February Issue
Melbourne | Free
Methyl Ethel The Motivation For Going It Alone Hilltop Hoods are not going to leave you lonely
Can the police really stop you from entering a festival? ‘Fraid so
Why Get Krack!n is the only breakfast TV you need to see
new album
26.04.19 “the sky, the stars, the moon – they are Highasakite’s for the taking ” The Line Of Best Fit “dark and pummeling pop ” The FADER
THE NEW ALBUM URANIUM HEART OUT NOW
Mondays
Sunday 3 Feb
Tuesdays
Vegan Soul Food
Skyscraper Stan
Funky Bunch Trivia
Vegan Burgers + Treats ever Monday from 12
+ Mon Coure Castlemaine Country Couple 4pm til ya drunk
Every Tuesday - Book your team An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
Thursday 7 Feb
Friday 8 Feb
Saturday 9 Feb
BYO VINYL
Headphones Jones
Terrible Signal
Bring em and spin em Join the fun from 7
Ten piece Funk collective Afro Beat, Afro Latin, Dress Loud, Dance Hard
+ Kimono Drag Queens (Syd) + Jungle Breed Just the best lineup ever
Sunday 10 Feb
Wednesdays
Thursday 14 Feb
Daryl James + Timbacat
$1 WINGSDAY
Buncha Counts
Rootsy Matinee All right 4pm Grooves and Good times
A buck a pop! Sticky Fried Buffalo & Hickory BBQ
Just who you wana see on Valentines Kick off at 9.30
Friday 15 Feb
Saturday 16 Feb
Sunday 17 Feb
Ousmane Sonko & KAIRO Family Band
Ivory Elephant (Single Launch) + Buried Feather
Lazer Baby + Matt Nico
Afro Beat Fiesta From 10
Psychedelic Space Heaven
Thursday 21 Feb
Friday 22 Feb
Saturday 23 Feb
Slutbombs (US)
Bob Log III + Labretta Suede (NZ)
The Featherheads Single Launch
Neo Soul Sunday From Four
+ Jess Parker & The Troubled Waters
+ Australian Kingswood Factory + Glen & The Peanut Butter Men + 7 Margaritas
One Man Band Boom Explosion!
Sunday 24 Feb
Friday 1 Mar
Sundays
Tash Zappala + Maja
Amaru Tribe
Get Over Ya Hangova
Post folk blues and buzz vibes from 4
US Tour Sendoff Oceanic Cumbian Bangers
Bloody Marys + Poutine = Free Love Heart Sunnies
MONDAYS / VEGAN SOUL FOOD TUESDAYS / TRIVIA WEDNESDAYS / $1 WINGS SUNDAYS / $12 bloody marys
The Music
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Wesley Anne y Anne What’s On FEBRUARY WEDNESDAYS, 7.30PM
TRIVIA w SPARKS Fri 1 February
Thu 14 February
Ben Delves Trio 6pm
Rhyley McGrath 6pm
Goddess Grooves 8pm
Fri 15 February
Sat 2 February
The Peacocks 6pm
Matt O’Brien Quartet 6pm
Dana Sipos + Khristian Mizzi 8pm
Sam Buckingham 8pm
Sat 16 February
Sun 3 February
Adrian Whyte Duo 6pm
Joyce Prescher 6pm
Mon 4 February Piano Atmospherix 6pm
Thu 7 February Vanderlay 6pm
Duncan Saige + Luke Fox 8pm
Sun 17 February
F E BRUARY WEDNESDAYS 8PM
MRS SMITH’S TRIVIA FRI 1 FEB
THU 14 FEB
6:00pm
8:00pm
DJ LEARNTABLES
Alfanant + Cotton Pony double album launch 8pm
Fri 22 February Jam Jar 6pm
Sat 9 February
Sat 23 February
Blue Rose 6pm
Caddy Pierre 6pm
Sun 10 February
Sun 24 February
SvG Trio 1pm
Georgia Bennett 6pm
Mon 11 February
Thu 28 February
Piano Atmospherix 6pm
Lola Sola 6pm
Bar, Restaurant, Etc. Open from 12pm every day 250 High st, Northcote Hill wesleyanne.com.au /9482 1333
DJ A-MAN
5:00pm
ALICE COTTON
Trio Agogo 6pm
6:00pm
MADI LEEDS
Thu 21 February
Steve Tyssen 8pm
HENRY J SAWYER
SAT 2 FEB
DJ ERNEY DEE
Fri 8 February
FRI 15 FEB
9:00pm
Georgia Bennett 6pm
Katie Wighton 6pm
KERRYN FIELDS
THE FLAMING MONGRELS (DUO)
9:00pm
SAT 16 FEB
9:00pm
SOFT POWER
SUN 3 FEB
5:00pm
DJ NITA
4:00pm
9:00pm
THU 7 FEB
SUN 17 FEB
MATT WALKER BEN DELVES (LOST RAGAS) TRIO 8:00pm 4:00pm
FRI 8 FEB
FRI 22 FEB
BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS
RAT CHILD 6:00pm
6:00pm
DJ MURPH
DJ THE KNAVE
9:00pm
9:00pm
SAT 23 FEB
SAT 9 FEB
THE GLORIOUS
WILSON AND WHITE
THURSDAYS
TRIVIA WITH CONOR 7.30PM
FRI 1 FEB
FRI 15 FEB
MAC SPRINGS CARPET BURN 9:00PM FREE
STEVE TYSSEN + HOURHAND 8:00PM $10
SAT 2 FEB
SAT 16 FEB
DAN AND PADDY 8:00PM FREE
JESS MAHLER TRIO OPEN JAM 8:30PM FREE
SUN 3 FEB
PIZZA AND PIMMS’ W/ LONI RAE THOMPSON + DEAN VALENTINO 6:00PM FREE
SUN 17 FEB
STEPH MASCETTA NINA 7:00PM FREE
WED 6 FEB
WED 20 FEB
FI’S FRIENDS’ JP / JACK PARSONS JACKSON PHELAN 7:30PM FREE
SLICE COMEDY 7:30PM FREE
FRI 22 FEB
FRI 8 FEB
BELLE PHOENIX BAND 8:30PM FREE
SAT 9 FEB
FACE FACE 8:00PM FREE
TUE 12 FEB
TAYLAH CARROLL 7:00PM FREE
BEN ALTER 8:30PM FREE
SAT 23 FEB
THE SOCKETTES 8:30PM FREE
SUN 24 FEB
ALISTER TURRILL 7:30PM FREE
WED 27 FEB
OPEN GRAND PIANO NIGHT
5:00pm
5:00pm
DJ TARDISCO
DJ CRISPI
9:00pm
9:00pm
SUN 24 FEB
SUN 10 FEB
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The Music
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February
BOROONDARA ARTS PRESENTS
Across six Saturday evenings this February and March, grab your family, friends and neighbours and step into Boroondara’s beautiful parks for a series of free music and cinema events.
FREE
JAZZ IN THE PARK
SOUL IN THE PARK
OPERA IN THE PARK
Sat 2 Feb / From 6pm to 9pm St James Park, Hawthorn
Sat 9 Feb / From 6pm to 9pm Greythorn Park, Balwyn North
CINEMA IN THE PARK
BRASS IN THE PARK
LATIN IN THE PARK
Anderson Park, Hawthorn East
Markham Reserve, Ashburton
Victoria Park, Kew
Sat 23 Feb / From 7pm. Movie at sunset
Sat 2 March / From 6pm to 9pm
More information at: www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/arts or 03 9278 4770
The Music
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February
Sat 16 Feb / From 6pm to 9pm Canterbury Gardens, Canterbury
Sat 16 March / From 6pm to 9pm
Credits Publisher Street Press Australia Pty Ltd Group Managing Editor Andrew Mast National Editor – Magazines Mark Neilsen Senior Editor Sam Wall
Is it too soon for 2018 regrets?
Editors Daniel Cribb, Neil Griffiths
I
’ve spent a lot of this summer listening to the Dead Can Dance album Dionysus. It dropped in November and I had a quick listen at the time. I didn’t get around to buying a copy (on vinyl, of course… it comes with a coffee table book, ok) until just before Xmas. Since then it’s been on high rotation. The regret? I didn’t get to include it in my Best Albums Of 2018 list because those things are done and dusted way in advance (deadlines, hey). It should have been high in my rankings. If you are not familiar with the Australian duo of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, there’s a lot of back catalogue for you to check out. Dead Can Dance have been producing music steadily since 1981. Nine albums in 37 years is a steady pace, right? While initially pigeon-holed into the goth-end of the ‘80s post-punk spectrum, Dead Can Dance now stand almost uncategorisable (but watch me try). Dionysus became my summer soundtrack thanks to its soothing blend of mesmerising beats, field recordings, chanting and folk instrumentation. This is what I do instead of yoga. It’s very gratifying to see the album recognised outside of ‘world music’ award categories too (they’ve twice been nominated for Best World Music Album in the ARIA Awards), as this year they have made the short list in the Australian Music Prize (you can see that list in full in this month’s news section). [Nerd-out fact: Gerrard was also once nominated for an Oscar for her collaboration with Hans Zimmer on the Gladiator soundtrack.] One non-regret so far this year was experiencing Gerrard playing live with Paul Grabowsky in January. The pair re-interpreted parts of the Dead Can Dance back catalogue as just piano and vocals. They received two well-deserved standing ovations on the night, having performed a two-act set to a pin-drop quiet audience sitting enraptured for two hours. A highlight being a spectacularly moving rendition of Gerrard’s own classic Sleep. So, that’s one month of 2019 down, what’s ahead? In this month’s issue we have our biggest A Star Is Born fan Bryget Chrisfield talking to Lukas Nelson, one of the film’s soundtrack co-writers and an upcoming Bluesfest headliner. Pulling double duty, Chrisfield also speaks to Methyl Ethel’s Jake Webb about his new album Triage — already pencilled in for my end of year list (no more regrets!). Also, in this issue Lauren Baxter takes a timely look at what happens when police bar you from entering a festival. Beyond that you can catch up with the latest on Hilltop Hoods, TV’s Get Krack!n team and touring UK comedian Sarah Millican.
Assistant Editor/Social Media Co-Ordinator Jessica Dale Editorial Assistant Lauren Baxter Arts Editor Hannah Story Gig Guide Henry Gibson gigs@themusic.com.au Senior Contributors Steve Bell, Maxim Boon, Bryget Chrisfield, Cyclone, Jeff Jenkins Contributors Nic Addenbrooke, Annelise Ball, Emily Blackburn, Melissa Borg, Anthony Carew, Uppy Chatterjee, Roshan Clerke, Shaun Colnan, Brendan Crabb, Guy Davis, Joe Dolan, Chris Familton, Guido Farnell, Donald Finlayson, Liz Giuffre, Carley Hall, Tobias Handke, Mark Hebblewhite, Kate Kingsmill, Samuel Leighton Dore, Joel Lohman, Matt MacMaster, Taylor Marshall, MJ O’Neill, Carly Packer, Anne Marie Peard, Michael Prebeg, Mick Radojkovic, Stephen A Russell, Jake Sun, Cassie Tongue, Rod Whitfield, Tom Hawking, Joseph Earp, Alannah Maher, Debbie Zhou. Senior Photographers Cole Bennetts, Kane Hibberd Photographers Rohan Anderson, Andrew Briscoe, Stephen Booth, Pete Dovgan, Simone Fisher, Lucinda Goodwin, Josh Groom, Clare Hawley, Bianca Holderness, Jay Hynes, Dave Kan, Yaseera Moosa, Hayden Nixon, Angela Padovan, Markus Ravik, Bobby Rein, Peter Sharp, Barry Shipplock, Terry Soo, John Stubbs, Bec Taylor Advertising Leigh Treweek, Antony Attridge, Brad Edwards, Thom Parry sales@themusic.com.au Art Dept Ben Nicol, Felicity Case-Mejia print@themusic.com.au Admin & Accounts Meg Burnham, Bella Bi accounts@themusic.com.au Distro distro@themusic.com.au Subscriptions store.themusic.com.au Contact Us Melbourne Head Office Ph: 03 9421 4499 459-461 Victoria Street Brunswick West Vic 3055 PO Box 231 Brunswick West Vic 3055
Happy reading.
Sydney Ph: 02 9331 7077 Suite 129, 111 Flinders St Surry Hills NSW 2010
Andrew Mast Group Managing Editor
Brisbane Ph: 07 3252 9666 WOTSO Fortitude Valley Qld 4006 info@themusic.com.au www.themusic.com.au
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Presenting Partner
FESTIVAL Partner
The Music
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February
Our contributors
This month 14
Editor’s Letter
This month’s best binge watching
19
Shit We Did: Nootropic Supplements
21
Guest editorial: Actor Angus Thompson and stand-up comedian, actress and writer Nina Oyama
22 24
IV !
W
O LC
TO THE FES ME T
AL
E
Methyl Ethel
Festival turnbacks What happens if police deny you entry at a festival?
The Big Picture Alexander Gow
Rufus Wainwright, Highasakite
36
Aloe Blacc
37
Album reviews
38
The Arts
Get Krack!n Is a satire of breakfast TV more ludicrous than reality?
29
30
The best arts of the month
42
Film and TV reviews
43
Flickerfest
44
Lady In The Van
45
The new wave of NZ music
Sarah Millican From rock bottom to the top of the comedy world
Alexander Gow is an artist best known as the mind behind ARIA award-winning Melbourne band Oh Mercy. He also works with 35mm film, on which he aims to capture complex beauty without sliding into sentimentality.
Palentine’s Day Celebrate your pals, not love
32 33 34
Angus is a 26-year-old actor and model with cerebral palsy from Bathurst, NSW. He is the co-creator and star of ABC Comedy’s The Angus Project, a show loosely based on his own life as a student. Angus is hopeful to pursue future projects within the creative industry and do his part in pushing for the disabled population to be seen and heard in the media.
Your Town
Broods No outside influences this time — the new album is pure Broods
Alexander Gow
Angus Thompson
32
Tiny Ruins
35
From Neil Young to A Star Is Born to Bluesfest
26 28
Hilltop Hoods
Lukas Nelson
48
Your gigs
50
Howzat!
52
This month’s local highlights
54
The end
58
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Nina Oyama Nina is a stand-up comedian, actress and writer whose TV credits include You’re Skitting Me S2 (ABC3), The Chaser’s Election Desk, Squinters and Tonightly With Tom Ballard. She’s written for The Sydney Morning Herald and Junkee and was a recurring cast member of Utopia. She recently made her TV directing debut in ABC Comedy’s The Angus Project, a show she helped create.
Want more news, reviews and interviews? Head to the new look theMusic.com.au
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The Music
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February
Eddie Izzard
YUNGBLUD
Izzard sometimes Future mayor of London Eddie Izzard hits Australia this 16 Feb with his latest show, Wunderbar. The British comedian will be performing in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Newcastle and Adelaide during the run.
Cat Power
Power wandering Back to school Ms Lauryn Hill embarks on her arena tour of Australia this 5 Feb with Nas supporting. The R&B legend is coming Down Under to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her Grammy Award-winning debut solo album, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. Ms Lauryn Hill
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After a phenomenal performance at last year’s Vivid LIVE, Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, is back in the country with her latest album, Wanderer. Marshall starts the run this 9 Feb at Melbourne’s Zoo Twilights concert series before playing shows in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.
Stream dreams
This month’s best binge watching Miracle Workers
RÜFÜS DU SOL
Sol traders Australian heavyweights RÜFÜS DU SOL set out on their biggest-ever tour of the country this 14 Feb. The tour comes off the back of the band’s third studio album, Solace, and is their “most ambitious live experience” to date.
God hit a rut and checked out a few thousand years ago and now he’s decided the best thing for everybody is to just clean the slate - Old Testament style. Now the only
Evolution
thing standing between humanity and a catastrophe of biblical proportions are the overworked and underwhelming angels in the Department of Answered Prayers. Steve Buscemi, Daniel Radcliffe, Geraldine Viswanathan and Karan Soni star in the heartwarming series.
Streams from 13 Feb on Stan
The Umbrella Academy
Second blud Following a relatively recent visit for last year’s Splendour In The Grass, UK pop punk act YUNGBLUD (real name Dominic Harrison) is returning to Australia this month. He will start with Party In The Paddock, 7 Feb, before playing headline shows around the country.
App of the month: Evolution
Based on the comic by Gabriel Ba and Gerard
Love tabletop gaming but just don’t have the time? Well good news because this 12 Feb, award-winning board game Evolution is going digital. Combine evolutionary traits like pack hunting or a defensive shell to keep your species from extinction in this beautifully illustrated puzzler.
uniquely dysfunctional family of super-pow-
Way (that’s right, the My Chemical Romance guy), The Umbrella Academy follows a ered siblings as they try to solve the mystery of their murdered father. Among the standout cast Ellen Page stars as Vanya Hargreeves, the black sheep of the family, Mary J Blige is cutthroat hit-woman Cha-Cha and Robert Sheehan plays Klaus Hargreeves, a slacker seance with a habit.
