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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
five things WITH
OSCAR AND ALI FROM THE DEAD HEADS Inspirations We pretty well share our favourite 2. musicians. Almost all the music Ali listened to was coming from [older brother] Oscar: Kurt Cobain, Anton Newcombe, Lou Reed, Jesus and Mary Chain, Ian Curtis, The Pixies, Spacemen 3 (waaay more though!)… We like how those guys can write a straight up pop song but still make it sound refreshing. When we got into the Brian Jonestown Massacre a while back, that sorta changed the way we looked at music! Your Band The band is centred around brothers 3. Oscar and Ali Jeffery, with Roberto on guitar,
Growing Up Our first musical experience was probably 1. Cat Stevens’ Tea For The Tillerman, and then in teenage years Nirvana was probably the biggest influence. Our parents aren’t very musical… the old man hid a Dead Kennedys
T-shirt in the bottom of his drawer, had a massive record collection, and also named his dog Iggy, but he is tone deaf. Childhood for us sorta sowed the seeds to want to play music, but I think the most important influences are the ones we are incorporating into our music now.
ROCK FOR DOC
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: Daniel Boud, Mary-Jane Caswell, Katrina Clarke, Ashley Mar COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Daniel Boud 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 AWESOME INTERNS: Natalie Amat, Katie Davern, Tanydd Jaquet, Mina Kitsos
Doc Neeson is one of the most beloved Australian musicians ever. So, when he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, it came as little surprise that a veritable who’s-who of Australian musicians rallied to organise and play at a fundraiser for Doc, including Rose Tattoo, Jon Stevens and Steve Balbi (Noiseworks), Jimmy Barnes and Don Walker (Cold Chisel), Rob Hirst and Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Baby Animals, Mark Gable (Choirboys), Diesel, Screaming Jets, The Radiators, Mi-Sex, and many others, including the other members of The Angels. It all happens at the Enmore Theatre on April 15, and tickets are $89, available via the venue.
DOWN THE LANE
Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Jordie Lane’s current press release mentions he went on a six-day lemon detox before it mentions that he is touring throughout March, April and May, which is pretty much the order of importance that we subscribe to here at the
who is an old school mate; Josh Gorman on drums, who was a long-lost friend for 14 years until we found him again in a random bit of coincidence (moved in next door to us in the same week!). Percussion is Matte Vancouver – met him drunk at Lansdowne and we jammed together at 2am – and Jonno, the latest member, is on bass. Jonno and Josh probably listen to more rap then the rest… Ali’s a sucker for melody, Roberto likes any song as long as it doesn’t sound normal, and Oscar secretly wants to start an underground punk movement and never wear a shirt. Music You Make Style-wise, we are just a straight-up 4. The
BRAG; probably why our Citrus News column usually sits in front of Rock News. Anyway, did you know that there is no word that rhymes with orange? Or that the Jews of Jerusalem pelted a high priest with lemons in 90BC? Or that Jordie Lane plays the Factory Theatre March 21 with Ruthie Foster playing as main support? Fascinating, right?
BONDI GARAGE
As we have mentioned numerous times in Rock News, the BRAG staff often surf to and from work, which will make it super easy to get along to the excellently-named RadA-Rama Bowl-A-Rama Garage Party at the Beach Road this Friday (February 22), which features scuzz-merchants Dune Rats, Melbourne scuzz-merchants Ross De Chene Hurricanes, Newcastle scuzz-merchants The Nugs, plus scuzz-merchants Bachelor Pad. What do you mean we can’t come in wearing a wetsuit? This is Bondi! I bet you would let Sam from Home and Away come in with a wetsuit on…
psychedelic-pop-rock-grunge-garageshoegaze-hippie band. We released two albums in 2012, and one EP in 2013 so far; we have another two EPs and an album in the works that will be released this year. All of it is just recorded in our bedroom, mixed by us. Music, Right Here, Right Now The music scene in Sydney is OK. The 5. main obstacle is whether to be a scenester and then invite masses of people to your gig, or just to get people to come on merit… I do feel for venues because it’s a hard slog money-wise for them, but they do shoot themselves in the foot too, making it hard to organise nights. All in all it’s all right though! It’s nice just playing with other bands, seeing other bands progress and stuff! A band called BXF (Box Of Fuck) – they are the best live band I have ever seen from Sydney! They are the best looking band I’ve seen as well… What: Brag’s 500th Issue Party With: Polographia, Joyride, DJ Morgs, The Darkened Seas, The Water Board, Luny P, Katie Whyte & The Pales, Yoke, Brag DJs and some very special guests Where: Mum @ The World Bar When: Friday February 22
SNOWDROPPIN’
Your mum might like the stately, speakeasy sound of soul/punk band The Snowdroppers, but she might not like what the name means. Go and Google it, we’ll wait. Horrible isn’t it? What’s that face? Don’t blame us. Blame society, blame the Internet, blame Lance Hill. Well, maybe don’t tell your mum, and get along to the launch show for their second album Moving Out Of Eden at The Standard on Friday March 22, with support by your boys Little Bastard and The Pieter Van Den Hoogen Band. There’s less swampy bluesy muck on this album, too. It’s a bit more punk rock, but in a Doherty way, not a DeLonge way.
Deap Vally
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Simon Binns, Christie Eliezer, Murray Engleheart, Chris Honnery, Nathan Jolly, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Jody Macgregor, Alicia Malone, Chris Martin, Jenny Noyes, Hugh Robertson, Rebecca Saffir, Jonno Seidler, Rach Seneviratne, Roland K Smith, Luke Telford, Rick Warner, Alex Sol Watts, Krissi Weiss, Caitlin Welsh, David Wild 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.
The Snowdroppers ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephen Forde : accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121
STICKY ROCK
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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DEAP DOWN UNDA
Imagine if Jack White was a leggy babe with a voice that swings from a coo to a growl, and then add another leggy babe on drums. Sounds like a sexist thing you are imagining, but that’s on you, I’m just trying to appeal to your more base nature to explain that two-piece, cool-as-all-fuck Californian blues rock duo Deap (sic) Vally (sic!) are touring Australia for the first time ever, stopping in at Oxford Art Factory on April 5 to be all sultry and serpentine and such. Tickets available from this Thursday (February 21). Probably not a real ticket, mind…
Sticky Fingers are one of those rock bands who come along every couple of years and proclaim “rock isn’t dead” then show us, through the sheer power of Marshall amps and Big Muff pedals. They hail from Newtown and have a hooky single called ‘Australia Street’, which is that street in Newtown that you always see Brendan Cowell walking down. Also, ever noticed how much that street looks like the set of a terrible Australian drama series: it’s got the police station, next to the court house, next to the fire station, across from the takeaway, next to the corner pub where all the characters end each episode ruminating. Maybe that’s why Cowell is always there (Sticky Fingers play March 22 at the Manning Bar as part of their Caress Your Soul album tour).
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rock music news
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
five things WITH TOM FROM
Frightened Rabbit
PEAR SHAPE
1.
Growing Up Grew up listening to my parents’ music – a combination of Beatles, Kinks and Easybeats, and classical. Then when I was all teenage, I had an angsty punk phase, involving Joy Division and the Sex Pistols. Right now, I’ve been listening to heaps of Animal Collective and Tame Impala.
Inspirations Pop music, the lo-fi 2. renaissance, but also stuff like The Strokes, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Deerhunter, TV On The Radio – in fact, we do a cover of Daniel Johnston’s ‘Walking The Cow’ a little differently from TVOTR. Your Band Josh Bush (drums) was the 3. boy in Bridezilla and Tim and Jack Ellwood (guitars) are brothers from Boorowa who played in Indigo Rising. I (Tom Riordan) have been writing songs since playing in The Joysticks a while back. We just went out to the Ellwoods’ farm where we recorded some of our upcoming EP, amongst riding
dirt bikes, BBQing, being general yobbos etc. The Music You Make Guitars are a big part of our 4. sound, but we try to use them in interesting and textural ways with pedals and old amps. We made our first record in late 2012, which was our introduction to the scene as a band. It was really fun and twee and summery, but we’re already working on a new record that’s a little more sonically mature this time around.
5.
Music, Right Here, Right Now Sydney music is really awesome and unique. But with these venues dropping like flies, we just need to get out of the house and support it. With: Cabins, The Tsars, Running Gun Sound, The Jones Rival Where: Gimme Shelter @ Live Art Space, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst When: Thursday February 21 from 8pm
FOREVERMORE
What are Evermore doing still releasing records and touring? Don’t they know that when you achieve your life’s work by the time you turn 25, you are meant to get fat and lazy like Orson Welles did, or old and bitter like Dylan did, or revered and bullet-riddled like 2Pac did? Instead the three New Zealand brothers keep releasing cracking tunes, meaning their one-disc Greatest Hits will soon swell to a two-disc, then a three-disc, then a boxset, and before we know it they won’t be able to play venues like The Basement anymore, so you’d better get along to their May 23 show there. Tickets via Moshtix. And start talking through the songs, it’s the Basement, not Eric Foreman’s basement.
GROOVIN’ THE MOO
It’s coming up to that time of year where Groovin’ The Moo takes over fields across the nation with pun-tacular abandon (one of the stages is the ‘Moolin Rouge’ Big Top). This year’s lineup is killer, featuring the likes of Last Dinosaurs, Frightened Rabbit, Regurgitator, Tegan And Sara and The Bronx (in straight-up punk guise). Tickets are on sale NOW, and we’ve managed to procure two doubles each to the Maitland (April 27) and Canberra (April 28) Moos. To score one, send us the name of one of the acts on the bill we haven’t mentioned. Full lineup at gtm.net.au
HOTTEST 100 VOL. 20
Relive the arguments, affirmations and “I told you so’s” of the country’s most democratic and divisive poll. (Tony and Jules could probably get a bit more attention for their upcoming election if they took wardrobe cues from a certain white rapper and started rocking 99-cent furs and green ghetto shoes.) Volume 20 of triple j’s iconic countdown releases on February 22, and features the best of the list over two CDs, with tracks from Alt-J, Tame Impala, Flume, Frank Ocean and Hermitude. We’ve got three copies of triple j’s Hottest 100 Volume 20 up for grabs; to nab one for yourself, send us your postal address and tell us about your favourite thrift shop find.
HUNGRY FOR SECONDS
Remember when the first episode of Pokémon aired in Japan, and kids all around the country lost face by having intense seizures during the flashing battle scenes? Well, when triple j first played Brisbane upstarts Hungry Kids Of Hungary’s ‘Sharp Shooter’, people around Australia actually caught diabetes, it was such a sickly sweet sugar-rush. It was the perfect introduction to their second record, You’re A Shadow (out on February 22), which they’re showing off April 5 at the Hi-Fi, with support from excellent soul-sounding Sydney band The Preatures and Melbourne indie pop group Them Swoops.
Tenacious D
Tame Impala Willy Mason
TENACIOUS D TIME
The new Tenacious D record ends with an epic ballad called ‘39’, in which the 49-year-old Jack Black graciously accepts his 39-year-old girlfriend, acknowledging that he’s “not goin’ out with no 19-year-old chickadees no more” and that she “still looks young. Not very young, but a lot of fun.” It ends with the amazing metaphor “comfortable shoes, never lose” and the touching “she don’t need no diamond rings.” Go see Tenacious D at Sydney Opera House on May 11, organist/comedian Barry Morgan is in support, and they are going to have a man in a Sasquatch costume shredding on guitar (he’s even billed on the tour poster), which ticks all the boxes. Tickets on sale February 25, with Frontier Super-mega-presale happening from midday this Thursday, February 21.
STEP UP
WILLY MASON
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YOU AIN’T NO GO DZ?
Speaking of, Brisbane punk powerhouse DZ Deathrays are touring again, because when you have an album as fearlessly fantastic as their debut Bloodstreams, you kinda wanna show people. This time around they are hitting Goodgod on April 6, with support from Sydney regulars Palms (Catcall’s backing band, ex-Red Riders) and Bec and Ben (criminally cute pop duo). DZ Deathrays are also supporting The Bronx April 25 and 26 at the Annandale Hotel, if you wanna tripleup (btw: you do wanna).
TAME IMPALA
That stone-cold genius autuer Kevin Parker of Tame Impala has tricked the entire teenage population of the world into listening to purephased psychedelic Revolver-esque insular pop music, with shifting song structures, meandering middle sections and buried vocals. God knows how he did it, but we are so glad he did, because if we had to listen to another Graceland-plundering pop band we were going to launch djembes through the windows of every live venue in Australia. Tame Impala play Thursday May 2 at Hordern Pavilion, and it’s an all-ages show!
Xxx photo by Xxxx
Aside from whinging about the fact that tens of thousands of people couldn’t squeeze onto two trains, the main thing we heard from those who went to last year’s Gentlemen Of The Road concert in Dungog was that US folk singer Willy Mason was the highlight. He’s back in Sydney in April, supporting UK acoustic-loving Ben Howard at his sold-out Metro Theatre shows (April 2 and 3), and headlining the Moonshine Bar at Manly’s Hotel Steyne on April 4, and it’s FREE.
Step-Panther have this amazing song called ‘Superpowerz’, which sounds like a lost Replacements track if Westerberg dated one of the Go-Gos (always go for Belinda) and it deals with those girls that have superpowers… of the heart. That song is from their first EP, and their second EP, Dreamcrusher, is just out (and our indie album of the week FYI) and features another cracker in the form of ‘Bad Mood’, which crawls into focus like a bratty teenager. It’s pretty special stuff, which is why we’ll be at their launch, which they are sharing with Wax Witches, the psychedelic side-project of that prolific little Alex fellow from Bleeding Knees Club. March 15 at GoodGod Small Club it happens, and Perth
pop band Foam will be on first, with a DJ set from DZ Deathrays, who really should trade under DJ Deathrayz when spinning discs.
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The Music Network
themusicnetwork.com
Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer
THINGS WE HEAR * It was not a good week to be Joel and Benji Madden. Music Feeds launched a “get them out of Australia” online petition, to which Joel responded “I don’t mind you hating us but encouraging other people to hate us? Keep talking shit, brother, it suits you”. Then Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah lashed out through Twitter, attacking them among other things for laughing at a fan’s weight. Joel rang him and both apologised for past issues. Maddah told Fairfax Media “I don’t think I should have judged them”, and said he’d even have them on a future Soundwave. Meantime, footy-boy-turned-muso Eric Grothe Jr challenged them to use their money to save the Annandale. * Is the Van Halen tour now set for June, after their Japan visit? The Green Day visit, set for January before Billie Joe’s meltdown, won’t be until later this year. They’re touring the US until April 18, and play Europe May 24 to July 13. * The NSW government is preparing a law to prevent online ticket scalpers from making massive profits, bringing it in line with
RADIO LABELS WIN OVER WEB STREAMING Artists and recording labels won a Federal Court appeal which will make them more money – in these gloomy climes that's always a good thing. They can now squeeze extra fees from radio when stations webcast their music. The Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) collects broadcast money when music is played by TV, radio, nightclubs and businesses. The Commercial Radio Australia association had argued that transmission over the internet was covered by existing licensing deals, and didn’t warrant an extra fee. The PPCA begged to differ. The Federal Court took radio’s side last February, but the PPCA appealed and overturned the decision. PPCA CEO Dan Rosen called it “an important win” for artists and labels. He said radio networks stream their leading programs via the web and on digital devices and used these to expand their listeners and ad revenue. “Music is an essential component in all of this –
Queensland and Victoria. * The Australian Road Crew Collective (ARCC), whose inaugural reunion of crew members before 1983 drew well over 250 in Melbourne last year, is putting together a committee to hold a Sydney reunion in July. * Grammy dramas: did Jack White drop “fuck” during ‘Love Interruption’ or did viewers mishear “Grab a hold of me and fight me?” … Meanwhile, Mumford & Sons quipped “We didn’t win last year cos she [Adele] was nominated for fucking everything” but that was bleeped … The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, asked about Justin Bieber’s lack of nominations, replied, “He’s rich, right? Grammys are for, like, music, not for money ... and he’s making a lot of money.” Bieber replied Carney needed “a slapping, haha” … So what happened to the Australian Psychics Directory’s prediction last year that Delta Goodrem would win? … Organisers imposed a strict dress code banning bare flesh, but Rihanna wore a see-through dress which showed off her bare breasts … Adele dismissed a photo flashed around the world that she was ticking off Chris Brown for not standing up with others for Frank
it helps to attract audience numbers and build loyalty so it is important that artists and labels receive a fair share.”
GOTYE WINS And still those international awards come. ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ by Gotye featuring Kimbra was the most-played video across the VIMN International Media Networks’ 60 MTV channels with 20,000 shows.
Ocean’s win. She said she was actually complimenting him on his music, and posed with him after. * It was not a good week for Chris Brown either. He crashed his Porsche into a wall after trying to escape photographers. Meanwhile, the police chief who was overseeing his community service (for beating up Rihanna) had to resign after it turned out the singer provided false documentation that he finished it. * Award-winning composer and CODA drummer Jared Underwood, won the 2013 Tropscore competition. He performed his score to Matt Bird’s short film The Exchange at the opening of Tropfest on Sunday. * Ed Sheeran got more tatts – a copy of French painter Matisse’s sketch of a mother cradling her baby on his forearm, and a phoenix etched on his arm – and got a spanking from his mum, as he said he wouldn’t get more ink done. * Country music capital Tamworth’s Mayor Col Murray and general manager Paul Bennett visit Nashville in June to cement a sister-city relationship.
other changes, Alicia Kish (ex-Ivy League, Sydney Festival) is filling in as Associate Producer while Esti Zilber is on maternity leave. Dr Ianto Ware recently took over Local Live operations as National Live Music Coordinator. Millie Millgate is promoted to Executive Producer, continuing to head the team. In just four years, she coordinated and established events across Europe, UK, North America, Canada and Asia.
BOWEN BECOMES CEO
DICKIE, KISH, JOIN SOUND AUSTRALIA Former EMI Music Australia A&R Director Glenn Dickie, among those who left EMI this month, has joined the export development initiative Sounds Australia as Export Music Producer. Aside from eleven years at EMI, Dickie helped set up Stage Mothers (who run the Aussie BBQ showcase at trade events abroad), presented on 3RRR and was drummer with The Goldhearted. In
Chris Bowen is the new CEO of the Music Council Of Australia. A freelance producer and festival producer, he was GM of the Brisbane Powerhouse and The Judith Wright Centre, and Director of Music and Dance at Arts Queensland.
DOYLE DEPARTS Bre Doyle left Secret Service PR and Create/Control. Natalie Dodds takes over her duties for the time being. Contact is natalie@secret-service.com.au
GI & SANICKI GET VOICE GI & Sanicki Lawyers will be representing the artists on the second season of The Voice, after handling duties during the first season.
This Week
DAVID JONES DROPS MUSIC, DVDS
E HIFI 1300 THO M.AU
Crime And The City Solution (USA)
THEHIFI.C
After posting a 1.4% drop in sales revenue in the last quarter to $590.1 million, David Jones spat the dummy and declared that it will no longer stock “low performing” music, DVDs and games (like anyone who reads this column ever bought their music there!). It won’t be buying new stock, and expects to run out mid-year. The space will be used by beauty and fashion product.
Cheap Sober Sat 23 Feb
Thu 21 Feb
FA ST
Coming Soon
Richie Hawtin (UK) Fri 1 Mar
Example (UK)
Hungry Kids of Hungary
Fri 26 Apr
Sleeping With Sirens(USA) + Woe, Is Me (USA)
Mon 25 Feb
SE LL IN G
SE LL IN G
FA ST
FA ST
Fri 5 Apr
SE LL IN G
O N 21 SA FE LE B
Just Announced
Bullet For My Valentine(UK)
Mindless Self Indulgence (USA)
Tim Rogers & The Bamboos
Tue 26 Feb
Wed 27 Feb
Thu 28 Feb
Thu 7 Mar
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (USA)
SE LL IN G
SE LL IN G
FA ST
FA ST
Bring Me The Horizon (UK)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (USA) Sat 9 Mar
Fri 15 Mar
Dinosaur Jr + Redd Kross (USA) Sat 16 Mar
SE LL IN G
FA ST
Fri 8 Mar
Ensiferum (FIN)
Mutemath (USA)
Otep (USA)
Enhanced (UK)
Norma Jean (USA)
Sun 24 Mar
Thu 25 Apr
Sat 27 Apr
Fri 3 May
ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY
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THE 'DALE IN RECEIVERSHIP The Annandale Hotel’s much-publicised financial woes of the past 18 months came to a head last week. With its Buy A Brick campaign failing to pull it out of the poo, last week it went into receivership; however, the venue will keep the music on at least until April, while receivers Ferrier Hodgson scout for a buyer. Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne said he will work with receivers to ensure the venue lives on. “So many Australian artists have had their start playing at the Annandale; its loss would be a body blow to young performers across Sydney,” he said. In coming weeks, “I will be seeking to reform council planning to encourage live music. Local government must promote, not prosecute, live music venues.” For more on this, see p.22.
THE PATCH AXES MUSIC The forced axing of The Patch at the Cabbage Tree Hotel has intensified moves for a Live Music Accord for Wollongong. The Patch was told to stop booking bands because of noise complaints from the motel next door. Its owners will appeal, as they spent $80,000 in noise insulation and pared live music back from five nights to two. Affected shows include Deniz Tek, Sleep Parade, Bec Sandridge and Leadfinger. The Festival In Your Lounge Room date with Dead In A Second and The Arsonist (Wednesday February 27) is moved to Dicey Riley’s, 333 Crown Street. The Patch is the latest to axe live music after the closing of The Oxford Tavern, Drop Bar, Sol Studios and Good Jelly. Late last year, a Music
Forum attended by 150 musicians voted for a Live Music Accord to bring all parties together to make venues sustainable. Local live music activists Jessie Hunt and Robert Carr are working with authorities over “inadequate legislation and (an outdated) licensing policy.” Hunt plans to address Council in coming weeks about these issues. She says: “We are hoping for venues, councillors, police and local music businesses to sign up to the Accord as a show of support for the long term viability of the music scene.”
I MANAGE MY MUSIC Holly Throsby and Josh Pyke head the panel of speakers at the I Manage My Music workshop (imanagemymusic.com) on Saturday April 9. A day-long workshop tailored to the self-managed musician, the panel features experienced industry practitioners, examining business models and creative ways to move their projects forward. Contact book@ imanagemymusic.com.
