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rock music news welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin, Helen Vienne and Rachel Eddie

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THE BRAG

on the record MARK KELSON FROM THE ETERNAL Halen! I guess it did inspire me because I got a hint that I was interested in being a guitar player, but I couldn’t moonwalk for shit.

The Last Record I Bought Vista Chino – Peace. Well, these guys 2. are basically Kyuss without Josh Homme.

Even though I play in a dark rock/metal band, The Eternal, I think in my heart I’m into ’70s/ classic and some stoner rock. I think when I was young I was into doomy and gloomy music, which is probably why my own band has kept that sound. But I love a good bit of desert rock!

The First Thing I Recorded I think I made my first record when I 3. was about 18 or 19 for a band called Cryptal Darkness. It was like melodic death metal – it wasn’t amazing, although the band seems to have a bit of an underground following still.

I don’t tend to listen to records I have done once they are finished – and this was no exception…

1.

The First Record I Bought Michael Jackson – Thriller, on tape, maybe when I was about eight; I think because

the video scared the shit out of me and because I liked the guitar solo on ‘Beat It’, which at the time I didn’t realise was Eddie Van

Xxx

The Last Thing I Recorded The Eternal – When The Circle Of Light 4.

Begins To Fade. As well as performing and writing this album, I engineered, mixed and

Cub Sport

produced, so it was a big job. It’s very moody and rockin’. It features Mark Kelson (vocals/ guitar), Brad Cook (guitar), Dave Langlands (bass), Marty O’Shea (drums) and Martin Powell (keyboards). I think this album is our most ‘live’ one as I really wanted to get the feeling of a band playing, so I think it’s a good representation of what you get live with us also.

The Record That Changed My Life It’s hard to say. I think once I discovered 5. rock and metal in my mum’s husband’s record collection – like Metallica, Whitesnake, Slayer and all that stuff when I was about 11 or 12 – and I started playing guitar almost at the same time. These records scared the shit out of me at the time but I was mystified and didn’t really turn back. To be honest, I don’t listen to a lot of metal now, but the classic rock stuff stays with me.

What: The Eternal supporting Amorphis Where: Factory Theatre When: Friday October 11 And: When The Circle Of Light Begins To Fade out now through Rocket Distribution

each band member writes and sings their own songs separately. Thankfully, they’ll all be touring together, presumably playing the same song at the same time. The Ocean Party play Blackwire Records alongside Beef Jerk, Shopgirl and Nathan Roche on Saturday November 16.

WE ARE SCIENTISTS

Raise your Bunsen burners because We Are Scientists are blazing into Australia for a national tour that will have fans charged with the same rhythmic electricity that has ripped through arenas worldwide. The New York indie rock icons have released four internationally vaunted albums and are now set to unleash their new EP, Business Casual, for Australian fans. Fusing thunderous percussive soundscapes with fizzy guitar licks, their live shows are a visceral procedure, notorious for sending audiences into thrashing fi ts. They’ll turn the Factory Theatre into a sonic lab on Friday January 24.

EDITOR: Chris Martin chris@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 ARTS EDITOR: Lisa Omagari lisa@thebrag.com 02 9212 4322 STAFF WRITERS: Alasdair Duncan, Jody Macgregor, Krissi Weiss NEWS: Chris Honnery, Mina Kitsos, Rachel Eddie, Helen Vienne, Lily White ART DIRECTOR: Sarah Bryant GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alan Parry SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER: Tim Levy SNAP PHOTOGRAPHERS: Karl Braasch, Amath Magnan, Ashley Mar, David Rouse ADVERTISING: Bianca Lockley - 0412 581 669 / (02) 9212 4322 bianca@thebrag.com ADVERTISING: Les White - 0405 581 125 / (02) 9212 4322 les@thebrag.com PUBLISHER: Rob Furst MANAGING DIRECTOR, FURST MEDIA: Patrick Carr patrick@furstmedia.com.au, (03) 9428 3600, 0402 821 122 DIGITAL DIRECTOR/ADVERTISING: Kris Furst kris@furstmedia.com.au (03) 9428 3600 GIG & CLUB GUIDE CO-ORDINATORS: Olivia Kadir, Rebecca Whitman, Mina Kitsos, Rachel Eddie - gigguide@thebrag.com (rock) clubguide@thebrag. com (dance, hip hop & parties) AWESOME INTERNS: Mina Kitsos, Rachel Eddie, Olivia Kadir, James Dunlop, Nick Timms, Helen Vienne, Lucy Smith, Rebecca Whitman REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS: Nat Amat, Marissa Demetriou, Rachel Eddie, Christie Eliezer, Chris Honnery, Lachlan Kanoniuk, Jody Macgregor, Alicia Malone, Daniel Prior, Amy Theodore, Raf Seneviratne, Rick Warner, Krissi Weiss, Augustus Welby, David Wild, David James Young Please send mail NOT ACCOUNTS direct to this NEW address 100 Albion Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 ph - (02) 9212 4322 fax - (02) 9319 2227 EDITORIAL POLICY: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, editors or staff of The BRAG. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Luke Forrester: accounts@furstmedia.com.au ph - (03) 9428 3600 fax - (03) 9428 3611 Furst Media, 3 Newton Street Richmond Victoria 3121 DEADLINES: Editorial: Wednesday 12pm (no extensions) Artwork/ad bookings: Thursday 12pm (no extensions).

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6 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

GRIZZLY BEAR CUB SPORT

Brisbane’s Cub Sport – formerly Cub Scouts – have been sporting more than a new name; ’cause the fivesome have a new EP under their belt named Paradise. Their new release will hit US airwaves next week and the budding cubs will play their first live show in the States while they’re at it. If you missed out on their Aussie tour with Jinja Safari, you can catch them at Oxford Street’s Brighton Up Bar on Saturday November 23.

Sydney is “one of our favourite places to play,” say Grizzly Bear. Naw. But, sirs, you’ve obviously never played a Sydney Opera House gig; we’ll drop that “one of” from your statement come Sunday January 5. The New York indie rockers are headed our way for Music at the House – a Sydney Opera House event that’s sure to make Aussie touring #1.

SASKWATCH

The Crooked Fiddle Band

Not to be confused with a mythical eightfoot-tall ape (that’s a different spelling), Melbourne soul outfi t Saskwatch have returned with their brand new single ‘Hands’.

Powered by the tremendous vocals of frontwoman Nkechi Anele and incorporating fast-paced drumming, handclaps and an utterly ecstatic brass section, ‘Hands’ is Saskwatch at their most playful and energetic. Catch ’em at Goodgod Small Club on Friday November 29. As for the other sasquatch, we have no known news at this time – you might have to content yourself with blurry snaps taken by madmen.

RED FIRE RED

Sydney alt-rockers Red Fire Red have been around since 2010 and are all set to launch their new single ‘King Of The Blind’ at upcoming mini-fest Spin the Bottle. The Saturday October 12 event has Citizen of the World, Ackers, U:Codia, Pecking Order, Wil Maisey and Lila Swain also on the bill at Oxford Street’s Spectrum. Head to redfi rered.com/events for the $15 tix.

OCEAN PARTY ‘SPLITS’

If you’re reading this headline with dismay, fear not. Fitzroy chillmeisters The Ocean Party are still together and are hitting the road in support of their latest album, Split.

It’s a different collaborative effort for the fi ve-piece this time around – after pumping out two records over the past two years, the band decided to divvy things up; on Split,

THE CROOKED FIDDLE BAND

Folk rock barrier-breakers The Crooked Fiddle Band have released their second studio LP, Moving Pieces Of The Sea, recorded with legendary producer Steve Albini. The explosive Sydney four-piece have followed up 2011’s Overgrown Tales with a set of dynamic and visionary cuts recorded live and out now through Bird’s Robe Records. The band have previously described their music as “Chainsaw folk … even though we’re pro-conservation.”

Others have thrown around terms such as “14th-century Romanian death metal” and “whirlwind gypsy”. Their genre may be elusive but one thing we know for sure is the Moving Pieces Of The Sea album launch tour reaches The Standard on Saturday November 23.

thebrag.com

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rock music news

free stuff

welcome to the frontline: what’s goin’ on around town...with Chris Martin, Helen Vienne and Rachel Eddie

five things WITH

THE APE

VAUGHAN DEATH FROM GOONS OF DOOM we finished filming we plugged ’em in, thrashed around for three hours and told everyone after that we were the best band in the entire world. None of us could actually play but that didn’t stop us from taking it all over the world for the next ten years.

The Music You Make We’ve made four albums, 4. with the latest, Kill The Band,

Growing Up Parents of the Goons of 1.

Doom forced upon the band a wide array of musical influences.

Everything from Frank Zappa, The Rolling Stones, Christopher Cross, Hall & Oates, Cat Stevens, Slayer, Sex Pistols, Sade, Easybeats, Madonna and Boston Blackie’s Bonzer Boys. You can hear them all in every song we write.

Inspirations The bands that inspired us 2. to start our band were Ween, The Mouldy Peaches, Jonathan

Richman, Mammal, TDAATEC, The Hellmen and The Val Dusty Experiment. The first time we heard The Pod by Ween everyone pretty much lost their shit.

Your Band We met on the first day 3. of school and have been best friends ever since. So we grew up with a lot of the same musical tastes. We made a surf film called Doped Youth and bought a bunch of instruments from Cash Converters to use as props. After

Kate Miller-Heidke

email: freestuff@thebrag.com

set for release in November.

Our first album, The Story Of Dead Barbie & Ghost, was produced by Matt Strong from Custard, which was rad, and our second album, I Hate My Hair And I Wanna Die, was produced by Indra and Dallas from the Ground Components.

Revenge Of The Goons was produced by Ray of Sunshine Lalatoa from Fait Accompli and he ended up joining the band.

The latest one, Kill The Band, was all Pauly Bianco (formerly of Dogbuoy) and it’s a full-on party album recorded with guys from about eight sick Aussie bands including Wolfmother, The Vines, Sherlock’s Daughter, Red Riders, Resin Dogs, Mylee And The Milkshakes and more. It’s been our favourite to record for sure.

Music, Right Here, Right Now 5.

The music scene in Sydney is super strong, and maybe sometimes it doesn’t get the love it deserves. Between FBi and My Sydney Riot and all the city venues there is always an option to see someone new who’s totally ripping. In saying that, though, the northern beaches scene is at an all time low. There are limited venues and the kids have nowhere to cut loose to live music. At our last local show the bouncers kicked out half the crowd before we were three songs in, and then ripped the power out of the wall and banned us for life. It’s the fi fth time it’s happened and all ’cause a few kids jumped on stage. Nobody was being violent or causing any shit. The northern beaches need to have more faith in the youth, man, because shit is fucked right now.

It’s time to party like an animal. Melbourne supergroup The Ape are touring their selftitled debut album, jam-packed with garage riffs and choruses that will have you on your feet. Fronting the band is Aussie rock legend Tex Perkins, whose long CV includes Beasts of Bourbon, The Cruel Sea, James Baker Experience and The Butcher Shop.

The Ape arrive at the Factory Theatre on Saturday October 19, and the BRAG has two double passes up for grabs. Get your hands on one by emailing your funniest animal GIF to freestuff@thebrag.com.

Give us the lolz and we give the love.

The Ape

With: Elegant Shiva, The Ruminaters Where: Hotel Street, Kings Cross When: Saturday October 12

JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW

James Vincent McMorrow

We all love a good Irish accent, and thanks to James Vincent McMorrow we can swoon over one all day long. Aussies will be the first to hear the Irishman’s second album, Post Tropical, on Friday November 29 through Dew Process. But for those of us who can’t wait, a teaser’s been let loose on McMorrow’s YouTube site that, whale oil beef hooked (say it fast), looks and sounds amazing. He last played our side of the equator in 2012 for a tour that sold out both Sydney and Melbourne shows. You probably don’t wanna miss out this time around, so head to secret-sounds.com.au on Wednesday October 9 and pick up your tix for his Metro Theatre show on Thursday January 9.

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE

In an era of illegal downloads it’s hard to ‘Make It Last’ in the music biz. But alt-pop Aussie girl Kate Miller-Heidke has got you covered: offer your fans a deal worth paying for… duh. The singer-songwriter recently launched her crowdfunded project O Vertigo! It’s more than just an album deal: on top of getting their copy of Miller-Heidke’s fourth record when it comes out on Friday March 14 next year, pledgers received an instant download of her Heavenly Sounds live album – plus a sense of pride, as five per cent of proceeds head toward the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). The campaign worked spectacularly well. O Vertigo! achieved its target in a record-breaking three days, making it both the fastest and all-round most successful directto-fan campaign by an Aussie artist to date. To launch the album, MillerHeidke will be touring with Keir Nuttall and John Rodgers at the Seymour Centre’s York Theatre on Wednesday March 12. Tickets go on sale this Thursday October 10 at 10am. Highrolling fans can pocket VIP tix from Miller-Heidke’s Pledge Music site for a meet and greet.

HARRY HOOKEY

The second EP to come from Melbourne’s Harry Hookey, Sometimes, will be released through Warner Music Australia this Friday October 11. The Victorian singer-songwriter joined Tim Rogers, Henry Wagons and Paul Kelly – need we say more? – at Tennessee’s Americana Festival of 2011, and in 2012 won 8 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

the US International Songwriting Comp in the Unsigned category for his single ‘Misdiagnosed’.

Obviously, the kid’s got talent. Before finishing off his debut album – scheduled for release in 2014 – fans can catch Hookey for his national tour with Busby Marou on Friday November 8 at Newcastle’s The Small Ballroom and on Saturday November 9 at The Standard in Surry Hills.

THE KILL DEVIL HILLS

Formed in 2003, Perth’s The Kill Devil Hills have just made double digits and for their tenth birthday will launch their debut live album Past And Future Ghosts on their November tour. The independent release includes live tracks from three previous albums, singles, as well as two previously unreleased tracks. You’ll be able to pinch a copy from their Bandcamp site or at their Friday November 8 show at Marrickville’s The Factory Floor, the new venue at the Factory Theatre.

FBI SOCIAL

FBi Social has just about everything you need to get social this week. Wednesday October 9 will have Sydney producer and 2012 Northern Lights comp contender Lanterns on the stage for a free Lunchtime performance ahead of the forthcoming EP release. Local group The Rider will launch Mount Echo, their debut

EP, on Thursday October 10 with supporting acts Liam Gale & The Ponytails, Project Collective Ska and Aether Beach from 8pm.

Check out an accordion, mandolin, violin, harp, harmonica, cello and tuba extravaganza on Saturday October 12 with The Bon Scotts from 8pm with Sons Of Alamo and Dave Sattout.

Briana Cowlishaw

BEACH ROAD HOTEL

Bondi’s Beach Road Hotel has a bunch happening this week to nurse your long weekend hangover away. Wednesday October 9 will see Devola and Isbjorn entertain the Valley room from 8pm. Sosueme will play host to Melbourne hip hop outfit Diafrix in the Rex Room with supporting acts Loose Change, She Rex and DJ Bobby Gray; while Thursday October 10 will have infectious soul popping Perth kids Boom!

Bap! Pow! joining Rufflefeather. Revolution Incorporated and DJ SecretWepn will also be there from on Friday October 11. Saturday October 12 has DJ Andy Benke in the Public Bar from 9:30pm, and DJ Clockwerk and Richie Ryan in the Valley. Electro pop outfit Panama will bring happiness to the Rex Room from 8pm with support act Hitting Trees. Phew.

BRIANA COWLISHAW

Written, recorded and produced in New York City, Paper Mache City is the fresh release by Sydney jazz-pop girl Briana Cowlishaw. To celebrate its birth she’ll be heading out on a national tour with her six-piece band. On Saturday October 12 and Saturday October 19 she’ll be playing Bridge Street’s Metropolitan Hotel, while Thursday October 24 will see her reach the high notes at Double Bay’s Blue Beat. Newcastle fans will have their chance on Thursday November 21 at The Dungeon.

thebrag.com

BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13 :: 9

Industrial Strength Music Industry News with Christie Eliezer

THINGS WE HEAR

* The South Australian Government is trying to get The Rolling Stones to play the Adelaide Oval as its first music act for the new $500 million Adelaide Oval before 70,000 fans. Sources told The Advertiser that two major promoters are talking to the band about doing a stadium tour next year. * Nine Inch Nails and Queens Of The Stone Age will tour together. * The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne had his Instagram account deleted for posting too many explicit images.

He said they were of nude statues. * Parkway Drive went back to where they played their first ever gig ten years ago: this time 900 packed out the Byron Youth Activity

Centre (YAC) where the band kicked off with the first song it ever played live, ‘I Watched’, and stormed on to what fans reckoned was among their best-ever shows. * Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ is five times platinum in Australia, and One Direction’s ‘Best Song Ever’ picked up its first platinum. * Bringing back dead people via holograms isn’t a way to pack the crowds in. US hip hop festival Rock The Bells axed two of its four shows despite its selling point of Ol’ Dirty Bastard rejoining Wu-Tang Clan digitally. * Def Leppard played a prank on fans at their Las Vegas residency by coming on first as a Leppard cover band called Ded Flatbird.

Phil Collen admitted, “Some people thought we were some crap cover band.

NSW GOVT PROMISES LAWS ON TICKET SCALPING

With ticket scalping going haywire with superstar acts and major sports finals in recent weeks, the NSW Government has moved into action over the secondary ticketing market. NSW’s Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts admitted that strategies to address the scalper problem – “limiting the number of tickets that can be bought by any one person and [staggering] the release of tickets� – had varying success. Now sellers have to show proof the ticket exists (the ads must show a legible image of the ticket showing the ticket number, row and seat number but with the barcode obscured so it can’t be copied) and that the resale price not be more than ten per cent over the original price. Any websites which refuse to take down tickets which infringe these conditions

Some people would actually go, ‘You guys suck!’� * To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the release of Taste The Radness, SPOD are re-releasing the album with bonus tracks, and have a Spodumentary in the works. An early version had a private screening at Golden Age Cinema and they will now finish editing it for 2014 release. * Sol Beer, after showcasing Mexican flavour via a popup Cantina del Sol in Potts Point on the weekend, take it to Melbourne and Adelaide next year. * After selling out all 600 tickets, organisers of Wollongong’s inaugural Folk by the Sea Festival announced it will become an annual event. * Lostprophets split following singer Ian Watkins’ sexual offence charges.

RDIO LAUNCHES FREE INTERNET RADIO FOR MOBILES

SURVEY #2: MOSHTIX ‘STATE OF THE INDUSTRY’

Digital music service Rdio rolled out its free internet radio service for mobiles in Australia as well as the US and Canada last Thursday.

It’s gunning for Pandora and Spotify. The app that works on Apple and Android devices will not play ads between the songs that are randomly picked based on genres, artists, songs or albums. The $10-a-month subscription allows users to pick and choose exact songs and albums.

Just Announced Coming Soon

Looptroop Rockers (SWE) & Sage Francis (USA)

RĂźfĂźs

Fri 18 Oct

SOLD OUT

SURVEY #1: DRINK AND JIVE

can face fines of up to $5500. Music promoters and some ticket sellers applauded the new laws. But reps from Ticketmaster, viagogo and eBay told Industrial Strength that these would not protect fans, and that consumers had the right to do what they wanted to with tickets they had purchased.

Info here:

THEHIFI.C

The ninth Australian Music Prize has added another seven names to its longlist. These are Surrender To Victory by The Tongue, Hex.Love.Killer by The Delta Riggs, Deleted Scenes by Standish/Carlyon, Homosapien

by PVT, In Blood Memory by Jen Cloher, She Beats by Beaches and Embracism by Kirin J Callinan. Already announced were The Drones, Bob Evans, Abbe May, Big Scary, Dialectrix and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. The PPCA returns as a principal partner (forking out the $30,000 cash for the winner announced next March), with Spotify now an industry sponsor to allow more music of 2014 finalists and past winners, and the shortlisted acts, to be featured on the AMP website.

Were not only seem to be drinking more but we’re listening to twice as many songs about booze. A study by Liverpool John Moores University concluded that one in five songs in the UK Top 10 contain references to alcohol.

The report, published in The Psychology of Music journal, found that boozy references in chart hits doubled over the past decade, partly due to US tracks cracking the UK listings. Very few songs registered in 1981 and 1991. But the percentage was 8 per cent in 2001 and went up to 18.5 per cent in 2011. It warned health groups to monitor the situation, and that music should not become “a medium for reinforcing and extending cultures of intoxication and alcohol-related harm� for young people.

