asta ++DUNE +PIGEON (DJ SET) +DJ GEORGIA +HOBOPHONICS
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Down Under Events is excited to present the reunited Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldof’s band will be playing together for the first time since 1986. They last toured Australia in 1979 “Playing again with the Rats and doing those great songs again will be exciting afresh. We were an amazing band and I just feel it’s the right time to re-Rat, to go back to Boomtown for a visit. And to commence our World Tour Down Under where we enjoyed enormous chart success could not be more appropriate.” Bob Geldof Rockin the Centre in Sydney with Boomtown Rats will be Iconic 80s stars, Eurogliders. Reformed by and featuring Grace Knight and Bernie Lynch will play all their huge hits including ‘Can’t Wait To See You, ‘We Will Together’ and ‘Heaven Must Be There’.
Special Guests
Eurogliders
I don’t like Mondays Banana Republic Rat Trap u Someone’s looking at yo Diamond Smiles ts and many more great hi
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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
five things WITH
FREYA AND ELIAS FROM GNOME Growing Up We grew up with parents who aren’t 1. particularly musical (sorry Mum and Dad)
our debut album, which we plan to release in 2014.
but who have always been incredibly supportive of our musical endeavours – be they learning instruments, writing or performing. We both learned piano from young ages and then branched out to other instruments and styles.
The Music You Make We’ve focused on trying to make our 4. live show dynamic and engaging and we’re
Inspirations We’re massive Sufjan Stevens fans and 2. love how he combines acoustic and electronic instrumentation. We’ve also always been inspired by places we’ve travelled to and their musical cultures as well choral and orchestral music. Your Band Well, we’ve known each other for a while, 3. heh, but this is our first foray into writing music together. We recorded our EP in our home studio with Danny Keig, ex-Megastick Fanfare, and he was so much a part of the musical process that he’s now writing and playing guitar with us. Recently we’ve had a really good time sharing the stage with Naysayer & Gilsun, Lanterns, City Calm Down and Anton Franc. We’re currently working on material for
THE SECOND COMING DARKNESS/JETT CANCEL
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8 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
Rihanna
La Dispute
ELLA ELLA ELLA
Rihanna is playing Sydney Allphones Arena on October 3, as part of her Diamonds World Tour, and if she’s not literally covered in diamonds from head to toe for it we’ll be very miffed indeed. We would like the show to be a giant dancing disco ball of supercompressed carbon, all chandeliers and bling-armour. You know the Nelly Rule, RiRi – shawty (the fans being the shawty in this instance) wanna see the ice then you ice goddamn everything. Tickets are on sale from 9am this Friday, March 22. Advance tickets on sale to Visa cardholders until 5pm March 15 via visaentertainment.com.au
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With: Christo Jones, Golden Blonde Where: Brighton Up Bar When: Friday, March 22
IVY GEORGI
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remember why you started off the first place. The electronic scene in Sydney is really taking off though, which is exciting. The best show we’ve seen in ages was David Byrne & St. Vincent at the State Theatre for Sydney Festival, which was absolutely incredible. Other recent highlights have been Kings of Convenience, Animal Collective and Beach House.
Ivy League have a track record with signing great acts, which is why we are all very keen to catch Perth artist Georgi Kay when she plays at The Backroom in Potts Point this Wednesday (March 20, your Leunig calendar calls it), and when she plays that ‘Ipswich’ song (the one that sounds like evil Blasko) we’ll be annoying you with “that’s the one from that Top Of The Lake mini-series she’s in” and you will look sternly at us, and your friend with the hat (even though we are definitely indoors) will shush us, but we won’t care because we’ll just be thinking “How good is Georgi Kay?” to ourselves.
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Music, Right Here, Right Now The music industry can be kinda difficult 5. at times, but you just have to persevere and
A few weeks ago, Dan Hawkins told us that touring is “just a good laugh” while his brother Justin told our sister publication The Music Network it was “unbearable, unbearable!” which may or may not go a long way to explaining why The Darkness have cancelled their Australian tour with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (they reckon it’s due to the drummer’s hip issues, which seems like more of a Rolling Stones problem, really). As this is a cancellation, not merely a postponement, refunds will be available from your point of purchase, which we assume was an Internet.
REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Ian Barr, Simon Binns, Christie Eliezer, 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
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
really into projections (which Elias has been making) so we want to continue making video art that enhances the music. Our dream bands to support would defi nitely be Animal Collective, Björk, Destroyer, Peter Bjorn & John, Grimes, and the list goes on...
LA (THE) DISPUTE
La Dispute hail from the American Midwest, which means they’ll be all gentlemanly and nicely-mannered and call your mum ma’am, assuming you bring her along to their July 5 show at the Metro, which maybe you shouldn’t do because they sound a lot like Envy and Thursday and all those punk bands. Unless that’s totally your mum’s thing, of course.
When you name your band The Dead Kennedys you are pretty much setting your entire career up to be pissing people off, which is basically how frontman Jello Biafra’s journey has gone. If you are one of those who hangs off his every yelp, you’ll no doubt be a fan of his band Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School of Medicine, who also have former Ween bassist Andrew Weiss. Their recent concept album White People And The Damage Done tackles corruption, US foreign policy, media lies, tabloid scandal and all that fun stuff, so don’t you dare even think about smiling at their May 18 show at the Metro, no matter how awesome it gets. Support from Zeahorse and The Hard-Ons (which must have seemed like a great name when the band members were teenaged and not middle-aged).
JAGWAR MA(D FOR IT)
The Happy Mondays are coming and The Stone Roses just left, but nothing has made 2013 feel more like the candyflipping, Renihair-wearing, paint-splattered glory days of
1989 than Jagwar Ma and their gloriously baggy seven-minute track ‘The Throw’. Pitchfork and the NME raved at length about how amazing it is, and BBC Radio 1 added it quicker than you can say “the second coming of Jesus Jones”. If you either missed them at the BDO, or saw them at the BDO, you’ll wanna get along to their first-ever national headlining tour, which turns Oxford Art Factory into Factory Records on April 18. They’ll be supporting The xx at the Hordern on April 6 and 7, too.
ON THE WAGON
You know how Bon Jovi is both a band and a guy? (“And a way of life, amiright son?” we obnoxiously yell, while going in for a highfive. We are also wearing a Triple M tee in that fantasy sequence.) Well so is Wagons, and last year saw Henry Wagons go solo and release the highly acclaimed Expecting Company? – but because touring alone makes you feel like lonely backstage Elvis most of the time, he has regathered the band to work on Wagons’ sixth album and their one-billionth national tour, which stops in at the Vanguard on June 15. Tickets via the venue.
gathering.
Image: George Telek, Vika & Linda Bull, Albert David, Frank Yamma.
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BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13 :: 9
rock music news
free stuff
welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town... with Nathan Jolly
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
five things WITH
ENDLESS BOOGIE
NEW NAVY Cam Edwards from Panama). Luke likes The Horrors; Jamie hates them. Jamie likes Modest Mouse; Luke hates them. The Music You Make We have been called indie 4. exotica; that sounds pretty cool to us. We released an EP about a year ago, recorded at Freefall Studios with Antonio Hannah and mixed by Jono Ma. Since then we have recorded a cover version of Telepopmusik’s ‘Breathe’ – which we did in REC studios, Sydney, with Craig Wilson – and our latest single ‘Regular Town’. Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. It’s healthy, flourishing – provided you have the right amount of water and fertiliser. We watched All The Colours recently in Sydney, they were epic.
Growing Up We watched a lot of 1. cartoons, while eating cereal.
Fleetwood Mac – Tusk; Lionel Richie – Dancing on the Ceiling.
Us: Michael Jackson – Bad on cassette. The Bangles taped from the radio. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles soundtrack on CD. Kriss Kross on cassette. Parents: Van Morrison – Moondance; INXS – Kick;
Inspirations Your Band Joey Waronker – because We like good stuff and that. 2. 3. he can do everything. John Creatively, the band is Luke, Lennon – no reason needed. Brian Wilson – he wrote melodies that changed the way I listened to music. Jimi Hendrix
FBIRTHDAY
FBi Social are turning two this month, which means they are pouting petulantly and throwing a tantrum this Friday March 22 with Cabins, Day Ravies, Unity Floors, Buzz Kull and Big White, and another big party the following night, March 23, with Tim Fitz, Super Magic Hats, Karoshi, Swimming and more TBA (but the party is less than a week away!). The best thing about all this is… well, all those acts that are playing, but the second-best thing is entry will only set you back a tenner, or about five Kinder Surprises if that’s how you work out monetary matters.
– because he’s a left handed wizard.
Jamie and James. But live, we steal musicians from our favourite Sydney bands (Luke Davison from The Preatures, and
With: Swirls, Gang Of Youths, Ratbag DJs Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Wednesday March 20 from 7.30pm
We’re not sure what we love most about Endless Boogie. Is it the hair? Because frontman Paul Major, AKA Top Dollar, has one of the greatest headsuits we’ve ever seen – like Johnny Ramone crossed with a hillbilly handfi sher. Is it their love of Australian music? Because they say GOD, The Saints and The Aztecs are some of their biggest infl uences. Or is it the fact that their name is totally apt, and it will make you groove and sweat and thrash and jump up and down until mountain ranges crumble into dust and humanity evolves back into amoebas? Yeah, it’s probably that one. You should go see them at Goodgod on Wednesday March 27, because it will blow your tiny mind. We’ve even got a double pass to give away – just email us with your best dance move.
FREE(FORM) GALORE
Usually free music can be pretty hitand-miss, (probably a ratio of about 87% terrible, 13% good) but we’ve got some music you can score for free that is 100% golden. Freeform Patterns is a new label straight outta Sydney and Melbourne, and they’ve got an ace roster of bands on the go. We’ve got a Freeform album pack and you’ve got a chance to give it a happy home, so to adopt Meat & Bone by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Thee Oh Sees’ Putrifi ers II, Circles by Moon Duo, Spazzys’ Dumb Is Forever and Joe Gideon & The Shark’s Freakish, tell us your postal address and the greatest patterned item of clothing you’ve worn.
OM(G)
US stoner-drone outfit OM are returning to Australia in May, in support of their fifth record Advaitic Songs, which lays waste to the minimalist sound of their past four records because making noise and layering instruments in the name of psychedelia is pretty much the best thing you can do. Take mushroom caps, gun a twenty pack of McNuggets from across the road and then go and see them at the Annandale on May 9, before they turn the place into a JB Hi-Fi or a Fosseys or something.
Lawson
SELTMANN
Kate Miller-Heidke
Because she is sick and tired of sitting around the house watching her husband meticulously create then furiously delete portions of the forthcoming (ha!) Avalanches record, Sally Seltmann is playing a special, stripped-back (we assume this means no Blasko or Throsby or drums) Sydney show March 21 at The Vanguard during which she’ll preview songs from her new album, due later this year, as well as trawling through the ol’ back catalogue.
HOLY CHORD
Blackchords sound like an indie Coldplay or a more current Cordrazine and have a sound that is way too anthemic and epic to be made in venues as intimate and ruggish (adjective: having qualities where a rug could be placed without it looking odd. See also: fireplacy) as the Brighton Up Bar, which is where they will be playing April 26 in support of their new album A Thin Line (out April 5). It’s a good thing nobody has cottoned on to this fact, or we’d be watching them at the Hordern or some big hollow place like that.
HOT HOT HEAT
KMH
Kate Miller-Heidke (remember, I before E except for Kate MillerHeidke) is the latest total legend to announce a run of shows in churches and cathedrals under the Heavenly Sounds banner. Her Sydney stop will be a June 27 gig at St. Stephen’s Uniting Church (Macquarie Street, CBD), with country lad Franky Walnut cracking open proceedings. Get there early and ask the vicar, “What about dinosaurs?”, “If Eve only had sons, how did the rest of the reproduction happen, then?” and “What about dinosaurs, though, really?” Tickets on sale through Ticketek.
The term ‘psychobilly’ fills us with an inordinate level of rage here at the BRAG, and luckily for us we have a soft spot for Texas’ The Reverend Horton Heat otherwise the reading of that word could have led to mass murders in the Surry Hills region (or at least a shoeshaped dent in the filing cabinet near our desk). The news of his May 24 show at the Factory Theatre has quelled our anger quite a bit, and gotten us excited about the world again, which is nice when it happens. If you are new to his music, here’s a catch-up guide: sex, drugs, booze, cars, rock ‘n’ roll. Sorted.
EAST COAST RIOT
Lawson sound like a blend between The Script, Travis and Keane, which means if these are three things you enjoy, you will enjoy Lawson. Fact. Also, they are named after one Dr. Lawson, who actually saved the lead singer’s life when he extracted a brain tumour from him during an epic 18-hour operation – so there’s that. Their debut album Chapman Square won the Braggy Award for Most British Sounding Album Title Ever, and they play the Metro on Thursday April 18, with tickets on sale from March 26.
support of their scuzzy second single ‘Catch The Sun’ – April 3 at the Beach Road Hotel (with Velociraptor) and May 10 at Brighton Up Bar. Go to both.
DON’T BE SO
Despite alternative R&B singer Georgia Potter’s new single ‘Reckless’ not being a cover of the Australian Crawl classic, we like it quite a lot, certainly enough to catch her April 5 show at The Standard, at which she’ll be supported by Laneous and The Family Yah. She apparently wrote the track under the stars at Splendour, and considering the lustful, fuckconsequences vibe of the track, we can guess that was a messy night for her…
GROUP’N AT GOODGOD
Sydney art-rock act Charge Group (Google the video for ‘Broken Sunlight’ to see a dancing Brendan Cowell) head up an impressive lineup at Goodgod this Friday, March 22, which will also feature Jordan Ireland (ex-The Middle East) and power pop geniuses Knievel. It’s an early show, too (doors at 7pm) so you’ll have to skip Home
& Away (only kidding – tape it, obviously!) and maybe the second half of Neighbours, depending on where you live (that tracker we installed on you doesn’t seem to be working).
LAURELS
Sydney shoegaze geniuses The Laurels haven’t just borrowed the woozy glide guitars of My Bloody Valentine, they have also followed the ‘spend forever and a day getting your records out’ mode of their Irish forebears. But all that changed last year when they signed with Rice Is Nice, released their debut record Plains, and recorded a track for the quite-good Australian Nuggets compilation. This year, rather than resting on their… achievements, they’re gearing up to tour the US off the back of the exciting news that Plains will now get a Stateside release. Before they do so, they will be hosting a fundraiser on Saturday April 6 at The Standard, with World’s End Press, East River and Zeahorse. It’ll cost you a tenner and gain you the satisfaction of knowing they won’t be living on greasy burgers, and therefore Sydney’s most attractive band will remain so.
“There’s screaming and crying in the high rise blocks. It’s a rat trap, Billy, but you’re already caught” - THE BOOMTOWN RATS 10 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
xxx
Adelaide have a band now that isn’t The Superjesus, and they call themselves City Riots (it’s cute they call it a city), and managed to unleash one of the best Australian records of 2012 with their debut Sea Of Bright Lights. They are heading back to Sydney twice in
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BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13 :: 11
The Music Network
themusicnetwork.com
Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer
THINGS WE HEAR
• As Jack Nicholson said, you can’t handle the tooth! Guns N’ Roses Australian tour kicked off to a biting start in Perth, with a fan threatening to sue them. Darren Wright, 39, claims two front teeth were broken when Axl Rose flung a cordless mic into the crowd and hit him. The tour promoter offered an apology and a signed Axl mic (the irony does not escape us) but Wright says that won’t pay for his estimated $5,000 dental bill, and has hired a lawyer. • So, what was the illness that caused the cancellation of The Darkness/Joan Jett tour? Darkness drummer Ed Graham’s hip problems have resurfaced. • Australian trade magazine The Music Network is ceasing its print version and, in a sign of the times, will remain an online publication. • With Tame Impala and DZ Deathrays
SPLENDOUR MOVES
Splendour In the Grass is finally moving to its permanent home in North Byron Parklands, staging a housewarming party on Friday July 26, 27 and 28. “It has been a long journey to get to this point”, say co-producers Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco. “Seven years after we first found this idyllic piece of land, we’re so excited to finally move Splendour to its permanent home.” 20 minutes out of Byron, the 660 acres of rolling hills, native forest and water-lily-covered dams provides for a lot of camping.
HOUSE VS HURRICANE
House Vs. Hurricane signed with New York City-based punk and metal label Equal Vision, who will release their UNFD album Crooked Teeth in North America. Guitarist Chris Shaw says the label “released some of our favourite and most inspiring records.” House Vs. Hurricane is currently on a 23-date European tour with For The Fallen Dreams, Dream On Dreamer and No Bragging Rights, before returning to Oz for a ten-date East Coast run from April 18.
making waves in the UK, highbrow newspaper The Guardian asked readers to tweet them with suggestions for their Top 5 list of “the best Australian bands you’ve never heard of.” Winner was Melbourne garage band Valentine, who are relatively unknown in Oz but just finished a European tour and have a UK manager. Also on the list: Melbourne group Lower Plenty, post-dubstep electronica merchants Kucka, Sydney act Palms, and electronica duo Collarbones. • It was a good week last week for The Drones. Their album debuted at #18 on the ARIA chart thanks to community radio and triple j. After opening for Neil Young & Crazy Horse at Bimbadgen Estate in the Hunter Valley on Saturday night, they were invited to do the rest of the Oz tour and NZ too. • Vaudeville Smash arrived late at SXSW: they tweeted their United flight to America was cancelled so they had to fork out for
NATIONAL CULTURAL POLICY
The Federal Government’s National Cultural Policy, Creative Australia, was revealed last week. There is some good news for the music sector, though there won’t be too much cash splashed around, and hoped-for tax incentives for investment in music didn’t eventuate. The Community Broadcasting Foundation will receive $5 million, of which $2.4 million is a lifeline to the almost-axed Amrap program. The government’s peak arts funding body, the Australia Council, gets an extra $75.3 million over four years – some of which will hopefully go to contemporary music. An extra $39 million is also ear-marked to ensure that initiatives including Playing Australia, Festivals Australia, Contemporary Music Touring Program and Contemporary Touring Initiative continue. The Council will also get an overhaul, so that grants to sectors including music will be assessed by their peers. The Creative Young Stars Program, for local MPs to give grants for competitions and training which sports already gets, will be funded $8.1 million. It means local MPs and their staff will work more closely with music industry stakeholders in their area – a relationship that might help when it comes to
new tickets on Qantas. • Last Saturday’s Feggstock in Orange was axed four days out, “due to unforeseen circumstances.” • Aussie music streaming service Songl will be launched later this week. • After similar boozy forays by AC/DC and Motörhead, Iron Maiden are launching their own beer: Trooper. Singer Bruce Dickinson hopes it’ll go global. Bassist Steve Harris has his own pub on his UK estate. • For triple j’s One Night Stand in Dubbo on April 13, local cops are bringing in more officers, drug dogs and mounted police to cope with the expected 15,000 punters, many coming from outside town. • Kasabian guitarist Jay Mehler has quit to join Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye. • One Direction’s Niall Horan wanted to get a Made In Ireland tattoo on his bum, but the tattooist said that his arse cheeks were, ahem, “too squidgy”. working out problems involving music venues. In any case, a National Arts and Culture Accord between government at the state, territory and local levels, “will provide an opportunity to analyse the planning and regulatory rules that present barriers to artistic and cultural practice and limit opportunities for live music in urban areas,” Arts Minister Simon Crean said. Money is also available to train school leavers and at-risk students in arts careers, with $500,000 a year earmarked for peer-funding projects.
‘HARLEM SHAKE’ FURORE
Baauer is in hot water over samples he used in his hit 'Harlem Shake', with two musicians wanting money for unauthorised use. The “Do the Harlem Shake!” line comes from Philadelphia rapper Jayson Musson’s song ‘Miller Time’, recorded in 2001 by Plastic Little. “Con los terroristas” came from retired reggaeton artist-turned-preacher Hector Delgado’s ‘Los Terroristas’. Baauer assembled his track in his bedroom and uploaded it, never dreaming it’d be a viral phenomenon.
SELECT ROSTER
Latest additions to Select Music’s roster are Canberra rapper Citizen Kay and Brisbane’s D At Sea, whose new EP Unconscious shot into the iTunes chart last week.
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Our colleagues at Sound Alliance have launched a pop culture site called Junkee for 18-29 year olds, adding it to its existing titles which include Faster Louder and inthemix. It is edited by Steph Harmon, former editor of The BRAG, and one-time entertainment editor of Girlfriend magazine, Rob Moran.
WORK AT SPUNK
Spunk Records is looking for a Label and Publicity Manager. The Spunk roster includes Joanna Newsom, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, Sufjan Stevens, Antony & The Johnsons, and locally Jack Ladder, Holly Throsby, Bored Nothing and Henry Wagons. The successful applicant will have a minimum 2-3 years experience in a similar role in the music industry and a proven track record in working on both the publicity and marketing aspects of indie music releases. Email applications to admin@spunk.com.au
SMALL VENUES WIN
The NSW government is introducing a new law that makes it easier for bars and music venues with a capacity of 60 or under to cut costs and red tape, allowing them to trade until 2am. The move is criticised by anti-violence advocates, who previously pushed for restrictions on late-night trading; Newcastle CBD saw a 37% drop in alcoholfuelled violence in the 18 months following the implementation of that legislation (known as the 'Newcastle initiative').
Lifelines Expecting: daughter for US country band Lady Antebellum singer Hillary Scott and her husband, drummer Chris Tyrell. They’re planning to record her heartbeat on a song on their next album. Split: Janoskians’ Jai Brooks and Victorious star Ariana Grande.
CHANCE WATERS
Arrested: Russian police also nabbed those involved in a play about the harassment and jailing of Pussy Riot.