DOC NEESON BENEFIT The Angels headline a star-studded benefit for Doc Neeson on Monday April 15 at the Enmore Theatre. Guests include members of Midnight Oil, Rose Tattoo, Cold Chisel, Noiseworks, Choirboys, Screaming Jets, Diesel, Baby Animals and Mi-Sex. Tickets through enmoretheatre.com.au.
DEEZER X SOUNDWAVE Deezer stitched up a deal with Soundwave to be its music streaming partner for 2013. It will present the festival’s backstage channel SoundwaveTV (which provides interviews and backstage footage for fans) and host Soundwave playlists featuring its 70 acts on the bill.
Lifelines Injured: Central Coast sound engineer Jon Fox ended up at Gosford Hospital with two broken cheek bones, and lacerations to the lip and torso. He told CX Media he was beaten by members of a rap crew after he complained about punters dancing on amp racks, pouring drinks on stage and pulling electrical cables at a club show. Police are expected to lay charges. Ill: School Of Seven Bells’ Benjamin Curtis was diagnosed with cancer. Ill: Lady Gaga postponed US shows after joint inflammation left her unable to walk; the singer faces surgery. Arrested: Ukrainian TV presenter Vitalli Sediuk, who gatecrashed the Grammys and invaded the stage when Adele was on, spent the night in jail. Suing: N-Dubz singer Tulisa takes action against will.i. am for credit and royalties for the track ‘Scream & Shout’. She was working on it with Will’s right-hand man Jean Baptiste, but Will nabbed it and recorded a hit version with Britney Spears. Tulisa claims she wrote some of the lyrics. Sued: Lil Wayne, by a fan, who claims one of his minders assaulted him with a skateboard after he began an argument with the rapper. In Court: Drake settled a dispute with singer Ericka Lee, who said she co-wrote his hit song ‘Marvin’s Room’ but was never credited or compensated. Died: influential US jazz trumpeter and jazz fusion proponent Donald Byrd, 80, who was sampled in over 100 hip hop tracks. Died: Rick Huxley, bassist and co-founder of ’60s Brit band The Dave Clark Five, 72. He battled emphysema after years of heavy smoking. Died: Perth-based guitarist Kevin Peek, best known for his work with UK classical-rock fusion band Sky, from an inoperable tumour on the brain.
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FUCKED UP
T
he food court of a shitty shopping centre on an eightlane highway in Toronto isn’t the most obvious place to think up a brilliant rock opera. But almost two years ago, former straight-up punks Fucked Up – having already bamboozled critics with their amalgam of indulgent rock, ‘70s prog, hardcore and the more sprawling efforts of Hüsker Dü – did exactly that, with David Comes To Life. The album, which had Pitchfork jizzing its skinny jeans, follows the narrative of David, a factory worker in late-1970s England, dealing with the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a villain called Octavio. It was such an ambitious undertaking that the band decided to release a satellite album, a fake compilation called David’s Town, peppered with cameos, purportedly coming out of David’s fictional home town of Byrdesdale Spa.
It might seem like the project was just an instance of Fucked Up giving the music industry the one-finger salute, but the band’s playful attitude and media-unfriendly name made that gesture redundant from the start. When I compare David Comes To Life to Liars’ wry concept album
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In the past few years, Falco explains, he and his bandmates have been increasingly accepting of all the attention: “Being sort of reluctant or sheepish about diving into the music industry is a quality of an older character of the members of Fucked Up. I think that we’re more open to it now because we see pathways open to us that weren’t before. I think that Fucked Up is such a slow burn, and we have to be. Because of the style of music and because of the name, there isn’t the opportunity for us to just jump down the rabbit hole. So we’re descending into the music industry very slowly.” Original (inflexible) fans – circa Hidden World of 2006 or even 2008’s near-cult-status The Chemistry Of Common Life – would undoubtedly have been more than a little pissed about Fucked Up’s graduation from hefty, muscular hardcore to a more divergent style, where guitarist and main songwriter Mike Haliechuk is allowed, even encouraged, to wax poetic. “I think that any band that stays around for ten years is going to alienate fans along the way,” says Falco. “The part of ourselves that was in our old fans also got alienated by what we were doing, but instead of going away – we were in Fucked Up, there was nothing we could do about it. I’m sure people got alienated, but I think they are
probably happier without this new version of Fucked Up in their lives, so I think it’s probably for the best.” Clearly unwilling to write the same album over and over, Fucked Up developed their sound, even at the risk of abandoning a winning formula. “That [transition] started with only being interested in doing songs that were two minutes 45, then making songs that were longer and longer, making songs that purposely alienated the listener and alienated the reader of the lyrics and things like that,” Falco continues. “We set up these barricades for ourselves that we as a band have to overcome, and the listener is overcoming them with you, and that sort of bonds us to the whole project [for] longer. I think it’s to our benefit to create these blockages.” Though we haven’t seen a new album since David, Fucked Up have been keeping busy. Early last year they released ‘Year Of The Tiger’, their latest and most experimental in a series of Chinese Zodiac-inspired songs they plan to put out once a year. Now on the back of their Long Winter project – four minifestivals staged in an effort to thaw out frostbitten Ontarians, featuring performances by fellow Canadians Holy Fuck, Rituals and The Sadies, among others – Fucked Up are back in Australia for their second appearance at Soundwave. “The fact that they’re wanting us to do this is so vital,” says Falco. “It’s just the most excellent thing we could hope for. […] The last time we played, Iron Maiden were playing at the exact same time as us.” Falco confirms that a new album is in the works, dispelling rumours
that frontman Damian “Pink Eyes” Abraham has been distancing himself from the project. “Damian’s gonna be on every song, as far as I know… unless he’s got some big celebrities up his sleeve, which he always does. He actually routinely does not practice with the rest of the band, and he actually came to practice the other day and started jamming some new lyrics. He said something which I’ve never heard him say voluntarily before, and that was, ‘Send me another new song. Maybe we can do it at the show’. So I’m feeling good. “I think when the band rehearses and Mike brings a song to the table or I bring a song to the table and it sounds different or sounds strange, that’s us trying to push the envelope,” Falco explains. “And Damian – and this is by no means a criticism – his voice is always going to sound that one way; that big, massive, burly sound. So that’s him just, whether we like it or not, rooting us in hardcore. But the thing is, when those two things go together, it’s what makes Fucked Up relevant, the fact that there is that kind of clash. ” Falco’s enthusiasm about the new record makes it hard to entertain the idea that Pink Eyes is going to give up the ballsy, blood-strewn mania he’s become known for, in favour of a more static (read: boring) stage presence – which should certainly put fans of their live shows at ease. “Powerful! Totally powerful. Blow your head off. And also, lull you gently to sleep,” Falco shouts excitedly down the receiver. “[The new songs are] pretty up-tempo, sort of rooted in
“I’m sure people got alienated, but I think they are probably happier without this new version of Fucked Up in their lives, so it’s probably for the best.” the wall-of-noise pop that we’ve flirted with. Influences from Hüsker Dü, a lot of moving parts, a lot of intricacies, a lot of cool harmony in the guitars. And then just like simple nuts and bolts moving in the background. Intricate, yet melodic. “If our personalities weren’t disparate and screwed up enough before, our new personalities are going to create some kind of megatron-beast, horrible thing, and Fucked Up is just going to explode all over the sky in a brilliant new record. You can edit that to be less ridiculous and stupid.” With: Metallica, Slayer, The Offspring, A Perfect Circle and heaps more Where: Soundwave @ Sydney Showground, Olympic Park When: Sunday February 24 – SOLD OUT
Fucked Up photo by Daniel Boud
“We just thought we needed to create a whole solar system around this record, and create this universe,” says drummer Jonah Falco. “It’s like owning your deficiencies or something. We knew that everyone would scrutinise the band over this rock opera thing. […] David’s Town just adds more fuel to the fire. If you thought that the album was ridiculous, it’s like, ‘Well, have this one, too. Throw it on there’.”
Drum’s Not Dead of a few years prior, Falco laughs and says, “It’s totally cheeky. We can’t not have a sense of humour about it. It’s like, ‘Yeah, you think you’ve figured us out? You like the psychedelic record? Try this! Here’s what you have to deal with now’.”
Totally Powerful! By Dijana Kumurdian
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Chicks On Speed Don’t Music By Alasdair Duncan
C
hicks On Speed trade in raucous electro pop, but the music is just a gateway into their eccentric world. Fashion, film, media, art – the collective chew it all up, swallow it, and then regurgitate it in all kinds of challenging configurations. Their newest project, SCREAM – coming soon to Artspace – provides just a taste of this madness. “Essentially, we’re doing a residency [at Artspace],” founding member Alex Murray-Leslie explains. “We’re going to be playing some of our new songs, showing some
new videos, and using our collection of object instruments to create a whole lot of sounds. We’re basically presenting our new album, which is also called SCREAM, and which comes out in a couple of months. The show is essentially a sneak preview of that – there’s an app that goes along with the album, and people will be able to interact with that and see live performances.” The app is a key element of the album, and Murray-Leslie says that the multiple layers clearly distinguish SCREAM from their previous work. “The visuals are really strongly connected to the audio,” she says, “so whilst making sounds, we’re also showing the video. That’s what you’ll see with the app – you get an audio-visual space you can play with. Inside the app is a concentration of art performance work.” The idea of presenting pop music in this way is still relatively untested, and the Chicks are very excited to be entering the fray. “We like to think that there are three apps in the world,” Murray-Leslie says with a laugh. “You have Björk,
you have Brian Eno, and you have Chicks On Speed. The music app is going to peak with us, basically.” The album also includes some new collaborators, although Murray-Leslie is reluctant to reveal their identities; some of them, she says, are “wanted people”, adding that police and governments may well be interested, and that the album has a definite “political edge”. Intrinsic to Chicks On Speed’s process is a voracious appetite for anything new – new ways to look at the world, and new ways to present their art. The group often have a manifesto, although they have admitted in the past that said manifesto changes constantly. When asked where it currently stands, Murray-Leslie has to think about it for a minute. “We contradict ourselves all the time,” she laughs. “There are a lot of paradoxes in what we do, that’s all part of the reason why it changes a lot. I think, at the moment …” she pauses again. “I don’t know. I think it’s just constantly changing. I think, OK, we could say that the latest manifesto is ‘Don’t’. It’s all about encouraging you to do the things you shouldn’t do. Don’t art, don’t fashion, don’t music, don’t get married, don’t have kids … it’s basically a play on [1960s Dada-adjacent, anti-bourgeois art philosophy] the Fluxus manifesto.” With a career spanning more than a decade, Chicks On Speed are world travellers; their membership spans nations, and they have lived and performed in a host of cities. Their outlook, however, has its roots in Germany – MurrayLeslie met bandmate Melissa Logan while studying art at Munich Academy – and in many ways, they remain tied to the place. “It’s funny,” Murray-Leslie says, “I’m Australian and our drummer for the tour is also Australian, so now two thirds of the band is Australian, but a lot of the time, people still write that we’re German. When we studied there, we had an incredible time... We had a really great opportunity there to develop our skills and our work, and we had a lot of support from different cultural bodies. I identify with the culture, too. Germany has a great history of the arts and culture, so definitely, I identify with the mentality there. They’re great, free thinkers.”
“We could say that the latest manifesto is ‘Don’t’. It’s all about encouraging you to do the things you shouldn’t do.” A few years back, longtime member Kiki Moorse departed Chicks On Speed, leaving just core members Logan and Murray-Leslie. In spite of this, the group are still going strong, and are taking on new collaborators all the time. “Currently, we’re working with an electronic drummer named Erica,” Murray-Leslie says. “She approached us and asked if she could play in the live show and we liked her style. We’re constantly taking on new members, bringing in new skill sets and different types of creativity. It depends on the project, but usually we meet people through friends or agents.” The constant changes make life in Chicks On Speed exciting. “We’re constantly moving forward, finding new people and new ways of working,” she says. “It’s all about how far we can stretch an idea, from music to media to architecture to any other art form!” All of this makes the idea of a traditional album seem somewhat old-fashioned, but MurrayLeslie confirms SCREAM will see a release on “all mediums”, probably mid-2013. “Vinyl’s having a really big comeback now, so we’re doing vinyl,” she says. “We’re doing CD, although we wish we could get around that, as we’re really not big fans of CD. Then we’re doing the app, of course, and the album is going to be on iTunes. I mean… it’s going to be out there.” What: SCREAM by Chicks On Speed Where: Artspace / 43–51 Cowper Wharf Rd, Woolloomooloo When: Wednesday March 13 – Sunday April 21 And: Playing live at Red Rattler on March 8
Follow up to the successful eponymous debut (you know the one- it featured “Constellations”, “Radar Detector” and “Up in The Clouds”), this is Darwin Deez MK II his deepest, most personal and innovatively inspiring record to date. “He’s still got that drum machine, an obsession with space and a voice like Kermit the Frog. But on this second album he’s discovered depth”. Triple J Magazine 9/10
ALSO OUT NOW
Features the stunning lead single “Free (The Editorial Me)” and “You Can’t Be My Girl”.
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EELS WONDERFUL, GLORIOUS “One of the most prolific, adventurous and moving songwriters of the past decade.” - Q Magazine
JIM JAMES REGIONS OF LIGHT AND SOUND OF GOD My Morning Jacket’s Jim James releases his debut solo album. “An incredible, one of a kind slow-burner.” -triple j magazine
DAWN MCCARTHY & BONNIE ‘PRINCE’ BILLY WHAT THE BROTHERS SANG A collection of Everly Brothers songs.
DRINK INTELLIGENTLY The SMIRNOFF ICE and DOUBLE BLACK words and associated logos are trademarks. © The Smirnoff Co. 2012.
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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion No Worries By Benjamin Cooper
J
on Spencer’s at home in New York, and he’s enjoying being back in his kitchen. “Right now I’m makin’ meatballs,” he says. “We’ve been on the road for a couple of weeks and you just start to crave certain comforts. It’s very different to back in the day – back then we used to head out on the road for eight weeks at a time, and we’d think nothing of it. Things have changed a bit, I suppose.” He sounds a little tired, but says that isn’t so much the rigors of touring life as it is the joys of being married and having a young child.
It was all very different on September 6, 1997, when the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion presented themselves – literally kicking and screaming – to the wider Australian consciousness. After a typically intense performance at The Palace in St Kilda the night before, the trio rolled into Recovery’s Melbourne studio and ripped into ‘2 Kindsa Love’ from the Jim Waters-produced Now I Got Worry album. Less than 70 seconds through the performance, Spencer shrieked and changed the song to ‘Flavor’ from 1994’s Orange. Over the next four minutes, Spencer dry-humped the show’s delighted host Dylan Lewis, then dived into the
audience over and over as he screamed the name of the band. He ripped down signage, tried to pop the massive inflatable Recovery logo, and shoved technicians and a hapless cameraman out of the way as he attempted to clear space for his epic theremin solo. All the while, bandmates Judah Bauer and Russell Simins kept hammering away at the tune, not even pausing when Bauer had to climb up and play atop the kick-drum as Spencer scattered microphone stands and bodies with violent glee. The Palace was razed to the ground by arsonists in 2007, with the much-loved Recovery suffering a similarly nasty fate – being unceremoniously cancelled shortly after the turn of the century. Thankfully, the juggernaut that is JSBX keeps on burning with a ferocity that seems to grow stronger every year. The New York blues-punk trio are now into their third decade, having formed in 1991 from the ashes of Spencer’s previous act, the cult Washington D.C. outfit Pussy Galore. In their 23 years together, the wild gentlemen of rock have released nine studio albums across a variety of labels and influenced prominent noughties acts ranging from The White Stripes to Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They’ve recorded with legends of a host of genres: they were the last to lay down tracks with bluesman R.L. Burnside (on the collaborative album A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey); they were also the first to work on a non-hip hop cut with producer Dan The Automator (Gorillaz, DJ Shadow), covering Dr. John’s ‘Right Place, Wrong Time’ for the Scream 2 soundtrack. Spencer, however, argues for the significance of a more recent career highlight. “We’ve always been big fans of a lot of Australian acts like The Birthday Party and The Scientists,” he says. “So when we were down there in early 2011 and we had the chance to play with Kim Salmon I was pretty happy. In fact,” he pauses, before declaring: “it was probably my greatest thrill.”
“If you don’t like what you’re hearing, make something yourself… You’ve gotta find something of quality, something that sticks in the jaw.” Last year’s Meat + Bone was released in September to critical acclaim, as well as being hailed as a progressive move from the fairly consistent band on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s their first album of original material in eight years. In the intervening years Spencer has been busy with Matt Verta-Ray (Madder Rose), touring and recording with their rockabilly project Heavy Trash. “It was just time to get back to it,” Spencer says of the decision to head back into the studio with JSBX. “Personally I was, and still am, very interested in what we can do with this band. I’ll tell you truthfully – I love Meat + Bone. I didn’t have a gun held to my head; we weren’t even under contract for this one. One reason I like to play music is because of the possibilities from the experience of collaboration. The thrill that I get with Blues Explosion is quite different to working with Matt in Heavy Trash, and at the same time every and any chance to work and collaborate is golden for me.” Spencer’s enthusiasm for collaboration is tempered by an awareness of the need to seek out and promote high quality acts and musicians who deserve a boost. “A big thing for us has always been to try to select the support band,” he explains. “We like to stay involved in the process; these days it isn’t too hard because you can usually find someone in an online clip who has some good ideas, and that’s important because there’s a lot of crap out there.”
With: Moon Duo Where: The Hi-Fi / Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park When: Saturday, March 9 Also: Playing the sold-out Golden Plains Lucky Seven, Saturday March 9 – Monday March 11 at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, with Cat Power, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Dinosaur Jr and loads more 20 :: BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion by Michael Lavine
“When Blues Explosion started there was a lot of awful music too,” he continues, warming to the theme. “There’s always been crap music – and I don’t mean to sound negative here, because there’s a lot of great stuff happening too. The important thing, if you don’t like what you’re hearing or what’s popular, is to make something yourself…You’ve gotta find something of quality, something that sticks in the jaw. Trying to find that is why I play punk rock.”
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Live Music: The State Of The Union By Caitlin Welsh
If you’re reading this, you most certainly know that the last few years have seen countless venues around the country fail, flounder and close – not the arenas, entertainment centres and concrete boxes, but the little ones around the corner – the small, friendly rooms where young musos get their break and old ones had their apprenticeships. The ones where you can pay $12, see four bands, get a bit silly and stagger home with your ears ringing. These places usually run on the smell of an oily rag, and the slightest setback can leave them reeling – draconian council regulations, a smashed shop window down the road, or the big one: a noise complaint from a local. The tide is turning, with initiatives like Clover Moore’s Live Music Task Force, Arts Minister Simon Crean’s appointment of a National Live Music Co-ordinator, and SLAM (Save Live Australian Music) Day, which grew out of the protests over the closure of iconic Melbourne venue The Tote.
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n Monday last week, the news spread that the Annandale Hotel had gone into receivership. On Tuesday morning, we heard that Melbourne’s Corner Hotel, which has hosted live music since the 1940s, was facing a serious potential threat from a new residential development just across the road, as a single noise complaint from a brand-new neighbour could cost the venue thousands in fines, compliance with noise regulations, or legal fees. The Melbourne Times Weekly reported that a high-rise development on AC/DC Lane could threaten Cherry Bar, forcing the owner to vow he’d spend a fortune on extra sound-proofing to keep it open. And on Tuesday afternoon, Wollongong venue The Patch announced that due to noise complaints from the neighbouring motel, the Office of Gaming and Racing had banned all amplified entertainment in the venue, and that all upcoming gigs – including the SLAM Day affiliated event – were cancelled. The week before, the Small Venue License Amendment, a piece of legislation before the South Australian Upper House, was already facing opposition from the SA Liberals and the Australian Hoteliers Association (who represent larger venues and were a prominent opponent of similar reform in NSW and Victoria). A grim few days, and all in the lead-up to SLAM Day – the national day of support for Australia’s rich and spectacularly successful live music culture. Here are some good things that happened in that same space of time: two stunned Melbourne musos stood on a stage with Prince, who had just handed them a Grammy for Record Of The Year; the Rule brothers assured a riot-ready internet that the ‘Dale would stay open and honour its booked gigs until at least April while they worked things out with the bank; Leichhardt Mayor Darcy Byrne backed the venue, proclaiming “We want rock’n’roll, not residential development” (catchy, eh?). Newtown venue Notes, which announced it was closing its doors for good on January 19, was revealed to have been acquired by a buyer who intends to retain it as a live music venue. And on Friday February 8, Lord Mayor
of Sydney Clover Moore launched the Live Music Taskforce to support venues and performers. The taskforce features a wealth of knowledge and experience, including that of Associate Professor Shane Homan, the leading national expert on live music history and regulation; FBi Radio General Manager of Music, Dan Zilber; and Dr Ianto Ware, the freshly-minted National Live Music Co-ordinator and veteran of Adelaide’s live scene – in other words, people who actually know what time it is. Ware points out that part of the problem with noise complaints – one of the biggest drains on venues located outside bustling city centres – is that most councils will back a single complaining local resident over a venue every time. “Even if there’s no grounding for it; even if, as is the case with The Annandale, they’ve done noise testing and the police have done noise testing and found no problems – they still back the resident,” he explains. “And The Annandale got around the resident by proving that it wasn’t grounds for complaint, but it cost them so much. And you can’t take a quarter of a million dollars out of a small business and expect it to survive.” “[Councils] could be in the middle and say, ‘OK, look, this area has been zoned for this; we’ll measure the noise levels, we’ll manage conciliation processes, but ultimately we’re not on one side or the other,’” Ware says. “But in practice, nationally, they are nearly always on the side of the residents. And you could argue that part of it is that they have an investment in tracking development […] but I think there is an argument that part of it is simply that the culture of the organisations is suspect towards small business activity, and cultural activity. “And even when individual people within the council are sympathetic – and in some cases very sympathetic – the mechanisms that are available to them don’t really allow them to work productively with the community. The 1City of Sydney taskforce is looking at that, and that’s probably the first one I’ve seen at a local government level that’s really invested in it, and is asking what they can do.”
