GOLDFIELDS /PANAMA + J O Y R I D E + F. R . I . E . N . D / S D J S + B E R N I E D I N G O + H O B O P H O N I C S
JAN 30TH
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Astral People Proudly Present
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Mark Pritchard (Warp / Harmonic 313) Tuff Sherm / Cliques (live) / Preacha & Ben Fester Templar Soundsystem / Compound + Very Special Guest
Friday February 1st Goodgod Small Club, 10pm p
Entry via donation of your choosing 100% of proceeds going to beyondblue
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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
on the record WITH
JORDY FROM SHADY LANE
The First Record I Bought: I remember going with a 1. childhood friend to buy cassingles (all the rage). I think it was Green Day – When I Come Around and Silverchair – Pure Massacre. Then we bought blank tapes so we could both have a copy.
2.
The Last Record I Bought: I picked up Melodie Nelson’s To The Dollhouse at her album launch. I haven’t listened to it yet as I was beckoned overseas two days later. But going by the show it’s bound to be some sultry, sexy vocals accompanied by some classy, earthy instrumentation. I’ll let you know when I get back.
The First Thing I Recorded: Apart some potentially 3. embarrassing tape deck bedroom radio shows I made as a youngster, my first ‘proper’ recording experience was surprisingly classy. A friend, Glenn Santry, offered to record an EP for my old band D’arcy (those were the days). He went all out. The studio was set up in a nicely-sized church hall, nice warm desk, 2” tape and a nice collection of mics that looked
like they were from the future. Very fortunate. Despite his efforts, the EP is probably sitting on a CD spindle in a box under my bed. The Last Thing I Recorded: Built Guilt is an album we 4. released mid-last year. Bed tracks for half the songs in a studio, the rest a home job, and some extra bits at my mate Richard’s house in the Blue Mountains. A little haphazard but I think it managed to function, in a Clag glue kind of construction. Sarah did the organs. Pete did the drums. I did the Clag. The Record That Changed My Life: 5. Hell, I don’t know. But I’ll say this because I’m cold and outside. The Flaming Lips’ ‘Do You Realize??’ probably changed my life in a very real way. I took it quite literally and felt myself free from the burden of death fear. That song is what it’s all about. Life, death, beauty, and trying to soak as much of it up as you can before you cark it. But seeing that as a beautiful fleeting thing makes it all worthwhile. Cold ramble!!!
What: Shady Lane February residency Where: OAF Gallery Bar With: Little Lovers, Guerre, The Mountains, The Ocean Party and more (different supports every night – check online for details) When: Fridays February 1 / February 8 / February 22, Thursday Feb 14 And: Built Guilt is out now through Rice Is Nice
PVT
PUBLISHERS: Adam Zammit & Rob Furst EDITOR IN CHIEF: Adam Zammit 9552 6333 adam@peergroupmedia.com EDITOR: Dee Jefferson dee@thebrag.com 02 9690 2731 ASSISTANT EDITOR: Caitlin Welsh STAFF WRITERS: Benjamin Cooper, Alasdair Duncan NEWS: Nathan Jolly, Chris Honnery ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Mary-Jane Caswell, Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar, Pedro Xavier COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Wilk COVER DESIGN: Sarah Bryant ADVERTISING: Ross Eldridge - 0422 659 425 / (02) 9690 0806 ross@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 8394 9027 les@thebrag.com GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATOR: Conrad Richters - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag.com (dance, hip hop & parties) ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA: Tanydd Jaquet INTERNS: Natalie Amat, Katie Davern, Tanydd Jaquet, Mina Kitsos REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Benjamin Cooper, Alasdair Duncan, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Anna Kennedy, Chris Martin, Sheridan Morley, Jenny Noyes, Hugh Robertson, Rebecca Saffir, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Roland K Smith, Luke Telford, Rick Warner, Alex Sol Watts, Krissi Weiss, Caitlin Welsh Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this address 8a Marlborough Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9552 6333 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of The BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork/ad bookings: Thursday 12pm (no extensions). Ad cancellations: Tuesday 4pm Published by Cartrage P/L ACN 104026388 All content copyrighted to Cartrage 2003 DISTRIBUTION: Wanna get The Brag? Email distribution@furstmedia. com.au or phone 03 9428 3600. PRINTED BY SPOTPRESS: www.spotpress.com.au 24 – 26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204 Win a giveaway? Mail us a stamped and addressed envelope, and we’ll send your prize on over...
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Craig Schuftan
SOOO INDIE
Criag Schuftan’s literate, considered take on alternative culture, Entertain Us! The Rise and Fall of Alternative Rock in the ‘90s, was the only non-bondage, non-vampire book released last year, and because reading has become redundant since television was invented in the ‘80s, Schuftan is delivering a lecture in which he kinda summarises it all – plus plays the rekkids – this Thursday, January 31 at the MLC Centre in Martin Place. Starts at 7 (tape Home and Away for us, please) and costs a tenner.
PVT OAF SHW
The vowel-less PVT (to pronounce the name properly, hold a lemon seed between your bottom lip and top teeth and propel it across the room) have announced a new record (Homosapien, out February 8) which they’ll be touring throughout March, stopping at Oxford Art Factory on March 28, with Collarbones in support. Apparently the new record is more experimental, which we assume means it’ll be a painting, or something…
GROHL ON
Dave Grohl, the guy who sings the harmonies on Nirvana’s ‘All Apologies’, also has a career as a documentary-maker, and his debut film Sound City – ostensibly about the legendary studio in which Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Tom Petty and Nirvana recorded, but actually about the lost art of analogue recording (don’t tell The Drones) – is screening in Sydney for one night only on Thursday January 31 at Event Cinemas on George St and at Macquarie Centre.
THE BLASKO ERA
Sarah Blasko guest programs rage this Saturday February 2. We love how sweet and classy Sarah is, but we also kinda hope she picks a selection of fucked-up Swedish death metal, and then some really racist skinhead punk music, just to throw the world off its axis. And while we’re at it, David & Margaret will be hosting rage on February 16, selecting film clips by filmmakers – expect Michael Jackson at the very least, and grumpy banter for sure.
COUNTING CROWS AND ME
To celebrate the 25 millionth time Australian commercial radio has spun ‘Mr. Jones’ by Counting Crows – despite it being a song about two leering slackers ogling women, wishing they were Bob Dylan, discussing their favourite colours and claiming to feel “so symbolic” – the seven-piece (yup!) have announced a second Opera House show (April 10), after the first (April 9) sold out. Tickets on sale now. (Fun fact: the singer pulled Jennifer Aniston during their heyday.)
Swans
BORED EVERYTHING!
Handsome bearded lad Andrew P. Street described Melbourne wunderkind Bored Nothing’s debut as “the best album Matador failed to produce in 1994” in a Mess+Noise review, and he is spot on. It bower-birds from a bunch of great insular indie music from the ‘90s: riot grrrl, Cat Power, Smashing Pumpkins, Built To Spill, Elliott Smith, and numerous others, and he is launching it with a tripleheadliner all-Spunk bill featuring Bearhug and Popstrangers – March 7 at Goodgod Small Club. All letters about how The Smashing Pumpkins aren’t indie to dee@thebrag.com
SWANNING ABOUT
The sonically uncompromising Swans have been honing their epic post-punk sound for thirty years, so it’s no surprise that last year’s The Seer is being hailed as their masterpiece. It’s a carefully orchestrated cyclone (unlike those messes God creates), which we are all very excited to watch them attempt to replicate live February 13 at the Manning Bar. Back in my day, university bars were for rap-rock ensembles, not post-punk noisemerchants. As Pete Murray once sang, “the times they are-a-changing.”
22 Piece Live Extravaganza
FRI 8 MARCH 2013
THE HI-FI FOX STUDIO'S www.thehiďŹ .com.au
www.liveindustry.net BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13 :: 9
rock music news
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
five things WITH
KEEF TIME
JAMES FROM THE DARKENED SEAS Your Band The band consists of three old high3. school friends [on] keyboard, bass, guitar – and the new addition, drums. We’re all beautiful friends now so that makes it very easy to share and express our passions (with each other and an audience). The Music You Make Check aforesaid musicians. Big admirers 4. of old ’50s rock’n’roll and blues from whoever really chants to ya. Anything honest and true. Music, Right Here, Right Now The music scene is a scene, but it could 5. be more. Not many care absolutely for music,
Growing Up First memories of listening and really 1. immersing in music was Creedence
[Lou Reed’s] Rock’n’Roll Animal really just pushed it home.
Clearwater Revival during long drives out to the country with the folks. No social or mental criterion there, just pure enjoyment and soul-speaking clarity. I remember deeply loving that. Feelin’ a pull. Hearing “Wish You Were Here’ on the radio for the first time was a wonderful eye-opener, “Ah, so this is what’s going on etc”, then
Inspirations Inspiration comes from everywhere; 2. literature and music most prominently. One and the same really. Musically those like Nick, Tom, Bob, Neil, Lou... But any music from deep within meant for the deeper without, really. Keats, Exupery, Kerouac, Hemingway were wellsprings, literature-wise.
poetry, etc... But this is the world we live in. When you’re given something on a platter with no cheque, how then can you love it? By which I mean, we live in a world of no yearning for something; no desire exists for any great unfathomable ocean, some band or musician you’ve heard spoken through whispers and maybe one day you’ll be privileged enough to hear. That privilege has been stolen through social media, the Internet, that twang. Basically there are no surprises anymore. With: Royal Chant, All My Alien Sex Friends, Black Lakes Where: The Standard / Lvl 3, 383 Bourke Street When: Thursday January 31, 8pm
“Keith cannot be killed by conventional weapons” is one of the most memorial lines in Wayne’s World II, uttered by a roadie who had toured with The Stones. It’s obviously a joke, but it also seems to be very true. Whether it’s OD’ing in a plane bathroom, his epic 30-year smack habit, falling out of a tree, or downing enough liquor to drown a small village, Keith Richards certainly seems indestructible. The fact that he has written and performed on some of the most unassailable records in rock history makes this all the more remarkable. Victor Bockris’ celebrated 1992 biography of the man has been updated in line with The Stones’ 50 year anniversary celebrations and we have 5 copies of this gem to giveaway. To enter, simply tell us your favourite Keith story.
CLOUD NOTHINGS
Dylan Baldi enlisted Steve Albini to engineer the second Cloud Nothings record, and while the debut was a joyous blast of SoCal leaning pop punk, last year’s Attack On Memory was eight doses of anguished grunge that sounded like an unearthed recording session from a Seattle basement circa-’91. It’s completely sincere, beautifully relentless, and was one of our favourite albums of 2012. Watching it performed live will be an absolute treat, which is why you should enter our competition for a double pass to the February 6 show at the Annandale Hotel. Simply email us with a photo of a pair of ripped jeans to go in the draw.
Local Natives
LOCAL NATIVES
Local Natives kinda stumble onto stage live, a shambolic, staggering, messy band that make you think that things could fall off the rails at any point. In short, one of those rare, amazing groups – coupled with great harmonies that make you think “OK, they must have practiced those a bit.” Their second, frenzied, string-adorned record Hummingbird came out last week, and they are touring in May, hitting the Metro Theatre on May 15. We’re presenting it. Tickets on sale from this Friday, February 1, don’t come crying to us for free tickets when it sells out. Bonjah
TO MARKET
The Manning Bar and Manning House once again host the Rock ‘n’ Roll & Alternative Market – February 3 from 10.30am, and the entire BRAG team will be there, mucking up our fingers with greasy, messy food, then scouring through the jewellery, accessories, records, CDs (the only way you can get the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack), books (so many copies of
The Da Vinci Code!), collectables, food stalls, art (fun game: Jackson Pollock, or outsider art?), a classic vehicle display (race CraterFace for pink slips), the tiki bar courtyard (Sailor Jerry Rum, Corona Beer) plus live sets from rockabilly guns The Satellites, ska trekkers Los Capitanes, Irish-soundin’ The Ramshackle Army, and proper-blues-band Big Blind Ray Trio. Entry via a gold coin (give them a $2!)
BONJAH ARE BACK
So, what did you do with your summer? I learnt how to make a tuna salad kind-of-thing, which I ate for a week straight then got sick of it, and will never make again. Bonjah, on the other hand, conquered Europe (in a friendly rocking way, not a Hitler way) sold out their London show, played the massive JuWi Festival in Germany (unfortunate name), and wrote their third record. They will be showcasing material from the record (due mid-year – don’t worry, time tend to go quickly these days) at the Annandale on February 23 – with support from Chugg-faves Lime Cordiale and Port Mac’s most handsome grunge band, Royal Chant. Tickets $18 from Oztix.
BORN TO TOUR
a good path for any aging rockstar to follow. He has teamed up with Catherine Britt and Bill Chambers to form The Hillbilly Killers, and they headline the second round announcement of The Gum Ball festival, which happens at Belford in the Hunter Valley from April 25-27. Joining the already impressive lineup, which includes Turin Brakes, Mia Dyson, The Beards, Saskwatch and The Preatures, are Wollongong’s favourite stoner-rockers Tumbleweed as well The Medics, NZ string band The Eastern, Money For Rope, Benjalu, The Leisure Bandits, Pacha Mamma, V-Tribe, Starboard Cannons, and Money Pool.
GASLIGHT ANTHEM
At BRAG we love/subsist entirely on puns, and Major Raiser’s new campaign to raise money for school meals is called GIVVA FORK, which is one of the many, many reasons you should head along to this fundraiser at The Standard on March 30. The other reasons are live sets from Elizabeth Rose, Polographia, Olympic Ayres and a very special guest to be announced a week prior to the event (put your face close to the page and we’ll whisper it to you now, though). By buying a ticket you provide a month’s worth of school meals for a cute little child in Laos, which is pretty much the greatest thing ever.
The fact that Springsteen’s ‘Born In The USA’ was used in Reagan’s political campaign as a patriotic, flag-waving anthem, despite being a track about the negative effects of the Vietnam War on American vets, is almost as hilarious as ‘Choir Girl’ being one of the most played tracks on the Catholic-church-owned commercial radio stations during the ‘80s, despite being about abortion. Anyway, The Boss has announced a third Sydney Allphones Arena show on March 22, to accompany his sold-out March 18 show, and his nearly sold out March 20 show. He plays for like three hours, too. Holy Titanic! The Hoodoo Gurus
HOODOO?
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GUMBALL DROPS
Tim Rogers seems to be slowly morphing into a country troubadour, which is great news, and
Xxx photo by Xxxx
One of our favourite things about The Bangles, aside from everything about them, is that they are huge Hoodoo Gurus fans, to the point where even though the two bands were peers and touring buddies, and The Bangles sold millions of records, they name them as one of their big influences: they even sing backup vocals on Gurus classic ‘Good Times’. The news that the Gurus-curated Dig It Up festival is back again in 2013 has us wondering a) how they will possibly top last year’s amazing lineup, and b) whether The Bangles will be maybe, possibly be playing – wandering around Enmore, ducking into that Pork Roll store and being ID’d at Notes. April 21 it happens, all around Enmore – and the Gurus are performing their second album Mars Needs Guitars in full – ‘cos it rules.
Speaking of Springsteen, The Gaslight Anthem are bringing their New Jersey, rugged, us vs. them, hit the open road, flannelette, allAmerican heartland rock to Australia, stopping into Sydney on May 12 to play the Enmore Theatre. This will be one of the shows of the year, so make sure you get tickets at 9am sharp this Friday, February 1.
GIVVA FORK
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‘OPEN ‘O P EN SEASON’ S EAS O N ’ - THE TH E DEBUT D EB U T ALBUM ALB U M FROM FR O M HIGH H I G H HIGHS HIGHS OUT 25 JANUARY VIA FINE TIME/SONY MUSIC AUSTRALIA
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The Music Network
themusicnetwork.com
Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer
THINGS WE HEAR
WEEZER ON THE HARBOUR
webcasters. The amount of PPCA licensors increased to 1200 last year.
THE RUBENS SIGN TO WARNER
Menangle indie rock act The Rubens have signed with Warner Bros USA in a global deal that sees their self-titled debut album released worldwide in June. The album was recorded in New York with David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Regina Spektor, The Strokes). The Rubens are represented in Australia and New Zealand by Ivy League, who last week announced that the album and the ‘My Gun’ single have both been certified gold.
Weezer play Channel [V] Island Party While in Sydney, Weezer pumped out a playlist of their fave songs for Channel [V]’s Island Party on the Harbour.
PPCA ANNOUNCES RECORD $29M DISTRIBUTION
The PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia), which collects public performance fees for recording artists and labels, distributed $29 million to them in 2012. This set a new record, being an increase of 13% from the $25.6 million in 2011. PPCA draws fees from over 55,000 businesses around Australia, and from radio, TV and
GAGA COURT CASE HEATING UP
The case filed in Chicago by singer-songwriter Rebecca Francescatti against Lady Gaga – that Gaga nicked from her song ‘Judah’ for ‘Judas’ – is heating up. The New York Post reports that Francescatti’s lawyer Christopher Nero is in New York this week to get experts to testify that the two songs are similar, especially if you slow down the Gaga track; specifically, the violin riffs are similar – no coincidence, Nero says, given that her song engineer Bryan Gaynor “worked on 90% of the songs on Born This Way. And Gaynor’s close friend, DJ Whiteshadow, is currently on tour with Gaga.”
This Week
E HIFI 1300 TH COM.AU
Kerser
THEHIFI.
Sat 2 Feb
O 30 N S JA ALE N
CA NC EL LE D
Coming Soon
Just Announced
Norma Jean (USA)
From The Jam (UK)
Fri 3 May
Sun 3 Feb
An Evening with The Hoff (USA) Fri 15 Feb
FA ST
FA ST SE LL IN G
SE LL IN G
FA ST
Thu 28 Feb
SE LL IN G
Mindless Self Indulgence (USA)
Crime And The City Solution (USA)
Sleeping With Sirens(USA) + Woe, Is Me (USA)
Bring Me The Horizon (UK)
Bullet For My Valentine(UK)
Thu 21 Feb
Mon 25 Feb
Tue 26 Feb
Wed 27 Feb
FA ST SE LL IN G
Thu 7 Mar
Ensiferum (FIN)
Mutemath (USA)
Otep (USA)
Enhanced (UK)
Sun 24 Mar
Thu 25 Apr
Sat 27 Apr
Dinosaur Jr + Redd Kross (USA) Sat 16 Mar
FA ST
Fri 15 Mar
SE LL IN G
SE LL IN G
FA ST
Fri 8 Mar
ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY
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WILD FM RETURNING
Sydney late ‘90s dance station Wild FM is returning, courtesy of dance label Central Station Records. In a new Facebook page it announced, “Wild FM is back after 12 years. We’re embracing new technology to make the impossible, possible....stay tuned for launch updates and info. Time to go WILD!” In the ‘90s, Wild used the 96.9 frequency to prove it worthy of a permanent license. With programming by people aged under 25, Wild changed the dance scene and had an awesome market share of 3% to 6%. It released a series of top selling dance compilations, sold ads and broadcast from nightclubs. But its success worked against it; there were complaints that profits of the CDs were tied to the station’s manager’s private company, and the organisation’s structure was unacceptable. The frequency finally went to Nova.
PEATS RIDGE SAGA
On Thursday – a week after Peats Ridge organisers announced that the festival would not return in 2013 – the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance union released a statement expressing concern that the “hundreds” of musicians, performers and production crew who worked on the Glenworth Valley event (Dec 29 to Jan 1) had not been paid. The MEAA’s entertainment, crew and sport section director Mal Tulloch said, “They have to be paid what they are owed, and the Alliance is determined to work with everyone affected to chase unpaid monies. People in our industry do these gigs in good faith and always do a fantastic job for the fans and the industry. It is simply not acceptable for them to be left in debt and struggling financially because a particular promoter fails to budget for employment costs as a priority. As their union we will stand with those affected until we get a fair outcome from this debacle.” Those affected are asked to contact the Alliance immediately on 1300 656 512 or aid@alliance.org.au. Peats Ridge director Matt Grant released a statement saying: “I have been in contact with MEAA, and advised them I am working very hard to find a solution. I have been personally contacting all artists and crew who may be affected. The process for payment for artists is a legal one, and the liquidators have been speaking to all creditors to the festival who have contacted them, as we have instructed all festival suppliers to do from the moment we were advised liquidation was the only option facing the festival. I have been openly transparent about what is happening and I have personally communicated with the vast majority of those affected, including the MEAA.” Peats Ridge’s financial woes began in 2007 when it had to cancel due to flooding, and the insurance pay-out was $650,000 less than expected.
‘GANGNAM STYLE’ GENERATES $8M FROM VIEWS Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (USA) Sat 9 Mar
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (USA)
Tim Rogers & The Bamboos
Feet Two ($8.2m), Kath & Kimderella ($6.1m), A Few Best Men ($5.3m) and Mental ($4.1m). Australian films represented just 4.3% of the year’s total box office, said the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia. * Maude Garrett moved to LA to become host of the weekly Hot Hits Live. * At the Rolling Stone awards at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi, guests were offered free tatts. 44 of them took up on the offer. * 10th anniversary celebrations by FBi Radio will include a boutique festival at the end of August, and various fundraisers including an auction of artwork by musicians with stuff already donated by Florence and The Machine, Mercury Rev, Animal Collective and Girl Talk. * Applications for APRA’s Professional Development Awards have closed, winners are announced on March 25.
Korean pop phenomenon Psy’s online megahit ‘Gangnam Style’ reached a milestone 1 billion views on YouTube at the end of last month – making it the site’s most popular video. Now YouTube reveals that the video has generated US$8 million alone in advertising for third parties. YouTube’s people said that the channel arrived as young consumers changed their viewing style to “multi-screen”. In 2012, viewers watched over 4 billion hours of video on YouTube per month. It’s now available across over 400 million mobile devices, gaming consoles and connector PDs, in addition to desktops.
LIVE MUSIC COORDINATOR ANNOUNCED
The Federal Government at long last announced a National Live Music Coordinator for Sounds Australia. Dr Ianto Ware, from Adelaide, has to come up with plans to build and strengthen live music venues as places where musicians learn their craft. Dr Ware was previously a musician in No Through Road, is an expert on ezines (he did his PhD on their cultural influence and co-directed the Newcastle Zine and Independent Press Fair, 2007), has written a book about competitive cycling, and blogs on how to renew Adelaide. “Live music has been a hugely positive influence in my life. I’m absolutely thrilled to take on a job that will allow me to give back to the Australian local music scene,” he said.
