, and promises a German styled Beer Garden for “soiree guests” to “munch on schnitzels” and sip on jugs of imported beer while enjoying the music on offer. And about that: Swiss stalwart Michel Cleis has contributed a number of cuts to the clubbing canon over the years: in addition to his anthem ‘La Mezcla’, which was championed by everyone from Luciano to Carl Cox in ‘09, he’s also churned out some slick lesser-known cuts such as his brooding collaboration with Salvatore Freda, entitled ‘Sassicaia’. Lee Van Doski is a bit more of a wildcard, but consequently adds an air of intrigue to proceedings… First release $50 are available online.

KABOOSISTRY

This Anzac Day, two of Sydney’s most reputable party crews, Loosekaboose and Chemistry, have organised for a smorgasbord of DJs and live acts to perform as part of a two-area (outdoors and inside) 12-hour bash at The Abercrombie. The lineup is crowned by one of Australia’s premier club exports, We Love Space Ibiza’s Ben Korbel, who will be throwing down alongside a host of local (and cult) favourites. Foreseeable highlights include sets from Mad Racket resident Ken Cloud, Pinksilver’s Markojux playing live, Future Classic’s Jimi Polar pushing beats and highlytouted Melbourne DJ Volta strutting her (sonic) stuff. Wednesday April 25 from midday through till midnight, with entry $10 all day.

label Pinksilver and also had our tracks remixed by artists such as Pezzner, Deepchild, Jimi Polar, Alex Kid and XDB. I am also starting to play live and remixing Trinity & Beyond productions on the fly with the use of Ableton, an APC40 and xoxbox acid machine.

Dave: I’m a DJ first and foremost; I’d rather leave the producing to producers.

Music, Right Here, Right Now Trinity: I love the Sydney 5. music scene and am very passionate about supporting it.

And finally, we have some decent venues for intimate underground nights – including One22.

Dave: With parties like Subsonic, SASH, Mad Racket, Shrug, Co-OP, Golden Cage, Boom Boom, HA-HA, Spice, Loosekaboose, Chemistry and Motorik – lovers of underground music are spoilt for choice.

With: Ben Korbel vs GABBY, Tom Brereton vs Amy Fairweather, Ben Ashton vs Bella Sarris, and Jack Fuller.

Where: Spl_it @ One22 (rear of 122 Pitt St Sydney) When: Saturday April 14

A WAREHOUSE JAM

‘A Warehouse Jam’ is a forthcoming event that will celebrate popular Aussie DJ Kid Kenobi’s twenty years in the game. In addition to a headline set from Kid Kenobi himself, the party also feature a line-up of DJs found on Kid Kenobi’s Klub Kids music label, such as Doctor Werewolf, J Trick and Emoh, all playing a selection of dubstep and bass sounds to test the limitations of the sound system. A Warehouse Jam will take place on Saturday May 5 at a secret location to be announced through the Sydney Warehouse Project page. Presale tickets are $27 with more on the door on the evening.

For more info and to purchase tickets, head to sydneywarehouseproject.com.au

GALAPAGOOSE

Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist Trent Gill, aka Galapagoose, will launch his debut album Commitments in Sydney at The Gate on Saturday April 21. A winner of BRAG’s coveted indie album of week last week, Commitments was also album of the week on triple j – not bad for an LP recorded in a flurry over a brief six-week period.

Gill is highly regarded in underground electronic circles for his developments in live performancebased software, focused primarily around the

CAKES

Missing your old Saturday-night hang-out with Wham at The World Bar? DON’T WORRY. Meet Wham’s heaps attractive younger brother/sister – same classy genes (still four rooms of fun for the price of one at the party capital of the Cross), but way less uptight (don’t tell Wham!) and really knows how to throw a badass party. This week Melbourne young-gun Kraymer is flying up to give the new night his bassheavy blessing, supported by Sydney’s finest, including Nat Noiz, Valentine, Nicc Johnson, Harry Cotton, Deckhead, Pablo Calamari and the rising superstars of Sydney house The Bare Essentials Collective, taking over the Tea Room all night. You want yourself a double pass?

We’ve got two to give away, but you have to tell us what the king (or queen) of cake flavours is.

Monome (Wikipedia that one if you’re a little befuddled). Though deeply multifaceted, Trent’s productions remain the central tenet of his output, harnessing a delicate soulfulness alongside brash experimentalism, with performances rooted in improvisation and spontaneous vocal sampling. Commitments is out now via Two Bright Lakes.