Build Your Music Empire Today E HIFI 1300 THO M.AU

ANOTHER SEVEN FOR AMP LONGLIST

Dj Quik & Kurupt (USA)

Stratovarius (FIN) Fri 25 Oct

Sat 19 Oct

Fri 13 Dec

With festivals going bust or downsizing and tour promoters going out of business, you’d imagine the festival bubble has burst in Australia. But prospects are good for the next 15 months, according to ticketing agency Moshtix’s State Of The Industry report. It is published every two years. 5000 people responded to the survey on trends in the live music industry, almost 150 per cent more than who took part in the previous survey.

86 per cent intend to attend the same or increase their attendance to music events in the next 12 months. Twenty-eight per cent thought there are not enough music festivals and 74 per cent said they attend local gigs with two or more friends. Bills and ticket prices were paramount for choice of festivals. Of most concern to ticket buyers was the security of credit card information, with most opting to buy from ticketing company websites.

What emerged in the study was how mobile devices have become a single platform for live music fans – for researching, choosing tickets, paying and receiving their tickets.

Moshtix found that 73 per cent become aware of festivals through email alerts, 72 per cent word of mouth and 71.9 per cent social media. For gigs, word of mouth was most important for 72 per cent, social media 65.7 per cent and email 63.9 per cent. “We see mobile as the most important emerging platform for ticketing,� said Moshtix’s new owner and managing director Harley Evans. “Live music fans are passionate people and their interest travels with them everywhere, as do their mobiles. We must make sure their mobile experiences are in keeping with the interaction they want from our industry.�

BIG DAY OUT: HEADSPACE BAND COMP Kid Ink

(USA)

Sat 26 Oct: All Ages

Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club (USA) Sat 16 Nov: All Ages

Melvins (USA) & Helmet (USA) Sun 15 Dec

Sat 7 Dec: All Ages

Big Day Out has partnered with youth mental health foundation headspace, and will be rebranding the Red Stage as the headspace Stage. It will now be home to four winners of a new band competition. Bands (aged 15+) can apply via the BDO/headspace website, submitting an original recording (no covers), and an image with a brief bio. Each entry is given a dedicated profile they can plug, share and link to. The public will select a shortlist of bands, with a panel of music industry figures then choosing the three final winners. Triple M will also choose one winner. Entry deadline is Friday October 25. The winners play on the headspace Stage at every BDO show in Australia.

Crystal Fighters (UK) Kerser

NEW SIGNINGS #1: SONY SIGNS EVERETTSMITH, EXTENDS DNA

Bodyjar

Spit Syndicate

Fri 1 Nov

Sat 2 Nov: All Ages

Hits & Pits 2.0 feat Black Flag (USA ) Sun 17 Nov

The Brian Jonestown Massacre (USA) Thu 19 Dec

Insane Clown Posse (USA)

Big Sean (USA) Fri 15 Nov

Deerhunter (USA) Tue 10 Dec

Thu 9 Jan

Sat 8 Feb: All Ages

Rotting Christ (GRE)

Dark Tranquillity (SWE)

Fri 17 Jan

Sat 29 Mar

ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER, BUILDING 220, 122 LANG RD, MOORE PARK, SYDNEY

10 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

Sony Music Entertainment Australia has signed Tasmanian singer-songwriter Dewayne Everettsmith. He struck lucky when ‘It’s Like Love’ was used in an international Tourism Australia marketing campaign. He’s managed by Mark Grose and Michael Hohnen from Darwin-based Skinnyfish Music, the team behind Gurrumul.

NEW SIGNINGS #2: UNIVERSAL GETS HIP HOP ROSTER

Universal Music Publishing Australia signed Sydney-based artist collective One Day – home to Horrorshow, whose King Amongst Many debuted at #1 on the ARIA chart, Jackie Onassis who are signed to Sony, Joyride whose ‘The Removalist’ feat. Drapht racked up triple j airplay, and Spit Syndicate, whose Sunday Gentleman reached #15 on the ARIA chart. “With this deal we pick up a team of world-class beat-makers, hook-writers and story-tellers and we couldn’t be more pleased,� said Heath Johns, director of A&R at UMPA.

CENTURY VENUES LAUNCHES NEW MUSIC VENUE

Century Venues – the folks behind Enmore Theatre, Fusebox, Comedy Store, The Vanguard and Sidetrack – teamed with Young Henry’s to set up Sydney’s latest live music venue. The Factory Floor is located beneath the Factory Theatre (105 Victoria Road, Marrickville); a 250-capacity place with red carpet, rusting lighting and a 2am licence. It was tested for some Sydney Fringe events and launched its music program in late October.

Meanwhile, Sony also extended its 2012 production deal with production and writing team DNA. David Musumeci and Anthony Egizi have sold 2 million units with hits by Timomatic (‘Set It Off’ had two APRA wins), Ricky Martin, Samantha Jade and Reece Mastin, and are about to work with Geri Halliwell.

Lifelines Dating: Paul Simon’s singersongwriter son, Harper Simon, 41, and actress Kick Kennedy, 25, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Injured: Hatebreed bassist Chris Beattie had to miss US dates after he broke his left wrist and right elbow. He was cutting a branch from a tree when the ladder he was standing on, eight metres up, fell.

Ill: Little Richard, 80, had a heart attack. When he began coughing and his right arm began aching, he quickly took an aspirin, which saved his life.

In Court: Sydney band Sticky Fingers’ singer Dylan Frost’s Rottnest Island (WA) case has been adjourned until January.

Which is good timing as he’s currently on tour with the band, with dates in Newcastle and Perth sold out. Frost was arrested when he climbed the roof of the stage structure during the band’s set at the Rottofest (September 7 and 8) and stage-dived into the 2,000-strong crowd. He was charged with disorderly conduct and failing to leave the island when given notice.

Jailed: US rapper Gucci Mane for six months for violating parole terms after he was discovered with marijuana and a concealed handgun.

In Court: a jury found after five months that concert promoter AEG Live was not responsible for the death of Michael Jackson because his doctor Conrad Murray was fit to work when they hired him. The Jacksons sued for millions blaming the firm for inadvertently causing his death.

In Court: Matthew Cox, 26, killed Gold Coast R&B singer Tony Williams at his home after hearing a woman’s story that she had been subjected to a degrading sexual offence, Southport Magistrates Court was told.

Died: Lorne Black, a founding member and bassist of US hard rock band Great White, for reasons not disclosed although a band member said, “I know he has battled demons for a long time.�

thebrag.com

“Busby Marou are making waves across the world with their infectious style of music..” The Australian “Veering between mellow and bittersweet...this duo could sing the birds from the trees.”

Rolling Stone

NEW ALBUM OUT NOW #busbymarou

Thursday, 7th November • Zierholz @ UC, Canberra Friday, 8th November • The Small Ballroom, Newcastle

Saturday, 9th November • The Standard, Sydney Sunday, 10th November • The Heritage Hotel, Bulli

. . : LIFEISNOISE BY arrangement WITH ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES PRESENTs : . .

AUSTRALIA : 02013 CE

SUNDAY OCTOBER 27 MANNING BAR, SYDNEY PLUS SUMMONUS & THE DEVIL RIDES OUT - TICKETS: LIFEISNOISE .COM

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BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13 :: 11

I

t’s late in New Jersey and Tariq Trotter, AKA Black Thought from The Roots, has just come home from another night fronting the house band on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. But tonight he’s coming home to watch the news explaining his country doesn’t have a working government right now. House Republicans have responded to the impending delivery of Obamacare by shutting down the government, and while every single person on the internet seems to be making the same joke about turning it off and then back on again, someday The Roots are probably going to write a killer song about this. Right now it’s a bit too soon, and Trotter’s still trying to come to terms with something that seems more like the plot of an episode of The West Wing than reality.

The Roots have dealt with reality and politics through their music from their earliest days, when Trotter met drummer Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and formed a duo, The Square Roots. Their Philadelphia upbringing has always been an important part of their music, but never more than on the 2011 concept album Undun. That record was about the life of a character they called Redford Stephens, a man who could have been a poet in a different world but was driven instead into the life of a drug dealer. “The story of Redford we’d taken right out of a Philadelphia photograph,” says Trotter. “There is no Philadelphian who doesn’t know a Redford, if that makes any sense.”

Trotter’s own history is currently in the process of being told in memoirs he’s working on with 12 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

SOUL DYNASTY • BY JODY MACGREGOR

hip hop critic and author Jeff Chang. “He interviews me and family members, friends and people who played a role in my story. I write it and he writes it, we’re doing it together.”

Chang is famous for his own contribution to hip hop’s legacy, the book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History Of The Hip-Hop Generation, which is one of only a handful of books to tackle the early days of the genre. It’s what attracted Trotter to the idea of working with Chang in the first place. “I really enjoyed Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, and in the few brief meetings that he and I had prior to doing this writing relationship, we just hit it off really well.”

While Undun has become the definitive Roots album, there were plenty before it, like the classic Things Fall Apart – but what makes it stand out is its cohesiveness. That came about because of a change in how The Roots made a living. While famous for the live shows that showcase their abilities as a full band – still rare in hip hop – taking time off from touring gave them the opportunity to create their best work. When they landed the gig as the house band on Late Night, it meant regular work that kept them near home. “It’s very timeconsuming doing that show five days a week, you know, 40 to 44 weeks a year,” says Trotter.

“It’s a bit of a commitment. We tour and we do shows during the other times.” Late Night also

keeps them near the recording studio, and constantly writing new music together. Having to come up with musical fills and segments for TV every day of the week taught them brevity: Undun may be densely layered, but it’s only about 40 minutes long.

One of the recurring segments they perform on Late Night is a freestyle where Fallon picks someone out of the audience, asks for a few personal details, and then gets The Roots to perform an impromptu song about them.

As if that isn’t intimidating enough, Fallon always adds some complication at the last possible moment: “And I want you to do it in the style of... 1950s doo-wop. Go!” The fact they manage to pull it off each week, and that they’re trusted to not screw it up, is a testament to their well-honed live instincts. “It’s like, ‘I’m not gonna make it that easy for you, that it’s just gonna be freestyle. We know that you guys can freestyle but I’m gonna throw you this curveball of musical genres to try and one-up you’.”

One of the other segments that’s become a tradition involves them performing with one of that week’s musical guests, but doing so on instruments found in primary school classrooms – kazoos, wood blocks, toy keyboards and xylophones. “It’s a challenge

“IF YOU’RE NOT ABLE TO, AS AN ARTIST, MAKE A SERIOUS POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO AN ALREADY AMAZING LEGACY, THEN YOU SHOULDN’T MAKE A CONTRIBUTION”.

While Trotter has enjoyed the four years they’ve spent working in television, it’s come at a price.

They had to cancel their 2009 appearance at Good Vibrations in Australia and have scaled back their touring considerably. “It’s cool to be home every day and to interact with so many amazing artists, people you collaborate with every day, but at the same time there’s something to be said about the creative energy that comes from travelling.”

They’ll finally be remedying that this summer, heading to Australia for the Falls and Southbound festivals, as well as a couple of freshly announced sideshows in the week after Christmas. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a chance to see The Roots in Australia, so what should we expect? “Something old, something new, something that you can sing along with. Standard Roots procedure,” Trotter says. “There’s a lot of ground to cover so depending on who we’re playing for will determine what songs we play. We don’t get too deep into [it], it’s not that involved a process deciding what the setlist is. We just get up on stage and rock out.”

With: Urthboy Where: Hordern Pavilion When: Friday December 27 And: The Roots appearing alongside MGMT, The Wombats, !!! (Chk Chk Chk), London Grammar and more at The Falls Music & Arts Festivals, Marion Bay, Byron Bay and Lorne, December 28 – January 3 thebrag.com

The Roots by Danny Clinch

As well as telling its own gripping story, Undun mirrored the story of hip hop as a whole.

Riddled with musical and lyrical references to Snoop Dogg, the Wu-Tang Clan, Swizz Beatz and more, it was a densely packed document showing how far hip hop has come over the years. Although The Roots had recorded 11 albums before Undun, this was their contribution to the tradition. “Wherever you set the bar is where you set the bar, whether an artist realises it or not. That is what you have to live up to next,” Trotter says. “If you’re not able to, as an artist, make a serious positive contribution to an already amazing legacy, then you shouldn’t make a contribution to it. You should just let what has already taken place, like the history, speak for itself.”

THE ROOTS

sometimes doing that particular bit because the toy instruments are usually out of tune, so to get the sound that you want to come from that toy you have to manipulate it in different ways. Apart from that, it’s not really hard to do.

A simple, fun bit that has now become almost a tradition. You know, we’ve done it quite a few times now.” That covers everything from a version of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ with Mariah Carey to ‘Call Me Maybe’ with Carly Rae Jepsen – but the highlight was definitely their recent performance of the Sesame Street theme, complete with a cast of Muppets including Cookie Monster and Elmo. “Yeah, that was a dream come true!” says Trotter. “For a kid from the States who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s it was all about Sesame Street, so it was great to interact with those dudes. Fun times.”

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Calling All Cars x By x A New Dance By David James Young Doing

“W

hen did Faker rename themselves Calling All Cars?”

“Have the band members of CAC become addicted to ice? Have you slapped an album together to pay your dealers?”

“Get back to your rockin’ best – this is terrible!!”

These were just some of the responses to the material Melbourne trio Calling All Cars have released in 2013, which would give one the impression they have either done something incredibly right or incredibly wrong. There’s no time for fence-sitting anymore when it comes to this band – and that’s exactly the way frontman Haydn Ing likes it.

“I love reading that shit,” he laughs from outside the band’s rehearsal studio. “It makes me laugh. Obviously, people are either going to love or hate what you do – that’s always going to happen. You have to start expecting that when you’re onto something new. At the end of the day, we love it. If people can’t get behind it... whatever.”

It’s a confidence that is not only exuded through Ing’s words, but through his musical actions. This year has seen the band (completed by bassist Adam Montgomery and Haydn’s brother James on drums) drop two new songs from an as-yetuntitled third album – ‘Raise The People’ and new single ‘Werewolves.’ The former sees Haydn spitting half-shouted, half-rapped vitriol like a hybrid of David Byrne and Ezekiel Ox, while the latter employs a breathy falsetto that recalls a young Trent Reznor. It’s a world away from the meat-and-potatoes rock of their debut, 2010’s Hold, Hold, Fire; and still a considerable distance from its 2011 follow-up, the more expansive Dancing With A Dead Man. What’s perhaps most interesting about these songs, however, is the fact they nearly did not exist.

“When we started out writing for this album, we went away for awhile once we finished our tour,” explains Ing. “We pretty much finished another album of songs, but they ended up sounding so similar to our first two albums that we decided to bin them and start again. We were just over that kind of thing. Every time we thought, ‘Calling All Cars would do this,’ we’d do the opposite. We wanted to keep it fresh and exciting for ourselves.”

So far, it feels as though they are succeeding. The new songs essentially work as a reset of sorts, delivering a succinct message that one should forget everything they know about Calling All Cars.

The band has arrived in bat country, delving into territory that’s darker, funkier and even slightly more intense. Ing, however, isn’t so sure about tracing back to a single influence over their change in direction.

LONG WAY DOWN TOUR SPECIAL GUEST

“We pretty much finished another album of songs, but they ended up sounding so similar to our first two albums that we decided to bin them and start again …”

“No matter what you listen to, I feel as though it will always affect the way that you write. We went into these songs with the intention of creating something hip-shaking and moveable. It’s a bit of a hip hop thing and it’s a bit of a dance thing – our songs are at around 120, 130 beats per minute. I started off listening to hip hop and blues while I was writing, trying out some different things.

Things took their natural progression from there.

We wanted to make an album that we all really enjoyed.”

“ODELL PROVES HIMSELF A MASTER OF BOTH JOY AND DESPAIR” THE SUN

“A SUPERSTAR IN THE MAKING”

DAILY TELEGRAPH

THURSDAY 2 JAN METRO THEATRE ALL AGES

Having just signed to Cooking Vinyl in the UK, the band will release album number three via the independent label in early 2014. We’ve also been told to expect a new single by the end of the year – one that Ing “think[s] the fans will really like” – as well as plenty more shows. In the meantime, the band is focusing in on the Werewolves tour as a reintroduction of sorts to its Australian audience.

Ing notes particular excitement over the fact they will be joined by Canberra’s Super Best Friends on the tour, as the bands’ connections run deeper than you might think.

‘LONG WAY DOWN’ THE STUNNING DEBUT #1 UK ALBUM’

What: Super Best Friends, The Sinking Teeth Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Thursday October 10 thebrag.com

Xxx

14 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

“Nah, not really,” says Haydn nonchalantly. “The new songs are translating well when we’re rehearsing them, and we’ve got a couple of new things to play with live. I think the new direction that we’ve gone with on these songs and this album is starting to rub off onto the old songs, as well. We’re kind of reworking the older songs a little bit – and we’re actually coming up with things that work better than before. With some of the songs, we’re actually wondering why we didn’t think of these ideas when we were actually recording them.”

“We’re originally from Narooma on the far south coast of New South Wales. That’s where Johnny [Barrington, SBF guitarist] is from, too. We grew up together and were in the same bands as teenagers. It’ll be good to do these shows with them – kind of makes it all feel full circle.”

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Given how gung-ho the band is about where it’s headed musically, it’ll be a curiosity to see how the upcoming east coast tour will fare. Not only taking in the capital cities, the band has added dates in places like Surfers Paradise, Booval and Newcastle. So, is there any kind of concern that perhaps the old isn’t going to gel with the new on this run of shows?

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Zeahorse In The Deep End By Keiron Costello

O

ver the past few years, Sydney psych rockers Zeahorse have been building a reputation as one of the noisiest, most energetic live acts going around. But releasing their debut album, Pools, has been a much trickier process than deafening a few hundred pairs of ears in a sweaty club. The album was recorded almost three years ago and according to bassist Ben Howell, the band initially had trouble releasing it.

“We were going to put the album out ourselves about a year and a half after recording it, but we decided we didn’t have enough money to do that. So we sent it round to a few labels in Sydney and HUB picked it up; then you add another year and a half onto that to put it out properly,” he says. “It’s a really good feeling to get it out, obviously”.

Pools was recorded at a farmhouse in the tiny northern NSW town of Whian Whian and Howell says the remote location – and the fact they camped out in the backyard of the farmhouse for the duration of the recording – helped focus the band on the task at hand. “We were living and breathing what we were doing. We didn’t have to wake up in our own beds and then drive through traffic, and then park in a car park and get out of the car... We literally got out of bed, walked into the studio and started recording.”

While many young bands with energetic live shows struggle to capture the feel of their gigs on record, Zeahorse had no such trouble.

Grunge-tinged tracks such as ‘Tugboat’ and the lead single ‘Pool’ crackle with a raw energy that Howell explains was definitely by design. “We actually did the record live, all the tracks are all of us playing live in one room together. That’s the only way any of us were able to translate our live energy to a recording, by actually playing it live.”

Ahead of a national tour supporting Wolf & Cub, Howell says they’ve learnt a few lessons from touring with acts such as The Black Angels and Them Crooked Vultures.

“When you watch bands like that, they’re real showmen. Between songs, when no-one’s playing, the frontman will be talking to the crowd and we suck at that. We are the most awful showmen ever, we just have awkward pauses between songs where everyone tunes their instruments and fixes pedals … We’re trying, we’re getting there. We’re not very good at it, but we’re getting better.”

The years of touring as a support act have also taught the band what to play live and what tracks to keep tucked away in the back catalogue. “Most of the time, if you’re supporting a big act and the crowd’s had a few beers and they’re pumped up, the last thing they want to hear is some slow, seven-minute epic about Lord Of The Rings. They just want short, fast punk songs.”

The seven-minute Lord Of The Rings epic Howell refers to is one of Zeahorse’s earliest songs, ‘Big Tall Trees’. But even if the band has a change of heart regarding its live style, it’s a song you’re still unlikely to hear at a gig.

“I don’t think we can remember how to play it, that’s the sad thing,” laughs Howell. “Instead of admitting to people that we forget how to play songs, we just pretend to be too cool and say, ‘We don’t play that stuff anymore man, we’ve moved on from there!’”

Who: Zeahorse supporting Wolf & Cub Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Thursday October 10 And: Pools out now through HUB/Inertia

Loon Lake Still Waters By Krissi Weiss

L

oon Lake brought to life their debut album, Gloamer, while perched on the edge of the Australian continent, living in a tiny town along the Great Ocean Road.