This Saturday, February 23 is SLAM Day 2013, and there will be gigs all over the country celebrating live Australia’s amazing spirit, resilience and ability to pack away Coopers Green. Below we take a look at the state of things, and suggest some Sydney shows you can get along to. But don’t just make an effort this weekend – check out BRAG’s comprehensive gig listings every week, take a chance on a little band in a SLAM-BASSADORS: little room with big dreams, and help make sure the next Royal Headache has a stage to play on.
The Smith Street Band
The first major pro-live music rallies in Melbourne, prompted by the 2010 closure of The Tote, helped even conservative politicians realise there were votes in supporting the industry. As might have been expected, though, perhaps the biggest aid to the cause were the two 2011 reports that quantified live music’s contribution – one by Deloitte, focused on the Victorian industry, and most importantly, the Ernst & Young study conducted on behalf of APRA which showed that live music contributed over a billion dollars annually to the national economy. Ware believes those reports forced many members of government on every level to reconsider their approach – not only for electoral reasons, but out of a genuine realisation of the huge role that live music plays in local communities. “Partly, I think, some of the regulation issues have now become so extreme that if they want these cities to compete in a global economy, if they don’t deal with it they know it can’t compete – the regulation is so restrictive that they can’t adapt. And they recognise that music and art are primary drivers of that.” But the biggest force for change has been an enormous increase in the level of public literacy regarding the regulations that shape live music. Even just the realisation that the regulations surrounding what is essentially the most popular folk art in Australia are incredibly complex, can help fans of live music get fired up to drive change. “I think there is an increased sense of people recognising that liquor licensing and planning law, even though they are really dull, have a direct impact on their lives and are getting really angry about it,” says Ware. “Not in the sense that they want to get drunk, but they are wondering why they need council permission to get up on stage, thinking ‘That’s not how I want my country to work.’” What: SLAM Day When: Saturday February 23 Where: Your city More: slamrally.org / cityofsydney.nsw. gov.au
M
elbourne live institutions (and BRAG faves) The Smith Street Band are 2013 SLAM Day ambassadors, along with Hungry Kids Of Hungary, Ross Wilson, The Beards and The Audreys. Drummer and vocalist Chris Cowburn took a second from whatever goes on in their tour bus to tell us why. What was your first live music experience? My parents took me to see John Farnham when I was about six or seven! What was your best live music experience? This question is almost impossible to answer!! I play live music because I love so many aspects of it – seeing your favourite bands, or your friends’ bands, writing songs, playing shows... I even get completely stoked when we are rehearsing. I’d be here for a long time if I started to single out favourite events! Where did you do your live music “apprenticeship”? In Melbourne. More specifically, I guess the Arthouse (RIP) was where I cut my teeth. I actually only ended up playing there a handful of times, but it’s where I was shown how it was done by so many great bands; H-Block 101, Blueline Medic, A Death In The Family and internationals like Against Me!, Chuck Ragan, Tim Barry and The Gaslight Anthem. What’s your most-missed venue and why? See above – unquestionably has to be the Arthouse. Everything about that place just had a bit of magic about it – the people who ran the place, the great bands who graced the stage and the awesome folk who attended. We were so lucky! How and why did you get involved in SLAM Day? We were contacted directly by a friend who is quite heavily involved with SLAM... And we couldn’t have been more stoked to be asked to be ambassadors. It’s a huge honour for us and a cause that we really believe in! Why is SLAM necessary and how do you feel it helps? I think it’s VERY important for us as live musicians and music lovers to show government bodies and liquor licensing folk just how many of us there are who are passionate about live music and the spaces we have to play it in, and that it is definitely not something that creates violence!
SLAM DAY: PICK A GIG ▼
Saturday, February 23 will serve up a whole day of gigs dedicated to the cause of saving and celebrating live music; here’s some of our picks – get along, show the love.
Beef Jerk, JuliaWhy?, Charles Buddy Daaboul (No Art), Mope City Brighton Up Bar, 1/77 Oxford St, Darlinghurst $5
Ross De Chene Hurricanes, The Fighting League, The Faults FBi Social @ The Kings Cross Hotel, 244 - 248 William Street, Kings Cross $10
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The Chemist, Bec Sandridge, Little Fox, Hey Big Aki Spectrum, 34 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst $10
Blackchords, King Colour, Civilians Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst free Blackchords
Bonjah, Lime Cordiale, Royal Chant The Annandale, 17 Parramatta Rd, Annandale $21.45
The Snowdroppers The Clarendon, 68 Lurline St, Katoomba $20 (+bf)
Full list of gigs and participating venues at slamrally.org
MIXING IN THE BOX MASTER CLASS with John Merchant
Learn mixing techniques and secrets from one of the very best in the business. John Merchant, Grammy nominated Producer/engineer (Bee Gees, R Kelly, Michael Jackson, Mika, Lenny Kravitz, Barbra Streisand) conducts a recording, mixing and critical listening master class, to teach you professional techniques to maximise the tools you already have.
SAE Melbourne Campus // Friday March 1st 6-9pm SAE Brisbane Campus // Monday March 4th 6-9pm SAE Sydney Campus // Wednesday March 6th 6-9pm Tickets:
$35 // full price $25 // students
Hosted at SAEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world-class facilities but open to all engineers, producers and recording artists.
Visit www.johnmerchant.com for tickets
PRESENTED BY
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Darwin Deez Balancing Act By Garry Westmore
box, and the critics may accuse you of being unadventurous or out of ideas already. That weight of expectation is something former Creaky Boards guitarist Darwin Smith, AKA Darwin Deez, was acutely aware of when writing Songs For Imaginative People. As it happens, the pressure provided a welcome challenge; whereas his self-titled debut was, he says, “pretty much straight-up pop,” the follow-up is a far more balanced record.
S
ophomore albums can be tricky. Step out of the prescribed mould and you may lose existing fans; stay within the
If that sounds more philosophical than what you might expect from Darwin Deez – whose breakout single was the impossibly bubbly ‘Radar Detector’ – it’s by design. Smith wrote the lyrics for many of the songs before the music, moving from bustling New York to the quiet of Asheville, North Carolina, and arranging much of his life around the creation
“I enjoyed making that one, it was hard for me to finish it,” Smith says of the latter track. “I enjoyed the different lyrical approach wherein you reference printed form, [such as] the rejection letter; linguistic forms we’re sort of familiar with.” ‘Redshift’ is closer to material on the first album, while ‘Free (The Editorial Me)’ and others are the products of a concerted effort to add more depth. “This album [was] more exciting, the stakes were higher; I had no expectation of an audience [on the first album] but on this one I definitely have an expectation from an audience and an expectation of myself.” If it sounds like the kind of pressure that could weigh heavily on a musician, Smith doesn’t really let on – he seems calm and quietly enthused. “The first [album] I made for myself; there was no other pressure besides that,” he says. “This one had that pressure and expectation of the people that had not only
heard the first record but actually liked it; it gave me something to work with. I had a really exciting time doing it.” Smith is similarly candid about the difficulties of touring, and of maintaining friendships and relationships off tour. This follows on from our discussion of the song ‘Alice’, which was written about an Australian woman he met on tour and their short-lived relationship, which never advanced due to the “logistics of being so far away.” It’s a similar problem back home, he says. “The interesting thing is how to structure your social life when you’re [not on] tour. Tour comes in and interrupts your life and it’s hard to stay connected to your friends.” Maintaining friendships is a greater priority for Smith nowadays, though he can see how people may be reticent about getting close to him. “I’m not the smartest investment, emotionally speaking, to other people – to be my friend or my lover,” he admits. But even with that revelation, he does not sound disheartened or negative – just pragmatic, and as ever, quietly optimistic. What: Songs For Imaginative People When: Out now through Lucky Number/ Cooperative.
Darwin Deez photo by Phil Sharp
“[Balance] was definitely what I was aiming for. I knew it was going to end up sort of on the experimental side of that balance on this album,” he says – “balanced” meaning there are fewer songs about girls, and more about serious topics and social observations. On ‘(800) Human’, Smith sings about seeking false fulfilment through materialism and infomercials (800, of course, being the US equivalent of our 1800 phone prefix).
and recording of the album. Songs such as ‘Redshift’, which employs a wistful series of astrophysics puns (“You loved all my quarks / So what went wrong? / Don’t superstring me along”) came “tumbling out” almost by themselves; others, like ‘Free (The Editorial Me’), were more difficult and considered.
Purity Ring Declaration Of Independence By Lachlan Kanoniuk
W
ith the line between indie and everything else as blurred as ever, Montreal duo Purity Ring (vocalist Megan James and producer Corin Roddick) are circumspect about being pigeonholed into that genre – if in fact it even exists. “I honestly don’t see much separation between [indie and non-indie music],” says Roddick. “Personally, I don’t see myself as an indie artist, I don’t listen to any indie music; I only listen to popular music… I want us to be a popular band that makes pop music. I don’t have any interest in making us seem like we have some cool indie cred going on, I don’t think that’s worthwhile.” Roddick is far more enthusiastic talking about the influence of trap music on their sound, as evidenced in non-album track ‘Belispeak II’, featuring Danny Brown. “That [trap] influence is definitely there; it’s something that’s been happening in hip hop for years and years... I’ve always been trying to make some style of hip hop production, so that has naturally come across, I think. I see myself as a producer. I produce music for Purity Ring, but that music could be recontextualised to work elsewhere.” James’ icy, girlish vocals and Roddick’s production complement each other beautifully, while each maintaining distinct styles. “We work really separately,” says James. “A lot of people are asking what this type of music is called, with this type of voice and this type of production. They’ve never heard these things work together before. We didn’t do that on purpose. Corin sends me a track, then I send him back a demo and we just work it out from there. We only really get together to record.” Purity Ring’s live shows are equally hard to define, varying from city to city, depending on
whether folks decide to put on their dancing shoes. “There will be a show where people just stand and watch us playing, but afterwards they would come up super excited. Then there are other shows where people are crowdsurfing and going nuts,” says Roddick. “Some people watch bands like they watch a movie.” One constant of their live show, however, is a multi-branched synth-lantern contraption. “There are these eight lanterns in front of me that are touch-sensitive. So when they’re hit with sticks, the sensors connect to a synth and tells it to play back a certain sound,” Roddick explains. “All the melodies from the record are played like a xylophone, and they light up so you can see what is going on.” Far from being a media-managed hype act, the duo have insisted on maintaining control of their performance style and image – even doing their own sound for the first few tours. “I think it’s kind of easy for a lot of acts to say ‘yes’ to too many things,” says Roddick. “All these things start popping up and everything seems like a good idea, but after you’ve said yes to too many of them they start to lose their value. Something we focus on is thinking about what’s good for us and what’s worth doing, choosing everything wisely.” With: Fishing, Headaches (CAN) When: March 5 and 6 Where: Oxford Art Factory Also: Playing the sold-out Golden Plains Lucky Seven from Saturday March 9 – Monday March 11 at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, with Cat Power, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Dinosaur Jr and loads more
Bonjah Believe The Hype By Benjamin Cooper
T
he four men of Melbourne roots band Bonjah might seem a little too good to be true. They’ve toured alongside luminaries like The Who, The Original Wailers and Paul Kelly. They’ve also managed to sell out countless venues around the country with their unique, up-tempo blend of blues and roots; last year they played The Corner Hotel in Melbourne just prior to jetting off on their debut European tour. But here’s the thing: in addition to making maddeningly catchy and danceable tunes that lots of people enjoy, they’re also incredibly generous dudes. The show at The Corner, for example, was the culmination of months of touring in support of their sophomore album Go Go Chaos, yet they decided to make the evening a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “It’s a bit of a no-brainer for us,” says David Morgan, the group’s bass player. “The reality is that we get to do an amazing thing for a job; we get to travel and share music with people, and get paid a little bit along the way. Our actions can raise a bit of money and maybe help some people to feel a little bit better – well, why wouldn’t we? The world’s a big place, and there’s a lot of people hurting so it makes sense for us to do what we can.”
Almost as impressive is the diverse mixture of fans that have rallied to their side, beyond the usual roots-music community. “We definitely feel like we’ve established the Bonjah family in Melbourne,” says Morgan. “We’ve got a great community behind us, who aren’t
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The four-piece first got a taste of international success when they toured Europe and played at Germany’s eclectic JuWi Fest in Münster last year. “We were a little thrown because the organiser of the festival turned out to be a big fan of our band, and he moved the scheduling around so that we could play after the scheduled headliner, who just happened to be one of Germany’s biggest rappers,” Morgan recalls. “This guy had a massive production setup with endless instruments, hype men and three backup vocalists. Straight after his huge lighting rig finishes flashing at the end of his set, we walked out on stage... Four Kiwis from Melbourne with borrowed gear and nervous smiles.” Did they consider wearing matching tracksuits and bling in an attempt to up their street cred? “We thought about it,” Morgan deadpans, “but then realised that we just gotta do what we do – and people got really into it anyway.” The vibe will be far from laidback when the band grace The Annandale’s stage in what may be their last performance at the venue. February 23 is SLAM Day, and there’s likely to be a bittersweet tang in the air at the iconic hotel, which went into receivership last week. “It’s such an honour to be playing at such a renowned venue, and it’s such a shame that we might lose a place that’s been so important for bands on the way up,” says Morgan. “Everyone should come down, buy a beer or two – or five, actually – and help support a place that means so much to so many of us.” Where: The Annandale Hotel When: Saturday February 23 More: slamrally.org
Purity Ring photo by Kate Garner
Bonjah formed in 2006 while they were living on the western coast of New Zealand’s North Island. Since relocating to Melbourne in 2007, they’ve attracted critical acclaim: in 2010 they received two APRA nominations for Best Blues & Roots Work, as well as being nominated as one of Rolling Stone’s Artists To Watch in 2011.
necessarily [just] Kiwis; it’s really rewarding to have that kind of support, even when we go overseas.”
ADRIAN BOHM BY ARRANGEMENT WITH LISA THOMAS MANAGEMENT PRESENTS
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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
ADAM NORTON enlarged and repainted in bright colours; they seem to become like promotional material for a pro-space movement. There are eight large works on canvas and twelve smaller works on paper. The colours are really great because of these vinyl paints I’m using.
What’s your training? I did a BFA in the UK in the ’80s and did some postgraduate study at COFA when I moved to Sydney, but I really think it’s what personally motivates you that has the profoundest effect.
What and who are your favourite sci-fi? Phillip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard are the most inventive writers. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller and Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban are two great titles. But I read a lot of science books as well; modern theoretical physics is massively inventive.
dam Norton’s new exhibition appropriates the best of ’50s and ’60s pop-cultural sci-fi aesthetics – book covers, novels, title design – and transforms them into an “alternative propaganda for the future”, urging leaders and the public to renew their enthusiasm for boldly going where no man has gone before. He took five to tell us what it’s all about…
Describe your creative process: I work best from Monday to Friday, it helps to put the hours in and then have a few days off with the family, and it helps to keep a little separation. But I get good ideas drifting off to sleep or coming to in the morning. It must be that semi-dream-state you are in. My studio music is anything by Will Oldham or Gillian Welch. Often talk radio keeps me company and gives me something to shout at.
You did a piece called Mars Gravity Simulator at Performance Space in 2011 – and now this; how did you get interested in space? I’ve always been interested in science and
Tell us about Interplanetary Society? The show basically looks like a bunch of space posters. Space Pop, I call them. They are mostly taken from old science book covers, which I’ve
A
What does the future look like, in your eyes? If we don’t start looking outwards towards the stars we are in danger of drowning in our own mess. What would you rather we humans did next: invade another Afghanistan or send some people to Mars? The cost is about the same. And what else is coming up for you in 2013? I have a large install at Broken Hill Regional Gallery in October called ‘The Mars Project’ that I’m looking forward to. I might get to land on The Red Planet this time. What: Interplanetary Society by Adam Norton When: Opens Wednesday February 20 Where: Gallery 9 / 9 Darley St, Darlinghurst And: Artist talk Saturday March 9 at 3pm / 50 limited-edition poster print packs available from the gallery.
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Sons Of Sun
New York-based, Serbian-born performance artist Marina Abramovic´ describes herself as the grandmother of performance art, which is both hilariously self-important, and quite true; she’s been active for over three decades, in which time she has pushed her body to the brink of physical limitations for the sake of art (at one performance she actually caught on fire as she had lost consciousness); allowed audience members to physically harm her with weapons; sat static for 736 hours; and taken a pill that forced her body to seizure. In short, she makes Yoko Ono look like Justin Bieber, and you’ll be able to explore her life and work in the documentary Marina Abramovic The Artist Is Present, which we have five copies of to give away. To enter, email us your details and a YouTube video of something cool in super slo-mo.
If you’re a little fatigued with theatre made by impossibly sprightly, impossibly young things, Life As We Know It might be just what you’re after, dear. Urban Theatre Projects’ latest work is written and directed by its Artistic Director and CEO, Rosie Dennis, and features seven Minto residents aged between 64 and 78, exploring the everyday challenges and delights of “slowing down in a world that’s speeding up”. They’ve promised gardening tips, and the music is courtesy of Youth Group’s Toby Martin and Matthew Steffan of Decoder Ring. Catch it for three free afternoon shows at Campbelltown Arts Centre on March 8, 9 or 10, or at Carriageworks on March 14, 15 and 16 (tickets are $35).
PPR ART STORIES
Our BFFs at Penguin Plays Rough are awful clever, and thus are the perfect folk to guide you around the MCA’s South Of No North exhibition in a most unusual way. The show features photographs by William Eggleston (USA) and Laurence Aberhart (NZ) and Australian painter Noel McKenna. Every Thursday in March, from 6-7pm, a different writer (in order: Zoe Coombs Marr, Oliver Mol, Nitin Vengurlekar, and Rachel Roberts) will lead you around the show, turning the images into storyboards for a different tale each week. It’s free, so turn up early. mca.com.au
KALEIDOSCOPE RE-OPENING
Huzzah! Kaleidoscope Gallery is back in business, albeit at a different address. After leaving Danks St last year, the Kaleidoscope team found a sexy little space in Sydney’s new art mecca, Chippendale, and they’re celebrating with a month-long exhibition. Titled 33 Degrees: New Gallery // New Coordinates, it’ll feature work from illustrator Anya Brock, street artist Shannon Crees, sculpture from Dion Horstmans, and snaps from Polaroidsponsored photographer Simon Bernhardt. Opening this Thursday February 21 at 6pm, it’s an unmissable start to a new era. 30 O’Connor St, Chippendale.
MIKE O’MEALLY
Regardless of whether or not you consider skateboarding a leisure pursuit, a serious sport, a way of life, or just a thing that those damn kids at the mall do, anyone can appreciate the beauty of good skate photography, which is why we’ll be checking out Mike O’Meally’s exhibition, which spans twenty years and therefore about fifty different forms of skating fashion. It opens Thursday February 21 from 6 ‘til 9 at China Heights gallery (on Foster St, in Surry Hills) and is only open until Sunday, so get your skates on!
SONS OF SUN
If ‘Love Me Tender’ is more your cup of tea than say, ‘Thrift Shop’, rejoice, because in Sons of Sun – The Sam Phillips Story, the music of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and co. gets a do-over courtesy of Sydney muso John Kennedy (Love Gone Wrong) and Melbourne playwright Kieran Carroll. With Notes in Newtown temporarily closing its doors last month, the show’s had a change of scenery and now the rock’n’roll play charting the story of Memphis’ Sun Records will be staged at Redfern’s 107 Projects on Friday February 22. Tickets are $20 on the door, and the show kicks off at 8pm Save Your Legs!
THE RACIST
You can stop trying to make shower caps happen; Trevor Noah’s ark of standup comedic genius is set to open the floodgates to an Australian audience next month, when the charismatic South African bursts in with his internationally acclaimed witty musings. Born to a black mum and a Swiss father at a time when it was illegal, Noah has loaded his shows with thought-provoking and giggle-triggering pizazz. ‘The Racist’ will be offending audiences on April 26 at the Factory Theatre. If you can’t already quote him, you should probably get a wriggle on board before the ship sails. Get a ticket, or a pair. 26 :: BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13
SIR DAVID! SIR DAVID!
And here we have an iconic British naturalist, TV personality and everybody’s ultimate grandpa, Sir David Attenborough, in his natural habitat: talking about nature, as a rapt audience listens intently. Sir David is recognisable by his clipped tones and boundless enthusiasm for even the grossest bugs, and may be the most British person on Planet Earth. As the southern hemisphere settles into winter, he can be found on stages in bustling metropolitan areas, speaking expansively about his life and work; keen Attenborough-watchers in the Sydney region may have the best luck at the State Theatre, after dark (8pm) on June 19 and 20. Tickets on sale March 25.
NORTH STARLIGHT
Despite the occasional temper tantrums the sky’s been throwing, it is in fact still summer, and thus still the season for watching movies outside. Starlight Cinema at North Sydney Oval runs Wednesday-Sunday from 7pm, and the last two weeks feature some cracking flicks. This week’s include the thoughtful rom-com Liberal Arts (Wednesday February 20), the Oscarnominated grandeur of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master (Thursday), and Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi (Saturday); next week, you can see The Hobbit, Keira Knightley in Anna Karenina, and on the final night, Saturday March 3, local cricket comedy Save Your Legs!, written by and starring Brendan Cowell. Squeeze the last drops out of summer – head over to Moshtix for your tickets and starlightcinema.com.au for the rest of the program.
Conquest of Space 2012 acrylic on canvas 137 x 183 cm photograph by Simon Hewson
science fiction, but my deeper interest in space travel was sparked by a visit to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena about eight years ago. I think visiting the flight centre there and seeing all the different spacecraft being directed by all the scientists was deeply impressive.
When and why did you come to Australia? And how does the art scene here compare with the UK? I’ve lived in Australia 11 years now; I came here for love, and it’s still going strong. The art scene in London is much bigger by a factor of 10 at least, but I think you can get lost in the noise, I certainly did, although I had a great time. Adam Norton with Conquest of Space
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CLOUD ATLAS Make Up Time By Alicia Malone
“I
t just went from one stage of crazy to the next,” admits Jim Sturgess, laughing as he explains his first thoughts about Cloud Atlas. “It was like, ‘The script is crazy, so who’s directing it?’ Oh, the Wachowskis. ‘Oh, there are two directing teams?’ That’s crazy. ‘And we’re all playing multiple characters?’ That’s crazy. And it just went on and on like that!” Crazy is an appropriate word to describe Cloud Atlas, the epic, time-shifting, character-jumping, makeup extravaganza directed by Lana (formerly Larry) and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). Based on David Mitchell’s book of the same name, the film features six intercutting stories starring a team of A-listers playing numerous roles, including Tom Hanks, Halle Berry,
“It really is audacious, doing something different… It would be great if this film stimulated more people to be brave.”
Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving, Jim Broadbent and Jim Sturgess. The stories have a linking theme of how our actions can affect future generations. “That’s the thing that interests me,” says Aussie actor Hugo Weaving, “how the actions you take in your life reverberate somehow, and often the things you are doing in your life are as a consequence of the people who may have been connected to you in time, geography or culture. If you extrapolate that idea, we’re all connected in some way. That butterfly effect. Every action you make has an effect on everyone else in the world, to some extent.” With so much squeezed in to the script, it’s no wonder Sturgess (who plays seven roles) had a little trouble understanding it at first. “I read the script just before I went to bed, and at that point it was over 200 pages long. It was so hard to link everything together for me. So the first thing I did in the morning was read it again. The second time you read it, you know what the film is trying to do and you can understand the ideas behind it.” “There is a worry,” adds Jim Broadbent, “about whether audiences will be able to follow it. But audiences are much cleverer than we give them credit for. You
Raevan Lee Hanan with Tom Hanks in Cloud Atlas
have all the different stories going on, yet you know exactly which one you’re in at any time. You can remember where you are in each story. It’s fascinating to see how the human mind works.”
different ages, different periods. Those are the games I like playing. This was like childhood dressing-up games, but taken to the ultimate degree – the reason why you wanted to be an actor.”
Since Weaving worked with the Wachowskis on The Matrix, they have undergone a transformation of their own: Larry has transitioned from male to female, now going by the name Lana. “I get on extremely well with both of them and I love them very much,” says the actor. “I’m always challenged and stimulated by them and their ideas. I never used to get separate notes from them, which would be the main difference. They’re more individuated than before.”
And, Sturgess says laughing, all the different makeup led to some funny times on set. “I would be Asian in the morning and then after lunch I would be transported back to the 1900s. There was a lot of fooling around. There was a real energy on the set because it was just such a new experience for everyone, even Tom and Halle and all these people who have made loads of films before. It was like everybody’s first film all over again. Someone would send you a text of Hugo Weaving dressed as a fat nurse. But the funny bit was when we were doing all the makeup tests; the makeup team would throw everything on you to see what worked. I could show you some pretty funny pictures of me looking a little bit like Michael Jackson.” “And towards the end, the cameos grew,” adds Weaving, laughing, “All the actors were saying, ‘I want to be in that story too. Can I play… anything?’”
“Their notes are so intricate, detailed and poetic,” adds Sturgess. “They would say all kinds of really interesting stuff, like ‘Try this line and say it with as much love in your heart as you can conjure up.’ You would think wow. So I started acting specifically for them, just to get more notes.” Perhaps inspired by Lana’s change, the actors in Cloud Atlas not only played multiple roles, but also different genders and even races. “It’s exactly all the things that I like playing,” says Broadbent. “Different characters, quite extreme characters with different hair, different makeup, different clothes,
Cloud Atlas premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival to a rousing ten-minute standing ovation. “It was a really extraordinary reaction,” admits Weaving. “I’ve never been to
a film that had that sort of reaction before. It was wonderful. I suppose all the hard work seemed to pay off with that audience. Not with every audience certainly, but to get that reaction was fantastic. Looking at Lana and Andy and Tom’s face – that was a present in itself.” Released in the US in October, the movie received mixed reviews and fairly low box office takings. But for the cast, the reaction doesn’t matter; the simple fact that this unique film was made is an achievement. “[Cinema] has been through quite a dull period,” says Broadbent. “That’s why I get so excited about this one, because it really is audacious, doing something different and being really brave. Some of the British films, they are so sort of predictable and pedestrian. They’re only reflecting other films that have been made recently. They’re safe and they’re not very exciting. It would be great if this film stimulated more people to be brave. My favourite period of cinema was the Easy Rider / Raging Bull era. Cinema was so exciting with all those guys. They somehow got in under the wire and were able to do those great, individual, visionary pieces. Like Cloud Atlas.” What: Cloud Atlas When: In cinemas from February 28
Let’s party like we’re 500!
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'Cotton Blossom' costume: mixed media, designed, made and worn by Ron Muncaster, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, 1994 Image from Powerhouse Museum Collection Next Wave 2012: Sarah-Jane Norman photo by Pia Johnson The Reef still of Richard Tognetti by Ed Sloane
Mardi Gras Arts
Sarah-Jane Norman: Bone Library
[AKA Mardi GrArts] By Dee Jefferson
I
t’s not all about the Parade; Mardi Gras is three weeks of celebrations across visual arts, theatre, cabaret, comedy, parties and more… Below we select some of the upcoming highlights, but you can check out the full program online at mardigras.org.au
Blinged Out Fabulous February 18 – March 3 Tap Gallery / Darlinghurst
Bent Burlesque
Saturday February 24 The Vanguard / Newtown It’s been a long time between Gurlesques, but this looks to us like the next best thing: a queertastic lineup headlined by bona fide Reigning World Queen of Burlesque Imogen Kelly, and featuring Gurlesque regulars Lillian Starr and Glitta Supernova, and oddball treat Betty Grumble. Tickets range from around $39 for general admission to $129 for the full treatment (front-row tickets, a cocktail and a three-course meal). thevanguard.com.au
MilkMilkLemonade
Until March 2 New Theatre / Newtown Spend an evening in Bible-belt America with gay fifth-grader Emory, his chicken, his Nanna, and his super-butch boy-next-door crush. It’s the work of young Washington state playwright Joshua Conkel, and the general consensus among American critics so far has been that it’s awesome. Expect one-line zingers, lo-fi theatre-making and a touch of the absurd. newtheatre.org.au
Generations Of Love
Ron Muncaster Partners and fashionistas Ron Muncaster and Craig Craig open their closets to share the most stunning, award-winning frocks from Ron's decades of participating in the Mardi Gras Parade. Also on show are drawings by Craig, and artworks inspired by the costumes and made from the leftovers. Sparkletastic. tapgallery.org.au
Megan Mullally February 22 & 23 Sydney Theatre
Saturday March 2 The Standard / Taylor Square There’s something for everyone at this event – a prime position, whether you want to watch the Parade or a stage-full of burlesque (including Sheena Miss Demeanour and Pepper Grinde) and Go-Go dancers, or just listen to hot rock by Love Street Parade (a supergroup of members from Deep Sea Arcade, Guineafowl, Toucan and Meow Meow). Oh, and the theme is ’70s – seeing as it's Mardi Gras’ 35th anniversary. Entry is only $20 and includes a free drink on arrival. wearethestandard.com.au
World Movies X Mardi Gras February 25 – March 2
[VISUAL ARTS] In The Blood By Emma McManus
S
arah-Jane Norman’s work is at once confronting, complex, deeply personal and intimate. It challenges those who watch it, inviting the viewer to act – whether this action is eating a scone made using the artist’s own blood (in Take This, For It Is My Body, 2010), or to lie down next to her in a bed in a vacant lot and let her embrace you (in Rest Area, 2007). In her latest work, Unsettling Suite, she explores how our history of colonisation plays out on the body. As an artist of mixed British and Aboriginal descent, Norman is in a unique position to comment on Australia’s colonial past. When I ask her how she reconciles the personal aspects of the work with the larger historical ideas behind it, she reminds me that public and private histories are interwoven: “I’m very worried by this urge to place history neatly in the past – it isn’t; we live our history, we are a product of it, it is not separate from us. Obviously the fulcrum example of this is the venerable John Howard refusing to apologise for the sins of his ancestors. The denial of the intergenerational effects of violence is an absolute fallacy. “The process of re-writing narratives and rethinking images is one part of the healing process,” Norman insists, “and an important one, and this is largely the domain of artists. I’m driven to make work that’s personal and revealing – that’s the best route I have towards a deeper understanding of how the problems of the cultural psyche play out on a human scale”.
A Single Man
When we heard Megan Mullally was coming for next year’s Mardi Gras, we peed our pants a bit. The Will & Grace and Parks & Rec star is bringing her comedy and musical stylings in an evening of classic Broadway tunes (no doubt interspersed with sassy commentary) on February 22 and 23 at Sydney Theatre. A Saturday matinee has been added, and there are tickets still available… sydneytheatre.org.au
Unsettling Suite
And if you just hate the outdoors, and have cable (or a friend with cable), World Movies are running one influential new queer film per night from February 25 'til the Parade on March 2, at 8.30pm: Gus Van Sant’s 1986 indie film Mala Noche, Tom Ford’s A Single Man, UK indie hit Weekend, Xavier Dolan’s tragicomic I Killed My Mother, Iranian forbidden love story Circumstance, and Italian rom-com Loose Cannons. worldmovies.com.au
Unsettling Suite, which forms a part of Performance Space’s current season, Matters of Life And Death, is a ambitious undertaking. The installation is comprised of a combination of nine of her works: two sculptures, a painted dinner set, a photographic diptych, a video, and four performance works, all “pulled together within the construct of a ghostly ‘house.’” The exhibition evolves throughout the season as the remnants from performance acts and interactions with spectators leave their trace on the space.
Norman comes from a theatre and dance background, and interaction with the audience has always informed her work: “As a stage performer you have nights where there is this electrifying current running back and forth between two critical masses of people – ensemble and the audience – and I wanted to see how this exchange might be interrogated more minutely by narrowing the lens, so to speak, down to a single ‘audience’, who in this case becomes a participant, and a performer... I think, ultimately, my practice is driven by a desire for intimate exchange – an idea which is in itself quite fraught, especially in an art context.” Unsettling Suite continues this personal interaction with the audience. Three of the four performance works provide direct invitations to the spectator to either give something to the exhibit (a piece of white laundry in The River’s Children), take something (a bone engraved with a word from a ‘dead’ Aboriginal language in Bone Library), or consume something (the aforementioned scones which contain an amount of the artist's own blood). Unsettling Suite is a work seven years in the making. It is a response not only to Australian history but to the landscape itself and the human intervention into nature to create agricultural products: “The works on show all feature one of the following substances: meat, sugar, milk, cotton, flour, wool,” Norman explains, “but Australia is also a primary producer of opium – which is very appropriate considering that the Restriction Of The Sale Of Opium Act is the document which foreshadows a lot of the current laws in the NT…. I tried to get my hands on some opium poppies to make a new work, but as it’s a restricted substance it’s not easy,” says the artist. “But I’m going to keep trying…” What: Unsettling Suite When: From February 23 – March 10, 10am-6pm (8pm on performance nights) Where: Performance Space @ Carriageworks More: performancespace.com.au
The Reef
[CLASSICAL] Wet Sounds By Daniel Crichton-Rouse
T
he Australian Chamber Orchestra is unlike any other orchestral ensemble you’ve seen or possibly ever will see. For starters, the members stand while performing, and their repertoire spans everything from classical and Baroque – Mozart, Bach, etc. – to the unexpected; Alice in Chains, anyone? Over the past decade in particular, artistic director Richard Tognetti and the ACO have been expanding on what audiences expect from an orchestra – collaborating with names such as Bill Henson and the Sydney Dance Company, and presenting an ongoing surfing series, which began with Musica Surfica, and has continued with The Glide and The Reef. These shows are a fusion of sound and vision, with breathtaking surf footage projected onto a screen behind the musicians, who accompany the visuals with pieces by Beethoven, Ligeti, Rachmaninov, and a band familiar to most surfers – Alice In Chains. The Reef materialised over a two-week residency in coastal Western Australia, with the ACO and friends – including ocean cinematographer Jon Frank and director Mick Sowry – surfing, making music, and shooting film. “What we came up with couldn’t have happened anywhere else but this place, where the desert
meets the sea,” says Tognetti, referring to Gnaraloo Station, where they stayed. “The surf, the aridity, the social set-up – it was all integral to the creative process. Losing track of days out on the edge of the desert is something you just can’t do in the city or in the studio.” In addition to practicing pieces from established composers, Tognetti wrote original music in situ along with Iain Grandage, didjeridoo player Mark Atkins, and singer-songwriter Steve Pigram – all of which you’ll hear during The Reef. “Right from the early stages, we wanted a broad brush of musical styles,” Tognetti says. “And we wanted new music. That doesn’t have to be newly written music – it can be music rearranged and played in another place to people who haven’t heard it before. “If we had gone out to this harsh but beautiful landscape just for the water, we would have been ignoring what lies beneath and beyond. I wanted some quite profoundly unsettling moments that make you feel as though you’re in the desert. I also wanted music that reflected the connection with Indigenous Australians. “The concept is that we build this day in the life of our activities at Ningaloo, from the time-lapse of the sun rising in the east through to the chill of the desert offshore wind in the early morning,
Australian Chamber Orchestra's Richard Tognetti then the afternoon sun starting to bake the sand and feeling the arid harshness of the landscape. Once the sun starts setting, you feel the desert cold come in again and the stars come out. And there is no sight like stars out in the desert.” As well as these collaborations, the ACO also breaks away from traditional repertoire with their Underground ensemble, where you’re as likely to hear songs by Radiohead as you are Rameau. Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood (whose Popcorn Superhet Receiver the ACO performed in 2010) spent time writing and performing with the orchestra late last year. “When the Radiohead tour ended in Sydney
in November, Jonny had several weeks of intense workshops with the ACO,” Tognetti says. “He had already done a lot of work on the composition, so this was a rare chance for composer and orchestra to bat ideas back and forth, to find out what could and couldn’t be done and to work out ways it could be improved. Jonny said he’d rather make mistakes on paper and edit away rather than work with a skeleton and add to it.” The ACO will perform the world premiere of the Greenwood piece in 2014. When: Monday March 4 Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
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Arts Snap At the heart of the arts Where you went last week...
Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
PICS :: TL
artLAB
Film & Theatre Reviews
06:02:13 :: Global Gallery :: 5 Comber St Paddington
Isabelle Huppert & Jean-Louis Trintignant ■ Film
AMOUR
skulk
PICS :: TL
In cinemas from February 21
mark drew
PICS :: TL
07:02:13 :: M2 Gallery :: 4/450 Elizabeth St Surry Hills
08:02:13 :: China Heights :: 16-28 Foster St Surry Hills
Arts Exposed What's in our diary...
Mardi Gras Film Festival
Set almost entirely within the confines of a Parisian apartment, Amour centres on Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) as he copes with the impending loss of his ailing, dementia-addled wife Anne (Emanuelle Riva). Her corpse is seen laid out on her bed in the film’s pre-credit sequence, discovered by police who have just broken down the barricaded doors. This overture raises a number of narrative questions, but even the description of the film alone is likely to bring up a few broader ones: What does writer/director Michael Haneke do to make worthwhile the experience of watching a process so inherently painful and harrowing? Is this just a hightoned, Gallic On Golden Pond (or The Notebook)? And does Haneke completely shake off the sadistic tendencies that defined earlier efforts like Funny Games and The Piano Teacher? The film is ultimately more moving for what it doesn’t do than for what it does. Unsparingly detailing the process of Anne’s mental and physical decline, it’s notable for the way it elides a clear-cut depiction of Georges’ visceral reaction to the loss he’s faced with. We see no tears on his part, which says less about his coping mechanisms than Haneke’s disinterest in overt emotional manipulation; our own projection onto his character is enough. Anne and Georges are both musicians, and they’re first seen together amidst a large audience at a recital hall – you have to look closely to find them – and the democratising effect of the image reminds us that their predicament, however intimate and claustrophobic, is just one story among many. It’s a gravely serious film about a gravely serious subject, made with Haneke’s characteristically austere filmmaking style (little camera movement, long takes, no score or non-diegetic music to signpost emotion), and in that sense, it plays a little safe. Dealing with similar subject matter, Maurice Pialat’s The Mouth Agape (1974) offers even less sentimental, cruder, yet more resonant treatment. Nevertheless, none of this does anything to diminish Amour on its own terms; it’s as serene a tearjerker as you’re likely to see.
Sissy Gordon (Jada Alberts) lives in Mt Druitt with her mother Joan (Tessa Rose) and brother, Ducky (Travis Cardona). After being pulled over on allegations of reckless driving, her father was found dead from internal injuries on the floor of a cell in the same police station Joan works in as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer. When a court determines the policeman in charge of the arrest not guilty of causing the death, the family is offered nine thousand dollars and a non-disclosure agreement. It’s not enough for Sissy, who’s one semester away from gaining her law degree – as the family’s beleaguered lawyer James (Eden Falk) reminds her. When the rules her family tried so hard to obey turn on them anyway, she sees no choice but to turn them around again. This Heaven has a slightly sluggish start – there’s a fair bit of exposition to play out, not all of it necessary, and the first 20 minutes feels at constant risk of slipping into the territory of a TV family drama. Once the real crisis is introduced, however, debut writer Nakkiah Lui and director Lee Lewis keep the pace and drama taut and riveting, and the ensemble each deliver nuanced, heartfelt performances. Lui’s device of threading a Dreamtime origin story through the main narrative plays off heart-smashingly against the final actions of Sissy, Ducky and Ryan, leading to a brutal sucker-punch of an ending. In 70 minutes, Lui emits a powerful, eloquent but nonetheless primal scream against the status of Indigenous justice in Australia. “I didn’t do anything,” Ryan protests. As I leave the theatre, legs shaking, I realise that: neither did I. And that’s the whole point. Rebecca Saffir ■Film
ROMAN POLANSKI: A FILM MEMOIR In cinemas from February 21
Until March 10, Belvoir St Theatre, Downstairs
There’s much to be gleaned from director Roman Polanski’s humming, crowded life. From his early years spent in a Krakow ghetto in occupied Poland right up to his delayed arrest for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 and his consequent years spent exiled from the USA, the equally revered and reviled filmmaker was ripe for a documentary such as this. By this, I mean a considered portrait of a man who’s seen the best and worst of the world and participated on both levels too.
“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do anything,” protests Ryan (Joshua Anderson), in the final, climactic moments of This Heaven. He’s trying to ward off at least two things here: the advancing line of rioters, from whom his plastic, standard-issue NSW Police Department shield barely protects him, but also his lingering guilt over the brutal death of an innocent man. It’s a searing encapsulation
Crafted into a portrait documentary by Laurent Bouzereau, the two-day-long conversation between Polanski and his friend and producing colleague Andrew Braunsberg was originally intended to be kept as a private memoir, an opportunity for the filmmaker to talk about his extraordinary life at his own pace. Filmed inside his Swiss living room during his 2009 house arrest, Polanski is an eloquent and generous
February 14 – 28 / Dendy Newtown, Gingers @ The Oxford Hotel, Hoyts Entertainment Quarter
Ian Barr
Queer film and rock’n’roll meet Peaches Does Herself in various spots around town during this year’s Mardi Gras Film Festival, presented by Queer Screen. The opening night film is the festival’s first-ever 3D presentation – A Liar’s Autobiography, based on the book by late Monty Python straight man (and IRL gay man) Graham Chapman. It's a zany 3D adventure filled with Python songs and quirky animation. You can also catch films exploring queer identity and the music industry featuring Antony and the Johnsons (Turning), Peaches (Peaches Does Herself), doomed glam star Jobriath (Jobriath A.D.) and groundbreaking cellist/avant-garde folk singer Arthur Russell (Wild Combination). Check out queerscreen.org.au/mgff for tickets, times and other important details.
■ Theatre
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of what lies at the heart of this play: a true contemporary tragedy.
THIS HEAVEN
See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews
Film & Theatre Reviews Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
subject, recounting history with tears in his eyes, happy to explore his future and his past – at least, the parts he’s asked about. Braunsberg is a benevolent interviewer, framing questions about Polanski’s harsh youth in a kind style, and offers his own sympathetic take on the memories, having seen many of them first hand. This is appropriate for the heft of the documentary, which details Polanski’s loss of family and innocence to the Holocaust, his early years in cinema, and his marriage to actress Sharon Tate, which ended with her gruesome death at the hands of the Manson Family (that part alone could fill an entire feature film).
This Heaven production shot by Brett Boardman
When it comes to the harsher details, however, Braunsberg is sympathetic to the point of sycophantic, happy to glide along with a concerned smile. For those wanting insight into the infamous 1977 rape case
and the decades of muted accountability that followed it, there are few details that haven’t already been conveyed by the extensive media coverage. Focusing almost entirely on Polanski’s life off-set, rather than delving much into his almost always brilliant filmography (Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, Repulsion, The Pianist) aside from a few well-chosen clips, Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir is enlightening, even for those who’ve read Roman By Polanski, his hefty 1985 autobiography. For all its intrigue, scandal and sadness though, it feels curiously light. It’s ponderous, rather than probing. It’s a D&M between old friends, rather than an exhaustive look at a person, now almost 80 years of age, whose talent is as momentous as their biography. Kate Jinx
This Heaven
Street Level WITH
EMMA PRICE
E
mma Price is an art school lecturer and, along with her sister Katie, one quarter of all-dancin’ queer art collective The Kingpins. Emma is curating the love-themed Artbar at The MCA this Friday, which is guaranteed to be a fun and sexy time, and sat down with BRAG for a quick chat about her practice and inspirations. What’s your training, formal or otherwise, in performance and art? Formally, I completed my MFA at UNSW College of Fine Arts, where I continue to teach in sculpture, performance and installation. The most important training, I think, is the creative exchange I have with my peers, whether they be artists, musicians, designers, thinkers or dancers. And the dancefloor!
What: MCA ArtBar When: Friday February 22 from 7-11pm Tickets: $15/20 presale; $25 on the door. More: mca.com.au/series/artbar
GS GI LL
Tell us about the artists you chose! Just a few… The Kingpins – long term creative
What else are you up to in 2013? Keep falling in love, a new Kingpins video commission for ARTBANK, and opening a licensed creative space (i.e. bar) later this year so we can do this kinda thing every weekend.
A SM
What was your inspiration when curating this Artbar? I wanted to curate the night around intimacy – first as a post-Valentine party, but also looking at the intimate spaces created between artist and audience, artist and artist, artwork and museum, all with the intimacy of a social event. I’m fascinated by the connections forged with creative collaboration and the dynamism of socially activated spaces, whether the streets, the gallery, the bar or the dancefloor.