Streams from 15 Feb on Netflix
Walking from Memphis After impressing Australian audiences in a run of sold-out shows in 2016 and 2017, Julien Baker is back again to play dates across the country from 17 Feb. The Memphis singer-songwriter is also bringing Gordi along to support.
Nightflyers
The last time someone adapted one of George RR Martin’s works of fiction it became a near decade-long cultural phenomenom. Nightflyers got a more lukewarm response when it first premiered in the US on Syfy in December, but the sci-fi horror series definitely looks promising - here’s hoping it finds its audience when it comes Down Under. Martin has called it “a haunted house story on a starship” and “Psycho in space” and the trailer gives off strong HAL 9000 vibes. Streams from 1 Feb on Netflix
Julien Baker
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The Paper Kites
The AMP shortlist
Flight path
The shortlist for the 2019 Australian Music Prize has been announced. There are nine artists
By their own admission it’s been far too long since The Paper Kites toured their own backyard, but that’s going to change this month. The Melbourne five-piece hit the road for a 13-date run starting in Canberra this 28 Feb.
up for the $30,000 prize promoting and rewarding new Australian music, which has previously been taken out by the likes of Sampa The Great, AB Original and Courtney Barnett.
Abbe May Fruit
Courtney Barnett
Tell Me How You Really Feel
Dead Can Dance Dionysus
Grand Salvo Sea Glass
Eves Karydas
Keep calm and kary on Eves Karydas heads our way this month with her recent album, Summerskin. Kicking things off on Valentine’s Day in Perth, the now UK-based artist will then head to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane before she plays a special homecoming show in Cairns.
Gurrumul
Djarimirri
On The Come Up
Onwards and upwards
Laura Jean Devotion
Former teen rapper Angie Thomas’ debut novel The Hate U Give was the surprise hit of 2017, quickly adapted into a film that was equally lauded for it’s honest and open dissection of America’s racial divide. Thomas’ follow-up, On The Come Up, hits shelves this 5 Feb.
The Presets Hi Viz
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever Hope Downs
Sam Anning
Across A Field As Vast As One
If Beale St Could Talk
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Sh*t we did
Podcast of the month: Without Fail
With Maxim Boon
The tagline is, “Candid conversations with people who have done hard things: what worked, what didn’t and why,” and Alex Blumberg makes good on it. From Andrew Mason to Ira Glass, the Gimlet CEO interviews people that have aimed high and hit everything from the stars to rock bottom.
Eminem
Nootropic Supplements Carrots will help you see in the dark, spinach will put hairs on your chest, and fish, so the old wives tell us, is the best tucker for building big, beautiful brains. But, while the bounties of the deep blue may be the time honoured cuisine for putting a spring in the synapses, 21st century nutrition is now offering an alternative. Nootropic
supplements
promise
to
supercharge your grey matter, with several products on the market offering enhanced cognitive function, faster reflexes, and even improved memory. Some nootropic substances are already a
His Eminemce Aussie fans have been anxiously awaiting the return of the real Slim Shady since his whirlwind tour in support of The Marshall Mathers LP 2 back in 2014. The wait is finally over this 20 Feb, when Eminem starts his four-date Oz run with his latest album, Kamikaze.
familiar feature of everyday life. Your morning caffeine fix, the theanine in a cup of tea or the nicotine in your mid-morning durrie are all stimulants that can provide short bursts of improved brain power. But for those looking to give their thinking a facelift, there are several supplements that promise a range of lasting behavioural improvements, from increased tolerance to stress, to better problem solving and more peaceful sleep. But are these supps really food for thought?
The verdict Dietary supplements claiming extraordinary results are a multi-billion-dollar industry. While there may be plenty of science that disproves the benefits of many, consumers are still quick to buy into the hype. And who wouldn’t want a souped-up brain? In a world where stress, anxiety, imposter syndrome and depression are so often hand-in-glove companions of our careers, a low-effort way to make ourselves more accomplished is incredibly attractive. The supplement I sampled contained 11 nootropic ingredients promising sustained benefits without the crash of short-lived stimulants. Among the improvements I could look forward to were brain regeneration, a more balanced mood and longer lasting concentra-
Street wise In the follow-up to his Oscar-winning 2017 film Moonlight, writer-director Barry Jenkins brings James Baldwin’s 1974 novel If Beale St Could Talk to Australian screens this Valentine’s Day. The film explores love, racial oppression and injustice through the story of Tish (KiKi Layne) and her wrongfully imprisoned lover.
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tion. Move over Einstein, thinks I. However, the tricky thing (as with many supplements) is figuring out how to measure your progress, if any. In the interests of science, I opted to track my journey to genius with that most cerebral of brain teasers, Sudoku. So, after four weeks of daily doses, did I attain Stephen Hawking-level intelligence? Well, I don’t rightly know. While I didn’t experience any negative effects, I certainly don’t feel any more enlightened. And I still really, really suck at Sudoku.
Representation of people with disability matters — and who better to do it than disabled-identifying people themselves. Co-creators of The Angus Project Nina Oyama and Angus Thompson explain why it is a big deal that able-bodied people like Bryan Cranston and Janelle Monae are nicking disabled actors’ roles.
R
on screen, it was with a monster. The Shape Of Water’s negative stereotypes against disabled people were further reinforced by the film industry when it picked up four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The fact that Sally Hawkins (who portrayed the lead deaf character) was not deaf herself was just the cherry on the shitty representation sundae. The concept of disabled people as outsiders or “other” is not The Shape Of Water’s invention — it is an attitude held by able-bodied people and most of society. It is this unconscious prejudice which desperately needs be challenged. When stories about people with disabilities are told without the presence of actual people with disabilities, we actively discourage disabled voices from contributing to, shaping, and leading conversations in mainstream media. It’s a cycle that is begging to be broken. Worldwide, roughly one in seven people identify as disabled, yet this statistic is barely reflected in the media industry. According to UK film industry body Creative Skillset, only 0.3% of the total film workforce are disabled. Though we still have a long way to go, positive change is becoming increasingly evident in the world of television. Speechless is a groundbreaking sitcom about an American family whose teenage son has cerebral palsy, and what’s more, they have cast a young actor with the same disability. The Last Leg is a British panel show hosted by Aussie disabled comedian Adam Hills, which began as a satirical look at the 2012 Paralympics and is currently in its 15th season. Even Australia is starting to get clued in. In 2018, live music program The Set was hosted by Paralympian Dylan Alcott, with a “house party” studio design that placed an importance on accessibility. Another Australian show that was broadcast last year was ABC Comedy’s The Angus Project, which was created by us, the authors of this article, Angus Thompson and Nina Oyama. The Angus Project is based on Thompson’s real life and the plot revolves around a university student with cerebral palsy who parties really hard, assisted by his equally hedonistic care worker. By creating this show, we wanted to smash society’s perception that disabled people are outsiders who live in a sterile bubble. The character of Angus is not defined by his disability, it’s just something he happens to have, just one drop in the ocean of character traits that drive him. After our pilot aired, we were inundated with messages from disabled-identifying folks and carers who were grateful for a television program which accurately represented their experiences on screen. If that unknown actor can garner this overwhelmingly positive response after being broadcast on ABC Comedy, imagine what kind of reaction a Hollywood blockbuster would get if it cast a disabled actor in a leading role? The internet would probably break, and for once it wouldn’t be because of a Kardashian’s arse. Until Angus can go to America and steal a role off of Bryan Cranston, the disability representation problem isn’t going to solve itself. Casting disabled actors and including disabled voices in film projects is the first step to normalising disability, and changing the way able-bodied people think about what it means to have a disability.
ecently, two big-budget Hollywood films featuring characters with a disability, The Upside and Welcome To Marwen, have been released in the United States, which finally kicked off a much-needed conversation about disability representation in the media. An outcry against the able-bodied actors (Bryan Cranston portraying a quadriplegic wheelchair user and Janelle Monae playing an amputee) hit the internet, and people began entertaining the idea that maybe, just maybe, there were disabled actors out there capable of inhabiting those respective roles. UM, HELLO! Of course there were! Disabled actors exist, and they should have been hired for those roles. End of story. This idea should not be controversial, yet many argued that Cranston and Monae were cast because they were the ‘right actors for the job’. Cate Blanchett chimed in on the conversation about picking the ‘right actors for the job’ — in terms of queer visibility, but amidst ongoing conversations in Hollywood around race and disability as well — with her opinion that actors should be able to play roles outside of their lived experience. This argument bears weight, but only in select cases. For example, Ms Blanchett has played an elf, despite never being an actual elf herself (as far as we know — we are yet to hear an outcry from the elf population). However, disability is different. Firstly, because disabled people are real, and secondly, because when able-bodied actors “crip up” they effectively steal roles from the disabled community. If Cate was right, and all actors could truly play roles outside of their lived experience, then disabled actors could depict able-bodied characters on screen. But that never happens ever, and not for lack of technology. Seriously, we’ve all seen Bradley Cooper play a talking CGI racoon in Guardians Of The Galaxy — surely Hollywood could use the same special effects magic to create legs for an actor who is a wheelchair user. The problem is disabled-identifying actors are rarely given a chance to become established actors in the first place, particularly when able-bodied actors are taking up disabled roles. Furthermore, when we prevent disabled actors from being able to play disabled roles, which are, by anyone’s admission, already few and far between, we deprive audiences of a realistic portrayal of life with disability. One particular example of this narrative springs to mind: the 2017 film The Shape Of Water. The movie focuses on a deaf woman who begins a sexual relationship with a subhuman fish creature because he is the only one who can ‘understand’ her on a deeper level. Read any review from wellrespected pop culture giants like Variety, IndieWire or Rolling Stone, and you will find able-bodied critics praising the film’s powerful love story. However, when The Shape Of Water hit cinemas, many unsatisfied disabledidentifying writers penned pieces from their own perspective, arguing that the movie perpetuated harmful narratives about ‘othering’ disabled people. In an interview with Huffington Post, writer Elsa Sjunneson-Henry stated that the movie sent the message that “disabled people should go and be with their kind”. She also pointed out that one of the rare times she was able to watch a disabled character have a legitimised romantic relationship
“The disability representation problem isn’t going to solve itself.”
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30+ international & 60+ national artists
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“All I know is my experiences and sometimes they’re so personal that it’s kinda frightening to talk about because I never really intended to talk about my personal life to strangers.”
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Chasing the magic Sitting down with Bryget Chrisfield ahead of the release of Triage, the final album in a Methyl Ethel triptych, Jake Webb admits, “I never really intended to talk about my personal life to strangers.” Cover and feature pic by Xan Thorrea. Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
“M
ethyl Ethel began as a personal challenge. I wanted to see if I could write, record and release some music before the band I was in at the time finished doing the same. I did and subsequently withdrew from some close friends. Relationships were severed, I severed some even closer ones. This all played out in such a public way, as it invariably does, so I withdrew more” — Jake Webb. So begins Webb’s personal statement ahead of the release of Methyl Ethel’s upcoming third album, Triage, the final album in a triptych that started with Oh Inhuman Spectacle (2015) and continued with Everything Is Forgotten (2017). When asked to elaborate, Webb — who sits across a table inside Collingwood’s Grace Darling Hotel, taking thoughtful sips from his beer — observes, “It’s funny, ‘cause no one really knows that.” (Until now, that is.) “I guess group work can be a challenge, not because of the clashes of personality so much as, if you’re someone who likes to get stuff done quickly, there can be a disconnect, so that was the frustration of wanting to see something finished. And then I literally just thought, ‘I’m gonna record a bunch of songs.’ And secretly I was like, ‘I bet I’m gonna be able finish this before my band — before we can get our shit together enough to, like, put it out.’ Sorry, guys,” he adds. “The motivator was that competitiveness with yourself and that’s the way that I sorta work best. I’m very much someone who if someone says that I can’t do it, it gives me more motivation to try... I knew I could do it, you know? I knew I’d be able to make that record and put it out. And it sounds so cheesy, but it’s, like, I kind of believed in myself, you know what I mean? And I still do. I’m very grateful to feel like that. “Because that’s all that I know... I’ve just taught myself everything and learned bits and pieces from other people, so that’s probably what’s the most thrilling about it is when you sort of feel like a fraud, ‘Does anyone know that I have no idea what I’m doing?’ You know?” So is Webb ever plagued by crippling self-doubt? “It’s there, but it’s not that crippling,” he acknowledges. “I doubt it when [an album is] finished. That’s when you think, ‘Wait a second...’ That’s when that self-doubt creeps in.” He wears a neat navy short-sleeved shirt with a spotty multicoloured all-over pattern and fidgets a bit while he speaks, as if this helps crystallise his thoughts. In his aforementioned personal statement, Webb describes Methyl Ethel’s debut long-player as the, “why me?/ fuck you/sorry,” album of the triptych, with its follow-up, Everything Is Forgotten, responding, “who cares? all your emotions are irrational and meaningless anyway.” In conclusion, for Triage, Webb asked himself, “What is important? What requires attention?” “Especially with these last three albums, I’m talking about things that I need to get off my chest,” Webb reveals. “Like, I haven’t even realised that that’s what I’ve been doing as well. So I’m only now starting to be able to look back and maybe understand where that’s all coming from, like a psychoanalytical kind of thing, you know?” Webb’s solo musical project, Methyl Ethel, expanded into a five-piece for initial live performances, but once the band started booking gigs outside of Perth they trimmed down to a three-piece “because we couldn’t afford to fly any more than just that”, Webb laments. But Methyl Ethel has now reverted back to a five-piece live incarnation rounded out by Thom Stewart, Chris Wright, Lyndon Blue and Jacob
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Diamond. “It’s good having five members now, we can start to open up more of that spontaneity and really kind of get back to being five humans playing music together and seeing what happens,” Webb enthuses. Although all current band members are originally from Perth, Stewart and Blue are now Melbourne-based, Webb confirms. While working on Triage in his West Perth home studio, Webb says he became obsessed with delving deeper into some of his favourite songs by other artists, essentially trying to work out exactly what it is that makes them so special. “How often do you hear something — or you re-hear something — like, I dunno, an ABBA song will come on, and it kind of blows you away, and you think, ‘What is it about this song?’ — I go and work out how it’s composed, and how the harmonies work, and I’ll look into it in real detail to see if I can kinda find something or, you know, chase that magic. “And then there’s this sonata, I think it’s by Jean Sibelius — you know when something just grabs you?” On his songwriting process for the new Methyl Ethel album, Webb offers, “I definitely spent a lot more time writing lyrics and really, really pouring over them [as much as] I would have the melodies and all the other elements of it, but it’s when I am interviewed that I actually talk about it. So, in myself, it’s like I need to prepare to be able to talk about what the lyrics are about as well, which is sorta interesting because sometimes it unpacks things, other times it seems like I’m forcing explanations onto things when I don’t even know exactly what they’re about. “All I know is my experiences,” he continues, “and sometimes they’re so personal that it’s kinda frightening to talk about because I never really intended to talk about my personal life to strangers, but also sometimes it’s a little unfair on the people I’m actually talking about in the songs or if I’m talking about someone’s personal view on myself, you know? So I’m getting more used to the fact that that’s maybe something that’s okay to kinda open up about.” When asked whether anyone in his life has ever identified themselves in a Methyl Ethel song and wanted to have a chat to him about it, Webb ponders, “Ah, not yet. There’s some people I’m overdue to maybe reconnect with and, yeah! [Laughs] We’ll see.” Webb co-produced Everything Is Forgotten, Triage’s predecessor, with James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco and admits, “I learnt quite a bit over the shoulder of James Ford, ‘cause he’s really savvy with the way he uses synthesisers — just things like building sounds.” Triage contains some keys parts you’d swear Webb played on a harpsichord, but he explains, “I played a lot of electric piano and it’s just like a digital replication of a harpsichord. I like the attack of the harpsichord, it’s really beautiful. “I think the piano is just the ultimate instrument — you could erase every instrument, or all music, and just have the piano and it would be okay, you know? Everything would be fine. I listen to a lot of classical music — but, like, popular classical music; not too deep — so any time I can sit and write at a piano, yeah! The melancholy suits my style,” he laughs.
Triage (Dot Dash/Remote Control) is out this month. Methyl Ethel tour from 2 Feb.
What actually happens when you are refused entry to a festival for suspected drug possession, and more importantly what are your rights? Lauren Baxter investigates. Illustration by Ben Nicol.