Surfing had a lot to do with it – so it’s only fitting frontman and primary songwriter Sam Nolan has just returned from a surf when we chat. The indie pop-rockers write frustratingly catchy music with instinctively Australian lyricism: Nolan has his heart on his sleeve and a cheeky grin on his face. But despite all the good humour in Nolan’s conversation – and the press descriptions of the band that insist on using that cringe-worthy Aussie label, “larrikins” – Loon Lake have absorbed their storytelling on this album into a world of change, loss and hope.

“It was a bit of change that inspired it all,” Nolan explains. “Two of us had come out of really long relationships a bit prior; actually around the first EP [Not Just Friends]. We were experiencing so many new things as well and we had all these amazing things happening with our music career and we were maybe over-indulging a bit – going out too much – but then a lot of it gets dramatised [in the songs]. It comes from experiences but then I make the songs just kind of bigger stories. Also, what we were listening to influenced us. The two main things were; as a band we were all into that Frank Ocean album [Channel Orange], and we were going through a Beatles stage too. That’s something you just do through your whole life, I reckon. I had a bit of writer’s block and was listening to some full-on cheesy pop music too, like Bruno Mars kinda stuff. It wasn’t to write like that but just to try to step out of that guitar pop formula.”

Nolan is already feeling the pressure of having his lyrics scrutinised and, as is often the case, that pressure generally comes from those that are closest to the action.

Friends, family, lovers – they ache to see themselves immortalised in a song and then loathe what they see. “Yeah, big time, that’s so true,” Nolan agrees. “I had a fair bit of shit

from the song ‘Bad To Me’, an old song, just because I’d broken up with my girlfriend – but it is embellishment. If it’s a good story, that’s what I care about. ‘Carolina’ is a direct story of a mate’s girlfriend who left and went back to Sweden so I called him and made sure I cleared it with him before I went ahead with it. I think it’s pretty reckless if you start writing songs about the stories of your close friends that are bang on without checking.”

Gloamer was recorded just as Loon Lake exist: relaxed and on their own terms.

Steven Schram (Little Red/San Cisco) took on co-production duties with the band’s drummer, Nick Nolan. “It was pretty cool the way it worked,” Sam says. “We did three sets of six or seven day blocks over about two months. Schram encouraged us to learn ProTools and because Nick and I live together, we were able to record a lot of it at home. Schram was really happy for Nick to add his two cents’ worth. I loved all the recording; I was really nervous about it at first but I had a really good time.”

After this tour Loon Lake have a few wildcards up their sleeves. “I don’t think there’ll be anything much bigger than the Big Day Out, hey. We’re doing a few weird gigs – a few strange festivals and stuff – but we’re hoping to do a really big tour next year. We’re pitching for Groovin’ The Moo but if we don’t get that then we want to do a really extensive regional tour.”

What: Brother Speed, The Rudeheads Where: Spectrum When: Wednesday October 9 And: Gloamer out Friday October 11 through Caroline More: Loon Lake are also appearing alongside Blur, Pearl Jam, Arcade Fire, Snoop Dogg AKA Snoop Lion, Flume and more at Big Day Out, Sydney Showgrounds, Sunday January 26

INVSN

Years Of Refusal By Rick Warner

I

t takes a fair amount of balls to release an album called The Shape Of Punk To Come and then walk away from the scene, leaving one of the most influential punk rock records in recent history in your wake. That’s exactly what Dennis Lyxzén did in 1998. As singer and lyricist of the innovative Swedish hardcore band Refused, he and his bandmates provided a blueprint for a generation of bands on how to write a punk record. Then they disbanded. However, it wasn’t long before Lyxzén reappeared fronting The (International) Noise Conspiracy, brandishing some good oldfashioned rock’n’roll. “I always try to switch it up for every record,” he tells me about his diverse body of work. “I’ve never really done two records that sound the same. I always want to challenge myself and try and do new stuff.”

The (International) Noise Conspiracy’s last album came in 2008. “When I was done with Noise Conspiracy, or when we went on hiatus, I wanted to do something a bit different. So I started singing in Swedish.” Thus INVSN (pronounced ‘invasion’) began to take shape.

Lyxzén enlisted a few friends from Noise Conspiracy and from his power-pop side project The Lost Patrol Band and got to work.

After recording two albums in Swedish under

the name Invasionen (Swedish for ‘invasion’, duh), INVSN took to the studio to record their third album, INVSN – their first in English. It undeniably takes inspiration from the late ’70s and early ’80s post-punk sound, but Lyxzén struggles to pinpoint any direct influences.

“We wanted to keep an open mind. We tried not to become a pastiche, but [tried] to make a record that has that influence but still [is] recorded in 2013.”

Lyrically, Lyxzén remains the dissident punk rocker he’s always been. INVSN doesn’t appear to reach the confronting heights of Refused or Noise Conspiracy, but a tiger can’t change his stripes. The frontman is still as political as ever, but this time in a less-thanobvious way. “Being a bit older, I don’t have the same need to lash out at all things at all times,” he laughs. “[But] that’s kind of the only way I know how to write. Sometimes when you listen to these artists that tell a narrative and tell a story, like the Bruce Springsteens and Bob Dylans; I could never write lyrics like that.”

Our conversation soon turns to the content (and value) of contemporary music today.

“I think what happens is that we fall into a recession and things are looking pretty bleak financially for young people. So people just

“Being a bit older, I don’t have the same need to lash out at all things at all times … [but] that’s kind of the only way I know how to write.” tend to go to really horrible escapism,” Lyxzén hypothesises. “That’s what happened in the ’70s. That’s what happened in the ’90s, and it’s happened again. People just think, ‘I know that life is messed up so I just want to dance.’ And all of a sudden the biggest artist in Sweden is a DJ that hasn’t even released a record. That’s kind of unbelievable.”

against a plastic industry obsessed with fame, which uses music as a commodity instead of an art form. I ask the man for some parting words. He laughs and responds: “Read Lipstick Traces by Greil Marcus. Listen to The Stooges. Listen to The Clash. Listen to Bad Brains and listen to Dead Kennedys.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

But as we talk politics and punk rock, I’m kind of thankful for people like Dennis Lyxzén. He’s an observant and intelligent man measured

What: INVSN out now through Razor & Tie/ Shock xxx

16 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

thebrag.com

FrEe MuSiC! EvErY SuNdAy

4pM - 4aM dAiLy BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13 :: 17

Emma Louise Head Over Heels By Krissi Weiss

E

mma Louise Lobb combines grace with a sprinkling of gawk, charm with an edge of nervousness and maturity with lashings of youthful exuberance. Her musical talent is counterbalanced by nothing more than even more musical talent – but as for the rest of what makes up the singer-songwriter, she is contradictory enough to remind us she is indeed human. Emma Louise’s debut album Vs Head Vs Heart arrived after a massive two years of anticipation that grew from the very first moment our ears were blessed with the melodic charm of ‘Jungle’.

While the hit single and album have remained firm favourites since their release, she’s putting them to bed (in a way) with a theatre tour – her final for 2013.

The past few years have been massive for Lobb and while many may have drowned under the weight of expectation, she seems to be surviving well. “I think I’m definitely trying to branch out a bit more, but I guess I’m very consumed by my new projects and just super stoked that I’m going on this tour,” she says. “It’s an awesome cap off to this album to give it its last ‘thank you’. Then I’ll be going straight into next album world.”

Although it might look like the young Lobb has had an enviable adolescence, she has

in a sense grown up in the indie spotlight.

Success came swiftly and at a time when most people are still attempting to get to know themselves – let alone sell that person to a global audience. “I’m always really grateful for what I get to do – but I wasn’t at the beginning,” she admits. “In the beginning it scared me. You know, I went from just being at home every day and just… I used to make money by busking and pretty much the rest of the time I was just smoking and enjoying all this free time. So in the beginning when it all started to happen it was a bit like, ‘What the fuck is happening?’ But then I stopped smoking and started realising, ‘I’m so lucky to be doing this.’”

Since being the ‘it’ girl at Brisbane’s Bigsound conference in 2011, Emma Louise grew very accustomed to the showcase lifestyle.

While this upcoming theatre tour sees her playing some of the country’s most illustrious venues, they are still ultimately quite intimate.

“I accept the music industry; I know what it is and how it works. I’ve had a lot of gigs where there are the business people and I’m the product and in my mind I try to keep it very separate. I guess really though I’m just lucky that there are people there anyway; while ever there are people there I’m stoked … I definitely like the more intimate gigs,

The Fratellis Costello Music won the three-piece a 2007 BRIT Award for the Best Breakthrough Act. This success was founded largely on the popularity of the hit single that peaked at number five in the UK charts. A second album, Here We Stand, followed in 2008, but was far less successful.

Five years have passed with no action – the band officially ‘on hiatus’ in that time.

“A hiatus? That’s a nice way of saying we’d split up, isn’t it?” says Fratelli.

“I guess we got sick of each other, just like most people do. The difference being that some people would deal with it differently to how we did. My way to deal with that was to decide never to do it again, which I only know now as a slightly odd way of dealing with it. Taking some time away from each other would have been enough.”

“It’s nice to have. There was a certain point where I really disliked it, but you have no control over it. But now, most people would be desperate to have one hit, so there’s definitely a part of me that feels it would be morally wrong to have any problem with it. My overwhelming feeling is always bafflement – it’s not pride, just this one thing has this whole other life. You sort of lose ownership of it after that. You collect royalties and I wouldn’t throw that away, that 18 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

With: Holy Holy Where: The Studio, Sydney Opera House (all ages) When: Saturday October 12 And: Vs Head Vs Heart out now through MGM

Somebody Someday David James Young would be crazy. I’m left with no real explanation for it.”

I

Reconciling the music industry’s needs with her own has been and will continue to be the key to Lobb’s success – that and her impeccable songwriting. “To me, if a song feels really personal to write, that’s good and it helps me to work things out. If it becomes a product that’s fine because I’m

pretty lucky, really, that I can have a way to deal with my emotions and have that be a job. I’m very aware of who I work with and I surround myself with people who know what music means to me. I feel like I’m on my own journey and not being pushed around.”

Andy Bull

Dah De Dup, Dah De Dup By Matthew Connellan

t’s the tune everybody recognises. Seven years after its release, The Fratellis’ ‘Chelsea Dagger’ is still heard at football grounds and at various events around the world. But for frontman Jon Fratelli, a sense of bemusement and curiosity still prevails. Fratelli maintains he had no idea ‘Chelsea Dagger’ would take on “a life of its own”, or that the 2006 album, Costello Music, would be a raging success. “Not really – nobody ever does, do they?” he says in his broad Glaswegian brogue. “Still to this day, I’m baffled by [the success of ‘Chelsea Dagger’]. It’s just another song. I always thought it was just another song in a bunch of other songs.”

though. I don’t know if this tour is completely a celebration tour, but I guess it is in my mind because this album is such a big part of me and I want to send it off well. I’m so much more a fan of the intimate gigs because you notice the small details, I feel like I can really wrap around everyone in the room.”

And so it has proven: The Fratellis are back with their third record, We Need Medicine.

Despite the passage of time, Fratelli says there are similarities to draw between the pre-split and post-split Fratellis. “We’re the same band, aren’t we?” he laughs. “We could spend endlessly futile hours trying to be something we’re not, but there’d be no point to it. We have to be an extreme version of what we are. But then at the same time, time dictates that things change; it’s impossible for us to try and make the same kind of record again. [But] I wish we’d have made a better second record, or not made one at all.”

Still, the band now has the chance to make amends – and Fratelli says there are no regrets from the first time around in any case.

“We got to do a lot, we fitted a lot into a short space of time. There’s always things you would have changed or done differently, but there’s a part of me that feels it would be really ungrateful to dwell on that, especially when we got to do so much.”

What: We Need Medicine out Friday October 11 through BMG/Cooking Vinyl

H

aving spent the majority of 2012 as an absentee, Sydney piano man turned pop adventurer Andy Bull made a strong return within the first half of this year with his single ‘Keep On Running’. Alongside the latest effort, ‘Baby I Am Nobody Now’, it presents listeners with an artist more or less a world away from his earlier work, replacing brisk piano and jazzy drums with buzzing bass synthesizer and a considerably lower vocal range. As Bull continues to work towards an as-yet-untitled second album, these songs appear to be an indicator of what to expect – and, needless to say, it’s a bold departure. A conscious effort, as well.

there’s no distortion pedal; and if you start bashing it, you just end up sounding like Ben Folds. I wanted to hear something different – something stronger, a bit more powerful.”

“Coming into this bunch of songs that I’ve been doing, I really felt as though I wanted to destroy everything I’d done before,” Bull says.

“It felt like a kind of therapeutic cleansing of history. One of the things I always felt about my older stuff is that I wanted to get out more of my personal discomfort, but it never properly translated for me – I was trying to scream, but it comes off sounding more melodic and luscious. It’s even harder as a keyboard player – when you’re playing piano,

“We have this constant stream of Facebook and Instagram, always telling us what we’re missing out on. It chews up your mental space – there have been studies done that link social media with depression. You’re constantly made to feel envious or jealous, or not good enough. It’s not good for you. I mean, no-one would read New Weekly all day every day, but that’s essentially what we’re doing.”

With ‘Baby I Am Nobody Now’, it feels as though Bull is closer to achieving the shift he desires. Bitter and exasperated in its delivery, it portrays a decline into isolation and loneliness. Not exactly a new topic in the world of songwriting, but Bull performs the material as if it’s the first time it’s ever been sung about. He says the song documents the anguish that comes with a fear of missing out.

The single will be launched with a run of dates down the east cost, starting in Newcastle and including a slot at Oxford Art Factory. Although regular drummer Dave Jenkins, Jr. will not be present due to touring commitments with Kirin J Callinan, Bull’s band will feature former Deep Sea Arcade and Tim Finn drummer Carlos Adura, guitarist and long-time collaborator Alex Bennison, and keyboardist Ned Cooke (also of Dappled Cities). The sets will be a mix of songs from Bull’s 2010 EP Phantom Pains, his 2013 singles and perhaps some brand new songs.

“[My discomfort] comes off sounding more melodic and luscious. It’s even harder as a keyboard player … if you start bashing it, you just end up sounding like Ben Folds.”

“It’s yet to be seen how much new stuff we’ll be playing,” says Bull. “I think we’ll be retiring some of the older songs after this run of shows – some songs we’ll always play, but there are some of the older tracks that are in the minority. I definitely feel as though this is a fresh start and I want to put together a set that will reflect that. After all, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day...” He cuts himself off before breaking into a Nina Simone lyric, but you know how he feels.

Where: Oxford Art Factory When: Saturday October 12

thebrag.com

Television Off-screen Icons By Lachlan Kanoniuk x By x

S

till sounding as vital as when it was released some 36 years ago, Television’s Marquee Moon stands as one of the most important and influential debut releases in the contemporary rock canon. Defined by a penchant for guitar complexities and lead singer Tom Verlaine’s verbose and colourful lyricism, the record has long been lauded from a critical standpoint. Speaking before Television’s first-ever Australian tour, Verlaine examines the potent sense of familiarity that fans tend to crave in this era – and which they’ll be indulging with a healthy dose of Marquee Moon onstage.

“To me, people just like to hear songs they like. Maybe some new things too. I can’t say I think too much about it. If I go see a band, it’s because I like some of their songs, or I like the way they play.”

The abundance of guitar solos authored by Verlaine and former guitarist Richard Lloyd on Marquee Moon won’t necessarily be recreated verbatim in the live setting. “The solos probably won’t be the same. They’ll be in the same mood and some will have familiar phrases. I think things like ‘Friction’ are pretty much the same; Jimmy [Rip, Lloyd’s replacement] is playing some of Richard’s solos pretty much the same. Some of those solos, I don’t even know where my hand was on the neck when I played them.

So to figure them out is really time-consuming.”

The amicable transition of guitarists in 2007 went smoothly as can be, with Rip and Verlaine’s longstanding rapport proving a natural fit within Television. “I’ve been playing with Jimmy since 1981, including a bunch of instrumental shows and tours of Europe. I’ve actually done more shows with him in my life than any other guitar player. The problem is that he’s lived in Argentina for the past six years. It’s more fun if everybody plays in the same place so you can schedule rehearsals and get together. Our bass player lives two hours north of New York now, so it’s a bit more scattered. I think Jimmy and I can play guitar over Skype. That would be really fun.”

Despite Television’s highly influential legacy, Verlaine is somewhat grounded when it comes to his own influences. “My main influence is drinking too much coffee. That hasn’t changed at all. I stopped smoking for a few years, but now I’ve started it again.”

“My main infl uence is drinking too much coffee. That hasn’t changed at all. I stopped smoking for a few years, but now I’ve started it again.”

Along with a gallery of mid-1970s New York punk icons, Television are depicted in the upcoming biopic CBGB – fanning the mythology behind the titular venue. The result is something flippant and less than stellar, much to Verlaine’s chagrin. “I didn’t realise it was going to be a silly comedy, so I let them use some music. But after a while went

by I started to hear things about the film that weren’t good at all. I talked to them about the script. They had bands wearing Nike sneakers and shit, just a lot of stuff about the tale that was really off. So I asked how much of it they had shot, and luckily they had not shot much of this shit yet. I tried to steer them somewhat into an authentic appearance, but I spoke to two oldtimers who have seen it and said it’s dreadful.

They said the actor who plays the club owner is really good, but as a film it’s just a really dumb comedy. It should have just been shot as a comedy at a rock club and changed the names, instead of making it all about CBGB.” The prospect of a fourth Television LP – the first since the middling 1992 self-titled record – is a very real one. “We have 12 to 14 songs,” Verlaine reveals. “We’ve cut the basic tracks for them, but all sorts of other things happened so we haven’t finished them up. We’re working on another three.

We played a tour this May in Japan, and Japan is a great place to play new material because they like to listen to things. Of course they want to hear Marquee Moon, but they also get enthusiastic about hearing something they’ve never heard before. We played a lot of new things over there.”

As for the release of the record, Verlaine is aware that previous strategies need to be adjusted in the current climate. “What we’re aiming to do is finish up this record and figure out what to do with it. Since I last did a record, that whole world has changed and this generation basically gets music for free. All these sponsored tours. Everything’s so different, and we’d have to sit down and plan it all. It’s useless for us to get a record deal, it’s a kind of waste of time. The real factor is how you let people know you have something available, outside the people that would look around for it anyway. That’s the real tricky thing … The word-of-mouth thing is really interesting, it bypasses all publicity. It’s a blessing. That’s the thing that interests me about the internet, how things can come out of nowhere and have an audience within a year or two. I don’t know how to exploit that.”

With: Ed Kuepper Where: Enmore Theatre When: Wednesday October 30 thebrag.com

Available in stores and online at viavision.com.au

*While stocks Last

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arts frontline

free stuff email: freestuff@thebrag.com

arts news...what's goin' on around town...with Mina Kitsos and Lily White

five minutes WITH

MIKEY ROBINS

benefitting Suicide Prevention Australia is the gala of all galas. Who’ll be responsible for the belly laughs? The lineup comprises Mikey Robins, Peter Berner, Fiona O’Loughlin, Heath Franklin, Luke Heggie, Tommy Dean, Joel Creasey, Kevin Kropinyeri, Ciel, Neel Kolhatkar, Smart Casual and more with hosts Sammy J and Randy. We caught up with stooge, Mikey Robins, ahead of the romp.

How did you become involved with No Laughing Matter?

It was a real pleasure to be asked, I can’t think of anyone whose life has not been touched by either the suicide of a friend or family member.

It’s sadly, however, something as a community we just don’t talk about. Also, from a selfish point of view, it’s a great chance to catch up with mates and do a bit of good.

T

What can we expect from your slot?

I like to keep my slot relatively clean, as I want as many people as possible to enjoy it. The more folks deriving pleasure from my slot the happier I am. I know some people who like a filthy slot and good on them – it’s just a matter of choice. Some say my slot is a bit hard to get into at first, but from what I’ve heard it can definitely be worth the effort. I’ll just keep banging away until everyone’s satisfied. Also I don’t work smutty and I try and avoid double entendre.

What excites you most about performing alongside comedy’s best?

Mostly I really look forward to going through their jackets and handbags while they are on stage.

What about any current and future projects we should know about? Apart from doing stand-up, I’m working on my first book as a solo author – it’ll be out some time next year. I’ve also been working with some mates on our online discount dining club lunchalot.com. Check it out!