KEVIN GRIFFITHS

Tsuba head honcho Kevin Griffiths is the next esteemed proponent of underground house to headline Sydney newest nightclub, One22. Griffiths is a regular at fabric nightclub in London and Watergate in Berlin, and last year added to his already formidable sonic CV with EPs on the 8 Bit and Fear Of Flying labels with ex-Peace Division man, Justin Drake. No a stranger to Sydney clubs, Griffiths’ set for respected Sydney party the [BOX] a couple of years back reportedly brought home the sonic bacon, and come Saturday April 21 he’s back to do his bassy business once more.

Support comes courtesy of some of Sydney’s younger DJ brigade, including Bella Sarris and Morgan, Marc Jarvin, Adam Carter and Robbie Myers. $15 presale tickets are available online.

Clark

PROFESSOR GROOVE BEN UFO

Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures to emerge from the UK dance scene in recent years, Ben UFO headlines GoodGod Smallclub on Friday April 20. A co-founder of Hessle Audio (alongside Pangea and Pearson Sound, collectively Ramadanman) Ben UFO has been a driving force behind some of the more diverse and groundbreaking releases of recent years from the likes of Pearson Sound, Objekt, Blawan, Untold and James Blake. His influence in disintegrating boundaries of dubstep is apparent; both as a DJ and through Hessel Audio, Ben UFO has paved the way for a broadening of genres which sees brand new cuts from the UK underground suffused within house, techno and experimental music from across the globe. (Have a listen to his Resident Advisor podcast for a prime example of this.) Max Gosford, Preacha, Kato and Bad Ezzy will also be spinning on the night, with $15 presale tickets available online now.

AUTUMN MUSIC

The Cadenza Records pairing of Michel Cleis and Lee Van Dowski will headline the next 34 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

Professor Groove & The Booty Affair is going to embark on a journey through the fundamental building blocks of funk at Blue Beat in Double Bay on Friday April 13. The Professor will be flanked by his minions, including the Jman, Slick Rick Sanford, Michael di Francesco, Brother Calvin Welch, and an assortment of other guests all oozing funk in some description (no lewdness intended). There’s the promise of “three big sets” from the troupe, in addition to DJs bringing the party home till 3am. $10 on the door from 10pm.

BAG RAIDERS LTAB

Sydney duo the Bag Raiders are returning ‘home’ in April for a national DJ tour to celebrate the release of their forthcoming Leave Them All Behind compilation on Modular Records, the 4th instalment in the mix series. Bag Raiders have been holed up in their LA studio since the turn of the year working on the follow up to their ARIA and J-nominated self-titled debut album, but the imminent release of their compilation has them homeward bound. Leave Them All Behind 4 features an array of exclusive tracks and remixes, many of which will undoubtedly get played throughout the Bag Raiders’ home town show, which will be at The Ivy this Sunday, April 15.

CLARK

Warp Records signee Clark will tour Australia in support of his brand new album Iradelphic (which has just been released) and will play the Civic Underground on Saturday April 28.

Clark signed to Warp when he was still at university and promptly released a debut album, Clarence Park, which drew comparisons with some of the label’s finest, namely Autechre and Aphex Twin. On the back of this auspicious entrance onto the chinstroker’s radar, Clark has carved out a niche on the periphery of the electronic canon courtesy of his ’08 album Turning Dragon, a release that showcased a forceful take on techno and minimalist soundscapes, and its follow-up Totems Flare, an LP that was staunchly supported by the likes of James Holden. Iradelphic, features the vocals of Martina Topley-Bird (who has featured on albums

by Tricky and Massive Attack) and was recorded between Australia, Berlin, Wales, Brussels, Cornwall, Norway and London. “I don’t think I’ve ever recorded in so many diverse locations,” Clark stated. “[It was] all recorded with a variety of tools. From £8k Cold-War microphones, bling studio set ups, to laptop microphones, crumbling cassettes, dictaphones. It all got used.”

Support will come from Bon Chat, Bon Rat along with other guests. Presales tickets available as of Tuesday April 3.

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Yacht Club DJs

Adrian Lux

A Real Scream By Alasdair Duncan

The Full Experience By Alasdair Duncan

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allarat troublemakers Yacht Club DJs are all set to embark on their third national tour this month, and it’s going to be weirder than ever. The duo’s signature mashup style, which chews up and spits out genres from metal and hip hop to pop and electro, is mirrored in the devil-may-care antics they engage in – dressing up in bizarre costumes, shooting each other with Nerf weapons onstage, and the occasional food fight or spot of penis-waggling. The pair have promised, however, that they’ll be taking things up yet another notch for this latest jaunt.