JAZZ & BLUES FEST AXED
The Darling Harbour Jazz & Blues Festival (June long weekend) has apparently been cancelled, after running for 22 years. A statement is expected from the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority. But Leslie Moore of the Australian Jazz Agency, who started it with Johnny Allen from the then Darling Harbour Authority, says funds are being siphoned elsewhere. Moore, who wants fans to express annoyance to the SHFA, argues that axing the biggest free jazz and blues festival is “just bizarre”. “The festival cost approximately $400k to produce and each year featured 350400 musicians over the 3 days and attracted around 250,000 visitors (at approx. $1.60 per head who spent an average of $75) – provided employment for up to 50 event and production staff and generated more than $15 million in expenditure for Darling Harbour precinct, including surrounding hotels.”
Lifelines Born: son, Milan, to singer/actress Shakira and footballer Gerard Pique. Born: daughter Shay Anna to Melbourne singer/songwriter Kat Orgovany and partner Adrienne Laskowski, Ill: The Angels bassist Chris Bailey is fighting “life threatening” cancer, the band posted on its website. He was diagnosed some months ago but continued to perform onstage. He’s now stepped down to undergo another round of chemotherapy, replaced by John Brewster’s son Sam. His news comes weeks after Doc Neeson, of the original lineup, announced he was battling a brain tumour. Recovering: Eagles member Timothy B. Schmit seems to be winning his battle against throat and neck cancer, diagnosed last October. In Court: N-Dubz rapper Dappy found guilty of affray and assault following a brawl at a petrol station last year caused when the rapper spat at two girls who refused to get in a car with him. A man who came to their defense put Dappy in a headlock. In Court: A woman who filed a $9 million lawsuit against Justin Bieber, has dropped the case. Stacey Betts claimed that at a 2010 concert, he “incited” fans to such a level that their screams caused her permanent ear damage. In Court: a Brisbane drug dealer who admitted selling ecstasy in Fortitude Valley nightclubs was put on probation for two years. Police said they checked his iPhone and discovered Facebook posts where Blake John Moore boasted about how many drugs he’d sold. Died: Claude Nobs, founder of the famed Montreux Jazz Festival, died after a skiing accident last month. He was 76. Many Australian jazz acts played the event. Ironically he was name-checked in one of heavy rock’s best known songs, Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On The Water’. Purple were recording in Montreux in 1971 when a fire began at a Frank Zappa show, and sang about how Nobs (“Funky Claude” in the song) pulled fans to safety.
Weezer photo by Pip Cowley
* Nearly 140,000 tickets have been sold in Australia from ten shows by Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band… all four Sydney State Theatre shows by Red Bull Flying Bach sold out… Denver folkies The Lumineers’ first Sydney show is sold out and ‘Ho Hey’ is most played on national radio… The From The Jam visit was axed after their drummer suddenly quit. * The Mars Volta have split. * Forget the drama about whether Beyoncé sang live at President Obama’s inauguration concert: people are still wondering why Lupe Fiasco was asked to perform, considering he once said that the Prez and the U.S. are “the biggest terrorists” in the world. Lupe performed a 30-minute version of his anti-war ‘Words I Never Said’ and declared he didn’t vote for
Obama. Security told him to move on to his next song: he refused, so they turfed him off the stage. * Ruby Rose travels so much she has 300,000 frequent flyer points. * Big Day Out sacked an independent contractor after he flashed “get ‘em out” messages on the big screen during Vampire Weekend’s set at the Gold Coast show. More drama from the tour: Chili Peppers’ guitarist Josh Klinghoffer’s mum and dad, who decided to do some travelling through North Queensland after the Coast show, got caught in floods. * Skrillex accidentally set fire to his trademark locks while blowing out the candle on the cake celebrating his 25th birthday. * Musical The Sapphires was the topgrossing Australian film last year, taking in $14.5 million. It was followed by Happy
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FLUME More Than You Thought By Rachitha Seneviratne
20
-year-old Harley Streten took it upon himself a few years ago to create diverse electronic music under the moniker Flume, and it turns out that the entire world wanted to hear it too. After ditching the surf-smoke-repeat lifestyle that plagues other Manly grommets his age, Streten decided there was a real potential in his laptop and Ableton skills. After submitting a few tracks (including ‘Sleepless’, featuring Jezzabell Doran) to a Future Classic competition and slowly doing the rounds on FBi and triple j, Flume looked to be another solid Australian electronic artist on the rise. And then 2012 happened – the Year of the Flume. Streten put out a slew of highly touted remixes of Hermitude, Ta-ku and Onra tracks; ‘Sleepless’ was featured on an international RipCurl video; he worked on a trap-based side project, What So Not; he supported Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and The xx; and he released his debut album, which not only beat One Direction for #1 on iTunes, but went Gold just a few days ago. He’s now sitting on nearly 100,000 Facebook fans and some sold-out European and US dates – but it wasn’t easy getting to where he is now.
Streten’s manager Chad Gillard said, in an interview on FBi radio, that if Flume wanted to work with Frank Ocean, he would make that happen; apparently statements like that are within the realms of possibility now. “I’m gonna keep doing the Flume thing for a while, but I’m really excited to do some ghostwriting for some really high profile acts,” says Streten. “Flume has a ‘sound’ now, so I’d love to try and write something that’s completely not my sound…it’s a new challenge.” Where Streten’s goal was once to merely get on the radio, he sees himself aiming much, much higher now. “Initially the whole plan was to make a living off doing what I love. And that came about maybe four months ago; I could quit my job and be comfortable with money and stuff. I kinda wanna roll with this now and see what happens…I’m aiming at writing a strong second album. Something that complements the first but isn’t
“I’m really just making the music that I want to hear.” 14 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
the same – that evolves and does something more. And then I’ll spend my time doing some ghostwriting – it’s definitely a big thing. Also, I’d like to do film scores…I’ve always wanted to write scores for a film with a Blade Runner or Tron vibe.” Flume’s self-titled debut is an exceptionally well-crafted album that showcases both his production chops and his penchant for pop. Written for the most part in bars and cafes around Europe, it weaves a mesh of styles and grooves that reflects the sprawling cultures Streten experienced. Listening to the album, it becomes apparent that, while he’s more than okay by himself, he enjoys working and collaborating with other people. Five tracks on the album feature guest vocalists who are wildly different from one another, from Los Angeles rapper T.Shirt to the mellifluous tones of Sydney’s Moon Holiday. “I prefer to generally write the beats and stuff on my own, but I do love getting vocalists on songs. The thing is, you have such a strong idea of what you want it to sound like; a vision for the track – but I like to give the vocalist a lot of freedom. Complete creative control. I had an idea for what I wanted on ‘Left Alone’ with Chet Faker. But what he came back with was not at all what I had in mind – it was a lot better. It’s those kind of surprises which are why I like working with other artists…getting a fresh opinion on a song. I love how they can take it to places you would never have thought of.” Another facet of Flume’s music in the face of his blinding popularity is the relative dearth of lyrics; preferring to work with glitchy
vocal cuts and with samples, Streten treats the human voice as another instrument to manipulate, distort and squeeze on his laptop. Popular music, even dance hits, traditionally demands lyrics – Streten’s approach runs counter to this, with vocals utilised for their melodic qualities rather than to deliver words. “I’ve always found that melody is the most important thing to me,” he says simply. “I think the way to maintain interest without lyrics is basically catchy melodies, keeping the tracks constantly moving, and not making them super long. It’s always just worked out for me that way,” he says. On the other hand, Streten obviously sees the importance of vocals, paying more attention than most to the idiosyncrasies of people’s voices. Flume’s rapid ascension has given him greater scope to explore these possibilities. “Earlier on I didn’t have access to all these vocalists, so it was a bit tricky to line up people to work with. But now that this whole thing’s come about, I can go out there and put my feelers out and find artists that I really wanna work with.” There are so many extremely talented bedroom producers working right now, and one has to wonder what Flume is doing so much better, or differently, that has led to his media explosion over the last six months. “People seem to really warm to the sound,” Streten offers. “There’s tonnes of talented producers out there but I’m mixing a whole bunch of genres…so there’s catchy elements that really draw you in, but it’s not catchy within a pop medium. It’s something a bit different but still maintaining the essence of pop.”
This lack of pretension is what keeps Flume real; he asks his Facebook fans for new music tips, The Killers’ debut Hot Fuss is one of his favourite albums, and his popularity with young teenagers is something he relishes: “It’s a great thing…it’s educating a younger audience; as long as the music doesn’t change, then integrity’s not lost.” 2012 might have been a whirlwind for Flume, but 2013 doesn’t look like letting up: he’s already won a SMAC award, done a European tour, and this weekend he kicks of a string of Laneway Festival tour dates – followed by adventures in the US. He’s a young dude living the dream. “Even just cruising through the streets of Paris and knowing that I’m here because of recording beats in a bedroom, it’s pretty crazy,” he reflects. “I played this show in Poland a few [days ago] to 500 people in this warehouse in the snow. When I packed to come over here it was like a 43-degree day. So coming over to Poland and playing in minus-10 degrees and having all these people know your music is pretty surreal, man. I mean, you see all these stats [on Facebook] and it’s all really nice but when you physically see that many people in front of you on the other side of the world, it’s really validating.” With: Bat For Lashes, Alpine, Chet Faker, Nicolas Jaar, Jessie Ware, Alt-J, Cloud Nothings, Divine Fits, El-P, High Highs, Holy Other, Nite Jewel, and heaps more Where: Laneway Festival @ Sydney College of the Arts When: Saturday February 2
San Cisco photo by xxx
“It’s really nice now,” Streten says – an understatement, considering he’s casually chatting to me on a train from Paris to Glasgow. “But
it’s always a struggle at the start. You put something out and spend so many hours on it, knowing that probably not that many people are going to listen to it – which is fine; but at the very beginning I never had a huge amount of motivation to push my tracks heaps, because I wasn’t too sure they were that strong. But it’s really great now, ‘cos I can put a track out on Soundcloud and all over Facebook and it instantly reaches over 100,000 people.”
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Chet Faker Garage Days By Benjamin Cooper
“I thought I was writing a really dark record ...I’ve played it to a few friends and apparently it comes across as really happy, and I can’t quite figure out why...” with the critical and commercial success of the record. “I think it’s what they call a ‘mini-album’, because it’s seven tracks long. But it was never supposed to be so extensive,” he explains. “It was just supposed to be a few ideas coming together to form some songs, but I wasn’t really paying much attention to what I was doing. I’d been in the garage for a while... everything ended up getting really overgrown and out of hand. There were all these creeper vines that just sort of dangled down when I started working, but by the time I’d finished the record they were smacking me in the face really hard as I tried to get through the door. I was smoking cigarettes while I was recording, so there was this overflowing ashtray in the middle of the room that I barely noticed. It was a very long and intense process.”
F
or most of last year, Melbourne artist Chet Faker was absolutely killing it. The absurdly talented producer and singer welcomed in 2012 with a swag of buzz following his performances in March at South by Southwest. Later that same month, his debut EP Thinking In Textures was released, and resonated immediately with a wide-ranging audience due to its smooth mix of sharply sensual and soulful lyrics and his hooky, ambient production. Hyped-up international publications like the NME rushed to join in the chorus of praise, which had grown steadily since his 2011 cover of American RnB group Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’ went viral. It’s important to note that Chet Faker is no new arrival. Despite the flood of attention in recent times, the man behind the project,
known to his mum as Nick Murphy, has been carefully crafting melodies and experimenting with loops and sounds for close to a decade. “I’ve actually been in my garage for eight years; well, not actually inside the garage for the whole time,” he laughs. “I spent a lot of time working on ideas and shutting myself away, until I was happy with where I’d taken those ideas. Or until I felt myself starting to go a bit mad.” Murphy’s isolation and labour were vindicated in October last year when he became the only multiple award winner at the Independent Music Awards in Melbourne. After claiming the prize for best independent single/EP for Thinking In Textures, he then cleaned up by also winning the breakthrough independent artist award. He admits that he’s more surprised than anyone
Just days after the acclaim of the awards ceremony, Murphy’s year took a turn for the worse. An accident while out skateboarding left him with a broken foot, and a foreboding sense that his stellar year had been scuttled. “It was pretty frustrating when that happened,” he reflects, “but I’m a firm believer that there’s no progress without challenge. Unfortunately, I probably tried to overdo it a little bit.” Overdoing it, for such an in-demand artist, meant keeping to all of his performance and publicity commitments, despite his poor health and restricted mobility. “I was on crutches, and I was struggling,” he admits. “I’d broken three bones in my foot originally, and pretty soon I’d developed some pretty severe blood clots in my leg. My sense of independence had overtaken my abilities, and it just ended me. I was in hospital for a while. I was not able to do
anything. And there definitely weren’t any of the distractions I was so used to.” Just prior to his hospitalisation, Murphy was in the middle of his next recording project; adding to his frustration was the fact that he’d also recently moved from the old garage to a new space in North Melbourne. The dedicated rehearsal and recording space in the old Town Hall (AKA the Meat Market) had thrown up additional challenges. “I really wouldn’t recommend changing space halfway through making new music. It completely messes with your processes, and sets you back a fair way,” he says. The new recordings – set to appear as part of his upcoming release, which is currently untitled – have given Murphy a focal point for his restless and recalcitrant energies throughout this tumultuous period. “I thought I was writing a really dark record; probably one filled with my own discomfort,” he says. “But I’ve played it to a few friends and apparently it comes across as really happy, and I can’t quite figure out why... I’ve got a bunch of stuff going on, things that just weren’t possible with the first recordings, and certain parts of the production have changed heaps; I’ve got heaps of samples, a lot more layers and depth to what’s going on.” The new recordings promise a fresh take on the soulful brew of Chet Faker’s previous work – and he won’t be sacrificing any of the barelysuppressed heat he’s become famous for hiding behind that bushranger beard. “The songs from before are important to me,” he says, “and they’ve obviously connected with a lot of other people too. I’d definitely change a lot about how I did it – but I’ve got to acknowledge that it’s the best I could do at the time. There’ll always be that Chet Faker element to things, but there’s gotta also be progression. Fuck, man!” he exclaims, laughing at his own seriousness for a moment. “[But] like I said, no progress without challenge. You gotta keep moving.” With: Flume, Bat For Lashes, Nicolas Jaar, Shlomo, Yeasayer, and more Where: Laneway Festival @ Sydney College Of the Arts, Rozelle When: Saturday February 2
Jessie Ware Wildest Dreams By Alasdair Duncan
J
esse Ware’s debut, Devotion, was one of the finest albums of last year, combining soulful pop melodies with beats straight out of the underground. Growing up in South London, Ware immersed herself in the club scene early on, and these youthful experiences made a powerful impression. “I started
to go out clubbing at quite a young age,” she tells me with a cheeky laugh. “I’d say it started when I was around 16 or so. My first experiences were drum and bass parties in South London. It was a big crew of us, all of us were school friends, and we’d go out every weekend to these drum and bass shows. We’d go and see people like Andy C and Friction playing in really small bars – it was great… We were just schoolkids sneaking into parties, but I’d say the experience was definitely important in shaping who I am now.”
comes to writing the songs, Ware says she’s quite happy to let the beat be her guide. “In my earliest songs, the beat always drove the melody; I’d sing off it until I found something I liked. That’s what happened with ‘Joker’, and when I started making tracks with Julio Bashmore, they’d fit together like that.” More recently, though, Ware has branched out into a more traditional sort of songwriting. “There are certain songs, like ‘Wildest Moments’ and ‘Night Light’, that were written from playing around with chords, but I still write songs off a beat. I guess you can usually tell, depending on just how dance-y the track is!”
The young Ware began her musical career in fairly unassuming fashion, as a backing singer for her old school friend Jack Peñate. “My friend Jack was a really great performer,” she says, “and I’m nothing like him, but I still learned a lot from singing backup in his show. Performing with him was really good training, because I got to learn all about how other people do it – I was able to perform live without the pressure of being a lead singer. It gave me a taste of what to expect, and it prepared me for what I’m doing now.” Subsequent to this, Ware began to test the waters of club music, lending her vocals to two tracks by SBTRKT, ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘The Right Thing To Do’. Then ‘Wildest Moments’ arrived, and Ware wasn’t a backing singer or a featured performer anymore – she was a star in her own right.
Ware’s music occupies a space somewhere between pop and the underground – it’s appealing, but at the same time, it’s not right up there in your face. I ask her where exactly she sees herself, but she tells me that, to her, the distinction between pop and underground doesn’t really matter. “I definitely don’t want to rule out any area of music,” she says. “I want the music I make to be as universal as possible. I think that my music is a bit of both – it draws on pop and also the underground, and I’m very happy about that. It suits me. I like everything!”
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If you’ve caught any of Ware’s videos, you’ll know they have a very distinct look and feel – a detached and slightly otherworldly elegance. The look she creates for herself in these videos, she tells me, is a vitally important part of the package. “I love doing them,” she says, “they’ve become a really great way for me to express myself. In the past, I was a bit shy – I
wasn’t the most confident or vocal when it came to saying, right, this is what I want to do, this is the kind of performer I want to be.” The videos show Ware standing strong, projecting confidence and certainty. “The version of me you see in the videos is who I want to be,” she says, “something I haven’t always been able to articulate in the past.” Ware will arrive in Australia very soon for Laneway, and I’m curious to know how her music, intimate as it is, translates to the live stage. “I think it’s definitely getting easier for me to sing live,” she says, “to get the energy right, and that’s largely thanks to the crowds at the shows. The people there are really up for seeing you, and their excitement helps a lot in the performance. I’m really getting that feeling from being in America for this tour. You can feel that there’s a real willingness and enthusiasm in the audience – that’s a good start for a fun concert.” With: Bat For Lashes, Yeasayer, Flume, Alt-J, Holy Other, Flume, and more Where: Laneway Festival @ Sydney College Of The Arts, Rozelle When: Saturday February 2 xxx
Devotion is a sensual and sophisticated album, a listening experience ideal for very late at night. The beats shimmer and shake, and the melodies gently twist around them – the songs are both ballads and club tracks, without really being either. When it
Ware’s influences run deeper than club music, and may go some way to explaining her unique style. “I love Florence Welch, that’s for sure,” she says. “There’s such a confidence when you watch her, and I love the way that she can perform so fearlessly. It’s just amazing to see her in action. I’ve also been watching a lot of videos of old Barbra Streisand performances recently, just to see how she does it. They’re two very different performers, but I adore them both!”
“I love Florence Welch, that’s for sure... I’ve also been watching a lot of videos of old Barbra Streisand performances recently, just to see how she does it”
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Justin Townes Earle Finger-pickin’ Good By Roland Kay-Smith
J
ustin Townes Earle, with his loose Southern drawl and rascally chuckle, comes across like a character out of a Mark Twain novel. His self-deprecating humour, mixed with a dash of old-timey wisdom, is part of what makes Earle, and his music, so appealing. He’s as charming and funny over the phone as he is up on stage presenting his unique take on Americana. Since 2008, Townes has produced four consistently brilliant albums and has taken his truly mesmerising live performance around the globe many times over.
When I talk to him, his thick accent is being transmitted from his home in Nashville, the place he was born and the place he now, after the NYC stint documented on his third album Harlem River Blues, calls home. Right now, he’s telling me about how he’s fixing to get himself a gold tooth. “I’ve wanted a gold tooth since I was a kid, and I decided, since I turned 31 and I still like the idea, I’m going to go ahead and do it. I’ll tell you this though; if you want to get a gold tooth, go to a shop, doesn’t matter if you don’t got any money, pick out a nice white suit and a nice white pair of shoes, and try it on. If you look stupid in a white suit and a white pair of shoes, do not get a gold tooth!” I’ll keep that in mind. You’re coming to Australia this month, making it your sixth tour here in five years. What brings you back? For years, until recently, Australia was my bread and butter – it’s what paid the bills. I made a lot more money in Australia than anywhere else for a long, long time. I get to tour at a leisurely pace, so I get to see a lot of Australia. I do three shows and then take two days off, I go to the beach, really roam the city and I get to learn more about Melbourne than fucking Fitzroy. You’re a fantastic solo performer, and Australia has occasionally seen you with one or two accompanying musicians.
“If you want a gold tooth, go to a shop and pick out a nice white suit and a nice white pair of shoes and try it on. If you look stupid... do not get a gold tooth.” When will we see you with a full band? I’m writing a new record right now, we’re looking at a May recording date, which would probably be a fall release. So we’re probably looking to get a full band over [to Australia] for the next record. I’m dying to get the full band over. This time I’m coming over solo. I love playing solo and it’s something that I’m always going to do – it’s where I come from and I need to not forget that. Your guitar playing, an aggressive take on the Carter Scratch, really lends itself to a solo performer. How did you develop that style? I started finger picking around the time I was 13 and I learned a lot of that Mississippi John Hurt-style picking. When I moved to East Tennessee, I was fifteen years old, I’d left home, and for the next two years I lived with this friend of mine, Scotty. I was living with him and his brother and his mother and father, and they were like an old outlaw family, and all we did was sit around and play. His parents loved it; they took pills with us and gave us joints… Scotty was an amazing bluegrass flatpicker, and his brother was a chicken picking electric guitar player, so it was really hard to tell what my guitar was doing, so I just decided to do something that took up a little more room. I will say this though, it was really sloppy the first six years I was doing it and it slowly, each year, got a little less sloppy.
You mentioned that you’re writing a new album. Each of your previous records, while maintaining a signature JTE sound, have had a unique style: honky-tonk, Memphis... What style do you think you’ll explore next? My arrival at Memphis with Harlem River Blues was definitely no mistake. I knew from the beginning that I was going to want to go a little deeper than I had with previous forms of music that I had recorded. When it gets right down to it, that was the kind of stuff that really made me love music first. Shit like Al Green and Percy Sledge. I think that I’m going to continue working with the Memphis sound. On this record, along with the lyrics, I’m writing background singer parts, like all of the Ray Charles and the Cookies records. I’m going to do a real post-doo-wop, rock’n’roll record. Speaking of making records, you recently produced an album for Wanda Jackson. I read in Rolling Stone that the album was a reaction to the Jack White-produced Wanda album. Is there any truth in that? Well…Wanda’s such a sweet old lady, I think she agrees with people because she don’t want to hurt nobody’s feelings, and it’s not that any of the past 15 years of her records have been bad, I think people just decided what she should sound like instead of letting Wanda sound like Wanda. When we were making the record she was 73 years old, she can only sing so fast and she can only sing so high. Producing is about making your act comfortable. You will not get a good performance out of your act unless you make them comfortable. If you can’t make them comfortable, then you need to go back to producer school and realise that it’s not about you, it’s about them. With: Robert Ellis Where: The Basement When: February 5 More: February 6 @ Coogee Diggers; February 10 @ The Annandale
Dropkick Murphys Shipping Up To Byron By Krystal Maynard
S
ixteen years is a long time to do anything, let alone play in a hardworking punk rock band that is both prolific and globetrotting by nature. Ken Casey, bassist/songwriter and original member of Dropkick Murphys, is to this day astounded at the longevity of the band. “Oh man, looking back on it now, that’s been almost half my life, you know? It’s funny – you gotta be careful what you ask for. This was just supposed to be a joke and having a little fun in the basement, and 16 years later we’re still travelling the world, and that’s amazing, you know.” Of course, putting out eight albums and building a massive cult following worldwide doesn’t come easy, and the tone of Casey’s voice suggests that the path has been less than smooth. “I’ve definitely worked harder at this than anything else I’ve ever done in my life,” he confesses. “I guess that hard work pays off – I look back on some of the stuff we’ve had to do and how long we’ve gone for and I say, ‘Oh my God, would I do this again to get where we are?’ But having done it once, it’s been amazing, you know.”