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ou scoped the line-up. Refreshed your internet browser madly when tickets went on sale. Bought a new outfit. Took some snaps with your mates. You rock up to the festival gates, but get stopped in your tracks. You have been refused entry. A sniffer dog has detected drugs on you, and despite nothing being found, the police have told you, you’re not getting in. You might remember about midway through last year, Above & Beyond festival made headlines after police released a statement that read: “Police will exclude any person from the venue that the drug dog indicates has or who has recently had drugs on them, regardless of whether drugs are located.” There was a public outcry, but this wasn’t an isolated incident. The same thing happened at Midnight Mafia in Sydney, where more than 150 people were kicked out despite being searched and found without drugs. All punters that had been denied entry and found not to be in possession were granted a full refund from promoters Harder Styles United. When questioning police on the matter, a spokesperson for the NSW police confirmed to The Music, “Police can turn people away as per state licensing legislation, all of which is available online. Otherwise it is up to organisers/security who they allow in their event and if they get refunds etc. There would be no further comment we can make.” Marcus Walkom, Senior Lawyer at Media Arts Lawyers thinks it is “more of a grey area”. “In the instances where the dogs have detected it and nothing has been found it becomes more of a grey area and that’s where the promoters probably step in. They might draw a hard line... But they have discretion as to the application of their terms and conditions. “Obviously it’s dependent on the specific state’s criminal acts that are in place and they do vary slightly. The argument, taking that Above & Beyond case again, was that from
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Mind your Ts and Cs: so you’ve just been refused entry to a festival...
my understanding, there was nothing in the act that would provide power for them to refuse a person access because of suspicion of drugs as opposed to actual possession.” He continues, “If they have suspicion, they have the power to conduct a search. If a person refuses a search that then generally provides a basis for which someone would be refused entry and refusal of search can also create additional criminal issues. “Once the search has been carried out and nothing has been found, the person should generally be free to go. Obviously from a criminal perspective there are no implications from that, for suspicion, but it can have bigger implications on the basis of suspicion that they were then not allowed to go into the festival.” So if it comes down to the discretion of the promoter and the Ts and Cs of the event, what can punters do? “I mean obviously if you are clearly in possession of drugs or you’re carrying in a machete or something, instances like that, there’s a pretty clear indication that there’s going to be police intervention and when there is police intervention you’d generally think that would also result in refusal of entry,” Walkom explains. But when it comes to drugs not being found “it’s not really legislated because it removes it from a criminal issue to an issue based around the terms and conditions of the event and the policies of the promoters. Then it becomes a consumer law issue as to whether the promoter is acting in breach of those consumer laws.” “If you’re looking at it from the point of view of, ‘I actually wanted to get into the festival,’ under Australia Consumer Law you’re probably a bit more restricted to just getting the refund there. So at the time you would probably be wanting to take issue with the promoter to say, ‘Well I’d prefer not a refund, I’d actually prefer entry,’ at which case it would be at the discretion of the promoter.” Despite this, there have been cases where a festival-goer has been caught with drugs and still allowed in. One punter was caught with cannabis and ecstasy when gaining entry to a major NSW festival. “Basically we show up to the checkpoint and the cops had dogs and everything there,” he shares with The Music. “Long story short, they obviously found everything when
the cops searched through the car. We chatted to the sergeant who came and took us away and he explained to us what our options were. “After we went through the process with the detectives and everything they basically said, ‘On you go.’ And that was it. We drove in, went to the festival, no qualms.” The terms and conditions for this particular festival state that “any persons found with illegal substances in their possession may be removed from the venue and subject to police action”. So did the festival then get involved? “The only thing I can sort of remember is them saying, ‘Well look, now it’s up to the festival to decide whether you gain entry or not.’ From the cops point of view they were agnostic, they didn’t really care, They had done what they needed to do. You know, we weren’t belligerent, we didn’t piss them off, we weren’t rude or anything. They were just like, ‘Yep, we’ve done our job, we’ve taken you for what we needed to do, we’ve spoken to you about what you need to think about, it’s up to the festival from there.’ And there was no contact from the festival. “Obviously all these different things vary from state to state. But the only thing that it could be would be the terms and conditions of the ticket. I don’t know whether it was the way we were behaving or the attitude that we had made them make that decision. “I’ve known other people that have been strip-searched at other festivals in other states and then they were still let in... It wasn’t like one festival, one rule - or different states. The only thing I could say is that it seems very subjective.” When you consider cases like Above & Beyond, this does seem to be a problematic double standard. Especially when you would assume the police would have been aware of the festival’s internal policies. “I’d imagine the best practice and the way it works in the best way is if the police are working in harmony and in conjunction with the promoter,” Walkom advises. “Obviously in that case you’d hope the police would be aware of the particular policies and if something like that were to happen the police would say, ‘This is out of our hands... If you want to deal with the issue of refund or being entitled to entry you should speak to a representative of the promoter.’”
“It wasn’t like one festival, one rule... It seems very subjective.”
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Ahood of the pack Matt Lambert, aka Suffa from Hilltop Hoods, explains to Cyclone how his friendship with his bandmates has “gotta come first”.
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delaide’s Hilltop Hoods, the OGs of Australian hip hop, are back with their first album in five years. The Great Expanse is about life, family and reflection. But it’s also a celebration of homegrown music with buzz cameos, including soulful Sydney schoolboy Ruel. The Hoods — rappers Suffa (aka Matt Lambert) and Pressure (Daniel Smith) plus DJ Debris (Barry Francis) — know their avid fanbase. They considered previewing The Great Expanse over summer at the Falls Festival. But, Lambert explains, they scotched that plan, worried that tracks would be uploaded online. “When we were putting the set together as well, we were still going through sample clearance with a couple of them. So I didn’t wanna go perform something that wasn’t cleared and then have to have it pulled off the record and then everyone go, ‘What happened to that song?’” Lambert started Hilltop Hoods with Smith, a school pal, in the ‘90s. They signed to Obese Records, busting out in 2003 with their third album, The Calling. The
follow-up, The Hard Road, became the first of consecutive ARIA #1s. Hilltop Hoods even made inroads internationally, playing Glastonbury. They last issued Walking Under Stars, with the (now infamous) Cosby Sweater, in 2014. The Hoods liaised with orchestras, presenting two “restrung” remix albums and staging family-oriented spectaculars. Expectations are high for The Great Expanse. In 2018, Hilltop Hoods rocked Splendour In The Grass and toured Europe, hitting the Reading and Leeds Festivals. They dropped a comeback single, Clark Griswold, spotlighting Adelaide’s Adrian Eagle, the rootsy vocalist giving them props on his own 17 Again. Multiple ARIA winners, Hilltop Hoods scored Best Urban Release for Clark Griswold. For album eight, Hilltop Hoods chronicled major changes in their personal lives — changes that necessitated they sacrifice their Golden Era Records after nearly a decade. “Pressure and I are very much in dad mode,” Lambert laughs. “Over the last three years I had two daughters
and he had one and that obviously informed a lot of what we wrote about and a lot of how we spend our time. Over that period as well, I was building a new studio, ‘cause I got the boot from my old one so there could be a nursery. So, for me personally, I was sort of building this album with the studio. Everyone had so much change in the last three years that it’s hard to just put your finger on one thing and say this is how we felt. Debris got married!” Lambert’s fave song, Here Without You, is about their kids. The Great Expanse is classic Hoods in its sonic spirit — cue the anthemic Leave Me Lonely, based on Richard Berry’s doo-wop-era Have Love, Will Travel. Notably, it neither succumbs to dad-rap throwback nor opportunistic trap reinvention. “It’s a funny old line to walk,” Lambert admits. “Hopefully we get to capture our own sound, but ‘now’, because we do listen to a lot more current hip hop and that does inform how you make music. You are what you eat sorta thing.” Press the MC on what he’s vibing to and he cites Anderson .Paak’s Oxnard (“That’s ridiculous!”). “I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts, if I’m being honest!” Lambert adds bashfully. Hilltop Hoods have previously worked with “bucket list” international guests such as The Roots’ Black Thought, Pharoahe Monch and Brother Ali. However, they enjoyed a mega-hit with 2011’s I Love It, featuring fellow Adelaidean Sia, circa Titanium. “We met when we were much younger. Then she had this massive career and, luckily for us, [she] just emailed out of the blue saying, ‘Do you wanna do a song together?’ We were like, ‘Hell yeah!’” The curation of The Great Expanse also favours Australian artists — among them Illy, indie type Timberwolf and future punk Ecca Vandal. Hilltop Hoods may entice a new generation of listeners with the Cam Bluff-produced Fire & Grace, led by Ruel. “I think, because he’s had so much life experience in a short amount of time, that he’s pretty switched on for a 16-year-old kid and got a good head on his shoulders.” At the point where many bands rupture, the Hoods are tight. “We got better!” Lambert chortles. “When we used to disagree on something, we’d just fight! Especially me and Pressure, because we’d disagree often and we’d disagree loudly. But your friendship’s gotta come first. You’ve gotta work out ways of dealing with various conflicts. So we’ve got better; we’ve got way better. I think the three of us are closer than we’ve ever been because we’ve just done so much together. I’ve seen the world with the other two and I’ve made eight albums with them. I think we’re the most grateful we’ve ever been for the position we’ve been able to be in and we’re the closest we’ve been as friends.”
“But your friendship’s gotta come first.”
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
The Great Expanse (Universal) is out this month. Hilltop Hoods tour from 26 Apr.
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Krack the whip Kates McLennan and McCartney of ABC comedy Get Krack!n talk to Guy Davis about how breakfast TV hosts have become almost as famous in Australia as the Hemsworth brothers.
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f they weren’t so adept at mercilessly taking the piss out of breakfast television with their ABC comedy Get Krack!n, it certainly sounds as if creative duo Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney could easily have their own mellow morning hang-out program. “Powering down” after the post-production period on the second season of Get Krack!n, coming to ABC TV and iview on 6 February, the pair are working from McLennan’s house, and McCartney is revelling in the tasteful comfort of it all. “It’s nice here!” she exclaims. “Big windows, lots of lights. We’re having a coffee, and we have McLennan’s new 20-week-old Bernese Mountain Dog puppy. It sounds like a Nancy Meyers movie, doesn’t it?” McLennan, however, is quick to point out that her toddler is racing around wildly, her plumbing is on the verge of falling apart and her new puppy is so bitey that “it looks like I’ve been self-harming”. Well, thanks for shattering the illusion, Kate. “That’s our job!” laughs McLennan. It is indeed. With their breakout project The Katering Show, McLennan and McCartney niftily sliced and diced the cliches and conventions of foodie TV while establishing a cool comic dynamic between the enthusiastic McLennan and the disenchanted McCartney. Get Krack!n has them bringing this dynamic to the heightened reality of the Australian breakfast TV realm, a realm that is currently in such a state of flux (one word: Stefanovic) that McCartney describes it with a grin as “the fall of Rome”. “I was saying to McCartney yesterday, ‘If by the end of our season morning television has collapsed, our job is done,’” laughs McLennan. “And it’s interesting, I was flicking through news.com.au the other day and I was fascinated by how breakfast television had its own little category — like a subcategory within the entertainment section. Morning TV personalities are among the most famous people in the country. after the Hemsworths. “It’s so strange — when I was growing up, these hosts were popular but the people they would interview on their shows would be far more famous. Now it feels like it’s been flipped, and they’ve become these huge personalities themselves. It’s almost like breakfast TV is eating itself right now.”
“It’s almost like breakfast TV is eating itself right now.”
they could have happened,” says McLennan. “On episode six we have a male co-host, Brendan O’Hara [played by Matt Day] — the former host of The Big Wake-Up and Who Wants To Win A Money — and he’s been out in the wilderness, we don’t know why, and he’s making his long-awaited return to television. By the time that episode goes to air, who knows where Karl Stefanovic might be?” “In terms of how our show operates, I would say we’re about on par with Today and Sunrise, because they can get quite silly,” says McCartney. “But if you look at the UK, which we do, we do look at overseas shows as well. the UK is bonkers. You can’t parody it because it’s already too far gone. We have a bit in one of our epi-
McCartney agrees, calling the state of play “quite unstable”. “I’m intrigued by the staff shuffle on Today, and what that might mean for Sunrise — whether it will shuffle its line-up as well. Because that’s what happens in radio. If one team changes, its competition changes in response,” she says. And to their surprise, McLennan and McCartney have found that the new eight-episode season of Get Krack!n, while taking aim at the typical inanities of the format (the first episode nails the fair dinkum ridiculousness of taking the program on the road to rural and regional locations), may have been more prescient than they could have imagined. “There are things that have occurred after we finished shooting, and we’ve touched on them without knowing
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sodes where we interview a woman with a haunted doll and it was almost transcribed, taken verbatim from a show in the UK. They had it on a rocking chair hooked up to fishing wire so it would move, and the hosts were acting all shocked! To their credit, they’re committed. They’ll sit there basking in the awkwardness of it, while American shows have a breakneck pace, often talking over each other. And, of course, we did that as well on our show.” Pointing out the absurdity of breakfast television is Get Krack!n’s objective, and McLennan notes that “there is a lot of inane stuff that happens that’s kind of funny”. But the format is also home to “a lot of problematic aspects as well, stuff that’s dark and harmful, like Sunrise suggesting a new Stolen Generation — that leaves your head spinning. So our job is to sift through what works for us in terms of the issues we want to explore”. That extends to the creative collaborations on the show’s second season, which includes co-writing episodes with disability advocate Jessica Walton and Indigenous playwright and performer Nakkiah Lui. “The best part of this show is the forum it provides for other people,” says McLennan. “We wanted to create something that put people in a kind of space that you wouldn’t normally see in that space. Not just on screen but at a production level — we wanted to support people telling these stories as guest stars and guest writers. And we wanted to create the feeling that people working with us would have some sense of ownership over the production as well. We tend to do episodes that have a strong social commentary, then others that are so silly they give you a bit of a reprieve.” “A bitter pill followed by a spoonful of sugar,” says McCartney.
Get Krack!n screens 9pm Wednesdays on ABC from 6 Feb.
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Alexander Gow Oh Mercy’s Alexander Gow is putting on his first photography exhibition this 22 & 23 Feb at Memphis Projects, a joint show with friend and fellow artist Mclean Stephenson. We ask him about the partnership and what he’s trying to do with his photography.
Most people know you for your work as a musician with Oh Mercy, what got you started in film photography? Well in a way studying photography got me into music, not the other way around. My high school (De La Salle Malvern) photography teacher, Jonathan Hewett, played guitar and made sure it lived it in his office, that way I, living in the darkroom, could give it a strum while waiting for film and prints to dry. I did a year at the Victorian College of the Arts out of high school, a fine art arrangement. It was fun. I drank a lot of coffee and felt like an artist. I left after only one year as music had nudged ahead in the passion race. I didn’t take a photo for almost ten years, until late 2017, when working at an ad agency, my boss encouraged me to dust off his film camera collection. That fuzzy feeling I got at age 16, first stepping into the darkroom, came flooding back — I’ve maintained a lofty pace since. How did you and Mclean Stephenson come to have an exhibition together? Mclean is the best. He wrestles incredibly engaging images out of his film cameras. Simultaneously familiar and alien. Of course, I wanted him to photograph my head for music stuff. Which he did. A few years back. I think the worst photos he’s taken are of my head. But that’s my fault, not his. We kept in touch. He is a good person to talk music with. A clever guy. Straight shooter. When I started taking photos again he was encouraging. Some of that film photography tech stuff had dropped out of my brain — he helped with that. Basically, I send him my work, then he’s generous with his time and enthusiasm. I guess we were having a beer in Sydney and the idea got thrown around. Then we followed through. Lucky me I reckon.
Indonesian Dancers
A lot of your compositions lean towards sharp lines and bright warmth, while Stephenson’s are often layered in a noirish haze. What is it about each of your works that complements the other’s? I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to let you know once our pictures are on the wall. One beside the other. 22 Feb. Melbourne. Memphis Projects. 6pm. Beer and art. Maybe print that again downstairs for me. You don’t have to edit that out of my response. Or that. Mclean Stephenson takes great photos. I take good ones. I reckon that’s enough to give it a shot.
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From the outside it looks like you have a strong eye for the ordinary — for every artist portrait there’s a shot of a netless basketball hoop at dusk, a man reading the newspaper by a pool, a city skyline behind a rooftop hills hoist. What is it in these moments you’re looking to capture? Ummm. I’ll indulge myself here: my aim is to take tender portraits. Poignant, with pathos and complex beauty. Ideally without sliding into sentimentality. Ideally not vapid, pretty or pleasant. I’ve certainly been guilty of making photos like that, but as I produce fewer and fewer, I’ll know I’m getting better. You’ve heard of the idea of the ‘objective correlative’? That’s something I think about when writing songs. Same goes with photos. You can say a lot with very little. Like good songs do.
Straight from the vampire’s mouth
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Ditching the training wheels From Darth Vader novelty helmets to working with David Lynch, Tiny Ruins mastermind Hollie Fullbrook tells Bryget Chrisfield that she feels honoured to be the first non-Melbourne artist representative on the Milk! Records roster.