What’s the absolute must-see out of the ArtBar performances? All of the above! Plus an all-star band line up of Glory Hole, La Mancha Negra and Twincest on the Foyer Main Stage. But the highlight for me is the legendary Stephen Allkins playing four hours of handpicked “LOVE” songs on the MCA terrace. And there will be a kissing booth.
U
T SA
IC US EM
How did The Kingpins come together? What’s been the highlight of your work with them? The Kingpins got together in 2000 in order to enter a drag king competition. Techa Noble, Angelica Mesiti and myself were all at art school together, living and running the artistrun space “Imperial Slacks” together, partying together, with Katie in tow. Thirteen years on, the collective continues to work together in various incarnations and configurations. Highlights include a performance commission at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris, collaborating with Gossip at Art Miami, and jumping around in gold tracksuits with an Irish wolfhound called Francis Bacon at Super Deluxe, Tokyo.
collaborative family; David McDiarmid – one of my favourite artists and ground-breakers; Liz Ham – Kingpins stills photographer, dear friend and art school drop-out; Daniel Mudie Cunningham – curator, artist and long term Kingpins fan; Craig Judd – taught The Kingpins at art school and has a historical artist vault between his ears; Sarah Coconis – friend and emerging performance wonder woman; Kieran Bryant, Beth Dillion and Nick Fox – emerging artists and some of my teacher’s pets.
AY D R
LIV
How creative were you and Katie growing up? My sister and I were little dreamers. Although we spent half our time terrorising each other, with fistfuls of hair flying from our matching ‘80s bob haircuts, chipped teeth and broken arms, we had our own secret world. The intimacy between siblings, in our case anyway, is extraordinary, especially when you’re both creative.
AT G S NG OR TI LY. S I L G L MRA I G LA S
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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK THE BRONX IV White Drugs/Shock
Whoa! Holy shit erybody – The Bronx have got a whole bunch of new tricks! It’s not surprising that LA’s finest hardcore group have honed their craft with such diligence. Their loud version has effectively been on hiatus for the last five years – they were busy dedicating themselves to their Mariachi El Bronx incarnation – so they’ve had plenty of time to consider their next move. This is bristling stuff, and it’s done with such cheeky relish that you can’t help wondering if The Bronx are getting cockier in old age.
And haven’t the tattooed young men developed some impressive chops in their years of being cooped up in woollen mariachi suits. Singer Matt Caughthran still screams out completely overthe-top lines, like in opener ‘The Unholy Hand’: “Are you the Antichrist or the Holy Ghost / or do you just wanna die?” Crucially, though, the
MITZI
If anything, Truly Alive positions Mitzi as laid-back cousins to those artists. The opening run of tracks is especially strong – ‘Who Will Love You Now’, ‘Can’t Change Her’ and slow-burner ‘Like It Was’ are languid, glassy-eyed disco tracks that drift by in a haze of synth shimmer and vocal reverb. The single ‘All I Heard’ raises the tempo, and is a great example of how you can create a sense of euphoria with little more than hi-hats and a repetitive keyboard hook. ‘Modern Life’ is as close as the album comes to an indie rock track, and its more rambling nature serves as a reminder of how impeccably executed the preceding tracks are. This introduces a slightly weaker run of tracks on the second half of the album, but things pick up considerably with closer ‘The End’. A slow-burning acid-house monster, with zonked-out aaaahhhhs, churning synths and even what sounds like a saxophone solo at the end, it has its sights firmly set on outer space. Over several years of touring, Mitzi have turned themselves into an excellent live band, and Truly Alive proves that they have a lot of panache in the studio as well. Alasdair Duncan
There’s the requisite, grinding-on-the-edgeof-the-gnarlzone guitar breakdowns – and they’re still fucking awesome. The biggest talking point amongst the faithful, though, will surely be the ballad ‘Torches’. Recalling fatigue (both political and personal) and rebellion in equal measure, this is the Californians at their most triumphant and adventurous. Sure, it’s probably more melodic than what they’ve done before under their usual moniker; but as the album closes out with the lyrically grand nihilism of ‘Last Revelation’, it is
MATTHEW E. WHITE
Truly Alive Future Classic Brisbane outfit Mitzi have been around on the festival and club circuit for a number of years, but they certainly took their sweet time to release a debut album. Now it’s finally here, it’s easy to hear the care and consideration that went into Truly Alive; every synth line sounds elegantly sculpted, every beat in its right place. Mitzi’s sound is reminiscent of The Whitest Boy Alive, Holy Ghost and even LCD Soundsystem – bands whose raison d’être is the merging of classic disco and house elements with crisp, clean live playing.
Californians have hit on just the right level for Caughthran, relying on his unique vocals slightly less and allowing the instrumentation to shine. The drums rumble along as Joby Ford and Ken Horne find an ineffably tight and deadly syncopation on tracks like ‘Under The Rabbit’ and teaser single ‘Ribcage’.
Matthew E. White could not look less like a soul star. Portly, beardy and white, he could be a comic book store clerk. Yet the 29-year-old Virginian has made a fine album that fuses the Stax and Motown tradition with the sound of American roots music. Big Inner is the first release from Spacebomb, a label, studio, and musical community set up by White. His idea was to assemble a core house band plus string and horn sections that would contribute to all recordings, much like The MGs at Stax. As an introduction to the project, Big Inner is impressive. You can hear the breadth of White’s inspirations: Dr John’s blues, Randy Newman’s storytelling, Brazilian tropicália. All the while, the orchestra and choir give the music an incredible depth. The colossal ‘Big Love’ uses these influences best. Supported by soaring backing vocals, lush strings and jabs of baritone sax, White conjures a stonking guitar solo and declares, “I am a barracuda / I am a hurricane”. However, at times Big Inner wears its influences too proudly to be the future classic that the initial hype would have you believe. ‘Will You Love Me’ is so similar to Joe South’s late-’60s classic ‘The Games People Play’ that I had to check to see if he is given a writing credit (he isn’t). Even the lyrics are half-inches from Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Many Rivers To Cross’ (or, more likely, Harry Nilsson’s version of the song).
‘Airspray’ kicks things off with a blissful synth line, soon enveloped by scuzzy guitars. One of the album’s best tracks, ‘Street Trap’, has all the fuzz and frenzy (not to mention thrumming bass pulse) of a punk song, but instead of shouted, tone-deaf lyrics it rides a wailing harmonic guitar line. ‘Grey Nurse’ is an expansive track that echoes a Morricone score, if The Good, The Bad And The Ugly were about surfers; and ‘It’s Krill’ would go off at the Hacienda circa 1980, with the kind of bassline that would make Tony Wilson froth at the mouth. Rules is a challenging album to categorise. There are moments where there’s an impenetrable wall of noise, and instances of such depth and layering of sounds (like ‘Lights On A Leash’) that it is difficult to believe this is just a two-man show.
Big Inner is certainly an intriguing listen, although I doubt you’ll be reaching for it in preference to something by Lambchop or Bon Iver in years to come.
Civil Civic may be a band without words, but they don’t need them. There’s enough going on here to make you forget about big, shouty choruses completely.
David Wild
Natalie Amat
Forces’ self-titled debut reveals them to be one of those acts that sound infinitely more alluring in person – their music makes more sense in the close dark of a room that was never designed to have their ’80s analog dance matrices bouncing off the walls.
With its inoffensive, gentle, sunsoaked rhythms, The Flower Lane occasionally blurs the lines a little too closely into Real Estate territory (the title track in particular), but there are subtle flourishes that remind you Mondanile is stretching a creative muscle here and there. ‘Under Cover’ nods to ’80s pop, and slips in some saxophone and an unexpected guitar solo towards the end – it may sound confused and slightly exhausting, but if anyone is going to make it work, it’s Mondanile.
Fortunately, it’s also brimming with the practical elements that make their live sets work. Their devotion to the aesthetic is clear – it sounds as though no synth or sequencer here was manufactured after 1983. ‘Altered States’ opens with menacing arpeggios and a four-floor stomp reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine, before it breaks down to a cavernous vocodered voice intoning the track title in a broad Australian accent. It’s gauche, but orients the listener effectively – you’re not listening to a tribute to dark European disco of years past, you’re listening to genuine Aussie throwback techno, mate, so fucken dance.
Although the album gets off to a misleading start with ‘Ivy Covered House’, which is one of the weaker tracks on the record, there is ‘Sedan Magic’ to really sink your teeth into – Madeline Follin’s vocals are like a sweet, harmonic flatline, and complement rather than steal the show. And the synth-driven ‘Letter of Intent’, featuring Jessa Farkas of Future Shuttle on vocals, is dreamy, dancefloor-ready pop. The Flower Lane is about as deep as a puddle; but seeing as it’s such well-produced, delightfully jangly pop, you’ll find yourself forgiving the slightly monotonous tone and just going with the flow. Marissa Demetriou
STEP-PANTHER
They are better musicians (as evidenced by their brutal recent shows), better songwriters, and more mature humans, but their playfulness hasn’t budged.
the problem is (‘I just wanna get some nachos!’), and so it falls to a beautiful guitar solo to fully articulate the depth of his feeling.
When your independent, lo-fi debut album lands you a place on NME’s list of 100 Best New Bands of 2012, and leads to support slots for Yuck, Kurt Vile and The Greenhornes, it’s safe to say you’re on a winner.
What Dreamcrusher does do is demonstrate how completely Step-Panther have internalised the ‘retreat from the world / hide in my guitar’ mindset of so many great early ’90s bands. ‘Maybe Later’ has overdriven guitars and subject matter reminiscent of early Weezer, with two barely-functioning people in a sort-of relationship torturing themselves due to their inability to communicate. And ‘Bad Mood’ sees our protagonist questioning why everyone around him is so sad and forcing him to do things he doesn’t want to do. But he can’t really explain what
Step-Panther exist on that same continuum as so many of the great garage or punk bands, equally comfortable with classic pop structure as with grungy guitars and a slacker sensibility, and they do it all with a real sense of tongue-in-cheek humour and total lack of pretension.
Nearly 18 months later comes this EP, which expands on all the best aspects of the debut without abandoning what made them so much fun in the first place. It’s only 11 minutes long, but it’s enough to give you a real sense of the band’s development.
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Dreamcrusher will remind you why you love this band, make you love them if you don’t, and points to an exciting future. Hugh Robertson
Forces Siberia Records
Ducktails main man Matt Mondanile is best known as the guitarist for beach-jangle rock outfit Real Estate; Ducktails isn’t so much of a side project as it is an extension of Real Estate’s vibe and sound. Guests on this fourth offering from Ducktails include Madeline Follin of Cults and Ian Drennan of Big Troubles, lending their vocals and multi-instrumental prowess; but Real Estate’s Martin Courtney also pops in for a cameo on piano duties, which means we’ve not strayed too far from home here.
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK Dreamcrusher EP Jerko/MGM
FORCES
The Flower Lane Domino
Rules Remote Control Civil Civic are an expat duo comprised of London-based producer Aaron Cupples (The Drones/Dan Kelly) and Barcelona-dwelling Ben Green, with assistance from a “robot drummer” for live shows. Their dirty mathpunk excursions have a thematic purity to them – partly because there’s not a single lyric to be found on their debut album, Rules. The songs can only be described as party music – a strangely successful amalgamation of punk rock and dance. They don’t sound anything like standard club fare, but the weird alchemy of beats and towering, propulsive noise is hard not to move to.
Benjamin Cooper
DUCKTAILS
CIVIL CIVIC
Big Inner Domino
certain that nothing much has changed – all that remains is the ringing of precisely smashed cymbals and completely perforated eardrums.
On record, stripped of the mystique a smoky, sweaty warehouse can lend, Forces’ music reveals itself to be fairly mild-mannered, retro-tinted dance electronica, not far removed from the likes of The Presets’ early stuff.
‘Overland’ follows suit, with a straightsung, but melodically deranged chorus and stampeding kick/snare pattern that demands you pump that raised fist. ‘Specialize’ changes tack, stacking synthetic bell-tones to an ecstatic peak of polyrhythmic beats that resemble a mutant RnB rhythm track. The EP closes with the serotonin-searing ambience and pummelling kick of early single ‘World In Focus’. Though it lacks the presence of their live sets, Forces is a consistent and potent nugget of Aussie electronica – good for listening, better for dancing. Luke Telford
OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... FUCKED UP - David Comes To Life CHARLI XCX - Heartbreaks & Earthquakes Mixtape MAX CRUMBS - Maidenhair
CARLO MARIA GIULINI - Don Giovanni BUILT TO SPILL - You In Reverse
gathering.
Image: George Telek, Vika & Linda Bull, Albert David, Frank Yamma.
sydney opera house presents
Message Sticks Festival
wantok: sing sing 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 24 March, 2013
An epic musical journey showcasing 20 international singers, drummers, musicians and dancers. Featuring Telek, Airileke Frank Yamma Vika & Linda Bull and many more. Musical Director David Bridie.
Full festival program & free events sydneyoperahouse.com/messagesticks
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live reviews What we've been to see...
KINGS OF CONVENIENCE
ALT-J (Δ) The Metro Theatre Wednesday February 6
Sydney Opera House Thursday February 7
Alt-J’s (Δ) 2012 release, An Awesome Wave, epitomises nerdy, experimental pop. Overflowing with literary references and allusions to historical characters, dorkiness is all part of Alt-J’s charm. Lead singer Joe Newman recently explained, “the thing is that we like to be polite... and you can’t do that when you’ve just done a fat line of ket before an interview.” But much of the hype surrounding Alt-J also seems to flow from an inability to accurately describe exactly what kind of music they play. Math-rock, stalker soul, experimental pop... the list goes on. It’s a buzz that certainly hasn’t escaped Australian fans. Tickets only went on sale a day before this last-minute show, yet the gig was almost instantly sold out. Spacious, hook-laden and beautifully crafted, An Awesome Wave cries out for an equally unique live show. In some ways, Alt-J achieved exactly what they set out to do. Fastidiously polite, yes. Effortlessly nerdy, yes. Unique, not even close.
“We’ve not broken any nails,” Erlend Øye told the Sydney Opera House, relating his pre-show musings. “No arms. It’s not 43 degrees outside. What could possibly go wrong? Maybe someone decided to bring a baby?”
Moving quickly from ‘Intro’ to ‘Tessellate’ and ‘Something Good’, the band were mostly silent between songs, only pausing to introduce the next track and thank the audience. In fact, apart from those few mumbled words, there was little to differentiate the tunes from the album. With ‘Fitzpleasure’, Alt-J finally seemed to find their rhythm. The bass and harmonies came to the fore, making for a majestic, swaying slowjam. Describing a gang-rape scene from Hubert Selby Jr.’s novel Last Exit To Brooklyn, it’s a dark, violent and captivating song – but the band cut it short to play ‘Slow Dre’, an awkward mash-up of ‘Still D.R.E’ and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Slow’. With ‘Bloodflood’, Alt-J again seemed back on track, the song culminating in a captivating a cappella. It exemplified exactly what the Cambridge four-piece do best: spacious, isolated sounds, not dissimilar to tiny puzzle pieces, that somehow grow out into beautiful works of art. It was on display again for encore ‘Taro’. ‘Breezeblocks’, however, a clear crowd favourite, was awkward and flat. Despite rapturous applause and an audience that knew every word, Alt-J never quite let go enough for the song to truly breathe. In a recent interview, Newman explained that Alt-J wanted to work on creating a ‘spectacle’ for their live shows. Experimenting with their gigs as performance art would certainly fit snugly into their own brand of nerd-rock. Perhaps it might also help radio hits like ‘Tesselate’ and ‘Breezeblocks’ grow into the anthems they have the potential to be. To be fair, Alt-J weren’t awful – disappointingly, though, they rarely moved beyond adequate either. Liz Brown
To a rock’n’roll gig, fine. But who in their right mind would bring their newborn to see a band that called their first album Quiet Is The New Loud? Spoken after the first couple of numbers, this gentle dig at the proud parents had the desired effect. They embarrassedly accepted their applause and carried their little girl outside of the Concert Hall, leaving the rest of us to enjoy Kings of Convenience in relative peace. Øye and his musical partner Eirik Glambek Bøe, alone onstage, were perfectly within their rights to expect silence among the audience, so delicate is the sound emitted from their guitars. The duo began with perhaps their slowest, quietest song, ‘My Ship Isn’t Pretty’. It was an unconventional way to start, but it succeeded in catching our attention (grizzling baby aside) and any concerns I had about whether Kings Of Convenience could hold my interest for an entire set immediately evaporated – the intricate melodies and effortless harmonies were mesmeric. The duo interspersed the songs with entertaining stories about when and where they were written, and at times it felt less like a concert and more like some An Audience With... TV special. Øye set the scene for ‘Failure’ and ‘Homesick’ by asking the audience to
imagine two lonely guys struggling to live in London. This context added weight to melancholy lyrics like “Every day there’s a boy in the mirror asking me / What are you doing here?” After proving they are pluckers of the highest calibre, Øye and Bøe welcomed their backing band – another guitarist, bassist and drummer – for the “fun” second half of the show. We all stood, jigged and clapped to the skiffle of ‘Boat Behind’, and joined Øye in some all-out Dad dancing for a disco-fied rendition of ‘I’d Rather Dance With You’, interwoven with segments from Chic’s ‘I Want Your Love’. An encore of Bob Marley’s ‘Waiting In Vain’ calmed everyone down before we spilled out, smiling, onto Bennelong Point. With well-crafted, melodic pop songs, engaging story-telling, fantastic musicianship, excellent sound and a comfortable seat, this was a gig for grown-ups. And for two hours Øye, Bøe and a couple of guitars were absolutely delightful company. Tusen takk. David Wild D PHOTOGRAPHER :: DANIEL BOU
THEE OH SEES, NOBUNNY, MINING BOOM The Factory Theatre Sunday February 10 Perth rockers Mining Boom opened with a set full of pleasant Velvet Undergroundmeets-’80s-Australiana garage rock: simple keyboard lines, pedalled basslines and emotive, deep vocals. It was low-key stuff, but they persisted through technical hiccups and a small audience with laconic good humour, and also featured the first of what would prove to be a trifecta of rock-solid drummers. Anyone familiar with Nobunny’s blend of bubblegum pop and ultra-lo-fi punk is also aware of his predilection for perverse Donnie Darko-style rabbit suits. When the first song began with no fuzzy ears in sight, we started to wonder, “Why aren’t you wearing that stupid bunny suit?” – at
the same time noticing the near-naked drummer wearing something around his head. After one 60-second blast of powerchord fuzz, hey presto – that maniac was actually the bunny guy after all! Rising to the front of the stage, Justin Champlin (AKA Nobunny) helmed thirty-odd minutes of mayhem: two-minute, super-catchy, ’50s-inflected punk with occasionally supercreepy lyrics, all filtered through a freaky high-voiced glam cartoon character in a decaying rabbit mask. His unsavoury but glorious antics included jumping into the audience, backwards-rolling back onto the stage and shoving the microphone into his tiny underpants. Building on the foundation established by Nobunny, relentlessly inventive psychedelic noise-rockers Thee Oh Sees took the bubblegum punk formula but extended it and loosened it until it was no longer bitesized sonic candy but something that you’d
DIVINE FITS, THE DELTA RIGGS Manning Bar Wednesday February 6 Arriving at Manning Bar during The Delta Riggs, it’s clear this disinterested Wednesday night crowd are here for one reason. Despite working hard with some decent songs, the local openers struggle in this room, which has an tendency to dwarf bands who fail to fill it.