APRA NOMS OPEN
The APRA Awards will be held on Monday June 17 in Melbourne. Members are asked to vote for Song Of The Year, and nominate for the Blues & Roots Work Of The Year. Various categories are voted for by 60,000 eligible APRA or the APRA board or APRA based statistical analysis. See apra.com.au
NSW CREATIVE INDUSTRIES TASKFORCE RECOMMENDS (UK)
HARMON EMERGES AT JUNKEE
Bluesfest should be sold out by the time you read this, says co-founder Peter Noble. Friday tickets and the threeday tickets are already gone, with only a “handful” more tickets to the festival available. Incidentally, you’d think Noble would find it difficult to top this year’s bill, with Ben Harper, Robert Plant, Paul Simon, Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Rodriguez and Jason Mraz – but he says he’s already talking to some “awesome” artists for the 25th anniversary next year. Sydney-based Chance Waters signed with Universal Music Publishing Group Australia. Director of A&R Heath Johns said, “Chance is an engaging lyricist and a freakishly good hook writer. [...] we can’t wait to forge a number of local and international writing opportunities for Chance as he works on the follow-up to [his 2012 album] Infinity.”
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Rosen. NSW creative industries exports were worth over $1.5 billion in 2010-11, or about 3% of total NSW exports. It’s expected to grow faster than the NSW economy in the next ten years: Access Economics predicts an annual growth of 3.1% to 2020, compared to the 2.7% growth of the NSW economy. Almost 150,000 people are employed in the creative industries in NSW. Go to engage. haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/iap and make comments by April 2.
NSW’s Creative Industries Taskforce unveiled 46 recommendations to make Sydney one of the Top 10 most creative cities in the world. These include support from the state governments and peak bodies to boost education and training funding; three inter-sector research centers to stimulate innovation, identify which overseas markets are a priority and show creative bodies how to export; establishing a specific Ministerial responsibility within NSW Trade and Investment; and a creative industries’ Business Leaders Group to report each year on the progress of the 10-year Industry Action Plan. The taskforce was chaired by ARIA chief executive Dan
Ill: Morrissey cancelled more US shows on account of double pneumonia. Arrested: Russian police nabbed five people for doing the Harlem Shake dance on a World War II memorial.
Sued: Ne-Yo, for defamation, by his ex-girlfriend Jesseca White, who once claimed that the singer was the father of her child. A paternity suit proved her wrong. But they reached a $575,000 settlement agreement which included a proviso he not talk about it. But last September the rapper did, on a Behind The Music episode on VH1. White says she’s been accused of being a gold digger as a result, and suffers from hair loss and vomiting. Died: original Yes guitarist Peter Banks, 65, heart failure. Banks and bassist Chris Squire formed Yes in 1968. Banks played on their first two albums before being sacked over arguments over the direction of Yes. He formed Flash and Empire, and published his autobiography Beyond & Before. Died: former Samson and Iron Maiden drummer, Clive Burr, 56, in his sleep. He played on Maiden’s first three albums Iron Maiden, Killers and The Number Of The Beast. Burr suffered from MS.
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Out Of Control Again By Jody Macgregor
B
ritish India’s last album, 2010’s Avalanche, was their most successful so far. But after an up there’s usually a down. For British India it came in the form of a flood (which hit their studio and destroyed their gear) and financial trouble for their label – but the biggest problem was that they became directionless. Since being thrust into the limelight at the age of 18 with their first album, Guillotine, they hadn’t had a chance to slow down and think about things – until suddenly everything stalled, and they found themselves with nothing but time. “It was British India’s midlife crisis,” is how frontman Declan Melia puts it. “We hadn’t made any stupid decisions, but we hadn’t thought. Everything was just so natural [that] we literally hadn’t thought about anything up until that point, and then it suddenly becomes this whole existential crisis of, ‘What are we doing here and why are we doing it? Does it mean anything?’” British India have always been a straightforward band. Their grungy powerpop songs tend to be belters, with choruses that are more shout-along than sing-along; most of their songs are designed to be played live and loud. When asked about their influences, Melia might mention a book he’s been reading or music he’s listening to, but beer is always pretty high on the list as well. It seems appropriate that when they had the breakthrough that lifted them out of this crisis, it was at a pub where Melia and guitarist Nic Wilson were, as he puts it, “like, 12 beers deep.” “We’ve seen so many fucking Van Shes come and go, these flavour-of-the-month bands pop up and disappear, and we started to think, ‘Shit, maybe there’s a reason we’re here and it’s not completely by accident. We’re all right, and it’s not just because we look so cute on the album covers.’ That was probably the answer to the existential crisis.”
Around this time, the band bought a shopfront in Preston and turned it into Josif K. Studios, named after the owner of the car yard down the road (who, apparently, has no idea he shares his name with the Franz Kafka protagonist). Josif K. Studios became their new headquarters, somewhere they could start again. The first song they put together there was ‘Another Christmas In The Trenches’ – a bundle of contradictions and rage, full of morbid setups and punchlines like “Everybody’s famous / for five minutes after they die” and “Suicide is painless / but you have to get it right the first try.” The title comes from a line of dialogue in Home Alone 2, delivered by Macaulay Culkin right before he throws a brick through a window. It became the blueprint for an album that sounds as much like the product of angry young men as anything they put down when they were teenagers. “Who wants to listen to a song where a guy’s balladeering – any song that can be sung sitting down?” Melia says. “Life’s too short as far as I’m concerned.” Out of all the songs they wrote for the album – which is titled Controller – the closest they come to a ballad is ‘Crystals’, an acoustic finale accompanied by a sweet piano melody and some psychedelic echoes. “That song’s a good example of the doldrums I was talking about before,” says Melia, “and the misery we were all experiencing as a collective, just when it all gets on top of you. A friend of ours had a heart attack, and he was only a little older than us, after abusing party drugs. The fragility of it all is what I was trying to capture in ‘Crystals’. It’s such a nice metaphor: how crystal’s this beautiful thing that forms for millions of years under the earth, but it’s also some horrible chemical you can rub into your gums.” Controller’s lead single, ‘I Can Make You Love Me’, sums up the idea in the album’s title. “It’s digging your heels down,” as Melia
“We’ve seen so many fucking Van Shes come and go... and we started to think, ‘Shit, maybe there’s a reason we’re here and it’s not completely by accident.” puts it. “It’s a very headstrong record. It’s not ‘Maybe I Can Make You Love Me’ – it’s ‘I Can Make You Love Me’. It’s really a narrative of control.” It has worked on plenty of triple j listeners, who voted the song into the latest Hottest 100, at number 41. That makes it the fifth British India song to have made the list over the years and the band took to Twitter during the countdown to announce how proud they were to have made it higher than ‘All Star’ by Smash Mouth. “We were happy with that because ‘All Star’, I don’t think it came in at all,” says Melia. “So that’s always a coup. I think every song we’ve ever written has been trying to conquer the Everest of songwriting that is ‘All Star’ by Smash Mouth, and we’re inching toward it.” Last year, British India made an unusual move for a band already three albums into their career, and ostensibly committed to releasing their work independently: they signed to the Liberation Music label. “In one respect it was a difficult decision and we felt we were betraying part of ourselves by jumping into that,” says Melia, “but I think had we not signed we were in real danger of making Avalanche Part Two, which wasn’t a good creative area to get into, to tread water like that. The decision was that we needed to do something different. Only a lunatic tries the same thing and expects a different result. And having some more heads around certainly did us good on this record. If it had been just the four of us and our producer in that fishbowl, it wouldn’t have been as varied
as it was. It’s interesting that signing to the label kind of made us take more risks, where usually I think it’s the opposite.” Something else that’s unusual is that all the band members in that bowl have remained the same. Talk to a band this far into their career and you’ll usually hear about the new members, the falling out with the old bass player or the retirement of the drummer. But British India are still the same four guys who met in high school. “It felt like The Warriors to me, where you dress the same and differently to everyone else and you’ve got a secret code language you talk in,” says Melia of the group’s formation. “It’s the best feeling. I’d never had a gang, and that still resonates with me now. We’re very lucky.” Compared to what they’ve got, he finds the dynamic in other bands to be slightly odd. “It just seems so otherworldly to me,” he says. “None of us have been in any other band or played music with anyone else other than the four of us. I would definitely say that should any of us think about throwing it in there would be no replacement bass player, it would just be the end of British India – and for me it would certainly be the end of making music.” What: Controller is out Friday March 22 through Liberation Where: Metro Theatre When: Saturday April 13
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DeWolff
Howling Down By Patrick Emery
P
ablo van de Poel was born almost 30 years after the demise of Cream, the death of Jimi Hendrix and the birth of Black Sabbath. But the generation gap hasn’t stopped van de Poel and his brother Luka from following in the footsteps of those classic psychedelic and stoner rock influences. “We also listen to a lot of new music, like Wolf People and Tame Impala,” says van de Poel from his home in the Netherlands. “We have our own emotions and inspirations, so we will always be different to the past.” Van de Poel’s father was a teenager in the ’80s, immersing himself in the independent rock scene. When van de Poel turned 12, his father gave him a Jimi Hendrix record; from there, the teen started to research ’60s and ’70s rock for inspiration. He had started playing guitar when he was nine, and a couple of years later began jamming with his younger brother, Luka; then in 2007, with both brothers still in their teenage years, they teamed up with bass player Robin Piso to form DeWolff. A couple of years later, the band released their debut album, Strange Fruits And Undiscovered Plants. DeWolff eschewed the parochial temptation to sing in their native tongue, preferring the natural language of rock’n’roll. “English fits the music that we play, but I don’t think the Dutch language does,” says van de Poel. But no matter
what language the lyrics are in, the Netherlands places a surprisingly significant value on live music – the Dutch government’s support of the local music scene (something of a rarity in continental Europe, as it is here) has ensured Dewolff has always had a place to play. “Because the government supports local venues, those venues are in very good shape,” van de Poel says. “We’ve been playing the Dutch circuit for four or five years, as well as playing in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Hungary.” As you’d expect from any psychedelic-stoner rockers worth their salt, van de Poel says DeWolff shows tend to involve jams aplenty. “We have lots of songs that are only five minutes long on the record, but that are 15 minutes live,” he says. “I always love it when bands do songs a lot differently live. In the studio it is better not to expand the songs too much – it is better to have compact songs. And in the studio you can try and catch that moment when everything comes together.”
had another song, and I decided to put them together, and then another, and another…”
On their latest record, DEWOLFF IV, the band enters truly indulgent psychedelic rock territory – in particular, a 20-minute track comprising a series of interlinked musical chapters. “I was reading a lot about multi-dimensional theory at the time that song was written,” van de Poel explains. “I had made a story in my head, and I also had a three-minute song. Then I
While DeWolff may be fashioning itself as an oldschool psychedelic rock band, it’s also playing the money game, with contractual arrangements with both Converse and Harley Davidson to promote the band’s name. So far, van de Poel isn’t aware of any negative feedback about “selling out”, or concerned about the idea at all. “I think those comments may come, but I don’t
Deap Vally
Needlework And The Damage Done By Krissi Weiss
T
hey’re sexy, they’re sultry and they’re the embodiment of all that was debauched and depraved about ’70s rock. Los Angeles two-piece Deap Vally (made up of drummer Julie Edwards and singer/guitarist Lindsey Troy) are no tribute band or novelty act. They play driving, hard rock, with an energy that feels like they’re about to kick you in the face and lay a giant kiss on you before you hit the ground. With only two singles released so far – ‘Gonna Make My Own Money’ and ‘End Of The World’ – Deap Vally have already supported Eagles Of Death Metal, Muse and The Vaccines, and are riding a tsunami of hype. In a stranger-than-fiction twist, the dark vixens of rock met at a needlework class, of all places. “We thought it was such a pathetic story; we wanted a better origin that wasn’t so embarrassing and weird,” Edwards says. “I was teaching crochet, Lindsey was at a point in her life where she wanted to start making clothes and selling them, so she came in to learn. She learned really fast, which to me is the sign of a really cool person. Then we started talking for hours after class, discussing everything we’ve been working on and how we were both musicians and how we found ourselves in the same place which was feeling disappointed and burnt out and wondering what was gonna happen next. We were brainstorming how she was gonna take over the world with her solo stuff, and I suggested we jam.” Things took off quickly, to say the least. As well as an unending touring schedule, Deap Vally are also getting ready to release their debut album, Sistrionix. While they get ready for a run of headline tours, Edwards is still thankful for and surprised by the support slots they’ve played. “To tour with Muse and to play in front of tens of thousands of people in one shot – what an
care,” he says matter-of-factly. “We’re true to our music, and that’s what’s important.” When: Wednesday March 20 Where: Oxford Art Factory Also: Old Manly Boatshed, Sunday March 24 / Macquarie Uni Bar, Tuesday March 26 And: DeWolff IV, Strange Fruits And Undiscovered Plants and Orchards/Lupine out now through Goset Music/MGM
Tony Royster Jr Inspiration Information By Matt Shea
amazing opportunity,” she says. “It’s also been a steep learning curve; that’s where you really test yourself. Can you perform for that many people? Can you get your message across? Can you motivate and energise that many people, or are they just ignoring you?”
Royster’s technique behind the kit is considered second to none, and watching him drum can be mesmerising. But a major part of his success is his versatility – there’s hardly a musical genre that he can’t engage with.
No matter how talented the pair are as musicians, it’s hard to ignore their heavily stylised image, which often involves very scanty stage outfits. “I’m not sure what motivated us to go for that look,” Edwards says. “We created the image completely and it’s us and how we want to express ourselves on stage; it just feels natural to us to be provocative and to be really engrossed in the music. It’s funny because when we started, the only thing people noticed was that we were sexy or that we were dressed scantily – but that is only a small part of it all. For me, I wish I could wake up tomorrow and be Jimmy Page – but I’m not, I’m me, and so I’m trying to channel the golden age of classic rock with the mystery, the sexuality, the amazing hair.”
“I think it’s really important for musicians in general to be as versatile as possible,” he says. “Once you’re limited to a certain style of music, that limits your workflow. If all you can play is rock, then there’s no way in hell you’re going to be able to do a funk gig or jazz gig and keep the gig. You just have to really open yourself and open your mind to be willing to learn. It might be harder for other people because they might not have had the same upbringing as I had, or had different things to put them in that position to learn different styles of music.” Royster’s versatility extends to teaching and charity work, and actively engaging with the local partners behind the clinics. “Added Flava Audio Labs – they’re the brains behind the whole collaboration and the educational seminars, as well as JMC Academy. But also, supporting Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Streets foundation – it’s a great situation to be helping empower and inspire young people. It’s really important.”
For Edwards, it’s all about making an impression and then letting the music speak for itself. “I think people are drawn to music for the wrong reasons a lot of the time,” she says. “But I think we’re not leading them astray – we’re not drawing them in and then having them hear insincere, crappy, careerist music. The music is a real expression of ourselves through something that’s as heavy as we can throw down, and they’re hearing the product of spontaneous communal jamming and passion.”
Drummers shouldn’t arrive at the clinics thinking they’re going to blow Royster off the court, by the way. Firstly, you probably can’t, and secondly, he’s passionate about the need for musicians to learn from each other, rather than engaging in a battle of skills.
When: Friday April 5 Where: Oxford Art Factory
T
ony Royster Jr regularly tours with artists as varied as Jay-Z, Joe Jonas and Francisco Fattoruso, his skill behind the drum kit an ever-appreciating commodity. But occasionally he also hits the road for different reasons; in conjunction with producer extraordinaire Young Guru, Royster has now involved himself in a series of clinics and workshops along the East Coast of Australia that aim to expand local students’ frames of reference in both music and production. “When it comes down to the clinics and letting people see me play, it’s about letting people see someone they look up to,” says Royster. “I love to be able to help out people, and just see their faces when I show up and they say that they really appreciate my drumming. Because I do it for them; I love drumming and that’s my passion, but if I can play and really make a change in people’s lives as far as their music is concerned, that’s more gratifying than anything.”
“We’ve got our own community and I don’t want us to think of our playing as a battle. Because it’s not, and I hate that,” he says firmly. “That’s another thing I try to stress when doing these clinics: it’s about us coming together and learning from one another. Everyone has something to give, regardless of how good they are and how much they might suck – at least they’re trying. That’s just what it is and that’s the type of message I try to bring across when doing these clinics. It’s all about listening and enjoying one another and helping each other out and encouraging each other to do well.” What: Tony Royster Jr Drum Clinic When: Friday March 22 Where: JMC Academy / 561 Harris Street, Ultimo Also: Playing with Young Guru at the Trademark Hotel @ 1 Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross
“I wonder do you wonder while you’re sleeping with your whore that sharing beds with history is like licking running sores” - THE BOOMTOWN RATS 16 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
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Icehouse Chill Wave By Alasdair Duncan
W
hen Iva Davies began his music career in the late ’70s – with a band called Flowers, who would soon change their name to Icehouse – he felt like something of an outsider. The Australian music landscape was dominated largely by pub rock bands, although UK-based New Wave and punk soon “opened everything up”.
“Suddenly, you had bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash and The Damned coming out of Britain,” says Davies. “We launched into a scene in Sydney and Melbourne that was loosely regarded as the punk movement – for all intents and purposes we looked like a punk band, but we had synthesisers, which did make us a strange phenomenon. We were always slightly outside the pack. There were lots of bands trading on the punk movement, and whilst we weren’t too far away, we remained slightly anomalous because of that synth element.” Icehouse would go on to become one of the defining synth groups of the ’80s – even if sometimes, their technology got the better of them. Davies recalls an early show at Brisbane’s Cloudland Ballroom when all three of their
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keyboards malfunctioned due to the summer heat. “We had to actually stop the show and let them cool down,” he says with a laugh. “It very rarely happened that we had to stop playing, but there were the odd couple of occasions, and that night was notorious. We lost the main one, then the backup, then the backup of the backup!” Malfunctioning synths are one thing, but sometimes the band had good reason to fear for their lives. “A lot of those old venues didn’t follow anything like the rules of occupational health and safety the way they do now,” Davies says. “There was one underground venue in Sydney called The Stage Door, and I remember thinking that if a fire broke out, it would be all over, because it was massively overcrowded and there was no way to get out.” Icehouse are best known for the track ‘Great Southern Land’, the sweeping song that comes close to being a de facto Australian anthem – although Davies insists that the track came from very modest beginnings. “The best way to describe the phenomenon of that song, for me, is to say that it’s a mystery,” he says. “I remember that we’d come back from our first international tour, and I was very focused on the job ahead of me, which was to write the ten songs for the next album. ‘Great Southern Land’ was the first one I wrote, and I took it to our managers and our record company, who immediately reacted in a way that I didn’t see coming. I was so focused on just producing those ten songs that I handed over this one and was gobsmacked at the way people immediately reacted to it.”
“We looked like a punk band but we had synthesisers, which did make us a strange phenomenon.” To this day, Davies remains surprised by the popularity of the song. “Back in the ’90s, I felt like the career of the band was forever going to be tied to ‘Electric Blue’, which was the highestcharting song we’d ever produced,” he says. “I felt that was our signature track, but then ‘Great Southern Land’ was chosen as the piece that would be played in the lead-up to the millennium countdown, and suddenly, it re-emerged as something of far greater stature than it had once enjoyed.” For Davies, though, the song has more important, intimate associations. “Every now and then over the summer, I’ll have the TV on and I’ll be wandering in and out to check on the cricket score,” he says. “Sometimes, I’ll hear them play ‘Great Southern Land’ in the stadium as the Australian team enter the stadium, and that’s the moment that freezes me.” After decades in the business, it’s not uncommon for a singer’s voice to change or deteriorate, but Davies’ vocals remain the same as ever – something he attributes to luck rather than hard work. “I’m incredibly lazy,” he says, “and I really don’t have a regime, although I suppose I’m cheating a bit in that I did have a long rest when the band didn’t perform for quite a number of years.” Drugs and alcohol are notorious destroyers of vocal talent, so it probably helps that Davies and the rest of Icehouse tend towards moderation. “We’ve had a very strong work ethic since the beginning,” he says, “and that has held us in good stead. Whether I’ve actually imposed that or just encouraged it, I’m not sure, but certainly you wouldn’t survive in this band unless you had that absolute focus on getting the best possible performance. You don’t want to write yourself off, to make yourself unhealthy and incapable.” Decades on from Icehouse’s early success, there are too many successful Aussie synth bands to count – from old hands like Miami Horror and Van She, through to the likes of Strange Talk. Davies is wary to claim any credit for influencing the current wave. “Generally speaking, I’d say that the ’80s in general have had more of an influence than I would have seen coming. I wouldn’t say that influence is specific to my catalogue in any way, but the technology and sound of the era seems to be back in favour. I wouldn’t take credit for being a large part of that, just a part of it.” What: STONE Music Festival feat. Billy Joel, Van Halen, Jimmy Barnes, The Superjesus, The Living End, Buckcherry and heaps more Where: ANZ Stadium, Homebush When: Saturday April 20 and Sunday April 21 NB Icehouse perform April 21 only.
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The memory and legend lives on in a very special concert event entitled “The Orchestral Sessions” featuring a 18-piece Orchestra starring one of the world’s first and most-successful Elvis impersonator Max Pellicano.
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Iggy And The Stooges Raw Power By Matt Marasco
C
all them what you want – proto-punks, garage’s founding fathers – Iggy And The Stooges laid the foundations for something special. Scrappy, towering, honest and raw, shot through with a little glam courtesy of Mr Pop’s campy antics, their sound has been hugely influential. But guitarist James Williamson says he’s “never really come to grips with punk rock and all the other titles.”