“I
think any words of encouragement – to an artist, they mean a lot more than I think maybe people realise,” Hollie Fullbrook, who originally conceived Tiny Ruins as a solo project before it morphed into a four-piece band, opines. “But certainly those ones were,” she laughs, referring to the time when David Lynch tweeted a recommendation that everyone should listen to Tiny Ruins. “Well the strangest thing is that I was talking about David to a coworker — I worked at the Auckland Central Library for a couple of years — and we were having this conversation, he’s also a musician, and I was having a real, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this,’ conversation with him the night before,” Fullbrook recalls. “And he said, ‘Oh, you know, maybe you should try transcendental meditation, it works for David Lynch’... The next morning that same coworker friend texted me and said, ‘Have you seen what’s just happened?’ And my phone just started going crazy, like, I was receiving all these calls and messages from old school friends going, ‘What is actually happening?’ [laughs] because this was also happening [back when] we’d maybe only ever played in New Zealand... So it was pretty amazing, and my coworker friend and I still think that it was really spooky. “It was like [Lynch] was tuning into our conversation almost. It was very, very unnerving and I still don’t quite know how the whole thing happened. But it was actually a year later that I ended up meeting [Lynch] and recording with him, so there was a little bit of time between that and then kinda getting my head around meeting the guy.” The resulting track, recorded and produced by Lynch, was Dream Wave, released as a Tiny Ruins single in 2016. Tiny Ruins guitarist Tom Healy produced both new album Olympic Girls and its predecessor Brightly Painted One (2014), and also played in Jen Cloher’s band. When Olympic Girls was completed, the band decided to shoot it off to some select “dream people” to find out what they thought of the album. “So we sent it to Jen and Courtney [Barnett] and I didn’t really expect to hear back from them. But straight away — it was like almost a day later or the same day or something — they both got back to me immediately and said they loved what they were hearing and really wanted to be involved so, yeah! It was a big deal because [Barnett and Cloher’s record label, Milk! Records] hadn’t released anyone from outside of Melbourne before. It’s a huge honour for us to be included on their roster.” If you’ve been to a Tiny Ruins show lately you would’ve already heard the Wes Anderson-esque real-life story
that inspired Holograms, the latest single to be lifted from Olympic Girls. While riding through a forest in Zanzibar, Tanzania, Fullbrook fell off her moped. She was wearing a Darth Vader novelty helmet at the time and when she came to, Fullbrook was surrounded by a group of kids staring down at her. “It was a huge day,” Fullbrook recounts. “I broke my shoulder and my foot and my hand... And I was actually breaking up with my partner at the time...” She trails off and laughs at the poetic tragedy of it all. “They didn’t have a whole lot at the hospital in Zanzibar. I ended up sort of just being in a hotel room for ten days while we tried to get all of this documentation for my travel insurance.” Even though Fullbrook didn’t have any painkillers, she marvels, “I didn’t experience that much pain – it was weird!... I was quite calm and I just read a book. “Then after ten days, I finally got flown back to New Zealand and straight to the hospital, they re-broke my hand and put my foot in plaster and all of those things. I had to cancel a whole huge European tour that was gonna be my first [international] tour and I was very worried about my hand... I’ve still got a metal plate and pins in it so it does get a bit stiff, but, you know, what doesn’t kill you...”
Olympic Girls (Milk! Records/Remote Control) is out this month. Tiny Ruins tours from 28 Apr.
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
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ew Zealand synth-popsters Broods are rebelling with their third album, Don’t Feed The Pop Monster — kind of. The sleeve depicts the elaborately costumed brother-sister duo of Caleb and Georgia Nott lounging before a giant vampire’s mouth. This kitsch playfulness is seemingly new for the atmospheric hitmakers. In fact, Nott reveals, the siblings became enamoured with “a shitty little polaroid” snapped prior to a proper photo shoot and decided to use it. “It tied in with the [album] title — you know, don’t do things because you think that’s what you’re meant to do or that’s what other people want you to do,” he states. “Make what you wanna make because you wanna make it and then people will like it — because people can sniff out authenticity and when it’s not authentic.” Broods have touted Don’t Feed The Pop Monster as their most instinctive outing. But, though experimental, it’s still musical and, crucially, poppy — cue the lead single Peach, which modernises piano house. Nott’s fave song is the choral epic To Belong. The Notts hail from Nelson, their parents performers in an ABBA tribute act. Georgia would front an indie band, The Peasants, meeting producer Joel Little at a competition. She began collaborating with him independently, bringing in the older Caleb. They devised Broods — with Georgia on lead vocals and Caleb instrumentalist, but their roles otherwise fluid. Meanwhile, Little recorded with an obscure Lorde. Broods generated blog fever with 2014’s Bridges, culminating in label deals. They presented an emo debut, Evergreen, in 2014. In 2016, Broods followed with Conscious — the anthemic Heartlines a buzz Lorde co-write (iZombie’s Rose McIver cameoed in the video). And, as with Little, Broods relocated from Auckland to Los Angeles. “It’s very much become like home to us, in a way that we feel like we can be more ourselves there than we can be anywhere else,” Nott notes. Broods have had their trials — Don’t Feed The Pop Monster is about lessons learned. “We’ve definitely been pressured into doing things and making decisions that we maybe didn’t wanna make at the time,” he reflects. “There’s definitely a couple of regrets in letting people push us around and do things like that. So I guess, this time, we didn’t have any outside influence when we wrote this record. And it feels the most ‘us’ that we’ve ever made.” After Conscious, both Notts aired solo music. Last year, Georgia unveiled an alt-rock album with all-female creatives as The Venus Project. Caleb premiered Fizzy Milk, dropping the single Make Me Feel with Jarryd James. “We just wanted to go off and see what we did pass onto each other and kinda hone in on our skills and work on what we did separately. Then, when we came back, it was like we started again a little bit —
Pic: Dana Trippe
Caleb Nott, one half of NZ sibling duo Broods, tells Cyclone about finally being able to make a record that feels truly authentic.
because, up until then, all the stuff that we’d ever made, what people knew us for, was stuff that we made together. Especially me: I was like, ‘I wonder if I can do this with other people or do it on my own?’ I knew [Georgia] could do it on her own. But I wasn’t too sure if I could do it on my own. So I was pretty interested to see what happened. It was hard for both of us, I think. We found it both pretty hard to get things happening and working, because we’d relied on each other for so many years. But I think it made us appreciate our relationship with each other so much more — personally and professionally.” Ahead of Don’t Feed The Pop Monster, Broods attended a writing camp in “magical” Nicaragua, the Central American country a booming tourist hub. Nott bonded with Elliphant, “a very spontaneous spirit”, whose Love Me Badder he once remixed. Back in California, they penned The B-52’sesque Old Dog together at a barbecue. Broods did reunite with Little. However, he’s less involved in Don’t Feed The Pop Monster, now being an in-demand producer for the likes of Khalid. “Our personal styles have all changed a little bit, but we still work the same together. We’re still as comfortable as family. He’s like our big brother; he’s been there since we started. He’ll always be part of our lives, whether it’s professionally or not.” Broods were only here in October as special guests on Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour. “We met her quite a few years ago as well as before the tour. She’s come to a couple of shows and met us at our shows and then asked us to come along to her show. It was pretty crazy. I mean, it’s a Taylor Swift show! There’s a lot going on. It’s very big and very intimidating at first, but [she has] a very welcoming team and [they] made us feel very much at home and made it very easy for us to do it. So it was very awesome.”
Don’t Feed The Pop Monster (Island/ Universal) is out this month. Broods tour from 21 May.
The New Wave Of NZ Music Chris Familton tries to explain the incredible music coming straight from our Antipodean brethren across the Tasman.
O
ur Southeastern neighbours have
Me that ended up on a number of end-of-year lists. Led by Eliz-
always punched above their weight
abeth Stokes, they inhabit the sweet spot between guitar-pop
when it comes to sporting achieve-
and punk rock. Bittersweet sugar-laden melodies fizz and cas-
ments, but there’s an equally strong argu-
cade over heady rock riffs. It’s astute and concise songwriting
ment for the disproportionate number of
that posits emotive lyrical content in endlessly fun surrounds.
musical exports, both in the commercial and
The Beths sold out their Melbourne show in December and
independent markets, that have emerged
are touring Australia as a guest of The Smith Street Band this
from Aotearoa and caught the attention of
March and April. Looking further afield into the world of metal, one band
music fans around the world. It does seem to come in waves, some-
that has progressed in leaps and bounds, culminating in
times musical tsunamis in the case of acts like Lorde, Kimbra, Keith Urban and Neil Finn’s various incarnations, but more often than not success has been a steadier slow build of appreciation built on the back of the music rather than marketing. The Datsuns and Shihad flew the rock flag in the early ‘00s, the Flying Nun label produced a raft of influential and unique bands in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Connan Mockasin continue to fly the psych-freak flag, while alt-country and folk acts such as Marlon Williams, Tiny Ruins, Nadia Reid and Aldous Harding have all found an international audience and critical acclaim in recent years. As we enter 2019, the stylistic field is wide open when it comes to new and interesting music emanating from New Zealand. The Lorde slipstream
can
sometimes
The Beths
be a hit and miss pathway to success, littered with pale
their signing to eminent
imitations and quick major
heavy
label cash-ins. Of the more
Records, is Alien Weap-
interesting new acts, October
onry. Self-described as
shares some vocal similarities
a Te Reo Maori heavy
with Lorde but she places her
metal band, they sing
pop songs in a more eccentric place where brittle industrial
in
Robinson
label
their
Napalm
Indigenous
language and address
electronica meets gothic dance and is more
historical and contemporary sociopolitical concerns. Based
akin to Zola Jesus. October has signed to
around brothers Lewis and Henry de Jong, they formed in
Page 1 Management (Broods, Jarryd James)
2010 and amazingly both are still only in their late teens. If
and two of her singles from the album Ultra
Shihad are the kings of NZ metal then Alien Weaponry are
Red have already racked up a quarter of a mil-
set to lay claim to the throne with their unique approach to
lion streams each on Spotify. At the commer-
the genre.
cial high end is solo artist Robinson, whose
New Zealand has a rich history of hip hop due to the twin
single Nothing To Regret became a breakout
influences of Pacific culture and exposure to the American art
hit in 2018, exceeding 50 million streams on
form. There was a natural symbiosis between the two, which
Spotify and achieving platinum status in Aus-
in turn led to a flexible stylistic approach to the development
tralia. With NZ Music Award nominations and
of hip hop in the country, reggae being another key ingre-
an Australian tour with Dean Lewis under her
dient. In 2018 one of NZ’s most critically acclaimed albums
belt, she’s set to continue her impressive rise
came from the mind of rapper Tom Scott (Home Brew, @
with a brand new single Karma just released.
peace), under the name Avantdale Bowling Club. Blend-
Flying Nun had a period of near inactivity
ing smoky jazz, funk, psychedelia and hip hop, he’s pulled
as a record label before it was resurrected at
together an impressive cast of NZ musicians to soundtrack
the end of the ‘00s by original founder Roger
his personal and autobiographical stories, delivered in an
Shepherd, with assistance from 25% share-
impeccable lyrical flow. It’s a landmark album and one that
holder Neil Finn. Now it honours its back cata-
NZ music critic and author Simon Sweetman called one of
logue while also embracing acts such as new
his favourite albums in the last decade, describing it as “pure
black-clad kids on the block, Wax Chattels. A
poetry, incredible writing, it’s a huge learned journey borne of
trio from Auckland, they’re comprised of elec-
lived experience”.
tronics, bass and drums, thriving on militant
It’s been argued that in the past that New Zealand music
tension and release through a post-punk filter.
developed its unique qualities in part due to its geographi-
Think Battles meet My Disco.
cal isolation, rather than in spite of it. In the interconnected
In contrast to the dark claustrophobia of
century we now live in, the world is a virtual stage, making
Wax Chattels, The Beths have quickly gained
it easier than ever to both deep-dig into its rich history and
attention with their album Future Me Hates
discover new music from the Shaky Isles.
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Pressure down How do you deal with a break-up? Drink heavily? Maybe sleep around? Maxim Boon finds out how award-winning British comic Sarah Millican turned to comedy to “feel normal”.
A
little over ten years ago, life was very different for British comedian Sarah Millican. Not only had she barely set foot on a stand-up stage, she was also stuck working in a dead end job she hated, her marriage had irreconcilably failed, and at the age of 29, she’d been forced to move back in with her parents. However, Millican refused to give in to this bleak set of circumstances. “I decided that I was going to give everything a go and I happened to see this ad in the paper for a comedy workshop,” she says. “So who knows, if I’d seen an ad for rock climbing, I might be halfway up Everest by now.” This can-do attitude would lead Millican to the biggest make or break moment of her life, choosing to turn her back on the stability of a regular job to pursue comedy as a profession. While this may have seemed a rash gambit to some, for Millican, it was a risk worth taking. “When you don’t have anything, when your marriage breaks down and you think, ‘Oh well, I have nothing now,’ nothing is really a gamble. I’d sunk so low, but I realised I needed to hit the bottom so I could bounce back up,” she explains. “I knew I just needed to do something new in my life. Some people might deal with a break-up by drinking heavily or sleeping around, but I’ve never been particularly good at either of those. So, I ended up talking about it on stage. Not that it was really, you know, planned or anything. I didn’t think, ‘Ah yes, comedy will put me back on top!’ I just saw this comedy workshop ad, I thought it might be a bit of a challenge and, at that point in time, I was up for anything.” The gamble has certainly paid off. Millican’s career has sky-rocketed from stand-up rookie to international headliner at a speed that has rarely been matched. Since taking out the Best Newcomer Award at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, she has become a juggernaut presence on the international touring circuit, as well as a familiar face on British TV, even earning her own comedy show, The Sarah Millican Television Programme, in 2012. Millican’s unpretentious, down-toearth personality — perfectly captured by the cosy charisma of her Geordie accent — has earned her fans the world over. But despite this global profile, she’s been careful not to let her celebrity eclipse her approachable charm. “You have to retain your sense of self — that sounds really wanky, I know,” Millican shares. “Your friends don’t change and your family don’t change, and they’re not going to go, ‘Oh look at you, you’re on a big stage.’ They don’t care! They’re just your
friends and your family, they’ll treat you exactly the same. But that’s what keeps you grounded: having people who will treat you no differently just because you’ve been on telly a bit. “I’ve also made a conscious choice not to do arenas. I do theatres, and there’s a massive difference I think. Because I’ve seen comics perform in arenas, and some of them, if they’re a very physical comic, that kind of venue can work. But I still find myself drawn to watching them on the screens that they put up for big stadium gigs like that. You know, you might have an amazing seat, and you’re still watching on a big screen. For fuck’s sake, you might as well be watching them on a DVD at home. So that’s why I’ve always wanted to stick to theatres, because
I share something that’s hurt me or that’s happened to me and I try to make light out of, when the audience laughs, sometimes it’s just because they found it funny, but often it’s because they’ve been in a similar boat. And through that laughter and that kind of recognition, it sort of makes me feel normal. When they laugh I can feel like, ‘Oh, I’m not on my own.’ I think that’s really key to my comedy: I just talk about what I know. I literally don’t know anything else! I don’t have any other useful skills or anything. All I know is the life that I’m living. But I’ve realised that if anything’s hard, if you have any family problems, health issues, anything like that, it’s always made better if you can have a bloody good laugh, because it releases that pressure. And if I can do that for my audience, if they can come to my show even if they’re dealing with a lot of stuff at home or whatever, if they can have a bloody good laugh for an hour, well, those problems are still going to be as hard as when they walked into the theatre. But if they get a little release it can make everything just a bit better. I know that’s what comedy did for me.” Stand-up may have initially been Millican’s chosen form of therapy, but these days, it’s not just her professional prospects that are looking up. In 2013, she married her second husband,
“You need to be with someone you find funny and who finds you funny, ‘cause I don’t know how you get through the shittier bits of a relationship and the hardness of life otherwise, I don’t know how you do that without having a laugh.” the audience are still right in front of you, it’s still intimate. So that’s something I feel quite protective of in the way that I perform, because I want my gigs to feel like you’re just chatting amongst friends, you know. And I think you can do that, oddly, with 1,000 people, but I’m not sure you can do it with 10,000.” Glittering as her career in comedy has become, her earliest forays into stand-up were more about exorcising demons than winning accolades. Her first award-winning show, Sarah Millican’s Not Nice, explored the emotional rollercoaster of her divorce. In the year’s since that debut, baring her personal calamities on stage has become Millican’s MO. “It’s a mutually beneficial thing,” Millican says of her comic candidness. “If
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fellow stand-up Gary Delaney. “I’ve never been in the same job with a partner before. There are some massive pluses — like, when I get in after a gig he’s also usually just getting in himself. If I went out with someone who just worked a kind of 9-5 type job, I’d never see them. So that’s a major advantage, being with someone who has the same screwed up body clock as I do,” she smiles. “But I think in relationships, you need to be with someone you find funny and who finds you funny, ‘cause I don’t know how you get through the shittier bits of a relationship and the hardness of life otherwise, I don’t know how you do that without having a laugh. It’s just we’ve taken that to the extreme because we decided being funny was going to be our careers! And you know, we’re both professional comics, so we really should be able to make each other laugh. If we couldn’t, well that’s not good. Not only would that mean the relationship’s doomed, our careers would probably be in trouble too!”