Y

ou’ve heard of Swedish House Mafia – now get ready to meet that country’s deadliest house music assassin. He may be outnumbered three to one, but Adrian Lux is more than capable of holding his own, his arsenal filled with killer hook after killer hook. In this part of the world, Lux is best known for ‘Teenage Crime’, whose combination of shimmering synth lines and ethereal vocals made it one of the most beguiling electronic tracks of the last year. There was something intangible about that track, a certain keenly-crafted Swedish pop sensibility that made it damnnear irresistible. ‘Teenage Crime’, it turns out, was no one-off – Lux has a whole clutch of tracks just like it, and his debut LP is sure to be one of the electronic records of the year.

“I grew up loving club music,” Lux says of his influences. “I always listened to a lot of house and techno, although I guess I’m what you’d call a music nerd, as I have a lot of different influences. I’m not too concerned with genre, so I guess that’s why you hear a lot of different sounds coming through in my music.” There’s a real sense of momentum in Lux’s productions – tracks like ‘Teenage Crime’ and ‘Alive’ makes you feel like driving very fast through big cities late at night.

“I always try to make tracks that will feel really good, either at a club or a show,” Lux demurs. “A really good track, you should be able to listen to anywhere.”

Lux’s self-titled album is out in the US now, with the rest of the world to follow later in the year. “As this is my first album, I wanted to work with a lot of collaborators,” he explains. “That has been my thing so far, and I really want to make the most of

it.” Swedish pop duo Rebecca and Fiona make an appearance, along with some other big names from Lux’s homeland.

“There is a track on my album that I made in collaboration with Joakim Berg, the lead singer of Kent, who are one of the biggest bands in Sweden,” he says. “They have a new album coming out this year, which I’m excited about. I think that musically, this is going to be a really good year for Sweden.”

Lux had his first taste of Australia at the Parklife festival last year, and is excited to be making his return. “I loved it down there,” he says. “I think it’s a really cool country with really great crowds, and I feel really lucky to be able to go on tour to places like that.”

When he comes back, he will be playing another round of DJ shows, but this time around, with an emphasis on some of his own newer material. “I can’t go too much into what I’ll be playing, but I can say that my set will be as personal as possible,” he says. I ask if some extended edits and remixes of his album tracks might make an appearance, to give Aussie fans a taste of what to expect, and he says they definitely will. “I’ll try to put as much in as I can,” he says. “I want to make sure I give people the real Adrian Lux experience!”

Their latest tour is called ‘They Mostly Come Out At Night ... Mostly’ – and, as you might guess from that title, is inspired by their love of horror movies and gory sci-fi. Given the obvious Aliens reference, I ask DJ Guy Chappell-Lawrence who he and partner Gaz Harrison are more likely to identify with in that movie – Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, or the goo-dripping critters who burst out of people’s chests in various graphic ways. “Oh, I think we probably go both ways, just depending on how we’re feeling on the night!” he says.

As for what the shows might offer, he assures me there will be a full-on horror theme, with costumes and dancers and possibly even prizes for the best-dressed punters. Be warned, though, prizes are not guaranteed, and they may well just involve being pulled on stage and made to dance for the boys’ amusement. “We’ve also got our robot costumes which are left over from the last tour,” Guy continues, “so we’ll probably pull them out and destroy them this time around.”

I’ve heard that things at Yacht Club DJs shows can get pretty wild, and I ask ChappellLawrence about some of the craziest things

he’s experienced; unfortunately, my phone picks exactly this moment to start dropping in and out of the call. His answer is distorted, and I can only make out about one in five words – “sex… shower…drummer…girl…dancing…swinging his dick around” – which is all I really need to know.

At most shows, DJs play in support of bands, but the Yacht Club guys have enjoyed great success in turning that formula on its head. “We always take a band with us on tour,” ChappellLawrence says. “We took DZ on one, and we took Hunting Grounds back when they were called Howl and they were the kids of the underage set.” Having a band open for you is a good approach, he says, because they’re less likely than a DJ to steal your thunder. “I think it sets up a better vibe,” he explains. “Everyone’s there enjoying the band, and then when you start and songs come up that they know, it rolls a bit better than if you had DJs on all night.”

The Yacht Club DJs have crafted a mix tape for each of their tours, and the current one is available for download now. It’s a dizzying patchwork of songs, and Chappell-Lawrence describes it as the best taster yet of the duo’s sound and approach. “The first one we did was very upbeat, for dancing,” he says, “and the second one was much more one for just sitting down and listening to. We’ve tried to do a bit more of a mixture with this one – there’s a balls-to-thewall bit and then a bit more of a chilled bit. We’ve tried to sort of get the best of both worlds with it.”