With the Murphys’ last two albums, The Meanest of Times and Going Out In Style, charting in the Top 20 on the US Billboard charts, the band’s success appears to be growing – but Casey doesn’t see it as the band suddenly gaining more mainstream appeal: “It’s not like we’ve rocketed up the charts, we’ve stayed the same – it’s the rest of the music industry that’s plummeted. That’s the secret to our success, just wait it out!” Dropkick Murphys are heralded for their support of the unions and the working class man, and Casey feels strongly that it’s this dedication to and consideration of their fans that has ensured their ongoing success. “We’ve got a strong, loyal fan base and we play for a reasonable ticket price, and in
this economy you know, when people have to choose one thing as opposed to getting everything, a lot of people stick with us,” he explains. “You know, less is more, maybe a lower ticket price means you’re playing to more people and it all comes out in the wash – maybe they’re happier paying less and they buy a T-shirt. It’s not very difficult to keep your fans happy but a lot of bands don’t even make the effort to do it.” Casey says the band have found that keeping that original generation of fans happy has led to a situation where the Murphys have an almost literally selfperpetuating fanbase. “It’s growing, you know – half of it after 16 years is people’s kids. Their parents came to see us when they were teenagers and now they have their own kids that are listening to us – just have your audience spawn children that like you!” When discussing what keeps the band creatively regenerating, Casey says, “The live show, and from meeting the fans, and the fact that we’ve been able to become respected in our own communities for who we are and what we do – and being able to give back. In your hometown you wanna be liked, and it’s nice to have that feeling of people being proud of you at home, so to speak. All those things combined make us very grateful, enthusiastic and motivated for being in the band.” Regarding their reputation for a consistently high-octane live show, Casey adds, “You might have a tiring long day, you might be sick and throwing up on the bus all day, but then show time comes and that first song starts and the adrenaline kicks in – all you’re thinking about is, ‘This is awesome’.” Dropkick Murphys will be bringing their famed live show to our shores in April, performing as
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“With seven band members it’s hard to get everyone on the same page,” he admits. “Three guys might really wanna write while one guy’s having a baby or one guy’s on vacation. It was just, like, organically at the same time everyone was just kinda like, let’s do this, you know, and we just kinda put our nose to the grindstone and it came together really quick.” Rating Australia as one of their favourite places to tour, Casey is eagerly awaiting
their return. “People in Australia in general have just been so welcoming to us and really made us feel like honestly we’re at home,” he enthuses. “And the worst part of any Australian tour is the day I have to leave! And I don’t feel that way about many places. So yeah, we’d like to thank you for all the years of hospitality.” With: Iggy & The Stooges, Wilco, Robert Plant, The Lumineers, and heaps more Where: Bluesfest at Byron Bay When: Thursday March 28 – Monday April 1 Sideshow: Monday April 1 w/ Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls + Swingin’ Utters @ The Big Top, Luna Park And: Signed And Sealed In Blood out now through Dew Process xxx
“It’s not like we’ve rocketed up the charts, we’ve stayed the same – it’s the rest of the music industry that’s plummeted. That’s the secret to our success, just wait it out!”
part of the massive Bluesfest lineup in Byron Bay, as well as a sideshow at Luna Park’s Big Top. The band will be touring in support of their just-released eighth long player, Signed And Sealed In Blood. Casey describes the songwriting process and recording for this album as a smooth one.
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Emilie Autumn Creature Of Fantasy By Alasdair Duncan
E
milie Autumn is in the midst of a flurry of activity – when I speak to her, she has her phone in one hand and a hot glue gun in the other, as she puts the finishing touches on a costume for her next tour. Autumn’s show is a highly visual experience, a mix of candy colours and Gothic grotesquery, and this new piece, she says, is her most exciting yet. Her latest album, Fight Like A Girl, features a song called ‘Scavenger’, about a Victorian-era grave robber, and the costume ties directly into this. “As I sing it, one of my girls will be coming out dressed up in this costume and scaring the shit out of people,” she says. A twisted rat monster, The Scavenger is a bold and highly theatrical take on pure evil – theatricality being a big part of Autumn’s overall aesthetic. “It’s a very frightening song, and I’m very excited about the reaction that the costume is going to get. I’m really hoping that it will give the audience nightmares!”
I ask if we’ll be seeing The Scavenger at her Australian shows, and she promises we will. “The whole show is completely different and completely new. It’s a bridge between the shows we’ve done previously and the Broadway-style musical that it will hopefully become. That’s the ultimate goal, and that is in the works right now … the show is the last thing before the musical actually happens.” These days, it seems, young musicians are unafraid to own up to their love of musical theatre, and its influence on their work. Autumn is a life-long devotee of the genre. “The musical has been embraced by the current generation,” she says. “I mean, look at Les Mis. I’ve seen the musical four times, I think it’s the best thing on the face of the planet, and now others do too. I think that’s great in creating an audience and a culture for the kind of musical that I want to write.” Of any musical out there, Autumn connects the most with Les Misérables. “It shows the depth of
human character, and has this incredible moral centre,” she says. “That shaped me in a massive way, and I’m not ashamed or afraid to admit the influence of musicals in everything I do – the influence of the great writers and great people that put on these productions before me…” Autumn puts an awful lot of herself into her music and lyrics, sometimes to a painful extent, but she insists she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Music can be very powerful in reminding you that you’re not the only one who thinks a certain way, or who has experienced certain
things, and I think I connect with people on that level,” she says. “I respect the audience that I have – they’re rare and creative and wonderful, and I want to keep them for a very long time.” With: Garbage, Paramore, Mindless Self Indulgence, A Perfect Circle, Linkin Park and heaps more Where: Soundwave Festival @ Sydney Olympic Park When: Sunday February 24 Sideshow: Tuesday March 18 @ The Metro
Dead Can Dance Resurrected By Leigh Salter
L
isa Gerrard is watching the threatening orange glow of bushfires near her home in Gippsland, but valiantly remains focused on the task of discussing Dead Can Dance, the band she and one-time husband Brendan Perry helmed between 1981 and 1998. After a 16-year hiatus (during which Gerrard blossomed into an award-winning film composer – most famously for Gladiator) the globally successful duo have re-emerged with a new album and a tour, which is set to re-establish them as the masters of ‘world-fusion’ music. “Somebody once asked me, ‘Why don’t we make Australian music?’” Gerrard says. “It was as if we had to tick certain boxes to be considered Australian.” Despite forming in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran, Australia has long remained something of a ‘final frontier’ for DCD. “Basically what they were asking was, why don’t we sound like a white suburban band, which is after all what we were!” The suburbs, however, did provide the true foundation for what would become Dead Can Dance. “So many of our neighbours were a mix of Greek and Turkish immigrants, many of whom couldn’t speak English very well, if at all, and because their sort of connection to the countries they had left behind was their music, it would always be blasting out of their windows on a hot night,” Gerrard recalls. “It was wonderful!” The title of the new album, Anastasis, translates from Ancient Greek as ‘resurrection’. Apart from the obvious, it could also relate to Dead Can Dance’s choice of gear. They employ instruments so ancient, their true origins have been forever blurred by time as they changed hands along the Silk Road. Meanwhile, the curious, non-specific language in which Gerrard often sings cleverly ensures cultural anonymity remains. “When I was growing up, you didn’t get Irish people speaking Italian or Greek or
anything like that, so my experience of hearing these other languages was all about tones and patterns, and there was a kind of music to that in itself.” From Prahran, Lisa and then live-in boyfriend Brendan Perry moved to London during 1982 – only to discover the cultural diversity they had become so used to was in short supply. “We were in this very poor, white area of London living in this council flat and it was quite depressing really,” Gerrard says. “But we kind of lived as though we were in this private school, by spending all our time in the local libraries and music archives, just absorbing all this literature and music which was beyond what we could have found in Australia. Our own identity really began to develop from that time.” After signing a deal with 4AD, Dead Can Dance established their niche throughout the ’80s and ’90s as a force for non-Anglicised music. But Anastasis is less “vive la différence” and more about what connects us all across language and cultural barriers. It’s a concept album in that sense, and will be performed in full during this tour. “It is important that, in concert, the work is allowed to tell its whole story. I think it takes on a life of its own that way,” says Gerrard. “We used a lot of organic instruments on the recording, but touring with a full orchestra wasn’t practical. Brendan plays a variety of instruments, and I play my yangqin and dulcimers... but I think the main detail in our music is the cavernous, ‘big sound’ that we do. It’s very much about creating a landscape of sound when we play live... It’s how our music is best enjoyed, I think.” When: February 3 (sold out) & 4 Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
The Joy Formidable Once More With Feeling By Rod Whitfield elsh alternative rock act The Joy Formidable made waves worldwide with their debut The Big Roar, and those might just become tsunami size with the imminent release of their second album, Wolf’s Law. Calling in from a tour stop in Boston, lead vocalist and guitarist Ritzy Bryan certainly seems in high spirits, despite the “fookin’ freezin’” weather, as she puts it.
W
lot of focus. Some of the songs have stayed like that, they’re more stripped back, more than some of the tracks on The Big Roar, but some of the other songs have turned into more bombastic, aggressive tracks as well. They’re different records, but I would hope to be saying that! I think something would have gone drastically wrong if we churned out the same record!”
It’s no wonder she’s cheerful. The new album has come up an absolute treat: big, bold and powerful, but highly varied. And what’s more, they got to work with one of the most legendary producers in music history. “From the very beginnings of its conception in November 2011, right the way through to mixing in April, it was totally exciting, and it fired up a lot of energy, I had a great time making that record,” Bryan enthuses. “We had a great time working with Andy Wallace, I think he’s one of the finest collaborations we’ve ever had in our careers… We absolutely loved meeting him and working with him. He’s ridiculously talented, really nice.”
Another, sad event in Bryan’s life also helped to shape the album’s sound. “I lost my grandfather just before we went into the studio to record this album,” she reveals, “so I had this massive nostalgic trip, I went back to all his favourite records almost. A lot of barbershop, a lot of Al Johnson, Perry Como, Frank Churchill.”
Bryan is quick to note that the new album is a different beast to their debut. “We’re proud of both, but I think this record definitely has a bit different instrumentation to the first record,” she says. “Over the course of 12 months we started playing more piano. You have to pass the time in the [tour] bus somehow, so I’ve been doing a lot of scoring, and different types of composition over the course of 12 months. And that definitely seeps into the new record.
“I sincerely hope so,” she says, “we had a really, really good time last time, we genuinely have so many happy memories from that. We did some shows of our own, and we were out with Temper Trap who are a great, sweet bunch of guys, and we went up to do Splendour… We’ve wanted to repeat it for so long, but just logistically we haven’t managed to. “We’re looking at coming back early our summer, your winter – so we need to try and figure that out at some point and come for your summer. It’s not like us Welshies get a lot of sun!”
“The writing approach was quite different as well,” she continues, “in the sense that on this record we stripped everything back to a piano or an acoustic guitar, and that was kind of an exciting new approach to the songwriting, because it gives the lyrics and the melody a
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The band did a brief tour of Australia back in 2011, and while they have heavy commitments across the UK and Europe in the coming few months, Bryan is hopeful and confident that they will return to our shores in the not-toodistant future.
What: Wolf’s Law out now through Warner
Xxx
The Scavenger, Autumn tells me, is inspired by Jim Henson’s creatures – especially those from the twisted world of The Dark Crystal, a movie she loved growing up. “That’s still my all-time favourite on the face of the planet!” she says. “Growing up with Jim Henson’s vision really affected me. I owe an awful lot to him, and I think
that in terms of my visual sensibility and style, a lot of it comes directly from seeing The Dark Crystal at the age of five, and having my mind totally blown. The Scavenger’s look is based on the Skeksis, the bad guys from that movie.”
ADRIAN BOHM BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA THOMAS MANAGEMENT PRESENTS
ADRIAN BOHM PRESENTS
“Has the audience simultaneously weeping with laughter and nodding in agreement.”
★★★★ – HERALD SUN
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arts frontline
free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com
arts, theatre and film news... what's goin' on around town and more...
five minutes WITH
SEBASTIAN GOLDSPINK
what’s in store for an even bigger 2013. What’s an average day for you in your role as Director? It’s super varied depending on what’s going on. Every day though, I speak to artists. I talk about current shows and upcoming shows. Artists are at the centre of what we do and that relationship is based on conversations. Alaska Projects has passed the one-year mark now – how has it changed over that time? It’s really just gotten more ambitious. Once our first show opened we got courage to do more. In saying that, we have really stuck to our core principle of being a space that supports artists.
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ebastian had been looking for a new art space for a year when his brother parked in a Kings Cross car park. Upon spotting the “weird little disused space” in the centre, Goldspink says, “for some reason I knew that we could make it work”. And so Alaska Projects was born – an art collective that, at just over a year old, has quickly established itself as a major player in Sydney’s independent arts scene. Last month, Goldspink even travelled to New Orleans to set up an exhibition of Alaska alumni at sister space Good Children Gallery. Goldspink had a chat to BRAG about the highlights so far, and
What do you feel the collective would say was the high point of 2012? I think the year as a whole was a high point. We have been really humbled by the support of all the people who get down to Alaska. Our end of year tour to New Orleans was a standout. We took a group show of 16 artists over there and it was the first exhibition of Australian art that had ever been staged there. And the low point? Just when shows close. It’s always a little sad to see good shows end. AP have been branching out into hosting music and film screenings as well as visual arts – will there be more of that? Absolutely, we have an ongoing music program with Musical ALASKA, a series of 16mm film screenings and a performance stream. We will also look to continue our tradition of working
with great partner organisations like the Sydney Symphony, Musica Viva, UTS, Legs On The Wall and Romance Was Born. How do you keep AP accessible to people who might not be that involved in the “art scene”? We just really try to be welcoming. The car park space has a very open feel. It’s hard to be pretentious when you are standing in a basement in a Kings Cross car park. We also focus on offering diverse events like film screenings and musical performances, as well as staging 20+ shows of contemporary art. From the get-go we wanted to draw audiences and artists from all art forms into our space. What’s the next project for AP? Another big year of shows, collaborations with MoNA in Hobart, MOP Projects in Sydney, Ray Gun Lab in Toowoomba, another overseas tour and more off-site projects. What are you most excited about in 2013? Facilitating the creativity of the amazing people we work with. ALASKA has been an amazing adventure so far but it’s a constantly evolving space, so as always, I look forward to the next thing. What: Next up at AP is Reprise – new works by Marty Baptist + Lee Ralph When: Opens Wednesday January 30 from 6pm; closes February 3 Where: Lvl 2 of Kings Cross Car Park, 9A Elizabeth Bay Rd Elizabeth Bay
Holly J’Adoll, Ava Torch and Frankie Faux. Add some Melbourne stars, some spoken word and you’ve got a show that can’t fail to at least spark some intriguing pillow talk this February 14. Tickets are on sale now from the Per Verse Productions website.
Pin-ups Gigi Vine and Betty Belle
BOOK OF FLOWERS
Whip out your daisy chains – the annual Book Of Flowers exhibition is blossoming this week in Marrickville: a harvest of ‘flower’-themed artworks and manifested daydreams by local artists, writers, musos and curators, including Sarah Contos, Emma Davidson, Mikala Dwyer, David Haines, Shane Haseman, Emily Hunt, Biljana Jancic, Anna Kristensen, Michael Moran, Ms&Mr, Keg De Souza, and oodles more. A limited-edition A5 book of poems will be available on opening night, each piece carefully plucked out by local artists, with all dosh raised going towards the gallery’s 2013 program. Food and drink will be plentiful (assuming you aren’t already satiated by the eclectic sounds of the musical saw, accordion and hurdy gurdy...) Book Of Flowers opens Saturday February 2 at 55 Sydenham Road, Marrickville. 55sydenhamrd.com
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SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED! WINNING! Not all time travel movies are packed full of precarious science and heroes in badass jackets – but most of them are about the human desire to get back to places that no longer exist, fix old mistakes, and right old wrongs. Safety Not Guaranteed distils that theme down into the sweetest, most heart-wrenching indie hit of 2012. Starring Parks and Rec’s Aubrey Plaza, mumblecore figurehead Mark Duplass and Jake Johnson from New Girl, it’s crucial viewing if you didn’t catch its too-brief cinema run. If you did, you’ve no doubt been hanging out for a DVD release – and thanks to Reel DVD, we’ve got five of these delightful discs to give away. To be in the running, email us your postal address, and tell us the place and time in history you’d most like to spend a day in. state of the nation/world/universe? Upcoming expo The Social explores the changing relationship between art practice, social engagement and pop culture in the modern age. It features performance, photo-media and video work from Christian Thompson, Alexandra Clapham & Penelope Benton (Artistic Directors of the upcoming Art Month) and Archibald finalist Abdul Abdullah, alongside other local talent. The exhibition launches Friday February 8 at Campbelltown Arts Centre. There’ll be artist talks the following day, and the show runs until March 10. Check out campbelltown.nsw.gov.au/ CampbelltownArtsCentre for more artist info, or RSVP via facebook.
CUT & PASTE
Cut & Paste is a bi-monthly goody-bag of Sydney arts, comedy and performance, curated and hosted by Tamarama Rock Surfers (the folks behind The Old Fitzroy and Bondi Pavilion theatres). The only thing the various acts have in common, apart from all being performed by humans, is that they are all very fresh. The 18th edition, on Sunday February 10, will offer up comedy from Michael Hing, filthy showtunes from Pastor Dorcas, haunting folk from Mutual Stranger, and words from John A. D. Fraser, John Kay and Alice Williams, among (many) other things. Tickets are just $15 from rocksurfers.org
ART! PIN UP PARLOR
Not, that’s not a typo – sisters Gigi Vine and Betty Belle are bringing their Pin Up Parlor back to The Standard this week, with a little tip of the tassel to the classic love between an American GI and his tasteful Betty Grable postcards… The upcoming edition is called Step Right Up, and will feature burlesque, cabaret and circus from a lineup of babes that includes Gigi, Venus Vamp, Bunni Lambada (Miss Burlesque Sydney 2012, Miss Pin Up Australia 2011),and Bella Louche; and an art exhibition inspired by the carnival, featuring works by Betty Belle, Alex Lehours, Teem and Veks among others. All the old-fashioned fun is in support of charity Operation Dear Troops, which sends care packages to men and women serving overseas. Paint some seams down the back of your legs, mark February 3 in your Pin Up calendar and nab a ticket. wearethestandard.com.au
JURASSIC LOUNGE RETURNS
Sydney’s favourite prehistoric party is back at the Australian Museum for its fifth season in 2013, with more cool shit going on than a coprolite buried in permafrost. The first dino-do is the 2013 Anti-Valentine’s Day Party, featuring burlesque and tango lessons by Kelly-Ann Doll, the popular Dino Wars, matchmaking games, ‘Science of Love’ trivia hosted by the Project 52 crew, Date Roulette hosted by funny dude Michael Hing, and a surefire way to weed out the kinkiest potential dates: screenings of Green Porno, the hilarious nature documentary about animals’ mating habits starring Isabella Rosselini. It’s sure to be a bigger hit than 22 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
the asteroid of doom, so get in quick – Tuesday February 12, from 5.30pm.
VALENTIMES
And: if you’ve been looking for a way to broach the topic of your secret kink with your lover, put down that copy of 50 Shades of Grey and get yourselves to the Bordello Theatre (located in the King’s X Hotel) this Feast of St Valentine. Per Verse Productions’ one-night-only show Valentimes: A Strange Love Cabaret is a witty, sexy exploration of “fetish, paraphilia and other unique forms of romance”, featuring the cream of Sydney’s burlesque and cabaret scene, like
You expect galleries to be highfalutin and mysterious, so it’s no surprise that Chippendale-based artist-run initiative MOP Projects is kicking off 2013 with a collaborative exhibition billed as "a creative response to the aesthetic identity of the Asia-Pacific". But what does it all really mean? SCA grads and rising stars Samuel Quinteros and Carl Cheleski have created a colourful and eye-opening experience, melding the familiar warmth of paint media (aka oil on canvas) with the often strange juxtapositions of a rapidly shifting set of cultures (aka shit just got craycray). The show is called Gnosis, and it’s running until February 10 at MOP Projects, 2/39 Abercrombie St. mop.org.au
Samuel Quinteros - Prelude to Mercurius
Anish Kapoor Memory – Image courtesy the artist and Deutsche Guggenheim © the artist.
Paige Rattray [THEATRE] Outside The Comfort Zone By Rebecca Saffir
“H
ow could anyone forget those teenage years and raging hormones?” Paige Rattray exclaims. It’s a memory she’s counting on dipping into as she gears up for The Voices Project: Out Of Place, with the Australian Theatre for Young People. Ten monologues by young writers, performed by young actors, centred on themes of belonging, marginality and community – it’s sure to touch nerves for audience members. “Most people have been part of a minority or felt isolated at some stage of their life,” says Rattray. “If they haven’t, they need to get out of their comfort zone and experience it!” Rattray has made a habit of getting out of those comfort zones, to the benefit of Australia’s theatrical community. After growing up in country Tasmania and studying at the University Of Tasmania in Hobart, she migrated north to attend NIDA and has been populating the East Coast with her output ever since. Her work is formally varied – collaboratively devised works like Cut Snake, which has appeared at the Sydney and Melbourne Fringe Festivals and will have return seasons in both cities in 2013, sit alongside premieres of new plays like The Sea Project and Dirtyland, which she directed through her indie outfit ARTHUR.
in country Tasmania that I will never feel anywhere else…I always feel better when I’m out of the city.” Luckily, 2013 holds a bunch of opportunities for her to hop around the country: the aforementioned return of Cut Snake (through Tamarama Rock Surfers), a trip back to her hometown to develop a new play by Aussie writer Hannah Malarski, another Griffin Independent season with Return to Earth (by the suitably comfort-zone-destroying Lally Katz) and, finally, a brand-new devised work of her own, called Myth: “It incorporates global myths and legends with an Australian focus,” she tells me. “It has loads of magic, dance, love, tragedy and currently a billion ideas that we have to roll into some kind of structure!” Memory, 2008 installation view, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin 2009
Anish Kapoor [ART] Sydney Sculptor Oliver Tanner On MCA’s Larger Than Life Show
F
inally an exhibition where you don’t need to read the placards! Anish Kapoor’s works at the MCA are an encouraging reminder that the contemporary art world is more than sculpting in faeces, painting urine on canvases and dissecting animals in formaldehyde for the shock value of making an unrelated point. This is a perfect exhibition to show the possibilities of the new extension to the gallery and is the sculptor’s first major solo show in Australia.