Sarah Millican tours from 4 Feb.
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
Dream Weaver If Willie Nelson’s your dad and you get to back one of your heroes, Neil Young, with your band Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real, can life get any better? Bryget Chrisfield discovers that thanks to Desert Trip, Lukas Nelson’s rock’n’roll dreams continue to come true.
“I
think Desert Trip, or the call that I got from Neil [Young] to play with him, that was pretty special,” Lukas Nelson recalls of the pivotal festival appearance that changed everything for his band Promise Of The Real. “I’d say that’s the pinnacle for me, is playing with my hero who I grew up with, and then being able to play with my dad at the same time, you know. I grew up listening to Neil and rock’n’roll, so it’s doubly special for me.” The fact that he gets to front Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real and back his musical heroes, sounds just like a dream come true. “It is a dream come true,” Nelson asserts. “My whole life is a dream come true. I feel very blessed.” During his Desert Trip (aka ‘Oldchella’) set, aptly before performing Seed Justice, Young produced a basket filled with little bags of seeds, which he then distributed throughout the front standing section, explaining, “There’s a California seed law that says you can’t take these seeds from one county to the next because they’re organic... So I’m gonna give you some seeds and you can take the seeds wherever you want, and then go and report yourself to the police.” After telling Nelson it would have been tricky to get those seeds through Australian customs, he acknowledges, “Right, yeah, you’ve gotta declare that shit!” But had we declared random seeds at border control, we probably wouldn’t be chatting to Nelson today! He laughs, “True, you’d be in jail.” Also at Desert Trip, Young presented a poster-size placard with a heap of songs listed on either side — one side labelled “electric”, the other, “acoustic” — from which he selected the songs they would play, explaining these were the songs the band had rehearsed in advance. So are there any of Young’s songs that Nelson would be terrified to hear spontaneously called into the Canadian legend’s set? “Ah, no, not anymore,” he chuckles. “In the beginning, before I sat and we learned probably, like, a hundred songs; that was really when we knew we could do it, and we learned those songs in five days, and it felt like we knew ‘em already, you know? ‘Cause we’d been growing up with those songs, we definitely had a headstart.”
“He let me be my own person and make my own mistakes.” For those who haven’t heard the spiel, Desert Trip is also where Bradley Cooper first clapped eyes on Nelson, rocking out beside Young, and decided he wanted to base his A Star Is Born character, Jackson Maine, on him. “I think what he really wanted to capture was the camaraderie between the band on stage and the band leader, you know? ‘Cause he’d seen us with Neil, and how we interacted with Neil, and I think he was inspired by that and so he wanted to have somebody from up there help him out. And I think that was a good idea ‘cause, you know, it kept a real organic feel to the movie, and the music in the movie, and it really was part of the dichotomy between the old and the new.” As well as appearing with Promise Of The Real in the film, Nelson also wound up co-writing many of the songs that feature in the soundtrack. He co-wrote some of these songs with Lady Gaga who, in turn, supplied some backing vocals on Promise Of The Real’s 2017 self-titled album. Nelson has described his collaboration with Gaga as “really natural”, the pair writing songs almost telepathically. Does this happen often? “I guess it doesn’t happen very often, but it happens enough,” he offers. “We all speak the same language, musicians, so once you recognise someone else
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speaks that language it’s kinda like a telepathy, you know?” The first scenes that were shot for A Star Is Born were filmed at Coachella in 2017, the year Lady Gaga headlined. This was also the first time Cooper sang on stage with Gaga. Other festival scenes were shot at Glastonbury (Kris Kristofferson donating four minutes of his set to the production, with Cooper then introducing Kristofferson to the stage) and Stagecoach in California (between Jamey Johnson and Willie Nelson’s sets). We’re tipping Cooper came off stage after these appearances thinking that he might just wanna become a full-time rockstar. “I think a part of him does,” Nelson allows. He’s a self-confessed “free spirit” and Nelson admits, “I believe in coexisting on the planet and I think that sometimes you have to give as much as you receive in order to do that. I just think that respect for different cultures is something that really needs to be preserved, and not just in our country, but in the whole world. And celebration of our differences instead of blaming them for our problems.” After it’s pointed out that his words are timely given the Change The Date protests that occurred around the country in relation to Australia Day, Nelson opines, “We should definitely go out of our way to make sure that cultures realise that our wounds between us aren’t fresh, you know? We should go out of our way to make these people feel good and taken care of in our society since we stole everything from them.” He’s very vocal on his socials about injustice, often reading out personal statements from sheets of paper. The first gig
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that Promise Of The Real played with Neil Young was actually at the protest against the Keystone XL pipeline in 2015, where his dad also performed. “That’s right, up in Nebraska,” Nelson remembers. On whether his dad has offered him much advice over the years, Nelson contemplates, “Well, he gave me advice but he was very careful to let me pave my own path, I think. You know, if I asked for it he’d give it to me but he let me be my own person and make my own mistakes, I guess, and do my own thing. Luckily I didn’t make too many mistakes; I just made enough to where I could grow.” While trying to recall his first-ever public performance, Nelson hesitates, “Maybe I was four or five years old, I can’t remember. I’d go out and play percussion in Dad’s band and then I remember as I got older I’d sing one or two — he always got us [Lukas and his brother Micah] to get up on stage and sorta play if we felt like we had something to say.” Considering Nelson has been surrounded by music pretty much since the womb, we’re curious to hear one of his earliest memories of being moved by song. “Well, I remember connecting to this song my dad used to sing to me from Red Headed Stranger. And it was, um, [bursts into song and sounds exactly like his dad], ‘Don’t cross him, don’t boss him/He’s wild in his sorrow/He’s ridin’ and hidin’ his pain’ — that’s probably what my first [musical] memory is.”
Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real tour from 17 Apr.
Poses, parenthood and progress Revisiting past records, Rufus Wainwright is undeniably drawn to speaking about the influence of his family on his music — from his parents to his young daughter. He chats to Liz Giuffre.
R
ufus Wainwright is chatting from
side [of life and music] and really would do
somewhere
cold
anything to move the ball a bit, I was not a
that he has to stop shortly into our
nihilist, you know. I was not there to extin-
chat to get his car moved. “They’re going to
guish my fire, but I was more there for a silver
tow it — snow — do you know snow there?”
lining. And I think she saw that and she very
he asks cheekily. The well-travelled trouba-
much had my back in those times. It’s funny,
dour of course knows us here, having made
two days ago was the ninth anniversary of her
many returns during his 20-year career and
death, so we’re coming up on the tenth next
counting. The coming tour, All These Poses,
year, so it’s all starting to round out,” Wain-
is named after his second record, Poses, but
wright continues.
so
wonderfully
celebrates it and his first self-titled work. “The
McGarrigle’s influence was behind the
further away I get from that period the more
scenes but also front and centre in songs like
I am amazed with how possessed I was with
Beauty Mark, too. “I sing a lot of her songs.
purpose. I knew exactly what I wanted and I
And I mean, both my sister [singer-songwrit-
was willing to kill people to get it, and I put
er] Martha [Wainwright] and I are so just so
myself in very, very risky situations, and you
blessed to be able to be in contact with our
know, would go back and forth between the
mother through her music. And actually, you
different posts of interests,” he laughs “God,
know, get to interpret that work and therefore
I was like a rabid animal! I wasn’t seeking
inhabit her true self. So that’s an amazing gift
money or fame necessarily, I was just seeking
that we have. And I do feel at the moment,
art, and I still think there’s a side of me that
especially having a child now of my own, I’m
has continued that search, but at that young
now prepared to coast a while and just be
age I was just completely ravenous.”
a dad and focus on the living. I have heard
Both Poses and the debut Rufus Wain-
from a few people that your mother comes
wright reveal the vulnerabilities of being a
back to you near the end (laughs), so I’m sure
young man — it’s especially telling that this all
I’ll see her again, I know that.”
happened around his 27th birthday — a time
Wainwright’s description of knowing
that we know can be particularly precarious
someone by ‘singing their songs’ is there in his
for musicians. “Yeah, right around the Saturn
early recordings. In addition to referring to his
Return,” he confirms. Did he feel a sense of
family in his original works, he also covered a
being in danger at the time? “I was so fortu-
song by his singer-songwriter father, Loudon
nate in that I had a great mother who loved
Wainwright, One Man Guy for Poses. Would
me dearly and was also a musician herself,
Rufus like to hear his daughter play any of his
so she knew the score, to be punny about it!,”
work — or better, have her avoid any of it!?
he says, warmly referring to the late, wonder-
“Well, you know, she loves Montauk
fully great Kate McGarrigle. “I think she could
[from 2012’s Out Of The Game], which was
always tell that though I sought the darker
about her, it addresses her, but it’s really up to
Check The Guide on theMusic.com.au for more details.
Let’s talk about something else
her. I would never dream of forcing any songs on her,” he says. Wainwright’s daughter, who he parents with her mother Lorca Cohen [Leonard Cohen’s daughter] will be a particularly special little (musical) soul to nurture. “I have to be careful of that because there’s so many great songs, my songs, there’s
Leonard’s
songs,
there’s my mother’s songs and my father’s songs, so needless to say she has a vast quantity to choose from.” Is Wainwright worried that his little girl might pick up
Aunty
Martha
Wain-
wright’s work too, maybe her single Bloody Mother Fucking Arsehole? “No, I would be overjoyed!” he exclaims.
Rufus Wainwright tours from 23 Feb.
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ince their breakthrough record in 2014, Silent Treatment, Highasakite’s approach to making music has been characterised by its widescreen, cinematic qualities. Everything exists in its most expansive form. A simple glance through some of the band’s song names reveals the scale of this drama; Hiroshima, Iran, Ingrid Helene Havik from and Mexico are all presentHighasakite tells Roshan ed as stages for the type of fateful escapism that occaClerke about the band’s new sionally risks leaning too towards exoticism. album, Uranium Heart, as heavily As the band’s songwell as why she doesn’t want writer, Ingrid Helene Havik more concerned with to talk about it. seems the imaginative potential of these places, rather their physical presence. “Lover, where do you live?” Havik sings in the opening line of album opener of the same name on Silent Treatment. However, this search is soon established as metaphysical, rather than mundane: “In the sky? In the clouds? In the ocean?” Perhaps unsurprisingly then, Uranium Heart, the band’s fourth album, was not recorded in just one place. Bandmate Trond Bersu produced the album himself, some of which was recorded in his own apartment. However, Havik, calling from her home in Norway, adds that they also recorded “far into the woods in Sweden in a cabin for months, and we did some [recording] in different studios in Oslo”.
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The AIM of the game He already boasts three global hits, but Aloe Blacc tells Bryget Chrisfield it’s “the opportunity to be a philanthropist” that he’s most grateful for.
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hile discussing his appearances as part of the 2011 Good Vibrations touring festival, this scribe happily informs Aloe Blacc that the giant crowd assembled for his early-arvo set in Melbourne is a rare occurrence. But Blacc remembers his Sydney appearance way more clearly. “Ok, so this was a special day. I think I was supposed to be [performing] later in the day. The secret is, though, that I had gotten married in the US to my wife Maya Jupiter, but her mum had set up for us to have a special Australian celebration on the beach and the promoters allowed us to perform [earlier] so I could skip out and go to my wedding celebration.” At the time of our chat, Blacc has just returned to Los Angeles from New York. “I was at a Kennedy family event, at a gala, to support the philanthropy that I do throughout the year,” he reveals. “And it was in honour of [former] President Obama, so I got a chance to hear him speaking.”
Many recording artists dream they’ll release just one chart-topping song in their career. Blacc has already released three smash hits to date, which he also points out straddle “multiple genres”. “I Need A Dollar is different from The Man is different from Wake Me Up... I think that the songs becoming hits are my greatest accomplishments, because they allow me to accomplish so much more because of that. In the music business I spent many years being an obscure, underground kind of niche artist, but to have success with I Need A Dollar and to have success with The Man and to have success with Wake Me Up was unexpected every time, but, you know, very welcome every time,” he laughs. “Those huge, visible songs afforded me the opportunity to be a philanthropist, to then work with Malaria No More and visit Ghana and help the organisation to raise funds to work toward eradicating malaria around the world. And [the success of these songs] also helped me to join forces with NDLON — the National Day Laborer Organizing Network — here in Los Angeles to speak about the growing discussion around immigration, which is a discussion that’s happening in Australia and the United States and Europe, with my music video for Wake Me Up.” The Alex Rivera-directed video of which Blacc speaks features a cast of immigrants playing out their own strug-
Despite the band’s literal and imaginative globetrotting, this record feels like the their most intimate yet. The sparsely produced title track possesses the earthen qualities of a country song, a stark contrast to the dense electronica that characterised the band’s previous record, 2016’s Camp Echo. “I think that the whole album has like this folkish kind of vibe,” Havik says. While Havik is reticent to discuss the meanings of her songs, she offers the following explanation of the central image: “I’m thinking about it as like, you know, that uranium is something that you would avoid to be in contact with because of its radioactivity. So I would say it’s kind of like a poisonous heart. I choose that as the title track because I feel like the title embraces all the other songs as well — the title is the essence of the album.” She hesitates when asked to elaborate. “I can’t explain it because it’s just a feeling. Also, I’m a bit ambivalent about, you know, talking too much about what this album means to me because it’s really not important to the listeners, I think. The listeners should have their own experiences with it, and my experience is just my own.” This emphasis on subjectivity, while admirable in its romanticism, feels like a difficult position to maintain. The internet offers mass audiences more access to artists than ever before, increasing the pressure on artists to produce a personal brand that complements their work. And that brand can become increasingly inseparable from their work because it often is their work itself. “It can be interesting to see a documentary about things like that, about how music is made and what [artists] have been thinking,” Havik says. “But sometimes I feel like I lose my relationship with the music if people tell me what the song is about. They place an image on me that isn’t really mine, it’s not my experience.”
However, it’s not just information about the creators of art that Havik says can get it in the way of a experiencing a personal connection to a song, but also the opinions of others. “I think that it’s kind of a problem with reviews and stuff like that, because if you read the review before you hear the album, then somehow you have changed something in the listener’s first experience with the music.” Havik explains that this position isn’t just an intellectual one. Instead, it’s a protective measure that’s embed-
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gles: a day laborer, an actress/producer who was deported (when she was a child) with her mother despite being born in the US and a leader in the immigrant youth movement who is working to stop her own father from being deported. After the success of Avicii’s inescapable summer anthem Wake Me Up! (styled with an exclamation mark), which Blacc cowrote and supplied vocals for, Blacc recorded an acoustic version of the track — Wake Me Up (no exclamation mark) — and released it as a standalone promo single. This song is also the title track on Blacc’s Wake Me Up EP (2013) and opens his Lift Your Spirit record of the same year as well. On how Avicii came into his life, Blacc explains, “There were a few different people who I believe Avicii could have connected with me through, but Mike Shinoda sent me an email personally and connected me with Avicii. And I had never actually met Mike in person — we had a lot of mutual friends, we just never had linked up in real time — so for him to be thinking about me was really cool.” Isn’t it amazing how one email can change the entire course of your career!? “Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. In a major way.” When asked whether he had a special feeling about the three aforementioned songs or can determine a common thread running through them, Blacc ponders, “I will say that they all fit what I am now recognising is my style, which is Aspiration, Inspiration and Motivation — I call it AIM. Because a song like I Need A Dollar is aspiration, a song like The Man is motivation and a song like Wake Me Up is inspiration. I think that they have very universal themes that work to inspire and motivate people from anywhere in the world.”
Aloe Blacc tours from 15 Feb.
ded in her songwriting process, which involves trying to “not place too many leads on what this is about to me. not necessarily for other people’s sake — it’s more like for me being private, also.” The music, she says, is for the listeners, “and it’s for me, but it’s all our own, and private”.
Uranium Heart (Propeller/Caroline) is out this month.