“First of all, when we were coming up, there were no labels or pseudo-genres in our vocabulary,” he explains. “I don’t believe titles hold any real meaning. But I do believe we write authentic and original music, and you can call it whatever you want – but I think we call it rock’n’roll.” The sound could also be summed-up in the title of their seminal 1973 record, Raw Power – which is famous for the troubles the band had during recording and production. “The Raw Power writing process wasn’t anything out of the norm,” Williamson says. “We weren’t successful in convincing our management to release any of our stuff after the first two records [The Stooges, 1969, and 1970’s Fun House] so I just sat in my bedroom and knocked them out, one by one. I
DAUGHTER The debut album ‘If You Leave’ “Masterfully blends fluttering, heart-on-the-sleeve acoustic ballads with brooding soundscapes” Vogue “We love it” NME “Merges haunting melodies with moody atmospherics” The Guardian
STORNOWAY The new album ‘Tales From Terra Firma’ “An album bigger and more ambitious than their debut, but just as lovely and melodic” +++++ The Guardian “A fuller, richer, warmer sequel… Full of misty-eyed paeans to widescreen Americana and windswept Celtic landscapes.” Uncut 7/10
++++ – Daily Telegraph
CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING Self Titled Album
“It’s hard not to be won over by Thurston Moore’s eternal teenager energy” BBC “Like Sonic Youth, the group is dark and loud and noisy and blunt. Unlike that dormant rock juggernaut, Chelsea Light Moving is here and now, hungry and alive.” The Village Voice
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The Raw Power sessions laid the foundation for the iconic Iggy/Bowie era of collaboration. The pair first met in New York when Pop was trying to find a new record deal, after The Stooges briefly disbanded in 1971. “Bowie was basically a fan of Iggy. I shouldn’t speak on behalf of everyone, but we thought Bowie was pretty lightweight and a frivolous kind of guy, and that includes Iggy,” admits Williamson. Williamson’s impression didn’t improve upon their arrival in the UK to record with Bowie. There was already tension in the air, as the Stooges reunion involved convincing the Asheton brothers to return, and moving former lead guitarist Ron Asheton to bass in favour of Williamson, who’d already co-written the whole album with Iggy. The studio then insisted on Bowie mixing the album, refusing to release Iggy’s own, rudimentary mixes. “By this point, Bowie had already released a number of his own records and he was very hellbent on [a certain] approach,” recalls Williamson. “I don’t think the band ever really liked Bowie. I know I never have personally. I think he’s a smart guy and he eventually learned how to write music pretty well but it’s not so much his music, there are just some people you like and some people you don’t – and I don’t like the guy.”
“You come see us for yourself, but as far as rocking out goes, I’d put us up against anybody, of any age.” While Iggy And The Stooges continued a heavy touring schedule throughout 1973, they also sustained heavy drug addictions that ultimately contributed to the disbanding of the group in early 1974. Williamson then worked with Iggy on the sessions that eventually became the 1977 release Kill City, but around 1975 decided to put his rock’n’roll career out to pasture and retrain. “I could have gotten another band together, but I just didn’t have the heart for it anymore and I wanted to know what I was going to be when I grew up,” says Williamson. “So, I went and got a job as a recording engineer at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. However, I soon learned I wasn’t cut out for the job when I realised there is only one thing worse than playing in a band every day – and that’s recording bands you don’t like every day.” It was around this time that Williamson found himself in an electronic store where he witnessed a father and son playing with a very peculiar box – a new thing called a personal computer. He was instantly fascinated. “This is when I decided that I was going to learn how to design these things – and it’s been an incredible ride for me. I spent a whole lifetime in that career.” That career is electronics engineering; Williamson earned his degree from California Polytechnic in 1982; by the time he took early retirement in 2009, he was VP of Technology Standards for Sony Electronics. While Williamson climbed the corporate ladder, Iggy And The Stooges reformed in 2003, touring and recording a new album produced by Steve Albini, The Weirdness. It wasn’t until the unexpected death of Ron Asheton in 2009 that Williamson stood up with Iggy And The Stooges again. News leaked online recently that a new studio album is in the works, to be released sometime this year – but Williamson won’t be pressed on the details. “The leak in the press was not intentional, and unfortunately I can’t tell you much besides we like it and we hope you like it,” he says. “I will also say that we plan on playing some of the new tunes when we’re down there in Australia.” Anyone who saw Iggy and The Stooges during their last tour in these parts, in early 2007, knows that Iggy’s leathery chest and lizard-king antics are as leathery and lizardy as ever. “We’re not getting any younger and while everyone needs to worry about prescriptions on the road, I think we’re hanging in there pretty good for guys our age,” Williamson says. “You come see us for yourself, but as far as rocking out goes, I’d put us up against anybody, of any age.” Where: Hordern Pavilion When: Tuesday April 2 Also: Byron Bay Bluesfest @ Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm with Robert Plant, Steve Miller Band, Wilco, Rodriguez, Dropkick Murphys and heaps more, Thursday March 28 – Monday April 1.
Iggy Pop And The Stooges photo by Sophie Howarth
The new band fronted by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth
would take them to Jim [Iggy, whose real name is James Osterberg] and he began putting lyrics to them and they slowly evolved from there.”
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arts, theatre and film news... what's goin' on around town and more...
five minutes WITH
LANO & WOODLEY! ADVENTURES! WIN!
NATHAN HARRISON I love movies and books that use chess, like Bergman’s The Seventh Seal and Michael Chabon’s The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. So the chance to engage in that sort of mythology is really exciting, I think it could be a lot of fun.
P
enguin Plays Rough founder Pip Smith has been hanging out at the Library this month – the State Library – and she’s brought a few friends, inviting them to delve deep into the collection’s more esoteric (read: weird) parts, and respond to them in the form of performance lectures – with the objects, letters, books, photos etc on display for curious punters to ogle, natch. Poet Astrid Lorange will be looking at The Benevolent Society Gordon Bradley Lowe collection of obstetrics and gynaecology (!), Clare Testoni will be making shadow puppets from the Holterman collection Gold Rush photos… And Nathan Harrison (of Applespiel, among other things)
will be responding to the The F. L. Vaughan and J. Van Manen chess collection. First of all: do you play chess? Yes, but I am really terrible. I just don’t know how to get in a state of mind where I’m thinking that far ahead. Maybe I’m too busy LIVING IN THE MOMENT. But that skill is really admirable, and it’s something I’ve been wanting to learn for a long time. How did you come to be presenting a talk on this particular collection? The problem is that even though I’m awful at chess, I love it. The mechanics, the history, everything.
TREVOR NOAH
Nothing is safe when it comes to Trevor Noah, AKA the funniest guy in South Africa. Tacos, Nelson Mandela, fantasy kidnapping and Oscar Pistorius are all up for a punchline or two in his sets. His show The Racist (presented by Eddie Izzard) had a sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe, and now Noah’s bringing his thoughtfully funny observations about the world and the nature of race to Australia. Due to massive demand the Friday April 26 show has been moved from The Factory, up the road to the Enmore Theatre. If you’ve already got your tickets, don’t worry, they’re still valid. If not, swing by sydneycomedyfest.com.au to get them.
SHORT+SWEET
It’s that time of year where 1700 minutes of theatre has been polished and whittled down to reveal the 12 best plays of Short+Sweet. The 2013 finalists cover such hot-button issues as inappropriate handymen, internet hate videos and weeing on a stick, all in the
What surprises have you encountered as you dig into the archive? I found results from a Russian chess tournament in 1950, which took place behind the iron curtain, so naturally it’s full of Soviet secrets encoded into chess moves. “Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation”? Russians, please. At least try to be subtle. There’s also a few issues from an amazing German chess magazine, and it helped me invent an amazing chess related pun, but the pun
What form will your talk/ presentation take? At this point I’d say I’ve only made my OPENING MOVES (you’re welcome) but I’m hoping that together we can make CHESS HISTORY by solving a CHESS MYSTERY. What else are you working on this year? This year is a bit of a development year. At first that felt odd, but I think sometimes it’s necessary. I’m making a new science-theatre piece with a composer friend, and working on a radio serial with some talented writers. Applespiel are working hard planning to re-develop and then tour Make A Band, because there’s a lot more we want to do with that show. What: Penguin Plays Rough feat. Nathan Harrison, Clare Testoni, Astrid Lorange, Luke Carman, Justin Wolfers When: Tuesday April 2 from 6pm Where: Metcalfe Auditorium @ The State Library More: sl.nsw.gov.au
space of ten minutes each. With plays that are funny, thought-provoking, suspenseful and just plain absurd, it’s perfect for theatre buffs and those with short attention spans alike. The Short+Sweet Gala Finals are playing at the Seymour Centre on Friday March 22 and Saturday March 23. For full program and tickets hit up shortandsweet.org/sydney.
LAUGH STAND @ FBI SOCIAL
FBi Social is promising to give your gut muscles a workout with the next instalment of their regular comedy shindig The Laugh Stand, a night of laughs and $5 cider. This Wednesday, March 20. David Williams of Rove and The Footy Show fame will be flexing his comedic chops alongside festival fave Daniel Townes and Darren Sanders. The night also features rising stars Marty Bright, Mat Wakefield, Emma Zammit, Neel Kolhatkar and Jared Jekyll. Tickets are 15 bucks at the door, or $10 for supporters, so dash down to the Kings Cross Hotel from 8pm to get in on the action. fbiradio.com/fbi-social
Portrait by Stuart Garske
MAN MANNERS
Stuart Garske explores masculinity in the gay community in his first solo exhibition of photographic portraits, currently showing at Pine Street Gallery (64 Pine Street Chippendale). It’s called MAN: Manners Are Necessary, and came out of his time working as a drag queen in his early twenties, which fed into his curiosity about the obsession with hyper-masculinity among gay men. For this series, he approached a variety of fellas through apps like Grindr and Scruff, and photographed them relaxed and natural in their own home environment. Check it out until March 23. stuartgarske.com.au
DANNY BHOY
Original painting from Evangelion
EVANGELION ART
Imagine if, at age 14, you were called to Tokyo-3 by your estranged father to pilot a gigantic humanoid weapons system developed by a secret government agency. Now, if that sounds like your cup of tea, the EVANGELION exhibition will prolly also float your hovercraft. Madman Entertainment have partnered with The Arts Centre Gold Coast and No Vacancy gallery in Melbourne to present a behemoth exhibition of art and pop-cultural artefacts from the cult series – including original production art, character drawings and concepts, and rare merchandise. The Evangelion Art Exhibition Tour visits Sydney at the Japan Foundation Gallery from May 10-18; start saving your pennies. For more info: madman.com.au/eva.
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Forget Slim Shady, Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy has answered calls to “please, stand up”, with another show added to his sell-out Dear Epson tour. Making audiences roar with laughter since 1998, Bhoy has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Melbourne Comedy Festival, Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival, and on Letterman, drawing an international cult following. “This show features some of the letters you never got round to writing because you thought life was too short. Well, I think life is just about the right length, so plenty of time to write to these arseholes,” says Bhoy. The Dear Epson tour will hit the State Theatre on April 23, 24, 26, 27.
SPEAK TO ME
Zetland gallery Sullivan+Strumpf are killing it this year, with a no-filler show calendar that runs the gamut of established and emerging artists from Australia and abroad. Next up is the group show Speak To Me, focusing on text in art – and with a lineup that includes international
art giants Shirin Neshat, Yoshitomo Nara, Ed Ruscha, Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer, and locals Alex Seaton, Michael Lindeman and Laith McGregor. Works range from photomedia to paintings, typographic art and large-scale sculpture. Speak To Me runs from March 19 until April 27 at Sullivan+Strumpf (799 Elizabeth St, Zetland). More at sullivanstrumpf.com
FINTAN MAGEE @ THE TATE
Besides having the best name, Fintan Magee also has certified art skillz. But don’t just take our word for it – check him out next Wednesday night at The TATE, where he’s showcasing installations and works on paper. It’s his (overdue) first solo Sydney show, off the back of a four-week residency at ISAD studios in Jakarta last year, and a general move away from the trad graffiti styles he grew up practising to more elaborate, painterly wall pieces and murals. Storm Water opens from 6pm at The TATE @ Toxteth (345 Glebe Pt Road, Glebe) on Wednesday March 27. thetate.com.au
Nathan Harrison / Photo by Andy Donohoe for the Melbourne Arts Club.
Nathan Harrison in At The Request Of Carl Sagan
Who were F. L. Vaughan and J. Van Manen? Chess players and historians – Manen moved to Australia from the Netherlands and became a celebrated chess journalist. Of Vaughan I can only find game results from some tournaments in the ’40s. I had to find these things out from the internet, because it was surprisingly difficult to connect with these men through their compilation of chess records.
only works in German (making it a Wortspiel). So that’s like, a problem I’ve never had to find a solution for before.
Frank Woodley of Lano and Woodley is only eleven. It’s true! He was born on February 29, 1968, and as such has only had eleven birthdays. Sure, he’s been on earth for forty-five years, but surely no 45-year-old man could dance in a sleeping bag with such a combination of grace and goofy conviction. If you miss the retired duo as much as we do, why not enter this here competition to win a copy of The Complete Adventures of Lano And Woodley on DVD? To be in the running, just email freestuff@thebrag.com and tell us when Frank’s next birthday will be.
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A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD Yippee-ki-yay By Alicia Malone
Like father, like son: Bruce Willis and Aussie Jai Courtney star in A Good Day To Die Hard
“I
t’s a remarkable thing – it doesn’t come along very often – that you get to play the same character five times…” Bruce Willis, known to millions as Detective John McClane, is reflecting on his time starring in the Die Hard franchise, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. “I like the first film,” he says, “I thought it was a really good movie. The last few Die Hard films were all just trying to be as good as the first. I don’t think we’ve ever done as well as the first film. It was just a big building, people trapped in it, and terrorists were trying to steal money from the bank vault. It was very claustrophobic and contained. We are always trying to make them entertaining, but I keep thinking someday we’re going to make one as good as the first film.” A Good Day To Die Hard is the fifth movie in the franchise; in it, John McClane (Willis) travels to Russia to track down his son Jack (Australian actor Jai Courtney) – and McClane being McClane, soon finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, involved in a Russian terrorist plot to steal nuclear weapons.
G IV EA W AY S
Casting Russians as bad guys seems outdated, but Willis says it’s
a bit like Mick Jagger or Bono, you wouldn’t tell Mick how to sing ‘Brown Sugar’, you just let Mick be Mick,” he says. “So you let Bruce be John McClane. Twenty-five years Bruce has been John McClane. Who would have a better idea than him? I kept a very open mind and no ego about his ideas. Nine times out of ten, he was correct.”
shooting Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise when his phone rang. “I was actually boarding a plane back to Australia and had to turn around and come back because they wanted to test me with Bruce!” says Courtney. “It was a crazy process and a drawn-out one, but hopefully they feel like they got the right guy in the end.”
Director John Moore agrees with Willis – but also sees realism as antithetical to the Die Hard brand. “I think there will not ever be a Die Hard plot about Islamic terrorism,” he says. “Die Hard first and foremost is about heroic escapism; it’s about belief in the sheriff, the knight on the white horse. No one wants John McClane to come out of their dreams and into the world. And I think that’s fair. Hollywood has given us Zero Dark Thirty, and that’s a very uncomfortable feeling for a lot of people. Die Hard knows where it lives. You can love it or hate it; but I think it’s unfair to criticise it. It is clear, it knows what it wants to do and it’s good at doing it. And I think that’s ok.”
Once the story was decided on, and Moore was given Willis’ blessing, the hardest task was casting the role of John McClane’s son. The audition process was exhaustive, with Moore looking at hundreds of young actors, trying to find a rare mix of talent and toughness. “I don’t know what the macho alpha male hero is nowadays… maybe he’s from a Nicholas Sparks novel?” jokes Moore. “We had to go all the way to Australia to find Jack McClane! Once Bruce said he wanted to make this story, if we didn’t find his son, we would have been screwed. There’s no way OK would do. You have to have perfect. And we got it with Jai Courtney.”
“It’s a difficult part,” admits Willis. “If I was his age, and I was trying to audition for a part that someone else had already made really famous, and you have to be his son, you have to be like him, it would be tough. I think Jai did a great job. He showed up and was that guy. He sounded like me. He’s great, he’s a badass!”
A Good Day To Die Hard is Moore’s fifth action feature, but the Irish director admits he was nervous about the prospect of directing Bruce Willis in the iconic role. “It’s
After a few auditions for the part of Jack, Jai, having not heard back from the casting director, assumed they had found someone else. Jai was on his way home after
a deliberate move away from reality. “There was a time in films when you could just say ‘These are terrorists’… but when real terrorism happened, you couldn’t make a movie about it. It’s still too much of a raw thing; terrorism in the world is an ongoing horrible battle. It’s not interesting to me to make entertainment out of it.”
In the 25 years since the first Die Hard, the franchise has made about $1.3 billion worldwide. With that kind of box office success, it’s surprising there haven’t been more than five movies. Moore says that all comes down to Bruce’s love for the series. “I can’t tell you how many scenarios they pitched to Bruce… Die Hard in a submarine! Die Hard in a cruise ship! Die Hard in a doughnut shop!” Moore says, laughing. “But Bruce has been very disciplined. Only five movies
“Terrorism in the world is an ongoing horrible battle. It’s not interesting to me to make entertainment out of it.” – Bruce Willis in one of the most profitable franchises ever – can you imagine how frustrating that must be for the studio? They could make one every two years, but he won’t do it.” So, will we see a Die Hard 6 any time soon? Willis cracks his trademark cheeky grin and admits he already has a few ideas for the next story. “I’d like to go to the Bahamas. Someone is trying to take over the Bahamas and they need me to go and save the island! That sounds pretty good to me.” What: A Good Day To Die Hard When: Opens March 21
PUNCHING THE CLOWN! DVD! WIN!
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Henry Phillips under fire in Punching The Clown
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WIN!
We have five copies on DVD to give away – to win one, email us at freestuff@thebrag. com with your postal address, and tell us a comedian you’d like to punch.
Punching The Clown © 2009 VIENS FILMS LLC
arah Silverman loves the crap out of it – called it “the best movie about comedy I’ve seen”, even – The Onion says it’s “primed for a fervent cult following”, and it’s being developed as a TV show by Showtime, the network who bring you Homeland, Dexter and Nurse Jackie… So don’t you think it’s time for you to see Punching The Clown? It’s the semi-autobiographical story of Henry Phillips (Henry Phillips), a comedian-singersongwriter who finds fame, loses it, is accused of being a neo-Nazi, and gets a record deal – not necessarily in that order.
The Pillowman [THEATRE] Not So Soft And Fluffy By Alasdair Duncan
T
he phrase ‘black comedy’ barely describes The Pillowman, a darkerthan-midnight tale of a writer who is arrested and interrogated about the content of his short stories. Director and recent NIDA graduate Luke Rogers chose the play precisely because it’s so dark and uncomfortable.
F
“Annie-Lou has basically been putting me through drama school in three weeks,” Katz laughs. “You’re invisible, in a way. Everything you think, they [the audience] can see. Much like, um, life. Yeah – like you read people in life.”
The play pitches wildly between moments of absurd hilarity and moments that are genuinely uncomfortable and disturbing, but this is ultimately what makes it such a vibrant work.
Lally Katz photo by Gary Heery
“If you go back and read the original Grimms’ tales, they’re very twisted,” Rogers says. “We’re used to the diluted Disney versions of them, but they’re very much cautionary tales, attempts to define a moral code. The content of them is very dark and very twisted. That’s something we’re trying to embrace in the play. The stories that the writer produces, in the play, are structurally very similar to Grimm’s fairy tales, although I suppose they have slightly more contemporary concerns, and a darker edge.” Rogers is a long-time admirer of playwright and filmmaker Martin McDonagh: “I’ve always loved his work, his plays as well as his films,” Rogers says. “His most recent film is Seven Psychopaths – it’s great, and it has a lot of interesting parallels with this play, in that it’s about a writer, and the blurring between the lines of reality and fiction.” McDonagh is English, but he writes so often about Ireland and its people (in the Leenane and Inishmore trilogies, for example) that people often mistake him for Irish. The Pillowman, written in 2003, is partly a reaction against the idea of a play being tied to any one particular place.
[THEATRE] True Believer By Rebecca Saffir or most people, spending a major playwriting commission (from one of Australia’s biggest theatre companies) on visiting a psychic when you’re meant to be writing a play about psychics might be a source of embarrassment. Playwright Lally Katz is not most people. And so the story of living in New York and getting a bit obsessed with a fortune-teller named Cookie is not merely a quirky anecdote to be shared with her friends, but a one-woman show to be shared with a hundred strangers every night for a month. And this is how Katz – with the help of director Anne-Louise Sarks (award-winning director of Medea at Belvoir last year) is going from playwright to performer in one fell swoop.
“There’s that old cliché about how things are funnier when they’re real,” he says. “We’ve been trying hard to embrace the reality of what it must be like for someone to be interrogated for reasons unknown to them. I like it when comedy is dangerous or unexpected, when it comes from those places, and here, it seems to come quite naturally from this man and his terrible situation.”
The story centres around Katurian, a writer of disturbing short stories that echo the darker elements of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales. When he is arrested and put under interrogation, he assumes it’s for the political content of his work, but slowly discovers that a series of child murders has occurred, with strong echoes of his own work. When he realises that he is suspected of the murders, the grisly content of his stories begins to emerge.
Lally Katz
As Sarks points out, this is also how psychics and fortune-tellers work: “I don’t know whether psychic powers are real, but we sort of agree that in the very least, they read you really well. The thing is, with Lally and psychics, they don’t even have to read her – she reveals everything.” “What I love about this play is that it can fit into any kind of dialect,” Rogers says. “It can be performed with Irish or American or English accents and it sits perfectly no matter what. The setting is deliberately ambiguous, so it could literally be taking place anywhere.”