Paige Rattray photo by Mikey Pozarik
“Collaboration is my favourite thing,” says Rattray. “Even the ‘well-made plays’ I work on are very much a collaborative experience. Five or ten brains are always better than one. I guess the thing that unites my work is that I feel a strong heart connection with all the pieces I work on and want to have a conversation with my audience about that.” For The Voices Project, Rattray has been tasked with bringing ten monologues, with ten very different styles and voices, together into a unified whole. “Rather than try and squish them into one, we have created an urban space that we are transforming with light and sound,” she explains. “The monologues are from young emerging writers, and the actors are also emerging – so everyone is in a vulnerable position and the material is very raw…everyone is putting themselves out there in a way they might not have before. They are all so brave in that respect – I’ve been getting the actors to do some crazy shit, and they enter into the exercises fearlessly.” It’s no mean feat wrangling a young and inexperienced cast, but Rattray has the right attitude: “I can forgive anything if it comes from a real place and has something to say,” she says, adding, “I sound like a total hippie today.” She tries to blame it on the tie-dye shirt she’s wearing, but gives her tree-loving roots away when she talks about the places that give her a sense of belonging: “I feel a connection with the people and the land
Walking into this show feels a bit like stumbling into the hall of mirrors at the local circus. The works affect reality, distorting, flipping and shattering the visual cues that we rely upon to make sense of the world. Initially most people react as if they were in the fairground, but beyond the laughs and fun, there is something profound about pieces of art that in their observation, affect the observer. You may never feel more human and finite than when you stare into ‘Void’, a seemingly endless, sublime deep blue piece in the show.
What: Out Of Place – a night of monologues When: January 30 – February 16 Where: atyp Studio Theatre, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay More: Cut Snake from March 12-23 @ The Bondi Pavilion Theatre
Kapoor alluded to this relationship in a recent interview, saying: “There’s something immanent in the work, but the circle is only completed by the viewer.” The interaction you have with these works, bobbing and weaving around them to understand how they work, is really the artwork itself. The degree to which these inanimate things are able to rouse our curiosity, make us squint and pause, move towards and away from them like a magic eye poster under careful examination, is unbelievable. An Indian immigrant to Britain, Kapoor has
gone from strength to strength in recent years, completing works of ever-increasing power and presence on the international stage. I’m yet to find someone not drawn to and amazed by his Chicago piece ‘Cloud Gate’ (AKA “the Bean”), one of the most well-received and loved public artworks in America. He has made his name creating otherworldly objects, spaces and portals that are never quite what they seem. Using a variety of materials, from stainless steel to raw pigment, cement and paraffin wax, Kapoor’s simple ideas are realised so beautifully and on such an epic scale that the pieces can take your breath away. The cover artwork for the exhibition My Red Homeland is about erosion and time – a basic enough premise, but displayed through the action of watching a six-metre-long sledgehammer destroy 25 tons of red paraffin wax. The piece sculpts itself, and is beautiful and monumental in its self-destruction. This really is the kind of work that makes me believe that art can be and is for everyone, and not just the usual art crowd. The exhibit is not about the evils of capitalism, or tearing down the last conventions left standing in the fine arts. It is Kapoor’s visceral and honest approach to materials and form that makes him such a promising artist in our age because his message is universal and will speak to you, no matter who you are. When: Until April 1 Where: Museum of Contemporary Art More: mca.com.au/anishkapoor
Silver Linings Playbook [FILM] Bradley Cooper Goes Soft By Alicia Malone
T
his year may have only just started, but already Bradley Cooper is having a great one. Alongside his Golden Globes, BAFTA and Critic’s Choice nominations, he’s also scored his first ever Oscar nomination – for David O. Russell’s latest film, Silver Linings Playbook. And it’s well deserved, with Cooper revealing a side of himself that’s about as far removed from his Hangover character as you can imagine. In fact, it was the hint of anger and insecurity Cooper showed (albeit briefly) in 2005’s Wedding Crashers that convinced Russell that Cooper was his Pat Solitano (after Mark Wahlberg had to drop out of the film): a man suffering from bipolar disorder, who returns home from a mental health clinic and gets involved with the equally unhinged Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). “I was trepidatious when I first read the script,” Cooper admits. “I didn’t think I was right for it and I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t cast for the role, and very late in the process I got a call from David [asking] if I wanted to do it. I thought 'Oh Jesus!' It was one of those things where I just made the leap because he believed in me, honestly. But I didn’t quite know.” That leap paid off, with Silver Linings Playbook becoming the first film in 31 years to receive Oscar nominations in all four acting categories, as well as Best Picture and Best Director. “I loved being in the trenches with David,” says Cooper. “It doesn’t get any better and I learned
so much. He pushes everybody in a way that I think is wonderful. He gets you out of your head immediately and demands that you be open and let it happen… And he does it with love. That’s the greatest thing…. [And] If that’s the case, I will respect you. I’ll do anything you ask. You also get the best out of me.” Consequently, Cooper says he enjoyed every moment playing his fragile character. “It’s funny, I think it was one of the easier experiences that I’ve had in terms of playing a character.” He pauses, laughs, and continues, “I don’t know what that says about me, given the character! But it was very easy to play in that world with Pat. I loved it. Also because Robert De Niro’s in it and I feel very comfortable with him. We did [Limitless] together, so that was a real anchor for me, to just keep saying Dad. I really believed he was my Dad. “ While not strictly a ‘method’ actor, Cooper admits he had to really believe in Pat’s world in order to play him as honestly as he could. “I think you always make connections and try to make things real in whatever way you can, so on the day you believe that Robert De Niro’s your father and that you’re talking to him. Whatever you need to do, whether it’s your imagination or taking things from your life or whatever it happens to be. Anything is up for grabs, that’s the way I see it.”
Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond The Pines (co-starring Ryan Gosling) and Susanne Bier’s Serena, where he again partners with Jennifer Lawrence (“She’s ferociously intelligent, ferociously talented in a very effortless way,” he says). And yes, he’ll be reprising his role in the Hangover franchise, for its third instalment.
Next up, Australia will see Cooper exploring deeper into dramatic terrain with Derek
“I’m proud of those movies,” says Cooper. “I want to grow as an actor, but I don’t feel like I need
Jennifer 'ferocious' Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook to prove anything. I just want to work with great people and get better. I’m working with directors I’ve admired for years, like David O. Russell, Derek Cianfrance, Susanne Bier and Todd Phillips. I hope to keep growing – I just hope that they keep hiring me!” What: Silver Linings Playbook When: In cinemas from January 31
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Arts Snap
Film & Theatre Reviews
At the heart of the arts Where you went last week...
Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
■ Sydney Festival
BRIEFS
January 18-27 / Salon Perdu Spiegeltent If you’re the kind of person who prefers a straightforward night of entertainment that leaves you with your feathers unruffled, then Briefs is probably not the ideal show for you. If, however, you’re up for a hilariously outrageous night of decadence, sexy bodies and riotous behaviour compered by a trashtalking, self-described “immigrant trannie”, then get on down to the Salon Perdu Spiegeltent and soak it up.
PICS :: TL
old chook, good stock
Fresh from an international tour that included a hit run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Briefs returns to Sydney Festival to offend and seduce in equal measure. With a disarming fusion of circus, drag, cabaret, dance, clowning and burlesque, Briefs is certainly no one-trick pony. Captain Kidd (Mark Winmill, crowned 2011’s Reigning King of Boylesque in Las Vegas) is genuinely stunning with his hula hoop act and sensual aerial striptease; likewise, the “Token Native” (Natano Faanana) is captivating on the silks. There are more traditional circus and clowning moments too – a classic strongman (Johnny Domino) tearing up a phone book and bending a metal bar, and Davy Gravy’s (Davy Sampford) deadpan plate-spinning routine and meat tray raffle (about which the less said the better).
23:01:13 :: Alaska Projects :: L2 Kings Cross Car Park Elizabeth Bay
Arts Exposed What's in our diary...
WE USED TO TALK ABOUT LOVE January 31 – April 21 Contemporary Galleries, Art Gallery of NSW We’re looking forward to this intriguing exhibition, the dates of which just happen to encompass Valentine’s Day, if you and your sweetie are looking for a schmoopy-face-free (and cost-free) date idea. Through photomedia, video, collage, sculpture, and installation, and in a space that is being “architecturally reconsidered” for the first time, to shift the experience into a more intimate mode, artists from around Australia, the USA and the UK will explore themes of love, loss and longing. Featuring work from Polly Borland, Eliza Hutchison, Paul Knight, Angelica Mesiti, David Noonan, David Rosetzky, Darren Sylvester, Tim Silver, Glenn Sloggett, Grant Stevens and Justene Williams.
43 REASONS TO SEE MOVIE 43
REASON #41
YOU HAVE WEIRD PUBES TOO! Strong crude humour, sexual references, nudity, violence and coarse language
IN CINEMAS FEBRUARY 7
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MOVIE43MOVIE.COM.AU
Milk seeped in bread and rocked the leg - image courtesy the artist and Sarah Cotter Gallery
Still from Justene Williams' Milk seeped in bread and rocked the leg
Although Briefs is a succession of disconnected acts, the show is held together by the deliciously foul-mouthed banter of Shivannah (Fez Faanana), a towering Samoan drag queen who one moment bats her oversized fake eyelashes at the audience and the next flings insults at them. Dressed in a dazzling parade of shabby-chic outfits designed, we are told, by St Vincent de Paul, Shivannah perfectly encapsulates the essence of the show as being “a little bit of butch and a fuckload of camp.” Between all of the high kicks and aerial performances, Briefs sets about challenging ideas of race, culture, sexuality, masculinity and politics in a manner so brazenly un-PC that it’s difficult to be offended. There is an irreverence and self-deprecating charm to Briefs that makes it not only decadent, dirty, sexy and sordid but also downright seductive. Just try to avoid winning the meat tray raffle. Jonathan Hindmarsh
■ Sydney Festival
IT’S DARK OUTSIDE January 11-17 / Carriageworks It’s just about sunset and an old man decides to go for a walk. Innocuous enough, until you start to see things through his eyes. The sun is chasing him, his memories keep floating out of his head, and his suburban streets hold the danger of the Wild West. It sounds more like a David Lynch pitch than a sweet theatre show involving puppets and animation, but that’s what It’s Dark Outside is. Creator Tim Watts is fondly remembered by Sydney Festival audiences for his one-man effort The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik, Deep Sea Explorer in 2011, and his follow-up with collaborators Arielle Gray and Chris Isaacs has similar hallmarks: simple storyline, animation, puppetry, a big fat punch in the crying-machine. But with three performers on stage instead of one (and that one person exclusively operating a puppet), it’s also a step up in formal experimentation. The clarity of the story and its emotional impact suffer ever so slightly by comparison, but make no mistake: this is still a beautiful, compelling and moving work, exploring through allegory and metaphor the effects of dementia. One of the work’s great virtues is its willingness to play fast and loose with style and technique. Sometimes their hero is portrayed by Gray (with an excellent fullface mask and convincing hot-grandpashoe shuffle), sometimes he’s a forearmsized puppet, sometimes a drawing on the large projector screen. There doesn’t seem to be a logic to the choices until you realise that each mode of representation frees the three performers up to do whatever is
necessary to create the strongest stage image. And it’s the images that linger longest with this work: a cloud becomes a baby which becomes a forgotten dream, which very quickly becomes hot tears all over your face. Watts and co. clearly have a lot more tricks up their sleeve, so keep an eye on your heartstrings. They’ll be pulling them for years to come. Rebecca Saffir ■ Sydney Festival
MASI
January 20-25 / Seymour Centre The ingredients of Masi are not exactly what you’d call theatre staples. The title itself refers to tapa, a Fijian bark cloth which forms much of the inspiration for this work, along with the story of the director’s parents meeting – her father a Fijian high chief, and her mother an English daughter of Cambridge-educated schoolmasters. Add into this an illusionist whose work is renowned the world over, a six-strong group of Fijian dancers and some black and white photographs from the ‘50s, and you’ve got the central tenets of this mesmerising show. Although the show follows the narrative of Nina Nawalowalo’s parents’ relationship, it is composer Gareth Farr’s enchanting score that seems to be the true heart of this work. With the help of singers on stage, the music provides the perfect setting for the show’s illusionary visual landscape. Devised with illusion designer Paul Kieve (best known as the only illusionist who worked on the Harry Potter films), magic and visual trickery is core to the piece, with performers appearing and disappearing from stage and objects seemingly floating through the air as they interact with performers. Nik Janiurek’s spare lighting designs allow dancers to disappear from the stage in the blink of an eye, and when the lights come up for the curtain call you realise just how dark the whole production has been. Masi is exactly what the Sydney Festival is about – a remarkable cultural exchange not possible during the general course of the year. Its dreamlike feel allows you to absolutely sink into its beautiful, magical world. Henry Florence
■ Film
ZERO DARK THIRTY In Cinemas from January 31 “There’s no shame if you want to watch from the monitor”, is the suggestion that CIA officer Dan (Jason Clarke) makes to fellow officer Maya (Jessica Chastain) during the first of Zero Dark Thirty’s interrogation scenes, in which torture and humiliation is used on a detainee with terrorist links. That line of dialogue could easily apply to writer Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow’s approach to their contentious subject matter – the decade-spanning manhunt for Osama Bin Laden – which is as cool-headed and smartly distanced as the controversy surrounding the film, from left and right alike, has tended toward hysteria. Just as Bigelow’s prior The Hurt Locker eschewed jingoism for experiential immersion, Zero Dark Thirty uses an episodic structure (complete with chapter titles) and a somewhat predictable docudrama/vérité style, to tell a story whose outcome is known to everyone, but whose impact on its players is less certain. Chastain’s Maya is an expert balancing act of a fictional protagonist for a film rooted in journalistic realism and cold, hard facts; she’s at once a doggedly determined woman in the vein of Claire Danes’ Carrie in TV’s Homeland or even Silence of the Lambs’ Clarice Starling. But she’s also something of a blank canvas, shorn of backstory or introspective dialogue, so it’s a testament to the skill of Chastain’s performance that she suggests such a great degree of an inner life with a character who otherwise might be too opaque to care about. Like David Fincher’s similarly processoriented Zodiac, Zero Dark Thirty charts in
Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
an appropriately leisurely and methodical fashion, the contours of an individual’s obsessive quest whose moral purpose is sanded down over years by sheer exhaustion and fatigue, eventually turning into the equivalent of an epic itch that needs to be scratched. When that finally occurs, the emotional effect is more complicated than one would expect from a Hollywood production, let alone one being compared to Triumph Of The Will in certain corners. If anything, the final shot emphasises the human toll with a little too much sentiment for a film that traffics in calm neutrality; at the same time, it’s a note of catharsis that this impressively unyielding and thoroughly engrossing film earns. Ian Barr ■Film
DJANGO UNCHAINED In cinemas from January 24 Say what you will about a Tarantino film, I’ll hazard a guess you never call them boring; the man can write scenes like nothing else, and has an ear for dialogue even better than his eye for action sequences. The consequence is violent action films with inordinately long, talky scenes that often contain micro-tales within them – and somehow succeed in being both entertaining, essential and intriguing. What’s the character’s agenda? Why is he telling this anecdote? What’s about to happen? Remember the opening scene in Inglourious Basterds where Christoph Waltz’s smiling-sinister Jew-hunting Nazi parlays with a French farmer at his kitchen table for a good ten minutes of screen time, before shooting up the family of Jews hidden under the floorboards? There are a handful of scenes just as great in Django Unchained, albeit strung together in a slightly more convoluted plot that stretches out to 160 minutes. Django Unchained borrows its name, thematic trappings and bloody-minded violence from Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 Spaghetti Western Django, but that’s about all; it swaps out tense drama for loquacious
hijinks and Blazing Saddles-style comedy; and it upends the Western’s racist undercurrent by making it a triumphant story of a black slave’s revenge against white slave-owners in the pre-Civil War South. Jamie Foxx plays Django, a brutalised slave whose freedom is bought by eccentric German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (played with boyish glee by Waltz) who needs his help identifying three valuable targets: the murderous Brittle Brothers. The two become unlikely partners, with the good Doctor transforming Django into the fastest gun in the South, and agreeing to accompany him on his mission to rescue his wife, Broomhilda, from an evil white plantation owner (played with camp glee by Leonardo DiCaprio). The soundtrack for Django Unchained is one key (alongside visual cues and casting) with which to unlock Tarantino’s reference points and homages: the heroic theme song from Corbucci’s bleak, noirish western sits alongside a more upbeat cut from Enzo Barboni’s comic hit They Call Me Trinity; slices of old and new Ennio Morricone sit alongside a cut of Cat Stevens-equivalent Jim Croce, which calls to mind McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman’s own revisionist Western); a blazing, funkdafied mash-up of 2Pac and James Brown underlines the film’s climactic bloodbath action scene, in which Django gets his own. This is a film altogether about other films, and historical accuracy is a minor detail.
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Bearing that in mind, and given that he has carte blanche, it’s disappointing – and actually leaves a sour taste in the mouth – that Tarantino, who brought us characters like The Bride and Jackie Brown, delivers a female lead quite this passive: Kerry Washington’s Broomhilda repeatedly finds herself waiting to be rescued by her husband, with brief interludes of crying, fainting and cowering. Of course, the white men in the film (apart from Schultz) come off the worst: inarticulate morons or diabolical fiends. This is a film in which the black man – whether it’s the supercool and streetwise-smart Django or the cunning ‘Uncle Tom’ character played by Samuel L. Jackson – rules. Dee Jefferson
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Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained
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43 REASONS TO SEE MOVIE 43
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REASON #9
YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE SOMEONE KICK THE SH*T OUT OF A LEPRECHAUN. Strong crude humour, sexual references, nudity, violence and coarse language
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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK SOLANGE KNOWLES True EP Terrible Records/Inertia
Solange Knowles has finally emerged from elder sister Beyoncé’s not-insignificant musical shadow. It’s taken ten years of trying, but it’s been well worth the effort.
The combination of Solange’s artistry and Hynes’ musical ingenuity has culminated in a record of depth and originality that might just give RnB music the shot in the arm it needs.
Solange first showed that she followed her own agenda on 2008’s Motown-inspired SolAngel And The Hadley St. Dreams. Since then, intentionally or not, she has become something of an indie chick. She moved to New York, signed to Chris Taylor’s (of Grizzly Bear) record label, covered the Dirty Projectors and struck up a fruitful musical relationship with Dev Hynes, aka Lightspeed Champion/Blood Orange. All of the tracks on True were written and produced with Hynes.
DROPKICK MURPHYS
Signed and Sealed in Blood Born & Bred / Dew Process Dropkick Murphys’ 2011 LP Going Out In Style saw the band put together a linear, focused concept album following the fictional life of one Cornelius Larkin. In 2013, the new album Signed And Sealed In Blood sees them relax a little. Stylistically, the band never strays from what they know, so the music (see traditional Irish folk, Oi! punk and rock’n’roll) itself is similar between the two efforts, but what’s different is the process of getting there. Where Going Out In Style feels measured, Signed And Sealed In Blood feels like a party; a bunch of simpler songs that a crowd can sing along to. The themes touched on in Signed… are everything you expect from a Murphys album. They are the amplified voice of every working class Bostonian. There are songs about getting drunk (‘Burn’, ‘Out Of Our Heads’), good Catholic girls (‘Out On The Town’), the Irish spirit of rebellion (‘Prisoner's Song’) and their beloved Boston Red Sox baseball team (‘Jimmy Collins’ Wake’). But it’s songs like ‘Rose Tattoo’ and ‘End of the Night’ that really set this album apart. ‘Rose Tattoo’ is an unconventional love song in a traditional Irish veil, while ‘End Of The Night’ is a quintessential drinking song that will resonate with the rummy in all of us. It’s the type of song to have us arm in arm, clinking glasses and wiping tears away as we wail the chorus into the night. After 17 years and eight albums, Dropkick Murphys prove once again that while anyone can add a tin whistle, banjo or an accordion to punk rock, there’s only one band that does it best. Rick Warner
NEW ORDER
None of this is a bad thing – New Order are legends, and were right there leading the charge when dance music merged with indie rock, so they’re allowed to settle into a comfortable middle age. Lost Sirens isn’t exactly a new release – it consists of eight tracks, recorded around the time of Waiting For The Sirens’ Call, and featuring that album’s mixture of rousing guitars and gentle, unobtrusive electronic elements. ‘I’ll Stay With You’ opens things on a rousing note, with a dance floor-ready pulse that recalls ‘Crystal’ or ‘Here To Stay’. It’s a short but satisfying buzz, and one that quickly dissipates as the mid-tempo tracks pile on. There are a few surprises to come. ‘Sugarcane’ merges the disco sound of Peter Hook’s Monaco side project with dubbed-out guitar sounds, and adds some vintage New Order lyrical nonsense about stars riding in cars. For the most part, though, it’s elegant, sad ballads along the lines of ‘Californian Grass’ and ‘Recoil’. Once again, that’s not a bad thing. New Order craft sad, elegant ballads better than most, and Lost Sirens contains a wealth of these. Alasdair Duncan
The rest of the mini-album takes its cues from other ’80s influences: ‘Locked In Closets’ is built on a slowed Miami bass beat, while ‘Some Things Never Seem To Fucking Work’ owes much to Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’. David Wild
TORO Y MOI
Lost Sirens Warner Music Australia
New Order’s 2001 album Get Ready was more than just a comeback – it set the template for pretty much every one of the band’s releases to follow. The formula goes something like this: they open with a banging track that makes you pump your fist in the air while shouting "Fuck yeah, New Order are BACK!" and from there, they settle into pleasant-enough, somewhat indistinct indie pop. Throw in another banger to make sure you’re awake, and some familiar, awful Bernard Sumner lyrical clangers, and there you have it.