With: Hunting Grounds, The Fabergettes When: Saturday April 21 Where: The Standard More: soundcloud.com/yachtclubdjsmusic

What: French Kiss feat. Adrian Lux When: Saturday May 12 Where: The Arthouse, Pitt Street And: Also playing alongside Digitalism, Kaiser Chiefs, Bluejuice, Beni, Hermitude, and heaps more at Groovin’ The Moo @ The University of Canberra on May 13 / Maitland Showground on May 12 (sold out) gtm.net.au

N’fa Jones Bigger Than The Beat By Hugh Robertson

I

You could apply that maxim to much of N’fa’s creative endeavours. His No Fixed Abode project won an award for ‘Best Visual Impact’ at the Camden Crawl festival for their live show and for “how insane we were in London”, says N’fa. But the ‘less is more’ approach extends to his upcoming Sydney show. He couldn’t quite stretch to bringing a drummer over, so instead N’fa will be performing with Melbourne DJ, producer and saxophonist Tom Showtime, on whose latest album he features.

“It’s more your traditional, standard style with Tom on the decks and me just jumping around like a mad man, but with a horn being played,” says N’fa. “Which is cool. And we’ve kinda flipped the way we do some of the songs.”

t’s been a while since we’ve heard from N’fa Jones. Best known as the frontman of the pioneering, unpredictable 1200 Techniques, N’fa has been on something of a voyage of self-discovery in the years since his last release, 2006’s Cause An Effect. He has spent much of the intervening period in London, winning hearts, minds and awards with a live project, No Fixed Abode, that looks like the best house party in history. But while music ended up being a big part of his UK life, it certainly wasn’t what compelled him to go there in the first place.

“I was kind of on a search of some sort,” N’fa says. “I’m not sure exactly for what – I feel like I found it, though. And while I was there, I ended up being pretty active with music and had a good time. I went through a lot of hardships when I was there too, but it was a really good growth period, I think, for me as a person.”

N’fa is back in Australia for a mini-tour to promote his new Babylondon EP. It’s only a few tracks long but continues very much in the ideological footprints of 1200 Techniques, maintaining a hip hop sensibility but drawing different styles and genres into it. ‘Wayooy’ (featuring Roots Manuva and M-Phazes) is already a radio favourite and a great singalong, while single ‘March On’ features a pulsing bassline that will stick in your brain for weeks. And even if the track wasn’t memorable, the clip would ensure repeat viewing for months.

It’s an amazing, stop-motion extravaganza from Leeds-based video production team The Grizzly Brothers and, remarkably, was done with no post-production – everything had to be done by 36 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

Regardless of all this, though, N’fa’s time in London made him reassess his approach to his career simply because he had to work so hard to be heard. “Being in London really helped me remember that music is something that I want to be doing. Music is a part of me, and I love doing it, but I really need to be happy without the music as well. If the EP happens to not do too well then I won’t be so bothered. But it’d be great if it did just for the sake of everyone’s work. But I’m a lot happier in general, whether or not the music is working or not working.” hand, painstakingly pieced together frame by frame.

N’fa is known for “trying to take it to a different place, visually” as he puts it. Remember the clip for 1200 Techniques’ ‘Karma’, with the Punch

and Judy show? Or the clip for ‘Cause An Effect’, directed by N’fa’s childhood friend Heath Ledger? That one was done with just face paint and a black sheet in the background, and is testament to the fact that a great lo-fi idea wellexecuted is better than a dull one well-funded.

What: Babylondon out through Rubber Records With: Tom Showtime Where: The Factory Floor, Marrickville When: April 12

Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

Chris Liebing

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LR mainman and techno colossus Chris Liebing, who hails from near Frankfurt, will make a long overdue trip to Australia and play Chinese Laundry on Saturday June 9. The well-travelled and hugely respected DJ has been one of techno’s most visible representatives over the years, having huge influence on the underground milieu through his CLR imprint and his frenetic DJing schedule.

Far from living off past glories, Liebing has consistently reaffirmed his status as one of techno’s top dogs with his own productions. The most recent of which was a stonker of a remix of Planetary Assault Systems’ already excellent cut ‘Function 4’ at the end of last year. As someone who has endured the fads and trends of dance music – and techno in particular - over the past twenty years, Liebing’s remarks on the evolution of the sound are illuminating.

“At the end of the ‘90s, techno was quite fast and hard. It has slowed down but also the sound, the bass has gotten better,” he asserts. “The slower the music, the more space you can have between the bass drums, and more room to express. That was a typical statement made by people who didn’t really know much about Techno.