What advice would you give to budding comics?

As soon as you can spring the money for a decent overnight bag, you’re really going to need it. There’ll be ups and downs – just try to enjoy yourself and don’t whine when things are tough. Also, if you ever wake up naked in a paddock spooning a sheep keep it to yourself.

What: Mikey Robins for No Laughing Matter, presented by The Comedy Channel and benefitting Suicide Prevention Australia Where: Enmore Theatre When: Sunday October 13 More: Full lineup at nolaughingmatter.org.au

Trained to kill and left for dead, Machete is back in cinemas from Thursday October 24 and, surprisingly, this time he’s on the right side of the law.

Machete Kills is the anticipated sequel to the cult sensation Machete, where an ex-federale has been recruited by the US Government to battle his way through Mexico to take down an arms dealer planning to launch a weapon into space.

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, Machete Kills boasts a blue chip cast featuring Danny Trejo, Mel Gibson, Jessica Alba, Sofía Vergara and Charlie Sheen.

We have 10 double passes to give away to this action packed film! For your chance to win, email freestuff@thebrag.com and tell us which pop icon also stars in the film.

Danny Trejo in Machette Kills

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his Sunday October 13, a bunch of professional joke tellers are coming together to bring the LOLs in aid of suicide prevention. No Laughing Matter, presented by The Comedy Channel and

MACHETE KILLS! TIX! WIN!

ROMAN ONDAK

TEDXYOUTH@SYDNEY

With a staggering eight million online hits and a sold-out Sydney Opera House event under their belts, TEDxSydney and the Museum Of Contemporary Art have proved a collaborative force to be reckoned with. TEDxYouth@Sydney is their latest project, an event celebrating the “creativity, innovation and connectedness” of youngsters. Sunday November 17 will see the MCA’s prime harbourside digs turned into a field of forums for emerging creators, thinkers and entrepreneurs to exchange world-shifting ideas and empower the masses. Coordinated by a curatorial team of 18-to-24 year olds, TEDxYouth@Sydney will include talks from 12 speakers and performers, set to inspire with their remarkable stories of success. Live music, scrumptious cuisine and goody bags are also on offer. Apply for a spot as a delegate at youth.tedxsydney.com.

Robyn Stacey, Room152, Mercure Potts Point (Jodi)

Roman Ondák has staged over 300 solo exhibitions worldwide with his works drawing international praise. Project 28: Roman Ondák marks the 28th public art project hosted by Kaldor Public Art Projects as part of Sydney Festival, and will present two of Ondák’s most vaunted works along with a brand new piece; all works will invite audiences to forgo inhibitions to engage interactive pieces. The artist’s MoMA-previewed Measuring The Universe requires individuals to record their measurements on a white wall alongside a myriad of others preceding them, while Swap pulls punters into a chain of barter with personal items. The third work, Terrace, specially designed for Project 28, is a replica of Ondák’s Slovakian home that will stand-in for his presence. Drop into Parramatta Town Hall between January 10-24 to experience the work. Head to sydneyfestival.org.au for more information.

ROBYN STACEY AT STILLS

TUTTI FRUTTI AT JURASSIC LOUNGE

Jurassic Lounge are channelling Carmen Miranda and hosting a Tutti Frutti night in celebration of Sydney’s thriving LGBTI culture. Since its conception in 2011, the event has attracted over 53,000 guests and is now bookending six seasons at the Australian Museum with the final Extinction Party set to go down on Tuesday November 5. But first, there’s still more partying to be done – the Tutti Frutti night will feature a hands-on demonstration from Harbour City Wrestling Club, a custom made putt-putt golf course, the Sydney Mardi Gras’ giant fruit pit photo shoot and the infectious pop soundscapes of Pear Shape. There’ll also be craft workshops to help you design a festive headpiece, conveniently followed by a hat parade, and lessons on honey just to make things even sweeter. Pen Tuesday October 22 into your diary folks, because that’s when the colourful action’s set to go down. Head to jurassiclounge.com for further details.

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“Hotel rooms are waiting spaces: waiting in rooms for people to arrive, for events to start, or just waiting to go home. They are also private spaces.” Trailblazing contemporary photographer, Robyn Stacey, has translated her own assertion into a series of photographs called Guest Relations. Stacey’s body of work meshes high-end digital works with the raw simplicity of camera obscura in an investigation of what happens in the particular context of time coming, going and standing still. Voyeurs will be drawn to Stacey’s subjects – businesspeople, travellers and young couples – and the transient moments captured by her medium. Guest Relations checks into Paddington’s Stills Gallery on Wednesday October 9 and checks one month later. Visit stillsgallery.com.au for more information.

DENDY ARTS

Feeling fine and Dendy? Cinemagoers unite, because Dendy Arts has wound together a program of stellar productions for your viewing pleasure. Featuring breathtaking performances from the National Theatre, the MET Opera and Bolshoi Ballet, the productions will be screened live and in HD for the first time in cinemas. Program highlights include National Theatre’s staging of Frankenstein, Othello, Hamlet, A Habit Of Art and Coriolanus; the MET’s Eugene Onegin, La Boheme, Cosi Fan Tutte and La Cenerentola; and Bolshoi’s Spartacus, Sleeping Beauty, Lost Illusions and The Golden Age. The season commences on Saturday October 12. Visit dendy.com.au for tickets and further information.

ANACONDA

“I was hesitant to write Anaconda because the whole thing seemed too full-on… Delving into something so dark and ugly really hit the pit of my stomach – the best place from which to write.” Writer and director Sarah Doyle had her reservations while composing Hollywood Fringe

Festival sell-out season show Anaconda. Inspired by the sexual abuse and bullying scandal that plunged Sydney’s Trinity Grammar School into the media spotlight in 2000, the show follows a successful Sydney barrister who compiles a defence for a killer who he shares a complex past with. With a nomination for Best International Show and the Best of Fringe awards at the 2012 Hollywood Fringe Fest, Anaconda stars Martin Broome, Simon Lyndon and Leeanna Walsman who’ll take to the Bondi Pavilion Theatre stage from Tuesday October 29. Visit rocksurfers.org for further details.

ALASKA PROJECTS IN OCTOBER

ALASKA Projects have two major projects in store for the month ahead. Katie Lee’s Prepare To Stop, running from October 9-20, is an installation experimenting with sculptural forms to explore the physical and psychological consequences of the built environment. And then there’s the ALASKA Projects Halloween TV Party, which will present for MCA ARTBAR on Friday October 25.

PERFORMANCE SPACE

Local art overlords, Performance Space, are ready to celebrate 30 years of innovation with a 12-day festival, commencing on Wednesday November 20.

You’re History! will showcase the crème de la crop of Aussie artists, their creations extending across a manifold of mediums, all equally thought provoking.

Program highlights? The Directors’ Cuts, a timeline of Performance Space’s colourful 30 year history interpreted by nine past directors who will recount their favourite moments, a commemorative fi lm from raved-about female quartet Brown Council, performances from Rosalind Crisp’s international A-grade trio dance troupe, and Nigel Kellaway’s arrestingly-named theatrical magnum opus Brief Synopsis: A Beautiful Naked Young Woman ‘Of A Certain Age’ Brutally Stabs A Young Man To Death among a slew of other impressive acts. Head to performancespace. com.au for the full program.

thebrag.com

in CINEMaS oCTObER 17 DENDY NEWTOWN, CINEMA PARIS AND CREMORNE

BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13 :: 21

The Floating World [THEATRE] Past Imperfect By Alasdair Duncan Peter Kowitz as Les in The Floating World

intensifying the work. The other exciting thing, or course, is that The Floating World contains such a wide variety of styles, from monologues and very naturalistic dialogue through to music and stand-up comedy. Then you have the multiple realities on stage as Les’ mind begins to deteriorate. All of those things are incredibly exciting to realise on stage.”

The Floating World is a product of the 1970s, when Australia still regarded Asia, and especially Japan, with a degree of suspicion – though present day attitudes are somewhat different, Strong maintains that the play has something to say about the national character. “On the one hand, the play is of its time,” he says, “it deals with the experiences of a former prisoner of war, at a time when Australia’s relationship to Japan was starting to change, thanks to more widespread tourism, and an embrace of Japanese products. In a broader sense, though, it’s not just a story about Australia’s relationship with Japan – it’s a story about Australian xenophobia. In staging a story like that, we’re posing questions of how much or how little has changed since the 1970s. In light of the current discussions around refugees, I think that question still holds some urgency.”

Approaching the show from a contemporary perspective, Strong says his production of The Floating World will be more natural and less caricatured than original 1970s stagings. “The play follows the breakdown and disintegration of Les’s mind,” he says, “but one thing that may not have been emphasised as much in the original productions it that it’s also very much his wife Irene’s story, and it’s a story about the falling apart of a marriage. Romeril drew the relationship between Les and Irene beautifully, and we’re lucky in that we have two such very talented actors as Peter Kowitz and Valerie Bader playing the roles. They’ve worked together before and have a real chemistry so we started at a pretty advanced state, and we’re able to achieve the maximum emotional effect from their disintegrating relationship.”

What: The Floating World by John Romeril Where: Griffin Theatre Company When: Until November 16 More: griffintheatre.com.au

[THEATRE] War, Commerce and Privitisation By Krissi Weiss

T

he privatisation of war initially seems like a benign concept – of course contractors need to rebuild infrastructure so why not make a few bucks out of it? The part that gets conveniently ignored, however, is the discussion about the amount of private security contractors currently engaged by allied forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan (and presumably many other political hotspots around the world). In 2007, an Australian security firm, Unity Resources Group, made headlines when their contractors killed two women in a vehicle in a Baghdad street for allegedly failing to stop at a security checkpoint. This is the catalyst of Version 1.0 theatre company’s analysis of the new war economy.

Created by a collaborative team of six writers – three of whom are also performing in the show – The Vehicle Failed To Stop was originally conceived the day this news aired after a long development process. Performer and co-creator Jane Phegan, while young, has fast become a Sydney theatre veteran of sorts, working with many companies before settling down with Version 1.0 for the past few years. “We’ve been reordering scripts for the second day in a row,” Phegan says taking a break from rehearsal. “At the end of each day we’re convinced we’ve solved it and then we come in the next day and read it and go ‘nope, this needs to change.’ It’s very interesting the way this collective has gone.

You argue your point strongly and at some point, somehow the best idea wins out.”

With the performance employing various media and a complex array of storytelling techniques, the creators have been disciplined in their focus as they developed the story over the past six years. “I think because really, the story is just a starting

point. What we’re looking at is privatisation and the privatisation of war,” says Phegan.

“If people stand to make money then who stands to lose in that kind of environment?

This concept can be applied to so many industries and it’s obviously not something that’s going away any time soon. Since 2007 we’ve talked about pulling our troops out of Iraq and many have been, but there are tens of thousands of private security contractors still over there and that’s really what’s relevant. You can say that you’ve withdrawn from a country but you haven’t; you’re still paying for a lot of people to be there.”

Version 1.0’s vision is to be engaging, and entertaining without aggressively pushing an ideology onto the audience. “Fortunately each individual artist has a different viewpoint themselves and there are a lot of debates in rehearsals,” says Phegan. “Usually when we hit on a topic that takes a long time to find a resolution, which is often just us agreeing to disagree, then we know we’ve come across a really important point for the show.

If we as a small group of six are having a strong argument about a particular issue then chances are our larger audience will be grappling with that as well. We’re very focused on trying to open up a question rather than hitting people on the head with an ideology.

Then as theatre makers we’re attempting to make that beautiful to watch. It’s very stylised and complex with video and movement and sound that uses engaging text to give the audience space to absorb these ideas.”

What: The Vehicle Failed To Stop Where: Carriageworks When: October 15-26 More: carriageworks.com.au

The Banner Gallery [PUBLIC ART] Take A Walk By Alasdair Duncan

In Denmark, they have the silhouette of Hans Christian Andersen on the traffic lights. In Berlin, they have the Apple Man, who is so popular that they sell his merchandise. There’s another great icon in Fredericia, a military town in Denmark – the icon is a tribute to a very famous sculpture that they have called The Foot Soldier, based on the Danish Army conquering the town in the 1800s.

AD: Are there walking women around the world?

a controversial move in New York, but being Israeli, I was very accustomed to the seeing the icons around, so I noticed the change. I travel a lot and realised I saw different ones all around the world, so I started the collection.

I moderate the site now, and take contributions from amateurs and professionals. It makes the project very interactive – the project wouldn’t have been possible without all the incredible submissions I’ve received.

Alasdair Duncan: What was the inspiration behind Walking Men?

AD: Your banners featuring different walking man icons from cities around the world are currently spotted around Sydney’s inner city – how did you collect them all?

AD: What does a walking man do for the character of a city? Does it change it in a big way?

Maya Barkai: In 2004, New York was making the transition between the old ‘Walk’ and ‘Don’t Walk’ icons to traffic signs featuring walking icons, which seemed like a very appropriate thing for an international city. It was

MB: I started collecting them myself, but it was a slow process, because it takes a while to travel to all those different places! As I got more involved in the project, I decided to start a website and make it a collaborative process.

M

aya Barkai’s Walking Men Worldwide is a series of public art installations, displaying different pedestrian traffic icons from around the world. This month, a series of banners depicting Barkai’s Walking Men, The Banner Gallery, will decorate Sydney for the Art & About festival.

22 :: BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13

MB: I can’t say that there’s any theory written on the subject, so this is all from my own impressions and experiences, but I’d say some cities are much more aware of what their traffic icons look like than others, and celebrate them more. There are some very funny ones.

MB: There are, but there should be more!

Dresden in Germany has a female icon. In the Netherlands, they have one called Sophie – there was a popular vote for her name and that’s what they picked.

AD: Do you have a personal favourite traffic icon?

MB: I really love Sophie from the Netherlands.

What: The Banner Gallery for Art & About Where: Sydney CBD and inner city When: Until October 20 More: artandabout.com.au / walking-men. com thebrag.com

The Vehicle That Failed To Stop photo by Sean Bacon

O

riginally staged in 1975, John Romeril’s The Floating World is something of a lost Australian classic. The story tells the tale of Les and Irene, an everyday Australian couple on a cruise to Japan. Les himself, however, is a former WWII prisoner of war, and as he and his wife get closer to their destination, his sanity begins to unravel. “The thing that drew me to the play is the urgency of the content,” says director Sam Strong, who is staging a new production of the play at Griffin Theatre Company. “The play is an epic work, and bringing something of such scope to an intimate space like this is a challenge, but compressing it has the effect of

The playwright himself, John Romeril, has had quite a degree of involvement with the current production of The Floating World – he has come to rehearsals, and even consulted with Strong on a few edits to the script. “What’s great is John’s spirit,” Strong says. “He’s a very ambitious writer, he’s a very political writer, and he’s a true person of the theatre. His spirit, literally and metaphorically, have been great gifts for the ensemble. One more point on having John in the room, one of the great things about the Australian theatre industry is that you can have some genuine cross-generational exchange going on. The people who wrote our classic plays are still around in many cases, and it’s great, because it allows people of different generations to come together and share ideas in the one room.”

The Vehicle Failed To Stop

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

Judi Farr as Miss Marple

tongue-tied on opening night. Nevertheless, with a chorus of unique characters that complement each other, the night delivered enjoyable confusion and hilarity.

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Honourable mentions go to Rubenstein as Letty’s loopy best friend, Bunny; Mitzi, the boisterous yet charming hired help played by Haralabidou, and of course Farr as Miss Marple. Farr manages to retain the inquisitive wit, charm and twinkle in her eye that Agatha Christie fans expect from one of the author’s most loveable characters.

Haylie Pretorius ■ Film

RUSH In cinemas now

■ Theatre

A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED Until October 27

The residents of the genteel English town of Chipping Cleghorn get their frocks in a flurry when the personals column of the local paper schedules in a murder to occur at 6.30pm at Little Paddocks, the home of Letitia ‘Letty’ Blacklock (Lawrence).

When the lights blackout, shots are fired and a murder does actually take place as was scheduled but not necessarily expected, everyone is a suspect. Who put the announcement in the paper? Who oiled the supposedly locked second door into the drawing room? Who locked Mitzi, the Hungarian maid (Haralabidou), in the dining room before the murder? And why is Miss Marple (Farr), the town snoop, conveniently on the scene immediately after the shots are fired?

While the sheer volume of twists and trysts, false identities and hidden agendas that are unravelled by Inspector Craddock (Grubb) are comical and stay true to the murdermystery genre, the complicated dialogue unfortunately left most cast members

The strength of this entertaining film is the veracity of the characters. Throughout the 1970s, Niki Lauda and James Hunt were equally fierce competitors on the racetrack, but polar extremes in all other facets of life; a paradox that somehow forged a very unique comradeship and pushed the pair to extreme lengths. Along with snippets of life and love interests for Hunt and Lauda beyond the racetrack, Rush is one of those films that has something for everyone, and gives true meaning to the phrase ‘opposites attract’.

Both Hemsworth and Bruhl do a terrific job of staying true to the real-life personas of Hunt and Lauda. Hemsworth is delectable as sexual adonis James Hunt. Rumoured to have slept with over 5,000 women in his heyday, life on and off the track was all shits and giggles for the talented racer. Lauda on the other hand, brilliantly portrayed by Bruhl, was painfully tactful with every move he made: “I accept every time I get in my car there’s 20 per cent chance I could die…”

Courage of the human spirit triumphs in this portrayal of what it took two drivers to survive the high stakes and high demands that is Formula One racing.

Haylie Pretorius

See www.thebrag.com for more arts reviews

Arts Exposed What's in our diary...

■ Film

LOVELACE In cinemas now Lovelace is a film based on the true story of ’70s porn star and poster girl for the sexual revolution, Linda Lovelace. While this adaption by directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman of her life pre, during and post iconic film Deep Throat portrays the harrowing events that shadowed her existence with sufficient grit, the majority of the film is a little too light hearted.

I was mentally preparing myself for an uncomfortable ride – after all, in Lovelace’s autobiography, Ordeal, she claims to have been forced into pornography and other horrible things by her abusive husband/primp.

Chuck Traynor. But Amanda Seyfried’s Linda shows us a little more Karen from Mean Girls (with a much higher IQ), and creepy, briefwearing Peter Sarsgard’s Traynor only adds to things being just a little too Hollywood.

An odd thing to say as Hollywood has done many an adaptation of a true story well, but it doesn’t stop there. James Franco comes in halfway through as blowjob enthusiast Hugh Hefner, not to mention an array of familiar faces including Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Chris Noth, Hank Azaria and Adam Brody making regular appearances.

What could have been a far more captivating film about a truly important moment in human history – echoing the documentary-style of work Friedman and Epstein are known for – turned out to be somewhat of a romp with the occasional beating and gang rape thrown in.

Of course, something a little more hard-hitting isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and it’s certainly worth one watch. But overall, Lovelace’s story demands a little more reality and a little less glamour.

Jack Arthur Smith

JAE LAFFER

(THE PANICS)

GEORGIA FAIR KARL SMITH

(SODASTREAM)

Watch Me Wednesdays!

Australian Centre for Photography October 9 & 16 In conjunction with this year’s Art & About, the Australian Centre for Photography will be screening three captivating films over two Wednesdays in October. Marcel Camus’ Black Orpheus will hit the screen on October 9, with its astounding photography and ravishing soundtrack – echoing the current exhibition The Woodhouse Rephotography Project by Rowan Conroy. The final two films on October 16 compliment the Emmanuel Angelicas exhibition, Buka, with their unique culture and experimental art practice. Trance And Dance In Bali by Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson brings to light the cultural significance of Bali. The experimental avantgarde films of Gotot Prakosa in the Gotot Prakosa Compilation play along a spectrum that embraces Indonesian culture through a youthful exuberance and abstraction. The best part? All screenings are free! Visit acp.org.au for further screening details.

WHEN THE IRON GLOWS RED-TOUR FRI 8th NOVEMBER

OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au JAE LAFFER NEW ALBUM ‘WHEN THE IRON GLOWS RED’ Follow

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jaelaffer.com

dew-process.com

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A Murder Is Announced photo by James Morgan

In true Agatha Christie style, A Murder Is Announced is a captivating whodunit tale that will confuse and shock audiences right to the very end. And just when you think you’ve finally figured out who the killer is – bang! The tables are turned.

Currently presenting at Sydney Theatre until October 27, Christie’s tale has been adapted for the stage by Leslie Darbon, with Darren Yap directing a cast comprising Judi Farr, Debra Lawrence, Robert Grubb, Victoria Haralabidou and Deidre Rubenstein.