‘Losing You’ is undoubtedly one of the finest singles of the last year. At 113 BPM, it works on the dancefloor, yet is so far removed from the up-tempo Guetta-fied RnB crap we’ve had to endure for too long. The intro is pure ’80s disco soaked in Balearic loveliness, but then Solange’s vocal reveals an underlying darkness: “Tell me the truth boy am I losing you for good?/I don’t know why I fight it clearly we are through”. She deliriously pleads for an explanation, blankly delivering her lines (“I gave you everything and now there’s nothing left of me”) against Hynes’ rich, filtered beats.
Riding in on the chillwave movement that took 2010 by storm, Toro Y Moi (aka producer whiz-kid Chaz Bundick) gently worked his way into every selfrespecting indie music lover’s heart; debut album Causers Of This was hailed as nothing short of iconoclastic genius. Anything In Return is the third long player from Bundick, and although the trademark washed out, shoegazing vibe that he perfected on sophomore effort Underneath The Pine permeates throughout, Anything In Return takes a foray into smartly produced pop. Lead single ‘So Many Details’ is an electro-influenced slow jam, and a noticeable departure from the cool and detached minimalism Bundick came to prominence on the back of; it’s the kind of territory you wish there was a bit more of throughout the record. Similarly, ‘Say That’ seduces you with its pulsating house beat nestled under the chorus – although halfway through the album, and just as you’ve eased yourself into a decent groove, it all begins to blur together with no discernible ending or beginning. Luckily, ‘Cake’ picks up the pace again but by then you’re digging deep to get back into the irresistible rhythm that the opening tracks had primed you for. Bundick is nothing if not a gifted producer, and Anything In Return tries desperately to free itself of the shackles of the ‘chillwave’ tag – and for the most part, it succeeds.
With her sword held to the sky, a naked woman dreamily leads Unknown Mortal Orchestra into battle on the cover of their second album, II. Originally a solo home-recording project in NZ, ex-Mint Chick Ruban Nielson moved to Oregon to start anew. Joined by Greg Rogove and Jake Portrait, UMO quickly attracted international attention with their debut self-titled album. Now signed with Jagjaguwar, followup II is brutally honest with both its lyrical content and characteristic UMO soundscape. Drawn in by the tranquil guitar of ‘From The Sun’, you have two options with this album: you can listen to the music just for itself and have a groovy time, or you can listen to the lyrics and have a moment inside your own mind. Both ways of consuming this record end up equally as wonderful. Written on the road, II lets you creep inside Nielson’s brain and sit patiently in the back seat. As the effortless calm of psychedelic guitars take over, all elements echo a theme commonly explored by artists from the bottom corner of the world. The opening line “Isolation can put a gun to your head” pretty much sums it up. Title track ‘Swim And Sleep (Like A Shark)’ takes you all the way to the “sweet cold bottom” of the sea for an underwater adventure – check it out online, it will get you oh so excited about the album’s February 1 release (pre-orders include a temporary eye tattoo. Awesome.).
There is a far broader range of influences at play on this album, but it seems for Bundick, the lure of the familiar was too much to resist.
There’s something about Nielson's vocal and guitar tone that will always remain a little bit magical. Calm and truthful, he could probably convince you to do anything.
Marissa Demetriou
Tanydd Jaquet
Bored Nothing Spunk/EMI
Fergus Miller, the main force behind Bored Nothing, describes the project simply as “a Melbourne dude who makes washed out ‘90s guitar music on a little 4-track.” But Miller lets that slacker facade slip in his lyrics, where his protagonists are constantly being ignored, dumped or dismissed by difficult, troubled girls, and where everything seems to occur in the early hours of the morning surrounded by a haze of smoke.
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There’s a fragile beauty to Miller’s words that are amplified by the breathy sweetness of his voice; lines like "let it go / you’re no Norse goddess / you’re just human waste and tattoos", or "you’re wasting your breath / as I am wasting mine / but your neglect is so refined" could be combative and aggressive in another voice, but Miller gives you the sense that he’s telling himself these things as much as the girl. But he’s spot on with the ‘90s guitar music tag: the lo-fi fuzz of the guitars was made for college radio, and sits comfortably alongside the modern-day inheritors of that sound – everyone from
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart to The Besnard Lakes and countless bedroom navel-gazers – shifting from epic walls of noise to a more intimate feel with great success. Unlike many others, though, Miller never comes across as self-pitying. He’s just another sad, quiet kid who only really feels safe and in control when he’s playing guitar in his room. And 50 years after Brian Wilson wrote ‘In My Room’, that remains an evocative, relatable theme for all those other sad, quiet kids. The perfect soundtrack to a long, quiet, lonely summer night. Hugh Robertson
Fade Matador/Remote Control
II Jagjaguwar/Inertia
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK BORED NOTHING
YO LA TENGO
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
Anything In Return Carpark/Mistletone
Fade is only 45 minutes long, which might blow the mind of Yo La Tengo fans. The two last songs on their previous album, 2009’s Popular Songs, added up to half an hour on their own. This is shorter than we’re used to, getting rid of some of their lengthy guitar jam skronk-outs, but without playing up their hooky bubblegum pop side either. Fade opens with one of its highlights, ‘Ohm’, which layers a simple guitar rhythm with drums, claps, squealing and repeated lyrics that sound like an agnostic mantra, like religious music for people who aren’t very religious: “This is it for all we know/Nothing ever changes/Nothing’s explained.” ‘Well You Better’ is so quiet it sounds shy, but at the same time it’s a jaunty tambourine-shaker of a song where Ira Kaplan calls you “baby”. ‘Before We Run’ climaxes with sleigh bells and a horn section rather than guitar solos. Sometimes Yo La Tengo albums sound indecisive, like they’re a band who know every genre has the potential to be great and so try a bit of everything. But Fade doesn’t have any of their country songs, instrumentals, bossa nova experiments or even the ones where they sound like Neil Young (although it does have a couple of the ones where they sound like the Velvet Underground). Instead, it’s focused on songs that sound mellow, that hum along gently and make you feel like you’re slowly sinking into a bathtub full of cotton wool. It might seem slight by their standards, but this gauzy introspection is still plenty enjoyable. Yo La Tengo just want to give you a hug. Jody Macgregor
OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... THE REPLACEMENTS - Pleased To Meet Me VARIOUS - Django Unchained OST DISCODEINE - S/T
PAUL SIMON - Graceland CHAD VALLEY - Young Hunger
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live reviews What we've been to see...
BIG DAY OUT
Sydney Olympic Park Friday January 18
Who’d have thought the stars of Big Day Out 2013 would have been the security staff and their hosepipes? The sun usually makes an appearance for Sydney’s BDO, but the mercury was pushing a ridiculous 46 degrees. The Red Stage proved a good spot to sit and take stock with a cold drink, backed by the strange electronic soundscapes of Fishing. They were too good to be on so early, and the few people there to see the band soon sacrificed their spot by the stage and found an essential interest in the misting station. The lawn by the Green Stage looked inviting, but shade was nowhere to be found. From a more pleasant vantage point in a raised, sheltered area in the Vodka Cruiser House Party bar, Sydney’s Deep Sea Arcade set the afternoon off just right. Their jangly guitars and ’60s harmonies were ideally cast in this corner of the vast site, but later in the day the Green Stage might have seemed inadequate for acts that deserved bigger audiences. Gary Clark Jr almost lived up to his insanely inflated billing as the next Jimi Hendrix, while Alabama Shakes were as excellent as at the Metro the previous night. It was hard to take anything seriously in this heat – and those who jumped on the stage at the Lilypad knew it. The male half of Newcastle punk duo Gooch Palms countered the temperature by getting stark-bollock naked, before a bevy of ciderfuelled punters clambered up to partake in the arse-painting competition. While DJ Heavy G span house-party anthems, MC Cristo got the crowd going with the sort of juvenile patter (“Give it up for herpes!”) perfected over two decades at BDO.
Aussie favourites Grinspoon were the first act that proved hot enough to beat the heat, drawing a sizable mid-afternoon crowd to the Orange Stage. Phil Jamieson led choruses of “Kills, pills and Sunday thrills” just before the heavens opened, gloriously, at 4pm. By the time Vampire Weekend performed, the sun was back again, fittingly, to welcome their brighter sounds. Lead singer Ezra Koenig was rarely unaccompanied by the thousands who knew every word, from opener ‘Cousins’ to finale ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’. If there’s such a thing as a perfect festival band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs might be it. Sporting a blonde ‘do, yellow leather jacket and shorts, and a cross under each eye, Karen O reliably put her all into performing stormers like ‘Heads Will Roll’, but sadly it seemed like many had only turned up to secure their spot for Red Hot Chili Peppers. On any other bill The Killers would and should be the headliners, and they successfully made their point with a deftly delivered set of bona-fide anthems. The Chilis could have been in no doubt about who most had come to see, though – the surge towards the Blue Stage was a little concerning even for a seasoned festival-goer. Thankfully, they squeezed in the classics between newer (and poorer) material, leading to a mass sing-along to ‘Scar Tissue’ and a spot of air guitar to ‘Can’t Stop’. It was a solid show – with songs as popular as these, it would be hard to fail – but I have two gripes. RHCP might have the best rhythm section in the land, but I couldn’t quite tell, as it was too quiet. And while Brandon Flowers and Karen O seemed to enjoy themselves earlier, Anthony Kiedis was simply going through the motions. All in, it was a great day out. Credit to the organisers for splashing out on an excellent lineup, but also for trying hard to keep us cool and safe on Sydney’s hottest ever day. David Wild
DAVID BYRNE & ST VINCENT State Theatre Thursday January 17
I like as much as the next red-blooded Antipodean to have a good whinge about all the one-off artist collabs we hear about from London or NYC, but never have a chance to see; I also enjoy complaining when we do get to see them (like, say, Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly and Bryce Dessner’s Planetarium project) because even if they’re terrific, those visits will often replace a solo Oz tour in the artist’s long-term schedule. We are far away from an awful lot of the action down here, and we have the chronic FOMO to prove it. That’s why a show like this one is so satisfying. There was much praise for Love This Giant, the brass-heavy record St Vincent and David Byrne made together last year. But the decision to break up the setlist with songs from their respective back catalogues paid off in a big way. Curiously, the precarious elegance of Annie Clark’s songs – particularly ‘Marrow’ and ‘Cruel’ – gained a grown-up, solemn warmth in the addition of the horns, whereas Byrne’s material seemed even more sprightly and fun. The inclusion of decade-old club hit ‘Lazy’, a wonderfully dry collab between Byrne and British production duo X-Press 2, was a treat, even if the horns didn’t quite suit; and of course,
SOLISTENENSEMBLE KALEIDOSKOP City Recital Hall Wednesday January 16
Expectation is an important thing to manage. Obviously if a show is billed as the best of all time, it’s got to be pretty amazing to meet those expectations. Similarly if you expect something to be a turd, it can often win you over simply by not being that bad. The other side of expectation management is in the type of show delivered, so when you bill a show as an ensemble “on a mission to transform the traditional experience of concert-going” it’s a bit of a faux pas to then deliver a standard concert, albeit one of good material. This is the reason Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop suffers. A young chamber orchestra from Berlin, Kaleidoskop have built their reputation with a variety of concert experiments, such as performing an entire evening in darkness or as part of the music
DAPPLED CITIES: THE FUTURE IS BAROQUE Paradiso at Town Hall Tuesday January 23
Ten years. Four albums. One name shift. A thousand falsetto hollers. Dappled Cities have been an indispensable staple of the Sydney music scene for a decade, so celebrating their double digits with their city’s biggest annual festival could not have been more fitting if they’d come up with a concept to morph all their music into an opulent Baroque ensemble… Wait. That happened. Under the purpled twinkles of Town Hall’s lush festival deco, one-to-watch Phebe Starr kicked off the 17th century proceedings cloaked and eyelinered like a blonde Kimbra pilfering basics from Lady Gaga’s wardrobe with the help of Lykke Li. The Sydneysider’s darkly wry treatment of Stevie Nicks’ ‘Edge of Seventeen’ smashed her intriguing set out of the ballpark, only to be capped off by a heaving, heart-pounding, kick drumthrusting, soundtrack-worthy rendition of single ‘Alone With You’.
:: PHOTOGRAPHER : ASHLEY MAR
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Under the overcast skies of a dappled city, Dappled Cities emerged to present their concept (“to rearrange and re-imagine [their] songs in a baroque context”) with a stageful of bespectacled
given the accepted wisdom that Talking Heads will never tour again, ‘Burning Down the House’ and ‘This Must Be The Place’ were met with paroxysms of delight, aisle-dancing and even a little teariness. (What? I had something in both my eyes.) The other good call was to have the brass section standing, rather than sitting, and in fact more often dancing, marching or even lying down; it added a sense of dynamism to LTG songs that can feel a little static or mannered. When Clark took the lead Byrne would usually join the choreographed formations with all the enthusiasm and grace of your dad doing the Nutbush at a wedding, white braces and shock of hair standing out amongst the players’ all-black garb. The sound let the show down sometimes – we would see Byrne mouthing lyrics or Clark doing mad, intricate things to her guitar, and hear no corresponding noise in the sea of brass. But the sight of Byrne karate-chopping a theremin, Clark introducing him as “our cruise director for the evening”, the growing sense that many bands would be better off with a sousaphone instead of a bass guitar, the party atmosphere during closer ‘Road To Nowhere’ – these things and more imbued an odd concept with a sense of pure joy, which in turn gives new life to the record on subsequent listens. Caitlin Welsh
theatre work Semele Walk (also in this year’s Sydney Festival). However in this work, the ensemble simply delivered an eclectic program from Bach to Ikeda – their only innovation in this concert being the fact that they stood rather than sat. It’s possible that this was the fault of the venue – that the City Recital Hall’s traditional stage didn’t allow for their usual style of performance – but if that were the case, that’s a discussion that should have been had long before this point. That said, the music itself was well performed. The program was an interesting mix of classical and modern works, although the baroque pieces started to merge into each other by the end. There is always joy in hearing a great repertoire played by world-class musicians; but it was disappointing that the concert couldn’t live up to the ensemble’s innovative reputation. Henry Florence
classical musicians in tow. Opener ‘Peach’ (a fan favourite from the days of Fly), was given a lush new ‘do, featuring the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra under the direction of acclaimed composer Daniel Denholm; newer pop stunners ‘Born At The Right Time’, ‘Lake Air’ and ‘Fire Fire Fire’ received similarly lavish treatment (even if the three-man choir was underused). Even their hit ‘Run With The Wind’ was transformed into some sort of wondrously American Apparel version of Vivaldi, all cascading keys, falsetto and starry eyes. There is and always has been a baroque complexity to Dappled Cities, even without the aid of lutes and powdered wigs. But if you’re gonna get all baroque up in here, go the full metal racket. Despite a Really Awesome Concept and a set tighter than a skivvy, the complexity of arrangements and musical embroidery on this stunning little evening had the potential to be so much bigger than this. Overture that business. Don’t hold Bach on the size of your orchestra if you can Handel it. Baroque is big and ridiculous and overdone and ornate with POWER. Dappled Cities are a grand band with a grand sound worthy of outlandish ornamental orchestration with no holds barred and no Sydney indie hesitations. Think opera, boys. Nita Casio
live reviews What we've been to see...
SLEIGH BELLS, The Metro Theatre Saturday January 19
“If they had put as much effort into their performance as they had into their lighting rig, it would’ve been a pretty decent show,” I ranted loudly into my friend’s ear, while I shrunk from the malevolent, multi-ocular light-monster beaming from behind the band, who seemed – for some reason – to have beef with my retinas. Okay, so that might have been a bit sardonic, but Sleigh Bells’ live show was so spectacularly tricked-out that it was difficult to tell the wryly hammy from the seemingly serious. The whole performance saw prerecorded machinegun drumming (which is fun on their records) blasted out of the mostly cosmetic wall of Marshalls behind them – which is a fair enough setup, I guess, until you realise that the presence of two guitarists (touring member Jason Boyer in addition to the usual Derek Miller) is about as sonically essential as all of those amps.
If I’m opting for honesty – and, what the hell, I’ve been straight up so far – the show for most part saw Alexis Krauss doing her best Lita Ford impression in all the studs and short-shorts swag she could muster, following their Big Day Out performance of the day prior. To her credit, her vocal performance was accomplished, but it was so shrouded in silliness that the bulk of it was difficult for me to enjoy. Nevertheless, Reign of Terror’s ‘Comeback Kid’ and the a cappella intro of ‘Born to Lose’ were standouts, as were many of the tracks from their 2010 debut, Treats, like ‘Infinity Guitars’ and ‘A/B Machines’, whose brutal beats and gaudy sampling were killer when coupled with Krauss’ merciless energy. You can’t blame them for wanting to flesh out what is essentially a pre-recorded live show with additional live musicians. I just hope that next time they’ll spring for a half-decent metal drummer who can do those blast beats IRL. Dijana Kumurdian
RKE PHOTOGRAPHER : KATRINA CLA
DIRTY PROJECTORS, YMUSIC Sydney Opera House Monday January 21
Playing a gig at Sydney Opera House seems a no-brainer for pop-rock musicians who fancy performing under its famous sails – but it remains a gamble for fans who just want to be moved by energetic performances in an unpretentious setting. This concert had some incredible high points but I wouldn’t blame anyone who walked away feeling like they’d only broken even. Following a bland first-support duo, New York contempo-classical outfit yMusic were able to engage the pop-oriented audience without compromising the genre. Assembled like friends at a dinner table with sheet music for place settings, the sextet showcased their incredible, seamless energy and technical virtuosity in three pieces – and returned later to lend their talents to the headliners. Dirty Projectors mastermind David Longstreth opened their set without fanfare, performing the title track of their latest record, Swing Lo Magellan, alone with an acoustic guitar – a warm and intimate move that immediately drew the audience in. The remainder of the band then filed in, took their places in Longstreth’s shadow, and played out a number of their slower, sadder and stranger numbers. Dirty Projectors’ signature strange mix of genres (folk pop, RnB, jazz improv, glitch-
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hop, Afrobeat), experimental rhythms, and unexpected vocal styles, occasionally seemed to be hanging together by a thread; but when the elements meshed perfectly, the results were spectacular. There were many powerful moments in this set and few that felt sloppy – but there was also something intangible missing. All I can think to blame is the gap between audience and band that widens in a big, seated concert hall – I spent most of the gig wishing I was standing, and the band often seemed at a loss for something to say between songs. The onstage dynamic, too, was (captivatingly) awkward at times: Longstreth charismatic and domineering, while leading lady Amber Coffman hid behind voluminous hair and made shy passes at the limelight. Halfway through the twentysong setlist, she removed her shoes and grasped a hand-held mic, as if to say “it’s my turn”. Sure enough, a sequence of songs defined by her incredible vocals, replete with precisely-executed RnB trills, followed. This barefoot turning-point seemed to reinvigorate the whole band – although the second-half of the set also had more new material and “songs that sorta rock”, as Longstreth put it. Dirty Projectors make beautiful, strange music; but it’s still rock’n’roll to me – and much of this performance was like watching a wild beast dancing in a cage. Jenny Noyes
BRIDEZILLA FAREWELL SHOW: THE LAST DANCE
use of three-note licks, and enviable ability to pull shapes.
The sentiment in the air was unanimous: it was just so damn sad to see one of Sydney’s indie darlings, Bridezilla, play their farewell show while still in the early stages of their career, still brimming with potential.
While everyone had synth and slap-bass still ringing in their ears, Cabins took the crowd on a curious segue into their art rock and reedy blues. They held a tension somewhat between Girls and Okkervil River, with elements of ‘50s torchlight pop. Their cohesion as a unit was liquid: they took cues from each other without sounding overly studied, and nailed their instrument changeover (a unicorn of a thing in sets these days).
Oxford Art Factory Wednesday January 16
Before the quintet could strum a single tearinciting arpeggio, though, one-man loop pedal artist Swimwear (Tim Derricourt from Dappled Cities), opened up the night on a more jubilant note. Having seen him perform mid-last year, I noticed a marked difference in his set this time around: it was studded with more bass, and heavyweight bass at that. Swimwear’s drawcard was his slightly camp
Where Cabins sat in the pocket of a great groove, Palms did not. Quite simply put: this indie-rock band had static stage presence, hackneyed style and a drummer that lacked any sort of feel. Their redemption lay with ‘Love’, a sure-fire radio riot.