It’s the misconception that techno is only for, and listened to by…shirtless guys on a lot of drugs.” Which we of course know is a load of hooey, right? [Looks at readers expectantly.]

Ever-interesting Parisian producer Pépé Bradock has announced a new series of 12" releases. Bradock – known to his mère et amis as Julien Auger – will release four discs as part of the series, which is titled

LOOKING DEEPER SATURDAY APRIL 14

Haha UTR #17 Warehouse Party TBA - Warehouse Location

SATURDAY APRIL 28

Clark The Civic Underground Mad Racket feat. Tornado Wallace Marrickville Bowling Club

SATURDAY JUNE 9

Pépé Bradock photo by Sebastien Agnetti

Chris Liebing Chinese Laundry

Tornado Wallace

Pépé Bradock

Imbroglios and will constitute his most expansive set of original material for some time. Bradock has settled into a somewhat enigmatic status over the years, thanks in part to his paucity of original material, which has been restricted to roughly one 12" per year since he emerged, but also a reluctance to engage in the concept of self promotion that has become all too important for some of his peers. A presser promises that Imbroglios will deliver “a glorious synopsis of Bradock’s unmistakable style fusing snippets of jazz, film soundtrack and eccentric humor and a huge atmospheric range from spooky to buoyant often changing in seconds but always keeping that instantly recognisable quirky swing”. That’s a lot of words without a full stop – which is not that unusual for this page admittedly – but the syntax points towards Auger’s willingness to jam plenty of ideas into his tracks. After recent remixes for Nicolas Jaar, it’ll be interesting to hear what Bradock turns out next, and you won’t have to wait long to find out. Imbroglios Vol 1 drops this week on Atavisme.

Stalwart producer/remixer/DJ-with-theMidas-touch Andy Weatherall will follow in the footsteps of Gilles Peterson and Francois K with his own 3xCD entry in Ministry of Sound’s Masterpiece series, which will be released later this month.

Looking set to be the most comprehensive document to date for the lauded producer and DJ, who has also helmed a mix for fabric in the past, it takes in multiple remixes by the man himself – including one of Australia’s Cut Copy(!) – as well as records from friends and cohorts Timothy J Fairplay, The Hardway Brothers and Soft Rocks. The track selection from CD to CD ostensibly traverses through trippy psychedelic warm-up grooves from acts such as Walls and World Unknown’s Kalidasa to druggy peak time discohouse ravers from the likes of Tornado Wallace (who is headlining the next Mad Racket bash) and Todd Terje. As anyone who saw him throw down at the Sydney Festival earlier this year will attest, Andy sure knows how to craft a DJ set – and given three discs to show his vast range, it’d be a surprise if Mr. Weatherall didn’t pull out something special to live up to the Masterpiece title. As he said in an interview a few years back, “The minute you get blinkered and you just go down one avenue, it’s like giving in. You’ve become your parents.” And that’s the last thing we all want, isn’t it?

Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 37

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

club pick of the week Ice Cube

The Lansdowne, Broadway Frat House Wolf and the Gang free 9pm The Marlborough Hotel – The Cellar, Newtown Student Night DJ Pauly free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Glovecats, Hydraulix, Subaske, A-Tonez, Zwelli, Pipemix, Lights Out $5 9pm

THURSDAY APRIL 12

SUNDAY APRIL 15

ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park

Supafest 2012 Chris Brown, P. Diddy, Missy Elliott, T-Pain, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, Kelly Rowland, Lupe Fiasco, Big Sean, Naughty By Nature, DJ Scratch, DJ Nino Brown, Culture Crew $139-$189 11am all-ages MONDAY APRIL 9 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway End Of The Line Stimming, Volta, Simon Caldwell, Jimi Polar, Glitch DJs, Defined

By Rhythm, Marcotix, MSG, Chris Honnery, Franchi Brothers, Jordan Deck, Kali, Trinity, Dylan Griffin, T’n’A, Kimba $20-$30 12pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney SHE End of Summer Pool Party The Swiss, Luke Million, Lancelot, Oh Glam, Robbie Santiago, Liam Sampras, Matt Meler, Anujual, Kalcic & Rome $25-$30 (+ bf) 2pm

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Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Mother of a Monday DJ Smokin’ Joe free 8pm

TUESDAY APRIL 10 Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel DJ Willie Sabor free 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney I Love Goon DJ Smokin’ Joe free 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday – Playboy Party DJ Johnny B, DJ Shipwreck, Mc Fro, Dr Rhythm $10 8pm