Director Ron Howard is no stranger to the world of high-speed car racing. Who could forget Grand Theft Auto, Howard’s directorial debut that saw the young actor put pedal to the metal alongside Nancy Morgan in a race to Las Vegas? Fast forward more than 30 years and Howard still has a need for speed, only this time the notion of love takes a back seat to the demands and power of Formula One racing. Starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl, Rush is an exhilarating biopic that details the warring rivalry between Formula One racing legends James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

bread&thread

GLENMORE’S L ADIES’ LUNCH

Food & Fashion News with Lily White and Lucy Smith

fact that it’s housed within a cute terrace. But what you’re really here for are the meats, right?

Right. Select your meat (salumi, culatelo, speck and the list goes on) and you’ll get a decent serving of bread and pickles to match. Visit facebook.com/ ChesterWhiteCuredDiner for more information.

OKTOBERFEST

NAME THIS BAR REVAMP

Cosy Oxford Street haunt, Name This Bar, is set to deliver the goods over the festive season with a new lineup of weekly music and arts events. There’s a new purpose-built stage, decks and a retro fitout to boot. Live bands will take to the stage on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, hip hop and art battles will bring down the house on Thursdays, Retrovesence Fridays will see punters reliving classic ’60s-’90s tracks, before Saturdays and Sundays wrap things up with spring beats and sexy jams. And if you want the place all to yourself (and your crew), the joint’s available for private hire on Fridays and Saturdays. Head to namethisbar. com.au for more info. courses and a glass of wine for less than $30. Yeah, we thought so too. Bargain. Available Monday through Friday from noon-10pm and Saturday 5-10pm, the deal will have you quite content in your swanky surrounds. What’s McDonald trying to achieve?

“What we’re trying to show people is that it’s not really French food, it’s a lighter, fresher food – lots of olive oil, vegetables and seafood.”

Visit fratellifresh.com.au for further details. Get on this!

It’s time to get your knee-slapping self into action. This October, the Löwenbräu and Bavarian Bier Café will deliver the goods with massive steins, dirndl-clad women and lederhosen-wearing men aplenty. Throughout the month there’ll be a variety of activity including bier education and dining sessions, a Miss Oktoberfest comp, Oktoberfest trivia and the obligatory Oktoberfest Sausage Challenge (there’s just no other way to say it!). Oh and then there’s the authentic brews. Löwenbräu Keller and Bavarian Bier Café will be the only venues in Australia offering all five official Oktoberfestbiers – Löwenbräu, Spaten, Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner and Hofbrau. They’ve been specially imported from Munich just for the occasion. Do it. Visit oktoberfest.com.au for more information.

BOTANIST SPRINGS INTO SUMMER

26:09:13 :: THE GLENMORE HOTEL :: 96 CUMBERLAND ST THE ROCKS :: 9247 4794 :: THEGLENMORE.COM.AU

Kirribilli gem, The Botanist, is launching its seasonal spring/summer menu under the direction of new head chef Mark Williamson.

What’s on offer? Think crab hush puppies with Louie sauce, sashimi kingfish crudo with chives, avocado and jalapeno, haloumi with cauliflower tabouleh, ceviche, and the obligatory tacos, sliders and pizzas. Yeah, you get the idea – dishes to share with mates on a hot summer afternoon. And if you’re trying to picture what kind of surrounds the noms will be going down in, just imagine a botanical paradise inspired by Gerard Fothergill who was a pioneer in the study of the medicinal qualities of plants and spices. Yes, all of the exotic things. Visit thebotanist. com.au for further details and bookings.

Ceviche

CHESTER WHITE OPENS A NICE BAR MENU

Café Nice, opened earlier this year by bigwig restaurateur Barry McDonald, has launched a bar menu special comprising two

Cured meats fans at the ready, for Chester White has opened and it’s ready to transport you to antipasto heaven. Brought to us by the team behind Buffalo Dining Club, much of the Potts Point newbie’s appeal lies in the

YEVU POP-UP

TOKYO SING SONG LAUNCHES

HELLO SAILOR 96 OXFORD STREET, DARLINGHURST TUE – THU & SUN, 5PM-2AM; FRI – SAT, 5PM-3AM

cocktails flowing late into the night. Trust us, you’re not going to want to jump ship.

Who’s the cook/bartender? Chef Fulvio Lancione has created Hello Sailor’s Italianstyle diner menu. The tipples? Awardwinning bartender Luke Redington heads up the bar with all hands on deck. And this guy’s got some serious cred in the biz – he was shortlisted in the NSW state final of Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge 2013 and was a finalist in Sydney’s Best Bar Tender at the Sydney Bar Awards, 2012.

The Basics: Conceptualised by Sydney bar owners, Marco Faraone and Mike Edkins who founded Cockatoo Island’s The Island Bar, Hello Sailor’s all about bringing the good tunes and good times. Master bartender Luke Redington of Eau De Vie fame will have you buckled down with tasty

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Eye-candy: Hello Sailor offers two bars in one, with the relaxed Seafood Shack upstairs, and moody Sailor’s Den downstairs complete with a salvaged timber dinghycum-lounge! Mike Edkin’s wife Caleena is a talented artist who has designed the tattoo mural of Hello Sailor’s signature ‘winking

bar profile lady’ at the entrance off Foley Street.

Something to start with: Share Hello Sailor’s signature Tuscan-style panigacci (bread cooked in terracotta over charcoal), which is served with fresh pesto, stracchino and prosciutto ($19).

The main course: You can’t go past the $18 lobster burger from the Seafood Shack menu.

Perfection.

Care for a drink? Choose a cocktail from Redington’s rotating drinks list, inspired by different seaside ports. Relish Hello Sailor’s take on the Pina Colada comprising Sailor Jerry spiced rum, coconut, pineapple and glory served in a silver tankard. You’re welcome. Oh and all cocktails are $17.

Room for dessert: Another cocktail! Perhaps a Whistling Willy this time. Think Absolut, pomegranate, mint and dry orange.

More: Sundays at Hello Sailor feature a

Surf and Turf combo for $25. No food item is about that price! The joint’s also keeping the kitchen firing until 2am Tuesday through Thursday and Sundays, and until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. Hello Sailor is offering complimentary aperitivo (tapas style crostini) with aperitif cocktails or a bottle of wine between 5-7pm. hellosailor.com.au

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through mid November, will be experimental artist and lighting designer, Duckpond, who’ll deliver performances set to take place between midnight and close – no set times, no theme and no rules. We’re also being told to imagine Japanese vending machines, pachinko parlours and game shows, New York speakeasies and rock’n’roll dive bars. Pen Basement, 145 King Street, Newtown in your diaries, because that’s where you’ll need to be to experience opening night shenanigans.

PHOTOS: CASSIE LALIEU

Newtown’s at it again with newest kid on the small bar block, Tokyo Sing Song, set to open to on Friday October 11. We can’t tell you that much just yet, but we can tell you that it’s been described as an “upside-down, inside-out kind of bar located in a King Street basement”. We’re hella keen to see check out what it’s all about. Each month will see a new curator undergo a venue takeover to program a spectacle of entertainment.

First up, between October 10

New pop-up store YEVU will bring a piece of Ghana to Sydney, literally! The new ethical fashion label will be showcasing a collection of versatile, bold designs, developed and handmade in Ghana in collaboration with local tailors and seamstresses.

Designed by Anna Robertson, the combining of traditional fabrics with contemporary designs was the perfect union to revitalise the African print.

YEVU is a unique tribute to West Africa’s spirit and a goodlooking one at that. You can have a browse of the vibrant designs at 302 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills from Thursday October 10 until October 24.

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

L I V E M U S I C , V I S U A L A R T, T H E AT R E , CO M E DY, B U R L E S Q U E & B O O Z E

COME IN WE’RE OPEN TIL 3AM!

THU 10 OCT FRI 11 OCT JEFFERSON

Seirra Fin DATE NIG H T AT T H E MU S E U M

Scarlet Hearts

SAT 12 OCT THU 17 OCT

TWINLAKES SHADY LANE, GNOME

& VILLAGE ECHOES

FRI 18 OCT SAT 19 OCT THE

KING TIDE & CARAVANA SUN

Coming Up OCTOBER 25TH LIGHTNING BOLT (USA) 26TH HIATUS KAIYOTE W/ SILENT JAY 31ST LADY KILLERS - HALLOWEEN PARTY

DON’T MISS TWERPS / MAC DEMARCO / BUSBY MAROU / HIATUS KAIYOTE / LIGHTNING BOLT / KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD FACEBOOK.COM/THESTANDARDSYDNEY TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT WEARETHESTANDARD.COM.AU

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

ALBUM OF THE WEEK CHVRCHES

Framed by the saccharine vocals of Lauren Mayberry, Chvrches have crafted their sound on a mantra of scintillating melodies, sans the compressive glitz that rapidly diminishes the life expectancy of most bands on the circuit.

The Bones Of What You Believe Liberator Music/Goodbye Records

The electro-pop zeitgeist is fed up. With back-toback attempts from ‘up-and-comers’ to latch onto the zippy-tempo, explosive synth formula, the genre has seen tracks melding into a clump of monotony. So when a band like Chvrches lays its first bricks at the vanguard, it’s certain you’ll soon come a-knockin’.

Xxxx Chvrches have claimed ground at the outset that many pop outfits have opted to tiptoe around instead.

Heralding the stigma of bravado-borne stubbornness that curses Scots, the Glaswegian trio had already commanded global attention prior to the release of their debut album, The Bones Of What You Believe, seeing them thrust into a spiral of sold out-shows and soaking up international acclaim.

TBOWYB converges the brief romances already shared, with infectious cuts ‘The Mother We Share’, ‘Lies’, ‘Recover’ and ‘Gun’ all summoned from their inaugural EP to tie together eight new cuts here. Darting through eras and experimenting with ’80s pop soundscapes, Chvrches still prove themselves songwriting artisans with melancholic content lamented over through nimble delivery and resilient, rolling synth layers.

The full expanse of the band’s charm is awakened in greater depth with the vocal baton being handed to Martin Doherty on ‘Under The

Tide’, a steady crescendo working a treat and sending the listener’s suspense into overdrive.

‘You Caught The Light’ is an ambient daydream, channelling brooding tones without crossing into condescension.

Altogether, the arpeggios are compelling, the lyrics are equal parts dismissive and enticing, the melodies are savage and the debut is defiant.

Mina Kitsos

STONEFIELD

SEBADOH

OBITS

MGMT

GLASVEGAS

Stonefi eld Illusive

Defend Yourself Domino Records

Bed & Bugs Sup Pop/Inertia

MGMT Sony Music Australia

Later...When The TV Turns To Static BMG Rights/Cooking Vinyl

With their self-titled debut, Stonefield have stuck strong to the classic rock vibe they’ve become known for since winning the triple j Unearthed High competition in 2010. The influence of the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple on the four sisters from country Victoria is easy to hear, but adhering so tightly to the conventions of the genre has resulted in something of a mixed bag.

The first three tracks contain all the radio-ready classic rock staples (chugging riffs, screamed vocals and guitar solos), but each one starts at 100 miles an hour and finishes at the same speed without really going anywhere in between. Lead single ‘Put Your Curse On Me’ throws in a misplaced gospel choir, but it doesn’t change the fact the three songs have little to distinguish them and end up blurring into one.

After this relatively poor start, the album improves greatly in the back half as Stonefield give their songs room to breathe and a chance to grow. The result is a much more interesting take on the classic rock sound and provides the variety that is sorely missing from the earlier tracks.

With an acoustic introduction that builds to a menacing chorus, ‘To Whom It May Concern’ is the album highlight, and closing track ‘Keep On Rollin’’ is a slow burner as lead singer Amy Findlay provides the sweetest vocals on the album. Yet between these two standouts, Stonefield unfortunately return to the formula they opened with and turn in the worst song on the album; the clunky and repetitive ‘Baby Blue’.

Despite the poor opening and occasional blunder, the strong back half saves Stonefield’s debut and bodes well for the band’s future efforts.

Lou Barlow has said that Sebadoh “were always going to make another record”. So why does half of Defend Yourself, the new album that the band had 14 years to make, feel so rushed?

‘I Will’ thankfully gets the album off to a rousing start, but as soon as the second track ‘Love You Here’ begins, the record’s problems become clear.

Unlike Barlow’s work in Dinosaur Jr., where the songs are basically just an excuse for J Mascis to shred over, the success of a Sebadoh album depends entirely on the quality and diversity of the individual songs.

Unfortunately Defend Yourself’s forced lo-fi production suffocates the songs and makes them all sound the same.

This leaves all but two in the first half forgettable. Only the aforementioned ‘I Will’ and the pleasantly R.E.M.inflected ‘Oxygen’ are worth your time.

But then, beginning with the jangly ‘State Of Mine’ and continuing until the end of the album, you realise that Defend Yourself isn’t a waste of time, just incredibly bottom-heavy. ‘Final Days’, ‘Listen’, Jason Lowenstein’s ‘Can’t Depend’ and fantastic closer ‘Separate’ all would rank highly on Sebadoh’s original run of albums.

Best of all, Barlow’s acoustic beauty ‘Let It Out’ gives the album the diversity lacking in the first half and is the clear highlight of the album.

So, judged on a song-by-song basis, the album is pretty good. It’s just the sequencing that’s off.

The last six songs on the album give hope to Sebadoh fans that the band can deliver a better album next time. Let’s hope they stick around long enough to do so.

Leonardo Silvestrini

Obits are the brainchild of Rick Froberg, most widely recognised for his work in early ’90s posthardcore progenitors Drive Like Jehu.

Unsurprisingly, the learned execution and production closeness on Obits’ third record seems far removed from what’s happening in contemporary garage-blues or technically informed indie rock. For example, ‘Operation Bikini’ resembles a song by The Bronx, however the aggression is more agonised than glaringly masculine. A harmonica howls over a cyclically urgent drum pattern, the guitar playing is dexterous yet not overly complex, and Froberg’s scream is part carefree snarl and part disturbed spit in the face.

The easiest reference point for Obits’ stylistic conquest is The Replacements. Much like the work of Paul Westerberg’s recently reformed mob, Obits tracks like ‘Pet Trust’ thrash through jazzy Alex Chilton chord sequences with 5am desperation. Rick Froberg’s scream is sent out from back of his throat, suggesting it’s absolutely essential he strain to reach the melody, even if it hurts.

The record’s uncluttered production evokes an image of a group sublimating themselves into every note played. It’s not completely pell-mell either, and the desert dust verses of the surfabilly ‘Malpractice’ and the krauty tension of ‘Machines’ allow time to ruminate on the well-constructed, often modally dissonant riffage.

At a glance, Obits’ high-voltage third record could be seen as a representation of the disaffected youth of today. However, the authentic character of the record’s 1980s college radio punk rock stylings is a clue towards the average age of the Brooklyn-based four-piece.

MGMT is mushy. As much as you would like to grab hold of a chorus or maybe a catchy riff, the songs slip away into a jumble of sounds. It’s as though by lading the songs with buzzes and whizzes we’ll be tricked into thinking the band is experimental.

The unbridled egotism and pop glam of Oracular Spectacular has been put aside as the duo supposedly ‘matures’. By matures, I mean to say they have discovered more buttons in the studio. If it’s not the distorted child singing on ‘Alien Days’, it’s the mechanical sparkle on ‘I Love You Too, Death’ or cyber horns on ‘An Orphan Of Fortune’.

With so much musical ramshackle, the songs on the album blend together in a sloppy sonic soup that is altogether flavourless. But perhaps I should be more understanding. It’s not MGMT’s fault they were spoilt with a flukefully successful debut album.

The effort of trying to recapture that same energy must be so draining, they probably thought: ‘Hey, let’s just add some random noises and call it a day.’

Too harsh? Oh well, I suppose there are moments. Maybe. If you squint a little. There is some playfulness on ‘Your Life Is A Lie’. A degree of wry humour on ‘Mystery Disease’.

A flash of whimsy in ‘Cool Song No. 2’. But these brief moments quickly become submerged in a messy mix of wannabe cool psychedelic pop.

MGMT is not an album for fans of music; it is an album for fans of MGMT. The really, really hardcore ones.

Melissa Kitson

Augustus Welby

Keiron Costello

INDIE ALBUM OF THE WEEK MODERAT II Monkeytown Four years after releasing their selftitled debut album, Apparat (AKA Sascha Ring) and Modeselektor (the duo of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary) have regrouped to release II. This creative, expansive and surprisingly cheerful new offering will not disappoint fans.

II is spacious. It features the same minimalist and tasteful techno as the first effort, but with greater warmth. In ‘Bad Kingdom’ heavy synths are mixed with

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lofty lyrics for a punchy euphoria that could be cheesy, probably is cheesy, but is irresistibly uplifting. The album is for intellectuals who still enjoy waving glow sticks. Even when moving into darker, heavier sounds like in ‘Therapy’ or ‘Damage Done’, there is still an element that is positively cheery.

Laced with echoes and sonic surprises, it is an album that can be listened on and off the dancefloor. The tracks are accessible but not without depth. Given popular electronic music has suffered from a fever of regressive Eurovision disco, it is refreshing to hear new music that is exactly that – new.

That said, there is nothing soft or fluffy about this album. On tracks like tenminute long ‘Milk’, the Berliners delve deep into synth underworld, starting with minimalist beats and climaxing with Caribou-ish flourish. In ‘Versions’ the trio take what could be a catchy, radio-friendly song and give it texture and space.

Of course, the album is not flawless. The upbeat lyricism can be cringey at times.

II is a rich, percussive-driven album.

Melissa Kitson

But on the whole, listening to II is satisfying – like reading a good book.

You finish and think, yes that is something I will remember. Well worth the wait.

It might seem unfair to measure a band by their first effort, but Glasvegas may have set the bar too high to reach when they released their self-titled debut five years ago.

First 2011’s Euphoric Heartbreak failed to meet the expectations garnered by that stunning opening, and now Later...When The TV Turns To Static finds itself struggling down the same path as its predecessor.

Make no mistake, Later... is definitely not a bad record, but it’s hard not to be disappointed when nothing even approaches the superb drama of tracks such as ‘Geraldine’ from their debut album. The gloomy Scots have nailed down their particular brand of operatic indie rock over three albums, but seem to have lost the ability to make their songs memorable at the same time. The arena-filling attitude is still there as, backed by shimmering guitars, frontman James Allan’s soaring vocals reach for the cheap seats. But that crucial something is missing.

The songs stick to the tried-and-true Glasvegas formula as far as lyrical content goes, with family tragedy and relationship dramas the standard fare.

Custody battle ballad ‘All I Want Is My Baby’ is one of the few standout tracks, with Allan’s thick Scottish accent pleading intimately one minute and then growling accusingly the next. ‘Youngblood’ and ‘If’ are also highlights, the latter’s ode to darkness and all the bad things in the world comes across as strangely uplifting with lyrics such as, “If not for the bad stuff / The good would never be enough”.

Glasvegas have stuck to their familiar style and attempted to imitate the success of their first album, but struggle to create anything as lasting.

Keiron Costello

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

VARIOUS - A Bugged Out Mix By Klaxons DR. DRE - The Chronic OASIS - Definitely Maybe

MARIAH CAREY - Butterfly THE FRATELLIS - Costello Music

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Taking applications for 2014 up until November 1. aftrs.edu.au/awardcourses 7RS ¿ OP VFKRRO LQ WKH ZRUOG*

*7KH +ROO\ZRRG 5HSRUWHU

AUSTRALIAN FILM TELEVISION AND RADIO SCHOOL

NINE INCH NAILS HESITATION MARKS NEW ALBUM FEATURING CAME BACK HAUNTED AND EVERYTHING OUT NOW

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snap sn ap

high-tails

PICS :: TL

up all night out all week . . .

27:09:13 :: Brighton Up Bar :: Level 1/77 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9572 6322

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the griswolds

the barons of tang

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27:09:13 :: Oxford Art Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St, Darlinghurst 9332 3711

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davey lane

sleep walkers club

28:09:13 :: Spectrum :: 34 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9360 1375

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27:09:13 :: The Standard :: 3/383 Bourke St Darlinghurst 9331 3100

27:09:13 :: FBi Social :: Kings Cross Hotel 248 William St 9331 9900 D HONCHO) :: KARL BRAASCH

S : TIM LEVY (HEA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MAGNAN :: ASHLEY MAR ::

:: AMATH

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

H PHOTOGRAPHER : KARL BRAASC

THE DRONES, HARMONY Metro Theatre Saturday September 28

“The sky is blue / And I am too,” sang The Drones’ Gareth Liddiard, but he shouldn’t have been, ‘cause we were all chuffed as shit to be there. And hidden somewhere beneath the sorrow of opening track ‘I See Seaweed’, I think he was chuffed too. A mixedbag audience met the five-piece with adoration, happily bopping along for an hour and a half as we all beamed with pride at our Aussie success story.