Openness and ‘authenticity’ are qualities we admire in performers, but can be, as Sarks acknowledges, hard for the person exposing Lally Katz
While the play deals with themes of torture and interrogation, Rogers is adamant that it shouldn’t be seen as a direct allegory for the present political climate. “In recent times, we’ve been inundated with images and stories from places like Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib,” he says. “The unfortunate thing is the timelessness of the play, where it can be set in any place in any time. It’s deliberately ambiguous because of that, in its place and time settings. We’ve kind of touched on the reality of those kinds of situations. […] The interrogation scenes aren’t too dark and heavy, but we’ve tried to make them feel real.”
themself: “I think [what is] so extraordinary about what Lal’s doing in this show, is that… she’s sort of showing you that difficulty, by putting herself at the centre of the show. It would be easier for her to write it for someone else – but for her to actually stand on stage and say, ‘I’m Lally...’” “I think back to all the times where I’ve been in the rehearsal room [as a writer], where I’ve been on my computer, or on my iPhone… Never again,” Katz says emphatically. “I’m just going to be, you know, there with the actor. Annie-Lou’s done acting and stuff as well – I think that any writer or director should go on stage every now and then, just to kind of remember the energy of acting, what it is to be inside.” The relationship between the theatre and magic comes up again and again in our conversation. Katz’s work frequently touches on vaguely paranormal elements – time travel, outer space, mythical creatures. “I’ve always had an overactive imagination,” she says. “I’m still hanging out with myself as a kid – you know, as a grown-up. Which I don’t really want to change. I never really had to stop believing… so I just kind of kept seeing it [magic] everywhere.” Sarks reckons she’s the more cynical of the pair, but Katz tells her, “Once you [Sarks] believe in something though, you utterly believe in it. Like you believe in theatre… You believe in all that magic in the theatre.” Like the theatre, fortune-telling can function by telling us something that completely changes our perception of ourselves. Alternatively, it can function by telling us something we always suspected might be true. “We believe in these things when they align with us,” says Sarks. “I think you always seem to like the [fortune teller] who tells you the thing that you’re looking to hear about.” Katz is yet to have the three children that Cookie predicted she would have (there’s still time, she points out) but says, “things have been better since I had my curse removed by her.” You can tell she means it – which is part of what makes Katz so extraordinary: you can tell she always means it. “Oh yeah,” she laughs. “Anything you got going, I’ll believe in it.”
What: The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh Where: New Theatre / 542 King St, Newtown When: Until Saturday April 13 Tickets: $32 adults / $27 conc, groups / $17 previews, student rush and cheap Wednesdays.
What: Stories I Want To Tell You In Person by Lally Katz When: March 21 – April 21 Where: Belvoir St Theatre, Downstairs
Bryan Singer [FILM] Giant Slayer By Kelly Griffin
N
icholas Hoult is wearing some kind of 12th-century-knight-meets-modern-dayhoodie get-up, while Ewan McGregor and Eddie Marsan are dressed in full knight armour, sans the helmets. In between takes, they’re joking about something I can’t quite hear, but when the cameras roll, the trio – standing on a giant man-made beanstalk leaf – are shooting arrows into mid-air. I’m one of a lucky few on the set of Jack The Giant Killer at Elstree Studios just outside of London, and am watching behemoth genre filmmaker Bryan Singer (director of The Usual Suspects, the X-Men films and Superman Returns) work his magic. In between directing the actors and navigating the technical side of shooting with state-of-the-art 3D cameras, Singer speaks to us about Jack, set to be one of the biggest blockbusters this (northern hemisphere) summer. How much are you sticking to the story that we all know? [Jack The Giant Killer] is a little bit about how stories like that change over the years, so the fun of it is about the nature of storytelling. The myth of Jack and the Giant Beanstalk is a story from the 1800s, which is kind of a simple fairytale about a kid who goes up a beanstalk – and I think it’s an allegory for the plight of the farmer [and] taking back from the fat cats, in the form of the goose that lays the golden eggs. So, we’re then merging that with the story of Jack The Giant Killer, which was a myth in the early 1700s, a kind of bloody series of tales about a character named Jack,
who killed giants and sent their heads to King Arthur. […] elements of those [two stories] are merged into a completely original piece. Why did you take this project on? Because I like fairytales and liked the story – but also, I liked the opportunity to work with this technology. I’ve never done a film with fully rendered CGI characters [the giants] and performance motion-capture, so it’s a new challenge. Do you remember your first encounter with 3D? My first encounter with 3D would be pop-up books. I loved pop-up books, especially the ones where you could open them up and actually move things. I was never satisfied with just the print medium; I was never a comic-book reader. I always needed things to be in motion, which is why I made the leap from photography to filmmaking from a very young age. How do you think a new generation will relate to the tale? I think it’s just a very sweet and romantic [film that’s also about] wish-fulfilment and aspiration. Every time I’ve made a movie with romance in it, it’s been complicated romance, like in X-Men and Superman. This is the first time I’ve dealt with traditional romance. Did you have Nicholas Hoult in mind for this role when you were producer on X-Men: First Class? Yeah, I did. I was involved with the casting
Bryan Singer of him for that movie. I’ve been a fan of his since Skins and A Single Man, and when I saw him perform in that movie [X-Men], I started to think about him in the context of this movie. When you’re making a film, do you think about how it will be received? In and out, I think about it sometimes. Sometimes I think about the worst-case scenario and the best-case scenario. I
always expect the worst-case scenario, so I prepare for it mentally. […] [And] I try to be careful about what I’m spending relative to the subject matter. I’ve been really fortunate I’ve never made a movie that’s lost money yet. What: Jack The Giant Slayer 3D – Dir. Bryan Singer When: In cinemas from March 21
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Arts Snap
Film & Theatre Reviews
At the heart of the arts Where you went last week...
Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hoffman, Christopher Walken and Catharine Keener in Performance ■ Film
PERFORMANCE
ten out of ten
PICS :: TL
In cinemas now
05:03:13 :: MOP Projects :: 2/39 Abercrombie St, Chippendale
If the prospect of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken in one place doesn’t grab you, and you’re uninterested in classical music, there’s probably not much that can be said about this film that will draw you out. It’s a sombre chamber piece about family dynamics, relationships, retirement and mortality, using Beethoven’s Opus 131 string quartet as its ‘key’. The setting is New York, rendered in a sumptuous autumnal palette of maroons, blues, greens and golds – colours rich with the damp in the air; the players are members in a famous string quartet, who have 25 years of shows and emotional baggage under their collective belt. Seymour Hoffman is frustrated second violinist Robert, Keener is the emotionally flexible viola player (and his wife) Juliette, Walken is the sage, big-hearted cellist, Peter – the glue that holds the group together – and lesser-known (but nonetheless veteran) actor Mark Ivanir plays perfectionist first violinist Daniel.
ash king: doing lines
PICS :: TL
The film opens with a convenient spiel about the 131, delivered by Peter to a classroom of musicians – expounding its significance as an act of collaboration between four players, each struggling to adjust to each other in one arduous, nonstop marathon of seven movements. Peter is about to find out he has Parkinson’s – the symptoms of which will shortly make it impossible for him to play in the quartet. This news is a crack in the foundations of the group, further aggravated by egotism, insecurity and jealousy. The group begins to fracture, split apart.
05:03:13 :: District 01 Gallery :: 7 Randle Ln Surry Hills
Arts Exposed What's in our diary...
Message Sticks 2013 March 22-24, Sydney Opera House & Western Boardwalk This year Message Sticks spreads Microwave Jenny its wings even wider, to encompass dance, theatre, workshops, music, talks and film. It’s taking over the House and surrounds for just three days this week, with a load of stuff in the ‘free as air’ and ‘cheap as chips’ range. For late night entertainment, head for Bar Badu (Western Boardwalk bar), featuring live music by Troy Brady, folk-pop duo Microwave Jenny and the Street Warriors crew, among others. During the day, get crafty at the one of the weaving workshops, where you'll learn how to make dili bags, mats, baskets and nets from traditional grasses. Arts junkies can hear artist Fiona Foley and curator Djon Mundine OAM talk about Aboriginal art and identity, both old and new; performance-wise, dance and music come together with a little help from David Bridie in Sing Sing, by Papua New Guinea’s renowned Wantok Musik Foundation; and for stories intimate and well told, your best bet is Tammy Anderson’s internationally acclaimed autobiographical one-woman show I Don’t Wanna Play House. For more info, see messagesticks.sydneyoperahouse.com 26 :: BRAG :: 504:: 18:03:13
If the allegory sounds just a little too tidy to feel true, the tone first-time director Yaron Zilberman strikes is raw rather than trite, and Seymour Hoffman’s performance alone is enough to tear you out of your comfort zone. Accustomed as he is to delivering transformative performances – most recently in The Master, for which he deserved the Academy Award – this is something else again. The agony of Robert’s humiliation, loss and regret is palpable and almost unbearable at times. Zilberman also makes some interesting, unusual choices in terms of what is disclosed – visually and narratively – that stave off that ‘neatness’. Nevertheless, if this film doesn’t manage to quite feel as profound as it purports to be, it’s probably because it spends a little too much screen time telling you what the writer-director is thinking, rather than trusting you to discover it. Dee Jefferson ■ Film
THE LONELIEST PLANET In cinemas now March 21 For roughly the first hour of The Loneliest Planet, only one event of real
dramatic importance occurs, but it’s a big ’un. Engaged couple Alex (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg) are travelling through Georgia (the Eastern European country, not the US state) on holiday, led by a local guide (Bidzina Gujabidze). The background of both Alex and Nica is left ambiguous, which only makes the smaller details more telling. After the title card, the film opens with the startling image of Nica jumping up and down naked following a bath, desperately trying to keep her body warm; the metaphor is clear. Much of the film plays less like a story than an intimate travel diary, which, despite the transfixing and beautifullyshot countryside scenery, can test one’s patience. ‘Yes, they’re believably in love, and...so?’, you start to think. But it pays off in the form of a brief but scarring gesture from one to the other, which casts the dead space leading up to it into a new light, and a shadow over what follows. The Loneliest Planet is a Capital-A Art film, as the vaguely emo title portends, adapted from Tom Bissell’s short story Expensive Trips Nowhere; at the festival screening I attended, that phrase’s appearance in the end credits prompted derisive snorts of laughter from more than one audience member. It’s a polarising film, and a polarised one: told not in the standard three acts, but in two chunks, split evenly by its aforementioned rupture point. However minimalist and unyielding, it carries a cold hard truth about the precariousness of romantic relationships, especially when placed in the literal wilderness. It’s a testament to writer/ director Julia Loktev and her cast (Gujabidze, a real-life tour guide and non-professional actor, is a marvel) that the prolonged stretch of apprehension shared by its characters to comment on the pivotal moment is so anxietyinducing. For all the flabby stretches, Loktev is clearly a filmmaker aware of the potential for films to dilate and unfurl in the mind afterward, and its cumulative impact is undeniably haunting – ending with another metaphoric image, but a forceful one all the same. You’ll also be hard-pressed to find a worse date movie. Ian Barr ■ Theatre
LITTLE MERCY Until March 24 @ Wharf 2, STC When a pair of theatre-makers who are known for making shows from nothing in garages, car parks and chicken coups are let loose on the main stage, you expect it to be a riot. What Melbourne duo Sisters Grimm have brought to Wharf 2 with their reworking of Little Mercy is a clusterfuck of genres, performance styles and ages, where nothing is sacred and everything, including the stage, could slip away at any moment. Taking the ‘evil child’ genre of films as a starting point (think The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby etc.), Little Mercy is
See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews
Street Level
Hits and misses on the silver screen and the bareboards around town.
Little Mercy production shot by Brett Boardman
an hour-and-a-half of non-stop hilarity. Beginning as a hokey melodrama about an attractive couple who desperately want a child, the show quickly falls apart, and as styles collide everything is up for grabs. The theatricality becomes part of the joke, and after every scene when you think they’ve got nothing left, there’s another trick up a gorgeously worn sleeve.
expected. Ash Flanders is the linchpin of the show as the neurotic housewife Virginia Summers, who is determined to love – and eventually kill – her precious daughter. Luke Mullins shows yet again that he’s capable of almost anything, doubling as the successful community theatre director Roger Summers and Mercy’s repressive governess, whilst Jill McKay is truly troubling as the eight-year-old Mercy.
Sisters Grimm made a name for themselves with a trash aesthetic that was thrust upon them by poverty; Little Mercy revels in its budget, with excessive effects, an ever-surprising set from designer David Fleischer, and a huge sound design from Steve Toulmin.
As a 20-something, it’s not often you see a show on the main stages where you think “this was made for me.” Sisters Grimm’s old-Hollywood mash-up is one such show. See it.
All the performers rise above and beyond what could reasonably be
Henry Florence
Ash Flanders, Luke Mullins and the legs of Jill McKay...in Little Mercy
Michaela Gleave: 7 Hour Balloon Work 2010. Documentation of performance, video still from HD video. Image courtesy & © the artist & Anna Pappas Gallery
Film & Theatre Reviews
WITH
MICHAELA GLEAVE happening in Sydney, Melbourne and Japan later in the year. I’ll have a couple of my works featured as part of ARTBAR, including a glow-in-the-dark car decal.
Tell us a little about the lineup: I’m working with people from a range of disciplines, bringing professionals into the museum who Michaela pictured performing her Balloon Work might not normally find themselves working ichaela Gleave makes time-based in a contemporary art context. There’ll be works – sometimes performances performances by a contemporary composer, (as in her balloon-blowing piece, an actor, and classically trained ballerinas, which lasted between seven and ten hours), with the evening also featuring scientists from sometimes installations (a memorable the CSIRO and a perceptual psychologist. one involved a dark, cavernous space at Kate Mitchell is a friend and artist whom I’ve Carriageworks, pouring rain and strobing worked with in the past, and I’m thrilled to be light, through which visitors walked wearing including two of my favourite works by her. gumboots and macs). She’s interested in Ray Norris is an astrophysicist famous in part atmospheric events and effects – and at for his research into Indigenous Astronomy, the moment she’s obsessed with space. and Hossein Ghaemi is a really interesting This Friday she’s taking over MCA’s young Sydney artist whose performance ARTBAR, turning it into her perfect potion of works I’ve fallen in love with over the last performances, installations, visual art and couple of years, so it’s been great getting to music. know him in the lead-up to the event. How do you think your early years Any specific hints about what we can affected the kind of art you make? I spent expect? I’ve got telescopes on the roof, the first two years of my life in Willowra a micro-tonal glass harmonica trio, great (Wirliyatjarrayi), a community north-west of DJs, new works by Camille Serisier and Tim Alice Springs, but moved to Tasmania as Bruniges, a ballet performance by Elizabeth a two-year-old. I definitely think both these Reidy, a custom-designed cocktail featuring environments had a major impact on the edible gold, there’ll be a treasure hunt, kind of work that I make. Big space and big a ‘Space Elevator’, and you’ll get to take weather meant I developed an appreciation the solar system home in your pocket. Be for the larger forces at play in the universe. prepared for tutus, mind scans, and a fifthI grew up in a creative family surrounded dimension bar experience. by interesting people, so artistic expression was always something that was valued. What: MCA ARTBAR curated by Michaela Gleave What are you working on? And what are When: Friday March 22, from 7-11pm you personally presenting at ARTBAR? I’m currently an artist-in-residence with Where: Musuem Of Contemporary Art (140 the CSIRO’s Astronomy & Space Science George St, The Rocks) Division, working towards a solo show in More: mca.com.au/series/artbar Western Australia in June, with other projects
M
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bread&thread Food & Fashion News
SUGARCANE
North Bondi Italian Food
ORE DEL SOLE
Well, it’s March in Sydney, so nobody knows what the weather’s going to be doing from one hour to the next. For a little certainty, lock in an Hour Of The Sun – Ore Del Sole – at Neild Avenue and North Bondi Italian Food. Robert Marchetti’s gorgeous eateries are putting on excellent specials to catch the last of the summer warmth, with $4 cocktails (yes, four dollars) served with free antipasto (yes, free antipasto); you can sip on a Mandarin Spritz, Negroni or Aperol & Cider. It’s on every Saturday and Sunday for the next three weeks; Neild Avenue (10 Neild Avenue, Rushcutters Bay) will be running aperitivo hour from 6-8pm, and NBIF (118-120 Ramsgate Avenue, North Bondi) will have it from 4-6pm, so obviously we’ll go straight from the latter to the former to make a glorious four-hour happy time. We recommend you do the same (and sip responsibly).
NICI
Now in its second year, the National Indigenous Culinary Institute is back to promote and enable higher participation by Indigenous Australians in the hospitality industry. Students who make it into the program undergo a specialised elite training course and are placed in the kitchens of some of Australia’s best restaurants; this year, Tetsuya, Aria and Bistro Moncur join names like Rockpool, Fratelli Fresh and est. to bring the trainees into their kitchens. The latest intake are already on their way but NICI is still looking for Indigenous recruits interested in getting into hospitality – if that’s you, call Tara on (02) 4747 7906 for more info.
GIVVA FORK
Phoodanthropy – eating good, feeling good, and making someone else feel good. This month, local charity Major Raiser are making Phoodanthropy a real thing, with their 2013 Givva Fork campaign, aimed at raising dosh and awareness for the World Food Programme. You can join in by purchasing a
Givva Fork for $6 or paying a “forkage” donation at a participating Sydney restaurant, or by hitting up the 2013 Givva Fork Party at The Standard on March 30. All proceeds will go towards providing school meals for children in Laos. See majorraiser.org.au
If you’re a connoisseur of fine spirits, you’ve had a banner couple of years – knowing how to drink the hard stuff is all the rage these days. But if you’re tapped out on tequila and really over rye, get yourself down to The Standard on Sunday March 24 from 8pm for Sugarcane – a deliciously pickled celebration of rum in all its forms. Featuring a pop-up rum market, tastings, presentations, discussions and of course, more rum, rhum and ron than even Papa Hemingway could safely imbibe. Tickets are $25 plus booking fee from Moshtix – yo ho ho!
ROUND SHE GOES
We’ve been envying Adelaide its lovely Round She Goes vintage market for ages now, but Sydney is finally getting a piece of the action. Founded by an Adelaide vintage lover and expanding into Melbourne last year, Round She Goes comes to Sydney on May 18. There are already 60 stalls booked in, full of carefully curated vintage and quality pre-loved garb; if you’d like to join them, you can still apply for a stall at roundshegoes.com.au, for a $75 stallholders’ fee. Entry for shoppers on the day is just $2, which leaves plenty for snapping up vintage Chanel. Head down early on May 18 to Marrickville Town Hall (303 Marrickville Road) – doors open at 10am, so you know the savvy hunter will be lining up early.
Fun fact: Fort Denison – that tiny island off the Botanical Gardens with the mini castle thing on it – used to be a 49-foot-tall sandstone rock, but prisoners quarried the stone to build Circular Quay. Also, its other name is Pinchgut Island; it became a fort after two American warships entered the harbour one night in 1839, which understandably made the authorities a little nervous. We’ll bet you’ve
The first-ever Crown St Crawl features great music from The Khanz, Hobophonics, Jubilants and heaps of cool work from local artists – but we’re pretty excited about the way it’s highlighting some of the amazing fashion and food along the Surry Hills main drag (AKA BRAG’s primary caffeine dispensary). Boutiques VIVIDSHOP, Magdalena Duma, Pop Shop, Holy Kitsch, Collector Store and Paper2 are all doing specials or donating part of their take for the day, and fooderies from Four Ate Five and Bishop Sessa to the many, many pubs are joining in the fun. Plus there will be a hair and makeup bar, a raffle, and massages, and it’s all in support of the Girls & Boys Brigade. So head down from 11am on Sunday March 24, and bring gold coins for buskers!
never been out there, so maybe make the trip during Vivid Sydney (May 24 to June 10), when they’ll be running dinners and tours on the island to take advantage of its ideal possie for watching the lights on the Opera House. Dinner DeLIGHTS is $99 per person, including two courses, return water transfers to Circular Quay, entry fee and a tour of the Martello Tower (that’s the minicastle bit). See fortdenison.com.au for more details.
LABEL STATE
If you’re in a band, seeing someone on the street wearing one of your shirts is one of the greatest feelings ever. Having a huge pile of XXL and XXS sizes of those shirts sitting in your bedroom because you u had to do a massive minimum order, less great. Luckily Label State is here to fix that – this Sydney startup, whose founders have spent the last week schmoozing their awesome concept at SXSW, is a portal for bands, labels and radio stations to connect with people who want to wear their shirts. The company prints earth-friendly inks onto nice soft AS tees on a to-order basis, so only as many shirts as needed are made, you get a shirt, the band gets your money and everyone’s happy. There are already a heap of rad designs to help you support Velociraptor, FBi Radio, Rice Is Nice, Buzz Kull and loads more, so check it: labelstate.com
PULP KITCHEN
CROWN ST CRAWL
The Soda Factory
BLACK PENNY
648 BOURKE ST, SURRY HILLS TUESDAY TO SATURDAY 12PM-12AM / SUNDAY 12PM – 10PM The basics: Freshly opened last month, Black Penny is one part corner bar and kitchen and two parts music venue and gallery space. It’s that super-comfortable pair of jeans that we all own – fits like a glove, looks good and there’s no way you’d ever let it go. Flavours: Classics with a twist: dishes that have been re-interpreted and presented as share plates for groups of friends to enjoy. Both herbivores and carnivores are catered for. Who’s serving? Head Chef Paul Bryan is the former Executive Chef at Longitude 131 in Ayers Rock, which was voted Best Luxury Resort In The World by the London Times. Paul has had the privilege to master his craft under two of Australia’s most renowned chefs: Gabriel Martin (owner/proprietor of Maisonette) and two-time Chef Of The Year Paul Wilson. Black Penny’s Manager, Elizabeth ‘De Rojas’ Major, is a seasoned bar ninja and wine connoisseur. She has run some of Sydney’s largest and best-known venues and cocktail lounges, including Hugos and the Palace Group.