The World Bar, Kings Cross Pop Panic Conrad Greenleaf, Nacho, Mike Karaoke Steve free 8pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 11 The Bank Nightclub, Kings Cross Money Talks DJs 10pm Epping Hotel DTF DJs free The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Hip Hop DJs free 8pm Kit and Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs 8pm

Burdekin Hotel, Darlinghurst Tremor Jnr B2B Lewba, Oscar The Grouch, Luke Warren, Billy Green free 9pm The Cool Room, Australian Hotel & Brewery, Rouse Hill We Love Thursdays DJs free 9pm The Factory Theatre, Enmore N’fa Jones, Tom Showtime $12 (+ bf) 7.30pm The Flinders Hotel, Darlinghurst Bananas DJs free 8pm GoodGod Front Bar, Sydney Girls Gone Mild Hannah & Elizabeth Reilly free 9pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Random Soul DJs 8pm Hunky Dory Social Club, Darlinghurst Beat Skool The Dark Horse 6pm Kit and Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs 8pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hot Damn Hot Damn DJs $15$20 8pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Flaunt Dim SLM, Bobby Digital, DJ Task, Troy T 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Books or Beer? DJs free 8pm Soho, Potts Point Ladies Night DJs free 9pm Sugar Lounge, Manly Fat Laced Funk Resident DJs 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Jack Shit, Urby, Mush, Shag, Dan Bombings free-$5 10pm

FRIDAY APRIL 13 34 Degrees South, Bondi Get Down Resident DJs free 8pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Movement Hiatus Kaiyote free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Young Bloods Munkey Business, Brosman, Homeslice DJs, Double Dunk Disco, Kid Nip, Friendly Fiends, Sulo 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Bass Mafia Surecut Kids, Blaze Tripp, Garage Pressure, Kyro & Bomber, Kemikoll, Empress Yoy & Lola Siren, Dubnekta $15-$25 10pm Civic Underground, Sydney Volar Resident DJs 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Gimme Five Shamus, Ander Hitchcock free Dee Why Hotel Flirt DJ Alana 9pm Epping Hotel Flirt DJs free FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Low Frequency Friday Zwelli, Peace & Hazy, Creature $10 11.59pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour Kid Massive $15 (+ bf) 9pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Hugo’s Fridays DJs 8pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Ivan Drago free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Falcona Fridays Falcona

Agency DJs $10 8pm Luna Lounge Nightclub, Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Rain Julz free 9pm The Marlborough Hotel – Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free 8pm Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm Oatley Hotel We Love Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 8pm The Roxy, Parramatta Fridaze Resident DJs 4pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Karma Dim SLM, Nacho Pop 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Sydney Frisky Friday DJs free 6pm The Shark Hotel, Sydney Puls8 DJ Jono, Guest DJs free 9pm Soho, Potts Point Soho Fridays DJs free 9pm Space, Sydney Zaia Resident DJs 9.45pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Kali, Ben Korbel, Morgan $10 10pm Star Bar, Sydney Just Dance DJs free 10pm Tunnel Nightclub, Kings Cross Why Sleep? Resident DJs $10$15 20pm The Watershed Hotel Bring On The Weekend! DJ Matty Roberts free The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Those Crooks, Deadbeat & Hazy, Big Dumb Kid, Old Men of Mountain, Black Vanilla, Nakagin, Shot, Simo Soo, Catkings, Finlay, Seabas, Dimes, Wet Lungs, Peace & Hazy, Swim Team DJs, Dave Hume $10-$15 9pm

SATURDAY APRIL 14 The Argyle, The Rocks Release Yourself Guy Tarento, DJ Lavida, Chivalry, Thieves, Jack Oh vs Anton free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Disco! Disco! Kyro & Bomber, SMS, Boogie Monster, Fawkes, Crumb Da Bass, Chick Flick, Grizzly 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Jerome Isma-Ae (GER), Ember, A-Tonez, Foniko, Rodskeez, Athson, Sushi, DJ Rubz, Kart3l $15-$25 9pm City Hotel, Sydney Kin.Ki Saturdays DJs 9pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Yellow Sox Anders Hitchcock, Mike Silver free Dee Why Hotel Kiss & Fly Saturdays DJs 9pm E11even Nightclub, Paddington Turka Resident DJs $20 9pm Epping Hotel Back Traxx DJ Kandi, DJ HypnotixX GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Angus Gruzman $5 11pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour Homemade Saturdays Creamfields Launch Party Mobin Master, Aladdin Royaal, Matt Ferreira, Venuto, James ‘Saxman’, Spy, I.K.O, Suga Shane MC, Dane Dobre, Flite, John Young, Seiz, Dave Austin $25 9pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Saturdays DJ Dolso 8pm Hunky Dory Social Club, Darlinghurst Ghetto Boogie DJs 6pm The Ivy, Sydney Pure Ivy Arno Cost (FR), Helena, Cadell, Alley Oop, Gary Montgomery, Pat Ward, Astrix Little $20 8.30pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Simon Laing free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross

Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Resident DJs 8pm Luna Lounge Nightclub, Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Michael Stewart free 9pm Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney Party Every Saturday DJ Nick Pap, DJ Ray Isaac free 9pm The Marlborough Hotel – Level 1, Newtown Resident DJs free 8pm Metro Theatre, Sydney Cosmic Gate, Emma Hewitt, Daniel Kandi, Thomas Knight, Nick Arbor, VLN $60-$71 9pm sold out Nevada Lounge, Darlinghurst DJ Hayden free 6pm Nevermind, Darlinghurst Swagger DJ Booth, Gay-Z, FML, Boyonce $10-$15 10pm One22, Sydney Split Tom Brereton, Amy Fairweather, Ben Ashton, Bella Sarris, Dave Stuart, Trinity, Ben Korbel, Gabby, Jack Fuller $10-$15 10pm Phoenix Bar, Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Halfway Crooks Captain Franco, Levins, Toni Toni Lee $10 10pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Big Will, Dim SLM, Disco Kid, Klimax, Stevie J, Troy T, Jo Funk, Steves, Adamo, Charlie Brown 8pm The Shark Hotel, Sydney Puls8 DJ Jono, Guest DJs free 9pm Spectrum, Darlinghurst Kittens Kittens DJs $10 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Robbie Lowe, YokoO, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $20 10pm Star Bar, Sydney Situation DJs 10pm Tunnel Nightclub, Kings Cross ONE Saturdays Resident DJs $10-$20 10pm The Vanguard, Newtown Sounds of Seduction Diabolik (ITA) $18.80 8pm The Watershed Hotel Watershed Presents… Skybar $15 The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Kraymer, Nat Noiz, Valentine, Nicc Johnson, Harry Cotton, Deckhead, Pablo Calamari, The Brothers Grimm, Jack Oh!, Oh Glam!, Bare Essentials Collective $15$20 10pm

SUNDAY APRIL 15 ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park Supafest 2012 Chris Brown, P. Diddy, Missy Elliott, T-Pain, Ice Cube, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, Kelly Rowland, Lupe Fiasco, Big Sean, Naughty By Nature, DJ Scratch, DJ Nino Brown, Culture Crew $139-$189 11am all-ages Basement Level, 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney Spice Murat Kilic, Nic Scali $20 4am Goldfish, Kings Cross Martini Club, Tom Kelly, DJ Heidi free 6pm Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross Sneaky Sundays Residents DJs 8pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Bag Raiders, Lancelot, Oh Glam $30-$35 (+ bf) 2pm Kit and Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Set Mo, Mr Belvedere 8pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sets DJ Tone free 7pm The Watershed Hotel Afternoon DJs DJ Brynstar The World Bar, Kings Cross Dust James Taylor, Alley Oop, Cassette, Bambalam free 8pm

snap

club picks

up all night out all week . . .

up all night out all week...

feel good inc.

PICS :: RR

Cosmic Gate

30:03:12 :: The Exchange Hotel :: 34-44 Oxford st Darlinghurst Sydney 9331 3100

Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway End Of The Line Stimming, Volta, Simon Caldwell, Jimi Polar, Glitch DJs, Defined

By Rhythm, Marcotix, MSG, Chris Honnery, Franchi Brothers, Jordan Deck, Kali, Trinity, Dylan Griffin, T’n’A, Kimba $20-$30 12pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney SHE End of Summer Pool Party The Swiss, Luke Million, Lancelot, Oh Glam, Robbie Santiago, Liam Sampras, Matt Meler, Anujual, Kalcic & Rome $25-$30 (+ bf) 2pm

WEDNESDAY APRIL 11

One22, Sydney Split Tom Brereton, Amy Fairweather, Ben Ashton, Bella Sarris, Dave Stuart, Trinity, Ben Korbel, Gabby, Jack Fuller $10-$15 10pm Phoenix Bar, Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Halfway Crooks Captain Franco, Levins, Toni Toni Lee $10 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Robbie Lowe, YokoO, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $20 10pm

The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Glovecats, Hydraulix, Subaske, A-Tonez, Zwelli, Pipemix, Lights Out $5 9pm