Following the opener was recent hit ‘How To See Through Fog’ in a much less tight performance. But this doesn’t mean bad – far from it. Liddiard’s yelps and wails weren’t manufactured or contrived, but free. His words fell

organically from his lips as if this wasn’t just a job for The Drones, nor was it mere fun. Nope – writing painfully honest songs and rocking your socks off is crucial to Liddiard, Fiona Kitschin, Dan Luscombe, Michael Noga and Steve Hesketh’s survival.

By the time 2005 single ‘Baby Squared’ was played the audience had really loosened up, cheering the occasional “yew” and crunching plastic beer cups beneath them. And though I know it isn’t possible, I could swear even the band’s instruments twanged with Aussie accents. But ‘Baby’ just ain’t who The Drones are now. It might be a favourite that got the crowd riling with excitement, but the fivesome just didn’t believe it with so much conviction. I mean, they’ve been around since ’97 and, as you’d hope, have moved on.

The encore saw The Drones joined onstage by supporting act Harmony for a Leonard Cohen cover. A song of helplessness and disappointment, ‘Diamonds In The Mine’ fits almost seamlessly with the tone of The Drones’ 2013 album I See Seaweed. But despite singing “There are no letters in the mailbox / And there are no grapes upon the vine / And there are no chocolates in the boxes anymore / And there are no diamonds in the mine,” Liddiard didn’t leave us on a sad note. The two bands shared their microphones, danced with us in rapture and sent shivers down our spines. A sense of awesomeness reverberated between the performers and crowd and I couldn’t help but think: this is how music should be.

Rachel Eddie

PHOTOGRAPHER : ASHLEY MAR

FOALS, ALPINE

Enmore Theatre Sunday September 29 Perhaps Sunday night concertgoers are more inclined to turn up early than their party-going Saturday night brethren, but Alpine were greeted by an alreadyimpressive crowd when they took to the Enmore stage. Lead singers Phoebe Baker and Lou James have an easy, energetic chemistry and seemed genuinely delighted with the size of the crowd as they bantered with each other.

Their energy rubbed off quickly on the crowd, as familiar hits such as ‘Hands’ and ‘Gasoline’ from Alpine’s debut album turned into joyous sing-alongs. James in particular seemed very animated, bouncing around stage while the carefree pop and vocal

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harmonies served as a perfect Sunday evening entree.

As fans waited for Foals to take the stage, a buzzing sense of anticipation came over the venue. The band had wowed Sydney audiences in January with a pair of fantastic gigs at the Oxford Art Factory and after the release of the brilliant Holy Fire record, expectations were high.

It proved to be a triumphant return, with the packed crowd hooked from the moment Foals took the stage and the opening bars of ‘Prelude’ rang out. The Oxford quintet has mastered their own brand of upbeat indie rock, creating a massive sound that filled the theatre for new songs or old.

After hit single ‘My Number’ had the crowd singing along, the slow build of fan favourite ‘Spanish Sahara’ sent them into a frenzy.

Almost silent in between songs, frontman Yannis Philippakis made up for his lack of banter by bringing an unbridled, aggressive energy that had the crowd eating out of his hand.

Foals saved their best for the encore, lifting the performance into the realms of the truly great gigs with the stunning assault of ‘Inhaler’ before traditional closer ‘Two Steps, Twice’ sent the ecstatic crowd into the night. The only downer of the evening was the Enmore security guards preventing Philippakis from launching himself off the top balcony and into the crowd during the encore, much to the disappoint of the adoring fans below. But it was a minor quibble on a great night, as the gig proved Foals are continuing to grow into one of the best live bands around.

Keiron Costello BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13 :: 29

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com

Emma Louise

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Hump Wednesdays - feat: The Petting Zoo The Little Guy, Glebe. 7pm. free.

Lionel Cole The White Horse, Surry Hills.

8pm. free.

World Music Wednesdays feat: El Orquestron The Basement, Circular Quay.

8pm. $5.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

SATURDAY OCTOBER 12 The Studio, Sydney Opera House

Emma Louise + Holy Holy 8:30pm. $44.30.

MONDAY OCTOBER 7 ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Songs On Stage - feat: Helmut Uhlmann + Rick Taylor + Chris Brookes & Massimo Presti Kelly’s On King, Newtown.

7pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Mariachi Mondays - feat: Victor Valdes And Friends The Basement, Circular Quay.

5pm. free.

Motown Mondays - feat: Soultrane The White Horse, Surry Hills.

8pm. free.

Reggae Monday

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Civic Underground, Sydney.

10pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Cambo Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

4pm. free.

Ed & Astro Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 7pm. free.

Frankie’s World Famous House Band Frankie’s Pizza, Sydney. 9pm. free.

Furnace & The Fundamentals + Benny & The Guruve Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

Klay The Mercantile Hotel, Sydney.

3:30pm. free.

Steve Tonge Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

7:30pm. free.

The Lewis Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 2pm. free.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 8 INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Co-Pilot Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free.

Rob Henry Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9 ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Pete Cornelius + Charlie A’Court The Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

8pm. $12.

Pulp Kitchen And Folk Club

Alberts Presents Lunchbreak - featuring Lanterns FBi Social, Kings Cross. 1pm. free.

Andy Mammers Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney. 9pm. free.

Bart Thrupp - Monkey King Tour 2013 Old Manly Boatshed, Manly.

8pm. free.

Ben Gumbleton The Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

8pm. free.

Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Chris Stretton Stamford Grand, North Ryde.

5:45pm. free.

Hitseekers Three Wise Monkeys Pub, Sydney. 10pm. free.

Joe Echo Duo O’Malleys Hotel, Kings Cross.

9:30pm. free.

Mark Travers Orient Hotel, The Rocks. 9pm. free.

Paul Dempsey + Olympia Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 8pm. $39.

Uni Bar100 Bar100, The Rocks. 9pm. free.

Victoria Avenue Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill.

7:30pm. free.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 10 ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Brendan Gallagher + Martha Marlow Camelot Lounge, Marrickville.

7pm. $25.

Jackie Dee + Midworth + Vitaley The Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $15.

Live Music Thursdays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

Pete Cornelius + Alex Bowen + Charlie A’Court The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $15.

Songs On Stage - feat: Peach Montgomery & Guests Forest Lodge Hotel, Forest Lodge. 7:30pm. free.

Songs On Stage - feat: Chris Raicevich + Gabriella Brown + Oliver Goss + The Runaway Houses + Megan Barnes & Angus Robinson Ruby L’otel, Rozelle. 7:30pm. free.

JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Brendan Gallagher & Martha Marlow Camelot Lounge, Marrickville.

8pm. $20.

Organ Groove - feat: Dave Goodman + Darren Heinrich + Lionel Cole The White Horse, Surry Hills.

8pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Hopkins Open Mic Night Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 7:30pm. free.

Benn Gunn Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

9pm. free.

Big Way Out Three Wise Monkeys Pub, Sydney. 10pm. free.

Bounce Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 9:30pm. free.

Calling All Cars + Super Best Friends + The Sinking Teeth Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. $22.95.

Dave White Duo Maloney’s Hotel, Sydney.

9:30pm. free.

David Agius Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 7pm. free.

Empra + Bonez + Vida Cain The Annandale Hotel, Annandale. 8pm. $12.

Foy Vance The Basement, Circular Quay.

8pm. $35.

Guineafowl + Iluka + Tim Fitz Club 77, Woolloomooloo.

7:30pm. $10.

Isotonic Presents Boom!

Bap! Pow! & Rufflefeather Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

Joe Echo Marrickville Ritz Hotel, Marrickville. 7pm. free.

Matt Jones Australian Hotel And Brewery, Rouse Hill. 9:30pm. free.

Prehistorics - feat: The Dirty Earth + Tube Of Venus + Delta Lions & The Grand Union Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $10.

Rosie Catalano + Rose Wintergreen + Brendan Maclean Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. free.

Sarah Paton Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

The Rider (EP Launch) + Liam Gale & The Ponytails + Project Collective Ska + Aether Beach FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

White Bros Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Monsieur Camembert Camelot Lounge, Marrickville.

8pm. $35.

Power Cuts Reggae Club Presents Strictly Dancehall Vibes - feat: Fasmwa + Louie Basslines + Ted Vassel & Kamauri Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 10pm. $15.

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK Flamin’ Beauties Crown Hotel, Sydney. 8pm. free.

Live Music Fridays Bar100, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

The Maybes Town & Country Hotel, St Peters. 8:30pm. free.

The Rusty Spring Syncopaters & The Sweet Jelly Rolls Bank Hotel, Newtown. 9pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Alex Hopkins Campbelltown Catholic Club, Campbelltown. 6pm. free.

All Seeing Hand + Broadcasting Transmitter + Milkk Cosmo’s Rock Lounge, Marrickville. 8pm. free.

Am 2 Pm North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray. 7:30pm. free.

Amorphis The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 9pm. $59.50.

Bede Kennedy Greystanes Inn, Greystanes.

8pm. free.

Ben Finn Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free.

Black Diamond Hearts Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest.

10pm. free.

Brutal Birthday Bash - feat: Amora + Freelance Fuckwits + Nekrology + Drillsaw + Dead Life & Kunvuk Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $15.

Bushwalking + Rat Columns + Angie + Eyelash Vipers The Red Rattler Theatre, Marrickville, Sydney. 8pm. $14.

Carl Fidler Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

Craig Thommo General Gordon Hotel, Sydenham. 7:30pm. free.

Dave Mac & DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free.

Dave Phillips O’Malleys Hotel, Kings Cross.

8pm. free.

David Agius Kings Cross Hotel, Kings Cross. 12am. free.

Devin Townsend Project Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $72.80.

Diesel + Tim Chaisson + Lila Gold The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $39.80.

Dragon The Vanguard, Newtown.

6:30pm. $30.

Fallon Bros Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

10:30pm. free.

Fours A Crowd Engadine Tavern, Engadine.

9:30pm. free.

Gerard Masters Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest.

6:30pm. free.

Joe Echo Duo PJ Gallagher’s, Leichhardt.

9pm. free.

Kyle Brady Chatswood RSL, Chatswood.

5:30pm. free.

Live Music At The Royal The Royal, Leichhardt. 9:30pm. free.

Matt Jones Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 7pm. free.

McKisko Terrace Bar, Newcastle. 7pm. $15.

Natalie Carboni Novotel, Darling Harbour.

5:30pm. free.

Nicky Kurta Trio Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point.

8pm. free.

Punk Paradise + Rejex + The Baddies & The Turps Bald Faced Stag Hotel, Leichhardt. 8:30pm. $10.

Rachel Laing Duo Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 8pm. free.

Reckless Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

thebrag.com

Xxx

pick of the week

- feat: Live Rotating Folk Bands Soda Factory, Surry Hills. 5pm. free.

Songs On Stage - feat: Peach Montgomery & Lily Ray Sackville Hotel, Rozelle.

7:30pm. free.

Songs On Stage - feat: Helmut Uhlmann + Heshewonderland + Madeline + Dean Michael Smith & Natalie Wardan The Loft (UTS Loft), Ultimo .

6pm. free.

g g guide gig g

send your listings to : gigguide@thebrag.com 9:30pm. $5.

Renae Stone Customs House Bar, Sydney.

7pm. free.

Riz Hallowes Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater. 8pm. free.

Rock Solid Duo Courthouse Hotel, Newtown.

10pm. free.

Russell Nelson Three Wise Monkeys Pub, Sydney. 6pm. free.

Sons Of Mercury Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10:30pm. free.

Soul Principle Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

Tommy Pickett Cock N’ Bull, Bondi Junction.

7pm. free.

Tumbleweed + Bruce + Lock And Load Tattersalls Hotel, Penrith.

8:30pm. free.

Unforgiven - Metallica Show Bull & Bush Hotel, Baulkham Hills. 10pm. free.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 12 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC Johnny G & The E-Types (Memphis Soul Review) Camelot Lounge, Marrickville.

7:30pm. $25.

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Diesel + Tim Chaisson + Lila Gold The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $39.80.

Live Music Saturdays Bar100, The Rocks. 4pm. free.

Paul Hayward & Friends Town & Country Hotel, St Peters. 4pm. free.

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Am 2 Pm Town Hall Hotel, Balmain.

10pm. free.

Andy Bull + MTNS Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst. 8pm. $21.40.

Armchair Travellers Duo North Sydney Leagues Club, Cammeray. 7:30pm. free.

Barbarion Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

Bede Kennedy PJ Gallagher’s, Moore Park.

7:30pm. free.

Black Diamond Hearts The Star, Pyrmont. 9:30pm. free.

Blaming Vegas Engadine Tavern, Engadine.

9:30pm. free.

Brad Johns Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

3:30pm. free.

Brendan Deehan Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

10:30pm. free.

Communication Records Anniversary - feat: Nick Forrest + Loft + Gelido + Zablotskii + Raffi Lovechild + Lovertits DJ + Skaif DJ & Tgmn Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 9pm. free.

DJ Andy Benke Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 9:30pm. free.

DJ Marty Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 9pm. free.

Electric Anthems Trio Paragon Hotel, Sydney.

9:30pm. free.

Elevation U2 Tribute South Hurstville RSL Club, South Hurstville. 9pm. free.

Emma Louise + Holy Holy Sydney Opera House, Sydney.

8:30pm. $44.30. thebrag.com

Endless Summer Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

9:30pm. free.

Flyte Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club, Bondi Junction. 8:30pm. free.

Greg Agar Kirribilli Hotel, Milsons Point.

8pm. free.

Ignition Scruffy Murphy’s Hotel, Sydney. 10:30pm. free.

James Englund Australian Hotel And Brewery, Rouse Hill. 10pm. free.

Jimmy Bear Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

John McIvor Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater. 8pm. free.

Lime Cordiale Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills.

6pm. free.

Luke & Ben Duo Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 9pm. free.

McKisko The Newsagency, Marrickville.

7pm. $20.

Mothership + Ra Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 1pm. $10.

Nova Tone The Belvedere Hotel, Sydney.

8:45pm. free.

Panama + Hitting Trees Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

Paul Dempsey + Olympia The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. 8pm. $35.

Riz Hallowes Dee Why Hotel, Dee Why. 6:30pm. free.

Rob Henry Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

Saturday Live Band - feat: Beatlemania Oatley Hotel, Oatley. 8:30pm. free.

Shane Flew Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

4:20pm. free.

Sons Of Mercury Crows Nest Hotel, Crows Nest. 10pm. free.

Static + Phenom + The Fresh Testament + Egasm + Chick Flick DJs + Lu-Cue + Main St DJs Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $15.

Steve Tonge Duo Hillside Hotel, Castle Hill. 7pm. free.

Stormcellar The Bald Rock Hotel, Rozelle.

8:30pm. free.

The Bon Scotts + Sons Of Alamo + Dave Sattout FBi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

The Deep Wentworthville Leagues Club, Wentworthville. 10pm. free.

The Lonely Boys The Mercantile Hotel, Sydney.

8:30pm. free.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 13 JAZZ, SOUL, FUNK, LATIN & WORLD MUSIC

Kevin Johansen & The Nada & Sistema Criolina Camelot Lounge, Marrickville.

7:30pm. $39.50.

The Thrones + Mary Cowel Duo + H&M Quintet + Don’t Hit Ron

Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 6pm. $10.

ACOUSTIC/ COUNTRY/BLUES/ FOLK

Intimate Sessions Paragon Hotel, Sydney. 6pm. free.

Little Sundays - feat: Stephanie Grace The Little Guy, Glebe. 7pm. free.

Live Music Sundays Bar100, The Rocks. 1pm. free.

Songs On Stage - feat: Carolyn Woodorth + Bart Thrupp + Ruby’s Toy + Chris Brookes + Massimo Presti & Rick Taylor Kelly’s On King, Newtown.

7pm. free.

Tim Chaisson + Dylan Wright The Brass Monkey, Cronulla.

7pm. $15.

mon

07 Oct

(2:00PM - 5:30PM)

tue

08 Oct

(7:00PM - 10:30PM)

wed (9:00PM - 12:00AM)

09 Oct

(9:00PM - 12:00AM)

thu

10 Oct

(9:30PM - 12:30AM) (4:30PM - 7:30PM)

fri

11 Oct (9:30PM - 1:30AM)

INDIE, ROCK, POP, METAL, PUNK & COVERS

Bart Thrupp - Monkey King Tour 2013 The Newsagency, Marrickville.

8pm. free.

Beatville Boys Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

8:30pm. free.

David Agius Duo Northies Cronulla Hotel, Cronulla. 6pm. free.

Elevation U2 Acoustic Orient Hotel, The Rocks.

4:30pm. free.

Greg Agar Coogee Bay Hotel, Coogee.

8:30pm. free.

Greg Agar Duo Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel, Woolloomooloo. 3pm. free.

Jamie Lindsay Mill Hill Hotel, Bondi Junction.

3pm. free.

JD Revival Band + Charlie A’Court Coogee Diggers RSL Club, Coogee. 10am. free.

Johnny G & The E-Types Botany View Hotel, Newtown.

7pm. free.

Leon Fallon Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

4pm. free.

Marty Simpson Harbord Beach Hotel, Freshwater. 6pm. free.

Rob Henry Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

6pm. free.

Rockchick Entertainment Presents Rock Show - feat: Acid + Van Cooper + My Midnight + Chrome Pigs + Psychic Sun + 46 Clicks + The Swamp Crocs Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 12pm. $10.

Sarah Paton Observer Hotel, The Rocks.

8pm. free.

Sydney Rock N’ Roll & Alternative Market - feat: The Frowning Clouds + Scotty Baker + Pat Capocci Combo + Roy Kay + DJ Rod Almighty + The Crimplenes & The Cider Striders Manning Bar, Camperdown.

10:30am. $5.

The Sunday Roast - feat: DJ Andy Benke & Christian Ralston Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 3pm. free.

Wandering Eyes Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

LONG WEEK-END MONDAY NIGHT

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON (4:30PM - 7:30PM)

sat

12

(4:30PM - 7:30PM)

SATURDAY NIGHT

Oct

sun

13 Oct

(9:30PM - 12:30AM)

SUNDAY NIGHT

(8:30PM - 12:00AM)

DDEA EAAL AL

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UNSW HC12546

Aged 18-25 and struggling to cope?

We are currently looking for participants for an online research trial to

who are DE ALcohol regularly. It consists of only

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The Frowning Clouds

BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13 :: 31

gig picks

up all night out all week...

Rosie Catalano

9pm. $59.50.

Devin Townsend Project Metro Theatre, Sydney. 7:30pm. $72.80.

Mckisko

Diesel + Tim Chaisson + Lila Gold The Basement, Circular Quay.

7:30pm. $39.80.

Dragon The Vanguard, Newtown. 6:30pm. $30.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 12 Emma Louise + Holy Holy Sydney Opera House, Sydney. 8:30 Pm. $44.30.

Mckisko The Newsagency, Marrickville. 7pm. $20.

Paul Dempsey + Olympia The Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

8pm. $35.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9 Paul Dempsey + Olympia Lizotte’s Dee Why, Dee Why. 8pm. $39.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 10 Calling All Cars + Super Best Friends + The Sinking Teeth Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $22.95.

32 :: BRAG :: 533 : 07:10:13

Rosie Catalano + Rose Wintergreen + Brendan Maclean Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst.

8pm. Free.

The Rider (Ep Launch) + Liam Gale & The Ponytails + Project Collective Ska + Aether Beach Fbi Social, Kings Cross. 8pm. $10.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 Amorphis The Factory Theatre, Marrickville.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 13 Sydney Rock N’ Roll & Alternative Market - Feat: The Frowning Clouds + Scotty Baker + Pat Capocci Combo + Roy Kay + DJ Rod Almighty + The Crimplenes & The Cider Striders Manning Bar, Camperdown.

10:30am. $5.

Wandering Eyes Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach.

8pm. Free.