WEEZER
Sydney Entertainment Centre Saturday January 19 Rivers Cuomo is such a boss. It’s something that you forget now that his band has literally been around for twenty years, but the guy is a proper rock star hidden under a cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses. Throughout Weezer’s twoplus-hour victory lap of the city they’ve neglected since their ‘90s heyday, it’s Cuomo who proves the most endearing, both as a supremely talented and on-note vocalist but also as a killer lead guitarist. His solos regularly outflank his bandmates’ and he puts in a massive amount of energy for someone who fucked up his leg in Melbourne the night before (he’s still visibly limping). This classics set is divided into two parts: the first sends audiences back through time as Weezer pick out a hit from each of their albums (‘Beverly Hills’ to ‘Dope Nose' to ‘El Scorcho’); and after the interval, the entire Blue Album played start to finish. It’s across these two different valleys that Weezer’s obvious peaks stand out: great songwriting, hilarious lyrics and some proper moments of post-grunge anguish. It’s also clear that despite this being the year of lazy ‘90s-revival cash-ins, Weezer are still ridiculously good at what they do. Everyone in the band can sing as well as Rivers, and rock just as hard. And smashing an album you wrote in ’92 from start to finish without so much as a water break is certainly not an easy task. It’s hearing this record in context that really illustrates the lasting influence of Weezer. The Blue Album is, with a few exceptions, a record stacked with hits. Each song is uniquely lovable, demonstrated by certain pockets of the audience who go nuts for ‘Undone’ as compared to ‘Say It Ain’t So’. There’s
LIANNE LA HAVAS
Famous Spiegeltent, Hyde Park Friday January 18 Lianne La Havas counts Prince as one of her biggest fans (that’s right, Prince is a big fan of her), and Stevie Wonder left her a voicemail singing back one of her own songs. So everyone crammed into the cutesy Spiegeltent definitely understood that this will be the smallest venue they will ever see Lianne in, as she’s about to dominate the world. Wearing high-waisted, curve-hugging black leather pants and a floral shirt, Lianne opened modestly with ‘Au Cinema’, her backing band complementing her intimate guitar plucks with a natural, lounge-y vibe. There was no better venue for her beautiful voice than the Spiegeltent, the intimacy bringing out her husky frailty in ‘No Room For Doubt’ as she whispers into everyone’s ear: “We all make mistakes / We do / I learn from you”. But the second she had the audience thinking she was the feminine picture of heartbroken vulnerability, she took a swig of her beer and demanded to know: “Sydney! I just have one question for you. IS YOUR LOVE BIG ENOUGH?!” The
There was a swift and decisive change of mood as Bridezilla advanced onto the stage; they opened the set with a swelling, meandering instrumental, beautifully melding folk, classical and even some acid jazz tonalities. These sort of musical jaunts are one of the reasons Bridezilla have left an indelible print on the industry; I still remember being exhorted by a fellow enthusiast at a past gig to “wait until they jam, man.”
nothing more satisfying than hearing the crunching power chords of your adolescence blared out tenfold across a room of screaming fans. Pretty sure The Vengaboys can’t say they had that. Jonno Seidler
RKE PHOTOGRAPHER : KATRINA CLA
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title track of her album was a highlight as she filled every corner with her sassy, warming charisma – she’s a cheeky, sexy lady who’s so comfortable in her skin that she starts to make you feel more comfortable in yours. After spilling her beer all over the floor and wiping it up with her own towel, she flashed a disarming smile at the crowd and picked up her guitar. “This song is called ‘Empty’…ironically.” Her band left the stage mid-set; cue the spotlight and fairy lights as Lianne talked to us about her obviously therapeutic first album – “This is the last song about my ex-boyfriend, I promise! It’s called ‘Gone’”. Her band rejoined her at the end for the funky, girl-power ‘Forget’, the chorus of which had the whole tent singing along. For the encore, Lianne returned on her own to play the humorous ‘Age’, a song she dedicated “to the older men”. She had won over everyone by the end, her dry English wit and bubbly charm the perfect accompaniment to her sometimes very sad, beautiful songs. Rachitha Seneviratne
disciplines: saxophone and violin solos were featured, backed by a rhythm section that never dwarfed the other components. Bridezilla– hats off to you for both the first dance and the unforgettable final one. Elizabeth Kennard
Frontwoman Holiday Sidewinder was something of a myth to behold on stage as she wielded her presence with restraint and sultriness. Her dulcet, mist-on-the-mirror tones call to mind Mazzy Star and a young Nancy Sinatra, but often got lost in the bottom end of the sound levels. The band’s intuition with each other was also impressive, and proved necessary glue for a mixed bag of styles and
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jeff the brotherhood
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up all night out all week . . .
animal collective
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17:01:13 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9331 3100
17:01:13 :: The Enmore :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666
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It’s called: FOOLS GOLD
off!
PICS :: MJC
19:01:13 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666
party profile
sleigh bells
fools gold It sounds like: Classic Britpop and indie anthems all night. Who's playing? A bunch of good-looking DJs you may have seen around the usual haunts. Sell it to us: You like older stuff like Pulp and New Order? We have that. You like newer stuff like Tame Impala and Foster The People? We have that too. We also have a strict No ‘Song 2’ Policy. We pride ourselves on playing great tunes. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Remembering how much fun it is to dance to The Clash and The Libertines. Crowd specs: Sexy intelligent people. The opposite of the LMFAO fanbase. Wallet damage: $10 on the door. The drinks are very reasonably priced too. Where: Brighton Up Bar, 1/77 Oxford St, Oxford Street When: Saturday February 2, starting at 10:30pm
16:01:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
:: KATRINA CLARKE :: MARY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: PEDRO XAVIER :: JANE CASWELL :: ASHLEY MAR
30 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
bridezilla
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donny benet
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17:01:13 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 9550 1078
16:01:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
Remedy
More Than The Cure Since 1989 with Murray Engleheart
BAD BOYS
Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys’ hot new slab is walking out of Repressed Records in Newtown, much as Royal Headache’s debut effort did.
BAILEY ILL
We seem to have spoken too soon about the relative health of The Angels last week, re: Doc Neeson’s recent illness. Bassist and all-around great bloke Chris Bailey is also ill. Very best to you mate.
NEW UBU
Some things are just nice to have around. Things like pizza, beer and Pere Ubu, the pre-punk modern dance exponents. Their new album is called Lady From Shanghai and it’s as individual as everything else that they’ve ever done. Few acts have consistently issued such varied releases each time as these guys. The band will be in Melbourne in February for the I’ll Be Your Mirror festival, where they’ll be tearing through their classic The Modern Dance on a massive bill that includes My Bloody Valentine, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Swans, The Drones, the original lineup of Beasts Of Bourbon and Einstürzende Neubauten.
BON FLICK
We’re still not exactly comfortable about it (but then there’s not too much we’re ever comfy with) but that US movie on Bon Scott’s life and times slowly seems to be coming together, with one Rob Liotti looking set for the lead role. Just quietly, we were kinda chuffed to see a shot of Liotti on Ultimate Classic Rock’s site holding a copy of the US version of our book, AC/DC: Maximum Rock and Roll.
RAGE
So Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello will be standing in for Steve Van Zandt in The E Street Band for Bruce Springsteen’s Australian tour. We are speechless; we have no speech. The E Street Band was raised on classic soul music as much rock‘n’roll, so replacing a man who is a walking textbook on that stuff with someone like Tom Morello is a bit like replacing Malcolm Young with The Edge. No disrespect to Mr Morello intended at all. But then we guess that Bruce’s “working class” roots are best shown off with a revolutionary type than a shit-hot Memphis session player.
WHITE’S REISSUES
We like Jack White’s other thing more than we dig his main musical thing. The canny White is once again putting his back and his bucks where his heart and mouth are, with a new deal that will see the reissue of some classic early blues recordings by the likes of Charley Patton and Dylan’s fave, Blind Willie McTell, on vinyl from January 29. And there’s more to come. “The recordings we’ll be presenting in this reissue series are the building blocks and DNA of American culture,” White’s label, Third Man Records, said in a statement. “Blues, RnB, Elvis, teenagerism, punk rock... it all goes back to these vital, breathtaking recordings. Every record collection should have ample room for these highly important and endlessly listenable albums.”
NEW BLACK ANGELS
Recent visitors The Black Angels have a new record out in April called Indigo Meadow, on which they “express their full throttle commitment to the psychedelic ethos of creativity, community and boundless experimentation”. Cripes, it better be good.
THU 3 1 JAN FRI 01 FEB THE DARKENED SEAS ROYAL CHANT ALL MY ALIEN SEX FRIENDS
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SAT 02 FEB SUN 03 FEB
LEPERS AND CROOKS + THE DARK
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PIN UP PARLOUR Presents
BELLY DANCING, BURLESQUE CABARET AND COMEDY
THU07 FEB FRI 08 FEB
no rapture ft. food court maux faux
filastine
SUPPORT FROM MC NOVA THE GYPSY DUB SOUND SYSTEM CINCO CINCO CINCO AND LUKE SNARL
The Black Angels
ON THE TURNTABLE On the Remedy turntable is the massive 40th anniversary 13-disc set of King Crimson’s masterpiece Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, which is a mix of live stuff from the era and alternate versions and mixes of the album that, for us, really defined the UK prog kings. It’s as monstrously chaotic as it is fragile, as crushingly loud as it is soothing, and leaves the far more acclaimed In The Court Of The Crimson King eating its dust. There’s good prog, and lousy prog, but this is great prog.
Coming Up IN FEBRUARY 10th 14th 15th
MIKE CHAMPION LO-FI COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION SKETCH THE RHYME
TOURS NEWS The Mark Of Cain have announced the supports and the drummer for their March tour. They were off to a flying start with the response to their fifth album, Songs Of The Third And Fifth, which was the highest-selling release from the Fuse group in 2012, and of course the critics raved. The band’s core blues brothers, John and Kim Scott, spent the Christmas period working with Adelaide-based drummer Eli Green; Green will join them on the coming tour in place of John Stanier, who has commitments with Tomahawk. Unlike his battle-scarred colleagues, Green is just 22 years old and a member of screamers Life Pilot, as well as a co-writer, arranger and drummer/percussionist with South Australian singer Julia Henning (who
played two performances at the Sydney Opera House last year). Melbourne trio Blacklevel Embassy, who have a new-ish record of their own called New Veteran, will open TMOC’s show at the Metro on March 23. Black Breath are coming to town and bringing hell with them. The Seattle outfit, who force together a sonic blend of Celtic Frost, Poison Idea and Discharge, will be in Sydney for the first time in April with Canberra’s I Exist. On April 6 they’ll be at Hermann’s.
OPEN TIL 3AM
Swans will be levelling the Manning Bar on February 13 with the epic wallop of last year’s masterpiece, The Seer.
Send stuff to remedy@ozemail.com.au by 6pm Wednesdays. Pics to art@thebrag.com www.facebook.com/remedy4rock BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13 :: 31
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17:01:13 :: The Famous Spiegeltent ::
alabama shakes
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hunx and his punx
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up all night out all week . . .
death grips
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17:01:13 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666
PICS :: TL
19:01:13 :: Sydney Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour St Darling Harbour
summerslam
PICS :: KC
18:01:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
17:01:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711 ) :: KATRINA CLARKE :: MARY
S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: PEDRO XAVIER :: JANE CASWELL :: ASHLEY MAR
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rock n roll alt market party profile
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weezer
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19:01:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
It’s called: Sydney Rock ‘n’ Roll & Alternative Market It sounds like: A great big party with a massive multi-genre line-up – rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, punk rock, ska, reggae, Celt punk, blues, gospel, soul, cool ‘50s and ‘60s sounds and more Who's playing? The Satellites, Los Capitanes, The Ramshackle Army, Big Blind Ray Trio; plus DJs Brian, Rod Almighty, The Crimplenes and The Rockabilly Rhino, who also MCs with Wolfman Dan Sell it to us: Want some fabulous rockin’ clothing, accessories, comics, art, CDs, vinyl, DVDs, and collectables? This is the place! Over 60 live music culture-related stalls on site, plus a classic vehicle display, international food, a fabulous line-up of bands on a full concert stage plus DJs, two bars (including our tiki bar courtyard) and a kids’ play area. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: How eye-openingly awesome it was. Crowd specs: All welcome including U18s in the company of a parent or guardian. Wallet damage: Ridiculously low for an event so large! Entry is by gold coin donation. Where: Manning Bar & Manning House, Manning Road, University of Sydney When: Sunday February 3 from 10.30am
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big day out 18:01:13 :: Sydney Olympic Park ::
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Lizotte’s Sydney 629 Pittwater Rd Dee Why
Lizotte’s Central Coast Lot 3 Avoca Dr Kincumber
Lizotte’s Newcastle 31 Morehead St Lambton
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g g guide gig g send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com
pick of the week Bat For Lashes
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2
MONDAY JANUARY 28 ROCK & POP
The Shrooms Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm
8pm SongsOnStage – Songwriter’s Night: Oliver Goss, Phoebe Eve Carden, Ben Osmo, Josh Overett The Vanguard, Newtown $15.80 7pm TAOS, John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Thatchworkcity, Monica & the Explosion, Chris Brookes, Massimo Presit, Russell Neal Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm
ROCK & POP
Gang Of Brothers, Natalie Conway Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm Lonely Boys Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm Of Monsters and Men (Iceland), Vance Joy Metro Theatre, Sydney sold out 8.30pm all-ages
JAZZ
Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle
St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival Alpine, alt-J (UK), Bat For Lashes (UK), Chet Faker, Cloud Nothings (USA), Divine Fits (USA), El-P (USA), Flume, Henry Wagons, High Highs (USA), Holy Other (UK), Japandroids (CAN), Jessie Ware (UK), Julia Holter (USA), Kings of Convenience (NOR), Mammals, The Men (USA), Ms Mr (USA), The Neighbourhood (USA), Nicolas Jaar (USA), Nite Jewel (USA), Of Monsters and Men (Iceland), Perfume Genius (USA), Poliça (USA), Pond, Real Estate (USA), The Rubens, Shlohmo (USA), Snakadaktal, Twerps, Yeasayer (USA) $140 12pm 34 :: BRAG :: 497 : 28:01:13
Old School Funk and Groove Night 505 Venue, Surry Hills free 8.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Darren Bennett George IV Inn, Picton free 7.30pm Russell Neal, Samantha Johnson, Michael Dillon Five Dock Hotel free 7.30pm
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30 ROCK & POP
Bat For Lashes (UK) Enmore Theatre $77 7.15pm Ben Salter, Richie Cuthbert, Annaliesse Monaro Brass Monkey, Cronulla $14.30 7pm Cicada, Karmic Dirt, Christina Thiers, The Vicious Dickens, Black Diamond Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Donny Benet Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney 8pm Gold Fields, Panama, Hobo, F.R.I.E.N.D/s DJs, Bernie Dingo, Joyride Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Live & Local: Jasmine Beth, Justine Martin, Nick Latta, Men With Day Jobs Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $10 8pm The Men (USA), Royal Headache, Raw Prawn Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $38 (+ bf) 8pm Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt free 8pm Reckless Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 11pm
JAZZ
Abstract Brotherhood 505 Venue, Surry Hills $10$15 8.30pm
COUNTRY
Keith Urban, The Madden Brothers (USA) Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park sold out 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Russell Neal, Phoebe Eve Carden, Oliver Goss, Ben Osmo, Josh Overett The Vanguard, Newtown $15
Elizabeth Cook (USA), Emma Swift The Basement, Circular Quay (27.50 (+ bf) 7.30pm Keith Urban, The Madden Brothers (USA) Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park $99–$119 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
THURSDAY JANUARY 31 ROCK & POP
TUESDAY JANUARY 29
COUNTRY
2 Way Split Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Bec and Ben, New Brutalists The BackRoom Sydney, Potts Point $10 8pm Chris Duke & The Royals, Ebolagoldfish, Isaac Graham The Vanguard, Newtown $13.80 8pm The Darkened Seas, Royal Chant, All My Alien Sex Friends, The Black Lakes The Standard, Surry Hills $10 (+ bf) 8pm Darren Percival Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $39 8pm The Demon Parade, The Money Go Round, The Dark, The Foreign Objects Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm F’Tang, Making, Yes I’m Leaving, Top People Black Wire, Annandale 7pm all-ages Gnome, Point The Bone, Spoonty Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm GrimSkunk (CAN) Brass Monkey, Cronulla $14.30 7pm High Highs (USA), City Calm Down Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $35 8pm Jordan C Thomas, Miss Pia & Her Lonesome Playboys, DJ Brian Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm Luke O’Farrell, Eating Flowers, Sonia Z’s 70s Eurovision Supergroup, Ben Salter Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Musos Club Jam Night Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill free 8pm Nite Jewel (USA), Holy Balm, Buzz Kull, Astral People DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $29 (+ bf) 8pm Pat Capocci, Daddy Long Legs and The Swamp Donkeys Hotel Steyne, Manly free 8pm Riot Nine, Karl Marx, Feskit, The Cruntburgers Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Sophie Hutchings, Adrian Klumpes Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $18 7pm Wildcatz Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm Yeasayer (USA), Oliver Tank, Fishing Metro Theatre, Sydney $47.70 8pm The Zebs, Skyways Are Highways, The Cadres, Train Robbers FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm
JAZZ
Oscar Jiminez 505 Venue, Surry Hills $10$15 8.30pm Peter Head Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm
Bernie Hayes Ruby L’otel, Rozelle 7.30pm Daniel Hopkins Olympic Hotel, Paddington free 7.30pm Helmut Uhlmann, Warren Munce Forest Lodge Hotel, Glebe free 7.30pm Karl Mars Hill Café, Parramatta free 7pm Russell Neal, Angelene Harris, Vanessa Heinitz, Y.ETTi, Ivona Budys, PAN Brewhouse, Darling Harbour $15 8pm
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1 ROCK & POP
Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Camperdown & Out, Legendary Hearts, Snotty Babies The Square, Haymarket $10 8pm Ben Salter, Bow Campbell & Davis Claymore, Robert Cranny, Annaliesse Monaro Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Bjorn Again Taronga Zoo, Mosman $69 5pm all-ages Byron & Steve Greystanes Inn free 9pm Celebration Mix Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10.30pm Country Roads: Bellyache Ben & The Steamgrass Boys, The Green Mohair Suits, The Rover & The Road, All Our Ex’s Live In Texas The Vanguard, Newtown $18.80 8pm Damage Inc, Dead Life, Steel Swarm, Risen Dred Valve Bar, Tempe 7pm Earth Crisis Hermann’s Bar, The University of Sydney, Darlington $35.20 (+ bf) 8pm Feeding Edgar, Dead Ears, Karl Brodie, DJ S. Kobar Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Finn Pendle Inn, Pendle Hill free 8pm Greg Agar Customs House Bar, Circular Quay free 7pm Hue Williams Avalon RSL free 9pm King Tide, Clockwerk Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Lepers & Crooks Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $5 8pm Mani Neumeier (GER), xNoBBQx, Prophets Lamps Hibernian House, Surry Hills $10-$15 8.30pm Mick on Wheels Huskisson Hotel free 8pm MUM: Tin Sparrow, The Guppies, Royal Chant, The Knits, Iluka, Riley & Donna, Jack R Reilly, Megastick Fanfare DJs, James Lillicot, AU Review DJs, Danny Cruel, Mum DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm The Radiators, The Childs, R.J. Chops Brass Monkey, Cronulla $31.65 7pm Ruby Boots, Leroy Lee, The Mountains
g g guide gig g
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $15 8pm Shady Lane, Through The Forest Door, The Ocean Party Gallery Bar, Oxford art Factory free 8pm Strangers, The Dead Love, Born Lion Annandale Hotel $15 8pm Tijuana Cartel, Wild Marmalade, George O’Sullivan Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $25 (+ bf) 8pm
JAZZ
Andreas Bohlen Band (GER/SWI) The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Camperdown $10$20 8.30pm Dress to Kill Ball: Greg Poppleton and the Bakelite Broadcasters Justice and Police Museum, Sydney $65-$75 8pm Gervais Koffi’s African Diaspora, Jamino (Mauritius), Yannick Koffi The Basment, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf) 7.30pm Gypsy Madness & Persian Nights: Kim Sanders & Friends Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $20-$25 7.30pm Rob Campbell Trio Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $19 8pm Todd Hardy Big Band w/ Monica Trapaga 505 Venue, Surry Hills $15$20 8.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK The Enterprise Band Cabravale Diggers, Canley Vale free 8.30pm
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2 ROCK & POP
Blank Realm, The Garbage & The Flowers, Superstar, Angel Eyes, Four Door Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 7.30pm Bounce Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10.30pm The Brewster Brothers Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $34 Brothers Grim And The Blue Murders The Vanguard, Newtown $21.80 8pm Cake Shop, Gang Of Youths, The Throne Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $5 8pm Fishing, Glass Towers, Jordan Sly, DJ Kristy Lee Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Flamin’ Beauties Home Tavern, Wagga free 10pm The Furious Five Jannali Inn free 8pm all-ages Harmony, SPOD, No Art, Devotional The Square, Haymarket 8pm Hendrix and Heroes Tribute: Steve Edmonds Brass Monkey, Cronulla $23.50 7pm Hot Angel, Dirty Dezire, Sylvain, A Gentleman’s Agreement, The Bitter Sweethearts Valve Bar, Tempe 6pm Katie Whyte & The Pales, Andy Golledge & Friends, Rosie Catalano Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm
Oh Sleeper (USA), For All Eternity, Storm The Sky Annandale Hotel $25 8pm Party Anthems Paragon Hotel, Circular Quay free 9pm Replika Moorebank Sports Club free 9pm Retro Night Out Bull and Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 9.30pm St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival: Alpine, alt-J (UK), Bat For Lashes (UK), Chet Faker, Cloud Nothings (USA), Divine Fits (USA), El-P (USA), Flume, Henry Wagons, High Highs (USA), Holy Other (UK), Japandroids (CAN), Jessie Ware (UK), Julia Holter (USA), Kings of Convenience (NOR), Mammals, The Men (USA), Ms Mr (USA), The Neighbourhood (USA), Nicolas Jaar (USA), Nite Jewel (USA), Of Monsters and Men (Iceland), Perfume Genius (USA), Polica (USA), Pond, Real Estate (USA), The Rubens, Shlohmo (USA), Snakadaktal, Twerps, Yeasayer (USA) Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle $140 12pm Strange Tenants The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $30 (+ bf) 8pm Swing Shift Cold Chisel Show Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm Voltaire Twins, Swimwear, Shining Bird FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Yolanda and the Stolen Boys, Baylou, Chris E Thomas, Vixen, Cherry The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle $10 8pm
Dead Can Dance
JAZZ
Blue Moon Quartet Supper Club, Fairfield RSL Club free 7pm Jazz Voices: John Pochee The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale free 5pm Lily Dior 505 Venue, Surry Hills $15$20 8.30pm Mexican Party Night: Victor Valdes Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $20 7.30pm Night At The Jazz Rooms Meet Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club: DJ Craig Charles (UK), Dojo Cuts feat. Roxie Ray, The Liberators, Russ Dewbury, Jorge Monteil The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 8pm Peter Head Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks free 5pm Swinging Blades Courtyard, Seymour Centre, Chippendale free 2pm Virna Sanzone Band The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10-$20 8.30pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie Well Co.Cafe/Wine Bar, Leichhardt free 7pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Celtic Thunder Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park $99 5pm allages The Enterprise Band Cabravale Diggers, Canley Vale free 8.30pm The Pod Brothers The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney free 9pm
The Ramshackle Army, The Big Blind Ray Trio, Rockabilly DJs Manning Bar, The University of Sydney, Camperdown $1 10.30am
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 ROCK & POP
2 Way Split The Winston, Winston Hills free 3pm The Australian Clown Annandale Hotel $28 2pm Bobby Alu Hotel Steyne, Manly free 6pm Dead Can Dance Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House $69 8pm Exposure, Until Darkness Falls, Break The Silence, Winter Wolves, Rose From Ruins Valve Bar, Tempe 3pm Nick Van Breda, zzzounds, Jen Buxton, Mara Threat, Pinch Hitter Black Wire, Annandale $5 2pm all-ages Professor Groove And The Booty Affair Brass Monkey, Cronulla $19.90 7pm Sydney Rock n Roll Alternative Markets: The Satellies, Los Capitanes,
JAZZ
Bobby Singh and Damian Wright, Horse and Wood Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $15 (+ bf) 6.30pm Peter Head Band Harbourview Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Elevation U2 Acoustic Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 4.30pm Harmonate Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 3.30pm Rick Fensom The Oatley Hotel free 2pm Russell Neal Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm Salta, Persianlovecake, Eirwen Skye The Vanguard, Newtown $13.80 8pm
BLUNTED & WAY-2-FONKY PRESENT
tue
29 Jan
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
wed
thu
30
31
Jan
Jan
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
fri
01 Feb v
ULTRAMAGNETIC MCs CRITICAL BEATDOWN
25TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR LOOSE CHANGE / MIKE WHO / FRENZIE
FRIDAY 8TH FEBRUARY 8PM
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
(9:30PM - 1:30AM)
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
SATURDAY AFTERNOON (4:30PM - 7:30PM)
sat
02 Feb
SATURDAY NIGHT
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
sun
03 Feb
(8:30PM - 12:00AM)
SUNDAY NIGHT
(8:30PM - 12:00AM)
OXFORD ART FACTORY
$40 + BF (EARLYBIRDS) // $50 + BF (GENERAL RELEASE) VIA MOSHTIX
BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13 :: 35
gig picks
up all night out all week...