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FORT DELICIOUSNESS
We like to see food from TV and movies become available to put in our real-life mouths, so we’re pretty pleased about The Soda Factory’s new Tarantinothemed Wednesday night, Pulp Kitchen. You can get yourself a Royale With Cheese, a Big Kahuna Burger, french fries and mayo, or the infamous Five Dollar Shake (with booze in it) – and it’s all five dollars, which is much less money than it was back in 1994, eh Vincent? There will also be Tarantino’s killer soundtracks playing all night and acoustic sets from local acts, and it’s free entry. Dirt-cheap food from a Surry Hills small bar (16 Wentworth Avenue)? Goes to show you never can tell.
bar profile Eye-candy: The interior design and art was created by one of Black Penny’s managing partners, Damian Dlugolecki. Something to start with: As a starter you can’t go past our Fish IN Chips: lemon and dill barramundi stuffed inside crumbed thick cut chips served with garlic and citrus aioli. Our Many Mushrooms is also popular: portobello mushrooms filled with a sauté of shiitake, swiss brown, woodier, porcini mushrooms, and blue gorgonzola cheese, fried in crispy panko crumbs and dressed with rosemary sea salt. The main course: Try our signature trio, Pork Three Ways: mini pork-and-fennel pie, pork and kumara croquette, and sticky slowbraised pork belly served with apple balsamic and sweet-and-sour cabbage. Care for a drink? Yes please! If you’re feeling cheeky try one of our Seven Deadly Sins cocktails, ‘Sin 4 – Pride’: Sailor Jerry rum muddled with mango and banana, shaken with pineapple juice and then served in a coconut-rimmed glass. Or if beer, cider or wine is more your thing, choose from our wide range of Australian drops – including Balmain Brewing Company, The Hills, Young Henry’s, Riverside and Barossa Valley’s Head Red region.
Room for dessert? You know it. Try Penny’s Orchid: vanilla-bean and seasonal-berry brulée served with a honeycomb and roasted almond tuile. The bill comes to: For the meal above, you’re looking at $70 – serves two people.
THE
INDIE NiGHT
POKITPAL PARTY!
MOODY(UK)
TOURING WIT H
& SINISTER KID
BIG DAY OUT
SUMMER 2013!
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Album Reviews What's been crossing our ears this week...
ALBUM OF THE WEEK YOUTH LAGOON
Wondrous Bughouse Fat Possum Records/Shock
Wondrous Bughouse is sad and affirming, all at once.
Less than 18 months after his first album, Trevor Powers has returned with a collection of tunes that dwell as much within his own anxiety as they do in some distant, abandoned space. Powers’ ear for melody is filtered through the aesthetics of DIY and bedroom recording, but he achieves real resonance with an eye towards the epic. The scattered guitars on sprawling intro ‘Through Mind And Back’ are warmed by rich swells of discordant synths. Nothing is rushed as Powers creates space and possibility for the album, signalling his earned position as an innovator as well as the subsequent intent to play some Lush Singles.
The warped sensibilities of ‘Attic Doctor’ arrive and depart briefly, giving just enough time to breathe prior to ‘The Bath’ covering all in a thickly resonant washing of keys and muted vocals. The hopeful lyrics of ‘Raspberry Cane’ promise that “Everybody cares”, before dropping some of the sweetest piano fills you’ll ever hear. The heartwarming chords are really just a mask for the darkness though; soon enough Powers is toasting “Here’s to death, drink up.”
‘Mute’ is the tune that could have anchored MGMT’s
Benjamin Cooper
RHYE
YOUNG DREAMS
Woman Polydor/Universal
Rhye’s Weeknd-like anonymity through last year did nothing to dispel my belief that ‘Rhye’ was the moniker of a female singer (the Sade comparisons are on-point) but in fact, it’s two guys. Singer Mike Milosh’s beautifully androgynous voice is like a woodwind instrument – breathy, hollow and calm – as he delivers lyrics that are devastatingly beautiful, and sometimes just devastating. The album is aptly named Woman, and it’s a celebration of Rhye’s love of ‘woman’, neither objectifying the woman nor putting her on a pedestal. The R&B undertones give the songs their backbone while strings, harps and saxophones come to life in natural flourishes that are anything but gimmicky. The silken production brings you close and keeps you warm, as the songs cave and arch like necks and backs in the throes of passion. It’s so intimate, but rather than having your voyeuristic nose pressed against the window, you’re a part of it. The music is so understated and sleepy, yet concentrated. ‘The Fall’ and ‘One Of Those Summer Days’ are tracks that melt into vivid memories; that dwindling afternoon light that flickers through the curtains onto Egyptian cotton, as two soulmates spend an afternoon tangling bodies in the sheets. ‘Hunger’ trumps the idea that Rhye are playing second fiddle to The xx; it’s a funky love jam complete with sassy horns and beautiful-darktwisted words – “Thought we were made from love / Now we are eating our own rind”. The subtle magic of ‘Open’ and ‘The Fall’ promised big things, and Woman is the most gorgeous homage to love and sex and feeling in a long time. Rachitha Seneviratne
Congratulations; an explosive hook launches proceedings, before a sudden key change smears distorted guitar across everything. Powers’ frail whine, akin to a higher Bradford Cox, calls out atop dancing keys; then it continues for another three minutes, never losing its muscle through the addition of steadily pounding live drums.
Core members Matias Tellez and Rune Vanderskog had a big vision from the first mutterings of the project in 2009. Rather than rent a studio, they decided to build one, begging and borrowing equipment from their friends – among them, Erlend Øye of Kings Of Convenience. Tellez and Vanderskog wanted to create a grand, dense, summery pop album, in contrast to the damp, dark and claustrophobic atmosphere of their hometown, Bergen. It clearly owes a huge debt to the experimentalism of Brian Wilson at his Pet Sounds peak. The driving drum machine and seaside strings of ‘Footprints’ starts the album off promisingly, before the songs become unmemorable and indistinguishable from one another. The nods to The Beach Boys – the identikit chanting and harmonies – also become tedious before too long. Then you wonder whether bland lyrics like “Give me a reason for talking / When everything’s already said” on ‘Dream Alone, Wake Together’ warrant the epic treatment that the songs are given. Frankly, you’re on a hiding to nothing when you make an album that will invite such unavoidable, strong comparisons to Pet Sounds – a piece of pop perfection that even a sonic genius like Brian Wilson could only consider making after mastering his craft on ten prior LPs. You can’t fault Young Dreams for dreaming big. Unfortunately their ambitious debut is, if not quite an epic fail, certainly not a total success. David Wild
Just to be clear, Nantes’ debut album is not what you expect. The Sydneybased recording project of David Rogers and Josiah Eastwood, beefed up to a five-piece, carries certain expectations due to their links to Modular’s pop puppeteer Jonathan Boulet. (They grew up skating together in Sydney’s north-west, and Rogers is Boulet’s live bassist.) There are those who will come to the album expecting the refrain-heavy, nagging familiarity of earlier single ‘Fly’, but they’ll also be confused. And that’s because this collection of songs is much bolder than anything the group have done before. Producer and engineer Todkill handles Rogers’ baritone with consummate skill. Opener ‘Alice’ drops the sound of textas on butcher’s paper into swells of surging bass guitar, all while Rogers’ vocals beckon and implore somewhere in the background. The poppier fare of ‘Avid’ and ‘Drones’ is a one-two hit of synth- and drum-led singles that are melodically distinct, yet have an easy propulsion that keeps them seamlessly joined. There’s time for reflection on ‘Awayk/ Dream’. Synths ring with so much reverb that it’s almost impossible to notice the optimism and direction of Rogers’ lyrics. The track fades out to Little Scout’s Kirsty Tickle taking up the refrain; as she dips and fades into the lush darkness around her there’s pause for both ebullience and relief. The most accessible and anthemic song is Rogers’ fuck-you to complacent people, ‘Unsatisfy’. Eastwood’s sharp synth groove combines with a brilliantly shout-able chorus to leave us ready for more. Keep a very, very close ear on these lads. They’ve had time to hone their craft – now it’s time for everyone else to catch up.
There’s a heap of good music coming out of Australia right now, but this EP from Melbourne native Darren Hart hints that the best is still yet to come. “I ain’t so satisfied with today / Music lost all its soul, it’s dead” begins ‘The Music’, the first track on Offtime. When a catchy electric guitar hook and disco beat kicks in, you realise 20-year-old Hart – who produced, arranged and played all the instruments here – has a point. Recent offerings from his contemporaries sound onedimensional in comparison. Fusing funk, disco, glam and grunge, these songs are seriously infectious. You might have heard an early version of ‘Back To The Shore’ two years ago, but the recording featured here has been improved immeasurably by The Mars Volta’s Lars Stalfors, who mixed the EP. It recalls Harts’ fellow Melburnians Cut Copy at their very best but then you’ll hear a tasty guitar lick that suggests Prince might be a more accurate comparison. ‘All Too Real’ may well be the highlight. A single synth note leads straight into vocals and a killer ’80s electro-funk bassline. It’s taut and well-structured, but the reason it’s a winner is a kick-arse melody and catchy chorus. “I got the feeling it’s all too real / My world won’t last forever / But in the next life babe / We’ll be together” is not exactly Keats, but it works for the song. It’s no surprise it’s garnered plenty of radio play in the UK and elsewhere. Offtime is ace. Harts is on fire, and by rights he should set the world alight. David Wild
Calendar Days Chapter Music
Calendar Days rakes its songs into an understated story. It’s ostensibly about a breakup, but it sounds as though the songwriters have plotted the whole tale out carefully, only to shred it, and form songs from strands they pluck out of the bin. Each piece is weighted with a gentle sadness that should speak to a number of young Australians – but many are rife with hope and humour, too. ‘Alice’ is an unassuming song of finding love in the desert, littered with gems like
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The Next Day Sony
Like its title/cover combo, the music on The Next Day looks back and forward, often to its detriment. On ‘If You Can See Me’, Bowie dons his ’90s prog/ pop-god guise. Its manipulated vocal recalls the eerie spoken word intro to his 1984 homage, Diamond Dogs, and its labyrinthine structures smack of the heightened theatricality of his late ’80s/early ’90s albums, and how poorly some of that material has aged. ‘Dancing Out In Space’ suffers from the same weightiness, even if it starts with the levity of a beat nicked straight from Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust For Life’. Sometimes the nostalgia works wonders – ‘Valentine’s Day’ shows us Bowie in strait-laced, Beatles-esque doo-wop mode, happily channelling Hunky Dory’s Actor or even Ziggy Stardust himself. Likewise, ‘You Feel So Lonely You Could Die’ carries the waltz of ‘Drive-In Saturday’ into the 21st century, with a triumphant singalong chorus. But Bowie’s at his best when he relaxes and forgets his past. ‘Where Are We Now?’ hasn’t dimmed after two months of listening. He isn’t trying to hide his age here – you can hear the years in his voice, caressing layers of ambient guitar and saturnine piano. It’s a reflective, indulgent song, but it’s beautiful, too, reminding us of his knack for writing lyrics that don’t say much on paper, but resonate in profound ways when sung. Second single ‘The Stars (Are Out Tonight)’ is similarly bittersweet, although more upbeat – his voice is piquant, brimming with disdain, adorning a prettily melancholic 4/4 acoustic rock tune draped with cascading strings and stern sax. Bowie is trying to exorcise his past on The Next Day. In some places he transcends old ideas – in others, he’s mired in them. Luke Telford
Benjamin Cooper
INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK DICK DIVER
DAVID BOWIE
Offtime EP Island Records/ Universal
BeingsBeing Deadhand Music
Between Places Modular
Norwegian collective Young Dreams have attempted to create an album of symphonic wonder. It’s not lacking in ambition, but in attempting to reach too high, Between Places falls short.
HARTS
NANTES
"I live in the city, you don’t deliberate / you set goals, and you reach goals." On ‘Bondi 98’, over a rollicking 4/4 jangle, the singer pines, "I used to want to be that man / with a cup of tea like that / but most of my living happened in the space / between the stair and the ceiling fan." The best moments come when Steph Hughes tempers the loose guitars and wayward raggedness of the male vocals. On ‘Calendar Days,’ she keens, cleareyed, over her vowels. On ‘Two Year Lease’, she duets with an extraordinary tenderness – her delivery makes the songs so honest that you can feel her character’s loneliness wash through you.
Bold tracks bookend the record; ‘Blue & That’ opens with glowing keys and drum machine that buoy an ambling lyric about getting stoned and pining for an ex. ‘Languages of Love’ mirrors it – Al Montfort goofily muses about love, while synth and flanged guitars dapple the track. Neither sounds like Dick Diver, but each serves the record well. Calendar Days is a charming and progressive album for Dick Diver. It charts the loneliness and confusion of a collapsed relationship, opening with despondency, ending with optimism. Luke Telford
OFFICE MIXTAPE And here are the albums that have helped BRAG HQ get through the week... KIERAN RYAN - Kieran Ryan BLOOD ORANGE - Coastal Grooves WAXAHATCHEE - Cerulean Salt
ANGEL HAZE - New York EP PHOSPHORESCENT - Muchacho
live reviews what we've been to see...
TIM ROGERS & THE BAMBOOS, MONEY FOR ROPE The Hi-Fi Thursday March 7
Billing their tour as The Rock & Soul Medicine Show, Tim Rogers and The Bamboos proved a miracle tonic in a frantic set at The Hi-Fi. And who knew Rogers, best known as lead singer of rockers You Am I, got so much soul?!
on display) was introduced to The Bamboos’ nine members, including a barefoot Kylie Auldist, who launched straight into ‘What I Know’ from their latest LP Medicine Man. From that moment on, the players barely paused for breath.
If onstage energy equalled record sales, Melbourne six-piece Money For Rope, would be multi-platinum. Lead singer Jules McKenzie was forced to sit on a stool throughout thanks to a busted leg, but he pulled his weight nonetheless, switching between lead vocals and saxophone, as the band’s two drummers duelled behind him and the bassist tried to shake his head off his own shoulders. Final number ‘Easy Way Out’ really rocked.
Three songs in, a white-suited Rogers chickenstrutted onto the stage to perform an uplifting version of The Impressions’ civil rights classic ‘We’re A Winner’. Other well-chosen covers followed: J.D. McPherson’s ‘North Side Gal’, The Meters’ ‘Just Kissed My Baby’, and a double helping of New Orleans soul with Allen Toussaint’s ‘Am I Expecting Too Much?’ and Dr. John’s ‘Right Place Wrong Time’. Auldist then stepped forward for a fabulous duet on Eddie Floyd’s ‘Things Get Better’. It was a cratedigger’s dream set.
Half an hour later, an eclectic crowd (there were as many smart suits as scuffed Chucks
Third vocalist Ella Thompson got her
turn to impress when she sang ‘The Wilhelm Scream’, The Bamboos’ funked-up version of the James Blake recording (itself a cover), before Rogers and Auldist returned for the hits. Now sporting blue velveteen trousers, Rogers scattered sequins when he lifted his largebrimmed hat, shadow-boxed, and passed a can of Guinness around during an exceptional drum solo amid a stretched-out version of ‘I Got Burned’. The bottle of white he enjoyed onstage must’ve helped, but he was having the time of his life. “Does this look like fun?” Rogers asked the audience. “This is the best fucking job in the world! Come and join the band!” I wished I could – The Bamboos are a class act and, with Rogers on board, they know how to throw a party. David Wild
RKE PHOTOGRAPHER : KATRINA CLA
NEIL FINN AND PAUL KELLY, LISA MITCHELL Sydney Opera House Sunday March 10
There is simply no mode of artistic expression more pervasive in our age than the popular song, and for good reason. Tonight’s event is an audience with two undisputed masters of the form – and, in Lisa Mitchell, one gifted apprentice. Mitchell’s mix is a little treble-heavy, and only when switching from electric to acoustic guitar does she inject her songs with the warmth they require. Still, Mitchell has a wonderfully distinguished voice, and in this company that’s something special indeed. Neil Finn and Paul Kelly arrive on stage carrying electric lamps through the darkness. It’s a moving visual image, but before we jump into metaphor Finn has a lighter take on it all: “Welcome to the Opera House. We’ve
done the outside, now we’re on the inside. They let us in – fools!” Finn’s 1996 Crowded House farewell seems so long ago, and tonight’s collaboration with Kelly is achingly overdue. Indeed, it’s immediately obvious on ‘Don’t Stand So Close to the Window’ and ‘Four Seasons in One Day’ that these two were always meant to come together eventually. It’s not quite as intimate as it sounds, though – joining the pair onstage are drummer Elroy Finn, son of Neil; Kelly’s nephew Dan, playing lead guitar; and the excellent Zoe Hauptmann on bass. The ensemble lends surprising substance to ‘She Will Have Her Way’ and other songs, at every turn sustaining a perfect balance between fury and sure-footedness. Upon these foundations, the two great Austral(as)ian songwriters exchange their wares. Finn and Kelly trade verses, choruses
and stints at the piano over each other’s songs. But this is about more than playing lead-singer tag – it’s clear the very presence of such esteemed creative company inspires a renewed energy in each individual, no matter whose material they’re playing.
The Factory Theatre Tuesday March 12
Local boys True Vibenation were the right act to warm up The Factory for NYC outfit Antibalas. The trio all play brass, so you’ve got two saxophones and a trumpet adding interesting layers to the classic “two MCs and one DJ” format. MCs Native Wit and Verbaleyes keep it moving up front on the mic, while Klue holds it down on the decks behind, cutting and scratching over the top of his own increasingly crisp productions. The guys bring a markedly different approach to hip hop than the hooky, radio-friendly Oz-hop that’s been on your airwaves lately; their compositions range from conscious, soulful hip hop, to post-Brainfeeder type bass music, to Afrofunk/hip hop fusions that bring the brass skills into play., all rolled up with high IQ and a big dose of creative fun. True Vibe have built solid foundations; ‘Work, Work, Work’ is their best composition yet, but I think the best is still yet to come from this band. Antibalas (Spanish for ‘bulletproof’) take the stage to strong applause, and the Tuesday night crowd swells. People talk about the “tightness” of a band, and what Antibalas display is pretty much exactly that: 12 musicians locked in the groove and focused on nailing every note. Their style is all built around the fast and polyrhythmic Nigerian funk of Afrobeat. Vocalist Duke Amayo gives the act and their individual songs context in short microphone bursts, without dominating as a traditional “frontman”. It’s protest music, intended to form a rhythmic connection between the band and the dancers. To this extent Antibalas succeed with flying colours, and from the get-go they’re looking at a sea of smiles and flying arms and feet, helping us shake out all those demons on the dancefloor.
It’s not quite an alternating set of greatest hits, either – Kelly has a few songs to air from his 2012 record, Spring And Fall, and ‘For the Ages’ arouses an audience singalong that’s hesitant at best. Finn’s compositions dominate the encores – ‘Better Be Home Soon’, ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ – and that’s fair enough too; it’s easy to forget how many amazing tunes and choruses he’s had until you hear them all again. But more than anything, the night is a reminder of something we already knew: that Finn and Kelly are true peers in this game, and unrivalled at the top of it.
Miles Arntzen on drums, at the tender age of 21, has to be seen to be believed (look out for his other band EMEFE), and the four-strong brass section gives us a chance to enjoy the rare sight and sound of the baritone sax. The New Yorkers put forward their take on recent Wall Street events with the track ‘Dirty Money’ from new album Security, lead us through primal calland-responses, invite us to share their philosophy on life, love and human interactions, and finish with a Fela Kuti track, translating the legend's work with the highest regard for its roots and taking it forward with incredible musicianship. Best band in the world in their niche? Hard to argue otherwise.
Chris Martin
Tony Edwards
THE STONE ROSES, ZANE LOWE Hordern Pavilion Wednesday March 6
When The Stone Roses released their first of two studio albums back in 1989, disc jockeys weren’t rock stars – certainly not in the vein of Zane Lowe tonight. The BBC radio host is set up with a light show and big-ticket DJ decks, from which he drops a busy and eclectic mix of dubstep, glitch and rap. It’s high-powered stuff, but out of step with most of the Roses’ audience (read: expat Brits from baggier times), who instead are standing outside discussing what happened to Manchester United in this morning’s match.
RKE PHOTOGRAPHER : KATRINA CLA
ANTIBALAS, TRUE VIBENATION
Actually, quite a lot has changed in Manchester since The Stone Roses departed the scene circa 1996. United became the world’s biggest sporting team; Oasis became the world’s biggest band. Oh, and Ian Brown forgot how to sing ‘Mersey Paradise’ in key. It’s an early blemish on tonight’s performance, and though most of the band’s lesser material is met with polite enthusiasm, Brown’s pitch issues begin to grate. ‘Sally Cinnamon’ improves, but for a while there’s a real concern that we’re watching
a sad imitation of a band – and a singer – who once were royalty. But then, the Roses were never really about Brown. He was a Madchester icon, yes, but the genius of this band was its groove – and that’s something you don’t lose so easily. Just like riding a bike. ‘Shoot You Down’ arrives at the midpoint of the set, and as it shifts effortlessly into ‘Fools Gold’, so too does the band find itself in a more comfortable channel. Now Mani, Reni and John Squire are in command, shepherding ‘Fools Gold’ from its trip-hop beginnings through a quick burst of The Beatles’ ‘Day Tripper’ and into proper freak-out territory. All right: the Roses are back. And just in time for the inevitable set of Stone Roses anthems, too; at last that classic record is brought to life again by a band that, most of the time, can still do it justice. ‘Made of Stone’ is the highpoint thus far, but it's quickly outdone by ‘This Is the One’ and ‘She Bangs the Drums’. Throughout, Reni (still beneath his bucket hat, still reaching for those high cymbals) is immense, rolling tom-tom fill after fill. ‘I Am the Resurrection’ brings the set to its close – 90 minutes, several goals, no extra time. Just like they do it in Manchester. Chris Martin
BRAG :: 504:: 18:03:13 :: 31
live reviews what we've been to see...