Amorphis

thebrag.com

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

five things WITH

OLIVER $

SIGHA AND SHIFTED BIG SEAN

Niche and Live Nation have teamed up to host Detroit rapper, Big Sean – the man behind one of the biggest tracks of this year, ‘Control’, which also featured Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. ‘Control’ is the latest in a succession of hits crafted by Big Sean, following on from cuts like ‘Clique’, ‘Dance (A$$)’, ‘Guap’, ‘Beware’ and ‘Mercy’, all of which contributed to him being recognized by GQ Magazine as 2012’s “Hottest Rookie” and taking out Best New Artist at the 2012 BET Awards. Big Sean arrives in Australia following the release of his sophomore album Hall Of Fame, which was produced by No I.D. and featured guest appearances by Lil Wayne, Nas, Meek Mill and 2 Chainz.

Big Sean headlines The Hi-Fi on Friday November 15.

Big Sean

UK artists Sigha and Shifted will play a marathon back-to-back show this Saturday October 12 at the Civic Underground for Astral People. The pair joined forces recently to release under the moniker of A Model Authority, which is also the name of the record label they have started together. Sigha and Shifted are both formidable producers in their own right. Sigha was the first producer to commit exclusively to producing hardline techno on Hotflush Recordings, and released his debut album, Living With Ghosts, on Scuba’s label last November. Not to be outdone, Shifted’s CV includes releases on Luke Slater’s Mote Evolver imprint, through which he also released his debut LP, Crossed Paths. The D&D DJs of Ha Ha fame will be warming up the dancefloor when doors open at 10pm, before handing over to the headline duo to step things up.

YOKOO

Fresh from a European summer of gigging, local lad Yokoo is back in town this month, and has a number of gigs lined up to show off some new tricks he’s picked up during his time away. On the evidence of his sets at Dutch producer Matthew Dekay’s Für Die Liebe label parties, he will have more than a few up his sleeve. Yokoo will be among a strong lineup of local DJs supporting Kompakt Records duo Coma for Strange Fruit on Saturday October 26 at The Abercrombie, following up his set aboard Subsonic’s Halloween boat cruise with Dirty Doering earlier that day. In addition to these slots, you can also catch Yokoo pushing more restrained beats this Friday October 11 from 7pm at The Spice Cellar’s DJ Degustation, as he selects the soundtrack to dinner and drinks.

Full details can be found at thespicecellar. com.au

BEN SIMS

Growing Up I got into music at a pretty early age, I 1. was 12 or 13 when I first spun the records at the school disco… it got more serious when my older cousin, Jan Driver, showed me the ins and outs of how to DJ or be a producer and the rest is history.

2.

Inspirations When I was really young we were all into trance music and Love Parade in Germany, but those were just the first mini steps. The real passion for music began with the first time I heard the beats of Chicago house: people like Larry Heard or Cajmere/ Green Velvet with whom I now have the honour to work, which is the greatest honour ever – to work with someone who you look up to so much. I am also influenced by a lot of disco, funk and soul; I love stuff like Marvin Gaye or Roy Ayers to name a few.

Your Crew Like I said, the first person who got me 3. into the music was my cousin, Jan Driver… these days I work with various people to get as much creative input as possible – it’s great to bounce off the ideas and get feedback from other musicians/producers. I still like to collaborate with my mate Jesse but I’ve been focusing on working with more upcoming artists

PICNIC FT DERRICK MAY

Detroit luminary Derrick May headlines Picnic at The Basement in Circular Quay on Friday December 13. May is responsible for one of the biggest house anthems – ever – in ‘Strings Of Life’ from back in ’87, but his influence extends well beyond the success of that one track (however immense that track’s legacy may be).

Along with high school friends Juan Atkins and Kevin ‘The Elevator’ Saunderson, May rounds off the ‘Belleville Three’, a core trio of producers who played an integral role in shaping the burgeoning house and techno scenes of the late ’80s/early thebrag.com

like my mates, Jimi Jules, Sqim, Matthew K or Vonda7. Other than that there are collaborations with some pretty big names in the pipeline but I cannot talk about it just yet. The next thing I look forward to the most is the next Dancemania remix I was requested to do.

The Music You Make My sets are mostly house and I like to 4. play a musical journey for people. So don’t

UK techno stalwart Ben Sims will headline Chinese Laundry on Saturday October 26, ahead of a local lineup that fittingly includes local hard man Defined By Rhythm. Sims has put out roughly 50 singles and EPs since the late ’90s and today co-hosts London’s Machine party with Kirk Degiorgio. Despite his prolific studio habits, Sims only released his debut LP, Smoke & Mirrors, in 2011 on Adam Beyer’s Drumcode label. The album featured guest spots from Chicago’s Tyree Cooper and Detroit’s Blake Baxter, showcasing a mixture of “dubbed-out and grainy” and “warm and jacking” soundscapes. In addition to his production output, Sims is also the curator of the Theory label. As with all gigs at Chinese Laundry, the usual advice applies – entry is cheaper before 10pm, and early arrival is also a good way of avoiding the queue.

expect Top Ten charts on heavy rotation, expect a bit of music history, some new cool shit too but maybe not always that obvious and of course always a good groove.

Art vs. Science

Music, Right Here, Right Now Berlin is still the European capital for 5. electronic music to me. Some say it’s very competitive because everyone is a DJ here but the scene is also bigger than anywhere else so things even out. The best thing is that you meet so many people involved in the music here; the creative vibe is very strong.

I played some of the best parties in my life here. And it’s very affordable to live here – Berlin is still “poor but sexy”.

With: Fake Forward Where: Chinese Laundry When: Saturday October 12

’90s, paving the way for the next generation of Detroit producers that included the likes of Carl Craig and Stacey Pullen. May’s reputation as an auteur faded slightly due to an extended break from production during the ’90s, though throughout this period he continued DJing worldwide and concentrated on his Transmat label, which continues to garner accolades today.

Picnic head honcho Kali will be warming up the floor when doors open at 11pm, but then it’s over to May for “as long as he’s feeling it,” which means you are guaranteed an extended set – it is just a question of how extended.

FALCONA NYE @ CARGO BAR

Falcona has announced its lineup for its annual New Year’s Eve romp at Cargo Bar on Cockle Bay. Returning for their first headline show in over a year, homegrown trio Art vs.

Science will be performing. With a new record up their sleeve, there’s the prospect of new Art vs. Science music to be heard. Alison Wonderland will be DJing, following on from her national tour, while Gold Fields will also be representing as they continue to ride the momentum of their debut album, Black Sun. Additionally, local favourites Van She and Bag Raiders will be in the mix, with more acts set to be announced closer to the event. First release tickets are now available from $89, while VIP champagne lounge and fireworks packages are available for high-rolling, Pablo Escobar types. All info at cargonye.com.

BRAG :: 533 :: 07:10:13 :: 33

dance music news

free stuff

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

email: freestuff@thebrag.com

five things WITH

Spit Syndicate

GREY GHOST The Music You Make I’ve just released my second EP as Grey 4.

Ghost. I worked with Matik (Bliss N Eso, Pez, Drapht), Jan Skubiszewski (The Cat Empire, John Butler) and Styalz Fuego (360, Seth Sentry). All these guys are incredible and very diverse and have really helped me to flesh out the sounds I hear in my head. I see it as a blend of hip hop with post-punk and electro influences, with a real focus on songwriting and melody.

Music, Right Here, Right Now There is a ridiculous amount of amazing 5. music out right now in hip hop and everything else. I’ve been smashing Chance The Rapper, Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar, the new Boards Of Canada, James Blake, Policia, Niki & The Dove, The Weekend and about a million other artists. I’m constantly being blown away by the amount of great new music.

Growing Up I feel like my very first proper musical 1. memory was dancing with my family as a

connected with. That’s why I love Kanye today – he knows all about that shit.

young kid to the Prince Batman soundtrack – you know the Tim Burton one with Jack Nicholson’s Joker. The fact that the music came with such a dope film and concept was enough to have me (a massive comic book and superhero fan) completely hooked.

Prince has been one of my favourite artists since.

3.

Inspirations Prince as I mentioned, but also David 2.

Bowie. To me the whole conceptual part of bringing music to life is one that I’ve always

DBRIDGE

A veteran producer and one of the most experienced artists in drum and bass, Darren White AKA dBridge will spin at the Civic Underground on Saturday October 26. As a solo producer, White has released on labels such as Exit, Metalheadz, Reinforced and Hotflush, and continues to influence the current crop of DnB producers with his productions.

The Englishman has also been an instrumental

Your Band I was in a band (The Melodics) for many years and before that I was in various other live outfits. I cut my teeth that way, not just in a live sense but with songwriting as well. I learnt a lot from the musicians I played with; I don’t play an instrument so it helped me a lot to understand the world of creating music. Now I’m a solo artist and I’ve taken all of that with me. I often play with a live band now but I also rock the show with a DJ – I’ve learnt to love elements of both formats but I really do love playing with live musicians.

figure in pioneering DnB partnerships such as Future Forces, Bad Company and Club Autonomi over the years, while overseeing his label Exit Records, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2013. White will be joined onstage by SP:MC, who is an accomplished producer in his own right, as evinced by his releases on Tempa, Shogun and Exit (as Code 3, with Jubei and Dakuan). Rival and Whitey round off the bill, with doors opening at 9pm.

Axel Boman

As for local music, the same applies: I’m loving what Seth Sentry is doing, as well as Mantra, Horrorshow, Allday, Urthboy, the whole Big Village crew and so many others in the hip hop scene. I’m also really loving seeing Hiatus Kaiyote smash it internationally ’cause they’ve been around for a long time and it’s great to see it really pay off in a big way. As for where to see live music in Sydney, well it’s gotta be Goodgod Small Club right?

What: The Elixir out now through EMI Where: Goodgod Small Club When: Friday October 11

SPIT SYNDICATE

Sydney hip hop icons Spit Syndicate are set to embark on yet another national tour, this time in celebration of the release of ‘Amazing’, the third single taken from their album Sunday Gentlemen. Third time lucky indeed. In support on this circuit will be singer-songwriter and producer Joyride. The BRAG has a double pass to the Hi-Fi gig on Saturday November 2 – email freestuff@ thebrag.com and tell us the year Spit Syndicate released their first mixtape. The future was bright – and still is.

HOUSE ON THE HARBOUR

All aboard the Lady Rose for House on the Harbour, a day of tech and funky house beats. In association with Musicology and Bootleg Social Records, Summit DJs are welcoming you to join them on the high seas to the sounds of international and homegrown acts Tobie Allen, Shaun Warner, Levi 5Star, Hannah Gibbs and many more. The boat will set sail on Sydney Harbour on Saturday October 12 and we’re giving you the chance to win one of two double passes to join in. Just email freestuff@thebrag.com and tell us what you’d write in your message in a bottle.

JON HOPKINS

Tickets are still available to see Jon Hopkins at Oxford Art Factory on Saturday December 14. Hopkins is responsible for one of the most acclaimed albums of 2013 in Immunity, which elevated the English producer from the ‘underappreciated’ status he had been stuck with for a number of years, despite releasing excellent solo albums such as Insides and a Mercury Prize nomination for 2011’s Diamond Mine with King Creosote. It was the release of single ‘Open Eye Signal’ earlier this year that set the stage for Hopkins’ ascension, with the likes of Apparat playing the track to raucous responses well before its release date, and setting the stage for Immunity to reach a broad cross-section of listeners. Hopkins has since cemented his shift towards more robust dancefloor-orientated sounds with sets at Boiler Room and Berghain, demonstrating that he should not be stereotyped as a ‘chill-out’ producer.

Jon Hopkins

AXEL BOMAN READIES DEBUT LP

Stockholm producer Axel Boman, who headlined S.A.S.H earlier this year, will release his debut album, Family Vacation, next month on Studio Barnhus. Boman first emerged back in the acid-washed spring of ’08 with his Jungle Jesus EP, proceeding to steadily build up a discography that includes recent collaborations with Hivern boss John Talabot under the moniker Talaboman. The Swede has remixed the likes of Kenton Slash Demon and Dave Aju’s ‘Away Away’, outshining Seth Troxler’s Aju rework with a serene version that was memorably dropped by Adultnapper at last year’s Subsonic Festival. Family Vacation has been facetiously described as “weird Jamaican space disco,” with Boman citing Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry as an influence on his production methodology.

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JAMIE LLOYD AT SPICE CELLAR

One of Sydney’s most respected electronic producers, Jamie Lloyd, will headline Soft & Slow at The Spice Cellar this Friday October 11. Lloyd established himself with his LP Trouble Within on the Future Classic label back in ’06. The release spawned a remix album, More Trouble, which comprised reworks from the likes of Quarion, Brennan Green, Trickski, Soultourist and Sydney’s own

Jimi Polar. These remixes boosted Lloyd’s stature on the international circuit, with the Quarion remix of ‘May I?’ featuring on vaunted Parisian selector Jennifer Cardini’s 2008 compilation for Cologne imprint Kompakt Records. Lloyd released another LP, Beware Of The Light, in ’09, which again attracted remixes from A-listers like Mark E, Jazzanova’s Alex Barck and a certain Matthew Herbert. Joining Lloyd will be locals Steven Sullivan, Pink Lloyd and Dreamcatcher, with Soft & Slow commencing at 10pm. thebrag.com

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Markus Schulz Feeding The Masses By Augustus Welby and really set the mood of the night and take the night through different twists and turns. That’s when you really get to read the crowd.”

Schulz will come to Australia next March for the dance music extravaganza, Future Music Festival, and he offers further insight into the tactics he uses to get crowds moving at festivals. “The tracks are a lot shorter, you get right to the main point quickly, bigger build-ups and you try to put more theatrics into your set when you have those shorter festival sets. When you’re playing the ten to 11-hour sets that’s when you can spread your wings and some of the tracks sound better when you let them build organically. You let the track unfold and tell its story on its own.”

Although he clearly relishes the freedom of an extended club set, Schulz doesn’t spurn the festival stage and he enthuses that both environments have an infl uence on the next time he plays. “I love them both.

I could be at a festival and get like, ‘Wow, I can’t wait to get back into a club – I want to experiment with some different ideas.’ And then when you’re playing in a club, you try something and it makes the place go crazy and you’re like, ‘Woah! I can’t wait to try this in front of 30,000 people at a festival.’

It’s constantly exciting and you’re always looking to make the best of each situation.”

M

“It used to be very similar, you know, with the internet things got to be very uniform all over the world. I would say in the last two years countries where maybe dance music wasn’t as big have suddenly exploded, and [in] countries where dance music used to rule it seems like the intensity is starting to slow down.”

Schulz was born in Germany but in his early teens he and his family moved to America, which is where he found his footing as a DJ. It’s in these two countries that he identifies a major shift in the popularity of different forms of dance music. “In Germany [it] has always been techno and also traditional German music. I’m seeing that the kids in Germany now are hungry and they’re crazy for really aggressive dance music. It’s the same thing in the USA. The USA used to be ruled by hip hop [but] now it’s loud everywhere. You turn on the radio, there’s dance music, you go to the shopping centre, there’s dance music playing in the background. It’s just a huge, huge difference.”

Schulz himself is pinpointed as a generative figure in the EDM revolution in the US and has repeatedly been ranked in the top 20 of DJ Mag’s yearly Top 100 DJs poll. Despite electronic dance music’s current ubiquity, Schulz says gaining exposure for music has become more difficult.

“What’s going on now is you’ve got these big branding hype machines. That never used to be part of the scene. It always used to be about the music, people sharing the music on the internet, people discovering new artists on the internet – it didn’t matter where you lived, you could be heard on the internet. Nowadays it just seems like you have to have a huge marketing team behind you in order to get heard.”

Although the avenues of music distribution are increasingly volatile, Schulz remains a favourite in clubs all over the world as well as a festival circuit mainstay. There’s quite a contrast between a tightly packed club and an open-air festival arena and Schulz says it’s necessary to adopt a different approach to performance in each situation.

“If you’re playing a short festival set, a lot of your set is going to be predetermined. I regularly do ten to 12 [or] 13-hour sets and during those sets you can really improvise

“My father was a musician; there was always music playing in the house when I was growing up, so for me to not have music playing in the background, to not be searching for new music or something, I don’t know any other way. I’ll listen to techno sets or trance sets, or maybe a big set from a DJ who’s really hot at the moment. I just like to hear what other people are doing. Then of course I still listen to a lot of classic rock and also some of the Ibiza chill-out stuff, that stuff is still on my iPod.” What: Future Music Festival 2014 With: Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Phoenix, Hardwell, Rudimental, Eric Prydz, Kaskade, Porter Robinson and more Where: Royal Randwick Racecourse When: Saturday March 8

Dubfire Sci + Tec By Rezo

“I

t has been a pretty wild ride this year,” says Ali Shirazinia – AKA Dubfire, a name associated in EDM circles with deep, meaningful production talent as well as a superb ability to read a crowd from behind the mixer. “I’ve had a pretty punishing tour schedule in 2013 and started a bit of a new project which is the Dubfire live show, so getting that process hatched has been a big focus for me”. In an earlier life, the IranianAmerican producer found notoriety as part of Deep Dish with partner in crime Sharam Tayebi – and the Dubfire incarnation promises the best of both worlds.

“It’s basically going to be a one-hour show of the most recognised productions, edits and remixes I’ve done in my career. What I’ve done, though, is taken those things and rearranged them for a live audience. With that, I’m also going to be working on a visual show to match the visual onslaught.”

Logistically, the setup will include Ableton, live controllers, iPads, control modules as well as anything else that might take Shirazinia’s fancy between now and then. “I’m really keeping my ear to the street to get a feel for what’s in the background,” he explains. “The idea was actually to launch the new show at the Future Music Festival, but based on what’s involved I’m wondering if I’ll be able to launch it by then.

If I do get it up and running shortly afterwards, I promise to get back to Australia to do some gigs!”

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Inevitably too, our discussion turns to rebooting Deep Dish – not just for themselves – but also to deliver some love back to their long-time fan base. “We have seen that ball gaining some traction,” he admits. “To start, we have been talking about putting together a retrospective box set that covers off on our career together.

We have many releases that didn’t see the light of day and to preserve the legacy that was Deep Dish – something that was important to both of us but to so many passionate people as well – and to do some shows and tracks; that would really mean a lot.”

With the time that has passed since Deep Dish went on hiatus, the boys have come to understand more than ever that they had a unique musical vision and talent. “Looking back, there was a lot of infi ghting between us about who was doing what – but that was a typical part of a group who was passionate about what they were up to. We always questioned each other’s motives and skills, which in the end was a positive outcome for us. And when we get around to doing things again, it will no doubt facilitate the creativity and drive that we so enjoyed when we worked together.”

Regardless, Shirazinia remains focused and committed to his current pursuits too – particularly with his SCI+TEC imprint, with a release schedule that’s pretty much full until

early next year. “The label has really been an opportunity to seek out and nurture new and exciting artists. I’ve really gotten behind The Junkies, Carlo Lio and Shaded – these guys are doing great and exciting things; I learnt a long time ago that I can’t take on everyone, so with the label now I’m trying to zero in on the ones that have the drive we’re looking for.”

Finally, Shirazinia shares some thoughts on getting back to Australia again for a series of dates with Future Music Festival in 2014.

“Some of the best memories I’ve had were at Future Music Festivals – particularly with Sven Väth at the sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. We weren’t just hanging out together but also with other artists generally, and that’s what I love about those types of festivals. I wish that happened in the United States; travelling from city to city, you’re always meeting with producers who are at the top of their game. All sorts of things always come of that, too.”

What: Future Music Festival 2014 With: Deadmau5, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Phoenix, Hardwell, Rudimental, Eric Prydz, Kaskade, Porter Robinson and more Where: Royal Randwick Racecourse When: Saturday March 8

thebrag.com

Markus Schulz by Jason Howard Photography

iami-based DJ Markus Schulz recently unveiled the eighth annual instalment in his city-themed compilation series.

Like the earlier entries depicting the late night/early morning sounds of Los Angeles, Prague and Ibiza (to name a few), Buenos Aires ’13 features a handful of new music and remixes from Schulz, as well as a selection of tracks from a number of other contemporary trance and house artists. Schulz’s hefty global touring commitments allow him to witness club culture all over the world and he believes the way audiences are responding to dance music has changed significantly in recent years.

In addition to his seemingly non-stop world travels, Schulz hosts a weekly internet radio show, Global DJ Broadcast, and runs both the Coldharbour Recordings label and artist management company Schulz Music Group. It’s thus no surprise to learn he’s an obsessive music listener and always on the lookout for new things.

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

The Jillionaire

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club pick of the week

+ Levins + Ra Bazaar + DJ Semper-Fi + Kakhand + Rayjah45 + Sam The Chemist Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

10pm. $25.