High Highs
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30
Buzz Kull, Astral People DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $29 (+ bf) 8pm
Bat For Lashes (UK) Enmore Theatre $77 7.15pm
Yeasayer (USA), Oliver Tank, Fishing Metro Theatre, Sydney $47.70 8pm
The Men (USA), Royal Headache, Raw Prawn Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $38 (+ bf) 8pm
THURSDAY JANUARY 31 TUESDAY JANUARY 29 Of Monsters and Men (Iceland), Vance Joy Metro Theatre, Sydney sold out 8.30pm all-ages
F’Tang, Making, Yes I’m Leaving, Top People Black Wire, Annandale 7pm allages High Highs (USA), City Calm Down Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $35 8pm Nite Jewel (USA), Holy Balm,
Of Monsters And Men
Yeasayer
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1 Bed Wettin’ Bad Boys, Camperdown & Out, Legendary Hearts, Snotty Babies The Square, Haymarket $10 8pm Country Roads: Bellyache Ben & The Steamgrass Boys, The Green Mohair Suits, The River & The Road, All Our Ex’s Live In Texas The Vanguard, Newtown $18.80 8pm MUM: Tin Sparrow, The Guppies, Royal Chant, The Knits, Iluka, Riley & Donna, Jack R Reilly, Megastick Fanfare DJs, James Lillicot, AU Review DJs, Danny Cruel, Mum DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10$15 8pm Ruby Boots, Leroy Lee, The Mountains FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $15 8pm
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2 Fishing, Glass Towers, Jordan Sly, Perano, DJ Kristy Lee Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm
Harmony, SPOD, No Art, Devotional The Square, Haymarket 8pm
SPOD
Voltaire Twins, Swimwear, Shining Bird FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 Dead Can Dance Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House sold out 8pm (tix avail. for Monday) Sydney Rock n Roll Alternative Markets: The Satellites, Los Capitanes, The Ramshackle Army, The Big Blind Ray Trio, Rockabilly DJs Manning Bar, The University of Sydney, Camperdown $1 10.30am
Los Capitanes
THUR 31ST JANUARY WED 30TH January
GNOME
LUNCH BREAK
THE ZEBS +SKYWAYS ARE HIGHWAYS +THE CADRES +TRAIN ROBBERS 8PM // $10 AT THE DOOR
1PM // FREE // BROADCAST ON FBi 94.5
RUBY BOOTS +LEROY LEE +THE MOUNTAINS 8PM // $12+BF OR $15 AT THE DOOR
level 2, kings cross hotel 36 :: BRAG :: 497 : 28:01:13
VOLTAIRE TWINS +SWIMWEAR +SHINING BIRD
8PM // $10 AT THE DOOR
FRI 1ST FEBRUARY PRESENTED BY ALBERTS
SAT 26TH FEBRUARY
HANDS UP!
“ZIP-LOCK FRESH TUNES!” DJ’S STAGGMAN & CLOCKWERK 11:30PM // FREE
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38 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
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
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
five things WITH
The Presets
JARRAH MCCLEARY OF PANAMA have recorded there. Although I have used session musicians overseas, Cam, Lachie, Trev and Tim are the core members of Panama. Cam and I have been mates for years and played in my old band, The Dirty Secrets, together; Lachie and Trev we’ve been lucky enough to gain over the past year, and Tim’s our newest addition. He’s our saxophonist. The Music You Make Our live show delivers a mixture of 4. house and disco with a little emotion thrown in. We’ve tried to incorporate lots of live percussion, as it is a feature of the recorded material. People can expect from our shows a lot of energy and the crazy antics of our talented saxophonist. He really does love Mariah Carey. Just ask him. Music, Right Here, Right Now I don’t get to see as many live shows as 5. I would like. We played with Mitzi about two
Growing Up Neither of my parents are musicians, 1. however they have always been super supportive of my career choices. My dad’s always been a bit of a collector, and his way of relating to me has always been through procuring as many vintage instruments and recording devices as he could get his hands on. No joke, the man owns three reel-to-reel tape machines in a warehouse in southern Western Australia. I’m yet to use them! Inspirations I guess I have a very eclectic music 2. taste, which has been reflected in my choices
JEREMY P. CAULFIELD
Toronto’s Jeremy P. Caulfield, renowned for his work overseeing the influential Dumb Unit record label, headlines One22 this Friday, February 1. Caulfield now resides in Berlin and spins at many of the city’s foremost clubs. He’s also no slouch as a producer, and co-produced the last EP on Dumb Unit along with Seph, entitled Virtues and Vices, which dropped last July. The
of musical endeavours through the years. I’ve been in an improvisation comedy band (seriously), a metal band, a piano-rock band, an indie rock band – and now Panama. I don’t have any particular favourite musicians as I try to listen to a lot of different music. However at the moment I’m really vibing on house, disco music and anything with a killer sax line.
3.
Your Band The current EP release and the next few releases have been produced and mixed by my friend Eric Broucek in the US. He’s enabled me to collaborate with a bunch of really talented musicians in the US when I
label released cuts from the likes of Cesare vs Disorder, Seph, Maetrik, and Adam Marshall over the course of its decade-long existence, before Caulfield closed it down in the middle of last year to focus on his production output and various other new challenges. Throwing down alongside Caulfield will be Melbourne’s James Cooper, who spent the European summer playing in some of Berlin’s foremost clubs at Vakant label parties, alongside the duo D&D of
Butch
months ago, and they have a killer live show. I think it’s really hard for musicians to know where to go once they’ve been playing all of the local venues for a while. It seems like the next step to bigger venues isn’t as achievable sometimes. In terms of good music venues at the moment, I guess Goodgod and The Standard are probably the best to see upcoming Australian talent and boutique bands from overseas. With: Gold Fields, F.R.I.E.N.D/S DJs Where: Beach Road Hotel When: Wednesday January 30 And: UTS O-Fest on February 22 with Midnight Juggernauts, New Navy, Hermitude and more HAHA Industries fame and Eric Downer. The Caulfield affair kicks off at 10pm.
CARL COX
After taking to the opulent confines of ivy Pool Club for the first time last year, Carl Cox and Eric Powell return to the venue for a marathon ten-hour DJ set, kicking off at 12pm on Saturday February 9. The pair will
THE PRESETS, PEOPLE!
Cast your mind back to the golden summer of ‘07/08, when you couldn’t walk into a club/party/your-Nan’s-house without hearing the “WAAH AAH AAH” of ‘My People’ and proceeding to dance your arse off. Get ready to relive that magic and then some, because hit-machines The Presets have announced bonus shows for their national tour. The first Sydney show’s already sold out, but the boys are giving their people another chance to catch them at the Enmore Theatre on Tuesday February 12, along with rising stars Parachute Youth and Light Year. We have not one, but THREE doubles up for grabs. For a chance to win, tell us the name of The Presets’ latest single.
(apparently) be showcasing a different side of their DJing sensibility, digging into their crates for old and nu disco, jazz funk, soul and classic house throughout the course of their set. While Cox rightly sits in the techno pantheon, his DJ abilities aren’t confined to a single genre, and this performance is a rare opportunity to see Coxy spin a little differently than you might have heard before – for ten hours. First release tickets will set you back $59.
EXTRA HERMITUDE
After selling out two Sydney shows in February, Blue Mountains duo Hermitude have added a third – and final – show at Oxford Art Factory on Sunday February 10. One of the leading lights in the Aussie hip hop scene, Hermitude dropped their fourth album, HyperParadise, on Elefant Traks about a year ago, and have been basking in its success ever since, recently taking out FBi SMAC Awards for Best Live Music Act and Best Song (for the Flume remix of ‘HyperParadise’). The upcoming run of dates will be their last run of shows before they bunker down and begin work on their next LP.
Hermitude
BUTCH
Nascent party crew Mantra Collective are hosting a daytime party at The Abercrombie on Saturday February 9, headlined by Germany’s Butch. Butch has released on labels such as Cocoon and Rekids while remixing the likes of Luomo over the years, and will cater to those wanting to up the ante with some techno under the sun. Aboutjack, Whitecat, Antoine Vice, Space Junk and Ben Ashton will also be spinning throughout an afternoon romp that will run from 2pm – 10pm. First release $20 tickets are available online.
BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13 :: 39
dance music news
free stuff
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
he said she said WITH TUFF
Clubfeet
SHERM AKA DRO CAREY ‘crew’ as I’ve pursued music and DJing. Thank you to all the supportive DJs and producers in Sydney – Aidan from Templar Sound, Preacha, Max Gosford, Astral DJs, Cliques, and plenty more! The Music You Make Generally I’m influenced by hip-hop 4. beats and UK garage. However the set that I’m playing for this BeyondBlue fundraiser is a Tuff Sherm set. Tuff Sherm is a separate project from Dro Carey, focusing on dark and heavy techno. So the set will revolve around that, with some funk and house thrown in as well.
5.
Growing Up The most important thing, as far as 1. growing up, was learning piano and clarinet;
Inspirations The main artists that were a gateway 2. for me from hip hop into instrumental music
having some understanding of music theory. Whichever project I pursue now, that education remains hugely important in how I put it together. The formation of the Dro Carey stuff is more something that occurred in the last few years, developing as I became more interested in dance and electronic music.
were DJ Shadow and Madlib. These days, I’m inspired by Anthony Shakir, Omar-S, Jeff Mills, El-B, Drexciya and Mike Dehnert.
Late Nite Tuff Guy
Your Crew This is something that’s developed after 3. the fact. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a and Hermitude at UTS’ orientation week bash, O-Fest, on Friday February 22.
BEYOND BLUE
LATE NITE TUFF GUY
Six months after (metaphorically) lifting the roof off The Civic, Mr Carmelo Bianchetti, aka DJ HMC, aka Late Nite Tuff Guy, returns to headline Picnic, this time for an afternoon bash on The Island, on Saturday February 9. Based in South Australia, HMC landed an international club hit with ‘Phreakin’ back in the sun-kissed spring of ’95, which put Adelaide on the world techno map – at least temporarily. However it is Bianchetti’s cut as Late Nite Tuff Guy, ‘I Get Deeper’, that is more likely to resonate with BRAG’s younger readers – as it is endorsed by Seth Troxler et al. A string of recent releases on disco edits imprint Dessert Island Discs suggests that Bianchetti will continue to deceive clubbers as to the merits of Adelaide as a creative stronghold for a while yet. Stephen Allkins and Kali will also be spinning, with a boat transporting prospective revellers to the party destination from Rose Bay Wharf at 3pm. Early bird $50 presale tickets are available through Resident Advisor.
PANAMA
Sydney-based five-piece Panama’s national tour kicks off in Sydney next Wednesday, January 30 at the Beach Road Hotel, Bondi. The electro pop troupe are coming off a successful 2012, in which they stormed to the #1 spot on the Hype Machine charts with the title track of their debut EP It’s Not Over, which was recorded in LA with producer Eric Broucek of DFA Records fame and released through Future Classic. With a sound that traverses “yacht rock, hopeful house music and an avid appreciation for the ‘80s,” Panama have attracted comparisons to Cut Copy and Van She, and shared stages with the likes of Dappled Cities, Mitzi, Van She and Elizabeth Rose. Panama will also be sharing the stage with Midnight Juggernauts, New Navy 40 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
In an effort to further the awareness of mental illness and its underlying effect on the community, Sydney touring group Astral People have organised a late-night club fundraiser headlined by Mark Pritchard at Goodgod Small Club on Friday February 1. Pritchard is renowned for his solo productions on Warp Records and Hyperdub along with his work as Harmonic 313 and half of Africa Hitech. There’s also the small matter of his timeless output with Tom Middleton as Global Communication, which will always be a standout on Pritchard’s impressive sonic CV. Pritchard will be joined by techno project Tuff Sherm, 502-Recordings signed duo Cliques, Templar Soundsystem, Preacha, Ben Fester and the Compound DJs. Entry will be via a donation of your choosing, with 100% of proceeds to be donated to BeyondBlue, the national depression initiative.
REBEL RAVE
Music, Right Here, Right Now I think things are looking good for electronic music in Sydney. I just did a Boiler Room set and was really impressed by the sets from Prize and Cliques. That was just a week ago and now we’ve already got another great night lined up with this BeyondBlue benefit – featuring Mark Pritchard, Templar Soundsystem and Cliques again! It’s a privilege to keep performing alongside all this Sydney-based talent. With: Mark Pritchard (Warp/Harmonic 313), Cliques (502 Recordings), Preacha & Ben Fester, Templar Soundsystem, Compound Where: BeyondBlue Fundraiser @ Goodgod When: Friday February 1
Dettmann’s vaunted reputation is founded on his productions for the self-conducted MDR label, his remixes for the likes of Fever Ray, Junior Boys, Modeselektor and Scuba, and his debut long player for Ostgut Ton, Berghain’s record label. In comparison Blawan is a fresh face in the club milieu, breaking through with his debut release, ‘Fram/Iddy’, and following it up with the white label, Brandy-sampling single ‘Getting Me Down’ – named best single of 2011 by Resident Advisor – along with a remix of Radiohead. The line outside Chinese Laundry, dubbed ‘the Sussex Street Anaconda’ by wary punters, will be snaking extra long for this one.
MATTHEW HERBERT
Here’s something to look forward to: a mammoth, 130-track digital ‘box set’ covering Matthew Herbert’s house-leaning productions spanning the period of 1996-2006. One of Britain’s most inventive producers, Herbert has become increasingly experimental in recent times, as evidenced by his One Pig album, which was made from recordings taken during the birth, life, butchery and consumption of a single pig, reared
CLUBFEET
From what we can glean, “club feet” are the nightlife version of sea legs. When you first step into the venue, it might take you a moment to acclimatise, and you might stagger about a little, buffeted by bass and disoriented by beats – but once you get your “club feet”, you’re cutting loose like a boss. You can test out our theory when slick disco-noir act Clubfeet bring their slick synth-pop to Oxford Art Factory on Saturday February 16 to promote their new album, Heirs & Graces. With support from Collarbones and Chela and visuals by Ego, it’s sure to take you on a fantastic voyage. We have two prize packs to give away, each with a double pass to the OAF show and a copy of Heirs & Graces. To be in the running, email us your postal deets and tell us your favourite dance move. for meat at a farm in England. The forthcoming Herbert Complete, slotted for a digital release in March on the producer’s own Accidental Records, will offer Herbert neophytes a chance to discover Herbert’s work from a time when he was making slightly more accessible music than that featured on One Pig. The Smith N Hack remix of ‘Moving Like A Train’ is the perfect example of this, and a good starting point through which to enter the Herbert canon.
SECRET WHANG
In further Nancy Whang news, the LCD Soundsystem founding member will – in addition to her already announced ivy Pool Club set – be doing a two-hour set of discodance badness at Oxford Hotel this Saturday February 2, to launch their Vanilla Nites weekly. Throwing down alongside will be Lovertits, Bad Ezzy, Gus Da Hoodrat, Sveta, Morgan, Matt Vaughan, Bobby Blaze (NYC), Bodycon, Valerie Yum, Ariane, Power Suit, Hip Hop Hoe and Nuits Vanille. Presales are available from Monday on Pulse Radio and Resident Advisor ($10+bf), and on the door.
Former journalist turned DJ/producer/sartorial pioneer and Crosstown Rebels main man Damian Lazarus will bring his Rebel Rave party brand Down Under for a bash, also featuring Shaun Reeves, Francesca Lombardo and Subb-an live, at Sydney College of the Arts, on Saturday February 16. Subb-an is a talented young producer on the rise, who released one of the better EPs Crosstown Rebels has put out over the past few years in ‘Positive Expression’ and impressed as co-headliner of a previous Agwa Boat party. (Anyone who remixes Tiga generally knows what’s up.) Presently, Subb-an is finishing up an EP for Visionquest, which features collaborations with Footprintz, Tom Trago and Seth Troxler. A lengthy lineup of locals will also be representing at Rebel Rave Sydney, which kicks off at midday and runs till well past the witching hour.
SCHWA @ SPICE CELLAR
One half of the production duo Shades Of Gray, Michal Ruzicka, aka DJ Schwa, will headline the Spice Cellar this Saturday. Schwa is also the force behind Beef Records, which has released EPs from artists such as Robert Babicz, Deepchild, Pezzner and Mike Monday through the ages. Schwa was a Spice resident before moving to Europe, and will return from the Czech Republic to his old stomping ground armed with new (and old) tricks. Schwa will be flanked by YokoO, Robbie Lowe and Murat Kilic.
MARCEL DETTMANN
German techno poster boy Marcel Dettmann plays Chinese Laundry on Saturday February 16, making up a salacious double bill with Blawan. A resident DJ at the notorious Berghain nightclub from day dot, Dettmann has forged a close DJ allegiance with fellow techno titan Ben Klock over time, but more than does the business when playing by himself.
Julio Bashmore
JULIO BASHMORE
Niche and Fuzzy have joined forces to present one of dance music’s current ‘It boys’: Bristol producer Julio Bashmore, the host of BBC Radio 1’s In New DJs We Trust, who will be playing at Oxford Art Factory on February 16. In the last few years Bashmore has released on labels such as Dirtybird, PMR and 3024, while also launching his own label, Broadwalk, which he christened with his anthemic cut ‘Au Seve’. Since then, Bashmore has contributed tracks to Jessie Ware’s Mercury Prize-nominated album Devotion, dropped the single ‘Husk’, and continued to add to his extensive slate of remixes, including reworks of cuts from artists like Bobby Womack, Mosca, Buraka Som Sistema, Zero7, Classix and Claude Vonstroke. Bashmore will be joined by compatriot T. Williams, who partygoers ought to remember from the last Hold Tight party, where he wowed attendees with a set comprised mostly of original productions, along with a few selections from his Rinse FM mix CD. Lancelot has jousted his way through would-be contenders to land a slot on the supporting bill, which also includes the Slow Blow DJs.
Marco V Social Activity By Carlos Hurworth
W
ith the third of his already popular The Art Of series already on shelves, legendary Dutch electronic DJ Marco V is happy with the results. “I’ve done a lot of mix compilations in the past, but on this one I really wanted to show the people a reflection of my DJ set – the energetic stuff that I always play in the clubs,” he says. With remixes of artists like Fedde le Grand, Digitalism and Punk Ninja, to name just a few, it’s definitely a diverse collection of tunes. “There’s a few older tracks, and a lot of new stuff on it, but still, it’s a lot of music I play in almost every set, so it gives a good reflection of what you can expect when you see a Marco V DJ set.”
already get a good crowd reaction because they know them. That’s great as a DJ, because you don’t have to play the ‘same old same old’ stuff. It’s not always about the big tunes in Australia, it’s an educated crowd.”
With modern technology saturating the DJ landscape these days, showing diversity and building a brand is important for a DJ’s survival. “A mix compilation is a big help,” agrees Marco. “I think it’s important, because people like to link a DJ to a track, a concept or to a label – also label nights. It’s really the thing of the moment right now so yeah, I think it’s really important to have a link to a few things.”
But ultimately, that ever-diversifying nature of music suits Marco. “It’s something that I always liked,” he muses. “If you’ve been [active for] longer in the scene, you like more diverse stuff. It’s also a reflection of my mix CDs and my DJing; it’s about every style of music. That’s what I like.”
Social media is important to him as well: “The thing that I like about social media is that it’s so direct, you’re so connected now with people that like your music. Before you had to go through management and everything – you’re so connected now... It’s so easy, but I don’t like to spit out a lot of information. I’m in the studio, you know.” Marco also enthuses about Australian crowds, ranking them amongst “the best in the world” to play for. “They’re passionate about the music,” he says simply. “When I play my own tracks, you
It’s probably just as well that we’re musically educated, with more music than ever before being mashed together. “I don’t know if there is a tech-trance scene at the moment, or a trance scene. At the moment the whole music scene is so blended – what’s called house is so trance-y at the moment. Even the trance productions are more house influenced.”
Clearly at ease with what he’s achieved, Marco will remain busy throughout 2013 – though he’s cagey about the specifics: “I got a couple of new tracks, some vocal tracks, some collaborations. I get a lot of inspiration when I’m DJing. My DJ sets are my biggest inspiration for producing music.” And that’s why his The Art Of releases are doing well, because essentially, it’s him doing what he loves most. “It’s fantastic as a DJ, when you play one of your own tracks and people go nuts – it’s what you work for in the studio.” What: Marco V Presents The Art Of Vol 3 is out now through Central Station Records
DJ Yoda
The Force Is Strong By Andrew Nelson
I
magine one of those talking heads shows hosted by Bert Newton where they countdown something like the top 20 movie catchphrases from the ‘80s. Now throw in some upfront hip hop tracks, some guilty-pleasure pop tunes, a smattering of TV themes and a good dose of scratching, cutting, and expert mixing. This is the sound of DJ Yoda, aka Duncan Beiny. On any given night with him, you might hear the theme from M*A*S*H over some block-party beats, or dialogue from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off synced into an ‘80s soft-rock anthem.