KISS, MÖTLEY CRÜE, THIN LIZZY
Allphones Arena Saturday March 9
Openers (yes, openers, that’s how big this lineup is) Thin Lizzy have plenty of old favourites, and there’s a certain muted enthusiasm from the crowd as they whip through ‘Jailbreak’ and ‘Killer On The Loose’. The current tour marks the final shows under their original moniker: the Ricky Warwickfronted ensemble will perform as Black Star Riders from May onwards. It’s fortunate that Mötley Crüe perform for more than six songs tonight. At Sunday’s second show, frontman Vince Neil is forced to leave the stage halfway through their set for emergency abdominal surgery. An omen of ill health is apparent tonight when Neil misses a verse during ‘Home Sweet Home’ and the momentum is lost. It doesn’t really matter – soon enough ‘Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)’ is over and Tommy Lee is spinning around on his drumcoaster. It doesn’t add much in the way of art, but a drum solo by a filthy man on a shamelessly indulgent mini-rollercoaster could only be ridiculous and entertaining. Leaving the floor and retiring to the seated section for the main event feels a little disingenuous to the Kiss spirit of shameless devotion. Gene’s desire to spit fake blood is prioritised far lower than my need to
PHOTOGRAPHER : JAY COLLIER
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preserve my favourite white shirt. Poor planning, I know. Then Kiss are here and people are losing their shit. Expectations for explosions and fake blood are fulfilled within the first few songs. Gene spits fire during ‘Firehouse’, and halfway through the set he concludes ‘Psycho Circus’ with a menacing bass solo, complete with dribbling blood. Of course, this is done after he’s been winched upwards to a ceiling level concourse. The fact that he’s got huge bony spikes protruding from his shoulder only heightens the drama. The real star, however, is frontman and guitarist Paul Stanley. He flies across the standing audience to a secondary stage at the back of the arena for two songs, before returning to finish the night with ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’. Along the way he constantly demands the audience’s love, and willingly returns it with swagger and poise as flame cannons punctuate his declarations, exploding and flinging heat to the furthest reaches of the room. Perhaps it was because Stanley assured us of being so loved, but the trains that night were filled with the politest of dark knights in make-up. For now, the beasts are sated. Benjamin Cooper
snap sn ap
neil young
PICS :: KL
up all night out all week . . .
ellie goulding
PICS :: AM
10:03:13 :: Sydney Entertainment Centre :: 35 Harbour St Darling Harbour
parliament funkadelic
PICS :: TL
08:03:13 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666
08:03:13 :: The Hi-Fi :: 122 Lang Road Moore Park
toro y moi
It’s called: FBi Social’s 2nd Birthday It sounds like: An all-in rockin’ rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’, complete with lo-fi feedback and scuzzed-out guitar. Who’s playing: Cabins, Day Ravies, Unity Floors, Buzz Kull, and Big White. Sell it to us: This isn’t your average two-year-ol d’s birthday party – no crying children or toddler tantrums here. Thrown for and by Sydney’s most advanced infant, Friday’s show is the start of a two-night music al bender. The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Lively, energetic sets from some of Sydney’s hottest bands and birthday toasts a-plenty. Crowd specs: This one’s for anyone who likes a good end-of-week party! Share the dancefloor with FBi Social’s veteran punters, newbies and everyone in between. Wallet damage: $10 at the door Where: FBi Social, Level 2 Kings Cross Hotel When: Friday March 22
PICS :: KC
05:03:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711
party profile
PICS :: KC
purity ring
fbi social's 2nd b'day
caitlin park
PICS :: AH
07:03:13 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9331 3100
wild nothing
PICS :: PX
07:03:13 :: The Vanguard :: 42 King St Newtown 9557 9409
08:03:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
:: KATRINA CLARKE :: JAY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) LEWIS :: ASHLEY MAR :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER KATE :: LEE Y ROX :: HING KITC COLLIER :: AVERIE HARVEY :: RYAN :: DANIEL MUNNS :: PEDRO XAVIER
BRAG :: 504:: 18:03:13 :: 33
g g guide gig g
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com
pick of the week
(USA), Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, We Lost The Sea Annandale Hotel $42.85 8pm
JAZZ
Hammerhead Venue 505, Surry Hills $10$15 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
FRIDAY MARCH 22
Cabins
FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel
FBi Social’s 2nd Birthday
Cabins, Day Ravies, Buzz Kull, Unity Floors, Big White $10 8pm MONDAY MARCH 18 ROCK & POP
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (USA) Allphones Arena, Homebush Bay $99.50-$212.35 7pm Wes Carr’s Buffalo Tales, Sam Buckingham Venue 505, Surry Hills $10 8pm
JAZZ
The Monday Jam: Danny G Felix & The Monday OGs Gingers, The Oxford Hotel, Darlinghurst free 9pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Helmut Uhlmann, Jade Moloney, Jonnie Jötunn, Chris Brookes, Massimo Presti Kellys On King, Newtown free 7pm
TUESDAY MARCH 19 ROCK & POP
The Gift (Portugal) The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $10 8pm Goon Squad Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket
free 10pm Johnathan Devoy, Patrick Arnold Botany View Hotel, Newtown free 7.30pm Rodriguez (USA), The Break Enmore Theatre $85.20$105.20 7pm
JAZZ
Old School Funk & Groove Night Venue 505, Surry Hills free 7pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Angelene Harris, Zelda Smyth Tea Gardens Hotel, Bondi Junction free 7pm Darren Bennett George IV Inn, Picton free 7.30pm Greg Sita Five Dock Hotel free 7.30pm Peach Montgomery Newington Inn, Petersham free 7pm Seth Lakeman (UK), Carus Thompson The Basement, Circular Quay $30 (+ bf) 7pm
WEDNESDAY MARCH 20 ROCK & POP
Altiyan Childs, Exit Row Brass Monkey, Cronulla
$23.50 7pm Asta, Dune, Pigeon (DJ set), DJ Georgia, Hobophonics Beach Road Hotel, Bondi free 8pm Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (USA) Allphones Arena, Homebush Bay $99.50-$212.35 7pm Daybreak Band Competition Valve Bar and Venue, Tempe 7pm DeWolff (NL), Lines, Group Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $20 (+ bf) 8pm Hard Rock Rising 2013 – Qualifying Battle #3: Serotonin, 62nd Silence, Ethan Joe, A Gentlemen’s Agreement Hard rock Café Sydney 8pm all-ages Kelly Dance, DJ Ichiban Arcadia Liquors, Redfern free 8pm Krishna Jones Beach Bar, Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm Live & Local: Ella Freestone, Mutual Stranger, Dan Hopkins, Allie & Ivy Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $15 8pm Musos Club Jam Night Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt free 8pm New Navy, Swirls, Gang Of Youths, Ratbag DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm One Wild Night Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm This Will Destroy You
Angelene Harris, Patrick Arnold Ca and Fiddle Hotel, Balmain free 7pm Helmut Uhlmann, Angharad Yeo UTS Loft, Broadway, Ultimo free 6pm The Popes The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 7.30pm Sean Taylor, Hussy Hicks The Vanguard, Newtown $33.80 8pm TAOS, John Chesher, Gavin Fitzgerald, Wally Byrne Coach & Horses Hotel, Randwick free 7pm
THURSDAY MARCH 21 ROCK & POP
Amanda Easton & The Soul Lovin’ Swelltones Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst $30 8pm The Angels, The Lazys Annandale Hotel $40 8pm Ann Vriend (CAN), Elana Stone The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 7.30pm Anthems Of Oz Orient Hotel, The Rocks free 10pm Balmain Blitz: Sixplane, Rusty, Justine & The Men, SugarSun, All In A Year, The Reflections, Megan Barnes, This Time Only The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle $15 7pm Billboard Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm Black Vanilla Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney free 8pm Dune, Twin Lakes, Brackets FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $15 8pm Hot Damn!’s Greatest Shave: Sienna Skies, Never See Tomorrow, Ghosts On Broadway, Friend Or Foe, Hot Damn! DJs Spectrum, Darlinghurst $15$20 8pm Hue Williams Lane Cove Club free 7.30pm I Know Leopard Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm In Hyde Shadows, Mad Charlie, Bleeding Gasoline, Pleasure Overload, The Archaic Revival Valve Bar and Venue, Tempe 7pm Kieran Kane (USA), David Francey (CAN), Lucas Kane (USA) Blue Beat, Double Bay $35 (+ bf) 8pm Matt Jones Beach Bar, Coogee Bay Hotel free 9pm Musos Club Jam Night Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill free 8pm The Peep Tempel Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly free 9pm Ruthie Foster (USA), Jordie Lane The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $55 (+ bf) 7pm Sally Seltmann, Appleonia The Vanguard, Newtown $28.80 8pm Tiffany Britchford, Clementine, Into The
Fireplace Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel $12 8pm These Vagabond Hours, Achoo! Bless You, Andy Golledge, Bity Booker Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm The Von Ehrics (USA), Spurs For Jesus, Strange Karma, Day Late & A Buck Short The Wall @ Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt $15 7.30pm
JAZZ
Camino Venue 505, Surry Hills $10 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
Daniel Hopkins Olympic Hotel, Paddington free 7.30pm Peach Montgomery Forest Lodge Hotel, Glebe free 7.30pm Sean Taylor, Hussy Hicks Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $35 7pm Seth Lakeman, Carus Thompson Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $34 8pm
FRIDAY MARCH 22 ROCK & POP
90s Punk Party: Nerdlinger, 51Percent, Handball Deathmatch, Kang, Yawkey Way Valve Bar and Venue, Tempe 7pm The Angels, Black Label Annandale Hotel $40 8pm Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (USA) Allphones Arena, Homebush Bay $99.50-$212.35 7pm Cap A Capo, Kids Of Yesterday, Eager 13, Riot Nine Sydney Livehouse @ Lewisham Hotel $12 8pm Castlecomer, Greenthief, Sex In Columbia Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst free 8pm Charge Group, Knievel, Jordan Ireland Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 7.30pm Craig Thommo, Endless Summer Beach Party Beach Bar, Coogee Bay Hotel free 7.30pm The Damned Humans, Creo, Tensions Arise The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $20 (+ bf) 8.15pm Dune, Mrs Bishop, Brett Hunt, Hobophonics Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Elevate Cock ‘n’ Bull, Bondi Junction free 8pm FBi Social’s 2nd Birthday!: Cabins, Day Ravies, Buzz Kull, Unity Floors, Big White FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm Flamin’ Beauties Crown Hotel, Sydney free 8pm Gnome, Christo Jones, Golden Blonde, Anomie Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm His Merry Man, The Bon Scotts, Taylor And The Makers Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $15 7.30pm Housewives, Oily Boys, MC Madcunt, Angie The Old Fitzroy Hotel, Woolloomooloo $10 8pm Hue Williams Lane Cove Club free 7.30pm Ill Prepared
Dundas Sports free 8.30pm James Blake (UK) Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music $65 8pm Kieran Kane (USA), David Francey (CAN), Lucas Kane (USA) Brass Monkey, Cronulla $37.75 7pm Mary Coughlin (IRE) Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $44 8pm MUM: Harts, Camden, Siren Lines, Tom Lark, DJ Morgs, Lady White, Rich People The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm Nicky Kurta Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket free 10pm Sleep Parade, Teal, Cuervo, I’m No Thief The Wall @ Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt $10 8pm The Snowdroppers, Little Bastard The Standard, Surry Hills $20 (+ bf) 8pm Sound/Light/Sound: Pole, Galapagoose, Hinterlandt York St Anglican Church, Sydney $30 7pm Steve Edmonds Band Lakes Hotel, The Entrance free 8pm Strange Talk, Phebe Starr, Pigeon Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $12 (+ bf) 8pm Sticky Fingers, Lyall Montgomery Manning Bar, University of Sydney, Camperdown $21.95 8pm Throwing Copper LIVE, Offspring Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 8pm Tom Trelawney Customs House Bar, Circular Quay free 7pm Witch Fight, Dead Boss, Bloody Kids, Chroma The Square, Haymarket $12 8pm
JAZZ
Galaxstare feat. Kristin Berardi The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (student)-$20 8.30pm La Viejoteca – Para Ti Mujer: Victor Veracruz (MEX), DJ Angel Montoya Blue Beat, Double Bay $20 (+ bf) 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK The Ellis Collective Venue 505, Surry Hills $15$20 8pm
SATURDAY MARCH 23 ROCK & POP
The Angels, Stand Alone Annandale Hotel $40 8pm Avant (USA), Mike Champion The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park $45.50 Back On The Block Celebrating The Music of Michael Jackson & Quincy Jones: Kere Buchanan The Basement, Circular Quay $25 (+ bf) 7.30pm Blind Valley, Papa Pilko & The Binrats Gallery Bar, Oxford Art Facotry, Darlinghurst free 8pm Courtney Barnett, Pear Shape, Bec & Ben Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $12 8pm The Cyril B Bunter Band Brass Monkey, Cronulla $28.60 7pm Damien Leith Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why
“I am an island, entire of myself. And when I get old, older than today, I’ll never need anybody’s help in any way” - THE BOOMTOWN RATS 34 :: BRAG :: 504 : 18:03:13
g g guide gig g
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com $50 8pm The Deep End, Bonney Read, Footsie & The Psychos, Boson Higgs Hermann’s Bar, University of Sydney, Darlington $10 8pm FBi Social’s 2nd Birthday!: Tim Fitz, Big Dumb Kid, Super Magic Hats, Swimming, Karoshi, Hands Up DJs FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel $10 8pm The Gladstone Feelings First Birthday: The Hollow Bones, Cuervo, The Sculptures, Hey Horze, Sex In Columbia, Particles, Little Big Horn, Tristan Grassick Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale $10 6pm Hits & Pits: Mad Caddies (USA), Good Riddance (USA), A Wilhelm Scream (USA), Voodoo Glow Skulls (USA), The Flatliners (CAN), Diesel Boy UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington $86.50 (+ bf) 4pm all-ages The Hungry Mile, Rockethead, The Wire, Draw, Sans Normality The Square, Haymarket $15 8pm Jam Presents: Secret Show Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills free 6pm Jelly Bean Jam Oatley Hotel free 8.30pm Kick INXS Show South Hurstville RSL Club free 9pm Le Tour De Funk, The Deep Blue Sea, The Nunns, Thomas Covenant Valve Bar and Venue, Tempe 12pm Lloyd Spiegel Camelot Lounge,
Marrickville $20 (+ bf) 7.30pm The Mark Of Cain, Blacklevel Embassy, Zeahorse Metro Theatre, Sydney $41.90 7pm Newtown Unplugged: Jep & Dep, Jordie Lane, Through The Forest Door, Edwin Sheather, Richard Cartwright, Fanny Lumsden, Toby Martin, Trent Marden, Lily So and The Bellows, The Women’s Auxiliary Choir, Quaoub, Philasophigas, The Rusty Spring Syncopators, Joseph Leonard, Dave Cotsios Various Venues, Newtown free 8.30pm Party Anthems Paragon Hotel, Circular Quay free 9pm Pinhead Bookings Official Launch Party: The Curse Of Marry Sue, Foundry Road, Seconds Til The End, Resonance, Dystopic, Hey Bell Nova, Countess Suicide, DJ Jish Valve Bar and Venue, Tempe 7pm Robert Cray (USA), Taj Mahal (USA), Shuggie Otis (USA) Enmore Theatre $96.20$118.80 6.15pm Samuel Cole & The Mornings, The Khanz, Stormchasers, Warchief The Wall @ Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt $10 8pm Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Songs, The Friendsters The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $10 8pm Souled Out Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket
free 10pm Springsteen/Mellencamp Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills free 8pm Steve Edmonds Band Kiama Leagues Club free 8pm Wanda Jackson (USA), Ezra Lee The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $65.10 7pm
JAZZ
Blue Moon Quartet Supper Club, Fairfield RSL free 7pm Kristin Berardi Band Venue 505, Surry Hills $10$20 8pm The NeoBop Quintet The Sound Lounge, Seymour Centre, Chippendale $10 (student)-$20 8.30pm Tuba Skinny The Standard, Surry Hills $27.50 (+ bf) 8pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK Acoustic Dave, Klay Beach Bar, Coogee Bay Hotel free 7.30pm John McCutcheon (USA), Spike Flynn Blue Beat, Double Bay $33 (+ bf) 8pm Marty Stewart The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney free 9pm
SUNDAY MARCH 24 ROCK & POP
Bogan Baby Shower, The Real Deal, Upside Down
tue
19 Mar
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
wed
thu
20 Mar
31 Jan (9:00PM - 12:00AM)
fri
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
21 Mar (9:30PM - 1:30AM)
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
SATURDAY AFTERNOON (4:30PM - 7:30PM)
sat
22 Mar
SATURDAY NIGHT
(9:00PM - 12:00AM)
(4:30PM - 7:30PM)
sun
23 Mar
SUNDAY NIGHT
(8:30PM - 12:00AM)
BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13 :: 35
g g guide g
send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com Miss Jane Valve Bar and Venue, Tempe 2pm Bowled Over: Yacht Club DJs, Step-Panther, Sures, Bloods, Driffs, The Walking Who Marrickville Bowling Club $20 12pm Finn Bald Rock Hotel, Rozelle free 9.15pm Joan Armatrading (UK), Seth Lakeman Enmore Theatre $96.20$118.80 7pm Jones Jnr Moonshine, Hotel Steyne, Manly free 5pm Mutemath (USA), Big Scary The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park $55 (+ bf) 8pm Rock Solid Beach Bar, Coogee Bay Hotel free 7.30pm Screaming Sunday Annandale Hotel $15 12pm The Shout Brothers Botany View Hotel free
Joan Armatrading
36 :: BRAG :: 504 : 18:03:13
5.30pm Special Event: Secret Show!, Miss Little The Basement, Circular Quay $30 (+ bf) 6pm Steve Edmonds Band Wangi Wangi Sailing Club 4pm
gig picks
up all night out all week...
Rodriguez
FRIDAY MARCH 22
JAZZ
Yuki Kumagai, John Mackie, Paul Furniss, John Smith Illawarra Master Bowling Club, Wollongong free 2.30pm
ACOUSTIC & FOLK
The Bridge Project, Equus feat. Bukhu Camelot Lounge, Marrickville $18-$25 (+ bf) 6.30pm Joanne Hill, Ethan Blencowe, Dan Usher, Luke Morely Corrimal Hotel free 6pm Live Soloist Oatley Hotel free 2pm The McMenamins, Amy Vee, Sam Buckingham The Vanguard, Newtown $18.80 7pm Peach Montgomery Salisbury Hotel, Stanmore free 2pm Ruthie Foster, Wes Carr Bufallo Tales Lizotte’s Restaurant, Dee Why $59 8pm Seth Lakeman, Carus Thompson Brass Monkey, Cronulla $34.70 7pm The Ukes Of Today, The Ukes Of Hazzard The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $5 7pm allages
These Vagabond Hours, Achoo! Bless You, Andy Golledge, Bity Booker Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (USA) Allphones Arena, Homebush Bay $99.50-$212.35 7pm
TUESDAY MARCH 19 Rodriguez (USA), The Break Enmore Theatre $85.20$105.20 7pm
WEDNESDAY MARCH 20 DeWolff (NL), Lines, Group Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst $20 (+ bf) 8pm New Navy, Swirls, Gang Of Youths, Ratbag DJs Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $12 (+ bf) 8pm
THURSDAY MARCH 21 Sally Seltmann, Appleonia The Vanguard, Newtown $28.80 8pm
Charge Group, Knievel, Jordan Ireland Goodgod Small Club, Sydney $15 7.30pm Gnome, Christo Jones, Golden Blonde, Anomie Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $10 8pm James Blake (UK) Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music $65 8pm MUM: Harts, Camden, Siren Lines, Tom Lark, DJ Morgs, Lady White, Rich People
The World Bar, Kings Cross $10-$15 8pm The Snowdroppers, Little Bastard The Standard, Surry Hills $20 (+ bf) 8pm Sticky Fingers, Lyall Montgomery Manning Bar, University of Sydney, Camperdown $21.95 8pm
SATURDAY MARCH 23
Richard Cartwright, Fanny Lumsden, Toby Martin, Trent Marden, Lily So and The Bellows, The Women’s Auxiliary Choir, Quaoub, Philasophigas, The Rusty Spring Syncopators, Joseph Leonard, Dave Cotsios Various Venues, Newtown free 8.30pm Robert Cray (USA), Taj Mahal (USA), Shuggie Otis (USA) Enmore Theatre $96.20$118.80 6.15pm
Courtney Barnett, Pear Shape, Bec & Ben Brighton Up Bar, Darlinghurst $12 8pm
Scott & Charlene’s Wedding, Songs, The Friendsters The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville $10 8pm
The Mark Of Cain, Blacklevel Embassy, Zeahorse Metro Theatre, Sydney $41.90 7pm
Wanda Jackson (USA), Ezra Lee The Factory Theatre, Marrickville $65.10 7pm
Newtown Unplugged: Jep & Dep, Jordie Lane, Through The Forest Door, Edwin Sheather, The Mark Of Cain
SUNDAY MARCH 24 Bowled Over: Yacht Club DJs, Step-Panther, Sures, Bloods, Driffs, The Walking Who Marrickville Bowling Club $20 12pm Joan Armatrading (UK), Seth Lakeman Enmore Theatre $96.20$118.80 7pm Mutemath (USA), Big Scary The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park $55 (+ bf) 8pm
BRAG’s guide to dance, hip hop and club culture
brag beats
dance music news club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
on the record WITH
ROB AKA SUPER MAGIC HATS
HAHA 8TH BDAY
Respected underground party crew HAHA celebrate their 8th birthday on Saturday April 20 at Goodgod Small Club with a headline slot from Glaswegian DJ pairing JD Twitch and JG Wilkes, who will be representing as Optimo (which is drawn from the infamous Scottish nightclub of the same name). Optimo first came to international recognition with the release of How To Kill The DJ (Part 2) in 2004, the mix that catapulted the duo onto the international gigging circuit. And they haven’t looked back. The same could be said of the HAHA brand itself, which has been around since about that time, steadily establishing and expanding a loyal following due to an unflinching commitment to showcasing quality music in venues away from the chaotic riffraff of – well, I won’t name and shame. First release tickets are available online for $25.