Album Reviews
The combo of both vulnerability and powerfulness in Julia Jacklin’s Crushing is what makes this record stand out. It will have you singing, swaying and surrendering to the stories and sounds which are perfected with fierce lyricism and faultlessly arranged instrumentals. There are powerful messages throughout the ten tracks that might just make you reevaluate things or moments in your life. It’s that good. We had a taster of what was to come from Jacklin when she released her singles Body and Head Alone last year — a voice to die for and courageous lines such as “I don’t want to be touched all the time/I raised my body up to be mine.” The two opening tracks being those familiar singles, we thought, “It can’t get better than this, right?” Oh boy, were we wrong. “What do I do now?/There’s nothing left to find” and “I want your mother/To stay friends with mine” on Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You is one example of Jacklin’s intense poetic portrayals. It’s those momentous lines in a deeply painful articulation of falling out of love that makes it both haunting and brilliant. When The Family Flies In tells a devastating tale of loss that is all the more poignant with the choice to back it up with keys instead of her usual strings. Alongside the piano, you can hear every eerie breath Jacklin makes throughout. Ending with one last evocative line, a simple “Well, goodbye,” it’s evident how intimate and truly exposed Jacklin is willing to be on this record.Other highlights are Good Guy, which sees Jacklin sing of the desperation that comes from loneliness, perfectly aligned with broody guitar tones and poppy drum beats. “Tell me I’m the love of your life/Just for one
Julia Jacklin Crushing Liberation
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night,” she pleads slowly. The strings then get a little funkier in You Were Right, where a livelier Jacklin comes out, providing us with yet another intriguing and personal anecdote. One of our favourite lines on the record has to be, “I started eating at your favourite place the night I stopped eating with you/You were always trying to force my taste, but now I’m eating there ‘cause I want to/You were right, I liked it.” It’s a refreshing piece of sass before we get right back into the familiar, heavy-hearted tone.”You can’t be the one to hold him, when you were the one who left,” Jacklin tells herself in Comfort. The feelings that come rushing to you after a break-up, the need to comfort that very someone that you’ve left broken-hearted — Jacklin seems to have been there, because she has articulated those thoughts boldly and brilliantly. Backed by just her guitar, Jacklin turns the song into something whimsical and miserable. They are such universally felt tales, portrayed in an extraordinary way, that you’re left haunted and amazed by the record’s ability to feel so intimate yet so relatable. It’s near impossible not to get 100% engrossed in Crushing, which is a wildly appropriate title given it’s going to crush you — in a way any remarkable record should. Keira Leonard
Betty Who
Broods
Martin Frawley
Hilltop Hoods
AWAL
Island / Universal
Merge
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Betty
Don’t Feed The Pop Monster
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Free from the shackles of a major record label, the now independent Betty Who, aka Jessica Newham, can make music on her own terms. Going it on your own can be hard for any artist, but Newham has a supportive fanbase and her third album, simply titled Betty, is a bright pop spark with a fun, romantic spirit. Newham makes a splash with I Remember’s quirky pop beat and Ignore Me is empowering, Newham pouring her heart out about being led on by both men and her old label. Betty shows Betty Who is an underrated artist, and one who needs some more love from Australia. Aneta Grulichova
Undone At 31
The Great Expanse
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Broods know what they’re doing on their third studio album, a solid collection of earwormy pop with the odd dark diversion, all stamped with the personality and creative preoccupations of New Zealand brother and sister duo Georgia and Caleb Nott. If the album veers at times into acute sentimentality (see Georgia with “oceans pouring from” her eyes in Everytime You Go I Cry) it is elevated by the frontwoman’s versatile voice and by multi-instrumentalist/ producer Caleb’s aural inventions. Broods haven’t reinvented the wheel, but they’ve never sounded surer of who they are.
The debut solo album from Melbourne singer-songwriter Martin Frawley reads like a series of diary entries chronicling the end of a long and important relationship, dripping with honesty as it mines the depths of despair that inevitably follows the loss of a long-term love. That the break-up also signalled the death knell for Frawley’s previous outfit Twerps allows Frawley to recast himself musically, the melodic indie-rock jangle of his prior work scrapped for a more wideranging and experimental palette. Frawley’s affable everyman charisma shines throughout this no doubt cathartic opening foray into a new creative chapter.
Here, Suffa, Pressure and DJ Debris assume their rightful roles as elder hip hop statesmen. They do so adroitly while examining the insecurities that come with progression on Into The Abyss. Pressure combines his way with melody with his talent for intensity on Counterweight. Leave Me Lonely shows the gift for immediacy that’s defined this crew for two decades. H Is For.. is a surprisingly vulnerable, nostalgic piece. There’s lots to love here. But a question hangs in the air: having dominated for so long, what is there left for Hilltop to do? Keep marching toward the great expanse, perhaps, sharing their story as they go.
Tim Kroenert
Steve Bell
James d’Apice
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For more album reviews, go to www.theMusic.com.au
Mercury Rev
Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited
Methyl Ethel
Panda Bear
The Beasts
Triage
Buoys
Still Here
Dot Dash / Remote Control
Domino
BANG! Records / Rocket
Bella Union / [PIAS]
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A bona fide Mississippi queen, Gentry’s The Delta Sweete saw the gal from Chickasaw County celebrating her Delta roots. Here, Mercury Rev throw light on a masterful slice of classic Americana that, without the luxury of reissue, has largely been fading memory. They sprinkle stardust over Gentry’s earthy tunes and the effect feels like Mercury Rev are indulging in nostalgia for a time and place that’s long gone. Each song on this album sparkles brilliantly, making it a compelling listen from start to finish. An instant classic.
Wherein lies the genius of Methyl Ethel? Jake Webb has long been the mastermind, and plays pretty much a lone hand on Triage, writing, recording and producing all tracks in his Perth home studio, before co-mixing the record in London’s Mute Studios. Listening, it’s easy to picture him arriving at some perfect storm of creativity and craftsmanship, his inventiveness grounded in talent and technical skill. Webb has said Triage, thematically, is a “coming-of-age” album, and it’s true in more ways than one. He has perfected the art of assimilating pop tropes and making them his own.
A retreat from the kaleidoscopic Person Pitch and his work with Animal Collective, Buoys is a warm blanket of snoozy home studio nonchalance, given away by titles such as Inner Monologue. It lacks urgency, immediacy and for the most part inspiration. Perhaps the best aspect of the album is its sparse, unfussy sound design, which has the captivating spatial dynamics of an Arthur Russell record. But the biggest problem might be the songs themselves. There’s nary a memorable chorus and some bottom drawer lyrics, as songs slip by on an album that’s hard to remember once it’s finished.
A new album from the remaining members of The Beasts Of Bourbon (under the name The Beasts) is a bittersweet thing in light of the passing of bassist Brian Hooper and Spencer P Jones. It was recorded only a couple of weeks after their last gig with Hooper and is made up of songs formed from, in their words, “sketchy ideas”, plus some “jams” and covers. It’s a collective throwing together of ideas that works often and fails sometimes. All in all Still Here is a flawed beast, but I guess they always were weren’t they. That was, and remains, the band’s charm.
Guido Farnell
Tim Kroenert
Christopher H James
Chris Familton
The Cat Empire
Tiny Ruins
Dear Seattle
Dream Theater
Two Shoes
Milk! Records / Remote Control
Domestic La La
Inside Out / Sony
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Melbourne party music darlings The Cat Empire have been quiet for three years — a silence beautifully broken with Stolen Diamonds. Like their albums of old, this collection demonstrates how fine musicians can combine and tag team to create tunes more than the sum of their parts, switching up between leads Felix Riebl and Harry Angus, while enjoying the best that the rest of the Empire’s musicians can provide. Highlights here include the ups and downs of Anybody, the lovely, punny goodness of Kila, and the sultry addition of guest vocalist Eloise Mignon on the French language track La Sirene.
Hollie Fullbrook’s latest album, Olympic Girls, is full of the finger-plucked guitar, homely metaphor, and low-key lyrical delivery she’s become known for. Fullbrook’s vocals are beautiful and full, blooming out over the instrumentation in an encompassing way that feels oddly devoid of emotion despite the wistful sombreness of the lyrics. The overall effect is a little too perfect, like a rock wall that’s been filled with resin and buffed smooth — getting a handhold is all but impossible. Olympic Girls is a tender feat of musicianship that politely asks you to listen rather than begging to be heard.
Dear Seattle are one of those bands that you shouldn’t pass by. Their compelling, energetic way of making pop-punk is something else. With catchy sounds and some sneaky Australiana references, they make it hard not to fall in love with their debut album. But that’s not what will get you on side. It’s their ability to let out so much feeling through every instrument played and every line sung, with fearless lyricism fuelled by the band’s token attitude. If you’ve been waiting for a band to fill the void since the death of Kisschasy, Dear Seattle is it. They have a way of articulating so many gritty emotions through each song.
This reviewer is an unabashed fan of Dream Theater, and believes an extremely strong case can be made that they are the greatest prog metal band in history. Three decades and 14 studio albums into their career however, their output has plateaued. They have lost their conceptual, exploratory and blisteringly angry edge. Distance Over Time is far from a bad album. The songs are solid Dream Theater fodder, and of course the musicianship is untouchable. A relatively undemanding fan will probably love it. Diehards, however, may still lament a little that the Dream Theater of the early ‘90s through the mid 2000s are gone forever.
Liz Giuffre
Nic Addenbrooke
Keira Leonard
Rod Whitfield
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Olympic Girls
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Distance Over Time
Barbara And The Camp Dogs
Barbara And The Camp Dogs is a rockin’ Aussie story that ranks as one of the most successful homegrown plays of recent years. Wild, unpredictable and deeply vulnerable, Barbara, played by co-writer Ursula Yovich, and her sister Rene (Elaine Crombie, who copped a Sydney Theatre Awards nod for her performance) are singing for their lives. Barbara’s been trying to make it in the music business in Sydney, but when their mother’s health deteriorates, the sisters embark on a pilgrimage back home to country. Full of pain, passion and punk, the play explores the ties of family and the tensions that strain them. Through music that ranges from raging bangers to tender ballads, this glorious gob-spit of a show has its Melbourne premiere this month at Malthouse, after first wowing Sydney audiences back in late 2017.
Plays from 7 Feb at Merlyn Theatre
The best of The Arts in February
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LOVE! Beauty writer, relationship expert and skin care queen Zoë Foster Blake drops a guide to LOVE! in February, billed as an “enthusiastic and modern perspective on matters of the heart”. Out 5 Feb
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I Feel LOVE I Feel LOVE celebrates queer culture and love, with a vibrant line-up featuring glittering performance art duo The Huxleys, First Nations drag queen Zodiac, Bhenji Ra and the House of Slé. 8 Feb at Immigration Museum
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The BAFTAs The British answer to the Oscars is on this month in case you want to study up before placing your bets on the big one. Our own Margot Robbie is up for the Best Supporting Actress nod for Mary Queen Of Scots. Airs 11 Feb on Foxtel’s UKTV
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The Gateway Bug Award-winning eco foodie doc The Gateway Bug, which advocates for creepy crawlies as a sustainable protein source, will celebrate its Aussie release by offering viewers insectbased treats like fries with black ant salt. 5 Feb At Rooftop Cinema and 19 Feb at Cinema Nova
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Arbus & West Melbourne Theatre Company this month mount the world premiere of a brand new play by Aussie playwright Stephen Sewell, Arbus & East.
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From 22 Feb at Arts Centre Melbourne
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Undermined: Tales From The Kimberley After having its world premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival last year, Undermined: Tales From The Kimberley this month cops a national cinematic release. In selected cinemas from 21 Feb
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Film & TV Get Krack!n
HHH On ABC from 6 Feb
Reviewed by Guy Davis
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ven within the unreal, surreal universe of television, breakfast television is its own bizarre galaxy. It’s weird, and it’s something out of which the piss should be well and truly taken. Who better to do so, one may reasonably think, than Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney, creators and stars of The Katering Show, which unerringly skewered the tropes of foodie TV while establishing a sparkling comic dynamic between the glasshalf-full McLennan and the glass-thrownat-your-head McCartney. With this second season of Get Krack!n, the Kates are still mining their own foibles and neuroses — McLennan’s constantly eroding self-confidence and McCartney’s exasperation and short-fuse temper — for comedic gold, and occasionally hitting pay dirt. And the world of breakfast TV — the inane gimmicks, the stilted commentators, the forced banter — would appear to be just as rich a vein.
But the handful of episodes available for review indicate that the show relies too heavily on one comedic idea — despite their good intentions (which are more intentions to appear good), the Kates can’t stop everything from going to shit due to a perfect storm of misguided enthusiasm, incompetence, the terribleness of other people and plain ol’ bad luck. As core ideas for a comedy go, that’s not a bad one. But there’s not a lot of variety in the way Get Krack!n runs with it — things may start well on an episode of the breakfast TV show hosted by McLennan and McCartney but they eventually fall apart, and the hosts along with it. As sharp-witted and watchable as the two are, it soon becomes a bit samey. Still, it helps that Get Krack!n has a deep bench of talented co-stars and guest players, with the likes of Zoe Coombs Marr, Justine Clarke, The Breaker Upperers’ Madeleine Sami, Nakkiah Lui and Miranda Tapsell enhancing the mix.
Vox Lux
HHHH In cinemas from 21 Feb
Reviewed by Anthony Carew
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hen American child-actor Brady Corbet moved behind the camera at age 26 for 2015’s The Childhood Of A Leader, the cliches of the actor-turneddirector — deliverer of down-to-earth conversation-pieces that let thespians shine — didn’t apply. Corbet’s debut was full of daring, ambition and genuine iconoclasm. Corbet’s second flick, Vox Lux, shows those qualities have hardly abandoned him. It’s a satirical portrait of pop and the music biz’s desire for narrative, and the way acts of gun violence are handled, mishandled — thoughts and prayers — and monetised amidst the mania of late period capitalism. Its cold open ‘Prelude’ is a harrowing onthe-ground depiction of a school shooting; its second act, titled ‘Regenesis’, opens with a terrorist attack shown from a cold, distant remove. Throughout, we follow the life of a bubblegum-pop starlet — Celeste, in the iconic singular — and how it intersects with these moments of tragedy; first (teenaged Raffey Cassidy) as victim, then (Natalie Port-
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man) as iconic artistic entity/cash cow for a whole built-around-you empire. In the third act, well, we just sit down to a stadium pop show in all its surreal absurdity, high theatre and naked humanity. Vox Lux’s pop songs were penned by Sia and, even better, Corbet has again roped in a Scott Walker score. Willem Dafoe narrates the film, and when he delivers a potted history of 20th century Sweden — and its rise to pop music power — over semi-ironic, archival illustrative imagery, the spectre of Lars von Trier lingers. Corbet is a happy provocateur: delivering violent horrors with neither moral lesson nor giddy thrill; and depicting pop with equal parts lacerating critique and earnest fandom. Here, acts of terror and cults of celebrity are uneasy equivalents: each acts of devotion and fervour, trading in iconography, that end up funnelled into the one allconsuming media ‘feed’. It’s an audacious, acerbic work unafraid of ruffling feathers, a film that cements its 30-year-old director as a bonafide auteur.
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These Creatures. Pic: Mathew Lynn
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Creature feature Aussie filmmaker Charles Williams doesn’t much care for rules. He tells Joseph Earp about storytelling on a shoestring budget and why the kids are alright.
“What we’re really doing is stigmatising people who are genuinely suffering and making them synonymous with people who may just be ‘shitty’.”
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“Tight probably doesn’t cover it,” Williams says. “It was all favours. Everyone on the film worked for free and most of what could be called the ‘budget’ was sponsorships I organised with different partners. I still haven’t paid off the money I put in. So, like a lot of shorts, it was really made by the generosity of everyone involved — which I’m incredibly grateful for.” The budgetary restrictions — not to mention the age of the young lead — also affected the length of time that Williams had to shoot the film. Days were short and Williams only had five of them, plus one rushed, sweaty day of pick-ups. “When you have a cast of people under 15, child labour laws dictate that you can only shoot six hours,” he says. “Then, of course, there’s weather problems, working with bugs, animals, road closures, and a number of decayed and dilapidating locations, one of which was bulldozed just as I came to do pick-ups. So the shooting days went very quickly.” That might make All These Creatures sound rushed, or the kind of lo-fi product that tends to characterise a lot of the work of emerging filmmakers. In fact, more than anything, the result is profoundly considered. Nothing seems slapdash, from the tight direction and emotional intensity of the script to the gently devastating finale. Powerful and considered, the film boasts a kind of emotional intelligence that’s rarely seen even in big-budget Hollywood affairs. Yet perhaps most impressive of all is All These Creatures’ depiction of mental illness. Tempest’s father, Mal, played with halting, uneven grace by celebrated performer and NIDA star Mandela Mathia, is struggling with thoughts that he can barely understand. Paranoid and angry, he lashes out at his friends and family, isolating himself ever further from the people trying to help him. But despite it all, Mal is no villain; no one in the short is. They are just people, all of them: confused, scared, and utterly
here’s an old adage in the film industry: never work with children or animals. All These Creatures, the Palme d’Or-winning short from celebrated Australian filmmaker Charles Williams, touring nationally as part of Flickerfest, seems determined to prove this wisdom wrong. The film is stuffed with animals, from an ill-fated dog to a small, invasive army of pissed-off beetles. Its human cast is almost exclusively populated by adolescents, chiefly the young lead Tempest (played by Yared Scott, and voiced, in poetic narration, by Melchisedek Nkailu). “It was almost a laundry list of what is ill-advised,” Williams agrees. “But it was a calculated risk. It’s what this movie needed, and I felt painting ourselves into a corner with some of these choices would result in something pretty special — if we managed to pull it off.” An elegiac, elliptical tale of childhood and mental illness, All These Creatures is a profoundly visual experience. The film pulses with its own teenage heat and with a strange, particular kind of melancholy. In that way, it calls to mind the best work of philosopher-filmmaker Terrence Malick, or the dream-like visual poetry of Wong KarWai. Not, mind you, that it’s the obvious aping of a more successful director’s style, as so many shorts can sometimes turn out to be. All These Creatures speaks in a precise, deeply nostalgic language all of its own. Williams wrote the short quickly, over about a month, just after the birth of his daughter. It is the crystallisation of themes that have been rattling around his head for years: sickness, childhood, memory, regret. “I’d been toying with a way to get these obsessions of mine into a film for a long time, but never found a way to make it work,” he explains. “Or maybe I was a bit ashamed to.” Most shorts are shot on a tight budget, but All These Creatures was pulled together on little more than a wing and a prayer.