After leaving university in the ‘90s, Beiny started to produce mixtapes containing a mish-mash of genres that took his fancy. The popularity of these grew so much that he was asked by Antidote Records to produce an official version, which was released as How To Cut & Paste Mix Tape Vol.1. Another volume has since been released along with an ‘80s, a ‘30s and a country and western version. Another feature of a Yoda performance is the speed at which everything happens – tracks and references appear and
It’s this sort of energy and fun that Beiny has brought to his second record, Chop Suey. “I worked with different vocalists on every song on the album, so there’s a whole bunch of people on there, a really eclectic mix of rappers and singers,” he says. “I wanted the lineup of vocalists on the album to be really representative of my music taste. So you have stuff on there that’s representing music that I listened to as a kid in the ‘80s, like Boy George and Mike Winslow [the sound effects guy] from the Police Academy movies and then you have stuff on there that represents the ‘90s rap music I used to love, people like M.O.P. and Greg Nice from Nice & Smooth, and then you have this new generation of music that I like, people are who the future of music for me, like Action Bronson, one of the best rappers out now, and Sway, one of my favourites from the UK. There’s all these different people on there and it hopefully all comes together and represents the sound that I’m all about.” With: Nick Thayer, Stolen Records DJs Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday February 2 What: Chop Suey out through Central Station Records
Jackmaster Taking The Leap By Alasdair Duncan
G
lasgow’s own Jack Revill, otherwise known as Jackmaster, has been in the dance music business since he was just a young lad, when a job at a record store opened his eyes to a whole world of electronic music. At the age of 14, his tastes ran to the cheesier end of dance music, but he was nonetheless drawn to Rubadub Records, who specialised in proper techno and house. He was both terrified of and fascinated by the staff, but eventually, he plucked up his courage, and talked his way into a weekend job. For the budding DJ, access to records was a big part of the appeal. “The option was on the table for me to have money, but they had a deal where you could get a free record for every hour of work you did. For me, a getting six new records a week was more valuable than money – I would just dig through the archives for hours and hours and come up with great stuff.” A decade or so later, Revill’s DJ skills are in high demand. Though built around an electronic backbone, his sets are diverse
and wilfully eclectic beasts – his sprawling FabricLive mix being an excellent example. His aim in crafting the mix, he explains, was to make something fun – “a mix that girls could put on and have a dance to, rather than a mix that guys will put on alone in their rooms while they stroke their chins,” he says with a laugh. The mix includes a broad array of artists and styles – everything from classic French house and Detroit techno to contemporary dubstep bangers, Miami bass, and cheesy piano house. “I wanted to do something fun, a party mix tape,” he continues. “When I was younger, I was influenced by guys like Diplo, and I took a lot of pointers from him on my mix. There’s some underground stuff on there, but there are some party tracks and dance music classics.” It’s been almost two years since the Fabric mix, and Revill tells me that his style has evolved in that time. “My sets have started to lean a lot more towards house and techno,” he says, “I’ve done the party thing, and it’s a lot less challenging. I mean, I still think the way I play house and techno has a very distinct
party style to it. I guess the thing is that I don’t like to rest on my laurels when I’m DJing. I like to keep moving, and I don’t want to give people the same thing twice.” Like any good DJ, though, Revill can’t predict how his sets will go when he comes down to Australia – as always, he will feel the crowds out night by night. “Honestly, I tend to go to a party and test a bit of something then a bit of something else, see what the crowd are into,” he says. “Then I’ll judge my selection on that. I like to be versatile.” Revill’s calendar is booked solid with gigs through to the end of the year, though he tells me he really wouldn’t have it any other way. “I love what I do,” he says. “I mean, if I find that I have a night off, usually what I’ll do is I’ll find somewhere to go and DJ. It’s just my state of mind now, that I want to play all the time. When you’re playing to people who are into the music, and it’s really kicking off, there’s nothing that can compare. I mean, I did a bungee jump last year, and maybe that comes close, but that’s all I can compare it with.”
What: Numbers feat. Jackmaster, Nelson and more Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Saturday February 9
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xxx photo by xxx
“I didn’t deliberately set out to do that, but now that’s the way I’m very happy about it,” the London DJ explains over the phone, during a break in his two-month Australian tour. “I’ve watched different trends in dance music and DJing come and go and I just feel very happy to watch it and be no part of it whatsoever. It’s served me pretty well to be true to what I love when I DJ. I’m very honest about the stuff that I like, even if other people might consider it’s sometimes not cool to be playing country and western music or ‘80s music or whatever. I just play what I like and stay honest to myself and I think that automatically sets a DJ apart from anyone else.”
disappear within seconds. “That comes down to just having a short attention span,” he explains. “A lot of the time when I DJ, I only have an hour and a half to play and there’s too much good music in the world. So I’m like, ‘This song’s cool, how about this one and how about this one’. I also think that as a guest DJ, especially in somewhere like Australia where I’ve flown all the way across the world to come here, it seems to be a waste to stand there and let a record play for five minutes.”
club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week DJ Yoda
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2 Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst
DJ Yoda (UK), Nick Thayer, Stolen Records DJs, A-Tonez, Gmod $35 (+ bf) 8pm
MONDAY JANUARY 28 Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket Mother Of A Monday DJ Smokin’ Joe free 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Latin Jazz DJs free 7pm
TUESDAY JANUARY 29 Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel Salsa DJ Willie Sabor free 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket I Love Goon Resident DJs free 7pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday Resident DJs $10 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Jam Jam DJs free 8pm
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Gold Fields, Panama, F.R.I.E.N.D/s DJs, Hobophonics, Joyride free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Whip It Wednesdays Sherlock Bones, SMS, 2busy 2kiss free 9pm The Lansdowne Hotel, 42 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
Broadway Frat House Mean Dartin, Camo, Ra Bazaar free 5pm The Ranch Hotel, Epping Hump Wednesdays Resident DJs 8pm Whaat Club, Kings Cross Whip It Wednesdays Vertigo DJs, DJ Jonny Reay, DJ Brett Atkin free 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall The Mane Thing, Redial, Brothers Grimm, Clockwerk, Bocue, Chenzo, Nanna Does Smack, Whatis?, Pablo Calamari, E-Cats 8pm
THURSDAY JANUARY 31 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi FBi Sunset DJs Simon Caldwell free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Bel-air Miami Robust, Brizz free 9.30pm The Cool Room, The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill We Love Thursdays Resident DJs 8pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Loud Resident DJs 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Swag Resident DJs $10 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda DJ Dan, Gillex, Dan Bombings, Becci Hearts free (student)-$5 9pm
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi King Tide, Clockwerk, Lola Siren, Playmate free 8pm Café Lounge, Surry Hills Cantaloop Tee Tilla, Kelly Kingi, McBean free 7pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Think Fridays Camo, Matty Bixx, Aero $10 9pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Bass Mafia Kid Kenobi, Kyro & Bomber, No Good Mischief, Chickflick, Ellie Piper & Zuri Aoko, Perossa, Chenzo, Oceans $15-$25 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Gimme Five Resident DJs free 5pm Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito! DJs free 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Astral People Beyond Blue Fundraiser Mark Pritchard, Tuff Sherm, Cliques, Preacha & Ben Fester, Templar Soundsystem, Compound DJs donation entry 10pm Ivy Changeroom, Sydney Love Gun Fridays Tina Turntables, The Apprentice & Hooligan 8pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Aron Mana, DJ Rain Julz free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross KK Fridays Resident DJs 9pm
Metro Theatre, Sydney Carna Folio 2013 DJs $20 (presale)-$30 9pm Oatley Hotel We Luv Oatley Hotel Fridays DJ Tone free 8pm Omega Lounge, City Tattersalls Club, Sydney Unwind Fridays DJ Greg Summerfield free 5.30pm One22, Sydney Calibrate 0.1 Official Launch Party Jeremy P. Caulfield (CAN), James Cooper, D&D, Eric Downer $25 10pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Teen Spirit – Jenny From The Block Party Teen Spirit DJs $10 9pm The Ranch Hotel, Epping Retro Fridays Resident DJs 9.30pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross MILF – Man I Love Fridays Sancho, Franky J, Beat Geek, Rhys J, Semo, Marco Mileto, Miss Tokio, Slavv 8pm Secret Warehouse, Sydney Warehouse Techno The Element, Audio Freak, YokoO, Robbie Lowe, Ben Ashton, Mark Craven $40 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Sam Francisco, Gary Todd $10 10pm Tatler, Darlinghurst Hidden Agenda The Carter Bros, Pink Lloyd, Death Strobe DJs, Adam Sandlah, Venda $15 10pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Celebrate Fridays Resident DJs 9pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Bring On The Weekend! DJ Matt Roberts free 5pm The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Tin Sparrow, The Guppies, Royal Chant, The Knits, Iluka, Riley & Donna, Jack R Reilly, Megastick Fanfare DJs, James Lillicot, AU Review DJs, Danny Cruel, Mum DJs $10-$15 8pm
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2
SUNDAY JUNE 24
Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Shrug Presents Eelke Kleijn (NED), Rodskeez, Dave Stuart, Garth Linton $30 3pm The Argyle, The Rocks Takin’ It Back Jay-J (USA), Matt Meler, Random Soul free 8pm The Basement, Circular Quay Jazz Rooms Present The Crag Charles Funk & Soul Club DJ Craig Charles Nathan Fake
Jeremy P. Caulfield
(UK), Dojo Cuts feat. Roxie Ray & The Liberators, Russ Dewbury (UK), Jorge Monteil $30 9pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Tyler Touche Baguette, Stoney Roads DJs, Hobophonics, DJ Miai, Isbjorn free 8pm Candy’s Apartment, Kings Cross After Dark Goodbois, Sampy, Hoodlmz $10-$15 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Nathan Fake (UK), A-Tonez, Pixl, Club Junque, Damien Osborne, Nick Robins, Fingers, DJ C-Bu, King Lee, Ctrl Alt Delicious, social Hooliganz, Kiz $15-$25 Club 77, Darlinghurst Starfuckers Starfuckers DJs 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Yellow Sox Resident DJs free 8pm Establishment, Sydney Sienna Saturdays Resident DJs 8pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Hands Up! Staggman, Clockwerk free 11.30pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Jack In The Box Sonny Fodera, Juliet Fox, Greg Sara, Hannah Gibbs, J Ramon The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park Kerser $25.50 7pm all-ages Imperial Hotel, Erskinville Long And Strong Maga Bytnerowicz, Ben Drayton $15 10pm Ivy, Sydney Pacha Wolfgang Gartner (USA), Mo’Funk, Baby Gee, Ben Morris, Chris Fraser, Matt Nugent $40 6.30pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Simon Laing, DJ Michael Stewart free 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst DJ Yoda (UK), Nick Thayer, Stolen Records DJs, A-Tonez, Gmod $35 (+ bf) 8pm Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Vanilla Nites Nancy Whang (USA), Lovertits, Bad Ezzy,
Gus Da Hoodrat, Sveta, Morgan, Matt Vaughan, Bobby Blaze (USA), Bodycon, Valerie Yum, Ariane, Power Suit, Hip Hop Hoe, Nuits Vanille $10 (+ bf) 9pm Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Halfway Crooks Levins, Franco, Elston $10 10pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Resident DJs 8pm Secret Warehouse, Sydney Loosekaboose 7th Birthday Warehouse Party Christian Vance, Claire Morgan, Trinity $25 (+ bf) 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Schwa (CZ), YokoO, Robbie Lowe, Murat Kilic $25 10pm Sydney Showground, Homebush Bay Swedish House Mafia (SWE), Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angelio sold out 5.30pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Trademark Saturday – Future Music Pre Party Billy B, Nacho Pop, Steve Frank, Robbie Santiago, Joey Kaz, MC DeeKay 9pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Skybar Saturdays Resident DJs $20 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Dan Farley, Kato, Pablo Calamari, Acid Jacks, Brown Bear, Taylor Wolf, Thomas Lissé, Oh Glam, Hannah Gibbs, Bounce Crew DJs, Dan Wheeler $15-$20 8pm
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays Schwa, Mike Witcombe, Phonic Funk, Alan Thomas, Jay Doyle, Kerry Wallace, Matt Weir $10 2pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi DJ Rich Ryan, Clockwerk free 8pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 3pm Jacksons On George, Sydney Aphrodisiac Resident DJs free 5pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Resident DJs free 10pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sessions DJ Tone free 7pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Daydreams Resident DJs 4.30am Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Sapphire Sundays Resident DJs 8pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Resident DJs free 2pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Soup Kitchen Matt James, RCNT, Ethan Winzer, The Soupy DJs free 7pm
club picks up all night out all week...
Bad Ezzy
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 30 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Gold Fields, Panama, F.R.I.E.N.D/s DJs, Hobophonics, Joyride free 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall The Mane Thing, Redial, Brothers Grimm, Clockwerk, Bocue, Chenzo, Nanna Does Smack, Whatis?, Pablo Calamari, E-Cats 8pm
THURSDAY JANUARY 31
The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park Kerser $25.50 7pm all-ages Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Vanilla Nites Nancy Whang (USA), Lovertits, Bad Ezzy, Gus Da Hoodrat, Sveta, Morgan, Matt Vaughan, Bobby Blaze (USA), Bodycon, Valerie Yum, Ariane, Power Suit, Hip Hop Hoe, Nuits Vanille $10 (+ bf) 9pm Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Halfway Crooks Levins, Franco, Elston $10 10pm Secret Warehouse, Sydney Loosekaboose 7th Birthday Warehouse Party Christian Vance, Claire Morgan, Trinity $25 (+ bf) 10pm
Beach Road Hotel, Bondi FBi Sunset DJs Simon Caldwell free 8pm
The Spice Cellar, Sydney Schwa (CZ), YokoO, Robbie Lowe, Morgan, Murat Kilic $25 10pm
The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda DJ Dan, Gillex, Dan Bombings, Becci Hearts free (student)-$5 9pm
The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Dan Farley, Kato, Pablo Calamari, Acid Jacks, Brown Bear, Taylor Wolf, Thomas LissĂŠ, Oh Glam, Hannah Gibbs, Bounce Crew DJs, Dan Wheeler $15-$20 8pm
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Bass Mafia Kid Kenobi, Kyro & Bomber, No Good Mischief, Chickflick, Ellie Piper & Zuri Akoko, Perossa, Chenzo, Oceans $15-$25 10pm
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays Schwa, Mike Witcombe, Phonic Funk, Alan Thomas, Jay Doyle, Kerry Wallace, Matt Weir $10 2pm
Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Astral People Beyond Blue Fundraiser Mark Pritchard, Tuff Sherm, Cliques, Preacha & Ben Fester, Templar Soundsystem, Compound DJs donation entry 10pm One22, Sydney Calibrate 0.1 Official Launch Party Jeremy P. Caulfield (CAN), James Cooper, D&D, Eric Downer $25 10pm Secret Warehouse, Sydney Warehouse Techno The Element, Audio Freak, YokoO, Robbie Lowe, Ben Ashton, Mark Craven $40 8pm
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Shrug Presents Eelke Kleijn (NED), Rodskeez, Dave Stuart, Garth Linton $30 3pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Nathan Fake (UK), A-Tonez, Pixl, Club Junque, Damien Osborne, Nick Robins, Fingers, DJ C-Bu, King Lee, Ctrl Alt Delicious, Social Hooliganz, Kiz $15-$25
FACEBOOK.COM/THEKERSER TICKETS THROUGH: WWW.MOSHTIX.COM.AU AND WWW.OZTIX.COM.AU
FOR MORE DETAILS: YokoO
BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13 :: 43
Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery
Pépé Bradock
Pépé Bradock photo by Sebastien Agnetti
E
nigmatic Frenchman Pépé Bradock has just released the third part in his series of Imbroglios EPs on his own Atavisme record label. The first two instalments have explored experimental and atmospheric soundscapes, with Part 2 building on the inaugural EP through a quirky mix of understated electronic melodies laced throughout cuts that explored cosmic funk and jazz-infused house influences (with deceptively catchy results). Bradock informed me that he has “always been attracted by the powerful simplicity, soothing syncopation and the ability to federate people of house,” when we caught up for a coffee and baguette a few years back, and that epithet was affirmed by parts 1 and 2 of the Imbroglios series – even if I don’t think one should categorise anything Bradock does as ‘simple’. Bradock neophytes should work their way through his output on the Atavisme label, and be sure to check out his collaborations with compatriot Ark under the moniker Trankilou. His immensely varied remix output, meanwhile, is compiled in his remix anthology, Confiote de Bits. Bradock himself asserts, “It’s true that I think that I don’t have much to say about the music I have made; what needed to be said is in the music so it’s redundant to talk about it.” If you fully subscribe to that, then I’m surprised you’re still reading – but what is important to remember is that this column is a map to guide you towards particularly essential electronic music, a fast track to the ‘good stuff’ that should help you bypass the gluttons of superfluous ‘EDM’ that is more accurately described as marketing/advertising than music. Contrary to the poseurs and dilettantes, Bradock mines his own field of electronic music, which you ought to get acquainted with if you’re not already. Anyone who considers themselves a techno purist/technophile needs to pay attention right now (claps hands, snaps fingers and points to the whispering space cadets sitting up the back of the class). Mexican DJ Luis Flores will make his first appearance in Australia at the next IF? Records bash at One22 on Saturday February 16. Flores has been producing electronic music for over 15 years, as well as helping to launch the highly influential Mexican labels Nopal Beat Records and Antena Discos. Flores’ darker techno sounds have been supported by the likes of Speedy J and Chris Liebing, and led to him establishing himself as a core artist for Los Angeles based techno crew Droid Behavior. Flores will be joined by Material Object, a Sydneysider now living in Berlin who has released as Modz with Dustin Zahn and Magnus with Tim Xavier, and who recently put together a mix for Chris Leibing’s CLR podcast series. Eoin Brosnan, Jordan Peters and IF?
main man Sebastian Bayne round out the bill, with Bayne having recently had the well deserved honour of playing in Berlin’s original techno dungeon (I’m talking preBerghain, baby), Tresor. Presale tickets are floating around online for $15. Kompakt Records has released the 13th in its annual Pop Ambient compilation series, which provides an atmospheric and extremely understated counterpoint to the more robust offerings traditionally associated with the label. But that does not mean Pop Ambient 2013 is not also essential listening – only that it is music you listen to while concentrating, reading, working or late on a weeknight rather than when getting down. The tracklist includes Kompakt kingpin Michael Mayer’s remix of ‘Sully’ by fellow Kompakt co-founder Wolfgang Voigt, while label favorites Matias Aguayo and Jörg Burger (aka The Modernist) also debut their collaborative project Terrapin, with a track entitled ‘Cirrus Minor’. However, my highlight is the classical elegy ‘Ambianopolis’ from Anton Kubikov of Russian duo SCSI9. While I always enjoy the Pop Ambient compilations, this edition feels like a particularly strong addition to the Kompakt ambient canon. In further Kompakt news, the aforementioned Wolfgang Voigt has teamed with his brother Reinhard to create the pair’s first full-length album together, Die Zauberhafte Welt Der Anderen, which is slated for release in February. The Voigt brothers have teamed up to create several memorable Speicher releases over the years, such as the cut ‘Vision 04’ and their two EPs on new label Erdingertrax from last year. Die Zauberhafte Welt Der Anderen purportedly forgoes linear techno sounds in favour of an experimental psychedelic narrative – and who doesn’t like a bit of electronic psychedelia? Not you, dear reader…
LOOKING DEEPER Jeremy P. Caulfield
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 1 Jeremy P Caulfield One22
BeyondBlue Fundraiser feat. Mark Pritchard Goodgod Small Club
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 16 Luis Flores One22
SATURDAY MARCH 9 Luis Flores
Moodymann Spice Cellar
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com 44 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
We has internets!
Sundays 03 FEBRUARY
Schwa Extra bits and moving bits without the inky ďŹ ngers.
www.thebrag.com
Mike Witcombe Phonic Funk Alan Thomas Jay Doyle Matt Weir Kerry Wallace
BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13 :: 45
snap up all night out all week . . .
It’s called: Loosekaboose 7th Birthday Wareh ouse Party It sounds like: Lush, organic, deep, melod ic, analogue house and techno Acts: Christian Vance live (hAUL/Perspectiv) , Claire Morgan (hAUL) and your host Trinity (Pinksilver Music) Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Christ ian Vance’s new track ‘Uneasy Me’, Trinity & Beyond’s ‘Air Bubble’ and ‘Talis’ by Peter Van Hoesen and Donato Dozzy And one you definitely won’t: The one that’s got that crappy vocal and farty bassline that everyone else is playing at every gig? Yeah, that one. Sell it to us: Come and celebrate seven years of 7th birthday with our main resident Claire Morga looseness at the Loosekaboose n, returning from Berlin for her first set back in Oz, and one of Loosekaboose’s fave guests (also returning from Berlin), Christian Vance playing live! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Wandering the seedy backstreets of some inner west suburb with an empty bottle of vodka and sore legs from dancing non-stop. Crowd specs: Loose Wallet damage: $25 on Resident Advisor
Where: Warehouse venue TBA to RA ticket holders on the day of event. When: Saturday Feb 2
picnic
PICS :: TL
party profile
loosekaboose 7th b'day
compound
PICS :: KC
19:01:13 :: Sydney Town Hall ::
boiler room x goodgod pleasurekraft
PICS :: AM
17:01:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
audiojack
PICS :: AM
s.a.s.h 19:01:13 :: One22 :: 122 Pitt St Sydney 46 :: BRAG :: 497 :: 28:01:13
PICS :: AM
19:01:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999
20:01:13 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9280 2178 S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: PEDRO XAVIER :: MAR LEY ASH :: L WEL CAS JANE
:: KATRINA CLARKE :: MARY
PICS :: AM
19:01:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
INSTORE ONLINE NOW
LATE NIGHT TALES Friendly Fires The latest edition of the ultimate ‘after-hours’ compilation comes from UK 3-piece, Friendly Fires. Reaching deep into their record collection to compile the ultimate late-night soundtrack, the CD features tracks from the likes of SBTRKT, Junior Boys, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Dennis Parker and Iron Galaxy, as well as an exclusive track from Friendly Fires themselves. “A Must Have” Mixmag “The Rolls Royce of Compilations” GQ Magazine
Also available
Metronomy
MGMT
CHOP SUEY
Music For Pleasure
Snow Patrol
THE ART OF
Dj Yoda
Marco V
The pioneer of the bootleg, cut-up mixing and the master of the audio-visual DJ show, DJ Yoda’s star-studded debut album ‘Chop Suey’ presents hip hop and dance in his trademark fashion. Features appearances from Boy George, Man Like Me, Scroobious Pip and Action Bronson.
The latest instalment of Marco V’s “T.A.O (The Art Of)” has arrived. One of the most inventive, diverse and creative minds in electronic music, Marco V traverses techno to trance, progressive to techhouse. T.A.O Vol 3 is hand-picked by one of the most sought after DJ/ producers working today. Features exclusive mixes from Marco V, Fedde Le Grand, Zedd, Hard Rock Sofa, Digitalism & Hook n Sling.
“Chop Suey sounds like an album from another universe – and maybe it is” –David Quantick.
Jamiroquai
VONYC SESSIONS 2012 Paul Van Dyk Featuring masterpieces from renowned producers (including Arty, Cosmic Gate & Jes, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Judge Jules, Alex MORPH & Lisa Lashes), VONYC Sessions 2012 combines the best of Paul van Dyk’s weekly worldwide radio show of the same name with an eye cast firmly into the future.
WWW.CENTRALSTATION.COM.AU / WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/CENTRALSTATIONRECS / WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CENTRALSTATIONAU
Strong crude humour, sexual references, nudity, violence and coarse language
IN CINEMAS FEBRUARY 7