WELL
CAS PHOTOGRAPHER :: MARY JANE
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Divine Fits have no such trouble, with the pulsing, galactic string-synth sound of ‘Neapolitans’ calling all smokers and stragglers inside. Britt Daniel and Dan Boeckner (of Spoon and Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs fame respectively) share frontman duties, alternating their roles in equal measures, one for one. Seeing them play this way live really drives home the differences in their songwriting and performance styles that aren’t necessarily so obvious on record. Daniel owns the stage as he struts his smart, cocky indie-rock tunes, complete with cowbell, flanger effects and even an AC/DC riff or two, while those synths add some psychedelic texture. Daniel appears almost still even when rocking out; Boeckner projects a quivering physical presence, wearing his heart all over his (tattooed) sleeves as he feverishly performs songs that are all about “heartbreak and feelings”, his fruitier vocals conveying a vulnerability in stark contrast with
encounter travelling on a multidimensional astral plane. The capacity audience was hit with unstoppable energy, lysergic flourishes curled off an insta-delay perspex guitar, eccentric but totally engaging vocal melodies, whoops, unison shouts and long jams brought to the level of a sustained orgasm. And for a third time that night, what a goddamn drummer: Mike Shoun had a sense of total propulsion usually inaccessible to mortal men, and putting him front and centre on the stage was obviously a no-brainer. The band played a long, pummelling aural adventure of a set that was as varied as it was impossible not to dance to. The double bill with Nobunny could hardly have been more perfect, and they added up to one of the best—and best-paced—nights of high-energy rock in recent memory. They’d better both come back ASAP. Laurence Rosier-Staines
Daniel’s familiar dry snarl. These contrasts really work – the energy is palpable and watching the pair bounce off each other is a treat. There are sound issues (lack of intensity at some points and a constant muffled buzz) that could have spoiled the set, but Boeckner and Daniels’ performances – energetic, tight as hell and dripping with attitude – more than make up for it. Unsurprisingly for an outfit with just one album, there are a few covers thrown into the set; a couple of faithful Tom Petty and Rolling Stones renditions offer an insight into their influences more than transformational interpretations would. It’s a testament to the quality of Divine Fits’ own songs that the covers pale in comparison, feeling distinctly like filler in an otherwise killer set. Rowland S. Howard’s classic ‘Shivers’ is, of course, the exception, the cherry on top of the encore. Perhaps some patriotism plays into it, but there’s not a spine left untingled as the crowd sings back at Daniel the song he first heard in Sydney just a few years ago, and loved enough to put on the band’s debut album. It’s a fitting end to the performance, Divine Fits proving themselves to be much more than the sum of their heavyweight parts. Jenny Noyes
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snap sn ap
london cries
PICS :: MJC
up all night out all week . . .
civil civic
PICS :: TL
09:02:13 :: Annandale Hotel :: 17 Paramatta Rd Annandale 9550 1078
09:02:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
julia holter
PICS :: KC
spirit valley
PICS :: TL
08:02:13 :: Brighton Up Bar :: Level 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9572 6322
07:02:13 :: York St Anglican Church :: 3 York St Sydney 9247 1071
09:02:13 :: Factory Theatre ::105 Victoria Rd Enmore 9550 3666 ) :: DANIEL BOUD :: MARY JANE
S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: MAR LEY CASWELL :: ASH
36 :: BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13
party profile
stars
PICS :: MJC
the brag 500th issue party It’s called: The Brag’s 500th Issue Party at MUM @ The World Bar It sounds like: A wizard shitting a rainbow, or sweet rock’n’roll and killer party vibes. Pick your flavour. Acts: Polographia, The Dead Heads, Joyride, DJ Morgs, The Darkened Seas, The Water Board, Luny P, Katie Whyte & The Pales, Yoke, Brag DJs and some very special guests. Sell it to us: We’ve cracked 500 issues and what better way to celebrate than throwing a big shindig with our buddies MUM @ The World Bar? Some of our favourite Sydney acts and heinous quantities of booze... the only thing missing is you! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: The Dead Heads becoming your new best mates; Joyride screaming “I’M ROWAN DIX, BITCH” at you. Crowd specs: The people that pick up The Brag on a Monday morning, flicking through the social snaps looking for pictures of themselves – those people, and their friends, plus the extremely attractive and flexible crew behind your favourite street press magazine. Wallet damage: $10/$15 Where: MUM @ The World Bar, Kings Cross When: Friday February 22 from 9.30pm
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ANTHRAX
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
11:20 - 12:00
12:20 - 1:00
1:20 - 2:00
2:20 - 3:00
3:20 - 4:00
4:20 - 5:00
5:20 - 6:00
6:20 - 7:00
7:20 - 8:00
8:20 - 9:00
9:20 - 10:00
11:00 - 11:30
**LOCAL**
THE BLACKOUT
TOMAHAWK
KYUSS LIVES
SLAYER
LINKIN PARK
STAGE 1 B
MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK THE AMITY AFFLICTION BRING ME THE HORIZON GHOST KILLSWITCH ENGAGE ALL TIME LOW SLEEPING WITH SIRENS **SPECIAL GUEST** KINGDOM OF SORROW DRAGONFORCE SIX FEET UNDER
STAGE 3
11:30 - 12:00 CROSSFAITH
12:00 - 12:45
12:45 - 1:30
1:30 - 2:15
2:15 - 3:00
3:00 - 3:45
3:45 - 4:30
4:30 - 5:30
STONE SOUR
A PERFECT CIRCLE
5:30 - 6:30
6:30 - 7:45
METALLICA
7:45 - 10:00
STAGE 1 A
11:20 - 12:00
12:20 - 1:00
1:20 - 2:00
2:20 - 3:00
3:20 - 4:00
4:20 - 5:00
5:20 - 6:00
6:20 - 7:00
7:20 - 8:00
8:20 - 9:00
9:20 - 10:00
11:00 - 11:30
11:30 - 12:00
12:00 - 12:45
12:45 - 1:30
1:30 - 2:15
2:15 - 3:00
3:00 - 3:45
3:45 - 4:30
4:30 - 5:30
5:30 - 6:40
6:40 - 7:40
7:45 - 9:00
9:00 - 10:00
SHARKS
THE LAWRENCE ARMS
THE VANDALS
BILLY TALENT
CYPRESS HILL
GARBAGE
THE OFFSPRING
STAGE 2 B
PIERCE THE VEIL CEREBRAL BALLZY FUCKED UP DANKO JONES DUFF McKAGAN’S LOADED THE DEAR HUNTER THE SWORD ORANGE GOBLIN SYLOSIS FOZZY RED FANG
STAGE 5
VERSUS THE WORLD
MINDLESS SELF INDULGENCE
FLOGGING MOLLY
SUM 41
paramore
BLINK 182
STAGE 2 A
11:00 - 11:30
11:45 - 12:15
12:30 - 1:00
1:20 - 2:00
2:20 - 3:00
3:20 - 4:00
4:20 - 5:00
5:20 - 6:00
6:20 - 7:00
7:20 - 8:00
8:20 - 9:00
9:20 - 10:00
12:00 - 12:40
12:40 - 1:20
1:20 - 2:00
2:00 - 2:40
2:40 - 3:20
3:20 - 4:00
4:00 - 4:40
4:40 - 5:20
5:20 - 6:00
6:00 - 6:40
6:40 - 7:20
7:20 - 8:00
8:00 - 8:40
8:40 - 9:20
9:20 - 10:00
SUNDAY 24 FEBRUARY OLYMPIC PARK
MEMPHIS MAY FIRE
PERIPHERY
DEAF HAVANA
OF MICE & MEN
LIVING WITH LIONS
POLAR BEAR CLUB
SUCH GOLD
STAGE 4 B
CHUNK! NO, CAPTAIN CHUNK!
THE CHARIOT CHELSEA GRIN VISION OF DISORDER SICK OF IT ALL MADBALL SHAI HULUD CONFESSION GALLOWS THIS IS HELL MISS MAY I NORTHLANE MILESTONES
STAGE 6
LUCERO
THE WONDER YEARS
WHILE SHE SLEEPS
O’BROTHER
CANCER BATS
THE EARLY NOVEMBER
WOE IS ME
STAGE 4 A
g g guide gig g
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com
pick of the week
MONDAY FEBRUARY 18
My Bloody Valentine
Enmore Theatre
My Bloody Valentine (IRE), Morning After Girls $99.70 7pm MONDAY FEBRUARY 18 ROCK & POP
My Bloody Valentine (IRE), Morning After Girls Enmore Theatre $99.70 7pm
JAZZ
Latin & Jazz The World Bar, Kings Cross free 7pm The Monday Jam: Danny G Felix & The Monday OGs Gingers, The Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst free 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Russell Neal, Helmut Uhlmann, Chris Brookes, Massimo Presti, Huntley Mitchell, Selftort, Chich, Frankie Francis Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 19 ROCK & POP
Father John Misty (USA), Oh Mercy Metro Theatre, Sydney $48.70 8pm Goon Squad Scruffy Muphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm Jed Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm The Lost Planet Hotrods Deus Café, Camperdown free 7.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Angelene Harris, Steve Vandine Newington Inn, Petersham
38 :: BRAG :: 500 : 18:02:13
free 7pm Darren Bennett George IV Inn, Picton free 7.30pm
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 20 ROCK & POP
Alison Wonderland, The Chemist, Cadres, DJ Tai Daniels, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Hansom Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Amy Rose, We Are The Birdcage Brighton Up Bar,Darlinghurst $5 8pm An Evening With The Hoff: David Hasselhoff (USA), Voodoo Express Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $60 8pm Ange Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm Ange Takats, Lucky Luke The Basement, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf) 7.30pm Glass Towers FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel free 1pm Joanne Shaw Taylor (UK), Claude Hay Brass Monkey, Cronulla $19.90 7pm Kingston Flavas Valve Bar & venue, Tempe 7pm Mark Travers, Dave Mason Cox Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 4.30pm Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt free 8pm Neda, Jake Nauta, Jordan Leser Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $8 8pm Reckless
Scruffy Muphy’s, Haymarket free 11pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Angelene Harris Cat and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 7pm Sarah McLeod, Little May Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $20 (+ bf) 7pm SongsOnStage Songwriter’s Night: Vanesa Trujillo and Sans, Max De Groot, Thomas Stefoulis, Huntley Mitchell, Russell Neal The Vanguard, Newtown $13.80 8pm TAOS, John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm
(USA), Sleepy Sun (USA) The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park $45.50 8pm Gimme Shelter: Cabins, Pear Shape, The Tsars, Running Gun Sound, The Jones Rival Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 8pm Gnome, 8 Bit Love, We Are The Brave Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Harbour Master Sackville Hotel, Rozelle free 7pm Hot Damn!: Make Them Suffer, Van Damage, Hudson State, Asura, Paradise In Exile, Hot Damn! DJs Spectrum & Q Bar, Darlinghurst $15-$20 8pm Jagged Stone, Eve Schroder Band, Tiger & Rogues Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 7pm Jonathan Boulet, R.L. Jones Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm Little Bastard Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly free 7pm Matt Jones Coogee Bay Hotel free 10pm Musos Club Jam Night Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill free 8pm Paramore (USA) Enmore Theatre sold out 7pm Paul Greene & The Other Colours, Hussy Hicks Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $20 7pm The Shuffle Presents ‘Rumour Has It’ – Adele’s 19 & 21 The Basement, Circular Quay $20 (+ bf) 7.30pm Teenage Hand Models, Slow To Die, Collin Jones The Standard, Surry Hills $5 8pm Them Bruins, Chalk Eaters, Corpus, Dirty Little Rebels Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm
JAZZ
Marialy Pacheco Trio (Cuba) The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $20-$25 8.30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 8pm The Sydney Jazz Orchestra Celebrating The Divas Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $28 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Daniel Hopkins, Chich, Frankie Francis Olympic Hotel, Paddington free 7.30pm Peach Montgomery Forest Lodge Hotel, Glebe free 7.30pm
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22
ROCK & POP
ROCK & POP
031 Rockshow Scruffy Muphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm Ajay, Dave Lancaster, Joey Tabua Sydney Livehouse @ The Lewisham Hotel $12 8pm Beatvilles, Stephanie Jansen Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 4.30pm Blackie, Sam Shinazzi, Alex Party Cat, Billy Burke The Union Hotel, Newtown free 8pm Broken Bones Party: Drunk Mums, The Chitticks, Howling Bells DJs Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 7.30pm Capitol, Briscoe, Wires, The Familiars FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Crime and the City Solution
Astral Weeks – Tribute to Van Morrison Brass Monkey, Cronulla $25.50 7pm Bloodrock 2013: Melody Black, Our Last Enemy, Graveyard Rockstars, Black Breaks Live At The Wall, Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt $15 8pm Brendan Maclean The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $20 (conc)-$25 8pm Caravan Sun Rock Lily, The Star, Pyrmont free 7pm The Chemist, The Nectars, Brett Hunt, Devola Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Donovan Frankenreiter (USA)
Clovelly Hotel 9.30pm Donovan Frankenreiter (USA) Coogee Bay Hotel 6pm Einsturzende Neubauten (GER), Mick Harvey Enmore Theatre $73.10 6.30pm Flamin’ Beauties Crown Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Green Day Show Scruffy Muphy’s, Haymarket free 10.30pm The Headliners Dundas Sports Club free 8.30pm Joanne Shaw Taylor (UK), Cass Eager The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 7.30pm The Lonely Boys, Craig Thommo Coogee Bay Hotel free 10pm The Model School, The Vernon’s, Gang Of Youths, The Shooting Party Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm MUM: Dead Heads, Polographia, Katie Whyte & The Pales, The Darkened Seas, Yoke, The Water Board, LunyP, Vandallay, DJ Morgs, Joyride, Brag DJs, Danny Cruel, Pigeon DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm The Music Makers Club: The Ruminaters, Jakarta Criers, Lovers Jump Creek, Enerate, Archers, The Hungry Mile Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Paul Greene & The Other Colours, Hussy Hicks Kelt’s Bar, Emu Plains Sports Club, Leonay free 8pm Rachel Eldon Chatswood RSL free 5.30pm Rad-A-Rama 2013: Dune Rats, Ross De Chene Hurricanes, Food Court, The Nugs, Bachelor Pad, Bang! Bang! Rock N Roll Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 7pm Rivalries, Allay The Sea, Adversary, Paradise Found, Bomb Threat The Loft, Newcastle all-ages The Russell Morris Band Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $49 8pm Shady Lane, Raindrop, Guerre, Naughty Rappers Collective Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Something With Numbers, Thieves Annandale Hotel $20 8pm Spenceray Customs House Bar, Circular Quay free 7pm Taberah, Avarin, Hazmat, Steel Swarm Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 7pm UTS Back To The Future O Fest: Midnight Juggernauts, Hermitude, Parachute Youth, New Navy, Ajax, Zoe Badwi, Elizabeth Rose, Grey Ghost, Panama, Purple Sneakers DJs, Luke Million, Allday, Pluto Jonze, Tokyo Denmark Sweden, Tyler Touche, Willow Beats, DJ Knife, Elliot The Bull, Canecutter, Rabz, Ben Talbot-Wright UTS Tower Building, Broadway $20-$30 3pm allages
JAZZ
Arrebato Ensemble Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $20 (conc)-$25 7.30pm SPILL The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10-$20 8.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Peach Montgomery Mr Big Stuff, Maroubra free 7pm
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23 ROCK & POP
Beef Jerk, Sleep Debt, Charles Buddy Daaboul, JuliaWhy?, Mope City Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $5 8pm Blackchords, King Colour, Civilians Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 (+ bf) 8pm Blaze Foley – Duct Tape Messiah: Jason Walker, James Thomson, Emma Swift, Mark Lucas Petersham Bowling Club $15 7.30pm Bonjah Annandale Hotel $18 8pm Carna Coogee 2013 Selina’s, Coogee Bay Hotel $25 (+ bf) 8pm Chasing Carma Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm Donovan Frankenreiter (USA) The Bucket List, The Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach 1.30pm Donovan Frankenreiter (USA) Manly Wharf Hotel 8.30pm Donovan Frankenreiter (USA) Newport Arms Hotel 4pm Elevate The Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 9pm Festering Drippage, Headless, Tortured, Exekute, Lower Back Problems, Hackxwhore, Throat Of Dirt, Infested Entrails, Kangaroo Kebab Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 3pm Filming WhatIsPsych: Broadcating Transmitter, Dead Radio, God K, Lyyar, Psychlops Eyepatch The Red Rattler, Marrickville 8pm Headless, Tortured, Exekute, Dead Life, Infested Entrails, Throat Of Dirt Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 7pm How To Dress Well (live, USA) Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $40 (+ bf) 9pm I Am Apollo, Nic Cassey, Tainui Richmond Brass Monkey, Cronulla 7pm Jim Conway’s Big Wheel, Tamlin Notes, Newtown 7pm Juzzie Smith, Laura Hill Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $25 8pm Kittens: The Chemist, Bec Sandridge, Little Fox, Hey Big Aki, Kittens DJs Spectrum, Darlinghurst $10 9pm Kurt Williams Rosebay Hotel free 7.30pm Laura Jackson 5 Scruffy Muphy’s, Haymarket free 10.30pm Louis London, Glass Towers, Archers, F.R.I.E.N.D.S Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Mushroom Planet, Chickenstones, The Prehistorics The Square, Haymarket $10 8pm Norse, Tzun Tzu, Sorathian Dawn, Festering Drippage, Psynonemous Live At The Wall, Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt 8pm Paul Greene & The Other Colours, Hussy Hicks The Beachcomber, Toukley $15 8pm Party Anthems Paragon Hotel, Circular Quay free 9pm Ryan Thomas, The Trav & Rosco Show Coogee Bay Hotel free 10pm SLAM Day: Ross De Chene Hurricanes, The Fighting League, The Faults FBi Social @ Kings Cross
g g guide g
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Hotel $10 8pm Smotherbox, Karl Marx Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 1pm The Starliners Liverpool Catholic Club $2 8.30pm Urban Guerillas Gaelic Club 1st Floor, Surry Hills $12 (conc)-$20 6.30pm
JAZZ
Blue Moon Quartet Fairfield RSL free 7pm Going Solo Piano Series – Concert One: Nick/ Harrison The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10-$20 8.30pm Jose James (USA), Jones Jnr. The Standard, Surry Hills $45 (+ bf) 8pm Nadya & the 101 Candles Orkestra Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $25-$30 (+ bf) 7.30pm Peter Head Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 5pm Tuba Skinny (USA) The Basement, Circular Quay $27.50 (+ bf) 7.30pm Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie Well Co. Café / Wine Bar, Leichhardt free 7pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Craig Thommo The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney free 9pm
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 ROCK & POP
Circle Jerk #3: Snakeface,
Yes I’m Leaving, Push Wood, Charles Buddy Daaboul Sly Fox Hotel, Enmore free 3pm Donovan Frankenreiter (USA) Cronulla Hotel 4pm Donovan Frankenreiter (USA) Towradgi Beach Hotel 6.30pm Easy Tiger, Sleep Debt, She Falls Down The Stairs, Gilbert Gantry Union Valve Bar & Venue, Tempe 3pm Finn Bald Rock Hotel, Balmain free 6.30pm Helpful Kitchen Gods, Men From U.N.C.L.E., Double Crosses, Redundant Technology, Dr Delites Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale free 5pm Love Me: Elana Stone, Steve Smyth, Courtney Act, Cabaret Decadanse, Tom Sharah, Sheridan Harbridge The Standard, Surry Hills $35 (+ bf) 7pm Neil Duncan Fundraiser: Darth Vegas, The Lonely Swingers, The Ticklers Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $20 (+ bf) 6.30pm New Ground: Asger Jorn, Flight Recorder, Ghost, Hence Therefore, Mannheim Rocket, Ostinato, Scissor Lock Black Wire Records, Annandale $5 2pm all-ages Paul Greene & The Other Colours, Hussy Hicks Brass Monkey, Cronulla $16 7pm
A M Y WED 20 FEB 8PM BRIGHTON UP BAR WITH SPECIAL GUESTS WE ARE THE BIRDCAGE & REVIER
Soundwave: Metallica, Linkin Park, Blink 182, A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, Paramore, Slayer, Garbage, Cypress Hill, Bullet for My Valentine, Tomahawk, Stone Sour, Bring Me The Horizon, Kyuss Lives!, Anthrax, Killswitch Engage, Sum 41, Dragonforce, All Time Low, Flogging Molly, Ghost, Duff Mckagan’s Loaded, Billy Talent, Motion City Soundtrack, Mindless Self Indulgence, The Amity Affliction, The Vandals, Sick Of It All, Kingdom of Sorrow, Fozzy, The Lawrence Arms, Sleeping with Sirens, Cancer Bats, The Blackout, Gallows, Madball, Fucked Up, Vision of Disorder, Pierce the Veil, Periphery and heaps more Sydney Showground, Olympic Park 11am SOLD OUT Spenceray Coogee Bay Hotel free 7pm Sydney Blues Society Botany View Hotel, Newtown free 5.30pm
JAZZ
Peter Head Band Harbour View Hotel, The Rocks free 4pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Anthony Hughes Oatley Hotel free 2pm Joanne Hill, Zachariah Sayed, TC Coombes Corrimal Hotel free 6pm Peach Montgomery Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm
R O S E WED 27 FEB 8PM THE VANGUARD WITH SPECIAL GUESTS GORDI & THE DELTA REVUE
tue
wed
(9:00PM - 7:30PM) Dave (4:30PM Mark 12:00AM) 20 20 + Travers Feb (5:00PM - 8:00PM)Cox Feb Mason
wed
19 JED
Feb (9:00PM-12:00AM)
thu
Stephanie Jansen + Beatvilles 21 (4:30PM - 7:30PM) Feb (9:00PM - 12:00AM) fri
James Parrino 22 Feb
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
+ Reckless (9:30PM - 1:30AM)
sat
Dave Mason Cox + Elevate 23 Feb (4:30PM - 7:30PM) (9:00PM - 12:00AM) sun
Lonesome Train + White(8:30PM Bros 24 Feb (4:30PM - 7:30PM) - 12:00AM)
St Patrick’s Day Festival Upstairs from 8am!
sun
PEEL EP OUT NOW
Irish
($45)
17 +Breakfast bottomless Irish Guiness Mar
+ The
Killarney Trio LIVE 8:00AM – 12:00PM
Stringy Bark ................................... 8:00AM-10:30AM The Blarney Boys + Fiddle .....11:00AM-1:00PM U2 Elevation ..................................... 1:30PM-4:00PM The Moonshiners .......................... 4:30PM-6:30PM Dublin Up......................................... 7:00PM-10:30PM Lonesome Train.............................11:00PM-1:00AM + PARTY DJ TILL L ATE
facebook.com/loveamyrose | soundcloud.com/loveamyrose | triplejunearthed.com/amyrose
BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13 :: 39
gig picks
up all night out all week...
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 19 Father John Misty (USA), Oh Mercy Metro Theatre, Sydney $48.70 8pm
Gnome, 8 Bit Love, We Are The Brave Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Jonathan Boulet, R.L. Jones Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 20
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22
Amy Rose, We Are The Birdcage Brighton Up Bar,Darlinghurst $5 8pm
Brendan Maclean The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $20 (conc)-$25 8pm
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21
The Chemist, The Nectars, Brett Hunt, Devola Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm
Gimme Shelter: Cabins, Pear Shape, The Tsars, Running Gun Sound, The Jones Rival Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $10 8pm
Einsturzende Neubauten (GER), Mick Harvey Enmore Theatre $73.10 6.30pm Jens Lekman
Katie Whyte & The Pales
Blackchords
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23 José James (USA), Jones Jnr. The Standard, Surry Hills $45 (+ bf) 8pm
Rad-A-Rama 2013: Dune Rats, Ross de Chene Hurricanes, Food Court, The Nugs, Bachelor Pad, Bang! Bang! Rock N Roll Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 7pm
40 :: BRAG :: 500 : 18:02:13
Shady Lane, Raindrop, Guerre, Naughty Rappers Collective Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm
Ross De Chene Hurricanes, The Fighting League, The Faults FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 Soundwave: Metallica, Linkin Park, Blink 182, A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, Paramore, Slayer, Garbage, Cypress Hill, Bullet For My Valentine, Tomahawk, Stone Sour, Bring Me The Horizon, Kyuss Lives!, Anthrax, Killswitch Engage, Sum 41, Dragonforce, All Time Low, Flogging Molly, Ghost, Billy Talent, Motion City Soundtrack, Mindless
Self Indulgence, The Amity Affliction, The Vandals, Sick Of It All, Kingdom of Sorrow, Fozzy, The Lawrence Arms, Sleeping with Sirens, Cancer Bats, The Blackout, Gallows, Madball, Fucked Up, and more Sydney Showground, Olympic Park 11am SOLD OUT
José James photo by Jannette Beckman
MUM’s BRAG TURNS 500 edition: Dead Heads, Polographia, Katie Whyte & The Pales, The Darkened Seas, Yoke, The Water Board, LunyP, Vandallay, DJ Morgs, Joyride, Brag DJs, Danny Cruel, Pigeon DJs The World Bar, Kings Cross $10$15 8pm
Cabins
José James
BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture
brag beats
inside: e + club guid s + club snap + weekly column
s s e r h p i y ll c ain’t goin’ out
the herbaliser djs
lunice
huxley
Let’s party like we’re 500!