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human. “No one knows for sure which part is the sickness and which part is just you,” Tempest considers at one point, fearing for his father’s health and concerned that he might be losing his own mind. “The challenge of rendering [mental illness] honestly and cinematically seemed kind of impossible,” Williams admits. “For a long time it was a real struggle for me, trying to traverse the landscape of ‘mental illness’ but also the grey area about where that leads. “For example, like everyone, I couldn’t get away from all the Trump news at the time, and there was a lot of talk about him being mentally ill: lots of psychiatrist weighing in without ever actually meeting him. Then the head of the DSM weighed in and said something to the effect of, ‘Trump isn’t mentally ill. He’s doing great. He’s not suffering. It’s not an illness to have a bad personality. He may be a piece of shit, that doesn’t mean he’s sick.’ “It’s an important sentiment, especially now when it’s very in vogue to label people we don’t like as ‘mentally ill’, really just to make ourselves sound more sophisticated... What we’re really doing is stigmatising people who are genuinely suffering and making them synonymous with people who may just be ‘shitty’.” That’s really the key to All These Creatures. It’s not a film that seeks to demonise those who might be suffering. In its quiet, cathartic way, it has an empathy and humanity all of its own. And it’s a stirring call for understanding, at a time when society can tend to undervalue forgiveness.
All These Creatures plays 13 Feb at Palace Kino as part of Flickerfest
The lady is a tramp
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here’s a saying: house guests are a lot like fish — after three days, they stink. But apparently, that adage doesn’t extend to lodgers on the driveway, or at least the driveway of celebrated British playwright Alan Bennett. When, in the early 1970s, he invited a homeless woman to park the broken-down van she lived in outside his London home, she stayed considerably longer than three days. Fifteen years longer, in fact. This extraordinary true story would be chronicled several times by Bennett, after Miss Mary Shepherd, otherwise known as “the lady in the van,” passed away in 1989. First written as a quasi-diarised essay, then as a novella and finally as a play that was adapted into a film in 2015, each iteration speaks to the uncanny serendipity of Bennett and Shepherd’s meeting; a storyteller drawn to unique lives and a woman with an astonishing life story to share. “When you get into it, the reality of it, it really is crazy that this actually happened. It makes you think, what sort of person takes in someone who’s not only homeless but also quite a difficult personality as well,” says director Dean Bryant, whose new production of Bennett’s The Lady In The Van, for Melbourne Theatre Company, opens this month. “But interestingly, the more we’ve explored this character [Miss Shepherd], it’s actually her difficulty and this amazing self-confidence she has to push her will onto other people, that actually helps her survive such incredible circumstances. She’s a real survivor, she lives by her own rules, and that’s a fascinating thing.” You might assume, given the length of her stay, that Shepherd and Bennett shared a friendly co-existence. In
fact, Shepherd’s eccentricities, her political beliefs, her paranoia and anxieties, and the indomitable ways she expressed them, were both fascinating and confounding to her unlikely landlord. Bennett’s desk faced a window through which he could see Miss Shepherd’s four-wheeled hovel, and her comings and goings, not to mention the confrontations she regularly engaged in, were so distracting, Bennett found it near impossible work from home. Even his attempts at being egalitarian were often thwarted; as Bennett wrote in his original essay, “One seldom was able to do her a good turn without some thoughts of strangulation.” And yet the ways in which Bennett chose to immortalise Shepherd reveal the touching quid pro quo they shared. Over the years, incredible truths about his unwanted tenant emerged; that she had been a gifted concert pianist, that she had once attempted to become a nun, that her brother had her committed to an asylum, and that she was convinced she was a fugitive from the police. “Bennett is a writer who writes about people he sees in the street. That has been his inspiration his whole creative life,” Bryant says. “So, there’s this idea that he is receiving just as much as she is receiving in terms of their relationship. She got somewhere to live and he got a great story, and crucially, an example of what it means to live a courageous or at least a vivid life.” Realising such a unique character on stage requires an actor of significant range. In the 2015 film adaptation, the role of Miss Shepherd is played by one of the greatest of the UK’s character actors, Dame Maggie Smith. In Melbourne, a homegrown titan of the theatre will be stepping into the role, Miriam Margolyes. “[The Lady In The Van] is one of my favourite plays of all time,” she told The Music. “It’s such a fascinating story. For some reason they’ve cast me as this cantankerous, smelly old lady. I’m not sure if I’ve been miscast or perfectly cast, but either way, I’m really looking forward to doing it.”
Bryant says he’s deliberately avoided seeing the film version, but that Margolyes was the only actor he could imagine doing the role of Miss Shepherd justice. “She is such a unique person and performer that I totally trust her response to this character and that it will create something vivid and grounded, that pushes the grittiness of the situation, while still honouring the rhythm and the comedy of the writing, and the fact that this play wants its audience to have a good laugh,” he explains. But it’s not just a ribtickling Bryant hopes his audience takes with them from the show. Despite her formidable personality and laughable antics, Miss Shepherd’s vulnerability as a social outcast should also prompt some lingering reflection on social justice and the ways privilege can create prejudice. “I was so drawn to this story because it’s an opportunity to question the generosity in our society, or rather the lack of it, particularly at the present moment. We’ve lost something that our society once prided itself on, which is being giving and more open and supportive of the less fortunate among us. And this is a story about what it really means, individually, to be responsible for another person and to take that responsibility on, rather than it being prescribed by the state. It’s a really interesting piece where Miriam’s character says, ‘I won’t live by the rules of society. I will live as I choose and make society’s rules fit around me.’ And Alan Bennet himself saying, ‘Society is not going to properly look after this person. So somehow, I am going to give them a safe space myself.’”
“I was so drawn to this story because it’s an opportunity to question the generosity in our society, or rather the lack of it, particularly at the present moment.”
Melbourne Theatre Company presents The Lady In The Van from 2 Feb at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Director xx with xx who plays the Lady In a Van
The amazing true story of an unlikely bond between a homeless woman and a revered writer has been captured on the page, the stage, and the silver screen. Now, it’s headed to Melbourne. Maxim Boon talks to director Dean Bryant and actor Miriam Margolyes about The Lady In The Van.
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THE LAST CHANCE 238 VICTORIA ST MELBOURNE
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Brewers Feast Even if you’re not one of those “beer nerd” people with the beard and the rolled up pants, you’ll definitely wanna get down to this year’s Brewers Feast festival. With the amount of quality food and craft beers on tap, you’ll be knocking ‘em back like Bob Hawke at the cricket. One for the country, Robert! Did we mention there’ll be live music, with the likes of Neighbourhood Youth, Teresa Duffy-Richards, TK Reeve and more? Get amongst it at the Abbotsford Convent this 23 & 24 Feb.
No, it’s not a spelling mistake, and we’re not that bitter (ok, maybe a little). This 14 Feb we’re giving roses the flick and celebrating all things friendship as Palentine’s Day rolls ‘round.
Palentine’s Day
Illustration by Felicity Case-Mejia
Thrill ‘em with kindness If you didn’t know there was a Random Acts of Kindness Day, don’t despair. We didn’t either and we’re still holding out hope we are somewhat decent people. Falling on 17 Feb, a few short days after Palentine’s Day, here’s a few ideas from Lauren Baxter that will have you well on your way to the Good Place.
Call your grandparents
Volunteer at an animal shelter
Donate some old tennis balls to your local dog park
Starting off nice and easy — when was the last time you called your grandparents for a good ol’ chinwag, huh? Oh stop it, the guilt is too much to bear. And when it literally costs you nothing but time, you’ve got to stop making excuses, man. Think how stoked they will be when they pick up the phone and realise it’s not a telemarketer. You might even get a cool story — apparently my grandpa was held at gunpoint by the Triad?
We love sleep around here. It’s like being dead without the commitment. A random act of kindness went viral last year when it was discovered a man was going to his local animal shelter to take naps with the special-needs cats. Look, we’re not cat people but come on, that’s adorable. We know you’re already napping at home so you literally just need to go sleep in another location. Or you know, actually volunteer.
Dogs are the best people. It’s true, we do not deserve them. So imagine our faces when we saw a box of tennis balls at the beach with the inscription: “In Loving Memory Of Phoebe.” It urged owners to help themselves to a tennis ball for their dog to enjoy, saying, “Remember to live each moment just like your dog: with unconditional love, loyalty and happiness,” and we’re not crying you are.
Use the Ecosia search engine
Pay for the next person’s coffee
Scale a building to save a kid
Now this is pretty cool. Ecosia is a free search engine that pledges to spend 80% of its profits planting trees. Ok nerds, it may not be the “best” search engine or whatever, but anything that goes out of its way to help save the environment gets the big ol’ tick of approval from us. They’ve currently planted over 48 million trees across the world and finally we have some justification for all those weird searches — no, pee is not stored in the balls.
Let’s set the scene. You walk up to your local coffee shop all bleary-eyed and hungover, and the barista informs you that your coffee has already been paid for by an anonymous stranger. Now that’s the definition of sparking joy, Kondo. We know that doing some good anonymously isn’t going to get you any extra Instagram followers and we’re not saying do it every day because, well, money, but imagine how good you would feel knowing you sparked joy like that even once.
We don’t do things by halves around here. Probably one of the biggest random acts of kindness stories from last year was that of Mamoudou Gassama, the French Spiderman who swung in on his web to save a kid falling from a building. Ok, that’s not entirely how the story goes (Ecosia it) but the dude ended up gaining French citizenship because of his good deed and now he for sure has a spot lined up in the Good Place. You know what that means — get out the lycra.
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Mates dates Getting sick of just spending time at the pub with your BFF? Here’s some activities to try out with your bestie instead.
A little help for some friends It’s hard to meet people as you get older. The rat race doesn’t reward softness and anyone over 25 is busy, bitter and suspicious. Multiple friend-haver Sam Wall considers ways to breach these barriers.
Rock-et man What better way to have to test your communication skills than making sure your mate doesn’t stack it? Get your exercise up and spent some quality time together by booking into your local rock climbing centre. At worst, you’ll be terrible, but at least you can laugh about it together.
Calvin & hobbies
Meet cred
Explore a hobby. People will put up with people they hate for
Accomplish a few personal goals. Being friend-fortunate is
years and years and years if they have a strong enough shared
pretty similar to being lucky in love, it’s easier if you’re an inter-
interest – 18 or more if that interest comes wearing diapers.
esting, engaging person to be around. If fame is the perfume
You’ve probably already got your thing, now find your people.
of heroic deeds then having couple mates is the perfume of
Whatever it is that tickles your fancy there’s bound to a bunch
not being a total waster. There’s no need to conquer K2, but
of new long-term bosom buddies lurking in that niche.
having more going on than ‘dank meme lord’ status is a plus.
The mate outdoors
The mate-trix
Unless you’ve got a short driveway and a chummy postman
If you find the outside world stressful — and you should, it’s
it can difficult to meet new people without getting out of the
2019 — don’t panic. The internet is one big lonely hearts club
house once in a while. There’s all kinds of places that people
and everyone’s a subscriber. Sign up to one of the many pla-
congregate out in the world these days. Find one, approach a
tonic Tinder-type apps, join a fandom channel on Discord,
likely looking group and don’t stop talking until you’re invited
pretend you’re from out of town and CouchSurf your way into
to brunch. Maintain unflinching eye contact throughout.
in a stranger’s loungeroom and heart. The web’s your oyster.
Tray chic
Friend a hand
Buy a ute. Everybody loves somebody with a ute. The day you
Volunteering combines a lot of the previous entries; finding
start spinning those functional wheels your digits are going to
an interest, leaving your house, getting shit done. But beyond
be worth their numeric value in gold. Co-workers, loose asso-
that, spending your time helping people or causes you care
ciates, third through sixth cousins you haven’t seen in decades
about can be a pretty enriching experience in itself. Who even
— they all gotta to move sometime and they’ll all come crawl-
needs friends? Self-fulfilment and unselfish giving is where it’s
ing back. Extra marks if you pack your own straps and pads.
really at.
Take a look
Drinking buddies
Get cooked
She’s All That, Clueless, The Princess Diaries, Mean Girls, The
If none of that works just offer to buy someone a beer. Prob-
Count Of Monte Cristo — the Western canon is full of char-
ably not a complete stranger. More like an acquaintance —
acters improving their social standing with a little self-confi-
acquaintances are just friends you haven’t solicited yet. People
dence and a fresh lick of paint. You may have to hang with a
love a beer, often to the point of not really caring who they’re
bunch of shallow backstabbers for a while, possibly becoming
having one with. Sink a couple and then if you both enjoyed
their leader, but in the end you’ll find one true friend who was
the experience maybe try it again. If not, there’s always more
possibly right in front of you the whole time.
flies in the bar.
Microwave noodles and Domino’s not cutting it anymore when you go ‘round for dinner? Book yourselves in for a group cooking class. Not only will it be delicious, you’ll also be able to not-so-humble brag and throw a dinner party for the rest of your mates.
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Daytripper Roll down the windows (by choice, not just because your AC is on the fritz) and hit the highway to visit a nearby regional centre. Not only will you get to impress with your road trip mix, you’ll also be putting your cash into local communities.
For the latest live reviews go to theMusic.com.au
“He is totally in control of the sound he wants to make and instinctively knows how to make us move.”
Mura Masa @ The Forum. Photo by Stephen Hunter.
— Michael Prebeg As if Mura Masa’s cocoon of drum pads, keyboards, guitars and whatever else wasn’t enough, the
energy from singers Cosha and Fliss made sure the grimey multi-instrumentalist’s FOMO sideshows were a complete sensory overload.
“Welch casts a spell over the audience and hypnotises listeners with her powerful voice every time.” — Michael Prebeg
There aren’t a lot of outfits as gloriously
Florence & The Machine @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Photos by Joshua Braybrook.
dramatic as Florence & The Machine.
Florence Welch flowed around stage like a gentle breeze with the voice of a crashing storm while The Machine worked on an epic scale behind her magic.
Anderson .Paak @ Festival Hall. Photos by Joshua Braybrook.
Anderson .Paak’s was definitely one Falls sideshow we were hanging out for and he and The Free
Nationals did not disappoint when they pulled into
“A monumental live show.” — Nick Gray
Melbourne. From his jaw-dropping drumming to straight-up flying through the air, .Paak left the room floored.
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February
Howzat! Local music by Jeff Jenkins
The Green Machine
R
eading Stuart Coupe’s Roadies book over the holidays had Howzat! thinking about music’s unsung heroes. Hit records and successful careers don’t happen by accident. It takes a team. And one of the greatest team players in the history of Australian music is Peter Green. The hardest part in telling the Peter Green story is trying to explain exactly what he does. Peter has run fan clubs for Skyhooks, Split Enz and Crowded House, but he’s done much more than that. He’s been aide-de-camp, troubleshooter, publicist, archivist and genuine enthusiast. It’s the remarkable tale of the boy who went from working at the Wollongong steelworks to working with some of Australia’s biggest stars. Peter will never forget the day he got the job at Wollongong’s biggest employer. There were three jobs going; 800 people applied. Peter should have been elated, but he was greeted by a guy who looked like Mr Burns, who told him: “You’ll be here forever.” The young employee ended up spending more time answering Skyhooks fan mail than making steel. Peter and his best buddy, Mark, ended up moving to Melbourne, becoming regulars at Countdown, attending 128 shows. Hooks guitarist Bob “Bongo” Starkie went guarantor so they could rent a flat in Toorak. Wearing leather pants and chewing on an apple, Bongo personally visited the real estate agency. “What do I have to do to get these guys a flat?” he asked. “It’s theirs,” the starstruck receptionist replied. When the Hooks were breaking up, Split Enz were taking off. One day, while collecting Skyhooks posters at Mushroom Records, Peter was summoned to Michael Gudinski’s office, where he was greeted not by Gudinski but by Split Enz’s then-manager, Nathan Brenner. “I hear you know all about bands and PR,” Brenner said. “Totally,” Peter replied, not knowing what the conversation was about. “How would you like to work with Split Enz?” “Only if I can work in the Enz office and learn everything.” “Mmmm.”