POLE
This Friday, March 22, marks the final The Gate show hosted at the York St Anglican Church, with Germany electronic luminary Stefan Betke AKA Pole taking to the stage for a performance that should resonate with the cognoscenti. A seasoned campaigner, Betke started the Scape label in ’99 with Barbara Preisinger, before releasing two EPs and an album on Daniel Miller’s Mute Records label, followed by his solo album Steingarten in ’07 (which many regard as his masterpiece). Betke’s productions explore dub techno sounds and moody atmospheres weighted by an omnipresent reggae back beat, and possess a strong improvisational quality. In more recent times, he released his trilogy of Waldgeschichten EPs, which delved into minimal dub reggae soundscapes. Support will be provided by Melbourne’s Galapagoose and Hinterlands.
PEZ
Fresh from re-entering the fray with his new single, ‘The Game’, hip hop impresario PEZ returns to Australian stages for his first headline tour in more than three years, and will perform at the UTS Glasshouse on Wednesday April 17, ahead of a show at The Mona Vale Hotel the following Wednesday. PEZ’s ‘Back in the Game’ tour will serve as an appetiser for the release of his sophomore album later in the year. “I’m excited to get back out amongst the fans and see how they respond to some of these new jams,” Pez told the media via his press release. (And I assure you, he wasn’t talking about jams of the St. Dalfour variety!) PEZ will be flanked by South Australian rapper and current triple j ‘it boy’ Purpose throughout the forthcoming tour, providing extra hip for your already considerable hop.
PEZ
CHANCE WATERS
Growing Up The Music You Make My key childhood musical memory is that I am just about to release my debut 1. 4. my mum had a lot of records, or what seemed EP; it was almost entirely homemade. I like a lot of records anyway! She was into The Moody Blues, The Beach Boys, Queen and The Beatles. I dig The Beatles but never really got into much else of her music. She also played guitar, and was happy for me to try to play it too. My parents were both really supportive of my music – they thought it was better I was doing something creative than hanging around bus stops drinking White Lightning.
2.
Inspirations Musically my inspirations are bands or producers like Dirty Projectors, Gold Panda, and James Holden. A lot of the inspiration for my music, though, comes more through things I’ve experienced and things I’ve felt. I love travel, reading books, and stuff like that, and so these can be as much of an inspiration for me, and a lot of my music starts with me trying to capture something from a memory and express it musically.
Your Band It’s just me at the moment, though I am 3. not ruling out collaborations in the future. I have been in bands before and whilst it’s fun to make music together, you always seem to get issues... frontmen being late for practice every week because they’re doing their hair, drummers being hard to find and harder to understand...
xxx photo by xx
TERMINAL PROJEKT
Terminal Projekt is a new component of the Vivid Sydney festival, comprised of two showcases of electronic music taking place at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal at Circular Quay on Saturday June 8 and Sunday June 9. The Saturday lineup consists of French trio and Circus Records family members dOP, who will be bringing their experimental live take on jazz, hip hop, house and techno sounds to Sydney for the first time. They’ll be joined by the New York pair Sepalcure, the collective moniker
recorded and produced around 35 tracks over the course of about 18 months and have thinned this down to six. My live show is coming to Sydney, and is me plus various gadgets and controllers. I try to keep things as live (read: risky) as possibly whilst still being playable.
Sydney’s Chance Waters, the man formerly known as Phatchance, is embarking on a lengthy tour to showcase material from his sophomore album Infinity, which dropped last year to considerable critical and popular acclaim, debuting at #54 on the ARIA Charts, garnering a nomination for Unearthed Artist Of The Year at the 2012 J Awards, and snaring two entries in triple j’s Hottest 100 for the cuts ‘Maybe Tomorrow’ and ‘Young & Dumb’. Rising to prominence off the back of his reworking of Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, Waters boasts an impressive pedigree as a live artist, having supported the likes of Bliss N Eso, The Herd, 360 and De La Soul. He headlines The Standard on Friday April 12.
Music, Right Here, Right Now I think the local scene is pretty strong 5. right now in Melbourne; there’s a lot of
Dune
interesting electronic music coming out at the moment. I hope that we can keep this up – it seems that a lot of live venues seem to be under threat at the moment because people who don’t like noise want to build flats near them, which a dumb thing to do if you don’t like noise. We can’t underestimate how important it is to keep live music strong; our lives are all the richer for having such a great scene. What: Tim Fitz, Karoshi, Swimming and more to be announced What: FBi Social’s 2nd Birthday Party Where: Kings Cross Hotel When: Saturday March 23 Also: There’s a rockier edition of the Party the preceding evening
of Machinedrum and Praveen, along with Detroit’s Jimmy Edgar, who is fresh from collaborating with the also Sydney-bound Derrick May. The sonic palette shifts slightly on Sunday, with Hamburg producer Marco Niemerski, AKA Tensnake (he of ‘Coma Cat’ fame) throwing down. Rounding off the bill will be Hot Creations’ HNQO and Scotland’s Graeme Clark, better known for his house and disco influenced output as The Revenge (and, with Craig Smith, 6th Borough Project). Presale tickets can be procured through the Pulse Radio website.
DUNE EP LAUNCH
Dune – AKA Jade MacRae – will be launching her debut EP Oh Innocence at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi this Wednesday, March 20. Oh Innocence features debut single ‘Shoestring’ along with four other self-produced tracks that are constructed with textured synths and beats and have been compared to the likes of Robyn, The Presets, and Ladyhawke. “Some of the tracks definitely echo the music made around the time I was born,” Macrae explains. “My dad was active in the experimental electronic movement in the UK in the 1970s, and a lot of the synths I was using, like the Roland Jupiter 8, were his old gear from that time.” For those who can’t make the Wednesday gig, Dune is also performing at FBi Social on Thursday March 21.
BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13 :: 37
dance music news
free stuff
club, dance and hip hop in brief... with Chris Honnery
FREESTUFF@THEBRAG.COM
STRANGE TALK
five things WITH
DANIEL BORTZ (GER) one of the biggest moments ever for me was when I heard David Bowie’s Hunky Dory. Your Crew I’m not too sure who got me 3. into music; I think that I was just so inspired by everything I heard that I naturally gravitated towards music. Most of the time I produce music by myself, but sometimes my good friend Sascha Sibler will join me in the studio. Luckily I don’t have a day job anymore, as I stopped doing that two years ago to work on music full-time. The Music You Make My sets really vary, and 4. it depends on the vibe and the
Growing Up My parents were very 1. addicted to music, so I really was
This really was an important time in my life for musical inspiration!
surrounded by it in my youth. My father was a drummer for a band, which definitely inspired me to listen to bands like Rolling Stones and Genesis. I also listened to a lot of hip hop and rap music...
2.
Inspirations With house and techno, I was really inspired by artists like Daniel Bell, Robert Hood and Matthew Herbert. For rap music, I really can’t go past N.W.A.; and
PET SHOP BOYS
Seminal duo the Pet Shop Boys have announced that, after 28 years, they are leaving Parlophone Records, signing their forthcoming studio album Electric, which will be released in June, to Kobalt Label Services. Electric will be produced by Stuart Price, a longtime PSB fan who recently remixed the Boys’ single ‘Memory Of The Future’, which was lifted from their 2012 album Elysium, and received a rousing reception from frontman Neil Tennant, who described the rework as a “fantastic futuristic dance mix”. In light of this response, it’s no surprise the Boys sounded out Price to come on board for what will be their twelfth studio album. A hugely talented and successful producer in his own right, Price has worked with Madonna, The Killers, Take That, and the Scissor Sisters, and produced under many different guises over the years, including Les Rythmes Digitales, Jacques Lu Cont and Thin White Duke. “This is a very exciting point in our careers,” the Boys divulged in a press release. “We are hugely proud of the new album and are very pleased to be working in conjunction with Kobalt.”
mood in the club and of the crowd. Currently I’m playing a lot of tracks from my EPs Draga and Heal The World. Also I’m really into Pional and John Talabot, so definitely expect to hear some music from them. These tracks are currently on heavy rotation for me: John Talabot & Pional – ‘So Will Be Now’; Slove – ‘Flash (Pachanga Boys Remix)’; The xx – ‘Sunset (Jamie xx edit)’; Mario Basanov – ‘Slip Away (Daniel
Bortz remix)’; Nick Monaco – ‘Give It Right’. Whenever I buy a record or download an MP3 I ask myself: “Is this a track I want to play in my set?” The last record I bought was in Glasgow and it was Levon Vincent’s amazing track ‘Novel Sound’. You know, for me it really is a unique and great feeling buying vinyl... Don’t ask me why though, as I really can’t explain it! Music, Right Here, Right Now 5. I recently saw Swedish act Genius Of Time perform live in my hometown of Augsburg. I was really impressed by them and I can really say that they are one of the best live acts currently going around. Their arrangements are extremely tight and they don’t even use a laptop. Highly recommended. With: Alley Oop, Ben Ashton, Whitecat, Antoine Vice, Aboutjack When: Saturday March 23 Where: Bad Apple @ The Abercrombie Hotel
In karmic compensation for that weird conversation you had on the train this morning with that funny character that you’d rather cast out of your thoughts, electro-pop purveyors Strange Talk are on the brink of touring the country with their LP Cast Away. Produced in Melbourne and mixed in LA by Tony Hoffer (Beck, Temper Trap, The Presets) the record spans minimalist balladry to rave anthems – an intoxicating combination that spiked the Hype Machine charts over the past year. Having performed at Parklike, Future Music, Falls and Stereosonic, Strange Talk are set to play Oxford Art Factory on March 22, with Phebe Starr and Pigeon in support. We have a double pass + a copy of Cast Away for two lucky readers – email us your postal addy if that sounds like your cup o’ tea.
SONICANIMATION
Ever wondered how Theophilus Thistler, the thistle sifter, in sifting a sieveful of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb? If so, congratulations on liking dance music ‘before it was cool’. Really, though: we bet Sonicanimation and ‘Theophilus Thistler’ was your summer soundtrack and you cried when the Aussie duo won Australian Dance Music awards and received ARIA nominations, and you got second degree burns waiting outside to be in the front row when they played at Big Day Out, and you have cried every night since, awaiting their return... You prolly already own their brand-new album, and have tickets to their March 21 show at Oxford Art Factory? But we have two double passes for the people who put aloe vera on your back; just tell us your favourite Sonicanimation track.
DAN BELL
One of the most respected figures in the underground club realm, Detroit techno auteur Daniel Bell headlines S.A.S.H at the Abercrombie Hotel this Sunday, March 24. Since his early days as a producer and part of the burgeoning empire of Richie Hawtin’s Plus 8 label, Bell has had a profound influence over the ongoing development of techno and club culture. He is renowned for his productions under his DBX moniker – see 1994’s ‘Losing Control’ – and his Button-Down Mind mixes from the early noughties, which are seen as responsible for shifting techno’s focus onto the previously unexplored territories of Germanic minimal. (We all know what happened thereafter.) “I think good music tends to stand the test of time regardless of trends or genres. There is always a new crowd rediscovering what came before,” Bell reflected recently. Bell regularly spins at the Get Perlonized parties alongside Zip et al in Berlin, and if his set at Mad Racket’s 10th birthday party in 2010 is any indication, Sydney is in for a treat when he returns this weekend.
Nico Stojan
SPICEY STOJAN
Berliner Nico Stojan headlines the Spice Cellar this Saturday, March 23. A classicallytrained saxophone player, Stojan is a resident DJ at renowned Berlin playpen Kater Holzig, and has thrown down at many of Europe’s foremost nightclubs, including Cocoon, Watergate and Panorama Bar. Stojan is also an adept producer, having released on labels such as Highgrade and Philip Bader’s Dantze imprint, and collaborated with the likes of Bader, Nicone and Acid Pauli throughout his career. Anyone after a repeat dose of Stojan can catch him the following weekend on Easter Monday, when he headlines Subsonic’s traditional long weekend End Of The Line bash at the Abercrombie Hotel.
FVSTFWRD
Ellen Allien
CHINESE LAUNDRY APRIL
Chinese Laundry has unveiled its April program, and as ever there are a number of international headliners to pique the interest of all those with a penchant for 4/4 club sounds. BPitch Control head honchette Ellen Allien will throw down on Saturday April 13. Allien’s discography speaks for itself, comprising a mix for Fabric in addition to some very well produced artist albums and a collaborative LP with Apparat. She’ll touch down in Australia following the release of her latest LP, LISm, a revamped version of the score she wrote for a dance performance in Paris a few years ago. A fortnight later, on Saturday April 27, techno posterboy Ben Klock is on headline duties. Klock is known for his affiliation with notorious Berlin nightclub Berghain and its record label Ostgut Ton, along with being ‘the guy’ who’s going out with the delectable Nina Kraviz. Klock recently released the compilation Fabric 66, and is a ‘must see’ for anyone who enjoyed his partner-in-crime Marcel Dettmann’s set at the same venue a few weeks back.
38 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
FVSTFWRD is a new entrant onto the Sydney party scene that launched last Thursday, and will continue to push current hip hop sounds every Thursday henceforth at Tonka Bar, located at 231 Oxford Street on the site that battle-hardened beat veterans will remember as Ruby Rabbit. FVSTFWRD is a concept and collaboration between renowned promoter Slingshot and the urban clothing and accessory store, Notorious & Co. Sonically speakin’, FVSTFWRD will feature Joyride and Raine Supreme as resident DJs, who will be joined each week by guest DJs and international artists. The event will run from 9pm to 2am, with entry a mere 10 crabs.
OP SHOP
Only got $20 in your pocket but feel like a cheeky dance? If it’s Thursday, no problem. The newest party night at the Newtown Hotel is Op Shop, and that red note will get you five beers – yes, the mythical $4 beer – while you dance to the hip hop, soul and rock’n’roll sets by everyone’s favourite party DJs, Shantan Wantan Ichiban and PhDJ. It’s free entry, there are $10 nachos to soak up the cheapo beverages, and you can don zany party outfits
thanks to the dress-up box next to the stage. There is nothing that is not awesome about this night – every Thursday from 7pm.
PICNIC 5TH BDAY
Picnic celebrates five years at the forefront of the Sydney club realm on Easter Monday, with a bash headlined by Kompakt Records kingpin Aksel Schaufler, AKA Superpitcher, that will run from 2pm ‘til 2am at Santa Barbara, located at 1 Bayswater Road King’s Cross. One of Germany’s most vaunted DJs, Superpitcher has released a couple of acclaimed solo LPs and collaborated extensively with Kompakt co-founder Michael Mayer as Supermayer, remixing everyone from Gotye and Rufus Wainwright to Foals and Alter Ego along the way. He’s also responsible for some of the finer singles in the Kompakt back-catalogue, namely ‘Heroin’ and his cover of Brian Eno’s ‘Baby’s On Fire’, while recently he’s been knuckling down in the studio with Rebolledo under the moniker of the Pachanga Boys, who were responsible for ‘Time’, one of the anthems of last year. Ken Cloud, Kali and Andy Webb will all be throwing down in support, with ridiculously cheap presales floating about online at the time of writing.
rthd th Bi pic 5 Our e ay
Our epic 5th Birthday
PICNICSTUFF PRESENTS
MON 1ST APRIL
WITH SUPPORT FROM Kali, KEN CLOUD, ANDY WEBB First release $15 // Second RELEASE $20 Thru Residentadvisor and Pulse Radio
Drink specials and ultra amazing birthday surprises!!
2PM TILL LATE
1 Bayswater Rd (Under the Coke sign)
BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13 :: 39
Demigodz Still At It By Andrew ‘Hazard’ Hickey
Spit Syndicate
Talking Shit By Benjamin Cooper
Celph Titled
E
ven after almost two decades in the game, Chad ‘Apathy’ Bromley and Vic Mercer, AKA Celph Titled, have managed to hold onto their fanbase through constant touring, releasing and staying true to their sound, while branching out if the opportunity is right. Performing alongside several rotating members over the years, they have been part of supergroup The Demigodz, who are finally releasing their first group album, KILLmatic. “Satisfying is definitely an understatement,” says Connecticut-born Bromley of the long-delayed release. “It’s a great accomplishment for our crew, and of course adding these songs to our catalogue only makes for more soon-to-be classics for our fans to hear live whenever we get on stage.” For KILLmatic, the quick-witted duo buckled down in the studio with current crew members Ryu (of Styles Of Beyond), Esoteric, Motive and Blacastan. As they’re prolific solo artists in their own right with other projects on the go, Mercer says that it took a while for the project to become a priority for all the members: “We planned to finish this album a long time ago, but getting everyone on the same page takes time and focus.” Mercer believes their approach to lyricism and production wouldn’t allow them to release anything sub-par. “We are perfectionists, so we would sit on beats for a long time, rework them and sharpen the lyrics, until the end result was the best it could be in our eyes.” Bromley doesn’t see the overall group dynamic as being all that much different from their previous efforts – it was in the fine-tuning and musical approach where things varied. “It was a little different than, say, our first Demigodz EP in 2002 where our crew was much larger and joints were thrown together quickly on the spot.”
Apathy While Demigodz has always been a passion project, the duo’s work ethic has led them to some big career opportunities over the years, including collaborations with Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda and Mercer’s Fort Minor side-project. “Those situations only came to us because we put in work and were able to show and prove,” says Mercer. “Our talent speaks for itself. Fort Minor was a huge boost of exposure, but it would’ve meant nothing if we didn’t continue to follow-up with quality consistent music after that project was over.” Bromley sees their more mainstream work as something that adds to their legacy rather than defining it: “I’m very proud of what we’ve built, but of course we’d like it to be larger.” With the Demigodz full-length finally released and poised to build on Apathy and Celph’s reputation, now seems like the perfect time for the lyrical tag team to make their return to Australia – the last time they toured was in 2005. “If I could come to Australia every single year I’d do it, without question,” says Mercer. “Our audiences there are so amped to hear us live and they really get hyped at the shows.” As artists who have been on the independent grind for the majority of their career, Mercer and Bromley don’t underestimate the importance of performing live. “You can’t make it in this game if you don’t do live shows and tour. A live show is an experience that someone just can’t download off a website,” Mercer says matterof-factly. “The days of dropping a 12” vinyl single a couple times a year or putting out a CD and just sitting back collecting cheques are over,” adds Bromley. “You’ve got to get out there and work your ass off.” When: Wednesday March 27 Where: The Factory Theatre / 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville And: KILLmatic is out now
ustralian music is incredibly healthy at the moment. And I’m saying that as a fan: don’t let anyone tell ya different.”
Hip hop keeps on changing anyway, so the best we can do is watch and listen, and hope to change over time.”
Nick Lupi is feeling good about the future. The Sydneysider is one half of hip hop duo Spit Syndicate, who are about to release their third album. Sunday Gentlemen follows two critically-lauded albums on Obese Records and three separate mixtapes. They’ve steadily built their following through festival touring, as well as club shows and supports for internationals including Cypress Hill, Atmosphere and Brother Ali.
Spit Syndicate’s past is dotted with significant milestones: they were signed to Obese at the tender age of 21 and nominated for an ARIA for their debut album Towards The Light in 2008. Their future beyond those projects currently in the pipeline looks rosy too, due in large part to their active involvement in the One Day crew. Many of its members attended Fort Street High School in Sydney’s inner west, and their history involves more than just a passion for beats. “Our friendships go back a long way, probably to the days when used to be involved in the graf scene,” explains Lupi. “We’ve got people like Horrorshow, Joyride and Jackie Onassis involved, and having friends that are part of a group just pushes us harder and harder. It’s creative and inspiring in a unique way: someone might come up with a verse that’s killer and you get forced to try something completely different with your next chorus.”
“A
Yet for Lupi and bandmate Jimmy Nice, it’s always been about the back alley, rather than the green room. “There’s this excitement from the fans that just doesn’t quit,” Lupi says. “That spirit, that liveliness is what keeps things focused, especially when it’s coming from those younger kids. We might refer to it as ‘talking shit’, but having a chat about things constantly keeps us all plugged in. I’ve said for a while that hip hop fans are generally more passionate. They really live it, you know?” A significant aspect of Lupi’s interaction with Spit Syndicate fans comes through online forums. “That passion is most obvious through social media,” he says. “The cultural literacy of some of these 14- or 15-year-old kids is incredible. The ease with which they’re able to describe the things around them – whether that’s art or anything else – blows me away.” Lupi is quick to point out that, while he’s impressed by the younger fans, the duo are definitely not passive about their roles in the scene. “We’ve built this thing from the very ground up, and that means we stay focused on making an effort all the time. “At the same time I have to admit that I don’t quite understand hip hop culture,” he continues. “I love it, and I love being a part of it, and I think that maybe not understanding it completely, or over-thinking what we do, is what keeps it fresh.