The World Bar 24 Bayswater Road Potts Point
Takin g
om! Ro
friday 22/02/13 9pm til late
er the Tea ov
cond floor) (se
500th issue party
headliner tbc + polographia + the dead heads + joyride + brag djs
BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13 :: 41
dance music news
free stuff
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
on the record WITH
Dizzee Rascal
JOYRIDE The First Record I Bought: 1. Shaggy – ‘Oh Carolina’. My three passions in life are the US
Outkast – ‘B.O.B (Merlot Nelson’s ME-50 Remix)’ to compare it to.
Marines, The Folkes Brothers and quadrisyllabic names. It’s a bit of a “chicken or egg” situation with regards to how this came about. Either way, this song is heavily involved.
The Record That Changed My Life: 5. Cody ChesnuTT – The
The Last Record I Bought: Om’Mas Keith – City Pulse. 2. You may have heard otherwise, but my three passions in life are Frank Ocean’s producers, synth-infused RnB-pop and the pulses of urban areas. It’s a bit of a “chicken or egg” situation with regards to how this came about. Either way, this album is heavily involved. The First Thing I Recorded: The first thing I recorded was 3. a guitar-driven half-tempo remix of Outkast’s ‘B.O.B.’ I maintain to this day that it’s my best work and to that end I will never show it to anyone because it would set the bar far too high. The Last Thing I Recorded: The last thing I recorded was 4. a song with Drapht, Ta-ku and N’Fa called ‘1990s’. People seem to like it. I’m just glad they don’t have
Actress
Headphone Masterpiece. My three passions in life are reformed crack addicts, trail mix and headphones. What a perfect marriage of the three. Real talk, this is the best album ever. It has so much raw soul and talent oozing out of it, coated with a thick layer of “I really don’t give a fuck what you think about me and my music, but if you like it, then thanks.” If ever I’m stuck for an idea when I’m writing, I’ll put this on. Or I’ll read through my old text messages and reminisce on the stupid things I text to girls I like when I’m drunk on a weeknight.
FUTURE MUSIC FESTIVAL
This year Future Music Festival has united a truly brill (and varied) contingent of artists for a “Day of the Dead-Set Awesome” with a lineup boasting Mr ‘Levels’, AKA Avicii, along with dance warrior legends The Prodigy, Madchester maestros The Stone Roses, Dizzee Rascal, Bloc Party, The Temper Trap and loads more, plus a special appearance by pony-dancing internet sensation PSY. Future hits Randwick Racecourse on Saturday March 9 and lucky for you we have a double pass up for grabs. To make it yours, tell us whose set you’re most excited to see at the festival.
What: Brag’s 500th Issue Party With: Polographia, The Dead Heads, Brag DJs, Mum DJs Where: Mum @ The World Bar – Level 2 AKA The Tearoom When: Friday February 22 from 9pm
ODDISEE + OLIVIER DAYSOUL
Coming off a breakthrough year in 2012 in which he released his debut album People Hear What They See, Sudanese-American rapper/producer Amir Mohamed, AKA Oddisee, will perform at the Civic Underground on Saturday March 9 alongside fellow Washington native and soul artist Olivier Daysoul, who featured as a vocalist and guitarist throughout People Hear What They See. Oddisee has worked with The Roots, Flying Lotus, De La Soul and Hudson Mohawke, and with fellow Washingtonians X.O. and yU, is the co-founder of the Diamond District collective. Daysoul is a scientist who holds a degree from Oxford University; as a performer, he has collaborated with Onra, Dam-Funk, and Mike Slott, and attracted comparisons to Al Green and Prince among others. A lengthy crew will also represent in support, including Jones Jnr, Katalyst,
Germany’s Suff Daddy, Myele Manzanza, Huwston and JC, with presale tickets available online.
KEB DARGE
Outspoken Scotsman Keb Darge will play a Golden Plains sideshow on Saturday March 2, ‘all night long’ at Goodgod Small Club. Darge is one part of Kay-Dee Records (with Kenny Dope of Masters At Work) a label geared towards rare soul and funk releases and edits, and runs ‘Legendary Deep Funk’ at Madame Jo Jo’s in London, which has been going strong for more than a decade. Darge has also tallied up five compilations of the sound for BBE records, including one with Paul Weller and another with Cut Chemist, whom he converted to the rockabilly sensibility that underscores his DJ sets. Darge will dig through his collection of ’50s rockabilly, surf, RnB and ‘tittyshakers’ when he plays Goodgod.
Azealia Banks
HOLD TIGHT! FT ACTRESS
The next instalment of Niche Productions’ Hold Tight! Series will be at Oxford Art Factory on Saturday March 23, headlined by London-based artist Darren Cunningham, AKA Actress. Cunningham is the co-founder of the Werkdiscs imprint, home to the likes of Lone and Zomby, and has explored electro, hip hop, house and techno soundscapes over the past decade, releasing EPs on the NonPlus+ and Honest Jons labels. Cunningham dropped his third full length album as Actress last year, R.I.P., and followed it up with the Silver Cloud EP – the latter apparently a sneak peek at Cunningham’s promised fourth album, Ghettoville, the existence of which has been mooted since R.I.P. dropped. Presale tickets are available from this Wednesday February 20.
HARBOURFEST
42 :: BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13
MAD RACKET
Mad Racket rolls into Marrickville Bowling Club for its first party of the New Year on Saturday March 2. The event will be headlined by guest DJ Magda Bytnerowicz, who has established a very solid reputation for playing a high quality mix of house, techno and (some) disco over the past six years. As well as playing at most of the respected nights around town, including HaHa, Picnic, CO-OP, Future Classic and Shrug, Magda co-promoted Jack with Sydney legend Mark ‘murphdog’ Murphy, and is currently involved in the 4our events alongside Trinity. Another feather was placed in Bytnerowicz’s sonic cap when her ‘Forty Fathoms’ mix was featured on the highly respected techno blog mnml ssgs. She’ll be joined by the resident Racketeers Ken Cloud, Zootie, Jimmi James and Simon Caldwell, with the party commencing at 10pm and running deep. Entry is $25 on the door.
AZEALIA BANKS SIDESHOW
21-year-old starlet Azealia Banks will play an all-ages Future Music Festival sideshow at the Enmore Theatre on Wednesday March 6. Hailing originally from Harlem, Banks studied at New York’s LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts (whose previous alumni include Robert de Niro and Al Pacino) and has managed to establish herself at the forefront of the pop scene, even as the public continues to await the release of her forthcoming debut album Broke With Expensive Taste. Banks has managed to build up a fanbase through the release of her 1991 EP, which spawned the hit ‘212’, and has worked with the likes of Hudson Mohawke. $65 tickets go on sale this Tuesday. Xxxx
The inaugural Harbourfest will descend on King Street Wharf for an Easter Sunday romp, spanning four major stages spread across Keystone venues Cargo Bar, The Loft and Bungalow 8 – locations that all overlook Cockle Bay. Sam Littlemore and Simon Lewicki will headline proceedings with their Tonite Only project, while Canberra outfit Aston Shuffle DJs will also be throwing down, along with DJ sets from members of Van She and the Midnight Juggernauts. In addition, local favourites Ajax, Slow Blow, Ember and DCup, (who worked on the hit track ‘We No Speak Americano’ by Yolanda Be Cool) will all perform, flanked by the Sosueme DJs, DJ Helena, Doctor Werewolf, Tigerlily and triple j’s Nina Las Vegas. Harbourfest commences at 3pm on Sunday March 31 and $35 tickets go on sale from midday Monday February 18. Hit harbour-fest. com for further info.
BRAG :: 500 :: 18:03:13 :: 43
dance music news
free stuff
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
five things WITH
Darwin Deez
RECLOOSE (USA/NZ) Ellis… tons!) but these days I am pimping my own hybrid dubbed-out DJ sets when I play out live. I ride musical waves (house/techno/ electric disco to keep the party popping) but like to keep people on their toes too, so watch out. The Music You Make In the studio I combine all those 4. aforementioned influences and try and come up with a mixture that is uniquely my own. This philosophy extends to the dancefloor. I don’t have time for mediocre, middle-of-the-road music (I’d rather listen to utter shit than average music) so expect every joint I play to speak to you…
1.
Growing Up Lots of piano and saxophone lessons. There wasn’t much in the way of good music being played in my house, so when I did finally hear electronic, soul, jazz, and hip hop for the first time it was like a giant door opening into a universe I hadn’t known about. That said, Sesame Street helped (the Pointer Sisters’ number song clued me up a little beforehand…).
2.
Inspirations There were always those records that gave me pause when I heard them: stop in
AGWA YACHT CLUB 016
Tickets are still available to this weekend’s AGWA Yacht Club series, the last of Finely Tuned’s boat parties for this summer. The bash will be headlined by Supplement Facts’ Guy Gerber and Innervisions main man Dixon – two of the foremost producers in the club realm if popular consensus is anything to go by. Both Gerber and Dixon made the podium of 2012’s Resident Advisor’s top DJ/live act poll; Gerber at #2 for live act of last year and Dixon placing at #3 in the DJ Poll. Gerber is an Israeli DJ and producer with a Fabric mix under his belt that was comprised entirely of his own tracks, all composed specifically for the compilation. Dixon is an Australian club favourite who has helmed such memorable compilations as Temporary Secretary and Body Language Vol 4. Dixon recently released a remix of Ian Pooley’s ‘CompuRhythm,’ an extremely polished summer anthem that will undoubtedly send
my tracks, ears perk up, neck hairs standing at attention type shit… It probably started with Stevie Wonder, then John Coltrane. Later it was Kraftwerk and Detroit radio DJ The Wizard (AKA Jeff Mills) who was playing a crazy mix of early techno, hip-hop and electro. King Tubby also knocked me on my ass… Your Group I have been DJing and releasing music 3. under the moniker Recloose for going on 16 years now (holy shit, is that right?!). I have collaborated with lots of great musicians over the years (Dwele, Joe Dukie, B.Slade, Jeremy the Starship into delirium if/when it is played. Tickets are through pulseradio.net; keep an ear out for afterparty details, which should emerge during the week.
EXAMPLE
British singer Elliot John Gleave, who performs under the moniker Example, will headline The Hi-Fi on Friday April 26 in an all-ages show. The UK upstart has drawn on hip hop and dance influences to cement his place in the pop scene over four albums, including his most recent effort, Playing In The Shadows. He’s also released singles such as ‘We’ll Be Coming Back’, a collaboration with Calvin Harris, who is one of many renowned acts Example has teamed with over the years (Benga, Dirty South, Zane Lowe and DJ Tommy Trash being some of the others). Example will be backed by his full live band, with doors opening at 8pm.
Music, Right Here, Right Now The scene now is popping, especially in 5. regards to technological advances that have allowed lots of extremely talented young cats to come to the fore really quickly. Of course that means there is also a plethora of garbage, but it is almost worth it seeing how much interesting music is coming out. My own personal challenge in experiencing this in an immediate sense is I live in New Zealand (love it here but damn, we are some isolated mofos…). With: Simon Caldwell, Pharley, U-Khan When: Friday February 22 from 8pm ‘til late Where: Tatler / 169 Darlinghurst Road
DARWIN DEEZ
Brooklyn-based Darwin Deez is the kind of guy that, if he was one of your friends at school, your mother would refer to him as being “a bit of an odd one”. Luckily, he is an indie rock artist and that shock of spiralpasta hair and awkward, stilted thing totally work for him. He rose to prominence with his self-titled debut album, and now is back for seconds with the wonderfully-titled Songs For Imaginative People, which came out last Friday. We have three copies of the album to give away, and if you want one, send a photo of Gandhi to freestuff@thebrag. com because why not?
PRODIGY FMF SIDESHOW
Famed UK outfit The Prodigy will perform a Future Music Festival sideshow at The Hordern Pavilion on Thursday March 7. While The Prodigy are apparently working on their sixth album, a follow-up to their 2009 LP Invaders Must Die, the band will always be best known for their classic Fat Of The Land album, which spawned such singles as ‘Firestarter’ and the provocative but irrepressibly energetic ‘Smack My Bitch Up’. Though The Prodigy’s output over the past decade has been sporadic, they have remained consistently active on the touring front, and hold a reputation for putting on a rip-roaring show. You can secure your ticket to see them tear into the Hordern when they go on sale at midday on Wednesday February 20.
The Prodigy
Sonicanimation
CAKES
SONICANIMATION
Having performed at last year’s Homebake, Australian electronic stalwarts sonicanimation are heading out on tour, and putting their reputation for energetic live shows, complete with dancing Technotubbies on stage, to the test. Renowned for cuts such as ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ and ‘Theophilus Thistler’ as well as remixes for the likes of Icehouse, Skyhooks and Kylie Minogue, sonicanimation will be showcasing tracks from their forthcoming album Once More From The Bottom – their first full-length offering since ’06 – which was recorded in Canada and features the lead-off single ‘I Will Be Twisted’. The duo play Oxford Art Factory on Thursday March 21.
BEACH ROAD BEATS
This Saturday, February 23, Beni, Bluejuice and Hobophonics will play a Bowl-A-Rama
Official After Party at the iconic Beach Road Hotel in Bondi, kicking off at 8pm. Starting out as part of the now defunct Riot In Belgium, Beni released his debut album, House of Beni, on Modular Records in 2011, which featured vocal contributions from the likes of Sam Sparro, Hercules and Love Affair’s Nomi, and Mattie Safer, formerly of The Rapture; there were also production credits to Kim Moyes of The Presets and Van She’s Nicky Nighttime. For those who can’t wait that long to hit the Beach Road dancefloor, Alison Wonderland, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, DJ Tai Daniels and Hansom (plus indie rock dudes The Chemist and The Cadres will all be playing for free at the venue on Wednesday night.
Xxx
44 :: BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13
This Saturday, Cakes has put together a sizeable lineup to cover every last inch of the World Bar. From bangin’ house to hip hop, the party presser promises beats to pique the interest of most partygoers. The DJ lineup features the likes of Melbourne’s Airwolf, Go Freek, Kato, Dan Farley, Oh Glam, Mike Hyper, Thomas Lissé, Goodfella, Hannah Gibbs, and Deckhead all throwing down, while snilluM will orchestrate a symphony of up-and-coming DJs on the top floor. The revelry commences at 8pm.
Cypress Hill Rise Up At Soundwave By Krissi Weiss
Deep Impressions Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery
Stefan Goldmann
LOOKING DEEPER SATURDAY MARCH 2 Dino Sabatini One22 Agoria The Gold Fish Mano Le Tough The Abercrombie
FRIDAY MARCH 8
Eli Verveine Goodgod Small Club Eli Verveine
I
C
alifornian rappers Cypress Hill have always existed on the fringe of traditional hip hop and rap; their sound captures the raw aggression, heavy arrangements and social frustration inherent in so much hard rock and metal that they sit just as comfortably on a lineup next to Metallica and A Perfect Circle as they can next to Kanye or Lupe. “When you have a band like us, that experiment with their sound and bring in live components – like guitars and even doing heavy metal songs – people appreciate these things,” rapper Sen Dog (real name Senen Reyes) says. “The fact that we’ve never been afraid to try different things has really worked out for us and we’ve been able to tour with some of the greatest bands in the world and of our generation.” Cypress Hill have always pushed the envelope, tackling funk, metal, rock and more. In the late ’90s, Reyes even took leave from Cypress Hill to pursue his rock/ rap band SX-10 – and his lifelong friendship with Dave Lombardo of Slayer has ever-soslightly contributed to his own diverse tastes. Collaborations with Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth dotted Cypress Hill’s work in the early ’90s, and in 2012, they unexpectedly teamed up with dubstep superstar Rusko for the EP Cypress X Rusko. Cynics out there may argue that Cypress Hill have been jumping from bandwagon to bandwagon in order to stay relevant, but Reyes maintains that their attitude has never been “fit in where you get in”. “Everything that we do musically is for ourselves and to fulfil our own dreams or fantasies – it all has to come from the heart,” he says. “We grew up listening to a bunch of different genres of music, and subliminally somehow, it transfers into our music. We also don’t wanna be the same thing album after album. You’ve gotta show some sort of growth with each album, and if you’ve stayed doing the same thing you were doing in high school, and you’re 35 now doing the same style, you haven’t grown.” In an era that has seen ’90s nostalgia grow to the point where it’s about to start eating itself, Cypress Hill aren’t giving up and cashing in, but moving forward. Their sets while in Australia won’t be carbon copies of their gigs from two decades ago, or even their more recent tours. “We’re very proud of our past and what we’ve accomplished as far as selling records and touring numbers, but that’s in the past,” says Reyes. “We were athletes before we were musicians, and we’re driven by that competitive attitude. We still have it today and still want to take Cypress Hill to bigger places today, and to do that we can’t just depend on ‘Insane In The Brain’ or ‘Rock Superstar’ to wow kids 20-something years later.” Things have changed a lot in the hearts and minds of the Cypress Hill lads. From standing
“We still want to take Cypress Hill to bigger places – we can’t just depend on ‘Insane In The Brain’ or ‘Rock Superstar’ to wow kids 20-something years later” on the Bloods side of the Bloods-vs-Crips street wars in LA in the late ’80s, to Reyes’ co-frontman B-Real being shot in the lung in 1988, to saturating themselves in the rock star lifestyle, Cypress Hill have come out the other side of it all as better people. “I find myself being a far more caring person now than when I started,” Reyes admits. “I’m a lot more relaxed now, not so mad at the world like a young fucker, you know? I actually care more about what’s happening in the world now and back then, I didn’t give a shit. It was all about, ‘Let’s go get fucked up, let’s tour, let’s make this money and come back and do the rock star thing’. That was fine at the time but somewhere along the way, things changed, and they made me look at life way more seriously. Some events really shook me up and made me very pensive,” he says. He pauses, before adding, “Well, one was the death of Kurt Cobain and the other was the death of Tupac Shakur. Down the line, years from when it happened, you realise what a psychological effect it had on you. It turned me into an adult.”
nnovative German/Bulgarian producer Stefan Goldmann will offer up a fresh release in May, Live At Honen-In Temple, to keep his minions happy. As its name suggests, the album is a live recording of Goldmann’s performance in the Japanese city of Kyoto last year, which took place in front of a tiny crowd “while daylight faded into the dark of night”. Listeners can expect a somewhat ambient affair, with Goldmann traversing beatless soundscapes and showcasing previously unreleased material alongside vintage cuts such as the chorallyinfluenced ‘Lunatic Fringe’, which dropped in ’08 and remains one of Goldmann’s finest hours as a producer. The release of Live At Honen-In Temple does challenge something Goldmann said to me when I cornered him for an interview recently: “I dream of a club that has its own music which you can’t experience anywhere else… No recordings allowed – you’re either here or not.” While Goldmann may have resiled from his position regarding live recordings, in this case it’s for the best, as listeners will have a chance to hear how he approached his one-off performance at the beautiful Buddhist temple. Those who are familiar with Goldmann’s output should know better than to be surprised at his latest project. Goldmann has accumulated an immensely varied body of work over the years, from his limited edition cassette-only(!) release and editing Igor Stravinsky, to writing a bi-monthly column for Berghain’s flyerzine and even delivering a recent lecture to students at Berlin University of the Arts. “I tried to deliver a model in which I link artistic innovation to the economic and social effects that artists meet when they try to figure out what they should do and whatnot… We had a long discussion afterwards. And then we went for drinks,” Goldmann told me (and that’s a Deep Impressions exclusive, for the record). As with everything he releases on his own
label, Macro Recordings, Goldmann’s forthcoming album is a must for anyone with a penchant for interesting electronica. Central America-born Silent Servant will perform at One22 next month, introducing Sydneysiders to a set that has done the business at some of the most hyped events on any technophile’s clubbing agenda: Japan’s Labyrinth festival, and of course Berghain. Silver Servant is fresh from dropping his Negative Fascination album last year, a symbiosis of gothic postpunk and unsettling techno that resonated with both dancers and critics, who described the collection of melodic and at times abrasive tracks as a miniaturised epic. James Walsh, Asger Jorn and Methodix will be throwing down in support, with presale tickets floating about on the interweb. The deservedly-revered Cologne-based label Kompakt Records have announced the first in a series of releases that will drop in 2013 to ensure its 20th year in the business is a prolific one. Kicking off the birthday celebrations will be Kompakt 20 Jahre Kollektion 1, a double-disc compilation that will arrive almost exactly 20 years after the original Kompakt record store opened in Cologne. The release features what the Kompakt krew described as some of their “proudest moments” and “classic records that defined our sound today”. Among the classic records that made the cut is one of my all-time favourites, the romantic ode that is Heiko Voss’ ‘I Think About You’, DJ Koze’s remix of Matias Aguayo’s ‘Minimal’, and Rex The Dog’s ’04 stonker ‘Prototype’, along with the underrated cut by Ewan Pearson and Al Usher under their Partial Arts moniker, ‘Trauermusik’. Kompakt 20 Jahre Kollektion 1 drops on March 18, and is sure to remind you of how great the Kompakt label is – and introduce neophytes to a whole new realm of listening.