Mashed Fridays - feat: DJ Ric C Oatley Hotel, Oatley. 8pm. free.

Mum World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. $15.

Say Whaat - feat: DJs Bronx + Buu + Ivy Row Whaat Club, Kings Cross.

9pm. $10.

The Underground - feat: DJs Uberjak’d + Robusst + Harper Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. $20.

Diafrix

SATURDAY OCTOBER 12 CLUB NIGHTS

FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 Chinese Laundry, Sydney

The Jillionaire Levins + Ra Bazaar + DJ Semper Fi + Kakhand + Rayjah45 + Sam The Chemist 10pm. $25.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 8 COMEDY

Subby Valentine + Lou Lou Pollard + MC Mark Williamson Harold Park Hotel, Glebe.

7:30pm. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

Chu World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. free.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9 HIP HOP & R&B

Sosueme Presents: Diafrix + Loose Change + She Rex + DJ Bobby Gray Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

The Wall - feat: Resident

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DJs World Bar, Kings Cross. 8pm. $5.

9pm. free.

Propaganda World Bar, Kings Cross. 9pm. $10.

CLUB NIGHTS

Devola & Isbjorn Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

The Supper Club - feat: Resident DJs Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross.

10pm. free.

The Wall World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. $5.

Whip It - feat: SMS + Sherlock Bones + Harper Whaat Club, Kings Cross.

9pm. free.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 HIP HOP & R&B

Grey Ghost + She Rex + Mute Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

8pm. $15.30.

Low The Argyle, The Rocks. 12am. free.

CLUB NIGHTS

THURSDAY OCTOBER 10 CLUB NIGHTS

Cool For Cats - feat: DJs Harper + Valentino + Buu Whaat Club, Kings Cross.

El’Circo - feat: Resident Circus Act Performers Slide Lounge, Darlinghurst.

7pm. $109.

Factory Fridays - feat: Resident DJs Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

The Jillionaire (Major Lazer)

After Dark - feat: Resident DJs Whaat Club, Kings Cross.

8pm. $15.

Argyle Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs The Argyle, The Rocks. 5pm. free.

Cakes World Bar, Kings Cross.

7:30pm. $20.

DJ Clockwerk & Richie Ryan Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm. free.

FBi Hands Up! - feat: DJ Clockwerk + Special Friends With Benefits FBi Social, Kings Cross.

11:30pm. free.

Homemade Saturdays feat: Resident DJs Home Nightclub, Darling Harbour. 9pm. $25.

House On The Harbour Boat Party - feat: Summit DJs + Tobie Allen + Levi5Star + Hannah Gibbs + Shaun Warner + Ron Maran + Emmet Greene + Scott Lamont + Mog Vilderplume + Captain Trumpet + Rob Morrish The Lady Rose, King Street Wharf. 12pm. $50.

Jacksons Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Jacksons On George, Sydney.

9pm. free.

Masif Saturdays Space, Sydney. 10pm.

Oliver $ + Fake Forward + Chris Fraser + Pixl + Katie Valentine + Fingers + U-Khan + King Lee + DJ C-Bu + Sneaky Simon Chinese Laundry, Sydney.

10pm. $20.

Pacha Sydney - feat: M4sonic + J-Trick + Tonez + Ben Morris + Matt Nugent + Jace Disgrace + Kato + Fingers + Trent Rackus + Dollar Bear + Here’s Trouble + GMOD Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney.

8:30pm. $30.

Pineapple Republic - feat: Shantan Wantan Ichiban + Mike Who + Tropicante Sound Sistema + Special Guests Tatler, Darlinghurst. 10pm. $5.

Redfoo + Ember Marquee At The Star, Pyrmont. 10pm. $30.

Skybar Saturdays - feat: Resident DJ The Watershed Hotel, Sydney.

9:30pm. $20.

Soda Saturdays - feat: Resident DJs Playing Disco And Funk Soda Factory, Surry Hills.

5pm. free.

Static - feat: Phenom + The Fresh Testament + Egasm + Chick Flick DJs + Lu-Cue + Main St DJs Agincourt Hotel, Ultimo. 7pm. $15.

Stereosonic Launch Party -

feat: DJs Fresh To Death + SMS + Sherlock Bones Candy’s Apartment, Potts Point. 8pm. $20.

Strawberry Launch Party feat: Bambounou + Astral DJs + Kato + Subaske + Pharley & U-Khan Goodgod Small Club, Sydney.

10:10am. $20.

The Suite - feat: Resident DJs Sapphire Lounge, Potts Point.

8pm. free.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 13 CLUB NIGHTS

Beresford Sundays - feat: Resident DJs Upstairs Beresford, Surry Hills. 3pm. free.

Easy Sundays - feat: Resident DJs Kit & Kaboodle, Kings Cross.

10pm. free.

Random Soul - feat: Yogi &

Husky The Argyle, The Rocks. 6pm. free.

S.A.S.H Sundays - feat: Softwar + Ollie Isaksson + Rod Lee Winters + Steven Walsh + Danny Willans + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace The Abercrombie, Broadway.

2pm. $10.

Soup Kitchen - feat: The Soup Kitchen DJs World Bar, Kings Cross. 7pm. free.

Spice After Hours - feat: Steven Sullivan + Murat Kilic And Guests The Spice Cellar, Sydney.

4am. $20.

Sunday @ Gay Bar - feat: Resident DJ The Gay Bar, Darlinghurst.

3pm. free.

Sunday Sessions Oatley Hotel, Oatley. 7pm. free.

Tobie Allen + Levi5Star + Johnny Gleeson + Summit DJs + Neil Smith Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. $20.

Bambounou

thebrag.com

club picks p

send your listings to : clubguide@thebrag.com

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9 Sosueme Presents: Diafrix + Loose Change + She Rex + DJ Bobby Gray Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach. 8pm.

Free.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 Grey Ghost + She Rex + Mute Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 8pm. $15.30.

J-Trick

The Jillionaire (Major Lazer) + Levins + Ra Bazaar + DJ Semper-Fi + Kakhand + Rayjah45 + Sam The Chemist Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 10pm. $25.

Oliver $ + Fake Forward + Chris Fraser + Pixl + Katie Valentine + Fingers + U-Khan + King Lee + DJ C-Bu + Sneaky Simon Chinese Laundry, Sydney. 10pm. $20.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 12

Pacha Sydney - Feat: M4sonic + J-Trick + Tonez + Ben Morris + Matt Nugent + Jace Disgrace + Kato + Fingers + Trent Rackus + Dollar Bear + Here’s Trouble + Gmod Ivy Bar/Lounge, Sydney. 8:30pm. $30.

House On The Harbour Boat Party - Feat: Summit DJs + Tobie Allen + Levi5star + Hannah Gibbs + Shaun Warner + Ron Maran + Emmet Greene + Scott Lamont + Mog Vilderplume + Captain Trumpet + Rob Morrish The Lady Rose, King Street Wharf. 12pm. $50.

Strawberry Launch Party - Feat: Bambounou + Astral DJs + Kato + Subaske + Pharley & U-Khan Goodgod Small Club, Sydney. 10:10am. $20.

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SUNDAY OCTOBER 13 S.A.S.H Sundays - Feat: Softwar + Ollie Isaksson + Rod Lee Winters + Steven Walsh + Danny Willans + Matt Weir + Kerry Wallace The Abercrombie, Broadway. 2pm. $10.

Hannah Gibbs

Tobie Allen + Levi5star + Johnny Gleeson + Summit DJs + Neil Smith Goldfish, Kings Cross. 9pm. $20.

LIVE AT THE STAR WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER TICKETS THROUGH

8 0 P Y R M O N T S T R E E T, P Y R M O N T thebrag.com

1800 700 700

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goodgod congress

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up all night out all week . . .

27:09:13 :: Goodgod Small Club :: 53-55 Liverpool St Chinatown 8084 0587

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sosueme thundamentals + yacht club djs PICS :: AM

trance central

25:09:13 :: The Beachroad Hotel :: 71 Beach Rd Bondi Beach 9130 7247

27:09:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999 D HONCHO) :: KARL BRAASCH

S : TIM LEVY (HEA OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER MAGNAN :: ASHLEY MAR ::

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:: AMATH

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chinese laundry

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28:09:13 :: Oxford Arts Factory :: 38-46 Oxford St Darlinghurst 9332 3711

29:09:13 :: The Abercrombie Hotel :: 100 Broadway Ultimo 9280 2178 thebrag.com

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up all night out all week . . .

Dance And Electronica with Chris Honnery

Alex Smoke

& ASHLEY MAR PHOTOGRAPHERS : TIM LEVY

I

live review What we’ve been out to see...

LISTEN OUT Centennial Park Saturday September 28 The spirit of spring was buzzing in the air at Fuzzy’s inaugural Listen Out Festival.

Continuing the Fuzzy tradition of lineups filled with international and Australian electronic artists situated across the indie spectrum, Centennial Park was awash with revellers embracing the burning heat and entertaining sets from Duke Dumont, Disclosure, TNGHT and John Talabot – with added diva antics.

The early highlights were the always-game local producers Soft War, with their upbeat house antics setting the vibe. Despite the heavy police presence and already mangled crowd, on the main stage local trio RüFüS kept the mood chilled with their dreamily sun-kissed stylings on ‘Sundream’ and radio hit ‘Take Me’. Moving to the 909 Stage, Spain’s John Talabot stayed true to the cerebral style of deep Balearic-styled electronica that had the crowd nodding away.

As the late arvo sun began to fade, Touch Sensitive – dirty moustache in fine form – heralded a distracted audience with his Italo-meets-porn disco sound; ‘Pizza Guy’ being the obvious standout. Though I’m not particularly fond of UK duo AlunaGeorge, their effervescent mix of R&B and deep house was surprisingly enjoyable as the sultry, leather-clad Aluna Francis mesmerised on ‘Attracting Flies’ and ‘Your Drums, Your Love’.

The main stage, however, brought the drama when Azealia Banks swanned on in a turquoise bodysuit, surrounded by a troupe of androgynous dancers. Things weren’t going well from the start, with beer cans being thrown onstage. Warnings from thebrag.com

the irate singer proved fruitless as more cans were thrown, resulting in the New Yorker leaving the stage. After the festival organiser John Wall urged to crowd to be on their best behaviour, Banks stormed back onstage to zip through ‘212’ and then left once again for good. All in all, an awkward and slightly bemusing experience.

There was a strong British theme to the festival, and following the Azealia debacle, current chart-buzzing UK producer Duke Dumont cleared the air by delivering a stellar set of anthemic house. Accompanied by an eye-catching strobe and light show, ‘The Giver’ was the standout, while ‘Need U (100%)’ had the crowd in raptures. Definitely a set to cherish and remember. On the Atari Stage, the production superduo TNGHT (Lunice and Hudson Mohawke) were hamstrung by sound problems which they were unable to overcome. More suited to a club than an outdoor space, their trappy beats were largely ineffectual, which clearly disappointed an expectant crowd.

The day, however, belonged to headliners Disclosure, as Howard and Guy Lawrence, brothers-in-crime, showcased why they’ve become figureheads in the saturated electro-house landscape. The UK kids stick to a simple formula: fun. With their ubiquitous sketched face singing along as a backdrop onstage, Disclosure’s fans were treated to the group’s growing back catalogue. ‘F For You’ off their debut LP Settle kick-started proceedings, followed by fan favourite ‘When A Fire Starts To Burn’.

Their UK counterparts AlunaGeorge came back onstage to perform ‘White Noise’, and the chart-topper ‘Latch’ closed out the set with its warped synths and wobbly basslines sending a satisfied crowd out into the night, humming along to a bouncy groove.

Larry Lai

n this very column only a few months ago I prophesised, “Alex Smoke will be returning to Australia for a series of shows before the year is out.”

I imagine more cynical readers would have doubted whether such a statement was based on any semblance of reality, while lamenting the column’s decline and apparent shift towards gauche gossip and rumour-mongering territory. However I can now confirm that Glaswegian minimal don Alex Menzies, who plies his trade as Alex Smoke, will headline a fifteen-hour techno extravaganza at The Abercrombie on Saturday November 2 courtesy of Strange Fruit and The Box. The best part about this gig? You’ll get two helpings of Alex Smoke, as he’ll be playing a live set outside in the early evening, before following it up with a DJ set inside the club later on in the night.

As the promoters would tell you, you get the opportunity to see Alex Smoke, ‘squared’. Too often revelers bicker and speculate about how it would have been better to see an artist play live, or indeed more interesting if they’d been playing their records. On this occasion, you’ll be able to experience both sides of Smoke’s sonic persona, and decide for yourself which you prefer.

Germany’s Dirty Doering. A founder of several record labels, including Rauschenbach Music, Dirty Doering’s breakout moment occurred in 2010 when he released his anthemic track ‘I Would’, a bouncy tech house number suffused with an irrepressible Spanish guitar melody that evokes summer in Berlin – and more specifically, good times at the fabled club spot, Bar25. Far from being a one hit wonder, Dirty D has also crafted remixes for the likes of Oliver Koletzki, Chilly Gonzales and Niconé, while collaborating with compatriots like Nico Stojan. As someone who is used to playing before ‘colourful’ Berlin crowds at venues such as Kater Holzig, Dirty Doering should feel at home playing a themed boat party that demands attendees dress according to the theme of ‘zombie ravers and acid cravers’. The harbour cruise will last eight hours, with an array of local and interstate DJs set to represent, while there’s whispers of an after party once the boat docks at 10pm for those wanting to push on further.

Dirty Doering

For anyone extremely late to the party, Alex Smoke has built his reputation on a succession of critically acclaimed albums such as Incommunicado and Paradolia, along with a varied collection of remixes for outfits like Depeche Mode, Junior Boys, Mylo – remember that guy? – and Andre Kraml. A classically trained musician, Alex Smoke dropped his most recent album Wraetlic (meaning “Wraithlike”) at the end of last year, ending a quiet period on the production front that can be attributed to some health issues.

Those of you seeking an insight into Alex Smoke’s DJ sensibility should investigate his classic 2006 compilation Sci.Fi.Hi. Fi Vol. 3, a brooding voyage through dub techno, classic Detroit and new-wave minimalism that remains a personal favourite of mine. Having delivered a rollicking performance for Techno Tuesday and The Box at One22 on his previous foray Down Under, Alex Smoke this time headlines a longer party that is split over outside and inside arenas.

Commencing at 3pm, the likes of veteran Melbourne luminary Mike Callander will be throwing down outside in support of the main attraction, before later on the focus shifts inside, where you can catch local DJs Marcotix, D&D and Defined

By Rhythm all manning the decks along with Menzies himself. Presale tickets are currently available online.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 12

Subsonic’s annual Halloween Harbour Cruise returns to the high seas (that’s a reference to Sydney Harbour, and not illicit substances – wink) on Saturday October 26 with a headline spot from

Alex Smoke The Abercrombie

LOOKING DEEPER Sigha & Shifted The Civic Underground

SATURDAY OCTOBER 26

Dirty Doering Subsonic Halloween Boat Cruise DJ Qu Tatler Coma The Abercrombie

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2

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28:09:13 :: Chinese Laundry :: 111 Sussex St Sydney 8295 9999

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up all night out all week . . .

live review What we’ve been out to see...

REDFOO Marquee At The Star Friday September 27 This was a situation I didn’t ever expect to be in: front and centre at Redfoo’s DJ set at Marquee, holding a free vodka shot in one hand, an inflatable elephant in the other, and dancing along to every obnoxiously over-produced bass drop of ‘I’m In Miami Bitch’ without irony. How did this happen, anyway?

Situated above the main gaming floor of The Star casino, Marquee boasts a stateof-the-art sound and lighting system that makes other Sydney clubs look like school discos. I noticed a life-sized inflatable zebra at the entrance. What I didn’t anticipate at this point was that I’d see it crowd-surfing by the end of the night.

rudimental

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Marquee was packed with a mixed crowd, who, to their credit, seemed to be embracing the feel-good party rock ethos.

It wasn’t the meat market I anticipated, but rather a bunch of cheerful, excited and polite partygoers. After a warmup comprising of Top 40 remixes and accompanied by performances from Marquee’s podium dancers, things started to get serious at 12:30am when glow sticks

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were tossed into the crowd. By the time Redfoo took to the stage at 1am, the entire club was pumped and ready to shuffle, which was just as well because the LMFAO star wasted no time launching straight into his crowd-pleasing opener, ‘Party Rock Anthem’. Resplendent in a pink leopardprint jacket and flanked by an entourage of dancers who looked like they were taking style cues from Mad Max, Redfoo churned through his hits, including ‘Sexy And I Know It’, ‘I’m In Miami Bitch’ (appropriated to ‘I’m In Sydney Bitch’), ‘I’ll Award You With My Body’, ‘Shots’ (during which free shots were distributed throughout the crowd), and his new single ‘Let’s Get Ridiculous’.

There was plenty of audience interaction, banter and commitment to the performance (for example, Redfoo, presumably in the spirit of “getting ridiculous” chugged a beer bong onstage… you know, just ’cause).

With girls dancing onstage, champagne spraying, more free shots for the crowd, smoke machines, laser lights, inflatable animals flying through the air (including the aforementioned) and everyone in good spirits, Redfoo’s performance was the embodiment of his feel-good party boy image – love it or hate it – and left the crowd grinning ear to ear.

Marisa Lugosi

S : TIM LEVY (HEAD HONCHO) OUR LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHER :: ASHLEY MAR :: DAVID ROUSE

:: KARL BRAASCH :: JAY COLLIER

thebrag.com

BY POPULAR DEMAND ANH RETURNS WITH HIS HIT SHOW:

A-LIST ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

ANH DO A-LIST ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

“Two thumbs, five stars, show of the season”

WITH SPECIAL GUEST

www.themusic.com.au

ARJ

JOEL OZBORN

BARKER.COM

BY POPULAR DEMAND NEW SHOWS ADDED…

STATE THEATRE

SATURDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 136 100 or ticketmaster.com.au

ENMORE THEATRE

SUNDAY 24TH NOVEMBER 132 849 or ticketek.com.au A-LIST ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

IPAC - WOLLONGONG Tuesday 29th & Wednesday 30th October Bookings PH: 4224 5999 merrigong.com.au

BY POPULAR DEMAND NEW SHOW ADDED

STATE THEATRE - SYDNEY Wednesday 6th November Ticketmaster PH: 136 100 ticketmaster.com.au

CANBERRA THEATRE Thursday 7th November Canberra Ticketing PH: 6275 2700 canberraticketing.com.au STATE THEATRE - SYDNEY Friday 8th November Ticketmaster PH: 136 100 ticketmaster.com.au CIVIC THEATRE, NEWCASTLE Saturday 9th November Bookings PH: 4929 1977 ticketek.com.au

AS SEEN ON ABC1’S WEDNESDAY NIGHT FEVER

Layer upon layer of magic, adding up to a side-splitting wonder.

★★★★★

Herald Sun Melbourne 2013

HELPMANN NOMINEE

2013 BEST COMEDY

HURRY SHOWS START THIS WEEK ENMORE THEATRE HORNSBY RSL CLUB Friday 11th October Saturday 2nd November Book at ticketek.com.au Book at hornsbyrsl.com.au or ph 132 849 or ph 9477 7777

THE CUBE CAMPBELLTOWN CONVENTION ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE Saturday 12th October Book at thecube.net.au or ph 4625 0000

DEE WHY RSL CLUB Friday 8th November Book at deewhyrsl.com.au or ph 9454 4000

EVAN THEATRE PENRITH PANTHERS Friday 1st November Book at ticketek.com.au or ph 132 849

REVESBY WORKERS CLUB Saturday 9th November Book at rwc.org.au or ph 9772 2100

GET SOME BONE IN YA FACE WITH THE FUNNIEST BAND IN AUSTRALIA “…bracingly demystifies “…unleashes musical “F*** ing musical comedy thunder with a Beautiful, to the point that Flight laughter-packed man!” of the Conchords set of songs…”

Academy Award appear corporate scum.”

Winner, ++++ Robin Williams Metro UK ++++ Fest Mag UK

THE LAIR @ THE METRO

HAPPY ENDINGS COMEDY CLUB

Sat 19th October Fri 22nd & Sat 23rd November Bookings PH: 9550 3666 Bookings PH: 9300 9060 metrotheatre.com.au happyendingscomedyclub.com.au daveeastgate.com

BALD FACED STAG Fri 6th December Book online gobookem.com