The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Kraymer, Nat Noiz, Valentine, Nicc Johnson, Harry Cotton, Deckhead, Pablo Calamari, The Brothers Grimm, Jack Oh!, Oh Glam, Bare Essentials Collective $15$20 10pm

THURSDAY APRIL 12

SUNDAY APRIL 15

The Factory Theatre, Enmore N’fa Jones, Tom Showtime $12 (+ bf) 7.30pm

Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Bag Raiders, Lancelot, Oh Glam $30-$35 (+ bf) 2pm

GoodGod Front Bar, Sydney Girls Gone Mild Hannah & Elizabeth Reilly free 9pm

yelawolf

The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Jack Shit, Urby, Mush, Shag, Dan Bombings free-$5 10pm

PICS :: RR

MONDAY APRIL 9

Metro Theatre, Sydney Cosmic Gate (GER), Emma Hewitt, Daniel Kandi, Thomas Knight, Nick Arbor, VLN $60-$71 9pm sold out

31:03:12 :: The Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666

FRIDAY APRIL13 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Bass Mafia Surecut Kids, Blaze Tripp, Garage Pressure, Kyro & Bomber, Kemikoll, Empress Yoy & Lola Siren, Dubnekta $15-$25 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Kali, Ben Korbel, Morgan $10 10pm

SATURDAY APRIL 14 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Jerome Isma-Ae (GER), Ember, A-Tonez, Foniko, Rodskeez, Athson, Sushi, DJ Rubz, Kart3l $15-$25 9pm N'fa Jones Bag Raiders

neighbourhood watch

PICS :: RR

GoodGod Small Club, Sydney Angus Gruzman $5 11pm

31:03:12 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Surry Hills 9331 3100

:: RASA JUSKEVICIUTE :: S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER O TEIXERIA :: TIM WHITNEY DIEG :: NA HAN ROU ETTE ROS MAR :: THOMAS PEACHY ::

ASHLEY

BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 39

snap up all night out all week . . .

propaganda

PICS ::DT

party profile

spice cellar fridays

It’s called: Spice Cellar Fridays It sounds like: Deep, low-slung grooves with a sleazy twist that oozes class.

Who’s spinning? KALI, Ben Korbel, Morga n and James Taylor.

Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Avant i – ‘Parallel Universe’, Soul Clap – ‘Romantic Comedy’ and Roy Davis Jr. – ‘A bout Love (Pezzner mix)’.

And one you definitely won’t: A Beverly Hills 90210 vs Beverly Hills Cop dubstep mashup.

Sell it to us: We’re the younger sibling to the infamous party animal ‘Spice’ and we’ve been raised well. The keys to the Cellar are in our hands now and we’re having a lot of fun!

The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Music that made us lose control…

Crowd specs: Cellar dwellers seeking the groove.

Wallet damage: FREE on the guest list (see thespicecellar.com.au for details).

Where: The Spice Cellar / 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney When: Friday April 13 from 10pm

heaps decent

PICS ::RR

29:03:12 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700

garden party

PICS :: AM

30:03:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 92673787

29:03:12 :: The Australian Brewery :: 350 Annangrove Rd Rouse Hill 9679 4555 :: RASA JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER ERIA :: TIM WHITNEY TEIX O DIEG :: NA HAN ROU ETTE MAR :: THOMAS PEACHY :: ROS

40 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

strike

PICS :: AM

cool room

PICS :: TW

31:03:12 :: The Ivy :: 330 George St Sydney 9254 8100

31:03:12 :: Strike Bowling :: King St Wharf Darling Harbour

BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12 :: 41

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le brond

PICS :: AM

twist & shout 2nd b'day

PICS :: RR

up all night out all week . . .

31:03:12 :: The Spice Cellar :: 58 Elizabeth St Sydney

oscar & martin

PICS :: AM

30:03:12 :: Spectrum:: 34-44 Oxford St Darlinghurst Sydney 9331 3100

alison wonderland

PICS :: RR

31:03:12 :: GoodGod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Sydney 92673787

manik

PICS :: AM

31:03:12 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

24:03:12 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9958 :: RASA JUSKEVICIUTE :: ASHLEY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER ERIA :: TIM WHITNEY TEIX O DIEG :: NA HAN ETTE ROU MAR :: THOMAS PEACHY :: ROS

42 :: BRAG :: 457 :: 09:04:12

john morales

PICS :: AM

bass mafia

PICS :: AM

31:03:12 :: One22 :: 122 Pitt St Sydney

01:04:12 :: The Loft@UTS :: 15 Broadway Ultimo 9514 2345