It seems that Cypress Hill’s drive and genuine love for each other, and for their musical family, has kept them going and kept them alive. Reyes seems just as enamoured by his band as he’s ever been. “For me, man, there’s only one Cypress Hill in the entire world and I happen to be in it – that’s the coolest thing,” he says. “When we were kids, dreaming, we would talk about having a band that lasted forever, like KISS or The Rolling Stones. We’re living out our dreams so it’s pretty easy to stay motivated. Before a show, I have the best feeling because I know how it’s gonna go, and I know I’m gonna see a whole heap of faces being thoroughly entertained. I’ll never, ever be able to get that out of my system.” With: Metallica, A Perfect Circle, Tomahawk, Kyuss Lives!, Killswitch Engage, Sum 41, and heaps more Where: Soundwave @ Sydney Showground, Olympic Park When: Sunday February 24 Sideshow: Monday February 25, UNSW Roundhouse
Silent Servant
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13 :: 45
Lunice Own The Night By Simon Hampson
“I’ve always been the kind of person to analyse myself and where I’m at with things, to make sure that every step forward is solid,” Pierre explains from his home in Montreal. “I guess I came up with this behaviour in high school. I tried to be a ‘bad boy’ just to catch attention, but soon realised it’s really just pointless, so I went in my own direction.” Pierre almost took the traditional day-job route, and the process of moving from dabbling to making a living from music was a gradual one. “Everyone grows up to be in school and have a diploma or some kind of workforce certification,” he says. “I was doing the same thing while selling wine on the side. Music was a pure hobby, like fishing was, then it started to slowly take over my everyday schedule until I found myself touring and working on music full time.” The success of TNGHT– which started with a casual few hours in a London studio with Birchard – has afforded Lunice some great
opportunities. “The TNGHT project really set a platform for us to present to rappers and vocalists in the mainstream realm,” Pierre says. “I’ve always felt that team effort has a bigger presence than solo work, depending on the situation. But in general it just naturally has a bigger effect because there’s more than one mind in the works.” Lunice had a fairly quiet year for solo releases in 2012. “I was working on my full-length album but then got a little sidetracked with the TNGHT project,” Pierre explains, “so I just focused on working with vocalists for most of 2012. This year I’m planning to finish my album.” Any hints as to who any of those collabs might involve? “I got a few projects going at the moment,” he says. “Been working on some new stuff with the homie [Maybach Music signee] Rockie Fresh. But in general, I’d rather just keep it on the low until everyone hears it. I sort of like that whole element of surprise.” The Lunice sound has an abstract quality that could lend itself well to soundtracks, and Pierre’s already looking beyond recording and touring for the next stage of his career; he prefers to be thought of as a ‘creative’ than just as a musician. “Before I was producing, I was studying Cinema Communications Arts in college, actually,” he says. “I’ve always been into working on short films and video art, so the whole sound-scoring influence really comes from doing films and such. I’ve always seen myself working in media. Didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I knew I wanted to be involved in anything that needs creativity.” With: Flosstradamus, Spenda C, Offtapia, U-Khan and more Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday February 23
Herbaliser photo by Matt Humphrey
2
012 was a watershed year for Québécois trap producer Lunice Fermin Pierre II. His TNGHT collaboration with Scottish producer Ross Birchard (AKA Hudson Mohawke) smashed speakers, featured in most of the ‘best of’ lists for last year, and even caught the attention of Kanye West. He’s no flash in the pan, though – Pierre has been producing music since 2000, inspired at first by the work of producer 9th Wonder. He played his first show in 2007, and ended up joining a local crew called Turbo Crunk; through their parties, he met Birchard and eventually signed to the label he co-founded, LuckyMe. Pierre subsequently collaborated with Diplo on a Deerhunter remix released through Mad Decent; his most recent high-profile collab was with rap sensation Azealia Banks (in whose ‘212’ video he appears).
The Herbaliser
Get Down By Alasdair Duncan
O
ver the past two decades, The Herbaliser have established themselves as one of Britain’s most beloved electronic acts, their records drawing on a deeply-ingrained affection for both jazz and hip hop. Producer Ollie Teeba, who formed the group with Jake Wherry in the early ’90s, has been a hip hop lover almost all his life. Do not, however, get him started on current trends in the musical mainstream. “Americans created house music, but it’s only over the past five years that they’ve embraced it full-on. They’ve even renamed it!” he says with a cackle. “They’ve called it EDM, like it’s something new!” The house music sound has, in turn, bled into hip hop, though Teeba bemoans the current state of the genre. “We grew up on the hip hop of the ’80s and ’90s, which was rich and diverse in terms of the palette of sounds,” he says. “Today’s hip hop, at least the mainstream, is dull as dishwater. It’s all got the same drum sound – there’s a Roland 808 sound on every single track, and it’s boring as hell.” While he despairs for the mainstream – Nicki Minaj, in particular, is a target of some choice words – Teeba is not yet ready to concede his beloved hip hop to the all-consuming pop charts. “The underground, certainly in this country, is starting to regenerate itself,” he says. “It went through a period of nondevelopment, but I think that it’s back now.” It’s difficult, in the present climate, for independent artists to make money from their work, but rather than holding people back, Teeba insists that this has led to a newfound sense of creativity. “There’s less expectation,” he says. “When you’re working on that independent level, you don’t have MCs walking in with this idea that they have a dollar value. Because no one’s making money, people will
work on a project if they’re into it. That’s when you’re going to get the best results – you’ll get a great collaboration with someone who’s inspired by your music, rather than someone who was paid to be there.” The chaps from The Herbaliser are all set to return to Australia for a DJ tour; after his rant against the mainstream, Teeba is quite keen to clarify that he and Wherry aren’t old fogeys. “We hear new sounds all the time!” he says with a laugh. “We hear the dubsteps and the drums and basses and all the newfangled dance music styles!” It’s safe to say that we won’t be hearing any Nicki or Justin, although not all contemporary music is out. “I loved ‘Otis’ by Kanye West and Jay-Z,” Teeba says. “It was so great to hear proper hip hop in the charts. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we take influences from new music, but our primary interests are the same as always. We love soul, funk, jazz and hip hop. That’s very much what you’ll hear in a Herbaliser set.” Teeba maintains that being a DJ is his true passion. “I was a DJ before I ever made [my own] music,” he says. “I learned about arrangements, and about the kind of records I wanted to make, via DJing. The DJ’s job is to expose you to music that you may not have heard before, be it old or new. A good DJ can get you to come down and have a bit of a dance while you hear stuff you haven’t heard elsewhere. That’s what I love to do.” What:The Herbaliser DJs, with DJ Hudge, Deejay Mathmatics, Frenzie and JC (Funkdafied) Where: Upstairs Beresford / 354 Bourke St, Surry Hills When: Thursday February 28
Huxley Brave New World By Simon Hampson
T
hings have gone up a notch over the past couple of years for house DJ and producer Huxley. “Especially with things like producing other people – that makes you feel like it’s all a proper career,” confesses the man known to his postman as Michael Dodman, on the phone from a brand new flat in London. (Dodman takes his name from the author Aldous Huxley. “I read The Doors of Perception and liked the name,” he says, with the air of someone who has been asked the question a million times.)
Huxley’s increased profile following that release has brought him over to Australia twice in less than six months. “I really enjoyed last time and it feels good to be coming back so soon,” says Dodman. “I never take anything for granted,
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Dodman seems to like the ‘steady as she goes’ approach. “With regards to my ‘big break’, I honestly couldn’t put my finger on when or where [that happened],” he says, “but I’m grateful for whatever it was… I’m a pretty positive person, so I tend to enjoy things at the time then move on to the next thing.” He credits his family and friends with keeping his head a regular size, even as his unpredictable career path has him flying all over the world to play and produce. “Everyone around me is supportive, but more importantly, everyone around me takes the piss out of me liberally – which is incredibly handy for grounding you when things get a bit over the top!” In 2011, Dodman tamed up with Pulse Radio’s station manager Jimmy Posters to form the label Saints & Sonnets (their ambitious mission statement being to “release at least half-decent house music”), with their releases now a regular feature of his sets. “It’s a bit self-promo I know, but I’ve got stack of wicked tunes from Saints & Sonnets so they’re my go-to killers.” 2013 is shaping up as a big year for Dodman: a new Huxley release on Hypercolour in March
(featuring ‘Bellywedge’, which has already been getting some play), followed by a single on Rinse in April. “I’m starting a Rinse FM Radio show which will be cool,” Dodman adds, “and after Australia I’ve got my first US tour, which will be pretty cool. After that, apart from gigs, I’ll be working on my LP.”
With: What So Not, A-Tonez, Fingers, Bella Sarris, and heaps more Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday March 2
Huxley photo by Katie Palmer
Dodman has been producing since he was a teenager. He started out with garage music and experienced some success in that genre before he reached his deeper, house-infused sound over the last couple of years. Then, when 2020Vision – the Leeds label that also distributes Crazy P, Maya Jane Coles and Motor City Drum Ensemble – put out Huxley’s Out Of The Box EP in April last year, there was a massive reaction. It contained four tunes that were pure dynamite – house with a garage stagger to it, with just the right amount of vocal samples to keep things interesting without descending into tired tropes and clichés.
and the past year has been amazing; but in all honesty, I just do what I do and have done for five or six years. So, while there’s loads more opportunities and DJ gigs, my life hasn’t changed too much – bar being busier.”
Sundays 24 FEBRUARY
BRAG :: 500 :: 18:03:13 :: 47
club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week Flosstradamus
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23
Chinese Laundry, Sydney
Flosstradamus (USA), Lunice (CAN), Spenda C, Offtapia, U-Khan, Hydraulix, Whitecat, Cheap Lettus, Fingers, Mike Hyper, Lola Siren $15-$25 9pm MONDAY FEBRUARY 18 Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket Mother Of A Monday DJ Smokin’ Joe free 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Latin & Jazz DJs free 7pm
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 19 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 Helena, Nicky G, Lavida 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Jam Jam DJs free 8pm
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 20 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Alison Wonderland, The Chemist, Cadres, DJ Tai Daniels, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Hansom free 8pm Enmore Theatre Mac Miller (USA) $59.90 8pm 48 :: BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13
The Lewisham Hotel Garbage 90s Nights Resident DJs free 7pm The Ranch Hotel, Epping Hump Wednesdays Resident DJs 8pm Whaat Club, Potts Point Whip It Wednesdays Vertigo DJs free 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Celsuis, Son Of Kick, Brown Bear, NatNoiz, Pablo Calamari, Clockwerk, Deckhead, Jack Bailey, Mindquad $5 9pm
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21 Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Vamp Music R.L. Grime, Fingers, Robust $25 9pm The Cool Room, The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill We Love Thursdays – Future Music Warm Up Party Royaal, Troy T, DJ Big Will 8pm Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Buzz Richard Savvy, Ben Drayton free 8pm Q Bar, Darlinghurst Hot Damn! Hot Damn! DJs $15-$20 9pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Loud Resident DJs 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross
Swag Resident DJs $10 9pm Whaat Club, Potts Point Chakra Camo, Brizz free 9.30pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda O Week Party! Lewi McKirdy, Moody (UK), Bradley Rogers free (student)-$5 9pm
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi DJ Lola Siren, Georgia, DJ Greg Perano free 6pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Smash, Bang, Pow Chick Flick, Slip & Slyde, Harper $10-$15 8pm Cherry Bar, The Star, Pyrmont Husky free 6pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass A-Tonez & Samrai, Hydraulix, Autoclaws, Kombat, Bruxism, Transforma, Bassriot $15-$25 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Gimme Five Shamus, DJ Mike Silver free 5pm FakeClub, Kings Cross BPM Defusa, Delete, Blocka, X-Stylez, Lihan, Ben Penfold, DupleX, Cereberus, Menace, D-Activ8, Headrush, Wheeler, Cryptic, Ben Lawrence, Crescendo, Cloudz, Booz, Harlem, Wahnie $10 9pm
FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Broken Thought Theory, Taylor Wolf, Nonne & Marley, Decypher Us, Jason Matts, Steven Ariphoff, Imposter $10 8pm Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale Afterlife Drum & Bass Foreigndub, Seltay, Aggrovator, Rival, Dauntless, Double Robin, Sam Da Chemist, Whitey, Vice Versa, Severity Zero free 9pm Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito! DJs free 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney L-Vis 1990 (UK), Bok Bok (UK), Cliques, Moriarty, Preacha $25 (+ bf) 11pm Ivy Pool Club, Sydney Moonshine Danny T, Alley Oop, Shivers, Sam Francisco, CC Disco $20 9pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Aron Mana, DJ Rain Julz, Resident DJs free 9pm Marquee, The Star, Pyrmont Ten DMC $20 10pm Oatley Hotel We Luv Oatley Hotel Fridays free 8pm Omega Lounge, City Tattersalls Club, Sydney Unwind Fridays DJ Greg Summerfield free 5.30pm Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Furry Fridays Barney Philley, DJ Colin Gaff free 9pm The Ranch Hotel, Epping Retro Fridays Resident DJs 9.30pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross MILF: Man I Love Fridays Resident DJs 8pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Trus’me (UK), Morgan $20 10pm Sydney Livehouse @ The Lewisham Hotel Christian Joseph, K Jr KAZE, Lee Monro & Ello C, Tim Bautista $20 8pm Tatler, Darlinghurst Charades Recloose (NZ), Simon Caldwell, U-Khan, Pharley $20 (+ bf) 10pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coco Di Gio Jean 1st Birthday Party – Brazil Night Resident DJs 9pm UTS Tower Building, Broadway UTS Back To The Future O Fest Midnight Juggernauts, Hermitude, Parachute Youth, New Navy, Ajax, Zoe Badwi, Elizabeth Rose, Grey Ghost, Panama, Purple Sneakers DJs, Luke Million, Allday, Pluto Jonze, Tokyo Denmark Sweden, Tyler Touche, Willow Beats, DJ Knife, Elliot The Bull, Canecutter, Rabz, Ben TalbotWright $20-$30 3pm all-ages The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Bring On The Weekend! DJ Matt Roberts, Candidate free 5pm Whaat Club, Potts Point Think Fridays Discobusy, Rymz, Jamie-Lynn $10 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Dead Heads, Unity Floors, Polographia, Katie Whyte & The Pales, The Darkened Seas, Yoke, The Water Board, LunyP, Vandallay,
Beni
DJ Morgs, Joyride, Brag DJs, Danny Cruel, Pigeon DJs $10$15 8pm
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23
SUNDAY JUNE 24
Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Falcona Saturdays Beni, Bluejuice (DJ set), Hansom, Hobophonics free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Ritual Stalker, Sherlock Bones, Matty Bixx $20 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Flosstradamus (USA), Lunice (CAN), Spenda C, Offtapia, U-Khan, Hydraulix, Whitecat, Cheap Lettus, Fingers, Mike Hyper, Lola Siren $15-$25 9pm Club 77, Darlinghurst Starfuckers Starfuckers DJs 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Yellow Sox DJ Toby Neal free 8pm Enmore Theatre Slaughterhouse (USA), Full Tote Odds $99 6.45pm Establishment, Sydney Sienna Saturdays Resident DJs 8pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Hands Up! Staggman, Clockwerk free 11.30pm Goldfish, Kings Cross David Morales (USA), Matt Cahill, Liam Sampras, Phil Toke $40 (+ bf) 9pm The Green Room Lounge, Enmore The Vinyl Countdown DJ Nic Dalton free 7pm The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park Cheap Sober, Merc Mason, Azlan, DJ Skae $25.50 8pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour Homemade Saturdays Resident DJs 9pm Ivy, Sydney Pacha Firebeatz (NL), Mo’ Funk, Ben Morris, John Glover, Handsom, Devola, Chris Fraser, Trent Rackus, Adam Bozzetto, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Joyride, Deckhead, Kid Crookes, GMOD, Program, Lola Siren $40 6.30pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Simon Laing, DJ Michael Stewart free 9pm Luxury Waterfront Location, Sydney Summer Music: Part 2 Matthew Dekay, Murat Kilic, YokoO, James Taylor, Hannah Gibbs, Franchi Bros, Jungle Snake, Marc Jarvin, James Petrou, Space Junk, Johnny Toth, Nacho Vossler $99 11.30am Marquee, The Star, Pyrmont Nukewood $30 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst How To Dress Well (live, USA) $40 (+ bf) 9pm Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst Hot Rod Matt Vaughan, Sveta, Seabas, Smithers, Brendan Maclean, Ariane, Apokalypstic free 10pm Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Up Dayclub Resident DJs 5am Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Resident DJs 8pm
Secret Location, Sydney Unbound Sound – Warehouse Party DJ Illya, Ben Meli, Shalyn, Chris Valan, Emmet Greene $30 8pm The Soda Factory, Surry Hills The Soda Factory Public Launch Party DJ Spinna (USA) free 7pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Matthew Dekay (DE), Dean Relf, Murat Kilic $25 10pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Soft & Slow After Hours Dreamcatcher, Pink Lloyd free 3am The Starship, Sydney Harbour AGWA Yacht Club Guy Gerber (ISR), Dixon (GER), Emerson Todd, Brohn, Co-Op, T Boy, Gabby $79 (+ bf) 2.30pm Sydney Glass Island, Sydney Harbour Boat People – Last Days of Summer Mike O’Connor, Fabz, Andy Maguire, Joey Tupaea, Emme Jay $55 (+ bf) 2pm Sydney Livehouse @ The Lewisham Hotel Tycotic, LHA, B-Don & Mizi, Nix, Chux $20 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Trademark Saturdays Troy T, Cadell, Nacho Pop, Joey Kaz, Jason K 9pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Skybar Saturdays Resident DJs $20 9pm Whaat Club, Potts Point After Dark Robust, Camo, Vespa $10-$15 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Airwolf, Go Freek, Kato, Dan Farley, Oh Glam, Snillum, Mike Hyper, Thomas Lisse, Goodfella, Hannah Gibbs, Deckhead $15-$20 8pm
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays Dixon (GER), Michelle Owen, Claire Morgan, Jake Hough, Robbie Cordukes, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $10 2pm Beach Haus, Potts Point Guy Gerber (Israel), Taras, Rogers Room, Marc Jarvin $50 9pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Block Party Nick Toth, Clockwerk, Omar Varts, Richie Ryan, DJ Scott Wolfe free 3pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 3pm Jacksons On George, Sydney Aphrodisiac Resdent DJs free 5pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Resident DJs free 10pm Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly True Vibenation free 7pm 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 Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice After Hours $25 4am Tatler, Darlinghurst Dust Secret International Guest $10 10pm Vic On The Park Hotel, Marrickville One Day Sundays Joyride, Adit, Raph free 1pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour DJ Brynstar free 2pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Soup Kitchen Manjazz, Nacho Vossler, Space Junk, Antoine Vice, The Soupy DJs free 7pm
club picks
snap
up all night out all week . . .
up all night out all week...
Alison Wonderland
Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Alison Wonderland, The Chemist, The Cadres, DJ Tai Daniels, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Hansom free 8pm Enmore Theatre Mac Miller (USA) $59.90 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall Celsuis, Son Of Kick, Brown Bear, NatNoiz, Pablo Calamari, Clockwerk, Deckhead, Jack Bailey, Mindquad $5 9pm
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 21 The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda O Week Party! Lewi McKirdy, Moody (UK), Bradley Rogers free (student)-$5 9pm
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22 Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass A-Tonez & Samrai, Pop The Hatch, Hydraulix, Autoclaws, Kombat, Bruxism, Transforma, Bassriot $15-$25 10pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel Broken Thought Theory, Taylor Wolf, Nonne & Marley, Decypher Us, Jason Matts, Steven Ariphoff, Imposter $10 8pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney L-Vis 1990 (UK), Bok Bok (UK), Cliques, Moriarty, Preacha $25 (+ bf) 11pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Trus’me (UK), Morgan $20 10pm Tatler, Darlinghurst Charades Recloose (NZ), Simon Caldwell, U-Khan, Pharley $20 (+ bf) 10pm
UTS Tower Building, Broadway UTS Back To The Future O Fest Midnight Juggernauts, Hermitude, Parachute Youth, New Navy, Ajax, Zoë Badwi, Elizabeth Rose, Grey Ghost, Panama, Purple Sneakers DJs, Luke Million, Allday, Pluto Jonze, Tokyo Denmark Sweden, Tyler Touché, Willow Beats, DJ Knife, Elliot The Bull, Canecutter, Rabz, Ben Talbot-Wright $20-$30 3pm all-ages
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Falcona Saturdays Beni, Bluejuice (DJ set), Hansom, Hobophonics free 8pm Enmore Theatre Slaughterhouse (USA), Full Tote Odds $99 6.45pm
ultramagnetic mcs
PICS :: TL
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 20
08:02:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
Goldfish, Kings Cross David Morales (USA), Matt Cahill, Liam Sampras, Phil Toke $40 (+ bf) 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst How To Dress Well (live, USA) $40 (+ bf) 9pm The Soda Factory, Surry Hills The Soda Factory Public Launch Party DJ Spinna (USA) free 7pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Matthew Dekay (DE), Dean Relf, Murat Kilic $25 10pm The Starship, Sydney Harbour AGWA Yacht Club Guy Gerber (ISR), Dixon (GER), Emerson Todd, Brohn, Co-Op, T Boy, Gabby $79 (+ bf) 2.30pm
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays Dixon (GER), Michelle Owen, Claire Morgan, Jake Hough, Robbie Cordukes, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $10 2pm
hermitude
PICS :: TL
Midnight Juggernauts
09:02:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711 S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO)
OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER CASWELL :: ASHLEY MAR ::
:: DANIEL BOUD :: MARY JANE
BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13 :: 49
snap up all night out all week . . .
party profile
flosstradamus & lunice It’s called: Flosstradamus & Lunice It sounds like: Funky fresh bass-powered trap music. Dat Roland 808 drums, triple hats and dem pitched and re-sampled vocals … Who’s playing: Flosstradamus (USA), Lunic e (Can), Spenda C, Hydraulix, Offtapia, U-Khan, Whitecat, Lola Siren, Fingers, Mike Hyper, Cheap Lettus. Three songs you’ll hear on the night: Major Lazer – ‘Original Don’ (Flosstradamus Remix); A-Trak ft. Juicy J & Danny Brown – ‘Piss Test’ (Flosstradamus & A-Trak Remix); TNGHT – ‘Higher Ground’. And one you definitely won’t: Baauer – ‘Harle m Shake’ (OK… maybe you will. We’ll see.) Sell it to us: Two of the hottest underground electronic acts in the world headlining a night dedicated to the hottest sound of 2013.. . this is going to be HUGE. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: How glad you were that you came down early and did not miss out! Crowd specs: Errybody in the club getting tipsy… Wallet damage: $25/$30 Where: Chinese Laundry
numbers feat jackmaster
maxxi sound system
PICS :: AM
09:02:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
el-p
PICS :: PX
09:02:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999
bass mafia
PICS :: AM
s.a.s.h 01:02:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999 50 :: BRAG :: 500 :: 18:02:13
PICS :: AM
07:02:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
10:02:13 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9211 3486 S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO)
OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER CASWELL :: ASHLEY MAR ::
:: DANIEL BOUD :: MARY JANE
PICS :: AM
When: Saturday February 23 – doors open at 8pm
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