“And I’ll work for three months for free.” “Okay, that sounds cool.” Peter also worked for Uncanny X-Men (“Brian Mannix is the most fanfriendly star ever”), Boom Crash Opera (“really underrated, they should have conquered America”), Bardot, James Freud and Andy White. There have been amusing times. Buying a toaster at Walmart when Crowded House toured the US, so they could have Vegemite on toast. Starting a rumour that Bardot’s Belinda Chapple was going to replace Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (“that went around the world”). Peter actually returned to Wollongong with Bardot, driving a convertible down the main street. Their car was trailed by another vehicle, whose driver wanted to see who was surrounded by so many beautiful women. When they stopped at Peter Green the lights, Peter turned to see that the other driver was his sister. There have been surprising times, including a surprise party for Peter at Johnny Marr’s house in England. “I remember thinking, ‘How did a boy from Wollongong end up here?’” When Crowded House won Best International Group at the BRIT Awards in 1994, beating Nirvana, Pearl Jam and U2, Peter was with the band at the Barooga Sports Club. Another time, a crew member was helping Peter set up Eddie Vedder’s dressing room at a Crowded House show — he then realised the crew member was actually Eddie. There have been tough times, too. Two of the three Skyhooks singers — Shirley Strachan and Steve Hill — are no longer with us, and Crowded House have also lost two drummers, Paul Hester and Peter Jones. Peter Green and Hessie would have a cup of tea every Thursday and were due to catch up two days after the drummer took his own life. “None of us can understand his death. Every few days I still think of Paul.” Peter says he has survived because of the kindness and generosity of the artists he has worked with. “Just like you and I, they love music.” He has more pop memorabilia than most museums, from Daryl Braithwaite’s Sherbet South African tour T-shirt (a reward for finding Daryl’s dog, Sebastian, lost on the beach in 1976) to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy jacket. After 38 years working with Neil Finn (when the Crowdies said farewell to the world on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, Neil thanked two people — his then manager, Grant Thomas, and Peter), Peter recently announced his retirement. I never had Peter pegged as the retiring type. When the news was revealed, Neil Finn tweeted: “Thank you for all the years of dedication to the music and the fans, the keeper of knowledge and the original founder and icon of Frenz.com”, while Bongo Starkie simply said: “I don’t believe you.” Yes, a music man such as Peter Green will never truly retire. And he jokes that he might jump up and join Neil when he returns to Australia with Fleetwood Mac. It will be one final headline that the publicist has generated: Peter Green Back With Fleetwood Mac.
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Milestones and memories One year ago
The Ed Kuepper Park is officially opened in Oxley in Brisbane. Ten years ago
JD Fortune announces he has been sacked from INXS. The band denies
the claim, but reveals they are working on a new recording project without Fortune. Cold Chisel’s Don Walker releases a memoir called Shots.
The Veronicas become the first
Australian act to sell one million copies of a song in the 21st century in the US, with Untouched passing the million mark. 20 years ago
The Triffids singer David McComb dies at the age of 36. 40 years ago
Cold Chisel release their second
album, Breakfast At Sweethearts. 60 years ago
Music show Six O’Clock Rock starts on the ABC.
Hot gig
I’m Talking There was no other Australian band quite like I’m Talking in the ‘80s. At the height of pub-rock, they made sophisticated funk-pop, with not one but two female lead singers — Kate Ceberano and Zan Abeyratne. I’m Talking released just the one album, 1986’s classic Bear Witness, before breaking up. But they’ve reformed for A Day On The Green, with the Victorian show at Rochford Wines, Yarra Valley on 23 Feb, with Died Pretty, Models and Bryan Ferry also on the bill. That’s what I’m talking about!
The Music
on the music So now you’ve experienced all the sidelights in and around the Grampians courtesy of Alice Skye’s recommendations, what about some tunes? Here are a few acts to look out for at the festival.
Alice Skye
Pic: Modu Sesay
Grampians surroundings
Alice Skye’s guide to the Western Fwy and beyond
Sampa The Great
W
ith the Grampians Music Festival coming up, we asked Alice Skye, who having grown up in the vicinity knows the area well, to give us some insider knowledge on what to do on your way to the Grampians from Melbourne: “I was lucky to grow up near the Grampians in a town called Horsham and have done the trip from Melbourne down that way more times than I can count. Here are some of my tips.”
She’s been on a roll with a bunch of festival
Alice Skye with dog
appearances already over the warmer
1.
7.
2.
8.
We don’t usually make any stops until Beaufort. It feels about halfway and it has good coffee, a really good antique shop and more than one good op shop (the good super cheap kind). Also, it has an Egg Gallery (?!).
The Beaufort Imperial Egg Gallery. This makes the list because I’ve always thought it was one of a kind and then I googled it to see if it was still open and got two mixed reviews: “the eggs aren’t on display any longer (two stars),” and “most unexpected and definitely worth a stop (four stars),” so. you decide.
3.
If you didn’t stop to eat in Beaufort and you’re still hungry by the time you hit Stawell, Chris ‘n’ Di’s Pies & Cakes make the best sandwiches and pies (also their signed wall of famous people that have stopped there is fun).
4.
Once you get to Halls Gap there’s plenty to do — you could walk to Venus Baths for something more relaxed and achievable, or you could do The Pinnacle hike if that’s your thing.
If you venture as far as Horsham, definitely check out Redrock Books & Gallery, that may or may not be owned by my mum — not sure if I’m meant to say that, but it’s an amazing shop regardless and it’s dog-friendly.
9.
If you stick around in Horsham and you’re after a pub meal there’s the Bull & Mouth if you’re wanting something a little fancy and need vegetarian options. Or if you want your classic pub meal go to the Vic Hotel and make a mountain on your plate from the bain-marie sides.
been all summer.
Cool Out Sun We had this supergroup (N’fa Jones! REMI’s Sensible J!) as one of our 2019 acts to watch, so it’s a natural for us to say you should check out their Afro-funk rhythms and rhymes live.
10.
Most importantly I think when travelling to the Grampians, remind yourself that it’s Aboriginal land and its real name is Gariwerd. It is so obviously a beautiful and special place — I think everyone can feel that when you’re there. So remembering and respecting that is definitely an important part of being there.
If you return from a walk really hungry, I think the bakery is one of the best: everyone in there is always super nice and their salad rolls are really good. OR if you want something fancier the Livefast Cafe is really healthy and vegetarian-friendly — with good coffee!
6.
light of Grampians Music Festival like she has
It’s 100% a good idea to stop in at the Brambuk Cultural Centre: it holds stories local to the area and is in such a beautiful spot.
5.
Lake Bellfield is a nice spot to go swimming just a short drive outside of Halls Gap.
months, so there’s no doubt she’ll be a high-
Planet We reckon these guys could blow up and
The Grampians Music Festival runs from 15 Feb
follow the trajectory of DMA’S, so you’ll thank us when you get in at the ground floor and check out their pop-laden guitar hooks midafternoon at the festival.
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This month’s highlights Now we’re cookin’
Simona Castricum
Aussie funk trio Cookin’ On 3 Burners are back with a brand new album, Lab Experiments Vol 2, and a smashing live show down at Howler, 23 Feb. Stella Angelico will be there belting out the tunes with them and The Seven Ups are supporting.
Cookin’ On 3 Burners
Sass-ter act 2 Indie two-piece This Way North are returning to Melbourne to host another round of their Sass The Patriarchy event on 6 Feb at Northcote Social Club. Featuring acts like Simona Castricum, Thando and Racerage, it’s sure to be an empowering, impactful evening.
Sockin’ in the free world
The Sockettes
The Sockettes are a Melbourne trio who just are chock full of great sounds from the Irish fiddle to the jazz piano. They’re fairly new, so no album or EP just yet. But you can catch them at Compass Pizza on Feb 9.
Mojo at Memo
The Audreys
Vika & Linda Bull
A celebration of Indigenous music and spoken word performance, the Yaluk-ut Weelam Ngargee Festival at St Kilda’s Memo Music Hall is definitely one of those “mustsee” events. Head down 1 Feb for a line-up featuring Mojo Juju, The Merindas, Neil Morris (aka DRMNGNOW) and more.
Real class act
The Hepburns Mojo Juju
Arguably our most popular traditional blues/roots band, The Audreys will be dragging along all their oldtimey instruments and ARIA awards to the stage of St Kilda’s Memo Music Hall on 16 Feb. With a fifth album on the way, come hear their new songs before anyone else.
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A saving grace for broke aristocrats everywhere, The Classics series is back to bring us the theatrical delights of opera, Broadway and the symphony all for free starting 2 Feb around Stonnington’s parks and gardens. Don’t miss Vika & Linda Bull with the Stonnington Symphony Orchestra on 23 Feb.
NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL Australia’s Home and Heart of Folk for over 50 years EASTER | 18 - 22 APRIL, 2019 | CANBERRA
180+ ACTS INCLUDING Freya Hollick • Fanny Lumsden Melisand [Electrotrad] (CAN) • 19-Twenty The Mouldy Lovers • Little Quirks The Dead Maggies • Kittel & Co. (USA) Mànran (SCOT) & More!
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The Music
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February
This month’s highlights
Cheers beers
Daryl James
If you find yourself sitting at home on 10 Feb thinking “Jeez, I sure wish I could hear some gritty acoustic blues with a bit of a funky undercurrent performed by a man who looks like bushAquaman,” well, Daryl James at B East is here for you.
The Melbourne Beer InCider tasting festival already gets big ups from us for just how good of a pun its title is. There’ll be beers, ciders, an absolute convoy of food trucks and acts like WAAX and DMA’S. It’s all happening 2 Mar at Melbourne Showgrounds. WAAX
Roll out the Daryl
Free yourself
Amie Grisold
Aw look, you already know what the St Kilda Festival is - it’s in St Kilda, it’s on 10 Feb, and it’s gonna be great fun all for free. As for the acts, we’ve got Haiku Hands, DZ Deathrays, IV League, Ceres, and a whole bunch more.
Hey folks Haiku Hands
Amie Grisold has just gotten back in town after an east coast tour that saw her stop at Tamworth Country Music Festival. Head on down to the Charles Weston Hotel on 23 Feb to see the folk singer performing some quality tunes on her acoustic guitar.
Fem Belling
The ties that bind The Cable Ties Ball is back for a second night of musical glitz and glamour at Corner Hotel on 23 Feb. All set to perform are Cable Ties (duh), Friendships, P-Unique, Hits, Wax Chattels, Porpoise Spit and Moody Beaches.
If you’re a Boroondara local who often finds themselves with a free Saturday evening, Summer In The Park is going to have your back starting 2 Feb. There’ll be jazz, soul, cinema and perhaps most importantly, the lovely music of Fem Belling, Emilia and Horns Of Leroy.
Porpoise Spit
Park it right there, buddy
The Music
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Your town
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SMOKEPURPP (U.S.A) PRIDE DAY ST KILDA FESTIVAL
TXBOTUPO TU NFMCPVSOF
GAVIN JAMES (IRE)
25 JANUARY
ST KILDA BLUES FESTIVAL
3 FEBRUARY
JOHN CORABI & BAND (U.S.A)
10 FEBRUARY
TOMORROW NEVER COMES FEAT. BOOGS VS SPACEY SPACE
ANNE MARIE (UK)
FASTER PUSSYCAT (U.S.A)
This event is a smoke free (+ drug free) event
THE BEASTS
15 FEBRUARY
SUPPORTED BY GLADES LIC/ALL AGES EVENT 7PM TO 10PM
22 FEBRUARY
KERSER
KERSER U’18’ EVENT 12PM TO 3PM This event is a smoke free (+ drug free) event
FORMER BEASTS OF BOURBON KIM SALMON, CHARLIE OWEN, BORIS SUJDOVIC, TONY POLA & TEX PERKINS PRINCE BANDROOM 27 FITZROY ST, ST KILDA
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BOOK
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February
22 MARCH
24 MARCH
29 MARCH
3 APRIL
12 APRIL
13 APRIL
the best and the worst of the year’s zeitgeist
The lashes Front
Back
Come at the King
Polly amour
Wizz kids
Pushed ABBAck
Old man yells at rainbow
Some like it not
There was a lot of wild
A full ten years after Nestle
They took a much-deserved
We were supposed to get a
Vaguely man-shaped stack
If it feels like you’ve been
behaviour in Netflix’s Fyre
scrapped the iconic choco-
break (from recording at
sneaky peak at ABBA’s first
of shit, Bob Katter, visits
sitting in a warm puddle
fest doco - not least the
late bar, Polly Waffles are
least) after their wild five-
new music in 35 years last
the back lashes once again
of your own making for a
mattress pissing. Andy
back on the menu. Robern
album sprint in 2017, but
December. Then there was
for his latest spout of hot
month straight don’t get
King’s astounding anecdote
Menz, the same company
King Gizz are officially back
talk about “the beginning
gibberish. The croc-fearing
self-conscious, we’re all
about how close he came to
that snagged the rights to
on the scene with their
of next year”, which is NOW,
bigot this time called homo-
sweating buckets. Accord-
going down on a customs
Violet Crumbles late last
Borg-warped new single,
guys. Looks like the Swedish
sexuality a trend, saying he’d
ing to the Bureau of Meteo-
officer to get “four 18-wheel-
year, bought the discon-
Cyboogie. If it’s anything to
mega group’s triple faked us
“never seen or heard of a
rology, last month was the
er trucks filled with Evian
tinued brand and plan to
judge by, they’re on a deep
though, the latest schedule
homosexual person” before
hottest Australian January
water” out of hock really has
provide the nation with
retro future trip that has us V
says we’ll be waiting until
age 50. Not sure what
on record. Considering it
captured the world’s imagi-
that unique blend of wafer,
excited for the album that’s
late 2019.
planet he’s from but we
followed on from the hot-
nation though.
marshmallow, chocolate
no doubt right on
think it’s high time they took
test December on record,
and dreams very, very soon.
the horizon.
him back.
it might be time to invest in AC.
The final thought
From razor manufacturers to social justice crusaders, is Gillette’s divisive film more than just toxic masculinity PSA?
G Words by Maxim Boon
illette: purveyors of quality shaves and hate crimes against men. Or so the ridiculous backlash to the razor company’s internet-breaking two-minute social media video would have you believe.
The Music
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Referencing #MeToo, Gillette’s short film challenging toxic masculinity poses a pretty inarguable truth: the behaviours instilled in us as children play a huge role in the type of adults we become. And by jingo, that’s pissed off a lot of men. The film, which was released midJanuary, presents examples of men’s worst behaviours – bullying, harassment, violence, condescension – and the pervasive mantra that explains them away: boys will be boys. It then shows men acting to break the chain that allows these behaviours to be passed down, offering a vision of how men might be better exemplars to their children. Most of us would probably agree, there’s little to fault this idealism, and indeed, many have praised the film for addressing an important social issue. But for some men, the suggestion that they might be better not sexually assaulting, objectifying and patronising women, and that boys might benefit by not normalising violence and suppressing their vulnerabilities, has led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth. And seemingly, an inability to grasp irony. The refusal of men to acknowledge the ways they are complicit is the very essence of what this video is trying to combat. Not to mention that in venting such white-hot ire all over social media, detractors of the video – including high-profile mouthpieces like Piers Morgan and actor James Woods –
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The End
are helping the video achieve its true aim. Which is not to eradicate toxic masculinity from the world, but to promote the Gillette brand. And it’s this facet of the film’s identity that might be the most relevant to question. In addition to the inevitable Tweet-storm, commentators have committed thousands of words to dissecting the video, but few of these have explored the reasons why Gillette created the video at all, and perhaps most importantly, who they made it for. While angry middle-aged men may be shaking their fists at the sky, there’s likely an even greater number of woke millennials who now consider Gillette a brand that shares their values. While Piers Morgan is searching for a new razor manufacturer who isn’t “anti-men”, Gillette may be enjoying a new lucrative foothold in a demographic that previously opted for indie grooming products over its mass-market fare. Perhaps it sounds cynical to cry foul of Gillette’s motivations for producing their divisive short film. And of course, the values it champions are certainly worthy of such widespread discussion. But it’s important to remember that it isn’t just an innocent PSA made out of the goodness of Gillett’s heart. It is a piece of advertising, that has seized on an opportunity to manipulate one of our most volatile social powder kegs, and all for the purpose of flogging razors.
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