The Sunday Gentlemen tour will see Spit Syndicate’s stock rise even further, with triple j favourites Jackie Onassis supporting their big brothers on a national tour. DJ Joyride will perform alongside Spit Syndicate live, and Lupi‘s excitement is palpable. “It’s insane to be all heading out together, at last. We’ve got this hugely talented crew, but everyone is really strong and confident in their own pursuits too. The group mentality means that whatever comes we’re able to take it in our stride and just roll with it. It also means that there are a few more antics,” he laughs. “Plus there’s more talking shit, and you can’t underestimate the importance of that.” With: Joyride and Jackie Onassis Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday March 30 And: Also appearing at Movement Festival, Hordern Pavilion, Friday April 26
Diafrix
A Thousand Stories By Krissi Weiss
M
elbourne hip hop crew Diafrix have been breathing new life into Aussie hip hop for over a decade. While local artists have injected a truly unique flavour into hip hop, the usual sound has started to wear a little thin. Diafrix have waited patiently in the wings, determined to stick to their sound which is in part a product of their unique origins: both MC Momo and MC Azmarino are African refugees, which made them stand out somewhat in the Aussie hip hop scene at first. “Coming to this country and joining the culture with English not being our first language was hard enough, let alone then trying to enter into a subculture,” Momo says. “We really didn’t know where we stood. Sometimes when we’d go into venues people were like ‘What the fuck do these guys think they’re doing?’ and now some of those people are our peers. People have changed and that just took time and no matter what, that just motivated us. We felt like we were the voice of our community and it was a beautiful struggle.” Momo has dissected their origins a thousand times over, and last year’s breakthrough album Pocket Full Of Dreams (featuring the killer single ‘Running It’) was proof that the group have more to talk about. “If you listen to Pocket Full Of Dreams there’s isn’t much about our origins in the lyrics; there’s like two songs
40 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
about it,” Momo says. “Even though it’s a big part of us, it’s not like that’s the only story we can tell. With [their 0debut] Concrete Jungle, that was a big part of the story but it seemed like that was the only part people focused on. We certainly weren’t going to rewrite that first album; I’ve got a thousand stories.” Diafrix did, in fact, literally rewrite their second album, when the finished product turned out to sound nothing like they wanted it to. “So we scrapped the whole thing and only [kept] two songs, and wrote a whole new album,” says Momo. “The album has done exactly what we wanted it to do and we’re very grateful and thankful for that, and also for all the people out there spreading the love. Being an independent artist for so long, you know what the hustle and bustle is about, so when you get love back it really makes you feel good.” Diafrix are getting ready for their most extensive tour to date, while still riding a high from supporting current hip hop darlings Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. “It was effin’ amazing!” Momo says of the high-profile tour. “Macklemore is just such a humble dude, I think the whole tour was a shock for him because he didn’t know how big things had gotten here for him. Every single night at every gig he’d be like ‘Make sure you support Diafrix’,
and that was just so overwhelming for us because that was the first time that an artist that we’re supporting has ever done something like that.” Things may seem to be on the up and up for Diafrix, but Momo admits there are always nerves when venturing out on a headline tour. “This is our first more-than-ten-day tour and it’s hard to play in regional areas where you don’t know if you’ve got a following or not,” he
says. “Either we’re gonna get there and there’s gonna be no one there, or we’ll be drinking champagne afterwards.” With: Miracle Where: Bondi Beach Hotel When: Friday March 22 Also: Playing Civic Underground on Saturday March 23 and UTS Uni Bar on Wednesday April 10
“ENCAPSULATING THE CLIMAX OF AN ERA” \\ URB.com “BEAUTIFULLY CONSTRUCTED EXPLORATION OF LEGACY, SET TO SOME OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE CONCERT FOOTAGE IN RECENT HISTORY.” \\ TWITCH FILM “‘SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS’ IS LCD SOUNDSYSTEM’S ‘THE LAST WALTZ’”\\ INDIEWIRE INCLUDES THE FULL 4 HOUR FAREWELL CONCERT
AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY 13 MARCH
We has internets!
Album Out Now!
National Tour 2013 WITH SPECIAL GUESTS JACKIE ONASSIS Extra bits and moving bits without the inky fingers.
www.thebrag.com
SAT 30 MARCH * OXFORD ART FACTORY * SYDNEY FRI 10 MAY * LEAGUES CLUB * WOY WOY SAT 11 MAY * WAVES NIGHTCLUB * WOLLONGONG FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION VISIT WWW.SPITSYNDICATE.COM WWW.TWITTER.COM/SPITSYNDICATE * WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/SPITSYNDICATE
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club guide send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com
club pick of the week
THURSDAY MARCH 21 The Cool Room, The Australian Brewery, Rouse Hill We Love Thursdays Troy T, Bill Will 8pm Exchange Hotel, Darlinghurst Hot Damn! Hot Damn! DJs 8pm Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney Black Vanilla free 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Resident DJs free 10pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Sonicanimation $15 (+ bf) 8pm Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross Loud Resident DJs 8pm Tonka Bar, Darlinghurst Fvstfwrd Joyride, Raine Supreme $10 9pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Swag Resident DJs $10 9pm Whaat Club, Potts Point Chakra Robust, Brizz free 9.30pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Gillex, Dan Bombings, Becci Hearts free (student)-$5 8pm
Stanton Warriors
FRIDAY MARCH 22
SATURDAY MARCH 23
Chinese Laundry, Sydney
Stanton Warriors (UK), A-Tonez, Spenda C, Fingers, Georgia, King Lee, Strange Cloud DJs $15-$25 9pm MONDAY MARCH 18 Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket Mother Of A Monday DJ Smokin’ Joe free 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Latin Jazz Swim Team DJs free 7pm
TUESDAY MARCH 19 Establishment, Sydney Rumba Motel Salsa DJ Willie Sabor free 8pm Scruffy Murphy’s, Haymarket 42 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
I Love Goon Resident DJs free 7pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Coyote Tuesday: White Party Resident DJs 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Chu Resident DJs free 8pm
WEDNESDAY MARCH 20 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Asta, Dune, Pigeon (DJ set), DJ Georgia, Hobophonics free 8pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross KIT Wednesdays Resident DJs 11pm The Lewisham Hotel
Garbage 90s Nights Resident DJs free 7pm The Ranch Hotel, Epping Hump Wednesdays Resident DJs 8pm UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington Awake Sogyal Rinpoche, Azza Huasca, DJ Fester, Daheen Downbeat $20-$30 7pm Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills Netsky (BEL), Royalston, A-Tonez sold out 7pm Whaat Club, Potts Point Whip It Wednesdays Vertigo DJs free 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall LKiD (UK), Tigerlily, Struz, Rit Locus, Lights Out, E-Cats, Pablo Calamari, Laprats, Fingers, Hubble 8pm
Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Diafrix, Miracle, DJ Secret Weapon free 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Something Wicked Robust, Audiotrash, Prolifix $10-$15 8pm Cargo Bar, Sydney Miller City Sessions Jason Lema (USA) free 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Utah Jazz (UK), Hydraulix, Pop The Hatch, Autoclaws, Kombat, Chenzo, Bruxism, Kemikoll, Brown Bear $15-$25 9pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Gimme Five Matt Roberts, Anders Hitchcock free 5pm The Factory Theatre, Marrickville East West Norooz Dance Party DJ Kazillion, DJ Danial Shafi, Troy Panah $20 9pm Goodgod Front Bar, Sydney Yo Grito! Yo Grito! DJs free 9pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Pelvis $10 11pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour The Guestlist Resident DJs 9pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Aron Mana, DJ Rain Julz, Resident DJs free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Fridays Resident DJs 9pm Marquee, The Star, Pyrmont Tenzin 9pm Oatley Hotel We Luv Oatley Hotel Fridays Mashed DJ Kristiano free 8pm Omega Lounge, City Tattersalls Club, Sydney Unwind Fridays DJ Greg Summerfield free 5.30pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Strange Talk, Phebe Starr, Pigeon $12 (+ bf) 8pm The Ranch Hotel, Epping Retro Fridays Resident DJs 9.30pm The Soda Factory, Surry Hills Grandmaster Flash (USA) $20 8pm Sydney Conservatorium of Music – Verbrugghen Hall James Blake (UK) $65 8pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Trademark Fridays Resident DJs free 9pm UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington
Drapht $13.50 - $18.50 7.30pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour Bring On The Weekend! Candidate, DJ Matt Roberts free 5pm Whaat Club, Potts Point Think Fridays Discobusy, KittKatt, Jaimie Lyn $10 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross MUM Harts, Camden, Siren Lines, Tom Lark, DJ Morgs, Lady White, Rich People $10$15 8pm
SATURDAY MARCH 23
SUNDAY JUNE 24
Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Bad Apple Daniel Bortz (GER), Alley Oop, Ben Ashton, Whitecat, Antoine Vice, Aboutjack $20 3pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Falcona Saturdays Luke Million, Hobophonics free 8pm Burdekin Hotel – Viper Lounge, Darlinghurst Transience Aiera, Adriano, Costa Mappis, Dejanristic $20 8pm Candys Apartment, Kings Cross Ritual Stalker, Sherlock Bones, Ratsnap $20 8pm Chinese Laundry, Sydney Stanton Warriors (UK), A-Tonez, Spenda C, Fingers, Georgia, King Lee, Strange Cloud DJs $15-$25 9pm Club 77, Darlinghurst Starfuckers 7th Birthday Starfuckers DJs 10pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Skybar Saturdays Resident DJs $20 11pm Cohibar, Darling Harbour Strange Clouds James Taylor, Matttt, Raull, Brenden Fing, Reno, Mars Monero $10 2pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel FBi Social’s 2nd Birthday! Tim Fitz, Big Dumb Kid, Super Magic Hats, Swimming, Karoshi, Hands Up DJs $10 8pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Musik Matters YokoO, Matt Cahill, Lee M Kelsall, Ben Ashton, Shivers, Johnny Gleeson $20 10pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Dutty Dancing Nick Toth, Basslines, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Mike Who? $10 11pm The Hi-Fi Sydney, Moore Park Avant (USA), Mike Champion $45.50 8pm Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour Homemade Saturdays Resident DJs $20-$25 9pm Ivy, Sydney Pacha Chardy, Minx, Ben Morris, Chris Fraser, Devola, Kato, Pat Ward, Pablo Calamari, Trent Rackus, Nad, Fingers, Kristy Lee, Adam Bozzetto, Heke, Deckhead, Polina, Gmod, Lola Siren 6.30pm Jacksons On George, Sydney DJ Simon Laing, DJ Michael Stewart free 9pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross
Diafrix
Kitty Kitty Bang Bang Resident DJs 9pm Marquee, The Star, Pyrmont New Age Bulshit, ZeroCool, K Note $30 (+ bf) 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Hold Tight! Actress (UK) $25 (+ bf) 9pm Phoenix Bar, Darlinghurst Up Dayclub Resident DJs 5am Sapphire Lounge, Kings Cross The Suite Resident DJs 8pm Soho, Potts Point Usual Suspects Gemini (UK), Hydraulix, Swiss Dub, Oakes & Lennox, Pete Deraz, Tain, J-Squad, Bounce Crew DJs, Here’s Trouble 9pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice Nico Stojan (GER), Uone, YokoO, Nic Scali, Space Junk $20 10pm Trademark Hotel, Kings Cross Trademark Saturdays Resident DJs 9pm Whaat Club, Potts Point After Dark Camo, Zim City, Goodbois $10-$15 8pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Cakes Mike Metro & Benson, Go Freek, Brown Bear, Mike Hyper, Kid Crookes, Deckhead, Snillum, J Heasy, Hannah Gibbs, Thomas Lisse $15-$20 8pm
SUNDAY MARCH 24 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays Daniel Bell (USA), Carlos Zarate, N/A, Jake Hough, Robbie Cordukes, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $10 2pm Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Omar Varts, Richie Ryan, Andy Glitre free 3pm The Beresford Hotel, Surry Hills Beresford Sundays Resident DJs free 3pm Ivy, Sydney Otto Knows (SWE) 8pm Jacksons On George, Sydney Aphrodisiac Resident DJs free 5pm Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross Easy Sundays Resident DJs free 10pm Oatley Hotel Sunday Sessions DJ Tone free 7pm Secret Disco Oasis, Sydney Spirit Of House Afternoon Block Party DJ Rahaan (USA), Gian Arpino, Shan Frenzie, Phil Toke, Soul of Sydney, Michael Zac, Eadie Ramia $15 1pm The Spice Cellar, Sydney Spice After Hours Nic Scali $20 4am Tatler, Darlinghurst Dust Zare, Pow! Pow!, Gemma Van D, Hannah Gibbs, James Taylor free-$10 10pm The Watershed Hotel, Darling Harbour DJ Brynstar free 2pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Soup Kitchen Cotolette, Matt J, RCNT, Soup Kitchen DJs free 7pm
club picks up all night out all week...
Sonicanimation
WEDNESDAY MARCH 20 Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills Netsky (BEL), Royalston, A-Tonez sold out 7pm The World Bar, Kings Cross The Wall LKiD (UK), Tigerlily, Struz, Rit Locus, Lights Out, E-Cats, Pablo Calamari, Laprats, Fingers, Hubble 8pm
THURSDAY MARCH 21 Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Sonicanimation $15 (+ bf) 8pm Tonka Bar, Darlinghurst Fvstfwrd Joyride, Raine Supreme $10 9pm The World Bar, Kings Cross Propaganda Gillex, Dan Bombings, Becci Hearts free (student)-$5 8pm
FRIDAY MARCH 22 Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Diafrix, Miracle, DJ Secret Weapon free 8pm Grandmaster Flash
Chinese Laundry, Sydney Boss Bass Utah Jazz (UK), Hydraulix, Pop The Hatch, Autoclaws, Kombat, Chenzo, Bruxism, Kemikoll, Brown Bear $15-$25 9pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Strange Talk, Phebe Starr, Pigeon $12 (+ bf) 8pm The Soda Factory, Surry Hills Grandmaster Flash (USA) $20 8pm UNSW Roundhouse, Kensington Drapht $13.50 - $18.50 7.30pm
SATURDAY MARCH 23 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway Bad Apple Daniel Bortz (GER), Alley Oop, Ben Ashton, Whitecat, Antoine Vice, Aboutjack $20 3pm FBi Social @ Kings Cross Hotel FBi Socialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2nd Birthday! Tim Fitz, Big Dumb Kid, Super Magic Hats, Swimming, Karoshi, Hands Up DJs $10 8pm Goldfish, Kings Cross Musik Matters YokoO, Matt Cahill, Lee M Kelsall, Ben Ashton, Shivers, Johnny Gleeson $20 10pm Goodgod Small Club, Sydney Dutty Dancing Nick Toth, Basslines, Shantan Wantan Ichiban, Mike Who? $10 11pm Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst Hold Tight! Actress (UK) $25 (+ bf) 9pm
SUNDAY MARCH 24 Abercrombie Hotel, Broadway S.A.S.H Sundays Daniel Bell (USA), Carlos Zarate, N/A, Jake Hough, Robbie Cordukes, Matt Weir, Kerry Wallace $10 2pm Secret Disco Oasis, Sydney Spirit Of House Afternoon Block Party DJ Rahaan (USA), Gian Arpino, Shan Frenzie, Phil Toke, Soul of Sydney, Michael Zac, Eadie Ramia $15 1pm
Drapht
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Deep Impressions
up all night out all week . . .
Underground Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery
propaganda
PICS :: DM
The Field
07:02:13 :: World Bar :: 24 Bayswater Rd Kings Cross 93577700
eli verveine
PICS :: PX
T
cocoon heroes
PICS :: PX
08:03:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
08:03:13 :: Metro Theatre :: 624 George St Sydney 9550 3666
hough I’m a big fan of Fremantle rock group Tame Impala, I’ve never written about them on this page simply because of the kind of music they create – Deep Impressions is strictly devoted to electronica, after all. However the Impala lads have ventured far and wide to recruit producers to contribute remixes for their Mind Mischief EP, and have procured reworks from a couple of very interesting producers: Swedish techno proponent Axel Willner, best known for his output on Kompakt Records as The Field, and New Jersey-based producer Matt Mondanile, who plies his trade as Ducktails. Wilner has reworked tastemakers Battles and Thom Yorke, so his latest cross-genre foray isn’t a complete surprise, but it is indicative of how far Tame Impala’s star has risen in recent times, since Willner is a discerning sonic craftsman who only remixes the cream (of the cream). Mondanile is a member of the acclaimed indie band Real Estate who initially considered Ducktails as a side project, but that didn’t stop him from putting out over a dozen records under the moniker in a five-year period. Both remixes of WA’s finest are out now through Modular and well worth a listen, whether your preference is for electronic or psychedelic rock sounds – quality transcends prejudice, after all. Respected local party crews 4our and Shrug unite for an Easter fiesta at Goodgod Small Club on Thursday March 28, with the double bill of Detroit producer Luke Hess, who will be performing a live set, and Germany’s XDB. Hess released his second album, Keep On, last year through Omar-S’ FXHE label to considerable acclaim – the LP was lauded by Resident Advisor and one-time Stylus Magazine editor Todd Burns as “one of the most enjoyable fulllengths of the year”. Hess’ previous album, ’09’s Light In The Dark, was picked up by dub techno monolith Echocord, but looking back further we find the beginnings of the Omar-S relationship, with 2007’s EP 01 released on FXHE. The other international headliner, XDB, is a regular feature on the lineups of Berlin institutions Berghain and Panorama Bar, and oversees the Metrolux
Music label. Magda Bytnerowicz, Dave Stuart and Trinity (live) will be throwing down in support. One half of the now-defunct Finnish experimental unit Pan Sonic, Mika Vainio – whose often abrasive sound can be described as industrial minimalism – will release a new album entitled Kilo in early May. Since bringing Pan Sonic to a close, Vainio has contributed the standout cut on a high quality Popol Vuh remix compilation that was released in 2010, and unleashed a series of “slate grey metallic collisions” on 2011’s guitar-heavy Life (…It Eats You Up). Last year he released Magnetite, which was an exploration of micro-level sounds that sought to “taste the tones of neutrinos” (don’t look at me, I’m as lost as you are on that one). Kilo, which Vainio recorded in his Berlin studio, is billed as a beat-driven follow-up to Life (…It Eats You Up). It will be released on Blast First Petite, a label that has a long-running relationship with Vainio that can be traced back to its parent label, Blast First, putting out Pan Sonic’s first album back in ’95. Swedish duo Minilogue return with a new album Blomma on Cocoon Records next month. Blomma follows the release of their aptly-named three-track EP Endlessness, which dropped late last year and clocked in at a whopping 52 minutes. (Divided by three, that’s a very substantial average track length.) If it’s anything like the leadoff EP, we can expect Blomma to be an improvisational, flowing release – Minilogue have been playing abroad with Mathew Jonson, and it would seem MJ’s influence has rubbed off on their attitude in the studio. Minilogue’s impressive CV features releases on labels such as Mule, Wagon Repair and Traum in addition to accomplished albums like 2008’s Animals and some eclectic side projects, including the jazz-infused Bring Out The Imps, which they recorded under the alias IMPS with two jazz musicians. Minilogue fans can expect the forthcoming album to be a raw/pure listening experience – depending on how you choose to interpret it – as no editing or post-production work was done on Blomma (a title which, glossophiles will tell you, translates as both ‘flower’ and ‘in bloom’ in Swedish).
LOOKING DEEPER FRIDAY MARCH 22
Pole York Street Anglican Church
SUNDAY MARCH 24 Daniel Bell The Abercrombie
THURSDAY MARCH 28 PICS :: AH
azealia banks
Ivan Smagghe, Pachanga Boys The Abercrombie Luke Hess, XDB Goodgod Small Club
Daniel Bell
06:03:13 :: Enmore Theatre :: 118-132 Enmore Rd Newtown 9550 3666 :: KATRINA CLARKE :: JAY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) LEWIS :: ASHLEY MAR :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER KATE :: LEE Y ROX :: KITCHING COLLIER :: AVERIE HARVEY :: RYAN :: DANIEL MUNNS :: PEDRO XAVIER
44 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
Deep Impressions: electronica manifesto and occasional club brand. Contact through deep.impressions@yahoo.com
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up all night out all week . . .
Sundays future music festival
PICS :: RL, AM
24 MARCH
Carlos Zarate N/A Jake Hough Robbie Cordukes Matt Weir Kerry Wallace
09:03:13 :: Randwick Racecourse
:: KATRINA CLARKE :: JAY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) LEWIS :: ASHLEY MAR :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER KATE :: LEE Y ROX :: HING KITC COLLIER :: AVERIE HARVEY :: RYAN PEDRO XAVIER ::
BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13 :: 45
snap up all night out all week . . .
It’s called: Picnic presents Ivan Smagghe & Pachanga Boys It sounds like: All of the houses, all of the technos, all of the parties. Who’s playing: Ivan Smagghe, Pachanga Boys (Superpitcher and Rebolledo) and Kali Three songs you’ll hear on the night: It’s A Fine Boys – ‘Time’, FCL – ‘It’s You (San Soda’s Panor Line – ‘Do The Hot Tar’, Pachanga ama Bar Acca Version)’ And one you definitely won’t: Anything from Hanson’s 5th or 6th albums. Sell it to us: Smagghe hasn’t been here in seven years and he’s an absolute god. The Pachangas have never been to Oz togeth er and they’re known for being two of the funnest dudes in the dance universe. The heaviest double bill ever! The bit we’ll remember in the AM: Wielding a deep-fried Golden Gaytime while the Pachangas drop some hippie dance goodness. Crowd specs: Legends, champions, lords, winners and more legends. Wallet damage: Forty buckeroos. Where: The Abercrombie Hotel, corner of Broad way and Abercrombie Street. When: 10pm, Thursday March 28 – the night before Good Friday!
nina las vegas
PICS :: AM
party profile
ivan smagghe & pachanga boys
oddisee
PICS :: TL
09:03:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587
s.a.s.h
PICS :: KL
09:03:13 :: Civic Underground :: 388 Pitt St Sydney 8080 7000
pre-amp awards party
09:03:13 :: Marquee :: The Star Sydney 9657 7737
46 :: BRAG :: 504 :: 18:03:13
06:03:13 :: Soda Factory :: 16 Wentworth Ave Surry Hills 8096 9120 PICS :: RK
steve aoki & lil jon
PICS :: TL
10:03:13 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9280 2178
:: KATRINA CLARKE :: JAY S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) LEWIS :: ASHLEY MAR :: OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER KATE :: LEE Y ROX :: KITCHING COLLIER :: AVERIE HARVEY :: RYAN PEDRO XAVIER ::
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$529